Chapter 2

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His eyes were glued to the fragile woman lying in front of him, a beauty amongst darkness and dirt, a golden vision onboard of a pirate's ship. His mind was running miles in milliseconds and was completely blank at the very same moment.

"You have no right to keep her all to yourself!" he heard one of the pirates shout at Smith.

"You bloody idiot!" another shouted. "You've abducted the princess! The Captain told us not to make prisoner, right Captain?"

This startled Hook from his moment of paralysation, and the previous confusion turned to anger.

"SILENCE!" he ordered with a strong voice, and the crew's excited and angry mutter stopped immediately.

He ran his good hand through his two-day-old beard, his eyes never leaving the beauty on the floor.

"Mr. Juba" he addressed a tall, Afro-American member of his crew without looking at the man. "Would you please bring our guest to my quarters?"

When nobody made the appearance to move, Hook finally was able to tear his eyes away from the beauty on the floor, shifting his gaze to stare darkly at the aforenamed crew member.

"NOW!" he shouted impatiently, the fury vibrating heavy in his voice.

Juba's eyes flickered briefly towards Smith, but eventually gave the Captain an obeying nod and moved towards the young woman on the floor, ready to follow the Captain's order.

But before the tall Afro-American was able to reach her, Smith drew his sword and moved his body possessively in front of his treasure.

"No you won't!" he growled, flashing his eyes darkly at the other man. "She's mine!"

Juba stopped in motion, staring with wide eyes at the threatening pirate. No crew member in his right senses would dare to cross blades willingly with Smith – except for Hawk maybe, but the pirate didn't fight unless it was absolutely necessary.

But the image of Smith obviously opposing to the Captain's order brought another to the arena: Hook himself. In one swift movement, he drew his blade as well and stood right in front of his crewman.

"I beg to differ, Smith." he growled through clenched teeth, his blue eyes slightly narrowed as his dark gaze was firmly fixed on the other man's face. "You really need learn to listen, Mr. Smith. One might get the impression you are just about to refuse to obey my orders."

The crewman's chest was heaving rapidly from the internal struggle between fury and obedience.

"You told us to take the castle's treasures." Smith retorted with a low voice, but Hook noticed with a certain satisfaction, that the other pirate's strong hand was trembling a little.

Smith knew as well as the others did that he was not able to measure up to the Captain. Hook was nearly perfect at leading the blade, his style of fighting an experienced and learned art of sword-fight, and his deadly hook an additional weapon to look out for. The Captain was maybe not as tall or strong as some of his crew members, but he was quick and skilled, witty and certainly deadly to the same extent. Nobody had ever dared to question his authority on ship – not now, not ever.

An evil look appeared on Hook's face as he continued to face down his opponent.

"I wasn't talking about human-beings, Mr. Smith!" he growled in a dangerously low voice and moved a little bit closer. The tall pirate swallowed hard, Hook practically sensing the internal struggle between the desire to defend his loot, and not wanting to fight the Captain.

"Now would you mind letting your sword down?" Hook suggested with a small smirk on his face, the pride that his mere threats were able to control his crew lifting his spirits immensely.

Smith hesitated for a moment, but lowered his sword after some moments of tensed silence, signaling that he more or less accepted his defeat.

A triumphant smile curved into Hook's features as he watched his crewman's reluctant reaction.

"Wise choice, Mr. Smith." he praised tauntingly, and noticed how the other man narrowed his eyes in response. He was without a doubt still fuming inside, but Hook didn't care. Some of his crewmembers were just like children: stubborn and rebellious – especially when someone dared to take their most favorite plaything from them. But Hook knew how to handle that, knew how to stop thoughts of mutiny early enough and how to treat those who dared to disobey the Captain's order.

His attention moved back to the beauty who was still lying on the cold floor. Without another thought at the surrounding pirates, he knelt down beside her and moved some of her brown curls from her face. She was still unconscious, but her breath came soft and steady. With one of his ringed fingers, he softly caressed the soft skin of her face, noticing how cold she actually was.

With one swift movement, he took her up bridal style. The petite brunette in his arms was cold as ice, and a small wave of concern washed through the pirate's veins.

"You just want her for yourself!" he heard Smith accuse sulkily, and Hook had to muster all of his self-discipline not to slice the disobedient fool's throat at once.

Instead, he turned with the beauty in his arms and glared at the tall pirate in front of him.

"She's not much of worth if she freezes to death, Mr. Smith!" he snarled, his glistering eyes locked with Smith's. "And I won't let her die on deck of my ship only because of your inability to think one bloody step further!"

"Oh I could think of one way or another to keep her warm." the tall one retorted boldly with a hint of mischief mingling in the darkness of his eyes.

There was a long beat of silence stretching over the ship's deck, the rest of the crew watching the exchange with bated breath.

Hook's lips finally formed into a cheerless, small smile and he shook his head slightly.

"Mr. Smith…" he replied in a restrained voice that was covering the growing fury that was starting to cloud his mind. He slowly took some steps towards the other pirate, his grip tightening possessively and at the same time protectively around the young woman's small form.

"Let me make something absolutely clear now." he continued calmly. "If you ever dare to lay so much as a finger on our guest, be assured that I will use your guts to wipe your blood from the soaked planks of my ship."

The tall pirate took in a sharp stream of breath, his entire body shaking from tension.

"Do you understand?" the Captain growled, careful to color each word with a dangerous tone in his dark voice.

Smith glared at his captain for some more moments of tensed silence, his broad, haired chest heaving rapidly and his nostrils flaring from suppressed anger.

"Aye" he finally pressed out through clenched teeth, but his gleaming eyes gave away what he was really thinking about the order.

Hook made a contemptuous tsk-sound and shook his head.

"Didn't you forget something, Mr. Smith?" he chided.

If even possible, the darkness and hatred on Smith's face increased even more.

"Aye, Captain." he finally spat and earned an approving nod from Hook.

"And the same applies to all of you!" he ordered and turned his attention back to the rest of the crew. "Until I've decided how to make the best of the situation for all of us, no one is allowed to come near her, let alone speak to her!"

Consenting muttering reached his ear and he nodded with a content grin on his face. He had no idea how to solve this particular problem right now, a princess onboard of a pirate's ship was definitely not an easy thing to handle. But the only thing that mattered at the moment was that he had his crew under control and that they wouldn't come near the beauty in his arms. At least for now.

The captain sent some meaningful, dark looks at some of his crewmembers, before he turned on his heels and made his way to the Captain's Quarters, the unconscious beauty in his arms firmly pressed against his warm chest.

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A sharp, throbbing pain in her head was the first thing Belle noticed when she slowly began to become conscious again. She was apparently lying on something warm and soft, and the smell of sea air and leather was hanging in the air. She tried to move, tried to think of the last thing she was able to remember, but the pain in her head made it almost impossible.

The images before her mind's eye were blurry and hazy. She remembered the ball her father had organized to celebrate her return, she remembered the dancing, the laughing. She remembered Gaston who had threatened her and who had been much closer than she had wanted him to be. She remembered her dark-haired rescuer who had danced and then had kissed her.

And then, her memories went blank, Belle unable to tell what had happened next.

She fought the throbbing pain that was clouding her mind and began to slowly open her eyes. She was lying in a comfortable large bed in the middle of a spacious room she didn't recognize. Fear was starting to warp her heart when her mind noticed that she was not in her chambers in her father's castle, and not even in one of the rooms that belonged to the Dark Castle. She closed her eyes again, the pain almost overwhelming her senses once more.

Belle hurriedly tried to sit up on the bed. But the attempt was soon prevented by a strong arm on her shoulder that made her softly but determinedly lie back.

"Easy, love." a voice next to the bed announced with a soft chuckle. "That's quite a bump you have there. Better not to move too quickly."

The stranger's voice and touch had quite an effect on her, the fear in her mind and heart increasing even more. She forced herself to fight the pain in her head and to open her eyes again. She moved her head to look at the direction where the voice had come from, only to stare into a pair of startling blue eyes that were strangely familiar.

"A pleasure to see you again, beautiful." the dark-haired man said in a smooth voice. He was crouched down beside her, offering her a toothy grin.

"You!" Belle gasped, and suddenly the pain in her head was completely forgotten.

In a split of a second, she scooted back to the opposite bedpost. She pressed her body firmly against the wooden wall, intending to make as much space as possible between her and the familiar stranger and dragging the sheet along. Images of the previous night started to form before her mind's eye. Not only images of the stranger who had danced and kissed her, but also his request for her to leave the castle as soon as possible was ringing loudly in her head. She remembered the pirate attack, her desperate search for the dagger in her cupboard, and the sudden presence of two pirates in her chambers. A slight shudder ran down her spine when the taller one's lecherous, dark look appeared before her mind's eye – a look that held no secret about what he had wanted to do to her.

Her eyes fell on the golden gown that had been neatly placed over a chair nearby, and a shocked gasped escaped her lips as she noticed that she was wearing nothing but her thin chemise. Out of instinct she tightened the bed's sheet more tightly around her body, obviously her only protection shield that would protect her form a man's touch and gaze.

The stranger watched her reaction with an amused smirk on his face, making her fright slightly turn to anger.

"Ah, so I made an impression after all." he pointed out with a low chuckle.

Belle didn't reply. She just stared at him with narrowed eyes, her body firmly wrapped into the long white sheet.

"Ah, no need to worry, love." he assured her with a charming smile on his lips as he stood up from the ground to take a seat on the comfortable bed. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Belle's entire body tensed and she pressed herself further against the wall behind her.

"Stay away from me, pirate!" she hissed, trying to cover the fright in her heart as good as possible with bravery.

But her words didn't seem to make an impression on him. Quite the contrary actually, as her words seemed to amuse the stranger even further.

He let out a low chuckle and shook his head slightly. The dark-haired man suddenly grabbed the sheet that was wrapped around her body with the tip of his hook, and before she could grasp what was happening, he had rolled her body beneath his own.

A satisfied smirk appeared on his face as she stared up at him with wide open eyes, her body firmly trapped between the mattress and the man.

"I'm rather curious about how you would fight me, love." he purred, his face merely inches above her own.

"Are you going to finish what you've already started?" she hissed through clenched teeth and with narrowed eyes.

After some moments of silence, the smile across his face broadened and he shook his head.

"You are quite a brave one, aren't you?" he admitted, a hint of admiration resonating in his voice.

He then lifted his weight from her body and moved away from the bed, leaving Belle finally some space to breathe.

She slowly sat up again, watching as the man crossed the room to trace one finger along her fine, golden gown that was still draped over the chair.

"Fear not, love." he assured as he turned his head to look back at her. "The undressing was simply a necessity to save your life once again. I didn't want you to get ill."

Belle let out a contemptuous snort.

"To save my life?" she repeated scornfully. "Like when you abducted me in the first place?"

For the slightest of moments, the confident smile across the pirate's face vanished and was replaced by a thoughtful look.

"I admit the situation is quite unfortunate, indeed. Please believe me when I tell you that abducting you had never been my intention. Let's call it a …" he whirled his hook through the air as if to catch the correct word. "… misunderstanding between my crew and me."

"But forgive me…" he continued when Belle didn't reply. "I believe we haven't been properly introduced, princess."

He spread his arms widely and bowed his head.

"Killian Jones." he introduced himself with a seductive smile on his face. "Or as others know me: Captain Hook, glorious and infamous captain of the Jolly Roger."

Belle didn't reply. She just stared at him with narrowed eyes, trying to keep the anger within her heart at bay.

"Well, for all I know, princess… convention requests that you introduce yourself now." he chided playfully.

"Why should I?" she challenged boldly. "Apparently you already knew who I was right from the beginning!"

"To be honest, love…" Hook replied with a long sigh. "… I thought you to be a beautiful stranger I wouldn't be able to see for quite some time."

Belle cocked her head, trying to detect the lie within his words.

"That was until Smith, this dick-driven bloody son of a tadpole chose to take Avonlea's most precious treasure without my knowledge."

Belle's body tensed at the thought of the tall pirate which didn't go unnoticed by the ship's captain.

"Don't fret, love." he said with a reassuring, genuine smile on his face. "I made sure my crew won't dare to even think of touching you again."

The beauty on his bed furrowed her brows in confusion and watched as he poured some red wine into two silvery goblets.

He then walked towards her, offering her one of them.

"You are under my protection now." he said while offering her one of his charming smiles Belle knew had certainly worked with so many previous women.

She slowly stood up and took the goblet reluctantly into her hands, earning an approving nod from the ship's captain.

"Thank you." she said with a low voice and took a sip of wine. The captain watched her drink, his eyes firmly glued on her lips.

"Then you will bring me back home?" she asked warily, trying to get his attention away from her lips.

The captain stared at her for a moment, before he let out a clearly amused laugh.

"Not so fast, I'm afraid."

Belle's eyes widened and her lips parted in shocked disbelief.

"But you said you hadn't meant to…"

"Abduct you?" the pirate continued her sentence with a mischievous smirk. "Aye, that had indeed not been my original purpose."

"But using me as a pawn won't benefit you." she concluded immediately, desperately trying to talk herself out of this situation with reason and common sense. "You've just attacked Avonlea – my father hasn't any treasures left to buy my freedom."

But despite her hopes, the grin on Hook's face didn't even falter a little. Instead, he slowly placed his goblet on the table nearby and traced the goblet's rim with one of his ringed fingers.

"What's your name princess?" he suddenly asked with a smirk on his face, following the movement of his finger with his eyes.

Belle furrowed her brows.

"Belle." she replied with a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

"Ah…" he said almost softly. He turned his head to look at her, his eyes scanning her body with a strange gleam in his eyes. "Never had a name been more fitting I suppose."

Belle just stood there, holding the wine-filled goblet firmly in her hands and awaiting the captain's next move.

"My dear Belle…" he finally continued with a purr in his voice that sent waves of shivers through her entire body and moved closer towards where she was standing. "I've seen the chests of gold and diamonds my crew took from you precious kingdom. And I'm pretty sure that there's not much more left for your father to spare to pay for your freedom."

He was now standing right in front of her, his body only inches away from touching hers.

"Then what do you want from me?" she whispered utterly confused as she stared up into his dazzling blue eyes.

The pirate smiled at her and lifted his good hand to twine one of her locks gently around his finger.

"Well you see…" he said, a seductive smile toying around his lips as he stared at the piece of hair around his finger. "I have quite enjoyed your company at the ball."

He moved his head down until his lips were hovering only inches before hers, his blue eyes meeting her gaze. Belle found it harder and harder to breathe, the gleam in his eyes capturing her senses for a paralyzing moment.

"And I intend to keep you for a little longer, princess." he breathed against her lips.

"No!" she gasped and before the pirate was able to do or say anything else, Belle threw the wine in her glass right into his face and pushed him forcefully away from her.

Hook was seemingly surprised by her reaction, and he stumbled a few feet backwards. He crashed against the table and sent some of the books and maps on it down to the floor. In the meantime, Belle ran as quickly as she could towards the door, trying to escape the captain and his chambers as soon as possible.

But the heavy oaken door was locked and no matter how vehemently Belle pulled the knob, her way to escape wouldn't open.

A low chuckle from behind reached her ears and she felt how the captain's sharp hook slid into the fabric of her chemise and she was hauled back into the pirate's arms.

"Tsk-tsk." he chided playfully as he held her small body against his own. "Is this a way how to treat your rescuer?"

Belle fought with all of the strength that her body was able to muster, but it was futile.

"Let me go, pirate!" she hissed with narrowed eyes as she glared at the captain who was holding her way too close to his own body.

But Hook just let out another low chuckle and shook his head slightly.

"Ah, what a brave little thing you are." he laughed, but there was no taunting in his voice, only a hint of approving realization. He was staring down straight into her blue eyes, and for the slightest of seconds, Belle was rather certain that he was going to kiss her again.

But the kiss never came.

"I'm already quite excited to learn more about you." he said in a low voice, and Belle could have sworn that she had heard a hint of genuine interest beneath his layers of seduction.

With these words, he let her suddenly go. Without his tight embrace as support, the young beauty stumbled backwards and bounced back onto the bed.

The captain flashed another mischievous smirk at the princess, but before Belle was able to get her brain to work again, he moved towards the door, opened it within a split of a second and walked out.

"HOOK!" Belle called out and jumped up from the bed.

But as soon as she had reached the door, it had already been locked again – leaving a fuming and shouting princess all alone in the Captain's Quarters.