Where it all began. He knew what that meant. And so would Snow White, but he wasn't about to let Snow White manage this and he wasn't about to let Regina win in a way that wasn't with this Curse. If it were Belle he wouldn't sit back and let Regina lead him to both their deaths, he'd work around her. He'd let her be distracted by thinking her plan was working, and then he would find the loophole. Admittedly, magic gave him a leg up on doing what he wanted and needed to do when it came to situations like this, but it was clear in the way she walked determinedly out of the cell that Snow wasn't going to consider alternatives. She was going to go, she was going to do what the Queen requested, no questions asked. And it was stupid.

He couldn't abide by that. He had too much invested in her, in her love with David, in the child they hadn't created yet! He wasn't about to let her stupidity come between he and Baelfire. He wasn't about to lose this fucking race to Regina! So if Snow wasn't going to go and do what she had to, then he would.

Back at the table, he glanced down at the Curse and ran his hand over it. He'd bound nearly half of the True Love potion to it. With any luck, a single drop would do the trick, but he wasn't taking chances. What he'd put on would ensure it was enough. He didn't know what Regina's plan was, but he knew that he had to offer her a better one, something that she could use, something that would appeal to her. And he had to do it just right. If he gave this to her now, even if he laid out a beautiful plan for her, there was always a chance that she would still use it now. But that was just a risk he was going to have to take. The time had come. Revealing part of his plan, or at least convincing her that it's her plan, would buy him some time for the pair to conceive the Swan. At least that was what he hoped.

"What's your plan, dearie?" he piqued, making the Queen jump and turn in her seat to look at him. She'd been sitting in near darkness, her back to him, staring into the mirror on her vanity when he arrived; a Queen on her throne. Obviously, whatever she had planned for David and Snow, his appearance hadn't been a part of it.

"Plan?" she questioned with a smile as she got to her feet. "What plan?"

"Don't be coy with me, dearie," he smiled, slowly circling around her as she circled around him like two foes who might fight at any moment. If he wasn't calm he wouldn't put it past her. Their relationship had been strained from the day that he'd accused her of taking Belle. No longer were they teacher and student, but he couldn't exactly label her as friend or foe either. Especially not friend. "I know that right now, you have Prince James downstairs in your dungeon, and I know you intend to have a face to face with your step-daughter…a trade perhaps."

Regina lifted one shoulder in a care-free shrug. "Perhaps…" she said with a seductive smile that she'd inherited from Cora. Funny. Before Belle a smile like that might have gotten a rise out of him. Now, it just seemed childish. But he smiled back at her any way, pretending that he was interested in what she had to say, though seeing as how what she was going to say might actually affect his reunion with his son, he supposed he wasn't really pretending.

"You've intrigued me. The Prince is King George's son; why involve yourself with his problems and risk angering him? Is it just to get back at the girl?"

"Ha!" she cried with amusement in her voice. "He's no Prince. He's a commoner, a pretender to the throne. King George was about to kill him before I orchestrated the deal to get him. The King handed him over himself. I'm surprised you don't know."

So…she knew that too, did she? Also not surprising. All it took was one person who had known that David wasn't James to tell a spouse and then that spouse to tell a child and that child to tell their classmates, and they to tell their parents, and before he'd know it, the news would be all over the Kingdom. The Evil Queen could have easily bought it for the right price, though he suspected her friend in the mirror had more to do with how she'd retrived the information. Still, how she had the information or even the fact that she possessed it wasn't what was important. And she still hadn't answered his question.

"Why do you need him?"

Her smile grew. "I have a plan. Something divine, one of waiting and trading, a little something I got from you, Rumple…"

She strode over to her vanity and opened a drawer. From within it she pulled out a leather satchel with a drawstring, it looked like the item she'd been attempting to have the children steal from the Blind Witch. He'd assumed it was innocent insanity, but the second she opened that string he could feel the darkness rolling off of what was inside.

An apple. It was an apple. Clean and crisp it looked as if it had just been plucked from it's tree yesterday. And yet he could feel that while it looked like an apple, it wasn't. Or at least it wasn't just an apple. No apple he'd ever encountered had magic like that. But he did know of one kind that would, one that a previous Dark One had encountered that reminded him exactly of this. Dammit.

"This is a poisonous apple…" Regina explained, holding it up in the moonlight for him to see. If she expected him to admire it as she was, then she was going to be sorely mistaken. "It took me ages to hunt it down, but I finally had some kids steal one off a Blind Witch while Snow was with her dwarf friends."

"Fruit of a Poisonous Tree," he confirmed in a dull tone, letting her know that there was not a single thing she was saying that shocked or surprised him. Nothing was new to him. "A vicious fruit often in the form of an apple, capable of absorbing any curse, but at cost. It can only be taken by the victim willingly."

"And I plan to make Snow White eat it…willingly," she snapped at him. In one swift move, she shoved the apple back into its bag and vanished it elsewhere. "I plan to infuse it with a Sleeping Curse so powerful the world will think she's died. Now that Snow knows I've got her…love…she'll race to play my game, anything to let her dear Prince Charming live. I'll make a deal with her. One bite, and I'll set him free. But one bite will be all it takes. The Kingdom will mourn the loss of their Precious Princess, her Prince will lose his love and never know she was still alive, and she will spend the rest of her days trapped in endless death."

She was smiling at him, a look of a child looking to be congratulated by a parent for doing something special. It was probably somewhat well earned. She'd thought it through, had a slightly decent plan. But it was flawed, in more ways than one. And he had no intention of letting her think he was proud of her.

"Sleeping Curse is a powerful spell, not one I've ever given you," he pointed out instead. "Where do you intend to get such a thing?"

"I know a girl…or should I say, dragon. I was just about to go and see her when you called. One more small conversation and a night of brewing is all it'll take."

Maleficent. Sometimes he forgot about the connection she shared with that girl. She had one of the best Sleeping Potions in all the land, strong enough to hold Aurora in its throes. But that plan had been well thought out. Maleficent had sent the Princess's True Love away, shifted him into a form that would not be able to get anywhere near Aurora, let alone kiss her even if he did. It wasn't just that he wanted Regina's plan to fail, it was that it was bound to unless Regina thought just as much about the aftermath as she did the lead-up. That was what was required of all curses. That was why he didn't want her to cast the one sitting in his pocket just now, he didn't have anything in place to break it yet. But if Regina was set on this happening, he had to take a chance.

"Oh…why the long face?" Regina smirked lounging on her couch. "I thought you'd be proud? I've played your game. I've waited patiently for this moment, pulled strings from behind the scenes, made deals you can't even imagine, and now it's all coming to pass. Yet you look as if you've just swallowed a deadly toadstool. What's the matter Rumple? Afraid someone might surpass you?"

Oh he couldn't wait to wipe that smug look off her face when she finally encountered the Swan.

"Never. I'm disappointed in you, dearie. What you've done isn't impressive…it's childish," he snapped. "It's weak, simplistic. It's beneath me and beneath a powerful witch like yourself."

With every insult he hurled her smile had disappeared a little more, leaving behind the scared angry eyes of the young girl he'd once tutored and that was precisely what he wanted; to bring her down a few notches.

"I've worked hard to-"

"Enough!" he roared, silencing her arguments. "Enough. It's time for teacher to talk now, to save you and your reputation. I've created something for you, dearie, just like I've always promised. And this something happens to be an answer to your problem."

He pulled the scroll from his pocket and tossed it at her. She caught it, but her reaction was duplicated. She jumped when she caught it, and she jumped when she felt it. It had been years since she first met him while he'd had it in his pocket. She was stronger now, more capable of sensing the magic in it. Yes…even if the True Love potion was dampening it, she could still clearly feel the magic emanating off of it. That was the beauty of it. It was so strong and its weakness so subtle, she'd never even notice the adjustment he'd made to it.

"What is it?"

"That, dearie, is what I was always training you for. That is a Curse. A powerful Curse. One sure to make everyone, not just Snow White, feel the hate and pain you carry in your heart. It will make it so that everyone will be punished for what happened to dear Danial. Everyone."

Now that had her attention. "How's it work?"

"It will take us to a new land, somewhere horrible-a Land Without Magic."

She huffed "That doesn't sound so appealing, why would I want to-"

He held up a hand and silenced her. "I wasn't finished yet. It is a Curse that will take everyone here to a Land Without Magic, it will put us in a world where time is frozen, a world of your own creation, one that will be as you want it. Might I recommend one where True Love never wins, where for Lovers will be separated, children will be taken from parents, all will be ripped away from this world that they loved, and best of all…they'll have no memory of it. For those of your choosing, you will create the life they have. So long as the Curse goes unbroken, they shall wander around stuck in one moment of time, missing something, unsatisfied with their life, and never knowing exactly what it is that they are missing…now who does that remind me of?"

Her eyes went wide as she stared down at the scroll in her eyes and swallowed hard. "Me," she whispered in a small, childlike voice. But then she looked up, fire and fear and suspicion all mingled there together in her eyes as she stared at him. "But all Curses can be broken. You always said-"

"That's right! And this one...all it needs is a Savior to break it. You remember how rare those are."

"Rare, but possible. I suppose I could always kill the Savior if one should ever present itself."

"Wouldn't recommend it. This is the most Powerful Curse in all our lands, and with it comes heavy costs. Among them a little caveat written into it...if the Savoir were to be slain, your Curse would break...instantly," he explained snapping his fingers. He wasn't sure why his that little detail existed in the Curse, but seeing as how Regina's mind had gone right to it, he was suddenly happy it was there.

"Fine. I can't kill them...I'll find a way around it if he arrives!"

"'If' indeed, dearie. 'If' indeed," he confirmed with a smile on his face that he hoped looked reassuring even if he found it to be funny. It wasn't a matter of "if", only "when". Not that Regina needed to know that.

"But...what do you get out of it?" Regina asked suddenly, glancing over at him with the Curse curled around her fist. "You never do anything without a reason. And you wouldn't condemn yourself to a fate like this without a good reason, and yet if I believe what you've said, then that is precisely what you trained me for."

"What I get out of it will be my business," he growled. Naturally, she couldn't be grateful, she couldn't just do was she was told and not ask questions. He had to hand this plan to her on a platter that made what she'd wanted to do with that apple look like moldy bread and cheese.

"Let the boy go," he instructed. "Be patient a little while longer. Let them have their moment. Let them marry and produce a child and let them think the danger has passed, and the world is theirs for the taking. Then cast this Curse and strip it all away."

This is literally the only place I could put this which sucks because chronologically it makes lots of sense but story-wise it doesn't. But, I really didn't have much of a choice. What do we know about the moment that Rumple gives the Curse to Regina, about where it falls on the timeline? Well, we never saw the moment in question, but season one gives us a few hints. We know from the first few episodes that Regina has the Curse before she puts Snow to sleep because she trades the Curse to Maleficent for the Sleeping Curse she uses on Snow. We know that once Maleficent gets it, then it stays safe with her until the Charmings wedding night. However, we also know from the last few episodes that Rumple admits to having the Curse after he made the True Love potion because he states that he adds a drop of potion to the parchment, that's what makes Emma the Savior. Therefore, chronologically, this chapter must be here. However, story-wise, while it fits, once you see it all come together you realize 1) that it cuts it pretty damn close and 2) Regina really is a shitty evil plan planner. (I suppose we could also learn that A&E weren't keeping as close a check on their own damn timeline as they were saying they were, but we'll talk a little bit more about that tomorrow!) Because in order for this to work it means that Regina has the apple, has the plan to use a Sleeping Curse with it, and she plans to use it on Snow the next day, but she hasn't gone to Maleficent to get the Curse that she needs yet. So...on the way to the Summer Palace Charming is caught, Regina goes to George and gets him, she takes him back to her palace where she has the apple ready, but still no Sleeping Curse, then tells Snow to meet her at her family home the next day knowing that in one night she has to go get the Sleeping Curse, brew the Sleeping Curse, and curse the apple and...yeah, it's possible and we might be able to explain some of it as Regina rushing to make the most of the opportunity she's been given. But she's cutting it pretty fucking close. Story-wise, it sucks. But chronologically this is where it has to go. And up next we will see why all this had to be so freaking rushed and I couldn't extend this time!

Thank you so much Alarda, Grace5231973, and Jennifer Baratta for your reviews thus far. I hope this chapter for you comes as a nice surprise or at least something that breaks up the monotony of these "TV chapters". Despite its timing, I really enjoyed writing this chapter. It was this nice little active oasis for me in the midst of writing so much inactive watching. Plus, I really looked forward to this chapter because when I was outlining this fiction there was this nice little moment of "oh yeah, we never see Rumple give Regina the Curse, that's sort of important, I guess I get to write that. Yay!" So, I hope you'll like this, despite it's problems I hope that you'll think it's well done and appreciate it for what it is. Peace and Happy Reading!