A/N: Thanks for all the positive feedback, it means a lot!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Once, I don't own a boat, I don't even own a map…

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Chapter 11

"Not in front of him." Said Regina quietly.

"Hey, whatever needs to be said can be said in front of me. You're on my ship after all..." Said Hook, breathing heavily as his energy left him.

Regina looked imploringly at Emma and shook her head minutely. Something in obsidian eyes made Emma falter.

"Leave us, Hook." She said, not taking her eyes off Regina.

"Excuse me-"

"Now, Hook! Please!" She hissed.

Hook looked disgruntled, but left the two alone.

Emma shifted her weight from foot to foot, observing Regina through untrusting eyes. Regina looked sheepish, and slightly ashamed for once, avoiding Emma's gaze.

"You've been lying to me." Stated Emma.

Regina didn't confirm or deny it. Emma sighed and rubbed her hand over her face.

"Regina..." She trailed off, contemplative. "Such a lovely name. So...elegant. So...regal. I know that name. I'd heard it somewhere. I couldn't place it, but it's not like it's a common name. It wasn't until he addressed you that my slow brain finally put the pieces together..."

Regina swallowed hard and for the first time since they'd met, actually looked worried. She raised her eyes to Emma's; a flicker of defiance still present.

"I didn't trust you. How on earth could I trust you with knowing who I am? You'd have handed me over in a heartbeat and I wouldn't have blamed you. The reward for my return would keep you comfortable for years."

"I wouldn't have done that."

"Now look who's lying." She said, looking up at Emma from her seat on a barrel. Somewhere in a dark part of her that was stubborn as hell knew she was right.

"You've led me on this whole time. Do you have any idea how screwed we'd both be if we came across the royal guard? You were willing to put us both in that much danger because you were, what...ashamed?"

"I didn't mislead you. I just...didn't tell you the whole truth..."

"Oh yeah because the fact that you're the fucking Queen isn't something that would come up in any of the many conversations we've had." She said, her tone was loathsome and bitter.

Regina had the decency to look slightly disgraced. "Emma, I'm sorry." The blonde didn't miss the use of her name, the first time it had fallen from her lips. "You're right, I should have told you. You had a right to know what you were signing up for. I can only apologise."

Emma looked like she was debating with herself, looking at the floor, out to sea, up at the cloudless sky; anywhere but Regina.

"So, the person you're running from..."

Regina nodded. "The King. You have no idea what it's like living in that prison."

Emma scoffed. She thought of the life she'd lived; being tossed from one place to another as a parentless child and then being kicked about constantly before she learned to defend herself and to fight to survive. Perhaps Regina hadn't been happy in her marriage, but a life of luxury couldn't possibly compare to what Emma had suffered.

"You're just a spoilt little girl out on her own for the first time since the silver spoon was taken from her mouth." She spat.

Regina said nothing. It was not a good time for her notorious temper to rear its head.

"But Queen or not, I need you." She sighed. "I hope you understand that you've made this ten times more difficult for me."

Emma felt stupid, and she didn't like feeling stupid. She had every mind to throw the woman overboard, knowing that in the past she would never have risked sullying herself with learning to swim. The fact remained, however, that there was no way she could get her son back without magic on her side. This led onto another thing she wished to confront Regina about.

"When they came for you...I saw you fight them off...you-you know how to use a sword?"

Regina nodded. "I was taught by my father when I was younger."

"And your magic was...was it-?"

"Yes. It was dark magic. I'm educated in that as well."

This scored points in her favour as Emma thought of the benefits of having a dark sorceress on her side, however lacking in precision.

"You...you-ripped his heart out…"

"Yes I did. It's become quite a skill of mine." The flat tones in which Regina delivered this information showed no pride, but no remorse either. She sounded defeated, hollow, numb.

Emma sighed again; perhaps she had been too harsh. She quickly dismissed this though; the stuck-up little liar deserved to feel ashamed.

Still, there was only one way she was going to have her son back in good time.

She ran a hand through tangled blonde curls and looked up at the darkening sky.

"I guess Hook gets his way after all. We'll leave tomorrow at dawn."

Regina looked up, relief evident but unacknowledged. "But, the map-"

"I have an idea." Said Emma curtly before heading off towards where Hook had been standing under the mast.

Regina tilted her head back on her shoulders. The use of magic had worn her out almost as much as the confrontation with Emma had. She gritted her teeth and exhaled heavily through her nose, standing up and stretching before going below deck to the cargo locker where her dress remained miraculously undamaged alongside Emma's clothes.

"What's the damage, captain?" Asked Emma softly. Sympathy, though not her strong point, was something she knew when to use.

"Could be worse. We've lost five men and most of my cabin is damaged, buts salvageable. It's bad luck that the map was out in the open. I'll need to restock my clothes and a fair amount of books and a few mainsheets that they slashed but otherwise, not too catastrophic." The optimism in his words was counteracted by the crestfallen look on his face.

Emma patted his arm encouragingly. "You did well, Killian. You did all you could."

"Thanks." He muttered. The guilt and pain of such invasion was evident in how unusually quiet he was.

"What were you talking to Regina about?" He asked, attempting to change the subject.

Emma shook her head. "Turns out she hasn't been entirely truthful. Nothing major, just something I was angry about. I'm worried I overreacted a little."

Hook gave a short, quiet laugh. "That lass is made of strong stuff, born survivor, she is. She'll be fine. I'm still not sure how she managed to take out all five of those soldiers, grab the map and escape with you before she was scorched to a cinder." He remarked.

"It was...impressive." Was all she said on the matter.

"Emma, you're welcome to stay the night, but-"

"I get it." She interrupted. "You can't leave your crew. Perfectly understandable."

"We're going to sail off, make ourselves scarce for a while until all this unrest blows over. I'm sorry the map's destroyed. You're welcome to take it with you if it's at all legible..."

"It isn't, but hopefully I can restore it. There's a lake not far from here. The water is said to bring back what was lost. It's our best shot."

"You believe that?" He asked sceptically.

"I don't have another option." She said, staring unseeingly into the distance.

"Well in that case, the two of you should go on. Make sure to let me know when you manage to weaken the Dark One's defences." He said.

"We will. I'll make sure you're first in line to take you revenge on him."

"I reckon it will be a very long line." He quipped. She smiled as a glimmer of his humour re-entered his eyes.

"Thank you, Hook." She said sincerely. He turned to face her and considered. He brushed a stray curl out of her face.

"Emma I know I spend a lot of the time being sarcastic and shallow, but if you ever need somewhere to lie low, or if you...I don't know...perhaps ever want a place to settle, the Jolly Roger's gangplank is always down for you."

Emma nodded in thanks, showing comprehension, before offering him a genuine smile and stepping away.

As he watched her walk away, Hook asked himself what more she wanted him to do, who she wanted him to prove he was just so she'd take him seriously. He knew that it would never be easy, and she was well aware of everything he'd done that he regretted...and that he didn't...and the way she looked at him would never change, he knew that much. He wished she wasn't so stubborn sometimes, but he was secretly proud of how she had grown from a skinny little urchin into the strong and frankly extraordinary woman she was now. In a way, he wished she hadn't met him when she was young, he wished he had a second chance to make a first impression. He wished he hadn't used her, hadn't asked for her body in return for his help. He didn't regret it, but that was how she would think of him now; an acquaintance who she could even consider a friend until he invited her into his bed. She deserved someone better, he knew, someone who wasn't decades older than her; despite constantly looking her age. Someone who was her knight in shining armour. He laughed a little to himself at this thought: if Emma ever came across a knight, she'd probably slit his throat and steal his horse. He hoped she was happy. He hoped she'd stay happy. He hoped she would find her son, hoped they would start being a proper family, something he could never offer her, and even if he did, she wouldn't accept. She'd just have to make it to the Crocodile's home without getting too antagonistic with Regina. The brunette may look delicate, but Hook wasn't sure who'd come out worse in a fight. The rich girl may be out of her depth, but she was certainly resourceful.

Who knows? Perhaps they would end up settling their differences and even build an unlikely friendship. The thought was slightly formidable.

They ate with the crew that night. The alcohol livened everyone up a bit to the point where they could laugh and shout across the table while efficiently ignoring the elephant in the room, namely the fact that five of them were missing. Hook cheered up, Regina noticed the pensive way he looked at Emma, but didn't know what to make of it.

The blonde had been passive towards Regina since their confrontation. Not ignoring her, just avoiding interaction beyond minimal responses. Regina should have been relieved at the lack of inevitable bickering, but she felt bereft for a reason she didn't fully understand.

The atmosphere was tense as they lay in the cabin they'd been assigned that night, Emma in the bunk above Regina, both still awake but completely silent. Regina knew her explanation had been insufficient. She knew that Emma knew she still hadn't told the whole truth about her situation. Regina had spent so long hating everyone she came into contact with, the feeling of shame and what she would almost call sadness at the loss of familiarity, that of a common criminal nonetheless, was completely foreign and she didn't know how to amend it.

Emma was used to having her trust broken, and she would recover from this incident quickly, she knew. She wasn't like Hook; she wouldn't hold a grudge, especially not about something that was comparatively insignificant. However, she would look at the brunette - at the Queen - in an entirely new light now.

Both just hoped that they could keep their emotions under control, get this over and done with as civilly as possible and then part ways forever.