"Why do you spin so much?" She asked as she stared at him curiously. She had been content to stand there and watch him methodically turn the wheel. The creak was melodic and soothing, but the straw continued to be turned into gold, and the gold wrapped up into small bundles.

All the sudden, the creak of the wheel had stopped and his hand remained suspended in thin air. Fearful that she had asked too much, she hurriedly tried to apologize. "I am sorry. It's just you've spun more straw into gold than you could ever spend." She felt her assessment was practical and beyond truth. Every night for the last month she had been kept in this Castle, he had sat at that spinning wheel. She was not complaining. In fact, it helped to calm her racing mind. But now, when he was not busy taking her along with him on his deals, he would sit and spin and spin. Until he was having her gather straw for him several times a day from the storage cellar where he contained it.

She thought he would never respond. He was quiet but the wheel did not resume its steady creak. He finally sighed and replied simply, "I like to watch the wheel. Helps me forget."

Belle raised an eyebrow and watched him. "Forget what?"

Rumpelstiltskin was silent again and if she had been able to see his face she would have seen an expression of barely concealed alarm. Feeling like he had said too much already, he ignored her question. "I guess it worked!" He let out a giggle and Belle could not help but laugh at his jest.

Surprised that he should hear such a giddy sound escape Belle's lips, lips which only a week ago were cursing him and damning him to hell, he turned in his stool so that he could see her. The genuine glee in her eyes was enough to bring a small smile to his lips. He watched her as she stood upon the tall ladder. Her fingers traced the hem of his curtains before she gave a hard tug. The curtains stubbornly remained in their place as she tried again.

Raising himself from his stool, he began to approach where she stood. "What are you doing?" He asked quizzically.

"It's nearly spring, we should let some light in here. Humphhh!" She moaned as she tried to pull the curtain down with no success. Turning to Rumpelstiltskin she sighed in exasperation. "What did you do? Nail them down?"
Without hesitation, he answered, "Yes." His face was perfectly serious and Belle just giggled at his silliness. She then wrapped the curtain more firmly in her fist and she tugged. Harder and harder each time. A tear in the fabric rang throughout the room and then, without warning, the curtain fell down to the ground. And Belle fell with it.

In a mere second, Rumpelstiltskin had stepped forward and stretched his arms out to catch her. She landed gracefully in his strong arms and she sat there for a moment, too stunned to speak. She was so close to him that she could feel his breath on her skin. Her arm that was wrapped around his neck was buried into his thick hair. He was trying desperately not to shake as he felt her body in his arms, safe and sound.

"Th-thank you." He looked down at her in amazement. If she was feeling just as strange as him, she did not show it. He released her and her heels hit the floor.

"It is no matter," he replied with a flourish of his hand, trying desperately to find the imp-like being within him. It seemed that for the past week, ever since Belle had went with him on that first business transaction, she had been playing a silent part in keeping that particular part of him at bay, hidden within his scaly folds.

She smiled shyly at him and he could see a faint blush on her neck. "I will put the curtains back up,"she promised but he shook his head.

"No. Don't worry," he motioned to the fabric laying on the floor, "I will get used to it." True, the light had been unbearably bright when the curtains had first fallen, but now he was beginning to see more efficiently. He smirked at her before turning away. His expression was one of curiosity and confusion. He had caught her?

He had caught her. Belle smiled to herself at the thought. She felt his arms wrapped around her and his breath upon the flesh of her neck. Her chest had seemed to fit perfectly against his body, curves countered perfectly with his modest muscularity. She patted her dress to straighten it. That had been the second time he had caught her. The second time he had saved her from an untimely death. She now knew that he was not as bad as people made him out to be. There was good buried beneath his layers, and she, even if no one else could, saw it.

She succeeded in bringing down the rest of the curtains, with Rumpelstiltskin's help. He would use his magic to loosen the nails and the fabric would crash to the floor with ease. She did not fall from the ladder again and when she was done, she found her feet planted firmly on the ground of the Great Hall. She looked to her master and saw him once again at the spinning wheel, but the wheel was not turning. His hands were in his lap and he appeared to be deep in thought. She turned her back to continue with her chores when his voice stopped her.

She looked back at him and saw that he was now standing and looking at her. "Wait, Belle," he repeated, "I have something I wish to show you." He flicked his wrist towards the door and she followed him to the large staircase that only a week ago she had spent the entire day scrubbing until her flesh was raw. He led her up to the second floor, turned to the right, and went down several feet before he stopped at the third door.

"Why are we here?" Belle asked in confusion before he grinned mischievously and winked at her.

"You'll see," he said, sounding far too much like the imp again. He pushed open the door and ushered her into a decent sized room. The walls were yellow as the sunshine, the ceiling was high. A large window stood directly opposite from her and she could see the landscape of winter. She turned to him and frowned.

"Why have you brought me here?"

He motioned to the room and grinned, "This is your room now, dearie. You will find that the bathroom is right through that door. While up here, you shall be kept safe from the cold, wet, and you will be protected." She was silent and he frowned slightly, "You would prefer the dungeon?"

"Oh, of course not!" Belle finally found her voice. "I love it. Thank you so verymuch!" She flitted around the room. She saw her large wardrobe, the bookshelf with several books. She turned to look at her reflection in the vanity and was shocked to see how much she had changed. Her cheeks seemed rosier, her eyes held a brighter spark. It must be from the excitement, she tried to convince herself but when she glanced at Rumpelstiltskin, she found herself blushing slightly. Has he really done this to me?

She smiled at him. He was still standing in the doorway, watching with fascination as the lovely creature before him turned to her bed and leapt upon the feather-stuffed mattress. She plopped her back against the pillows and just gazed up at the canopy in contentment.

"You may stay here for awhile more, dearie, but do not forget that I still want my dinner served on time."

Belle hummed in satisfaction, "Of course." She turned her eyes to look at him, "Anything in particular you would want?"

He smirked slyly and giggled, "Surprise me." He stood there for a moment more before turning to leave, "See you soon, dearie."

Belle closed her eyes and smiled. This had to be a dream. And if it was, then she never wanted to wake up. She was perfectly happy where she was. In the home of a supposed monster who she was slowly beginning to tame.

And then she fell fast asleep.