Belle French

Belle is a primary character in ABC's fantasy-drama series Once Upon a Time.
She is based on the character of the same name from Disney's 1991 animated feature film Beauty and the Beast, while she is inspired by Ellie Fredricksen from Up, as an older lady.
==Role in the series==
Belle is the only child and daughter of Sir Maurice, whose town will be destroyed in the Ogre Wars. Rumplestiltskin offers to protect them if Belle becomes his servant forever. Her father and her fiancée Gaston (Sage Brocklebank) refuse to agree to his terms, but Belle accepts the deal. Over time, the pair fall in love, and Rumplestiltskin asks her to go out and buy straw, expecting that she won't return. On the road, she meets the Evil Queen Regina and learns that true love's kiss will break any curse, including the one on Rumplestiltskin. Belle returns to the castle and kisses him, and he starts changing back into a human. However, he learns that she met the Queen and becomes convinced that she is a spy; this stops the transformation. In his rage, he rejects her love and locks Belle in his dungeon. He then breaks all of his dishware, except the cup that she accidentally chipped. He throws her out of his castle, stating that his power is more important to him than she is. She admonishes him for not believing that she loves him and promises that he will regret it when he is left with an empty heart and the chipped cup. She then leaves and he doesn't see her again. Belle is later seen giving advice on love to Grumpy then known as Dreamy.
Her storyline in the Enchanted Forest involved Mulan in one episode. The two of them hear of a fiery monster causing trouble in the Enchanted Forest. Belle hunts it down and douses it with water. The monster then writes "save me" on the ground. Belle uses fairy dust to help the creature and it turns back into its true form, Prince Phillip. He thanks Belle for saving him and reveals to her that Maleficent cast a spell over him to keep him away from his true love Aurora. Belle then introduces Phillip to Mulan and leaves them to help her true love, Rumplestiltskin. However, soon after she is taken prisoner by Regina. In another episode, Hook goes to Belle's jail cell after hearing that she could be Rumplestiltskin's weakness. He asks her to help destroy him, but she refuses to do so. Hook then knocks her out and leaves.
According to the Queen, Belle was allegedly shunned by her town for her association with Rumplestiltskin and was imprisoned and tortured until she threw herself off a tower and died. However, this is later proven false by her existence in Storybrooke, where Regina keeps her locked in a secret room underneath the Storybrooke Hospital.
She is eventually released by Jefferson. He tells her to find Mr. Gold, who is actually Rumplestiltskin, and to tell Gold that Regina held her captive. She finds Gold but doesn't remember who he is. When the curse on Storybrooke is broken, she regains her memories and professes her love for Rumplestiltskin. He then takes her to his shop, where she makes him promise he won't kill Regina. After Gold releases the Wraith to seek out vengeance on Regina, Belle storms out of the pawnshop, frustrated by his play on words. Later, she comes back to him, where he shows her the chipped cup and she says she will stay with him as "he's a monster".
At the beginning of "The Crocodile", Belle has a dream that Mr. Gold turns into Rumplestiltskin/The Dark One and throws a pickaxe into Leroy's chest. When she wakes up, she sees Mr. Gold in the basement of his house doing magic. The next morning, Belle asks him what he has been doing. Mr. Gold just says "Magic is Power."
Later, her father, Moe/Maurice sends Smee to "kidnap" her, so she could see her father but Moe finds out she still loves Mr. Gold. To fix this "little" problem, her father handcuffs her to a mining trolley and rolls it down a hill, so she can have her memories erased (because when a person crosses the town border, they lose all memory of their true selves). She is rescued by Mr. Gold, Prince Charming/David Nolan, and Red Riding Hood/Ruby. However, once she is rescued, she says she doesn't want to see Mr. Gold and Moe ever again.
Mr. Gold gives Belle the key to the Storybrooke Library and then explains everything from being a coward to Baelfire. He starts to go but Belle stops him, wanting to go with him for a hamburger at Grannies, to which he happily agrees.
Sometime later, Archie is supposedly killed by Regina. Belle, along with the other townspeople, attends Archie's funeral where Mary Margaret gives a eulogy in remembrance of him. Afterward, Belle meets up with Mr. Gold in which he happily tells her the option for crossing the border works. She expresses wishes to go with him, but he regretfully says the option is only enough for one person. She heads to the library, later on, to sort through books and notices a stranger standing in the corner and recognizes him as the man who broke into her cell in the Evil Queen's palace, Captain Hook. In a state of panic, she runs from him but is unable to escape the building. Belle pushes a bookshelf, which topples and pins him to the floor as she scurries into the elevator. Pulling out her cell phone to call Mr. Gold, she is able to tell him about the man trying to kill her, but when she attempts to give more details, Mr. Gold is unable to hear her through the bad reception. Belle doesn't return to the library until Mr. Gold operates the switch to open the elevator shaft.
Reunited, they hurry back to the pawnshop together. On the way there, Belle demands to know Mr. Gold's history with Hook. Hesitantly, he finally tells her Hook stole his wife, Milah, from him years ago. When she asks what happened to his wife, Mr. Gold can only say that she died. When Mr. Gold's cloak is stolen by William Smee, Mr. Gold wants to get back. He gives her a loaded gun to keep in case she ever needs to use it to protect herself. While Mr. Gold is away, Belle goes back into the library. There she finds a knot left behind from Hook and searches through her books about it. Reading the books, she realizes the knot comes specifically from a ship.
Heading to the harbor, she looks up at the seagulls and is surprised to see one of the lands and stand on something invisible. Suspecting something is there but can't see it, Belle takes a pinch of dust and throws it over, revealing stairs leading up to an invisible ship. She goes up the steps until she passes a barrier that leads her onto the ship's visible deck. Belle opens a door below deck and discovers Archie tied up. She uses a sword to cut him free and urges him to get back to town. Then, she proceeds to rummage around the shelves hoping to find Baelfire's cloak. In her distraction, she had put down the gun, and just then, Hook makes himself known to her. She lunges for the gun, but Hook is faster. He threateningly points the gun at her forehead, and while they converse, he reveals to her a truth Mr. Gold didn't tell her―that he killed Milah by ripping out her heart. Belle still believes in Mr. Gold and asserts that she knows he has changed and has good in him even knowing this. She hits him with a rowing paddle and runs away to the above deck while taking the cloak with her.
Mr. Gold shows up to save Belle and proceeds to beat Hook bloody with his cane. Belle pleads that they should leave, but Mr. Gold can't contain his anger at Hook's presence. Finally, he stops when she reminds him of the hope she had in believing he changed and that if he has, to walk away right now. They leave Hook's ship.
thumb|250px|Belle and Mr. Gold at the town line.
That night, Mr. Gold and Belle are at the town border. He uses the potion on himself and steps to the other side of the borderline while his memory stays intact. Belle is very pleased the potion will allow him to find his son. She promises to wait for him in Storybrooke. The heartfelt moment is interrupted when Belle is suddenly shot and pierced in the shoulder, causing her to trip and fall over the border into Mr. Gold's arms and thus lose her memories. Hook is then revealed to be the shooter, stating that now Gold knows how it feels to lose someone he loves. Mr. Gold yells her name in anguish, but she stares at him in confusion, asking, "Who is Belle?"
She is in a frantic and frightened state after she becomes amnesic. Mr. Gold is worried about her injuries, so he magically heals them. Belle is confused and asks him how he did it. An ambulance arrives at the scene and takes Belle to the hospital. While laying in the hospital bed, Mr. Gold tries to trigger her memory with true love's kiss. It's unsuccessful, and Belle screams at Mr. Gold.
Later, Mr. Gold arrives at the hospital with the chipped cup, which he magically charmed. He gives it to Belle in hopes that she remember her past from the Enchanted Forest. The plan doesn't work. Belle is confused and unsure when he mentions magic and tries giving the cup back to Mr. Gold, but he insists she tries. Belle becomes angry and throws the cup, shattering it to pieces. She asks him to leave one final time, and Mr. Gold finally leaves her room in tears. For the time, Belle remains in the hospital until she gets a call from Mr. Gold, who tells her that he knows she doesn't remember who she is, but that she was a beautiful woman who loved an ugly man, and adds that she creates goodness in people. Belle begins to tear up at his words, but he hangs up before she can respond. She is then visited by Regina, who is displeased to hear Mr. Gold will help her. Thinking quickly, she bends down to pick up an item and instead conjures a little red card of the town bar, The Rabbit Hole, and asks if it belongs to. Though Belle says no, Regina suggests she should take a better look at it. Belle glances down at the card, exclaims she remembers who she is. In reality, Regina gave her false memories to replace the memories she lost as Belle. With the false memories, she assumes a new personality and a new name, Lacey.
In the final episode of Season 2, Grumpy gives Mr. Gold some magic from the Blue Fairy to help restore Belle's memories. Mr. Gold restores the chipped cup and pours the magic into it. Belle drinks from the cup and her memories come back. After Henry Mills is kidnapped Mr. Gold decides to go rescue him and tells Belle to look after Storybrooke while he is gone.
In Season 3, Belle had been appearing to Mr. Gold as a vision to guide him through Neverland but it's eventually revealed that she is actually Peter Pan's shadow in disguise. Back in Storybrooke, the real Belle has a difficult time accepting that Rumplestiltskin is gone. Then, with the help of the Dwarfs and the Blue Fairy. She casts a protection spell over the town. Sometime later, Belle meets Ariel. Belle questions Ariel as to why she has come to Storybrooke to which Ariel replies she came from Neverland on a mission for Mr. Gold. Belle is then shocked and relieved Mr. Gold is alive and Ariel tells Belle Mr. Gold needs him to save everyone.
The two head goes to Mr. Gold's shop where Belle is able to use the Sand Dollar given to her by Ariel from Mr. Gold to find the item capable of defeating Pan. However, after finding the item which has turned out to be Pandora's Box they are ambushed by John and Michael Darling now working for Pan and the two of them tie Ariel and Belle up and take the item to destroy it. In order to get out of the ropes, Belle removes Ariel's bracelet which allows Ariel to wiggle free from the ropes and undo Belle's bindings. Ariel then puts the bracelet back on and go after John and Michael.
Belle and Ariel find Michael and John just before they destroy the box. Belle is able to stop them by activating a mine cart on the tracks, which throws Michael and John off their feet. Using the time to her advantage, she grabs the box and kicks their gun away. John and Michael tell Ariel and Belle that Pan has Wendy hostage and if they don't do his bidding he will kill her. Ariel and Belle promise they will help save their sister. Ariel and Belle then go to the coast where she parts ways with Belle and returns to Neverland with Pandora's Box.
When Ariel returns to Storybrooke, Belle helps her reunite with Prince Eric. Mr. Gold and Belle also reunite, but it's only for a few days. Pan casts a curse to destroy Storybrooke and its residents, but Gold stops him and disappears. Regina then casts a spell to send everyone from the Enchanted Forest, including Belle, back to the world they came from.
In the Enchanted Forest, Belle and Neal return to the castle try to find a way to bring Rumplestiltskin back to life. They meet Lumiere in the library, and he tells them they must use a key to open the Vault of the Dark One. When they reach the vault, Lumiere reveals that he has been working under Zelena the Wicked Witch of the West. Baelfire still decides to open the vault despite Belle's warning and his life is exchanged for Rumplestiltskin's. A new curse is later cast and everyone in the Enchanted Forest, including Belle, returns to Storybrooke. After a long battle, Zelena is defeated and taken to jail. Belle tells Mr. Gold not to go after Zelena even though she was responsible for his son's death. However, Mr. Gold kills Zelena behind her back, then he and Belle get married.
In the mid-season finale of Season 4, "Heroes and Villains", Belle learns that Gold chose power over love and so uses his dagger and a gauntlet to make him unfreeze Emma and Mary Margaret and give Hook his heart back. The two then go to the town line where Gold tries to apologize, but Belle doesn't believe him and that he won't ever change and then uses the dagger to banish Gold from Storybrooke. Gold cries out for Belle as she cries over what she has done.
When Gold returns to Storybrooke he stops by the pawnshop and sees that Belle has gotten together with Will Scarlet. Later, to get the dagger back from Belle he takes Hook's appearance and tricks her into giving it to him. Soon Gold, as Hook, goes into the pawnshop and asks her if she is over EmGold. She says no but says that Will makes her happy.
As Gold's condition worsens, being consumed by the Dark One's powers, Belle confesses to him that she doesn't love Will. The Apprentice removes the darkness from Gold's heart, though he remains in a comatose state while the darkness is taken in by Emma Swan.
With the other residents, Belle transports to the Enchanted Forest, taking Emma to Camelot in order to find Merlin and remove her darkness. However, weeks later, they return to Storybrooke with missing memories as to how they failed. During her time in Camelot, she helped Merida win back her kingdom while helping the others stop King Arthur and the previous Dark Ones from taking over Storybrooke.
After her memory is restored, Belle remained in Storybrooke but is unaware that Gold, who traveled with Emma to the Underworld to rescue Hook, has reclaimed the powers of the Dark One, and is unaware that she is pregnant with their first child, which is tied to a contract that Hades is using due to Rumplestiltskin having made a deal with a healer back in the Enchanted Forest in exchange for saving Baelfire. Unfortunately, after she is sent through a portal along with Zelena and her daughter, Belle learns the truth from Gold about his reacquired powers and her pregnancy as well as the contract, putting her life and that of their unborn child in jeopardy once again. Motivated by Hades, Gaston moves against Rumplestiltskin with plans to kill him, reuniting Belle with her ex-fiancé. After confronting Gold about his murder of Gaston decades earlier, Belle intends to help Gaston move on, only to learn that Gaston blames her for his death. In an attempt to rescue Rumplestiltskin, Belle inadvertently pushes Gaston into the River of Lost Souls. Consumed with guilt over what she did to Gaston, Belle places herself under a sleeping curse, believing it would give Gold time to protect their child from Hades. Before falling under, Belle makes a Gold promise to return her to her father. It later turns out that Gold's kiss of True Love can't break the spell; Belle had begun losing faith in him again. Later in a dream, Belle's future son, Gideon, helps Belle wake up from the curse. However, the Black Fairy speeds up Belle's pregnancy and kidnaps Gideon. Eventually, the Black Fairy is defeated, Belle forgives Rumplestiltskin for all of his wrong-doings and Gideon is able to restart his life. 
Belle, Rumplestiltskin, and Gideon then spend many happy years together in another realm and when Belle becomes very old, she dies peacefully. Rumplestiltskin then begins searching for the Guardian so he can be free from the Darkness and reunite with Belle in the afterlife.
In his search for the Guardian, Rumplestiltskin goes to the Magical Forest and meets Alice, a Guardian. He brings her to Belle's coffin, where she begins destroying the Dark One's dagger with her magic, but Rumplestiltskin, not wanting her to absorb the Darkness, tackles her, restoring the Dagger and ruining his chance to reunite with Belle. A new Dark Curse is later cast and Rumplestiltskin is sent to Hyperion Heights. After his memories return and both Mother Gothel and Dr. Facilier are defeated, Rumplestiltskin travels to the Wish Realm where he takes out his own heart in order to save the dying Wish Realm Hook by giving it to him, which destroys the evil Rumplestiltskin from that realm. Rumplestiltskin then dies and is happily reunited with Belle in the afterlife.
==Gallery==
==Trivia==
*Belle's last name French, comes from the fact that Beauty and the Beast is set in France.
**Her first name means "beautiful" in french.
*As an old lady, Belle is similar to Ellie Fredricksen from the film Up as she dies and Rumple lives on for years, much like Carl Fredricksen.
*Belle can read and understand Chinese, Elvish and the fairy language, established in the episodes, "The Outsider," "The Snow Queen," and "Changelings".
*Belle was put under a sleeping Curse in "Ruby Slippers," so that Emilie de Ravin could go on maternity leave.
*Emillie de Ravin wore a wig for the first two years of production but found it annoying so eventually dyed her hair for the role.
==See also==
*Belle
*Belle (Descendants)
*Belle (Beauty and the Beast 2017)
==References==
==External links==
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