"Can you lie next to her and give her your heart, you heart as well as your body?"

Cora was as proud as she was bold, shame darkening her features, the potential for such raw anger written in the depths of her dark eyes. Rumplestiltskin was lonely, years weighing on him as heavily as the burdens that came with them, and he saw the chance, saw the opportunity the girl held within her.

"And can you lie next to her and confess your love, your love as well as your folly?"

The imp was dark, that Cora knew right away, but the spark of despair written in his eyes was as plain as the stars thrown into the night sky, shimmering brightly, begging for something. She saw the chance, the moment, and she took it with everything she had, leaning into his touch, breaths hitching as his nose rubbed against her shoulder, heart pounding against his chest. The creak of the wheel was lost to the night, dark eyes fluttering closed as murmurs of bloodlust carried through the air.

"And can you kneel before the king and say I'm clean, I'm clean?"

The memory of the flour beneath her knees made her face burn, her head downcast as she hissed an apology, eyes lit with rage. The Dark One taught her how to harness that rage, taught her to spin straw into gold, to wield the power with grace and deception. When she pressed a hand to the King's chest, her dreams of ripping his heart out were rising to the surface, trembling with excitement, but her own heart got caught, stuck, in her path, and she let her hand fall. Turning, she didn't feel a thing as she drove her hand into her chest, a glowing heart in her palm, dark eyes glossy.

"But tell me now, where was my fault in loving you with my whole heart?"

The moonlight was harsh against her skin, shouts of anger echoing through the night, and Rumplestiltskin was hurt, his heart burning with pain, betrayal shimmering in his eyes. Her heart was heavy, resting within the wooden box she held so close, and she felt nothing. Her dark eyes were stoic, all the love she had for him gone like dust in the wind, and the cost of that sacrifice was not lost to either of them.

"A white blank page and a swelling rage, rage."

"You were the only man I ever truly loved." Her words ring true, a hand running down his face, and he is different, hardened by her betrayal, softened by the love he found without her, and she thinks for a moment that she might hesitate, that she might think on all the times he held her, all the ways he kissed her, murmurs of love whispered against soft lips, but she blinks away the memories, the dagger glinting in her hand.

"Oh tell me now, where was my fault in loving you with my whole heart?"

The feeling is strange, a heart resting within her chest once again, and the elation that comes to her is overwhelming, love rushing through her as she embraces the memories, affection shining in her eyes. But it is short lived, her body collapsing with pain, and as her daughter holds her, crying in desperation, she catches Rumplestiltskin looking at her, the burden of memory glinting in those familiar dark eyes. "This would have been good enough. You would have been good enough." Though whispered to her daughter, trembling lips uttering desperate words, Cora's not entirely sure that it's not him she's talking to, the ghost of warm lips on hers as she closes her eyes, invisible arms wrapped around her in a lover's embrace.

The song is "White Blank Page" by Mumford and Sons. All rights go to their respectful owners. Please R&R!