Disclaimer – I do not own any of the Once Upon A Time characters. But the new main character does belong to me.

Prologue

After Sorcerer's Apprentice removed all the darkness from Rumplestiltskin's heart he sealed it all within the magical hat. Rumplestiltskin's heart that had once been as black as night, had become as white as Snow White's name. When it was replaced back into the former Dark One's chest he was breathing normally again but still remained unconscious in a comatose state.

He was rushed straight to the Storybrooke hospital in an ambulance. Once he was there, he went through an examination by Doctor Whale. After a long time the doctor reported that Rumple was going to be alright, they just had to wait for him to wake up on his own. This news calmed a very anxious Belle who had not left her husband's side since the darkness had been removed by the Apprentice.
For two whole days Rumple had remained unconscious in the hospital. When he finally awoke it was in the middle of the night on the second day. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was none other than his true love, Belle. She was sat in a chair beside his bed, sleeping with her head rested in her arms on the edge of the mattress. He almost found it hard to believe that despite all that he had done and all he'd put her through, she was still at his side and cared about him.

Belle was awoken by Rumple's palm lovingly stroking her soft brown curls. The sight of her husband awake at last made her press her lips to his and kiss him so hard that she would probably never remove it again. For the rest of the night, the two of them were happier than they had been in a long time. Belle had climbed up onto the bed next to him and they slept in each other's arms. The following morning they returned to Rumple's mansion and they immediately rekindled their marriage, for the first time in what felt like forever they had nothing to fear. The darkness was gone from him including his magic but that didn't matter to him, for now all he wanted more than anything in that moment was Belle.

Meanwhile in the shadows of the forest the Apprentice released the darkness from the hat. With the help of the light magic from Emma Swan, Regina and all the fairies, the darkness including the Dark One dagger (which now bore no name) was destroyed. It was all gone in one massive explosion deep within the forest leaving nothing but a massive creator in the dirt ground. Everyone returned home with smiles on their faces and arms round each other.

And that was that, there would be no more Dark Ones from that night onwards.

Chapter One - The Mysterious Stranger

Months Later

The town of Storybrooke was calm and peaceful. The weather was dry and pleasant despite the cold and the clouds that now filled the sky. The people of the town were cheerful and going about their usual business.

In Granny's diner there was quite a number of guests. Emma, Killian, David, Mary Margret and Baby Neal were in one booth together. Mary Margret was feeding Neal with his bottle while the four of them were deep in a happy conversation. In the booth behind them sat Regina, Robin, Henry and Roland. They too were chatting cheerfully while the young boys were licking two chocolate ice creams. The other guests in the diner included Dr. Hopper the seven dwarves and a few others who were all seated in various areas around the diner eating their lunch. At the counter Ruby and Granny were busy sorting out their customers' orders.

Meanwhile down the road two other people were alone inside Mr. Gold's Pawnbroker & Antiques Dealer. At the till, Mr Gold was writing down some accounts in a big book. While at the front of the shop his beautiful wife, Belle Gold, was rearranging some glass decorations that were hanging in the window. Mr Gold stopped his writing to watch his wife. At first he smiled as he observed her but then he put down his pen and closed his account book.
"Belle, are you sure you want to be here? I feel you should have stayed at home" Belle sighed "Look Rumple, I know you told me you've run this shop for many years fine without me. But that doesn't mean that you don't need a little extra help every now and then" and she continued hanging up the decorations. Mr Gold shook his head and leaned both his arms on the counter. "No Belle, that's not what I meant. I just think you should be resting, due to your present condition." He said gesturing towards her.

Belle turned round to face her husband and crossed to room towards him. She placed her hand over her stomach which was at this moment very pregnant. "Rumple we've been over this too. I know you're concerned for both my health and the baby's, but I can promise you that I feel completely well enough to work. If I'm not doing something here then I'll just stuck home alone with just our unborn baby and my books, bored out of my mind. And anyway..." She reached forward with her other hand and placed it over her husband's that was still rested on the counter. "I would rather stay with you Rumple. What if while I'm alone and something happens." She patted her belly as she said this "And also I couldn't bear the thought of us being separated again in any other way."
Rumplestiltskin's warm and loving smile returned to his face and he came round to join his wife. After giving her belly a gentle rub he said. "How right you are." They kissed passionately and she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Come on, you said there were some ornaments in the back that needed cleaning. Let's do them together." He nodded and they went into the back room with their arms round each other.

Back outside on the street things were still normal. People were walking along the pavements and cars driving down the road. The woods were calm too and the wind gently blew the branches on the trees. Cutting straight down through the woods lay the road which led right to the town line. Here all was calm, the only sound was the leaves bustling onto the road. No one had been over the line for months and there had been no unexpected visitors or leavers.

Then all of the sudden over the town line, stepping through from the outside world came a young women. She was medium build and in her early twenties. Her long brown hair blew in the wind as she looked around with bright blue eyes. She was wearing a royal blue coat, navy jeans and black boots. She had a rucksack on her back and over her shoulder she had heavy duffle bag that she kept readjusting. "Well, here I am at last." She said to herself. "Storybrooke Maine." With a cheerful smile on her face she proceeded to walk on towards town.
When she finally arrived on main street she looked around in wonderment at the tall clock tower above the library and all the shops and buildings. She was wondering where to try first but her duffle bag was starting to really ache her shoulder. She went over to a nearby bench, dropped both her bags onto it and gave both her shoulders a much needed stretch and massage.

Inside the diner everyone was still chatting. Leroy who was sat at a table with the other dwarves, turned his head to look out the window. He noticed a strange girl walking down the street carrying two bags on her shoulders. He was certain he had never seen that girl before in all the years he had lived here, even during the first curse when he had had no memory of the enchanted forest. "Eh, guys. Do any of you know who she is?" he asked pointing out the window. They all put their drinks down and stared out the window. Sneezy sneezed "No, I haven't" he said rubbing his nose. The others shook their heads staring out at her as she came up the road.

Leroy stood out of his seat "Hey! Does anyone know who that girl is out there?" Everyone fell silent as they were always ready for action. Emma and Regina were on their feet first and came over to the window. The others were soon looking as well. For a while they were all silent as they watched the girl stop and stare around at her surroundings. Emma was the first to break the silence "I may be sheriff, but I have no idea who she is." "And I can't recall ever seeing her before, even though I've been Mayor of this town for many years." Said Regina staring out with her dark brown eyes. "David and I have known nearly everyone from our land and even over there I don't think we've ever seen or met her." Said Mary Margret who was still holding baby Neal. "Maybe she's from the outside world, look at her bags. She may be a traveller who stumbled here by mistake." Said Ruby tucking one of her long dark locks behind her ears. "But if that's true then how on earth did she get here? The town line is now back to the way it used to be. No one can find Storybrooke once you're outside and you can never enter again." Said David.
"Well she looks quite friendly. Doesn't seem to be any danger" Said Mary Margret smiling. Emma watched as the girl put her heavy bags down on the bench and rub her shoulders. "Well I think I'm going to go and have a talk with her." She opened the door, stepped outside and crossed over the road towards the new stranger.

The girl looked up as Emma approached and all at once a friendly smile came to her face. "Hello" She said. "Hello" Said Emma still staring at her. "You're not from round here are you?" The girl shook her head "Oh no, I just got here. It's been a long journey for me, a very long one" She rubbed her shoulders again. "Oh jeez, those bags were almost killing me."
She looked over Emma's shoulder and her smile left her face. Emma looked round as well and saw that everyone had come out of the dinner and were watching them. "That's quite a welcome mat" the girl said. Emma turned back round to face her "Well none of us seen you around here before and it's not often that we get strangers here." The girl's smile returned. "I know what you're all wondering and I'm going to tell you yes, I am from the Enchanted Forest." Emma blinked, she had not expected that .

"But if you're from our land, then who are you?" Said Regina. "Oh, none of you would have known me." She replied "Back in our land I was nothing famous just like the beautiful Snow White and the gorgeous Prince Charming." She smiled over at them as she said this. David and Mary Margret both smiled as well at the girl's compliment "Congratulations by the way with your baby there" she added. "Thank you, so much." Said Mary Margret. The girl nodded. "Back in our land I was called Gabrielle. But in this world I go by the name Louise Bowen." She held out her hand to Emma "But you can all call me Louise" Emma took her hand "Emma Swan" They shook "Pleased to meet you Emma".

Regina came over to stand at Emma's side "That's all very well Louise. But do you mind explaining how you were able to escape the first curse? Because it was supposed to bring everyone from our land here. And it is the only possible explanation to how you were able to cross over the town line." Louise turned her gaze to the former evil queen. "Well your majesty, I'm only going to say for now that I wasn't affected by your precious curse. And it appears that those who weren't touched by the curse can easily come in and out of this town. But how I escaped in the first place, well that's quite a long story. Yes, my story is a very long one and I would be more than happy to share it with you all. As I'm hoping you would all be my friends." "Yes of course, dear" Said Mary Margret stepping over with David "There's nothing we like better than new friends." He said putting his arm round his wife.

"Well before I tell you all my story there's two things that I need to do first." She looked down at her bags that were still on the bench where she had dropped them. "Is there anywhere I can put these for the time being?" She asked. Ruby dispatched herself from the crowd "I run the bed and breakfast back there with Granny. Will you be needing a room if you're planning on staying?" Louise thought for a moment then replied "I'm not sure if I'll be needing a room just yet. But if you would have somewhere to put my bags for the time being, I would be very much obliged." Ruby came over and picked up the backpack and duffle bag. "I'll put them in the hold behind the reception counter for now. Oh and I'm Ruby by the way." Louise smiled her thanks "Nice to meet you Ruby."

After Ruby and Granny had left with the bags, Louise said "Now just one more thing, there's someone I need to see." "Who might that be?" Mary Margret asked kindly. "Rumplestiltskin" Louise replied. Emma blinked again in surprise. In fact everyone had not been expecting that either. "Why do you want to see him of all people?" Regina asked, sounding almost disgusted. Louise sighed. "Well if you must know. Rumplestiltskin was my friend back in our land. Actually he was my only friend." Everyone was exchanging looks of astonishment at these words. Louise sighed again "I know he's the dark one but I always saw the man he really was. He showed me himself and proved he is a good man despite being seduced by darkness."
Emma was by now so dumfounded, this girl was starting to sound a lot like Belle. "I have waited thirty years to see him again. And thirty years is a very long time. So please tell me if he is here or not." Her voice had changed almost to one of suffering. Henry stepped forward. "You can try his Pawn shop just down the road" he said pointing. Louise turned to look in the direction he was pointing and her smile returned "Thanks kid! I'll be right back everyone so don't go anywhere!" And she ran off down the road.

They all stared after her. "How is this possible?" Regina questioned facing Emma. "No one could have been capable of escaping my curse. But now that she mentions Gold I have a sneaky idea as to how she escaped." Emma looked back down the street. "Well I'll tell you one thing Regina. She was definitely telling the truth."

Louise was hurrying down the road towards the shop that Henry had pointed out. Her heart was pounding with so much excitement, she was only moments away from seeing her friend. She stopped outside the shop and looked it up and down "Mr. Gold Pawnbroker & Antiques Dealer" let out a small laugh "Mr Gold?! Well well Rumple, I'd say that is the perfect name for you in this world." She went in and small bell rang above her head. She wished she had ten more eyes to see all the amazing items and trinkets that filled the room. It was more interesting than any other shop she had ever been in.

No one was around which disappointed her. But she was not giving up, she had come too far to fail now. "Hello?! Is anyone here?!" she called. A sound of footsteps came from the distance and her heart began pounding again. Mr Gold came through the curtain from the back room. When he saw the young girl who stood before him his eyes widened in disbelief. "Gabrielle!". Louise's whole expression turned to one of total bliss, tears of happiness filled her eyes and her smile stretched across her face. "Rumple!" she cried and quickly they closed the space between them in a loving hug. Gold felt tears of his own coming to his eyes as he held her to him. "You made it! H…How did you find us?" Louise smiled against his shoulder "It's a long story, but I'll tell you later" She buried her face against his warm neck breathing in his familiar, rich scent. "I just can't believe it's you." Gold smiled and rested his chin on her shoulder "I know dear, it feels like it's been forever." A small sob escaped her mouth.

Slowly they broke apart and she looked him up and down "So this was what you looked like before you became the Dark One?" she asked and he nodded. "Yes, but minus the suit and combed hair. Do you not remember when I showed you once" She laughed "Yes of course I do, but I've always remembered you with your Dark One appearance. Oh Rumple, you look more amazing than I imagined you'd be. So human" He chuckled and took her hands in his "And you look the same dearie." She laughed again.
"So, how's your sister?" he asked. "Oh she's great. In fact she's been happily married for the past few years and had a beautiful daughter. I could not be happier that she finally found true love." Gold nodded and squeezed her hands. Louise's gaze then went down to their hands, she lifted up Gold's right hand which held the ring that Gold had always worn. A big clear stone in the centre of a gold band. "You still have it!" she whispered. "Of course. I made a promise to you, did I not?" She look back up into his brown eyes. "Well you are a man of your word when it comes to deals." She released his hand. "Indeed I am." She hugged him again closing her eyes.

Upon opening them she realized that they weren't alone. Belle was standing by the back counter looking completely clueless as to what was going on. "Who's this Rumple?" Louise asked looking at the beautiful woman. "I'd actually like to ask the same question." Said Belle looking at her husband. Gold straightened up "I'm sorry, I believe proper introductions are in order. This is Gabrielle. A friend of mine from our land. Gabrielle I'd like you to meet my beloved wife, Belle" Louise started to hold out her hand "Nice to meet you B…" Then she stopped and her smile faded. "Wait…. Belle…But h..?"
She looked up at Gold looking very confused. "But Rumple…you told me Belle was dead." Gold nodded. "I was sure of that. But it turned out I had been misinformed." Her smile returned "Oh Rumple, you found her. How wonderful" She went over to Belle and took her hand. "Oh Belle, I can't believe it's you. Rumple told me so many wonderful things about you." This seemed to soften Belle's still puzzled expression. "Really? What exactly did he tell you?" Louise released Belle's hand and said. "He told me that it was you that almost made him return to the man he used to be. And that you were the key to ending his curse and misery. A flicker of light amidst his ocean of darkness." Belle's whole expression relaxed at these words. "Wow, you told her everything."

Rumple chuckled. "Well back then, apart from Bae, you were all I could think about. Because turning down the love you gave me became the second biggest regret of my whole life" Belle stepped over to Rumple's side with a sorry look in her eyes and they both put arms round each other's waist.
Turning down Belle's love certainly had been his second biggest regret, Louise knew this already because he had told her. Oh so long ago. Louise then noticed Belle's pregnant belly. "Oh and a massive congratulations with the baby." They both smiled "Thanks" said Belle and stroked her stomach. "When is the due date?" Louise asked. "Within a month or so, we're not certain when exactly." Said Rumple.

All the talk about children brought another question to Louise's mind. "Oh Rumple, I almost forgot. What of your mission of finding Bae? Did you succeed? Is he here in Storybrooke?" The pawnbroker and his wife's expressions turned to ones of sorrow. "What is it?" Louise asked confused. Rumple cleared his throat and found his voice but it sounded choked. "Yes I did find him. But….unfortunately through many heart-breaking circumstances he was….murdered." Louise's jaw dropped. "Murdered? No! But how?" Belle sniffed "He was killed by the Wicked Witch of the West" Both their faces were downcast and their eyes on the floor. The Wicked Witch of the West? Louise wanted to hear more, clearly there was quite a story. But decided not to ask because clearly it was a subject that hurt. So she said "I'm so sorry Rumple. I know how much you loved him."

The pawn broker took his arm from round his wife and put both his hands on Louise's shoulders "The greatest thing was that even in the little time I had left with him Gabrielle. He forgave me for everything. He loved me." Even though he was fighting back tears he managed to smile. Looking into his gentle brown eyes Louise felt her insides light up again. She was so happy that Baelfire had forgiven Rumple. But still it was heart breaking that she would never get to meet him. "What's even more wonderful was that he didn't die in vain or for nothing. He died a hero." Louise's smile returned "God bless him" She said resting her head against Rumple's chest and reaching out to take Belle's hand. For a while the three of them stood there in the middle of the shop saying nothing.

Finally Louise said "I have to be quick now, everyone else at the diner are probably still waiting for me." "Why" Gold asked. "Well they're quite confused as to how I escaped the curse and how you're my only friend." Gold chucked. "So I need to go and tell them my story. You're more than welcome to come along too." Belle nodded "Yes I would love to hear your story. You run along and we'll be there soon." Louise nodded but just as she was about to leave she gave Rumple's hand a squeeze.
"It is wonderful to see you Rumple. I've missed you like you couldn't imagine." Gold brought her hand to his lips and squeezed it back. "I couldn't agree more Gabrielle. And you can't imagine how hard it was for me to keep your history with me a secret for all these years." Louise gave him a look of understanding "You know why we agreed to that Rumple." The pawnbroker nodded "Yes, to keep you and your sister safe." Louise released his hand. "See you in a bit" She went out of the shop.
As she made her way back down the street, she prepared herself to tell the others her story.

Author's Notes
Well here we go. A story I have had in my mind for a long time now. I hope that it will go well and that you will all enjoy it.
Please Review this and let me know what you think, I always appreciate it when you do. Then I know how many readers actually like my work.
Kind regards to you.