Aurelia stood waiting for everyone by herself on the dock. The sun was setting slowly as she sat by the dock, the sky make up of fiery yellow and oranges. She had a book that Belle had given her, and after finishing it, she sat, sipping a cup of tea she had taken after her last shift at Grannies. She felt philosophical, and calm as she stared at the sky. The water was calm and smooth, and the sound of it made her feel safe. She thought about her aunt, and her friends, and everything that had happened in her life. Doubt crawled in as she thought about the happiness and the tragedy conflicting. It felt like every time something good happened, a catastrophe would soon follow, and she wondered when it would end. Sighing, she supposed if the exciting events that happened didn't, then she would be blissfully happy and normal, even if it was boring. After she had finished her book, the characters would have a happy ending, and she pondered if she would.
It had taken her 33 minutes to decide what to wear. When one goes on an adventure, it is very important to pick a good outfit. And not in how pretty it looked. She had decided on strong, black boots, hard-wearing jeans that were basically impossible to rip, a black t-shirt and leather jacket. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail, and she felt more prepared.
Her deep thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of footsteps approaching. It was Rumplestiltskin.
"Packed, and ready to go?" he asked, sitting beside her.
"Yes" she replied. "Oh. I never thanked you, for helping me the other day. You really are changing"
He paused. "it's a strange world we live in, Aurelia. Nothings black, or white. People aren't good, or evil. They just lose their path. After meeting Belle, I struggled with who I was. I realise now, that I'm going to do everything in my power to be a better person. I don't mean running around helping old women cross the road, or getting kittens out of trees. I will make mistakes, and choose bad options, but I think I am changing"
"That's a good point" she said. "When will it end, Rumple? The trouble we go through. I feel like I'm in a race that's never ending- things just keep happening again and again. It would be nice to just rest, for a while"
"It's life, Aurelia. Things happen. It never ends, we just have to carry on and deal with it"
"I know. I wonder what it would feel like to have a normal life. If I was still living with my aunt, with Peter, or if I was oblivious to magic in this world, I just want to know what it feels like not to be in constant fear, and danger"
"That's one question I'm afraid I can't answer, dearie. But we can't think about this right now. We need to focus. We need to make a plan, stick together for once" he said.
"Coming from you, that's odd. But you're right. I've decided. I'm going to do everything in my power to help other people- even if it means sacrificing my own life" she added.
"You've got more lives than a cat, Aurelia. You can't die"
"I can. I can't keep escaping death again and again. It chases me. What if it's my fate, to die young?" She looked at him, her face showing no feeling.
"You can't possibly think that, not after avoiding it for this long" He said, curiously.
"No, I do. I'm not going to fight anymore. At least, not for my life. If it comes down to my life or Killian's, Henry's, Mary Margaret's, then it has to be them"
"Living is about survival. Being a human means being selfish. You can't put other people's lives ahead of your own, that's your job. I would hope that you wouldn't want to die for me"
"You're a very powerful man. You've helped us quite a few times- despite slightly begrudgingly. You're life probably has more value than mine"
"I think you underestimate how special you are sometimes dearie".
She gave no reaction to what he said, but thought about it. Before she could reply, Regina had joined them, shortly followed by Emma, Mary Margaret and David.
"Are we all here?" David asked.
"Nearly. Killian had to do something quickly" Aurelia said.
"Sounds suspicious. What is it?" Regina asked, earning a nasty look from Aurelia.
"I don't know" she replied honestly.
"Well don't just sit there, get on board" Killian said, walking towards them.
They boarded the ship, as Killian took Aurelia's hand.
"Everything okay?" he said.
"Yeah. How're you feeling?" she touched his face.
"Fine now you're here" he said, kissing her.
"If you don't mind" Regina said bitterly. Killian gasped as he saw her bruised face.
"Who did that to your face?!" he exclaimed, then regaining his composure, he added "Might need to shake their hand"
Regina looked surprised. "You mean you're little pet didn't tell you? Go on Aurelia, he needs to congratulate you" she turned, storming off.
Killian and Aurelia stood by themselves on the dock.
"You lied to me" he said "What did you do?"
"I was angry!" she said defensively. "She tried to kill us, and I didn't think! Look, I didn't want to tell you because I wanted you to get better, okay? We should go, it's getting late"
"Fine. The only reason I'm not saying anything more about this is because I'm slightly proud of you. Now hop on board" he said, giving her a gentle push.
Aurelia stood with Emma at the end of the boat. They had arrived in Neverland and the tensions were running high.
"What's it like?" Aurelia asked, making the blonde woman turn towards her.
"What's what like?"
"Being a mother. Having a child" Aurelia asked.
"I'm not really sure. I guess I'm not used to this" Emma said. "Giving Henry away was the hardest thing I've ever had to do, but I thought it was the right thing. It putting someone's life ahead of yours, you want the best for them. And now he's in my life, I can't ever imagine him leaving"
"Right. Yeah, you're right. It must be awful to lose him like this. He's a great kid" Aurelia gave a small smile.
"Yeah. That's one thing I'll respect Regina for- despite all her flaws, she brought Henry up well. I wouldn't change a thing about him" Emma said.
"Ladies" Killian greeted them.
"Hook" Emma said, glancing in his direction. He took Aurelia's hand.
"Come with me" he led her downstairs, to the little cabin.
"What's wrong?" She asked, getting slightly panicked. He gave her a reassuring smile, rubbing her shoulders.
"Nothing's wrong. I wanted to steal you away for a bit. I'm selfish" he shrugged.
They sat in the small cabin, and he reache around. There was a yellowing bit of cloth, and he opened it. Inside there were shattered remains of a blue and white vase.
"Well, you've definitely got me better presents" Aurelia laughed. "What's this?"
Killian looked serious. "Do you remember, when I took you after you had re-united with Peter? I kept you in this cabin, and you smashed everything?
Aurelia thought, a flashback coming back to her.
/
It wasn't fair.
Suddenly, Aurelia had an outburst, like before, but smashed everything in the small cabin. She pounded on the walls with her bounded wrists, tearing them more, making them bleed uncontrollably. She pushed a vase off a little table, then kicked it over, again, splintering the wood into little pieces. She pulled a painting off the wall and put her foot throw it, and tore the bed sheets and the pillows, so feathers covered the entirety of the room.
/
"Yeah. I remember. I was angry for everything that had happened to me. Seems I have a bit of a temper every now and then" she sighed. "Why the hell do you still have this?!"
"I kept it. I don't really know why. I think that was the first few feelings of remorse I had. I realised that I had hurt you so much, and I'd never felt guilt like that before. I guess I kept it as a reminder never to hurt you like that again" he said.
She kissed him, then broke apart, thinking more about that night.
/
That's when she broke down.
He came and sat next to her, and put his arms round her. For that moment, she just didn't scream or hurt him, she just needed someone to hold her, and he was there. So she let him. And she felt safer, better. He stroked her hair as she cried softly, and soon, she fell asleep on his shoulder.
He picked her up, carrying her to another cabin, and placing her in the bed. He looked down at her young, innocent face and sighed.
/
"You see, you were good all along. That was long before we fell in love, and you comforted me" Aurelia teased, poking him.
He looked at her strangely. "You crazy girl" he murmured, brushing her soft hair behind her ear. "I've loved you since I first saw you"
She kissed him again then, it turning fiercer and more passionate. It felt like her heart would burst with how much she loved him.
As they slowly laid on the bed, the memories of him looking at her whilst she slept years ago, before they had ever kissed or talked properly, they faded, as they created new memories.
Aurelia opened her eyes. She felt warm and safe, and stretched her arms lazily, a smile on her face. She looked at the sleeping man beside her, and kissed his cheek before standing, getting changed. She drank some water and began to methodically brush her hair.
She felt a hand softly grab her wrist as Killian began to brush her hair for her, as she leant in front of him.
"Um… Captain. Sorry, I don't mean to interrupt…" a voice said. Mary Margaret crept in slowly, her eyes on the floor. Aurelia giggled, making sure she covered all of Killian.
"What's up, love?" Killian said, his voice slow and happy.
"We have a problem" she said nervously.
"Give me a minute" Killian said. As the woman left, he leapt up, changing quickly. The couple shared on brief kiss before they ran up deck.
"Now you've finally left your love nest to come join up" Regina said scathingly.
"Oh shut up you bitter witch" Aurelia muttered, as they looked at the weather.
Aurelia couldn't decide if it was terrifying or beautiful. There was a storm coming, and suddenly, the boat began to violently rock.
Killian looked over the side, and the others began to panic.
He looked at Aurelia. "Mermaids" he said. She wondered why his tone was so sombre.
"What?" she smiled, running over to the side.
He grabbed her by the arm, pulling her from the edge. "No, Aurelia. They're not normal. Something's wrong. They're trying to attack us"
"What are you talking about? Mermaids aren't evil" she said, breaking free and moving to the side.
That's when everything happened at once. The boat jerked as the mermaids clearly set towards it, trying to break the ship apart. Aurelia stared in horror.
She then began to start to hear the conversation the other were having.
"Attack them!" Regina was yelling.
"No, you can't! They're not evil, I swear!" Aurelia said earnestly.
"They are trying to kill us!" Regina shouted "I don't give a damn about your fishy friends"
"Don't touch them" Aurelia said, her heart felt like it was breaking as she saw even David and Mary Margaret hurting her friends.
"Aurelia love, these are not your friends. They are trying to hurt us. We need your help" Emma said.
That's when they caught the mermaid.
"Nixie?!" Aurelia saw her good friend, running to her. But Nixie hissed at her, trying to lash out. Killian grabbed her, yanking her back before she got hurt.
"Get away from me" the mermaid said "I am not your friend" she blew the horn.
The arguing continued until Regina killed her. She vanished.
"You bitch! How could you! She was my friend!" Aurelia cried
"She was going to kill us! I had to do something!" Regina defended herself.
"Don't make me punch you again" Aurelia warned.
Arguments suddenly broke out over the ship, leaving Emma to jump off the ship in an attempt to bring the group together. As soon as they reached shore, they set off walking, Aurelia at the front of the group leading the way with Killian, and they shared a mutual look of bravery and love, holding hands as they walked further into the island.