So I actually wrote this fic about a month ago while waiting for my aunt's doctor appointment to end. I just didn't feel confident enough in the story to post it, not to mention things in RL got in the way. But I figured, hey, why not? I apologize if it is terrible. This will most likely be a two-shot fic; I'll hopefully post the second half tomorrow.
Disclaimer (since I forgot to add it to the last two fics): I do not own Once Upon A Time, Belle, Regina, or Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold (dammit!)
Chapter One
"She died."
If the Queen had reached into his chest and pulled out his still beating heart, she could not have surpassed the amount of pain Rumpelstiltskin was currently experiencing.
His Belle, dead. No, it wasn't possible; she had to be lying. Perhaps that fool of a king had shut her out, but no father would ever torture their own child, no matter what or who the child had been "associated" with.
The Queen let loose one last barb as she left, but the Dark One could barely hear it over the roaring in his ears. No, not roaring. Screaming. Belle's scream. Nausea filled him as the screams increased in pitch. Images of his Belle's flawless skin lashed to ribbons filled his mind and he stumbled.
No! The evil bitch was lying. She was just using Belle to try to weaken him again. Rumpelstiltskin let that thought push every other one out of his mind as he reached out with his magic to find Belle; as soon as he sensed her, he would know for sure that the Queen was trying to deceive him.
Nothing. He could find everyone else in Belle's duchy, even her potentially guilty father, but no trace of the girl herself. The nausea came back tenfold, as did the screaming.
Maybe she had gone to see the world, just like she had so wanted to. Rumpelstiltskin clung desperately to that hope, unwilling to accept the Queen's story. He tried to focus on Belle's future, tried to ascertain her position in the world so that he could be sure that she was alright. That she was unharmed.
Still nothing. There was no trace of Belle anywhere in his future searching, not even within his own.
He went cold, the screaming becoming all that he could hear. More images of Belle's torment as described by the Evil Queen flashed before his eyes at breakneck speed, only slowing as Belle leaped from her tower and crashed to the ground like a ragdoll thrown by a child.
The Queen had been telling the truth. Belle, his Belle, his True Love, was gone. She was gone forever. She wasn't coming back. Not this time. Not anymore. Not ever again.
He clenched his hands into fists as pure agony filled every fiber of his being. Belle's parting words seemingly echoed around the room, a ringing of truth within them.
"You're going to regret it…forever. All you'll have…is an empty heart…and a chipped cup."
She was right; oh how she was right. The memory of their last encounter was coloured with nothing but regret. He should have checked on her; he should have gone after her. He should never have sent her away from him. Sent her to her death.
He briefly tried to believe that maybe the Queen had done something, had hidden his Belle away, had somehow done something to stop him from finding her. But no, it wasn't possible: the Queen was nowhere near as powerful as he was. He would have found Belle if the Queen had her. Still, he did a cursory sweep of her palace; Belle's light was nowhere to be found.
The pain that filled his being, seemingly centered around his heart, worsened with every step he took across the room. He picked up her chipped cup gently; in that one moment, it had suddenly become far more precious to him than almost anything else. Rumpelstiltskin cradled the memento of Belle close to chest, where he should have kept the girl herself, as he removed the jewel-encrusted chalice from its pedestal. The chalice didn't deserve that place of honor; its value was practically nothing compared to this flawed little cup. He would keep that cup there as a reminder of what he had unknowingly sacrificed.
His face crumbled as he finally let loose the tears that had been building since he had realized that Belle was gone. He had failed her, in so many ways. He had failed to protect her, failed to rescue her as he should have. He had failed to be brave for her, as she had been brave so many times before. She had been willing to do what he couldn't, to give up everything for him, just like his Bae had. And just as with Bae, he had lost her to his own cowardice.