The wind howled like a wounded animal as sheets of rain beat down on Belle's little body. Broken and bruised, she limped through the woods as fast as she could, trying to put as much distance between her and them as possible. Her vision blurred by the rain and with only one good eye, the other was swollen shut, Belle didn't see the castle in the blinding darkness till she was right up on it. Lightning flashed bright, lighting up the towers of Dark Castle.

She drug her broken body up to the giant double doors. Belle beat on the solid metal, but what little stregnth she possessed, she hardly made a sound. The rain stung her exposed skin as she hunkerd down trying to shield herself. She slid down the door, pushing it with all her might, it moved a fraction. Belle sighed in relief as she wormed her way through the opening, crawling inside.

She was grateful for the sanctuary, sheilding her from the storm. She had been running for about a week, she hadn't planned her escape very well and the cruel elements had taken thier toll on her.

She looked around the room she found herself in. Everything looked deserted. A foul smell of mold hung heavily in the air, choking her, but atleast she was dry. Well, for the most part, her clothes may have been soaked but the onslaught of rain tormented her no more for the moment.

She sat huddled by the door, afraid to venture any further. Finally Belle felt relaxed enough to rest, she wadded up in a heap for what little warmth she could get in soaking wet clothes and closed her eyes.

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Rumplestiltskin woke up in his tower. He slept there most nights. His concoctions were made there along with his spells and charms and when he finally wore himself out, finding a bed was just too much troble. Surprisingly he woke up in a good mood this morning, which usually wasn't the case.

He trudged down the tower stairs, kicking empty potion bottles as he went. He wasn't much of a house keeper. who would care he thought, certainly not him. No one came here so why bother. He was the most feared sorcerer in all the land. If someone wanted to make a deal, they need only call his name, of course he didn't answer everyone, only the most desperate, those were the good ones.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he headed for the main hall, but something caught his eye by the door. Someone huddled up, sleeping. Some peasant had wondered in, probably looking for shelter from the vicious storm last night. Well, this isn't an inn, he thought with a scowl, as he marched over to the sleeping mass by his door. he nudged them roughly with his boot. "GET UP, your not welcome here, be on your way."

Belle's eyes flew open as she rolled over and climbed to her feet. Rumple was taken back by her rough appearance. Even though this peasant looked more pathetic than most, he didn't show any pity for the wretched creature before him. She looked as if she had been beaten badly, her eye was swollen shut and that side of her face was purple and green with severe brusing. She had a scarf of sorts tied around her head, but from what Rumple could see, some of her hair looked as if it had been sawed off by a blade. She appeared to have a hurt ankle as well. This peasant had went through somthing horrific recently, but that didn't concern him.

"Be gone with you, Don't you know where you are?" He glared at her as Belle tried to flatten herself aginst the wall. "Oh sir, I-I thought this place was adandoned, Please, I'm looking for work, I-I'll do anything, I could sleep in the stables, I could clean for you" Belle tried desperately to think of anything that might spark the sorcerer's interest.

"The only thing you look like your good for is falling over dead dearie and I don't need any of that, but thanks just the same." Rumplestiltskin snarled at her, hoping that might run her off. "fine, I'll go then" Belle said as she reached down to retrieve her tattered shaw that served as her blanket.

Rumple watched her in disgust as she grabbed her rag and made her way to the door she had came through last night. Belle could hardly put weight on her injured leg as she leaned against the door for a moment, trying to get her body ready for the painful walk back to the woods. The thunder rolling in the distance let her know that it would be another wet night.

Rumple watched the woman hobble to the door and lean on it for support. He tried to repress the old memory of himself, hobbling home from the ogre wars with a wasted leg in tow. The pain had been nearly unbearable. He rolled his eyes and shook his head, He must be getting soft."You can sleep out back in the stables till your leg is better." Belle's head shot up with a relieved look on her features, at least thats would it looked like, he noticed for the first time that her jaw was alittle misshapened, perhaps broken at some point, then maybe healed wrong. "Thank you sir" Belle choked out feeling grateful tears welling up in her good eye.

She limped around to the back of the castle and found an abandoned stable house. The straw it contained was old and dry, but the roof looked in good condition and Belle was grateful for the shelter. She piled up the straw and made a bed, happily sinking into it and hoping her leg would heal quickly so she might be on her way soon.

The grumpy sorcerer didn't look pleased with her, so she was sure not to press her luck and ask for food, but she had spotted an old well and after she rested a bit more, hopefully it contained water for her, that atleast would keep her alive alittle longer. Belle let out a sigh of relief as she closed her eyes, for the moment she felt safe.