The following day Belle decided she would explore the floors upstairs. She climbed down the bed reluctantly and pulled the curtains open, letting the sunlight spill into the room. Her window wasn't made of just plain glass, but instead there was an abstract vitrage decorating the top part. The sun's rays, coming through the dyed patches of glass, threw different multi-colored shapes on the carpet and Belle admired them for a while.
Deciding she should be decent and clothe herself, she opened the wardrobe with a sigh. She did not want to put on her leather outfit, so she chose a long blue cotton dress. There were no corsets, besides it would be difficult to lace one up herself, but the gown's bodice was quite firm and provided enough support - not that she needed it, truly. Unfortunately, the dress had short sleeves, but she could always wrap a shawl around herself or put one of her shirts on top in case she got cold. She frowned noticing that there were no shoes. So she just put her knee-high boots on and sat down patiently to lace them up. They must have looked awkward with her dress but there were no mirrors for her to confirm this suspicion. Besides, she didn't care much. There was no one to see her and the dress went all the way to the floor, covering her crude footwear.
Belle washed her face and brushed her hair thoroughly, letting it fall down to her back in a cascade of tight curls. She decided to grab a bite first before she explored the castle some more. She went back to the dining room, noticing that the food was still on the table, steam rising off it just like the night before. Even the teapot was scalding hot to the touch. Belle wondered what spell kept the food preserved and how could it work if the sorcerer was so far away.
She took a cup of tea and moved closer to the fireplace, gazing at the dancing flames. The comforts of the castle were certainly addicting. Finishing her small breakfast with a fresh peach, Belle wiped her hand, sticky from the fruit juice, on a napkin and headed back upstairs.
The first few rooms she came across were of no interest to her – they were exquisitely decorated, as the rest of the castle, and she spotted few oddly-looking objects but none drew her attention for too long. The room placed to the left of the stone stairs, undoubtedly leading to a tower, turned out to be a storage room for potion ingredients. Belle looked at strange swirling substances captured in jars behind thick glass. Some were quite repulsive – like slimy dead frogs stacked one on top of another. Others were oddly shaped and impossible to identify. There were heaps of herbs, some lying on the shelves, others hanging from the ceiling. The room smelled strange but Belle felt excited, like she could uncover some mystery just by touching the potion ingredients.
She did not want to go into Rumpelstiltskin's tower – she was sure that's where the stone steps led, why else would there be ingredients kept in this room? Belle went to the East part of the castle. She thought the storage would be the most interesting find for the day but she was wrong. When Belle pulled on the curved handles of the double doors she gasped. The room held the biggest collection of books she had ever dreamt of. There were small books and large ones, series of volumes and thin brochures, books in bright covers, screaming for attention like exotic birds as well as some modest-looking grey ones.
At first she just ran her fingers across their backs, then she began taking the volumes out, flipping through the pages, inhaling the smell of parchment and enjoying the feel of leather covers. There were books with beautiful pictures, some in small neat writing and foreign languages.
Belle picked up a volume of adventure stories - еhose had always been her favorite to read - and sat down at the cushioned window ledge. Outside, the snow began to fall, soft fluffy pieces swirling in the air. She was so engrossed in her book she didn't notice how much time had flown by. It was already dark when the strain in her neck and shoulders reminded her that it was time to take a break, but she couldn't put the book aside. She returned to the dining room, the book still in hand and wolfed down some pork chops.
She climbed the stairs back to the room with her eyes glued to the pages. Belle settled down on the bed on her stomach, her legs up and crossed at her ankles. Eventually the lines began to blur and jump, even though she followed them with her fingers.
Belle barely had the energy to take her boots and dress off before pulling the covers around her. She was content and peaceful and it never crossed her mind that Rumpelstiltskin should have already come back by now.
The following morning Belle decided to look for the bathroom. The discovery of the library had distracted her and made her forget about everything. But she was definitely in need of a proper wash now, the damp cloth she wiped herself with being a poor substitute for an actual bath.
She remembered that it was her third day in the castle and wondered if Rumpelstiltskin had returned. He would probably make his presence known to her, but perhaps he arrived late and did not want to disturb her.
Belle dressed and fixed her hair. Descending the stairs she noted that the castle remained still and quiet and felt a slight nagging of worry which only grew stronger as she saw that food and utensils in the dining room remained exactly the way she had left them. Belle broke her fast in the silence which was no longer comforting. She ate quickly and left.
She went to the front doors, chased by the echo of her footsteps on the marble floor. Rumpelstiltskin did warn her against attempting to leave, but what if something bad had happened? Belle was sure he was the most powerful and feared man in the realm but that did not make him invulnerable. What would become of her if he never returned? Would she be imprisoned in the castle forever or would his magic vanish and she'd be free? She hesitated for a few moments but decided not to try her luck by opening the doors.
Belle did walk to the window though and took a peek outside. The snow had stopped but the thick white mantle of it from the castle entrance to the gates and further had not been broken by a trail of footprints. That meant nothing, of course, as Rumpelstiltskin didn't need to travel on foot if he could simply vanish and re-appear at any place as he wished. Yet the girl stood at the window for several minutes, straining her eyes in hopes of seeing a dark silhouette approaching the castle amidst the sea of radiant white.
She sighed when the landscape remained still and motionless, except for a bird flying by. Belle could call Rumpelstiltskin's name after all, but how would she explain that to him? Admit she was worried about him being late? What if something really important was keeping him away and she'd distract him from that?
Belle wasn't quite certain why she wanted the man to come back, but the deafening silence had now become unnerving and no longer as inviting. Perhaps being alone was not as adventurous and exciting as she had first thought. Merely knowing Rumpelstiltskin was in the castle would make her feel safer, even if it meant that she'd have to face him.
She returned to search for the bathroom and found it rather quickly – it turned out to be a spacious room on the first floor, being the second door she had tried. Belle wondered whether it was sheer luck or if the rooms in the castle could shift depending on the needs of its inhabitants - after all, there wasn't much logic in how the chambers were located.
There were no mirrors in the bathroom. Belle was curious if there were any in the castle at all. In the center of the room on clawed lion feet stood a large copper tub, bigger than she imagined and resembling a modest pool rather than a bathtub. There was also a small table to its right with neat rows of glass vials – fragrances and scented salts, she guessed – bars of soap and a stack of fluffy white towels. When she took her bath at home, it was a rather complicated process of heating up metal pots and buckets of water to fill in the dolly-tub. However there were no buckets she could use for that and Belle wasn't sure she was strong enough for the task.
Rumpelstiltskin said the castle could provide any of her needs, but what should she do to make it work? Just ask? Feeling rather silly to be talking to an inanimate object – the idea of a castle having a conscience too unnerving – Belle cleared her throat and asked for the tub to be filled in. Her voice came out weak and unsure after not speaking for over a day; nevertheless the tub immediately filled up with water at her request.
She tested the water with her fingers and pulled her hand away quickly, almost burning herself. Apparently, she had to be more specific in her commands, for the castle made the water boiling hot. It took her several attempts to get the temperature right and she felt slightly proud when she finally succeeded.
Belle uncorked a few vials of fragrant bath perfumes, picked the aroma she liked, shook a few drops of rose-scented fluid into the water and climbed into the tub. It was so big her toes did not reach the far end of it.
She leaned back and closed her eyes, trying to put all the worries out of her head and enjoy the feel of the warm water enveloping her body and relaxing her muscles.