Hey kids! This chapter is a short one. I'm not sure how much further I have to go, it all kind of tumbles out. But I don't have any time to write this week due to my job and this chapter was only half finished. So instead of putting off posting to give you a whole chapter, I thought I would give you half of one now.

Enjoy. I'd love to hear what you think!

-Anna

Belle collapsed on her bed. It was well past three, but she could already tell sleep was not going to come easily, if at all. Her mind was on fire, taking it all in. Her time with Rumpelstiltskin could not have gone more perfectly. He knew her. He held her. And even left her with a lingering kiss. She had known, deep down, that The Queen's words hadn't been true.

He cast you away. You were nothing to him.

If he loves you so much, why isn't he here?

He left you here to rot.

Now it all made sense. He didn't look for her because he believed all that was left of her was bones. It had been one of the pieces she couldn't quite figure out. And when the world shifted around her, she fought with all her strength against the foreign memories that seeped into her brain.

He's an evil, dangerous man.

We keep you here to protect you from him.

We won't let him hurt you anymore.

Those traitorous words were fed to her at every turn. She knew they were false. She could feel it. She didn't understand why, but she could feel the warmth around her, protecting her from the actual danger.

The Queen.

That witch wouldn't be using her as a pawn any longer. Although it was crucial that The Queen didn't know that Belle was no longer her pawn.

Belle had known things were going to go her way from the moment she saw him standing at the foot of Granny's staircase. She hadn't quite expected to see him that quickly, but thankfully she had had 30 some odd years to prepare for that very moment. She needed everyone, even him, to believe that she was terrified if her plan was going to work. To see the slow bloom of affection from the ashes was the most beautiful kind of magic. And Belle intended all of Storybrooke to be cast under her spell. And she hoped her Rum was up to the task

She couldn't get moment when she first saw him out of her head. He looked so different, as a man. Even the way he held himself was different. Was that a cane? But, it was still him, her Rum, there in the flesh. And the way he looked at her, she almost lost everything right then. There was such a desperation and disbelief in his eyes, all she wanted to do was hold him and tell him that it was her, that she was here. But, that couldn't happen, not yet.

She used her well practiced terrorized face. She often got to use it in the hospital when various doctors would evaluate her. When she contorted her face in the all too familiar position she saw his entire body slump. The hurt that covered his face was almost too much to bear. He had been so expectant only a second before. Now, he shrank away from her like a kicked dog.

She hadn't intended to go to him so soon. But after seeing that defeated look on his face again outside of The Queen's office, she couldn't stand it. It was easy enough to find his address in the phonebook. (At least some of those false memories came in handy.) She located his house on the primitive map the phonebook provided and made her way through the woods towards his home.

She wasn't surprised to see the size of the house, one of the biggest on the block and a shocking peach color to boot. Rum was anything but subtle, except when it came to his contracts of course. She marveled at the stained glass window panes and wondered how beautiful they must look in the sunlight. She glanced around for a less obvious way in before finally located an old storm cellar door. It was almost completely covered in moss and dirt. After making quick work of the far too simplistic lock on the door, she ascended the basement steps into the world of Mr. Gold.

She took a quick look around, she felt claustrophobic already. All the curtains were closed and even on this cool spring evening, the house felt stuffy. It wasn't long before she found a large cabinet, not unlike the one in the Dark Castle. It was filled with all kinds of trinkets. One stood out most of all.

That imp of a man kept her cup. Belle could hardly blame him. She shook her head as she opened the cabinet, it made a loud creak and if this cup meant as much to him as she thought it did, the creak itself would call him to her.

Now hours later, she was so beyond elated that she had gone to him.

She wondered idly how she was able to leave. After all that time, wishing and dreaming of her own personal brand of true love, he was there. It was nice to sit and talk with him; to finally get some answers to a few of her burning questions. Why the Queen had done what she did, with the curse especially. Belle was relieved that it was not exclusively about Rum.

Belle got off the bed and sat by the window again. Looking out the window was always the best remedy for sleep. Although, the only windows she had been privy too were small and dirty. She could barely believe how big this window was. She could see the whole sky. The moon and the stars were out, shining brightly. Despite the perfect evening, she felt unease settle over her. After all her years of planning, tomorrow, the real work would begin.

Knowing Rumpelstiltskin would be watching over her in the distance made it seem a little less impossible.

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Regina was furious. Thank God she had the foresight to plant all that Golden Fear in the girl well in advance. This entire ordeal would have been ruined if that stupid, lovestruck girl escaped and ran right to the arms of her beloved beast. But, because of her careful planning, the beast was the last person she would be running too.

Luckily, she had stashed all of the girl's medical records in her office. Regina shuddered at the headache she would have had, dealing with THAT mess. The imbeciles at the hospital had chalked up the missing charts to the fire.

A fire that weighed heavily on her majesty's mind. She remembered that man, Phillip, from her visits to the girl's cell. He was just a janitor. Some sort of work release program. She never gave him much thought. She certainly couldn't remember seeing him in their past lives. He must have just snapped under the pressure of the curse.

Now that was a thought Regina couldn't take lightly. If people were going around losing their minds, she would have bigger problems on her hands than a silly girl.

At least the girl's mind was well adjusted. Regina had surmised as much when she spoke with her. No more talk of castles and ball gowns in any of the recent reports and she seemed perfectly well adapted now.

Regina offered her a secretarial position at the Storybrooke Daily Mirror. It was the perfect way to keep an eye on her. Make sure that she didn't obtain a wandering eye for certain limping men about town. The insipid girl ate it up. Going on and on about how grateful she was and how she was so thrilled to be getting her life back. A moment of tension arose when the girl spoke of how fearless she felt. How she thought she finally had a means to obtain her freedom from Mr. Gold.

That tension was squashed when the girl saw Gold standing outside Regina's office. She could practically feel the terror rolling off the girl. She wouldn't be mending any crack in the pavement anytime soon.

Perfect.

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