Time passed. Rumplestiltskin lived, learned, plotted, made deals, wrote his Curse, and waited. As another century came and went, his frustration peaked. He cursed those who got in his way, killed those who would try to stop him, let the madness of the Dark One reign. His only companions were his visions of the future, where he watched the highlights of his victims' lives, memorizing their lines, their actions. He shied away from visions of Beauty when awake. Her blue eyes seemed to condemn him for every curse, for every death, for taking the easy path each time she flashed into view.

She haunted his dreams. Dreams over which he had no control, from the very innocent to the extremely carnal. His every unacknowledged desire for her laid bare for his awakened self to deny, to loathe. He dreamed of spinning while she read, of picnics by a stream, of watching her sleep. He dreamed that he kissed her, that she kissed him back, of love words whispered while they explored each other's body. He dreamed that she joined with him eagerly, that together they reached heights of passion he had never seen before. And he dreamed of cuddling with her, her belly rounded gently with their child. He thoroughly despised himself for despoiling so pure a woman, even if only in dreams.

And so the years slipped by.

At long last Cora was born. And there was a problem. Her parents were kind, loving, hard-working; the kind of parents who would raise Cora to be as like them as possible. But a kind, loving Cora would not need him, would not force her daughter into a loveless marriage, would not lie, scheme and kill. A kind Cora would not do for his purposes at all. So he cursed them all: the mother to die, the father to become a drunkard, the daughter to always want more than she had.

He cast a sterility curse on the young Prince George. And a blessing/curse on Ruth that she would bear twin sons, but that as an adult her farm would fail. The former would raise a jackass of a son, while the latter raised a prince.

And then Eva, Snow White's mother, was born. She was raised knowing her place, a spoiled, petulant princess who looked down her nose at the working poor. Marrying Leopold and having a child would be sobering influences on her. As a young woman, she would do her part in molding Cora without additional prompting, and as Leopold's wife she would raise Snow to become a selfless princess who would inspire her people.

Cora, as an adult, was intoxicating. She lusted for respect, for power, for importance. She was not only beautiful, but smart and a quick learner. The darkness harbored within her resonated with his own. For centuries he had only physical pleasure in dreams of Beauty; Cora was flesh and blood and here, and she wanted him. To touch her, to be touched by her, made his body ache with desire. Kissing her made him insensate; she consumed his every thought both awake and asleep. Away from her captivating presence, he could easily see her two futures: to marry Prince Henry or to stay with Rumplestilskin. And as the days passed, it became clear that she would choose Rumplestiltskin. He could see it in her eyes, hear it in her voice, feel it in her touches; Cora was falling in love with him. And he could easily predict that he would fall in love with her. She was the ideal mate for the Dark One. Their child, Regina, would be slightly changed from the one he had foreseen so long ago, but he could alter the Curse to account for that. He and Cora would raise her to want to cast the Curse. And once he had found Baelfire, his family would be complete. He would have everything he ever wanted: a woman he loved and who loved him at his side, his children, and the power and ability to protect them from any and all harm.

So it was a rather severe blow to his mind, body and soul to hear that her decision was to marry the prince. It was more than slightly humiliating to realize that it was his curse upon her as a child that forced her decision; she wanted more than he could give her. Knowing she had to take out her own heart to make that decision was slightly gratifying on the one hand and horribly depressing on the other. Cora preferred to rip out her own heart than to love him.

Rumplestiltskin returned to the Dark Castle to nurse his bruised ego and shattered emotions. At first, he felt like he was going mad between hallucinations of Cora working magic at his side and foreseeing Beauty. For a long while, to banish the one was to bring on the other. Eventually he was able to harden his heart against the memories and dreams of Cora. He was able to visit her court with no twinge of regret or longing in any corner of his heart. And he was finally able to reign in his passion for Beauty. She was beautiful, true, and she tempted him beyond belief. But he had one love, one desire, one job to do: get Regina to cast the Curse so he could reunite with Baelfire. Everything else, everyone else, was immaterial, expendable. And that included Beauty.

A heartless Cora had no choice but to have a casual indifference to Regina's wants and needs. So Regina grew up with a mother who didn't, wouldn't, love and a weak willed father. She would be need just a little bit of moulding and training before she would be ready to cast his Curse.

Ruth's twins were born, James and David. King George bargained with Rumplestiltskin for a son and heir who then bargained with Ruth for James.

He bargained with King Midas to have a hand where everything he touched turned into gold.

And in seemingly rapid succession, the other major and minor players in the Curse were born. Rumplestiltskin was kept busy traveling from one place to another keeping both literal and foreseeing eyes on his cast of characters. He had to be absolutely sure that nothing and no one interfered with the grand plan, that everything that had to happen to shape their personalities happened.

With one notable exception: Beauty. He would wait to see her until he was asked to come.

He watched, invisible, as Cora poisoned Eva. As Snow refused to kill another to save her dying mother. He laughed as Regina and Daniel fell in love, as Cora crushed Daniel's heart to dust. He started teaching Regina magic. He skipped watching Regina entice the genie, and kill Leopold. But he promptly covered the mirrors in the Dark Castle after the genie magicked himself into one.

He taught Zelena magic, amused by her naked ambition to be better than her sister. And was horrified as Zelena fell in love with him. And railed at himself as she revealed her slippers with their ability to cross worlds.

As his menagerie grew up, he kept watch over them all. Regina needed to feel that she had no one on her side, to one who would like her never mind love her. He made sure that King George's kingdom went bankrupt, and that Prince James was killed in his duel. He was amazed that David, pretending to be Prince James, was able to kill a dragon. He rejoiced as Regina failed time and again to capture and kill Snow White. Regina was well on her way

And then the letter came. King Maurice begged for Rumplestiltskin to stop the Ogres who were decimating his small kingdom.

Rumplestiltskin transported himself into Maurice's throne room, invisible. He played with a castle from the war map as he watched the advisors nervously milling around, agonizing over their inability to stop the Ogres. He heard Beauty trying to reassure her father, and angered over Maurice's patronizing response. The Oaf was there, dull looking and dull-witted.

Beauty, Belle, was wearing the golden gown he had seen her in before. The cloth was shiny and stiff and clean, no rips in the hem. Her hair was perfectly coiffed with one curl sliding across her neck and breasts. She was more beautiful in person than she had been in his visions. He watched her dual futures: marriage and death or a cell and servitude. His decision made, he made the doors bang loudly as if they were being knocked on. As everyone milled towards the doors, he ensconced himself upon the throne.

"Well, that was a bit of a letdown."

Thank you to everyone who has read this work. And a bigger thank you to those who followed this, and fanned this. I really appreciate that you took the time to read my bits of fluff.