It was the thirtieth anniversary of the sultan's reign and the task of planning his celebration was now in the hands of his beloved sultana Belle. The sultana was nervous. In previous years his celebration plans had been the responsibility of the Sultan Valide, his mother Tatiana. The Valide passed away in her sleep during the winter and Belle knew she had large slippers to fill.

This would also be Rumplestiltskin's final year as sultan for he planned to pass the crown to his son Rolando on the prince's twentieth birthday. Changing the laws and letting his heir take the throne while he still lived was a bold move on Rumple's part but he had faith his son could rule Azarajan as justly as he did in the thirty years he wore the crown. The kingdom flourished under Rumple's reign and he wanted it to stay that way. Many of the people however, were apprehensive and felt Prince Rolando would not be the great sultan that his father was when he did not connect with them on a more personal level than his father, mother and even his sister Raihana did.

It was summer and the rest of the family was at the second palace Serenity while Rolando and his betrothed Drizella stayed at the main palace Arcadia to prepare for the day when they would take the thrones. Belle was looking forward to ascending to the position of Valide so that she could remind her upstart future daughter-in-law just who ruled the harem. Neither she nor Rumple liked the girl and expressed their concerns to their son about her unsuitability for the position as sultana but he refused to believe any of it, he loved her dearly. Like her predecessor, Belle believed she would have to resort to schemes to get an unwanted kadin out of her son's harem. She didn't like it, but like Tatiana, she would do what she had to try to protect her child.

She put aside any plans she had for ousting Drizella from the harem for the time being and concentrated on the upcoming anniversary. Tatiana always made it a lavish affair, inviting the rulers of all the realms to attend and celebrate with the sultan and people from all over the kingdom flocked to the capital city to see their savior, for that was what the sultan was to them in their eyes. They suffered greatly during the Dark Years, which was how they referred to the late Zozo's reign and when the kingdoms of Agrabah and Avonlea waged war on them, it was the sultan and his forces that emerged the victors.

Belle, the former princess of Avonlea arrived with her father to become part of Rumple's harem but contrary to popular belief, the sultan treated the young women brought to his harem as daughters. His two wives, Cora and Milah were executed for treason on the orders of the valide for attempting to assassinate the sultan. At first Belle's father Maurice was involved in a plot with the former Agrabah vizier Jafar to overthrow and kill Rumplestiltskin making Belle the bait for their trap but after he saw how much his daughter grew to love the sultan and she loved him, he confessed all to the valide and worked with her to capture Jafar and his other conspirator, Killian Jones, a former lover of Milah's. They had Belle abducted from the palace and Jones tossed her into the sea while she was under the influence of sleeping drug. The sultan dived in after her and with the help of his adopted son and captain of the guard Baelfire, they got the sultana to safety. Jones was defeated in battle by Emma, Baelfire's lover and as fierce a warrior as he was. Both men were taken to the prison known as the Dark Castle. Jafar was beheaded and Killian Jones's death was a slow and agonizing one from the pox.

Everyone assembled in the grand dining room of the palace to discuss ideas for the celebration, the Sultana Jasmine and her consort Aladdin from Argabah and Queen Anastasia and King Will from Wonderland also in attendance along with the officers of the royal guard, called back from their posts.

"Why don't we bring back an old tradition Mama, the weight in gold?" Princess Raihana suggested. Her mother smiled.

"That's a wonderful idea poppet. The gold we weigh out can be distributed to the people!" the sultana cried.

"My lady sultana, the sultan does not weigh that much," Emma pointed out.

"Nor have past sultans before him dear but we add weights to the scale so we can add more gold," Belle explained. "The sultan is a generous man and will not settle for a small sum to be distributed."

Baelfire was grinning. "We can add a lot to his side of the scale Mama, believe me."

"It is settled then. The weighing will become part of the celebration."

"May I suggest something else, my lady sultana?" asked David, husband of the sultan's adopted daughter Snow.

"By all means."

"A commemorative coin with your images. Many of the crowned heads of the realms have one but the sultan does not and I feel he should since he has done so much for this realm."

"How long would it take to have such a coin struck?" she inquired of the royal treasurer.

"We will begin work immediately my lady sultana and have the coins ready to present during the celebrations."

"Excellent. Every person who attends must have one. They may keep it if they wish or use it to purchase the essentials for their families."

There were also plans to construct a new caravan to carry the sultan and his kadin through the crowd to the platform where he would sit during the festivities. The platforms background would be made of the finest Azarajan silks with the sultan's symbol woven into the fabric. Though he now ruled a country, he never forgot his humble beginnings as spinner and weaver and a rose would serve as the sultan's symbol.

"We could close the ceremony with something from my land, my lady sultana," spoke up Mulan. "They are called fireworks and they light up the sky in beautiful colors and patterns."

"Wonderful! Are you able to find someone who can create these fireworks?"

"I can, my lady sultana and perhaps one of the patterns can be the sultan's wheel."

"Oh he'll love that! See if it can be done and we shall make it the close of the ceremony!"

The sultana also sent word to troupes of actors that she wanted them to put on a play chronicling the highlights of Rumple's reign, a clan of gypsies was hired to do a puppet show for the children of the realms. There would also be dancing with music provided by the royal orchestra and no ceremony was complete without story time with the sultana. She would tell the sultan's story in a way the children would enjoy while the adults watched the play.

Several times in the weeks prior to the ceremony, the sultan attempted to wheedle details about the festivities out of his wife but she refused to speak a word of them and the others were sworn to secrecy as well.

"You will not be disappointed my love, I can assure you of that," she said softly one evening while they relaxed in the bath.

"Not even a hint?" he murmured, nuzzling her neck.

"Not even a hint."

"Perhaps you need a bit more convincing…"

His lips lingered on the base of her throat and he pulled her closer and caressed her softy.

"Maybe….maybe not…" She was having difficulty trying to keep her composure when his touch made her burn. While other sultans before him quickly grew bored with their wives and sought another or an endless supply of concubines, there had never been another woman for Rumple but his beloved Belle. She'd given him three beautiful children and both of them were devastated when their second son Maurice was taken in a plague that swept through the realm ten years earlier along with so many others. The sultan had a memorial constructed to honor those lost in the plague when the kingdom was free from the disease.

"Shall we continue this discussion in our bedchamber, my kadin?"he purred.

"We may but my lips remain sealed Rumplestiltskin unless you have a better use for them."

"Indeed I do, my kadin. Indeed I do."

Later on as she lay in his arms she couldn't deny that she was pleased their son would soon take the throne. She was looking forward to the two of them spending the rest of their days away from the political intrigue and relaxing at Serenity.

The bells began to ring at dawn in the holy temple the day of the celebration, waking the kingdom from its slumber to remind them of the special day ahead, not just for the sultan but all of Azarajan.

The royal couple was attired in their finest robes and escorted out to the golden caravan by members of the guard. A detail of twenty of the strongest men lifted the caravan up and carried it to the city square as the crowd cheered and people craned their necks to get a glimpse of their sultan.

"Long live the Sultan. Long live the Sultana!" they cheered.

Servants stood at the side of the caravan and unrolled a red velvet carpet for the royal couple that led to their thrones on the platform, Baelfire standing on Rumple's side, Emma on Belle's. Their children sat on thrones beside theirs, the future sultana looking bored. Once the sultan was seated, Belle rose from her throne and addressed the crowd.

"People of Azarajan," she called out. "Today is a special day as we celebrate thirty years of peace and prosperity with our sultan, Rumplestiltskin! We invite you all to join in the festivities and we will have wonderful gifts for all of you to thank you for your loyalty to us and hope that you will join us for future celebrations as our son ascends to the throne in the following months. Once again, thank you…and let the celebration begin!"

The members of the royal guard marched to the base of the platform and formed two lines.

"In honor of your thirtieth year as our lord, we the officers of your royal guard salute you with this bridge of swords, a symbol of stability and security! Form the bridge!" Emma commanded.

The officers drew their swords and crossed them over their heads. Rumple rose to his feet and clapped. "Well done, dearies. Well done!" he praised.

The soldiers bowed and stepped aside as representatives from the temple of the goddess moved forward.

"My lord," the high priestess greeted. The sultan returned her bow as a sign of respect to a servant of the goddess. "We bring you our blessings on behalf of Selene our Mother." They opened their hands and flock of white doves flew into the air. "May your winter years be ones of peace and tranquility!"

"I thank you for your blessings my lady and wish the same for you and all the sons and daughters of our blessed Mother."

"Bring the scale!" Belle commanded.

A large cart was wheeled into the city square with a giant gold scale upon it. Rumple smiled. The last time he'd seen it was when he was a small child barely out of his nappies and he and his mother stood in the crowd among thousands of others watching the Sultan Omar stand on one of the scales while gold was piled on the other. The sultan kept calling for more weight to be added to his side to match the gold being piled on the other. When the ceremony was over, his mother was given six gold coins that she used to purchase her son's first spinning wheel.

"Some of you may recall that during the reign of Sultan Omar he would stand upon one of the scales, his weight to be balanced with gold. Today we bring back that tradition. Step forward Rumplestiltskin and be weighed in gold for your people!"

Baelfire moved forward and helped the sultan onto his scale, the bottom of it rebuilt so that he could stand on it easily with his cane. The sultan's children and members of the royal household came forward with chests holding the commemorative coins and poured them onto the scale, opposite scale, raising the sultan's in the air.

"More weight!" he shouted. "I must have more weight!"

Twenty officers from the royal guard joined him on the scale with rocks in the pockets of their uniforms. The scales tipped again, the weight of the sultan and his army greater than the pile of gold.

"More gold!" he ordered. The scales tipped again yet they were not yet balanced as more coins were added. "My kadin, come join me and balance our scale!"

Emma helped Belle onto the scale and once she took her place at her husband's side, the scales were balanced.

"This bounty you see before you is not for me but for the people of Azarajan! Spend it wisely dearies!"

The officers of the guard packed the gold coins in the chests and circulated among the crowd, placing ten gold coins in the hand of every man and woman, young and old.

Rumple wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her. "A wonderful idea, sweetheart, absolutely wonderful! I remembered this from my own childhood."

"You can thank our daughter. She suggested it. The play is about to start and it is story time." Belle said softly.

"Go on. The children enjoy your stories."

"Children of Azarajan, come join the sultana Belle in the blue tent for story time and then we will have the puppet show," Princess Raihana invited.

A herd of children cheered and flocked behind the princess as she escorted them to a blue tent. On the other side of it the gypsies were setting up for the puppet show.

There were pillows on the floor of the tent for the children to sit on while Belle told them her stories. Raihana smiled to herself, remembering how her mother once told her and her brothers those same stories while they were children, loving them so much they wanted to hear them again and again. Of course there were some details left out but they were not fit for young ears. The children lay down for a nap after the story was finished.

An hour later a gypsy named Jiminy tiptoed into the tent. "We're ready to start, my lady sultana," he whispered.

"Thank you. Give me a few minutes to wake everyone up."

Rumple was enjoying the play, the actors performing their roles to perfection. Once they finished, he called all of them up to the platform and handed each ten gold pieces, inviting them to perform at Serenity for him sometime.

The children loved the puppet show and once it was over Belle escorted the performers to the platform to meet the sultan.

"You too are more than welcome to perform for my grandchildren at Serenity," Rumple said and handed Jiminy, his father Geppetto and nephew Pinocchio ten gold pieces each.

"My liege…." the group was flabbergasted by the sultan's generosity.

"Spend them wisely, dearies."

"We will! Thank you my liege!" Jiminy exclaimed as he backed away, catching a glimpse at Princess Raihana before leaving. The young girl scoffed and turned her head away. He lowered his head, his cheeks crimson.

"Gypsies! I've heard they rob you blind!" she mumbled.

"Raihana! You will treat our people with the same respect as they treat us!" the sultan said sharply. Jiminy, having overheard her comment winced as if he were in pain.

"I'm sorry Papa."

"This heat is unbearable!" complained Drizella, fanning herself.

Rumple shook his head. His son would not have an easy life with that woman as his kadin. She reminded him too much of his previous wives, Cora and Milah. Still he wouldn't let his future daughter-in-law's complaints and his daughter's hostilities towards some of the people spoil his mood.

As the evening drew to a close Zuen Yi, the fireworks creator Mulan discovered approached the platform and bowed.

"My liege, in honor of your reign, I give you lights in the sky!"

The crowd gazed up in awe as the night sky was lit up in beautiful colors and patterns including peonies, strobes, diadems, palms, kamuros and finally a spinning wheel in gold accompanied by music from the royal orchestra. When the show was over, Rumple thanked the man and gave him his own gold pieces, inviting him to Serenity for another show.

"Are you going to miss all of this, my love?" Belle asked during the ride back to Serenity.

"I will miss the day to day interaction with the people but not the intrigue," he confessed. "I want to spend my remaining winter years with my family for there is where I am most happy." He kissed her. "Mother would be proud of you today, my kadin. This was the finest anniversary celebration."

"I love you Rumple."

"And I love you, my kadin."

She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. For her this was more than a celebration of a reign, it was also a celebration of their life together and she was looking forward to the years ahead.