"Ah, princess, you've come to grace me with your presence once again." Hook seemed to have reverted back into his usually, snarky self during Aurora's absence. His burns had healed considerably, too.

"It's nice to see you, too." She replied to him with a small curtsy and a mock smile, realising that her words weren't a complete lie. She was quite glad to have someone to keep her company—even if that someone was the infamous Captain Hook.

"So, made any progress on finding a way to lift my curse?" He questioned, a small flicker of hope glinting in his eyes, despite his attempt at nonchalance.

"I'm afraid not." She told him apologetically, and then added, "Not as of yet, anyways. But I'm positive we'll get there."

"Well, I won't underestimate you, princess." He said, for a split second seeming to become more sincere.

"Captain, can I ask you something?" Aurora piped up.

"Yes, princess."

"I had believed that the sleeping curse must be taken willingly. So—" She hesitated for a moment before continuing, "How did Rumplestilskin manage to convince you to take it?"

"Oh," Hook looked to his feet, contemplating his response before speaking again, "It was quite simple really." He began to explain, "He stuck his hand into my chest and gave me two choices, to have my heart pulled out and crushed or to be put under the sleeping curse. I decided that I'd rather have the possibility of miraculously being awoken one day than being dead and gone for good. Call it being impulsive, but I prefer not die. Although never had I imagined that sleeping could be this bad."

Aurora nodded subconsciously in agreement, she was quite sure that if she hadn't had a firsthand experience of the curse, she'd have chosen sleeping over death as well.

Over time, the unlikely pair seemed to fall into a routine; every night, Aurora would show up, and Hook would be right there, waiting. They quickly grew to be at ease in each other's presence. So much in fact, that even during the day, Aurora often found herself looking forward to Hook's company.

Most of the time they spent talking, after all, there really wasn't very much else for them to do. He told her of the adventures he had on his ship, and in exchange she lent him a listening ear. Each time he told her a story, it seemed as if he was living it all over again, she could almost see the reflection of his old life on his face. She could tell it helped him keep his mind off the horrible nightmares too, and she was glad for that, for she knew they were troubling him more than he'd admit.

Hook had just recounted an incident with the sirens, where he lost nearly half of his crew, when he looked over at the princess, who seemed completely captivated by his tale. "Tell me about your sleeping curse." He prompted her, "The good part, I mean, the waking up part. What was it like? If I recall, you woke up because—"

"Phillip." Aurora cut in, "Phillip woke me up."

"Yes, your prince." Hook sighed, "Well, I don't suppose I have a princess waiting for me somewhere, now do I?"

"You never know," Aurora shrugged, "After all, I don't suppose you expected to see me here. Stranger things have happened, Hook, it really wouldn't be so much of a miracle."

"No, perhaps not." He murmured.

"And after all, there are quite a few former princesses residing in Storybrooke. Or so I've heard, anyways." She added jokingly, hoping to raise his spirits.

In response to her words, Aurora received a knowing smile from Hook, "It's unfortunate that the only one who can help me is stuck in another realm."

Aurora laughed, and then turned to him, her tone now serious and asked, "You really believe I can find a way?" Because even though she'd never burden him with the doubt, there were times when she honestly wasn't sure of whether she could do it herself.

"Well, you survived thirty years of this curse with your mentality intact; I believe there isn't much you can't do." He told her as she blushed at his compliment.

Soon, Hook realised that he was close to having told all the stories he had to tell the princess, to the point where Aurora could recount from memory most of his lengthy 300 years of life. Fortunately, Aurora discovered a new source of entertainment. She found that she could control the blazing fire surrounding them. It was only small parts of it or only single flames at first, but after time, she managed to move whole expanses with only her mind. The one thing that had once been her worst fear was now completely under her command; she could bend and twist the movements of the flames at will. Aurora wasn't quite sure what could have caused this, but Hook was happy to provide his insight.

"I think you can control your dreams." He said, "Lucid dreaming, have you ever heard of that? I think… if you wanted to, you could be gone from this place. You could have sweet, happy dreams about being back with your prince, ruling a new, flourishing kingdom. Yet you keep coming back here. Why is that?"

Aurora shrugged absentmindedly; she never gave it much of a second thought, really. She just fell asleep, and Hook was there. She wondered now if what he said was true. Perhaps, if she tried, she could block out the netherworld like Snow did, but the thought brought her to a realisation. She didn't want to try. She knew then that she did have an answer to Hook's question, "Because I know what it's like to be all alone in this place, Hook. Because… of you." She looked up at him, just as he looked away, unsure of how to respond.

It didn't take long before they slipped back into their usual ways, the recent conversation forgotten, and Hook was telling Aurora of another thrilling tale of life as a pirate. This one Aurora had already heard before, but she still listened intently as he spoke. To her, he seemed like the physical embodiment of a vast, treacherous ocean. His deep voice reminded her of the rumbling roar of waves she used to hear from her tower in the castle she once lived in. She wished she had some exciting experiences to share with him too, but the most eventful time of her life was when Emma and Snow came to her realm, and he was there for the majority of that. There were also large parts of it that she would rather not relive, anyways.

"I don't think I've ever properly been to the ocean." Aurora told the pirate as his story came to an end.

He chuckled at her confession, "Well, you really don't know what you're missing out on."

"After everything you've told me? I think I do."

An idea struck the pirate and he turned to the princess, "I'll tell you what, if I get out of this, the first thing I'll do is take you for a ride on my ship. I owe you as much anyways."

"Owe me? For what?" Aurora cocked her head in curiosity.

"For willingly coming back into this nightmare every night, of course." He said with what looked like a genuinely grateful smile. It seemed Aurora's previous confession wasn't lost on him, after all.

On this particular night, Aurora found herself craving the blissful rest that came with falling asleep. She had travelled far with Mulan to find a woman who claimed to be a skilled sorceress, capable of transcending realms, only to come to the realisation that she was just another fraud.

She had set herself down next to Hook, who was, once again, patiently awaiting her company and was now in the middle of orchestrating the flames into a re-enactment of one of Hook's many tales, with great ease.

"Sometimes I think you might just be a dream, a figment of this sleeping curse. But then I realise this nightmare couldn't possibly grant me with something so great." Hook admitted to Aurora, as they sat beside each other, staring into the flames.

His words broke her concentration on the fire, and it quickly reverted back to its regular act of mindless flickering, although neither of them seemed to notice as they turned to look each other in the eyes. She wished more than anything at that moment to be able to touch him; for him to be tangible, something she was sure wasn't a dream of her own.

"It goes away, you know." He muttered, looking away from her gaze.

"What?" Aurora asked, not quite sure what exactly the pirate was on about.

"All the horrors, the nightmares. Whenever you're here, and I'm with you, it all goes away." He confessed. Aurora smiled, she was glad that she's doing some good, since her efforts to get to Storybrooke were currently looking to be fruitless in her waking hours.

It had been many days since Aurora first encountered Hook in the netherworld, and sometimes she couldn't help but wonder if her being with him had made any impact on him, possibly changing him from the ruthless villain bent on revenge she knew him to be in reality. He seemed to be different, but she had trusted him too easily once, and it was a mistake she didn't want to make again. She voiced the thought to him, "If I manage to wake you up… Would you still want to kill Rumplestiltskin?"

"Of course." He replied without hesitation.

"But it's not worth it." Aurora shot back just as quickly. She didn't know what she had expected him to say, she didn't even realise until now that she had held him in much too high a standard.

"I think it is." Hook countered, showing no sign of having ever considered any other option.

"It's not, believe me, I know how you feel. I once sought revenge so badly that I was willing to kill for it. It was fortunate that Mulan was there to remind me vengeance isn't justice. Now I want to be there for you, I don't want you to make the mistake that I nearly did."

He chuckled, obviously not seeing the truth in what Aurora was saying, "It won't be a mistake. It'll be what I've been planning for my whole life. It's something that I'll do anything to see accomplished, and don't you try to convince me otherwise."

Aurora couldn't believe that Hook still hadn't managed to shake off his thirst for revenge. A part of her had thought that maybe he'd have a change of heart, if not because of her, then due to the time he'd spent under the curse. Well, that would be her mistake. "What if he puts under a sleeping curse again? Or worse, what he isn't so generous the second time and decides to kill you and be done with it?"

"I'd be happy to die if it means that the world will be rid of Rumplestiltskin. If he's dead, then it'll all be worth it." It had become apparent to Aurora that his judgement was so clouded, he may just have just lost all ability to see sense when it came to his revenge.

"Not to me." She murmured, half hoping that he wouldn't hear the statement as her mouth involuntarily spoke the words.

However, Hook managed to not only make out what she had said, but appear to be almost genuinely amused. "Sure, as if a princess of your standards would care for a worthless criminal like me?"

"Of course I care!" Aurora exclaimed, taken aback by his harshness, "Why do you think I told you I'd help break the curse if I didn't?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe you were bored being alone all the time? Maybe you just wanted to give me a reason to keep you company?" He spat, his tone spiteful. Aurora knew he didn't believe his own supposings, at least not completely anyways, but that didn't change the fact that what he said still angered her.

"Maybe you're right, you're just a worthless criminal and that's as much as you'll ever be! You're never going to change; I was a fool for thinking otherwise." She nearly regretted snapping at him, but he quickly took away any doubt she had for being unkind.

"Yes, perhaps you're just too naïve, princess. Didn't anyone ever tell you not to trust someone like me?" He finished with a cynical laugh. As he looked into her eyes, he noticed that they reflected the fire perfectly, it was as if flames had ignited in them, which was quite an accurate portrayal of the fury she was currently feeling.

"I guess that means you don't need to be here for much longer then, do you?" Her voice was a false calm, contradicted by the roaring blaze that had started to grow behind her. "I think if I wanted to, I could make you go away. You said it yourself, I can control my dreams, can't I?" She taunted the man, whose scornful gaze started to falter, "And also, I'm no longer a princess, so you can stop referring to me as such."

"No! Princess—Aurora," Hook corrected himself as all his contempt seemed to instantly transform into sincerity, "Please, you can't send me back to those nightmares. You know how bad it is. Please, don't."

"Yes, I do know exactly how bad it is. But I spent more years of my life asleep than I did living, and I came out fine. I think you'll be quite alright." She knew a large part of what she was doing was out of spite. She had foolishly assumed that after all the time they'd spent together, she might've been able to convince the pirate of something, that he'd listen at least. The fact that her opinions still meant less than nothing to him only further convinced her to go through with what she wanted to do. She closed her eyes and imagined him gone. When his protests faded away, she looked to where he had stood only moments ago, and just as she had predicted, he was no longer present. The space he occupied only moments ago was replaced by the pesky flames, which almost seemed to be mocking Aurora, reminding her that once again, she was completely, and utterly, alone.