Hey everyone! Sorry I didn't update as fast as I usually do, I just kept editing and was really nervous about this chapter since it's a big Emma/Hook one. Hope you like it :)


Chapter Four

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"Are we almost there?" Emma asked for the tenth time. They had been walking for hours in the dark now and part of her frustration was coming from not knowing where they were headed in the first place.

"We're getting close." Hook informed her as adjusted the torch in his hand. His voice turned accusatory, "We'd be getting there sooner if you hadn't insisted on finding some new clothes."

Emma scoffed. "I was not going to go to Neverland in that dress." That dress barely allowed her room to breathe. How did he think she was supposed to travel to another realm in it? She was much more comfortable in her hunting clothes. Even if she had made them travel all the way to Red's first so she could sneak in and grab them…

Winking, Hook teased, "I liked the dress."

"Shut up." Emma snorted and shot him a sharp look, causing Hook to chuckle.

After a few more moments of walking, Hook turned to her, curiosity written on his face, "How did your parents acquire this ink the first time?"

"They didn't." Emma answered shortly. She hoped he would take the hint and not ask for the rest of the story. But she knew he would, this man gave a new definition to the word 'chatty'.

There was a slight pause. "Care to elaborate?" Hook dryly asked.

"When they finally decided to try and capture Rumplestiltskin," Emma sighed, feeling like she had been stuck on repeat lately, "the Blue Fairy gave them an enchanted quill that would temporarily freeze him as long as he used it. But after he escaped, they figured out it wasn't the quill, but the ink that had trapped him. Ink that he also had with him in his cell and used to escape with."

Hook nodded as he processed the story. His eyebrows scrunched up in puzzlement. "He had the ink the entire time?"

"Yep."

"Curious." Hook mused. His blue eyes glazed over, lost in thought.

Agreeing, Emma softly said under her breath, "That's what I said."

"And that's why you don't trust the Blue Fairy." Hook grinned, beaming. He looked as though he had finally solved some great puzzle. Emma remembered that she had mentioned her distrust of the fairy in the garden and realized he must have been wondering about it. "Because she had misinformed them about the quill."

"Among other reasons." Emma mumbled testily. Thankfully before Hook could ask her more about her other reasons, she saw that they were approaching a very old, run down house looking structure. Emma turned to him, eyebrows raised, "Is this it?"

Waving his torch, Hook ushered her toward it, "It is."

Emma let out a relieved breath and then eyed their destination with more skepticism, "What is this place?"

"A very old plantation. It's a perfect place leave from." Hook jammed his body against the door that was having trouble opening, revealing a dark dusty room filled with covered furniture and paintings, "The neighbors believe it to be haunted, so, naturally, everyone's afraid to come near it."

"Let me guess," Emma sneered, giving him a pointed look, "thanks to you."

Hook smirked triumphantly. "Possibly," he said.

"How did you find it?" Emma asked as she watched him carefully move one of the couches in front of the main door, barricading them inside. Paranoid, much?

"It wasn't easy, but Smee eventually came across it." Hook told her a little breathlessly. He dusted off his hand against the side of his leg before trying to lead her around the crumbling inner walls of the building and toward the center of the house.

"Who's Smee?" Emma called, walking away from him to explore the place some more.

After hearing the rusty creak and thump of another door opening, he answered, his voice far off, "One of my crew men. You'll meet him eventually."

Emma made her way into another room, a torch held high in her hand. Everything about the house seemed to be in decay, but there was no doubt that wealth had resided here. Entering into what she guessed had been a bedroom, Emma saw old parchment still strewn across a desk, empty ink bottles, muted silver candlesticks on the end, and even some old jewelry. "Wow," she breathed as she traced the outline of an old pearl necklace. Emma jumped when she felt something cold take hold of her wrist.

Having grabbed her with his hook, Hook began pulling her out of the room, "Come along now."

He led her down steps leading underneath the house and to another door. Following him inside, Emma glanced about the stuffy, dusty room, noticing a small bed, dresser, and something covered. Maybe a mirror.

Hook slid the latch across the door and continued to move various objects of furniture in front of it. "A little much, don't you think?" Emma dubiously remarked after Hook finally looked like he was finished, remembering his similar actions with the door they had used to enter the house.

"That hat is our only way back." Hook pointed to a small hatbox that was stashed in the corner of the room. He stared at her outrageously, "I'm not just going to leave it out in the open for anyone to find."

Emma lifted her hands at him in a backing away gesture. "Point taken," she said, nodding in compliance. It's not like she was thrilled at the thought of being stuck in Neverland, either. At that thought, she began wondering if her parents had found her note yet. Emma shook her head. No, not the time to be dwelling on that. She was trying to trust Hook, not already be relying on her backup plan in her head. To get her mind on a new subject, she indicated to the small bed. Wary, Emma asked, "Do you sleep in here?"

"Sometimes." Hook shortly replied, as if he were almost daring her to try and make fun of him. He strode past her to the corner and pulled a tall, velvet black hat out of the box.

So this hat was the portal? Emma had never seen anything like it. She studied it with interest before asking, "How did you get that anyway?"

"Courtesy of Regina." Hook arrogantly quipped as he took his place beside her once more.

Emma tried not to look impressed. Getting anywhere even near Regina's castle was extremely difficult, she couldn't imagine breaking in and successfully stealing something. She felt her eyebrows scrunch as she wondered what Regina had possibly been doing with a hat like that. Probably nothing good. Also, thinking of their deal, Emma probed, "Is that the leverage you were talking about?"

"Not quite." With such a wicked glint entering his eyes, nervous acid started bubbling up in Emma's stomach as she finally began imagining the possibilities of what his leverage could be.

Swallowing hard, Emma asked, "How does it work?"

"Watch." Hook leered with a smirk as he set the hat down on the floor in front of them. He turned it slightly and as he backed away, the purple smoke of a portal started to shoot up in front of them. Emma watched absolutely enthralled and breathless as a windy, swirling vortex took the place of the floor. Wind whipping across her face, Emma could almost feel the magic inside her veins start singing and her heart began to pound in excitement. She hated herself for it. She wasn't supposed to be almost having.. fun.

"Are you ready?" Hook's voice pulled her from her enchantment. The loud, deafening whirl of the portal caused his yelling to sound faint. She looked over and saw his hand reached out for her. Realizing that he had been watching her, Emma started laughing breathlessly from embarrassment before nodding. As she grabbed his hand, Hook gave her a reassuring smile and together they jumped into the vortex.

Landing in the center of a circular room, Emma's amazed gaze began to land on all the doors that now surrounded them. "Wow. There's so many," she breathlessly mused. There were more entrances to more lands than she even thought existed. Had Regina been to all these places? Had Hook? At least all Hook was after was revenge. This type of portal in the wrong hands could definitely be abused. And if these were all the lands… "Can you-" Emma began.

Hook quickly shook his head. "No," he answered, his voice disappointed and perhaps a little frustrated, knowing she was thinking that maybe there was an entrance to a land without magic through the hat, "these are only doors for magical lands, I'm afraid." Emma began to feel disappointed for him. The hat had to be the worst type of irony for him. The access to numerous amounts of realms while the only one he wanted to get to was absent. Something in her head whispered that she could be the one to get him there, but Emma quickly blocked out the annoying thought. No, the wardrobe was off limits and for her if the curse ever happened. Hook led her over to a door with mossy green vines hanging down. With his hook, he pulled them back. "Here," Hook said with a haughty grin as he indicated with his free hand that she go forward.

Emma hesitantly stepped past the vines and into the darkness. She immediately felt a sudden change in the air. It was cold, damp, and thick with moisture. Blindly trying to feel for a wall, Emma's hands connected with hard stone. Shuffling forward, the darkness began to disparate as she approaching roaring… water?

Slowly reaching out, Emma dipped a finger into the rushing water. "Is this a waterfall?" she dazedly whispered.

"The back of one." Hook informed her, boredom in his voice. She saw him come up to her left through her peripheral vision.

Bewildered, Emma gaped at him, "How do we…?" Did the path just keep going or would they fall into a lake? She couldn't –

Even through the muted light, Emma could see Hook exasperatedly roll his eyes. The next thing she knew, Hook was pushing her forward with a simple, "Off you go."

Emma didn't even have time to scream in protest before her body was being hurled through the pounding water and sent flying down into the cove below. Hitting the water with a painful thud, Emma reflexively gasped and lost what little air supply she had in the first place. Caught off guard by the situation, she started panicking and fumbling around, trying to find up. The surge of the undercurrent of the waterfall inhibited her spiral downward even more and she began seeing spots in her vision as she tried to stay conscious. Mentally cursing Hook's name, Emma kicked one final time before everything finally went black.

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An uncomfortable pressure kept being pushed against her chest. Emma did her best to will it away, to ignore the growing irritated feeling. She just wanted to stay in whatever this peaceful state was she was in now. A biting pound sent shockwaves through her entire body, causing Emma to wince in surprise as she felt her lungs begin to vibrate. What was going on? Why was she being disturbed? She thought she heard noises. Oh, yes. Everything was coming back to her. She was in Neverland, she was supposed to be underwater, but- one last harrowing blow expelled the water from her now aching chest. Emma's vision was still blurry, her eyes popping open as she started agonizingly spurting water out of her mouth. Leaning to the side, she took a raw gasp for air, her throat still painfully burning, and then felt a hand clawing her wet hair from her face while still trying to get it to face frontward.

"Emma, look at me." Hearing the tension in Hook's voice, Emma turned to him, sporting an unpleasantly grimace, and began feeling extremely satisfied when she saw the concern on his face. Good, he should feel guilty! "Are you okay?" He asked, worry etched on his features. After choking out another rasping cough as more water tried to make its way out of her lungs, Emma nodded at him. Hook's face turned from distress to fury in a second, "You can't swim?!"

"No!" Emma croaked, appalled and disbelieving. When had she ever had the need to learn before?

His blue eyes were burning with rage. "Why didn't you say anything?" Hook snarled.

This was somehow her fault? "I'm sorry," Emma choked out between severe coughs and wheezes, glaring daggers at him, "maybe I was about to when you decided to just push me through!"

Hook vehemently growled before he pushed himself off the ground and Emma rolled back onto her side, trying to slow her laborious breathing. After a moment, she heard him start indignantly scoffing. "I was standing up here, laughing," Hook told her like it was the most outrageous thing in the world, "thinking you were trying to get me back for pushing you."

"Does it look like I'm joking?" Emma infuriatingly shot back. She decided to ignore his incensed rant about how difficult it was to revive someone one-handed and instead, turned to lie on her back, deeply breathing in more air. Emma stopped when her eyes were met with the most beautiful combination of stars she had ever seen. Right. Neverland. Lights were painted across the sky in a sea of colors, contrasting with the fading blue of space. Sitting up slightly, she could see that it was still light out but the sun was getting lower on the horizon, casting off golden spurs of light throughout the air. To her right, she saw the tall waterfall from which they had come from behind attached to a rocky ledge. Taller, luscious hills residing behind it. The small cove-like area the waterfall emptied in to was filled with sparkling blue water and eventually flow into a river. Everywhere she looked there were bright green trees, ones that were so much healthier looking than the ones in the Enchanted Forest. Everything just seemed more vibrant. And aside from her lungs still feeling sore, Emma noticed she felt better, more energized. Was it somehow the magic?

"Welcome to Neverland." Hook said. Emma glanced up and saw that he looked a lot calmer and more resigned, but she could still hear a faint trace of frustration in his voice.

Emma continued to marvel at the sights around her. "It's beautiful," she whispered, completely entranced.

"Don't let its beauty deceive you," Hook warned. She grabbed his outstretched hand so that he could help her to her feet, "Some of the most beautiful things here are Neverland's most dangerous."

Indicating for him to lead the way, Emma attempted to wring out her hair. Walking and trying to deal with some mermaids this soaked was not going to fun. She tiredly sighed, asking, "So where are these mermaids?"

"Patience, love." Hook said cheekily as she began to follow him through an array of trees, "If we go now, it won't be nightfall until we get there." He turned to her with warning flashing in his eyes, trying to show her that he was being serious now, "A very dangerous time to be around mermaids."

Annoyed that they couldn't get anything done about the ink tonight but still curious, Emma asked, "Why?"

"The mermaids harness their magic using the many moons that are here." Hook said as he pointed up at random areas in the sky, "At night, they become very deadly sirens. Even the most committed of men will fall prey to their calls."

Emma nodded as she began to think through what he said. The word 'men' stood out to her. "So their calls wouldn't necessarily work on me?" She conspiratorially questioned. Maybe she could just go deal with the mermaids by herself.

"It's unlikely," Hook reluctantly conceded as shot her a disgruntled grimace, "but they're still powerful at night without having to hypnotize you so don't even think about it."

With a small indignant puff, Emma muttered, "Fine. Are there any other magical creatures here I need to be aware of?"

"Neverland is full of them," Hook held up his arms to the forest surrounding them, smartly adding, "And most of them hate each other." His tendency to lean toward a theatrical disposition was coming out again and Emma had to keep herself from rolling her eyes in amusement, "The real danger lies in accidently getting caught in the crossfire."

"Okay, so," Emma exhaled deeply as she tried to find a simpler meaning in his words, "basically, just keep to yourself and you'll be fine."

Hook shrugged, a slight smile on his face. "I guess that's a simple way of putting it."

Shaking her head, Emma snickered. After hopping and climbing over some fallen trees, she asked, "Where are we going now?"

Beaming, Hook replied loftily, "To find my ship."

"Your ship's here?" Emma asked, failing to hide the astonishment in her voice. She didn't know why, but she had just assumed it would be docked somewhere in the Enchanted Forest.

"If you know way to fit it through the cave back there," Hook cavalierly remarked as he pointed a thumb in the direction from which they had just come, "I'd be all ears."

Emma scoffed scornfully before hitting him jeeringly on the arm. "That's the only way to get back?"

"Through the hat, at least," Hook bantered back to her, laughing, "Yes."

"What about your crew?" Emma mindfully asked.

"They're here as well," Hook intrinsically explained as Emma attentively listened, "you see, the hat has a rule. How many people go through has to be the same number of people that come back. So, for example," He gestured between them, "two in, two out. If my entire crew wanted to go back," Hook drew in a contemplative breath, "that'd be a lot of people to find to come here in the first place."

Emma nodded and thought through what he was saying. That was a very complicated rule. One you had to be careful with. Getting nervous at the thought that she could possibly get stuck here if Hook suddenly decided to go back to the Enchanted Forest with someone else, like that Smee person he mentioned. Emma tried to brush the gloomy possibilities away. He'd just saved her life; he could have let her drown if he wasn't really serious about their deal. A twig snapped to her right and Emma reflexively tensed, her hand automatically moving to the hilt of her sword.

"It's probably just some of the lost boys." Hook's voice was unconcerned as he kept walking. She jogged to catch back up with him again.

"The lost boys?" Emma reiterated, still watchful of the trees. She saw nothing. Whoever they were, they must be good.

Hook looked amused at her caution. "The most famous inhabitants of the island."

"Who are they?"

"Orphans." Hook said and Emma was somewhat surprised at the empathy that seemed to be in his answer. Turning once more toward where she had heard the sound, she tried to spot someone. She also felt a sympathetic pang in her chest. She had sometimes wondered if she would have ended up an orphan if she had ended being sent through the wardrobe. Hook's voice became teasing, "They're probably just curious about the newcomer."

Emma cast him a doubtful glance, "How would they know I'm a newcomer?" She would never be able to learn all the names of all the people in her kingdom alone even if her life depended on it.

"Neverland is just an island," Hook expressed blatantly with a small chuckle, "and it's very hard to get to. It doesn't seem as open to other realms, as say," He still seemed indubitable in his explanation but Emma could briefly see some sort of ambiguity forming in his eyes, "the Enchanted Forest." Shaking off whatever qualm he had been fixated on, Hook turned to her with his former confidence returned, "Most people who do come here tend to never leave either."

With his wet shirt still hanging loosely around his forearms, Emma accidently caught a glance of the tattoo that was on his right wrist. Seeing a name, Emma knew she probably shouldn't ask him about it and risk worsening his mood again but she couldn't help but want her suspicions confirmed. The way thrived and pursued his revenge, she knew it had to be about more than a hand. "Who's Milah?" Emma tentatively asked and pretended to be relatively uninterested. Hook shot her a menacing look and she knew she was failing miserably.

"Someone from long ago." Hook shot back darkly and in a way that clearly warned her to end the conversation. His chilly demeanor was back in record time.

Emma wasn't one to back down, though, and she wasn't going to let him try to scare her with his mood swings, especially since they were supposed to be working together. She brashly shot back, "She's the real reason you want revenge on Rumplestiltskin, isn't she?"

Rolling down his sleeve to cover the tattoo, Hook refused to look at her, which only confirmed Emma's assumptions. She tried not to feel bad for bringing it up, even though she did, and she mentally scolded herself for bringing it up when they were making their way through a forest alone together, no where else to go. "And what about you?" Hook spat, throwing her an antagonizing glare, "What's the worst thing Regina has ever done to you?"

Feeling her body start to freeze, Emma mustered up the strength she needed for what she was about to say. She hated saying it out loud. It just made everything that had happened involving that situation too real. Too real in a way that haunted and agonizingly sliced through Emma daily. Just think about Regina, she told herself. Don't think about the other people involved. She wasn't keen on having to share it with Hook either, but Emma knew he had heard her talking about her magic in the garden and how Regina had played a part in the discovery of it. And the way Emma could fell how her magic was happily zooming through her veins here in Neverland, she wasn't very confident that it wouldn't make an appearance while they were here. Emma swallowed down a painful lump in her throat, her voice coming out soft and wavering, "Reach her hand into my chest in order to pull out my heart."

Hook suddenly halted and turned his head slowly toward her. Did he look white? "What?" He snapped with a low growl. A brief look of apprehension crossed his face as she saw him glance down at her chest.

"Don't worry, it's still there," Emma wryly smiled. She couldn't blame him for momentarily wondering if she was being controlled by Regina, that was one of the tricks she was known for. While Hook was still radiating a tumultuous aura, Emma could tell he was still expecting the rest of the story. She took a deep, shaky breath before continuing, "Two years ago, I was on my way to meet someone when I ended up meeting her instead." Yes, that sounded believable. No need to tell the story. Emma already felt sick to her stomach just at the thought of possibly having to confess that part of the truth to Hook one day. Not that she cared what he thought. "All of a sudden, I look down and I see her arm sticking out of me," Emma started irrationally laughing, remembering the impossible image and not wanting him to see how hard this really was for her, "Ready to rip out my heart, but she couldn't." Emma moved a hand to cover her chest, looking up at Hook for the first time and feeling oddly relieved when she didn't see any judgment in his eyes, only attentiveness, "It was like something inside of me stopped her and then shot out of me, knocking her down."

Engrossed in her story, Hook was staring at her, an inexplicable look in his eyes. "And then what happened?" he quietly murmured.

"And then I ran." Emma said, shrugging her arms in defeat. She let out a deep breath, her body still shaking from the fear she had felt sharing that.

They started slowly walking again, and it wasn't long before she felt Hook's eyes on her again. "Was it magic?"

"What else could it be?" Emma tiredly sighed. She had gone over what had happened in head so many times, explained it to her parents just as much. Her parents had wanted to seek outside help for some answers, but Emma had convinced them to let her stay in ignorance for just a little while longer, not wanting to face the reality of what it could mean yet. Or maybe she was just scared. But now that her dad had apparently seen her glowing… Emma could feel her blissful ignorance coming to an end.

"Why does Regina hate your family so much?" Hook asked, agitation in his voice.

"She says my mother ruined her life." Emma muttered, already foreseeing that Hook would make her explain every detail of the story. Now that the worst, or the worst Emma was willing to tell, had been said, she felt more at ease talking to Hook.

"Why?"

She definitely saw that coming. "She blames the death of her true love on her." Hook waved his hand at her, motioning for her to continue. Emma's voice turned caustic, "Once upon a time, there was a king who wanted to marry Regina when she bravely saved his little girl from a runaway horse."

"Your mother." Hook repeated with a knowledgeable grin.

Emma silenced his enthusiastic participation with a sharp look. "But Regina was already in love with someone else and wanted to run away with him instead of marrying the King."

"Bad form."

"Stop interrupting." Emma ordered, trying not to laugh. She was glad his good mood was back but this was not a story to be laughing about. "One night, my mom accidently saw them in the stables together and Regina made her promise to keep it a secret. But Cora, Regina's mother, wanted her to marry the king. Already having her suspicions, she manipulated my mom into telling her the truth." When she saw him start to open his mouth, a mischievous glint in his eyes, Emma swatted a warning finger at him, "I swear I will knock you out again if you say 'bad form' one more time."

Hook glowered. "And then?" His voice dragged with impertinence.

Emma hesitated, this was definitely going to bring them back to darker territory, before somberly answering, "And then Cora ripped his heart out."

Hook visibly tensed. "What is with that family and ripping out hearts?" He asked, irritation in his voice. Taking it as more of a rhetorical question, Emma stayed quiet. After a moment, she heard give a frustrated sigh, "And it seems like its Cora's fault, not your mother's."

"I guess she figures it would have never happened if my mom hadn't told Cora." Emma lamented fairly. Even her mother agreed with that. And it was a lot harder to hate someone who was your flesh and blood then someone who you had no connection to. Emma understood the logic.

"Still." Hook contemptuously jeered. "It wasn't your mother who ripped out his heart." A little befuddled, Emma stared at him strangely. Here was a man that was consumed revenge, it literally determined his every action, but yet, he still couldn't understand someone else's. Or was it more than that? Yes, any decent human being became appalled at the thought of ripping out someone's heart, but Hook seemed more affronted about the act than usual. Why was that? An exasperated glare from Hook startled her out of her musing. "What?" He demanded irately.

"Nothing." Emma said quickly, not wanting to start another heated argument. As they suddenly came to a clearing, the sight before them left Emma breathless. She and Hook now stood on a hill above the shoreline. The sky laid out in a stunning view of bright twinkling stars, flashes of color, and rising moons before them, getting darker with distance, and seemingly never ending. The dark ocean matched the sky's distance along the horizon. Emma could see nothing else, no indication that there was anything but the island, sea, and stars. "A bottomless ocean." Emma whispered, disbelief and wonder in her voice.

Hook smirked, looking pleased. "Have you finally learned to stop doubting me?"

Emma just shook her head at him, unable to hide the smile forming on her face. The river that the waterfall had bled into snaked beside them down into the sea. Near the shore on the other side, Emma could see an array of tan buildings and docks. "Ah, there she is." Hook pointed down to the one ship that was harbored, excitement and pride filling his voice, "The Jolly Roger."

During their walk down the rocky hill and across an unsturdy wooden bridge as they headed toward the Jolly Roger, Emma noticed something was now different about Hook. There was just something in his whole demeanor that seemed off.

As the approached the docks, Emma noticed a dodgy looking, gray haired man sitting on the ground smoking a pipe by the walkway. When he spotted them, he immediately started cowering, much to Emma's chagrin. But his eyes stayed focused on Hook. "Captain," the man stuttered timidly, "you're back."

"Indeed I am." Hook coldly replied and swiftly strode past him. Emma stared at Hook, trying to get him to look at her, but he kept ignoring her as they approached the ship. Maybe he wasn't acting strange, maybe this was just him. Was this really the first time she had seem him interact with other people without putting on a show for some stint he was trying to pull?

Hook walked aboard his ship with a commanding air. "Look alive mates, your captain has returned," he announced with some brisk excitement and vanity. The crew bellowed a respectful cheer. Emma followed him on, a little lost on exactly what she should be doing. Normally, she was used to having to make up excuses and hide from all the people trying to initiate conversation with her. Now, no one seemed particularly interested in who she was.

"Ah, Mr. Smee," Hook addressed a short, dumpy man in a red hat with some sort of genuine pleasure for the first time. Okay, so no introduction for her then. Thanks, Captain. "tell me how has my ship been faring."

Unsure of what to do and out of her element, Emma awkwardly stood to the side and waited on further instructions from Hook. One of the crewmen, a tall man wearing a turban and covered with tattoos sauntered over to her. "Hello, beautiful," the man cat-called.

"Hi." She shortly replied back, blank-faced and impassive.

"Blondes are rare around here," the man said in a way that made Emma's skin crawl. He reached up and grabbed a fistful of her hair, toying with it, "especially with hair that is as bright and shiny as yours."

Emma was about to shove a fist in his face when someone beat her to it. Hook had already backhanded the man down to the ground with relative ease. He pulled out his sword and held it up to the man's neck. "She is my guest," Hook informed him hostilely. Applying more pressure with his sword to the man's neck, he menacingly threatened, "and you won't touch her."

After her shock at what had just happened subsided, Emma was getting to angrily start protesting at Hook when she noticed no one else was sharing her emotions. The man on the ground didn't look surprised at all, just extremely regretful and a little fearful. The rest of the crew looked a little intimidated, but there was no surprise among them either. It was almost like they had been expecting it. Like Hook being a raging maniac was a normal occurrence. With a curt flick of head, Hook motioned for her to follow him.

"Was that necessary?" Emma furiously whispered at his back as they walked below deck. She would take the theatrics over whatever that was any day.

Without turning around, Hook snippily barked, "Yes."

As they walked into his cabin, Emma started choking on incredulality. There was gold everywhere. Stacks of gold coins on the table. Gold cups. Gold statues. Apparently, he was a hoarder. "I'm guessing you're a fan of gold." Emma dryly remarked.

"Impressive, I know." Hook said pompously, either oblivious to her sarcasm or choosing to ignore it, as he closed the door. He seemed more relaxed now and there was no trace of the man she had just seen above deck. His personality changes were starting to give her whiplash. Emma decided to let it go for now. She didn't want to risk whatever good standing she had apparently earned while they here in Neverland.

"Where did it all come from?" Emma asked, curious, as she looked about the room more. He had a lot of treasure, but there was still order about it. The table was clean and the bed was made. Either he was neat freak or it had been a very long time since he'd been there. She guessed it was a little of both.

"You'll probably hear some of the stories tonight." Hook said flippantly.

Sifting through some of the jewelry he had sitting in a bowl, Emma distractedly and vaguely repeated, "Tonight?"

She heard him open a drawer and start shuffling through it, "When we go to the tavern."

"Why are we going to a tavern?" Emma groaned. Hook pulled a flask out of the drawer with a grin on his face. Apparently she had already driven him to start drinking. She started eyeing a stack of old parchments that was encased in glass, "We're supposed to be finding the squid ink."

He took a long swig from his flask before saying, "Which we can't do until tomorrow morning." With an exasperated sigh, Hook walked over and opened the glass case for her.

"Right." She caustically mumbled as she studied the parchments. Seeing they were just a bunch of old maps, she carefully put them back.

"Please," Hook sardonically replied, "don't try to hide your enthusiasm."

Emma turned and saw him grabbing a new vest from his closet to change into. She strode over it, a look of amusement on her face, "Seriously?" Emma teasingly snickered as she saw the colorful array of vests, pants, and coats. She hadn't realized he was so fashion forward.

"Enough." Hook ordered crossly as he roughly pulled the curtain closed, finally getting annoyed at her for going through his stuff. He gave her a pointed look, "You'll need to be careful, though."

"Why?" Emma disdainfully asked. They had met in a tavern and she ended up knocking him out. A fact she would gladly remind him of.

"Neverland is a world of vices." Hook lectured in a somewhat condescending manner, causing Emma to grimace, "The longer you're here, the more it starts to feed on your biggest temptations or weaknesses," He moved closer to her, his voice low and insolent, "making certain urges harder to resist."

A swooping sensation pulsed through her body. "And what was yours?" Emma breathed. But then she started thinking about how easily his mood could change, how men cowered when he past them, the way his crew almost expected violence, and how anyone but her seemed to be afraid of him. Hook's was wrath.

His clear blue eyes roamed her face. "I think you already know the answer to that question," Hook tauntingly whispered before slowly backing away from her, "I may be able to keep my men in line, but I can't make any promises about anyone," He paused, dryly adding, "or anything, else."

Vexed, Emma crossed her arms. "I can take care of myself," she informed him hotly. And what was 'anything' supposed to mean?

"I never said you couldn't." Hook countered, an easy smile on his face, as he left the room to go above deck.

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Piling into the tavern with Hook and his crew, Emma hung back near the door and watched as Hook leaned over and started whispering something to Smee. She had already noticed Hook seemed closer to Smee than any of the other men in his crew so she didn't think anything of it until she saw Smee glance nervously in her direction. Suspicions rising, Emma eyed them until she saw Smee frantically nod and then stalk off to join the other men. Hook strode over to her.

"What was that about?" Emma immediately started questioning.

"Nothing," Hook said, smiling innocently. Maybe a little too innocently. Emma narrowed her eyes. He grabbed the top of her arm and started dragging her toward the bar, "Let's get a drink."

The barmaid that greeted them had bright, fiery red hair and was wearing a dress so small, Emma was afraid her breasts would pop out at any moment. Ugh, seriously?

"Captain, you're back," the barmaid cooed at Hook, making Emma cringe is annoyance. This was a tavern not a whorehouse. The red head started to pout, "I've missed your visits."

"You know I would be in here every night, love, if I could," Hook replied back to her as he leaned over the bar, sporting a charming grin, "but I happen to be a very busy and important man."

A busy and important man? Emma rolled her eyes, inwardly scoffing. Please, doing what exactly? Harassing princesses in pubs? "What would you like?" the barmaid giggled, smoldering back to him, "It's on the house."

Hook winked. "The usual." Within moments, the busty red head was back with his drink and fluttering eyelashes.

And then she started to walk away, completely ignoring Emma, not even sparing her a glance. Livid, Emma called, "Excuse me." While Hook may be easier on the eyes, she was still a paying customer. The barmaid turned and gave her a bored stare. "Can I get a drink?" Emma supercilious remarked.

The barmaid kept staring at her, a strange look washing over her face. Emma started to raise her eyebrows in confusion when the woman finally marched over to her with a disdainful sneer, "Why don't you and your lighty magic head somewhere else, Blondie?"

"What did you just say-" Emma began heatedly, her nostrils flaring. An arm roughly pushed her back.

Hook was in front of her, leaning over the bar again, faking a laugh, "Okay, love, just be a good girl and get her a drink. Just this once."

"I wouldn't provoke her too much." Hook said as they walked away, shoving the drink in her hand. He seemed annoyed. "She's a succubus."

Emma's eyes widened in horror. "Like a demon?" She asked incredulously, trying to keep her voice down as she followed him back to where the rest of his crew was. So demons could apparently sense she had magic. Fantastic. And 'lighty'? What was that, some sort of insult?

"Yes, like a demon." Hook said with so much indifference it started fuel Emma's annoyance to the point of rage.

She gritted her teeth, frantically whispering, "Then why did you seem so friendly with her?"

"Succubus aren't dangerous for men." Hook told her, looking amused now. His eyes turned wicked. "Quite the opposite actually," He said suggestively, leaning his head down toward her slightly.

Emma wanted to gag at the unwelcome mental image. "You're disgusting," she accused icily.

"So I've been told," Hook replied, smirking and almost looking proud of himself. Emma clenched her fists, resisting the urge to hit him. Turning away from her, he lifted his beer up to his men, heartily exclaiming, "Cheers!"

Two hours later, Emma was glowering at a table by herself. In her defense, she had tried to drink and have fun, but because of Hook's little bit earlier when they first arrived on the Jolly Roger, all of his crew was afraid to even look at her and that stupid barmaid wasn't going to give her anymore drinks. And it wasn't like Hook was talking to her either. He was off on the other side of the room drinking like a fish, gambling, and chatting up that sleazy succubus, or whatever the hell she was, simply having a grand old time. Contracting a couple of diseases would probably be good for him. Whatever, she didn't need this. She could leave, go see Neverland at night by herself, and hopefully get the peace and quiet she wanted. Yes, that is exactly what she wanted to do. Waiting until Hook had his back turned and looked preoccupied, she jumped up from her seat and swiftly tried to make her way to the exit.

Emma was stopped short, thought, when Smee intercepted her. "Excuse me," Smee stammered nervously. Emma started balefully eyeing him for blocking her exit, "Your Majesty."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "You know who I am?" Emma whispered lowly to him.

"Yes, the Captain has informed me of your true identity."

So that's what that whispering must have been about. "Okay, well you don't have to call me that." Emma said, rolling her eyes. She tried to move past him, "If you'll excuse me-"

Smee jumped in front of her again. "May I ask where you're going?"

When Emma saw his eyes suddenly dart in the direction of Hook, she felt her blood start to boil. He had the nerve to somehow coerce Smee into being her babysitter? While he drank himself into oblivion? That arrogant bastard. She tried to keep a calm demeanor so Smee wouldn't realize she had caught on. "The bathroom." Emma said bluntly. She raised an eyebrow, daring him to question her.

"Right." Smee quickly said apologetically. With an embarrassed chuckled, he stepped aside, "Sorry."

Emma left the tavern without looking back.

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A/N: Thank you so much for reading and I really hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review if you can! Also, this story won't be centered around Neverland, they'll only be there for two more chapters, at the most. So stay tuned, there's a lot of stuff coming up!

My tumblr is .com and I think I'm going to start posting some sneak peeks and other stuff if anyone's interested and/or wants to follow me! :)