InsaneJournal

"Belle"

She knew it was a lie. Had to be a lie. But his voice was so comforting and she could almost feel his breath at her ear. He wanted to talk to her, wanted to see her alone. But she couldn't do that. She knew, she understood what it was, but it  was cruel. It was all so cruel. Belle curled into the makeshift bed, keeping quiet, knowing someone was on patrol and so ignoring the whispers, ignoring everything. 

"You just have to help them get back. Its Henry you see, turns out he was my undoing. So kill the boy and its all done, don't you see my love. Don't you see how simple it could all be for us. We could be together, forever."

Belle shook her head. Even if she had any idea how the seal worked she'd never help them get to Henry and Rumple would never ask it of her. "Stop it. You're not him, and I will never help you, you should know that,  leave me alone." she hissed.

All she had to do was call out, call for the help of the others and the lie would disappear.On the first occasion he'd done this,  just for a second, she let herself believe the lie, let him say the right things, his hand would rest against her skin. But it didn't take her long to realise what this was. It was the shadow of the man she'd been warned against. It was the monster, not her love. 

"Does that matter?" he asked as if reading her mind. "You've got to admit I do a better job at playing the dark one than the coward himself, but then I do like games Belle. Didn't he ever tell you?"

It was Rumple's voice, his face but with such a chilling coldness to it.

"Oh he told me plenty." she hissed. He hadn't, if she was honest. Not about the man himself. He'd told her about as much as Bae had about this place. Neither liked to talk about it, and she couldn't blame them.

The shadow laughed and moved his hand, just for a moment before Belle felt steel at her skin. A dagger.

"Left it here, did he never tell you? Now I don't think it'll kill him if I stab you or anything but dead is still dead, and you are his true love. There'd at least be a  a beautiful irony. You know what I want. I want to get to your world. So lets play a game shall we, You get a question, then I do..."

Belle stayed silent. Not falling for his games, knowing he'd kill her before she'd speak.

And suddenly he was no longer Rumplestiltskin. Gaston was holidng a knife to her throat.

"I'll ask for you then my bethroed. Did you think I wouldn't try to rescue you? Save you from that beast.You never wondered where I was did you...Didn't you ever ask him, Or did you just give in, how long did it take Belle, how long until you let him touch you, how long until you lay with the monster other monsters fear."

Belle screamed. She couldn't do this. Not on her own. 

But he didn't kill her, oh no, the shadow flew above, dropping the dagger in the middle of the camp. Belle didn't know if they could take it home to Lawrence, She didn't want to, she wanted to bury it deep and far even if it was the true thing and not some fiction of Pan's. But she knew her scream would have woken people. And she knew she couldn't get back in time to keep it secret. And she knew most of all that Pan despised her purely because of who she was. Who she loved. 

She needed to persuade them that it was nothing. That they needed to give it to her.

All in all to forget about it. 

Though who knew what the shadow might have whispered to them in the guise of a love.