After several attempts to get FFN to cooperate, it's finally letting me upload this chapter. There's only one more after this, so get ready for full speed until the end! Thanks so much to elli.O. for her excellent beta job and thank you to all my readers who faithfully follow this story.

Oh mama, I'm in fear for my life from the long arm of the law…

Hangman is coming' down from the gallows and I don't have very long

~"Renegade", Styx

The ceiling of the throne room rose high above her head, creating the feeling of being in the bottom of a deep valley. On the walls were rich tapestries, but they were not enough to reduce the booming echo of every sound. The long aisle was lined with high-backed chairs on risers for those who wished to witness the king's rulings. Most of them were filled, all the court coming to see the happenings of the day.

The trial of Princess Belle of Avonlea and her lover.

Red sat near the front in one of the chairs. It was hard and uncomfortably rigid. Across from her, Sir Gaston sat perfectly straight, looking every bit the perfect knight. On the platform at the front was King George's throne, empty for the moment. Beside him was another empty chair—Charming's—and then one for Snow. She sat with one arm supporting her head, looking as if she wanted nothing more than to be elsewhere.

Regina sat down next to Red, looking as regal as ever, power coursing through the air around her. Red nodded in greeting. Charming was in charge of the prisoners, so the only one of their company missing was Hook.

"It won't be long," Regina said. "I spoke to the Captain of the Guard. Charming just went down to fetch the prisoners."

"I don't know if I can do this," Red said. She turned to face Regina, her hands twisting and untwisting the skirt of her gown. "Belle is my friend—"

Regina caught Red's hands, guiding them away from the destruction of her skirt. "Friends don't betray friends," she said. "If Belle cared about you, she wouldn't have done this."

"But—"

"It's for Graeme," Regina said. "That's why you need to do this. Testify for Graeme. This is how you must honor his memory."

Red took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright," she said. "Just… be here for me?"

"Every moment," Regina said, smiling. Red tried to mimic the sorceress' composure. Regina was her true friend. And she had to testify. For Graeme.

"Dammit," Belle muttered as the ink pad fell onto the floor, face down of course. She picked it up and put it back on the desk. The next book was stamped with a little more force than necessary. And there was a nice square of black ink on the tile. Yet another problem for today. First her inspiration had dried up, now she had to deal with ink on the floor. Fantastic.

She was kneeling on the floor, cleaning up the mess when the library's door opened.

"Belle?" Mary Margaret called.

"Here!" She stood, her hands full of black-stained paper towels. "I just dropped the stamp…"

Behind Mary Margaret was Ruby. Belle bit her lip to keep herself from saying anything she'd regret, though she wasn't sure she'd regret much at this point. Her anger with Ruby hadn't lessened in the few days since she'd found out. It wasn't even that she'd never intended to show Ruby her story—she'd wanted to. Eventually. The hurt was more that Ruby had taken without asking.

Dumping the paper towels in the trash, Belle turned her back to Mary Margaret, gathering the next set of books to be checked in. When she turned back, Mary Margaret and Red had come to lean against the desk.

"How are you doing?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Fine."

"You know you can tell us if something's wrong."

Belle slammed a stack of books down on the desk so Mary Margaret had to remove her arms from it. "Nothing's wrong."

"I'm worried about you," Mary Margaret continued. "You're not yourself."

"Killian says you told him the WiFi password," Ruby said.

"I messed up. It happens." Belle stamped the next book, again rather forcefully, but this time not out of annoyance with the ink pad.

"That's not all," Mary Margaret said. "You were supposed to get lunch with me earlier this week."

"I was?" Belle asked. She didn't care. She should, but she was sick of her friends' worry. She had enough on her plate without meddlesome friends.

"It's becoming a pattern, Belle," Ruby said. "You're forgetting things, you're distant."

"At first we thought it was just the story," Mary Margaret said. "But then it's continued and it's getting worse. You're not the same person anymore."

Side effect of learning your soul is split, Belle thought. She glared at Ruby.

"Of course you'd blame it on the story," she said. "Look, I'm fine. Just because you stole my things doesn't give you the right to march in here—get out."

"What else has changed?" Mary Margaret asked. "You've been like this since you started writing. There's no other possible cause."

"What has? I'm fine. And so is my writing," Belle snapped. "It's important to me. Getting this idea was the best thing that ever happened to me."

"No it isn't!" Ruby cried. "It's unhealthy. You're too attached. It's your whole life. It's changing you. That's not good."

"So what? I say it's good," Belle said. "Now do you have a purpose here other than to critique my life?"

"We think you need to see Dr. Hopper," Mary Margaret said.

"What?"

"Just a few times. It's for your own good. We just want to make sure you're alright." She took a card from her bag. "We set up an appointment for you. Later this afternoon, once you get off work. Please, Belle, we're worried."

"You're worried, so you set me up with the town shrink?" Belle was fuming. "How dare you?"

"Look," Ruby said. "If there's nothing wrong, it can't do any harm."

"There's nothing wrong. I've been busy and forgotten a few things, that's all."

"What about Mr. Gold?" Mary Margaret asked. Belle paused, confused. They couldn't know, could they— "You've been seeing him all of a sudden. And then you were asking me if he was real. Belle, that's not good."

"And Geoffrey was at Granny's last night talking about how you called him 'Gaston'," Ruby added. Of course. She knew who Gaston was. Because she'd read the story. Belle should have known that slip up wouldn't get past her. "You're mixing up fantasy and reality."

Belle didn't say anything. Her jaw was clenched tight. They couldn't know. They wouldn't understand. It had taken long enough for her to start to believe.

"Come later today," Mary Margaret said. "Here's the information." She slid the card closer to Belle. "Please."

Ruby and Mary Margaret left, Belle glaring at their backs as they went. Once the doors shut behind them, Belle ripped up the card and threw the pieces away.

"Well, that didn't go as well as I hoped," Mary Margaret said. She sat down across from Ruby at the diner's counter. "I thought she'd at least listen to us."

"Is this the part where I get to say 'I told you so'?" Ruby asked, tying her apron around her waist. She gathered a mug for hot chocolate. Mary Margaret would need it. Ruby hadn't been so optimistic about confronting Belle. She'd tried that once. It didn't go well. Yes, she'd been wrong to read Belle's story, but her intentions had been good.

"No, it's not," Mary Margaret said, frowning. "This is serious. Belle isn't in her right mind. It's not a time for petty arguments and jokes."

"What do you suggest we do, then?" Ruby asked. She waited impatiently for the machine to finish filling the mug.

"We can't let her see Gold," Mary Margaret said. "He's got something to do with all of this. And he's trouble. Because Belle liked him so much, we overlooked the fact that he's the town monster. I'm starting to wonder if that was a mistake."

Ruby nodded and covered the surface of the hot chocolate with whipped cream, then added a bit of cinnamon before handing it to Mary Margaret.

"We need to make sure she sees Hopper," Mary Margaret continued. The door of the diner slammed. Frowning, Ruby looked over. "It's only Regina," Mary Margaret said. "Her usual bad moods."

"Right. You were saying?"

"Hopper could help Belle, no matter what's really going on. We need to make sure she sees him."

"The only question is how to get her there," Ruby said. This was going to be more difficult than it seemed.

The doors to the throne room groaned as they opened. Belle and Rum stepped forward, careful to walk in time with one another, for their feet and hands were chained to the same rope. The ill-lit room was full of the lords and ladies of the court, all seated along the side, watching the prisoners enter with piercing eyes. Belle was suddenly aware of the thin shift she'd been given to wear. At least it was clean. Somewhat. The worst of all the gazes came from the far end of the hall, where King George sat in blood red velvet on his raised throne.

Nearest to the back were those with the least status. They looked at the prisoners with some sort of awe—or perhaps astonishment that a princess could fall so far. The high ceiling only made their stares more ominous. The aisle the guards led them down felt more like a cage than anything else. They were on display. Belle clenched her fists; she knew better than to grab for Rum's hand.

Those in the center of the room whispered as Belle and Rum passed. They exchanged what information they knew of Belle and of her mysterious lover. Rumors of Graeme and his death. Words muttered behind hands loud enough to be heard by all who sat nearby. Such was the nature of court gossip.

At the front of the room were the seats of those immediately involved in the case. They passed Regina and Red first. Both wore black mourning clothes. The former sat tall, her features betraying the hint of a smirk. The latter slumped against Regina, a handkerchief balled up in her hands. A pang of guilt struck Belle. She wanted nothing more than to make things right with Red, her dear friend. Yet it was too late. The choices had been made, the board had been set early on. Now they all had to pay the price.

In the front row of seats across from them sat Snow, the spot next to her empty and waiting for her husband, who walked behind the prisoners. There were dark circles under her eyes and she sipped from a glass of water. It shook when she held it with only one hand. Snow was yet another victim of this—someone else Belle could have protected.

Most of the seats around Snow were empty. There was only Gaston and a woman Belle didn't know. There was something… familiar about her though. She was older, stately. Yet it was her eyes that were most striking: they were deep, old, and full of hate.

Belle and Rum were brought past the rows of seats, up to a small gate before the dais, to which they were chained.

King George stood. The court rose with him.

"Princess Belle of Avonlea, you stand accused of unfaithfulness to your betrothed, Sir Gaston of Firthana. You and your lover will be tried for adultery and punished together, as the evidence warrants. How to you plead?"

Before either of them could speak, Gaston stepped forward.

"They plead guilty, Your Majesty."

"Very well," the King said without a glance at the prisoners. Again, he addressed the assembly: "To determine the punishment due to the severity of the crime, may those relevant persons now step forward to testify."

This time it was Charming who stepped forward. His whole body was tense, but his face stony and impassive. "First we present to Your Majesty Lady Rose Red of Anorien to bear witness of the crime."

He turned to help Red down from her seat, keeping his hand on her back as she stepped forward. Her eyes never wavered from the King. She seemed small, broken—not to win favor in the trial, but simply because she was capable of nothing else.

"I was betrothed to the Huntsman, Graeme," she began in a thin, wavering voice. "He had intended to marry Belle…"

She described her relationship with Graeme and his death, her words never pausing or changing their cadence. Belle knew everything she would say. Her focus was on how grief-stricken her friend looked. Never before had Red been so… attached. Graeme's death had been a blow to them all, but more so to Red than she had expected.

Red finished her testimony and stepped back. Charming led her to her seat as the court whispered among themselves. Belle tried not to think what they might be saying. Rum wouldn't look at her. His eyes had been fixed ahead the whole time, staring at a spot above the king's head.

"Now we present to Your Majesty Lady Regina, Countess of Ereamath the Lost, to bear witness of the crime," Charming announced.

"I suspected Belle's infidelity first at the masquerade ball," Regina said, her voice smooth and precise. It echoed throughout the hall, filling the ears of each person. "When she danced with this stranger, her movements were simply too animated. I had not seen such happiness on her face in years, not since her early days with Graeme. But still, a smile on the face of a dancing girl is no proof of infidelity."

Belle's heart sank in her chest. She knew this was Regina's doing. If Belle had not won the position of company leader, Regina would not have looked for a way to bring her down. And truly, there was no reason to start with the ball expect to send a message: this wasn't about Belle's loves, it was about her new position. This wasn't justice, it was revenge.

"I'd often noticed Belle going missing during our last mission," Regina said. "Yet I could never find any trace of where she might go. It wasn't until after Graeme's death that I spotted her: she was in the arms of a strange man and she whispered her love for him."

There was a gasp from the assembly. Belle heart sank further.

"The pair did not see me, and when we returned to the Castle, I hoped that she would have enough sense to end her dalliance with him once engaged to another. It seems I was wrong. The morning following the ball, I was in the library and I overheard their next meeting. There they made plans to meet in her chambers that night. It was then that I confided my findings in Red, hoping for support in catching Belle. Although it pained me greatly, I reported the meeting to the Capitan of the Guard, Lady Emma. That night we apprehended them in the midst of a passionate embrace."

With a bow, Regina stepped back. "That is all, Your Majesty."

She returned to her seat without Charming's help.

"Finally, Sir Gaston of Firthana will say his part," Charming announced. The man in question came forward, a swagger in his step. Belle doubted he cared one wit what happened here today.

"It grieves me to hear what my fiancée has done," he said. "The bonds of trust between us have been broken. I cannot imagine all the ways this will ruin our coming marriage. I ask Your Majesty only to punish her justly, with all she deserves, and all the more so to her lover."

He stepped back, and Belle could not remain silent.

"Lords and Ladies of Firthana! Your Majesty!" she cried. "I beg you to hear my part, as unwarranted as it may be."

The guards stepped forwards to restrain her, but Charming held up his hand. King George's mouth flattened in displeasure.

"I stand before you now, guilty only of love. My first love, Graeme, was ripped from me and given to my friend by arbitrary order, without consideration for our years together. Though hurt, I accepted this injustice with all good grace. I parted here with little bitterness and a resolve to move on. From there, I fell in love once again. I met this man who stands beside me. He pulled me from my grief for my first love and showed me that some are granted not just one True Love, but two. My feelings for Graeme faded to friendship as I embraced my new love.

"My return to you was shadowed by the death of my friend and comrade. My only comfort came from love. Yet upon my return, I was forced—yes, threatened even—to accept an engagement to a man for whom I had neither affection nor knowledge. I was given no choice, nor a chance to plead for my pre-existing love.

"Still, I assure you I have not violated my obligations to Sir Gaston in deed, only in the direction of my heart. So I confess to you now one thing only: love. Not unfaithfulness, not to the breaking of vows.

"Let me go! I beg you, for I have done no true wrong. I have only done what I could in the situations before me. My love is pure and I have been granted much of it. Are any of these truly crimes? Are they worthy of punishment? Instead, let us go. We will part, never to return. For truly, I can never love my fiancé, I can never be his wife. Not when my heart is sealed most truly to another. For sealed it is—"

"Silence!"

King George stood, the court following suit after a second of surprise.

"Before us today, we have a great tragedy," he said. "One of our best and brightest has fallen. Once a warrior and leader, soon to be the wife of a noble man, Princess Belle has instead committed herself to a stranger, one not worthy of her affections. She has betrayed her vows and now is reduced to begging for pity. Such a shame has not been seen here in memory, and we pray it never will again."

He walked forward until he stood on the edge of the dais, as close to the prisoners as possible without stepping down to their level.

"In light of the testimonies given today, and the seriousness of your crimes, I hereby strip you, Belle, of all of your titles. Your positions and honors will be given to others and your line ended. And now, to you both: tomorrow morning at dawn, you will be put to death, as you well deserve."

"As you well deserve," the assembly echoed.

The guards came forward and unlocked the chains from the gate. Roughly, Belle and Rum were turned, and then marched back down the aisle.

Belle pulled on her coat. Over the course of the day, she'd done every menial task possible around the library and no writing. The words had simply stopped. The other Belle and Rum had been thrown in prison, and then her inspiration had dried up. She simply couldn't come up with anything that might come next.

She needed to talk to Mr. Gold. That's what it was. He'd know what had gone wrong. Maybe it was something to do with the curse.

Flipping off the lights, Belle locked the library door behind her. She needed to see Gold, that's all. She was close to the story's end, she could feel it. Or the end of whatever—sometimes it was best not to think outside the terms of a story. The metaphor of a story seemed to simplify reality a great deal.

As she walked down the sidewalk, she hummed to herself. It wasn't really a tune, but it wasn't not a tune either. It was merely something to distract herself from her worries.

"Belle!" Mary Margaret called as she passed Granny's. Her tune stopped abruptly. Bracing herself, Belle kept walking resolutely. "Belle!"

A hand caught her arm. It was Ruby, Mary Margaret only a step behind her, breathing hard after running to catch up.

"Where are you going?" Mary Margaret asked.

"What is it to you?" Belle asked coldly, wrenching her arm from Ruby's grip.

"Dr. Hopper's is that way." Mary Margaret pointed behind them. "Your appointment is in just a few minutes, remember?"

"I'm not going!" Belle snapped, louder than she intended. A few passersby stopped and stared. "You can't make me."

"It's for you own good," Ruby said, grabbing Belle's arm again.

"Let me go!" Belle shouted, wrenching her arm away. She backed away, breathing hard.

And then the words came.

They poured from her lips, she could not stop them. She didn't know what they were or where they came from, but they seemed as natural as anything she could have said. They echoed off the buildings and filled the street, projecting louder than she could have imagined. The words had power.

"I beg you, for I have done no true wrong. I have only done what I could in the situations before me. My love is pure and I have been granted much of it. Are any of these truly crimes? Are they worthy of punishment? Instead, let us go. We will part, never to return. For truly, I can never love my fiancé, I can never be his wife. Not when my heart is sealed most truly to another. For sealed it is—"

A shock ran through her body, as if she had been struck by lightning. She broke off, doubling over, still backing away.

Around, a small crowd had gathered, looks of confusion on their faces. Aloud. She'd said that aloud.

"Belle?" Mary Margaret asked, stepping forward.

Belle held up a hand. "Don't! Stay away from me!"

"You're not in your right mind," Ruby said. "You need to see Dr. Hopper." More and more people were gathering. Most were curious, but stood at a distance, unsure what to do or how to react.

"No!" Belle shouted. "I need Mr. Gold. He can help." Hands seized her upper arms. "Don't touch me!" she whirled around. It was Regina. A sudden rage came upon her and she raised her arm.

It hit Regina across the face.

Crying out, Regina fell back. From the crowd, Emma rushed forward. She grabbed Belle, forcing her hands behind her back and cuffing them. Belle didn't resist. Directly in front of her, some distance away, stood Cora, a wicked smile on her stately face.