At the next town, Killian ushered Emma into a tavern and sat her down next to the fire. Their clothes were soaked through, along with their bedrolls and all their possessions. Even Killian was swearing under his breath about the lack of modern waterproofing in the Enchanted Forest.
"You've gone soft," Emma mumbled with a tight smile, the best humour she could manage though shivers.
Killian set their packs near the hearth and searched his pockets for stolen coins, and then started hunting through his pack. "I've gone so soft that I'm wondering if they'll take Visa for a room at this tavern." He found his jeans in the pack and dug through the wallet still tucked into a back pocket. "Ha, here we go." He held up a gold coin.
Emma snorted. "You have a doubloon mixed in with the dollars and dimes and the debit card?"
"And a damn good thing I never listen to you about turning all the gold into modern currency in the bank," he said. "I'm still pleased with my property portfolio, mind you. You have no idea how much property in New York goes up every year."
"Wait… you own property in New York? So exactly how much money do you have, pirate?"
"I see I'm looking like a better prospect to you, love," Killian winked.
Emma looked up to the ceiling and counted ten for patience. "While I am impressed that you stole enough to become a New York landlord, clearly that is a discussion for later. Right now, how many of those gold coins did you have in your wallet?"
"Three. Henry and I play a gambling game with them… which I promised him I would not tell you. So ignore that." Emma gave him a hard stare, and he rushed on: "It will be enough for a few days." He leaned down to kiss her. Her teeth were still chattering, but she pulled back.
"Get me some dinner and somewhere warm and dry to sleep, and I will consider forgiving you for teaching my son to gamble."
Killian walked over to the bar and negotiated with a balding man with very few teeth, who appeared to own the place. The man ordered a young girl off to prepare a room and a warm bath for them.
Killian spoke to the man for a bit longer. Emma noticed a lot of pointing and hand-waving on both sides. In the end, the balding proprietor had tears in his eyes and was shaking Killian's hand like a long-lost brother.
"What the hell was that about?" Emma asked when he returned with two mugs of ale.
Killian waved over the serving girl, who followed with two plates of hot food. Emma leant her face down over the steam rising from the mashed potatoes and sighed.
"That was me gathering information about the town and telling the proprietor about our situation. I was trying to see if there was any evil about. There's no point in secrecy this time. We haven't time travelled, the future is not in danger and the man might have known of threats to the kingdom."
"Did he? Know of any threats?" Emma asked through a mouthful of roast chicken.
"Good lord, Swan. Don't talk with your mouth full," Killian frowned at her. She rolled her eyes and swallowed.
"It's not like I had a mother to teach me table manners," Emma huffed.
"Don't make everything about being a foster child," he said sternly. "You are old enough to have picked up basic manners. And no, he did not know of any threats. But he did know of me, had once joined my crew for a short trip. And he feels great loyalty to your family, and won't hear of us paying for the room."
Emma deliberately took a bite of potato before answering. "Lucky us," she smiled.
Killian shook his head and ate his dinner without further comment.
…
Emma sank into the tub with a contented sigh. The warm water curled around every toe and finger, turning them from icy white to a healthy pink in moments. Killian had watched her gather up her hair, strip off her clothes and lunge at the bath the moment the door shut behind them.
"Oh, god, that feels good," Emma whispered. Then, a little louder, "God, that is so good."
Killian cocked his head to one side. "Somehow that sentiment cheapens all the things you've been moaning to me during sex."
Emma raised a weary eyebrow in his direction. "It's a different kind of good. But it is still gooooood. Seriously, get in here."
Killian kicked off his boots and threw another log onto the fire that the serving girl had started in the fireplace. He slowly undressed and walked over to the tub, lowering himself in behind her.
"That does feel amazing, actually," he admitted. He sank back up to his neck, and Emma settled herself against his chest. He brought his face down and nuzzled the hairs dripping down in the dampness at the base of her neck.
"Oh, now that's even better," Emma giggled. What the hell was happening to her, she wondered. Giggling.
It was all the permission Killian needed to slide his hands across her breasts and begin drawing leisurely circles over nipples. One hand slipped lower into the water and stroked up and down her thighs. "I do like having both hands," he remarked, as his left made its way between her thighs and nudged into her folds, while his right stayed occupied with her breasts.
Emma sighed again, slipping her hands behind her back until she discovered his erection. She slid one hand beneath his balls and the other gripped his cock. She felt his whole body tense as she slowly moved her hand up and down his length, her grip relaxed and soft. He was pressing gently against her clit with thumb, setting off a warm glow from within her. All the candles in the room lit up with her magic and the fire roared slightly brighter.
"Please do not burn down the tavern, love," he cautioned, "and do not scream. I don't want anyone breaking down the door to rescue the princess."
"How do you know you'll make me scream, huh? Arrogant," she murmured.
He dipped his head down and sucked a nipple into his mouth, teasing it with his tongue and teeth. Emma gasped. He shifted left hand so that one finger slipped inside her, testing her arousal. She moaned and lifted her hips into his hand.
"Yes, you are going to scream. Just try to moderate your volume a bit," he said confidently. He worked her clit with a slow, steady pressure, and added another finger inside to curl into the spot he knew would make her scream the loudest. She instinctively ground her hips into his hand, building quickly towards her release. She put hands down at the base of the tub to lift herself towards him. The temperature of the water rose slightly as her magic sparked off with her increasing pleasure.
"Steady, Swan," Killian reminded her, and she tried to rein back her magic and chase her orgasm at the same time. Her volume notched up as she neared the peak. Killian used his free hand to turn her face towards him, so he could swallow some of her delicious sounds with his mouth. She bit down on his bottom lip as she came, trying not to scream and drawing his blood in her attempt.
She pulled her teeth out of his lip as he stroked her down sweetly from her high.
"Ha, didn't scream, pirate," she announced.
"I'm bleeding, Swan. And the water is nearly burning us it's so hot. I prefer the screaming."
"Don't be such a baby," she said, passing her hand across his lip to heal him. She stood up to get out of the bath and offered him her hand to help him up out of the uncomfortably hot water. She wrapped them up in the clear linen cloths that the maid had left by the bed. Then she directed Killian to sit on the edge of the bed. She sank to her knees in front of him.
"Let's see how loud I can make you scream," she whispered to him.
Emma licked along the seam of his balls before bringing her tongue up his shaft and closing her mouth over the head. Killian swore loudly. She gripped the base of his cock and squeezed firmly as her tongue looped over head of his cock and then tickled the sensitive spot near the tip. He moaned and leaned back on his hands, still watching her intently as her blonde head ducked up and down over his throbbing length. By the time she sucked him all the way to the back of her throat and swallowed around him, he was very loudly and lewdly praising her talents. Just as she had predicted, he shouted out her name again and again as he came down her throat. She lazily licked up the last drops from the head of his cock, giving him her most sinful smile.
They crawled across the sheets and snuggled into the bed together, naked and warm under the blankets. Emma snuffed out the candles with her magic, and Killian felt himself starting to drop off into a satisfied sleep.
"So was that worth a gold coin for my efforts?" Emma asked quietly.
Killian laughed sharply. "Woman, you can have the apartment block in Manhattan for that."
Emma sat up slightly. "It's an entire apartment block?" she asked in shock.
"Later," Killian muttered, and dropped off to sleep. Emma stared at him for a while, a few more blank pages starting to fill in, before she dropped her head onto his chest and listened to his breathing until it lulled her to sleep.
…
The pounding on the door must have been going on for quite some time, because by the time Killian had leapt out of bed and put his trousers on, whoever was on the other side was taking steps to break the door off its hinges. Emma tried to rouse herself out a dream that had started to incorporate the pounding, and she looked across the room in a fuzzy panic at Killian.
He yanked open the door to find the bald proprietor panting in front of him.
"Is the princess safe?" he sputtered between breaths.
Killian looked perplexed and worried. "Yes, she's fine. She's right here," he said. "What the hell is wrong, Smith?"
"There are knights coming, riding hard for this very tavern, intent on capturing the princess," he said. "You need to run."
Emma had managed to get out of bed and throw her clothes on behind the door. "Run? Who are we running from?"
"Arthur," panted Smith. "Arthur of Camelot. He's coming on fast."
"King Arthur is real…" Emma began asking. She checked herself. She had just gone down on Captain Hook, for god's sake, and she was herself a fairy tale character, even if she didn't feel like it. A real fairy tale character with real enemies. At some point, well before restoring his hand, Killian had ceased being Captain Hook to her. She wondered if perhaps she had papered over 200 years of piracy, with dark denim and debit cards and a smart phone and a bank account, casting aside Hook too easily in her mind.
"Arthur's real as a sharp blade, milady," said Smith. "Now, hurry. I have weapons and horses for you downstairs. You cannot wait any longer."
Killian assured Smith that they would be down straight away. He slammed the door shut and started gathering up their possessions. Emma finished lacing up her clothes, now dry after a night by the fireside. Killian seemed quiet and preoccupied, and less shocked about the revelation that King Arthur was after her than she would have expected.
"What the hell does King Arthur, who is apparently real, want with me? And after nearly a month of us wandering around out here?" Emma asked.
"I don't know, but I do know that Smith has our best interests at heart, so let's move," he rushed Emma out the door and down the back stairs of the tavern. Smith was waiting with two horses, two swords and two daggers.
"Good luck to you, princess," said Smith, as she mounted the horse. "I know your mother and father well, and they have always ruled fairly. We hope to have them back in the Enchanted Forest again."
Emma was not used to gratitude from subjects. She had no idea how to respond to that, so she thanked the man and promised to return if possible to pay him for his troubles.
Killian grasped the reins of her horse and pulled him about to start their journey. He shook Smith's hand and then spurred his horse forward. Emma raced after him, adjusting to the strange saddle. Growing up in the foster system had not afforded any time to learn horseback riding. She held on best she could and tried to keep up with Killian as he rushed into the forest.
"We can pick up a main road a few miles ahead," he called back. "But I want to try to keep Arthur guessing about where we're headed."
"Killian, I have no idea how to ride a horse," Emma shouted.
He slowed his pace slightly, waiting for her to pull as close to alongside as the landscape allowed.
"Just hang on very tight. Your horse will naturally follow mine as its first preference. The important thing is not to fall off," he explained. Emma nodded. Killian put his heels to his horse's sides again, and both horses sped up all over again. Emma clung on until they finally emerged on a dirt track wide enough for a car. The track wound up into the mountains, and Killian slowed the horses to a steady walk. He led them upwards relentlessly for hours. The wind had picked up, and now that they had emerged from the close protection of the forest, it cut through their thin cloaks. Emma tried to hang onto her memories of the warm bath. She tried to hum some magic into her bones to warm herself, but none came. She was too exhausted and drained.
Killian looked back at her finally, holding out his hand. He felt her freezing fingertips and saw her shuddering with cold. The side of the track looked icy now; they had crossed the snow line.
"Not far now, love," he squeezed her hand. They had stopped to water and feed the horses once, a couple of hours ago, but neither of them had had anything to eat or drink since the night before.
Finally, just in front of them, appeared a lush, twisting tree like no other around it. At this height, most of the trees were stunted pines. This tree looked tropical, bright green, with lemon-yellow flowers that dripped from its heavy branches and carpeted the ground. The space below the tree was free of ice. The tree sang to her with magic. She could hear a sweet melody in her head, and she knew it came from the tree, but she also knew that no music was audible.
They stopped the horses and dismounted beneath the tree. It felt inexplicably warmer under its branches.
"Now you'll need to get us in, Swan," Killian said, pulling her close. She noticed that he had strapped his sword around his waist and had a dagger in his boot. He was fixing her sword into place, low around her hips. "This place will respond to your magic."
"I'm so tired, Killian," Emma almost felt tearful as she explained. "I can't even feel my magic."
"Allow me," Killian grinned. He tightened his hold on her and kissed her, gently at first, then with more passion. He backed her up until she was pinned against the tree, his body trapping her there and his knee gaining admittance between her legs. Emma felt her hands come up to tangle in his hair. A desperate need for him crept back into her mind. She felt her magic reenergise like a back-up generator sputtering to life.
Just as suddenly, she felt herself being pulled back into the tree, with Killian wrapped around so close that he felt like an extension of her own body. The branches reached down to cover them, blocking them from view, had anyone but the horses been there to see. The perfume of the flowers overpowered Emma; she could hardly breathe. It seemed to have a profound effect on Killian as well. He struggled to talk, but could not. They began sinking into unconsciousness on the soft grass at the foot of the trunk, still wrapped up in each other's arms, her head resting on his chest and his fingers twined into her hair. Just before her eyes closed, Emma noticed the air shimmer and the scene beyond the branches of the tree changed. The horses and mountain trail disappeared from view. White light blocked her vision. She closed her eyes and relaxed into Killian, and slept.