So this is my first ever Hooked Queen fic! Some parts of this will follow the actual storyline of the show but a lot of it will be altered to fit the story. I have more chapters planned so I hope you guys enjoy it!
Regina walked down the dock slowly, trying to notice any sign of the invisible ship that she knew to be here. She kept her hands tucked into her black jacket and the sound of her black high heels clicking with every step echoed all around her. Regina always looked her best, even if she felt her very worst on the inside.
The cold night air was blowing strands of her hair into her face and she noted that if it weren't for the bright moon that hung overhead the night would be completely dimmed. The water splashing against the pier on both sides of her was as black as the sky.
She didn't need to walk too far down before she found the obscure vessel. To an outsider, it would have been nearly impossible to spot but Regina was adept at finding magic in hidden places. Putting one foot onto the board that led to the ship's deck, she hesitantly took a step onto what appeared to be nothing and after a few more, she was on a rather majestic pirate ship. The old sails and worn wood had clearly been through hell and back but she sensed that it was a lot stronger than it appeared. Regina knew its captain wouldn't settle for anything less than the best.
She walked around a little, admiring the ship. It reminded her of home; not her house here in Storybrooke, her real home. She wasn't sure why, because she had never even been here before. Perhaps it was because this ship had last set sail from the Fairytale Land. She realized how much she missed it. Though she had been the one to bring everyone to this new world, she only did it as a last resort. Truth be told, Regina missed her castle.
She knew she couldn't sneak around the ship. Her heels made that nearly impossible. That was not her intention though. She figured on a quiet night like this he would be able to hear the sound of a pin dropping anywhere near his most prized possession.
"Like what you see?" she heard a voice behind her ask and when she turned, she saw Captain Hook standing on an upper level of the deck just a few feet away. He leaned against a railing as he looked down at her, arms folded across his chest and his sword attached securely near the hip of his pants. He looked like every bit the infamous captain that he was.
Regina smiled at him and took a few steps toward him. "I always do."
"I'm quickly learning that no one in this bloody town believes in waiting to be invited onto a man's ship before entering it."
"I seem to recall a few hours ago you let yourself into my house and strolled into my bedroom as I spoke with my mother. I assumed we were past knocking on doors."
The smile on his face grew and he practically hopped down off of the higher level and strolled over to her so that they were now eye to eye. "Oh, so that's why you're here. The thought of me in your bedroom was driving you mad so you came to me to finish where we left off."
She laughed. "Are you forgetting where we actually left off today? My mother sent you flying into a bookshelf after stealing your treasure map."
Hook waved his left arm to indicate that he wasn't interested. She noticed that at the end of his arm there was nothing there. He had removed the glove that Cora had lent him today. "We can deal with the issues…afterwards, like we used to." He added a wink.
Regina knew what he was referring to. Her mind wandered back to when the two had first met all those years ago. She had caught him after he broke into her castle and asked him if he'd like to have a drink. They drank, she asked a favor of him, he accepted and before she knew it they were in her bedroom. It had happened multiple times after that but it wasn't anything serious to either of them. Back then they had been a lot alike. She told herself she was different now as an image of Henry popped into her head.
"Unfortunately for you, I am only here to bring you a gift," she said, deciding not to reveal the true reason for her visit until the timing was right. She placed a hand to his chest to stop any further advances. He looked disappointed as she walked away and put her purse on a barrel and started searching through her things.
"You know, love, giving me a present doesn't pardon you from stealing my map today. Forgive and forget isn't part of the pirate's code." Apparently once he realized she wasn't there for anything physical he decided he was mad about today's events afterall.
She finally found the item she had been looking for at the bottom of her bag.
"Forgiveness isn't what I'm after," she said as she turned toward him and held out her hand, which held a polished, sharp hook.
"My hook," he said more to himself than to her.
"I took it from the hospital today when I went to pay our mutual friend Belle a visit."
"To what do I owe this random act of kindness?" he asked, his eyes never leaving the hook in her hand.
"Let's call it a change of heart."
He grinned in a mocking way and his eyes found hers. "And I'm to just…take my belonging back, no questions asked?"
"If you think I'm going to stand here and answer the questions of a pirate, you're sadly mistaken. You can take your hook or you cannot. I have no ulterior motives."
She knew he had trust issues. Why shouldn't he? Just today alone he had been double-crossed by the only ally he had at the moment. Regina was unsure what thoughts were running through his head at the moment but whatever they were, he reached out and took his hook back.
Regina watched as he placed it in its former position and twisted it so that it locked in place. He raised it and studied it closely, before in one quick motion he had her pushed up against a beam that was behind her, his hook under her chin.
"You don't want to do this," she warned through clenched teeth.
He returned her glare. "No, I really think I do. I've been watching you, Regina. For whatever reason, you've been hesitant about your magic."
"I don't know what you think you've seen but I am still more than capable of- "
"Well then, your Majesty, why am I still pressing you up against a beam?"
She opened her mouth to respond but no words came out. How could she possibly explain to him what was going on? If she was going to follow through with her plan, she needed to go about it the right way. And immediately telling her plan to a pirate was surely not the right way. Besides, if Hook had trust issues, Regina had trust hurdles.
"What is Cora's plan?" he whispered to her.
She shoved him hard. "You know her plan!" He lost his grip on her. He stumbled back a little but managed to catch himself before he could fall. "She's after the dagger. She wants power. Now, what's your plan?"
"I want my revenge."
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know that. I've been hearing about that for the last few decades."
"I'm going to find him, and I'm going to kill him. Does that clear things up for you, lass?" he asked sarcastically.
"You're going to him? In New York?"
"Aye."
He turned and walked down steps that led to below deck and she followed right on his tail. She told him he couldn't go there, that it was dangerous. She continued on and on, needing him to know that he couldn't leave, though she was almost positive he wasn't listening. He needed to listen though. She wouldn't be able to use him if he went after Rumplestiltskin right now.
When they got to what appeared to be his chambers, he sat down behind an old desk that was covered with maps and empty bottles of rum. There were also little trinkets scattered all over the place. They were seemingly useless but she knew he wouldn't have kept them if they were.
"Are you done yet, my dear? It's getting rather late and while your unwanted visit on my ship proved to be rewarding," he said with a gesture to his hook, "I am fatigued with disinterest on your ramblings so if you'd be so kind as to shut the door on your way out."
He smiled at her as he put his feet up and in a flash she was home again. She was in Fairytale Land and she was the Evil Queen so many feared. She didn't even need to raise a hand to send ropes flying towards him so that he was now fastened tightly in the chair he was sitting in.
Hook was yet again tied down. He was beginning to grow tiresome of it but he supposed there wasn't much he could do. In a war against magic and conventional, he was on the losing side.
Regina walked slowly toward him, like a predator narrowing in on his prey. She put a hand on both sides of the chair he was secured to and leaned down so that their faces were nearly touching.
"Captain, I think you seem to be forgetting your place. This may be your ship but this is my town, so I will leave when I am damn ready and if you have any remarks to make about it, I'll burn your precious ship to the ground with a flick of my finger. So don't test me, Captain Hook."
Oh, she was fiery. He could see it in her eyes. He hadn't seen it in the past few days he had been with her; hadn't seen it since she hired him to kill Cora all those years ago. Something had changed within the woman since then that was for sure. But he knew if he could rile her up he would be able to find it again.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't turned on right now but I shall offer my apologies for putting you off regardless."
She looked satisfied and backed away, leaving him still tethered to the chair. She sat on the desk.
"I was wondering when you'd show up," he told her. He could see the change in her expression, though she tried to hide it. He also noticed that she was doing everything she could to not look at the bonds she had conjured up to hold him in place. Evidently she didn't want to see the magic she had produced.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she lied. "And anyways, we weren't talking about me. We were talking about you staying in Storybrooke."
"Why do my whereabouts matter to you?" he asked.
He watched her choose her words carefully. A good liar always did, he knew.
"Your whereabouts wouldn't matter to me at all if you hadn't sailed here with my mother. Now we have to be…strategic with our next moves."
"We?"
"I think we can help each other."
He wanted to tell her absolutely not. He wanted to be untied from the chair and left alone. He just wanted to get the hell out of this place so that he could kill Rumplestiltskin.
He was obviously attracted to her. He had been since the first time he ever saw her. She was the most beautiful woman he had seen in a long time. But he didn't like her. He wasn't interested in growing attached to someone. He didn't want Regina putting off his plans of vengeance any longer.
"Unless you are going to untie me and point me in the direction of New York, I don't foresee you helping me," he said.
She stood up and walked around a little. He never took his eyes off of her.
"We can both agree that there are unwanted people in our lives that we'd like to be rid of," she said and she looked at him to see if he had an argument. When he didn't, she continued. "I can tell you right now that if you kill Rumplestiltskin, my mother will kill you. She is after his dagger and the dagger is only useful if he is still alive."
"Cora poses no threat to me," he said even though not one part of him believed it.
"Doesn't she?" she asked and he knew she didn't believe him either. "If you kill Rumple, my mother is going to kill you. It's as simple as that. She wants the dagger because she wants control."
"And you're telling me this to save my life because of my charming personality?"
"I'm telling you this because if you help me kill my mother, I'll help you kill Rumplestiltskin."
"I don't need your help," he said immediately.
"Because you've been doing so well without it?" She stopped her pacing and leaned her hands on the desk once more.
"I'll have you know, love, that I am right on schedule." He grinned before asking the one question that he wanted answered most. "What do you need my help for?"
"I want you to assist me in killing my mother," she said in a slightly quieter, perhaps shyer tone than he was used to. He wondered if she could have said something like that to anyone else without being judged. Not only had he killed more people than he could keep track of, but he had spent a lot of time with Cora. Even he had to admit she was less than congenial.
He knew he would have to help the poor woman. If for no other reason that it would come in handy in the future to have someone who owed him. And truth be told if he had to wait for Rumplestiltskin to return before he could kill him, he would once again be unsuccessful because the damned coward would be able to hide behind his magic once more.
"And would I be able to willingly accept or deny your offer or are these ropes going to force me to do whatever you please?" he asked as he nodded his head towards the pulleys that were starting to become even more difficult.
She glanced over at him and seemed to remember. "Hm? Oh yes, of course."
The ropes untied at the wave of her hand and he stretched his arms out and reached for a bottle of rum that had been just out of reach the entire time. He took two big gulps before placing it back on the table and watched as Regina helped herself to some as well.
"You'll understand my disinclination in trusting you, I imagine. After all, just a few hours ago you and Cora used me and then left me behind. "
She dragged her finger over the bottle in her hands, outlining the rim before she drank some more. Normally he was very finicky about whom he shared his rum with but this time he let it slide. Regina sat down on his desk again and placed the bottle where it had been before.
"I anticipated your hesitation, understandably. So I am going to tell you a story, Captain. I need you to know that if the circumstances were different, you would never know this part of me."
He wanted to tell her to hurry up and get on with it. Not because he was bored or wanted her to leave, but because the anticipation growing inside of him was making him dizzy. What could this woman possibly say that would make him change his mind about her?
"Do you remember that day when I caught you in my prison cell all those years ago? I asked you to join me for a drink and then asked even more of you. When I asked you to kill my mother, you asked what she had done to cause me such…pain." She was staring at the ground now, less sure of herself than he had ever seen. The power had left her and it had been replaced with would he could only describe as meekness. She spoke agonizingly slow. "I was in love once, with a stable boy named Daniel. My mother always had hoped for a better life than what we had and she saw opportunity in me. So one day when I saved young Snow White's life, I was forced to accept her father's hand in marriage. I couldn't do it though. I couldn't marry one man while I loved another so Daniel and I hatched a plan to run away together. It was so beautifully perfect," she whispered and a sad smiled grew on her face. "Everything was in place, we met late at night and were prepared to leave, when my mother showed up. She had learned of my true feelings for Daniel. She had learned that he was the obstacle to my life of unwanted royalty. So all I could do was watch as she…ripped out his heart, and crushed it into dust."
He wondered if anyone ever looked so beautiful baring the deepest part of their soul.
Hook hadn't even realized he had been holding his breath as she recounted her tale. The silence that filled the air now was heavy with emotion. He was sure Regina would be crying if he hadn't been there. He got the feeling it was the first time she had ever told anyone about that. He had never seen her like this. So…exposed. She looked downright pitiful as she continued looking at the floor.
As for him, he was absolutely disgusted. He had to control himself from shaking with anger. The woman he had been hired to kill all those years ago had done to her what had been done to him. He knew Regina knew that he had been through the same thing so she knew she had hit a nerve. He was grateful she wasn't looking at him.
She had been right. What she told him had changed his opinion on her entirely. She was no longer the devious, brash ruler. She was a lost mourner. She wanted vengeance just as bad as he did. She was like him.
Rather than telling her he understood, or trying to comfort her, or even apologizing for letting Cora live all of this time, he said what would wrap all of that up into one question.
"So when would you like to begin?"
Her head darted up as if she had actually doubted that he would team up with her. Apparently some of her confidence was just for show. It was back in an instant though as she hopped down off the table and walked over to gather her purse. As she hung the strap over her shoulder, he could see the control come back into her.
"Meet me on the rooftop across from Gold's shop tomorrow. I trust you know where it is?"
All he could do was nod because his mind was busy trying to figure out how she knew he had chosen that spot to survey the town when he first arrived.
"Splendid. Don't be late. I have no interest in wasting my time."
With that she flipped her short hair over her shoulder and strode out of the room, once again becoming her feared persona.