A/N: So here it is. I'm not cut out for NaNoWriMo. And after the "Interaction" debacle the fandom needs a little fluffed up Hook (mind you, I started writing this on November 1st, when my hopes were still up high^^). Thanks to Kris for beta reading this *hugs*

Have fun! =)

Aurora was scrared to fall asleep.

Snow might have told her that the nightmares were nothing but a side effect of the sleeping curse and would fade with time but that didn't make up for the terrors the young woman was facing every time she closed her eyes. It seemed almost ironic to her – the princess who had slept through the end of the world – was now wide awake with dread. She hadn't had one good minute of sleep since Philip had come and broken her curse.
She had been so happy then, opening her eyes to the sight of his smiling face, older than it had been in her memories and less innocent but still the face of the man she loved. The future had seemed so bright and full of possibilities.
Just for one fleeting moment the world had been hers to take on and right there, in the arms of her beloved, she had been more than ready to. It had been her dream come true.
But then, like all dreams do, it had all ended and left nothing but monsters and nightmares and a void in her heart that could never be filled. Philip was dead. Instead of living her happy ever after she was now stuck with three strange warrior women who made her feel pathetic and weak and useless and a pirate who was likely to betray them the first chance he got.
And somewhere along the way they had stumbled headfirst into this crazy quest that could cost all of their lives. Aurora was still unsure if it was really worth it. What could really be gained if Cora did not make it to this strange place called 'Storybrooke'? What use was it to those left behind with her in what was left of the Enchanted Forest? She could see why Snow and Emma were fighting so desperately to get back to their loved ones and the pirate was so eager for his revenge on Rumplestilzkin, that he would have given his other hand to finally have it. But what about her?
Aurora would be alone there, just as she was alone now. No family, no loved ones. What was there waiting for her if she went to this new world with the others? Revenge, maybe. Revenge on the monster that unleashed the Wraith and took her Philip. But it wouldn't bring him back, so was it really worth dying for? "Philip, what do I do…?" she whispered.

There was no answer, only the sounds of animals and the not so far away noises of battle. The war was never far away these days.
Snow and Emma were asleep, so was the pirate who they had tied sitting up against a tree for the night. Mulan was patrolling somewhere in the woods, taking the first shift of the vigil. Aurora turned around to lay on her back with a deep sigh. She had been huddled on her side, close to the warmth of the fireplace, but she wanted to watch the stars like she had done with her mother when she couldn't sleep as a child. Maybe this would help keep the monsters away. Unfortunately though, these parts of the woods the treetops were so thick that she couldn't see the sky.
"I wonder what's keeping you awake, Princess."

Aurora just barely suppressed a startled cry that would have alarmed the others. She had been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed she wasn't the only one who was still awake.
The pirate – she still didn't know if she should address him as Killian Jones or Captain Hook, if at all – was watching her through the dim light of the half burnt campfire with that trademark half grin even the most dangerous of situations would never completely wipe off his face.
Now it was so broad it even reached his eyes. He took obvious enjoyment in the fact he had scared her. "I didn't frighten you, did I, Your Majesty?"
There was something about the way he said 'your majesty' that made Aurora grind her teeth. It was so demonstratively lighthearted that it verged on mockery.
"Of course not." she answered with as much dignity as she could embody from where she was half laying on the cool forest ground.
Aurora sat up and wrapped her scarf tighter around herself. She leaned closer to the fire and put on a few more of the dry branches she had collected earlier while the others had set up the camp. She eyed him up over the tongues of fire now licking away at the cool air around them.

He was dirty and in desperate need for a shave. His hair was a thick, black mess and made a rather intriguing contrast to his steel blue eyes.
There was a nasty cut on his right cheek which reached down almost all the way from his eye to the corner of his mouth. It was a small miracle that this was the only injury Emma and he had suffered when they had fled down the bean stalk with the compass in their possession and a very angry giant on their heels.
"Does it hurt?" she asked and pointed to the wound on his cheek, careful not to sound like she really was concerned. He was still just a pirate after all.
"What? This…?" he reached up to touch his cheek but was cut short by the thick rope that tied him to the tree. He rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh that was just a tad too theatrical to be real. Aurora asked herself if there was anything in this world that this man took seriously.
"It's nothing" he finally said with a shrug. And with a chuckle he added: "Why? You're not worried about me, are you, Milady?"

He might have played it light but Aurora hadn't missed that short moment when his face had contorted into a grimace of pain, before falling back into his regular expression of slight amusement.
"Of course not." Aurora shot back with disdain. "Don't be absurd."
Hook seemed to bask in her visible discomfort. "That's harsh, Princess. I was honestly touched for a moment. Now be a doll and fetch me the black flask from my satchel, will you?" He asked sweetly.
There were a lot of answers to this infamy that Aurora had on the tip of her tongue but she decided they would have been wasted on a man who wouldn't take them to heart anyway. It was obvious that he was just trying to wind her up.
So instead of wasting her breath, she just scowled at him and stood up to get his satchel from where it was lying in a small pile with all their other belongings.
She tried not to look too closely when she rummaged through it to find said flask. When she had finally found it –even without looking she couldn't help the sudden urge to wash her hands – she went over to where he was sitting, very careful to keep a safe distance, and held it out to him.
He looked up at her with mild amusement. "As much as I would love to help myself here, I have to remind you – and I'm not speaking figuratively – my hands are tied. I'm afraid I have to ask you to assist me. Please." His grin grew even wider, when Aurora blushed furiously.

She opened her mouth to say something but found that she was mute with embarrassment. Ever the proud queen in waiting – that Hook had only been able to catch the tiniest glimpse of when she had volunteered to go with him - she drew her chin and uncorked the flask with a look that was fit to make a man wilt. She wrinkled her nose at the sharp smell of alcohol.
"Here", she said. 'Choke on it' was what he read in her eyes.
"Thank you", Hook smirked and there was a smug gleam in his eyes when he felt her hand tremble the tiniest bit as he plucked the flask from it with his mouth. The flask was almost empty. He had used most of what he had left of his rum on Emma's hand – bloody waste. However, after days of abstinence and his dance with death earlier that day, Hook still cherished the warm feel of it running down his throat. When he had downed every last drop, he let the empty bottle unceremoniously drop to his lap.
"Just what I needed." He beamed up at her like a boy who had been allowed chocolate before supper. "Cleansing from the inside out."
Aurora just rolled her eyes at him. "It won't help you with this," she noted, nodding to the cut on his cheek. "You should have used that to do a little cleansing from outside."

She reached into her saddlebag she had brought back from the pile as well and pulled out a laced handkerchief. Pretending she didn't see the derisive look that Hook gave the fine piece of woven fabric, she wetted it with water from her canteen. Aurora knelt down in front of Hook and – much gentler than she would have thought was possible after the last few minutes – reached the handkerchief to his face.
She couldn't help a little smirk of her own when he subconsciously shied away from her hand. "Don't tell me you're afraid of a little water, Captain."
"I'm not as much afraid of water as I am of women with a tendency to scowl at me the way you do," he gave back but allowed her to carefully put the wet cloth against his cheek to clean the wound. For an instant she caught herself hoping that it wouldn't leave a scar. "And it's Killian for you, Princess."
"There would be no need to scowl at you if you showed a little courtesy every now and then, Captain." Aurora retorted, purposely sticking to the more formal way of addressing him.
"I got you the compass, didn't I?" Hook sounded almost offended. "And I didn't leave Emma to face the giant alone. I tell you with me it doesn't get much better than that." He looked at her, holding her gaze for a moment and there was a glint in his eyes that Aurora couldn't quite place.
"Although I could try my hand at a little courtly love, if you please, but for that I'd suggest you untie me first."

Aurora pulled her hand away like she had been burned. She was suddenly very aware of their proximity and she felt foolish for the effect his words had on her. More than that, however, Hook had a way of looking at her that made her all too conscious about the fact that she had never been particularly close to any man other than Philip.
It made her feel uncomfortable, like the innocence she had been praised for in the past had somehow become a crucial disadvantage in this new world she had woken up in. She cleared her throat and tried to inconspicuously scoot away from him.
"I'm making you uncomfortable", Hook noted, but if he was pleased by it, he made an effort not to show it. "I'm sorry, Princess. I'm not used to being in the company of proper ladies. And I suppose living amongst sailors for so long has done no good for my manners either. I was being way out of line and I apologize." He nodded at the handkerchief that lay forgotten on the ground between them. "That was very kind of you. Thank you."

"That was nothing." Aurora quickly dismissed, scooting away just a little more before making herself comfortable; her legs tugged close to her chest, her face turned slightly away from him and towards the crackling fire.
"Speaking of that compass", she went on, after a moment of awkward silence. Aurora was actually thankful that Hook had brought it up earlier, because she really wanted to talk about it but had a feeling like no one around her was telling her anything even remotely important. "What do we do now that we have it? I know, you said it will show us the way to this 'Storybrooke' place, but how do we get there when Cora still has the embers that we need to open a portal?"
"That, my dearest Princess, is a most challenging question and the answer to it is just as simple as it is tricky to follow through with." Aurora looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. Now, without the rags he had used to disguise himself with, he really was the perfect image of a rakish corsair; a ravishing hero who belonged in romantic stories young girls would whisper about behind closed doors. Even though he was tied up and bloody and exhausted she found that he had something radiant about him. He was, she realized, brimming with a zest for action. "We are going to steal it from her. The embers... and something else."

"Something else?" Aurora asked, suddenly intrigued. "What else does Cora have that we need?"
Hook didn't answer at once and his gaze seemed to be somewhere far away, as he looked into the flames. Aurora could see its reflections dance in his eyes while his mind wandered places she had never seen nor heard of. "My ship," he finally replied and there was a grim draft tugging at the corners of his mouth. "She has the 'Jolly Roger' and I have every intention of getting her back."