Author's Note: My biggest apologies for not updating sooner. Things have been crazy with school and work. The good news is though that my finals are almost done so I'll be on vacation soon to update more.

The needle of the compass spun every which way but north. Aurora watched it, bothered that it wasn't working the way Westley said it would have. She honestly did believe him but she was more disappointed with herself. Maybe there was something wrong with her and that's why the compass wasn't working. But she needed it to work because it was the only way she'd find Phillip and begin her new life, one that didn't include princesses, unwanted fiancés or any royal duties.

The ship swayed back and forth slightly, making her hand shake with the compass. She became more anxious and worried that her shakiness and the movement of the boat were somehow affecting the accuracy of the needle's point. Aurora displayed a big frown on her face resulting in Westley to come over, stopping their latest voyage.

"What's the matter Love?" He asked taking the compass from her hand in a teasing way.

Aurora reached for it wanting to get the object back as if it was just working and he disrupted it. When Westley wouldn't hand it over she stopped and gave a small glare at him which only made him smile more.

"That thing isn't working properly," Aurora said gesturing to the compass.

"Well maybe you just don't know how to use it right," he suggested.

"How hard is it to use?" she asked frustrated. "All I have to do is hold it and it's suppose to guide me to my true love.

"I say this at the risk of being hit but maybe Phillip isn't‒"

"Don't finish that sentence," she warned.

"Excuse me Miss Buttercup but you've only known him for a day. How can you fall for someone in such a short period of time?"

"When you fall in love you'll understand," Aurora explained trying to snatch the compass back again. She was still unsuccessful. "If you're so smart how about you get that thing to work for you."

"I don't need to understand," Westley said as he clicked open the cover of the brass object. "And like I said I don't believe in love so I highly doubt that this…" He stopped short when he peered down to the compass and the needle. The direction it was pointing in made him stare at it for a few seconds before he clicked it closed. Westley handed it over to the princess not wanting to hold it anymore. "Here, you take it. I think it's broken."

He returned to the wheel of the ship and said nothing more. Aurora could have sworn that he was even avoiding eye contact with her. Whatever his problem was, she tried her best to ignore it and focused back on the compass. When it wasn't pointing north for the hundredth time she got aggravated and placed it in her satchel. She went over to Westley who looked upset that she was coming near him.

"What was the point of getting the compass if it is broken? We could have died."

"Well that's the point of an adventure now Buttercup," Westley replied finally looking into her eyes.

"What do we do now?" Aurora asked.

Westley contemplated long and hard before groaning and rolling his eyes, "There might be a magic user in a little village west of here. They can maybe fix the blasted thing."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Aurora smiled happily and content.

"Or we could go somewhere else," Westley murmured.

The princess frowned confused, "What do you mean?"

"There's a place‒ another world‒ where no one will ever find you. It's supposed to be beautiful. There are mermaids and fairies there, which I'm sure a princess like yourself would love. And I've heard that people never grow old there ever. You could be free of your parents. You'll never have to worry about them finding you," he urged.

"What's this place called?" Aurora asked enthralled by what he was telling her.

"Neverland," Westley said. "We could go there and stay forever."

"Forever," she said as her lips slowly parted. "That sounds like a very long time."

A grin played on the pirate's lips as he remarked, "That's the point my Princess. What do you say? Care to go on another adventure with me?"

"But what about Phillip?"

The smile Westley carried faded and he looked off into the horizon instead of at Aurora. The bright sunlight hurt his eyes and made him squint. "I just don't want to get your hopes up. I thought for sure the compass would work, so just incase this magic user can't fix it I want you to have other options." His voice became more softer almost a mere whisper as he said, "We could take care of each other, you and I."

Aurora studied his face and recognized something that she didn't think she'd ever see on the pirate's face. It was hope. She remembered how he had been on his own for a while and how it must have been nice to have somebody around. Although she couldn't quite bring herself to say yes, Aurora found herself asking more about Neverland.

"How would we even get there?"

"There's supposed to be these magic beans that can travel between worlds. I heard that they could be found in an enchanted garden to the east, the opposite direction of the village you wish to seek." The last part he began to mumble. Finding more strength in his voice Westley explained, "I was planning on retiring my title as the Dread Pirate Roberts soon and head to Neverland."

Aurora didn't say anything for a long time. She was trying to decide what was the best thing to do. Rationally she knew that they should head to the village in the west but she also knew that once they found Phillip she'd have to part ways with Westley. The thought of that actually made her sad deep within. That's when she figured out that she wanted to go east, to spend what remaining time left they had with each other. And yet Neverland sounded so wonderful to her…

"I'm up for another adventure if you are," she said and she saw Westley's face slowly begin to light up. She could tell that he was trying his best to keep himself contained. That made her stomach flutter. "As for Neverland, I'm not saying yes but I'm also not saying no."

Westley then uttered three familiar words that held a new different meaning to him. "As you wish."

The journey to the enchanted garden took only a day, due to Westley's persistence in getting one of the magic beans. He knew all the short cuts, even by sea, to take to get to where he wished to go. Part of him thought he was a fool. There was no way she'd want to go with him even if he managed to get the bean. The rest of him held hope, something of which had been lost in him for the longest time. He was a bit unsettled by all of this though. When he saw the way the compass moved when he held it before, he was troubled by what it could mean. Along the way he thought maybe it was best to go back in the opposite direction and get rid of her as soon as possible. He was treading down a very dangerous trail, one of which he had mocked others for doing the same thing.

When they anchored the ship and tied it to the pier Westley began to tell her about the enchanted garden's tale. It would look more beautiful than any garden or meadow she had seen before. The flowers would be larger and more vibrant in color. The bushels of herbs contained massive healing properties and the trees stood tall and strong for over a thousand years. However there was one minor problem. The garden was said to be owned by an enchantress who did not allow anyone to enter it. That meant they would have to sneak in and steal the bean.

Before they left the ship behind Westley turned to her and held something in his hand that he covered with his other. The pirate said, "Lift up your skirt a little."

"What?" Aurora replied shocked.

"Relax Love," Westley replied rolling his eyes. "I need some place to store this," he said holding up the small blade in his hands. He began to crouch down as Aurora reluctantly lifted her skirt to show off her purple boots. "That satchel of yours can only carry tiny objects like your compass. You're going to need this on you if we run into the enchantress." He glided the blade inside her right boot and touch the soft smoothness of her skin a bit too much longer than he thought he should have. When he was finished securing it so that it was snug inside, he pulled the skirt of the lavender dress back down and smoothed out the wrinkles. He didn't have to do that but he impulsively wanted to do whatever kept him closer to her for the longest period of time.

"What will I do if she catches us?" Aurora asked trying to hid her flushed cheeks.

"If we are fortunate, I'll be the one to take care of her. The only reason I gave you that dagger was so you had a way of defending yourself if push came to shove," Westley explained.

The enchanted garden was just as wonderful as Westley had described. Aurora could see through the silver fences that surrounded it that the flowers were the prettiest she'd ever seen and she could smell the delightful aroma all the way from the outside. Westley had taken her by the hand and guided her to the side of the garden and found what he had been looking for. When he had been told about this place from his predecessor in the Dread Pirate Roberts line, there was suppose to be a spot to the side that travelers could go through to get inside. One of the first people who attempted to steal something from the garden had some sort of magic that allowed there to be a weak spot in the gate.

Westley lightly touched the bars of the fence until he felt his hand slip through one. It looked as if he was a ghost touching a solid object. Aurora couldn't help but release a smile when she watched Westley. She had nothing but admiration for how much he knew of all the worlds and realms.

"This way Buttercup," he said taking her through the fence.

The lovely scent smelt ten times more heavenly inside the gated garden. Aurora looked around and became spellbound by everything around her. If Neverland looked half as much like this she would have no reservations about leaving right now. When Westley pulled away from her she felt suddenly upset that she no longer felt the warmth from his palm.

"I'm going to go this way," he said.

"You're leaving me?" She asked.

"Not forever, I just think we'll find it faster if we split up," Westley remarked noticing the look on her face. "Don't be afraid. If I didn't think you could handle yourself I wouldn't leave you alone. Just remember how you were with the ROUS."

"Well how will I know when I find them?"

"They look like a common bean except they give off a little white glow," he explained. "We'll meet back up here in ten minutes."

As Westley began to head his own way, Aurora stopped him. "Wait," she reacted and grabbed him. Aurora threw her arms around him and hugged the pirate. She felt his fingers brush her lower back making her skin tingle and heated with fire. "Be careful okay?"

"As you wish," he repeated.

Aurora wanted to laugh by how he never failed to say those three words ever since their first meeting but she didn't. The look of seriousness and conviction danced along his face, which made her heart feel like it would burst. For the first time Phillip was completely out of her mind. She let go of him but there hands touched briefly before they both went their own way until the tips of the their fingers slide across one another.

She passed by some bushes of bleeding hearts, something of which she found ironic for the time being. The princess felt confused, more so than ever. She had felt so certain of Phillip, more certain than she had felt of anything in her life. When they danced and how he held her made her feel like she was complete. But when Westley came back into her life she began having doubts. Aurora was plagued with the memories of that farm boy who she'd hope to see every time she visited the stables. Her new memories of him saving her from those three dreadful men and how he went on a limb for her to get the compass equally haunted her heart. What was either wonderful or worse was that she discovered that now whenever he said 'as you wish' what he really meant was 'I love you'.

As she walked throughout the garden she was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice her surroundings. She became shocked with a concise amount of terror when she faced a white marbled statue of a woman. She was very beautiful but still had a way about her by looking menacing. Aurora studied the statue for a few minutes before she looked passed the sculpture and saw a shrub that appeared to have little specks from it glowing.

The princess rushed to the shrubs and saw that it was growing little white shimmering beans off of it. Her fingers nimbly touched the one nearest to her. Without thinking much off it she plucked it from the shrub and opened her satchel to place it inside. As she was about to turn to go find Westley she was horrified when she saw the marble figure turn into an actual person. Aurora crawled and ducked behind the shrub as the back of the woman faced her.

"Someone's in here that shouldn't be," the enchantress said as she stepped off her platform and began searching through the garden, the way Westley had gone. "They shall die."

Aurora's breathing became more erratic as she put her hand back inside the satchel, desperately pulling out the compass. It dawned on her that perhaps there was nothing wrong with the compass to begin with. It was only her. She didn't know what her heart wanted until now. Quickly she clicked open the cover and watched the needle spin frantically. "Please work," she whispered.

And then it happened. The compass needle finally stopped and it directed her north of where she stood. It finally was guiding her to her love.

She got up from her feet and ran, all the while still focusing on the compass and not trying to get caught by the enchantress. Aurora wanted to call out for Westley; scream his name until he answered her but knew that would only alert the malicious woman. All Aurora wanted in that moment was to find him and burry herself in his arms. She could have smacked herself for wasting such precious time.

More anxiety crashed over her by the time she reached the bleeding heart bush and heard the sound of a struggle from far off. Her legs moved faster than they did in her entire life. Her body ached and wished to stop but there was no stopping her heart now. Aurora pushed past tall leaves the shape of elephant ears and found that the enchantress was holding down her Westley with her magic. His sword was tossed to the side.

"You shall be punished intruder," she spoke wretchedly as she twisted her fingers in the air.

Westley's body pulsed ever time she whirled her fingers. When Aurora heard the snap of bones and his terrible cries she coward down to reach inside her boot and pulled out the dagger. She snuck up from behind just as the enchantress was about to really start the torture. Aurora never thought she'd ever take a life of another. She never as much hurt a fly up until the ROUS. But when she looked at the enchantress all she saw was a wicked and vile witch who would kill her love, and she couldn't allow that to happen.

She struck the enchantress in the back straight through the heart. The moment the blade hit the heart the plants around her began to die along with their master. Aurora let go of the blades handle as the enchantress fell to her knees. Her fingers went back into her satchel and pulled out the magical bean and found that it still remained alive and glowing bright for it had already been picked from the enchantress' grasps. In the other hand she held the compass tightly.

Aurora wept as she got to her pirate's side and pulled him to her. He made a strangled noise as he was moved making her more careful in how she handled him.

Westley reassured her when he said, "It's just a broken arm Love." Her glanced down to his left arm, as it lied there unmoving. He then noticed the compass in her hand and how she held it. The pirate looked up to her when he saw the needle point at him.

"Nobody shall ever touch you," Aurora said as she ran her hand trough his dark hair. Her eyes fluttered down, her lashes thick and full. She let out a meager whisper, "Except for me."

For the last time he said, "As you wish," while he brought his good arm to cup her cheek and tilted his head, touching her plump rosy lips.

Aurora kissed him back craving the slightest touch. Her heart ached in the sweetest way possible as he tenderly held her. She gently nibbled on his bottom lip causing him to smile against her mouth. When he pulled away gently she unenthusiastically did the same still keeping her hand in his soft dark hair.

"I got the bean. We can go to Neverland," Aurora smiled as she placed it into his palm.

"You still want to go?" Westley asked even though he already knew the answer.

"I'd go anywhere with you. You're the one that owns my heart."

They went back out of the garden and headed back up to the ship, hand in hand. Aurora couldn't wipe the smile off her face now that she had truly gotten her farm boy back. They planned on going straight away to Neverland now that nothing was in their way. But that seemed to not be the case. When they got to the dock a bunch of men stepped out of hiding. Two of them pulled Westley away as another grabbed hold of her. Aurora shrieked as she saw an elderly man on a white horse gallop up to her.

"Buttercup!" Westley yelled for her.

The man on the horse looked down upon her and spoke, "Hello Princess."

"Who are you? Aurora asked as she struggled against her captor.

"King George. It seems as if your parents are looking for you. Allow me to return you to them," he smirked wickedly.

Aurora was shoved closer to him as he grabbed her and pulled her up to the horse and rode away. Westley shouted after her as the men held him back. Forever actually didn't last for quite that long.