A/N: I forgot to mention earlier... The story isn't going to be a Swan Queen (romantic) pairing. There will be interactions between Regina and Emma eventually as the two try to get along for the sake of protecting Storybrooke and Henry, though, so I suppose you could read it as pre-Swan Queen if you want.

Chapter Six: Blind Faith

"That is a beautiful necklace," Ruby said as she set the menu down on the table.

Belle glanced down at the necklace around her neck with a smile. "Thank you," she said, reaching up to touch the pendant fondly.

"I haven't seen you wear it before. Is it new?"

Belle laughed lightly. "Ruby, I spent twenty-eight years locked up in a hospital. Everything I own is new."

"Right. Sorry," Ruby apologized with an abashed grin. "I didn't think that question through."

"It was a gift from Rumpelstiltskin," Belle replied. "Well… pretty much everything I own came from him."

Ruby nodded slowly. "Sure," she said awkwardly.

Belle sighed inwardly but said nothing else. She knew her relationship with Rumpelstiltskin was one that no one else understood. In fact, most of the townspeople were more than just baffled by it – they were disgusted and scared. But she firmly believed that all they needed was time to get to see the man that she knew, the man who possessed a heart big enough to love her and his son so completely.

And Ruby was better than most. She at least accepted that Belle loved Rumpelstiltskin – and, begrudgingly, that Rumpelstiltskin loved Belle – even if she did not approve of it.

"Do you know what you want?" Ruby asked, gesturing towards the menu, "or do you need some advice?"

"Well, I've had the pancakes and the hamburger, and they were both wonderful. But maybe I should try something new." She flipped open the menu and glanced over everything quickly, absorbing the words. "What is a mac 'n cheese?"

"Macaroni and cheese," Ruby said with a grin. "That's a good choice. It's a kind of pasta that is smothered in cheese, and Granny makes it the best. She'll sprinkle bacon and breadcrumbs on top if you ask for them."

"You think Granny makes the best of everything," Belle teased.

"She does," Ruby replied loyally. Then she lowered her voice and whispered, "Except hash browns. Twenty-eight years and she still hasn't gotten the hang of that one. But don't tell her I said so."

"Your secret is safe with me," Belle promised wryly. She handed the menu back to Ruby. "The macaroni and cheese with bacon and breadcrumbs sounds wonderful."

"Coming right up."

The waitress departed, and Belle looked around the diner. This world was strange. Everyone else seemed to have two identities, and their Storybrooke identity came with knowledge about the world that they now inhabited. But Regina hadn't given Belle a second identity. Instead, she'd stripped away everything that Belle knew about her previous life and left her mind nearly blank. She recognized cars and computers and other technologies unique to this world, but she had no concept of its history or its culture.

But the confusion and uncertainty brought on by this wasn't something anyone else could grasp – not even Rumpelstiltskin. How could she properly explain just how bizarre it was to know what the Internet was but not mac 'n cheese or hamburgers?

"Belle."

She started at the familiar voice.

"Father."

He slipped into the seat opposite her and took off his hat, placing it carefully on the table between hat said French across the front of it in large letters, a reminder of the man he was now, the man the curse had made of him. But she did not know that man, and in her mind her father would always be Sir Maurice, a noble in the court of King Charles and Prince Thomas and Princess Ella.

"How are you?" he asked, his tone earnest even though he wasn't quite able to meet her gaze.

"I… I am fine."

She lowered her hands to her lap and rubbed at one wrist, remembering the feel of the handcuffs holding her to the cart and the panic at the realization that she was about to forget it all. Her identity, everything she was, everyone she loved - it all would have been ripped away from her.

By her father.

Her anger flared. "What do you want?" she demanded.

"I just wanted to see you, to see how you were doing," Maurice said, an edge to his voice. "Is it so wrong for a father to be concerned for his daughter's welfare?"

"I've seen your ideas of concern," she snapped back, slamming a hand onto the table. She didn't like arguing with him - she didn't like arguing with anyone, and she loved her father despite everything - but she was too angry to allow him back into her life. Her voice was cold as she continued, "I thought I was clear when I said that I never wanted to see you again."

"You were clear when you said that you never wanted to see that monster again, either, but now you're dating him," Maurice countered, his own voice just as cold. But despite the rage in his eyes, there was a hint of whining in his tone.

"He is not a monster!"

"Not a…" Maurice trailed off and shook his head. "Belle, do you have any idea what that… that… creature… has done to people?"

"I know what you tried to do to me," Belle retorted fiercely. "I know what you tried to take away from me."

"I was trying to protect you," he said, leaning forward to grab her hand and hold it in his own.

Belle drew back. "You do not get to decide my fate," she said.

A look of hurt flashed across her father's features, and then he leaned back in his seat and said, "You will always be my daughter. No matter how old you are, you will always be my daughter, and I will always want to protect you."

"By removing everything that makes me the person I am?"

Maurice sighed heavily. "Ask around, Belle," he said quietly, almost as though he would regret causing her such pain, though she doubted that was true. "Ask the people here why they hate him so much."

"They don't know him! He is truly trying to change, to be better. He has depth, he has a heart, you just can't see it yet. You don't know him well enough."

"He destroys everything he touches, and he will destroy you, too. Why can't you see that?"

"I love him," Belle said angrily.

"Is everything alright?"

Both Belle and Maurice looked up in surprise, having not noticed Ruby's arrival. The waitress was glowering at Maurice, her arms folded over her chest and her lips pressed into a thin line.

"My father was just leaving," Belle said in a tone of forced calm.

At the same time, Maurice snapped, "This does not concern you, wolf."

Ruby flinched, then shot back, "After what you tried to do to your own daughter, you are far more animal than I am."

"Really? Because at least I don't turn into a wolf and eat people every full moon."

Ruby's face paled and she looked away quickly. The reaction surprised Belle – Ruby seemed so thick-skinned and brave that it was strange for an ill-formed and not particularly creative insult to upset her so much.

"Father, Ruby is my friend," Belle admonished. "You have no right to speak to her like that."

"No right? This is not any of her concern," Maurice argued, his face flushing red at Belle's rebuke. "It is a family conversation, and I will not simply allow her to whisper lies to you."

"Lies?"

"What else am I supposed to think when you prefer the company of a monster and a wolf to your own flesh and blood? She has told you lies about me. She knows she is a freak, so she tries to cut us all down, to bring us to her own wretched level."

Belle rose angrily to her feet. "You have no right, Father!" she said again, her temper snapping at the attack on her friend. Ruby had offered her friendship, support, and a place to stay when she'd had no one, and she would not stand idly by while the waitress was insulted.

Maurice rose to his feet as well and gestured towards the other occupants of the diner. "Ask around, my dear," he practically spat. "Ask the people here what your precious Rumpelstiltskin has done to them in the past. Ask about his deals and his tricks. Ask… or are you too afraid of what they might say?"

Belle looked around the diner. Every single townsperson there looked away the moment she tried to catch their gaze, and even Ruby was uneasy. They would not speak up, would not defend her decisions. They probably agreed with her father, probably thought she was a fool for placing any faith in Rumpelstiltskin.

"I know you want to believe that he has good in his heart, Belle," her father said softly, almost apologetically. "You want to believe the best of everyone, and I love that about you. But this imp has no good inside him."

"You're wrong," Belle growled, backing away.

She needed to get out of the diner and away from her father. She needed time to think – or maybe she needed to see Rumpelstiltskin. She wasn't sure, but it was suddenly too claustrophobic for her in this room with everyone's attention on her.

She turned and fled.

It wasn't exactly that he thought his mother was lying. It was just that he didn't really believe her.

The distinction made sense in his head, even if he doubted it would make sense should he ever utter the words aloud. So when she had asked if he believed that she was going to do everything she could to bring back Emma and Mary Margaret, he hadn't been able to answer because he didn't believe her but he knew that if he said that she would think he was accusing her of lying, and he wasn't.

He slid into a booth at the diner and watched as his mother walked over to Ruby. Ruby had given him a smile when they entered, but had given his mother a glare. He wasn't really sure why, but Ruby looked angrier than she had last night.

And as soon as his mother approached the waitress, the two started arguing.

"Hi, Henry."

He smiled automatically as Archie took the seat across from him.

"I thought I might find you here," Archie said by way of explanation. "Your mother called this morning. She wanted me to talk to you and..."

"She can't make me," Henry interrupted immediately. He paused, realizing how that must have sounded, and said quickly, "I mean, I like talking to you. But she can't make me go back to the sessions. She can't control what I think."

"She's not trying to," Archie replied soothingly.

Henry frowned. It was true that his mother hadn't tried to control his opinions since she'd let him stay with David, but she had done it in the past.

He chewed his lip and looked down at the table.

"She's worried about you, Henry," Archie said gently. "She knows how you much you wanted Emma and Mary Margaret to return. She knows how much you miss them. She just wants…" Archie paused for a moment, as though trying to figure out the right words, then said, "She wants to make sure that you have someone to talk to about this."

Henry hesitated. There was so much he wanted to say, so much buried inside of him that desperately needed to come out. He hadn't been able to say any of it to his mother, and had only managed to hint at it to Ruby. Could he tell Archie? Would the psychologist understand?

He opened his mouth to say something, but the words became stuck and finally he ended up blurting out, "They'll come back eventually. Emma and Mary Margaret. They'll come back – they have to. Good wins. Good always wins."

There was desperation in those words, though, and doubt.

"It's just a setback," he pushed on. "It's just… it's unexpected, but…"

He didn't know why he kept talking, why the words were still coming out. Was he trying to convince Archie of this, or himself?

But wasn't it true? Good always won. Always. Just like Prince James and Snow White always found each other. They would again…

They would.

They had to.

"Good doesn't always win," Archie said softly. "I know this is hard for you to understand, Henry, but sometimes Evil has the upper-hand and..."

Henry rolled his eyes and snapped moodily, "I know Evil wins some of the battles."

He did know that – he'd witnessed it first hand when the curse had taken Graham. He wasn't as naïve of a child as Archie was implying. He'd read his book cover to cover and he'd seen all the times that evil won, but there was a difference between winning a battle and winning the war. And…

"Good always triumphs in the end," he said stoutly.

Archie sighed. "For years, my parents and I stole from innocent people, Henry."

"I know," Henry insisted, annoyed. "I read the story."

"I killed two people. I turned them into puppets."

"That was an accident," Henry protested. "Your parents' tricked you. And besides, Good did win in the end. You escaped your parents, you became better, and you helped people."

"Yes… but at what cost?" Archie replied pointedly. "Geppetto's parents?" Henry wrapped his arms around himself, uncomfortable with Archie's words, but the psychologist pressed on anyway, "I might have finally escaped my parents and been given the chance to start over, but they're still dead. My happy ending cost two innocent people their lives, and all the Good in the land couldn't undo that."

Henry didn't know what to say. The story hadn't been about Geppetto's parents, so he hadn't really given them much thought. Jiminy had been the main character, and the story had been about his redemption…

And he had been redeemed, so didn't that make it a happy ending?

He didn't want to think about that, or about Emma and Mary Margaret and Cora, or about all the things his mother had said in the woods. He didn't want to talk about it, either, but somehow the words still came out of his mouth, "I really thought Emma and Mary Margaret would defeat Cora."

His voice sounded small and weak even to his own ears.

"I know," Archie said.

"My mom says that she's going to try to get them back, but how can I believe her?"

"Do you think she's lying to you?" Archie asked curiously.

"I… no. I mean… I don't know. She told me she was trying to help them before and she and Gold stole fairy dust and…"

"Why did she steal the fairy dust?" Archie interrupted.

Henry paused. "She said it was to protect me," he admitted. "She was trying to stop Cora from coming through. I… she… I begged her to lift the spell, and she did, and then…"

Then Cora had come through.

His eyes were burning with unshed tears and he wiped them away quickly even as his insides twisted with guilt. This was all his fault, wasn't it? The fear he had seen on his mother's face, the power he had felt during the confrontation by the well… it was because of him. Because he had begged his mother to undo the spell. Because he had been convinced that Emma and Mary Margaret would win.

Good always won.

"It wasn't your fault," Archie said gently, resting his hand on top of Henry's. "You didn't know that Cora would come through, just like Regina and Gold didn't know that Cora wouldn't come through. All of you were trying to do what you thought was best."

Henry nodded glumly. It was true that he had been trying to do what was best - and if Emma and Mary Margaret had defeated Cora, and if they had tried to come through the portal, and if the spell had killed him...

That had been unthinkable. That had been even more unthinkable than Cora coming through the portal, and he hadn't been willing to take the chance with their lives. His mother and Mr. Gold might have been willing to risk it, but he wasn't. Not for anything.

He chewed his lip some more, then asked diffidently, "Do you think Emma and Mary Margaret are alright?"

"Yes," Archie answered firmly.

Henry sniffled. "Are you saying that just to make me feel better?"

Archie smiled slightly, and replied, "Between Mary Margaret's determination and Regina's magic, I think they'll find their way back somehow."

"Did my mother ever talk to you about Daniel?"

The words came out before Henry even realized that he was asking them. It wasn't a question he wanted to ask – in fact, the entire topic was not something he wanted to think about. It was dangerous to contemplate everything he didn't know about his mother's past. It was threatening to turn his world entirely upside-down, and that had already happened too much lately.

But at the same time, it was the reason he wasn't sure he could believe his mother, it was the reason he wasn't even able to look at her. It was the reason he was starting to have doubts about all the knowledge he had taken for granted, so how could he not ask?

"Daniel?" Archie repeated, surprised. "Yes, she mentioned him." A pause, then, "Did she talk to you about him?"

Henry shook his head. "No, not really. He… at the stables, he… tried to hurt me."

"Yes, Regina told me about that."

Henry chewed his lip again. "She didn't tell me," he said softly. "She and my grandfather came in and told me to run, and I did… Later, when I asked David what had happened, he told me that my mom had stopped Daniel. I asked him who Daniel was and he… he just said that Daniel was someone my mother had known a long time ago, and that he had been killed…" He trailed off.

"Did you ask your mother about him?" Archie questioned.

"No," Henry whispered. "I didn't… I didn't think it mattered. I didn't think… David said that he and my mom knew each other, so I just assumed that he worked for the Evil Queen. Or maybe was an ally of hers... I didn't… I…"

I was young, and I had met my true love, my happy ending, but my mother thought he made me weak, so she ripped his heart out and crushed it in front of me.

His mother's words echoed in his head. He couldn't forget them, couldn't forget the raw pain and fury echoing in her voice as she shouted at Ruby.

"He died long before your mother became the Evil Queen," Archie said. "Daniel and your mother were in love."

"I know," Henry answered in a murmur.

It had taken a little while to put the pieces together. His mother had been upset after the incident with Daniel, but she hadn't allowed her emotions to show in front of him, and so he hadn't known just how much it had affected her. And when she'd made the sleeping curse for David, she'd told him that the only other time she'd used magic was to deal with the situation with Daniel. He'd heard the way her voice had broken over that name, but he hadn't give it much thought. He'd still just assumed that Daniel had been someone she had known, and perhaps that they had been friendly, but...

He rubbed at his eyes. Maybe he hadn't wanted to think about it. Maybe he'd known how much the truth to this story could hurt.

But while his mother had worked on the protection spell for their house, Henry had sat next to David's still form and contemplated Regina's words to Ruby, and that was when he had realized that his mother's true love and Daniel had been one and the same.

And yet…

"Did she say… how he… died?" Henry asked.

Archie didn't answer right away. Instead, he studied Henry's expression carefully, as though looking for something.

"Why do you want to know?" Archie asked.

"Daniel isn't in the book."

And there it was, finally out in the open.

There was nothing about Daniel in the book. There was nothing about Regina's childhood in the book. In fact, the first mention of her came after she had already been married to King Leopold for several years. It came at that point that she and the genie conspired to kill the king.

Henry had truly believed that the book told all of the relevant stories about people living in the Enchanted Forest. And because the first story of the Evil Queen had involved her manipulating a lovesick genie into committing murder, he had simply assumed that she had always been evil.

Or, at least, that the reason she had become evil didn't matter.

So either his mother had lied to Ruby about Daniel's death, vilifying her own mother and setting herself up to be a victim in the hopes of gaining Ruby's sympathy and possibly even trust…

Or the book had lied.

Henry blinked rapidly, forcing back the tears. "Is it bad that I want my mother to be lying about him?" he asked.

Archie's expression registered surprise at the question, but then a knowing look came into his eyes. "If your mother is lying," he said quietly, "then Daniel isn't in the book because none of that really happened. But if she's not lying, then the book is omitting stories… and if it left out something that important, what else could it have left out?"

"What if it is lying? I don't understand how… why… If Cora really killed Daniel, then… how am I supposed to… I believed in it…"

He couldn't put into words how betrayed he felt. First Emma and Mary Margaret hadn't come through the portal, and then he'd discovered that his mother had suffered an unthinkable tragedy and the book had decided that her loss was irrelevant. Everything he had believed in was turning out to be wrong.

He wanted Archie to say something that would make his world make sense again. Although some part of him recognized that it would be impossible, he didn't want to admit that things were changing and he no longer knew who or what to believe. He wanted Archie to fix everything.

But Archie didn't get the chance to say anything.

"And I assure you, Miss Lucas, that I had nothing to do with anything Mr. French said, though I do think he had a point."

Regina's angry voice echoed in the diner, and there was a sudden stillness as all eyes turned towards the former Evil Queen and the werewolf.

"A point? He said that…"

"That Rumple had caused suffering and destroyed lives? That he had been desperate to protect his daughter from a monster? I understand that your darling librarian might be upset at the way her father went about dealing with his fears, but can you really blame him for not trusting the imp?"

"It doesn't give him the right to…"

"Yes, yes, it isn't fair to forcefully push someone over the town line," Regina said. "Really, dear, you don't need to keep belaboring that point, I've already agreed with you on it."

Ruby turned away and stalked behind the counter. "And you are sure that you…"

"Did not send Moe French here to start an argument with his daughter and then insult you? Don't be ridiculous, Miss Lucas. How would that possibly help me?" Regina replied derisively. When Ruby didn't answer, she added, "I can assure you that there are many people in this town besides me who don't particularly like wolves. Or Rumpelstiltskin. Perhaps one of them got to Mr. French. Or possibly the man grew a backbone and came up with the idea of confronting his daughter himself." She paused, considering this option, then said, "Admittedly, that one does seem less likely."

The corners of Ruby's lips twitched at that comment.

Then she scowled and said, "Fine. You had nothing to do with Belle's father. So why are you here?"

"I, unfortunately, do need to find Gold. He has not answered my phone calls, so I will have to track him down on foot. And I need you to watch Henry until I get back."

"Wait. You're not staying for lunch?" Henry asked in surprise, interrupting the conversation between the two irate women.

His mother turned, and her eyes narrowed when she noticed Archie sitting across from him in the booth. She pursed her lips for a moment, glaring at the psychologist, then said, "No, dear. I need to find Gold. But you will be safe enough with Miss Lucas until I return." She turned towards the waitress. "You will call me if anything happens."

"Nothing is going to happen. I am perfectly capable of protecting him," Ruby said, bristling.

Regina rolled her eyes. "You people really need to stop underestimating my mother," she snapped.

Regina did not wait for Ruby to reply, but instead walked over to Archie. "I didn't think you were coming, bug," she said coldly.

"I meant it when I said I wanted to help," Archie protested.

"Good for you," Regina replied sardonically.

"Look, Henry just wanted to know about Daniel and your mother and I…"

"You told him?" Regina interrupted before Archie could finish the statement. Her eyes had narrowed even further and her voice shook as she hissed, "Everything I told you about Daniel and my mother was in confidence."

"I'm trying to help…"

"Help? By betraying patient confidentiality?" She leaned forward, planting her palms on the table and moving into Archie's personal space, "Daniel is not fodder for this town's gossip."

"Mom!" Henry interrupted loudly, "Mom, it's fine. He didn't tell me anything that I didn't already guess."

Regina's expression softened slightly as she turned towards her son, and she said in a gentler tone, "Perhaps, dear, but Dr. Hopper is still required to respect the privacy of our sessions."

"He's just trying to help," Henry protested.

Regina expelled a breath sharply and said in a low tone, "Yes, well, I'm getting rather tired of everyone's version of helping. Too many strings attached." To Archie, she said threateningly, "You will not divulge any of our conversations to anyone, not even my son. Is that clear?" Then, without waiting for a reply, she turned to Henry and added, "I'll be back in an hour or so. I have my cell phone with me, so you can call me if you need anything."

"Alright," Henry said.

Regina gave Archie one last glare, then stalked from the diner.

"Rumple? Are you in here?" Belle called out, stepping into the back of the pawnshop and looking around. The shop had been closed, but she had keys to the shop and his home, and she was determined to find him.

He hadn't answered his phone.

She was worried. She'd seen him just the day before, but he'd hurried away, giving some excuse about needing to address the potential arrival of this woman Cora. She hadn't made any concrete plans to see him after that so she hadn't thought much about his absence yesterday evening, but it was unusual for her not see him at least once a day, particularly since the threat of Cora had been brought to his attention.

And it was even more unusual for him not to answer her phone calls.

She knew he could protect himself from any and all attacks. She wasn't afraid that he would be hurt. But…

What if, in defending himself, he went too far? What if he let his anger overwhelm him? What if he did something he couldn't take back?

He was trying too change. Belle knew that, even if no one else could see it. But that didn't mean that the change would be easy, or that he wouldn't be tempted, and she wanted to be there for him. She wanted to help him so that he wouldn't give in to his hate.

"He's not here."

She spun around to find herself face-to-face with a woman dressed in an elegant blue gown and a cloak that draped over her shoulders and fastened at her chest. The woman was not particularly tall, but something about her still made Belle feel small.

"Who… who are you?"

"Cora," the woman said. Belle flinched, and Cora smiled. "You've heard of me, I see?"

"What do you want?" Belle demanded.

"I was looking for Rumpelstiltskin, my dear. Just like you." She glanced around, and added, "But it would appear that he is not here."

"No… no, I suppose he's not," Belle agreed. "Well… I'll just be going now." And she started edging around Cora quickly.

"You know," Cora said thoughtfully, catching Belle's arm in a light grip, "I've never heard anyone but my daughter refer to him as Rumple. Tell me, do you hate him as much as she does?"

"I…" Belle started, and then stopped.

Cora appeared to have no idea of the relationship between Rumpelstiltskin and Belle. Very few people had known about it – in fact, Regina, Belle's family, and the man who had freed her from her prison in the hospital were probably the only ones who had even known that Belle knew Rumpelstiltskin. And if Belle was to believe her father, then he hadn't known that she was in love with Rumpelstiltskin until recently. So it was entirely conceivable that Cora didn't know.

Or this was all a ruse.

Both Regina and Rumpelstiltskin had indicated that it was not a good idea to underestimate Cora, and she really had no way of knowing how much the other woman knew or what she was capable of doing in order to achieve her ends.

"That is a beautiful necklace," Cora said. She rested one finger on the pendant and smiled. "Very beautiful indeed."

Belle blinked. She had no idea why everyone was suddenly so fascinated by the necklace. She didn't even know why she had put it on this morning. She hadn't really liked it when Rumpelstiltskin had given it to her – the pendant was so ornate it bordered on gaudy – though she had no intention of ever telling him that. She'd thought it was sweet that he had wanted to give it to her, even if she'd had no desire to wear it.

Belle pulled her arm out of Cora's grip, doing her best to not to look flustered or scared, and said, "Thank you. I really should be going, though. I…"

"Need to find Rumple?" Cora supplied. "You are brave for facing him. And you don't have magic, do you? Even braver, then."

"Yes… well…"

Cora reached into the folds of her cloak and extracted a small vial filled with a glowing liquid. She held it out to Belle. "This is a tracking potion. Pour it on something that belongs to the person you are trying to find, and it will lead you to him."

"I don't need magic to find him," Belle said sharply. Then, realizing how rude that sounded and still wary about making an enemy out of the dangerous and powerful woman standing before her, she added quickly, "But thank you for your help."

"Of course," Cora said, pocketing the vial. "Well, I am sure you will find Rumple soon, even without magic. And when you do, my dear, can you give him a message from me?"

Belle nodded wordlessly.

"Tell him… tell him I am interested in making a deal."