Belle sat up in bed, screaming. The sheets were covered in sweat and her whole body was sticky with it. Her screams only intensified as she looked at her surroundings. Even the warm arm around her shoulders was strange until she heard the voice,
"Belle, what is it? What happened?" said the sleepy man beside her. Belle snapped back to the present. She was in Rumpelstiltskin's room, not the asylum. Rumpelstiltskin's arm was around her as she let herself be drawn to his chest. He pulled her close and Belle buried her nose in his thin t-shirt.
"Nightmare." was all she was able to say before the tears started. She sobbed into his shirt. Rumpelstiltskin wrapped his arms around her, but it felt like walls closing in and trapping her. Belle scrabbled over him to twist the knob and brought the lamp to life. The light was strong, filling the room. Belle looked up at Rumpelstiltskin's face, taking in his worried countenance. The shuddering sobs filled her again and Belle returned to his embrace, this time keeping her eyes wide and watching the room. Everything seemed to move the second she looked away and it frightened Belle in this world of loud noises and fast-paced life. Rumpelstiltskin could only hold her close and pray nothing too terrible was wrong. Her sobs scared and hurt him. He wanted to tear his hair out, knowing his Belle was afraid and he could do nothing. He couldn't protect her from terrors in her own mind.
After what seemed like hours, Belle's tears finally stopped, though the paranoid darting of her eyes didn't cease. Rumpelstiltskin leaned over and kissed her hair,
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked soothingly. Belle sat up and the tear tracks on her face broke his unfeeling heart,
"I don't want to keep you up." she said, tossing her hair off her face as she sniffled. Rumpelstiltskin shook his head and pulled her back to his lap,
"I didn't ask if you wanted to keep me up. I asked if you wanted to talk about it." Belle slowly nodded. She took a deep rattling breath and started her story,
"I was in the Queen's dungeon in the middle of a circular room. It was dark and cold and felt evil." Belle looked up at Rumpelstiltskin with red eyes, "Does that make sense?" she asked. Rumpelstiltskin nodded,
"I understand. You're doing very well, love. What happened next?"
"Priests entered. Hundreds of them with the same face. They had this smile with pointed teeth and a grin that stretched too far across their face. They had crazy eyes, yellow with too small of pupils. They were going to hurt me. They cut my skin, branded me. They kept whispering to me, 'Don't scream.' And I didn't, not 'til the end. When I screamed, they..." Belle's tears started again and Rumpelstiltskin crushed her to his chest. Belle's sobs were so bad he almost didn't hear her next words, "...they cut my tongue out." Rumpelstiltskin clutched her even closer, tears budding in his own eyes. His Belle had gone through enough; why did she need nightmares atop it all? He tilted her chin so she looked up at him,
"It's alright, sweetheart. No one will get to you, I promise. I'll kill the first person who threatens anything, don't worry. I've got you." He rocked Belle in his lap, mindless of how his leg burned. Nothing scared his Belle and got away with it. For the thousandth time, he cursed Regina. She had cursed Belle to this. Rumpelstiltskin had never wanted to hurt someone like he did her, regardless of past relationships. Ex-student or not, Regina had scared Belle to these extremes. Belle's quiet voice interrupted his thoughts,
"I... I think I'm ready to try sleeping." she said. Rum nodded and they scooted down until they were lying on the bed. He moved to return to his side, but Belle followed him. "Please, Rum? Just hold me. Just until I fall asleep." Rumpelstiltskin hesitated, then nodded. Belle was beside him in a flash and he was certain she would have crawled into his skin if she could. As it was, Belle rested her head over his heart and her other hand came to rest flung across his body. He wrapped his arms around her, tight enough that she would feel secure but loose enough she could escape if she wanted. Belle snuggled into him and fell asleep that night with his warm body beneath her and his heartbeat in her ear. Rum never let her go that night, staying awake past sunrise to scare off any bad dreams that came calling. The next day he was exhausted, but the trust in Belle's eyes was worth the lost sleep.