So glad you all loved the last update! Only a couple more chapters to go until the end of Almost Lover. Can I hear a "woot, woot"?... Woot woot!
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"Here are your mushrooms," Jefferson said as he handed a dark-colored bag over to the Dark One. It smelled of earth and dirt, but there was a scent of sweetness, almost of exotic flowers. Rumpelstiltskin opened it quickly and peered in. He nodded his head at the sight of the three mushrooms laying within and then passed a small glass vial to the hatter.
"This is all?" Jefferson frowned playfully, "I think I should receive an added bonus for that piece of wise advice I gave you." He winked and caught a look of confusion on Belle's face.
Rumpelstiltskin coughed once and then growled low. "You will be happy with what you have received, hatter." He then pointed to the elixir in Jefferson's hand, "There is enough of a potion in there to send someone to sleep for a hundred years. Please- and I cannot emphasize this enough- please be careful with it," he begged as if Jefferson were a small, incompetent child."
"Trust me, Rumple, I know how to handle a potion." To show just what he meant, Jefferson tossed the vial back and forth between his hands, sending the glass bottle high up into the air, only to catch it seconds later in his deft fingers. He laughed at the anxious look on the imp's face and pocketed the vial. Then, he turned to the beauty. "Goodbye, fair lady," he addressed her with a devilish grin, "I do hope that this is not the last time we will meet." He held out his hand, but she surprised both him and Rumpelstiltskin by wrapping her arms around the kind man's neck.
"You will just have to come back more often then, Jefferson." She released him and smiled slyly, "I do believe you are blushing."
Jefferson chuckled and placed his large top hat upon the crown of his head. "A charming girl, Rumple, don't you think?" He looked at the imp and raised a curious eyebrow before smiling like a Cheshire. "It is high time I get back to my wife and little girl then."
"Send our regards, if you will," Belle responded, ever the princess of old. Jefferson nodded and extended his hand out towards Rumpelstiltskin who took it, albeit begrudgingly. Jefferson pulled the surprised fiend closer, which caused Rumpelstiltskin to squirm, but he stopped when he heard the hatter's next words. "Good luck, my friend." He released the Dark One who proceeded to run his hands down his vest to smooth the wrinkled clothing. Belle laughed gaily before Jefferson bowed his head and left the Great Hall.
Belle placed her hands primly behind her back and sidled up to the Dark One. "He unsettles you, doesn't he?"
"You heard it from his own mouth, Belle," Rumpelstiltskin responded as he patted his dragon-skin one last time, "He is mad."
She laughed again. "I don't believe it for a second. Just admit it, Rum. You are not as tough as leather. There are some who still make you uncomfortable."
Rumpelstiltskin shook his head. "Not at all." Hie lips tugged into a small smile, showing that he was lying.
Belle smiled smugly, "I see then. Come, and finish your tea."
The fiend chuckled, "Remind me, dearie, who is master of this estate?"
"So you are back to being my master, then, sir?" Belle stepped away from him playfully and walked around the table. He followed after her until he was standing right across from her on the other side of the table.
"Never. I wouldn't think of ever imprisoning you again, my dear Belle," he replied a bit too softly and he saw her blush a deep crimson. There was an awkward silence that shrouded them like a thick woolen blanket. Rumpelstiltskin cleared his throat and took his chipped cup into his idle hands, twirling it ever so gently between his fingers before taking a light sip.
"Why did you want me here?" Belle asked gently, in a voice almost as light as a whisper.
Rumpelstiltskin shrugged his shoulders, "Place was filthy, dearie."
Belle's lips quirked into a small smile. "You want to know what I think?" She began to walk around the corner of the table until she stood only a foot or so from her master. She sat upon the table and folded her hands primly upon her lap. "I think you were lonely and you wanted somebody to keep you company."
"What gives you that idea?" He averted his eyes and stared into the dark liquid of his tea as he leaned up against the table beside Belle.
"Just look at this place," she paraded her hands around the room, "It is huge. I think anyone would be lonely hear."
Rumpelstiltskin looked over at her and chuckled in a deep, rich voice. "Perhaps I was a bit lonely, Belle. Is that so awful? The Dark One disliking living by himself?"
Belle shook her head and her lips set into a thin, serious line. "I don't think so at all, Rumpelstiltskin. I wouldn't blame anyone, no matter how powerful, for being lonely in this place. Power does not buy companionship."
"If I had not had power, I would have never gained your companionship, Belle," Rumpelstiltskin retorted pointedly, "I would have been an ordinary cripple who would have never been able to save your kingdom, and bargain for your life in return. Of course," he finished sourly, "You probably wish for that."
"You don't know what I wish for, Rumpelstiltskin," Belle placed a hand on his shoulder. He jolted at her touch, and she quickly removed her palm. Biting her lip, she tried to change the subject to veer away from the awkwardness that was becoming all too familiar to them. "So...I was cleaning, and upstairs there is some clothing. Small, as if for a child. Were they yours?"
Rumpelstiltskin winced as the memory of his son flooded through his mind. He placed the cup down upon the very precipice of the table and sighed. Looking up at Belle, with saddened eyes, he nodded. "They belonged to my son, my darling son whom I lost."
"I'm so sorry," she apologized, feeling guilty for bringing back terrible memories. She licked her lips before venturing to ask, "What was your son's name?"
His mouth lifted into a small, barely there smile. "Bae," the moniker that had not been spoken to another person for hundreds of years left his lips, "His name is Bae."
"'Is'? Then, he is still alive?"
Rumpelstiltskin nodded, "Yes, he is. But he does not want to see me. He will never want to see me again."
Belle sighed, "You don't know-"
"I do," he interrupted in a tone that called for no objections. Belle nodded once and then hopped off of the table. As she did, the wood creaked at the loss of her weight and the cup that had been sitting on the edge of the table began to fall to the ground. Just before it landed upon the hard floor, Rumpelstiltskin stretched out a hand and used his magic to hold the cup and the spilled tea afloat.
Belle's mouth turned into a small 'o' shape as she watched his magic at work. The motion of his hand brought the cup back to the table and set it gently upon the wood, while the tea remained suspended in the air. Rumpelstiltskin began to twirl his fingers, slowly shaping the small droplets into the form of a delicate rose. He then brought the rose to his eye level and, using his other hand, began to change the color of the rose from an ugly brown to a deep red. He handed it to Belle, and she gasped.
Her look of surprise quickly turned into a large smile. "For me, sir?"
"If you'll have it," was Rumpelstiltskin's soft reply. Belle took it without question and stared at in wonder. The tea had hardened and crystallized until the texture was that of glass. The heart of the rose was still pulsing gently with the magic. She looked back up at the Dark One and saw only gentleness in his deep orbs.
She curtsied, "Why, thank you."
Rumpelstiltskin bowed in return, ever the gentleman, and then watched as she caressed the rose with a care that she had never expressed for anything else in the Dark Castle. Not even the library she had loved so much. He just watched her and a smile was brought to his lips at the realization that she loved his gift. And he smiled all the more when he realized that he equally loved giving her the small gifts. The afforded kindnesses had been something he had been bestowing on her for a few months now. Doing small chores for her. Leaving books lying about for Belle to pick up and read. Filling vases with brightly hued wildflowers. All to be granted the wonderful sight of her gorgeous smile.
And in that moment, Rumpelstiltskin knew that he loved this woman. Jefferson had been right. The fiend had let an emotion into his soul that had not been there for two hundred years. She had softened his heart, a feat he had deemed impossible. He sighed inwardly. And it was because of this that he knew he had to let her go.
"I think I will spin now, Belle," he replied in a quiet voice, trying to mask the worry and fear. Was he truly brave enough to do this? He shook his head. He needed to be brave. He had to do this.
Belle nodded, "Alright then, Rumpelstiltskin. I will go and begin to prepare dinner. Your friend Jefferson stayed longer than I had thought."
Rumpelstiltskin shook his head and held out an arm to stop her from entering the kitchens. "You do not have to worry about supper tonight, Belle, because I will need more straw."
"Oh, yes, of course," she smiled at him, "I had forgotten that I would need to retrieve some for you. I will make haste to the room where you keep it then." She tried to push past him but he stepped in front of her, and she raised an eyebrow, thoroughly confused by his strange behavior.
"I meant that I would like for you to go to town and fetch me some straw. When you return, then we shall have supper."
"Town? Why do you need me to go to town?"
Rumpelstiltskin forced a grin, though this was entirely too painful. He decided then and there that next time he saw Jefferson he would personally skin the hatter and use his flesh as a wall decoration. Yes, yes, that will do just fine, he mused inwardly. He then looked at Belle. "My reasons are my own, dearie."
"You truly trust me to come back?" She asked, breathless that he should be doing such a thing. Giving her a chance to run. But would she, was the real question.
Rumpelstiltskin tented his fingers together and chuckled bitterly, "That remains to be seen, but I know that if you were a person in your right mind, I would never see you again." And you are certainly in your right mind, Belle, was something he very nearly said but kept the words locked tightly away.
Belle nodded, "Then, I shall go immediately if I want to return before nightfall." She didn't know if she was lying or not. She supposed she would decide whether to run or not when she had finally left the castle grounds. Oh, to be free for the first time in a whole year! To set foot into the real world, to leave behind all dark and gloom and hopelessness. She left the room on light feet and the Dark One just let her go.
Fool. You had her, and now she will slip right through your fingers. She won't come back, for who could ever love you? The inward thoughts grieved him as he forced himself to watch her leave. "Goodbye, my dear Belle," he whispered only after she had left. For no, she would not return. The beauty had abandoned the beast for good.
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