Present day...

Once they were within a safe distance from the house, the engine to the motorcycle roared triumphantly and it skirted quickly back through town to return to Storybrooke's cemetary. Lily felt the thrill and rush of excitement as Roland whisked her away on his motorcycle to their favorite hang out spot. It was getting late in the evening and she was certain that her mother would have kittens if she found out that she had escaped the house without her knowledge or consent. She smiled in rebellious pleasure as the wind blew through her raven-dyed hair beneath the helmet Roland insisted she had to wear.

"The last thing I need is a death threat from your father who already doesn't like me," was the reason for his insistence on safety. "My hero," sassed Lily sarcastically back as she placed the helmet on her head.

When they arrived to the cemetary they both respectively placed their helmets back on the parked bike and walked past the iron gates to get to the bench beneath the oak tree in the cemetary. They both knew that they were breaking grounds rules by being in the cemetary after hours, so to add insult to injury Roland brought with him his bow and holster full of arrows.

Lily saw that Roland was setting up for target practice and had to remark. "Isn't it against the rules to brandish a weapon in open public?"

"It's after hours and we're inside a cemetary. The only people here that are alive are you and me. I'm sure the dead won't mind. Besides, you weren't so concerned for the rules when we broke them by coming in here after hours."

Lily shrugged her shoulders, seeing that there wasn't anything wrong with what they were doing she helped set up his targets for him. There were spare apples in the side saddles of his bike and she placed them along the tops of various tombstones for him to shoot at. As they did so they chatted about their day.

"So," began Roland as he withdrew an arrow from his holster and prepared to take aim. "How's school going?"

"It's... going."

The conversation immediately died and silence filled the air between them as Roland waited for Lily to elaborate. He shot his first arrow, splitting the apple in two when he remarked, "You know, for someone who claims that she wants to major in writing, you seem to suddenly be at a loss for words." He turned to Lily and saw her fidget. He knew what that meant. She wanted to ask him a question she knew he wouldn't like. "Spit it out. What's the question?"

"We've been friends for quite a few years now... and, well, the Academy is having a dance... you-you wouldn't be interested in going with me, would you?"

"To the dance? Me? You mean Prince Charming hasn't asked you yet?"

"No. Not really. I don't think his popularity would allow him to socialize with people like me."

"He should feel honored to have the privilege of being with someone as original as yourself," remarked Roland when suddenly he realized what she was asking him. Roland sighed as he plucked another arrow from his holster to take aim. "Lily, you know how I feel about dances."

"I know," said Lily in embarrassment. She was already regretting asking her closest friend. She needed to think of something quick to convince him. "If you do this for me, I can see about getting you the funds you need for your trip out of Storybrooke."

Roland chuckled at the bribe and shook his head. In his mind, he just couldn't picture Lily truly enjoying a social activity such as that. "Let me think about it." His remark left Lily hopeful. It was quite apparent that she wanted to go to this dance. "I just can't believe that you enjoy that sort of thing," noted Roland as he let loose another arrow, hitting his target flawlessly and with perfect technique.

"If it's a matter of finding a tux, I'm sure I can-" started out Lily, but she was soon cut off by Roland.

"-that..." he started as he shot off another arrow, "won't be a problem. You forget that a lot of our familial circles overlap. That's kind of the reason why I want to get out of this blasted town."

Roland withdrew another arrow and took aim. The shadows played with his eyes and he didn't see the dark figure stand in the way as he released the arrow. The two gasped as they realized who it was. In the most well-timed and executed feat of coordination, Mr. Gold gripped at the arrow that was merely a few inches from his chest and stopped it midair before it penetrated him. Gold appeared crossed and with his finely cut short hair and slick dark suit it made him look even more stern and ominous.

"Papa!" cried out Lily in alarm as she ran towards her father with concern. Mr. Gold didn't so much as flinch as he coolly looked up to follow the arrow's point of origination. He looked up and saw Roland's blanched face staring back at him.

"Oh crap..." was all Roland could say as he took a step back in fear. Roland stuttered as he spoke, "Mister-mister Gold. I'm-I'm so sorry sir."

Mr. Gold strolled up casually to Roland with the arrow still in hand, but was bombarded by his daughter who ran up to him and hugged him in relief to see that he was unaffected. "That! That was amazing, Papa! How-how are you still alive?" Lily remarked in disbelief as she examined his body for any further injury.

"Lucky timing, I suppose," said Mr. Gold nonchalantly as he stared Roland down with a look that could kill. Lily took a step back from her father to give him some space to walk and when she noticed the threatening look he was giving Roland.

"Sir, I am so sorry," apologized Roland again.

"I think it would be best if you left Roland, before the authorities arrive. I'm sure another mark on your record would certainly prevent you from ever leaving Storybrooke again. And we don't want that now, do we?" said Mr. Gold threateningly. The threat certainly did the trick for Roland who quickly gathered whatever belongings that surrounded him and darted off to his motorcycle. Roland's motorcycle instantly roared into life and he took off leaving both father and daughter alone in the cemetery together.

"What was that for?!" cried out Lily angrily toward her father.

"You need better friends, dearie," said Rumple bitterly to his daughter.

"He apologized! You didn't have to threaten or scare him off like that."

"Yes, I did!" countered Rumple fiercefully to Lily. "Because you two were both in a place where you shouldn't have been, especially at this late hour. Come, your mother's probably worried sick about you."

"Probably worried sick about me?" echoed Lily back questionably. "She still doesn't know that I'm here, does she?"

Rumple placed a guiding hand on Lily's backside and deliberately pushed her forward, ushering her towards the Cadillac which was parked just in front of the cemetery gates. As he guided her along the pathway back he added, "And you can forget about our deal. The condo in New York is now forbidden."

Lily immediately stepped away from her father to face him. She shouted back hysterically, "What?! I didn't break our deal!"

"Oh yes, my dear, you most certainly have. Might I remind you, that part of the deal we made long ago was to never run away again and to no longer disrespect your mother. And you went ahead and did both!"

"I didn't run away," argued Lily whose voice had gone shrill. "I just... left."

"I see no difference," countered Rumple.

"To run away is to imply that I would never return. I left with the intention of returning. And besides, you haven't even gone home yet to check on Mum's condition. She's probably still cooking dinner thinking I'm still upstairs in my room. So how could she have possibly known that I disrepected her?"

It was a sorry attempt on Lily's end to assuage her father over the semantics of her deal-breaking. In the end, she broke their deal and she would have to live with the consequences. Rumple knew this and knew that he had to enforce those consequences. With authority he demanded forcefully, "There's no negotiating. The deal is off because you violated it. Period. Now get in the car, we're going home."

They both reached the car and Lily got in first. She opened the passenger's side and got in reluctantly, slamming the car's door so furiously that it wouldn't have surprised Rumple to see the door fall off its hinges. Fortunately enough, the door was still intact by the time Rumple got into the driver's seat. Rumple heaved an exhaustive sigh as he turned to look at his daughter. She leaned her head against the door's window and stared out it. To Rumple, it always amazed him how much she looked like Belle, especially whenever she was mad or upset.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked bluntly.

"What's wrong with you?" mocked Lily as she shook her head in disgrace. "How tactful, father. What's wrong with me? Everything is wrong with me. I'm this town's pariah."

"You are not the town Pariah."

"Oh yeah? Then how come you scared away the only friend of mine who doesn't think me strange or dangerous?"

Rumple sat there struggling to remember the last time she acted this way. Finally, it occurred to him what it could possibly be and he asked gently, "I don't understand. I thought we were beyond this. You haven't acted like this in a really long time. The last time you rebelled like this something happened to you at school. Were you bullied again?"

Lily didn't reply and instead crossed her arms protectively. Rumple took her indignant response as a confirmation to his assumption. He sighed again as he turned the vehicle on and they started on their trek home. After a few moments of silence, Lily asked her father, "How did you know I was at the cemetery?"

"I didn't. Henry's wife was the one who saw you two riding in this direction. I just so happened to be on my way home when Henry called and made the connection."

... ...

…Flashback… five years ago… Granny's Diner…

The wedding ceremony at the church was absolutely divine; everything Storybrooke could offer for it's local royals. And it was perfectly fit for royalty. It was as if the whole town had come together to spare no expense and ensure that both Henry and Paige had the wedding all couples would blush with envy for centuries. Of course, considering who Henry was related to along with the kindness and connections Henry had made over the years, people were more than happy to oblige. The ceremony took place at the convent, but not everyone could attend inside. Only immediate family and friends. Those who couldn't sit inside, peered through the open chapel doors from outside and stood waiting for the happy couple to arrive at the steps. The whole town, along with others from many other worlds and realms, had come to Storybrooke to witness and help celebrate the newlyweds, which made for an extremely large wedding reception.

Outsiders would have thought a town festival was taking place when in fact it was just the wedding party. The reception party had burst out of Granny's Diner and overflowed onto main street with borrowed tables from other establishments to accommodate all who had come. Balloons and streamers hung from every street lamp and shop. The music, which erupted from the speakers set up close to Granny's, thumped so loudly that all of main street seemed to have gained a pulse suddenly. As the sun was beginning to set the white christmas lights, which were normally brought out for the holidays, were brought out again to light up the street.

So many people had attended that it was enough to get lost in the crowd which was what Mr. Gold and Lily had hoped for, except Belle. No matter where they went, the crowd would disperse at their presence and give at least a three-foot girth about them. As notorious as the Gold family was in Storybrooke, Rumplestiltskin was even more notorious throughout the realms and everyone across the realms had been invited there.

The family heard rude whispers as they passed to greet Henry and Paige at the wedding section. It was like a dark shroud had hovered about them no matter where they went. Although Rumple was accustomed to it, Lily was not and it made her nervous. Rumple could sense her unease and kept her close. Without turning his head, he looked about the crowd vigilantly for anything suspicious. They all knew they were being watched closely. Despite being constantly watched, they all still kept their heads up and maintained their course as if nothing was wrong.

The wedding section was just inside the fencing of Granny's courtyard. Henry and Paige sat at the very corner up against the wall by the fencing, so that all who passed by them could still personally offer their congratulations and blessings. An unofficial line constantly passed by the courtyard and in that line stood the Gold family as they made their way toward Paige and Henry.

"Grandpa!" greeted Henry who was grinning ear to ear when Mr. Gold, Belle and Lily finally arrived by their table. "Glad to see you that you had made it."

"Believe me," started out Gold as he glanced back at the crowd. "I don't think anyone would have wanted to miss this."

"It is quite the celebration. Isn't it?" added Paige.

"It most certainly is," concurred Belle as she gathered Lily by her side.

"Congratulations Paige... Or, is it Grace?" inquired Mr. Gold. Suddenly Jefferson, Paige's father, appeared and interrupted the gathering by inserting his own thoughts into the conversation. Jovially, Jefferson inserted, "It is. It's both actually. No thanks to that lovely curse, of course." He finished his thought with a sarcastic smile.

"Father..." murmured Paige with embarrassment. She hoped he wouldn't cause a scene at their table. She knew immediately of her father's pension for blunt honesty. It was in his character to have little patience for trivial talk. It was also in Jefferson's belief to always point out the elephant in the room. It was one of the many reasons why Jefferson found himself often times alone because nobody liked hearing the truth. Jefferson noticed Paige's offense and remarked, "Oh not to worry, love. Rumplestiltskin and I go way back. Don't we buddy?"

Jefferson got uncomfortably close to Gold and gave him an awkward side-hug like they were old chums. It was evident how awkward Rumple felt and it was written all over his face. Jefferson seemed to deliberately make Mr. Gold feel uneasy and Paige saw it for what it was. They both knew that they were trying to save face for the couple. When the feeling became too much to handle, Gold took his hand and politely removed Jefferson's hand from off of his shoulder as if it was a repulsive piece of rubbish that had somehow fallen onto his shoulder. "Unfortunately, yes," was all Gold say in response, his voice practically dripping with irritation.

"Unfortunately? Oh come on! After all those traveling adventures together? Oh well, I suppose that's one person's perspective," remarked Jefferson jovially, ignoring the indignant response of his old comrade. Without skipping a beat Jefferson continued, "And speaking of perspectives, Belle good to see you looking sprite and young as ever."

"Um, thank you," blushed Belle.

"If you ask me, it looks like nobody's really changed," remarked Jefferson as he looked around the vicinity. Paige wanted to quickly contradict her father but as she looked around along with everyone else, he wasn't wrong. It was an odd yet interesting observation that until pointed out nobody had really noticed. Perhaps it was the happy occasion that everyone had such youthful rosey cheeks, but none of the adults had seemed to age. Even Leroy seemed to have gained color in his hair where gray once resided.

After a moment of what seemed to be an awkward pause to glance around the area Henry cleared his throat and shared, "The lighting around Granny's patio has always made everyone glow. At least, that's what I've always noticed having worked a summer here."

His comment seemed to put everyone at ease, except for Rumple who continued to stare at Jefferson peculiarly. Without tearing his gaze away from Jefferson, Gold added, "Of course."

"Well, Henry," interrupted Belle, who helped bring the focus of attention back to the happy couple, "congratulations on your marraige. This wedding will have everyone talking for a really long time."

"It's certainly been the talk at City Hall since it's taken a lot of my influence to make this possible. You're welcome by the way," interrupted Regina who came by herself to greet the Gold family personally.

"Thanks Mom. This has been incredible," thanked Henry with complete awe. Regina smiled to her son and replied with a loving smiled, "Anything for you, my love." Regina turned to Gold and remarked, "And thanks to your grandfather's... generosity, each establishment on main street was able to close for a day to prepare without having to lose out on the income needed to pay him rent."

Mr. Gold feigned a smile and replied, "Anything for family."

"Isn't family great?" Jefferson contributed dryly. "Well, this has certainly been fun, but I truly must make my rounds." Jefferson turned to Gold and with an expectant look said, "Perhaps we'll bump into each other again."

Once Jefferson was just out of ear-shot, Paige immediately apologized, "You must forgive him. His social skills have never been his forte."

Before anyone could add their opinion over the matter, Lily finally spoke up and asked Regina, "Madam Mayor, do you um... do you know where Roland is?"

Surprised and flattered to have been so formally addressed, Regina replied gladly, "He's here. The last I saw him he was over by the icecream shop. I think it's because Elsa's icecream shop has an open bar. It's where the other kids are at."

Lily immediately turned to her mother with imploring eyes which caused Belle to turn to her husband. Rumple shrugged his shoulders and said, "It's alright by me. Have a good time."

Lily grinned from ear to ear and bolted from the group. Belle, startled by how quick Lily was, called after her, "Meet us back at the Pawn shop when you're done! Lily!" Belle sighed as she turned to the rest of the group and mentioned, "Well, I suppose a scoop or two of icecream does sound pretty good on a warm night like this. Congratulations again Henry. Rumple?"

"I'll catch up with you guys later. I think I'll be making my own rounds for now."

"Oh, ok. See you at the shop."

Rumple nodded and then left the wedding table for others to make their congratulatory statements. Rumple walked up and down main street, looking around for a specific person. He blocked out the music and laughter as he searched, treating it all like white noise until he came to a darkened side-street beside the candy store. Suddenly a voice called out to him from the darkened ally and asked, "Do you enjoy lollipops? My Grace swears by these. She says it's better than smoking."

Jefferson was sucking on a lollipop as he stepped closer to Mr. Gold in the limelight. Gold said, "I'm not one for sweets. Not my cup of tea."

"Ah! But deal-making... that's still your cup of tea, right?"

The way Jefferson was able to pivot and turn a conversation was something Mr. Gold really liked about Jefferson and it piqued his interest. "Perhaps," said Gold with smirk.

"Well how about this scenario," began Jefferson as he paced around Mr. Gold. "You, me... Enchanted Forest. You take me there via... well I don't know how exactly you traverse back and forth these days. Let me get straight to the point. I'm missing material for my hats. I need to get my spool, which is still hidden in my old cabin, and for that I will tell you what you've been wondering since your daughter gave up magic."

"I already know what I'm wondering. You don't need to tell me that..."

"-then perhaps answers." Jefferson seemed rather forceful with his offer as Gold contemplated what he was getting into. Gold deliberated for moment before saying, "Why haven't you spoken to your lovely new son-in-law about this?"

Jefferson seemed to wince over the idea then replied as if having thought this before, "Yeah, well, you see... this kind of transportation I want off the books. You understand the need for discretion, don't you?"

"I'm already being watched by my own family. Every move I make now is being held under incredible suspicion. And now that you're in it, our moves would have to be even more tactical and inconspicuous."

"Well then let's go now!" suggested Jeffferson as he tossed the lollipop carelessly behind him waving his hands in the air with excitement and then rubbing them together. "With everyone distracted from the wedding, we can take advantage of this moment of spontaneity." Gold's face reflected a moment of doubt as he thought of his family and looked longingly for them. Jefferson took notice of this and assured, "It wouldn't take long. We'll be back long before your wife and kid are finished with their icecreams."

Gold furrowed his eyebrows in scrutiny as he stared down his old friend. As he thought about it they weren't exactly friends, merely two individuals that didn't hate each other but benefited from one another. Rumple weighed in on the pros and cons. It wasn't exactly a secret that Lily was involved in the death of Killian Jones, but the trauma from having used magic to do it was what caused her to retreat to 'normalcy'. Ever since then, Gold had used every spell imaginable to create this bubble illusion for her. It took a lot of magic to sustain it, but he had no idea at what cost. Rumple thought of the older man from a year ago claiming that he was still cursed. What was that curse? He wondered. What did Jefferson know and how did he come by the knowledge? Rumple just had to find out and figured it worth the business venture.

Mr. Gold slowly withdrew his kriss dagger from within his coat jacket, to which Jefferson's eyes bulged slightly with concern. Thinking things had suddenly turned for the worse for him, Jefferson joshed to ease the tension, "Woah! It was only a suggestion. You just said it yourself. We're family now, remember?"

"Hardly, but...," In the most intimidating way, Mr. Gold patted the blade of his dagger against his palm and replied calmly, "With every friendship there must be an element of trust. Isn't that right, friend?"

"Of course," agreed Jefferson whole-heartedly as he raised his hands in defense.

"Because if you cross me friend," Mr. Gold warned as he stepped closer to Jefferson, "there won't be any place that I can't find you. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," gulped Jefferson as he wondered in fear what Rumplestiltskin had in store. Mr. Gold gave a sinister smile and said, "Good. Now let's go get your spool."

Mr. Gold twirled his dagger dangerously close to Jefferson's face and then finished the action with three gentle taps to Jefferson's shoulder. In the blink of an eye, the two gentlemen left Storybrooke and reappeared inside Jefferson's cabin in the Enchanted Forest. With great astonishment, Jefferson twirled around in excitement. He was finally home. The cabin smelled of old timber and decades worth of built up dust, but still Jefferson inhaled and exhaled lovingly. With complete nostalgia he sighed, "Ah, no place like home."

Without wasting a moment, Jefferson went directly to a floor board hidden underneath some carpet in the far corner of his cabin. Gold watched him suspiciously as he placed his dagger safely back inside his coat jacket. He observed curiously as Jefferson lifted the carpet and board to reveal a spool of what seemed to be golden thread. Out of pure excitement and satisfacton he shouted from the corner, "Eureka!"

Rumplestiltskin was not as impressed as he remarked feeling insulted, "Gold thread? We didn't have to come all the way out here for that. You do realize what I do for a hobby, right?"

"Ah yes, but can your thread take you to other worlds?" Suddenly Rumple's interest was piqued and Jefferson continued, "This thread comes from the rare golden fleece, and when dipped in the sap of an enchanted tree it can transport you to other magical worlds."

"Magical worlds. You do realize that getting back to Storybrooke might present a problem."

"Ah yes. That would present a problem..." Suddenly Jefferson's face lit up gleefully as he quickly pointed out, "but then, of course, it is a good thing that I know somebody in my immediate family with a special timepiece to get me to my Grace." Rumple knew exactly who he as referring to, but to be cheeky he lifted his finger like he was about to contest that awfully similar description to another character when Jefferson interrupted him and answered before he could speak, "And no, it's not the white rabbit. That blasted hare still owes me money. Oh, and uh, I would offer you some of the twine except, you already have a magical transportation device so... it would seem a bit redundant, wouldn't it?"

Rumple, tired of Jefferson's frivolity, demanded, "Tell me what I need to know so that we can be done with this and go back."

"Impatient, are we? Well, ask yourself," began Jefferson as he paced around the room picking things up and setting them down. "In these past few years, have you noticed how strange we're all beginning to look? Or should I say, not look?" When Jefferson turned to Rumple and realized that the answer was 'no', he gasped in surprise. "You mean you haven't? I would have thought it quite obvious."

"Enough with the circumvention. What is it that you know?"

Jefferson could tell with Rumple's frustration that he'd better get to the point quick, so he stopped his side-stepping and faced him with seriousness. "The Author's magic still resides in Storybrooke because we are all living in a world of the Author's creation. In Storybrooke, we're nothing but timeless characters immortalized in a story book; therefore, like any character in a book we're never going to age unless the Author dictates it so. That's the curse: we can never age. We're alive for one reason, and that is to bring closure to the Author's story. Some reader... somewhere out there is reading this right now and with every word read in the mind of that reader we're breath'd into life.

It's an ironic trap, really; that this curse, that many in Storybrooke are fleeing from, is being sustained by a reader reading about us. When you first read a story and the characters are introduced, you establish a sort of permanent image in your mind of what that character looks like. So that as you read the story you know exactly what that character looks like when they interact. Sure the characters change, but they never age unless the Author writes it in to add to the plot. We are at the mercy of the reader. You, me, everyone! As long as the reader continues to read our story... this story... we continue to exist, but the moment the reader loses interest and quits reading the story the story dies. And if the story dies, we die. I only noticed it myself a few years ago. It was right about the time your daughter coincidentally 'dreamt' away her magic, but it could have been earlier. There's no telling from our perspective when our story actually began, or when it will officially end."

"That's quite a theory," said Rumple skeptically as he took his turn to move about the cabin. "I'm curious as to what medication you're on to arrive at this conclusion."

"It's not a theory! I'm not mad!" exclaimed Jefferson in detested fury. He never did like the feeling of madness or of being insinuated for it. He spent too long being cooped up in a house by himself to ever want to go back to that feeling. He loathed being the only one whose memory in town wasn't cursed about magic and their lives in the Enchanted Forest. It ostracized him and it made him appear to be the town's lone crazed conspiracy theorist. His slight hysterical outburst forced him to compose himself. After doing so, his tone became dramatically more serious as he finally carried on with the truth. "As I was saying, I believe the Author's intentions are to end this story."

"This story?"

"Yes, this story. This very existence. The exchanges and experiences of what is happening right now. That is this story and your daughter is at the center of it."

"If what you say is true, then what does any of this have to deal with my daughter?"

Jefferson shook his head. "I'm not certain, but what I do know is that you're doing everything in your power to protect her from her own magic. I'm thinking that by doing so, you are halting the story's progression. You are thwarting destiny and indirectly preventing the destiny of everyone else."

"Destinies?" echoed back another voice from behind them in the cabin. Henry, while still in his tuxedo, stood before them unamused. He carefully placed his enchanted timepiece back into his coat pocket and crossed his arms as he continued, "Really Grandpa? Jefferson?"

"Henry," said both Jefferson and Rumplestiltskin simultaneously and with surprise. Neither one of them expected Henry to leave his own wedding to investigate them. Henry came forward to them, shaking his head in frustration as he said, "You know, Paige told me you guys were up to something and I said to her, 'nah, they wouldn't do anything nefarious on our wedding day'. I said to her that nothing was wrong and that you two were just somewhere in the party having a good time like everybody else. I guess I was wrong, wasn't I?"

"Yeah, Grace was always too smart for her own good," acknowledged Jefferson as he backed away into a standing coatrack. He turned to Rumplestiltskin and remarked, "Boy, you weren't kidding about being watched."

"Henry, it's not what it seems," claimed Rumplestiltskin as he tried to explain. "We didn't do anything wrong."

"Didn't do anything wrong? Grandpa, you are traveling without consent! Explain that to the Magical Transport Authority," scolded Henry to his grandfather.

Jefferson stood up straighter after having leaned up against the coat rack and cleverly retrieved an oversized black top hat that had swirls of gold embroidered all around it. Smoothly, he upturned his hat and gave it a spin as he tossed it to the floor. A miniature cyclone appeared inside the hole of the hat and a magical wind engulfed the room.

"Well pal, as fun as family reunions are, I really must get going. Send my regards to Grace when you see her Henry. Have a happy honeymoon!" At Jefferson's last words, he hopped into the spinning hat and disappeared from both the cabin and the conversation.

As soon as the wind died, Rumple gestured towards the vacant spot where Jefferson once stood and asked, "Aren't you going to go after him?"

"When he's ready to come back to Storybrooke he'll find me. And trust me, the person he'll be answering to won't be me. It'll be my wife." Henry sighed at the thought as he said to himself worriedly, "She's going to be so disappointed and heartbroken when she hears about this. I can't do this to her on our wedding day."

"You don't have to tell her anything," suggested Gold. "You can return to the party and claim you saw nothing here."

"You see, that's where you're wrong Grandpa! Families don't lie to each other. You can't just go lying to your loved ones."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to turn you in," declared Henry with feigned authority.

Rumple scoffed and retorted, "Without magic? I'd like to see you try." Rumple shook his finger at Henry as he said, "You've always underestimated my power, boy."

"And you've always underestimated my power!" exclaimed Henry, taking offense to his belittling gesture. "I carry with me the people's voice and backing. And the power from that kind of love always surpasses any kind of magic you possess."

"Alright. Well then if your powers are as strong as you say they are, then how about putting them to some good use. Why don't you help out your aunt who has been bullied nonstop by everyone in town? Why do you encourage the rumors about her?" challenged Gold.

"I can't believe you're trying to negotiate a deal out of this. You know I can't control what people say or do!"

"Well then, since there's no way for you to stop me, I will do whatever I damn well please because what I do with my time and my powers is my business. And no one, not even you, can stop me," declared Rumplestiltskin as he pulled out his dagger from within his coat jacket.

"I will find a way."

"You will most certainly try," egged Rumple defiantly and with a flick of his wrist, Rumple whipped his dagger into the air and disappeared from the cabin.

I'm so happy to be publishing this pivotal chapter! The had to have been my favorite to write, especially because Jefferson was a surprisingly fun character to write and put up against Rumplestiltskin. I did always find their banter on the show to be most amusing. Thank you to Grace5231973 and Actress10 for reviewing and keeping in touch with me. I may not be quick in responding, but I do read your reviews and I love every single one of them! Thank you. I look forward to reading them for this chapter. Until then, have a safe holiday everyone and I'll see you next chapter!