Present: Fairyland

Well, this was a fine mess.

It hadn't been too hard to sneak on board, with a majority of the crew asleep and away from their posts. And honestly, the one thing she'd been looking for in the cargo hold was seemingly small and insignificant-a small, enchanted chest. Hidden among the other treasures, she didn't think they'd find it missing.

Well, they had, and they found her along with it.

They hadn't been exactly gentle as they dragged her into the captain's cabin, their fingers alone had bitten into her skin, bruising her. Then her mouth had gotten her into trouble, when she had refused to perform a particularly crude act for the captain. She'd spat on his boots, and had received quite a blow across her mouth, enough to split her lip.

Now, she sat roped to a chair in the captain's cabin alone, eyes downcast, concealed by the curtain of tawny curls spilling from her shoulders. The dirty, tattered shirt and breeches she wore clearly belonged to a man almost twice her size, and did nothing to block the draft slipping through the cabin. This wasn't attire fit for a princess.

This wasn't a situation fit for a princess.

Then again, Aurora was hardly an ordinary princess. After all, a royal without a kingdom merely had a title...no more purpose than the word had on a piece of parchment. She'd had no choice but to adapt. And good job I'm doing, She thought bitterly. She'd stopped tugging at her restraints what felt like hours ago, long after they'd turned raw and red. Her mouth still throbbed from the blow she'd received, so she'd vowed to keep her mouth shut. She didn't exactly like the idea of bleeding over this, especially at the hands of a barbarian captain.

Speak of the devil, Aurora thought, as the captain of the ship himself entered the cabin with his quartermaster, and two men, their faces hidden by shadow of hood and hat. The captain might have been fearsome to some...matted blond hair, with a matching, tangled beard, and gargantuan girth. His quartermaster was a dark man, nearly topless, his accent that of an islanders.

Yes, they might have terrified many men in their wake, but Aurora had faced far worse to be intimidated by size.

The sound of the captain's boots echoed off the walls as he approached her slowly. He knelt in front of her in an attempt to get her to look at him, no doubt to try and intimidate her this way. "Are we comfortable, my little stowaway?" He asked, his tone dripping with mock-sympathy for her predicament. Aurora's nose wrinkled in distaste-his breath was foul, but still, she kept her silence.

Undeterred, the captain continued. "Now, tell me, how did you find your way on my ship?" He asked. "Many men twice your size have tried and failed, and yet here you are...no companion, no weapon...all for this little trinket here." He lifted the small chest, regarding it with new curiosity. After all, why would she have risked her life for it? What was so important inside?

Silence.

"You will speak when spoken to!" The quartermaster growled from his position behind the captain, but Aurora continued to hold her tongue. She was doing far more damage to them by not speaking. She could practically feel the captain's frown.

"Perhaps we should have a bit of fun with our guest here..." The captain said mercilessly, his hands moving along Aurora's legs toward her thighs. "She'd open her mouth well enough then, I'm sure."

On instinct, Aurora's leg kicked out, just barely missing a vital part of the captain. She might not have inflicted injury, but the warning was clear-no touching. The captain seemed to snap, and his hand flew across her mouth, sending her head snapping to the side from the blow. "You will watch your legs, my pretty, or you will watch yourself lose them." He snarled.

"You would do well to mind your manners, captain, or you will lose your life, not to mention a few vital appendages." Aurora's voice came lilting from behind her hair, soft and sweet, each word dripping with poison. She finally brought her eyes to the captain's, and despite the blood now trickling from her mouth, she could see him hesitate. Her blue eyes were little more than ice, her brow arched regally in an expression meant for dooming men to their deaths.

The captain finally recovered, reaching his hand back to strike her again. "I'll teach you a lesson, my girl." He declared, and just as his hand prepared to fly, he found himself caught. The captain's eyes looked to his wrist, the glittering metal of a hook wrapped around him. One of the hooded men held him, and he could barely make out a small smirk from beneath the shadow.

The man's tone was pure silk, no obvious emotion but amusement lacing his words."Now, captain, is that any way to treat a lady?" The man's free hand came up to brush back the hood, and in the same movement, removed his sword from its sheath.

When he released the captain's arm to step back, pressing the point of his sword to the captain's spine, there was a clear view of his dark hair, long enough to just brush against his brow, his jaw unshaven, but neat. He wore the smirk still, but his eyes, gleaming in the pale moonlight drifting from the window, were blue steel. It wouldn't take much more convincing for him to run the captain through.

"Hook." The captain snarled, glancing back at his enemy. "I might've known this was your ruse. You hardly have a habit of letting gutter rats do your work." And no sooner had he said the words than he felt another blade at his chest. When he looked forward, he found Aurora freed, chest under her arm, with his very own blade pressed against him.

"She is hardly a gutter rat, wouldn't you say?" Killian whispered. His tone was playful, but there was a clear warning to his words. Tread carefully. "You alright, princess?" He asked jovially.

"Quite well, thank you." Aurora replied, turning the regal expression on him. "Though I must say you do bide your time, don't you, Captain?"

Killian flashed her an impish sort of smile, returning his attention to the man they had cornered. "Now then, why don't we put all of this behind us, and part as gentleman, hm? I have what I came for, and you have your head. All in a day's work, I'd say."

As Killian spoke, those in the cabin, glanced toward the door, the metallic clash of swords, the roar of a battle signaled that, no, they wouldn't be leaving easily. He returned his attention to the captain in time to block a blow from his sword, shoving him away. He watched as Aurora just barely missed a brutal swing from the quartermaster's sword. She was handling herself well enough these days, but this wasn't a battle for her. "Get back to the ship!"

Aurora just managed to shove the quartermaster away already breathless. "I won't leave without you!" She cried. It was hard to manage the chest and thwart the quartermaster's blows as well.

Killian shoved himself between her and her opponent, just in time to intercept his next swing, and pushing her to the door. He caught the captain's sword with his hook, and headbutted him, before kicking the quartermaster back, sending the man back against the wall. "Go!" He snarled to her.

She hesitated another moment, but someone had to protect the chest...get it to safety. "Hurry!" Aurora cried finally, and took off through the cabin's door.

Aurora stopped short, when she moved into the direct line of a pistol, aimed straight at her.

Well, it hadn't been the best victory, but it had been a victory nonetheless, and that was all that mattered to Killian. Bodies still littered the deck, but the survivors of the crew were now corralled into the center of the deck. He wasn't one for captives, but if he disposed of -all- of them, he'd surely have a headache from Aurora.

He frowned slightly, glancing about. Where was that girl? It wouldn't be like her to actually follow orders and return to the ship to wait on him. Most likely pouting somewhere near the guns, He thought. He didn't have time to play games with her just yet. As long as she had the chest, that was all that mattered.

It wasn't as though he didn't care, but...well, they'd had their spats recently, more than usual. Admittedly, this quest for the tiny trinket had taken a toll on everything in his life. The meals he'd skipped, the sleep he'd lost just pouring over maps and charts, determined to find this vessel and the cargo it beared. Naturally, Aurora had fussed at him, but just a little at first...until she'd just seemed to give up. She called it his obsession, and for nearly a week, they hadn't spoken.

In fact, when they'd talked in the captain's cabin not a few hours before, that was the first they'd spoken since the incident. Since she uttered those three, damnable words...he just wasn't ready to hear or return.

Shaken from his musings, he called to his first mate. "Mr. Smee!" Killian watched the captive crew in front of him, giving an almost playful smile. He had a reputation to uphold after all, and what was piracy without a little fun intimidation? "How big are our cells, Mr. Smee?" He asked, once the man had finally reached him.

"Enough for them all, if we pack them in tightly." Smee replied. He was used to the captain's need for games, and knew he'd hear about it if he didn't play around.

"Well now, that doesn't sound very comfortable at all..." Killian made a noise of disapproval.

"Hook?"

Ah, there she is. Killian barely glanced behind him at Aurora's voice. She could wait. He returned his attention to the crew, giving them an almost merciless smile. "I suppose we will just have to dispose of a few of you, to make more room."

"Hook..."

"Patience, dear." Killian called behind him, trying to not let his annoyance show, still not bothering to look back. Couldn't she see he was busy? They would just have to have a little chat when they returned to his cabin. "Allow them to decide amongst themselves, Mr. Smee...who will go and who will stay."

"Yes, Captain."

"Killian!"

At his name, Killian finally turned, annoyance and anger bubbling inside him. "I know you think this is important, Sweetheart, but..." He trailed off, once he caught sight of her.

There his princess stood, as ethereal and beautiful as she always had been, leaning against the railing for support. Her hand clutched at a wound on her stomach, blood trickling over her fingers, the red stain creeping along the shirt she wore. Aurora took a step, her free hand gripped the railing as she attempted to meet him on the deck, but her knees gave out, leaving her to slip down the first few steps.

"'Rora!" His legs seemed to have a mind of their own, as he found himself taking off toward her. Killian knelt beside her, pulling her into his lap, careful to keep her from being jostled too much. "It's alright, darling, it's alright. We'll just patch this up here..." He gently removed her hand from her wound, and wished to whatever being above that he hadn't. He knew, immediately, that this was bad...he couldn't patch this up. Staggered, he attempted to gather himself. He tugged off his coat, bundling it to press against the wound, attempting to staunch the blood flow. "You'll be alright love." He promised, attempting to give her his usual, charming smile. "We'll get this cleaned up, and you'll be right as rain."

Aurora gave a small moan of pain, her fingers curling into his shirt. Through the shivers, she offered him a shaky smile, and lifted a bloody hand to brush back at his hair. "That smile has never worked on me..." She said, her voice a whisper. "Th-though you certainly used i-it enough."

Her fingers trailed his cheek. She needed to talk to him, needed to say it, before the words escaped her. She forced her voice louder, trying hard not to show him what pain she was in. She could be brave, too. "You d-don't want to hear it...n-not in front of the o-others, I know..." she swallowed, tasting blood. "But this is as g-good of a time as a-any. I love you. I-I'm sorry, Killian..." she gripped his shirt earnestly.

Killian brushed her hair back, trying to not give a near-hysterical laugh. It was building, as a laugh or a cry. "Why are you apologizing to me?" He demanded, and shook his head. "Don't start this dramatic nonsense, love...we just need to get back to the ship, and we can care for you-"

"You stop telling me wh-what to do, you cad." Aurora said, settling back in his arms. She felt the blood trickle along the corner of her mouth. She had to hurry. "I-I'm sorry I didn't see it...I didn't see wh-what this meant to you." She reached down, and offered something to him.

The chest. The damnable enchanted chest. He could have chucked the bloody thing into the sea. "'Rora..." He shook his head, ready to shake her. "You think this makes it worth everything? Worth you?" He immediately regretted his harsh tone, the second she began to cough, choking. "'Rora, sweetheart..."

"Make it worth me." Aurora rasped finally. She rested her head against his arm, so tired...so tired.. "Just stay with me, a bit longer." She whispered. And her fingers loosened in his shirt, before her arm fell limp.

"Aurora?" Killian's heart stopped in his chest, clutching her tightly. "Aurora!" No, not again...not like this... He thought desperately. But no matter how hard he shook, what he said, how he cursed...her eyes didn't open, and the blood still flowed.

It had happened again. Only, this time, he had no one to blame but himself.