A/N: The nor'easter is currently battering us with snow at the moment. So, I decided to try to work on my story. Hoping you are all safe and warm!

Love, Joanne.

"Please don't go," sighed Mr. Gold as we stood on his porch in the doorway.

"I have work tomorrow," I said with a small smile. "But I promise, I will be all yours after my shift ends at 4pm. Promise."

"Then I will hold you to that, Miss Belle," said Mr. Gold as he kissed me hungrily. It left me feeling weak kneed and woozy, and I stumbled down the stairs as I headed back towards my empty, lonely house before throwing myself down on my bed and falling fast asleep.

I woke the next morning when my alarm clock went off. I quickly showered, dressed, got something to eat, and raced out of the door to go to work. Today, I had to open the store. I rolled up the metallic curtain, and unlocked the door, and turned all of the lights on.

"Let's hope Sneezy didn't leave me much work to clean up after," I muttered. I walked to the customer service desk, and then jumped with a small squeak as someone tapped me on the shoulder. "AH!"

"Excuse me," said a heavily accented voice. I turned to see who had tapped me on the shoulder, and my eyes widened as I took in the person. He wore cowboy attire with boots and a cowboy hat. In between his legs was, and I am not making this up, a pony on a stick, one of those toys for little children. And this man was no child. "I am looking for something. Can you help me?"

"Sure," I said hesitatingly. "What do you need help finding?"

"This Caballero needs some water for his filly here," said the cowboy as he petted the head of his horse. "Do you know where I can get some water?"

"Um…" I said, wondering what kind of acid this guy was on. "Okay, follow me."

The spurs on his boots jingled as he clip clopped behind me as I walked to the aisle where we kept out bottled water. "What brand would you like?"

"WHOA! Down, Rosie!" said the nut job cowboy as he tried to "control" his horse. The act was starting to get old with me fast. "I'll take a canteen full of water."

He held up his canteen that had the initials DQ emblazoned on it. I rolled my eyes. "Nice try," I said. "This joke is getting old. I get that you want me to think you are a cowboy, but this is a bit much. Now, if you don't mind, tell me what you want."

"You can't fill my canteen?" asked the strange cowboy. "But I thought you sell water?"

"Okay, whoever you are, please leave," I said, pointing to the door.

"I'm sorry… Belle," said the man as he read my nametag. "I just need to buy some water. I do not mean to be confusing. I am on a quest to find water for both my steed and I."

"Okay," I said, taking a deep breath. "Do you want the bargain brand or the expensive stuff?"

"Bargain," said the man. "I don't have much money."

"Okay, follow me," I said as I led him to the checkout lanes. I checked him out and he paid for his water. "Thank you."

"You're quite welcome," said the stranger as he flashed a winning smile. "Finally, the great cowboy, Donnie Quest has gotten water for himself and his noble horse, Rosie! Thanks to the lovely tavern maid, Belle, I can now go off in my quest to avenge my lady Didi, and rescue her from the evil henchman Malvolio!"

"Okay, good luck with that," I said, getting weirded out by this strange man.

"One kiss, good lady," said the man who called himself Donnie Quest. He took my hand in his, and kissed it.

"Really, it's not necessary to do that," I blushed, embarrassed at his pushiness as customers began to enter the store and gape at us with their mouths open. "I really need to get back to work."

"You heard the lady," said a rough voice that made me turn red and freeze. "Leave now, and you can keep your limbs."

I slowly looked up, and saw that Mr. Gold glowering at the two of us. Donnie Quest took one look at Mr. Gold's face, and took off at a gallop, making the clopping noises with his tongue. "I insist you quit this infernal job at once!" hissed Mr. Gold angrily. "What in God's name was that?"

"I haven't a clue," I said shakily. "And I thought we agreed I would stay here until my two weeks are up, which, by the way, it has only been one day."

Mr. Gold growled in frustration. "Where is that dipshit Clark?"

"It's his day off," I said, trying to calm him down. "I opened the store."

"YOU?!" exclaimed Mr. Gold. "Oh, I am going to rip that sniveling snotball a new asshole. To let you open up the store by yourself?"

"I can handle things," I said defiantly.

"Apparently not," countered Mr. Gold. "If I hadn't come into this pathetic store, who knows what would have happened?"

"I would have been fine," I said, gritting my teeth. "I've been doing this job for a few years now. It's not a big deal."

Mr. Gold grabbed the loudspeaker and turned it on. "Attention all customers," he boomed. "Save Mart is now closed. If you all do not leave right now, I will triple your rent!"

There was a large stampede towards the door, and I groaned in frustration. Mr. Clark was going to have my ass once he saw the sales for today. Calmly, Mr. Gold switched the sign in the window from OPEN to CLOSED, pulled down the iron curtain, and locked the door. "You are going to pay for your insolence," said Mr. Gold as he took a step towards me. "I don't tolerate people who do not obey me, Miss French."

The Dark One fumed in his castle as Belle stormed out. He watched the beauty race towards the dark forest, and called upon his dark powers to bring her back. To his surprise, the imp could not do it. "What?!" he growled, knocking over one of his many collectibles. "Zoso, why will you not bring her to me?! Fine, then bring me to the girl!"

He remained in his castle, still angry and fuming at the fact that he could not use his powers to bring back Belle. "Fine, if I cannot use my magic, I will find her without it!"

Belle ran through the dark forest, stumbling over fallen branches, tripping over tree roots, and getting snagged on by brambles. Belle sobbed as she kept running, until she had tripped over a large tree root, and fell to the leave-strewn ground. "My ankle," gasped Belle through her tears, realizing that she was now unable to get back up. "Oh gods, what have I gotten myself into?"

There was a low growl, and a pair of glowing red eyes appeared through the darkness. Belle let out a bloodcurdling scream as the wolf appeared before her, growling and frothing at the mouth.

Rumplestilzkin, who had just entered the forest, followed the beauty's screams, and found her trying to fight off the wolf. "YOU WILL NOT HARM HER!" shouted Rumplestilzkin as he stood in between them. The beauty watched in amazement as the wolf took a small step towards the Dark One, and then began to whimper before he scampered off. The imp turned to Belle. "Why did you run into the dark forest?!"

Belle could not find the words to speak. She covered her face with her hands, and Rumplestilzkin sighed wearily, and picked the beauty up. She curled into him, putting her arms around his neck. He carried her as he walked all the way back to the Dark Castle in silence. "M-m-my ankle," shook Belle with tears. "It's broken."

The Dark One gently set her down on one of his many comfy wing backed chairs, and took her ankle in his hands. He muttered some ancient spell, knowing it would heal her and as the bones mended, would not cause her any pain. "If you would have never run away, you wouldn't have almost gotten yourself killed by a damn wolf!" he screamed angrily. "Why? Why did you have to run from me?! GODS BE DAMNED!"

He took the teakettle and smashed it against the wall. Other objects in his path also met the same fate, shattering against the wall with a crash. Belle became very frightened. "WHY BELLE?! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO BE LIKE HER?!"

Rumplestilzkin fell to his knees before the beauty, and to her surprise, she found that he was sobbing. "Who is her?" asked Belle softly.

"Mila."