About

Belle is the daughter of Sir Maurice who rules a town threatened by the Ogre Wars. Rumpelstiltskin offers to protect them if Belle becomes the caretaker for his estate. Her father and her fiancé Gaston refuse to let her leave, but Belle accepts the deal.

Over time, the pair form a bond that is shown when Rumpelstiltskin catches her when she falls off a ladder and tells her about his missing son. Rumpelstiltskin asks her to go out and buy straw. While out she learns from Regina that true love's kiss will break any curse and Belle returns to the castle and kisses him, and he starts changing back into who he was before becoming "The Dark One". The transformation was stopped when he thought Belle was working for Regina, and he then drives Belle away.

In Storybrooke, Regina visits Belle in a secret ward in the hospital. She is released by Jefferson, who was enraged that Regina would not compensate him for helping her retrieve the poisoned apple that almost killed Snow White and Henry. He tells Belle to find Mr. Gold, who is actually Rumpelstiltskin, and to tell him that Regina held her captive. She finds Mr. Gold but does not remember who he is. He hugs her, promising to protect her, and tells her that she will remember. When the curse on Storybrooke is broken, she regains her memories as Belle and professes her love for Gold. The two embrace, and Belle stands beside him as he brings magic to Storybrooke.

Belle tells Mr. Gold that Regina had abducted her and kept her imprisoned during the Curse, but she begs him not to kill her, which he agrees to. She comes back to his shop but leaves, heartbroken, when she learns that Gold unleashed a Wraith to take revenge on Regina. Later on, she returns when she learns that Regina was unharmed by the Wraith. She is touched when she sees her chipped cup in Mr. Gold's shop and realizes that Gold had kept it ever since she left, and while he asks her to leave as he is "still a monster," she tells him that is why she has to stay, and she reconciles with him.

When Gold found a way to cross the barrier without the person losing their memories again, Belle accompanied him to the border of Storybrooke. Captain Hook arrived and shot Belle. The effects of the attack caused Belle to fall across the border and lose her memory again, as Gold tries to get Belle to remember herself. Belle ended up in the hospital following the attack.

Belle is seen in her hospital bed when she gets a call from Mr. Gold. She tells him again that she doesn't remember him, but she tells him she is sorry when he tells her that he is dying. Mr. Gold 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. He hangs up before she can respond.

Mr. Gold later visits Belle in her hospital room and Belle thinks that she has known Mr. Gold somewhere and accepts his help to make her regain her memories again. Belle is later visited by Regina where she learns about Mr. Gold's plot. Regina has placed a charm in her suitcase as she starts to remember. Regina claims that Mr. Gold will be pleased that she regained her "memory". Mr. Gold finds a charm that leads to the Rabbit Hole in Belle's hospital room. At the Rabbit Hole, Mr. Gold finds Belle in her identity of a scantily-clad barfly named Lacey playing a game of table pool. Mr. Gold confronts Regina about restoring Belle's cursed memories as she claims that the current spell on her can't be broken. Mr. Gold enlists David's help to get her previous memories back as he tries to get Lacey to give him a chance. She accepts her terms and arranges an appointment at Granny's at 8:00 PM. When it comes to the appointment, Granny compliments Lacey's outfit before she takes her order and comments that Mr. Gold's classy side is not what the other Storybrooke citizens say about him. When Gold accidentally spills a drink on her dress, she leaves to get her dress clean up. Mr. Gold learns that she hasn't gotten back yet as he finds her with another man named Keith and drives him off. Lacey states that she is still not Belle and walks off with Mr. Gold feeling devastated about this. When Mr. Gold beats up Keith, Lacey stumbles upon this and quotes that what was said about Mr. Gold was true and that he was not who she thought he was. She then allows him to beat up Keith, becoming amused to the violence. She stands and watched, enjoying him getting beat up with Mr. Gold's cane.

Unlike Belle (who brought out the best in Mr. Gold), Lacey encourages the darker urges in him. Thanks to a potion that was made by the Mother Superior at the time when the Trigger was activated, Lacey drinks the formula from the restored chipped cup and regains her identity as Belle. Belle later saw Emma, Mary Margaret, David, Regina, Mr. Gold, and Captain Hook off when they head to Neverland to rescue Henry from Greg and Tamara. Mr. Gold, before his departure, gives Belle a small scroll. The scroll contained a protection spell that he asks Belle to use to keep Storybrooke safe, saying "there will be more" to come try to destroy magic. For Belle this is a bittersweet moment; she knows Mr. Gold is leaving in order to save his grandson (Henry) but she also knew, as she told him before he left, "you're not coming back".