Warning: Will eventually contain mature material. Language. Lemons. Some spicy limes. Maybe full-blown things. ~_^

About: A Salvation Called Love is influenced by Rumple and Belle's love/episode/story. But it won't follow the Storybrooke flow. I'm making it happen in New York and there isn't a curse. There is still the Dark One a.k.a Rumple a.k.a Mr. Dominic Alexander Gold [I'm giving him a first name and a middle name by the way]. There is still Belle a.k.a Annabelle Lilliet Amatheon. There is still the Queen a.k.a Regina Mills and the rival of Mr. Gold. There is also briefly, Henry Mills, and Emma Swan. Annabelle isn't Belle though. She's just a physical reincarnation. No memories. No feelings. But soon enough there will be. Hopefully ~_^.

A Salvation Called Love

-Prologue-

"Yah, well, I'm a difficult man to love." Those words now rang true as I slammed the door shut on the girl I'd fallen in love with. I'd told her that once a little while after I brought her to the Dark Castle. She had tricked me. Deceived me and tried to take my powers away from me.

"Rumple! Rumple, why can't you just believe me! You can't just lock me up in here again after we kissed like that!" Belle slammed her fists against the door but I just leaned back against the wall and stared at the locked door.

I heard her kick the door and I called out to her. "I knew this whole thing was a trick. I knew you could never care for me. I'm the Beast, remember?"

"You're not a Beast, Rumple! I'm not lying to you. I'm not tricking you. I love you!"

I couldn't help but snort at that. "No one could ever love me!" I quickly ran up the stairs away from the dungeon that I'd locked Belle in and silently cursed myself for falling for that girl. When I stepped into the dining hall I picked up an empty candelabra and walked over to my glass cabinet that held all of my antiques and trinkets that I'd collected over the many years I'd been the Dark One. I slammed the metal against the glass and screamed my rage and hurt as the glass broke and the wood splintered. I tore into the cabinet trying to get rid of this hurt and this anger. When there wasn't any glass and wood to break I dropped the candelabra and walked over to the table where Belle had left the tea set. I picked up one of the beautiful small cups and threw it at the wall with all of my might, imagining my broken heart being thrown with it. I proceeded to do the same with the rest. The last tea cup that I came to made me stop. It was the one that had become precious to me ever since Belle's arrival. It was the chipped cup. I stared at it for a long time before I gently placed it down on top of the table. I was done destroying things. I had to get out of the castle. I quickly pulled on one of my jackets and made my way out of the castle, disappeared into the woods surrounding it. I had to find a way to get rid of her. I couldn't keep her in my castle any longer. True love? There is no such thing as true love.

[The Next Morning]

As I walked down the stairs and stopped in front of the dungeon holding Belle it felt like my heart was breaking, like it was killing me. I should never have brought her here. I waved my hand and the door flew open, revealing Belle asleep on the stone bed. Her eyes flew open at the sound of the door opening and quickly scooted upwards into a sitting position. "So, what are you going to do to me?"

I stared at her for a long silent moment before pointing behind me. "Go."

She frowned at me and scooted around until her feet touched the cold stone floor. "Go?"

"I don't want you anymore, Dearie." My heart clinched painfully at those words. Inside my head was screaming at me, telling me not to do it.

She stood up and stared at me in disbelief for a few seconds before brushing past me and moving towards the door. Just outside the dungeon she turned and quickly moved back towards me until she was standing in front of me. "You were freeing yourself. You could have had happiness if you just believed that someone could want you." She paused and shook her head. A tear trickled down her cheek and she wiped at it angrily. "But you couldn't take the chance."

I sneered down at her. "That's a lie."

She shook her head, her curls bouncing lifelessly against her stained blue dress, and she stabbed her finger into the center of my chest. I rocked back on my feet but otherwise didn't move. I just blinked down at her as she continued. "You're a coward, Rumplestiltskin. And no matter how thick you make your skin, that doesn't change."

She was right but I didn't want her to be. I didn't want her to know that she'd hit right on the mark. I might be powerful and I might be evil, but I had fallen in love with her and I was afraid to love her. Afraid that I would be helpless without my powers like I was before I became the Dark One. I would never again be that weak. I stepped towards her, towering over her, and spit out my words. "I'm not a coward, Dearie. It's quite simple really." I leaned forward until we were eye to eye and spoke roughly. "My power means more to me than you."

I moved back away from her and silently watched the tears begin to pour down her cheeks. She didn't bother to wipe them away this time. She glared up at me and her voice broke when she attempted to speak again. "No." She shook her head sharply. "No it doesn't. You just don't think I can love you." She stepped forward and slowly stood on tip-toe, pressing a gentle kiss against my cold cheek. Pulling away again she stared up at me with tears glittering at the corner of her beautiful sky blue eyes. "Now you've made your choice and you're going to regret it…" She paused and took a step towards the door. "… Forever." When she was just outside the door again she slowly wiped at her tears as they ran freely. "All you'll have is an empty heart and a chipped cup."

[A Month Later]

I was sitting at my wheel spinning straw when my doors slammed open, startling me. The person who strode in startled me even more. It was the Queen. "Flimsy locks." She laughed lightly as she walked closer. "I have a deal to discuss. A certain… mermaid."

I just glared at her as she gently touched my silver tea set before turning back to my spinning. "I'm not dealing today."

"Are you angry with me?" She poured herself a cup of tea. "What is it this time?"

"You're little deception failed. You'll never be more powerful than me. You can keep trying, Dearie, but you're never gonna beat me." I glared at her over my shoulder as she turned to watch me.

"Is this about that girl I met on the road? Hmm?" She gave a soft snicker before turning back to her tea. "What was her name? Margie? Verna?"

Anger boiled up inside of me but I slowly kept spinning. "Belle."

"Right." She sounded quite… sarcastic. "Well, you can rest assured that I had nothing to do with that tragedy."

I swallowed my heart as it jumped into my throat and I slowly turned towards her and stood up. "What tragedy?"

She grinned and cocked her head to the side, licking her spoon she'd just used to stir her tea. "You don't know?" She gave that small snicker again. "Wow. After she had gone home her fiancé had gone missing." She sashayed past me holding her tea and her evil smirk grew into a grin. "And after her stay here… her association with you, no one would want her of course. Her father shunned her. Cut her off, shut her out."

My heart beat rapidly against my chest at her words and all I wanted to do was bring Belle back. I eagerly stepped forward, hoping I could. "So she needs a… home?"

A dreadful feeling encompassed me when the Queen only laughed loudly, propping herself up against the table. "He was cruel to her. He locked her in a tower and sent in clerics to cleanse her soul with whips." She shrugged. "After a while she threw herself off the tower. She died."

My knees nearly buckled at her words but I couldn't believe them. "You're lying."

She arched one of her dark brows at me. "Am I?"

Cold anger replaced the hurt in me at her words. She didn't care. She'd come here to tease me about my love and to rub it in that Belle's death was caused by me. I narrowed my eyes and started backing away, shaking a finger at her. "We're done."

I walked towards the doors and pointed the way out for her. She gave a small sigh and put down her cup of tea. "Fine. I have other calls to make." She walked towards me with a satisfied smile on her face and she slowly trailed her fingers along the table as she came. When she reached the end she held her fingers up for me to see. "The place is looking dusty Rumple." She slowly wiped the dust on a hanky that suddenly appeared in her hands. "You should get a new girl."

I growled at her and slammed the door behind her once she was out. "Damn witch. I hope you rot." I couldn't believe that Belle was dead. I hadn't really wanted to hurt her. I hadn't wanted to drive her away, but my fear had been too much. I had been a coward after all and now Belle's death was on my hands. I slowly walked over to my repaired cabinet and opened it. I stood there staring at the only thing I had left of her, that small chipped cup, just like she'd said. As I reached up into the cabinet and gently lifted the cup out and held it in my hands I felt a cool tear slide down my cheek. I absently wiped at it and stared at the drop that appeared on the tip of my finger. This was the first tear I'd cried since I took the power as the Dark One. I placed the tiny drop against the lip of the chipped tea cup and watched it slide to the bottom. I would never love again. I walked over to a small pillar where I stored one of my treasures and tossed it to the side in order to gently place Belle's cup in its place. I leaned down and placed a gentle kiss against the chipped edge. "Goodbye, Belle." I turned and walked away, leaving the castle to go find a deal I could make. Anything to get my mind off of the fact that I would never see Belle's beautiful smile again or hear her laughter echo through the halls. It was just too painful, but I wasn't planning on letting it eat at me. I was the Dark One after all. I had no weakness anymore. No love. Nothing but my hate and my power. I am Rumplestiltskin.