Snow White led Rose to the dining hall where Prince Charming was waiting. Charming still didn't feel comfortable with the Dark One's daughter in his castle, but he knew she meant no harm. He only feared what she inherited from her father. He knew she had strong magical abilities, stronger than Rumpelstiltskin's. He knew he would have to get used to having her there with them. Snow didn't think she was a threat and he had to trust his wife. He gave them a gentle smile.

"There you two are. I was starting to wonder if you were coming at all." Snow smirked at him.

"Questioning if a pregnant woman is coming to dinner? You insult me, Charming." He chuckled and looked to Rose.

"And how are you feeling, Rose?" She smiled at him.

"I'm okay. Thank you for asking." He was surprised by her politeness. He didn't exactly know what to expect from her being raised by the Dark One, but it certainly wasn't that. And from one so young. Snow sat her down at the table. Charming then pulled out Snow's chair across from Rose and helped her sit. He then took his place at the head of the table. The dinner started off quiet. Rose was usually one to get the conversation rolling, but she wasn't at home with her mama and papa anymore. She was in someone else's castle with other people. She felt uncomfortable. Snow and Charming didn't know how to start either. Rose was a child who was sheltered her entire life. She was always told never to leave her home or never trust anyone. If she was going to trust them, they needed to give her a reason to do so. Snow cleared her throat.

"So, Rose...why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?" Rose snapped to attention at the princess's request. She didn't know where to start and there wasn't really much to her. Anything to tell about herself involved telling about her father.

"Like what?"

"Anything. Like...what's your favorite color?" It was a fairly simple question. Rose didn't see why she couldn't tell them that.

"I like red." Snow smiled.

"Why red?"

"Because that's the color of roses and strawberries!" The two royals chuckled at the small child.

"I suppose you like roses and strawberries?"

"I love them! Roses are pretty and smell nice and strawberries are really good!" Charming couldn't hold back his chuckle. He couldn't believe Rumpelstiltskin had such a sweet and adorable daughter, but it was obvious that she wasn't biologically his. He wondered if she was a child he got out of a deal like he tried to do with Ella. He knew better than to ask her about it. Chances are she probably didn't know and never really questioned it. There was still the question of her mother that she mentioned to Rumpelstiltskin that was "back home." All those questions may never be answered. "What about you? Do you have a favorite flower or food?"

"I do. My favorite flower is the snow bell. My mother actually named me after them."

"Really?"

"Yes. I was born during one of the harshest winters she'd ever seen and snow bells can withstand any weather."

"Wow." Snow giggled.

"I know." Rose turned to Charming.

"What about you? Do you like flowers?" He chuckled.

"I'm not really a flower person. I can appreciate and admire their beauty, but I wouldn't say I have a favorite."

"Oh." She went silent again. Things were awkward for a few moments. Charming then noticed the pendant hanging just under Rose's locket that she was fidgeting with. He pointed to it.

"What's that you got there?" She lifted it so they both could see it.

"It was a present for my birthday from my friend. He gave it to me before he went to travel." Charming was surprised by this. He didn't think she would have any friends. He couldn't she Rumpelstiltskin letting anyone near his daughter, let alone become friends with her.

"Really? Why don't you tell us about him?" Rose decided to start from the beginning, which was her birthday. She told them about the visit to the fair for her past birthday. She got off track for a while telling them about everything she saw and did while she was there. She then went back to telling them about how she first met Quasimodo by following him into a tent and the brief conversation they had. She also told them about the old man that frightened her. She talked about how everyone made fun of Quasi and didn't care that he was hurt by the old man. She also told them about how she healed him and first discovered her new powers. She told them about the angry mob that wanted to hurt her and how Quasi saved her. She didn't tell them about his time in the Dark Castle, knowing Rumple wouldn't want anyone to know about it.

The rest of the dinner was full of conversation. Rose asked Snow and Charming questions about any and everything she could think of. When they talked about her, they were careful not to ask anything that had to do with her father. They felt that she probably would say anything about him that they shouldn't know about, but they wanted to be safe. After dinner, it was late. Usually after dinner, Rose would have her bath and go to bed. Because of the nap she had before dinner, she wasn't the least bit tired. Snow insisted that she go to bed anyway. She gave her one of her night gowns from her childhood. The royals put tucked her in and wished her a goodnight. Rose couldn't sleep. Everything was so new for her. The castle, the people, everything.

After half an hour of no sleep, she decided to get up and do some exploring. She left her room and walked down the hall, checking out each room she passed. Some of the doors were locked and she didn't bother with them. She was used to that. There were many rooms in the Dark Castle she wasn't allowed to go in and were sealed. The doors that did open were empty bedrooms, some closets, and an armory. She then came across a door at the far end of the castle. When she opened it, she found a set of stairs going up. Curious, she ascended them and soon came to another door. When she opened the door, she smiled as she found it was a library. It wasn't nearly as nice as the one back home, but it was still a library. She lit the fireplace and it illuminated the room. She scanned through the books on the shelves that she could reach. She came across a curious looking book that was laying face-up at the end of the shelf. She picked it up and saw that it didn't have a title. It only had a blue gem on the cover.

"I wonder what this is." She took the book and sat in front of the fireplace. She opened the book to the first page and saw an index. Each section of the book was labeled and had a page number. She noticed that they all had to do with some kind of magic. There was potions, spells, curses, everything. One section in particular caught her eye. "True Love...50." She flipped through the book and found page 50. She started to read as best as she could.

"True Love is the most powerful source of magic in (existence). True Love's kiss can break any curse or spell. In theory, True Love could do the (impossible) such as bring a person back from the dead. This could only (possibly) be true if a person were to (possess) True Love as a source of magic. No one has ever had such power. If anyone were to have such power, it could be (extremely dangerous) and even deadly. If a person were to have such power, they would need to (immediately) learn to control it or they could..."

"There you are, Rose!" Rose jumped at the sound of the voice. She turned and saw Charming enter the library. "What are you doing up here? We put you to bed an hour ago. We went to check on you and you weren't there."

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't sleep. I walked around until I came here."

"Well, next time you decide to go exploring, make sure someone is with you. You don't know your way around yet. You could get lost."

"Okay. I will."

"Good. Now, come on. You need to get back to bed."

"But I was reading..." He picked her up and carried her away, leaving her book open by the fireplace.

"You can finish reading tomorrow. It's bedtime now." He carried her back to her room and tucked her in again. "Will you stay in bed this time?"

"I'm not tired and I was just reading a book."

"I know and I don't have a problem with you reading. Considering your age, I'm impressed that you could read any book in that library. That's not the problem. Snow and I came in here to check on you and you weren't here. We were worried that something had happened to you. Your father told you to come to us because he thought you would be safe here. How do you think he would feel if we had to tell him that you had suddenly disappeared?" Rose knew exactly how he would feel.

"He would be worried and sad."

"Exactly. We don't want your father to worry about you going missing, do we?"

"No."

"Good. We don't mind you wanting to explore and go off on your own, but you need to make sure someone knows where you are. You think you can remember to do that?"

"Yes." He smiled.

"Good. Now, try to get some sleep, alright?"

"Okay. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." He left and closed the door behind him. Rose rolled over, but she couldn't fall asleep. She was even more awake. She didn't get to finish reading that passage in her book. It told all about her magic. True Love was the source of her powers and that book could tell her all about it. Maybe it could help her learn to control them. What did the rest of that sentence say? It was saying something about needing to control the power or something could happen. She was anxious to finish reading it. After a few more minutes, she started to fall asleep.

Belle had her escape plan. She was still locked in her room, so she couldn't just walk out. She needed to sneak out. It was those kinds of moments when Belle was glad she was a rebellious teenager. She had long ago found a secret tunnel that went under the castle and lead out to the forest. It was an emergency exit route in case the castle was ever attacked. She used it to sneak out with her friends when she was younger. When it was late enough and she was sure everyone was asleep, she made her move. She went into the back of her closet and opened the secret door leading to a set of stone steps. She quietly closed the door and descended the stairs. Minutes later, she finally reached the tunnel. It was dark, but Belle knew the way like the back of her hand. Five minutes later, she finally made it to the second set of steps. She ascended them and reached the door. Giving it a few hard pushes, the door finally gave way and opened. She climbed up to the clearing in the forest. She was able to see the castle from there.

"I'm sorry it had to come to this, Papa, but my daughter needs me." She turned to start her journey, but the ground beneath her moved and shifted. Tree roots emerged and wrapped around her. She struggled to get lose, but they didn't budge. She then saw Regina emerge from the thick of trees on horseback.

"Well, that was easier than I thought."

"You!"

"Yes, it's me. You should have stayed with your family. Then again, you also should have done what I told you."

"I would never hurt Rumple!"

"Obviously. His curse still isn't broken and you've agreed to marry him. Seriously, what could you possibly see in him?"

"I see him for who he really is! Unlike you, he actually has a heart!" She groaned in disgust.

"Sure he does. Now, this daughter of his. Where is she?"

"Why would I ever tell you where she is?! I know you only want to hurt her!"

"What I plan to do with her when I find her is my own business. You should be more worried about what I have in store for you." She snapped her fingers and Belle was in an unfamiliar room. There was nothing but a small bed against the wall and a window. As she walked over to the window, she heard an odd jingling and felt something cold on her wrist and ankle. She looked and saw she was chained to the bed. She was able to make it to the window and saw that she was in a really high up tower. She was trapped. Rose's vision came true. Belle plopped down on the bed and put her face in her hands.

"I'm sorry, Rose. I'm so sorry."

In case you guys didn't catch it the () while Rose was reading were words she didn't know.