Swan Lake

[Killian Jones]

Till Death

DO US PART

Hook's eyes slowly opened, though quickly closed again as he quietly groaned from the intense throbbing of his head. It felt as if he had been hit repeatedly with the hilt of a sword. He brought his hand up to it, gently rubbing it as he winced from the pain while he continued to recover to a conscious state. He slowly sat up, groaning once again as he moved his legs over the edge of the bed. Opening his eyes, his vision cleared from having been blurry as he looked around at his surroundings. He was in his chamber aboard the Jolly Roger. Ok. Good. He was in a familiar place. But he could feel that they were not moving. He tried to recall the last thing he remembered, but it was all a blur right now.

There was only one logical explanation for this: rum. It had to be the rum. It always was. He was at least dressed in his regular pirate attire, but he quickly turned his head to check his bed to see if he was in the company of a woman. No. At least that would be one less thing to deal with. He rose to his feet and stepped off the ship. The sky was dark, revealing it was the middle of the night. He called out of his crewman, but there was no response. He called for another, but he did not respond either. The entire ship was empty. Odd. Perhaps they were at the tavern? Hook stepped off the ship and eyed the area that surrounded him. He had been many places, but because he was still disoriented, he was facing difficulty pinpointing his exact location -- or even which kingdom he was in. The area around him was heavily wooded, a forest. And he knew the only way to discover more about where he was and why he was here, was to explore.

So he began to make his way through the paths of the forest, moving through the thickness of the trees as he continued to fight to remember what happened yesterday that had rendered him so disoriented today. Even when he passed out from the over consumption of rum, he was still able to piece together the day. But he couldn't even remember that. Odd. He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard someone calling his name. He spun around, looking behind him, and on his left and right. "Who's there?" He demanded as he pulled out his sword in preparation to eliminate a potential threat. It was a woman's voice; calling him in an almost musical way.

He heard it again. His head snapped to the side, able to get at least a general idea of where it was coming from. He walked toward her, finding it strangely familiar and whoever it was, was pulling him toward it. He stopped for a moment, hearing it again which allowed him to continue to follow the trail, luring him toward it. He eventually reached a clearing with a massive lake. But there was no one there. He gripped the hilt of his sword in hand, eying the area suspiciously, until he heard his name again which caused him to abruptly turn around. But there was still no one there. How much bloody rum did he have?!

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Emma was lying on a bank beside a lake, feeling like she had the worst hangover of her entire life. "Ow.." she muttered as she lifted a hand to touch her head. Where was she? "Hook?" She called out as she opened her eyes, trying to get her bearings. What she saw when she opened her eyes was a rather beautiful forest and a gorgeous lake that reflected the moonlight. Although it was quite pretty scenery, it was still a blur on how she had gotten there. The last thing she knew, she was with Hook and they were enjoying yet another date. The two of them were developing quite an intense relationship, and Emma was completely letting herself fall for him. 

"Hook!" She called out again as she stood up. She glanced down at herself, noticing she was wearing a white dress. That..definitely wasn't what she had been wearing before. Incredibly confused, Emma started to walk around the lake. Now she was feeling a little vulnerable and kind of scared. "Killian! Where are you?!" She called out once more, only to be greeted by silence. "Screw this.." She muttered as she began to walk away from the lake. Once she passed a treeline that surrounded the lake, she started to feel strange. Really strange. One minute she was walking normally, and the next, she was on the ground. "What the hell?" She glanced down again, and instead of wearing white, she -was- white! She had feathers? What was happening?! 'Killian! Killian!' she tried to call out, but all that emerged from her beak were honks. She, of course, panicked and rushed back to the spot beside the lake she had been standing. She morphed back in to a human, and she was sitting on the ground again. "No way.." she muttered. "HOOK! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!" 

[Killian Jones]

Till Death

DO US PART

What the bloody hell was going on?! He could have sworn he heard his name again, only this time, in a bit of a different tone and from a different voice. It wasn't as calm as the melodic luring of his name. It sounded more strained, more . . . distressed. He hurried back into the woods, putting his sword back in its sheath. He then heard the rustling of leaves, seeming to race back toward the direction he had just come from. This was all so utterly disorienting! But something compelled him to discover the source of this voice. Even if there were two. Both of them were woman. Hopefully not ones he had been engaged with for that would indeed explain why this all seemed so complicated.

Going with instinct and his gut feeling, he turned around and hurried back to the pond. This time when he emerged from the wooded area into the clearing, he saw someone else there. A woman. No. Not just any woman, a rather familiar one. For when he saw her, that was when recent memories -- or what he believed to be recent ones -- entered his mind. Oh he knew this woman all too well, for their parting had not exactly been on the best circumstances. It had taken a hell of a lot to get down from that beanstalk she had left him on, after he had led her and her gal pals there. One of which was her mother. Oh yes, he remembered her, and she did not appear to be in fantastic shape.

"We meet again . . . Emma Swan." He wasn't entirely pleased with her, but he also had to admit, there was something odd about this entire situation. It was far too bizarre to be mere coincidence. No. There was something greater to this circumstance. He just couldn't figure out what. Perhaps she had something to do with it. "Now care to tell me what the devil you're doing here?" He inquired. His tone was not angry, but it was clear he was in no mood to be playful . . . not yet, anyway.

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Emma was stressed to her limits, but there had to be a way out of this whole thing. "Okay.. so.. not in Kansas anymore.." she muttered to herself. She couldn't leave a certain point..or else she'd turn in to a swan. Yep. Totally normal. Super reasonable. She wracked her brain for something that made sense.. this seemed familiar. A story.. a story about a Swan Princess. ...really? Was this seriously happening? Now if only she could remember -anything- about the story..anything at all. But..alas..nothing came to her mind right now. If only Killian were there, they could figure it all out.

As though some unseen force heard her silent plea, she heard Killian's voice. She whirled around to see him standing there, and a smile shone on her face. "There you are! I've been looking everywhere for--" she blinked. "Why are you talking like that? Stop being weird.. we have a huge problem." She sighed and looked around the area. "I have no idea what's going on but i'm.. stuck. Here. I can't leave the area.. if I do.. I.. um." She lifted her hand to touch the back of her neck. "Well, I just can't leave. So, we have to figure out how to get me out of here." Again, she paused. "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?" He was staring at her as though he had no idea what she was talking about.

[Killian Jones]

Till Death

DO US PART

Wwho in the where and what, when, why?! What the devil was she talking about?! Did she fail to remember how she had just left him at the top of the beanstalk? And now she seemed to be talking about them as if they were a team of some kind. He had tried that road, and it had backfired. She said she couldn't trust him . . . so what happened? What drastically changed her perception of him? And on top of that, she was telling him that he was looking at her weird?! Really?

"We?" He questioned, emphasizing that word. "Sorry love, but you had your chance to be a we. Didn't exactly turn out too well for me." He hadn't even considered what else she was going on about, as it took a few moments to register in his mind; something about her not being able to leave the pond? He was about to question what the hell she was talking about -- not even sure why he cared -- when he suddenly heard someone calling his name again. It was that same, almost musical voice, luring him into the woods. He turned around to face the forested area. It definitely wasn't Swan. When it seemed to stop, he turned to look at her again. "Tell me what the hell you're playing at, Swan?" He demanded, for she seemed to have some sort of idea . . . considering she the way she was talking to him. Unless she was just completely as insane as he presumed her to be.

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What was happening here? Was this some sort of weird dream brought on by too many Disney movies via Netflix? She lifted her hands to cover her face and she shook her head. "This can't be happening," she whispered. "You've lost your memories, haven't you? Okay, just.." she took a deep breath, trying to keep herself calm. "What do you remember? What's the last thing you know of me?" Clearly he did remember her.. but he didn't remember being -with- her. As she was trying to figure out what memories he had of her, she could hear another voice. It was the voice of a woman. She quirked a brow, wondering who knew Killian's name. 

After a moment, a woman revealed herself wearing a black dress, and she had long black hair and fair skin. She was quite beautiful, actually. "Killian," The voice called again, walking toward him. "Killian, it's me...please come with me, Killian.. I need you,"  Well. This was game on for Emma.  "Killian!" Emma's voice rang again. "Look, I don't know what's happening, but something's wrong here.. It's a trap, please.. Just please listen to me!" She would have moved closer to him, flung her arms around him and forced him to kiss her, to break whatever the curse was, to remember her, but if she walked any closer to the edge, she'd be back in the body of a swan once more. 

[Killian Jones]

Till Death

DO US PART

She suggested that he lost his memories and . . . well, Hook had to wonder if that was actually true. Was it why he could not remember anything? No. Surely not. Because he remembered her. Quite well in fact. She seemed to imply there was more that happened, but he also had little to no trust for her. Not that he so easily trusted people but well, his distrust was rather strong based on recent events. Or events that he assumed were fairly recent. He considered answering her question, and on the surface it would be to humor her.

Deep down, it was because she seemed to have a better idea of what was going on than him. But when he heard the voice again, and the source of it finally appeared, Killian turned to look and saw the impossible. It . . . it couldn't be. And yet, it was. Killian knew what it was to see her, for he saw her nearly every night in his dreams. He saw her ghost when he had too much to drink. Yet this time, she looked far more real than ever before. And not only that, but Emma saw her too. So surely, this was no false image. His lips slightly parted in surprise as his body became numbed with shock.

"Milah," he breathed, the name falling so freely from his lips -- a name he had dared not speak for all the pain it entailed. Here she was, looking as beautiful as ever and tell him that she needed him. She had emerged from the shadows like a dark angel, and he felt so utterly drawn to her. Had the shock not completely paralyzed his body, he would have hurried toward her. It took several additional moments for Swan's words to register in his mind. He didn't want to look away from Milah, out of pure fear that she would disappear. Which would show that this was just some evil trick. Really, was someone so cruel? He didn't let his mind present possibilities to that answer for deep down, he knew never to underestimate the cruelty of another.

He watched as Milah ever so gracefully lifted her hand, extending it toward him, and Killian was oh so compelled to accept it. But alas, Swan's words had unfortunately not fallen upon deaf ears. "Why should I believe anything you tell me?" He demanded to know from the blond, though was unable to tear his gaze away from Milah so kept his eyes fixated on her. "Especially after you left me at the top of the beanstalk, at the mercy of a giant." A 'head start' she had called it. He turned his head to the side, seeing Emma with his peripheral vision. "I will not make the same mistake again," he finished, for he would not make the mistake of trusting her. And with that, he reached for Milah's hand, taking it in his own.

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The voice didn't sound familiar to Emma. Of course, she had never met Milah, but she had known of her. She was Hook's first real love, and she was the mother of Neal - Her first real love. The craziness of all of the love triangles was just too much to handle if one thought about it, too much.. However, the one thing she -did- know was that Milah was no longer alive. This is why she was so freaked out when she heard Hook mutter her name. Milah he had said as he stared at her. She held out her hand, calling her to him. "Killian.. don't do this," Emma took a deep breath. Now she was feeling scared. What kind of trap was this? Who could be so cruel?

"Killian, Please don't listen to her. Come with me.. she doesn't know you like I do. She left you.. She left you alone with giants. Forget her, Killian, come with me. Be with me.. I came back for you..." 

Emma was panicking. Luckily, Hook seemed to want to know what she was saying. "You should believe me because I..." Wait.. that was his last memory? His first memory of her. Great.. that went well. Of all times that she should have been nice. "Because I didn't mean to leave you up there on the bean stalk. I had to stop Cora.. I had to save my family. She's not real.. Look at me, I can't leave or else i'll turn in to poultry! Something is wrong here, Hook!" She could feel, as the sun was rising, that something was happening. It felt.. weird... like she was no longer human. "I know what's happening.. Hook, just, come back here, tonight! I swear on my son that i'm not lying." 


"No, Killian. Come with me... we can be together."  The sun began to rise, and a smile curved on to Milah's lips. "She's not even real, Killian. She's an illusion.. Look!" Milah gasped as she watched Emma, who was once a human, turn in to a swan. She wouldn't be a woman again until the next evening. "It's a trick.. Probably set up by Rumplestiltskin in his anger! Let's get away from this pond.." 

[Killian Jones]

Till Death

DO US PART

She told him not to do this and it was . . . odd. Odd, that she was speaking to him with such familiarity. She was talking to him as if she knew him; really knew him. In a way that surpassed their brief encounter traveling to the beanstalk, and then up the beanstalk. It was the way she said his name, the tone of her voice, the way she looked at him . . . the way she had referred to them as we. As if they were some united front. He couldn't shake this gut feeling, and yet, here was Milah. Standing before him. Urging him to go with her because . . . well, because she was right. Emma had left him up there, but Milah had never betrayed him. That, and of course the fact that he loved Milah. And he obviously didn't love Emma. Right? Emma seemed to be trying to give him a reason to belief her, but her voice trailed off.

He didn't know who to look at. His beautiful Milah, or Emma Swan -- who was obviously a beauty but . . . their relationship was quite different from the one he shared with his former thought to be dead lover. She went on to say that she had done it for her family, to stop Cora. Excuses, excuses. Point was, he had led her there and she had not held up her end of the bargain. She had betrayed the deal, and Hook had lost his chance to claim his vengeance because of it. That was what he had to remember, and yet again, that nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach was not so easily ignored. Emma seemed rather insistent that something was wrong, claiming that she couldn't leave otherwise she'd turn into . . . something. Killian wasn't sure what to say or where to look. He felt torn in two different directions. One seemed more logical than the other, but he remained in the middle.

Milah's words were so sweet to his ears, having longed to hear her voice for such a long time, never believing it was possible to ever hear her speak again. Yet here she was; standing before him. Offering him a chance to be together. How could he refuse? Why was he even considering it when he knew it should be an automatic yes? He continued to hold her hand, taking a step toward her, though there was slight hesitation in it. Something didn't feel right. And when Milah gasped, Hook spun around. In the place of Swan was . . . well, a swan! Now there was a cruel pun. He stared in shock, his eyes widened at the sight of the graceful bird. Milah suggested that this could be set up by Rumplestiltskin. He wouldn't put it past the creature of a man. He enjoyed playing these sick and twisted games.

Swan had said something to him though; to return tonight. To come back to the lake. Killian didn't want to. Part of him wanted to just sail off in his ship with Milah . . . but there was a more dominating feeling that compelled him to comply with her words. Why? He had no idea. He just had a strong sense that if he did in fact leave and never return, he would spend the rest of his life regretting it. And he had spent enough of his life dwelling in regret. He couldn't take his eyes off the bird, starting at it, as if he was waiting for it to talk to communicate somehow. Was this true? Could she really not leave this pond? Would this happen every day when the sun arose and then when the moon came out? A cruel fate but . . . why was it any of his business?

He finally pulled his gaze away from Emma, and turned it toward Milah. "Let's go," he told her as he began to walk toward the wooded area, his hand still in hers. He turned his head, looking behind him at the beautiful bird. What was it about Swan that he just couldn't shake off? He wanted to walk away and never look back . . . but he knew better than that. He knew that he would return tonight because, he felt like he needed to. There was something in Emma's words that could not be ignored, and he had to find out what exactly that was. In the meantime . . . he needed to explore this miracle of Milah's return. Surely, it was not without a price. Had she come only to disappear again? Had her return somehow come at the cost of Swan's apparent curse? Killian had so many questions and yet not a single answer which left him utterly frustrated and confused. "How can this be?" He questioned aloud, vocalizing his thoughts, but unsure to which thing he was referring to first. Milah's return; Swan's curse; him being here between the two . . . how was this all possible?

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After Milah was able to get Hook to listen to her and to leave the cursed Emma, she felt a sense of pride. This was what she was here for, after all. Of course she wasn't the -real- Milah, but no one had to know that. She was conjured.. created by Rumpelstiltskin to cause pain to Killian, and to distract him from Emma. Milah was once Rumple's wife, and Hook took her.. obviously he'd still be bitter about that, but now, he had different plans.. he was going to woo Emma away from Hook, and leave him with nothing. If Emma ever wanted to be normal again, she'd see things his way.. And sure, true love's kiss could break the spell, but how would he love her while Milah was there? It was the perfect plan. Milah took him to a small cabin where she had been 'living', and the moment they stepped inside, Milah flung her arms around him. "Killian, you'll never have to fear again! I'm allive.. I've been waiting for you.." 

Of course that wasn't true..but the look in her eye stated something completely different. She looked exactly the same though, and she was wearing a long dress that was completely black. Even the corset around it, and it's lace had been black. "We no longer have to be away from each other. All you have to do is stay away from that lake.. away from that crazy woman who turned in to a bird. She was talking nonsense...She's only trying to keep us apart because she knows how much you love me.."


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Later That Evening...

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Emma was being driven crazy all day. All she could do was float around and do..swan..things. Once the sun started to go down, she made sure she was away from the water, and sitting on the edge of the lake. Finally she was able to move again once the moon touched the lake. She sighed and placed her hands over her face. "This seriously can't be happening.." she muttered to herself, hoping against hope that Hook would show up. He had to.. he had to beleive that this was a trick..that it wasn't really Milah he was seeing. "Who would do this?.." She spoke to herself. "Who would even -think- of this curse?!"  

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He had watched the entire scene unfold. How could he not. A spell like that took a lot of patience, a lot of talent. So he had to watch the fruit of his labor take effect. Part of him wanted to laugh, just give away his position to both Hook and Emma, but he refrained from doing that. He just couldn't help but take a lot of sick sick pleasure from watching it all go down, watching what happened between the two star crossed lovers, knowing that Hook deserved it, deserved to be punished for what he did all those years ago.

Finally the scene was over and he chuckled quietly to himself as he watched Hook walk off with "Milah". Oh this was good, Hook took Rumplestiltskins wife from him all those years ago, and now, years later, Rumple took Emma from Hook. It was fitting wasn't it? After all, Hook did help ruin Rumple's happiness, so he might as well return the favor. Then Emma started to ask herself, why, or who would do such a thing. Figuring that this was as good a cue as any, he approached her. "Miss Swan." He said to her gently.

He smiled. "Are you alright Dearie? You seem tense." He spoke to her, a smirk playing on his lips. Now Emma and Hook both knew what it felt like, felt to have your life torn away from you.

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Although she wasn't expecting for her question to be answered, it was...and by someone whom she really wasn't expecting. "Gold," she spoke in a startled tone. She slowly stood up from the grass and took a step toward him. "Well, you know.. I've been better." She didn't want to show that she was absolutely confused and miserable. She was trying to quickly decipher the reason for Gold being behind this.. She knew Hook and Rumple's past, but as far as she knew, it was mostly behind them. Apparently not.  "What are you doing here?" Obviously she already knew the answer to that question. 

"I assume that all of this is your doing?" She placed her hands on her hips as she narrowed her eyes at him. One would think Rumple would have at least had the decency to not put her in a dress if he was going to put her through the humiliation of being poultry when the sun went down each day. It was like adding insult to injury. And a silk dress? It got cold on that lake.. 

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"I think we both already know the answer to that question, dearie." Gold responded to her when Emma asked what he was doing here. Emma Swan was a smart women, so she knew the answer to her own question before she even asked it. He nodded it response as she asked her 2nd question, this time asking a question that really didn't need an answer from Gold.

"Maybe, do you not like it, Miss Swan?" Gold asked her, but seeing the look on her face and her body posture, he knew the answer to that question. Something told him that the tomboyish Emma Swan was more upset about the Dress then actually being put under the curse. "I am truly sorry that the mother of my grandson has got caught up in all of this, but Hook must pay for his actions." Gold told her, smirking at her.