Her head was pounding in the morning when he woke her with a gentle nudge, calling her name until she peered up at him with squinted eyes, hand coming up to rub at her temples. And then she smelled the bacon, forehead knotting slightly as she chanced to look down to find him holding a tray on which sat a plate piled high with an assortment of treats.

"What's this?" Clara croaked, taking the mug of water he handed her to gulp some down before glancing back up at him to wait.

"Apologies," he offered quietly, "For last night."

She half smiled, pushing herself up to sit so he could lay the tray in her lap. "You brought me breakfast, in bed," Clara laughed, watching him shrug. "Are you sure you're a pirate?"

"A pirate can't be a gentleman?" He retorted as she plucked a grape off a bunch and ate it with another long sip of water. "A princess deserves as much."

Clara snorted, "I'm no princess."

Glancing at her sideways, he argued, "I believe your father would disagree."

With a laugh, she nodded, "Daddy's girl; pegged that one." Clara ate her breakfast as he looked out over the village through the window and eventually, she asked, through a mouthful of eggs, "Where are we going, anyways?"

"Find the blue fairy," he explained plainly.

"I'm sorry?" She coughed.

He turned and smiled, "Blue fairy, love, most powerful fairy in the enchanted forest."

"I'm sorry?" Clara repeated, then shook her head, "Your solution to our problems is to find a fairy?" Then she cocked her head, "A fairy in a forest?"

"You've got a better idea?" He tilted his head towards her, "I'd really love to hear it." Then he smiled, "Or have you decided you'd like to stay because I'm certain I could make…"

"No," she spat, watching him chuckle, "It's just, fairies – not exactly… they're not real."

"Oh, milady," he laughed, "They're very real and not to be trifled with." Pointing, he told her, "Don't let one hear you saying they're not real, they could add a second head or a third arm, or worse…"

Straightening, Clara shifted the tray off her lap and she clapped her hands of food remnants, moving to stand and remaining still before she felt him at her side. "I'm fine," she told him immediately.

"Yes, I get that you're a terrible liar," he replied, giving her a push back onto the bed and landing his hands on her shoulders, "Take a few moments, let the food settle in – finish the water," he ordered.

Nodding slowly, Clara opened her eyes and found him standing before her, one arm crossed over his chest, the other propped up against it, knuckles at his lips as he stared at her. He was considering her and she knew what he was thinking: would she even be able to make it through a forest. Nose flaring, she pushed off the bed again and stared back as his eyebrows rose, "We don't have time for the babying – we have to get out of this place and into a forest to find a fairy to get me home."

Clara pushed her feet back into her shoes, thinking about how he'd have been the one to have taken them off her and placed them carefully next to the bed. She laced them quickly, all the while feeling his eyes on her, and then she crossed the room to pull open the odor, turning quickly with a humph to see Barnibus with his hand raised, as if to knock.

"Hello," the man called, "Look distressed, is Killian being a problem – this early in the morning?"

With a laugh, Clara shook her head, instantly shaking the tension off her shoulders with a speed that shocked Killian as he watched, mouth slightly agape, "No, sir, we've just gotten off to a late start on account of my over indulgence in spirits last night."

"And a bit of overindulgence in the bedroom," Killian muttered with a coy smile, waiting to see the look of frustration she flashed him before he moved to her side, "We're off to the forest, maybe a night or two – would you be so kind as to keep an eye on my ship?"

Barnibus looked flustered as he considered it and then glanced from Clara to Killian and back to Clara, "Forest, with a new bride? Are you certain it's such a good idea, Killian – I could watch the misses for you, sure we could keep each other company quite well."

Killian lifted a hand to her shoulder, giving it a small squeeze as he smiled widely and shook his head, "No need, sir – milady was raised a bit wild, prefers the adventure to toiling away in a home. One of the reasons I agreed to marry her."

"Ah," Barnibus laughed, "Then be forewarned, the ogres have been tramping the forests – another war with the townsfolk across the river."

Clara turned slowly, meeting Killian's gaze as he nodded to Barnibus and she swallowed roughly, thinking about everything she'd ever read in storybooks about ogres and when the larger man departed with a promise to look after the Jolly Roger, she asked, "Ogres?"

"Like oversized trolls," Killian muttered quietly as they began to make their way back down into the main pub and out onto the muddy street. Clara was nodding to herself, finger coming up to her lips so she could chew nervously at the edge of her nail.

Once they were on a grassier street that dissolved into a sea of trees, she chanced to ask, "So that wasn't, like a joke… there are actual ogres, actually in another war. A war of ogres and…"

"Men," Killian explained, "Happened before, long time ago I think – time gets foggy when you've been to Neverland. Doesn't quite seem to flow," he smiled down at her, then frowned when he saw the concerned expression plaguing her. "We just have to steer clear of Ogres, should be an easy enough task – you're the size of a pixie." Then he teased, "They're afraid of pixies."

Reaching out, she socked him hard in the chest and picked up the edges of her dress, quickening her pace towards the forest. Killian might have laughed, but he heard the distinct howl of something far more sinister than ogres and before he could react, Clara screamed.