Caged

Written by: Adventure-Seeking-Juliet

When: While frantically obsessing over Rumbelle, of course.

Disclaimer: The ownership of Once Upon a Time is a highly un-fair subject. You see, in this realm, it is owned by ABC...but in FTL, I own it, I'm pretty sure. I'm just waiting on ABC to realize this...

Just Kidding.

A/N AU. Belle releases Rumpelstiltskin from his prison in Fairy-Tale Land.

I hope you all enjoy this little fic, and for any who are reading The Lobotomy, don't worry, I'll be updating soon. I promise.

Enjoy~

Rumpelstiltskin was lying on the floor of his cell, inspecting his talon-like nails curiously.

His gilded eyes penetrated the darkness of his prison easily enough, but there was very little to look at.

The first few weeks he'd busied himself with counting the number of cracks in the stone "ceiling". Once he was done with that, he had started counting the number of dead insects lying about, but he'd soon given up when he'd realized that the number tripled in size daily.

After all of the distractions and petty amusements he'd discovered became too tedious and dull to fool with, Rumpelstiltskin had resigned himself to thinking about the past.

He loathed thinking of the past. He hadn't spent hundreds of years spinning to forget, just to bring all of the cruel memories back in the span of a few weeks.

But the memories wouldn't leave him alone. He felt as though he was going mad, being locked in a cell, with his past failures always biting at his ankles.

That was why he usually hung from the ceiling. His past couldn't catch him as quickly up there.

But when it did, he would always jump down from his perch. If his memories were going to torture him, why not at least give them a fair playing ground, right?

The memories were taunting things. They reminded him of his mistakes.

And there was one in particular that drove him out of his mind...Belle.

Belle was, by all means, not a mistake. If anything, she was the only snippet of his very long life that wasn't a mistake.

Until he threw her out. Until he lied to her.

He had killed her.

That was the thought that taunted him the most. Rumpelstiltskin may not have ended Belle's life...but he was a pivotal piece in her destruction.

Probably, the pivotal piece.

He raked his hands over his face, not even bothering to wince when one of his nails pierced his skin.

Nothing mattered anymore. Soon, Regina would cast the curse, and this world would be a vague dream in the back of his mind.

No more Belle...

A high pitched giggle escaped his lips at the thought of being free of his guilt. In this new world, he would finally be comfortable.

He would no longer feel empty. He would no longer feel chipped.

But in the back of his mind, Belle's words remained strong, a curse he could never escape. Regret.

"Now you've made your choice, and you're going to regret it, forever. And all you'll have is an empty heart and a chipped cup."

Rumpelstiltskin was roused from his thoughts before they could delve any deeper. Footsteps were echoing in his cave. Someone had come to visit him.

He remained where he was, expecting the usual visitors. Regina...Snow White...whoever it was...would have to say something incredibly exciting to coax him out of his reveries today.

However, Rumpelstiltskin kept his senses alert as the visitor came closer to his cell. The footsteps were light...too light to be one of his guards.

The visitor slowly walked forward, coming only close enough for him to glimpse her outline.

Her. He was sure it was a her...she was much too short to be a man. And too slender to be a dwarf. Snow, perhaps.

"And what can I do for you today, dearie?" He asked, unable to control the temptation to figure out the identity of his guest.

There was a pause as the visitor moved back slightly, keeping to the shadows.

Most definitively not Snow, she would never be...so subtle. And she was far too predictable to try to be mysterious.

Finally, the woman spoke," I'm here to make a deal with you, Rumpelstiltskin."

He grinned," Ahh, a deal. What is it you want, hmm?"

" You'll find out soon enough. The only thing you need to know right now is that I have the key to your cell."

Now things were getting interesting, Rumpelstiltskin wrapped his hands around the teeth of his cell, excitement rushing through him.

"Nice try, dearie," He cackled," But my prison will not open with any ordinary key!"

The visitor laughed quietly," Good thing this key isn't an ordinary key."

She raised the key into the dim light for a moment, allowing him to catch a glimpse of it. It was a small, golden key. Much too small for any typical lock.

The key pulsed with magic.

Instantly, distrust for his new visitor welled up inside him. What could she possibly want that would be terrible enough for her to go through the trouble of finding that key?

"What do you want?" He snapped, allowing the distrust to drip from his words. There was no point hiding what he thought from this visitor. It was obvious she had done her homework before coming to him. How else could she predict his moves so well?

Belle gripped the small golden key in her hand like a lifeline. She had done everything in her power to get it.

Absolutely everything.

Locating the key and escaping the queen had been the easy part of her little adventure though, the hard part was looming just ahead of her.

Rumpelstiltskin.

She knew it was time to reveal herself to him, but her voice seemed to die away just when she needed it. It had been so long since she'd seen him.

She took a step into the light, her hood still masking her face from view.

"True love's kiss?" She asked, brushing the hood of her cloak down so that the light could touch her face.

The effect was immediate.

Rumpelstiltskin's hands visibly tightened on the bars he was clutching, and his eyes had gone wild with disbelief.

"Belle?" His voice reverberated with shock. And something else, she didn't dare try to name.

She nodded, smiling.

"Is this a trick?" He demanded, slamming his hands back against the bars," If it is-"

"I am not a trick, Rumpelstiltskin," Belle whispered, quietly.

She curled her small hands over his so that they were both clutching the bars of his prison.

His eyes stared up at her with an intensity she had never seen on his face before," You were dead. The queen said you killed yourself."

Belle shook her head," She lied. The queen attacked me on my way home. She kept me in her castle...tortured me-"

Her voice began to shake.

His hands folded around hers, so that their fingers were linked.

"Belle, I- I am sorry. You were right-"

She touched a finger to his lips," I know."

He grinned, an impish delight dancing in his eyes," I should have listened to you."

She inched closer to him, until their noses were nearly touching," Yes, you should have."

"How can I ever repay you?" He asked, his voice lower than a whisper.

"Well...you could always keep your end of our deal."

Rumpelstiltskin couldn't help but stare at her.

The way her beautiful mouth quirked when she teased him, the way her hands warmed with his touch...

The way her breath hitched when he tilted his head forward and touched his lips to her own...

They kissed through the bars of his cell, her free on the outside, and he trapped on the inside.

He was too enveloped in the kiss to notice that she had moved her right hand so that the small key touched the metal-he was too elated to care about the consequences of their love.

Rumpelstiltskin only broke away from her when he felt the teeth of the cell dissolving-vanishing all around him.

He was free.

She smiled up at him," Kiss me again, it's working!"

Once more, his lips found hers, and this time, he didn't pull away.

A/N So this story has an alternate ending, believe it or not. I actually had two ideas, but I decided the other one might be a bit too AU. If anyone's interested in reading it, let me know, and I might decide to post it. But, be warned, it is extrememly AU and would probably also be a chaptered fic. :)

Please review, if you know what I mean.