The bell on the front door rang as he finished dusting the last shelf behind the counter. He turned around with a sweet smile on his face, as he was expecting his wife. However, the moment he saw this now familiar stranger, his smile quickly fell as he felt his jaw drop and the feather duster fall to the floor. He had only seen her once as an infant, many years ago, but he knew exactly who she was. How could this be possible!? He was never supposed to see her again. The young dark-haired woman standing in front of him had enough magic inside her to destroy him.
As she walked toward the counter, she smiled sweetly at him. "Hello. Are you Mr. Gold?" He tried to pull himself together. He couldn't let her see the fear that was rushing through his body. "Yes. How can I help you?" he asked hesitantly.
"My name is Lucy and I just got into town. I'm only here for a few days, but I saw your shop and thought I would stop in. I like collecting antiques and rare items from the places I visit. I was hoping to look around for a bit."
He smiled. "Of course. If you'll excuse me for a minute, I need to take care of something in the back." She nodded and began looking at objects on the counter.
As he walked in the back, he couldn't believe how beautiful she was. She took after her mother, which meant he needed to keep her hidden as long as possible. As soon as people saw her, they would start talking. Her short, dark brown, wavy hair and devilish brown eyes gave her a striking resemblance to her long lost relatives. He needed to call Regina right away.
When he reentered the front room, Lucy was still looking around at the many magical items his shop. "Are you finding everything alright?"
She smiled and nodded. "Yes, thank you. You have a lot of interesting things in your shop. I bet they have fascinating stories behind them."
"You have no idea. But if you don't mind, I'm meeting a friend of mine outside. You can look around as long as you like." "Thank you, Mr. Gold." Rumplestiltskin exited his store and met Regina by the side of his shop.
"This better be good, Gold." He smirked as Regina approached him. "Trust me, dearie. It is." Rumplestiltskin reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vial containing a purple potion. "I need you to take this."
"You expect me to take a potion just because you tell me to? How stupid do you think I am?"
"Regina, it is extremely important that you take this. You don't remember now, but once you take this, you will. Just this once, you need to trust me." Regina reluctantly took the vial from him and slowly opened it. "As soon as you drink that, I'm going to say one name, and you'll see why this is so important." Regina drank the potion and blankly stared at him. Rumplestiltskin looked into her eyes and quietly said, "Lucy."
At once, Regina stepped back in total shock. "Gold, why would you mention her? Why did you make me remember her?"
"Because she just walked into my shop, dearie."
Regina shook her head. "How could you possibly know that? We took that potion together. We agreed we didn't want to remember that she existed, that that night never happened."
"I know we did, but I took a slightly different one, and I'm glad I did. I made it so if I were to ever see her again I would recognize her right away. She has the ability to be extremely powerful. If she knew who she could be and we didn't know who she was, she could cause both of our demise."
Regina took a moment to regain her thoughts. "What does she look like?"
Rumplestiltskin smiled. "She looks a lot like you. That's why I needed to address this with you right away. People will start to talk if they see her. Can you take her to your house for a few days? I need to talk to Belle before she finds out from someone else. I can't let this destroy my marriage." Regina nodded. "Let's go back in my shop. I'll introduce you."
He reentered his shop with Regina following closely behind him. Lucy placed an object back on the shelf before she turned and smiled at them.
Rumplestiltskin quickly asked, "Did you find something you like?"
"I have my eye on a few items. I'll think about it and let you know. I'll stop back in before I leave."
"Lucy, this is Regina. She is the former mayor of Storybrooke." Regina couldn't manage to say anything and simply stared at her as Lucy extended her hand to shake hers. "It's nice to meet you."
"You as well. Um, Mr. Gold informed me you need a place to stay. I have a fairly large house, and could use the company."
"Oh, I don't want to intrude."
Regina quickly replied,"Not at all. I'd love the company. I was a planning on making an apple pie tonight, and I don't like eating it by myself."
Lucy smiled. "That sounds wonderful. Thank you."
"Why don't you go and get your things. I'll be out in a minute." Lucy quickly waved to Rumplestiltskin as she exited the shop.
"She has your eyes, Rumple." He grinned. "I noticed; and your looks, love." Regina smiled. "Thank you for taking her tonight. I'm going to speak to Belle right away."
"How do you think she'll take the news?"
He shook his head. "Belle, I don't know. She has always been so forgiving and understanding. You and I were both very different people then, and we have changed; she understands that."
"I know she makes you happy, Gold. For your sake, I hope you're right." Regina left the store and Rumplestiltskin took a deep breath as he watched them through the shop window as they walked away.
When he arrived home, Belle was reading a book on the couch. The second he entered the room, she got up and embraced him. She could instantly tell he was preoccupied. "Rumple, is something bothering you?"
He looked into her eyes. "Belle, there is something I need to tell you." He walked her over to the couch and they sat down. "Belle, I have a dark secret from my past that I didn't even remember I had until today."
She looked at him, puzzled. "I don't understand."
"Belle, about nine months before the curse, I had a moment of weakness." His eyes slowly moved towards the ground. "I slept with Regina."
Belle quickly stood up. "You slept with Regina? Regina, like the Evil Queen Regina?"
He got up and stood beside her. "It was a one-time thing for the both of us. It meant nothing."
Belle shook her head in disbelief. "Rumple, why are you telling me this?"
"Because, as a result of that night, we had a daughter."
This took her completely by surprise, to the point where she could barely speak. "You…you have a daughter? With…with Regina?"
He quietly responded,"Yes."
"Why are you just telling me this now!?"
"She was born a few days before Emma. Regina brought her down to my cell for a few minutes so I could see her. I never even held her. The only contact I had with my daughter was when she wrapped her hand around my finger through my prison bars. That night, we decided the amount of dark magic our daughter could have had the potential be more powerful than the both of ours. We knew we had to send her to a world without magic and where she wouldn't be a threat to Regina or myself. So, somehow, when Regina cast the curse, she sent Lucy to the same world as Emma. Before we were sent here, Regina and I took a potion that would make us forget that we ever spent that night together and that we ever had a daughter."
"But why are you telling me this now?"
"My potion wasn't as strong as the one I gave to Regina. She took a potion that would make her forget until I gave her a reversing potion that would give her all of her memories of Lucy back. However, I took one that would allow me to remember our daughter if I were ever to see her again. I needed to ensure that if for some reason she ever came back into our lives, I could prepare myself for the dark magic she could hold. This afternoon, a young woman with short dark brown hair and brown eyes walked into my shop. And as soon as I saw her, I knew exactly who she was."
Belle began pacing, as she was still trying to absorb everything he was saying. "How dangerous is she?"
"I don't know. When I talked with her today, she seemed very nice. I don't know if she knows who she truly is. But Belle, we need to be careful. You know how powerful Emma is as the product of true love. Could you image how powerful the child of pure lust and dark magic could be?"
"I need some time to take this all in. I can't believe she's here."
Rumplestiltskin gently grabbed her arm, "Belle, I'm not that man anymore. I have a dark past. I know that. I hope you can forgive me for my moment of weakness. I love you, more than anything. Please find it in your heart to forgive the monster I once was. And please don't say anything to anyone. The longer we can keep this secret, the safer we all may be."
Belle pulled away from him. "You know, Rumple, every woman from your past always come back to haunt you. Cora tried to kill you, Zelena controlled you, Milah left you and you ended up killing her. And you were still just Rumplestiltskin, the son of a coward, when you married her. Then, you had some one-night-stand with Regina, you got her pregnant, and you have a daughter together, who could happen to hold enough magic to kill us all. Don't you see how messed up all of this is!? Because of your lack of better judgment, you're destroying our marriage and my life!" She stormed out of the house, and all he could do is watch her leave their home as she slammed the front door behind her.