Author Notes: Attention Red Beauty shippers! Red Beauty Week is being held on tumblr from September 13-19. This is a week to post and celebrate all content relating to Red Beauty (Ruby/Belle). If you write fic or make gifsets, reclists, fanvids, etc., this is a great time to post work and have it recognized. If you don't make anything, this is a great chance to view and promote other people's work. There's a different theme for each day of the week, so don't worry about not having enough ideas. If you're interested, check out .com for more details.

As always, thanks to Castle-Dancer1212 for betaing.

Emma was sitting in a parlor of the castle staring out the window and thinking about how long it had been since there had been a proper storm. Her sewing, which she'd worked diligently on for approximately three minutes, had long since been discarded and was sitting on the ground next to her chair. Outside the window, there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

Of course there isn't, Emma thought bitterly. She wasn't necessarily a fan of inclement weather, but there were times like today when the mildness of everything felt suffocating. A storm would trap her inside the palace, but on the other hand, it would wreak just a little bit of destruction and make what had remained seem clean, miraculous. Maybe if she was lucky she could feel that way too. She could use that right now.

Emma was s lost in her thoughts of rain that she didn't even notice Lily entering the room until she was standing right next to her. It wasn't until the maid called her name that she looked away from the window.

"Sorry, I was distracted. What's up?"

Lily looked bored. "Belle wants you. She's in her chamber."

"Any idea what it's about?"

"Nope."

"I guess I'll just have to go see." Emma left the room, forgetting about her needlework until she'd already passed through several corridors. I can go back for it later, she told herself, knowing she wouldn't. She wasn't supposed to leave things like that laying around, and she felt bad about leaving more work for the maids, but she knew that if she left it for later she'd forget about it. She'd just about convinced herself to go back for it now she passed Hook in the hall, and became distracted. After a moment of very strange eye contact Hook pointedly looked away, saying nothing as they passed.

What isup with him lately? Emma wondered, not for the first time. She could understand his behavior at the ball; he had, after all, been trying to hide his identity, but the past few days had just been—weird. It had started that day in the courtyard, but what had sparked it, she had no idea. All she knew was that his usual insults had been replaced with lingering looks, and that when he did speak to her, he did so like a gentleman at court, nothing like the pirate she had grown so used to. Emma had never realized how much she enjoyed bickering with Hook until she'd been deprived of it. She'd liked having at least one person who would ignore her title and treat her like he would anyone else, and now that was gone.

Emma was so deep in thought that she walked right past Belle's door. Shaking herself mentally, she turned around to make her way back, but as she did so she heard voices coming from the room. She paused, unsure of whether to risk eavesdropping or just knock, when she heard her father's voice saying, "And you're certain that Jones loves Emma?"

Emma stifled a gasp, then crept closer to the door in time to hear Belle say, "Well, Red and Mulan both say so at any rate."

"Good enough. I can't imagine that either of them would lie," Charming replied. "Do you think Emma should know?"

Marian's voice came in next. "It doesn't seem like a wise decision, Your Majesty. I mean no offense to your daughter, but do you really think she'd leave Hook alone after learning something of this nature?"

"They say," Belle said gently. "That hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Emma already uses Killian to vent her anger about Neal. I can only imagine it would get worse after learning of his feelings."

Emma leaned even closer to the door and slipped, landing on the ground with a loud thump. She waited, breathless, for someone to open the door and demand to know what she was doing there, but after a prolonged silence, the conversation went on.

"You're right." Charming sighed. "I just wish she could move past Neal and onto something better. She can't see what's right in front of her."

"It really is a pity," Belle said, in a much louder tone than she normally spoke in. "Killian would be quite good for her."

Emma had to repress a snort at that. Hook, good for her? Not a chance. As quietly as she could, she pulled herself to her feet and pressed her ear back to the door.

Marian seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "Do you think so? He is a pirate."

Despite what she had just been thinking, a wave of protectiveness that Emma couldn't quite understand flared up inside her. So what if Hook was a pirate? He wasn't half as dull as the princes she'd been forced to spend time with, and his manners, when he chose to use them, were unparalleled. And yes, he'd probably stolen from people, but hadn't Snow done the same during her time on the run from Regina? And hadn't Neal suggested doing that to survive when they'd talked about running away? Maybe that was the price of freedom. Emma had a sudden image of herself as a pirate, but banished it immediately. Just because she was defending Hook's decision to herself didn't mean she was planning on running out and following his lead.

She pressed her ear back into the door just in time to hear her father say, "I agree with Belle, actually. Emma needs someone who can keep up with her. Jones can do that, if nothing else."

"Do you think she suspects his feelings?" Marian asked.

"No." Belle sounded certain of that. "As you said, she would be teasing him half to death if she did. Emma doesn't have a clue."

"How long has this been going on?" Charming asked. "Just since he got back from the war?"

"Longer. according to Red, Killian says he's been in love with Emma since he first laid eyes on her. It wasn't until the masquerade that he began to have trouble hiding his feelings."

"Did something happen that night?" Marian asked.

"Well, I don't know how closely you were watching Emma, but she danced quite closely with Killian without realizing who he was."

I did too know who he was! Emma thought indignantly.

"The man in the ogre mask. Of course!" Charming said.

"It was the first time Killian was able to see what it would be like to be around Emma if she didn't hate him. He says it was easy to hide it when he didn't know what he was missing, but now it's impossible."

For a wild moment, Emma wondered if Belle had gotten her facts wrong somehow. Killian, in love with her? Impossible. But if he wasn't, how did everything Belle was saying fit so well? Hadn't she herself just been thinking about how weird Hook was acting lately?

"You know, I almost feel sorry for the guy," Charming said.

"Red does as well. For myself, I don't believe I'm well enough acquainted with him to have formed a strong opinion, but he seems like a good man."

Emma crept away from the door and all but ran to her own room. "Almost feel sorry for the guy?" she said out loud. She paced around the room, unable to convince her body to be still. Her own father felt bad for someone who was in love with her. That didn't bode well for her romantic prospects. Did he really think she was that cold hearted?

Well, you have been keeping everyone at bay since Neal left,she pointed out to herself.

Why shouldn't I? Another part of her argued. The only way to avoid getting your heart stolen is not to gamble with it. The fact that Killian would have enjoyed the gambling metaphor wasn't lost on her.

Hook, she corrected herself. His name is Hook. It must have been hearing Belle refer to him as Killian that had confused her. She and Hook were not a first name basis, and she liked it that way.

(Liked his nicknames for her, liked the way he said 'Swan' and 'Love' in a way that was somehow more intimate than if he'd just called her 'Emma.')

He loved her. Captain Hook loved her. Emma pinched herself, but unsurprisingly, nothing happened. Hook loves me.No wonder his teasing had stopped after the dance. She never should have let him in that much. But somehow, she couldn't regret that she'd done it.

Emma had to get things back to normal somehow. She missed talking to Hook, even if it just was to exchange insults. Furthermore, she had to prove to the others that no matter what they might think, Neal hadn't made her bitter all the way through to the core. But teasing Hook when he was in love with her was unacceptable. It would be one thing if she loved him back, but otherwise it was just cruel. And yet, the idea of maintaining this careful distance with him was entirely unappealing. Which meant that the only options was—

Well, she would have to fall in love with him.

It might not be all that difficult, she mused. Hook was attractive enough, if you liked men with leather coats and eyeliner. (Emma did.) He was interesting, and apparently her father approved of him, and she hadn't minded dancing with him at all. He also wasn't Neal. If anything could have confirmed that, it was the fact that he hid his love when he thought she wasn't interested. Neal would have pushed, would have demanded her love. Hook hadn't pushed, hadn't done anything except to step back when things became too much for him. Yes, falling in love with him was something she could do. Except—

It couldn't go anywhere.

In just over two weeks, he'd be going back to his ship. If there was one thing Emma knew about Killian Jones, it was that nothing would keep him from his ship for longer than that.

No wonder he'd been keeping his love hidden from her.

Emma never did find out what Belle had wanted her for, choosing instead to spend the rest of the afternoon alone in her room with her own thoughts. To fall in love with Hook would be painful, self-destructive, and moot. To keep her distance was surely the sensible thing to do. If she could avoid falling in love with him, Emma knew she'd be able to spare herself a world of heartache and pain.

(She wouldn't even let herself think about the possibility that some things are unavoidable, and maybe love was one of them.)

When Red saw Emma pacing the corridors with her head in the clouds, she knew that Belle must have been successful. She found Belle in her room and passed on the news, which of course led to them spending the morning and early afternoon together. Eventually (and with great reluctance,) Red was forced to pry herself away to meet Killian and Mulan.

Since their arrival at the palace the three of them had, by unspoken agreement, met in the kitchen almost every afternoon. They arrived too early for anybody to be cooking for dinner, so they had the place to themselves as they ate fruit out of bins and discussed their lives. Red had missed a few of these afternoons in favor of spending time with Belle, but today she wanted to see her friends. She'd had close friends before, of course, but there was something about fighting in a war together that had created tighter bonds between people than she had ever experienced before. Red didn't know what she'd do once Mulan and Killian left in a few weeks.

Mulan seemed to be thinking along those same lines. "You know," she said, looking around the kitchen. "I'm going to miss spending time in here with you when I'm gone."

"Have you considered staying at the palace after the month is over?" Red asked. "It'd be nice to have you around, and I'm sure Snow wouldn't mind."

Mulan shook her head.

"Why not?"

"There's a conversation I've been putting off for too long. I can't make any more excuses."

"Oh," Red said, suddenly understanding. "The girl you've been hinting at?"

"Yes," Mulan said, a bit stiffly. "Seeing you with Belle has only made me more aware of the fact that I need to face my feelings."

"Not going to tell us who it is?"

"No."

"Oh, come on," Red teased. "You're really not going to tell us?"

"I promise not to mock," Killian said from across the room, taking a swig of rum from his flask. He'd been quieter lately, seemingly lost in his own thoughts, and although he was always accompanied by his signature rum, he never seemed to reach the point of intoxication.

Mulan looked down. "Princess Aurora." Before anyone could comment on this, her head snapped back up and she turned on Killian. "You're acting different."

"You're right," Red said. She knew from experience that Mulan could not be made to talk if she didn't want to, and she relished the chance to tease Killian. "I think he's sadder."

"The dreaded Captain Hook, sad? Drunk, more likely."

"Or in love." This was mostly to get a reaction, and it almost worked; Killian didn't say anything to give himself away but Red could see a slight clenching of his jaw.

"No, he's much too sensible for that," Mulan replied. "If he's sad, it's because he's landlocked."

"If I have been subdued lately, rest assured that it is only because I have nothing of interest to report while stuck in this infernal castle," Killian snapped.

"That's never stopped you from talking before," Red pointed out. "I still think it's love," she said to Mulan. "All the signs are there. Not eating, wandering off on his own, drinking—though I guess that one's always been true."

"In love, then," Mulan agreed. "I think I know who with."

Killian stood abruptly. "If this is the topic of this evening's conversation, I think I'd prefer to keep company with myself."

He was barely out of the room when Mulan and Red fell into a sea of laughter. When Snow entered the room a few minutes later, they were still giggling.

"I just saw Killian," she said. "I take it you're to blame for the look on his face?"

"I think Emma's to blame for the look on his face," Red said, succumbing to laughter once more.

"You think it's worked, then?"

"Belle and Charming laid the bait for Emma yesterday morning," Mulan explained. Red was in awe of her self-control; the minute Snow had walked in Mulan's laughter had ceased. "And Killian's been in a mood ever since that morning in the courtyard."

"With Belle's coronation tomorrow night, there'll be plenty of opportunity to push them together," Red said. "They've both had enough time to obsess over the information."

"Should we be worried that they haven't talked to each other?" Snow asked. "If I had known that Charming loved me I would have been with him from the moment I met him."

Red snorted. "If you'd known Charming loved you you'd have hit him with an even larger rock and made sure he never found you. You and Emma are more alike than you think. You needed a little push from fate, and Emma needs a little push from—well, us. Trust me, after the coronation you'll have nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure Killian will show up?" Snow asked, forehead creased with worry. "He doesn't exactly seem like the type for royal functions."

"I'll force him there at sword point if necessary," Mulan said. "But I don't think it will be necessary, not when he knows Emma will be there."

Snow opened her mouth to speak, but before she could the kitchen door swung open. In walked Regina, not in her usual stately manner but seeming somehow gentler, though Red couldn't put her finger on how.

"Snow!" Regina said. "Thank goodness. I've been looking for you!"

Her dress was as terrifying and regal as ever, but her hair was looser. Maybe that was what made her seem safer, less likely to hurt them. Or maybe it was because it was so close to Wolfstime, and hardly anything scared Red when she was a wolf.

"What is it, Regina?" Snow asked softly.

"I must speak to you. Red can stay, this concerns her too."

"I'll take my leave, then," Mulan said, exiting the room swiftly. As she left she gave Red a worried look, but said nothing.

Red watched her go, then turned back to Regina. "What is it?"

"Do you truly love Belle?"

"Of course."

"Perhaps I shouldn't tell you this, then," Regina said, wringing her hands.

"Tell us what?" Snow asked. She moved closer and put a hand on Regina's shoulder. "You know you can tell us anything, Regina."

"No, I mustn't. I know that you still see me as the small, vengeful person I once was, but I can't put another person's happiness on the line like this."

"If there's something we should know, please tell us," Red said.

Regina looked her in the eye. "Belle has deceived you. She has been—what's the most delicate way to put this?—unfaithful."

"That's impossible," Red said automatically. "Belle loves me."

"Even now, she's with a man in her chamber. Come with me," Regina urged. "They can be seen from the courtyard, but we must hurry."

Red felt as though there were something stuck in her chest. She didn't want to believe this, but there was no reason Regina would lie, was there? Maybe Regina had gotten something wrong, had misunderstood something she'd seen. So then, all Red had to do was go look at what Regina wanted to show her, and then the whole thing could get cleared up, right?

Snow seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "Red, why don't we go take a look?" she said. "Maybe it's not what it looks like."

"You're right. We'll go with you," she said, turning back to Regina.

Regina's smile looked much less sinister than usual. Maybe she really had turned over a new leaf and was trying to help. She led them to the courtyard. As she walked, Red reminded herself to take deep breaths, to wait until she saw what Regina had seen before getting upset.

When they got outside, Regina led them to the very side of the courtyard. "There," she pointed, to where the light of the setting sun illuminated Belle's balcony.

Red exhaled. "There's nothing there."

"Keep looking."

Red kept her eyes trained on the balcony, feeling a bit safer now that she knew there might not be anything there. But all too soon, someone did step out onto the balcony. In the dimming light, it took Red a second to register long brown hair and a dress that she was all too familiar with.Definitely Belle, then, Almost immediately a man followed, slipping his hand around Belle's waist, and before Red could come up with any rationale for this, Belle was kissing him for all she was worth, and she knew there could never be an explanation that would make this okay.

Regina had been right all along. Red felt sick as she continued to watch the man pulling Belle closer. She looked closer, but couldn't make out who the man was, only that Belle was wearing her yellow dress, Red's favorite, and God if that didn't make the whole thing a thousand times worse. Red couldn't look at the scene in front of her anymore, but she couldn't look away, so instead she let her eyes unfocus, until all she could see was the dress, the hands on the dress, the way Belle's hair fell over the back of the dress, and as long as she kept her eyes unfocused like she could ignore the way the parts made a whole. The way everything in the scene spelled out betrayal.

Red had seen the dress before, but she'd never paid attention to it until Belle had worn in that afternoon in the woods. Red's morning was spent in the courtyard with the others making sure Killian overheard then talk about Emma. She enjoyed being part of the trick, but the moment she was free she ran to the kitchen, where Belle was already waiting, picnic basket in hand. "I didn't want to waste a minute I could be spending with you," Belle said, laughing a bit ruefully. Red laughed too, and it was easy. Being with Belle was easy, so she kissed her without a moment's thought, kissed her so thoroughly that Belle dropped the picnic basket to throw her arms around Red's neck, and yes, the bottle of wine broke on the stone floor and yes, they'd had to clean it up and there'd been no wine for their picnic, but neither of those things mattered. The dress had been smooth and silky under Red's hands.

"I haven't spent much time away from the grounds," Belle admitted when they left the palace, and Red told her not to worry, that she knew just where to go. There was no reason for subterfuge, but Red still showed Belle her secret way in and out of the palace, and Belle gave her one of those smiles that said she was glad to be part of the secret. The dress was far too formal for the woods but neither of them cared, both too eager not to lose a moment in each other's presence. When they finally sat in a clearing together, Red could see bits of dirt clinging to the dress, but Belle didn't seem to care so Red decided not to either. Even under the dirt, the dress had shone bright and yellow, and God, loving Belle was the easiest thing Red had ever done.

And now, someone else was touching the dress, the dress that Belle had worn for her for their picnic, and she should have known that anything that easy couldn't have meant anything.

Watching hurt, but looking away wasn't possible.

"Red," Snow said gently, putting a hand on her arm.

Red yanked out of her grasp and turned so that Snow and Regina couldn't see the tears that were beginning to slip from her eyes. "What do I do?" she asked shakily. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Make sure she can never do this to anyone again," Regina said.

"How?"

"Expose her for what she really is. Tomorrow night at her coronation, so the whole kingdom will know the truth."

A distant voice in Red's head warned her that this was not the way to do things, that revenge never solved anything, but a much stronger voice told her to trust Regina. But then, when had she ever trusted the Evil Queen over someone she loved? Everything Regina was saying made total sense, but something inside of Red still balked at it. She looked to Snow for guidance.

Snow seemed to be in an equal state of turmoil. "I don't know—"

Regina's voice turned soothing. "Of course, you don't have to do it that way. But isn't it only right, that others should know what she's done so they won't be harmed by her actions? Do you really want a girl like that as a daughter?"

"I guess not," Snow said slowly. "But isn't there another way?"

Red looked up at the balcony, at the man whose hands were still all over Belle's dress. She thought about the picnic in the woods, how she'd trusted Belle with everything that was in her. She'd even told her about Peter. How much of herself had she given away, and for this? To have her heart smashed into a million pieces like this? Red couldn't even tell how she was holding her own body up when everything inside of her seemed to have melted.

"Red?" Snow asked.

Maybe she should talk to Belle first. Maybe there was more to the story than this. But an increasingly loud voice inside of Red demanded that she listen to Regina, look to her for guidance. Regina, she was sure, understood everything, must have had her heart broken just this badly. She was the only person Red could trust now.

"Red?" Snow repeated. "Do you agree with Regina's plan?"

"Yes," Red said firmly, wiping the tears from her eyes and drawing up something steely inside of herself. Maybe it was the wolf, protecting her when the human wasn't strong enough to hold herself together anymore. "Regina is right. We can't let Belle hurt anyone else like this." Because if someone had told sooner, if someone had exposed Belle before now, Red never would have set herself up to be hurt like this. It wasn't fair. She couldn't let it happen again, not when she had the power to stop it.

"I think so too," Snow replied. "Thank you for telling us about this, Regina."

"Of course."

"Then it's settled," Snow said, drawing herself up. "Tomorrow, we'll tell everyone the truth about Belle."

Just after sunset, Happy stood proudly in front of a dozen or so guards. He took this post very seriously, and was eager to do a good job. Grumpy usually served as captain, but for the first time in years, he'd taken the evening off due to illness. Happy and Dopey had been thrilled for this chance to prove themselves.

"Now, everything must go smoothly tonight!" Happy informed the palace guards with a grin. "As you've surely heard, tomorrow night Belle will be officially welcomed into the Royal Family! That means that tonight's watch must go without a hitch."

"That's right," said Dopey, stepping forward so that he stood shoulder to shoulder with Happy. "Which is why I charge you with this important task: if you see any suspicious persons, you must comprehend them."

Happy chuckled. "What a delightful way to deal with criminals! It's true, we must all do our best to treat others with sympathy and understanding even if they moral codes don't align with our own. Didn't our beloved queen herself run afoul of the law in her earlier life?"

"Excuse me," one of the guards interjected. "What should we do if we come across anyone committing crimes against the kingdom? Surely we should try to capture them?"

"Ask them to stand in the name of Queen Snow," Happy suggested.

"And if they won't?"

"Just let them go," Dopey said. "And be glad you didn't have to deal with such a vagabond."

"How clever!" Happy said. "For any subject who will not stand in the name of Snow White is not a loyal one, and is therefore unworthy of our notice."

"Another thing," Dopey added, "Is that you must stay silent as the grave while manning your post, for silence is more abhorable and reflects well on a guard such as ours."

"Don't worry," a guard joked, "We'd all rather sleep through our watches than talk through them anyway."

"That is very wise!" Dopey replied. "As long as you do not snore too loudly, I don't think that sleeping would be a problem. The king and queen have suppressed hope that it will be a quiet watch, and sleeping seems like a lovely way to accommodate that!"

"If you come upon someone stealing, you may be tempted to apprehend them," Happy said. "But for such petty crimes as these, it may be best to leave the perpetrators alone to avoid being led astray by their influence."

"But if the royal family is being robbed, isn't it our job to do something?"

Dopey shook his head vigorously. "Your position allows you the privilege of attesting them, but that seems to me like an act of revenge. We must always try to be the bigger person, even those of us who are rather small."

Happy seemed deeply moved by this. Wiping away a tear, he said, "I have always considered you to be the most merciful of dwarves."

"Now, to your posts!" Dopey told the guards.

The guard who had asked the questions looked at her partner. "You ready?" she asked.

"Of course."

It was their day to scan the courtyards. The guards took turns with this particular post because it was so unpleasant. The goal was to make sure that nobody was breaking into the palace or making secret plans. In reality they spent a lot less time breaking up secret meetings and a lot more time breaking up necking couples. Tonight, however, fortune favored the guards; there was not a couple in sight. As a matter of fact, there was nobody in sight for hours, until near sunrise Will Scarlet slunk into the courtyard, soon followed by Sidney.

Sidney sat down on the bench next to Will. "Can I presume from the look on your face that your task was successful?" he asked without looking at the other man.

Will grinned. "It was. And after tomorrow's coronation, I'll have my bean and be on my merry way."

"Now that everything's gone according to plan, I don't suppose you'd tell me what exactly you and the queen were up to?"

"There doesn't seem to be much harm in it, now that the job is done. This very night we managed to finally Red Riding Hood into believing that her true love is unfaithful. For my small part in it, I met with her servant Lily on her balcony. Regina brought Red to a nice vantage point and swore up and down that Lily was Belle."

"And did Red believe this tale?"

"Hook, line, and sinker," Will said smugly.

Sidney seemed to be letting this sink in. After a moment he said, "I have a hard time believing that Red would fall for something so simple after our previous defeat. Surely there's more to the story than that?"

"There may have been a small Fidelity Potion involved," Will admitted. "But the heart of the plan still came from yours truly."

"What happens next?"

"Next? Well, that's the best part. Tomorrow at the coronation, Red will slander Belle's good name for all the kingdom to hear. Then I'll be on my merry way."

At this moment, the guards decided they had heard enough. They apprehended the men with absolutely no effort made to comprehend them, and took them to the dungeon to await trial.

Belle held up a dress in front her body. "What do you think?" She'd been planning what she'd wear for days, but at this moment, an hour before her coronation, she was experiencing just a hint of doubt.

"I think the other one is better," Lily said quickly. She indicated at the blue one laying the bed. "I'm sure Emma will agree, when she gets here."

Belle looked at the dress Lily was suggesting, then shook her head. "Red loves this one," she said, picking up her preferred dress. It was yellow, small at the waist with a full skirt. But, most importantly, it was what she had been wearing the day after the masquerade, when after the trick on Killian, she and Red had stolen away from the palace and stayed together in the woods until past sunset. It'd been a completely impractical outfit for that sort of adventure, and Red had teased her for it, but she couldn't regret wearing it, not when the day had been so perfect.

"Do you need me to slow down?" Red had asked as Belle stumbled over another tree root.

Belle shook her head, determined to keep up. By this point, she'd managed to tie up the bottom of the skirt with her sash so that it didn't drag along the ground. "Have you spent a lot of time here?" she asked. "In the woods, I mean."

"At least once a month," Red said, in a strangled sort of voice.

Belle looked down, wishing she hadn't opened her mouth. She knew that Red was self-conscious about the wolf, and she never knew how to explain that it didn't matter to her, that she'd love her no matter what. "Do you like it?" she asked finally, unsure of whether she meant the woods or the lycanthropy.

Red seemed to mull this over. "There is something beautiful about how wild it is. The way that the danger makes you feel more alive."

Belle nodded, aware that this response could apply to either or both of her questions. "I think we need that," she said. "If life was always one way, without any change, we might as well all be dead." I love that you're a wolf, she didn't say. I love that you can contain something so large and terrifying inside of you and somehow manage to make it part of you.

"I don't know," Red said. "Don't you think there's something to be said for consistency? Knowing that you'll always come home to the same place, knowing that books will always end the same way, knowing that who you are now is who you'll always be?"

"Maybe in some things. But what about seasons?" Belle argued. "Imagine if it was always fall, and you never were able to sit outside on a hot day and feel as though you were melting, or had a snowball fight? Life wouldn't be nearly as interesting if things didn't change."

Red grinned. Her teeth were slightly sharper than anyone else's and Belle found herself falling even more in love with her. "I can't imagine you ever getting into a snowball fight. You're so—upright."

"Hey, I can handle myself in a snowball fight," Belle said. "I'm not just about books, you know."

"Oh, I know," Red said, playful look in her eyes. Suddenly, it dimmed again, and she said, "But think of how cozy it would be if it were always fall. It would never be hot or cold enough to hurt."

"Maybe I'm not afraid of getting hurt," Belle said stubbornly.

Red looked sad. "You should be." This didn't seem to be the end of her sentence, but she stopped speaking, so Belle just walked with her and waited for whatever would come next. Finally, Red turned on her fiercely and said, "Did I ever tell you about Peter?" She seemed angry, but Belle couldn't understand why.

"No," Belle said softly. "Tell me about Peter."

"I killed him." All of the life seemed to go out of Red at once; Belle felt as though she were getting whiplash from this range of emotions. "He was my first love, and I didn't realize I was a wolf yet and— I killed him. There was nothing left but a pile of bones."

Belle's first instinct was to tell Red it wasn't her fault, but something stopped her. Maybe it was because of how many times others had told Belle the same thing—that going to the palace was the only thing she could have done, that nobody could have saved her parents. It never made her feel less guilty. "Surviving is much harder than people make it out to be, isn't it?" she said instead.

Red looked at her, surprise etched into her face. "When it happened, I spent a lot of time wishing I hadn't," she admitted.

"I'm glad you did survive," Belle said. "I'm glad we both did, so we could know each other. I think—I think that love makes it worth it. All of it, even the parts we never wanted to believe could happen."

"Love won't bring Peter back," Red said, shaking her head. "Love won't make me less of a monster."

Belle was suddenly furious. "Of course love can't bring back Peter's life. But it can make yours worth living. And I don't think you are a monster, but even if you are, I still love you. I still see the good in you!"

Red didn't speak for a long time, and Belle refused to open her mouth either. But as they approached a clearing, Red suddenly looked at her. "Thank you," she said.

It was the kind of thing people say all the time but don't mean, but Red sounded as though she meant it with every fiber of her being. Belle found herself blushing, even more so when Red took ahold of her hand, like it was as easy as anything, as if being in love was easy. Belle knew about love in theory, had read all of the books and knew that whatever else could be said about love, it wasn't easy.

But that moment when Red took her hand, she began to think she'd been wrong, that maybe love was easy after all.

Emma entered the room, pulling Belle out of her reverie. She smiled, but looked as though her mind were a mile away. Belle stifled a laugh, sure now that Emma had heard every word she'd said about Killian being in love with her.

"Hey," Emma said.

"Hey? That's all I get on the day we're about to become sisters?" Belle teased. "You can do better than that."

"Sorry. I'm in a bit of a funk."

"Did something happen to put you in a bad mood?" Like, say, finding out that your sworn enemy is just as in love with you as you are with him?

"No, they were just all out of other moods at the market so I had to settle for this one," Emma quipped.

A funk, Belle decided, was right on schedule for Emma. She wasn't like Belle, able to fall in love and let it be that easy. Emma was the type to drive herself crazy thinking about things before she allowed herself to feel them. In fact, if she had been acting perfectly normal so soon after hearing that Killian was in love with her, Belle would have worried that she didn't feel anything for him after all.

"Don't you want to see what dress I'll be wearing tonight?" she asked. "I know the suspense must be killing you."

The play on Killian's name was weak at best, but Lily quickly picked up on the motif. "Of course, she'll need your help doing the hooks, she said. Emma looked up quickly. "Of the dress, I mean."

"Oh. Of course I'll help."

"You didn't think I meant something else, did you?" Lily asked innocently.

"Of course not," Emma said.

"I wasn't trying to imply that you're in love," she said. "I know you better than that. Although come to think of it, Captain Jones was the same way, and now he's showing every symptom of a man in love."

"He is," Belle agreed. "You know, Lily, you might be right. Emma's got a look in her eyes that I'm sure I've never seen before."

"Oh, shut up," Emma said, giving Belle a playful shove. "Now let's get you into that dress."

By the time Belle was dressed and her hair done up, the nerves that had plagued her earlier had vanished. When tonight was over, she and Emma would be officially sisters, and she and Red would have made their first appearance at court as a real couple.

With Emma and Lily at her sides, Belle left for the great hall, towards Red and her coronation.