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Belle's brow furrowed as he tried to guess the nature of her marriage.  "It was made of true love," she said, tone taking on a matter of fact quality.  She resisted the urge to place her hands upon her hips, feeling that the action might be too childish.  "That is certainly nothing that can be dismissed so easily."  She would hardly endanger her marriage and love by engaging with this rogue.  Nor did she wish to in the slightest.  

She found her head leaning back slightly as he leaned forward.  She turned her cheek toward him as he spoke, frustration causing a red tint to bloom upon her face.  Gathering her courage she turned back to him. "I hardly believe that to be in your best interests," she commented on his plan to meet her husband.  "My husband does not take kindly to strangers, and by no means would enjoy meeting a stranger who attempted to pursue his wife."  She tried once more to sidestep him.

She didn't approve of her husband's bloodthirstiness, though it did seem to be capped thanks to her influence, yet wondered if it would be appropriate in this situation.  "If you enjoy breathing I would not suggest following me to see him."

He was right about life not going according to plan.  If it had she would be married to Sir Gaston, a bored and timid wife to an egotistical man.  She couldn't fathom the idea of marrying such a man and had been somewhat glad that her engagement had ended after accepting Rumpelstiltskin's deal.  If life went according to plan, she mused, she would be living a perfect life with Rumple.  But life did not often follow plans which were painstakingly created and hoped for.

Belle accepted the bottle again, taking another swig.  It was larger than the last, burning her throat though not nearly as badly as the first sip. It warmed her, all the way down to her stomach as she took in the liquid.  She passed back the bottle.  "You're a far better alternative," she teased with a smile.  She didn't like being alone as she was prey to her thoughts and memories.  Nor did she wish to seek out those in town, as she was often the target of pitying looks.  It seemed that Hook understood, though.  He had been wronged by her husband, he had lost a love as well.

She smoothed her skirt with her fingertips, taking a deep breath.  She was feeling marginally better than before she stopped him to talk. 

Belle observed the bottles in amusement.  Before coming to this world the only alcohol she'd drank had been wine.  It was the drink of the nobility and, as her father enjoy a good vintage, she'd had it quite often.  However she'd never gotten drunk before, until taking on 'Lacey'.  Women of her position in the Enchanted Forest would never have risked dishonoring themselves by drinking copious amounts of alcohol.  Here it seemed to be far more acceptable.

She hadn't touched alcohol since Lacey though the idea of the tequila was intriguing.  "I would," she said, a small smile forming on her lips.  Her tea was forgotten on her desk; she supposed she could always reheat it later.  It wouldn't help distract her from her failed marriage like tequila would.  She took the offered bottle, taking a swig of it.  She shuddered as it went down her throat, unused to the taste and burn.  

Tears smarted in the corners of her eyes though it wasn't from despair, but rather the strength of the alcohol.  She handed it back to him after, laughing lightly.  "I hadn't exactly expected my night to go like this," she chuckled.  She raked a hand through her brunette hair, idly wondering where she'd left her hair tie.  

Belle knew of the rivalry for Emma's affections that had once taken place between Killian and Neal.  She was happy for her step-son, glad that he'd found love with Emma.  It did seem to be a fairy tale ending for the two, which she figured wasn't that out of place considering the two.  Still, she understood what it was like to lose a love; she couldn't help but sympathize as well with Hook.  She wasn't close with him, only speaking to him on occasion.  She wasn't in a place to ask how he was handling it.

She smiled in thanks as he agreed to talk with her.  She nodded toward the door, her hand still on the knob.  "You can come into the library, if you'd like."  She'd planned on shelving books that had recently been checked in though that could be pushed off till later.  Belle opened the door, stepping inside.  She took a deep breath, inhaling the comforting scent of books and leather.  The library had been her refuge ever since banishing Rumple. 

The brunette set her tea down at her desk, turning to face him after.  She pushed herself up onto the piece of furniture, hands going into her lap once she was perched upon it.  

"I wanted to apologize, for what Rumpelstiltskin did to you," she began, looking down at her hands.  Her left hand seemed out of place without the heavy ring that she thought she'd never remove.  "I should have realized what was going on before I did; I could have saved you earlier."  She looked back up at him, ashamed of herself.  "I'm sorry."

Belle brushed back a stray strand of hair that had escape the bun at the nape of her neck, tucking it behind her ear.  The book open upon the table was a recent acquisition; she'd been working on building up the variety in the town library.  Her tea was placed to the side of the table, far enough away that she didn't have to worry about the pages becoming damp had the cup been knocked over.

She didn't account for the chance of herself rather than her book getting wet.  She jumped with a gasp as the waitress accidentally spilled coffee upon her.  It wasn't as hot as it could have been, thankfully sparing her any burns.  Had she not been wearing a blazer over her silk blouse she would have definitely felt the warm liquid against her skin.  

The waitresses apologized profusely, most likely fearing that her job was on the line.  Belle brushed off her apologies, assuring her that it was an honest mistake.  She slipped the stained blazer from her body.  The waitress took it from her, assuring her that she'd spray it with stain remover from the laundry room at Granny's inn.  The red faced young woman hurried off with the clothing, leaving Belle to look for the cause of the waitress' blunder.  

She spotted the man that seemed to have run into the other woman.  "Are you alright?" she inquired, wondering what had happened that caused him to run into the woman.

Belle nodded, understanding what she requested.  "I'll put this back and then I'll show you to the fiction area," she smiled.  She hefted the book into her arms before going to replace it, returning a moment later.  She beckoned the other woman over toward another section of the library.  "Most of our stories are here," she explained, looking at the books on the shelves.  "A little skewed and edited, but the heart of the stories are there." 

She looked over at Elsa, wondering where exactly she would like to start.

Belle couldn't help but smile as her husband was mentioned, glad to hear he'd offered assistance.  The old Rumple would have demanded something in return.  It made her heart swell with emotion knowing that he was still striving to be a better person.  She hoped that their marriage helped him remember to stay on the correct path.

Her smile weakened as she realized that the spell hadn't worked.  "Perhaps we can find something else," she said, her brow furrowing slightly as she tried to think of what book would be most helpful.  "I don't have books of magic here but I might have something else that could help us."  She turned, heading down an aisle of books.  She returned a moment later with a large, leather bound book.  

"Every map of Storybrooke that has been drawn up is in here," she explained as she set it down at a nearby research table.  "If she's in Storybrooke it would be helpful to keep track of where you've looked and where you should check next."