Chapter 3: A Selfless Gesture

Killian looked at the castle in the distance before sighing sadly,

"Can't sleep?" Clara asked from behind him and he turned towards her,

"I'm a nutcracker. I don't sleep but you should be. We have a long journey come dawn if we want to reach the mountain pass by the end of the day" Killian said firmly and hated the fact that Clara still smiled at him,

"I'm no fool, Killian. What's on your mind?" she asked gently,

"Besides impatience? " he warned in a sarcastic tone but Clara still smiled up at him knowingly and she watched him sigh in defeat, turning back to look at the castle as she came to stand by his side,

"When Milah turns me back... I have no idea what will happen" he murmured,

"Well... Won't you get married and... Rule SugarCane together?" she asked causing Killian to sigh once again and he began walking away from her,

"I'm no prince" he grumbled and Clara looked after him with a sad expression,

"Then what are you?" she asked, making Killian stop in his tracks,

"I... There was a time when myself and my brother were in the royal navy together... We were the perfect team. The Brothers' Jones. Residents of the kingdom would call us" Killian said with a bright smile that made Clara smile herself,

"You had a brother?" she pressed gently and watched Killian nod,

"His name was Liam... He died from a poison known as dreamshade during a mission we were on for the king... Milah's father" Killian told her sadly, turning back to face her,

"I lost my brother and because of that... I turned to a life of piracy" he admitted but Killian was surprised to see no hatred or disgust in her eyes,

"Killian, I am so sorry" she told him but Killian still looked down at the ground in shame and Clara stepped towards him, taking his wooden hand in her own,

"You are far more than a nutcracker, a pirate and even a prince, Killian" Clara told him softly, lifting her hand and pressed it against his hard chest,

"Just because I can't feel it... I know there's a heart deep inside that wooden chest of yours and I know that you will be a wonderful husband to Milah... She won't care that you don't want to be a prince or a king. She'll love that you will just be by her side" Clara assured him but Killian looked unsure,

"How do you know?" he asked almost desperately,

"I just do" Clara replied with a smile,

"You sound like someone who has been in love before" he pointed out gently and couldn't help but notice the smile fade from her face as she stepped away from him, shyly,

"That is one story without a happy ending" she murmured, going to sit beside the camp fire that was still glowing faintly and Killian looked at her curiously before going and sitting on the log across from her own,

"What was his name?" he asked after a long moment of silence,

"... Eric... His name was Eric" Clara answered,

"I... We were engaged and... Then we weren't. It's as simple as that" she finished quickly but Killian saw the tear fall down her cheek,

"Clara" Killian pressed gently and saw her eyes glisten with tears as she raised them to the heavens' trying to be strong,

"I... I was pregnant" she whispered and this caused Killian to look stunned,

"I... It was last winter. I was on my way home and... I fell, hit my head on a rock. Knocked myself out... It began snowing but someone found me... It just wasn't in enough time to save my son" she whispered and Killian quickly stood before going to her side and pulled her into a hug as she silently cried,

"It wasn't your fault" he told her,

"It should have been me. He didn't do anything wrong" she whispered,

"Neither did you" Killian defended her firmly,

"Eric seemed to I did" Clara murmured,

"Wh... What?" Killian pressed and slowly began to realize,

"I... Eric blamed me... Because I lost our baby... That's why he broke off the engagement" Clara whispered and Killian felt his blood boil within his wooden veins,

"That dishonorable bastard" Killian growled but saw that his anger was making nothing better and he pulled Clara close, resting his wooden chin above her head,

"Shhhh" he soothed and it was after a few minuets that he looked down at her only to discover that she had fallen asleep against his chest and he couldn't help but smile softly.

Killian and Clara reached the mountain pass by the next night and soon stood at the castle gates the morning after that,

"Can I help you both?" a guard asked in a polite and curious manner and Clara could see how nervous was,

"Killian Jones to see Princess Milah" Clara assisted and Killian smiled at her thankfully and the guard also smiled, clicking his heels together,

"Excellent. Follow Me" he instructed before turning and began marching and both Killian and Clara followed after him.

Will Milah be able to transform Killian and Clara back to normal? We'll find out in the next chapter! Review for Chapter 4!

Kind Regards,

TheAuthor1996