Author's note: Hi everybody! Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed, I really appreciate the feedback.
Here's my next chapter- enjoy!
~..~..~..~..
Rumple watched as Lacey took a long sip of her cocktail, licking her lips slowly as she placed the glass carefully back onto the table.
"Tell me about yourself, Lacey," Rumple asked, not knowing how else to begin.
The brunette before him raised an eyebrow.
"Which version of me do you want to know about?" Lacey qualified. "I can be the sympathetic maternal type, if you need someone to talk to? I can be the fun friend who can take your pain away...or would you prefer the sweet, hopeful girl who just wants to be taken away from this life?"
"I want to know you, Lacey." Rumple told her. "That's the woman I'm interested in learning about."
Confusion flickered across Lacey's features, and Rumple caught a glimpse of something vulnerable before Lacey's expression returned to her confident, suggestive smile.
"Normally," She leaned across the table slightly, resting her elbow on the table to cup her cheek in one hand, "there's only one thing that makes a man interested enough to buy me a drink and take me home."
"Well, I'm not normal," Rumple countered slowly. "And I believe I'm buying you two drinks."
"So you are," Lacey told him, taking her glass in hand once more. "In that case, I should savour this."
As Lacey took another sip of her drink, Rumple couldn't help but notice a group of men at the bar looking their way, one of whom was the idiot who had the gumption to speak of his Love so cheaply.
Rumple gritted his teeth, fighting the impulse to turn all those drunken idiots into the pigs and slugs they were.
He wanted to take Lacey and leave, but she clearly had no intention of going anywhere until she had had her second drink.
"Could you put your jacket back on please?" Rumple asked her.
"Why?" Lacey asked, making her eyes round and hurt. "Don't you like my outfit?"
"I don't like the way others are looking at you," Rumple admitted slowly.
Lacey's expression cleared with understanding and she obligingly reached for her jacket, which lay on the seat beside her.
"You like a private show, do you?" She asked playfully as she shrugged into the jacket.
Rumple sighed, doing his best to ignore the disappointed groans from the men that still sat at the bar.
This was going to be more difficult that he thought.
"How did you get into this life, Lacey?" He asked her.
The brunette clenched her jaw before she tilted her head quizzically.
"You really are interested in learning about me, aren't you?" She asked. "You're acting like this is a real date...Why do you care?"
"I care..." Rumple began slowly, "because I see so much more to you than this. I care about you. You said you remembered being in the hospital?" Rumple prodded. "Do you remember how you got there?"
Lacey frowned slightly. "I was in an accident... and I had amnesia for a while."
"Yes," Rumple nodded smiling. "And do you remember the things I told you? About who you are?"
Lacey swallowed, and again, Rumple caught a flicker of...something. Vulnerability. Fear.
Lacey quickly downed the rest of her cocktail.
"Can I have a second round?" She asked, holding up the glass.
Rumple sighed. Lacey wasn't interested in talking to him.
"Of course, sweetheart," Rumple gently took the glass from her, meeting her gaze as he did. Again, he saw that flicker of emotion in her eyes.
That glimpse actually gave him hope. There was something there...if only he could just get Lacey to open up to him.
~..~..~..~..
Rumple unlocked the front door of his home later that night, leading Lacey inside.
"I'll show you to your room," he told her.
"My room?" Lacey echoed. "I thought you'd hired me for the night. I do have to make money you know."
Rumple had to grind his teeth. 'Hired for the night' he thought with disgust. As if he would ever treat his Love so appallingly.
He took a breath to calm himself down before turning his eyes onto the brunette standing just inside his front door.
"You don't have to do that job any more, Lacey," Rumple assured her. "Do you remember me telling you in the hospital that I'd take care of you? I meant it. You never have to stand on a street corner for money ever again, I promise."
Lacey raised her eyebrows, laughing humourlessly in disbelief as she flicked the door shut behind her.
"I don't believe you," she hissed angrily. "Now, you're trying to be the hero?"
Rumple froze. Something wasn't right.
"What is it, Lacey?" He asked.
"You asked if I remembered you, from the hospital, Mr. Gold," Lacey moved forward to stand right before Rumple. "And I do. But I also remember you before that."
Rumple's eyes widened with shock.
"You knew me before you went to the hospital?" he asked in disbelief. How was this possible? He had no cursed memories of Lacey.
'...the only reason she would need her cursed memory would be if the curse broke or if she somehow escaped the asylum.' Regina's voice echoed through his head. 'Turns out, it was both.'
Rumple was stunned. Regina had given Lacey cursed memories of him, but hadn't given him cursed memories of Lacey.
Why?
Because if he remembered Lacey, he would've known Belle was alive. Rumple thought that premise was obvious.
But why give Belle false memories of him?
'...the curse, as you know, was designed to keep all those affected away from the things they loved.'
Regina's voice echoed through his head again.
Regina had needed a way to keep Belle from finding him, or wanting to find him, if she ever escaped before the curse was broken. And now that it had...those cursed memories of him were going to be the thing that kept her from wanting to love him.
"How do you know me, Lacey?" Rumple asked warily.
"You've forgotten now?" Lacey asked derisively. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised."
"I have my memories, Lacey," he told her carefully. "But I want to know about yours."
Lacey snapped.
"You want to know me, Mr. Gold?" she demanded. "You want to know how I got into this life? I got this life because of you."
Rumple felt icy fear take hold of his heart, and beginning to spread throughout his whole body.
'No.' His heart pleaded. 'Please, no.'
"What-what did I do?" He asked desperately, though he was terrified of the answer.
Lacey's eyes were no longer playful as she regarded the man before her.
"You kicked me out," she hissed. "Just like everyone else. I dropped out of school before they could kick me out, my own father kicked me out, I got kicked out of every job I applied for, because I had never finished school, and you," she pointed at him accusingly. "You were the only one who offered me a job. Mr. Gold, always willing to make a deal."
"You worked for me?" Rumple asked. "As my housekeeper?"
Lacey nodded. "I remember that. I had a place to live, and money, while you had a fulltime maid."
"And our cup?" Rumple prodded.
"Dropped it on my first day, just like you told me at the hospital," she said bitterly. "Thought you were going to fire me on the spot but you didn't."
Rumple's heart was pounding in his chest. Regina had given Lacey a Storybrooke version of their time together back home? Why?
"I used to think that my life could get better," Lacey confessed, her voice becoming husky as she fought to keep her tears at bay. "While I was working for you, I thought that I wasn't such a screw up at everything."
She swallowed, her expression becoming hard once more.
"And just when I thought that everything was going to be okay," Lacey continued. "You kicked me out."
Lacey raised her eyes to meet Rumple's accusingly.
"I lost everything I had." She told him. "All because of a kiss."
Rumple couldn't breathe.
"You kicked me out onto the street," Lacey's voice was harsh. "I couldn't go home, I had no money, no job...I had nowhere to go... Except to the Rabbit Hole."
Tears were falling from Rumple's eyes. He knew that Lacey's memories were false, created by the curse, but her story was so much like theirs back home...
This may have been what Belle could've turned into after he sent her away from the Dark Castle...
Oh, Gods, Regina was better at causing pain than he had ever thought possible.
"You know," Lacey continued, taking a breath. "When I was a little girl, I used to pretend that I was princess, and that one day, a hero would rescue me." Her eyes were filled with disgust as she looked at Rumple, who was frozen on the spot.
"But it was just a fantasy," Lacey told him. "It wasn't real. It would never be real. But fantasies are very powerful. So, I make my living from fulfilling the fantasies of others. Figured some people should get to live their dream, even if it's just for a night, for a price," she said ruefully.
Rumple stepped forward hesitantly.
"Sweetheart," he breathed, and Lacey flinched, glaring at him before avoiding his eyes. "The reason I sent you away was because I was a coward." He told her. "I still am a coward."
Lacey rolled her eyes, not wanting to hear him now.
"I sent you away because I was too afraid to love you," Rumple confessed. "And I did love you, sweetheart. I still do. Remember what I told you, in the hospital, about the cup?" he asked hopefully. "I kept it with me ever since you left, to remind me of you."
Lacey folded her arms in front of her chest, still not convinced.
"I was told that you had died," Rumple continued. "If I had known where you were, I would have rescued you, I swear."
Lacey laughed.
"And now, you think you've done just that?" Lacey said scathingly. "You think you can just give me some flowers at the hospital, an apology, and then just take me off the street and I'll forgive you?"
"I...realise we have some way to go," Rumple granted.
"Now there's an understatement," Lacey commented flatly.
Rumple took a deep breath.
"What will it take?" He whispered. "For you to forgive me? I'd give you anything, Love."
"Anything?" Lacey calmed down long enough to think for a moment, casting her eyes around the large living room.
"Why don't you show me my bedroom first?" She suggested.
~..~..~..~..
The next morning, Neal left Tamara sleeping as he made his way down to the diner for breakfast.
Opening the door, he was surprised to see his father sitting at a table in the corner, looking miserable.
"Morning, Papa," he greeted cautiously as he sat down.
"Morning son," Rumple whispered.
"I'd say 'Good morning'," Neal put forward, "but somehow, I don't think that fits today."
Rumple shook his head.
"Here you go, Mr. Gold," Ruby placed a steaming mug in front of the man, who took a grateful sip.
Neal sniffed the air.
"Is that an Irish coffee?" He asked.
"With extra Irish," Rumple confirmed, taking another sip.
Ruby watched Mr. Gold with concern. She'd never seen him like this before.
"So how's...Lacey?" She asked hesitantly, flicking her eyes awkwardly towards Neal.
Rumple exhaled heavily.
"She really is Belle's evil twin, isn't she?" Neal asked.
Rumple's eyes were sad as he stared into his mug.
"She's broken," he said simply. "Lacey is a broken woman. And I'm the one who broke her."
"What?" Neal was surprised.
"But, that would just be her cursed memory," Ruby tried to reassure him. "Remember, she was kept prisoner throughout the whole curse, none of her memories are real until she left the hospital yesterday."
"There's the thing though," Rumple said softly. "Lacey's memories of me are actually rather similar to those from back home."
Rumple continued to gaze pensively into his coffee.
"If Belle hadn't been the forgiving and loving woman that she is...was," Rumple whispered. "She could have become Lacey."
"So," Ruby tried to stay optimistic as Neal stared at his father, "you just need to help her remember who she is first."
"That," Rumple smirked, "may take some time, now. It's a good thing I'm the richest man in town," he commented as he took another sip.
"What do you mean?" Neal asked.
"Lacey's charging me for her company," Rumple told them drily.
Neal felt his jaw drop.
"You're joking."
"Nope," Rumple took another sip. "I'm not going to let her go back onto the street, and this was the only thing that she would agree on. Unlike Belle, Lacey holds strong grudges and, unlike Belle, she's good at twisting a situation to her advantage."
"That doesn't sound like anyone we know," Ruby commented before her eyes widened with fear as Rumple turned her way.
"I meant Regina," Ruby said quickly.
Rumple smirked.
"Don't you fret, dearie," he told her calmly. "You'd be right in thinking me as well. Belle was completely opposite to me, it's only fitting that Lacey's as good at making deals as I am."
Neal swallowed.
"Well, then maybe there's a way you can use this to your advantage," he suggested.
Rumple rubbed his eyes wearily.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, how did Belle reach you?" Neal asked. "You say that Lacey's like Belle's own 'Dark One', so, maybe to reach her heart would be for you to act more the way Belle would." He suggested. "Maybe you have to change in order for Lacey to."
Rumple frowned thoughtfully into his mug.
"Uh, Ruby," Neal turned the waitress, "could I get a black coffee with two sugars, please?"
"Oh, sure," Ruby remembered that she was meant to be working. "Coming up."
As Ruby moved away, Neal leaned forward until he caught his father's eye.
"So, what happened?" Neal asked, worried.
"What do you mean?" Rumple asked slowly.
"Back home, between you and Belle," Bae clarified. "What did you do that would make her evil twin hold a grudge against you?"
Rumple smiled ruefully as he gazed at his boy.
"The same thing I did to you, son," he whispered. "I let her go. No," he amended. "I did worse than that: I sent her away."
"Sent her away?" Neal echoed. "Why?"
"The same thing as with you son," Rumple repeated. "I was a coward, and made the wrong choice. I didn't think anyone could ever love me. So when Belle did, and my curse began to break...I thought it was more likely to be a trick than true love."
"Your curse started to break?" Neal gasped.
"True love's kiss can break any curse,' Rumple whispered. "But even though the proof of Belle's love was right before me, my fear overrode my hope. I stopped believing, and remained the Dark One. I sent Belle away soon after that." He smirked humourlessly. "The second worst mistake of my life."
Rumple was silent for a moment before letting out a breath and burying his face in his hands.
Neal studied his father sympathetically. He'd never seen him so depressed. What must it be like, he wondered, to have the love of your life right in front of you, but they thought they were a completely different person? A person who hated you?
Reaching out, Bae placed a hand on his father's shoulder, causing him to lift his head.
"You'll get her back, Papa," he told him surely. "True Love is the most powerful magic in the world. It can overcome anything."
"Lacey doesn't love me," Rumple reminded his son. "True Love isn't a one way street."
"But it has to start somewhere," Neal told his father surely. "And like you said: Belle is still in there somewhere. You just have to find her."
Rumple smiled. "I'm better at hiding than finding," Rumple admitted. "Finding was more Belle's skill."
"Yeah," Neal admitted slowly. "Our family's good at running and hiding. But," he added, "never too late to learn something new, is it?"
"Suppose not." Rumple conceded before closing his eyes. "I just want her back."
"Then you'll have to work for her," Neal told his father.
"And lose a bit of money on the way," Rumple added, though money was no object if it could mean he got his Love back.
Standing up, Rumple made ready to leave, placing a couple of notes on the table for Ruby.
"Where is Lacey, anyway?" Bae asked curiously.
"Sleeping off her hangover," his father replied. "She's going to have quite a headache when she wakes up, and I need to make sure she's okay before opening the shop."
As his father made to move off, Bae stopped him
"Papa?"
Slowly, Rumple turned to view his son.
"You deserve a happy ending too," Bae told his father quietly. "Don't let anyone tell you different, including yourself."
Smiling fondly, Rumple clasped his son's hand in gratitude.
"Thank you Bae," He whispered.
As the door of the diner swung shut with his father's departure, Tamara entered from the Inn side.
"Morning Sweetie," Tamara greeted brightly as she sat down opposite Neal. Then she saw his face.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"Nothing," Neal said lightly. "Just saw my dad in here and...it was a bit of a weird moment."
"At least you two are reaching out to each other," Tamara said gently.
"Here you go Neal," Ruby arrived with his coffee, and Neal passed her some money.
"What can I get for you, Tamara?" Ruby asked the woman.
"Eggs Benedict please," Tamara smiled and Ruby made a note of the order before moving off.
"So, what shall we do today?" Tamara asked her fiancé.
"Well..." He began thoughtfully.
"Neal!" A voice called.
Turning, Neal spotted Henry making his way towards him, his school bag over his shoulder.
"Hey Henry," Neal greeted warmly. "Don't you have school today?"
"Duh," Henry chided. "I'm eleven and it's Monday. But I wanted to talk to you," he added. "Walk with me?"
Neal glanced at Tamara, who smiled in understanding.
"Go ahead," she said. "Walk your son to school."
Grinning in gratitude, Neal sculled his coffee before following Henry out the door.
Tamara's dark eyes followed her fiancé and his son until they were out of sight before standing up and moving to a booth nearby, where a man sat, eating scrambled eggs.
"Good Morning, Greg," Tamara greeted as she sat down.
Greg Mandel looked up to see the woman sitting in front of him, his face breaking into a relieved smile.
"Tamara?" He said quietly. "You came?
"Told you I would," she reminded him. "Thanks again for tweeting those pictures of your food," she said as Ruby placed her order on the table. "I've got some good recipe ideas for my restaurant now."
"Glad to hear it," Greg smiled before lowering his voice as Ruby moved out of ear shot. "And the other stuff I sent you?"
"You were right, Greg," Tamara assured him. "This was exactly the place I was looking for. Thank you for finding it for me."
"And?" Greg prompted. "Did you find them?"
"Made my delivery yesterday," Tamara smiled.
Greg flicked his eyes toward the window.
"Who's that you brought with you?" He asked.
"You don't need to worry about him," Tamara said softly. "He's safe."
"What do you mean, 'he's safe'?" Greg asked. "Who is he? Does he know?"
"About this town: yes." Tamara answered slowly. "About me: no."
"Then he might not be safe to have around," Greg whispered. "I don't want you getting hurt over this."
"It'll be fine, Greg." Tamara assured him soothingly. "The two of you actually have something in common."
"What?"
Tamara smiled.
"You don't recognise him, do you?"
Greg frowned. "Should I?"
Tamara nodded leaning forward.
"He left only a few years after you did," she whispered.
Greg's eyes widened slightly with surprise before relaxing slightly in his chair.
"And you found him?"
"Finding lost things was my job" Tamara smiled. "I'm good at it. I found you, didn't I?"
"So," Greg began, "Why haven't you told him who you are yet?"
"Because it's not time," Tamara said firmly. "Not yet. And I still have work to do here."
Greg nodded.
"What can I do?"
Tamara picked up her knife and fork.
"Tell me about your stay here," she suggested conversely. "And don't spare a single detail."
~..~..~..~..
"So Henry, what's up?" Neal asked as they made their way from Granny's.
Henry pursed his lips thoughtfully.
"I wanted to ask you," Henry began hesitantly, "How you actually got here."
Neal sighed.
"The Blue Fairy gave me a magic bean," he began, but Henry overrode him.
"I know that part," he explained. "It was in my book. You wanted to find a way to break your father's curse without him having to die. But," Henry added, "you also said that this wasn't the first world you came to."
"That's right," Neal admitted slowly.
"You went to Neverland first, didn't you?" Henry asked his father.
Neal nodded.
"I was a Lost Boy for a couple hundred years," he nodded.
"So then," Henry was confused. "How did you get here, from Neverland? Second star on the right and straight on till morning?"
Neal laughed softly.
"Nah, that's how you get to Neverland." He told his son. "Or, one of the ways, at least," he amended.
"So?" Henry prodded.
Neal sighed.
"It was another magic bean," he explained slowly. "I had hoped the Blue Fairy's bean would take me to a world without magic, and instead it took me to a world with even more magic than the one I'd left. There were tons of magic bean plants, the Indians there tended them. Each bean plant sprouted beans that would take you to different worlds. Took me ages before I found the one I wanted."
"Why didn't you use one of the beans to go home?" Henry asked. "Go back to your dad? He'd been looking for you ever since."
Neal sighed. They were approaching the school.
"Because I was still angry with him," Neal confessed. "He chose magic over me, so I didn't see the point in going back."
Henry looked up at his father.
"But he found you."
Neal nodded before taking a breath.
"Why did you want to know, Henry?"
"Well," Henry began. "There're magic beans growing here now, and-"
"What?" Neal leaned down to look his son in the eye. "There are magic beans here?"
"Yeah," Henry nodded. "My Grandpa told me. A giant named Anton brought the last magic bean sprout with him from the Enchanted forest, and he and the dwarves are looking after it."
"What kind of bean sprout is it?" Neal asked.
"That's the thing," Henry told him. "We don't know. So, as you'd used a bean before, I thought you might know how they work and whether they'd be able to take everyone back to the Enchanted Forest."
Neal rubbed his eyes. "I'm no expert, Henry," he told him. "The giant's probably the best one to ask. I wanted to get away from magic, so I made an effort to not pay much attention to it."
Henry frowned thoughtfully as they arrived in the school grounds.
"Well, there is something else I wanted to ask you about," he put forward carefully.
"What's that?"
"You said you used to fight pirates, right?" Henry asked.
"Yeah," Neal nodded. "It was one of the few things in Neverland that I found fun."
Henry grinned.
"Could you teach me?"
A smile slowly crept across Neal's face.
"Hasn't Prince Charming taught you to sword fight?" He asked.
"Yeah. But, Hook is still around somewhere," Henry explained. "So, I think I should learn how to duel a pirate. Who better to teach me than you?"
Neal regarded his son thoughtfully before flashing a smile.
"After school," he nodded.
Henry grinned back. "Yes! Thanks Neal!" Waving happily, he ran off to class just as the bell rang.
It was as Neal waved back that he realised what had just happened.
He had walked his son to school for the first time.
Grinning, he headed back up the road, looking forward to the afternoon.
~..~..~..~..
After making her rounds, Ruby grabbed her phone and ducked into the pantry for some privacy.
Dialling quickly, Ruby waited anxiously for someone to pick up.
"Sheriff's office."
"Emma," Ruby said quickly. "Sorry to call you at the office, but I just heard something I really think you should know about."
"What's up?" Worry tinged the Sheriff's voice.
"You remember Greg Mandel?" Ruby asked.
"The guy who hit Hook with his car?" Emma asked. "Yeah, I remember."
"Well," Ruby began slowly. "Tamara knows him."
Pause.
"What?"
"Neal's fiancé, Tamara," Ruby explained. "She knows Greg Mandel. They're old friends, apparently. She was the 'her' on his phone. They were speaking quietly, and didn't think I could hear them over the others in the diner, but they didn't account for wolf hearing."
"Where are you now, Ruby?" Emma asked.
"I'm standing in the pantry, actually," Ruby told her.
"Can you come to the station?" Emma asked. "If this is as important as your tone is telling me, I think we should have this conversation in a more private area."
"I'll come over now," Ruby agreed.
~..~..~..~..
Lacey pried her eyes open slowly, bringing a hand to her throbbing head.
"Good morning, Love."
Mr. Gold was sitting beside her bed, offering her a glass.
"Drink this," he told her softly. "It'll refresh you."
Wordlessly, Lacey accepted the glass, taking a sip which turned into a gulp. She hadn't realised how thirsty she was.
"You look like you've got quite the headache," Mr Gold commented.
"Well," Lacey sat up slowly, already feeling her head clearing. "The worse you feel the morning after is a direct indication of how much fun you had the night before."
"And?" Mr. Gold prodded.
"I had fun," Lacey downed the rest of the glass before handing it back to the man who sat beside her bed.
"Wow," she blinked, feeling the throbbing in her head fade. "What was that you gave me?"
"Just something special I made for you," Mr. Gold shrugged. "It helps with clearing the head."
"Well, it's the best cure for a hangover I've ever had," Lacey granted. "You should sell it."
Mr. Gold shook his head.
"All I wanted was for you to feel better," he told her, before gesturing to a breakfast tray on her bedside table. "Are you hungry?"
Confusion and disbelief flickered over Lacey's face.
"You...really want to take care of me?" She asked sceptically.
"I do," Mr. Gold told her simply.
"Why?"
"I told you why," Mr. Gold said. "I love you, and-"
"No." Lacey said firmly. "You don't love me."
Mr. Gold seemed shocked at the accusation.
"Yes I do," he whispered.
But Lacey shook her head.
"No," she whispered. "You don't love me. You love Belle, the woman you think I am, the one you want me to be. You don't love me."
"She is you," Mr. Gold told her, leaning forward earnestly. "You are her. You are both."
"No," Lacey argued. "I am not her. I'm not a hero. I'm not a good person. Look at me!" She gestured to herself. She was still wearing the outfit she'd worn at the bar last night. "I'm gutter trash! I'm nothing!"
Mr. Gold took Lacey's hand in his own.
"Listen to me Lacey," he told her. "You are not trash. You are a good person, I can see it. You've just had a lot of bad things happen to you in your life, but you have a strong spirit. And it is that strength," he continued sincerely, "that has helped you learn to survive on the street and how to turn your circumstances to your advantage."
Lacey stared at him suspiciously. No one had ever called her 'strong' before. At least, not in a nice way.
'What's Mr. Gold's game?' She wondered as she accepted the breakfast tray. 'Well, whatever it is,' she thought as she began eating, 'I'll find a way to beat him at it. No one can play games like me.'
~..~..~..~..
Author's note: okay, for the record, I want to say that I don't really like Lacey much myself at the moment, but I have to admit, I'm enjoying writing her scenes.
I was trying to think of a backstory for her, and then I thought 'why not give her a similar story to her real one, just without Belle's naturally forgiving and hopeful nature?' I figured Regina would need to find a way to make sure that Lacey and Mr. Gold didn't find each other, so I thought, why not make Lacey have a reason to want to stay away? Afterall, as the richest man in town, Mr. Gold would probably be a target for someone in Lacey's profession...
I also wondered how, as Lacey was without the 'hopeful for a happy ending' nature that Belle had, how would she respond to being sent away?
I'm enjoying trying to find similarities and opposites for Belle and Lacey.
Belle has always wanted to be brave, to be a hero. Lacey had wanted to be rescued, and spent her life thinking she wasn't good at anything.
Belle is trusting, and can see the good in others. Lacey has had so many bad experiences, her first thought is suspicion.
Belle has a strong spirit and also pure of heart. Lacey is also strong spirited, but uses a situation to her advantage.
I wonder if this is how the writers of ONCE feel...it's quite exciting, trying to figure out which qualities are going to be the same, but used differently, and which qualities to take away.
As for Rumple, he is so used to losing the things he loves, I really wanted him to have a low moment after he finds out Lacey's backstory. Because I think Lacey could literally be 'Belle's evil twin'- what Belle would've turned into if everything had gone wrong, and she hadn't been the person she was.
I also like the thought of Bae reminding his father of what's important, and offering his support- it could be the start of reconciliation?
I'm hoping to make Lacey more endearing in later chapters, but I have to admit (as much as I hate to), that, as Lacey is being introduced so late in the series, I doubt we'll get Belle back on the show until next season.
Though I'm hoping she at least comes back in the finale. Maybe 'true love's kiss' is the 'game changer' that Robert Carlyle mentioned at the Palyfest interview? Though, it'll probably be something to do with Henry, I'm guessing.
Anyway, I'm planning on having Rumple continue to take care of Lacey, while trying to get to know her, and she'll hopefully open up more as she realises he's genuine. However, I wanted to make the point in this chapter to say that Rumple didn't actually love Lacey- he loved Belle. So, I'm hoping to have Lacey get Rumple's attention, possibly with her mind as they match wits with each other.
Any ideas on how I can do that?
I'm also planning for Hook to come back soon-should be interesting!
Please review, and tell me what you think. As usual, I love feedback and I'd love to hear other theories on what may happen.