Pairing: Bellish (Belle x Hamish Macbeth, from Hamish Macbeth)
Rating: E
Summary: After a dangerous breakup, Belle finds herself stuck in the little town of Lochdubh.
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Yet again, Hamish should have known that an off-the-cuff remark would give Lacey ideas. The suggestion that missing people sometimes died of exposure turned into Lacey waking up the next morning and hunting down every topographical map in the station. By the time he came back from settling a dispute out on the surrounding farmland that afternoon, she had taught herself to read them and was studying the hills like she was currently lost in the wilderness.
“Lacey,” he’d said in his most calm and reasonable constable voice. “Do you need to see the Doc?”
She hadn’t even batted an eye that he had grown enough to suggest such a thing. Instead, she’d pointed the map and said, “Will you take me camping?”
He loved to camp and he might have loved Lacey, but being stuck out in the wilderness with her as she went slowly crazy sounded like a recipe for disaster.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
With Rumplestiltskin gone, Belle can't face going back to the Enchanted Forest without him. She leaves Storybrooke forever, travels the world, and ends up in a small village in Scotland, where she meets a constable with a very familiar face.
I never really liked anyelles in which Rumple existed at some point... until I read this fic by @smartgirlsaremean. And once I started reading it I couldn’t stop, and finished it in one sit (It was already 18 chapters long.) And then it inspired me to make a moodboard, and things got out of hand, and I ended up making 9 (the remaining 8 under the cut. Yes, I was prolific. Yes, I feel terrible about killing my creations, even if some looked similar between them *shrugs*).
Summary: With Rumplestiltskin gone, Belle can't face going back to the Enchanted Forest without him. She leaves Storybrooke forever, travels the world, and ends up in a small village in Scotland, where she meets a constable with a very familiar face.
AO3
Chapter 16 - A Small Thing - Hamish gets his first taste of Storybrooke.
“Belle? Belle! Belle!”
Walking away from the town line with Hamish’s shouts ringing in her ears was the most difficult thing she had ever had to do. Tears coursed down her face as she heard him run, heard him shout, heard him roar with rage. There was nothing to do but keep walking forward, she knew, for she could not make him believe, and without belief he could never enter Storybrooke. Fighting the urge to look back, Belle clutched her pack with trembling fingers. She hoped that he would go to the hotel, that he would wait for her and not go immediately back to Scotland where women didn’t disappear into thin air.
“Belle, wait! Wait!”
His voice sounded closer and clearer, and she froze, her heart pounding, and then turned, hardly able to believe her senses. Hamish stood just over the town line, his eyes wide and his face pale. The sound of her breath was loud in her ears and slowly she raised one hand. His fingers visibly trembling, he waved back. Belle dropped her pack and ran, her eyes fixed on his face, until she could throw herself into his arms. He clutched her in return, squeezing her until she could scarcely breathe, and she knew she was holding him just as tightly.
“There, darlin’,” he murmured. “It’s alright, love, I’m here.”
“How?” she gasped. “How?”
“Well...I guess I decided tae trust you,” he whispered back. “And believe you.”
She nearly laughed with relief as she pulled away. “I thought...I was so afraid you would leave.”
“Never,” he said solemnly, brushing a lock of hair out of her face.
Belle sighed and hugged him again, more gently this time, and then stepped back. “We can take the car now, thank goodness.”
Hamish laughed shakily, “Aye, that we can.”
They collected their packs and turned to walk back to the car. When they were nearly at the line, a gruff voice shouted into the night.
“Halt!” They froze and turned toward the voice. A short, stout figure stomped out from the shadows of the trees and raised its arm. “Who are you?” the voice demanded. There was a click, and a flashlight’s beam shone directly into their faces. “What are you doing out...Belle?”
Belle felt Hamish’s arm wrap around her protectively. She squinted into the light, trying to make out the face of their questioner.
“Gods, what are you...how did you…”
“Who are you?” Belle asked. “I can’t see anything.”
“Oh, right, sorry.” The flashlight dropped from her face and she blinked rapidly, the man’s face coming into focus. She grinned when she saw the thick black beard and dark scowling eyes.
“Dreamy!” She pulled away from Hamish and hugged her friend, warmth rushing through her when he returned the gesture with one arm.
“It’s Grumpy now, remember?” he groused. “That or Leroy. Where the hell have you been, sister?”
“Everywhere, more or less,” she said. “What are you doing out here?”
“Patrolling, obviously. What else would Snow White’s royal guard do?”
“Of course, I’m sorry. Does that mean the others are nearby?”
“I always get stuck with Sleepy,” Leroy grumbled, “and he can never last a full shift, so I just prop him up next to a tree and go it alone. Doc and Sneezy are at the west border of town, Happy and Bashful are up north, and Tiny and Dopey watch over the docks.”
“So you’re all okay. You’re all here?”
“So far.” Leroy looked grim. “Things’ve been…” He looked over her shoulder and noticed Hamish for the first time. “Seven hells,” he whispered. He raised his axe and Hamish took a hasty step back, his hands up. “How did you...you really are a demon, aren’t you?”
“Leroy, no,” Belle said, stepping quickly in front of him. “It’s not him. I know what it looks like, really I do, but it’s not him. Rumple is gone.”
“Then who is this guy? I don’t like his face.”
Hamish looked outraged, and Belle almost laughed. “This is Hamish Macbeth.”
Leroy snorted. “Nice name.”
“Same tae you, Grumpy,” Hamish retorted.
“Boys, stop,” Belle said. “Leroy, where is Emma staying? I need to see her.”
“She’s at Snow’s place.” Leroy continued to eye Hamish with mistrust. “I don’t think he should go with you.”
“Hamish is my friend,” Belle said firmly. “He came here with me, and I’m not going to let you bully him.” There was a squawk of protest from beside her, but Belle ignored him. “I’ll vouch for him.”
Leroy glared at Hamish for a few more seconds and then lowered his axe. “Fine,” he grunted. “No funny business though.” He shouldered his axe and nodded at Belle. “It’s great to have ya back, sister. See ya around.” As he sauntered back into the woods, he began to whistle, and Belle smiled when she recognized the tune.
“Is he...is he whistling ‘Heigh-Ho’?” Hamish asked faintly.
“Yep.”
“So that was…”
“Grumpy. Head of Snow White’s guard and unofficial town crier.”
“Right. Okay. Of course.” Hamish looked very pale. “Let’s just...go, eh?”
They had been driving in the dark for a few moments when he spoke up again.
“Tiny?”
“What?”
“I thought there were only seven dwarfs, and I’ve never heard of one named Tiny. Who’s Tiny?”
“He’s a giant. I mean...he was a giant. Or...I guess he’s technically still a giant, he’s just not giant-sized anymore. He’s the last of his kind - the dwarfs sort of adopted him as their eighth brother.”
“Ah.”
Belle smiled and let him process that information in silence. As they drove down the main street, Hamish visibly relaxed. Belle supposed that the unassuming New England buildings and quiet dark streets grounded him, and when she parked on a curb near Granny’s Bed and Breakfast he looked almost calm.
“Not so bad, is it?” she teased.
“Reminds me of Lochdubh,” he said.
As they approached the building in which the royals lived and climbed the stairs to Snow White’s loft, Belle stood a little straighter, her head held high and her shoulders squared. She’d always felt a little defensive around Snow White and Prince David; their distaste for Rumplestiltskin had led to more than one uncomfortable encounter, and she highly doubted they would be thrilled to see her returned. She reminded herself that she didn’t care what they thought. She was here to help Emma and Neal.
Her hand trembling just a little, she knocked on the door.
Hamish had been trying his level best not to look as out of his depth as he felt. Encountering one of the seven dwarfs immediately after being admitted into a secret magical town was a shock that would rattle anyone, he knew, but Belle looked nervous enough without having to worry about his state of mind. She knocked firmly on the door and stood with ramrod-straight posture as she waited, and he had a sudden flash of realization: in that moment, she was every inch a noblewoman. A fairytale princess who had walked right out of childhood stories and into his life.
No wonder she’d always seemed out of his league.
The door swung open and Hamish felt as if the breath had been knocked out of him. With her milky white complexion, sleek black hair, and flawless elfin features, there was no way the woman in front of him could be anyone but Snow White.
The fairest of them all, the stories said.
Not quite, as far as Hamish was concerned. She was beautiful, but no one could hold a candle to Belle. Snow White’s eyes widened and he saw a flicker of fear cross her face before she focused on Belle. “Belle,” she breathed. “You came.”
“Of course I came,” Belle said. “Is Emma here?”
“Yes. I’m sorry, please come in.” Her eyes swept over Hamish once more as he followed Belle into the tiny studio apartment. “You must be Hamish. Emma mentioned you.”
Belle turned to face the princess and her jaw dropped. “You’re…”
“Pregnant,” Snow White beamed, placing one hand on her stomach. “I know. It was the strangest thing - one minute we were standing at the town line watching you all drive away, and the next I was back in this apartment and very pregnant.”
“And you don’t remember anything?” Belle asked. “You’ve been gone more than two years.”
“No. Mother Superior is trying to find a way to restore our memories, but if it has anything to do with the Dark Curse she might not be able to…”
“Belle? What the hell are you doing here?” Another stunning woman - this one blonde and fierce-looking, appeared on the stairs. “I told you…”
“I know, Emma, but...I couldn’t stay in Lochdubh, and I want to help.”
Emma pursed her lips and nodded. “Hey, Hamish,” she said tightly. “Neal told me about you. You’re gonna get a lot of weird looks around here, so be warned.”
“We met Leroy on the way in,” Belle said.
“I was lucky to get away with my head still on my shoulders,” Hamish groused.
Emma folded her arms and smirked. “He’s pretty protective. Of Mom at least.”
Mom.
“Besides being Neal’s girlfriend, Emma is the daughter of Snow White and Prince David,” Belle informed him helpfully.
But she was…
Right. Magic. He had to remember that.
“My kid has a storybook that can explain everything,” Emma said, her voice softening. “You should talk to him in the morning.”
“For now, tell us what you know.” Hamish folded his arms. “Is anyone missing besides Neal and...who else was it?”
“Regina,” Snow White said. She gestured at the kitchen table and sank into a chair, her hands folded protectively over her belly. “She’s my stepmother and Henry’s adopted mother.”
“You would know her better as the evil queen,” Belle said. “She’s not really evil anymore, but...are you sure the Curse wasn’t her doing?”
“We can’t be sure of anything, obviously,” Emma said. She sat next to her mother and Hamish noticed that they had the same rounded, dimpled chin. “But she hasn’t tried to contact Henry, and that makes no sense at all. It’s not like her.”
“As far as whether anyone else is missing, we can’t be sure of that either.”
“Has there been a roll call of any kind? A census?” Hamish felt a muscle ticking in his jaw at the princess’s wide-eyed, confused silence. “A show of hands, even?”
“I...no, we…”
“Well, that’s our first step, then,” he said. “First thing tomorrow. Do you have a police force here?”
“I’m it,” Emma said. “Besides my dad, of course. He’s on the night shift.”
“You’ve got your guard, your - your majesty,” he said to Snow White, stumbling a little over the words. “Can we utilize them?”
“Yes, they’d be glad to help.” She sat up a little straighter and looked thoughtful. “The fairies, too. Blue knows nearly everyone in the Enchanted Forest.”
“Do you have a map of the city somewhere? We’ll divide it into sections and send pairs of census takers to each section, every house. Make a record of the names of all individuals, ask if they’re missing anyone. They’ll report back and we’ll make a masterlist, and we can move on from there.” All three women were staring at him and he raised his eyebrows. “What?”
“Anything else?” Belle asked.
“Tell them to keep an eye out for anyone they don’t recognize. Whoever did this is still in the area. You don’t remember the last few years...maybe there’s a reason for that. This person doesn’t want you to recognize them.”
“Okay. Good plan,” Emma sighed and rubbed at her forehead. “I didn’t want you to come here and put yourself in danger, Belle, but I’m glad you did. Are you gonna stay at Granny’s? We can meet at the station first thing in the morning.”
Belle nodded, then stepped forward slowly. Carefully she wrapped her arms around Emma’s shoulders, and Hamish hid a smile at the other woman’s stunned expression.
“We’ll find them, Emma. I swear it.”
“Thank you,” Emma whispered, her eyes closing briefly. She looked at Hamish. “You, too. I’ll have Henry meet with you tomorrow.”
Hamish nodded, looking back once over his shoulder as they left the loft. Two pairs of green eyes watched him speculatively as he followed Belle, and a shiver ran up his spine. This was easily the strangest thing ever to happen to him.
“That was…” Belle sighed and took his hand when they were out of the apartment building. “You are a really good police officer, did you know that?”
“Aye.” Hamish grinned down at her. “Glad I came along, now, eh?”
Chuckling, Belle leaned her head against his shoulder and led him back to the large, rambling inn they’d parked in front of. The bell above the door jingled merrily and there was a clatter of footsteps on the stairs; the next instant a tall dark-haired woman had tackled Belle in a fierce hug.
“Snow called and said you were back,” the woman squealed. “I can’t believe it!” She pulled back, her large dark eyes sparkling with tears.
“It’s good to see you, Ruby,” Belle smiled, squeezing the woman’s hands. “This is Hamish.”
The woman nodded at him, not a trace of fear or suspicion in her eyes. “Hey, I’m Ruby. Or Red. Either works for me.”
Hamish eyed the red streak in her hair and she smiled, stroking one hand over it. “No, that’s not it. I used to wear a red hooded cape.”
“Ah.” This was the strangest revelation of all. He had definitely never heard of a grown-up Red Riding Hood. “Survived the wolf, did you?”
“Not exactly.” She grinned a sudden feral grin, and her eyes flashed. “I don’t know why everyone’s so freaked out,” she said to Belle. “He might look like Rumplestiltskin, but it obviously isn’t him.”
“Not everyone has your superior senses,” Belle pointed out.
“True. So,” she put her hands on her hips. “You guys need a room?”
“Two rooms,” Belle corrected her.
Ruby smiled slyly and glanced at their linked hands. “You sure about that?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
She rolled her eyes and flounced to the desk. “Would you play along if I told you that we only had one room available?”
“No.”
“You’re no fun.” Ruby pouted and held out two keys. “Here. Right up the stairs.”
“Thank you.” As she took the keys, Belle reached out to hug the woman again. “It’s so good to see you again.”
“I missed you,” Ruby whispered.
“As far as you know I’ve only been gone two weeks.”
“Know-it-all.”
Belle giggled and led Hamish up the stairs, handing him a key at the top so that he could let himself into the room. He smiled faintly back, and she put a hand on his arm. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, just…” He rubbed the back of his neck and let himself into the room, hoping she would follow him. She did, closing the door behind her, and he tossed the key onto the desk before turning to look at her. “You told me you didnae have anyone, Belle. That no one cared for you, no one loved you. That’s no’ what I’m seein’.”
She was silent, staring at the floor between them.
“Grumpy, at the town line - he was thrilled tae see you. And Red down there...I thought she was gonna cry. These people cared about you. Why did you really leave?”
“Leroy and Ruby were my friends, that’s true, but…” Belle sighed and leaned against the desk. “I was the girlfriend - or mistress, or lover, or whatever - of the Dark One. I told you Rumple had a bad reputation, but it was more than that. He was cursed with a terrible dark magic, and he wasn’t always kind. Everyone feared him, and they kept me at a distance. Except when I could be useful, of course. Leroy and Ruby were the kindest to me, but they had their own lives to live and their own battles to fight. Besides, Rumple...Rumple and I were True Love.”
He tried to understand why that should matter, but in the end he shrugged helplessly.
“True Love is the most powerful magic there is,” Belle explained. “True Love’s Kiss can break any curse, defeat any evil. In our realm nothing is more treasured, and only a very lucky few find it. The thought of going back there without him - I couldn’t face it. I wasn’t brave enough.”
Folding his arms, Hamish nodded, staring at the ground. He could not, would not ask what he was to her if Gold had been her true love. He might not know much about fairytales, but he knew enough to know that true love could not be trumped. Even if she could love him, he would always be second to Gold, and that knowledge cut him much more deeply than he’d expected.
“Hey. What are you thinking?”
He looked up at her worried face and gave her a small smile. “That it’s late, and we have a long day tomorrow. We should get some sleep.” She didn’t look convinced, but he walked over and took her hand, leaning in to brush a kiss across her lips. “Good night, Belle.”
“Good night,” she said cautiously, still searching his face for something. She looked doubtful and unsatisfied as she left, and he closed the door and leaned against it, drawing a shuddering breath. Grumbling under his breath, he pulled a small notebook and a pen out of his pack and began scribbling down notes. There was no way he’d be able to sleep tonight, and if he wasn't going to sleep, he might as well work.
Pairing: Bellish (Belle x Hamish Macbeth, from Hamish Macbeth)
Rating: E
Summary: After a dangerous breakup, Belle finds herself stuck in the little town of Lochdubh.
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It didn’t surprise Belle that the day after he kissed her, Hamish disappeared on a solo fishing trip. She should have been furious that he would do this to her again, but this time, she’d all but told him to. If he needed alone time on a loch to figure out his heart, then she would give it to him. Besides, it wouldn’t hurt for her to have time to think it over either.
The memory of his lips on hers wavered between comforting and horrifying. She hadn’t told anyone about it, but then, who would she have told? Esme could probably keep a secret, but if she told Rory, he would tell everyone, same with Agnes and Barney.
And then, there was the way she’d kept seeing flashes of Sergei when she thought about kissing Hamish, remembering the vodka on his breath, the way he’d licked the shell of her ear and whispered sweet nothings about how precious she was, how hard it was for him to find a love like hers. It made her want to run from Lochdubh as well, start over somewhere with no reminders of his deception, of the fact that the last year of her life had been built on Sergei’s lies
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Pairing: Bellish (Belle x Hamish Macbeth, from Hamish Macbeth)
Rating: E
Summary: After a dangerous breakup, Belle finds herself stuck in the little town of Lochdubh.
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Of course, Hamish had been the one to put the idea in her head, so he had no one but himself to blame for the scene before him.
When he’d dropped Lacey off at Esme’s, he’d mentioned offhand that the two of them should practice self-defense. That was it! And now, somehow, a mere three days later, he was standing in the school cafetorium, empty of all furniture except two tables pushed against a wall with coolers of water and a sea of exercise mats on the floor.
“They did a good job, didn’t they?” TV John asked, surveying the room like it was his kingdom. He wore a pair of sweatpants instead of his usual kilt. Everyone in the room wore exercise clothes. Rory had whipped out a terrycloth headband for the occasion.
“Can’t believe they pulled this together so quickly,” Hamish said.
“Oh, come on now, you’ve known Esme longer than that.” John locked his fingers together and stretched his arms out in front of him.
Hamish, still in full uniform, rubbed his forehead. He would have to change eventually, but he was still holding out hope that something would go wrong and this self-defense seminar that Esme and Lacey had thrown together would be canceled. He did not want to get up in front of everyone in the town and get his ass handed to him by TV John.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Pairing: Bellish (Belle x Hamish Macbeth, from Hamish Macbeth)
Rating: E
Summary: After a dangerous breakup, Belle finds herself stuck in the little town of Lochdubh.
————————-
No matter what Hamish said, and no matter what Esme said when she arrived, Belle could not shake the dread that had settled over her. She almost missed the anxiety of believing she was followed. The certainty of knowing—assuming incorrectly, Hamish would have said—that someone was after her and she couldn’t do anything but wait might break her.
For the second night in a row, she didn’t sleep much, alert for doors or windows opening. Once the sun came up, she dozed for a few hours, but she knew she looked like she’d been gently electrocuted when she wandered down for breakfast in sweatpants and her windbreaker.
“Lacey!” Esme sat a plate of eggs in front of Rory with a clatter, then rushed over to guide Belle to the table. Maybe she looked more electrocuted than she thought.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Pairing: Bellish (Belle x Hamish Macbeth, from Hamish Macbeth)
Rating: E
Summary: After a dangerous breakup, Belle finds herself stuck in the little town of Lochdubh.
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Belle hadn’t slept well in months, and now, sleeping wrapped in Hamish’s arms, her body did not want to wake up in the mornings. She had so much lost time to make up for.
Hamish, too, woke up ungodly early for work, and though she tried to rouse when he kissed her in the morning so she could kiss him back, she just couldn’t. Instead, she woke up when she usually did, got dressed, kissed him goodbye if he was still in the station, and then headed to the school for the day.
They’d tried to keep their budding relationship a secret, but it was impossible since Belle lived with Esme. Perhaps Esme herself might have kept the secret from everyone but Agnes, but Rory certainly didn’t. By day two, neither Belle nor Hamish could walk into the Stag alone without the entire bar swiveling to look at them.
So they stopped walking in alone, and within a week, the town had gotten over it. At least, they stopped staring, which was all Belle could really ask of them.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Pairing: Bellish (Belle x Hamish Macbeth, from Hamish Macbeth)
Rating: M
Summary: After a dangerous breakup, Belle finds herself stuck in the little town of Lochdubh.
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Belle picked at the baked perch on her plate, flaking bits off with her fork before moving on to push the cabbage around the potatoes like she was crafting a landscape of food. Esme watched her, fork poised above the fish but never dipping down. Only Rory ate, shoveling it in like a starved boy, but pausing every minute or so to dab at the corners of his mouth with a cloth napkin.
Esme set her fork down and clasped her hands together, leaning toward Belle. “Is there something wrong with the fish?”
“Hmm?” Belle looked up, then back down at her mangled plate, and flushed. “Oh, no. Everything’s delicious.”
“How would you know? You’ve hardly touched it,” Rory said, gesturing with his fork.
“Oh. Sorry.” She scooped up some of the fish shreds and stuffed them into her mouth. The perch was nice, preferable to the trout she’d been eating ever since her boating trip two weeks ago. “Just distracted, I guess.”
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
