Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT.
Summary: Emma had never met someone as infuriating as the captain of the Jolly Roger in her 28 years of being a talented thief. When he requires her help to find a dagger to "skin" the Dark One as he likes to say, what she's really agreeing to is late night fights, breaking her trust issues, falling in love, oh, and winning the war with her parents she knew nothing about. Emma Swan doesn't know what she should be mad about. How about that coin purse he tried to steal that started this whole thing….
A/N: First fanfiction in… well almost 6 years. Higher education can sometimes do that to you. Changed my username (I used to run under the name of UltamitBlueyes and Akaniesha. Considering that I've lost both emails, I started a new one.) I've been addicted to OUAT since I laid eyes on one Captain Hook during a preview. I squealed and immediately asked my roommate for her Netflix account so that I could know what the heck kind of show I was missing out on.
Now that 3x12 happened, I can't help but feed my growing fondness of Captain Swan with fanfiction! Then I thought to give my old hand a try. Especially with my imaginative eyes.
Warnings: This is AU. There is no Curse. Hook returns to the Enchanted Forest from Neverland when Emma is 28. Emma is still an orphan. Reasons being that I prefer her to have that lost boy/lost girl connection with Hook. Henry does exist and will be explained for as the story progresses. Rated M for cursing and sexual advances made on Killian Jones' behalf.
Enjoy!
It was rather unexpected to find the waters not tainted red with the stories he had heard upon docking his ship. The Enchanted Forest was still at war; Prince Charming and the Princess turned thief Snow White were now King and Queen of the kingdom, but still had the Evil Queen Regina, a powerful and dark sorceress with a sick knack for collecting hearts, to dethrone from her delusional seat. The war between the royals became a new ogre war: never ending, stalemates, an annoying gnat that never wanted to leave the fruit bowls. Most residents had claimed neutral, wanting to try to return to a normal lifestyle. But to live that lifestyle they needed their trades. And trading was extremely difficult with sides trying to demolish ongoing supplies. It was necessary for wars always reach those.
He knew nothing of these current Kings and Queens, they were people after his time. His own corrupt King was long dead, may he rot in the deeps bowels of Hell. But these…"Charmings" as some of the locals had referred to them as, were suitable, fair, just, and strong headed. They did their best to bring down those who tormented their subjects. Good. Good. He always loved challenges.
Much to the delights of many, if not all the villagers, the Evil Queen was starting to buckle. She was losing allies and supplies rather quickly. Her grip on the kingdom through fear was slipping. And though they were not participating in the wars directly, the residents of the kingdom showed whose side they were clearly on by providing Charming and Snow White the necessities.
Though he personally could be leagued with Regina, in terms of dark hearts, he was rather ecstatic to see a corrupted monarch be brought to her knees.
"Care for anything to drink sir?" He glanced up at the timid servant girl holding a tray on her hip. Thank the gods for his opportunity to return… Another century in Neverland with no woman to ogle and fondle would've made him strangle himself. He grinned.
"A bottle of rum would suit just nicely, love," he gave her a full, hearty look and brushed to tip of his tongue against the edges of his teeth. The girl blushed and scurried off.
His crew was scattered on his orders. Finding supplies, recruiting fresh blood to replace the dead, listening to gossip, and carefully planting seeds in the ears of the civilians. The people in the Enchanted Forest in this time would not know him. Not yet anyway. He was a legend, a tale told to children who were causing trouble for parents. His hand left his lips to fiddle with the tip of his hook, hidden underneath his cloak. His grin started to show teeth. Aye, a legend back from the grave. Back for the hide and skin of his crocodile.
"Cap'n," someone hissed.
Without turning his head, Captain Hook knew who was taking the seat in front of him. The bench creaked as the stout man took his place.
"What news have you brought me, Mr. Smee?" His bright eyes darted to the doors and took note of anyone else who might have entered. It would do no good to be followed so early in his return. There were other enemies besides the crocodile.
"Several. Good ones. Ones that will bring your revenge straight to your feet!" Smee's excitement bled itself onto Hook's skin. He finally looked at his first mate and folded his arms over the table.
"Really, well, go on."
"Several years ago, twenty-eight to exact, the Evil Queen meant to bring a curse down upon this realm, one that would've brought everyone to a new land with no magic." Smee looked around nervously. If this was an old tale, there was no need to be so wary of everyone who witnessed the events. But he knew Smee, there was far more to the tale.
"A land without magic? She was willing to give up her powers?" Hook asked.
"It seems so Cap'n. But somehow the curse was stopped. No one knows how or why. All they know is that the King and Queen's only child was killed, and Regina's curse had failed. Rumplestiltskin was flung into the crossfire because of the failure, and now Queen Regina has eyes set for him as well."
Hook nodded his thanks to the girl who brought his rum and two tankards and took a long swig from the bottle, relishing the burning sensation that had been absent for the past three hundred or so years of drinking in Neverland. He sighed in pure bliss before licking his lips and returning to the conversation.
"What does Rumplestiltskin have to do with any of this?"
"He created the curse, Cap'n. Created and gave it to the Evil Queen."
Hook's brow furrowed. He rubbed the scruff of his beard and regarded Smee with a curious expression. Why on earth would Rumplestiltskin create such a curse? By the sounds of it he was meant to be taken too. Curious…He was a man who reveled in his power, it made him feel he was no longer a coward, so why create such a curse? It didn't fit into the crocodile's previous actions.
A dull feeling hit the empty pit of his heart and he froze. A land without magic…
"Baelfire" he whispered. He remembered the stories from the boy, how much he hated magic and feared the wonders of Neverland. How his father chose his powers over starting fresh with his boy in a land where no one knew them and where there was no magic.
Smee nodded his head eagerly. "Aye Cap'n. 'Course, no one knows of his son anymore. It's been three hundred years in this realm too. So everyone was just as confounded when they found out Rumplestiltskin was the creator of the curse."
He poured Smee a bit of rum and watched the man drink it with no pace. His first mate coughed roughly and almost doubled over the table. Hook chortled.
"Careful Smee, our sense of taste has finally returned to us." He took another swig from his tankard. Speaking of the crocodile…. "Where is he now then, Smee? We've spoke his name for quite some time. I have yet to see his hide, as I'm sure he would love to show, knowing who has returned."
Smee, recovered from his unexpected experience leaned in closer, his fat face pulled into a grin Hook only had the opportunity of seeing perhaps twice in the time they've spent together. Hook leaned closer as well. His first mate looked right, left and over both their shoulders.
"He's trapped Cap'n. King David and Queen Snow trapped him far below ground, using all kinds of enchantments to keep him locked within. He can never escape. Well, he almost escaped once, he had his own secret supply of squid ink upon his person. And we know very well how squid ink works."
That they did. It was the one thing to confine the ruler of Neverland. Baelfire was the first to test the theory, and escaped that infernal island long before they did because of it. Pan never fell for the trick again. Hook urged Smee to continue.
"Once the squid ink was removed, he stayed in those cells. No one has seen or heard from him since."
"Giving us a chance to find his dagger," Hook hummed to himself and tapped his lips in thought.
This was good news. Very good news. But he couldn't help feel that it wasn't as easy as it sounded. "Where is this confinement for the crocodile?"
Smee's face dropped and Hook sneered at the change, causing Smee to fall back in his seat, pulling off his red knit hat to twist it in anxiety.
"No one knows Cap'n… I'm terribly sorry! I tried all that I could to find more information! The only ones who truly know are the King and Queen and their inner circle. It's information they had the Blue Fairy force them to vow to never reveal. They're all under a spell Cap'n."
Hook leaned back and fiddled with his hook again. Deep underground. Enchantments. It was best to use that to his advantage. "Fret not Mr. Smee. I accept the lack of information. As I said before, we now have plenty of time to find the dagger without interference." Smee nodded and gulped some more rum. "Any idea where we could start Mr. Smee?"
Smee shook his head. "The Dark One had his own castle, but chances of his dagger being within are slim Cap'n."
Hook bristled at that. A castle? A bloody castle? The man was a coward and somehow secured a castle of his own? Was this land now full of weaklings who fell to their knees at the simple sight of magic? Gave everything to the beast? Hook shook his head, feeling the hood of his cloak slip from his face. A bloody castle….
"Bandits have overrun the castle. Taking it for their own."
A slow grin graced Hooks face. "Well, bandits are the pirates of land. Shouldn't be that difficult to take a bit of a look. Call the rest of the crew to the docks." He stood tall and twisted his neck to remove a crick and headed for the doors, Smee scrambling not far behind him.
"Where is this castle Mr. Smee? We'll set sail for it once our ship is bursting again."
"Aye, Cap'n."
A Week Later…
"Easy there, Emma."
"Robin, I'm fine."
"No, you're not. Roland, fetch me some bandages."
Emma rolled her eyes as she watched her friend run off at his father's request. It was just a scratch. Maybe two. And a whole arrow in her shoulder. Robin grabbed her bad arm, she yelped in pain and tried to move away from the bandit. Robin clicked his tongue and started to peel the cloth from the shoulder.
"We broke it off, Robin."
"Yes, you did, but you did a poor job of cleaning it."
"Yeah, well, we were limited. The ogres came out of nowhere after the initial call and smashed our camp." Emma pushed her long blonde hair to the other side so Robin could inspect it.
"Going to have to numb it. Mulan?"
The warrior from a far land came closer to them and inspected Emma's arm with more gentleness than Robin. "I have just the thing. There still some buds of Gilead left in our storage." She pulled something out of the wound that made Emma groan. "There's also some broken parts in the wound. We'll have to pull those out in order for it to heal properly."
Emma shook her head. The task was supposed to be a simple grab and run for new supplies from Queen Regina's troops. For the most part it was. Everyone, her group of bandits and the soldiers, were dead quiet as they were treading through ogre territory. They had knocked everyone out with Poppy powder and grabbed all that they could between a company of seven. But there was one black masked soldier who inhaled less of the poppy than the others as he strangled on the outskirts. Emma miscalculated how many there were and realized she missed him by the time she threw the powder. When he still collapsed, she felt the cold sweat leave her.
It was a shock to all of them when he woke first and kicked everyone else awake, blowing his horn to purposely call the ogres.
They took what they had, avoided the flying arrows and the stomping of the ogres. Curse Emma's luck that she was the only one to take an arrow to the shoulder.
"I missed." She hissed between clenched teeth.
"It's alright Emma, it happens. I'm just glad you all got out alive." Robin gave her that same father smile he always gave her.
She was so angry with herself. It's been a long time since she screwed up like that. She stopped being reckless after—
"Mom!"
A bundle of green with a mop of brown hair ran into her body, knocking her over, back against the table. Her face contorted in pain as the movement caused a thousand daggers to pierce her shoulder. She did her best to ignore it and hugged the boy to her body.
"Hey kiddo," she whispered in his hair.
He pulled up to smile at her, his dimples exposed and hazel eyes bright.
"What did you face this time? I heard you say ogres!"
"Henry," she said, kissing his forehead, "You're supposed to be getting ready for bed."
"I know but, I heard you came back. I wanted to see you first."
Emma looked at Mulan and Robin. Robin had an understanding smile on his face while Mulan pursed her lips. Being a thief, tomorrow was never, ever promised. Emma liked to tease Robin about that, reminding him how old he was. Robin's answer was luck, sure footing, and a good eye for targets.
Roland came back, his dark hair brushing against his face as he hurried with a small cloak in one hand and bandages in another. His cheeks where pink from the cold and his breath was shortened.
"Sorry Emma, I tried to get him back to his bed."
"You'll never keep me from my mom, Roland," Henry gave him a cheeky grin as he climbed off his mother to let her be tended to. "Who did you run into this time?"
"Just more of the Queen's men," Emma said, leaning forward to let Mulan get to work. "A few ogres. I'm pretty sure the ogres squashed them. They were the ones who stupidly called them."
Henry's face wrinkled. "Mom, I heard that the Evil Queen is trying to draw in all that's left of the ogres. I think she's trying to build up a stronger army."
"Where did you hear that, kid?" she winced then Mulan pulled a rather large splinter from her wound.
"Around. Do you think the King and Queen know?"
"They know, Henry," Robin pat her son's head and looked at Emma again. "Words like that never miss them. Roland, may I speak with you?"
"Yes, father." Roland placed the bandages on the table and tossed Emma a charming lopsided grin that caused her stomach lurched.
Even after all these years of her telling him she wasn't interested in being more than friends with him, Roland's feelings for her always showed up in that awkward grin he seemed to save for her. He jogged up to his father's side and they spoke quietly as the approached the doors.
"What do you think they're talking about?" Henry sat to the other side of her and started to place her hair in a messy braid.
"No idea kid," Emma turned to smile at her son.
"Henry, it's not good to stick your nose into things like that," Mulan stated, grinding the butt of her knife against the Gilead buds on the table.
Emma appreciated Mulan's company in this castle full of thieves. There weren't many women amongst professional thieves, and Mulan made sure that she or Emma were always present for Henry. He had plenty of father figures from the large band of Merry Men, and Emma, being just as good as the rest of them, was called to the field often. When he was a babe it was hard to leave him, but Mulan assured her that she would do everything she could to see to it that Henry had a mother figure in his life as well.
Emma loved her friends, her family of thieves. But she didn't always have them. She was once a rogue thief. All alone and on her own. She was glad Henry had all of them, had a chance to experience the warmth and love that was absent through most of her life.
She once lived with a woman named Odette and her six brothers. The brothers were cursed to be swans for eternity but had taken to Emma when she was young. When Emma was five years old, the Evil Queen captured Odette and her brothers. Fortunately, before capture, Odette and her brothers hid Emma in an enchanted tree that would open when danger had passed. She was the only one who could fit in the small gap.
There were a few nights where Emma would still dream of Odette. She was the closest thing Emma had to a mother. They looked so similar that everyone in the village thought she was Odette's own daughter. Same blonde hair and fair skin, but Odette's eyes were as blue as the lakes surrounding their home and Emma's the green of the grass that was nurtured by those lakes. Odette was kind and always sang sweet songs to her.
Emma knew that she wasn't her mother. Always did. Odette kept telling Emma that her mother would come back for her. Never told her who her mother was but that Emma was given her best chance.
The children of the village liked to call Emma 'swan', or the 'swan princess' because their parents called Odette the Swan Queen, even though she was in no way a royal. Some meant it out of endearment, others just to tease. But Emma was always surround by Odette's swan brothers. They would bristle and chase the children away from Emma once they caught the smallest hint of malicious intent.
Odette, when she was upset with Emma, would call her Emma Swan. The name stayed with Emma ever since. It was how she introduced herself.
When the enchanted tree let her out, she ran. Far. The village was smoldering and people were trying to pick up what they could of the life that the Evil Queen trampled over. No one wanted to take her. Some said it was her fault; they were a neutral village that never had problems with the Evil Queen until that day Odette hid Emma. So, Emma stowed herself on a wandering carriage and found another place to live.
Emma prided herself on being a talented thief from years of self-training. She trusted no one, worked alone, and kept herself clear from stable homes. She travelled what she could of the realm and learned what she could of trading goods and fencing stolen items. Emma was perfectly fine until she ran into a strange man by the name of Neal.
Long story short, Emma, unfortunately, fell in love with the man, just before he abandoned her, alone and pregnant with his child.
Robin and his Merry Men found her when she could barely stand with her son in her belly and took her in as a fellow thief.
"Almost done, Emma," Mulan assured her. Emma couldn't feel her shoulder at this point. The buds were doing their job. "Robin, how's the load?"
Emma looked at Robin, just noticing that he had returned without Roland in tow. "Pretty good. One wagon the Evil Queen won't be receiving. We can rest for a few weeks. Two at the most. I think it's time to switch you ladies out." Emma nodded, a smile gracing her face that Robin returned. "Excited, Henry?"
"That my mom is staying for a while longer? Of course. No offense Mulan." Henry reached over can gave Mulan a hug.
"Fret not Henry, I understand that a mother's love is one of the purest of all." Mulan pat his head and applied the bandages to Emma's shoulder and the cuts on her arm and leg.
"Isn't it… Emma, Roland will be out of town, delivering messages to our allies across the realm. With the ogres joining forces with the Evil Queen we need them to be prepared as well."
Emma's lips parted slightly in confusion. "We have no proof that Regina is doing that."
"No, we don't. But I'd rather not get a flurry of urgent messages informing me about similar situations. I understand that you didn't stay long enough to see if the ogres were actually allying themselves, did you?"
Emma shook her head. "No, I didn't, I was more worried about getting everyone out. He blew a horn Robin, he probably just knew that we were in ogre territory and used that to their advantage and hid."
The bandit nodded his head and frowned in thought. "It's possible, but better safe than sorry."
After her wounds were properly dressed, Mulan and Robin left to discuss other matters, allowing Emma to lead her son to their room.
"Mom, are you ever going to train me?"
"I thought Little John was training you?"
"Oh, he is," Henry jumped into their large bed and started to strip his forest clothes off. "But I want you to train me. You're the best lock picker of them all! Everyone knows that!"
"That took years of training kid, not something I can just teach you over night." Emma removed her quiver, bow, daggers, and short swords. She normally travelled light for grab and run jobs, but this last one was with experienced men. She didn't want to take chances.
She removed her layered shirts and slipped a simple tunic over her, keeping her hair in the braid her son made for her. Emma sat on the bed and removed her boots, watching her son tuck himself in.
"I know, but you also have a way with a bow and swords."
"Robin's the best."
"I want you, mom."
Emma smiled and leaned over to kiss him goodnight. "Sleep, Henry. We'll visit the town tomorrow. Just you and me."
"Really? Alright mom, but, you'll teach me something right?" Emma laughed. They were both stubborn people, but Henry being only eleven was capable of making it less annoying.
"I'll think about it."
She reached over and blew out their candle stand. The light of the moon shined into their room, coloring everything with a silver-blue tint. Emma watched the clouds move and listened for her son's soft snoring like she did every night she was able to sleep next to him.
She closed her eyes and thought of Odette, thanking her for saving her life, and asking, how anyone could give up their child.
R&R please!