Hey everyone! I've had this idea for a while and finally decided to write it. This story will have some of the major events from the show but I have put my own kind of twist to it. As always, I do not own Once Upon A Time, I can only dream. I hope you enjoy!

The night was unseasonably cool, even for autumn. A brisk wet wind was swirling through the sullen old trees, stirring around decayed branches and brown leaves. Princess Belle pulled up her dark hood to cover her pale face. It would not be in her best interest to be recognized, especially out of the protection of her castle.

She saw her breathe with each exhale, while she examined the forest around her. In the dark of the night, the endless woods seemed to go on forever, it was peaceful and quiet while she listened to the soft sound of gentle raindrops falling on the branches of the trees.

These woods were far from ordinary, the essence of magic was all around, these trees were very old, they had witness things beyond anyone's imagination. There were even tales, horror stories for children, about what imaginative terrors resided within the darkness.

But Belle knew no such things about darkness, being born a princess, she was a treasured gem, a sparkling light of the Avonlean Kingdom. She was an extraordinary beauty born of high grace and nobility, whose only crime was disobeying her father by being out of her chambers this late at night.

Ever since the passing of her mother, her father, King Maurice, had been very strict on his commands for his only beloved daughter. She knew very little of the world outside her glassed castle window, and Maurice intended to keep it that way. Even in her own castle, Belle could feel the weight of other's eyes upon her everywhere she went, watching her with a protective guard, making sure she did not stray too far away.

However, the princess was stubborn and strong willed, determined to explore the world, and adventure the lands that lay beyond Avonlea. Once whenever the opportunity would arise, when the night sky was clear and full of stars, Belle would grab her black peasant cloak and sneak out of the castle, indulging herself in everything the outside world had to offer.

The forest was her favorite place, she came to realize. The pictures and imagery she read in her books were not satisfactory to the real thing. The fresh smell of the forest pines and recent rainfall filled her nose, while she sat against one of the trees and gazed up at the stars, making the same wish she always did in a gentle lullaby:

By day I'm stuck within castle walls,

while adventure screams and the forest calls,

My wish is pure, just like a dove,

I wish to find my one true love.

Stars so bright, and stars so clear,

Please let someone take me away from here.

As always, her gentle song was heard by no one but the trees and the crickets. Eventually, when she became tired, the beauty would gather her things and return towards the path towards the castle.

As she walked along on the gravel trail, the chirping sounds of crickets drifted along in the wind, while somewhere in the distance, Belle heard the howl of a lone wolf.

The pathway towards the castle opened suddenly into a beautiful moonlit courtyard. Belle slipped through the heavy protective gates, carefully taking her skirts in hand, careful not to snag the golden fabric on the rusted sharp metal.

She then climbed the worn stone steps to a tiny side window, open just enough to squeeze herself back inside. She found herself in a dim room with a low ceiling, lit by a pair of scented candles that flickered against the decorative thick walls. She recognized the familiar tapestries she had been surrounded by her entire life, the patterned carpets and most importantly, Belle recognized the sounds of her father's guards approaching.

Her heart raced in her cheat as she tried to find a way to hide herself. "My Lady?" A voice called from down the hall, and Belle immediately knew had been caught. She felt he entire body freeze, as if the spoken words of the guards forced her to remain hopelessly in one pathetic spot.

"Where are you?" He called, his voice coming closer, while the dim light of the fire lit the dark walls, casting out his shadow. It would only be seconds until he saw her, standing there, dressed in peasant clothes, caught red handed breaking her father's rules. When the footsteps of the kings guard were undeniably close, Belle stepped out from the shadows behind the door, defeated, accepting the fat that she had been caught.

"I suppose you're going to tell my father about this?" The beauty attempted to throw her womanly charm into her sentence, but the guards were loyal servants to her father, and her attempt of appeal had failed miserably.

"As usual, my Lady, you are correct, please come with me. Your father is in the throne room."

The walk down the main hallway gave Belle plenty of time to arrange what she was going to say to her father. She walked behind the guard, lost in thought, dwelling on the punishments the King would give to her for disobeying him. Belle dreaded the sound of the large door opening, creaking with a low squeak as the guard led the beauty before her father.

"My Lord" the guard entered the room, following by the beauty, whose head hung low, formed in a respective bow. "I found Princess Belle lurking around the first floor, a window was also found open near her whereabouts"

Belle didn't even bother to glance up, she didn't need the disapproving stare to know that he already knew what she was up to.

"Leave us" Maurice ordered the obedient guards, who immediately exited, while the sound of the heavy door slammed shut, leaving Belle and Maurice alone.

"Father, I can explain-" Belle began.

"Explain?" Maurice repeated, "You were out gallivanting in the middle of the night for Gods sake, explain why you broke my one rule about going outside the castle walls."

"I just wanted to see the full moon.. Up close for once" she spoke, innocently. "Books can only take my imagination so far"

Maurice shook his head back and forth so much that Belle thought that his golden jeweled crown would fall off his head. He ignored any pleas or explanations his daughter had proposed, "Belle do you have any idea was kind of monsters lurk in the forests, especially on a full moon?"

She wanted to continue to protest, to fight for what she wanted, but her words came out stuttered, like a frightened child who had just gotten in trouble, "I just thought-"

"You thought nothing!" Maurice retorted, "you must do as your told and serve your duty to the court and the realm as my daughter!"

"But you never let me do anything!" Belle hissed angrily, unable to keep her anger boiled inside any longer. "And for very good reason", Maurice argued back, "I only want to keep you safe from those who would do you harm"

"You barely even let me leave the castle!" she exclaimed, frustrated on where the conversation was heading, "It's more like a prison than a home! I can barely call it a life! I'm not a child any longer!"

"This castle is no prison!" He protested feebly. "A prison does not have servants, fine clothes or fine dining. You must remember your place young lady, you have responsibilities, you're a princess."

"I wish I wasn't sometimes" she mumbled under her breath. She heard him let out a defeated sigh as she ran out of the room, holding back her irritated tears until she reached the comforts of her chambers, slamming the door violently as she went.

The king sighed deeply, slouching back into the comfort of his throne. He ran his fingers around his swollen temple as he turned to one of the guards, sighing, "war is easier than daughters"

Belle slept little as the small hours continued to creep towards dawn. She listened to the sounds of guards pacing outside her bedroom, and the noises of the animals which hummed and called from outside her window. Most hours of the nights, she would lay in her bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. However, when the moment finally arrived that the beauty thought she might fall back asleep-

"Time to get up, m'lady" the sound of her handmaiden voiced throughout the room, as a groan of displeasure left Belle's lips the minute she was awoken. Her blue eyes still felt heavy as she forced herself to roll to the edge of the bed and eventually slide off.

The smells of a cooked breakfast filled her nose, causing her stomach to rumble desperately. She knew the dining room was going to be filled with royal servants and other soldiers, while the long polished table would be crowded with fresh breakfast. Her stomach grumbled again as Belle held onto part of the wall as her handmaiden tied up her corset. "It's too tight, Charlotte" the beauty complained, allowing herself to take in short breaths between each tight pull.

"This is the latest fashion, m'lady, it is said to be very popular- especially with the men," she continued, "they like a themselves a girl with a tiny waist"

"And apparently the ability to breathe without oxygen" Belle gasped, letting out growling noises with each pull and tug. Charlotte quickly tied the ribbons up with a perfect bow and helped the beauty with the rest of her dress.

Afterwards, the princess strolled into the main dining hall, searching for an open chair among the busy table. Belle took the seat across the table from her father and carefully placed the silk white napkin on her lap, cautious not to get any food on her new golden jeweled dress.

She noticed her father staring from across the table, surely he was conflicted on what to talk to her about, especially following the fight they had the night before. She raised an eyebrow at him as he continue to glance in her direction. In front of her lay a small ceramic bowl filled with steaming porridge, topped with plump purple blueberries.

"Belle-" he started, but he was interrupted by his daughter, who, as always, had a clever remark to make, still upset about the conversation they had last night.

"Oh, I'm sorry,' Belle stopped herself before she began eating, "I almost forgot, do you want to check this porridge? It could be dangerous you know-"

"Stop it, Belle" the King warned, "for God's sake lets not get in an argument this early in the morning"

"But I thought you wanted to stop harm from coming to me, father, I mean there is a slight chance I could choke on this steaming bowl of mush and die-"

"Enough" his voice became deeper, louder, and much more serious. His tone had startled his daughter, causing her to stare up and blink at him, swallowing a lump that had formed in her throat.

Belle placed the spoon down on the table with a large clunk and swallowed the spoonful of porridge in her mouth. "I'm going to go for a walk out in the gardens" the princess declared, turning to her father briefly, as he gave a slight head nod. Before she left, the beauty shoveled the rest of the porridge into her mouth and grabbed a shiny red apple to go.

"Do you want us to accompany the princess, my lord?" The guards turned towards Maurice, who watched his daughter while she independently strolled out of the dining hall.

"No, it's quite alright, she just needs time to breathe, heaven knows what she would do to any of us if she thought we were following her" Maurice responded, dismissing the guards to return to their duty. However, the King was unaware that his daughter wasn't going to a place so tranquil as the castle gardens, no, Belle had a much more exciting day planned, she was going into the village.

It was dark where he was crouched but the young boy did as he had been told. The lady had said to wait, it wasn't safe yet, they had to be as quiet as a mere mouse. It was just like a game, just like hide and seek. From behind the wooden barrels the little brown headed boy listened. He made a picture in his mind like his papa had told him to do when he was scared. Men, near and far, peasants and merchant farmers, shouted at one another. Rough and deep voices, full of the dry dirty air. In the distance he could hear the desperate sound of sheep and horses, while the footsteps of chickens frolicked around the empty barrels, hoping to find extra grain.

The lady would be back, she'd said so, but now, Baelfire was not sure. He had been waiting a long time, so long that the sun had drifted across the sky and was now warming the bottom of his knees rather than the top of his head of hair. He imagined that he could hear the sound of the lady's skirts, swishing against the wooden floor. Her footsteps quick and in a hurry, clacking towards him, but as much as Baelfire wished it, no such sounds came.

Carefully, he surfaced his head above the piles of wooden barrels to see what lay ahead of him. He saw nothing particularly dangerous, she men and women, strolling and busking around the scrambled village around them. Slowly and cautiously he emerged from the rubble and started to walk where most of the crowds had been walking. He found himself being pushed and shoved by the townspeople, pulling his shoulders back towards his body, timidly.

That's when he heard the sound of horses, neighing with protest as the crack of a whip sounded through the streets. He witnessed people moving quickly out of the way, holding their children back. Then he felt his heart drop down into his stomach. The horse cart raced towards him, pushing up the dry dust on the road. Baelfire felt as if his feet were rooted into the ground, his heart pounding rapidly in his chest. To his fright, the carriage did not slow down.

As the carriage came so close that Baelfire closed his eyes, he expected the painful hurt of the impact. Then something happened that the young boy did not expect, instead of feeling the brutality of a carriage, he felt warm arms around him, pushing him out of the way of the road and off to the side where he would be safe.

He landed on the side of the road, his eyes shut tightly the entire time. The horse carriage immediately came to a halt, skidding on the rough dirt, creating a gust of filthy dust.

He suddenly heard a soft gentle voice trying to ask him questions "Are you alright?" she questioned, "are you hurt?" The beauty examined the child, checking his arms for any sign of broken bones.

The brown eyed boy nodded, staring up into the big wide blue eyes of the beauty, reassuring that he was fine. While Belle took it upon herself to serve justice to the careless and reckless driver. The driver was a short fat man with overgrown stubble on his chin. His face turned into a scowl as he stepped down from the carriage, his face red with anger. "Look here you bastard brat!" He pointed at Baelfire "you almost caused this cart to crash!"

That's when Belle arose from her crouching postion and stood up. "Are you insane?!" The beautiful chestnut haired woman yelled, "how dare you yell at this child like that! You almost ran over him! Do you not have a brain in your skull?"

"How dare you speak to me like that!" The driver growled, and for a moment Belle feared he would approach closer and attack her, or worse, that he would attack the boy. "That is no way to speak to your Princess, I could get you hanged for that" Belle whipped off the top part of her hood, revealing her face. "I could dare say that could be accounted for as treason"

Then it was if the whole village stopped and stared at the event. Belle heard the people whispering, looking and pointing at her in awe, some even going so far to bow down on their knees. "M'lady.." The man was speechless, "please, you must forgive me" he bent down on his knees. "I'm a good person, honest!" He pleaded, "just don't tell the king about this"

"I will forgive you only because I wish to waste no more time on you" She spat, soothingly rubbing the tips of her fingers on Baelfire's shoulders. Through all the hysteria, Belle and all the villagers were unaware that close by, they were being observed and watched.

"Shh, it's alright, you're safe now" she reassured him, "what is your name? How old are you, love?" she asked, calmly.

"Baelfire" the boy responded, his voice remained a little shaky from the previous event, "My name is Baelfire, I'm eight"

"Why are you alone, Baelfire?" Belle questioned, "where are your parents?"

"I was with my maid, then she told me to wait in the barrels, and she just left" he stuttered, "she told me she would be back-" his big brown eyes searching hers for some sort of reassurance. "Your maid?" Belle repeated, "where did she go?" Belle's voice was soft and and soothing. "I don't know," he admitted, rather sadly, "she never came back to get me"

The beauty felt her heart sink in her chest. Surely, when the woman left this little boy alone, it was not by accident. Someone had carelessly left him here, abandoned all alone in the village. It took a couple of minutes for the little boy to calm down, but Belle brought him to one of the deserted side roads, one of the trails that was surrounded by foliage of the thick green forest. "Do you have any idea why she would want to run away?"

He sniffled. "She told me it was her only chance to escape, escape from my papa-"

"Who is your papa?" Belle asked, curiously, but before Bae had the chance to answer, the were interrupted by a sudden dark presence.

"That would be me" a voice answered. Belle turned around to face the sudden stranger, but when she did she tried not to let out a terrified gasp. "You're the-"

"The Dark one, yes, yes. I'm sure my reputation precedes me" he paused for a simple moment, fully taking in the presence of such a beauty before him, before his son ran into his arms.

"And you're the princess to this kingdom," his impish voice pitched higher, his tone becoming amused at the sight before him, "I suppose you are the one they call Belle"

"Your assumption is correct" she stated, trying to sound as confident as she could.

"I knew I recognized you, my, my what are you doing away from all your servants, and perfect castle, your majesty?" He circled around her, mockingly, slowly observing her, and examining the simple commoner dress she tried to disguise herself in.

"That's none of your business," she spoke, "but the question brought to my attention is what are you doing leaving your child alone?!"

"It would seem that our housemaid and no longer wished to take up residence at the Dark Castle. It's no matter really, it should be easy enough to track down the wench and rip out her heart"

Belle remained frozen where she stood, swallowing a large lump that had formed in her throat. The beauty was unable to figure him out, she couldn't determine whether his last statement was a quip or if he was serious. He is the Dark One, afterall, killing is in his nature.

"I saw what you did back there" He spoke, "It was quite brave"

"I seek justice whenever it can be delivered" Belle said, timid and intimidated by the mere presence of a man she knew could kill her in a second if he really desired.

"I suppose this means I owe you a favor, I am an honorable man after all. All you need to do is call my name and I will come."

"A favor?" Belle raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm, indeed, but I'll be off now," he gave her a slight bow, gesturing to his son, "come along Bae"

"Wait!" Belle called after them, "you never told me your name" she realized.

The Dark One stopped in his tracks, a smirking smile formed on his lips. He was a master manipulator, a trickster, and yet this small princess was able to realize his trick.

"Clever girl," he cooed gently, "I suppose both beauty and intelligence can be acquired after all."

Belle scoffed at his words, "that all depends on what you consider intelligence, it is easy to see why you might think so, considering some of the low life's that live in this village."

The Dark One smirked, showing her parts of his somewhat golden and razor-like teeth. "Rumplestiltskin", he gave a low bow, stretching out his arms to his sides, courteously.

"What?"

"My name" he clarified with a short bow, "My name is Rumplestiltskin" he stated. While years of manners and proper etiquette forced Belle to grabbed the top of her skirts and return the lady-like curtsy. While Rumplestiltskin grabbed a hold of his son, like any caring father would.

It surprised Belle to see the tenderness and affection such a monster could display to another, the love that was so obviously observed. Perhaps the old tales and stories were wrong, was Rumplestiltskin really the monster every portrayed him to be? Belle was not sure, she doubted she would ever see him again. However, as much as Belle thought so, fate had much larger things planned.

Next Chapter: A threat from the ogres threaten Avonlea's Kingdom, forcing a deal to be proposed, while Maurice encourages Belle to marry his loyal swordsman, Gaston.

I will try and update as frequently as I can, and as always, thanks for reading! Leave a review and let me know what you think!