Going to Regina's office felt premature. That was natural. Without magic and the gift of the Seer, it wasn't possible for it to truly feel like it was the "right" time. But, he'd already set plans in motion. Admittedly not as many as he would have liked to have, but it had already been twenty-four hours since Regina had learned his secret. He didn't want to go much longer lest Regina come up with her own plan and potentially spoil his own. It was better to think of this as just a portion of his plan that he was about to set in motion. It was better to get started now…he had the biggest players recruited and most of the requirements for his plan under control, he'd get the rest in place after he had Regina in line.

He closed the shop around lunch time and walked the short distance to the Town Hall. When he arrived, Regina's back was to him so that she didn't seem to notice that he'd entered. She appeared to be meditating on something; something small that was held in her hand. He couldn't quite make it out from where he stood, but he could see a personal looking box on her desk was open. It looked like one that she'd kept on her vanity in the Queen's Chamber…how had he never noticed that it was here before? How had he never noticed, even as Mr. Gold, that something like that made it onto her desk, while not a single picture of her son graced it.

He had to do a better job at keeping his eyes open, especially now that he was going to start running this circus of a plan.

"Remembrance of things past?" he questioned, finally alerting the former Queen to his presence.

Immediately she straightened her back and squared her shoulders. She put whatever it was she'd been playing with away in her box and turned to look at him, blocking it with her body as if he hadn't already seen what she'd been doing. As for what the item was…it appeared to be a ring of some kind. Something of Cora's perhaps?

"What do you want?"

"I need a favor."

"You need a favor from me?" she questioned. Was that disbelief in her tone? Or bitterness that he'd gotten to her point faster than she had?

"Well, as you know, there are battery charges against me…pending. I really don't relish the thought of spending any more time locked up in a cage. Now, someone with your influence can make the D.A. suddenly realize what a flimsy case they have. Isn't that right…Your Majesty?" he questioned walking over to her table and taking one of her apples. It could be a handy prop in all of this.

"What do I get out of it?"

He smiled. That was perfect. Just perfect. She wanted something from him, but she hadn't had time to think through what exactly it was that she wanted yet which meant convincing her of his "plan" was going to be all too easy. She'd made a classic mistake. She'd set the trap, and then she'd ensnared herself. Wonderful.

"Help, with your Mary Margaret problem," he explained meandering back her way. She'd gone to stand behind her desk now instead of in front of it. She stood in her place of power. It was a nice attempt. "You see, I've noticed that no matter how hard you seem to try to stop them, she and her 'charming' friend just keep finding ways to be together."

"What are you suggesting?" Now she was sitting. She was still in her place of power, but it was only an illusion of it. She wasn't in charge of this, he was. But she didn't want him to know that. And he was happy to play the idiot if it meant all this worked out just right.

"If you want to inflict pain…" he muttered, setting the apple before her and lowering himself down into his own seat, "then you must inflict pain. If something tragic were to happen to David's wife, and if Mary Margaret should take the blame-"

"She'd be ruined," she whispered, discovering it for herself. That was good. Let her think she had a hand in this. Let her think there was nothing to fear before she realized the danger she was in. He'd played this game with Regina before, he could play it again.

"And you'd have your victory, at last."

"A trial could be very messy…"

"A trial? Who said anything about a trial?" he scoffed, letting her think that he was considering something like that when what he needed was something far simpler. If he acted like he had it all clearly thought out already she might grow suspicious that he did and that was the last thing he wanted. "Now, once Miss Blanchard has been incarcerated, you can plant one of your lovely skeleton keys in her cell. And, once she tries to leave Storybrooke, well…we all know what happens to people who attempt to leave town."

It was a perfect plan. Mary Margaret had made herself a perfect victim for a frame job. The mistress of the miracle coma patient, sneaking around behind the good wife's back. Wife goes missing, naturally Mary Margaret would be the first suspect. She didn't have it in her of course to do this sort of thing, not Mary Margaret. Snow White? Perhaps. But Mary Margaret lacked the confidence and bravery of her former self. Which was what would make what came next inevitable.

Regina's skeleton keys were a part of the plan he was taking a bet that she still possessed. They'd once belonged to Regina's mother and, unlike his own keys, which were actual legal copies of the homes in Storybrooke that he owned, hers had the ability to get her damn near anywhere she wanted to go. Those keys were valuable, and magical in their own right. He was hedging his bets that she wouldn't have let them go when they came here. Hell, he'd be willing to bet that was probably what had gotten His Disgraced Royal Majesty into his home, a "borrowed" skeleton key. He was placing a lot of bets these days. But, fortunately for him, while Regina wasn't coming right out and saying she still possessed them, she also wasn't flinching in regret or denying she had them. So there it was, confirmation of a certain sort that Regina did still have some magic stashed away in this land. It was good to know, but he'd concern himself with it at a later time. For now, he turned his attention to the plan he was about to weave.

If the Evil Queen left one in Snow White's cell, she'd break free and try to clear her name. If Regina left one in Snow White's cell…the girl would run. She'd try to get away from her problems. She'd head right for the town line and if she wasn't stopped…then the Curse would stop her. Missing. Dead. Injured. They couldn't leave. The Curse would take care of them, at least that's what Regina would be banking on. He, however, was hoping that it wouldn't get that far. Not that he had any intention of sharing that with Regina.

Suddenly Regina leaned forward in her seat. "Give me one good reason why I should trust you."

"Because I always honor my agreements," he pointed out, rising to his feet and tossing her the apple he'd picked. He had to be careful about this part. On the one hand he didn't have magic and it didn't exist in this world which meant that short of a legal document there was nothing that she could say or do that could hold him to his word. But the great contradiction was that this was a town made of magic, and he intended one day to bring magic, real, useable magic, to this world. He had to make sure that whatever deal he made he could honor not only legally but magically. Her skeptical look made him nervous. Right now, as it stood, it was a deal he could honor while also working for himself on the side. If she wanted to change it, that might be a problem.

"Do we have a deal?" he questioned as she stared.

Deal. That word put a hungry look in her eyes. She was practically salivating. She thought he was back in business, ready and willing to help him once again. That was precisely what he needed her to think.

"What do we do with Kathryn?" she asked.

He smirked. "Is that a hint of concern I hear, your majesty?" That question was only half a taunt. He knew that Regina had been seen with her around town after David woke up. The pair could be quite chatty. It had been a long time since Regina had a friend, he couldn't help but wonder if the Curse had made her forget that nothing here was truly real. But the stare she gave him at his mention told him what he needed to know. For him the question was half taunt half curiosity. For her, the answer was half curiosity, half concern. All the better. Half concern meant she'd ask fewer questions to ease her guilt.

"I'll handle her," he assured her.

Regina snorted at his final answer as if it was funny. "Have you forgotten? Kathryn is a young healthy woman. You're an old man with a limp and no magic in this realm. She'll take one look at you and run. You aren't exactly up to that challenge here."

He shrugged. "I have my ways. I have my people in this world just as I did in the last."

"You'll get one of them to do it? They won't ask questions. They won't want answers?"

"Questions and answers are not part of our usual arrangements; taking orders and given fair compensations, traditionally are. Though of course if any of them were to be implicated…"

"If you can do this, then I'll handle it," she replied smartly before rising to her feet. "But I expect this to be done, just as you say! Mary Margaret will go to jail for murder, hardly justice for the murder she originally caused but it still has a nice touch of irony to it, doesn't it."

"Indeed it does," he smiled, because that was the way he'd planned it. "So that's what you want? Mary Margaret to go to jail."

"I want that little Princess to get everything she has coming to her."

He fought back a growing grin. It was an alteration to the deal but one that he could live with. No matter what they thought Daniel's death was Cora's fault not Snow's, not Mary Margaret's, not Regina's. That meant that "getting what she deserved" left room for interpretation. It allowed him to walk a line, albeit a very thin tightrope of a line…but he'd had greater challenges in his life.

"Just so we're clear, I'll do this for you, ensure Snow White 'gets what she deserves', and you'll get Spencer to drop the charges, our debt will be satisfied. Are we in agreement?"

Regina's eyes sparkled with something like eager anticipation as she grinned wickedly. "Deal…it's nice to have you back, Rumple."

His grin grew as he ignored an inner urge to let loose a laugh at the joke she couldn't understand. "It's nice to be back."

Oh, so nice to be back.

Yes, I know, we're still in 1x13 but this scene was seen later. However, when we see that scene it makes it clear that it is a flashback and it fits in right here. Good news, it's nice to have a flashback that is so respectful about telling you when it takes place, after wading through all the Enchanted Forest stuff that was very welcomed. Bad news, they had to add a temporal statement to that clause and limit my time in this storyline to one week. Really A&E...season one takes place over the course of a year but these next five episodes are only over a week? Honest to goodness...

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Grace5231973 and Alarda, for your very kind reviews. I loved reading all of them! I know that 1x13 is not super interesting right now, but it's going to get there. In fact, there is a surprise twist ending for you in the next chapter and I can't wait to give it to you. So, if you are ready, let's move on to the next chapter! Peace and Happy Reading!