I would like to thank vampire luverxoxo, JohnnyStormsGirl, and ratherbereading125 for favoriting/following/reviewing the story! I love you all! I'm glad you're enjoying it that much. This chapter is a bit of a long one so I apologize in advance. Usually I don't plan chapters in as much detail as I did this one, but I put so much detail in the outline that I felt I needed to cover most of it. I hope you all enjoy it!

Pre-curse

"There's a ship coming in," William Smith told his daughter as he entered their home. "Looks like it's those pirates."

Isabel pretended not to hear him; although she knew as soon as her father left she would change into a prettier dress and fix her hair. She hated how that boy, that pirate stole her thoughts. He made her too much of a lovesick girl. Many boys in the village wanted Isabel to think of them in that way yet Killian was the one that made her feel absolutely stupid. William egged it on as much as he could. Most fathers would discourage their daughters' crush on someone like Killian. William found it rather humorous that the boy had ruffled Isabel's feathers so much. Isabel didn't find it nearly as funny. If anything, she took it as his way of annoying her even when absent. He did tell her that he would find a way, and it look like he had. He had kissed her, effectively infecting her. Hopefully the slap he gained left him with a lasting impression as well. She didn't want his affections; at least that's what she told herself and anyone brave enough to mention him.

"Why don't you go to the market? I'm more than capable of feeding myself," William told her.

Isabel laughed. "Nonsense, father. It takes you twice as long, and you have work to do."

"Nothing too important," he shrugged.

"Well, you're too late," she said, putting a bowl of soup in front of him. "Now eat. I have to go get the laundry."

"They're not ready. I checked them. Go to market. We're almost out of bread," he told her. "Get some flowers too."

"Yes, father." She frowned. Her father was up to something. Obviously he was putting her in a position to be bothered by Killian. She grabbed her basket, kissed her father on the cheek, and started towards the market.

Killian saw her before she saw him. He hid in the shadows, watching as she interacted with the merchants. A smile remained plastered on her face, and Killian found it completely beautiful. She seemed so kind, which he didn't find all that surprising. The townsfolk loved her as if she was a princess. They loved her, refused her money. She obviously didn't listen as she forced the money on them.

She turned her back to him as she picked up a bouquet of flowers. He took that as his chance to sneak up on her. "Now those are as beautiful as you are, love."

Her posture straightened. "Nevermind. Wildflowers are weeds anyways. They grow where you don't want them."

Isabel started to walk away. Killian gave the merchant a piece of gold, taking the flowers. He followed after her. "Dammit, Isabel! Wait!"

"Run back to your ship. I only have a little money, and it's going to be used for bread. Nothing to steal here," she told him.

"I'm not here to steal from you." He held out the flowers for her, chuckling as her eyebrow quirked up. "I paid for them."

She crossed her arms. "What am I supposed to do with them?"

"Take them. Put them in your father's shop," he shrugged.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Go away, Killian."

"One day," he sighed. "Just give me one day. I'll prove I'm not as bad as you think I am. Please."

She shook her head. "What's in it for me?"

"Love of course," he grinned.

"No," she answered. She tried to walk away, but he grabbed her hand. "Let me go or I'm cutting that hand off."

"You'll never see me again if I don't prove myself to you," he blurted out, though it was the last thing he wanted to promise her.

"Deal. Now prepare your heartfelt goodbye. This will be the last day we'll be seeing one another," she smirked. "Now keep up. I have errands to run and far more important things to do." She started walking towards the bread cart. "You must really like torture, Killian."

"Why's that?" he asked catching up to her.

"I'm obviously not interested yet you don't seem to get that," she told him.

"You don't know a thing about me? How can you know if you're interested or not?" he asked.

She turned to face him. "You tried to steal my money from me, and I held a knife to your throat. How can you even think that I am interested?" She picked up a roll, sniffing it before holding it up for him. "Is this fresh to you?"

"Because threatening my life is just the first step to loving me," he smirked, but it disappeared when Isabel glared up at him. He took the bread and sniffed it. "It smells fresh. Baked...this morning?" He looked over at the bread merchant who nodded slightly at him. "This morning." She took the bread back from him, paying quickly before walking off again and leaving him in his spot. He had to catch up to her again. It was getting rather tiresome, but he found some fun it. "So...I've spent an entire month looking forward to getting here."

"That's good. Took a lot, did you?" she asked.

"No. I've been wanting to see you," he answered. "Seriously, are you going to give me a hard time for the entire day? Give me a chance. I could surprise you."

"I seriously doubt that," she told him. "Give it up, Killian. I'm not worth it. Perhaps you'll find a girl who deserves you."

Stepping in front of her, he placed his hands on her shoulder. "I'm not giving up, Isabel." He sighed, "You promised me one day, just one day. That's all I ask. I promise, and I will leave you alone if that's what you wish at the end of the day. Until then, I'm going to give it a fair shot but you have to as well."

"Alright," she nodded, looking over his face and frowning. "What's...you have..." she looked down at his hands. "You've got scrapes on your hands."

"Don't worry about that," he smiled, taking her basket for her. "Now. What next?"

"I'm finished here actually. Now I just have to go home and put this stuff away; clear some things up there," she smiled back.

"You just smiled at me," Killian gloated.

"A fair shot. That's what you asked for. Consider this me being nice, yeah?" she grinned. "Come on. My father is probably back at his shop. I can probably feed you whatever is left over of the soup I made earlier."

Killian nodded. "Soup sounds delicious considering what I've been eating on the ship lately."

Isabel led him through the village to a little cabin on the outskirts of the town. It was a little unusual for shop and home to be two different places, but the Smith family had once been much wealthier than they were. That, of course, was back when Isabel's uncles were all alive too. They went off to fight in the ogre wars. William went to fight, but he didn't fight long. He had gotten injured, sent home. When his brothers didn't return, he inherited their fortunes. He bought the shop to get Isabel out of the way just in case she might have gotten hurt.

Once inside the cabin, Isabel pointed to the table. "Put the basket there and sit."

"Bossy, aren't ya?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Put the basket there and sit please," she smirked at him.

"Better," he nodded, sitting at the table.

Isabel sat in front of Killian at the table. Killian had eaten whatever was left of the vegetable and pork soup Isabel had made. She managed to bandage his hand with a bunch of fuss from him. Other than him whining about the healing herb salve stinging, their time had been somewhat quiet. They would glance at one another and the other would look away blushing. Despite Isabel's reluctance to even get to know Killian, the time alone with him was breaking her down. Maybe she was just tired from running around the market. Maybe he actually was wearing her down. Isabel didn't know or really care anymore.

Killian carried himself differently than most pirates Isabel had seen. There were things all over the house he could pocket yet he remained seated, only standing up when she did. He was gentlemanly, and maybe that's why Isabel didn't care so much that she was letting her guard down. To her, it didn't seem like an act either. Killian really was putting his best foot forward to woo her. That was why she dressed his wounds. That was why her eyes continued to study things about him. There was a scar on his cheek where she held the knife to it. She actually felt a little bad about that, though she still believed he deserved whatever befell him that day. She tilted her head to the side to watch him. He seemed lost in his own thoughts, but his eyes caught hers. Isabel swore she had never seen such captivating eyes.

"How did you become a pirate?" she asked. "Where are your parents?"

Killian took a deep breath, resting his elbows on the table. "My mother died when I was nine. My father abandoned me a year or so ago. Harold took me in, offered me a job on his ship. I took it because I had no other choice. It was either piracy or starve."

"My mother is dead too," she told him quietly. "She died shortly after I was born so I don't remember her. I used to have a necklace, but it was stolen from me."

"Stolen?" he questioned.

She nodded. "A few years ago, these pirates came through here. They ransacked the entire village. I just happened to be in the square when they arrived. One of them took my necklace before I could even think to run to my father's shop and hide. They took almost everything from us."

"Including money?" he bit back a smile.

"My father had made the most beautiful swords ever. They were so ornate. Surely fit for any king that might pass through. They were worth quite a bit, and we would have been set if he had sold them," she told him.

"And that's why you chased after me," he nodded.

"One of the reasons why. I promised my father that I would fight anyone to make sure he never went without again. One day I'm going to marry, and he'll still have to make his way in the world. Until then, it's my responsibility to make sure he can eat." She looked down. "It's what my mother would have done."

Killian stood and went to the other side of the table. He knelt down in front of her, taking her face in his hands and making her look at him. "I promise you, Isabel. I'll get your necklace back."

She shook her head. "You don't have to."

"I want to," he looked into her eyes. "It's the least I can do for stealing from you in the first place." Her eyes went wide and all she could do was nod. He smiled. "You really are beautiful, Isabel."

"We should go to my favorite place," she said quickly, looking away from him.

"And where would that be?" he asked.

As soon as she had said, she managed to get away from him and grab a sack of something from the cupboard. She took his non-bandaged had, leading him out of the cabin. "Did you get to see the river the last time you were here? Probably not. Well...maybe. It depends on which way you came in."

Killian chuckled as she pulled on his hand. There was a lightness in her voice that hadn't been there before. Sure she had already softened up to him, but now it was as if she were this completely docile kitten. There was no bite to her words. She led him through the forest. He tried to take in his surroundings. It had been a long time since he had been inland enough to see a forest. Isabel didn't give him much time to see much of anything. She pulled him quickly through the forest, and the sound of a river rushing close by told Killian they were close. Her pulling him faster also told him they were getting close.

Isabel looked back at him with a grin on her face. "You ready?"

"Of course," he nodded.

She led him through a clearing. "This is it. It was my mother's favorite place. I was almost named Lily because of it."

The boy looked around. There were bunches of red lilies everywhere he looked. They were so bright and beautiful. He went up to one and plucked it from the tree. Killian motioned for Isabel to come closer. When she did, he tucked the flower behind his ear. "There. You've made it more beautiful."

"That's silly," she told him. "Do you know what kind of flowers these are?" He shook his heard. "They're magical fire lilies. Normal fire lilies grow after a fire, and this forest did burn down ages ago. It's said that a bunch of fairies enchanted this part of the forest to repel fire. Everything here has a little magic to it, and the lilies that popped up were no different."

"So how are they magical?" he asked.

"Ah. This river flows into the sea, and the flowers often find themselves riding the river to the sea. When they hit the saltwater, they turn white," she smiled up at him. "People also say they have magical healing properties too, but I've never seen it."

Killian thought for a moment as he watched a couple of the lilies fall into the river, being whisked away to the see. He bent to pick one off the ground. Turning it in his hand, he examined it. Even without the red petals, the flower had to be one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. Then he looked at Isabel, who had lost all interest in him. Instead she sat on a large boulder to watch the water and flowers rush by. He went to join her. Turning the flower in his hand, he knit his eyebrows together.

"You know," he spoke up, "you're kind of like these flowers."

Isabel giggled. "What?"

He scooted closer to her. "You're like these flowers. They run to the sea, and it catches and changes them. Without fail, they allow the sea to change them."

"And let me guess. You're the ocean?" she asked.

"Yes. Well...sort of," he answered. "I have the chance to fail. You don't have to let me change you." He bit his lip. "Not that you need changing at all."

Isabel looked at him. "I think it's the other way around. I think you feel there's still something missing from your life. You're the flower running to the sea to be changed, and there I am pretending to be unwilling yet waiting with open arms."