Chapter 8

Hook leaned casually up against the gunwales and watched as Emma walked up the docks. She was alone and she hadn't seen him yet. Her eyes took in all of the ships docked, her face glowing with joy. She was such a curious lass. He felt his pulse jump in response. Maybe someday she would look at him like that, he considered before shaking away the thought.

It hadn't taken her as long to show up as he had expected. He had given her two hours before she would give into her pride. He had only been back on his ship for a half hour at most. There hadn't even been time to send someone for Smee. Some would say it was a waste of coin to send one of the street rats to get someone, but he remembered being a young boy left alone. Although he had been left alone on a pirate ship, it was not an easy life. So he had them assist him any chance he had and payed them well for their services.

His eyes drank in her movements. She walked like she belonged on the docks with no hesitation or fear. He felt the strange urge to go to her, to make it known to anyone within sight that she was with him. They all knew who he was already, and they respected it, or feared it, which had the same result either way. He wanted to offer that protection to her. If she knew she would probably knee him again. The reminder brought on a phantom twinge of pain and if he was being completely honest with himself, the memory also turned him on a bit.

Her eyes traveled along his ship before they came to rest on him. Then she smiled, brightly and only for him. He blinked and drew back. The stories had to be right. She had already bewitched him.

"I want to know everything you overheard and anything those guys told you." She announced walking up the plank to the ship, like she had always done it.

"Do you sail, love?" He suddenly wanted to know more about her and he leaned forward onto the gunwales as she approached.

"Not in theory, but I've read all about it. Now talk." she replied stepping on to his ship.

"Talk? We do have the matter of your promise to me, the anything you offered." Hook winked suggestively and stood up straight. "Unless you'd like to make another deal, offer me another anything to tell you what I know."

"Fine." She said crossing her arms over her chest defensively. "What do you want, as your 'anything'?"

"Just to spend time with you, my swan. Is that to much to ask for?" He gestured to her body as a whole. He may want a kiss or more, but that wasn't the way to win this swan.

"I—Uh—I that's all you want?" Emma glanced down at his mouth before returning her gaze to his eyes. Was that disappointment he saw in her eyes? Had she wanted him to kiss her? Interesting. He could use that to his advantage, he was sure.

"Of course, did you expect something else" Hook teased with a real smile.

"Yes – I mean No. Now will you tell me what you heard?" she stumbled over her words her body language screamed all business.

"Ah, but you haven't yet consented to spending time with me. Our first promise has not been fulfilled." He reminded her as he tilted his head to study her.

"Okay, I will spend time with you. What do you want for telling me what you heard?"

He took a step towards her and lowered his voice. "I told you to be careful with promising pirates anything. Now you've done it twice." On instinct, he reached his hand up to graze gently against her cheek, and took another step closing the gap between them before taking her lips in a gentle kiss. She sighed and brought her hands around his neck and pulled him closer. It took everything in him not to deepen the kiss. She tasted of sunshine and honey. Groaning, he broke off the kiss and stepped back. She opened her eyes and blinked once. Her eyelashes fluttered at him as she bit down on her bottom lip. She looked dazed. God, how he would give anything to bite that bottom lip himself. He felt a smile slowly spread across his face.

"As it happens, I told you everything I knew earlier." He admitted with a smirk. The spell that he had her under broke with his words. He watched as she came back to herself and wished he could kiss her again. She pushed past him and walked off of his ship with out saying a word.

"Well, I'd say that went well." Hook murmured to himself as she walked down the dock. His tongue darted out to taste what was left of her on his lips, and he wished for more.

Emma had never felt a kiss like the one she shared with Hook. It was a gentle exploration, the softness of their lips sliding together, his stubble grazing her face as they moved. A soft moan slipped out as she walked through the docks remembering moments before, she almost turned around and went back to kiss him again. Sailors around her looked at her strangely before going back to what they were doing. She looked back at his ship and saw him leaning on the gunwales watching her. She couldn't see his eyes from this distance but she felt them on her.

"What have I done?" she muttered under her breath. When he had told her that she already knew everything, but yet he took the kiss anyways. She had wanted to punch him. Or kiss him again. She wasn't quite sure which, so she left before she would do something stupid, like showing a pirate just how much she liked his cockiness. It's not like she could forget it had happened either, because she had consented to spending time with him. She would just have to bring Nolan as a buffer.

Two hours later, she was sitting at the dinner table. Her parent's thoughts were obviously on what they had learned that day. They tried to hide it, but she could see through the act.

"I'm not a little girl anymore! You guys have to let me in on what is happening." Emma exploded as she slammed her hands down on the table.

Snow's mouth dropped open at her daughter's rude behavior. This was most certainly not how she was raised. "You are certainly acting like a little girl right now. A spoiled one at that." Her mom chastised her. She felt her face heat in shame.

"No, she is right Snow, she deserves to know what is happening. We can't expect her to rule the kingdom if we don't teach her how. It is past time."

"But the premonition…"

Emma's ears perked up at the mention of the stupid thing. If only she knew what it was, maybe she could prevent it. She glanced between her parents like she was watching a sparing match. She had been forgotten.

"Darling, she is past the age it was suppose to happen. Maybe that means it won't happen now." Her dad reasoned with her mom across the table. She could tell that if he was close enough he would touch her mother.

"Charming we can't chance it! I won't lose my little girl to a curse."

Her mom looked at her and pressed her lips together. Emma knew she realized she had said too much. She was no longer forgotten.

"Curse! " Emma choked. "What sort of curse?" They have let her walk around all her life without the knowledge of a curse hanging over her head. She looked to her dad for an answer, knowing her mom wouldn't say anymore.

"Charming—"

"No, Snow she deserves to know." He told her he placed his hand on top of Emma's gently. "Rumpelstiltskin told us of a curse before you were born. It is a curse that the Evil Queen has in her possession. He said you would be taken from us, that you would be sent to another land one that we couldn't reach. He said it would happen before your 18th birthday. We made a deal with him, that he would do everything in his power to protect you, for his freedom. Then Belle was found alive and he lost most of his ability to protect you. He was no longer the all-powerful dark one he had been. But he was no longer crazy either. His ability to see the future left him when the curse of the dark one was lifted from him." He paused and looked up at her to make sure she was still listening. She raised her eyebrows in response urging him to continue. She had wanted to know this all her life he couldn't stop telling her now. "We have done everything to protect you for your whole life. I've taught you everything I knew about survival. If the curse happened I wanted you to be able to protect yourself in the other land. But you are 21 now, so maybe the curse is no longer valid. We need to treat you like the adult you are. You are right, we need to teach you how to rule. But now Emma with the threat of war, honestly, now is not the time." he finished and squeezed her hand reassuringly.

She blinked her eyes rapidly taking in everything that he just revealed. Her head spun with all the new information. Everything clicked into place and she saw things differently. She thought of all the things her father had taught her since she had been able to walk. He had shown her what berries she could eat in the forest, how to hunt quietly and efficiently. She had thought he was just bonding with her and wishing she had been a son, but he was preparing her to be alone. The thought of being completely alone staggered her and she drew in a shaky breath.

"But I—I'm safe now, right?"

Her mom looked at her in concern. "Of course you are honey." Then she was pulled into the familiar embrace of her mother's arms. Her dad's arms came around them both and she realized she was crying.


Hook paced his quarters while Smee sat on a chair. He was perched on the side of it as if to get up and flee at any moment.

"Your information must be wrong, Smee."

"Uh – No Captain, they were quite sure about it. The princess is intimate with the man. Multiple people said it was true." Mr. Smee fidgeted on the edge of the chair.

But Hook had kissed her sweet lips earlier. She had not protested. In fact she had pulled him closer. He felt betrayed by his swan. Although he had no claim on her and no emotions invested. He didn't share. He ran his hand along his neck in frustration.

"Then ask around some where else!" he bellowed, Smee sat up straighter fear plain on his face.

"Aye, aye Captain." Smee said as he fled from the room.

Hook paced a few more moments before collapsing into his chair. His head dropped to his hand and he let out a slow breath to calm himself.

"Captain" A voice came from the air moments before the Evil Queen materialized next to him from a puff of smoke. "How does the seduction go?"

He stood to his feet, not liking her looking down on him. "There are a few complications that you failed to mention."

Her husky laugh fell from her lips. "Complications? Nothing you can't handle I assume?" she purred stepping close, her hand came up and rested on his chest.

He looked down at her red glistening lips and closed the distance between them. He took her mouth in a punishing kiss. Nothing like the gentle one he shared with his swan earlier. He kissed her harder trying to chase away the memory of that kiss. She responded in earnest, demanding more from him and pushing her tongue into his mouth. He pulled her harshly against him and took out his anger on her mouth. He broke off the kiss as suddenly as he had started it. She took in deep gasping breaths as he stepped away from her.

"No my queen, nothing I can't handle." He agreed with a wicked smile.


A/N - So I was going to warn you all that Hooked Queen tends to slip into my stories.. but that would have ruined the surprise. My muse was very demanding and would not let me end this chapter any other way. So for those of you that don't like Hooked Queen.. no worries if anything happens between them it would be all sexual. {{insert evil laugh}}

But what about that gentle kiss between Emma/Hook. That was sweet. Right? He really is lost when it comes to slow and gentle though so this should be fun. Anyways hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I wanted to post it as soon as I wrote it and that was when only chapter 2 had been posted. lol

Thank you to my Beta Angelfan984, you are the best, thank you for all you do. Of course any errors in this chapter are mine.. I just can't help myself in changing things.

Thank you also for all of you amazing people that review, follow, or favorite. I am truly in awe of you all.