A/N: Hey all! I haven't written a fanfic and published it in about an age now. College will do that to you, let me assure you. ANYways, it's not my fault. It's not my fault that Rumpelstiltskin and Belle were the best couple in the show so far, and it's not my fault that there wasn't enough of it to satisfy me. SO! I made up for lost bits, lost thoughts. So, enjoy reading as much as I have writing!

Genuine disclaimer: I do not own these characters, despite my love for them.

"I will go, with you, forever," the girl vowed, determination coloring her tone. Her bright blue eyes and her long, curled hair caught the candlelight with a shine of true beauty.

"Deal," he bubbled excitedly. He was thin, gaunt, grim looking, and his impish features were maliciously delighted as he stole the girl away from the only life she'd known.

Chapter 1

~: Belle :~

Dark Castle suddenly loomed before her as his magic let her go. They'd been transported here in whir of darkness that set her spine shivering, the image of the castle not much comfort to her terror. She could scarcely take it in as she tilted her head back to see the tall spires, before he towed her forward. She came without hesitation, stumbling up the dark stone steps. He continued to drag her away by the arm, his grip tight and unrelenting.

Despite all the courage it had taken to speak up to her father, to Gaston, to agree to go with this monster, she could barely breathe in his presence, his features so menacing. Where had her bravery gone?

He marched her through the great double doors that swung open at a mere gesture of his hand, and pushed her through them with enough force to make her stumble. In the main hall he led her to another set of double doors, which opened again at a flick of a hand. She couldn't help but be fascinated. Magic was something that she had always been fond of.

Inside the house so far, to her surprise and small delight, was not dark and menacing as she had thought it would be. In this room he was taking her through the walls' colors were bright, light. The dining table wasn't chipped, or cracked, but long and beautiful, but it only had one seat at it. This wasn't at all how she had pictured the inside of Dark Castle. There were supposed to be skulls and the skeletons of men lying in corners, spider webs and cocoons full of bugs that would eat people alive, potions on the wall with a boiling brew pot and a green fire. Wasn't that what Rumpelstiltskin was?

She wanted to explore more of Dark Castle. If this room was so- quaint- then what were the other rooms like? Was this room the only pretty room?

A cabinet with several pedestals in front of it lay just before them as they walked. She wanted to stop, to see what was inside, but his pace was persistent.

"Where are you taking me?" her curiosity opened her mouth before she could even think.

His sly eyes fixed on her as his wicked face contorted into something akin to a sneer. "Let's call it your room," he turned back to leading her through the dining room. Before she passed through another set of double doors she caught a glimpse of a large spinning wheel in the corner of the room. A spinning wheel?

It was gone from her sight before she could consider it further. He led her down two staircases, not an elaborate maze as she feared, but something she could remember, thinking of the middle landing with at least half a dozen doors on it. The second landing was grimmer than the rest of the house had been thus far, and she hoped they would pass through it quickly. When he stopped at a prison room door, she stopped. The door swung open.

"My room?" she gasped as she saw the straw pallet on the floor, and the barred windows.

"It sounds a lot better than dungeon." He was laughing as he pushed her inside, his dark, snide, humorless chortle. She turned around only to see the door close, heard him chortle again before he began to skip away.

"You can't just leave me here!" she shouted, running to the door and pounding against it. It was locked. She was locked in, captured. Panting, she pounded only a few times more before giving up the fruitless effort.

There was no point in escaping this room, just as there was no point in trying to escape this Castle. She had signed her life away. Forever. Forever was an awfully long time. She sank to the stone floor, the adventure that had been stirring in her veins running cold, all pursuit of bravery draining out of her. Locked in a castle, if not a room, forever. She was shaking, as though she was trying to warm her now freezing heart as it barely stuttered to work. All her dreams, her plans of leaving and travelling all over to discover and explore, her father, gone, all in one day.

She didn't realize she was crying until she heard herself sob. She curled her body up, drawing her legs in close and wrapping her arms around them, head on her knees, she let herself cry. She let her dreams drip away into the stone cold fortress that would forever be her prison, letting all of her hopes dry into the crags and cracks that made up this dark place.

She didn't know when sleep claimed her, but she welcomed the oblivion gladly as she slept dreamlessly through the night.

~: Rumpelstiltskin :~

Rumpelstiltskin chortled his way back up to his tower, delighted. Miserable little creature she was going to be, he could tell. Her poor spoiled ego would get used to that poky straw mattress after a few months or so. She'd learn humility in that little dungeon of hers. If not, well, he could always feed the ogres with such a pretty treat.

No, no, he reminded himself. He had plans for this girl.

He'd been surprised that she had offered to come back to Dark Castle in the first place. Her beauty, her bright, ornate clothing, he was sure that she was a pompous brat that had been allowed to do as she pleased because of her father's wealth. He'd thought she would have screamed in outrage at the idea, and he'd known her father couldn't give her up after that.

It's one of the reasons he'd made the offer. It was always one thing to annoy the ogre clans at times, and another to deprive them of a whole village. They would not be happy with him. Well, who cared? No one was happy with him. How could they be, when he stole fiancés away and enslaved daddy's little girl? No matter.

Maybe she had been dying to get away from that overbearingly obnoxious sword happy idiot. "The young lady is engaged to me." Honestly. As if he was interested in her love. He giggled aloud at the idea. No, no, this girl was going to be a pawn in his plan.

He was certain there was no way she could clean Dark Castle. The girl looked like she hadn't cleaned anything in her life, let alone washing the stone floors, sweeping away dusty cob webs, washing dishes, laundering clothing, polishing shoes and silverware, and dusting paintings. She was doomed to fail. And when she did he'd be ready with an offer. Something she couldn't resist. Married off to a Prince, perhaps? Or maybe a Duke? Princes were hard to come by at these times, but maybe. She was pretty enough; anyone with eyes would want her. And then, when she was married off, she'd give him her first born child.

He chortled to himself again, half skipping up the circular spire that lead to the tallest part of his tower, where his mind left the poor little rich girl in her dank little cell and began to work on potions that were half finished, and a spell he still was working on. People wanted the strangest things in desperate moments, and he was willing to do just about anything these days, as long as there was something in it for him. When two people both want something the other has, a deal could always be struck.