It was hard to feel sorry for yourself when there was someone yelling in your ear. In fact, it was downright unfair. She was trying her best to forget her life, to drown her sorrows in a good book, and the amount of ale that she had shouldn't have made it difficult. But the man yelling at the top of his voice only a few feet away was. "There's a fearsome beast ravaging a faraway land," he told the crowd gathered around him. What caught her attention was the word "beast." She had just left a man who might be called a beast. Was that who he was talking about? Was she close to him? Was this "ravaging" something that he was responsible for? "His eyes burn with fire," the man added. No, then. This really was an animal of some kind. It was a beast, but it wasn't her beast. She couldn't tell if she was happy about that or sad. She should probably be happy. After what happened the last time that they had spoken she should never want to see that man again. But she couldn't deny that she had felt her stomach do a hopeful flop when she heard the word.

It was a silly reaction. What did she expect would happen if it had been him they were talking about? Would she walk up to him? Tell him off? Face the beast, break the spell, and save the day?! Her heart sank at the words. No, she'd been there. She'd done the first and tried the second. All it had gotten her was an angry rejection, no home, and a lot of heartache. She'd spent countless days thinking about that day, wondering where it all went wrong, dreaming about what she could have done differently. Finally she was to the point of accepting that she couldn't do anything about the past and it was no use torturing herself over. Funny how easy it was to believe this about others, but when she was thinking about herself it was much more difficult.

She was fine. Really, she was. The nice people at the tavern gave her a small room and a dinner for cleaning rooms during the day and the tavern in the early morning hours after everyone left. She'd made quick friends with the town librarian and in return for helping him around the shop he gave her all the books she could read and the occasional scrap of food. Bed, food, work, and books. What more could she need? She was fine. Just fine.

But sometimes she found herself wondering if anyone had ever died from not being around their true love. Because as much as she wanted to hate him, she couldn't deny what she had seen. True loves kiss could break any curse and hers had, therefore whether he liked it or not, wanted it or not, he was her true love. And after months of standing behind him, of feeling things inside her that she'd never felt before, after falling in love, sometimes it hurt more than the ale could numb. So he didn't want her, so he'd rather live with his power than take a chance on her, that was all well and good for him, but what about her. He had made up his mind, but that meant that she had to live with his choice as well. It simply wasn't fair! And so she had to cope. She would sit. She would read her books and drink her ale and continue to tell herself that she was fine.

And maybe if she kept telling herself that, one day she would wake up and it would be true.

"It's called the Yaoguai," the man explained, tearing her thoughts away from the man who held them. She watched him carefully, her interest suddenly sparking at the monsters name. The Yaoguai? As in the Yaoguai that she had read about? As in the subject of the book that she had recently translated for the librarian? "No man has been able to kill it. But we will!" he yelled with confidence. A beast, fiery eyes, hard to kill...that description of the creature sounded about right for the creature. "There's room on our wagon, who's going to join us?" she watched as the crowd raised their hands and voices volunteering to go but judging by the crew that he was gathering she doubted they would get the results they were after. They had no idea what they were walking into by going after a creature like that.

But she did.

The stray thought made her smile, made her want to laugh at her own foolishness. It was absurd really. Hadn't she learned her lesson? She couldn't save a single man, why should she think that she could save an entire village?! But still, the thought of going on a new adventure instead of sitting here and feeling sorry for herself was tempting.

"Looking for an adventure?" She glanced up at the voice that had dared her very thoughts. The dwarf. The one from the other night, who hadn't known that he was in love. He stood before her now, a beautiful smile shining on his face. It was contagious and she found herself smiling as she looked at him. He certainly looked better than he had when she had last seen him. Happier. What had happened between then and now?

"Dreamy, right?" she asked, trying to recall his name.

"Yes," he blushed. "I came to thank you," he said setting his mug down and joining her at the table. She hadn't any idea what on earth he was thanking her for and must have given him a curious look, as he continued to explain. "That advice you gave me last night, it worked. Nova and I are running away together!"

She laughed with happiness as the incident triggered her memory. The girl that had been trying to tell him to meet her must have been Nova. She'd told him to go to her. Apparently it had been a fruitful endeavor. At least she had the power to connect others with their true loves. Now if only she could come up with some idea that would help her. No! She pushed the depressing words out of her mind. It would be easy to let herself feel sad at a time like this, but this wasn't about her, it was about Dreamy and Nova. She had to focus on that.

"That's wonderful" she reached forward and placed her hands over his. She took a deep breath reminding herself that just because she couldn't have love didn't mean that others in the world suffered the same fate. Sometimes things did work out. Sometimes she could give good advice. She couldn't be right all the time, but after her last decision had gone so horribly wrong, it was good to remember that it wasn't her. She wasn't broken, and she could still do good things.

She glanced automatically over at the table where the man was now having the villagers of this small town sign their names to the paper for the journey. She could still do good...couldn't she? "You should sign up!" Dreamy suggested, following her gaze and reading the interest that was so obviously plastered across her face. She laughed at herself as the result of her last "heroic adventure" seemed to flash before her eyes. She'd had her turn. She'd done what her mother had done and saved her village despite the outcome for her. The wound was still raw, she wondered if it ever wouldn't be. That alone was enough to remind her of her newfound place in this world. She was a princess turned caretaker turned barmaid. And her days of taming beasts were over.

She shook her head. "I've always dreamt of heroics," she explained, "but I think it's safer to stick to my books," that way when something tragic happened at least it didn't hurt as much as her life did. But how was she suppose to tell a person who was about to run away with their true love that she'd been burned so badly by her own she never wanted to step outside this small provincial life again. Her final words to him replayed in her mind and she could feel every emotion she'd felt in that moment come back to her. She never wanted to feel that way again. No, her books were definitely safer. "They're the only adventures I know that have happy endings," she muttered. She wasn't going to cry. Not again. She was done wasting her tears on someone who would never care about her the same way she did about him.

"Maybe this one will have one too!" Dreamy commented. He was just trying to help, and it was sweet how he was trying to return the favor. But, unless he could turn back time, what had become of her life was nothing that anyone else could fix. And as far as that adventure went, well her opinion of the men going hadn't exactly changed in the short time she'd been watching them. They had no idea what they were up against.

"I, uh, I doubt it. Last time I faced a beast it didn't end well," she hadn't meant to share it, she didn't want someone so happy to suffer through her miserable story, but she hoped that he would take the tone and words of the story to heart and realize it really wasn't something that she wanted to talk, or even think, about.

"What are you talking about?" he asked eagerly, naïvely. She was speechless. Too kind to tell him to drop it, but too withdrawn to admit anything to him. He wasn't the first person who had asked her what had happened and he wouldn't be the last. Somehow she was going to have to get to a point where she could say something besides "let's just say I'm unlucky." She opened her mouth, hoping that something helpful would come out-

"Men!" she glanced over at the group of people surrounded by their seemingly fearless leader, "follow me!" he shouted as they dawned their hats and travel gear. "The Yaoguai awaits," he said mysteriously before leading them out of the tavern.

"Get on that wagon!" Dreamy insisted. She breathed a sigh of relief that he had left their conversation behind. "Go!" he ordered. She wished he would stop. Her defenses were breaking down, and she was considering the fact that she had information they could use, that she was already well fed, and could use some new scenery. And then there was the most appealing reason. If she went she would at least have a new history. She might even wind up with a new town to explore. And maybe there when they asked her where she had come from or how she had made her way to them she could answer "I killed the Yaoguai". In her mind even saying "I was with the group that attempted to kill the Yaoguai" would be good enough. It was a better past than the one she had now. And it was more appealing than sitting here every night. "Take a chance!" Dreamy encouraged.

What was the worst that could happen? She could die, but she was pretty sure that who she was had already died. At least this way she had the option to die a hero, just like her mother had. How strange. In trying to liberate him of his past, she'd ended up running from her own. If she couldn't be a hero to him, then she could try to be for another poor village that had no hope, at the very least she could provide the information to help the group going now, maybe save their lives as well. She could be a hero again...couldn't she?

She took a deep breath, knowing the massive decision that was ahead of her. It would take courage, but if she'd mustered it once then she could generate it again. Just because he chose to be a lonely man all the rest of his life, didn't mean that she had to resign herself to that fate yet. And, ultimately, that was what convinced her that it was the right option. She could curl up in a ball and regret every decision she'd ever made ignoring the world around her until she became a person just as afraid as he was or she could live her life the way he didn't. And maybe one day, if they ever crossed paths again, he would see who she had become and then he would regret letting her get away. But she had to take a step first before that journey could begin.

"Thank you!" she told Dreamy, quickly gathering her book and the small shoulder bag that held all she owned in this world. She felt hope suddenly budding in her chest again. It had been so long since she felt it that she almost didn't recognize the feeling. She wished she could tell Dreamy what exactly she was feeling and how grateful she was, but she didn't want to miss that wagon. It was the beginning of a new life, and she wasn't going to let it get away.

She gave him another laugh as she got up. It really was absurd, a princess off to kill the beast and save the village, but what in her life had been normal? She was nearly out the door when she heard Dreamy yell. "Wait! Belle!" she turned to see him getting out of his chair. "Wait!" He was fiddling with something in his pocket. He pulled out a small cloth pouch the color of deep purple and handed it to her. "It's fairy dust," he said as she held it in her hand. "It might come in handy." Her heart knocked rapidly against her ribs as she looked at the small gift sitting in her hand. Just when she was feeling like she could leave those memories behind her, memories that went back even farther than she'd known him, they came stampeding back into her mind, threatening to bring tears into her eyes. She knew the mines were in this town, but so far she'd been able to avoid them. She wanted nothing to do with magic, not for as long as she lived.

But she was proud for keeping herself together, for just shaking her head and handing it back to him. "Oh, no, thank you, I've seen what magic does to people." She'd seen what the prospect of magic had done to her and Anna! It was no good for anyone and certainly not for her.

Dreamy squinted his eyes at her, judging her for her odd reaction to the substance. "You've seen what dark magic does," whether he had guessed or had been speaking to some of the rumors she was sure the villagers were spreading she couldn't be sure. For her own sake she preferred to believe he had come up with it from the look on her face. "Fairies use this for good." Good magic? Like the kind the rock troll had given her? The kind she'd lost in the end, the kind she'd sacrificed a good friend for? She didn't know if she believed that she would ever be capable of using magic like that. But...she was already about to take one chance, why not take another one, and redeem her beliefs about magic in the process. If she was going to do this she had to be willing to believe in all kinds of things again, new things that she would see and experience, and the person that she could be, the one she'd once been long ago. She was willing to open herself up to that, what harm could it do? "Now go be a hero!" Dreamy stated happily. She smiled at the possibilities ahead of her, and then barely got out a "thanks" in the middle of her excited giggle as she headed out.

It wasn't too late for second chances. And amid her excitement and hopefulness, the layer of anger and sadness, there was a different kind of hope. A hope that maybe she wasn't the only one that would see this. She hoped that someday he would realize that it was never too late for second chances.


And so Belle is off on another adventure! Yay Adventure!Belle! Or should I really be saying hip hip hooray for an adventure where no one dies, gets eaten, or has their heart broken...poor girl, she just can't seem to catch a break can she? Alright ya'll, are you ready to say good-bye Dreamy and hello Mulan! Then lets do this thing!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to the wonderful and marvelous Skitzoeinhoven for your review on the last chapter and just being awesome in general! I know it's difficult once Rumple is gone because that's the party most of us signed up for but I appreciate the fact that you stay around! It makes my day to know these chapters are just as well received as the other chapters! Peace and Happy Reading my friends!