Rumpelstiltskin

Rumpelstiltskin

A fascinating character, Rumpelstiltskin is a force for good and evil; his actions and deals causing both happiness and pain.  Probably the oldest character in the Enchanted Forest, his timeline consists mainly of deals, meetings, and an endless power struggle with the Evil Queen Regina.  He desire to find his lost son wars with his need for power, something he cannot seem to give up at any cost.

• Rumplestiltskin goes off to fight in the Ogre wars, hoping to prove he's not a coward like his father.
• He meets a Seer on the front lines who warns him that he'll leave his son without a father;
  thinking that the seer's prophecy means he's going to die Rumplestiltskin injuries himself and is sent home.
• Back home Baelfire has been born and Rumplestiltskin's cowardice is known by all 
• When Baelfire is about eight/nine Milah, his wife, leaves him for a pirate.
• Some years later his son, Baelfire, turns fourteen and is therefore ready to be taken to the frontlines
• Resisting this Rumpelstiltskin discovers the means to kill 'The Dark One' and gain his power using a dagger
• He successfully kills 'The Dark One' and ends the Ogre Wars
• Less than a year later Baelfire asks the Blue Fairy for help in returning his now power-hungry father back to himself - she gives him a magic bean which transports him to 'a world without magic'
• Rumpelstiltskin breaks his deal with his son by not going with him to the other world (leaving Baelfire without a father as the Seer prophesied), but vows to find a way to get there - by gaining more power and creating a Curse
• Rumpelstiltskin hunts down the Seer; she tells him that Baelfire's son with 'be his undoing', and he takes her powers
• On the hunt for a magic bean, Rumpel runs into William Smee, the pirate, and Milah.
• He kills Milah by removing and crushing her heart, and cuts off the pirate's hand (creating Captain Hook). He doesn't get the magic bean - it is instead used to transport Hook & ship to Neverland.

--Some Time Later--

• Jiminy, a young man who is trapped by his parents in an unhappy life, comes to Rumpelstiltskin for help. He gives it - in the form of a puppet-transforming potion - in return for goods. After the potion is administered (to Geppetto's parents by accident) the puppet-parents can be seen in Rumpelstiltskin's growing collection.(a)

• Soon-to-be- Queen Regina tries to run away only to fall afoul of her mother's barrier curse. She questions her father on how her mother got to be so evil, and he tells her about a book. She finds the book - which has a heart on the cover - and calls Rumpelstiltskin.
• Rumpelstiltskin gives Regina a mirror and then encourages her first use of magic as she pushes her mother, Cora, through the looking glass. 
• Rumpelstiltskin visits Victor Frankenstein, and offers him gold in exchange for knowledge about science, in particular how to bring back the dead.
• Rumpelstiltskin teaches Regina magic, but sends her away when she asks him to bring Daniel back from the dead.
• Once again Rumpelstiltskin visits Victor Frankenstein, having learnt that the heart used in the attempt to bring back Victor's brother wasn't strong enough. He offers to introduce Victor to Regina, via a 'man with a hat', so that he can gain a magical heart.
• The Mad Hatter, Jefferson, exchanges a crystal ball for some gold, mentioning that he was unable to get 'the slippers'(f)
• Jefferson, Rumpelstiltskin, and Dr Frankenstein work together to get the Dr a magical heart, and Rumpelstiltskin a more determined and evil Regina (monster).
• Regina, having failed to have Daniel returned from the dead, removes and destroys the heart of her replacement, to Rumpelstiltskin's delight.

• King George comes to Rumpelstiltskin because his wife cannot have children. Rumpelstiltskin finds James and Charming, taking James to be prince. James's parents have their land saved in return.(b)
• The Ogre Wars restart, and Sir Maurice requests Rumpelstiltskin's help. He agrees in return for Maurice's daughter Belle
• Belle goes to live with Rumpelstiltskin, finding Baelfire's clothes, and falling in love with him
• [Allowed to visit town Belle runs into Queen Regina who tells her that she can break Rumpelstiltskin's curse with true love's kiss]
• Belle attempts to break the curse, but Rumpelstiltskin throws her in the dungeon and then tells her to leave
• Queen Regina visits Rumpelstiltskin, telling him that Belle is dead. He places Belle's chipped teacup on a pedestal
• [Belle is alive and offering advice to Dreamy in a tavern at this time](c)
• Prince James dies, and King George demands that Rumpelstiltskin replace him. He does so (with Prince Charming) in return for a Fairy's Wand(d)
• Snow White visits Rumpelstiltskin asking for a way to stop loving Charming. He gives her a forgetfullness potion in return for a strand of her hair
• Having drunk the potion Snow White and Grumpy visit Rumpelstiltskin again, he asking for a way to restore her memories, she for a way to kill the Queen. Rumpelstiltskin gives Snow a map showing the Queen's coach route
• Discovering what has happened to Snow White, Prince Charming visits Rumpelstiltskin for a cure. He gives him the same map and reminds him that true love's kiss breaks any curse or potion. In return Charming gives him his cloak - thus enabling Rumpelstiltskin to bottle True Love (via hair from Charming and Snow White)

--Some Time Later--

• Rumpelstiltskin kills Cinderella's Fairy Godmother and takes her Wand(d)
• He does a deal with Cinderella - sending her to the ball in return for a favour
• Rumpelstiltskin visits Cinderella at her wedding informing her that the favour is her first born child
• [Desperate to get out of the deal Cinderella gets a quill from the Blue Fairy which will freeze Rumpelstiltskin]
•  Rumpelstiltskin signs a document with the magic quill and is placed in Prince Charming's specially built prison(e)
• Queen Regina visits Rumpelstiltskin in prison asking why the Curse she got from him won't work. He tell her she has to use the heart of the thing she loves the most - her father. In return when they are in the Magic-less world she has to do what he asks if he says 'please'
• Snow White visits Rumpelstiltskin for a way to break the Curse. He tells her that her daughter will return to break the curse when she is 28, so long as she is sent to the new world now. In return Snow White tells him her daughter's name - Emma.
• [Curse is enacted]

  Even though there are a lot of details of Rumpelstiltskin's life his timeline is still slightly difficult to piece together, mainly because it depends on so many other characters.
(a) The placement of the deal with Jiminy Cricket - Aside from having to be placed after Rumpelstiltskin gains power, this could easily come before or after Regina becomes Queen. I placed it before the events of the Queen because Jiminy has to guide Gepetto, and he is at this point a young boy; by the time of the Curse he is an old man.
(b) King George adopting James must come before Regina becomes Queen because of relative ages.  Snow White is clearly about the same age as Charming, and therefore his twin brother James.  When we first see Snow she is about 12 and Regina isn't Queen.  Therefore if James was adopted as a baby he must have been adopted before Regina's story and Belle's.
(c) Belle's story is relatively easy to place in some regards.  It must come after the Queen is evil, and after Dreamy has been born, but before Dreamy becomes Grumpy.  I think it probably comes after the Queen summons the Huntsman because she appears to have time on her hands (she's having a problem with a little mermaid), whereas she doesn't have much time between killing the King and trying to kill Snow White.
(d) The second deal with King George - to replace James with Charming - begins a series of interactions between Rumpelstiltskin, Snow White, and Prince Charming.  Therefore it has to be placed before all of those events.  The curious thing that can be noted about this deal is that Rumpelstiltskin wants a Fairy's wand in exhange - but he gets one himself when he kills the Fairy Godmother later on.  We can only assume that King George gave him a way to find the Fairy Godmother, so Rumpelstiltskin would know where to look.
(e) This event - imprisoning Rumpelstiltskin dates all subsequent visits and deals.  After this point only deal which took place in prison can occur.
(f) Jefferson and Rumpelstiltskin's conversation regarding the slippers indicates that they can be used to travel worlds, in particular to our world - the world without magic. Combined with the presence of the crystal ball (acquired from the same origin world as the slippers) this suggests that they are the Ruby Red Slippers of The Wizard of Oz (Dorothy was stuck in Oz, and used the slippers to get home to our world).

List of Deals

Rumpelstiltskin's life post-power is made up of a series of deals.  I thought it might be useful to list these deals: what he gave and what he gained.

Individual---For---In return

Baelfire---Trying to become normal---?won't stop him from trying to find a way?

King George---James---?

James's parents---James---their land safe

Jiminy---Potion---Goods
Frankenstein---gold---scientific knowledge
Frankenstein---a magical heart---not bringing Daniel back

Sir Maurice---Help in the Ogre wars---Belle

King George---Charming---Fairy's Wand

Snow White---Potion---A hair from her head

Snow White---Bow and Arrow---'Invested in her future'

Charming---Map---Cloak

Cinderella---sending her to the ball---her first born child (he then takes Thomas as a hostage)

Snow White---Information on the Curse---her baby's name

Queen Regina---Information on the Curse---riches and power, and to do as he says when he says 'please'

Emma---Cinderella's baby---A favour - helping him find his son