It's an extra long one today, guys! Enjoy.
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Belle was all alone in the large Dark Castle. The great mysteries of the estate were constantly spurring her curiosity, which she found was never completely satiated. Of course, that was not happening too often now since she had been given the library to explore. So many books that she could barely choose which she should read next. She had truly missed her books. The thought of her precious library, however, always brought her thoughts back around to Rumpelstiltskin. Despite what he would say or think to make her see otherwise, he was a kind master. He could be coarse, and he could certainly get angry, but most of their days were spent in quiet harmony.
Each and every day, she would go about her normal chores. They had, in fact, become redundant. Her work was just a way of life now. Her master would either go off to make deals, be in his apothecary doing who knows what, or sit at his spinning wheel never to be interrupted. They would share their meals together, Belle would wash the last of the dinner dishes, and then her favorite time of the day would come. Secretly, she thought that her master enjoyed their nightly tradition as much as she. Ever since that day when the Dark One had allowed himself to sit by the hearth beside her, they would both enter the library, and for two or three hours, until the moon had risen high into the inky black sky, Belle's clear voice was the only thing to be heard as she would read from one of the many books that rested upon the shelves.
But tonight was different, she knew. Her master had left that afternoon on a very important deal. She knew that, as with all vastly important deals, Rumpelstiltskin would not return until very late. Her dinner had been spent in eerie silence. And now the Dark Castle was silent, and dark, and lonely. Of course, Belle would not be perturbed. Why should she miss her master so much anyway? She often found herself anxious when he was not around. Her chest would ache. And to her great dismay, when he was around, Belle found that she tried to do as many chores as she could while remaining within earshot of her master. It was unsettling for her to admit that she wanted to be near him. And when he was gone, she found herself missing his strange antics, his high-pitched voice, and his subtle quips that always succeeded in making her giggle. Belle shook her head. Thinking of him would do no good. Surely, he was not missing her as she was him. The very thought would be insane.
She had gone to the kitchen and had lugged a spare tub, that she had often used to wash his large piles of clothing, in front of the spacious hearth. She had then retrieved a towel from her bathroom upstairs, and then, the very first book she had read to Rumpelstiltskin. For some reason, despite all of the other tomes she had been privileged to read, she had fallen in love with the tale of the selfish prince turned beast who had found love in a beautiful and smart young woman. It always seemed to soothe her mind and thoughts, which were more troubled than they had ever been. She was frazzled and needed to calm herself with a warm, comforting bath.
Belle enjoyed taking her baths immensely. She relished in the feeling of the clean water lapping against her body, easing away all of the sore muscles and pains she would acquire from work. But tonight she did not want to do so in her bathroom. Something about being all alone on the second floor of the aptly named Dark Castle did not appeal to her. She would rather bathe in front of the light of the hearth. Besides, her master would not be home until very late and it was only seven or so.
Assured of this, she removed her blue dress, and then the thin, form-fitting chemise, over her head. She unpinned her hair and let her long curls hang limp down her back. She entered the heated water within the tub and let out a long sigh of contentment as the heat very quickly began to relax the knots in her shoulders and neck. The orange embers in the hearth reflected off of the tin of the tub and the crackle of the fire lulled Belle to a state of tranquility. She had been right. This was far better than taking a bath in her silent, darkened bathroom.
She reached for the lavender soup at her side and began to scrub it upon her dirty skin until she was milky-white once again. Her hair remained out of the soapy suds as she allowed herself to close her long eyelashes and breathe in relaxation, the book at her side long forgotten. Her fingernails rested upon the silver edge of the tub as her heart rate slowed and she fell into a light sleep, her snores echoing softly throughout the Great Hall...
By the time her lashes fluttered open again, the water had become lukewarm and the moon was even higher in the sky, so that when she looked out the window she could no longer glance upon it. But she was too focused on the leap in her heart to pay any attention to the disappearance of the moon from her view. She had been sleeping restlessly until her hazy dream-like mind had been disrupted by the all-to-familiar sound of the door to the Castle being shut with a loud bang. He was home! Her master had come home earlier than she had assumed he would!
Belle quickly cursed her bad luck and then scrambled to get out of the bath water. A large puddle splashed upon the floor in her haste. She reached for her bath towel and wrapped it around her body just as she felt the draft and heard the large creak as the door opened. The cold of the winter air hit her lightly attired body and goosebumps prickled across her bare arms and legs. She spun around faster than she ever thought she could.
"Rumpelstiltskin!" She shouted fearfully. She saw him quickly look at her, his eyes growing wide with shock and his cheeks red with embarrassment, before he whirled around so that his back faced her.
"Belle!" He shouted harshly, "What on earth?"
"I didn't think you would be home until late tonight," Belle replied hotly, her cheeks also red with embarrassment.
The Dark One clasped his hands behind his back, trying to regain some composure after seeing his slave in nothing but a flimsy towel that had left very little to the imagination. "This is my home. I think I can return whenever I wish it," he responded harshly to cover his nervousness before her asked her more softly, "What were you doing?"
"I was taking a bath," Belle whispered to keep her voice from shaking. She was quivering all over with the terrible position she had put herself into. She swore to never ever bathe before the warm hearth of the fire again.
"Well, I can see that, umm," Rumpelstiltskin chuckled nervously, "But why are you doing so in the Great Hall?"
Belle stared at his leather-clad back helplessly as she squeaked, "It was warmer down here."
Silence reigned upon the pair as they tried desperately to figure out what to do next. Rumpelstiltskin was having a very hard time thinking, something seemingly unheard of for him. He could not forget that his maid was only a few feet away dressed in the state she was.
It was the clear of her throat that broke the silence. "Your dinner is being kept warm in the kitchen," she explained, wringing her hands together, "If you give me a moment to go...erm," she cleared her throat awkwardly, "Dress, I can fetch it for you."
The Dark One waved his hand at her, a strange motion considering he was not facing her. "Never mind that. I will get my own dinner and you can go up to your room." His cheeks grew red once again. "I am giving you the rest of the night off. You do not have to worry about the dishes either. You may spend the rest of the evening in the library if you wish."
Belle nodded though he could not see. "Will you be coming up later?" She asked gently, forgetting for a moment the situation they were still in.
He shook his head, dark and lanky hair flying about his cheekbones. "Unfortunately, no. I will be spinning tonight."
"Oh," Belle tried to contain her disappointment. Of course, maybe it was for the best, considering how their night had already failed. "Would you like me to fetch you some straw?"
"No!" Rumpelstiltskin replied quickly, desperate for her to leave and take the awkwardness with her, "You are free to do whatever you may wish for the night." He cleared his throat, "Now if you please, uh, Belle..." he winced when it sounded as if he was begging for her to leave.
Belle acquiesced, "Of course, Rumpelstiltskin." She wrapped the towel a bit tighter around her and turned around so that she could hastily exit the room through the back door.
The fiend turned around just a moment before she left. He caught the faint sight of her, her hair hanging limply down her towel-hidden back. His breath hitched in his throat as she closed the door. He sighed in great relief but his heart was still pumping hard and his throat was thick. Well, that was the worst situation I have ever been placed in. In a way it was. Not because he was disgusted, but because it was the exact opposite. That girl had no clue what she did to him, just as he had no idea the full extent of how he affected her. Her scent still lingered in the air, the scent of fresh lavender, a scent he had grown to associate with his Belle. He snapped his fingers and the tub disappeared from the room.
Rumpelstiltskin walked over to his wheel and sat down. Tonight would be a long night of frantic spinning. Normally, he would spin to forget his past life and his lost son. Tonight he would spin to forget his beautiful maid who had looked so radiant in the reddish hue of the fire glow.
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Belle was fully dressed in a cream colored, silken nightgown that cascaded about her feet like a waterfall, falling gracefully to the floor. The lace that flew about her ankles as she walked made her look like a ghost haunting the halls of the Dark One's domain. She wrapped her blue silken robe around her body and tied it securely around her waist. Appraising herself in the mirror, she was content to see that the robe was a modest covering and would lend no more embarrassment. Well, at least, it's not that flimsy bath towel. Her cheeks once again became crimson at the thought. She shook herself to clear her head and then grabbed her book, before exiting her room.
Rumpelstiltskin's acute sense of hearing allowed himself to hear her light footsteps before she had approached him. He did not not turn to where he knew she was standing in the doorway. Instead, he waited, slowly moving the wheel in his hand, to see what she would do.
To his discomfort, he heard her take several more steps until she was nearly halfway to where he sat. He saw her small form out of the corner of his eye, but no more. Rumpelstiltskin quirked his lips in a look of indifference to help steady his beating heart. Even at this moment, the mighty Dark One felt as if his stomach was the churning ocean waves. Thoughts of what had occurred between them only an hour before flooded his memory and he blinked to erase the charging images. If she was trying to banish the awkwardness between them, then so should he.
"What are you doing down here, dearie?" He queried quietly so as not alarm her.
Belle's footsteps stopped and he knew that she was probably only three or so feet from him. "I thought you might want some company," her meek voice rose above the tumults in her gut.
Rumpelstiltskin chuckled under his breath. "I thought I told you to go to your room and to remain there. To go against the Dark One is a great offense."
"Then why am I still standing here alive and unharmed?" Belle tilted her head to the side as she let out her quip.
He allowed a small grin to grace his lips at her wit. "Clever, my dear, very clever." Belle's heart jumped at the new title he had given her. "But I doubt you came here to offer company to a feral beast," he continued slyly as he continued to work the wheel, "Why is it you really came down here?"
Belle let out a sigh. "Alright, you caught me." She paused momentarily before continuing, "Truth is, I was lonely."
Rumpelstiltskin let out a giggle, "Pining for the Dark One's company? Now, that is one I have never heard before." He stopped stroking the wheel and pointed a finger at the hearth of the lit fireplace. "But I suppose since you are already down here, you may stay for awhile."
The beauty smiled secretly at the closest thing to his admission for her to stay. He would never willingly admit he wanted her to stay, but she knew he did. And she gladly accepted. Her footsteps tread lightly to the hearth and Rumpelstiltskin watched her as she sat down. He took a small, secretive moment to gaze at her lushly curled hair hanging limply down her back. It was the first time he had ever seen her with all of her hair sweeping over her shoulders. The blue of the robe complimented the brown of her locks. He caught the faintest of her red lips and the curl of her long eyelashes. She truly was a beauty, Rumpelstiltskin knew and asserted. Her name had been aptly given.
She sat primly by the fire and allowed the heat of the embers to warm her through before opening the book in her hands to the first page.
"Will you read out loud?" Rumpelstiltskin asked before he knew what he was saying. He inwardly cursed his stupidity, but a fresh blush bloomed across his cheeks as his maid looked up from the pages and over at her master.
"Of course, Rum." He was momentarily taken aback by what she had chosen to call him as she continued, "It is poetry tonight. I hope you don't mind."
"If it's a break from your foolish romances, I'm sure I won't mind," he quipped sardonically.
Belle dipped her head to hide her smile. "Very well." She cleared her throat as Rumpelstiltskin once again took to turning his spinning wheel. Belle began.
Fair Isabel, poor simple Isabel!
Lorenzo, a young palmer in Love's eye!
They could not in the self-same mansion dwell
Without some stir of heart, some malady;
They could not sit at meals but feel how well
It soothed each to be the other by;
They could not, sure, beneath the same roof sleep
But to each other dream, and nightly weep.
There was something enchanting about Belle's voice. Rumpelstiltskin had noticed it before but it's thrall seemed to call to him louder than before. Slowly he began to rise from his seat, and his feet began to move of their own accord. His boots padded softly to where she sat as he watched her, entranced by her beauty enhanced by the soft glow of the fire.
With every morn their love grew tenderer,
With every eve deeper and tenderer still;
He might not in house, field, or garden stir,
But her full shape would all his seeing fill;
And his continual voice was pleasanter
To her, than noise of trees or hidden rill;
Her lute-string gave an echo of his name,
She spoilt her half-done broidery with the same.
Belle knew her master was standing beside her and she smiled as she heard him shift and slowly lower himself until she knew that he was sitting beside her, his back leaning up against the plush armchair. His warmth seemed to comfort her more than the blazing fire as she continued to read to him.
He knew whose gentle hand was at the latch,
Before the door had given her to his eyes;
And from her chamber-window he would catch
Her beauty farther than the falcon spies;
And constant as her vespers would he watch,
Because her face was turn'd to the same skies;
And with sick longing all the night outwear,
To hear her morning-step upon the stair.
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Rumpelstiltskin awoke feeling very strange. For one, he found himself sitting on the floor of the Great Hall, his back leaning against the armchair before the fireplace. Though the fire was long dead, he still felt warm. He brushed a stray hand across his eyes in utter confusion of his surroundings before he glanced down and near choked on his own shock at seeing a crown of brown locks only inches from his chin.
Belle was sound asleep, he judged by her soft snores. The book that she had been reading lay upon the floor, the spine being bent as it was half-hidden underneath her robe. One of her arms rested underneath her body as she lay on her side. Her head rested upon Rumpelstiltskin's chest and her other arm had curled around the expanse of his waist in a tight, but gentle embrace. Somehow in their sleep, Rumpelstiltskin's own arm had wrapped around Belle, holding her snugly to himself.
His leg twitched as he became increasingly nervous. The usually controlled Dark One's heart was lodged in his throat as he hastily tried to think of a solution to the problem at hand. How would he ever get out from underneath Belle without waking her? It was virtually impossible!
Before he could think further, the beauty began to stir. Her arm tightened possessively around his waist. Ever so slowly, a yawn escaped her lips and his chest jumped again as he watched her lift her head to look up at him. She seemed just as confused as he about their sudden and unexpected sleeping arrangements. Her hair was all askew, her eyes dark with sleep, but a faint blush was creeping up her neck and onto her cheeks.
For Rumpelstiltskin, he was just stupefied that she had not already pulled away, declaring her utter repulsion for him. The realization nearly made him smile before he remembered the circumstance they were in. He set his lips into a firm line. "What do you call this, Belle?" He demanded to know, though he knew well enough that she was just as confused as he.
Belle's lips tugged at a smile which she tried to hide, "Well, good morning to you too, Grumpy." She then, rather embarrassingly, unwrapped her arms from around him and stood up from the ground, picking up her book in the process. She was blushing fiercely now, and was looking away from him to try and hide her reddened cheeks. "I must have fallen asleep," she chose to state the obvious to rid themselves of the awkwardness.
Rumpelstiltskin humphed, refusing to admit to himself that he missed the feeling of her in his arms. "Obviously, dearie, but I am confused as to how you managed to fall asleep in the arms of a beast."
Belle frowned and looked at him. "I fell asleep in the arms of a man, not a beast. You are not a monster. You think you're uglier than you are, that's why you cover all the mirrors up, isn't it? Hmm?" She crossed her arms.
He was momentarily at a loss for words and she grinned slightly, comfortingly. "You are not a beast, Rumpelstiltskin. I know that. You are warm like a man." She flushed at speaking of such things, "You have flesh and blood and a heart. If I can see it, why can't you?"
"Because, my dear," the Dark One argued, "You are choosing to see something that doesn't exist. I am ugly, I am monstrous and beastly. Children weep when they see me. Women shudder at my presence, men coward away from the grotesque that is me."
Belle sighed and frowned. "Well, then, they are all crazy."
"Maybe it is you who is the crazy one, dearie," Rumpelstiltskin tented his fingers.
Belle feigned thought for a moment and then shook her head, "No, I do believe I am quite sane. You are not a monster. Accept it and let me know you better."
"Perhaps you just want to learn my weaknesses, eh?" He retorted, refusing to give in.
She threw her hands up into the air in defeat. "You are impossible, Rumpelstiltskin. Absolutely impossible." She began to storm out of the room before turning back to face him. "I will make you see yet," she declared with a defiant grin that made him feel warm all over again, "I will make you see that you are a man. Mark my words, Rum."
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The poem is not mine. It is called "The Pot of Basil" by John Keats, and I thought the first few paragraphs were kind of reminiscent to Rumpelstiltskin and Belle's relationship.
Hope you loved it, and you know what to do. Review!