Of Curses and Dust

By: RosexKnight

Belle has a talk with Baelfire, giving him hope from his predicament. Belle realizes how out of place she is with them, and how much needs to be fixed.

Chapter Three ~ Cat and Mouse

"Careful, dearie."

Belle squeaked, the teacup she'd been holding tumbling out of her hand. There was a sharp noise as the cup hit the floor, and the maid bit her lip

"Wouldn't want to spill."

Once again, she turned to see Rumpelstiltskin behind her, his usual impish grin on his lips. He did this on purpose. Belle glowered at him, greatly disapproving of her master's amusement at her misery. Perhaps one day she'd get used to his favorite game of startling her and he's love interest. He didn't give her the time to try and pick up the cup before he was walking forwards, causing her to back against the table.

"You know, when they say the cat's away the mice will play." His grin didn't falter but his tone was knowing, a warning to her. "The mouse wasn't thinking of running was she?"

Belle gulped. Under his gaze she certainly felt like a mouse. Part of her faltered, thinking of telling him what Baelfire had almost done. That he'd caused his son to want to run. But the thought soon left her. She'd told the boy to do the brave thing after all. What kind of example would she be setting if she didn't do the same?

"She was." The brunette started gently, watching him carefully. But other than a small twitch of his fingers and fall of his lips there was no change in his demeanor. "But the kitten changed her mind."

"The kitten." He echoed quizzically, as if he'd expected her to say something else. "Bae?"

"Yes. He convinced me not to run away."

"The wrath of The Dark One was not enough to convince you?"

"I'm not afraid of you, Rumpelstiltskin."

It wasn't a total lie, but she certainly hoped it sounded more confident than she felt. Confusion flickered behind his eyes, then something Belle couldn't place. It wasn't anger though, and she allowed herself to turn away from him, back to the tea she was preparing and the cup she dropped.

"Oh!"

The word had been involuntary, and she couldn't help the drop in her stomach as she turned back to her master.

"It's chipped." She said, running her finger over the aged break in the porcelain's smooth surface. "You can hardly see it."

Rumpelstiltskin's expression turned quizzical again. "It's just a cup." He muttered, waving his hand, as of to dismiss her even though he was the one who had intruded. "See to the mess. And I still expect tea to be on time."

"Yes sir."

"And dearie?"

Belle looked up at him, his expression back to its usual impishness. "Yes?"

"Don't try to run again."

Leather, she'd decided, was her least-favorite thing to clean. It could not simply be scrubbed like cotton or soaked like silk. No, it had to be lathered over with a cloth over and over until it was finally clean.

How did one man get so many blood stains on so much leather?!

"Doesn't it bother you?" Baelfire asked, sitting beside her widdling at a block of wood with the knife his father had gotten him.

Belle glanced over to the boy, giving him a gentle smile "It's not the first time I've had to wash blood out of clothing."

"But what if it's the blood of someone who didn't deserve it?"

"As I said, this isn't my first time. Thought I am finding leather to be troublesome…"

Baelfire fell silent, continuing to widdle. "Sorry." He said finally. "The ogres right?"

She nodded. "Yes. But your father took care of them."

Bae made a scoffing noise.

"The villagers were talking. They said the moment he walked onto the battlefield, all fighting stopped."

Bae sighed. "He said he would use the power for good. But. You saw! He killed that trader over a scrape."

Well, he had a point there. "He only wanted to protect you, Bae."

"I don't want protection. I want my papa back."

She had no right to comfort the boy, not really. Especially not with so many clothes still to launder. But the tug in her chest was too strong, and whatever punishment Rumpelstiltskin could think of she would simply have to take.

"Hey…" Belle said, going over to take a seat next to the fire with the boy. "He might be a bit…different now, but he's still your papa."

"He's changed. Magic has changed him. I hate it." Something sparked in the boy's eyes then. "Do you…do you think perhaps there's a way to change him back?"

"I don't know." Belle said truthfully. "I'm not well-read when it comes to magic. But I have heard that every curse cam be broken. Perhaps whatever darkness has taken root in your father can be too."

Baelfire looked a her with such hope that it nearly broke Belle's heart. She only hoped she wasn't wrong. The boy nodded, nuzzling into Belle for a moment, as if she were truly his mother and they were truly a family and not in this dysfunctional mess. She cleared her throat, patting Bae on the head because she wasn't sure what else to do.

"Why don't you go out and get some air? Dinner will be ready before dark."

"Alright."

Belle watched as the boy stood and walked out of the house. He was soon met by a young girl, and that seemed to perk him up enough to run off to presumably play. She sighed, standing to finish washing the blood off of the leather and then get dinner going. Try as she might, she tried to push the thoughts of Bae's words out of her mind. However, she couldn't shake the feeling that perhaps she'd done something wrong.

"The mouse hasn't finished the laundry." A certain taunting voice came from behind her.

Belle didn't look up "Blood is stubborn when it's on leather."

"Yes well you'll simply have to get used to that." He said, breezing past her to place another knick-knack on the mantle. Magical items were so odd. Some looked magical, while others seemed to look inconsequential. "Perhaps you need more focus eh? Maybe on your next work say I'll send you someplace more remote."

"The kitten needed comforting." Belle said softly.

This stopped Rumpelstiltskin short. He turned to her, eyes full of concern and accusation. "Bae? What's wrong?"

She glanced up at him, and for the first time realized just how right she had been in assuming Rumpelstiltskin had been a man and was indeed the same man under all his impish giggles and gestures. Still, she was a maid. Not part of this family. So she only shook her head.

"Tis not my place to say. I only know that you two need to talk about things."

"Things."

"Yes. Things."

They were scowling at each other now, and Belle wondered how accustomed he was to this. Not breaking their gaze, she stood, gathering the damp clothes.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, these need to be taken to the line."

And without another word, Belle turned on her heel and left the small cottage, leaving cat to contemplate things. It would do him some good.