So, I've been super duper busy, and thought that I wouldn't even find time to write this chapter and put it up by today. But I know I left you on a cliffhanger, and I couldn't leave you to wait forever. That would just be mean. But I'm excited about this chapter. I hope it'll be great!

And in less than 24 hours I turn 16, so I am doubly, super-duper excited right now!

Oh, and I just wanted to take the time to thank all of my reviewers. The last chapter, even though it wasn't my favorite and I was having doubts on whether it was good enough to upload, got more reviews than any of my other chapters. Thank you all for making this such a great experience, and for being such a great encouragement to me!

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Rumpelstiltskin's eyelids slowly fluttered half-open as he sought to adjust to the light of the fire that seemed to be staring right into his face. As he forced his lids to open all of the way, black spots blurred his vision and he blinked rapidly to be rid of them.

"Ughhhh..." he groaned as his head felt light. His fingers twirled as he used a small spell to relieve his cranium of the annoying humming. As he did so, he became once again familiar with his surroundings. His fine-tuned senses began to extrapolate forward, trying desperately to remember what had happened.

He remembered an emotion that had not gripped his heart in three centuries. The feeling of fear had surged to the surface when he had heard Belle's desperate scream for help. All anger had vanished as he had thought of nothing else but rescuing her. And then, he felt the searing pain upon his arm and he winced. Ah, yes. That. He looked down cautiously and was pleased to see that the wound was, at the very least, not as bad as it felt. A long gash, about a quarter of an inch wide, stretched from his wrist to the underside of his elbow. His leather vest had been removed. His white silken shirt sleeve had been rolled up to his forearm. The blood had been cleaned from the wound. But who...?

Rumpelstiltskin heard the light tap of shoes upon the floor and the gentle swish of her skirt only seconds before Belle appeared from the kitchen door. Wordlessly, her eyes met his and she approached him. Her expression was calm but Rumpelstiltskin could see restrained anger within her slightly clenched jaw. Well, why wouldn't she be angry? After what he had done?

She silently knelt beside him. In her lap was a basin of slightly discolored liquid and a cloth was in her palm. "Let me see," she commanded in a low breath. Rumpelstiltskin handed her his arm without question and watched as she gripped it gently in her hands. She observed the gash for a mere moment before placing it on the arm of the chair and dipping the cloth into the basin.

She looked up at him for a fleeting moment before returning her gaze to his wound. "This may sting a little," was all she said before she laid the dampened cloth upon his cut. That was enough for the almighty Dark One as the feeling of fire burned through his skin. He bellowed in a mixture of hurt and anger.

"What is that?!" He demanded as he snatched his arm away.

"It's wine diluted with water. The alcohol will help clean your cut. Now...give...it here...!" She tried with little success to catch his arm as he moved it back and forth out of her reach. "You are such a child, Rumpelstiltskin. Now give it here!"

Her tone called for no argument and he begrudgingly allowed her to take hold of his arm. She placed the cloth back upon his gash and he bit back a squeal. "I could just heal it with magic."

"Then why didn't you before?" Belle asked, keeping her eyes pinned to her work.

"I was a bit busy rescuing you, dearie," Rumpelstiltskin replied irritably.

Belle humphed. Then, she moved her hand over a deeper, darker portion of his wound. The wine stung worse than hell to Rumpelstiltskin. Ripping his arm from her grasp, he bellowed again. "That hurt!"

"Well, if you'd hold still it wouldn't hurt as much!" Bell retorted, just as angry.

Rumpelstiltskin motioned to his wounded arm. "If you hadn't run away this never would have happened!"

Belle stood upon her knees so that she was level with the beast. "If you hadn't frightened me I would have never run away!"

Rumpelstiltskin came so close to her face that she could feel his hot breath on her lips. He sneered maliciously, eyes flashing with anger. "Well, you shouldn't have been in the West Wing!"

"Well, you should control your temper!" Belle spewed into his face. Rumpelstiltskin's body shot back and he stared at her in shock that she should speak to him in such a way. But then, he realized she was right. Turning his wrath upon her after nearly losing her to the wolves was not the best way to handle any situation. But then, again. She had found the dagger. That had to be dealt with. But for now, he was going to let Belle cleanse and dress his wound.

When she was finally finished, he rolled down his sleeve and turned to the fire. "Thanks," he replied simply.

"And thank you," Belle answered in return, "For saving my life." Gathering the bowl and cloth in her hand, she prepared to stand up.

Rumpelstiltskin was nearly about to let her go and be the coward once again, when her name spewed forth from his lips. He blushed slightly at his abruptness before clearing his throat and becoming serious. He did not look at her, but glared deep into the fire's inferno.

"What you saw today in the West Wing—I do believe we need to talk about it."

Belle sat back down and placed the basin at her side. "Do you mean the dagger? What is it? What does it do?" Her curiosity was peaked.

"Belle, you need to understand," Rumpelstiltskin licked his lips, "Anyone who has ever learned of the dagger has been killed by me. I could not risk letting that secret get out into the open."

Her mouth fell wide open and she prepared to run and flee. Not that she could really hide from the Dark One for long. "And you will kill me?"

"I think we both know, dearie, that I couldn't do so even if I wanted to," Rumpelstiltskin frowned, "But I do believe you deserve an explanation."

Belle followed his gaze and watched the dancing embers of the hearth. "Rumpelstiltskin, I am your servant. You do not owe me an explanation of any kind."

He chuckled quietly, "But you will remain here forever. I think it is fitting that you know of my story. Of who I am. Of who I was before this monster."

"You were not always like this?" Belle inquired softly as she looked at him.

He shook his head sorrowfully, limp curls framing his cheeks. "No. No, I was a man...an ordinary man."

And that was how his tale began. Rumpelstiltskin recounted of his life as a boy. Of how his father had been the village coward, and of how the son had never wanted to be given the same title as his sire. He told of how he, as a young man, had married a beautiful woman named Milah and had had a son. He had gone off to war to find glory and victory. But fear had gripped his heart, the same fear of his father. He had fled from the war and had returned to his village, given the title of a coward. Rumpelstiltskin told of how his son had been the most precious thing to him, and then one day, the soldiers had come to take his boy away. Desperate to save his only child from certain death, he learned of the cursed legend of the Dark One, and of a certain dagger that controlled him. He learned that if someone were to take that dagger, he would control the Dark One and all of his powers. But if he were to kill the beast, he would be a hero and would be given vast courage. And so, the village coward had retrieved the dagger and had killed the Dark One, Zoso. But he had not known of the dreadful repercussions, and he had watched in horror as the Dark One's powers had been transferred to him. And in the end, the darkness consumed him, his lust of power controlled him, and he lost everything. Even his own son had abandoned him. And ever since then, he had been a cursed beast, killing at will, bringing heartache to others because of the heartache that could not be healed in his own heart. A deep darkness had turned his heart to blackened ash.

By the time his story was all but complete, small tears were trickling down his gold-glittering skin. He felt a soft palm grasp his hand and Belle gently whispered to him. "And that dagger is the same dagger I found upstairs? I could have controlled you?" Rumpelstiltskin nodded and she breathed out, "That is why you were so scared. I could have enslaved you. I am so sorry."

"No, Belle," he said firmly as he turned his head to look at her, "You have nothing to be sorry for. No matter how scared I was of losing my freedom, I should never have shouted at you. I lost my temper." His eyes fell to her cheek, still red, with a thin scratch across it. His fingers trailed lightly over her smooth skin, imperfected by the wound. "What happened to you?"

Belle stared at him in confusion. "D-Don't you remember? You struck me before you commanded me to get out of the room."

Rumpelstiltskin withdrew his hand as if he had been burned. "What?!" He asked, his tone harsh with raw fear.

"Don't you remember?"

He shook his head. "When I saw you with the dagger, I became enraged. The monster in me, the Dark One, must have taken complete control over me. That rarely happens, but when it does, I hardly ever remember anything. With the last of the man inside me, I commanded you to get out so I wouldn't hurt you. Yet, I did anyway." He shoved her palm off of his hand and turned to the fire, angry at himself.

Belle remained silent, feeling the pain radiating off of him. "You poor creature," she whispered, "What kind of life have you known? It has been full of pain, and sorrow, and darkness."

Rumpelstiltskin did not acknowledge her statement, instead he sighed. "How can you bare it, Belle?" At her confused expression he asked again, "How can you bare to remain here? How can you bare to touch me as if I am still a man and not a monster who has done horrendous things? Not even five hours ago, I struck you, and yet you try to apologize and then comfort me? Why?"

Belle smiled softly. "I don't know, Rumpelstiltskin. But no matter how hard you or I try to make me hate you, it will never happen. I-" she bit her lip, uncertain of what was about to be spoken from her mouth, but fearing that it would have revealed too much of her conflicting feelings for her master.

"'I' what?" Rumpelstiltskin turned to her and observed her with a curious eye.

Instead of answering, she stretched out her hand over the arm of the chair which was separating them, and then she placed her palm against his chest. Her fingers trailed softly over the place where his heart was beating. "I know there is hope for you, Rumpelstiltskin. If you keep digging deeper and deeper and deeper, you will find something."

He gulped at the feeling of her touch upon his silken shirt. "What? What will I find?" He barely managed to breathe out.

Belle smiled softly and leaned closer to him. "A heart."

He was taken aback by such honest words, but was too overwhelmed by such close proximity. The heat of the fire was no match for the heat that he felt right there, with Belle so close. He stared into her soft blue eyes, and she into his honeyed orbs, and it felt as if a spell of its own kind was being woven around them, between them, within them.

Rumpelstiltskin slowly leaned forward towards her, his forehead bending to touch hers. She did not draw away, she did not shiver in fear or repulsion. She drew closer to him, until she touched the tip of her nose, feather-light, against his.

"Gods, what are you doing to me?" He whispered under his breath just before he allowed himself to awaken from the beautiful reverie and shot his head back away from her. Belle frowned at the loss of contact but blushed at the thought of what had almost occurred. She had almost kissed her master. Even more consternating was that she had wanted to! Her stomach was still reeling, and her palms were sweaty, as Rumpelstiltskin cleared his throat abruptly and stood to his feet.

"Goodnight, Belle," he said gently before teleporting himself out of the room. His remaining magic crackled in the air. And it smelled familiar. It smelled like Rumpelstiltskin. Belle simply loved it, reveled in it, as she touched her lips and deliberated on what had nearly happened between master and servant.

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So...kinda fluffy. I love me some fluff! And I figured that almost kiss would make you all super happy. Hope it was well worth the wait!

Well, these past two chapters were completely the idea of my sister. This is one of her favorite scenes in Beauty and the Beast, and she really wanted me to do my own interpretation of it. Hope I did it justice, sis! Love you!