A/N: Just to make it clear: parts written in italics are flashbacks. Thanks for reading and feel free to tell me what you think about the chapter.

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me but to their respective owners.

12. PLANS AND AN UNEXPECTED VISIT.

The shore was right in front of them, althought they would still need many hours to finally reach it. Eric and Killian were in the quarterdeck, looking at the horizon in silence. Finally, the prince broke it:

"What are you two going to do when we arrive?" he asked.

"That's a good question. You can see how exhausted Aurora is, so we're going to take a long rest and after that... I don't know, maybe we'll visit her kingdom, if she wants." he didn't seem very excited with the idea "We can always, you know, look for more adventures."

"What if I provide you those adventures?" the prince asked again.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you probably have the best ship in all the Enchanted Forest, so why don't you work for me and my father? You know, exploring, looking for treasures... adventures without piracy."

Killian looked at him for a couple of seconds and then turned to watch the ocean, thinking about what the prince had just said. It was a good offer... well, a great one.

"Does it mean that I'll have to live in your kingdom?" the captain asked. "Because we had another plans."

"Not necessary. Just let me know when you're available and I'll be able to find you... and don't worry about Aurora, she knows it. I talked to her yesterday, you know, to know her opinion, and she agrees."

"What can I say? Of course I want to do it." they shook hands. "It's time to become an honest man." both men laughed.

"And why won't you stay in our kingdom?" Eric asked.

"We have nothing against it, of course. It's because, as I've told you, we need a rest and we won't be able to have it there. You know, we're the two strangers who appeared with a ship, left with you and reappeared with a mermaid. We need to disappear for a while, I've got my reasons to think Aurora needs as much peace as possible, and not just to make decisions, but for health. She's not very well lately." The travels to the Netherworld had continued, althought with less frequency. She had grown strong enough to deal with them, but still the experience always made her feel weak and tired (sometimes she even had burns) and her mood wasn't very good as a result of that. He felt terrible for her, specially when he had to wake her up in the middle of the night without being able to do anything more than comforting her. The last one had been one of those nights. They still didn't know why that was happening to her again, he wondered if it was because of the efforts she'd had to make during that adventure or if, as she'd never been on the sea during so much time before, she'd caught some illness.

"Yeah, I've seen that. But you can stay with me until you find a place to go... and leave the ship in my harbor when you do it if you want. I'll take good care of it."

"I have no doubts." the captain replied.

Hours after the two couples were on the docks, saying goodbye to the crew (Killian got really surprised when he saw Aurora's wet eyes, he couldn't believe that she was emotional about that). What they didn't know was that someone was spying them from a safe hiding place. Someone who had been waiting for the princess to return there and was willing to tell the news to the person who had also been desperately waiting for them. The bad thing was that, after having followed the couple, after many days, he found himself without knowing where she had gone. They'd just disappeared and nobody could give him a hint about their whereabouts. His 'boss' wouldn't be exactly happy with that news.

.

Many days later, in his silent palace, he received them and, immediately, his mind started to work with a high speed:

So Prince Eric had returned to his kingdom on the same ship that had brought Aurora there three months before but, in spite of that, she and the pirate had disappeared after a couple of days. That was just perfect. Where the hell was she now? When he'd known she had been found on King Nicholas' kingdom just to disappear few days after he was angry, but not as angry as he was on that moment. He'd told his men to stay there, knowing that, if Eric was with her (the ship's arrival and his disappearance couldn't be a coincidence) he would have to return sooner or later, and so would she do. But the fact was that, since the damn ship had been seen again, it had stayed on the harbor, empty, and nobody was able to tell where she and the pirate had gone since his 'worker' had lost their track. They'd just disappeared. In that situation, his desperation grew more and more, he had to find her and he knew that there was just one person who could give him some information: Eric. He didn't feel like sending his people again to accomplish the mision because they didn't seem to obtain any information. No... that was something that he had to do personally. He'd go there and find her, no matter what he'd have to do and how many time he'd need because he couldn't let her escape again. But before leaving, he had to leave his kingdom in good hands.

.

Far away from him, Killian Jones was thinking about his new life. He and Aurora lived now in a small house near the beach which was quite far away from the nearest village and hidden enough to protect them for being disturbed. They'd been living there for almost two weeks, since Eric had found it while they were living in his castle.

.

"You don't have to search anymore, I've got it" the prince said after knocking on the guests' room door. They'd been there just a couple of days, being as discrete as possible.

The prince explained that he'd found a place in the nearest kingdom which was perfect for them. It had belonged to a man who'd worked for its king (King William, as Eric said) and had just retired and moved to Eric's father's territory. The prince and the old man had come across and, eventually, the second one had agreed to rent him the house for a private use (without knowing that who would really pay the rent wasn't Eric).

The plan seemed good to them and, when the night fell, they went to the Jolly Roger, packed their things and started their journey. Eric and Ariel would accompany them until they were in the kingdom's borders. When, after hours of riding, they reached them, Eric was the first to speak:

"Well, now it's up to you, just follow the map and you won't have any problem to reach the exact place." he made a little pause "Keep this one" he said pointing to the horse Killian and Aurora had been riding. They were going to reply something, but he stopped them with a gesture "No replies. How will you go to the village if you don't have it? When you've solved your issues, you know where I am."

"You don't have to wait until then to use the ship, you know" said Killian.

"Thanks... and you know you can come and use it whenever you want... I think it's time to say goodbye before we're caught." he held his hand to Killian, who shook it, but they ended up hugging each other "Good luck."

"The same for you" answered the captain.

Aurora and Ariel were hugging too. The first one couldn't avoid crying that time; Ariel had been the only female friend she'd had since she'd left Neverland and she'd miss her so much...

"Hey" said the mermaid in a kind tone "you know we'll meet again."

"I know, but" she wiped away her tears "it's still hard."

Eric hugged Aurora too and Killian did the same with Ariel. Finally, the prince and the mermaid said goodbye and headed to their home. Killian and Aurora stared at them until they couldn't be seen anymore.

.

They hadn't had any problems to reach the correct place and they'd adapted to the new life very quickly. It was too quiet for a pirate, but it had turned out to be the best decision as far as Aurora's health was concerned: the 'nightmares' had almost disappeared and her mood had improved a lot, althought she was still tired and sometimes moody, but he thought she'd be totally recovered as time passed.

That improvement had made Aurora start to think about what she wanted to do concerning her kingdom. After spending many days of total relax, she usually sat outside the house and thought about it. She was almost determined to go there and help in whatever she was needed but, what would happen if she appeared there? Would people want her to become her queen? And if that happened, would she want to accept? Did she still want to live the quiet life she'd wanted before everything'd changed? And as far as Killian was concerned, what did he want to do? (She'd have to ask him that) Would people understand their relationship? Would she be obliged to choose between her love and her kingdom? She'd imagined all the possible situations she would be likely to face if she appeared in her kingdom, and all of them made her feel afraid or filled her mind with new doubts. After those days of thinking and weighting every possibility, she had something clear: she couldn't keep hiding (from her people and specially from her friends, who she needed to see again, see how they were, even if she didn't really contact them) she needed to show her face because, as a princess, she had responsibilities, and she cared about her people after all, but she knew that her life was now with Killian, and she wouldn't even think about separating from him. She wasn't the spoiled princess anymore, she'd changed and wouldn't be able to have the life she'd wanted before. So she decided to go and check how her people (and the man who was leading them) were doing, but she wouldn't become the queen unless the situation was so bad that she wouldn't have another choice. And so she told Killian that day:

"I've been thinking about returning to my kingdom" she said. The captain looked her in the eyes; he knew that moment would come, of course.

"And have you decided anything?" he asked seriously. He knew that her decision could mean that they'd have to face a lot of problems because of their relationship... or not, who knew?

"I want to go there, I need to know how the people are and if I can help with something" his face was serious, but he nodded.

"Whatever you want."

"But I don't want to do anything more, I mean, that's not my life anymore."

"Don't you miss that life, aren't you tempted to retake it?" he asked. He sometimes thought that the life they had wasn't enough for her and that, one day, she would feel disappointed and want to return to her comfortable castle... and that scared him.

"Don't be stupid, Killian Jones. I'd lost that life before I met you and it doesn't belong to me anymore. I prefer this new one. It fits better the person I've become... so you can relax because the spoiled princess is not here anymore." He smiled.

"I don't think so" he teased her.

"Who saved your ass during that fight against Ursula's army, stupid pirate?" she asked, pretending to be offended. He smiled again.

"You... But don't you miss that life a little?"

"I miss the family I don't have anymore, that's all. But don't think for one second that I regret having done what I did. You're a thousand times worther than anything I can find in my kingdom."

"Of course, it's me who we're talking about" he teased her again. They both laughed.

"You're so humble..." she said.

"So, let's imagine that we are in your kingdom, what could possibly happen?" he asked.

"I have no idea." she admitted. "It could be either good or bad to us... we won't know it until we're there... but you know I love you, don't you? And I would never leave you, you know that, right?" her eyes went wet. "I feel that I don't tell you enough and..." he cut her.

"Hey, hey, stop. What's happening to you? Of course I know it" he cupped her cheek with his only hand. "And whatever it happens, we'll find a solution, as we've always done." she nodded and kissed him.

After a couple of silent minutes of staring at the ocean, her head resting on one of his shoulders, she spoke again:

"I've also been thinking about Phillip and the rest."

"And you want to know how they are" he guessed.

"Yes... what do you think about it?"

"Well... when we are in your kingdom, they'll know it, of course, and if they want to contact us, they'll surely do. We can always go and spy them a little or show our faces... so I suggest to wait for a couple of days and start the journey to your kingdom... we'll need the Jolly Roger... if you want to propose another plan..."

Suddenly, before Aurora could answer, a male voice spoke on their backs:

"Yes, I've got one, you two are coming with us."

When they turned, they saw many soldiers standing there with a threatening glance. They hadn't heard then coming and, before they could stand up and defend themselves, they were taken by them.

"Don't dare to touch her!" threatened Killian. They ignored him.
"Killian Jones, in the name of the king, you are under arrest for piracy" said one of them.
"No, no, this must be a mistake" he said.
"A mistake..." answered the soldier "So you are telling us you're not Killian Jones also known as Captain Hook."
"Yes, I am, but... " his sentence was interrupted by Aurora.
"He was pardoned! He's one of us! You don't understand!" she said.
"And you, your royal highness, are coming with us..." continued the same soldier "A princess mustn't be in a pirate's company. You are going to be sent to your kingdom."
"No!" she tried to release herself from the men who had her trapped.
"Aurora, it's fine" he tried to calm her. "It's gonna be alright." then, he turned to the soldier "It's true, I was pardoned."
"Not in our kingdom. Walk!" and with that order the group obliged their prisoners to go with them and headed to King William's castle. Killian looked at Aurora, who had tears running down her cheeks. He tried to say something to her, but he didn't find the words. 'It's just a misunderstanding' he obliged himself to think 'we'll find a solution'. But another voice on his brain told him that it wouldn't be so simple, that they were in a serious problem.