Belle nearly dropped the bowl she was holding and gasped.

"Samuel! What...What about your leg?" He took a step closer to her and instinctively Belle took a step back finding herself pressed against the sink.

"I'm sorry for the trickery Belle but I had to get in here somehow." He said.

"But your fever and the wound!" she exclaimed.

"A simple herb mixture meant to last for a few days and a self-inflicted cut." said Samuel with a shrug.

"Why are you here? Why in heaven's name would you risk yourself doing something like that just to get in here?"

"It's quite the adventure. I fought for a while but I soon realized we were fighting a losing battle and that most of those in charge didn't care about that fact. So I and a few other faked our deaths and deserted. Then we came across this group "The freedom fighters". They're a group that want to swap the status quo and give those same people who were willing to throw us lower class people to the wolves a taste of their own medicine. We're going to get rid of the class system so everyone is equal."

Belle was filled with horror a the way her old friend spoke of punishing people. Not to mention that she'd read about the societal model he spoke of and it never worked. Someone always ended up on top anyway.

"And how will you accomplish this?" she asked slightly faintly.

"With this," he held up a grey and brown box with a red gem on top. "One of our leaders collects magical artifacts. I'll use this box to trap the Dark One. Then we'll work out a way to control him and use his power to defeat our enemies."

If Belle had been disgusted by Samuel's plan originally she was terrified by the way he spoke of hurting Rumple. She couldn't bare for that to happen. That said if Samuel tried and failed Rumple would almost certainly kill him. And she could understand why, though she had no wish for it to happen.

Belle knew she needed to think fast and get Samuel out of here.

"Belle, I am sorry for tricking you but you must understand it was necessary. Now you must help me. If you did so you would be a hero, just like you always wanted."

That stung. Using her childhood desire for heroism against her.

"You'll also be free of that monster without fear of retribution." His face softened and for a moment she saw her old playmate again. Which made this all the more difficult. Still there was no question in her mind of what she needed to do.

"Yes, yes Samuel, you are quite right. Follow me and I'll take you to his Sanctum you can hide there and surprise him when he returns." Samuel beamed.

"Oh thank you Belle. I knew you'd see it my way." Belle swiftly led him through a side passage way and down several flights of stairs to a door a the back of the castle.

"Quickly in here."

"You're sure?" Samuel said. Belle gave him a sad smile.

"Yes, I'm sure." Sure about my decision. He now had his back to the door. In one quick motion she pulled open the heavy wooden door and shoved Samuel outside before slamming the door shut and bolting it.

"Belle! Wait! This isn't a Sanctum! Belle what are you doing?!" Samuel called from outside.

"I'm sorry Samuel but I can't let you do this. I can't let you hurt him. Now you have to go before he gets back. Please!" she said. Her back pressed against the door and her eyes closed.

"Belle let me back in!" yelled Samuel pounding on the door. But Belle shook her head.

"I can't it's for your own good!"

"Well, well, well what do we have here?" said a familiar voice and she opened her eyes to see Rumplestiltskin standing in front of her.

"Rumple!" she gasped. "How, how much did you see?"

"Enough." He answered cryptically. Belle stepped forward.

"Please. Please don't kill him Rumple. I know you have every right to be angry with him but..." she broke off unable to think of a proper argument. Rumple held her gaze his face giving nothing away before finally waving his hand. There was a cry from outside and Belle rushed to the window to see Samuel disappear in a cloud of crimson smoke.

"I won't kill him for your sake." Answered Rumple. "But I will be sending him somewhere rather inconvenient." Belle slumped slightly in relief. If that was the worst Rumple was doing then Samuel was quite lucky. She turned back to see him holding the small box Samuel had brought studying it.

"Thank you," she told him and he glanced up at her inclining his head.

"Your friend actually has done a favor. I've been trying to get my hands on this box for quite some time. I suppose I should be grateful to you for saving me from being relegated to such a grim fate," he added a small smile on his face. "There doesn't appear to be much room to stretch one's legs in there."

"Probably not, answered Belle quietly. She bit her lip and then said in a slightly wavering voice.

"Will you be leaving now or..."

"No. The business can wait." said Rumple with a shake of his head.

"Then I'll go get dinner started," she told him and made to leave only for him to catch her arm.

"I'll make myself something. Take the night off," his voice was low and unusually gentle. Belle looked up into his amber eyes and could have sworn she detected concern.

"Alright."

OUAT

Rumple had actually intended to go out but forgotten something. Upon doubling back he'd heard voices in the kitchen and using an invisiblity spell observed the interaction between Belle and her friend.

Well mostly he observed Belle. He watched as she appeared to try and keep an impassive face yet as the boy spoke of trapping him and using HIS powers to essentially subjegate and defeat their enemies in the Enchanted Forest he detected a hint of disgust and fear in her gaze. Fear for him or just the Enchanted Forest in general.

Then when she'd so cleverly locked the boy out she'd said words that caused a strange stir of hope in his blackened heart.

"I can't let you hurt HIM," she was protecting him. Still the even seemed to have taken a toll on her he could hear a wavering in her voice as she spoke and saw the grief in her blue eyes. So he gave her the night off.

He'd fully intended to simply let her be and sort her emotions out on her own. Rumple really wasn't very good with other people's emotions. It came with living in alone for so long and having most of the world fear you.

That said he couldn't help but be concerned for her so instead of spending the evening spinning he found himself walking up to the library where he found Belle sitting on the couch staring into the fire. He could see tear tracks on her porcelin skin and felt a brief rush of anger towards the boy who he'd dumped in the middle of a particularly sticky and smelly swamp.

Slowly he approached and took a seat beside her.

"Would you care to discuss it?" he asked gently. It seemed like the most logical approach.

"I cried all day when we received news from the front that Samuel had died. He was one of the few people who really understood me and I believed him lost. When I saw him in the market alive, it seemed like a miracle. Even though I believed him still in danger of dying I was so happy just to see him alive in the first place. I couldn't bear the thought of losing him again. And yet in the end I still lost him." Tentatively he took her hand entwining their fingers.

"Don't think I don't comprehend the gravity of your choice. In fact, I'm quite touched." Rumple said quietly. "He was your friend." Belle turned her blue gaze on him.

"And so are you. Childhood friendship or no I could never let Samuel hurt you like that." Her words caused a warmth to swell inside Rumple's heart. No one had ever stood up for him like that before. She sighed.

"He's not the same stableboy I grew up knowing though. That boy would never have tried to use my friendship to achieve his own ends. Perhaps I lost him long before I brought him to the castle."

"No one stays the same forever. Our experiences are bound to change us. It's merely a toss-up of whether it will be for better or worse. Though I dare say your friend was right you would have been hailed as a hero for defeating the beast had you helped him." Belle shook her head.

"If I would then that's not the type of hero I want to be. Anyway, they didn't just want to trap you. They wanted to control you and quite frankly I think the Enchanted Forest is far better off with you in control of your own powers." Rumple raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not known as the Dark One because I run around doing good deeds Belle," he said wryly. Most people would think that controlling him would be a very good idea. This finally caused her to crack a slight smile.

"If you wanted to conquer the realms you could have done it by now. You may do a mixture of good and bad but at least with your free will you can generally be relied upon to assist with the good, even if it is for a price."

"Don't go spreading that around dearie it will ruin my reputation." Belle laughed softly.

"My lips are sealed." Then shocking Rumplestiltskin to his core Belle leaned her head on his shoulder as they fell into silence both watching the fire. After a while she said quietly.

"I'm sorry that I compromised the safety of the castle by bringing him in." Rumple let out a breath.

"If you hadn't you wouldn't be you Belle and that would be far worse." glancing down he saw Belle's lips curve upward. It brought a slight thrill to Rumple that he had caused that reaction.

He still couldn't bring himself to believe that the Hatter was right and that Belle could ever love him but at quiet little moments like this it wasn't quite so difficult to imagine.

Author's Note: So in the comic Samuel is sent by Belle's dad to rescue her. However, I really don't buy the idea that Maurice had Pandora's box and Belle had no clue or that he'd come up with such and intricate plan and then when that failed be fine with Gaston just walking up to the front door. So basically Samuel joined the Enchanted Forest equivalent of communists:) If you like the story please do leave a comment below it means a lot thank you to everyone who has and to all of you who are reading this! Until next time!