Author's Notes: I do not own Once Upon A Time. Thanks for the reads and reviews and follows. I really appreciate it. Also, hi, lurkers, I like to throw that in every once in a while. Anyway, glad you're enjoying it. Thank you so much, please, please let me know what you think and happy reading!
Snow White wondered what had possessed Charming. Why he thought he could borrow one of her birds and trap Rumplestiltskin without so much as running it by her. She had left Belle there scarcely two weeks ago and now she would be alone again with no one to protect her. She blew into the room where the Prince was trying to comfort Cinderella.
"You never said anything about trapping Rumplestiltskin!"
"Snow..." Charming began.
"What were you thinking?!," Snow shouted. She looked at Grumpy. "Grumpy, what do you have to say for yourself?"
"He was acting under my orders, Snow," said Charming.
"Which no one bothered to inform me of!"
Cinderella shook her head. "What does it matter? He's a monster!"
Snow thought of her friend, Belle, sitting alone at the Dark Castle, pregnant with her true love's child, waiting for him to return. Perhaps worried that something had happened to him. "Maybe you don't know everything about him."
"What's there to know?," asked Cinderella. "He's a horrible imp."
"Snow, he's the most dangerous man in all the realms. He had to be captured," said Charming.
"He's taken Thomas," Cinderella sobbed.
Snow threw up her hands. "Okay, I'm going to say this and I know it's not going to be popular, but maybe you should have read the contract in the first place."
Cinderella looked aghast at Snow White. "How was I to know he would want my child?"
Snow shrugged. "Maybe because he's Rumplestiltskin. Maybe because his deals come with a price, which he mentions a lot."
Charming exchanged looks with Grumpy. Snow knew the look. They had both clearly decided this was a case of pregnancy hormones run amok. Though she knew she was perhaps not as gentle as her usual self, this only angered Snow White more.
"Snow, maybe we should talk in the other room?," said Charming.
"I don't want to talk to you right now," said Snow. "Could someone please send for Lancelot?"
Grumpy followed her out into the hall. "You made us swear not to tell."
"That was because I didn't want rumors spreading, to put Belle and her child's lives in further danger!," said Snow. "You heard Belle tell what her own father and the fairies did! What would everyone else do?"
"Even though Belle loves him, Rumplestiltskin is still dangerous," said Grumpy. "Something had to be done."
"With Belle left on her own?," asked Snow White. "Send for Lancelot now."
Beatrice was in a psychiatrist's office.
Since dragging her daughter to the emergency room with an inexplicably burned arm and nightmares, Belle French had made it her mission in life to see to her daughter's mental health. She had taken an emergency leave of absence, gotten Beatrice excused from school and read every book the New York Public Library offered on curing your insane teenage daughter. The titles phrased it nicer. Now, they were sitting in the waiting room of a psychiatrist's office. Beatrice looked around, the practice seemed to cater to teenagers so the room was full of other kids her own age who didn't want to be there. Belle was one of two parents. Beatrice watched as a boy muttered to himself.
"I am not crazy," said Beatrice.
"No, no, I would never say that," said Belle. "Maybe you're just stressed?"
"I'm not stressed!," she shouted capturing the attention of the other patients in the waiting room.
"Beatrice, please. I just want to help you."
"Miss French?"
A young-looking woman led Beatrice into her office. Beatrice thought this must be a receptionist until she insisted upon calling herself "Doctor Amy." The office decor was clearly designed with the intention of looking cool to her young patients, decorated with concert posters and hip furniture.
"So, Beatrice, tell me about yourself," she said, reclining in her chair. "What do you like to do?"
"Not be crazy."
"That's not why we're here, Beatrice. Nobody's saying that."
"I can't think of what else we would be here for."
"Do you like to hang out with your friends?"
"I don't have friends," said Beatrice. Although, Princess Aurora and I are starting to get along, but I think she likes that I can stop the flames.
"Boyfriends?"
Beatrice snorted. "Yeah, have you seen the boys running around high school lately?"
"Girlfriends?"
Beatrice rolled her eyes. "I'm not a lesbian. When there's a boy worth being into, you can count me in."
"A boy worth being into?"
"Yes, I have standards."
"What sort of standards?"
"What about not completely lame?"
"Fair enough," said Doctor Amy. "So, what do you like to do?"
"I like my computer. I like books. I like Doctor Who and I like coffee. Is that enough?"
"There's no right or wrong answer, Beatrice," Doctor Amy said as she wrote on her clipboard. "And what about your mom? Do you two have a good relationship?"
"Yes."
"Do you want to expand on that?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because you asked me a yes or no question, not an open-ended one and I don't need you trying to come up with some way that my mom is the problem. She's seriously not."
"And your dad?"
Beatrice froze. Doctor Amy looked as if she had struck gold.
"I don't have a dad so I don't see how I could have any issues with him," Beatrice stonewalled.
"Does that bother you?"
Beatrice wanted to scream. What did she think? "No, I'm totally fine not knowing one of my parents at all. It doesn't bother me at all," she said sarcastically.
"Do you think about your father a lot?"
"No."
"Do you ever wonder who he might be?"
"No." Because I'm fairly convinced he's a cursed fairy tale character in Maine, some sort of Beast who does magic? Beast Magician? Beastician?
"So, everything's okay at home?"
"Fine." Except for the part where my mom was dating some guy doing magical surveillance on me and oh, yeah, I have magic powers.
"How did you hurt your arm?"
"Burned it." In a Netherworld where my soul goes while I'm asleep since I was under a sleeping curse one time and it is a good thing I am not saying any of this out loud.
"How did you burn it?"
"Accident."
"Beatrice, it's okay, you can say anything here."
"Being okay to say anything implies that I have the choice to not say anything."
"That's not why you're here. To get the most out of treatment, you need to participate in it."
"I don't need to get anything out of treatment because I don't need it."
"Have you ever thought about hurting yourself?"
"No!"
"About suicide?"
"No and do not go out there and tell my mom I'm suicidal because I'm not."
"Do you remember burning yourself?"
"It was an accident."
Belle went in after Beatrice to talk to Doctor Amy alone. Beatrice sat in the waiting room and Belle emerged having clearly been crying. She forced a smile on as they walked to the elevator.
"So, did you like her?," asked Belle.
"No," said Beatrice.
Belle nodded. "Well, I'll see if we can get a referral, but you'll be coming three times a week."
"Three times a week?," asked Beatrice. "What am I supposed to talk to that woman about for three times a week?!"
"Beatrice, please," said Belle. "Please try for me."
"There is nothing wrong with me."
"Beatrice, I need you to try and I need you to swear to me you won't hurt yourself again."
"I didn't!"
"Beatrice, please."
Belle looked away, Beatrice knew she was trying to keep herself together. So she turned the other way.
"Your Highness," said Lancelot, bowing his head.
"Lancelot, thank you for coming," said Snow. She glanced out at Charming talking with his men and shut the door. "I need your help."
"Surely the Prince can do your bidding?," he teased.
She scowled. "We disagree on this. Are you aware of what has happened to Prince Thomas?"
"The kingdom is full of it." He leaned towards Snow White. "Did she even bother reading the contract?"
"That's neither here nor there," said Snow. "I think I may have a way to help, but this has to be done in the strictest confidence. No one can know and especially not the fairies."
"I'm intrigued."
"Rumplestiltskin is not the man you think he is or rather he's not the man he would have us think he is. He has a... a..."
Lancelot eyed her curiously.
"I'm not sure what you would call her."
"A woman?," Lancelot asked in disbelief. "Rumplestiltskin has a lover?"
"You're one to talk," she snapped.
Lancelot put his hands up in mock surrender.
"She's to have his child."
Lancelot nodded. "You want to trade his lover for Prince Thomas?"
"No," said Snow.
"Then the Dark One's child for Cinderella's child?"
"No!," said Snow. "I am sworn to protect that child. Using her as a bargaining chip does not fit in with that. Nor do I think it's in our best interests to anger Rumplestiltskin in such a way."
"Then what's your plan?"
"Rumplestiltskin has been forced to endure a long separation from the woman he loves. His heart has hardened. The man in the dwarf mines is not the man I've dealt with before."
"You mean completely crazy?"
"Belle says she brings out the good in him. Maybe if we let him see her he'll be more willing to listen to us and we can get Thomas back."
"The best in him? Do you think there's anything good in him to bring out?"
"Belle thinks there is and so do I." She handed him a piece of parchment. "I've written Belle to explain. Take a carriage and bring her here. Let no one know who your passenger is."
"Yes, your highness."
"Make haste. Rumplestiltskin has many enemies."
Beatrice was having a hard time getting a hold of August. His phone always went to voice mail.
"Hello?"
"August, thank God!" Beatrice glanced out her door at Belle. She was reading yet another book from the what to do with your insane daughter genre. She ducked back in her room. "Look, I need help. Neal told me what he could, but I need someone with more expertise."
"I don't know how much more expertise I have than Neal."
"Look, I was under a sleeping curse and I keep visiting this Netherworld. The problem is somehow I burned my arm there and now I'm seeing a shrink and my mom won't let me more than ten feet away because she thinks I'm crazy."
"I'm sorry, Beatrice, I don't know how to help-"
"Is there anyone there who can help? You know? Someone in Fairy Tale Town who knows about this stuff?"
"No, Beatrice, they're all under the Curse-"
"A book or something? First Aid Treatment for injuries from the Netherworld?"
"No, look, right now I've got to focus on getting Emma to believe."
"Savior girl?"
"Yes, there have been a lot of distractions here-"
"There have been a lot of distractions here, August, but I'm a believer so maybe help me out."
"Beatrice, I'm running out of time. We all have problems. Once Emma believes and the Curse is broken, everything can be fixed."
"Yeah, that's only taken twenty-eight years, how much longer do you think it will be? Before or after I end up in the asylum?"
"Your mom won't send you to an asylum."
"No, she's already made one in the apartment."
"Look, I've got to go, you're going to have to just hang on a while longer." He groaned.
Beatrice frowned. "August, is something wrong?"
"I'm fine, gotta go," he said with a tense voice.
Beatrice screeched in frustration and threw her iPhone at the bed.
"Stupid savior girl! Take a hint!"
"Beatrice?"
Beatrice froze and turned around to see Belle in the doorway.
Yeah, that last thing probably seemed a little crazy.
Snow White wondered what was keeping Lancelot. It wasn't that far to the Dark Castle. The fear of Regina's threat continued to gnaw at her and that led her and Charming to see Rumplestiltskin and learn about the Curse. By the time she saw Lancelot, his men and the carriage, she had nearly forgotten they existed. In the moments as she raced downstairs, she let herself cling on to a brief hope that somehow they could avert the Curse.
She hurried downstairs.
"Lancelot!"
Snow realized the carriage was empty.
"Where is she?"
"I'm sorry. Belle was gone."
Snow White noticed his arm. "How did you hurt yourself?"
"We ran into Regina's soldiers."
"Doc should look at you-"
"Snow White, that wasn't all. There were rumblings that King George took Belle."
"King George? Who told him where to find her? And why would he-"
"A gift. For Regina."
Snow gasped in horror. Her shoulders dropped.
Lancelot shook his head. "I'm sorry, Your Highness."
Beatrice awoke. Belle stood over her in concern.
"Sweetheart, are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
"You were screaming." Belle flipped on the light. "Beatrice, my God, your other arm!"
Beatrice looked. The right arm had gotten the worst of it this time.
Belle sat on the bed. "Beatrice, why are you doing this to yourself? Sweetheart, please, tell me. Whatever it is. I can't bear to see you hurting yourself."
"I'm not hurting myself!"
"Then how is it happening? When you went to bed, your arm was perfectly fine and now..." She shook her head. "Come. Let me clean it."
Belle dragged Beatrice to the bathroom. Beatrice watched as her mother brought out the various bottles and ointments, eyes full of water.
"Mom?"
Belle looked up hopefully.
"Whatever I say, do you promise to believe me?"
"Believe you? Of course I'll believe you. You're my girl."
Beatrice was resigned to this. Anything was better than seeing her mother cry, letting her worry herself sick.
"There's a parallel universe, actually, there's a few. Actually, it could be infinite-"
"Beatrice, what does this have to do with-"
"There's one called the Enchanted Forest."
"The Enchanted Forest?" Belle looked skeptical.
"I don't make up the names, but anyway, you're from there-"
"I'm from there?"
"Yeah and there was this curse while you were pregnant with me that brought everyone from there here- well, to Maine, actually- and took away all of your memories of your past life and replaced them with false ones."
"Right..." said Belle. "Is there anything else?"
"Regina Mills-"
"Wait, where did you get that name?"
"She's really the Evil Queen because everyone in the town in Maine is a character from a fairy tale. Or possibly Alice in Wonderland. Or Peter Pan for some reason."
"Then who am I?"
"Belle."
Her mother stared at her blankly.
"You know, Belle? Likes books and the Beast? I didn't think this would be such a hard transition."
Belle shook her head. "Beatrice, that's just a coincidence."
"No, not really, when you add it in with all the other stuff I just said."
Belle stared at her blankly. "And what does this have to do with your arms?"
"At some point, you were under a sleeping curse and the people under a sleeping curse visit this Netherworld and there are flames there."
"And you're under a sleeping curse?"
"No. You were while you were pregnant with me. I'm still trying to work that out."
"Right, well," said Belle finishing up with a bandage wrapping around Beatrice's arm. "We can talk about this more in the morning."
"You don't believe me."
"Of course I believe you."
"No, you don't. You're the worst liar ever. You don't believe me. Did you read some book that told you to humor me?"
"Beatrice, I-"
"I didn't tell you the truth because you would think I was crazy! Then you thought I was crazy anyway! So what's the point?!"
"I don't think you're crazy."
"Yes, you do! You're going to have me locked up with girls with real problems! Not stupid magical ones!"
"Beatrice, just please, go to sleep." Belle hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. "I love you. We'll talk in the morning."
Beatrice sat on her bed, defeated as her mother left.
Lancelot escorted Snow White down to the dwarf mines. Rumplestiltskin was in his cell as ever.
"Come back, dearie?," he called. "I'm afraid nothing's changed! You're all still doomed!"
Snow White walked below the light of the torch.
"No Charming, I see? Should I be worried?," asked Rumplestiltskin.
"Belle's fairy godmother was the same as Cinderella's," said Snow White.
She saw the imp stiffen.
"I don't know who you mean, dearie."
Snow White ignored him and tried to carry on as she started to sniffle. "That's why you killed the Gold Fairy, isn't it? It wasn't power, it was revenge. You thought she should have helped."
"I don't need a reason to kill a fairy," said Rumplestiltskin.
"Belle was the first person to hide me from Regina," said Snow White.
"What a delightful piece of trivia," the Dark One quipped without his usual enthusiasm.
"I'm sorry," said Snow.
Rumplestiltskin looked up at her. In the flickers of torchlight, he could see that her eyes and face were red. Tears flowed freely.
"I'm so sorry," said Snow White. "I'm so sorry you lost her."
Rumplestiltskin eyed her. "Just a housekeeper, dearie."
Snow White nodded through her tears. She knew Rumplestiltskin would never reveal himself in front of her. Though everyone in the kingdom made deals and then spoke of him with disdain, Belle was the only one who seemed to know him.
"I'm sorry," said Snow, still sobbing. "I'm sorry."
Snow White cried and Rumplestiltskin was forced by the nature of his plans to act disinterested.
He could only wonder what had possessed the princess to bring up someone who had been dead for years.
