Blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta.
Belle was trying not to feel dejected. She counted her good fortune in finding a group traveling to her father's kingdom that was happy to have her join them. It was a quick trip, and in a very few days, she was standing in front of her father.
He looked at her in shock. "How did you get away?!"
"He let me go, father."
"Impossible. It was for life! You agreed." He looked angry. "It must be a nasty trick. You have to go back! He's evil!"
"He's not that evil, father. There's good in him. I saw it."
Belle was shocked by the transformation that came over her father. He went from the man she'd always known to an angry man who looked like he thought she was despicable. "He has cast a spell on you!"
"No, I promise he hasn't. He can be kind."
"No! That man is vile, and you will stop talking this instant!" He looked at his guards. "Lock her up in the dungeon. She's not my daughter. No one I know would talk about The Dark One like that."
He turned his face from her before she was even removed from the room. The last thing she heard from him was, "I have no daughter."
She was thrown in the dungeon, and she began to weep immediately. She went from dungeon to dungeon, rejection to rejection. It stung that she now found herself all alone. She had to admit that her fear of being forced to marry Gaston when she got back looked silly now. Anything was preferable to being essentially thrown away. She sighed over the fact that in all her books she'd read, this would only be a trial on her way to a happy ending. She wiped her tears away as she began to give up hope.
Locked in her father's dungeon was far away from a happy ending for her. She shook her head. She was so much closer to it the moment she agreed to become Rumple's prisoner for the rest of her life. The dream she'd always nurtured quietly in her heart was the chance to make her own path. She didn't want to be ruled. She wanted to be the master of her own destiny.
She looked out the window in her prison cell and stared at the land beyond the bars. She was now a prisoner in her father's kingdom. She scoffed to herself. His announcement that he had no daughter rang in her ears.
Killian laughed, "I can't believe Captain Hook is sneaking into bed chambers in a palace and not leaving with jewelry or gold coins."
"Something you often did, Jones?" Tinkerbell narrowed her eyes at him. "I wonder how many rooms you entered that had women in them." She then paled and looked at Emma. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that."
Emma shifted uncomfortably and placed a mouse statue underneath the bed, then indicated she was done with the room.
Killian pulled Emma into his arms and lifted her chin to look up at him. "You're all that matters to me."
"I just try not to think about the other women." She closed her eyes. "There were probably so many women."
"I lived in Neverland with my crew and an island of lost boys for a long time. It's not as many as you think, Love."
She nodded and shrugged out of his hold. "I didn't think about that."
"You're the only one that could satisfy me, Love. It's just you and me forever. Don't forget that." He looked at her and pulled her back into his arms. "We're true love. I was a pirate before, and I didn't think I could ever find someone as wonderful as you."
She smiled up into his eyes. "I'm sorry. I just get jealous."
"I completely understand jealousy, Swan. Every man we meet wants to marry you."
"Only because I'm a Crowned Princess."
He scoffed. "You could be a pauper, Love, and you'd have men lining up to marry you. It's your heart that's the best thing about you."
She kissed his cheek. "And yet, all I want is you."
The next day early in the morning, Killian woke to Emma's giggling. He pulled her into his arms and asked, "What's so funny?"
"Listen," was all she said.
Killian did and started to hear screaming. "What's going on?"
"Mice. They've invaded the palace." She smiled at him.
He kissed the top of her head and said, "Somehow, I just know Tinkerbell is crying with laughter."
Rumple sat by himself in his study and stared at the fire in the fireplace. He was getting increasingly angry with himself. Belle was gone. He needed to ignore that fact. He was right too. She didn't come back.
"Not that I wanted her to!" He stated out loud.
He stood and paced. Emma was supposed to be his focus. He needed to go after her and stop her from fulfilling the prophecy. He needed to concentrate. The disgust he felt over his lingering at his estate and not going after her coiled in the pit of his stomach. He needed to destroy her.
"Tomorrow." He mumbled to himself. Every day for the past week, it was always tomorrow for him. What he really wanted, but couldn't admit it, was to go after Belle. He believed she was better off without him. He wouldn't be doing that.
Tinkerbell was still chuckling over the mouse prank. Regina had been furious. A mouse had chewed one of her boots, and you didn't mess with that woman's clothes. That was until she discovered how the prank was done, and she was elated. Emma's abilities with magic stunned her and left her, declaring, "That is how you pull a real prank." Regina threw away the boots and moved on happily.
Everyone else that was a victim of the prank pretended to be put out for a bit. Tinkerbell was spy size, and she saw the smiles. One person even commented that it was good to have Emma back and being her old self.
She slipped into a small sitting room while the door was open. She saw one of the Pompous-Club entering, and when she arrived, three were in attendance. She flew to the desk and hid behind a book. She wanted to hear what they said.
When the door finally opened thirty minutes later, and she could leave, she was almost screaming. She was so bored! They thought so highly of themselves, and they were so ineffectual. That wasn't to say they didn't have a plan. They did, and Tinkerbell couldn't wait until they tried it.
She had no plan to bother Emma with it. Regina's fury would stop them in their tracks. She shook her head. Their "big plan" was to challenge the validity of a magical marriage. Not one of them had stopped to think that Regina and Robin only had a magical ceremony. They were about to challenge the validity of the wedding of the former Evil Queen.
She sat down on the moulding in the hallway and thought about what she should do. She smirked and decided she wouldn't bother telling Regina either. She didn't want there to be time for Regina's anger to abate from the news.
She decided to go back to human size and talk to Grumpy. He would be the one that would arrange a meeting between the Pompous-Club and the royals. By the time she left, even he was smiling. He looked forward to seeing Regina's fury, and he promised that he'd make sure to invite her.
She skipped away and saw Killian and Emma walking hand in hand in the garden. He was looking at her like she was his whole world.
Tinkerbell was very pleased with herself. She had helped bring those two together. Between that and ending the war between the royals with true love, she was very impressed with her abilities. She smiled and flew off to spy on anyone else that looked like they would be trying to cause trouble.
David saw Killian watching a knight teaching the recruits how to sword fight. He said, "Find that interesting?"
Killian nodded, "Aye, it's very different from sword battles on a ship."
"That's what I've heard." He sat next to Killian. "What do you think?"
"About?"
"Palace life."
Killian turned to look at David, "Why? Have I broken some rule, Mate?"
David shook his head, "No, I was just wondering how you were settling in." He watched one of the knights quickly disarm one of the recruits. He shook his head and continued. "Emma's a princess, and you're her husband. It's actually important to me that you settle into everything well."
Killian nodded, "I was so sure you were going to hate me. I'm… adjusting."
"Don't worry. I do hate you a little bit. When you have a daughter, you'll understand. You're good for Emma, though. I do see that."
He decided to answer the original question. "It's been… easier than I thought. I was trained to be a gentleman when I was an officer in King George's Navy." He chuckled then. "Emma once equated being a pirate to court life. She was more right than I realized at the time. I get the game of power and perception. I'm not as… polished, but I know how to read people."
David nodded. "In a way, you were more prepared than I was. A shepherd isn't used to anything like this."
Killian smiled, "It seems we both married above our original stations in life."
"It's funny that when it was me falling for Snow, I was okay with that idea. It's harder as a father."
"And yet, you like me anyway."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because you want someone who could be completely ruthless in defending your daughter against anyone that hurts her." There was a cold look in Killian's eyes. "I won't hesitate to destroy anyone that messes with her."
David nodded, "You're right. But that isn't it. Emma is more herself when she's around you. I don't know if that even makes sense." He paused to try to explain it better. "You're not an infatuation for her. You're someone who encourages the best in her and supports her."
"She's bloody brilliant. I've never seen her fail."
Killian then scowled, stood up, and drew his sword. "What in the bloody hell are you teaching him?!" He marched over to the recruit and said, "Get out of here." He then looked at the knight and scowled. "Try that against me."
The knight nodded, and David watched them spar. He hated to admit that Killian was one of the best swordsmen he'd ever seen. He made a mental note that he wanted to see him go against Lancelot soon.
Killian quickly defeated the knight and sighed, "You wouldn't last long on a pirate ship." He then raised his sword again. "You have a tell when you're going for the kill. Don't twitch your eye."
By the time Killian had finished giving him instructions half an hour later, David had noticed quite the crowd had gathered. The knight he'd gone against was smiling too. When it was over, he'd sounded grateful to Killian for training him.
There were nods all around him, and he heard comments that Killian was an incredible teacher. David smiled and headed back to his duties as he watched the men lining up to request lessons from Killian in the future.