Belle French

> Sometimes the best book has the dustiest jacket. And sometimes, the best teacup is chipped.
>       —Belle to Mr. Gold

**Belle** French, also known as Mrs. Gold and briefly known as Lacey, is a character on ABC's *Once Upon a Time*. She débuts in the twelfth episode of the first season. She is portrayed by starring cast member Emilie de Ravin, and is the Storybrooke counterpart of **Belle**.

## History

*For events occurring before the casting of the first curse, see Belle (Enchanted Forest).*

### During First Curse

After the casting of the Dark Curse, Belle becomes a patient in the town hospital's psychiatric ward.
Due to remembering his life from the Enchanted Forest, Mr. Gold has memories of how he lost Belle presumably at the hands of her father. One day, he takes away the delivery truck of Belle's father, Moe French, who is late on his rent payments. Later, Mr. Gold's house is ransacked and several items, including his only memento of Belle—a chipped cup—goes missing. All of the belongings except for the cup are returned. Suspecting Moe has it, Mr. Gold decides to take things into his own hands and tries to beat the truth out of the man while expressing a great deal of rage in blaming him for Belle's death. Instead, it is revealed Regina stole the cup, and uses it to goad Mr. Gold into telling her his real name. Satisfied, Regina gives the cup back and leaves to pay a visit to Belle at the hospital while Mr. Gold remains unaware his lost love is alive. *("Skin Deep")*

Jefferson is jilted by Regina on her promise that if he helped her retrieve something from the Enchanted Forest to get rid of Emma, and then she'd bring his daughter back to him. To spite her, he decides to free the imprisoned girl in the psychiatric ward and bring her to Mr. Gold, who he knows won't be pleased at what Regina has done. He disguises himself as a hospital staff member and sneaks down to free Belle after drugging the nurse. He urges Belle to seek out Mr. Gold, and gives her instructions to tell him specifically that Regina locked her up. She goes into the pawn shop and informs Mr. Gold what happened. He is shocked to see her alive, and though Belle doesn't remember him, he promises to protect her. Whilst leading her out to the woods towards the wishing well, the Dark Curse breaks. Belle regains her Enchanted Forest memories, and reaffirms her love for Mr. Gold, who she still affectionately calls Rumplestiltskin. From the wishing well, she watches as Mr. Gold mixes the true love potion with the well water, which transforms it into a purple smoke and brings magic back to Storybrooke. *("A Land Without Magic")*

### After First Curse

Following the aftermath of the restoration of magic in Storybrooke, Belle and Mr. Gold speak beside the wishing well. She tells him of her imprisonment and asks if the release of magic was to seek revenge for her capture. He states it wasn't his intention, but will use it as an advantage. She makes him promise not to use the magic and seek revenge against Regina, which he agrees to. However, Mr. Gold finds a way to harm his nemesis without himself being the actual person to do so by releasing a Wraith to suck out Regina's soul. Upset at his broken oath, she leaves the pawnshop in tears of anger and frustration. After the Wraith disappears through a vortex, leaving Regina unscathed, Belle returns and states she will remain with Mr. Gold *because* he is still a "monster". *("Broken")*
On night, Belle has a nightmare in which Mr. Gold attacks Leroy, who has come looking for his axe. To her horror, he takes on his old appearance as the Dark One and proceeds to strangle Leroy to death. She wakes up in a cold sweat and goes looking for Mr. Gold; finding him in the basement secretly spinning gold thread and working on magic. The next day, she attempts to ask him about what he was doing in the prior night. When he tries to brush it off, she calls him a coward for not letting her into his life. Then, without informing Mr. Gold, Belle leaves for the diner, where Ruby helps her figure out a possible job at the currently closed down library as a librarian. She goes to peek at the inside of the building from the window, but is distracted and then kidnapped by William Smee, who brings her to Moe French. At first, Belle is overjoyed to see her father again, but balks when he insists that she leave Mr. Gold for good. Unable to convince her, Moe orders Smee to take his daughter outside the town line so that she will lose her memory. Belle is handcuffed to a mining cart underground as it sets off on the tracks. In an attempt to free herself, she grabs a key for the cuffs, but drops it. Belle is saved by Mr. Gold's magic, but makes it clear she doesn't want him in her life, since he is unable to be truthful with her, and is equally unhappy with Moe for making choices for her. While spending time getting acquainted with food at the diner, Ruby gives her a small box someone left on the front desk. The box contains is a key, which Belle uses to open the library. Inside the building, Mr. Gold admits bringing magic to Storybrooke because he doesn't know how to live without magic. However, the price of bringing magic to town is not being able to leave without losing his Enchanted Forest memories, and therefore, Mr. Gold is unable to search for his son, who was also his motivation for making the Dark Curse. He acknowledges experimenting with magic to figure out a way to break the price of magic. After telling her all this, he turns to leave, but Belle wants to start over with Mr. Gold, and invites him for a hamburger at Granny's. *("The Crocodile")*
At the diner, Belle celebrates with the miners after the discovery of diamonds in the Storybrooke Mines, which can be made into fairy dust and rescue Emma and Mary Margaret from the Enchanted Forest. While drinking, she sees Ruby being asked out by Billy. Noting her friend's obvious discomfort, she comes over to excuse Ruby for the night with the reason being they are having a girls' night out. Billy takes the rejection in stride and leaves. Belle remarks that he seems nice, though Ruby is distracted and heads to the back room of the diner. The next morning, Billy turns up dead, and Ruby is accused of murder, since she shape shifted into a wolf the night before, but can't remember anything. David and Granny believe in her innocence, as does Belle, who allows them to hide Ruby in the library from the angry townspeople. Ruby is chained up as a safety precaution, but Belle releases her when she asks for a restroom break. Instead, she is cuffed while Ruby, believing the townspeople's hatred towards her is justified, goes to face the mob. Much later, David presumably unchains Belle after discovering Albert is the actual culprit in Billy's death and Ruby's name is cleared. *("Child of the Moon")*
Belle and Mr. Gold finally go on a date at Granny's with a serving of hamburgers. They are interrupted by the presence of Regina, who needs Mr. Gold's help in dealing with their nemesis, Cora. Belle asks who Cora is, though Mr. Gold replies she will never have to meet her. Mr. Gold argues he has defeated Cora before, but Regina reminds him that was during a time he "didn't have anything to lose". From this, she indirectly references that Belle will be in danger if Cora reaches her, which makes the librarian nervous. *("Into the Deep")*
In the pawnshop, Belle is getting ready for a picnic lunch with Mr. Gold when Emma, David and Mary Margaret arrive. They accuse Mr. Gold of causing Archie's death, to which Belle reacts in disbelief. Mr. Gold proves his innocence by giving Emma a dream catcher to look into the memories of Archie's dog Pongo, who witnessed his owner's death. She sees a recollection of Regina killing Archie in cold blood, though no one is aware it is actually Cora masquerading as the madam mayor. *("The Cricket Game")*
She, along with the other townspeople, attend Archie's funeral where Mary Margaret gives a eulogy in remembrance of him. Afterwards, Belle meets up with Mr. Gold, who happily informs her about his success in making a potion to cross the border, which will work if poured on his son's shawl. She wishes to go with him, but he regretfully says the potion is only enough for one person. Later in the day, Belle goes to sort books in preparation for a future library opening. Once inside, she recognizes a stranger as Hook and runs away, but he blocks her. Belle pins him on the floor by toppling a bookshelf and scurries into the elevator. She calls Mr. Gold and tries to give more details about Hook, but he can't hear her through the bad reception. She stays in the elevator until Mr. Gold comes to the library. Reunited, they hurry back to the pawnshop as Mr. Gold hesitantly tells her how Hook stole his wife, Milah, from him years ago. When she asks what happened to his wife, Mr. Gold says that she died. He discovers the shawl is gone and furiously plans to go after Hook alone. He hands her a loaded gun to defend herself with. She returns to the library and finds a knot Hook left behind. From browsing through a book about knots, she determines it comes from a ship. At the dock, she sees a bird standing on something invisible. Belle uses a pinch of dust to outline the steps onto a ship, and follows them up through a barrier onto the deck. She ventures below deck to free a trapped Archie and urges him to go back to town, which he does. Belle looks for the shawl, and distractedly sets down the gun. Hook makes himself known to her with the shawl in hand. They both lunge for the gun, but he grabs it first and aims it at her forehead. He reveals Mr. Gold killed Milah by ripping out heart and crushing it. Even knowing this, Belle still believes Mr. Gold has changed for the better. She hits him with a rowing paddle and runs away to above deck with the shawl, but Hook gets there first. When Mr. Gold shows up to beat Hook bloody, Belle pleads for him to stop as proof he has changed from the past. They leave together, and later that night, she watches as he uses the potion and shawl to cross the border while his memory stays intact. From the opposite side of the town line, Belle promises to wait for him. Suddenly, a bullet ricochets into her shoulder from behind. She falls over the border into Mr. Gold's arms and loses her memories as Hook is revealed to be the shooter. In an amnesiac state, Belle doesn't recognize her own name when Mr. Gold calls her, and witnesses him conjuring a fireball just as a car crashes into town. *("The Outsider")*
Frantic and confused, she doesn't understand what is going on. Mr. Gold is worried about Belle's injuries, so he magically heals them, which only frightens her. Emma arrives in her sheriff car with David and Mary Margaret. While an ambulance is called, Mary Margaret soothes a panicked Belle, and later hands her over to a nurse at the hospital. Taken in as a patient, Belle tries to get some rest, but is startled awake by Mr. Gold kissing her. She screams in horror until he leaves. However, Mr. Gold returns later with a chipped cup, which he says is enchanted with magic, and insists that she try looking at it so her memories might come back. She becomes afraid and unsure when he mentions magic. She gives the cup back, though he keeps pushing it back at her. Frustrated, she angrily throws the cup at the wall as it shatters into pieces. She demands for him to leave, which he finally does in tears. *("In the Name of the Brother")*
During Belle's stay at the hospital, Ruby tries to cheer her up with some familiar things, such as her favorite book. Belle suspiciously questions her about the accident and the man who used magic to heal her. Worried about exposing magic, Ruby ignores the inquiry and tries to persuade Belle that the tranquilizers must be giving her hallucinations. Upset no one believes her, Belle acts out violently and has to be sedated by the nurse. Later that night, Greg, who was the driver in car crash, visits Belle in her room. She thinks he doesn't believe her about the fireball just like everyone else, though Greg admits he saw it too. *("Tiny")*
While still resting up in her hospital room, Belle meets Regina. Uneasy at the woman's presence, she asks if they were friends. Regina mentions they knew each other, and asks Belle about Mr. Gold and the dagger. She has no memories of anything, so Regina knocks the girl unconscious and uses magic to levitate the items in Belle's bag into the air to find clues on the dagger's location. *("Manhattan")*
From her cellphone, she receives a call from Mr. Gold. Apologetically, Belle tries to tell Mr. Gold she doesn't remember him, which he knows, but wanted to give his last regards to her as he is dying. He describes the person he knew in her; a beautiful woman who loved an ugly man, and further explains that she creates goodness in those who don't have any. Belle begins to tear up at his words, but he hangs up before she can respond. *("The Miller's Daughter")*
When Mr. Gold pays her a visit, Belle is happy and relieved to see he survived and didn't die. She is more trustworthy of him since their phone conversation and believes that he wants to help her regain memories. She tries to thank him for healing her, but he avoids the topic of magic, which disappoints her. While Mr. Gold is getting her discharged from the hospital, Belle packs up her belongings. Regina comes in to introduce herself as the mayor. When she hears from Belle that Mr. Gold is going to help restore her memories, Regina is displeased. Thinking quickly, Regina bends down to pick up an item, and instead conjures an enchantment on little red card of the town bar, The Rabbit Hole. Regina asks if it belongs to Belle. Though Belle says no, Regina suggests she should take a better look at it. Belle glances down at the card and is surprised at the flood of memories, exclaiming she remembers who she is. In fact, Regina has given her false memories to replace the ones she lost previously. Belle assumes the name Lacey and leaves the hospital to hit up the bar by playing pool and chatting with Mr. Clark. Mr. Gold approaches her, and she remembers him as the man who visited her at the hospital. A man, Keith, tries to flirt with her, but she shoots him down. Mr. Gold asks Lacey out on a date at Granny's, which she accepts out of pity for him. Despite turning down Keith earlier, she makes plans to meet with him behind the diner. During the date, Lacey is impressed by Mr. Gold's approachable personality since the stories about him say otherwise. She states that it's important to truly know someone by seeing what's in a person's heart. He accidentally spills wine on her dress, so she goes to clean up, but actually goes to make out with Keith outside. Mr. Gold witnesses them and shoves Keith off in the belief he is assaulting Lacey. Instead, she admits the real reason she agreed to the date. Lacey is simply not attracted to Mr. Gold's nice guy personality, and specifies they do not fit together because she isn't Belle. Later, in the bar's parking lot, she watches Mr. Gold beating up Keith. Intrigued, she realizes Mr. Gold is actually more than meets the eye, and finds herself drawn to his dark nature. She stands by with a mischievous smile as Mr. Gold continues to hit Keith. *("Lacey")*
Afterwards, she and Mr. Gold leave and walk down the street chatting happily, which is secretly witnessed by Hook through a telescope in the clock tower. *("The Evil Queen")*
One morning, while on the streets, Mr. Gold accuses Dr. Whale of eyeing Lacey in a suggestive manner and intimidates him into a cowered state. With Lacey's approval, he is inches away from stamping his foot in Dr. Whale's face when Neal rushes out of the bed and breakfast to stop the dispute. Neal is disgusted at his father's actions and reminds him of the time he turned someone into a snail. Amused, Lacey laughs and asks to know more about it, but Mr. Gold senses tension from Neal, so he sends her off to wait for him elsewhere while he converses with his son. Lacey spends more time with his Mr. Gold at his shop as they drink. She is exasperated and annoyed when asked to step in the next room after Mary Margaret and David come to Mr. Gold for help in finding a missing Regina. She overhears them bargaining with him for magic. After they are gone, she asks about his magic use and is amazed when he procures an expensive looking necklace out of thin air and helps her to put it on. After learning more about Mr. Gold inability to age due to his powers, Lacey wonders if she, too, could become immortal so they could be together forever. He says it's possible, but mentions that it doesn't keep a person immune from dying. Mr. Gold goes on to tell her about the prophecy a seer gave him a long time ago that a certain someone will be his undoing, which he takes to mean his death will occur because of that person. Puzzled, Lacey questions why he doesn't just get rid of the obstacle in his way as he's the kind of man who won't let anything stand in his way. *("Second Star to the Right")*
After some of pawnshop guests leave, Lacey pops out from the backroom. When she spills a cup of scotch all over the table and hastily tries to use Baelfire's shawl as a wiping rag, Mr. Gold angrily berates her. Startled, she apologizes, to which he pulls out a bag and spills out the contents--broken pieces of the chipped cup--onto the table. Using magic, Mr. Gold reconstructs the cup to its unbroken state. Lacey expresses confusion over his fixation on the cup, but drinks a potion substance when he pours it for her. After a moment, Lacey's persona is replaced by the return of Belle. They have an emotional reunion. Mr. Gold apologizes for bringing her back when they are going to die from the trigger's effects, but needed the support. She comforts him as he cries over the loss of his son. The trigger is stopped with the combined magic powers of Emma and Regina, but Henry is kidnapped by Greg and Tamara and taken to another world. Mr. Gold decides he must go along to save him. Belle wants to go, too, but he instructs her to stay and keep the town safe. Sadly, Mr. Gold won't be able to return to her. Even to this, Belle keeps up her hopes that the future is uncertain and perhaps they will see each other again. They part with a kiss. Belle praises Mr. Gold for his efforts as Neal would be very proud of him. *("And Straight On 'Til Morning")*
She watches the *Jolly Roger* sail off into a portal in the ocean and disappear from sight. Archie, Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Happy, Leroy, Mr. Clark, Mother Superior and Walter run up to her at the docks. Belle admits to them that the others went to another world on a ship to rescue Henry from Greg and Tamara's clutches. After showing them the cloaking spell Mr. Gold left behind for her to enact as he warned there will be more people coming to Storybrooke, they go down to the mines. Since fairy dust is necessary for the spell, Bashful, Dopey, Leroy, Mr. Clark and Walter quarry a large rock until opening a crack. With encouragement from Mother Superior, Belle dumps the vial's contents on the rock; causing a stream of magic to shoot out and begin covering a barrier over Storybrooke. Afterwards, she talks to Archie about missing Mr. Gold and worries he will die. Belle wishes to help save Henry, though Archie thinks she did more than enough by protecting Storybrooke. Yet, she is dissatisfied since pouring a potion over rocks isn't much to her. Belle also thinks no one is going to invade the town, and believes Mr. Gold doesn't need her. Suddenly, a guest from Neverland, Ariel, brings Belle a sand dollar from Mr. Gold. The two head over to the pawnshop where Belle triggers the item to reveal a message from Mr. Gold hinting at the location of the item they need to defeat Pan. He states that it can be found with "the strength of their love", and later recognizes the riddle's answer as the chipped cup. After placing the cup in the cupboard, it activates a hidden panel in the floor. Belle pulls out Pandora's Box, which legend says contains the world's darkest evil. They are ambushed by two strangers, Michael and John, who then tie them up. When threatened by their guns, Belle admits the box is magic, and learns they work for Peter Pan. After the men leave with the box, Belle pulls off Ariel's bracelet, which transforms the later back into a mermaid, allowing wiggle room out of the binds. Then, Belle stops John and Michael from smashing the box with a dwarf pickax by shoving them away with a mine cart. They plead for her not to help Mr. Gold, and admit to helping Pan because he has their sister Wendy captive. To this, she persuades them that the box is the key to freeing Wendy. Belle sees Ariel off on her journey back to Neverland with the box. *("Dark Hollow")*
Following a safe journey out of Neverland to Storybrooke, Belle welcomes back Mr. Gold and Neal. Peace resumes as Mr. Gold seals the box containing Pan away in the pawnshop. Belle brings up the endless possibilities of his future now that everything is settled. Mr. Gold agrees, and states that the only future he wants is where they are together. The next day, as she and Mr. Gold are exiting the shop, David, Emma and Mary Margaret rush over to ask for the box as they believe Pan is controlling the escaped Shadow from inside it. Belle goes with them to the town border and watches as Emma steps over the town line and Mr. Gold opens the box to release Pan on the same side. Pan claims to be Henry, as the two switched bodies, and proves it by telling Emma something only the boy himself would know. They all regroup with Hook, Neal and Tinker Bell at the vault. where Regina took "Henry" for protection, though the door is locked. Mr. Gold busts the door open with magic. Inside, Regina is found unconscious while one critical item is missing and now in Pan's hands--the Dark Curse. *("The New Neverland")*
Mr. Gold shares with everyone of the only viable way to stop Pan's curse is for Regina, as the original caster of the Dark Curse, to undo it by destroying the scroll, though there will be a steep price for this. They plan to switch Henry back to his own body so he will be in possession of the scroll and bring it to Regina. Mr. Gold can perform the spell, but needs a strong outlet in order for it to work. Tinker Bell has knowledge of a powerful Black Fairy wand that Mother Superior kept, so she, David, Hook and Neal go to retrieve it from the convent nuns. When the wand is procured, Mr. Gold uses it to transfer Henry's spirit back to his original body. Everyone leaves to find the boy while Mr. Gold stays behind. With Granny's tracking skills, they are reunited with Henry. Regina passes out after taking the scroll and awakens with knowledge of the price for stopping the curse. They are accosted by Pan as he steals back the scroll and freezes them in place. Pan narrows down his choice of first kill from Belle to Neal just as Mr. Gold intervenes. Belle listens as Mr. Gold declares his love for her, as well as Neal, but regretfully states that he can't be together with them. Mr. Gold summons the dagger and stabs Pan as well as himself with it; killing both of them as they fade away. After the freezing spell wears off, Belle collapses on the ground in heartbroken grief. Regina reveals the price for stopping the curse is all former Enchanted Forest inhabitants will be sent back to their old world while Storybrooke will disappear out of existence. Emma decides to stay with Henry, and will leave town while Regina crafts new memories for them. At the town border, Archie lends his shoulder to a despondent Belle. Once Emma and Henry cross out of town, Regina stops Pan's curse, causing everyone inside town to be sent back to the Enchanted Forest. *("Going Home")*

*For events occurring before the casting of the second curse, see the counterpart page.*

### During Second Curse

A new curse is cast by none other than Snow White; returning Belle and the rest of the Enchanted Forest inhabitants to the town of Storybrooke. However, as a result of Wicked Witch of the West's interference, everyone's last recollection is the final day in Storybrooke when Regina stopped Pan's curse, but no one can recall anything further than that. Belle resumes life, albeit without Mr. Gold, and begins running his pawnshop. Emma returns and holds a town hall meeting to figure out who is behind the new curse. Leroy is quick to accuse Regina of wrongdoing, and Belle follows suit in agreement as do the other residents. Even Emma refuses to believe Regina, who causes a building tremor out of frustration, and then magically dissipates away. Unknown to everyone, aside from Leroy—who is also in on the scheme—this is a ploy Emma and Regina set up in order to make the townspeople believe the madam mayor is guilty while the two sleuth out the real criminal. *("Witch Hunt", "The Tower", "A Curious Thing")*
One day, a midwife named Zelena comes into the pawnshop, mistaking her for "Mrs. Gold", and then asking for Mr. Gold himself. Belle quietly states that he died, to which Zelena gives her deepest condolences. As a customer, Zelena seeks Belle's help to pick out a baby gift for an expecting Mary Margaret. Belle happily assists and turns to search for just the right gift when she is magically frozen in place by Zelena, who grabs a plant called night root from a compartment behind a wall painting. Presumably, Belle is unfrozen and has no idea anything is amiss. *("The Tower")*
Belle is alerted to the recent news about Mr. Gold's revival by Emma and is tasked with researching how he was resurrected. David and Emma go searching for Mr. Gold while Hook opts to stay behind in the pawnshop with Belle. She takes his decision warily, especially since he tried to kill her twice prior, though Hook states that he means to use this time to make it up to her. The two begin taking books off shelves when a noise erupts from pawnshop's front door. Believing Mr. Gold has come back, Belle sprints off; witnessing the door being rammed open, though the person is not her beloved, but a collapsed Neal. After taking him to the hospital, Emma snaps a photo of a triangle mark burned into Neal's palm, which Belle begins looking into it. Discovering the symbol's meaning in a book, she phones Emma to notify her that the mark originates from a key to the vault of the Dark One. Assuming Neal used it at some point, Mr. Gold was resurrected in this manner, but the catch is the Dark One will be revived while the key user will die. Emma discovers Neal is still alive due to being in Mr. Gold's body. After she magically separates them, Neal perishes. Saddened by the news, a grieving Belle is comforted by Mary Margaret. *("Quiet Minds")*
In mourning, Belle attends Neal's funeral to pay her respects. Afterwards, at the diner, Zelena publicly reveals herself as Regina's half-sister and forces her sibling into a showdown on Main Street after sundown. In preparation, lest Zelena is planning something wicked, Belle, David and Tinker Bell seal off the streets. Hoping to swaying Mr. Gold to their side despite that Zelena is controlling him with the dagger, she sneaks into the farmhouse cellar to coax him out of his prison while David, Emma and Tinker Bell stand guard outside. Belle nearly succeeds until he warns her it's a trap, to which she notices Zelena has been quietly watching from the shadows. Fleeing, she stumbles out just before Mr. Gold, on Zelena's command, tells them to stay out of the way or risk death. During the evening, on Main Street, Zelena approaches while trailed by a helpless Mr. Gold. Belle witnesses Regina being thrown into the clock tower by Zelena, who later flees on her broomstick. *("It's Not Easy Being Green")*
When Ariel enters the pawnshop, Belle is relieved that she is all right after not seeing her since the new curse has been in effect. She helps Ariel and Hook to search the shop for one of Eric's old belongings in the hopes of finding him. After Hook discovers Eric's cloak, Belle pours a locator potion on it. The cloak becomes enchanted and floats towards the location of its owner, to which Ariel and Hook follow along. *("The Jolly Roger")*
After catching Regina sifting through items in the shop, Belle, still upset about being locked up for twenty-eight years, tells her to get lost. Regina offers an apology and asks Belle to think about Mr. Gold, who is still Zelena's hostage. Anger quelled, Belle calms down enough to admit she's been piecing together the ingredients Zelena has collected to find out what spell the witch is trying to cast. However, Belle is stumped over what is so special about Regina's heart that Zelena desperately needs it. Regina decides to find out what Zelena wants by talking to Cora, which is made possible once Belle gives her the now defunct candle to access the land of the dead. When Belle cracks Zelena's spell, she tells the others and they regroup at Regina's house where Mary Margaret was just possessed by Cora's spirit. Mary Margaret explains that her own mother, Queen Eva, caused Cora's marriage to Leopold to fall through, which resulted in Zelena being abandoned. Belle reveals the collected ingredients—David's courage, Regina's heart and Mr. Gold's brain—are items for a time spell to alter the past. Namely, Zelena desires to kill Eva so Cora would have never abandoned her first-born child. *("Bleeding Through")*
Regina figures out the key to break the curse and getting everyone's memories back is to make Henry believe in magic. When Emma recalls believing in magic because of Henry's storybook, David, via a phone call, asks Belle to search for the item in pawnshop, but she does not find it. Once Regina bestows Henry with a kiss of true love, the curse breaks and everyone regains their memories from the lost year in the Enchanted Forest. *("A Curious Thing")*

### After Second Curse

Once the second curse is broken, Mary Margaret goes into labor at the hospital as Belle stumbles upon Zelena in the hallway. Zelena scoffs at Belle about not having learned her lesson the last time the dagger was utilized on Mr. Gold. Belligerently, Belle asserts her refusal to believe that, even though Mr. Gold desperately insists she must leave. Continuing to give Zelena a tongue-lashing over what she's put Mr. Gold through, Belle suddenly collapses, via the witch's magic, in his arms. Though Mr. Gold doesn't wish to leave his beloved, he is forced to by Zelena's will. In the aftermath, Zelena successfully makes off with the newborn as the last ingredient for her time spell, however, Regina herself defeats her sister with light magic. Regina, gaining the dagger, hands it over to Belle for safekeeping. She returns to the pawnshop where Mr. Gold is waiting for her. Once there, she relinquishes the dagger into his possession so he can be forever free of anyone's control. The only thing Belle asks of him is to not go after Zelena as she knows he is capable of being good. Due to Belle's immense trust in him, he affirms to do the same for her. As Mr. Gold hands back the dagger, he proposes to Belle, which she happily accepts by putting down the weapon and drawing him into an embrace. Without her notice, Mr. Gold switches the dagger; taking the real one while replacing a fake in the pawnshop. Unseen to Belle, he later kills Zelena; accidentally triggering magic in her pendant, which activates the time spell. *("Kansas")*
Belle, unable to keep what she believes is the real dagger, tries to give it back again. Mr. Gold insists he trusts her completely and then changes the topic to their upcoming wedding. She happily informs him that her father, Moe, has given his blessing to them. During the diner celebration welcoming David and Mary Margaret's newborn son, Belle and Mr. Gold walk in as Zelena's time spell is activated. They both follow David, Regina and Robin Hood to check up on Zelena, who is now missing from the jail cell. Regina suspiciously accuses Mr. Gold of wrongdoing but he attests Belle has the dagger and wouldn't order him to harm Zelena. To prove it, David runs the security tape, which Mr. Gold secretly manipulates to give the appearance that Zelena used magic to turn herself into a statue, which shatters and melts away into powder. As a group, they agree to leave the time portal untouched, however, Emma and Hook enter through it to the past where they recreate a first meeting between Prince Charming and Snow White and then return to the present. Later, Belle witnesses David and Mary Margaret announce they are naming their son after a true hero—Neal. During the marriage ceremony, Archie acts as pastor while Belle is walked by her father to her future husband. Beginning her vows, Belle recalls losing Mr. Gold to darkness, weakness and death, but has actually spent her life finding him. He talks about being unloved and unloving since love has always given him pain, but she was the one who brought light into his life. Mr. Gold promises to never forget what he once was and what he is now. Belle believes the monster in him is gone, even though as a man he is flawed, everyone is too, which only deepens her love for him. *("Snow Drifts", "There's No Place Like Home")*
Following the wedding, she encourages Mr. Gold into visiting Neal's grave site. Afterwards, Belle shows Mr. Gold a vacant mansion that she wants to use as their honeymoon suite. Inside, as she chatters on about the scenic ocean view, he magically freezes her in place and switches out the fake dagger in her purse with the real one. As he unfreezes her, Belle then leads him into a large dance hall. To have their first dance as husband and wife, Mr. Gold transforms their clothes and adds lighting and a playing gramophone as they waltz together. Later that night, an unassuming Belle is asleep when Mr. Gold takes the real dagger and uses it on a mysterious cylinder object in the house. At some point, he once again places the fake dagger into Belle's purse. *("A Tale of Two Sisters", "Rocky Road")*
Returning to the shop, Belle and Mr. Gold discover it's been broken into. When the couple enter, Henry emerges and reveals he was hiding inside. As Belle walks into the back room, Henry greets her before he talks with his grandfather.
Later, whilst working together in the pawnshop, Mr. Gold and Belle's martial bliss is interrupted by the appearance of David and Hook, who inform them that an ice magic wielder, Elsa, entrapped Emma in a cave where she is freezing to death. David explains Elsa is looking for her sister, Anna, whose pendant she found in the pawnshop. Belle fishes out a photo of the necklace, which David recognizes as belonging to a woman he once knew as Joan, whose real name must be Anna. *("White Out")*
Inside the pawnshop, Belle stands by as Emma and Hook question Mr. Gold about his knowledge of Elsa. As Emma recalls, he had the urn, which Elsa was trapped within, in his vault. Mr. Gold professes he doesn't know Elsa and that items, like the urn she was trapped in, naturally fall into his possession as a collector, but the histories behind them are unknown to him. Hook counters that Mr. Gold wouldn't unless he had something to gain out of it. Owning up to his past, Mr. Gold affirms that was true once, but since losing a son and gaining a wife, he's "turned over a new leaf", which impresses Belle. In order to satisfy their skepticism, he allows Belle to command him, using the dagger, into revealing the truth. After she orders him into doing so, Mr. Gold professes that he did not know Elsa was trapped in the urn and that he doesn't know her or Anna, though it is a lie, as the dagger is a fake. Nonetheless, this declaration whittles Emma's doubts. *("Rocky Road")*
One morning at the library, Belle discovers a drunken man sleeping on the floor near some book shelves. She phones Emma, who promptly arrives to apprehend the man into her custody at the sheriff's station. *("The Apprentice")*
Assigned as Neal's caretaker for the day, Belle heads to the apartment where she cradles the cooing infant while sitting on Mary Margaret's bed. Nearby, at the counter, David quietly soothes Mary Margaret's worries about leaving Neal; saying that Belle is a natural with the baby and she has their emergency numbers if anything goes wrong. *("Breaking Glass")*
Receiving an urgent call from Emma, Belle tracks down Mr. Gold at the pawnshop and they go to the sheriff station where David, Elsa, Henry, Hook, Mary Margaret and Regina are also gathered. Emma plays a camera recording, filmed when she was in a foster home, which reveals her then foster mother was the Snow Queen. At Henry's revelation that the Snow Queen has an ice cream truck, everyone splits up to search. David suggests Belle utilize tracking skills, but she'd rather research at the library. With hidden nervousness, she allows Elsa to come with her. Unbeknownst to Elsa, Belle once met Anna in the past and let her down. Losing hope, Elsa wonders if Anna put her in the urn, just as the Snow Queen claimed, and that her sister doesn't want to be found. Guilt-ridden, Belle excuses herself to make things right. Armed with the dagger, she commands Mr. Gold to lead her to the Snow Queen. After he does, Belle orders him onto watch duty while she goes into the Snow Queen's lair. Inside, she hopes to retrieve a Sorcerer's Hat to force the Snow Queen into revealing Anna's location. Unveiling a mirror, Belle's reflection taunts her about being a coward by having once valued a stone over Anna's life. The doppelganger nitpicks Belle into believing the dagger is fake. While in a trance, she slashes Mr. Gold's neck. Mr. Gold grabs Belle and teleports them to the pawnshop where she snaps out of it. There, she admits Anna is missing because of her and apologizes for abusing the dagger and using him. When Mr. Gold forgives her, Belle expresses remorse for keeping a secret from him as she knows he would *never* keep something from her. Rushing to the sheriff station, she reveals to Elsa how Anna was captured by the Snow Queen in the past. Relating knowledge about Ingrid's mirror, Belle explains it's key for casting a spell of shattered sight, which will make everyone turn on each other. *("Family Business")*
Belle deciphers a spell to give Emma the opportunity to capture Ingrid. As the spell dictates, a candle must be lit with magic and then blown towards the target, which will form binds on the person's wrists. After Emma succeeds in doing so, she brings Ingrid to the station for questioning. Belle walks up to the clock tower where David, Elsa and Hook are studying a mirror previously placed by the Snow Queen. She hastily rushes over; warning the trio not to look in the reflection or it'll brainwash them. On closer examination, Belle notices it's not the same mirror she saw in the Snow Queen's lair. Realizing they have been duped, the group arrive too late to the station entrance, which has already been frozen shut by Ingrid. Storming into the pawnshop, they request Mr. Gold's assistance, and he only agrees after much imploring from Belle. Joined by Henry and Mary Margaret, everyone arrives to the station as an explosion tears open a hole in the building. A shaken Emma explains the Snow Queen got away, but she herself caused the combustion. With her powers spinning out of control, Emma then accidentally collapses a streetlight, which almost falls on Hook, but David takes the hit. Due to this, Mary Margaret reprimands Emma, but upon seeing her daughter's hurt expression, she retracts her anger. However, a shaken Emma flees and drives off in her car. *("The Snow Queen")*
While everyone spends the entire night searching for Emma, Belle babysits Neal. She tells Mr. Gold about what's happening, and he secretly decides to use the situation to his advantage by attempting to trick Emma into giving up her powers to the hat. *("Smash the Mirror")*
In a deal, Ingrid allows Mr. Gold to leave town with Belle and Henry once the curse is in effect. At the pawnshop, Belle reveals to Elsa and Emma that they can defeat Ingrid's curse with a hair strand from someone who has already been affected by the same spell and making a counter spell with it. Elsa suggests that she herself was sealed in the urn, by Anna, who was under Ingrid's spell, so her sister may fit the criteria. Under a magnifying glass, Belle sees mirror dust embedded in the pendant, which proves Elsa's theory. A plan is formed to gather the nuns for creation of the counter spell while Elsa and Emma use a locator spell to find Anna. With the nuns, Belle assists them at the diner when Mr. Gold arrives asking her to watch over the pawnshop. She insists on staying since the counter spell is very important, and he relents by deciding to keep her company until the business is finished. Elsa and Emma are led to a mine cave-in and are prepare to blast through to reach Anna until Belle phones David to let them know the nuns can make a counter spell with only the necklace. Elsa dupes them by handing over a pouch full of rocks and takes the real pendant to continue tracking her sister. After reaching the diner, everyone discovers the truth. Emma offers to retrieve the necklace, but Belle states that by the time she gets back, the counter spell will not be potent. Later, Belle receives word that Anna has been found and is on her way to the diner, so she leaves the remaining work to the nuns. She then departs with Mr. Gold; not knowing he is luring her away so Hook can help him absorb the nuns into the hat. They say their goodbyes outside the pawnshop, and Belle goes into the back room as he enacts a shield to protect her. *("Fall")*
Under the curse, Belle's actions are not known. After the spell is undone by Ingrid, she is asleep in the pawnshop backroom as Mr. Gold watches over her. *("Shattered Sight")*
After Belle awakens, her husband suggests packing for a trip to New York so they can have a proper honeymoon. While closing a suitcase, she talks to Henry about going out of Storybrooke. Puzzled, the boy informs her that remnants of Ingrid's magic will keep those who leave town from reentering. Although Belle did not know this, she assumes Mr. Gold has found a loophole around the issue. Noticing Henry is unhappy, she learns he is disappointed over the fairytale storybook and all the bad things that happen to Regina in it. She points out that it won't always be so since his mother is changing for the better. This cheers up Henry, who thanks her and endearingly calls her "Grandma", which makes Belle laugh and suggest he just refer to her by name. As Henry helps her pull out another suitcase, some stacked items fall in the process. Within the pile, Belle is shocked to see the magic gauntlet, an item used to locate one's greatest weakness, which Mr. Gold once traded to save her life. Troubled by the find, she tests the gauntlet out and it leads her to the real dagger. Witnessing Mr. Gold crushing Hook's heart, Belle orders him via the dagger to stop. She then commands him to drop the heart and unfreeze Emma and Mary Margaret. Thirdly, Belle makes him teleport both of them to the town line. There, she recalls when he traded the gauntlet for her, and her perception that this proved he had love in him. Instead, Belle recognizes he has not and will never give up power for her. He insists having power is not a bad thing, and they can have both, though Belle states she only wanted his love. Mr. Gold pleads for another chance, but she refuses. Having once said she saw the man behind the beast in him, Belle angrily declares he's just a beast now. In tears, she banishes him out of Storybrooke. *("Heroes and Villains")*
During the six weeks after Mr. Gold's departure, Belle and Hook research a spell for freeing the nuns from the hat. One morning, she opens up the library as Hook meets her there after parting from Emma, who goes on sheriff duty. Once inside, Hook studies a board complied with information concerning the missing nuns, and in anger over the lack of progress, he knocks if off the wall. Belle tries assuring him that they do have a spell to release the nuns as well as the apprentice, but it'll take some time since she is consulting with outside sources to translate it. When Hook expresses guilt for imprisoning the apprentice and anger about Mr. Gold's trickery, she openly recognizes her own weakness in not seeing her husband for what he was due to being blinded by love. She believes Hook dealt with the same, except his love for Emma was used against him by Mr. Gold. Despite all the bad things her husband did, Hook asserts Mr. Gold did truly love her. Teary-eyed, Belle remarks that she hopes he found what what he was looking for. Later in the day, she receives an email from an Oxford professor, not knowing it is actually Mr. Gold, who gives her the translation, to which Regina uses the dagger to perform a ceremony on the hat. The nuns return safely, and while everyone basks in the reunion, none of them see a Chernabog being released from the hat and flying off. While the diner is bustling with activity to welcome the nuns back, the Chernabog makes itself known to the townspeople. With Emma, Hook, Mary Margaret and Regina, Belle ducks for cover behind a building as the group come up with a solution. After Emma and Regina temporarily stun the beast with their combined magic, Belle goes to look up information about the Chernabog at the library. Eventually, with knowledge from Cruella De Vil and Ursula about the Chernabog, the creature is forced across the town line and fades out of existence. *("Darkness on the Edge of Town")*
Hearing of Cruella and Ursula's arrival to town, Belle prepares a transformation potion as a safety measure. Once the female duo enter into the pawnshop, she warns them not to try anything or the potion will turn them into toads. Giving congratulations to her for banishing the Dark One, they drop hints about Mr. Gold's sad circumstances in New York. As they tease her about whether she is satisfied with his suffering, Belle asserts she would never be pleased about someone else's misery. Without the brunette's notice, Ursula uses her tentacles to reach into the backroom and grab a wooden box containing Maleficent's totem. Belle then questions whether the two of them actually came to buy anything, so Cruella asks her to find something fashionable to adorn her car hood. After the women leave, Belle receives a phone from Emma about Cruella and Ursula's suspicious behavior. Checking the backroom, she finds the wooden box missing, to which David forces Cruella to pull over her car so he can search the vehicle. In the evening, as Belle is fixing one of the window displays, Mr. Gold secretly watches her from across the street with a longing gaze. When Will walks up to her inside the shop, she smiles happily before kissing him; much to Mr. Gold's shock. *("Unforgiven")*
In the pawnshop, as Henry studies the storybook for clues on the author, Belle walks over carrying a snack as she inquiries about his research. The boy explains finding a page with a door, which he believes will lead to the author. She encourages him to continue investigating and then hands him the snack. While she is on a diner date with Will, Hook pulls Belle aside for a chat and tells her about Regina going undercover and finding out Cruella, Maleficent and Ursula are seeking the author to change their stories. Since the trio want Regina to steal something, he speculates they need the dagger to lure the Dark One into town and control him for the mission. Convinced that the dagger must never fall into their enemies' hands, Belle meets up with Hook to hand the weapon to him so he can hide it. Before doing so, she ominously considers the possibility that Mr. Gold is already in town. To quell her worries, Hook encourages her to order the Dark One with the dagger to face her if he is present. When her command yields nothing, Belle is relieved, however, she remains unaware Mr. Gold is already in front of her, except he is disguised as Hook. Turning the dagger over to him, she then returns to the pawnshop, where Will left a rose for her outside the door. Placing the gift in a vase, she busily admires it as Hook returns and persuades her into reciting a pirate's oath, in which neither of them must ever speak about the dagger to each other or anyone else. When questioned about her romance with Will, Belle admits the relationship is new, and she's not completely over Mr. Gold, but he makes her happy. Curiously, she wonders why he and Will are on bad terms, to which Hook states the man took something he cares about. Once he's outside the shop, Mr. Gold reverts back to himself and sadly regards Belle before leaving. *("Enter the Dragon")*

## Trivia

* The name "Belle" is of French origin derived from the same word that means "beautiful".
* The surname "French" is of French origin derived from the surname "de Freynes" and itself derived from the word "fraxinus" that means "ash-tree".
* The name "Lacey" is of English origin derived from the variant name spelling "Lacy" and the word "lassy" which is the name of a town in Normandy, France.
* Like Disney's adaption of the same character, Belle is interested in books and is given access to a library by her love interest. *("The Crocodile")*
* Belle considers herself an expert at rehabilitation. *("Child of the Moon")*

## References

1. ↑ File:401Newspaper.png
2. ↑ https://twitter.com/AdamHorowitzLA/status/520336080017825793
3. ↑ Deleted Scene from ABC's *Once Upon a Time*.
4. ↑ http://www.behindthename.com/name/belle
5. ↑ http://www.houseofnames.com/french-family-crest
6. ↑ http://www.behindthename.com/name/lacy