Chapter 5.

"Aye, lass, for your willing soul, I'll save your family."

At his words, the eyes that had been glossed over in fear and hopelessness suddenly had their tiny spark rekindled. Something deep within him felt as if it sparked to life as well, the darkness spitting and hissing as it did.

He almost couldn't believe he had agreed. Couldn't believe that he was taking orders from his own blood boat. She had snarled at him as he had rebuked the cowering little creature before him, condemning his tone. His anger had surged beyond belief, magic pooling to him without a thought and he had been a moment away from completely destroying his vessel, thoughts of regret be damned.

Do it. I'd rather be sunk than in the hands of the man you've become.

He felt as if someone had stabbed him in the heart, like the ghost of his brother and of Milah had suddenly cried out from the shadows of his ship, using the vessel to make clear to him what they thought, even in death. His anger died as quickly as it had come, a bone deep weariness taking its place as he turned back to the heir of Misthaven, his magic and fury dissipating like fog in the sun rise..

She took a shuddering breath, clearly thrown by his sudden change of heart or perhaps the idea that he might have one.

"You mean you accept my offer?" Her voice shook slightly. Even the horse seemed to be in shock at his sudden change in mind, not that he could blame the bloody beast. He tilted his head, considering the slip of a woman before him, more a girl in her innocence, wondering why she had chosen him of all the desperate paths to follow.

"I do. But let me be very clear lass. A deal with me is binding. And while I don't take the same pleasure in their currency in the way my predecessor," he growled the words, even the memory still enough to kindle his old fires, feeling the darkness revel as the long scabbed over wound bled afresh, "was so fond of, I am still bound by the same laws as he. A deal is a deal, and you are as bound to your end as I am to mine. Do you understand exactly what you've bargained away?"

He knew better than anyone what it was to no longer be the master of your own flesh.

She had pulled even further away from him as he spoke, until she could go no farther because the bloody horse was in the way. But at his words, that small spark seemed to dull for a fraction and he felt something foreign within him squeeze at the sight. Then, as clearly as if he could hear the workings of her mind out loud, she resigned herself to this fate because her family was in peril. And in that moment, as he watched her decide to throw away her future to save the ones she loved, he would have sworn the shadow of Liam fell across her face. The reflection of a young boy begging on behalf of his brother peered back at him.

"I understand," her voice was so meek it could have been lost to the wind had he not read the words on her lips. Then it became more firm, as if she found strength in the words as she said them. "I understand, but I will do what I have to get my family back."

He shook his head, trying to both expel his irritation and banish Liam's eyes from his mind, feeling the tightening within him again.

"But you won't," he bit out. She seemed confused. He knew she couldn't comprehend exactly what she was bargaining away. "You will never be reunited with your family. That was not the deal. You promised your soul to me, and in return I would save your family from Regina's manicured clutches." He noticed how she flinched at the woman's name with faint amusement and the slow realization of what he was spelling out.

"But-"

"I will save your family," he cut off her frail protest. "However, nowhere in that bargain did the words 'return them to you' appear. YOU ARE MINE NOW." He forced away the flinch at his own words feeling bile rise up in this throat. He had promised himself in another lifetime he would never say those word to another human. "By making this deal, you have effectively ensured that you will never see them again, be they rotting in Regina's dungeon or enthroned at your castle."

Her face had gone even paler than it already had been, a feat that mildly impressed him. Her eyes grew huge and he watched the life and light drain out of them. Two emotions warred in his gut- the immense satisfaction as all hope left the pathetic little creature before him and a clenching in the area where his heart used to be. The darkness hissed in displeasure.

He was sure that, once he had clearly explained it, she would refuse, back out. She was royalty after all. They were a selfish breed, no matter the stock they were bred from. He found his old bitterness at the thought and allowed it to wash over him, stoking the darkness and causing the hollow ache in his chest to fill with a black anger. He preferred it that way.

Tears began to pour afresh down her face and he scoffed, "Tears will not change the deal, Princess. You have bargained away your life." The words tasted like ash.

She blinked, and for a moment the strangest thing occurred. The morning seemed to still and it was as if all life except his own were frozen. He saw everything in a violent and blinding detail. The gentle sway of her blonde tresses in a sudden warm and comforting wind. The cool green of her tear stained eyes, the same shade as the Lost Lagoon in the sunlight. The gentlest touch of freckles across her porcelain skin, like constellations in the sunrise. The smell of the sea breeze and something cleaner and fresher. The cry of a gull overhead. The lightest encouraging creak of his ship as she rocked in a gentle surf. And a sensation that blossomed in the very depths of his soul as his eyes held hers. In that moment, he felt the tides of fate shift. He felt the magic.

Then she drew a shuddering breath and it passed, but something had been irreversibly altered. He could see it, could feel it even through the coiling darkness. Her back straightened, and he watched as the shadow of the queen she could be pass over her as she spoke, softly but with a steadiness that completely opposed the tears that still trailed down her cheeks. He knew her response before she uttered it.

"For my family, I'll do anything."

And so the deal was struck.