Belle's Adventures in Cinderella Part 9

Belle hurried into the room just as the Grand Duke was saying "Good day, Madame!"

"Wait!" Belle cried. "Your Grace, wait!"

Lady Tremaine turned to snarl at her but the Grand Duke stared at her through his monacle. "You were at the ball last night; it's Belle, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir! And the girl the Prince is looking for; she's here!"

Lady Tremaine gave a false laugh. "I'm afraid the poor girl's confused, Your Grace!"

"I am not," said Belle, calmly. "Her name is Cinderella and she has suffered ears of mistratement and cruelty at the hands of these three women. She's locked in her room but I can take you to her."

"Then lead on, Belle," said the Grand Duke. Belle saw the hope in his eyes and wondered if his life would be on the line if he had failed to find the woman the slipper belonged to.

"This way," she said and she hurried up the stairs.

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"Lucifer, get out of my way!" Belle snapped. The horrible cat was lying at the foot of the stairs leading to Cinderella's room and each time she went to dash past him, he took a swipe at her legs. Belle gave a groan of frustration and then, suddenly, Lucifer began to hiss and back away in fear. She turned in time to see Bruno growling at the cat. Lucifer ran for it. Belle smiled and patted the old dog. "Good boy, Bruno!"

Together she, the Grand Duke and his herald darted up the staircase. Belle hammered at the door. "Cindy?"

"Belle?"

Belle turned to Lady Tremaine, who had followed them. "The key, please."

She couldn't not give it to her in front of the Grand Duke, Belle knew, and she marked the look of annoyance on Lady Tremaine's face as she handed it over. The second the door was unlocked, Cindy darted out and Belle hugged her. "Oh, Cindy!"

"Oh, Belle, thank you!"

"She's jus our scullary maid," Lady Tremaine atempted. "An imaginative young child but one who has to be locked up for her own safety."

But the Grand Duke took in Cindy's beauty and kindness and didn't believe a word of it. "Madame, my orders were every maiden. Come, my dear," he added, leading Cindy to sit down on her bed and try on the shoe. But as the herald stepped into the room, Lady Tremaine put out her cane; he tripped over it and slipped flew through the air and shattered into a million pieces on the floor.

"Oh, no! No!" The Grand Duke moaned. "he King! What will he say? What will he do?"

"But it's alright," Cindy inturrupted, smiling at Belle and turning to her stepmother with a look of triumph. "You see, I have the other slipper!"

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Belle wished that someone could have somehow captured that moment when Cindy had produced the other slipper and the look on her stepmother's face had gone from gleeful to gobsmacked in an instant! As it was, now she was stepping into the palace beside her best friend, at Cindy's insistance that she wanted Belle with her, and there at the top of the stairs were the Prince and the King.

The Prince stepped towards Cinderella with a smile and took her hands. "It is you, isn't it? You never told me your name."

She smiled. "It's Cinderella."

"Cinderella?" Behind him, the King stepped down the stairs lightly. He was a round man with white hair and moustache. He looked familiar to Belle somehow but for a second she couldn't think how. "What a lovely name!"

"Thank you, sir," she said, dropping a curtsey. "This is my friend, Belle; without her you never would have found me."

"A pleasure to meet you, young lady," said the King, shaking her hand.

"I know you," said Belle, suddenly realising. "You were in the painting in the hall; the one of the beautiful woman in the pink dress."

"My wife," he smiled, "Thomas' mother. She died a long while ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Belle, with genuine sympathy. "But if that painting's anything to go by, she looked really happy with you."

"Well, we won't dwell on the past," he replied, patting Thomas on the shoulder. "Now we look to the future; a wedding at long last!"

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And what a wedding it was! Cinderella and Thomas dressed in white; the church was coloured gold, white and pink, as the confetti was really tons of pink rose petals. Belle smiled as she watched the preacher say "Speak now or forever hold your peace." But no one did speak out; for why shouldn't Cindy marry Thomas. Belle was back in her yellow dress; alhough she couldn't fathom how. She had walked into her room to find a suitable outfit for the wedding and it had been lying on her bed, spread out and waiting for her; gloves and shoes too. She wished she knew how, not that it mattered though; she was wearing it now and watching Cindy's face. She was smiling and as the preacher said "I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride," Thomas was smiling too. They kissed and the guests broke into raptuous applause, Belle amongst them. She saw the King almost in tears, the Grand Duke wa sin tears and being passed a handkerchief by a woman named Prudence beside him, Maurice was smiling and clapping. Belle turned her head and watched Thomas sweep Cindy off her feet as the petals continued to shower down upon them. It was a wonderful, wonderful day.

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After the ceremony and feasting, there was, naturally, a ball. To her surprise, Belle found herself asked to dance by Thomas whilst Cindy danced with the King. She smiled as they joined the rest on the dancefloor. "Congratulations, Thomas," she said. "You will never find a more loving and caring woman in all the world than Cindy."

"From what I hear, you're very kind yourself, Belle," he replied. "I mean, you've always been there for her; you supported her and made her a dress for the ball; you accompanied her there and saved her when her stepmother locked her up. What more could a good friend do? We've both got a lot to thank you for."

"Her happiness is thanks enough," Belle replied, "and I know that you'll make her very happy."

Cindy came waltzing over to them. "Mind if I cut in?" she teased, but to Belle's surprise, she danced her off instead of her husband. "Belle, I've thought long and hard about it and I've decided."

"You want children right away, is that what you're about to tell me?" Belle teased.

"No, although there will be time for that later. No, what I was going to say is that I feel bad for being here, having everything whilst you haven't half as much as this."

"Oh, Cindy, that doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does. You and Maurice have always been there for me and after everything you've done lately, well, I want you both to come and live here with me and Thomas."

Belle stopped dancing. "You mean it?"

"Yes! Where would I be without my best friend?"

"Oh, Cindy!" Belle laughed, hugging her. "Of course we'll come and live here! Thank you so much!"

"It's the least I can do! Now, I just have the break the news to Thomas and his father!"

Belle giggled and as Thomas came over to them, she smiled and stepped back. "She's all yours again, Thomas; I'll be in the garden if anyone needs me. I just need some air."

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In the gardens, Belle twirled about happily. She was alone with no one to dance with, but she didn't care. She was happy. She and her father were going to live in a palace! And Lady Tremaine and her daughters could never bother Cindy again!

"Happy about something, dearie?"

Belle twirled. She was beginning to get used to this. "Well, well, Rumplestiltskin," she smiled, "but you'll get no cursing out of me this time!"

He chuckled as he surveyed her. "That dress really becomes you, Belle."

She looked down at herself and then back at him. "Did you do this? Leave me the dress, I mean?"

"But of course, dearie. You promised me a dance, remember?"

"So I did," she smiled, holding out her arms. "How about now?"

It was strange, she thought, he didn't mind dancing with her but he had jumped when she had tried to hug him. Perhaps he wasn't so used to that kind of physical closeness? Nevertheless, his arm circled her waist, her hand found his shoulder and their free hands met as they began to move in time to the music. "You know once that you said you didn't dance if you couldn help it?" she began.

"Yes, deaire, and if I remember rightly, you said that only people who couldn't dance very well but were afraid to admit it said that."

"Well, I was wrong. You're a divine dancer."

"You're not too bad yourself, dearie," he teased. She laughed. In spite of the fact that he still had a deal to complete with Cindy and that she had been initially afraid and suspicious of him, she liked his presence somehow. There was something dark and yet attractive about him and she felt safe in his presence.

"Why..?" She bit her lip, feeling terrible for asking.

"What, dearie?"

"I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but why are you here?"

He looked confused. "You promised me a dance, dearie."

"Yes, but...it's strange. Just when I'm thinking about you; both times at the palace, you turn up."

"Perhaps there's something there that makes me unable to keep away," he whispered. She closed her eyes. Maybe it was the wine she'd been drinking; she had had rather a lot more than she would usually have in a night, but she suddenly wanted him to kiss her; wanted to feel his lips against hers, have his hands running through her hair and hers brushing against his strange but somehow alluring skin. She tilted her head back and parted her lips, waiting for him.

He looked at her and then stepped back from her. "Thank you for the dance, dearie."

And, just like that he was gone. Belle opened her eyes to find herself standing alone and foolishly still in the same position, head tilted back, arms in a dancing pose. She composed herself. "Rumple..." she whispered, but she had a feeling that even if she called his name three times, he wouldn't return.

"Coward," she whispered, as she turned and went back into the ball room...