Belle was in the middle of cleaning the Great Hall. It had been a calm day and Belle was humming to herself while Rumplestiltskin spun at his wheel. But of course, calm days rarely lasted long in the Dark Castle. Suddenly out of nowhere a doorway with nothing on either side, appeared next to the long table Belle gasped as out stepped two people.
The man was tall, probably around 6 feet, with wild blue eyes and dark hair. He wore a long leather coat with black breeches and tall boots, a brown leather waistcoat, and a crimson shirt and cravat. Over his shoulder was a large leather satchel.
The woman was nearly a foot shorter than him she had long light blond hair, steely grey eyes, and pale skin. She wore a short long sleeved, rust-colored jacket over, a white blouse and brown waistcoat and belt which held a dagger and a wooden pipe. Her skirt was light brown and fell to just above her knees over brown leggings and matching tall boots.
Ignoring Belle, the woman strode straight up to Rumple who had come to stand behind Belle and wacked him on the arm.
"NEXT time you send us on a trip you might mention that the object you are asking for was guarded by a BLOODY Cerberus you irritating imp!" Belle's eyes widened. Of course, she wasn't always what you might call respectful to Rumplestiltskin but this woman was downright brash. Belle waited with baited breath to see Rumple's reaction only for him to giggle.
"I'm sure it was nothing you couldn't handle Pip." The woman scoffed.
"Of course, it wasn't but fair warning would be appreciated."
"Ah she's just annoyed one of the heads drooled all over her jacket," snickered the tall man from behind who had now placed a large top hat on his head. "Although one would think you really would know better than to antagonize her."
Rumple snorted.
"I thought that was how you got her to marry you." The dark haired man placed a hand to his chest in mock offense.
"You say that as if my devilishly handsome looks played no part."
"And the HER in question is right here so if you two don't want to be taking a VERY long nap I suggest you shut it and that Rum introduce us to this lovely young lady." The woman's grey gaze softened and swapped to Belle, who was still puzzling over the exchange.
"This is Belle my new maid," answered Rumplestiltskin. "Belle this is the Piper and Jefferson."
"A pleasure to meet you Belle, a lovely lady with a fitting name," said the Jefferson, bounding forward and dramatically kissing her hand. Belle giggled at his antics and out of the corner of her eye saw Rumple staring daggers at the man. She then glanced at Piper who appeared amused rather than annoyed at her husband's flirtatious actions.
"Don't mind Hattie he always makes a fool of himself in front of pretty women," scoffed Piper.
"You included of course," snarked Rumple towards Piper.
"But of course." the blond replied with a smirk.
"Well, it's lovely to meet you both." said Belle with a smile.
"If you're quite done being a nuisance could you hand over the object I requested you obtain?"
"Oh come now surely after all our hard work the least you could do is invite us for tea?" asked Jefferson.
"That sounds like a lovely idea, I was had some going in the pot anyway," interjected Belle cheerfully before Rumple could object. It was rare they ever got visitors to the castle who seemed to be more than just desperate souls wanting to make a deal and be done.
"Why thank you Belle!" said Jefferson taking a seat in one of the high-backed chairs.
"Yes, that would be greatly appreciated." answered Piper with an upward twist of her lips as she perched on the table.
"Fine! If it will get you out of here sooner," grumbled Rumple although Belle noticed there wasn't any real annoyance in his tone. He waved his hand and summoned the tea pot to the set and Belle moved to pour it passing the chipped one to Rumple once she had prepared it with milk and sugar.
Their fingers brushed as she handed him the cup and she couldn't help but think that his gaze softened slightly as their eyes met.
"Thank you." he said quietly.
"How do you take yours?" she asked their guests.
"Black as my soul," quipped Piper.
"A twist of lemon with a side of cream and madness," answered Jefferson and Belle giggled. If she had any doubts about these two being friends with Rumple their morbid senses of humor confirmed it.
"Well, I'm afraid we're all out of madness today." she answered with false sadness.
"I've got a cup of insanity you can add if you'd like," snorted Rumplestiltskin.
"Nah, even I have limits," chuckled Jefferson. Once Belle finished handing out the tea she picked up her own cup and turned to leave.
"I'll let you get on with your business."
"If we can ever get around to it with this lunatic," muttered Rumplestiltkin.
"Be nice," she hissed playfully as she passed him and he raised an eyebrow in reply.
OUAT
Rumplestiltskin watched Belle leave somewhat regretfully. Truth be told he actually didn't mind the Hatter and Pip they were good business partners and the closest thing besides Belle that he could call friends.
Both had come to him for assistance but unlike most desperate souls rather than swiftly signing away anything to get what they wanted, they had ensured long term benefits by offering their unique service's a business partners.
The long term acquaintance meant that they had developed what he was willing to admit at least was something of a comradery.
"Sooo when did you acquire that lovely addition to your collection?" asked Jefferson.
"And please tell me the girl isn't here because she didn't read the fine print on one your deals." added Pip. A dealmaker in her own right she held a specific distaste for those who didn't both to pay any attention to the terms of the contracts made.
"So did you get the Amulet of Athena?" asked Rumplestiltskin ignoring both questions and Jefferson pulled a large golden amulet set with red jewels.
"My darling wife lulled it to sleep and I grabbed." Rumple examined the amulet not because he doubted its worth. Pip and Jefferson were very reliable in providing the genuine article when it came to rare objects BUT to distract from the original line of questioning. Pip was not fooled.
"You are evading Rum. That amulet is nowhere near as interesting as you are pretending. Now answer the question."
"I made a deal with Belle to be my caretaker some months ago in exchange for stopping the ogres from destroying her kingdom. She knew what she was getting into and agreed anyway." He added defensively.
"She certainly sounds like she's got spunk." said Jefferson with a sip of his tea. "No wonder you like her."
"I DO not LIKE her!" snapped Rumple
"And I'm a frumious bandersnatch." scoffed Pip with wicked grin and that Rumple didn't at all like. "In fact, I think I'm going to go get to know her a little better!" she hopped of the table and made for the kitchen
"Don't you dare!" began Rumple only to be cut off by a laugh.
"You should know better than to try and forbid Alice from doing things," said Jefferson reverting to his wife's real name. Only a select few knew the Piper's original name as her title had long outstripped her person and she had taken to only giving it to those she trusted. But as Rumplestiltskin was, somewhat shockingly, included in the number with that knowledge he was unsurprised to hear Jefferson us Pip's true name.
"One can always hope it might do some good," muttered Rumple.
"I'm not wrong though you do like Belle," added Jefferson in an annoyingly teasing tone.
"Are you sure you haven't eaten any Wonderlandian mushrooms lately because you are seeing things that aren't there," snarled Rumple taking a sip from his tea cup.
"Liar liar overtight leather pants on fire Rumple." snickered the Hatter and Rumple raised his hand summoning purple crackling magic.
"I can and will turn you into a toad if you don't shut up Hatter." Unfortunately, the action did little to intimidate the annoying portal jumper.
"And then you'd have Alice on your tail and I suspect darling Belle too." Rumple growled but lowered his hand knowing the man was right probably in more than one way. Jefferson threw his hands in the air.
"Oh come off it! You practically tried to murder me with a look when I flirted with her despite knowing I am perfectly happily married and nowhere near idiotic enough to cheat on my wife let alone with the maid of the Dark One."
"I admit nothing." Jefferson rolled his eyes.
"You really are the most stubborn ass of a sorcerer I've ever met Rumple and that includes Harry bloody Dresden."
OUAT
Belle was drinking her tea in the kitchen when she heard footsteps and turned to see Piper in the door. The name kept ring a bell in her head and she was trying to sort out why.
"Hello, may I join you?" the blond asked.
"Of course," said Belle with a smile. Piper took a seat and surveyed Belle in an appraising way. Wait. Rumple hadn't said Piper. He'd said THE Piper.
"Pardon me, but Rumple introduced you as the Piper. You wouldn't happen to be..."
"THE Pied Piper?" finished the blond with a quirk of her lips. "At your service." Belle blinked.
"Oh." The Pied Piper was fairly notorious. Much like with Rumplestiltskin she was the person nannies warned children would spirit them off it they were bad. Belle wasn't sure how much of that was true or not. The woman next to her seemed stern but pleasant enough.
"Now you understand my usefulness to Rum." the woman said and Belle noted the affectionate nickname for Rumplestiltskin.
"So you really can charm people with your music?" asked Belle curious. The Piper nodded.
"Oh yes and much more. On a basic level my music influences the mind meaning that depending on the tune I play I can twist the person or creature to my purposes. Whatever those may be." There was a matter-of-fact way about how she delivered the words. No sense of sympathy or apology. But it also didn't seem like a threat.
"How fascinatingly ominous. Although I suppose that could be put to many uses Rumplestiltskin would appreciate." Answered Belle and the Piper laughed.
"Now that IS a polite way of putting it."
"What would you like me to call you?" asked Belle not wanting to be rude and just call her by her title.
"Piper will do for now. Rum is the only one who gets away with calling me Pip. Although, I suppose as a being of nearly infinite power he can get away with nearly anything."
"What does Jefferson do? That was a portal you stepped through, right?" Belle had read about such things though never encountered them.
"Yes, Hattie's a portal jumper. Which means when Rum wants something from another realm its Jefferson and his hat that he calls on."
"How amazing to be able to travel to entirely different realms!" exclaimed Belle. Piper chuckled.
"Depends on the realm, Westeros in winter is utterly miserable, but in general yes it's interesting. I'm sure Hattie would be happy to share some of his tales with you."
The idea of hearing tales from another land thrilled Belle. Especially given Piper and Jefferson seemed a bit more open than Rumple.
"Now, I've told you a bit about us. What about you? Rum said you made a deal with him and that you understood the terms. A surprisingly rare thing believe it or not." Piper gave Belle a searching look as if trying to get the measure of her.
"Yes, I perfectly understood what I was committing to. And a life and his servant for the sake of an entire kingdom seemed an entirely reasonable price for how much magic it must have taken for him to stop the ogres." answered Belle firmly.
"You took into account the amount of magic in comparison to the cost?" asked Piper raising a blond eyebrow. Belle shrugged.
"More so in retrospect as I've learnt a bit more about magic during my time here but it seems obvious that fate of a kingdom could not be bought for a small price."
"Paid attention to the contract AND understands how magical deals work? You really are a rarity no wonder Rum wanted you." said Piper and Belle remembered what Rumple had told her about sensible and desperate rarely going hand in hand.
"Well, I'm not entirely sure that's the exact reason but he seems to appreciate it," admitted Belle.
"Of course, Rum likes anything that stands out from the crowd. Much like he does," observed Piper. "But what do you think of him? I see he hasn't treated you too terribly," she gestured to Belle's simple and practical but still fairly nice lilac dress.
"No, he's a beast at times. But rarely to me," said Belle quietly. Piper nodded.
"Rum is a...complicated individual if ever there was one. Something I'm sure you'll come to appreciate soon."
"I think I'm already starting to." answered Belle and the grey-eyed woman nodded. "Good. He needs someone else who sees him as more than the Dark One. Speaking as one who's known him for quite a while I'll offer you a sliver of advice free of charge." the last words were said with a slightly crooked smile.
"Oh?" asked Belle as they both stood.
"Be patient." The words confused Belle slightly for they seemed to carry an unknown weight to them. At face value of course they could simply mean to be patient with Rumple and his many mood swings but Belle couldn't help but think by the glint in the Piper's grey eyes that there was more to it than that.
"I'll keep that in mind." Belle told her eliciting a small smile.
"Excellent. Well, I should probably go back upstairs to check Hattie hasn't annoyed Rum into turning him into something."
"Is that likely?" asked Belle following the woman back up to the Great Hall.
"Depends on the day but I'd say fairly." They paused at the door and could hear raised voices.
"Keep annoying me Hatter and I'll turn you into part of my tea set!" came Rumple.
"I'm only saying! Oh!"
There was a yelp and they walked in to find Jefferson buried waist deep in the carpet and Rumple triumphantly plucking a tea cup, the chipped tea cup in fact, out of his hand.
"Now, now Rum no need to get violent I'd rather not explain to Gracie that her father didn't come home because he foolishly annoyed a rather irascible sorcerer."
"I'm not irascible!" snapped Rumple at the same time as Jefferson said,
"Foolish?!"
"You have to admit you can be a bit touchy." said Belle coming to stand by Rumple. "Surely Jefferson's offense isn't crockery inducing worthy."
"E tu Belle?" grumbled Rumple.
"Please?" Belle asked placing a hand on his arm. Rumplestiltskin gave an exasperated sigh before waving his hand and Jefferson was once again standing on the carpet.
"Well, that was more effective than what I was going to suggest," said Piper giving Belle and Rumplestiltskin a strange look.
"Yes indeed. It seems I am in your debt Belle and that you've finally met your match Rumple smirked Jefferson.
"Get out of here before I change my mind!" Rumple said sharply and Jefferson held up his hands in surrender.
"Hopefully we'll meet again soon," Piper told Belle.
"Ah before you go Piper," Rumple twirled his hand and a medium sized box was in his hand.
"Another item you suddenly found you don't need and think Grace would appreciate?" the blond said with a slight smile.
"Well, there's no use keeping things I won't use around here." said Rumple clearly attempting to appear blasé.
"Tell that to half the objects I have to dust thank you very much," snarked Belle.
"Well, I'm sure Grace will be very grateful," said Jefferson with a smile that was slightly softer than the sillier one he had been wearing during most of his time there.
"Away with you both!" said Rumple with a wave of his hand and both figures were surrounded by crimson smoke.
Author's Note: And we meet my OC the Pied Piper also known as Alice in Wonderland. (No she is not the same Alice as Tilly in season seven or Once Upon a time in Wonderland's Alice.) I sort of modelled her on Amanda Seygfried for looks. PLEASE let me know what you think of Piper since she's my first OUAT OC. No spoilers but both she and Jefferson are going to become incredibly integral to Rumple and Belle's story at certain parts of the series especially Piper (the original Rumbelle shippers:). Piper may also end up with her own Jefferson x OC spinoff series that could would at some points overlap with my Rumbelle series including expanding their relationship to Rumple and possibly explanations to some things hinted at in this series. No certainties yet and it may very possibly depend on the feedback I get on her in this story as it goes on. Hope you all also liked the literary references in this chapter. Anyway if you like the story please leave a note below in the comments!
