Jack was crouching in a tree, watching the girl below him with narrowed eyes. She had been standing there for ages, looking around anxiously as if waiting for someone. If he had to guess, he already knew who she was waiting for. Rumpelstiltskin, also known as the Dark One and exactly the person Jack had been looking for. While he didn't want to make a deal, he simply wanted to talk to the older man. Maybe there were things he could teach the boy that he didn't know yet. That and he heard such lovely tales everywhere he went of the feared Dark One. It simply wouldn't do for him not to check out the competition.

Many people started fearing Jack for things that were out of his control. The Incident – as Jack had taken to call it – was something he didn't like to talk about. It started way in his past and if he was honest, he would love to forget about it. So many people died by his hand that he lost count. None of them were innocent but that didn't help the guilt when his name was being whispered in fear. People were trying to figure out who would be his next victim of choice.

He recognised the girl below him from stories he had picked up. Pitch Mary, the girl who had tried to show up her Golden stepsister and was punished for her laziness. He could guess what she wanted and was slightly impressed that she held out years of having bad luck and being seen as 'dirty' before she caved and went to find the Dark One.

As soon as Rumpelstiltskin appeared, he could feel someone watching him. It only took him a moment to locate the boy in the tree. Who was he and why was he watching? The girl obviously didn't know the boy was there, which made it even more suspicious. No matter. He would do his usual spiel and find out why he was being watched later.

"You called, dearie?" Rumpelstiltskin spoke up, making the girl jump in surprise. He had to stop himself from rolling his eyes at her obliviousness. If he had been anyone else, she could be dead before she had the chance to scream.

Pitch Mary looked at the small man, trying to hide her disgust at his appearance "I need your help."

"Of course, you do," Rumple said with a patronising smile "They all do."

"Can you help me?"

Rumple inclined his head "For a price."

Pitch Mary dug in her pocket, pulling out a small purse of coins "This is all I have. I'm sorry."

"I don't want your money," Rumpelstiltskin waved her off, a hint of annoyance in his voice. Why couldn't they understand that he didn't need any money? Everyone always assumed he wanted money. After all these years, he had hoped that they would finally understand. Then again… He imagined that not many people were talking about the price of his deals.

"Then what do you want?" the girl asked with a frown "I don't have anything else."

Rumpelstiltskin quickly finished the deal. Revenge was an easy one and this girl was as stupid as she was ugly. No matter what he promised her, it would always come back to bite her. Once she was gone, he leaned back against one of the trees, reaching out with his senses to check whether the boy from before was still there "I know you're here," he called out in a sing-song voice "Come out, come out, wherever you are."

Jack raised his eyebrow at the dramatic man below him before swinging down from his perch to land in front of the Dark One gracefully.

"Who are you?" Rumpelstiltskin questioned, straightening up.

"My name is Jack," Jack told him "I heard a lot about you."

Rumple tilted his head "What do you want?"

"Want?" Jack asked in confusion "Nothing. I just wanted to meet the man who is as feared as you are."

"Well, you met me," Rumpelstiltskin dismissed him. He had no idea who the boy was and if he was honest with himself, he didn't really care either.

Jack took a step forward when the Dark One turned to leave "Wait."

Rumple crossed his arms "Yes?"

"You like to make deals, right?" Jack asked, biting his lip. For some reason, he felt a connection to the man. It was like his magic was trying to tug him closer. At first, he had tried to ignore it but the longer he was around the Dark One, the stronger the tugging got "I know some people who would give you everything you could ask for in return for you solving their problem. They don't trust me, though."

"You deal as well?" Rumpelstiltskin asked in surprise "Who are you?"

Jack scratched the back of his head "I – People have taken to call me Mokoi."

"The Child Snatcher," the Dark One whispered to himself "I heard a lot about you." He studied the boy who could be no older than fifteen himself. From what he heard, Mokoi was a powerful sorcerer that not only punished those who took things too far but he was also famous for his skills with creating portals. His sources said that the boy had managed to created portals to other worlds without the help of a magic bean or any other magical object "You're younger than I thought you'd be. Just a child yourself."

"I'm not a child," Jack snapped angrily "I haven't been since those slavers found me in the woods when I was but a babe."

Rumple nodded and raised his hands placatingly "Of course, of course. I have a proposition for you."

"And what would that be?" Jack asked suspiciously. Why was it that all of a sudden he was interesting enough to talk to? Before he told the Dark One his name, he couldn't have waited to get away from him. Now, it seemed like the man was actually trying to get him to stay and talk longer.

"Come with me. You're still young and I imagine that while you seem to know your magic well, there's always room for improvement," Rumpelstiltskin proposed.

"You want to… teach me?" Jack clarified.

Rumple shook his head "I propose a partnership. Your magic is strong and I think that we could help each other."

"What do you mean?" Jack wanted to know.

"I heard that you could create portals," Rumpelstiltskin hummed barely keeping the hope from his voice. Maybe this way, he could at least save one of his sons. He could bring back his oldest – Baelfire from wherever he had landed "I lost something very dear to me."

Jack studied the man in front of him closely "I can, yeah." He held out his hand "I'll stay for as long as I wish and you will let me leave if I want to."

"Deal," Rumpelstiltskin nodded, shaking Mokoi – Jack's hand.

Hey guys. This is going to be part of my Christmas present to you guys. I did my best to write for as many Fics as possible for Christmas but the rest didn't work yet. For the Fics that haven't been updated in this wave, I'll try to get an update out till March (I have exams in February, so I should be able to get stuff done until March).

For those interested, feel free to join my Facebook Group (NicholasFlamel's Corner) where I post snippets of chapters I write, ideas I have and finished/abandoned Fics. Link: groups/687956758591756