Who I Am (An OUAT Fanfic)

Chapter 1: The Return

In all my years of life, I'd only ever heard of a massive curse cloud storming over the Enchanted Forest once. Apparently when it had, every single resident save for the ones in the Northern Kingdoms had vanished into thin air, supposedly off to another realm. It was a bit unsettling, when I sat down and pondered it. I mean, what a horrible way to be forced into another realm.

Seven years ago was when this terrible curse had hit. My adoptive brother, Killian, and I just so happened to be on a little trip to the Northern Kingdoms with a few of the Jolly Roger's crewmates. For some reason, that area was avoided by the curse cloud, so we were spared. I was only ten years old at the time, and so I didn't fully grasp what was going on, and certainly didn't think about the part of the ship's crew that we had left behind, Mr. Smee included.

Killian, however, didn't really seem particularly bothered by this. The only thing it really meant to him was that places would be easier to plunder for treasure.That was one important thing I learned in my young age: even if a dark curse swept through the land, the pirate Captain Hook would never quit at his job.

It wasn't until a little while later he discovered that Rumplestiltskin--his worst enemy that he'd been pursuing for literally hundreds of years--had been taken by this curse as well, thus depriving my brother of his long-awaited revenge. I felt a bit sorry for him; he'd been waiting centuries for a chance at killing the "Crocodile." I would know; I lived through those centuries right along with him in the treacherous realm of Neverland. Thinking back on it, it was a bizarre experience, living for nearly two-hundred years at the age of seven.

No matter what my pirate brother was doing, however, nothing stopped me from loving him and happily adventuring the seven seas with him. How could I not? He'd raised me without even having to; sometimes I was surprised I considered him more of a brother than a father-figure. For some reason, it felt more right that way. And of course, as far as he and the Jolly Roger's crew were concerned, I was his sister.

Two years ago to this day, however, Killian all but vanished from my life.

He'd come to me one lovely spring day, saying that he had business in the further regions of the Northern Kingdoms. He insisted that he had to go alone before I could even suggest going with him. At age fifteen, I could take care of myself, but that did not stop me from wanting to adventure with my daring brother--even if most of our endeavors were classified as wrong. Killian had taken the Jolly Roger and promised me that he wouldn't be gone for more than a month.

Yeah. Look how well that turned out.

Early birds chirped all around me as I sat up in a tree in the forest. I took another swig of my water canteen--I wasn't yet old enough to drink rum, at least by the local tavern's standards--and sighed as I watched another sunrise. With Killian gone, what little pirate crew that remained had dispersed. I could've led them in more conquests--a lot of Killian's men would be more than willing to follow me--but since we had no ship to call our own anymore, there was really no reason for them to stick around. Now that I think about it, I thought to myself, some of them probably went off to join stupid Blackbeard's crew. With Captain Hook mysteriously gone, Captain Blackbeard had risen to top pirate of the seas. Killian and I had never liked the guy. He did amuse me now and then, however, as he seemed to lose one ship after another, which was pretty hilarious. The feared pirate had had his eye on the Jolly Roger for a long time, however, and I knew that if he was ever given the chance, he would take it for his own. Better that it's with Killian in some other realm--or wherever it ended up--than in that jerk's filthy hands.

Still, I missed the old girl. The Jolly Roger had been my home ever since Killian found me, abandoned as a baby. Wherever the ship was now, I took comfort in the fact that my brother was keeping her safe and intact.