Chapter Text
Belle had always known she was odd. Even living in a castle that inhabited seven feisty dwarves, a wolf-girl, a talking cricket, and a shepherd turned prince, she was still the strange one. She wasn’t entirely sure why she never felt normal, even in this place that was so abnormal. Everyone was perfectly nice and friendly, but she was still the outsider. Queen Snow White and King James had been welcoming to anyone; however it is hard to compete with a close circle of friends who fought alongside of them in war. She didn’t need to be chummy with the queen, she was quite used to having books being her only friends. She much preferred the library to a ballroom any way. And no one could say she wasn’t good at her job. The castle’s library had never been more organized before she became the librarian.
Still, sometimes a well read page could not reach that bit of loneliness she felt sometimes. Her whole life no one had really understood her. She couldn’t help but fear perhaps no one ever would.
So she was where she could always be found when Red came charging into the library like she had an angry mob on her heels. Belle nearly dropped the stack of books she was carrying when the door burst open. It was the bright red cloak that indentified the intruder for her. “Red, you startled me!”
She had befriended Red soon after she’d begun working at the castle. They’d both shared the experience of being the odd one out, though Red had found a great circle of friends to connect with. Red either didn’t hear her or had no desire to apologize for the scare. The words bubbled out of her in a rush. “Did you hear?” she said but didn’t wait for an answer, “The Dark One has been captured!”
Belle set the books on the table before she dropped them again. “What?” the word came out in a gasp.
“James and Cinderella did it,” Red said before launching into the whole tale. Apparently the maid turned princess hadn’t been given the chance to go to Prince Thomas’s ball by a kind fairy godmother, but had made a deal with the Dark One himself. It turned out the price was her first born child. Thomas and James had hatched the idea to imprison the sorcerer once and for all. But they forgot about the price of such magic and now poor Thomas was missing.
“I do hope Cinderella will be all right,” Belle said at the conclusion of the tale, “Does the king have any ideas as to what happened to Thomas?”
“Just that the Dark One probably spirited him away somewhere.”
“That would imply that he knew it was a trap,” Belle pointed out.
Red blinked at her and then shook her head. “That’s impossible, I mean, why would he willingly walk into a trap?”
That was a good point, but Belle still found it odd. “What have they done with him?”
“Oh, well the dwarves built a prison underneath the castle,” Red said, “There’s fairy dust down there so it counteracts his magic. He can’t leave.”
Red seemed so excited by that idea, but all Belle could think of was what a prison like that would be. A giant hole in the earth, far away from sunlight, fresh air, or anything natural. She couldn’t imagine a worse place to languish for the rest of her days. Even being trapped in a tower would be better because at least there would be a view.
It was silly to feel sympathy for the Dark One. She had heard all about his exploits, his deals, but had never met him personally. There was a time when she thought she might. The ogres were practically knocking on her father’s door, close to taking out their neighbor, Avonlea. Her father was seriously considering asking the Dark One for aid. What saved them was the king’s forces who finally arrived to defend the kingdom’s most lucrative merchant town.
But that was four years ago back when she thought the only life she would ever have would be some nobleman’s wife. She supposed some would see her life now as a step down, but she adored her job as a librarian and was grateful for the freedom to make her own choices. In some ways she could sympathize with the Dark One. She had felt the iron walls of a cage once, a gilded cage of fine silks and lavish parties, not to mention the looming doom of a betrothal.
Really, she had no right to judge anyone in the whole ordeal. She had heard a great deal about the Dark One, though how much of that was true she didn’t know. However, she trusted King James and Queen Snow White, they would not have imprisoned him if he wasn’t guilty of some wrong.
But Belle couldn’t help but think about the sorcerer who languished in a cell several stories beneath her feet. The fact that it was the talk of the castle made it difficult for her to forget that fact. The guards were all discussing how to contain such a beast (a word that seemed rather harsh to Belle), the maids giggled over the more lascivious tales of the Dark One stealing virgins away to ravish (not that any of them ever had to worry about that). Belle preferred the company of the dwarfs. Perhaps they weren’t big readers, but they were cordial, polite, and each had such vibrant personalities.
That night she took her spot by the seven dwarfs, right next to Grumpy who would never admit he had a soft spot for her. She rather liked the taciturn dwarf. He’d told her his story about his love for a sweet, clumsy fairy who he had given up so he wouldn’t ruin her dream of being a fairy godmother. Belle had always been a bit of a romantic, probably because she had never had romance in her life.
“Hello, Grumpy,” she said with a smile. He only gave her a grunt in reply. Normally he would at least say “Hey sister,” in that grouchy way of his. “What’s wrong?”
“He’s in a bad mood today,” Happy said before taking a sip of his ale.
“He’s always…” Sneezy let out a loud “ACHOO!” and then continued, “…like that.”
“No, not really,” Belle said. Oh he was always Grumpy, it was in his name after all, but he was endearing in his cantankerous way. He was also fiercely loyal to his friends. “What’s wrong, Grumpy?”
“Nothing, sister, just irritated is all.”
“Why?”
“He’s in charge of guarding the dungeon,” Bashful said.
Belle crinkled her brow slightly. “I don’t understand, why would you do that? Isn’t there already a warden in charge of the prisons.”
“He’s too scared to do this one,” Doc said softly.
“Too scared of…” Belle stopped. She knew exactly what they were talking about now. “You have to guard the Dark One’s cell?”
“Yep, not many will do it, but he doesn’t scare me. I went to his castle once. He’s just a crazy monster.”
“You met him?” Belle asked, “When? How?”
“Why do you care so much?”
“I’m just curious,” she said, “I’ve heard so many stories about him, but yet I know very little on his person. I don’t even know his name.”
“Oh, that’s easy,” Sleepy said, “it’s Rum—.” Six pairs of hands shot up and clamped down on his mouth.
“Don’t say it, you moron!” Grumpy hissed at him. “if you say his name, he can hear it and he’ll know what we’re all saying. Even Dopey knows not to do that!”
Dopey only gave Grumpy a happy little grin.
“Why should it matter what he hears us say?” Belle asked, “Isn’t he locked away?”
“That cell may hold him and keep him from magic, but I still wouldn’t trust him.”
“No, of course not,” Belle agreed, staring into her mug. She could agree with that, but she couldn’t shake this intense curiosity about the man. Yes, man. Grumpy had called him a crazy monster, but she’d seen monsters. Ogres were monsters because they had no mind, no though process beyond eat, destroy, and kill. In order for someone to be crazy, they first had to have a mind that thought and reasoned like a man.
“Where is the Dark One at?” Belle asked before her mind could tell her mouth not to.
“Below the dungeons,” Grumpy said. He took a swallow of his mug and then set it down. “It’s a fitting cage for him, believe me there.”
A cage didn’t sound fitting for anyone in Belle’s opinion. She let the subject drop, but it never really left her mind. She went to bed that night thinking about the dark sorcerer. She lay in bed wondering if he lay awake as well. Did he have any comforts with him? Was he frightened? Belle shifted around in her bed, smoothing her pillow, straightening her blankets. She even lit a candle and tried reading from her book, but nothing worked.
Finally, Belle threw off the covers and climbed to her feet. She grabbed a silk robe she had been given by the warrior Mulan. She slid her feet into her slippers and took her candle. The castle was quiet except for the occasional guard roaming the halls. None of them stopped her. She was a frequent visitor to the library at night so no one suspected her.
She had never been to the dungeons before. In fact, she only knew where they were because she had seen one of the guards bringing the bucket of gruel from the kitchens one morning. The dungeons began at the bottom of the western tower, but she knew the Dark One wouldn’t be kept in there. Grumpy had said he was below the dungeons. How much further from the world could a man be?
The dungeons were mostly empty, just few prisoners who were mostly captured associates of the Evil Queen. It was late and they were asleep, but she still carefully tiptoed past their cells. The guards were all on duty, but most were napping too. This didn’t speak well of the warden or his choice of guards. However, she was grateful for the lazy soldiers as she could pick through the sleepy dungeons without fear of being seen. The real problem was finding the door that led to this secret place.
Belle kept her eyes peeled through the darkness to find this secret door, but she didn’t find it. Her foot did.
She tripped over the ring that was bolted to the door. Apparently the entrance was on the floor, which made sense now that she thought of it. She wished she’d thought of that before because now her toe was stinging. Slippers were not useful when hunting for the Dark One’s prison.
It took three tugs to finally lift the door away from the floor. The hinges groaned terrible and Belle looked around to make sure no one was coming. She didn’t waste much time, just hurried into the dark staircase. There were torches along the walls, but they were dim and sputtering. She remembered when she was little and she’d snuck into the cleric’s sanctuary one night just to see what all the fuss was about. The shadows and flickering candles had turned the house of worship into a place of nightmares. She’d never felt safe in that place again.
She crept down the staircase with one hand brushing up against the wall. She’d take a step and consider turning back. Another step and she’d force herself to be brave. She wasn’t entirely sure why she was going down this frightening staircase. She could feel the air was damp down here and cold. Gooseflesh crawled up her legs and arms. Did he feel the cold and dankness of this place? Could he possibly be comfortable in such darkness?
The corridor was sloped, bringing her slowly deeper below ground. She wondered how far this place would go, perhaps to the Underworld itself. It wouldn’t surprise her. She remembered a story her nurse had told her of a god of the Underworld carrying down a beautiful goddess to be his queen. Later, when she was older, she had wondered over the fate of the goddess. Had she grown to love her dark husband? Had she withered away in his lonely world? Now Belle sympathized with the goddess, but even she couldn’t turn away from the fearsome darkness waiting for her.
The corridor evened out, but Belle could see a slight curve up ahead. She knew she was getting closer. She could feel something building up inside her chest. Her heart was hammering against her ribs like a wild stallion pounding against a stable wall. Was it fear? She wasn’t sure, there was not shiver going up and down her spine, no knot in the pit of her stomach. It was more like a gentle flutter in her belly. No, this wasn’t fear, this was something closer to anticipation. Maybe even excitement.
Something clamped onto her shoulder, earning a shriek from Belle as she whirled around to face the intruder. It was one of the guards, somewhat blurry eyed but awake enough to know she did not belong in this corridor.
“My lady, what are you doing here?”
Belle put one hand to her racing heart. There really was no excuse she could give that would set this all to right. She didn’t even really know the answer herself. Why had she come here? What had brought her to this passageway to darkness and doom? She had never been the type of person to gawk at another’s misfortune. Surely she hadn’t come her just to look at the Dark One trapped in his cage. Then why?
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said, “It’s too dangerous.”
“I thought the Dark One was contained and could not do magic,” Belle said. How dangerous could the man be when stripped of both freedom and power?
“He is, but he is not to be trusted. Their majesties will not allow him any visitors to protect them. No one is entirely sure of what he is capable of.”
Belle could certainly believe that last part. Everything she knew about the Dark One said he could do just about anything. Maybe that was why she was here. She wanted to know more about him, but not from the pages of a book. She wanted to see for herself if he was really the most fearsome being in the land.
“You have to leave now, miss.”
Belle nodded. She certainly couldn’t go visit the Dark One now that she was caught. What was worse, she knew what it would look to him just as it did to this guard. She didn’t want to be some spectator, laughing at someone else’s pain, or a thrill seeker wanting to tell the world that she’d seen the Dark One and lived to tell the tale. She needed to have a reason to be there beyond her obviously insane heart telling her to go.
She left the freezing, dark corridor and slowly made her way back to her room. She returned to her bed with her mind troubled and a strange ache inside. This was something she was supposed to do, but she couldn’t see how to get there.
Belle tried to push the whole incident out of her mind, but it was no use. She found herself scouring the books in the library for any mention of the Dark One. There were plenty of stories of his dastardly deals. There were legends too of how he’d thwarted kings, turned peasants into pigs, raped princesses, and drank the blood of virgins in a golden chalice. Each story was more gruesome than the next. Naturally, Belle couldn’t believe a word of them. Surely if all of this was true, no one would dare deal with him. It seemed there was only way to get the truth and that was to go to the Dark One himself.
But how to do that? She wasn’t a guard nor did she have an pressing business with him. She certainly couldn’t go down and say she was just wanting to chat. He would never believe her. So she continued with her job, all the while wondering what the Dark One was doing below her feet.
It was at dinner when she got her answer. The castle had a grand servant’s hall for everyone to relax and enjoy their evening meal. It was supposed to be only for the servants and staff, but more than once the royal couple had joined their friends here or they had invited servants to join them for dinner. No one was shy to talk or enjoy themselves in this castle.
Granny regaled the group about some of her tales as a young wolf, careful to stick to the more humorous stories. They all took turns sharing their adventures, including Belle. She’d had more than one amusing tale she had experienced after she’d left her childhood home.
Belle went to get another round of ale for the group. There were three soldiers standing by the bar, all with tankards full of liquor. “I’m not going back there,” one said just as Belle reached the bar.
“Someone has to.”
“Not me. I’m not going down there again. He’s insane.”
Belle stood there with her purpose forgotten. She had an inkling as to who they were talking about. Nothing else mattered then.
“We have orders to keep him comfortable.”
“Don’t see why,” the guard said, “It’s not like he’ll die of natural causes. I hear he’s demon spat out of hell, that drinks blood and only eats raw human flesh.”
“I haven’t seen him eat the slop we give him. It wouldn’t surprise me.”
“So you don’t mind going down there?”
“Of course I do, but he can’t hurt us, not in that cage. He just drives me mad with his antics. He spouts and raves all night long. He’s always trying to find out my name or anyone else’s.”
“I’ve heard him sing rambling songs and noises. It gives me a headache.”
“I think he does it on purpose, wants to drive us all mad like him.”
Belle blinked at their words and almost asked them to say more, but they were already leaving. There was now doubt that the person they spoke of was the Dark One. She wasn’t so certain about him drinking blood or eating human flesh, but she supposed he could be driving his guards a bit mad.
She only listened to her companions with half an ear for the rest of the evening. She kept thinking about the guards said, how the Dark One was taunting them, toying with them on purpose. She supposed he had little else to do in that prison down there, no sunlight or warmth, and little human contact.
Could that be why he was acting so crazed? Could he simply be bored?
Belle smiled and chose not to retire to her rooms just yet. Instead she went straight to the library. It was lovely, two story room full of shelves and shelves of books. King George had been an avid collector in his youth, though he had never read them, preferring to collect them for value. Sadly, many were sold when the kingdom fell on hard times. It was Belle’s dream to restore this place to it’s former glory. She had several contacts with merchants and traders to find volumes for the collection.
At the moment, she left her new books on the desk to sorted out tomorrow. She considered many options, but knew she would have to wait to pick a more suitable book later. For now, she chose one of her favorites and hoped it wouldn’t be met with a sneer.
She had to wait again until the castle was still and silent as the moonlight. The guards were sleeping once again, but she didn’t dally. She kept the book tucked to her side as she tiptoed into the darkness. A few torches gave some light in the shadows, but not enough to keep the gloom at bay. Belle ignored the cold, pressing further until the passage evened out again and she could see the last torches flickering ahead of her.
The firelight revealed a series of strange bars, almost like stalactites growing out of the cave. It was worse than a cage. The prison was the mouth of some terrifying monster, its jaws sealing its prey inside until the inevitable swallow that would lead to death. Belle’s breath was caught in her throat, her mouth bereft of any moisture. He was in there. Somewhere in that darkness.
“H-hello?” she croaked out in barely more than a whisper. “hello?”
There was no response, just her voice echoing off of the walls. Belle inched her way closer until she stood just before the bars. She peered through the space. There was nothing but darkness before her.
In the blink of an eye, someone pounced out of the shadows and sprang to the bars. Belle let out a shriek. She tripped over the hem of her robe and fell on her backside on the stone floor. Her heart was still pounding when she hears him giggle. “Brave little thing to dare gawk at the Dark One.”
Belle climbed to her feet then stomped back to stand before him. “Have you no manners at all?” she asked.
“I’m not known for my courtesies.” Now that she was nearly nose to nose with him she could see he wasn’t as fearsome a beast as she was led to believe. In fact, he looked like a man. An odd man with green-gold skin that sparkled in the torchlight, unkempt brown hair that needed a good brushing, reptilian like eyes that were larger than most, but not outlandishly so. His fingers curled around the bars showing black nails almost the size of claws. Still, despite his abnormalities, he had all of the same parts as a man—at least as much as she could see. She blushed as she thought of those silly maids again.
“Are you finished?” he asked her.
“What?”
“Have you gotten your look in, dearie? I may have all day, but I’d rather spend it plotting than being stared at by your like.”
Belle bit her lip. “I apologize for staring.”
“Apology not accepted, now you can go.” He pulled away from the bars, ready to slip back into his dark prison.
“No, wait!” she called out for him. He stopped, spun on his heel and returned to the meager light.
“I didn’t come here to stare at you,” Belle said.
“Then what did you come here for? A deal? I can’t offer you much in this place.”
“No, I’m quite happy with my life,” she told him, “I just thought you might be lonely and in need of some distraction.”
“Distraction?” he said, his tone turning more teasing, “Are the knights here dull and you need to Dark One to make you wet between the legs?”
Belle gaped at him again, hot fury racing through her blood. “How dare you!” she shouted at him, “You are a despicable man!”
“I’m not a man, dearie.”
“Really? Because no beast I know would ever insinuate such to a lady,” she told him, “Especially one who only wanted to help you from going insane in this horrid place!”
“A lady?” he questioned, “Where are you from?”
“Avonlea, not that it matters to you.”
“Sir Maurice’s province,” he said, “I remember the ogres were nearly at your door once. I kept expecting a call, but none came.”
“The king’s army saved us,” Belle admitted, “My father was about to send you a message before the tide turned in our favor.”
“Lucky for you. So why is Sir Maurice’s daughter traipsing around Snow White’s castle in the middle of the night?”
“I’m the king and queen’s librarian,” Belle told him.
“A librarian? Why the gods would you do that? Shouldn’t you be married to some boorish lord, popping out his sons, and planning his parties while he whores around with the serving girls?”
Belle gave him a grin. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
He let out an amused hum and wrapped his hands around the bars to pull himself even closer. “I just might,” he admitted.
“Well I’m not telling you. You’ve hardly earned it with your behavior tonight.”
“Would an apology suit you?”
“That is a start, but I hardly know you enough to tell you my story.”
The Dark One glowered at her. “That’s not very nice of you, dearie, since I’ll never see you again anyways.”
“Whose to say you won’t?” Belle said, “I’ll have to return for this anyways.” She held up the book for him to see.
He studied the tome in her hand for a long moment. “What is that?”
“A book.”
“I know what it is, why do you have it?”
“I brought it for you?”
“Why?” he asked.
“Must you sound so suspicious? It’s not poisoned. It’s for you to read and enjoy.”
“You’re giving me a book?”
“Just to borrow,” Belle told him, “I thought you might be bored in this place.”
“Not really, I’m too busy planning my revenge to be bored.”
“So I should just take this back upstairs?” she asked, pulling it back to her side.
“Well I’d hate for you to come all of this way for nothing,” he said and then reached through the bars towards her hand. Belle pulled the book away just as his fingertips touched the leather. He let out a growl that made her smile. So she’d been right, he was bored.
“I’ll give this to you after you answer my question,” Belle said.
“I knew you wanted a deal!” he crowed like he’d won a prize, but he almost sounded outraged. Strange. “Ask your question, dearie.”
“What’s your name?”
He stared at her again, all of the anger out of his eyes. “What?”
“Everyone calls you the Dark One, but you must have a name,” she said, “I want to know it.”
“Names have power, dearie,” he told her.
“I highly doubt knowing your name is going to cause you any harm, but it will give you the book.”
He let out a grunt, his large eyes flickering up and down her in a careful look. “Rumplestiltskin,” he said, trailing the R a bit.
“Goodness,” Belle said, “What a long name for one so fearsome. I’m Belle, by the way.”
“Belle,” he said, “What a short name for one so cheeky.”
She laughed and then held up the book. “For you.”
Hs hand eagerly snatched up her offering, pulling to back into the darkness with him. He scanned the cover, flipping through the pages as he scanned the contents. “This is what you brought me?”
“You’re going to picky over this?” she said, affronted, “It’s one of my favorites.”
He let out a snort. “Clearly you have led a dull life. This bit of fantastical drivel is the sort of thing princesses trapped in towers would read.”
“Well, thank you for calling me a princess,” Belle said with a grin, “But my mother would read that book to me when I was a child. I’ve loved it ever since.”
“I’ll have to tell your mother she needs better taste.”
“I’m afraid she died many years ago.”
“Well, that makes things more challenging,” he admitted. She couldn’t help but let out a little laugh when he giggled.
“Do give it chance,” Belle urged him, “You may enjoy it.”
“I doubt it.”
“I’ll try another one next time,” Belle said. She glanced down the dark corridor behind her. “I must go. When should I return for the book.”
“Tomorrow night.”
“Tomorrow?” she asked.
“Well I hardly have anything else to do,” he reminded her, “I might as well read. Even this trash will be more entertaining than counting the cracks in the wall again.”
“I should say so,” Belle replied, “Then I’ll see you tomorrow, Rumplestiltskin.”
“I’ll try to stay up for you,” he said then waved her off. He gave her his back, but not before she saw him trace the engravings on the worn leather like they were made of precious stones.
Belle grinned to herself as she turned away. She was certain he’d be eager for her return, if only so he could have someone to talk to. She didn’t sleep at all that night, spending it all counting the minutes until sunset.