Chapter 11

She had only spent a week aboard the Jolly Rodger with its militant pirate crew and already Regina was close to throwing herself overboard. It wasn't so much that they were inebriated ninety percent of the time that bothered her nor that they seemed only capable of the simplest vocabulary. No, that was all something that she could work towards handling. What bothered her was their incessant touching and flirting. From the day Killian brought Emma and herself plus Henry aboard, every man worth his metal saw fit to attempt bedding Regina and especially Emma and that drove the queen absolutely wild. When a man attempted to woo her she could easily brush him off with a well placed joke or, if need be, the obnoxiously large wedding band still on her finger but when a man came at Emma she couldn't do a thing except watch and stew. At first it wasn't that annoying, mildly amusing even, to watch man after man throw himself at the striking woman only to walk away with his manhood tucked between his legs and his head hung low but after the fourth or so day it really began to vex the queen. With each new man came a new bout of simmering jealously that took Regina entirely by surprise at first until she began to grow use to its presence, seething right along side it as time wore into the fifth and sixth day until an entire week had passed. Now here she stood leaned against the bow as she watched Emma laugh along with the man who, boldly, had placed his hand on her hip. Red marred Regina's vision and magic crackled up her veins, turning her blood to fire and begging to be released on that man for his audacity. The source of her jealously was still something she refused to acknowledge though she was well pass trying to quell her stubborn need to ignore the jealously itself. Currently it was all she could do to stop her magic from listening to her jealously and striking that man down for touching Emma. With a low growl she pushed herself off the railing and stomped over to the pair, glaring with all her passion at the back of his head.

She came to a stop behind him, her fists clenched near her hips to stop the flow of magic pooling behind the skin of her palms. This man was so lucky she had such great control over herself and her urges or he would find himself to be a pile of ash the sea wind would carry off the ship.

"Sorry to interrupt," Regina announced, her soft spoken voice dripping with utter distain she didn't at all try to hide, "but Emma, I thought you had sparring lessons with Killian right now?"

Emma looked confused for a moment, her hands blindly reaching for her sword strapped to her hip, long tapered fingers wrapping around the hilt of the beautiful weapon. Regina gulped, fighting against the desire to feel those same fingers wrap gently round her neck with the same reverence as they did that sword. Such lovely fingers as those would feel divine when grazing her tender skin and she wondered what else they may be talented at. But then Emma grinned and slapped her shoulder, knocking her fantasies loose before they could truly take form. Emma was giving her a bright smile and, out of the corner of her eye, she could see a displeased look on the man's face for Regina ruining what he assumed had been occurring between himself and Emma. Inwardly, she purred with pleasure.

"Your right Gina! I almost forgot, thank you!"

Regina sighed to keep up the facade though, as with each time Emma called her the special nickname, she melted a little, "I've told you not to call me that Emma. My name is Regina not Gina. When you call me that, you make me sound like some peasant living in the streets for a penny to eat and a penny to drink. I'm royalty mind you."

Emma chuckled warmly, having gotten use to Regina's moods and always sour disposition within the week they had spent together aboard the Jolly Rodger, "Only by marriage your majesty."

Regina huffed and crossed her arms, "None the less."

The man, who Regina had honestly forgotten was there when Emma began speaking, cleared his throat awkwardly to remind the woman that he was still indeed standing there, "So Em, about that drink?"

Rage welled inside Regina, filling her to the brim and rekindling the fire behind her magic. Her palms began to burn again, an inch that originated there crawled clear up her arms into the nape of her neck where it started buzzing around angrily the longer she kept her magic at bay. As kindly as she could managed she smiled at the man and seemingly with a gentle intention lifted her burning palm to press against the middle of his chest. His eyes widened, a leer threatening to overtake his face if Regina hadn't let loose a tiny electrical current that shocked his system, sending his every hair on end. A tiny involuntary tremor overtook him, sending his four limbs into a mess of writhing jitters until he tripped himself up and landed on the deck with a hard thud.

"Her name is Emma sir, not Em, least of all not to you and she will be far to busy to drink anything with you tonight," Regina stepped over his twitching body to loop her arm through Emma's, only glancing down at him as she began pulling Emma away, "Good day."

They walked at a causal pace towards the steps leading down to the lower deck of the ship where Emma's sword master no doubt was waiting for her. Step by step Regina's anger and jealously melted away, being replaced by a warm contentment the longer her arm remained looped through Emma's. An unrivaled heat seeped through their many layers of clothing to permeate Regina's skin in the most pleasant of ways and she found herself powerless to fight it, allowing it to loll her. It was Emma's hearty chuckles that stopped the warm flow channeling between the two of them. She snapped back to herself and ripped her arm from Emma's, turning her head away to hide the warm blush on her cheeks.

"What was that Gina? Did you use magic on him? I mean, I'm grateful, he was a bloody creep but I could have handled on my own you know."

"Don't over think it you brute. Just hurry up before you're so late your teacher gives up on you and wanders off." All Emma did in response was let loose a few more chuckles that warmed Regina's frosty heart.

The crew's quarters below deck were shabby and that was describing it in the brightest of lights. The air was so dank it often led to Regina waking with an uncomfortable sore throat that only disappeared after three or more hot cups of tea. Hammocks of many different sizes hung from wherever they would fit all throughout the large square shaped room, each swinging with every sway of the ship. A vile smell of sweat and liquor permeated the air permanently followed by an underlying odor of vomit and sex she tried to ignore because she wasn't sure where the sex could be coming from considering she and Emma were the only two females aboard. The only light in the room was the light that filtered through that slats in the ceiling and the sparse few candles burning inside lanterns hanging from posts holding the ceiling up. They moved past all this towards the small door on the far wall that lead into a smaller storage room that was only half full currently. It was in this room that Emma underwent her studies of the sword by Master Kavar Slander, a man personally chosen by Killian after Emma voiced her wish to learn the art. Even Regina had to admit that for a pirate, Master Kavar was one of the greatest swordsmen she had ever been witness too and couldn't have chosen a better teach for Emma had she done so herself.

He was an older man littered with wrinkles and scars across his darkly tanned body. Salt and pepper hair always remained slicked back with a kind of pomade that smelled strongly of some kind of exotic fruit, not at all unpleasant to the senses unless she was around it for too long. Tattoos were beginning to fade beneath the skin of his hairy chest and burly arms but that didn't deter him from showing them off at all times by wearing nothing but a simple cloth vest left unbuttoned. His trousers were tight and short to his knees to keep his sword from catching on it or any others for that matter, something he had instilled in Emma though she was already dressed smartly in a pair of skin tight leathers. An instant bond had formed between Emma and Master Kavar that, oddly, Regina didn't find herself jealous of but rather fond of. She enjoyed watching their exchanges, always smiling a little every time their banter flared up and Emma started a wrestling match between the two of them that always ended with her head beneath his massive bicep in an inescapable hold. Often she wondered if this was the type of relationship Emma had with her father and she was feeling that through Master Kavar but she never asked the blond. Emma didn't talk about her home life or any of her family so she was never sure if it was a safe subject to broach or not. That didn't stop her from being curious by any means though.

"Master Kavar! I have arrived, you may rejoice now!" Emma kicked the door open and planted her hands on her hips, smiling at the older man sitting on a barrel of rum while, ironically, drinking some from a flask. He growled and shoved the stopper back in it, stowing away the flask in the breast pocket of his vest.

"It's about damn time you lout! What took ye so damn long? Were ya finally getting a taste of this sweet thing?" Master Kavar waggled his bushy grey brows suggestively, cutting his mischievous honey colored eyes towards Regina's figure. The Queen blushed hotly, covering her bust and the cleavage showing self-consciously.

"Master Kavar leave her out of this," Emma drew her sword, the metal ring sounding throughout the small room, "right now, it's just me and you old man."

"Aye," Kavar drew his cutlass with a manic grin, eyes tracing Emma's every step as she moved into the room to be within range, "That it is."

Metal rang out like thunder crashing when blade met blade, sharp edges grating against one another. Strike after strike was met only by metal, no matter how Emma attacked; her Master was always just one step faster. She struck hard and fast at his head only to meet the groove in his cutlass. When she slashed at his knees he skillfully dodged her attack and spun around to whack her across her backside with the flat of his blade. She struck from high, bringing the blade down towards his head in a dangerous ark. Masterfully he slid her blade along the dull side of his until it caught against his hand guard and twisted, promptly knocking Emma's sword right from her hands. It hit the ground with a loud crash and, before Emma could even think of retrieving it, steel was pushed against her jugular. She cracked a grin, throwing her hands up.

"Not bad maggot," He grinned, his one gold tooth prominent in his nasty tobacco stained maw, "yer getting better. Pick it up and do yer stances." Kavar slid his cutlass back through the belt loop in his trousers and clapped his hands to prompt Emma. Grinning Emma picked up her sword and resumed a defensive position. She slashed and parried at the air, doing this over and over under the watchful eye of her master. Occasionally he would call out to her to fix something or try something different before he fell silent again, just watching her through his honey eyes. Regina made her way around Emma's sword and body to sit on a rum barrel closest to Master Kavar so she could watch as she usually did when Emma had lessons. Something about the way Emma twisted and turned, dancing with her sword instead of wielding it, made Regina fill to the brim with a wild flock of butterflies she found herself enjoying with every day that passed. Even Master Kavar admitted that Emma was one of the most gifted students he had even been blessed with tutoring in all his time. She took to the blade as a sailor did to water, naturally as if it were a component she was made of and meant for.

Master Kavar growled around the wad of tobacco he had nestled between his lower teeth and lower lip. He threw a ball of cabbage from the tote swinging near his head at Emma's hip, "Yer too loose! When I told ye to be loose, I didn't mean turn to noodles ye lout! Come on maggot, like yer rocking yer ladies love life into the break of dawn! Make it hot, make it between you and the blade, rock it and swing it, control it with your desires not yer thoughts. Dis is about how ye feel for the sword, not about how you feel about it. Got dat?"

Emma blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and wiped the sweat from her brow, her chest heaving from the much needed air she was gulping in, "Sort of. Can I try again?"

Kavar spat thick brown spittle onto the floor in the corner, never taking his eyes off Emma's stance, "Aye. Again."

Emma nodded and retook her form; legs shoulder with apart with her left just a hair further out than her right and her hands clasped tightly around the hilt she held a few inches out from her chest. Currently Master Kavar was teaching Emma to fight with her hand-and-a-half sword as though it were a two handed weapon because Emma had taken to fighting with a shield like breathing. He felt she didn't need to learn how to do that since the woman already had such a natural talent for it. If he taught her this way, he felt she would be better equipped on the field and felt more comfortable sending her off this way. Emma hadn't complained a bit, ever eager to learn anything and all that she could.

A breath left Emma's slightly parted lips, setting into motion her first flurry of attacks that would leave any well trained fighter stunned or dead. Any except masters of the art like Kavar that is. Her left foot pushed forward at the same time she preformed a smooth uppercut with the blade that quickly transitioned into an arc swing to the left, right, left and a finishing blow of bringing the blade down like a hammer that, had she been fighting anything but air, would have sunk the blade into the soft flesh of the crook of their neck. Her head ducked to protect herself from an invisible attacker from behind and she dropped to her knees, spinning on them, and shooting up just as her sword swung up through the invisible foes chest cavity. One final foe remained it seemed and Emma delivered a swift kick to its chest, knocking it to the floor where Emma executed it with a flick of her wrist, drawing the blade across its nonexistent throat. Chest heaving, she turned to her master with questioning eyes and an innocent, sweet smile on her face.

Kavar rubbed his thumb and forefinger into his beard, eyes squinting the longer he stared at Emma, "Well," He nodded and shrugged one shoulder, "that was better. Yer gettin' good at two handed maggot. By the end of next week, you should be expectable but yer not that close yet. Again."

Emma nodded without question and went back to hacking and slashing at victims only she could see in her imagination. As always Regina remained silently transfixed with Emma's body as she moved about learning her deadly art, her eyes following every movement especially the breaths she took that made the swell of her breasts more prominent. Emma truly was a testament to beauty among the ugly.

A nudge to Regina's side drew her attention to Master Kavar who was staring at her the way he looked at Emma while she went through her routines. Regina shifted uncomfortably, running the pads of her fingers into the smooth material of her white leather trousers.

"What about ye?" He asked in his baritone voice quietly enough so that only she could hear him.

"What about me Master Kavar?"

Kavar motioned towards Emma with a wave of his hand, "Shouldn't ye be learnin' too? The maggot 'ere is learnin' and the boy is quite a shot with dat crossbow of 'is so what about ye?"

Realization dawned on Regina that this was Kavar's way of saying he was worried that Regina may not be able to defend herself should the need ever arise. While Emma and Kavar had grown close during the time they spent together, Regina too had formed a bond with Kavar though it was somewhat different. It was shared mostly through silence that Master Kavar respected and Regina quietly thanked him for through her actions. Everyday Regina came with Emma, faithfully by her side, and sat through the training without a word while Kavar taught. She kept him company while he chattered about random things to her that she usually didn't respond to but he was grateful for just the same since Emma was usually too busy to respond. Though she probably wouldn't admit to it out loud Regina too had grown quite fond of the old man. Perhaps after they accomplished the task of returning the heart, Regina would return to this ship and see about being Kavar's caretaker.

She smiled at the man and patted his meaty hand softly, "You needn't worry Master Kavar. I'm quite capable of defending myself."

Kavar sniffed and folded his arms over his chest, leaning back against another rum barrel stacked behind him, "That so?"

"Yeah," Emma shouted even though she wasn't more than five feet away, not even pausing in her training to finish speaking, "She's got magic."

Kavar let out a low whistle, his brows rose in surprise though he was grinning that manic grin of his Regina had come to associate with the man, "Is that so?"

Regina nodded and held her hand out, palm face up. She concentrated on generating heat there, drawing from the fiery rage she had felt before when that suave pig had been touching Emma's hip. First the veins beneath her skin began to glow until her whole hand turned a bright orange color until fire sparked to life. A little inferno sat nestled in her palm, burning away at nothing and catering to Regina's every command should she give one. It swayed to and fro when the wind Emma was creating pushed at it but the little ball burned on despite the minor attack, never wavering for its creator. Kavar grunted at Regina, glancing at her little magic trick still in her hand like it was pointless but she could see the prideful spark swirling in the honey of his eyes.

"That's fancy. Guess I'll have to keep ye around if I decide I want a smoke."

Regina closed her fist, extinguishing the flame, and gave Master Kavar a bashful smile, "I suppose."

"Now if you could turn water to rum, then I'd be amazed. Savvy? Work on that."

Regina laughed quietly, tucking a loose strand of her frizzy hair behind her hair, "I'll see what I can do."

Kavar finally smiled at her, a somewhat gruesome sight with the tobacco stains wearing at his teeth but still warm none the less and gave Regina's thigh a few sweet pats, "That's a good lass."

The door to the storage room flew open, nearly hitting Emma, just before it slammed into the wall behind it and knocked a few bottles of oil loose. They smashed into the floor and broke into pieces, letting the contents inside loose onto the desk in giant puddles of yellow tinted liquid. In the doorway stood a frantic looking Henry, his fox hat askew on his head and his crossbow in his hand, loaded with a bolt that had yet to be fired. Small dribbles of blood leaked from a gash on his forehead down the side of his face, stopping just at his chin where it was already beginning to crust. In a flash Regina was up from her seat and on her knees in front of Henry, her hand son his shoulders to keep him still while she examined the wound. The warmth that bloomed in her heart alerted her to Emma's presence at her elbow.

"Henry what's wrong!? Who did this to you!?" Emma gripped one of Henry's elbows while she spoke, trying to find comfort in that fact that he was here and alright even with a nasty gash steadily bleeding on his head. Heavy footfalls fell behind Regina as Master Kavar approached the scene, his cutlass drawn just in case.

"The ship is under attack! Captain Hook sent me down here to get you guys so you could help fend off the attackers on the top deck!"

Kavar let loose a fear inspiring growl and pushed past Henry without a word, rushing up the stairs so that he could join the fight to save his ship, crew, and captain. Emma patted Henry's shoulder and looked to Regina as if she were going to say or do something but never did. She stood and followed after her master to the upper deck, the metal sound of her sword being drawn was all Regina heard. Before she could bring herself to do or say anything she had to first quell the panic rising within her. She had never before been in a battle situation where life or death all depended on her skill as a sorceress. Not only that but she found herself fearing for Emma's and Henry's safety, even Master Kavar's even though she was sure he could handle himself. Now with the door to the storage room open she could hear the battle raging above deck, the screams of men both dying and fighting, the clash of metal against metal, and the sound of orders being shouted. All of it struck fear into her heart but she held fast with herself, knowing that she didn't have the option of being afraid when the only person who would save her right now was herself. With a calming breath she forced it all down until nothing remained except the desire to fight to live.

"Henry, stay here and find a place to hide. Whatever you do, whatever you hear, don't come out. Do you understand me?"

Henry jutted out his bottom lip, "But-"

"No buts. Just do as I say. I'll come get you once the fight is over okay? Stay safe." Regina pressed a chaste kiss to the boy's forehead, careful to avoid the gash she would attend to later and shoved him lightly towards the rum barrels. With one last glance at him she left the room and shut the door with the flick of her wrist, leaving a magic seal on the door that would only allow her to open from the outside. She pushed her worry for Henry from her mind as she made her way up the steps to the top deck to merge herself into the fight.

What she saw above turned her stomach and nearly led her to spill the contents of it overboard. Blood coated the hardwood of the deck like a new polish, seeping from the bodies strewn about. Some were dead and others were in the process of dying from their wounds. The crew of the Jolly Rodger, a usually happy people, had turned killer. Murder flashed in each of their eyes as they carved their way through the waves of men spilling on deck from the ship that had pulled up alongside them. It too appeared to be a pirate ship in the likeness to the one Regina currently stood upon but much, much bigger with three times as much men as the Jolly Rodger had. Somewhere in the throng of people Regina spotted Emma with her hair flying behind her and her sword flashing just before it cut through men like they were made of butter. Man after man fell before her and none could touch her in all her wicked glory. She spun around; dancing between men with her sword cutting a path for her until she disappeared back into the mix and Regina could no longer spot her. Briefly Regina considered acting on the wild desire running through her to chase after Emma fight alongside her so that she could be the one to assure the blonde's safety but she was attacked before that could happen.

The tall brute of a man seemingly came out of no where, flying at her with his cutlass in front of him aimed for her stomach. She swiftly sidestepped it and ran her hand along the flat of the blade to superheat it with magic until it was so hot the man could no longer hold it and was forced to drop it. He yelped in pain and blindly swung at her without any real precision only hoping to hit her but failing. She ducked under his fist and threw a scorching fireball at him that cremated him instantly. No muss no fuss, just the way she liked it.

Five more men shared his fate before she found her way to Emma's side and not a moment to soon. Emma was kneeling with one arm wrapped around her middle, compressing the blood that was seeping from a large gash on her ribcage, but still taking men down even as she herself was falling. One man came at her from the front while another was sneaking up behind her, his scimitar raised high above his head with the intent of bringing it down onto Emma's. Regina threw a spell at him that turned into stone and used another spell that propelled the stone man into the other one intending to attack Emma. They both went toppling over the railing into the churning sea below. In a flash Regina was at Emma's side, helping her to her feet with an arm around her waist to support her weight.

"Thank you." Emma barely breathed out, leaning almost all of her weight onto the shorter woman.

"Always. Come on let's get you out of here before you get killed." Regina hefted Emma's weight as she carefully weaved between men, searching for a safe place to deposit Emma and hurry back to the fight. They ended up moving from one of the ship to the other, stopping by the doors of the Captains quarters. Gently Regina sat Emma down against one of the doors, leaning down to smooth away the blond hair plastered to her cheeks with blood. Already Emma was looking pale from blood loss and her eyes were loosing their sheen. Regina bit into her bottom lip and continuing stroking Emma cheek with her thumb absently.

"Stay safe until I can come back to get you."

Emma smiled weakly, "Yes your majesty."

Regina stood to retrieve a dead body and drag it until it lay across Emma's lap, staging it to look like Emma was just another dead body mixed in with the rest. She hoped it would be enough but that was all she could do, hope. Once more she crouched down and leaned towards Emma, this time placing a kiss on her forehead just as she had Henry before leaving. She didn't have any explanations as to why she had done it just that she felt she had too in case she herself was struck down without ever having done it.

From there on Regina found herself lost to a sea of men that continued to attack her and continued to fall by her magic until finally no more remained. Bodies lay scattered all over the deck, some of the Jolly Rodger and some of the ship that was now fleeing. A few men were following Killian's orders to load the cannons and strike the vessel down before it could flee but the ship was quickly moving out of range though that seemed so small in comparison to the casualties that lay before them. It would be days before they could wash off all of the blood that now stained the wood and even longer before they could wash away the grief of their loss.

A hand touching her shoulder startled her and she whirled on the person, fire already burning hot in her hand. Master Kavar stood before her looking bloodied but not wounded by any means, his face grave and eyes searching. She closed her hand to kill the flames and threw herself at him, sobs already tearing at her throat. Under normal circumstances Regina would never be caught dead showing so much emotion least of to a pirate but these weren't normal circumstances. She had just taken the life of other living beings for the first time and the woman her heart recognized as her true love may very be bleeding to death pinned beneath the weight of another dead body. Normally she wouldn't seek the comfort of a hug but for a few selfish seconds, it was all she wanted. Kavar wrapped his free hand around Regina's shoulders, lightly patting where his hand rested and shushed the woman until her sobs subsided and she pulled away.

"Where's Emma child?" Kavar couldn't have stressed the words with seriousness anymore than he did in that moment. Regina was grateful for his urgency since it too was her own.

"This way." Regina led the sword master towards his student as quickly as she could still hoping without hope that Emma was still alive.

They reached her quick enough and Kavar wasted no time in hoisting the body away to get to Emma. He checked her vitals first, letting out a gruff reaffirming noise that made Regina sag with relief, then gently lifted Emma bridal style so that he could carry her below deck to lay her in one of the hammocks. Regina stayed at her side to watch over her while Kavar went in search of one of the ships healers. When he returned he brought with him two crew members Regina recalled seeing in passing and the ships Captain. While the two crew members, healers she found out, went to work on Emma she made her way over to Killian to speak with him. The man seemed frazzled and was clutching a scroll in his one hand while he paced.

"Killian, what happened here? Who were those people that attacked us? Will they be back?"

Killian stopped to give Regina a long hard look and then silently passed the scroll to her. Confused but desperate for answers Regina unrolled the scroll to read it. She gasped at what she saw. It was a wanted poster with Emma's face on it right alongside Henry's depicting that they were wanted dead or alive, preferably alive, for treason and for the kidnapping of the Queen. The sum reward was 10,000 gold pieces.

"We found that as well as a few others on the men that attacked us. They were probably after the reward that's marked there. Would you care to explain it?"

Regina looked up into the mans brooding eyes, everything about him screaming righteous fury over the loss of his men still lying on the deck above them, "Killian I-"

"You see when I took you in for profit, I knew you two were running from something I just didn't know what but you," He pointed his hook at Regina and ripped the poster from her hands angrily, "you should have told me the dangers me and mine would have to face by doing so."

"Killian you have to understand that we knew nothing of this when we paid you for transport. In fact it's not even the truth! I ran from the King, Emma found me later and was intent on recapturing me to take me back to him for a reward. Someone must who could identify me must have saw me and assumed. I'm so sorry for what happened, truly, but we didn't know."

Killian stared at her for a long moment then looked away, nodding, "I believe that you didn't know but that doesn't change the fact that you are a danger to me and a danger to my crew. As soon as Emma is awake you and the boy will be leaving my ship. You can take a dingy, I'll supply it and you can get yourself to wherever you need to go."

Regina's mouth dropped open in surprise, "But Killian you can't-"

'That's final," He glanced at her and frowned, "Your majesty."

Then he along with the two crew doctors and Kavar left Regina there alone with a slumbering but still alive Emma and not much hope. What were they going to do now?

Ooo! Finally some action yay! I love the action too! I dunno, what do you guys think, was this chapter kind of lame? Be honest. Meh, sorry if it was but it's really bloody late here and I'm tired as fuck so this is what I gave ya. G'night!