"Captain Hook and Captain Swan." a footman announced as the large doors swung open to reveal the throne room.

Killian could feel Emma close beside him and although he wanted to reach out to her, he knew he needed to be in full Hook mode for the audience with the King. He began striding forward down the red carpet towards the throne where the King sat, Emma on his tail. A small part of him had still been hopeful that Liam wasn't the King, that Emma and Anderson had made a mistake, but that hope disappeared as soon as he was close enough to make out the King's face.

"Bow to the King." another footman called out when Killian and Emma reached the end of the red carpet, neither of them listened to the instruction.

"So you're the infamous Captain Hook? I've heard a lot about you recently." Liam said, looking down at them from his throne on the raised stage, "You claim to have my brother and I'm willing to pay you whatever you wish to ensure his safe return."

"Safe return?" Killian repeated with a hiss, "You want to ensure his safe return now when you cast him aside so eagerly before?"

"What do you know of my history with my brother, pirate?" Liam demanded.

"I know that he wonders every day why you left him behind without even a goodbye! I know that after you left, your years of servitude were added to his slave contract! Above all, I know that you left your brother at the hands of people who abused him!" Killian roared.

"Killian." Liam realized with a gasp.

"Aye and you didn't even recognize me, the brother you left to die aboard a pirate ship!" Killian hissed, raising his hook and pointing it at him, "How can you sit there in luxury after what you did?"

Liam got to his feet and made his way down from the stage, immediately moving in to hug Killian, "Welcome home, brother!"

"Don't touch me! You're no brother to me!" Killian hissed, shoving him backwards with the curve of his hook and drawing his sword, "You know what that ship was like, how could you leave me?"

"I left you with protection, no one should have been able to harm you." Liam replied with a confused frown, raising his hands in surrender as he felt the sharp edge of the sword against his throat.

"Do you think I wear the hook for style?" Killian sneered; taking no notice of the guards that suddenly surrounded them.

"My ring had magic to protect you from harm. By wearing it on the chain, you should have been safe in my absence." Liam explained, giving the guards a dismissive wave of his hand to show he had the situation under control.

"If you'd bothered to tell me that before you abandoned me, I might not have thrown that ring into the sea!" Killian argued, "You need to tell me everything right now. If we're royalty, why were we even on that ship?"

Liam sighed, "I'm sorry, I forget that you don't remember the truth. Walk with me." he suggested, "Your memories are locked in the vault. I'll explain what you're missing and then we can restore them."

Killian watched him for a few long moments before he nodded a little and looked over to Emma. When she nodded her agreement, he returned his sword to its scabbard and offered her his hand with a slight smile. She took his hand and gently squeezed it, walking beside him as they followed Liam out of the throne room.

"Your memories were taken for your own safety. If you remembered who you truly were then you would always be in danger of being found out." Liam explained, "You were born with powerful dark magic, so powerful that the Dark One sought you out. He wanted to take you and train you to be his greatest weapon."

"I have magic?" Killian said in amazement.

"You did." Liam replied with a nod, "Father and mother took it from you and had it locked away. Only you can unlock it, which is why you and I had to disappear, to stop the Dark One from gaining access to the power through you when you were still too young to control it."

"But if the magic is so dark, why keep it hidden? Why not try to destroy it?" Killian asked.

"There's a prophecy that states that you, the holder of dark magic, will meet someone who has light magic. Together, you'll balance one another, overcome great evil and bring stability and happiness to the realm." Liam answered, "Naturally, the Dark One was keen to stop the prophecy from coming true. After you and I disappeared, he set out to destroy the holder of light magic too. He enlisted the Evil Queen to destroy the royal family of Gowerhaven, but it's not clear whether he succeeded in destroying the light."

Emma kept hold of Killian's hand as they followed the King further into the castle, but she kept her gaze down on the ground as she listened to them talk. Her own past was beginning to be revealed and she now wished that she'd told Killian who she really was before they'd arrived at the palace. The chance to tell him quietly had passed and now she had no option but to keep her head down and pretend the information was news to her.

"I had to leave you behind when father died. It wasn't safe for you to return but I had to do my duty and take the throne." Liam continued, "I hoped my ring would be enough to keep you safe, but obviously I was wrong."

When they arrived at the vault, Liam quickly retrieved the box that housed the dream-catcher that contained his brother's memories.

"What do I do?" Killian asked, looking down at the dream-catcher in the box, "How do I make it work?"

"I believe you just need to pick it up and touch the gem in the centre." Liam replied.

Killian looked over to Emma and squeezed her hand gently before he let it go, knowing he'd need both his hand and hook. He turned back to the box and lifted the dream-catcher out carefully, hanging it from his hook before he took a deep breath and touched the gem in the centre. For a moment, there was nothing and then the gem began to glow and a flood of memories hit him. He gasped and whimpered, bringing his hand up to rest against his temple as he struggled to make sense of the new images in his mind.

"Killian? Take deep breaths, you're okay." Emma soothed, moving closer to him and gently resting her hands on either side of his head.

Killian closed his eyes as the images slowly began to settle into a chronological order that made sense. He hated what had happened to him, that he'd been forced to grow up thinking that his family had left him and that his brother had abandoned him too, but finally he understood the situation that had forced such drastic action.

"I remember." he breathed, opening his eyes and meeting Emma's, "I really am a Prince."

Emma smiled and gently kissed him before she let him go and stepped away, allowing him to have some space while he dealt with the new information.

Killian could both feel and hear something whispering to him in the back of his mind. He took a few steps in its direction and the whispers got louder, drawing him in. He moved as if pulled on a string, no thought process required as his legs brought him across the vault and closer to the source of the whispers - a pocket watch.

"Killian, don't!" Liam warned, rushing over to pull Killian away when he realized where his brother was heading but he was too late.

Killian reached out and picked the pocket watch up, pressing the small button on the top instinctively and unknowingly releasing his dark magic. A blast of magic rippled through the room, forcing both Liam and Emma back a few steps. The black tendrils of the darkness sprung out from the watch and plunged straight into Killian's chest as the dark magic returned to its rightful owner.