Forget Me Not

By RosexKnight

Belle is not so sure why the necklace is so important, or how she feels for this new odd guest in Arendelle. Feelings she doesn't understand. A first meeting.

Chapter Five

It should have been a trinket. Nothing more. The necklace was beautiful, of course. The chain looked as if it were woven by hand meticulously with the golden thread, and the stone was wrapped decoratively as its pendant in a way Belle had never seen before. The stone itself didn't look particularly valuable. It wasn't anything like the jewels that usually came on rings and pendants. Perhaps it was precious in his land.

I really should have been nothing but a trinket. She'd gotten trinkets from suitors before. She remembered keeping a box of them on her desk and made a game of seeing if the grandness of the gift reflected their desperation to be her intended. But somehow, this little trinket from a man she hadn't exchanged two words with seemed more valuable than her entire box combined.

"Who…Who was he?" Belle asked Ana as they sat in the kitchen, the cook having promised them the spoons of the chocolate cake he was making so they might sample the batter. "The man who gave me the necklace?"

Anna glanced to her, then to the stone that dangled from the chain at her throat. It was a perfect length, really. But Anna didn't want to think about gifts The Dark One might bestow on his beloved.

"A guest. From Misthaven." Anna answered carefully, sticking to the story they had decided upon. "He's a wealthy spinner who wishes to sample the wool of Arendelle."

"And you're letting him stay in the castle?"

"As I said, he's very wealthy. A Duke if I'm not mistaken."

Belle paused, looking over the image of the man in her mind. His odd skin, curls that somehow seemed too long on a man, and eyes that were so inhuman yet tender all at the same time.

"Do I know him?" Belle suddenly blurted.

Ana shook her head. "No. I don't think so. I mean as far as I know you haven't met. He didn't mention you until after he saw you last night. And Misthaven is a big place so unless you somehow met him in your land I don't see how you could have met him before. But he really doesn't seem so bad or anything. Definitely not a crazy sorcerer."

Belle was nodding halfway through Ana's ramblings, her thumb absently running over the stone at her neck. "Yes. Of course. That was silly of me."

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Just need some chocolate and a good book to clear my head."

The cook appeared with two wooden spoons, handing them to Belle ad Ana, who gladly took them, licking away the chocolate batter like children.

"He's not here to court me is he?" Belle asked suddenly.

Ana couldn't stop the laugh that burst from her. The Dark One courting someone. COURTING! It seemed so funny to Ana. But Belle was giving her a quizzical look, so she had to compose herself and wave her hand dismissively.

"If he is, could you blame him?"

This time it was Belle's turn to giggle as her fingers once again ran across the makeshift pendant. "No. I suppose not."

"Oh."

The squeak tumbles from her lips before she can stop herself. She's not used to anyone in the library besides herself and perhaps Ana and Elsa. But there he is, a man with a staff to prop one side against, caressing the book she'd set aside to finish reading as if it were a woman rather than pages bound in hard leather. He looked different. His hair was straighter, skin smooth more like a man rather than the gold shimmer of the day before. The only way she knew it was him at all was his odd set of clothes.

Oh but why did her chest ache so when his eyes met hers?

"My lady." He said, his voice as startled as hers had been, nothing like the odd pitch of yeterday. He jerked his hand away from the book, as if he was a child being caught touching something he shouldn't have been. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you."

Belle shook her head, trying to ignore how his eyes flickered to the necklace she wore and how his smile made her heart falter.

Gods what was wrong with her? She didn't know a thing about this man, and here she was, heart racing with one glance like a schoolgirl.

"No matter." She said, striding over despite wanting, illogically, to run. But the library was her domain, and she would not be ran out of it. "Have you read it before?"

His eyes met hers, and for a moment Belle thought she saw hope flicker behind them. "No." He said finally. "Is it a good story?"

"Very good so far. I haven't finished it yet."

"What's it about?"

"A beauty. Who saves her father from a beast by sacrificing her freedom, and then falls in love with her captor."

"The beast."

"Yes."

"A bit foolish." Rumpelstiltskin said with a bit of a flourish of his hand, the one not on his staff.

"But heroic." Belle pointed out, a smile tugging at her lips. "And she found someone who could love her."

"Yes but…does he love him back?"

She quirked her head to the side, seeing the odd way hope flickered across his eyes. Somehow it brought her comfort for some reason. This was an odd man, she decided, and she had no idea why her heart stuttered in her chest and made her want to run at the same time. It frightened her. She didn't like it at all.

"I don't know." Belle said honestly, wretching her eyes away from his. "I uh…I haven't finished it yet."

"Right, Yes of course." He moved, seeming to sense her uneasiness. He stepped away, bowing slightly to her. "I have some spinning to do. Until later, Lady Belle."

As he started out of the library, Belle shook her head. "Wait."

He paused immediately, turning to her, and she could tell he was trying to look natural. But his eyes flickered to the way her thumb was stroking the stone, an action she wasn't aware of until it his eyes flickered back up to hers ad her hand dropped back down to her side.

Once again she shook her head. "Nevermind. It's…it's nothing."

"Nothing, dearie?"

His eyes had hope again, and she swallowed. Yes. She definitely felt like running. But somehow in a good way.

"No it's just…Um…" She cleared her throat. "Have we…met before?"

The spinner looked as if he was warring with himself, but his features remained focused and steeley. But she couldn't deny the way he stiffened, the way his hand tightened around his staff.

"I would have a hard time forgetting you, my lady." He finally said, his voice playful yet tender.

She chuckled, biting her lip "Of course. Sorry. You enjoy your um…spinning."

He nodded. "And you your reading."

"I'll let you know how it ends."

Her words made him smile, and with a nod and another bow he was out the door of the library and walking down the halls of the castle. She went to her favorite window to read on her favorite couch, completely oblivious to the way Rumpelstiltskin collapsed against the wall, or that his chest was aching just as much as hers.