Just as Hope had planned, Captain Drake left port the next morning, with a hoard of guards angrily watching them as they sailed away. They had searched the ship for William and his accomplice, but had found nothing. And so they were forced to watch Dark Vulture (Drake's aptly named ship given its unusually wide and black sails) carry their targets safely out of reach.
William awoke to find Hope still dozing on his shoulder. Despite the dank conditions of the cell and the gnawing pain in his back from sitting up all night, he found himself rather happy with his position.
It wasn't long after he awoke when Captain Drake opened the trap door letting in a bright and blinding square of sunlight. William's hand jumped to shield his eyes, Hope merely squeezed her eyes tighter and groaned.
"Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise," the Captain called jovially, evidently in a very good mood.
"Yeah well I'm not a man," Hope rubbed her eyes, a small scowl gracing her face.
"Oh come now lass, nothing was ever accomplished by letting the day get away," Captain Drake said as he dropped a large bundle into the cell, William caught it to find it was a change of clothes for both of them. Though the outfit was far more pirate-like than he ever wore, he suspected it would do, as he passed Hope's clothes to her, though bleary eyed, she was very pleased. He smiled, it was baffling just how comfortable she was with the dark and festering world of piracy,
"You sound like my dad," she grumbled, the Captain chuckled before going to close the door so they could change, WIlliam jumped up to stop him.
"Where are you going?" Hope questioned, already attempting to undo the laces on her dress.
"It is hardly proper to watch a lady undress," William stated almost robotically. Hope looked at him curiously. Even with all they had been through, all he had seen of her, and as far from being a prince as he was, his mother's royal upbringing still shone through as clear as day. It was fascinating to see where exactly it showed itself.
Hope nodded as William followed the Captain out onto the deck, closing the door behind him. He wedged a large coin under it so that Hope could get out without needing anyone to come get her.
The story on deck was far different than it had been the night before, the haze of drunken lethargy was completely gone. Scores of men rushed about attending to different things, William was hardly a seafaring man, so he had no idea what they were doing. He ducked into a store room and changed quickly before reemerging to find the Captain.
Now dressed in all black, with leather pants and a billowing shirt, William's sword looked almost out of place. He guessed that a cutlass would look more natural with the ensemble, but the beautiful sword he had stolen from King Bertrand's armory when he was banished was all he had.
He found the Captain, a bit removed from the bustle of the crew, at the ship's wheel.
"You were lucky Jones got ye here when she did, the guards had the whole kingdom watching for ye by the time we weighed anchor," Drake said as he turned the wheel two notches to the right, William felt the ship move ever so slightly.
"She was the only reason I made it out of the ball,"
The Captain laughed and nodded,
"I'll tell ye, she's got more gall than half the men on my crew. And she fights better than all of them put together. I'd reckon her father was one hell of a pirate,"
William pondered this statement, he had always figured that pirates were ruthless. He had never considered there might be a sort of code of conduct. He didn't figure there would be, yet here was a pirate protecting a woman he barely knew because of some unspoken agreement between him and a man he didn't even know.
"I'd imagine that she's one hell of a pirate," William jumped to Hope's defense, he couldn't imagine even her and her deep love for her father would appreciate her own actions being second place to his. Captain Drake laughed again,
"She certainly is, saved my entire crew once, I'd have her here if I could,"
William looked at the man quizzically,
"Why couldn't you?" the Captain moved to answer but was too slow.
"Because there never was luck on a pirate ship with a woman aboard," Hope said as if it were obvious. She looked much more like her old self, if not more pirate-like, all traces of the last night's princess charade had disappeared.
The Captain nodded his affirmation of Hope's statement,
"I'd imagine your father told ye that?" he asked with a smile.
"Aye, though he likes to say that he would have far worse luck without women aboard so he's willing to risk it," she smiled smugly.
William struggled to hold back a smile as the picture he had of Hope's father grew ever more complex. A dastardly and talented pirate as Drake described, while still the loving father and now apparent feminist that Hope adored. Once again the image of Hope's photograph jumped into his head, reading on the empty deck of a ship like the one he stood on now. A once vicious pirate now with the gentleness of a caring father.
He came to the conclusion Hope must have had just as confusing a childhood as he had.
"And did bad luck befall him?" William asked this time, Hope's smile faltered for a second,
"Depends on the woman," she answered matter of factly. William cocked his head curiously, it seemed that for every answer he got from Hope Milah Swan Jones, he got more questions.
"Want a turn at the helm, Jones?" Captain Drake asked, turning the conversation away from superstitions and Hope's confusing answers.
"Oh may I?" she spoke with all the light and spirit of a child, her happiness more apparent than ever.
The Captain graciously stepped aside, offering the wheel to her. She rushed forward eagerly, her fingertips gracing the wheel's edges. Hope looked out over the sea, wind sweeping her hair back off her face, a look of peace with a hint of longing in her eyes. William had never seen her look so natural, standing behind the Vulture's wheel, she looked like an extension of the ship itself.
The longing in her eyes was not lost on him, once again he suspected she was painfully reminded of the family she so dearly missed. Running through her story in his head, he realized that by this point, Hope had been away from her loved ones for nearly two years. He faltered at the idea that he was keeping her from them, before quickly discarding that notion. She was strong, smart and more than capable of making her own decisions. She would return to her family when she was ready, and that was for her to decide.
As William considered all this, Hope lost herself in the waves. Her hands moved the wheel automatically, guiding the ship expertly.
Like riding a bike she thought to herself.
Her mind drifted, as William had suspected, all the way to the Storybrooke Harbor, at the helm of the Roger with her father while her mother and brother played on the deck.
"Now if you see rocks coming up," her father asked leadingly.
"I go around them!" She was 5 and practically bouncing out of her shoes in excitement.
"Exactly darling lass, but how?" she closed her eyes to think about her answer, it helped her focus when she did.
"Three notches that way!" she pointed to her right as she answered victoriously, she knew she was right.
"Yes that is right, but what do we call that way?" he asked as he knelt down so he was level with her height. She closed her eyes again before quickly jerking them back open.
"Starboard! That way is called starboard!" she had gone back to bouncing on her heels. Before she could say anything else, her father had swooped her into his arms (carefully so as not to impale her on his hook), she laughed her head off in response.
"Exactly right my darling Hope! You are exactly right!" he leaned down so she could reach the wheel to make her adjustment, the ship turning away from the rocks and back towards the harbor.
"I did it Daddy, I steered the ship!" she alerted him eagerly, as if he was not aware.
"Aye you did lass, I daresay one day you'll be the best Captain in all the realms," he smiled and her blue eyes went wide at the thought.
"And I daresay that both you Captains need to eat lunch right about now," her mother approached the helm now, with her little brother trailing behind her fighting an imaginary opponent with a wooden sword.
"Well done Miss Jones," Hope was jerked out of her memory by Captain Drake. She regained her focus to realize that she had guided them all the way to a port, the crew was dropping anchor as they spoke.
"Uh, Thank you," Hope stammered, regaining her voice after getting lost in her daydream. She turned to see WIlliam watching her curiously, fully aware that her mind had just been somewhere else entirely, the fact that he could read her so well was both amusing and terrifying.
"Mayberry Quarry, mining province just across the sea from Bertrand's kingdom," Drake informed them of their location. Both Hope and William went to move towards the gangplank that was being lowered but stopped.
The docks of Mayberry Quarry were unusually chaotic, even from the deck Drake and his crew could hear some kind of mania going on deep within the village.
"What the devil is this?" Drake mumbled as he brushed passed them and marched ashore, the crew continued working as if nothing was wrong.
"Do you think Bertrand was able to send guards to meet us here?" William asked worriedly.
"No, he would have had to split up his forces, given he wouldn't have known where the Vulture would next make port. And you are a clever thief, but I hardly doubt they would go through that much trouble to capture you," Hope explained logically, William knew she was right. He was one man who was already banished, they wouldn't send an army to apprehend him.
Captain Drake rushed back on board the ship and ran right to them.
"It's the Sorceress Rowena, we don't stand a chance against her, we stay on board until she's gone" he informed them gravely. William's face grew pale, as did most of the crew's, Hope seemed to be the only one left in the dark.
"Who?" she asked, her eyes darting between the Captain and William. William pulled her aside, indicating to the Captain that he could attend to whatever business he had, he would explain the danger to Hope.
"As you know magic is uncommon in this realm, one of the most famous practitioners is Sorceress Rowena. She's said to be as old as time itself and as evil as they come," he began, Hope rolled her eyes, she was familiar with the type.
"She goes from kingdom to kingdom offering her 'help', she gives Kings and Queens horrible dark magic, and then they use it for cruel purposes. She's played a part in nearly every war in the past millennia, making each more deadly than the last."
"What if a kingdom refuses her help?" Hope asked, looking out at the chaos in Mayberry.
"Then she lays siege to them until they do," William solemnly followed her gaze, a terrified woman ran with a baby in her arms across the docks, being pursued by a demon made entirely of putrid green smoke.
Hope bit her lip, she couldn't just watch. Ever so slightly, she lifted her index finger and closed her eyes. Within seconds the green smoke monster dissolved into thin air. William's head snapped back to her,
"You did that." he stated obviously. Hope seemed to be at war with herself, her eyebrows had furrowed and her lips had pursed, she looked at the docks still rife with madness than back to William.
"I have to help," she said quietly, she closed her eyes, trying to calculate if there was any other way she could get out of this situation with her conscience intact.
She knew there wasn't, there was someone using magic against people without it.
Terribly bad form.
The people of Mayberry Quarry couldn't fight Rowena nor could William and the pirates, but Hope could. There was no choice to make.
She rushed forward to disembark but William caught her arm.
"You cannot fight Rowena, she is more powerful than you know," he looked at her with pleading eyes.
"So am I," Hope grimaced but she knew it was true. She recalled how Rumple had told her that she essentially had the power of true love squared within her veins. She had defeated dark witches and wizards before. Hell, when she was 18 she had to defeat Rumplestiltskin himself to finish her training. She was more than capable of handling Rowena.
"I saw you back there at the wheel, you were thinking of your father weren't you? Would he want you to put your life in jeopardy like this?" he tried to think of anything he could say to keep from running into battle, to keep her away from the fighting,
To keep her in your arms,
To keep her safe.
"My father would want me to follow my heart, and he knows that my heart would never allow me to leave innocent people in danger when I could do something about it,"
She bit back, angry at the low blow of trying to use her father against her. Though she understood why, even as she stood about to run, she wanted nothing more than to lock William back in the brig and out of harm's way.
William still wouldn't release her arm.
"Let me come with you," he said more quietly, the need for her safety evident in his voice, though he knew what she was going to say. She reached to touch his cheek,
"If you come with me I will spend half of my energy protecting you," somehow this goodbye was worse then all the others. Somehow this danger seemed far more dangerous than usual.
"Be careful Jones," he whispered, now mere centimeters from her face.
"I will," her voice was scarcely above a whisper as she fought back tears. William placed a hand on either side of her head, one final attempt to hold her in place.
"I am going to find you again, remember that." it wasn't a question, it was a command. She nodded.
"I'm counting on it," she managed a wavering smile before pulling away from him. She wiped away a few fallen tears before darting over the gangplank with her false hand already resting on the handle of her sword, though William guessed she wouldn't be using it.
He once again watched the woman he loved run away and leave him on the deck of a pirate ship.
Loved.
That was the second time he had thought it and it seemed even truer this time.
He was in love with Hope Jones.
A brilliant and bold enigma. An outlier of the greatest kind. She was a storybook and he was desperate to read every page.
He swore to himself then and there, the next time he found Hope, he wasn't letting go of her.
What if you can't find her? What if after this she's gone? A voice asked from the back of his mind.
He recalled that tattoo on her hip.
I will always find her, and she is far too brilliant to be gone.
Hope Jones had not had a proper magic fight in quite some time. She had cast a spell on a Yao Guai and she had conjured up swords but she hadn't been in a proper battle since she and Hugo went travelling through the realms when she was 19.
This time was very different. She wasn't 19 anymore, she didn't have a little brother to look after and she had a very compelling reason not to die.
Not that she hadn't had that before, but her William certainly offered more motive than Stefan ever had.
She ran through the docks quickly, dispelling minor monsters and tricks as she did. No longer worried about concealing her magic, she figured the cat was going to be out of the bag on that one, (she had considered this to be a necessary concession when running into the battle), she tore through Rowena's spells easily. But this didn't bring her any feeling of ease.
Any witch powerful enough to enact this many spells at once, even minor ones, was more powerful than she was letting on.
Hope made her way through Mayberry Quarry, general madness and chaos everywhere but so far nothing looked deadly. That was until she reached the town square.
In the center, stood a woman in a flowing black dress with jet black hair that hung straight down her back like a sheet. She hardly looked as old as time, in fact she looked to be around Hope's Aunt Regina's age, but Hope knew looks were often deceiving. Rowena's eyes were closed but her hands were outstretched, a beam of light extending from each of her fingers and into a villager.
The ten villagers who stood before her were gasping and clawing at their throats, some so hard their scratches drew blood. With every gasp and cough, they expelled a smoke demon or phantom, just like Hope had been dispelling on her way there. The mystery of how Rowena was controlling so many things at once was solved.
She was sucking the power out of others.
Hope was quick to act, with a flick of her wrists the beams from Rowena's fingers broke and the villagers fell to their knees. Hope rushed forward and enacted a protection spell around them, anymore was taken from them and they would surely not recover.
Rowena's eyes snapped open and a wicked smile crossed her face, Hope didn't flinch.
Never fear a magical opponent Hope, you will always be more powerful if you just believe it.
Rumple had said that to her when she was 15, the advice hadn't failed her yet.
"Hope, I was so hoping you'd join us," she sneered as she lowered her hands.
"Now how do you know my name?" Hope gave every indication that such a notion amused her though quite the opposite was true. Names were powerful, there was a reason she didn't give hers away.
"I know many things about you dear," Hope rolled her eyes inwardly but felt infinitely more comfortable at the use of the word 'dear'. This was something she was familiar with.
"You see, I have a great interest in powerful young women, and so few are blessed with magic. So last night, when I saw a lovely young princess not only identify dark fairy dust on sight but materialize weapons? Oh my heart nearly stopped beating!" her voice was calm but though her words were friendly, they were laced with poison.
Hope cursed herself. She had known that Maxwell having dark fairy dust was odd, it was no doubt one of the ways Rowena had offered to "help" the kingdom. King Bertrand was more than cruel enough to take her up on her offer. And she had known that using her magic was risky.
She got too brazen and she overplayed her hand. She would not make such a mistake ever again.
"My magic is a rare gift, I try not to use it," sometimes the best thing to say was the truth. The less Rowena knew about her and her magic the better.
"Magic is rare in this world," Rowena spoke almost like a teacher, before her lips curled into another evil grin, "But not in yours, am I right?"
Hope then felt a familiar stabbing pain in her forehead. It was familiar because she spent an entire year of her teenage life learning how to repel it, her mind reacted before she could even realize.
"Oh my, you are good, I haven't faced anyone who can repel my mind reading in a long time. Last night I suspect you were too busy running for your life to use it too well, though even in passing you have a surprising protection on your mind," she clucked her tongue as if to scold, but her eyes were alight with energy.
"And after you conjured your sword and I realized what you were, I had so little time to read you before you were gone. What I do know," she paused and approached Hope, close enough either woman could slap the other if they wanted to (well not if they wanted to, because Hope definitely wanted to, more like if they decided to).
"Is that your name is Hope Jones and you possess extraordinary magic. And that you are not of this world," her eyes glowed almost red at her last statement. Hope's mind jumped into action, though still actively repelling Rowena.
That's what she wants.
She wants a way to another world.
She offers help before she hurts people.
She doesn't rise to power.
She just causes chaos.
She just wants fear.
The real question was why.
Every villain has a reason they do what they do.
"You came to Mayberry because you knew I was going to be here," Hope said, her face showing no reaction to Rowena's taunts.
"Yes, you were hard to read, even passively you have a significant control of your mind, I'm afraid Captain Drake does not," she sneered back at Hope.
She followed us to the ship and when she couldn't get in my head she got to Drake.
"So what is it you want exactly?" Hope asked the question she most wanted an answer to.
"Why I merely want your help Miss Jones, we could have such fun together. And I have a few projects I think you may have valuable insight on."
Hope didn't have to be a genius to know what kind of projects she was referring to. But no matter how concerned she was, she would never dare let it show.
"I'm afraid I'll have to pass," she said coyly, as she did a shooting pain went through her head, she shut her eyes to focus on repelling the mind reading. Even Hope, as powerful as she was, had a hard time holding off a witch like Rowena targeting all of her magic at her mind.
"My word, you are strong. And stubborn." Rowena struggled to speak and had begun to sweat due to the effort, this gave Hope more than enough confidence.
You will always be more powerful if you believe it.
Yeah well now I believe it.
"You are not the first person to say that and you will certainly not be the last," Hope balled up her fists and concentrated every bit of her energy on Rowena, flipping the script on the spell. Now weak from trying to break Hope, she stood no chance.
Too bad she knew it.
"Alright now that is enough of that," Hope felt the pain in her forehead subside, and saw color begin to return to Rowena's face. She put her mental based spells on the back burner, she'd come back to them if she needed them.
"You are a marvel Hope, and I simply won't take no for an answer," she said as if trying to get Hope to agree to attend a potluck.
"So I'm afraid if you don't help me, I'll have to kill everyone in this lovely little town," she quickly turned 180 degrees and shot a fireball at a young man trying to sneak away as if to make her point.
Even drained, Hope was faster.
She leapt around Rowena and deflected the flames with the blade of her sword, she felt more strength return to her as she remembered her grandfather teaching her that one. Sword still drawn, Hope turned to face the sorceress, a smirk graced her face as a plan began to form in her mind.
"Fine, it's a deal." Hope resheathed her sword casually and crossed her arms as if she were bored.
"I'll help you, and you let all these people live," she knew Rowena wanted her badly enough not to think too hard. In fact, she was counting on it. Hope offered her right hand to the witch, who smiled cruelly and took it.
Rowena started to say "Deal" but was abruptly cut off by Hope spinning in her grasp, Hope's right hand unscrewing as she did.
As Rowena stood shocked with Hope's false hand still clasped in her's, she was blasted backwards by a wave of white, hot magic from Hope's stump of an arm.
Hope knew for a fact that after the mental battle and that blast, Rowena would be too weak to advance and would have to retreat.
She was, of course, right.
Rowena screamed in anger before calling out to Hope as she vanished into a green cloud.
"You can't protect your mind forever Hope, I will learn how to defeat you, and you will join me," she swore, but Hope was too busy catching her breath to really process it. As previously said, it had been a long time since she used that much magic.
The villagers rushed to her aid, offering water and food. One small boy brought her right hand from where Rowena had dropped it as she got blasted. Hope screwed it back on gratefully, she had been careless to almost let Rowena get something that belonged to her.
"How on earth did you conjure such a blast of magic?" one woman asked her as Hope rested.
"I lost my hand protecting my brother, in an act of true love, in moments of need I can sometimes channel enough of the emotion of that moment to harness that love again. Dark magic like Rowena wields is no match for true love," Hope rubbed her wrist, her arm felt sore and stiff and her head was throbbing like a bitch, but she knew she couldn't stay for long.
She had Rowena's threat to deal with.
Rowena was going to be searching for her and trying to get into her head at all costs. Hope couldn't let that happen. She had only defeated Rowena this time because she wielded a secret, she needed as many as she could get.
And God forbid she learns who rests in Hope's heart.
It was a miracle she hadn't seen it at the ball.
But Hope was grateful she hadn't.
And so Hope began to form her plan, as she did, her heart pulled at her mind.
Does happiness mean nothing?
Think of what would happen to your happiness if he died.
There was no way around it, in order to beat Rowena, she couldn't let herself be found by anyone. She needed time to plan and learn about her enemy, but she couldn't let Rowena into her mind. And as much as it might pain her, this was her battle to fight alone.
So Hope set off under cover of night, and the bandit known as Jones would not be seen again for some time.