Once Upon a Time and all the characters therein are not mine, sadly.
Takes place just after The Stable Boy and diverges from the show canon from there. And this is a sequel to my story 'Imprisonment', and will make more sense if that one is read first. Enjoy!
Chapter 1
Belle sat on her bed, knees pulled to her chest. Not that bed was a really great description; it was more a slab of concrete with a thin mattress over top of it, but it was better than the pile of dirty straw she had in the Queens dungeons. Of course, she had just recently been able to even make her mind hold onto even that small a distinction.
She had felt the magic at work as the real world dissolved around her, and was replaced by this world created by the Queen. Her stone dungeon was replaced by white padded walls, and Hunter was nowhere to be seen. Belle felt his loss, and wished that he was still with her.
At first things had been a lot worse. Belle had been only slightly aware of time passing, and all she could do was stare at these four same walls. Days and months slipped away without her realizing it, and her mind seemed to be in a constant state of haze, preventing her from thinking clearly about anything for more than a minute. In one of her few moments of clarity, Belle wondered if it would have been this bad if she had been able to pull herself out of her depression and guilt over Rumplestiltskin's death before the curse was cast.
Because she remembered the other world, the real world, the curse was even more difficult to deal with. It was hard to have two conflicting realities in her head, each warring against each other to make her think that the one was real and the other fake. To complicate it even further, she had a third set of information in her mind that she couldn't grasp. It remained on the edge of her brain like a memory that wouldn't come back. The curse kept her from going completely mad, but it also kept her on the brink madness.
One day, things changed. The heavy fog cleared slightly from her mind, allowing her to focus more easily, but it was still difficult to punch through the complications of her mind. But more importantly, Belle could feel the blanket of magic that had been smothering her lift. It was still there, but not as oppressive and overbearing. She took a deep breath for what felt like the first time in years.
While she couldn't quite clear all the cobwebs out of her mind, it was much easier to focus her mind on a few things that got her attention. Alone in her room, she soon realized the pattern her life had taken. She would hear a set of footsteps leading to her room at what she assumed was morning, midday and evening. Each time, a tray of food was pushed into her room through a slot in the bottom of the door. A little while after each delivery, someone would come and wait for her to push the empty trays back out the door, which she always did. Even though she had fought through some of the haze, she hadn't got through enough to make herself truly care about life outside her cell.
After a while of listening, Belle was able to distinguish the different sets of footsteps that came to her door. She had figured out that there were only ever two people down here, a man a woman. It was usually the sound of the woman's high heels that brought the meals to her cell. Belle tried to make herself feel glad that she was gathering information about this place, but it wasn't coming.
The conflicting information in her mind was more difficult to deal with, and her first attempts to deal with it left her head pounding. One time, while her head felt like it was being hacked away by dwarves, Belle made the discovery of how she could deal with the information. She had been trying to distract herself from her headache by remembering all the stories she had read and loved. She was thinking about a book she had read about a boy trying to trap fairies, when she had the thought that the information she had in her head about books seemed more real than anything else at the moment. This had given her pause for a second; what if she could make her mind think that she had simply read everything about this world in a book?
It was slow and often frustrating work. Belle had to consciously think of every single bit of knowledge the curse gave her, and file it away into different chapters of her imaginary book. Most everything in her head was basic, useless facts, such as the town name, the state and the country she was in. She knew all about the president, the way the government worked and the laws. She knew about electricity and cars, and everything else she would have needed if she wasn't locked away from it all. The only missing parts of her knowledge were who she was in the world, and who everyone else was too. Belle wondered if this had to do with the fact that Rumplestiltskins magic had protected her memories.
The third set of information in her head, the one she hadn't been able to get before, was more difficult to deal with. It had taken her some time to figure out what the information even was, but when she did, she knew that it wasn't anything she was supposed to know. It seemed like the magic that had created this town had gotten into her mind a little bit, and now she knew details about the curse that she was sure no one but the Queen knew.
She knew the purpose of the curse was to take away everyone's memories and happiness, leaving them trapped her forever. She knew that the curse had stopped time and that it was impossible for anyone to leave this little town. She knew the price the curse had demanded to be cast, and if she wasn't living in this world right now, she wouldn't have believed the Queen could actually do it.
It had taken more effort to make that information present itself like a book, but soon she had done it. The extra information in her head was packed away like a story book, and Belle felt like she had left the cliff edge of insanity behind. Most of the time.
Despite all her efforts, Belle still thought she was going crazy sometimes. It happened when she thought she heard Rumplestiltskins voice once or twice. It was faint, and sounded different from the voice she knew, but it was distinctively his. At first, Belle had thought she was dreaming; it wouldn't be the first time she had seen or heard him in her dreams. The second time it had happened, she had been wide awake which is why she thought she might be losing her mind. She always fought away those thoughts; she couldn't afford to go crazy now. So whenever she thought she heard his voice, she slammed her hands over her ears.
Then, in one second, everything changed. It was a day like any other. Belle was trying to concentrate on something but the curse was fighting her. She had already gotten her midday meal, so she was surprised to hear the sound of heels clicking on stone outside of her door. In her muddled up brain, Belle realized that they weren't the regular steps. The hatch at the top of the door opened, which she thought was off because the nurse had only done that when Belle hadn't sent the trays back soon enough. Slightly curious, Belle looked up and froze.
Staring at her from the door, with a wicked grin, was the Queen. Regina, the mayor of Storybrooke, her mind corrected, giving her the first information she had about anyone in this world. That simple piece of information seemed to awaken something deep inside. Belle suddenly vividly remembered everything this woman had done to her, to Hunter and to everyone in their entire world. Anger burned hot through her veins, rushing along with her blood. Regina closed the hatch and walked away.
Belle's heart beat furiously as if she had just run a marathon. The anger had burned away any last trace of the cloud in her mind, allowing her to think clearly and freely for the first time in far too long. The different realities cemented in her mind, falling into place as the books she had made them. Belle smiled; while she was still in this cell, she was more free than she had been since she left home.
With her sudden clarity, everything that she hadn't been able to think about came crashing down on her. She couldn't believe that she had spent who knows how long just going along with this curse, not caring about anything or anyone. She felt guilty as she thought about Hunter; she had promised him that she would get him out, and all she had done was wallow around in her cell. She was angry with herself for not doing anything to escape before, and vowed that that would change.
In this world, Regina was at a clear disadvantage; there was no magic here. This meant that this prison of stone was just that, stone. If she could clear that, there would be no magic to stop her.
She got off the bed and began to walk around her cell, trying to figure out how to get through the stone. She went over and tested the strength of the grid over the windows and found that the metal grid didn't end at the edge of the cement, but was sunk down into it making them impossible to open. But there was something of interest, a crack that ran parallel to the window edge for about half of its length and up the side a little ways. Belle wondered how it had gotten there, and then she remembered the earthquake weeks ago, it must have cracked the walls of her prison.
She brushed her fingers along it and thought. It was in just the right position that if she dug enough away around the window edges, she could possibly open the window and get out. But now the question was how to dig it? She sat on her bed and made plans, her fingers tracing them in the air.
Evening came, and with it her meal. A silver tray with a bowl of soup and utensils was pushed through the grate in the floor. Belle smiled, it was perfect. She bent down and picked up the tray, and then smashed it down with all her strength while she gave a shriek of fright. She heard the footsteps of the nurse hurrying back and a key going into the lock of the door. Moving quickly, she grabbed several pieces of the broken ceramic as well as the knife and shoved them under her mattress. She jumped up onto the bed and grabbed her knees and began rocking back and forth as the door opened.
"What happened?" the nurse barked. Peeking through the curtain of her hair, Belle looked behind the nurse into the hallway. The second person was behind her, a larger man with long unkempt hair. And while he was larger, he didn't look that healthy or all there mentally. Belle thought that he wasn't going to be much of a threat.
"It fell. It scared me." Belle said, making her voice as pathetic and empty as she could. She needed the nurse to believe that she wasn't any different than she had been for the past few weeks. With a sigh of disgust, the nurse began to pick up the broken pieces.
"You!" she ordered the man, "Bring that mop in here!" Thickly, the man did as commanded. Soon, the mess was cleaned up and the nurse was exiting the room.
"You are not getting anymore. You'll have to wait for the morning." Belle nodded like the good little brain dead patient she was supposed to be. After the door closed, she gave herself a few minutes before jumping off her bed and pulling out her prizes. She knew they wouldn't last her for very long, but she would come to that problem when she faced it.
Using the knife, she cut off a small piece of material from the bottom of her mattress. She warped the fabric around her hand and then grabbed one of the ceramic pieces and started to hack away at the stone.
It took her a long time to break enough of the cement away to pry open the window, but she didn't notice the passing of time. It was slow work as she had to be careful to always listen for footsteps and never give the nurse reason to look into her room. The pieces of the bowl had been ground to powder within a few hours, but the knife held out for much longer. She didn't want to risk breaking another bowl and making the nurse come in, so she swapped the knife out for a new one after a few days. Belle wondered who the nurse was and what affect the curse had on her to make her unable to see the horrible condition the utensil was in.
While she dug, she planned on what she was going to do when free. She knew that she wouldn't fit into the town right away; she would need time to learn about everyone there before she tried to integrate herself into the new world. She figured that she could hide out in the woods and would use all the things that Hunter had taught her to survive. She assumed there would be woods here, as there were forests everywhere in the old world. If there wasn't, well she would deal with it once she got out. She also wanted to find Hunter, and find a way to make him remember somehow. She would need an ally in this world, and her best friend was the obvious choice. And once she helped him to remember, they would help break this curse whatever it took, and the Queen would pay.
Finally, the day came when she had dug enough away to open the window. With bruised and bloody fingers, Belle pried it open. She looked out the window, and sank down onto the bed, her head in her hands in anger and disgust. Outside of the window was a ledge of concrete that was angled upwards, making it so the windows wouldn't be seen on the outside of the building. They were angled to steep and it was too narrow to climb out of.
Belle wanted to scream. It wasn't fair that she had worked so hard and so long for freedom to be denied when it was at her fingertips. She looked up at it and shook her head; from in here, it even looked like she could have gotten out.
She froze as this thought settled into her mind. Maybe she could still do this. What if she didn't need to get out through the window, but only make it look like she had?
When the next meal came she ate quickly and prepared herself. She heard returning footsteps to collect the tray and she got up and stood near the door so that she wouldn't be seen and gripped the tray tightly. She would only have one shot at this, and this time, the daily routine was working towards Belle's advantage.
The knock on the door came, signally her to pass the tray back through the doors. She heard the nurse growl in frustration and knock again. Belle didn't move, didn't breathe in fear that it would give her away. The hatch in the door opened, and Belle heard the nurse gasp in surprise to see the carefully staged open window.
The key scrapped across the metal door as the nurse tried to open it in panic while muttering some choice words. The door swung open and the nurse took a step inside, just enough for Belle to swing the tray like a club and smash the nurse in the face. The woman crumpled to the floor, her nose broken and blood gushing out of it. Belle felt regret, but it had to be done. She pulled the unconscious women further into the cell, and then exited, locking the door behind her. She kept the keys clutched in her hand as her only weapon.
She ran down the hallway and came into a small room with a desk. The second person, the man, was nowhere to be seen, and Belle let out a sigh of relief. Stairs led upwards to a main floor, according to writing on the wall.
She ran up the stairs and paused at the door, trying to hear anything beyond it. She couldn't. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She pushed it open a crack and peered out. She couldn't see anyone there, so she pushed it all the way open. Nothing happened, and no one saw her.
Closing it quietly, she began to walk away. It appeared to be mid-day, and the bright light made her blink after so much time in semi darkness. From the knowledge in her mind, Belle knew that if she didn't get some different clothes, she would stick out like a frog in armor when she left the hosptial.
Carefully walking along the hospitals hallways, Belle took in everything around her. Luckily no one seemed to pay her much attention as most everyone seemed more interested in a woman near the end of the hall.A small crowd had gathered around her, who looked more lost and dishevelled than Belle did. Belle didn't know who she was, but she silently thanked her for the distraction.
She saw a man exit a room that said BREAK ROOM and Belle quickly ducked inside. She breathed in relief in the empty room that had cubbies stuffed with normal clothes. She began to ruffle through them quickly and pulled out some clothes she thought would fit her.
She shed the hospital gown and pulled on a pair of jeans that fit her snuggly, a blue V-neck shirt and running shoes. She grabbed a brown leather jacket and pulled it on over her shoulders. Looking in a mirror, she tried to do something to her hair to make it look like she hadn't just escaped a hospital. When she was done, she studied her reflection for a minute to make sure everything was alright. While it was something she would never wear at home, her mind told her that this was a proper outfit.
But the outfit was put from her mind when she saw the lines on her skin underneath her slightly raised shirt. They were just visible beyond the edge of her shirt, but when she pulled the fabric back it exposed many more. Her skin was marked with an assortment of faded scars that were hard to see if you didn't look closely enough. She shuddered as she ran a hand over her skin, certain that these scars hadn't been there back in her real world, though she had no problem remembering where each and every one had come from and the certain that there were more under the rest of her clothes. She pushed the memories of her torture aside, she couldn't deal with that right now, she had to escape.
She peered out of the door to make sure that everyone was still focused elsewhere. She exited the room quickly, and then forced herself to walk out of the hospital calmly.
Belle walked down the street, heart racing. She was afraid that she may run into Regina at any moment. She had to get away. She saw a forest near the edge of town, but she would have to walk the entire length of it to get there. She forced herself to be calm and act like this was normal, and not look or jump at every little thing that she passed.
She had been walking for several minutes now with no one giving her a second look, and she began to relax slightly. She was well away from the busiest part of town now, but there was still some distance to go. She was surprised by the size of the town, it hadn't seemed like such a far distance from the hospital to the forest. But then again it did have to hold an entire world.
She was getting closer to the forest and would be there in just a minute or two when she thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye that made her pause. Or rather, she thought she had seen someone. Her feet turned on their own accord to follow the figure she had seen slip behind a corner, even though her mind was screaming at her that it wasn't possible and she was wasting precious time. She ignored it, far too curious to know why she was feeling this strange pull to listen to logic.
Her heart was racing in her chest, and she felt like she couldn't breathe. It felt like her body instinctively knew how important this was, but her mind was still trying to figure it out. She couldn't let this person get away though she had no idea why it was so important. She broke into a jog after she rounded the corner of the building and saw the figure turn another corner into a back ally.
She ran into the ally and doubled over in pain as something connected with her stomach, dropping her to her knees.
"Following me is not a good idea." A voice, his voice said darkly. All it took was a second for Belle to recognize his familiar drawl, even though it was slightly different than the last time she had clearly heard it. It was deeper and less maniacal, more human.
She looked up at him and couldn't believe her eyes. Like his voice, he looked different too. Instead of the greenish gold skin she was used to, his face was pale and worn with lines. His hair was straight instead of curly, and he was wearing a black suit, not colorful leather. His hands rested on a cane which she assumed was what hit her.
Everything about him looked different, except his eyes. Yes, they were physically different, but the look behind them was the same. In all the ways that mattered, they were the eyes she had grown to look for in her dreams, and they were looking at her in stunned disbelief as she slowly rose from the ground. His mouth hung open and it looked like he had forgotten how to breathe. Belle assumed that she looked pretty much the same.
"Belle?" Rumplestiltskin breathed out quietly.
AN: I just wanted to say a quick sorry to all those that waited so long for this story. And thanks for reading this one too. I haven't finished the story all the way through yet, but I'm planning on uploading once a week, and I do have the first few chapters written so that should give me some more time to finish it all. I hope you like it, and reviews are greatly appreciated!