The bright light passed over us after a few minutes and my focus shifted to the scene around me. My brain felt fuzzy and I wasn't sure what just happened. I had a bit of a memory lapse after the strange phenomenon took over me but I soon found a familiar face in front of me.

"Ariel…? Is that, is that really you?"

"Killian!" I threw my arms around his neck and accidentally tackled him to the ground. It was refreshing to see my clumsiness was still present. His lips found mine a moment later and I kissed back, enjoying his warm embrace. We pulled away and stared at each other, almost in disbelief.

"What happened to us?" he asked me.

I shook my head, "I have no idea." We stood up off the ground and looked around to assess where we were. It was what appeared to be a bar that was rather oceanic, with seashell décor everywhere. We walked around, studying all the details on the walls until I found a staircase that led upstairs. I called Killian over and we decided to see what was up there.

I opened the door to what appeared to be a cozy apartment. It was decorated similarly to the bar but was slightly messier, with clothes and shoes scattered all over the place. Killian explored the other rooms as I stayed in the kitchen and common area.

"Ariel…" I heard him call to me. I followed his voice and saw him with his back turned to me, studying something on the wall. I came up behind him and found he was looking at a picture frame with a family portrait. It was then I realized that I was in the picture.

"Oh my god. That's me…and Adella and Alana. And….father…" I ran my fingers over the portrait and noticed the clothing we were wearing was different from the attire I was accustomed to. For whatever reason this picture jogged my memory and everything from this strange world came back to me. "We have to go find Regina…" I stated before darting down the stairs. Killian stood there, confused at what happened. "Come on!" I called to him and he eventually followed me down the stairs.

"Wait, who is Regina?"

"In our world she's the Evil Queen."

"What do you mean 'our world'? Where we are and what's happening?!"

"She should be able to explain everything," I continued running down the empty street, looking for a sign of life anywhere. Killian ran to catch up with me and I think he understood not to ask any more questions. I peeked into the diner and noticed there were still some people chatting about inside, thoroughly confused about what was happening. But I knew Regina wouldn't be in there. We continued walking through town until we reached the lavish white house that belonged to the mayor. I grabbed Killian's hand as we walked up the sidewalk to the front door and I rang the doorbell. I don't know why I felt nervous…I just wanted answers.

Moments later the door swung open and the mayor stood tall in front of us, clad in a royal blue blazer. She eyed us both up for a moment.

"It was you wasn't it?" she spoke.

"What in the bloody hell are you talking about?" Killian responded. Regina rolled her eyes before inviting us in. She poured us each a cup of coffee as we sat down at her kitchen table.

"We're looking for answers," I stated bluntly, "And we thought you were the only person who might have them."

"Well you came to the right place," she said, joining us at the table. "First thing's first, do you have all of your memories?"

"I do," I responded. Killian turned to me confused.

"You remember both worlds? Your life in Storybrooke and your life in the Enchanted Forest?" She questioned.

"Yes. In Storybrooke I was Marina, the girl who ran the bar. And in the Enchanted Forest, I'm Ariel the mermaid."

"Good, you're ahead of most people in this town. Can I ask what jogged the memory of your Storybrooke life?"

"We were in my apartment when I saw a picture of my sisters, my father and I. It was easy to tell it wasn't a picture from our world and seeing it brought back all the memories of living in this town."

"Interesting, almost as if seeing a past memory brought back that other life."

"But I also remembered our encounter before the storm. You said the town was cursed?"

She sighed, " Yes. Back in the Enchanted Forest, I set a curse that created this land for reasons that aren't important at this moment. It brought a handful of the citizens from our world with us and we all landed here with the illusion that we'd been living here all this time."

"Okay, then how do you explain him?" I interjected. Declan wasn't a resident of Storybrooke yet he was from the Enchanted Forest.

"Your arrival did spook me. I thought I had made an error when I cast the curse. But I think it's because the curse didn't fully affect you. You were a pirate in the Enchanted Forest, always travelling between realms. I think you were travelling on your ship when the curse was cast. Since you weren't on land and you weren't fully in the cursed zone, you weren't placed in Storybrooke."

"I guess that makes sense," I stated.

"Then how did I get here?" he asked, turning towards me.

"You were travelling, for a wedding that you didn't want to go to. And you took the wrong exit which led you here," I replied.

"As much as I hate to admit this, I think you were sent here to save us all," Regina proposed.

"What!?" we both responded in unison.

Regina continued, " Emma was destined to come here and I knew she would one day. But I didn't anticipate the town falling apart. I think because you were partially affected by the curse, the town almost drew you here, knowing your services would be needed."

"Services? What services?" he asked.

"You saved the town. You broke the curse. Both of you."

"How could I have possibly done that?" he retorted.

"True love's kiss. Breaks every curse."

It was then that I realized Killian and I (or rather, Declan and Marina) had kissed just before the bright light took over.

"But that would mean…" I stated, as I turned my head to look at Killian. He shot me his charming smile and I felt butterflies fill my stomach. I was immediately filled with memories and emotions. Killian and I had a bit of a storied past. We started out as enemies, being a pirate and a mermaid. He thought I wanted to lure his sailors to their death and I thought he wanted to slaughter my kind for our magical properties. But it was my fascination with humans that took over me when he was thrown from his ship. I took him to my grotto and helped to restore his health. After the initial tension and hostility, we grew into companions and then eventually friends. I began to see the good in him and I found myself growing fond of the man. We shared sweet kisses one night and I truly felt the strongest connection with him. Then the next morning, he went off to sea, seeking another adventure. Of course, I was heartbroken but we remained on good terms. He would stop at the grotto when he was passing through town and he always brought me a trinket or two from his journey. Those moments brought me joy and no matter what our relationship was, my feelings emerged every time he came around. But he was always gone in the morning and I was left alone with a broken heart.

I had all my memories in tact now, even those from this past weekend and it all made sense. I felt like I had known him my whole life because I had known him in a past life. And by some sort of miracle he had found me again.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You two lovebirds are meant to be together. Now you can leave and start working all of the kicks out. But can I offer you one piece of advice? If you have true love, do everything you can to hold onto it, because it truly is the most powerful thing in the world." I nodded at her response, and even though I didn't know her that well, I believed her and I trusted her. "Now, I suggest you two find a way to jog his memory. Things here will be much easier once he understands everything."

"Right, we'll be on our way then," Killian said as he stood. Regina led us to the front door and I thanked her sincerely before we left.


"Now, how do we bring back these memories?" he asked as we walked down main street, back to the bar.

"I'm surprised you haven't mentioned anything about having both hands again."

Killian stopped in his tracks and looked down to study his hands. A genuine smile lit up his face as he tested out the feeling in his hand. 'With all that was going on, I hadn't noticed," he spoke.

"Bring anything back?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Hmm…I have an idea." I pulled out my phone from my pocket and recalled we had taken a few pictures together from the wedding. I hadn't had the chance to look through them yet. I viewed the first picture and smiled at the memory it brought back. He peered over my shoulder and looked at the picture.

"When was that from? And what is this strange device?"

I chuckled. "This picture was taken this past weekend and this is a smartphone. It's a method of communication between people in this world."

"Ah, well unfortunately that hasn't brought back anything."

"It was a long shot. I don't think that picture properly reflected your life here. The picture of my sisters and my father worked for me because I spent my life here running a business to keep my father's memory alive. It makes sense for me. Maybe for you it'll just take some time."

At this point we had reached the bar. Killian held the door open for me and I took a spot behind the bar. I needed a drink after the news I had just received. I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Killian and I had broken the curse with true love's kiss. Saving the town was one thing, but Killian and I being soul mates was a lot to process. I think I had always loved him, but knowing we were destined to be together was news. I never thought we would work out just because of our lifestyle differences but maybe things were about to change.

I poured myself a glass of Fireball and topped it off with some ginger ale. I needed something with a kick to it. I also took the liberty of preparing Killian a glass of Jameson. He took a seat at the bar and I placed the glass in front of him. He lifted the glass in the air and clinked his with mine as we both drank. I took a long sip, finishing most of the drink and leaned forward onto the bar, when I noticed Killian's eyes were wide. I became concerned until I saw a devilish grin spread across his face. Suddenly he leaned in towards me, connecting his lips with mine in a passionate manner.

"I love you Ariel," he said as he pulled away.

"What?" I asked confused.

"I love you and I always have, I just didn't realize it until I spent time with you here, but it's always been you. I was just too stupid to realize it."

"You…you remember?" I asked. He nodded his head and lifted his now empty glass. Of course. The taste of his regular drink brought everything back. I simply smiled and leaned in to kiss him once again. I soon moved from behind the bar to be closer with him. Things were finally coming together.

"I love you too," I eventually spoke, between kisses. He lifted me up and twirled me around. I seemed like things were finally coming together for us. Maybe I would finally get my happy ending afterall.