6. THE HARDEST PART.

"Regina" she said.

"She won't care." he replied. "She just wants to be with her son, nothing else matters to her."

"Snow and Charming."

"I have no idea about what they'll think."

"Me neither... Neal."

"He'll be against: he appreciates you and hates me." he answered with a sigh. "... your prince."

"His name's Phillip" she replied, and then continued "He'll surely challenge you to a duel."

"I would win" he said.

"No duels..." she replied "Henry."

"I think he'll give us a chance, too bad he's just a boy" he stopped for a couple of seconds and then continued with the names "Mulan."

"If you survive Phillip, she'll kill you and then kill me" she answered. "So... Mr Gold."

"He'll be against it just to piss me off."

"Killian!"

"Those expressions, I know." he said as if he was a boy who was being told off "Well, who's left?"

"Emma."

"Maybe she'll be the only adult to support us... when she asked me about you she didn't seem very... annoyed with the situation."

"So we're not doing the same as in the last three days, we're telling them today, with no excuses." said Aurora.

"But if we don't find the moment..." he started.

"Killian, I can't keep lying to Phillip." she interrupted him.

"I know, and you know I want to tell them too, I can be a lot of things, but I'm surely not a coward." he made another pause "It's going to be difficult."

"Yes, what if they don't accept it?" her eyes showed fear.

"We've already talked about it. That's their problem." he answered.

"It's ours too."

"Let's just see what happens." she nodded, but worry didn't disappear from her eyes "Hey" he made sure nobody was near them and hugged her. "It'll be alright..." he rubbed her back and kissed her forehead. Suddenly, they heard footsteps and separated immediately.

"First we tell Phillip, then the rest" she summarized. He nodded.

Almost two weeks had passed since the night they'd confessed their feelings to each other. During those days, the lack of freedom had been a hard issue to deal with. They'd pretend to be just friends as best as they could when they were with other people and started to see each other even less during the days, afraid of the fact that they could give themselves away, so they were very cautious in that situations, although all they wanted was to be together as what they were, as a couple. At night was when they were themselves. They usually met in his cabin or on the deck, which was riskier because what if someone went there for a night walk or something and caught them, for example, kissing? Of course they made sure to meet when everyone was in their respective cabins and seemed to be sleeping but they couldn't be 100% sure about being totally safe, so they would made as less noise as possible, which included not going further than passionate kisses and caresses. Doing 'more private' things was surely the most dangerous thing they could do.

Sometimes, as in that day, they managed to spend some minutes alone, but they were always alert, just in case someone was near.

They didn't want to hide, but they knew they needed to tell them very carefully and in the right moment because their relationship would be difficult to understand or accept, specially by certain members of the group, but they were sure about what they felt, about what they wanted.

But, as it usually happens, things doesn't occur as we want them to, and in that day, all their plans to confess their feelings were ruined.

.

A couple of hours after Hook and Aurora's conversation, they reached the shore they'd been going towards.

Half an hour after landing, they were walking all together, exploring that kingdom when Henry's voice broke the silence.

"What are you thinking about, grandpa?"

"True love."

"What?"

"True love. It is a curious thing, dearie, I wonder if we'll ever be able to know everything about it... I've studied it for a long time and I still consider myself as a beginner. Maybe what it once was true can change as time passes, maybe when you lose your true love you can find another one, who knows?... Or maybe we just have one in our entire life and everything else is just an illusion... Yes, true love is a curious subject of study."

Aurora wasn't looking at him, because she was walking in front of the boy and his grandfather, but she would swear the old man was looking directly at her back. His words reminded her so much of her own situation that she started to wonder how much Rumplestiltskin knew about it. She decided not to think about that.

The night had already fallen when Mulan stopped suddenly.

"What happens?" Snow asked.

She didn't need to be answered because, right after asking the question, not one but two wraiths appeared in front of them.

"Distract them!" ordered the warrior "I'm setting a fire! Aurora, Henry, stay by my side!"

Phillip was the only one who could use a sword, but it didn't help too much. The best thing they could do was catch their attention from different places to make the two creatures become confused. Everything happened very quickly: one of the wraiths was floating towards Snow while her husband was very busy with the other one. Killian noticed it and shouted:

"Hey! Don't you wanna suck a darker soul?"

The wraith didn't seem to like the idea because, with a move of his creepy arm, the pirate was sent flying straight to the floor, his head hitting a big tree. In that precise moment Mulan managed to set the fire and, using a stick as a torch, she approached the first soul-sucker, which run away. Emma noticed what she was doing and, taking another 'torch', did the same with the second one, with the same success.

Aurora just needed two seconds to come to the place where Killian had fallen. He was conscious, but still lying on the floor.

"Are you fine?" she asked worriedly, caressing his face.

"Yeah, I am" he answered, trying to get up.

Feeling really relieved, Aurora, who had forgotten that they were surrounded by people who had no idea about the relationship between them, leaned to kiss him. 'Aurora' he mumbled when their lips were just separated by a couple of milimetres. When she realized what she had done, it was too late. All the crew was looking at them open-mouthed. She glanced at Hook, as if she wanted to apologize, but he just made a gesture indicating that it didn't matter, took her hand and said to the surprised group:

"Yes, it's what it seems. This is not the way we planned to tell you but..." he sighed "now you know."

"I - knew - it" said Emma very convinced, but still wide-eyed.

Phillip's face was totally red.

"What?!" he shouted. "No, no, no" he shook his head "This can't be happening."

"Aurora, I can't believe it" started Neal "Don't you remember what he did to me?"

"Explain yourselves" said a very angry Mulan, staring at her friend, who she was unable to recognize.

"We love each other" said Hook.

"It just happened" added the princess.

"Just happened... just happened?!" Phillip just couldn't believe it "After all these years and all we've faced together, after everything we've done to save each other... you betray me like that. I told you not to come so close to him. Don't you see he's just a pirate who wants what all of them want from a woman? Are you stupid or what?"

"Hey, hey, don't tell her that!" shouted Killian.

"Shut up!" answered the prince "This can't be love. It's impossible."

"Henry" said Regina to her adoptive son "You mustn't be here. Let's go" and taking the boy by his right arm, they disappeared from the scene.

"If I can add my humble opinion." said Mr. Gold "It seems to me that our dear captain is just practising his favourite sport: interfering in another people's life and ruining families in the process."

"Shut up, crocodile."

"No, he's right. We shouldn't have trusted you." said Mulan.

"Mulan, please, if you listen to us..." started Aurora.

"No, I won't. Not only because of me, but because of Phillip too. He was supposed to be your true love, wasn't he? And you do this to him?"

"I... I'm sorry... I wanted to talk to him but..." she was interrupted by Killian, who hadn't released her hand in any second.

"We were going to explain everything, starting with you" he stared at Phillip.

"Don't pretend to care about me" said the prince.

"She cares."

"Yeah, I see it." he answered in a cold tone.

"You don't believe her? Now I see how much you" he stressed the last word "care about her."

Aurora couldn't stand the anger and deception she could see in her friends' faces and tears started to roll down her cheeks. She'd known it would be hard, but nothing could have prepared her for what she was living.

"It's not her fault" said Mary Margaret who had approached Aurora and taken her free hand. They thought they'd finally found someone who understood them, but they were wrong "It's his. He's seduced her, as he's been willing to do with any woman he's been able to find."

"Everyone knows his true love was Milah" added Mr. Gold, who seemed to be ejoying the situation. His son nodded. "Nobody else."

"And look how she ended" added Neal. Killian uttered an "excuse me?" but he ignored him and continued "We don't want you to end up like her."

"No" said Aurora and then repeated "we love each other."

"How can you know that? You're so young..." added the crocodile.

"I- know- it." she answered, stressing every syllable.

"And this is not your bussiness, crocodile" added Killian. He wondered how people were so rude to her. He'd expected them to treat him like that, but why her? "I do love her, that's all that matters."

Phillip approached them, with his right arm ready to punch Hook, "Do you want to fight?" asked the captain, preparing for the combat. Emma, who had been in silence during all the argument, spoke at last.

"Hey, hey, stop! Couldn't we behave as adults and talk about it as civilized people?" the couple looked at her, really thankful.

"There's nothing more to talk about." Mulan answered.

"One thing is to be friends but this... this can't be love, and you'll realize it sooner or later." added Phillip.

"You don't understand" replied Aurora.

"You're the one who doesn't understand." the prince spoke again "I wanted to make you happy, I really did, but now..."

"Now what?" asked a very angry Killian, who was now hugging Aurora with one of his arms.

"Let it be, Hook, I think it's better that you two return to the ship" said Emma.

"She's not going anywhere" replied Phillip. Mulan nodded next to him.

"I'm not leaving her alone with you" answered the pirate.

"It would be better for everyone including her if you did it" said the prince.

"I know what's best for me and I want to go with him" said Aurora.

"Okay, okay, calm down everyone." commanded the sheriff "You two, return to the ship. When you two..." she turned to Phillip and Mulan "...stop with your anger, we'll reunite and talk about it in a civilized way."

"Let's go" said Hook, taking Aurora's hand again.

It was well along into night. While they were returning to the Jolly Roger, she couldn't avoid crying on his arm.

"Don't worry, we'll find a solution." he tried to console her.

"I knew this would happen... They hate me."

"No, they don't. They're just too stupid to treat you as you deserve."

"Killian!" He kissed her forehead. "It's been such a disaster... What are we going to do now?"

"We'll leave" he simply answered.

"What?"

"They don't want us to be together, so they won't have to bear it. As I once said, out of sight, out of mind."

"But... but it's crazy. It's like fleeing."

"No, it's not. If we stay here we'll be just repeating the same scene day after day. They don't accept it, that's all. I won't let them hurt you again."

During some minutes, Aurora's sobbing was the only thing they could hear. She was thinking about what he'd just said. Running off together meant leaving things as they were, being probably unable to see her friends again, but it also meant that they would be finally free to do whatever they wanted, to go anywhere and, the most important thing: to be together.

"It doesn't have to be a final goodbye" Killian broke the silence "Maybe we just need some time apart." he didn't know what more he could say.

"Alright," she sighed "we're doing it. We're leaving." he kissed her.

"I love you."

"I know." she made a pause. They'd arrived the Jolly Roger. "So the plan is..."

"We'll give them enough food and their personal items... I think we must keep a pod or two of magic beans and they can keep the rest. I'll leave everything near them. You just wait here, alright?" she nodded.

And so they did. While she was alone, she couldn't avoid thinking about her friends: about Mulan, Phillip... and that just broke her heart. She was so sad, so disappointed... she hadn't wanted things to go like that.

When Killian had finished with his task (he hadn't been seen but he'd left a note to Emma with a simple Thanks Swan) and returned to the Jolly Roger, he found Aurora crying again. He didn't need to ask why and hugged her, unable to see her so sad.

"It's time." he kissed her "Are you ready?" she nodded. "Well, let me show you the world."

The Jolly Roger weighted anchor and Killian took the helm.

When the sun arose, they couldn't see the shore anymore. A soft wind was blowing, barely moving the calm water.

They were finally free.