7. NEVERLAND (part 1)

Neverland... I want to show you something.

It was a strange land. The mist covered all the dark island that was in front of the Jolly Roger. There weren't any signs of human life in it. She was cold and felt quite afraid. Why did he want to go there?

"Is it dangerous?" she asked.

"Quite dangerous." he looked at her worried eyes "Don't worry, we'll be fine. The Lost ones are weak now."

"The lost ones?" she knew that name and what that 'boys' did from the stories she'd been told "But they are the ones that..." he put a finger on her lips.

"Don't worry" he repeated. "I know where to hide the ship and I know a special tree where we can hide. Trust me, I'm a Neverland expert." he smiled. "We must stay where we are during the day and tonight we are heading to the Skull Rock."

"Beautiful name" she commented. "Are you sure you can manage to drive the ship there?"

"No, you are going to help me" he tried not to laugh when he saw her surprised face.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"Don't worry, I'm going to teach you... you can't be a helpless princess forever."

"I'm not a helpless princess" she was starting to get upset.

"Yes, you are" he replied very convinced.

"Stupid pirate."

"Thank you" he smiled and changed the subject "You need to rest, another long night is waiting for us."

"You're right, I'm pretty tired."

"You can sleep in my cabin... or our cabin... whatever. Follow me, milady."

"Don't say that again!" she said.

"Or what?"

"Or I will send you straight to the sea."

"I can swim... and you can't control a ship" she was going to reply something "I know... stupid pirate."

.

Moments after arriving the captain's cabin, he realized how hungry he was. They hadn't eaten anything since they'd had lunch the day before. With all the journey he'd forgotten it.

"I suppose you're hungry" he said. Aurora nodded "I'll bring you some food." they kissed and he left to find something to eat.

When he returned from the kitchen, he found that she had fallen asleep. Now he understood why she was known as Sleeping Beauty. Smiling and being unable to stare at anything else, he left the food on a table and left the room trying not to make any noise.

.

She didn't know how many hours she'd been sleeping, but when she woke up, she could see the twilight through the cabin's windows... and a tray full of food on the nearest table. She smiled for the first time in the last twenty-four hours (sleeping had made her feel much better) and started to eat. After a while, she joined Killian on the deck.

.

When the night had totally fallen, the Jolly Roger started its new journey.

"Now it's time for you to take the helm." he said.

"Are you sure?"

"Completely. It's easy. It's like a horse... Look" he taught her as he had done with Baelfire years ago.

"Hey, I'm doing it!" she was thrilled because of her new ability.

"Yes, you are. Now pay attention..." he started to guide her in the right directions and, after an hour or so, the Skull Rock appeared in front of them. "Well, everything has gone well. Now let me continue. This area is quite difficult"

With the help of the almost full moon, she could see that there were many rocks below them. The Jolly Roger kept moving forwards and finally they reached the huge Rock. They entered the hidden cavern and the ship dropped anchor. Hook was right, it was impossible to find the boat where they had left it unless you knew where it was.

"Perfect" he said to himself and then turned to Aurora "Nobody's going to disturb us here. Now, we are going for a walk. Do you want to have dinner by the lake?"

"Sure" she answered.

"Just give me two minutes." he said and disappeared.

While she was waiting, Aurora looked at everything she could see with the help of the Jolly Roger's light. There wasn't anything interesting to look at: just rocks and more rocks, some of them reflecting the lake's water. She heard Killian coming back and turned to him; he had a kind of big bag hanging on his back.

"The dinner and everything we need" he said, and then he gave her a lamp and, with a gesture of his right hand, he added "After you, princess."

The path through the rocks wasn't very easy. Sometimes Aurora, who wasn't precisely an expert on walking on that kind of areas, fell behind and Killian had to wait for her until he lost his patience and, with a mocking smile ('Are you laughing at me?' she asked) took her hand. They walked some metres hand in hand until they found a suitable place next to the water where they could set their little picnic.

"I should have found you a more suitable outfit" he said while he was serving the dinner.

"To dress me up as a pirate?" she asked. The walk had made her be in a quite bad mood.

"You're not a pirate, I don't want you to become one." he answered "It's just that your beautiful dress is quite... innapropiate in certain situations. I'll look for some clothes for you tomorrow. But tonight..." he didn't say anything more, just gave her a cup and filled it with wine.

"We're using cups" she commented, remembering their first conversation and the rum bottles.

"Of course. It's definitely more elegant" he said. "So..." he filled his own cup "I want to propose a toast... to us." he added raising the cup. Aurora did the same.

"To us" she repeated, hearing the 'click' of the glass. 'Us'... that word reminded her of why they two were there alone. She started to eat in silence, a fact that was quickly noticed by the captain.

"Hey, what happens? Are you still sad about..." he tried to find the appropiate words "about the argument?" she nodded. He didn't want her to think about that again, so he changed the subject "Tomorrow you'll be fine, when we arrive the Hangman's tree."

"Another beautiful name" she observed.

"You'll like it, you'll see. It's the most close to a house than anywhere you've been in the last months. By the way, if you're looking for beautiful names, you won't find them here. Apart from the Mermaids Lagoon and the Pixie Hollow the rest are quite... unpleasant. I won't tell you any of them because I'm afraid your regal stomach won't stand them."

"Huh, huh, huh" she laughed with sarcasm.

"Say it" he said with a smile.

"Shut up and eat" she commanded. He was tempted to say 'Aye, aye, captain!' but he thought twice.

While they were eating, a cold wind started to blow. She shivered. "I should have taken something to put on" she said. He sat by her side and hugged her. And was in that precise moment when he realized he'd lived that before: in their first kiss on the deck. The circumstances were almost the same, but now they were all alone, free to do whatever they wanted, to behave as what they were with nobody to stop them.

"Do you see it?" he asked "Now we don't have to hide anymore." he kissed her, but that kiss had something different. It was like getting rid of a weight they'd been bearing since that night on the deck, or even before. They were feeling real freedom for the first time and it was an awesome sensation. The kiss became more passionate, none of them wanting to finish it. She hugged him, her hands around his neck, without any intentions to let him go. She needed him more than never and trying to resist when he made her lie on her back was the last thing she wanted to do. The kiss, the hug, the caresses... everything became more intense when he lay on top of her and clothes became nothing but an impediment. The cold didn't matter anymore, along with the past, the future or anything else. They were two people who loved each other, making love far away from every problem. Just them two... and their freedom.

They didn't know how much time had passed when they lay tired on the floor, using their clothes as an improvised bed. They smiled at each other and he put his arms around her, making her head rest on his chest. That moment was so perfect, so peaceful that none of them wanted to break the silence and they just stared at the reflections of the water on the rocks until the sleep came slowly to them.

.

The morning light woke them up. Hook was the first to open his eyes and found Aurora by his side, with her eyes still closed but, undoubtedly, awake.

"Good morning, love" he said. She opened her eyes.

"Good morning" she repeated with a smile.

The remains of their dinner were still there. He picked up a dish and offered it to her.

"Here, an original breakfast" he said.

"It's not bad" she laughed. They spent some minutes where they were, eating everything they'd left the night before.

"You're hungry" he observed.

"Yes."

"Nothing unexpected after sleeping with me." he said.

"Idiot" she replied, shaking her head but smiling.

When they'd dressed up after eating, Hook said 'wait a moment, I'm going to see what's the weather like' and disappeared.

.

"A storm is coming" he said when he returned "We won't be able to start our journey until tomorrow."

"So, what do we do now? Do we return to the ship?" she asked.

"Return?" he shook his head and took her hand "Come with me."

She didn't understand anything:

"Do you want to go outside with a storm coming?"

"Are you afraid, princess?"

"Of course not."

"I'm sure you haven't been outdoors in those moments. You've missed it. It's a curious sensation. The air, the sea... everything's different. Just come with me, I'll show you. I promise when it starts to rain, we'll return to the ship."

So they went out of the cavern and sat on one of the big rocks which were next to the entrance. He was right: the sea, the light, the smells she could perceive, the dark clouds, the density of the air, the wind... everything was different and new to her but not unpleasant. In her kingdom she'd go immediately indoors, without stopping to analyze those changes. As Hook had said, she'd been missing it. He hugged her with her good arm when he saw her smile.

The first raindrops started to fall some time after and, when they'd stood up and entered the Rock again, the rain started to pour. They cleaned up their 'dinner place' and headed to the Jolly Roger.

They spent the rest of the day on the ship, with the heavy rain and the thunders sounding as if they were far away from them.