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Chapter Text

Rumpelstiltskin had only started to pay attention to the girl the moment she deviated from the script. Until then, she had been the weakness of the fool who'd called for the Dark One and hadn't even the riches to pay for his help. A pretty thing, he supposed. But most importantly, the perfect piece to play in this room of men who automatically arranged themselves to shield her.

Of course he'd asked for her.

He was Rumpelstiltskin, and Rumpelstiltskin always asked for an impossible price.

Of course she had been supposed to faint at the offer, or at least tremble in fear as she hid herself behind that looming hulk of armor who'd called himself her promised.

But the little lady had done none of that. Instead she had come forward, bound herself to Rumpelstiltskin's service, and in that same breath she had almost made the Dark One look the fool. Because he had not expected to get her so easily, with no more an effort than a few words on his first visit. The father should have played up to the insult offered, refused the help his town so dearly needed and shouted that his daughter was not a sacrifice to be thrown at the likes of him. And the lady should have claimed that she'd rather bury a sword in her chest than go with him as nothing but a servant.

The honor of the nobles was such a sensitive creature. Let the blood run, hear the cries of the widows and the crunch of bones in the night. But keep their pride intact. Fools, the lot of them! Rumpelstiltskin had offered this same deal dozens of times, and dozens of times it had played out in the same manner. The Dark One was sent back empty-handed, hearing nothing but protests and insults before he left.

His answer had always been the same: grin at them, make a bow... and leave them to the ogres. Waited until word spread to the town outside the war room, to the grieving and the hungry, to the people terrified of the monsters beating down their thin defenses. Peasants cared about the pride of their betters in times of peace, but when they stood as fodder with nowhere to run?

Rumpelstiltskin knew that even the lowliest man took matters in his own hands when there was no hope. They broke into great castles. They made weapons out of thin air, and pointed them at those in power. Rebellion was in even the tamest of hearts, and all it took was the threat of horrible death, of their children suffering, to turn it onto action.

Foolish lords. Prideful lords. They deserved to feel the ire of the people they'd failed.

Rumpelstiltskin would have laughed when Maurice's hand was forced. When weeks or months later he was invited back, and oh so politely offered to take the girl.

The look on their faces when he demurred! It always thrilled him. No, no. Thank you, but no. Considered it better. Won't do after all, what's the use of a housekeeper when magic did the job so well? Oh, and good luck with your little war!

It would have been lovely.

He could always have gotten rid of the ogres in another year or two. He really couldn't abide their filth for long.

But the girl had accepted his deal. She had defied father and beloved (or not-so-beloved, as he'd find out later), stepped forward, and Rumpelstiltskin had had no choice but to walk away with her.

And even as he'd shoved her into a dark dungeon that night, he'd thought, still a little surprised at the turn of events, well, and what comes next? and when he hadn't found an answer, he'd laughed in sincere amusement for the first time in years.

It had been too long since he'd crossed ways with a true unknown; his sight skipped her, there was no further clue in his visions, and none of the threads he'd spun so diligently in the last years touched her. The girl was nothing, utterly useless in his quest, and yet - and here was her true worth, make no mistake - she had managed to catch him unawares.

In a world he'd already seen end, tumbling into the unexpected was more satisfying than any treasure. He never understood what had stopped her nightly weeping, and the small smiles that fleeted at him mystified him.

A mystery. A riddle. A gift for someone who had planned his life in this realm to the last second.

He would keep her, yes, and unlike the men in her old life, Rumpelstiltskin would never let her slip away.

The End
16/04/16

Chapter Text

"A full kitchen, a maid devoted to my service, and the Dark One is reduced to ham sandwiches." Rumpelstiltskin sighed, looking at the sad proof of another burned meal. "I knew I should have asked for the cook instead," he muttered.

Belle cringed - at the criticism, of course, but mainly at the thought of old Mrs. Potts as housekeeper of the Dark Castle. Likely, instead of inspecting a hastily put together dinner, Rumpelstiltskin would already have moved into another castle and left this one to the old steel-eyed lady.

In a contest between the prickly Dark One and the woman who'd strong-armed the kitchens into working order despite the war beating on their doors, Belle knew where her bets lay.

"What has you snickering, girl?" her master asked snidely, tossing his sandwich back onto his plate.

Belle started shaking her head, but at the mocking arched eyebrow he sported in response, she straightened and met his gaze without fear. "Just that you'd have gotten more than you dealt for, if you'd brought our cook instead."

He chuckled. "But didn't I make a deal I didn't understand anyway?" His eyes ran over her, and then he shook his head. "Here I am, stuck forever with the girl who can't fry an egg without setting fire to my kitchen-"

"That was once only!"

"-and forgets she left the stew in the fire because some silly story was too interesting to pay attention to her duties?"

Aware she was at fault, Belle pressed her lips together. Flicked her eyes away. "I..."

Rumpelstiltskin laughed again. "Oh, relax. It's not like I'll be setting fire to, er, my library in exchange."

"It is yours," Belle was quick to agree. Then, for good measure, added, "I'll make you the bread you like for breakfast. Even you have to admit my baking has improved."

"If you remember to turn the oven off," he responded.

Belle sighed. Because that had already happened as well. Several times. "I am sorry, Rumpelstiltskin. I'm trying to do better, I promise."

He had been opening his mouth, probably to continue the list of her failings as his servant, But her sincere apology managed what little else ever had. Rumpelstiltskin fell quiet, looking thoughtful. "You mean that, don't you?" he said, an inscrutable expression crossing his face before it twisted into a dismissive smile. "Well, then. Do better, dearie; I'll hold you to that."

Then he sighed. "Guess this will have to do in the meanwhile," he grumbled and, with a wave of his hand, a full course appeared on the table.

Belle wrinkled her nose. Magicked food left a lot to be desired.

Rumpelstiltskin snorted at her reaction. "Well, well. I was going to leave the sandwich to you, but if you're going to be picky-" a click of his fingers brought a chair to his right "-I guess you can have your share."

Belle opened her mouth to insist the sandwich would be enough, but Rumpelstiltskin smirked. The plate she'd brought from the kitchen disappeared. If she returned to the kitchen, the bread and ham would be already locked away.

It wasn't the first time her choices were to share a table with Rumpelstiltskin or go to bed hungry.

"If you don't want to eat alone, you could just ask, you know," she said testily as she took a seat.

Rumpelstiltskin acted as if he hadn't heard her.

But he still filled her plate first.

The End
25/11/16

Chapter Text

It started with thoughtless gestures. His new maid couldn't mean to be nice to the sorcerer that had stolen her; but she simply couldn't have known how starved for affection, or for simple civility, Rumpelstiltskin had grown over the centuries.

He almost jumped out of his skin the first time she wished him a good morning. She didn't notice, of course, as she was keeping her attention on not tipping the breakfast tray to the side.

She really was quite clumsy.

And she really was that thoughtless, to apply the same everyday courtesies in the Dark Castle as she had among her people.

The plan to set her on some onerous task like cleaning the whole of the main hall with the tiniest brush escaped Rumpelstiltskin's mind.

"Yes, yes," he grumbled around an unwelcome knot in his throat. "Just go back to your room and don't bother me."

Her glare expressed her opinion on the 'room' she'd been assigned, but that same evening, as he poked at the underdone potatoes, she stammered a genuine apology over burning her first attempt at dinner.

An apology!

To the Dark One!

Rumpelstiltskin gazed at her, expecting a hint of mockery. Or at least a terror so deep that it'd drive her to apologize over every detail, in an effort never to anger him.

The girl looked more worried than afraid.

"It's quite alright," he said breezily, as if his conversation with ladies hadn't been defined by deals and whatever their grabby hands could get from him. "You're more flammable than I, so I'm confident you'll grow more careful."

Belle narrowed her eyes, her rebellion in the lack of curtsey. "Good night, then, Rumpelstiltskin."

Good night? Yes, of course. Another pleasantry.

The girl was full of them, wasn't she?

Rumpelstiltskin licked his lips, tempted to return the sentiment. Just out of curiosity. To see how she would react. Luckily the girl was gone by the time he opened his mouth.

It would have been a waste of time, anyway.

Soon she'd act as coldly as the rest of the world. No need to even attempt to experiment with a nicer attitude.

She wouldn't care anyway.

The End
07/04/24

Chapter Text

Apparently the Dark One could laugh at an arrow stuck through his chest, and slap down the magic of powerful witches with nothing but a bored smirk, but it took one afternoon spent spinning in the common room while his maid read a few feet away to breach his defenses.

"I'm sorry," Belle repeated, looking miserable.

Her nose was still bright red and her eyes a little too bright, her cheeks paler than usual. In normal circumstances he wouldn't have allowed her out of her room, and would have even sent her hot thick soups and plenty of water until she got through the illness, but the girl refused to take to her bed no matter what tempting titles he promised to accompany her, and now that the worst had happened, Rumpelstiltskin just didn't feel like forcing the issue.

Misery loved company, after all.

He fought back another sneeze, annoyed that all his magic couldn't do more than soothe the symptoms. "Well, you should be," he snapped, but vanished the damp handkerchief Belle was holding and replaced it with a silk one from his personal collection. She'd rub her nose raw with coarser fabric, and there was no point in having stolen a beautiful maiden if she didn't stay beautiful. Wouldn't help if she made an habit of dismissing her weaknesses and worked herself to an early grave either; she'd sworn to stay forever, and by the gods, Rumpelstiltskin would make her keep that promise. "Next time you decide to be brave and ignore you're sick," he said, making a strategic pause as she gave a loud wet sniff, "remember silly decisions have consequences too, and don't."

The End
27/06/16

Chapter Text

Belle's yelp made Rumpelstiltskin glance up. His maid was muttering words he'd never figured a lady of her standing would learn - and she certainly hadn't learned them in his company! - but the amusement at her surprising vocabulary fled as she turned around, holding up a hand. He started at the tickle of blood running her skin, moving to her side to clasp her wrist and inspect the injury before he was conscious that he'd decided to do so.

"It bit me!" Belle declared, a betrayed thread in her voice. Her other hand pointed at the culprit: a harmless-looking tome bound in leather. There was no title on the cover, so of course it had tempted the curious girl.

Rumpelstiltskin tutted in reproach. "Haven't I told you not to touch anything in my laboratory, unless I give you express permission?"

"But it's a book!"

Definitely betrayed, he thought. The written word had been Belle's greatest ally and best companion during the last years, as it offered some solace in the solitude of her post.

But this book had not been meant for her eyes!

"And it's in my laboratory," he retorted, more at ease when he understood she was more frightened than hurt.

On a whim, he peered down into the injury, trying to check the pattern of the needle-like punctures. Impatient with the blood that clouded his view, he leaned down and swept his tongue over her skin, ignoring the sudden silence his action provoked.

Her sharp intake of breath was the only sound in the room for a few seconds.

He studiously focused on the revealed 'bite', pretending the girl hadn't tensed up. "Well, well," he murmured.

"Is it poisoned?" she asked in a whisper.

Rumpelstiltskin chuckled. "Oh no. It likes you."

Of course it did. Even a cranky knowledge spell, dormant for centuries and unwilling to reveal its secrets to the most powerful wizard in the realm, was happy to cave in to Belle.

"Likes me?" Her voice rose. "But it bit me!"

He snickered at her affronted tone. "Don't you know, dearie? Any knowledge worth having requires a sacrifice." And hers, spontaneous as it had been, had been happily welcomed. Five little points perfectly spaced into a star formation marked the fleshy mound under her thumb, instead of the series of sharp, shapeless rebuttals he'd healed from his own palm over the past days.

The wounds weren't even very deep, just shallow pinpricks to get the blood flowing. There was no sign of the drops that must have fallen on the book, greedily absorbed to acknowledge its chosen mistress. It likes you, he'd told her; he should have added, so it wants to keep you bound forever. He wondered what strange whims linked monsters together, that the taste of her lingered on his tongue as well as it did between those old pages.

"Rumple?"

Her voice dragged him away from that moment of self-awareness.

Blue eyes were looking at him curiously, but he only shook his head. "What shall I do with you, my dear?" he asked, surprised that he meant that.

Belle raised an eyebrow, unafraid as ever. "Give me my hand back, perhaps?"

With a giggle, he let go of her wrist, dipping his head as if he'd acknowledged an order.

The girl smiled back, then, with slow care, turned her hand to inspect her wounds. She made no comment on the smear of blood and saliva marking her, instead curling her fingers to test her range of motion, and winced.

Rumpelstiltskin huffed, passing a hand over her.

She gasped as magic did its work, watching with wide eyes as her skin healed, then looked at him. "And the price?"

He smirked. He'd had students who took longer to understand that magic always demanded something in exchange. "Oh, what about... your eyes!" he said with a trill. His amusement dimmed when she didn't jump in fright. Instead she gave him a chiding glance for the attempt to unsettle her, which grew smug as she worked out his meaning.

"You need me to read that book."

His nose twitched. He told himself it was annoyance that his bit of fun had been spoiled, rather than surprise that his maid caught onto his meaning so quickly.

"Hm. You did distract me from my work," he told her, affecting a put upon air, wagging his finger an inch away from her nose.

Belle seemed amused by his efforts. "I guess it's fair that I stay and help you, then."

He waited for the reluctance in her tone. Instead he was met with a sincere smile. "Fair," he repeated, blinking before he remembered to shrug and scoff. "Call it what you wish, dearie."

She eyed him, the smile never deserting her, and then glanced down at the book that had hurt her. He expected refusal, or anger. Instead there was a brief moment of hesitation... and then she turned to him for reassurance. "It's safe to pick it up now, right?"

Asking the Dark One for safety, indeed!

"Would I be telling you to grab it," he snapped, "if it wasn't?"

He knew he'd given himself away when the girl brightened. "No," she said, putting her hand briefly at his elbow before she grabbed the book and hurried over to the chair that always awaited her in a corner close to the fire. "Of course you wouldn't."

The End
09/10/16

Chapter Text

Finding a more comfortable spot against the trunk of the tree, Belle took another bite of the juicy apple. She might be spoiling her appetite for dinner, but she never could resist fresh fruit.

After she had discovered the orchard on the castle grounds, Belle would often arm herself with a basket and shears and spend a couple hours picking the best fruit before taking a break under the shade.

"I thought I dealt for a maid, not a farmer," Rumpelstiltskin had said the first time he found her dragging the full basket into the castle.

"Can I be both today?"

He had tilted his head, both amused and bewildered by her ease. "If you wish," he'd said at last.

Belle had smiled widely (by then, she loved it when he was shocked into smiling back) and, well aware of his sweet tooth, had offered, "Make this basket easier to carry, and I'll make a pie just for you."

"I could demand you make one anyway."

Belle had given an innocent look. "But would it include that topping of golden raisins you definitely never steal from my pantry?"

So she had her enchanted basket, and in return she always made Rumpelstiltskin a dessert with the best of her harvest.

The orchard on the castle grounds was singularly blessed. Not only did it give fruit all through the year, but the taste was crisp yet sweet.

Her latest attempt at apple pie had almost made justice to the main ingredient, and she was hopeful that dessert tonight would be even more of an improvement.

For now, however, the ripest specimens were perfect for a snack while Belle paged through one of her favorite classics.

By now, she also knew to bring the largest blanket to spread on the grass.

"Lazing around again?" came the expected voice a little before midday.

He was making his appearance earlier now. It used to take him until the afternoon before he would interrupt her.

Belle liked the change.

She waited until he stood right at the edge of her makeshift picnic blanket, and then lifted her eyes from the book, granting him her brightest smile. "Hi, Rumple."

Rumpelstiltskin blinked and smiled back. He didn't even remember to grumble at her for another five seconds. "Shouldn't you be hard at work, my dear?"

Belle pretended to consider that. "I should be acting in your best interest, I think. And you do look tired." She patted the empty spot at her side. "If you sit down and let me read you a story, I'll make you a nice apple pie tonight."

Rumpelstiltskin narrowed his eyes, but he did sit down.

Belle fished another book, more to his liking, from her basket and started reading out loud.

Neither mentioned that she would have made that pie anyway.

The End
19/04/24

Chapter Text

He had come for fresh tea.

Months ago, he would have woken up his maid out of sheer mischievousness. Knocking on her door was still tempting, but he was self-conscious enough to understand that now he wanted the company.

Belle, even cranky from lack of sleep, was infinitely more delighful than his own thoughts. Conversation was a rediscovered pleasure after so long, and even teasing her was more a fun challenge than wickedness, now that Belle didn't shy off teasing him back.

He could wait until morning, though.

He could be patient while she was sleeping.

He would.

Withdrawing his fist from her door, Rumpelstiltskin felt himself pout and immediately vanished the expression despite the lack of witnesses.

He'd get his cup of tea and return to his spinning.

(Belle would be there in the morning.)

The End
11/04/24

Chapter Text

"I don't think maids are supposed to read all day."

The Dark One inspired terror with his mere presence. His displeasure was faced only by the boldest or the most foolish, and only a few of them had lived to tell the tale.

The girl on the chair just turned the page and hummed in distracted agreement.

"Maids should be more polite, too," he griped.

Belle placed down a finger to mark the paragraph she'd just been reading, and finally looked up. "Good thing I'm not your maid, then."

"Yes," he said slowly, raising one mocking eyebrow, "Yes, you are."

She stared back at him, and her eyes narrowed a notch. "'Go away, dearie'," she mimicked, "'I don't need you anymore.'"

"Hmph."

"I may not be as clever with words as the great Rumpelstiltskin," she continued, smiling a little to show that there were no hard feelings, "but it sounds to me like someone fired the help."

He stood still at that, clamping his mouth shut with evident displeasure and making a show of glaring down at her. But a quick glance confirmed that his thumb was rubbing lightly against his forefinger, the one outward sign that she'd caught him unprepared.

The little awkwardness didn't last long.

"Perhaps I might have said something of the sort," he allowed magnanimously, pitching his voice higher as he often did when about to stress a crucial point in a deal, "and yet, here you are."

"I knocked on the door, you let me in." She met his eye, daring him to give a different spin to her return to the Dark Castle. "That makes me your guest, I believe."

Rumpelstiltskin crinkled his nose at the idea. "The Dark One doesn't play host to little girls."

She didn't contest this description of her. It would be a battle for another day. "A companion, then. Or perhaps... a friend?"

He scowled.

Belle shrugged, not willing to pander to the stubborn creature. He let her stay; that had to be enough for now. "Call me what you like, Rumple," she said, pointedly opening her book again, "but let me read."

His annoyed huff didn't move her, and neither did his muttered complaint about dusty shelves. He retreated noisily, threatening to take back her library if it would only bring him such bother. He fell quiet after that, probably remembering what had happened the time he'd carried out that threat.

Belle bit her lip not to laugh.

Poor Rumpelstiltskin. He was stuck with her, and he was just starting to discover what it meant.

She would pick up her duty as caretaker, Belle promised herself. There were floors that needed washing, and their dinner to see to. Perhaps she'd even prepare one of his favorite meals, not as a peace offering but just because she liked to see him smile.

Yes, she would get up and do her work.

...just as soon as she finished the next chapter.

The End
27/11/15

Chapter Text

Not for the first time, Rumpelstiltskin wondered what it would take to pry his maid's attention off a new book. Sometimes he reassured himself that it was that challenge that pushed him to haunt the printing houses across several lands in search for new tomes for the voracious reader he housed.

It was a sad fact, though, that this was a challenge he was meant to lose time and again.

He could imagine the tales that would race across the Enchanted Forest, were someone to peek into the library of the Dark Castle and discover the omnipotent Spinner standing in the room in all his glory... and the girl who wouldn't even glance up to greet his entrance.

His hands twitched with the thought of vanishing the book. But unless it was a real emergency, all that would get him was a glare and a snippy maid for days on end. The girl was sweet, but also stubborn! He would rather take his tea with hot water and crumpets that hadn't been left in the oven for too long on purpose.

"Belle?"

She didn't take her eyes off the page she was reading, but managed an absent, "Yes, Rumple?"

"I'll be gone for a few days."

"Hmmm."

He narrowed his eyes at her. She had insisted to know when he was leaving, and to have at least an idea of when he'd come back. Once Rumpelstiltskin decided that she wouldn't use the information to call in an army to steal from him, or just run away at the first chance, he had decided to humor her.

She could be thankful for it!

Instead she flipped a page, still not paying attention to him.

He couldn't help himself.

"Belle, are you listening to me?"

"Mmmhmmmm."

"Because this is important."

"...sure."

"I've left two children in the pantry for you to fatten. Do make sure they're nice and plump when my... associate... comes to pick them up."

Not even a blink.

"Do not let her borrow my knives, though. Unless you've changed your mind about washing human blood off them."

The small shrug of her shoulders wasn't a clear answer. But from the way her eyes hadn't even shifted toward him, he decided he hadn't reached through to her.

Miffed, he tried again.

"And do not go into my laboratory, dearie. There are poisons brewing. Deadly poisons. Poisons that will peel the skin off your body and melt your eyes if you're even in the same room," he clarified, frowning when she didn't protest. Belle understood about the shady politics that went behind every throne, but she always had complained about those who'd try their hands at assassination. Never mind that the fools always forgot to include not getting caught into their deals. "I'm thinking to upgrade the delivery method from a few drops in their meals, to the essence of a flower!" He clapped, only partially in fake enthusiasm now that this new idea was taking flight. "What do you think? They get a nice bouquet in the morning, and it's decorating their tomb before nightfall!"

"Lovely."

He huffed, ready to snap his fingers and start his trip, but one last glance at his maid revealed a small quirk to her lips. "You little witch!" he hissed.

Belle broke into giggles.

"I'm sorry! You were trying so hard, and then... peel the skin off, indeed!" She rolled her eyes. "As if I don't know that the first rule of poisons is that they be undetectable."

"I might... have exaggerated."

She gave him a look, and then, happily and without further prompting, left her book aside and came to her feet. "You're really leaving?"

Rumpelstiltskin nodded.

Her hands joined together, and a passing glint in her eye made him think that she was deliberating reaching out for him. In the end she did not, and he sighed.

In relief, of course.

"I'll miss you," Belle said.

Rumpelstiltskin gazed at her. Two years ago he would have laughed at the sentiment. Now he tilted his head and, almost without his permission, smiled back. He wiped off the smile in the next second, and wagged a finger at her in warning. "And do your work, you hear me? I'll be back before the end of the week, and I better find everything sparkling!"

Despite his attempt, the words lacked the tone of a looming threat, even though he knew she'd pay more attention to her books than her dusting. Neither did Belle look mournful at the thought of his return.

Rumpelstiltskin gave a last glance at the girl before going away.

She would work her way through her newest tomes in his absence, wouldn't she?

With a sigh, Rumpelstiltskin decided that he might as well save the two of them the boredom of nothing new to talk about, and bring her something new to read.

The End
13/09/16

Chapter Text

Belle sighed in relief when she opened the oven door and no acrid smell announced another failure. Grinning, she took out the plate and carefully placed it in the middle of the kitchen table.

The cake wasn't very impressive, truth be told. In fact, it looked lumpy on one side and had a not-too-slight depression in the center. But cake was cake, and it wasn't as if she could send a servant to the local bakery for a better version. If Rumpelstiltskin complained, he could move his castle closer to a town, instead of isolating himself - and his maid, now that he had one - up an impossible road in the middle of the mountains.

Of course, for him to complain, first he would have to come out of his laboratory. An unlikely proposition when he'd holed himself up there since before Belle had woken up that morning, and the barrier at the foot of the stairs ensured that he would be left undisturbed.

Were it a potion that had him so focused that he eschewed a warm meal or fresh straw (and the company inherent to each task), Belle would have left him to it and spent the free hours with a new book. But two years ago on this date, she had walked in on a remembrance. An old custom, one that few kept in Avonlea but Belle had still recognized from the description in several books. A single candle in a dark room, a time of somber vigil for prayer and reflection and memories of those who'd parted from this life.

Or for a father mourning the son he missed.

"And suffer alone, the fool," she grumbled now, still smarting that a year later she'd been whisked away to her old dungeon cell when she'd wondered if she could keep him company.

Oh, he hadn't actually locked her inside. The time she spent her nights on a bed of straw was long past. But for a long time it had been his favorite way to dismiss her when he didn't want to engage in a discussion or even to give an excuse for his behavior.

His face when she would return every time!

For a smart man, it had taken him a while to realize that Belle didn't give up easily. She would walk back to the main hall or his tower, and try again to make him see reason about whatever the issue at hand was.

But she hadn't insisted, that day last year, too unsure on how to handle a grieving Rumpelstiltskin. The rituals to remember the dead were diametrically different in Avonlea: no tears, no silence, no darkness. Not after the first year of mourning. Instead they had friends and family of the departed meeting together. And stories shared, jokes told, and toasts drunk while music was played in the background. A life remembered and celebrated.

And somewhere in-between, there was always cake.

Belle looked at her creation, wincing a little at the shape but satisfied with the smell and the taste of the tiny corner she'd chipped off to check. Rumpelstiltskin's sweet tooth had been a surprise, but it meant that he often accepted worse (and slightly burned) offerings if there was nothing else to tempt his appetite.

If he refused to sit down and share a piece with her, it wouldn't be because of her lack of talent in the kitchen.

"I even managed not to set anything on fire this time," she told herself, knowing it was time to tackle an even harder task: to convince Rumpelstiltskin he didn't have to wallow in his memories alone today. "..and not be banished to the dungeons as a result."

Taking a deep breath, Belle squared her shoulders and marched off to the main hall, meaning to wait until Rumpelstiltskin made his way there.

Ambushing the Dark One in his own home was a mission for fools. Suicidal fools.

Or, perhaps, for a friend who worried about him.

The End
16/08/16

Chapter Text

Belle beat the dust off the curtains with a little more force than usual, annoyed with herself for never remembering how a visit to her hometown could upset her.

It wasn't that the same people who had smiled and greeted her on the streets a few years ago now avoided her gaze. At least they were still civil, and that was a huge improvement on her reception in most other towns. It was the people who did acknowledge her that made her frown.

An old woman pressing a good fortune charm into her hand, reassuring her that she prayed for Belle's soul every day. The young man who had sworn to go to her rescue as soon as he was granted a knighthood. One of her former companions, in tears at the thought of her young mistress having to endure the presence of such a beast.

"He's not a beast," Belle had muttered, but not low enough that she wasn't heard.

"Milady?"

"He - he can be nice," she'd offered.

But she might as well have kept quiet, because the other woman had shaken her head and broken into tears again. "And to think you were to marry such a great, handsome man!" She'd taken hold of Belle's hand, giving her comforting little pats even as she glanced at her with a woeful expression. "Now all is lost for you," she'd said with a loud sniffle. "Whatever will you do now?"

The answer had been to return to the Dark Castle, shut herself in the great library that no marriage contract would have granted her, and try to lose her bad mood in her favorite tale. When that hadn't worked, Belle had charged into housework, muttering and grumbling about people's lack of perception. Did she seem lost? Was she giving any indication of suffering her fate, instead of embracing the adventures it had brought?

She was... Yes, she was happy.

There was a world she'd never have seen without Rumpelstiltskin. There were stories she didn't need to read, because she watched them unfold and sometimes even played a small part in them. Her life was not perfect, but she wouldn't change a thing in it... and people pitied her!

Even her father had tried to pry her away from her new life, unable to understand that staying was her choice now. Where else would her tastes be cultivated, with someone paying attention to her interests and bringing home reading material on them? Who else would be knowledgeable about so many subjects, and wouldn't think her odd for wanting to learn more about all of them?

Rumpelstiltskin appreciated her, and though she couldn't explain that to a world that saw him only as the horrid Dark One, Belle thought her manner openly betrayed her contentment.

And still all people could tell her was how they wished she had stayed and become Gaston's wife instead!

But then, Gaston had been a favorite in Avonlea's public eye from the moment he and his men had arrived. Women had admired him for his looks and his strength, following him with hungry gazes that Belle understood distantly but failed to emulate. The men had listed his heroics in the battlefield, and congratulated her for securing such a strong warrior for Avonlea's defense. Several of her maids had giggled and blushed at the mere mention of their lady's fiancé, and Orianna, the oldest in their midst and affianced to the tavern keeper's son, had regaled them all with the songs the men had composed in the great knight's honor.

One verse in particular had stuck in Belle's memory.

Strong as an ox, indeed.

And, she had thought disloyally, about as interesting.

For the length of their engagement, she had told herself that it didn't matter. Gaston was nice, and he was pleasant enough; he would make a good husband. Her misgivings were foolish, and even if their marriage soured in their lack of interests in common, no sacrifice was too great to save her people.

Belle would have gladly spent a lifetime next to a man who didn't understand her, if he pledged himself to fight against the ogres for as long. Which, of course, had meant that when the Dark One had offered to get rid of their enemies permanently, Belle had not doubted to go with him instead.

If she had known what life at the Dark Castle would be like, surrounded by knowledge and eventually taken around the world, Belle would have leapt at Rumpelstiltskin at first sight and dragged him out of the war room.

Belle let out a laugh at the imagery.

She almost jumped when it was echoed from behind her.

"I thought the curtains had insulted you," Rumpelstiltskin said, as ever unapologetic at scaring her, and he lifted an eyebrow at the duster she was still wielding, "but it seems they're telling a good joke now. Do share, dearie!"

Belle shook her head. "They just needed some cleaning."

"Only two days after the last time," he commented, obviously unconvinced by her sudden need for spotlessness but not interested enough to pry. He gave a shrug, then turned toward his spinning wheel, waving over his shoulder. "Continue, then!"

Belle heard him settle on the bench, the squeal of the wheel as it started. The thought of marriage fresh in her mind, it struck her that this would look like a common scene of married life, one among thousands where the women tended to their home, while their men worked at their trades.

It made her smile.

She would have made a terrible wife for Gaston, but maybe with someone else... someone who was kind and who smiled when she brought up a new subject at the dinner table... someone like---

Belle shook her head.

Better not ruin her improving mood with impossible daydreams again.

The End
27/08/16

Chapter Text

As Rumpelstiltskin had expected, he found his maid in the library, warmly ensconced in the couch that she’d spotted a few months ago on one of their travels.

She was calling his name before the purple mist around him cleared.

The happy sound made him relax his shoulders for the first time since he’d left the castle, but he immediately called up a frown in case Belle started getting ideas about how her friendly gestures were welcome.

“Why, hello, dearie. Right on time for dinner." When that didn't prompt her onto her feet to rush to the kitchen, he gave a pointed look to the scroll in her hands. "Hard at work, are you?”

“Actually, yes,” she said easily. She flipped the scroll so the writing was visible to him, and chuckled at the way his nose crinkled at the foreign words. He knew several languages, but had no patience for literature that didn’t relate to his spells.

“Poetry,” he scoffed, recognizing the short lines.

Belle gave him an amused look. “For someone who makes most of the additions to this library, you complain too much,” she told him. “I’ll have you know that this is a gripping tale, and yes, it rhymes. Which makes it beautiful on top of interesting.”

A mocking eyebrow rose. “Beeee-u-tiful, she says!” His voice rose to that hateful pitch that announced his contempt. “Starcrossed lovers? Hopeless romance? And oh, sure, a happy ending that makes it all better!”

“Do you dislike a happy ending, Rumple?”

A flash of uncertainly crossed his eyes, but then he was grinning, all dark teeth and devilish eyes. “Any ending means you’re dead, darling.”

Since he had a point, if only in the most literal of senses, Belle didn’t comment. Instead she waved the scroll before his face. “It’s art. It’s hours of hard work. Someone put real emotions into words. So what if the story is not real, I still enjoy it!”

“It’s silly,” he spat.

“It’s not. Poetry is the true food for the soul,” Belle retorted, giving a heartfelt sigh that she knew would annoy him.

The Dark One had no use for flights of romance.

She expected him to roll his eyes and march away in disgust. But instead he stepped closer, locking his gaze to hers. “Right. But since I don’t have a soul that needs nurturing, allow me to return to my original question…” Still smiling, he reached out to flick her nose in a gesture that would have been affectionate if it wasn’t followed by a puff of magic that took the scroll from her hands. “Yes. Now that I have your attention… Where. is. my. dinner?”

Belle sighed. She better not have to waste hours looking for it among the several shelves of the library, or Rumpelstiltskin would have to live with cold breakfasts for a week at least. “Fine. Give me ten minutes and I’ll have it served downstairs.” She turned on her heel, gave a few steps, but then turned again and strode up to him, jaw jutted out in determination.

Rumpelstiltskin gave a slow blink. “Yes?”

To the shock of both, she responded with a hard poke in his chest. “You ever tell me again that you don’t have a soul, and I’ll sit you down on that couch and not let you up until I’ve read my whole poetry collection and you admit you’re wrong.”

He scrunched his nose. “Unlikely.”

“Wanna bet?”

Rumpelstiltskin stared at her for the longest moment, then shook his head. “Worry about dinner, little one. Leave the Dark One to sort out the state of his soul.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Which you do have,” she specified, her fingertip becoming a hand against his chest, as if his heartbeat was proof of her words.

Rumpelstiltskin took her wrist between thumb and forefinger, giving it a soft push and grumbling under his breath when she resisted. “You are a silly girl, Belle.”

But she was standing whole, allowed to defy him when any other master would have struck her down. There were monsters in the world, but Rumpelstiltskin wasn’t one of them.

“On the contrary,” she told him, meeting his gaze stubbornly, “right now I’m the smarter person in this room.”

The End
27/11/16

Chapter Text

Belle was facing away, watching as their latest guest set off toward the main gates. She had wanted to see her former betrothed's safe departure, not an unreasonable request after the belligerent boy had spent a couple of seasons as a flower - and perhaps, given the adamant claims that Belle should come along, she might be making sure that he left for good.

Rumpelstiltskin had followed behind the pair, more to make sure his maid wasn't dragged away (spirited girl, Belle, but easily carted off when he wasn't looking) than to bid Gaston goodbye.

Her attention was pinned on the knight, so he allowed his gaze to roam freely over her, taking special note of every nuance of her expression.

Would he spot a sign of sadness, perhaps some lingering affection for the knight? Once she'd told him that the marriage had been arranged, that she'd never fallen in love with her fiancé. But that had been so many months ago, when she still had new discoveries to make in his shelves and she laughed every time she got turned around in his hallways. Now she had a complete inventory of his treasures, and could find her way from his tower to the deepest dungeons with her eyes blindfolded.

Surely even a unchallenging marriage was now a better prospect than a lifetime chained to the Dark Castle and its master?

"Are you sure?" he found himself asking, much to his surprise.

Belle gazed back at him, a slight frown creasing her forehead. "Sure about what?"

Rumpelstiltskin had to chuckle at her honest puzzlement. He couldn't think of another soul who wouldn't be kneeling at his feet, begging to be released. With a finger, he pointed to the retreating figure already reaching the outer wall. "Telling him to go."

"Gaston?" Her frown deepened. "You... would've let him stay?"

He giggled at that notion. What would he do, with a hulking boy throwing glares at him at every turn. That type would rush headlong into dire straits before the sun had set, waving that sword around as if simple metal could harm the Dark One. His patience already hanging on a thin thread, Rumpelstiltskin knew he wouldn't have avoided the temptation to throw the boy into a worse fate than a vase this time.

No, he'd never planned for company in the Dark Castle.

He hadn't even planned for a maid.

In fact, by all calculations he should be already rid of her, either because he'd gotten bored of her presence, or because she'd jumped at the chance to sweeten a deal and had been happily handed over to some enamored lad who owned something Rumpelstiltskin wanted.

Or because she asked nicely, and he wasn't so loathsome as to make her stay.

(Not anymore. He'd gotten bored of that months ago, not that the girl was taking a hint, or any advantage if she did.)

"He asked you to go with him, didn't he?"

She gave a slow nod, but the look she gave him said that his meaning remained obscure.

He motioned toward the road. "Weeeeell?"

Belle glanced down that direction, then back at him, her head tilted in silent question.

"He's a decent sort," he admitted grudgingly, though he wrinkled his nose in mock complaint. "No manners at all, of course, but decent folk are always trying to slay the beast."

"You are not a beast," she told him, almost automatically, and ignored his answering snort, "and I'm not going anywhere." Her confusion had cleared, turning to annoyance, and when he didn't respond to her claim, it gave way to a hint of hurt. "You want me to go?"

He pressed his lips together. The answer was simple, and yet impossible to voice. Instead he waved a hand into the air, always a sure distraction, and said, "What I want doesn't matter."

"Because we already have a deal in place."

That interpretation accommodated him, so he was quick to nod.

Belle regarded him for a long moment, then reached out to give a quick tug on his sleeve, pulling back before he could decide whether to snap at her, turn away, or both. "I'm not leaving, Rumple," she told him, her smile sincere, and then she gave a little laugh. "Certainly not with Gaston!"

Rumpelstiltskin nodded again, a little more eagerly despite himself, but his eyes betrayed curiosity at her decision. "Such an odd girl," he murmured.

Her jaw firmed. "Better odd than unhappy."

Are you happy, then?

But asking that would prompt her to answer, so instead he smiled crookedly and tutted in reproach. "Pity for your would-be rescuer. The boy deserved at least a kinder farewell," he said, humor back in his voice as he pictured his maid brandishing a broom, ready to chase the knight away. "You know, dearie. For someone who always is spouting pretty verses about bravery, you didn't seem very impressed. Not many would come looking for something the Dark One claims as his."

This time her frown came with a flash of temper.

"I'm not a thing," she snapped, and when he only tittered at her anger, her eyes narrowed and Belle picked up her skirts before she marched back through the doors, "and I'm not in need of rescue."

Rumpelstiltskin glanced over at her, standing in the middle of his receiving hall with her head held high, waiting for the dreaded Spinner to shut the doors against the rest of the world and join her.

"Seems not," he said softly, adding a giggle because it was madness for anyone to enter the Dark Castle under their own will.

Yet the girl was not mad.

That meant something.

But what was it?

The End
04/08/16

Chapter Text

From the looks the boy was giving around the kitchen, it was obvious that he had been expecting a more sinister tableau. His eyes widened as he found only a spacious room that featured a modern stove and an array of pots and pans that would be enough to prepare a banquet instead of modest meals for two.

"It's all right," Belle said soothingly, turning to the cabinet for utensils and glasses to set the table while their dinner finished cooking. It wasn't often that she got company for dinner while Rumpelstiltskin was traveling.

Most men who came to her rescue had to be pushed back through the doors - and the spells Rumpelstiltskin had crafted to that end weren't kind.

But this youngster had seemed satisfied with her explanation that the Dark Castle was her new home, and when Belle had pointed out that it was too dark to head outside on his own, he'd hesitatingly accepted her invitation for a warm dinner and a straw pallet on the kitchen floor.

(He'd paled so starkly at her first mention of empty rooms up the stairs, that Belle hadn't pressed the offer of a bed.)

Even now he seemed sure that some grisly fate awaited him. Belle said nothing, but from the corner of her eye, she could see her guest inspecting the pots. Probably making sure that the ingredients didn't include human parts.

Rumors of Rumpelstiltskin's diet were that ghastly... and he was delighted every time he heard of a new one.

"It's chicken," Belle told the boy.

He stilled, caught, and nodded hesitatingly.

There was so much fear in him that Belle knew it would take little to send him running. She must be spending too much time with Rumpelstiltskin, because she felt the perverse temptation to reassure the boy that the flesh of burglars was best served in stew.

A quip, dearie. Not serious.

Yes. Definitely Rumple's influence.

Instead she pressed her lips together and just smiled.

The world didn't need more wild gossip about the Dark One or his maid.

"Take a seat," she invited, moving to ladle the hot soup into two bowls. "I'm sure this time the potatoes will be edible - but the carrots always come up mushy or rock-hard. Let's see..." She poked one orange-red chunk. Sighed when it dissolved at the touch. "Mushy it is."

That made the boy stare at her. "You can't cook carrots?"

Belle huffed. "I'm learning," she said in her defense, inwardly grumbling about the men who hadn’t even sliced the vegetables and still complained.

She looked up when the boy snorted a laugh.

He shrugged at her curious look. "Sorry. I was just wondering whether you're staying because you really are comfortable here... or because no one else would hire you."

Belle blinked.

No one had ever suggested that there was an option other than to remain with the Dark One or return to her father. Yet here was this complete stranger, casually pointing out a path where she was responsible for her own fate.

With a grin, Belle decided that this rescue attempt would be rewarded.

Knights and sons of royal blood had walked away with bruises and their ego around their ankles, but this stable boy would carry gold home for his efforts.

"Believe me, if I weren't content, nothing could make me stay," she told him.

His eyes widened again, his thoughts obviously going to her powerful master, and he even glanced around, as if the Dark One would bother to spy on his own kitchen.

Belle met his gaze, held it for a long moment.

The boy finally relaxed minutely. "You know," he said slowly, wonder in his voice, "I think I'll believe you."

Belle grinned. Yes. This one definitely deserved a reward.

The End
26/11/16

Chapter Text

Afterwards, Belle wished she could pinpoint the exact moment Rumpelstiltskin had accepted that she'd be staying permanently. There was no explanation, no admission that he finally trusted her to return; but the hints about the possibilities for a young woman in the outside world ceased, and the tense set of his shoulders as he pretended to ignore her entrance eased into true placidity at her comings and goings.

Belle only noticed that she was expected now, the day Rumpelstiltskin glanced up as she hurried in after dinnertime and, eyebrows knit between annoyance and worry, asked: "What took you so long?"

Chapter Text

Rumpelstiltskin himself had needed to shed a few layers during their first visit to Agrabah. The hot, relentless sun wasn't friendly to his favorite leathers.

Apparently even the Dark One's constitution would swelter into the indignity of sweaty discomfort.

He fingered the looser clothing that had been offered by their host. Having seen the fashion of men in the court, the shabby result on his person was a delicate insult.

Rumpelstiltskin was almost impressed.

Even if he called attention on the problem, the Sultan could easily claim the tailors had made a mistake. No slight meant, of course not.

Rumpelstiltskin decided he wanted that glimpse into the mysterious Cave of Wonders enough to pretend along.

After some quick magic fixed the garments, of course.

Once satisfied, he wandered to Belle's chamber. "Sweetheart," he called through the door, ignoring the scandalized glares of the servants, "please make sure your outfit is up to scratch. Mine needed a few tweaks."

"Oh!" came her voice, sounding relieved to his ears. "Yes, Rumple. No wonder this didn't seem right."

Rumpelstiltskin grumbled. He was used to little digs and insults, but Belle was too trusting.

"Let me see, dear."

"I'm not sure..."

He rolled his eyes. Belle wasn't usually a vain person. The outfit must be dreadful indeed.

With a quick snap of his fingers, he magicked himself inside, thinking only to abbreviate the task.

And all but swallowed his tongue at the sight of his maid in typical Agrabah garb.

She gave him an embarrassed grimace. "See, this cannot be right."

Rumpelstiltskin gulped. He gave a thoughtless nod, more a reaction to the sound of her voice than her meaning, and tore his undeserving eyes from the wide strip of exposed skin at her midriff.

"I'll talk to the tailors," he offered in a choked whisper.

And hurried out of her room.

The End
20/04/24

Chapter Text

Outside, the rain fell fast and furious.

Seated at the windowsill, the week's mending on her lap, Belle could barely make out the shape of the mountains in the horizon. Spring had always been a mild awakening of the earth in Avonlea, heralded by warmer breezes from the sea and a lively chatter in the market as farmers looked forward to bringing their wares.

Here in the Dark Castle, so far away from home, her small victory over the curtains seemed senseless now that the rain had started pouring... and pouring... and pouring. She had thought herself prepared to face the unfamiliar change of seasons after last year’s experience, but instead she found herself longing even more for the mild warmth of home this time of the year.

"Sighing your lungs out won't pull the thread through that needle, dearie."

Belle jumped a little at his sudden presence at her shoulder, then scowled when Rumpelstiltskin sniggered.

"Careful, careful!" he cautioned, his eyes giving away amusement despite the tone. "Haven't I told you about girls who pinch themselves on a needle?"

"A good night's sleep doesn't sound too bad," Belle told him, earning a raised eyebrow at her facetiousness. His tale of the princess cursed into sleep had made her shudder with horror, but Rumpelstiltskin would never share his stories if he didn't believe that Belle could handle their darker side. "I just mean the thunder will keep me up... again." She looked out the window, unable to lock away another sigh. "Until I arrived here, I only knew of these storms from stories."

Rumpelstiltskin put his hands over his cheeks, gasping in mock shock. "Something from your books that's not as good in real life?"

Belle glanced away, biting back a laugh at his theatrics. "See if you're still laughing when your breakfast is late tomorrow."

“Depends on what you burn down in the process.”

Usually she would have protested that the kitchen barely suffered one of her clumsy lapses anymore, but she didn’t find the good humor to engage him. “It will be all right,” she said simply.

Rumpelstiltskin tilted his head, having expected a more spirited response, and frowned as he studied her forlorn expression.

"What would you have me do, girl?" he asked, leaning closer and passing a hand over her work so the blue thread that had so stubbornly refused to pass through her needle now did so in the blink of an eye. Belle raised her head to thank him, but found him staring out as well, his expression as serious as it ever got. "Should I command the clouds to part and the moonlight to shine bright until dawn?"

Belle opened her mouth to tell him that was silly, and then realized it wasn't. Unless the boasts of the men she had known before him, Rumpelstiltskin never bothered to promise what he could not deliver. "No," she rushed out. "Of course not. It's just a bit of bad weather, it'll pass."

"It turns you melancholy." He gazed down at her, a strange expression flickering in his eyes. His hand moved into her line of sight, and for an instant Belle believed he would cup her cheek, but instead he clicked his fingers and inch away of her nose. He was grinning again. "Should I entertain you, then?"

Belle blinked at the offer, but nodded before Rumpelstiltskin could withdraw it. "Oh yes, please!" Wizard he might be, and so skilled in his trade that all in the Enchanted Forest would demand his help if they could afford his price. But for someone who had no use for his spells, his stories were his best asset. "Tell me a story from beyond the hat, something Jefferson wouldn't think to tell me."

"He's saving your ears from quite horrific tales, Belle."

"He confuses me with his daughter, and I trust that you wouldn't give me bad dreams."

This time his fingers did brush her hair, inky nails catching onto a loose tendril and setting it carefully behind her ear. "You're a very strange girl," he said, and Belle realized he had expected her to skitter away.

The Dark One's touch alone would be fuel for nightmares for any girl who didn't know him.

Belle smiled, bending over her work as if she had noticed nothing out of the ordinary. "Good," she told him. "Then I fit right where I am."

He laughed, a soft sound. Then he settled beside her, fingertips at the small of her back to push her into giving him room on her windowsill. A castle full of unused furniture, Belle thought, and he chose to invade her space.

Maddening man!

"A story it is, then!" he said quickly, stopping her complaint in the only way guaranteed to work.

Belle relented. It did feel nice, to have the heat of another person a few inches away. Selfishly, she wondered if this would become a normal occurrence during rainy nights - and if it did, was it wrong to hope that the seasonal storm would last a few weeks longer?

The End
23/06/17

Chapter Text

Belle glanced in amazement as the man struggled with another sack of grain and added it to the small mountain already on the wheelbarrow.

This was the third trip she had seen him make around the village. The first time she had noticed him only because he was carrying a few hales of straw, and nowadays she always noticed straw. The second time, the man was hurrying across the meat section of the market, and Belle stared as she saw the three carcasses he was easily pushing through the street.

The man was young, yes. But he looked barely taller than her, and not overly muscled at all.

Curious as ever, Belle had followed after him.

Now he tilted his head from side to side, stretching what looked to be sore spots, after all that lugging around. Yet he still picked the wheelbarrow with one hand and easily started on his way.

He stopped right in front of Belle, giving her a polite nod. "Need me to cart your shopping, ma'am? I'll be back in a half hour at most."

Belle shook her head. "No, thank you." She couldn't stop herself from staring from man to wheelbarrow. Logic told her that there was magic at play, and her instincts also prodded at her. There was something familiar about the feel of it...

"Oh," she said at last. She smiled at the man, who by now looked impatient. "You are from the Dark Mountains, right?"

He peered at her, giving a slow nod. "Yes, ma'am." He eyed her from head to toes, and suddenly straightened and offered a low bow. "Lady Belle, you are!"

Belle smiled. It wasn't an appellation she used often, but it felt wrong to correct him. He already looked flustered enough. "Well met," she said. "I hope you are doing well so far from home."

He nodded. "Yes, mistress. My brother and I-" he patted the handle of the wheelbarrow "-we decided to see the world."

"I understand." She wanted to smile, but instead she glanced at the enchanted man in alarm. She trusted Rumpelstiltskin not to be cruel, but a man trapped as a tool! "And you're both all right?"

The man gave a hearty nod. "Yes, m'lady. Gerard and I, we trade places from one town to another. And we'll do until we save enough to buy ourselves a farm of our own."

A burden evenly shared among siblings, now that was something she could see Rumpelstiltskin come up with.

"I'll bother you no more, then." She smiled sweetly. "Is there any news you'll want me to send back home? We are returning in a few days."

He looked startled by the offer, but quickly shook his head. "No, mistress. We couldn't bother you!"

Belle didn't protest that it would be no bother. She had visited the towns around the Dark Castle often enough to understand she was seen as the lady of the land.

"Then I'll wish you a good day." She gave a slight curtsey, and bit back a smile at his hot blush. "Good bye."

He gulped before bowing again. "Thank you, m'lady!"

Belle started her way back to the mayor's house. She doubted that the two men had come to an arrangement already, but she was in a good mood and would make sure that the cooks prepared some of Rumpelstiltskin's favorite dishes for dinner.

The End
10/04/24

Chapter Text

Maleficent suppressed the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. Instead she set her shoulders back, mentally tallying the spells she had at hand and severely regretting that there was enough of a sense of friendship between herself and Regina that she felt compelled to advise the younger witch.

"I would ask what you do to amuse yourself in-between hunting that stepdaughter of yours, but I see your calendar is busy these days." She conjured a chair and took a seat between the two girls. A subtle sweep of magic revealed that Rumple's maid still had her heart. Regina's chances at survival were thus improved. "Is this a private meeting, or may I share a cup of tea?"

Regina's arched eyebrow said that she wasn't fooled by the act. Still she smiled and swept her hand to direct the pot to serve.

"To new friends," Mal murmured, lifting her fresh cup with her sweetest smile.

Regina's expression didn't waver, and neither did Rumple's girl express much disapproval at the idea. Well, well, well...

"The mean evil queen hasn't actually kidnapped you, has she, my dear?"

The girl seemed amused at the thought. "Not lately, no."

There was a story there. One that painted Regina in a bad light, given the girl's thunderous frown.

Perhaps she should pay the Dark Castle a visit sometime soon. Even if the maid wouldn't share any gossip, it would be fun to see Rumple's expression when she ignored him in favor of his girl.

The End

03/04/23

Chapter Text

Belle couldn't help the twitch of her nose as she rubbed the rough fabric of her dress. Not only did it feel heavier than her usual clothes, but the hem managed to scratch against her skin at every step. "It itches," she complained.

At her side, Rumpelstiltskin gave her a knowing smirk. "I told you this was an adventure you would choose to miss."

"It's not fair." She eyed his own ragged attire. Even to her eyes, it looked poorer than hers though he moved without showing any discomfort. "You could magic my costume, too."

The smirk slipped without warning. "Ah, yes. The costume." He chuckled humorlessly. "I swear, my dear lady, I'd not waste an ounce of magic on these clothes." His hands made a waving motion. "Let's say I've spent long enough in this form."

Belle thought that, in centuries, he must have played the part often.

"You could stay in the castle," he offered. "No need to step out of your silks, dearie."

Stubbornness prevailed. "I'll get used to it," she grumbled, taking a deep breath and hoping saying the words would bend her reality. Once, she had believed that Rumpelstiltskin had dressed her in humble clothes to mark her as a maid. Now she understood her blue dress had been the height of luxury for her position.

He shrugged. "Take it as a leaning experience, then."

"Oh, I knew people here were poor. I just didn't realize they were this uncomfortable!" Belle felt his stare before she took in her own words. Her blush heated her cheeks with chagrin. "That was a stupid thing to say."

Rumpelstiltskin tilted his head, then took pity on her and patted her hand. "If that's the most stupid thing you say today, my dear, you're already leagues ahead of the rest of the world."

The End
14/04/24

Chapter Text

The first rule of a successful audience in the Dark Castle was to accept that the Dark One’s will was absolute. After having a fairy’s whims shape his life from the cradle, Riquet had expected that.

(Knock. Knock. “Tea?”)

The second rule, Riquet’s quick brain ascertained, was not to protest when a maid interrupted the meeting and fearlessly broke the first rule.

(“Yes, you said no tea today. But, Rumple, you’ve got a guest now.”)

The third, most important rule was never to remark on the Dark One’s lie.

(“Who is she?” Riquet sipped slowly.

Rumpelstiltskin glared. “No one important.”)

Chapter Text

"N-no," Princess Margaret managed, hands clenched against her skirts. Her green eyes skittered around nervously, until her fiancé stepped closer and she looked down at him. The crown prince gave her a supporting nod. "I don't want to marry him either," she said quickly, the words a bit jumbled but understandable enough.

Belle was proud.

The two fairies, each a godparent for the prospective groom and bride, looked stunned.

Never considered their precious charges would veer off the chosen course, Belle thought.

Unlike Rumpelstiltskin, she didn't believe that all fairies were cut from the same cloth. There were thousands of them, so there must be at least some who offered their help freely.

Sadly, these two had proved to be the Blue Star's diligent pupils. The better good eclipsed the lives of their charges, and they had twisted the youngsters' fates to fit their vision of united kingdoms.

Even Rumpelstiltskin waited until his pawns passed the age of reason before sweeping into their lives.

But poor Ricquet had been born with an unprecedented hideous appearance, while little Margaret had been unable to as much as distinguish one letter from another for her whole life.

Lamentable fates that hadn't been their own. Rumpelstiltskin had seen the magic threaded in the prince from the moment the boy had stepped in the Dark Castle, and even Belle had glimpsed the vice on Margaret's intellect when she had come to meet the young princess.

That their fairy godmothers could fail to see the spells was impossible. Even Rumpelstiltskin granted that fairies weren't that useless.

"It was a harmless thing," they had said, once their spells were brought to light. (No, not spells. Curses. Not that anyone would think to apply that word to a fairy's work.) "His love would bring intelligence to his bride, and she would share her beauty with her husband. There would be balance in the end."

Belle would have gladly slapped the pair.

However, it was not her place to deal with the winged fools. She had only come to support Margaret, who had been horrified to discover her flaws had been imposed on her by someone she trusted.

She was a witness.

And there was another with more anger, who deserves to dress down the fairies as he wished.

Prince Ricquet had suspected the truth for some months. It truly had been too much of a coincidence that the crown heirs of neighboring kingdoms had such matching conditions. Hence his trip to the Dark Castle.

"There will be no marriage," he bit out. "That means none of this 'balance' you seek."

Affronted, the fairies gasped in unison and started repeating their arguments.

Ricquet cut their protest with an imperious look. "Can you undo your magic?" The fairies glanced at each other, obviously still plotting though unaware that the question was a last test. Rumpelstiltskin had already said that yes, they could lift their spell at any time.

He had also foreseen that they would be unwilling to do so.

Ricquet gave no outward sign that he knew the truth, and he only nodded in apparent defeat when the fairies faked their distress.

The two menaces obviously expected that the two would marry anyway.

Belle hid a smile.

Rumpelstiltskin had charged them almost nothing, for the chance to wreck a fairy plan.

The children would be all right.

The End
02/04/24

Chapter Text

Red had to agree with the prince's assessment about the Dark One's maid: pretty and sweet, and completely harmless. Which did not mean that she would lower her guard when a package arrived with the girl's name on it - a package with only one possible source, given the whiff of dark magic that accompanied it.

It had been disappointing to discover that the box contained nothing but a dress - but what a dress!

The girl laughed, already unfolding the dress and holding it against her, passing her fingers over the fine silk in giddy relish and even giggling when she got to the golden thread that adorned the sleeves in delicate whorls.

"He does know that the guests shouldn't outshine the bride, right?" Red wondered, eyeing the beautiful concoction of blue silk and only a little surprised when she checked that, yes, it was the same color as Belle's eyes.

"Oh, let's hope not, or I'll be wearing a crown of diamonds just so he can be contrary," Belle said, daring to roll her eyes at the absurdity of Rumpelstiltskin's behavior (and earning Red's everlasting curiosity, as she'd never dreamed to live to see someone treat the Dark One so familiarly), but there was fondness behind the amusement, and Red wasn't surprised when, with one more happy laugh, the other girl danced her way behind the screen to change.

Chapter Text

Rumpelstiltskin had taken one look at his dinner plate and, with a moue of distaste, flicked his fingers into a quick flash of magic that should have made it disappear.

And would have. If it weren't for Belle's hard-earned knowledge of his lack of appetite for new recipes.

Unwilling to waste another dinner, she had come ready with a spell of her own.

Before his magic hit, a blue cloud engulfed the soup and placed it in safety on the other side of the table.

Rumpelstiltskin huffed. "Never should have taught you that trick."

"You didn't."

"Never should have given you the book with it, then."

Belle smiled.

Her spells were a breath of air compared to the storms the Dark One or any of his apprentices could conjure, but Belle was satisfied. She was Rumpelstiltskin's maid foremost, and maybe the closest thing he had to a friend.

It was a friend's duty to push him into new things.

"Just try it," Belle entreated, giving the example by adding a greenish sauce into her bowl and hooking the noodles onto her chopsticks. "I couldn't find all the ingredients in Po's list, but it's good. I promise."

Rumpelstiltskin eyed her, distrust morphing into amusement as, still unfamiliar with the utensil, Belle mostly slurped her way through that portion of noodles.

Neither mentioned the slight smile that touched his lips, not the curious tilt of his head when Belle enthusiastically went for a second bite.

Without a word, she waved the dismissed plate back to Rumpelstiltskin and pretended to focus on her own dinner.

"Are you sure your little friend isn't trying to poison me?"

Belle giggled at the description of Po as 'little'. "Oh, hush. For all you terrified that poor boy, he would never use food like that."

"Obviously, I didn't terrify him enough."

Had she sat closer, Belle would have poked him with her chopsticks. Instead she gave a pronounced roll of her eyes. "I'm confident you'll send him running next time, Rumple," she told him. "For now, just eat that soup before it gets cold."

The End
01/04/24

Chapter Text

Belle thought little of the new weight on her lap, simply adjusting her book so she could still read while she played with a curl of Rumpelstiltskin's hair.

He must have been to a direly frustrating meeting, if he was seeking her attention so boldly. His usual way was to stomp in and demand that she care for some household detail both knew weren't really her duty anymore.

Belle waited a minute before picking up the thread of the plot. Occasionally Rumpelstiltskin used her as a sounding board, or perhaps he might even share whatever trouble had brought him to crawl into her reading couch.

However, he seemed content with the silence, barely shifting to make himself more comfortable.

Belle had read through another two chapters when Rumpelstiltskin spoke.

"You need a better light here, sweetheart."

The comment was not at all expected. Belle still motioned to the set of candles around them. "Any more, Rumple, and I'll set fire to the room."

He tutted. "Don't be silly. I fireproofed the whole castle after your first week here."

Belle opened her mouth to protest, but couldn't actually bring herself to it. The burned dinners had brought home how unprepared she was to be anything but a pampered lady. "I wonder that you kept me anyway."

"A deal is a deal."

Of course. Rumpelstiltskin kept his word above all. Even if she had been disagreeable or tried to betray him, he would have kept his maid. Out of spite if nothing else.

He has truly been lost as to what to do with a woman who wouldn't hate him.

Belle tugged on his hair a little at that thought. "Is it still just a deal?"

He twittered. "Don't distract me, girl. I was telling you we need to make some changes around here. I won't have you grow blind just to save a bit on wax."

Belle thought she was too young to worry about losing her sight, but Rumpelstiltskin actually seemed worried at the idea.

"It's really not bad at all."

Rumpelstiltskin pressed his lips together in silent disagreement. He waved a hand, and a great chandelier appeared on the ceiling. "That should do."

Belle groaned, tempted to tweak his ear. "And who will climb up to light it up, hmm?"

A click of his fingers answered that question.

"Rumple, you are not here every single evening to do that."

Rumpelstiltskin gave her a winning smile. "Well, that is easily solved, isn't it?"

The End
12/04/24

Chapter Text

Seething, his nose itching at the smell of hay and unwashed animals, Rumpelstiltskin stood at the entrance of the dark barn, helpless as his maid took his reputation as the most dangerous wizard in the realm and tore it apart with each of her smiles and happy coos.

How could he terrify these farmers if Belle insisted in proving that the Dark One kept company with a bright-eyed girl who had squealed in glee when the farmer’s wife had commented on the newborn lambs and begged to be allowed to see them.

Pretending not to notice the woman’s shrewd gaze as she looked between him and Belle, Rumpelstiltskin came to terms with the fact that this farm would soon have a repaired roof and their fields would yield a plentiful harvest despite the storm that had destroyed it the week before.

Belle would give him one of those hurt glances if he didn’t secure the well-being of the little ones.

At least, he mused with resignation, it hadn’t been puppies.

It was getting harder to deny the girl a pet.

“It’s so cute!” Belle whispered, face alight as she petted the small animal.

She was oblivious to the glances the farmer and his wife were exchanging behind her back. Their situation was dawning on them, and unless Rumpelstiltskin was willing to drag that girl away and chastise her sharply before strangers, it was obvious that even the Dark One had a soft spot. He would be lucky if he walked away with more than a promise to serve him at some unspecified point in the future.

He never should have brought Belle along.

(But hadn’t he thought the same the last time Belle came on a trip with him?)

That was when the girl chose to turn toward him, blue eyes shining with hope. “Rumple, can I—?”

“No,” he cut her off swiftly.

Too late.

She had already been heard to call him that. With undeniable affection.

The farmer’s eyes widened, but the wife just breathed deeply and gave a placid smile. If he was to have a hope of a somewhat fair deal, Rumpelstiltskin would have to distract the woman.

For now, he had to deal with his maid’s love for anything small and cuddly. Rumpelstiltskin grit his teeth. “If we take that thing anywhere,” he warned her, “you’re serving it for my dinner tonight.”

Belle was too well-behaved to roll her eyes at her master in public, but it was evident that she had no fear of him. “As you wish,” she said softly, though it was obvious to him that she hadn’t given up on bringing a third occupant to the Dark Castle. With a little sigh, she returned to admiring the lamb, her body language signaling that he was dismissed until she was ready to return home.

The farmer and his wife were smart enough not to say a word.

“Enough of this,” Rumpelstiltskin snapped, as if it were his choice to leave the barn and return to their negotiations. “I’ve seen the state of things, and I have a deal in mind. Now, if you wouldn’t mind coming to settle things?” He addressed the man only, clicking a finger to magic him back to his hut. The wife yelped, and he made his best impression of an apology - which must have still revealed his true temper, because she scuttled back. “Now, dearie. If you wouldn’t mind staying with my companion?” He dropped his voice. “The girl is sweet, but clumsy. Surely you prefer not to add a burned barn to your recent losses?”

The woman gaped, but had no recourse except to nod.

Belle made a sound of protest, swirling to face him, eyebrows knitted together.

He followed the farmer before she could actually say a word.

The annoyance on her face promised a line of cold dinners in the near future.

Rumpelstiltskin giggled.

It would be fun to coax her out of that mood.

The End
15/05/17

Chapter Text

Mid-sentence, Belle felt herself lean to her right, her legs still confused on their first walk on land in two weeks.

Rumpelstiltskin caught her by the shoulders, steering her upright.

"Sorry," she laughed, grabbing onto his arm for support. He could have conjured a carriage, or just magicked them to town, but he allowed the contact. A bit giddy, Belle scooted closer, laughing again when her feet kept expecting the movement of waves beneath. "I'm afraid I don't make a very good sailor."

Rumpelstiltskin huffed. "Good thing I didn't take you for your sailing abilities."

"Of course not. You expected me to cook and clean." Two years after their first evening in the Dark Castle, Belle had grown familiar enough that she thought nothing of poking him playfully. "Oh, and skin the children for their pelts!"

Far from chastised, Rumpelstiltskin snickered. "Your face!"

Belle rolled her eyes.

His humor always tended to the macabre. At least she was fortunate she wasn't caught unaware anymore.

"You were awful," she told him, with as much of a glare as she could muster.

It mustn't be an impressive sight, because Rumpelstiltskin laughed it off. "Slander!" he declared. "I still am. And even worse than before."

He was practically carrying her by now.

Belle patted his arm, barely resisting the urge to caress his skin. "Of course, Rumpelstiltskin. You're the very worst."

The End
06/04/24

Chapter Text

Belle wouldn't usually waste magic in such a mundane task, but the evening had been long and there had been barely any space to breathe among the crowd in the royal ballroom. With a sigh of relief, she waved herself out of the overbearing gown and into comfortable sleeping attire.

She would have gladly fallen into her bed, too, but duty compelled her back into the corridor and to knock on the neighboring door.

If a servant saw her, the ensuing gossip couldn't possibly be worse than being introduced as Rumpelstiltskin's 'adviser'.

Considering the king's official adviser spent most of the evening practically on the royal lap, Belle had blushed hard to think of the implications.

Rumpelstiltskin must have noticed as well, as contrary to their custom, he had avoided her for the whole of the ball, without sweeping her away from the more odious dance partners.

All the same, she had gathered curious information. Better to share it with Rumpelstiltskin before they continued with the talks in the morning.

"I thought you would be asleep already," Rumpelstiltskin said from inside the room, as he had waved the door open without rising from the plush couch that had been assigned to his anteroom.

Belle closed the door softly behind her, coming to place herself on the chair before him.

"I noticed something tonight," she started.

Rumpelstiltskin chuckled. "How everyone insisted that Madame Veronica must agree with a deal before His Majesty can approve of it?" He shrugged. "Not an uncommon arrangement when one has the brains and the other the power."

Belle did agree with that. However, she wouldn't have bothered to come with such obvious news. "Isn't it strange, then, that Madame gives no sign of wit?"

Rumpelstiltskin gave a shrug. "You've played the role before."

Belle considered that. Downplaying her intellect could be an advantage. However, either the woman was the best actress in the history of the Enchanted Forest, or she was as clueless as she appeared once questioned.

It hadn't escaped her notice that there was someone paying close attention to matters. Someone who had spent their half hour on the dance floor hinting and prodding and trying to flatter her into indiscrete conversation.

"If I had to bet, I'd say it's Veronica's baby brother that actually makes the decisions around here."

Rumpelstiltskin didn't bother to question her. "Well, the boy has a thirst for adventure and power." He grinned. "I'm sure I can point him in the right direction, if he advises his king that they'll be well rid of that rusty invisibility helmet."

The End
04/04/24

Chapter Text

"Have I seen you before?"

Belle was about to laugh at the trodden line, as if she hadn't heard it a dozen times at every ball. Flirting was an intricate social game among the courts. No matter in which kingdom Rumpelstiltskin had business, if their presence was wanted officially, there were always people willing to sweep her into a brief dalliance.

By now, Belle had a routine proven to let down gently any genuine admirer.

(The others, too stubborn or ill-intended to acquiesce, became very docile after a meeting with the Dark One.)

Her current dance partner had proved very nice so far. Belle hoped some flattering conversation and maybe another dance would be enough to satisfy him.

"I doubt it, sir," she said. "I've been at the King's court for only a few days, and I surely would remember you if we had met elsewhere."

He gave a small smile. "Would you?" The dance continued for another minute before he spoke again. "Perhaps you're right. Not even the Dark One's maid can be expected to remember every poor soul that crosses her kitchen."

Belle glanced up sharply, peering into the smiling face. There was no hint of anger or thirst for revenge, so she breathed in relief. Occasionally, people did make good on whatever deal Rumpelstiltskin made them. "You have me at a disadvantage," she told him.

He laughed. "And no surprise! Maybe if you think of me as small and furry, and very attached to the throw on your chair."

Belle blinked. A name came to her mind immediately, and though reason said it should be impossible, reason was not a stable presence in the Dark Castle.

"Mouser?"

The man grinned. "I go by Sir Steven now."

Belle thought he looked too happy for someone who'd spent a season chasing rats.

He must have read her expression. "Oh, it was all right. Warm milk and a full plate of fish, whether I caught mice or not. It was heaven for a poor nobody like me." He shrugged. "And I did well with the bag of gold I got afterwards, didn't I?"

Belle nodded.

It was far from the worst deal Rumpelstiltskin had forced on a desperate man, but must she start asking about the provenance of everything now?

The End
08/04/24

Chapter Text

Regina swept into the main hall with magic crackling in furious waves around her. Even the bear gave her a respectful bow, though it went sadly unnoticed.

"Belle!" she yelled, in uncharacteristically unqueenly manner, stomping a foot so her voice would resonate all over the castle. "Don't you dare hide behind that imp, you little bitch. Come meet me right now!"

She was angry enough that she wasn't startled by Rumpelstiltskin's sudden presence at her side. Instead she whirled to glare at him. "Where is your- your---?"

"My maid?"

Regina snorted at the description, but wasn't in the mood to discuss that little liar's place in the Dark Castle. "Where is she?"

"In the library, of course." Rumpelstiltskin shrugged without apparent concern. Then he leaned up to whisper in her ear. "She's been expecting you, Your Majesty."

Regina huffed. Of course that wily little girl knew she had overstepped. "Far from me to make her wait," she hissed.

"Yes, yes, go, dearie. I'm sure you girls have a lot to gab about." He giggled at her affronted look. "Just remember, Regina-" his voice dropped into a steely warning "-you have as much leeway as I allow."

Her eyes narrowed. "Does your maid have the same limitations?"

Rumpelstiltskin smirked and disappeared in a plume of magic.

The bastard.

Regina huffed and marched on.

Indeed, the two-faced little tramp was in her domain. Regina waved her hand and tossed one of the reasons for her anger at her.

The projectile was stopped by a soft bubble of magic, but Belle still scrunched her nose. "This apple is rotten."

"This one? No. All of them!" Regina started pacing. "All my trees are bearing rotten fruit. It cannot be natural. And it all started a week after we made that little deal." She glared at those wide blue eyes. "What did you do?"

"I did nothing." Belle tilted her head, studying the apple. "But it seems that you did."

Regina grit her teeth. After two years as Rumple's companion, the girl had grown a penchant for non-answers. "Explain."

"Your magic backfired." Belle shook her head. "Wasn't it a simple deal? You even had a clear advantage. How did you let it get to this?"

"This isn't my doing."

Otherwise, Belle was right. That deal had been a gift. The location of Snow White in exchange for nothing. After years wrangling with Rumpelstiltskin for the smallest bits of help, Belle's offer had been a welcome respite.

"You didn't listen to me at all, did you, Regina?"

The use of her name instead of her deserved honorific made Regina pay attention now. "Of course I did! I promised to jail only my rebel stepdaughter, and leave the others unharmed."

Belle tilted her head. "And did you?"

"Of course!"

"I visited that town after your soldiers left. There was quite a need for healing spells."

Regina huffed. "So a couple peasants ran into swords. It's their own fault."

"They still got harmed." Belle shrugged. "You broke our deal, Regina. Sadly, your beloved trees paid the price for it."

"It was a trap!"

Belle sighed. "No, my friend. It was an opportunity."

An opportunity for what?

Regina didn't know and she didn't care. Instead she focused on what was important:

"Will my trees return to normal?"

Belle smiled. "As soon as you make amends, they should."

"Well, then." Regina nodded. A donation of some sort to that town would surely do the trick. "Next time I'll negotiate with Rumple. Dealing with the Dark One isn't this much trouble."

Belle only smiled again.

The End
15/04/24

Chapter Text

She came as soon as she heard the news, practically frogmarching Regina outside the bookstore while thanking her for making time for an old friend and coming over to visit. Regina hadn't looked pleased at the treatment, and maybe tomorrow Belle would fret about having manhandled the mayor thus, but in that moment her only thought had been that Mr. Gold was hurt.

Regina had told her the whole story, of course: the pregnant teenager, the contract on the unborn baby, and Gold's part in that mess. Regina seemed to think that it was all Mr. Gold's fault - for what, doing his job as the town's only lawyer? not locking his door? failing to consider that Ashley Boyd was dangerous? - and Belle had been too worried to do more than give her a disbelieving stare before she decided to close up early and go make sure her friend was doing okay, and maybe take him dinner too?

"You're wasting your time," Regina had told her before she left, sniffing in disapproval, "that man can take care of himself."

Belle agreed, yes, sure; but no matter how important and self-sufficient a man was, surely he would enjoy having someone take care of him for once?

The End
21/03/16

Chapter Text

Wide blue eyes spot the bandage at his temple as soon as he opens his front door, but where Rumpelstiltskin expects a wince of sympathy at the sight of his wound, he gets a furious hiss instead: "That little bitch."

He chuckles at her vocabulary in this new world, aware that Belle will be appalled when she wakes up, and says calmly, "I'm assured that Miss Boyd had a reasonable excuse."

"It's that Swan woman's influence, I'm sure," she responds venomously, "but never mind them. I'm concerned about you; do you need anything?" And then, probably aware that Mr. Gold never asks for help, she continues at a rapid-fire pace, "I brought dinner, enough for two if you'd like some company - uh... do you?"

He wants to say no, because it would be the wisest choice to keep his distance until the curse breaks; but he steps aside to let her in and says nothing instead.

The End
30/06/15

Chapter Text

Belle almost groans when she reaches into the cabinet and comes out with that cup; it's a beautiful, elegant thing, of far better quality than the mugs she buys by the dozen at the dollar shop; it shouldn't even be here, and it wouldn't be if Belle wasn't such a klutz and dropped it on her very first visit to the pawnshop, all those years ago. To her surprise, Mr. Gold hadn't yelled at her, and somehow she'd ended up bringing the chipped cup home.

She kept meaning to repair it, or at least replace it with a similar one, but somehow she never quite finds the time for either; and even broken, it's a physical reminder that Mr. Gold is not the ogre everybody paints him to be, so she doesn't have the heart to trash it.

Until a few weeks ago, the cup stayed in the back of her cabinet, waiting for its fate; but then Mr. Gold had spied it and, smiling, asked that she used it to serve his tea, waving aside her protests that it was unsanitary.

"It has character," he'd said when she had questioned his choice, and on another occasion, his lips had quirked as if sharing a private joke: "All part of my mysterious aura, dearie."

And Belle had laughed back, somehow sure that one day, she'd understand this man.

The End
21/03/16

Chapter Text

Belle would have been happy to keep to their original plan. But keeping her inside four walls with him, even if it was her home in this world, would put their relationship years back.

That was why Rumpelstiltskin found himself walking next to Belle on the way back to her place.

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Belle was saying, smiling freely.

With her arm threaded through his, as it had been since the lights turned off, Rumpelstiltskin had to agree. He didn't even mind that the nuns would have sold their candles and he'd have no reason to kick them off the convent. Maybe tomorrow he would be annoyed, but right now Belle was happily telling him the highlights of their evening together.

It was impossible for him to think of anything else.

"Thanks for accepting my invitation, Mr. Gold," she told him.

"A delicious dinner and delightful company for the rest of the night." His lips curved into a sincere smile just for her. "I'm a lucky man."

Her blush told him what this Belle was too hesitant to voice. "I'm glad you liked my cooking," she said instead, her voice timid.

Rumpelstiltskin could hardly explain that twenty-eight years had improved the results of her time spent at a stove. It had never been his way to reassure her in a straightforward manner, so it took him a moment to find the right words. "I definitely would come back for more."

Belle's eyes widened. "Y-you would?"

"And not for the food," he told her, casting the die, "good as it was."

She stared at him, the color rising in her cheeks before she looked away, overwhelmed.

Rumpelstiltskin slowed their pace. "I mean it," he said softly.

Since Emma's arrival, he had tried to keep his distance from the girl who only knew herself as the young bookstore owner who was friends with the surly Mr. Gold. But even if the curse wasn't broken yet, it had weakened to the point that Belle had unknowingly picked up the thread of their relationship.

Just like it had been during their life in the Dark Castle, Belle was again a force he wasn't strong enough to resist. And this time it wasn't a bored maid in search for adventure and knowledge.

This time her aim was, well, him.

The girl wanted to be courted, and after five years of being his friend and companion, after falling in love with her despite his better intentions, she deserved everything she wanted.

Only a woman like her would have seen through the beast to a man she could love.

Even now, she paid no attention to the rumors about the strict pawnshop owner and landlord. Instead she had stopped to look at him, her eyes bright and that soft smile that he'd thought of tracing with his fingers so many times, if only to make sure that it was real.

Belle took a deep breath when he put his thought into action.

"I didn't..." she whispered, and then with all the hope of two worlds in her eyes, she hesitatingly raised her hand to cradle his cheek. "Do you mean this, Gold?"

It wasn't his real name. She wasn't her real self.

But Belle had kissed him goodbye in the Enchanted Forest. A true love's kiss. He wasn't fool enough to deny her anything.

For all answer, he nodded, unable to tone down his smile.

Belle beamed with joy. "I feel like I've been waiting for this forever," she confessed in a whisper. "I can't believe-"

The emotion that cut off her words emboldened him to take her wrist and kiss the center of her palm. "Forever is a long time, my dear," he told her.

Maybe it was the strength of their original deal. Maybe it was just Belle peeking through a crack in the curse, raising her head to meet his eyes without the doubts and fears the curse had burdened her with.

Blue eyes blazed with resolve. Her voice rang clear. "Sounds good to me."

Rumpelstiltskin fought against closing his eyes in a wordless prayer of thanks to the gods who'd abandoned him centuries ago. "Yes," he said, squeezing her hand, "it's good indeed."

The End´
24/11/16

Chapter Text

Rumpelstiltskin had been glad to discover that, in this world as in the last, it was relatively simple to make Belle laugh.

In the Dark Castle, he had amused her with the more innocent recounts of his travels, and alleviated their boredom with little games and the occasional magic trick. Later, as he grew convinced of Belle's loyalty, he would sometimes send her on an errand to his more benign associates (her little adventures, she called them with a sunny smile, and he still wondered whether she'd been aware that everyone she met was under penalty of gruesome death, should any harm befall her). Later still, when he had felt so strangely safe in her easy friendship, he would wheedle her into trying some small spell of her own - and they both would laugh at the results (because Belle didn't care for magic as Rumpelstiltskin taught it, and no matter how he teased her, she insisted on trying things her own way).

In Storybrooke, he comes to her bookstore full of tales and little bits of gossip he's gathered as he collected rent around town, and challenges her to a game of checkers with a cheeseburger from Granny's as the stakes. If Belle wonders at Mr. Gold's sudden turn-around from brief visits and stifled greetings to this willingness to spend his free time with her, she doesn't mention it and instead pours more tea into his cup.

"Why did you ask for this one," she asks, still puzzled at his request. "I never could repair it."

Rumpelstiltskin sets the chipped cup down and leans closer, as if to impart a secret. "All part of my mysterious aura, dearie," he whispers.

She looks at him for a beat, gauging whether it's a serious answer, and then laughs at the absurdity of it. "I'll find out, you know."

He nods, and this time he is in earnest. "But not yet."

The End
05/07/15

Chapter Text

Keith couldn't say that he'd ever paid a lot of attention to Belle French. He couldn't remember actually crossing ways with the woman, as they didn't even keep the same hours. But once he's started thinking of her, he couldn't get the little brunette out of his mind. He'd have to thank the mayor later. It had taken Ms. Mills coming to the Rabbit Hole for a personal inspection, and making a casual comment about how unfair it was that her lovely friend was single for Keith to start noticing the young (and yes, very pretty) bookshop owner.

Shame that she was such a sour bitch.

"Come on," he insisted, smiling as he grabbed her arm and tugged her along and into the alley. He was only asking for a bit of her time here. When even a girl's best friend said that she needed a man, then that meant she had to give a guy a chance. "Just get to know me. I'm a fun guy, I swear."

He ignored her pathetic attempt to get herself loose, rolling his eyes at the act. He knew women, all right? If she really wanted him to go to hell, there would be slapping and trying to kick him between the legs.

Sometimes, even that was just foreplay.

Women just weren't good at saying what they actually thought, and they were grateful when someone like him came along and knew what they needed. French was easy. She needed a man; end of story. The fact that she was so beautiful meant he was the perfect man for her.

Now if only she'd stop screaming as if she actually believed that anyone would be around this late at night...

"Belle?!"

Keith groaned. Great, an interruption. He didn't recognize the voice and he didn't care to, trusting that the other man would see that French was just playing hard to get. "We're fine," he grit out anyway, tugging harder, squeezing her wrist to warn her not to make a scene. If she made trouble for him, he might get upset for real.

"Let. Her. Go."

With a growl of frustration, Keith finally glanced over at the stranger who'd decided to get in the middle of a personal situation. He had the time to see a golden tooth glint in the darkness before a heavy blow struck his shoulder. "What the fuck!" he screeched, startled into letting French go. "Who are you?"

Another strike headed for his face, but he managed to block it.

Was that a fucking cane?

What kind of weirdo---? Oh no. Oh, shit. "Mr. Gold?" The look the other man gave him sobered him up in an instant. He could take him, of course. Gold was several inches shorter and at least thirty pounds lighter. In a fair fight... But no deal with Gold was ever fair. Keith lifted his hands in the air, giving him a man-to-man smirk. "Hey. I was just trying to ask her out. You know how they get," he laughed, then licked his lips because Gold wasn't commiserating with him. "No harm done, right?"

That did make the other man smile. A smile that made Keith take a step backwards. "Not yet, no," Gold said, cutting off his exit. He turned briefly to French. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

French just hugged herself in answer.

Keith blinked. 'Sweetheart'? That lying bitch!

"So the two of you...." Oh fuck. He'd just tried to romance Gold's girl. Of all the bad luck! "She never said! She strung me along!"

Later, he would realize his mistake had been to come closer to reason with Gold. All that got him was a hard poke in the gut, the tip of Gold's cane driving into his flesh with enough strength to drive Keith's breath away.

"Let's just go," came French's sniveling voice, "he's not worth it."

Keith wanted to throttle her on the spot.

A strike straight at his skull made him howl as he saw stars.

"Quite right, dearie," he heard Gold say, murder in his voice. "But you are."

Keith barely had time to shield his head as another hit came. And another. And by the time he'd almost lost coherence, he'd never been gladder to hear the new deputy's voice as she demanded Gold stop hitting him.

The End
09/09/16

Chapter Text

The smell of burned onions made her groan. Tossing a cookie as a haphazard bookmark, she rushed to the kitchen to try and salvage dinner.

Five minutes later, she dialed her date.

"Hello, sweetheart," Gold answered at the first ring.

His soothing voice calmed her. He wouldn't be angry. She wasn't a disaster. This was but a tiny hiccup in their evening. "I'm so sorry," she said anyway, unable to stop herself.

Gold often told her how brave and amazing she was. At moments like this, it was impossible to believe him.

He listened to her explanation, and when she finished with another rushed apology, he only gave a quiet hum. "All right, darling. Do you prefer Granny's or Po's tonight? I can pick you up after I close up."

Belle had been about to agree to Granny's, but his last sentence gave her pause. "Don't you want to get delivery?"

Gold made a noise of protest. "I'd rather not deal with dishes, wouldn't you?"

That was actually a nice thought. Cleaning up their burned dinner would be chore enough.

However, Belle knew that Gold preferred not to advertise their relationship. Few had ever noticed that they were friendly, and even less people had commented on the recent shift between them. "If you're sure..."

"I'm sure."

"Granny's, then? And I'll meet you there. No need for you to make a round trip."

"Nonsense," he said quickly. "It's the first time I'm taking you out. Of course you'll be walking in on my arm."

Belle grinned. "That sounds wonderful."

She had no idea what had changed Gold's mind, but she would enjoy the benefits.

On the other side of the line, Rumpelstiltskin played with his favorite teacup. He'd just recovered it from Regina's clutches and lost his anonymity in the bargain.

There was no reason to hide anymore.

The End
09/04/24

Chapter Text

Emma wished for the earth to open up and swallow her. Or Mary Margaret.

Yes, definitely Mary Margaret. The younger woman couldn't be more openly curious if she took out pen and paper and started to interview Gold on his choice of setting... and company.

"Quit staring!" Emma hissed, pinching her roommate's arm. "They'll notice us!" More used to working undercover, she was pretending to be interested in her own cup of hot chocolate, stealing quick glances over at the booth which now held a visibly flustered pawnbroker and a blushing girl at least twenty years his junior. One thing was true about Storybrooke: things were never as she expected them.

Mary Margaret did drag her eyes away from the pair, but her face lit up with the possibility of such juicy gossip. "Are they really...?"

"I don't know!" Emma sighed. "It's Henry's idea, really. You know how he thinks-" she waved to encompass everything around them "-this is all some fairytale."

"Oh." Mary Margaret nodded in understanding. "Belle. And she does like books."

"The coincidences are not helping me break him out of his illusions," Emma confessed with a sigh. "It's like the whole town conspires to make these story-like endings, and how do you make a kid understand that people do wake up from comas, or that orphans already have deadbeat fathers all the time-"

"But Tillman's taking care of his kids now."

"Okay. I'll grant you that one."

"And the rich boy did propose to the maid."

Emma snorted. "After he got her pregnant and left her to fend for herself - and fend against Gold, of all people. Ashley should have thrown that ring in his face."

"He seems sorry about that," Mary Margaret said quietly. She had never asked why Emma had had nobody to turn to, when Henry was born, but she hoped that old hurts wouldn't embitter Emma's outlook of the world. "People deserve a second chance, Emma."

Emma shrugged. "Anyway. No lost slipper, no fairytale. I can tell Henry that. But now they-" she tilted her head to the pair who was now deep in conversation, leaning toward each other as if they wished there was no table between them "-had to start dating. Or whatever it is they're doing," she had to add, because her brain refused to think of Gold and romance in the same sentence. Then she gave a long sigh. "Henry's over the moon."

Mary Margaret gave a hum that Emma suspected was meant to cover a laugh. "Gold is quite beast-like."

"I know," Emma groaned. "I'm telling you. If he ever does turn into some suave prince, I'm out of here."

Pressing her lips together to hold back more laughter, Mary Margaret tried an understanding nod. "I don't think you need to worry about that," she whispered, motioning to the booth in question just in time to let Emma see as Gold and Ruby scowled at each other. Ruby gestured toward the diner door, and Gold snarled something that must have been a threat, because Ruby narrowed her eyes but subsided. Emma didn't care for subtleness now; she had seen Gold break into violence, and though Keith Noth hadn't been an innocent bystander, her instincts said that it was best to keep an eye on the most powerful man in town-

-if only to catch him turn beet red as his girlfriend reached to take his hand.

"Huh."

"Why the look of surprise?" Mary Margaret questioned her, managing a concerned look for three seconds before she dissolved into snickers. "Are you seeing something that wasn't there before?"

Emma groaned. Henry had made her watch the movie, and pointed out everything that was remotely connected to the life of Belle French. "Please, don't."

"If it's true love, it's a tale as old as time."

It was great to see Mary Margaret in good spirits, but Emma wished anything else would have lifted her mood. "No, really. Stop."

"Okay, okay. Change of subject." But the mischief in her roommate's eyes said she wasn't done. "I know you and I don't share the same tastes, but if you ever want to borrow something from my closet and I'm not around to ask..."

"Oh God."

"...be my guest!"

Emma shook her head and rose to her feet. "I'm heading back home. If you show up with mouse ears or more Disney lyrics, I'm evicting you."

"Hey! It's my place."

"And the Sheriff owes me big. Guess whom he is carrying away to spend the night in a cell if I ask."

Mary Margaret shook a warning finger at her, still smiling. "If it turns out that Henry is right and I'm your mother, I'll disinherit you."

"If it turns out that you're a queen and I'm a princess," Emma answered with a chuckle of her own, "please do."

The End
09/09/16

Chapter Text

"Gold, hi!" Belle answered the phone, sounding surprised.

Of course she wouldn't be expecting him to call; it took only a couple blocks from his shop to hers to have a conversation in person, and his leg allowed him that much without complaint. "Hello, sweetheart," he said, gentling his voice as he realized that this would be his last phone call with Belle French, "I was wondering if you'd like to come over."

She must have registered the difference, because her tone grew concerned as she asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Not at all," Rumpelstiltskin said, playing with the vial he'd just recovered from the golden egg. "Everything is just perfect."

Chapter Text

Rumpelstiltskin's bedroom in this world wasn't very different from the room she'd swept and dusted countless times in the Enchanted Forest. Most of the furniture was the same, down to the bed large enough to accommodate four (and certainly the two of them, with no need to cling as close to each other... yet cling they did).

It was also as dark as the Dark Castle had been when she'd first arrived.

Out of habit, she raised a hand to create the small witchlight that had served her so well in the last year before Regina cast the curse. But nothing came up. Her brow furrowed when a second attempt had the same result.

"It's different here," Rumpelstiltskin said, extending his own palm and grimacing at the unsteady burst of light that flickered in and out, giving her a glimpse of his worried mien before it cast them back into darkness.

Belle snuggled closer to him, reaching for his wrist in a silent bid to stop. "But you will be okay?"

She didn't want to think of a world where everyone everyone knew who the Dark One was, and he had no reliable magic to defend himself.

"Of course, sweetheart," he told her. Then chuckled darkly. "At least I can still access it."

He never talked about her in that sneering tone, so Belle knew his mind has jumped to Regina's predicament. She let out a sigh, unsure how she must feel. On one hand, she was relieved that the Evil Queen had been put back behind bars where she couldn't harm anyone else. On the other hand, Regina had been Belle French's friend for more than two decades, and those memories hadn't vanished along with the personality who'd made them.

But Regina had made her own bed.

Now Belle intended to enjoy hers.

Theirs.

Rumpelstiltskin better understood that she had no intention of keeping separate beds anymore. As Belle French, she had understood that her boyfriend was uncomfortable with becoming intimate after such a short relationship. With her memories returned, Belle had not doubted to ask Rumpelstiltskin where the bedroom was, and had directed him under the covers and joined him before he could protest.

They hadn't done much more than kiss, but after the excitement of the day, building on their connection was enough. They had the future to discover the rest.

"I'm glad you stayed," she told him, running a finger down the crease that appeared on his forehead, "even if you're not."

He looked away. "Belle...."

"I know." Baelfire was his priority, and soon he would find a way to break through the barrier that separated Storybrooke from the outside world. If he could have left today, as planned, she would have accepted his departure with her best appearance of cheer. But he'd been forced to return home instead, and she wouldn't pretend to be sorry. "The option is that you'd barreled right through the town line," she reasoned, bringing her hands to cradle his cheeks so he would look at her, "and what would Mr. Gold have done except turn around and drive back?"

He nodded, turning his head to brush his lips against her palm. "You're right, of course."

Smiling, Belle leaned forward to kiss him again.

For a man who had come home with his cane wielded like a weapon, snarling about the new curse that the advent of magic had brought to the town line, Rumpelstiltskin now seemed pleasantly relaxed, digging his hand into her hair to hold her head in place.

After a few minutes they stopped, grinning at each other.

"I missed you so much, Belle," he told her, not for the first time that day.

Belle rubbed her cheek into the fingers that stroked it. "I didn't know to miss you, but you were always in my thoughts. In the Dark Castle or my apartment, it was always you, Rumpelstiltskin."

His face lit up at her words, and he scooted closer, wrapping an arm around her. A soft smile appeared on his lips. "Can you be real?" he whispered, and his eyes shone with wonder.

Belle understood the sentiment wholeheartedly. She had woken up to find that Rumpelstiltskin not only returned her feelings, but that he hadn't pushed her away when her cursed self had sought him out.

For all they had spent months together, following the patterns this world called courting, it had nothing to this day when she'd finally remembered that the man she loved was also the man who had taken her away from home and family, the one who had made her cry and laugh and rage, who had offered her freedom, and when she had refused it, he'd given her the world instead.

Gold had been a good man, one who'd known little of darkness and grief, and Belle was glad to have known him. But it had been Rumpelstiltskin who had accepted her advances, and Rumpelstiltskin who had made the last weeks of the curse into something Belle French had been satisfied to call happiness.

Rumpelstiltskin would claim that there was no good in him, but his actions always spoke louder.

"I love you, too," she told him, responding to the words he'd left unsaid, laughing giddily when he held her tighter.

She was content to lie still, her head on his chest and their bodies pressed together. But after a few minutes, he stirred. "Hey, don't fall asleep, dear. There's a room for you," he said, already loosening his hands from around her waist.

Belle rubbed her nose against his shoulder. Hooked a leg over his. Didn't move otherwise. "I know."

The End
02/09/16

Chapter Text

Bae turned suddenly, fury clinging to every word: "You don't want me anymore."

The coldness in his boy's eyes snapped Rumpelstiltskin out of the nightmare and back to the reality of Storybrooke's quiet night.

He tried to take a deep breath, as countless bad nights had taught him to calm himself. In this world, he didn't run around like a demon off the leash, making deals and losing himself in others' desperation.

Oh, people were desperate enough in Storybrooke, but they were far more wary of showing up at his doorstep. And no wonder. His shop being right in the middle of town where the whole community would witness the attempt to deal with the Dark One.

Pity.

On nights like this, he was tempted to seek them out. Promise them their fondest wishes and step back to witness how they soured the opportunity like the fools they were.

(Like he had been.)

Perhaps he could at least go to his laboratory, try another spell or ten to break the barrier at the edge of town.

(Nothing worked. Nothing. No matter how strong or dark the magic, the line remained ready to swallow their true memories.)

He sat up - just to feel a hand land on his chest and delicately push backwards.

"Not tonight, Rumple," Belle said, voice thick with sleep yet the only command he was likely to obey. "You promised you would rest tonight."

"I can't, sweetheart."

Belle cuddled closer, letting her nightgown ride up as she settled a leg over his, intent on keeping him in place. "Then close your eyes," she whispered as she raised her fingers to touch lightly the arch of his eyebrows. "You need to rest, Rumple."

"I need...."

"I know, darling." Her hand moved into his hair, keeping an even, soothing stroke. "Of course you will find him. Your Baelfire will come home."

Rumpelstiltskin closed his eyes. "I played worlds just to get stuck here. It's not fair, Belle."

"You did the impossible. You'll do it again." She hugged him. "And I know that you don't want to make a mistake because you are tired." A kiss on his shoulder hushed his protest. "You are different here, Rumple. You need sleep."

Rumpelstiltskin knew the truth of her words. "I wish it were so easy."

Belle kissed his cheek. "Just lie down with me. After breakfast, I'll help you research. Is that all right?"

He turned to embrace her. "Of course, sweetheart."

For centuries he had worked to get to his son. Now, so close to his goal, Rumpelstiltskin wasn't alone anymore.

Despite his nightmares, his Bae would understand the delay.

Anything else was unthinkable.

The End
14/04/24

Chapter Text

Belle rooted into the drawer, pulling yet another plaid shirt with her fingertips and making a face at it. She let the garment dangle before her for a second, shaking her head, and then threw it on top of its twins. There was quite a pile building up already. "How many of these do you actually own?"

Rumpelstiltskin heaved a sigh. "Too many."

Belle cringed. Her cursed self had thought nothing of Mr. Gold's fashion sense - or lack thereof. He'd been powerful enough despite his old-fashioned looks, and it had been a little endearing, how blind he was to this little flaw when he was so sharp otherwise.

Once she had woken up, Belle had spent a good half hour laughing herself silly at the thought of Rumpelstiltskin - he of the extravagant outfits and expensive silks and leathers - clad in those drab shirts. "I never understood how much Regina hated you," she said now, biting her inner cheek so as to avoid erupting into giggles again, "until I realized she'd had you wearing these for thirty years. The 'evil' queen, indeed!"

Rumpelstiltskin shrugged. "Considering her power over the curse, a little pettiness is almost a kindness, coming from her."

Belle gave him a thoughtful look, but stayed quiet. The relationship between Rumpelstiltskin and Regina was one she could never fully grasp. The two of them had never been friends - or even too friendly at all - and they had not been student and mentor since long before she'd come into the picture; but Regina would still come to him for help, and Rumpelstiltskin always gave the queen her fair dues.

And he was right.

Regina could have thrown them with different lovers, as she'd done with princess Abigail (and David, of course, but Snow White's husband would have been the object of Regina's hate in any case; in Belle's mind, poor Abigail had been the innocent bystander in that war). Or she could have made the curse pull at the nastiest threads of their characters, and make them hate each other for three decades.

If Belle French had been scared of her own shadow, and Mr. Gold had been a little boring, at least they had still gravitated around each other.

She thought of that time with a little fondness, now.

"You're right. It wasn't always bad. I guess I could keep a couple of those-" she nodded to the shirts she'd spent the last hour culling from his wardrobe "-as a memento."

Rumpelstiltskin immediately shook his head, making her snicker at his urgency. "Please don't," he told her. "The only reason I haven't vanished the lot is because I pushed them to the back as soon as I woke."

Belle nodded. "To the fireplace they go, then."

He obviously liked that idea, as he came closer and put his arms around her, closing his hands right above her belly. "Hm. Wonder what we can do while that fire burns." He bent to nuzzle her neck. "Any ideas?"

Laughing, Belle covered his hands with hers. "One or two."

The End
07/07/15

Chapter Text

We can help you this time, Ruby had said, wearing the same expression of pity as she had at Queen Snow's wedding. Belle had willfully misunderstood the other girl, protested that the two take-out bags she was carrying weren't a problem at all, but Ruby had shaken her head and refused to take the hint.

Even her father had pointed out, oh so casually, that now she had an entire world to explore - and surely she was already planning her next destination as soon as they fixed the barrier at the town line?

And there were all the others who, more or less subtly, had wondered why she hadn't parted ways with the Dark One yet.

"People are idiots," Belle said now, not feeling that hungry anymore, and gave a huff when Rumpelstiltskin only raised an eyebrow and kept pouring ketchup onto his fries; yes, of course, he'd already known that. "It's like they can't accept the truth unless it's staring at them in the face. One day," she promised, unwilling to stand much more of being treated like a damsel who needed to realize she was in distress, "I will ask you to kiss me silly in the middle of a town meeting, and I won't let you say no."

His eyes widened a little at her vehemence, and after a moment of thought, his lips curved into a mischievous smile. "Can I get that in writing?"

The End
07/07/15

Chapter Text

If her cursed alter-ego could have understood what huge progress it had been every time her Mr. Gold had held her hand or brushed a soft kiss on her hair, she wouldn't have been so frustrated at the slow pace of their relationship. But Belle now remembered both her years living with Rumpelstiltskin in the Dark Castle, as well as the few months she'd spent as Mr. Gold's girlfriend, and she was taking every advantage he had granted her in this second role.

The good-night kiss she had initiated had quite nicely grown into a lengthy tangle of lips and tongues, and she was loving the feeling of his hands creeping down her back to their usual place at her waist, and then moving lower still.

A perfect end of her day, Belle thought.

Or it could have been.

But, true to form, Emma Swan swept in, demanding Rumpelstiltskin's presence and yelping when she caught sight of him. "Oh, you've got to be kidding - lock the door first!"

Belle couldn't help a snicker, and after the blonde tore away, she dropped her head on Rumpelstiltskin's chest and quietly said, still smiling, "That was a mistake." And before he could take her too seriously, she brought her hands to trace up from his shoulders to cup his cheeks, tugged him closer, and grinned mischievously. "Let's do it again."

His delighted laugh was encouragement enough.

The End
03/07/15

Chapter Text

Rumpelstiltskin can't help a smirk as the Savior flees from his shop, a blush high on her cheeks even as she mutters about keeping things decent in a public space. Just proves that Emma comes from a different world, to think that anything that belongs to the Dark One could be considered 'public'!

He almost snorts out loud, but a forehead pressing against his chest stops him, and his attention veers back to Belle.

"That was a mistake," she says.

He freezes, suddenly aware that he's put her in an embarrassing position. But before he can plead for forgiveness, Belle's hands are bringing him closer until their noses brush together, and the dear girl is smiling at him as she says, "Let's do it again."

Rumpelstiltskin laughs, and happily does as instructed.

The End
21/10/16

Chapter Text

The diner after closing had been a nightmare during the curse, with Ruby striving to escape her chores while she squirmed under her grandmother's judgemental gaze. But now that their memories had returned, it was actually Ruby's favorite part of the day. They saw out the other waitresses and cook, and waited for any last-minute clients to finish their drinks and make their way back home.

The check under every table and chair was made quickly, to make sure there was nothing to add to their Found and Lost box, and after the tables were clean and the floor was swept, she and Granny retreated to the kitchen and spent the next hour in quiet company as they washed the last of the dishes.

Ruby was used to recapping the highlights of the day during this time, so she thought nothing of mentioning Belle's little mishap that morning. "I still can't believe she runs around in four-inch heels, but manages to spill a milkshake on herself when sitting down!"

Granny huffed, making no comment.

She had come to check on Belle that morning, just like she would have for any other customer, but had only told her to be more careful, and to use the restroom to clean the sticky pink mess off her blouse if she couldn't wait until she returned to her apartment across the street and had more privacy.

There had been no offer for a free refill, Ruby remembered now.

"Why don't you like Belle, Granny?"

Her grandmother turned to her, raising an eyebrow well over the edge of her glasses. "Everybody knows she goes home to that wretch and you still ask me?"

Ruby winced at the cutting tone. Granny had never met Belle in the Enchanted Forest, but she'd made her disapproval heard once she found out that the Dark One's maid had refused sanctuary in Snow's lands. Obviously the girl must have been tainted by the dark power, she'd said at the council meeting, and better to write her off with a clear conscience.

"You can't save those who refuse to be saved, Snow," she'd told their queen, and though David had tried a few more times, in the end the matter of the Evil Queen's curse had taken precedence and Belle's fate remained in Rumpelstiltskin's hands.

Perhaps Red's opinion would have mirrored her grandmother's, if she hadn't been assigned to escort the girl at all times before and during Snow's wedding (and hadn't that been a sign that the Dark One regarded Belle over others, as he not only accepted the invitation careful monarchs sent to every magic-wielder in the realm to avoid inadvertent insults, but had sent her in his stead?)

Ruby had never spoken up in Belle's defense before they came to Storybrooke. It didn't seem worth a disagreement with Granny when it was unlikely that her path and Belle's would cross again. But here they were, in this small town where Belle often visited their diner at lunchtime, and several times a week asked for two to go.

Ruby still worried about the other woman, but not because she believed that Belle might have been poisoned by her master's dark arts.

"She is nice," she told Granny.

"Huh?"

"Belle. Belle French, now." Ruby tried to smile, as if insisting on bringing the Dark One's girlfriend up in conversation was something she did everyday. "I mean, she was nice then too, but now... I told her about the wolf, and she didn't even bat an eye. She helped me, Granny."

"And her lover was quick to charge us for it."

But Belle hadn't asked for anything, just told her that everything would be fine and promised to convince Rumpelstiltskin to help - and warned her that the help wouldn't come cheaply, and was she sure she needed magicked chains to hold her?

Without her cloak, fearing another night with the wolf running rampage, Ruby had been desperate enough to say yes.

"He hid me where I couldn't harm anyone," Ruby said. "How do you repay someone for that?"

Granny twisted her mouth. "It would mean something if he did it out of the goodness of his heart," she retorted, "but he doesn't have any."

But it's not that easy, Ruby thought, remembering Belle's - and later Rumpelstiltskin's - words. Magic always has a price.

"I was actually with them for a whole night," Ruby reminded her grandmother. The wolf's memories were usually hazy, but a furious Rumpelstiltskin had made enough of an impression to carry over to her human time. "I think.... I think he is actually fond of her. He cares, Granny. He would have ripped out my throat for scaring Belle, and he didn't because she asked him not to."

There was a moment of silence, but finally Granny shook her head decisively. "If that's true," and the quiet snort said that she didn't believe it, "then that girl has a tiger by the tail. See if she doesn't get bitten soon!"

Ruby blinked, startled by the image that jumped in her mind: Belle sitting in her garden, a large feline resting his head on her lap. From what she'd seen of the Dark One when he believed he was alone with Belle, the only biting in his mind would be playful. And, if Belle's reaction to him was a sign, quite pleasurable. "Oh, I don't think a tail is the appendage Belle's holding," Ruby said, not forgetting for a second that her grandmother had hearing as sharp as hers, but unable to keep it to herself.

Granny made a weird noise, slamming the pile of dishes she'd been putting away onto the nearest counter.

It took Ruby a moment to recognize it as laughter.

"Perhaps he's just as much a man as any other, then," Granny said at last, having composed herself, but she was shaking her head. "But that doesn't make him a good one."

And by extension, neither could Belle be.

Ruby disagreed, but what other proof could she offer?

The End
28/08/16

Chapter Text

Whenever he remembered this conversation, Maurice would blame the rich wine for his loose tongue. At the moment, however, it crossed his mind that if his daughter could face a near-mob without showing fear, he could sit across the Dark One and have a conversation with the creature who had stolen Belle's loyalty.

"I don't like you."

Rumpelstiltskin raised an eyebrow. Humor crossed his expression, though he gave the courtesy of not laughing in Maurice's face.

"I suppose it doesn't come as a surprise," he grumbled.

"Hardly." Rumpelstiltskin chuckled. "You might say the assassination attempts clued me in."

"I sent those men to collect my daughter." Grudgingly, he added, "At the time, I believed she'd welcome her freedom."

"She's made a deal with me," the Dark One said unapologetically. "As for the orders your knights carried, what Belle believes they were and what they told me is..." He gave a shrug, mimed a pinch between thumb and forefinger. "...just a tad different."

Maurice looked away.

"Oh, I don't blame you. Foolish things are done to protect a beloved child, I've found." At a wave of his hand, the bottle moved to refill Maurice's cup. "A toast to fools, will you? And don't worry, I'm not telling Belle anything she doesn't want to know."

Before he could stop himself, Maurice groaned. "That girl always wants to know."

That startled laughter out of the demon at his table.

Maurice blinked at how human he sounded.

"True enough," Rumpelstiltskin allowed. "It's one of her better qualities."

Maurice took a long swig from his cup, to give himself time to consider that simple statement. It sounded honest. No wonder his Belle stayed in the Dark Castle, when no suitor Maurice had scared up had ever come close to appreciating her appetite for knowledge.

In that moment, he decided he would always blame the wine for his next words:

"Belle likes you."

Rumpelstiltskin's odd eyes blinked rapidly, and his mouth thinned. Maurice didn't want to know what emotion hid behind that mask.

"And I do like your wine," he continued in a more jovial tone. "Is there more?

Yes, the wine would be at fault.

He didn't need to know anything else.

The End
05/04/24

Chapter Text

He could hear them, sometimes. Oh, he couldn't catch the meaning of their words, or really follow the mood of their conversation, but their voices drifted into his consciousness at random moments, a welcome change from the fever and pain.

His son's voice - no longer the boyish tones of his memory, but a stranger's. Each time Bae spoke reminded him of all he'd missed, all the years he should have been by his son's side and wasn't. Guilt was a familiar companion, breaking his heart with more accuracy than any poison. But it was pushed back by the knowledge that he had found his boy, at last; that Bae had boarded this cursed ship and was coming with them.

That meant there was hope.

That feeling was a newer one, to be carefully probed to make sure of its existence. But there it was, blossoming under a loving caress against his cheek, the tender touch as his hair was pulled back away from his face.

Belle.

Her voice was a softer murmur now, unwilling to wake him. But he knew the true strength of it, the ways it tilted and called his name without the slightest hint of fear. The sound of it reminded him of a thousand conversations in the Dark Castle and a thousand more in Storybrooke. Belle had liked him, long before he would acknowledge that he could be liked. She had loved him, when he would have mocked her for such foolishness. She had teased him and laughed with him, when the world was content to pelt him with reviling shouts or pitiful whimpers.

She would be worried now, even as she held him and offered what comfort she could. But he could make her laugh, he knew that. He could make her happy.

Cursed or whole, she had chosen him.

Yes. That must be hope.

A little thing, wasn't it? So very fragile.

But it was his.

Thinking of Bae could still bring back all the regrets of the past, but that was not the entire picture of his life anymore. It didn't matter that the poison was spreading through his bloodstream, weakening him further as it inched its way to his heart. It didn't matter that it wouldn't answer to magic, for all he'd told the others that he could get a cure in Storybrooke.

It didn't matter that he was dying.

Because Rumpelstiltskin refused to give up just yet. He hadn't just found his son and won Belle's trust to let them go so easily. There had to be a way around this, some deal still to be made. There was always a trick to be played, and if he must cheat to get the winning hand, then so be it. He just had to keep his eyes open, and grasp onto whatever advantage presented itself.

Or create one out of thin air, if he must do that again.

At last, he had everything he wanted, and he'd damn the world (again) to hold onto it.

The End
15/07/15

Chapter Text

A wave of Gold's hand, and suddenly everyone stopped talking. Belle jumped when she realized that it wasn't a silencing spell, but that Regina and the others were frozen in place. She looked around, eyes widening as no one twitched as much as a finger. She had seen his power, the small spells he'd used to convince her that magic was real, and the one that had saved their lives here in Neverland, but never had she seen him strike at someone on their side.

"Gold?"

"They'll be all right," he reassured her. "Just give me a minute before we go on?"

From Gold's perspective, it was always better to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission. If he apologized at all. So it took Belle a moment to understand that he was waiting for an answer, and that if she'd insisted they needed to move on without delay, he would free the others.

He had tried to talk to her in private since Henry had been found, but every attempt had been interrupted by a new danger or one of the others walking in on them.

It seemed he had run out of patience.

"What's wrong?"

He let out a breath, then came closer to catch her hands in his. "Nothing. Nothing at all. I just--- I want to try. One last time."

The eagerness in his voice let her know what he meant.

True Love's Kiss.

The elusive magic that would give her back her memories.

"What makes you think it'll work now?"

"We're on a land with magic of its own. Isn't that worth a try?"

"So we're down to wild shots," Belle translated, and then smiled sadly at the thought of a man who could do the impossible lowering himself to pulling at straws. "Do you miss her that much?"

To her shock, Gold shook his head. "I love you, Belle. All of you." He gave a small shrug. "I love you enough to want you to remember my mistakes too, and all the times I've failed you. There's more to us than our life in Storybrooke, and you're the only one who understands that."

Belle looked down at their joined hands. "I can't expect you to love me," she said softly, "when I'm not that woman anymore."

"Oh, sweetheart." His grasp tightened for one second, before he let her loose. She wasn't left bereft for long, as Gold moved to tip her face up toward him, hands cupping her jaw gently. "Do you think I can doubt who you are? I have seen this story from beginning to end. I know what we've been to each other. You love me, don't you?" he asked, gazing at her tenderly, and waited for a nod before he continued. "Exactly. You know who I really am, no matter what role you've seen me take. The monster or the man, at the height of my power or suffering for want of painkillers, you've seen everything I am. It doesn't matter that you don't remember all of it, Belle. Nothing changes the way you love me." He took a step closer, leaning a little to press his forehead against hers. "So please don't tell me that it could change the way I love you."

Belle closed her eyes, and because she wanted to believe him, brushed her lips against his cheek. When he gasped at her wordless acquiescence, she turned his breath into a deep kiss, pressing against him and wishing he could really love her as much as he claimed.

Her eyes filled with tears when nothing happened.

"Hey," Gold said, arms around her now, stopping her from putting some distance in-between. "It's okay."

"But it didn't work!"

His chuckle was the last reaction she expected. But Gold was kissing her nose, no regret in his expression. "It's okay," he repeated. "As long as I have you, nothing else matters."

Belle forced herself to say the words: "You may never get her back."

"Oh, Belle. There is no 'her'. There's only you." He caressed her cheek. "There was always only you."

Now that the last chance for her memories to return was gone, Gold's sincerity finally sunk in. "You really love me," she whispered in amazement, laughing because she felt that truth down to her soul, and didn't wait for his nod before she was diving in for another kiss.

The touch of his lips against hers made her sigh in joy. She would keep this man, because she loved him and he truly loved her back. They would return to Storybrooke, and they'd live happily-ever-after....

That was the last thought Belle French had, before she let out a loud gasp and the memories of her true life rushed back. It was Belle, daughter of Lord Maurice and maid to the Dark One, who stepped back from the kiss, smiling at her True Love. "Hello, Rumple."

And Rumpelstiltskin gazed at her in disbelief, and then gathered her in his arms before he twirled her around, laughing as he kissed her cheeks, her brow, her eyes.... "Thank you," he said, once he let her feet touch the ground again. "Thank you for believing in me."

Belle curled her arms around his neck, aware now that he had known what was holding her cursed self back and yet had never blamed her. "Thank you," she told him, "for loving me until I did."

The End
25/06/16

Chapter Text

Belle waited until her fiancé had wandered out of earshot. Walking to the diner and back would take him only a few minutes, and that was because she'd given him a pleading look not to use his magic as a shortcut. At least there had been a reasonable excuse to send him away, as Ruby was the only waitress at Granny's who would deliver their order, and Ruby had been assigned to dishwashing duty for a week after she'd socked Whale's nose in during her shift on Saturday night.

Granny did not like it when someone threatened the unofficial standing of her diner as a neutral zone (though everyone knew that the doctor was avoiding Main Street, and would as long as Granny's eyes strayed to her crossbow every time someone mentioned him).

At least Rumpelstiltskin would have a fine time dealing with the older woman's temper.

He might think the extra entertainment recompense enough for being exiled from the apartment.

Mentally apologizing to Granny, Belle promised to put the time to good use. Baelfire had been staring at her when he thought she wouldn't notice (As if she had no experience with brown, earnest gazes weighing her worth and then turning away in confusion when she didn't meet their expectations.) She left the box she had been packing, and walked into his line of vision, calling his attention with a soft cough. "What is it?"

Baelfire blinked, already shaking his head.

With a wry chuckle, Belle gave him a look. "You're a worse liar than your father, you know. I didn't think that was possible."

His eyes widened in surprise. "I'm--- really?"

Belle nodded, but stopped when she thought of an exception. "Unless he's lying to himself, too. Then it gets tricky."

He glanced at her consideringly. "And you don't mind?"

"If it's important, I'll find out."

"You seem at ease with that," Baelfire noted. When she nodded, he completed his thought, "you didn't use to be."

Belle raised her head, ready to protest that she had always trusted Rumpelstiltskin. Honesty forced her to admit, "You mean while I was... under the curse...?" She shook her head. "I didn't remember a lot of things I've learned about your father, and most of it had been learned the hard way, either to my cost or his. Didn't help that Rumple delayed telling me for as long as he could. Every time he acted outside how I knew him as Mr. Gold, I was so afraid something was wrong."

"...was it?"

Belle gave him an exasperated look. "Of course. Didn't you hear me? My memories were gone!"

"So what, now you know Dad?"

His blatant skepticism made Belle's eyes widen. "Is that really so hard to believe?"

The emphatic snort was answer enough. There was a hint of pity in his eye, and that was the last straw.

"You really don't believe me."

"That Dad would let someone get so close? I'm sorry, Belle. But no, I don't."

Belle tried not to take it as an insult. He wasn't calling her a liar; just a naïve optimist. Besides, this was Rumpelstiltskin's son, and if he were anything like his father (and he was), beating some sense into him would take several attempts and enough proof that he wouldn't be able to dismiss it as an accident.

It had taken her years to convince a solitary man to trust her.

She only had a few minutes to push Baelfire in the right direction before Rumpelstiltskin returned with their lunch. "Hey, Bae. Do you know how to hold a porcupine without gloves?"

He squinted at her. "Is this a metaphor?"

"It's a question."

"A trick question," he pointed out. "No one would even try, and those too insane to know better would spend an evening with their hands bandaged after one attempt."

"Why?"

Bae stared. "Long pointy quills embedded in your skin? I'd say that's deterrent enough for me."

"Even if they're part of it?"

Baelfire scowled. "I'd still be the one getting hurt."

"Even if it's done in self-defense?"

"I'm not trying to attack him!" Baelfire burst out. Then he took a deep breath, shook his head. "Look, Belle. I know you're trying to help, but maybe it's better if you stay out of this. Papa and I..." He sighed, visibly at a loss for words.

"Just one more, I promise," Belle said. "What if you tried to do it gently, holding the porcupine?"

"I'd still be afraid it would attack me," Bae answered. "Porcupines don't know better."

Belle nodded, reaching out to touch his arm so he'd look at her. Her lips curved into a soft smile. "They don't," she agreed, "and like I told you, this isn't a metaphor."

It took a second for her meaning to sink in. A reluctant grin appeared on his face. "That's some roundabout way to make a point. How long have you lived with Dad, again?"

"Long enough," Belle admitted, but then returned to her main point. "Rumple loves you so much, Bae. And he trusts you already." She gave a wry grin. She would never envy Rumpelstiltskin's son for his place in his father's heart. But even she could wish that she hadn't had such a bitter fight to make her own. "Believe me, you only have to make sure that he knows you care too."

The End
07/10/16

Chapter Text

Belle called up a smile when she recognized the man standing in wait at the bookstore door. In her time as Rumpelstiltskin's companion, she had met several of the more important tradesmen in the Dark Mountains both out of necessity and in the odd social occasion she convinced Rumpelstiltskin to attend.

The seamstress and her husband were among those Belle met more often, after she won the argument for everyday dresses that weren't thrown together with magicked cloth and a stitching spell.

Her compromise had been to allow Rumpelstiltskin free reign on her ball gowns.

(The man had good taste, after all, if loud and showy. Belle always enjoyed the result on the mirror, and, well... Wouldn't it have been a shame not to allow his power that harmless outlet?)

"Master Frank," she greeted the man, offering a hand.

He looked at it with obvious hesitation. The curse had ingrained in all of them the manners of Maine culture, but there were several who hesitated acting on it.

He did take the hand, but quickly bowed over it to kiss the air over her knuckles.

Belle fixed her smile, but inwardly groaned. A bookstore owner didn't get this gallantry. The Dark One's maid, however, when called upon by an inhabitant of the mountains that surrounded the Dark Castle, was treated like an ambassador between the people and the power none else would dare interrupt with small matters.

"Madam," said the seamstress' husband, "I've come to beg for your time and patience..."

"Of course," she agreed at once. The better to get it over with. "Please come in," she said as she unlocked the door, "We can talk at my desk."

He smiled in obvious relief, following after her. Once seated, he refused the offer of a beverage.

"How may I help you?"

He fidgeted a little before taking a deep breath. "We heard... My wife and I, I mean. Is it true there is a way back to our world?"

Belle bit her lip. Of course the rumor had started as soon as they had arrived back in the world "without" magic. The whole of Storybrooke was now as obsessed with portals as Rumpelstiltskin had once been. "Not as such," she told him gently. "There was an open portal, and it did lead to the Enchanted Forest. But we have reason to believe no one would survive long after arrival... Not that there's much left of the world we knew." She saw him pale and too late regretted including that last tidbit. "We are working on it, of course, but..." She shrugged. "It's still a work in progress."

His face fell further.

"Are you having difficulties in Storybrooke, Frank?" she asked, worried now.

These people were not under the Dark Castle's purview anymore, but Belle felt a bit of an obligation anyway. While Rumpelstiltskin had plotted, Regina grew bitter, and Belle herself had struggled to believe in happy endings, the common people had been betrayed out of their very homes.

Thankfully, Frank shook his head. "Not as such, no. Of course I wouldn't come to you to complain, m'lady!" he rushed to reassure her. "Our house is grand enough for us and the littles. And the amenities! This world is truly a wonder." He sighed, though. "We just thought... My wife and I, I mean. If we could reach our lands, perhaps we could get some decent fabric for our work..."

Belle blinked. "Fabric?"

"Exactly!" He grew more animated. "The quality here is, well. Have you tried the cotton, Lady Belle? My Bertha would die of shame if she had to present you with even a sock in this world!"

"...I see."

Belle didn't, but she was broadminded enough to understand that priorities would differ. Personally she hadn't noticed much of a difference in the local clothing aside for the shorter fashions. but she also had already complained to Rumpelstiltskin about the lack of leather covers for newer books.

"Well," Frank said dejectedly. "Nothing to do about it anyway."

Belle smiled encouragingly. "I trust your wife's work to triumph, no matter the available materials." She rose, making to accompany him to the door and answering his bow with a slight curtsey. "In fact, please do tell Miss Bertha that I'll visit her soon."

The seamstress' husband grinned, giving her a lower bow. "We'll be glad to have you, Lady Belle!"

Once the man was out of sight, Belle sat back at her desk and considered the situation.

Rumpelstiltskin was busy breaking the town line. Regina was recovering her son's trust.

Happy endings were closer at hand this time. Perhaps she could keep an eye on what happened around them this time.

The End
17/04/24

Chapter Text

Rumpelstiltskin might be the most powerful wizard in the realm - an achievement that admittedly sounded less impressive than it should, when one considered he now lived in the Land Without Magic - but all the potions and spells he'd mastered seemed like easy grade school assignments compared to the stubborn innards of a cuckoo clock that required all his concentration and still refused to work.

At this point, he was tempted to blame a curse. No matter how many times he placed each piece in its place, either the hands refused to work once he wound it, or they marked an off beat.

A single twitch of his fingers would solve any problem, of course. Mechanical or magical. But the objective here was not to prove his power, but to exercise his patience and put his brains to the test.

Considering the foes (and the less likeable allies) he'd faced in the last months, this clock might be his best hope for a challenge.

He was on his fifth - seventh? - attempt when a brief flare of cyan shocked him enough to drop both the clock in his left hand and the tool he was maneuvering with the right. A quick freezing spell avoided a disaster, and the bit of smoke that had swirled over his wrist cleared.

In its place there was a square note of bright blue paper. On it, his wife's careful cursive read:

Be home by eight o'clock.

Rumpelstiltskin glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 7:31pm already, almost a half hour after the time he usually walked into their home. He had been distracted for far longer than he'd supposed.

With a thought, he returned his tools to their boxes and allowed the malfunctioning piece to land on the table on its feet. He could fiddle with it some more the next day; for now, he had a summons to answer.

Still with a few minutes to spare, he picked the small post-it and examined it. There was no damage done to its edges, no marks of a burn or tears. Already better than the little notes Belle had sent him in the castle, bits of paper following his trace until they poofed before him, letting him know that dinner would be late, or announcing a new visitor that required the Dark One's presence.

But her messages usually had trouble reaching him unless they were both in the same building.

This time Belle had either managed to send the note all the away across town, or she had spelled his coat in the morning, while he was still in the shower, and added a timing spell to activate it past a certain time. Either way it meant a considerable improvement in her abilities.

Which meant that this was no mere request from a fond wife to a distracted husband, but a reminder that he'd promised to celebrate her achievements.

Rumpelstiltskin smiled, wondering what Belle would demand of him this time. A bouquet of handpicked wildflowers? A dinner for two somewhere other than Granny's? A weekend in the cabin?

His smile brightened further with each possibility.

Far from him to deny his loveliest student the prize she deserved.

The End
27/10/16

Chapter Text

Belle could feel the bright blush that heated her cheeks, but she refused to give in to the embarrassment and held her chin up instead. They were all adults here, and they had locked the door this time.

At least they'd still had most of their clothes on, when the Charmings had started hollering their names.

Rumpelstiltskin had slammed a barrier on the connecting door, and barked back to get the hell away.

They hadn't listened, of course. They never did.

Now Belle smoothed down her skirt, confident in the fact that nobody could tell her underwear was somewhere under the furniture one room over. They might not have even noticed, anyway, Belle thought hopefully. Though from the look Emma was giving Rumpelstiltskin's tie-less collar while her parents were arguing with him, one of them at least suspected. That Belle had come out from the back room first to face them, while Rumpelstiltskin needed another minute to join her, had probably been a dead giveaway.

Everyone knew the Dark One loved dealing with intruders himself.

Oh well. Emma was a big girl. It couldn't be worse than the time she'd walked in on her parents, right? (And how Belle had giggled when she'd overheard that tidbit at the diner!) It would serve her well for using her talents to invade someone else's privacy.

Belle straightened when Emma's gaze drifted to her. Breaking and entering now, Miss Swan?

If the words had been said out loud, they would have borrowed her husband's most scornful tone.

I know what you were doing in there, Emma signaled back.

Her eyebrows arched into a taunting look. Jealous?

With a glare, Emma huffed and turned her attention back to the loud discussion in the middle of the room.

Belle smiled to herself, proud of her little victory, and made a mental note to ask Rumpelstiltskin to add a spell to the physical locks the next time. Because there was always a next time, and there was always something the Charmings needed their help for.

They were welcome to the shop - within reasonable limits.

But if the royal family ever tried this stunt in their home, Belle wouldn't complain when Rumpelstiltskin turned them into slugs.

The End
07/07/15

Chapter Text

Rumpelstiltskin could feel a headache coming the moment he stepped into his living room. The explosion of color made him blink in surprise, but he had to bite down a snarl at the sight of the bright yellow sign covering his favorite paintings on the wall. "Now breakfast in bed suddenly makes a lot more sense," he commented dryly, poking one of the nearby empty boxes with his cane. "Buttering me up, sweetheart?"

From her seat on the couch, surrounded by green, yellow, and white streams of paper, his wife smiled sheepishly. "We have breakfast in bed often."

"Yes. And usually I'm the one to wake up first, dabble in the kitchen, and carry the results upstairs. Without hidden motivation." At the quirk of her eyebrow, he shook his head unapologetically. "Oh no, you can't say my reasons are not obvious, my dear," his voice lowered until the endearment was a soft rumble.

The red that flared in her cheeks in response made his bad mood take a step to the side.

It had been impossible to stay mad at Belle when she'd left little disasters in her wake as she learned the duties of a maid. It was foolishness to believe that he could even work up as much as a glare when his wife was smiling like that.

"You said it would be a small meeting, Belle."

Even then he had agreed to it being held in his house only because it was for Bae. He had celebrated his son's birthday in his absence for centuries, and he would have preferred to invite him for a quiet dinner at home. But his boy had other commitments now, most notably a child of his own, and he would rather share the day with the other branches of Henry's family tree than miss out on seeing his son at all.

"It will be. Small. Very small." Belle assured him, but he noticed how she pushed some of the bags of balloons behind her. "I just thought some decorations would make it more fun."

He gave a pointed look at the Happy Birthday sign on the wall. And the grinning lion waving from it.

"Isn't it fun?"

"He's not turning seven, Belle."

"He will love it and you know it."

Rumpelstiltskin actually doubted that Baelfire would like a surprise party at all. His son had grown into a quiet man; friendly, yes, but not one to enjoy being the center of attention. He had mentioned that before, but Belle had brushed it aside and charged ahead with her usual optimism. After a few attempts, he had given up. Previous experience proved that Belle learned more quickly from her mistakes. He'd rather save steering her away from bad decisions when it was important for her well-being.

Instead he looked around the room, lifting his cane to twirl it around one of the bunches of streamers hanging from the ceiling. He pulled it aside as he approached the couch, just to come up with another bunch nearly at eyesight level after three steps.

He raised an eyebrow.

"I... might have gone overboard."

Rumpelstiltskin gave a small smile at that, relieved. The smile dimmed when he noticed that she wasn't moving to remove any of it. "Belle...."

"Help me with the balloons?"

He stared at her. "Sweetheart...."

A small balloon inflator appeared in her hand, and she offered it to him with a smile. "Just a couple dozen or so. I don't have time for more, anyway."

"I don't think...."

"I'll make you a deal, Rumple."

He couldn't help it. His attention perked up at that word.

Belle grinned, well aware of her husband's quirks. "What about I owe you a kiss for each balloon you help me set up?"

The amount of bags around her doubled.

Belle giggled. "The deal is struck?"

Rumpelstiltskin started nodding, but he stopped in mid-motion, tilting his head as his eyes roved over her figure. "It could be, yes. Or."

Belle fidgeted, biting her lower lip at the obvious turn of his thoughts. "Or...?"

He leaned on his cane, the move as much of an affectation as the trilling laughter had been in the Enchanted Forest. "As a businessman, I have found that the best option is to avoid making small payments." His voice was grave, and anyone else would believe he was unaffected. Belle knew better, so she waited for the rest. "Instead, I would recommend settling the whole debt at once."

"Is that your professional advice?"

"The best you'll find, dearie."

Belle smiled knowingly at that, but then shrugged with regret. "I meant it when I said I didn't have a lot of time."

A wave of his hand, and all the balloons were dotting the walls, ceiling, and even the furniture.

Belle laughed. She caught her husband's expectant gaze and nodded, rising to her feet and reaching out to take his hand, laughing harder when instead he tossed the cane aside, grabbed her by the hips and pulled her flush against him. "One big payment, eh?"

Rumpelstiltskin grinned back. "Or maybe two."

The End
22/08/16

Chapter Text

Neal yelped when a sharp slap landed on his knuckles, urging him to desist from working out the complicated knot at the back of his head. "Come on," he whined, ignoring his son's snickers. "Aren't I too old for this?"

"Nope," Henry informed him, not in the least surprised at Belle's violent streak.

The little traitor had chosen his Aunt Belle's side, and what had been supposed to be a simple game had turned into being kidnapped, shoved into a car, and marched across what Neal highly suspected was his father's front yard.

He was never letting Henry talk him into playing blind man's buff again.

"This is so embarrassing," he mumbled, hoping he wouldn't trip and break his nose.

Though an emergency trip to the hospital sounded tempting.

"It's your birthday," Belle said cheerily, "that means we'll have a nice meal and enjoy the day as a family. It's tradition."

Neal frowned. It was the first time he spent his birthday in Storybrooke. "No, it's not."

"Well, okay. This year there will be more people than Rumple and I, and you will actually be there to celebrate with us. About time!" Belle huffed. Then slapped his hand down again. "I swear, Baelfire, if you undo that blindfold, I'm going to tell everyone how you got the scar on the back of your hand."

Immediately he felt Henry's smaller hand hold his closer up for inspection. "Dad?"

"An encounter with a wild animal," he told his son, and didn't need Belle's soft snort to remember the goose who'd protested a child's curiosity with a bite and, when a shocked Bae had stumbled down and fallen on his ass, the damned fowl had regally stepped up and over him. He still swore it had sunk its claws into his flesh on purpose. His father, witness to the sorry affair, had fretted over him for five whole minutes before determining that he would survive... and then he had chuckled over his son's misfortune. "I can't believe Papa told you about that," he said to Belle.

He could imagine her grin as she answered, "And there's more where that came from."

It was official. He had a wicked stepmother of his own.

Belle laughed when he said so out loud. "Well, now you can't protest that you aren't a proper fairytale character!" she countered. Then she put a hand on his elbow, subtly guiding him to where he could already hear the buzz of familiar voices. "Your father resisted the idea in the beginning as well," she said softly enough that the words stayed between adults. "You don't think he jumped at the chance to have the Charmings over, do you?"

His father, who protected his privacy from everyone except wife and son. "Guess not."

"I'll make you the same deal I did your father," Belle continued. "Just try it first. If you really don't like it, I'll never mention it again."

It sounded fair enough, so Neal nodded.

"You'll love it, Dad. There will be cake," Henry enthused, tugging on his hand to hasten their pace. "I helped Belle make it."

"That's lovely," Neal said sincerely, "but you didn't need to go to so much trouble. I don't mind store-bought."

"Nuh-uh. We always have homemade cake," Belle said, this time in a normal tone of voice, "and this year you'll get to blow the candles and make a wish. It'll be perfect."

Neal thought he wanted a list of all these traditions he'd missed. He wouldn't want to be caught off-guard again.

"I'm doing this under duress," he warned the two conspirators.

"Yes, of course." Belle patted his elbow again. "You poor thing, being dragged over to have some fun." Then she chuckled. "Like father, like son indeed."

That treat must have skipped a generation, because Henry tugged even harder.

"Ready?" his boy asked as they finished climbing the porch steps, and didn't wait for an answer as he pushed the door open. Immediately a chorus of 'Happy Birthday!' greeted him.

He instinctively sought out Emma's voice, and the expression on his face must have been enough to prompt her to come forward, because a moment later her quick fingers were unknotting the blindfold. "Thank you," he told her, and Emma gave him a quick smile before she stepped backwards to join the rest of the guests.

It was a small crowd. Emma, her parents, and a few friends. But in comparison to the lonely decades spent on his own, Neal had to admit it that it felt great to see proof that people cared about him.

He was about to thank everybody for coming over, when a tight hug enveloped him.

"Son," his father rasped, holding him tighter.

Neal returned the hug, and when it was over he turned to Belle. "Broken ribs are a tradition as well?"

His father looked in confusion between them, but Belle smiled softly and squeezed Neal's arm affectionately before stepping forward to stand at her husband's side.

"No," she said, "It's what's been missing until now."

The End
23/07/16

Chapter Text

Rumpelstiltskin swallowed thickly, unable to form thoughts into words even as Belle awaited his opinion, and aware that he looked like a gawking fool as his gaze followed helplessly along the bits of string cleverly knotted together to form an outfit that, in this world, passed as a bathing suit.

"You like it!" Belle cried out, tottering over to him on bare feet so she had to strain a bit to kiss his cheek. "I thought it was a bit... well... too much." She laughed, tugging up the thin fabric that cupped her breasts, and frowning when they didn't stay in place. "I really don't think one could swim in these."

Rumpelstiltskin glanced down, gulped down a whimper at all that showcased expanse of soft skin, and forced himself to think.

"Uh-huh," he managed.

Belle's eyes lifted back to him, and her lips twitched at the expression on his face. "It's too much," she decided, whirling around and heading back to the bathroom to change. "There's another one with more -" she waved over her chest and midriff "- coverage."

That finally broke through his muted wonder. "That one is fine," he said.

It wasn't a whine, he told himself. The Dark One didn't whine.

Belle laughed, but moved back into the circle of his arms. "Might I remind you that I'm getting ready for a... how did Henry put it? Oh yes. A 'family outing to the beach'. Because apparently that boy has picked up on some distance between his mother's and his father's parents and he's decided we all need to spend time together without almost getting killed or anyone threatening bodily harm on another."

"But they deserved it," he insisted.

Belle only rolled her eyes. "I know. Shocker. But Henry wants us to get along, and Rumple?" Her hands grabbed onto the lapels of his coat, and she pulled him in enough to whisper against his lips. "What that boy wants, he gets."

Rumpelstiltskin nodded with ease, used to Belle spoiling the boy she'd had a hand in raising for ten years. But then he grinned, taking advantage of her willing closeness to reach out and find the small knot that held her top together at her back. "What about what I want, my love?"

Belle must have felt the knot giving way under his hands, but she only crossed her arms around his neck. "Do you really want me to wear this tomorrow, in public, in front of everybody out for a good time on a summer day? Where your son and his buddy-slash-competition-for-Emma's-affections will see me?" A scowl surged at the mention of Hook, but Belle pressed herself closer to distract him and nuzzled against his throat in approval when he sighed, let go of the loose bits of string and swept his hand down along her spine to the small of her back, where his fingers found and played with the thin elastic. "Hmm?" A soft nibble at his jaw reminded him of Belle's question. "Do you?"

"No," he admitted. "But maybe we can get a pool in the backyard?"

Belle shook her head. "And who'd tell Henry he and his friends couldn't borrow it?"

Rumpelstiltskin grimaced at the vision of half a dozen teenagers invading his personal space (and to a man who'd lived alone in the middle of the mountains for decades, the space allotted to his home in Storybrooke was already too small). "I'll think of something."

Belle straightened enough to look at him, an eager light in her eyes. "There's that big bathtub..."

Rumpelstiltskin laughed. "Always knew you were the smart one."

Chapter Text

Belle tried to bat Ruby's hand away from her shopping basket, but the other woman's reflexes were quicker and she only laughed at Belle's efforts. "Aw, come on. I could smell the latex from an aisle away," she told her friend, looking torn between a playful wink and a disturbed frown. Finally she settled for a shrug. "What could be worse than knowing you're planning sexy times with Gold?"

Belle couldn't help the blush rising up her cheeks. "Ruby!"

Ruby grinned. "So... what do we have there? Ice-cream? Chocolate fudge? Strawberries and..." Her brow furrowed in confusion when she finally saw what was in the basket. "....fish sticks?"

The square yellow box of processed food made a strange companion to the little cluster of condom packages in the bottom.

Belle heaved a sigh. "Happy now?"

"I thought you guys... were really into it." She made some hand gestures that Belle hoped weren't actually related to sexual intercourse. "Wasn't that what the lecture was about?"

"It wasn't a lecture," Belle muttered, grabbing onto her friend's arm and pulling her to the back of the shop. It was bad enough that they were discussing about her private life in public, again, she remembered that Ruby didn't have a low-volume setting when she wanted to make a point. If she was going to have this conversation, she would do it where no one would overhear. "I just wanted to clear some misunderstandings."

"Like the fact that you like boinking the Dark One. See? I haven't forgotten! And believe me, I tried to."

"Tune it down, Rubes."

Ruby let out a long sigh. "Fiiiiine."

When they reached the last row of shelves, Belle stopped and turned to face her friend. "Look. I know you're just joking around, but can you not?"

"Belle..."

"No. I mean it, Ruby. People already stare. They don't like Rumple, and aside from a few exceptions, they don't like me either." Ruby started to protest, but Belle gave her a look. "Does Granny like me, Rubes? Really. Is she glad you and I are friends?"

Ruby glanced at the ceiling. "She doesn't hate you," she mumbled.

Belle nodded, unsurprised. "Guess that's a step above most others, anyway," she said, resigned to her reputation as the Dark One's wife. "I know people tell tales behind my back. Do you think I want to give them fodder for gossip?"

Understanding washed over Ruby's expression. "Guess not."

"Exactly."

"...and I'm not helping, am I?"

Belle gave her a forgiving smile. "Just... remember we're not Snow and David, okay? None of the love and respect; more like abject fear and digs where we can't hear them."

Ruby winced. "Now I feel bad."

"Hey, it's okay. We can still talk about something else while I finish my shopping."

That made the taller girl perk up. "So the fish sticks weren't everything?" At the look Belle gave her, she raised her hands in innocence. "Just worried here! I work at a diner, remember? I know those things aren't a healthy base for a diet."

Doing a quick look around, Belle checked that they were still alone. "Well, it seemed like a good idea. There's a long weekend coming up, after all."

"You guys have plans and they do not include complicated cooking," Ruby lowered her voice conspiratorially, laughing when Belle didn't deny that theory. "Gotcha."

Belle elbowed her as hard as she could. "Whatever. I just thought of a last-minute addition anyway."

"Oh?"

"Dessert section." Belle grinned. "I have a sudden craving for ice cream... and maybe a couple other things."

The End
24/08/16

Chapter Text

As she opened the door of the pawnshop, Belle had to scramble to a side so as not to be hit by the man that almost trampled over her on his way out. “Out of my way, sister,” Leroy muttered in an irritated grumble, more a warning than a request for passage as he stomped by.

Belle gazed after him, frowning because even if he wasn't a friend, he had started to make an effort to be polite since Nova insisted she was happy in her job as the Golds' maid.

But clearly Leroy's manners were the last thing on his mind now.

Curious, she turned toward the counter at the back of the store, lifting an eyebrow at her husband. "What was that?"

Rumpelstiltskin's eyes twinkled with merriment. "That was an easily excitable dwarf, happy to have another reason to hate me."

“Doesn’t look too happy to me,” she commented.

“Oh? My mistake.”

Belle had to chuckle at his expression. Sometimes he was more like a kid who couldn't resist pulling on a cat's tail, than the terror of the Enchanted Forest making shady deals. "Let me guess, you wouldn't lower the rent of the apartment Nova has her sights set upon?"

"Why, my dear. That would be bad business," he said in his most reasonable tone. "The man has six brothers, and they would all expect the same treatment."

Her husband was smiling now, obviously happy to see her, but Belle knew that Leroy would have been faced with a smirk and a tap of his fingers against the countertop in a show of impatience. No wonder he had left in a huff.

"And did you happen to mention that Nova deserves a raise, and it just happens to allow them to move wherever they want?"

Rumpelstiltskin's smile brightened. He even tittered a little. "Oops?"

The End
26/09/16

Chapter Text

Granny was pressing the coffeepot into Ruby's hands as soon as she'd tied the apron about her waist.

"Here," said her grandmother, "I don't know what Gold is doing here this early-" and her opinion on that unexpected break of routine was clear in her annoyed voice, though luckily her own bad mood kept her from seeing that Ruby's groan of dismay was due to a different cause-"but he's been snarling at the other girls, and if I go out there and he makes me snarl back, I'm not stopping until I have his head mounted on my wall."

Ruby cringed. She had been about to claim the plague in order to avoid Gold, but with Granny in a temper, she had no choice. "Sure," she said, taking a deep breath. It took a single glance around the room to know where Gold was sitting, as it was the one spot that seemed to have become invisible, with everyone studiously avoiding glancing at it.

Why couldn't it have been Belle, come today to clear the air? With Belle, Ruby could have made a joke, teased her a little, and gratefully put last night into the past.

Instead it was Belle's husband who'd braved the morning crowd - and scared them into a wide circle around him - to see her.

Ruby swallowed thickly, but squared her shoulders and walked in. "Good morning, Mr. Gold," she said, her voice brighter than she had expected, as she poured him a cup.

"Miss Lucas," he acknowledged her.

Neither of them met each other's eyes.

Ruby blamed her supernatural hearing. It was sharp enough to have picked up the noises of a scuffle in the alley behind the pawnshop, but not to help her discern its character. Really, no concerned neighbor could be faulted for rushing in after a few loud groans were added to the mix.

Thank the gods the only missing piece of clothing had been a coat and a few buttons down Gold's shirt.

(And between that peek and the hunger in his eyes before he'd sensed an intruder, Ruby now had no questions about her friend being a happily married woman.)

"Erm..." She shifted on her heels. The thought of bringing up her mistake occurred to her, but she had a feeling that she'd say the wrong thing, Gold would take offense, and her grandmother's diner would go up in flames. Denial it was, then. "Will that be all?"

Gold's fingers tapped a tattoo on the table.

On any other person, Ruby would have chalked it up to awkwardness. Now she only hoped it wasn't a prelude to a fireball. She still didn't move, refusing to run away like a scared ninny when he hadn't done anything except frown.

At last he raised the cup for a sip, then wrinkled his nose and set it back down.

No, Gold had definitely not come for his caffeine fix.

"Belle insists that you're a good friend," he said, his voice so low that only a wolf could have heard him.

Ruby was nodding before she realized it had not been a question. "She is great," she said anyway. "I'm glad to be her friend."

Gold turned to her, eyebrow slightly raised as he considered her words. "You're loyal to your friends," he said at last.

"When you can count on one hand the people who'd trust you under a full moon night, you don't hurt them for the world." She could read the note of skepticism at her words. "I may be under control," she explained, "but I'm still a monster."

A corner of his mouth lifted in apparent amusement.

"That we are, dearie," he said with a wry chuckle. Then he was rising to his feet. "Have a good morning, Miss Lucas," he said as he walked past her.

Ruby stared after him, instinct telling her that she was off the hook, but her brain still not catching onto how it could have been so easy.

"Ruby!" Granny snapped, having come to stand next to her.

When Ruby turned back, her grandmother was gesturing toward the table and its lonely, barely touched, cup. And the Benjamin Franklin bill tucked next to it.

"Why is Gold giving you a hundred dollar tip for a cup of lousy, watery coffee?"

Ruby cringed. No wonder he had all but spit it back out. "No idea, Granny," she half-lied, because she honestly wasn't sure. (It could be a bribe to ensure no one found out that Belle liked it rough.) "Probably his way of telling us to get the good stuff." (Or that the wife of the feared Dark One hadn't been the one pressed up against the wall... and loving it.) "Who knows with him?"

Granny sniffed. "Odious man."

Ruby thought of her friend, and the fond - sometimes smug - expression Belle always wore when she mentioned her husband. Belle would know that a bribe had not been necessary to guarantee Ruby's silence, so Ruby could take it with a free conscience. She had nothing to prove. "He has his good points," she said, thinking that Belle had spoken in her favor, and Gold had listened.

A snort of incredulity was her grandmother's answer.

Folding the bill before pocketing it, Ruby grinned.

She wouldn't go as far as to claim that Gold was a good man. He'd been too fast to include himself as a monster. But maybe he could be a decent one after all?

The End
08/10/16

Chapter Text

Fists banged at the pawnshop door. Even in the backroom, Belle could hear as someone jiggled the doorknob, trying to force it open. Having recognized Emma's voice, it was a safe assumption to believe that the scratches against the metal were her attempt to break in.

But the door would open only to someone of Rumpelstiltskin's blood.

Luckily, Baelfire understood the situation enough not to try unless the world was falling around their ears (in which case, the Charmings would have gotten their audience anyway). Henry also wouldn't try, at least not after the conversation his grandfather had with him the last time.

Which left David and his family no option but to continue knocking.

At least they weren't hollering Rumpelstiltskin's name outside, having finally learned that the incantation only tugged at the Dark One's attention, and whether to attend to it or not was entirely his choice.

But that was still quite the racket.

Sleep forgotten, Belle let out a sigh. "Shouldn't we...?"

Rumpelstiltskin shook his head.

With a roll of her eyes, Belle rose from the cot he'd upgraded in both size and comfort since she'd taken to spending the occasional afternoon - and sometimes a midday nap - with him. "It could be important," she told him as she joined him at the table, leaning over his shoulder to watch as he fiddled with the stubborn insides of an antique watch.

"And yet," he said drily, not taking his eyes away from his work, yet leaning into her touch when she stroked his cheek with the back of her hand, "I couldn't care less."

She run her knuckles over his lips, giggling when he obligingly dropped a kiss on them. "What has you so interested, that you'll leave royalty waiting?"

The answer, apparently, was not work.

One arm came to wrap around her waist, while the other laid the watch down with care. That done, he hauled her against him, one corner of his mouth lifted in a playful grin. "Why, my dear, I'm with you right now. That's all that matters."

Belle threaded her arms around his neck, pulling her husband into a deep kiss.

If the Charmings really needed them, they could follow instructions and call in like the good neighbors they were supposed to be.

(Though, if they insisted with the mannerless banging, Belle would turn her and Rumple's cells off. Rumpelstiltskin would know if their help was actually needed, and given the interest he was giving to the buttons of her blouse, Belle felt confident they could sit out whatever trouble was brewing outside.)

The End
01/09/16

Chapter Text

Her only excuse, Emma decided later, was that never in a hundred years would she have expected such an scenario. To be tossed right across the street if she knocked on the back door of the pawnshop, sure; Gold liked his privacy and he wasn't shy about protecting it. Even being turned into a small - and possibly slimy - critter was a possibility, though Emma doubted Gold would do that to his grandson's mother.

Not right in front of said grandson, at least.

Which was the reason it had seemed so sensible to let Henry go ahead and be the one Gold would see first.

Only two people could get away with ignoring the 'Closed' sign on the main street window and coming round back to ambush the Dark One. But Belle had already closed the library and was nowhere to be found, and Neal had teamed with her parents to try the Golds' house in the outskirts of town.

Her parents had claimed experience storming the Dark One's castle, but they'd glanced at each other worriedly when Neal asked pointedly whether his father had ever seemed surprised by their incursions. After a moment's thought, they had been quick to accept Neal's offer.

Even the nastier spells set up around Gold's house would be keyed to let Neal through.

In the meanwhile, Emma had driven back onto Main Street. Since Gold had been decent enough not to riddle public space with his traps, the pawnshop was the next best option, even in the middle of the night.

Surely even Gold would understand, given the circumstances.

After all, it was an emergency.

And it was his grandson.

Emma wouldn't go as far as to say that Henry was a soft spot in his grandfather's heart, but she'd seen enough of that father-son reunion in New York to understand that Neal was. Gold had tried the impossible to win back his son's approval, and wouldn't risk their fragile relationship.

Neal loved Henry, therefore Henry was safe from the more vicious side of Gold's temper.

That was why Emma had deliberately slowed her stride when she saw the light coming from under the door. It was a very weak light - candlelight? - but enough to signal that someone was inside despite the late hour and the drawn curtains.

It took the creak of furniture in the background to make her realize what she was about to walk into.

What she was letting Henry walk into.

Her old job had entailed enough stake-outs outside motels and secret love nests to realize that this was not the setting for a store owner catching up with paperwork. Oh no. No, no, no, no....

"Stop!" she hissed. Reached out to grab Henry's shoulder and yanked him back before he could knock.

Henry glanced up at her, startled. "Mom?"

"Not now, kiddo," she said, dropping her voice as low as she could make it.

With any luck, neither of the occupants of the backroom would notice their presence. Because risking Gold's anger was a fact of life in Storybrooke, but nothing that couldn't be solved with a few fireballs and a judicious use of Neal as a human shield.

Charging into such an embarrassing situation, on the other hand, was something Emma deeply desired to avoid. She'd come too close on several occasions, and that had already given her too personal an insight into the Golds' love life.

The strange spell at the town border would still be there in daylight. It could wait. And if anyone had a problem with her decision, they were welcome to trample in where Saviors refused to tread.

"But-" Henry said, tugging on her hand.

Emma shook her head. "We'll come back," she promised. "Better to handle this on a night's sleep, don't you think?"

Henry gave her a look of disbelief. She couldn't blame the kid. Hadn't she been the one to move for the stronger magic users to be roused as soon as possible? "Someone's in there!" he whispered back, pointing.

"I know," Emma gritted out. "But it's not a good time, okay?"

Henry frowned. Then turned to glance at the closed door with a shrew look. "Ah...." His cheeks colored, but thankfully there weren't any more questions. "Right. Um. Later."

Exactly. Some things were best left behind locked doors.

With a sigh of relief, Emma hurried back to her car. She'd text Mary Margaret with an update, and knowing her parents, they'd probably wait in their car for Gold and Belle to come back home. Then she'd call Neal and ask him to stop by the pawnshop as early as he could, just in case Gold wasn't planning to come back home at all.

That had been too close.

"Never again," she muttered to herself.

Next time, she'd trade with Regina. Facing two surly dragon ladies with a grudge against her sounded like a walk in the park in comparison.

The End
19/03/16

Chapter Text

Rumpelstiltskin had spent the first ten minutes watching anxiously over the rink, sure that at any moment he'd have to whisk his wife back onto safe ground and do some quick healing of a turned ankle or a deep bruise before she could protest.

But Belle, clumsy Belle, the same Belle who slipped off ladders and tripped on air when barefoot, was as confident on ice skates as she was on her favorite five-inch-high heels.

He watched her slide on the ice, chasing after his son and grandson in an impromptu game of tag. Henry had spent the better part of winter throwing off hints about how much fun it would be if the pond a few minutes from his house iced over, and Rumpelstiltskin had finally given in when Emma had pointed out that Ingrid would be happy to do them a favor if she asked.

If someone was going to use magic on his grounds, it was not going to be that ice-witch.

Besides, his compliance had been worth Bae's grateful face and Belle's tight hug. If he'd known that Belle would take to ice skating this easily, he'd have done this a long time ago.

He probably would have done it back in the Enchanted Forest, too, and given some inane speech about why maids needed some physical activity that didn't include dusters or mops.

He'd been a fool for her, even then.

He still was.

He smiled at that thought, glad that Belle didn't mind.

"You are having fun," said Emma suddenly from her spot at his side, eyebrows arched in surprise. "I thought you'd be grumpy after Belle abandoned you."

Emma had been on the ice for a short time, but had traded in her skates for a pair of boots after the third time she'd fallen on her butt. (Apparently the Savior could leap off cliffs and face off dragons, but a patch of ice defeated her.) Belle had been quick to claim the discarded skates, and after giving him a kiss and a whispered plea to play nice with the mother of his grandson, tottered off onto the ice where Henry and Baelfire had welcomed her with hoots of encouragement and advice.

Unlike Emma, Belle did listen.

She had spent a few minutes with her hand on Bae's shoulder, as her body got used to the lack of friction in the new ground. Then it had been Henry's turn to attempt a lesson on twirls, which had somehow degenerated into their current shouts of 'you're it!' and 'now you are!'.

Rumpelstiltskin chuckled. "If your definition of abandonment is to take the chance to investigate a new hobby, then I fear for your relationships, dearie."

Emma scowled. "I was kidding," she grumbled. Then she narrowed her eyes. "And my relationships are none of your business."

Rumpelstiltskin gave a shrug. He wouldn't shed a tear if this woman proved too stubborn to accept his son's suit. "As you say," he said easily, then returned to watch the shenanigans on the ice.

Now it was Henry's turn to catch the others, and he was laughing as he tried to go after Belle. Belle was not making it easy, and her lack of experience actually helped her as her uneven pace made Henry miscalculate and shoot off in the wrong direction.

Once more, after another attempt joined by a sound that resembled a war cry, the boy blinked in disbelief as he ended up feet away from his quarry.

Belle just winked.

Rumpelstiltskin laughed.

Emma laughed too. "She's good," she commented, giving the trio a fond look. Then she snickered. "Bet that she has you out there before the week is out."

Rumpelstiltskin just gave her an unblinking look, turning back to the happy scene before them without a word.

He ignored her eye roll and her grumble about 'dry sticks in the mud'.

Emma didn't understand his silence, and frankly he hadn't expected her to.

Of course Belle would ask, and of course he'd say yes.

But the less proof the his wife had the Dark One wrapped around her little finger, the better.

The End
16/08/16

Chapter Text

Henry paused in the scrubbing of yet another mysterious object that had no description attached and, when asked about its origins, his grandfather had taken a look, winced, and decreed that he didn’t need to know. Further questions had been ignored, leaving the room silent except for their work, to the point that Henry wondered why he’d accepted to come today.

After another five minutes of nothing more interesting than watching the dull spots of the ancient - and surely wildly interesting! sword, Henry turned to the other occupant of the work table and gave a good show of a yawn.

His grandfather barely flicked his eyes in Henry’s direction.

Henry let out a sigh. “You know, Grandpa. When Dad said the two of us should get to know each other better, I’m sure this is not what he had in mind.”

Rumpelstiltskin looked up at that. Grinned. “On the contrary,” he said, “Bae knows from experience that doing chores together is a perfect bonding activity. The two of us spent many a morning straightening out our home when he was your age.”

Henry smiled at that tidbit of his father’s youth. Neither he not his grandfather were prone to bring up that time, and Henry understood that they preferred to focus on the future but it was still nice to have another piece about their history. “Bet there was more talking, though,” he said anyway.

His grandfather shook his head. “Not really. Besides, I’ve learned a bit more about you just by spending time in the same room, working on similar tasks.”

Henry’s eyes rounded in surprise. “You have?”

“Oh yes.” A chuckle. “You have never polished as much as a candlestick in your life, but you picked up on your own how not to leave smudges behind. It irritated you in the beginning, but instead of asking me for help, you kept trying until you got it right. Like your independence, don’t you?”

Henry looked away, a little unnerved. He’d been expecting a more lighthearted observation, not a read into his character. “It wasn’t like it was hard, and you seemed busy without me asking how to do it the right way.”

His grandfather’s face gentled. “I’m never too busy to help you, Henry.” He rose from his feet, and took the few steps around the table. Henry reflectively stood up, smiling a little as his grandfather’s hand first tapped his shoulder and then drew him into a loose hug. “There. Is this bonding enough?”

Henry laughed a little.

His grandfather released him, still smiling. “What do you say we wrap this up and head out to get some ice cream?”

“Sure! But Grandpa,” Henry said, drawing himself to his full height.“you do remember I’m not ten and easily bribed with sweets anymore, right?”

His grandfather gave him an unimpressed stare. “Too old for ice cream, then?”

Henry’s eyes widened until he realized his grandfather was joking. “Nah,” he said. “Sounds perfect.”

And it was.

The End
03/03/17

Chapter Text

Belle stared at the dozens of bags strewn around every surface of the kitchen, trying to make her brain accept the fact that she had little more than eight hours to transform all the ingredients she and Bae had just put together into a Thanksgiving dinner for more than twenty people.

“Tell me again why I’m nuts,” she begged.

Baelfire smiled, shaking his head with amusement, and dutifully recited, “Let’s see: you fell in love with the Dark One and actually married the stubborn man; which means that through marriage now you’re kin to the Evil Queen and Snow White; the latter of which has a very broad concept of ‘family’ and, outside from her husband and kids, considers seven dwarves and a werewolf as her own siblings, and this includes Leroy’s bride and, of course, Granny herself - and, on top of your father and your friends, you invited all of them for dinner tonight!”

“Don’t sugarcoat it for me, Bae,” Belle said, taking a deep breath as she grabbed the first bag at hand and started unpacking in a rush, “tell me why I’m completely, utterly, no-salvation-available out of my mind!”

“Because, you crazy stepmother of mine, you magnificent woman, you—” Bae stopped at her glare, then moved to help her and continued with a grin, “Because you’re the maker of miracles, Belle, and there is no doubt that you will pull it off and this will be a night worth remembering.”

The End
04/03/17

Chapter Text

Emma had grown used to meeting Gold in his pawnshop or the laboratory in his basement, where magic thrummed overtly. This simple study, with bookshelves, cabinets and a desk covered in stacks of receipts and folders, was as bizarre an experience as walking into the Dark Castle the week before - or thirty-five years ago.

The sight of Gold organizing his paperwork, a stapler in hand and a hole punch close by, was more shocking than the otherworldly imp from the Enchanted Forest.

The impatient scowl, however, was the same.

“Anything the matter, Sheriff, or you’ve just come to gawk around?”

Chapter Text

Secured in Rumpelstiltskin's arms, Belle leaned back until her head rested against his shoulder, then grinned at the feel of a kiss against her hair. "We did it," she murmured, moving to thread her left hand through his, and lifting them to admire the new glint adorning their fingers.

"Afraid I'd get cold feet at the last minute, sweetheart?"

Belle shook her head. If he had doubts since his proposal, Rumpelstiltskin had hid them well. "More like expecting something to explode, or some portal to swallow half the guests."

Her new husband chuckled. "As long as Hopper wasn't one of the affected, we'd have endured," he told her, only half joking.

Perhaps she should protest that saving people was more important than a ceremony, but he already knew her mind well enough. It wasn't worth nitpicking on hypotheticals, especially on her wedding day. A new bride deserved to feel like the highest priority in her groom's life, Belle decided.

"It was a lovely day," she said dreamily, turning a little so she could look him in the eye. "Thank you for going along with it."

Neither would have chosen the grand party their wedding reception had morphed into, but even a month ago Belle couldn't have imagined so many people would want to mark the occasion. Much less celebrate along with the two of them.

Their earlier plans for a tiny, intimate ceremony at the well had been thrown out the window after the first dozen inquiries once Storybrooke had seen her new engagement ring.

"I think you actually had fun," she teased him.

Rumpelstiltskin chuckled. "I wasn't bored," he admitted, and at her knowing glance he gave a shrug. "And I got to dance with the prettiest woman in the realm. There was no one to protest so I could turn them into something ridiculously scaly, but I guess the evening was perfect enough already."

Belle rolled her eyes.

"Once. You cursed a man into a garden snake once."

"That you saw."

She peered at him. The man had an excellent poker face. Plus a sparkling new vow to be true (and truthful) to her.

"Damn it, Rumple," she grumbled.

She would have found out if men disappeared after a confrontation with her dance partner. Letters filled with gossip had a way to find their way even into the Dark Castle.

"You didn't leave them like that, did you?"

He shook his head. Hugged her harder. "Should I not have told you?"

Belle considered that for a second. Her decision was easy. She always wanted to know. "I stand by what I said." She placed their threaded hands over her heart. "The past is already written. Whatever comes, Rumple. That's the future I want with you."

"Will it be a good future, my love?"

"I thought you could see the future."

"Indulge me." He kissed her nose "I trust you more than any vision."

Belle smiled. "It's going to be perfect."

The End
18/04/24

Chapter Text

Belle supposed that she should be afraid. Anyone in their right mind would be, deep in the lair of the Dark One. Rumpelstiltskin's face had been a mask of horror, the moment he saw the magic cloud envelop her.

She hoped he called for help before coming for her.

She also hoped it took the rescue party another hour before they arrived.

Unlike the rest of the world, she had lived with the Dark One for years. She could read the moods behind those yellow eyes with even more accuracy than she could the man she had married in Storybrooke.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

He sneered.

Belle let out a frustrated sigh. This was a familiar battle, yet ever so tiring to climb up the same hill over and over again - and this time with two different versions of the same man! "You are cranky," she told him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Go on, Rumple. You know how this goes. You can keep your problems to yourself, or you can share them with me and we can---"

"We can?" He snickered. "Don't try to deceive me, dearie. You want no part of this," he declared with a hiss, essaying a grand wave at himself.

Belle felt like kicking something. Preferably that thrice-damned spell which had divided Rumpelstiltskin in these two stubborn personalities. She already has this discussion with the human version!

"As I already told you," she didn't bother to explain she meant the Rumpelstiltskin who had stayed in their home. He was smart. He could figure it out. "It could hardly be True Love if I only wanted parts of you."

He gave her a condescending look, but she noticed his claws curl nervously at his sides.

He was so tempted by the idea of a true love. He wanted to believe her. Rumpelstiltskin always wanted to believe he could be loved.

The fool still gave her a nasty smirk. "Oh, but I'm the evil parts, don't you know?" He leaned into her personal space with a leer. "Still eager to claim me?"

Belle leaned forward, maintaining eye contact until he blinked first. "Your counterpart just chased off two families from their apartments," she informed him "They refused to pay rent now that he doesn't have magic."

He snorted. "What does magic have to do with a contract?"

They were echoes of each other, down to the incredulous intonation.

"Exactly."

Taking advantage of his good humor, Belle shot out her hand to grasp his. He expectedly opened his mouth with surprise, but said nothing once he looked at her determined expression.

"Oh no," he said warily. Indulgently. Lovingly. Of course he knew her moods as well. "You have an idea."

"I do." She smiled. For all the chaos of the last three days, unlike every other idiot affected by the spell, Rumpelstiltskin had enough of an innate survival instinct that they hadn't gone at each other's throats. A truly soulless Dark One would have already razed the land, so the reprieve had been the springboard to Belle's theory. "I believe you've been happy to build yourself this castle and terrorize everyone with dire threats. I also believe your other half has been making everyone in Storybrooke fear the power of a signature with only Dove and his friends as back up." She shrugged. "You're no more evil than he is, and he is no more patient than you are. If anything, you're raw magic and he is all stubbornness. Power and Will, maybe."

"That sounds like too good a wish, sweetheart."

"I haven't worked out the details," she admitted. "But all the same-" she tugged on his coat "-you are all mine."

The End
16/04/24

Chapter Text

“I still can’t believe this is your choice for a honeymoon destination,” said Rumpelstiltskin even as he followed his new wife out of the car. “The whole world, Belle, and you pick this?”

“I love it here,” she told him, taking his hand to lead him to the door. “A wise man once said that a cabin in the woods was perfect for us.”

“Because that’s where monsters take the women they’ve stolen away.”

“So he was a bit foolish too.” Belle laughed. “But my answer still stands.”

Rumpelstiltskin smiled, remembering her words. “You can’t steal what comes willingly?”

“Exactly.”

Chapter Text

Belle grabbed her husband’s hands, squeezing tightly. “Are you sure?”

He gave a little laugh. “Needs must.”

The dagger was summoned, hovering in mid-air before Rumpelstiltskin shuddered and motioned it toward Neal.

“Papa…”

Rumpelstiltskin shook his head. “It’ll be fine, Bae.”

Belle closed her eyes, picturing her magic wrap around her husband. Her power was small, but her love… True Love should work.

“Ready?” Neal asked, as the shield settled into an invisible layer.

Belle bit her lip, but nodded.

“If it doesn’t work,” said Neal as he raised the dagger, ready for a first command, “tell Papa I’m sorry.”

Chapter Text

Ruby eyed the eager brunette at her side, then the grand Cadillac parked before them, then back to Belle, who by now was bouncing on her toes. This much enthusiasm should be contagious. However, Ruby could only feel a knot of dread in her belly.

"We cannot actually be taking Gold's car."

As an answer, the Dark One's cursed girlfriend shook the keys in her hand.

The grin on her face promised an adventure.

No, thanks. Belle got into enough trouble when she remembered who she was, and that a good quarter of town would gladly make her pay for whatever Rumpelstiltskin had done to them.

This girl was all of the recklessness without any experience in their magical world.

"Are you certain you don't want to camp out in your apartment and catch up on Disney movies?"

Belle shook her head. "Nope. We are going now."

Despite the deal she had made, Ruby wished she could back out. Did she really need a favor from Rumpelstiltskin this much? Why couldn't there be a full moon when she needed it? Transforming into a ravenous wolf would make the perfect excuse not to join this trip.

"Do you even know how to drive?"

Belle patted her purse. "I have my licence."

Ruby groaned. In their cursed town, with their cursed memories and cursed paperwork, that meant nothing.

With luck, Rumpelstiltskin had stacked the Cadillac with cushion spells in the event Belle ever got behind the wheel.

With even more luck, the Evil Queen had actually given her bestie some driving skills.

"Okay," Ruby relented at last, resigned to her fate. "Let's do this."

Belle skipped to the driver's door. "Adventure, there we go!"

The End
21/04/24

Chapter Text

Belle stared at the little box of condoms in her bedside drawer. She remembered the nerves involved in buying the thing at the pharmacy, but for all of Belle French's faults, she had been certain that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Gold.

Now free of her cursed self, Belle wondered what to do with the thing.

She meant to invite Rumpelstiltskin to her bed - or rather keep her spot in his, as his house was by far the more comfortable. However, she was rather unsure on how to broach the matter of future children.

That had been easier as a woman of this world. She had been expected to make the decision, and as Miss French she hadn't been quite ready for a family.

Belle of Avonlea had been ready from the moment her father chose a husband for her.

Rumpelstiltskin's maid had been glad to set those thoughts aside.

Later, as his friend and companion, she had often wondered whether their relationship would grow into love. Children had not pictured in her imaginings of their relationship. Belle just couldn't pretend that Rumpelstiltskin would welcome any, while he was devoted to his son.

Belle herself had been taught to follow a husband's choices in such matters, and her life was busy enough that she didn't need a child to feel useful.

Now, however, in this world without magic, Belle French had been expected to give serious thought to the idea of sex and its consequences.

Once awake, Belle had found that she agreed with the decisions of her cursed self.

She loved Rumple.

She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. If possible, she wanted a family with him and his son and however many children came to join them.

She also wanted to wait before they started adding to that family. Cursed, she had only wanted time to get to know each other. Now that she remembered their years together, Belle wanted to recover Baelfire and settle in this world first.

First came love, then a home, and then the future was theirs to shape.

Taking a deep breath, she put the box in her purse and zipped it up.

Rumpelstiltskin would understand.

The End
22/04/24

Chapter Text

For the third night in a row, their roles reversed. It was Rumpelstiltskin who looked up from his evening passtime to notice that it was gone midnight, and it was Rumpelstiltskin who interrupted his companion's concentration.

The difference was that he sent a small breeze to play with the pages of her notebook, while Belle usually walked over and squeezed his shoulders to steal his attention from the spinning wheel.

Belle blinked as the pages flapped around, and she lay down her pen before turning to him. "Is it late again?" she asked, looking around and biting her lip when she noticed the time on the clock. "I'm sorry, Rumple. Time flew away from me. I promise breakfast won't be as late tomorrow."

"Later today, you mean," he grumbled.

He didn't actually mind if breakfast was served half an hour later. But the break in their routine was starting to bug him.

Belle nagged him to sleep and eat in a proper schedule.

Belle broke him from his endless thread of gold and turned his thoughts to the kindnesses of the present.

Belle cared about the day to day details.

(Belle cared. Period.)

Rumpelstiltskin didn't appreciate having to fulfill that role instead. While he could go without sleep or food indefinitely, and giving in to his maid's wishes was just to keep the peace in the household, Belle's health was at real risk when she forgot to take care of herself.

"I'm worrying you, aren't I?" Ever perceptive, Belle gave him a rueful smile. "I'm sorry, Rumple. There's just so much to do!"

Rumpelstiltskin tilted his head curiously.

"We are going to a world without magic," Belle explained. "I know we will fit in because the curse will make us, but what will happen after the savior does her job?"

"I'll find Baelfire. We will make a home," Rumpelstiltskin responded instantly.

Belle patted his hand, caring even as she gave him an impatient look. "I meant about the rest of us, Rumple." He inwardly protested at her joining the faceless masses. Belle would be... He would... He wouldn't leave her alone in the new world! "People will be scared," she continued, and he could feel her shiver a little. "Scared people are dangerous."

Rumpelstiltskin wished she'd never witnessed the darkness among common people, but what was done was done. He shrugged carelessly. "Nothing to do about that." Because she still looked concerned, he added, "They'll probably be grateful not to need to scramble in the middle of some magical spat or another."

The spinner he'd been would have blessed the Evil Queen, if he and his child had been tossed in a world without ogres. The people who had suffered under any dark sorcerer would breathe in relief after they woke up. Even the influence of the fairies would be gone.

All upsides, in his opinion.

Belle made a face but wordlessly conceded the point. "I'm still noting down anything that can be of use. I want to be ready."

Rumpelstiltskin glanced at the small mountain of notes. At some point in the last three days, her pretty calligraphy had turned into hurried, cramped script. The closer they got to the casting of the curse, the more at peace he found himself.

Obviously Belle didn't share his confidence.

"I'll protect you, you know," he said softly.

Belle glanced at him, a small smile softening her features. "Oh, darling." She squeezed his hand. "I never thought otherwise."

The End
23/04/24

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Rumpelstiltskin was not nervous as he heard Belle's trek up to his tower. His concentration was on his current experiment, and not in guessing his maid's mood.

He definitely wasn't tempted to vanish and avoid her stormy frown as soon as she appeared at the doorstep of his laboratory.

The Dark One had no fears.

(Except one, at this very moment.)

He never had regrets.

(Oh, the lies he told himself!)

Belle strode forward, steel in her blue eyes as she marched toward him. "Say this isn't our latest guest," she started, shoving a little wooden cage at him.

Inside, the mouse hissed at him.

Rumpelstiltskin hissed back, tempted to shoot a stinging spell at the vile, destructive thing. He wasn't in the mood to share a castle with an angry woman, though, so he abstained.

"She started it," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You are the most powerful wizard in the kingdoms." Her tone made it clear that it wasn't a compliment. "Just what could she have started?"

"She stabbed me!"

Belle opened her mouth, remembered that he had no need to lie to her, and closed it again. "She did have a sword," she allowed. Lifting the cage so she was at eye level with the mouse, she peered at it.

The mouse didn't hiss at her, but the dark beady eyes remained bright with fury.

Belle sighed. "Thanks for not killing her, I guess."

"She seemed nice enough to you," Rumpelstiltskin answered. He was not monster enough to ruin the girl's fledging friendships. "She just wouldn't take no for an answer."

Confusion made Belle's eyes snap up at him. "You can't defeat that monster she's been hunting?" she asked incredulously. "Just from the description, I can think of a dozen ways."

"Of course you do," he said fondly. "You must have already picked the easiest one, to share with this madwoman if our deal didn't come through."

Her little shrug was an answer.

"Well, next time you go making new friends, tell them you can help. Especially if they wield swords with more than reasonable talent." He poked at the hole at the side of his shirt.

Belle cringed. The swordswoman - Mulan, she'd introduced herself - had indeed been lucky to find him in a forgiving mood.

"She was in a hurry. How was I to know you couldn't help her?" His affronted look made her pause. "Won't help her? Whyever not?! That thing is burning villages left and right!"

"I did offer a fire-stopping spell."

Belle narrowed her eyes. "Rumpelstiltskin..."

"I could slay that beast in a thrice, sure. But aren't you fond of princes in disguise?"

"A prince?"

"Yes."

"Return him to normal, then."

He hated it when she sounded so reasonable and he still had to disappoint her. "I could....", he allowed, and then spoke quickly before her hopes went up. "But I happen to know the sorceress who placed that spell. Bad form to interfere in each other's business."

Belle gave him a most suspicious look. "Is it someone I know?"

Rumpelstiltskin shrugged. "Would that matter?"

There were three witches in whose business Belle would gladly interfere. Or bug Rumpelstiltskin until he did.

"Funny that you won't say her name." Belle knew him too well. "It's one of them, isn't it?"

Rumpelstiltskin set his jaw.

He had plans for Maleficent.

It would be easier if he were on her good side when he asked for that favor.

But Belle was glaring at him, and he valued peace in his home above all. If he denied her, the girl would get up in arms. Silent evenings. Cold meals. Dusty hallways. She would ignore her duties (she would ignore him!) and hide in the library. There she would research a counter spell anyway and march off to set things to her liking.

(See, he also knew her too well.)

Then Maleficent would aim her anger at Belle instead. How would it look if the Dark One's maid fell under a sleeping curse?

Bad for the reputation, that would be.

Damn it.

The End
25/04/24

Chapter Text

The look of wonder in Belle's eyes was only upstaged by the blissful sound that escaped her lips. "Oh gods," she whispered, gazing at Rumpelstiltskin with unprecedented adoration. "I had no idea you could bake."

Rumpelstiltskin licked his lips, her reaction having caught him by surprise. Young women shrieked if he appeared next to them out of nowhere. Belle had only smiled expectantly and given a pointed look at the hand hiding behind his back.

And once she'd bitten into the cake...

It was taking him a few moments to recover his voice.

Luckily Belle was distracted by the treat and seemed happy to understand his silence as space to let her enjoy without interruptions.

"Oh!" she said suddenly, with the forkful of cake in midair. It turned to aim at him instead. "Do you want a bit?"

He thought to say no, but he was already bending to take a bite.

Belle smiled gleefully, obviously giving no thought to sharing cutlery with the Dark One. "Thank you, Rumple."

Rumpelstiltskin nodded, swallowing down the chocolate past the sudden knot in his throat. "Do you... want more?"

She bit her lip. "I really shouldn't. It'll spoil my appetite."

Suddenly, he wanted to spoil her forever.

"That means yes," he said, summoning a smirk from among his jumbled thoughts. "We'll call this an early dinner, what do you say?"

"I say you'll need to roll me around if you make this too often."

Rumpelstiltskin shrugged. "If you keep sitting and reading, I might have to."

Belle gave a laughing gasp. "You're horrible!"

That was more in line with his expectations of young ladies' behavior. Except Belle was smiling, and she was offering yet another bite. "If I'm going down, you're coming with me," she explained happily.

Rumpelstiltskin bit down. Eating gave him the perfect excuse not to agree as eagerly as he felt.

The End
26/04/24

Chapter Text

Belle laughed and slapped her cards against the table. "You must be cheating," she teased, feeling at ease with the young princess charged with entertaining her while the men discussed a deal. "I thought I had the hang of this, but not even Rumpelstiltskin wins seven times in a row."

Odette didn't jump at the mention of the Dark One's name - one of the reasons she and Belle were getting along so well. Instead she only gave an innocent shrug. "I've played this game often?"

"You must have been hours at this, for weeks!"

Odette nodded. "There was a summer when it was the only distraction that actually amused me."

Belle gave her an understanding look. Ladies weren't allowed many passtimes. She had been lucky that her father was so fond of her mother's memory that Belle could immerse herself in their library long past her schooling years.

"I can recommend a book or two," she offered. "For the next time you are bored."

The smile on the younger woman's face grew mischievous. "Oh, it wasn't about boredom. But Siegfried's face every time he lost? Too amusing."

Belle chuckled. She wasn't given to card games, but she could still think of Rumpelstiltskin when he lost an argument. He made a big production of his superiority, but his actions proved he had listened to her. "I'm sure the prince was very gallant anyway," she said, hoping it was true.

It was an open secret that Odette and Siegfried were expected to be wed.

Odette made a face. "He can be...." She seemed to recall that she was talking to a foreigner. Her expression smoothed into a surface smile. "Prince Siegfried is a gentleman, of course."

Belle returned just as flat a smile.

Rumpelstiltskin didn't think very highly of the boy, and Belle couldn't disagree. So far, the prince had reminded her of Gaston; especially when he lorded it about with his best friend cheering him on.

Belle would have liked to use her mirror of souls, as she was fond enough of Odette not to wish her into an ill alliance.

However, common sense would have to do.

In the best case scenario, the deal Rumpelstiltskin made with the king would give Odette better choices in the matter.

The End
27/04/24

Chapter Text

Their guests gone, Belle stacked the plates and started her way to the kitchen. Rumpelstiltskin followed her with the glasses they had used for the so-called family dinner, humming distractedly as he helped load up the dishwasher.

The evening had started on a tense note, as Regina still took offense at the Darling brothers' actions while under Pan's thumb. However, the men were apologetic enough to soothe even the Evil Queen's anger.

It helped that Regina could certainly understand going to extremes to protect a beloved child.

"That went well," he said when his hands were free, and immediately reached for his wife. "Thank you for convincing me to invite Bae's friends. I'd have tossed the Charmings out before dessert, I'm sure."

Belle turned sideways, giving him an incredulous look. "That was a disaster, Rumple."

Rumpelstiltskin frowned. There had been no yelling, no threats, and no magic shooting around. "What are you talking about, sweetheart?"

"Henry is sweet on Wendy."

Well, yes. Anyone with sense could see that. His grandson had inherited his subtlety from Regina - to wit, he stared at the Darling girl with hearts in his eyes and monopolized her attention.

It was rather cute.

Belle appeared not to share that opinion. "Wendy isn't interested in Henry."

Rumpelstiltskin shrugged. In their family, a little prepubescent romantic disappointment wasn't a huge problem. "He'll get over it. Or maybe he'll change her mind." He chuckled, tightening his grasp enough to land a playful kiss on her cheek. "We are men of great charisma, I'm told."

Belle rolled her eyes.

"Maybe a little too much charisma. That girl is still stuck on your son."

That was also obvious.

"For all she's been alive for two centuries, she's twelve at heart. Puppy love passes soon."

Belle still frowned. "It's still weird."

Rumpelstiltskin laughed. "My son's best friend used to be his mom's lover. And though we all pretend otherwise, Miss Swan has taken an interest on the bastard." He took a deep breath, as he usually did when the pirate came up, and returned to the subject at hand. "Wendy's little crush doesn't even register on the weird scale to Bae."

"I guess..."

He twirled them around so they were face to face, and kissed her forehead. "You married into quite the unconventional family, sweetheart. But we make it work, don't we?"

Belle smiled. "It has been weeks since anyone tried to kill the other," she agreed.

"Best of all, we don't need to have them over for another couple of months at least."

"Want the house all to ourselves, don't you?"

Rumpelstiltskin tilted her head up and smiled. "Yes, indeed." He gave a quick kiss to her lips. "I'm happy when it's just the two of us."

The End
28/04/24

Chapter Text

Rumpelstiltskin pulled Belle even closer, laughing against the tangled mess that was her hair. "This cannot be a recommended use for this bench," he told her, drawing a hand across her bare abdomen anyway.

Belle placed her hands over his, guiding him upwards. Without looking, she knew her grin mirrored his. "Your spinning wheel is true Enchanted Forest craftsmanship," she said primly, giving a little bounce that had him gasping. "See? Not a wobble. It can be trusted over the flimsy constructions of this world."

"I see," he choked out.

"I have thought this out, Rumple," she confessed, moving her hands to caress down his wrists and forearms, then over his legs as far as she could reach. "For years."

"Years?"

"Oh, yes. You'd have blushed to know my thoughts while you spun in the castle."

He managed an inquiring hum.

"Should I tell you all the ways I wanted you to fuck me, even then?"

The crude word had the desired effect.

Her giggle was cut short as he pinched her nipple in retaliation.

Belle gasped in feigned outrage, and would have twisted to chastise him as part of their game, but Rumpelstiltskin's quick grasp at her waist signalled he preferred that she stayed looking forward.

Belle felt his nose run against the shell of her ear, and gladly tilted her head to allow a kiss on her neck.

"Are we really going to debate over furniture?" Rumpelstiltskin murmured against the soft skin, finishing the question with a lazy lick that offered his opinion on the matter very clearly.

Belle shivered with interest. Still she rallied, "There are books on the subject, if you want to inform yourself first."

Rumpelstiltskin laughed. "I have a better idea."

In the end, Belle had to agree.

His idea was better.

The End
29/04/24

Chapter Text

Belle glanced around the local shoemaker's modest showroom in confusion. The shelves, usually brimming with pretty confections of polished wood, leather and lace, were sadly empty. The room itself felt dusty, and Belle could spy without any effort the massive spiderwebs hanging from the ceiling.

She turned to the young man now in charge of the shop. She had come to present her condolences for his father's passing, but obviously she was intruding in a time of deep mourning.

Too often, while visiting Rumpelstiltskin's most desperate cases, she had noticed that sadness tended to manifest outwardly in disarray.

"I see I came too soon," she apologized, trying to keep the pity off her face. "I was very sorry to hear of your loss, and I'll come back when you are ready to receive clients."

The man nodded tightly, not really looking at her.

Belle started her way out without further conversation, unwilling to prolong his embarrassment.

"Wait, milady!" The shoemaker's widow rushed from the private side of the building. "We need your help, please!"

"Mother..."

The woman glared at her son. "Oh, be smart for once, Stevie," she snapped. "We cannot continue like this."

"Father wouldn't have wanted to involve the Dark One." He gave Belle a quick bow, and added quickly, "No offense to the lady."

Before Belle could protest that she understood their stance, the mother spoke again.

"Your father had help enough," she said firmly. "He never needed to consider the idea. Besides..." She walked over to Belle, giving her a piercing look. "You are not actually Rumpelstiltskin's creature, are you?"

The son made a choked sound at the direct question.

Belle smiled. People who were unafraid to speak Rumple's name were often wiser than the rest. "No. I'm just his maid."

The widow gave a laughing scoff, a knowing twinkle in her eye.

Belle fought down a sudden blush.

"How can I help you?" she asked instead.

"It's the little ones. They helped Gregory for decades. Why, they practically made the whole of the inventory, as he became too old to do much but be around and sell it. And then, when he... When he..." She teared up, taking a crumbled, well-used kerchief from her pockets and dabbing at her tears. "Since then, we haven't seen hair or tail of them."

It took Belle a moment to understand. "Oh, you are under elf protection!"

Mother and son stared at her. After a moment, the young man said, sounding truly puzzled. "I thought they worked for us?"

Belle winced.

The old shoemaker must have been beloved indeed, or the son's attitude would have merited the elves' frankly disturbingly mischievous behavior.

The shop should be in ruins.

Instead the family had been left alone. That told Belle that the old man must have treated the elves with the freshest milk and the softest buns for a long time.

"Did you continue leaving the offers?"

The question obviously made no sense to mother or son.

"Oh dear!" Belle hoped the elves were willing to consider ignorance as a lapse in judgement instead of a broken deal. With luck, they would retake their labor as soon as the human side of the contract was delivered. "Well," she told the confused family. "If the elves want to take you back, it should be easy to call their attention."

"Thank you, milady!"

Belle smiled back.

If there were elves involved, it should be easier to get those glass shoes Rumpelstiltskin wanted for his next deal.

The End
30/04/24

Chapter Text

To anyone else, the Cave of Wonders would indeed live up to its name. The piles of riches spread deep into the tunnels, mountains of gold and jewels with value beyond calculation.

Rumpelstiltskin pinched the bridge of his nose in an effort to contain his anger. "All that fuss for this?"

At his side, Belle was equally disappointed. "You do make gold," she agreed, underwhelmed by their discovery.

The Dark Castle had similar sights, and she didn't need to spend days and nights studying a new language to access them.

The excitement of unearthing the password past the looming gate flickered out at the evidence that the vaunted treasure wasn't magical at all.

"I guess the Sultan will still owe us some favors in exchange," she told Rumpelstiltskin pragmatically. Outside the palace, Agrabah was very poor. The Sultan might boast great banquets and expensively dressed courtiers, but one visit into the city had opened Belle's eyes. "On the other hand, that foolish man will spend the whole before sharing a loaf of bread with his people."

Rumpelstiltskin shrugged.

He had no great regard for people in power, and it was a rare person that managed to impress him.

The Sultan, enamored of succulent dishes and easily distracted, had tried even Belle's patience.

"Perhaps we should give it to the people instead."

"A kind thought, my dear. But how do you suppose we keep His Majesty's goodwill if we cheat him off such profits."

They did need the Sultan's permission to continue their research. The hints about the treasures in the Cave of Wonders had proved useless; now they needed to hunt for new clues.

There was a source of great power in Agrabah, waiting to be harvested. It must have dark potential, as the fairies wouldn't have bothered to put a Savior in place otherwise.

With luck, it would grant Rumpelstiltskin passage into the Land Without Magic, or at least ensure that he would remember to search for Baelfire while under the Dark Curse.

"The Sultan is not evil." Just a man with too much power and too little sense. "Something that benefits his people will gladden him."

"His favorite advisor might not agree with that optimistic view."

Belle made a face.

After so many trips to different courts across across realms, always while escorted by the Dark One, a wizard involved in politics shouldn't have fazed her. However, she avoided Jafar as politely as she was able.

His magic didn't trouble her, as Rumpelstiltskin would make short work of him if required, but the greedy hunger behind Jafar's congenial facade was off-putting.

"He is still just an advisor."

Rumpelstiltskin grunted something that Belle chose to take as agreement.

"Come, Rumple." She reached for his hand. "We might as well tour around. Perhaps there is something worth adding to your vault."

A disdainful scoff answered her, but he still followed her further into the cave.

The End
01/05/24

Chapter Text

Belle's hand automatically reached for a pillow, and she giggled when it came up empty. Instead she snuggled closer to Gold and laid her head against his extended arm. "Maybe we should have moved this to the bed."

Gold turned at her with a mischievous look. "And miss the comforts of a new rug? I don't think so."

Belle had bought a few pieces of furniture online, hoping to give her old apartment a more modern feel.

If she couldn't bring herself to follow her other self's steps and just move to Gold's mansion, she could at least make a few changes.

Gold had been happy to be invited to dinner, though less thrilled when he understood that food would come after they rearranged her furniture to accommodate the new pieces.

"But my leg!" He had protested, heaving a resigned sigh when Belle had rolled her eyes at him.

Even if her common sense still rallied at the idea of magic, Belle only had to see her boyfriend walk unaided to believe that his wild stories were real.

Mainly she was glad for his regained freedom from the pain, of course. However, she couldn't help but be enthusiastic about the new flexibility.

It had so many... applications.

Hence their current position.

At some point, he had distracted her from some spell to resize her couch with a kiss. Other spells had followed, as Gold was too much of a perfectionist and Belle, at heart, liked the changes he made.

She still demanded to be distracted, of course. It was only fair.

The kisses had morphed into tender caresses, then less tender teasing, and by the time Belle had dragged him down by his tie, she was ready to throw the stubborn new cabinet out the window if only Gold kept kissing her.

"Thank you for helping," she told him now, giving him a quick kiss.

"Of course, sweetheart." He turned to her to pull a strand of hear behind her ear. Then he gave a playful smirk. "I would never miss dinner with you."

However, when Belle would have risen to heat up the lasagna, Gold tugged at her until she was back under him.

"What about dinner?"

His eyes twinkled.

"Oh, I'll serve myself."

And he started by kissing down her neck.

The End
02/05/24

Chapter Text

Jefferson walked through the receiving hall with the ease of a man who knew himself safe from the moods of the owner of the mansion.

As usual, Rumpelstiltskin had need of his talents. Jefferson had been promised a hefty sum in return.

In this world as in the other, the Dark One's gold - or dollars, Jefferson supposed - was as good as any other.

It helped keep his confidence, of course, that Rumpelstiltskin's favorite person was escorting him into this version of their Dark Castle.

Rumpelstiltskin himself didn't appear yet, probably embroiled with some trouble among the royals, but Jefferson could be patient with his best client.

He passed the time looking around the living room, recognizing several of the pieces in display. Some of them, he had retrieved for a price in his younger years.

His eyes stopped on the tiny, easily disregarded, porcelain cup placed among the treasures. The chip faced forward, clearly implying that it was its best feature.

He turned to Belle with a smirk. "May I finally address you as the lady of the castle?" he asked jovially, and her answering blush made him giggle.

"There are no such things here," she said.

That wasn't a denial.

"You know there are people itching to request an audience with you. If it weren't for this whole lost Savior drama, you'd have a line at the doorstep."

Belle raised an eyebrow.

"All right. So most wouldn't step a mile around Rumple's home if they could help it." He ignored the unhappy purse of her lips. By now, she must be aware that even a human-looking Dark One was a nightmare for the rest of the world. "You, however, will find yourself with a new influx of clients at that bookstore of yours."

Belle sighed.

"Unless you plan to close the bookstore?"

The glare she gave him was actually frightening. "Independent business women are a thing here, you know."

"Of course," he said quickly, giving his most ingratiating smile. "I apologize for presuming."

Belle nodded, accepting his apology with ease. A little frown stayed with her, though. "Do you really think people will approach me?"

"No. They'll mob you if they can." He shrugged. He was fond enough of Rumple's lover to tell the truth. "They already used to find you at markets and stores, if you visited a town. Now that you have actual business hours? Of course they'll beat your door down."

Belle dropped onto a couch, her expression far off as she thought the situation over. "Well. I should hear them out, if they come."

Jefferson didn't bother to reassert his certainty. His point would prove itself eventually.

"And if they ask for too much?"

Belle met his eye. "I'll ask Rumple to cover for a day or two."

Jefferson took off his hat, impressed. She was so nice and sweet that even he, who had been a frequent visitor at the Dark Castle, often forgot she was a true match to the Dark One.

Woe Storybrooke, if they forgot that fact for too long.

The End
03/05/24

Chapter Text

"Just a bit of mild weather, he says." A crash of thunder punctuated her ill humor. Belle huddled further into her cloak, stepping closer to Rumpelstiltskin's body heat despite blaming him for their current situation. "Not a bit of trouble, he says," she kept muttering - though loud enough to be certain to be heard over the pattering rain. "An outing like any other, wasn't it? Might have a picnic afterwards!"

Rumpelstiltskin stared at his companion with too much amusement in his eyes.

Belle narrowed her eyes. It was tempting to poke the obnoxious man, but as it would mean exposing her arms to the cold wind, she kept her hands cozily crossed over her chest. "We are stuck in the Endless Forest, Rumple!"

"I didn't expect the Blind Witch's magic to affect me," he admitted.

"This is her territory," Belle grumbled, though she also hadn't realized the importance until the woman had cast them out of her house and deposited them somewhere unknown.

Rumpelstiltskin's magic couldn't take them back home, as Rumpelstiltskin himself didn't know in which direction lay his castle. At least, though, he had provided with a thick garment for her, and a protective bubble over their heads that kept them dry.

"We should start walking anyway. This place cannot be actually endless!"

"Afraid it is so, my dear."

She sighed, huddling into her cloak and silently thanking Rumpelstiltskin for the heating charm he must be casting.

"Ready to go home or will you rather keep nagging?"

Jaw dropping, Belle twisted to glare at him.

Rumpelstiltskin had the gall to lecture her, a smirk drawing a corner of his lips upwards. "I am the Dark One, Belle. I might have been caught by surprise, but no spell can hold me for long."

Belle took a deep breath.

Poking was not an option.

She elbowed him instead.

Rumpelstiltskin's laughter echoed in the forest as the dark smoke swept them away.

The End
04/05/24

Chapter Text

Regina hated to admit it, but the tales spreading from far away courts were true. The Dark One's little shadow was indeed brave.

From their own acquaintance, she was already aware of the girl's intelligence. Rumple's maid was surprisingly intuitive when it came to unknotting a particularly complicated spell, and with the rare tomes added to her collection at Rumple's whim, the girl made for an adequate research partner.

Now Belle was in her throne room, a trail of felled guards behind her. Her little bursts of light magic couldn't compare to Regina's power, but they had been effective enough against her men.

"Rumple is right," Regina said as she rose to greet her guest. "You are nothing but trouble."

Her tone held none of the fondness her former teacher had used when he said the words.

Belle smiled sweetly in response, sickeningly secure in her place under the Dark One's protection. "Do you really want to trade Rumple's impressions of each other?"

Regina scoffed.

Being the loser in their last encounter was insult enough.

Interesting, though, that Belle was the first to come after that evening at the Dark Castle. Regina had figured that Rumpelstiltskin would come to threaten her away from his little maid again, while the girl cowered away.

It did help, she supposed, that there was a wall of magic surrounding Belle's heart now. Such protections, especially cast by the Dark One himself, would bolster anyone's courage.

"We need to talk," Belle said.

Regina smirked at the preposterousness of such request. "I need nothing from you."

"I remember different." Belle met her eye. Regina was reluctantly impressed. Few people dared do it anymore. Terror of her displeasure drove their eyes, often along with their knees, down to the ground. "You would have used my heart to cheat Rumpelstiltskin off his payment," the girl continued. "I don't expect an apology, but I'll take a conversation instead."

"Unlike your master," and she enjoyed Belle's flush as she stressed that word, "I don't truck in deals."

"I'm not leaving, Regina."

It would take a flick of a hand to send the girl back to the road.

Too bad that she would come back.

Regina knew that stubborn look. It convinced Rumpelstiltskin to do her bidding. It had even worked on Maleficent, as proved by that little princess walking around instead of lying half-forgotten under a sleeping curse.

Belle wouldn't leave without a private audience with her.

"Fine, then," she snapped, whirling around to march to her sitting room. "Follow me if you dare."

The End
05/05/24

Chapter Text

Regina laughed at Belle's betrayed expression.

The Evil Queen didn't need friends. She never wanted them!

Belle had been useful, a reliable source of support when Rumple had been in a mood. If Regina had to temper her requests to meet with the girl's approval, well, better to have a bit of help from the Dark One than none at all.

Now that use had come to an end.

Regina needed to cast the Dark Curse, and she wasn't going to accept Rumpelstiltskin's price to learn about the missing ingredient.

The imp wanted something in exchange?

His little maid's heart would do.

"I should have done this ages ago," she hissed, sneering at Belle's helplessness. The girl was even clutching at her throat, fist around her mother's pearl pendant like one of those silly heroines in her ridiculous novels.

She even gasped Rumple's name, as if her mighty protector wasn't reduced to a prisoner in Snow White's dungeons.

Regina savored her triumph.

Her hand reached into Belle's chest, clutching around the panicked beat of her heart and ready to rip it out...

Magic swelled all around them, starting from Belle's necklace.

A protection spell, Regina realized, yanking her hand back before it could be burned off.

Stronger wards snapped around the castle, ready to protect the Dark One's treasures.

Ready to protect Belle.

Magic settled into thick, impenetrable walls around the whole of Rumple's home. Even an army of ogres could beat the doors down and not gain a single inch into the grounds.

There was no way in.

And, Regina realized with a laugh, no way out.

How unfortunate that Rumple's little maid was trapped inside with the Evil Queen!

"Where were we?" she asked gleefully, standing straighter.

A high-pitched voice answered from behind her: "In the wrong place, Your Majesty."

Regina twirled around.

It had to be an illusion. She chastised herself for that moment of fear, and raised her hand to vanish the ugly vision.

A wave of his hand sent her flying to the wall.

Regina rose to her knees in time to watch Belle run into Rumpelstiltskin, arms going around him. She even glimpsed a flash of tenderness as he allowed the embrace, before he turned hard eyes on her.

"You can't be here," she gasped, angrier at the thread of fear in her voice. However, fear was the only rational response at the moment. For the first time, Regina was confronted with the truth: for all these years, the darkest power in the realm had been coddling her. Her magic was a drop compared to his. "You are trapped," she said accusing, refusing to believe her eyes. "You told me so!"

Rumpelstiltskin offered his most malicious smile. "I lied."

His hand lifted, and Regina flinched at the strength of the gathered power.

Belle cried out, "Rumple, don't!"

Reliable to the last, that girl, Regina thought before darkness surrounded her.

What a fool.

The End
06/05/24

Chapter Text

On her tiptoes, Belle's brow furrowed as she reached into the cookie jar and her hand encountered only the glossy bottom. She lowered the container and tilted it to eye level just to make sure.

Empty.

With a disappointed sigh, she reached for the other jar. She would have preferred pecan, but a couple of raisin cookies would do for a quick midnight snack.

The second jar was empty as well.

Narrowing her eyes, she grabbed both containers and marched upstairs to the bedroom.

The cookie thief was lying oblivious on their bed, happily dreaming of the snacks Belle wouldn't have. Belle climbed to sit beside him, and waited until her presence registered enough to rouse him a little. "Hey, honey," she said sweetly when he turned toward her. His lips started to draw up into a sleepy smile of welcome, and---

The clang of the jars thundered in the room.

Rumpelstiltskin jerked back, so surprised that he almost fell off the bed.

"Wha--- " he managed before he recovered his balance, sitting up as he looked around. Perplexed at not finding another source for the commotion, he turned to stare at Belle. "Sweetheart?"

Belle presented the jars along with her most pathetic pout. "I'm hungry, Rumple."

He blinked very slowly. Then he reached out to touch her. "This isn't a dream," he concluded.

Belle rolled her eyes. "Still hungry..."

"I was planning to restock in the morning. After breakfast."

Belle let her lower lip stick out further.

"I can make you a sandwich," he offered.

Belle sniffled.

Rumpelstiltskin stared at her in disbelief, well aware that she was faking such distress. Belle didn't let off.

This was her story and she was sticking to it.

Victory was hers when Rumpelstiltskin threw the covers away. "Fine," he grumbled. "Since when do you like raisin cookies anyway? Those were always a safe bet."

It was Belle's turn to be perplexed.

She didn't like raisins.

She glanced down at her abdomen, and a suspicion started to grow.

The End
07/05/24

Chapter Text

The mood of the meeting was already tense before Belle started her speech. The research had taken her months, and for the first time in her life, she had resisted the evidence long after every option had been studied.

Like everyone in the town hall, she wanted to go back home.

Storybrooke was a pleasant town. While the transit to the Enchanted Forest had been open, she and Rumpelstiltskin had discussed how to handle their properties on this side of the portal. Did they want to keep the mansion, for the frequent visits they planned to see Rumple's son and grandson? Should they offer it to Neal, or just put the apartment above the bookstore in his name?

Those talks were now a moot point.

Zelena's last parting gift forbid a return to the Enchanted Forest. Her curse hadn't affected only the portal; it had poisoned the whole of the land.

Even people who found alternate roads to their old homes would eventually fall under the Wicked Witch's command. They had almost come to grief at that particular discovery. Even after Rumpelstiltskin strengthened the reversal spell with blood magic, her stepson had taken pains to transform from winged monkey back to his natural form.

Zelena had infected the very heart of the realm with her magic. It seeped now into every root and brooke of the land. Not even the Dark One could compete against the will of a whole world.

"I'm so sorry," she finished her exposition, and seeing the devastation among the crowd brought tears to her eyes. She didn't allow her voice to break, all the same. People needed to see her strength, not have her sorrow added to their own. Later, in private, she would mourn their old life. "As things stand right now, we cannot move back to the Enchanted Forest. It's impossible."

Silence reigned over the assembly for long moments.

Belle was about to step down and allow Midas back to direct the meeting, when the silence broke.

"Why should we believe her?" came a familiar voice. "We all know she's the Dark One's whore."

Belle stiffened.

Such insults had once been commonplace, though whispered and suggested rather than shouted in a crowd.

Unfortunately for Gaston, this was the worst choice of public for his outburst.

A sea of heads turned to him, the sadness of the news swept away by anger at this slight against her honor.

The attendance was mostly people from the towns closest to the Dark Castle. They had seen Belle at their festivals and fairs. They had sold her their wares at market day. They had thanked her after a disaster, as Rumpelstiltskin would make himself scarce once his magic did the job.

They had called her their lady long before Belle was comfortable with the title.

Now Belle didn't bother to answer Gaston's insult.

She took her husband's arm, distracting him from his obvious fury, and left the hall.

Her people would take care of the fool.

The End
08/05/24

Chapter Text

Belle sipped at her tea, drawing the blanket tighter around her bare legs. Despite the fireplace glowing bright on one end of the room, the cabin was colder than the mansion.

Central heating was a feature she would miss when they returned to the Dark Castle.

"This world has spoiled me," she told Rumple. "It's always warm inside."

"I'll keep you warm," he promised, joining actions to word and threading his arms around her.

Belle giggled, happy to accept the extra body heat under the circumstances. Before the temptation of his touch could distract her, Belle persevered. "But really, Rumple. How many candles would it take to make my library as cozy as the bookstore is here?"

"A hundred and twenty-two," he answered promptly.

Belle turned a skeptical look on him.

"Alright. I am kidding. But why the concern?" He waved a hand in that particular way that meant magic to him. "You can handle it yourself."

Belle was touched by his vote of confidence, but in truth heating spells drained her after a couple of hours. She had never liked to be dependant on Rumple's power for something so mundane, so she'd complemented the magic with thick shawls and an early bedtime in the worst of winter.

Perhaps someone would figure out how to apply some of this world's technology to their land?

"Did we ever meet any inventors back home?"

Rumple glanced at her with curiousity at the non-sequitor, but gave the matter some thought anyway. "Not that I remember," he said with a shake of his head. Then he smirked. "What about your father?"

Belle laughed at the thought.

Ruby had made her watch the movie once, and the next day Belle had sat Rumple in front of his TV set and played the video, just to make sure she wasn't reading too much into it.

Most of it was nonsense, like her father's vocation and jovial mood. She also couldn't remember Gaston with a close friend, though admittedly she hadn't cared to meet anyone important to her former fiancé.

To her surprise, the cartoon residents at the castle had tugged at her memory.

"Well, sweetheart," Rumple had said after listening to her. "You visited so many of the nearby towns, so often, that I'd find it unlikely if you hadn't met a nosy widow with a gaggle of young kids. As for friends who bicker over everything, there was probably a pair in every town!"

Belle saw the sense in his words.

Still the feeling persisted.

Rumpelstiltskin, however, took their conversation down a different path. "Have you changed your mind, then? Do you wish to stay in Storybrooke with all its comforts?"

Belle was quick to shake her head.

The miscommunication on that regard had lasted long enough.

"Of course not," she told Rumple. "After our wedding, we're going back home. You're the only comfort I'll need."

The End
09/05/24

Chapter Text

Belle tried to hang onto her annoyance, but her effort was wasted against a pair of large green eyes. "You think you're so cute, don't you?" she grumbled.

The villain purred harder.

It showed no regrets for having been discovered hanging from the curtains. Perhaps it even was in the right, Belle supposed, as it appeared to have been in hot pursuit of a couple of mice that had climbed up the wall.

If she didn't know better, she'd swear the mice were blowing raspberries down at the cat.

Perhaps she should ask Rumpelstiltskin if there were any cursed people in the Tremaine household.

"And you better not be one of them, Luci," she told the cat earnestly.

She had watered an enchanted rose for months before it was released back as her former fiancé. Strangers making themselves comfortable on her lap would be beyond the pale!

Lucifer just closed his eyes and bumped his head against her hand demandingly.

Belle decided to believe it was a feline through and through, and obligingly gave it extra scratches between its ears.

She would still check on the mice, though. Just in case.

The End
10/05/24

Chapter Text

Truly touched at the sight, years of life as a mechanic had Gus whistling a mournful tune when the concealing spell was lifted from the Cadillac. The engine must have been banged over with a heavy tool, and anything that could be cut with a pair of hedge clippers had been minced into confetti.

Gus kept his eyes on the mangled engine. He couldn't think of looking the Dark One in the eye as he gave bad news. "This needs new parts," he started, hoping that the other man took the hint.

The Dark One gave a frustrated growl.

As everyone in town knew, the outside world would be out of reach until someone figured how to broach the town line without losing their true self.

The dwarf was warning enough.

"Damn it," the Dark One hissed.

Gus licked his lips. He had always been too bold for his own good. "You can keep using magic. You did drive it here, didn't you?"

"I wasn't about to publicize that an idiot had damaged my property." Gus found himself at the wrong end of a warning glare. He had met the Dark One in the Enchanted Land, and perhaps it was because for most of his life humans had been to be feared, but he disagreed with other people in town. The Spinner wasn't a bit less terrifying just because he wore human skin. "I do, of course, expect complete silence on the matter."

Gus nodded repeatedly, until the Dark One's expression softened into an indulgent smirk.

"Good."

"So," Gus ventured, "are you going to fix it yourself?"

The Dark One shook his head. "Magic doesn't last forever on this world's technology. I'd hate to reapply or strengthen a spell every few weeks." This all went over Gus' head, but he still gave a nod and a vague smile. The Dark One chuckled at his lack of enthusiasm. "In other words, I'll need your assistance as soon as the townline is broken."

Gus gave another nod and wisely did not advise to get in line.

Everyone was starting to feel the scarcity.

It made a former mouse wish to return to his original form. A loaf of bread would have lasted him for days and, even more importantly, he would not feel stressed over matters over which he had no control.

"Mr. Dark One?" He gulped nervously. "I mean... Mr. Gold?" Magic being weaker in this land or not, there was no way he was using the Dealer's real name. "Is there any way I'll be a mouse again?"

The Dark One raised an eyebrow. "Don't find it so exciting anymore, dearie?"

Gus gave a shrug. "Life is simpler on four paws."

"And you'd rather be chased by cats again?"

He raised his chin proudly. "Mine are quick paws, sir!"

The Dark One chuckled again, and Gus perked up accordingly. From what he remembered, an amused dark wizard was a generous dark wizard. "Magic is too unstable at the moment." Before Gus could lose hope, he continued. "Ask me again in a few weeks."

The End
11/05/24

Chapter Text

Humming under her breath, Belle applied the small knife to its work. The soft sound didn't bother Rumpelstiltskin, as he merely flicked at the lengthening strip of apple skin as it came within his reach.

Belle smiled at the silly display of playfulness.

He responded by pinching off a bit and flicking it at her nose with annoying accuracy.

"Must you really?" she scolded with a roll of her eyes.

Stained teeth flashed along with a giggle. "You are slow, dearie."

Belle didn't react to the nickname. Over the years together, she had come to realize that he used it when he was upset. Or when he meant to upset her. He did this sometimes. Searched her out just to needle her into an argument.

Belle had long made her peace with her anger being a safe space for this maddening man.

"And you are vexing," she told him, though even to her ears the words lacked any real bite.

It was harder to summon real anger, she supposed, when Rumpelstiltskin joined her after three days away with such clear desire for company. Tonight he had even climbed onto her reading couch and laid out so his messy curls brushed against the fabric of her skirts.

If Belle wiggled her legs, he would be resting on her lap.

It would be an accident. Really.

"Perhaps I'm just hungry," he retorted. "You are making me wait for a single bite."

"I wasn't planning to share."

"Shame on you." Their eyes met. Despite the words exchanged, they smiled at each other. "And everyone thinks I'm the wretched one!"

"You're stealing my dinner!"

"It's just an apple, Belle."

"I agree. My apple."

He arched an eyebrow. His willingness to engage in the harmless argument showed in a little smirk. "From my orchard."

By now, Belle had cut a slice and offered it to him.

He raised his head to bite into it.

When he returned to his supine position, his head was pillowed more comfortably over her legs.

Neither mentioned the shift.

It was just an accident, after all.

The End
12/05/24

Chapter Text

Silence came over the park as the Cadillac stopped and, instead of delivering only Belle to the family party, Rumpelstiltskin stepped down and escorted his wife to the group.

Emma and her parents stared at him for a long moment, before remembering their courtesies.

Privately, Rumpelstiltskin awarded the former shepherd with the least awkward smile.

"I'm sorry we're late," Belle chirped from his side, her arm threaded through his. "We had a last minute delay."

It would have taken a second to send the annoying wolf back to her grandmother, but Belle was fond of Ruby.

"It's all right." David's grin even seemed genuine. "Glad the two of you could make it this time!"

The shepherd's arm arched in suspicious camaraderie. The pinch near his elbow reminded Rumpelstiltskin to accept the gesture.

Similar intervention from Snow diverted the effusive slap on his shoulder into an offer for a hand shake.

Rumpelstiltskin even managed not to sneer as he shook back.

"Auntie Belle!" Henry's voice cut in as he ran across the park.

"Papa. You made it!"

Bae rushed closer, a football in hand and quickly passing his son.

Rumpelstiltskin felt himself relax. He had invested a whole world into their reunion. Of course he would spend a few hours if Baelfire requested his presence.

"Are you actually wearing that?" Henry interrupted his thoughts, taking him in with youthful horror. "This is a picnic!"

The adults chuckled, some more nervously than others.

Baelfire rolled his eyes and cuffed the boy's head playfully. "Just be glad he's here this time," he said. Rumpelstiltskin blinked, unaware he would have been welcomed to previous family meetings. Belle had tried to tell him so, but Baelfire hadn't brought it up until dinner last night.

While he mulled that over, Baelfire was coming into his personal space. "Glad you could make it." He moved in in for a quick hug. Him, Rumpelstiltskin gladly embraced back. Bae stepped away, and looked down at his son with an exasperated smile. "Sorry about that, Papa. Kid's had nowhere to learn subtlety. It's a miracle people still like him."

"Hey!" the boy complained.

The adults laughed a little, before Emma tugged Henry closer to her. "Don't mind your dad," she said loudly. "He once told a police officer he had an ugly face."

"Guilty." Bae shrugged, then put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Sorry, kid. You're doomed."

Rumpelstiltskin smiled at the picture of them. He had barely dared to dream that Baelfire would forgive him one day. To be allowed to see his son become a father...

Sadly, other people broke the moment.

"Henry is right, though." David was saying, eyeing him from collar to leather shoes. "You'll get that nice suit wrinkled, Gold."

Rumpelstiltskin hid a sigh. A glance to his side was no reprieve, as Belle was giving him a knowing look.

"Fine," he grumbled. "You win."

Everyone stepped back at the sudden cloud of magic that enveloped him.

Not Belle, of course. Never her. She only nodded in approval at the result.

If her cheeks flushed a little at his choice of attire, Rumpelstiltskin was smart enough to save that knowledge for later.

"Will this do?" He directed the question to his grandson.

Bae's boy gave him a thumbs up before latching onto his wrist and tugging him along.

Rumpelstiltskin allowed the manhandling in good humor. At his side, Belle was pulled along, already asking questions about Henry's plans.

Behind the trio, Neal stared at Emma. Emma managed to shake off the unexpected reaction to Gold's change of wardrobe in time to see Neal's look of horror.

"Never ever tell me what just crossed your mind," he begged.

Emma ruthlessly forced down a blush. She hadn't expected the result of a pair of jeans on the man, all right? "I have no idea what you're talking about," she grit out, glaring Neal into forgetting the whole thing.

Neal gladly complied.

Meanwhile, David put an arm around his wife's waist. "Remember how Belle used to act so mysterious when we asked why she stayed in the Dark Castle?"

Still a bit speechless, Snow nodded.

David chuckled. "Mystery solved, eh?"

Snow nodded again.

The End
13/05/24

Chapter Text

"Would you like another cup?" said Maleficent, tilting the teapot in his direction.

After two servings of the admittedly delicious blend and not a word of the reason behind the invitation to the Forbidden Mountain, Rumpelstiltskin just fixed the sorceress with a bored glare.

She responded with a slight smirk. "Pity," she said, placing the steaming pot back on its holder. "I was told this was your favorite."

Rumpelstiltskin narrowed his eyes. "Belle was here, then."

"I never denied it, Rumple."

A wordsmith himself, Rumpelstiltskin gave a grudging nod. "I do recognize a delay tactic." He nodded at his teacup, and made sure that his smile showed teeth when he raised his head. "Why the theater, dearie?"

Maleficent gave a dainty shrug. "Your girl has learned some decent dealmaking," she informed him with a tiny smile. "At your knees or on hers, she refused to specify." Her eyes twinkled at the outraged sound he made. "My, my. She was just as speechless at the suggestion. Quite the pair, the two of you."

He and Belle had been fielding such insinuations since the first event they attended together.

Rumpelstiltskin took a deep breath and reminded himself that he needed Maleficent alive and in a friendly mood.

"Your point, witch."

"The girl offered enough incentive to keep you occupied while she finishes her business."

When he caught up with Belle, she better have some good answers to his questions. Starting with a reason to slip away from the Dark Castle beyond whims of heroism.

"I'm surprised you allowed her passage, considering the company she's decided to keep."

Maleficent arched an eyebrow, expression so smooth that anyone might believe she had never cursed a princess or enchanted that girl's true love. "As I said, I had incentive."

Rumpelstiltskin thought he should be surprised at Belle's resourcefulness, but he had lived with her for nearly two years: if she had waited for his help, then he would be surprised.

However, the girl still was blind to loopholes. She acted in good faith and believed others would follow her example.

Maleficent had never been a follower.

"And you will allow her back through your land unharmed?"

Maleficent gave an innocent look. "I know how precious your little maid is, Rumple. Why would I harm her?"

Rumpelstiltskin stared at her, waiting.

"Of course," Maleficent continued, "accidents happen. These are dangerous roads across the mountain."

"Name your price, Mal."

Maleficent smiled.

The End
14/05/24

Chapter Text

Back when she had first started as the Dark One's maid, after the first weeks of distrust and fear, it hadn't taken long for Belle to discover one of Rumpelstiltskin's long held secrets.

(This one wasn't a secret because he hid it. Just... no one ever cared to discover it.)

Belle found out when her stashes of cookies disappeared before she had eaten more than a couple. Her pies were favored over more refined dishes at dinner. More telling, her supply of sugar was always the first to replenish itself.

Rumpelstiltskin had a sweet tooth.

Over the years, Belle had become an adept baker. The Dark Castle never lacked a spread of cupcakes, cookies and pies to share with their guests or, more often, to tempt Rumpelstiltskin out of his tower to join her at the dinner table.

Now, as his wife, Belle had a more interesting idea to placate his taste.

Rumpelstiltskin approved with enthusiasm.

"I think," he was saying now, "this needs a little more on this side..." With a grin, he tipped the spoonful of honey over her left shoulder, and watched as the golden liquid pearled on her skin.

Belle smiled. "Are you having fun, Rumple?"

Rumpelstiltskin's smile was positively filthy. "Oh yes."

The End
15/05/24

Chapter Text

Rumpelstiltskin arrived just in time to hear the clink of Belle's necklace break under the strain.

Prince Leonard stared stupidly between the golden piece in his hand and Rumpelstiltskin, mouth opening and closing in what surely would be the least imaginative excuse for assaulting a guest in his mother's court.

Given his station, Rumpelstiltskin did the boy a favor and glued his mouth shut. He would have given him a scare, too, if his ears hadn't picked on the soft sound of a sniffle.

He twisted to look at Belle, shocked to discover the sound did indeed come from her.

"You made her cry," he hissed, anger rising to levels he usually suppressed for the sake of his companion.

A flicker of his fingers, and a pile of rotting leaves lay where the prince had been.

"Rumpelstiltskin, don't!"

He took a big inhale, commanding himself to patience.

Belle was different. Lighter of heart. Kinder. Good. Of course she wouldn't like....

"You can't leave that in the middle of the hallway! Servants just cleaned it."

Rumpelstiltskin blinked.

She made an imperious gesture toward the unsightly mess.

Did she mean to banish the transfigured princeling altogether, or that Rumpelstiltskin should return him to his original form?

The latter, surely.

He huffed, miffed at her endless capacity for forgiveness. It was unfair that he wasn't it's only beneficiary. "After the scene I just walked into," he groused, "are you actually going to speak in this fool's defense?"

Belle stared at him as if he'd grown a second head.

Well. That was unexpected.

"He broke my mother's necklace, Rumple." She held out the trinket. It would be easy to repair, but Rumpelstiltskin refrained from doing it. Belle's mother was still a delicate subject. "Gaston proved more reasonable after a stint as flora," she continued, "I'm confident His Highness will follow that example."

"Gaston had you advocating for his release," Rumpelstiltskin pointed out. "Planning to stay long enough for the lesson to stick?"

That gave her pause.

Rumpelstiltskin sighed. "Alright, then."

Another click of his fingers, and Prince Leonard was hopping his terrified in the direction of the royal wing.

"A frog?"

He lifted an eyebrow. "You sound disappointed, my dear."

"The queen is a loving woman. She will kiss him at once, and he will have learned nothing."

"That's an easy fix."

A cloud of magic flew to envelop the fleeing frog and blinked itself away. "I've sent him to the servants' quarters." He sniggered. "I doubt he knows his way back."

Belle gave a huff of laughter too, but she wasn't convinced. "A missing prince, and suddenly a frog turns up?" She had read the stories. This was a classic if she'd ever heard of one. "He will be showered in kisses before sundown, and brought to the throne room if that doesn't work."

"Not every maid reads as much as you do, sweetheart." Rumpelstiltskin countered, wagging a finger in playful censure. He knew the lives of servants better than she did. People who worked for a living had this much in common: stories were a luxury, not a pastime. "A frog is just another pest underfoot. It'll get more brooms than kisses, for certain!"

Belle clutched the remains of her pearl necklace. "Good."

The End
16/05/24

Chapter Text

Belle bit her lower lip as she glanced over the ruined grand hall.

"I told you it wasn't a pretty sight," Rumpelstiltskin murmured, tightening the arm around her in an attempt to comfort her.

Belle nodded.

Intellectually, she had known that the Dark Castle would be as ruined as the other great constructions of the Enchanted Forest. Snow White's castle, once the home of a dynasty, was nothing but rubble. Regina's palace should have stood, but more mundane means had laid wroth on it. Kings across the land had sent word to contact them at more humble accomodations than they were used to.

Maleficent's fortress had been immediately livable only by dint of the band of invaders who had already done the hard work of rehabilitating the main rooms.

Belle had thought it a miracle that the Dark Castle still stood amidst the tall walls that surrounded Rumpelstiltskin's dominion.

The inside, however, spoke of the three decades it had been unattended.

"The wards will have to be renewed," she said, thankful for their work against the curse's wave of destruction. They had burned themselves out on that feat, though.

If it weren't for their people hiding the road up the mountain, they surely would have found uninvited guests under their roof.

"I'll have to start from scratch," Rumpelstiltskin sighed. "It will take years to grow them to their previous strength."

Belle squeezed his hand. "We have the time now."

He nodded. "At least the rest is an easy fix."

Rumpelstiltskin had already declared the structure safe, and Belle knew of his hopes that at some point Baelfire would come for a visit.

After Henry had almost been squashed by a crumbling wall, there was no way Bae would go anywhere with the slightest risk.

As it stood, Rumpelstiltskin's grandchild wasn't living in a hut only because Regina had whisked the boy off to the Forbidden Mountain instead.

Even Emma had to concede that a band of former thieves was safer than a castle under construction.

"We will open a couple more rooms in the family wing," she told him. Regina and Emma would inevitably clash and go their separate ways. Bae would follow Emma, and Belle would make sure the Dark Castle was the more enticing option.

"Of course," Rumpelstiltskin agreed with ease. Then he smirked. "At a distance from our quarters, though."

Belle rolled her eyes, but inwardly she saw his point. Previous - and mortifying - experience did say that their privacy was a concern.

"Perhaps we can open a whole other wing for Bae and Henry?"

Rumpelstiltskin must be remembering the same thing, because he nodded with vigor. "That would be best."

The End
17/05/24

Chapter Text

Rumpelstiltskin tugged on her sleeve.

Belle didn't turn to look up at him, aware of her weakness for pleading brown eyes. "I said two hours at least, Rumple," she told him, keeping a soft, ladylike smile on her face.

Personally, it felt like they'd been stuck at Granny's for days already.

Sadly, any clock would say otherwise.

"Besides," Belle continued, "we haven't even congratulated the birthday boy."

Rumpelstiltskin glanced over at the knot of people around David. Thomas and Philip would scatter if he interrupted their little chat. Midas would be courteous enough to give some excuse before leaving his fellow king to the Dark One.

The dwarf would be nasty, though.

Snow's quarrelsome friend had never forgotten nor forgiven his experience as fowl. In Rumpelstiltskin's mind, Grumpy should be thankful he hadn't been simply snuffed out of existence for his trespass; but some people just couldn't let go.

"Don't glare so," Belle admonished him, threading her arm through his as if she could contain his ill mood physically. "That's the one Nova is so fond of."

Rumpelstiltskin arched an eyebrow. His estimation of the exiled fairy lowered significantly. "Can't she get better taste?"

"Hush, you!" Belle punctuated the reprimand with a quick slap against his arm.

As he had no real interest in the love life of their maid, he complied without protest. "I'm still not breaking into that little council."

"I'm sure they'll be perfectly behaved. This is David's house, and we are his guests."

Rumpelstiltskin gave her an amused glance. "I'm hardly afraid of some show of disrespect. However, between Midas and George, they'll have put the brave shepherd into a mood for politics." He made a show of shuddering. "I've had enough of that nonsense."

Since Regina had vacated the mayor's position, Storybrooke's self-appointed major players were vying for support. Snow White's husband was a favorite target.

The boy was smart enough not to back anyone too openly. However, he had questions with tricky answers and was in need of advice... and he had somehow come to the conclusion that Rumpelstiltskin was a source of both.

"It would hardly be politic to turn the man of the hour into some beastie."

"Come, Rumple. You like David better than that."

"If he makes another suggestion about how I should put in my bit at the council, no, I don't."

"The town council?" Belle chuckled at the idea. "I love you, Rumple, but you're not a team player. You'd have them dancing to your tune in a week."

He smiled at her quick summation of matters. "Thank you, sweetheart."

"Are things truly that bad?"

Now that they were forced to stay in close society with everyone else, they had to worry about details like this. He missed his solitary castle so much!

"Oh, I'm certain they'll end up begging to reinstall Regina," he told her confidently. Whether their former mayor would accept the post... He must admit he had no idea. "But for now, it's a bother."

Belle hummed in agreement. "They're acting like grasping fools."

"Does that mean we can leave them to their foolishness?"

Belle fixed him with a glare. Perhaps he had sounded too eager. She had been looking forward to this party for days. There weren't a lot of opportunities to socialize in this world, and she had always enjoyed mingling. "Two hours, Rumple. You promised."

He grumbled. "There's not even a dance floor."

Events were improved by a chance to dance with Belle.

"True. Nobody thought of that." Belle rose on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear. "We can dance at home, though."

"We often do."

"Then we can do... something else."

Now that was an interesting idea. "Any suggestions?" he asked innocently.

The heat in her eyes settled that question.

"That's not incentive to stay, my dear."

Belle gave a playful shrug, reaching up to touch his chest on the pretext of straightening the lapels of his coat. "The anticipation makes it better sometimes."

He loved this woman.

"You mean the dancing?"

Her blush didn't stop her from caressing down his front. "Of course."

The End
18/05/24

Chapter Text

Rumpelstiltskin leaned away, a look of panic on his face. "I don't think---"

Belle thrust the crying child at him, never doubting he would catch it. "Figure it out, Rumple," she snapped, before she turned on her heel and hurried back into the cottage.

Rumpelstiltskin meant to chase after her. He truly did. But a woman's scream froze him before he'd given a single step.

Over three centuries on his shoulders. He had seen it all. The process of childbirth shouldn't even count among the horrors he had witnessed. He had certainly dealt worse fates by his own hand.

He still did not dare enter.

Not even to get rid of the miniature banshee left under his care.

"Damn."

Looking left and right to ensure that there were no witnesses, Rumpelstiltskin moved the child into a more comfortable position, bouncing it in a steady pattern.

The sobs eventually subsided into sniffles.

Rumpelstiltskin gave it a couple of minutes before the tyke tired himself out. Poor thing must have gotten scared by the fuss inside.

He looked up when the door opened, hopeful that Belle had seen reason, then grimaced when the master of the house appeared.

The man avoided meeting his eye. "They threw me out," he mumbled.

Rumpelstiltskin rolled his eyes.

The fool had summoned the Dark One where a midwife's presence sufficed. It made Rumpelstiltskin itch to demand the coming baby as a price for the waste of his time.

Their time.

Belle had been commandeered into fetching and carrying and washing unmentionables in the birthing room. His protests had been ignored, and the threat to whisk them back to the Dark Castle had been met with a glare.

"Do I have anything more important to do, Rumpelstiltskin?" she had hissed between her teeth, volume low enough that the curious women wouldn't overhear. "I'm needed here."

Answering that he needed her too was out of the question, and reminding her that she was the maid and he the master would only earn him weeks of coldness in his home.

"Do as you like," he had spat at last.

Belle had immediately softened and pressed his hand between hers for a long moment. "It won't take long."

That had happened two hours ago.

"Um." The man was giving him an extremely anxious look. Most unwarranted, as Rumpelstiltskin had not lost his patience yet. "Ah..."

"Spit it out, dearie."

"Isitamagicspell?"

Rumpelstiltskin sneered. "Slower. Unless you prefer I steal your tongue to reeducate it."

The man took a step backwards, but when Rumpelstiltskin didn't make further threats, he sat on a bench by the front door and cleared his throat. "Did you use magic to make Ronald fall asleep?"

It took Rumpelstiltskin a moment to understand it was the man's older child he was carrying. "Of course not," he snarled, surprised to feel affronted.

Monster that he was, he still remembered how to handle a babe.

"Pity." The idiot sighed in actual disappointment. "I would give a lot for a potion that made him quiet."

Rumpelstiltskin felt the sudden need to pinch the bridge of his nose... Or turn the incompetent moron into something more useful. A lump of coal, perhaps. The women did need to keep the fire going inside.

Sadly, only one of those options wouldn't get him yelled at.

He hitched the little boy a little higher and kept one arm firmly around him. Then he reached out and yanked the man to his feet with a wave. "Come get your son, you idiot."

The man rushed over, but he looked hesitant once he stood in front of Rumpelstiltskin.

The child would get dropped to the ground, and then Belle would yell at him anyway.

"Raise your arms. Firm them up! Boy will slip if you don't hold tight." He waited for his instructions to break through the thick skull before he commenced the transfer.

"I don't think---"

"Don't be more useless a father than you already are," he hissed. "Take the boy and don't let go. You'll just have to figure out the rest."

Belle would just have to summon him when the commotion was over.

He was getting out of here right now.

The End
19/05/24

Chapter Text

Belle shot up on the bed, heart still thudding against her ribcage. The vision of the portal swallowing Rumpelstiltskin into the ruins of the Enchanted Forest gentled into reality as her eyes settled on the familiar pieces of furniture around the room.

What a horrible nightmare.

Belle took a few breaths. Reminded herself that Rumpelstiltskin being absent from their bed just meant that he was working in his laboratory.

He was in no danger.

"I'm being silly," she chided herself.

She still grabbed Rumple's robe and swung her feet off the bed. Force of habit had her summoning a witchlight to the palm of her hand, but magic remained stubborn to follow her direction.

Her brain caught up and she switched on the night table lamp.

"I'm not interrupting," she told herself. "I'm keeping him company."

Barefoot company, as it turned out. Though Belle only realized once she stepped off the thick carpet that covered the hallways of the mansion.

A quick warming spell was slightly more obedient, as it translated into keeping her soles dry. Her toes at least didn't complain as she marched over the damp grass.

And wasn't that interesting? Was magic more attuned to the laws of physics in this realm? It struggled to create light from air, but it seemed content to keep two distinct substances separate.

Was that why the townline focused on returning them to the versions that fit in a world without magic?

Her hands already itched for pen and paper, and she quickened her steps to Rumpelstiltskin's laboratory.

"Sweetheart," he greeted her, looking up between her and the dark night behind her. "What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep." She walked over to the spot that had become hers in the last few days. A pile of books and notes was waiting for her. "Thought I'd make myself useful instead."

Rumpelstiltskin gave her a grateful smile, but he still shook his head. "You should rest, my dear. Leave the all-nighters to the one of us who doesn't need to sleep."

In truth, Belle had never been convinced that he needed as little sleep as he boasted. Irritable was a mild word when he spent too long a stretch locked in his tower.

Belle knew of a few tricks to convince him to join her for a walk or a snack. Now that they had declared their feelings, there were even more excuses to squeeze herself in his busy schedule.

However, this search for a way out of Storybrooke was not something she wished to interrupt.

He had worked for decades - centuries! - to come to this land. The new roadblock at the townline would hardly drive him to quit his search.

"I'm staying, Rumple. I won't be able to get back to sleep anyway." She reached for her pen, already wording her thoughts on how magic might be adjusting to a world wholly new to it. "I had an idea."

Though he pursed his lips, his eyes lit with interest. Over the years, he had learned to value her input. Her research skills often surpassed his, and she had a way to puzzle out information that left him in awe of her intellect. "If you're sure..."

Belle nodded. "I'm sure. Besides," she added with a little smirk, "the sooner you bring your boy home, the sooner I can keep you in bed through the night."

The End
20/05/24

Chapter Text

The villagers were familiar enough with their presence on market day that they only shuffled enough to grant them a decent view of the puppet show.

"Oh, that's lovely!" Belle enthused.

When the musicians started a lively song and the puppets followed with a well-rehearsed dance, she clapped along with the crowd.

Rumpelstiltskin kept his arms crossed over his chest, unwilling to indulge into the smile tugging at his lips.

"So you do like puppets after all," he said in as peeved a tone as possible.

Belle turned toward him, eyes wide, but it took her a second to see through the façade. Her face relaxed, and she bumped an elbow playfully against him. "I like normal puppets. Fun puppets," she stressed. "Not nightmares carved into wood."

The fact that she was still smiling reminded Rumpelstiltskin that he had never shared the background of the dolls he displayed in the main hall.

"Wouldn't like to set up your own show, then? With the right spell, you wouldn't even need strings."

Belle's full body shudder was response enough. "Rumpelstiltskin. If I ever see those things move on their own, I'll finally run away screaming back to my father's."

He snickered, confident that she would do no such thing. "That's not too brave, dearie."

"I'll happily be a coward if it keeps those things at a distance. Enough that they need dusting every week!" She gave him a pleading look. "Can't you move them to the vault?"

Belle must have expected the negative, because she only sighed and turned her attention to the show.

Rumpelstiltskin's thoughts remained on the cursed couple.

Few items in his collection were such sharp reminders that the price of magic couldn't always be managed.

In all honesty, Rumpelstiltskin had first expected either the grasshopper or that meddling fairy to keep begging to return them back to their original state, but neither of the bugs had ever mentioned the couple again.

As years passed, it had seemed a waste to store them with the less valuable knick knacks. The potion had been a crafty piece of magic - a child's earnest and earned desire for his parents' obliteration wasn't a common ingredient.

The mix-up that followed had been out of his hands, but the magic remained strong despite its ill-use. One day, when he mastered the power of true love, Rumpelstiltskin would see if someone else's true love could break their curse.

As an experiment.

For now, he was busy tweaking Snow White's and her shepherd's lives so they would willingly give him the ingredients for his masterpiece.

Busy doing that and, for some reason, escorting his maid on market day.

To a puppet show.

"Where do you want to go next?" Belle asked, a light so happy in her eyes that Rumpelstiltskin struggled to remember to answer.

Back to the Dark Castle, of course.

Instead he heard himself say: "You already dragged us here. Might as well see what else there's in offer."

Belle's smile, to his concern, seemed well worth the wasted day.

The End
21/05/24

Chapter Text

When Rumpelstiltskin had told her that he would be working in his laboratory for the foreseeable future, Belle had resigned herself to a tray of tea and sandwiches in her library for dinner.

Rumpelstiltskin was a busy man, with dozens of plots running at once. To their frustration, the most likely to succeed remained Regina's bitterness to push her into casting the Dark Curse; but Rumpelstiltskin hadn't dropped the other available options.

Time was running short. Complications arose from every angle.

Even with her help, Rumpelstiltskin carried the main of the burden of crossing over to the land without magic.

It made sense that her birthday slipped his mind.

Belle had even been careful not to drop any hints, unwilling to distract him. There would be enough time to celebrate once Rumpelstiltskin's son returned home.

With these thoughts running through her mind, it was understandable that the last thing she expected was for Rumpelstiltskin's magic to envelop her and whisk her to the main hall.

"Rumple!" she called out, "What in the worlds..."

A quiet huff of laughter answered behind her. "Surprise?"

That was when her brain caught up with her eyes.

"Oh," she breathed, turning in a slow circle to take in a most unexpected sight. Though the curtains were closed against the chill of winter, the whole room was as bright as under sunshine. "This is wonderful, Rumple."

There were hundreds of floating candles that drifted gently above their heads. Whether the whimsical patterns they created were by design or simple coincidence, they were still beautiful.

Belle marvelled, open mouthed, at the beauty of it. "Just wonderful..."

"So you've said." Rumpelstiltskin took her hand and gave it a slight tug. "May I direct you to the dinner table?"

Belle followed the direction, and gave a little shriek of delight. Her favorite dishes were present, and in the middle there was a plate of almond cakes in a distinctive star shape.

Her mouth watered in anticipation.

"You remembered!"

"Sweetheart," he told her with a smile, "you mentioned them so often, I could hardly forget."

She had also gone through a minor breakdown after several unsuccessful attempts to replicate the recipe. The actual reason had nothing to do with the pastry, of course, but it was still kind of Rumpelstiltskin not to allude to that scene on her birthday.

"Thank you, Rumple." She turned quickly on her heel, hoping to catch him unaware. Either she had gotten faster, or Rumpelstiltskin allowed the gesture, because she managed to catch him in a full embrace. "This is a lovely surprise. Everything is perfect!"

His hands brushed against her back uncertainly before they decided to hold onto her. "You're too easy to please, Belle."

She rested her head against his chest. This moment. This. It was the gift she would cherish the most. "You say that like it's a bad thing," she whispered.

Rumpelstiltskin said nothing in answer.

He only held on.

The End
22/05/24

Chapter Text

Rumpelstiltskin's sudden presence startled Belle into dropping her wooden spoon into the pot of simmering soup. "Rumple!" she chided, more exasperated than actually scared, "can't you at least knock on the door?"

"How would that be less concerning?" he argued, though there was a sheepish look to his eyes as he wiggled his fingers to rescue the kitchenware. "Then you wouldn't know who was out in the halls. A thief could have snuck in!"

Belle directed the spoon to the sink with a little push of magic. "Thieves don't knock," she muttered. Then she reconsidered. "Alright. Robin or his men might. They're quite polite for a band of robbers."

Rumpelstiltskin rolled his eyes. "Be as it may," he grit out, "I didn't burst into your busy schedule to discuss Merry Men."

As there was no sarcasm in the mention of her activities, Belle turned her full attention to him. "Is there a problem?"

"I might need you... Let's say, translation is required."

Belle smiled. He took her on trips often enough, but her role usually was that of companion or to soothe any ruffled feathers at Rumpelstiltskin's unapologetic attitude. Translation was a job she usually did in the library, helped by the books Rumpelstiltskin brought to hurry the task.

"Should I change?" she asked, looking down at her simple attire. Then, more importantly, "Should I bring any dictionaries? You know my elvish needs work, especially if it's a swamp dialect. I can read it, not speak it!"

Rumpelstiltskin shook his head. "You look too lovely for that crowd, and... It's not that kind of translation."

Belle blinked.

"I'm having trouble settling a deal," he explained, sounding irritated.

"But you're... You're the Dealer."

"Yes, yes. Don't you think I know that?" In true impatience, he started pacing, hands behind his back. "I had the perfect offer. Most sensible! Something they want in exchange for something I want. Still," he huffed, "they insist on giving me something different."

"Maybe it's of equal value?"

Rumpelstiltskin halted, turning to her with a tired expression. "It's their souls, Belle. They want to give me their souls."

Belle opened her mouth, but could think of nothing to say.

"I was just as speechless." He pursed his lips in true resentment. "I don't ask for that. Never."

"Not literally," Belle muttered.

That earned her a glare. "It's hardly the time to debate. I need you to sweettalk some sense into them!"

Belle took a deep breath. An unusual task, but not the hardest she'd undertook to aid him. "How were they even aware that it was a possibility."

Rumpelstiltskin shrugged. "Seems some fellow used it as currency some decades ago, that swindler! And now they believe every bit of magic has the same price." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I assure you. I have no wish to step outside earthly matters."

Belle took his free hand.

Rumpelstiltskin relaxed immediately. "You'll help me?"

She had no idea how to untangle this particular misunderstanding, but she believed good sense would triumph. "Of course."

The End
23/05/24

Chapter Text

Neal glanced in disbelief from his father to Belle. "What are the two of you doing?!" The question increased in pitch as it went, reaching heights of flabbergasted horror. "I'm right here!"

The two of them wrenched their eyes from each other, and still had the gall to look at Neal with innocent confusion.

"What do you mean, son?"

Neal felt his mouth open, but words failed him. He gestured between them instead, wildly hoping they understood his meaning.

The cleverest couple in Storybrooke gave him a perplexed glance.

His father even tilted his head in that worried angle that Neal remembered from childhood. "Do you feel alright?"

Meanwhile Belle reached out to feel his forehead. "Perhaps the potion didn't settle well?"

Neal resigned himself to being checked for a fever by a woman three hundred years his junior. "I'm fine," he said when Belle was satisfied with her inspection. "It's... Look. We were having a normal conversation about how to handle Regina's sister, and suddenly the two of you just... switched gears."

"Oh." Belle was biting her lip. Great. Now he had distressed his papa's girlfriend. "We didn't mean to fight in front of you."

"That wasn't a fight," his father protested. "It was a discussion from different points of view."

"I wish," Neal muttered.

His comment, unsurprisingly, went unheard.

Belle was back to glaring at Neal's father. "Executions without trial aren't a point of view, Rumple. That's just tyranny."

His father scoffed. "Name a single judge who would let her go unpunished."

"I never said that!" Belle leaned forward, as if her words would make more of an impression if they were said inches away from her objective. "But she's done nothing Regina didn't, and we never would have allowed her to go on the block."

His father looked away.

"Rumple?"

"It was just an idea. Yours was better." His dad gave an ingratiating smile. "Happy?"

To Neal's mounting alarm, Belle did seem satisfied. She even placed her hand on top of her father's. "Then perhaps my idea has merit this time as well?"

By now they were in each other's personal space, eyes locked together and soft smiles on the faces...

"No!" Neal snapped. "No, no, no. That was not a discussion, you guys!"

"Beg your pardon?"

The horror. They even spoke in unison now.

Neal took a deep breath. "Look. I've had this debate with several people. It has never gone like..." He waved his hand between them. "You know!"

They exchanged a glance, no words said. Then Belle shrugged a little and his father pressed his lips together.

Neal had been around the couple enough to translate the wordless conversation: 'Your son, your turn to handle him.'

Before his father could question his health again, Neal pressed on. "You obviously lived together, by yourselves, too long. That was not a normal argument. Trust me. By the end, you were..." His brain vetoed the term 'eye-fucking' in a last ditch attempt to delete the imagery, so he settled for the milder description. "You were flirting so heavily, I'd be blushing if I weren't horrified."

Belle and his father looked at him with wide eyes, still clueless.

The most awkward pause in living history lingered...

"I believe you need to rest, son," said his father at last.

Neal decided he'd rather face a life of awkwardness than make another attempt to enlighten them. "Yes, Papa. You're probably right."

The End
24/05/24

Chapter Text

Father and son never looked as alike as when they were being stubborn. People believed that Rumpelstiltskin had the tougher attitude, while they marvelled that a man as mild-mannered as Baelfire could be the Dark One's direct relative.

Belle knew better.

Rumpelstiltskin sneered and snarled at every turn, unwilling to show the slightest weakness. Get to know the man, however, and become someone he cherished, and the love he would give you was unconditional and constant.

Baelfire, on the other side, presented cheerful smiles and friendly gestures. He was easygoing and forgiving... Until he wasn't.

Both men would fight for their beliefs.

Neither backed down easily.

Which made the current conversation a thorny argument.

"I'm not asking you to befriend Killian, Papa. But must you go out of your way to make his life harder?"

"I'd hardly say that I go out of my way..."

"His car crashed."

"That's on Charming. He thought pirates could drive."

"His hook disappeared!"

"And I offered to return his hand to him."

Bae just glared at his father.

Rumpelstiltskin showed no regrets. "How that hand behaved is Hook's fault and no one else's."

"And then the Jolly Roger sank."

"He invited my wife on a cruise." Rumpelstiltskin didn't raise his voice, but every word was heavy with anger. "A private cruise. In front of everybody."

Belle still thought that Hook had been a bit into his cups, or perhaps too relaxed in the easy atmosphere of little Leopold's birthday party. It certainly had felt more like a blunder than a pass. But even after he grew aware of Rumpelstiltskin's offense at the implications, Hook hadn't apologized or withdrawn his offer.

Belle had to glue herself to Rumpelstiltskin for the rest of the evening, to make sure neither man escalated the tense situation.

Even so, Storybrooke had welcomed the new day with a missing ship at its harbor.

"Given our... history..." Rumpelstiltskin continued, condensing the memories of his first wife to that hissed word, "your old friend is lucky I didn't lock him in his cabin before it went underwater."

"What restraint," Bae said sarcastically.

Belle put an arm on her husband's arm before he could do more than flash a self-satisfied smile.

"Bae has forgiven Hook for leaving him on his own in Neverland," she reminded, squeezing Rumpelstiltskin's arm a little. "Perhaps it is time for the two of you to bury the hatchet,"

Rumpelstiltskin grinned hopefully. "In the pirate's head?"

Despite herself, Belle had to bite her lower lip against a smile even as she rolled her eyes.

Bae watched the two of them and groaned. "Nevermind," he grumbled, "I'll just tell Killian to stay with me until his ship is habitable again."

The End
25/05/24

Chapter Text

Secrets were important.

Secrets were the fates of his parents when he was a little boy. His aunts spun gentle tales about the absence of father and mother, and Rumpelstiltskin pretended he didn't remember those last moments with his father. That he had never heard Father ramble and swear over runaway wives.

Secrets were the fate of Bae's mother when his son asked for her. Rumpelstiltskin didn't ramble. He didn't swear. He lived his life barely above a whisper, and he also spun stories about a loving mother to a boy who pretended to believe him.

Secrets were the power of the dagger over him. That it was the key to his power. To his will. To his very soul. And it was a secret too, that Baelfire had used and abused that dagger. His boy, murder erased from his young conscience. That was a secret too.

Later, after the bean and the portal, secrets tore at him.

His mission was to be kept in the shadows. His love for his son must be hidden from sight. His determination to find him. His need for forgiveness. He took it all into his chest and never hinted that his action were anything than sheer villainy or simple boredom.

Secrets were important.

"You promised me a story," Belle was saying now, bright and confident as she closed the distance between them. The girl stopped right in front of him to demand her prize, sinking into the seat next to his. "When I came back, you said, you'd tell me about your son."

Once again, he had made a deal he didn't understand. All because his clever, twisted mind couldn't understand Belle herself.

"You came back a day later," he reminded her, unwilling to reveal the truth of Baelfire again.

Cora had betrayed him. Belle might not deserve being painted with the same brush as his former lover, but no father would risk the memory of his son again.

"I'm sure the walk to town doesn't take eight hours, dearie. Don't try to cheat me. Ever."

Instead of growing angry, Belle gave him an understanding look. "Of course, Rumpelstiltskin. My mistake. I forgot that was a time limit to the offer."

There had been no such thing.

He had been so certain that, once allowed out of the Dark Castle, Belle would rush back under her father's protection, that he hadn't even considered that she would keep her side of the deal.

Unwilling to lie directly, not to her, not at this moment, Rumpelstiltskin opted for silence.

Belle waited for another few breaths, then she nodded to herself. Right when Rumpelstiltskin thought she would rise from his side and return to her duties, her hand moved to cover his.

Shock stopped him from yanking his hand away. Sheer shock. nothing else. If the thought to reproach her ever approached his brain, it was kicked out by a sudden rush of strangely content confusion.

"Of course," Belle said in a soft voice, smiling at him for some inexplicable reason, "If you ever want to tell me, I will want to hear you out. I'm right here," she promised. "Forever, isn't it?"

Secrets were important.

At this moment, Rumpelstiltskin added one more to the strongbox in the depths of his heart: He was happy to have Belle back.

The End
26/04/23

Chapter Text

Maleficent only smiled thinly at Rumpelstiltskin's reticence to give her a proper welcome. "No seat by the fireplace? No tea?" She searched around the main hall, finished with a pointed look at the empty space at Rumpelstiltskin's side. "Got rid of the help at last, Rumple?"

Rumpelstiltskin regretted Belle's ease at making friends. Or whatever she had done to make the Mistress of Evil remember her fondly. That witch had stolen her away! Against her will!

(The latter was a distinction Rumpelstiltskin was honest enough to make.)

"I won't ask if your little maid has finally wised up and left you." A chair appeared at the snap of her fingers. Maleficent sat down regally, ignoring the scowl on her host. "She was unexpectedly stubborn on the matter, and I did try to convince her. Regina and I have a bet, you see, and that poor girl really needs a win these days."

He waved a hand in disinterest at the mention of his former pupil. He already kept tabs on Regina, and soon he would drop in at her palace for a friendly visit.

That Dark Curse just wasn't going to introduce itself.

Maleficent's fondness for Regina was a known quantity. It was the interest in Belle that troubled him. "She is abed, if you must know. Her bed," he added when Maleficent smirked.

"Quite the indulgent master, are you?"

"She hasn't been feeling well."

"Aw. Perhaps she could use a visitor..."

Rumpelstiltskin thought of the attitude, the groans at every ache, the endless complaints and the fickle temper he had been subjected to for the last forty-eight hours.

This had been a stressful month for Belle, and it showed.

"Sure," he said easily, strangling a smile before it surfaced. "She does love having guests."

Which, in general, was nothing but the truth.

Today, however, Belle had demanded a day of peace and silence. She had looked ready to throw her hot water bottle at him if he interrupted her rest.

Let Maleficent play target instead.

Her fondness would shrivel up after a dose of Belle's current disposition.

"I'll show you to her rooms."

Maleficent stared at him, smart enough to sense a trap. "Won't you come in with me?"

Rumpelstiltskin shook his head. "Things to do, dearie. Can't spent the afternoon looking on the sick maid."

The witch gave him a long look. Then she chuckled. "So she is not feeling well and you're avoiding her. Considering how attached the two of you are to each other, I find that odd."

Rumpelstiltskin kept his face blank.

"You know, Rumple. I have kept a lover or three in my fortress, and there was only one reason for them to avoid me with such fervor." She laughed. "Who knew that underneath all that... Dark One... you were just like any other man."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Mal."

"For the record, the trick is to sweeten things." She waved her hand and a thick bar of chocolate appeared on her palm. "I'm ready."

Rumpelstiltskin waited until he was out of her line of sight before rolling his eyes. As if he hadn't tried Belle's favorite candy already!

The End
27/05/24

Chapter Text

Belle grabbed at Rumpelstiltskin's hand when he would have pulled away. "I want you to touch me," she repeated, as patiently as when she had first realized Rumpelstiltskin's hesitation.

His fingers curled around hers, but he didn't follow the movement with a caress.

Belle bit her lip against a suggestion to dim the candles. Rumpelstiltskin forgot himself in the darkness, allowing himself the same pleasures as before they had returned to the Enchanted Forest.

"I have known you like this far longer than in Storybrooke, Rumple," she reminded him.

He huffed, almost a laugh, and fell onto his back next to her. "Longer than twenty-eight years?"

"The curse doesn't count."

"This curse does." He raised their joined hands, the contrasting hues stark in their nearness. "It's a foul thing, dearest. It was bad enough to know it existed. But now that it's back to the fore? I detest the thought of bringing it in contact with you."

They kept circling around this argument. Belle could guess how their conversation would go, based on previous iterations: She would say she had fallen in love with him in this visage; green skin, bird eyes and all. He would remind her that, before Storybrooke, they'd had no intimacy save a single kiss. Belle would retort he had always been the one to demur, not she; and Rumpelstiltskin would argue that she always had the leeway to do as she wished.

Had she truly wanted him, he wouldn't have denied her.

How did she fight against that opinion, when he truly believed it?

There had been only a few months between realizing her feelings and the casting of the Dark Curse. Rumpelstiltskin had been brimming with tension and fears and hopes. His days and nights - his very thoughts! - had been dedicated to breaking the barrier between the worlds.

There had barely been space for a friend. Confessions of love would have burdened him.

She had been so patient, waiting until his search was done.

"I love the whole of you," she said once more. "Even the dark parts."

He didn't scoff outright, but neither did he look convinced.

At least he wasn't yelling about how no one could ever, ever love him.

Progress.

"I want you. I've wanted you for years." She moved to lean on her elbow, and smiling down at him. "Don't you get it, Rumple? To me, this is a fantasy come true."

"Some fantasy," he muttered.

Belle put a finger over his lips before he could completely sour the moment. "I'm trying to make love to you. Right here. Right now." She pressed against him, shifted a leg over his hips and bent down to kiss the tip of his nose. "Are you actually trying to stop me?"

He looked into her eyes for a long moment.

Belle strove to project all her attraction and lust into that look.

"Well," Rumpelstiltskin finally relented. "When you put it like that..."

Belle kissed him before he could finish that sentence.

The End
28/05/24

Chapter Text

Belle stretched her legs over the couch, content to lean her head back against her husband's legs. It was late enough that they could head to bed, but she was comfortably settled with her favorite pillow, and Rumpelstiltskin seemed content as he made notes about the month's payments.

The fireplace added to the cozy atmosphere, and Belle didn't even need a book to make this a perfect moment.

"Can we have more days like today?"

There was a quiet chuckle above her.

"I mean it, Rumple"

Rumpelstiltskin set his ledger to the side, and looked down at her with a puzzled smile. "Was there something special that I missed today?"

Belle shook her head. "Not at all," she told him happily. "That's exactly what I mean. We woke up, we had breakfast, we went to work, we had dinner and now we are just spending time together. It's a perfect day."

He nodded. "It has been lovely." Then his eyes brightened and he gave a smug smile. "For the record, the loveliest was at the start. You do have a way to wake me up, my love."

"You can be such a heavy sleeper sometimes," Belle said innocently.

"And your methods do nothing to stop me." He played with her hair as Belle turned enough to kiss his thigh. "Exactly. If anything, I'd strive to sleep longer, just in case you'll decide to wake me up again."

"Oops?"

Rumpelstiltskin laughed.

Belle reached up to trace the humor on his face. "See what I mean? It really is a perfect day."

Rumpelstiltskin smile widened. "And here I was worried you were getting bored," he said as he ran a fingertip over her cheeks. "I still remember when you pouted if I didn't take you to visit a dragon."

Belle giggled. "I may have pouted, but Maleficent set you on fire for not taking me along."

"She forgot the Dark One is fire-resistant."

Privately, Belle doubted that the sorceress had forgotten anything. She had wanted to annoy Rumpelstiltskin, and had found the surest way to achieve it.

He had complained about a burning smell on his hair for weeks.

"Much as I enjoy tea with Mal, this is much better." She scooted up so she could sit on her husband's lap. Rumpelstiltskin let go of his notebook, quick to place his arms around her. "I want more days like this."

"Forever?"

To his surprise, Belle shook her head. "Just for now. Until we decide to try for a baby."

Caught by surprise, Rumpelstiltskin choked a little.

"Don't worry." She patted his chest. "I'm not saying right now."

"I wouldn't mind," he said honestly, tightening his grip on her just a little. Then he tried one of his trademark smirks. "I'm available for all the trying you want."

Belle giggled again. "I know, honey." She leaned in for a slow kiss, and then murmured against his lips. "Just not quite yet."

The End
29/05/24

Chapter Text

News of the Dark One's incarceration had travelled fast through the Enchanted Forest.

"Regina's little stepdaughter sent heralds to every court," Maleficent explained. When everybody turned to her quizzically, as not even good-natured Snow White would send a messenger to the Forbidden Mountains, Maleficent made an airy hand wave. "I still have ears in Stefan's court, of course."

At least she didn't mention the princess by name, Belle thought. The less people aware of that unlikely alliance, the easier it would be to keep it.

Dark sorcerers, Belle had learned, fought tooth and nail against painting their reputation as anything but the most vicious of plagues. Tug at their heartstrings with enough patience, though, and they would settle for being seen as selfish and mercurial.

Even here, where all present were welcomed guests, Jefferson and Anastasia kept as much distance from the Mistress of Evil as politeness allowed.

"You should see Ella." Anastasia huffed. "Her Highness is strutting around like she caught the Dark One with her own hands."

Belle sipped at her tea, unwilling to comment. She had liked Ella upon meeting the younger girl, but despite being warned, the girl had rushed on to sign Rumpelstiltskin's contract.

Then just as thoughtlessly, she had whined about the consequences.

At least Anastasia kept her promises.

"So, milady." Jefferson sat up straighter in his seat, twirling his hat meaningfully. "What do you think of our little plan? You can have Rumple back for dinner."

"Only if you want to," added Maleficent with a careless shrug. "We wouldn't blame you if you've grown attached to his absence."

The look Belle sent her made Maleficent smile knowingly.

"All right, then. We can bring your man back, since you insist."

Anastasia's eyes widened, but when she looked around and noticed that neither Jefferson nor Belle reacted to the insinuation, she was smart enough not to challenge it.

Meanwhile, Belle was thinking as fast as she could. This was such an awkward situation!

Between Maleficent's power, Jefferson's hat and Ana's standing invitation to the Charming's castle, there was a real chance to free Rumpelstiltskin.

He, of course, would not be thankful for the intervention. He had been very clear that he need to be in a position of apparent defeat for Regina to accept his deal.

"I thank you for the offer," she started truthfully, "but I do believe Rumpelstiltskin can fend for himself." That got her varying levels of pity directed to her. Who would believe that Rumpelstiltskin, vain and picky as he appeared, would willingly stay in that dank dungeon? She had to distract her friends before they decided to do her a favor anyway. "My father says the ogres are gathering again. Surely they've hear the news as well."

"So you want us to squish them?" Maleficent asked eagerly.

Belle shook her head. "Of course not."

Jefferson and Anastasia looked understandably relieved at that.

"However," Belle said with a smile, "a show of force to prove Avonlea is not undefended... That would be so helpful!"

Her three guests started discussing the options; plans to rescue Rumpelstiltskin set aside for the moment.

Belle sighed in relief, and joined the conversation.

The End
30/05/24

Chapter Text

Belle turned the key, taking a deep breath before stepping into their house. Her consternation grew as she moved from room to room to find everything in place.

She had fully expected broken furniture and shattered porcelain. Gods knew the pawnshop had been a disaster the day Rumpelstiltskin discovered he couldn't cross the townline after all.

That had only been another obstacle on his road to Baelfire.

The rumor that had reached her bookstore was that father and son had argued at Granny's. Belle had been disquieted by the news, but not entirely surprised. The green witch's fixation on Henry had put everyone's temper to the fore.

She had been contemplating which of Rumpelstiltskin's favorite dishes to fix for dinner, when Nova tiptoed in.

Five minutes later, Belle had tossed the bookstore keys to the former fairy, trusting her to close up shop. She didn't want to waste another moment before finding Rumpelstiltskin.

A fight with his son was bad enough.

Baelfire banning him away and forbidding contact with Henry...

Belle would have words with her stepson. But her priority was Rumpelstiltskin himself.

With another deep breath, she shed her nerves and entered their bedroom.

There was Rumpelstiltskin, lying on their bed in the dark, a hand over his eyes.

"Hey, Rumple," she greeted gently, approaching him with soft steps.

She was such a fool!

Of course he wouldn't react with rage. Not against his precious boy. This was sorrow.

She climbed onto the bed and pressed herself against him, keeping an arm tight around his body. Then she waited until he searched her hand with his.

"It's going to be all right, Rumple."

He chuckled wetly. "My boy doesn't trust me, Belle. My Bae will never trust me."

Despite understanding that three centuries had passed, deep down Baelfire still wanted the father he had lost to the Dark One's curse.

That man didn't exist anymore.

"He is still getting to know you," she reminded Rumpelstiltskin. Despite the whole year since they had reunited, father and son had only met a couple dozens of times at most, and rarely alone. "We knew there would be growing pains."

There was only a defeated hum in response.

Belle hugged him harder. "Just rest for now, love," she whispered in his ear. "We'll figure it out when you wake up. I promise."

And because she never broke a promise, Rumpelstiltskin closed his eyes.

Eventually his breath evened, and despite it being them middle of the afternoon, Belle herself followed him into sleep.

The End
31/05/24

Chapter Text

The electric hum of Regina's tantrum still permeated the living room. There were no visible marks, as her magic was still too weak to form one of her signature fireballs, but Belle had no doubt that Regina would eventually recover her power.

She had been ousted from the mayor's post, just as she had once been exiled from her kingdom. She had lost the love of a sweet boy, albeit a son rather than a lover, and she blamed Snow White for it.

History was repeating itself, and Belle felt sick at the thought of being witness to it.

"She hasn't changed at all," she whispered as she sat heavily on the couch. Decades of victory hadn't placated Regina's bitterness. Raising a son hadn't sparked any lasting kindness in her. "She will destroy this town before she gives up."

"They are keeping her son away," Rumpelstiltskin reminded her as he waved the few pieces that had fallen off back into place. "I would have leveled a few towns if anyone had dared take Bae. Commend her restraint, sweetheart," he added with a rueful smirk. "I do."

Belle closed her eyes.

Twenty-eight years as the mayor's best friend had left her true self struggling to remember that Regina felt absolutely no remorse, no matter how many she harmed.

In the Enchanted Forest, she had learned that lesson the hard way.

Hopefully, sweet little Henry wouldn't have to go through the same.

"Don't compare yourself to her, Rumple," she told him. "You can be just as bullheaded and destructive, sure. But you wouldn't drag your Bae from people he loved, and who loved him."

Rumpelstiltskin turned to her, mouth open though only silence hovered between them for a long moment. She saw the question in his eyes before he finally whispered it: "Wouldn't I?"

Belle extended a hand to him, pulling him next to her when he took it. "You wanted me to return to my father," she recounted. "You let Hood return to his family. You arranged it so Ana could be free of her contract."

"That's different," he scoffed. "None of you were my kid."

"You love him the most in all the worlds," Belle told him as she squeezed his hand comfortingly. "I don't believe you could do less for him than for any of us."

"If he doesn't want to see me..." he started haltingly. "I fear what I would do, Belle."

They would cross that bridge when they got to it.

"You will act like a true parent and give him space. If only because you've seen what happens when someone acts like a spoiled child clinging to their favorite toy." Belle took a deep breath. "You are a better parent than Regina. Never doubt that."

"Henry will forgive her, you know."

Belle nodded. That boy had too much love in his heart, and a large part of it was directed to his mother. Of course he would forgive Regina, should she ever grow up enough to apologize.

Having never met Baelfire, she couldn't promise the same to Rumpelstiltskin.

She did anyway.

"Children always forgive the ones who love them," she said. "Always."

Someone had to have faith.

The End
01/06/24

Chapter Text

"Rumpelstiltskin!"

Belle gathered her skirts and sprinted across the hall toward the stairs that would take her to the laboratory.

"Rumpelstiltskin!"

She was about to shout his name for a third time when her body collided against an unexpected obstacle. Arms held onto her before she rolled back down the stairs, and once she realized Rumpelstiltskin had come meet her midway, she grabbed onto him with a sigh of relief.

"Belle!" Golden eyes peered over her with frantic concern. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she reassured him quickly. "But Jefferson's neighbors are here." Her hand was already pulling at his arm, tugging him back the way she had come. "They have brought Grace. Or, Grace has brought them. Anyway! They say Jefferson has been missing for weeks!"

Eager to bring Rumpelstiltskin downstairs and solve matter as soon as possible, she missed the flash of hesitation that crossed his face.

She only noticed he wasn't following her plan when he brought the two of them to a halt long before they reached the main hall.

"Belle, sweetheart," he started soothingly, "This is the Hatter. He's probably just exploring some new world."

Belle shook her head. "Not for this long. Not without telling Gracie."

"He's never been the most responsible of men..."

"About silly stuff, sure."

"Are we even talking about the same man?" Rumpelstiltskin hissed. "He left you behind on a haunted island!"

"For the last time, I asked him to leave." Both knew she was lying, but Rumpelstiltskin didn't have proof and Belle refused to judge another father whose priority was to return to their kid. "I was perfectly fine!"

He glared at her.

Belle glared back. This was an emergency, and here they were, wasting time instead of searching for their friend! "Rumpelstiltskin, if you're trying to tell me that Jefferson wouldn't move heaven and earth to be with his child, don't waste your breath."

He caught her elbow when she would have continued their way downstairs. "Wait. Belle, please wait!" She turned around and gave him an impatient look. He licked his lips before speaking. "What if he's been... detained?"

Belle's blue eyes widened. Even though there were still a few flights of stairs before their destination, she lowered her voice. "What do you know?"

"I don't know anything," he started, and sighed when Belle tightened her jaw at the deflection. "Not for certain, I swear."

"What don't you know, then?"

"Regina has her father back with her."

Belle made the connection instantly. "You think your star student left my friend with the Queen of Hearts?"

"I'm not certain!" Rumpelstiltskin reiterated, always flustered at any mention of Regina's mother. Tough. "There are several ways to rescue an old man from Wonderland."

"And Regina would pick the easiest," Belle shot back. It would be so simple for Jefferson to point the portal to Henry. After securing her father, Regina wouldn't hesitate to put him in Jefferson's place through the portal back home. The hat was powerful, but it only registered the number of people allowed through, not their identity. "Wonderland, Rumple! We cannot leave him there."

Rumpelstiltskin grabbed her shoulders. "No, Belle. Whatever you're thinking, we are not putting a foot in that damned place."

Belle wasn't a fool. The Queen of Hearts was as cruel as she was powerful. The whole of her realm answered to her whim, and even the Dark One would be forced into the games and riddles that plagued that land.

She shuddered to think of Jefferson, devoid of any power, stuck in that hellish place.

"We may not go," she conceded despite her fervent wish to spite Regina's mother. She would only be a distraction, or worse, a hostage again. "But you are bringing him back."

"We are not even sure..."

"I'll research first. I figure I'll ask Regina and she'll gloat over the whole thing." Belle said confidently. "A bit of blood from Grace should be enough guidance, even if you land in a labyrinth."

"Is there a reason you want him back so badly?"

"Don't be stupid," she snapped. Of all the times to poke about her love life! "This is on you anyway." That made him blink in confusion. Belle explained, "If you didn't want me to care about your friend, you shouldn't have introduced us."

"But, Belle..."

"Rumpelstiltskin, there is a child in your castle who loves her papa very much." She watched him close his mouth and straighten, something like determination coming into his eyes. Belle pressed his hand between hers, gentling her voice as she continued, "You of all people will do your utmost to recover that father. Won't you?"

His mouth twisted into a scowl, but he didn't yank his hand away from her grasp. "You don't play fair, milady."

Belle stepped closer and held his gaze. Then she sank into a perfect curtsey. "I thank you for the compliment."

Rumpelstiltskin chuckled. "I'm a bad influence."

Starting her way downstairs, she tugged him along. "Yes. Going to the rescue of our friend. You're such a nightmare."

The End
02/06/24

Chapter Text

Pinocchio squealed in high-pitched laughter as Belle caught him and twirled him around.

"Now you are it!" Their guest told Guepetto's boy, letting him free before turning around and setting off back across the gardens.

"Not fair!" Pinocchio cried out. "You have longer legs."

"And a heavier dress," Belle yelled back, still laughing. "Just run and you'll catch me."

From a distance, Red watched the pair.

Officially, she was out to enjoy the sunshine, smell the flowers and take a break from the endless little details that popped up when the new queen took a husband.

Unofficially, a vigilant eye had to be kept over the young brunette.

No one had expected the Dark One to respond in the affirmative to the wedding invitation. Powerful sorcerers made the guest list only as a token to reassure them that a kingdom wanted peace.

When the Spinner had sent back a message announcing he would send a one-person envoy, everyone had been shocked.

There had been rumors about the Dark One socializing more often. That a chatelaine now ruled in the Dark Castle when her master was gone. That the Dealer had traded beauty potions, or magic lessons, or safety from other monsters, for the right to a woman's bed. Neighboring kingdoms carried tales of a beauty paraded about on the Dark One's arm. Snow White wouldn't be the first monarch to be pressed into welcoming an unknown to her court.

That the woman in question was a bright-eyed, cheerful thing had only added to the general surprise.

"Looking at her," Red said thoughtfully, "no one could tell she's been shut in that gloomy castle for years."

At her side, Granny huffed. "Not for lack of rescue attempts."

After the announcement of her visit, men had approached Prince James, warning him not to mention freedom to the Dark One's pet. They spoke of losing days as a crawling pest on the grounds, and of painful rolling down the mountain. One or two had even spoken in the name of comrades who never returned from their attempt to take her back home.

Outside royal hearing, Red's sharp ears had picked on the less polite epithets used against the young woman.

Bitch. Because she said no.

Whore. Because she wouldn't come with them.

Stupid. Because she sent them away.

Red found it impossible to reconcile those descriptions with the actual woman.

"Do you believe what they say about her?"

Granny scoffed. "Which version? The disappointed knights, bemoaning feeling useless? Or Princess Abigail, who speaks of her in glowing terms?" Then she shrugged. "Not that it matters. She may be a saint or a demon; all that counts is that she's staying with Rumpelstiltskin and does as he bids."

Red bit her lip at the sound of the Spinner's name, but knew better than to chastise her grandmother. If the Dark One decided to answer that summon, it would be on his own head.

Granny was likely to take a bite off before he even said a word.

Laughter echoed around the garden. Pinocchio's was loud and enthusiastic.

"I doubt the Dealer told her to play with a little boy."

Granny pressed her lips in a stubborn line. "That boy was blessed by Reul Ghorm Herself. Who knows what that means among sorcerers." Put like that, Red had to concede that it looked suspicious. "I'm not taking my eye off him until that woman is gone."

Common sense said her grandmother was right.

Red still itched to join the game anyway

The End
03/06/24

Chapter Text

The bell at the door alerted the couple to the new presence.

They both sighed as they stopped the kiss, regretting having left the door open. In their defense, nobody had come to the pawnshop since that mob had been expelled from the grounds. Who knew privavcy would be so short-lived?

"Sorry!" piped up their visitor, a bright blush to her face. "I didn't mean to... to... " Her smile was painfully awkward as she waved vaguely at them. "...interrupt?"

The apology sounded sincere.

Belle could feel Rumpelstiltskin relax a notch beside her. This slight, flustered woman hardly seemed the advance party for another invasion.

He still didn't welcome or otherwise attempt to make her more comfortable. Had Rumpelstiltskin actually depended on his pawnshop to make a living, he would be struggling against bankruptcy every month.

But reality was that he was a powerful sorcerer, and people came to him for favors and miracles. If he made them comfortable, the parade at the door would be endless.

Instead, it had been Belle's jobs the Dark Castle to see that his guests were fed and watered, and sometimes offered a room or a pallet by the fire if they had walked for too long. Desperation might be the trait they all shared, but the hungry and the weary deserved a chance to be clear-minded enough to make a decent bargain.

Here, in Storybrooke, there was no need to play the maid.

Belle still smiled at the newcomer. "It's still business hours," she said to put the other woman at ease. "We left the door open so clients could come in."

"Yes! Exactly! That's what I said." The woman brightened into a wide beam. "If the Dark One truly meant to curse anyone who came into his shop, why would the open sign be at the door?"

Rumpelstiltskin smirked. "To fool the gullible?"

The woman's dark eyes widened. Her mouth worked soundlessly and she looked a breath from fleeing in panic.

Belle was tempted to dig an elbow into Rumpelstiltskin's side. This wasn't a villager from around the Dark Castle. They were more or less used to Rumpelstiltskin's terrible humor. Strangers tended to take his jokes literally.

"If you've come in good faith, there's no need to worry," Belle explained. "The curses are meant for thieves only."

"I can easily add fairies to the target list," Rumpelstiltskin said with a sneer. "What's Mother Superior want, that she would send one of her acolytes in disguise?"

Oh. Belle hadn't picked up on the other woman's magical signature. No wonder Rumpelstiltskin had been so defensive! Between his mother and Reul Ghorm they had given him a thorough disgust for the whole species.

"Blue didn't send me!" Now she was biting her lips anxiously. "Will you tell her I was here? I don't want you to lie, of course not. But do you need to tell her?"

If anyone else had tried that approach, Belle would have pegged them as a spy at once. But this woman seemed honestly worried about her leader's reaction.

Rumpelstiltskin must agree, or at least his curiosity had to be piqued, because his expression softened a little. "I would rather never tell your mistress another word in my life. That, I can swear."

"Thank you!" The woman was all smiles again. "She worries too much, Blue does. And she says I'm being silly, but I don't think it's silly to do a friend a favor, do you?"

Belle smiled, charmed by the bubbly honesty.

At her side, Rumpelstiltskin rolled his eyes. "I'm known to do a favor or two." He lifted a meaningful eyebrows as he added, "For a price."

The warning passed over the fairy's head. By now she was almost bouncing on her feet. "Great! I have money!" she chirped, motioning to her purse. "You see, for weeks I've been staring and staring at the display at the window, and it seemed so silly to want that big, chunky mug so dearly. It's nothing I would use!"

Belle remembered that item in question, and the growling man who had demanded it back.

"Then I remembered it belonged to Dreamy, back in our world, and I thought..."

"You could take it, like he tried?" Belle snapped.

That man and his friends had thought Rumpelstiltskin as vulnerable as the Evil Queen. Had he not reclaimed his magic, Belle hated to think of what would have happened.

"No!" The woman was shaking her head. "This is a new world, with new rules. New opportunities!" she sighed with obvious longing. "If you say we must buy it, then we buy it. Money is so silly anyway!"

That had both Belle and Rumpelstiltskin raising their eyebrows. The fairies still lived too far apart from the rest of humanity. Not even the Dark Curse had made them bend their ways.

"If money is silly, then it's not worth the paper it's printed on," Rumpelstiltskin said, staring thoughtfully at the newly confused fairy. "I only trade in equal value, dearie. What do you have to offer?"

The fairy blinked large, suddenly wet eyes.

Belle took pity on her. "Let's start with something simple. What is your name?"

"Ast-- I mean, Nova."

"Well, Nova. Rumpelstiltskin is right. Money doesn't really matter to either of you. But I'm sure you can think of something else..."

"I can't give you fairy dust. We've barely found anything!"

Rumpelstiltskin snorted. Belle herself bit down a smile.

Fairy dust was needed only for a handful of spells - unless you were a fairy, or had no magic of your own, of course.

"We don't want your dust, Nova," Belle said gently. "Can't you think of anything else?"

It took a while, but at last a giggly fairy departed with a wrapped mug in her purse.

Rumpelstiltskin smiled as they watched her go. "Well done, sweetheart. Everybody is happy... for now."

Belle felt a little guilty, but she consoled herself with the thought that it was in Mother Superior's hands. If the head fairy had a thread of compassion in her soul, Nova would continue as a blissfully ignorant fairy.

If not...

"The girl is in love," Rumpelstiltskin said, reading her thoughts. "Sooner or later, that'll get her wings stripped off. They'll make for a special ingredient!"

"Rumple..."

He gave a sigh. "Or, I guess, we can store them for a rainy day."

"It will eventually get us a fairy on our side," Belle reminded him, then gave him a kiss on the cheek for his patience. "You'll see."

"That's a thought for the future, my love. But as for the present..." The door clicked shut, and the open sign vanished. "I thought we could continue where we left off?"

The End
04/06/24

Chapter Text

In Storybrooke, Granny would have known the truth of Mr. Gold even if he hadn't flaunted his true identity once the curse broke.

Her nose didn't lie.

Otherwise, the man would have passed as yet another unfortunate businessman that was dragged into the Evil Queen's curse. Mr. Gold had none of the mannerisms or style that had marked him in the Enchanted Forest, and it would take an eagle eye to match the face he wore now to the pebbled green skin and golden inhuman eyes of his true self.

The stench of magic, however, irritated Granny the same as it had in the Enchanted Forest.

Aside from that, the only other similarity was the brunette attached to Rumpelstiltskin's arm.

The smiling brunette.

"They say it's true love," her granddaughter whispered, stars in her eyes and an indulgent smile on her face.

Her little Red had always shown a tough exterior, but deep down she was still a girl bedazzled by love stories.

"We have seen true love," Granny told her. "The real thing. Snow and her David fought hard at every turn. What have those two done except traipse around, making deals and playing with magic?"

Red looked thoughtful. "Dunno, Granny. The Dark One is in love. Sounds hard enough to me."

"More like he's smitten by a pretty face," Granny said with a scoff. "You'll see. At the first challenge, they'll break apart. Power and beauty can only last so far."

Humming in vague agreement was the answer.

Granny didn't insist.

Time would prove her right.

The End
05/06/24

Chapter Text

Belle all but slumped into Rumpelstiltskin's arms when his magic deposited them home.

Were it not for their familial ties, she would wholeheartedly recommend they never set foot in Queen Snow's court again. Everybody in that castle, from scullery maid to the royals in charge, kept expecting Rumpelstiltskin to dole out magic for free.

"I'm sorry it didn't go as smoothly as we planned," she told him.

The plan had been to spend the day with Baelfire and Henry, and end the visit with a private dinner. They had accounted for Emma or Regina to demand being included. If the women were in good terms this week, they might even agree to supervise together.

Instead, Emma's parents had butted in.

"Not your fault, sweetheart," Rumpelstiltskin said, and if there was still anger in his voice, it wasn't directed at her. "I might have spoiled the princess and her shepherd, granting them audiences at their will. Of course the queen and king expect similar treatment now."

The couple had been polite. They had even prepared a banquet to welcome them, and their attempts to smooth over ensuing awkwardness had been noted.

They had also squeezed themselves into the time Rumpelstiltskin had set aside for his son.

Every attempt Belle had made to divert them had been met with excuses.

"They don't trust you around Henry," she said, still offended on his behalf.

Rumpelstiltskin shrugged. "And why should they?"

Belle bit her tongue against the list of reasons in her memory. It always boiled down to a prophecy best left buried in the past.

"They are quick enough to ask for favors, though," she pointed out anyway.

"Well, we are family, aren't we?"

Bae was family. Henry was family. On a good day, Emma and Regina were the cousins she preferred to avoid at family reunions.

Snow and James - for the king consort went by James again, for political reasons - were monarchs seeking the easiest way to defend their people.

A laudable goal.

Which they expected to achieve for free.

"Did you see Snow's face when you showed her the contract?"

Rumpelstiltskin smirked at the memory. "Bit surprised, wasn't she?"

Surprised, yes. Then Her Majesty had been flustered, and finally defensive.

They had barely ended the meeting on a civil note, and that was with Rumpelstiltskin whisking them back to the Dark Castle in the middle of Snow's speech.

"Next time," Belle said, placing her head against his chest, "we can invite Baelfire here."

Rumpelstiltskin nodded. "I'd like that."

The End
06/07/24

Chapter Text

Jefferson waited until the girl retired to bed.

"Is there anything else you need?" she asked dutifully, though given the little yawns she had been hiding behind her book, Jefferson guessed she was likely to salt the tea and butter the cookies.

She might not be forced into the physical labor required to maintain a castle, but accompanying Rumpelstiltskin as he spun the evenings away, and maintaining a lively, clever conversation must be draining enough.

"Nothing for me, thank you," he said quickly, giving her a small bow from the waist.

She smiled, then turned to Rumpelstiltskin. "Do you need anything?" She eyed the knee-high pile by the spinning wheel. "More straw, perhaps?"

Jefferson tried not to smirk at the thought of the Dark One needing anyone to fetch his straw.

However, Rumpelstiltskin took the question earnestly. "No, thank you. Get your rest, dearie."

Jefferson felt his eyes boggle at the sincerity.

He waited until Belle was out of earshot.

"I take it this means, Rumple dear, that I can safely grow fond of this one?"

Rumpelstiltskin gave him a confused look.

"Well, you have to admit, old man. The last young lady under your charge became quite nasty." Regina had been a pretty sweet thing in her youth. "Now she's making it almost impossible to be friendly with her."

That earned him an eyeroll. "Only you, Hatter, would think to remain friends with the Evil Queen."

Jefferson crinkled his name at that epithet. Other monarchs would jump for Regina's power in order to consolidate their own reigns. But she got called evil for it.

The world was full of hypocrites.

Which reminded him of an exception he has been surprised to find...

"Your little Belle spoke fondly enough of Her Majesty," he told Rumpelstiltskin.

Rumpelstiltskin chuckled. "She would be fond of bees for their honey, and forget they will sting her should she come too close."

Jefferson gave him a knowing look. "Never thought of you as a bee, Rumple."

Rumpelstiltskin turned away and pretended not to hear him.

Jefferson kept himself from laughing.

It wouldn't do to be turned into a snail tonight.

The End
07/06/24

Chapter Text

Belle opened her eyes slowly, lulled by the warmth of the great hall and the steady, rhythmic sound of the spinning wheel.

The last she remembered was waiting for Rumpelstiltskin to return to the castle, thumbing through her newest novel to while away the time.

He must have arrived after midnight. She vaguely remembered an interesting scene being interrupted by the bells of the grandfather clock.

The light was wan, as her fire was in embers by now.

"It's not even morning," she whispered, not really hoping for an answer.

Rumpelstiltskin never acknowledged interruptions when he was spinning.

To her surprise, he answered with a quiet hum.

Her brain was still too tired to stop her tongue. "You came back too late and came straight to your wheel." He spun to forget. That was the first true detail she had learned about him. "The deal didn't come as planned?"

"Deal, what deal?" he hissed. "I went out for fresh air, that's all."

Belle didn't press on the blatant lie.

"And now you want breakfast before dawn?"

He clicked his teeth. "No. Not hungry." The wheel slowed for a moment. Golden eyes stared at her. "Go back to sleep, Belle. There's nothing that needs you attention at the moment."

Belle thought of rising and making the trek up the stairs to her room. Then she discovered the thick blanket around her.

Only in that moment did she realize how strange it was to wake up in the great hall. Usually, if she fell asleep waiting for Rumpelstiltskin, the first sign that he had returned was that she would wake up tucked in her own bed.

Yet here she remained.

Keeping him company.

"I'm not very sleepy anymore," she said softly. "Actually, I was in the middle of the best scene... Do you mind if I read it out loud?"

The silence lasted for so long, that Belle thought he was ignoring her. Maybe she should go back to sleep, and forget how she had believed for a moment that Rumpelstiltskin appreciated her company...

"Best scene, huh?" His sneer made his disbelief obvious. "Could be fun, though. Go ahead, dearie. Do as you will."

Belle took a deep breath, decided the best defense would be the text itself, and started reading.

The End
08/06/24

Chapter Text

"Um. Hello. Mr. Dark One? And Mrs. Dark One, of course!"

Belle stifled a giggle at that address. The young man seemed nervous enough already. Instead she smoothed her face into a serious expression, as befit the lady of the area.

Meanwhile, Rumpelstiltskin looked annoyed enough for the both of them. "What goes, boy?" he snapped.

"I... I didn't want to interrupt your day, milord."

Rumpelstiltskin's lip curled at the formality. He had never cared for such things, and decades without classist stations had buried his patience with it. "Then perhaps you shouldn't," he said through gritted teeth.

Belle pulled on his arm discreetly, but it was too late.

The man had gone pale as milk, and he stammered broken apologies as he hurried away.

Around them, the other market goers widened their distance from them. Some even shuffled awkwardly to a stall further away, despite having been in the middle of a bargain seconds before.

Belle sighed.

"You can't have wanted him to stay," he told her with certainty.

She couldn't deny it.

She had missed their time together being for themselves only. Storybrooke has gotten to her nerves shortly after the curse broke, with random people barging in at unexpected moments.

She would take their castle in the mountains over a mansion in a small town any day.

However... she hadn't missed the cold reception from the neighbouring towns.

Since their return to the Enchanted Forest, relations were still a little tense between the inhabitants of the Dark Castle and the people who had remained in the area, untouched by the curse.

They welcomed the protection from ogres and witches, but the standing rumor was that the curse was one of Rumpelstiltskin's spells gone wrong.

Given that Rumpelstiltskin had a direct hand in the casting, it was difficult to avoid the silent accusations in good faith.

"I just think we could be nicer," she told Rumpelstiltskin. "People still believe they might be taken away at any moment."

Rumpelstiltskin sniffed. "That was a once in a lifetime curse, my dear. It took me decades to arrange for it. Who else would be fool enough to recast it?"

The circle around them widened further.

"I don't think that sounded very comforting, Rumple."

Rumpelstiltskin shrugged. "Good thing I wasn't trying to comfort anybody, then."

Belle took a deep breath and tugged in the direction of their carriage. "We will go home now, and then we will send a message to that man to come visit us." At his look of disbelief, she explained, "We haven't had a single petitioner since we returned. That's not normal. Normal is comforting."

"You just want a reason to play hostess."

This time, she would officially be the lady of the castle. Hidden parts within her were thrilled at the thought of doing something for which she had been raised. "We will play our parts," she agreed, "and people will eventually realize nothing has changed."

Rumpelstiltskin arched an eyebrow at that. Took her hand and brought them to a halt. In full view of the market square and the dozens of people there, he kissed the palm of her hand. "Has nothing changed, my love?"

Belle felt herself blush, but she kept her voice even. "Nothing that affects them, I mean."

Rumpelstiltskin grinned, placing an arm around her waist. "I'd say affection is the main of it. Is it not?"

Belle rested her head against his shoulder, and let him guide her to their destination. "Yes, of course. But for the two of us only."

The End
09/06/24

Chapter Text

"You have changed, Rumple," Regina said, an amused glint paired with that mocking smirk that Rumpelstiltskin found so annoying.

The girl looked her mother's picture, when she smiled like that.

"Changed?" He rested his weight on his cane. Mr. Gold had learned to adapt the necessary walking aid into a prop for his hardened image. Rumpelstiltskin kept it out of habit, enjoying how Storybrooke trembled before what should be a sign of disability.

Not even their mayor was an exception, much as she tried to veil the fact.

"My, my. Just an observation." Regina interlaced her fingers, an old sign of nerves she had never discarded. "You must admit... Letting them go unpunished like that. Hard to reconcile that with the Dark One I remember."

Rumpelstiltskin let out a snicker. "Well, dearie. In case you haven't figured it out yet: what you remember is only what I needed you to know."

Regina huffed. "I always said that girl would make you soft. You should've let me take her off your hands."

The silence in the pawnshop thickened until even Regina felt the underlying threat.

She turned, suddenly uncertain, to Rumpelstiltskin.

He suspected the blank look of the pawnshop owner unnerved her more than the theatrics from before. After all, Regina had grown to adulthood as the Dark One's prized student.

It was the cursed persona he had embraced that threw her off kilter.

"It's been a few decades since you heard this, so I'll say it for the benefit of our new... friendship. Belle is my business, Regina. Play your games if you must, but never think you can convince either of us to break our deal."

Regina put herself together enough to give a convincing sneer. "How romantic."

Rumpelstiltskin shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say. Love has changed me." He smirked at her. "Pity you still cannot say the same."

The End
10/06/24

Chapter Text

Rumpelstiltskin hadn't set out to love Belle French.

Oh, he was protective of her from the moment he realized how defenseless she was. In a world without her true self and only an evil queen and a bitter pawnbroker to call friends, the girl was a victim waiting to happen.

He refused to let her suffer that fate.

At first, he only thought to continue the fragile friendship Regina had grudgingly granted them. Miss French did not know his secrets, but she was smart and funny. The thought of spending weeks without her conversation, after decades of easy access, was not acceptable.

Especially as Miss Swan took longer than expected to accept - or even glimpse - her fate as the Savior.

Rumpelstiltskin took up the habit of the years before the curse was cast, and enjoyed his free time with a girl who laughed with him and challenged him.

As the curse started to weaken, her shyness gave way to her usual relentless drive. She searched him out. Brought him sweets and fresh meals. Invited him to public events and hung on his arm with a wide smile for everyone to see.

Their meetings became so similar to their days from before the curse, that Rumpelstiltskin finally realized: Belle had been courting him for months before he even realized she might feel more than friendship for him, hadn't she?

He still hadn't meant to fall in love with a cursed girl.

But Miss Swan kept chipping at the magic, forcing happiness where none had ever existed. The curse bent to survive. It now allowed glimpses of truth, let relationships warm without snapping them with lies. People started gravitating to their true loves.

Belle French stayed at his side.

But now she was looking at him with sheer joy and trust. She was touching his cheek, a smile that spoke of futures together.

The thought made him shiver.

"Why do you look so scared?" she asked with no judgement.

Because I love you too, he didn't say. "Because I've never felt like this," he didn't lie.

Her smile widened. "This is the part where you kiss me, Gold."

This girl wasn't even aware of his true name. But, and this Rumpelstiltskin knew to the bottom of his rotten soul, if she found out everything her true self knew, she would still love him.

So he allowed her to guide him down to her lips, and kissed her as truly as he knew how to.

The End
11/06/24

Chapter Text

Regina took the howling baby with a glare directed straight at every insecurity in Neal's soul. "Give it here," she snapped, bouncing the boy in a steady rhythm. "I could hear the crying all the way to the front door. Where is his mother, anyway?"

"There was a council meeting..."

Regina rolled her eyes. "Snow has to get with the times. I used to attend those meetings with Henry saddled to my chest. Women don't need to stop being mothers to be leaders."

Neal had heard enough about Regina's mother not to touch that comment with a ten-yard pole. "I tried to feed him. But he didn't seem very hungry?"

"Whiny little thing, aren't you?" It was a good thing that babies reacted to tone and not the actual words. "At least you come by it honestly."

Leopold seemed to approve of Regina's matter-of-fact approach. He stopped crying, and even wiggled closer to her.

"Oh, that's great," Neal whispered. It was strange to think that the two people most adept at handling small children in their family were the Dark One and the Evil Queen, but in the blessed silence that ensued, Neal didn't complain.

"You are an awful babysitter, Cassidy. This baby is hungry."

Neal opened his mouth to argue, but snapped it shut and cast his eyes away when a chubby hand landed right on top of one of her breasts - and squeezed.

"Uh...."

"Oh, grow up," Regina groaned. "Both of you."

"I'll heat up his bottle," Neal said quickly, hurrying away before any unfortunate comment escaped his mouth.

"If you tell anyone..." Regina warned behind him.

Neal came by his smarts honestly. "Tell anyone about what?"

The End
12/06/24

Chapter Text

Belle woke up yawning. Her hand mechanically moved to turn off the antique alarm clock, and once the shrill sound stopped, she huddled back into her covers and scooted away from the offending object.

Ten more minutes. Just ten more minutes...

A weight halted her progress to the colder side of the bed.

A familiar weight.

Rumpelstiltskin was still asleep?

"Rumple...?" she asked as she rolled around, half sure that her senses were confused. Rumpelstiltskin woke with the dawn, and often beforehand. Gold had kept a more healthy schedule, believing himself human, but as the Dark One, Rumpelstiltskin barely acknowledged the need to eat - and that, mostly to placate her.

Neither movement nor sound stirred him.

Belle even put a hand against his chest, and he remained giving those long, even breaths of true sleep.

"You needed this," she whispered.

The last week seemed a neverending row of disappointments: Regina was unrepentant, the town had turned into a prison, Maleficent had never even arrived in Storybrooke, and her father expected her to forget promises just because they were in a new world.

Rumpelstiltskin himself had needed more patience than Belle would have expected herself to possess.

He was the only one with good reason to be a headache: his son, the single reason for decades of chaos and mind games, was still missing.

Belle pulled the covers higher to cover his shoulders, then gave the lightest of kisses an inch over his cheek. "I'll come back with breakfast," she promised.

And left him to his deserved rest.

The End
13/06/24

Chapter Text

They had started the drive to the cabin as soon as it was clear that every portal back home was either blocked or poisoned. After nearly a year of quiet - well, relatively quiet - married life in the Dark Castle, the last couple of days has been unbearably chaotic.

Belle might be the more social half of a couple, but that only meant that she liked keeping in touch with her friends and attending the occasional party. Oh, and the town festivals! Who didn't like a festival?

Otherwise, she was happy in the Dark Castle.

This abrupt return to Storybrooke, right into the middle of another battle, had been a jarring experience.

"Should we have stayed?" she asked anyway, her conscience twinging a little.

Rumpelstiltskin shook his head. "Snow White will either keep the other royals in check, or she won't. However that goes, it needs to happen without the Dark One tipping the scales."

Belle agreed wholeheartedly with that. Magic was a power on its own. In the long run, it undermined any law or reign that rose only with its support.

Just look at Agrabah.

"I still think we could have been more helpful to our new neighbors."

"They have homes. They have jobs. The curse included them into the knowledge of how the world without magic works...Really, Belle, what would they need us for?"

The people who made their homes around the Dark Mountains didn't rely on them as others did with their sovereigns. They went on with their lives, and the officials called on the Dark One only for the direst of emergencies.

Belle had answered their frantic questions, that first day, and ensured that they got the same information as the rest of the town.

Rumpelstiltskin was right.

There was nothing else she could do, except fret.

The cabin was their home away from home, where they could have some valuable privacy and relax in their solitude.

"How long can we stay here?" she asked as Rumpelstiltskin pulled over the Cadillac.

He took her hand. "Until I find us a way back home. How does that sound?"

Belle smiled. If anyone could undo the Wicked Witch's spell, it was her husband. "It sound perfect."

The End
14/06/24

Chapter Text

Belle turned onto her elbows, keeping her free hand on Rumpelstiltskin's chest when he would have risen up as well. "Just lie down," she told him. "Let me..."

Her voice drifted off, distracted as she caressed the pale skin, exploring the smoothness of it.

A chuckle interrupted her reverie. "Let you reacquaint yourself with this version of me, hmmm?" He threw his head back on his pillow. "Why would I stop you, my dear, when you have a second husband to seduce?"

She rolled her eyes. "You're exactly the same, Rumple. One way or the other." She pinched a nipple, eliciting a sharp, hungry gasp. That should prove her point. "See?"

Rumpelstiltskin tilted his head, flashing a smile before he assumed a most naive look.

The sight made Belle giggle, but he continued the charade anyway. "I see nothing at all, dearest."

Belle inched closer, passing her hand from his shoulder to his belly in a slow crawl. "Perhaps I should show you..."

He affected an oblivious shrug. "If you must."

Belle laughed. "Oh, making me do all the work, are you?" After quick thought, she decided she was up for that game. She bent down to rub her nose against his. "You'll pay for this, you know."

Rumpelstiltskin only moved enough to kiss the tip of her nose, then relaxed into the mattress with a smirk. "I'm looking forward to it."

The End
15/06/24

Chapter Text

Maleficent waited until Henry and his parents left the room. "So that's the Truest Believer. I must say, that boy is the one thing that has surpassed expectations in this town."

"Henry is a good boy," Belle said, always a bit proud for what little she had done in rearing him. "He has never let me down."

"Children always let you down at some point," Maleficent told her, with the voice of experience. "You just choose to keep loving them anyway."

Belle thought of Rumpelstiltskin and Baelfire, and nodded.

"Do you think it's possible, then?"

"To undo a curse like Zelena's with the power of true love, when she used exactly that as an ingredient. I wouldn't think it possible. Not for a couple of generations, at least."

Rumpelstiltskin had said the same. But he had also said...

"However, there is power in that golden heart," Maleficent mused, unaware that she was repeating Rumple's words. "Tell me, Belle. What was the first thing your husband taught you about magic?"

"Magic always has a price," she responded promptly.

Maleficent chuckled. "He needs a new motto. The second thing, then?"

Belle thought back. "Magic needs emotion."

"Of course he would see it like that. That man runs on his lows and highs." Maleficent shrugged. "Sure, grief and passion, hate and fear. Magic grows stronger on any of those, but it starts with a spark. A vision. The spellcaster needs to know what is going to happen..."

"Belief. You are talking about belief."

Maleficent nodded. "And that, the boy has in spades. With a heart like his, he doesn't need spells or potions. Magic wants to follow him; it just needs a little push."

"So, if Henry believes we can return to the Enchanted Forest..."

"Just keep looking for a way. Magic will accommodate."

The End
16/06/24

Chapter Text

Belle pulled the knitted blanket a bit tighter around Leo's shoulders. The baby snuffled in his sleep, opening and closing his little fists a few times before he settled again.

Belle sat by the crib, alert to any change.

No one wanted to say it out loud, but the newborn had spent a whole day under Zelena's care. The witch swore she had done nothing to the boy - and Belle tended to believe that, as the time spell required an untouched sacrifice - but that woman had tricked them before.

"Do you think he'll remember any of yesterday?" she asked Rumpelstiltskin when she felt him come to the nursery door.

Rumpelstiltskin shook his head, coming to sit beside her. "Babies are more resistant than we give them credit for." His arm came around her. "He's coming back to a family that loves him. He is going to be warm and happy and never understand why his parents don't like to speak of the day he was born."

Belle looked at little Leopold for another long moment, and then closed her eyes. There had been a certainty growing within her from the moment Zelena grabbed an innocent newborn, and though she had shoved that thought aside until the emergency was dealt with, the conclusion was inescapable.

"Rumple... we need to leave this town, don't we?"

Unsurprisingly, he had followed her train of thought. "When the time comes, yes. I can only make it so safe to raise a family here."

"And you're okay with that?"

Rumpelstiltskin gave a little shrug. "Bae is a grown man. Henry will leave for college soon enough. Both of them know they are welcome wherever we settle."

Belle nodded. With a sad sigh, she rested her head on Rumpelstiltskin's shoulder. "I want to go home, Rumple."

The Dark Castle, she meant. Where she felt safe from enemies and free to choose which friends to see.

"I haven't stopped trying to find a way back," Rumpelstiltskin told her, starting to play with her fingers. He liked to fiddle with her wedding ring when they were together, but the slow, careful touch made Belle aware that he was deliberating something. "I'm not sure that I can give up magic, Belle," he said at last, his voice low. A dark chuckle followed. "Every time I've tried, things have gone to hell."

Belle couldn't deny that. Venturing outside Storybrooke had ended in a living nightmare both times. Luckily, Earth was hardly their only option. "There are other worlds, Rumple." The most obvious, of course, was where they already had friends. "I'm sure Anna will let us set up on one of those ice mountains. If that's too cold, the Red Queen owes us a favor still."

Rumpelstiltskin shuddered in mock horror. "Either of those options make me want to move to New York. Losing my magic must be less painful."

Belle rolled her eyes. He worked efficiently enough with her friends when circumstances demanded it, but he had never warmed up to them.

To be fair, neither did the girls have much fondness for him.

"The Enchanted Forest it is, then." She squeezed her hand. "I have to believe we can go back home."

The End
17/06/24

Chapter Text

Ruby had the idea first. Baby showers were a custom from the world without magic, but it was easy to include people who hadn't been taken by the curse.

Most women agreed that pregnancy deserved celebration, and most men easily accepted being excluded from such.

"What is she doing here?" asked Granny in a whisper meant for wolf ears.

Ruby didn't need to follow her grandmother's disgruntled look to the latest arrival. "She is family. After a fashion," she allowed at Granny's snort.

The Enchanted Forest put more weight on ties of loyalty and friendship, but they had also spent three decades in a world where blood made family no matter how thin the connection.

Anybody who had met Mr. Gold couldn't doubt whose brown eyes their Princess's son had inherited.

"It's not like we received an invitation to that wedding of hers," Granny grumbled, still on the subject of Belle.

"It was a small affair," Ruby defended.

And she had gotten an invitation. She just hadn't felt right attending an event her grandmother so emphatically disapproved. The time for rebellion had gone with the curse.

"I guess," Granny mused, clearly disliking the situation, "With that witch running around, it's not a bad idea to have the Spinner's sweetheart here. Her, he will help."

That Rumpelstiltskin wouldn't use his magic without something of equal worth given in exchange was a matter of discussion in Snow White's court.

However, he really wouldn't help if they didn't give Belle her proper due.

"Wife, Granny."

"Hmph. As if a priest would bless them."

That was said in a low enough voice that Ruby could ignore it.

"It's just an evening, Granny. You can endure."

Her grandmother scoffed, but pasted a toothy smile on her face before joining the other women.

The End
18/06/24

Chapter Text

Jefferson threw the ball of golden thread into the air, estimating the weight to last him and Grace a couple of months - if he was thrifty and careful with their expenses. Which he never was.

Where was the fun in jumping into new worlds if he had to stop and think of the cost of a meal in each one?

It did help that he and his hat had the Dark One's patronage.

He hated to think of the life he'd be forced to offer Grace if he wasn't required as a chaperone as often as he did.

With that thought in mind, he turned to Rumpelstiltskin. "So, old man, should I come back next week? Belle mentioned something about friendly dragons..."

Rumpelstiltskin grunted.

"I'll take that as a yes," Jefferson decided.

It hadn't taken long to understand who decided where and when Belle took her trips.

"There are no such creatures," Rumpelstiltskin spat. "Dragons are intelligent, sure. But they only care for their treasure. They'll go along if you have something shiny to offer, but otherwise you're dinner."

Jefferson gulped. "I don't want to be dinner," he whimpered.

"Then I recommend you keep yourself and my maid far from the beasts."

Oh. So this was a lovers' spat.

Rumpelstiltskin never referred to Belle as a maid unless he was peeved at the girl.

Retreat was Jefferson's choice.

The lovebirds would work it out eventually, and no innocent realm-jumpers would be caught in the crossfire.

"Understood, Rumple," he said genially, keeping a smile on his face. "Don't mind me, then. When you need me, send me a dove and I'll come in a jiffy, ready to take that maid out of your hair---" He backpedalled at Rumpelstiltskin's glare. Of course. What a fool. Only one person was allowed to treat Belle as the help. "I mean, to escort lovely, enchanting Belle on her errands. A delightful task, as ever, and I thank you for the opportunity," he babbled, walking backwards to the main door. "The chance to earn... not only your gold, but your trust as well!"

"Trust?"

Jefferson yelped, as Rumpelstiltskin popped inches in front of him. He felt his eyes widen, and too late he remembered Belle's advice: never show fear.

She had made it sound prettier. Something about heroes and true valor, but Jefferson got the gist of it well enough.

Too late.

"Oh, I trust you, Hatter. Of course I do." Rumpelstiltskin sneered, a mean glint to his eye. "I trust you to be a coward."

Jefferson made an offended sound, actually hurt by the accusation, but Rumpelstiltskin shushed him with an impatient wave of his hand.

"I know you will do anything to protect Belle, because you wouldn't dare show your face in the Enchanted Forest without her."

Well, put like that...

"See?" Rumpelstiltskin grinned nastily. "Cowards have their use, dearie."

Jefferson only nodded, unsure what had provoked the other man's mood but certain that he didn't want to continue the discussion.

After a long beat, Rumpelstiltskin rolled his eyes and padded back to his spinning wheel. "Off with you, then," he ordered, not even looking back.

Jefferson nodded again, just in case, and hurried out of the hall.

The End
19/06/24

Chapter Text

The wielders of the darkest magics in the realm stood on opposite sides of the little room, their attention held by the slow, steady breath of the girl laid on the bed.

"I couldn't stop her," gritted out Maleficent, with enough self-directed anger that Rumpelstiltskin took it for an apology.

"Belle can be intrepid to a fault," he offered quietly.

The girl had befriended dark wizards and foul creatures in different worlds. Of course she had believed a giant wouldn't be much of a challenge.

If Maleficent hadn't gone after her in her dragon form ...

"She can be a fool, you mean." The sorceress fumed, worry giving way to annoyance as it became obvious that Belle would survive her adventure. "And for what? She falls for the most stupid traps. The girls and I got her to follow a mutt, and now she hares off after a dried out bean!"

Rumpelstiltskin winced.

Thankfully Maleficent misinterpreted the reaction. "You can't believe she was actually going to use it," she told him with a roll of her eyes. "The gods are witness I've offered enough times to carry her somewhere else. You are stuck with the girl, Rumple."

Rumpelstiltskin only grunted in response.

Belle had hunted for a portal on her own. After the last time they'd found a hint of an alternative road to the world without magic, Belle didn't trust him to keep an even head.

And she was right.

He would have burned through the remains of the land of the giants, had he been the one to discover that the last bean was unusable.

"So what are you brewing, Rumple, that an extinct species needs be an ingredient?"

"None of your business."

Maleficent arched an eyebrow.

Belle hadn't said a word either. For all those two denied being a couple, they kept secrets like the best of them.

Well, well.

If they didn't trust her, then she didn't need to be all that truthful with them either.

The Dark One was interested in that little, burned out thing... That was reason enough to hold onto it.

The End
20/06/24

Chapter Text

Rumpelstiltskin knew it was a trap.

His nose didn't care.

His stomach threatened to keep a growling chorus of protest.

Rumpelstiltskin wanted to say that his body was a more susceptible subject to mundane hunger since his stint as Mr. Gold, but the truth was that this particular scheme had been as effective since their days in the Dark Castle.

The scent of fresh pie was joined by a familiar tune from their record player. The love for the classics he could blame on Gold, but it was still excellent bait.

Belle didn't play fair.

With a sound that was meant to be resigned, but in reality was fond and indulgent, Rumpelstiltskin put the current batch of experiments on hold with a wave of his hand.

"I'm coming, sweetheart," he called out as he made his way out of the basement.

In the dining room, table set and pie in its place of honor, Belle smiled and reminded herself to lower the volume.

Time to pretend it was a pleasant and altogether unexpected surprise to have him for dinner.

The End
21/06/24

Chapter Text

Rumpelstiltskin put a hand on her shoulder out of habit, though he liked the closeness even when he didn't need the support for balance. With his other hand, he lightly traced the excited blush on Belle's cheeks. "This is the third time, you know," he murmured.

Magic tasted different now that it was in Storybrooke, but some things he felt deep within his soul. His deals were airtight, a tie that bound humans to his power.

But this...

"Third time for what?"

He tipped her head up for a quick kiss. He felt the ground between them shift, even though they barely moved. Magic swelled, drawn to true love and the power of a contract thrice sealed. "You've just promised me forever again," he said when she let the kiss end.

Belle gave him a curious look. "And it was only the third time? That can't be right." She buried her hands into his hair, drawing him back to her with the ease of practice. "You tried to get rid of me so many times-" His snort went ignored. Not that many, and never without good reason. She kissed his unsaid protest away. "How can this be only the third time, when I wake up wishing we will always stay together?"

He was hugging her tight before he fully comprehended her words.

No wonder their deal felt like the only piece of magic he had ever tried. It filled him, tying him to her as securely as his power was tied to the dagger.

Except this was Belle, so he felt safe rather than chained.

"I love you," he whispered. Swore. He said it again and again, peppering her face with kisses between each syllable.

Belle laughed, wonder in her eyes.

"That's three times, Rumple. I don't need..."

She felt the magic too, he knew, though she wouldn't be able to put a name to it.

"But I want to," he promised. "Forever, Belle. Forever, forever, forever. I'll never doubt you again."

The End
22/06/24

Chapter Text

Rumpelstiltskin studied the battlefield with narrowed eyes. Despite the heavy losses, all the soldiers cast away to the edges of the battle, he refused to admit it was a lost cause. "I shall not surrender," he hissed, tapping his fingernails on the table as he deliberated on a new strategy. "I will not be made a fool!"

Across the chessboard, Belle quirked an eyebrow. Her master was usually a more gallant loser, but perhaps she had erred on her choice of a game.

Chess pieces had been formidable warriors under the Queen of Hearts' orders.

Thinking quickly, Belle walked to his side under the pretext of refilling his teacup. She waited until he noticed the movement and gave her an absentminded nod of appreciation. "You know, Rumple," she said, brushing his arm and smiling when he didn't tense. "You could also be happy because you are an amazing teacher."

He narrowed his eyes. "You told me you learned his game from your mother."

"Sure. But she always let me win." And her father hadn't ever given her the courtesy of believing her capable of a decent game. He always laughed and invited her to play an instrument in the background to entertain him and whichever member of the court - always a man - he had chosen as an opponent. "You're the first to actually put me to the test."

Rumpelstiltskin harrumphed. "I guess I did teach you a few tricks," he said, eyeing the board.

Belle nodded and took advantage of his good humor to link her arm through his. Leaning closer, almost against his shoulder, she smiled. "Thanks to you, it's checkmate in five moves."

"Nine," he countered stubbornly.

Belle grinned. Kissed his cheek as an early consolation prize. "You're on."

The End
23/06/24

Chapter Text

With more stubbornness than hope, Belle tugged at the blanket again. However, weighed as it was, it refused to budge. "Rumple..." she muttered groggily, turning around to face the warm, thickly wrapped burrito her husband had become.

Rumpelstiltskin might disdain sleep, but when his body gave in, waking him up became an herculean task.

Blanket thievery was new.

Belle made a mental note to buy a new set, to be prepared for the next time this happened. Winters in Maine somehow managed to be even colder than life in the snowcapped Dark Mountains.

Magic truly made life more comfortable than technology. But as the latter was more readily available to the general public, it was little wonder that so few people truly wished to return home...

"I'm making myself sad," she grumbled to herself, and logically focused her thoughts on happier subjects.

Like her husband's relaxed features.

It was tempting to kiss him.

It was even more tempting to poke him.

Blanket hogger!

Aware that she didn't truly have the heart to wake him up, Belle cast her arms around him and huddled closer to borrow some of his warmth.

Then she cast a simple spell to mimic a fireplace and hoped it would last until their alarm rang.

The End
24/06/24

Chapter Text

Belle had always believed her former fiancé to be a man of few words. Somehow she had missed his belief that great men spoke in great speeches.

She had tuned him out after the first few repetitive sentences about his latest feat: the rescue of his sweet love.

"Oh, just drop it, Gaston!" she snapped when minutes passed and there was no sign that he would shut up.

A cloud passed over his face, but he put on a pitying smile for her. "Oh, darling Belle. I know you must still be distraught after so many years under that monster's..."

"Nope," she cut him off.

Half the town thought as he did.

(The other half didn't believe her to be distraught at all.)

"Rumpelstiltskin is not a monster. I do not want to be rescued. There's no need for this at all!" Belle itched to slap that self-assured grin from his face. "Didn't we go over this years ago? I saved your life, Gaston! This is how you repay the favor?"

"You were not in your right mind, Belle. I understand that now. It's as the clerics said: you were under a spell - you still are!"

The clerics were lucky not to have been included in the curse. Rumpelstiltskin had exiled the order from his sight for as long as they existed, and in a small town it would be impossible not to cross paths.

"The clerics were banished from Avonlea," she reminded him. "By my father," she added, because this idiot wouldn't think to take into account Rumpelstiltskin's decisions.

His eyebrows knitted together.

His lack of comment made Belle realize an important detail: "You don't have my father's permission for this, do you?"

Her father was a fool. He believed that the cost of ridding their home from ogres could be easily waved away in this land where ogres didn't exist. He insisted that everything had changed, and was annoyed at her response that, yes, of course, everything had changed from the day their deal was signed. She was in love with Rumpelstiltskin now.

Her father would celebrate if she decided to return under his roof. But to take her from Rumpelstiltskin by force?

He wasn't that foolish.

"I don't need anyone's permission to do the right thing!"

That was the first thing Gaston has said that she could agree with. Except their definitions of 'right' weren't even in the same dictionary.

"Right now you're lucky it's business hours. Rumpelstiltskin will notice something is wrong as soon as I don't meet him at the pawnshop. And then..." With luck and Belle's intervention, her lover wouldn't have fresh blood in his hands tonight. "Let me go, Gaston. If you really want love, you won't find it with me; and if you seek glory, you will never earn it like this."

By the twist of his lips, Belle knew that he wouldn't listen.

"It's on your head, then," she muttered darkly.

Despite her annoyance, however, she knew that she would plead for Gaston's life when the time came.

Rumpelstiltskin didn't need the burden of darkening his heart further just because another man decided to be a suicidal idiot.

The End
25/06/24

Chapter Text

Nana Delores had been a fixture of the town before the curse. Twenty-eight years later, the octogenarian was at the heart of the community.

The invitation for tea had been as much command as a confession of curiosity.

It had been addressed expressly to the lady of the Dark Castle.

"Well, that's you now, my dear," Rumpelstiltskin had told her, always amused at her discomfort at being assumed to hold any authority over his holdings. "No, no. They've had the right of it from the start, after a fashion, and now we'd be outright lying to deny it."

Belle gave a pointed glance to her empty ring finger.

Rumpelstiltskin brightened. "If you want to marry me today before teatime, we will."

Belle had sighed and gone to pick a dress for the occasion. She wanted at least her father to attend her wedding - it was a work in progress.

Now, confronted with the old matriarch, she wished she had donned armor as well.

"It is true, then." Alert gray eyes peered at Belle. "You haven't aged a day in these three decades."

That was an exaggeration. Time had run in Storybrooke for the last couple of months. However, faced with the collection of wrinkles the other woman had gained in what was, to her point of view, the same amount of time, Belle kept her objection to herself.

"Time stopped for most of our time away," she explained. "For me, it's been only a few days since we left."

"You and half the Enchanted Forest, it seemed. It took us a few weeks, but by spring we knew most settlements beyond the mountains were empty." The woman pressed her lips together. "The worst was not to know when we would be next."

The apology was at the tip of her tongue, but Belle swallowed it. She was here as Rumpelstiltskin's lady. She would spend her life apologizing for his actions if she started now.

And, actually, once he had ensured his own passage to the world without magic, the targets of the curse had not been his choice.

"The curse has been broken, ma'am. There's nothing to fear anymore."

Nana Delores scoffed. "A magic that holds time still and remakes your enemies to your whim. Oh, we've heard stories, girl," she said at Belle's surprise. "We've learned to keep in touch with whatever world there is outside." The older woman shook her head wearily. "Once made, such a thing cannot be hidden."

That was Belle's own private fear, for all Rumpelstiltskin insisted that the sacrifice of love for the sake of revenge was a rare thing.

"I know," she admitted.

That earned her another scoff. "You might," Nana Delores said with perspicacity, "but a thread to a skein, your man swears that no one else can come up with such a feat."

"He didn't cast the curse!"

The weight of generations that had lived under the shadow of the Dark Castle were in those eyes. "We know our lord, m'lady. Whatever hands did the deed, he went because he wanted to."

Belle's silence acknowledged that truth.

"Why did you call for me, then, if you have worked that out."

"I'm only an old woman with odd ideas," Nana Delores said with false humility. Belle knew intimately the tune of a clever woman picking her battles. "Who would listen to me?"

"Anyone with a working brain."

Nana Delores crackled. "That doesn't include many."

Belle smiled, amused despite the seriousness of the subject, and was thankful when the older woman allowed her to steer the conversation to other matters.

Later that evening, as they got ready for bed, Belle relayed the conversation to Rumpelstiltskin.

"She is wrong, you know," Rumpelstiltskin told her, folding down the sheets to make space for her. "It took me generations to find Regina."

Belle wanted to agree. However... "Now the cat is out of the bag, Rumple. Sooner or later someone will want to tailor their own town to their whim."

Rumpelstiltskin scrunched his nose. For all his power, lording it over other wasn't in him. "In any case, I'm placing the curse in my vault. I dare anyone to steal it."

Belle laid herself next to him. "That'll do it for the original version. But do you really think no one can write their own?"

His silence spoke volumes.

Belle kissed his cheek. "We will deal with it, Rumple."

He squeezed her hand in answer.

The End
26/06/24

Chapter Text

At his side, Belle appeared like the sweetest, most patient mortal in any realm. Certainly none of their acquaintances had ever guessed at first sight about her stubbornness, her narrowsighted desire to throw herself at danger, or her absolute lack of manners when she declared herself in the right.

The perplexed expression people wore when Belle showed her true colors never failed to amuse him. They expected her tender heart to equal lack of self-determination, and nothing could be further from the truth.

Few had the wisdom to look beyond the surface and become her friends.

What thrilled him, however, was to be the only person who knew Belle like this: dishevelled and bleary-eyed, a grumpy snarl to her voice as she swatted him away. "Noooo..."

"Come on, honey. Time to wake up."

Belle snatched at the blanket and rolled away.

Honestly. She called him impossible to wake up, but she became the cutest growly beast when it was her turn.

"I'll make your favorite for breakfast," he coaxed. "There are fresh strawberries waiting downstairs..."

His wife curled up tighter. "It's not even light outside," she grumbled, though how she had noticed that with her head under the covers was a mystery.

"It is winter."

"And you have strawberries anyway?"

"That's how much I love you." He laid himself alongside her, placing an arm around his best guess of her waist. He was going nowhere without her. "We need to leave in an hour, love."

"That gives me forty-five minutes still," she insisted. "You go and get started. I'll catch up."

He had fallen for that ruse before.

Instead of calling her a liar, he hugged her a little harder. "I go when you go," he told her and settled in to wait.

The End
27/06/24

Chapter Text

Day 89. Friday. Minimum 5 sentences.

---

Belle inspected Rumpelstiltskin's latest trinket from all angles, but couldn't find the appeal. "It's a matchstick box," she said with a pout.

He nodded with the same enthusiasm as when he brought lost elven texts. "So it is."

Belle looked down at the bit of cardboard that didn't cover even half the palm of her hand. Then she looked back at her master.

Rumpelstiltskin was staring at her expectantly.

"Are you teasing me?" she asked, a little stung.

Her only chances to glimpse at life outside the Dark Castle were Rumpelstiltskin's tales of his trips and deals. She knew that he often exaggerated the perils and invented riveting personalities for the people he met, all to entertain her.

Belle welcomed the production. It was a sign that she wasn't just the help, if he went to such efforts.

Now, however, the maddening man seemed to have tired of the game. Having an audience wasn't enough. Now he must mock her as he did everyone else.

What did he expect her to do? Marvel over some discarded bit he must have picked from the streets?

She bit back the words.

Rumpelstiltskin's mood seemed genuine. There was amusement, yes, but it didn't have that malicious edge he honed against strangers.

She decided to have faith: "How does it work?"

His good-humored giggle said she had asked the right question. "It warms you," he purred. "It lulls you with your sweetest dreams, and promises better with each lit match." Then, with a grin, he tapped the tiny box. "Of course, it's only been feeding on you until it kills you."

Belle flicked the matchbox away.

Rumpelstiltskin caught it in mid-air. "Not to worry, dearie. There are three matches left. I traded them for gold enough to get a roof and food instead of having to daydream about it."

Belle shivered at the picture of someone without a home or a meal last night. This winter was harsher than usual. Despite the closed curtains, she knew the snow was deep outside, with no sign of relenting.

People died in this weather.

She looked at the little box with revulsion. Perhaps she had gotten too used to Rumpelstiltskin and his deals. People still got the short stick, but at least they had proper warning. "That's not your work," she said with conviction.

"Nope." He seemed content with her conclusion. "Came upon it by pure chance." As he spoke, he played with the box, making it rotate as it wandered between his gingers. "Bit of interesting work, though. I haven't seen a snare as faultless in a while..."

"It's a trap."

"Yes. Sure. But does it lie? The girl I took it from wasn't keen to part with it. For her, the dream was a real as an actual dinner." His voice turned thoughtful. "What does it show you, what your heart wants or what your body needs?"

There was an eagerness to his words. He would strike a match and test that magic, Belle knew. For whatever dream he hungered to slip into.

He needed an anchor to reality.

Belle didn't think it through. Just reached over and put her hand over his.

He all but jumped at the contact.

Both watched the matchbox fall to the floor between them.

"Maybe you should throw that to the fire," she suggested softly. "Let it feed on the logs instead."

He stared at her.

"It would have killed that girl, you said. And she was only an unlucky human. If it gets a taste of your magic, do you think it will let you go as easily?"

He gulped. "I'm not sharing my power," he said, almost in a whisper. "I'm going to need it. I will."

Belle wasn't sure she was supposed to listen, but didn't know how to avoid overhearing. So she ignored him and quickly bent to pick up the box. "I'm throwing this to the fire," she informed him, acting as if she expected no protests.

To her relief, none was forthcoming.

Later, when dinner was served, Rumpelstiltskin turned to her. "Weren't you tempted to light a match?"

"Not with the price those illusions had attached."

He nodded, as if he had never been tempted himself. "If there was no price," he started, playing with the potatoes absently. "What would you have seen, little maid? A palace of your own, a prince to call husband, a return to your father's arms?"

The latter was a possibility.

Still, Belle knew her future and didn't dread it anymore. If she had to daydream, it would be for something within Rumpelstiltskin's state. "A bigger library," she answered firmly.

Rumpelstiltskin laughed in surprise. "Any bigger and it will need its own wing!"

Belle shrugged. "There is space enough."

Rumpelstiltskin chuckled. "When you have read every tome currently under my roof, I'll expand your little kingdom. Deal?"

She had a lifetime to fulfill that challenge.

"Deal."

The End
28/06/24

Chapter Text

Day 90. Saturday. Minimum 6 sentences.

---

Neal did a doubletake when he saw Belle march out of the house. "Oh no. No, no, no, no, no..." He ran back to stand in front of her. "Belle, please. This is exactly what she wants. Any one of those flying monkeys catches hold of you and it's game over. Papa will give up that dagger, and he can't. You know he can't."

Belle curled her hands into tight fists. Then her eyes narrowed and she punched him in the chest. "Then you are not going either."

Neal gaped.

His father's fiancée was a head shorter than Neal, but in that moment he understood why her best friend was a dragon.

"I have to," he tried to explain. "Zelena is trying to grab Henry."

"Exactly. It's your son. What makes you think a single person in this family won't help him?"

Neal felt his mouth work. He still didn't count Belle as family - he barely counted on his own father! - and the silent look they shared said she knew this and didn't care.

It was her future step grandson in trouble.

Rumpelstiltskin would understand why she took the risk.

"You cannot go unarmed," Neal temporized.

Belle extended an arm, eyes gone hard.

A broom came flying from a window to smack into her hand. Before Neal could protest at the inadequacy, Belle had passed a hand over the straw. A soft shimmer enveloped the broom for a second before Belle was carrying a sword in its place.

"Dull knives are a nightmare in a one-cook kitchen," she said as she hefted her new weapon. "Sharpening them was the second spell I mastered."

Neal still stared. "That was never a knife."

The Dark One's latest pupil gave a dainty, harmless shrug. "I improved the original spell."

And then she swept past him in the direction of the battle.

The End
29/06/24

Chapter Text

"Are you serious?" Regina said with a little laugh.

No matter how many times this scene played out, it was always amusing to see Belle's enthusiasm dim under pressure.

"I love you like a sister, Belle dear. I cannot let you waste yourself on a silly daydream."

Belle's eyes brightened, tears held back by sheer stubbornness. Regina hid a satisfied smile at the sight.

"I'm not silly."

"Of course not." Even Regina could hear the condescension in her voice. Not that it mattered. She was Belle French's best friend, and her opinion had more weight than whatever shadow of true love lingered in the back of the other woman's memory. "I meant this... sudden announcement... about Gold. Can't you see he is only humoring you?"

"But he said..."

"Darling. I have known Gold since before you entered the picture." A truth in both worlds. How had she enjoyed weaving their story, though in this version they listened to her when she warned them away from each other. "You are too naïve. You shouldn't trust a word out of that man's mouth."

"He doesn't lie!"

Well, well. So Rumpelstiltskin's greatest defender still kept to her old convictions. It would be fun to rip them away one more time. "Oh, Belle. Poor sweet Belle." Regina tutted comfortingly as she put an arm around the younger woman. "Did he say he wants you in his life? Did he even mention love at all? I'm sorry to tell you this, but that man is only playing with you. You're so open about your little crush! Of course he's taking advantage."

Belle shook her head in denial.

Regina was already directing her out of the bookstore. She would take her crestfallen friend to see Henry, and she would leave them to amuse each other. Babysitting had always lifted Belle's spirits.

She didn't expect resistance.

Belle stopped before they got to the front door, and without meeting her eye extracted herself from Regina's hold. "You are wrong, Regina."

Regina's eyebrows shot upwards.

In twenty-eight years of 'friendship', Belle had never uttered those words.

"I know you care about me," the other woman continued apologetically, "but so does Gold. I know he does."

Belle French wasn't supposed to believe in anything. She had opinions because their deal didn't allow Regina to switch her personality that radically, but ultimately Belle French catered to her best friend's superior understanding of the world.

"Don't be silly," Regina started.

Belle raised her head, and a flash of self-confidence crossed her eyes before she bit her lip and looked down again. "I'm not being silly," she said anyway, and though the words were barely above a whisper, Regina recognized the steel in them. "I'm just in love."

This wasn't the script.

This was yet another break in the reality Regina had built in this world.

"You don't know what you're saying," she tried again, wishing she could strengthen the curse with words only.

Instead Belle gave her a tiny, hopeful smile. "Can't you be happy for me?"

Regina scowled. "Don't be daft."

She ignored Belle's hurt expression as she swept past her. Useless! If Rumpelstiltskin ever woke up, he would laugh at Regina's inability to keep his oblivious little maid on her own side of their battle.

Twenty-eight years keeping them away from each other, and now Belle was clinging to her own feelings.

The clues kept piling up. The land without happiness suddenly attempted another happy ending.

The curse was breaking, wasn't it?

Regina fumed in frustration as she got in her car. She ignored Belle calling her name from the bookstore door. There was only one train of thought in her mind:

Emma's arrival had started this.

Emma clearly was clueless that there was a weakening curse in play.

Emma had to leave before she realized the truth.

Or, if the other woman proved stubborn, she would be made to leave.

The curse might be showing some cracks, but the hearts in her collection were still fully under her command.

The End
30/06/24

Chapter Text

With a sigh, Rumpelstiltskin waved away his latest attempt to cross the town line. The addition of an object precious to each person felt obvious now, but he still couldn't decide whether the potion would be more effective with the chosen item as an ingredient or as a medium.

He was attempting the latter first.

Losing a memento in order to find Bae would be worth it. But until he was absolutely sure of success, he couldn't bear to part with even the smallest object.

He was so close. He could feel it.

To his frustration, his body didn't share his enthusiasm. His eyelids dragged down with more frequency with each hour, and the nimbleness he had gained after centuries at the spinning wheel had gradually deteriorated until he had to put thought into holding a beaker.

Taking a deep breath, Rumpelstiltskin made his choice and started his way upstairs.

"Early night?" Belle murmured once he slipped under the covers. She had been used to his odd hours for years. The difference was that now Rumpelstiltskin would join her in bed and she could cuddle up to him.

He kissed her forehead. "Earlier than some," he agreed, since it was barely gone two. "I'm stuck."

I feel useless, he meant.

Belle threaded her arms around him. Kissed the side of his neck and said nothing.

I believe in you, she meant.

Rumpelstiltskin nodded to himself, letting Belle's trust drown his own doubts, and he did his best to sleep until daybreak at least.

The End
01/07/24

Chapter Text

"How's the saying go?" Rumpelstiltskin wandered on the edge of Maleficent's personal space. Had she wings in this form, she would be batting him away. Instead she followed his movement from the corner of her eye. "Oh right! I scratch your back and you scratch mine."

Maleficent raised an unimpressed eyebrow. Before she could suggest someone more likely to scratch anything of his, Rumpelstiltskin presented the golden egg out of thin air.

True anger flashed in Maleficent's eyes. "Is this a joke?"

Rumpelstiltskin inwardly wondered at the reaction, but recovered without showing hesitation. A witch's moods wouldn't make him wrongfooted. "It's just a little trinket, dearie. Something I need out of sight for a season or two."

"Is your vault that useless?"

"No. It is that full."

Maleficent eyed him.

"What's a bit of gold to add to your trove?"

"I don't hoard gold, Rumple."

"Oh right. That's me!" Rumpelstiltskin twittered, well aware that he was balancing on Maleficent's last thread of patience and enjoying the moment. Too often, it was the other way around and Rumpelstiltskin couldn't even throw a little fireball without finding a disappointed pout directed at him over dinner.

His worst mistake of the decade had been to allow Belle to make friends with the Mistress of Evil.

(All right. His worst mistake had been not to give in to Belle's little charitable request about fire beasts. He'd had absolutely no voice in the ensuing friendship.)

"It has a fair deal of magic," he told her, waving the egg in the air. "I promise. There is nothing quite like this, and there has never been."

Maleficent sniffed. "You might not be lying, but you're not telling the whole truth either."

He played up how wounded he was by the comment.

"Come, Rumple. If it were such a straight and simple matter, you'd have sent Belle with it."

Luckily, he already had an answer. "Maybe it is a gift for the girl," he said with a smile.

"Maybe," Maleficent allowed. "But probably not."

Rumpelstiltskin didn't allow any expression on his face.

"Say I take charge of your... egg..."

"And swear never to leave it without your protection."

"All right. I could do that. If the price is good enough." She leaned on her staff. "So tell me, Rumpelstiltskin. What are you offering in exchange?"

Rumpelstiltskin grinned.

Bartering with a smart person was the best part of this deal.

The End
02/07/24

Chapter Text

"Rumple!" Belle ran up to him, trusting that either magic or strength would keep the momentum from tipping the both of them down a considerable height to the ground.

Rumpelstiltskin managed to keep them on the safe side of the window, and countered her weight so both stood in the little room.

Her arms came hard around him. "I'm so glad to see you. It's been horrible!"

Rumpelstiltskin kept his voice even. Soothing. "And no wonder. There isn't a single book in sight."

To his horror, Belle sniffled wetly.

"I'm sure I've only interrupted some clever plan to get away," he said to distract her, "but the dishes are about to revolt if no one washes them for one more day, and the brooms keep hiding away when I so much as glance at them."

Belle just snuggled closer.

"My castle hasn't taken well to your little vacation. I think there's enough dust to keep you busy for a year."

Her breath had stopped hitching. "I'd like that very much," she whispered.

Rumpelstiltskin pretended he didn't hear her.

"Now you have me rescuing maidens from captivity," he groused, though his arms wound around her as well, and he breathed in deeply when he caught the scent of her hair. It had been a long week. "It will be the ruin of my reputation."

Not that people would believe he had softened much. Public executions tended to give rise to talk about his evil ways.

The fool who had stolen Belle away from the market hadn't finished stating his demands before Rumpelstiltskin had squeezed his heart to ashes.

All Rumpelstiltskin had needed was proof that Belle was alive. After that, searching for someone within a single realm had been the matter of hours.

He hadn't even needed to summon Jefferson.

And good thing, or the insufferable man would be snickering in the background.

Belle was still hugging him, after all.

"Right now," she told him, talking against his vest, "I don't give a toss about your reputation."

"That's half the problem," he muttered, though he patted her back reassuringly.

"I'm just glad that you are here."

And that's the other half.

At last, Belle stepped back, lowering her hands to an easy hold around his wrists. "Thank you, Rumple. Now," she slipped her hands so their fingers interlaced, "please take me home?"

The End
03/07/24

Chapter Text

Belle stood at the door of her bookstore, watching in dismay at the sudden shower outside. She had been looking forward to dragging Rumpelstiltskin out of his pawnshop for an impromptu picnic this afternoon.

She had even recruited Graham into setting up a nice, secluded spot not too far from the cabin.

It was supposed to kickstart their weekend away from town. Forty-eight hours without people making demands of Rumpelstiltskin's magic. No witches sauntering into his place of work to make a deal in their favor. No visits from the Charming clan and their unsubtle checks that the Dark One hadn't thrown in with one of their enemies.

Just him and her and the woods.

Was that too much to ask?

Belle glanced up at the heavy clouds.

Apparently so.

At the main desk, her phone rung a familiar tune. Her husband must have spied from across the street.

"Hey, love," he said when she picked up. "Why the sad face?"

"I'm not fond of rain."

He hummed. "Wrecked your plans, didn't it? The school has the bake sale in December, my dear," he said to answer her unsaid question. "I was looking forward to being plied with your chocolate cookies."

Belle laughed.

Of course Rumpelstiltskin had seen her preparations for what they were. It was still sweet that he hadn't called her out on the little lie.

"What was it going to be, hmm? A day by the lake, picnic at the beach, a trek through the forest?"

They had gone on all those outings at one time or another. They really enjoyed their time away from their neighbors. "Weekend at the cabin."

"Ambitious," Rumpelstiltskin purred. "I like it."

The rain stopped.

As if by magic.

Belle grinned into the receiver. "I guess we could still go ahead," she said with fake uncertainty, "even if it's not a surprise anymore."

"I'll be waiting, love."

The End
04/07/24

Chapter Text

Jefferson had nothing against royalty. Some were crankier than others, and most were free enough with their gold coins in exchange for a spot of adventure in his hat.

There were exceptions, sure.

King Midas was too risky a passenger despite the gloves and layers. The Evil Queen had grown up to deserve that moniker. King Stephan was a cheat who would rather clap Jefferson in chains than pay his due. The Queen of Hearts bordered on sanity on a good day - and everyone knew there were no good days in Wonderland.

And Prince Charming was an idiot.

"Don't be an idiot!" he hissed, pulling on the other man's arm when he would have opened the pawnshop door.

Big blue eyes glanced at him in confusion.

And this was the guy Rumple plucked from farm to castle? He must have been desperate indeed.

"That's Rumple's place," Jefferson said slowly, pointing at the door with his free hand.

Charming shrugged.

He would really stride in without invitation, wouldn't he? Jefferson knew that the rules had bent since they had awakened in this land, but surely people remembered the basics?

Dealing with Dark Wizards 101: Only interrupt them when you have a damn good reason or they're in a good mood. Preferably when their girlfriend-slash-maid is close at hand to save you ass from a fireball.

Otherwise, pound on the door like a madman and await results.

"The sign says Open," Charming told him, nodding at the rectangular piece of plastic.

Useless little liar, that thing was.

"Doesn't mean a thing if they're too busy to flip it over," Jefferson countered. At the same time, he blocked hard every image of what 'busy' might entail. A man made that kind of mistake only once.

The prince rolled his eyes and barged in.

Jefferson heard the muffled scream (Belle), the roar of anger (Rumple), and wasn't surprised when a white, fluffy poodle rushed out barking seconds later.

He scooped up the bewildered canine and shushed it down. "There, there, your Biteness. You're not slimy or crunchable, so he does have a soft spot for you after all. Ready to do it my way this time?"

The poodle gave a little huff.

Jefferson chose to read it as agreement. He craned his head from side to side and squared his shoulders. Then he walked in the direction opposite to the pawnshop, toward the bookstore. Belle would be back from 'lunch' within the hour.

"Oh, and if you want to return to normal sooner rather than later, turn those wide, sad eyes on Belle."

The poodle glared.

"All right, then." Jefferson sighed. Royals could be such a headache. "I'll do the talking this time."

The End
05/07/24

Chapter Text

Belle blamed her inner twelve-year-old for the hot blush that had swept over her cheeks as soon as Sir Robert's lips brushed the air over her knuckles.

In the intervening years, the knight's boyish charm had matured into a handsome, confident mien. Golden hair still came to his shoulders, and now that she was tall enough to reach it, Belle curled her hands and hid them behind her back.

This was silly!

Then Sir Robert flashed her a winning smile.

Oh wait. Her girlhood crush was talking.

To her.

".... don't you think?"

Cursing her inattentiveness and too embarrassed to confess to it, Belle nodded and hoped for the best.

Sir Robert's smile widened. "Excellent!" He offered his arm, and Belle mechanically put her hand on his elbow, as she had done so many times as he escorted her around Avonlea. "Don't worry if it's a long walk. I gave the innkeeper enough coin to watch over my horse for a few days if necessary."

Belle's brain finally reasserted itself. "You are coming with me to the Dark Castle?"

"Of course."

He didn't seem angry or scared, so Belle felt pretty confident in her next guess: "You really aren't trying to take me away, are you?"

Sir Robert shook his head. "You were always a smart girl. If you say you're safe, and you look like you're safe, I believe you." He tipped his head toward her basket, and the little leather bound tome that peeked through the straw. "And you're still hauling a heavy book wherever you go. No mind spell, then."

Belle hugged the basket a little closer, a bit giddy that he remembered. Of course, Sir Robert was about the only other soul she had seen with some frequency in her mother's library. All the times she had sat and pretended to read while peering at him over the book!

Now, from an adult point of view, she was distressingly aware of how obvious her younger self had been.

Thankfully, Sir Robert's thoughts had gone in a different direction. "I asked around, you know. To get a feeling of your circumstances from people who actually interacted with you."

Belle approved of the approach. Most men who tried to make their fortune rescuing her didn't bother with research.

With some curiosity, she asked. "What did they say?"

A frown crossed his face.

Belle felt her smile dim. "Nevermind. I'm used to it."

"There were some fools who have obviously never met you," he told her anyway. "But others want to believe you have good intentions, even if they don't trust you."

That was better than she had expected. A year ago, people were too scared to look her in the eye. Now, from the corner of her eye, she could see the rumors already flying about the Dark One's maid walking on the arm of a knight.

Gossip was an improvement on terror.

"That's a pretty way to say they are still scared of me," she said with a dry chuckle.

Sir Robert gave her a look. "You are in the Spinner's service."

"His name is Rumpelstiltskin."

Belle watched her childhood hero shudder at a word. Given what the word was, she did her best not to be disillusioned.

"He's not going to harm you. I promise."

Giving her a long look, Sir Robert gave her a winning smile and made a little bow. "I am in your hands, Lady Belle."

The End
06/04/24

Chapter Text

Sometime in the last months, teatime had become a ritual in the Dark Castle. Smart people knew to pay a visit a little after sunset, when the first cup had been consumed and the inhabitants of the castle were pretending they wouldn't take a second to prolong the moment.

Rumpelstiltskin was usually in an agreeable mood during that half hour.

The downside was having to wait to get his attention. Interrupt a conversation too early and the Dark One became a prickly creature again.

No subtlety whatsoever.

Resigned, Maleficent waited for a lull in the conversation. Immediately, she tapped her long nails against the teapot and smiled. "No sugar for me, thank you."

"Oh, right. Of course!" Belle snapped out of the mundane argument with Rumpelstiltskin and remembered her role as hostess - oh, pardon. Her role as maid.

Maleficent did not even roll her eyes at that. These fools did not deserve an outward reaction anymore.

"And perhaps another of those delicious apple cakes?" She eyed the empty plate. "I didn't have the chance to try more than the one. Someone" - and both eyed Rumpelstiltskin - "snagged the rest of them."

"Because they were made for me," he grumbled. "And we didn't expect visitors."

Maleficent gave a little huff of offense.

Belle angled herself so her back was to Maleficent, but from Rumpelstiltskin's pursed lips, she must be glaring at him in warning.

Her voice was all sweetness as she turned around, collecting the plate as she went. "I'll bring some from the kitchen. I'm so glad you liked them!"

Maleficent felt strange at the honesty in her own smile. The side effects of Belle's friendship were baffling indeed.

"What do you have to tell me that Belle cannot hear," Rumpelstiltskin drawled once the girl was out of earshot.

As if his eyes hadn't followed Belle until the door closed behind her.

"You do know that neither of you is subtle at all, don't you?"

Silence answered her.

By now, however, she recognized the signs of of flustered Dark One.

"The two of you are playing house all over the realm. Are you ever going to make an honest woman out of her?" She pushed forward before he could protest. "Or a dishonest one. I don't think she would mind."

The sight of Rumpelstiltskin choking on air in surprise was a treasure she would take with her forever.

"Honestly, Rumple. The girl all but sat on your lap while pouring your tea. I give it another season before her patience snaps and she jumps you." She gave him a long look. "A month, if you loosen another shirt button."

Rumpelstiltskin's hands flew to his throat.

Maleficent laughed.

"You're teasing me," the stubborn man accused.

"Oh no. Not me." She grinned. "But if you ask nicely, Belle will."

Rumpelstiltskin shifted in discomfort. "She is a lady, Mal."

That... was not a denial.

Impressive.

Maleficent almost pitied him for all the mental gymnastics he must indulge in to keep his distance from Belle. But mostly she wanted to beat him into reason. Someone needed to watch over Belle's best interests. The girl was too patient by far. "She is a menace, that's what she is," she told him. "And you're a moron if you believe you'll be able to resist her once she makes up her mind."

The End
08/07/24

Chapter Text

Belle sat on her bed as Gold finished packing her bags. His had been ready since before... well, for her own peace of mind she was calling it 'her accident'. "Thanks for helping me."

"It's no problem, sweetheart. You need the rest."

She didn't actually feel any of the pain from the gunshot. But Rumpelstiltskin still refused to let her do much manual work. Magic, he argued, was not exactly the same he remembered from that other world. He wasn't risking her health should the healing spell decide to unravel.

He had even delayed his plans for two weeks. Just in case travelling into the world without magic messed with the spell.

"I'm excited about New York," she told him. "I don't think I've ever left Storybrooke since I arrived here."

"True."

"But I know you and I have travelled together often."

The hopeful look that came over him made her heart clench. "Sorry," she hurried to say. "I didn't mean that I remembered anything. It's just..." She waved at his handiwork over her luggage. "You've done exactly as I would. Obviously, you have seen me pack often enough."

The shine in his eyes dimmed, but Gold kept his smile as he nodded in understanding and returned to his work, moving on to pick through her underwear drawer with only the slightest hesitation.

Belle sighed, sorry to have ruined the mood. "You know me so much better than I know you," she told him. "Isn't it strange?"

Gold turned to give her a fond smile. "You still know me better than anyone else, sweetheart."

That was sad. That she missed almost the whole of their relationship, except for a few months, and there was still no one else he could rely on.

But Gold never wanted to rely on anyone.

He must have sensed the direction of her thoughts, because he walked across the room and sat next to her. With a finger on her chin, he lifted her head until she could see him in the eye. "It's all right, Belle. I swear," he said. "You will recover your memories, and in the meanwhile? Just love me, darling. That's all I need."

She smiled. "Okay," she told him honestly, "I can do that."

And she leaned in for a kiss.

The End
08/07/24

Chapter Text

"Kiss me again," said Rumpelstiltskin with the softest of smiles. "I think it's working."

Belle grinned into their next kiss, happily grabbing onto the curly hair that very pointedly was not lengthening into the style he had worn in Storybrooke.

His skin remained the same. His eyes retained their bird-like stare.

Belle bumped her nose against his. "One day..." she whispered.

One day, they would let true love vanquish his curse.

One day, they wouldn't need to intimidate their enemies with the might of the Dark One.

But for now, the Wicked Witch had managed to break into the Dark Castle and almost made off with the kriss dagger. Had Zelena been a little more patient, and waited until Rumpelstiltskin made up his mind... Between Belle and Bae, they would have convinced him to let go of the curse.

However, Zelena's visit had proved Rumpelstiltskin's paranoia.

He had made enemies too powerful to scare away with lesser magic. They were easy targets now that even the wards around the castle had been weakened.

So he had wrestled the curse into bending around true love's magic.

It wouldn't last forever.

It didn't need to.

Rumpelstiltskin leaned in so their foreheads touched. "Yes," he said. "One day soon."

The End
09/07/24