Rays of sunlight came in from the window and fell on the young girl's face.

Rose stirred and when she woke she saw that she had fallen asleep on the floor with her back on her bedroom door. She rose from her position slowly, finding out that she ached everywhere. She rotated her neck, stretching it out as she tried the doorknob once more. To no surprise, it was still locked

Killian will be waiting for her in their glen today, she realized with a start. . She tried to knock her fists on the door and called out for her aunts to let her out but her voice only grew hoarse and her arms only grew tired. Rose looked around her small bedroom; she needed to find a way out of her room. She spied some hairpins on her table tried to pick the lock but after countless tries she gave up on that escape plan. Rose went to her window and looked out. Her room was located on the house's second floor but she could probably rappel down if she had rope. She searched her whole room but couldn't find rope that was strong enough to hold her. All that she had were sheets. That gave her an idea and began to tie several sheets together to form a rope.

Just as Rose was about to lower her "rope" and see if it's long enough, the doorknob clicked and the door started to open. Rose quickly pulled the makeshift upward and was just barely able to shove it under her bed as her aunts walked into her room. Aunt Fauna saw the Rose's distress and moved to her. "Oh dear" she whispered as she enveloped Rose into her arms. After a few moments of silence Aunt Fauna led Rose to her bed and sat down with her as Aunt Flora and Aunt Merryweather walked toward them. Rose saw that her aunts had grave expressions on their faces and asked "What's wrong?"

For a while none of them said anything, then Aunt Flora cleared her throat and began, "My dear Rose, there's something we need to tell you."

"Does this have something to do with why you won't allow me to see Killian?" Rose asked her aunt

Flora sighed "Yes, but we'll explain that later. Fauna, care to begin?"

The old lady nodded and took Rose's hands in hers tenderly. "Rose, what do you know of King Stefan and Queen Leah?"

"Just that they're the King and Queen of this kingdom. Oh, and that they're very kind. The people love them very much." Rose answered

"And what about King Hubert and Prince Phillip?" Aunt Fauna asked

"That they're of a neighboring kingdom but friends with the King and Queen." Rose replied once more but was confused; she wasn't expecting to be given a history lesson.

"Well, my dear, sixteen years ago, King Stefan and Queen Leah had a daughter. Her name was Princess Aurora." Aunt Flora began "There was a big celebration in the kingdom to celebrate her birth, for the king and queen had no children before being gifted with Aurora."

"During the celebration, three fairies were invited to be the princess's godmothers. They came to the castle and bestowed the gifts of beauty and song to Princess Aurora." Aunt Merryweather continued "But there was this one evil fairy who wasn't invited, but still she came thinking it was an oversight." Her aunt let out a sigh "But it was made known that she wasn't invited because she was unwanted. The evil fairy, named Maleficent, was insulted and cursed the princess. She said that on her seventeenth birthday, Aurora will prick her finger on a spindle and will fall to her death."

Rose was still confused, why were her aunts telling her all of this?

"That's a nice story Aunt Merryweather" she told her aunt as she gently pulled her hands from Aunt Fauna's grasp "But I don't understand what this story has to do with me?"

This time it was Aunt Flora's turn to speak, "We're telling you this because after Maleficent cursed the princess, King Stefan ordered all spindles to be destroyed as well as asking the three fairies to hide and take care of his daughter until her seventeenth birthday. And, well dear there's really no easy way to say this but" Aunt Flora cleared her throat and Aunt Fauna moved to make space for her sister on the bed. Aunt Flora looked at Rose straight in the eye and the young girl became nervous under her Aunt's gaze. "Princess Aurora was taken into a small woodcutter house hidden in the woods to escape Maleficent. She's here. Rose, she's you. You're Princess Aurora."

It felt as though the air was sucked from the room. Rose couldn't speak, couldn't move, she couldn't even think. This has got to be some kind of joke, right? She's known her aunts and she's lived in this house all her life. Her parents were gone, and there was no way that her aunts were fairies or that she was a princess.

No.

It couldn't be true.

Rose looked to each of her aunts; they all wore the same grim expression.

Rose began to stand; she clutched her stomach as she walked away from the bed. She felt as though she was going to be sick, as if she couldn't even breathe.

Aunt Merryweather went toward Rose, "Dear please say something; I know this is a lot to take in. We were planning to tell you when you turn seventeen but with your meeting that boy in the forest, we decided that now might be the better time."

Rose couldn't believe what she was hearing from her aunt, tears welled up in her eyes "How is now the right time for this?" she whispered angrily.

"Because before you go running off with a man you just met, you have to know the truth." Aunt Flora, also standing, tells her sternly "The truth about who you are and you're betrothed."

"Betrothed?" Rose barely whispered; could this situation get any worse?

"Yes dear," Aunt Merryweather continued "to Prince Phillip, son of King Hubert who is your father's closest friend."

She was still eyeing her aunts warily when a thought popped into her head, of course! Then she let out a disbelieving laugh to which her aunts looked at each other with questioning expressions.

"Rose, stop laughing" Aunt Flora reprimanded "Nothing about this situation is funny."

"Oh but" Rose began to explain in between her laughs "it really is and quite brilliant too, if you ask me."

Aunt Fauna's brow furrowed in confusion "What do you mean dear?"

"I just can't believe that you would go to such extent just because you don't approve of Killian or of anyone for that matter." She told her aunts, her tone going from amusement to irritation, "Me, a princess? Royalty? Are you all out of your minds?"

"What are you talking about Rose?" Aunt Fauna questioned surprised at the girl's outburst.

"This! This tale of royalty, curses and betrothal!" Rose spat, her voice rising with every word, "I understand that it alarms you that I've met a man but you don't have to go through all this trouble."

"Y-you don't believe us?" Aunt Merryweather asked, not expecting Rose's reaction to be like this.

"Why would I?" Rose exclaimed, she was livid "There's no way that I could be a princess. And besides that would mean that the three of you are . . . are-"

"Fairies?" Aunt Fauna finished

"But we are." Aunt Flora told her calmly "And we can prove it to you also." With that she reached into her sleeve and pulled out, what seemed to be a stick. But it wasn't an ordinary stick; it was straight and as white as snow. Rose's eyes widened as Aunt Flora waved the stick around and the dress that Rose was wearing changed. It was the dress she saw in their living room earlier but while that dress was blue, this one was pink.

"Hey!" Aunt Merryweather exclaimed but she was nudged on the side by Aunt Fauna "Not the time" she whispered to the shorter Aunt.

Once again Rose was silenced, flabbergasted and what had just occurred.

"But, but I've never seen you do magic my entire life!" She reasoned.

"We had to hide our wands away so that our magic wouldn't give you away." Aunt Flora countered.

"This . . . this is preposterous" Rose stuttered to say "This isn't real. This can't be real"

"I'm so sorry dear" Aunt Fauna apologized, giving Rose another hug "But I'm afraid it is."

Rose released herself from her Aunt's arms and looked around the room with a bewildered look. After a few moments of not moving, she saw that her aunts left her bedroom door wide open. She closed her eyes seemingly resigned to fate.

Her aunts had let out a sigh and looked at each other.

Then Rose ran out the door, out of their house and into the forest.

In the glen, Hook was waiting for Rose like he said he would. The sun was starting to set and he was beginning to worry that something bad had happened to Rose. She did live in the woods; after all, a number of things could have happened to her.

He began to pace.

What if she doesn't come? The chilling thought came to Hook's mind and stopped him mid-pace. What does it matter? He argued with himself, so she doesn't show up. It's not going to be some great loss. I've known her for only two days. We both know that I have to leave. We both know that this is nothing.

Hook recalled the last couple of days. But she was so innocent, and angelic, and much too pure for someone like him. He had to remind himself of that every time he almost-convinced himself to go around the whole forest just to look for her. Tired of pacing, he sat down by the foot of a tree near the stream where he first saw her. He stretched his legs and closed his eyes as he slept. But even though his stature was very relaxed, his mind was ablaze. Hook's thoughts wouldn't quiet about Rose and where she could be especially if she actually forgot to come today. He decided to push those thoughts away and began to think about more pleasant things, like Rose herself. He thought about her auburn hair which seemed to be ablaze when hit by sunlight but extremely soft to touch, her eyes which were the most impossible blue that he's ever seen and her skin which was the complexion of roses and cream and like silk. Rose may do chores but her eyes remain extremely soft.

With these thoughts Hook found himself starting to doze. When an owl began to hoot, he woke to find that it had already grown dark. He stood, walked toward the middle of the glen, and looked around to find no trace of anybody ever coming into the glen.

She didn't come; Hook thought resignedly. He supposed that there was nothing he could do now but go back to his ship. They were just about to set sail anyway.

I'll never see her again. That was what he always knew. He was always going to leave and she was always going to stay here. Even if she came to the glen that night they still had to part, never to see each other again.

He guessed that this would be the less painful way that things could have gone. It would have been much harder to say goodbye if they met that afternoon.

At least now he didn't have to say goodbye. He could just leave and she wouldn't shed tears for him (if she even would, that is). He'll just leave and never have to see her again.

He said these things to himself as he walked out of the glen and started to head back to town. But no matter how much he tried to console himself, Hook's heart still mysteriously ached for the girl he barely knew.

Rose came running into the glen where she and Killian met and as she stopped in the middle to catch her breath, she turned in circles looking for any sign that he was still there waiting for her.

It took her a few moments but it dawned on her that Killian had gone. The realization knocked the breath out of her and she fell to the ground. Rose was overwhelmed from everything that her aunts told her and that Killian was nowhere to be found. Her thoughts was running a mile a minute and it felt at that moment she just hugged her knees to her chest and started sobbing, finally releasing everything she felt ever since her Aunts locked her up in her room the night before.

Aurora

A princess

Cursed

The words swam around Rose's mind as she sobbed her heart out in the glen.

Betrothed

That word made Rose's head snap up. She wiped her tears away; she didn't feel as sad as she was a moment before. Now, anger started creeping up on the girl and she stood up and began pacing around as well as muttering.

"Betrothed? Are they serious? Do they really expect me to marry a man I've never even met?"

"No, I won't do it. They can't make me."

"This Phillip might be seventy years old for all I know. Besides, how can I marry him when I've met Killian-"

The thought of his name made Rose stop in her tracks. Killian. She needed to find him. She needed to explain why she was late to their meeting. Oh shoot, he's leaving today. I need to catch him before he leaves.

She starts to run out of the glen and into the town, hoping to reach the port before his ship leaves.

What if I'm too late? Rose pushed the thought out from her mind as she ran. She didn't care whether she tripped or her dress snagged onto a branch, all she could think about was reaching the docks on time.

Killian, please wait for me. She pleaded to the heavens as she ran as fast as she could.

And, please take me with you.

Killian went on board his ship, his heart heavier than it had ever been, he realized, and he was swaying a little bit on his feet. He stopped by the tavern on his way back to the Jolly Roger and finding the scene there unappealing, treated himself to a bottle of rum and left the tavern.

He went into the captain's quarters and sat down glaring dejectedly at his desk. The Jolly Roger was uncharacteristically quiet tonight since the rest of his crew were probably off gallivanting and enjoying their last night at this port. Killian let out an angry sigh and took a swig from his bottle.

Rose reached the port, panting and out of breath. She stopped to take in her surroundings and a shiver ran through her. In her hurry to escape from their cottage she didn't think to take her coat with her.

There were several ships that were moored onto the port and Rose was overwhelmed. She didn't know what Killian's ship looked like, not even its name. How could she not think to ask for the ship's name? She took several steps forward and then stopped. There didn't seem to be anybody around, everything was so quiet.

I don't think I can just go aboard any ship without permission. She was exasperated. Her adrenaline rush from when she took off seemed to have worn off. And she was scared, she has heard a few stories on pirates and she prayed that she wouldn't run into any of them tonight. No, I can't give up now. Rose squared her shoulders and started walking.

A couple of hours have passed since Rose started her search and she's nowhere near to finding Killian or his ship. She hasn't even run into anybody, it seemed as though the whole port was deserted. Her feet ached and the night has gotten both darker and colder. She took a seat on some wooden barrels that looked strong enough to hold her weight. Rose rubbed her hands together and hugged her arms around her body.

Rose had been sitting for a long while and her eyes were starting to droop when she heard something behind her.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" A deep voice said

The young girl slowly turned her head. Rose's eyes widened when she saw that there were at least half dozen men who were coming nearer to where she sat.

"Ain't it a little bit too late for a young'un like you to be wandering about all by your lonesome?" A grubby chubby man sneered at her

"I- I-" Rose stammered, pushing herself off the barrel she was sitting on and backing away slowly

"Cat got your tongue, miss?" A thin man with a scar on his forehead now approached her.

"I should go" Rose took a few more steps back and began to turn when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Leaving so soon?" the chubby man said "but you weren't in such a hurry before we came. What's changed?"

"Don't leave yet, miss. Let's have a little fun" A different voice said now with a note of mischief.

Rose then jerked her elbows back to knock the breath out of the two men nearest her and she broke into a run. She'd gotten a few feet away from them but she wasn't fast enough. One of the men tackled her to the ground and immediately wrapped his arms around her middle to keep her from standing. The rest of the men caught up to them and two of them grabbed Rose's arms helped her to stand and began to walk or rather, drag her with them.

Hook had been daydreaming when he heard the boisterous laughs and voices outside his cabin. His crew must have come back to the ship. About time too, he thought for the bottle of Rum that he brought with him was long gone by now. His crew should have brought aboard some new supply.

He stood from his desk when he noticed that his men were louder than usual and there was a certain sound that his inebriated brain couldn't decipher. Hook shrugged it off, as he was used to the antics and the gallivanting that his men often got up to.

Hook kicked his door open. "About time you lot got back here." He announced "Mr. Smee! Did you happen to remember to bring back some more rum?"

"Yes cap'n" A rather round man with a red beanie came bounding toward the captain, bottle in hand "And we brought home more than that."

"More than just rum, Smee?" Hook asked turning to him as he took the offered bottle "Well, what is it?"

"See for yourself cap'n" Smee gestured toward the deck "We thought we'd have fun here instead of the town before we left in the mornin' and it was just our luck that we found this little dove waiting at the docks"

"What are yo-" Hook stopped speaking as he turned toward the rest of his men. He blinked, and his mind sobered up completely for there she was in the hands of his crew.

Rose.

xx