She started walking. And walking. And walking. And walking.

It was cold. Her cheeks were numb and stiff from where her tears had fallen and left a thin salty coat over her skin. Her jacket was hardly any use at all. She'd tucked her arms around her chest but it was no good. The chill that was in the air was nothing compared to the chill that was radiating from within her body. It was coming from her heart.

She didn't want to see anyone, she didn't want to be touched or looked at, she was certain that she would come apart at the smallest glance or tiniest look. But most importantly of all she was afraid of what would happen if she stopped walking, if she gave up the familiar rhythm of one foot in front of the other.

On and on she walked. Until her feet were sore, until she was sure she had blisters, until she felt like one had burst and was bleeding. She cried. She cried a lot. She cried until she couldn't cry anymore, then she would have some flash, some thought of a memory that had once been happy but now only seemed dark and tainted somehow because she wasn't sure she could ever believe anything that he'd told her, anything he'd ever done for her, or anything they'd ever done together had truly been good. When she remembered that, she started to cry once more until her cheeks were soaked through again.

Eventually his cries faded. The town line she was sure had disappeared behind her miles ago. The minutes ticked on to hours as she walked and she couldn't bring herself to care until she got home.

Home.

Still home. She'd wandered all night. The sun was coming up when she picked up her head and realized that she'd brought herself right back to the same place that she'd called home for too long to remember. His home. Only…

Only it didn't feel like his home. It didn't feel like their home. And as she stared at the steps, the porch, the door, she wondered if it ever had felt like their home.

It felt like her home. Hers. Not his. Since the curse had broken she'd used it more than he had. From the moment she first stepped inside she'd taken control of it, cleaning and organizing. Once she'd moved out she'd missed it. After Lacey, when he'd been away in Neverland she'd stayed here, after the new curse had been cast she'd lived here, after they'd married…

Well, she'd certainly spent more time here than she had during their short marriage. At least now she knew why.

She had the paperwork. That was one of the few things that they'd done in their time together. It belonged to her. All of it. She'd never really thought to consider that but the house, the car, the money, the library, even the shop, it all belonged to her. And though she'd never wanted it she was surprised by the thought that it felt like it belonged to her. All of it.

Before she could let herself consider just what that meant she found herself walking up the steps to the front door. She had no keys. They were in her bag, which was still back at the library, and she supposed that she could go back there, go live in the apartment above the library like she had last time but…she just couldn't.

She dropped down to her knees on the porch, moved to grab a couple of bobby pins from her hair and-

She was still holding the dagger. This useless, worthless, piece of…

It didn't matter now. What it was, what it had been. He was gone. Forever gone. It was just a worthless ornate thing now, the last piece of her-its Dark One.

He'd never been hers. Only the daggers.

Her muscles cramped as she dropped it next to her and held back a sob by picking up where she'd left off. She grabbed the bobby pins from her hair and allowed Lacey to do what she did best and unlock the door for her so she didn't have to break one of the windows.

Last time she'd been here without him, when he'd been in Neverland and when Zelena held him captive, it felt like the house was a shadow of who he was. That little bit was still there but now it felt like hers! Just as it had outside. Her books were on the tables. Her coats hung from the hooks. Her belongings were scattered around just as much if not more than his. Yes. The house, the car, the shop…it was all hers. Maybe that was right. Maybe it was good.

Her stomach, her bones, her muscles, her body ached as she wandered through the house, locking the door only as a second thought. She'd been here before. She knew this feeling because she'd felt it before. This. Right now. Just once before. The day he'd told her to leave the castle. The day she'd told him that his choice had left him with nothing but an empty heart.

It was strange. She felt like she should have felt it a million times before now. After the mines. The day he'd left for Neverland. The day he'd died…

But nothing cut deeper than betrayal. Nothing stung more than having the last word. Maybe she should have realized that before now.

She left the dagger on the table by the door. Useless as it was she'd decide what to do with it later. If she wanted to do anything at all. The doorway to the basement stared her down, dared her to stare back at it, but she just wouldn't. That would be the one place in this house that didn't feel like hers, that was clearly his, the place he could escape to his magic and leave the rest of the world, including her, behind. As she climbed up the stairs the first thought was to burn everything in it. The basement was made of stone it would hold up but the shelves, the wheel, the magic, the books-

No, she couldn't let anything happen to it. Much as she hated it, they might come in handy sometime. She could take the books. Give the magic to Regina. Now she understood just why he hadn't wanted her to dabble in it. After what had happened to him, the last thing that she wanted was to ever go near any of it again!

Their bedroom-

Her bedroom.

She was glad she'd changed the linens before she'd gone back to town. She was happy she'd thought to do the laundry.

But she felt her chin tremble at that thought and felt herself start to cry as she began to undress. In the past she would have convinced herself that if she kept moving it would be better, that she could survive. Now she knew better. She didn't even try to hide her pain because she knew it was useless.

Endings were rarely happy. Difficult. Sad. Horrible. Painful. That was what made up her endings. And the sad thing was that the more difficult the ending, the more difficult the beginning. Everything was clean. Ready for a fresh start she didn't know she'd be experiencing the last time she'd been back. It had been difficult when she'd left the castle decades ago too. That beginning had been…terrible.

But she'd done it to herself. She'd all but given up. Stopped eating. Stopped sleeping. Forgot about shelter. Forgot about water. She'd left behind every will to live she ever had!

She couldn't do it this time.

She wouldn't.

She was still crying by the time the sun began to lighten the sky and she sat down on her bed in a nightgown. She didn't know when she'd gotten ready for bed, but she knew when she'd decided that she couldn't lose herself again like she had last time. It was the moment she moved to cover her face in a sob and her eyes landed on the band she wore on her left hand. Her wedding ring. The ring that he'd given her only days ago when they'd stood at that well and professed their love for one another. She didn't know it was possible for life to change as fast as it had. Silly really. When had life ever changed slowly for her?!

Never.

Not once.

Not since she'd met-

He was still her husband. She was still Belle Gold. He was still her past. As much as she didn't want to, as much as she felt like she shouldn't, she still loved him. Only now…she just didn't know if she could believe that he'd ever loved her like this. If he ever felt anything close to what she felt for him! He'd cried as he'd gone over that line. But had it been for her? Or for the Dark One? He was human now. Out there, somewhere. He was mortal and had the same chance at life that she had only, maybe his chance was a little better.

And he…he could do this. He had once before. Then he'd had Neal to keep him going. Now…he'd find something. He always had been looking for something. There was a time she'd convinced herself it was her. But if she'd been enough then he wouldn't have been searching for more, whatever more was. Maybe he could find whatever it was that really mattered to him out there, without her. Clever as he was he could start over again. She still believed that he could do anything he set his mind too. She just hoped, and feared, that all this would be worth it in the end.

But she wasn't like him. She'd cherished him and him alone above all else in this world. She had a long road ahead of her. It was going to be a long journey to find out who she was without him. If she was going to survive this it would take all of her strength, all of her energy, every bit of courage that she had and that included the bit that he'd instilled in her. And it would require a fresh start. A clean, thorough, undeniable break. She had to move from her past to her future. And she had to do it now.

So as the sunlight crept once more into her bedroom, she managed to push herself up. She made her way to the jewelry box that she kept on her dresser. With a shaking hand she removed her wedding band, dropped it into one of the slots alone, away from her other meaningless trinkets, and closed the lid on her past.

Well, welcome to the end. I really hope that you enjoyed this story! The next story in the Moments series is Moments Experienced and Unexperienced and you can find it by simply heading over to my profile. It begins with the morning after Belle banishes Rumple in "Heroes and Villains" and ends just after the darkness is removed from him in "Operation Mongoose Part 2".

Of course if you liked what you read please review! I love getting those wonderful little gems in my inbox and communicating with the people reading on a personal level. And if you want to read more please check out any of the other fictions in the Moments Series. For more information on the Moments Series, upcoming fictions, posting and publishing dates, or a reading order check out my profile. Peace and Happy Reading!