Hooked

Ariel usually enjoyed watching the town of Storybrooke from the window in her apartment, but she had chosen the wrong time to do so. She stepped back from said window now, in shock, having just witnessed Gold kill not only Peter Pan, but also himself.

It took a moment for the shock to wear off and she felt her knees go weak and tears fill her eyes. She hadn’t been particularly close with Gold, but still, it wasn’t everyday you saw someone you know sacrifice themselves and die.

She was shaking when the door to her apartment flew open and when she saw Killian, she burst into tears.

“What’s going on?” she asked shakily through her tears. He frowned as he reached for her hand, holding it tightly in his own.

“We have to go,” he replied, and Ariel followed him out the door, hand still clasped in his.

As they headed outside, Ariel couldn’t help but wonder when things would go back to normal around here, or if they ever would go back to normal. So many bad things seemed to happen, and just once she would like to see everyone be happy, and loved and not scared. It was a naïve thought, but after knowing so much hurt and sadness there had to come a time when a person could just be happy.

She was surprised to see most of the residents of Storybrooke heading down the street, and was even more surprised when she and Killian joined them. It didn’t take her long to realize that they were heading to the town line.

“Killian?” she asked, turning her head to look at him. “What’s going on? Did they stop Pan’s curse?”

“It hasn’t been stopped yet,” he said quietly. “But Regina knows what to do.”

“What’s going to happen?” she whispered. Killian was silent for a moment.

“I don’t know, sweetheart,” he finally replied. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and they continued down the street in silence.

When they arrived at the town line, Ariel was surprised by the amount of people there and even more surprised to see Emma’s car, pointing away from Storybrooke. She clutched Killian’s arm now as they moved closer to where Emma and Regina were talking.

Listening carefully to their conversation, discovering soon that the only way to destroy Pan’s curse was for everyone in Storybrooke back to where they came from. She gathered that Emma and Henry would be leaving, and that they wouldn’t remember any of this… that they would be able to start a new life together.

She watched as Emma started saying her goodbyes, and Ariel suddenly turned to Killian, feeling frantic.

“What’s going to happen to us?” she asked quietly. “Where are we going to end up?”

She let go of his hand to grip his jacket and stare into his eyes, hoping to get the answers to her questions. He shook his head.

“I don’t know, Ariel,” he said quietly, looking around them for a moment. “If we get separated—”

“No,” she said forcefully, interrupting his sentence. She felt tears gathering in her eyes, and she didn’t want to cry now, but what else was she supposed to do? They were going back, supposedly to the Enchanted Forest… But how could she trust a curse?

Her eyes met Killian’s again after a moment and she leaned forward quickly to kiss him.

“I love you,” she whispered after she pulled away, lips still almost touching his. His arm circled around her back, pulling her into a tight hug.

“I love you, Ariel. I promise everything will be fine.”

She held onto him tightly savoring this moment in case it was their last.

Ariel hadn’t ever really noticed before how much Killian smelled like the ocean. The smell lingered on his skin and she buried her face in his neck, breathing deeply.

She heard Emma’s car start up and drive away. Ariel looked back toward Storybrooke in time to see the billowing green smoke heading their way, quickly transforming to purple as Regina used her magic. She quickly turned to Killian, faces close as he watched her carefully.

There was nothing left to say in that moment, no words of comfort. Ariel smiled through her tears despite the situation and pressed her lips to Killian’s once more, closing her eyes as the smoke enveloped them.