A/N: During a bit of writers block, I found and followed a broken thread back to... an event about two chapters from this one, which I decided was out of place. So I've removed over 21k words from this story, saved in a separate doc. (I'm not completely coocoo.) It might take a minute to rearrange/straighten out the rest, but when I do, I will update again. Thank you for your patience! (Thank you MsStitcher, I'm doing much better now. Thank you for the reviews! They mean so much!)
~Day 2~
The next morning, the guards had nothing new on their search for the strange man. Snow was struggling with the idea to continue the search, perhaps bring in an expert. Always hopeful, wanting to see the best in people, she struggled with these decisions without her husband who balanced out her hopefulness with reality. Knowing him, and what he would suggest, she decided to call on both Red and Graham who were master hunters alone. She knew that together, they would make one hell of a team.
Emma made sure to wake up early that day. She told her mother and Regina, who were together, of her ploy to play peasant with the Captain before breakfast, knowing full well the news would spread throughout the castle long before lunch.
The two women shared a knowing look before agreeing to keep her secret, though they made sure she understood it would be temporary. Naturally, Emma made her way to the kitchen. Where else could she build up a cover? She was determined not to be revealed unless absolutely necessary.
She had dressed appropriately, and took cooking lessons with the staff. She actually enjoyed the tasks given to her. Eventually, she found herself serving the breakfast table.
As soon as she entered the room with a tray, Jones had a hard time staying on topic, and his gaze wandered to her often. Smee was also present, though she gathered that he wanted to leave the castle as soon as he was able. Another young man, one she didn't recognize, was also seated with them. She guessed it was the stepson Regina had mentioned.
The stepson hadn't looked up at her once.
She took the empty plates, brought them back to the kitchen, then she helped with dishes after arguing with the staff that yes, she was a princess and no, they couldn't convince her otherwise.
She ended up eating with the staff before going out for archery. She was late, but her aim was back to normal, constantly hitting the middle circle. Her trainer, currently Merida, allowed her back to the moving targets, where she proved herself more than worthy. Center target each time. Her next lesson would finally be on horseback, at her own request. It was an hour before lunch when she finished, and she went into the kitchen again to help out. Swordplay would have to wait until later. All of her lessons would suffer because of this.
She again served the table. She rather enjoyed the distracted way he tried to keep the conversation running whenever she was around. This time when she collected the empty plates, Jones slipped her a note, surprising her. She read it as soon as she had reached the kitchen, and had set the plates down.
Biting her lip at the note, she felt knots in her stomach. He wanted to see her outside of the castle. At his ship, no less. Whatever for?
All through helping in the clean up, she was distracted. Contemplating her response. She really shouldn't skip sword practice. Or any of her classes, for that matter. She had an enjoyable lunch with the staff, which did distract her from her thoughts for a while. She was grateful for that. However, while cleaning, her jumbled thoughts came back to her in a rush.
Should she meet him, or not? Meeting him might encourage his behavior. However, the same could be said for staying away. Or staying away could encourage him further. But it could completely discourage him as well.
She wasn't sure what she wanted, which was an odd position for her to be in. She's never been uncertain in her life. She mildly wondered if she would have felt this confusion about him, had she not known of his piracy. Was she judging him too harshly, based solely on his title?
She'd have to ponder that at a later date. However, the query lingered in her brain. It was something she never wanted for herself. She nodded to herself, finally deciding to go, but on her own terms.
