My Heroine

Written by: Adventure-Seeking-Juliet

When: As a sort of sequel to Chipping Cups.

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time, if I did, it would be called Rumbelle.

A/N Rumpelstiltskin is chipped without her. Without her, he is incomplete, and now, thanks to him, he will always be that way. All that is left is a chipped cup, which he guards with all the power he has. One-Shot. Sequel to Chipping Cups, with a surprising ending. Please enjoy and review! I plan to write two more sequels after this one, if you are interested in reading them, let me know.

I return to spinning sometimes, when I feel memories creeping up on me that I'd rather forget.

Sometimes it helps me to forget, but recently it's only been making my memories stronger than ever.

And no matter how hard I try, I cannot keep my mind on my work. It keeps returning to the chipped cup. To her chipped cup.

Belle had been right, it was all of her I had left now. My Belle.

Perhaps that statement isn't quite accurate, I never had Belle. I knew she could never have been mine for long, anyway. For who could love a beast?

Yet, sometimes, when I'm sitting there admiring the chipped cup, I find myself wondering if maybe...just maybe Belle had loved me.

What would have happened if I had let her?

Would Belle still be alive? Would we be together? The wondering does nothing to appease me, though.

It doesn't matter how much I think about it. All that matters is that she's gone. She cannot come back, even if she wanted to, even if I wanted her to.

It's a sad twist of fate that I lost her just to keep my power...when now that power I assumed was so important isn't even strong enough to bring her back.

Belle had been my heroine all along. When she chose to come with me...when she gave up her freedom to be with me. She was a heroine.

And instead of being her hero, I had turned her away. She was right. I was not a hero, but a coward.

I would do anything to get a chance to prove to her I could be a hero.

But I will never get that chance.

So, instead, I spin. I spin and spin and spin, thinking of Belle. Thinking of the way her lips had felt touching mine. The way she smiled and laughed with me...instead of yelling and crying like so many others would have done.

I think of Belle so much, that it takes me hours to realize that I am out of straw.

I slowly make my way to the shed outside, where I hide the straw, stopping to admire the chipped cup on my way out.

If only I could spin enough straw to make Belle live again. It would be worth more than any gold.

When I reach the shed and open the doors, I see more than the usual straw. I see dozens of cups.

Each of them have been chipped, just like Belle's cup. My first thought turns to the Queen. It must have been one of her cruel tricks.

But, I knew that could not be so, the Queen would have never have done such a thing without gloating about it.

I pick up one of the chipped cups and examine it, my heart lifting for the first time in many months.

Maybe all hope is not lost, maybe I will get a chance to be the hero, once again.

Or maybe, it's just time for me to go back to spinning.

A/N Very short, yes. Be on the look out for the sequel though :3