Mr. Gold is dead. Again. Storybrooke called him The Beast, they spoke of him like he was a monster, but little did they know how true their words would be. He is almost 1000 years old, he has loved and lost, and seen kings and empires come and go. No one will miss him. Except, perhaps, for the librarian, Belle French. Bored with life in a small town and dreading a marriage to a man she doesnāt love, her friendship with the enigmatic Mr. Gold is her one solace. Shortly before his ādeath,ā she begins to suspect who and what Gold really is, and when she catches him trying to slip away in the darkness, the day after his own funeral, she knows for sure. To Goldās surprise, Belle isnāt afraid; far from it, in fact. She is curious, intrigued, and she wants to know exactly what forever feels like.