Samantha Rose

In the Study

Rumplestiltskin had finally left his shop and was nearly home. He stopped at the front steps, straightened his tie, ran a hand through his hair and braced himself for a rather long night.  He stepped inside and was greeted by Belle's laughter. 

"I'm serious! Biggest, ugliest thing you've ever seen, a regular brute. But this giant creature nearly dies of fear when I produced a fireball! Didn't even throw it, just sat there holding it!" Belle was laughing almost uncontrollably as Sam told her stories of growing up in the Underworld.

"So what'd you do with it?"

"I brought it home for dad as a pet!"

Rumple stepped into the living room, catching Belle's eye. Without even acknowledging the younger woman, he directed his attention to his wife.

"I'd like to speak to you, sweetheart, privately," he said, heading to his study. Belle and Sam exchanged confused looks before Belle followed her husband. Once in his study, he shut the door behind them and took a deep breath before speaking. "Fireballs, huh? So, she has magic?"

"Of course she does! Hades taught her. She says that he-"

"I don't care about Hades!" Rumple snapped, slamming his hand on the desk, making Belle jump. "Why is she here, Belle? Nothing good ever came from Hades, yet you invite her to stay in our home?"

Samantha didn't have to be anywhere near the study to hear what Rumplestiltskin was saying. It wasn't anything she hadn't heard before, but this time was different. Normally, everyone agreed that she was Hades' little minion, but here was a woman who saw good in her. Belle treated her like no one else had. 

"What did he do, Rumple? What did Hades do to you that made you hate him?" Belle fought back. 

It's what he did to you, he almost said. He caught himself before he did, though, saving himself from explaining. "Something I cannot forgive."

He sighed deeply. This is not how he wanted things to happen.

"Send her to me. I need to speak with her."

Belle left quietly, a bit hurt by his outburst. Sam entered the study to find Mr. Gold gazing out the window, raking his fingers through his hair. He did not speak until he heard the door shut. 

"It appears my wife has taken quite a fancy to you, dearie. Why is that?"

"I don't know, dearie, maybe you should've asked her," she snapped back. Gold turned sharply on his heel. He thought for a moment, deciding how to best approach this.

"You will not use magic in this house. You may be Belle's guest but this is my house. All magic comes with a price, and that price will not be my wife's broken heart when you betray her to fulfill whatever deed Hades has demanded of you."

"There is no deed to be done, Rumplestiltskin. He sent me here because I wanted to travel the realms. He cares about me. Why is that so unbelievable?"

"Because he is the lord of the dead! He is the epitome of death and destruction, and no one like that could ever love someone!"

"You are in no position to make that kind of judgement, Dark One. He simply tends to the dead that are sent to him by people like you. Sure, he makes mistakes and bad decisions, but everyone does. He constantly reminds me that I was the best decision he ever made. Those people who would call themselves my 'parents'? They battled addictions, misplaced priorities, and struggled to even hold their marriage together. Taking me away from them was a punishment worse than death because they have to live with themselves and the consequences of their decisions. They may have loved me because I was their child, but there was no way anything good would come from them being in my life. Hades saw that. He may be dark and a bit twisted, but there is good in him."

A sharp pain was building in Rumple's chest. The way she spoke of her parents...Hades had indirectly taught her to hate them and here she was, speaking with one of them. He was hearing echoes of his wife in the things Sam said about there being good in Hades. 

"You and Hades are two sides of the same coin, Gold. As are Belle and I. We are the small light in the life of an evil person. I saw the way that old woman at the diner looked at you. And I saw the way you looked at her. You are hiding something from your wife. This whole town is. Now, she knows that you are the Dark One - again - so that's not it. I don't know what it is, but I intend to find out. And when I do, you can bet your immortal life that I will tell Belle. And you won't do a thing to stop me."

"Is that so?" Rumple approached the audacious young woman, peering down at her. "And what makes you so sure?"

The smug grin that crossed her face was unsettling, even to Rumple. She knew his limitations.

"Because...you've lied to Belle long enough. And, if you dare hurt me, Hades will have your head. Metaphorically. I know the only thing that can kill you is your own dagger, but you should know, from you previous 'adventure', that he can trap you in the Underworld," she paused to let that sink in a bit. "Hades has told me much about you, Rumplestiltskin, so I can say this with confidence: I won't be the one to break Belle's heart. You will be. It'll always be you."

Sam turned and left, leaving Rumple standing there, simply defeated. Sam had no idea that she was the secret he was hiding. But she was right that it would break Belle's heart.