Goldie was thankful Robin Hood found her at the right moment. She would have been behind bars for attempted burglary if it weren't for him. After several years of being trained to defend and hunt, it was time for her to venture out on her own. As a parting gift, Robin Hood gave her a few gold coins in case of anything. She wishes she didn't have to leave him, but she was ready to seek out her revenge.

Wandering out of Sherwood Forest and into a small town just by port, she lifted up the hood of her midnight blue cape up and strolled into town. It was close to twilight, and many of the men in the area were heading to pubs to get wasted and have a "magical" night with some wenches. She couldn't understand that lifestyle those people chose to live, but she kept to herself as she tried to figure out what to do with her life.

Walking into a crowded pub, she couldn't even hear her own thoughts because of the volume in the bar. The smell of alcohol wreaked the air around everyone there, and Goldie was not too fond of it; she thought of all of it made her disgusted. She realized it was a bad idea to go into the pub, so she started to walk out until someone called out to her.

"Who's this mysterious fellow here?" The voice rang into her ear just was many of the people there, becoming silent as eyes turned to the hooded figure that was Goldilocks. Goldie looked over her shoulder as he continued to question her. "Why not stay and have a few drinks with us?"

"Why would I?" She was unable to see the man who was speaking to her from across the room.

"Oh, you're not a fellow; you're a woman. This surely makes things more interesting, doesn't it, boys?" Hearing guys agree and even whistle obnoxiously, Goldie was easily annoyed.

"I don't see any enjoyment out of becoming dumb from the vile drinks consumed and acting like animals."

She heard the man chuckle and a pair of boots making their way to her. "It's not always that way, darling." Her eyes widened in the shadows of her hood as she felt a hand caress her arm.

"You must be a newbie." He whispered to her as he started walking around her like a vulture circling its prey from the sky. Goldie could sense a pair of piercing eyes on her, standing tall though she was afraid those eyes had seen her through the hooded cape she wore.

"I suggest you get away from me you slimy pig!" The girl threatened but still made no eye contact with the man. She glanced to see other people who either looked frightened or amused by what she had said. She knew then that she made the mistake of calling some stranger a pig.

She took a step forward to continue her way out but was stopped once again by the man, only this time the tip of a metal hook lightly touched her cheek. "I don't think it's wise to threaten a pirate, love."

Doing all that she could to avoid eye contact, she snarled under her breath and said, "It's not my fault I'm a newbie."

Amused by her throwing his own words back at him, he took the hook off her dainty skin. He then crossed his arms as he looked down at her shady profile. After a minute—which felt like more than that to Goldie—she turned her eyes to look into the piercing blue eyes of the trouble she had encountered. She had figured who the man was and was certain of it when his hook touched her cold skin before. She didn't say a word, though, and waited for him to speak once again.

"Let's see who can do better with a bow and arrow, shall we?" His hand grabbed her bow (which wrapped across her body) and tugged her backward slightly.

"Why would you want to challenge me, Hook?"

"Ah, so you do know who I am. Well let me tell you something, darling," Hook started, looking back into her ocean-blue eyes,"this will be more than just a simple archery challenge. If I win, you must take that hood off your head and reveal who you are to everyone here. On the other hand, if you win, then you can leave without having any troubles following you."

For the first time since coming into port, an egotistical grin spread across her face. "I see that you're brave enough to challenge someone you hardly know."

"That's the beauty of being a pirate." He grinned with amusement.

Goldie felt the butterflies in her stomach, afraid that Hook will pull a trick in attempts to make her lose their little contest; on the outside, though, she continued to stay strong. She threw his good hand off her bow and took it off herself, her eyes never leaving his. "We have an accord."

Goldie and Hook went outside of the pub as many other pirates and bystanders followed. The two challengers looked around for what could be an easy target. Hook turned to see an actual archery target, standing on a boulder and leaning against a wall. Hook caught Goldie's attention and pointed with his hook in the direction of the target.

"Right there, love."

Goldie took an arrow out from her leathered quiver and handed both the arrow and her bow to him. Hook chuckled and said to her, "I may be a pirate, but I am also a gentleman. Therefore, I say ladies first."

"Then take my bow and arrow."

The two could hear laughter around them from the audience they had made. Hook frowned in frustration, looking around at the people then back to his opponent. He snatched the weapon harshly from Goldie, his charming eyes turning into angered ones. Goldie simply smiled and stepped aside, giving Hook space to shoot.

Hook looked away from her and got ready. He put the arrow in place, held the bow with his good hand, and pulled the string with his hook which rested right under the arrow. (From the side, Goldie saw how clever he was in the ability to use her weapon with his hook and only good hand.) He kept his eyes on the target, and it was within a minute before he let go. The arrow traveled through the air in a straight path.

As the arrow was making its way to the target, Goldie started to worry, her heart pounding like a hammer as it accelerated rapidly. What if he hit the center of the target? Her identity of Artemis would be exposed, so she would have to put up with people bombarding her with questions and other ridiculous things... but she was more worried of others who may know who she truly is. She would lose her freedom for who knows how long since she had been on the run for almost ten years.

Her eyes followed the arrow and saw that it land just above the central target. A soft, relieving sigh escaped her lips. She turned to Hook and smiled, not because she had a chance of winning but because of his cleverness; he was able to use the bow and arrow with his hook and had no trouble with it. Other than Robin Hood and his men, she had not met any other cunning man like Hook.

Hook faced Goldie and walked over to her, handing her the bow. "Your turn, darling."

The hooded archer took her bow from the captain. Although she had a comeback for what he said, she decided not to say it. She stood several feet away from the target and prepared herself. She took an arrow out of her quiver and pulled back in the string of the bow. Her eyes pierced right into the center of the target. This shot she was to make would decide her fate.

Everyone was silent as they waited for Goldie to shoot the arrow. It wasn't more than a minute before she let go of the arrow. She hoped and prayed that her arrow would hit the target. Everything seemed to have gone in slow motion in the girl's mind as soon as she let go of that arrow. Though anxious and scared, she still appeared brave and confident in her shot. Then a joyful smile appeared on her face, for the arrow had struck the target!

The audience of pirates and wenches screamed and cheered to see who the victor of the game was. She let her arms relax to her side and turned to Hook. She moved her bow over to her left hand as she extended her right hand out to the captain. "You did very well, Hook." She said with much respect.

Hook raised an eyebrow, looking down at her hand before his eyes met hers. He then took her hand firmly and shook it. "Thank you. You truly are a natural."

Goldie couldn't help but let a small laugh escape her lips. Her face warmed up, but that didn't matter to her since it was covered in shadows from her hood. They were hesitant but finally let go of each others' hand before Goldie started making her way out.

Hook watched her leave. Then he noticed a drunken sailor who was eyeing Goldie's hood and stretched out for it in hopes to take it off of her. Hook took action and moved forward, "Hey, stop right—!" But it was too late.

Goldie felt a brush of wind behind her neck and gasped silently. She knew what had happened and stood frozen, her eyes looking down at the ground as she waited for people to react. "Is that Artemis, the great archer of Sherwood Forest?", "That is Artemis!", and "No wonder she was so good!" were the many things the young girl heard from the crowds standing around. She took a deep breath and looked up – to show know more fear of the people – and face the astounded ones. She nodded her head to say that she was to they said she was.

Before she could speak, though, she saw many of them coming up to her. Her eyes widened and started to walk backwards. "No, stop where you are! I will not do anything for anyone!" She yelled at them, but they didn't listen. She stopped and decided to take out her bow and arrow once more and pointing it at the people. "Get back!" She threatened, aiming it at all the people surrounding her. Then did people stop and look at the arrow. Many people had been threatened by a weapon but not usually by a woman.

With her back to him, Hook walked through the crowd and grabbed her shoulder. "Come with me, darling. No one will come for you with me around you." He whispered.

Goldie turned her head to look over her shoulder. She sighed quietly and put her arrow back in her brown quiver before dropping her arms to her sides once again. She glanced back at the mob before turning back to Hook.

Hook took her wrist and led her out of the crowd. Goldie kept her eyes behind them to make sure no one would follow. She didn't think that a pirate—not even Hook—would get her out of the mess that would have unfolded. She turned her head back around to thank the captain but saw that they were heading for the Jolly Roger.

"Now wait a minute, Hook, I never said—"

"Don't even try to argue with me, love." Hook said as they stepped right onto t he heart of the ship. He kept a good grip on her wrist as he continued. "You willingly agreed to come with me, and you never asked where I would take you."

Goldie glared at Hook and tried to get her wrist free with a rough yank of the arm, but it didn't work. Her nose flared as huffed under her breath. "You're cleverer than I thought you were."

A smirk started to form along his lips as he drew his sword. "That's the beauty of being a pirate, darling." He repeated what he had said when they met. He lifted his sword and called out to his men.

"Set sail!" He ordered, and his men did everything to get them out of port and out into the ocean. Hook's piercing blue eyes looked deep into Goldie's as his smirk grew ever so slightly. "In fact, I'm clever enough to know who you really are, Goldilocks."