Rumpelstiltskin gently placed the gigantic golden egg on his counter of the closed shop. It was jewel encrusted with more then enough precious stones to be gaudy and yet strangely they fit together lovely. A lovely package to hold True Love in while being protective enough to keep the package that is just as fragile as it is precious safe. It had been in the belly of a dragon for over twenty eight years yet it looked just as new as when he won it in a deal with a ogre.
Pulling a key from the desk he opened the egg. Many years ago he would of caressed it lovingly, but now there was only one object in the world, theirs or Storybrooke's that he reserved his caress for. Opening the egg inside the plush design there was the True Love, a lovely magenta purple. It fit with who gave the ingredients for the potion. Snow White and Prince Charming, the color of royalty and humanity, something both were a mixture of. As he lifted it into the light he wondered what color his and Belle's love would have been, because no two loves are ever the same. Green, he decided, a dark green. The color of nature, life, self-respect, well being, balance, learning, and harmony. Belle to a tee, and he was darkness, and inky blackness. His love was pushed and held back, only a little of the black would touch the green making it simply dark. He rested the bottle down feeling an all-too familiar hatred, hating himself for what happened to Belle wasn't new. He did it every day.
His train of thought was broken by the ringing of a bell at the door and he quickly turned to hide the potion in his pocket and it's case in a chest. Did they not see the very visible 'Closed' sign? However this unknown person stopped his thoughts from straying to his lost love, at least for now-thoughts of her would always come back-so he did not feel as angry as relieved. He couldn't focus on his love lost forever when he can at least now have Bae back.
"Excuse me, are you Mr. Gold?" A female voice asked. It sounded familiar to him but he refused to think on it. Many times he had lost himself in thoughts of Belle and when someone broke him out of the trance he almost heard their words in her voice. Yet how did whoever this woman is not know him? Everyone in Storybrooke knew him, just as everyone knew him in their world.
"Yes I am." He answered simply, he didn't care what this woman wanted, he did not have time. "But I'm afraid the shop's closed-" He never completed his sentence. Because standing before him was his Belle. His eyes widened as he looked at her. Belle? His Belle? She was a bit dirtier and her hair looked a bit like a haystack but it was his Belle. The apparition opened it's mouth and Belle's melodic voice came out.
"I was, uh, I was told to-to find you." She said and it was the nervous way she had talked to him on first being with him in the Dark Castle before she had chipped the cup and slowly gotten to trust him when she saw instead of beating her for breaking his cup he said it was "just a cup". "And to tell you that Regina locked me up." She added and it seemed as though her normal confident way came about her as if she knew some sort of hidden message. However he looked at her incomprehensibly, Regina had said that she had died and he hadn't been able to prove her wrong.
Slowly Rumpelstiltskin started to walk to her, never before hating that he had to walk slowly because of his limp so much. She was standing there and as he got closer her scent wafted to him just as he remembered. Roses, musky books, sugar, sunshine, and something else he could never identify. After he calmed enough to feel regret for smashing everything of hers except her chipped cup he tried to artificially make her scent so he had that to hold onto also, but no matter what ratio he used the scents that are hers there was always something missing from it. Perhaps it was something far too subtle for him to have ever smelled or maybe it was just the fact that the scent was coming from her that lead it to be so ambrosia-like but all his attempts were cheap knock offs at best and repugnant at worse.
"Does that...does that mean anything to you?" She asked him worried by his strange expression. He looked somewhere between seeing a ghost and doubting his own sanity. Which in truth he was doubting his sanity. Had all the heartache and regret finally completed? If so madness would be a pleasure. With his lip trembling he reaches out his hand and grips her shoulder. He needs to know if she is real, and honestly-this momentary heaven isn't complete with feeling her safe and sound in his arms.
He is shocked that his hand does not go right through her but hits solid, warm flesh. The arm is far too thin but still corporeal. He squeezes again to make sure. "Your real." He whispered relevantly as she looks up at him as if he is crazy. Though he was too calm to be insane, she had spent more then enough time with madness to not notice it. He wasn't insane. "Your alive." He whispers and now she understood. He must of thought her dead. All those...weeks? Months? Years? She did not know how long she was in the hospital. He must of thought her dead. She felt like a beastly monster that she could not feel any spark of recognition with him.
Finally he put together everything that she had so far said. Regina locked her up. Looking down he noticed under her jacked was a hospital gown that they give long stay patients. "She did this to you?" He asked heartbroken that she had been hurt for so long. Longer then the curse had been in effect. She had been suffering for far too long, even though even a moment of suffering of this brave, loving, beautiful girl was too much. He should of searched Regina's castle to make sure she wasn't there.
"I was told you'd protect me?" Belle said raising an eyebrow and pulling slightly away as if she was afraid to say something as brazen as that. Yet she was told that.
"Oh yes," he said almost euphorically trying hard to push back the tears. He had to be strong for her. He pulled her into a hug holding her close to him. "Yes I'll protect you." He swore. This time he would protect her, this time no one would take her away. He wouldn't push her away and anyone who even had a passing thought about harming a single hair on her head either physically, emotionally or mentally would have to deal with him.
Though his heart broke as he felt her start to push him away. A part of him wanted to hold her tighter, demand that she never try to push him away. But he loved her too much to do that to her and knew she had every right and reason to push him away so he pulled back. "I'm sorry, do I...do I know you?" She asked looking at him afresh trying to see something, anything, that she would recognize. Who is he? This Mr. Gold, what is he to her?
His lip trembled and he had to stop from crying heartbroken sobs and pull her to him to beg for her forgiveness. That was the last thing she needed. He could feel the tears mist his eyes as he looked at her. His sweet Belle.
"No. But you will." He promised and she looked at him reconsidering if he may be crazy or not. But he knew that he wasn't. Soon she'd remember. Then he could cry and get on his hands and knees and begin begging her for her forgiveness. Promising never to push her away because of his cowardice or let her get hurt again.
Even if she hated him now, and if she never forgave him he'd never stop fighting to win her back and never stop defending her. He'd single handy fight all of Regina's forces along with Emma's to protect her. He'd take on bruises, cuts and scars as long as her creamy skin would remain untouched.
And this he promised.