Rose was able to get away from Avolonea, but she had to leave Belle behind. She didn't want to, but she had to. Belle said it won't be forever. Rose worried that since her vision of her father being gone came true, Belle could be gone too. She could be locked up by her father and that Gaston man. Rose wanted to go back for Belle, but she didn't know how she would be able to. She had little to no control over her powers anymore. She could end up seriously injuring someone. She didn't want to take the chance. Even though they wanted to lock her away and keep her from her mother, she didn't want to hurt anyone. She just wanted her parents back.

Belle told Rose to go "where the snow fights for love." To anyone else, it wouldn't make a bit of sense. Luckily, Rumple had made some "allies" in the last year. They weren't really friends, but he thought they were trustworthy enough. Some time after he saw Rose's visions, he thought of a safe place Rose could go if the vision were to come true. He even came up with a code name for it in case something like the events in Avolonea happened. That was where she had intended to send herself and Belle when Gaston wanted to take Belle away, but she got distracted and sent them to the wrong place. This time, she was able to focus enough to where she sent herself to the right place.

When the pink smoke cleared from around her, Rose found herself in what looked like a nursery. There was a crib, toys, stuffed animals, and the most beautiful unicorn ornament hanging over the crib. Rose was fascinated by the room. Whoever her father told her to go to must have a baby. Rose then noticed the two open doors leading to a balcony. She went out on it and looked over the forest and the ocean. The sight was truly breath-taking. Even with her fascination, she still wondered who lived there. All her life, her papa never trusted anyone. He even told her that she shouldn't trust people. Who could he finally trust enough to watch over his young daughter who he kept locked away all of her life? Her thoughts were interrupted by the door to the room opening. She turned and saw a short man with a beard and a pick ax.

"Hey! Who are you?! What are you doing here?!" He was followed in by six other short men. She was more afraid of the one that yelled at her and looked the most threatening.

"I...I..."

"How did you get in here?!" One of the men with glasses placed a hand on the angry man's shoulder.

"Calm down, Grumpy. You're scaring her. She's just a child."

"Shut it, Doc! She's trespassing and she doesn't belong here!" The man with the glasses spoke again.

"It doesn't mean you should yell at her. I apologize for my brother's rudeness. He was hatched that way. What is your name, child?"

"I...I'm Rose."

"Rose. Lovely name. Well, I'm Doc. You've met my brother Grumpy. The rest of my brothers are Happy, Sneezy, Bashful, Dopey, and Sleepy." Rose giggled.

"You have funny names."

"Well, we're dwarfs. Our names are a bit odd, but it's just who we are." Rose giggled again. She had always heard of dwarfs, but she had never seen one. Grumpy spoke again.

"Hey! Enough with the introductions! Why are you here and how did you get in here!" Before Grumpy got too hostile, Doc grabbed his shoulder.

"Come on, Grumpy. Let's just take her to the prince and princess and let them deal with her, huh? This is their castle." Grumpy grunted in frustration.

"Fine, but if she takes one step out of line, this ax is going through her head." Rose flinched and covered her head. Her father was known for being mean and cruel, but that dwarf was much worse. Doc simply shook his head and gestured for Rose to follow them. She was hesitant, but she followed. The prince and princess must be who her papa trusted with her. Did they know about her? Would he dare admit to someone that he had a daughter? Only time would tell. In the meantime, Rose quietly followed the dwarfs. She didn't want to say anything that might give Grumpy a reason to ax her head. After a few minutes, they made it to a throne room. There stood a man with short brown hair and blue eyes at a round table. Next to him sat a woman with long black hair and dark green eyes. The man addressed the group.

"What seems to be the problem, boys?" Doc led Rose to the front of the group.

"We found this little girl in the nursery. Her name is Rose." The woman rose from her chair and walked around the table to the group. Rose saw her belly was bulging out. She had read enough stories and seen enough pictures in her books to know what a woman who was going to have a baby looked like. The woman slowly approached the child.

"Rose?"

"Yes. I'm Rose." The man walked beside the pregnant woman. She turned to him.

"Charming! Do you think..." The man shook his head.

"No. This means nothing. You know he is not to be trusted."

"Charming. He said, 'Look for the rose that blooms in an empty nursery.' This child must be what he meant."

"And even if she is, how do we know this isn't some kind of trap? This could be a bad sign." Grumpy stepped forward.

"I'll gladly get rid of her for you." Rose backed away from the dwarf and turned up to the prince and princess.

"Please. I'm not bad. My papa told me to come here if my mama and him got taken away. He said to go to where the snow fights for love." The woman's eyes widened. Rose didn't know what that meant, but she could see that the woman did.

"The snow fights for love."

"Yeah. What does that mean?" She approached the child.

"It means you're in the right place. My name is Snow White and I've a long fight for love. He meant for you to find us."

"He said I would be safe here."

"And you will. We can keep you safe." The prince came up behind his wife.

"Hold on a minute. Rose, who is your father?" Rose's face fell. Her father said she would be safe there. Should she tell them who he is? Last time she blurted it out, it was a disaster. It was a secret she was always meant to keep. Snow saw the conflict in the girl.

"It's alright, Rose. You can tell us. You don't have to be afraid." Rose thought of telling them. Rumple did say this was a safe place. Why shouldn't she be able to tell them who her father is if he's the one who told her to go there? Before she could respond, she saw something from the corner of her eye. She turned and saw a familiar little figure. The tiny woman gasped as she saw Rose.

"Rose." Rose backed away from the fairy.

"I remember you. My papa told me to stay away from you." Snow and Charming were confused at the interaction between the child and the good fairy. Snow stepped over to them.

"Blue, you know this child?"

"I do. We've met once before and things didn't work out as they should have. The Dark One kept her away for a long time." Snow gasped.

"The Dark One?"

"Yes. This is his daughter." Grumpy lifted his pick-ax.

"I knew that kid was trouble! Anyone born of that imp has to be nothing but pure evil! And I heard she has powers just like him! She could kill us all at any moment!" The rest of the dwarfs agreed. Rose saw more of how her father was hated and despised. She saw more of why he didn't trust anyone. She saw more of why he kept her a secret. She was automatically be labeled as evil and dangerous. She dealt with it at the fair, in Avolonea, and now here. She didn't liked to be judged so quickly. It wasn't fair. They didn't even give her a chance. Snow stepped beside Rose.

"No! I don't believe that! Had she wanted to kill us, she would've done it already. I don't think she means us any harm." Rose looked up to Snow and the woman smiled at her. She then looked back to the dwarfs. "Besides, she's only a child. She's no more than four or five years old. What reason would she have to harm us?"

"Think about it, sister. We got the imp locked up down in that cave and she just shows up here?" Rose's eyes widened.

"You know where my papa is? I want to see him!" The fairy floated down to her.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but you can't. It's too dangerous."

"He's my papa! He won't hurt me! I want to see him!"

"He's not your real father. You know this. And with your powers this raw and out of control, he may try to use you to escape." Rose's locket started to glow.

"Not he won't! He loves me! He won't hurt me! Why can't you let me be with my papa?!" Her locket grew brighter and brighter. The fairy saw this and grew worried.

"Calm down, Rose. There's no need to get angry." The chandelier started to shake. Snow saw this was going nowhere. At this rate, Rose could bring down the castle if she wanted to. She needed to do something before things got out of hand.

"Because you can see your father." All eyes were on the princess in that moment. Rose's locket died down until the glow was gone as she smiled.

"I can?"

"Yes and I will take you to see him." The room was full of complaints and objections. Charming turned her attention to him.

"Are you insane, Snow? You can't go down there! Who knows what he'll try to do to you?"

"He can't hurt me. His magic doesn't work down there. Besides, are you really going to deny a little girl a reunion with her father?"

"But Snow..."

"It's final, Charming. Rose is seeing her father." Charming didn't like the idea of his pregnant wife going to see the Dark One on her own.

"Then I'm coming with you."

"Like you had a choice." Rhuel Ghorm floated in front of them.

"I really must advise against this. The Dark One can be cruel and manipulating. Neither you nor Rose should go anywhere near him."

"You can advise all you want, Blue, but we're going. Now." Snow took Rose's hand and led her from the room. Charming followed after her.

"Now?"

"Yes, now. I don't see why we should wait. She's been away from her father long enough." Rose was warming up to Snow. She was kind, pretty, smart, and head-strong. She reminded Rose of Belle. She then started to think when or if she would see her mother again. She left her back in Avolonea and Belle promised it wouldn't be forever. Maybe she could get Snow and Charming to bring her there. For now, she wanted to see her papa.

The carriage ride felt like forever for Rose. After a month, she would finally see her beloved Papa again. She wondered if he was alright. She knew no one liked him and almost everyone wanted him dead. Luckily, they couldn't kill him. He was immortal. She remembered him telling her about how he became the Dark One in the first place. He mentioned something about a dagger that took the powers of the Dark One before him, but she's never seen the dagger before. She wanted even sure it existed. She didn't know if it was real or if he just told her that to censor the story. Either way, she was glad no one would be able to kill her papa. When the carriage finally stopped, they were at the entrance of what looked like an abandoned mine. She would've thought it was abandoned had it not been for the armored men standing guard. They straightened up as they saw Snow and Charming exit the carriage.

"Prince Charming. Princess Snow White." Snow spoke.

"We're here to see the prisoner." They saw the child next to her.

"Your highness. You surely cannot be bringing a child in there."

"I am. The child is important. Is there an issue?" The guards looked to each other, but knew better than to question royalty.

"Of course not, your majesty. I shall guide you in." One of the guards grabbed a torch from the wall and led them down into the tunnel. Rose recognized it from her vision. She couldn't believe they would put her papa in such a place. It was dark, damp, and creepy. She couldn't imagine being locked up there. Rose was too lost in thought to listen to the guard giving some kind of instructions about don't let him see your faces and don't tell him their names. Snow waved offed the guard, telling him to return to his post. He was hesitant, but he obeyed her command. There were two more guards closer to the cell. She told them to leave as well. After a few feet, they made a turn and Rose could see the familiar cell. They cautiously approached it. They saw a figure behind the bars sitting in the middle of the floor, his face to the wall. Rose knew that unruly hair and scaly vest anywhere. It was her papa! She had finally found him. Charming held her back as she tried to run to him.

"Rumpelstiltskin!" He never moved from his spot, but his impish giggle was heard.

"Ah, well if it isn't Prince Charming and Snow White. Hiding your identities is pointless, dearies. So, let's skip the pleasantries and get to the reason you came to see me." Charming let Rose go and she slowly approached the cell.

"Papa?" At the sound of the familiar voice, he quickly turned and saw his daughter. Rose smiled as she saw her papa's large amber eyes that she missed so much. He stood and walked over to the bars. He knelt down to eye-level with the child.

"Rose?" He reached through the bars and cupped her rosy cheek in his hand. He felt her soft skin and looked into her eyes. They were the bright emerald eyes that only she had. Rose leaned into his hand.

"I missed you, Papa." A tear escaped from his eye.

"I've missed you, my flower." Rose smiled at the mention of her nickname. She hadn't been called that since he felt. Oh, how she missed it. She wanted nothing more than to hug him. She wanted to be in her father's loving embrace, but the bars prevented it. Even though they were together, they were still separated.

"Papa, Mama's gone." He feared that would happen. Why else would Rose be there with Snow and Charming? "She's gone because of me."

"What are you talking about? It's not your fault."

"It was. I undid the spell. I took us there. I didn't mean to." Rumple was confused by this.

"What do you mean, flower? What did you do?"

"I undid the spell on that rose you gave Mama and turned him back to a man. He wanted to take Mama away. And then they started yelling at each other and I tried to bring us to the safe place, but we went to Mama's old home with her papa. They wanted to lock me up and I hurt people. Mama told me to leave and I did. I left Mama." Tears started to fall from her eyes. Rumple hated seeing his daughter that way. He wiped the tears away.

"Hey, it's alright, flower. It's not your fault. Your mother is going to be fine. She's in no danger."

"She's not?"

"Of course not. She's back with her family. They wouldn't do her any harm. They have no reason to. We'd rather her there than with the evil queen, right?"

"Yeah, but what about that man? Mama told me that she was suppose to marry him before she got to us. Is she gonna have to marry him?" Over my dead body, he thought.

"I seriously doubt that, flower. Your mother wouldn't marry him. She doesn't even like him." Rose giggled. Rumple loved to see her smiling again. Snow and Charming watched the interaction between father and daughter and were shocked. They had never seen the Dark One so caring and tender. The child seemed harmless and extremely innocent. How did the Dark One raise such a child? Before Rose could respond to Rumple, she was on the ground with her eyes shut tight and holding her head. Snow and Charming were worried and went to help her, but Rumple stopped them. "Stop! Don't come any closer!"

"What's going on? What did you do?"

"I haven't done a thing. She has the power of foresight. She has since she was an infant. She's having a vision." Snow grew more and more worried as Rose's vision went on. The child looked like she was in pain.

"Is that normal?"

"Most of her visions happen when asleep in the form of dreams. This is only the second time she's had one while awake." After a while, Rose let out a breath as the vision stopped. Rumple was by her side gently stroking her hair. She slowly sat up and leaned against the bars of the cell. She turned to her father and he took her hand in hers.

"Papa..."

"What did you see, flower?" Rose tried to gather her thoughts. The vision went by so fast, she barely had time to process a good bit of it.

"I...I saw the queen. She...had something in her hands. It was glowing. She threw it in a fire and this huge purple cloud came out. It covered everything in the forest." Rumple knew what she meant. The Dark Curse. Snow knew it too.

"That's the curse Regina threatened us with! The one to take our happy endings." Rose didn't know what it was. Whatever it was, she was afraid of it.

"You...you had your baby. Emma! I think her name was Emma." Snow held her stomach.

"That's what we were going to name her."

"I saw her. She was older. A lot older, but..." She was having trouble remembering the rest of the details. Rumple saw this and gently squeezed her hand.

"It's alright, flower. You don't have to say anymore. I've had that vision before. I know what happens." Snow was on edge. She knew Regina wanted to make sure that she was miserable. Whatever this curse was, it would do exactly that.

"What happens? How does this end, Rumpelstiltskin?" Rumple went from father to Dark One in a second.

"Well, wouldn't you like to know? What's in it for me to tell you what you wish to know?"

"We keep your daughter in our care and we bring her here to see you as often as she wishes. A daily basis if we have to. Or would you rather her be separated from her father again?" Rumple didn't appreciate the princess using his own daughter against him.

"The curse she will cast will tear everyone from this land and transport everyone to a land without magic. Time will stand still. No one shall have any memory of their lives here, but all curses can be broken. And in this case, your daughter is the key. You must get the child to safety and on her twenty-eighth birthday, she shall return. The child will find you and then the final battle will begin."

"What does that mean?"

"Exactly that. The curse will be broken, you'll have your memories, and the queen will be defeated...eventually." Rumple turned his attention back to his daughter, who passed out some time ago. The day had been long and filled with too much excitement for a five-year-old. "Now, I've told you what you wanted to know. I expect you'll hold up your end of the deal. You care for my daughter as if your lives depended on it because it does."

"We won't let any harm come to her and she will come see you whenever she wants. Right, Charming?" He was against the idea of having to see Rumpelstiltskin that often, but he could see that his daughter loved him and he loved his daughter. He couldn't break that bond because of his pride.

"Of course."

"Good. And I don't want her around that pesky fairy. She's done enough to me and my family." They wanted to question what he meant by that, but they decided against it. It was none of their business.

"We'll do our best." Rumple would have to take that for the moment. He wouldn't say he completely trusted the Charmings, but they were the only ones he was certain wouldn't try to kill his daughter. He kissed her forehead.

"Take her. She needs to rest." Charming carefully lifted the child up and onto his shoulder. Rumple watched his daughter being carried out of the tunnel by the prince. He had just been reunited with her just to have her taken away just as quick. Snow saw the emotions on his face.

"Don't worry, Rumpelstiltskin. She'll be safe with us. We'll bring her by to see you everyday." He simply nodded. Snow took that as a thank you and left the tunnels.