Neverland.
How he despised this accursed island with its perpetual darkness and poisonous plants and fetid air so humid one felt as though he were drowning if he took a deep breath. After he'd made his desperate deal with Pan to get off of Neverland, he had vowed to never return, and yet here he was. Why the hell had he broken his vow?
Because of her.
Oh aye, it was also because of his inherent sense of good form, the debt he had to Baelfire, but she was the impetus. He couldn't bear to see her so utterly panicked and turn from her when he knew he could help.
They'd no sooner landed upon this realm's filthy waters than the horrors began. How had he been so blind as to not see the storm was of their own making? A physical manifestation of their strife and discord? He should have realized.
If he had, Swan wouldn't have had to take desperate measures, plunging herself within the depths of the sea to make all of them see reason.
Her tactic had worked, however, and with a common goal in mind, they'd ceased their sniping and begun working together. Where once was the fury of the wind and the waves, now was absolute calm and silence, as all aboard his ship waited, barely daring to breathe, as they waited for the prince to resurface.
It felt like ages, but then he did break the surface, pulling in a deep, gasping breath–and then hauling up his daughter. For a moment Killian felt relief flood him; they'd done it. They'd saved her.
But then they'd laid Swan on the deck of the Jolly, and she'd been still, silent, lifeless. Horror washed over him as he remembered the last woman who'd lain lifeless on his deck. Milah. He'd felt the same helplessness, the same disbelief, the same despair looking down at her.
As Swan's parents worked over her, begging her to breathe, begging her to live, he stood still, frozen in place with his fear and dread. This couldn't be happening again. It couldn't.
And then she took a breath, coughing up sea weather, as her parents supported her. He let go of the breath he'd been holding.
Neverland was still dark. It was still evil. It was still stifling.
But for the first time, there was a new-found beacon of light. Of hope.