A Comparatively Brief Author's Note
for before Chapter Nine
Hi, everyone. You won’t be needing too much backstory for the next chapter, but I wanted to give you a heads-up because it incorporates more video clips in closer succession than any other chapter. I’m inserting them right before the text of each scene, so you can watch them as they come up. My unique spin is that Rumple orchestrated this “little expedition” as a test for Belle. The TV show never said so explicitly, but writers Kitsis and Horowitz did say that Belle’s superpower is her ability to see the good. That’s absolutely the driving force of what’s coming.
All the backstory you’ll need is Rumpelstiltskin’s. He’s had a tough life from the start. His mother abandoned him in infancy, and his father lasted only a few years longer, fobbing him off on some spinsters. There will be more about this in Chapters Ten and Eleven.
The chapter will also mention his wife, Milah. She delivered Bae while he was fighting in the Ogres War. Desperate not to repeat the cycle of absentee parenthood, he injured himself so he could get out of the fighting and go home.
Like most of Rumple’s decisions, it worked out badly for him. He became the village pariah after that. Milah despised him most of all and couldn’t stand the poverty and low status they were forced to endure. She stuck around for five years or so, and then ran off with Captain Hook, leaving Rumple to raise Bae alone. (For a reminder of Bae’s backstory, look here.)
That’s all you need for my novel, but there’s been some other news relating to the teacup featured in Chapter Eight.
The Real Life Fate of the Teacup
Right now, actor Robert Carlyle is promoting his recent project, the limited series “The Full Monty,” now on Hulu. He won his Bafta for the movie of that title some 25 years ago, and the series tells the story of what became of those characters since then. I’ll probably review it when I finish the series.
The video clip below divides six cast members into two teams, and they have to answer “Full Monty” trivia. The interviewer asked if they picked up any props from the original set, and Bobby (if I may be so informal) answered that he didn’t take anything from “The Full Monty,” but he did take the teacup from “Once Upon a Time.” When he auctioned it off for charity, it sold for £5,000!
It just goes to show you the depth of the love we fans have for the story of Rumple and Belle. Rumple’s dagger is as important a symbol, but it would never be as treasured as that cup. I only hope my interpretation adds to its meaning, and I hope all of you are growing to love Belle and Rumple as much as I do. Thanks for reading!