Once Upon A Time

Manning The Mast

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know Rapunzel was in a brief episode… However, I am changing that around to mimic the Tangled version for this story. Just so no one is caught off guard!)

Full Summary: What do you do when you hear of a legend that tells true of a woman keeping priceless gold locked up in a tower? Well, if you're a pirate, you go after it. That's what Hook did when he heard tell of it. However, he got more than he bargained for. As do most who do not do their research when it comes to legends and the like. This particular one would send him down a path that neither he nor Rapunzel would see coming. However, can they survive when a curse rips them apart? Can he find her again or will they perish?

Chapter 1

(Fairy Tale Land)

"Ahoy there! Man the stations!" A deep voice rang out as kohl rimmed eyes saw through the sheets of rain that plummeted along the deck. This was his ship and he was the only one equipped to maneuver her through this storm but they were in dangerous territory. There were creatures in the sea that held dangerous poisons. With the waves as high as they were, any one of them could grab one or more of his men. "Keep away from the railings!"

"Aye, captain!" His men shouted back as they kept moving the sails in the ever changing direction of the wind. The sea was their home. The salty aroma, the spray of the sea, the heat of the sun was beat out by none else in all the realms. Even the storms were welcome for there was never a purely calm sea. There would always be turmoil creating waves through the waters and lands. But Killian Jones would have it no other way.

His eyes were constantly scanning his men then back to the waters, maneuvering The Jolly Rodger through these troubled waves. One wrong move and his men would be swept away or worse, they would capsize. He was just on the verge of leading them out of the storm when a high, shrill scream pierced the sky and his eyes were drawn from the pathway to one of his crew clutching their side before falling onto the deck.

"Captain! He's been bitten by something attached to the ship!" Oh that was just great. Did he not just order people to stay away from the railings? This was the very reason those words left his lips.

"Take him below deck! Remove that creature from my ship by whatever means necessary!" His eyes turned back to utter blackness only illuminated by the lightening splitting the sky. Clothes were stuck to him and he was sure to be cold later but right now, he did not care. Turning the wheel two notches to port, he felt the sea start leveling out beneath them. The rain was even letting up so the worst was over.

"Mr. Bolson!" His voice called out as he spied his First Mate on the deck of the ship trying to get rid of the remains of the creature that had tried taking one of their own. "Take the helm. I'm needed below deck."

One look at the crewman and Killian knew it was over. There was a fine seaman right there that was killed doing what he loved, sailing. Taking in a deep breath, he followed another of his crew that served as a doctor of sorts. The look on the man's face said it all but Killian would still hear him out to see if there was /anything/ to be done.

"It does not look good, captain." The sophisticated man, more-so than the rest of his crew actually, turned and looked over his rims. "If he does not receive an antidote for the poison, which we know not what it is, soon, then he shall perish and succumb to his wounds." That was not something Captain Killian Jones wanted to hear.

"That's the third one this month alone. What is this madness?" Running a hand through his shorter hair, Killian let out a sigh before seeing a questioning look on the doc's face. "What aren't you telling me, seaman?"

"It's probably just a story but…" The man tried to say but Killian drew his knife.

"You will tell me how to save my men, or find yourself out of a job, doc." Normally Killian wouldn't be this cut throat with the man in charge of his crewman's life but he just didn't give a damn right then.

"There is a legend telling of a woman keeping priceless magical gold up high in her tower." It sounded completely absurd but after the things he had seen, Killian wasn't taking any chances.

"Tell me more, sir." Those words had calmed Killian and he wanted to hear more of this legend for if there were one thing he learned on the high seas, most legends turned out to be true.

"Well… She is located in the Enchanted Forest but most cannot find her tower for it is deep within the trees. Most who venture there never make it." Well didn't that just intrigue the pirate more. He brought up a hand to scratch his beard a bit, thinking things over before calling out to his men.

"Men! We sail for the Enchanted Forest. Make sure our fallen man stays comfortable." Without a single look back, Killian was making his way back up to the deck. They needed to make good time so he was needed at the wheel. They were only a few days journey from their destination. He just hoped his fallen man could hold on until then. If this gold were magical then it might have healing properties. The man's wounds were beyond the help of man's medicine. It needed magic to be fully healed to have the man back up on his feet.

—

Rapunzel sat at the window to her tower, running a brush through a section of her hair and contemplating when she would be able to leave this place. She had been taken from her family when she was but a small babe and kept here because of the healing properties her hair held. It was from a magical plant her mother had taken in while sick when pregnant with her. That made her the most wanted commodity around. Though she was well fortified, someone had found their way in, a witch, and taken her from her family. Eighteen years had passed since that night and she now sat at the same window she had for that same amount of time.

A sigh left her lips as she looked out into the night sky. Out on the horizon, far out on the ocean, there was a storm. She loved watching them over the water. They seemed so majestic though dangerous at the same time. It was an excitement she wished she could one day be able to witness first hand. All she had ever wanted, for as long as she could remember, was adventure. To be able to leave this godforsaken tower to make something of herself out in the world. Her mother and father were king and queen of her realm and she wanted to get back to them but she also wanted to see what the others held for her.

She had read so much about the other realms in the books littering her tower but she wanted so bad to visit them but it just wasn't in the cards for her. As she sighed and turned from the window, the moonlight came into the room and illuminated all the areas in her tower she had painted while bored during the days. As she shifted her hair down to the next section, she thought back on the days she had spent here.

A lot of them had been boring, which was why she retreated into her books, no matter how often she read them or how many times. They were the adventures she always wanted to have but could never achieve.

"I just want out of here. Is that too much to ask?" Her voice fell on no ears as she made her way to her bed, sliding beneath the blankets to rest her head on her pillows. She always faced the widow as she fell asleep for she believed the window would allow her to travel to all kinds of untold lands in her dreams. Not to mention she liked trying to name the constellations in the stars as she drifted off into the black abyss of sleep. She had never found one but it didn't stop her from trying.

"Maybe… just maybe one day someone will save me from this life." She muttered as her eyes finally closed.

She didn't know just how ironic that statement was but in time, she would come to know it well.