Sorry for not updating yesterday - I was at work ;_; I was also working out a little inner-argument - sometimes Rumple sounds a bit like a woman from his POV, and I was sorting through how to make myself better at writing from a man's POV (which, being a girl, is the hardest challenge I've come across so far) If you have any tips, suggestions, or areas that sound strange, feel free to tell me! :3 Thanks, I loves yew!

I huffed my cheeks and sat down in one of Rumpelstiltskin's arm chairs. I had checked every door in the entire house, and not a single one would open. Even the basement was locked.

I began to think that I had been mistaken – the key could have been from another land completely. Why would he have placed it somewhere so obvious if it had hidden something important? I slouched in the cushions and caught my breath in defeat. It was almost sunset and I had been searching all day, running from one room to the next. The estate was enormous.

I had counted almost forty rooms in total, half of them dungeons, and quite a few, bedrooms. There was even a greenery, off in the far end of the house. Pangs of sadness had hit me as I had realized how empty the hallways really were. It would be lonely, living here all alone. Perhaps the reason the man had so many errands to attend to was because he couldn't stand to remain inside.

Perhaps he was afraid of solitude.

I shook my head and forced a laugh. I knew he lived a lonely life. But I had never gotten the impression that he wanted the attention of others. He was much too reserved, too calculating.

I stared at the key in my hand. The stupid brass object glimmered in response, mocking my efforts.

The last place to search was the attic. I had left it until the end since it was the farthest from the entranceway, and I was been slightly intimidated by its sinister atmosphere. I assumed that there were many items that I wouldn't be fond of. Who knew what the man used to conjure his spells?

But if the key unlocked something up there…

I pulled the sleeves of my dress up to my elbows and ran up the steep steps. There was no banister for me to hold, so I had to press my palms against the wall as it teetered back and forth.

I soon reached the top and looked around.

To my surprise, there wasn't much besides a few shelves stacked with potions, some empty test tubes, and a number of old boxes. They were all layered with a thick sheet of dust, almost staining the items themselves. Bubbling could be heard from the left side of the room as a beaker reacted with whatever was inside.

As I made my way through the crates, I plucked a framed photograph from the ground. I grinned. It was Rumpelstiltskin – about the same age as now, I believed – sketched by an artist from a far away land. He had captured his general characteristics, but Rumpelstiltskin's nose was much too big for his face. I couldn't help but giggle. No wonder he had all but thrown it away.

"Goodness," I exclaimed, pressing my nose to one of the vials. It contained an odd, lime green liquid. Smoky, translucid bubbles floated to the surface.

Running my fingertips along the bookcases, I noticed a large amount of parchment paper, stuffed beside a pile of novels. They were yellowed at the end, curled with age, and dotted with ink smudges. Perhaps they were the ones Rumpelstiltskin had used to write me the note? I tugged at the edge of a smaller sheet and wondered what could be written upon it. Old letters, perhaps? Maps of other lands? Tales of past adventures? Hidden secrets?

But, to my disappointment, they were blank.

I sighed. I wasn't going to find anything worth my troubles.

Might as well tidy up, I thought, grabbing an old rag from the man's workbench. The white was stained with shoe polish, but it was better than nothing. Starting on one side of the room, I began to dust. It mustn't be healthy, breathing in countless filth. His lungs are sure to be awful.

I trailed the cloth over the wooden bookshelves, hand-crafted tables, and empty, jeweled vases. The white-and-blue flowered porcelain reminded me of a teacup I had seen on one of the pedestals in the entryway – a simple thing, but cracked. As I had passed my eyes over it, I had gotten the feeling that it was something important, something I should have remembered… but nothing had come to mind. I blew dust off of an antique lamp and coughed as it flew into my nose.

Suddenly, the sound of a horse neighing made me stop in place.

It had come from outside, somewhere in the front of the estate. Rumpelstiltskin didn't own any animals, at least, not to my knowledge. And he hadn't been expecting any visitors, or else he would have returned by now.

I hurried to the window on the south side of the attic and peered out into the yard. It was already dark – figures were difficult to distinguish in the shadows. However, I caught sight of a group of people – five or six men, surrounding one lady. She seemed to be in charge. They stepped from a carriage drawn by six roaring horses, stomping their hooves and blowing steam from their noses.

A feeling of uneasiness rushed over my body.

Something was wrong.

The woman was of great importance. I could tell by the way she walked, the way the men trailed behind her in a submissive manner. But who could she be? And why would she be visiting Rumpelstiltskin so late in the evening? I bit my lip nervously. He wasn't even home.

Questions began flooding through my mind. What was I supposed to tell them? What if they had traveled from a far away land, and needed a place to stay? Would it be alright to offer lodging? What if Rumpelstiltskin didn't want them in his home? What if they were here to harm him?

The more I thought, the more fearful I became. Perhaps, if I remained quiet enough, they wouldn't notice my presence. I hadn't seen them make note of my silhouette in the window, and if the reason they were here was important enough, they could always come back. Besides, no one knew I was here. Or did they? What if they had come for me?

I pressed my forehead to my palms and took a deep breath. I was the housekeeper, and nothing more. I had nothing to hide. Whatever they needed, I would do my best to procure.

I was the housekeeper, and I would act like it.

My arm was steady as I walked to the entrance and turned the handle. "Hello. How may I-"

The door swung open and my breath caught in my throat.

The woman before me grinned a chilling smile and stretched out her hand. "Hello, Belle. I am the Queen."

I arrived at the castle in a frenzy. Without pause, I ran up the steps as fast as I could and into the main room, eyes searching frantically. The dining table was bare. The kitchen, empty. Bedroom, nothing.

I raced upstairs.

"Belle!" I called, praying that she would be in the attic. Perhaps she had found a closet to hide in when the Queen had arrived, an area out of reach. Perhaps she had been so engrossed in her cleaning that she had not noticed the woman's arrival. Perhaps she was safe.

She had to be.

"Belle!" My voice rang off the walls and through my mind. My heart was racing – not with exertion, but panic. If that wench had touched her, I would tear her sneering grin off her face and shove it through her brain. I would rip her nails from her flesh one after the other, then staple them back into her skin. I would do everything in my power to utterly destroy her. "Belle!"

To my dismay, she was nowhere in sight. I collapsed into a chair with a desperate breath and slammed my fist on the table. Anger flooded my mind.

She knew I'd be gone. She knew I'd be looking for her to reverse the spell. She knew it would be easy.

This was the second time she had pulled the wool over my eyes.

I stood and walked over to my working table. The Queen was not a subtle person – she would want me to strike a deal. She would have left a message to gloat, to tell me that she had what I wanted. It was up to me to stalk her down and succumb to her desires.

Sure enough, upon the desk lay a small black envelope, sealed with blood red wax. A crimson Q. With shaking fingers, I opened it and unfolded the crinkled paper. The letter was white with curly black ink, spiraling like a spider's web.

Dearest Rumpelstiltskin, I read. Upon arriving at your castle, I stumbled across a female intruder. She claimed to be your housekeeper, but did not even know her true name. I decided to repay your kindness by arresting the thief and bringing her back to my estate in the Stony Swamp. I hope, one day, you shall repay my benevolence. Best wishes, the Queen.

I grit my teeth together. She had not just taken Belle, she had arrested her. She had most likely been thrown to the ground and yanked into a carriage, handled by ruggish guards who had never had the privilege of being in a lady's presence. The thought of their filthy hands all over her body sent my head reeling with jealousy. They had no right. She was defenseless.

All thanks to me.

I ran my hand through my hair in frustration. I didn't have much time until the Queen would grow bored and have Belle eliminated. She needed not my favors, nor my possessions – it was all an evil game to her. She had nothing better to do with her time and power then entice those who refused to bow down to her repulsive face.

The woman was also very intolerant to anyone who posed a threat against her position in the Royal Court. Snow White, the fairest of them all, had almost been killed, later poisoned by a magic apple. The hunter, who failed his task to kill Snow White, was then killed. One of the eight dwarves, as well. Hansel and Gretel were separated from their father. She wanted to be the best at everything, and would stop at nothing to get it.

Fortunately, I was both insolent and powerful. She had always despised my presence.

I decided to gather a few of my greatest potions – ones she may have been interested in – and set off to her other estate. It was only a few hours away by foot – a few minutes away through magic. On a regular day, it would have taken me much longer to replenish my energy, but I had my beakers on hand, which would let me to transport through the realm without much effort.

I jumped down the steps and, on second thought, grabbed a handful of medical supplies. If Belle was injured I wouldn't have the time to heal her right on the spot.

Leaving the front door open, I popped the cork off of a beaker filled with blue liquid and dropped a few flecks of gold into the solution. As soon as it began to bubble, I snapped my fingers, held my breath, and stepped into the smoke. The Queen's castle would be on the other side.

"Come on, dearie, eat up," A bony hand poked a leg of lamb through the metal bars. Beads of grease dripped from the meat and onto the stone into a yellow pile of fat. "You're much too skinny, m'dear. Gotta get some meat on yer bones, or none of the guys'll fancy ya."

I shrunk to the back of the cell and shook my head. My heart was pounding in my chest. I wasn't too afraid of the big, burly man that was trying to force feed me food – he was nothing but a greasy man with a contorted face, eyelids sealed shut with scars. The dark brown of his hair matched his rotting teeth. He appeared to have a very low intelligence, and I knew that I would be able to run away if given the chance.

However, I was terrified of the Queen.

I didn't remember much about who she was; only that she was someone to be feared. And as she had grabbed me from the estate, I understood why.

"You stupid brat," The man muttered, spitting on the floor. He snorted and stuck a finger up his nose, rummaging around for heaven knows what. I wrinkled my face in disgust. "If you don't eat, I'ma open up yer cage an' feed it to you mah'self."

I pressed my lips into a thin line and glared at him. I would have liked to see him try.

"Stop harassing her," A silky voice laced with poison drifted into the room, and I sucked in my breath. The Queen danced over to the cell and smiled a devilish grin. Her face was malicious, but radiated a great amount of conceit. She crouched down next to where I was curled up. "Hello, Belle. How are you doing?"

I tried to keep my expression as calm and placid as possible. "Why am I here?"

She narrowed her eyes but laughed – a deep, garish sound. The woman reached towards my face and I recoiled in fright. "Just wait, my dear, just you wait. You'll find out soon enough."

I tore my eyes from the stone floor and locked them with hers. "Rumpelstiltskin will find me."

As soon as the words left my lips, she burst out in laughter.

"Rumpelstiltskin?" Her chest bobbed up and down as she cackled, gemstones on her black robe sparkling in the dim lights. The woman flicked her hair from her cheek and flashed her white teeth. "You think that he, of all people, will be looking for you?" As the Queen turned to the unpleasant man, he began to laugh – nervously – as well. "What on earth possessed you to think that, child?"

I swallowed. "He cares for me."

Another malicious grin. "Oh, does he, now?" She walked to the other side of the room and began trailing her hand across the line of statues that resided in the corner. They were all tall replicas of various kings, made out of a dark grey stone.

"Yes." I was sure of it. Since the moment I forgot my memories, I had the strongest feeling. He cared for me more than he was willing to admit.

I hoped.

"Let me tell you something about Rumpelstiltskin, dear," The Queen spoke sadly, now, as though she were telling a child his favorite toy had been lost in the river. Her eyelashes batted across her cheeks in a slow, calculating manner. Even as she tried her best to seem kind, an undeniable coldness extruded from her body. "That man has never cared about anyone in his entire life. Some say he was created by demons, a human body for their evil bidding. Someone who could not only wreck havoc outside this world, but in it, as well. The devil's advocate." She paused. "However, after a while of doing what the heavens said, he grew bored. He decided to find his own pastime, a manipulative pleasure that he continues to this day. Making deals with the innocent and destroying souls."

I opened my mouth in protest, but she held up a finger and continued. "When nothing in the world can help you, he will appear. The man preys on those in their time of need - uncaring to who they are or what their desperation is - and uses their vulnerability to strike a deal. Being a powerful wizard, he is capable of procuring anything. But, unfortunately…" She sighed an overdramatic sigh. "That also means he is capable of asking for anything in return."

The Queen walked over to a shelf a few meters away and plucked a journal from its clutches, flipping it open to a random page. "Happily Ever After for a firstborn child. Ahh, yes. Poor Cinderella. He told her that, in return for meeting her Prince Charming, he would request whatever he wanted, in time. Once they were happily married, he demanded their beautiful baby son. When denied, he murdered her husband. Calm, cold, and wicked. That man has no heart, nor humanity. Nothing but a black hole that takes the place of his ashen core."

I didn't believe a word of what she was saying. I was not foolish – I would never have returned to him if I had thought him a dangerous man. Even though I knew nothing of Rumpelstiltskin now, I had, once. He still treated me ever-so-kindly and without a hint of malevolence. Besides, why would I put faith in a woman who struck me with magic and trapped me in a dungeon? From what I had observed, she was the cruelest of them all.

"You're lying," I told her, voice shaking ever so slightly. Her eyes narrowed. "Rumpelstiltskin may be powerful, but inside, he's a gentle man. You know nothing."

The Queen raised a gloved hand to her mouth and stifled a giggle. It sounded more like a squawk than anything else. "Other legends tell of a man who made a bargain with the Grim Reaper – so cowardly that he could not even face death with his head held high. He traded in his soul for sin. He may have been a man, once upon a time, but now, he is nothing but a monster."

I squared my shoulders and looked her in the eye. "You have no proof of anything. He may have made a few nasty deals, years ago, but he has a much kinder soul than you." If she had one.

However, I couldn't help feeling slightly foolish as I defended the man. In my heart, I knew he was good. Even if he had relinquished his body to evil, his mind held promise, remorse. He was no monster.

But… I was betting a large amount on the assumption that I would never have trusted a terrible man. I had no way of knowing why I had returned to his mansion – or if I had returned at all. Perhaps I had never been there before – perhaps he had lied about everything. Perhaps I owed him something from a deal we had struck long ago. Perhaps…

I didn't want to believe it. I wanted to believe that he had told me the truth.

But he had lied to me about the way he felt.

How could I still trust him after that?

The Queen chuckled darkly. "From the fright in your eyes, and the confusion in your heart, I can tell you've worked it out for yourself. He's not the wondrous man you thought he was, is he?" Pursing her lips, she licked her thumb and flipped to another page of the book. After reading through it as though she had gotten distracted, she focused back on me. "Besides, how could you trust a man who rid you of your memories, all for his own sake?" She feigned a look of disappointment. "When I heard what had happened to you, I couldn't believe how heartless Rumpelstiltskin really was. To trick an innocent girl, take her away from her family like that. Conscienceless, I say. Conscienceless."

Her words pierced through my mind like needles.

She frowned. "But, you know…" The woman walked over to my cell and pressed her face close to the bars. "What surprised me the most was how, after everything, you chose to stay by his side. And defend him, nonetheless." She studied me closely. "Or did he trick you into that, too?"

I stopped listening - I couldn't breathe. My throat felt like it was closing in on itself and squeezing the last bit of air from my lungs. I reached to the heart but couldn't make my hands move, for my entire body was frozen. I heard the blood pounding in my veins, suddenly getting louder, much louder than anything else in the room.

I forced myself to say something, anything. "Y-you're lying," I choked out, breath coming out in shallower gasps. He hadn't lied to me. He couldn't have. I saw the way that he looked into my eyes, with a kindness so genuine, so pure. The way his face would flash between darkness and regret, wanting to feel but too scared to accept the vulnerability. Pained every minute of the day.

But there was no way of knowing! My mind felt like it was crumbling, folding in on itself as the screaming in my head got louder. How could I have been so foolish? I had believed everything he had told me like a child – even sleeping in the same mansion as he. Helpless. He could have done any evil he had wanted – perhaps he had been planning on it, but had been stopped by the Queen. Perhaps he had been using me as a part of one of his devious plans.

"Y-you have to be lying," I repeated, more desperate. I wanted to believe him. I needed to.

The Queen looked sad. "What use would I have for lying, dear?" She asked, sympathy dripping from her voice. She touched my hair with her hand. "You don't have to believe me if you don't want to. Sometimes delusion really is the easiest way."

Shaking my head, I inched farther away. "I-I don't know what I want to believe." I dropped my face to my knees and let my body shake, hand clenching together. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't remember anything. I was locked up. The only man I knew had been lying to me the entire time. "I don't know..."

A tear rolled down my cheek. "I want to remember." I whispered brokenly.

I barely heard the crash in the distance, barely noted the Queen's quick departure. All I cared about was how betrayed I felt. How my heart ached with each breath.

How I would never, ever forgive Rumpelstiltskin.

I tore through the front entrance and into the wench's layer without a thought. I didn't have time to look around, to take note of where I was. I had to find Belle – that was the only thing on my mind right now. Finding her, and killing that bitch who had taken her away.

Anger was all I could taste.

I grabbed one of the guards by the scruff of his neck. "Where is she?" I hissed, voice growing into a roar. "Where she take Belle?"

His face contorted into fear as he pointed to a small hallway on the east side of the house. I dropped his pathetic body on the ground and raced down the corridor… only to pass right by the Queen herself.

"You." I spat, hatred searing through my body. It took every bit of willpower to prevent myself from slitting her throat, then and there. "Where. Is. She."

"Calm yourself, Rumple – you'll need your strength."

I repeated my words, as slow as death. "Where. Is. She." If the woman didn't answer, I would force it from her throat. So help me god, I would get her to tell me.

However, to my surprise, the woman only laughed. She motioned towards a hidden staircase behind her long, black robe, and stepped out of the way. "Down there," A wretched grin lit her fangs like the sun. "But it's no use, Rumple – she's already gone."

My heart froze in my chest.

No.

I ran down the stairs as fast as I could.

She couldn't be dead.

No.

No, she couldn't be.

She couldn't be dead.

It wasn't possible.

It wasn't-

Belle lay crumpled in the corner of one of the cells.

No.

"Belle!" I threw open the door with my mind and rushed in, panic flooding every sense in my body. There was no way she was dead. There was no way. "Belle!"

Relief overwhelmed me as I saw her inhale.

"Belle!" A hysterical laugh escaped my throat as I reached down to wrap my arms around her body. Happiness and the drastic change in emotion made tears well in my eyes. "Oh, god, Belle, you're alright. You're alright. It's okay now – we'll head back, and I'll keep you safe. I promise." I was almost reassuring myself.

"Don't worry, you'll be out of this horrid place in no time. I assure you. You'll be okay. You'll be-"

"Don't touch me."

Belle's cold tone hit me like a slap in the face. I dropped my arms, dumbfounded.

"What do you-"

She raised her eyes and locked them with mine. I gasped in surprise. They were ragged, worn. Just like before. "I know what you did, Rumpelstiltskin," She whispered, tone full of hatred. She looked at me with disgust. "I was wrong – you're not a man. You're nothing but a coward. You erased my memories for your own sake. You manipulated me when I was weak. And you lied to me to protect yourself. And for that, I'll never-"

"You don't understand!" I whispered, desperate. She had it all wrong. "I never meant to-"

She shook her head sadly. "I'll never forgive you, Rumpelstiltskin. Not now, not ever."