Disclaimer: Once Upon A Time and its characters belong to Adam Horowitz, Edward Kitsis and ABC/Disney. No infringement intended. This story was written purely for fan entertainment and to improve my writing skills.

Author's Note: This fic is set in the possible future of the series (potential Season 3/4). Hook has returned from Storybrooke to FairyTaleLand alone. He found Aurora also travelling alone, and they somehow wound up travelling together. Details of this and their pasts come into play during the fic.

The Shrewd Break of Dawn

(part 1)

They'd been awake since midnight; brief uncomfortable sleep interrupted by a thunderclap and the sudden onset of rain. Killian had run straight for the nearby trees, while Aurora stayed on the riverbank grabbing her closest belongings. Upon reaching her companion, she shook her head at him and then strolled further into the forest. Killian gazed at the canopy and held out his hand. At no sign of water, he shrugged and followed Aurora, copying her footsteps and petite stumbles over tree roots and whatever else covered the forest floor.

Killian kept watch on the back of her dress, as well as that overly-long shawl now bundled in her arms and only just concealing the satchel she'd never let him touch. The moonlight barely glowed through the trees – each spatter of light brought with it a dollop of rainwater – and they'd had no time to fix up a torch. With just a few strides between them, Killian began to take note of how Aurora moved. Hunched shoulders kept her arms close to her sides; her legs were a mystery hidden within the flowing material of her dress, but Killian suspected they were also taut only allowing so much freedom to take tiny speedy steps. Aurora's hair, however, bounced along in a rhythm that soon sparked the memory of an old pirate ditty. He hummed the tune for a bit and then, momentarily forgetting his location, sang a few lines:

"She looked the perfect shape and size,
'Let´s go aboard and strip her'.

So he fired a shot—"

"What?"

Killian's boots scuffed against a protruding tree root as he avoided Aurora's scowling form. He moved his hand to the tree trunk, coughed out an apology, and waved his hook-arm around.

Aurora tilted her head slightly. "Were you singing?"

"An old song," Killian muttered. "Something I heard long ago on the open seas. It mentions places I've never been, but it's still quite relatable."

Aurora brow rose, "An old pirate song?"

Killian smirked, "Aye, Princess. Do you have any songs about royalty?"

"I learned a few ballads as a child." Aurora admitted, holding the satchel closer to her stomach.

"Well, if you remember them, perhaps you could sing me a line or two." Killian stepped away from the tree. "Songs about stealing treasure and women may not appeal to noble folk, but I'm sure I could handle a few rhymes about princely heroes and draconic villains."

Aurora looked around them. "We, uh," she gazed at the darkened tree tops. "This seems like a good place to make camp." She bent down to touch the tree root. Finding it cold but dry, Aurora sat upon it as daintily as she could manage. She placed her satchel on the ground nearby and wrapped her shawl around her shoulders. Cringing, she slid her shoes off her feet and wriggled her toes.

Killian eyed the satchel. He crept towards Aurora and reached his left arm out towards the strap hanging loosely on top of the bag. Before his hook snagged it, Aurora clutched the satchel to her chest. Killian smirked as he snagged one of her shoes instead.

"Shouldn't you be building a fire or something?"

Killian laughed. "Should I?" He touched the shoe and felt the inner sole. "I could've set up a fire earlier, Princess. The ground was dry enough. You didn't need to walk around in soggy shoes just to spite me." He tossed the shoe back and it landed on top of its twin.

Aurora shrugged. She opened her satchel and checked its contents. Satisfied, she closed it again but kept it on her lap. Killian began picking up fallen twigs. He dumped them all in a pile near Aurora's shoes and then checked his coat pockets. Grimacing, he pointed at Aurora's lap.

"You wouldn't happen to have a flint stone in there? Perhaps the one I used at eventide?"

Aurora shook her head, "Sorry no. Only one thing in here and it's larger than that."

"Ah," Killian grinned. "A clue; not a particularly helpful one, but it'll do."

"Remember you owe me another pot of gold for asking. How many is that now? Sixteen?" Aurora tapped her fingers together.

"Very funny," Killian coughed. "But there'll be none of that gold 'til we find a leprechaun or the end of a rainbow." He resumed searching the ground for fallen tinder.

Aurora moistened her lips. She tapped the satchel, slid down to the ground and nestled into a nook between two tree roots. Aurora pulled the shawl from her shoulders and wrapped it around her bare feet; she shivered slightly, and then closed her eyes.

Flickering light caught her attention moments later. Aurora stared at the fire before her and then at the man hovering to her left. His eyes were upon her lap and it was then she realised she wasn't dreaming. Aurora moved the satchel around her, placing it between her back and the tree-trunk. She glared up at Killian, and he shrugged as he walked closer to the campfire.

"I thought I should let you sleep, Princess." He sat beside another tree. "You haven't been doing much of that lately. Is it the nightmares again? The ones from the curse, I mean."

"No," Aurora shook her head. "They're not why I can't sleep." She pulled her shawl free from her feet and smiled as the fire's warmth hit her toes.

Killian grimaced, "I can't imagine what you went through with all that. A year – or twenty eight years, I guess – wandering about in a storm of past grievances. I had a version of that, though I was able to get out of it at any moment I chose." Killian dug his hook into the ground. "But I was so driven by revenge that I didn't realise I had that choice at all. And even if I'd known, I doubt I would've taken it. A lot of stuff had to happen to get me to that point; still has to happen." He pulled the hook out and wiped the dirt off. "I'm not over it yet, but I'm trying to figure out how to be."

When Killian looked up at her again, Aurora realised she was leaning forward. She sat back but cringed when the satchel's contents bumped against her spine. She pushed it to one side, looped the strap around her right arm twice, and then gazed at the fire.

"I generally prefer water to fire, but on nights like this I prefer warmth to wetness."

Aurora nodded. Her eyelids drooped, but she was determined to remain awake. She looked away from the bright flames.

"You can sleep if you like, Princess." He tossed a stick into the fire. "I'll wake you if it looks like you're in nightmare world again."

Aurora chuckled, "You wouldn't be able to tell. I'm so used to it now that I don't look like anything but a peaceful sleeper. Mulan thought the nightmares had stopped because I wasn't crying out anymore, but it was just a matter of me not being scared anymore. That doesn't mean the place had become less scary, though." She shrugged, "I don't know how to explain it, but I think when we found Phillip again the nightmare world just… wasn't as bad."

"So," Killian pointed to Aurora's tree. "It's what's in that bag that's keeping you awake. You don't trust me to not look at it."

"Should I?" Aurora laughed. "It's all you've been interested in since we started our journey."

"Well, if you just showed it to me, I wouldn't be so curious about it." Killian sighed. "And to be honest, I haven't got much else to focus on. We're headed back to your kingdom, or what's left of it, and who knows what'll be done with me when I get there. My life's been turned upside down numerous times, and the one thing that kept me sane all these years is now lost."

Aurora nodded, "Your need for vengeance against—"

"No!" Killian scoffed. He smiled at Aurora and shook his head. "That drove me on for most of my life, true, but no… What kept me sane was my ship." He frowned and turned his head away from the fire. "And I'm not even sure if I can be bothered to go find her."

"It would mean going back to Storybrooke, wouldn't it?"

Killian shrugged. "I can't imagine she'd still be in one piece. No, I would much rather go back in time. Then I'd have my ship, my crew—"

"Milah," Aurora added.

"Actually, I'd go further back than that. I don't think she would've been better off with him, but if it hadn't been for me she would never have died the way she did. Or maybe she would've, but I'd have never known her; never known the pain..." Killian's voice trailed off as he stared at the firelight shining on his hook.

"Sometimes I wish Phillip had followed my wishes and left me alone."

"But you'd still be in that nightmare world."

"And he'd be okay."

Killian's brow furrowed. "That's the talk of someone taking on too much guilt, Princess. You're not to blame for that wraith. I told you Rumpelstiltskin was behind it."

"But if Phillip hadn't been in the area—"

"Someone else may've been marked. You may've been subject to whatever the wraith…" He shifted closer to her left side. "Besides, he came to be with his one true love. And he's back now, isn't he?"

Aurora frowned. "He woke me with True Love's Kiss, so of course I was his. I'm just not certain he was all mine. Even before the wraith took his soul, it seemed like his love was torn."

Killian grimaced, "That Mulan girl?"

"Woman," Aurora corrected him, and then laughed. "I understood, though. They'd been through a lot together before they found me."

"And she's with him now."

"She's helping him; again."

"I'm still curious as to why you chose not to go with them. I'm also curious as to how they were fine with leaving you alone."

Aurora pursed her lips and lowered her head.

"I'm sure Phillip will kick himself when he hears you've been hanging around pirate scum."

Aurora smiled, "Maybe, maybe not. Maybe when we get back to my people you'll get a new set of clothes and look nothing like a pirate."

Killian's eyes widened. He sniggered, "Yeah, except for this thing." He held up his left arm. "I doubt there are many princes or dukes with metal appendages. Besides, the ocean's in my blood. I can't be a landlubber for long; it weakens my stamina."

Aurora covered her mouth, but her eyes gave away her amusement. She swallowed and nodded. "I should think it'd be the same for me on a boat."

"Ship," Killian corrected her.

"Whatever size vessel it would be, I'm very much used to solid ground."

Covering his own mouth, Killian nodded. He gazed downwards and then towards the fire. The flames barely flickered now. Killian stood and turned to Aurora. "If you're not going to sleep, Princess, perhaps we should move on. The rain seems to have stopped, and your shoes look dry enough. Why don't you try them out?"

Aurora eyed Killian suspiciously. She held the satchel tightly as she reached for her shoes. The inner soles were still damp, but the outside was completely dry and warm from the fire's heat. Aurora put each shoe on and then stood.

"Are they comfortable enough?"

"Yes," Aurora walked around the tree. She watched Killian seemingly dancing on the spot, his eyes gazing at the tree canopy. "Why are you so restless?"

Killian paused and smirked at her. "That's pretty rich from someone who won't sleep."

"You've hardly slept either."

"Which you would know because—" Killian clicked his fingers. "Come on; let's go back to the river."

"But that's going backwards."

Killian shrugged. "We knew where we were there. And it is much easier to figure out directions when there aren't so many trees blocking your view. And I'm hungry. Early morning's a good time for fishing."

Aurora twisted her mouth. "You said that about eventide."

"Both times work." Killian sidled up to her. "That's when the fish are more active; when they think we're not."

Moving the satchel to her other side, Aurora glanced at Killian. "Surely they would've caught on by now."

"You'd think," Killian shrugged. He stepped forward and then turned to face Aurora. "Fish have a very short memory, apparently." At her dubious expression, Killian shrugged and turned around again. "Just a little something I learned in Storybrooke." He stepped to the side and gestured for Aurora to walk past. "Let's go."