Third Time's the Charm
Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters in it (sad face)
Chapter One:
"Waiting"
In retrospect he should have seen it coming. They may be in a world filled with magic, but her life was no fairytale and quite obviously her trust wasn't just given- it had to be earned. Hook had spent the past few hours reaching as much treasure as he could with his shackle holding him back, stuffing his pockets with gems of all colors and basically anything shiny that he could get his hand (or hook) on. By now though, he had grown quite weary of this and was leaning against a wall, mindlessly swinging his arm back and forth, just watching the chain attached to his wrist snake across the floor. He'd no idea how long he'd been trapped, and no idea how much longer he would be… or if he would make it out alive.
"I bet the bloody giant has forgotten about me. Bloody dim brute." He said to himself, continuing to swing his arm idly.
He tried to maintain focus on the chain, staring at it as if his life depended on it. He just didn't want to let his mind wander to the thoughts that were currently lurking just beneath the surface. Why did her trust mean so much to him? Why was he so disappointed by her betrayal? He tried to convince himself that he would have done the same to her if her had been the one to retrieve the compass, but he knew that was a load of garbage. He remembered hearing her battle with the other three women at the base of the beanstalk for the chance to retrieve the compass. She had been bold, not asking if she could be the one but declaring that she WOULD be. However, the confidence she carried with her disappeared if only for a second when he detected a slight wavering in her voice. It was through this that he discerned just why her mission was so important to her. Once they had begun their journey to the clouds, he tried to chip away at her walls. She was obviously reluctant, but this hadn't deterred him.
"I don't need you to share. You're something of an open book." He had said
"Am I?"
"Quite. I'd say. You volunteered to come up here because you were the most motivated. You need to get back to a child."
"That's not perception, that's eavesdropping." She stifled an eye roll, for fear of looking down and seeing just how high in the air she was.
"Yeah, but you don't want to abandon him the way you were abandoned."
The look on her face at that moment was burned into his memory. The shock, the sadness, the truth. He could see them all in her wide blue eyes. She continued to ask him how he had known and he fumbled with a lie about seeing the same look on the faces of the lost boys. While it was true that many of them had the same sad look about them, his previous experience with it was a much more personal one, but he didn't want to divulge that to her. He didn't want Emma to know that she had an advantage on him. Knowing what he knew about her, he couldn't have brought himself to leave her behind- if not for Emma's sake, then for the sake of her boy. God forbid the child have to endure what both his mother and the ruthless pirate captain did.
Killian shook his head, as if trying to physically rid himself of these thoughts, and laid his head on the cold stone floor. He figured the best way to pass the remainder of his detainment would be sleeping. His eyes fluttered shut, his heartbeat slowed, and he felt himself lapse out of consciousness when, suddenly, he was startled by a ground-shaking thud followed by another, and another, and another. After the tenth, the giant's foot was five human paces from Hook's face.
"Bout' time you showed up, Giant. I assume you're here to kill me after all? Retribution for the Swan girl getting away?"
Wordlessly, the Giant reached down towards Hook, who raised his arms to his face in defense. After a few moments of waiting, realizing that the body-crushing blow he'd expected wasn't coming, Killian opened his eyes to find the Giant's finger extended, with a small golden key resting on the tip. Cautiously, he picked up the key with his hook, struggling to fit the key into the side of the shackle. Once the restraint was at his foot, he sighed in relief.
"Thank you, beast. But why have you been so kind?" Killian asked.
"That human," the giant replied, "she's not like the others."
Hook bowed his head, "yeah… she's quite a handful." He retorted, eyes still staring at the. "Well thank you for your hospitality, Giant, but I really must be going."
Killian began jogging out of the castle, concerned not only that the Giant would change his mind, but that Cora could at any time catch up to him. As he grabbed hold of the beanstalk, he realized it was slippery and heard the roar of thunder below him. This was going to be tricky.
"Bloody hell, Emma. Look what you've put me through."
And with that, he began his descent through the clouds.
[a/n]: pleaaaassseee review! I was extremely hesitant posting this in the first place, and I do have another chapter waiting to be posted tomorrow, or later tonight if y'all are especially eager ;)