Hey everyone, after Once ended, I started thinking of this idea and I wanted to test it out. Hope you like it!
Snow White and Prince Charming had been through hell and back, trying to be together. Separated through traitorous villains, wicked spells, it seemed now as they were finally able say I dothey were finally able to their happy ending… but it did not last.
The Evil Queen was planning to send everyone in the land to a new world where everyone would be miserable, separated from the people they loved. The only chance of salvation was Snow and Charming's unborn daughter, that had to be sent away before the curse was cast, which means Snow did too. Because the magic to send them away had its limits, it could only send one, it had to be Snow White.
"You have to go Snow, the guards have already broken in; we don't have much time!" The prince could hear the loud banging and fighting from the queen's men outside the nursery.
"Charming, I can't do this." Snow's tears had been falling from her face for days, and have not stopped. "How am I supposed to raise our child without you?"
"You can Snow, you will be a wonderful mother, you will raise our daughter to be the savoir she is meant to be. Find me just as I have found you. Those twenty-eight years will go by faster than you think." Just hearing him say how long they would be apart made Snow cry even harder. "Promise me one thing, promise you'll always tell our daughter how much I love her."
The princess nodded, giving everything she could into these four words. "I will, I promise."
The banging and stomping from the guards grew louder from outside. "It's time Snow, you have to now."
Charming helped situate his wife into the wardrobe, barely big enough to fit the grown woman and her pregnant belly. Right before he was prepared to shut the wardrobe, the couple kissed one last time, with every ounce in their body, then pulling apart as if it physically hurt to do so.
"I love you Snow White."
"I love you Prince Charming."
The last thing he did, was lean forward, kissing his wife's pregnant belly. "I love you Emma." Charming paused before his last words. "Find me."
He then finally closed the doors of wardrobe, suddenly everything going black for Snow.
Belle had lost count of the days she had been trapped in the Evil Queen's castle. It was out of one prison and into another with her. Before, Belle sacrificed her freedom for the safety of her kingdom to the infamous Dark One, Rumplestiltskin. It grew into more than an employer and her being the help, they became friends, and fell in love. Belle felt, Rumplestiltskin did too, and even shared a passionate night in his bed; but when she kissed him in his bed, his dark curse beginning to lift, he denied he ever loved her, freeing her of their deal. Belle should have been happy, but instead, she left that castle heartbroken.
The former maid had her share of freedom and adventures in the short time outside of Rumple's castle, she was not ready to give up on him, not yet, and was prepared to make the journey back to him, declaring her love once more to him, only to be taken prisoner once more, this time by Regina.
A few weeks passed of Belle being locked away, for her to notice, something was off about her health. She was constantly throwing up, even the little food that was brought to her she could not hold down. Was more exhausted, and when she missed her monthly cycle, Belle knew exactly what it was… she was pregnant and Rumple was the father. The expecting tried to hide her condition, for as long as she could. Covering herself with a blanket to keep her growing belly hidden, keeping a straight face when her child would kick and someone was in the room with her, and food she could not longer eat because it did not agree with her, she would choke down.
Sadly it was not enough, Regina came into Belle's room one night when she was asleep, and saw her pregnant form, furious how a little bookworm could hide this for six months, declaring she now had plans for her child, not sure what, but Belle did not want to find out.
Rumplestiltskin did not relish being in this cage for only trying to collect on a deal. He knew he could escape if he wanted to, but had to remind himself, this is where he needed to be. Soon, his former pupil, the now Evil Queen, would cast this curse, but it would break, and he would be able to find his long lost son. Something however plagued in the Dark One's mind… his beloved Belle.
He was fool, a coward, just like with his son Balefire all those years ago. He was too afraid to let go of the power for him, and now he couldn't do it for Belle. Oh how he wish he could take it back, now his Belle was gone, killed herself because her own father was cruel to her; but he wanted to see something. Rumplestiltskin wanted to see the grave, see where his beloved was buried. Rumple managed to conjure up whatever magic he could in this tiny cell, and create an image, where he could see where Belle lied. Which he did, but not in the way he imagined.
Rumplestitskin did see Belle, but not in the form of a corpse, or a tombstone, but alive, in a prison cell. He could tell where his lover was, in the queen's castle. Regina had lied to him, said she was dead to keep her alive as leverage over him, a fate worse than death. On top of it all, he noticed her stomach, larger than usual, she was pregnant, and he put two-and-two together, it was hischild. All he wanted to do was go to Regina's castle, and choke the life out of her, but he needed this curse, he had another child to get to, but Belle was suffering, as was his unborn child. Rumple needed to think of another way to save his Belle and future child… and he did.
Belle continued to stare at the wall, as what she did on most days. The only thing that kept her sane, was stroking her belly, where her soon-to-be-born child laid, kicking to make itself known to its mother. Sometimes Belle would tell stories to her child, kicking more so when she did, she believed it meant the baby liked stories, especially ones of her and this child's father. What made this day different was by magic, a letter and a small box and a letter appeared in front of her. Opening it, she did not expect what she read…
"My dearest Belle,
It is your beloved Rumplestiltskin, at least I hope you still feel that way, I cannot blame you if you do not anymore. Words cannot begin to describe how sorry I am, for the way things ended with us, I do love you Belle, I was a coward to not admit, and let go of my power for it. If I could take it back, and be with you right now, I would.
I know you are in the clutches of Regina, and are expecting our child. She had told me you dead, if I had known; I would have come for you both. There is no time now I'm afraid. As you may be aware, the queen is planning on casting a dark curse, that I admit, I gave to her. It so we can get to the land where my long lost son is. I am certain you do not approve, but there is no other way for me to find my son, however there is a way for you to avoid this fate.
I have found a way for you to escape this curse; inside the box I have given you, and have given supplies so you can survive in this new land. One day my love this curse will break, and we will find each other. You have suffered enough because of me Belle, I will have it no longer. Escape, live your life as peacefully as you can, and tell our child that their papa loves them; and never forget that I love you. Until we meet again…
Forever yours,
Rumplestiltskin"
Belle almost didn't believe this letter was real, her Rumple found her, and truly did love her, as well as this child. It was painful he couldn't be with her, how he was using dark magic, but he was helping her, and finding a way to put her and their unborn child first. She opened the box, seeing what appeared to be money, food, water, a little bit of magical supplies, and one more small pouch. Belle opened it, and saw it was a magic bean, her freedom.
Belle used the bit of magic to free herself of the cuffs, looking out her window, seeing as no one was coming, this was her chance. Leave everything behind for the unknown. Of course it was frightening, but it was the only the way. Belle threw the bean, a portal appeared, and she jumped right through escaping just as Rumple wanted.
As Snow White came to she saw there was huge opening in the wardrobe, walking out she found herself in the woods. At first it didn't look any different than the woods back in the Enchanted Forest, but when an ear-piercing noise came from above, from what looked like almost a huge dragon, Snow thought to herself we're defiantly not home.
Snow was trying to figure out what the next step would be, when a portal came out of nowhere, what she was not expecting to see, was her former friend Belle, now pregnant coming out of it.
"Belle?" Snow almost wasn't sure if she was really seeing her.
"Snow?" Belle was not imagining seeing her former friend now pregnant either.
"What—what are you doing here? How did you get here?" Snow asked.
"Funny I was going to ask you the same thing." Belle replied.
There was a sudden rustling through the bushes and out came Geppetto's little boy Pinocchio, whom Snow White recognized, but Belle didn't. "Pinocchio? How did you get here?"
"You know this little boy?" Belle questioned.
"Yes, his father built the magical wardrobe that I came through, which is how I got here." The little boy was now crying, Snow went up placing her hands on his shoulder. "Pinocchio it's okay, it's okay." She wrapped him in a hug until he began to calm down. "Now, can you tell me how you got here?"
"I'm sorry your highness, my father and the Blue Fairy lied to you. The wardrobe could take two, but my father wouldn't build it unless I went through. Please forgive me!"
Snow took a step back, using the tree behind her to support herself, fearing she could fall from the state of shock. She and Charming had been tricked, he could have gone with her, and they could have raised Emma together. There was part of her that wanted to slap the Blue Fairy, slap Geppetto, but it would do no good. Blue was only doing what she was asked, and Geppetto, was only doing what any concerned parent would do. Wouldn't she do the same for Emma? That answered how the little boy was here, but it did not explain how her pregnant friend was there.
"Okay, okay, but—but Belle. How—how did you get here?" Snow stuttered through her words. "Last I heard, you made a deal, with the Dark One, but—I was told you died."
"Well, I didn't. I did make a deal with Rumplestiltskin, in exchange for keeping my kingdom safe I would be his maid. It started out that way, but we—we fell in love." Retelling the story of her sadden romance broke Belle's heart all over again. "He didn't believe me though, I tired to convince him of my love, and he—he told me to leave and not come back."
"He's the father of your child isn't he?" Belle not responding gave the answer Snow needed. "And he left you both?"
"No, he never knew, I was pregnant. I didn't find out until after I was gone. I tired to go back and tell him, but the Evil Queen abducted me. She told Rumple I was dead."
"That's how the rumors got started; but how did you escape from Regina?"
"Rumple, I know he was imprisoned, he somehow conjured up a little bit of magic, and discovered I was alive, and carrying our child. He wrote me a letter, saying how sorry he was, and gave me a magic bean to escape, and supplies for when I got here. Snow, he's the one that gave the curse to Regina."
"Why would he do that?"
"He's looking for his long lost son. He is somewhere in this realm. He couldn't find a portal to this realm, so the curse was the only way." Belle then realized something. "Because he gave the only other way up for me. Rumple gave up escaping, using the other way to find Balefire, for me and our child." Seeing her lover now is so selfless, made her smile.
"While damning an entire realm in the process! Separating mine and Pinocchio's family's, leaving you to raise a child alone!" Snow lost her temper; it frightened Pinocchio, saddening the former maid. "I'm sorry Belle, Pinocchio, I didn't mean to yell it's just—"
"It's alright your highness." The boy said first. "It's okay to be upset."
"He's right Snow, I'm angry too. I know he gave me my freedom, but I don't condone him using a curse in exchange for it either." Belle paused before finishing. "What's done is done. There isn't anything we can do now."
"Agreed. We're all we have now in this strange land." Snow said meaning her as the former bandit, the bookworm, and the little boy. "We must look out for one another, and we must stay together."
"So what do we do now?" Asked the former puppet turned boy.
"I think we need to find a village, or a tavern, something to figure out where we are." Belle suggested.
"Yes, I think I saw a road up—" Snow White was cut off by a sudden wave of pain in her abdomen.
"Your highness?" Pinocchio asked first.
"Snow, Snow what is it?" Belle attempted to get her attention now.
"The baby, she's coming." Said Snow.
The next wave was one of panic in all three of them. Belle did her best to take control of the situation. "Okay, okay. Snow look at me, breathe, breathe, good." The breath control kept soon-to-be mother calm. "Now can you try to point which way you think you saw the road was?" Snow obliged showing the way with her hand. "Alright, let's see if we can find some help up ahead, can you walk?" Snow nodded again. "Good, lean on me, Pinocchio hold her hand, she's going to need it."
It was only a short fifteen-minute walk before reaching the road; for three newcomers to this realm, it felt like a lifetime. They a came across a place called Mama's Little Corner, which appeared to be a small tavern of some sort, and went inside looking for anyone to be of service.
"Help, please, my friend's in labor, we need a doctor, please!" Belle almost shouted to get someone's attention.
She and Pinocchio found the nearest chair, giving the woman in pain a chance to sit while figuring out the next step. "We've called an ambulance dear, help is on the way." Said an older woman that kneelt down in front of Snow.
The mother-to-be was almost afraid to ask what that was, but was too consumed by the pain of the contractions to focus on anything else. Soon flashing lights appeared outside, and men with white uniforms came into the diner, trying to put Snow on a gurney but she fought back.
"No, stay away; don't touch me!" Snow continued to fight back.
"Take it easy miss." The one gentleman remarked.
"We're here to help you and your baby." The other man added in.
"Don't touch my baby!" She continued to shout.
"Snow, Snow, it's okay, it's okay." Belle tried to calm her once more. "Pinocchio and I are right here, nothing will happen to you or Emma. They will help you."
"We won't leave your side your higness. Everything will be okay." Pinocchio agreed with Belle.
Hearing the comforting words of her friends, gave Snow White the strength to go into the unknown once more. She went onto the gurney, but not with the assist of the men, she allowed only Belle to help her on, and continued to let Pinocchio to hold her hand, all throughout the ambulance ride as well.
When they reached the hospital, a woman dressed not all in white but a white coat approached the trio, taking over. "Hello my name is Dr. Ryn. I was briefed you were in labor and progressing fast on the way here. Don't worry, I promise, we'll take good care of you and your baby."
"Thank—thank you." Snow breathed through her words, as they were about walk to the maternity ward, Belle was stopped by sudden trickle of water running down her leg. "Belle, Belle what's wrong?"
"I don't, I don't know. I felt something like—water run down my leg." Belle was too much shock to understand what was happening.
"Oh my, it appears your waters broken." Dr. Ryn explained.
"What, what does that mean?" Belle wanted to know.
"It means your friend is not the only one having a baby today, you are too." The doctor shouted for another doctor to come over. "I need another wheelchair over hear!"
"What, no I can't, I need to stay with Snow." Belle attempted for the two physicians to listen.
"Belle it's okay." Snow promised her. "You kept me calm, now it's your turn. I'll be fine, you and your baby will be fine too."
Belle wanted to fight, but it would be futile, this baby was going to come one way or another, better it come safe with a doctor than unsafe by trying to help Snow. "Alright, alright." She let herself sit in wheelchair.
"Okay, I'll take you to a room, my name is Dr. Calvin." The other doctor introduced.
"Can I go with them, please?" Pinocchio pleaded.
"Son, you can't be with both of them, and trust me you don't want to see the next part. Nurse." Dr. Calvin called over a young woman. "This is nurse Eliza. Can you stay with him for a while? The two ladies he came in with are in labor."
"Of course, he'll be safe with me." Pinocchio was still afraid of leaving the two women alone with strangers. "They'll be well taken care of, I promise."
"Pinocchio stay with her and be good okay." Snow reminded of the famous words Blue and his father always said to him. "Belle and I will be fine."
"Yeah we promise, we'll see you soon alright?" Belle spoke last.
The doctors did not give the boy time to respond, wheeling away the two women, leaving the little boy to wonder what was to come next in this strange new world.
Hope you all liked this. If you want more, comment, follow, and fav! Stay tuned!