Never Really Alone

Chapter 3 - The Prophecy

        Regina looked around the room as she finished reading, in all four faces she saw the same thing that she knew reflected in her own, they had Hope. "We have to talk to Belle."

        Emma nodded and with a flip of her hands Regina whisked the four Charming's, herself and Henry to the street outside Gold's shop. Regina turned and with a fleeting backwards glance at her family she rushed inside. "Belle!" She called out as she entered the shop.

        Belle entered the main shop from the room behind, at the same time that the Henry and the Charming's entered it from the front. "Oh," Belle seemed startled by the sight of them all together again, "what's going on? Has something happened?"

        "No Belle, everything, well everything with the town, is fine." Henry pushed around both his mothers until he was standing at the front of the little group. "Mom on the other hand, needs your help."

        "Umm," Belle looked up, clearly trying to decide whether to address Emma or Regina. She met Regina's eyes and Regina knew that she could read them like a book. "Regina what's the matter?" Belle made her decision, clearly choosing the queen's look of pain to be more important than Emma's determined scowl.

        Regina started to answer but Henry got there first, "We need to know what this means, and if it can help us." He handed her the book that Regina had brought with them and pointed to the prophecy. Belle looked at it once in the book, read it to herself and then read it out loud,

        "Conceived in the Greatest Darkness, Born of the Purest Light, Royal blood mixed with a Prince of the night. Daughter of Resilience, Sister of Belief, the most precious Treasure, of a Noble Thief. The greatest power ever known, will stem from the child worthy of Her throne.

        Well, it's obviously about a baby, but what can that help you with, I thought you said everything was fine?"

        "I said the town was fine, Mom needs your help." Regina could hear the smile in Henry's voice, but she was focusing on Belle. When the young woman looked up at her Regina smiled, and laid a hand on her stomach.

        "I need to know if the prophecy is truly about the baby, and if so, maybe there is some way that she can help us get her father back." Regina watched as all of this sunk in for Belle. She knew that it was going to be a lot to handle at once. Especially since the possibility of getting Robin back, meant that Gold may come back as well.

        Belle looked over at the Charming's, and back at Regina and Henry. Hope seemed to radiate out of them. As she stood there thinking about what to do, Belle read the prophecy again. "The greatest power ever known...that makes it sound like, well like the baby will be even more powerful than Rumple."

        Regina locked eyes with Belle and made her a promise, "If you help us, and if this prophecy really is about my baby, then we," she touched her stomach and gestured to those behind her, "we will promise that we will help you with Rumple, if he should return to Storybrooke." Regina saw the tears well up in the bookworm's eyes, but Belle simply nodded and turned back to the book.

        "What makes you think this is about your baby?" Belle looked up at Regina and over at Henry. "Let's start at the beginning, these are always up for interpretation after all." Henry walked over to the counter and pulled out stools from behind it. Regina, Emma and Snow all sat down around the book.

        "Okay, the first line is Conceived in the Greatest Darkness." Snow looked at Regina as she said it, "Regina I don't really think you're the Greatest Darkness. If I had to name someone as that, I'd probably say it was Rumple." They all turned to look at Belle.