Having not been touched with anything close to kindness in so long, Belle felt like she jumped clear out of her skin when Justine grabbed her hand, but her face stayed warm. Even if Justine was a stranger, really, it still felt wonderful--to be close to someone, to remind every part of herself that there were good people out there--that they had to out number the people who were nothing but darkness. "Thank you," she said, softly, giving Justine's hand a tiny squeeze of acknowldgement. "I'm not sure how her magic would hold up against that from other realms, but I--would be very grateful. I doubt she'll try to do anything to me when I can't be used as leverage, though. I heard her call me a--chess piece, once, when one of her guards tried to get too rough with me," her nose wrinkled at that memory, and so many others from the last few years. "So I'd probably be all right as long as--the person she wants to hurt me with doesn't arrive."
And that hurt, and for a brief moment pure anger towards the Queen burned bright and hot in Belle's heart. How dare that woman take so much from her that she had Belle wishing Rumple wouldn't arrive so she wouldn't be made into a pawn for whatever chess game the two of them were playing. She'd have enough trouble with him being himself if he ever came, she didn't need someone else complicating matters.
As she usually did, though, Belle managed to pull those dark emotions back into a small corner of her heart, tucking them away because they were useless and hurtful, and instead laughed. "Oh, thank you. I think I'm starting to get the hang of them, but I will say it's been reassuring to find out I'm not the only one from a world where they're absolutely foreign." She tipped her head, curious. "So, does your world have these and magic? Because from what I understand, these are sort of--well, something of the opposite of magic, really."