Rumpelstiltskin looked out onto the starry night. He stood on the balcony of his highest tower, surveying the land in lost hope. She was dead. Belle was dead and nothing would change that. But oh how he wished he could change it. To hold her in his arms and whisper reassurances in her ear, to take back all the harsh words that had ever crossed his lips and replace them with soft pleas that she never leave him. But the past was the past and she had left him.

Rumpelstiltskin looked into the night and sighed. This would have been their second Christmas together. He had even made her a present: A red glass rose with a golden stem. He clutched it now in his hands. Every protective spell he knew had been carefully weaved into its crafting, spells to protect the owner from everything from the common cold to the plague. Gods knew his clumsy Belle would need protection from everything. He smiled at the memory of her falling into his arms, the way she'd sparkled in the newfound light.

Rumpelstiltskin stared at the sky, watching the full moon traverse her domain. As he stared, he felt a soft whisper slip through his body. Before he knew it, Rumpelstiltskin was softly saying,

"In this year on this Christmas Eve night, I make my first and only Christmas wish: I wish for Belle's life. Whether it be with me or another I care not. I wish for her to be alive: happy, healthy, and above all…loved." The last word was barely a whisper, a coincidental formation of his lips. But in that second, he knew it to be true. No matter by whom, Belle needed to be loved. It was too much to dream he'd be permitted the honor. After all, she was dead. Rumpelstiltskin turned and walked back to his room, collapsing on the bed and falling into a fitful sleep.

Artemis, goddess of the hunt and moon, heard his wish. She'd existed long enough to see Dark Ones come and go like the ebb of the tide. But this one, this tragic Rumpelstiltskin, broke her ancient heart. He had lived a life surrounded by pain and suffering. Even deal-making failed to life his spirits. Artemis had grown attached to this…creature, and refused to prolong his suffering. With her moonbeam hands, she reached into the Evil Queen's dungeons and plucked out the sleeping Belle. Artemis safely deposited the girl alongside Rumpelstiltskin, both now sound asleep. Belle instinctively curled into him and his arms wrapped around her. Artemis stepped back and smiled. It was not often she intervened in the affairs of mortals, but tonight was a night tailor-made for wishes. As it had always been and will always be, Christmas Eve is the night of magic when anything is possible, even True Love.

A/N: Yeah, I know I just put a Greek goddess in with Christmas and that if this was reality the two would never coincide, but I like it this way. Also, I do understand that Artemis is also the protector of virgins, but I think that she would have seen how in love Belle and Rumpel are and taken pity on them. Anyway, this is a one-shot, but if I ever get really ambitious, I might continue it. Waking up in the morning, and possibly a wedding where Artemis again makes an appearance. What say you, o Fandom dwellers?