I may have cheated a little on this one - it's a family combo! And it's for my gal pal Kristen, aka bellesregal, the surprise I promised! And for belleoftheballpoint, bacause she made me cry wet tears yesterday!

DAY 4 - LIFE WITH SIBLINGS

- Tale as old as time -

"Hazel, Roland, are you ready?" called Henry, swinging the keys of his mother's Mercedes in his hand.

"Yes, they're coming," answered Regina, approaching to the door. "By the way, thank you for the babysitting, Henry"

"I don't mind spending time with them, mom" he said, smiling at her. "Better that, than going with Emma to the hospital for the ultrasound" he chuckled.

"Yes, well, obviously your mother had to schedule the visit right in the same day when her pirate, Robin and David are busy with the dwarves"

"The hard life of the mayor" he mocked her, and then he turned to meet his brothers. He ruffled Roland's hair and the ten-year-old protested with a loud Hey! – and he picked up Hazel from the ground, then kissed his mother on her cheek.

"See you, mom" he said, and she waved from the porch as he ignited the car and put the brakes on.

#

"Auntie Belle!" cheered Hazel, entering the library ten minutes later.

"Hello, princess" greeted Belle, turning to receive the girl's hug. "How are you?"

"Fine!" she beamed happily. "Henry is babysitting today!"

"Oh," nodded Belle, and she looked at him. "Didn't you have to write today, Henry?"

"Yeah" shrugged the boy. Hazel knew Henry was trying to write down all the stories of the people in Storybrooke, starting from the twenty-eight years of the first curse to the present. He was planning to product a sort of sequel of the original story book, but also a chronicle of the adventures their family had lived before and after her birth. So when he wasn't studying, he spent time with Belle at the library, in a corner, writing his perspective of the events.

"If you want, I could stay with them," said Belle, a gentle smile on her lips. "We could help Roland draw his family tree – he told me about it yesterday, isn't that right?"

"It's a mess, Auntie Belle," said Roland, looking defeated.

"Well, I think we could come up with something," she encouraged him. "And then we could watch a movie until Regina comes to get you, okay?"

"Can I choose?" asked Hazel with hopeful eyes.

"Actually, I may have a surprise for you in the back" whispered Belle playfully. "But first, we draw the tree"

"Thank you, grandma" said Henry, squeezing her shoulder. Belle rolled her eyes, and looked at him, desperate. "I feel old if you call me that" she protested, but he laughed and kissed Hazel's cheek, before moving to the other room to his books.

"So" started Belle, opening a drawer. "Paper and pencils!"

Hazel and Roland climbed two chairs to reach the large table in the middle of the room. Belle placed a pile of paper in front of them, and gave the children some pens and markers.

"So, Roland, I'd say you could begin by writing your name and Hazel's and Henry's at the bottom" said Belle, sitting next to them. The boy started to write carefully, while his sister was choosing some colors between the markers.

"Then I write my mom and dad's name?"

"Yes, Marian and Robin above your name" approved the woman. "Now you have to write your other mom's name and draw a line that links her to her children" she watched as Roland accomplished, his tongue peeking from his lips in concentration. Hazel had started a drawing – she was painting five bodies, one of them with curly red hair.

"Done" said Roland, looking worried. "That was the easy part"

"One step at a time" said Belle. "Okay, now you need to add Emma, Neal and Killian, and link Henry to his parents, then a blank space for the baby who is coming"

"Yeah" grinned Roland. Belle turned towards Hazel, watching her drawing. "Who are they?" she asked, pointing at the figures, as if it wasn't clear.

"This is my dad, my mom and my brothers" explained Hazel. "I wanted to draw the others too, but there isn't space…"

"We have a big family" said Belle, nodding. "How are you doing, Roland?" she asked.

"I wrote also Rumple and Belle near Neal and now I'm writing David and Snow and Neal junior" he answered. "But Auntie Belle, there are many other people in our family!"

"I'm sure your teacher will appreciate this work, Roland," she said. "Besides, you have a very large family, and it's okay if you write only a few people, because otherwise we would need a wall to draw the tree"

"Okay" nodded Roland, as he gleefully finished writing.

"Hazel, are you done with your painting?"

"Yes!" answered the girl. "It's for you, Ro" she handed it to him. "To go with your tree!"

"Thank you" smiled Roland, placing it next to his paper.

"Now, I think it's time for your surprise" said Belle, and she got up, the children following her in the little drawing room. She took a wrapped object from the chest of drawers and gave it to Hazel, who was already smiling. The girl ripped out the paper, to discover a DVD: Beauty and the Beast.

"Oh yes!" she exclaimed, throwing herself to hug Belle. "Thank you, I didn't have it!"

"You're welcome" said Belle, smiling at her. "Wanna start it before your mom comes?"

"Yes!" answered Hazel, and she went to sit next to Roland on the couch. Belle pressed play, and the movie began with the tale of the beautiful prince turned into a beast.

If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. As the years passed, he fell into despair, and lost all hope, for who could ever learn to love a beast?

"I don't understand why these movies don't tell the true story" said Hazel. "I watched Snow White with mom and it was all wrong"

"Maybe it's because the real story is only for special people" whispered Belle.

Hazel's eyes widened seeing the animated version of the woman sitting next to her, as she sang walking through the little village. She chuckled, watching her with her books – she's really similar to you, she exclaimed, approving.

Oh! Isn't this amazing!
It's my favorite part because, you'll see!
Here's where she meets Prince Charming
But she won't discover that it's him 'til chapter three!

"Yeah, but Prince Charming married Aunt Snow," corrected Roland.

"That's right" said Belle, "but I guess everyone finds their own prince Charming in the end"

"And how did you know that Rumple was yours?" asked Hazel.

"Well…"she started, uncertain on how to explain it properly. "Let's say that when we met, Rumple was still a sort of beast, you know? But I knew he was a man, under all those layers of darkness," she continued, as Hazel was watching her intently. "But I guess it was... your mother... who helped me realize that I really loved him"

"Really?" said the little girl, eyes widening in awe.

"Yes" answered Belle. "After I helped prince Phillip to return at his human form, I was returning to Rumple's castle, and your mom has… well… stopped me," she explained. "And she told me: Still fighting for True Love, even till the bitter end! And that's how I understood that I would have never stopped fighting" she smiled.

"These words weren't in the book" protested Hazel.

"Maybe you could tell Henry to add them" suggested Belle.

"Okay" agreed the girl, and they watched as Maurice entered in the Beast's castle, as Belle replaced him and befriended the talking objects. The real Belle explained the children about the chipped cup – it exists, and it's been broken a few times, but it has always survived – and about the rose that Blue had given her to keep while she was in Camelot.

Regina entered right during the ball scene, and she stopped on the doorframe, listening to the song.

Ever just the same
Ever a surprise
Ever as before, ever just as sure
As the sun will rise
Tale as old as time
Tune as old as song
Bittersweet and strange,
Finding you can change,
Learning you were wrong
Certain as the sun
Rising in the east
Tale as old as time,
Song as old as rhyme,
Beauty and the beast.

"Hazel, Roland?" she called. "I hate to interrupt you, but we should really go eat dinner"

"Hi, mommy" said Hazel, and Roland lifted his hand to greet her.

"Come on, guys," said Belle. "You heard the queen, now get up and don't forget your drawings"

"Okay, Auntie Belle," Hazel jumped down and went to place the DVD in its case. "Thank you for the gift!"

"Thank you, Belle," said Regina, helping Roland put his coat on. "Henry said he had an inspiration to write and you offered to help," she smiled.

"Always a pleasure" answered the woman, as Hazel went to hug her.

"Come on, say goodbye and let's go," said her mother.

"Oh, Regina?" called Belle, while Hazel and Roland were exiting to collect their works. The queen turned towards her. "I've never thanked you for what you said when… you took me to your castle, back in the Enchanted Forest" said Belle, and Regina stared at her, surprised. "I know we have a complicated history, but still, if I've never given up on Rumple… I owe it to you"

Regina smiled, squeezing her hand. It would always amaze her… people like Henry, Belle, Snow, Robin, always ready to forgive, to give another chance.

"I'm sorry, Belle" she said, repeating words said before.

"I know" nodded the woman.

"Mom!" called Hazel, and Regina smiled at Belle one last time before turning towards her daughter.

What a strange family, thought Belle.