A/N: This is the first chapter of my attempt at a fan requested Captain Duckling fic with Princess Emma and Captain Killian. In this story, Regina still rules her corner of the EF, a constant threat to Snow, Charming and their children, Emma and Neal. On her twenty first birthday, though, Emma runs away from where she's been confined inside the castle walls for years. She is the prophesized savior, and she is determined to save her people from a never-ending war. To do this, she will need Killian Jones a lieutenant in a foreign navy, and the man she fell in love with five years before. But what happens when the boy she once knew is now the leader of a band of pirates? And can Emma find a way to save her people and find her own true love? The answer is heck yes, because this is one of my stories. I hope you guys enjoy!
Time never passed in the same way for the three sisters as it did for the rest of the world. For them, it was far more fluid, pulling each corner of their sacred trifecta into a different segment of its currents. They dealt with the past, the present and the future, and in the intersections of those states, they found their purpose – to keep the records of what had been, what was, and what would come to pass.
Mostly their curse was the watch the world unfold in ways they could never influence, but this strand of the world's story was different, for the fate of an entire people rode on the shoulders of a young woman, a woman they'd been watching some time. Her future was bright, her past nothing if not charmed, but the struggle to come was profound. Still, this girl with the golden hair and bright green eyes would overcome, that was written in the stars.
"She will undo a past of suffering for her people, and for her family. She is formed of that past, the product of true love that survived a storm of whirling chaos in the darkness." The first sister, guardian of the past said as they watched the swirling pool of image filled water before them.
"She will find her own love and with it, she will finally harness the power that's been trapped inside. Only with this can she make the future bright and hopeful once more." The sister of future confirmed, looking just the same. But several moments passed and soon the two sisters who had spoken turned to the third, distressed by her quiet. Preemptively the guardian of the present spoke.
"Almost there, just a few moments more… there. Now she is ready, she faces the journey ahead with courage and bravery. Now Emma Swan embraces her destiny."
"So it has been, so it is, and so it shall be." All sister's echoed the typical chant together, sealing the bit of power they could to this story's heroine, but the guardian of the present added one last thing.
"Follow your heart, Emma Swan, for it will always be your light in the darkness."
…
"No one should look so sad on their birthday, Emma." Emma didn't look at her mother directly, for she didn't want her seeing the depth of emotions Emma was grappling with. If her mother saw them, it would mean more talking and Emma didn't think she could stomach a pep talk today.
First there was the sadness that her mother had seen, sadness that she had been alive twenty-one years, was by all accounts an adult, and she had known relatively nothing of life beyond the small bubble of being a princess. To her parents, and to the people, she was a breakable, fragile flower, a symbol of hope for a better future. But she was never allowed to prove herself, to taste what life outside was really like.
That sadness blended to anger and resentment for the way that she'd been raised and the reason things were this way. The Evil Queen was relentless, never letting down the threat of devastation on Emma's family, and waging a decades long war that ravaged their kingdoms and their people. Everyone was terrified of the Queen's magic, but not Emma. She believed in a simple truth that her fairy tutor Tinkerbelle always said – when faced with true light, there was no way for darkness to win. Emma had been training since she was a little girl to be that light, to make her magic one strong enough to free this realm of the Queen's evil once and for all. Maybe then Emma could have her own life.
That thought brought to head the third emotion swirling around inside Emma – guilt. She felt guilty for wanting more in a land where so many were struggling. Sure, she was confined, she hadn't left the walls of the palace in five years thanks to her parents fear that something would happen, but she was safe, and loved and protected. She had food and shelter, and a palace to call home for heaven's sake, but she still wanted more. Even if she mostly wanted to try and save her kingdom, there was a part of it this need to leave that was personal and for that, Emma felt shame.
"I know you're not comfortable with the idea of a ball, Emma, but it's for the good of the kingdom. We've invited everyone, and it's a time for them to see you and to know what we're fighting for." Emma looked at her mother then, trying to see if she truly believed that.
"Doesn't it eat away at you? People dying every day, families torn apart just to try and protect us? It's not right! It's too much!"
"I would lay my life down to protect these people, Emma." This was one of those moments where having Snow White as a mother was infuriating. She was so calm, so certain in her beliefs, that it rattled at the tensions building up in Emma and prompted her to strike back with truth.
"But you won't let me do the same! I can help, Mother, I'm of more use to this kingdom outside these walls. I have no knack for diplomacy, I hate balls and affairs of that sort. I want to fight, like you did, and this time we could win." Her mother shook her head, resolute as she always was that Emma's entrance into the fray of fighting wasn't the answer.
"It's too risky, Emma." Emma knew she could continue to argue her point but it would all come to nothing. There was no use in trying to make her mother see reason. Now all that was left to do was to go about the plan she'd made many months ago. Tonight was the night that everything would change, and that too played a part in the sadness that had set in Emma's features. Tonight she said goodbye to her family and made good on a vow she'd sworn to herself. She was going to be the Savior that was prophesized, and she was going to do it now.
"I should see Tink about today's lessons. I'll see you later." Emma moved past her mother, down the long corridors of the palace's East Wing and out a side entrance into the gardens where she spent most of her time. The rose blooms that marked her path were beautiful, but they held little meaning for her today. All she could think was that she had to find Tink.
"Emma, over here." From the side of the garden near a grove of trees, Emma saw her friend waving towards her and she smiled. Try as she might, Tink never could seem to be discrete. Her voice was too loud, a tidbit too high, her motions drew attention, but Emma loved her all the same. Tinkerbelle might have been her teacher, but she was also Emma's best friend and one true confidant in these palace walls. She could trust Tink with anything, and she had trusted her with her plan to leave.
"You know there's no need to hide. I can put up a spell to guard what we're saying to the attendants on the lawn." Tink shook her head, looking a little preoccupied.
"There's been a change in plan, Emma. I cannot leave with you. Fauna has been called to see Blue. She leaves this afternoon. Without her, we have no one to create the diversion, so it has to be me." Emma looked at her friend curiously, for her words simply couldn't compute. The plan had always been for Emma and Tink to go together, to find the young Lieutenant of the navy that she'd known as a girl, and ask his help in undermining some of the hold Regina had over this whole realm. To go it alone was something Emma had never considered, it was the first thing that had her second-guessing herself in a long time.
"But so much of what we had to do, I needed you for." Tink took Emma's hand in hers and interrupted whatever other doubts may have come.
"Emma, you are more than ready for this. I haven't said it before, but there's something you should know. The world is not as fluid as we like to think, some things are simply meant to be. Just as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so will you defeat Regina. It's the only destiny there is, and it's yours. You will save this kingdom. You will save all the people of this Enchanted Forest." Emma nodded, believing that Tink would never steer her wrong.
"And what if Killian can't help me?" Only now did Tink smile.
"Killian is it? I thought he was just Lieutenant Jones." Emma blushed but she ignored the question about the man she'd met when she was just seventeen. Even if Tink knew Emma had always liked him, there was no time or room to harp on about it.
"Do I turn around with my tail between my legs if he says no? Everything depends on him, but what if he can't help? Or worse, what if he doesn't remember me?" That would be torture indeed, for in all her days she'd never met a man like him. He meant so much to her, even if they'd only known each other a few days time.
"Oh he'll remember you. A boy like that doesn't forget a princess as striking as you." Emma's heart pounded in her chest. Just the thought that she was going to see him again had her feeling like life had more hope than she'd long believed. What would he be like now? Was he as much changed as she was, or was he the same humble sailor with the lovely heart and the lopsided smile that she remembered?
"We have very little time left, Emma. Sneaking you out will be a test of everything we've practiced, but it will just be the beginning. Tink pulled out her fairy wand and drew a lazy circle around Emma's person while Emma just looked on, somewhat confused. "This spell will keep you untraceable from the likes of magic, even from Regina."
"What about you?" Tink sighed, a bit of regret hanging in the sound.
"It will shield you from all magical seers, Emma. Even me." That thought made her heart hurt. What would she do without Tink?
Keep going. I have to keep going, even if I'm scared. The thought cemented Emma's resolve to push forward. She could do this. She had to do this.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes. I am ready."
…
As she looked into the mirror in her room, the one she'd stared into at the start and end of each day, Emma barely recognized herself. In a green satin dress, with a crown in her done up hair, she looked every bit the princess, but she also looked untouchable. She was no longer Emma, but an object, a token for the people and her parents to look at and dream of better days. Only Emma was done dreaming. She was ready to fight for the life that she wanted, and the life that all of the people of this realm deserved.
Earlier that day, Emma packed a bag that Tink and she embellished over months with magic. It was covered in protections and able to fit far more than it looked capable of within its depths. Inside the bag were essential tools she'd need and enough money to get her through her journey. Now she just had two more things to put inside. There was the map with which she'd tracked Killian using a locator spell. With the help of the one thing she had of his, a silver chain with a Swan pendant he'd entrusted her to keep when they'd parted years ago, she'd found out where he was. The spell said he was in her kingdom's port, which was shocking. What were the odds, really? But it would make finding him far easier. The pendant meanwhile hung around her neck, returned to its constant resting place once more
The other item she would put inside the bag was a miniature portrait of her parents and her little brother that she made painted herself. In it they were happy, smiling, and just as she most loved to picture them. It would be nearly impossible to say goodbye to her parents tonight, to know that she may never return if things went south, but saying goodbye to Neal, her junior by ten years might be the hardest thing she had ever done. She loved her little brother more than anything, but this was just as much for him as it was for her. Neal had no memories of life before the walls went up, and she hoped that if she succeeded, he could one day see the world for all it could be.
"You look beautiful, Emma." Staring from her dress to the place behind her in the mirror, Emma saw her father's smiling face and felt a sudden sense of calm. He always seemed to find her when she was hurting the most, and he was nearly perfect at remedying any problems that came her way.
"Thank you." Emma turned from the mirror to look him straight on. She noticed the worry lines that had set in through the course of her life and the subtle streaks of gray that were starting to touch his temples. Her father had lived a life of fighting, even if he also lived one of love, and time took its toll perhaps faster than it might have in other circumstances. He was still very handsome, but he was also tired.
"I've been thinking of what to get you as a gift. I went through the ordinary ideas, a new horse, some more dresses, a new tiara…"
Emma hated all of those ideas, except maybe the horse, but her father's eyes told her he'd decided on something different. At that moment he took a sword from behind his back and handed it to her. The handle was plated in gold, with distinctive markings, just like those on his own sword, but now the sleeve was different, designed specially for her with what looked like swans adorning them.
"Then I remembered that my daughter is one of the best swordsmen in the kingdom, and I decided on this."
"It's amazing. And it's just like yours." Emma released the blade from its sleeve and marveled at the way it caught the firelight in her room. It was light enough to wield with ease, and felt exactly to the proportions she usually favored. It was easily the most magnificent sword she had ever seen.
"Your mother and I have worked very hard to keep you and your brother out of all of this, but a day will likely come when that hold on the outside world breaks. When it does, I want you to remember one thing – we all fight for something, and that something is hope." Emma nodded, having heard years of similar professions about the power of believing. Still, tonight, it brought tears to her eyes. She would hold her father's words close, and hopefully they would be enough.
"I'll remember." He smiled and extended his arm to her.
"Good, now let's go see about that ball."
…
"Are you certain you want to stay in port another night, Captain? We've stayed here long enough, the ship's restocked, the trades all bartered. Perhaps it's best for us to leave with the wind in good showing as it is now." Killian heard Smee's words, but barely gave them any merit, for though the man may know the sea as well as Killian did, he had not the understanding of his Captain's past, and why this port mattered more than all the others.
"I'm certain. We stay the night." Turning away from Smee was enough to dismiss him, and Killian looked out into the well-lit town and allowed himself to sink back into memories of the life he'd once had as he brought his flask of rum to his lips.
Five years ago he had been a completely different person, a member of a royal navy, sent here diplomatically while under the watchful authority of his brother. He'd been barely eighteen and it was one of his first voyages as a lieutenant. It would also be one of his last, for not even three months later he'd lost his brother in the pursuit of a weapon for their greedy king. But this one trip, this one segment of the realm, had given him three days, the three that had been the best of his whole life.
He'd never forget the first moment he saw her, Princess Emma. She was, in a word, transcendent, more beautiful than anything he'd ever seen. She was also unlike any lady he'd ever known, for she'd come barreling to the docks full speed on a white horse, wind in her hair, smile wide and dress dirty from the exertion of her day. The pang he'd felt at first seeing her, the way his whole body seemed to yearn for even a drop of the light that surrounded her had shocked him to his very core. Had his brother not stood by his side, he'd likely have made a fool of himself and forgotten all politeness. As it was, she'd seen him, and there, in front of a hundred men, she'd approached the ship, her father's guards close behind.
"This is a beautiful ship, where will it take you?" Her words were musical, the tone so lovely he'd have given anything to hear them once again, but before he or his brother could respond, a fairy who had flown there with the princess made herself human sized just to chastise the runaway royal.
"Your Highness, if your parents find out you're accosting naval men from another kingdom, without even the decency to curtsy or beg introduction, it will be my hide on the line." Emma had rolled her eyes but she smiled all the same, and that had Killian's heart stuttering damn near out of his chest.
"How silly of me, thinking I could just make some small talk. But propriety never rests it seems." Then she'd looked to his brother Liam and continued. "The question was posed to you by Princess Emma, of this kingdom, but it remains the same. Where are you all headed, Captain?"
Liam had blinked at her, as if unable to comprehend the question and so she'd turned to Killian and tilted her head slightly.
"Have I been too incredibly rude for a reply from him?"
"No, my lady. We're here for a trading mission at our king's request before setting out to do some scouting of the unmapped lands to the East."
"God that sounds fantastic! Doesn't it sound wonderful, Tink?" The fairy looked skeptical but nodded, clearly to appease the princess. "Better than balls and high tea for sure. Could your crew make room for one more?" Finally Liam found his ability to speak once more and he set her to right.
"I dare say your father would have our heads for that, Princess." Emma frowned and shook her head.
"My father would do no such thing. It's my mother you'd have to deal with." Killian had laughed at that, finding her joke rather funny, and the way she'd lit up caused the same flurry of excitement to course through him. "She wouldn't behead you though. Not her style."
"And what exactly is my style, Emma?" The Queen's appearance had caused quite a stir amongst the guards and the sailors alike but Emma only smiled.
"Forced attendance at royal balls." Her mother laughed heartily at that and had then gone on to inquire with Liam about the details of their mission. In the end, the benevolent Queen insisted that the crew take a longer rest within their port. She would be in touch with their King should there be any problems, and in the span of their three day stay, Killian had fallen hopelessly in love with Princess Emma, only to know that it could never work between them.
The pounding of horse hooves against the planks of the dock beside them brought Killian's attention back to the here and now, but what greeted him was something he couldn't believe. There on a white horse again was Emma, only where she had been a girl before, she was clearly and undeniably a woman. Her hair, though not done up as it should have been, was confined to a braid, with silky yellow strands that shone even in the dim of the moonlight. Her cheeks were flushed from her ride, her eyes wide with excitement, and her lips turned up in a half smile aimed at him. She was a vision, and that meant he must be far drunker than he'd believed. Killian dared not blink, in case the beautiful image before him should fade.
"What ye be doing here, lass?" One of his crew asked what Killian had believed was an apparition, and when she spoke he realized that she was in fact real.
"This ship used to fly different flags." Her voice held warmer tones than it had in youth, and spoke to the fact that Princess Emma was no longer a young thing, but a woman in every way.
"And why is that any business of yours?"
"Enough!" Killian said from his spot in the shadows and moved forward, watching the moment of recognition hit. Where he'd expected fear, there was surprise, and perhaps a bit of intrigue in Emma's eyes. The reaction filled him with a rush of something he hadn't felt in many years, both pleasant and terrifying.
"Killian. I mean, Lieutenant Jones."
"It's Captain now." Emma looked around the decks and then back to him.
"And your brother?" His heart clutched painfully at that but he shook his head.
"What are you doing here, Princess?" He watched a bit of regret cross her features that she quickly concealed, no doubt from the harsh way he'd ground out her title. Still, she lifted her head high and soldiered on.
"Perhaps I could speak with you without the audience." Killian raised a brow at that.
"Well that hardly seems proper for a lady of your standing." She dismounted the horse and whispered at the creature before it turned around and galloped off.
"Humor me for a moment and suppose that my status is not the issue. I need your help." The thought that she would need him struck him to his very core. Years ago when they'd met, he'd wanted her something fierce, and he clearly still did, but he'd never believed he could be of use to her as more than some entertaining sailor to fill her time for a few hours. Yet her tone was unmistakable, she was serious in whatever endeavor had brought her here. With a simple nod, she was on his ship and he was bringing her to his cabin, a place he'd envisioned her many a late night but never thought she'd actually see.
"So now you have your privacy. What can I do for you, princess?"
"You can risk your life for a greater good and in the process help me end a decade's long war that's ravaged this realm long enough." He barked out a bit of laughter, only to realize she was serious.
"Princess, I know you noticed the change in flags outside."
"You're a pirate now, I realize that, Captain." The way she said his title, not with revulsion but with something else clawed at him. "And someday, I'd like to hear the story of how that came to pass, but your lack of loyalty to one crown, might actually work in my favor."
I'm loyal to you, and you wear a crown. The thought rang through his head and he hated himself for how foolish it was. She was trying to end a war, not express some sentimental bond to him.
"I take no sides in such matters. My intention is to survive and to keep my men alive as well." Killian turned away, to look out the small window in the cabin to see the sea. The night was calm, and it felt like the cruelest irony. Here he was battling a storm inside, while the world was quiet.
"I'm sorry for your loss." He whipped back around to look at her and saw tears in her eyes that would not shed. "Your brother was a good man, and I liked him very much."
"I never said-"
"You didn't have to. Only a loss as big as a beloved brother could make the boy I knew five years ago change into this. But I'm not going to use your love for him or our past against you. That wouldn't be right."
"How benevolent of you princess." The words cut through the space between them, making him sound like a hateful cad and he regretted them. "My apologies, you did not deserve that."
"Maybe not, but you deserve to feel the way you do." There it was again, the tell tale sign that her heart was pure and kind and giving, while his had nearly stopped existing over the past few years. But it hadn't, not fully, for here it was, crying out to help her, to protect her on what was a quest almost destined to fail.
It's what Liam would want. The small voice in his head was right of course. His brother would have given his life to help people, but Killian wasn't half the man his brother was. With Emma's green eyes looking at him with hope though, he wondered if maybe, given time and the grace of a certain princess, he could be.
"How would you propose we bring down an Evil Queen's dynasty?" Her eyes lit up at that, but he watched her school her features again quickly.
"By going to Arendelle. Queen Elsa rules there and in their archives, I believe there is the one thing that can break down a heart of darkness like Regina's." Killian recognized the name and knew that at least in the past, Emma and the then princess had been good friends. The sail to Arendelle was a good two-week's journey, but it was nothing his men couldn't handle, roadblocks from the Evil Queen's men and all.
"You haven't told your parents you're going. Why?"
"Because I'm the only one who can wield this weapon against the Queen, and they won't risk losing me. Even if it means that thousands more will die." Killian could understand the instinct to keep Emma out of harms way, even if he hated it. He was in no position to be worrying about her safety.
"You're a princess, your life is worth a great deal." To him it would be worth just as much if she were a pauper.
"Being born a royal doesn't make me somehow better or more important than the men, women and children who've died. I live every day staring out into a Kingdom that struggles. People go without enough food and supplies to fund a war that will not end. They do it in the name of hope, but there will be none, not until I join the fray. And with each day, more men at the front lines die!" Her emotion had gotten the better of her, and she knew it. Her cheeks staining red, but she continued.
"They're far enough away that my parents hope I don't realize, but I know. I see it in my dreams every night. I've been fighting this war with them since I was a little girl, but every morning I wake and I go about my day as if nothing's wrong. I can't stand idly by anymore, even if it hurts them. I love my family and this kingdom enough to forsake my own safety."
"You never told me. About the dreams, I mean."
"Kind of hard to drop casually into a conversation." Killian crossed his arms over his chest unconsciously and she must have read him like a book for what she supplemented with. "I didn't want to burden you with it. Even if I trusted you, what good would it have done? You were kind of a worrier, and you'd have left thinking of me instead of staying alive."
"Still am apparently. At least enough to see you safe to Arendelle." The smile that lit up her features knocked him back again with a forceful blow to his chest. She was simply radiant.
"You will?" Yes, strange and foolhardy as it was, he would. Seemed the return of this ghost from his past had done away with all his reason.
"I might not be the obedient sailor you knew before, but even a pirate has honor, Princess. I've given you my word and I will honor it." She nodded but bit her lip, a gesture he knew to mean there was something more she had to say. "Out with it, Princess."
"Any chance we could leave tonight? My parents have no doubt realized I'm gone by now…"
"Bloody hell." Killian ran a hand through his hair and moved past her on the way to the upper decks, only to turn around once more. "Oh, and princess?"
"Yes?"
"Happy birthday." She gaped at him clearly amazed that he remembered, when of course he had. It's why he'd been in this blasted port at all. He made his way here once a year, on this day to honor her, even if he thought she'd never know. Even if he knew it would come to nothing.
"Mr. Smee!" he said, once above board again.
"Yes, Captain?"
"Change of plan, we're leaving tonight. Now actually." Mr. Smee's eyes grew wide with curiosity, but the man knew better than to pry.
"Where too, sir?"
"Oldstown. Some of the crew will no doubt dislike this change in plan, and if that be the case they can take their leave. The rest of us are on to Arendelle."
"Every man on this boat will follow you Captain, no matter what our orders." Smee was probably right. His crew was nothing if not loyal, and they trusted him, a trust he had fought long and hard to earn. With a dismissing nod, Killian took his leave of Mr. Smee, who called out orders to have the men and soon the ship was moving. For better or worse, Killian was in this, and he made a silent vow to himself to see Emma safe, as long as she needed him.
…
The next morning, Emma looked out into the great blue beyond as she stood at the edge of the decks. She'd risen just before dawn in the quarters she'd been given, fresh and ready for a new day and made her way to the upper decks. She didn't worry for her safety, her magic and her own training would always be enough to keep her safe, but she also felt that Killian's men could be trusted. If he allowed them on his ship, they too must ascribe to his sense of honor.
This morning already, she'd met Killian's first mate, a funny little man, if a bit nervous. It took a little prodding for him to say more than 'yes princess' or 'no princess,' but they'd gotten there. He'd apologized for their lack of breakfast offerings, but they were missing any sort of cook on this voyage since illness had seized their usual man in the last port. Emma in turn had convinced him to let her help with the meal, and while he'd first denied her he eventually yielded.
She met their deck hand, Pip, assigned to the food in the meantime, who was still really a boy. He'd been terrified to see her at first, and clearly alarmed at the fact that she wasn't regally dressed, but had turned grateful as she showed him all the little tricks she knew to making an easy but tasty meal with the means they had.
"Beg your pardon Princess, but how do you know how to cook?" Emma laughed at his question.
"I've always felt very strongly that those who delight in eating should understand how their food is made, titled or not. Besides, as far as rebellion goes, this was a pretty safe one in my parent's eyes. At least I wasn't…" Emma trailed off, realizing that they might see this as an ultimate rebellion.
"Running off with a hoard of pirates?" Emma looked at Pip and gave a small smile, before setting him up with the rest of what he'd need and returning above. Now she was here, coming to terms with the choice she'd made. There was no turning back now, even if she knew her parents would be sick with worry.
"Hardly the ensemble I expected of a princess." Killian's voice, thick with tension and appreciation, pulled Emma away from the remorseful thoughts, and when their eyes met she felt the full force of her attraction to him.
Killian was gorgeous, truly the most handsome man Emma had ever met, even if he'd forsaken the clean crisp colors of his navy for the black of a pirate's life. In the light of day, she saw that his hair was shorter than it had been, and that he himself was bulked up from the lankiness of youth. In his eyes, she saw a heated sincerity so striking it stole her breath away, but she wanted nothing more than to let herself succumb. Still she had to be strong, and keep her mission paramount. To break away from the pull he had over her, she looked down at her own outfit, smiling.
"Seemed more reasonable for what's to come. I could hardly help with a petticoat and a fine silk dress on." He was surprised at her answer and crossed his arms over his chest.
"I can't have a princess working on my ship, love." The way he said the word, even if it was offhanded, caused her pulse to quicken. She'd imagined him saying that word to her so many times, she couldn't deny its power coming from his lips. Love was a dangerous word to hear from Killian Jones.
"Sorry to disappoint you, Captain, but you already have. Did you not like your breakfast?"
"Bloody hell, I should have known there was no way Pip got that good overnight!" The way he seemed actually angry made Emma laugh but she held her ground, putting a hand on her hip.
"I'll take that as a compliment. Trust me, you don't just want me as a passenger." His eyes flashed with that heat again and she nearly stepped closer, but she held back. "I'm smarter than I look and a fast learner." At that he moved forward where she'd been afraid to before. Moving a bit of her hair out of her eyes, he spoke lower to her.
"There's nothing about your looks that says you lack intelligence, Princess." She'd expected seduction, but what she'd gotten was more than that. There, in those tones was the boy she'd known before, sweet and kind.
"So you'll let me help?"
"I hardly think I have a choice. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're still the same lass you once were, headstrong and determined, yes?" She nodded. "Then there'll be no stopping you."
"There's no need to look so defeated, Killian. A month with me at your service won't be that much of a hardship." Too late she realized that she'd said his first name out loud again instead of calling him Captain. Now the tension between them grew twice as strong, with his eyes set on hers searching her for something she couldn't fully understand.
"It'll be a change, love, and not an easy one. I'm not the lad you once knew anymore." She saw the pain he tried to hide under hard words, but she didn't draw attention. She didn't want him to feel to exposed, knowing herself how mortifying that could be.
"Maybe you're right, but I think under all the leather and the swagger he might still be there." That gave Killian an out that he took readily as he grinned at her.
"Noticed those changes too, did you love? Perhaps you also noticed my roguish charm and dashing good looks." His voice made her hot, but she decided a retort was safer, and just so much more fun.
"Well I've certainly noticed that your ego is truly worth of a fearsome Captain." He laughed at that before stepping away, presumably to check on things elsewhere but instructed Mr. Smee to keep his eye on her and find some sort of occupation for her in the meantime. With a final look at her, he took his leave, and Emma felt a piece of her heart go with him.
Post-Note: Alright, so I have been working on this story for a while now and it is HARD. Most of my AUs I can handle, especially since they're modern, but this was interesting. I seriously applaud all of the other writers in this fandom who can do this and make it look so easy, because it is not. That being said, I have about ten chapters outlined for this story in total, and it will take us on a journey that leads to a guaranteed happily ever after, an M rating and lots of CS fluff. Hope you guys enjoyed, and as always, thanks for reading!