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Story [Once Upon a Time] "where a distant king devours vines", Rumpelstiltskin/Belle, Part 2 up 3/10!

Discussion in 'Non Star Wars Fan Fiction' started by Mira_Jade , Feb 23, 2012.

  1. Mira_Jade

    Mira_Jade The (FavoriteTM) Fanfic Mod With the Cape star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jun 29, 2004
    "where a distant king devours vines"

    Fandom
    : Once Upon a Time
    Genre: Fantasy, Romance
    Rating: PG-13
    Time Frame: 1x12 expansion
    Characters: Rumpelstiltskin/Belle, Ensemble Cast

    Summary: The tale as old as time was getting quite old, he reflected wryly. Or: Belle, Rumpelstiltskin, and those missing months between them.

    Notes: So, I was content watching this marvelous fairy tale mash-up from afar ? perfectly content, I tell you. And then the beautiful writers decided to tackle Beauty and the Beast (my childhood's heart and soul) with a brand new twist . . . and I was hooked in a very past-the-point-of-no-return manner. I was drawn in, and yet, I was also left wanting - because a forty-five minute show that had to share its time with the future Storybrooke verse, and that pesky thing called Valentines Day was not nearly enough to fill in all the blanks and answer all of the questions. I wanted more.

    And so ? ask, and the muse shall make sure that you receive! I plotted and planned and typed out my soul, and came up with this. This being all of the missing moments the show did not give us, and then a few more for spice.

    That said, I hope you enjoy this fan's humble attempt to add to an already magical tale. [face_love]


    Disclaimer: Nothing is mine, but for the words. And, once again, the title is a Pablo Neruda nick. Thank-you, Mr. Neruda, for once again being a beautiful, beautiful man with even more beautiful words.






    [blockquote][b]"where a distant king devours vines"[/b]
    by Mira_Jade

    [i]"give me the hand out of your depths
    sown by your sorrows

    Throughout the earth, let dead lips congregate,
    spin this long night to me
    as if I rode at anchor here with you.

    And tell me everything, tell chain by chain,
    and link by link, and step by step;
    sharpen the knives you kept hidden away,
    thrust them into my breast, into my hands,
    like a torrent of sunbursts,
    and leave me cry: hours, days and years,
    blind ages, stellar centuries.

    And give me silence, give me water, hope.
    Give me the struggle, the iron, the volcanoes.
    Let bodies cling like magnets to my body.
    Come quickly to my veins and to my mouth.
    Speak through my speech, and through my blood."[/i]

    ~ "Canto XII", by Pablo Neruda[/blockquote]


    [hr]



    [blockquote][b]Prologue: "our stories, once told"[/b][/blockquote]
    True to her word, the good Sheriff returned with his ice cream cone in hand.

    Or rather, young Henry Mills was the one who took his flippant request as a true wish - passing the cone between the bars with a small smile and a curious tilt of his head. The child regarded him with too old eyes, filled with a magic that bloomed full and wild even within the shadowed lair that Regina glamored to be both home and castle. When the Sheriff's back was turned ? more interesting than the man behind bars was the once-queen, and Emma regarded Regina with cold eyes, meant to cut - he called upon the memory of another time, another place, and made a face at the boy ? all sharp teeth flashing, and dark eyes glinting wickedly. Henry's smile grew, amused.

    "Thank-you, lad," he inclined his head to the child, and swallowed the [i]your majesty[/i] that dwelt in the back of his throat; hiding the title next to the quick and clapping voice that would have chortled and mocked as he addressed him so. The last twenty-eight years had given him practice enough with that, at least.

    "You're welcome," Henry chirped. "I didn't know what flavor to get you, so I hope that this is okay. It's my mom's favorite." At the simple earnestness in Henry's words, Gold couldn't help the grin that pulled at the corner of his mouth. It didn't turn and fill (a half moon on an imp's face), but it did pull. What a smart little prince the child was, gathering all of his dragons into one cave in his mind.

    "Madame Mayor has a taste for superman ice-cream?" he asked, amused as he looked down at the multicolored cone in his hands.

    The child's
     
  2. NYCitygurl

    NYCitygurl Manager Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 20, 2002
    Ah! So beautiful. Your prose is truely moving. I especially liked Gold's thoughts about Emma and Belle's mental wanderings.

    I'm dying to see more of your take on Rumpelstiltskin/Belle!

     
  3. RedGold

    RedGold Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 29, 2004
    Best episode of that series so far and woefully short in its Belle/Rumple interaction.

    Wonderful work here, beautiful!
     
  4. Mira_Jade

    Mira_Jade The (FavoriteTM) Fanfic Mod With the Cape star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jun 29, 2004
    Nat: Why thank-you! It was fun to do the introspection for both of them - there were so many things to comment on. :p And now, to answer that part about more . . .

    RedGold: Amen to that! Thank goodness for fanfiction when the Writers that Be leave us wanting. :p Thank-you for reading, and taking the time to leave your thoughts. :)

    And now, for the next part . . .






    [blockquote][b]Part I: "known by our very names"[/b][/blockquote]

    During the summer of her thirteenth year, her lord father allowed her to learn how to ride horseback.

    Belle took quickly to the sport (which was half a natural talent, and another half stubborn determination), learning how to find her balance and hold her seat until she was more comfortable in the saddle than she was with a lady's knitting needles in her hands. She excelled at it, absorbing everything her instructors taught her, and making the words her own. Even with the saddle sitting astride (always a proper little lady, they would wish to say) she could jump better than Gaston could ? <i>Gaston</i>, who was blessed to have his legs free in men's breeches, and both legs swung strong and steady over his mount. A horseman Gaston was not, and that was only one of the many things that she liked to tease him about - calling him <i>hunter</i> and <i>woodsman</i> in a tinkling tone that held no weight. Gaston's father would see his son as more, she knew ? as some noble knight with his sword at his hip and dragon's blood underneath his fingernails. Belle, however, could not see Gaston prowling anything other than the ballroom floor; could see him hunting nothing more than ways to steal sweets from the multiple platters the servants carried back and forth. At her teasing, Gaston would only ever sniff and turn his nose up to her ? retorting about hearth duties and maidenly graces in mumbled breaths when he was truly cross. Sometimes, she wished that he would bite back at her words ? strike like a dragon when one too many swords had been struck against his scales.

    Even so, Gaston stood by her through her worst ideas, along with her best. There were worse friends she could have been shackled with, she knew ? any of the dozens of giggling and dolled ladies her age at court, for example. Not one of them would have helped her in her current endeavor. Lady Ella would have wrinkled her nose at the idea of mud staining her dress, and Lady Heloise would have lamented the fresh scent of horse and straw in the air. Lady Simone would have gone a step further and actually run to tell her mother at the very first syllable of the plan ? as she had before. <i>Traitor</i>, Belle made a face at the memory.

    Instead, Gaston merely stood beside her in their hidden place behind the stables, tapping his ridding crop restlessly against the leather cuff of his boot. His face was creased into a disapproving glower, but he had yet to run off and fib on her - so Belle bore his consternation in stride. "You should not be doing this," was the complaint upon his lips. Again. It was a set of syllables she knew well from his tongue over the years.

    Belle narrowed her eyes at him. "You are allowed to go inside now," she said - not cross, but merely matter-of-fact. "Your part in assisting me is done, and I do not need your help any longer."

    Gaston snorted. "And let you break your neck with no one near to go for help? Please. I think not."

    "I shall not break anything," Belle defended. She caught his look. "Well," she hedged her statement, "not anything too important."

    When Gaston's stare continued to dip in disapproval, she propped her hands up on her hips ? returning his look with one of her own. Underneath her gloved hands, she could feel the soft stretch of doeskin, rather than satin and silk. The eve before, she had stolen a pair of the stable-boy's breeches from the laundry room ? and they fit tan and supple over her still thin frame. She felt free in the men's clothing - as free as thunder felt in a storm cloud, she liked to imagine. Across from her, Gaston's ridding
     
  5. RedGold

    RedGold Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 29, 2004
    Love how you mimic in animated Belle's ride through the forest and at the same time expand on her strength of character. That's the one thing Belle had more than the others, strength and gumption.

    Poor Gaston, now I'm kind sad he got changed into a flower.
     
  6. NYCitygurl

    NYCitygurl Manager Emeritus star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 20, 2002
    Great chapter!

    It's good to be back in the fairytale world and seeing more of what happened between Belle and Rumplestiltskin. She is a brave girl to call him, and I like that she's showing a lot of personality (and that there was a connection before he came to her father).

    Can't wait to see where you go from here!
     
  7. FelsGoddess

    FelsGoddess Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 5, 2004
    Magic, you see, could never erase everything, no matter how dark the curse.

    Really liked that line. It describes the series well.

    This is fantastic, Mira! Love it.
     
  8. Mira_Jade

    Mira_Jade The (FavoriteTM) Fanfic Mod With the Cape star 5 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Jun 29, 2004
    RedGold: I do feel quite bad for Gaston here, which is a new emotion for me. :p It was fun to play with the horseback ride, and Belle's character as a whole - she has such a spark! She's definitely a blast to write. :)

    Nat: Thank-you! [:D] Most of the story will take place in the Enchanted Forest - because as well and good as real life is, there is just so much room to work in that world. [face_love] And yep, Belle has some gumption, that's for sure. And its definitely going to make things interesting to come. :p

    FelsGoddess: That is too true! I am glad you are enjoying the tale so far. [:D]







    [blockquote][b]Part II: ne'er to be a damsel fair[/b][/blockquote]

    "You foolish, foolish child!"

    Try as she might, Belle could not contain her wince as her father's voice fell like a lash upon her ears. Over the years, no matter how brave and right she may have felt when embarking upon a course her father would not approve of, there never was a time when she could feel anything but sheepish when he stood before her at that path's end. In her mind, she tried to tell herself that this was just like any other time she had invoked her father's anger ? the blush on her cheeks, her place kneeling before her father's throne was all familiar to her. She kept her head downcast, careful to lower her eyes to stare at the floor. By her side, Gaston too was kneeling, but his eyes were not on Maurice, but on her, cross and accusing and so I-told-you-so that she wanted to reach over and elbow his him in his side.

    Her father's glare burned, yet if she tried hard enough, for a moment she could imagine that she again wore stolen breeches, her cheeks muddy as her father raved over her stealing a horse she could not control. For a very short moment, that was.

    "Do you have any idea what you have done?" her father continued to rage, not still upon his throne, but rather pacing before her. She could see his boots clear in her line of vision, but little else. The marble tiles were glazed over and scuffed, dull with their neglect. Still, they were cool under her hands. "Do you realize the danger of invoking the aid of such a one? Did you think the ogres to be a nightmare on our borders? What better would it be to be indebted to one such as [i]him[/i]?"

    "I only ask you to meet with him," finally she raised her voice. Still she kept her eyes down - demure and respectful, even as her blood pumped hot and mighty through her veins. "No deal was struck, no bargain was made. He cannot, and he will not, act without that deal in place." For creatures of magic had their codes, even if they were not the codes of mortal men.

    "The girl speaks true in that sense," came a sniff of a voice from the man who stood at her father's right hand. Marquis D'Arque was chief amongst her father's advisers; a tall and too lean man with long graying hair which he had drawn into a queue at the back of his neck, even though the very top of his head was balding. He had long, strong features punctuated by hooded eyes and a hawkish beak of a nose. He wore rich grey and blue tones in a last semblance of vanity - for jewels and other such totems had been done away with in the times that they faced. Her father trusted his word implicitly. Unfortunately. "But it is a foolish thing to invoke the Dark One's name. He can bring nothing but ruin and damnation, even in aid."

    Belle cared little for the adviser. D'Arque was a self righteous and rigid man, puffed up on the idea of his own holiness. Half of her father's scoldings came from D'Arque's mouth into Maurice's ear, which would be but a mere annoyance to her, had Maurice not held so close to any other word of advice that came from the Marquis, as well.

    His low opinion of her mattered little to her, but she would not see D'Arque's prejudices ? his strict ways and his disdain for the unholiness of magic ? do harm to her kingdom when she could see otherwise.

    "I fail to see what other options we have left to us," Belle still insisted. "We cannot survive another fort
     
  9. RedGold

    RedGold Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 29, 2004
    I like how you made this all Belle's idea. How she stuck it 'to da man' and all that. She's royality, does whatever she can to save her people, even if that means getting into it with the Dark One. Gumption and Spunk. Love it!
     
  10. Miana Kenobi

    Miana Kenobi Admin Emeritus star 8 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Apr 5, 2000
    !!!!!


    OUaT fic, and a Belle one at that!! :D

    Great job, and I can't wait for more!