Belle's rapid knocking on Emma's door was more urgent than she intended, a sharp contrast to the silence of the early morning.
She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling an unfamiliar chill and a subtle dizziness that made her grasp the doorframe for balance. The bite at her ankle throbbed dully, just the beginning of a storm to come; a storm she had to weather without Rumple.
The door swung open abruptly, snapping Belle out of her anxious reverie. "Hey…" Emma's eyebrows lifted in concern, hesitant and surprised to see Belle at her front door. "What's up?"
Belle tried to glance past her for present company but couldn't see anyone. "Hey, I uh… are you alone?"
Emma paused, turning her head to check. "Yep," she nodded and took a step back. "Henry's with Regina. David and Mary-Margaret are out training. Apparently." She watches intently as Belle steps in, a palpable burden trailing behind her.
Something was wrong, that much was obvious. Undoubtedly concerning Gold, given their past. But why come to her of all people?
"You have light magic, right?" Belle says abruptly, dropping back on Emma's sofa.
Emma awkwardly stands in front of her and nods. "Uh, yeah. Look, did Gold send you here? Because I'm not gonna—"
"It's not about Gold…" Belle sighed and glanced down at herself. "I mean, not really."
"Not really? What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm sorry to just drop in on you, okay? I just don't know who else to trust. And well, Regina isn't exactly known for dabbling in light magic."
Sensing the strain in Belle's voice, Emma forced herself to relax and get to the bottom of this without becoming even more hostile. Belle would never be here to hurt her. "Sorry. Just not used to seeing you here, alone."
"It's alright," Belle physically shivered, vicious enough that Emma caught it.
"Are you okay?"
Belle ignored her, "Do you know about healing magic?"
Emma pursed her lips and gestured at her friend. "Right, what's this about? Has Gold hurt you?"
"What? No! No, he would never!" Belle exclaimed, uncomfortably touching her leg, hesitating before finally admitting, "I ran into Regina."
"Oh." That was all she needed to say. Emma put the pieces together immediately. "Well, you don't need a saviour to figure that one out. What's she done this time?"
"It's my fault, I should have been more careful, brought help or something."
"What did she do, Belle?"
"Just…" Belle sighed and hitched up her trouser leg, revealing a startling network of blackened veins. They sprawled across her ankle and climbed her leg like dark tendrils—a close resemblance to dreamshade, though not the same. It even surprised Belle – she hadn't dared look at it until now.
"Oh, wow…" Emma whispered, hesitating as her hand moved toward it before she pulled back. She sought Belle's gaze. "You need to tell Gold."
"I can't, that's why I'm here."
"... And you want me to heal it?"
"If you can."
"Belle, I don't even know what that is."
"It was from a python, in Regina's vault. It was inside a box – an ancient relic, Rumple said."
"Right, that narrows it down to about three creatures I know about, and none of them are pythons," Emma snapped, storming towards the kitchen.
"Where are you going?" Belle called out after her.
Emma picked up her phone and immediately began dialling. "To tell Gold."
"No, you can't! He can't know about this!"
"Why not!?"
"Because," Belle's words tumbled out in a rush, "Regina said it's going to kill me!"
A sigh escaped Emma as she dropped the phone, which landed in its cradle with a soft clunk. "What?"
"I heard her when I was running away," Belle quickly added, "She wants me to die from this so that Rumple blames himself and turns dark again."
Emma scoffs and skeptically folds her arms. "Why the hell would he blame himself?"
"Because he sent me down there in the first place!"
Emma's expression softened with realization. "Right. That's on me. I should've realized."
Belle gave a wry, humourless smile. "It's hardly a place for a nice, quiet meditation, is it?"
"Okay." Emma closed her eyes for a second to gather her thoughts. "Okay… there must be something about whatever this is in the library. Can you still walk?"
"I think so," Belle hoisted herself from the sofa with no problem at all. "Can you come with me?"
"Yeah, got nothing better to do," Emma swiped her coat from the rack and unlocked the door, the cold breeze of the outside world seeping in. "Let me just text Henry, I'll meet you there."
/
/
Belle severely underestimated how quickly the poison would run through her.
Opening the doors to the library was a struggle, and for a fleeting moment she contemplated turning around and heading for Rumple's shop.
'No', she had told herself, 'I have to keep him on the path of good, no matter what. I will be strong for us both.'
That was all the affirmation she needed. She managed to fit the key into the lock and pushed the door open. As she stepped through, a wave of dizziness washed over her, nearly sending her tumbling forward as the room began to spin alarmingly. Belle latched onto the wall, the pain radiating in her leg making her wonder if this is how Rumple's leg felt all the time.
She pushed herself off the wall and headed towards the first bookcase, dusting off the cover and attempting to read the title. It was no good, the words and pictures were blurring together like running paint. She pushed the book aside, scrambling further back in the bookcase to find something less affected by the sun's blinding rays.
Eventually, she zoned out, forgetting where she was standing for a moment, until finally she found her body falling sideways.
"Whoa!" A pair of hands caught her, Emma's voice a flurry of noises to her ears. "Okay, this is ridiculous."
She felt her back meet the hard ground, her mind not able to focus on a single thought.
"Hey, kid? It's me," Emma's voice said to an invisible presence, "Yeah, you know how I said I was busy? I'm in the library, I need you to come with me and bring back my parents. Also, and this is important. For the love of God, don't bring Regina. You got that?"
Belle wondered why Emma was talking to a non-sentient bookcase and closed her eyes, unwilling to fight much longer to stay awake.
"Hey." Emma's voice was much closer now, muttering in her ear and roughly shaking her shoulder. "Don't fall asleep, or Gold's gonna be real pissed with me. Like, really pissed."
Belle forced one eyelid open. "M'not tired. Need to find the book."
"You don't even know what you're looking for," Emma scoffed, "Forget the books, we're getting you help whether you like it or not."
"But you only know of three creatures…"
"Yeah, I was being dramatic," Emma smiled, grasping her arm to keep her awake. "Besides, I'm bringing my family down here to raid your library, so you can have a nice view of the remodelled ceiling in the meantime."
Belle didn't quite process half of what she said, so she just smiled and closed her eyes again, her mind so disoriented that she could barely feel the raging pain from her feet to her stomach.
Unsurprisingly, everything soon went dark.
/
/
"So, let me get this straight. You want us to look through hundreds of books until Belle drops dead?"
'Ow', Belle thought to herself. 'My head. And chest, for that matter.'
"Well, the alternative is asking Regina for a cure, you wanna do that?"
"Or, we could just tell Gold. He'll know what to do."
"He'll go on a murder rampage! He'll go dark again; you know he will."
"And if Belle dies, he'll kill us all anyway!"
'If we find out what it is, they can find a cure.' Belle found herself thinking, peeking open an eyelid.
Then abruptly shutting them.
"Ah!" Belle exclaimed at the horrendously bright lights, suddenly realising she wasn't in the library anymore.
"Belle!" That was Snow's voice. "Oh, we were so worried!"
"Yeah, you were passed out when we got to the library." That was Charming...
"Trust me, I tried to keep her awake, she couldn't help it." And that was Emma. "How are you feeling?"
Belle once again opened her eyes, greeted by an audience. "Where am I?"
"The hospital," Dr Whale suddenly appeared, walking through the crowd of three. "That is some injury you got on your ankle. Infected with a toxin."
"The book..." Belle realised, her mind kicking into gear again. "Need to find it..."
"You are not going anywhere. That poison, whatever it is, has spread into your bloodstream."
"I can do it," She says insistently, "I feel a bit better."
Dr Whale scoffed, "That's the cocktail of drugs you've got swimming around in your system. Stay there if you don't want an early demise."
"I still say we tell Gold what happened," argues David, "We can deal with him later, right now we focus on saving a life."
"Please don't," Belle begs him, attempting to sit up with some success. "We have to find a cure without him knowing. If he finds out I'm hurt he'll just give into the darkness and try to kill Regina."
"And if you die, he'll kill all of us," Snow reasoned. "Please, Belle. I know we don't know each other that well, but maybe you should give him a chance to do the right thing?"
"But I know him, I know he loves me, I know he'll do anything to protect me..."
Snow smiled. "And if you let him, perhaps that includes listening to you."
Deep down, Belle really wanted to give him that chance. She was just afraid that if he lost control now, she'd lose him forever.
"Alright," Belle finally agreed, much to the visible relief of the others. "But I want to tell him by myself, just in case."
They all happily agree with that.
"I'll call him, she says, bringing out her phone. "But I'll do it alone."
"Yeah. Just shout if you need us, okay?" Emma jutted her head towards the exit for the others to follow, all giving her smiles as they left, until she was alone.
Belle tucked the phone away again.
'I need to tell him in the shop, the dagger is there...'
One by one, Belle unfastened herself from the hospital equipment, the analgesics coursing through her veins being the only reason she was still upright.
/
/
The weather change was like whiplash.
Only what felt like moments before, Belle had been avoiding the harsh sunlight in the library.
And now. Now? It was raining. Hard. Like another curse to drown Storybrooke in a tropical thunderstorm.
It was unnatural.
Still, she waded through the flooding streets, raising an arm above her head in an attempt to see past the flurry of rain.
The library was in reach, just a small block away. It shouldn't be that hard.
So why was it?
Clarity began to slip from Belle's grasp, and a strange flutter in her belly softly hinted that something wasn't right.
The wind's howl was almost a physical force, tearing at her clothes and chilling her skin. Rain hammered down; each drop a cold sting against her flesh. Above, the clock tower spun backwards, its screeching groan drowning out the storm's fury.
Belle gasped and covered her eyes, the storm flooding the grass at her feet, soaking her clothes, filling her lungs until she couldn't breathe. She soon noticed the screaming wasn't the wind at all, but her. Drowning, suffocating all alone.
She clung onto a tree, her fingers desperately wrapped around a tree trunk, coughing and sputtering. She couldn't breathe. Couldn't feel her legs. Couldn't move. Frozen from the ice cold storm that had killed her.
A solid pair of hands grabbed her shoulders, she almost didn't feel it.
"Belle!" The voice calls out – it was Rumplestiltskin. She couldn't see him. She was drowning. She was cold.
"Belle!"
Strong hands, warm against the chill of her skin, cradled her face. "Belle! Look at me!" he implored, his voice a beacon in the turmoil.
Her eyes, stinging with rain, searched through the veil of water for his figure. She wanted to look at him, to find solace in his gaze, but her vision blurred and she couldn't stop gasping for air, the world a swirling maelstrom of shadow and light.
The storm's fury was suddenly wrapped in spirals of lavender mist, a magical fog filling the air and encircling them, leaving a heavy silence in it's wake.
"Belle."
She could hear herself hyperventilating now, the roar of rain had been extinguished into silence. Her feet were no longer flooded, but instead she was staring at wooden floorboards.
The shop. Rumplestiltskin's shop.
But she still couldn't stop gasping. She felt faint.
"Belle." Rumple says her name for the millionth time, and finally it registers. "Calm down, please."
Belle glanced up at him, trying to physically stop herself from breathing so fast. Rumple's eyes were tinged with such concern that it made Belle want to jump from gasping into sobbing.
"Let's sit down, shall we?" he says softly, pulling Belle by the hand to the back room.
She plants herself on a bench and stares at the floor, embarrassed that Rumple has to see her like this. A warm hand touches her cheek, and it takes everything in her not to recoil.
"You're freezing," Rumplestiltskin admonishes, his voice laced with worry. The shop was warm, a stark contrast to the chill that had settled in Belle's bones. "What have you been doing?"
Belle's whisper came out hoarse, a single word punctuated by her labored breathing, "Rain..." Her eyes, wide and unseeing, darted to the dryness around her, confusion etched deep into her face. "Library... flood..."
"Raining?" Rumple covers her shoulders with his jacket. "Sweetheart, the sun hasn't left us alone for weeks."
Belle's brows furrow in confusion. "But... I'm soaked. I was drowning."
"I don't know about drowning, but..." Rumple gently tucks a loose hair from her face behind her ear. "You're certainly soaked with sweat. A fever, perhaps. Are you ill?"
"No!" Belle suddenly exclaims far too quickly, her senses returning to her as panic set in. "I'm not ill. Of course not."
"Well, we both know that's a lie." Rumple's expression was becoming less soft and more concerned. "Tell me the truth."
"I'm just tired, okay? Been up night and day reading."
"No, you haven't." Rumplestiltskin's voice was suddenly a venomous whisper, his accusation slicing through the air. "You were in Regina's vault, like I asked," he declared, his eyes piercing into Belle with such sharpness that she felt a knot tighten in her stomach. "Why are you lying to me, Belle?"
She couldn't even think straight enough to lie properly. Lie to her lover. What had she got herself into?
"I'm not..." The admission came out more as a squeak.
"Stop lying to me!" Rumple shouted, causing Belle to jolt. "What has that fiendish witch done to you?"
"I can't tell you!" Belle yells back, instinctively jumping away from the bench. She starts swaying again immediately, leaning against the wall.
Rumplestiltskin sighs, exasperated. "You really should be resting."
"I'm fine! Leave me alone!" She goes for the door but her legs have other plans, buckling underneath her. Once again, she's caught in the arms of her lover before she can fall down.
"Enough, Belle," Rumplestiltskin murmured, his tone now a gentle reprimand as he eased her onto the bench.
He procured a pillow, sliding it beneath her head with a tenderness that didn't match his earlier anger, as she lay there, the room's spin mocking her attempts to focus.
"We'll talk about this later. For now, you must sleep."
Belle's eyes, wide with a dawning realization, sought after his—only to find a well of sympathy. "No, no wait, no magic—"
"Hush, love." Rumplestiltskin covers her eyes with his hand.
Belle's eyes flutter shut against her will, her mind sinking into a deep sleep.
"There will be plenty of time to argue with me later."