A/N: For some reason, this is one of the chapters I've enjoyed writting the most! And for all of you asking in the reviews, don't worry, things about Emma will get a lot clearer sooner than you think ;) Enjoy 3
Chapter 6. Letting Go.
Killian had expected to be woken up by the blonde, however, when he woke up, he did it all by himself. Nor was it a night as he'd expected, the forest illuminated with the light of morning.
"What the bloody hell, Swan?" He cried out indignant, starting to stand up. "You were supposed to... Swan?"
Killian looked around, and there was no trace of the princess. Everything seemed intact, his bag was at his side, right where he had left it. The only thing that was missing was Emma. He rose up quickly, and began to walk among the trees. It was useless, as he had no idea in which direction she would have gone.
"Swan, where are you?!" He exclaimed as he walked, hoping to perhaps get a response. "Emma!"
His call received no response whatsoever, and he took one hand to his hair in frustration. He opted to stay quiet, to not keep on drawing attention on himself and his current location, and did his effort to see if he could listen to anything around him. If someone had taken her, they shouldn't still be close, but he had to try.
For a few minutes he didn't hear anything, but then he heard a branch breaking. Someone was approaching. He hid behind a tree, and took his sword, ready to ambush whoever it was.
Killian heard the footsteps get closer, and when he perceived that the time was right, he came out of his 'hiding place', sword high up.
"Oh, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Emma cried out, eyes wide open with terror as the sword of the pirate was within inches of her neck.
Killian didn't know whether to feel relieved or angry. In the end, he opted for the second option.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Killian asked, pulling away his sword as he glared at her. "Where were you?"
Emma looked at him puzzled.
"I was walking," she simply replied.
"You were..." Killian didn't know if the blonde was kidding, the idea that she had in fact gone to walk through the woods as if nothing happened the night before seeming completely absurd to him. He frowned, and added with annoyance: "Oh, I see. You had the idea of going for a walk without letting me know, after that last night someone almost kidnapped you, right? You're bloody brilliant, Swan."
"Calm down, Hook." Emma replied, seeming to be somewhat annoyed as well. "I told you last night that I can take care of myself. And also, you were asleep, and since I didn't have anything to do, and it was too early to wake you up, I went for a walk."
Her words recalled Killian the fact that she had been supposed to wake him up for his night shift. He couldn't help but to get even more annoyed at the blonde.
"Right. I was asleep, and you were supposed to wake me up at night – you forgot about that?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
"Look, Hook, I feel asleep!" Emma exclaimed. "I will be more careful next time, sorry."
There was something that made him doubt of her. It was probably that once again, the blonde had dark circles and seemed tired. Letting out a grunt, he however decided to leave the subject alone.
"One of these days you'll give me a bloody heart attack, Swan." He spoke through gritted teeth, before turning around, to return to where he had left their things.
During the first few hours of walking they stayed quiet, Killian walking in front, in a bad mood.
Bloody Swan, how could she have been so stupid? He could have died of fright. After all, he could have lost his reward, his chance of revenge.
A small voice in his head asked him if it was his revenge that had worried him so much.
"Do you think that we will find another river? I would like to wash my face." The blonde spoke, wiping the sweat from her brow.
Killian shrugged. "I don't know, maybe."
"Look, Hook, sorry for scaring you early. I didn't mean to do that." Killian heard the girl speak, however he wasn't paying much attention.
He could hear a noise, it was far away but he heard it.
"I won't go far away without telling you about it again." Emma kept on talking.
"Hush, love."
"What?" He heard Emma speak with indignation. "I am apologizing to you, and you hush me? Being a pirate doesn't mean that you have to be-"
"Swan, be silent. I'm trying to listen to something." Killian interrupted her once more.
"Listen to what?" Emma whispered.
Killian remained still for a few seconds. The sound was too far away for him to be able to identify it.
"Let's go find out."
When they found the source of the sound, it turned out to be something unexpected for both of them. They hid behind a tree, since they saw tents, and several men, wearing armors, and as they watched them they appeared to be picking up their stuff, preparing to probably leave the place.
"Do you think they're looking for me?" Emma tip-toed, and whispered in his ear, trying to be as quiet as possible. Killian nodded.
"If someone goes into these forests is to seek out for you, Swan." He said in a whisper as well.
"We should get out of here." She replied.
"Aye... Let's go east, now. I don't want to take any risks, the sooner we're away, the better."
Killian wanted to avoid a confrontation as much as possible. Not out of fear, but because with Emma at his side, fighting would not be too easy. They were outnumbered, and it was very risky. It would be very easy for them to surround him, take Emma away as he fought.
After a while of walking, Emma seemed to realize something: "Hook, those men weren't like that thief from last night, they were wearing armors. They must work for someone... What if it is for the queen? Perhaps she already knows that I'm not in the tower anymore. Perhaps she's looking for me." She spoke in a restless tone, and Killian believed it was very possible for her to be right. Another reason for him to want to move away from the place quickly.
"You could be right, love, and for that reason we shouldn't stop today."
That day they didn't make their usual stops to rest and eat. Killian preferred to take precautions, and gain the greatest distance possible with whomever were those people they had bumped into earlier. They walked until the sun had set, and darkness began to wrap around them. When they stopped, they were all exhausted, and hungry. As soon as they could they started a fire, cooked a couple of fish, and once they were cooked, Killian and Emma fell into total silence while they devoured their food.
Both were sitting, still feeling full and heavy because of the food, and Killian thought that perhaps the blonde was too tired to speak, that she would go to sleep right away. However, after a while she spoke:
"Tell me about your reward."
Killian sighed. And the girl once again proved to be annoyingly insistent.
"Why are you so insistent on this topic?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Because I want to know what is so important for you to risk your life to rescue me." Emma answered with seriousness, and there it was again, that voice tone that indicated that she was not going to leave him in peace until she got what she wanted.
Killian snorted, and took out his bottle from his jacket. He knew where this conversation was headed towards to, and if he was going to tell the story to Emma, he needed to seek out for his faithful rum's assistance.
"Your parents have the crocodile locked up. You are my key to get to them, and they'll take me to him. And finally, I will get my revenge." He told her, to then take a sip of rum.
"You'll kill him?" Emma asked carefully.
"I have waited over a century for that." Killian nodded, drinking once again.
Emma frowned, thinking for a few moments.
"Your hand wasn't the only thing he took away from you, was it?" She spoke, more of a statement than a question. Once more, she proved to have an impressive intelligence and cunning.
"Since when are you so intuitive?" He asked bitterly, not liking the fact that it had been so easy for the girl to read him.
"So, I am right." A self-indulgent smile appeared on her face.
Killian took another couple of drinks, and turned his gaze away from Emma, focusing on what he was about to tell her.
"I once fell in love with a woman..." He began to speak, but was quickly interrupted by the princess.
"Milah." The word that came out of the blonde's mouth made Killian immediately rotate his head back to see her, eyes open with surprise.
"What the hell, Swan?" He exclaimed, for a moment fearing that she could indeed read him.
"You have that name tattooed on your arm." Emma quickly explained, diverting her sight to his right arm. She smiled a little embarrassed, "Twenty years of loneliness makes you learn to look at even the smallest of details."
The woman always seemed to find how to impress him.
"Okay, I think that's great. Now, can I tell you the bloody story without you interrupting?" He asked, to which Emma nodded. Killian took another sip before continuing: "She was married, but was unhappy. She was right to feel that way, because the man was nothing more than a coward. She fled away with me, and he begged me to give her back to him. I told him that he would have to fight for her, as a man, and he didn't. She was too good for him. She was brave and bold, the moment she stepped on my ship she became a pirate. And then, one day the man came back, with magic, powerful and dark magic. He killed her, and then he cut my hand. Since then, I've sought to kill him."
He took another sip, this one longer than normal, as if trying to drown with it the anger and pain that this story caused him.
Emma remained in silence for a few minutes, watching him carefully, almost as if she was analyzing him.
"You must've loved her a lot."
"There are only two things that are worth dying for, Swan." He told her, diverting his gaze to the fire, which was beginning to go off. "Love and revenge. He took my love, and now I won't rest until he pays."
Another sip.
"Is it really worth that much? Shouldn't you let her go?" Killian heard the girl ask, and he sighed.
"Please, Swan, you wouldn't ever understand." He said, not giving her words much importance.
"I understand that killing someone is not going to make her come back to you. It's not going to fill that emptiness." Emma replied firmly, and Killian buried his eyes into her own.
"What do you know about emptiness?" He asked with irritation.
"I grew up isolated from the world." Emma replied with a frown, that question seemed to have bothered her. "I was taken away from my family, away from all I ever loved when I was just a child."
"And tell me, Swan, now that you're an expert in these things: What according to you should I do?" Killian offered him a sarcastic smile, the alcohol or the fact that she seemed to speak as if he was all mistaken enraged him.
"I don't know, but wasting your life looking for how to murder a man does not seem to me the right decision!" Emma exclaimed, as if she had to explain to a child something that was obvious.
"Oh, go to sleep, Swan, I won't speak more of this." He spoke sharply.
"Fine." Emma replied, looking at him indignantly, and then she lied down, turning her back on him.
Killian was leaning against the tree, still taking sips. Truly, that infuriating woman was something unique.
A few minutes later, he saw with the corner of his eye as Emma turned around, now being face-up. Her eyes were open.
"Have trouble sleeping, love?" He asked, his annoyance had already faded to the background. It was probably because he was slightly drunk.
"It's too cold." She replied.
"Come here, then." Killian suggested with a grin.
"Are you serious?" Emma raised an eyebrow at him.
"Yes, love. We can share our body heat."
Emma looked at the sky for a couple of minutes, and the fact that she had not responded any sharp reply back, made him think that she was indeed considering it.
And in fact, Emma in the end finally stood up, approaching him. Killian placed his bottle away in his jacket, getting comfortable on the grass.
Awkwardly she laid down close to him, completely stiff. Killian let out a laugh, those details were the ones that reminded him that the woman had spent nearly twenty years without any contact with another human being. He put his arm around the shoulder of the girl, bringing her closer to him, and she seemed to understand, for she surrounded him with one arm and then laid down her head on his chest. Noting that if she was indeed somewhat cold, Killian stroked her arm, trying to give her more heat.
"Thank you." She muttered.
"Enjoying, aren't you?" Killian said, amused.
"Hush before I regret this." Emma grumbled.
Killian laughed. There was something in that position that made him feel more than good, and now that he was for the first time this close to the blonde, bodies pressed up together, he thought that he could get used to being that way.
Killian thought about her words from before. Letting go? Everything he had done in the last hundred years, he had done it to avenge Milah. The thing that Emma suggested was ridiculous, something he just couldn't do.
He stared at her, still in his arms, looking small and fragile- although he had learned that she was not as fragile as she appeared to be. There was something in her that was different from any other lady he could recall ever knowing. Emma never failed to surprise him, and right there where he was, slightly drunk, he noticed that he was liking the girl more than he ever thought he ever would.
He could remember that he was supposed to stay awake for a few hours, to then wake her up and then he would be able to rest. However, the girl in his arms, the alcohol and the fatigue made the task a difficult one. He could smell her hair -a sweet smell-, and feel Emma's hot breath against his chest.
Killian didn't have any idea if the blonde was already sleeping, but a few moments later the warmth of the girl next to him made him begin to close his eyes no matter how hard he fought, the sound of her soft breathing began putting him to sleep until he wasn't able to do anything else than letting go.
A/N: Is this my fancy way of saying that Killian is starting to like Emma? PERHAPS! Bwahahaha.
