The arraignment went well, or at least as well as could be expected. Mary Margaret was to be held in the county jail without bond until the date of her trial. If convicted of murder, she would be taken to a state prison outside of Storybrooke to serve her sentence. If found innocent, she would be released. He had no intention of things ever getting that far, of course. But just because he didn't want things to get that far didn't mean he wouldn't go along and not make it look good. When they stood before the judge, he made a motion to dismiss a jury and instead take a judgment from the judge himself. It was a risky move that most lawyers wouldn't gamble with. He, however, wasn't interested in gambling. He just wanted to get this sham over and done with. A trial involving a jury meant that jury summons had to be sent out weeks ahead of time, accommodations had to be made, selections had to be processed, all before getting to trial…he didn't have time for that. Foregoing a jury meant that in two days, by the end of the week, Mary Margaret could be on trial, and Kathryn could be freed, and this could be over. He would be happy about that.

But first, he had a dance to get on with, one where both Emma and Regina trusted him to do their bidding. He had to keep Emma's suspicion on Regina. In fact, he needed it to be even worse than it was now. And as far as Regina went, he just had to keep her thinking he was on her side so that she'd never suspect he was working against her. Only then, once all this was over, would Emma make herself enough of a nuisance that Regina would properly turn her attention back to her. Only then could the breaking of the Curse begin to move forward again.

It was going to be one hell of a dance.

Regina was, of course, present at the arraignment. She and Emma sat in the back of the small courtroom as Spencer accused Mary Margaret of murder, and he reminded Mary Margaret to enter her "not guilty" plea. He made his argument that Mary Margaret was hardly a threat, that she had no family outside of Storybrooke and no means to flee. Spencer did his job in reminding the court that she had very few connections in Storybrooke, and there wasn't much to keep her here. He'd lost, as he knew he would. Regina still wasn't happy. As Emma led her away back to the prison, the Mayor had approached him, finally wondering why he was doing this, why she wasn't well on her way outside of Storybrooke by now. He assured her with a calm smile as if everything were perfectly under control even though he needed to take an aspirin for the headache it gave him every time he thought of it.

"Worry not, your Majesty. There's more than one way to get a person to cross the town line."

He was about to do something stupid, something that no defense lawyer would ever do to their client. But…was it stupid if he knew he was going to do it? If he didn't mean for it to go so far? Was it stupid if it was part of a strategic move?

A pre-trial interview with the prosecution was always a bad idea. It only gave the prosecutor more fuel to throw on the fire, rarely did it ever solve anything. But if he wanted Regina to trust him in this, then he was going to have to do something stupid. He was going to have to take a planned misstep. He was going to have to let Mary Margaret hang herself with the knowledge that at the end of the day, she wasn't going to be blamed for any of this. Regina was. Emma would suspect Regina, Regina would get away with it, Emma would be angry, the feud would be reestablished.

He needed a bigger bottle of aspirin.

Spencer agreed to the interview the next day. He didn't know a prosecutor who wouldn't have said "yes" to that offer. He didn't need to tell Regina that; he assumed that Spencer would inform her, and she'd be pleased when she heard the news. Mary Margaret would be easy enough to convince, seeing how she was so terrified and pliant in this personality she'd be Cursed into. Convincing this was a good idea with Emma, on the other hand…

"A pretrial interview with the prosecution?" Emma blanched, standing between him and the bars of Mary Margaret's cell as if she could protect her friend from him and this utterly insane idea. If this trial were real, with a real risk of incarceration, he probably would have done the same thing in her shoes. "Explain to me how that is a good idea."

"The D.A. merely wishes to ask Miss Blanchard a few questions."

"She's done answering questions. And why are we kissing up to the D.A.? Why aren't we going after Regina? She's the one who's setting up Mary Margaret."

"And what proof do we have of that, Sheriff?!" he replied, raising his voice. He had a million other things to do, a million other things he'd rather be doing, but he'd started this rouse; he had to finish it. The shovel and the shard were still out there, undiscovered as far as he knew. Maybe if he got her angry and desperate, it would be enough for her to finish her job and find what was right under her nose! Maybe anger would be enough to get her to search under every fucking rock in Storybrooke to find her proof! "Just because you found the Mayor's skeleton key in the cell doesn't mean we can prove she put it there."

"So, what's your plan?" Emma asked.

"I believe our best chance of winning this case is to employ our most valuable asset."

"What's that?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Well, that's you, dear," he muttered, stepping forward, keeping his tone calm and sweet despite the frustration he felt toward Emma. "A sweet, kind, elementary school teacher. Doesn't exactly fit the prototype of a killer, now, does it?" It was a common legal move in these sorts of cases. When the evidence was stacked against the defendant, then put their character on trial. Mary Margaret's personality and reputation, despite the evidence against her, should speak for itself. Of course, if Kathryn didn't make a show before then, the judge would still have no choice but to convict her on the evidence, which was exactly why Emma needed to go out and find more of it against Regina! A good show was all this was. Until it was over, it was just a good show, carefully staged.

"That's how you're going to get her acquitted? By using her personality?"

"Perception is everything, Miss Swan, not just in the courtroom, but in life. As such, I'm sure you can imagine how the jury would perceive Miss Blanchard if she agreed to cooperate with the District Attorney." There was no jury, just a judge, but he wanted her to remember that proving her innocent was about convincing more than one person outside of the courtroom walls. "These things engender trust. It shows the jury she's at least trying-"

"Emma?" Sidney Glass's voice cut through his remarkable bullshit story, and the three of them turned to look at the former writer for the Mirror. So…either Emma had hired him after all, or this was a wonderful coincidence. He fought back a smile. Either way, he could work with it. He had plans for all of this, and Sidney Glass fit into it in his own way. He knew Regina too well. "Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt. I just, uh, came by to drop these off. I thought they might brighten the place up."

Emma and Sidney dismissed themselves into her office, and Mary Margaret approached the bars of her cell so they could continue to talk. He kept talking, but he really wasn't listening to what came out of his mouth, just repeating facts that he knew wouldn't matter because, in the end, Mary Margaret would do what he recommended; it was in her nature, the very character Mr. Gold wished to exploit. So no, he wasn't really thinking about Mary Margaret. He was thinking about those flowers he'd seen. A vase of flowers. He had an idea. One that would push Emma closer to Regina if she failed to look in the woods for the shovel. Lucky how sometimes these things just fell into his lap.

"I'm going to do it," Mary Margaret predictably informed Emma when Sidney left, and she returned to them. "I'm going to talk to the D.A."

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking between the pair of them.

"Mr. Gold's right. I know I have nothing to hide, but no one else does. I need to let people see me for who I am."

"Excellent decision, Miss Blanchard." And it was excellent timing on the part of Albert Spencer, the former King George. He always was a prompt one. "My name is Spencer. I'm the District Attorney. Shall we begin?"

And there she was, Regina Mills, striding in behind him with a slight smile on her face. Whether it was because Spencer had explained how stupid this move was and she was coming to trust him again or because she was losing trust in him, he didn't know just yet. He just took a breath and kept up the dance.

"Yeah," Mary Margaret breathed with a smile. As the five of them went to an interrogation room, he glanced to the vase of flowers on Emma's desk. Any lack of trust they possessed was warranted as he typed out a quick text message to the bird keeping an eye on Sidney to fetch one of his bugs from his home quietly.

The pressure he was under wasn't physical, but it felt physical. He felt like he could feel it weighing his shoulders down, pressing against his lungs, making it hard to breathe. Everything he did was for someone else's benefit. Every word, every action, even the smallest tick and slightest gesture, the very tone of his voice, it was all done for someone else. It was a delicate balance.

Insisting he be in the interview with Mary Margaret, that was for Emma. And for Mary Margaret, he supposed. But using a gentle tone, not one that was frightened or angry, was done for Regina to make her think that if Spencer opposed the action, which he wouldn't, then he would step down. The carefully timed stare he gave Regina before going into the room with Mary Margaret was for Regina. A gesture of trust and understanding that he hoped would fool her into thinking he had her best interest at heart, not Mary Margaret's. The quick glance he gave to Emma was for the Savior, something that hopefully conveyed a message of guilt as they tried not to look like they were in on this together.

Emma and Regina watched the interview from behind the glass. Inside the room with Spencer and Mary Margaret, he reminded his client that he would tell her what she could and could not answer and told her that she should always be truthful.

"I have nothing to hide," she stated confidently. It was good. Pride always went before the fall.

The questions Spencer began with were innocent enough. What was her relationship with Missus Nolan? What was her relationship to David? How did she feel about him? When had the relationship turned into something more than friendship? Mary Margaret answered each question perfectly; without emotion, directly, deliberately…she truly left nothing to the imagination. She would have been any other lawyer's dream. But then, after being lured into a false sense of security, the questions turned a bit more deadly. He didn't object. For Regina.

"Did you and Mr. Nolan ever talk together about what to do concerning his wife?"

"Yes, several times, it was an issue of contention between us."

"Why was that?"

"Because neither of us wanted to hurt her."

"Miss Blanchard," he warned for Emma's sake.

"Hurt her, physically?" Spencer pressed.

"No!" Mary Margaret breathed. "No, nothing like that! Well…I mean…"

"Obviously, they never wished physical harm on her," he answered for Mary Margaret, giving her a slight message and a moment to calm down and get her head together.

"I'd like to hear that from her."

"Of course," she answered, her nerves suddenly under control once more. "Neither of us wanted to hurt her physically or emotionally. But I didn't like going behind her back. I wanted David to tell her about us so that we could truly be together and stop sneaking around."

"And David?"

"He couldn't do it. Not at first. She eventually did find out."

"I see, and…" Spencer looked down to check some of his notes before returning his gaze to her. "After she learned about your affair, Missus Nolan, the deceased, came to your school to confront you. Is that correct?"

"She was hurt, and she felt betrayed."

"She struck you, in the face, was it?"

"Yes, but-"

"That must've made you angry."

"You…you don't have to answer that," he insisted. It was a dance indeed, being watched by the two women he was working with and for and against. He had to push Mary Margaret for Regina but not look incompetent before Emma. He'd let enough questions slide, and fortunately, that one was innocent enough that he had a feeling Mary Margaret wouldn't exactly listen to legal counsel.

"No, it's okay," she assured him. Predictable. "I was not angry. I was sorry for all the pain I had caused her."

"Miss Blanchard, this is not a courtroom," Spencer pressed. "I'm not here to judge you. You can be honest with me."

"Shall we end this?" he muttered hardly loud enough for anyone to hear. Careful.

"I am being honest with you," Mary Margaret insisted.

"The wife of the man you loved humiliated you in a public forum. Surely, you must have felt some anger towards Kathryn?"

"Yes, I was angry-"

"And did you ever think about acting upon that anger?" he questioned, interrupting her again. He let that one go for Regina; he let Mary Margaret get worked up.

"Of course not," she spat out.

"I have a hard time believing that."

"Wh-why?" she gasped, her anger growing. He didn't interrupt, also for Regina.

"Because you wanted Kathryn Nolan gone."

"I never said that."

"All right," he insisted, getting to his feet. That move was for Emma. And Mary Margaret, though Regina would see it as acting. Hadn't she learned…everything was an act with him. "My client is answering no more questions for the day."

"Your client agreed to this interview because she claimed she had nothing to hide."

"I don't have anything to hide," she shouted back at Spencer, who continued. He didn't stop it.

"Then, what is your answer? You wanted Kathryn gone, didn't you?"

"No."

"Even after she tried to keep you and David apart? After she slapped you in public? After she made you a pariah in your own town?"

"Yes, of course, I wanted her gone," Mary Margaret laughed suddenly, sarcastically. "She was the only thing keeping us apart. So, yeah, I wanted her gone. Is that what you want to hear?"

He shut his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. Another act. He'd wanted something like this to happen. He wanted it to happen because he knew Regina would see it as the victory it would have been if he hadn't fixed the whole thing. She would leave. And he could get on to his business. By tonight…her so-called confession wouldn't matter.

Two scenes, one chapter. I felt these two actually worked well together. And again, we're back to Rumple being in complete and total control of everything, planning out each step before he even takes it. Everything from Sidney to Emma going into the woods to find the shovel shard, how he acts, the things he says, it's all done to benefit those around him. It's all a show. And I feel like he does it marvelously.

Thank you to Grace5231973 and Alarda for reviewing the previous chapter. I'm really grateful for those, especially in the midst of these chapters that are so difficult to keep track of because a million things are happening at once. They're not going to be around for much longer, though. Really, in about two more chapters, we will wrap this section up, and we'll be into our final section of this fiction. Hard to believe, but stick with me a bit longer, and we'll make the rest of this count! Peace and Happy Reading!