Back in the dark castle, rumplestiltskin was struggling. Without belle he felt more isolated than ever before. He spend the majority of his days at his spinning wheel, attempting to forget everything he had lost, but nothing worked. Weeks passed, he had tried to track belle with no success, this was a loss that he couldn't overcome. It drove him to the brink of inanity until one day, he was so deeply lost in his sorrow that he took a potion to forget her. He would only be able to remember her once he set eyes upon her again but he knew this would never happen. Once he had taken the potion he was happier. He returned to his usual self, making deals and fighting fellow villains and heroes.

Meanwhile belle was in the underworld. Saying she was unhappy was an understatement. She was miserable, trapped down there, unaware of what her unfinished business was. She had no friends and spent every day alone, either reading about magic or walking. She had missed going on long walks while she was trapped in the tower. But it wasn't living. She longed to return to the real world although she knew that was an impossibility. The weeks turned into months and her boredom gradually turned into depression, knowing this was her fate for eternity.