Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT or the characters.
The taxi pulled up to the front of the hotel, stopping to let out a short and curvy brunette. She handled him enough cash to cover the ride from the airport and took her suitcase out of the car. Rolling it behind her as she walked through the hotel lobby, Belle stopped at the front desk and smiled at the concierge. "Hello, I'm here to check in?"
"Welcome! What is your name?" he replied, fingers typing furiously on the computer.
"Belle French," she answered.
He glanced up from the computer to look at her. "Yes, here you are. You'll be in room 314. The pool is located on the first floor, just past the breakfast room. Breakfast is served from six until nine-thirty in the morning. Please don't hesitate to call down to the desk if there is anything you need."
Belle took the keycard from him with a murmured "Thank you" and wheeled her suitcase to the elevators on one side of the lobby. Pressing the button for the third floor, she watched the mirrored doors slide shut. When they opened again she walked to the door marked 314. Entering the room, she flipped on the light and looked around.
The walls had been painted beige with a red stripe about three quarters of the way up the wall. A mirror hung over the bed, reflecting the television on a dresser across from the king-sized bed. Red and gold pillows lay on top of the cream comforter, and the curtains at either side of the window matched the gold fabric. A mini-fridge stood beside the dresser and a door near the entrance led into the bathroom. Belle lifted her suitcase onto the table by the window before turning back to the bed to examine the basket that had been placed at its foot.
An envelope with Belle's name rested on top of the other contents in the basket. Opening this first, she read the spiky handwriting inside.
Ms. French, welcome to the "Diamonds and Ruby" tour. In the basket you will find a selection of Ruby's albums, a DVD with a few of her music videos and televised interviews, as well as reviews of her shows and music with previous articles written about her. While I am sure that you already will have seen most of these things, I just wanted to be sure you had all the information you could need to be ready for this tour. If you are able, please join Ruby and I at supper tonight at seven o'clock in the hotel restaurant. Sincerely, Emma Swan- Manager of Ruby Red.
Setting the envelope and note down again, Belle went through the materials in the basket. She had already read the articles and reviews before leaving for California and had spent the airplane flight listening to her discography. Taking the DVD to the television, Belle popped the disc in. As she removed a few things from her suitcase and placed them in the dresser and bathroom, she listened to an interview. Ruby Red was a livewire, cracking jokes and making ridiculous statements when asked about her dating history, songs, and hopes for the rest of her career. She almost constantly had a smile on her lipstick-red lips and her brown eyes were framed by black eyeliner. After she had organized things to her satisfaction, Belle sat down at the end of the bed and watched the interview.
"I hope that my music makes people happy, even if only for a little while," Ruby said, throwing a red strand of her hair back over her shoulder. "Maybe my lyrics don't deal with huge societal problems and maybe the songs are loud and not exactly family-friendly, but they are fun. My songs are about the thrill of life and love and making mistakes and not caring. They're the sort of thing that I like, and hopefully other people like it too."
"Well, considering your second album is in the top ten on iTunes I would say that a lot of people like your attitude of fun and carelessness," the show host commented.
Belle watched a strange expression flicker across Ruby's face, quickly composed into a grin again. "Well, I certainly hope to see them all on my tour next spring!"
Turning off the television, Belle stood up and went to pull out the clothes she would wear for supper. Thinking about the momentary look- disappointment? Frustration?- on Ruby's face after the interviewer commented on her image of being fun and careless, she set the clothes on the bed and went to take a shower. By the time she got out, dressed, and dried her hair, she had about an hour left before she was expected to meet Ruby Red and Emma Swan for dinner.
She left her long brown hair down and slightly wavy, falling over her shoulders and onto her ivory blouse. The shirt was tucked into a deep green, knee-length skirt with a thin brown belt. Black high heels gave her a few more inches of height, something that she always appreciated as a five-foot-one woman. Pale gold eye shadow sparkled on her eyelids, and her lashes were darkened with mascara. A thick gold necklace with a clock charm hung around her neck, and a matching gold chain bracelet rested on her wrist. She settled down among the pillows on the bed with a book to pass the time until supper.
Belle arrived at the hotel restaurant at exactly seven o'clock. The hostess led her to a corner booth table where a blonde woman with bright green eyes waited. The blonde stood up and offered a hand to Belle. "You must be Belle French. I'm Emma Swan."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Belle said, shaking the offered hand before both women sat down.
"Ruby will be joining us in a few minutes. She has a terrible habit of running late," Emma commented, sipping from her water glass. "How was your flight? I understand you were flying from New York."
Belle nodded. "The flight was fine. I spent most of it listening to Ruby Red's albums."
"She tends to prefer when people just call her Ruby in conversation," Emma replied. "Ruby Red is purely her performance name."
"I'll remember that," Belle said. "Is there anything else I should know before meeting her?"
Emma shrugged. "Not particularly. Above all else, Ruby is just a woman. You'll be traveling with us for two months. That should give you a fair amount of time to get past the mask she shows fans and most journalists. I think it would be great if you could write an article about the real Ruby."
Belle smiled, a hint of nervousness in the twitch of her lips. "But no pressure, right?"
Emma laughed. "No pressure. Mostly I want her shows to sell out and for her album to stay at the top of the charts. Anything else would just be a bonus."
"Sorry I'm late," a voice came from behind Belle. "I wanted to clean up after swimming so I wouldn't smell like chlorine all through dinner." Ruby slid into the booth beside Emma, putting the blonde between her and Belle. She smiled at the journalist, teeth surprisingly white. "So this is the writer who'll be following me around? This idea just got a lot better, Emma. Why didn't you tell me she was such a pretty little thing?"
Belle blushed as Emma swatted Ruby's arm. "Manners, Ruby. You are not allowed to scare her off. Sorry," Emma said to Belle. "She likes to try to shock new people."
Ruby winked. "Sorry if that was too much right away. But you are hot." Emma swatted her again.
Belle blushed again, hand curling around her water glass. Emma shoved a menu at Ruby and began talking about the schedule for the first day of the tour. Peeking over her own menu, Belle met Ruby's eyes. Ruby winked again, long lashes dark against her pale skin.