AN: This is a companion piece to my story, Finding Forever. You do not have to read Finding Forever to understand what's going on. However, since I allowed Niall and Emma to stay together and raise their children together, I needed someone to help Regina find her redemption. Belle already had experience, so she somehow got the job. I think that the two of them somehow becoming friends simply because they really have no one else is hilarious. I also plan on writing a third piece, Saving Forever, and this stuff needed to be stated before I wrote it. So here you go.

Regina, Queen of the land, wasn't really sure why she hadn't just locked up the stupid girl. She wasn't sure why she had listened to her Mirror and used the slave chain from Agrabah. Maybe it was the thought that later, she could parade the girl in front of Rumplestiltskin. Maybe she was curious how the woman had won the heart of the monster. Or it could've been that, in a deep part of her heart, she was ridiculously lonely.

But it was moments like these where she wished she had just locked the girl away. Or better yet, given her to the clerics.

"What in the names of the gods are you doing!" She snarled, hands on hips, glaring.

Belle blinked up from the pages of her book. She was sprawled out on the floor, legs up on the couch, the skirt of her gray dress bunched almost indecent at her waist. She arched her back slightly, looking up over her forehead at the queen.

"Reading," She answered in a dry tone that made it seemed that the answer should-be been obvious. Regina didn't appreciate it.

"I can see that" Regina snapped. "Why are you sitting like that?"

"Like what?" She looked down as if just noticing how she was positioned. "Oh."

"Oh?"

"Oh," Belle nodded, wiggling herself up. "It's hard to get comfy sometimes. I either move to a ridiculous position or stay in one spot until I can't move. Sorry." She bounced to her feet and shrugged, big blue eyes sparkling. "So, how did it go?"

"How do you think?" Regina stormed towards her vanity, slamming a hand against the top. "That stupid, little whore!"

"I don't think you can really call someone who has only slept with one man a whore." Belle idly commented, seating herself on the couch, legs crossed. She didn't even react to the look Regina shot her.

"Shut. Up." Regina pointed a finger at her, eyes narrowed. "I can still kill you."

Belle grinned at her. "You can, but you won't. You haven't figured me out yet, after all."

"Why the hell do I need to figure you out again?" The queen looked at her darkly.

Belle's own face darkened, her smile turning sharp and vicious. "Because, dear, I am something unknown. I have magic you don't understand, an attitude you can't begin to comprehend, and I made the most powerful sorcerer in the land fall in love with me. You need to figure me out, because if you don't, you'll never know if I'm useful." She leaned back on her hands and tilted her head. "So that's why you need me around."

"I don't need you." Regina hissed.

Belle snickered and rose. "Keep telling yourself that, dear." She threw over her shoulder as she sauntered out of the room.

Belle glared at her ankle. The chain wasn't ugly. In fact, it was kind of cute. A simple silver chain encircling her ankle. She probably would've wanted to wear it, if she didn't know what it was.

But she knew exactly what it was.

It was slave chain, powerful Agrabahan magic that tied her to Regina's will. It was lucky that Regina hadn't been born in Agraba. If she had, then Belle would have had to obey her every order. But magic had a price, and the price for Regina to perform this little magic was partial control. Belle only had to follow the orders laid down at the original clasping of the chain.

Even that little order chafed. Belle wasn't allowed to leave the Palace without Regina or to kill her. She was trapped there, but that wasn't the hardest part.

The worst was that she couldn't speak to her true love. She couldn't even say his name. She couldn't even speak about him. She was trapped with him in her heart, but no way to let it out.

She sighed and went back to making tea. Regina had opted to keep her close, thinking it delicious irony to force her into being her maid. Of course, she made a horrible maid. She didn't clean, she didn't cook. All she did was read, make tea, and dish out excessive amounts of sarcasm. It was the only amusement she had these days.

She smirked. It seems she had spent way too much time with her true love if she thought that annoying Regina was fun. She had made a sharp quip her first day asking whether her skills skinning children would be needed, and the look on Regina's face has been almost perfect.

"Good morning, Lady Belle." Belle glanced up to see Henry, the Queen's valet and father, step into the room. "How are you?"

"Very well, Lord Henry. And yourself?"

"Well," He said, though Belle could tell he wasn't well at all. His shoulders seemed slumped. She could tell a father worried about his child. Lord Henry was afraid for Regina.

"Liar," Belle murmured, handing him a cup of tea.

Henry smiled wearily at her. "Obvious, am I?" He asked. He sighed. "I just wish she would give up this revenge idea. It will never lead her to happiness."

"No, it won't, but you and I could tell her that until we're blue in the face, and she won't believe it." She mixed honey into her own cup and took a sip. "She has to follow this path herself, and find out that what she's looking for is already in her grasp. I just hope she doesn't do anything she regrets on the way."

Henry looked up at her. "You haven't learned of the curse yet, have you?"

Belle huffed out a breath. "Yes, I have. I know what it says. I know Regina is going to cast it. I just hope that in this world without happy endings, we can convince her how to find hers."

Henry just stared at her. "You are optimistic, aren't you, Lady Belle?"

Belle just stared back. "Optimism and sarcasm is all I have left. Gotta make the best of it, right?"

"I suppose. I just fear that Regina is following the same path as her mother." Henry looked down, rubbing his palms on his thighs. She could see the fear in his eyes.

She tilted her head. "What was Regina's mother like?"

Henry grimaced. "Cold and unfeeling. Prideful and cruel. I once thought I could love her, but I realized quickly that there was no way. She was incapable of love, and I did not have the strength to pretend. She had magic, and I thought that was her price. Her ability to love. I don't know." He hid his face behind his hands. "She captured me and dragged me to Wonderland where she is queen. Regina saved me, but-"

Belle didn't say anything, just listening. She could see that whatever had happened in Wonderland was horrible, and she gave Henry his moment to gather himself. She felt a twinge in her heart.

If Regina wasn't careful, she would end up just like her mother.

"Well, we can't let that happen," The former princess/maid muttered, grabbing another teacup and making her way up the stairs. Time to go save a queen from herself.

Belle is the one who found Henry's body. Regina had been fighting with the decision to cast the curse for weeks, but Belle had hoped she wouldn't go through with it.

The dead body proved her wrong.

"Oh, Regina, why?" Belle whispered, running her hand over Henry's hair. "Is it really worth it?"

Apparently it was, because now she could hear the thunder. The loud claps of magic brewing drew her attention to the window. She let out a sigh.

She twisted her fingers, feeling the dark waves of magic in the air. She couldn't bend it like an other magic. She was just like everyone else, helpless. She sighed and closed her eyes. There was no way to use the magic she had discovered.

It was something she had found on her travels. After helping Prince Phillip, she had found a monastery in the mountains. The monks inside had taught her how not to cast magic, but to manipulate it. There were wonderful books and scrolls. But she now could learn how to twist the magic to her will.

There was always a catch though. She couldn't create magic and she could only manipulate dark magic. Fairy magic tended to blow up in her face.

She blamed her love for that last one.

But the curse was coming and she was completely helpless against it. She wished that she could bend it.

She wished she could help.

The magic washed over her and she couldn't remember anything else.

It was known that Lacey French was a horrible person. She was rude, loud and mean, and that was when she was sober. Get her drunk, and she was a grade A she-wolf.

She was the bartender down at the Rabbit Hole, the bar near the docks. She drank more than she served, which was impressive since almost every dock worker could be found at the bar at least three nights of five.

Her poison of choice?

Rum.

Every man who walked into the bar tried to walk out with her on their arm. They all labelled her as an easy lay, but they learned quick, she was more likely to rip their throats out than kiss them. She hated everyone, treated everyone like crap, and did her best to drink herself into oblivion every night.

She never wore any jewelery, except for one little silver chain encircling her ankle.

Regina lasted a year before she got bored. She pretended it was the fact that she had no one to gloat her win over. But she knew it was because of the nightmares that came every night. The guilt was killing her, the memory of her father's face as she ripped out his heart. She had felt the thrill of victory for the first few weeks, but now, it was gone. Now, the blackness in her chest was destroying her from the inside out.

This was not what she had imagined.

That was why she found herself outside of the Rabbit Hole on the day time reset itself. Every March 23rd, the curse was a little weaker than any other day.

She made her way inside, noticing that early in the afternoon, it was pretty much empty. Lacey stood at the bar, wiping down the counter. She glanced up and a sneer crossed her face.

"Well, well, well. What have we done to deserve the honor, your majesty?" She snapped, setting the rag down.

Regina blinked, not only at the wording but at the blatant hostility. Even in her first weeks of imprisonment, Belle had never been that vicious. She licked her lips and twisted her fingers.

The magic of the curse was still new, not yet set in its way. After today, Regina could tell that doing something like this would be a thousand times more difficult. But today, the magic was compliant.

Lacey froze, her jaw dropping. Her eyes widened and her fists clenched. She rocked back a little, as if she had been struck. Regina waited for a moment.

"You stupid, stupid-" Lacey hissed out, her eye narrowing. "Why, Regina? Why?"

"I wanted my happily ever after." She answered, but even to her own ears, it sounded almost weak. Was this her happily ever after? And if it was, why did she feel so empty?

"Oh, and how is that working out for you?" Belle snarled. She spun and looked down at her boss. "Hey, Garrett, I quit!"

"WHAT!" The huge man swung himself over, his eye blazing. "You can't quit on me, Lacey. I'll kill you!"

"Oh, honey, you're welcome to try." She taunted, hands going to her hips. She grinned wickedly at him. She turned and saunter to the door, throwing over her shoulder. "See you imbeciles later."

Regina closed her eyes, ignoring the idiot yelling behind the bar. That had not gone the way she planned it.

It took Belle two weeks to sort out who was Lacey and who was Belle in her head. In those two weeks, she had drunk six bottles of rum, which she had snickered to herself at the irony, read twenty books, and set the clock on her VCR. Somehow, she figured out who she was in those two weeks.

She was Belle.

But she was also Lacey. Even if no one would believe her, even herself. But she knew, Lacey was just as much a part of her as Belle was. Lacey had just been smothered under good parents and a sense of honor. If she had a different childhood, there was a good chance that she would've been Lacey completely.

But that knowledge allowed her to build a balance between the two warring personalities and let her be just her.

She was ready to face Regina.

She breezed past the secretary without a second glance and swung the door to Regina's office open with a warning. Regina jolted slightly in her chair, her eyes snapping up to stare at the intruder. Belle just smirked at her and swept in, dropping herself into on the chairs across from Regina, swinging her legs up to hang off the arm of the chair.

"Morning," She chirped, eyes dancing.

Regina watched her, taking in her skinny jeans, heels, and a t-shirt promoting the Red Hot Chili Peppers. "Miss French," Regina said lips pursing. "Can I help you?"

"How long did you last?" Belle asked, tilting her head. "Without memories, I can't tell the passing of time, so how long has it been?"

Regina's face tightened. "I don't know."

"Liar," Belle sang. She giggled. "I guess it doesn't really matter, not in the long run. I know why you brought my memories back, anyways."

"Oh?" the Mayor asked.

"You were lonely," The Beauty said, her lips curled in a grin. "Being the only one who remembers must be horrible."

"It does make gloating more difficult."

"Oh, I'm sure." She stretched, and sighed. "I quit my job. "

"I was there," Regina raised an eyebrow. "Why are you telling me?"

"Uh, because I need a new job," Belle rolled her eyes. "So, you're going to help me get a job."

"I am?" Regina leaned back, smirking. "Why would I do that?"

Belle looked at her, and her face went serious. She swung her legs back and sat straight, eyes boring into Regina's. "Because you need me. You need someone to keep the darkness away, Regina, and I'm the only one willing to do that job. So you are going to help me, because you know I am going to help you." She leaned forward, "You look like you haven't been sleeping."

Regina closed her eyes, head snapping back as if she'd been slapped. She gulped, and glared at Belle.

"I'm fine." She snarled.

"You're a liar." Belle shot back.

They glared at each other before Regina huffed out a breath. "Fine," She hissed. "You can clean my house. Happy?"

"Thrilled." Belle replied, leaning back into her chair, smiling over the small victory.

Belle sold her apartment and moved in Regina's guest room. Regina had protested, threatened, and even attempted to physically throw Belle out, but nothing worked. Belle was determined to stay with Regina, so she did. Nothing Regina tried could get the woman to leave.

So, Regina decided to play dirty.

She left for the office early, making sure that Belle knew where the envelope of money was at. She didn't say anything else, doing her best to keep the woman in the dark. Belle just nodded, too absorbed in her book to really pay attention.

Regina smirked to herself as she left. She had never had a more fun rent day.

It was a boring day, but it felt so much fun having that anticipation that came from ruining someone else's day. She tapped her red nails on her desk, laughing silently to herself.

A little after noon, a door slammed open, almost ripped off the hinges. Belle stood in the doorway, her eyes blazing. Regina blinked, but fought back a smirk. "Problem, dearie?" she asked, rising and stepping around her desk, eyebrow raised.

Belle took the six steps, pivoted at the waist and threw her entire body weight into her slap. Regina, caught off guard, felt her neck snap to the side, before she completely lost her balance and fell on her butt. She looked up at Belle, her eyes wide.

Not the reaction she was expecting.

"Who the-" Regina started, but then the stiletto of Belle's heel was in her throat. She choked as Belle pressed down, hard.

"If you ever do that to me again, Regina, I will make your life hell." Belle growled. "Every thing you do to me, I will do to you, except I will make it worse. I will make it painful. I will make you fall to your knees, your majesty. I will burn you from the inside out." She twisted her ankle, the heel twisting the skin. Regina could feel blood welling on her skin. "Do we have an understanding?"

"Ack-" Regina tried to force out. Belle glared, refusing her breath.

"Blink twice," She hissed. "Blink, because I refuse to allow you up. Blink or pass out. I won't kill you, can't kill you as you well know, but I can make you hurt. You should have been a lot more specific in your orders, dearie. You leave way too much wiggle room." Belle smirked.

Regina stared at her, the lack of oxygen not stopping the sudden epiphany from hitting her. She wasn't staring at the weak woman she had thought she had captured and stolen from her old teacher. She was staring at a warrior woman, a future queen, Rumplestiltskin's equal. Belle was more than she seemed, and now, laying on the ground under her literal heel, Regina could finally see it.

Regina slowly blinked twice.

She wasn't one to surrender easily, but there were very few people that made her feel actual fear. She never would have thought it would've been this girl.

Belle was a force of nature when she got in her mind to do something. She had redecorated Regina's entire house, throwing out everything that made it cold and unfeeling, and dragging in warm looking furniture and knickknacks. Books appeared out of seemingly nowhere, as if by magic. Movies piled up near the tv, and every Friday night, without fail, Belle dragged Regina to the couch and made her sit there for an entire movie.

One memorable night, Belle had turned on the Disney version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, much to Regina's outrage.

"No, no, no! We're not watching this!" She snarled at the brunette beauty, already rising from the couch.

"Sit down," Belle returned, grabbing her wrist and forcing her to sit down again. She swung her legs across Regina's lap, acting like a seat belt. "Now watch."

"I think I hate you a little." The mayor/queen grumbled.

They watched in a silence for a bit, before she couldn't take anymore. "Okay, seriously? They think I wanted to kill her because she is prettier than me? Do I look that vain?"

"Did you see some of those outfits you were wearing? And your thing with the mirrors?" Belle asked, raising an eyebrow. "Vanity was definitely a possible reason."

"Shut it," Regina growled though, waving a hand at the tv. "This is slander though. I actually had a reason to want Snow White dead."

"Did you?"

She snapped her head at the woman beside her. "What?"

"Did you have a reason?" Belle asked quietly.

"Of course I did."

"What was it?"

Regina blinked. "She killed my true love."

"She what?" Belle's jaw dropped, her wide. "I can't see Snow doing anything like that! Not on purpose!"

"She did. She told my mother that I was running away with Daniel. That I shouldn't marry Leopold, because I was in love with the stableboy." Regina clenched her fists. "My mother killed him that night."

There was a moment of quiet between the two of them, the only sound being the tv. Then Belle spoke softly.

"Regina, I don't think that was Snow's fault. I've heard about your mother. It doesn't sound as though she would've let you run. I have a feeling no matter what, Daniel would've died."

Regina stared at her, mind racing. "No, if Snow hadn't –"

"You might have gotten a day's head start," Belle interrupted. "If that, but your mother had magic. She would've found you both. He would've died anyways. And you might have too, if it had ruined your chances to marry Leopold. From what your father said," she ignored Regina's instinctive flinch, "she probably only wanted you to marry Leopold for her own revenge. He said that she didn't have a real capacity for love."

"That's wrong," Regina whispered.

"And it might be," Belle conceded, tilting her head. "I wasn't there. I never knew your mother. But perhaps, when this curse weakens, and my love gets his memories back, you should ask him." Her lips pursed, she rolled her eyes. "I have no doubt he had his fingers somewhere in the whole twisted pie."

She rose from the couch and picked up the popcorn bowl. She escaped to the kitchen, leaving Regina to play the whole list of possibilities in her head. She knew her mother had planned the entire event in an attempt to get Leopold to marry her, but after shoving Cora into a mirror, she had forgotten so much of it. She had spent so much time hating Snow White for everything, since it was all her fault.

But the thought that, even if the child had kept her secret, she still would've suffered had never occurred to her. Her mother loved her. She had to. Didn't she?

Regina shoved the whole thing out of her mind, forcing it away. She couldn't think like that. If she did, if she started thinking that she was wrong for the way she treated Snow White, then that meant that the curse was pointless. That she had kil-.

She stopped and shook her head. "No," She whispered. "I hate Snow, I hate Snow, I hate Snow."

That was the only thing that could save her from the darkness in her soul.

Belle was unamused. "I do not sing everywhere." She said darkly, glaring at the tv.

"No, but you do read more than a normal person should." Regina countered, her lips curled up in a grin. "Oh, I do think I like this movie."

"Witch," Belle grumbled. Regina just laughed.

"You truly believe that this curse is going to break, don't you, Lace?" Regina asked one day over dinner. Belle glanced up at her.

"Of course. No curse lasts forever, Gina. Sooner or later all of them break."

"What will you do when it does break?"

"What do you mean?"

Regina smiled, though it looked more like a grimace. "Will you run to your true love? Will you join Snow White? Will you try to kill me with the rest of them?"

Belle just blinked. "Do you really think that of me?"

"What?"

"Do you really think that after gods know how long we've been here together, that I would leave you to face the masses alone?" Belle was confused and a little hurt. "That after movies and drinks and failed baking experiments, after the late night talks, after the issues that we have both fought our way through, I would just betray you? Yes, I'll be honest, if I had the chance, I would go to my love, but I wouldn't leave you to do it. I'm your friend, whether you like it or not. When this curse breaks, you are just as much stuck with me as before." She rose from her seat, threw her napkin on the table and stormed out.

Regina just watched her go. She knew better. No matter what Belle said now, when the time came, she would choose the other side. Belle was a creature of good, even though she did associate with the darkest creatures. When the chips fell, friendship wouldn't mean a thing.

Regina would be alone.

Regina didn't even notice the moving van. She noted the date, March 23rd, the day the curse allowed time to reset, but she didn't even comment on it.

So when the clock stuck nine that evening, she dropped the glass cup full of wine in her hand. Belle didn't even realize the significance of the sound, too busy fussing over the mess.

But Regina watched the wine seep into the hardwood, the shattered pieces of glass reflecting the light, and realized that it was all over. She would soon lose her curse, her friend and most likely her life.

She clenched her jaw, back straightening.

She wasn't going down without a fight.