Beauty, Her Beau, and Her Beast (A Rumbelle/OUAT Fanfic)

A Facade

*~ Just so you guys aren't confused, Rumple isn't doing anything different while Belle is with Graham. He's enraged and extremely sad at first, like shown in the show, but he quickly goes back to his 'dark' ways to cope with the grief of losing Belle. Hope you like this chapter! ~*

Belle's POV

I was staring at the ceiling for half the night, my head swimming with thoughts of regret and guilt battling soaring hopes and excitement.

Graham liked me, maybe even loved me!

But Rumple...

No. Forget Rumple. He's in my past now.

Tomorrow, Graham's going to finally get to know me.

With that, I fell asleep.

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Now, dawn is beginning to peek over the horizon, and I'm ready to start the day.

I change out of the nightgown Laura let me borrow and into a dress that she says is 'from her younger days'. However old it is, it's still beautiful, the color of grass under the sun. It's long, and stops at my ankles, with a skirt that's not too big and a bodice that's perfectly formed to my figure. It's a wonder how perfectly it fits. It's not my usual preference of blue, but I don't mind.

I comb my hair and braid pieces back in my usual hairstyle.

Now I'm ready.

On my way out of the guest bedroom, I run into Laura.

"Oh! I'm sorry," I manage, fumbling for an apology.

"Oh, no. It's quite alright, dear," Laura says, smiling her kind smile. Her smile then slowly fades, and she clasps my hands between both of hers.

"I do hope you make the decision to stay," she says quietly, but there's something else under that.

"Oh, well, you see... I wouldn't want to be a bother or-"

She cuts me off abruptly. "I worry for Graham. He doesn't seem like he was before he... disappeared. What happened to him in the time that he was gone? Where did you come from?"

"I mean- I-"

"Laura!" I hear from behind me, and feel Graham's hand on my shoulder. "Now then, Laura, don't be bothering the young lady so early in the morning. Come, do you need me to fetch some eggs from the chickens?"

"So you're staying?" Laura says, with a hopeful tone in her voice.

"A few more days couldn't hurt, I suppose." Graham laughs, and Laura throws her arms around him in a tight hug.

I step back and smile at the two of them, but the way Graham is acting is bugging me. Plus, we still need to talk about the... incident, last night.

With Laura facing away from me, Graham gives me a grave look, and heads toward the back door of the house to reach the chicken coop. I stand there for a few moments, confused, before I follow after him.

He turns when he hears the back door close behind me.

"Yes, Belle? Are you offering help?"

"No- I mean, yes- I mean- look. We have to talk about last night. I hardly got any sleep from thinking about it, and, well-"

"Belle," he says uncertainly, "I'm not quite sure what that was. I don't even know if I meant it. Perhaps- perhaps it was just the heat of the moment."

The heat of the moment? He is joking, right?

No joking smile comes.

"Oh..." I look down, feeling frustration heat up my cheeks and threaten tears at the corners of my eyes, "Of course. That's all it was. I apologize." I gather up my skirts and run for the door as quickly as I can.