The story begins
It began in what was once her father's throne room, but soon became the war room when things went downhill. Parts (large parts) of the walls were missing, and few of the windows still held glass in their panes. The table was crooked and the elaborate chair worn, a belt draped over it to keep the wood in place. The suits of armour once dotting the place were now worn by the guards. The council was a hodge-podge collection of trusted advisers, army officers and local wise men. Plus Belle, who wasn't really supposed to be there. Avonlea had just fallen, and her father had lost hope. That was when she saw him for the first time. They expected to see him outside the doors, but turned to find him in her father's chair. Grinning. His teeth were stained and crooked, his eyes calculating and dark. His hands were wild, his hair wilder, and his dragon-hide coat was ridiculous. He treated Gaston (and his ever-present sword) with disdain, but looked at her like she was special. Or at least interesting. So that was how it began; with a deal.
The deal led her to the Dark Castle, now noticeably less dark what with her demolishing the curtain rails. She had cleaned up all the dust and the cobwebs, and polished the silverware, and even when she chipped the crockery and released the torture victims, he still smiled and let her hug him, and gifted her with libraries. It probably got its name from the depressing decor and tattered tapestries, and the many towers and spires that led her to getting lost every other day. The dungeons also added to the dank atmosphere.
That had led to an awkward dance, the pair of them nervously shifting around one another like love-struck fools, watching each other when one looked away. Reading and spinning in comfort before a roaring fire. Which in turn led to her release. On the road, hood over her face and basket in hand, Belle had met a dark-haired woman with a cruel smile and colder eyes. She came in a horse-drawn carriage, the horses blacker than night. They foamed at the mouth, and pawed at the air. The men that controlled them looked straight ahead, and only one looked at her, as though warning her away. The woman gave some interesting advice, that prompted her to turn back home.
And that led to now. She sat before Rumplestiltskin, between him and his wheel, and stared into his reptilian eyes. Why did you come back? His voice was subdued and unsure, with an underlying current of hope that made her smile at him. I wasn't going to... but then, something changed my mind..." She leaned towards him, and he leaned towards her, and it resulted in a chaste kiss that was brief, but made her heart race all the same.
The brunette then leaned back, a grin spreading across her face, her head spinning as a wave of dizziness spread over her. "What's happening?" Rumplestiltskin was confused, and it was like the world came into sharp focus as she watched his scales recede, his hair straighten, and his eyes become brown. His face was completely normal when she managed to ruin it. "Who told you that? Who knows that!?" Her stuttering was answer enough, and the Dark One had all the information he needed. He marched over to the mirror in the Great Hall, concealed by a thick covering, and bared its surface to the world. He began to yell, and his maid confusedly stood up behind him. He turned to yell at her instead, and ignored her pleas for him to understand. He shook her as tears filled her eyes, and she involuntarily flinched when he shoved his face close to hers. "No one could ever, ever, love me!" Then he dragged her away to the darkness of the dungeon, and the Queen on the other side of the mirror cackled at their planned misfortune.
What none of them had noticed, for the Queen's magic had been blocked by the draped cloth, and Rumplestiltskin's vision had momentarily dimmed as the magic tried to leave him, was that as his face became more human, her face began to change too. Small scales collected around her mouth and nose, dotting her cheeks, her eyes sharpening in colour and becoming like those of a cat. It was only when the Dark One shoved her away that her fangs dulled back to teeth, and her hair lightened back to a honey-brown.