a/n- This chapter is for The Auburn Girl for inspiring me to do this crossover. It's one of my favorite movies. :)

Belle blinked taking in her new surroundings. Everything had happened so fast, she barely had time to register that she was no longer at the dwarves' cottage. As soon as she processed the current events, she was enraged. The adrenaline quickly built up in her system as she glanced up at Rum, realizing he had taken them away with magic. She feared for her friends' lives. She moved herself out of his embrace in anger, "RUM! What did you do?! Take us back right now!" She stomped her foot on the ground trying to make her point.

Rumplestiltskin remained calm, unfazed by her anger, "I merely took you out of harms way. I'll not have any harm come to my wife on our wedding day." He stepped closer to caress her.

Belle forcefully shoved away from him, "How dare you decide what I'm going to do for me! Everything is not about you or what you want, Rumplestiltskin!

He quirked an eyebrow at her use of his full name.

Belle calmed slightly trying to get through to him. She took a step closer and held out her hands, "I want to fight for my friends. We can't just leave them helpless! We need to go back!"

"I'm afraid not, Belle. It is their problem not ours."

Belle was stunned for a moment, but then her anger surfaced again. She flung herself at him, but he caught her by the wrists. She glared up at him, "TAKE US BACK RIGHT NOW! NOW! WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!" Belle began to struggle, attempting to release herself from his grasp.

"Belle, Belle, calm down!" Rumplestiltskin held on to her gently, and tried to stop her from flailing around.

She paused, glancing up into his eyes, then collapsed onto his chest in tears, "Rum…please…"

He rested his chin on the top of her head and stroked her hair, "Belle, I promise Snow and Charming will be safe."

Belle stilled and glanced up at Rum with wide tear filled eyes, "How can you be so sure?"

The corner of his mouth quirked up to one side, "Let's just say I no longer owe our dear prince a favor."

Belle furrowed her brow, "You? Owed Prince James a favor?"

"You sound so surprised dearest."

"Rum…" she said giving him a look that said she wanted the truth.

Rumplestiltskin's mischievous smile was replaced by a genuine look of honesty, "I gave the Prince a bag of dust that would allow him to transport the two of them to safety."

"What about the dwarves?"

"There was enough for them as well."

Belle thought for a moment, "But how can you be sure they were able to get out in time and not captured?"

Rumplestiltskin held out his hand, flicked his wrist, and small hand mirror appeared. He held it out to her, "Here, this mirror can show you anything your heart so desires. All you have to do is ask."

Belle looked at the mirror, back up at Rum, then cautiously took it from him, "I thought you said mirrors…"

"Yes, yes, but no one can see you through that mirror. It is enchanted to where one can only look through it to see what it is they're looking for. It is only us doing the spying this time."

Belle gave him a disapproving look, before looking down at her reflection, "I'd like to see my friends, Snow and Charming…please."

Belle watched in awe as her reflection faded into a purplish green hue, and her friends slowly came into view. She breathed a sigh of relief when there stood Snow and Charming wrapped in each other's arms, offering reassurances. The dwarves were there too. Belle listened as Charming explained to Snow what happened, but the image began to disappear when Grumpy came up to discuss their next course of action. Belle hugged the mirror close to her chest once only her reflection could be seen. She looked up at Rumplestiltskin and gave him a small smile of gratitude, "Thank you."

"No matter," Rumplestiltskin said, brushing it off.

The two of them stood there in awkward silence until Belle spoke again, "How…How did you know to give Charming that powder?"

"During our little…quarrel…I acquired bits of information, learning that King George's army was on the move, and there was only one place they were headed."

"If you knew they were coming why didn't you warn everybody?"

"What? And spoil all the fun!?" Rumplestiltskin jumped and laughed at his quip.

Belle did not find it funny, "Rum! We could have done something! We could still do something. We could help them fight." Belle took a step closer to him, looking at him hopefully.

Rumplestiltskin shook his head, "They must fight their own battle, defeat King George and take their kingdom back. If Snow White and the Prince are to succeed, they must do it without our help."

Belle nodded and looked down at the ground. She wanted to continue to protest, to get Rum to see they could be of some help, but she knew there was no chance. She decided to let it go and be thankful that all of her friends were safe for now.

Rumplestiltskin saw a look of disappointment on Belle's face. He lifted her chin so her gaze met his, "Don't worry. We'll see them again."

"How do you know? It's not like you can see the future," she added sarcastically.

Rumplestiltskin tried not to make a face that showed he was hiding something, but he was unsuccessful. Belle furrowed her brow, and then it hit her, "Wait…you can see the future?!"

Rumplestiltskin shrugged, "Yes, and no. I can see pieces, but I never know how they will fit together. And I can't see everything. Just some things."

Belle digested what he told her. She could not believe it. 'If he can see the future then wouldn't that mean he would know how his life will play out?' "So, can you see if we will find your son?"

"No. I try not to look into my own future. Seeing the inevitable…can be a terrible price. Like I said it's like a puzzle with missing pieces; it makes it difficult to read, and never what you think. It did help me piece together the information I gathered in town, to determine King George was on his way."

Belle nodded, feeling a little bit better about not helping her friends. She asked her next question nervously, "Do…do you ever look into my future?"

Rumplestiltskin looked ashamed, "I did once. When I…back in your castle, when I still didn't trust you. I wanted to find out if you were working for your father, trying to get to me."

"And what did you see?"

"Does it really matter?"

"I guess not. We're together now, that's what matters," Belle smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck. She brushed her lips to his, "And it's our wedding day. Let's try not to let anything else ruin it ok?"

Rumplestiltskin gave her a weak smile as she kissed him. He could not take his mind off what he had seen in Belle's future. He had been thinking about it ever since, and tried not to let it bother him. He did not know how it would all play out, but he knew he still had plenty of time with his Belle, and he was going to enjoy it while he could, "Yes, my darling Belle, and I have someplace special I wanted to take you."

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"Oh Rum! This place is so beautiful!" Belle exclaimed as she admired the lovely sight before her. She stepped forward glancing around at all the beautiful trees that seemed to stretch up for miles. They were completely surrounded. They were almost to the top of a mountain, and a lovely waterfall cascaded down from the mountainside, landing in a crystal clear pool. The sun fell at a place in the sky where it struck the misting water and created a beautiful rainbow. Higher up on the mountain was the widest and tallest tree she had ever seen. It was so big, that its branches and leaves seemed to take up the whole sky. She stood there gawking at it.

"It's a camphor tree," Rumplestiltskin stated, as he stepped up beside Belle and looked at the tree with her, "It's one of the oldest trees left living in all the lands."

"It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen." She turned and took Rum's hands in her own, "This place is wonderful, thank you for bringing me here. You didn't have to do this."

"I thought I'd bring you somewhere nice to celebrate…well us. It is our wedding day after all. I think we deserve some sort of honeymoon." He grabbed her by the waist, playfully pulled her to his chest, and crashed his lips against hers.

Belle was stunned slightly at his action, but gave in immediately, eager to be with Rumplestiltskin for the first time as husband and wife.

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Rumplestiltskin lifted his head from Belle's chest and looked down it to her eyes lovingly, as they lay there trying to catch their breath. They had collapsed underneath one of the lusciously green trees that stood closest to the water. He still couldn't believe he was so lucky to have such a wonderful willing woman in his arms. One who truly loved him.

Belle reached up to brush Rum's hair out of his eyes, "I love you, Rumplestiltskin."

"Aye, and I you."

Their lips met for another kiss, then Belle spoke, "I guess we should get dressed now."

Rumplestiltskin looked at her lustfully, "I wouldn't object to you staying just like this."

"Rum! What if someone walks by and sees us?" Surprisingly Belle had not thought about this earlier, but she had been in the heat of the moment.

"I assure you there is no one but us. This place is not easy to get to without the aid of magic. Why do you think it is so clean and beautiful, or how the tree has survived for so many years?"

Belle smiled at him in understanding. She went to put her dress back on, then stopped, "Do you mind if I put on something more comfortable?"

"Anything you wear my dear will look ravishing,"

Belle's cheeks grew red again. She was still standing there naked, but thinking of what clothes to wear for Rum was making her blush. While she was slipping on her blue dress, she felt a tinge of sadness. Her wedding dress was so lovely, but she would never wear it again. As she reached down and stroked it, the tidbit of sadness was replaced with immeasurable amounts of happiness because she thought about the many years to come. Her life with Rumplestiltskin was only just beginning. Belle lost her train of thought when Rumplestiltskin sat down beside her. He was clothed back in his usual attire of leather and silk.

"I have a gift for you," he said as he held out a medium sized package. It was rectangular, wrapped in brown paper, with a bright blue ribbon tied around it.

Belle grinned, and took the gift from him, "Rum!" She turned the package back and forth in her hands, and her smile faltered, "I…didn't get you anything

"Trust me when I say, you have already given me everything. Now open it."

Belle flashed him another smile before untying the ribbon. The paper fell into her lap revealing a book. It had a simple cover made of brown cloth, outlined with dark leather, but Belle's eyes lit up nonetheless, "How did you know?"

"That you like books? Dearest, I think the library you disguised as a bedroom gave it away."

Belle giggled, "No, I mean that I had my eye on this particular book?"

"I saw you admiring it when we were passing through the town. I went back to retrieve it when Snow held her meeting and you stayed behind at the cottage."

"Thank you, for everything." She pecked him on the cheek, then eagerly opened the book to flip through the pages. It was all written in a foreign language, one where all the words looked liked symbols.

Rumplestiltskin peered over her shoulder, "Although, I don't know how you're ever going to read that."

"Actually I can read it. When you spend as much time with books as I do, and have been confined to a palace almost your entire life, you learn a few things." Belle continued to look through her book, paying Rum barely any mind. She felt him lean in closer to her. She shut the book at turned her attention to him, "Oh, I'm sorry, I can look at this another day." The sparkling waterfall caught her eye, which gave her an idea, "Would you like to take a dip in the water?"

Rumplestiltskin cringed, "Dearest, I loathe getting wet. I'd much rather sit here and enjoy watching you obsess over that book. Don't stop reading on my account. I gave it to knowing you wouldn't be able to pull your attention from it."

Belle was disappointed he didn't want to play in the water. It looked so inviting. However, the book was just as inviting, so she picked it back up and started reading. She was so focused that she almost didn't notice Rumplestiltskin had dozed off beside her. She sighed contently to herself and glanced over at a rock that hung perfectly over the pool. She got up, careful not to wake Rum, and walked over to it.

Belle sat down on the rock, pulling her dress up so as not to get it wet, and dipped her feet in the water. The water was soothing, just the perfect temperature. All was quiet with the exception of a few birds chirping and the waterfall hitting the spring. The sun was low in the sky, but there were still a few daytime hours left. Belle took the time to enjoy her book. She gently kicked her feet back and forth as she enthusiastically opened it. She flipped thorough the entire thing before starting at the beginning. She cast a sideways glance over at Rumplestiltskin and chuckled to herself. He had fallen asleep leaning up against a tree with his arms crossed in front of him and was lightly snoring. She almost couldn't tear her gaze away, but the book was calling to her.

She was deeply engrossed in the pages when she heard a rustling coming from the other side of the spring. Her head shot up at the noise to see what it was. She glanced in the direction it came from, but saw nothing. Remembering what Rum had said about no one being able to come to the spring without magic, she went back to reading her book. But then she heard it once more. She glanced back up, this time staring at the spot for a longer period of time. There was a patch of grass across the way of considerable length, but it was unmoving. She was about to return to reading once more when the grass shifted, and she heard the rustling again. For a split second she feared someone was there, and she was about to wake Rum when a flash of white fur caught her eye.

She breathed a sigh of relief realizing it was just a small animal, most likely a bunny from what she could see. As the animal began walking away, she noticed it was the strangest bunny she had ever seen. It was small, round, had pointy ears, and was carrying something over its shoulder. 'A bag? That's weird…' She marked her place in her book and set it beside her, continuing to observe the creature. The sound of the book landing on the rock startled the animal and it turned back to look at her, realizing for the first time that she could see it. It seemed distressed over something, and then disappeared right before her eyes. Belle's mouth hung open, 'Wait did it just go invisible? Or did I imagine that?' She narrowed her eyes focusing hard on the spot where she had seen the creature and it eventually came back into view. She let out a silent gasp. She couldn't believe it. It had gone invisible. She had to know what it was. Her curiosity had taken over, so she pulled her feet out of the water slipped on her shoes, and made to follow it. It was so intriguing; she couldn't help herself.

The creature, thinking it was still invisible, was walking at a normal pace. It happened to glance back and noticed it was being followed. Anxiously, it picked up the pace and ran as fast as it could. "Wait, I'm not going to hurt you!" Belle called after it. And then she thought to herself, 'Ok, that's silly, I'm talking to an animal. It can't understand me.'

However, the animal was small so she was able to keep up until they came to the base of the old camphor tree. It was there she saw it disappear behind one of the giant roots sticking out of the ground. She carefully climbed up to the root and peered over noticing there was a concealed hole behind it, a hole large enough for her to fit through very easily. Every sane voice in her head told her that it was a bad idea, that she should just go back to Rum, but her curiosity go the best of her. She had to know what the little white thing was. She had never seen it before and if she gave up now, she may never see it again.

She lifted her dress out of the way and lowered herself carefully down into the hole. She bent under the roof and saw a concealed tunnel. After dropping down, it was relatively easy to walk through. She had barely walked anywhere when the tunnel opened to reveal a very large tavern. The tavern was open enough to let a significant amount of sunlight stream in, but the tree canopy protected it. There were green grass and flowers growing all along. She wondered if this were the inside of the large tree, but she told herself that couldn't be possible.

As she was admiring her surroundings, she caught sight of movement in the corner and turned expecting to see the little white creature. It was there scurrying away, up a large rock to hide behind. When she went to move closer, she immediately realized that it wasn't a rock it was hiding behind. She froze. Right in front of her laid an enormous creature sleeping soundly. It had to be close to twenty times bigger than she. She clasped her hand over her mouth to stifle a scream. She had never seen anything like it. It was similar to the little white animal she was following except it was gray with a white belly, and gray streaks going across the top of it's tummy. Its hands were at its sides, and they were sporting some very long claws. She didn't know if it was dangerous or not, but she wasn't going to stay around to find out.

She slowly began to back away as quietly as possible, when she stepped on a stick that loudly snapped in half. She closed her eyes, cursing herself for her clumsiness hoping the creature wouldn't wake. She was disappointed because almost instantly it began to stir and groan. It flipped over and let out a loud yawn. For the first time she could see its face. Its eyes were still closed, but it had a large black nose, long whiskers, and tall pointy ears. It almost looked like a strange cat. She was about to continue moving away when the monster began sniffing the air and its eyes shot open. She froze in place hoping there was some chance it wouldn't see her. She was wrong again.

The creature sat up and looked straight down at her. It had the biggest eyes she had ever seen, and they were focused on her. The fear was raking through her body and she thought she might faint that very moment. She considered calling for Rumplestiltskin, but she had wandered too far; she didn't think he would hear her. 'Maybe he'll wake and come look for me…' she hoped, 'Hopefully there will still be a me to look for.' The creature stared at her for a long moment, as if it was examining her, trying to learn what she was.

As much as she tried to, she couldn't take her eyes off of it. She kept telling herself to run, but her feet were planted in place. Movement came from the side of the creature, and she saw the little white one pop up from behind the enormous one. It was basically a miniature version. Then there was another one that popped its head out to look at her. It was a bluish tent, slightly bigger than the smallest, but nowhere near the size of the grey one. They were all staring at her, and she had no idea what to do. Thinking she was about to become these animals meal, she was startled when the largest one grinned at her. It grinned at her. With the biggest smile she had ever seen, and large white teeth. Relief suddenly flooded her body. She realized that the creatures wouldn't harm her. That wasn't a smile of something that was about to enjoy dinner. It was a smile of a friend. They weren't the monsters she thought they were. 'I should have known. I knew Rum was no monster when I met him, I should have seen it when I met this thing.'

Cautiously she walked up to the largest one after gathering all the courage she could muster. She didn't think it would harm her, but that didn't take away from how intimidating it looked. She slowly reached out her hand, looking up at the creature for permission. It gave a small nod, so she gently stroked its belly, "You're not a monster are you? You won't harm me?"

It smiled again, shutting its eyes in confirmation.

She returned the smile, all fear now faded away, "I'm glad."

Glancing over at the other two animals, she flashed them a smile as well. They swiftly ducked back behind the gray one, only to pop back out to examine her some more. Eventually the two inched closer, but when Belle reached out to touch them they instantly shied away. Belle smiled and looked back up at the grey one, "What are you?"

It growled in reply, but she had no idea what it was trying to say.

She furrowed her brow as she looked at it, "You look familiar…I feel like I've seen something like you before…in a book of course." She knew she would have remembered if she had met something like it in real life.

There was a small moss covered rock next to the area where he sat. She pointed to it, "May I?"

The gray creature nodded with a smile.

Belle curtsied, then sat down. She continued watching the large animal, "I just can't remember…" She thought hard trying to recall all the books she had read. That was a feat on its own. She had read almost every book in the library at her father's castle. However, she was trying to remember the picture books. She hadn't read a picture book since she was a little girl, when her mother was still alive. Actually, she preferred books without pictures, because she loved using her imagination. Out of nowhere it hit her when thinking about her mother, she remembered one book in particular her Mama would read to her on occasion. She beamed up at the creature, "You're a totoro, aren't you?"

The creature grinned ear to ear.

Belle was shocked, she had no idea totoros were real. The child inside of her was reeling with joy, "So you're really a totoro? My mother use to read to me about you from time to time, but I never would have guessed you existed."

She glanced down, seeing the smaller totoros had moved closer to her, but they scurried away again when she looked at them. She giggled. "They must not encounter people very often. But you're not afraid," she said addressing the largest totoro.

The largest totoro continued to watch her. She looked around the cavern once more observing the colorful flora, and then noted the sun's placement in the sky. 'Rumplestiltskin could wake up any minute, and he will be worried,' she thought. "I should probably be getting back, if my husband wakes to find I'm not there, he'll…well I'm not exactly sure what he'll do but it probably won't be good."

She stood up and dusted her dress off, "It was a pleasure to meet you. You have a beautiful home." She gestured to all the lovely foliage.

It growled in response, but she could tell it was just saying thank you.

Smiling, she turned to walk back to the tunnel entrance when she felt a cold set of claws clasp her shoulder. She turned back around, to face the totoro. It reached out with it's other hand and Belle noticed it was holding something small. She looked at it then back at the creatures face, "For me?"

It nodded.

She held her hand out, and the small object landed in her palm. It was wrapped in leaves and bound together. She reached out and stroked the totoros soft fur. "Thank you." She saw the smaller totoros watching her and she addressed them before she left, "And perhaps if we ever met again, you will have warmed up to me huh?"

The little ones looked at her questionably, and she chuckled as she gave them all one last farewell.

As Belle walked back, she gently tugged on the string opening the small package to reveal its contents. She smiled when she discovered an array of seeds. Some she recognized, but there were a few she had never seen before like the odd sized beans. The curious part of her wondered what kind of plants would grow from them, but her thoughts were interrupted by a shout.

"Belle!"

Knowing it was Rumplestiltskin, she picked up the pace. When he came into view, she could see how disheveled he was, but it disappeared when he caught a glimpse of her.

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Rumplestiltskin awoke to a bird chirping loudly above him. He hadn't meant to fall asleep, but couldn't help it after the day's events. He stretched and yawned as he sat up. Expecting to find Belle still sitting next to him, he was surprised to find her gone. He looked around for her, "Belle?" No answer.

Standing, he walked around the area to see if he could find her. When he saw her book abandoned on the rock over the water, he thought the worst. Calling on all his magic, he used it to search the stream, feeling relief when he knew she hadn't drowned. Still, something was not right, "Belle!" He called out. Frantically, he ran along the tree line, calling her name. When she emerged barely a minute later, he let out a big sigh of relief. He wanted to run up and gather her in his arms, but instead he put on his usual cold façade still unwilling to show any hint of weakness, even to the woman who just vowed to love and be with him forever, "And where did you wander off to?"

Belle walked up to him, placing a hand on his forearm, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you."

"What are you talking about, I wasn't worried." He harrumphed and held his head up high.

Belle smirked, "You know you don't have to put your walls up for me. It's ok to admit your feelings sometimes. I know you think it's a weakness, but you're wrong."

He relaxed a tad, then caught a glimpse of the package she was holding, "What have we here?"

"Just an assortment of seeds," she said as she tied the cloth back up to prevent the seeds from falling or getting strewn. She wanted to plant them, but she was curious what would grow, so she planned to wait when she could properly tend and care for the plants.

As she wrapped it back up, he noticed what the cover was made with, "That's wrapped with bamboo leaves, tied with dragon whiskers, where did you get that?"

Belle looked at him sheepishly, "You'll never believe me."

"Try me."

Belle sighed as she relayed her story to Rumple, "I was reading the book you gave me, when I saw an animal I had never seen before. I was curious so I followed it. It led me to the big camphor tree, where I found a big totoro."

Rumplestiltskin furrowed his brow, "I've warned you about your curiosity. But a totoro? Are you sure?"

Belle nodded, "It looked just like the drawings in my picture books when I was a child."

Belle could see he was deep in thought as he took another glance at the little package, "I believe you met the King of the forest my dearest."

"The King of the Forest?"

"Yes, he guards the forest, and rides the wind spreading seeds across the lands. Even I've yet to gain an audience with him in all my years."

"Really?"

Rumplestiltskin nodded, then reached up and twirled one of her curls about his fingers, "Although, I don't understand what it is about you that struck his fancy. He usually only reveals himself to children and you're obviously not a child."

Belle blushed, "I think it was just an accident I met him."

"Nothing is an accident or coincidence when it comes to the King of the Forest. There's a reason he wanted to meet you, but we may not know what it is just yet."

"Oh…"

"Meeting him is also a sign of good luck."

Belle smiled, and touched Rum's cheek, "If that is so, I hope all of my good luck goes towards finding your son."

Rumplestiltskin smiled. There were so many things to love about Belle, but most of all he loved how she put finding his son ahead of anything else. The two embraced and they returned to the tree they had curled under to camp for the night. As Belle drifted off to sleep that evening, she could hear the sounds of an ocarina playing faintly on the wind.

Next: Mulan