Of Pirate Ships and Evening Stars
Characters: Captain Killian 'Hook' Jones, Emma Swan
Pairing: Captain Swan
Rating: K+
Chapter: 1/1 - One Shot
Summary: Left alone in the Captain's Quarters after a trip to Neverland, Emma finds a mysterious Red Book.
Emma sat at the desk in the captain's quarters of the Jolly Roger as it drifted out to sea. Hook had been insistent they had to be far enough away from Neverland before they cast the bean into the water as to not accidentally bring anyone unwelcome back with them. Henry was distracted on the top deck with his Grandparent's watching Neverland fade in the horizon; so here she sat stuck inside her thoughts. She never thought Hook would actually be as helpful as he had been on this journey. She expected him to betray her at least once after everything but he never did. Somehow he managed to convince her to trust him just a little bit.
The nights in the forests and jungles of Neverland were interesting as well. This time it was David she found herself getting closer to. He was the one with the unyielding faith this time that they would find Henry and get home safe as a family. He brought her back many nights from despair with stories and hugs. And when she woke from nightmares and could bear to wake him up, surprisingly it was Hook who would sit next to her until she fell back asleep like a body guard against the demons who plagued her sleep.
Emma let out a sigh and walked around the room, fingering the spines of the books on the numerous shelves. For someone with a history of book shelves falling on him, he sure did own a lot of them. She found a cover, it was worn and a deep red leather. Age had been kind, the leather was soft and supple, the color only slightly faded as she pulled it from its home. She fingered the lettering on the bottom. A simple silver star and double B was on the cover. She walked back to the desk and placed the book down. With quick fingers she untied and opened the cover to reveal a delicate script.
"thére änd bäck again…
ä hobbit's täle, By
Bilbò Bäggins
thè Lôrd ôf thè Rings
By
Frôdô Bäggins"
Emma's fingers delicately traced the script and touched the weathered pages. This book had been hand written. That was impossible. She remembered these books and the movies. 'They were just stories weren't they?' she thought to herself. She handled the book with care as she turned over the pages and found a drawing. It was a carefully drawn portrait of what looked to be a young man. There were a few more placed below it and she pulled them out. She was so absorbed in looking at the drawings she didn't hear anyone join her in the room.
"That is of Aragorn Elessar and Arwen Undómiel on their wedding day." Hook's soft voice carried over to her causing her to drop the pile of drawings out of her hands.
"You scared the crap out of me Hook," Emma grumbled back at him as she tried to put the drawings back in order.
"My apologies, princess, I did not mean to startle you. I do however find it curious that out of all the books in my cabin you chose that one." He told her as he walked over to the book shelves, removing two similar leather bound books. One was a dark forest green, with a golden horse's head outline and the other a dark blue with a mysterious looking silver symbol on the top. He placed them carefully on the desk next to the red book.
"Why does it surprise you I like to read?" Emma asked with a raised eyebrow, trying to figure out what the others were.
"No just that you would pick a book from my past to look through." Hook answered her with a smirk."Well that one isn't my past, but my family is in those books. My grandfather gave these to me, along with a few others that I locked away because they are even frailer than these. They tell the history of our lands." He finished as he traced one of the drawings carefully.
"Your lands? How can they be about your lands? A guy wrote them here years ago, they are just stories." Emma insisted.
"Ah, but lass, you of all people should know by now that not everything is just a story." Hook admonished her. Emma looked at him carefully and nodded to concede his point.
"So if these are the stories of your lands, that would make you what? An elf?" She asked curiosity winning out her better judgment. Hook chuckled softly.
"Not quite lass, my mother was of the mortal race of men and my father was half elven." He smiled softly at the memory. "I was their second child; my elder brother was set to take over as king when our father died as he was set to take over for my grandfather. Unfortunately I was lost, and ended up somehow finding my way to Neverland. When I left, desperate to find my way back to my family, I landed in the Enchanted Forest." Hook sighed as he turned and leaned against the desk, his arms crossed. "I looked for a way back, but I could never find one. The realms seemed to not be connected, at least not in any of the ways I could find. I found myself on a pirate ship, and started to work my way up. I eventually became captain, one of the youngest anyone could remember. The rest I'm sure you have heard many versions of by now of how I went from Killian to Hook." He told her with a soft smile.
"If you were lost how did you have the books still?" Emma asked him; looking up at him trying to dig through her brain for any memory she had of who was half elven in the books.
"They were a gift from my Grandfather on my thirteenth birthday. He told me that even though I may not be destined to be a king, I should still know our history and treasure it. Those books have stayed with me all my life; they are things I will never part with. Even if I have had to become something I know my grandfather would not be proud of." Hook told her, a frown marring his features.
"We all do things our parent's wouldn't be proud of, but they always still love us because that's what families do. I'm learning that now with mine. I'm sure they would still love you even now, as Hook." Emma told him, briefly wondering where the hell that came from. She knew they had grown closer in Neverland but why was she comforting him.
"Maybe lass, I'll never get the chance to find out though. Our line may have been graced with longer life spans but no one in our family lived for over 300 years. Though that's going with the idea that time there moves parallel with the Enchanted Forest and Neverland." Hook told her as he pushed off the desk and walked over to a cabinet on the opposite side of the room. Emma watched as he moved, his walk was stiffer than usual. His shoulders were held straight but she could see the tension that was held beneath them. She partially hated that she had figured that much about him, but then again maybe it wasn't so bad. She noticed in his telling he never mentioned who he was there, or who his family was. It had been ages since she read the books, a high school assignment she did only because it got her out of her foster house; she couldn't quite figure out who he would have been. So with how she always approached those situations she was blunt.
"Who were you there?" Emma asked her voice soft but steady as she steeled herself for whatever backlash it would encounter. She knew that talking about pasts and families could bring out the worst in people. Hook turned and looked over at her, his hand closed around something small. He let out a sigh as he walked back towards her.
"I should have known you would be your normal curious self." He told her with a self deprecating chuckle. "My name was Ciryon, it meant ship, which I suppose is rather fitting. I was named after an ancestor of my father's family who died in a battle. When I found myself becoming a pirate, I did not feel that I should use my family name. I had heard tale of another pirate with the name of Jones, and met a man named Killian once in a tavern, so I took the name up for myself." He told her as he reached the desk again and leaned against it, his fingers carefully pulling the drawing of Aragorn and Arwen back to the top.
"My father's name was Eldarion, their son." He told her as he tapped the drawing carefully setting the pendant he had held in his hand on top. It matched the drawing and the dark blue book. Emma carefully reached out and traced the pendant with her fingers.
"It's beautiful." Emma whispered.
"Aye, lass. I wish I could show you my home, it was beautiful." Hook told her with sad eyes. Emma smiled up to him as she pulled her gaze away from the pendant.
"Maybe one day you can tell me all about it, the real stories." She told him as she watched him carefully.
"I would like that, lass." Hook told her as he reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Emma ducked her head and went back to tracing the drawings she had found.
"Was there really a dragon?" Emma asked him quietly. She heard his deep chuckle as he turned and flipped the pages in the red book to the point in the tale about the dragon Smaug.
"Yes, he was a fire drake who took over the dwarves' home. It was filled with gold and gems, more than any you have ever seen in one place before. The dragons coveted gold and he made a bet out of it. He would sleep completely covered in it, waiting for someone crazy enough to try and reclaim the home." Hook told her as he showed her the sketches of Erebor that had been placed inside the book. "Though that story was before my time, but it was one of my favorites to hear about." He smiled then and Emma noticed it was a true smile. She couldn't help but return the smile to him.
"Would you of went to try and retrieve all that gold if it was still there? Dragon and all?" Emma asked him.
"It would have been a fool's errand. It was dwarf gold and while beautiful, I have to admit that for the longest time the races of dwarves, elves and men seldom got along long enough to want to help the other." Hook told her. Emma smirked up at him.
"Oh don't tell me, big bad Captain Hook is afraid of an itty bitty dragon." She told him with a chuckle. The look he shot back at her sent her into another wave of laughter.
"Oi, you take that back. I am not afraid of anything." Hook told her, waggling his finger in his face. Emma raised a challenging eyebrow at him.
"You are afraid of my mother." She snarked back at him.
"Have you met your mother?" Hook asked her raising an eyebrow back.
"Okay you may have a point there." Emma said with a chuckle. After a few moments Emma reached forward and picked up the pendant, looking it over. "You know, these stories in my world are very popular, they've even made them into movies."
"Ah that thing Henry was telling me about, the moving picture thing. He insisted he show me what your world thought of Captain Hook at some point." Hook told her as he walked away again, digging in a small chest on his dresser.
"Yeah, I demand to be present for that, I want to watch your reaction." Emma told him with a laugh, which didn't sit well with the Captain. "Maybe after you get over that experience, I can show you these movies. They aren't completely true to the books, and probably even less true to what you heard as a kid, but they are beautiful. I think you would like them." She told him turning to find him walking back to her with something in his hand. He took the pendant from her fingers.
"Am I allowed to then tell you how they got it wrong?" Hook asked as he slipped the pendant onto a silver chain he had retrieved.
"After the movies are finished, arguing during the movies would ruin the whole effect." She told him as she watched him curiously.
"That seems fair princess," He told her as he held out the pendant for her. "You should wear it, and one day you will understand why I am giving it to you." He smiled at her as she took it and placed it around her neck, her fingers tracing the outlines of the pendant. "Beautiful." He whispered as he looked down at her.
An: I hope you liked it :D