Chapter six

"They'll never love me," the disguised queen announced while inspecting the peasant in the mirror.

Rumpel began to giggle manically, after all this time he could finally see the ending near, and he didn't care what he had to do to the woman before him to get back to his son.

"So sad, and yet so true," he laughed, "what are you going to do now then?"

The young queen took a moment to inspect her image, remembering everything that those people had done to her, there was no longer any doubt in her mind.

"Punish them."

The Dark One continued his hysterical laugh, she had finally stopped resisting his plan for her and he couldn't be more thrilled.

Waving his hand, purple smoke enveloped the woman before him, and within a moment she returned to the image universally feared throughout many kingdoms.

"The queen is dead; long live the Evil Queen."

"Rumpel," an Australian voice said softly, "its okay."

The man opened his eyes and let out a breath of shock at realising that he was in a hospital with Belle beside him. Frankly he had expected to be dead by now, most likely with no one to mourn him.

"What happened?" he tried to ask evenly, though it came out as a croak.

"The Apprentice removed the darkness from your heart," Belle replied, while passing him a cup of water.

He nodded, faintly remembering that happening, "it worked?" he asked once his throat was suitably hydrated.

Belle tilted her head, "sort of..."

Before she could finish her explanation, the door opened, and revealed Emma and Henry.

"Wonderful," Gold muttered, "am I not even allowed time off for illness?" he tried, though it lacked its usual edge.

"Not when this is all your fault," Emma replied.

Rumpel frowned, and Belle leaned towards the blonde, "I haven't told him yet."

"Oh..." Emma sighed.

"Told me what?" Gold asked, slight fear in his voice, which caused those around him to raise their eyebrows. Clearing his throat, he tried again, "will someone tell me?"

Belle nodded, and began her explanation again, "the Apprentice tried to contain the darkness in the hat, but...it was too strong and it got out."

Gold nodded, trying to work through the implications of this, though he was sure it was the first time that it had ever happened.

"Okay...and?"

"It tethered itself to another person," Belle replied.

"Regina?" he said instantly.

"How could you know that?" Emma asked angrily.

"Your forgetting, Sheriff, that I spent a fair amount of time linked to the same darkness, I would like to say that I understand how it works."

"Then you should know how to get rid of it," Henry contributed excitedly.

"Even if she wanted to be free of it, I believe that you already know the one and only method," Gold replied, though for the first time in a while he actually felt a pang of guilt. I did this to her, he thought, before trying to push this aside and continue with the facade that he felt was rapidly crumbling.

"Trust me she wants to, and you were freed," Emma retorted.

"After a considerable amount of time," Gold smirked, "tells me, saviour, just how long can you wait to give her that precious ring?"

Emma's fists clenched and Henry had to grab her arm before she tried to punch the crippled man.

"Do you have any advice?" Henry asked, although he was rapidly losing his temper as well.

"Has she even done anything?" Belle pondered.

Henry and Emma turned to the librarian, who took a step back.

"I mean she hasn't right? I thought that she was just in her vault for the past few weeks."

Emma nodded, she hasn't done anything, why is she in the holding cell? Despite her thought she felt images of Regina trying to take the dagger, and the clear conflict on the woman's face.

"Is it like being controlled?" the blonde asked turning back to the man in the bed.

Gold furrowed his brow for a moment, "it's different for every person, it depends whether or not she had embraced it."

"She hasn't, what does that mean?"

"Are you sure about that saviour?" Gold chuckled.

"Answer my question!" Emma shouted.

"Ma," Henry whispered.

The blonde sighed and closed her eyes, nodding she held up her hands, "please answer my question," she tried calmly. This is pointless, she thought.

"I suppose it means that it is trying to convince her to embrace it. Once the darkness has complete control over its subject it can begin to sate its need for evil," Belle answered.

Gold looked at the woman in surprise, wondering if there was anything that she hadn't studied, and she simply shrugged with a small smile in response.

"She' right," Gold supplied.

"And how would it 'convince' her?" Emma asked with an exasperated sigh.

Gold thought back to his earlier days. He had always thought that he had trained himself to be more ruthless and uncaring, that it was his own fault that he sent his son through that portal. But without anything clouding his mind, he began to consider whether he had even had any thought for himself in the past few centuries.

"By taking away what she loves most," Rumpel replied, his eyes widening at his realisation. Is that why Bae had to leave me? In retrospect he realised that he had become a much more sadistic person after that horrible day, that's probably exactly what it wanted. "Eventually she won't be able to separate her thoughts from it's."

Henry considered this for a moment, and nodded, "that makes sense, so we just need to make sure that we're louder."

"I believe that is easier said than done," Gold chuckled, which earned him a scowl from each person in the room.

Once the two intruders had left and Belle said she would be back as soon as she'd taken a shower, Gold let out sigh.

No matter what he had done to Regina, he couldn't help but think that this was just too much for the poor woman. Even if she did have the most resilient heart, it didn't mean that it had be tested with true happiness always just out reach.

Though rationally, Gold never saw the reason behind guilt, after all he had been a man of action since he had gained his former mantle; alone he could feel it mounting upon him at full force.

He had literally planned to ruin Regina's life before she was even born, and had still been able to do so despite Cora managing to get out of their contract.

Every step of her life, he had been the catalyst to her fall into darkness, and now he no longer had the voice in his mind justifying his actions.

He now felt as though he had always projected his issues onto Regina. Despite everything that he had done, he had always felt safe in the knowledge that it was for his son, but in the end none of that had mattered, his son had still died in the arms of the saviour.

So now everything just felt so pointless. There was no reason for Regina to suffer anymore, she had saved the people of this town enough times to be considered redeemed by many of them, She had a son and she would have had a fiancé soon. But now she was probably locked up somewhere, being constantly told that she doesn't need anyone other than herself. He knew what it was like to have doubt cast upon every relationship.

He had been told many times that he was a coward that didn't deserve a son, so he had strived to be more, and still ended up with nothing but power. Hundreds of years later, all he is now is a crippled old man, with no son and only Belle to stand by his side (something that he was sure he would mess up soon).

He knew that there was no way that he could help the woman, so he decided that he would just continue in denial as he always had.

A/N Reviews would be much appreciated, always interested to hear what you guys think :)