The next morning Killian sat down to breakfast and Aria got up and left the table not looking at him. She strode right past him and Killian was surprised by the cold Shoulder. He looked at David and at Snow who both took a sudden fascination with their breakfast. Killian sighed and stood to follow Aria out of the dining room. He found her in her mother's chamber.

"Aria, what's wrong?" Killian asked. She looked up at him, tears in her green eyes and on her cheeks.

"I miss my mama. Why won't you just wake her up?"

"It's not that easy, luv. Emma was in love with a boy. A sailor. A navy officer. I am not that boy any longer. I am a pirate."

"You may be a pirate but you are still you. You're still that boy. You are still her true love."

"No, I am not."

Killian stomped out of the room with Aria hot on his heels.

"You're right. I don't know what I was thinking. I wanted a hero not some broken pirate. My mother needs you. I need you but you- you are broken and what's worse? You don't want to be fixed."

Killian walked away dejectedly not saying a word he pushed through the nearest doors and strode through till he found a tree and sat on the ground under it his knees to his chest and his head on his knees.

David approached quietly. "Aria is stubborn like her mother and her grandmother. She means well. She has lived for ten years with no mother. Snow has done the best she could for the girl but truth be told she was never good enough in Aria's eye."

"Arabella loves her grandmother I see it every time she speaks of her." Killian told him.

"Yes, they have a very special bond that can't be replicated, but Snow is not Emma. Aria is determined that her mother will awake from this curse and all our lives will slip back into place like nothing ever happened. But what her young mind doesn't realize is that Emma doesn't know Aria, Emma has never held her daughter not the daughter she has now, Emma knows Arai as a baby. This will be hard on her when she wakes."

"You sound as though you speak from experience your majesty."

"Yes, my father wasn't always my father. I never knew him growing up I was the son of a farm couple and the one day I was a prince. My father was harsh he didn't know what love was. Emma knows what love was but it's going to be all new for her when she wakes up. She was in that curse for ten years."

"I feel that everyone expects me to wake her but I don't think I'm the right person."

"There's only one way to find out."

"Right, First I need to talk to Aria." Killian rubbed a hand over the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. Aria was still not talking to him.

"She's in the library." David supplied with a grin.

"Right, Thank-you then." Killian gave a small bow and headed toward the door.

"Killian, Aria has her mother's temperament but also her forgiving heart. Tell her the truth, she'll understand." Killian nodded and left the king grinning at his back. Aria may forgive him but she would definitely make him work for it. She takes after her mother but also her grandmother.

Killian paused outside the library and took a deep breath and told himself it would be fine. She was just a kid, how bad could it be? He shoved open the library doors and the sight before him had his brain fogging over in a shocked haze before turning red. "Who the Bloody hell are you? And why do you have hands on my daughter?" Aria was sitting in a chair her tunic and leggings exchanged for an informal gown of mossy green her hair in some intricate braid on top of her head books scattered about on every surface available and the young man sitting in front of her in a black and gray tunic and trousers had hair as black as coal and eyes as blue as the sky. Both young people turned shocked eyes to him pulling apart from the embrace Killian had witnessed.

"Dad!" Aria exclaimed in shock. Killian pulled the young man away from his daughter and held him by the collar of his tunic.

"Why did you have your hands on my daughter? She is just a child." The young man tried to speak but Killian increased his grip on the man's tunic to where he couldn't speak.

"I'm not a child! "Aria exclaimed going toe to toe with her father angry green eyes met angry blue eyes and both sets filled with a million emotions.

"You're ten years old, you are a child."

"I'm almost eleven I'm not a child."

"Almost eleven means ten and ten means you're a child." The argument grew louder.

Aria picked up a vase nearby and heaved it at Killian, Killian ducked and pulled the young man down as the vase flew past their heads and crashed on the wall. "Why do you care? Why do you care who has hands on me? You don't want me. You don't want to be a family. You won't break the curse! I hate you!"

Killian released the young man who attempted to slink away from the violence but Killian shoved one hand without looking to the man's chest and shoved him back up against the wall.

"I love you, Aria and I want to be a family. " Killian screamed back "I want to break the curse and I want your mother to forgive me but I don't know if that will happen." He yelled.

Aria stomped past Killian and ran from the room shoving David out of the way. David looked at Killian then the young man and sighed. He had heard enough through the doors to know what was going on he didn't know however that there was a third party involved. He stepped between Killian and the young man as Killian turned his angry gaze to the young man.

"I see you've met my son."

"Aye we've met- your son?" Killian looked into a pair of very familiar blue eyes. "Leopold, I should've recognized you."

"Leopold should've recognized you." He released the boy and stepped away. Leo looked at him and sighed. "Aria is my niece. I have no designs on her at all." He shook his tunic off and straightened it." Not to mention she's still a child. And I have my eyes on another girl at the moment."

"Who?!" David demanded. Leo just smiled. Killian looked at the door Aria had retreated through and grimaced. Then he glanced down as Leo moved to pick up the pieces of the broken vase. "Sorry about the vase, your majesties. I hope it was not an irreplaceable family heirloom."

"Heirloom, yes but not one I was fond of. It came from Snow's father."

"Just like my name." Leo added. Both men glanced at him.

"I was never fond of it." David added.

"Just like my name." Leo threw in again. David gave him a look.

"Most unfortunate," Killian smiled at David and David grinned back.

"Very." David agreed.

"Just like my name." Leo stated.

David turned to look at him. "Are you trying to tell me something?"

"Not at all," Leo stated. David turned back to Killian and Leo spoke again, "It's just that you saddled your only son with a name like Leopold and you never liked it in the first place. I mean a future king should have a healthy strong fear inducing name. Wouldn't you say so Mr. Jones?"

Killian grinned and decided he would enjoy watching the king squirm a bit. "Aye, that I would," David glared at him.

"David, now that's a fine name for a king." Leo stated. "Mr. Jones I believe as a Pirate you meet lots of interesting and intimidating people of various names and lineage, am I correct?"

"Aye," Killian agreed.

"What the Hell is wrong with you?" David bellowed at his son.

"Nothing, I just wanted to remind you that Mom really loved that vase, like my name, it was from Grandad. I happen to like my name. It's a good name to catch the girls. You better clean that up before Mom sees it." Leo pointed to the scattered remains of the ugly vase. David growled and looked at Killian.

"I think I need to go find Aria." Killian decided. He nodded to the prince, "It was a pleasure to meet you again. You've grown into a fine young man. If you'll excuse me I need to go find my daughter."

Killian grinned at David and slipped out the door. He traveled down the hall where he found Aria sitting by the wall with her knees pulled up to her chest. She looked up at him but instead of tears her eyes were fierce. "I don't hate you, I am very mad at you. I heard you last night. I heard you tell my mother you didn't want to break the curse because you don't believe. You have to believe. You have to believe me. What do I need to do to prove it to you? Eat a poisoned apple?"

"I'd rather you didn't but I do believe you. I love you very much. I have only known you a few weeks but I already can't imagine life without you."

Aria broke, and she cried in her father's arms. Killian held her tight until her tears subsided. She pulled back and wiped her eyes. "I'm not a child and Uncle Leo is one of my best friends. I need to go apologize to him. Actually you do but I'll take care of it."

"Your uncle and I have made peace, luv. He's cleaning up a vase that someone broke, a vase that your grandmother was quite fond of." He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I guess I need to go tell grandma what happened. "

"Yes, I guess you do."

"And I guess you have a princess to wake up." Aria grinned at him then hugged him and skipped a way. It all seemed so easy to her, but not to him.

He slowly walked towards where Emma lay still in her sleep. He stared down at her he didn't know what to expect.

"I guess you never thought you'd see me again..." He ran his finger over the ring on her finger. Aria must have put it back on Emma's had at some point. It looked good there as good as it had when he had placed it there. "Or maybe you did." He sighed and sat down beside her.

"So this is it. This is the moment of truth. Are we true love? I never stopped loving you. Through all the hate and misery that blinded me and through everything I did I never stopped. You are the only one for me. There's never been anyone I love more than you and Aria. She's great, you know. I can't wait till you get to know her. I guess I don't get how this thing works. Maybe you already know her. Anyhow, let's do this." He bent down and kissed her lips and a white wave rushed over them he smiled against her mouth and straightened. But Emma's eyes were still closed.

Aria rushed into the room." You did it!" she cried then stopped when she noticed her mother was still sleeping. "Mama!" She cried." Why isn't she awake? It was true love's kiss, I saw it."

Killian pulled her close and hugged her, "I don't know. "

The doors opened and Snow White followed by David and Leo rushed in with a young girl a few years older than Aria whom Killian had never met all stopped immediately upon seeing Emma's body still lying there. The young girl rushed to Aria and pulled her into her arms. She smiled at Killian though the sadness played through her eyes.

They all stood for a long time staring at Emma, willing her to awaken and yet nothing happened. The family lead Aria away and David stopped and clapped Killian on the shoulder before walking away. Killian took his seat next to Emma's bedside again. He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips.

"I don't know where you are. I don't know if you're having a hard time coming back to us. Did my kiss not work? Please come back." He begged. He fell asleep holding her hand.

Late into the night a gasp of air woke Killian he looked up to find Emma's eyes open and staring at him. She looked confused. "Killian?"