That night, there was a storm. The darkened sky had aggressive streaks of purple and grey across it, and there were no stars to be seen.

The ship was in the centre of Pirates cove, and was shaking, the very wooden bones of it were trembling against the violent winds that beat against it. Rain poured down, soaking everything it touched. Men scrambled on the boards, doing various jobs in hurries, but it just looked like they were desperately pulling at random rope and sails in a pointless attempt to soothe the winds. Aurelia sat in her cabin, looking at the dark oaken wall as she swayed with the ship, and sighed. She regretted last night, she felt like she had given Killi- no, Hook, he was the ruthless Pirate, Hook- a piece of her soul by allowing him to hold her. She hated given up things easily, and she didn't want to owe him anything.

She found a change of clothes by the bedside table, a pair of black trousers, which seemed like they'd be a tight fit. There was then a white blouse, followed by a tight leather waist jacket. She pulled the items on, and enjoyed the freedom of being able to move without hindered. The black leather pushes her cleavage forward slightly, which made her tut, probably a deliberate action of Hook. The trousers clung to her curves, and unused to the change in her body, Aurelia sat down.

Maybe the new clothes, or the ability to cry finally had given her some kind of new hope. She wasn't dead, definitely not so. Hook was a man, and luckily, she could be quite cunning- not to mention she could be unswaying to the whims of men. She could fight- had basic sword training due to Peters influence when growing up, and she had determination. Her eyes felt manic and fiery and she stood, and walked to the door. Prepared to kick it down, she noticed that it was unlocked. She gave a little giggle at the foolishness. Well, there wasn't anywhere she could go other than the ship. She plaited her hair with quick, intricate twirls. She felt like one of the female warriors that she read about when she was little.

Peter never liked those stories. He preferred being the one to do all the saving. He liked Aurelia being dependent on him. She pushed this thought from her mind. That was just another problem she had to face later. She didn't want to think about Peter in trouble. He was a resourceful man, and she was sure he'd manage to escape the queens grasp.

She headed out onto the deck, her eyes taking in all the busy confusion. A stong, male voice shouted out orders at everyone, and she looked to the top of the ship, seeing Hook standing, a figure of authority, his face looking furious, as if he would destroy nature for threatening his precious ship.

He saw her, his face passive, and jumped down, sliding down and a quick jog to get to her.

"I see you found your new clothes" he smirked, looking at her. Aurelia remained, back straight, head up, eyes meeting him.

"Well, whoever picked them obviously had bad taste, but they'll do" she said bitterly.

"I would beg to differ. And yes, they definitely will do" he said, and finally, his eye slid up to meet hers.

Suddenly, lightening lit up the sky, accompanied, of course, with the thunder that roared, echoing across the choppy black sea. Aurelia had a heart attack when she saw a faint glimmer of panic in Hooks eye, but it disappeared immediately, making Aurelia feel slightly less uneasy.

Suddenly, everything stopped. The sea froze, mid wave, the sounds of men shouting stopped, the growl of wind and rain ceased and the air grew still. Everyone had frozen, mid movement. Except Aurelia and Hook. They looked at each other, baffled, connected with their equal bewilderment.

"Sorry for interrupting" a high pitched voice sounded. Sitting on the top of the sails, was Rumplestiltskin. Aurelia was only vaguely aware of the slight movement Hook made- he moved a few inches in front of her, blocking the direct contact between the two. As Hook began to speak, Rumple pushed his hand forward, dark smoke enveloping round the Captain, holding him hostage in the air. He didn't look scared, only furious, his eye glaring at Rumplestiltskin.

"My fight" Rumple began, making his way down to the deck "If unfortunately not with you, Hook" he spat.

"Although, once I realised it was in fact, you that burned my castle down to the ground- it's fine, by the way- I realised it was you that made my unfortunate consequences arise. I was so furious with your actions, that I took it out upon my servant girl. Despite the- dare I say- fondness I had crated for this little creature, when she came to me, desperate, starving, dehydrated and well, to be frank, dying, I teased her with the thought of salvation. Then, I beat her. I treated her cruelly, locked up up like an animal. But still, despite my wrong doings, I never said I would treat her kindly. So, when she ran away from me" he glowered at Aurelia, and they both thought of the chipped cup, smashed to pieces. "I was understandably… upset. I promised I would punish you, my little creature. And that I shall"

Suddenly, ropes flew around Aurelia, making her immobile. She struggled, but they grew tighter and tighter, impossibly binding her, cutting off all blood circulation. She felt angry, undesribable anger.

"Ho ho, would you look at those eyes?" Rumple laughed, and Hook struggled against the smoke, almost as if he was trying to get to Aurelia. Curious, she thought. Maybe he wanted to kill her before Rumple did.

"Do it" she said, carelessly. "I honestly do not care. Everything has been torn away from me, because of you two. You've taken away my happiness, my home, my family, my friends. You've ripped away the very essence of my soul, my spirit, and I'm tired. I don't care anymore" she laughed, her chest unable to rise because of the ropes. The pair looked at her like she was completely deranged. Perhaps she was.

"Oh, dearie" Rumple tutted "I'm not going to make it easy. I'm not going to kill you- oh no. What a waste of beauty, wit, and elegance that would be. You say you're soulless now. Well, I'm going to make that permanent"

He pulled out a script

"Mermaids" he began "closely linked with sirens, are some of the most cruellest, dangerous creatures known to man. They lure sailors.. and pirates, to their deaths with their beauty. It is said their hearts are blacker than the deepest darkness of anything, ever"

With that, he pulled a bottle from his pocket. It was golden, and looked beautiful. He approached her, with a flick of his wrist her mouth snapped open. Her eyes darted from him to Hook, who actually looked… she didn't know what.

The potion was forced down her mouth, and she couldn't spit it out. It tasted like honey, the only positive thing. Unexpectedly, the roped snapped away, making her fall to the floor.

"Erm… so?" she said.

"Give it a few minutes" Rumple suggested.

Suddenly, Aurelia's spine cracked. They all heard it, and she couldn't scream or even gasp, but was silent, like a fish wriggling out of water. Her bones began to break and form into… into a monster. She then began to cry out, the pain was indescribable. Worse than getting beaten, worse than fire. She pulled in breaths of air, but they only burned her lungs. Some kind of seaweed, green silk material had formed around her breasts, tightly, like a short corset, protecting her modesty from the men watching as her clothes fell away. Everything felt like it was on fire, her muscles were screaming at her like they were being flayed, like someone had poured salt in an open wound. She couldn't stop screaming, a horrifying sound that ripped across the silent atmosphere. It make Rumplestiltskin silent, his giggling stop, and Hook shouted out angrily.

She stared in utter horror as her smooth, pale skin grew green, and scales formed. Each one burned differently, and there was a brutal joining as her separate legs were merged into one, long, graceful tail. Slowly, very slowly, the pain began to lessen, but Aurelia was paralysed with fear, her panting breaths were the only thing anyone could hear as she moaned softly in pain.

Oh god. What had he done to her.

She wasn't human.

"Now, you will be able to breathe in air, but not too long, because it'll hurt. Then again, that was probably the worst pain any human being can have, so you might not mind too much. Now Captain. I'm going to release you. Do not attack me, that's pointless. You don't have magic. I want you to carry our beautiful little mermaid to the sea, and send her home" Rumple said. Hook dropped down, contemplating trying to murder the crocodile quickly, but Aurelia looked at him and he couldn't help but go to her. He fell to his knees next to her, as she gasped in pain. the air felt dry, and it hurt. She needed the salt water. Hook straed at her, silently begging her to look at him. He'd never heard anything in his life worse than that scream. But she didn't look at him. Her eyes were fixed on the sea, but unseeing.

"Don't take too long, Captain, or our little mermaid might suffocate" Rumple called out.

Aurelia felt Hooks trembling hands stroke her arm, and then felt weightless as he picked her up. As he walked, he whispered in her ear.

"Aurelia"

She didn't respond.

"Aurelia, please, look at me"

She didn't move, she was scared it would hurt more. The waves had begun to move now, the storm was still at ease but Hook saw the water gently moving as he held her in his arms.

"You don't have to do that, just chuck her in there, it doesn't matter" he heard Rumples screech.

"Quiet, crocodile" he shouted, walking further into the sea.

He was up to his chest, she was bundled in him arms.

She looked up at him, searching his eyes for something. Whatever it was, she found it.

"I'm sorry" he murmured.

"Killian, you need to let me go" her voice whispered. He looked down at her, his eyes filled with hurt and rage that she couldn't understand. He kissed her cheek, still shaking.

He let her go.

Equilibrium.