Three things:

1)SPOILER ALERT- I know that if you're like my lame family and refuse to watch the finale until dad gets back from New Orleans, then you don't want to read this. (I was a rebel child and watched the show as soon as it aired.)

2)I get alerts when someone adds me as an author alert, and therefore… I know you're watching me (Insert creepy music and or expression here)! That said, this story will be considered a one-shot unless there's a call for more. (This is mainly because I am currently working on an AU that will blow you all away.)

3)This wasn't beta'd because I was too excited to get it out, so please excuse my mistakes…

Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time, but I do commend them for their amazing finale. Still blown away by it!

Word Count: 2000+

By Your Side

Rumpelstiltskin was NOT a good man. He was manipulative, self serving and wicked. The tales surrounding him were centuries in the making, stories to that frightened even the bravest of men. A man cursed with magic so powerful that he could stop entire wars with a thought, or bring down wrath like mankind had never seen before.

The first night in the Dark Castle, he had looked at her, much like a predator sizing up its prey before the kill.

"…and you'll skin the children I hunt for their pelts."

She had gone with him, knowing the tales of darkness that surrounded this man. Surly, she thought, do the brave thing and bravery would follow. But with this task ahead of her, all of her fears intensified, revealing exactly who her master was now.

"It's just a quip," he smiled at her, a note of satisfaction in his tone. "Not serious."

Even with his joking manner, Belle still stood in fear as she presented the cup, beautiful white porcelain with blue accents, to him- a chip in the rim.

It was his complete dismissal of her actions-"it's just a cup."—that destroyed the trepidation she'd felt towards this man, and replaced it with confusion. She no longer saw him as some horrible beast, but then again, he wasn't like any man she had ever known either. Instead, she saw an enigma… a mystery to be uncovered.

Over her time spent in the Dark Castle, seventeen months to be precise, her emotions were established in stages. She spent the first four months in hesitated submission, fearful of disappointing him to the point of meekness in his presence. After a while, her timid behavior annoyed him, and just as he was about to cast her away, she cleaned the room with the child's clothing… and changed how she approached him.

The next six months was spent in friendly companionship, her thirst for knowledge about her master intensified as he began to open up. Not completely of course and never about anything from his past, but stories about his deals he made in faraway lands became a regular occurrence during evening tea in front of the fire.

She'd lived there only two months shy of a year the first time she appreciated the view his leather pants allowed. Most of the next five months were spent trying to balance between embarrassment of admiring a man she served, and confusion of when she had become attracted to him. Scales and dark nails were not traits many princes shared… none of them did, actually. But princes also didn't walk with definite purposeful strides, or dance around when something went their way. Princes didn't have hands that could conjure magic with the flick of a wrist, or catch her in their arms without exerting any effort. Princes didn't have the wrinkle that appeared on his forehead when he studied over a book on dark magic, or was lost in thought at this wheel. And most importantly, and also most embarrassingly, princes, could not pull off the tight leather and billowing shirts as well as her lithe imp.

The last two months spent in the Dark Castle, were by far the most amazing and most heartbreaking time there. She didn't know when exactly she had fallen in love with this man, but she knew that she had without a shadow of doubt. And that scared her. This was the man that nations feared, whose evils knew no bounds, as long as he got what he was after. He was not on a definitive side, but played both teams against each other, making him a loose cannon and even more dangerous that the enemy. It didn't matter though. Regardless of his actions, past or present, she knew she was undeniably irrevocably in love with her master. This love, true as it was, had some rather unfortunate repercussions… being locked away for years from the world being the main one.

Now, she knew with every fiber of her being, that the man beside her wasn't a monster, but rather a tortured soul who's every action was dedicated to his ultimate goal, of which she wasn't quite sure. This was the man she loves, despite his obsession with magic and power. And now, she knows that he loves her too. He'd said so, and if there's one thing she knows well about Rumpelstiltskin, it's that his word is never false. Slippery and elusive at times, but never false.

It's with these reassurances, that Belle, in her dirty scrubs and borrowed jacket, presses her face against her true loves shoulder, his hand holding her tightly to him, but his eyes never straying from the dark billowing clouds. Rum's arms tightened around her, pulling her fully against him, as more smoke poured out of the well. The black darkness rose above them, past the trees, completely blocking any light from the sun before it poured past them and into the town behind.

She tries to be brave. Rum said he would protect her, he'd promised it with tears in his eyes, and so she tries to stand strong with him because Belle is no damsel in need of saving. But no matter how brave she attempts to be, she still can't stop the small sob that escapes her as the severity of their situation dawns on her.

He's bringing magic into the world, because magic is power, and her Rum, for all of his faults, the worst is his hunger for power. Where there's power, there is always forces fight to control it. If there's one thing she's realized about this world in the short time she's been out of her cramped cell, it's that her love isn't the only one who lusts for control…but he just delivered an open invitation to them all.

The smell of soil and ink penetrated her senses, as Belle tried to gain her bearings. She opened her eyes to find herself pressed against an immaculate black suit, the owner of which had his face buried in her hair.

Belle leaned up as best as she could with the man clinging to her, only to find them sprawled on the forest floor, the black fog completely gone, giving way to the sounds of the wilderness night life.

"Rum." Belle placed her hand on his cheek, taking a moment to wonder at the smooth skin beneath her fingers, broken only by the scruff of the day. "Rumpelstiltskin, wake up."

Dark eyes, human eyes, fluttered open looking around at the tree's above them, before landing o her. She could feel the shock her presence brought to him, without even touching him.

"You're real." He whispered a hand rose to run through her tangled locks, resting on her neck. Belle smiled down at him.

"Yes, we've already established that."

Rum sat up, bringing himself as close to her as physically possible before his hands ghosted over her form as if to commit it to memory.

"I know, but after thirty years of wishing…" he cleared his throat and dropped his hands before grabbing his cane that was lying beside them. Wincing in pain from his leg, he pulled himself up and reached down to help her.

"Thirty years?" Belle questioned confusion evident in her demeanor. She had been locked away by the queen only two before her world was surrounded by gray walls. Thirty years… lost to a room with a window and a bench. Shock started to take over her system at the realization.

"Yes, well… we need to talk…"

"Thirty years…" Belle leaned against a tree, her body no longer able to keep her up and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Belle love…" Rum held his hand out towards her, his voice calm as if trying to speak to a spooked horse instead of a fully grown woman.

"What the hell happened Rumpelstiltskin…" she sobbed, a hand flying to her mouth to keep her cries in as best she could. "I... just… how could she take thirty years! And I don't remember anything from it… just walls…" sobs wracked her body and when Rum pulled her into his arms, cane forgotten and leg be damned, she gave over to them.

"I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry." Tears ran down his face, as the woman who stole his heart, fell apart in his arms. His brave beautiful Belle who faced the most evil creature in their old world with a promise of forever, cried as a small child would… as he had multiple times through his life: while on the battlefield, the thought of his son and all the mistakes he'd made concerning him, and at the thought of this beautiful wonderful woman having plummeted to her death from a tower.

She began to calm down enough for him to try to move them to a safer place that the middle of the woods.

"Come now dear, let's just get home and I'll tell you everything."

Belle sniffed, rubbing her eyes to disperse her tears, and then met his gaze.

"You WILL tell me everything," she gripped onto his jacket as fear crept into her heart. "Right Rumpelstiltskin?"

She had barely finished his name before his lips descended on hers, his calloused hands coming up to cradle her face. The kiss only lasted a moment, but left them both breathless.

"Everything." He murmured against her lips before claiming her again.

Several hours later had Belle freshly showered and in a borrowed pair of silk pajamas, sitting next to her true love in his cluttered den. She held onto his hands tightly as he told the story of a poor spinner who had accepted a curse to save his only son, only to lose him to the power in the end.

By the time he'd began to tell of his creation of the curse, she had given up on being strong, and tears once again began to roll down her cheeks as she shared in her love's pain. Through it all, Rum maintained his composure, allowing the girl to once again fall apart in his arms, though this time her tears came out of genuine pain and love rather than fear. His heart twisted at the thought of somebody, particularly one he'd been so cruel to, sharing in his grief.

Belle calmed herself down embarrassed by how much she had cried in front of him, and only allowed silent tears to fall, as his hands ran through her drying hair.

"So you want to use the magic to find your boy?" she hiccupped at the end, running her hands over her eyes.

"I must finish what I started," he said, a determination in his voice she'd never heard before. She nodded slightly looking at the man who held her in his arms.

"So if the magic's back, then," she hesitated, not entirely sure how to broach the topic. "Why aren't… why aren't you different?"

He pulled away from his forehead resting in the crook of her neck, confused at her words.

"You know… like before." She placed her hand against his cheek, running her thumb along his jaw.

"You're still human." He nodded, realization dawning on him and caught her hand in his cradling it to his face.

"Magic is back, but it's not as easily controlled in this world. It will take some time to gain control again."

"But your powers of being the Dark One… wouldn't you have those?"

Rum looked down at his free hand before waving it toward the unlit fire place. The hearth flared up, casting a glow on the couple, lighter than the fluorescent lights, but much more comforting.

"I still do," he looked at his hand in wonder, turning it back and forth before facing the woman next to him. He leaned over brushing a kiss to her lips lightly, before gesturing to the lamp. It clicked off at his command, and a grin, not entirely unlike his impish days, broke out on his face.

"Well, that is defiantly beneficial…"

Belle smiled lovingly at him. This man who was feared throughout the land they came from, who's agenda was sure to bring heartache and tribulation to not only others, but to their relationship as well, but whom she loved with everything she was made of. And now, like he'd said in the woods, there was time for this. Even if it was a brief respite to the oncoming storm, it was a chance to show him exactly what he meant to her, and she intended to take advantage of it.

"We have time now?" she asked.

Rum grinned, waving the fire away and tugged Belle up the stairs and into his room, the door locking behind them.

Harmless plug: I have a tumblr (with no followers)! My names TrueLovesMistress and it's a picture of rumbelle awesomeness. Follow me if you feel so inclined. :)