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Chapter VII:
A Bad Influence

Smee escorted Emily out the door. Upon reaching outside, her eyes went wide, and she let out a gasp in astonishment.

The deck was covered in candles and lanterns with a large wooden table in the center with a buffet of seafood, chowder, fruit, bread, and many other things fit for a pirate's feast. There were a few crewmates playing instruments – there was a combination of an accordion, a mandolin, and a pan flute. Some of the pirates were already a bit drunk and danced to the music, while others played card games, ate the good food, or were simply just relaxing.

"Wow..." Emily murmured, "I didn't know dinner was such a big thing."

"Actually Lass," Mason interrupted, smiling bashfully at her, "it's for you."

"For me?" she questioned, furrowing her brows. "...What do you mean?"

"Any Lass who can gets washed up on shore, takes an arrow, runs into a crocodile, and lives through it all to tell the tale is well worth the effort," Jukes added with a grin.

Emily paused and looked away; she could feel her cheeks burn with embarrassment. She didn't even know where to begin with any of that. It's not like she really had any survival skills that kept her alive through all those incidences – it was all just sheer luck and unexplained coincidences. Especially with the crocodile...

She eventually gave them a shy smile, "For pirates, you guys are very sweet."

"Just to a lady," Mason corrected.

Smee gave her a small pat on her back, "Go eat, Miss. I know you still haven't had a full meal yet today."

Emily blushed and gave Smee a sheepish grin. She nodded in agreement and walked towards the dinner table with Jukes, looking over the various selection of food the chef had put together for the banquet.

Hook moved beside Smee as he observed her. He looked up at the Captain with a curious look and arched a brow at him.

"Is everything all right between the two of you, Cap'n?" Smee inquired.

He hesitated for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh, not breaking his eyes away from the blonde.

"Of course," he replied plainly. He looked down at him. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, when I opened the door for dinner, it felt like I caught you two at a...bad time," Smee acknowledged, clicking his tongue.

Hook looked back at her. He watched as she took a spot beside Jukes, nibbling at her food laughing at whatever insane stories his mate was telling her. A part of him was envious that Jukes could make her smile with such little effort, while it felt like it took his whole being.

"She's just...such a wonder," Hook finally admitted.

Smee shot a grin at him. He was delighted to see the Captain avert his attention to something – someone – other than Peter Pan. They had spent so much of their lives in Neverland that the crew has grown so eager to sail the great seas in search of riches and adventure once again. But until the Captain's obsession with getting rid of Pan ceases, who knows when, or if...or even could...ever leave.

"And she's very beautiful, Cap'n," Smee added, an amused smirk appearing on his face. "Do you think perhaps that maybe you two–"

Hook scowled and looked back down at him, "Mr. Smee, look at her. She's a proper lady from England, and I'm...well, I'm a pirate. Nothing can, or will, come from that."

His voice was angry. Not at Smee, but at the harsh reality of his predicament. Smee frowned and he gave him a half shrug as his eyes looked over at the blonde.

"I don't know, Cap'n," Smee sighed, "she looks like a pirate to me."

Hook followed his glance and watched as Emily took the bottle of rum from Jukes, taking a large swig. This time, she had no sour reaction to the taste – getting used to the warm spiced tang the alcohol had to offer. Compared to when she first arrived on the ship, her posh nature had very much relaxed; most likely thanks to the influence of the rugged crew around her. Her nose and cheeks started to bear more freckles due to the increased time under the sun, and her perfect ringlets from the first day had tousled out into her original messy waves. The scar that now rests over her right eyebrow almost marked a new face to her name.

Emily suddenly gave out a howl of laughter and Hook watched with an amused look as he overheard Jukes teach her a bit of 'pirate lingo'.

"Ahoy, me hearties!" she repeated with a giggle, taking another swig.

He chuckled. Smee was right.

She did look like a pirate.

As the night went on, the crew were beyond tipsy straight to completely wasted. And no thanks to the bad influence of Jukes, even Emily was somewhere between buzzed to somewhat plastered.

The crew all sat around a barrel of fire; passing a few bottles of rum around, smoking cigars, sharing stories, and telling jokes. There were even two pirates sitting a little off to the side – one sat beside the other on a barrel while dipping a thin needle into ink and then sticking it in his arm, tattooing an image of a mermaid.

Emily watched with curiosity and then gave Smee a nudge. "What are they doing?"

"Hm?" Smee looked up and then over at the pirates, "Oh, Mullins is giving Turk a tattoo."

"A tattoo?"

Emily recalled the ideas of tattoos back in England. Mostly men got them – well, those who were known as "bad boys" got them – they were mainly found on criminals or thugs. But there were even some middle-class women who were tattooed; however, they were considered "loose" by society if they showed off their tattoos. Though, Emily never thought ill of them. She thought they were an interesting way to show off a person's personality. Plus, they weren't all bad or ill-taste – she would catch glimpses of some girls with butterflies or birds on their ankles and wrists. Besides, she appreciated art in all media – she wondered why tattoos can't be one of them? But because of her high-class status, a tattoo is simply too taboo for such a lady.

God, how she hated having to conform to such a standard.

"...I want a tattoo," Emily announced. She got up from her spot and moved towards Mullins.

"Oh, hell no," Mullins rebutted, looking up at her, "Lass, I don't know–"

"I want one!" she assured with a pout on her lips.

Mullins could feel himself melt into her big Bambi eyes; how could he say no to the lass?

"...Ask the Captain." He deflected.

"What? Why? It's my body," Emily scowled, crossing her arms.

"I don't want the Captain coming for me," Mullins snapped at her, turning his attention back to Turk.

She rolled her eyes, "Fine."

She scanned her eyes around the ship for the Captain. She caught sight of him standing by the banister with a couple of other pirates smoking a few cigars and chatting. She swiftly made her way over and butted her way into their conversations.

"I want a tattoo," she stated at him.

Hook raised a brow at her strangely and blew out a puff of smoke. The mates beside him offered a smirk to each other as they watched the conversation unfold.

"A tattoo?" he repeated.

"A tattoo." She confirmed.

He pondered for a moment while taking in another long drag.

"...No," he answered.

The smile on her lips fell, and her face flickered between confusion and anger.

"Why?" she spat, her tone leaning towards anger.

He glanced at the pirates beside him who took it as a sign to leave. They hurried off, and he turned his attention back to her.

"Because I said so."

"Well...I don't need your permission." She shot at him.

"Then why did you ask?" He shot back.

She scowled as she looked away from him, folding her arms and shuffled in her spot.

"...Mullins said I had to." She replied in a grumpy tone.

Hook looked over to Mullins who was still tattooing Turk; his eyes shifting between them and down at the tattoo; waiting for Hook's answer. The Captain clicked his tongue and looked down at her. He could smell the rum on her breath.

"Emily," he said sternly, "you've had a bit too much to drink. As a proper lady, maybe you should–"

"No, I haven't!" she replied with irritation.

She was so sick of being told "proper lady this" and "proper lady that". Fuck being a proper lady! She could drink, smoke, get tattooed, cut her hair short and still be a "proper lady". Her appearance didn't define her manners.

Finally, he rolled his eyes and scowled. Raising his hand to his head, he brushed it over his face, and let out a loud groan.

"You know what, my Dear?" he said, "Do whatever you please. If you regret it in the morning, it is not my problem."

He was challenging her, and she knew it.

They glared at each other before she ultimately turned on her heel and made it back to Mullins.

Emily half-listened to the conversation that was happening around her. Her eyes traced over at the new-found tattoo that Mullins gave her – it was a simple, small Christian cross that rested on her left wrist. He found it a little cheesy, but it was what she wanted, and figured it was not his place to question her faith.

Her eyes snapped up when she overheard a comment come from Murphy's mouth. He was picking on Mason.

"Alf Mason, you're so ugly, your Mama sold you for a bottle of muscat!" he snickered.

Mason rolled his eyes at his insult and took a swig of rum.

"Well, I think he's quite handsome," Emily defended. She got up from her spot and stood beside Mason, leaning in and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Mason's eyes lit up and a big grin appeared on his face, "Ye' think so, Miss?"

Emily nodded and gave him a reassuring smile. Murphy looked at them with his mouth agape.

"...My Mama said I was ugly too," Murphy added, turning his cheek towards her – indicating that he wanted a kiss as well.

"And she was right," Emily confirmed, sitting back down.

A howl of laughter erupted from the group. Jukes gave Emily a pat on her shoulders with a few happy tears rising to his eyes from how hard he was laughing.

"Feisty one you are, Lass," he grinned. "I think you'd make a pretty great pirate."

This caused Emily's face to beam, "You think so?"

He gave her a nod. Emily never pictured herself as a pirate – suppose all her years growing up in London made her believe that she was meant to be married with children to a broker or lawyer and teach music to children. She didn't, or couldn't really, picture her life as anything else.

"Do you miss England, Lass?" Noodler questioned, looking in her direction.

Emily gave him a bitter smile and brought her knees up to her chest, her eyes watching the orange and yellow flames flicker into the air.

"I miss my father," she admitted. "But...not really, no."

"Really?" Jukes gasped, "Why not?"

"It's just...so boring in England," Emily laughed, looking at him. "Like, I got stitches! Stitches!" She waved a hand and gestured to her hip, "Because I was shot by an arrow! That's so crazy! You think that happens in England?!"

The men let out a chuckle at her enthusiasm.

"Can't say I've ever seen a person be excited over getting shot by an arrow, Lass," Mason added, amused.

Emily gave him a grin, "I just mean...ugh, back in London, my father was always pressuring me to get married. Except, I just really didn't want to. The men sucked." She reached for the bottle from Noodler and took a swig. "Maybe you can answer something for me, Jukes."

"And what's that?" he asked, cocking a brow at her.

"Why do men only care about a pretty face?" Emily questioned a little heatedly. "I received so many marriage proposals in London – maybe from over 70 men – and I turned down every single one. They never bothered to speak to me beforehand. It was always just an immediate proposal."

"Men like a pretty face," Murphy snorted, giving her a smug look. "What else is there? As long as she can cook, clean, and...well...can 'take care' of me, if you know what I mean–" Emily scrunched her face at this statement, "–then well, I'm set."

Emily stared at Murphy for a long time before she clicked her tongue and threw the bottle of rum at him. His eyes went wide, and he held an arm up for the bottle to smash against, leaving him drenched in alcohol.

"What the fuck?!" Murphy shouted at her.

"Good thing I didn't ask you!" Emily jeered back as she rolled her eyes.

Jukes waved a hand at Murphy, indicating him to 'shut up'. His face went from laughter to seriousness as he stood up and then helped Emily to her feet. While the interaction between the two was hilarious, he was beginning to find her acting very much out of character this evening.

"Lass, maybe you should go lie down," he suggested, escorting her off to the side.

Emily frowned at him; she felt just fine to carry on! "I'm okay Jukes, really!"

He gave her a small smile and then shrugged. "Why don't you go find the Captain? He hasn't seen your new ink yet."

Emily grinned and nodded at his idea. She then looked around the deck and frowned again when she realized Hook was nowhere to be found.

"Where is he, anyway?"

Smee lifted a hand and pointed towards the cabin door, "Aye, he left a little while ago. Probably doing some work."

She let a hum and pouted. "Just going to have to fix that," she muttered.

Emily strolled to the cabin with a skip in her step. Before opening the door, a small black plaque with gold script lettering caught her attention:

Captn Jas Hook

She gave it an amused smile and wondered how she didn't catch it before.

'Jas'?

Slowly, she creaked open the door and peered her head inside. She watched as Hook sat at his desk with quill in hand, writing in his logbook. He seemed much relaxed at his seat – he wasn't wearing his typical hat and jacket; just a black blouse with a decorative vest over top of it.

She gradually tiptoed inside and closed the door behind her. The click of the door was loud enough for him to avert his eyes up. Emily stood at the door with her hands behind her back, a sheepish smile on her lips.

"Why are you working?" she inquired.

"Got work to do," he answered, furrowing his brows at her. He watched as she bounced on her tiptoes like a giddy high school girl.

"Well, that's not good," she replied, strolling her way over to him.

"Why is it not good?" he rebutted. He dropped the quill and leaned back in his chair as he observed her.

"You know what they say," She reached over the desk and pushed his logbook out of the way. She hopped up onto the desk and sat down right in front of him.

The Captain's eyes widen as he tilted his head up, swallowing hard as their gaze met.

"All work and no play makes Jas a dull boy." She grinned teasingly.

Hook stared at her for a moment before his lips curled up into a mocking smile.

"It's 'Captain' to you, Miss Emily." He corrected her as he stood up from his chair, now towering over her.

She paused for a second and gave him a nod, "You're right – I'm sorry, I'm sorry... Captain Jas."

He looked at her entertained as he caught the scent of rum on her breath. It was much stronger compared to before.

"Miss Emily... How drunk are you?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"Absolutely...not." She mumbled, averting her gaze to meet his.

He snorted at her answer; she completely missed the question.

Hook went silent as her hands found their way to the collar of his shirt. She held it with a firm grip and then jerked him forward, biting her lip as she let out a giggle. Her face was hovering inches from his.

"Emily..." Hook murmured. He took a glance down at her lips and trailed his eyes back to hers.

His lips parted as he stared at her eyes curiously – he almost didn't recognize them. Her sea-green irises seemed to have a sudden mysterious glow about them; it was as if they weren't even hers.

"Don't you want to have some fun with me?" she inquired, pulling his face closer to hers. "Come ouuutsiiide."

He realized her voice was in a dangerous tone – it was low and alluring. It didn't sound like her own. Hook could sense her lips gently graze over his as she spoke. He stood tranced by her eyes before he broke away and cleared his throat.

"No," he said sternly, raising his hand to her wrists and yanked her hands off his shirt as he took a step back from her. He took a second to compose himself. "My Dear, let's get you some air. I'm afraid you've had a little too much to drink."

He gently placed a hand on her back as he assisted her off the desk. Emily shot him a glare before she gave him a huff and paced out of the cabin with the Captain close behind her. She didn't like being told 'no'.

Emily made her way back over to the circle of pirates sitting around the fire. She reached for the rum in Juke's hands and snagged it, taking a massive gulp from the bottle. The crew looked to her wide-eyed and then looked towards Hook who stood a few feet behind her, rolling his eyes.

"Emily–," he began.

"Say Mason," she interrupted, and pointed to the mandolin, "Won't you play me a song?"

Mason hesitated before he gave her a nod and started to pluck a few strings. The blonde scrunched her nose in thought.

"A little slower," she instructed.

Emily bopped her head along to the music as she took another swig. Tossing the rum back to Jukes, she started to sway her hips to the rhythm as she ran her hands through her tousled hair.

The crew watched with their mouths wide – a few whistles, whoops and hollers followed as they watched – mesmerized by her sultry dance.

Hook's eyes narrowed on her and his hand curled up into a tight fist.

How dare she dance like this in front of his crew?

"Aye Lass," Murphy smirked, licking his lips as he looked her over, "I hope ya' stay and become a pirate... We definitely got room for you."

Emily returned Murphy's flirtatious smirk and continued on with her dance.

Suddenly, the music ended abruptly with the sound of a loud 'smash'. Everyone turned their heads to see an aggravated Hook. His eyes were blood red, and they could see his hook rammed through the wood of the mandolin with a very anxious Mason looking himself over to see if it plunged into him.

"Party's over," Hook hissed.

The blonde crossed her arms, glaring at the Captain before her. The crew swiftly got up from their spots and fled to the deck below, quickly to avoid any harsh actions that would come from Hook if they lingered long.

"Well, aren't you such a codfish." Emily scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Immediately, she regretted her words.

Hook stride towards her and gripped her by her arm. Emily gasped as he dragged her back to the cabin.

Jukes watched nervously and gave out a sad sigh. He felt responsible and to blame for not monitoring how much she had been drinking. He just wanted her to have a little bit of fun since she had gone through so much the past couple of days.

Suddenly, a glimmer caught the corner of his eye.

Turning his head, Jukes looked down to the water to see a familiar siren below.

Her eyes glowed a bright yellow before reverting back to their original amber. She gave Jukes a frisky smirk before diving back underneath the surface.

Jukes furrowed his brows in thought at the sea before turning his attention back to the cabin's door.

Once inside, Hook shoved her onto the bed.

Emily placed a hand on her arm and rubbed it up and down over the sore spot, silently watching the Captain pace back and forth. He appeared to have been trying to calm himself down. Hook paced to his desk and jerked open the bottom drawer, reaching inside to pull out a bottle and took a swig from it.

She let out an annoyed huff, "What's your problem?!"

He paused and whipped around on his heel to look at her. Without a second thought, Hook threw the bottle to the ground and marched over to her. He reached an arm up and slapped her across the face harshly.

Her eyes widen as she felt a sudden stinging sensation on her cheek and raised a hand, touching it gently. Tears began to swell in her eyes as she glared at him.

"You will not disrespect me!" he barked. "And I will not have you do that on my ship!"

Emily snapped back, "What? Having fun?!"

"Dancing like that," he growled through clenched teeth. "Especially in front of my crew!"

She rolled her eyes and scowled, "You're pirates, why do you even care?! Thought you men liked that."

Emily felt a firm grasp around her neck and was pushed down onto the bed. It wasn't tight enough to hurt her, but rather to hold her in place. She snapped her eyes up to see Hook hovering over her – straddling over her hips as he leaned in close to her.

"We do. But as I said: I will not have you do that on my ship." He remarked sternly.

She instantly went quiet, watching the eyes of the Captain still remain a hint of red. She tried to let her playful nature show through despite how heated she was at him.

"Was I that bad?" she mumbled disappointingly.

Hook stared at her for a moment before he dropped his hand from her neck.

"No," he answered, "You were very...enticing." He trailed his thumb over her bottom lip gingerly before giving it a harsh tug down.

He moved his hand from her chin and ran his fingers through the strands of her hair. She took in a deep inhale as she watched him unknowingly lean in closer to her. It felt like they were staring at each other intensively for an eternity, and finally, she gave him a light-hearted smirk.

"Are you going to kiss me, Captain?" Emily cooed.

He paused. He could tell she was mocking him. She watched as his eyes flickered from red back to their original Forget-Me-Nots blue. His angered face softened, and he let out a deep sigh.

"Not like this," he finally said, but it almost seemed like a reminder for himself. He pushed himself off of her and moved towards his wardrobe.

Emily sat up quietly and watched as he yanked the vest he was wearing off and tossed it onto the desk.

Without looking at her, he ordered, "Go to bed."

Over their petty argument anyway, Emily quickly obeyed and lied back down, rolling over so her back was facing him.

She buried her face into the pillow and let out a shaky breath. She could feel her cheek beginning to swell and it still painfully stung. A few tears fell over her cheeks as she let out a couple of sniffles. What did she do so wrong...?

After a moment, she felt the weight of the blanket pull over her and a hand brush her curls off her neck and face.

She silently looked over her shoulder and watched as the Captain made his way out the door.

Jukes hung around the upper deck doing the nighttime routines. His chores halted to a stop when he saw Hook walk out of the cabin with a cigar.

Hook made his way to the desk and sat down, taking in a long, deep inhale. Jukes hastily made his way over.

"Captain?" he inquired.

Hook shot an annoyed glance up at Jukes, and then blew out a puff of smoke at him. He was at his wits' end this evening.

"What is it, Jukes?"

Jukes shuffled in his spot awkwardly before averting his attention to the horizon.

"I noticed that the mermaids have been around a lot more recently," he stated.

The Captain raised an eyebrow at him, "So? They got nothing to report to Pan."

He clicked his tongue and looked back at him, "You see, Captain...they started coming around more the same day Emily came on board."

Hook took in another drag of his cigar and pondered over his mate's words. He gave him a puzzled look, trying to understand where he was getting at.

"It's weird, Captain," Jukes continued, "It's like they know something we don't."

"Like what?"

Jukes sighed and scratched his head. Even he didn't really know what.

"The Lass just...wasn't really herself tonight. I was thinking that maybe they had something to do with it..."

"She was also drunk, Jukes," he countered.

"Yeah, but..." Jukes paused to really think about it. "I don't know, Captain...there's something odd about her. Nothing bad, but I don't think good either."

Hook stared at him. He was right – there was something about Emily that he couldn't put his finger on, but he was a little relieved to know that he wasn't the only one who could sense it.

Taking in one last drag, Hook put out his cigar.

"Hoist anchor," he commanded, "Make sail to Mermaid Lagoon."

Jukes nodded, "Aye-Aye, Captain."