Flicker of Light (Rumbelle)

Stranger

     Mr. Gold looked down at the young woman that had gone unconscious on his leather couch. He frowned for a moment before he went to get towels and a warm wooly blanket. He did his best on trying to dry her without feeling like a pervert.

Now that he was this close to her, he could see the bruises better. He had to brush some of her chestnut hair out of her face to get a better look at her. He bent further towards her face to see the bruises and swelling on her pretty face, and both her eyes where purple. Her neck was also bruised, though he couldn't make out how severe it was. The woman's feet caught his attention for they were covered in mud and blood. He straightened back up and limped to cover the woman in the thick wooly blanket that he had retrieved, hoping she wouldn't catch a cold.

As he covered her body he looked down at his suit jacket to find blood on the front of it. He was flustered and quickly uncovered her again to search for a different wound he had failed to notice. He tried to be as gentle as he could as he turned her body slightly to look at her back. On the back of her upper right shoulder was a deep red cut with  blood still seeping at a steady pace. He looked from the wound to her. His thoughts immediately went to taking her to the hospital. She needed to be looked at and the sheriff would have to be involved, from the obvious terrible physical torment the woman had been through.

How would he get her out and into his car? He was lame, he couldn't possibly carry her out bridal style without his leg giving out. He had to call the sheriff or an ambulance.

He took out his flip phone and first dialed for the Sheriff, Emma Swan. It simply rung and took him to voicemail. Mr. Gold couldn't help but huff in frustration and punched in the number to the hospital. A nurse picked up on the first ring.

"Storybooke's Hospital, how may I be of service." The woman questioned.

"I need an ambulance urgently-" he was cut off.

"No! Don't involve them. Hang up!" The woman croaked out, it sounded like her voice had gone from yelling.

The woman was now sitting up, fear shown in her eyes as she stared at him.

He didn't know why he instantly clicked the button to end the call. They both stared at each other for what felt like forever.

"What the hell do you expect me to do?" He finally murmured.

The woman opened and closed her mouth, thrown off by the question.

"A-anything but the hospital. They'll surely ask about what's happened to me and ask the sheriff to come." The woman replied in a distinct Australian accent.

"And what exactly had happened?" He questioned, placing his phone in his pocket.

"You-you have to swear not to involve the sheriff."

He stared at her in disbelief.

"What makes you think you have any room to make any requests?" He demanded.

"Please." She begged.

He rubbed his temples before nodding.

"A man beat me. I need to hide or else he will surly kill me for running away. I just need time to figure out what I'm going to do."

He looked at her and could only see fear and desperation. There would be innocent blood spilt if he didn't provide a safe haven for her. Yet, that had never really stopped him before. What would Baelfire have said if he was contemplating this woman's fate? He let out a tired sigh, deciding he would help her.

"You're running out of time dearie. You're bleeding profusely from the back upper right shoulder." He pointed out, "If you don't get that cleaned and stitched it will get infected not to mention you'll suffer from the blood loss."

"Can't you do it? Anyone could do it, can't they?" She desperately questioned.

"I am not a professional but I do have experience with this sort of thing." He admitted.

"By all means do what you must." She determinedly said.

He stood up and went to the kitchen to retrieve a first aid kit. He returned and saw that the woman was looking pale as she sat on the sofa with her back slightly turned in his direction. He strode over to sit next to her. He took off his suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his navy blue dress shirt.

"It would be easier if you would remove your shirt. Please." He quietly told her.

She shakily removed her shirt. Mr. Gold proceeded to thoroughly clean the wound. He took out a curved needle and stitching thread.

"I'm not going to lie, it's going to hurt a bit." He told her before he began to stitch the wound.

In a matter of minutes he was done. He tried to be as gentle as possible when she let out a squeal of pain once in a while. He dabbed at the finished result. He was quite pleased with himself on how even and clean the stitching was. He was glad he was blessed with steady and skilled hands.

"I'm done. You may put your shirt back on. I'll get you some water." He told her as he grabbed his cane to stand up.

Before he could go, Belle reached for his hand, not caring that it was covered in blood.

"Thank you." She earnestly told him.

He first looked down at her hand touching his own rough one. He noticed the ring on her finger that indicated marriage. He looked up into her sparkling blue eyes to see sincerity. The look left him bewildered and the ring slipped his mind for a second. He simply nodded and she released him.

He limped to the kitchen to wash the blood away from his hands and fill a glass of water for the woman.

He had her drink the water to help her not get dehydrated and replenish some of the blood.

"Now that the most troublesome part is over, do you care to introduce yourself?" He questioned.

"I'm Belle French."

"A pleasure in meeting you. I'm Mr. Gold." He told her.