𝑶𝑪𝑬𝑨𝑵 𝑬𝒀𝑬𝑺 - Rumplestiltskin [1]

SIX

6|NEW ROOMMATE

Bella stood by the oven, chopping up fresh tomatoes for the pasta she was making for hers and her roommate, Mary Margarets, dinner. Her roommate was sat at the stairs, off in a world of her own after the strange events of their evening.

"Are you expecting someone?" Bella asked, breaking the woman out her thoughts from the knock at the door.

"No." Mary Margaret trailed off, quickly jumping to her feet and opening the door to reveal a familiar blonde. "Emma."

"Sorry to bother you so late." Emma apologised awkwardly, stumbling over her words. "Is that spare room still available?"

"Yes! Now get your butt in here, dinner is almost ready." Bella laughed, finishing up her pasta sauce before plating it up into three bowls. "I hope you two are hungry, I may have went overboard."

"I'm starving after today." Emma smiled, happily accepting the bowl and sitting at the table with her new roommates.

"Same." She agreed, instantly digging in and humming in delight at the taste. "I have to make this again."

"Please do." Mary Margaret nodded in agreement.

"Oh yeah, your room is just up the stairs, Emma." Bella waved to the stairs behind them that led to a hidden room. "That's Mary's room there and mine is through the door by the bathroom."

"Thank you." Emma grinned at her and finished off her food. "Here. Let me clear up."

"You're going to fit in well here." Mary Margaret teased as they all went about getting ready for bed.

Bella quickly left the pair to jump in the shower to wash her long ebony hair before changing into her fleecy pyjamas. She said a quick "good night" to her two roommates and climbed into bed, happily embracing the comfort her thick sheets gave her.

The sun streaming through her curtains woke her up, the bright light causing her to squint her eyes and roll out of bed.

"I hate mornings." Bella announced her presence as she entered the main room, both Emma and Mary Margaret already awake. Mary was making breakfast while Emma looked through her boxes. She snuck away to the bathroom to brush her teeth before sitting at the table and waiting for breakfast.

"So glad my stuff is here." Emma informed them, pulling out her laptop. "Oh, thanks." She said as Mary Margaret passed her a plate of food.

"I love you." Bella said thankfully as she began to devour her breakfast.

"So, that's all your stuff?" Mary asked, looking over the small amount of boxes.

"What do you mean?"

"Is the rest in storage?"

"No, this is all of it." Emma nodded, looking over her things. "I'm not sentimental."

"Well, it must make things easier when you have to move." Mary Margaret tried to find the light in the situation. They were cut off by knocking at the door causing her to put her plate down beside Bella and open the door.

"Miss. Blanchard?" A male voice greeted them causing Emma and Bella to glance at each other. "Is Miss. Swan here?"

"Hi, my name is Mr. Gold. We met briefly on your arrival." Mr. Gold introduced himself to Emma who had joined Mary at the door, the pair shaking hands.

"I remember."

"Good." He smiled at her, still not noticing Bella sat at the table shoving her food down her throat. "I have a proposition for you, Miss. Swan. I need your help. I'm looking for someone."

"Really? Um." Emma and Mr. Gold both stared at Mary Margaret awkwardly, hoping she would leave.

"You know what, I'm going to go jump in the bath." Mary Margaret suddenly realised, quickly walking away.

"I'll go get changed." Bella stood up and locked eyes with the man at their door, her heart skipping a beat. "It's good to see you, Mr. Gold."

"Celeste?" He said immediately, staring at her wide eyed.

"Eh, no. It's Bella. Dr. Bella Richards?" She reminded him before smiling and walking away to her room to get ready for the day.

"Hey, Emma, I was thinking we-" The sound of Henry's voice caused Bella to poke her head out the door, spotting Henry by their front door.

"Hey, Henry. How're you?" Mr. Gold said kindly to the confused boy.

"Okay." Henry stuttered out as he looked around the room confused.

"My God, did you get that looked at?" Bella said loudly causing the three to look at her. "Sorry, but Mr. Gold, did you go to the hospital about that cut on your brow? It looks deep."

"It will be fine." He waved off her concern. He let his eyes travel over her body, noticing nothing had changed since he had lost her.

"Let me grab my medical bag and I'll follow you back to your shop to give that a proper clean." She smiled at him before rushing into her room leaving him no time to complain or stop her. "All right, let's go! Bye Mary!"

"You really don't need to." Mr. Gold tried to stop her again as they walked down the stairs side by side.

"It's really no big deal, plus I've been meaning to visit your shop. I always did love strange things." Bella shrugged and opened the door for him, noting to herself that he was crippled in one leg.

"Thank you." He gave her a genuine smile and lead her to his shop, watching as she stared in awe at all the trinkets.