The Heartless and the Beauty,
Written by WickedSong.
Disclaimer/Note : I do not own OUaT or anything to do with it; I just like writing about it. Anyway, this is my take on a friendship which I believe should be a thing on the show but sadly is not; Heartless Beauty, a.k.a. The Huntsman and Belle. I feel like since they were both held captive by Regina, there must have been some sort of interaction and, wishful thinking maybe, a friendship formed. Anyway, just read and you'll see. Also contains hints of Rumbelle and mild Gremma here and there because they're my OTP and I had to. Takes place maybe a day or two days after the events of 2x01, 'Broken'.
She looks despondent when Rumplestiltskin finds her, sitting by the counter, an old newspaper in hand, looking down at the floor. Tightening his grip on his cane, steeling himself for whatever awful she has found regarding him – he is always terrified that one day enough will be enough – he walks over and gently places a hand on her shoulder.
There is a beat of silence. In what way has he lost her this time, he wonders? Does she know about Bae and the cowardice that led to him losing his son? Has the truth surrounding how he lost Milah reached her ears? He finds it impossible; both of these things are secrets he has held close to his chest. And yet her eyes hold so much sadness…
"He's dead here."
Startled, he takes his hand off her shoulder and places a finger under her chin. He lifts her face so she is looking at him, and her expression contorts into one of anguish. He's seen this face many times, and has more often than not been the cause of it; when he took her from her family and friends and homeland, when he accused her of being in alliance with the Queen and she called him a coward, and most recently when he had went back on his word to not harm Regina.
"Who is, Belle, who is?"
Her reply isn't immediate, instead she sits up in her seat and blinks furiously, wiping her eyes of the tears she had shed before. Then she turns the newspaper so that Rumplestiltskin is met with the face of the former sheriff – before Charming, before Emma – the man also known as The Evil Queen's Huntsman.
Initially he is confused. How would Belle have known The Huntsman, how was his passing eliciting such a response from her? And then he realises.
But before he can articulate his thoughts, Belle speaks. "When Regina had me…locked up," she still struggles to speak about the years she was held captive by Regina, "…he was the only one who showed me kindness. I didn't trust him at first, but eventually, I told him stories about the world. He thought they were silly."
Her face brightens. She's reminded of the light in those darker times and even though no one has asked for her to elaborate she does so, obviously caught up in the past and her memories. "One night we planned our escape. He would get his heart back and I would get my freedom. We'd find you; you'd know how to give him his heart back and I…I…we…"
She is standing by the window now, and turns to look at Rumplestiltskin as if she's not sure what the future would have held for them if she had found him and that she hadn't thought that far.
"And we would have…?" pried Rumplestiltskin but the moment had evidently passed.
Belle shakes her head and averts her eyes from his gaze. She sighs. "All I know is that we only got to the woods. Then she found us, took us back to the castle." Her eyes close as she relives the moment. "But before that she tortured him...in the woods...with his heart." She closes her eyes. She still sometimes hears those screams. "She said that this was the price for our actions and that he had to pay it."
She can feel Rumplestiltskin hovering behind her. She wishes that he would comfort her in some way, and a sad smile springs to her lips when he places his hand on her shoulder, silently supporting her.
"How did he die here?" she asks abruptly. "It says a heart attack but…"
Still not facing him, Belle braces herself for the answer she is sure is coming.
"While nothing's ever been confirmed, I believe it was Regina…she-"
Belle shakes her head. "I don't need to know anymore," she insists. "Knowing that, knowing that he died under her control, without a heart." She shakes her head.
"He didn't die without his heart, Belle," he replies, slightly taken aback by the sudden anger that he sees in her.
She hadn't seemed that angry when she told him about Regina locking her away. But now, she's almost literally shaking with rage, as she contemplates what he is telling her.
Puzzled by this statement, Belle swivels around and looks him straight in the eye. "But you said…"
"The most powerful magic in the world," comments Rumplestiltskin as he leans on his cane with both hands. "The sheriff may have never gained his physical heart but the ability to feel, the feeling of his heart, it was restored to him once more."
"Who?" is all Belle can think to ask, as another smile reaches her lips. But it's not a sad one this time. This one, instead, reminds her of a conversation they had once had.
Belle had arrived in the castle only days ago; and still she could already feel her old life slipping away from her. It was cold and dark but she remained brave.
The Huntsman sat on the other side of the room. He had been sent by Regina every day since her arrival, trying to get some information about her time in the Dark Castle but she would not tell. She remained stoic, as did the man.
Whenever she refused to answer he did not resort to violence, he did not raise his voice, he only simply asked if he could stay in the room for a little while longer. At first, she was hesitant to let him. What could he be planning? But then she saw his fear.
"Why do you ask to stay here, Huntsman?"
"You are not the only one she tortures," he replied frankly. His voice said that he had lost most of his hope long ago. Yet, she noted, there was still resilience. He wasn't one of the Queen's many mindless guards.
As the days passed, their agreement remained. She would not give him any information, and he would remain in her room, giving the Queen the impression that he was trying. Sometimes she would raise her voice at random intervals, as would he, trying to maintain such an illusion.
In the quieter moments, when they were sure the Queen wasn't listening, she would divulge tales of the world he had not been a part of for many years, sometimes at his request and sometimes just because she couldn't handle the complete silence buzzing in her ears.
Eventually she began to open up, as their friendship grew. While she couldn't be completely sure that his tactic hadn't been to gain her trust all along, she still began to tell her story, being careful to omit anything that the Queen could somehow use against her, if her trust was misplaced after all.
"So you fell in love with him?" The Huntsman asked her, as she told him about Rumplestiltskin.
The Huntsman's tone was dismissive, as if he was deriding her and her choices.
Stubbornly, Belle, replied, "I saw the man behind the monster." She smiled fondly. Even if her time with him had ended in a terrible way she couldn't quite bring herself to regret loving him, no matter how much she tried. "Love is beautiful, it's a mystery-"
His face stiffened and he sat upright. His voice was cold and it cut through the air icily. "Love is a lie."
For a moment she wanted to ask how he could say that but his face twisted into a mask of pain and she knew that that was the Queen's way of summoning him back.
At that point, The Huntsman still hadn't told her how that was the case.
Her question goes unanswered as her cell door slams shut behind him.
"So he did not believe in love?" questions Rumplestiltskin. He finds this fact interesting; considering the circumstances around his death. It's not surprising, however. Rumplestiltskin had taken an interest in this story, always wondering whether or not Regina would use a literal heartless being against him.
Raised by wolves from a young age, he became a Huntsman, and had always been deemed heartless by those around him. His only affection was for the animals who resided in the forest and who he had grown up with. But cruel winters with no food had caused him to hunt them. He always shed tears over their bodies, like no other Huntsman. He hated humans; a result of his disturbing upbringing.
When Emma Swan had rolled into town, Rumplestiltskin had felt the winds of change blowing as his old life came flooding back to him with her name. He had accounted for many things but not the effect she had on their town's sheriff.
Graham, as he was named in this land, whether he was aware of it or not, began to fall for the Saviour.
Rumplestiltskin kept an eye on the burgeoning relationship. The Huntsman who spared both the lives of Snow White and Prince Charming beginning to fall in love with the daughter of Snow White. Well, it was the kind of the thing that fairy tales were made of.
Then he believed he could use it to harness something more powerful. That when the time came, when the Saviour had to believe, the sheriff would be useful in this endeavor.
That was until his untimely death at the hands of The Evil Queen.
"He didn't," Belle assures as she sees Rumplestiltskin deep in thought and she wonders exactly what he is contemplating. "He believed it was a waste of time. I can't blame him; he had never seen any love, he had no hope for such a long time." She looks down at the newspaper. She repeats her question of, "Who?"
Rumplestiltskin smiles. "Why, the Saviour of course, Miss Emma Swan."
Belle ponders this for a moment. "And she gave him hope?"
"More than enough, more than enough," assures Rumplestiltskin.
She realises then that that is why Regina crushed his heart.
"Why don't you try to escape?" Belle had asked him once. "You could get far from here. Reunite with your family, your loved ones."
The Huntsman shrugged. "I have only my wolf-brother left and I cannot risk his life by leaving."
Belle looked at him thoughtfully. "What exactly does Regina have on you?"
Belle had almost lost count of the days but a quick look to the tally marks on her cell wall reminded her that it was coming up for almost two months. Every day had felt like a month in itself, time moved so slowly.
The Huntsman was also a prisoner in the castle but he was also a soldier, a member of the Queen's court. She wasn't sure how someone with at least some illusion of power couldn't escape.
Then he touched his chest. "She has my heart."
Belle gaped at him and put a hand to her own chest. "You mean she-"
"Ripped it right out of my chest," he confided. He told her the story of how he had been a simple Huntsman, living in the woods with only his wolf-brother for companionship. One day the Queen's men had found him and demanded that he attend an audience with Her Majesty.
He had been intrigued so he had gone with them.
If he had known what he knew now he would've ran as fast as he could without looking back.
"So she wanted you to take whose heart?"
"Her stepdaughter," he elaborated. "Snow White." With a sigh he gave a sad smile. "I genuinely thought that I could've. But then she was so pure of heart, kind, I let her go. I returned to the castle with the heart of a stag and in her rage, she pulled out my heart and added it to her collection."
"I'm so sorry," Belle said to him. She smiled, a genuine, warm and reassuring one as she placed her hands over his own. "You will get your heart back one day, I promise. Maybe we can escape. There has to be some sort of-"
He stood up then, and shook her hands off of his. "No," he said to her, in a firm tone. He shook his head. "I have tried," he told her, to her great surprise. "It always ends the same way. She finds me just as I barely leave the palace, and then the torture lasts until the next day. She will never kill me. It is a losing game."
"Do you want to die?" Belle asked, at his words. There was something about the way, in which he seemed to wish death upon himself with open arms that gave her pause.
"Death is a better alternative to this life, is it not?"
Belle shoves the paper that she still hasn't let go off, down on the counter, as she paces the pawn shop. She goes to the door, opens it a little, and then closes it again. She doesn't exactly know what she wants to do.
She had told Rumplestiltskin not to give into his hate, only days earlier, and here she was, thinking the cruelest thoughts about Regina, a woman who had caused so many people untold amounts of pain.
Maybe it was selflessness, or maybe it was her reluctance to face up to how much being locked away had really affected her, but Belle found this twist of fate to be the absolute worst.
She notices that Rumplestiltskin has disappeared into the back of the shop but he quickly emerges with a box. He places it on the counter and blows dust off of it.
"These were his things," he explains to Belle as she walks over to him. "When he was Sheriff Graham, not The Huntsman, of course. I told Sheriff Swan that it was all heading for the trash but then again, I think there will be use for it yet."
Belle nods, and she smiles once more, but not before giving a wary look to Rumplestiltskin. He does things for a reason, she knows this. With other things on her mind, however, she chooses to let it go for now.
As she roots about the box she comes across pieces of paper, a newspaper article that talks about a charity fundraiser he organised, whatever that means, and something with his name on it saying that he 'graduated'. She's proud for reasons she doesn't understand.
She finds a letter which is unopened and addressed to Emma right at the bottom of his possessions but Rumplestiltskin takes it from her and puts it back in the box, again under everything else.
"Not quite yet, not quite yet."
Belle shrugs, and continues her search for something. Eventually she settles on two old keychains she finds. One has a heart on it and the other has a wolf.
"Are you sure that's all you want?" asks Rumplestiltskin as he places the lid on top of the box.
Belle nods. "Thank you." She goes to the door of the pawn shop. "I'm going to go for a walk. I need to try and clear my head."
"Would you like me to join you?"
"I think I need to go alone."
"Rumplestiltskin can give you your heart back!" Belle declared.
"You've told me what happened between you two, Belle," The Huntsman replied. "I'm not going to force you to go back there on my account."
Belle sighed in response. "I need to see him again as well, did you ever think of that?" she snapped back.
"I've told you how my attempts at escape end, Belle," he reminded her.
She stood up and placed her hands on his shoulders. "If we never try, we never know. This could be the one time it works. And if it is? You can be free. And so can I."
"I don't-"
"Either I escape on my own, or you join me. We can do this, together."
He had agreed to the escape attempt eventually, after Belle took a few days to wear him down.
They planned to carry it out the following week. They would wait until after dark, the Queen would already be at her summer palace by then, and then they would break into the heart vault, where they would steal back his heart.
From that point, it would be a matter of evading the guards and then they'd be in the forest.
The Queen would be none the wiser of this plan. By the time she returned from her summer palace, The Huntsman would have his heart back, and both he and Belle would be long gone from the palace.
The plan had run smoothly - at least so far.
Getting his heart back had been mildly easy. Belle had kept watch, as he scrounged around the different vaults for it. Eventually one had lit up at his touch and he had assumed that meant it was his. Grabbing it, the two had ran, and were out in the woods.
Belle smiled as The Huntsman told her that this was the furthest that he had ever made it.
Maybe that had jinxed them.
Belle never found out how The Evil Queen knew but there she appeared, using her magic.
Guards surrounded them.
"My chess piece and my heartless huntsman. Now this is a story I never thought would be told," declared Regina, as she snapped her fingers at her guards. "Seize them!"
For about half a minute Belle had thought of resisting but they already had her on the ground before she could take action. She watched as The Huntsman was also taken to the ground, harshly, as he had put up much more a fight.
"So useless," Regina commented, as she took the chest with his heart, which had fallen to the ground in the struggle. "You could have everything, Huntsman, and yet you continue to defy me." She turned and Belle wasn't sure what she was doing, but The Huntsman's face contorted in pain as he cried out.
Belle's blood ran cold when Regina turned around with the pulsing heart in hand, and squeezed it.
"Stop! Stop it! You're hurting him!" Belle cried out.
Regina stopped abruptly at Belle's words and turned to the woman herself. "You two have defied me, you have tried to escape me and this is the price that he must pay because he knows all too well the consequences of such a decision." She hovered around Belle for a few moments more. "Would you like me to take yours too?" She sneered. "For that is the price of such insolence."
Belle only stared at her, as if she was saying 'so be it' to such a fate.
"Take them back to the castle!" called Regina.
Regina never went to the summer palace that day, or the next. Belle was locked back up in her cell, and this time fitted with a chain around her leg to ensure she didn't escape.
She heard his screams, his cries, mostly everyone in the palace did that day. It was a guttural cry of a wounded animal. She cried herself to sleep that night.
With her arms wrapped around herself, Belle walks the streets. It's still light out but it was also cold. With no sense of direction and no idea where she is going, Belle finds herself outside the sheriff's office.
She feels as if it must've been cruel fate guiding her.
It isn't locked up so, curious, she walks in, walking down a corridor until she comes to what must be the main part of the office.
There's so much here, in this new world, that she doesn't really understand. She recognises a few things that Rumplestiltskin has pointed out to her. A telephone, she believed it was called, sat on the desk, alongside, and if she remembers this one correctly, a computer.
She walks over to the door marked 'sheriff' and pushes it open tentatively. Of course there's nothing of his really left behind. She knows from word around town that Emma Swan, the Saviour, the one who broke the curse, has been the sheriff for months now, before she and her mother were sent through a portal.
Belle sighs.
She goes into the pockets of her dress and pulls out the keychains; the heart and the wolf, and looks at them absent-mindedly.
She may have never known 'Graham' but he was still The Huntsman in the most inherent ways and so she remembers that and somehow his presence is still there.
With one look at a jacket that hangs in a corner, something she just feels is important, Belle leaves the sheriff station, with a newfound determination to keep his spirit alive, and reminding herself that she must speak to the Saviour whenever she returns, for she's the Saviour and so she must return, and thank her.
The last time Belle and The Huntsman spoke was just before the curse was enacted.
She had woken up to the sound of the jingling of keys and had prepared herself to come face to face once more with the man from earlier.
When she saw it was The Huntsman, she smiled, for it had been weeks and weeks since they had lost spoken, ever since their escape attempt went awry.
"I am so sorry," was the first thing she had said to him. "We should never have-"
"There's no time for that now, it's not your fault, it's not anyone's fault," The Huntsman told her as he sat on the chair sitting opposite from her bed. "You've heard about the curse, haven't you?"
"Rumblings of such a thing, yes," Belle conceded. "Why? What do you know?"
"It's being enacted today. The Queen took her father's heart and she's going to cast it. She's on her way there now."
"What does it mean?"
"I don't know for sure," The Huntsman admitted, "All I know is that I've to go and be part of her guard for when she goes to Snow and James' castle." He shakes his head. "I just wanted to tell you thank you."
Even with panic at the prospect of a curse being cast, Belle managed a smile. "Why?"
"You were my friend in this world. One of my only friends. I am grateful for that."
Belle nodded. "You were my friend too." She took his hand in hers and gave it a gentle, friendly squeeze. "In this new world..."
"...Our memories will be lost, we won't remember who we are," The Huntsman confirmed.
Belle's smile now had a tinge of sadness to it. "I hope you find your heart there."
"I hope you find what you're looking for too."
Belle hugged him. They smiled, one last smile and he was gone.
Only a few moments elapsed, or at least it felt like a few moments, it could've been hours, days even, she wasn't sure, between that last exchange and the twenty-eight years of complete darkness in the Storybrooke Asylum.
Sorry that it just sort of ends. I had no idea how to do so. I'm not very good at endings of stories. Oh well. I like this one for the most part regardless. I am also considering going back and expanding on smaller moments between them but I don't know if I will or not.
Anyway, so what did you all think of this? Please leave your thoughts in the form of a review and all are very much appreciated.
Thank you for reading :)
WickedSong x