It was a good thing he was a very patient man. Nearly mid-night and he felt as though all he'd done today had been watching the miller's daughter. He watched as she'd made her promises to the ball filled with guests and as the King issued his challenge. He watched as the guards took her away, peacefully, as if they too were playing along with her ruse. He left the party and found the best spot in the forest to overlook the towers then watched as a light suddenly sparked to life in one of the highest ones, all the while, the party in the ballroom continued on as if nothing had happened. Royals, he'd come to discover, were like sharks. They could smell blood in the water. And on this night, he very much doubted that they were going to ever sleep, not while such an interesting challenge was issued and sunrise was only hours away.

Still, his patience had paid off for him. True, he was often summoned by those he was unprepared for, and even bothered sometimes up in his castle by unexpected visitors, but in truth, he liked to be prepared for the deals he made. And the watching of Cora today had told him more or less all he needed to know about her, all he needed to know about how to make a deal with her that would put that child she was destined to bear right in his sights.

Though she'd been taken up to the tower and locked in, judging by the shadows in the window, fairly early on in the evening, he didn't go up immediately to meet her because she was stubborn. It was an admirable quality in a woman in many ways, but he was certain that if he appeared to her too early, she would refuse him and the help he'd offer. And then, out of pride, she would never accept it again. He was sure from the shaking that she'd been doing earlier that she was scared, but in order for this to work quickly and smoothly, he didn't need her scared; he needed her desperate. He needed her to know, for a fact, without a doubt, that she couldn't do this without help. He needed her to be in that place.

At first, watching her shadow stretch and shrink several times against the lit window, he was certain she was trying. Trying required determination. It wasn't the right time. A little while later when he watched her shadow rise and then pass back and forth several times. She was pacing, he smiled. Pacing meant she was growing frustrated and thinking through her options, of which she'd soon discover there were none. Pacing was panicking. The time was getting closer, but it still wasn't right. Finally, just after the town clock struck mid-night, he saw it. Desperation. The window to her tower opened and in the distance he watched as a pale form, Cora, poked her head out of it and looked down. She stared into the waters below as if she was contemplating whether or not she'd survive if she jumped and what kind of life she might have if she ran away, which she would undoubtedly have to do.

That was his cue.

She was still leaning out the window when he moved himself into her tower. It was stuffed, packed to a ridiculous extent with long dried pieces of straw and a spinning wheel in the middle. He supposed it was done to make it look good on his part, to make it look as though he was giving her every chance to make her ridiculous claim possible. This way, when it failed in the morning, there would be no fault placed at the King's feet. Oh, she was smart, she might make it another day if she claimed the tower environment wasn't what she needed, maybe a few more weeks if she suggested she needed a full moon or fresher straw, but there was no chance she was going to pull this off long enough to lead a full life. And certainly she was never going to marry the Prince in that case! Not without his help, at least.

He let out a loud, high pitched giggle at the thought and she immediately spun around to face him. It took more energy than he thought it would to keep the mask he'd developed over the years in place and not let her beauty betray him.

"That's never going to work!" he pointed out quickly. "I mean, you'll escape, but you'll be dead. Kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?"

"Who are you?" she questioned, looking him over with confusion instead of the usual emotions of disgust, fear, and dread he'd come to expect.

"Who are you?" he questioned back, as if he didn't know. The last thing he wanted her to know was that she'd been studied.

He watched as she took a deep breath and narrowed a gaze at him that would strike fear into the heart of any husband. "Cora!" she spat out.

Interesting. In the face of fear itself, this woman simply responded with frustration, as if she was tired of him already. It was very…interesting. But after watching her all day, he couldn't say he expected anything less.

"Not a very pretty name, is it?" he retorted. "Sounds like something breaking."

"How did you get in here?! If you got in, I can get out." She pointed out while taking steps toward him. Her posture was threatening. Poor girl obviously had no idea who she was dealing with.

"If I understand your situation, this is your way out," he gestured to the piece of straw in his hand, then turned away to examine the wheel they'd provided for her. Saxony Wheel…at least essentially. A straw spinning wheel wasn't something he usually worked on, but it was close enough to the Saxony Wheel in could figure out how to work it with only a glance. The wheel the King had provided was different from the Saxony Wheel in that it had a different…well, he would have called it the Mother-of-All, but didn't actually know if the straw spinners used the same terminology. Instead of a spool, or flyers, or bobbins, or orifice hooks, this simply had a cup attached to it where the straw could be fed through. Like spinning wool, it was a matter of just letting the machine do its work. Turning the machine's work into gold was what he was there for.

He nearly laughed. One day he'd spin for Kings and Queens, his aunts had said. He doubted this was what came to their minds when they'd said that.

"And what a marvelous coincidence, that spinning straw into gold just so happens to be something that I like to do." He sat down at the wheel, and his foot found the treadle. He gave it only one timid push to start the wheel before instinct kicked in, and his fingers found the movements they knew too well. "Yeah, it's…it's almost like…like…like…like fate."

"No one can spin straw into anything, and no one can make-"

He let out a laugh, and she shut her mouth the moment the thread in his hands became a shiny, familiar thread of gold!

What an interesting, doubtful, ignorant girl she could be.

"Oh, well, well. Would you look at that?"

Cora stared at the thread in his hands and then finally grabbed it herself to examine. He watched as she rubbed it hard between her fingers as if searching for paint or some other trick to what she'd just seen. Finding none, she looked back up at him.

"You want to help me?"

"No," he answered honestly. "I want you to help me. And you will, because the future…is my gift. Well, in a manner of speaking." It was the first time since he'd inherited the ability that he actually thought of it that way, but he wasn't willing to relinquish this lead he had on his son now! And better yet, he had the feeling Cora was not willing to relinquish this hope she had that her life might not just be spared but improved. A fine bed over a cot of hay would be appealing to any man or woman…didn't he know.

"What could you possibly get from me?" Cora demanded with a roll of her eyes as if she thought the entire thing was ridiculous. If only she knew just how long he'd waited for this moment.

"Funny you should ask. Can you read?"

With a snap of his fingers, he crafted a contract, one that Cora was eager to take in her hands and begin skimming. The jolt she gave when she got to the small print was small, but still present. But the look she gave him as she held that contract in her hands…it was suspicious.

"My firstborn child?"

He nodded, moving around the little stool to stand beside her. "She is quite important."

"She?"

"Yes, I see the future. Weren't you listening?"

Cora's eyes drifted away from him, and she let out a small sigh, almost one of relief. He supposed it could be emotional for a woman to hear news of her first child and also painful for someone to suggest they would take it away, but fortunately for her, that wasn't what the contract stated and nor would he do such a thing. He wasn't an idiot. Now that he had something of a timeframe for his curse, there was too much to do in order to get himself together before going off and finding Baelfire. He didn't have time to raise a child, he'd leave that to her mother. All he wanted was the ability to be in her life and teach her magic, that wonderful, glorious power that quivered just beneath her mother's skin. But only if she accepted this deal!

"Anyway, I only get my payment if you live past tomorrow."

"You can turn all this straw into gold by morning?" Cora questioned.

He nodded. "And you can parade in front of the royals and demand the hand of the dimly lit Prince!" he pronounced. "And have them kneel before you. That's what you want, eh? You want them to kneel-"

"No."

"-I… No? What?" he questioned, turning back to her.

No? No to what? No to his offer? Or no to his deal? It was a very important question! And he was more than confused than ever because he couldn't understand the answer of "no" to either of those? No to one and she died, no to the other, and she'd never get the respect she deserved and had to undoubtedly crave after the life that she'd led. No? How could she turn him down?

"Teach me," she finally requested gently but with insistence. "Don't just do it. Teach me. Make it part of our deal."

Well…wasn't this an interesting twist of fate. It was his job as the Dark One to be the tempter, to be cunning and clever to suggest the best deal that would give him what he wanted while letting her feel like she had just won. There were no negotiations involved and yet…

The power within her burned bright, like a beacon in the distance that issued warnings, it called to him now, tempting, desirable, and the skin on her shoulders didn't exactly hurt either. So, this was what it felt like to be tempted, to feel want for someone other than his son. She was a worthy opponent. And why not teach her? What difference did it make if she spun the gold or he did? So long as he taught Regina in the end. And if Cora was able to guide the girl in her own magic as well…he couldn't see a disadvantage to that.

He let out another small laugh. "You are a spicy one, aren't you? Oh, well…" he flung his arms out and graciously bowed before her. "Rumpelstiltskin!"

"What?" she questioned, taking a step back and examining him as though he was crazy.

"My name," he informed her. "Do believe you just earned it!"

With a small bit of magic, he waved his hand at the contract, and it glowed with gold and sparkle as the ink on the pages rearranged itself to agree that if he taught her to spin straw into gold, he would be permitted to teach the first child of Princess Cora. It was perfect save for one thing…a signature.

From within the depths of his coat, he pulled forth a red feathered quill and handed it to her.

"Now…let's begin."


Love this chapter. I know that it's something we've already seen and there are no real surprises but I still had fun writing it mostly for one paragraph...Spinner!Rumple returns! It doesn't happen often throughout this fiction, but there are times that spinning wheels come into the picture and when it happens I couldn't help but have him fangirl a bit and show the reader, remind the reader, really, that we're dealing with one of his favorite things in the world. He's an expert on magic, and he's a brilliant man, but when he looks at a spinning wheel immediately he begins to assess what he has in front of him and remind us that spinning was and still remains his first love. Being able to show that when I can doesn't just make me smile, sometimes it gives me chills too!

Thank you Enomisje, Grace5231973, and Ace for your reviews on this chapter! Much obliged! I knew that we're not done with this episode yet and with this break it just seems like it continues to go on and on and on, but I promise, from here it starts to pick up and I'm even going to through some other interesting stuff at you. Compared to what you read in the Beginning Section, from here everything starts to get complex! Peace and Happy Reading!