Snow White The Fairest of Them all

Chapter 13: Beauty and The Beast part 2

For three days, Belle feels lonelier than she ever has in her life.When he first brings her to his home, after he takes her from her town, he shows her to a lavish room, bigger than her home - her old home - filled with finely crafted furniture and a plush bed. He explains to her, the finer points of their contract, and what is required of her to fulfill it. She must have dinner with him each night, dressed nicely, and she must be good company. She can go anywhere she pleases in the castle and the grounds, and can have all the jewels and clothes and goods she could possibly desire. But, of course, for all this luxury, she cannot leave without express permission. Surprisingly, he does not require anything more from her, the kinds of things she would expect a man holding a woman as his companion would require. For that, at least, she is grateful. At her first dinner with Rumpelstiltskin, and then the second, she does her duty, puts on one of the nice dresses provided in her wardrobe, and joins him for dinner. She sits demurely across the table from him, nodding politely when he speaks, offering a brief answer when he asks a question, but saying almost nothing besides that. She does her best to be cordial and pleasant, truly, but the task proves tremendously difficult.
She cannot fathom the idea of staying here, with Rumpelstiltskin, for years untold, if not the rest of her life. Already, she misses her father as though he has died. She misses her own home, with her tiny room and it's lumpy, hay-stuffed mattress, packed in tight with chests full of their few possessions. She misses the familiar, boring comfort of her town. She even finds herself missing all the townspeople, kind to her face, whispering behind her back, and always, always nice to her. She never would have thought anything in the whole world could make her miss that tedious, provincial little town, but now she wants nothing more than to return to it.It is not as though Rumpelstiltskin treats her poorly, and spending time in his company proves to be far less frightening and uncomfortable than she expected. The rumors and fearful tales that had circulated about him for so long, it seems, are not true, or at the very least, not so accurate as to make him a threat to her. She finds, to her surprise, that she is not the least bit afraid of this man. At worst, he simply makes her feel uncomfortable. Nevertheless, he is a stranger to her, a strange man who took her away from her home. And she does not know how she is supposed to live like that.
Her own freedom is a small price to pay to ensure the safety of her town, she knows that full well. But that does not make the reality of her situation any . He observes the way she moves and speaks, the way she looks at him and the slump of her shoulders at the dinner table. Her face is always downcast, in shadows, and the beauty of her features is marred by the sorrow and loneliness.
She did not cry when she left with him, and he knows she has not cried since she has been here, not one single tear. It is a very unexpected twist, to be sure, but he can see it is only a brave façade, and that she is hurting inside. Even more unexpected is that, in spite of this, she has been nothing but polite, very quiet, but civil.
Still, after three days, as she becomes more relaxed, familiar with the castle and her new routine, the sadness that envelops her does not dissipate. To see her in such a state, though he barely knows her, is unpleasant and disheartening. Her unhappiness is like a dark magic, spreading to him, and pulling him into sadness as well. It takes some pondering on the subject before he realizes that he wants her to be happy here. And after three days, after three dinners filled with uncomfortable, one-sided conversation, he surprises himself by deciding to do something about it.
On afternoon of her fourth day in the castle, Belle sits in her bedroom in the, staring absently out the window as she brushes her hair. With little else to do, she studies the intricate flowers and filigree designs etched into the back of the silver-handled brush.

A sharp knock on the door makes her jump. She takes a deep breath and forces her heart to slow before she crosses the room, and answers.She may not fear him, but there is a certain emotional safety in her hours of solitude, and his intrusion into that time makes her wary.
"Good afternoon, Dearie ."
"Hello."
"I've given it some consideration, and it seems we've started off on the wrong foot, you and I, and for that I take full responsibility." He places a hand to his chest and bows his head, as if in apology, and, oddly, he actually seems sincere and without any ulterior motive. "This is to be your new life and your new home, after all, and I have not given you a proper welcome. I want you to be happy during your stay here, so I hope you will allow me to amend my error now."
Belle simply stares at him, dumbfounded and completely speechless. The offer, as well as the thought and consideration behind it, are so unexpected that she struggles to find a response to them. It is not until she notices a slight change in his expression, a faint look of fear in his eyes, that she forces herself to speak.
"I - yes, that - that would be... nice."

He smiles, not the frightening, wicked she saw when they first met, but instead something gentle and genuine.
It is actually very thoughtful of him, to make this extra effort, and try to make her feel welcome and comfortable. He could so easily leave her to her own devices, to learn her way around the castle on her own. She smiles a little, thinking that it is actually quite sweet of him. And she's glad for it, too. It gives her hope that perhaps her life here will not be wholly miserable.
"Belle, my dear, please allow me officially welcome you to your new home." With a wave of his hand and a flicker of magic, he produces a long-stem red rose, and holds it out to her with hopeful eyes. "And may I say what a pleasure it is to have you here."
She can't help but smile at the little trick and the showmanship, and she thanks him as she takes the offered flower.He seems quite intent on cheering her up, and already, it seems to be working.Belle follows along, listening as he speaks and taking it all in. Now that she has a chance to see the place and look carefully, she finds that it's actually a rather nice place, with lovely art and architecture, everything lavish and comfortable, all decorated in gold. She plays with the rose as they go along, spinning it and pressing it to her nose to smell its lovely scent, and admiring how perfectly formed it is.
"And here," he says, the doors before them opening with a wave of his hand, "we have the library."
When she looks up to see the room in question, she is certain that she must be dreaming and will awaken at any moment. The room before her seems to stretch on and on forever, white walls and painted ceilings and gilded ornaments around tall windows, all of it seemingly designed just to show off the impossible collection of books. Her mind simply cannot process the sight before her, tens or hundreds of thousands of books, two stories high on each wall, all in one massive room
"I take it you like what you see?"
Human speech slowly returns to her. "I... love books."
"Yes, books, quite a lot of them. I find having an extensive collection of knowledge at one's fingertips can be very useful."
"How... how did you get all these?"
"I've been collecting them for quite a while, from many different places." He grins at her, apparently amused"I didn't know this many books even existed. And they're all different?"
"No two copies of any book, nearly all written in the same language. I believe the oldest one here is a little over two hundred years old. You, of course, are free to enjoy all of them."
She looks around again, smiling joyously. She reaches out to touch Rumpel's arm gently in thanks. It amazes her just how much her perception of this man has changed in only the past few days. She was, if she is completely honest with herself, afraid when she first came here. Afraid of him, afraid of what he might do, or what life might be like with him. But now, she has seen a different side of him. He has turned out to be a rather sweet and gentle man. There is kindness in him, something she never would have expected. He has turned out to be so wonderfully sweet and kind, she has seen his heart, and seen the kindness in it. Sometimes, she thinks, even he does not know what kind of man he really is, deep down. And she finds herself undeniably drawn to that heart.
You've been very good to me," Belle says softly.
"You've been a very kind companion," he offers with a grin.
"I know you didn't have to treat me half as well as you have. I know our agreement didn't require it. I want to thank you
"You're very welcome."
They stop dancing, but do not let go.
"I wonder if perhaps our current circumstances might be altered slightly..." she says, just above a whisper, and the words carry a slight quiver. "To offer something a bit more than mere companionship... something that would better meet both of our needs." She realizes that she has been avoiding his eyes.
Rumple reaches up to push her hair back over her shoulder. She can't quite decipher the look on his features. "I think that could be arranged."
Her heart races .Full of courage and desire, she rises up on her tip toes, eyes falling closed and feels her lips press against the rough leather of his lips. She opens her eyes and pulls back, confused, and staring into a face full of unrestrained fury.
"Never do that again." His voice is even and steady, but a fire burns behind the words.
"What? I don't understand -"
He faces her, and she stumbles back a step at the ferocity in his glare. "Never try to kiss me again. Do you understand?"
Belle struggles for her voice. "But I was only -"
"You will never kiss me," he seethes, "No one could ever love me If you ever try it again, our deal is off. Do you understand me?"

He storms out of the room, and is long gone before Belle can even begin to wonder what just happened. She stands in the middle of the empty room, just staring after him, feeling shocked, confused - and hurt.