The engagement was all well and good and exciting for Emma. She stayed up at night because she was so thrilled, she and Baelfire whispered plans playfully during the night. Most of them weren't serious; it was just in good fun. Emma didn't suspect Baelfire would ever see a beach after this war.
But now, she had to focus on the war.
"Captain Roberts was found in a compromising position with Captain Danneskjöld's daughter, they want to fight amongst themselves," Killian told Emma.
Emma looked up from her small station at the tavern, "And what do you expect me to do about it? I thought you said the pirates handle their matters internally."
"Oh I don't expect you to be able to do anything about it. Like they'll listen to you! I just thought you should know."
"I can't have two of my four ships using the weapons that I provided for them," Emma snapped, 'We need to save everything."
"I'll do my best but you know how pirates are. Can't trust any of them," he gave her a quick smirk.
Red rolled her eyes, "There's something else you need to know."
"What?"
"With more and more men coming to fight, our food supplies are dwindling. I looked into the inventory, we have about a week worth of food if that."
"Get the farms to make donations," Hook told her.
"They've given all they can, but if we take anymore them and their families starve. And if we start hunting then we rob the families here of precious meat that they'll need to survive the winter," Red told her, "We have to move."
"You have a place in mind?"
"South. There are more farms there. More forests, better hunting…it's warmer we could even find our own fields and grow food…maybe give some of the younger recruits to the farmhands to help out and gain alliances. People will feel obligated to share the food if one helps grow it."
"Alright," Emma grabbed some paper and an ink quill, "Send out as many scouts as we can afford to lose to look at land and see what we can do that doesn't take food from everyone's mouth."
"Love, if you land lock yourself, how are the pirates to follow?"
I don't need you with me, I need you doing the job you first proposed and that was sinking Regina's Navy," she looked at Red as she stood, "Give your estimations for rations, I'll look at it when you're done. Is that all?"
"There's also the matter of your marriage," Killian told her.
"Why do you care?" Emma asked carefully. She had promised herself that her relationship with Baelfire wasn't something that was to be discussed with her advisors, "You wanting to put in a bid for my hand."
"Of course I am love; you're queen of the world if you get your way. No man would have a greater treasure," he gave her a smirk, "But seeing you married might be beneficial to morale."
"I'm not using my wedding for a spectator's event," Emma told them, "A marriage isn't good right now."
"Why not?"
"Because with marriage comes marriage duties and with marriage duties come the risk of a child and I'm not near in the position to be pregnant."
"Well why not?"
"Because my mother lived on the run and you want to know how many children she lost? I don't want to be in that same situation."
"Because your mother had no one to protect her except your father, you have an army," Hook told her.
"An army that I won't be able to lead to battle if I'm pregnant."
"No love, getting pregnant would actually be beneficial."
"Yeah? How?"
"Well they already know that you'll lead them into battle, you've already proved that. You don't have anything to prove if you walk into battle again. Now if you're pregnant…then that is giving them the next generation to protect as well as yourself. You're setting up for the future like Regina never did. You're a royal now, not a bloody General. You're fighting an uphill battle being a usurper and an unmarried woman vying for the throne. You'll have an even bigger problem when you win and we're with Baelfire for six months out of the year and running your kingdom for the other half. Regina's supports and those that want someone else on the throne that isn't you will say that the Dark One did all the work and you can't hold it alone. You've done what you can to make yourself look untouchable. Now you have to make yourself look vulnerable so people can connect and realize you're different than Regina. It takes more to make a queen than someone who can win wars. They'll try to put someone else on the throne."
"People will talk bad behind my back but that's what they do."
"Talk causes uprisings and my future is too tied in with yours until you give me that bloody pardon!"
"Oh, I see, so my future wedding and pregnancy is all about you?"
"Every piece of advice I give you always benefits me in some way."
Well at least he admitted that.
"Too bad Baelfire and I agreed not to have child until about five years from now."
Killian leaned over, "You might want to change your mind because now Regina knows what you're capable of. You're going to need to use every pull you have now. The country is turning toward you now that you won your first big battle, you need to do what you need to do now and if that means getting married for morale and getting pregnant so your men have more of a reason to fight for you then you need to do it. We're all marked men now. And if you don'"
Emma leaned over, "When did you get so strategic about advice?"
"I'll get bloody philosophical if I think it'll help me," he grinned.
"Even if Baelfire does agree to getting married and having a baby as soon as possible, we don't have a holy man and we don't have a knight in their place."
"But you have captains and legally they can marry you," he leaned back, "But please pick me because I've been telling everyone that I'm your favorite. And I'll even give you my ship for your honeymoon."
"And your cabin?" Emma asked, "On your mattress?"
He shrugged, "I'll turn it over."