There was something missing, something still to be learned. What was it?! They'd stared at that scroll for a long time after Emma told her about it. Elsa translated the ruins as best as she could and answered another question for them. This was how she'd gotten to Storybrooke. The scroll, the words, there was something magical about them. A certain phrase toward the end directed the reader to a small wooded area that seemed uninhabited, but it was much more than that. "What is hidden lies in plain sight, for the moment you finish reading this line, the unseen will become visible." It was a key. A spell of some sort to get into Storybrooke the "place the Savior was destined to return" as the prophecy put it. How the Snow Queen, Ingrid, had gotten it was a complete mystery, but that wasn't the only one.

As soon as they'd made the discovery she'd gone back to the library, promising the others that she'd continue her research on Ingrid. But they'd all agreed that it would only get a night of research because it was more or less satisfying a curiosity. The mirror was the real thing they needed to know about. But since she hadn't found many books missing information, she figured there was no harm in going over what they had to offer first, before turning her attention to the mirror and The Spell of Shattered Sight.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much to find. It was only the books that had originally belonged to Arendelle that were missing the information, those from The Enchanted Forest appeared untouched which was why the heraldry books had worked. But those books only ever briefly touched on the royal family if at all! Some of them were so old they'd been written before Elsa's great grandmother had taken the throne. And when she finally sat down with the books from Arendelle and the special powder that she'd created to return the information for them, she realized there was little to find.

She finished dusting the books and set the powder aside as she waited for the final sentences to return and read. The first book, the one that was missing three pages of ink, laid the ground work. Queen Sonja and King Harald, Elsa's grandparents, they'd had three beautiful daughters: Ingrid, Helga, and Gerda. The eldest was Ingrid and she was considered humble. She frequently declined trips to foreign countries and invitations to balls in favor of studying. However, according to the book, though few ever saw her, she was a fine choice for a future Queen. As were the other two. Raised and trained in the same arts and skills Ingrid was, it was believed the girls, when they finally came of age, would enter into marriages that would suite other Kingdoms, giving them strong skilled leaders just as Arendelle would receive. She shivered at that fact, remembering that back then all this meant was that the two girls would be offered up to the highest bidder, married, forced to have children…

Would those scars ever heal for her? Was it her imagination, or did they only seem to get worse every morning she woke up and lived a life of true happiness, one she'd been able to find and make for herself?

She swallowed deeply and moved on to the next book. The second book she looked over, the one that had been missing bits and pieces of sentences was much more interesting if only because it gave her gibberish! It had all the same information the original had, a little more even. In this book the three girls were grown. The author was looking to the future, even identifying a couple of suitors for the middle sister when all of a sudden it just stopped! It was like the author had a change of mind half way through the epoch. The bits and pieces that hadn't been taken away…it was as if whatever magic was responsible for removing the words had simply been trying to write around what was already there. What started with "Queen Sonja gave birth to…a girl…they called their…child Gerda….Gerda…grew in wisdom and strength and…the subject of many fine suitors that attempted to steal…hearts…" under the influence of the dust quickly became:

"Queen Sonja gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, their first child and heir to the Arendelle throne Ingrid. A couple of years later they were given their second child, Helga. Finally, after a few more years had passed they welcomed another child into the world, also a girl, and they called their youngest child Gerda."

On and on the information filled out until nearly the end of the book. "Though Ingrid is expected to take the throne, both Helga and Gerda are expected to follow in her footsteps in other kingdoms. They shall both-

"Finally the Princess found the love that she had been waiting for and married quickly with the blessings of her parents. King Harald died six months after the wedding from poisoning, Queen Sonja followed soon after, many believe she died of a broken heart. But from the shattered remains of heart break Arendelle managed to pick up the pieces because of their courageous Prince and Princess. As is custom, their daughter, the only heir to the Arendelle throne Gerda and her husband ascended to the throne bearing the weight of every heavy heart in the kingdom. Only a year later they gave birth to the next Arendelle heir, a girl, named Elsa."

It was perplexing, to say the least! It wasn't out of the ordinary for histories to be written by multiple people, like a journey filled in by multiple authors as others died but…this?! One minute Ingrid and Gerda had been there and they were shining gems, everything that a royal princess should be. And then they were just gone. Gerda was an only child. It was as if they'd never existed.

It was something, but not enough to answer her questions. Only give her more! Despite the strange change of tone in the second account, the books told the tale of a seemingly perfect family. And why wouldn't they? These books were created to make the royal family look perfect! But she was royalty, she knew what lay beyond false facades that historians created. Lies, scandals, secrets. No family was this perfect, which could only mean they'd been hiding something, looking at Ingrid and Elsa's power…she suspected she knew what it was.

"Belle?"

She nearly jumped out of her skin when he called out for her. It took her a moment before she finally managed to pull herself together to address her husband, standing there in the threshold of the reading room. "You scared me. What are you doing here?" she questioned.

"Looking for you," he muttered almost disappointed coming into the room and examining it as if he'd never been here before in his life. "You weren't at the house or the shop…library is always my next best guess."

At the house? Because it was dark. She glanced up at the clock on the wall and nearly gasped to see how late it was, how long she'd been here! And he…he'd come looking for her. After everything that had happened today he'd still come looking for her? "Yes…sorry I…I lost track of the time," she excused, suddenly feeling every bit as awkward and shy as when he'd held her in the shop, just after they'd gotten back. Another side effect of guilt. Was she doomed to feel this strange around him forever? Would it wear off one day? Did she really deserve to have it wear off one day?

"I uh…I talked to Elsa," she commented as he pulled the chair next to her out. "And Emma and Hook," she added, her throat suddenly dry. How was he so comfortable around her this quickly? He shouldn't be! No one could be that forgiving! Could they?

"And what did they tell you?" he asked, suddenly interested in the books she had on the table.

"Between what they know and what we know…we know the Snow Queen's plan. I came back here to do a bit of research on her motivation and I just…"

"Lost track of time, you mentioned that," he provided, absent-mindedly reaching for the scroll. "There's magic in this."

She nodded. "We think it's how The Snow Queen got into Storybrooke," she explained taking it from him and showing him the final lines. "We don't know where she got it or who gave it to her or even if she did it herself but somehow it got her into the town during the curse, before the cloaking spell came down."

"Now how did she manage that..." he muttered distantly enough for her to know that he was just pondering it himself and didn't really expect her to answer. He was thinking of something, maybe remembering something or-

Suddenly he set the scroll down and reached over her, snatching the bowl of dust up with one hand. Whatever he found so fascinating about the scroll would have to wait. His curiosity had found something else to explore. He looked it over for a second, smelled it quickly, then set it back in place for her. "Granite, unicorn hair, compass arrow, and a bit of my own magic," he stated, rattling off everything she'd used for it as if he was reading a shopping list. "Ingredients to reveal what has been hidden from sight. Where on earth did you get something like that?"

"Your black bag…" she answered timidly. She'd done it because she didn't want to ask him for help. But now that they were being honest with one another, he may as well know exactly what she'd learned while Zelena had been gone. "I'm not magical but I can use things that are. I learned while you were…away. It's why I had all those books in your shop. Which also reminds me that you might want to check it. I used certain potions and ingredients over the last few weeks and I don't know where or how to get more. Unicorn horn, rose petals, locator potion, entrapment potion…I think I gave the freezing potion back, but I'll check later."

"I wish you wouldn't," he stated emotionlessly looking over her books, "something like that might actually come in handy for you, though I'll admit that I don't necessary like that you're dabbling in magic this powerful without assistance."

Yes. Part of her expected that too. She supposed that she could and probably should tell him how Regina had helped her along when they were in the Enchanted Forest, but after today maybe now wasn't the best time for that. She already had done too much without him for her own comfort. "It's just little things," she excused. "I know more than I am actually capable of doing."

He was quiet for a moment, just sat there looking at the books on the table and that bowl of dust, with the brush in her hand. "You are…quite remarkable. Sometimes it astounds me just how much you take in."

She felt her stomach flip over again. "How can you say that after today?" she asked him, her voice nearly breaking on her emotions. "After everything I did, then after hours of searching through these books and finding next to nothing-"

"You are finding next to nothing because you are exhausted," he explained, reaching over and taking her hand in his own. "Today…today took a toll. You need to rest now."

No. No, she couldn't rest. She'd given herself one night to find answers, to find a motive for the Snow Queen wanting Emma and Elsa. She had riddles, history, puzzle pieces, but nothing was complete. If she slept now… "I don't want to rest," she insisted.

"I do," he responded quickly. One of his hands was suddenly cupped against her cheek, turning her away from the table and away from her work. "I can't sleep unless you're with me, we've been over that." They had. Over and over again they'd gone over that. They might be able to sleep without each other but it was never restful, never peaceful. If he really wanted restful sleep she had to leave with him. She glanced over at him, knowing that he didn't really need sleep because he rarely did, it was mostly for her benefit. But…Anna.

He sighed next to her, tucked her loosening hair behind her ear, and moved a thumb tenderly over her cheek. What was worse? Lying to him? Or complete forgiveness? "It's late," he whispered. "Maybe instead of going back to the house tonight we stay in the upstairs apartment. I think we both still have some clothes and belongings here. That'll do for the night and get you back down here first thing in the morning without much difficulty."

She could leave first thing in the morning and walk to work in three seconds. It worked for her. She liked the idea of it and so she gave in. She left her things on the table as they were. He locked the library door and together they climbed up the stairs to the apartment no one had lived in since they'd arrived back in Storybrooke. The sheets to the bed were still clean, still fresh, but the easy way that he stood over his own side and took off his tie made that wave of guilt crash over her. He really wanted to do this? Go to bed as they had last night? Just like today never happened?! She wasn't sure that she was that forgiving!

"I uh…I could sleep on the couch…if you preferred," she offered awkwardly.

He glanced up at her as he pulled his tie away and reached down to turn down the bed with a single yank. "Now you're being ridiculous," he muttered. There was irritation in his face. He really did want her to stop bringing this up. She tried. Truly she did. She tried as she changed into one of her night gowns, as she brushed her teeth, and pulled down her hair...but she just couldn't! The moment she laid down next to him in bed and allowed herself to be swallowed up in his embrace, just like always, just as if nothing had ever happened between the two of them, she felt the guilt rise up into her chest once more. She couldn't just sweep it all under a rug and pretend it hadn't happened like he wanted to! It had happened. And it had been bad and terrible and…

"Rumple…I do love you," she swore suddenly, her voice breaking and tears coming to her eyes. "I love you so much!"

"As I'll love you always, my Belle," he promised, hugging her tighter to him as she continued to cry away the events of today made worse by words she couldn't let herself accept. "Always."

Okay, so clearly there are still problems between them, some imagined, some made worse by imagination, but given his history I also don't think Rumple would like the realization of discovering just how acquainted with magic she'd become in his absence. I think he would be fine with the understanding that she was just doing research and reading books but the moment she starts using spells and his magic to do more than just read, I think he'd be uncomfortable with that. He knows magic always comes with a price and the way his mind works I think that he would fear the price above all, not to mention the fact that he would worry she didn't fully understand what he was doing. It just seemed in character for him. At least to me.

Thank you to Fox24, Meredith Pechta, Marshall, Kagi-chan2, Skitzoeinhoven, Kathryn Claire O'Connor, Ladybugsmomma, Deweymay, and Raizen Yusuke for your reviews of the last chapter. Ya'll are awesome and so incredibly kind! I can't thank you enough for constantly supporting me and making all the work that goes into this series worth it. Peace and Happy Reading!