Chapter 3

I was travelling down the main road through the forest; the one which royal carriages always went down. It was in hope of finding Emma, and at least encouraging her to help me with some robbery or something of that sort, so I could get close enough to her to be able to kiss her. I was accompanied by two of the braver of the men in my crew, simply so I had a chance of not being killed instantaneously.

It was two weeks since my confrontation with Robin, and I had spent that time tracking the whereabouts of Emma, and working out where I was most likely to find her. I had also spent it finding out general information about the New Enchanted Forest, so I had some idea of who to avoid and who I could ally with.

The two men suddenly dismounted from their respective horses beside me, to approach a hooded woman walking down the road just ahead of us. I sighed at their utter incompetence and weak will around a woman, and got off of my horse, following the men so I could move them on. They both closed in on the woman, who was surprisingly calm. She stopped and turned to the two of them, her hood concealing her face.

"How would you like to come back to our ship?" One of them asked, licking his lips.

"We pirates could do with some… companionship." The other chimed in.

The voice of the woman shook me to the core and sent shivers up my spine. "I'd rather not, I'm afraid. I have… business to attend to. Sorry boys." Her voice was cold and emotionless as she dismissed the men.

As she tried to walk away, the men blocked her path. "You men never learn, do you?" In a flash, she pulled out a sword and the men were now on the floor, their lifeblood soaking into the forest earth. I blinked and she was facing me, the wickedly sharp point of her sword pressing against my neck.

"Give me one good reason not to kill you."

My voice cracked as I barely whispered, "Swan…" She suddenly jerked upright and then pressed the sword harder against my neck.

"How do you know my name? You haven't even seen my face?"

"I am Captain Hook, of the Jolly Roger. I came down here in the hopes of finding you, because I need to do something which you may be able to help me with."

She laughed coldly, "Why would I help you?"

"I promise a large sum of gold, and passage out of this realm." Despite the fact that I couldn't see her face, I felt her accusing gaze soften slightly, as did her body.

"Okay," She lifted her hood down, and my heart skipped a beat as I saw her face once more. Except, it wasn't her face. Her green eyes were colder and harder than ice, not soft and loving, and her lips were pressed together tightly. She looked less like herself now than she ever did as the Dark One, because I couldn't see even a flicker of the saviour in her; I could only see the bandit. "But I want to know that you aren't lying to me. Give me the gold now, and I will help you."

I reached into my satchel and pulled out a hefty pouch of gold coins, and dropped it in her outstretched hand. She seemed sated and put it in her satchel, and held out her hand again, but this time I shook it, and at the touch of my hand, the tiniest bit of warmth came back into her eyes.

She nimbly vaulted onto one of the deceased men's horses, and I onto mine. I then realised how difficult this was truly going to be. I would have to hold up this same front until Emma actually began to care for me. This quest wasn't to just get close enough to kiss her; it couldn't be that easy. The coldness and lack of recognition in her eyes made me realise that I would have to make her fall in love with me all over again.

"So," she began as we rode, "What am I doing for you?"

"I need you to steal something very specific," I said while trying to think what could possibly be stolen,

"Well, what is it?"

"A ring. From Queen Snow White's castle," She laughed dryly.

"Got a special someone?"

"No, no, no…. definitely not. I have a… client who wants it for reasons I don't know."

She nodded, letting silence come between us again.

"Tell me about yourself, Captain. I want to know where you got the Hook." Her voice became low and sultry, and lust-filled. It was still not Emma though. Even if she was physically attracted to me, that didn't mean anything, really.

"I lost my hand in a duel against the man who killed my lover many, many years ago. I then sailed to Neverland, a place in which you don't age. Neverland is a truly awful place to be. It drains all of the hope and life out of you, and slowly drives you mad. The ruler of Neverland is a tyrant, a man with no heart or soul at all." Emma snorted.

"Some people say the same of myself. But in some ways, that is true." Even in the short space of time that we had been together, I could tell that she is already beginning to open up, almost as if the very core of her being recognised me, even if her mind did not.

We had spent hours in the saddle, until it fell dark and we found a clearing to sleep in. We both dismounted and tied the horses up so they could rest. Emma very quickly lit a fire and made a bed for herself out of blankets and such that she was carrying. She ignored me for the rest of the evening, but that was to be expected. When we first met, it was the same thing. Emma pushed me away because she was vulnerable around me, and it scared her.

All I need to do is knock those walls down again, which will take time and a bloody lot of effort. But at least she hadn't killed me yet.

We were awoken the next morning by shouts ringing through the forest. I quickly got up, as did Emma, unsheathing her sword. I followed suit, ready for an attack. A small group of white knights ran towards us, unable to ride through the thick undergrowth. There were only four of them at first, all armed with swords. Emma ran forward towards them, making short work of disarming them and then killed all of them in the blink of an eye.

It was so… not Emma. She might as well have just been walking to the sheriff's station or making a coffee in the morning, it was no natural. It threw me back into reality that this woman wasn't Emma; she was a heartless bandit that pretty much killed for sport and could kill me in an instant.

"Are you going to quit staring like an idiot or are you going to pack up and move. We don't have long until more knights come." Her harsh words forced me on, further reminding me of the pirate that I had to play.

I replied, "As you wish."