The next day, Hook found himself whistling as he walked the path back into the woods and back into the glen. He was surprised at his excitement over seeing Rose again.
Rose. Even just the thought of her name brought a silly smile to his face. He stopped walking and shook his head. He reprimanded himself for how he was acting at the moment. It wasn't as if he was looking for anything serious with the girl, he just wanted a bit of fun to fill his remaining two days in this part of the Enchanted Forest. But probably not too much fun, he mused as he started walking again. After all, she's still far too innocent for someone like him. Hook may have principles, but at the end of the day he's still a pirate.
Hook arrived at the glen and was surprised at his disappointment upon seeing that Rose hadn't arrived yet. He shook his head again and told himself to pull it together. It's only a couple of hours past noon He told himself as he looked around the glen We didn't even agree to a specific time, she'll probably be here soon, he realized that he didn't really take a good look around his surroundings yesterday since he was much too preoccupied with Rose and he decided to go exploring to kill the time.
Rose entered the glen around an hour later, a bit dazed. She was surprised at how easily she had gotten her aunts to let her leave the cottage that afternoon. Normally she'd go nearer to sunset and then her aunts would fuss over her and Rose would have to pull herself away from their grasps just to be able to get on her way. But that afternoon, it was different, her aunts had practically pushed her out of the door and it was still hours before sunset. It was as if her aunts wanted her out of the house, Rose had shook her head at the thought. That never happened before, was it actually possible that her aunts were finally letting her have some independence after the many years of begging them for it?
She shook her head to dispel the thoughts bouncing around in her head. No matter what the reason was, at least she was able to go to the glen much earlier than she normally would. Rose took a deep breath and looked around. She was somewhat disappointed to find it empty as it usually was. She laughed at how silly she was being. Rose met Killian just before sunset. He'd probably be here at around the same time, she thought to herself as she went further into the glen and nearer to the stream.
A rustling of the leaves made Rose stop from walking and turn in her tracks. She saw Killian entering the glen, he didn't see her, he was busy trying not to drop what she saw were various fruits and berries in his arms. When he was able to enter the glen without a single berry falling, Rose let out a giggle and started clapping. Hook raised his face and saw her standing there and a huge smile spread on his face. He walked forward and stopped when he was just right in front of her.
"Very talented, sir" Rose giggled at him
"Thank you, love" Hook answered back while nodding his head in a fake bow "I pride myself with being able to carry a lot of items at one time with more grace than a regular person would."
Rose just shook her head in amusement and stepped closer to help him with what he had in his arms "What are all these for anyway?" when she saw that he was carrying various kinds of fruit.
"I thought that we could use a snack" Hook moved to put them in a neat pile at their feet, "I did some exploring before you got here and who knew that there were a lot of different kinds of fruits and berries in this forest?"
"I did" Rose replied helping him with the pile "I do live here, and that's usually what I come out to the forest for. Gathering berries for my aunts when they need them."
And that's how their afternoon together started. They spent the time idling away in the shade of the trees in the glen, near the stream, talking and laughing while eating the various fruits that Hook had collected.
Hook was fascinated by the different anecdotes that Rose told about her life in the forest, and especially about her quirky aunts who seemed not very skilled at doing household chores. She told him about how their little cottage was clean but somewhat disorganized with cups and bowls somehow ending up in the closet with the linens and spoons in the living room as if her aunts weren't used to putting away their little knick-knacks. She also told him about how none of her three aunts could cook and was dreadful in the kitchen.
"But you've lived with them all your life!" Hook told her as he let out a laugh "How did you eat, especially when you were a child?"
"Oh, Aunt Flora's cooking is the most edible" Rose giggled "She can only make really simple meals though. Like bread and cheese or salads, anything that don't involve heat. I learned how to cook at the age of ten, and I've been cooking for them ever since."
"Now that's impressive" Hook praised her, bringing a light shade of pink to appear on her cheeks.
On the other hand, Hook enchanted Rose by his tales of distant lands and different worlds filled with mermaids and Indians (he left out the part about the crocodile he was after and an annoying flying boy and his crew). He enjoyed seeing the sparkle in her eyes as he told her his stories and how she laughed at the actions that came along with his storytelling.
"That's amazing" Rose breathed, the wonder still in her eyes as she imagined the fairies and mermaids and flying.
"It's nothing, really." Hook mumbled; suddenly shy at the admiring look on the young girl's face.
"Oh, but it is!" Rose exclaimed "It really is! I've never been anywhere other than this forest and the town."
The young girl's expression became somber and her voice was very soft when she whispered "I've always wanted. . ." then she trailed off, looking far off into the distance, beyond the trees that kept their little glen hidden.
"You've always wanted what?" Hook prodding her to continue, moving closer to her and playfully bumping his shoulder into hers.
"Never mind, it's kind of silly" Rose replied, blushing again and refused to look at his eyes.
"How can you be so sure?" Hook said softly as he reached out to turn her face towards his "Try me."
Rose's breath hitched as he found herself gazing into the pirate's impossibly blue eyes that seemed to resemble the sea that he loved so much. She realized that she'd been gazing for a few moments too long, and she leaned a bit away as she told herself to take deep breaths and calm down.
"I've always wanted to get away." She began softly "I mean, I love my aunts, I really do but I've lived in our cottage my whole life and I've never known anyone else aside from them. I've always wondered what it would be like beyond the town, beyond the sea and mountains that border this place." She turned to look at him "Most likely not for forever, after all, I don't think my Aunts would be able to keep a neat house without me, and someone has to feed them!"
Hook laughed weakly at this, and when Rose turned to look at him she saw that his face formed an unreadable expression. "What is it?" She asked him "Did I say something wrong?"
"No, it's not you" He answered the charming smile back on his face, although this time he didn't feel as light as before "You just remind me of . . . a friend of mine. She too, longed for adventure. And, well, we traveled for some time."
"Oh" Rose muttered, not knowing what else to reply "Where is she now?"
"She's gone" Hook whispered.
Their atmosphere quickly became a quiet and low-spirited one; Hook mentally berated himself for this. They were supposed to be laughing together and enjoying each other's company, not crying their hearts out. After all, they just met; Hook shouldn't be even thinking about . . . Her just yet.
He shook his head and flashed another smile directly at Rose and she found her breathing uneven again. "So, if you could go anywhere, where would you go and what would you like to see?" He asked her.
"Oh, um, I hadn't really thought about that" Rose replied, her brow wrinkling as she thought about it "I don't really know what can be seen out there, but I suppose I'd start with a castle."
"And why would you start with a castle?" Hook inquired, amused by what she said.
"Well, back when I was a little girl my aunts would tell me stories before I went to sleep at night." She explained "My favorite was the one about a lost princess who was hiding from an evil queen and true love's kiss saved the day." An amused expression came across Hook's face; Rose blushed and quickly turned away "I'm sorry; I told you it was silly" she murmured.
"No, not at all" Hook told her while nudging his shoulder against hers. He leaned his face closer to hers. Rose turned her head and now they were face-to-face with only an inch or two between them.
Time seemed to stop for the two of them. They were both surprised by the kiss, Rose because she didn't think that he'd actually kiss her and Hook because he didn't think that she'd let him. Hook found that her lips were soft just like he expected and Rose's initial shock fell away and she soon found herself kissing him back.
They kissed for what seemed like hours and Hook only pulled back when he felt that they both needed to breathe. Afterward, they sat there entranced by each other's eyes until Rose noticed the light coming into the glen.
"What time is it?" She asked, worry creeping into her voice.
"Sunset?" Killian replied not really caring at the time "Why? Does it matter?"
Rose immediately stood up and began looking around for her cloak and her basket "I have to go" she exclaimed "My aunts will be looking for me."
But before she could leave, Hook grabbed her arm and turned her toward him, "Come again tomorrow" he asked "And come early, I want to show you my ship."
Rose's eyes widened at that "Really? Can I go aboard?"
"Of course you can" Hook replied with a cheeky grin "As long as you come early tomorrow."
"Then I'll be here, I promise" Rose replied, and before Hook could say anything else (or try to steal a kiss, she broke free of his grasp and ran out of the glen.
Rose made her way home in a very happy mood and she couldn't stop her thoughts from going back to Killian (though she didn't try to begin with). She was humming to herself as she went along.
When she got home, Rose was surprised to see that there were no lights and it seemed as though there was nobody inside. Where were her aunts? A chill crept up her spine and wiped off the smile off her face. As she went nearer the house she prayed that nothing ill has befallen them.
Rose opened the door and found that it was extremely dark inside the house. "Hello?" she called out nervously "Aunt Flora? Aunt Fauna? Aunt Merriweather? Where are you?" She took a few steps inside slowly when-
A/N: Hi guys, so I'm really sorry for not updating for a long time but I'm kind of having this problem of I know where I want the story to go but I have a hard time writing it down in words. And a bit about Hook's characterization (for example, is he being OOC? Or is he being a bit too nice? If you think so please mention in the reviews).
Constructive Criticisms are welcome And thanks so much for everyone who has messaged so far.
Also in a not-so-strange turn of events, I am currently in Russia (I'm from the Philippines just in case anyone cares) so that also affected the speed of my writing.