The Evil Queen, Regina, was here earlier, and told me of the tragedy that Belle was in. I wasn't sure if I could believe her...but it made sense. I tainted her, I shouldn't have let her leave for the mere fact that her world would never accept her back after being her. Her father and friends shunned her because of me. The same way that Baelfire was shunned by our village because I was a coward. I just ruin the peoples closest to me. Regardless of what Belle feels for me or I her, she is better off without me...unless she would now not be accepted by anyone but I.
This was all given that what Regina told me was true. I can see Regina for what she truley is. A manipulator, Belles fate could either be true or a trap for me to walk in on. Not that Regina worried me, I was more powerful than she ever will be. I can handle Regina.
If Belle was not banished by her father and fell to her death, I wondered what her fate currently is. I need to know just to put my mind at ease. If she is truly dead than I will mourn and continue up to my name as the dark one, if she is alive but shunned by the world then I will try to convince her to turn her back on the world with me, and if she has not been shunned and is with her family then so be it. Then I will turn my back on the world alone just as I always have.
I decided to rest for the day and then go on tomorrow to find out Belles' true fate. However even sleep did not bring me the peace I seeked.
In the beginning we were laying in a field together hand in hand. Her soft fingers entangled with my coarse fingers. It was a warm summer day with a light breeze rolling through the fields. In my life I always felt some sort of anxiety or pressure, but being here with Belle never felt so peaceful. This was why I loved being with her. Others would run from me or cower in fear at my appearance. It put me on edge which is why I instilled fear in them. Not Belle, she accepted me for who I was, I never questioned why fearing the answer. I soaked in the moment and tried to treasure every small detail to the smell the grass, the the breeze cooling my face, and the relaxed look on Belle's beautiful face.
"Rumple, why don't you let me in?" Belle asked keeping her eyes to the sky.
I couldn't think of an acceptable answer. Nothing I thought of saying would be a good enough answer for her.
"Why didn't you leave when I asked you to go into town?" I replied to try to dodge the question.
Now Belle rolled over on her side and faced me, starring at me with her tantalizing eyes. "Because I had faith in you."
"Had, dearie?" I questioned.
"Rumple," Belle stated now with a more serious look on her face.
"Yes,"
"Rumple!" she started to scream.
Now the sunlight was starting to fade, the sky turned grey and the wind got stronger. Belle seemed to be getting farther away and no matter how hard I tried to move to get closer to her I felt as if I was stagnant.
"Rumple! Help me!" Belle was screaming. She was farther away but still in view, she had tears streaming down her face. Her face and her screams made me sick, "Rumple I need your help! He's hurting me! I need you!"
"Where are you?!" I screamed back at her.
"Rumple! It's the queen and my father! She lied to you it was them!"
"What did they do to you Belle?!"
She let out another gut wrenching scream making me feel more nauseous. Even as I shot up in my bed chambers I could still hear her screams echoing in my ears. I was covered in a layer of sweat and still felt sick The candles by my bed had burned out, the room was dark and cold. Night had set in, the sky was navy blue with a crescent moon hanging in the sky.
Something was wrong, Belle need me. This dream meant more than just a nightmare I could feel it. I could also feel that Regina had lied, that's where I had to go first. I jumped out of my bed and with a snap of my fingers I reappeared outside Regina's castle. I could sense Regina was talking about me, only to whom?
"...Rumpelstiltskin will never find his way back to you, I promise," Regina was stating.
I reappeared on the ottoman, "and what's that dearie?"
I surveyed the scene, Gaston, Belle's pig fiancee, "What happened to you? Last I saw you, you were a rose on my table."
"Regina revived me," Gaston replied rising his chest pompously. Belle was right about him.
"And why is that?" I turned to Regina.
"You've been cruel enough to Belle, I figured that I ought to show one of your victims some mercy," Regina replied confidently.
"You see that's the thing dearie, you have no mercy for anyone," I giggled, "now where is she?"
"What do you care monster?" Gaston laughed, "do you care for beast? You don't really think that she would ever return those feelings do you?"
With a flick of my wrist I froze that brute where he stood and used my magic to pull Regina in closer. I slammed my hand into her chest and grabbed her beating heart, squeezing it slightly. I could see the paint in her face, it was the same pain I felt upon awaking from that nightmare.
"Where is she?" I growled to her tightening my grip.
"Part of what I told you was true," Regina tried to gasp, "her father truly did shun her, but he wanted to keep her locked away from the rest of the world. Gaston had another idea on what to do with her."
I let my grip on Regina go for the moment and loosened my grip on Gaston, "What did you do with her?"
"I merely used her to protect our village, her father agreed with my idea," Gaston boasted.
"I won't ask again," I threatened.
"There was a band of pirates that raided our village, a few days after she had returned home," he also struggled to speak with my hold on him, "the captain of the ship saw Belle and offered to leave if he could take her away, so her father agreed."
I let my grip go on Gaston. Her father... her own flesh and blood sent his beloved away on a ship with druken bastard pirates. He sent my beloved away with pirates. A fire started in my heart at that moment. I had never felt such wrath as I did now. The pirates must have been what Belle was talking about in my nightmare about someone hurting her which only made the fire in my heart grow.
"Besides no one wanted that wrench after someone as vile as you layed hands on her. Hook will surly take good care of her," Gaston spat at him.
Hook. Captain Hook. A certain wave of calmness washed over me. The wrath had calmed, and now I was only cold and numb. I had only felt this way once before. When Mila admitted to never loving me and I lowered myself that day and ripped her heart of... which is exactically what I was going to do now.
I reached to my chest and pulled out the fire in my heart and threw it at Gaston. He was ablaze in seconds. I froze Regina again to ensure that she would not assist. Surprisingly enough, she didn't try. I sat there and watched the flame burn him, watched him flare around like a bug under a microscope and watched him scream as he burned to death.
Regina just sat there,once there was nothing left of Gaston I let my grip on her go. She still didn't move, in fact she looked proud. I didn't press on it I had more important things to do so I turned to leave.
"Wondering how the pirates ended up there in the first place?" Regina asked. I knew what she was doing, she was toying with me.
"Frankly dearie, I don't give a damn right now," I said and continued to walk.
"Don't you think it's a strange coincidence that Hook just happens to show up in the same Village that Belle was in while she was there?" Regina pressed on.
It wasn't hard to connect the pieces, "You sent him there so that I will go after him and he will attempt to dispose of me? Then you will be the most powerful?"
"Yes, and to show you that you aren't as powerful as you think you are, you now have a weakness, Belle," smiled Regina.
"You have a weakness to dearie and if I do say so your weakness is far more miserable than mine, you have no love from anyone. That will always be your weakness," I said coldly and continued walking.
Next was to visit her father, it was time to have a little chat with him. No matter how much I deeply desired to I would not kill him. He was Belle's father, and no amount of betrayal would make her stop loving her family, I just dared to hope the same might be true for me. I left the dark castle behind and reappeared in Belle's Village. Most of it was decayed and destroyed from the ogre war and from Hooks pillaging.
I made my way to Belle's former home, I mentally tracked where her father was, the ballroom. Where I first met him and Belle. I reappeared into the room and found Maurice lazing over the table which was littered with food and empty wine bottles. He was a fat, drunk, sad man in my eyes. Good riddance he deserves every once of whatever suffering comes to him.
When Maurice noticed he was there he became angered, "You monster!"
He tried to stand to attack me be he was clumsy and drunk, he stumbled and grabbed onto a nearby chair for support.
"Now, now dearie. This is your fault," I pointed out to him.
"How? You're the one who took her away from me," He slurred out.
"Yes but you so benevolently sent her away on the Jolly Roger, and trust me dearie if you could see the way they will treat her over there you would be begging me to take her back," I replied.
"What does it matter if she's with you or Hook?" he burped out, "You ruined her life, no one wanted her after she came back. She was the laughing stock of the whole town, my own colleagues mocked me. My daughter had brought shame to my name because of you!"
"So your sold your own daughter away to pirates?" I yelled back feeling the fire regrowing in my heart.
"I have no daughter anymore she's dead to me!" Maurice started to say, "when she came back I was so over joyed to see her but all she talked about was you!"
This made my firery heart skip a beat.
"She said that she had fallen in love with you, that she doesn't believe you to be the monster you are," Maurice continued.
So there was hope...she does still love me. I just need to prove my love to her.
"When she confessed her love for you she was dead to me. I realized I had no daughter," Maurice finally confessed.
I looked down on him in pity. I dug my boot deep into his stomach making knocking the air out of him. He coughed and wheezed for a few minutes, I gave him time to adjust so he would listen to me.
"You know, I know the real pain of loosing a child. That is something you never give up on. You are a sad pathetic excuse for a father and a man. You're a coward, the only thing stopping me from ripping out your heart and crushing it is that I know Belle wouldn't have wanted it that way," I confessed in a calm,cold demeanor.
"Why did you come?" Maurice asked with tears in his eyes.
"To reassure you, as a father," I confessed and began to head to the door, "you know I would give anything to know that my son was alive, well taken care of. Also as is customary to ask the father for his daughters hand but I have no interest in doing that. I've come to tell you that I will find your daughter, and when I do I will properly take care of her...forever."