"Killian?" Tink demands his attention as he turns around to walk away from her.
"Hmm?" He replies, opening his rum bottle with his teeth, taking a sip.
"You will love again," The pixie assures him smilingly.
He smiles in return, a wide empty smile, "is that so?" Killian questions, but his tone revealing he's either not interested or unbelieving. But the pixie chooses to ignore it and nods.
"Us pixies can show you where your true love is, yours however isn't around yet."
"As in, she's not even born?" Tink nods, causing Killian to snort. "Well sweetheart, I'm all for a little height and age difference, but that is too much of the good."
"When you first meet her, she will be almost your age," Tink, once again ignoring his unbelief, smiles. "You'll be stuck in Neverland for a while."
"How long is a while?"
"About three hundred years," She lifts her shoulders and smiles apologetically. "Then a curse hits and another twenty eight years pass. And then, on a beanstalk you will meet your true love. You'll like her almost immediately, but she is resistant. She'll make you want to do the right thing. You'll want to change your ways for her, you'll save her, multiple times, risking your life for her."
"A beanstalk…" He raises his eyebrow, leaning against a tree, "Lady, I'm never going near giants, I'm afraid your little prophecy here is incorrect."
"Aside from your true love there is something else for you on that beanstalk," Tink smiles, shrugging once.
"And what's that?"
"If I told you, where would be the fun in that?"
"So may I know my co-travelers names?" Killian questions, breaking a long silence as the walk.
"No!" The girl in purple objects, but the blonde shook her head at her.
"Emma," She introduces herself to him, "Emma Swan." He nods. Swan… She was certainly as beautiful as a swan, dangerous when you came too close.
"Snow White," The short haired woman smiles, seemingly resisting the urge to offer her hand for a handshake. Ah yes, Snow White, princess of this land before the curse.
"Mulan," Another introduces herself, spitting out her name at him.
"I'm not telling you my name," the girl in purple crosses her arms, ignoring his look.
"Aurora?!" Snow White hisses in a disagreeing tone, covering her mouth quickly, realising she just revealed her name. Killian smirks, shaking his head a little, as he looks up, he sees the Swan girl is doing the exact same thing.
Killian eyes up the beanstalk, suddenly remembering the pixies words about the beanstalk. True that he now stood here because he needed something up there. A compass. But would any of them really be his true love? He squints, blocking out the sun, trying to look at the women deciding who should accompany him.
The Swan girl didn't really seem to have time for love. Nor did she seem all that interested in him.
Mulan didn't seem to like him all that much and Aurora despised him. If it were either of them that journey to love would be a long one.
And he was fairly convinced that Snow White was already married for she kept talking about a man named Charming.
But out of all, if he had the choice, he'd pick Emma. There was something about her, like he was drawn to her. Killian liked a girl who could fend for herself and Emma was certainly that, she was strong and yet caring - for her son. And surely, she kind of pretty beautiful too. Emma Swan would be a challenge, but a journey worth his time; a woman worth his time. He sighs, trying to keep his mind off these distracting thoughts, he was here for one cause only. The compass.
"Ladies," Killian starts, receiving their attention. "In this world, we are slaves to time. And ours is running out. In other words, tick-tock." Emma approaches him and holds out her hand. He smiles wide patting his shoulder and she lays her hand there. Something about her touch feels like coming home, filling up the emptiness inside, the emptiness that has been there every since Milah died, and already he knows that he will try to find as many ways as possible for them to make more physical contact.
"I was hoping it'd be you."