Because I want Belle and Regina interacting so much it's not even funny. Implied Rumbelle. Post episode 8: Into the Deep. Incidentally, my first OUAT fic. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: ABC owns the series and the characters. I'm merely amusing myself for a while.
The situation with Cora was a dangerous one, not matter how much Rumplestiltskin claimed to be able to deal with her. If things were up to him, he would set Belle up somewhere safe, with a heap of enchantments to keep Cora away until he was done with her. But Belle wasn't about to sit down while her lover and newfound friends were in danger. She would do her best to stay out the way and let Rumple deal with the witch as he saw fit but she wouldn't be idle either. Rumple knew a lot about the woman but there was someone else who knew even more. Know thy enemy was an important maxim which Belle would utilize utterly.
Belle raised her hand and knocked at the back door of Mr. Gold's pawnshop sharply. She could hear someone getting up and moving towards the door and she took a quick breath just as the door opened slightly and Regina looked out. The woman's face registered her shock for the shortest moment before she attempted a smile.
"I'm afraid Rumplestiltskin is out."
"I know," Belle nodded and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "I wanted to talk to you."
"Did you?" Regina was clearly taken aback but she stood obligingly back and let Belle in. The bed with a sleeping Charming was pushed against the wall, the Prince motionless, his chest rising and falling minutely. There was a chair by the side of the bed, a small table with a tea tray next to it. Henry was curled up in the chair, dozing off and covered with a blanket. "We're taking turns, watching him," Regina explained and Belle smiled, trying to dispel the awkwardness.
"I know. I'm taking the first night shift, before Ruby."
"Right," Regina said and looked down. Belle wondered if she should say something, to explain why she had come to seek Regina of all people but she needn't have to. "You said you wanted to talk to me? What could the two of us possibly have to talk about?"
"Many things, Your Majesty," Belle folded her hands behind her back. "But for now, only Cora."
Belle saw the flinch the other woman had almost masked upon hearing that name. If only half of the things Rumple had told her were true, this Cora was one of the worst human beings to walk any world. What kind of life it must have been, having that woman as a mother?
"I thought your lover was going to tell you everything," Regina muttered and Belle nodded.
"He did. He told me how he had met her, how he had trained her in using the magic, how he had helped you twice to get rid of her. He held nothing back," she looked down, a pleased smile spreading across her face. "He's really trying. But he doesn't know her the way you do. And I think I need to hear about her from someone who wouldn't try to shield me from the worst."
"Why?" Regina whispered and Belle met her eyes bravely.
"Because you were right. I am his weakness and I don't want to be. I want to be ready, I want to be able to help in any way I possibly can, even if only to know when to duck out of the way. To do that, I need to know Cora and what she might do to those she considers as obstacles in her path."
Regina stared at her for a long moment before nodding once.
"I'll tell you everything I know."
"Thank you," Belle said and Regina glanced away, as if unused to being thanked for anything.
"He's not the only one," she said quietly and Belle tilted her head questioningly. "He's not the only one who has a weakness this time."
"Henry," Belle understood immediately and Regina nodded. "Well, we'd better start working on a strategy that would keep him safe, then."
That startled and unsure look came into Regina's eyes again and Belle wondered if she was a fool to feel a pity for her. Then again, a little kindness could go a long way and the more people worked against Cora, the better chance they all had.
"I'll make a new pot of tea for us. I know where Rumple keeps things, since this is his shop and I'm... well... me," Belle offered and left the room to let both of them compose themselves. Civility was the key to success here. Enemy of my enemy might not have been the friend in this case but a cup of tea while conferring about the common problem? That Belle could do.