Precious Snow White…what a ruthless rebel she was shaping out to be.

Now, there was something he never thought he'd see in his time. But the second she was gone from the dwarves' house, she shed her pretty house dress and changed back into clothing more appropriate for a bandit, or a huntress. That night, as when she came across a royal guard, the precious Princess was, in fact, ruthless. She crushed the soldier's ankle with no hesitation, talked to him, threatened him by the look of his reaction. Back in the forest, he couldn't hear her words, but after her declaration at the house, he could only imagine that she was looking for a way to get to Regina.

And where was his pupil?

A quick glance into his mirror showed her in her palace, talking with her father as her servants packed them to move into the former Queen's Summer Palace.

There was no chance that she was going to sneak up on the Queen in her home, not without being murdered in the process. Although if Regina's ramblings from the time he'd lost his memories were true, she had survived once; still, he doubted she'd be fooled again.

He turned his attention back to the forest. There was a dwarf, Grumpy, coming up behind Snow White, who was nearly finished stripping the guard of his clothes. Fuck…she was going to try it.

He checked on Charming, still a day away, at least, from finding her now that she'd moved again.

The Seer was whispering that he was going to have to do something. The image he'd seen when he gave her the potion came back into his mind. Snow White, with Robin's bow, an arrow notched as Regina's carriage rolled by all before David dove in front of the arrow. True Love's Kiss would save the day.

He knew what he needed to do. He knew what had to be done, but the Seer urged him to stay where he was, whispered it furiously even as his own mind rebelled against it. He had to go, he had to intervene, he had to give her Robin's bow and send her on her way, the plan was clear and they were days away, they'd never make it to him if he didn't go to them! But before he could rise and gather his things together to go and meet them, he saw something remarkable. As Snow and the dwarf talked, he pulled a small vial of unmistakable potion from his pocket. Bright yellow, blindingly bright. He'd only ever known one potion that turned that color when it was done. A transportation potion. Rare, extremely tricky to make, and capable of taking the drinker to anywhere or anyone they desired to see. It was something he'd never even bothered with because he had no need of it, he could make himself appear anywhere he wanted and send others to whatever destination he dreamed up with only a thought. A dwarf on the other hand…

"Now where did you get that?" he wondered aloud as he saw the dwarf grab Snow White by her wrist and take a quick swig. Suddenly it didn't matter because he understood before they even arrived. The Seer was right, she was always right. They were coming to him.

He had to prepare, to wipe the images in his cauldron and crystal ball away and sit at his wheel idly while the potion worked its magic. It was powerful, but still not powerful enough to get them into this tower or even into his grounds on it's own. However, because it was the dwarf that had taken it, a being of magic all on their own, they'd ended up not outside the door to his property but somewhere down on the mountain. He rolled his eyes. Intrigued as he was to help them, the threat wasn't immediate, even the Seer was telling him it was safe to wait. So he spent the night watching David track Snow and watching Snow and Grumpy find their way through the woods and into his castle grounds. He felt their presence the second they arrived and on the grounds. He allowed them to enter, then used his magic to amplify his voice so it would echo around them, instructing them to come to his tower; it was the place he was currently storing Robin's bow. They wasted no time opening his door and clamoring up the steps, and he made no effort to help them or make anything more manageable for them.

"You rang?" he questioned, standing at his wheel, spinning straw into gold with a calm that usually undid those who were filled with anxiety. The dwarf, the Grumpy one, swallowed the bait easily enough. He led Snow further into his tower and marched straight over to him as if he had not a care in the world for how careless he was being with his guests.

"We need a cure!" the dwarf screamed at him.

"Well now, where have I heard that before?" he laughed. "What ails you?"

"Your magic!" he accused. "The potion you gave Snow–it changed her. She's not the same!"

"Well, of course, it changed her!" he pronounced as the Princess idly circled his tower, looking out the window, taking in his potions and curses…his poisons. He'd seen their image in the cauldron. He'd watched as she hadn't fought him when he took the transportation potion and brought her here. That either meant that she wanted the same thing the dwarf did or something different she hadn't yet divulged. Considering her lack of interest in this conversation, he was willing to bet it was the latter. In fact, he was willing to bet her interest here had far more to do with the Queen than it did her Prince Charming.

"It took away her love, left a big hole in her heart. There is no cure for what she's got. The person she was…" he muttered, hobbling around the wheel in front of him to stand by the dwarf and look over Snow White, still searching, still uninterested. "There's no way to bring her back. No potion can bring back True Love."

And then he did something he rarely did. He opened up his stores, his cabinets. In the cabinet was some of the best work he'd ever done in his time. He'd designed the long holders for the potions himself long ago when he first moved in without Baelfire. He'd designed it to be empty then with the intention of filling it up. It was a promise of all he was going to do in his long life until he was able to find Baelfire. Now, all but one of the potions he had room for were filled. True Love…but, perhaps soon…

"Love is the most powerful magic of all," he explained, looking at the empty space where a small label with a heart indicated his True Love Potion would one day sit. "The only magic I haven't been able to bottle. If you can bottle love, you can do anything. But you don't care about that, do you?" he piqued, turning around to look at Snow White, who was still, ever so predictably, looking bored as she pawed through his glass vials. It was easy to have her up here, but he did so hate it when people touched his things. "Now, what is it you really want?"

Snow set aside the small vial she had in her hand and straightened her shoulders. "I want your help to kill the Queen."

"Now we're talking, dearie."

"Snow, don't!" Grumpy warned over his shoulder.

But he was busy. He always made sure to store Robin's bow without its string, on the off chance he was ever lucky enough to break in here and take advantage of it again. Now he summoned the string into his hand and quickly put the bow back together again before the eyes of the Princess.

"Now, what is this?" she breathed, suddenly showing interest.

"This…is how you kill the Queen."

"How will that help me get into the castle?"

"No, no, no. That's impossible. You have to kill her when she's on the move," he summoned a map of Snow's Kingdom into his hand, one that had the Queen's route mapped out perfectly. It also now had a small suspicious "X" on it. The place that the Seer whispered about in his mind. That was where it would happen, where both Princess Snow White and Prince Charming needed to converge. "When she's on her way to the summer palace. Fire the arrow from this spot here, and you'll be hidden from sight. An arrow fired from this bow will get you exactly what you need." He grabbed an arrow made of gold that had once shot an apple perfectly off display as well. "It always finds its target!" he proclaimed, mocking Robin in his own private joke.

She stepped forward to take it, but Grumpy suddenly stood between them. "I can't stand by," he warned. "If you take that weapon, you do it alone."

Snow sneered and used a hand to shove him aside. "That was always my plan," she muttered, taking the bow from him. "So, what do I have to do in return?"

"Do? You don't have to do anything, dearie."

"Everything comes with a price with you. Last time you took a strand of my hair. What's in it for you this time?"

He smiled. It was true, all magic came with a price, but this magic was old, nothing new was being created, rather something old was being given away. And, if this worked, and the Seer's instructions always did, then what would be created would be a child that would get him back to his Baelfire. The scales were balanced.

"Let's just say…I'm invested in your future," he whispered in her ear. "Happy Hunting!" he shrieked, then sent Snow and Grumpy away with a wave of his hand.

And Rumple is back in the game. He does have a bit of a heavier hand with this episode than others, especially where David is concerned, but trust me, there is still a lot of watching to be done. One little key piece of interest...if you've been with me long enough or you have read Moments Exchanged, then you know that in order to make that story more interesting I decided to place Rumple's castle fairly far away from the Regina's. Now, literally, the only episode that didn't work for, was this one. This is the only episode that both Snow and David get to him in a day. So, in order to preserve that story, as well as to keep distance in the Enchanted Forest, I solved the problem. For Grumpy and Snow we have the potion and Rumple sending them away. For David, it'll be more of the same!

Thank you Jennifer Baratta, Alarda, and Grace5231973 for your comments on the last chapter. This one too is pretty straight forward. Just like the next one, and the next one, and the next one...are you seeing a pattern with this section? Peace and Happy Reading!