Author's Notes: I do not own Once Upon A Time. Thanks for the follow and the reads. Please let me know what you think and happy reading!


Travel was one of Belle French's favorite pursuits, right after reading. It was important to her to see the world and even more important for her daughter to see the world. She wanted her to know what was out there and decide what she wanted to make of her life. Since entering her sophomore year of high school, this had involved supposedly casual trips to ivy league schools. Beatrice had been less gullible since Belle decided a spontaneous trip to New Jersey was in order to see Princeton. That was followed by a spontaneous five hour stay in the library.

This trip was different and at least involved a plane ride and a nice hotel. There was a librarians' convention in New Orleans and it happened to fall over a long weekend at school.

After Belle's sessions were done for the day, she and Beatrice went to see the sights that all tourists saw: the French Market, the Audobon Zoo and Aquarium and went for beignets at Cafe Du Monde.

The restaurant was open air and always busy. They could smell the river and hear the sounds of ships passing. Belle laughed as Beatrice tried to eat one of the beignets without getting powdered sugar all over her clothes and inevitably failed, ending up with a coating of sugar on her glasses.

"Wait, wait," said Belle, getting out her phone. "I need a picture of this."

"Seriously, Mom?," she asked. "I'm fifteen not one. This isn't cute, it's just pathetic."

"Oh, but you are cute. You will always be cute to me."

Belle did her worst with the camera and Beatrice set to cleaning off her glasses with the hem of her shirt.

"Why do you take pictures?," asked Beatrice.

"All mothers take copious amounts of pictures."

"To show, but we don't have anyone to show them to."

Belle frowned. "I suppose you're right."

"Do you ever think of talking to your dad?"

"No," said Belle. "He wants nothing to do with us. He made that very clear. So I want nothing to do with him."

Beatrice nodded and put her glasses back on.

"Let's not be depressing," said Belle. "I'm thinking let's get more sweets."


"What are you doing in those clothes?"

Belle looked up at Rumplestiltskin.

"What am I doing in these clothes?," she asked looking down at her usual blue work dress. She had been in the library of the Dark Castle, trying to organize it into something that made sense.

"We're travelling, pack your bags!"

Rumplestiltskin waved his hands. A poof of red smoke enveloped Belle and she was clad in a blue travelling gown and gold cloak.

"You know I hate when you do that."

"Thank you would have sufficed."

"We're travelling?"

"That is unless you don't want to go."

"You'd let me go?"

"You're going with me."

"Where?"

There was another puff of red smoke. Belle looked around and realized she was no longer in the Dark Castle. She was standing in something marshy. It was night wherever they were. A castle covered in vines stood not far away.

"We're in the Half Sunk Kingdom. I've read about this place."

"Ever been?"

"They say there's magic here from other realms," said Belle. She looked at Rumplestiltskin. "What are we doing here?"

"I have a business arrangement to make," said Rumplestiltskin. "You can wait outside."

"Wait outside?," asked Belle. "You brought me all the way here to wait outside?"

He shrugged. "Well, unless you have somewhere else to be, dearie."

Belle watched in disgust as he disappeared inside the castle.


They went next door to Cafe Du Monde and bought pralines from a place called Aunt Sally's that smelled divine. They went to Jackson Square and Belle made Beatrice pose for pictures in front of the statue of Andrew Jackson.

"Do you want to go inside the church?," Beatrice asked motioning at the picturesque Saint Louis Cathedral.

Belle shook her head. "No, outside is good enough for me. I'm not much for churches."

There was a jazz band playing in the square. They listened to the music for a while then moved on to watch the street performers. There were various people doing tarot and palm readings.

"What do you think?," Belle asked.

"Palm reading? Seriously, Mom?"

"We'll have fun," said Belle. "Come on."

They stood in line and waited for an old woman in a purple cloak.

"How much?," asked Belle.

She looked at Beatrice quizzically. "Whatever you want to pay."

Belle shrugged and got out a twenty. She looked at her daughter. "Do you want to go first?"

"No, you first."

The woman took Belle's hand, tracing it with her finger.

"Oh, yes, I can see very clearly..."

Belle exchanged a mirthful smile with Beatrice and looked back at the fortune teller.

"There is a man. A dark man."

"A man?"

"Darkest of all. He looks for you in a cup."

"Well, I'm not there," said Belle.

"That doesn't stop him looking. He's a man."

"Sounds like a romantic," she said smiling at her daughter. Belle turned back to the woman. "You haven't got a name or something?"

"It's written on the blade of a knife."

Belle nodded. That was a little weird. "Right. Your turn, Beatrice."

Beatrice sat and held her hand out. The woman didn't take it.

"There's a swan."

"A swan?"

"You'll defeat a dragon."

Beatrice looked at the woman skeptically. "Are you sure you don't want to take my hand?"

"I can see your future as clear as day. You'll go on a quest and you will have to make a choice."

"Getting all that from just looking at me?"

"There's a darkness in you."

"Okay," said Belle, taking Beatrice's hand. "Thank you very much, but I think we are done here."

"You'll find him."

"Come on, Beatrice," said Belle, dragging her away.

"Find who?," asked Beatrice.

"It doesn't mean anything, Beatrice. It's just for fun," said Belle. "I thought I saw a bookshop down this street."

"You didn't think that it was just for fun when she said there was a darkness in me."

Belle stopped walking and looked at her daughter. "There's no darkness in you."

They went to the shop and Belle eagerly chatted up the owner of the establishment about the best of the local history section. Beatrice reached in her jacket to get her iPhone and found a tarot card with an address written on the back.

She flipped over the card to see what it was.

The Magician.


Belle wandered through the marsh by the swamp. There wasn't much to look at. It was night and Belle had decided a swamp was a swamp.

She paid no attention to the sound of rustling in the water. A book she had read said it was full of nocturnal fish that came out to feast. Nothing to worry about.

Then she looked up to realize a huge winged creature was emerging from the swamp as if rising by smoke. It looked at her with hungry iridescent eyes and lunged towards her. Belle started backwards only to trip on her skirts in the marsh and looked up at the monster's snarl. Suddenly it burst apart like fireworks and Belle saw a dark skinned woman in a purple cloak standing nearby.

"You should be more careful around swamp dragons," said the woman. "It wouldn't do to have you swallowed up."

Belle caught her breath. "I don't know how to thank you."

"I'm the priestess of this land." She appraised Belle a moment. "Come inside."

The woman walked in a tent that Belle hadn't noticed before. Belle got up and did her best to get what dirt she could off the new frock and followed the woman inside.


Beatrice waited until her mother went to another conference session to get to the address on the card. She found it in a somewhat dark street with an unassuming sign "Voodoo Objects and Services."

Beatrice walked into the shop. The old woman from the square sat behind the low counter.

"Welcome, Beatrice."

"How do you know my name?"

"I can see your name as plain as the nose on your face."

She took the tarot card out of her pocket. "The Magician. Why did you give it to me?"

"To give you an answer."

"An answer to what?"

"Your question. The only question you have. The only question you've ever had. Who is your father?"

Beatrice closed in on the counter. "How could you know that? How could you possibly know that?"

"Magic."

"Magic's not real."

"For the people of this realm, perhaps. Few of them can access what little magic there is in this land. You, however, are not of this realm."

"I'm from New York."

"But not conceived there."

"Ew..." Beatrice couldn't help but say.

"Your life began far away, but you're going back to it. Back to magic."

"Right, because my dad is a magician or something..." Which would be about the most embarrassing thing he could possibly be next to surf instructor.

Boy band member?

Billy Ray Cyrus. Yes, that was as bad as it could be.

"Until you believe in your own power, you'll never be able to find him."

"My own power?"

"Why don't you pick something?"

Beatrice looked back. There were three sacks on the counter she hadn't noticed before.

"They're all the same."

"Then you should have no problem making the choice."

Beatrice picked up the one on the right.

"You've chosen wisely. You'll need it where you're going."

"I am so getting out of here," Beatrice muttered.


Belle followed the woman inside her tent. It was full of trinkets, some Belle recognized from the Dark Castle, but mostly new. She sat at a table and motioned to Belle to take the chair on the opposite side.

"Pick a card," said the woman in the cloak.

Belle looked, they were all face down. She pointed at one and the priestess flipped it over.

"Ah, the lovers."

"The lovers?," asked Belle. "Is that a good thing?"

"It suggests passion and an intense connection..."

Belle beamed at that.

"You have a choice to make."

"What?," asked Belle. "No, I don't."

"See, the card is reversed. It means you're not certain of your relationship, you're questioning the choice you already made and now you have to decide if you want to change your mind."

"No, I won't change my mind," said Belle.

"Is that wise?," asked the woman. "Sometimes we set off on a path and think there's no way back, but there is. Now is the time to decide if you want to go back."

"Go back?," asked Belle.

"This path leads you to darkness and isolation-"

"And true love," said Belle. "I won't give that up. I won't stop fighting for it."

The priestess collected her cards. "We'll see each other in the next world."

"The next world?," asked Belle.

The tent disappeared and Belle found herself sitting on the ground. She stood and again dusted herself off.

"Belle! Belle, dearie!"

Rumplestiltskin appeared out of the high grass. "Oh, good, you're there. I was starting to worry that I would have to find a new housekeeper. Come on. We're finished here."

"What about magic from another land?"

He shook his head. "just some interesting powder and we're off!"

"Rumplestiltskin-"

"Places to go, people to see, dearie!"

"Rumplestiltskin!," she screamed.

He turned back and wrinkled his face at her. "What did you shout like that for? Usually when people shout like that, I get their firstborn in return."

Belle decided to leave the matter of the firstborn for a later date. She was desperate to get this out at all. "Do you even want to love me? I saw your face change, I know it was true love, but do you even want to love me?"

He frowned at her.

"I've been back two months and we are scarcely different than when I left." She motioned around. "You brought me to a province neighboring my father's like you want me to escape!"

"Don't you want to escape?"

"Would I have come back if I did?"

"Oh, but you will, dearie-"

"Stop calling me 'dearie.'"

"Why?"

"You call everyone that. You call people you don't like that." Belle walked closer. "I'm not changing my mind. I just need you to believe in me."

"Belle..." He drew in his breath. "You deserve much more than I can give you."

"Can you give me love?," she asked.

Rumplestiltskin drew in his breath sharply. "Yes..." he said weakly, desperately willing it to be true.

"Then let me worry about what I deserve."

He appeared to consider what she had said. "As you wish."