Why would anyone else have known? I didn’t know until Anthony broke down and told me the moment we were alone.
Nothing persisted from the previous loops, only the last one mattered. Given events, there is a general belief there was some sort of scandal. However, Anthony’s swift proposal of marriage meant nobody really cared, especially because he just has money and no title.
Personally I hope nobody ever finds out. It’s the kind of power some men would kill to possess. I certainly won’t ever tell a soul, and I believe that Anthony wishes he could forget it ever happened. However, his frequent nightmares that this last loop was just a dream, won’t let him. At least I’m always there to soothe him and remind him that I am alive, and I’m not going to leave him.
Gold: I can scarcely believe that after … I don’t even know how many loops, that Belle is finally alive and safe. I want to just lock the room and leave it locked. I have no need of the machine now but … I don’t even want to consider needing it again. However, if I did … if … I can’t even think about it.
Belle: We’re going to destroy it.
Gold: Belle sweetheart …
Belle: No Anthony. Should the worst happen I don’t want you to put yourself through that again. There are some things that just shouldn’t have been invented.
Gold: But …
Belle: Eternity wouldn’t be enough. Neither of us need the temptation. Mankind should not have such power. We’re going to destroy it.
Synopsis: When Mr. Gold calls in Lord French’s marker, bankrupting his estate, it leaves Lady Belle with nowhere to go until Mr. Gold offers her a deal. She enters his service as a maid and true love blossoms between them. Belle dreams of forever but there is a room, which is permanently locked, that stands in the way.
Note: My conscience wouldn’t let me leave this fic alone. I really did like the original ending because it works well. From a writer perspective it’s good, but it is everything I hate as a reader. I had this idea of how to fix it and give them a happy ending before I wrote the fic. It felt a bit tacked on and convenient, which is why I didn’t write and post it, in the first place. Anyway, I felt guilty about the sad ending so I decided to write it up 🙂 You can choose your own ending, original sad, or the added happy ending. Enjoy!
*happy sigh* To be sincere, I was left wondering what would happen if Gold let her go. I love that this is the answer to my musings. *hugs fic* Wonderful, wonderful!
Well yeah it couldn’t really go any other way, not after all that time. If it was some sort of magic device or something, that would just be like waving a magic wand, a ridiculous deus ex machina. Whereas I like the idea that it was something simple, and yet very meaningful and heartfelt.
Synopsis: When Mr. Gold calls in Lord French’s marker, bankrupting his estate, it leaves Lady Belle with nowhere to go until Mr. Gold offers her a deal. She enters his service as a maid and true love blossoms between them. Belle dreams of forever but there is a room, which is permanently locked, that stands in the way.
Note: Hi @thenaughtyscandalousscorpio I was your emergency pinch hitter. I was so certain that I wouldn’t be able to have this done until mid-next week. @rumbellerevelry can attest that when I offered to pinch hit, I kept apologizing because I couldn’t have it completed by the 31st. However, I started writing this morning and didn’t stop. I guess I was very inspired but I also broke my own damn heart writing this. I sent you an anon asking whether you needed a happy ending. You said it was my choice, but the fandom was quite unhappy right now and it would be a shame to write anything too sad, and then I wrote this …
Usually I am all about the happy ending.
I mean if it’s a fic by me, then it’s a happy ending because I can’t not fix things. However, this just ended so perfectly in a very angsty fashion that I left it sad. I’m feeling quite guilty, and like I should go and write some fluff to make up for it now. Anyway, final word count is getting on for 6k. My prompt words were ‘Séance’, ‘Bump in the Night’ and ‘Not of this world’ and I used the last two.
Warning: It’s nsfw, rated explicit because you really, really, really wanted smut. I hope this suffices 🙂 Also, major character death (kinda) … I’m going to go hide.
Belle French
shivered as the ice cold wind whipped through the trees, sending the blanket of
leaves on the ground before her skittering in all directions. The mausoleum
mansion of a house loomed ahead, dark and foreboding against the grey sky. The
track to the house was lined with barren trees, their leaves fallen to the
ground leaving them like unprotected skeletons. Belle shivered again, and
reluctantly started to walk towards the house. Everything she owned, was
contained in the small case she was clutching with her right hand. It felt like
she was walking to her doom but she had no choice in this, and she was not one
to run from her fate.
“Do the brave
thing and bravery will follow,” Belle muttered to herself.
Still a great story, from what I could read through my tears. ;’)
Heh it wasn’t sad until the end … when it was very sad. Like I said I feel like I should go and write fluff now to make up for it. I actually do have one more fic on my list for this month, that I didn’t quite manage to finish which would be excessively fluffy. It’s Rushbelle though, so I don’t know if that counts. Anyway, I’m glad you liked it, even if the ending hurt 🙂
I can’t believe you wrote this so fast and it’s just so good! Thank you for stepping in and giving me a story!
Well, that was sad… but it was also so true to Rumple’s character as well. He of course would do anything he could to find a way to fix something bad that happened to someone he loved!
I loved that you were able to work multiple smut scenes into such a tragic tale and it also added an element of discombobulation that worked well for the story. It really made me wonder just how many times Rumple has had to plot and plan and do everything all over again only to watch Belle die.
I also really enjoyed how both Belle and Rumple decided that they would never give up fighting for the one they loved… no matter how painful it was in the end. This is a good lesson for us Rumbellers right now… to never stop fighting for them!
Oh wow thank you! This is an amazing review, you’ve made my day 🙂
Heh well you wanted smut so I tried to oblige. Yup I do love that Rumbelle quote, well there’s two of them that are basically the same – “I’ll never stop fighting for him.” and “when you find something worth fighting for, you never give up.” because true love is worth the effort.
I am going to add an alternate happy ending because I’m feeling guilty about being the evil writer. That should be up later today. Thanks again!
Well. I didn’t really need my heart anyway. And at least I know that any version of Gold will eventually find a way to get his lost loved one back? (not that it worked that well for him in canon anyway, but let’s set that aside).
Writing-wise this was soooo good. I liked that feeling that something was off, and poor Belle dying twice in the middle of the story was definitely a surprise worthy of a Hallow’s Eve fic event. 😉
Tks for sharing! And do let me know if Gold ever finds a way to cheat fate.
I didn’t really show her dying, not really, that would have been too evil, it was just sort of implied until the end when stuff was explained. At least … yeah I was kinda evil wasn’t I? /hides
Anyway, I’m feeling guilty so I’m going to add another chapter/epilogue later, which should answer your question about Gold finding a way to cheat fate. I’m really glad you liked it! Thank you for your wonderful comment 🙂
Not really interested in Gothic romance, but I’m glad I stuck with this. Boy, did that turn creepy! What a twist.
This is brilliant. So read it.
Thank you both! I’m really glad you liked it 🙂 I hadn’t really thought of it as being creepy before but I guess it was in a way. After all, Gold knew Belle a lot better than she knew him, thanks to his … no spoilers heh. Anyway, there’s now an alternate happy ending so all the severe warnings at the start, don’t have to apply 🙂
