In a world in which magic is prohibited, the few chosen ones to have it in their blood needed to hide from the law. And hiding is exactly what Emma did until a quite charming prince found her and brought her to his wife's castle. For years everything had been fine and Emma had found a place akin to home. Until one day, with the deadly betrayal of a maid, everything changed and Emma's only hope to escape the danger was a pirate with a hook for a hand.
Disclaimer: I (sadly) do not own Once Upon A Time.
Emma's nightmares stopped the night she saw him. Standing above her slumped form menacingly; his silvery hook glimmering in the pale moonlight, he glared at her attacker with a snarl on his lips. She immediately knew who he was - the vigorous Captain Hook who was well-known in the whole kingdom for his selfishness and unreliable behavior.
She knew he was trouble.
And by the looks of it, King George's guards recognized him too.
Gaping at him open-mouthed; with wide fear-filled eyes, the two man backed away instantly. Hook then started advancing towards her, ignoring the guard's whimpers as he passed them, and helped Emma to her feet. His hand felt warm and calloused in hers and she felt a blush creep onto her pale face when he smirked at her.
He was gorgeous, no doubt. But dangerous all the same.
She knew he was trouble.
But that didn't stop her from taking his offered hand and letting him take her away. She had nowhere else to go after all. And she needed to find help. Fast.
He talked a lot. Emma figured that he liked hearing his own voice. Not that she did not like his voice, no. It was quite the opposite, actually. His voice was dark, rough with an unfamiliar accent that she thought of as oddly appealing. And though he was making quite shallow conversation, she was grateful. At least he was talking, unknowingly distracting her from her worried thoughts concerning the people she had come to see as family over the years. People that were in danger now, because of her.
But, considering his odd sideways-glances, he was probably not as unknowing to her situation as she might think.
After a while, he started asking questions. Which was annoying the shit out of her. She did not answer any of them though, not saying anything at all, because she thought it was safer than actually replying. So she let him ramble about anything, listening to his rumbling voice while they continued their paths through the dark forest with only the stars to guide them.
Then suddenly he stepped in front of her, blocking her from going any farther. His coal-rimmed blue eyes were meeting her green orbs. She merely raised an eyebrow at him, which brought another smirk to his lips. Damned bastard.
"Listen, love. I know that you must be terrified. But trusting me will be good for you, considering that I am the one rescuing a lovely damsel in distress."
"I'm no damsel."
His eyes lit up and his smile widened. "There, there. And I was beginning to think you were mute."
Emma wanted to bang her hand against a tree, realizing that she stepped into his trap.
"Get out of my way, Hook."
He actually fucking pouted at that. Emma unsuccessfully tried taking her eyes of his full lower lip and groaned as his pleased chuckle rang in her ears.
"Is that a way to talk to your rescuer, love?"
"Leave me alone."
"I don't think I can do that."
"Why not?"
He shot her a smile. "You'll see soon enough."
She knew he was trouble.
But she still went with him, letting him take her to a small tavern. And laying in his bed, with him being sprawled out on top of a threadbare bedroll in front of it, she breathed in the salty scent of sea and leather that clung to the sheets. And she felt safe.
Oddly enough, she did not wake up screaming this night.
Ten hours earlier
The colorful glass of the window shattered into million pieces, falling like raindrops onto the three persons sitting in the room.
"Emma!" Snow exclaimed, turning to check on her prince who sat closest to the now destroyed window. James just wiped a few pieces of glass of his lap, reassuring his wife that he was unharmed.
None of them noticed the maid creeping out of the room quietly.
"Sorry." Emma said sheepishly, head bowed down in shame.
Snow's gazed softened immediately, already regretting her behavior. "It's alright, Emma. We know that you don't do that on purpose." She smiled at the blonde woman, hoping to make amends with her. Emma looked up, and the smile that followed was visibly forced.
"We are going to get a grip on it." Charming affirmed.
Emma still smiled, her cheeks hurting with the effort. She was still ashamed of nearly hurting the people who took care of her when no one else ever would. All of them knew that they needed Emma to control herself. The danger was ever-present in this kingdom, where witches were being hunted and executed in public.
Snow and Charming exchanged a short, meaningful look that was not unnoticed by Emma, who was already packing her things in her mind. Snow nodded and her prince, who promptly got to his feet, carefully avoiding the shards and excused himself.
As he left the room, Emma's heart started beating rapidly in her chest. Would they throw her out now? They had every right to do so. This wasn't the first time of Emma inadvertently blowing something up and nearly hurting someone.
"Emma, something needs to change."
"I know. Right, I will just-", she cut herself off, getting up and walking towards her wooden cupboard in which she had stuffed her things into, many years ago.
Snow got up herself. "What are you doing?"
Emma turned around, watching her friend with confusion clouding her mind. "Packing."
Snow scoffed. "You think I am asking you to leave?" She sighed, recognizing the lost look in Emma's eyes and walking over to her. Putting her hands on the other woman's shoulders, she shook her gently.
"I'm not giving up on you, Emma. All I wanted to say was that we need to find some help. And luckily I know exactly where to find it."
This time, it was a real, honest smile gracing Emma's lips.
The prince went to collect someone who could install another windowpane, still thinking about their little problem with Emma. When he had found her three years ago, she had been living in the woods by her own for years. And as she had told him her sad history, he could not leave her where she was.
One could have thought that taking her with him had been a mistake. She did not belong here, anyone could see that. But James could see that she was trying. And furthermore, he had faith that she would adapt, just like he had when Rumpelstiltskin brought him to King George.
Speaking of which, James knew that they possibly were in danger again, since his men had told him a few days ago that the king was not far away from their castle. This couldn't mean anything good. And he wasn't prepared for another round of fighting with the older man. Especially now, since they had another problem to attend to: Emma's inability to control her powers.
With a weakness like this, he knew that they did not stand a chance against King George. Which was why they needed to look for help.
Suddenly, there were loud footsteps coming towards him, an eerie voice that was oddly familiar whispered his name. He walked towards the noise, his hand grasping his sword tightly. But soon he noticed that there was no one in sight.
"Hello?" he called out, turning around as he heard the footsteps again coming from another direction.
A cold breeze hit him in the face and seconds later, the prince was knocked-down. The last thing he heard was a high-pitched chuckle coming out of nowhere.
In the meantime, unfamiliar knights were sneaking towards the highest tower, in which Emma's chambers were situated. They caught the two women off-guard, and Emma and Snow were barely able to fight them off.
"Emma, you need to leave!"
"No way, I'm not leaving you here."
An arrow hit one of the strange man right in the chest. Snow watched as he slumped to the floor in front of her. Then, with a loud groan, he pulled the arrow out of his own body and stood back up with a chuckle.
"What the-?"
"Emma, go." Snow said, hurriedly shoving Emma towards the door and watching her run.
And Emma ran as fast as her legs could catch her, towards the woods. The forest had always provided safety for her. After a few minutes, she slowed down, trying to catch her breath.
The blow to her belly was unexpected as she fell to the ground in front the armed man that seemed to come out of nowhere. There was another man standing behind him and she recognized the embroidered vests immediately. King George's men. Just as he was raising his hand, as if to backhand her, a deep voice rang in her ears.
"Now, now. That's no way to treat a lady, mate."