Aurora woke with the back of her head pounding, and when she opened her eyes, the bright light above her was far too intense. She groaned and closed them again quickly, and turned her head towards the floor on which she was lying. At first she couldn't remember what had happened, why she was lying here on this dirty stone, but in a flash of memory, images began forming behind her eyelids, and Aurora was filled with despair.
Betrayal. That was what he'd done to her. She had trusted Hook with her life, with Phillip's life, and he'd promised to carry her to Phillip safely, but he'd never intended to help her at all. He'd sold her out the first chance he got, and she could just imagine him laughing while standing at the wheel of his ship, that stupid hook glinting in the sunlight. What a ridiculous, foolish girl I am, she thought. Always seeing the good in people even when there isn't an ounce of it anywhere, even deep inside.
When Aurora had first met Hook, she'd taken pity on him. Emma and Snow hadn't trusted him at all and left him tied to a tree, and it turned out they'd been completely right in their thinking. He was a liar and a thief and a murderer, and he would never change. Anyone else would have learned their lesson when he ripped their heart out and gave it to Cora, but Aurora had told herself it was only because he'd been so desperate to get to Rumplestiltskin, that he'd always intended to give it back to her. She was an utter, utter fool.
This last time when Aurora and Hook had crossed paths, she'd been with Mulan, searching for Phillip, and Hook had told them he had an idea where Phillip might be. He'd promised to take them there on the Jolly Roger. For a price, of course, but he was a pirate; Aurora had expected that. She didn't care. She would give anything to be with Phillip again.
Hook had told her that it would be a long journey, and it certainly was. They were on the Jolly Roger for over a month, and Aurora had though they would reach the end of the world before they found Phillip. Hook had told her that Maleficent had captured Phillip and had used her magic to send him to an island and hold him there. Aurora asked him how he could possibly know this, but all he would say was "I'm a pirate, love. Information is how I make my living."
In spite of his secrecy, Aurora had come to like Hook over the time they were on board the ship together. Mulan spent most of the days in the cabin below decks; she didn't take well to the sea at all. Aurora was forced to make companions of Hook and his crew. Certainly he could be moody and withdrawn, but there were many times when he'd joined the crew in their pirate songs or regaled Aurora with stories of their adventures on the seas. Hook could be a lot of fun when he wanted to be. And she had to admit, when he smiled at her or said anything with that saucy tongue of his, she always blushed a little.
Mulan noticed how close the two of them were becoming, despite how much time she spent alone in the cabin, trying to ward off her seasickness. She had warned Aurora against it vehemently. "You can't trust him, Aurora. Captain Innuendo will only hurt you again. I was there last time. We both know what he's capable of."
Aurora told herself that she wasn't really trusting him; she was just allowing herself to become friendly with the people with whom she was holed up together on a boat. But in her heart she knew that wasn't true. She was becoming genuinely fond of Hook.
That fondness had been her downfall. When they'd finally reached the tiny island where Hook said Phillip was being held captive, he'd devised a plan that involved all of them splitting into groups of two to get inside the prison. He'd paired himself with Aurora. At first she had been reluctant, but he'd looked at her with those blue eyes of his and any mistrust just fell away.
The next thing Aurora knew, they were inside the prison and searching for Phillip. It was almost like a castle, and they encountered many dark rooms to search. When they had searched nearly every room, Aurora had started to give up hope. Maybe Hook had been mistaken and Phillip wasn't there after all. But then they came to the last room, and Hook forced the door open. Phillip was sitting on the stone floor, hunched over, cuts and bruises all over him. Aurora gasped and ran to him, but when she went to embrace him, she felt him shift and start to laugh. As she backed away, Phillip sat up and grinned at her. Slowly he began to change. His hair grew longer and his clothes, torn and bloody, turned into an elaborate ball gown. She looked at his face and suddenly, staring back at her, was the face of Maleficent. Phillip's laugh turned into the witch's cackle and Aurora felt fear grip her heart.
It had all been a trick. Hook had brought her right into the evil woman's clutches. Maleficent stood and dusted herself off. "Well done, Captain, well done." Out of the folds of her gown she produced a velvet sachet and Aurora could her coins clinking together inside.
The witch tossed the bag to Hook, who caught it with his good hand. "Where is the rest?" he asked.
"The rest will be given to you after this one and the warrior have been disposed of. Not before."
Tears stung Aurora's eyes. "What have you done with Mulan?" she demanded.
"She's being taken care of," Hook said. He grinned, but this time it wasn't at all the friendly smile she'd grown accustomed to seeing.
Aurora sobbed. "Why would you do this? I can't believe I trusted you again."
Hook raised the sachet and let the coins jingle. "You can always trust a pirate, love. Trust him to go where the gold is." With that, he raised his hook high in the air, and whacked her across the head with it. Aurora fell forward and darkness overtook her.
As Aurora lay on the stone ground, her head throbbing, she vowed that she would somehow find a way out of this. She would do whatever it took to save Mulan and Phillip and when she was done with Hook, he would be in no shape to betray anyone ever again.