Her son had looked at her with an expression she could now, sickeningly, liken to Snow White and her blasted daughter. But it wasn't just theirs, it was his too, and she couldn't refuse his puppy dog eyes. So with a shaky smile she had stood and defied Rumplestiltskin once more. She had put her hands over the well and absorbed the magic, that raw, unadulterated power, thus allowing safe passage to whoever came through. She fell back against a tree and offered up another shaky smile, with an even more broken apology. But then a hand shot out of the well, and Swan's wrist followed by her red leather sleeve forced its way back into Storybrooke. She tumbled onto the forest floor and turned to pull her mother out, just as Rumplestiltskin walked away past the Werewolf, and her son leaped forward to embrace his mother. Henry said Regina saved them and Swan said her mother 'is a piece of work', and she could only smile once more. But when the Sheriff - Emma - offered up a hesitant smile of her own, Regina thought that maybe it would be okay if she played on the side of good for a while.
After the others had left, Aurora had sat for a while, shifting uncomfortably every few minutes, not saying anything. Then she looked up to see that the Beauty, Belle, was running her fingers along the walls of the dark cell and murmuring to herself. So the Princess had watched her for a while as she explored every nook, cranny and crack the bare stone walls had to offer. But after a while she had grown impatient with all the constant pacing, and called the Beauty over to her. And so Belle had sat opposite her, waiting for Aurora to say something. But the Princess hadn't thought it through, and she asked the first thing that came to mind. "How did you get your scars?"
She hadn't expected a nice story, but she had hoped it wouldn't be something so cruel. Poor Belle had been heading back to her True Love (and Aurora was ignoring for the moment the fact that said True Love was actually Rumplestiltskin, the Dark One) when Her Grace the Queen Regina had found her. She had been seized by the Queen's men and thrown into a cage barely bigger than a person in height, and about the right size for a child to lie across in both length and width. She had called for Mulan and Phillip, hoping against hope that they were nearby (the story of the Yaoguai had already been told). Unfortunately for Belle they had not been nearby, and for some two days she was forced to endure being hit with the swords and the torches of the guards. But thankfully, finally, Mulan and Phillip had found her. It had been difficult for the cage to move quickly over the uneven floor of the forest, and the tracks it left were deep indentations in the soil. That and the heavy boot prints, and Belle's abandoned book, caused both Phillip and Mulan an enormous amount of alarm. They had gone back to the edge of the forest when Mulan said she had a bad feeling, which Phillip hadn't questioned, and they immediately realized something was amiss. So they followed the tracks until they came upon a small procession lead by a regal woman on her horse, a bearded man beside her and a great white wolf. They were certain the man had spotted them, but after a moment of staring he had tilted his head in the direction of a cage a couple of his Lady's men were baring. Upon seeing the unconscious form within it, Mulan had leaped forwards in anger.
After that things had become hazy for Belle, but she remembered the slow, lumbering journey to the Healer's village, which became their safe haven nigh on a year later when the curse struck. Phillip, Mulan and the Healer's limited magic had saved Belle's life, but they had not been able to heal the scars. Belle said she didn't mind, but Aurora was saddened by the sight of them when the other woman removed her boots and lifted up her skirts to the knee. Burns wrapped around her ankles, and lashes decorated her shins. Aurora had asked if Belle hated the Queen (Regina, they had later learnt) the way that Aurora hated Maleficent, but oddly enough Belle said no. Regina had her reasons for hating her, and her reasons for anger, but Belle found it hard to hate her back. There were strong feelings of resentment, certainly, but Belle felt that if she were to meet the 'Evil Queen' then she would not have the urge to stab her through the heart. At least, not immediately.
There were a few moments of silence after that revelation, and Aurora reflected on whether or not she would wish harm upon Maleficent; in the end, she didn't think she would. After the silence became too much Aurora asked another question. "How did you meet Rumplestiltskin?"
Another story later (through which she watched Belle smile unconsciously at every other word), a very brief description of the deal she made, and Aurora let out a loud gasp. "You're that Belle!?"
Belle had sat with the Princess for what felt like hours, explaining how she had met Mulan and Phillip, and in turn how she had received her scars. When Aurora asked how it was she knew Rumple, she didn't even hesitate to answer. She realized her mistake at the other woman's shocked gasp, but thankfully Mulan returned bare moments later. Belle moved to Aurora's side to make room for the Warrior, and from this new angle could see what the darker woman held in her grasp. Gently cradled in her hands was a beating, throbbing heart. Nervously meeting the gaze of the brunette's she put her hands in place above the Princess' chest, just as said Princess asked "Have you ever done this before?" Mulan answered the negative, and then with all the care in the world pushed her hands through Aurora's rib cage, as though her body was no barrier. She released the heart back in its rightful place, removing her hands, and along with Belle held her breath (fingers fluttering) as the Princess lost consciousness.
With a sudden gasp Aurora was awake again, and Belle and Mulan looked to each other with matching grins. After a moment though their grins faded and Mulan asked "Now what?" Belle was subdued with no response, but Aurora immediately piped up with very welcome news. When Phillip was killed by the Wraith he was not killed at all, but rather separated from his soul, which was transported to another realm. "So we shall save him, then?" Belle queried, and the others nodded an affirmative. "So... How?"