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It had been months since Belle had arrived at the Dark Castle. Seasons had come and gone, Rumplestiltskin and her had fell into this weird somewhat routine of something that almost resembled friendship. Belle watched as he made deal after deal. And wondered what would life be like if she had magical powers. Not Dark Powers like Rumple but magical powers that could help people.She knew there was a way for her to get powers, but she didn’t know at what price she would have to pay to get them.One winter day, after he chores were done, and she had free time she saw her chance.She walked into the main parlor where Rumple was spinning as he did every day.“This is my chance.” She thought.She walked up next to him and watched him spin.“Can I help you, dearie?” Rumple asked casting a sideways glance at her.“How can I get powers?”Rumple scoffed and returned to his spinning.“I’m serious.” Belle said as she placed her hands on her hips.“One doesn’t just get magical powers.” Rumple responded.“Then what do I do?”“Let it go dearie.” “Fine I’ll do it on my own.”“And how do you plan on doing that?” Rumple said as he stood facing her retreating body.Belle turned around “I’ll read books and maybe find a powerful wizard whom I can charm.”“And how do you think you will manage to charm a wizard when I’m pretty much the most powerful sorcerer of all time.”“Look I want to learn magic, so I can defend myself and if need be help others.”“I can protect you.”“And what about when you leave me alone while you do your deals? What if someone tries to harm me?”“They wouldn’t dare.” Rumple seethed.“You don’t know that for sure.”“Oh yes I do, because no one would be foolish enough to harm the Dark One’s……possessions.”“I am not your possession, I am a human being.”“That’s not what I meant. I meant my things.”“Oh, you see therefore I need to learn magic, you could care less if something happened to me.”“That’s not true, you are turning my words around dearie.”“Fine then teach me magic.”“You are not going to give this up, are you?”“Nope.” Belle said crossing her arms over her chest and giving him a smirk.Rumple groaned “I’m sorry dearie, the answer is no.”Belle scoffed as he walked away.The next day, Rumple and Belle went into town. Belle as still annoyed that Rumple turned her down, but she wasn’t giving up. Belle French wasn’t a quitter.Suddenly Belle was pushed aside by a group of men, she hit her head which caused her to start bleeding she the saw the men who ambushed Rumple and put a magic damper around his arm before tying him up.And then everything went black.When she came to, she was back in the Dark Castle, a warm fire aflame in the fireplace. She looked up and saw Rumple standing over top of her.“Tomorrow, Dawn.” Was all he said before disappearing into a puff smoke.Belle smirked as she laid back down and pulled the blanket over her.The next morning, Belle was outside in the courtyard before the sun even rose.Rumple arrived a short time later.“You’re late.”“I am not late, you’re early.”Belle rolled her eyes and hopped down off the stone.“So, are you going to teach me now?”Rumple said nothing, he just paced back and forth.“Well, aren’t you?” Belle asked, clearly getting frustratedRumple looked at her “Do you know the price you will pay, if I teach you magic?”“What? I’ll turn into you?” Belle responded sarcastically.“No, but magic is a very tricky thing, if it is not handled properly. Follow Me.”Rumple and Belle walked further into the woods. Belle was confused as they strayed further and further from the Dark Castle. They soon reached a clearing where Rumple stopped and turned facing her.He made a few movements with his hands until he conjured up a potion in a vial.“Drink This.” He said extending the vial to Belle.“What is it?”“Just Trust Me.”“You’re asking me to trust the Dark One.”“Weren’t you the one who said if I wanted to kill you, I would have done it long ago. Don’t you think if I wanted you dead I would have killed you by now.”Belle pondered for a minute before drinking the vial. She closed her eyes as a golden light surrounded her. She felt a giant breeze of wind flip through her hair and when she opened her eyes Rumple was standing there.“What just happened?” Belle asked.“You said you wanted powers, I gave you powers.”“Just like that?”“Just like that dearie.”“What’s the price?”“There is none.”“There is always a price with you.”“Well maybe this can be a first.”“You would do that for me?” Belle asked looking at him with her doe eyes.“No, I did this for me. See last night I learned something the rules of magic are changing; my enemies are getting stronger. And while I may be the Dark One. Sooner or later that fear that I strike in people at the very mention of my name, well it may not have the same effect but with two of us, that fear will only grow.”“I’m not going to do your dirty work for you, I knew there was a price.” Belle said her voice filled with disgust.“There is no price dearie.”“I’m not like you Rumple, I didn’t want magic to terrify or kill people I wanted it, so I could protect myself and help others.” Belle said, her anger ever growing.“I don’t expect you to kill people, but I do need help shall my enemies arise again.”“What did they do to you?”“Let’s just say a certain, former student of mine told them how to disarm my magic from me. I intend to pay her a visit when I am done here but for now, I think I have a new student, someone who I can trust.”“Me? You Trust Me?” Belle asked disbelievingly.“Maybe I do, so right now we are going to have your first lesson, I will see how you do but if at any time you think of using this magic against me dearie, rest assure that I can always take it away.”“Wait, I won’t turn evil with this magic, will I?”“No, you see dearie the difference between you and I is that I crave power. It gives me everything I want because of my dark heart. But you are nothing like me there is light all around you and inside you. That light will beat any Darkness.”“Even yours?” Belle asked looking at him and smiling.Rumple looked at her and gave her a smirk before refocusing. “Right, Lesson One. You need to learn how to control your magic.”“Okay, what do I do?”“Stand here, close your eyes and try to connect with your magic.”Belle did as he said and her breathing steadied.“Now, I want you to think of a happy moment, the happiest moment of your life and picture it.”Belle nodded, and Rumple conjured an injured bird in his palm.He grabbed Belle’s hand and placed it on top of the bird.“What is that?” Belle asked.“Stay Focused.” Rumple demanded, and Belle nodded once more.“Now feel that light and that happiness, let it Shine through you.”Belle concentrated hard and suddenly her hands started to glow yellow. She breathed a few deep breaths and concentrated even hard before she felt flapping against her hand and opened her eyes just in time to see a bird flying off into the trees.“What was that?”“That dearie was a bird.”“I know it was a bird, but where did it come from.”“You see I found it injured along the side of the road, and you healed it.”“I healed it? Me?”“Yes Dearie, you said you wanted to help others, so I gave you light magic, a healer’s magic. You will still be able to protect yourself with it though. Close your eyes again.Belle did as she was told once more.“Now this time I want you to hold your hands in front of you, palms facing the trees.”Belle lifted her hands and placed the firmly in front of her.“Now I want you to think of a time when you felt truly scared, a time that seemed dark and you weren’t sure you would be okay.”Belle thought of a moment and suddenly a blast hit the trees and snapped multiple branches off before bouncing back and almost knocked Rumple out before dissipating.“No, No definitely not.”Belle tried again hitting the tree causing it to lean forward.”“Okay that’s good, I mean you definitely need to work on it but good.” “Then let’s work on it.”Rumple walked behind Belle and put his hands on her hips. “Okay you need to stand solid, make sure your breathing is even and control your anger, don’t let the anger control you.”Belle tried again this time a tree snapped out of the ground and fell over.“Good, very good.”“Can we go again?”“I think that is enough for right now, but you did well.”“Who knows maybe one day I’ll be able to beat you in a duel.” Belle teased.“Don’t get ahead of yourself, dearie.”As they walked towards the Dark Castle, Rumple had a thought.“Belle, what did you think of when I told you to think of something happy?”Belle stopped walking and turned to look at him.“My mother reading to me as a child, probably one of the few times I have ever been truly happy in my entire life. Why?”“Because you conjured deep, powerful light magic.”“What can I say, my mother made me happy.”Belle gave a sad, slight smile before turning back and continued walking.“And to answer your next question, for the scary part I thought of you.”“I thought you weren’t scared of me.”“I’m not.” Belle said turning back around to look him in the eyes.“Then, why would you think of me when I told you to think of something scary?”“Because of yesterday, when the men knocked me down and I saw them grab you, I thought they were going to kill you or hurt you and I was too weak to stop them, and I was terrified.”“Why would you worry about me?”“Because Rumplestiltskin, you may have taken me from my home, treated me like nothing, made me cry on countless occasions but I know there is more to you than the darkness. You use power as a shield to not let people in, but it’s no use towards me. We made a deal, a deal forever, so you are stuck with me whether you like it or not. And maybe hopefully one day you will realize that not everyone is terrified of you. That there are people out there that genuinely care for you and what happens to you.”Rumple was speechless, which was a first for him.“So, I will learn how to use magic from you. However, I will use it for good and to protect you should those awful men try that mess a second time, and god help them if they ever do. Now, if you excuse me I better run along and prepare dinner, another class tomorrow at dawn yeah?”Belle didn’t even answer, just left Rumple to his thoughts as he watched her retreating form. He realized maybe she was right. Maybe the light could defeat his darkness. And maybe that light would come from a place he would never expect. Love.