A/N: This chapter was supposed to be part of the last one, but I thought it would be too much on one chapter alone, so I decided to break it into two. ;) And since I didn't update last week, here's a new one! Please, review review review! Thanks for reading and enjoy!


VI

Ariel went straight to the cabin as soon as she stepped aboard the Jolly Roger. She closed the door behind her and stood there, her back to the carved wood. She didn't realize how shaky she was until she found herself alone in the room. She lifted a hand in front of her eyes noticed as it shook uncontrollably.

"Damn it," she whispered to herself, holding her hands in front of her body and taking deep breaths.

Of course the experience in Agrabah was, at the very least, interesting for her. But that wasn't why she felt her heart slamming in her chest or why her hands shook so much. The name Eric provoked that sensation in her. She hadn't really thought about it, and it surprised her how uneasy she reacted to the idea of him. It was as if only then she remembered what he did, or tried to do, with her. And more important than that: he probably still wanted her to account for her actions.

Should she tell Jones about it? Would he hand her to Eric? Or worse, would he consider her a liability and tell her to leave? No matter how nice Jones had been with her, treating her as one of his own, he still had her under his watch. As if he was always testing her, waiting for her to do something, watching her every step. And Ariel, of course, was smarter than to trust a pirate. She wasn't human, but she knew men of the sea like no one else, and years of listening and watching royal, pirates or really any kind of sailor made her very aware of how they were. Pirates were treacherous men who lived for their own interest and nothing else. If Jones considered in his interest to hand her to Eric, she would have a problem. But Jones wouldn't do that, would he?

"Ariel?" Milah's voice came from the other side of the door after a knock. Ariel jumped on her feet.

"Are you feeling alright, love?" Milah continued due to the mermaid's silence.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you," Ariel managed to sound calm. "I need some rest only."

"Alright," Milah voice was doubtful, but she decided to leave it at that. "I'm in my cabin if you need me."

"Thanks," Ariel breathed out, relieved when she heard Milah's stepping away from the door.

It was somewhat long since Ariel was bothered again. The sea made the Jolly Roger's way back to Phrygia a very bumpy ride, but Ariel was used to the way the ship moved. The rough bumps had stopped by then, and the ship rocked slowly. She sat over a dresser pinned to the wooden floor, hugging her legs and resting her chin over her knees. She liked sitting there; it wasn't very comfortable, but she could see the horizon and the seawater splashing against the ship as it sailed by the tiny round windows of the cabin.

Ariel never thought she would miss the sea. Of course, she was always close to the sea, one way or another, but she missed swimming in it, freely and carelessly. Maybe this was what Jones talked about when he said he couldn't understand why she'd want to be human? She liked being human now. Her first experiences weren't the greatest, but ever since she'd been aboard the Jolly Roger, she didn't regret her decision. But, at the same time, for the first time, that night as they sailed towards Phrygia, Ariel missed being a mermaid.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," a voice called for Ariel's attention.

She glanced at the door, slowly, when she recognized the voice. There stood Jones, lying carelessly on his side on the doorframe, his arms folded in front of his body. He had been observing Ariel for a few minutes already, she obviously didn't notice him before and wouldn't have if he hadn't spoke. The way she looked at him clearly showed she was a lot more at ease then when they boarded.

"No, you're not," Ariel said lowly and glanced away from him, back to the waters outside. The full moon illuminated the ship's path vividly, suggesting it was way past midnight.

"My men tell me you took a bath and stayed here since we left Agrabah's waters," he said cautiously as he approached the girl. She didn't glance back at him until he stopped beside her and looked outside.

"You are awfully uneasy since we left," he said, looking through the window, but he knew the mermaid looked at him.

"Too much to process. The sand, the curse…" she lied. He glanced at her and their eyes met. With her sitting on the dresser, she could look at him eye to eye, without having to look up. He took full advantage of that and locked his eyes on hers.

"Really?" his tone was as sarcastic as his expression. He raised an eyebrow and let out a smile.

"If you have something to say, just say it," the words were out of her mouth before she could process them properly. The smile vanished from the pirate's face, and she tensed up, but her face remained expressionless.

"Fierce, are we?" his tone was less sarcastic, but still ironic. "Too much time spent in Milah's company, I'd wager."

"I'm not in the mood for games," she ignored his last comment and looked out the window again.

The pirate captain was impressed by her words, but no less indignant as he would be if they were spoken by anyone else. He turned his body to her and folded his arms in front of his chest. With his movements, Ariel looked back at him. She rose her head and chin sitting up straight, but with her knees still bent under her light dress, her barefoot on the edge of the dresser. She knew at once when looking into his eyes that she definitely used the wrong words.

"Not in the mood?" Jones said as calmly as before, but his eyes transmitted all he didn't in tone. He was pissed. "So you disrespect me, in my ship."

"I'm not disrespecting you," Ariel didn't look away from his eyes, as much as she wanted to. She wasn't very sure of what could happen next. If she ever thought of telling Jones about Eric, after the way she just talked to him, he might make her walk the plank that very night.

"You are playing me with words," she continued, defensively, and Jones tilted his head to the side, his eyes never leaving hers. "You always do. I have a right to be fierce about it."

No one ever talked to Killian Jones that way. He wasn't sure if he was amused, pissed or just really impressed at the girl. Maybe she didn't realize whom she was talking with. Maybe she didn't know that speaking like that to a pirate captain could cost her life. But he would be naive to think that; Ariel had been aboard the Jolly Roger for almost a month, she had seen the way the men treated him, she had seen him order his men to sure death that very afternoon simply because it was fitting to. She knew better. And he knew she did. And this wasn't Milah as well, Milah was sure a strong-minded lass, but she'd sure as hell teach Ariel where the limit was, by - for starters - never crossing it herself. This was Ariel all along. Ariel wasn't afraid. Ariel wasn't… Anything.

And Ariel hid something. And he would find out what she was hiding. Dealing with the mermaid's sharp tongue and figuring out how he felt about it had to wait.

"Oh well, it's only fair for me to treat you that way, love," he tried to ease the expression in his eyes and let out a smile. Ariel frowned at that. "You," he pointed at her. "Are doing the same."

"I'm not playing you!" she said defensively, her look still narrowed, and left the dresser, standing on her feet in front of him.

"Oh, is that so?" he stepped closer and looked down at her, his arms were folded in front of his chest, but he almost pinned her to the dresser all the same.

It all seemed to her very much like the night she met Eric, but despite the pirate in front of her looking more terrifying with his expressive eyes than the drunken prince, and her life depending much more on his actions, she did not fear him as much as feared Eric. She didn't fear Jones at all. These confusing thoughts made her freeze in front of him.

"Do you care to tell me why did these big blue eyes of yours get so wide when you hear Prince Eric's name?" she wide opened her eyes just the way he said she did. He kept looking down at her, his tone as calm as before, his own eyes not as piercing as before, but still inquisitive.

"Or, more specifically," Jones continued due to her stunned silence. "When I mentioned it was because of him that I lost my sword, which happened to be in the same night you so heroically rescued me?"

Ariel felt her heart slamming on her chest all over again. She stared at Jones' eyes for what seemed like hours, but were really just a few seconds. She swallowed dryly and broke eye contact with him, looking down.

"I don't know what you're speaking of," she said lower and la ot less daring than before. Her defenses shattered so easily by the captain that she felt almost angry about it.

"Sure you don't," he scoffed and took the girl's chin, still gently, with his hand. He made her look up to him. This time the shiver she felt was a lot different than the ones before.

"You do realize that if you are hiding something from me that involves Quutamo, I will find out, don't you?" he continued lowly, she stared back at him, swallowing dryly once again. "And if this, in any way, can be used against me or my crew I will not be happy about it."

Ariel simply did not know what to say. She took her chin away from his hand by simply turning her head to the side. She stared at the round small windows, from where she was standing now all she could see was the moon outside. She breathed deeply and sensed the pirate loosing his patience with her silence.

"I'm giving you a chance to explain yourself, Ariel," he said, looking down at her, he rested a hand on the dressed behind her, his arm blocking her view of the window, she looked back at him.

"I know you hide something," he said even lower and glanced at the opened door. It was late, no one would walk on the corridor now, but he just wanted to make sure.

"I have been to Quutamo before," Ariel said at once and his eyes went right back to hers.

"When you were a mermaid," he nodded, following her thought. She shook her head.

"No," Ariel whispered and glanced at the door, also making sure no one would hear them.

"No?"

"The night I…" she trailed off and looked down, she took the trail of her dress with her right hand. "The legs…"

"Yes," Jones nodded, understanding at once what she meant. Even though she wasn't looking at him, he could see her eyes glooming with tears at the mention of the fateful night she made a deal. He had seen in the cave, and he saw it again now.

"A ship from Quutamo's fleet was being ambushed by my sisters," she looked back at him, as if by a spell, her tears had vanished. "After the deal and the Dark One, he— they…" but she trailed off again.

"Yes," he encouraged her to continue again.

"The ship went back to Quutamo, confused, when the singing broke off," she explained. She felt the words catching up in her throat every time, but if she didn't open up now, Killian would never forgive her.

"I followed them," she said even lower than before. Jones frowned at that, she observed his reaction carefully.

"Why?" he contained himself before assuming anything.

"I had seen him—them before," she corrected herself quickly. "I liked to watch them."

"Him?" Jones asked. She obviously wasn't quick enough. "Who's him?"

"Eric," she looked down as soon as she pronounced the name and missed the change in Jones' expression.

He went from curious to furious in the flick of an eye, his eyes as piercing as when she talked back to him. He took her by the chin with his free hand again, this time not so gentle and made her look at him.

"Do you work for Eric? Did he send you?" he tried not to raise his voice, but that proved to be difficult. Thankfully enough it was too late and his men too drunk in the night to hear him.

"No!" Ariel's tone was so indignant that he let go of her chin at once. He didn't hurt her, but she was appalled either way. By his question and not his gesture.

"I would never!" she continued, lowering her voice, but no less angry. Her guard went all up again, she stared at him defiantly, and he took his hand from the dresser as she locked her eyes on his.

"You offend me!" she continued and he was so impressed he didn't cut her this time. "I would never harm you— your ship, your crew. Ever!"

"And why not?" were his only words to her defensive response. His look wasn't furious anymore, but he still needed to hear more from her to ease up.

"You are nice to me," her expression eased up as she spoke, but her eyes still locked on his. "You don't treat me differently. Your crew… Milah, Jack… you… Even the ones that still don't like me and shoot me looks…"

This took the pirate by surprise; he even took a small step back. He observed as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as if all of that was really difficult for her to say. What surprised him the most was, despite all odds, his gut believe every word she said.

"Then why are you scared of going back to Quutamo?" Jones asked carefully. Despite believing her, he still had to find out why she was so uneasy about Quutamo and Eric.

"The night I followed Eric's ship," she opened her eyes as she started to speak, and looked up at him, her expression a lot more relaxed. " It was my first time with legs, I had no idea how to act, what to do and how men can be. I went on land, a man grabbed me, Eric saved me, and he invited me to their welcome home party in a tavern. I went and I was fascinated. But then Eric, he…"

"What happened, Ariel?" Jones frowned when she trailed off again and looked away from him. From the sound of this and by the things he knew of Eric, he knew exactly where this was going.

"He tried to…" she gestured with her hands, uneasy, and didn't look in his eyes. "He tried to kiss me—"

"By force," he completed her sentence and she looked up at him surprised, her eyebrows up. "He's known for being a charming lad," he said sarcastically, but quickly grew serious again. "Did he? Or anything else?"

"No," she shook her head and he was the one surprised again. "I could poison him," she shrugged. "But I wasn't really afraid of that, I was afraid of him. I ran away."

Jones opened his mouth to speak, but organized his thoughts first and said nothing. He wanted to laugh as he imagined Eric's face, but this obviously wasn't as funny for her. It was probably the worst first experience she could have had as a human. And suddenly everything became crystal clear in his mind; the memory of Hugo reading the raven from Quutamo came to his mind at once.

"Wait, you're the girl," he said, half amused half impressed. Ariel frowned.

"What girl?"

"We received a raven from a friend in Quutamo," Jones explained, a smile crossed his face. "He said Eric was furious some girl refused him. Had to be you."

"He sent men after me," Ariel explained, unsure of what to make of the captain's sudden smile. "I was so scared I swam away."

"… And he never found you," Jones completed and scoffed, shaking his head.

"I'm telling the truth, Jones," she grabbed him by the arm and searched for his eyes with her own. "I swear."

"I know you are, love," he looked down at her and calmed the girl down. Obviously the fact he was smiling at the situation made her unsure of him. He tried his best to remain serious.

"He knows me, he must be after me," she continued, when he looked at her eyes again. "This could bring danger to your mission, to your crew, to you. I can stay in Phrygia with the ship, I can help the ones who will stay to look after it."

"Oh, no, no, no, no," Jones shook his head, the smirk came back to his lips, he stepped closer to her, their bodies an inch apart and he looked down. "You are coming with us, sweetheart."

"But…" Ariel trailed off. Would he sell her to Eric? She couldn't believe it! After all she had told him? But she couldn't move or resuming speaking as well. Her body shivered the way it did many times before with his closeness. She looked in his eyes, puzzled. Not afraid.

"Could be dangerous, but I never turned from a challenge," he said with that smirk of his. Ariel opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her. "I want to see the look on that prick's face when he sees you," he gestured with his head down to her, "With us."

Ariel scoffed and looked away, stepping back. Killian Jones almost killed her with a heart attack, but he wouldn't sell her. And by the look on his face, he wouldn't kill or banish her from the Jolly Roger either. She still had a lot to learn to be able to figure out his actions and looks. But she managed a smile, relieved at once.

x

It was the third night on board back to Phrygia. Ariel stood by the bow, supporting her weight against the rail on port side, she looked at the horizon and could see Phrygia already, very tiny and miles and miles away. It was a chilly night, much different than when they left Agrabah and she wore her coat over her dress.

The sea was so calm and still that if she looked at the water, she could see a perfect reflex of the starry sky above her, dark and mysterious. The moon up high illuminated the Roger's path just like the night she talked to Jones.

A night that Ariel still tried to process in her mind. Everything turned out way better than she expected and, again, the pirate captain surprised her. She really thought he would either sell her to Eric or banish her from the Roger, by walking the plank right there and then or leaving her in Phrygia. It scared her to realize that she was much more afraid of being banished than be sold to Eric.

And Eric. Eric and Jones. Something obviously had happened between the two of them. Jones knew Eric and he seemed to really loathe the prince. There should be a reason why, but she did not find enough courage to ask the captain. After their talk, he told her he'd share her story with Jack, but assured her he would leave out the part of how and why she got to Quutamo and after he left that night, she really hadn't had the chance to speak with him any way.

Despite what anyone would think, Jones was always busy on board. Most times confined in Jack's cabin in meetings with the quartermaster, a thing Milah hated because she often needed to be elsewhere when it happened, or he would spend his time below decks with most of the green sailors. Milah explained to Ariel whoever didn't wear a bandana or a hat on board was sure to be a prospect sailor and not yet a part of the crew. Ariel remembered Jones only took prospects to look for the treasure of Agrabah and wondered if the captain really doubted there was a curse or not. He sure didn't mind the three lives he lost there, as if he carefully chose them.

Ariel could hear the clinking of swords below decks, the few laughs and yells, and deduced Jones was probably fighting with someone there. Another thing that the captain loved to do; she woke up more than once with the sounds of laughter and yells from below decks, but since she'd never dare to step there, Milah explained to her the sailors often trained their sword form there. Sometimes it would turn bloody and Ariel would see sailors who looked perfectly fine the day before walking the deck with a missing limb, battered or still even bleeding. They didn't seem to mind.

"You are up early, sweetheart," a frail voice came from behind Ariel. She looked at its source and met Dope Eye walking towards her.

Dope Eye was a man of over seventy years old, the oldest aboard. Every inch of his wrinkled body was tattooed, except for his face. Despite his fierce appearance, the old man had a warm, almost completely toothless, smile. He always wore a red bandana and a black pirate hat with a fancy, but already ragged and old, feather on the side. He walked with the help of a wooden stick and missed three fingers on his right hand. His remaining ones, however, were filled with rings. He walked a little arched and Ariel admired how balanced he was even when there was a storm, as if he was pinned to the ship.

"Or did you never sleep?" he stopped beside her and sat on the small step to the forecastle platform, right in front of her. Ariel smiled at him.

"Woke up early," she replied with a smile, looking down at him.

"Ah, so young to have such a light sleep" his voice was always the same calm and low. "Some warm tea would warm your belly and put you to sleep. I just had some. There's some left if you'd like."

"No, thank you, Dopey," she smiled again and looked away from him for a moment, creating some internal courage to speak.

"You have been here for a long time, haven't you?" she asked lowly, unsure if she was even allowed to speak of it.

"Oh, it's showing now, eh?" Dope Eye joked. Ariel chuckled shyly. "What do you want to know, sweetheart?"

"Well," Ariel sat beside him, putting both of her hands over her knees and spoke lowly. "What is it with Eric and the Captain?"

If there was someone who, probably, wouldn't be offended of her asking questions she shouldn't be asking, this person would definitely by Dope Eye. He analyzed the girl for a second, his tiny grey eyes locked on hers.

"Killian is not the only that has a problem with Eric, my love," he said with a half smile. Ariel noted only now that he was the only one who called and spoke of Jones by his first name.

"Did he ever tell you how he got the Roger?"

Ariel remembered her first day on board, when Jones took her to the cabin and the ship as a whole fascinated her. She remembered him telling her he inherited the ship from its former captain, who stole it from King Richard's father, King William.

"He told me the former captain stole it from King Richard's father," Ariel shrugged when the elder smiled. "And that he inherited from him."

"Not true," Dope Eye said and smiled when Ariel scoffed. "He was probably testing you, to know if you'd react to the lie. How Killian got his hands on the Roger is a vey known tale in Quutamo and among most men of the sea."

"I'm not from Quutamo," Ariel shrugged and looked down, shyly.

"Nor a man of the sea," Dope Eye joked again, Ariel smiled and looked at him. "Killian is very defensive of his ship, do not take it personally. He didn't trust you then."

"I don't think he does now either," Ariel confessed and Dope Eye chuckled lowly, shaking his head.

"Ah, he does, love," he said and Ariel tilted her head to the side, confused. "You'd be dead by now if he didn't."

"Why didn't he tell me the truth about the Roger, then?" Ariel enquired, but her tone was playful. Dope Eye looked away from her, thoughtfully.

"Because he never tells it, to anyone."

"Milah told me you are great at storytelling because you know how to build up the suspense," Ariel said with a smile, the elder looked at her and smiled back. "You will tell me the real story, won't you?"

"To tell you how Killian got the Roger and why he hates King Richard and Prince Eric, I need to start way before," Dope Eye said and noted the girl's eyes shining with interest. "It's a long tale."

"I've lost my sleep," Ariel said with a smile. Dope Eye nodded in a 'very well' manner and sat more comfortably, resting his back against the rail.

"Killian and Jack were both survivors of a sinking ship," he started. Ariel grew interested by every word, listening attentively. "Poor boys didn't remember much about home, only it was a place called Gillian that had been plundered in the Ogre War, hence why a ship sailed from it with its few survivors."

"They were rescued on a deserted island by a royal Quutamo ship. It was a cabin boy that saw them, the King's son, Prince Eric, who was only 10 back then," he continued and noted Ariel's interest growing at the sound of the prince's name. "The men didn't pay much attention to the boys, but Eric insisted to bring them aboard. The prince was already known for being stubborn and spoiled, so fearing his father, the men rescued Killian, who was also 10 at the time, and Jack, who was 17."

Ariel tried to picture Jones as a child, but the image just never right in her mind. She nodded for Dope Eye to continue.

"The boys were brought before King Richard, who didn't pay them much mind and were also forgotten by Eric, once the boy was on land and among his own little royal friends."

Ariel didn't have much difficulty in picturing Eric forgetting the boys, however.

"Some men who worked on port took some pity on the boys without family and put them up to work in Quutamo's main port in exchange for food and shelter," he continued. "The boys made some unusual friends working there and with their frequent visits to the taverns around. One special man took notice of their fierce knowledge of routes, sailing and most importantly: merchant ships. This man was Captain Flint, of the infamous pirate ship The Walrus, that is when I met Jones and Jack, I served on the Walrus."

Ariel's eyes lighted up. She had heard men speaking of the Walrus; everyone talked about the Walrus and its infamous captain. She heard sailors telling tales of Flint's famous ambushes and, impressively enough, plunders and blood that came with it. She couldn't imagine frail and warm Dope Eye being part of that.

"Killian, the quick of thought lad he is, made a deal with Flint," Dope Eye continued after noting by the young woman's eyes that she had heard of the Walrus. "He granted The Walrus safe passage in Quutamo as well as information about the cargo and routes of merchants ships that crossed Quutamo's waters. He was only thirteen when he started, Jack was twenty, but Killian was always the brains and Jack his conscience."

"When Killian turned twenty himself, Flint offered him and Jack positions aboard The Walrus. These two were bright from a very young age," he commented with a smile on his face. "Back then, Flint had been having problems with his quartermaster for some time, John Long Silver. Silver wasn't as cold and heartless as Flint and often protested the captain's plundering actions."

"Flint had become a mentor to both Killian and Jack even before they became part of the crew," Dope Eye continued and Ariel nodded, completely absorbed by the tale. "Silver eventually left his service aboard the Walrus. And it wasn't until years later when he returned aboard the Jolly Roger, a Captain of the Quutamo fleet to destroy The Walrus, that we saw him again."

"Silver joined the Quutamo's royal navy?" Ariel asked with her eyes wide, in shock.

"Oh, by then Quutamo's economy was at stake, they needed all the help they could get," Dope Eye said, supporting both of his hands on his walking stick between his legs. "Because of its severe winter, most of their food and supplies are bought from other lands. Killian and Jack knew every route and every schedule, and when they left Quutamo to serve aboard the Walrus, their friend Hugo kept giving them the information they needed to ambush the ships with no problems whatsoever."

Now Ariel understood better why Hugo and Jack were the only ones to protest over the captain's actions and commands. They were friends from way before.

"The way they did it didn't please Silver, so he left and enlisted in Quutamo's royal navy," Dope Eye continued. "Killian was 24 when Silver left and he was made the Walrus' quartermaster. Some may say Silver was jealous of both of the boys' abilities and Flint's fatherly affection towards them, but why Silver decided to betray Flint is a delicate subject neither Killian nor Jack ever speak of and I wouldn't be able to tell you either, for I'm afraid I don't know why."

Ariel noted sadness in Dope Eye's grey eyes when he spoke of Silver. The elder took a moment and looked away from the girl. Unsure of what to do, Ariel put a hand over the man's wrinkled ones and smiled when he looked back at her.

"So the Jolly Roger was originally Silver's?" she hesitantly tried to pull him back to the story.

"No, it was Prince Eric's, as is every ship in Quutamo to this date," he smiled at the girl's touch and continued. "The young prince has a skill for sailing, there is no denying it. He's Quutamo's Royal Navy Admiral."

Everything started to slowly make sense in Ariel's mind. Why Jones had a rivalry with Eric, why it was a ship from Eric's fleet that attacked the Roger the night she saved him…

"Eric was decided to make his father proud, so he set sail aboard the Jolly Roger, his fastest ship, captained by Silver, and went on a hunt on The Walrus," Dope Eye continued. "It was a bloody unfair battle when the Jolly Roger and two others of Eric's fleet ships surrounded and took the Walrus on open sea. Eric slit Flint's throat himself, in front of Killian."

Ariel wide opened her eyes, startled at the revelation. Now she also understood why Jones didn't tell her the truth. She wouldn't either if she were him. She'd never imagine Jones ever went through such a traumatizing event in his life. Not by his smirks and his defensiveness and guard, which also made complete sense now.

"Before the Walrus succumbed, we took down two of Eric's ships," Dope Eye noted again all of her reactions. "The men aboard the Walrus were vicious and bloodthirsty, but we could not bring the Jolly Roger down, and we couldn't really, for The Walrus was already on the bottom of the sea with the other two. But Killian did take the Roger and killed Silver with his own hands, on this very deck."

He glanced at the bow and Ariel followed his eyes, imagining the scene there years ago. This was something she could clearly picture Jones doing.

"To this day, love," Dope Eye said and his eyes met Ariel's again. "I have never seen Killian as angry and vengeful as I did that day. And against all odds, he took the Jolly Roger, with less than twenty men. All dead today, with the exception of Killian himself, Jack and yours truly."

"And Eric?" Ariel asked. Something seemed off, Eric was alive. Ariel couldn't understand why Jones would spare the life of the man who murdered his mentor.

"Now, Killian is very much heartless and even cold blooded, I'm sure you've noticed," Dope Eye said as if he had read her thoughts. "But, he has this personal code Flint taught him in his mind and he could not bring himself to kill Eric, for it was the prince who saved him and Jack from that island years ago. So he brings Eric hostage, close enough to Quutamo and releases him on a boat."

"A decision I'm sure he regrets to this day," Ariel shrugged, remembering the rage in Jones' eyes when she mentioned Eric.

"I am not sure he regrets it. It's very hard to make out what Jones feels about anything," the elder shrugged and smiled when Ariel nodded at his last comment. "But one thing is known, he loathes Eric for killing Flint. The battle of the Walrus happened a good six or seven years ago, they have settled but the hate remains."

"He told me a much shorter, slightly different version of this story," Ariel didn't blame him now. "I never thought there was so much history to the Jolly Roger. Or Jones."

"Oh, there's much more," Dope Eye said with a warm laugh. "Killian is feared by every sailing men out there because of the Roger and what he made of it."

"Well, he is a bit heartless," Ariel stated lowly, more to herself than the elder in front of her.

"Only to those who stand between him and his goals," Dope Eye said and took Ariel's hand with both of his. "The men on this ship, the ones who have been here long enough, these men would die willingly for him and for Jack. Every pirate is a bit misunderstood, sweetheart."

"You aren't heartless," Ariel smiled when he squeezed her hand gently. He let out another warm laugh.

"I'm more experienced at hiding it, love," he said. Ariel couldn't picture Dope Eye heartless, but by the stories she heard of The Walrus, he couldn't be anything much different from it.

"Does he scare you, love?" he asked, suddenly. Ariel frowned.

"Who? Jones?" she asked, her eyebrows up. He nodded. "No… I don't think so."

Ariel hadn't thought about it either. Surely Jones made her at times apprehensive, specially the night they talked about Eric. But scared? She was surprised to discover she wasn't. Not even a little. When clearly she should be, after all she saw and heard.

"He would never hurt you, love," he assured, fiercely with his eyes locked on hers.

"Wouldn't he?" she raised only an eyebrow this time, suspiciously. "How do you know, Dopey?"

"Oh, let us say I have a sense for these things," he smiled and winked at her, standing up slowly. She stood up at once and helped him. "Too many years on these waters with nothing to think about except what others have on their minds, makes you an expert on these things."

"Alas, the tea has helped me and my eyes feel tired," he held Ariel's hand when the girl stood with him, her other hand on his back. He looked her in the eye again. "Go back to sleep, child, there's still a full day of sailing."

Ariel observed the elder slowly making his way to the passage below deck and rested her weight on the rail again, left alone with her own now much different impressions of Killian Jones and his actions and ways.