AN: Question-do you guys want longer chapters and longer updates, or my usual shorter chapters and fast updates?

Also, thank you for the reviews! While you may wait for the update, I wait for your kind words! You guys are great!

Something's wrong was all Ruby could think as she jumped out of bed. Her phone was ringing and there was more light coming in from her window then there should have been at three in the morning.

Something was on fire, and guessing from the five missed calls from Belle, Ruby could guess what it was.

She hoped that it wasn't.

Her phone rang again and she immediately answered without checking to see who it was. "Belle?" she said frantically.

"Um, no, it's Emma."

Ruby's heart deflated. "Oh, sorry. What's up?"

"I need you to get down here. The, uh... the freaking library is brighter than the sun, and I'm pretty sure it's no accident."

"Fuck," Ruby cursed. "Okay. Give me a minute."

Ruby didn't care that she was in shorts and a tank top and that she wasn't wearing shoes, she ran as fast as she could to the library. To Belle, whose heart was breaking. To Emma, who needed her. To oblivion.

The sight Ruby encountered was worse than she expected. The library wasn't just on fire, it was on fire. It kept exploding every few seconds, and even though the firefighters tried, it just wouldn't stop.

Magic.

"Emma," Ruby breathed. "I think... I think someone's using magic."

"Me, too."

"Where's Belle?"

"I don't know. I've been looking for her, but she's nowhere to be found."

"Is- is she inside?"

Emma's face confirmed Ruby's suspicion. "I think so," she mumbled.

Ruby ran. Right into the fire. Emma screamed at her, pleaded, but Ruby went in. "Belle!" she cried so loudly it felt like her throat had burst.

She could her sobs, but she couldn't tell where they were coming from. She stumbled around for a few minutes, and then noticed the sobs had stopped. She groaned, and then found the small brunette up against a wall. She wasn't completely unconscious, but she was pretty damn close. Ruby scooped her up and tried to find a way out, but all of the exits were engulfed in flames, except for a window on the second floor.

She decided to take the chance and jump out of it. Her body could probably handle the impact when she hit the ground. It was the only way out.

She opened the window and leaped, then hit the ground with so much force that the pavement cracked. Her body hurt, her mind hurt, and her lungs were struggling for air, but the one thing she could concentrate on was Belle.

She knew that Belle was broken now.

AN: I'm sorry for that. I needed something for plot development, so I came up with that... Whoops.

Should I do another chapter about this from Belle's point of view? I'm considering it, but I'm not sure.

Thanks for reading!