He'd done what he could. Now all his hopes and dreams rested with Robin of Locksley, that he would venture off into the land of Oz, that he'd not be caught by Zelena, that he would retrieve a potion or two, and return it to him so he could save his business. It was certainly no simple or easy task he'd left the boy with. He suspected that if it was different, if it was in their own realm or if there was some way that he could help him or get magic to him in that other realm, he'd have been content to sit before his cauldron and watch. But knowing he could do nothing, even if something did go well forced him to return to his castle and occupy himself in other ways, lest he go crazy waiting for Robin to call his name three times to collect his potion.

For some time he worked on the issue of True Love, and figuring out how he was to get a certain someone of his own choosing to become the Savior of his curse, but he'd quickly discovered that without the curse in hand to give him direction it was useless. He could come up with a thousand different alternatives and still have no true answer until he saw what he had to work with. Every curse was different, there was no point in planning for it until he had it.

And so he turned his attention once more to that curse, to the places it could be. He uselessly stared at map after map feeling idle for knowing that just looking at a map was not the way to answer the questions he had about its location. It was out there, somewhere. But it wouldn't be labeled on any map. The only way to find it would be to look, but with too many places to start and too much on his mind, he put the issue aside.

He looked into his crystal ball, checked in on the Sorcerer's Apprentice, happily sweeping the outside of his home for no reason that he could identify. It was as if the Apprentice was waiting for something and just as bored as he was waiting for Robin to return. Ultimately as the sun rose the night after Robin had taken off to find his prize, the day his taxes were due, he turned to something he'd been working with for years now, since he'd found it: the Fairy Wand.

He'd buried the gypsy that they'd came with, just as promised, and to his knowledge, the deformed child now lived with his father just as he'd promised, but he had never figured out how the woman had gotten a hold of the wands. If he ever grew desperate enough, he supposed he could call upon the Blue Fairy, but such an idea was too absurd for him to even consider. She'd want the wands back, of course, probably in exchange for telling him about whoever they belonged to and that was a deal he was unwilling to make. Having the wands in his possession was much more valuable than the information about how it had gotten into the hands of gypsy-girl. Knowing how to work the wands however…that was his challenge.

He was the Dark One, his magic was Dark, black as his heart was slowly becoming, Fairy magic was infamous for being Light. How he was supposed to use the fairy wand so that he could wield Light Magic and not just Dark Magic was difficult and yet what he'd figured out so far, was that it was simple.

He could do little things with the wands, the simpler the better in fact. When he'd started using the wands he'd begun trying to use it for fire, like he'd started with his Dark Magic. But it never went the way he wanted it to. He tried to make fire and instead created flowers. He tried to boil a potion, and instead, it turned to ice. He tried to make gold coins wooden, and they'd vanished before his eyes. Nothing had gone right. Not until the day he'd wanted to take Regina a birthday present. He'd fashioned a golden chain for her out of his golden thread, but what to put in the center of it…black had been her color nearly since he'd found the thing, black jewels were difficult to come by and golden thread easy for him. So, out of curiosity, he'd taken the wand, imagined a perfect, large, black diamond that might take his pupil's breath away, and with a flick of his wrist, it was there. Regina had blushed when he'd placed it around her neck, and he'd smiled for an entirely different reason as he'd stumbled onto the trick. It was intent. He couldn't make fire just to make it, but when he aimed the wand at his fire grates in the dead of winter, wanting only to light the castle and warm it, fire had roared to life. When he wanted to boil water so he might melt wax to seal an envelope going to Jefferson, the water boiled perfectly. When he'd observed an old woman in a town square, a baby on her hip, desperate for six eggs but only with three coppers he'd given a flick of his wrist and the money bag and fallen heavy from her with coppers pouring out of it.

Intent was the key to using the wands. For all but one, so long as the things he wanted to do were for good purposes, he could do it. The trouble was that it was the bigger things that he assumed he might need it for, like making a Child of True Love a Savior, and he didn't know yet how to trick the magic into seeing it as a good thing.

The sun was well into the sky when his heart began to race, and an alarm winked through his body. Someone was on the premises. No, not just someone. Robin of Locksley. But it wasn't the fact that he was on the property that surprised him, it was the fact that he was nearly at the front door before he'd realized. How had he managed that? And why was he here? He was supposed to call his name three times, not come to the castle. Sherwood Forest was quite a distance from here. He'd never make it back in time to pay the Sheriff or help Marian. Did he think he'd help him with such a feat? Perhaps he could be convinced if he'd brought him more than one vial of that potion.

He used his magic to take himself back down to his Great Room so that he could set his wand back in its place on display. It was only then that he felt the man standing at his back, watching him. There was magic on him, far more of it than he'd sensed in the tavern, more than the potion would give off. Perhaps he carried on him a charm that allowed him to sneak into these magical places. He was suddenly intensely curious as to what had occurred in that other realm. What had Robin of Locksley gotten himself into?

"I hear fairies get quite nasty when you strip them of their wands."

He turned then, as if he hadn't sensed him there the entire time. "Only if they're still breathing after you've taken it," he muttered menacingly. It was a lie, no more than a joke that only he would understand, but he was interested in Robin's reaction to his potential murder of a fairy.

It was nothing. No reaction whatsoever. Interesting. Did anything frighten him?

He stepped forward then and held out his hand. "I trust you had no problem procuring my potion. Hand it over."

His gaze held steady as his stance shifted. "I don't have it," he admitted. And now it was his turn to measure his reaction, to keep his gaze steady as he worked to understand these words. Didn't have it? He reeked of magic! How could he not have it? "The Wicked Witch proved…too powerful," he stated with a sad sigh.

He smiled as Robin let out that sigh. Oh, he was good, very good at what he did, but he couldn't tell a lie. He wasn't committed to it, he didn't believe in it enough, and so he overacted it. The sigh had given him away. Whatever had happened in Oz…that wasn't it. And as for his potion, did that lie mean that he had it hidden away somewhere or truly not at all?

He let out a loud giggle as he advanced further on his own. "Oh, I see! Didn't anyone ever tell you that lying to the Dark One is a futile practice, dearie?"

Well, Robin was an interesting one, wasn't he? A threat like he'd just issued normally would have had people shaking in their boots. Their eyes would have widened. They might have shifted their weight or taken a step back. Robin stood stoically before him. He barely blinked an eye. Interesting.

"You really didn't get the potion…" he growled, advancing once more. There it was again, the slight shifting of his feet and the smallest uncomfortable shrug. He spoke no words, but it was enough to paint a picture for him. He'd been telling the truth when he said he didn't have it before, but the bit about Zelena being too power as well as not getting it had been a lie. From there it was easy to put together a theory. He'd gone, he'd gotten the potion, but as to where the potion was now, it was not with him. So where was it? Anger swelled inside of him as he considered the potion he'd given him to get to Oz. It was the most valuable potion he had, and he'd chosen him because he knew he could get it. He'd cost him dearly. He clicked his tongue against his teeth as he began to circle the poor thief.

"This is not going to end well for you, dearie. No potion means no gold. And no gold means no tavern. And no tavern means debtors prison for you, and no happy wife to share your life with."

Robin nodded and then swallowed so hard he could see his throat move up and down. "I'm aware of the consequences," he answered before setting his stance and standing up tall.

"Then you are much more foolish than I thought you were."

"You may think me a fool, but at least I'm an honorable one. I'm prepared to face my fate."

His fate…for taking his most valuable potion and giving him nothing in return? He figured living out the rest of his life as a leach in Sherwood Forest would be a good start…

But as he raised his hand to snap his fingers and transform the parasite, the Seer intervened. He saw a flash, a vision of the future.

In it was Robin, he was standing in a room, a burgundy wall, unfeeling pictures hung from it, it was bland and sterile. He couldn't see himself in the vision, but he could feel himself. His chest felt wrong. It wasn't painful, it just felt…odd. Like he didn't have enough air in his lungs and was struggling to breath. He hadn't felt like that since he was a child racing out on the ice. In the vision, he wasn't standing up, but rather laying down and wearing something lose and humiliating. But there, in front of him, at his bedside, was a familiar face. Robin of Locksley. He looked at him and then, suddenly something was presented to him on a white table. It was a vial of some kind with a small heart at the top of it. Inside was a reddish liquid.

"Good riddance Rumpelstiltskin," he stated with a clenched jaw, "our dealings are done."

Before he could find out what happened next, the vision changed.

There was Robin again, in a different room, a room clearly the opposite of what he'd seen before; it was warm and cozy, it had the feeling of home to it. But it also had a foggy haze to it that told him he wasn't there when this vision took place, only that he was seeing it as an outsider.

He watched as Robin ran a hand over the lion tattoo on his wrist tenderly, and an image of Regina appeared beside him. They were wearing clothes not of this realm but of the realm he'd come to realize would one day be the one they occupied when his curse was cast.

"He will be her heart," the voice of the Seer whispered into his mind before he watched Regina lean forward to kiss him, a kiss which he returned just as passionately. A kiss that did not belong to his Maid Marian.

When he came out of it, and his Great Room and Robin of Locksley came back into focus. Barely a second had passed though it felt as though it had been minutes. Though his mouth was dry, and he'd drawn a loud breath, he was certain Robin had no idea anything beyond thinking of his punishment had just taken place.

Punishment. Oh, how he wanted to punish him for taking such a valuable tool from him! He'd used Jefferson's potion, and there was no getting it back! But if what he'd seen had any meaning at all, it was possible that the boy could potentially become a valuable tool in the future as well. Regina's heart…not Danial, not her father, but Robin of Locksley. That would be entertaining.

His hand was still raised as he stared at Robin before him, he felt the magic gathered in his arm and knew he need only snap to turn him into a leach…instead he pointed at the front door and focused his magic to force it open.

"Get out of my castle," he growled at him. He didn't wait, the boy before him offered a quick sigh and quickly turned on his heel to run back to his little village. It was only then that he remembered he'd never make it there without a bit of magical assistance. That hadn't been part of the deal, and yet if he had the feeling that if he didn't help him in this way, it would be bad for them both. "And know this!" he called out, stopping him at the door. "If I ever see your face in here again, you'll be a dead fool."

With a snap of his fingers, Robin was gone, back to Locksley were he belonged. What had he left him with? Nothing.

He let out a great roar as he grabbed a goblet off his table and hurled it into the fire. The alcohol made it explode into the kind of fireball he'd yet to get out of the fairy wand. He would have been happy to toss more, but there was nothing left to throw unless he wanted to sacrifice something from his collection. He wasn't interested in such a thing and instead hunched himself over his table, his fingers holding so tightly to the wood he could hear it crack beneath his fingers.

Nothing.

He'd gotten nothing out of this deal and given away everything! It was the risk in deal-making, there was always some gamble to it, and today he'd lost.

Or had he?

Was that a thought? Or was it an urge? A reassurance from a voice that didn't want to be named? As if in answer, his memory played back the vision the Seer had given to him. He saw the strange room all over again, heard Robin's "Good riddance" once more, but this time his mind zeroed in on what he'd set down on the little table before him. The Elixir. It had to be. Red liquid, vial with a small heart on it…what else could it be? Besides, just remembering that image made something inside of him jump, it made something inside of him rejoice and spread calm back throughout his body. "Good riddance, Rumpelstiltskin, our dealings are done."

Yes. Perhaps their dealings would be done, one day, but not today. And until that moment came, he had work to do.

He stood up straight and took a deep breath as he focused on that small happy thought inside of him, the Dark One that didn't want to give voice to his fears.

"We'll get our hands on it someday," he muttered to whichever former Dark One was desperate for him to have that cure. "For now, you'll have to settle for that. Now leave me to my work."

I cannot entirely take credit for this scene. It showed up on twitter, I believe, only days after 4x17 aired. A&E explained it was a deleted scene. That it was shot and then they realized that they couldn't use it because the wand Rumple has in it is the wand the Gold Fairy had and it didn't fit with the timeline. And they're right. We later learn that Rumple killing the Gold Fairy comes after Snow and David are already married and remember this has to be before they even meet so they couldn't air this scene. But here's the thing. This is in season 4. Robin steals the wand in 2. The cat is already out of the bag, so instead of attempting to explain it, they just ignore it. Which is a shame, because really this scene opens the door for Robin to see the wand and tells you how he'll know a little later to break in and get it from the castle. So, Rumple finding the wands on the gypsy was really done as an attempt at explaining it in my mind. His original vision shows six wands. He takes seven from the gypsy and recognizes that five of them are from the vision of the six wands. That leaves one as the Black Fairy Wand. And this one which will later be stolen. And yes, I know and you know that this prop is the same prop used in season 2 and is the same prop used for the Gold Fairy's wand. But you know what, we never saw a close up of them so for all we know they look similar but are two different wands. It's not perfect, but I can live with it. So...are we good?

Thank you Alarda, Grace5231973, and Jennifer Baratta for your reviews on the last chapter. I do hope you like some of the little things about this one that I built in for later. Robin being able to sneak onto the grounds undetected is important for the future, obviously. But there is also that extra magic around him for good reason. It's not only the charm but also the bow, that'll be important later. And then, of course you get a little bit of OutlawQueen in this as well, or at the very least you get a hint of it. This chapter presented us with some great opportunities, but I suppose it's really the next chapter some of you are dying for. Up next we have the first appearance of a very, very important character...the one, the only-Belle. That's right, she's in the next chapter! But you'll note that I only said "appearance". So, in what capacity will she appear? You'll have to read to find out. I do love the chapter but I have some confidence it'll cause a little bit of controversy. So all I ask is that you'll read it and hear me out for why I did some things I did. On to the next! Peace and Happy Reading!