A/N: This was written for the Rumbelle War effort on Tumblr. I love you guys, but I hope I rip your heart out. 3
~teamaequitas

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"Are you sure you want her let out, Madame Mayor?" the orderly in charge of keeping the mentally ill girl locked up asked.

"Yes," Regina said slowly, and then smiled knowingly, "Yes, let her out. Let her spend time in the recreational room, eat in the cafeteria, and even walk outside in the garden. I think it's time for her release." Regina chuckled and walked away. The orderly shrugged and went to let the strange girl out.

~.~.~.~

Mr. Gold had been released from jail on the condition that he must apologize to Mr. French. As much as it pained him to do so, he really hated being locked up. So, he hobbled down to the hospital to apologize, thinking it was a good thing that he was a good liar.

When he arrived, he entered the hospital only to see that the wing to the physical trauma patients was blocked off.

"I need to go down that hallway," Gold told the lady at the front-desk.

"Oh, terribly sorry, Mr. Gold," she said to him, "We're having construction done on that hallway; you'll have to go the long way around through the mental ward." Gold was irritated to say the least, but proceeded towards the mental ward with a huff.

As he walked through the recreational room for the mental patients, he tried not to look at the drooling patients attempting dominos or watching old television programs. He kept his eyes forward and head up until he heard a voice, an all too familiar voice.

"Hey!" his heart skipped a beat and his feet stopped moving. Impossible.

"Hey!" he heard again and felt a soft hand tug on his arm. He turned around to see the beautiful face of the girl he'd thought long dead.

"B-B-" he stuttered in disbelief, unable to get out words.

"I know you," the girl said in a strange voice with a twisted smile. "Yeah! You're… You're… Hahahaha!" she burst into laughter as Gold simply stared, utterly baffled.

The girl began to sway back and forth, humming. Her knotted hair fell about her face. "Uh-oh! It's chipped!" she laughed again, maniacally.

"Belle, what—," Gold was sure he would have fell if not for his cane. He attempted to touch her face but she dodged him and pointed a scolding finger at him.

"You just want to learn the monster's weaknesses! Eh? Eh?" she said with an insane accent that didn't suit her. Her eyes were wild. What had this world done to his Belle?

"Belle, please. I'm so sorry," he extended his arm to touch her face, she didn't move this time. He cupped her cheek and as he ran his thumb over it, her eyes widened at him. He had the smallest flicker of hope, but it was quickly extinguished as Belle let out an ear piercing scream.

"AAAHHH!" she screeched and jerked her head away from him, causing an orderly to take notice. "No!" she shouted.

"Belle, please!" Gold pleaded, his heart twisting.

"Shut up! Shut the hell up! No one! No one can ever, ever love me!" the crazed girl screamed and fell to the floor. Just then the orderly stepped in front of Mr. Gold, urging him to leave.

"I think you'd better leave, Mr. Gold," the orderly said.

"No! No, wait!" Gold pleaded, but another orderly took him by the arm to lead him away.

"Come on, Mr. Gold. She's not sane, we need to give her her shots," the other orderly stated. As they walked away, Gold craned his head with an anguished look and saw the first orderly bend down to the girl with a syringe in hand. As she rocked back and forth, he thought her could hear her chanting:

"Empty heart, chipped cup. Empty heart, chipped cup. Empty heart, chipped cup."

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A/N: So? What'd you think? It's my first Rumbelle fic, so I hope it served the Rumbelle War honorably. –bows- Haha, thanks for reading! 3