Hey guys! I updated a little early. Thanks for the reviews! This one is a bit shorter than the rest but i think it makes up for it in cuteness :)
Emma leaned on the edge of the ship and gazed at the waves crashing on the edge of the ship. She had been on the ship for a month and was loving every minutes of it. Occasionally she thought about her parents and felt guilty about what she had done. But then she remembered that eventually she would see them again. She would find a man who loved her, get married, have children, then take them to meet their grandparents. Then they would be a happy family again. But for now she was happy aboard Killian's ship. She was learning anything and everything that anyone would be willing to teach her.
And most of all, she enjoyed Killian's company. As much as they bickered and pretended they hated each other, the pair got along quite well. They made jokes and he taught her how to be a good captain. Her favorite parts of the day were night time. They would sit together in his room and talk about whatever they wanted. Then, when they were tired, they would lie down and drift off to sleep, happy to be in each other's arms.
She remembered their conversation the night before and smiled.
"To which the barman says 'May I push in your stool?'" Emma and Killian buckled over laughing as Killian finished his joke. Emma wiped her teary eyes and Killian said, "Okay Princess it's your turn!"
"Oh no I'm not good at joke telling. My father was always the one who told the jokes at the dinner table." Emma felt her stomach dropped as she mentioned her father aloud for the first time since leaving.
Killian cleared his throat and scooted closer to her, "Do you… miss him?"
"Of course. I did spend every day for eighteen years with them. But… I'm happy… here.. with you." The pair sat in though until Emma spoke up, "So what about you Prince Killian! What do you miss most about your home?"
He sat for a moment, stroking his chin. He snapped his fingers and cried, "Room service!"
"Really out of your whole life living in a castle with people who love you you're going to say room service?"
"Excuse me miss sentimental! What's your touching memory?"
"That's easy! Every morning when my mother would wake me up I would put up such a fuss. My bed was my best friend and I could never bear to leave it. But she was always patient with me and put up with my weird quirks and the problems that I never had." Emma began to tear up and her voice cracked with emotion.
Killian took pity on the girl and wrapped an arm sweetly around her shoulders. "Emma I know that it's hard to leave your family. But just think, you can make a whole new family now. Then you can have two families. One that you were born into and one that you got to choose for yourself."
"What then?"
"Excuse me?"
"After I have a family of my own. What will I be working towards next? The only thing I've ever wanted is true love. What happens when I find that?"
"A very smart outlaw once said that the good thing about dreams was that once you've lived one dream, you can find another. And that's exactly what's gonna happen to you. You'll meet a man that's as crazy as you are and fall in love."
All Emma could do was sit and let the tears fall down her face. Killian stroked her hair and rocked her gently back and forth. Eventually the girl fell asleep on his shoulder. He chuckled and lay her down on the bed. But she didn't hear him as he tucked an arm around her and whispered, "And maybe your dream will have me in it."
As Emma contemplated all these things something in the water caught her eye. It was a woman. A beautiful woman who had full black hair and flaming green eyes. "Killian! Killian!"
"What is it?" He strode to her side and unconsciously laid a hand on her back.
"Look, I think there's a woman in the water."
"Shit!" Killian pulled Emma away from the side and shouted, "Mermaid!" The ship instantly fell into chaos. The men began ripping off parts of their shirts, trying to stuff the cloth in their ears. "Draw your swords, load your muskets, and whatever you do stay away from her!"
Emma followed close behind Killian, trying to comprehend the situation at hand. "Killian what's going on? Why is it a bad thing that there's a mermaid in the water?"
"In the water she's fine but once she comes aboard we are all dead men!" He shouted, quite annoyed by her questions.
"But-" Emma was cut off by the sight of the most beautiful creature she'd ever seen sitting on the rail of the ship. Her hair fell down her shoulders and down her beautiful white chest. Her legs were replaced with a long magnificent tail. At first Emma was sure her tail was a gorgeous dark teal but with every swish it gleamed a different color. It flashed from orange to red to blue to green. Emma felt quite unimpressive in the sight of such a creature.
The mermaid smiled deviously and began to sing. Emma didn't recognize the words, they were in a different language. The song sounded almost sad and full of longing. In Emma's mind she pictured a young man and a woman being separated. The girl wept bitterly knowing she would never see him again. She wandered and wandered in search of her love. But never did she find him.
Emma shook herself from her reverie but found it hard to take her eyes from the singing vision. It wasn't for several moments that Emma noticed the men's behavior. As she looked around a strange hush had fallen over all of them. A thin film had grown over their eyes and they appeared to be in a trance. Travis, a boy of just nineteen, stood up and began to walk to the mermaid who sang with an outstretched hand.
"Don't!" Killian tried to shout over her, "Emma you have to stop them! She'll kill him!"
Emma knelt by his side and tried to understand him, "Killian you need to tell me what to do. I'm confused!"
"Stop them! If they go to her she'll take them and kill them!" He tried to fight the trance but slowly the film covered his eyes and he began to lose himself.
"Killian stay with me please! I need your help!"
Emma knew that she didn't have the training or courage to do this. But suddenly she saw Shorty slowly stepping to the mermaid. A new rush of courage coursed through Emma's heart. She couldn't let a helpless little boy fall into the clutches of this monster.
The only sane person on the ship pulled Killian's sword from his belt and charged the mermaid. Emma pushed Travis back and swung wildly at the creature.
The mermaid hissed and lunged at Emma. Emma's free hand forced its way to the throat of the creature and squeezed tight. She began to slowly sit up and almost had the advantage when the mermaid gathered her strength and shoved Emma back down to the deck. The blonde's head contacted hard with the wood and her mind went dizzy. The mermaid sunk her teeth into Emma's neck. She screamed and plunged her knife into the creature's tail. Emma rolled from underneath the mermaid and attacked again, this time contacting her blade to the mermaid's chest.
The creature hissed again but retreated, diving back into the ocean to nurse her wound.
The crew woke from their stupor and gathered round the girl who had saved them. Emma lay on the deck, her neck gushing blood, a bad bump on her head, and her eyes refusing to open.
Killian knelt at her side and tried to wake her, "Emma, Emma please wake up! Men give her some space!" The men backed away slightly. Killian placed his ear by her nose to make sure she was still breathing and moved his cheek to hers, "Please stay with me Emma." He whispered gruffly in her ear. He took a deep breath and pulled her into his arms. "Paine get me water and bandages. Shorty open the door to my quarters." Killian carried her inside and laid her tenderly down on the bed.
After a half hour, he finally had cleaned the wound with rum and bandaged it securely. All he could do now was wait. "Look what you've done!" He spoke into the silence. "You're my responsibility. I'm older than you; I was supposed to be your husband. And whether or not we ever marry, I'm still supposed to protect you. How could you go and get hurt? If you don't-" His voice caught, "If you don't wake up…."
He spent the next while in silence, the tears threatening to spill over onto his cheeks. After what seemed like ages, Emma's eyes finally fluttered open. "Killian…" She spoke weakly.
He rushed to her side and cradled her head, "Shh, don't get up I'm here Emma."
"Killian… I think maybe next time you should fight the crazy mermaid."
He chuckled and kissed her forehead, "You are never allowed on deck again young lady!"
"But I have to help Shorty with the rigging!" Emma smiled sleepily.
"I'm going to lock you up in here with me until I'm completely satisfied with your recovery. I'm afraid you'll not want to stay on the ship what with the new found monster you met."
"That's crazy. I'd never leave because of a creature. I… I don't think I'll ever leave for that matter."
"Well, don't get too comfortable. Remember, you'll need to tell me where to drop you off."
Emma had forgotten about her request to find a village to live in. She didn't want to talk about it so she simply took hold of his arm and began to drift to sleep, "Killian, why were you worried about me?"
"Because I've never lost one of the crew before. And I'm not about to start now."
Hope you enjoyed :) I'll try to update in a few days. Please please please please please review! :)