Chapter Text
That night Belle had a very difficult time sleeping, something that wasn’t foreign to her, but this time the reasons were twofold. First, every time she closed her eyes she saw either the ogres or the blob creatures. Second, she was terrified about this ridiculous errand Rumple was sending her on. There was no way she could ever pass as his sister. They did not look anything alike. Rumple had assured her that if they questioned it at all she just had to plead adoption. Yet, these were powerful men and women-some magical folk. Wouldn’t they be able to tell if she was lying or not? And not to mention she would be lying to THE KING. Couldn’t she be locked away for such a crime?
Rumplestiltskin didn’t seem to think so. He seemed fairly confident in this whole thing as if it was the best plan he had ever concocted. Maybe it was. Then again he was the one who also had thought it was a good idea to lock his son in some sort of time prison to keep Bae safe. His intentions were good-in that case at least-but he really needed to set his priorities straight.
Rumplestiltskin needed to understand that this mission was the absolute most ridiculous thing to do. Yet, she knew she was still going to do it. She would do it for him because she cared for him and she cared for Baelfire. It probably wouldn’t work, but it was worth a shot. At least she wouldn’t be lying when she did call him a coward. In her heart she believed him to be brave, and she knew she would still try to alter his decision to go through with this and would most likely be unsuccessful. But having her go to the palace on his behalf was a very cowardly thing to do. Yet, if the King did seize Rumple and his son, what would she have left? Absolutely nothing.
All these weeks in the Dark Castle, all these weeks hoping she would heal and yet still not one memory had returned to her. It was hopeless, just like getting a good night’s rest. It didn’t help that every little sound or movement caused her to cringe, to recall what had happened earlier that day. But Rumplestiltskin had assured her over and over again: no one or nothing could get in the castle. So then why was he so terrified of the Blue Fairy or the King? If nothing could get in then that included those two as well didn’t it? She supposed he didn’t want to be locked up forever, but really nothing made sense because Rumple only seemed to tell her half of what was going, if that much.
Eventually, she did drift off, somehow managing to get a couple hours of sleep before Rumple had Lumiere woke her at the break of dawn to have her dressed and ready to go on this foolish chore.
“What will you be disguised as?” Belle asked Rumple as she wrapped a warm wool shawl around her shoulders, preparing herself for this outing.
“That, I haven’t decided!” Rumple replied with a squeal as if this was a joking matter. He took a sip of his tea as he sat and watched her carefully.
Belle rolled her eyes and slipped her shoes on. “Then how shall I know it’s you?”
“Oh you’ll know it’s me my dear, it will be quite obvious.”
It was so impossible to get a straight answer out of that man. “And what if I’m discovered as a fraud?”
“You let me worry about that.”
Of course that was his answer. She should have known. She flashed him a fleeting scolding look, reprimanding him for basically sending her into this blind without any clue of what to do except somehow to miraculously convince this Fairy to release him from whatever hold she has on him.
The little wheel clicked by the door turning to the color indicating she was going to the capitol, going to the Palace that housed the royals.
Belle walked down the couple of steps and reached out for the doorknob, but it was then she froze. Scenes flashed before her eyes. Horrifying scenes of ogres and the black blobs. All she could imagine when she stepped out that door was one of those monsters waiting to pounce, grabbing her and ripping her to little pieces and feasting on her flesh. It was the most gruesome thing she could imagine, but after seeing what happened to the people of Avonlea she couldn’t push the images from her mind.
“Belle?”
She could feel Rumple standing behind her now, feeling his breath on her shoulder as he was so close. It should have made her calm down, it should have made her feel safe, but all she could do was imagine she was on the verge of being attacked.
“Belle?” It was Rumple’s voice again and this time it was accompanied by a hand on her shoulder. She jumped then; flipping around defensively, ready attack before anything else could. But she could see now it was only Rumple.
Tears threatened to fall again, pooling near the corners of her eyes. She answered Rumple before he had time to ask what was wrong. “How can you be sure there’s no ogres out there?”
“Belle, I’ve explained this-I used my magic to scour the area. There’s no ogres within one hundred miles. The capitol is far from Avonlea, far from the battlefields. You aren’t in for any surprises this trip.” He paused his face showing he couldn’t promise something like that. “Any ogre surprises I mean…”
Belle was far from any type of mood to joke. “Alright, no ogres, I believe you, but what about the…” She stopped herself then, having almost spilled the beans about the dark blob creatures. She still hadn’t told him about those and she wasn’t sure it was a good idea to. Every time she really thought about them…like really thought about them that headache would return. He would probably think more about it than he should. He would worry more than he should. It was just headaches after all; any one could get them.
“What about the what?” He eyed her suspiciously leaning forward a little, scrutinizing her every move.
Thinking quickly on her toes she came up with an answer that was a legitimate concern. “What about the Evil Queen? What if I run into her?”
He went into deep thought then, as if he hadn’t considered the witch might be an issue. And to Belle, she may very well not be. After all it wasn’t like she had seen the woman before, yet whenever her name was mentioned it did seem like she was this impending threat. After his confession that the Queen wanted a relationship with Rumple-something that every time she thought about made Belle’s blood boil-she really didn’t understand why the woman was so dangerous. All Rumplestiltskin had to do was say no. She couldn’t force him to be with her.
“Here.” Rumple held up his hand and his flesh flashed gold before returning to normal as a ring magically appeared between his thumb and forefinger. “Give me your hand.”
Belle watched him carefully, before obeying and holding out her left hand. When he took it, she could feel her heart leap and it began to beat even faster as he slipped the little ring on her index finger. She held it out to examine it. It was a small gold ring with a bright red round jewel at the end of it that sparkled even in the tiny bit of candlelight. It fit her hand absolutely perfectly as if it was always meant to be there.
Her eyes sparkled as they looked back up to meet his, but she was unsure about what all this meant. Her heart so wanted it to mean something special, something romantic, but her head told her not to wish for such impossible things.
“This will protect you from the Evil Queen among other things,” he explained.
Oh…it was for protection, nothing more. Her smile faltered a smidge as she felt a tinge of disappointment. Why did she even think it meant something more? She was so stupid. Over and over again she needed to remind herself that he would never want an ugly woman like her. He probably thought of her like a sister and that was why he came up with this plan. No. That was a stupid thought too. Why would he think of a maid as family? It was all for Bae, nothing more. Bae thought of her as family and that was enough reason for Rumple to keep her safe. He had explained that to her the night before and she needed to do well to remember it.
As if he sensed her disappointment, most likely because he saw it on her face or inferred from her quietness, Rumplestiltskin grabbed her hands and made her look back up at him.
“Hey, you can do this, don’t worry,” he assured her. “The ring will protect you-I personally will be there to protect you-and you will be able to convince that fairy scum to release me of my contract.”
She sighed. He couldn’t read her at all. That had not been what she was thinking of even though they were all valid points. He was however, holding her hands and she felt all tingly inside and a little uplifted. She didn’t want him to let go. Being this close to him had become very enjoyable to her and it felt as if he was showing her more and more affection with a little touch here or there. And there she was going again letting herself believe it wasn’t an act.
“Why do you hate the fairies so much?” she asked with genuine curiosity, but mainly as a distraction to try and stall him. It didn’t work.
Instantly he dropped her hands and his face soured. He backed away from her stepping back up the stairs to the main floor. “Hurry along now my dear, shan’t be wasting any more precious time.” He waved at her in a shooing motion, which infuriated her just a little bit. She wasn’t some stray he was trying to get rid of. Then again he could have just been teasing her. Or he could have just been trying to avoid going into detail about his past, avoiding telling her anything about him like always.
Well she could play his game. Grabbing the doorknob and turning it, she stepped one foot outside before turning around to address him one last time. “Perhaps you should be nicer to me Rumple. I am doing you a favor. After all you wouldn’t want me to tell the Blue Fairy the truth about your little plan now would you?” She flashed him a playful little smirk, waggled an eyebrow and then shut the door before he could have the last word.
For a brief moment she stood outside the door to the castle, which here in the capitol was just a door on the side of a brick building. She giggled. She found delight teasing him even if she wasn’t very good at it. Perhaps she should start doing it more often.
Composing herself, she decided to set off toward the palace to get this over with. But as she took her first step a piece of parchment appeared out of thin air, startling her as it floated down from above her, wide open with a large font so she could easily read it. “Leave the deals to me, dearie,” the large calligraphy read just before it hit the ground and burned away leaving no trace that it had ever been there in the first place.
Belle sighed heavily and rolled her eyes, looking to the sky as if she expected to see Rumple there. Yet, there was nothing but a few puffy clouds, the sun shining bright, and a couple of crows. They were cawing loudly as they flew overhead, a few of them landing on a nearby building and staring at her as if they were watching her.
“Oh he better not be disguised as a crow,” she said aloud with a huff. How could he protect her as a measly little crow? She guessed he could easily watch over her and see all around, but still…
Thinking of protection and disguise, Belle glanced down at the ring and then down at her clothes. He had given her a nicer dress to wear, one that screamed more wealth and less maid. It had a pretty pink linen skirt that fell just above her ankles with a cream linen shirt that had a ruffle around the neck. Over the shirt she wore a thick button down brocade vest, that matched many of the vests Rumplestiltskin wore when he was dressed as a wizard and not a man, but hers of course was much more feminine. The wool cream shawl wrapped around her helped protect her from the chill in the air, as there was a slight breeze in the city that day.
They were all very nice, but like everything else they meant nothing and Belle knew they didn’t suit her at all. She didn’t deserve to wear such gorgeous clothes. They were pretty things for pretty women and she was nothing of the sort.
The crow cawed loudly again pulling her from her thoughts. She huffed again and looked away, this time actually setting off on her mission, determined to get through this even though she knew it wasn’t going to work.
At least the little bit of excitement caused her to briefly forget about her fear of ogres and blob men, but as she made her way through the streets she began to find herself nervous once more. Every alley way she checked, every corner she peeked around fearing there was something hiding there waiting to get her. She took a deep breath and told herself to focus on something else-like trying to determine what Rumple had disguised himself as. Yes, that was a good decision and something she needed to know. Now if he had just told her, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but he had to make everything a game didn’t he? She had come to the conclusion that it was not a crow. She had not seen any since she left the castle and not one of those that were hanging around there followed her. He could have been some sort of bird though. It did make sense. He had magic and did fly. He had showed her that, once, and of course she had freaked out. But he had surprised her and she wasn’t in her right mind, what did he expect? Maybe if the time was ever right she could ask him to try and show her again.
When she came to the center of the city there was a large bronze statue and fountain right in the middle of a man with a beard on a horse. Belle had no idea who it could be, but she assumed it was either the current or a past king. Several pigeons perched on the statues head and a few on the cobblestone streets, cooing loudly as they scouted the ground for food. Could Rumple be a pigeon? No. If he wasn’t a crow then he wasn’t a pigeon. It was too simple for him. No, if he were a bird he would be something more sophisticated she was sure.
The town centre was hustling and bustling with people, most of them obscenely wealthier that the crowd she had encountered in Avonlea. Their brightly colored clothes made of lace and silks were nothing like she had ever seen before. Most of the men wore very fancy suits with either a tie or bow tie to match and some sort of hat a top their heads. The ladies wore hats too, adorned with bows, feathers, or small trinkets. Some women were dressed in more traditional clothing like Belle while others were in the modern wear with skirts that came above their knees and furs wrapped around their shoulders.
She didn’t understand that clothing very well, although she did recall wearing something similar in that dream she tried to forget, the one that made her blush every time she considered what her and Rumple were doing in one of his shops. It was causing her to also blush now as those images surfaced in her mind. Over and over again she needed to remind herself that it was only a dream, a dream she needed to forget.
A laugh from above caused her to forget about it and she glanced up to see a two manned metal flying contraption flap by with large wings. A man was driving and a woman held on to him from behind as he made the machine do a little swoop trick causing the woman to giggle uncontrollably like a little school girl with a crush.
She felt a pang in her heart. Her mind told her THAT could be Rumple, showing off and flirting with other women, but she desperately hoped not.
“Mreowww, meoooowwww.” Something brushed against the bottom of her legs caused her to startle.
It was just a kitty, purring and rubbing her ankles, looking at her to be petted or fed, she couldn’t be sure. Belle bent down and rubbed the grey cat on the head, the little thing purring even louder and rubbing back. “I really need to stop being so on edge,” she said a loud to herself and the kitty as if it could understand. Something occurred to Belle then and she narrowed her eyes at the cat who was so adamant about getting affection from her. “Rumple…is that you?”
The cat mewed again as if it was answering her, but then suddenly it squealed and darted off, faster than Belle could ever expect to chase it.
Straightening her back, Belle placed both hands on her hips. Well, no she supposed that wasn’t Rumple. Then what was? And what had scared off that cat? She turned around and instantly received her answer. Sitting right behind her was a little Dalmatian puppy. It stood on all fours and barked, as it’s long tail waggled back and forth happily.
Belle smirked and shook her head. “I should have known you would want to make an entrance,” she commented, knowing now this little puppy was her Rumplestiltskin. She adjusted the shawl on her shoulders and continued on down the streets. The dog followed obediently as if she was the master and had told him to come. “I’d like to know what you would have done if there hadn’t been a cat.”
The puppy barked twice. Belle rolled her eyes. Of course she couldn’t really understand what he was trying to say. “Couldn’t you at least pick something more useful? Or that sticks out a little less? I mean seriously Rumple, out of all the dogs, a Dalmation? I didn’t think you wanted to draw attention to us.”
And attention was just what they had drawn. As she scolded the dog, or Rumple perhaps, she didn’t notice the duo of dark blob men appear along side her along with a tall rounded black carriage accented with a beige door and trim. The top was adorned with intricate gingerbread and a single black curtain his the occupant inside.
“My my, what an adorable little dog.” A sickly sweet woman’s voice echoed from behind the red curtain of the carriage, calling Belle’s attention as she realized she was no longer alone. At first she only saw the carriage and not the creatures that were pulling it.
If she had been alone, she knew she would now be scolding Rumple for drawing attention, but she had to keep her mouth shut in front of this stranger of whom had yet to show her face.
“Too bad he makes company with such an ugly little bookworm.” The curtain moved aside then revealing a breathtakingly beautiful woman. She was dressed all in black with a silver necklace and embroidered cape to match the detailing on her carriage. Her hair was just as dark as her dress and her lips as red as an apple. A small hat with lace on the edge sat a top her head giving her a very polished and wealthy appearance. And for the first time without doubt Belle knew who this was. She did not even have to think or guess. It might have been her memory or it might have been just inference, but there was no mistaken. This was the Evil Queen.