Everyone knew the stories, parents told their children about the Dark One to keep them out of trouble. Even Granny had told Red of how he prays on the weak and takes all they have with his dark magic, but now nothing could stop her. She wasn't doing this for herself, she was doing it for everyone, the wolf was just too dangerous. Red made her way to the Dark Castle one morning, it wasn't a difficult route but considering what was at the end of it, she wasn't surprised not many ever used it.

It was huge, easily a couple dozen times the size of the cottage she shared with Granny, she felt so small as she tightened her red hood around herself and reached out to knock on the door. Her hand was only an inch away when the door swung open, but no one was there. She hesitated, but eventually took a step inside and called out, "Hello?" but no one answered. She turned to her right and walked into a large room, probably a dining room by the long table in the center of it. There was a spinning wheel in one corner with a basket of gold next to it, but she was more interested in the pedestal with a single chipped cup on display. She was about to reach out and touch it when she heard a shrill laughter behind her. She jumped and spun around, almost stumbling on herself.

"Hello dearie, I certainly hope you didn't come here in mind to steal from me," the small man with scaly skin teased.

Red tried to hide how nervous she was. "No! I….I just…." She cleared her throat and clenched her fists to her sides, "are you the Dark One?"

The man smiled widely and took a dramatic bow. "That I am, but you may call me Rumpelstiltskin!" He looked her up and down. "Now, what do you have to offer me?"

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Offer you? But don't you want to know what I want first?" She could almost feel him reading her as she tugged on the sides of her hood again.

"Now now Red, I'm no fool." Rumpelstiltskin walked forward and took part of her hood in his hand. "Your grandmother didn't tell you who gave her this hood, did she? No, see I knew what you came for the moment you walked in, dearie. You want to rid yourself of your…lunar curse. What I want to know is why?"

So this was the wizard who made her red hood, thinking back on it now, Red wasn't surprised by all Granny's warnings. She must have known firsthand what the price was for a deal with the Dark One. Still, his question made no sense to her, she couldn't think of a single reason why she should want to keep the wolf curse. "Because it's horrible! I turn into a monster, and I've hurt people…so many people, people I've cared about…"

Red thought she saw him glance at the tea cup behind her for a moment, but she didn't understand why. He almost looked…sad? Understanding? "And you would give up all this power, the power this unbeatable beast has given you, just to make sure you never hurt anyone else?"

Now she was flustered, the wolf wasn't power to her, she always thought it was a weakness. "Power? This isn't power if I can't control it! I have never wanted to hurt anyone, I would give up my curse in a heartbeat if it meant I could save just one person." She felt herself pleading now, she was beginning to worry that Rumpelstiltskin wouldn't take the wolf from her.

Now he was smirking at her, he seemed to change emotions every two minutes and it was confusing her. "What if I told you you could keep your curse and learn to use it to help others?"

Red never even imagined that was possible, she couldn't even remember her time as a wolf, let alone control the beast. "You can teach me to control it?" she asked hopefully.

Rumpelstiltskin gave another shrill laugh. "Oh yes dearie, you could be the greatest weapon on any army! And I only ask for one teensy little favor in return."

Here it was, the catch everyone warned about. "What kind of favor?" She hesitated, Red wasn't sure she wanted to do him any favors at all.

"Nothing bad dearie, I only ask that when the day comes and a friend seems to be in trouble, that you simply give her a slight…nudge in my direction, do we have a deal?" He held out his hand and waited for her to respond. Of all the favors he could have asked, this didn't seem so bad. Red gave him a quick nod and shook his hand before he clapped his hands in excitement. "Excellent! We will begin straightaway!"