Beautiful Lily

The story of Rumplestiltskin

The following day came and Rumplestiltskin dreaded the hour of Regina and Henry's arrival. Gold and Belle stayed home from work for obvious reasons, but throughout the day it seemed as though he was distancing himself from her. With the horrific thoughts and atrocities from his past that were surfacing in his mind he was ashamed of how beastly he was and wanted to hide that beast from her. He was at war with himself. As much as he knew of the reasons for why he was voluntarily making himself vulnerable, the beast side was coming out and it was rearing its ugly head. The Beast was fighting back and making one last ditch effort to protect itself by casting doubts on his decision to follow through with tonight. He could tell Belle about children born of True Love. He could get her hopes up, but then he would risk the possibility that their child wasn't and his dream would come into fruition. Belle's life was in his hands; just like the dream showed him. And despite whatever doubts that plagued his mind, it was his love for his family that he valued more and he knew that inevitably he would be confessing tonight.

Gold spoke very little to Belle and the majority of their interaction was handled in silence. He was too consumed in his own thoughts and burdened by the things he would talk about. Where would he begin? How will it end? How will he know when the burden had been lifted? He feared the worst of tonight's outcome and it only exacerbated his doubts.

Gold walked aimlessly throughout their home pensive and anxious. Every time he entered the same room as Belle, she would catch him pacing and his mind clearly somewhere else. Belle tried to be supportive. Every so often in passing she would approach him to ask, "Is there anything I can do to help? Can I get you anything? Do you need anything from me?" and upon each reply he would answer almost coldly, "No, thank you."

She felt helpless watching her husband silently torture himself, and as each hour passed it made her even more anxious for the evening to begin. At different moments throughout the day she'd catch him spinning at his wheel, appearing at peace with his thoughts; but then as soon as she'd make her presence known he'd quickly get up and disappear. As to where he would disappear to, Belle was never able to question him about. She only hoped and assumed that he had gone off to his shop; most likely to tinker with items to keep his hands busy and his mind occupied. It was obvious to Belle that he wanted to be alone, at least for the time being. After all, he was going to share his thoughts with her later, so she practiced patience and waited for the evening to come.

Gold barely ate anything. He was much too disturbed by the maelstrom swirling within his brain. He knew what he had to do. The answer was all too clear; he would sacrifice his past for his family's future.

The evening had arrived. Regina and Henry pulled up into the driveway and slowly got out of the car. The mother and son walked hesitantly up the steps and were slightly relieved to be greeted by Belle at the door.

"Thank you for coming," said Belle as she opened the door into their home. Regina and Henry were both too distracted by what they were seeing to respond to Belle's greeting. They had never stepped inside Gold's house before. Never before did Belle think that she would one day be stepping face to face with the Evil Queen granting her access inside her home, their sanctuary. But there they were, inside their home, at the entrance way. It was a far cry from how Belle felt about Regina four years ago... even two months ago!

Belle guided the two, leading them into the living room area where Gold was waiting for them. As they continued walking down the hall Belle asked, "Can I... uh, get... get you both something to drink?"

"No, we had something to eat and drink before coming," Regina replied marveling over the interior of Gold's house. Gold looked up from where he was sitting on the couch and watched as Henry and Regina entered the living room. There were two chairs waiting for Regina and Henry in front of the couch Gold was sitting in and both mother and son went ahead and took their respective seats. Seeing that their guests were ready to get the evening started, Belle went ahead and sat down next to her husband on the couch.