Part 2 Summary: Belle sits in her cell, alone and losing hope, when Regina drops by for a visit.

It was cold in her cell—it had been growing colder for a couple of weeks. Granted, Belle had only been there four weeks in total, but it was obvious that winter was coming, if it wasn't there already.

She sighed and leaned back against the wall of her cell. The room was dark, the blue light from the floor dim and signifying the late hour. Belle should have been asleep, conked out and unconscious on her back from the drugged food they gave her. But that night Belle had tricked them—ate only a little bit of her food before hiding most of it in her mouth and spitting it out once the guard left.

"Rumple," she whispered to the darkness, "where are you?" Her words echoed through the empty cell. It was bigger than the one she'd had at ho—in the Dark Castle. But the size didn't really matter since the purpose was all the same. Belle was familiar with prisons; she'd lived in them her entire life.

Her father had always "protected" her as a little girl, forbidding her from running and riding and anything else she might get hurt during. That was why she began to read so avidly in the first place—it let her escape. And when her engagement to Gaston was decided and announced, she found no freedom, but simply a new warden to keep her guarded. So she read even more, even when Gaston would tease her about a girl getting silly notions like being a hero from the books she read.

When Rumplestiltskin had made his offer, she had seen an opportunity to be the hero she'd always dreamed of being. Belle had known it was another prison she would be walking into, but for once it would be a prison that she had decided.

In the end, it hadn't felt like a prison at all. He had given her more freedom than she would have ever had as a Lady. In her new life, she had had a purpose, even if that purpose was only to clean and be the ever present company to a lonely man. A man she loved. And a man who hadn't loved her in return. Letting her go the first time didn't mean that he loved her—despite what Regina had told her.

Maybe it had only been a moment of weakness on his part when she had kissed him. Perhaps he had only loved the way her lips felt against his instead of loving her. Because he and the queen knew each other, didn't they? And shouldn't he have come and saved her by now if he truly loved her?

All Belle felt was the bleak, cold loneliness in her cell and in her heart.

Voices and the thudding of footsteps alerted her that someone was making their way to her. Belle quickly laid down as quiet as possible—a difficult task with the chains shackled to her wrists and ankles. Not for the first time, she cursed the cut of the dress Regina had forced her to wear, and desperately attempted to move the material to cover the skin exposed by the slit that ran all the way up to her thigh. She didn't see how others got away with calling Rumple a beast when she saw the way the guards leered at her. And their whispered suggestions when she passed by in the halls or they dropped off her food left little to the imagination. Rumple was never so crude with her.

As the footsteps grew closer, Belle gave up in her hopeless task and settled back onto her cot, praying for whatever protection she could have in that dreadful place. She recognized the voices as they got closer—the Queen and her right hand man. She'd heard him referred to as the Huntsman. It was strange, but he was the nicest one to her. He never leered or made advances, but only did as the Queen commanded with a solemn face.

"And all the fuss over this… child." Belle's eyes flew shut as the door to her cell creaked open. Her heart pounded in her chest in fear, but she fought to keep her breath even. The Queen was mockingingly cruel at best, and Belle shuddered to think what she would do if she found her awake.

"So he searches for her?" The Huntsman's voice rang through the cell, and Belle felt minutely safer at the warm tone, so different from Regina's cold bite.

"Not yet. But he will." The sneer was evident in Regina's voice. "I need to stop him before he does. It's pathetic, really. He's still pining over her like some love sick puppy. I don't see why. If he'd been her true love, the kiss would have worked and his curse would have been broken. I suppose the heart of the Dark One can't love anymore."

There was a pause before the Huntsman asked, "What will you do?"

"The only way he'll stop looking for his possession is if he thinks she's dead. Looks like I'll have to be the bearer of bad news." The tone of her voice said that the task wouldn't be unpleasant in the slightest.

"But if he thinks she's dead, won't having her become pointless?" Belle's heart nearly stopped at the question.

"She may still prove useful. Rumplestiltskin is a dangerous imp. If we were ever to become true enemies, I may need his pet for insurance." Regina sighed and closed the door, but Belle could still hear her say, "Such a pity. She was such a pretty thing too…"

Once she was sure they were gone, Belle sat up quietly and leaned back against the cold wall. Her thoughts were racing, and she had a smile on her face. Regina had taken everything from her (freedom, happiness, true love) but that night she reminded Belle of the one thing the Queen could never steal away: hope.

Because Regina was wrong and the kiss had worked and the curse had broken and he was her true love.

"I'll never stop fighting." The words echoed around her cell, but this time they seemed to fill up the space. They made the cell appear smaller, easier to overcome. She smiled and breathed out a single word of hope. "Rumplestiltskin."

Thoughts?

-princessmelia