Wow, so it's been so long since I updated this story that this is my official announcement it won for best OUAT!AU and Best Amnesia Belle in TEA. So thanks, guys! Shouldn't be that long between updates again, it's just very hard to write two stories that are about the same thing but with different characters at the same time.
Belle was pretty sure that Regina sometimes forgot that she hadn't stolen her hearing, just her voice. That, or she just didn't care what Belle heard. Maybe it had been too long since anyone had posed a real threat to the queen, or maybe Regina was just sloppy. Either way, Belle was now an accessory in a murder plot. Granted, she didn't have a whole lot of choice in the matter but if there were a real legal system in Storybrooke, Belle wasn't sure that any of the varying degrees of guilt here would matter to an actual judge.
Regina had gotten it into her head somehow to frame Snow White for murder. Which, in order to frame Snow White for the murder one had to be committed first. Thankfully, Regina hadn't decided to force Belle to be the one to kidnap Princess Abigail (that was falling to Sidney Glass), but for some reason the queen had insisted on Belle acting as a sounding board about her kidnapping and murder plans. Belle had no doubts about the fact that, should Sidney complete his task, it would fall to her to clean up afterward.
Regina couldn't be allowed to go through with this plan, but Belle wasn't truly sure what to do about it. She could ask Rumpelstiltskin for help, but he was strangely reticent about helping her with these sorts of things. He was still trying to pretend that he was still Mr. Gold, regardless of Belle's insistence that she needed his help. She would be in this alone, then, and she was going to do it her own way.
It had to be the last straw. Belle couldn't go to the sheriff – Emma still regarded her with a mixture of suspicion and concern – which really just left her the one option. Regina didn't know all of Belle's secrets, although she thought she did, but Belle had dedicated a significant portion of her pre-Henry years to exploring. She had known of Regina's crypt-vault long before it had come to Graham and Henry's attention, and she (unlike anyone else in town) knew enough of Regina's secrets to know that there was something hidden there. Regina never would have committed Graham's murder if she didn't have something she was afraid of him discovering, she'd been too attached to the Huntsman in her own sick way.
Regina was less attached to Belle, but she underestimated her. That was something Belle thought she might be able to use to her advantage as she left Henry at school with a wave and a promise that she would return promptly at three to collect him. Belle's day wasn't nearly as tightly controlled as Regina seemed to think it was. She certainly went along with the illusion of being overly busy with errands and chores because it suited her and created an alibi when one was required. By stockpiling a few minutes here or there and combining errands she usually did on different days (and with Henry's assistance in completing things that absolutely could not be combined) she had managed to secure herself a free morning. Nobody expected her to be anywhere between leaving Henry at the school door and delivering Regina's lunch at noon.
It was time for the contents of Regina's vault to come to light.
Armed with a disposable camera that she'd purchased at the pharmacy a few weeks ago and whatever courage she could muster, Belle stood outside the crypt nervously. She suspected that Regina may have adjusted her security measures after nearly being caught, but without magic there shouldn't be anything there Belle couldn't overcome. She took a deep breath and snapped a picture of the crypt before approaching the door.
It was entirely likely that these photographs would outlive Belle and she had accepted that. Regina had too much to lose if this all came to light. Belle wouldn't even risk having the film developed, instead she would hide the camera and tell a handful of people (Rumple, Henry, and Emma) where it could be found. She had to believe that at least one of them would do the right thing with it and make her sacrifice worthwhile.
Regina must have been convinced her previous deception was successful, because Belle saw no sign of any sort of security system on the door. That, or whatever she'd placed was more advanced than Belle knew how to spot. Either way, though, her choices were limited. She could either go in or stay outside. If she went in, there was a chance of being killed and if she stayed out there was a chance of being killed – frankly, neither option really appealed but given the choice at least this way she could be of some help in breaking the curse.
Well, Regina did apparently add at least one new security measure, Belle realized as she tried to push the door open – there was a lock. Belle smiled to herself as she examined it in the light of day. Things were finally starting to look up. One of the first things she had taught herself in Storybrooke – aside from how the oven worked – was how to pick locks. Her stint in Regina's dungeon had been fresh in her memory and she was determined to not find herself in that position again. She had even managed to build up a decent enough lock picking kit through a combination of petty theft and ingenuity. She, of course, felt guilty for the tiny tools she had lifted from Geppetto and Rumpelstiltskin, but they were both in a position to replace them without drawing suspicion and she was not. She'd made it up to the tinkerer with a few kindnesses here and there over the years, mostly baked goods (after she'd mastered the new kitchen) but on occasion she had the opportunity to bring something of Regina's in to be fixed and she always arranged it so that she overpaid him. Regina didn't notice twenty dollars here or there, and Belle had more than repaid her debt since then. Mr. Gold had proved harder to steal from, but it was possible if you were invisible and most people seemed to find Belle completely invisible if there was anyone else in the room.
She crouched at the door, careful not to get any mud on her jeans, and opened the secret pocket she'd stitched into her purse to hold her stolen tools. It was a simple kit, but there was a screwdriver and a packet of bobby pins that had been in there since sometime in the early 90s, and that was really all she would need for this particular door.
The inside of the crypt was exactly what Belle had expected, a dusty tomb (she did hope that Regina's father had found some sort of peace) and not much else but she snapped a photo anyway. There had to be a way inside the vault itself, although Belle couldn't honestly figure what it would be. Subterfuge hadn't ever been a skill of hers before, and it had been an adjustment to begin her life of sneaking around. She did know Regina, though. She had to think like Regina would if she was going to figure this out.
She spent the next hour carefully tracing damn near every inch of the place searching for a hidden catch that would reveal the secret chamber before coming back to the place she had started with a disappointed huff. Alright, time to think about this logically. Whatever Regina had hidden in here had to be below, didn't it? There were no other buildings or rooms nearby, so either there was a false wall (and that didn't strike Belle as being particularly likely, Regina would want her space) or there was something hidden beneath the crypt itself. The floors were made of the same stone that lined the walls, and an examination didn't reveal any trapdoors. That really just left the one option, and Belle really hated it. Wherever the entrance was, it had to be underneath the tomb containing Regina's father.
Belle had no desire to disturb the dead, but she had to find out what Regina was hiding and (with the marks left on the lock) this would be her only opportunity to do so. Screwing up her courage, Belle leaned against the tomb and shoved.
Nothing happened. The stone slab remained where it sat. Belle moved to another side – perhaps it was on a track? – and pushed again. The result remained the same. She was beginning to wear herself out. Her arms were burning with the exertion and sweat was beginning to bead on her forehead. She moved to the third side and leaned against the tomb to catch her breath, almost falling over as the tomb slid away under her body weight. Belle found herself staring down a staircase concealed inside.
Her heart was racing as she stepped back and took a few photos showing exactly where the staircase had been hidden. This was what she had been looking for all along – proof that Regina had something to hide.
She descended the stairs carefully, never quite able to shake the feeling of being watched. Regina cast a long shadow over Belle's life, and here she seemed to have permeated the walls themselves. Finally, she set foot on the pressed dirt floor and was able to take in the room she had successfully broken into. The walls were lined with archways leading into various nooks, and there was a workbench in the middle of the room with some phials of indeterminate origin on them.
A nook to the side revealed a large ornate mirror, and Belle flinched away from it instinctively – she'd never really liked to look at mirrors since the day Rumpelstiltskin had thrown her out. Instead, she entered one of the archways at random and found a series of drawers. They looked like safety deposit boxes, she realized. Little brass safety deposit boxes with strange symbols on them. She took out her camera and clicked some photos before gingerly pulling on the handle of one of the shelves at random. Inside was a little chest, and Belle knew she definitely did not want to know what was inside of it but she if she didn't open it then this entire little trip would be for no purpose at all.
Belle held her breath as she knelt on the floor and gently lifted the lid on the box. She promptly slammed the lid back shut once she saw the contents — one glowing human heart. Belle didn't know much about magic, but she could tell this heart had been infused with it. She dimly remembered Rumple teasing her about taking her heart out when they'd been living together, and she'd heard stories of a sorceress who could take your heart out and force her to do whatever she wanted. Perhaps those weren't all jokes and scary stories to keep little girls in line.
She photographed the heart before replacing it and retrieving another one, finding the same thing inside. She photographed the two of them next to each other, not daring to take anymore out for fear of not being able to put them back in the correct place. She quickly restored the hearts to their proper locations and shut the drawers before moving to the next nook.
This nook had a series of cubby holes in it containing various trinkets that she couldn't quite determine the purpose of, but knowing Regina they were important at one point in time. Belle snapped a few pictures for completeness' sake before realizing there was a small box on one of the shelves. She opened it and found a few other odds and ends which she also photographed. There had to be something here that would help her, and she found it in another little box on a different shelf — a small ring with a man's face visible in it. This she slipped into her pocket for an extra bit of leverage before returning to the staircase and leaving without even a final look around. She had a lot of things to hide and not a lot of time to do it in.