Hey everybody,

I'm so sorry I didn't post this chapter last weekend (I guess I shouldn't make promises I can't keep)..but there was something wrong with my laptop...

And since finals are finished and holidays started a few hours ago (for me and for German readers at least), I'll try to update daily..

So...here's the chapter:

Disclaimer: Sadly,I do not own Once upon a Time, just the ideas in my head that I incorporated in this story!

Chapter 9

The Evil Queen hadn't found me yet, but there was still a possibility she would before I was summoned to Neverland. But I wondered how would that even work? Didn't Hook mention something about different worlds and realms? Hook.

Even though I had only left him a couple of hours ago, I missed him already. I could still remember the safety I had felt in his arms, but I needed to forget these feelings. He was just an obstacle on my journey. Soon, I would be safe.

Hook's POV:

My eyes shot open, awakening from the nightmare that came back to haunt me night after night. Only this time, she was in it too. Both Milah and Aura had been ripped away from me by my two most dreaded enemies. The Crocodile and Peter Pan. Blast those demons.

My hand reached to my side where Aura would be sleeping, I wanted to reassure myself she was still there and not gone like in my dream. But the space was empty and cold, time having made it so, indicating she had left a long while ago. I closed my eyes, feeling my heart break. How could I have been so stupid to believe I would get my second chance? I clenched my fist in anger.

'Did you feel something, when we kissed?'

Her cheeks had a rosy color, and she avoided my gaze.

'Yes,' She whispered, barely audible.

She had felt it, too. That meant something.

No, I would not let her slip away so easily. Determined, I got out of bed, prepared for anything and everything that would come my way. I was ready to go to the ends of the world to find Aura.

Aura's POV:

It was nearing dawn by the time I spotted my little cottage at the end of the woods. Delighted to recognize something familiar, I rushed towards it. Just as I reached the door, I halted as the vivid memory of my mother's death flashed before my eyes.

Knights burst into our cozy cottage, and in stepped a woman. Her black attire made her look dark and evil. I guessed it was the Evil Queen.

'My, what a home. Mind if I barge in? Of course not.' The Evil Queen checked the suroundings until she caught sight of me trying to run away.

'Gothel, are we running away, again? Remember what happend to your beloved one? He didn't abandon you, I simply killed him.'

She approached my mother and then all hell broke loose.

The knights were coming to get me, and the Evil Queen dug into my mother's chest. How was that even possible? Then she was holding a red glowing thing in her hand, while my mother slumped to the ground. I looked closely and saw it was a heart. I made me sick to my stomach.

'You can't hide forever, though I am impressed how long you managed. In the end, everything will go my way, you know that better than anyone. I'll spare you the painful, torturous death he got.'

The Evil Queen crushed the heart slowly, while my mother let out a gutteral scream, and then all the Queen held in her hand was dust. I realized my mother was dead.

Stepping in, I was greeted with a large mess. The furniture had been moved around, books and paper tossed around and shards of pottery were lying on the floor. I suspected that the Evil Queen had ordered her knights to search the household for something valuable. Closing the door, I let my bag fall to the ground and started cleaning up. Putting everything back to its rightful place – pushing our furnishings to where they belonged – I worked for the rest of the day until the cottage looked like it had in its former glory.

I lit up some candles and grabbed one of mother's notebooks. If mother truly had practiced magic, what other secrets did she hide? Countless, but maybe she had written some things down. I skimmed the pages and found nothing. Disappointed, I set the book aside. Recalling mother had owned a diary, I searched for it. Mother would never put something personal on display, or hide it someplace obvious. Or maybe that was what she wanted me to think. Looking through our collection of books, one book without a name on its spine caught my attention. Crossing the room swiftly, I took it in my hands.

Sure enough, it was exactly what I was looking for. It wasn't exactly one diary, but it was something more. Years and years worth of everyday words filled the pages, crammed magically into the tiny book. Mostly, the entries were about her normal day routine, or a new recipe she had mastered, but one page had little notes written all over it in my mother's script. Heal. Hurt. Change. Fate's design. Save. Lost. Bring. Back. Whoever you give your heart to will be the most powerful. Purest. Soul Bright. Shine. Angel. Blackness. Overcome. Evil. Those were the words my mother used to explain in haste what my heart could do. Surmised into one sentence, it could heal the sick, help the poor…change fate's design. And the person I would give my heart to would be powerful; so incredibly powerful.

Silently, I prayed Peter would bring me to Neverland soon.

Reviews are greatly appreciated...:)

Got an idea you would like to be incorporated into the story? ( go ahead and write to me, I don't bite...hard :) I was just kidding)

Love you all,

aureaborealis