Once Rumple and Mara arrived at Dark Castle she was exhausted from the emotions of the day, yet still excited to see the inside of this amazing structure. "Come along little one…let me show you to your quarters and where you will be preparing my meals" Rumpelstiltskin giggled manically as he led the way…."Oh and dearie…I shall be expecting you to tell me a story tonight"

Shock evident on her face, Mara asked, "What kind of story sir?" "Oh, I want to learn why you were so eager to join me, so eager to agree to this deal"

After leading Mara on a tour of the castle, making sure she knew how he expected ALL of the rooms to be clean, and ALL of his meals to be cooked and served, Rumpelstiltskin sat in a chair amidst hundreds of books in the massive castle library, Mara perched on a stool at his feet, ready to start her story.

"Now dearie…the truth…tell me…and let's start with the bruise on your face" the imp demanded

"Sir, you know I was to be married to Marcel…it was not final, but he was very particular and he felt I needed to be disciplined, so that when we were man and wife I would know how to behave". Mara explained her dark secret, looking down all the while.

"You little fool…your father seemed kind enough, why did not tell him what was happening?" "Marcel told me he would murder me in my bed if I dared tell anyone, and truly no one would have believed me…he was very solicitous to me in public".

"Sooooo….you decided I was the lesser of two evils…I suppose I should be flattered!" "Well, that is one thing you do not have to fear from me, I will never lay a hand upon you, and no one else will for that matter" Rumple cackled madly

The relief on Mara's face was obvious, and even though she did not know what the future held, her instincts told her that she was safer here than she would ever have been with Marcel.

-In Storybrooke

The fury on Mr. Gold's face would have terrified Annie had she been looking his way; instead she was looking at the floor, ashamed of what had happened the night before.

If she had been paying attention she might have heard his frantic mutterings, and wondered what craziness was coming from his mouth. "I told you I couldn't keep you safe if you didn't keep the baby with you…this is what I worried about the most…you were only part of the deal if the wee one was with you".

"Let me look at your face…we should probably go to the hospital" "NO…no hospitals…I'll be fine, I just need some ice…that's always worked in the….." her voice trailing off as she saw the look on Mr. Gold's face.

"I'm sorry Mr. Gold, I never wanted you to know what was happening, but I didn't know where else to go, he said he would kill me if I left, and he doesn't want me to work here anymore." Annie explained softly, not sure how to explain that it wasn't the beatings she took that made her leave, but instead the idea of never seeing Mr. Gold again that had her fleeing her tormentor, she couldn't even explain that oddity to herself.

The anger brewing inside of Mr. Gold was beyond anything he had ever felt, how dare that idiot put his hands on her, how dare he hurt her….when he took her from her father he had promised her no one would ever hurt her again! "Don't worry about that moron Marce…I mean Mark, I'll make sure he never bothers you again".

"Mr. Gold, please don't do anything, I'll take care of it…I'm sure it will all be OK" Annie nervously looked around, embarrassed that Mr. Gold thought he had to take care of her, that she couldn't take care of herself.

Knowing that the time was finally right to remind her of her love, Mr. Gold gently placed his hand on her uninjured cheek, Annie I want to you move into my house, I need a new nanny for Aylish and she loves you already and it would be a perfect arrangement for both of us.

Annie just looked at Mr. Gold, confused both by his offer and her own feelings. Ever since Emma Swan had come to town and the clock tower had started working again Annie had been having the strangest dreams, dreams that centered around a strange man who looked much like Mr. Gold and a baby girl with beautiful green/gold eyes. Almost against her own will Annie found herself nodding and accepting the shop owner's offer."