Beautiful Lily

Only an act of true love will suffice

"Wha...what d-do you hope... t-to learn when R-rumple gets here?" said Belle shaking in her ice cage. She gathered as much of herself as possible to preserve whatever warmth she had, kneeling on the ground hunched over. She was still hopeful about the condition of Rumplestiltskin. She aimed to get as much information as possible from her capture before her dizziness took over and would render her unconscious.

"I hope... to learn how to control my abilities. I want him to apologize for what he did..."

"I apologize my dear..." came a voice from out of nowhere. Rumplestiltskin appeared out of thin air and into the room. The ladies of the room turned to look at him. "...but you were much too dangerous and unpredictable for anyone to handle, including myself. And that... is saying a lot."

He came! thought Belle, but that joy quickly turned sour only to confirm a revelation. He gave her the doppelganger. She knew she should be feeling relief and knew that disappointment was another proper response, but with her current condition she couldn't tell what she was feeling at the moment. She couldn't physically feel anything on her body since the majority of it had gone numb. Belle could hardly focus on a single thought. "...and now you have me. You don't need Belle anymore. The quarrel is between you and me, so there's no reason for you to keep her. Let her go."

Elsa walked over and stood between Rumplestiltskin and Belle's ice cage, "She's my leverage against you."

"She's not going to be much leverage if she's dead. Believe me when I say, that if that happens, which it won't, then there will truly be nothing stopping me from destroying you where you stand." He growled, threatening Elsa. His authoritative voice held such gravitas that the threat reverberated within the four walls.

"You do realize that if you disappear as soon as she leaves, I will never stop going after you and making both of your lives miserable." She threatened back, her stare at Rumple never wavering.

"Well, then its settled. Let her go, and we'll resolve these issues from our history like civilized people."

"So be it."

Elsa backed away from Belle's ice cage as Rumple ran forward toward Belle. He waved his hand over the bars made of ice and they magically disappeared. He knelt down beside her and cradled her in his arms. "Belle, find Emma and the others. Get help," he whispered to her. He kissed her chilled forehead before waving his hand over her. A cloud of purple smoke engulfed her and when it cleared she was gone.

"You? You need help? That's a shocker," Elsa said sarcastically with arms crossed. Rumple slowly stood to his feet. "Well, a wise person knows when to ask; a true testament of a person's intelligence. To know when to ask for help indicates you have good self-knowledge and understand your limits."

"How insightful? Belle was right. You have changed. You look different in this land. What happened? You seem to have lost that giddy spring to your step."

"It's been a long time since we last met," he said stepping out of the cage and walking slowly toward Elsa, "I've seen and experienced many things. More than any man should have to bear." He quickly took advantage of the silence and redirected the conversation, "So now it's just you me. What's your end game? What do you want?"

"I want you to teach me. I want you to heal my sister. Teach me, and I'll leave from this land in peace."

Rumplestiltskin, seeing that her plea was genuine, spoke, "The strength of your magic is synonymous with the strength of your emotions. However, magical strength is not your issue, far from it. It's your emotions. If you are emotionally unstable, then it makes it very difficult for me to teach you. Only you can control your emotions dearie, not me. If you can't master your own emotions, then there's not much I can do for you." Elsa looked down on the ground in disappointment and hopelessness. She knew there was merit to his answer. Rumple continued, "You see, the magic I wield is Dark Magic. All emotions that drive my magic are essentially dark." Elsa nodded, acknowledging, accepting and understanding everything he was saying. "What kind of magic do you think you wield? Is it Light? Dark?"