The next months were some of the worst of Hope's and William's lives.

William had set to finding Hope but found no success. The people of Mayberry reported that the notorious bandit Jones had fought off Rowena single-handedly. Though ironically no one mentioned her use of only one hand. Even though Hope hadn't asked them to, they were more than willing to keep her secret.

But after Mayberry it would seem Hope vanished into thin air. Which he supposed she could have done with magic but that hardly seemed like her. He was fairly certain that Hope was on foot but everywhere he searched turned up empty. No one had any idea where Jones had gone to and most had no interest in finding her.

This didn't stop William from searching like his life depended on it. All the while, the idea that perhaps truly didn't want to be found pulled at the back of his mind. Tracking her had never been so difficult, William feared it only was now because she wanted it to be.

This was easier, albeit more painful, than thinking he couldn't find her because she had perished. He held fast to their last parting, how she had said she was counting on him to find her. She was an honest woman, she wouldn't have said that if she didn't mean it. And he would be damned if he let her down.

Still, every day that passed while he didn't know of her whereabouts dragged on in agony. There was no crueler torture he could think of than not knowing if she was alright. He slept long hours every night, for sleep was a sweet release from the torment of worry he was plagued with when he was awake.

In sleep, he could imagine her safe with him.

Hope, on the other hand, rarely slept at all.

For she knew that in sleep she was vulnerable to Rowena's mind. It took great effort to ward her out during the day, but in sleep it was even harder. If she slipped at all and let Rowena in, the magic she could learn from Hope would be catastrophic. And so for months, Hope barely slept. And when she did sleep, she no longer sought shelter in inns or villages, she dare not give herself away like that. She rested instead in caves or shelters deep in the woods.

All of this to say, she was exhausted and miserable. Her twenty third birthday passed uneventfully in a dark cave while rain poured down outside in sheets. For the first time in a long while she found herself actually wishing she was home.

She had the means to go home too, she could just leave this world behind, she owed them nothing, and return to the family she loved and missed.

Except she couldn't. With the little she had been able to learn about Rowena while she was in hiding, she had come to the correct conclusion that she was the only one in this realm who was powerful enough to stop her. And if Hope didn't, Rowena wouldn't stop until the world was in ruins.

Hope wouldn't be able to live with herself if she left.

And then there was him to think about.

She tried to keep William as far from her mind as possible, Rowena simply couldn't find out about him. But Hope knew that her pure heart was not the only thing keeping her in this realm.

There was no way in hell she could leave him.

Hope only ventured into villages for food for hours at a time before fleeing, never using her name when she did. She dared not use magic to disguise herself, she knew that Rowena could sense it from a mile away.

She tried to learn more about the sorceress, but Hope couldn't risk breaking into any royal archives where she guessed she could find records of her going back decades. If she could learn Rowena's story she could learn how to fight her. But breaking in would no doubt set Rowena on her trail, and when she did fight Rowena again, Hope intended to be certain she could win.

On one dark night, Hope lay, fighting to stay awake, in a broken down shack in Madigan Forest. Though she tried not to think of it, the memory of her last encounter in the forest brought her comfort. Her old bag lay on the ground next to her, she had circled back to Bertrand's kingdom to retrieve it after her fight with Rowena, after all there were some very powerful things inside it.

Hope's exhaustion quickly got the better of her, she had been on a particularly long run with no sleep, she guessed almost 48 hours but she couldn't be sure. Unwillingly, she let her eyelids close and she fell into a deep sleep.

She woke up, to her surprise, in Gold's shop.

She was wearing the rumpled and dirty vest and pants she had fallen asleep in, so Hope quickly assessed that she had not actually travelled, in fact she doubted that she was even really awake. She was almost too shocked by the whole situation to notice Henry standing behind the counter.

"Hope, I don't know if you can hear this message but I sure hope you can," Hope nearly burst into tears at the sight of her brother, she ran forward but he made no indication that he even saw her.

"Gold thinks he figured out a way to get a message to you even if we don't know where you are. If the person receiving this message is not my little sister, I greatly apologize." Henry continued, Hope listened attentively.

"I wanted to tell you that Ella is pregnant," Hope gasped happily, her hands clasped over her heart.

"This isn't me asking you to come home, believe me I know just how much a kid in this family needs to strike out on their own. But I wanted to ask if when you do get home, you'll be the godmother?" Henry was smiling widely, even across realms his joy was obvious.

"Again, you aren't allowed to come home until you find your story. But just know when you do get back, you are going to have a niece or nephew who is dying to meet you,"

Hope was crying by this point, she didn't care if this was an illusion, Henry was right there, and he was having a baby. That alone gave her enough strength to take out Rowena, after all true love was her greatest strength of all.

"Hugo says to tell you not to come home because he is thoroughly enjoying being Hook's favorite child,"

Hope managed a tearful laugh at the words of her brother.

"Grandma and Grandpa send their love, Regina says to remember to stay in control of your magic at all times," Hope was bouncing on her heels like a child at all the messages from her family, this was exactly what she needed. Henry paused, counting out messages on his fingers,

"Sorry a lot of people gave me stuff to tell you, um, Stefan says he misses you," Hope winced at that one, she knew that many people, Stefan included, half expected her to come running back to him when she was through with her adventures. Hope knew that they couldn't be more wrong if they tried.

"Gold just said to say that you are more than capable of handling whatever you face, and your parents say to tell you how vastly proud of you they are. We all are," Hope willed him to say more, but she knew the message was finishing, she could see the edges of Gold's shop fading around her.

"We all love you so much. God, I hope this message didn't go to the wrong person…" Henry trailed off and faded away, seconds later Hope jolted awake for real in the shack in Madigan Forest. She couldn't stop herself from laughing, for the first time in months she felt hopeful (haha).

Newly revitalized, Hope was ready to face whatever came next. She dashed from the shack that morning, still very sleep deprived, but with a new bounce in her step. Her mind felt sharper than ever as she repelled any and all external magic from touching it.

Sadly this strength wouldn't last for long. Though she clung tightly to the memory of Henry's message, within weeks, her misery had all but returned with full force.

About two weeks after the message from home, her life got infinitely worse.

Hope was leaving a dilapidated barn in the Southern Kingdom where she had been staying for a few nights. She had heard a rumor that Rowena was from the Southern Kingdom, but it turned out to be a dead end.

She had dropped her bag on the ground and was gauging which way would be the most promising to travel when Rowena appeared.

"You are a hard woman to find Miss Jones," Hope's hand flew to her sword but she quickly let it go. Her blade was powerful, but no use against a sorceress.

"And yet you found me," Hope's mind was racing through her travels, trying to find the weak spot. She had been careful, even Hope's brilliant mind couldn't figure out how Rowena had tracked her.

"Yes, you can thank your darling brother for that," Rowena sneered cruelly.

Hope's face paled.

Henry's message.

"I let Henry into my mind which subconsciously lowered my defenses," Hope said, for the first time in Rowena's presence her voice was shaking. It didn't matter what happened to her, but the idea of someone harming those she loved was more than she could bear.

"Yes you did! I know ever so much now, your mind was absolutely fascinating to see. But I must tell you dear, what interested me most was your so-called 'dark curse' ," she strode toward Hope calmly.

Anger festered in Hope's eyes, her fear being replaced by rage, this witch didn't deserve her fear.

"You could do whatever you want to me, but I will never help you enact the dark curse," Hope spat, standing in defiance against Rowena. She spoke carefully, not revealing any more than she had to. Rowena hadn't gotten to every memory she had. Rowena cocked her head curiously,

"Yes I do believe that is true, though you would be a better judge than me, what with your superpower, isn't that right?"

Inwardly Hope cursed, she hadn't even told William about her inherited super power. Outwardly, Hope showed no weakness. She moved to speak but Rowena wouldn't let her,

"You are painfully good Hope, the last in a dying breed of truly purehearted heroes, I hear you come from a long line of them," she turned away from Hope and reached into a fold in her dress, removing a small leather bag.

"I don't doubt that I could tear you limb from limb, and you would stay strong," she opened the bag in her hand, Hope silently begged for it not to be what she thought it was.

Rowena removed a deep red heart from the bag, a twinge of darkness at its center but mostly red. She smiled wickedly as she flicked her other hand, a puff of green smoke appeared beside her, dissipating to reveal a bruised and gasping William. Tears threatened to fall from Hope's eyes,

"This man," she spat the word like curse, "however, I suspect I lay a hand on him and you would have no choice but to obey,"

Never let them know you've got them.

Never let them know they've got you. She heard her mother's voice in her head.

"You're wrong,"

Hope spoke with as much apathy as she could muster, hoping in vain that Rowena hadn't seen the depth of her feelings for William and would believe she wouldn't care if he died.

"Oh am I? How silly." Rowena's voice bore only malice, her hand squeezed William's heart, he screamed in agony.

In the span of a second, Hope ran the numbers in her head, there was no way out of it. No clever escape or trick to play.

Her heart was on the scale, she could save him or herself.

Hope Jones may have resembled her father physically, but she was her mother's daughter.

"Stop, stop, please," Hope begged, for she knew what she thought she may have always known: She'd die before she let anything hurt him.

Rowena released her grip on his heart, William breathed heavily but seemed alright.

"That is much better, now come with me, and as long as you behave yourself, WIlliam here stays safe."

The sorceress spoke as if Hope was a small child, but even now, Hope had one card left to play. If she was giving herself up, she wasn't settling for a deal any less than perfect.

"No." Hope spoke firmly, William looked up from the ground baffled, Rowena looked equally confused.

Without a word, Hope shut her eyes tightly and plunged her hand into her own chest and removed her heart, she held the pure, red object out in front of her.

"You give me his heart, he goes free, I give you mine. You hold my heart and you can control me to make me do whatever you wish. I will give you my heart willingly, all my magic and ability at your fingertips. But you have to let William go," Hope explained, the hand not holding her heart shook furiously.

"Hope, No!" William called from the ground, he was hardly in a position to protect her, but he couldn't let her give herself to the sorceress because of him.

Rowena looked at her curiously, but Hope could see the hunger for power in her eyes, she wanted Hope's heart, just like Hope knew she would. Rowena's evil smile graced her face again.

"Deal," she held out her hand but Hope still held her heart.

"You give me William's first," Hope said this as if it were non-negotiable, "And you allow me to say goodbye,"

Rowena pursed her lips angrily, she wanted Hope's heart and she wanted it right then.

"You said it yourself, I am as good as they come, I wouldn't lie to you. Give me his heart and allow me to put it back," venom had snaked into Hope's voice, she wasn't backing down.

"Give me yours after I return his, I will allow you your farewells but then you come with me,"

"Deal," Hope complied immediately. Rowena reluctantly tossed William's heart to Hope. She looked at her own for a moment before turning it over to the sorceress. She didn't see any of Rowena's reaction as she was too busy flying to William's side.

He had managed to get to his feet as she reached him.

"Hold still," before he could even say anything, she had plunged her hand into his chest to return his heart. He grunted at the force, but felt his body relax at his heart's return. As soon as he processed it, he grabbed Hope's arms with the full intention of never letting her go.

"Hope, you can't do this, you can't give up your heart for me" he pleaded, Hope's eyes were full of sorrow but she managed a small smile

"You're right, it was hardly mine to give away"

William looked at her quizzically.

"My heart has belonged to you since you got me arrested at the Duchy,"

William let out a wavering sigh at her declaration, he threaded one hand through her hair while his other gripped her waist, resting his forehead against hers.

"I spent so long chasing you,"

"I made myself easy to find so you could,"

Tears were falling from the eyes of both parties now, Hope felt the emptiness in her chest like a weight on her soul.

"She'll kill you," he whispered, barely daring to say it out loud.

"No she won't, she needs me alive,"

"You can't escape her, she has your heart," William didn't know much about magic but in the brief time his own heart had been removed, he knew you couldn't disobey whoever held it.

Hope leaned forward, standing on her toes so she could speak directly into his ear.

"In my bag there is a magic bean, it can open a portal, take it to Storybrooke, you'll find my family there. They can help you save me."

She spoke almost inaudibly so Rowena couldn't hear before coming back down to face him.

"I love you," she managed in a choked voice, William's heart stopped beating for a moment.

He leaned down to kiss her with the most passion he'd ever felt. Though neither of them were cursed, Hope highly suspected she had just experienced true love's kiss.

"I love you too," he whispered as he pulled away, not daring to speak any louder for fear of being racked with sobs.

"Alright, that is quite enough you disgusting fool, Hope come," Rowena ordered as if Hope were a dog, Hope had no choice but to obey, removing herself from William's grasp and moving to Rowena's side.

Hope kept her eyes on William, telegraphing her last request.

Magic Bean. Storybrooke. Save Me.

He would save her, if it was the last thing he ever did.

Rowena waved menacingly to William as she and Hope vanished in a puff of green smoke.

Rowena's magic was dark, putrid green, William remembered the light pink of Hope's magic. They couldn't be more opposite if they tried.

He was now alone in the field, he looked around and found Hope's discarded bag on the ground. Opening it, he found many interesting things, but none so interesting as the small red pouch containing an iridescent bean that he found at the bottom.

He held it in his hands for only a moment, there was no time to waste in saving Hope. Every second he wasted was a second that Hope spent at the mercy of the cruelest woman in the realm.

With that thought in mind he threw the bean to the ground where it erupted into a swirling vortex, he jumped into it with only one thought in mind.

Storybrooke.

The world swirled around him, he saw flashes of color and realms he could never dream of, his head began to spin with all the input. He shut his eyes tightly until he felt himself hit the ground.

He stood up to see the strangest looking kingdom he'd ever seen. Strange looking carriages lined the streets, he recalled Hope saying she was born in a land without magic, he had never thought to consider what such a place might look like.

William hadn't had much time to ponder when a group of people came rushing out of what he guessed to be a tavern called Granny's to his right. He only caught bits and pieces of what they were saying as they approached him, all talking at once.

"Portal opened"

"Looks like Enchanted Forest"

"The hell is this guy?"

An older woman with graying hair that he could tell had once been jet black indicated for everyone to be quiet,

"We mean you no harm, who are you?" she spoke kindly, curiosity evident in her voice. William didn't answer as he scanned the group of people who now stood in a circle around him, he recognized one face, well less of his face and more of his hand.

"You're Hope's father," William stated, staring intently at the hook handed man. He could see Hope's features written across his face clear as day. Even if he hadn't seen Hope's small portrait, he could have guessed exactly who the man was.

"You know Hope?" a lanky young man, close to William's own age, in ripped jeans and a dark jacket covered in patches spoke this time. He had bright blue hair, but the attribute that drew William's attention was the tattoo on the man's hand. He knew only one other person with a tattoo just like it.

"And you're her brother Hugo," he pointed at the new speaker, who raised his eyebrows in shock at being identified.

"All of you, you're her family," William quickly filled in the blanks.

"Yeah so that only leaves the question of who the hell are you?" a blonde woman said fiercely, William recognized that fierceness immediately. The woman before him looked nothing like Hope, but he was almost certain that she was her mother.

"Hope's been captured by an evil sorceress in my realm, she sent me here to find you,"

"What's your realm?"

"How the hell did she get captured?"

An older woman with long dark hair asked the first question at the same time Hugo asked the second.

"Hope never indicated that my realm had a name and she-"

William hesitated, admitting that he was the reason Hope was in peril was hard enough on himself, he could only imagine what her family would think of him if they knew.

But they had to know if they were going to save her.

"She gave up her heart, she can't escape because the sorceress has her heart," he felt more guilty with every word, replaying Hope's tearful goodbye over and over in his head.

"He's lying, Hope knows exactly how dangerous it is for someone else to hold your heart, she would never give up hers on purpose," Hope's father spoke with malice in his voice, all of the love Hope held for her father was evidently deeply reciprocated.

"Yes she would," a new man spoke, perhaps the oldest of the bunch. He had long gray hair and held a cane, he had been standing on the outer edge of the circle but now moved forward.

"No she wouldn't," the blonde woman he guessed to be Hope's mother glared at the old man. William recognized the look in her eye as the same one he got when he had defended Hope to Captain Drake. She was not happy at the prospect of someone underselling her daughter's ability.

"Let me ask you this Miss Swan," the old man asked,

Swan, that is her mother, William noted.

"What would you do if someone held the Captain's heart?"

William and everyone else in the circle froze, processing the implications of the statement. No one moved to answer the old man's question.

"You would do anything to save him would you not? Well I suspect our dear Hope has followed the same pattern. You're right, Hope is smart enough that she would only give up her heart if she absolutely had to. And I am willing to bet that she gave up her heart,"

He paused dramatically before removing one hand from his cane and pointing at William.

"To save him," whispers and gasps went through the crowd, William looked around to see nearly everyone looked shocked but Hugo who was holding back laughter.

"What is so funny?" a man asked Hugo, William looked between the two and concluded that he must be Hope and Hugo's older brother.

"Oh nothing Hope just really screwed over her true love, making him meet all of us alone, really sorry man," Hugo shot a smile at William, he recognized it, Hope often wore it too.

"He is NOT her true love," another young man pushed his way through the circle. He wore a collared shirt and his hair was perfectly in place, William didn't have to guess who he was.

"You must be Stefan," he was desperately trying and failing to hide a cocky grin. Hope was not a prize to be won, but Stefan had certainly lost.

"You know about Stefan?" the kind first woman who had spoken asked.

"Hope speaks of you all constantly, you all mean a great deal to her,"

"Prove you are who you say," Hope's father spoke, not with anger but with protection hovering in his voice. William took it as a good sign that he hadn't tried to kill him on sight.

"Tell us what you know about Hope and perhaps we'll believe you," he continued, standing firmly in front of William, he nodded obligingly.

"Her name is Hope Milah Swan Jones. She is a product of true love, her father is a pirate and her mother is a princess. Her parents once climbed a beanstalk and befriended a giant named Anton,"

His mind was racing through every fact and story Hope had ever told him.

"She has two brothers Henry who is older and Hugo who is younger, neither of them have magic," he looked at each of Hope's brothers as he identified them.

"She adores her father," he turned to look at the man, "She defends and befriends pirates at every chance she gets. And she can captain a ship as well as any pirate Captain."

He turned now to Stefan, unable to fight the urge to tear him apart just a little bit.

"She was once engaged to a prince named Stefan who couldn't waltz and didn't share her passion for adventure. She agreed to marry him to please her family but broke off the engagement. She now blames herself for having ruined Stefan's story,"

He turned finally to the old man with the cane, who he was beginning to suspect was Hope's magic trainer.

"She was trained in magic by her father's old nemesis, a reformed dark wizard. Many tried but he only got a reaction out of her by threatening to burn a book she loved," William faltered for the first time in his speech as he fumbled for the book's title.

"A book with a girl's name in the title, Anne of somewhere, anyway Hope is exceedingly powerful but she scarcely ever uses her magic. Which is light pink when she does use it. She is good and noble and never kills if she doesn't have to. She sees the good in everyone and fully believes that no one is so bad they can't change,"

William finished and looked at the motley crew around him, even with all he knew about Hope, he worried it wasn't enough. It was Hugo who spoke up,

"Hope has a tattoo above her hip bone, what does it say?" The proceeding quizzical looks from Hope's parents and other family members told William that this tattoo was news to them.

However, William knew it well.

"It says I will always find you," he answered simply, entering a staring contest with Hugo.

"Yeah he's her true love, she gave up her heart for him," Hugo said as if that settled the matter.

"How could you possibly know that?" Stefan said to Hugo angrily. He sighed and spoke slowly as if speaking to a small child.

"Because, Stefan, Hope vowed when she got that tattoo to only let her true love see it. He has seen the tattoo, ipso facto, she believes him to be her true love, and I'm inclined to believe him,"

Stefan stared daggers at William, evidently none too pleased that he had been in a position to see that much of his ex-fiance.

"How do you know he didn't violate her and that's how he saw this tattoo?" he asked Hugo, again with anger lacing his voice. Hugo retained the same calm his sister did when facing an enemy. He turned lazily to William.

"Yo did you violate my sister?"

"I would never disrespect her in such a way, and even if I was going to, I am fairly certain Hope could fight me off," William spoke proudly, both of his honor and the woman he loved.

"Dope, he's telling the truth Stefan you can shut the fuck up," William looked at Hugo curiously as he was scolded for swearing, he had heard Hope deem things to be truthful in very much the same way.

"Okay," Hope's mother stepped forward to speak. Looking at her clearly now, bright blonde hair and a bright red leather jacket, it was obvious where Hope got her power and defiance, her mother radiated it.

"What is your name?" she asked, her voice bearing no emotion.

"William," he thought it best not to mention his title as the illegitimate heir to both a kingdom and a duchy.

"Alright William, you are going to tell us everything about what my daughter has been doing for the past two years and what exactly we are going to have to do to get her back,"

William immediately liked Hope's mother, she bore the same look of fierce determination when it came to protecting Hope that he possessed.

He nodded and was led by the group back into the tavern from which they came. Though it was an incredibly strange world and he was undoubtedly the outsider in the group, as he entered he felt a distinct kinship with them.

They would rescue Hope, and everything would be fine.

In another realm, Hope Milah Swan Jones smiled as she was tortured.

For William had done exactly what she had wanted him to do. He was a world away, Rowena had no way to get to him and Hope had made sure William had no way back to her.

He was protected, her family would take him in and everyone she loved would be fine.

She wouldn't be.

But that wasn't what mattered.