Eleven minutes later, he caught the first view of the one part of this puzzle that was never a mystery to him. What was he supposed to do with the True Love Potion? The Seer had given him a vision of it a long time ago, and Mr. Gold's false memories had identified it.

A well in the middle of the forest.

Storybrooke was never a place that didn't have magic. Rather, it was a place where magic wasn't available to it. There was magic here. It was everywhere. It had to be because everything had been brought over from the Curse, including magic. The Curse had just been using all the magic to power itself, to keep the townspeople locked in memories that were not really theirs. Now that the Curse was broken, now that people were going to wake up and remember, now that True Love's Kiss had overwhelmed it, he had a rare opportunity to use the potion in his pocket to make the weakened magic strong again. And it all started with this well.

"What is this?" Belle asked when they arrived, perhaps even sensing herself that it was something different. A well in the middle of the forest. Of course, it was different. In his false memories, he had stories, myths about this particular well, about what it could do. All of Storybrooke knew them. So it didn't surprise him that she didn't.

"This is a very special place, Belle," he answered. "The waters that run below are said to have the power to return that which one has lost."

That was what the myths said, at least. And they weren't wrong. They just weren't right either. The magic of this town was in wishes. The water in that well went all over Storybrooke. It was used for drinking water, came down in the rain, drizzled over the fairy dust he suspected was in the abandoned mines, everywhere! Without magic, if one wished for money, he was doubtful they'd find it. But if a potion of True Love, the most powerful magic in the world, was cast into the waters as he'd seen in his vision and allowed to mix with the magic that had been running the town and now sat quietly at the bottom, then magic would be free in this world. The Curse would be broken in every way.

He couldn't wait.

He stepped up onto the base of the well. Belle followed suit as he pulled the potion he'd been carrying from his pocket. He took a nervous breath. He had one shot at this, just one. If the Seer was wrong and this wasn't right…

The Seer was never wrong. Never. Belle was proof of that. How many visions of the future had she given to him of the pair of them? How many times had he not believed it because she was dead? And yet here she stood because the Seer always knew. She'd known about Belle, she'd known about Baelfire, and he had no reason to think that she wouldn't know about this.

This was it.

With just as much confidence as Belle had declared her love, he held the bottle over the opening of the well and let it go.

He held his breath, listening intently to the sound of pregnant silence as it fell into the well.

At last, there was a faint echoed splash that made its way up the hallowed tunnel.

A gust of chilly wind came shooting out of the well, blowing back his hair, almost in warning.

And then…

Magic.

Thick, bilious, cloud-like smoke came bubbling out of the opening. It was purple, a shade identical to the potion he'd just cast inside of the well. And it was growing.

He reached for Belle, stepped with her away from the well, but kept his eyes on the stone as the smoke simmered, rolling out onto the forest floor in tendrils as it grew.

It grew.

Faster than he ever would have imagined, taller than he expected. From within the depths of the well, he heard a rumble that reminded him of thunder, and when he cast his gaze up into the smoking heap, he could make out small bursts of electricity. It was as if it was stretching, morphing, and changing for this world. Highly appropriate considering this place had never had anything like it before. Of course, it would be different. And that meant that he would likely be different.

He didn't care. He'd changed once to save Baelfire, and he could change again to get him back, to protect the woman beside him. Powerful again, he could do it all.

He stepped forward eagerly into the lavender fog that clung to the ground, wanting to touch it and take from it what he could as fast as he could.

"I-I don't understand," Belle cried. She stood in front of him, staring up at the column of smoke and lightning. Her hair blew in the winds it shed. He couldn't see her eyes, but he noted the way her back had gone ridged.

Fear.

How could she not be afraid? She just didn't understand. So he stepped closer, putting a hand to her waist and guiding her back against him so she'd know it was safe.

"We're in a land without magic, Belle," he explained. "And I'm bringing it. Magic…is coming."

"But…why?"

"Why?" he chuckled. He couldn't even fathom a question like that because magic was everything—his ticket to Baelfire, his ability to protect her. Magic was might and strength. Magic was gold and riches. It was knowledge and wisdom. It was possibility! It was all that…and one more essential thing.

"Because magic…" he concluded, looking at her, "is power."

And so we have reached the end of our journey at last. I've always liked to end the story where I feel the story well and truly ends so I can start where I feel like the next one begins. With Belle in the asylum and doing her own thing through season 2, her stories never seemed to begin or end with the season until somewhere around season 4. But here, Rumple's journey ends pretty much right where season 1 did. This fiction is a bit longer than the usual stuff I post over the Winter, but we did have two fictions (well, one fiction and one ficlet) to get through. And hey, look on the bright side; this fiction was originally scheduled for Summer 2021. We weren't supposed to be here in the story until September of 2021. I guess that's one benefit of being stuck inside on quarantine for a few months; I got to work ahead a bit.

As always, thank you so much to all of you who have read this story and those of you who have reviewed it during these Winter months! It's been so nice to hear your comments and know that even though OUAT is gone, there is still an audience out there somewhere, willing to relive it all! So, if that's you, and you are desperately awaiting the arrival of the next fiction, I'm happy to tell you that you won't have to wait too long. The summer Chronicles fiction will begin posting on May 31st. Just like this fiction, it'll also have a 5-day posting schedule with new chapters every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday through Saturday. There will be a couple of breaks here and there for various conferences I have to attend over the summer, but it'll conclude on time at the end of September. The next fiction is entitled The Chronicles of the Dark One: Magical Loopholes. It's going to feature everything that happened in season 2A. Yep, it'll take us an entire summer to get through half a season. It's probably one of the most romantic fictions I've ever written. It features a lot of firsts for Rumple. He's got to figure out who to get beyond Storybrooke with his memories, figure out how to find Baelfire, and of course, he's learning for the first time in his life how to be in a relationship with someone who has also never been in a relationship. I'm really proud of Magical Loopholes, and I hope that you will be too!

So now, as we always do, we part ways for a while. Friendly reminder that I'm never far and I love interacting with you. If you have questions or theories, then you can always message me or find me on Twitter. I'm not the best at quick return, but I try to make sure I always get back to you! And so, I bid you adieu, dear readers. I hope you have a fabulous Spring. Stay safe, stay healthy, get your vaccination if you can, and I will see you on May 31st, with a brand new chapter. Until then, Peace and Happy Reading!