Strumpet Thug (3.08)

This strumpet thug beat up Malcolm, a con artist, when he attempted to scam him in "Think Lovely Thoughts".

Before the Curse
In the Enchanted Forest, a young boy is seen watching as his father, Malcolm, rearranges cards on a stall in a game of "Find the Lady" with strangers. Malcolm requests a shilling should the man he's scamming pick the wrong card, making sure it's obvious where the right one is as he continues switching them around. When he's finished doing so, the man places a shilling down beside the middle card, signifying that that's his choice, but Malcolm turns it over to reveal that it's in fact a Joker - the wrong card. The man's friends laugh and Malcolm tells him not to feel too bad as he's not the only one who's been spared by the Lady tonight; "She's been quite shy all evening." Spotting something in Malcolm's sleeve when he twiddles his new shilling, the man grabs the con man's arm and sees that the card he was looking for is hidden in his sleeve. Realizing he's been tricked, the man takes Malcolm and punches him in the face, pinning him up to the wall by his throat. He's about to punch him again, when suddenly the young boy grabs onto his arm and begs him not to hurt his father. "You're better off without him," says the thug, and the boy appears horrified as his father collapses to the ground after another punch. The shillings he scammed off people are then thieved by the man, who proceeds to walk away, and Malcolm spits blood as his son asks him if he's okay. Malcolm assures his son that it's the cost of the game, joking that the thug didn't even leave him a shilling for a pint, which was rude. The young boy points out that all their money has been taken, but his father assures him that he'll think of something, just like he always does. "Rumple," he says, before getting to his feet just as "roll-up" is announced in the market place. The young Rumplestiltskin looks glum as he watches his father pack away his stall.