When Hook could finally creep back into the empty ballroom it was early morning. He slipped in past the guards and hurried over to the statue. He wondered for a brief moment about Snow White and where she had gotten to but that was cast aside when the statue smilled at him and greeted "Darling," the statue spoke in a husky kind of voice. Killian still found it strange that the statue was talking. "You do know how to keep a woman waiting don't you Hook?"

"You know who I am?"

"You have sailed upon my sea for a very long time, and buried many beneath my waves. Of course I know who you are,"

"Can you help me?"

"Depends what you want child?"

"I want to free Emma Swan,"

"The genie that I imprisoned?"

"Yes, how long ago was that?"

"To her an eternity and I think that is what matters. I saved her from death you know. She almost joined your loved ones at the bottom of the ocean," the witch stated with a shake of her tentacle as she stretched out her arms and moved forward. He stepped back from the golden statue one of her tentacles looping around his hooked arm. "You poor unfortunate soul," she smacked her lips, "You have suffered a lot haven't you dear? Now, tell me why you want to free Emma Swan,"

"She's a good person she doesn't deserve to be imprisoned. She deserves to be free,"

"No one is free; look around you Hook, everyone is imprisoned by something. You, by your revenge,"

"Not anymore,"

"No?" she asked

"No."

"Oh. The genie, you've fallen for her. That's why you want her free, you want to pursue her. Woo her. Hold her in your arms. Cherish her. Be a hero for her. Oh how sweet." She stroked his black hair then moved her hand down the side of his face until it rested on his chin, "First a Lieutenant, then a pirate, now a hero."

"Will you free her?"

"She agreed to go into that bottle. She knew she was being put in there to save her soul. Redemption. You could even benefit from being in a bottle. It's a rather good place to go in order to cleanse your soul."

"I'll go in the bottle instead of her,"

"Shhh," she told him as her finger went to his lips and another tentacle wrapped itself around his waist. "Why, if you are willing to do such a thing, did you not wish for that? Surely you've been offered three wishes,"

"Aye, but I spent them. I was foolish, I made mistakes. I chose revenge over hope,"

"You regret those decisions?"

"With all my heart,"

"So you want her? The real question is does she want you? You hope she does, I can see it in your eyes. Tell me this hero, how much to you believe in Emma Swan,"

"With all my heart,"

"You know all magic comes with a price don't you?"

"I'm willing to pay it, whatever it is. I just want her free, even if we aren't meant to be,"

"Ah…love. If you truly love someone you'd let them go? How about if you truly loved someone you'd fight for them?" Another tentacle wrapped around him and she brought her face right up close to his. "How about we make a deal? I'll make it so her curse can be broken by true loves kiss. Only her true love can break her from her shackles. We'll then see how much the two of you are meant to be together and if your lips don't work, well, what you do then is up to you. But know if your lips don't work, it doesn't mean someone else's won't."

"True loves kiss,"

"It can break any curse," Ursula smiled. Her tentacles slowly loosened their grip and she stepped back on her podium taking up her original position. He stared at her waiting for her to say something more but she didn't. "I've already kissed her though, it didn't break the curse then," he said.

"That's because a genie's curse can't be broken by true loves kiss. Now, it can," she smiled wickedly, "Good luck." She froze, as still as a statue.

"I don't know where she is though. Can't you give me a clue?" She said nothing. All he needed was to find her and then kiss her. True loves kiss.

Emma sat on the edge of the long dining room table watching as Rumplestiltskin paced back and forth. "I could heal that for you dearie," he said pointing to her leg. She looked down at her thigh where Hook's scarf was still wrapped around it. "Free of charge," he stated as he waved his hand. Emma eyed him curiously before lifting up her trouser leg and slowly untying the scarf and noticing she was free of all wounds. The scarf was clean as well she held it up and noticed Rumplestiltskin grin at her. She slowly pushed her trouser down but kept hold of the scarf in her hand.

"Tell me dearie, the spell you put on me, can you lift it?"

"Yes,"

"Is there anyway for me to lift it without using a wish,"

"Yes,"

"Will you tell me,"

"Only if you wish for it," she replied.

"I just healed you,"

"You said it was free of charge,"

"Maybe I lied,"

"Have you got a library?" she asked. His jaw seemed to clench at the mention of library, she wondered why. He waved his hand and the two of them materialised in a room lined with books. More books than she could ever have imagined. "I'm sure the answer is in here somewhere," she told him.

"Don't play games Miss Swan," he warned her. She nodded and began to look around at the spines of the books trying to look for the one that would give him his desired answer. "There's a potion that you can make," she told him, "Make yourself forget what was shown to you. Make you forget his suffering, you could also forget your own, but your suffering was already there before the wish,"

"Of course so simple," he said. "Don't bother looking dearie, I know how to make the potion,"

"Right," she nodded. "I guess that frees up a wish for you. I know you'll wish for a way to find your son or bring him here to you, but what else would you wish for,"

"There is nothing else you can do for me dearie, I'll just keep you away for a rainy day," he told her.

"So you're going to bring him here? I thought the reason you lost him was because you chose your magic over him. You're still picking magic,"

"This is none of your business,"

"Probably not," Emma said as she traced her hands over the spines of the books. "I've got a question then, if there weren't restrictions on my wishes what would you wish for,"

"You're poking your nose into other's business," he sang, "You shouldn't do that." Emma just shrugged. "I like you miss Swan," he giggled. "You could really be someone,"

"Except I have the issue with the whole genie thing,"

"True,"

"Who would you bring back from the dead," she said,

"What?"

"I have granted a lot of wishes. I have learnt how to read their faces and see their deepest desires. You want someone, apart from your son. You said I couldn't give you what you wanted. I can give you your son. So who is this other person?"

"No one,"

"I can tell when someone is lying. It's my superpower."

"Her name was Belle," he admitted. Emma was surprised by the fact that that he had actually told her. She hadn't expected such honesty. But I guess having to relive all of Killian's pain as well as his own had grinded him down a fair bit. She watched as he moved to a table crowded by various bottles and ingredients and he began to work on something. His memory potion. "She's dead."

"How?"

"Jumped off a tower,"

"What tower?"

"What is with all the questions!" he shouted angrily as he threw a bottle of something but she just narrowly dodged it. "What the hell!" she shouted back.

"Just some tower," he answered her, his voice at normal volume and he was acting as if he hadn't just tried to throw some potion at her.

"Then how do you know she jumped,"

"The Evil Queen told me,"

"I'm sorry," scoffed Emma. "You believed what she told you? Didn't check up on it? You are the master of spinning words and knowing everything, seeing everything, yet you just believed the words of the evil queen."

"Then tell me dearie, is she alive,"

"Wish for her,"

"I don't want her dead body," he muttered.

"I'm trying to help you!"

"Why?"

"I don't know,"

"You do," he said as he mixed together various ingredients. Emma sighed and ran the scarf between her fingers her green eyes locked onto the piece of fabric. "I'm just fed up of people wasting their wishes on things they don't truly want, or won't make them truly happy."

"Are we talking about the pirate?"

"I'm talking about everyone!" she snapped angrily. Rumplestilskin was tired and having the weight of two mans' suffering on his conscious was wearing him thin. He could admit that he was the most powerful sorcerer but it would be a lie to say that he was strong. He was broken into fragments, only held together by his power and right now this woman was testing him and he was too tired to fight. "Fine," he sighed as he stared down at the potion in his hand. He could drink it now and only have to deal with his own pain but if that was the case then he wouldn't feel what he currently felt for this woman. He was feeling the pain that Hook felt when he looked at her, and it only reminded him of Belle.