It was a surprising, shocking moment, when Rumple grabbed Pan's shoulder to turn him around, and Belle, woefully frozen beside Baelfire, could do nothing but watch as Rumple stared teary-eyed at his father, trapped in the days of his youth after abandoning Rumple as a boy. Belle had been privy to that particular part of her boyfriend's past for a few days, and it was no less odd to her then as it had been when she'd first heard the information.
She could feel the tears prick her eyes, could trace the blur of her vision as it swam with sorrow, could pinpoint the exact moment her heart skipped a beat . Her stomach dropped with dread as Rumple gave them his parting words, and oh how they felt like the last breath he would ever take.
It seemed immensely clear, then, how willing he was, and how ready, and how nearly eager his eyes seemed-perhaps eager to be rid of his curse, eager to be rid of himself and all the centuries of memories he was leaving behind.
Belle could only hope, with a dreadful, sinking feeling making her stomach plummet, that it would be a swift end, since she was unable to stop him and unable to talk him out of it. So, she stood with tears painting her blue eyes bright against the stormy backdrop of Storybrooke's raging sky, dark tresses whipped about in the harsh wind, gaze flitting over to the dagger appearing in Rumple's trembling grip, his cheeks reddened.
He pulled Pan to him, wrapping secure arms about the boy's shoulders, his dark eyes lit with sorrow as Belle felt her breath give way to trembling, shuddering sighs. The blade glinted in the dim sunlight, and her eyes traced its movement as he stabbed it deep into Pan's back, effectively pinning their bodies together as the blade pierced him, as well.
Belle thought, that in that moment, she was broken, and felt her knees weaken beneath her, but still she stood, captured by magic as her soul felt like it was being ripped to pieces, torn apart irrevocably.
His expression went slack, leaning more heavily on his father just as his father leant on him, and Pan's sounds of pain echoed in her head as she saw a light emanate from the wound, a bright, colorful glow that widened and spread until it enveloped them both, and then it was gone, leaving only the scroll Pan had been clutching to bounce soundlessly against the pavement.
The magic holding them all vanished, releasing them, and Belle collapsed, her palms pressed to her mouth as she sobbed.
Unexpected, and all too devastating, for her heart felt destroyed, and the tears burned as they dripped easily down her wind-kissed cheeks.
Based off a prompt given by rodlox over on Tumblr.
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