She was running for her life. Again. For the fourth time.
When Rumple entered her life and 'hired' her as his maid, the job description was clear. Clean the castle, dust his collection, launder his clothing, and skin the children he hunts for their pelts. Though the last one was a quip. He never said she would have to fight for her life. Perhaps at the beginning she believed she would, especially when he practically threw her in the dungeon, or as he called it, her 'room'. Her first thoughts were that if he didn't beat her, she would die of hunger or most likely hypothermia. But she survived. And ever since he kicked her out, it seems all she has done is run from enemies. Mostly his.
First there was Regina. While she tried to fight off the Evil Queen, she landed in another dungeon. Thirty years later when she was finally free, she found herself running from a one-handed pirate. After that, there was the Wicked Witch. She was possibly the worst. She could still remember the dread that filled her when Zelena ordered Rumple to kill her. It was the first command she gave him when she got hold of the dagger. She wasn't entirely sure what saved her. Lumiere, or the hesitation from Rumple after he absorbed Neal to save his life. It didn't matter. She survived.
Only to be running again. This time from a bear. A very large, very scary bear. When she first met Meredith in Camelot, she seemed nice. She was very brave. A trait Belle deeply admired. Now, she had somehow turned into this big bear that was now chasing her through the forest of Storybrooke. The only other person who was out there with her was Rumple. Emma, the new Dark One, needed Rumple to be brave and become a hero. It seemed that the only way for that to happen was for Belle to die. Or at least for Rumple to save her from dying. Belle hated how their first meeting after he woke up was for him to tell her she was in danger, again. The Dark One was added to the list of people who wanted to kill her for leverage against Rumple. But this time, he wasn't the Dark One. This time, someone was 'using' her to make him brave and stronger, not hurt him. This time, she might not survive.
Since Rumple wasn't the Dark One anymore, he didn't have magic. All he had was a limb which hinder him in a sword fight. Or any fight for that matter. She didn't care. She remembered hearing Meredith tease Rumple for being a coward. Belle decided she didn't like the Scottish archer after all. It was one thing to be brave, but it was another to tease others who weren't. Rumple had enough of that with Hook. She couldn't bear for him to go through that again. She never minded. She understood that not everyone was brave. Not everyone could be a hero. Rumple was only strong and brave with the magic. But she still loved him. It was the way he made her laugh, or how he cared about her, or surprised her with those little gifts. Those were just a few of the reasons why she loved him. Not because he had power and showed it off. It was one of the things she hated about Gaston. When someone has power, they become arrogant with it. At least Rumple admitted his faults and knew how to be humble, even if it was just with her. Humble, a trait Regina was still learning and still had a long way to go. But at the moment Belle knew deep down, though it wouldn't change the way she loved Rumple, that if he wasn't brave...she would die.
All the times she wanted him to be brave, it was always for him. So he wouldn't be afraid anymore. But now she needed him to be brave for her. If he wasn't, she might not live to run for her life for a fifth time. When he hired her, she knew he had enemies and knew that being under his employment easily meant that she could be in danger. A lot. But running for her own life from those enemies wasn't part of the job description. Being used as leverage wasn't part of the job description.
Then again, neither was falling in love with her boss.