Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine.

A/N: Boy, it's been a while since I updated this one. I have excuses though, Only A Rose kept me occupied and then I was attacked by another plot bunny (I'm fighting it off because I'm reluctant to be working on three multi-chap stories at once, but I fear I shall lose. Oh well, you gain I suppose). But also work majorly infringed on my life. Word of advice, NEVER be a waitress, thankless job and crummy pay, believe me. But here it is. More will be coming soon for this story and Only a Rose, I promise.

NOTE: Fynn is NOT Flynn Rider/Eugene Fitzherbert from Tangled. I love that movie and I love Flynn Rider, but Fynn is my own invention and is not destined to fall in love with Rapunzel.

Anonymous Reviews:

Tama: So glad you liked this last chapter and I'm glad you like my writing style. I hope you enjoy this chapter too.

Chapter 2: At The Beginning

"She's crazy," Emma declared after the woman named Belle had left them to decide over the matter of her company.

"You don't know that," Mary Margaret said.

"She said her one true love is Rumplestiltskin, AKA, The Dark One, I think that's the definition of crazy."

To Emma, the solution was obvious, they couldn't bring an insane woman with them on their journey to…wherever her newly found mother said they would find the means back home. She may not know a lot about love, but even she knew that the man she'd met in Storybrooke, the man who had the whole town clutched in his perfectly manicured fist, was impossible to love.

"Emma, there are things that you just can't understand. We come from a different world."

"Yeah, I'm standing in it."

Mary Margaret gave her a patient smile. "Yes, but things are different here. Rules and ideas from your world, well they're easily challenged here. A woman could definitely love a monster like Rumplestiltskin in this world."

"Wait a minute," Emma said, "You believe her?"

"I accept the possibility."

"But it's Mr. Gold! He nearly beat a man to death over a teacup."

She nodded. "But how much do we really know him? He's always kept to himself."

"Yeah, because the bad guy is always a loner. It's in all of the movies."

Mary Margaret sighed and shook her head. "Look, I'll admit that he has done a lot of terrible things and shouldn't be trusted, but none of that means he is incapable of love. Emma, you've only seen him when he's at his worst."

"And you've seen him otherwise?"

Mary Margaret sat down on a fairly dry rock. Emma blinked at her. "Have you?" she asked. What did she know about Rumplestiltskin that Emma didn't?

"A glimpse, maybe, once," she admitted, "Your father and I know something about Rumplestiltskin that we never told anyone."

"Why not?" Emma asked as she took up her own rock.

"We decided it wasn't our place. It was his own past and it had nothing to do with any of his deals."

"What is it?"

Mary Margaret let out a painful sigh. "I need to explain something. When I first met Charming, he was engaged to someone else. You know her as Kathryn, but her real name is Abigail. It was very painful being in love with him but knowing we could never be together."

"Obviously you found a way, how else would I be here?" Emma remarked.

"Yes, but at the time I thought there was no hope. I met Rumplestiltskin when I went to him looking for a cure for a broken heart."

Emma let out a laugh at the idea. "Wow, if they sold those at the local pharmacy, I'd have bought them by the case."

"Trust me, it wasn't worth it," Mary Margaret stated, "Love is what guides us, even when it hurts us."

"Okay, but what does any of this have to do with that woman and Rumplestiltskin."

"I'll never forget what he said to me that day," she explained, "He said, 'Love makes us sick. It haunts our dreams, destroys our days'."

"Well isn't he a bowl of sunshine," Emma said

"No, you don't understand it was how he said it. It was so personal, like he truly felt that way."

Emma mulled over that for a minute, but just the thought…no way. It couldn't be. "He's a good liar."

"There's more," Mary Margaret said, "When he made your father hide away the True Love potion, he actually admitted that he'd been in love once."

Emma actually let out a gasp and latched onto her arm. "You're kidding me."

She shook her head. "He said she was…" Mary Margaret looked down at the sand to think, "What was it…oh yes, 'a flicker of light in an ocean of darkness'."

"And you think he was talking about Belle?"

Mary Margaret bit her lip. "He said she died."

Emma wasn't sure of a lot of things, but the woman who'd left them had most definitely been alive. There were two options here. One: the woman was lying and didn't love Gold at all, but Emma couldn't see any indication of that. Two: she loved Rumplestiltskin, but it was one sided. The woman he had mentioned to her father was someone else entirely.

"Okay," Emma said, "So he did love someone once, but clearly it wasn't her. I guess that settles things then."

"Not necessarily, she could still come with us," Mary Margaret said.

"Why? I don't think Gold would be happy to see her again and we're not even sure if she can come."

"I know that," she said sadly, "It's just…I know how it feels to be separated from the person you love. If we tell her no, she's likely to follow us anyways or get herself killed in desperate attempts to find her way to Storybrooke."

"But there is nothing waiting for her there," Emma said.

"If we take her with us, maybe we can find a way to gently tell her that she should stay here," Mary Margaret explained, "Surely, she's made some kind of a life here. We can help her see that this world is her home and that Storybrooke isn't where she belongs."

It was a sound idea and the decent thing to do. Besides, they could undoubtedly use the help in navigating this place since there wasn't a map or a GPS to be found. But Emma had been born a skeptic, so she had to voice her concerns. "And what if she's stubborn and continues to insist on going?"

Mary Margaret sighed and shrugged. "Then we'll have to leave her here. You were right before, since she's not the one he loved then Gold won't want anything to do with her. She'd have no life in Storybrooke."

Either way they looked at it, Belle was surely destined for a heartbreak. At least Emma knew firsthand that they weren't fatal. She would get over this, find some husband and settle down in this world. Wasn't that the thing about fairy tales? They always had happy endings.

Fynn had born and raised in the capital of King Midas's kingdom. The realm had never lacked in wealth because of the king's golden touch, so the city had never been in a state of decline. It had been a great place for merchants and business men, like Fynn's father, but that life had never appealed to him. He actually enjoyed the quiet life the island offered. Yes, it was hard work, but it wasn't work based off of money.

When he'd left the city, Fynn had dreamed only of scholarly things. A life of books, study and seeing the world. But he'd soon found new dreams. Dreams of a wife, children and a home that remained stationary. This place was the perfect setting for that.

He had the place, the plans, and the will, and yet he kept finding himself further and further away from what he wanted.

Fynn gave passing smiles to those he walked by as he hurried through the tangle of tiny huts. Belle had shared a cottage with Mulan since they'd come here, but he could see the Imperial warrior was nowhere in sight. Belle was there though, repacking her bag with fresh clothes, books and supplies.

"So you are going," he said as he observed her from the doorway.

Belle looked up at him with those same stubborn blue eyes. "Of course."

"It's a fool's journey. You have no idea what you will find."

"We've done this before," she reminded him.

"Never with strangers from another land."

"Mary Margaret is from this world," Belle said.

"You never knew her."

"I knew of her and that's enough."

"Belle," he said her name in plea as he stepped from the doorway, "Don't you think there might be a reason why he was sent there and you remained here?"

She hesitated as her hand found a book, but then resumed her packing. "I don't know why we didn't go with them. It hardly matters."

"Maybe you're not meant for that world. Maybe you're meant to remain here."

Belle let her book fall to the cot. She turned around to face him. "There is nothing for me here. Everything I want, everyone I love is there. That world, Storybrooke, is where I have to go."

Fynn wanted to shake her. He'd seen the two women from Storybrooke, it didn't seem like a place any one of them could belong. This world was better. It was home. Why couldn't she see that?

"What if he doesn't want you anymore?" Fynn said. Perhaps fear would make her see reason. "He tossed you out once for his power, he could do it again. Maybe he'd rather be alone."

Belle shook her head. "He doesn't want power more than me. He just couldn't believe that I could love him. When I find him, he'll know that. He'll believe me."

"Belle, it's been thirty years since you've seen him. Thirty years since he's seen you," Fynn reminded her, "He may not love you anymore."

"True Love doesn't fade away."

And if it was True Love, why would Rumplestiltskin toss that aside like a half-eaten joint of mutton? Why would he ever toss aside someone like Belle? He couldn't love her. That was impossible if he had done all of that.

"Before the curse, he had two years to look for you. Why didn't he if he loves you like you say he does?"

Belle turned back to her packing, but didn't touch any of her things. "I don't know."

"Belle…"

"No, Fynn," she said, turning back around to face him, "I'm not going to change my mind, no matter what you say, no matter how hard this will be and how many dangers I will face. I am going to Storybrooke and I am going to find him."

The tension that stood between them was like a thick black cloud. She couldn't see how foolish this was. When it came to Rumplestiltskin, she'd always been blind. Fynn had seen the imp once, had heard the eerie twitter of his voice, seen the darkness in his eyes and the twisted way he smiled. Belle may have seen something in him, but Fynn doubted it had been real. Perhaps the monster had fooled her somehow.

Mulan and Phillip had long ago accepted her story though they had never actually understood her feelings for the Dark One. Fynn couldn't. She had to find a love that was real. Belle deserved someone so much better.

But she wouldn't listen to him now, not with her own dreams seemingly in reach. So he let out a sigh. "All right," he said, "But I'm coming with you."

She was still bitter as she turned away. "You don't have to. You can stay here."

"I've been on this path with you for so long, I need to see it to completion. I only want you to be happy, Belle."

She had never been able to sustain a grudge longer than a day. This was no exception. She gave him a small smile. "I know. And I always appreciate your friendship, Fynn. I do want you to come with me."

"Then I shall."

Belle closed the distance between them, stepping into his arms for a hug. He could smell the honeysuckle scent of her hair for the brief moment he held her, but it lingered even after she'd stepped away. He watched her go through her meager possessions to decide what would stay and what would go.

He knew she would struggle to decide what books to take with her. He knew she would tuck her mother's necklace inside a handkerchief for safekeeping. He knew she'd keep one book out on her bed to read by candlelight before she went to sleep that night. Did Rumplestiltskin know such things about her? Doubtful.

Fynn would go with her. He would stand by her side as she continued to look for a way to the Dark One. And when it failed—it always did—then he would be there to try and convince her to give up this farce. One day she would listen. One day, she would finally see that Rumplestiltskin wasn't the one she needed.

Emma was ready to get the hell off of that island, but Mulan and Mary Margaret insisted on waiting so they could gather supplies. It was hard to forget that McDonald's and Starbucks didn't exist in this place. They would have to get enough food for the journey, find the medieval equivalent of a sleeping bag and God only knew what else. And they would need horses. Emma had ridden a horse once when she was thirteen. It was some smelly old thing covered in flies that had tried to bite her. She had wisely decided then that the equestrian life was not for her.

Right now she was sitting on some boulder watching the little town run along with it's daily routine. It was like she'd been dropped into some Monty Python movie, except there was no one with a cart and bell crying "Bring out your dead!" There was a blacksmith, for crying out loud. Boy would Henry love to see all of this.

The thought of her son brought fresh tears to Emma's eyes. She reached into the pocket of her jacket to pull out the little picture she had of him. Mary Margaret had given it to her back when she was just her roommate, a remnant from his school pictures. She wanted to get home to him so badly. "I'll be back, Henry. I promise."

"Is everything all right?"

Emma looked up from her picture, blinking back her tears. It was Belle who had spoken and she wasn't alone. She was with a decent looking guy with sandy colored hair. He was a little skinny, but considering Belle's tastes ran towards evil bastards, she could certainly do much worse.

"Fine," Emma said.

"I wanted to introduce you to my friend Fynn," Belle said, "He wants to come with us."

"The more the merrier I guess," Emma said, holding out a hand for Fynn to shake. "You got someone waiting for you in Storybrooke?"

"No," he said, "I just want to go with Belle."

Emma blinked at that, tilting her head to get a better look at him. What he said, that was interesting. Like lovesick schoolteachers, he wasn't exactly a mastermind at hiding his thoughts and emotions.

"What are you doing, Emma?"

"Nothing, apparently," she said, "I'm kind of useless here since I'm not a native."

Belle gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure that's not true."

"No, it's okay. I'm fine with that. All of this," she gestured to the world around her, "is a little too Dungeons and Dragons for me. I prefer the twenty-first century."

Belle frowned at her. "I'm sorry, but I don't understand."

"Yeah, I get that a lot here."

"Is Storybrooke so different from this land?"

"Like apples and hand grenades," Emma said, earning another puzzled look from her two companions.

Belle took a seat on the boulder beside Emma. "What is it like?"

"Storybrooke?" Belle nodded in answer. "Um, well it's…different. I mean, there's still dirt and grass and water and stuff, but everything else is more…updated."

"What do you mean by that?"

"We don't have magic there," Emma said, "Or we didn't until your boyfriend dropped some sort of purple potion down a well, but that's a whole other story. We have stuff there that I'm sure you all would think is magic, but really it's just technology."

"Like what?"

Emma sighed and then fumbled around in her pocket until she had her cellphone. She handed it over for Belle. The screen said "No signal". What a shock. Belle and Fynn both gasped as the screen lit up with a picture of Henry she used as her wallpaper. "I've never seen anything like this," Fynn said.

"Guess not," Emma said, "But it's not magic, I swear. It's just microchips and other gizmos inside that make it work." They both shared identical expressions of confusion. "I sound like I'm speaking Chinese to you, don't I?"

"What's Chinese?" Belle asked.

Emma let out a little laugh and shook her head. "If we ever make it home, I'll rent you Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

"So everything in Storybrooke is run by technology," Belle said while toying with the useless phone, "What else is there?"

"I don't know, it's hard to explain since I'm used to it all," Emma said with a shrug.

"Please try," Belle begged with large, pleading eyes, "I really want to know. I want to be able to adapt when I get there."

"Belle," Fynn said her name gently, "You don't know—."

"I'll find a way," Belle said to him, "Emma and Snow White and I will all go to Storybrooke, I know it."

Fynn shut his and shook his head. Emma watched as he turned around to walk a few paces away, giving his back to the two women. "Call me crazy, but he doesn't seemed thrilled about this journey," Emma said.

"He's just worried about me," Belle explained, "he thinks I should give up my quest to find Rumplestiltskin."

"You don't say." Emma kept her eyes on him, noting the slumped shoulders and how he kicked at the dust with his boots.

"Does Rumplestiltskin use things like this?" Belle held up the phone to her eyes.

"Uh yeah, sometimes, though he's a little old fashioned I guess. At least, old fashioned in my world," Emma said and gently took the phone away from her before she got more adventurous and possibly broke it.

"Are there books there?"

Emma smiled. "Do you like books?"

Belle nodded eagerly. "Oh yes, I love to read."

"Well there are tons of books I'm sure you'll like there. I'm not much of a reader myself, but Mary Margaret can probably tell you about them."

A spark was lit in Belle's blue eyes at that idea. She asked more questions and Emma struggled to find the proper answer, one that a medieval girl could understand. But the more she talked and the more Belle asked, Emma found herself looking over at Fynn and his defeated form. There may be a way to keep Belle here in this world without having to break her heart. Mary Margaret would certainly like the idea of helping her like this and Henry would approve. This way, everyone, including Belle, would get a happy ending.

Mulan had chosen to stay with Princess Aurora the night before they were to depart for Queen Snow White's castle. Aurora had been suffering from strange nightmares whenever she tried to sleep, probably because she missed Phillip more than anything else. Still, Mulan always kept her vows and she would keep hers to Phillip which is why Belle was alone in their cottage. It was a good thing because she found herself lacking the ability to sleep as well. Normally she would light a candle and read a book until sleep found her, but candles were precious here so she lay alone in the dark with her racing thoughts.

Emma had told her things about Storybrooke, things called electricity, television and cars. Belle tried to picture what these were but it impossible. She would have see them to understand. Hopefully, Rumplestiltskin would be there to help her to navigate this strange world.

Emma had called her love Mr. Gold, a name Belle decided suited him well enough. He had loved to spin straw into gold thread, it helped him to forget. She never did learn what it was he wanted to forget. His son, perhaps, though if that had been the case then he wouldn't have kept that room full of his clothes and things.

Mary Margaret had said that he looked different, not the same imp she'd known all of those months. It was easy to remember his golden skin, stained teeth and reptilian eyes. What she tried to remember most were those few seconds when he was changing. She had seen the man beneath all of that ugliness. Did he look like he did then? Did he had pink skin with warm, deep brown eyes? Was his hair straight and brown, streaked with bits of honey and grey? He was a man there. If he was…did that mean he'd found someone else to break his curse? Had True Love faded from his heart until he'd found another whose kiss had freed him? Belle had kept him so close to her own heart, but perhaps he hadn't done the same.

"There you go, doubting yourself again." Rumplestiltskin was lounging on Mulan's bed, idly flipping one large gold coin across his knuckles. "You're quite certain of your own failings, dearie, though everyone would tell you that I could never do better than you."

"It's been three decades since we last spoke," Belle reminded him, "You hardened your own heart against me. Someone else could have found the way to open it again."

"Perhaps," he mused in a way that pained her throbbing heart, "Perhaps I no longer love you. Perhaps I never loved you."

"That is a lie!" Belle shouted at him, sitting up from her bed to glare at the image her own mind had made. "The kiss was working. You loved me! You must! You're just a stubborn fool who couldn't believe I could love you."

Rumplestiltskin started flipping the coin in the air. She knew it wasn't real, but she could hear the metallic ring of the gold as it hit his flesh. She could see it twirling and gleaming in the moonlight, hanging for a breath before coming back down. "Then my love isn't in doubt, dearie. You must be troubled by something else."

"Nothing troubles me."

"Little liar," he teased with a giggle. He caught the coin in his open palm and pocketed it before sitting up to stare at her. "You're afraid. You don't know what this journey will bring and that frightens you."

"It will bring me to you. I can handle anything as long as I know I can find you."

"But you don't," Rumplestiltskin said, "You don't know if you'll find that window to wherever I am. This could be another long journey which will leave you with nothing than a few more scars and an even more broken heart."

"I know that," Belle said. She did understand where this could all lead. She did fear that she was getting her hopes up again only to have them scattered in the wind. "But I have to try. I will never give up. I told the Queen that and I meant it."

"Brave, foolish girl," he said, she thought with some admiration, "You'd willingly die in the quest to find me."

"I already have," she whispered.

Rumplestiltskin's eyes glittered at her. He bowed his head, his wavy hair creating a curtain around his face. "You may again," he warned her, "You could be walking straight into danger, dearie."

"I'm used to it," she said to him, never one breaking his gaze, "That has been my life since I left your castle."

Belle lay back down on her bed, turning so he had her back. When she looked back, she knew she would find him gone again. She wouldn't turn around this time, then she could pretend he was really there. Maybe if she kept his image in her mind, she could dream of him. Dream that he was lying next to her and gently stroking her cheek, guarding her as she slept.

She didn't dream of him. Instead she dreamed that she was back at his castle. She could hear him calling for her, but every door she opened revealed nothing but emptiness. The castle was endless and each time she thought she'd found him. But he was never there. He was always out of her reach.

They had been on the road for a week now and Belle and her two companions were all eager for a rest. A warm fire, hot food and an actual bed were all in order. They were thrifty with their money so they would have enough. Belle had taken one spool of Rumplestiltskin's golden thread before she had left the castle and there was still plenty left, for now. But money and time don't last forever.

It was a good sized town with painted cobblestone roads and large wooden and stone buildings. Belle guessed that it's location to the river made it an ideal trading town. She had grown up in a town very similar to this one, filled with merchants that came from exotic lands to pander tastes of these different cultures. She used to dream that she would see these places, but adventures weren't exactly like the kind in her books. Oh, they could be fun, but they were also very, very painful.

Mulan was teaching her to use a sword, but Belle still found her books to be her best weapons. They were so often overlooked and forgotten, but they were what helped her find the yaogui and guided them safely through the forests to this town without the use of the roads. She was still wary that the Queen would find her.

They couldn't see it at a distance, but when they reached the town they saw signs of a skirmish. There were deep cracks on the cobblestone, carts were tipped over in the streets and doors ripped full off their hinges. The sight made Phillip and Mulan both pull out their swords.

"Ogres," Mulan said.

Belle shook her head. "Ogres only destroy, they don't steal. This was something else." She knelt down behind a fallen cart and pulled out roughly made hatchet with a frayed loop of rope attached to it. "Creatures of the Four Kingdoms" had told her about what carried hatchets just like this on thieving raids. "Trolls."

This could be good news as there would more likely be survivors. Ogres slaughtered with no care for gold, but trolls preferred riches to blood. Still, they kept their weapons ready as they walked through the town. Voices were soon heard, harsh whispers that betrayed no words.

It seemed the trolls had left and the townsfolk were still gathered in the square. Some were trying to gather up the debris left in the wake of their attackers. Most still stood there, seemingly shell shocked with their eyes fixed at an empty space in the cobblestone square.

"What happened here?" Phillip asked one man holding a bloodless ax.

"The trolls came," he said, "and we feared they would destroy our town."

"I see you managed to drive them away. Well done."

The man shook his grey head. "No, my lord, it wasn't us. The mayor called upon the Dark One"

Belle's mouth fell open in a silent gasp. She stared straight at the man as he spoke, "We had to give up our town's greatest treasure: a meadow filled with special flowers that heal all wounds, a gift from the fairies."

"You did what needed to be done," Phillip said to soothe the man's grief, but Belle was wrapped up in what this meant. If the people were still here, still stunned by what they had seen, surely Rumplestiltskin couldn't be far.

"When did the Dark One leave?" she asked.

"Mere moments ago."

Her heart galloped into a new rhythm. What wonderful luck! "Where is the meadow?" she asked, "Please, I beg of you, I must speak with him now."

The man pointed to the rose colored road that lead towards a forest. "Take that road. You'll find rocks marked with the old language of magic. Can you read that?"

"Yes," Belle said.

"Then you should have no trouble, but beware of him, my lady. The Dark One always asks for a terrible price for his magic."

Belle smiled a little. "I know the Dark One far better than you and I know his ways well. I have nothing to fear from him."

She set on the rose colored road immediately and didn't stop even when she heard her two friends quicken their pace after her. "Belle! Belle, wait!" Mulan called out, but still had to grab her arm to stop her, "You don't know what you're doing."

"I do know," Belle said, "I have to see him. I need to talk to him."

"We will give you aide for whatever you need," Phillip promised her, "You don't need to seek the help of such a monster."

Belle smiled and shook her head. "He's no monster, trust me on that. He may be a beast at times, but he is my beast, and I intend to be with him once again."

Mulan frowned at her, but she saw the dawn of understanding enter Phillip's eyes. He had a True Love. He knew the power of that pure magic. So he put a hand on Mulan's shoulder and nodded for her to go.

Belle smiled at him before turning back on her course. This time they didn't follow her.

The stones that marked the hidden path were a puzzle to find, but once she did, it was easy for Belle to find her way through the woods. She didn't care to know why Rumplestiltskin wanted the town's special flower or what he intended to do with it. She'd found him without the arduous journey back to the Dark Castle. Perhaps, tonight she would be back home with him. Maybe now he would be willing to believe her love.

She stopped when a clearing broke through the forest. There he was, all golden-grey scales, unkempt brown hair and dressed in a long dragonhide cloak. Her heart leapt at the sight of him. He was so beautiful to her in that moment, though everyone would say she was mad to think so. Her broken heart was mended in that moment. The ache of loneliness gone within the blink of an eye.

She watched him pick up one bright pink blossom. He wrapped it in a black handkerchief embroidered with gold thread—she nearly sobbed in joy when she recognized that it was one she had made. He tucked the flower away into his pocket. He raised one hand and a fiery ball appeared in his palm. She heard him laugh as he waved his hand, setting the entire meadow ablaze.

She couldn't hold her tongue any longer. "Rumplestiltskin," she called out.

He made no notice of her.

"Rumplestiltskin," she said his name louder this time. "It's me. It's Belle."

Nothing.

"Rumplestiltskin look at me!" she shouted now.

He did not look.

"Can't you hear me?" she begged, coming closer. "It's me, it's Belle! Talk to me, please talk to me!"

This wasn't simply him pretending she wasn't there. She was making such a racket that even the dead would have acknowledge her. He didn't flinch or show any indication that she was there. He actually couldn't hear her.

Her blood was pounding in her ears. Her stomach twisted itself into a painful knot. Belle pretended none of this meant anything, that he just couldn't hear her over the crackle of the fire and the power of his own magic. So she ran towards him. She would tap his shoulder to get his attention. Hopefully he would look before he turned his magic on someone who snuck up behind him.

When she was about five feet away from him, Belle stopped. It was a completely involuntarily. One moment she was running the next her feet had planted roots on the ground. She tugged and prodded, but her legs had ceased to obey her commands.

Now her blood raced hot with fear in her veins. "Rumplestiltskin!" she shouted, surely he should hear her now. Nothing.

"Rumplestiltksin, look at me! Look at me!" Belle reached down and plucked one brown and grey rock from the ground and threw it at him. He whirled around with snarl when it struck the back of his shoulder. At last, she was finally looking into his eyes.

He looked right at her. She was standing right before him and yet…he gave no sign. His inhuman eyes darted around seeking something. They narrowed in suspicion, sometimes flickering to the spot where Belle stood, but he didn't look directly at her. Rather, he seemed to look right through her.

"Please," she begged, her voice breaking over the word, "Please see me. I'm here. I'm here, Rumplestiltskin, it's me. It's Belle. Belle."

He started walking towards her which made her heart dance inside of her chest. But he didn't look towards her. He couldn't see her too.

"Please," she said again as tears rolled down her cheeks. Before she could reach out an touch him, her legs started working again. But this time they moved without her permission, taking her away from him. She cried as they walked away until she could finally command them to stop, several feet away from him again.

"No," she said, "Please, gods, no!" She tried running towards him again, but there was no hope to it. This time she stopped so violently that she lost her balance and fell onto her belly in the dirt.

Belle raised herself up onto her knees and watched as he waved one hand and vanished in a puff a smoke. Likely, he was back in the Dark Castle, alone. She broke.

She pressed her face into her hands and sobbed. She had thought her heart broken before, but now it was being torn anew into smaller pieces. Had Rumplestiltskin created some vile magic to keep her away from him, to forget what they had once shared? Was he so desperate to keep his power that her shunned her from his memory and sight? The idea of that betrayal had her shuddering with more sobs.

A rich, throaty laugh turned her attention away from her grief. Belle recognized that laugh. Now she knew exactly what had happened and who was to blame for all of this.

The Queen stood before her now, all in black and sparkling with bright red jewels from the top of her hat to her wrists. Her smile was as dark and crimson as ever. Her dark eyes flashed with glee. "Oh my, what a pathetic sight you are," she said, "I thought you had more pride than that."

"What have you done?" Belle hissed.

"I gave you wanted. You're free to fight for him." She let out another chuckle, "If you can get around my curse."

Belle swallowed back fresh panic, but the Queen continued to smile. "Yes, you begin to see now. He cannot see, hear or touch you. You can run up to his gates if you wish, but he won't even know you're there."

Belle climbed to her feet. Her cheeks were still wet and her eyes red, but hatred and defiance had ripped the grief right out of her. "All curses can be broken." The Queen had told her those very words once.

"True Love's kiss will be a bit difficult if you can't touch," she reminded her with a smile, "but yes, there is a way." She let out a laugh again. "When your foolish little heart stops beating, only then will you be free."

The Queen extended one black gloved hand. There was a small cloud of green-black smoke and then a dagger appeared in her palm. She tossed the blade to Belle and it landed at her feet. "For when the pain of separation gets too much," the Queen said.

She waved her hand in a mockery of goodbye and laughed as her magic whisked her way, just as Rumplestiltskin's had. Belle glared at the empty space before her now. Magic had taken her away from her True Love and her enemy. Magic never played fair it seemed.

She considered leaving the dagger on the forest floor, but decided to look at it first. It had a black hilt with gold filigree as decoration. It's blade was virgin of blood or nicks and deadly sharp. The Queen wanted her to plunge it in her heart to finish what she'd started. But that would only give the Queen exactly what she wanted.

So Belle kept the dagger, not to use it on herself, but to have it serve as a reminder of her purpose. There had to be another way to break this curse. This dagger would serve her well in her quest to find it.

Belle checked over everything in her satchel: two books, a change of clothing, some food, and a waterskin. Her short sword was at her waist as was the Queen's gift to her. The dagger had been of use to her more than once and she intended to return it to Regina once she made it to Storybrooke. Proof that True Love would always win in the end.

The last thing she did was tie Rumplestiltskin's cravat around her neck. It was the only token she had of him, one she had never meant to bring with her but now she treasured more than anything else. It was ragged and dirty now, despite how she'd cared for it, but sometimes she could even remember his scent when she had it close to her like this.

Fynn was waiting for her outside of her cottage, also ready to go though he had the look of a man being drafted to a suicide quest. "You don't have to go," Belle told him.

"Neither do you."

"I want to."

"And I want to make sure you're safe, this is the only way."

That touched her so deeply. She reached up and gently cupped his cheek for a moment. "My dear friend," she told him. He was her dearest friend. She would miss him greatly when she left this world. She wished he would come with her, but knew he wouldn't. He would have no place in Storybrooke, nor did he wish to have one at all.

Belle enjoyed the weight of the satchel on her shoulder. It was heavy, but it held the promise that this quest could very well be her last. She could finally find Rumplestiltskin and be whole again.

They took small boat to the mainland where Duncan ran a stables. Mulan was already their, assessing the horses with a critical eye and even Mary Margaret seemed to be throwing out some suggestions. It was easy to forget that she was from this world and had been a queen once. Emma looked at the animals like they were diseased. Well, she had said that riding horses was mostly a pastime in her world and not common for transportation any longer.

"Oh, Belle, hello," Mary Margaret said when she saw her and waved, "Are you ready to go?"

"I've been ready for twenty-eight years," Belle replied.

Mulan handed her the reins of a grey horse with soft eyes. Belle rubbed the mare's nose before climbing into the saddle. She watched as Fynn helped Emma into hers, the woman giving him a smile and a grateful, "Thanks."

The dirt path through the forest stretched out before them. Belle had ridden that road many times, but this time she saw it was more promise. At last she was finally on the way to finding Rumplestiltskin. Her horse walked at her first prodding and she smiled, patting her with gratitude.

Soon, she promised her leaping heart, very soon.

A/N: So Mary Margaret and Emma believe Belle is not the woman Rumplestiltskin spoke of and Fynn is determined to keep Belle in Fairy Tale World. Any ideas on how Belle will change their minds? What did you all think of this latest chapter? Please review.

Next chapter: The group fights the ogres, we find out how Fynn joined Belle, Mulan and Phillip and Emma encourages Fynn to win Belle's affections, but soon learns that maybe she shouldn't be so hasty to think Belle isn't the one Rumplestiltskin loves.