A/N : I keep getting more and more ASTONISHED by your response to this fic. Woah. Thank you so much!


Chapter 7 : Tough, pretty and smart

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It was the silence that woke Emma. No howling, no wolves crying, no blizzard. Only a strangely close breath and the beating of a strangely close heart. The princess felt a warmth trailing down the palm of her hand, drawing delicate circles and brushing her skin.

"Hello love," she heard as she opened her eyes. Oh, right. Him.

"What the hell are you doing with my hand?" she asked, her eyes still half-closed.

"Just drawing a map."

The princess closed her fist and chuckled. "A map? Seriously? Could you be any weirder?"

He flashed her a mischievious smile, his look finally landing on her face. "Well I could tell you that I've been awake for now two hours and I didn't want to wake you up because the view is quite pleasant."

"Captain Creepy would suit you so much better," she scoffed.

The pirate smiled and scanned her face, peering into her green eyes. "Tough, pretty and smart. Sounds like the very definition of dangerous to me. Now shut up get up love."

Whereupon, he suddenly jumped out from the bed, forcing Emma to follow quite violently.

"Care to untie me handsome?" Emma asked with a charming tone -the one she used to achieve her ends.

"Hum...I don't know..." Hook answered with a significative smirk. "You're not the kind of girls who should be allowed to walk freely. I have to say I fear your claws princess."

"Well, if you don't untie me now you'll sure have to worry about your pretty face and perfect skin."

Hook grinned, lowered his eyes and got closer to her, until he felt her breath on his mouth. "What if I wanted you tied up to me love?" he asked lowly, an indescribable emotion glittering under his thick and black lashes.

"You'd better not," Emma answered as lowly, a look of iron taking over her soft hazel eyes.

"May I know why?"

She tilted her head to the side and caressed his cheek, causing him to shiver. "I'm doomed Captain."

Hook scoffed. "I doubt you're more doomed than I am, love. Plus, a beloved and beautiful princess bound to rule a peaceful kingdom... Yes this definitely sounds like a curse."

"You know nothing about me, pirate," she spat, trying to get away from him.

He grabbed her wrist and held it tight, so tight she could not help but wince in pain. His voice became harsher, his look harder. "I know enough to be certain that you never experienced pain or sorrow darling."

"And how would you know that?"

The pirate let go of her wrist, suddenly realizing he was crashing her bones. "The clouds," he let out in a whisper, his eyes now set on the floor.

"Excuse me?"

He sighed, his eyes locked on hers. "The clouds in the eye. That's how you recognize someone who's suffered. And I've never seen clearer eyes than yours."

The atmosphere became burdensome, the air even seemed colder. The dancing flames had turned to ashes in the fireplace, red pieces of wood giving away to oblivion. They both stood here, the princess and the pirate, their wrists linked by a rope. Emma opened her mouth, but no sound was to make it through her lips. He didn't know her, and yet, he saw right through her. She felt naked around him, without anywhere to hide. His stormy eyes scanned her soul, melted in the very core of her being.

She felt him winding through the maze of her mind and getting drowned into her irises, desperate for answers and clouds. Clouds he would not find. For he was right, Emma didn't know anything about pain. She only knew she was everyone's cause of sorrow, which was very different. She felt his look underneath her skin, making its way in her bones, rushing in her veins. He was inside of her, beholding every little piece of her. And she hated that. "Untie me. Now," she snarled.

Hook didn't answer. He looked strangely... focused, listening closely. He put a finger before his lips and Emma's body tensed. Something was wrong. Suddenly, screams echoed the rattle of swords and Emma understood that she was the reason of this mayhem. She shook her hand and glared at the captain with an I-told-you-so look: "I think you'd better cut off that rope Captain, now."

Hook heaved a heavy sigh and fished a dagger in his pocket. "I'm not taking my eyes off of you for a second."

"I would despair if you did," Emma answered, rolling her eyes. She grabbed her clothes and putthem onas Hook did the same with his. They rushed out of the room and Emma started to head to the fight, her hands gripping her bow.

"Don't even think about it!" Hook barked grabbing her arm. "You take a horse and get out of here princess."

"What? You've got to be kidding me! I'm not staying behind!"

"Look, you're still a valuable merchandise remember? These gentlemen are probably guards of Eurwen. Your home. Somehow they heard about you being here and now they want to rescue you. If they do so, I'll end up with a rope round my neck. So now, you go, and don't even try to best me, you'd regret it."

Emma sighed and glared at the pirate. She wanted to fight. She knew it was not the smartest thing to do, but damn, she wanted to. Ever since she had escaped, she had been told what to do, she had been tied up to a ruthless pirate. She was a captive. And somehow, she had agreed to be one. It was adventure, finally. But she didn't want to be considered as a glass princess or a damsel in distress. So many contradictions tumbled out in her head. Running away and never seeing Hook again, going back home, following his orders and remaining his captive... She had no idea what to do. She didn't understand why, but some kind of force linked her to this man. She felt like she had to stay with him. That he would provide her the adventurous life she craved. She couldn't go back to Eurwen. Not after what she had done to her sister. Was she even alive? No, they would lock her up in a tower and all her dreams of freedom would vanish forever. She had two choices: taking this opportunity and running away, or getting away from the fight and wait for Hook. Freedom or him.

"Do you really think I'm leaving you a choice love?" Hook snapped as if he were reading her thoughts. "You go south towards the port, you follow the royal road without taking it, and you wait for me in Marcus's tavern. Tell him you come from my part. I'll join you quickly. NOW GO."

With these words, he left the room brandishing his sword, hoping she'd make the right choice.

"Where is she?" a man's voice yelled.

"Well, moored to the docks of Conway1 Port, where else would she be?" Hook answered with a grin, as his sword rattled against his opponent's. His men were both held by two guards and rather in hot water to say the least. The odds were not in his favor.

"We don't have time for your riddles, pirate," the man snarled. "I don't give a damn about your bloody ship. Tell us where the princess is. Now."

Hook lowered his head and smiled to the ground. "I'm afraid she's the only woman in all the kingdom that is not in my possession. Now if you'd be kind enough to let me and my men go-"

The man lifted his sword to Hook's throat, the tip of the blade caressing his chin. "I don't think so." The guard moved forward the Captain, his sword still threatening the latter. "The King and Queen want their daughter back. They clearly told their guards that they didn't care about the collateral damages. So... A pirate and his men left to die, their guts spilled in the snow should not be that big of a problem. One last time : where is she?"

The pirate's jaw clenched and he swallowed. He had not come all this way to give her up. She finally was his, he was not going to let her go so easily. But all of this would not matter if he was dead. Well, if he told them, he'd be hung anyway. Perks of being a pirate.

Suddenly, the man's face turned pale, his mouth opened, his eyebrows furrowed in surprise. A thin trickle of blood colored his chin and made its way down his neck. The man fell to his knees, revealing a feminine silhouette. "Right behind you," she said. Emma. The two other guards looked mesmerized. Without further hesitation, they let go of Hook's men and took to their heels.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Hook snapped after a few seconds of silence, astonished and confused.

"You're welcome," she scoffed. "Guess we're even now."

"We're not. I handled this."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Sure you did. If I had listened to you you'd be the one coloring the snow with your blood right now."

"And you thought that killing the man was a great idea because...?"

"He was about to cut your throat!" she yelled, outraged.

The pirate let out a bitter laugh. "Oh no, not to me princess. Don't you pretend it was because you cared about my life."

Silence weighed over them, heavy and stifling. Emma gulped, unsure about her answer. "It was the easiest thing to do," she finally whispered.

A sad expression invaded Hook's face. Killing this man had been the easiest thing to do. But killing is not supposed to be easy. Even for him. A pirate's legend said that a part of your soul leaves your body with evey life you take, bringing you closer to Davy Jones's locker. It only means that killing another human being kills you in the process. Killian Jones had learned it at his expense, looking for revenge. "Let's go before someone discovers the body." That's all he managed to say to the beautiful creature who had just killed a man before his eyes. In cold blood.

On horseback again, his coat wrapped around her once more, they went down a lane parallel to the royal road, heading to Conway Port. No blizzard shook the earth this time, but the sky was colored in black by the large and heavy clouds which filtered the light of the sun. The land seemed to be nothing but a black and white picture, and the pirate and the princess were trapped between the immaculate ground and the coal sky.

"Why did you come back?" Hook suddenly asked, breaking the heavy silence.

Emma smiled. "I'm not really of the docile kind." She felt him chuckle behind her.

"Understatement love. But this does not answer the question."

Seconds of quietness floated between the question and the answer. The pirate didn't know why, but he feared Emma's reply, and he hoped she didn't feel the racing beating of his heart against her back.

"I just didn't want to stay behind," she finally said. "I didn't escape in order to be told what I have to do. I don't want to be a prisoner."

"And yet you came back to your kidnapper," Hook remarked, more and more puzzled by this strange creature's mind.

"It's just very confusing, I... It's crazy, I feel like being your captive will provide me more freedom than I've had in my entire life." She heaved a sigh, her eyes looking for something to stare at. She sensed his hot breath blowing against her bare neck, wind of fire in the ice of this winter's day.

"Freedom seems to be a really big deal for you," he noted.

Emma shook her head impatiently. "It's more than freedom. If I escaped, it's because I wanted to get away from my family, from the court... from people."

Another moment of pure silence fell upon them. Nothing was to be heard but the crunching of the hooves on the snow. It's not that Hook didn't have anything to say. It's just that he had nothing to answer. "Emma... This man... You knew him, didn't you?"

She answered faster than he had expected her to. "Duncan. His name was Duncan. He was the Captain of the guard of Eurwen." His body tensed, and she knew something was wrong. "What is it?"

"You knew him," he coldly stated. "You knew him and you killed him in cold blood."

"Oh spare me the lesson," Emma spat. "You're the criminal here, the ruthless pirate. Since when is killing a problem? A pirate's life is made of rum and blood."

"But you are not a pirate. Killing shouldn't be so easy Emma."

"But it is. And there's nothing you or I can do about this. Why do you even care?"

The Captain looked down on the princess sitting in front of him. Her golden hair flowing in the cold wind. The heat of her body against his. Her voice somehow still floating in the air. "I don't."

Tough, pretty and smart. The very definition of dangerous. She'd be the end of him.

Little did he know.

1From a surname which was derived from the name of the River Conwy, which possibly means "holy water" in Welsh


(1) Conway : Comes from a surname which was derived from the name of the River Conwy, which possibly means "holy water" in Welsh


A/N : I totally made up the the so-called pirate legend.


Mel : 'ça lui coupe le sifflet pour une fois' ahaha EXACTEMENT ! L'arroseur arrosé ;) Et oooooh tu vas manquer des chapitres ? Mais tu pars en Asie, c'est génial ! Et puis dis-toi qu'à ton retour t'auras plusieurs chapitres à lire d'affilée ;)

Camilleanderson : Merci beaucoup !