"Aurora."

She followed the sounds of her name, marking off her progress on mirrors with a point of a diamond. At the beginning she used to smash them — out of frustration and fear — but that proved only to cause her a painful mess.

"Aurora."

The mirror maze, once entered, goes on forever. She had ventured into it for uncountable days only to lose hope and turn back, using the scratches on the mirrors as a guide out. Of course the maze was not the only place she could explore. There was the darkness behind.

"Aurora, wake up."

Someone had provided her with a torch and she had used it to light her way through the gloom. It did little to help. The darkness seemed to soak up the light and the further she got from the mirrors the more exposed she felt. The maze was a torment but at least it was stable. It was there and in the dark was nothing.

She even began to suspect that the maze did not have an exit but lead to a centre, to a prize. Only then could she be free. But after many days — years — this proved a fools hope. She was stuck.

"Wake up!"

The voice was different and coming from the maze.

"I'm imaging it," she whispered but followed, catching glimpses of dark reflections. She did not need a torch now, she knew her way blindfolded. It was as if the voice tugged at her heart, leading the true way. The man was calling to her, she was getting closer to him but as she rounded a corner she stumbled to a stop.

It was a dead end. Her reflection was cast back and forward a thousand times and her figure duplicated between. A shadow moved behind her and she spun round with a gasp.

"Wake up sweetheart!"

"Hook!"

She shouted as she woke and stared around wildly but the hotel room was empty. Shaking she switched on the lamp and sat up in bed. Her heart was beating hard and would not calm. She had often dreamt of her entrapment but only when she got to Storybrooke did she start to dream of the mirror maze and the dark, before it had always been the flaming room.

This world was different. She had learned from Emma that she was just a figment of imagination to children here but it was not until she had read the stories herself did she believe it. And what stories! Shuddering at the less savoury accounts of her varied life Aurora rose and dressed, unable to sleep. Her heart, though no longer drumming, ached strangely and she rubbed at her chest.

Heartache. She had failed to break Philip from his curse, another had done it, and it had only been with that failure that she had accepted the truth. She had moved on and it had been to a place without him. Now that was literally. Here she had friends and a new life but there was still a gap inside that could not be filled. Her realm was ashes and so was her family.

She felt odd, the dream still clinging to her and wandered down dark and empty streets preoccupied. She did not realise where she had taken a stroll to until she heard a gull crying overhead and looked up to see the Atlantic before her. It was still dark but dawn would be soon.

"What are you doing here?"

Aurora looked down and saw an unwelcomed sight slumped on a bench. Hook proved a sorry sight. Since his ship had been sunk by Cora in her death throws he had become a shadow of his former self. While that proved well for the rest of Storybrooke it has not bode well for the pirate.

"That's no concern of yours," she said through thin lips and stepped back but could not take another. Her heart flared with surprising emotion and her hand flew up to her chest. His eyes, once bleary with sleep focused on her sharply.

"I forgot…" he said and laughed, straightening up.

"Forgot what?" she snapped, not liking the way he looked at her. Her heart felt squeezed, like heartache and longing was binding it. Hook smiled at her, gaze dipping downwards and he flourished a hand at her chest.

"While I don't want to dredge up our sordid past I have a confession to give."

"Oh? Well I'm afraid your confession will fall on deaf ears," she said with a hard smile and turned to go.

"Did you know that the person who takes a heart has claim over it forever?"

She froze, her eyes wide. "Nonsense," she breathed and glared at him. The smile was gone from his face; instead he gazed at her sombrely.

"It's true."

"It was returned to me, it's mine."

"Than why are you here?"

"I was walking, nothing more. How would I know where you would be?"

"Because I whispered into your heart," he replied quietly and Aurora blinked in confusion. Hook sat back, looking over her shoulder as he spoke. "Before I gave it to Cora I needed to make sure that I had a way out. That was you."

"What are you talking about?"

"If I ever found myself in a truly despondent situation I could call on you, on your heart," he added with a weak smile while Aurora stared at him, appalled.

"What did you whisper?"

He smiled briefly and got to his feet. "I acted foolishly; I hardly gave it a second thought. Don't worry princess," he said as he stood next to her. "By daybreak I will be long gone and your heart will be unaffected."

Her disgust turned to anger and she grabbed at his coat. "First you tricked me, fooled me into thinking you were on our side while the whole time you had dishonoured me! Now this! You are an uncouth braggart and you deserve everything that has happened to you! I'm glad your ship sunk!" Her cheeks were red and she was breathing hard. That felt good.

His mouth curled and his eyebrow rose as her rant ended. "Well, that was unexpected, though warranted…What I did was very bad form and I'm sorry. You were just in the right place at the right time. Desperation can lead gentlemen into the most deplorable places."

"Gentleman!" she scoffed and he actually appeared offended at her scorn.

"I did save your heart."

She narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "Which now seems nothing but a ruse. You only did that because you have this sway over me."

"What use would I have of you princess? The crocodile is vanquished, my vendetta is over. If I had wanted to use you to further my goal here I could have but I didn't. I may be a pirate but I do have some standards."

"The standards of a cutthroat," she hissed and pushed him away. As she left the ache in her heart flared but she ignored it. She survived twenty eight years in a dark endless maze and never broke; she would not do so now.

"Farewell sweetheart."