Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read my little story. I hope you enjoy it! As always, thank you, cynicsquest, for helping me edit.

Chapter 4: A Bargain and a Quest

Karl scaled the wall of the queen's garden the second night because it had been so easy on the first. The very idea of anyone guarding a patch of vegetables was ridiculous to the brute. Had he known that his wife would crave the rapunzel plant he would have suggested planting some in their own garden during the autumn months. Neither he nor his mother cared for the strong taste of this particular lettuce, so they had no reason to plant it before now. He decided to log this tidbit in his memory in case his wife conceived another child in the future.

Dropping into the soil, he stole a glance in each direction before stealthily making his way to his target. Karl sucked in a deep breath and savored the aroma growing around his feet. As a child, one of his chores had been to help his mother keep the garden. He remembered being spanked and sent to bed without dinner whenever he would take a stick to the evil rosemary dragon; or getting a swat against his hands when he impatiently uprooted the carrots to see if they were ready. He loved when his mother would strain fresh herbs into hot water, making delicious tea for their supper time. The fragrances in the queen's garden were homey, but unusual due to the herbs he was less familiar with.

Refocusing on his task, he reached out to take hold of a rapunzel head nearby. Deciding that he, in fact, did not want to be out every night stealing lettuce, he selected three more and placed them in his knapsack. Turning to leave, he was startled by the raven haired beauty who had silently materialized behind him. Her fair skin accentuated her dark features and smoldering ruby lips. Her dress appeared to be made of seal skin as it subtly shimmered in the moon light. Karl felt his stomach twisting into knots as the blood drained from his face while looking at the woman whose face shown rage and disgust.

"You dare steal from the queen?" Regina said her eyes narrowing.

"Uh..." Karl stumbled for his explanation. "Uh, buh, buh, uh, buh..."

"You blubbering idiot!" the queen hissed. "Did you think I don't see everything that happens in my kingdom, let alone in the field beneath my window?"

Slowly regaining his speech, he mustered, "My wife wanted rapunzels."

"So," she snarled, "why not buy them in the market?"

"Beggin' your pardon, my queen," he stammered. "Rapunzels aren't favored among the people, and yours was the only garden with it."

Rolling her eyes, she replied, "Spare me from your boorish reasoning. I should turn you into a raccoon since your theft is as common as one."

The thought of being turned into a varmint did not suit Karl at all, and he sought to reason with the powerful sorceress. "Oh, please, your majesty, do no such thing to me. These rapunzels are for my wife who is with child. I'll put these back, see," as he removed each sphere from his pouch and gently lowered them to the ground. "Only do not turn me into a critter. I didn't know fairies had such cravings in their pregnancies."

"A fairy, you say?" Regina knew of many spells that called for the heart of a fairy, but catching one had proved to be a daunting task. Fairies operated in a slightly different time frame than humans; for every second that ticked by, a fairy had ten split-seconds, giving her the advantage against foes and predators. Regina knew how to beckon a fairy to her, but locking one in place had never been possible as the fairy had more time to react and flee. She was sure this simpleton had nothing to offer the creature he called his wife, but decided she could use his theft to trap the fae-blood.

Smiling in feigned sympathy, she changed her tone. "Well, if rapunzel is what your wife wants, then she may have all she desires," she paused and watched relief wash over the ignorant man's face. She enjoyed that moment when assurance turned to panic; it was her greatest pleasure when she dispensed threats. "On one condition," she continued; "your wife will become my property and must submit to my wishes." The evil queen was not disappointed by the terror that set in the brow and jaw of the man before her.

Karl's heart sank. "No, my queen! I couldn't let her go."

"Oh no?" Regina cocked an eyebrow. "Either she pays for the rapunzel you stole last night with my offer or she dies."

"It's a fairy you want, right?" A devious plan was forming in the mind of the greedy husband.

"Well I certainly don't have need for a ignoramus like you."

"Fairies give birth to other fairies, don't they?"

"Go on." Perhaps, the fair skinned beauty thought, he isn't a stupid man after all.

"Instead of my wife, you can take the child when it's born."

Regina turned away from the man before her to think through the new offer. The spells she could cast all required the heart of a full-grown fairy. A fae child had no magic, which is why coming of age with them was a critical development. She began to turn back and insist once more on having the fairy wife when she remembered an aging spell. It would take an entire year for the child to become full-grown with the spell, but Regina decided she had the time. "It's a deal. Take all the rapunzel you like," she offered through a wicked smile, "and the night your child is born, I'll be there to collect."

Relieved that he had avoided being turned into an animal and that he got to keep his wife, Karl offered his hand to the queen to seal the deal. Regina rolled her eyes at the gesture as she snapped her fingers and disappeared.

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Belle hadn't removed her eyes from her husband. Unsure of how Rumpel would know the toddler, she waited patiently for his explanation. In their own world, Rumpelstiltskin was known for brokering in babies and young children. Of course, rumors had abounded as to his reasons for doing so, some too horrible to acknowledge. Old wives had admonished young children to behave and go to sleep with no fuss once night fell, lest the Dark One appear to take the unruly brats away. Having been his maid for some time, Belle had learned that Rumpel had brokered in children for more noble purposes. Those who sought to make deals with him were often selfish, and were more than willing to pay magic's price by parting with one or more of their own offspring. The deal maker was obliged to take the unwanted babes for the granting of the petitioner's request, and all were placed in the arms of childless couples desperate to have progeny of their own. Belle knew her husband had a soft spot in his heart for humanities' outcasts, and he made sure that the burden of magic's demand fall completely on the shoulders of those who placed no value on their little ones.

Rumpel knelt before the child, setting his cane on the floor by his side. He examined her delicate, chubby cheeks and wide eyes. Her hair seemed to have been blowing in the wind and her soft, pudgy hands were reaching up to him. Her identity was unmistakable. "Her name is Rapunzel."

"Rapunzel?" Belle winced. "Couldn't someone have thought of a sweeter name for such an angel?"

"Aye, to be sure her ma probably did. But that was the name Regina gave her."

Puzzled by this strange naming arrangement, Belle inquired, "Why would Regina name someone else's baby?"

Rumpel drew in a breath as he rocked back from his crouching position to take a seat on the floor. "The child's grandmother came to see me one night. She was concerned for her boy and his wife. It seems her son had traded his daughter in exchange for the rapunzel growing in the queen's garden. Regina collected the babe the night she was born. The old woman wanted me to get the child back, but..." Rumpel paused before proceeding in his story. Belle loved him despite the monster he had been, nay the monster he knew he still was. He didn't believe for one minute that he had ever deserved her love, but he was grateful for it all the same. His wife possessed a gentler nature and was kind to people she met, whether they deserved it or not. Suddenly repulsed by his own behavior, he lowered his head as he looked away.

"But what?" she broke into his thoughts. Belle was as gentle and patient with him as he was cold and conniving with others. "Why couldn't you get her back to her family?"

"Belle, I'm not proud of what I've done."

The beauty moved closer to her husband and rested her hand upon his, gently offering, "It's alright, Rumpel. Just tell me. Maybe we can still figure this all out."

"Sweetheart," he paused once more, "I didn't see anything I could gain from getting the child back to her mother." Sheepishly, he added, "Rather, I saw it was better for the curse if I left the child with Regina."

Swallowing hard, Belle had to admit to herself that her husband's selfishness had not only taken this child away from her parents, but had also placed the toddler in harm's way with the evil queen. Deciding to lay her judgment aside, she asked, "Why would a father exchange his daughter for a plant?"

"I don't know." The wrinkles in his face showed his worry over whether or not his wife could still love him after his confession.

Mulling the information over in her head, she took a moment before replying. "Her poor mother probably misses her very much."

"Aye, I'm sure she does."

"Can Rapunzel come back to life or is she permanently a statue?" Belle fixed her eyes upon the still child and reached out her hand to caress her cheek.

Rumpel tried to recall whether or not he had seen the future of the girl or only the fate of her mother. "I believe the curse could have been broken, but only by her mother. I'm sorry, Belle. I don't think she made it to Storybrooke."

Tears welled into his wife's eyes as she took in the news her husband had given her. He patiently waited as she sat mourning for a family she had never met. Then a ray of hope settled into Belle's mind. "Perhaps her mother is here, living a lonely life, but would want to be reunited with her daughter." And with that, the wife of the once cold hearted Rumpelstiltskin formed a plan to find her.