(Untitled)
I love you, Belle. You made me stronger.
Having those as his last words should have made it hurt less. Knowing that he had done the right thing--the brave thing--in great part because of her love should have made it easier to accept his sacrifice ( Read more... )
Having those as his last words should have made it hurt less. Knowing that he had done the right thing--the brave thing--in great part because of her love should have made it easier to accept his sacrifice ( Read more... )
After all, she was sure that if the curse hadn't been about to drag her back to the Enchanted Forest, she would have found herself back in Rumple's Storybrooe home, lingering over his things, dreaming of what might have been.
She wondered if it could be that simple, if she was meant to--move on, here. She wasn't quite sure she wanted to.
With a weak smile, she took his offered arm, brow furrowing at his words. "How...how can that be possible? Magic like that--it can't come without some sort of price."
She shook her head, "It sounds a great deal like the curse that took me and my loved ones from our homes some time ago. We...when we 'woke', many found things we held dear being..." she swallowed around the lump that suddenly lodged in her throat as she thought of the shop, "...sold, in an antique shop. I, ah...I just hope the village is as gentle on possessions as the magic I know has been."
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"I used to work at the library, but now I'm a teacher. At home I'm a soldier--we're not expected to do the same things here as at home."
At least there is magic where she comes from. So much in this place seems like magic and it can be difficult for those who can't believe in it.
"My things were in perfect condition."
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The mention of a library made a smile flicker across her face for a brief moment. "I...in the world I just left, I was restoring the library. It's a shame I never had the chance to properly open it, with everything going on." But there was a possibility, at least. A place with books and quiet, where she could help people without exposing her own pain.
Thinking of others made her hesitate, before asking, "...this place, it seems rather large. Is there...an efficient way of finding out if there are others from our own worlds here?"
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"Many find the village small. Where I come from it would be considered a large village." Her home must not be so large either.
"I know not who runs the library now, but should you wish to work there, I don't imagine they'd say no." Why would they?
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"I...would like that, although...I'm sure I'd have even more to catch up on than I did in Storybrooke. This place...it doesn't look much like either place I've called home." She wasn't sure how to feel about that. She'd longed for adventure and travelling, once--still did, but the desire was smothered by the pain of knowing she'd be doing it alone.
"...how long have you been here?"
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"I've been here longer than most, Lady Belle." I don't want to say but she did ask. "Years, in fact. But I know that I will return home at the same time I left--I do not neglect my duty while I am here."
That's important for her to know.
"No time will pass at home while you are here, for good or ill."
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"How...how is possible for people to know that for sure?" she wasn't sure if she was hoping it was possible he was wrong or not. She was too close to what was happening back home to know how she'd feel if she went right back to that very moment after weeks or months away.
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I'm never certain if other people find that a good thing or not.
"That large building ahead is the hotel."
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She nodded shortly, "All right, I...well, it's a bit much to take in that I might live for years here, and then go right back to the day that my..." true love died, the words were too hard to say, yet. "The day that I was having, but I've experienced stranger things."
The mention of Rumple's death, still lingering on her tongue, made her mouth draw down a bit, even as her eyes followed Faramir's indication. "Oh. ...thank you I...I'm very grateful to have had you accompany me, and I'm sorry I wasn't a better travelling companion, I'm...usually in much better spirits."
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"There is no cause for apology. Arriving here is enough to cause anyone upset, though I cannot help but notice that perhaps the village is not your only cause to be in poor spirits." I am trying to be helpful and not pry. "I was not at my best when I arrived. If you would speak, I could listen. Or there are others who would."
That's what the Ribbon is for.
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She smiled weakly, shrugging one shoulder. "You're right, I'm certainly not the sort to be so shaken just by being somewhere new. I...lost someone," she remembered Rumple's words, suddenly, when she'd asked about Bae. He's not dead. He's just lost to me. She understood the importance of those words more than ever now.
She sighed, glancing at the hotel thoughtfully, "But I don't think he'd...want me to brood too much, really." More than likely, he'd insist he wasn't worth it, foolish man.
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"That is a pain I know well, though it affects us all differently." I nod in understanding.
"The village can be a good place to recover, as it's so different from most people's homes. The mind can consider that instead of your heart's ache."
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"Perhaps that's why this place...brought me, when it did," she said, smiriking a little. "I always did want to travel. Perhaps this is...how I'm meant to move on." He'd want that, she knew. He'd tried to make her leave often enough, find a life away from him. She'd scoffed at the idea before, even when she'd moved out of his home, sure it was impossible to completley extract someone like him from her life even if she wanted to. Even with him gone, it still felt like he was a heavy presence in her heart.
"And I can't say I'm bothered by the idea of a rest from curses and pirates and that sort of thing, I've had enough of all of it to last me more than a lifetime." Her smile almost reached her eyes at that as she realied how bizarre her life truly was and what a small ripple this actually made in comparison to some of it. "There...isn't anything like that to worry about here, is there?"
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I'm not even sure what to say to her last statement.
"I don't know about curses, exactly, but the village does have its moments of strangeness." How do I even describe them? "Um... on more than one occasion we--myself included--have been turned into children. Some children became older."
Is that a curse?
"Things like that."
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"People age lie that--and this has happened more than once?" she shoo her head. "But if it's been...reversed, surely it can be prevented in the first place." She's thinking of antidotes and counter spells now, and it almost makes her laugh in a terrible way to think how she's become a bit more like Rumple with the last few months.
"If that is meant to be part of our lessons as well, this place will certainly be harsher than any of the tutors I ever had back home."
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"I have to admit that I've enjoyed my experiences as a boy again. When I return to myself I feel... refreshed." Not all of the village doings make me feel that way, but I do not wish to alarm her worse.
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