Claude

"I almost didn't recognize him without my hook in his neck."

- Captain Hook

Claude is one of Queen Regina's knights who was killed by Captain Hook and whose body was used to help his killer make it to Wonderland and back.

Before the Curse
In the fairytale land that was, over at the Dark Palace, a cloaked, hooded figure walks up a dark stairwell. He reaches the top but is halted by one of Queen Regina's men, the man says that he has food for the prisoner, showing the knight the small bucket he's holding. The knight exclaims that it's not dinner time and demands to know who the man really is, yelling for the "slave" to identify himself. The knight grabs the man's shoulders and his hood drops, we see he's Captain Hook and he digs his famed hook into the knight's shoulder, and defeats him, a second guard advances on the pirate and Hook clashes hook to blade, he lunges at this soldier and stabs him in the gut, before throwing him over to the first. He stands over the bodies, "Slave? I prefer Captain.", he tells them before robbing their keys and proceeding into the prisoner's cell.

Regina is seen putting a spell on Hook's hook, she hands it back to him, placing it where his left hand should be. She tells him that it's now enchanted. "It will enable you to rip out her heart. I believe you've seen it done before...", Regina tells him, Hook confirms this. The queen tells the captain that the enchantment will limit him to only being able to take one heart - "So make sure you do it right.", she warns him. Hook wonders what Regina's mother could have done to warrant such brutality, "That's my business!", Regina exclaims before going on to say that Hook's business is to kill Cora and bring her back to her. Hook asks when he shall be setting foot on his murderous journey, Regina states that he shall be doing so immediately. The queen tells Hook that he shan't be going alone, she walks over to a bed with a sheet covering it and removes the sheet in one swift movement to reveal the dead body underneath. "You remember Claude?", she says, gesturing the dead soldier, Hook denies that he does and Regina reminds him that he killed him in the cell block, this rings a bell with Hook. "I didn't recognize him without my hook in his neck.", Hook states before asking if Claude's not just a bit of dead weight, Regina paces to her desk, explaining that she banished her mother to a far off land some time ago and that Hook will need a portal to get to her. Regina pulls a hat box out from under her desk, she takes Jefferson's hat from the box. "The rules are simple. One goes in. One comes back. Or, in this case, two in, two back. You arrive with Claude and return... with my mother.", Regina explains. Hook asks which far off land he has the pleasure of visiting, "Wonderland.", Regina says, placing the top hat on the floor. Hook says that he's sure the name is an overstatement before asking how he'll find her. Regina tells him not to worry as Cora shall find him. Regina spins the hat with a little magic and a portal opens.

In Wonderland, Hook finds Cora and soon enough Cora approaches Hook also, saying that, if she's not mistaken, his hat, his portal, the same number must return as how many went through. "You arrived with him,", she gestures Claude, lying on his death bed, "Who shall you return with?", Cora wonders. "You.", he tells her, planting his hook into her chest without pulling anything out. Cora reminds the pirate that she's the Queen of Hearts and asks him if he thinks she'd be so careless as to leave her heart where everybody else does. She proceeds to plunge her hand into Hook's chest, taking his heart in her grip, telling him that that's how it's done. She ends up going through the portal with Hook, leaving Claude behind.