Once they arrived at his home, Rumpelstiltskin got the eeriest feeling of déjà vu, but shook it off as he led the girl to the dungeon. He opened the door and turned to grab her, a quip on his tongue, but she went in before he could lay a finger on her. "This is a lovely room," she said in the sincerest voice the man had ever heard, "Is it mine?"
He stared at her in utter befuddlement, but then set his jaw and replied, "Yes. This is your new home. I can assure you no buffalo roam here."
"Well, I better get to work on my end." She locked eyes with her host, and with a devilish grin, beseeched him, "Will you lock me in for my safety?"
Rumple slammed the door and locked it. Through the tiny window, he replied, "Something like that." Then he left her.
The Dark One returned to his room, the stale air a painful reminder of his lonesomeness. He picked up a chipped cup, rolling it between his fingers with all the care of a man handling his newborn daughter. The tears were back, but he blinked them away, and they went because it was not yet night. Delicately, he replaced Belle's cup in its spot. "Not again," he mumbled to himself, tracing the rim with a finger, "Not ever again."
He turned to find a less-torturous pastime and was startled to see the girl leaning against his doorframe, picking at her right sleeve. She looked up at him with a bored expression. "What?"
He stumbled over his tongue. "How did you get out?"
The girl smirked, wiggling her fingers mystically. "I'm magical."
Baffled, Rumpelstiltskin demanded, "Who are you?"
The girl pushed off the frame and approached him slowly. "I've had many names. But I prefer Bobbi. You may call me that. You may also call me Mistress Bobbi, Your Sexiness, or Don't Touch That. Those are the next most popular, or at least the ones I won't murder you over." Moving further into the room, she ran her fingertips along the edge of his bed. Continuing on, she made her way over to one of the many mirrors draped in quilts, stroked the fabric collecting dust. Taking a fistful of the quilt, she began to pull.
"Don't touch that!"
She turned and smiled at him. "Yes?"
He rolled his eyes. "I mean let that go. You aren't to remove the drapes from the mirrors."
Her fist relaxed, pulled away from the fabric in a fluid motion that sent shivers down his spine. Retracing her steps, she stood in front of him, not a foot from him. "Fine by me. What's there to do in this mansion?"
"Clean," he replied, enunciating the word through his teeth.
She threw back her head, and a laugh like hand bells coated in syrup flowed through her lips. "As if, dear Rumple, I could be expected to do such a thing. Shouldn't your magic do the trick?"
"Magic doesn't work that way, dearie," he sneered.
She shrugged, a facetious smirk gracing her lips. "Maybe not for you." She slid past him, her thigh bumping his as she did so. With a swish of her hips, she glided out of the room, the hem of her dress sweeping up dust as she left him standing baffled and alone.
…
When he found her later that night, she had a full meal set out on the table, two plates piled high with food. She swallowed the bit of meat she had in her mouth before saying, "You better eat quick before I eat for you." Then she dug into her drumstick again.
"Where did you get this?" he asked, taking a seat beside her.
Through a mouthful of food, she answered, "I called it in an hour ago. I cooked it myself, so you don't have to worry about an outside source poisoning it."
"But what about an inside source?"
"What does it matter? You're invulnerable anyway, aren't you?"
He smirked. "Now that's an easy one. Every creature that knows of the Dark One knows of his immortality. You may know more than other girls your age, but you'll have to do a lot better than that to impress me with knowledge."
"Girls my age?" she laughed, "Pray tell, how old do you think I am?"
Rumpelstiltskin took a minute to look her over. "Late teens to early twenties. I'd say about 21."
Bobbi giggled, and little droplets of water leaked from the corners of her eyes. She cleared her throat and reported to him, "I'm old enough to be your grandmother."
He took a large bite of his food. "Well, now I know you're lying. I know of no magic in this land that can preserve a lady of your species so well. That is, unless you're not human."
"I am exactly what you are, Rumple," she replied, "Only, not as worn by the world and the obstacles it has thrown at me. When you have lived as long as I have, you will realized that you don't know half of what you know."