Disclaimer: Don't own any of it. I just changed the names, cuz that's what's going on.

Rumpelstiltskin thought that he would have a happy ending like the rest of them in the fairy tale world, but instead he ended up imprisoned. So he made a spell that would change everything, and he would finally have the ending that he wanted to happen. He just needed someone on the outside to cast it for him…

Once upon a time, coinciding with all of our familiar princess' stories, there was a family so poor that they had to live off of the sweat of their brow and the deceit of the father. Most of us are, as we should be, very familiar with the story of the man who lied to his King about the amazing skill that his daughter possessed. Whether he told the King that she was able to spin straw into gold as a way of getting rid of another mouth to feed, or hoping that the king would take a liking to the pretty girl is uncertain, but we know what happens because of it.

It is always the actions that we see as certain, but never really the intentions behind them. And because of this, tales can be easily skewed. Let's take the impish man that came to help the Miller's daughter for example. She hadn't known where he had come from, or why he was willing to help; nor did she really care. Her first priority was staying alive.

Rumpelstiltskin knew the girl better than she thought. He'd known her for quite awhile, and was eager to come to her aid when he learned of her fate. She was a poor girl and couldn't offer much, so when he asked what she would give him in return for his help, he gladly excepted a plain copper ring in exchange for a room full of gold.

However, when he asked what she was willing to give, he wasn't looking for anything of material value. When you can spin a mountain of straw into a mountain of gold, baubles and beauties don't really leave much of an impression. Then again, just because you have the greatest magical abilities ever known doesn't mean you know how to convey your feelings either.

When the third day came and the girl told him she had nothing left to give, Rumpelstiltskin asked her to offer her first born child to him. He thought he was being clever, and had hoped that this girl that he had done so much for would love him in return and that her first born child would belong to the both of them.

But then she married the King. Furious, but not easily deterred, he returned for that which was promised to him. Story will tell you that he was planning to eat the child, but whoever told the story must have forgotten that ogres and trolls eat babies, not imps and dwarves. Rumpelstiltskin figured that if he could not have the girl, he would have the next best thing, and by taking the child would forever hold a tie that would involve him in her life.

Knowing what he had come for, the girl cried, and as hard and cruel as he tried to be, he took pity on her and made a deal yet again. He never could stand to see her cry.

:::Storybrooke, ME:::

Taylor Brave lowered himself to eye level with the countertop in the welcoming center of the Psychiatric Wing of Storybrooke Hospital. With the eraser tip of his pencil, he tediously lined up several flies that he had killed and saved as souvenirs. He grinned as he examined his collection, snickering under his breath. His eyes drifted upwards, away from the tiny trophies, as a dark lean figure came in to focus. Snapping into attention as a cadet would during basic training upon spotting someone of higher command, Taylor cleared his throat and greeted the man who was approaching the booth with a slight limp.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Gold," he said confidently, the only show of nervousness revealed in the fingers that twirled the pencil from finger to finger. The older man moved to place his hand on the counter, but stopped upon seeing the dead flies. He quirked his eyebrow at the boy and rested his hand on top of his cane instead, giving him the illusion of regality.

"Ah, yes, Mister…" Gold cocked his head to the side as he looked for a nametag. The boy had none. He greeted him with familiarity, but that was to be expected. Even though Mr. Gold had never known the boy, everyone knew who he was.

"Oh!" the boy had caught on. "Brave. My name, I mean, not," he shrugged, "my demeanor, I guess."

Mr. Gold squinted at him as his mouth stretched and pursed, as if he found the boy amusing but didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing. "Right, well. I've just come for a visit. I believe you have a patient named Penelope Miller?"

The boy grinned cheekily. "Oh, she checked out just this morning!" Mr. Gold grimaced as dread enveloped him before a voice called out from behind him.

"Oh no she didn't!" Mr. Gold turned to see who was addressing them while Taylor leaned to glance over Mr. Gold's shoulder. A man in his mid thirties with a faint yellow scruff of a beard had a sturdy grip on the young woman's elbow, who looked quite dejected as he lead her back through the wing. "Taylor," the man barked at the youth behind the counter. "What have I told you about messing around out here? I don't need people thinking that patients have become part of the personnel. This isn't some Scottish tv show!"

Taylor ignored him as his grinned widened towards the girl. "Guess you owe me fifty bucks, toots. Told ya you wouldn't make it out of here." The young woman glared at him and, without a word, lunged forward and blew each fly off the counter with a single breath. Taylor gave a cry of dismay as his hands grabbed at his own hair while he watched the bugs float to the ground.

"Now, now, dearie, that wasn't very nice," Mr. Gold grinned at Penelope, who gave him an equally dark look.

"What do you want?" She had a soft voice, but it lacked either the hatred or accusation that he had been expecting. Either her time here had made her numb, or her medication made her apathetic. Mr. Gold turned to the head nurse, whom he had become familiar with over the years of his sporadic visits.

"Elroy, do you mind if I have a minute with my ward?" Elroy dropped his hand from Penelope's arm and approached Taylor, who immediately began to shy away. Leaving the boy to his punishment, Mr. Gold lifted his hand toward the common area down the hall in invitation, where they could sit and talk.

As the pair strode along, Penelope not bothering to keep pace with the slower Mr. Gold, she shot over her shoulder, "Don't call me your ward. This isn't Batman and fucking Robin." Gold didn't like the lack of tone in her voice. She sounded tired and looked worse. Large round eyes had become overshadowed by dark circles, and that pouty little lip that used to try to get whatever it wanted was now lackluster and chapped. He could even see a few gray hairs sticking out of the messy brown hair that had been pulled into a ponytail.

By the looks of things, she was getting a taste of what he had experienced in that dungeon for so many years. She still had it so much better than he had, but that wasn't the point. The point was vengeance, and in his opinion, it didn't really begin until she agreed to their bargain.

"I assume then, by that little display just now, that you are ready to honor our deal." He rested himself on a comfortable looking but rather stiff chair facing the window. 'Cheap hospital furniture' he thought as he shifted on the lumpy cushion.

Penelope plopped into an abandoned wheelchair that had no business out in the common area and began nudging herself backward and forward with her toe. She stared out the window rather than look at him. "Oh, I don't know," she drolled, "Elroy and I had a nice little chat as he escorted me back into the wing, and I believe I have grown rather fond of my new 'home.'" He finally heard a sliver of emotion in her voice as she spat out the last word.

Gold leaned forward and jammed his cane into the rungs of the wheel, keeping it from moving. The constant swinging had begun to annoy him. Penelope finally turned to look him in the eye. She could see that he was done playing.

"Miss Miller, I have not been known for my kindness, and perhaps that's why I've been so successful in my business. It leads me to believe, then, that I have been too kind to you." His voice was a low rumble, barely above a whisper as his dark eyes bored into her wide blue ones. "You have done a great job skirting the issue for many years, but now I believe that it is time for things to change." After all, things had been changing so very, very much. First the Clock Tower, then the Underground Railroad system, now it was time for her to change as well, and for his plan to move forward. Mr. Gold was a patient man, but he knew he was running out of time.

"I don't understand why you insist on staying here when you've had multiple opportunities of freedom." He finished.

"There's no such thing as freedom where you're involved," she stated plainly. "Maybe that's why I've always decided to stay, but…" she shook her head and pressed her fingertips to her temple. Gold thought he saw a nerve twitch just below her eye. "I don't know. I feel like… like I can't go. Or shouldn't." Gold frowned as he watched her brow furrow in confusion. So that's what it was, then. Something else was at play here. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Elroy in the distance, writing something down on a clipboard.

Pulling his cane free from the wheelchair, he stood, and Penelope glanced up at him. "Leaving already?"

Mr. Gold grinned down at her and gave a small wink. "No, deary, I think I'm going to go spin you some gold."

If it seems confusing, don't worry, all will be revealed. :) And yes, I know that the baby theory doesn't match the Cinderella episode, but bear with me! I wrote this before that aired and I will make it work!

Also, I took a painstakingly longer than necessary amount of time to pick out my names.

Penelope Miller: Cunning weaver (in the fairytale she's described as clever) and Miller is just obvious.

Taylor Brave: I hope you guys got this one. It's the brave little tailor! He's being hospitalized for paranoia and megalomania (also, he thinks he's a giant).

Elroy: You'll find out ;) but I'm sure the name gives it away.