The Ballad of Hope Swan Jones

by billdenbrough77

Hope is brilliant, that much is certain. But she will most certainly not be forced into a story she does not want. In an attempt to find her own story, Hope finds herself running from adventure to adventure and accidentally falling in love with her sworn enemy while being pursued by a dark sorceress more sinister than she realizes.

9. Chapter 9

Under better circumstances, William's time in Storybrooke might have been enjoyable. Even through the strain of trying to figure out how to rescue Hope, he found the world from which she came increasingly wondrous.

Hugo had taken it upon himself to show William movies, claiming they were the greatest thing his world had to offer. Though it was not lost on William how Hugo was taking the partial loss of his sister.

He recalled how Hope had said Hugo loved to change his hair color with his mood, but since William's first morning in Storybrooke, Hugo's hair remained the bright blonde he shared with his mother. William did not know Hugo entirely well, but he knew that certainly couldn't be a good thing.

So he let Hugo show him movies, which were vastly fascinating works of magic, even though Hugo insisted there was no magic involved.

At first it seemed like the movies had no particular theme, all of them were very different.

The Princess Bride

Star Wars: A New Hope

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

The Sound of Music

October Sky

Dead Poets Society

The Swan Princess

Even with the multitude of questions each movie provoked, it was with that last one that William figured out the connection as Hugo stared longingly into the brightly animated film. Hugo was by no means a man to limit himself to things because of his gender, but still a musical movie about a princess did not seem like something a grown man would pick.

It seemed like what a little girl would love.

"This was Hope's favorite wasn't it?" William asked as Prince Derek engaged in hunting practice onscreen (William noted ironically that the Derek in the movie was not entirely different from William's cousin ).

"They all were," was Hugo's quiet response, his eyes not leaving the movie, "But this one was her favorite when she was little, she would watch it on repeat,"

William regarded the young man from his place across the living room, Hugo was a strong (though scrawny) man, whom William had no doubt could fight nearly as well as his sister. But every once in a while, he looked every bit the little boy who ran into his sister's room in fear of a storm.

"I would imagine you all grew sick of it then,"

William was unfamiliar with technology, but he understood annoyance perfectly well. Hugo stifled a laugh and perhaps a tear as another song started in the film.

"She used to go around singing this song, it was her favorite," William winced at Hugo's use of the word "was". Hope Jones "wasn't" anything, she IS a great many things.

It was then that William turned his attention to the prince and princess' song in the film.

If I could break the spell

I'd run to him today

And somehow I know he's on his way to me

Derek, you and I were meant to be

Far longer than forever

I'll hold you in my heart

It's almost like you're here with me

Although we're far apart

Far longer than forever

As constant as a star

I close my eyes and I am where you are

Sure as the dawn brings the sunrise

We've an unshakable bond

Destined to last for a lifetime and beyond

Far longer than forever

Like no love ever known

And with your love I'll never be alone

Far longer than forever

Much stronger than forever

And with your love

I'll never be alone

This time it was Hugo regarding William in silence from across the room. For as Odette and Derek sang, it was William who stared at the screen with longing and tears welling in his eyes. If there was any doubt in Hugo about William's feelings for his sister, the pain in his eyes as the incredibly relevant love song played destroyed it. Hugo may have loved his sister with everything he was, but he had never felt as William did for Hope about anyone.

It was enough to make him wonder which man had it worse.

Hope, that's who has it the worst. Hugo decided.

Hope's other family members were more reserved from William, perhaps they were focusing on Hope's safe return or perhaps they were wary of the fact that they still hadn't heard Hope's opinion on the man. But considering that William was staying with Hope's parents, they were somewhat difficult to avoid.

Despite the fact that the Captain had defended him that first night, William was terrified to be alone with him. After all, he had all but admitted to sleeping with his daughter.

He was forced to face this fear one evening at Granny's after a fruitless meeting to rescue Hope. The page Henry had drawn was no longer accurate enough to act as a compass for the magic mirror, and Henry hadn't drawn another one, so they were once again blind to Hope's torture. Which may have been for the best.

Failed efforts aside, William was taken aback when the one handed man sat across from him in a booth.

"You and I have not had a conversation, which is considerably odd given you are staying in my home," the man's face gave away no emotion, the statement was not really accusatory, but it certainly was not innocent.

William did his best to display no fear, he had faced worse, or at least he was pretty sure he had.

"I am sorry about that, it was not my intention,"

It definitely was William's intention but he wasn't going to say so. Hook held out his hand as if to silence him.

"For more years than you can know, I lived a life rife with villainy, in which I brought the world nothing but suffering. And it took me a long time to be anything other than the pirate I was."

Hook's eyes seemed to bore holes into William's head as he spoke. They were eyes that William knew well, but he had never seen Hope's bear quite the same expression as her father's did now. There was no anger or malice in the man's voice, but a reverent seriousness permeated his speech. William did not know entirely where the Captain was going with his story, but he knew better than to let his mind drift for even a moment.

"Hope was the first truly good thing I ever created," Killian's eyes softened and his shoulders relaxed at the mention of his daughter, but the intensity remained. "I had been a hero for years by the time she was born and yet Hope was my finest treasure."

William's mind flicked briefly to Hugo, he had teased Hope long ago about being her father's favorite. But at this moment it seemed that Hugo may have been right.

"My son may read such a statement as favoritism," Killian said almost as if he had read William's mind, "But it is not, my children are my greatest accomplishments. Hope was merely the first."

Killian paused to drink from a weathered flask he pulled from his coat. It looked almost out of place in the diner, it would not have been out of place in William's realm. William was forced to remember that Hope's father was not from this land either.

"I am telling you this because my daughter means more to me than anything. I failed her by giving my blessing to Stefan, I will not fail her again. If you were to harm her or your intentions are anything less than what you say-"

It was here that William chose to interrupt.

"Hope told me that once her mother was forced to make a choice in the underworld to save you or herself. It was part of how Hope deduced that she did not love Stefan."

William paused to gauge Hook's reaction, he was listening expectantly. Like a teacher grading an oral exam.

"I asked myself that question, if there was anyone I would make the choice to save over myself. I had been alone and selfish for a while, and before that I was spoiled and angry. But I knew instantly that I would choose her."

William had spent most of his life seething at the treatment of his mother or jealous that he had no title even though he deserved one. He had spent his life thinking he was entitled to a life that was never meant to be his. The only thing to make him realize that he wanted something else, was the maddening yet wonderful Hope Jones.

"If what you say is true, then Hope made the same choice," William had not elaborated on the heart swap that had landed him in Storybrooke, but everyone was well aware of it. Though one would imagine that Killian Jones would hold resentment towards William because of this fact, there was no anger in his eyes as he spoke. Perhaps because he would do the same for his wife or perhaps because he just knew his daughter would never choose anything else.

"Hope speaks of you often, and she does not hold any anger towards you for approving of Stefan," William stated after a small pause, Killian's face drifted into a small smile.

"Yes well, she knows that to hold a grudge would be very bad form,"

"Hope says that all the time!"

With that the two men began swapping the stories they had of Hope's heroics, not just then but often in the weeks following.

And Killian Jones came to the conclusion that he was a fool to ever think that Prince Stefan might be his darling lass' true love.

William faced Hope's Aunt Regina not too long after he had become friends with Hope's father. Nearly the entire family had gathered at Granny's for another pointless meeting, which had just turned into William telling them about Hope's escapades in his land.

"And well, of course, there was the beanstalk, that was the first full adventure we went on together," William began another story but quickly stopped as the introduction earned him several scandalized looks and a few gasps. Regina's eyebrows shot up, but she looked otherwise amused.

"You mean to say you climbed a beanstalk with Hope?" she asked with a sly smirk becoming more prominent.

"She was very reluctant to let me come, which made sense given she had just beaten me in a swordfight," William had never really considered why Hope was so against him joining her on the beanstalk quest, they had been rather at odds at that time.

"What happened at the top?" Regina continued, the rest of the room falling silent.

"I teased her for a bit, she opened up a little, but only because I kind of forced her to. Then we went into the castle and I almost triggered a trap but she managed to stop me,"

This addition to the story warranted a stifled laugh from Hook. Regina looked at a very awestruck Emma and made no effort to disguise a smile and laugh of her own.

"She is yours, Miss Swan. She may look like her father, but she is entirely yours."

And that was all Regina had to say on that, with a smirk in William's direction

She made no other efforts to speak to him, but she was quite focused on trying to break through Hope's enchantment. As the days wore on and William watched Regina and the other magic wielders fail, even through the frustration, he saw a distinct respect in Regina's eye. The Queen was more focused on retrieving Hope than getting to know her apparent boyfriend.

William was quite okay with that. He was a brave man but also a smart one, he suspected that only a fool would not be a little bit frightened of Regina.

Hope's grandparents were very much the same, keeping him at an arm's length. While Hope's brother and father seemed to be in William's corner, her mother's side of the family was harder to sway.

Hope's grandmother, a kind woman by the name of Snow White, was more cordial than the rest but still eyed him cautiously when she thought he wasn't looking. Her grandfather, David, was much less subtle about his disapproval. He offered William steely eyed stares nearly every time he entered a room.

He understood why of course, as he had to keep reminding himself, they had nothing but his word to go on about how Hope ended up in Rowena's clutches. All they knew was that Hope was being tortured, he knew he would do anything for Hope, but her family had no way to verify that.

Still, the disdain that came from her grandfather seemed a bit more than distrust. He seemed to actively disapprove of William. And to be fair, in Hope's own words, William was a criminal that she met in jail.

Well technically they met during a robbery that landed them both in jail.

William considered all of this one evening at Granny's in which David seemed to be trying to turn him to stone with his gaze. He had gone out of his way to stand in the back of the building, close to what Hugo had informed him was a jukebox. But still, David's eyes rarely left him. His thoughts were interrupted by the one family member that he had nearly forgotten existed.

Henry had made himself scarce following William's arrival in Storybrooke. With a child on the way, William found it perfectly understandable. But still, every time Henry did appear, he looked somehow worse than he had before. His eyelids seemed to constantly be falling which paired well with the deep circles under his eyes. His hair was rarely tidy, and most notably, he was always clutching a fountain pen so tightly, his knuckles turned white.

"Don't take it personally,"

William was too startled by Henry's interruption of his thoughts to do anything more than quickly turn to face the weary-eyed man.

"My grandfather has a history of disliking boyfriends of his daughter, or in this case granddaughter," Henry nodded towards David who was momentarily looking away from the two men and instead was in deep conversation with his daughter. He then nodded towards Hook who sat on the opposite side of the room with Hugo.

"Just ask Hook," Henry allowed himself a small smile before continuing, "Hell even I didn't like Hook back in the day,"

William then remembered just how much older Henry was than his sister, he must have been a teenager when Hook and Emma married. Which would explain his dislike of Hook. William himself had hated every man who so much as looked at his mother, no matter who it was, he always thought she deserved better.

"I'd imagine you came around though," William postulated, turning back to face Hope's grandfather. David's gaze was this time joined by his wife, though she looked abruptly up to the clock the second William looked at them. David remained focused on him.

"He's not my dad," Henry paused and looked down at the drink in his hand, "But he's probably the next best thing,"

William knew very little about Henry's father, Hope had said that both her brothers were products of true love. Implying that Henry's father shared a deep love with Emma, same as Hook. But obviously, Emma was with Hook and Henry's father was nowhere to be found.

"Hope speaks of her father very favorably," William offered to change the subject, he didn't wish to force Henry to dwell on a lost parent. The wound of loss never truly heals, and bleeds for a long time when it's reopened. Henry managed a weak laugh.

"She has been attached to Hook since she was born. She's all Jones no Swan." He stopped again to take a drink. William's mind flashed back to the Madigan Forest, where Hope had said that very same thing.

"I always wanted a sibling, I didn't have many friends as a kid. And I mean, I was pretty old when I got Hope and then Hugo the year after, but all I wanted was to be a good brother."

The smile and laughter had fallen from Henry's face, leaving the broken shell of a man that William had come to know.

"You are a good brother, Hope values you and Hugo above nearly everything else,"

Though it was clear to William that Hope and Hugo were extremely close, which made sense, given they had grown up together while Henry was already grown. He had seen how Hugo looked at his older brother and he remembered the three Hs on Hope's shoulder.

The picture in Hope's room of the teenager and the toddlers.

Henry and his little siblings.

"Yeah and now I am the reason she is in pain," His head fell to his hands, like it had on William's first night in Storybrooke.

"Rowena might have found her because of you, but she gave up her heart because of me. She could have gotten away but chose to save me instead. If you're going to blame someone, I would choose me,"

William tried to convince himself that he was just comforting Henry, but he had been blaming himself since Hope had disappeared in that green smoke. And he imagined he would keep doing so until he found her again.

Henry downed the rest of his drink.

"Let's say it's both our faults, less of a burden when you don't have to carry it alone,"

William smiled a real smile and nodded. The two men stood in silence for a moment before Henry laughed abruptly, almost startling William once again.

"Did you know that Hope didn't talk until she was almost three?"

William shook his head.

"We knew she could understand us because she would nod and shake her head and she could even write stuff out. Math equations were her speciality, she's an actual certified genius with numbers and probabilities." Henry's smile was now more forceful as he told the story, evidently he was quite good at storytelling.

"And she would laugh at us! We would ask her to say anything, Mama, Dada, Hugo, Henry, anything! And she would just laugh at us. She knew who we were, you could ask her to give something to Henry and she would give it to me. But she would not speak for the life of us,"

William smiled at this description, the Hope he knew was stubborn and gave unsatisfactory answers that always implied she knew more than she said. Evidently she had always been that way.

"What was her first word?" William asked curiously.

Henry's smile wavered for a millisecond, almost imperceptibly, but William had spent two years cataloging the coy subtleties of Hope Jones; he was familiar with microexpressions.

"Hugo,"

William understood immediately, competition was present in all humans, even when they did not wish it to be. Hope loved both her brothers, but the very fact that she had two invited the question of which one she loved more. She shared more blood with Hugo, he could imagine the envy Henry had felt as a young man even if he logically knew it made no difference.

"She said 'Hugo, that isn't right, that way is fore and that way is aft,'. Hook had been teaching Hugo, who talked like nobody's business, but Hugo said something wrong and she just corrected him. Hook was the only one there and stopped dead in his tracks when she said it. After that she just talked like a normal person."

William couldn't contain his laughter at the revelation that Hope had been coaxed into talking by correcting her brother. But it did make perfect sense, Hope Jones was good at most things, she wouldn't want to start talking until she could be sure she would do it correctly.

They talked for some time, with Henry regaling a fascinated William with stories of Hope as a little girl. Even as a child, Hope resembled the woman she would become.

Henry ended up leaving that evening with slightly more light in his eyes than when he had started. While William left the evening feeling that he now had decent relationships with both of his beloved's brothers.

Following his bonds with Hook, Henry and Hugo, the logical next step was the one remaining immediate family member of Hope's, her mother. An intimidating blonde woman by the name of Emma Swan who wore a sheriff's badge like a shield. It was true enough that physically, few of her features were shared with her daughter, but they shared something. William could not really put his finger on it, but there was something distinctly Emma Swan in Hope Jones.

On one cool evening, when William had retreated to the safety of the guest room of Hope's childhood home, Emma unceremoniously walked into the room with an all too familiar determination in her eyes.

He had been living in her home for weeks by this point, but William had made almost as much of an effort to avoid her as he had her husband. Every day she attempted to break her daughter's spell and every day she failed. She then retreated to the safe companionship of her friends and family while William remained contentedly on the sidelines.

Emma Swan had never been good at trusting people, but she was good at detecting lies. And William had yet to tell anything but the truth. This fact earned him her neutrality, but he would have to make the effort to win her favor. A feat he would much rather attempt with Hope by his side.

Emma evidently had other ideas.

"Alright I am done with this, you say you love my daughter and I believe you. The reason I haven't made an effort to talk to you is because the last time my daughter said she loved a man, she was lying. I've been waiting to get to her so she can tell me if it's real with you. But she's not here, and you are."

Emma's voice was level and even but forceful. It was as if the words had been trying to force themselves out for a while and had finally broken the dam. Her eyes remained locked on William the whole time, sitting on the bed with his eyebrows raised in surprise at the outburst.

"Tell me the story. Not the highlights version you gave weeks ago, tell me the story of you and Hope. Every meeting and every detail."

William knew he could not give every detail, the night in Madigan Forest sprang to mind as something perhaps to omit, but he told the story nonetheless. After spending so much time learning about Hope, it was refreshing to be able to give more facts about himself. Not that he didn't want to know every bit of Hope's life, and was desperate for everyone she knew to tell him every story they had.

William started his story even before he knew Hope, when he was training to be a royal advisor, and ending in the tearful kiss they shared as they said goodbye.

He gave Hope's mother every piece of their story, because he knew she would know if he didn't.

When he reached the final chapter, how Hope had traded his heart for her own, the pain of the moment returned with full force. Every inch of his mind screaming at him in fury.

How could you

How could you

How could you

Whether he was talking to Hope or himself he didn't know.

Hope's mother listened without interruption the whole time and as William concluded the story in obvious distress, she came to the conclusion that every other member of her family had reached: Hope Jones doesn't make any move unless it is calculated and planned.

And she very seldom makes moves that she regrets.

"Did Hope ever tell you how she lost her hand?" Emma asked after a moment of silence following his story.

"Only that an enemy of her father's took it to punish him," He recalled that he had been too enamoured by the knowledge that she only had one true hand to ask for the rundown on how it happened.

"That's partially true. Hugo and Hope went adventuring through the realms when they were 18 and 19 respectively. They took gap years, Hope skipped the fourth grade so it basically just put her back in line with her age group,"

William's grasp of this realm without magic was tenuous at best, but as he had gone through an educational system in his own realm, he figured that the two couldn't be all too different. And he figured it wasn't entirely too important to the story.

"But while they were in the Enchanted Forest, they crossed paths with Captain Blackbeard, who was indeed an old enemy of Killian's."

William's mind immediately blamed Hugo, he chided himself for doing so, he had no idea what had actually happened. But he couldn't believe that Hope would put herself in a position to get caught. The only times William had seen her get caught were his fault.

Emma sighed and continued her story.

"The second he saw her, he knew. We had been back to the Enchanted Forest countless times, but Blackbeard notoriously jumps realms a lot. He had no idea Killian even had children."

"But he recognized Hope," William filled in, Emma nodded in confirmation.

William had been able to identify Hope as her father's daughter after seeing one photograph. Someone who had known Killian Jones a long time would no doubt recognize a girl who was his spitting image.

"The whole crew ambushed them. Blackbeard is smart, he knew Killian's children were not to be underestimated. Hope and Hugo are both extremely talented with a sword, they can switch between the noble tactics of a royal or the dirtier ones of a pirate in a heartbeat,"

William had dueled Hope before, he was more than aware of her prowess. He had watched her switch from perfect form to somersaults and backbends without batting an eye.

"But Hugo took a blow to the head, knocked him out cold, together they had a shot, hell, alone Hope might have had a prayer, but alone and protecting Hugo? She had no choice but to surrender to Blackbeard."

Emma's usually so fierce eyes filled with concern, it was then WIlliam remembered that it was a mother he was speaking to. Hope's mother. The story of one of her children being mutilated was surely not an easy one to tell.

"He wanted to take Hugo's hand, to remind Killian that he can never escape his past as Hope told you, but he was unconscious and Blackbeard wanted to hear him suffer. So he switched to Hope. That and Hope made a pretty convincing argument that she was Killian's favorite."

William was no villain, but he understood Blackbeard's strategy. To harm the thing Captain Hook loved most would do more harm than anything else. Hope had convinced him that that thing was her.

"Some other pirate had Hugo, still unconscious, with a knife to his throat. Hope could have saved herself with magic, but in the time it would take to magic both herself and Hugo, that pirate would have slit Hugo's throat. Even magic has its limits."

"So rather than save herself, she let Blackbeard cut off her hand, which bought Hugo enough time to wake up so they could fight their way out together."

William figured out loud, it was a story he knew well. Hope Jones' fatal flaw was her love, she would let herself be chopped into pieces if it meant someone she loved stayed safe. She had exchanged her hand for her brother's life and her heart for William's.

"She had to put on an impressive little show after her hand got cut off to stall long enough, but it worked. She and Hugo fought their way off the ship, without magic seeing as she only likes to use it on magical opponents. Luckily, Killian was the main one who taught my kids to sword fight and he taught them both how to do it one handed."

A piece clicked in William's mind as he realized that in every sword fight he had ever seen Hope engage in, she had never switched hands. She always fought one handed.

"My point is that Hope was a self-sacrificing idiot before she met you and she will be one until she dies," Emma said with a smirk emerging on her face.

"And if you ask her who is to blame for cutting her hand off, she won't say Hugo or Killian, she'll say Blackbeard. The only man to blame for her losing a hand is the one who cut it off. The same way the only person to blame for what she is going through right now is the person hurting her,"

And if Emma Swan had ever known anything, it was that the person hurting her daughter was sure as hell not the prince who sat before her now.

William had to consider that entire discussion as gaining another family member's approval. He assumed, rightfully so, that Emma would not have offered him comfort if she didn't like him.

And he very much enjoyed how she referred to Hope in the present tense.

William had been in Storybrooke exactly three weeks when he faced the only person he knew he had no shot at winning over.

If David treated William with disdain, what Stefan held for him was pure unadulterated hatred. William might have been intimidated by Hope's former fiance had he felt Hope had any lingering feelings for the man. But Hope only ever spoke of Stefan with annoyance or pity, she characterized him as a good man but she had said herself that she wouldn't choose Stefan over her heart.

William had it on pretty good authority that she would do that for him.

Stefan spent a majority of his time with his older brother, Phillip, who Hugo had informed him was "The princiest prince to ever walk the earth" and Hope's uncle, a man only a few years William's senior by the name of Neal.

Neal had been notably absent the night William landed in Storybrooke, apparently he had been spending some time in a realm called Arendelle visiting a princess by the name of Erla. His parents had sent word of Hope's capture and he had come home immediately, but William had yet to spend time with the reserved young man.

The three princes, Neal, Phillip and Stefan couldn't have been more different than the other notable prince of their age, one Hugo Jones, if they tried. Even without his blue hair, Hugo radiated the energy of a rapscallion. He wore leather and a charming yet devious grin at all occasions. And he always sat with his long, skinny legs splayed out or with one knee up, he seemed incapable of sitting in a way that his family might deem "normal". He constantly fiddled with the many rings on his fingers or traced his finger across the hook tattoo on his left hand.

William had seen pictures of Hugo dressed as a prince, but where his sister split pirate and princess down the middle, Hugo was nearly all pirate.

He imagined that was why he caught both Emma and Hook hiding their smiles whenever Hugo made some snide comment towards his uncle and his princely posse. Hugo may have loved and respected his family immensely, but he was still his parent's son. No amount of royal training from his grandparents had changed that.

The three princes in contrast were put together and regal looking even in casual clothing, with nary a cross word to say to anyone (except maybe William). To his credit, Neal seemed the most free spirited of the bunch. It wasn't completely unreasonable to see him laughing with Hugo or letting his sensible visage slip just a little bit.

Phillip and Stefan were another story (literally). They were not technically members of the very large family of Hope Jones, as William knew they had been planning to marry into it. They seemed just to be wound a bit too tight. This of course did not mean they were bad people, they just undoubtedly followed an abundance of rules.

William on the other hand, excelled at breaking rules, as did Hope. In the brief encounters that William had had with Stefan, though he knew his concern for Hope was genuine, William had concluded that there was absolutely no way the two had ever been truly compatible. They had practically been children when they began their relationship, WIlliam recalled the silly dalliances he had at age fourteen. He could not possibly imagine marrying any of them.

Out of all the people William had been trying to avoid while in Storybrooke, the Princes were the most obvious about avoiding him in return. Every time he entered a room they turned abruptly in the opposite direction. William caught a minorly sympathetic look from Neal once, but he knew that the man's allegiance lay with his best friend, which was most definitely Phillip. This was understandable, William and Derek had been very much the same way when they were in school.

Though William wanted to know Hope's uncle, he was in no rush to make friends with her ex. Stefan was another bridge he would feel much safer crossing with Hope by his side.

He was successful in his avoidance for three weeks when his luck ran out and he found himself alone with the Princes.

William had swiped a book from Hope's bookshelf, a weathered and beaten copy of Anne of Green Gables. The pages were wavy along the edges, like someone had held them between her fingers over and over again. And if a fine scorch mark along the very edge of the cover was any indication, it was the very volume that Rumplestiltskin had threatened to burn to ignite Hope's magic as a child. He had found a quiet spot at the edge of the woods and was enjoying reading of the little orphan girl's antics when they approached.

"I do not believe we were ever formally introduced," William was jolted from his reading by the voice, incredibly similar to his father's, of Neal Nolan.

"You would be correct, I'm William," he stood up as he spoke, offering nothing but a devious smile to the men. He would never be able to show fear to a prince who couldn't even waltz.

"Hope does not love you," Stefan spoke this time, evidently ready to dispose of the pleasantries. William feigned shock, he could practically hear Hope's anger at Stefan trying to explain her feelings, but he maintained calm.

"And what would your source on that be? Surely it's not Hope," William leaned toward Stefan, now the point of a regal looking triangle with the two older men flanking his either side. Stefan inhaled sharply.

"When the lady returns to Storybrooke, she is going to marry me,"

He spoke with such force that William wouldn't have been surprised if Hope Jones herself had heard him from another realm and crawled through her own protective border just to tell him he was wrong.

"The lady has a name. And a mind. And a perfectly sound decision making ability. If I am not mistaken, she made her thoughts on being joined to you rather clear,"

William did his best to channel Hope's regal calm, specifically the kind she employed when talking to Xandyr the giant. It had worked for her then, the last thing William wanted was to have to physically fight Stefan. He knew Hope would loathe being fought over, especially when she could definitely beat both participants in the fight single handedly.

He succeeded in temporarily shaking Stefan's confidence with the reminder that it had been Hope who had called off their engagement, but he continued speaking anyway.

"Hope is just finding her way, she has too much of her father in her that way. When she returns she will realize that it is I that she is destined to be with,"

With that statement, William could see that Stefan knew veritably nothing about Hope. For she would never believe there was such a thing as being too much like her father.

If Stefan's idea of wooing Hope was in insulting her hero, William could see why she had run to an entirely different realm to be free of him.

But William chose not to point all that out. Saying that he knew what Hope wanted or what she believed was just another form of speaking for her. And Hope Jones did not need speaking for. So William opted to play into what he was, the rogue that swayed the princess.

"I happen to like her father, but I could understand how a person might be afraid of him."

William knew for a fact that Stefan and Hope's acts of intimacy had been forever limited by a threat issued by her father. And while he may have been intimidated by Killian initially, he now felt their relationship was in good standing. Something he was willing to bet that Stefan never truly accomplished.

Everyone had approved of Stefan to be sure, but thinking him worthy of a princess and actually being friends with him were entirely different things. It was not lost on William how Stefan seemed to be on high alert every time Killian Jones entered a room.

He was still trying to win the favor of the father-in-law he would never have, but perhaps more notably, he was still afraid of the man.

William's veiled insult caused anger to rise in Stefan's eyes. His older brother placed a hand on his shoulder, perhaps to calm him down or to hold him back, William was unsure. Neal's own eyes furrowed in concern, he may not have made up his mind on whether he approved of William or not, but he certainly knew that Hope wouldn't want whatever this discussion was becoming.

"I guess we will just have to ask Hope where her heart lies when she is rescued," William could tell that Stefan was biting back his anger. William himself had to bite back the urge to point out the fact that Hope's heart didn't even lie in her chest because of her love for him.

But that would be a cruel trick, and William was not in the habit of using trickery when it came to the woman he loved.

He chose instead to give a mischievous smirk as he stooped to pick up Hope's book from the ground.

"Yes, that will be where the fun begins,"

As William strode away from the pack back towards town, he knew that there was no competition. For Hope was not a prize. And she had made it perfectly clear who she loved long before. Even if she had lied that day as she said goodbye, perhaps as a ploy to ensure that William actually travelled to Storybrooke, there was no way in hell she loved Stefan.

And somehow, deep in his bones, William just knew she hadn't been lying to him.

Time in Storybrooke wore on for four more days of fruitless meetings. Every day they attempted to save Hope and every day they failed.

The song from the Swan Princess echoed through William's head almost every day. He didn't care if he had to wait forever, he had promised to find Hope again and he wasn't about to break that promise.

Still, it seemed the only way back to William's realm came with Hope's death. Every day they threw a magic bean to the ground and every day, to everyone's reluctant relief, nothing happened. Whatever was happening to her, Hope was surviving.

"She's a survivor" William heard Emma whisper one rainy afternoon after the bean had failed.

Of that much, William was certain.

However, even with all of the magic and power that Hope's family possessed or had at one point possessed, there was veritably no one to bring down Hope's spell except herself. She had blocked all ways in and out of William's realm. Every magic wielding member of Hope's family was both incredibly frustrated and incredibly impressed.

As Rumple had said, they taught her too well.

On William's 25th day in Storybrooke, at the 25th unsuccessful meeting, a short man by the name of Leroy came bursting into Granny's diner, though William was really the only person who flinched. Apparently such a thing was commonplace.

"Leroy?" Snow asked kindly, placing a hand on the man's heaving shoulders. He was clearly not the young man he once was.

"There's a mermaid at the docks," he panted, still catching his breath, "Says Hope sent her,"

Following that revelation, Leroy collapsed into the corner booth, leaving the rest of the room in shock.

"Mermaids can cross realms no matter what, even when they are cloaked or cursed. And Hope knows that." Regina said as realization dawned on her face.

"Then she may very well have information on Hope," Killian Jones didn't wait for a response before rushing out of the diner with a veritable mob in tow.

William did not know much of magic, but he was learning just how talented Hope was. He didn't know if it was possible to block mermaidic travel between realms and Hope had actively chosen not to do so with her spell, or if Hope had just known that was the one thing she couldn't block. Either way it seemed like a very minute loophole that Hope had thought to take advantage of. And while the mermaid wasn't a way to get to Hope, anything she had to say about her would be more than welcome.

A young mermaid with long brown hair in haphazard braids sat with her fins hanging over the edge of the dock when they arrived. A recognition appeared in her eyes as Hope's father approached. William's heart skipped a beat, if she recognized Hook, it meant she had seen Hope. Which meant there was a very real possibility that Hope had found a way to escape Rowena, at least temporarily.

"You are Hope's family, correct?" the mermaid asked happily, while everyone else vibrated in anticipation, she was painfully carefree.

"Yes, do you know where she is?" William couldn't stop himself from asking, his heart was practically beating out of his chest. He knew he wasn't technically her family, but neither were half the people who considered themselves to be.

"Of course I do silly," the mermaid giggled, still infuriatingly happy, "She told me to give this to her mother, Emma Swan, a pretty blonde woman with a red coat,"

The mermaid dug through a small bag tied to her hip before removing a small black box and nodding as she placed it in the hands of Hope's mother. She leaned in towards Emma as she did so.

"I'm not to tell you anything else, she said you would know what to do, or if you didn't, Gold might know. That's what she said exactly."

The young mermaid pushed herself into the water as soon as she was done, floating in the bay a few feet below them.

"Feels good to get that debt taken care of!"

With that and a flick of her tail, she swam off towards the horizon, leaving the crowd of the people on the dock with a confused silence and a box.

"So do you know what that is?" Stefan asked almost angrily, William refrained from pointing out that making demands might not be the best way to win over Hope's parents.

"I mean it kind of looks like Pandora's box…" Emma seemed entirely uncertain as she examined the mermaid's gift, Gold was less so.

"That's exactly what it is." Gold snatched the box from Emma's hands and pressed a small button on the side as he placed the box on the ground. The group immediately backed up, giving the box a wide berth to release its contents. William was unfamiliar with Pandora's box, but given the fear in the eyes of the people around him, he guessed it was nothing good. But Hope had sent it for a reason, she expected them to open it.

A cloud of charcoal smoke drifted out of the box, growing larger and larger until it dissipated across the dock.

Several people gasped, William vaguely registered that someone started to cry, he thought it might be Hope's grandmother. He heard a watery breath from Hugo who stood next to him. But he could hardly process any of it.

For lying on the Storybrooke docks, was a battered, beaten and bloody, but very much alive, Hope Milah Swan Jones.