Author's Note: This is my first time trying the OUAT Fandom. I really love this TV show and right now, it's my air. I SHIP RUMBELLE! Well, anyways, this is just a story dedicated to two of my favorite characters. Don't know how many chapters this will take and I don't really have an update schedule. Just so we're clear.

Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time. I only wish I did but then I remember I'm not good with stories; so, I guess it's better off this way.

"I don't think that there's anything wrong with being a dreamer. There is not. But dreams have ways of turning into nightmares"

- Erin Morgenstern

PROLOGUE: Sticks and Stones

Night had fallen in the kingdom of Avonlea, everyone sleeping snuggly in their warm beds but Belle had been locked inside the tallest tower available. Her hands and feet tide at the bedposts. She looked up at the ceiling trying to calm herself. Fresh tears flowed down her face without her recognition. She was naked, oiled from head to toe, another one of the long list of practices to cleanse her from the evil of the dark one. The oil had been mixed with the ashes from the Cincitadel tree. It was rumored to be the only tree that was powerful enough to break any magic. The second magic breaker after true love. Belle didn't care what they say she wasn't cursed or poisoned by Rumple. She fell in love with him. But, he turned her away.

"Go." His voice barely a whisper as he stared straight. His body tensed.

"Go?" Belle asked. Just like that? She was hoping to hear something on the lines of 'I'm sorry' but 'go'? How could he let her go? Can't he see that she loved him?

"I don't want you anymore, dearie." The world felt like it was crashing down on her. Those words cut through her like someone just stabbed a knife into her heart and twisted it. She turned to leave, but stopped. She'd tell him. She'd say the words he needed to hear. Something that would hurt him like it did her.

Pain. Pain was everywhere. That was the only thing she's been feeling for the past weeks. Her heart had been broken so many times by so many people she cared about; by her father, her kingdom forsook her after knowing where she'd been, but the most heartbreaking of it all was her Rumple. He didn't want her anymore. It pained her the most to know that the man she'd ever loved, to whom she would give everything-mind, body, soul, didn't feel the same way. She wanted so much to be mad at him but all she felt was pity. She was weak to even think about being mad at him.

The clerics had just finished their cleansing, or, as she likes to call it, their daily dose of torture. She felt violated in so many ways. They touched her in so her intimate areas claiming it was part of procedure. She felt disgusted with herself. How could she let those beasts do that to her?

"Rumple," she called out weakly. It was a weak attempt for him to come. She knew he never would. After all those times she begged for his help, so many nights she screamed his name until her voice ran out, he never came. Rumple was far away from where she was, she doesn't even know where she is. But she knew one thing. The name she would take her revenge on. A certain blue fairy that convinced her father she was unpure for being in the contact of the Dark One. Rhuel Gourme.

She loathe that blue fairy. Rhoule is as cowardly as Rumplestiltskin is. She didn't dare uncover the man behind the monster. Rhoule had marked him corrupted the moment she saw him and she did the same to her. But Belle knew him. Saw him behind the mask. He was just too scared to take it off.

In the dark abyss, she felt broken. So very broken. Her body ached from the new lashes that marred her skin, intensified with the oil that covered the fresh wounds. She was shaking so badly. She can taste the blood seeping from the wound inside her lip. The one she had been biting so many times. Her eyes were closed. She didn't realize that her body was slipping into unconsciousness.

As time passes, she felt her body go numb. The pain going away, her fears slipping through her fingers, the anger that made its home in her heart disappeared for the moment.

She dreamt of him again.

King Maurice looked at his naked daughter wrapped in nothing but a white sheet to cover her body. She had been untied per request of the king after he saw how much humiliation she came to face. It was the least he can do. He knew, somewhere in the recesses, of his mind that this was wrong. That he should stop this. But going back to the memory when the Dark One first laid his hands on his darling daughter, may it just be an innocent touch on her back leading her away from her home, he couldn't find himself to care for the broken body laid in front of him. He knew what the clerics did to her, and how much more she had to endure. After all, it was with his consent that this happened.

"King Maurice," Nathan said quietly. "I know that this may be a devastating sight, to see your daughter in this… situation." He used a comforting tone to his King. "However I would advise for you to let us continue on with these procedure."

Maurice felt weak. He felt sympathy for his daughter. He knew that after this she would never forgive him. "When I put her unto your masters' care, Nathan, they promised me she'd get better." He turned to the man that was supposed to be cleansing Belle. "What I see now is worse than the condition she had been before."

"My lord, we can only do so much," he said. Still keeping his eyes on the ground. "What the Dark One cursed her is so powerful that we had to… advance our methods of healing." He looked into the king's eyes hoping that he can see the truth in his words. It was the truth. The spell cast upon the poor girl still gave them a hard time breaking. But he agreed quietly with the queen.

"She is still under the delusion of being in love with the monster." King Maurice turned to her daughter then knelt beside her. He placed a gentle kiss upon her forehead and caressed the top of her head with his thumb. His tears blurred his vision. He hated this. He hated whatever spell that had been casted on her. He hated that he was running out of options that the only option left is to torture the spell out of her. He kissed the top of her head again. Belle groaned, her face contorting in pain.

"Forgive me, my darling Belle," he whispered delicately into her ear. "I just wanted you back from how you were before. Please, daughter, don't fight them." Belle heard her father protest and she looked upon his eyes. She gave a small whimper. She knew what this meant. They'd inflict pain worse than the one before. Belle didn't know if she could take it anymore.

"Papa, please," she begged him in what voice she had left. He looked at her one last time, then stood up. He gave the cleric a clear nod before turning away from Belle. Before Nathan can proceed, Maurice grabbed him by his arm. "Do whatever you can to rid her of this retched curse." One last final goodbye and he was gone. He didn't even give the cleric a chance to confirm the words before he left.

Belle knew his face, the priest in front of her, she knew that he had been a new one. He was able to watch while they tortured her claiming it was for his training. If he was new, what was he doing in her chamber?

Nathan circled Belle before grabbing the white cloak wrapped around him. He was assigned to inform King Maurice about this new method the priests had in store for her before the King demanded to see his daughter. He was disgusted by the clothes he wore. From the tortures that had gone for hours in this room, it looked more of an experiment than a cleansing. But he was here to make it right to this poor soul.

He went to her side as Belle kept her eyes glued to the wooden ceiling. "Do your worst priest," she said. Belle wanted so badly to spit upon his face but didn't dare act upon it. It would only end eith her in more pain. "I'm not here to hurt you, Princess." His eyes were glued to the floor while he sat at the chair next to her bed. His cheeks reddened at seeing this girl naked in front of him. She let out a bitter laugh. "Princess!? After the disgrace you put me through…" she trailed off. "You mock me, priest."

His eyes went to the door. Tomorrow the clerics would start the cleansing again. They would hurt her. But this time it would be real poison. He saw it with his own eyes. It was a snake that shed golden skin. It had just been deemed immaculate by the church. He knew that this is where he should draw the line. He needed to save this girl. To take her far away from them. So, the only thing possible was to make the deal. It wasn't just the Dark One that makes deals. Even the Evil Queen does. One night the queen came to him in a mirror to offer a deal. He knew better than to trust her but at that time, his heart was heavy with guilt for the girl and the queen offered him a way out. The deal was that she would take Belle far away from the castle and promised that she will be cared for, the only thing she asked of him was a favor. It felt like a fair deal. One that he got most out of. He gets the girl away from her torturers, the queen may even take away the curse and in return, a simple favor. What could she possibly ask from him? So, he took it. Now all he needs to do is convince this girl to take it. After all, he would be the one paying.

"I don't want to put you in… this situation, Princess Belle. And I didn't come here to mock you. I offer you a way out," he whispered into her ear while keeping a close eye on the door. He wasn't allowed in here without supervision.

Belle's eyes widened in surprise. "And pray tell, what would this 'way out' be." For the first time in a long while, hope sparked in her eyes but it soon died. Could he be offering her an escape? Or would this be another one of test that they had planned for her? She was suspicious to even take it.

"The ev-" he stopped. How was he going to tell Belle that the Evil Queen wanted her? Would she even believe him if he said that the queen wanted to take her away from this place? Where would she even take her? Well, anywhere was better than here. And, maybe, this is what that Snow White was saying when she crashed through the market the other day – the Evil Queen can change. He grabbed her cheek gently and smiled at her. "Princess Belle, I come here to tell you that someone wants to take you far away from this place."

Belle looked at him with wide eyes. Far away? What did he mean far away? Avonlea is her home. Then again, in the months she stayed in the Dark Castle, she felt like it had been her home before Rumple forced her out. Belle wondered if the price for her freedom is always leaving home. She shook her head at the cleric's words.

"No, don't argue with me. Please, princess, you have to go with her. She wants to save you. To rescue you. Wouldn't that be a good thing? I… I can't bear to see you like this princess, please," Nathan's voice broke as he pleaded for the Princess of Avonlea to listen to him.

"And what price do I have to pay for this act? I don't think I can take anymore," she whispered, her own voice breaking when she looked down at her battered violated body. The man smiled down at her as he stroked her hair. "Nothing, Princess Belle, you pay nothing for this. I promise you, you will be safer far away from here," he said.

A new wave of tears flooded of her eyes. She was going to escape. She was going to get the chance to find Rumple again, and maybe beat him for this suffering she had to endure. She was going to be rescued. Belle just felt a twinge of disappointment it wasn't going to be her beast coming to her rescue.

"Thank you… Thank you… I don't even know your name," she began sobbing as she held onto him in a tight hug. Nathan tried to soothe the crying girl in his arms. "It's Nathan, my lady," he said quietly. He felt a weight lifeted from his chest at the thought of this girl escaping. He would face any punishment he would have to endure when the clerics found out. IF they find out it was him. When Belle began to quiet down, he laid her to rest on the bed then stood up.

"My lady, you should rest. She will be coming for you tonight. Please do not speak of this to anyone." He headed for the door before she called out to him. "I don't even know who would be the one coming to my rescue. You mentioned that it is a 'she'. I need to know who this girl is." He pursed his lips, still in dispute with himself if he should tell her or not. Might as well, what choice does she have anyways- except dying. So with a deep breath, he gave her a smile and opened the door.

"Regina. Her name's Regina."

A/N: So, What do you think? Should I continue this? Please let me know.

Reviews are love and motivation!