Well. Rumple loves Belle AND the dagger, or at least the power it gives him. And he was completely honest with her about that, the baby deal, and why she and Baby Hood are suddenly in the Underworld.
Belle is upset, as happy as she was at the thought of having a child with him, which makes perfect sense.
So how much truth is there in the idea that she loves both the man and the beast, that when she accepts that, it will be okay for Rumple to be whatever man he’s become at this point?
I think it does go along with what we’ve been shown…she fell in love with him when he was almost at his most evil, and while she has never supported his hurting others or lying (save when she was Lacey), she’s also never been as attracted to him when he was going for All Good (this includes her time as Lacey, which seems to have come from some aspect of herself as the other Storybrooke personas did). I think she could settle for a menacing imp who doesn’t actively hurt people…but he’s going to have to compromise as much as her for that to work.
The one thing that seems a barrier to that is Rumple’s insistence that he’s not going to change at all…I think that he still has this desire to be a hero, but doesn’t believe it does him any good anymore. And I think that it’s healthy to realize that you cannot make people change–Belle is still naive enough to believe she could. You have to decide whether you can accept who they are or not, and that’s the choice he’s presented to her.
But I don’t think she CAN just accept him as is. Nor do I think she wants to let go of him to adhere to the principles that she believes in. I think they’re both going to have to bend a little for this to work–he’s going to have to show her that while he may be the Dark One again, he’s going to use his power in positive ways and stop with the murdering, and she’s going to have to recognize that her love for him has to include accepting his darker side and dark past as part of what makes Rumple Rumple. She’s been able to see that occasionally, but just as she was deep in denial about things she coudldn’t accept in 4A (the mirror scene shows this), she’s been in denial about how she loves her husband…I think Rumple spoke the truth, and maybe he has learned a thing or two.
Keeper of Belle's Gold magic, sand dollar, cloaks, purple FTL outfit, spell scroll, library key, copy of Romeo and Juliet, and cry-muffling pillow, Rumple's doll, overcoat, and strength, and The Timeline. My spreadsheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6r8CySCCWd9R0RUNm4xR3RhMEU/view?usp=sharing