Queen Regina smirked at the girl staring at her through the cell bars. "He's not coming for you, my dear," Regina said, stepping closer to the bars in order to get a better look at her.

"He might not be right now," Belle said calmly, her eyes flashing, "but once he finds out you have me prisoner, he'll be here." Regina smiled at the foolishness Belle's bravery had turned into.

"You never get tired of saying that, do you?" Regina said. Belle smiled and shook her head, looking away from Regina. "I hate to destroy your hope, but he's not going to be looking for a dead girl."

Belle's eyes snapped back to Regina's. "You wouldn't dare." She trembled under the dress hanging from her bones.

Regina laughed. "No, you're right, I wouldn't kill you. I don't want to lose the advantage I have over dear old Rumple with you here. I would tell him you killed yourself out of heartbreak, though. In fact, I already have."

"No," Belle murmured, bringing one hand to her forearm and pressing her nails hard enough to draw blood. "No."

"He seemed to take it in stride," Regina continued, her eyes sparkling. "But then again, Rumple was never one to wear his heart on his sleeve. Though," she paused thoughtfully, "that was the quietest I've ever seen him." Belle stared at her in horror and Regina laughed. "Good luck with your rescue mission now." She smirked at Belle once more before stalking out of the dungeon, leaving the girl to her misery.

Belle didn't look away from the spot Regina's eyes had been before; she didn't even move aside from digging her nails into her arm over and over again.

"You should stop that," a soft voice said from the shadows. "You have enough scars as it is."

She looked at the tall, bearded man who walked slowly to stand in front of her cage, hands on the bars, then at the insides of her arms, covered in half-moon scars, some faded and some dribbling blood, and closed her eyes. "These are nothing compared to what's inside."

The Huntsman sighed. "Don't give up hope, Belle. You still have a chance—she's broken your heart, but she hasn't taken it yet. That's more than I have."

She smiled at him. "Thank you." She leaned over and put her hand over his. He squeezed her fingers in response.

"He'll find out about you somehow. I know he will."

"My lord… Look outside," the knight said, blanching as he stared out the window.

King Maurice, a stately man standing a massive table laden with maps and war plans, turned and looked out the windows, which were completely black. "It's midday," he said, turning to stare at his knights.

"That's right, dearie. But darkness will be the last thing you'll ever see," a sinister voice said from the doorway. Maurice turned in surprise and saw Rumplestiltskin standing in the doorway, eyes almost completely black and fists clenched.

Maurice's face twisted in hatred and disgust. "You. What do you want? Was my daughter not enough?"

Rumplestiltskin laughed, but it wasn't his normal giggle that gave grown men chills. This laugh was cold and empty. "You do not have the right to talk about her. You are the reason she is gone." He gestured with his arm, causing Maurice to fly across the room and press against the wall and the knights to disappear. Inhumanly fast, he was across the room and was pressing a knife to Maurice's neck. "She is dead because of you."

Maurice stared at him in horror. "Belle is dead?"

Rumplestiltskin's eyes narrowed, and Maurice fancied that pain was in his voice. "As if you don't know. You're the one who locked her up after I released her until she killed herself."

"You released her?" Maurice's expression was one of pure shock, shock that even the most accomplished actor could never hope to imitate, and Rumplestiltskin drew the knife away.

"When was the last time you saw your daughter?" he hissed, his eyes dark as night.

"When she left with you," Maurice said. Rumplestiltskin stepped away as Maurice fell to the ground as magic released him. He looked at the imp desperately. "Is my daughter dead?"

"It appears I was misinformed." Maurice had never heard fear in Rumplestiltskin's voice and was sure he never would, but for a moment, he thought that it was there.

"Where is she? Is she safe?" he asked, terror filling him at the thought of what could happen to Belle that would scare even the Dark One.

"Oh, where I think she is, I doubt she's safe. No matter though. She will be soon," he growled before disappearing.

Maurice's eyes began to water as light filled the room again.

"It's been a week since I told her he thought she was dead. Why is she still so cheerful?" Regina hissed at the Huntsman, who was standing next to her throne. He stayed quiet, not telling her that Belle was only cheerful while Regina was in the room and once she left, the girl would stare at nothing, hugging her knees to her chest and creating more scars on her arms. He had to beg her to eat, but she was still losing even more weight, which he wouldn't have thought possible after what torture and imprisonment had done to her even before she knew she was thought dead. "The silly girl," Regina muttered to herself, turning her attention to the report waiting in her lap.

The Huntsman stood next the queen, still as only a woodsman could be, hoping to avoid her notice. An hour passed, and just after the queen's afternoon tea was brought, he heard shouting. Regina absentmindedly motioned for him to draw his sword, and he stepped in front of her just as her chamber's doors flew open and Rumplestiltskin walked through them.

"Step aside, dearie," he growled at the Huntsman. "I wish to speak to our beloved queen." The scorn in his voice surprised the Huntsman, who glanced back at Regina for her orders. She sighed and gestured for him to do as Rumplestiltskin said. He retreated against the wall, not wanted to be near the monster under any circumstances, but especially not when there was such hatred displayed his face.

"What a pleasant surprise. You don't typically force me to come to your Dark Castle if I want to see you," Regina said, smiling. "What do I owe this honor to?"

"I believe you have something of mine," Rumplestiltskin said.

The queen's smile faltered for only a second. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Really now?" Hatred colored his voice. "Because I paid King Maurice a little visit earlier today and it appears he hasn't seen his daughter since she left their village."

"Is that so?" Regina said, paling slightly but managing to appear disinterested. "I suppose my sources were mistaken. I apologize."

His eyes narrowed. "Where is she?"

"I haven't the slightest idea."

Rumplestiltskin bared his teeth like a wolf and the castle began to shiver. "Bring her to me now, or I will not hesitate to rip this palace apart stone by bloody stone until I find her myself."

Regina narrowed her eyes. "What is your greatness weakness? Besides the girl, of course."

Some dust fell from the ceiling as the palace shivered under Rumplestiltskin's rage, who was glowering at the queen. "Don't try to change the topic, Regina."

She laughed. "I'm not. I'm offering you a trade. The answer to my question in exchange for your little housekeeper, safe and sound."

Rumplestiltskin's eyes bored into Regina's, holding so much anger and hatred that a shiver went down her spine. "Of course you have her," he spat out.

"Yes, yes, of course I do," Regina sighed, waving her hand. "Do we have a deal?"

Rumplestiltskin pursed his lips. "Safe and sound… And whole."

"I didn't take her heart, Rumple. I'm afraid you did that, though not quite in the same manner I would have." Regina smirked. "Do we have a deal?"

"Yes, of course we do," he sounded weary and the Huntsman stared in surprise at the shift in tone. "Magic, dearie."

"Excuse me?" Regina said, leaning forward to look at Rumplestiltskin.

He laughed, shifting moods again, delighted with her surprise. "You heard me. My greatest strength is also my greatest weakness."

"But how?"

"Magic made me this way, and it can take it away. After all," he smirked, "all magic comes with a price. Get Belle," he hissed, eyes narrowing dangerously. "Now."

Regina stared back at him, almost as angry as he was. Without taking her eyes off of him, she addressed the Huntsman. "You heard our guest, Huntsman. Go get her."

He didn't hesitate to leave the throne room and run to the dungeon. "Belle!" he cried as he ran up to her cell. She looked up at him slowly as he fumbled with the keys to her cell door. "Get up."

"What tortures does Regina have planned for me now?" she said, dropping her head back to her bed of straw.

"None," he pulled the door open and kneeled next to her. "He's here."

Belle stared at him. "What?"

"Regina made a deal with him—information in exchange for you. He looked ready to murder her."

"Rumplestiltskin is here?" she whispered.

"Yes," the Huntsman told her, giving her the first genuine smile she had seen cross his face as he helped her stand. "It's time to get you out of here."

She smiled back at him before following him up flights of stairs and through long, cold hallways. She shivered; even the Dark Castle hadn't felt as empty as Regina's did. He glanced back at her and smiled before approaching a huge doorway that Belle knew must lead to the throne room.

"Huntsman, wait."

He looked at her in surprise. "Don't you want to get out of here?"

"Of course I do, but I also want to thank you." He blinked and she couldn't help but smile. "I doubt I'll get a chance to say this once we walk in there, so thank you for everything, but especially for not letting me give in to Regina. I would have gone insane if it wasn't for you."

He smiled back at her. "Thank you for giving me hope again. Now, shall we?" She nodded and he turned back to the doorway.

She followed close behind him and had to stop herself from shouting Rumplestiltskin's name. The sight of him filled her with so much emotion she could hardly contain it. It was more than just seeing the man she loved after so much time and so much pain—seeing him standing there, waiting for her, meant her freedom. It meant she was free of Regina's abuse and that dark cell. It meant she could go home.

"Here she is, just as I promised," the queen drawled from her throne.

Rumplestiltskin spun around faster than Belle would have thought possible and when he first saw her, he smiled, but as his eyes raked over her appearance and took in her matted hair and skinny body, the smile twisted into a snarl. He looked back at Regina. "She might be safe, but she's certainly not sound." Belle walked closer until she was only a few feet behind him and he shifted his weight so he was blocking her body from the queen.

Regina shrugged. "She has her heart, and she's certainly better than the state you thought she was in this morning." He growled in response before turning to Belle.

"Are you ready to leave?"

Belle laughed for the first time in weeks. "I've been ready to leave since I got here." The corner of lips twitched and he grasped her arm before casting Regina another glare, who smirked.

"I'm surprised at you, Rumple. After all, she is just a servant."

Rumplestiltskin smirked back at her, holding Belle's arm so tight she thought she have bruises in the shape of his fingers in the morning. "Yes, and Daniel was just a stable boy."

Regina's face twisted in shock and pain before she covered it with a mask again. "Get out."

"Gladly," he chirped before giggling. Then everything disappeared in a puff of smoke and Belle was back in the Dark Castle's dining room. He released her and stepped away, avoiding her eyes. "I'll get you something to eat. You look starved."

"I have been imprisoned for weeks."

He looked at her face and frowned. "For how long, exactly?"

Belle's forehead furrowed as she tried to remember. "I'm not sure. She captured me a week after you threw me out."

She saw him wince at her wording and then horror flash across his face. "Belle, that was three months ago."

"Yes, I suppose it was," Belle said, looking out the window—she noticed he hadn't nailed the curtains back up—at the red and brown leaves. Summer had just been starting when she had left.

He opened his mouth, and when she looked back at him, he closed it again and turned to walk to the kitchen. She watched him leave and he paused in the doorway, turned his head towards her, and whispered "I'm sorry" just loud enough for her to hear.

She smiled slightly and turned her attention to the hall she had wished to be back in countless times over the last few months. The table was filthy and his chair hadn't moved from its place in front of the fireplace, but there was no longer a large golden goblet on the largest pedestal on the edge of the room. Instead, there was a small, white teacup. It can't be, she thought as she walked over to it. But it was. It was her chipped cup, and he had put it in the highest place of honor it could have. She picked it up, stroking her thumb over the simple blue design.

"I see you found your cup."

She turned to see him placing a tray covered with food on the table. "You moved the goblet."

"Golden cups can be replaced." He was avoiding her eyes again by setting out the food, so she put the cup back in its new spot and walked to the table, hopping up on it to sit in her old spot. Rumplestiltskin handed her a plate and when she reached out to take it, he shot his other hand out and grabbed her wrist. "What did the queen do to you?" he whispered, staring at her scars.

Belle gently pulled her arm out of his grasp. "Regina didn't give me those scars." He stared at her in confusion and she sighed. "I did."

"You…? But why?" he gasped, meeting her eyes for the first time.

"It was better than going insane," she said, staring back at him. "Every time I felt myself loosing a grip on reality, I pressed my fingernails into my arm until the pain brought me back." Pity came into his snake-like eyes, and she smiled. "It wasn't that bad, actually. I always had knew you would find out she had kidnapped me. At least, I knew that until a week ago." Her smile fell before she plastered it back on again. He gave her a look that told her he didn't believe her fake grin, although he managed to not look at her eyes while giving her it. She sighed again. "That was when she told me that she told you that I killed myself."

"Ah," he breathed.

She frowned at him and changed the topic. "Why aren't you talking? You won't even look at me."

He laughed. "I threw you out, dearie, and left you for the wolves."

They remained quite for a few minutes as Belle ate and Rumplestiltskin stared at his hands, glancing at her occasionally as if he didn't quite believe she was there. "Who is Daniel?" she asked, breaking the silence.

He laughed. "The man Regina loves. He was her family's stable boy before she married King Leopold."

Belle wasn't sure what surprised her more—the idea that Regina could love or that Rumplestiltskin had admitted that he loved her, even if it was indirectly, to the queen of all people.

"What happened to him?"

"Her mother crushed his heart."

Belle shivered, remembering Regina gripping her fingers around her own heart before laughing and whispering, "Better leave that there so you can feel the pain when you realize you're never getting out of here." Belle shook her to push the memory away before turning back to Rumplestiltskin, who was swirling his finger in the dust that coated the table.

"So I'm your Daniel?"

He stopped playing with the dust. "There's one key difference: I'm not going to let you die, Belle," he said, meeting her eyes for just a second before looking at his hands again. "Of course, I won't make you stay here if you do not wish to. In fact, I advise you not to stay here."

"But you do love me?" He didn't acknowledge that he heard her, just returned to his dust. "Rumplestiltskin, look at me." He slowly raised his gaze. "Do you love me?"

"Yes," he breathed, and she smiled. He put his hand on her arm, either to keep her away from him or to hold her near him—she thought both. "You were right about me: I am a coward, but power does not mean more to me than you. We just… We can't be together." His expression was so human that Belle almost forgot about the gold scales coating his skin, but that didn't stop her from looking at him as if he had slapped her.

"Why not, if I'm more important to you than magic?"

"I need my magic," he sounded like he was begging, a tone she had never thought she would hear come from his mouth, and his eyes were pleading with her to understand. "I'm sorry, Belle. I can never give it up, and I can never give you the love you want and deserve. I can't even kiss you."

"You haven't changed then," she said, looking across the room to the chipped cup. "Why are you still choosing magic over me?"

He stayed quiet, and she turned to glare at him. Just as she was about to open her mouth to repeat her question, he whispered, "I need it to find my son."

"What?"

"He was taken from me by magic, and I need magic to get him back," he whispered again, sounding tortured.

He was avoiding her gaze again, but tenderness came into her eyes. She put her hand on his cheek and gently pulled his head to face her, forcing him to look at her. "I want to go back to my village tomorrow—"

He nodded stiffly. "Of course."

"—just for a visit," she finished. He stared at her in surprise and she laughed. "After that, I would like to travel. I have spent my entire life caged."

Rumplestiltskin frowned. "You weren't caged before you came with me."

She looked at him in surprise. "Of course I was. I was the daughter of a king. My father loves me, but I was still political tool to be traded away to the highest bidder. I was never allowed anywhere without a guard, even to the market, and I was looked down on for reading and learning, though Papa insisted I be allowed complete access to the library. I could never be myself there. And then of course I was trapped here and got one sweet week of freedom before the queen captured me. I told you before—I want to see the world and have adventures. I still want the chance to be brave."

"You've already been brave," he murmured, looking down to his dust again.

Belle sighed and put her fingers on his chin, gently guiding his face so she could look him in the eyes. "I'm going to need a home to come back to. No one can travel for their entire lives, and I'd like to come back here, even if I can't kiss the master of the castle when I return."

She looked at him, eyebrows drawn together as if worried he would turn her down, and waiting. He looked back at her, not believing she was asking to be able to come back to the Dark Castle, back to him. "You'll always have a home here," he heard a choked voice saying before he realized it was his.

"I was hoping you would say that," she said, smiling widely at him. "I have one condition before I agree to anything, though." Her smile faded into an earnest expression. "You will treat me as your equal. That means you trust me, you let me help you, and you tell me the truth. No secrets, no white lies, no half-truths, and none of your word games where you say one thing but mean another. The complete truth, Rumplestiltskin." Her eyes challenged him to turn her down, as if she knew he would never be able to say no to her ever again, and he smiled at her.

"If we're adding conditions, I have one of my own, dearie," she started to open her mouth in protest and he put a finger over her lips. "You let me teach you how to use a sword before you leave, since I'm assuming they never taught you how to defend yourself in your village. We don't want another situation like Regina happening while you're off traveling the world, do we?"

Belle laughed before hopping off the table and wrapping her arms around his waist. "Deal," she whispered in his ear as he put his arms around her.

"How did you even find out that Regina captured me?" she said, pulling back to look at his face.

Rumplestiltskin left her arms and pulled himself up onto the table, tugging on her arm gently to urge her to join him like she would all those months ago. "What did Regina say she told me, exactly?"

Belle sat next to him and frowned. "That I killed myself so I wouldn't have to suffer from a broken heart anymore."

He snorted and shook his head. "She would have been smarter to have told me that. If she had, I never would have known you were still alive." Belle cocked her head and furrowed her forehead. "What she really told me was that when you left me, you went back to your father, but he saw you as tainted because of the time you spent with me, so he locked you in a tower and got holy men to cleanse you through torture until you couldn't take it anymore and threw yourself off the tower."

"My father would never do that!" Belle said. "I can't believe that you actually thought that was true!"

Rumplestiltskin raised his eyebrows at her. "Yes, because I know your father so well, dearie."

"Even still," she said, frowning. "So you went to my father prepared to take your revenge over my death and found out that he hasn't seen me since I came here with you?"

He smiled at her. "It might be best that you are going to go see him tomorrow. I don't think I left him with the best impression of your safety today."

"When was this?" she asked.

"Around midday. I didn't waste any time going to Regina's palace to get you away from her."

She put her hand on his shoulder. "I do appreciate that," she said with a hint of a smile on her voice. He hesitated before putting his hand on top of hers and smiling back at her.

Belle opened her eyes when sunlight hit her face and smiled at the sight of the small but comfortable room that had been hers after a few weeks of working for Rumplestiltskin. Yawning, she stretched, enjoying the feel of a real mattress, not the thin straw mat on top of stone she had slept on in Regina's dungeons, before slipping out of bed and putting on one of the dresses Rumplestiltskin had conjured into her wardrobe. She took her time walking from her room to the kitchen, loving the freedom to stretch her legs and go where she wanted to go, and once there, she took an apple and meandered to the Great Hall while eating it. When she got to the hall, she found Rumplestiltskin at his spinning wheel in the same spot where she had left him the night before.

"Did you move at all during the night?" she asked, walking up behind him.

He stopped spinning and turned to look at her with a wicked smile as she finished her apple. "Once, to make you this." He reached into his pocket and produced a ring of thin gold bands woven together to resemble a net. "This ring will protect you from all magic, but especially Regina's. Also, if you need me, I'll always hear if you call my name while you wear it."

Belle smiled and put the apple core on the table. "I thought you always heard when people call your name."

He giggled. "I'm very good at blocking them out, dearie. But I'll never be able to block you out as long as you have this on. I might even be able to hear if you shout my name in your head loud enough." She laughed and he smiled warmly at her. "I take it you would like to get your visit underway?" She nodded. "I thought you might. Do you mind if I use magic to send you there?"

"Not at all," she said.

Rumplestiltskin nodded. "When you're ready to return, just say so into the ring and it will take you back here." He handed her the ring and she slipped it onto her middle finger.

Wriggling her fingers at him, she smiled. "Thank you. Even without the protection, it's lovely."

He captured her hand and brought it to his face, pressing his lips to it, not quite kissing her fingers, and murmured, "Not as lovely as you." She smiled widely and he looked embarrassed and dropped her hand, avoiding her eye. "Are you ready to leave?"

"Yes," Belle said, trying to catch his eye. "Don't miss me too much."

He glanced at her and smirked. "Hold your breath, dearie." He waved his hand and she was surrounded by purple smoke again. When it cleared, she was standing in the middle of her father's throne room with everyone staring at her. Her eyes immediately searched out and found Maurice, who was staring at her through red-rimmed eyes.

"Papa!" she cried, running towards him. He stepped forward and opened his eyes, still shocked. It was only when he was hugging her that he choked out her name through his tears.

He clung to her for what seemed like minutes, but eventually grasped her shoulders and gently pushed her away from him. "How are you here? Rump… He was here yesterday and he said he let you go and that you were dead because of me and…"

She smiled at him and glanced around at the court staring at her. "Why don't we talk in private?"

Maurice nodded and smiled weakly at her. "Yes, of course. Let's go to my sitting room, darling."

He led her to the room and called for tea. Once they were settled, she told him her story. He was silent the entire time, listening to her tale of Rumplestiltskin's kindness, his rejection of her, the queen's imprisonment, and his rescue. She told him everything except for what Rumplestiltskin had told her the night before about his son. When she finished, he stared at her as if seeing her for the first time. Belle looked back at him, biting her lip, worried about his silence. "Papa?"

She looked at him expectantly and he stared back at her, his face empty of everything except for shock. "You…You fell in love with that monster?" She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off. "Belle… You've always been too accepting and too kind, but this is too far."

She looked at him sadly. "I don't expect you to understand, Papa. Believe me, half of the time, I don't understand. I do ask that you accept it, though. I'm not going to stop loving him because you don't approve."

"He's just using you, Belle," Maurice hissed. "Just like he uses everyone else. He doesn't love you. It's not real love."

"Papa, when I kissed him, it started to break his curse! Only true love is powerful enough to break that magic," she pleaded. "Please believe me. He's not a monster. He's done bad things, but he's not a monster."

"How can you say that?" Maurice yelled at her. "You have heard what he's done to people!"

"He's only done what they agreed to when they made the deal with him in the first place!" she screamed at him. She saw the surprise flash across his face at her raising her voice to him, but he quickly covered it with anger and she reached her hands out to him, pleading. "I know him, Papa. You don't. Please, trust me."

"You're far too willing to look for the best in people, even when they aren't human anymore." He hissed and shook his head. "I'm not letting you go back to him. You are going to stay here where you are safe until you forget this delusion." He reached out to touch her cheek but she stood up and took a few steps away from him, shaking her head.

"All I want is to be able to live my life as I please, and you're trying to take that away from me. I thought you wanted me to be happy," she said, betrayal written across her face.

Maurice sighed and stood up as well, sounding tired. "Your safety is more important to me than your happiness, Belle. I'm not going to let you throw away your life over some infatuation"

She shook her head, tears in her eyes, and turned to run out the door but was met by two guards outside. Her father addressed them. "Please escort Lady Belle to her chambers."

She turned and caught his eye, a strangled sound escaping her throat. "Papa, don't do this!"

"It is for the best," he smiled at her.

She shook her head. "No, it isn't. I don't need you to leave the castle. Don't make me sneak away in the night like a thief."

He gave a laugh that sounded more like a bark. "You can't escape, darling. Don't fight me on this."

Belle looked at him with pursed lips. She shook her head again. "Papa, I want to stay here and visit with you, but if you don't rethink your decision by sundown, I will leave. I decide my life from now on."

"I told you, Belle. You can't leave." He stared at her when she laughed.

"You really think he wouldn't leave me with a way to return to him? You cannot keep me here. Please, Papa, don't do this," she said, trailing off at the look in his eyes that told her it was a lost cause.

Maurice smiled wanly at her and turned to walk back into the sitting room. As soon as his back was to her, the two guards grasped her arms and guided her to her childhood rooms. She twisted and glared at her father, catching his eye as he glanced back at her, disgusted at being treated like she was in Regina's palace. Belle would not be a prisoner again, not after spending her whole life a prisoner to either society's expectations of her or one of the two most feared people in the world. She knew from the look in his eyes that her father wouldn't come to her by sundown, so as soon as she was in her rooms alone, she raised her hand to her lips, and whispered to the ring, "Take me… take me home." She blinked and was back in Rumplestiltskin's castle, in front of the fireplace in the Great Hall.

He was there, spinning again, and looked surprised when she appeared. "Belle? I expected you to be gone for a few weeks, not a few hours."

She stared at him and choked out, "He wasn't pleased with what I've chosen for my life." She began to dig her fingernails into her arms again to stop herself from crying.

Almost immediately, he was by her side and was gently pulling her nails away from her arms. Her tears began to fall, staring at his hands preventing her own from adding to her scars. Hesitantly, as if sure she would push him away, Rumplestiltskin put his arms around her and pulled her to him, allowing her to collapse into his arms and cry into his silk vest.

Not knowing how to comfort her, he seemed to settle on stroking her hair. When Belle stopped crying and pulled away to wipe her eyes, he cleared his throat. Rumplestiltskin shifted awkwardly under her gaze until he finally said, "We can start your training tomorrow, but until then, I'm sure there are some books in the library you have not read yet."

She let out a strained laugh, and nodded. "I like that idea."

He brushed his fingers across her cheek and stared into her eyes. "You don't ever need to worry about being caged again, Belle. I won't let it happen."

She smiled. "Thank you, but hopefully once you train me, I won't need your help."

Rumplestiltskin smiled back. "That is the goal, m'dear."

She grinned, really, truly grinned for the first time since she had kissed him, before walking away to go to the library as he suggested. He turned to go back to his spinning wheel when she stopped and walked back. He looked at her again in surprise as she pulled herself up onto the table. She smiled at him. "Why go to the library when you owe me a story?"

He looked down at his feet and murmured. "So I do."

"Rumple," she said and he looked up at her. She patted the space on the table next to her. "Come tell me about your son."

A/N: Thank you for reading! This is just the first chapter of a story I've been working on for a while, so there's much more after this. Belle is definitely in for some adventures. Please tell me what you thought!