Tapping his fingertips against the desk hidden in the corner of the dusty collection of scrolls and books, Rumpelstiltskin couldn't seem to stop his mind from running off. Every time he turned to the task at hand his thoughts drifted across the yard and down the stairs to where Belle was staying. Her words still echoed around his skull "Thank you."
The girl must have some kind of condition. That has to be it, there is no other option.
Leaning back, the chair beneath him groaned from age. The libraries of The Night's Watch were never very popular places for its occupants, mostly because only a handful of them could even read. Occasionally the old blind maester would come down with some squire to look through the papers but as the man grew older his trips grew few and far between. While most of the men found the collection of dusty papers boring, Rumple rather liked it. There was so much material on the shelves that he could be locked in there for decades and never run out of things to read…
The familiar grin pulled at the man's lips as his idea settled in.
They waited until dark, throwing an extra old black cloak over Belle's shoulders and quickly sneaking across the snow covered yard into the tower that held the library. The moment she stepped foot in the room the girl's eyes lit up like candles being set ablaze. She slapped a hand over her mouth to keep all sound at bay and stared at all the books and scrolls and maps that were scattered throughout the rooms. Stepping between two shelves, the brunette ran her finger tips over the spines of the editions. With his hands clasped behind his back, he couldn't help but smirk at how excited she was to see all those books.
"You like this better than your cell, I take it?" he whispered, careful not to attract any unwanted attention from his brothers. Save for the moonlight streaming in through the window and the candle Rumple held, there were no other lights in the room, leaving the whole place rather dim.
"I love it," she said, twirling around to look at him. Rumple stepped closer, setting the candle on one of the shelves and leaned in, whispering instructions to his ward.
"Now remember, if you hear anyone come through the door there is a supply closet in the back right corner of the room. No one ever uses it anyway. So, I guess if anyone does see you, you could just knock them out with one of these dictionaries," Rumple grinned at her and Belle returned the smile that was far more beautiful than his had ever been even when he was young. How was it that she could just pull those grins out of thin air while he had to use so much effort to keep from looking like something out an old nurses' bed time story?
"I'll be as quiet as a mouse, not a soul will know I'm here," Belle whispered, then her eyes fell to the floor before slowly finding their way back to Rumple's again. "Well, all but one."
Unsure of what to do yet again in Belle's presence, Rumpelstiltskin gave a stiff laugh before turning to the door. "Good night, dearie."
"Good night, Rumpelstiltskin," her voice sighed through the shelves of books as if she had become one with the library. His name sounded so natural in her voice now, almost sweet as if the letters were dripping with syrup. That or lonely old heart was playing tricks on him, but in all his years he had never felt quite like this, whatever this was.