When Belle came to, for a moment she could recall nothing except a sense of dread. She was certain someone somewhere had signed her death certificate. The room felt ice cold to the point that her legs felt numb from lying unconscious for who knows how long. As Belle's eyes began to flicker with life, she breathed a sigh of relief. She was alive. When she sat up her ribs ached and as she pressed her hands against them wondering if this was all just a dream or an illusion.

"Nope, I'm real." Belle winced under the pain her hand brought her, instantly reminding her that she was imprisoned in a strange magical cellar.

Belle felt certain she couldn't survive another illusion. The cloaked figure had conjured up so many tender memories from her life that she thought she would stand there and watch herself grown old. The figure pressed a hand to her head and made her relive so many happy and pleasant memories and then ripped them away from her just as soon as she began to forget where she was. The figure showed her a baby. It looked like her. Blue little doe eyes and wavy brown locks. The figure made her reach out and hold the baby only to open her eyes and realize she was holding nothing, but a carcass wrapped in webs. After that, all that she remembered was being hurled down the open cellar doors and then blackness. Despite her aching body pleading for more rest Belle decided to force herself to try to find Rumple.

When she first arrived, Belle was counting down time in her head but now the numbers were far too high, and she couldn't decide if it had been. It could've been a year for all Belle would've noticed. She felt clueless and lost. She couldn't help but begin to cry. She felt so useless. She wanted nothing more to get Rumple out of this horrible place but now here she was stuck and trapped in a damned cellar. She was probably going to die of hunger and rot in there.

"Belle." A voice called out to her.

She hesitated to respond unsure if it was just another illusion created by the figure.

"It's me…Rumple." The voice got closer and suddenly a flame appeared engulfing the cellar with light. She could see a short figure walking closer and closer to her. Could it be him? Belle tried forcing herself up despite her body's protests.

"Rumple?" Belle croaked out beginning to wobble over to the source of light.

"Belle." It was Rumple.

Belle had never embraced him tighter. She felt as if she was attempting to merge their bodies. Her body pulsed in pain, but she was driven purely by the adrenaline and happiness she got from seeing the man she loved at once. She bought her hands against his cheeks and softly caressed the skin against her hands. She could look into his brown eyes forever. She could stay there in place and die, and she would be the happiest woman alive. She felt relief. She felt freedom. She felt like for once in her life she had a purpose, and her purpose was finding him.

"You did it, Belle." He spoke softly smiling under her touch.

"I am so happy to see you again Rumple." Belle's voice was pure sobs. She couldn't contain herself. She could barely speak. She had been through so much just trying to get to this point in time and now here she was.

"I knew you would pass my test my beauty." Rumple began to lower his face to kiss Belle when his words pricked at her.

"Test? What do you mean?" Belle slightly pulled away thinking for sure she must have heard him incorrectly.

"I wanted to see if you would be brave for me." Rumple began, "My love it was for your own good, I had to ensure you could be trusted with my magic and our children." He started explaining as Belle began to go limp at his touch as if she were made out of lead. She needed out of his embrace.

"You mean…you did this to me…on purpose?" Her voice deepened with hurt.

Betrayal was all she could feel. Physically mentally it was all she could feel and think of. It rushed through her veins. She was betrayed. Betrayed by someone she loved more than anything. Hell, …she would've given her life for Rumple if she needed to. And this was all some sort of cruel game to him.

"Well yes, but you need to understand I needed a wife who could hold her own. I needed to be sure my sweet Belle."

"Hold my own?" Belle shouted finally freeing herself of his touch. "Get away from me." Her voice raised higher than it ever had.

Rumple nodded trying to get closer to Belle but a sword to his chest interjected him.

"I believe the lady said to stay away from her," Killian said coming into view under the illumination of Rumple's flame. He met Rumple with a mean scowl and a look of pure hate. Rumple instantly responded with an expression of equal hatred.

Belle reacted without thinking and snatched the flame away from Rumple's hand making her in control of the lighting. She forced herself to look at Killian and shoot him a nod of recognition. She felt ashamed and embarrassed that he had witnessed one of her weakest moments. She felt like she had hit rock bottom and the fact that she had an audience only made her feel worse.

"What are you doing here," Rumple asked with irritation nearly spitting out the words.

"You know precisely what I am doing here."

Belle watched the two men speak in confusion. Why were they talking as if they knew one another? Did they…know each other?

"Let him go, Killian, I just want to be out of here," Belle announced attempting to pull them away from one another with her words.

She watched as they still stood in an eye lock as if sizing up one another.

"I can't do that Belle, not when I have this monster in front of me," Killian said bringing his blade directly across Rumple's throat.

"Killian what are you doing?" Belle gasped rushing closer to them. "Let him go." She grabbed his leather jacket pleading.

Rumple looked as if she had said something funny. He exposed a toothy grin and watched as Belle pulled on Killian to no avail. Belle felt like she had to be in another illusion. There was no way that Rumple and Killian knew one another. There was no way Rumple would laugh at her. What the fuck was going on?

"He can't do that Belle. He is plagued with nothing but hatred." Rumple announced mocking Killian with his statement. This caused Killian only to bring his sword closer to Rumple's neck. However, Rumple seemed to pay no matter to this fact.

"What…what's going on here?" Belle asked dumbfounded. She finally had to ask. She was tired of being the only one in the room not knowing what the hell was going on.

"Should I tell her, or should you?" Rumple looked at Killian and Killian simply looked away from Rumple to momentarily turn to look at Belle careful not to let go of his sword.

"I'm so sorry Belle," Killian said admitting defeat.

"It appears your little friend here hasn't been so honest with you my love. He's been preying on your pure innocence and lying to you from the second he met you. All he wanted was me. He never wanted to help you." Rumple smiled happily to admit Killian's secret.

"I know, I had a feeling," Belle admitted glaring at Killian. He shot her a look of disbelief and surprise. She decided that while she still felt hurt by his actions, she was more hurt by Rumple's. "But Killian, whatever vengeance you have with Rumple isn't worth it. I am sure it is some misunderstanding and maybe we can all work it out as soon as we get the hell out of here." Belle said as a plead.

"Ah, Belle whatever let's get this over with," Rumple said seconds before manifesting the sword out of Killian's hand and into his. Killian stared at his hand and was met with instant confusion. Belle screamed as Rumple disappeared and reappeared behind Killian's back and impaled him with his sword directly through the chest.

Killian groaned and dropped down to the floor reaching for his chest barely able to process what had just happened.

"Killian!" Belle dove down to try to pull out the sword and stop the bleeding. "Rumple you heal him right now, right this instant. This isn't YOU; you're not supposed to kill anyone." Belle pointed a finger at Rumple and screamed irritated by his smug expression.

She couldn't control her rage. Her body had gone through too much at once. She felt paralyzed and full of sheer terror that Killian was about to die in her arms. Despite his arrogance and his deceit, she didn't want him to die. She didn't want anyone to die for that matter.

"I'll see you at home love," Rumple called out to her as a cloud of white smoke formed around him that shut the flame off as he disappeared into it. She had never seen him his magic at all before. This was all so foreign to her.

"Killian I'm sorry." Belle brought him closer to her as she embraced him as she knew he was fading away. She could hear his faint breaths still trying to survive. Her hand wrapped around him as she settled him on her lap while she brought a cloak that was once around her shoulders onto his wound to try to stop the bleeding. She knew there was no use. She knew he would die but she couldn't help but do everything she could to try to help him.

Their eyes locked briefly as Belle brought her face down to his. She looked at his soft blue eyes and she saw acceptance. Killian Jones was accepting death. Belle had never seen anyone die before. At least not this up close and personal. She had never heard anyone's last breaths and she most certainly had never hugged a dying man. She didn't know what to do, but all she did know was that she wanted him to feel appreciated up until his last breath.

"Thank you." Killian softly groaned as the words hurt to leave his body. She wanted to tell him not to speak but who was she to silence his last words. She would let him speak if he willed it. She smiled at him and nodded not understanding why he was thanking her, but she felt it was better to try to understand what he meant to question him on his deathbed.

She could see the life beginning to leave his eyes and all Belle could do was cry. She brought him in for a tighter embrace ignoring the blood that was now staining her body. Her hand stopped as it felt something in his leather jacket.

"Is this…" Belle froze and then instantly pried open his leather jacket and found the very thing she had assumed it was. "Oh, thank you, Emma," Belle called out to the Dark One who unknowingly was about to make her a very happy woman.

"Swallow if you can." Belle murmured opening up the white elixir and gently dripping it down Killian's mouth. She moved his head around slightly hoping that by doing this the elixir would settle quicker inside of him.

"Please work," Belle said reaching for Killian's hand and interlocking hers with it. The amount of intimacy would've normally been deemed as inappropriate by Belle but not in this moment. She wanted Killian to feel appreciated and cared for. She wanted him to know she wanted him to live. She needed him to live.

She watched his body for what felt like hours. Sleep had overtaken her for brief lapses in time. Now and then she would shutter awake as she felt Kilian's leather jacket against her face smelling the iron of Killian's blood and then sobbing over his body because he was still dead. She couldn't help but curse herself for wondering if maybe it was her fault for giving him the potion too late.

"Killian I am so so sorry…this is all my fault. I shouldn't have been so stupid and married a man I barely knew. At least I thought I knew him I never knew he was like this. I only knew him as good and kind but none of the things he did and said to you were good and kind. I hate him so much for this. How could he do this?"

"I'm not exactly blameless Luv." The voice coming from under her startled her. She paused carefully lifting herself off his chest to see his face. When she saw his soft green eyes staring back at her she couldn't help but laugh.

Killian couldn't deny that her laughter was contagious and soon he found himself full of laughter. She hugged the brunette and brought her in for a tight embrace. His chest felt tight and heavy but the pain he once felt from being impaled was gone. The giant gaping hole in his chest had mended itself with the help of the potion.

"I thought I was too late," Belle said staring in amazement at his healed chest. The fabric of his clothing still was tattered around where the wound was but the skin underneath it was in perfect condition.

Belle looked down and noticed that one of his hands was still intertwined with hers. Before she could pull away and blush, she felt a shock surge through her body. In her mind, she saw them lying in a similar position in front of a grey road that looked nothing like the ones in the Enchanted Forest. She was dressed in a skirt that was shorter than some of her undergarments and in a top that left nothing to the imagination. While he was dressed nearly the same, she noticed he only had one hand. The only thing that was the exact same was their expressions. He was in pain and she was consoling him desperate to make the pain stop.

"Did you see that too?" Killian said pulling away first.

"See what?" Belle looked away from him. She didn't want to admit that something about him felt strange to her. She didn't want to admit it wasn't the first time she saw a memory that wasn't true appear in her mind.

"Never mind." He said in defeat as he tried to stand up but failed.

"You should rest for a little longer, Emma said sometimes there are certain aftereffects. Plus, I'm in no condition to carry you."

Killian nodded in understanding. He exhaled and let his body down again on the cold ground of the cellar as Belle remained kneeled beside him staring off into nothing.

"So, are you ever going to tell me the real reason you lied to me and pretended to care about me just to follow me here?" There was no anger or hurt in Belle's words, but it didn't change the sting that Killian felt when he heard them. Lying to her had been hard and now after she was the reason, he was alive he felt so much guilt coursing through him.

"It's a long story and I'm afraid you might not believe me."

"Try me."

"A long time ago, when your husband wasn't the light one, we crossed paths. I was rude to him and I won't deny that perhaps for my behavior towards him I deserved a good ass whopping…. but I never thought he would take things so far. At the time he sought a wife whose beauty rivaled the sirens of the sea...and well eventually he found someone."

"Milah," Belle said in a whisper. "Was she your girlfriend or something?"

She had seen the name scribbled in old letters and photographs that Rumple stored in his prized possession and while she always assumed, she was his lover…she never knew Milah was his wife.

"Heavens no, she was my sister. My sweet younger sister, that girl was so headstrong she drove the men in our village crazy. Everyone wanted a piece of her, The Light One chased her around for years. And I mean years. She was too sweet to ever tell him to piss off, but the fact of the matter is…she just wasn't into men. She and Ruby were lovers ever since they knew what the word love meant."

Belle gasped suddenly realizing why Ruby was so hostile to her in the first place.

"Then how did they ever get married…if she wasn't into Rumple in that way?" Belle asked practically already knowing the answer. She braced herself and prepared for the worst.

"Once he became the Light One, he forced her. He threatened to kill Ruby and anyone she cared for if she didn't become his wife. Milah being the brave woman she was did as he asked. She tried her hardest to be the wife he wanted. She tried to have his children but it appeared she was barren. Then as the years passed on Ruby and she just couldn't stay away from one another. Milah missed Ruby and well soon enough the Light One caught onto their secret meetings and one thing led to the next and eventually Ruby knocked on my door one day holding a locket that my sister always wore around her neck and instantly I knew she was gone. When I went to challenge the Light One, he was already long gone. I never even got the chance to say goodbye to her…my sweet baby sister."

Belle had tears in her eyes as she listened to the end of Killian's story. She knew he wasn't lying. She knew by the pain and anguish in his tone that this was the hardest story Killian's ever had to tell. She knew by the way that Ruby had stared at her. It all made so much sense now. How could Rumple do this? How could he hide who he was all along?

"I had no idea. I never knew he was capable of any of this. I hope you'll believe me and understand just how sorry I am for getting you into this mess." Belle placed her hand on Killian's chest trying to be supportive.

"It's okay, I never expected you to know any of this. From the moment I met you I knew you were innocent in all of this, and that you were just another one of his victims."

"No, it wasn't like that at all…" Belle replied without thinking. "Uh-what I mean is that I was never a victim…I married him willingly. I was happy to marry him. You see…I was in love with him." Her admitting that she longer loved him broke her. She hurt knowing that the love she had was long gone. It killed her to know she would never love him for as long as she lived…but at least it wouldn't kill her. She wouldn't be dead like Milah. She had a life ahead of her and she couldn't say the same for Milah.

"Well, then I'm sorry."

"What could you possibly be sorry for?"

"I'm sorry for breaking your perception of love. I am sorry for proving to you that that monster is not capable of love. But I'm glad you're finally free of him. He is not worthy of someone like you." They locked eyes and for a second Belle thought he was going to kiss her. He slowly leaned upwards and just as their faces were close enough to feel each other's breath he reached for her hand and instructed her to get up as well.

"I think I am fully healed; we should get going. I bet Emma and Ruby are worried sick about us." Belle grabbed his hand and allowed him to pull her up. She stood close to him slightly lipping. "I'll carry you up." He said grabbing her and instructing her to climb onto his back as he tried to climb up the wall and out of the cellar.

For someone who was just on the brink of death, Killian was surprisingly agile. He felt around the wall for wooden planks he could use to support their weight and he slowly worked his way up the cellar wall until he pushed Belle off his back and onto the floor above the cellar. Then finally he swung forward and projected himself out through the cellar doors they had both come down through.

Emma tended Belle's wounds and broken ribs as well as she could without having the correct potions. She instructed Killian and Ruby to follow them to her cottage so that she could tend Belle's wounds and then they could be off back to the village. Killian hesitated to agree but eventually Ruby wore him down and she begged him stating that they were in desperate need of a break. It turns out they had been riding straight since Belle left them at the inn all those days ago. It nearly felt like a lifetime now.