Tempest

Chapter 2

[[[Above is an image that Sera's cabin is based loosely from. Credit to the artist.]]]

The opulence of the captain's quarters surprised Belle. Compared to the dank hovel of the ship where she'd been staying previously, this was downright luxurious. Dark polished wood throughout, splashes of color from the rug against the floorboards and bedding. There were riches and valuables scattered throughout as well as books. So. Many. Books.

Granted, it wasn't Rumple's library, but it was certainly unexpected aboard a pirate ship. She'd risked taking a glance over the volumes that adorned the shelves to the left of the bed, but had jumped back in fright when the door banged open. Turning to look, Belle was even more surprised to find a boy of around ten years old and carrying a bucket of steaming hot water.

"'Ello Ma'am. Me name's Toby. I'll be drawin' ya bath fer ya." He went behind the changing screen to the left of the windows and Belle followed to see him pouring water into a small-but-deep brass tub. "Watch out, ya don' want to get burned." Once the bucket had been poured, Toby stepped back and admired his handiwork before a knock sounded at the door. "Ah, there's the other one."

As if it were a perfectly normal thing to do, which Belle assumed for him, perhaps it was, Toby went to the door and exchanged the empty bucket for another full one from the waiting man. Belle couldn't see who it was as Toby didn't open the door very far.

"Ain't no one allowed to see inside the Cap'n's quarters 'cept me an' the cap'n." Toby explained as he caught Belle's questioning look. "Oi! Captain Sera was righ'. You are filthy, even by our standards." The boy shook his head as he again switched out the buckets for another full one.

"I beg your pardon? I might be filthy, but at least I'm not a pirate." Belle glared at him as he walked away.

"Yeah, well you're the one what hid away on a pirate ship. And hasn't bathed in the weeks since we left port, so who's dirtier, eh?" He winked at her and pushed the bangs of his dirty mop of hair from his face. "Well, that'll about do it. There's oils an' soaps there. An' no one will bother ya, the Capn's made sure o' that." And just as quickly as he'd come, the boy was gone.

There was a moment spared where Belle debated whether or not she should bathe, but the truth of the matter was....she really was filthy. She had done her best to stay clean but there was only so much that can be done when trying to hide out on a ship full of people that wanted to kill you. Not to mention, she was holding onto hope that maybe, just maybe, if she went along with what this...Captain Sera wanted, she'd be permitted passage.

Several bottles of oil were plucked up and sniffed before Belle settled upon one that smelled gently of vanilla. It was warm and inviting and it brought back memories of her childhood as her mother had once used a similar scent. Filthy clothes were removed and folded as neatly as possible before Belle sank a single toe into the tub that was followed by the rest of her.

It was only after she had sank deep into the heat of the tub and allowed the scent of vanilla to wash over her senses that Belle allowed her mind to wander as a hand came to rub absent-mindedly at her lower belly. So much had happened in such a short amount of time that she found it difficult to keep things straight in her head. She was only two months along, but already her flattened stomach was beginning to protrude and the girl found herself wondering what she would do when she became too large to fit into her dress.

Of course, there were other things to worry about as well. Like the fact that her husband was likely still searching for her. Not that she ever thought he would give up, but there was always a small glimmer of hope that Rumplestiltskin would leave her alone. Then again, the longer he left her alone, the more suspicious she became of what his plans were. He wanted their baby, so much so that he'd tried to use an aging potion to speed up her pregnancy. Thankfully, Belle had figured out what he'd been up to and hadn't drank the offered cup of tea. But that incident had been the first in a long line of events that took her life from seemingly okay, to a complete catastrophe.