Back in Time (AU Fic)

( This is an AU of when Belle and Flynn is taken back into AU Nirethia by Hades.)

Flynn made a small sound when he landed on the ground harshly on his back. He sat up, rubbing the back of his head and muttering a few cuss words towards Hades. However, he instantly looked around for Belle, hoping that she was with him. "Belle?" He called out in the darken place, looking around. He couldn't decipher the place they landed at first, being that it was dark and stormy outside. But, as he started to retake in his senses, he started to smell familiar smells. Ones that he thought he wouldn't imagine smelling again since they arrived in Seattle. As he started moving through the dark area on his hands and knees, he felt the familiar ground and the familiar objects that he touched. "No way..." He mumbled softly before getting up and easily finding his way to light up the room. He nearly screamed out in relief once the room was lit, finding to be back in his old cottage.

Belle grunted when she was tossed onto the ground. She rubbed her neck and glared at nothing in the dark. However, Belle hated the dark. So, she started to freak out a bit. "Flynn?!" She asked, her voice like a childs as she tried to wander around without killing herself from tripping. When she heard him scream, she got her wits together and tried to find her way. She found the lit room and suddenly realized where they were. "What the..." She mumbled, but then beamed, and looked at him with excited eyes.

Flynn turned as he heard his name and beamed back at Belle. He ran over to her and lifted her off the ground, twisting her around before setting her back down, hugging her tightly. "Belle...! We're back!" He mumbled in her ear before kissing her cheek constantly. However, with being back in Nirethia, the danger came back as well. So, upon hearing a skid of a horse stopping and someone making their way towards the front entrance, Flynn pushed Belle to hide behind the couch in a reaction, not exactly knowing who inhabit the cottage while they were gone, and not finding the time to find somewhere to hide.

When the door opened, a dark silhouette appeared from the stormy outside and walked into the house, closing the door briefly afterwards. But, once inside of the cottage, the figure instantly knew the presence of someone else, not to mention the lights being freshly on. The dark figure turned around instantly, the bow on her back now in her hands and an arrow notched, pointed at the couch. "Come out. Now. I know you're behind there." The voice commanded, pulling the string back even further.

Flynn looked over at Belle and placed a hand on top of hers, telling her to wait a second before throwing her best 'companions'. He did, however, stand to the person's request and held his hands up as a way that he wasn't any danger. He looked back at the cloaked figure with the bow, the woman, as he could tell from her voice, was his same height but obviously built much smaller than him. He couldn't see her face, however, but he could tell she was analyzing him as well. "How did you get in and why are you in my home?" She asked, both cautiously and the curiosity taking over her. Flynn's eyebrows furrowed before shaking his head. "How, is difficult to explain... but I used to live here."

Belle giggled when she was spun around, holding onto him tightly. She was excited, because in all honesty, she hated Seattle. She'd tried to adjust. But, the fancy lights and shocky things and loud cars all made it hard for her to like it at all. At least she'd been exposed to new books. But, this was her home. She was back here, with Flynn. Safe.

Or, she thought they were safe. When she was suddenly shoved behind the couch, she grunted and pouted at him, though she made sure she didn't hurt her stomach as she hid. Small as her bump was, it was still there. She felt out of balance for the fact that he heard the woman before she did. Had she really become so lax? She bit her lip and watched him as he put his hand over hers to keep her steady. She started to object when he went to get up. She didn't want him getting shot -- she did recognize the familiar sound of the bow's string.

She stood up slowly, though she didn't both to put her hands up. On instinct, one of her hands twitched towards her hip, where she always kept a dagger. "This is his cottage. Who the hell are you?" She asked, protective of the fact there was an arrow pointed at Flynn.

The woman didn't make any moves to point the arrow at Belle, but she knew that Belle had some sort of weapon on her. She raised her face just a bit, enough for them to see her jaw line and mouth, when both Flynn and Belle declared that he lived here. "That's impossible for you to have live here. No one else has lived here except for me in almost a decade. So my question is, Who you are?" She stated, confusing Flynn even more. He only guessed that they were in a different time, maybe a few years after they disappeared. However, from the looks of the cottage, it didn't look any different when he lived here.

But, even though he knew Belle would disagree with what he was about to do, he felt some unbound trust towards that women. "I am Flynn Rider..." He said, carefully, "I lived here for 21 years, part of that with my grandmother, Rosalinda Rider." As he spoke, the figure instantly flinched at his name and even more so as he commented about Rosalinda. She hesitated but she tilted her bow down, no longer threatening to shoot Flynn. "You said... your name is... Flynn Rider...?" She asked, hesitantly and bewildered. Flynn nodded softly, his blue eyes showing her that he wouldn't lie. "Come... into the light more..." She asked, a lot more politely than before. Flynn nodded softly before looking over at Belle briefly, giving her a small reassurance smile. He walked away from her, only a few inches, towards the living room lamp, letting the light reveal his features.

As he walked into the light, the figure gasped softly before making her way over, placing her bow down on a table. She walked closer to him, inspecting his features and holding in her breath. "You look exactly like..." She started, before looking at Flynn and reaching for her hood. She let it fall off her face, her rich dark hair, brilliant blue eyes, and even parts of her face, except the aging parts, replicating Flynn's in exact ways. She looked briefly at Belle before looking back at Flynn.

"My name... is Elizabeth Rider." Elizabeth finally confessed. Flynn now gasped, stepping back away from the light and back towards Belle, his face paling. He didn't want to think of the possibility but he found it quite impossible. He started to speak but, Elizabeth beat him to it. "I've lived here since the day I was born with my mother... Rosalinda. She passed after my five year old... son... Flynn... Rider... disappeared..."

Belle made a face when he started to tell the woman who he was. He knew better than to do that. Why did he trust her? She sure as hell didn't. She moved towards him a bit when he started to move away from her again. She kept her hand near her thigh and pursed her lips. 

Even when the woman revealed her name, she didn't relax. She didn't believe her. Elizabeth had died. She'd seen her grave. There was no way that was her. Belle took his hand when he moved back towards her. She moved in front of him and had her dagger in her hand. "Elizabeth died in childbirth 21 years ago. She's dead. Who are you?" Belle pressed, narrowing her eyes.

Flynn gladly took Belle's hand and didn't mind when she stepped in front of him. The mere possibility of his mother being alive after all these years, he couldn't think properly, critically, Belle would be the best out of the two to make any reasonable conclusions. Elizabeth looked at Belle with a curiosity in her eyes and turned towards them when Flynn stepped away from her. "I am Elizabeth Rider... Whoever this other woman was is not me. 21 years ago, I did, in fact, almost died from birthing my son. But, by some miracle, I survived." Elizabeth explained to both, looking into Belle's golden hues before looking into Flynn's. Her blue eyes trailed to a pendant peaking out from Belle's clothes and Elizabeth smiled just a bit. She swept her dark hair to one side of her shoulder and gently pulled on a chain, revealing the identical piece of jewelry that Belle had around her neck. "No one else... knows about this heirloom... except members of the family..."

Belle made a face and pursed her lips a bit as she noted that the woman had the same necklace as she did. "The hell is going on," she muttered, shaking her head. "I don't trust you," She warned the woman. "Flynn is my family now. You pointed an arrow in his face. Who's to say you didn't even look for him when he 'disappeared'? And where the hell is Nicholas? Not that I'd be excited to see him, but I know that last time we were here, he was very much alive. An asshole, but alive," She muttered, protectively standing in front of Flynn, despite how small she was in comparison to the both of them.

Elizabeth watched carefully but she no longer looked threatening, only understanding why Belle didn't believe her. She wouldn't believe either of them if she didn't feel that connection between herself and Flynn, even when she couldn't see him. She did flinch when Belle mentioned looking for her son and looked down when she mentioned Nicholas. Elizabeth briefly walked over the book shelf, easily taking out the leather from the shelve. "I did look for him, everyday for three years. After the first year, I thought I was going mad. That's when my mother suggested that I start writing out how I felt each day in my search so-."
"Instead of hurting someone you love, you hurt the pages instead..." Flynn muttered, remembering doing the same thing when he was younger. Elizabeth smiled at him, nodding softly before presenting the rather enlarged journal. 

When she started thinking about Nicholas, she set the journal down softly, her eyes down cast to the ground. "As for my... darling Nicholas... Together... we made enemies in our past. When I was pregnant... we promised each other that we wouldn't accept any more jobs for the sake of our family. But, you can't escape the past." Elizabeth explained, looking up at both of them. "It was your first birthday... Your grandmother went out to the town to pick up your favorite food and me and your father decided to take you by the lake, since you loved it out there so much. Me and you were playing in the water and your father was just about to join us... However, we heard horses and yelling. I had enough time to hide both of us behind a huge rock in the river... your father was captured by them and by misfortune, they were victims of his last job. Sparing you the details, they killed him..."

Belle looked towards Flynn as he managed to finish the woman's sentence for her. She pursed her lips. They did have a connection, and they did look alike. It was hard for her to be stubborn, but that didn't mean she could trust her. Anyone who even considered threatening Flynn automatically earned a place on her shit list. That was just how things worked. 

She absently put her hand over her stomach when she started to talking about how they'd given up their careers for their family. Belle hadn't chosen to stop being an assassin. It had been forced upon her. As she went onto talk about how Nicholas had died, Belle furrowed her brows and pursed her lips. "Hades," she mumbled, looking over at Flynn. "He did something... He's showing us something different than what is," She whispered, trying to sound logical. "I wouldn't put it past him... He wants us weak... Showing you your mother...?" She made a slight face and then looked over at Elizabeth. "... My name is Belle, by the way," she finally sighed, figuring she should know. "Belle Laine Rolfe," she clarified.

Flynn shook his head softly, hating this rushing feeling of emotions that he thought he subdued a long time ago. Elizabeth watched as Belle put her hand on her stomach before smiling a bit as she introduced herself. "It's very nice to meet you Belle... The fact that you are wearing the heirloom and how much you're protective, I'm glad I've had the chance to meet the woman that my son has fallen in love with..." Elizabeth said before looking over at Flynn. "In this other...time? The time you come from..."

Flynn nodded his head softly, his grip tightening on Belle's lightly. "You died from childbirth... and well... you wouldn't be so happy with what happened to Father afterwards... He changed... and left the day I turned five. And... Grandmother died when I turned 12..." Flynn explained, looking down and his voice slowly turning into a whisper. Elizabeth listened to his story, her eyes soften and her facial features turning into heart break. "That's awful... I never... ever... this time or yours... wanted that to happen to you..." She whispered, moving forward. She looked at Belle with cautious eyes before moving around her, wrapping her arms affectionately around Flynn's shoulders. 

Flynn at first looked her wide eyed, going to back up, but found himself that he just couldn't. When she whispered how much she wanted to be there for him, his arms started to wrap around his mother's middle and his face hiding in her shoulder, having the appearance of a small child with the undying want to have his mother be alive, his father to be less of the monster that he turned out to be, and for them to be happy, together.

Belle watched the two of them, unsure of where she stood now. She did not feel awkward as most people might. She only wanted to protect Flynn. To make sure he wasn't hurt emotionally. After all, this was not their world. Not their real one, at least. Nirethia had burned down. This house was destroyed. How was Flynn going to react when they had to leave? She bit her bottom lip in uncertainty. 

When Elizabeth moved over to hug Flynn, Belle tensed. But, as Flynn accepted her into his arms and even returned the hug, Belle felt her heart pull. She was happy he was getting to see his mother. She knew how much he had wanted that in his life. But, to know he wasn't going to be able to keep this -- to stay here... She wasn't sure she wanted him that close. "Flynn...?" Belle piped up, her eyes conveying her worry for him. He had to realize this was just an illusion Hades was using to weaken him.

Flynn tighten his arms more around her, enveloping the warm and affectionate embrace that he dreamed about for so long. However, as Belle spoke up, Flynn instantly knew why she had that lace of concern in her voice. As she said, Hades brought them here to become attached and weak to an illusion that he made. Hesitantly, he moved away from his mother's embrace and back towards Belle. Elizabeth only nodded at his actions, understanding why he did so.

"Well... We all don't know how long you two are staying here so why not get to know each other? No harm in that right?" Elizabeth asked with a smile before untying her cloak and placing it on the hook, revealing a tight dress around her frame. "So... Belle. How did you meet my son?" Elizabeth asked curiously while she lit the place.

Belle sighed a bit under her breath as he moved back to her. She took his hand and laced their fingers together. She looked over at the woman as she spoke up and arched her brow. She had to admit, the woman was beautiful. It would explain why Flynn was so handsome. 

"I... Well. I was on a mission to kill a man. And Flynn was on a mission by my brother to keep me from getting killed, and to get some plans from the man. He saved me from getting... hurt... And then I threatened to kill him. But, he was too cute for me to slit his throat," she hummed. She took off her jacket to reveal the tight fitting black tank top she wore over her jeans. But, she felt out of place in her modern clothing.

Flynn smiled at Belle softly and chuckled nervously at her bluntness, not sure at how she would react to Belle's story. However, to his surprised, his mother giggled at her story. "Sounds romantic." Elizabeth teased, walking over to Belle and taking her hand gently. "I'm glad my son found someone so powerful to be in love with rather than a damsel in distress. And a secret between you and me, I tried to kill his father as well when we first met." Elizabeth whispered the last part to Belle before winking at her playfully.

Belle looked up to the woman and bit her bottom lip, smirking a bit after a moment. She laughed to herself and arched a brow. "Really? Well, I can't imagine why he would have problems with such a beautiful woman," She teased, then paused and made a face. "Ew. I just flirted with my fiance's mom. I need rum," She muttered, shaking her head and walking to the kitchen. She ran a hand through her hair and shook her head. "Ew... You don't drink, do you?" she huffed, pouting out her bottom lip as she came back into the room and lazily sprawled out on the couch.

Flynn looked between both of them before chuckling, shaking his head and walking to the couch and sitting on it, watching how Belle and his mother acted around each other. Elizabeth smirked slightly before curtsying to Belle's compliment. "Belle, darling. I am 35. Receiving such fine flattery from a gorgeous women like yourself and not thugs down at the tavern, is an amazing compliment." Elizabeth said before raising her brow in amusement. Elizabeth floated over to a cabinet, opening it to take out a bottle and two small glasses, before making her way over to the couch to join the two of them. "You must think I don't drink because my son doesn't? Well, fortunately, he gotten that from his Grandmother, not me." Elizabeth hummed in a lively manner, giving a glass to Belle and clicking theirs together before taking a sip.

After she took a sip, she placed the glass down on the table. "And he didn't have a problem with me. He was... infatuated more than anything. It was me who had the problem. When you live with your mother your whole life without any men... Well, you can imagine how irritated I was with him." Elizabeth explained, smirking at the memories that came back.

Belle grinned brightly when Elizabeth came out with rum. She scrambled into Flynn's lap and gladly took the glass. "I'd offer you some, but... You were an asshold last time you drank," she pointed out towards Flynn and snuggled close to him as she took a few sips. 

She arched a brow and chuckled to herself. "I understand... My brother wouldn't let me out of the house. I didn't have any experience with men until I came across Flynn. Well, none other than, hey, let me take your clothes off," She clarified.

Flynn chuckled lightly, ducking his head slightly from his shameful drinking. Elizabeth shook her head softly, her smile matching. "Your father was also a bad drinker. Sadly, alcohol makes the finest men into demon spawns." Elizabeth commented before looking back at Belle. She nodded softly, smiling at their common past. "It's common for others to think women who stayed at home for all their adolescent years are expected to be meek, simple minding, weak. I like to argue that we turn out to be stronger than the common village girl." She said with a wink. 

Elizabeth looked over a Flynn. "Darling, would you like me to make you something to drink as well? I feel awfully rude having you not having some sort of beverage as well." She asked, her motherly tone already coming in. Flynn shook his head softly. "No, no. It's fine... I'll actually make myself something... It's been sometime since I've actually made tea." Flynn teased, looking at Belle with a smile before getting up, heading towards the kitchen. Elizabeth giggled at him before looking at Belle with soft eyes. She moved closer, placing a hand on the girl's knee. "When are you going to tell him?" Elizabeth asked, her voice in a soft whisper.

Belle nodded and sipped at her rum. "John taught me to be strong. I do like being alone. But, I prefer to be with Flynn now," she sighed and looked towards him, her golden eyes warm. She kissed his cheek and giggled a bit as he went to go get himself his own drink. She had given up her hope of him drinking with her a long time ago. She had Eric for that, anyway. 

As Elizabeth came over to her, she chewed the inside of her cheek and looked down for a second before back at the woman. "I don't know what you're talking about," She lied feebly."He just thinks I've put on a few pounds," she mumbled, trying to loosen her tight tank top from her stomach.

Elizabeth raised an amused brow at Belle as she lied. Elizabeth placed a soft hand on Belle's stomach. "Belle, after the miracle of having Flynn... I've helped many women during child birth and even through pregnancy. It may be small, but I can easily tell when someone has gained pounds or baby weight." Elizabeth explained with a wink. "My son, who only grew up with his grandmother, loved you so much that he gave you our pride and joy in our family will be overjoyed will you tell him. There is nothing to fear..."

Belle pursed her lips and looked down to her stomach then, looking towards the woman's hand on her stomach. She turned her golden eyes up towards her then and sighed. "I know he will be... It's just... I thought I couldn't even have children... I was raped not too long ago and he stabbed me in the stomach... Cut me up really badly, actually... And then Eric and Kida, my best friend and my sister... They healed my scars and Eric swore he healed my stomach... But, I'm scared It will fail and I'll lose them," She whispered, her hands protective of her stomach now. "I don't want to get his hopes up," she sighed.

Elizabeth listened to her and nodded softly, her blue eyes soften and understanding. She looked over at the window, seeing that the rain settled down completely. "Come with me..." Elizabeth said softly, grabbing Belle's hand and gently tugging her up. "I'm going to take her out back... If that's alright with you?" She asked Flynn and he nodded softly. "Of course... Be careful." Elizabeth nodded before gently tugging Belle out towards the back. 

Once they were outside, the cool, moist air of the forest, Elizabeth wrapped her arm around Belle's, walking towards the back where the stables are. "Belle, when I was born, my mother was told that her daughter had a weak heart. What that meant, I couldn't perform daily tasks as efficient as others. As a child, I would take at least three naps a day that usually took two hours per day. Back when I was a kid, Nirethia was more of a tight knit community than it is today. Everyone, including the rich and the poor, knew everything about everyone else, rumor or not." Elizabeth explained to Belle as they walked slowly through the back garden.

"So, when people discovered that my mother had given birth to a girl that couldn't do anything without resting, well... you can only imagine how much villagers snickered about me. Calling me a useless human being, the child that god never wanted, and endless amount of things. My parents finally moved out here, building this cottage for weeks, and keeping me out of the villager's spiteful mouths. However, that didn't stop me from acting upon the scars that they caused from their words. I wanted to be stronger than what they thought of me, from what my parents thought, and even from myself." Elizabeth stepped away from Belle to open the stable doors, leading both her and Belle in. She walked over and lit both lamps of the stable, revealing only one ebony horse in the stable. 

"So each day, I practiced my strength, agility, stamina out here. Running laps around the cottage, using pitch forks and hay, and I even made a wooden dummy to punch around." Elizabeth giggled at bit at the memory, walking over the wooden dummy in the corner of the stable and pulling it out. "Some days made it extremely difficult, those are the days that I almost died from over exhausting myself, and some days made it well worth it. Eventually over time, I gotten stronger, not worrying about my 'weaken' self anymore." 

"Another reason why I didn't like Nicholas at first." Elizabeth said, looking back at Belle with a small smirk before her fingers trailed down a gash in the dummy's contents. "I thought he would make me feel weak, just a common housewife to him. However, Nicholas... he isn't like the man you think of him today. He seemed cocky, cold towards everyone but me. He always made the exception to be endearing to me, even if he made fun of how weak I was compared to him. He believed in me each and every day, coming down here to help me train. He's the reason why I started taking jobs as a spy." 

"We married a few months after meeting each other and after a year of being together, Nicholas started to hint how much he wanted us to have a child... I never told him how severe my heart problems were. That... having a child... could endanger both my life and the baby's. But... despite my mother's wishes, I tried with Nicholas, for him. He always believed in me, so I needed to believe in myself." Elizabeth whispered, placing her hand on her stomach, in the memory of being pregnant before looking back towards Belle. She smiled softly before walking back over to her and grabbing both of her hands. 

"My pregnancy was one of the hardest experience in my life. It wasn't the 'normal' pregnancy issues, morning sickness, aching back and foot pains, but more of my issues came from my health. Half of the days, even from how far you are, I almost.... lost Flynn and Nicholas had no idea why it kept happening..." Elizabeth shook her head lightly, wiping a lone tear from her cheek. "But... I kept going, I kept believing that I wouldn't lose myself or him. And... I know where you come from, I died from giving birth to Flynn... But being that Flynn survived even if I didn't... is a miracle in itself and I'm grateful that I had enough strength to give him his life." Elizabeth said before placing her hands softly on Belle's cheeks. 

"The moral of this long and tedious story, is that even if life gives you reasons not to believe in yourself, you turn back around and you kick it in the ass, telling them that they are wrong about you. Whoever this monster is, that did those terrible things to you, he wants to win over you. He wants you to feel weak and let you think that you can't do what you can. Belle, call it a mother intuition, but I believe that you won't lose your babies and I know, that my son will be there for you, just like my Nicholas, giving you the strength to continue."

Belle followed Elizabeth, no hesitation this time. She knew that she couldn't get close to this woman, and she figured she would have no reason to. Sure, she was Flynn's mother, but Belle was guarded. She had been since she'd lost her own parents and had to depend on John. So, listening to the woman now was nice. After all, who else could she turn to about being pregnant? Kida had lost her baby. Maybe it was genetic. 

She ran her hands back through her hair, pulling it over one shoulder as she watched the woman walk around the stable. A part of her was disappointed to not see Phillipe in the stable like he had always been beside Maximus. Her stomach wrenched to think of how they had suffered in the correct version of Nirethia. But, she tried to only focus on Elizabeth's kind words.

When the woman came back over to her, she looked up at her, her golden eyes vulnerable and unsure. She had faith that Flynn would stand with her and help her. It was just her lack of faith in herself that was the problem. Still, if she even had a chance of having a family with Flynn -- the life she'd never thought even possible for herself... She would do anything for that. 

"Thank you, Elizabeth..." She whispered and gently wrapped her arms around the woman's waist, finding that the only area she could reach. She hugged her and sighed, closing her eyes like she was hugging her own mother. "You remind me of my mother... She didn't curse, but still," Belle laughed a bit. "I hope you're right about it.... Flynn will stay with me, I know that. He's always held me up when I cried over my scars and my wounds... I know he wishes he could have been the one to heal me, but... He doesn't have the magic that Eric and Kida do, as well as myself," she sighed, shaking her head. 

"It's a boy and a girl, though... Twins," She clarified, smiling a bit to herself. "I want them to be just like Flynn... Maybe they'll stay out of trouble that way," she smiled a bit shyly.

Elizabeth smiled as Belle wrapped her arms around her, Elizabeth doing the same and softly caressing the girl's hair. She chuckled a bit at the cursing before shrugging lightly, not excusing her language. Sighing softly when Belle told her that Flynn wanted to help her with her scars, remembering Nicholas had the same problem when she was pregnant and in pain. She smiled though as Belle talked about twins and being like her son. Elizabeth pulled back and brushed Belle's cheek lightly. "As much as I wish that, I also wish that they turn out like you, Belle. Independent, Strong... and hopefully fun." Elizabeth said with a wink before smirking at the girl softly.