Chapter 2

That night, Emma stared out the window of her room. The moon was shining, sending rays of light into her completely dark room. He's gone. I'll never see him again. She heard a knock on the door and Mary Margaret came in.

"Emma, do you want anything. Any food? You didn't come down for dinner."

"I'm fine."

Mary Margaret sat down next to her daughter on the bed and held her hand. "He's trying to find his family."

"He could've taken me with him."

"Emma, you know he wouldn't have. Your father would never allow it."

Emma shook her head. "I need some sleep." She crawled under the covers, feeling her mother tuck her in.

"Goodnight," Mary Margaret whispered, combing her fingers through Emma's golden curls.

Once her mother left the bedroom and all the lights were out outside, Emma lit a candle and slipped out of bed. She walked over to her closet and searched for something to wear. After throwing dress after dress onto her bed, Emma decided to wear her riding clothes, quickly changing into them. She made a rope with the bed sheets, opened the window, tied one end of the sheets to the base of her bed and threw the other end out the window. She wrote a note to her parents, only writing three words: I love him. She took one last look at her bedroom and blew out the candle. She held the silver candlestick under her arm and began climbing down the rope. Once her feet landed on the ground, she made her way around the castle walls, trying not to be seen. Emma came around the corner, swearing under her breath when she saw two of the castle knights patrolling the front gate. Emma picked up a stone and threw it to create a distraction, causing one of the guards to leave. She tiptoed behind the other and quickly smacked him on head with the candlestick, knocking him out. She quietly opened the gate, slipped out, and ran as fast as she could to the docks.

She stopped at the sight of Killian loading his ship with supplies, relieved that he hadn't left yet. She ran down to the ship, trying not to trip on the uneven surface of the dock. "Killian!"

Killian snapped his head in her direction. "Emma?" He dropped the boxes he was carrying, letting her run into his arms. He pulled her in as close as he could to his body, pressing his cheek against her head. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm coming with you."

"What? You're father will kill me when he finds out that you're gone!"

"If he finds us, I'll talk to him. If you want to lower your chances of him finding us, let's go!" Emma picked up the box Killian was carrying and brought it on the ship while he picked up the last of the supplies.

"You sure about this?" Killian asked, jumping off the desk to the dock.

"Yes. Now let's go!"

Killian untied the ship from the dock, boarded, and steered it out to the vast seas. Emma leaned over the edge, watching the castle slowly grow smaller and smaller. She walked over the Killian, who was slowly turning the steering wheel. "Where to, captain?"

Emma woke up to the gentle rocking of the ship and smiled. She rubbed her eyes and headed to the deck, where Killian was staring out at the ocean from the bow. She walked over to him, wrapped her arm around his waist, and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Morning."

"Morning, love. Did you get a good night's sleep?"

"Mhm," she replied, burying her face into Killian's neck, feeling him rest his head on hers.

"Good."

"Are we there yet?"

Killian laughed and gave her a quick squeeze. "Unfortunately, no."

Emma pulled away, held his hands, and led him away from the edge. "What do you know about sailing, anyway?"

Killian scoffed. "My share. I do read, you know. I may only be a blacksmith, but I do know how to read and write. I have some memories with my father on a ship as well."

"Oooh. So you're a pirate."

"Uh, sure," he replied quietly, looking away.

Emma frowned. "What do you know about your father?" she asked, fiddling with his vest, avoiding eye contact.

"Not much. He abandoned me when I was a lad. Sometimes I hear people say 'There goes the pirate's boy' when I pass by."

Emma looked up at Killian with sad eyes. "Killian, I'm so sorry."

"It's fine. He decided he didn't want to be part of my life, so I got to be part of yours instead," he replied, burning his face into the crook of Emma's neck.

"And I'm glad you're part of it."

"David!"

David came running into Emma's bedroom, finding Mary Margaret standing in front of the bed. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"She's gone." Mary Margaret turned around and handed him the note Emma had left them. "What do we do? We can't just tell everyone that your daughter ran away."

"We will have to cancel the ball, then. We must inform the guests of the news. Mary Margaret, have some of our people round up all of our carrier birds and take letters to them. Meanwhile, I will get several crews ready to search for Emma and Killian."

"What are you going to do when you find them?"

David pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "I don't know."

"If we hurt Killian in any way, Emma will never forgive us."

"That is why we can't let anyone know that Emma and Killian are missing. If someone finds them first, who knows what will happen to them."

The king and queen parted ways, getting down to business to find their daughter and the blacksmith.

With the help of several maidens, Mart Margaret signed letters of apology to all the guests, telling them that the ball was canceled due to Emma's sudden illness. She tied the letters to the feet of the birds and released them into the morning sky, watching them fly off in separate directions.

David, on the other hand, had some of the castle knights to go about the town streets to search for men for crews. Within two hours, David had over a hundred men willing to serve him. He assigned all the men to a ship and sent all four ships out into the oceans.

David met up with Mary Margaret at the castle balcony, watching the last ship sail off. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in close, resting his head on hers.

"I hope they find her soon," whispered Mary Margaret.

David pressed a kiss on his wife's temple and gave her a tight squeeze. "I hope so too."

Killian walked across the deck over to Emma, who was chomping on an apple and watching the waves. "Now, darling, when we're out at sea, we'll never know what creatures we'll encounter."

She turned around. "Are you going to teach me how to use a sword?"

"Aye, lass. But we'll use these sticks first. I'd rather not get stabbed on this ship."

Emma laughed. "Gee, thanks for all your support."

"Anytime." Killian threw her a stick, pleased that she caught it with one hand.

"What if I already know how to sword fight?"

"Really?" He raised an eyebrow. "Your mother, who throws balls for you and wants you to get married to a rich prince that lives in a big castle, let your father teach you how to use a sword?"

Emma smirked. "Let's just begin."

"Now let's start with stance." Killian stepped away from her and held out his wooden sword. "Hold your sword out in front of you, bend your knees a little, and stand sideways." He demonstrated.

"Why sideways?" asked Emma as she mirrored the blacksmith.

"Smaller target." Killian swung at her, slightly surprised when she blocked him. They fought, swinging at each other and defending themselves with the sticks. Emma's skills shocked Killian; he didn't expect her to know how to sword fight. It was a pleasant surprise.

After a few minutes, Emma pressed her fake sword against Killian's, leaning into it for strength. "Good form," Killian told her as he slyly moved his leg closer to hers, "but not good enough." He wrapped his leg around Emma's and knocked her down, causing her to fall on her back. He knelt down and leaned over her body, watching her raise her wooden stick to him. Killian moved it away from his face and stared at Emma's green eyes. "You know, there are several activities I enjoy doing with a woman on her back."

Emma rolled her eyes, shoved him off of her, took her stance, and held her wooden sword out in front of her. "Let's go again."

Killian smirked. "As you wish."

Neal wandered through the town, smiling and nodding his head as the townspeople bowed to him and praised him. He was somewhat annoyed that the ball had been canceled, and he didn't believe one bit of Mary Margaret's excuse. As he was walking down the streets, he saw one of the servant girls of David and Mary Margaret's castle was out purchasing fruit at the market. With a smirk on his face, Neal strode over to her, sneaking up behind her. "That apple is bruised."

The girl jumped, dropping her basket. "Good lord! Oh, Sir Cassidy! G'day milord" She bowed to him and began picking the apples on the ground.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"No need to apologize, milord."

"Here. I shall make it up to you. Come. Walk with me." Neal stuck out his arm to her. The girl, looked at him, smiled, wrapped her arm around his, and walked with him down the town's streets.

They walked for awhile until Neal led her to an empty alley. He slipped his arm from hers and snaked it around her waist.

The servant tensed up. "What are you doing?"

"What? A man has never done this to you before?" whispered Neal, his lips grazing the top of her ear. "What a pity. Such beauty gone to waste." He began to plant kisses down the girl's neck, eliciting a light moan from her. "I have a proposition for you."

"What is it, milord?"

"Would you like to go on an adventure with me? Would you like to be with me forever?"

"I'd do anything for that."

"Anything?"

"Anything," the girl said, closing her eyes as Neal kissed her pulse point.

"You must understand, it comes with a price."

"Anything for you, milord."

"Tell me the real reason why the ball was canceled tonight."

"Miss Swan is ill."

"Don't lie to me, girl."

The girl laughed. "Perceptive, aren't you."

"Tell me the truth," Neal growled, sliding his hands down her behind.

She gasped. "She ran away with the blacksmith. They took a ship and left town. The king and queen wanted to keep it a secret."

"See? That wasn't so hard was it?" Neal placed kissed along the servant girl's jaw and stopped in front of her lips.

"Now, about that adventure," she whispered.

"Yes, about that." He tenderly kissed the girl, feeling her smile against his lips. A second after their lips met, Neal quickly drew his sword and slit the servant's throat. He watched her fall to the ground and cleaned off his blade on her clothes. "Now I know where to look."

A/N: Hi everyone! Thank you for all the follow, favorites, and reviews! I'm so glad you guys like the beginning and how this story is going so far. I just want to let you know that I may not update for a week or so because I have a butt load of tests and a paper due in my AP courses *screams* and have to practice for my choir concert. I will update as soon as I can though. Thanks again for all your support!