"And what's your name?"
Aurora looked startled and turned her head to stare at the man who was sitting off to the side. It was nighttime and the group was camped in a small grove of trees, one of which Captain Hook was bound against.
She hesitated; Emma was the one who had done most of the talking in the group especially when it came to communicating with their prisoner.
The last thing Aurora had said directly relating to Hook was her protest against leaving him to be eaten by an ogre.
But Emma was currently asleep with Snow beside her and Mulan was off patrolling or something. Besides, would be rude not to answer after all.
"I am Princess Aurora," she couldn't help the slight inflection of pride in her voice when she gave her titled name.
To her surprise, Hook didn't mock her the same way he spoke to Emma. Instead, he simply smiled. "Aurora," he repeated, testing the word in his mouth and rolling it back and forth.
She decided to explain, "It means…" but he interrupted her and finished her sentence with a grin, "the dawn."
Aurora's eyes widened with excitement at the shared knowledge, "that's right."
Before she could explain the story behind her naming, Hook simply said, "I can see why you parents would call you that." Then he tilted his head back like he was remembering something from long ago and he was hoping the night sky, which he had glimpses of through the leaves, would help him remember. It must have worked because he smiled to himself and murmured, "Aurora Musis amica."
Aurora felt like she had seen something private and decided to dismiss the conversation. "It's silly really…" and she started to turn away from him to face the fire again.
"No it isn't," he was staring so intensely at her. It was as if he was the fire that was heating and burning her.
Hook hadn't intended it to be like this. She had a weakness he was going to exploit but instead he found himself following the play of the firelight in her hair, how it made it look like there were streaks of amber in it. Her face seemed to glow like light was emanating from it. But what really captivated him were her eyes. They were the same earnest and kind eyes that looked back at him earlier as the others walked away to leave him to die.
Aurora found herself moving closer to him, "It isn't?" she murmured.
"Not at all," Hook replied in the same hushed tone. The magic may have left the land but he could feel it tugging around them in that moment.
Aurora knew he was telling her the truth but there was a deception to him. He was hiding something, it was a secret no one was allowed to know but she could see it in his eyes.
She knew this because she had her own burden of a secret that she carried around with her. Aurora kept her secret because it was all she had left that after everything had been taken from her. She suspected that was Hook's motivation too.
"I can't untie you," she stated quickly and almost apologetically. She felt ashamed now that she had engaged in a pleasant conversation with him but still treated him like a captive.
Hook could tell she was uncomfortable and this is what he had initially anticipated and hoped for but now, instead of lulling her into a false sense of security, he started to reassure her. "Oh I wasn't expecting you to, in fact I would highly advise against it. I am an untrustworthy, cutthroat pirate."
Aurora laughed softly but then suddenly turned serious, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to laugh but I do believe there's more to you than meets the eye."
Hook offered her a roguish grin, "that is true, Princess."
"If you like, you may call me Aurora," she moved back to her original seat and adjusted her dress.
"I'd like that very much, Aurora."