Defeating Darkness (Rumbelle's Daughter)

Two Letters

It was early in the morning and the Stiltskin family was getting ready for the day. Belle was in the shower, and Rumple was feeding their son Gideon while enjoying the sunrise. After sunrise Rumplestiltskin let Gideon rock in his baby chair while he prepared breakfast for his wife and himself.

"Rumple," Belle said as she came down the stairs, "a letter was on my bedside table when I woke up. You didn't put it there - did you?"

"No, Belle," Rumplstiltskin replied taking the letter from her outstretched hand. He opened the letter and read its contents. "I received the same letter last night at midnight. It seems there were more children than Gideon that were taken from this land by my Mother - Dark Fairy. Not surprising, considering how horrid she was."

"Well, it's good that they're being reunited with their parents," Belle smiled while giving Rumplestiltskin and Gideon a kiss on their cheeks as she headed to the kitchen to make some tea, "but why do you suppose we received letters? Gideon's here with us." As she pulled the kettle out, Belle pricked her finger on a sharp, loose screw in the kettle's handle. It didn't do much but draw a drop of blood, so she didn't say anything.

"The White Fairy, or so she calls herself, must simply have gotten confused." Rumple replied, "He was there for twenty-eight years of their realms time, and I don't think anyone else was as lucky to receive their child back before the departing of the Black Fairy."

"You're probably right," Belle agreed, and took back her letter.

Logically what her husband said made sense, but Belle couldn't forget the beautiful girl that appeared in her dreams last night. She was blonde with brown eyes and wore a beautiful white gown with flowers. She stood far from Belle, but kept asking 'are you the one who holds the town's knowledge?'

Was that mystery girl the White Fairy? Did she need Belle's help? Maybe the letter had less to do with Gideon and more to do with Rumple and herself.

Or maybe the letter was a trap. The beautiful white pristine paper with delicate hand-writing seemed to be genuine and innocent, but what did they actually know about this White Fairy?

"Rumple," Belle said slowly and thoughtfully, "do you know of this White Fairy? What if she's actually - well, I don't know - evil?"

Rumple set aside the eggs he had just prepared for their breakfast and pulled his wife to him - she was staring vacantly and seemed to not hear the whistling kettle (Rumple quickly moved the kettle off the stove as well).

With her head on his shoulder, he spoke softly to her "well, Belle, dear. I believe the White Fairy is genuine in her efforts. Now, don't be upset, but when I got the letter last night, I did some exploring to see if I could find her and these children she has. What I found was a large mansion, and, indeed, families were reuniting."

"So, these letters are how she's reuniting all the families," Belle stated. "But, Rumple, who is she?"

"Well, dearie, it seems even she is trying to figure that out," Rumple replied curious as to why Belle was so focused on the White Fairy. It wasn't just what she was saying that struck Rumplestiltskin, but how her whole demeanor had changed over the course of the talk. Simple curiosity seemed to turn into a strong longing to know.

Belle was holding onto Rumple as if he was her safety in a storm. She couldn't figure out why the letters made her feel so unbalanced, but she had a strong desire to hold them to her heart and make the wish to be reunited with her child.