A very nice Anonymous person asked me on tumblr to write a sort of Rumbelle vs. Golden Lace meta fic.
I wrote a lot of meta on Lacey for a friend but since I was ultimately pulling for Rumbelle, I didn't want to write it until after the season finale.
Once I knew my ship was safe, I immediately started writing out potential prompts for a Golden Lace au/meta vs canon fic.
And VOILA! This creation was born. Started out as a one-shot but I'll be writing a second part as well!
It had been three weeks since Lacey had discovered the dark truths of Mr. Golds seemingly flawless existence. His very presence intrigued and plagued her thoughts. Magic is real and this charmingly wicked and dangerous man was known as 'The Dark One'.
At night after she was sure he was long asleep, she would lay there thinking of all the things he must have done to earn a title so grim. Of all the evil things she could think of merciless slaughter, trickery, selfishness, use of a great and sinister sorcery were only the beginning of the horrible things Rumplestiltskin was capable of.
Every morning when they woke she found herself dying to ask him tons of questions. Questions she sensed he was avoiding. For every time they would start to talk about his other life as Rumplestiltskin he'd look at her with those eyes. The same eyes he'd gotten when he would call her Belle or mention her in any way. In truth it hurt to have him look at her with those eyes, they were eyes meant for Belle not her.
Lacey wished it was her that he was looking at, not Belle. Regardless she wasn't going to let it get in the way of things, seeing as this Belle must have not been so great to just up and leave him. Lacey would never do that to him. She swore as she lay there that even if his eyes and love are truly with another, she will be the one to stand by him, to love him even though he could not love her.
"I just don't see how she could leave someone like you. I mean all that power at your disposal and she wanted nothing to do with it?" He sat silently in his chair, fingers crossed, eyes gazing anywhere but her.
"She didn't really get a choice in her leaving. And no she wanted nothing to do with my power, lest I used it for good."
His voice cracked and Lacey felt a twinge of pain in her heart. "But we needn't worry about the past anymore, dearie. It's over now. She's gone."
Placing his hand on top of hers he smiled, but Lacey shrugged her hand away.
"What if she just suddenly comes back? What would become of us?"
Her face fell as she avoided eye contact as small tears began forming in the corner of her eyes.
"I don't know. It's complicated, dearie."
Standing up from his chair he waltzed over to where Lacey stood, pulling her tightly into his arms, and stroking her hair gently.
"I love you. Believe it or not I do. And I will always protect you! Lets not dwell on the things we can't change, ok? Come on, I think it's time we go to bed." She nodded letting the tears roll down her cheek, and allowing him to pull her along up the stairs to bed.
Lacey tossed and turned as her dreams raged madly on. She was in a different world, it was breathtaking, and far more amazing than anything she'd ever dreamed before. But oddly it felt familiar. She was flying over a large pasture enclosed at the edge of a very old wood and spread out before her was a large castle. Now she was standing within the walls of the palace looking out over the field she had just crossed. "No one decides my fate but me." A familiar voice rang out from behind. She turned to look and her jaw dropped wide at the face she saw. It was her, well it looked like her, but she seemed different.
She was a princess, in a floor length golden dress, standing next to none other than Gold. Only here he looked darker, much more villainous than the way she knew him. A light flashed in her eyes and suddenly she was in another room. Another castle actually, far across the land from where she just stood. There they were again, the woman who looked like her, talked like her, and sitting in a chair across the long table was Mr. Gold yet again.
Lacey stepped closer and watched as the clumsy brunette dropped a cup on the floor. She picked it up and inspected every inch. Drawing a breath she reluctantly announced that the cup had a chip on the side. The man who Lacey assumed was Mr. Gold, looked at the girl with his soft eyes. There! Those were the eyes! The very same look she always noticed him giving her. This was Belle! But she looked just like Lacey. Her mind felt like it was about to explode when another flash came and now they were in the dungeon. There were no words this time only motions, she watched with wide eyes, before being jolted to the woods.
All of this was becoming very frightening to Lacey. She looked around anxiously as if to see anything, but there was nothing except for trees. Moments passed before she noticed Belle emerging from the woods smiling with pride. That was short-lived because moments later Belle got captured by a woman who looked an awful lot like Regina. Lacey's head began to ache as she watched Belle be carted into the cage and driven away screaming at the top of her lungs.
"I'll never stop fighting for him!"
Lacey shot straight up, letting out a blood curling scream.
"Oi! What is it!?" A voice full of worry called out in the darkness beside her. A light switched on and Gold was staring at her, eyes wide with concern.
"Dearie, are you alright?"He asked placing one hand on her back. The warmth from his hand comforted her greatly after a moment's time she was finally able to look at him and speak.
"I had a horrible dream. It started out wonderful! I was flying over beautiful pastures, gorgeous old woods, and castles so big and majestic. Then I saw you, only you were different... you looked so vile and poisoned. But that's not the weird part... there was this girl sh-she looked an awful lot like me, even sounded like me. She dropped a cup, the same cup that you showed me, she got taken away by Regina, and she loved you so much, I felt it. It was as if I'd been trapped in her memories."
The blank expression on his face was all she needed to prove her theory.
"Those were here memories weren't they?" His hand travelled from his back all the way down to her hands. Squeezing them he looked into her eyes.
"Yes. They were yours. You can't remember because the curse gave you false memories." His voice trailed off as if his thoughts had consumed him.
"Bu-But ... how can I be two people? I remember everything about my life now. My name is Lacey French, I am the only daughter to my father and my mother died when I was young. I was overprotected my whole life, I wanted adventure, but I didn't mean curses and false personalities!"
The frustration had grown obvious on her face. There was nothing Gold could say or do at this point to fix how she was feeling. Yet he decided to try at least. "I can't imagine what you're feeling. Two worlds colliding in your head, both as real as the other. You are Belle, but you are every bit Lacey too. It's all very complicated. There are things I can do to help you either remember or forget. It's your choice though, you told me once you were the only one who decided your fate, so I'm letting you choose." Twirling her necklace through her fingers she looked up at Gold and for the first time spoke calmly.
"What happens when I choose?"
"If you choose to remember you'll basically become the person you were before, my Belle. But if you chose to forget all memories of your true and former life will cease to exist. You will forever be Lacey and Belle will be lost. Or you can remember and save Belle but lose yourself."
"You mean I'd die?" He only nodded his head, unable to speak. Lacey knew that she wouldn't actually die but she meant more her soul. Her and Belle looked the same but in all great truths they were different. Lacey had never known the glories of being a hero, finding true love, or believing in happy endings. The over sheltered life that she remembered from cursed memories was unbearable. She was always so alone, until her father locked her up in the asylum because she behaved to 'wildly' as he put it. She'd only tasted freedom briefly before she remembered lying in the middle of the road, writhing in pain. Her life made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Now she faced a hard choice, an unbearable choice that would ravage her mind until she had the answer.
Obviously her first choice was to live, but then she remembered Gold and those soft eyes he had when he looked upon Belle in her dream. Every Time he looked at Lacey like that she couldn't bear it knowing those eyes were not truly meant for her, but who she looked like. And she was not yet so cold to destroy Gold's true love forever without at least giving it a thought. In fact she'd decided to take her time with this decision, for it was not one to take lightly. Her and Gold remained in silence the rest of the day, right up till bed time. They had barely spoken since that morning and Lacey wondered if he was already mourning the potential loss of his one true love.
Lacey could not go to sleep without saying something to Gold. Right as he was about to turn out the light she spoke.
"I know you have given me a wonderful gift in choosing and I thank you for that. I know you're worried that I'm going to take Belle from you forever and I know you love her more than you could ever love me. I see it when you look at me ya know. You look right through me, like you're looking for someone else. I'm not making my decision tonight, I need some time to think, but I want you to think about something too... If I choose to forget don't just write me off either. I know I'm not the woman you love, but maybe, just maybe I could be. I could be the woman you need."
He nodded and with a heavy sigh she kissed his cheek and turned over as the light switched out.