Okay sorry for the delays but finals were insane so thank you for patience. To the new followers welcome and thank you. This chapter is extra long but there is a lot going on in this chapter. Enjoy!
It was a Wednesday evening when Belle found herself sitting at Granny's lost in her thoughts. The vanilla latte she'd ordered had long since gone cold but she hadn't noticed. It had been three weeks since she'd moved in with Regina and Belle felt like she was finally starting to get into a routine. Though most of her time was spent researching with the Charmings and Regina the rest of it was spent trying to rediscover herself. The queen had been right when she said that Belle had needed to focus on who she was now. For so long her life had revolved around her relationship with the Dark One. Hell, she still regarded it as the second-most defining aspect of her life, her mother's death being the first. It was a struggle for her to define who she was without him. She looked up, startled, when she felt someone sit across from her in the booth. "Henry! What are you doing here?"
Henry was on his way home from the Charming loft when he noticed Belle through the window. She looked positively melancholy but that was nothing new. Since she had moved into the mansion with him and his mother Henry had noticed that Belle seemed to be haunting the place more than living in it. When she was there she barely spoke a word or came out of her room but every night he could hear her crying herself to sleep. He'd decided that it was probably best to give her space but seeing her through Granny's window blankly staring into a cold latte was so depressing it had finally spurred him into action. It was time to step into Operation Beauty.
"I saw you through the window. I thought I'd say hi," he said.
"Well that's very kind of you." As much as Belle was glad to have someone to distract her from her thoughts she was still very unsure of how to interact with Henry. She cared for him, of course, but she never really knew how to define their relationship. Technically she was, or used to be, his grandmother but with their minimal age difference she'd never really grown into that role.
"Actually I've been meaning to give something to you." He said reaching into his backpack. He pulled out the storybook and handed it to her. She looked at the cover, confused. Once Upon A Time. Behind those four words was almost the entire history of nearly everyone in the Enchanted Forest. "Henry you love this book. Why are you giving it to me?"
Like it was the simplest thing in the world he answered, "Because you need it now."
"Henry as sweet as that is I don't think the answers to my problems are in the book."
"You're wrong." He protested. "When I found out I was adopted I felt like I didn't know who I was anymore. Then I got the book and it showed me this history. When I needed it to this book led me to my family and helped me remember who I am. I can tell that without Rumpelstiltskin you feel like you don't know who you are anymore but you've done amazing things without him by your side. You might have forgotten them but I know this book can help you remember. Just look in it. You'll see."
She smiled at him from across the table. "When did you get so wise?"
"Have you seen what's happened to me in the past four years?" he chuckled. "If I haven't grown from those experiences there's something seriously wrong with me."
Belle set the book down and looked at him seriously. "Henry I want you to know that no matter what happens between me and your grandfather you'll always remain a very special person to me. You know that right?"
"Of course I know that." said Henry standing up. "Even if you're not my grandma you'll always be family."
She smiled at Henry as he left. One day she'd have to ask Regina how she'd managed to raise such an amazing son.
Across town Regina had just left the mayor's office. She had to update the Charmings on her research with the dagger. They'd insisted on knowing her daily progress but there wasn't much to report. The Dark One's curse seemed unbreakable and the Dark One himself seemed to be laying low. All Regina wanted right now was to go home and eat dinner with her son. But of course she would never get off that easy. She'd barely made it two blocks before she felt his presence. She slowed her walk to a reluctant stop.
"It's late and I want to go home. So let's just get this over with shall we?"
For more than three hundred years the magic of the dagger had preserved Rumpelstiltskin's youth. He hadn't aged a day since he became the Dark One but now, as he emerged from the shadows, Regina could see how old he truly was. His chin was thickly lined with stubble and his eyes had never looked so hollow. Even his limp seemed more severe. Clearly life without Belle wasn't treating him great.
"Well Rumple, I would say that you looked well but then I'd be a liar." Smirked Regina.
"Just what do you think you're doing, dearie?" he asked threateningly.
"Nothing that truly concerns you, dearie." Retorted Regina. She couldn't let him know their true plans for the dagger.
"If it concerns my wife, it concerns me." He countered.
Regina chuckled in response. Of course this was about Belle. He still thinks he has a chance with her, she thought.
"If I'm not mistaken you no longer have a wife." She sneered.
"Belle will come back to me." Rumple said confidently. "I may have lied to her but soon she will realize that she loves me enough to forgive me."
"You actually think you still have a chance with her?" she questioned in disbelief. "Rumple Belle might still love you but it won't be enough to bring her back to you. Without trust love just fades away. And her trust in you is positively shattered."
Rumple grip on his cane tightened. "Be that as it may I'd still prefer her to be away from your influence."
"Lucky for me you have no say in the matter."
"What exactly do you get out of this Regina?" probed Rumple walking towards her menacingly. "Are really taking in Belle just to piss me off?"
"You'd think after three hundred years you'd learn that not everything is about you." Responded Regina. "I have my own reasons for allowing Belle under my roof none of which have anything to do with you."
She shook her head at him in disbelief. For decades this man had seemed all-powerful to her. A magical entity that held all the answers. Now she saw him for what he really was: a cowardly man with too much power on his hands.
"You forgot the number one rule when it comes to villains Rumple." She looked him dead in the eyes as she continued. "You. Can't. Have. Everything. You really thought that you could have it all and look at you now. Belle has left. Henry doesn't want to see you. Now that you've gone after their daughter and her pirate the Charmings have decided that your usefulness is no longer worth your risk. You've truly lost everything that matters. "
She started to walk away when Rumple called out to her. "If I truly have lost everything then why hasn't Belle used my dagger against me yet?"
Regina turned back with a smirk on her lips. "And who says the dagger is still in Belle's hands?"
She sent herself home in a swirl smoke before she could even enjoy the look of shock on Rumpelstiltskin's face.
Belle was in her room staring at the storybook when she heard Henry and Regina settling down to dinner. She hadn't really been joining them these last few weeks but tonight she felt differently. When she came downstairs she found them at the kitchen table laughing at one of Henry's school stories. Regina noticed her first.
"Belle!" she smiled. "Did you come down for dinner?"
"Yes," said Belle uncertainly. "That is if I'm not intruding?"
"Of course not." Regina answered.
"Yeah we saved a place for you." Said Henry enthusiastically pointing at a third chair. Belle smiled as a she took a seat. She thought she only needed a place to lay her head at night but this place was starting to feel more and more like home.
Unbeknownst to the strange little family at the dining room table Rumpelstiltskin watched them from the shadows of the forest. He seethed in the darkness. Regina had stolen his second chance at a family. He, Belle and Henry should be in New York. Just the three of them.
And they'd get there no matter what he had to do.
So there you have it! Rumpelstiltskin knows about the dagger. I had a hard time writing the Rumple and Regina scene so let me know what you thought. There energy is hard to capture. Please review!