Hi guys! It has been quite a while I'm sorry ): But college is super stressful, and I sincerely didn't want to half-ass this story.

Speaking of which, I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I WILL NOT ABANDON THIS STORY.

I can't promise a set schedule for my updates—I'll try my hardest to be better for Chapter 7—but I won't leave this story hanging.

In a way though, I'm glad I didn't write anything substantial before watching Season 3, because that season was crazy good, and I've gotten a bunch of ideas from it that I may incorporate into later chapters.

Anyway, enough about me, read on! :)

(And oh yeah, for my readers that have been with me since the start, I finally wrote about Regina and Le Fou!)

**Refresher for old readers: King William crossed Regina by committing an unforgivable act by helping the recently married Snow White and Prince James have safe passage in his kingdom, since James had known Gaston when they were younger.

Summary: After a horrible accident, Belle becomes blind. In a desperate attempt to see again, she goes to see Rumplestiltskin, and makes a deal with him to stay in his castle while he formulates a potion to cure her blindness. What she doesn't expect, however, was to fall in love with someone she can't even see.

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Once Upon a Time or any of their characters (as well the quotes that they say IN the show, because I will be using some). This story idea, and any of my OC's, however, are my own :)

Chapter 6 – Unexpected Undertakings

"I guess you don't know me well at all."

Rumplestiltskin's words cut her deep, and Belle's emotional pain was physically expressed on her face. A grimace then settled on to her beautiful features.

She crossed her arms and sighed heavily. "You're acting like—"

Rumplestiltskin banged his hands on the table suddenly in a bout of quick anger before Belle could finish her sentence. "Acting like what, dearie? A beast? That's right. That's exactly what I am, and what you're been failing to see this entire time. Your lack of vision, dearie, has prevented you from seeing the truth in me."

Belle's eyes widened, and she took a sharp intake of breath.

Rumplestiltskin's words had cut her deeply once again, and Belle felt the throbbing sting of betrayal slowly dig into her heart.

He had hurt her by mercilessly torturing a man, and he had hurt her again by destroying her faith in him.

The look on her face was inexplicable—a mix between sadness, frustration, and confusion—and Rumplestiltskin found himself feeling very conflicted. He immediately wanted to take what he said back.

Part of him wanted to reach out, tell her that he was sorry—while the other part of him told him that this was what he wanted. After all, she was changing his perception of himself. Distancing himself from her was for the best, right?

"T-that's not what I-I meant to say at all," Belle said despondently. "I meant to say that you're acting like you're confused. Like you don't know what you want to do with yourself."

Rumplestiltskin stood awkwardly without saying a word, because in a way, she was right.

For a fleeting moment, Baelfire flashed quickly though his mind.

Here I am, the almighty 'Dark One,' collecting and coordinating deals, but I can't even find my own son, despite all the magic that I have.

"And just because I'm blind," Belle interjected, breaking the inner monologue Rumplestiltskin was having, "it doesn't mean that I can't tell if someone is a good person or not."

She left the room in a sort of huff, with Beryl following obediently by her side. As her figure went further and further away from him, he felt an odd pain pulsate within his heart. Long after Belle's retreating frame disappeared into the shadowy depths of his castle, the Dark One found his heart painfully throbbing inside his chest.

0o0o0o00o0o

With the torn piece of fabric in her mouth, Beryl led Belle through the spiraling stairs and confusing passageways that were in Rumplestiltskin's vast dungeon.

If Rumple won't free this man, then I will.

Despite the earlier conversation that took place, Belle stayed resolute. She was determined to find the prisoner, and free him. All he did was take a wand. The punishment that had faced thus far was completely unfair.

Rumplestilskin's torturing session had ended hours before, but Belle shuddered as she recalled the screams that resonated through her the halls earlier that afternoon. He had been particularly cruel today, she noted.

She silently prayed that she wasn't the indirect cause of the prisoner's additional maltreatment, although something within her told her otherwise.

Belle took a deep breath, and held back the angry, frustrated tears that threatened to spill out of her glassy sapphire eyes. Her heart, in a sense, was broken. She believed that he was a good man, and she desperately wanted to grasp onto those positive thoughts, but she also felt lost, like a lamb separated from familiarity, and she had difficulty swallowing the truth that lay in front of her.

Rumplestiltskin's right. He is...a beast.

She profusely shook her head, startling Beryl in the process. No. You know that isn't true. That can't be.

He's just afraid to see the good in him…but at the same time maybe he really is a cruel man…

She found herself playing a mental Ping-Pong game in her mind. She went back and forth, back and forth, trying to rationalize his behavior. Despite her objections, the screams of the prisoner replayed itself in her head, increasing in intensity with every step she took. Her mind then reeled to all the horrific stories she heard...

"It's you!"

Belle turned to the sound of the voice, and her negative thoughts about Rumplestiltskin fled as quickly as they came. The hooded man, who was no longer hooded, stood up when he saw Belle's figure walk by. His face was covered with dried blood and purplish bruises, and the rest of his body was marred by deep cuts and swollen welts. Flimsy bandages made of ripped clothing were sloppily wrapped around his open wounds, and his clothes were worse for wear.

"What are you here for?" The prisoner asked, with hostility evident in his voice.

Belle frowned at his enmity. "Well, it's not for the reasons you're probably thinking of."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise as she extended her hand in-between the jail cell bars. "I'm Belle, and I'm here to set you free."

He eyed her hand suspiciously, refusing to shake it. "And how am I supposed to know that you're not psychologically playing mind games with me?"

Belle retracted her hand from within the cell, and reached into her handbag. A set of slightly rusted keys emerged from within, causing the prisoner's eyes to widen like saucers.

"Do you think I'm playing mind games now?"

His face was contorted in disbelief, with astonishment written on his face.

Belle's nimble fingers felt its way around the padlock until she found the keyhole, and she proceeded to unlock the door. She waited for the melodic click and gently pushed the creaky cell door open.

She then proceeded to astonish him even more by pulling out the very wand he attempted to steal.

His eyes widened as she placed the wand into one of his open hands, and he tentatively stepped out of his prison cell. "Wh-why are you doing this?"

"It's because you're a good man, I can tell. What Rumplestiltskin was doing to you was inhumane, and unfair. I couldn't stand by and do nothing."

The prisoner's initial reluctance and cynicism towards the fair maiden immediately dissipated, for he saw the inherent goodness within her heart. Instead, he started worrying about her safety.

"Come with me, Belle, please. It isn't safe here. Come with me, away from this wretched castle. Up until you find a safe place of refuge, you can travel with me and my merry men. We will protect you with our lives."

She shook her head sadly. "I really appreciate the offer, I really do, but I can't come with you. I made a promise."

"A promise? With him? Why did you do that? The Dark One is a beast—"

"He's not a beast..." Belle interjected quietly before she could stop herself. "He's...just severely misunderstood." The words spilled easily out of her mouth, and she sighed heavily. It seemed that she could never deem Rumplestiltskin as evil, despite the heinous deeds he'd performed.

The man looked at her confusedly, but his eyes softened. "You are a good person, Belle, and you have the special gift of seeing the good in other people. Truly, I admire you for that. But, sometimes, you need to think things logically and look out for your own well-being before looking out for others."

Belle fell into silence, and said nothing as the ex-prisoner gathered his belongings which were unceremoniously piled in a darkened corner at the end of the dungeon hallway.

He walked past her brooding figure, heading towards the window. He put on his tattered hood, which covered his head, and admired the scenery briefly. The moon was high in the sky, and the light from the twinkling stars and moon filtered its way into the decrepit dungeon.

"Please, Belle," The prisoner said, as he turned around once more to face his liberator, "come with me. I promise that you'll be safer with me than the Dark One."

Belle looked towards the light of the moon, and smiled slightly. "As much as I appreciate the offer, don't worry about me. I'll deal with him."

He smiled, despite the situation. "You're one of the most headstrong women I've ever met, and I am forever in your debt. I hope we meet again one day, and perhaps return the favor." He threw his rope over the side of the building, and tied the other end to a metal torch that was anchored to the dungeon wall. "By the way, I never mentioned my name. It's Robin Hood."

With that, he jumped from the window, and disappeared into the night.

Belle took a deep breath, as her heart nearly thumped out of her chest. She defied the almighty Dark One. She deliberately went against his orders. To her surprise, she felt extremely proud of herself—but also terrified.

In spite of the precarious situation she was in, Belle managed to smile. She had helped this man, who was inherently good—she knew for certain—escape from the clutches of his captor.

She was about to leave, and go back to exploring the first floor of the castle—

"Tsk, tsk, dearie. You've always had a knack for getting yourself into trouble, don't you?" His voice was hard, and as sharp as a sword.

Belle felt fear pool into the pit of her stomach. His anger was a sinister color of red, radiating off his frame like fire, and she knew she had to be extremely careful with her words.

"I...he was a good man Rumplestiltskin. He didn't deserve to be tortured like that—"

"But," Rumplestiltskin interjected harshly, his tongue quick and rapid firing, "I didn't deserve to have my house broken into, or have my possessions stolen again, and yes, dearie, I know you gave it to him."

By now, Belle could hear her heart thumping loudly in her ears. She could almost feel her hands burning like coals where the wand had touched her, and she felt scared, but also oddly ashamed.

"I didn't think you know where the dungeon even was, since you usually stay within the main area of the castle. I should learn to never underestimate you again, dearie."

Rumplestiltskin's comment caused Belle's anger to bubble up like boiling water, and she found herself yelling. "How could I NOT know where the dungeon was?! I heard the screams coming from below where you tortured poor Robin Hood."

Belle took a deep breath and attempted to calm herself, but to no avail. "You know, I think Robin Hood is right—you are a beast!"

She gasped, and felt a wave of regret wash over her.

Although Belle couldn't see it, she could sense it. Rumplestiltskin's face immediately fell, and his anger morphed into a mixture of frustration and sadness.

"Rumple, I-I didn't mean it, I'm sorr—"

Wordlessly, he outstretched his hand toward Belle's wrists, and by using magic, bound them together, as if there was an invisible rope. Despite Belle's struggles—and Beryl's alarmed barking—he pushed both of them into the very cell that Robin Hood stayed in.

He slammed the door closed, and stuffed the rusty keys into his front pocket. "You know what I'm going to do now, dearie, since you foolishly decided to let him free?" Rumplestiltskin's voice was as cold and piercing like ice, which made Belle shudder.

She audibly gulped. She knew she wasn't going to like any answer that he gave at this point.

"I'm going to kill him, and I'm going to make sure that you're there to watch."

He stormed out of the dungeon before Belle could even blink.

"What do you say, that we make a deal. You and I. We both have something against the Kingdom of Aryien, and we can both get what we want by working together."

The Evil Queen looked expectantly at Le Fou, and he suddenly felt his palms sweat uncomfortably.

He honestly didn't want to be a part of any plan Regina had mind.

But in her castle, in her lair? He really didn't have too much of a say in the matter. As a result, he reluctantly agreed to take part.

With Le Fou's compliance, Regina voiced the plan she had in her mind since King William dared to cross her:

"You are to kill the King of Aryien."

…

"Hello, Le Fou, welcome back!" A guard smiled brightly as Le Fou approached the castle doors. "King William would be happy to see you, but he is performing kingly duties and won't be back until later this evening."

His eyes then wandered to what Le Fou was holding." Would you like me to take that box to your quarters?"

"N-no!" Le Fou said, jerking the box closer to his body. "I'm fine, thank you."

The plan was simple enough... But despite that, Le Fou held the box containing the precious cargo with shaky hands.

"Kill the KING?" Le Fou said incredulously. "I only have something against Gaston, not the king. The king has been good to me."

Regina snorted. King William was far from being a "good man." In fact, he was more known for being arrogant and self-centered.

"Don't you see? Gaston loves his father. If you kill him, you will achieve your goal of revenge."

"But how can I do that? I'll surely get caught."

"You see, Le Fou," Regina said, putting her hand on his back, "The kingdom trusts you, they'll let you in. All you have to do is put this box,"—she snapped her fingers, and the box appeared out of thin air, and into Le Fou's hands—"at the foot of King William's bed when he's asleep. You'll be the last person they will expect to kill him."

He gulped. "W-what's inside this box?"

She waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. All you need to do is put the box where I told you to."

His mind kept wondering: What could be in this box? A bomb? A bag full of poisonous gas? Despite his questions, he refused to open it. In order to calm himself, he rubbed the stone necklace that he wore around his neck.

After he held the box for a while, Regina took a necklace out of her pocket. The necklace was a small quartz stone attached to a leather cord. "After you put the box at the foot of the King's bed, all you have to do is take this necklace off, and step on it. As soon as you do that, you'll be teleported back to my castle."

As soon as Le Fou entered his quarters, he stuffed the box hastily under his bed.

"Where is Gaston? Did he make it to Princess Belle safely?"

The Evil Queen was extremely thankful that she had eyes and ears everywhere in the realm. Although the news about Prince Gaston wasn't public knowledge, she already knew the answer to his question.

"Fortunately for both of us, he's in Avonlea's prison."

Le Fou's eyes widened. "H-how did that happen?"

Regina resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "You ask too many questions. I'll answer all of the questions that you have once you complete your task."

…

Attempting to cool his jumpy nerves, Le Fou put his knees to his chest while sitting on his bed, and stared out of the window. The day seemed to tick by too slowly for his liking, and with every passing hour, his nervousness only intensified.

Can I really do this? I-I've never killed a man before.

As much as Le Fou didn't want to admit it to himself, King William had a multitude of enemies, and genuinely wasn't liked by many people, even his own subjects. He was notorious for breaking truces, violating treaties, and amending established laws in the kingdom for his benefit. Those were a couple of reasons, Le Fou guessed, that The Evil Queen had a vendetta against him. To his knowledge, the only treaty he has truly honored was the alliance with Avonlea.

His mind reeled back to the years of emotional and physical abuse he had endured for years from Prince Gaston, and he couldn't help but scowl at the thoughts.

Gaston deserves to rot in that cell, for whatever he did. He was an asshole to me…but does his father deserve to die for his shortcomings? After all, it was because of both of them that I was able to live the life I have now…

Le Fou, before being Prince Gaston's assistant, was the son of a poor farmer in the Kingdom. An unexpected fire many years ago left him homeless, as well as fatherless. Le Fou was only 7 years old, just a year younger than Gaston, when the accident occurred. Since they were so close in age, King William decided to take him in, since Gaston needed companionship. If not for King William's kindness, Le Fou would have struggled for many years just trying to get by.

He had seen King William at his worst, but also at his best. Sure, he could be heartless at times, but most kings were….right? And as much as Prince Gaston was a jerk to him, he was twistedly grateful for the fact that he was able to remain at his side.

In fact, for the longest time, Le Fou almost worshiped Prince Gaston. He would always bend backwards and forwards for the young Prince, despite the inconvenience it would cause him. To Le Fou, Prince Gaston was the "savior" that spared him from the life he once had, and he never wanted to go back to that time.

But, after years of being a breathing punching bag to Prince Gaston, his initial admiration for the young prince gradually turned to hatred.

The Prince never appreciated what he had, he was selfish and self-centered…the list went on and on in Le Fou's mind.

His mind then wandered to the box laying under his bed. Within the polished and elegantly decorated confines of the mahogany wood box, its secrets were unknown and ominously hidden. Although he didn't know exactly what the box contained, he could sense the sinister presence it exhibited.

He really didn't want to do this. But, he wanted to, in his own way, seek revenge against Gaston, and not get killed by The Evil Queen.

So, when Le Fou heard the loud thundering carriage of King William approach the palace's towering black iron gates, his mind was already made.

When Rumplestiltskin retrieved Belle an hour later, she had quite a bit to say to her captor.

"Rumple you're overreacting! Please don't do this! He's a good—"

He had enough. With a quick wave of his scaly hand, he silenced her.

Belle was left speechless—literally. She not only had her sight taken away, but also her voice, albeit temporarily. Tears threatened to spill out of her eyes because of her silent frustrations, but she refused to let Rumplestiltskin's negative behavior affect her.

Meanwhile, Beryl growled menacingly at the disheveled, angry man standing in front of her, threatening to lunge at him.

He rolled his eyes irritably and silenced her too.

If it wasn't already apparent, Rumplestiltskin was fuming,

His normally jovial, joking mannerisms were gone, and replaced with furrowed brows and sinister looking grins.

Rumplestiltskin's eyes almost seemed snake-like as he looked at Belle.

"You ready to watch him die?" He then emitted hyena-like laugh, and its bouncing echoes in the dungeon hallways sent chills up her spine.

Belle could only watch his drastic change in behavior with a shocked expression.

The Dark One grabbed the maiden roughly by the arm.

"We're going now dearie, he's in Sherlock Woods."

After muttering a few words, they disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.

In the Sherlock Woods…

Robin Hood and a young woman were in the middle of the forest. She was heavily pregnant, laying soundlessly on the wagon, and despite the fact that her face was drabbled in sweat and tears, she had a smile on her face. They shared a moment as they gazed into each other's eyes, and Robin Hood felt happiness swell in his heart. He was just about to raise the magical wand, when suddenly, he heard a ruffling noise in the distance. Quickly, he put the wand away, and pointed his enchanted bow and arrow towards the noise.

"Who's there?"

Rumplestiltskin sniggered silently as he finished waving his hand, which caused the bush in front of Robin Hood to ruffle. He was up upon the hill behind the hooded vigilante, sneering at his backside.

"See here, dearie," He hissed, as he raised his own magical bow and arrow, "this man doesn't deserve to have that wand. And I won't miss because this bow and arrow never misses its target." His eyes almost shot daggers into the frantic blonde-haired man, who was standing very closely to his lover.

"You know, it's almost funny. I'm killing this man with the weapon he wanted to kill me with. But—of course you can't kill The Dark One which such a weak magical weapon! Who does he think he is?!"

Rumplestiltskin's eyes were wide as he talked to himself, and an unnerving smirk graced his pronounced crocodilian features.

Belle's eyes widened. Anyone could tell that he was crazed and inconsolable—and as much as she wanted to attempt to hammer some sense in him, she couldn't. She couldn't even scream a warning to Robin Hood.

Even when Belle was just blind, she didn't feel this powerless. But as she soundlessly pulled on Rumplestiltskin's sleeve whilst being behind him, begging him not to shoot, she realized how powerless she truly was.

I'm just a girl. Not even a normal girl. I'm blind and helpless. I can't even save myself, much less save an inherently good man.

Despite her silent protests, he just roughly pushed her off of his arm and continued to take aim.

The Dark One was resolute with his task, and was ready to fire. However, something told him to turn around.

In that moment, Belle happened to look straight into Rumplestiltskin's eyes, and the expression on her face almost melted his ice-cold heart. Tears were falling rapidly from her beautiful cornflower eyes, and she kept mouthing, "Please don't kill him" over and over again.

Rumplestiltskin felt his walls crash down as he looked at her. He found himself entrapped by her bright blue eyes and tantalized by her red painted lips, which looked sad and faded.

His crazed state receded into the depths of his psyche, and he could finally think clearly. His anger clearly got the better of him, and he decided to do something about it.

Without warning, he let go of the tightly drawn arrow—which elicited a soundless gasp from Belle—and ended up hitting a tree.

Belle cringed, expecting to hear sounds of pain, but none came.

What happened?

She heard Robin Hood quickly gather his belongings, along with his wife, and scurried away as quickly as he came.

"He ran away, I missed," Rumplestiltskin said gruffly as he packed away his weaponry. He refused to admit the truth, since his ego and his pride prevented him from doing so. He opted for brushing it off instead. "Let's go back to the castle now, there's nothing we can do about him now."

Even though the spell that was placed on Belle was removed, she didn't say anything. Instead, she smiled, because she knew that there was no way he could miss that shot with an enchanted bow.

Rumplestiltskin saw the smile on her face, and couldn't help but smile himself. Her face seemed to light up the entire forest, and he realized that he didn't regret his decision for even a second.

Fin!

Rumple is finally seeing the good in himself (hopefully! Hahaha)

And what's Le Fou going to do? O: Find out in Chapter 7~!