She knew the moment he stepped aboard that they'd be together for the rest of their lives. He may just be a humble lieutenant - stuttering, nervous, ridiculously polite, stone cold sober - but she knew he'd be her Captain one day. His brother, Captain Liam Jones, was a good, proud Captain, but his song would be ending soon. She didn't know how, why or when, couldn't do anything to prevent it, but she knew that it was on the horizon.
She may just be a ship in the King's navy - not just any ship, the biggest and best, the flagship - but magic flowed through her and she new potential when she saw it. Killian Jones would be the greatest Captain she ever had and she was determined to help him on his journey up the ranks.
Her magic hummed when he achieved, when he smiled and laughed. She reached out to him on cold nights, warming her planks around him to keep the chill at bay during the hours he spent on the watch. He was hers and the pulse of her magic matched the beat of his heart.
"We've had quite a busy life, haven't we old girl?" Killian murmured softly as he stood at the helm of the Jolly Roger, running his hand over the ship's large wheel. The ship was docked in the harbour and he'd yet to sail her since having her returned to him, but just standing on her familiar deck brought him peace.
"I doubt we'll be travelling together again for some time." he sighed, lowering himself down and lying flat on his back, gazing up at the stars above, "Emma needs me here with her."
Killian closed his eyes and smiled as warm magic embraced him, flowing up from the enchanted wood of the deck.
"You mustn't worry, you'll never be forgotten or left to rot. Now I've got you back and I'm here with Emma and her family, I never intend to let you go again." he murmured, listening to the soothing hum of the Jolly's magic, "You've seen everything, haven't you, love? You've been by my side since the very beginning."
With a sigh, Killian let a wave of grief roll over him. It may have been centuries since he'd watched his brother die in his arms, but it didn't make the loss any easier. Liam had been the only family he'd had left, his best friend and his only confidante. He wasn't proud of his actions after he'd lost Liam, but he'd survived and if he'd not become a pirate, he'd have never met Milah or Emma.
"It's time to move on from piracy, my love. No more sailing the high seas and fighting our way through storms. We both deserve a quiet retirement and plenty of rest. Me with Emma and you here in this picturesque harbour." Killian admitted, relaxing as the ship's magic held him close and warmed him, protecting him from the chill of the night. The Jolly, or the Jewel as she'd been then, had taken a liking to him almost immediately after he'd stepped on board as Lieutenant. He'd first felt the living, pulsing magic of the ship keeping him company on lonely nights on watch. It was only after Liam's sudden death that she'd seemed to claim him as her own, actively reaching out with her magic to comfort him and provide him with companionship. He let her magic and the rocking of the waves pull him into sleep, knowing that she'd keep him safe from threats and nightmares alike.
Captain Liam Jones was dead.
Her new Captain was out of control.
He was hers, now more than ever. On the day of Liam's death and every day since, his tears had wet her planks and she'd absorbed them into her magic, appreciating each and every one of them as the precious gifts that they were. She adored him and she hated to see him suffer. His grief kept him awake and his rage kept him upright. He wanted revenge on the corrupt King that had sent them to Neverland and she wanted to sail with him. No matter how dangerous the plan, she'd take him anywhere and keep him as safe as she could.
She shared his grief at Liam's loss, her magic holding him close night after night when he passed out on the deck or in his cabin from too much rum, but she also hoped that he'd see the gift he'd been given. He had freedom and together they'd explore everywhere and anywhere.
The first years of piracy were tough on them both. He came away with scars and she did too, but they won every battle. Each ship fell, whether merchant or military, and they sailed on in victory, leaving death and destruction in their wake.
And then Milah came aboard, and she knew troubled waters were ahead for them both.
"Killian?" Emma called softly, looking around the docks and the harbour for the ex-pirate. She'd waited to have breakfast with him in Granny's but he hadn't shown at the usual time and his room at the inn had been empty. He'd spent less and less time on the Jolly Roger recently, but she hoped that she'd find him there. She could barely restrain her internal panic, praying that all would be well and that he hadn't been attacked by a new villain.
"Killian?" she called again as she made her way up the ship's gangplank, stepping down onto the deck. She gasped a little, feeling the ship's pulsing magic all around her. She'd always been able to feel a hum from the ship, but never magic with such intensity.
"Killian!" she gasped when she looked up and saw him lying on his back beside the helm. She raced across the deck and up the steps, landing beside him on her knees. He didn't look injured but he didn't show any sign of waking. She reached out to touch him and hissed when her hand met the forcefield of magic that surrounded him.
"What the hell?" she muttered, pulling out her phone and making a call, "Regina? Yeah, we've got a problem. Something's wrong with Killian. I'm on the Jolly Roger."
Once she'd spoken to Regina, she put her phone away and tried to touch him again but with the same result. She closed her eyes and focused on pushing her magic out towards him, but the forcefield held steady.
"Please be okay, Killian. I need you. It doesn't suit you being the one in need of saving." she sighed sadly.
A hook now replaced his hand and a new mission for revenge led them forwards at a brutal pace. He was Captain Hook now, only Killian to her.
The loss of his hand had been a shock for them both and she'd screamed with him as the ship's surgeon worked on his wrist. His blood had been spilled aboard her deck, and his lover had been ripped from him, by a crocodile that she too wanted to skin. Her playful pirate was gone and the man that remained was empty and lifeless.
She still held him close at night, but only when he was deeply asleep. During his waking hours, he didn't allow her magic's caress. He physically moved away whenever he felt the warmth of her planks, not wanting her comfort, as though he thought he was no longer worthy of it.
She cried when he cried, raged when he raged and comforted when he allowed it, spending centuries keeping him safe in a land where neither of them aged. She felt him changing, becoming more desperate, more twisted, losing the lieutenant inside as the darkness truly took hold, but he was her Captain and she would sail with him until her very last plank was laid to rest on the seabed.
"What's wrong with the pirate now?" Regina sighed in mock annoyance as she strode along the deck.
"I have no idea." Emma admitted, "He's got this forcefield around him and he's not waking up."
Regina kneeled beside Emma and raised her hands, letting her magic explore the forcefield that surrounded the pirate.
"Interesting." she murmured, watching the forcefield pulse as her magic touched it.
"What is it? What's wrong with him?" Emma asked worriedly.
"It's a protection spell that's coming from the ship itself." Regina explained.
"The ship is made from enchanted wood." Emma realised, "I felt the magic when I came on board, it's like a hundred times as strong as it usually is."
Regina nodded, "She's protecting him and her need to protect is what's increased the intensity of the magic." she said, "She'll keep him in a state of sleep until she deems it safe to release him."
"What? Why? That's crazy!" Emma exclaimed, running a hand through her hair, "He can't just be held captive by his own ship."
Regina sighed, letting her magic explore the forcefield again, "He's not under a sleeping curse so he'll wake at some point." she said, "It just depends what she thinks she's protecting him from."
"Hey, Jolly Roger, knock it off, okay?" Emma said, looking around at the ship, "He's perfectly safe. We're not gonna hurt him. I get it, you guys are close after 300 years together, but I need him to wake up now."
Emma waited for a few moments, not sure what to expect, but grew annoyed when the forcefield remained.
Centuries in Neverland seemed easy compared to the wait for the curse to be broken. They sailed where they could, but never made any real progress, each day repeating over and over again. She knew the days were repeating, she could feel the magic in the air, but he couldn't. To him, each day was a new day.
She managed to block the curse magic every now and then, allowing him to sail for weeks at a time with each day an actual new day, but maintaining the block against the curse almost drained the enchantment from her planks on multiple occasions.
She knew when the Saviour arrived in the other land, as each day the magic in the air around them grew weaker. She knew it wouldn't be long and then they'd reach the Land Without Magic, they'd get their revenge on the Crocodile.
Their journey to the new land, to Storybrooke, was quicker than she expected. They did have to endure the witch, Cora, the entire way though. He felt the same way about the witch as she did.
A new chapter began in both of their lives when the Saviour, Emma Swan, stepped aboard and they set sail on a mission to save her son. She felt warmth towards his new love interest; she was more worthy than Milah had been. Having the Crocodile aboard was a challenge for them both and she reached out to comfort her Captain, warming the helm's spindles beneath his hands as they went through the portal.
Choppy waters were ahead for both of them but calm waters were on the horizon, they'd just need to weather the storms to get there.
"Okay, I get it. He's your Captain, he's all yours. If you're gonna keep him like this, can we at least move him into his cabin? Surely that would be more comfortable for him than the deck?" Emma suggested, feeling completely insane for trying to reason with a magical ship.
"I think it's you she doesn't like. Think about it, you've stolen her Captain." Regina said with a slight chuckle, "She's probably jealous that he spends his time with you and not sailing the high seas."
"Okay. You win." Emma sighed in frustration, placing both her hands on the deck, "You hear me, Jolly Roger or Jewel of the Realm? You win. He's yours. I'm not taking him away from you; I'm just trying to make him happy. He's been so lonely for so long, surely he deserves a bit of happiness?"
"Keep talking." Regina encouraged as the forcefield began to lose some of its strength.
"You've known him his whole life, you've had adventures together, I get it. I just want to make a compromise with you. Can't we share him?" Emma pleaded, "We both make him happy. He'd be sad without either one of us, so why can't we work together? You want to protect him and so do I. Let me help you, let's share him, he needs both of us."
Slowly, the forcefield disappeared and the tendrils of magic unwrapped from Killian's body, finally letting him wake from his slumber.
"Killian, are you okay?" Emma asked worriedly, watching him as his eyes flickered open.
"Emma, what are you doing here?" Killian asked in confusion, sitting up and noticing Regina, "And you're here too, Your Majesty?"
"We couldn't wake you up. Your ship put a forcefield around you." Emma tried to explain, "Has that happened before?"
"Aye, many times." Killian chuckled, "The Jolly is possessive when she claims something or someone as her own."
"And you're okay with your ship using magic on you?" Regina asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Aye. She doesn't mean any harm. I was thinking about the past, she must have felt my distress." Killian admitted, reaching up and stroking the helm gently, "Thank you, love. You always keep me safe."