WHAT: The ladies check out The Princess & The Pea B&B and decide to take the reins running it WHERE: The Princess & The Pea B&B (aka The Dark One's Castle) WHEN: Today WARNINGS: Nope STATUS: Complete
As it turned out, the look Ruby had gotten during her introductory talk at the DOA was just as significant as she’d thought. She had been here before - a different version of her, from another realm - and there was a little bit of history. Even an ex-something her other self had been with during her time here, which was a whole situation that she hadn’t quite decided how to handle yet.
However, Henry had told Belle that the Dark One’s castle was here. It seemed Neal had been here at some point, and during his time here, Gold’s castle from the Enchanted Forest had turned up. He had taken it upon himself to remodel, closing off the more dangerous parts and transforming the good parts into a fully up-and-running bed and breakfast. And it only took a single phone call to the DOA to find out that this other self of hers had apparently taken over running it during her time in Vallo.
Ruby had to admit it seemed perfect. She had run Granny’s Diner and B&B for years now, worked there for even longer (twenty-eight years of time standing still but twenty-eight years nevertheless). It was right up her alley; she knew how to handle food, guests, and money, and it seemed there was only an interim manager there in the meantime. She could happily take it over and be content.
Her biggest concern was Belle.
Rumplestiltskin was in their past, she knew that. He’d been gone for a long time, and she knew Belle didn’t feel for him what she had ages ago back home. But his castle had been at once her home and her prison. Before Ruby even thought about taking over (with Belle, because everything she did was with Belle), she wanted to find out where her wife stood. If she couldn’t handle it, she would find something else, no questions asked.
First big step to feeling the situation out was, of course, to pay a visit. Luckily, these fancy waypoints set up all over Vallo dropped them right in front of it. And hell if it wasn’t imposing - Ruby had never had the opportunity, nor interest, to visit it back home. She gave Belle’s hand in hers a squeeze, her eyes wide at the sight of it.
“Wow, that’s… I don’t think I realized how huge it is,” she remarked. She wasn’t sure why she’d expected any less. It was a castle, and there were plenty of other castles she’d been in and around. Hearing that this version had been transformed into a B&B had given her this visual of something smaller - quaint somehow, in a way this place absolutely was not.
Belle’s feelings about Rumplestiltskin’s castle being in Vallo were complicated to say the least. She’d have been perfectly content with never seeing it again, truth be told. However, that option didn’t really seem to be in the cards for her. She was curious, at least. The thought of Neal taking a place of darkness and isolation and morphing it into one filled with love and light seemed extremely fitting. So after a few discussions with Ruby and some time for Belle to sit with her feelings, the two ventured out to see the place.
As they got ready to leave, Belle’s nerves were all over the place. She could feel her pulse racing and she felt slightly nauseous. The castle was where everything had started. Her feelings for Rumplestiltskin and their subsequent relationship. Which then led to her being locked away for twenty-eight years during Regina’s first curse. Belle had dealt with a lot of her past trauma, but it still didn’t make this trip an easy one.
Once they’d arrived, Belle focused on her breathing, as well as the feeling of Ruby’s hand in hers. It helped to calm her. The castle was large, to be sure, and extremely imposing. It was easy to feel small around it. “Try cleaning it,” Belle joked, though she knew it was more sad than funny. She closed her eyes and gave herself a shake. “Sorry, that wasn’t funny.” She turned to look at Ruby. “Ready to go in?”
There was an instant pang of sadness that accompanied that joke, but Ruby got the intention behind it. She knew Belle. She knew this was how she coped when she was uncomfortable. And how the hell would she not be uncomfortable here? Not only was the place enormous, but it held so many memories - the majority of them unpleasant, from everything she’d told Ruby. She could make all the borderline dark jokes she wanted if it made her feel any better.
They’d talked about this, too. She knew how nervous Belle was, that she was hesitant to come here, that she’d prefer to avoid it if possible. It was Ruby who had encouraged her to come see it, at least once, and promised to be right there beside her the whole time. Right now, she wasn’t sure she’d made the right choice. But they’d made it this far, and Belle was willing, so they might as well finish it out.
“I’m right here with you,” she promised, lifting their joined hands to press kisses to Belle’s fingers. “If it gets too overwhelming, say the word and we’re done, okay?” She leveled that serious gaze on her wife for another moment before taking a breath and leading them up to the front doors.
The parlor they stepped into was gorgeous. Grand, tall ceilings, practically sparkling even with the weak, early spring sunlight filtering in through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Again, Ruby had expected a little more doom and gloom - this was the Dark One’s castle, after all - but Neal had really gone all out in his remodels. It didn’t evoke any strong ‘you need to run’ feelings for her, which she took as a good sign.
There was a man seated behind a long desk, a few guests mingling around a very fancy-looking couch with a tea service set out on the coffee table before them. They were barely halfway to the desk when someone called out “Ruby!” and she turned to find the source of the voice.
That ended up being a woman about Belle’s height who promptly crashed into Ruby and forced her to drop her wife’s hand in shock. She hesitantly returned the squeeze she was given with an awkward pat on the other woman’s back and a breathless-but-confused smile when she pulled away.
“You’re back!”
“I’m… back,” Ruby agreed. “Well, not exactly. I’m - yes, I guess, but I’m not the same version you knew. I’m sorry…?” She raised her eyebrows, hoping that was enough prompting to get this huggy stranger to reveal her name.
“Oh! I’m Jen. You - or well, other you? - she hired me as the chef here.” There was a bright smile, and now that they finally had the chance to take this girl in, Ruby was quick to notice the dark green chef’s coat she was wearing, the buttons at her neck loose. She was pretty, too, probably young and definitely enthusiastic. “Are you taking over again?”
“I’m not sure yet,” Ruby admitted. “We were hoping to have a look around and get the lay of the land before making any decisions.” She reached for Belle’s hand again and tangled their fingers together. “Jen, this is my wife, Belle.”
Jen’s eyes went wide. “Belle as in Beauty & The Beast Belle?”
Belle had to do something of a double take once they walked inside the castle. It hardly looked like the same place at all. Previously dark and dreary, it was now bright and clean. She couldn’t help the small, surprised smile that tugged on the edges of her mouth. As new images of smiling faces, pleasant chatter, and the smells of tea and pastries filled her, she felt some of her anxiety ebb away.
She was already curious about what the rest of the castle looked like when they were interrupted by a stranger hurling herself at Ruby for a hug. Belle’s eyebrows shot upward in surprise, but she didn’t say anything until Ruby introduced her.
“Yes,” she answered in her lilted accent. “But you can just call me Belle. It’s nice to meet you, Jen.” She held out her free hand to the other woman.
“That is so cool. I love you,” was Jen’s immediate reply, along with an enthusiastic shake of the hand Belle offered her. “Okay, you guys go! Wander! Enjoy! I’m keeping my fingers crossed you’ll be back by the time it’s over. Come by the kitchen for snacks!” She grinned at them both and made herself scarce as quickly as she’d come.
“I’m starting to feel like I have a fanclub,” Ruby joked, but it felt nice. The Ruby who had been here seemed to have made good friends and made a good impression, and she was glad for that - it was benefitting her now, aside from the oddity with Fen. It had presented her with this very fortuitous opportunity.
“Ready to explore a little more? You’re the expert, so I’ll let you lead the way,” she suggested, gently bumping her arm against Belle’s shoulder.
Jen was extremely exuberant, but Belle had decided that she liked her. She seemed friendly and kind. If she was any indicator of the other types of people that now worked in the castle, she had a feeling that this might turn out to be a pleasant experience after all.
As it so happened, she was correct. The two made their way through the castle together, and while stopping at each room, Belle found herself surprised to see just how different the place looked. Neal had done such a lovely job of transforming it, that Belle felt physically lighter. The thought of being here, working here, of her own choice this time…it didn’t seem such an outlandish idea.
As they circled back around to the front entrance, Belle looked curiously over at Ruby. “What did you think of the place?”
Ruby hadn’t seen the place before, but as they ventured through, she had to admit she was getting more and more good feelings from it. She had come in expecting darkness (in the literal and figurative sense), but there was none of that. If she didn’t know better, she’d never have thought this place had any sort of sordid history. It was beautiful, and it paid homage to the mess of their realm in an endearing sort of way.
“I think Neal did a fantastic job.” She pulled Belle gently down onto a sofa facing the back garden. “It’s a good gimmick for a B&B, and I’ll bet it’s doing good business.” She looped her arm gently around Belle’s shoulders, meeting her gaze. “What do you think? Would you mind spending a good chunk of your time here?”
Belle allowed Ruby to tug her down to sit on the sofa and idly smoothed out the front of her skirt. She looked around her again, as if searching for the answer hidden in the moldings or high up on one of the shelves.
This place had once been a prison for her. Even a literal cell for a short while. (She vaguely wondered if Neal had done anything with that area of the castle.) As Belle reasoned with herself, however, she realized that if she continued to allow it to hold that negative power over her, it would never be anything but a prison. Vallo had already granted her one second chance to be with Ruby. Why should she pass up an opportunity to have a do-over with the castle as well? Not only would Belle be there of her own volition this time, but she’d be able to spend her time with someone who truly loved her, all the while bringing happiness to others.
Belle took Ruby’s free hand and clasped it between both of her own. “I think I’d like it. Very much.”
“You sure?” Ruby asked gently. She wasn’t going to beat a dead horse here, but she knew her wife. She knew how self-sacrificing she could be. She didn’t want her in any way uncomfortable, and if they took this on, it was going to be a big part of their daily lives. “Are you okay here? It’s not too much?”
Belle nodded. “I can’t promise there won’t be hard moments or bad days, because I just don’t know for certain how things may affect me in the long term, but in this moment, I’m okay here.” She gave Ruby’s hand a small squeeze. “And I promise to let you know right away if that changes at all.”
“I’m holding you to that,” Ruby told her seriously. “Just keep me in the loop, okay? I’ll take care of most of the work here, so if you need space, you have it.” The B&B and the diner in Storybrooke had always been her responsibility, her thing. Of course she wanted Belle to be okay here, to feel welcome and comfortable to come and go as she pleased, like she always had at Granny’s. But she didn’t expect this to be her full-time job.
“I know you will.” Belle smiled softly and leaned over to press a quick kiss to Ruby’s cheek. “Should we go visit the kitchen to see about those snacks?”
As if the woman with the appetite of a wolf was ever going to refuse snacks. “Yes, please. Let’s put Jen’s food to the test,” Ruby grinned.