entrancelogs | Shattered Sight

Entry tags:

once upon a time: belle french

Shattered Sight

Who: Belle and OPEN
Where: Shelter Research Station
When: Backdated to 5/15 - 5/18
Rating: PG - 13
Summary: Hiding the dagger and distrusting everyone
The Story:

It was her first time experiencing a change in the world around her. The beautiful mansion now changed into an unfamiliar setting, leaving her cold and shivering alone. Her arrival here with a certain dagger had left her in a vulnerable position. Taking Henry's advice, she had hidden herself away, trying to decide what to do with Rumpel's dagger.

There were still no answers. She was vulnerable and vulnerability left her suspicious. Hostility wasn't a quality inherent in Belle, but this place seemed to breed it.

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The paranoia is well justified within Gold given what's happened here lately. His plans and schemes have folded in on themselves and he's left with only a few desperate ploys to stop Zelena.

Out of respect, he has, however, not asked for Belle's copy of the dagger, though a part of him considers the fact that such a simple request could easily put himself to rest, but he was frightened of losing her again and, for once, better heads prevailed.

Now, however... Now the fear and the paranoia have grown, even to, dare he even suggest it, distrust. Belle could command him like Zelena has. She could make this even worse.

He must have that dagger back.

He finds her, as he always does, looking more harried and anxious than ever, but even with his growing paranoia, he looked that way before. Zelena has a way of stressing him out.

"There you are." He breathes a sigh of relief that, at least, can't be interpreted as anything but concern- she is still his true love, regardless of his current fear over her intentions. "I was worried something might have happened."

She grips her purse the moment that she sees him, unintentionally reacting in a negative way. Trusting him as always been natural for her, especially when he has proven that he has a big heart beneath his veneer of calculation and standoffish coldness. At any other time, she wouldn't respond by pulling back, she would always dart forward.

The sight of him though, it is another matter. It leaves her feeling wary and cornered, as if he might pounce on her. She has never viewed herself as weak or helpless, but when compared to his power, she should.

The dagger is her only line of defense and she can't let it go.

Belle backs up, eyeing him with an unreadable expression. He's relieved to see her, concerned for her. That at least indicates there is no outward difference in the man she loves. "No, I've been careful to avoid others during this...strangeness." She holds her purse tighter. "How are you."

As she pulls back, he does as well, fearing that something must have given way- some tell that could have shown his hand. Does he really look so monstrous? Could be be so monstrous to demand that blade from her?

It's not being monstrous, a sleeping dragon inside his heart that threatens to blacken the thing entirely yawns. It's being free.

He ignores it, as he always has before. The Dark One's power holds no sway over him or so he thinks. Not when the dagger isn't in play.

"This strangeness," he repeats, drawling the words. "I've had enough of Wonderland's games. And I'd quite like to be out of here."

Always trapped. If it's not one cage, it's another. Did he ever really break free of Zelena?

Tentatively, he steps forward, some small hope wondering if her fear isn't directed at him, but at something else. "No one's threatened you, have they?"

"I heard that Wonderland changes in these ways, but I guess I didn't understand until I saw it." She said, forcing him to give a small smile, even as she kept her distance. It was a strange turn of events, not only the change in setting, but the change of her emotions towards him. Trust, something she always gave so willingly to him, was depleted. There was no real explanation, only fear.

"I would too, but it doesn't matter. Even if the mansion was back, I wouldn't be staying in it." She was trying to keep herself continually moving, not staying in the same place to at least protect the dagger.

She keeps herself in place, holding her purse tighter against her. "No, no one's threatened me." She was shaking, the cold evident on her skin. The tips of her hair frosty and iced. "I haven't really seen anyone since the mansion changed."

No one ever really does- he certainly didn't. He'd scoffed at the idea of curses of that magnitude and yet here they are in yet another constructed world born of someone else's memories. He isn't certain whose these ones belong to, but clearly they must be one of the more disturbed people here.

That chilling feeling of being watched has to come from something.

He watches her carefully, eyes trying not to linger on the purse she's clutching like that. He takes another tenative step forward. "I don't understand. Why wouldn't you be staying in the mansion?"

She flinches as he moves closer, her hand reaching into her purse. Using the dagger was against her better judgement, a strong betrayal to the man she loved. This weakness shouldn't be exploited, especially as she believed quite firmly in free will and decisions being made by the person in question.

But fear was stronger than reason. There was no point in using it yet, but she was prepared, should he act against her. Any sudden movements would be prevented, so long as she held the dagger in her hand.

"Henry suggested that I go into hiding. At least until Zelena is dealt with."

He breathes a sigh of relief, and glances down a bit, feeling a tinge of regret that he hadn't suggested that, himself. Perhaps if he weren't so concerned about the dagger, he would have, but...

But nothing- Zelena having that dagger is a blight on the entire realm and defeating her has to take top priority over all other emotions. He has to consider every option and waste no effort in tearing that blade from her hands. The fact that Belle hasn't just handed the dagger over is more of a slap to the face than his own need.

At least that's what the growing paranoia tells him. "I have Jefferson hopefully taking care of that. If he succeeds, this could be all over soon." His reassurances seem to fall flat, lacking his usual confidence. Zelena has a way of deflating him and making him a very, very desperate man. And he sorely dislikes being the desperate one. "Soon, you'll have nothing to fear."

"What will you do?" She asks. It's not that she wants to doubt him, but that's out of her control. Zelena had been dealt with in their world, but it seemed that she was harder to render powerless than they thought. All she needed was to be brought here and she was a thorn in their side again.

"What is Jefferson going to do for you?" She still had yet to tell him of her association and familiarity with Jefferson, what he had done for her and the part that he played in her reuniting with Gold. Even though she had told him she would. The change in location had diverted her attention and now wasn't the time.

"I am afraid, Rumpel. Not just because of her, but what coming here is going to lead to. What it's going to do to us."

"He has his ways of acquiring things I need." He doesn't really know what Jefferson will actually do- seduce her or poison her or render her unconscious or whatever the hell it is he does when he gets going. Gold doesn't care about the methods, only the results.

And keeping his hands clean in it all. Instinctively, he reaches out to touch her hair, an anxious smile drawing his features into something pained and older. "Belle, my love. There is nothing here that will last- that I can assure you."

He should know better by now. Wonderland can leave scars that don't heal when the curse ends- he has a few himself. A certain tea room conversation still haunts his darkest dreams.

What she doesn't know, won't hurt her. Though the questions she has about his actions and intentions will slowly raise her paranoia to an uncomfortable level. She simply nods, hoping that Jefferson will get the dagger back.

"I trust him." She said. "More than anyone else, save you." That was a compliment, a large one, but given what he did for her, she needed to give credit where it was. "He helped free me from the asylum, directing me to go to you for my safety."

Belle flinches back instinctively, afraid that he's reaching out to do something other than caress her hair. But once she feels the gesture, she begins to relax more in his touch. "Nothing? There's something, even if the setting changes. What we do to each other, how we feel afterwards, that will last." It could make or break them.

Gold's hand tenses before she flinches, so that the flinch, itself, is barely noted. What did Jefferson do to earn Belle's trust so intensely. What did he-

The tension deflates quickly and then passes. Only that, then. He had half-wondered who was responsible for liberating Belle- who even knew she was there- and now he has a name to go with that act of kindness. He almost feels horrible for jumping to conclusions.

"I'll have to be certain to thank him for that." Gods only know what would have happened if she had been left there- for both their sakes.

Her concerns seem so paltry to him, even if it's true. "It's only a curse, Belle. We've endured so many in our time. I think we can avoid the worst of it."

She wishes she had his faith. They had to face curses before, but nothing that actually created tension between them. Not at this level. To suddenly feel a level of mistrust and apprehension towards Rumpel, it was so similar to when she first was taken to the castle. As though nothing else happened between them.

Something like that could only lead to possible animosity and genuine damage to their relationship. At least on her end. This paranoia was clawing through her mind without any relief.

"Please tell me I can trust you." She'd always had faith in him, always believed he'd never hurt her. How could Wonderland actually sow seeds of mistrust in her? "You won't lie to me or do anything to trick me."

There's a switch- Belle's usually the one with all the faith. The only reason he has any to spare now is the sheer amount of times he's endured curses before- here and otherwise. And yet... Somehow his blind faith, while she has none makes him apprehensive.

And all this talk of trust. Is she trying to trap him or catch him in a lie? He steps back uncomfortably. "Belle, I love you." The words are incredulous and are meant to distract her, make her think that perhaps it's silly that she'd ever think he'd lie or trick her out of malice when he cares for her so. It doesn't even seem to register that what he's doing now is nearly exactly that.

She can still see that moment when Rumpel had tossed the gauntlet at the Queens of Darkness. The second that he surrendered power for her. As she looks at him now, all she can feel is the nagging reminder that it might have been a lie. Maleficent had said he returned for it, not really sacrificing anything at all, but instead using it as a means of distraction. He wanted it all and didn't matter the cost.

But that was if it was true. There was still a chance that Maleficent was lying. She had little reason to be believed. She and her friends had nearly killed Belle. Why should their word be taken over Rumpel's?

Why then is he changing the subject? Why doesn't he just say what she needs him to? The only thing that could reassure her. The way he says he loves her, it feels so forced and detached. She isn't crazy and this odd sensation of being deceived isn't placated by that statement.

"You should go." Belle said, pulling back as she burrowed herself in her coat. "It's dangerous for you to know where I am. I don't want Zelena to find out I have the dagger." Maybe his departure will be enough to give her time to think and form a decision about his behavior.

He recoils a bit, realizing in that moment that he's said the wrong thing- too little, too late, per usual. At first he opens his mouth to protest, but her logic is sound, and even he can't deny that as much as he wants to be with her and seek her comfort (maybe apologize for trying to distract her, if he can muster it- maybe actually tell her the truth), Zelena could easily twist this around.

And then, of course, there's his own doubt that could simmer into resentment, into something dark and awful that he'd never want to show Belle directly, because she wants to believe so badly that darkness can't overtake him, but it can. Oh how it can.

Oh, how it is.

He reaches to clutch his heart for a moment, aware of the fact that though the blackness hasn't fully encased it yet, it will soon, and he's never been more aware of that than this moment, the paranoia and fear driving him to fear the worst about everyone- Belle, himself, Zelena.

She's right. He's better off not near anyone.

"Yes..." he says, slowly. "Don't worry, Belle. It will be over soon. I'll see you again soon."

It's a weak promise, one with tiny murmurs of unspoken apologies. Slowly, he backs out, as awkwardly as he did the night she lost her memory and cried out when he'd tried to kiss her. Even after he turns to walk away completely, he still glances over his shoulder.

You fool, he curses himself. You damned fool.

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Shattered Sight

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