Author's Note: Oops, sorry to confuse people with the last chapter. Belle did not get a chance to terminate her pregnancy because the earthquake required Dr. Whale to check on his patients. When she talks about what she's done, she's referencing her drinking while pregnant, acknowledging that she's harmed her baby. Hope that clarifies.
A strangled sob was the only sound she could make when Roland stepped into the library. She ran to him, throwing her arms around him, but he couldn't feel her, and though he carried her as he continued to step forward, he had no idea she clung to him.
Despair warred with elation, and she let her arms drop, only to tug on his sleeve, "Roland," she tried, but it had been so very long since she'd spoken it came out as a croaking noise. She tugged again, calling his name over and over, but he continued to walk into the room until he was standing directly in the middle, a frown on his face and fear in his eyes.
"Where is she?" His voice was exactly as she remembered, robust and full, warm and soothing. It was as if, with that one sentence, all her long years of isolation were not quite so dark and lonely.
"I-I don't know." Came Liam's softer tone, and Anna turned with cascading tears to see him just walking in, his frost blue eyes searching for her.
"I'm here! Here!" She tried, her accent, a mix of her parents', thick though her voice was horse. Letting go of Roland, her long green skirt and thick, curly red hair trailing behind her, she raced to him and caught his arm. Her momentum should have thrown him off balance, but instead it was she that stumbled, her slipper losing traction on the hardwood floor and she fell off her feet, dangling by his arm, which showed no give at her position.
"She should be here! She has to be," Liam tried again, swinging around to look at the room as he continued to walk forward, the movement dislodging her with a strangled sound of surprise.
"There's a lot of magic, in this room, a lot. And smell," Apple had walked in right before a large group of people Anna didn't bother to catalogue. "It smells like oranges."
"Oh, Apple, Apple!" She stumbled to her feet, losing her footing before a mad push had her directly in front of her best friend. "I'm here, Apple, I'm here. Oh please see me, please don't leave!" How long had it been? Why had she stopped counting? Decades, at least three! She needed them to see her, talk to her!
From behind, Liam drew a deep breath. "I smell them too. She's here!"
Roland, wasted no more time, "Anna! Anna! Where are you? Show yourself! We're here to take you home!"
"I see you, Roland," she sobbed again, deep gasping sobs that made it almost impossible to breathe. "I'm here! Please, please, see me, please!"
But as Bae walked into the room, and she continued to answer their cries for her with ones of her own, it became heartbreakingly apparent that they could not see or hear her, and it left her wanting to curl into a ball and die.
"Maybe she can't communicate with us," Bae finally offered as Apple wiped away shameless tears.
Looking frantic, Liam nodded, "It's possible, we don't know how powerful the Sorcerer's spell was."
"Or she's not here at all," Roland replied bitterly, and to her horror, she watched him rake the side of his arm against a stack of books, sending them crashing to the floor.
"Doubtful," and Anna's tearstained face turned instantly at her father's voice, "there's powerful magic in here, a spell I haven't felt before, but one that is undoubtedly the Sorcerer's work." Once again racing across the room, she stopped in front of him.
"Papa! Papa, if anyone can hear me it'll be you! You have to listen to me, you have to hear me! See me please see me!" But it was no use. Though her father looked uncomfortable and wary, he walked right into her, before she stepped aside and he continued into the room.
"I thought we'd see her," Apple broke, fisting at her tears. "I imagined we'd walk into the room and she'd be so happy to see us…" she trailed off, and Anna watched as a yet unseen Regina stepped forward to rest a gentle hand on her daughter's arm.
"It'll be alright. Rumple will find a way to free her. Like Roland said, he has a lot of motivation." Regina's words weren't biting like they had been recently when saying her father's name, and Anna felt confused as to what that could mean.
"If I believe the words of children, perhaps, but we shall see. First however, we need to end this spell."
"NO!" Anna cried, moving to stand closer to her father. "No, Papa you can't! You can't or this will all be for nothing! He figured it out, I don't know how, but he did! You can't break the spell—" But her father took no notice, and instead walked away from her and towards the Circle Points who were gathered a few feet inside the massive room.
"Shall we begin," he asked, though there was no doubt it was a command. Ursula stepped obligingly forward, followed by Cruella, but Maleficent and Emma held back. Her father raised an eyebrow at both but it was Maleficent who spoke.
"I'm weighting my options," she began. "On one hand, my strikingly new niece has offered me a cheery happy ending which will, no doubt, be filled to bursting with sleeping princesses, thorns, and unicorns." She smiled sweetly, "But on the other hand, I like it when the bad guys win, and you have to admit, there's no one worse than the Sorcerer." Then she extended a single finger and, swirling it in a circle at his chest, "But best of all, Rumple, if this little girl we're saving is kin of yours, a daughter no less, well then, I want something more than just my happy ending to sweeten the pot!" She popped the 'P' and 'T' with emphasis.
Her father didn't bat an eyelash, "Name your price."
"We are not haggling over Anna's freedom," Roland roared from behind them, and she turned in time to see him seething with rage, and Liam looking just as unhappy.
"Well of course we are, Dearie, that's how it's done after all." Her father turned flippantly away from the pair and back towards Maleficent. "You were saying?"
"I want Regina's head on a platter!" Maleficent hissed, snapping her teeth, much like her dragon form. "I want her life, to pay for everything she stole from me!"
"Oh please," Regina suddenly burst out, looking angry, "It was one tiny curse. You look better than ever, so actually, you should be thanking me."
"Thanking you!" Maleficent steamed, actual steam rising from her as she exhaled. "We were friends, you ungrateful cow!"
"Who are you calling a cow, Dragon!" Regina's hands began to glow with magefire, and she took a menacing step towards her once friend.
Apple raced between them her eyes still puffy from her tears but her voice commanding, "Stop it! Both of you! You both suck and did terrible things. And yeah," she glanced at her mother, "Mom you were a pretty crappy friend to Aunt Mel," she turned back to Maleficent, "and I'm not making excuses, but you did start it with that whole Jack Skellington thing!"
Maleficent's face blanched for a moment, and then she burst out laughing while Regina bared her teeth, instantly ending the tension. "Oh my gods, I forgot all about that! You should have seen your mother's face when he pulled off his head!"
"It's not funny, damnit!" Regina barked, crossing her arms over her chest, though her eyes twinkled and she looked to be fighting a smile. "It was disgusting."
"That was the point, you were in Halloween Town, and he was flirting with you." Still laughing, Maleficent looked at Apple, "Your mother had a propensity for wearing leather, and I just couldn't resist sending her on a little errand to meet the Pumpkin King. You should have heard her when she got back, spitting mad and vowing never again to go to the Holiday Realm."
Apple rolled her eyes, "Will the two of you just look at each other!" Both women sobered and glanced at one another skeptically, "Only two best friends could laugh over something so totally gross." Looking at her Auntie Mel, Apple continued, "So how about, we just delay the whole revenge thing until you both get nice and drunk together. I promise, you'll hate yourselves for the hangover, but not each other, in the morning."
Tears filled Anna's eyes as she watched her best friend. Apple had many reservations about becoming queen, most of all was her fear that she would do more harm than good to her and Neal's Kingdom's. But Anna could see the truth as Apple continued to speak until Maleficent's staff was by her side, and Regina was smiling; she was going to make a rather unorthodox, but amazing queen.
Finally, Maleficent turned back to her father, "Fine. Let's see how much this mysterious daughter of yours is worth to you Rumple. I'll help you free her, and in exchange, you owe me a favor, to be called in whenever the whim takes me."
With a curt nod, he replied, "Deal."
"Now don't forget about us, Rumple," Ursula crooned, "I'll be taking the same deal."
"And as for me, I know exactly what I want," Cruella said, her eyes suddenly dancing with determined madness. "I want you to find that damn dog, and bring him to me! I don't care what realms you have to go too, what dastardly deals you have to make, I want you to find that bastard and bring him to me!"
Again, her father nodded, "Deal." Dryly he said, as he turned away, "Well, now that, that's, settled," and he walked further into the room towards Roland.
"Agreed," Roland replied briskly, turning towards Liam who was now beside him, "Do it."
"Oh no," her breath whispered from between her lips.
"Well, this can't be good," Snow White stated as she walked through the doors of the massive library. Belle couldn't help gazing high into the stacks longingly at the thousands of books filling the room. The vertigo upended her balance, and it was in great part thanks to Killian that she didn't land in a disgraced heap on the floor.
A disgraced heap, she thought, and giggled drunkenly.
"It's alright, Mary Margaret," David said from further into the room. "It's a little complicated, but well, I think you'd better come over here and meet someone."
"Oh, I think I've met most of the people in this room that I need to," she bit back, eyeing Ursula, Maleficent and Cruella warily.
"Nice to see you awake too, my dear," Maleficent shot back cheekily.
"I think," a handsome dark haired young man said from further into the room, interrupting Mary Margaret's comeback, "he means mean." Belle detected a little embarrassment, from the man, "Maybe you should sit down."
Walking over to her husband, Mary Margaret stood tall, "I'm fine. Who are you?"
Turning, David smiled down at his wife, though he was cautiously holding onto her elbow, "Snow, I know this is going to be hard to believe, and I don't want you to get upset." He paused forcing Mary Margaret to glare at him. David chuckled, "OK, have it your way. Snow White, may I introduce you to our son, Neal."
"Hi mom," the handsome man with the roundish face smiled, giving a half wave.
David pointed to a blond standing a little further away, "And that, that's Liam, our grandson."
"What did you say?" Killian barked from beside her, his eyes widening as he took in the younger man who's cold blue eyes held not a spark of warmth.
"What in the hell is she doing here!" A dark haired teen yelled from Regina's side, and Belle was surprised to see that she was pointing her menacing look at her.
And that's when she saw him, looking as dashing as ever and a thousand times more powerful than the broken man she'd left in the middle of the road. His eyes were flat, his expression neutral, but he held her gaze as her vision tunneled.
Someone whispered, "Mum," but Belle couldn't focus, her entire world shifted on his face, and her heart leapt with joy and crashed with betrayal as her hand went protectively to her belly before curling into a claw to bite into her flesh.
"Get her out of here!" Someone yelled, but she could no longer see them; her world had gone black, and she could hear little through the rushing, pounding, of her furiously beating heart.
"Grandma! Grandma, are you OK?"
"Mum! Oh Mum!"
But none of it made any sense any longer.
And then she laughed.
No, not laughed, giggled. Giggled in that high pitched sound she'd fallen in love with, and hated now more than any other.
"Get a chair! Belle? Belle can you hear me?"
"Mum!"
"Is she drunk? She's freaking drunk!"
That caused her to laugh harder, and she blinked her eyes and her vision came back. A sharp tugging in her hair made her realize she was pulling it, and she let go suddenly, her laughter dying, as she looked down at her hand accusingly.
"Grandma, it's OK. Here, here's a chair, you just need to sit," Henry's gentle hands tried to move her to the side, but she flung her arms out to break his contact with her.
"NO!" She cried, backing up, her eyes instantly finding her husband's as she shook her head in denial. "No, no, no, no…"
"You, married, her? Oh Darling, you could have done so much better!"
"Yeah he could have! Get her out of here! I don't want Anna to see her! Roland, get rid of that filthy traitor!"
"No! Roland, don't hurt her! It's not her fault! None of this is her fault! It's the Sorcerer, he did this! No, Roland please, please don't hurt her, don't hurt her! Mum!"
Belle's face shot from Rumplestiltskin's pained expression to that of a young woman with long corkscrew red hair trailing down her back, and an elegant green dress with gold brocade. Her features were sharp and elfin, giving her a classical almost ethereal beauty. But that beauty was marred by the tear stains down her face, and when Belle glanced up and into her eyes, she was startled to see copies of her own.
The hand over her belly flattened protectively. "W-what did you call me?"
Author's Note: Ah the big moment has arrived. Any guesses on how well this meeting is going to go down?