Author's notes: During the early part of season 5A I was upset because The Rose from the Beauty and the Beast turned out to be nothing more than a life monitor for Rumple. I wanted it to be something much more complex that. Also, at that point, I did not know what Rumple was going to be like once he woke from the coma. I believed that having a white heart meant being ripped from all human emotions. No love, no hate…only survival instinct. Rumple becoming the Beast in all the sense of the word. So I started writing this scene that you are about to read. Then Authorwithoutaquill joined me in the quest of trying to make it a full-length fic because we liked the idea a lot. However my dear friend started college and for the time being I see very difficult that we continue that fic (you can find it here as Rose as Red as Blood). So I decided to post this scene as as stand alone fic. I think is so painful and beautiful and I wanted to share it with you all.

"I am sorry Belle…but I can't tell you" Merida announced with despair but resoluteness. In reality she was only trying to convince herself that this was the right thing to do. She knew it was right for Belle, at least.

Belle looked at Merida baffled for what she just heard.

"What? I don't understand…Time is almost up. Look at The Rose, Merida!. The last petal is barely attached to the flower now. And you very well know what will happen when it falls" Belle replied desperate.

She couldn't fathom why Merida was so reluctant to share with her the final piece of the puzzle. The answer to what they were searching for so frantically the past several weeks. Belle turned around to get a glimpse of Rumple. Just to confirm one more time that the Beast was very much still in his place. A soulless monster. A statue without any ability to love, hate, or feel any emotion at all. A cruel machine powered only by the instinct of self preservation. But there was still hope. Hope that this could be reverted. Merida followed Belle's gaze and she felt even more reassured of her own decision.

"I won't tell you Belle. I am so sorry, but he made his own choices. Bad, terrible choices, that led to this very moment. It is not something you have to pay for"

Belle turned again to see Merida. "I don't know why are you doing this, but whatever the reason…this is MY decision to take. This is about me and him. You know our story. And you are probably the only person in this town who understands what I am fighting for, why I am still fighting for him," Belle retorted forcefully, shortening the distance between them.

"Look at him Belle! He has not been anything BUT cruel to you since we woke him up. He doesn't care about you or anyone else for that matter!"

"Because he can't feel!. His heart is empty," Belle replied with pain clearly reflected in her face.

"You just said it yourself, Belle. That's what he is now. A soulless monster."

"And he will remain one forever unless we…" Belle tried to continue but she choked on her own words"

"The price is too high" Merida stated sadly, lowering her gaze to the floor.

"We worked so hard and so long to find a cure to restore his heart. Please let me be the judge of that price," Belle pleaded.

Merida only closed her eyes. Her hesitation was even more unnerving to Belle with each passing second.

"Please, Merida, please tell me what is the price to save him," Belle repeated again with tears pooling in her eyes.

Merida sighed, defeated.

"The Rose…is…in fact, a curse. The cruelest curse ever created. The only way to prevent the Rose from dying is to feed it….with blood…with his True Love's blood" Merida said looking at Rumplestiltskin.

Belle followed her gaze trying to process Merida's words. Her blood? That was the price for saving him? For curing his heart? Would it even work? Was she his True Love?. Camelot's Gauntlet once revealed that his greatest weakness was his dagger, the source of his power. Wasn't that power his "true love"?. For the past weeks Rumplestiltskin treated her like she meant absolutely nothing to him. Although his behavior was dictated by the emptiness in his heart, shouldn't True Love be stronger than that? Did he truly deserve her sacrifice? Merida didn't even dare to say it, but Belle was sure this was about a sacrifice. Belle looked into Merida's eyes again and swallowed visibly before speaking.

"All my blood, isn't it?" Belle asked already knowing the answer.

Merida was only able to nod. Then she found her voice again and fought not to cry. "Yes…the curse claims the life of the person he loves the most. The Rose will consume all your blood to bloom again, and with that his heart will be restored as well"

Merida saw immediately, reflected in Belle's eyes, the internal battle the she was now facing. And her biggest fears were materializing in front of her. That was the reason she didn't want to tell her in the first place. They were such kindred spirits. Both of them were strong women that always fought for what they thought was right. And Merida knew what Belle was going to do. Her decision was crystal clear because it was the same decision she would make in a similar situation. Bravery was the only choice here.

"You have to go now, Merida. The town still needs you," Belle retorted after a few more seconds of heavy silence.

"No!, I will not let you do this!" she replied taking Belle by the arm.

"No one decides my fate but me. And you gave me a choice. And my choice is to see him, the true him, one last time. I will always be grateful to you for giving me that chance"

At that moment the tears they were trying so hard to contain flooded their eyes and they both cried silently.

'Belle…I…" Merida didn't finish the sentence because Belle hugged her just like a sister would. Deep down in their hearts they knew this was the last time they were seeing each other again. This was the final goodbye.

When they finally came apart, Merida did not take her eyes off Belle while she began walking towards the entrance of the cave, where the lift would take her to the surface. One last look between heart sisters and Merida disappeared amidst the darkness of the cave.

Belle was suddenly surrounded by a sepulchral silence. It was sad because she felt alone although she wasn't. She didn't dare to look at Rumple. Contemplating his eyes devoid of any emotion and full of disdain and indifference would only serve to second guess the rightness of her decision. Did the man she fell in love with truly exist? Or was he nothing but a Beast?. When Belle banished him from Storybrooke she believed that, and even when he returned she forced herself to keep believing that. Because that was the only way she could stay far away from him and not give in. Not to forgive him. Not even allow him to ask for forgiveness.

Alas, she was here now, standing in front of an enchanted rose, willing to give her life to save him once more. Even when forgiveness was yet not granted. All the lies and deceptions still lingered between the two of them because when they truly reunited again in the pawn shop so many weeks ago, when they finally had the chance to talk…the darkness almost consumed him. And when that darkness was extracted, it left an empty man behind. But despite all that, Belle knew that the man behind the Beast was a man capable of loving so deeply and so very much. So much that he went to the end of several worlds just to find the means to reunite with his son. So much that he let her go. So much that he sacrificed himself for her and for Bae. So much that, even in his darkest hour, he went to extraordinary lengths to save and return her heart knowing that that meant losing her to another man. So, yes, everything was worth it if it meant preserving that love. If her blood was needed to restore his ability to feel again, to love again...then she would gladly give it all up.

Without further hesitation or doubts Belle walked the final steps towards the stone pedestal where the glass jar containing the Rose was. She lifted the glass case so very slowly, knowing that one rough movement was all the last petal needed to finally fall, shattering her illusions and hopes forever. She held her breath and she stared at the Rose. She placed the glass case right next to it. Then…she wasn't sure how to proceed. How exactly was the Rose going to take her blood? When she fixed her eyes on the sharp and pointy thorns, it didn't take her more than one second to figure it out. Those thorns looked so menacing now. And they had a reason to be like that. They had a purpose, a dark and terrible purpose. How was this going to happen? Would it be fast? An instantaneous death? Or would it be slow and painful? She didn't know and that ignorance made her shiver with fear. She thought about her mother. She always did, especially in moments where she needed to be brave. She always wanted to be like her. Do the brave thing and bravery will follow…Belle told herself like a mantra.

Then, she stretched out her index finger towards one of the thorns. Before touching it, she murmured the words "I love you". It was intended to stay as a murmur, but she spoke loud enough for Rumplestiltskin to hear her from the opposite side of the cave where he was standing. And despite that proclamation and the knowledge that she was exchanging her life for his, he still remained uninterested, detached, unconcerned. Without looking at him, she pressed her finger into the thorn hard enough to drawn blood. She winced and she saw the big drop of blood both covering her finger and the thorn. Almost immediately she observed how the blood was absorbed by the stem, like sponge absorbing water. That vision was followed by a tingling sensation running through her entire body. It was magic. A powerful magic spreading inside her and forming an unbreakable blood bond between her and the Rose itself. It was a thin string of blood that connected her to the stem and she could feel now how the rose was sucking on her blood rapidly and deadly. She was aware that her blood was being stolen and consumed by the plant. She didn't have time to ponder how this was related to the way she was going to die, because in that precise moment she saw something amazing: carmine petals started to sprout again. The Rose was blooming again, beautifully. And she smiled despite the situation because she knew she had succeeded. But she also felt her life literally slipping through her fingers. Her legs failed to support her any longer and she fell on the rough and icy floor.

The moment Belle hit the floor, something snapped inside of Rumplestiltskin. It was like an invisible blow hitting him right in the middle of his chest. It also felt like coming back from a long trance where he remained blindfold for far too long. Nevertheless, the first sensation he perceived was pain. He felt an excruciating pain, strong enough to make him writhe in agony. However, it was not a physical pain. It took him long seconds to understand what that pain was and where it came from. He first deciphered the latter: the pain came from his heart. When he realized the former, his entire world started to fracture: it was the pain of losing his True Love. And with pain, vision came. The horrific vision that plagued most of his nightmares for centuries. Belle was dying. And there was nothing he could do to stop it. And with vision, voice came. A voice that turned into a scream of denial. A heartbreaking howl that made the earth shudder. And with voice, realization came. Realization that not only she was dying, but that she was dying for him, because of him. Because her infinite love for him was stronger and truer than anything he had ever known in all the centuries of his life. And before anything else could get into his mind, he ran towards her. When he reached her, ignoring the piercing pain in his bad ankle, Rumple took Belle into his trembling arms, beholding with absolute dread the string of blood that connected her with the infernal Rose.

"Belle!, Belle!...Oh, Belle, my love…what have you done?"

She fought against the darkness that wanted to swallow her whole and focused her vision in Rumplestiltskin.

"There you are again. The man I love," she murmured, placing one of her hands in his cheek. Finally, after so many agonizing days, she saw love in Rumple's eyes. The beast was gone. And she felt victorious, happy and in peace with herself.

A tight knot in his chest and throat was preventing Rumple to utter a response. She loved him. Despite everything, she never stopped loving him. In the past weeks he had been cruel with her in a way he never was before. He was replaying in his mind the careless words, the mocking attitude, the arrogance he showed her every time she tried to approach him while his heart was empty. And the guilt he felt was consuming, worse than any hell fire that he surely deserved.

"Belle, why did you do this? After what I've done to you…oh gods I am so sorry…" he choked again and bitterly cried while holding Belle closer, tighter, in a futile attempt of never letting her go.

"I don't regret my decision. It wasn't you before. Now your heart is full of love again and I know you never stopped loving me"

"Never, Belle. Not for an instant. You are everything to me. Please, please stay with me, my love," he pleaded between sobs.

"I…I am sorry I can't stay with you Rumple, but you have to promise me you will go on and be the man I know you can be" Belle felt death as clear and close as he felt the warmth of Rumple's arms around her. She was not afraid of death anymore, but she didn't want to leave him with guilt and pain in his heart.

"No, no, I can't Belle…I don't want to live a life if you are not in it. I already did…for more than three decades…and it killed me" Amidst this entire surrealistic nightmare, Rumple was trying to think, to find a way to stop this, but without magic there was no way to save his Belle on time. Even with magic he wasn't sure if this curse could be broken.

Belle's heart slowed more and more with every passing second. "You are stronger now, Rumple…you will make it. Bae and I will always be near you, no matter where we are" The Rose kept stealing Belle's blood and Rumple wanted to crush it, although he knew a curse so powerful would never be broken that easily. His tears drenched Belle's hand that kept caressing his face.

"I love you Rumple. I always have. I always will" she said as a goodbye.

"I love you too, Belle" And with those words, Belle's hand left his face and fell lifeless on the floor. Rumple's pure red heart fractured into million pieces.

"No!" he hollowed into the darkness of the cave but his painful echo reverberated all the way to the center of the earth.

He buried his face in the crook of her neck and cried while his agony was muffled in her still warm and soft skin.

He knew in that very moment that if he still were the Dark One, he would give up all his power, his own life, anything, anything to bring her back. Life was so unfair by letting him live, a despicable monster, while taking an angel full of goodness and love back to heaven.

He wanted, needed, to feel her lips one last time. He kissed her neck and then joined their lips in a final kiss. Instantly, there was a flash of light that illuminated the entire cave. He felt a pulse of energy and something else traveling through his entire body and he separated from Belle's lips with confusion drawn in his face. Then, he understood what just happened and in that precise moment Belle's beautiful blue eyes opened.

"Kiss me again…it's working" Belle spoke and smiled, knowing as well as him that True Love's kiss have broken the Rose curse.

He couldn't believe his eyes and ears. Belle was alive!. Was this a just a mirage?. An illusion? He didn't want to even ponder that possibility and kissed her again with all the passion he could muster in that very moment. When he parted from that kiss he knew this was real. Their love broke the curse. He glanced at the Rose. It withered and the bond between its stem and Belle's blood no longer existed. Rumple's eyes found Belle's once more and he saw color returning to her cheeks. Gods she looked so beautiful!. His angel was alive and was again by his side. Both of them smiled. Her arms felt strong enough and she incorporated just a bit from Rumple's lap, only to hug him and held him close to her chest. He corresponded with the same raw necessity, holding her impossibly closer to him. Now they had a second chance to start again with no magic, with no lies, with no secrets behind them. The only thing that mattered between them was the knowledge that they shared the purest and greatest of loves. The love capable of breaking any curse.