a/n: Here's the first chapter! I really hope you enjoy reading this, but if you don't, remember my previous rant :)
I looked the dialogue up because, as usual, I finished this chapter around half past three in the morning and unfortunately can't wake up my entire family by watching The Doctor on Netflix. If there's any mistake, point them out. I realize I asked you to do so nicely, but if you really can't (for instance, if there's a typo you just correct it, you don't add smiley faces or something lmao) then I don't mind at all just as long as it's not hate.
Reviews mean a lot to me as an aspiring writer who has yet to write a complete multi-chapter fanfiction, please do your best to write one (please)
Thanks again for reading this and I hope I don't disappoint you!
(Oh, and thank you for all the positive feedback. :D)
• • • • • • • • •
When asked what the sweetest thing in the world was, most ordinary human beings living in the twenty-first century would reply with the name of any type of candy -from lollipops to chocolate bars and everything in between- and a sheepish smile.
Then there were the lovestruck people who'd say the name of their loved ones with a glint of happiness in their eyes and sometimes a little blush.
Others, though, knew better than this and smirked before saying the seven-lettered word that defined Hook's deepest desire: revenge. And yet the reason of those people's sudden wish for it could also be divided into two types, the you-stole-my-spot-on-the-cheerleading-squad kind of hate and sheer abhorrence.
The latter was also what he had been feeling for two hundred years after Rumplestiltskin brutally murdered the woman he'd learnt to call the love of his life, thus the way he'd get back at him wouldn't be by pouring honey all over his hair or somehow dying it blue. Oh, no. What Hook was looking for was murder or eternal pain, though the first one was by far the easiest -and safest- choice. But if he ever got the opportunity to encounter him and try to end his life, the odds of succeeding went from slim to none, as his enemy had something he'd lacked so many years ago, when Hook fell in love with his ex-wife the first time: powers.
So what would his reaction be when the former Queen Of Hearts told him there was a way of killing Rumplestiltskin once and for all (after his mysterious disappearance twenty-eight years ago)? Eagerness to cooperate with her evil plan, no matter how twisted it could get. He had to get to Storybrooke no matter what had to happen in between. There was nothing stopping him from avenging his ex-lover's death this time.
Even if he had to lie underneath a bunch of dead bodies as he waited for four women looking like they were on their late twenties to 'rescue' him. He moved his arm slightly in hopes that they could finally notice him (cue the "hey, hey, look" from one of them).
"There's someone under there. He's alive," another voice spoke up as they got closer to him.
"Please," he uttered, doing his best to sound weak. Maybe they would actually buy that- no, screw the maybe, Cora's plans were downright evil and evil obviously couldn't afford dealing with petty flaws like this one (which meant that Hook was now one step closer to satisfaction).
"It's okay," she said sympathetically.
He knew all of their names: one of them was Princess Aurora, the other one was Mulan, a female warrior who had sworn to protect her dead friend's fiancée, then there was Snow White (also known as Mary Margaret in the intriguing small town he so desperately wanted to go to) and the last one was called Emma Swan, who was the less experienced of them all when it came to magic but the farthest from being naïve. Based on the brief description Cora had given him of each of the women he could tell which one would be the most likely to trust him and thus narrowed it down to two of them- either Snow had said this or Aurora had. He would only know how to identify each one of them once he took a better look, though- which he did right now and thereby found out the woman who had just talked was, in fact, Aurora.
"Please help me," Hook said again. He was doing well, they all seemed to believe his acting as they looked at him (some with fretted eyes, others suspiciously).
"It's okay. You're safe now, we won't hurt you," Mary Margaret replied. He was doing well so far- it wouldn't take long to earn their trust.
"Thank you, thank you."
• • • • • • • • •
They didn't trust him.
It was bloody obvious now, especially by the way they spoke in hushed tones and every now and then glanced his way with worried looks on their faces. Furthermore, he was about ninety-percent sure he'd heard Cora's name coming from the most dangerous of them all when it came to trusting others: Emma Swan. Right now, she was the one most likely to find out the truth about him and therefore ruin their plan to get to Storybrooke once and for all.
All he could do right now was act nice and grateful, and perhaps they would actually believe him.
"An island full of corpses... you're the only one to escape. How exactly did that happen?" The blonde asked suspiciously.
Luckily, Cora had made sure he knew exactly what to say when the time came, so he had his lines memorized and it came out almost naturally. "She attacked at night... slaughtered everyone in one fell swoop. When she started ripping out peoples' hearts, I hid under the bodies of those who had already been killed. Pretended to be dead myself. Must be the ruse worked."
He studied the expression in her face. Emma Swan didn't seem convinced to him, but then again, he'd been warned she was anything but naïve. "So much for fortune favoring the brave."
"It was all I could do to survive." Hook found himself repeating everything Cora had told him to say without a second thought. He really was that desperate to end the Dark One's life.
She walked towards him and got close enough to look threatening (albeit, completely unbeknownst to her, she didn't seem like a threat at all). "I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. I am pretty good at knowing when someone is lying to me."
What was she saying right now? That she had some kind of superpower and would know right away if what he said was utterly false?
Now that was more like a threat, and even though he shouldn't feel intimidated this easily, Cora had told him she was powerful. There was absolutely no way of knowing how much. So by now, all he could do was silently hope she was only bluffing and her 'lie detector' was bullshit.
"I am telling you the truth," he defended himself, slightly (only slightly) panicking. But thankfully, Emma Swan seemed to believe him, because she eventually pulled away and decided to let him be.
"We should leave here, in case Cora decides to come back," Mulan suggested.
"We should start searching for a new portal back to Storybrooke. I only got about five minutes with my husband, not to mention my grandson." Mary Margaret said.
Under different circumstances -if he was the blacksmith he claimed to be- Hook wouldn't have known she had children, let alone a grandson. He was, apparently, just an ordinary human being who'd been attacked by Cora, so he had to play the part. "You have a grandson?" He asked, faking shock.
"Long story." Thankfully, she skipped the explanation the ex-queen had already given him.
Now was his chance. "Well, I know this land well, I can guide you-"
And then all of a sudden, the blonde drew a knife out of nowhere and held it at his throat. "You're not gonna guide us anywhere until you tell us who you really are."
Bloody Emma Swan and her superpower.
"I already told you. I'm just a blacksmith." There may have been a hint of desperation in his voice, but Hook hoped they wouldn't notice it. He was being tied to a tree, after all.
"Sure you are." She whistled. "You don't want to talk to us? Maybe you'll talk to the ogres while they rip you limb by limb."
The ogres.
Of course she called the bloody ogres.
And now they were leaving him to his death, tied to a tree.
"What? You... you can't just leave me here like this!"
"What if he's telling the truth?" Aurora asked while they were walking away from him. The princess right now seemed like his salvation, but of course Emma Swan had to convince her otherwise.
"He's not."
Well, he was screwed.
Hook was certainly not going to let the ogres tear him apart, so he needed to think of a Plan B. He needed to make it look like he could be trusted so then he could backstab them and kill the Crocodile.
Why hadn't they thought of a back-up plan?
"Good for you! You bested me. I can count the amount of people who've done that on one hand." He admitted. He'd quickly decided to tell them who he was and make it look like he didn't care at all if he was working for or against Cora, just as long as he could get revenge on Rumplestiltskin (after all, the Dark One wasn't quite likeable, so why would they defend him?). His chances of survival were slim, so right now he had to take his chances.
"Is that supposed to be funny? Who are you?"
They were now walking up to him. They were giving him an opportunity to explain why he'd lied and probably spare his life.
"Killian Jones, but most people have taken to call me by my more colorful moniker... Hook."
"Hook," Mary Margaret said, seemingly surprised to not have noticed earlier.
"Check my satchel," he added, which would hopefully make it seem like he wasn't making anything up or leaving anything out. The former queen obeyed.
"As in Captain Hook?" Emma Swan asked. He couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed every time she uttered a word now, since he was still tied to that tree, but this particular sentence amused him.
"Ah, so you've heard of me." As if on cue, Mary Margaret found the hook hidden inside the satchel and gasped.
They heard a noise- it was probably the ogres approaching them. Were they going to let him go or not?
"You better hurry up. They're getting closer. So unless you want to be dinner, you better start talking."
Shut up, Swan, and let me explain. "Cora wanted me to gain your trust so I could learn everything there is to know about your Storybrooke. She didn't want any surprises when she finally got over there."
"She can't get there. We destroyed the wardrobe," Mary Margaret argued. Now this was the part that complicated things for Hook and Cora: they would know about the ashes and the compass and do their best to stop them from getting to their home. Of course they wouldn't succeed, but it would still make it harder for them.
"Ah, but the enchantment remains. Cora gathered the ashes. She's gonna use them to open up a portal." The noises got louder, and Hook was sick of explaining. He was going to die anyway from how long it was taking him to tell them all about the plan to get to Storybrooke. "Now, if you'll kindly cut me loose."
"No. We should leave him here to die to pay for all the lives that he took." Mulan disagreed.
"That was Cora, not me!" He complained, yet obviously the four women ignored him.
"Let's go."
So everything he'd just said had been in vain? He'd just told them their whole plan and they still wanted him dead? He was now beyond angry, but right now he needed to keep trying and hope he could survive somehow. "Wait. Wait! You need me alive."
"Why?" Emma Swan questioned with that suspicious expression on her face.
"Because we both want the same thing. To get back to your land." This was completely true (so were most of the things he'd said anyway) but if his improvisation went well, he'd begin lying pretty soon. And they were actually going to believe him.
"You would say anything to save yourself. Why are we supposed to believe you now?" She asked. God, why was she so stubborn? Why couldn't their group be made up of four Auroras willing to trust him no matter what?
Thankfully, now was where the lying was starting. "I arranged for transport with Cora, but, seeing how resourceful you are, I'll offer you the same deal, I'll help you if you promise to take me along."
"How are you going to help us get home?" This time it was Mary Margaret who asked the next thing. And for some reason he had a feeling that they were actually believing what he just said. Or perhaps it was that they only wanted to go home so badly, they jumped at the chance to do so. Even if it was nothing but meaningless words.
"The ashes will open a portal, but to find your land, she needs more. There's an enchanted compass. Cora seeks it. I'll help you obtain it before she does." And then I'll steal the compass from you and kill the bloody Crocodile after so many years.
"So Cora won't make it to Storybrooke, and we'll be one step closer to getting home." Yes, he was right. They were just as desperate to go to Storybrooke as he was to avenge Milah's death.
"Sounds to good to be true." Her mother said, still not fully convinced. Well, that was clearly about to change.
"There's only one way to find out."
The ogres were getting closer, but after he mentioned having a way to take them home, Hook was slowly regaining his chances of surviving.
But it wasn't until Emma Swan made her final question (which he obviously knew how to answer correctly) that he knew he wouldn't be brutally murdered by some ogres. "You tell me one thing, and whatever you say I better believe it. Why does Captain Hook want to go to Storybrooke?"
"To exact revenge on the man who took my hand, Rumplestiltskin."
• • • • • • • • •
"Up ahead. We'll find the compass just over the ridge."
He was guiding them to the beanstalk and formulating a new plan inside his head. They'd get the compass, that was bloody obvious, but the real question was how would he steal it afterwards. Hook really needed to earn their trust, and fast.
Apparently, though, he wasn't doing a good job, because Mary Margaret and Emma Swan were whispering among themselves. It was no mystery who they were talking about.
"Let me guess... the compass is up there?" The blonde asked once they caught sight of the huge beanstalk.
"Oh, yeah." He replied.
"So how do we... get to it?"
Finally, they had other things to worry about, and maybe he could approach them in this moment of weakness and make them think he was not the man they thought he was. "It's not the climb you need to worry about. It's the giant at the top."
• • • • • • • • •
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