Rumpel and Belle moved into the palace for their protection. Belle refused to let anyone get rid of the baby, including Rumpel. He now kept an extremely close eye over Belle at all times. He wasn't going to kill that thing inside of her...not until it started to kill Belle first.
Rumpel could feel the hatred and anger consuming his heart again. All he thought about was that the thing inside of Belle that was going to kill her. It drove him mad thinking that he was going to lose her again. He couldn't let this happen.
Just as Belle couldn't let anything happen to her baby. She could sense her body changing over time. There was a glimmer of hope in her, she had not felt any more pain in the past few weeks. Perhaps Rumpel was wrong, maybe it was just a quip of pain. Maybe her baby wasn't magic. Belle kept trying to warm Rumpel up to the idea of a child, but he was not having any of it.
Baelfire and Emma sent word to all the other kingdoms that Rumpel had indeed eliminated the child within his wife out of fear of it being magic. The kingdoms seemed to buy it and believe it for the time being. Everyone knew that the bigger the Belle got she couldn't be seen by anyone for fear that word would spread. For now the peace had resumed.
"What do you think of William?" Belle asked. Her and Rumpel were strolling about the castle trying to stay calm.
"How about lucifer?" Rumpel threw back at her leaning against the window looking out to the sea.
"Rumpel please..." Belle begged.
"I don't understand how you can let this happen," Rumpel said not looking towards her.
"Because I believe in this baby," Belle said trying to remain calm with her Rumpel. He was scared she understood, "the same way I believed in you."
"But I understand how to use the magic, that thing doesn't," Rumpel continued.
"Then you can teach it," Belle pointed out.
"Not if it kills you first," Rumpel quietly growled.
"But you will still have our child," said Belle.
"No..." Rumpel said getting colder, "if that thing kills you Belle, I won't have anything to do with it."
"But Rumpel..." Belle said her voice quivering and her eyes watering, "you can't possibly..."
Rumpel didn't answer her, he just couldn't.
Belle walked away from him with tears streaming down her face.
He wanted more than anything to follow her,but he had no words of comfort for her. He wanted more than anything to save her, to just have things go back to the way it was between them. What ever happened to Belle he knew that it would be his fault. Her father was right...Belle was better off with out him all along.
She couldn't believe him. She had faith in him, why couldn't he have faith in himself? She went into a quiet little empty room. It was in the more lonely part of the castle. She placed her hand on her slightly protruding stomach, but nothing was noticeable yet.
"I'm sorry...you're daddy will come around," Belle said speaking to her stomach, "I promise."
In that moment, it happened again. She felt something in her squirming as if spinning in circle. Suddenly it hit her, her insides were burning as if she were on fire. She cried out in pain and doubled over. She cried out for Rumpel but he didnt come, he must have left this part of the castle.
Belle tried to stand to go get help but it was starting again, but instead of fire it felt as if her insides were being ripped as if the baby was trying to get out. Now she fell to the ground again calling out for help. A maid that happened to be walking by one hallway apart heard her and came running to her side.
Elsewhere in the castle Rumpel had wandered out in the court yard where Charming was practicing his swordsman ship with Henry. Even Little Charlie was off to the side watching swinging a small wooden sword around.
"Hey Rumpel," Charming greeted, "take a break Henry get some water."
Henry obliged and went to a near by fountain and began playing with Charlie.
"Everything ok?" Charming asked also drinking from his chalice.
"Yes," Rumpel tried to speak, "just... scared."
"Of being a father or the magic your baby possess?" Charming asked.
"Both," Rumpel confessed.
"Well, I'm sure that everything will be ok. I also think that you will be a great father and mentor to your child," Charming admitted.
"How can you be so sure?" Rumpel asked.
"Well look at you," Charming examined, "you were the dark one but you found your happiness and you found your way to all of us. If anyone can make that child understand the true consequences that magic wields it's you."
Rumpel began to ponder that thought but then a maid of the castle came scurrying towards them.
"Your majesty! It's Belle! She's hurt-" the maid frantically began but Rumpel didn't waste any time.
He disappeared and reappeared in the hallway that him and Belle were walking in before.
"Belle!" He called out desperately.
"Rumpel! I'm in here!" she called.
Rumpel followed her cries into a small dark room. She was laying on the floor clutching her stomach.
"Belle! What is it? What does it feel like?" He asked examining her closely.
"Fire, and like it's ripping through me," Belle gasped in between breaths, "and it won't stop moving."
Rumpel placed his hand on her stomach and used his magic to try to calm the little life in Belle, and it worked. The pain started to subdue but Belle was still trying to calm down. Rumpel knew however that the spell he used to calm the thing in her wouldn't work forever.
"Oh Rumpel," Belle said wrapping her arms around him. He returned her embrace.
Rumpel and Charming helped get Belle to bed but after a few minutes had passed she felt fine but Rumpel insisted that she rest in bed for the day. Once Snow had gotten word that Belle had collapsed she came rushing to Belle's side.
"What did you do? To make the pain stop?" Charming asked Rumpel.
"It's just a soothing spell," Rumpel explained.
"Could you use that spell up until she gives birth?" Snow asked sitting next to Belle.
"Not exactly, the spell will calm the thing inside of her for now but the more that it uses magic the more it can over come the spell. It's only a temporary thing, it won't last," Rumpel explained.
"I think we need to start planning what to do with Belle, when she goes into labor," Charming stated, "or at least what we should do if this happens to Belle again."
"There's nothing we can do," Rumpel said looking towards Belle's stomach darkly, "there's only one thing I could do."
"No!" Belle cried out clutching her stomach. She knew that Rumpel was talking about getting rid of the baby. He had begged her to let him do a spell to eliminate the life within her but she refused.
"There has to be another way," Charming said confidently, "there's always a way."
"That's when it was between you and Snow," Rumpel replied, "none of you children had evil in their blood."
"You know this baby is half mine as well, maybe this baby won't take after you as much as we think," Belle said.
"Part of me is still in there," Rumpel replied.
"Then that part of it has the potential to be good," Belle said.
"If the baby is good then why does it keep hurting Belle?" Snow asked with a pained voice.
"Because it doesn't know how to use the magic," Rumpel explained.
"Then you can't be angry with him, he doesn't understand," said Belle.
"It's... it's a boy...?" Rumpel asked. This was the first time that Belle had heard Rumpel refer to the baby as an actual baby.
"I'm not positive," Belle said rubbing her stomach, "I have a feeling it will be."
"That's wonderful Belle," Snow said glowing, even Charming mustered a smile.
A son. That just made Rumpel even more nervous, he could see a son more easily destroy the world over a girl.
"Rumpel please you need to have a faith. You had faith to come after me when Hook kidnapped me, you had faith that I could love you, that's why you asked me to marry you. Now I need you to have some faith in me," Belle said walking towards him, she grabbed his hand and put it on her stomach, "feel this. Does this feel evil to you? Because it doesn't to me."
Rumpel felt it, but Belle was only half right. He could feel the warm glow in his heart tingle, it was the same warmth that Rumpel felt whenever he was near Belle. However he could also feel it's tiny little heart beat, but the heart was dark. Belle couldn't sense the dark heart like he could.
Rumpel tried his hardest to believe in the baby, he did feel a warm tingle in her heart. But the months following made it difficult. The warm glow grew but so did it's heart and it's power. With no understanding of how to use that power the baby continued to use it's magic on Belle's body. She frequently collapsed, the more pregnant she got the more fits she would have. Fire, ripping, stabbing, breaking all sorts of pain flooded her. The power that the baby was using was draining the energy out of Belle. She some days found it difficult to get out of bed in the morning with no energy to move, to eat, to sleep. Belle's Body was deteriorating, her hair was fading in color, she was loosing weight dangerously fast despite her growing belly, and the life in her eyes were slowly fading.
Her screams of pain only encouraged Rumpel's desire to kill the baby. He could use his spells to alleviate the pain but he only used small spells and it was only so long before another fit came. Rumpel also knew that all magic came at a price, he could sense what was happening. The reason behind using only small spells on Belle was that the baby was absorbing the magic Rumpel used into it's own tiny body. Rumpel didn't know how to stop that.
He hated the child, he wanted it to stop hurting Belle. This child was going to be the death of her, he could see that. All he could picture was his dead wife and a demon child left over. He could see himself slipping back into what he used to be, a monster. The kingdoms would all turn on each other when they discovered the truth. Rumpel could see his world once again being swallowed into fire, blood and wars... and he would be alone again. He was being driven by his fears.