Alice's plan to overthrow the Queen of Hearts is thwarted by a dashing pirate with a hook. Years later, after the curse is broken, they reunite once again.
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Killian did not expect to have someone from his past show up to haunt him the day after his love returned to him, but here he is. What he had done to Ariel still haunts him, plays through his mind, and racks him with guilt. But now she's here, looking for her own love, not remembering that he is the reason she doesn't have him to begin with. He had been selfish, keeping his ship at the expense of her finding her love. After coming back to the Enchanted Forest, no sign of Alice with him, he'd spiraled. He couldn't help it. To go from picturing them going on adventures on the seas together to thinking he'd lost her forever was nearly unbearable.
He helped Ariel create a potion to track him, knowing full well that it would only lead her down the path of pain. But he can't do it anymore. He promised himself he'd be better for Alice, and he can't do that if he can't even admit to his wrongdoings.
"Ariel! Wait!" Killian calls out to the sorrowful woman walking away from the docks. She turns to face him with furrowed brows. His voice lowers in shame as he tells her the truth, finally. "I have a confession. I haven't been entirely truthful with you, with myself. You and I met before. Our paths crossed during the missing year."
"What?" Ariel asks. He sighs, looking down before forcing himself to meet her gaze.
"Eric had been kidnapped by the pirate Black Beard. You asked me to find him," he tells her.
"I don't understand," she says, laughing humorlessly with a shake of her head. "Why wouldn't you tell me?"
"Because I was too ashamed. I sacrificed saving your prince for my ship." His voice is wrought with emotion. "I am so sorry, Ariel." Tears well up in her eyes as she brings her hand up and smacks him hard across the face. Killian takes the blow, feeling like even that isn't enough for what he's done.
"You're a coward! And a monster!" She shouts, the tears falling down her face from both rage and grief. "You let a man die for your ship? What kind of person does that?"
"The kind who's empty," he answers breathlessly. "Who believes that a ship can fill a void left by a broken heart."
"And that makes it okay?" she asks, voice rising with each admittance. "Tell me, tell me why!"
"Because I thought I had lost the woman I love!" He exclaims, tears of his own forming in his eyes. He'd always known he loved Alice, but saying it out loud feels like a weight off his shoulders. He's not sure if she loves him back, but what he does know is that he'll never deserve her. "I stopped believing in love altogether, and I thought my ship was the only thing that wasn't lost to me." He doesn't give her time to respond before continuing. "I would give anything to take it back. To make things right."
"Anything?" she seethes out, and Killian nods his head, pleading with her with his eyes to understand how sorry he is. "How am I supposed to trust a man who no longer believes in love?"
"I still do," he whispers, swallowing hard.
"Then swear to me on it," she says. "This woman who you love? Do you still love her?" Killian looks down at his boots, gathering himself.
"I never stopped," he says.
"Then swear to me on her name," Ariel demands.
"I swear on Alice Kingsley," he says, the conviction in his voice as clear as day. Suddenly, Ariel's expression shifts to one of satisfaction.
"Thank you, Captain," she says, smiling cruelly at the regretful man. "That's exactly what I needed to hear." She brings her hand up, and with a small gesture, a green glow comes from her hand and spreads over Killian's mouth. He reels back, placing a hand over his mouth.
"What the hell?" he whispers to himself. Then, with a puff of green smoke, it isn't Ariel standing in front of him anymore.
"Zelena? It was you? Where's Ariel?" he asks, furrowing his brows as an unsettling feeling makes its way into his stomach.
"Relax," Zelena chides with a roll of her eyes. "She was never really here. After she left your beloved ship, she actually found where Black Beard had been keeping her prince." Despite Zelena's presence, Killian feels his shoulders sag in relief at her words. The guilt from the past year easing somewhat.
"I don't understand. Why would you pretend to be her?" he asks.
"To corrupt your love," she says, beginning to circle around him tauntingly. "When you invoked the name of your love in a selfish plea for redemption, I was able to curse you. More specifically, your kiss. See, the next time your lips touch Alice Kingsley's, all of her magic will be taken." She says through gritted teeth. Killian's eyes widen at her words, his heart breaking. He just got her back, and now she's being taken away again. This time, though, is far crueler. To have her near but unable to be with her.
"I won't do it," he says immediately. "I'll tell her, and then she'll defeat you."
"Then I'll send the Dark One to kill those who matter most to her, starting with the Dark One's little girlfriend," she says with a smirk, and he feels his heart stop momentarily. "The choice is yours. Kiss Alice and remove her powers, or everyone she loves dies."
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