"Killian," he muttered. The cold water seeped into his clothes each time a wave broke on the shore, and left him shivering. "My name is Killian."

The mermaid, Ariel, looked over her shoulder, out to sea, "You're boat's gone," she said apologetically. "I'm sorry that woman threw you overboard. Did you know her?"

Tears fell uninterrupted from Killian's eyes. "She's my mother," he muttered so low that Ariel almost didn't here him.

Horror crossed her face, "Your...mother...did that to you? I don't understand, I thought mothers were suppose to be nice and protect children."

"They're suppose to..." Killian couldn't finish his sentence on account of the sob shaking his small, skinny body.

Ariel crawled closer to him, wrapped her arms around him, and let him cry until the tears had dried from her eyes. Reluctantly, she let him go. "The sun is almost up. You should go find to food and somewhere to stay."

"Can't you come with me?" Killian asked in a small voice, one hand still clutching Ariel's wrist.

"I can't leave the water," Ariel admitted. "And my father will soon worry where I am. But I'll remain close to these waters if you ever need me again."

"Promise?"

"Promise."


After several more days of traveling, Mulan finally reached the palace of King Stephan and Queen Leah. Princess Aurora sat behind her as they rode the palace. Part of Mulan wished she could turned to look at the lost princess, to see how she would react to returning to the home she didn't remember, but she kept her eyes forward. Despite knowing she had to get her brother out of the queen's custody and find her family, Mulan felt oddly saddened to conclude her journey with Aurora. She had a dry wit that Mulan found appealing and managed to be pleasant company despite her less-than-pleasant circumstances. Plus, she was incredibly beautiful.

As the palace towers appeared over the trees, Mulan heard Aurora sigh. She became acute aware for how close they were sitting, how stiff Aurora had gotten during their long ride. They had set out just before dawn, after stopping in a market town inn for the night, and hadn't stopped since then. Now, for some reason, Mulan wished she had taken her time getting back to the palace. The thought of never seeing Aurora again filled her with unexpected dread.

When they finally reached the gate, Mulan and Aurora waited as a warlock was summoned to ensured they were imposed or carrying dangerous curses. After the inspection they were brought to the king and queen in a private audience chamber, rather than the throne room. The monarchs were seated, but when their eyes landed on Aurora, Queen Leah stood and ran over to her daughter. Aurora flinched away from her, startled at the sudden motion. Queen Leah stopped, obviously hurt.

"Hi," Aurora croaked.

Queen Leah gave her a small, sad smile, "You don't remember me, do you?"

"I'm sorry, I don't," Aurora answered honestly.

King Stephan stood as well and joined his wife in front of the two young women. The monarch had an unreadable expression on his face. He turned to his wife and asked her, "My dear, are you sure this is wise?"

"I know this much be strange for all of us," the queen looked to her husband then to her blood daughter, "but we'll get through this as a family."

Aurora looked uncertain.

Mulan felt incredibly awkward standing there as such an emotional reunion took place. She thought of her family; she was still no closer to discovering what had happened to them since she first set out. It seemed all she found were setback in keeping her brother safe.

She was startled by the someone clapping across the room. The four of them swiveled their head toward the sound, and saw an imp with grey-green scales emerge from the sounds. An alarm bell went off in Mulan's head, and she gripped the pummel of her sword.

The creature waved his hand dismissively, "No need for violence, dearie, I would never lay a hand on the royal family." He turned to the king and queen, "Of course, that doesn't mean I can't hurt them in other ways."

Mulan did not loosen her grip.

"You're not wanted here, Dark One," the queen said defiantly.

The Dark One giggled, "Oh, I'm not wanted anywhere, and yet... Ah, that's beside the point. If you knew me well enough to summon me, your highness, you would know better than to break a deal with me."

"Your terms were outrageous!" Leah snapped. "Twenty-one years without my child? That's too much for anyone to bear."

"Dark One, leave now or I'll set my warlocks on you," Stephan warned. "Do not go after my daughter, or you'll sorely regret it."

The Dark One's unflappable exterior chipped, leaving a cool, deadly serious interior momentarily exposed, "The problem is monarchs is eventually, you start to think you're above the rules."

Stephan's eyes narrowed, "You'll have only one warning..."

"You may not keep your promises," the Dark One interrupted, his voice regaining the theatrically false note of cheer, "but I am a man of my word. Be prepared for me to uphold my end of the bargain." He vanished in a cloud of dark purple smoke.

The four of them stood in stunned silence, until Aurora cried, "What was he talking about? What bargain?"

Stephan and Leah looked at their blood daughter with guilt resting heavily in their expressions.

"What bargain was he talking about?" Aurora repeated in a more demanding tone. "Did it have something to do with me? Its why you sent me away, isn't it?"

Leah clasped Aurora's hands, "My dear, please understand that we never wanted to give you up. We made a deal with the Dark One only because we had no other way to protect you and save our kingdom."

"An evil witch called Maleficent had been terrorizing the common folk for years, and on the day you were born, she placed a curse on you."

"What curse?!" Aurora cried, prying her hands from Leah's grasp.

"It's a type of sleeping curse," Stephan explained. "She declared that when you turned twenty one years old, you would fall into a deep sleep that only the darkest magic could cure. We made a deal with the Dark One to stop Maleficent. As part of that deal, we had to let three faeries raise you without knowledge of your true identity."

"But I couldn't stand being apart from you," Leah cut in, "so I sent Mulan to find you and bring you home."

Aurora's face hardened. "I was home."

Mulan couldn't help but feel sorry for both parties. The king and queen's desire to reunite with their daughter reminded her of her own quest to find her family, but having spent weeks traveling alone with Aurora, she understand the young princess's frustration with being ripped away from the only home and family she had ever known.

"Did my mothers know about this?" Aurora asked.

"Yes," Leah answered.

Aurora's anger turned to dejection and defeat.


"You don't have anything to say to me? At all?" Kilian's eyes blazed with frustration as he approached Emma in the police station parking lot.

She paused halfway into her car, then got out and planted her feet firmly on the ground. "What I am suppose to say? That I thought you probably one of the few sane people in town, just for to turn around and go on about fairy tales being real?"

"Swan, do you really think I'm insane?"

"Well it's either that or you're an asshole who doesn't know when a joke stops being funny," Emma smiled bitterly. "I need to get back to work, I have patrol duty."

"Swan!"

Emma pulled out of the driveway, leaving Kilian alone in his worry.


After Ariel had retreated back into the sea, Killian made his way inland, hoping to find a village or town before the day grew too hot. The young boy was hungry, thirsty, and exhausted, but he knew he wouldn't last very long if he stopped to rest, so he kept putting one blistering foot in front of the other. A forest full of tall trees stood ahead of him, and Killian hazarded to guess it would have a stream and some fruit trees to sustain him. He limped into the forest, scanning the trees and ground for anything he could put in his mouth, but all there plants looked foreign and he didn't know what was safe to eat.

When he stumbled upon a wide, unpaved road, Killian's heart leapt. All roads led somewhere other people lived, and those people could help him. Then he realized he had no idea how far he'd have to travel to reach civilization, in either direction; if he chose the wrong way he'd end up walking away from the nearest settlement. He tried to look above the trees to see lingering smoke from nightly fires signaling that people where nearby, but the sky dawned as clear as the sea.

As Killian stood in the middle of the road contemplating his next move, the gallop of horses filled his ears. Two figures on horseback came from the east, and they slowed when they slow the miserable child standing alone. Both were men, and Killian was engrossed by the military uniforms they were. It reminded him of what his father would...what his father...

Tears prickled at the edge of his eyes. He had tried to keep any thought of his family and the horrible betrayed he had just experience out of his mind, to only focus on his own survival. But he couldn't help it. He wanted his mother and father back the way they were before his mother had been exiled from court; kind and loving and playful. He wondered how Liam would react to his disappearance. How would his parents explain where he'd gone? Did they think he was dead?

The feeling of cool silk wiping his face brought Killian out of his stupor. One of the men had knelt down to clear away the tears were falling from his cheeks. "What's the matter lad? Are you lost?"

"Do you know the way to the nearest town?" Killian asked. Between the wobbling his throat from crying and how parched his mouth was, Killian's voice sounded strange and unfamiliar.

"That would be the town near the royal palace. We're on our back from an important mission from the queen," the soldier answered. "Where are you parents?"

"Gone. They're far away."

"And they left you here alone?"

Killian nodded. The men looked appalled.

The second man climbed down from the back of his horse and searched through his pack. He approached Killian and gave him a portion of cheese and salt beef. Killian thanked the man and ate it quickly. The first man handed Killian a skin of water, which he also happily accepted.

"Have you ever been on a ship?" the first man asked.

Killian flinched, remembering the icy grip of the sea when his mother had thrown him over the railing. "Yes. My father was a sailor."

"If you have nowhere else to go, I'm sure we could find a place for you in the navy."

He had nowhere else to go, didn't he? He'd be serving a foreign ruler, possibly fighting against the sailors of his own kingdom if they went to war. But what choice did he have? Killian forced himself to smile, and nodded. "I've always wanted to be a sailor."


The monarchs set Aurora up in a luxurious room high in one of the palace's towers. Aurora felt so out of place among the splendor and the resentment she felt over her situation only grew. She sat down on one of the overstuffed chair as she tried to make sense of what her blood parents told her. At first she had directed her anger at her blood parents, but now her emotions were a confusing mess.

A curse had been hanging over her head since the day she was born and no one had told her. Her blood parents had traded her for the safety of their kingdom. Her mothers had taken her from her blood parents knowing they had wanted her. And the Dark One was after her because her parents had broken their deal with him.

She felt overwhelmed. She felt tired. She felt trapped.

Aurora rose from her seat and looked out the window. She noticed Mulan walking across one of the inner courtyards. A young boy ran into the warrior's arms, and though Aurora couldn't see the other woman's face, her body language was happier and more relaxed than Aurora had previously seemed. She wished she had something like that.


Now that Mulan's service to King Stephan and Queen Leah had ended, she and Ah Ping were free to leave. Despite the reunion between the monarchs and the princess had gone badly, Queen Leah had paid Mulan well with both money and supplies. The siblings, dressed in new, study clothes, mounted their horses at before dawn and left through the north gate.

"How are we going to get back home?" Ah Ping asked Mulan as the royal palace disappeared behind them.

"Our best bet in a find a witch or portal jumper to help us get back to our own realm," Mulan answered. "Once we return, we'll report what happened to the emperor. He respects me, and I'm sure he'll be willing to help us found our family and the other villagers."

They kept traveling in silence for a few minutes, until they heard the sound of someone running toward them. Mulan turned her horse around. Despite the fact that this third person were a heavy cloak with a hood overt her face, Mulan recognized her immediately.

"Aurora? What are you doing here?"

The princess lifted her hood, her eyes filled with determination. "I want to go with you."


Emma pulled up the Jefferson Mansion. She felt so guilty about lying to Killian, but she just had to get away from him for the time being. It was one thing for a lonely ten year old with an over-active imagination to try to convince her that fairy tales were real, but it was completely different story coming from a grown man who seemed perfectly rational. She couldn't figure out what his angle was. Or how it made her feel, considering she had been on the cusp of admitting to herself that she actually liked him romantically.

Priscilla answered the door. Since her discharge she had taken to walking with a cane to cope with the physical trauma. Her stony silences after that first night masked the emotional trauma. Yes, Priscilla went on about the curse too, but she was mentally ill according to everyone in town. In fact, Emma guessed that the so-called curse began with Priscilla and spread to Henry and Killian had co-opted it for whatever reason.

"Hello again Emma," Priscilla sighed.

'Am I annoying her?' Emma worried. She smiled politely, "Hey. I just came to check up on you."

"Of course, please come in."

Priscilla shuffled inside, leaning on her cane, and Emma followed close behind. Priscilla had already set the tea and biscuits in the parlor. Though Emma preferred coffee, she drank it with a look that claimed to love it.

"Have you been taking your medication?" Emma asked, trying to sound casual.

Priscilla took a delicate sip, "I flushed those down the toilet ages ago." At Emma's alarmed look, she laughed and said, "I'm kidding. Of course I'm taking my pills. I'm eccentric, not irresponsible."

"Sorry, I just-"

"'-wanted to make sure your alright. I feel responsible for you Priscilla. And don't worry, Graham are doing out best to catch whoever did this to you,'" Priscilla imitated. "Did I get that right?"

Emma flushed. "Oh. Am I that predicable?"

"Well..." Priscilla shrugged. "I know you didn't come here to talk about the curse, though you certainly should have. I'm not sure how much longer you can go about pretending you can't see what's right in front of you."

"Have you considered that maybe you see things that aren't there?" Emma challenged.

"Everyday for the last ten years." Priscilla replied in a neutral tone, but there was an undercurrent of something sharp and cold. "You look tired."

"I haven't been sleeping well the last few weeks."

"Maybe you're cursed," Priscilla joked. Emma laughed with her, but then Priscilla abruptly became serious. "Of course, I'm such a fool. You're cursed too, actually cursed. It must be a different spell."

"Curses aren't-"

Priscilla waved a hand dismissively. She set down her tea and began pacing. "I can't believe it didn't occur to me before. If you're cursed to believe something that something wasn't true or to hold onto a certain set of beliefs no matter what, it's no wonder you're refusing to believe despite all the clear evidence in front of you. I have to give it up to Regina, that's brilliant. A curse that can't be broken because the curse-breaker is herself cursed; a locked door behind a locked door."

"I don't follow," Emma shook her head, "at all."

Priscilla didn't seem to hear her. "If I can find a way to break your curse, you can break the Evil Queen's curse."

"I am not cursed," Emma insisted. "and neither are you. You're just coming up with increasingly strange theories to explain why the world doesn't work the way you think it should."

"Okay, I won't hold that against you because you're cursed," Priscilla responded diplomatically.

Emma groaned, "You're almost as bad as Killian."

"The newcomer?"

"Yes, though strangely I've know him longer than I've known you."

Priscilla's eyes laser focused on Emma's own, "Does he know about the curse?"

"If by that you mean 'Does he claim there's a curse because he likes messing with me?' then the answer is yes."

"I'll have to talk to him as soon as possible." Priscilla concluded. "Perhaps we should compare notes. He's not from town so he must have some insight that I don't and vice versa."

"I can't see wait to see what you two cook up," Emma said sarcastically.

"You said you haven't been sleeping well, maybe that's connected."

"Of maybe I'm just stressed."

"Did anything unusual happen before this started?"

Emma thought back to days surrounding her first serious nightmare, just to humor her. "No, nothing. Wait, I did have tea with Mr. Gold and he made some vague comments about Regina apparently being evil and a threat to his wife."

Priscilla grinned triumphantly. "Well then, he obviously put something in your tea to curse you. Mystery solved."

"No," Emma raised a finger to pause Priscilla. "If Mr. Gold hates the mayor, why would he curse me to think Regina's curse didn't exist? Wouldn't he want her curse broken? Wouldn't he want me to think she actually is an evil witch and side with him?"

Priscilla's smile fell and she sat back down in her seat. "Those are very good points," she conceded. "But I wouldn't rule out the possibility that he drugged you. I've heard of potions that alter the mind in strange ways, sometimes lasting for years."

"Oh joy," Emma groaned, dreading the prospect of continuous nightmares for the foreseeable future. No, Priscilla had to making that up.

"This meeting has been a lot more productive than I expected," Priscilla noted as she started putting the tea set away. "I'll cross-reference my knowledge with Killian Jones and see what Gold's been up to, while you can try not to fall asleep driving home."

Emma shook her head at the sheer ridiculousness of the conversation she was having, but she figured that was just Priscilla being Priscilla.