She ran towards him, leaping over the fire that singed the bottom of her dress. She hit at anybody who stood in her way, slashing at random body parts that tried to grab her. Suddenly, it seemed that everybody was trying to kill her, and she got into a heated battle with some men, trying to hold them off. Her only hope was many metres away, so she took in a deep, deep breath and screamed at the top of her lungs "PETER" again, and again, until, he turned to her. She breathed hard, still swinging her sword to meet others, ducking and weaving to try and not get sliced up.

Peters face was white, his mouth open, eyes wide and disbelieving. His whole body was rigid, and his men had to form a ring to stop the attackers. He sprinted towards her, leaping over broken crates, slashing at mens arms and bringing them down, closing the distance.

Aurelia felt a searching pain slice through her arm, seeing it had been cut badly. She fell to her knee's, and heard Peter cry out for them to stop, but she didn't know if his own men- or the queens- would listen. She closed her eyes, waiting.

Nothing happened. Opening her eyes, she saw Peter standing there, sword crushed against anothers, both men straining and gritting their teeth, eyes narrowed in fury.

"Malrick, protect the girl with your life. And prepare to retreat" he said. A man stood next to Aurelia, picking her up easily. He was one of the tallest men she had ever seen in her life.

"Don't worry girlie, we'll get you out of this mess" The man said.

She was placed on a white horse as Peters men began to retreat, and suddenly, she felt Peter swing up behind her on the horse, holding the reins tight, his arms safely holding her. They tore away, the men following. Aurelia was lulled into sleep by the rhythmic horse gallop, and leant back against Peters armour, falling asleep.

The dream began. She was in a forest, tangled up in a net, and heard a safe voice calling to her. She was cut down, and fell into strong, safe arms. Expecting it to be Peter, she turned, smiling, but looked into the face of Killian Jones, his dark eyes taunting hers.

"I'll always catch you, Aurelia" he said, and then she passed out, safe in his arms.

When she awoke, she was vaguely aware of being carried by Peter to a tent. She was placed inside, and felt a hand stroke her face.

She fell unconscious again. This was becoming an annoying habit.

When she woke up, she cursed her habit of passing out all the time. There was a loaf of bread and a mug of water next to her, and she ate and drank greedily. She combed her hair with her fingers, and smoothed down her dress, trying to look presentable. Her mind span over the events. She hadn't seen her childhood friend in two years. She'd obviously changed. What if he didn't like this new Aurelia? Maybe she'd gone cold with being mistreated by Rumplestiltskin and the queen, the endless hours of slaving. She sat on a small box, fiddling with her dress, and looking at her bandaged arm when Peter walked in. They both froze, and then ran to each other, hugging desperately.

"I knew I would find you" he said breathlessly, stroking her red hair and holding her tight. "I'm so glad you're safe, so, so glad. I didn't know what would happen to you, where you'd be… Aurelia, I've missed you so much"

She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "Well, it's a long story. Perhaps we should sit down…"

Hour later, after telling their tales while apart, Aurelia found out that Peter had been searching for her every day for a year since they parted. When he gave up hope, he joined an army against the queen and her dark magic, working his way up to the top of the ranks. Aurelia looked at his face as he spoke. Two years didn't seem like so long, but she could tell he'd been through some dark stuff too. His face was more chiseled now, having lost some of the puppy fat. She couldn't help but wonder how she looked to him.

They talked for hours, and Aurelia got the sense of Peters passion for his new cause. The rage he spoke with when talking about the queen, his kindness and love for the people, trying to protect them, keep them calm. His enthusiasm when talking about certain swords or horses or fighting stances, he was just the same as ever. But they had both changed, completely. So many things had happened to them, driven them apart, their lives not the same anymore. When they laid down to go to sleep, Aurelia had niggling feeling that things wouldn't be right, wouldn't be the same since when they were children. They had been apart for so long, maybe their friendship couldn't be repaired. Their childhood was over now. She'd been in service to two of the most corrupt, evil powers in this land, and Peter was the head of a rebellion. The day of the ball seemed so long ago, as if it were a dream.

When Aurelia woke, she saw an empty space next to her. She rose, and left the tent, walking about to see the men sharpening or cleaning their swords, playing cards or washing things in the river next to them. She walked down right to the bottom of the river, took her dress off and washed, then hurriedly dressed and returned to the camp, her hair damp. She felt odd and not at home. All the men looked at her, and she could not find Peter. She sat by herself against a tree, until the man that picked her up the night before sat down next to her.

"It's not perfect, but it'll do" he said, passing her a bowl of porridge.

"Thank you" she said "I'm Aurelia"

"Malrick- pleased to meet you love" he said, taking a bite of his own porridge. He was tall, and lanky, and was probably about 30. His nose was a bit too big for his face but he wasn't particularly unattractive.

"Peters told me all about you" he said, and she turned to him, raising her eyebrows. "Oh yeah, doesn't bleeding stop. No wonder all the lads stare at you, finally meeting the love of his life, Aurelia!"

Aurelia grimaced on the word love. She had forgotten about their kiss, before their separation. She had hoped it was a friendship love and not a romantic one that had fueled Peter to find her.

"It's been a long time since Peter and I have been together- a lot has changed. We've both changed" she said, looking down.

"You've had a hard time- I can tell" Malrick said "I can see pain in your eyes and weariness in your heart. Don't worry, things will work out soon enough one day. We'll all have our happy ending" he said.

"I hope you're right" Aurelia said, and the pair looked out to the distance, in an easy relaxed state.

…

Meanwhile, the queen raged. "RUMPLESTITSKIN" she roared, the little man appearing behind her, as always.

"Yeeeeees?" he said "You called, dearie?"

"Deal. Now" she said furiously. I've heard you're looking for an ex-employee of yours. A beautiful woman with red hair, to be more precise"

"Aurelia" he growled. "What about it?" Rumplestiltskin face grew dark, the air seemed to vibrate around him in anger. He'd been looking for the girl that had defied his orders, broken a deal and more importantly, smashed his cup. It was personal now. He couldn't track her because he didn't have any of her personal items. The fire had wrecked a lot of items and business was slower than usual.

"I can tell you where she is- if you help me"

"Anything" he said, his voice deep and low.

"I want all Lord Fairdowns men to be confiscated. Thrown in jail. ESPECIALLY the leader- Peter. I want him alive, and in my dungeons."

"It shall be done." he said. "Now, where is she?"

"Before I tell you, I would like to know what you're going to do with her. I was almost fond of her, the interesting little thing"

"All due respect my queen, that's my business, not yours, dearie" He said "But as for meeting her again- I highly doubt that"

"hmph" the queen said, going to a chest of draws and reaching in, taking out a cloak. "This was hers, before. I'm sure you can find her through a spell through her possessions, yes?"

"Indeed" he said, taking the cloak from her. "I will never say this again, Regina, but… thank you."

"According to my men, she slipped off during the battle. but Peter may have taken her prisoner. Then, two birds, one stone. You get the girl, I get the rest. As long as I get my part of the deal, we're fine. Now go" the queen said. She turned away from him, looking down at the caste courtyard, still stained with the blood of both intruders and her men. She did not feel sorrow, only rage. And a slight curiosity to where her servant had gone. And what Rumpelstiltskin would do with her. She shrugged it off. It didn't matter any more. The only thing that mattered was gaining the peoples control. She heard Rumpelstiltskin still behind her, holding the cloak tightly in his hands.

With one last, dark chuckle, he had gone.