My eyes locked with a golden haired lass across the room. She was beautiful, but looked just as uncomfortable as I was. I could see her picking uncomfortably at the lace ends of her sleeves. I sent her a dashing smile and then a wink. She looked surprised and confused for a moment but then sent me a smile in return.
Suddenly the man in front of her touched her shoulder and her head jerked back to meet his gaze. Probably a fiancé, or maybe her husband. I turned my attention away and focused to mapping out the ballroom, I had a plan to carry out.
As I walked around the ballroom and exchanged pleasantries with the nobles there I kept glancing at the golden haired lass from before. She had changed partners, so maybe the man from before wasn't a fiancé after all.
Suddenly I bumped into someone, and felt liquid splash all over my clothes and face. I wiped a hand across my eyes and glared down at a plump noblewoman who looked drunk.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, sir. I wasn't watching where I was going," she said as she stumbled past me. I pulled a handkerchief out of my pocket and wiped my face. No matter, this could work in my favor. Now I had an excuse to go to the privy to clean myself up, and no one would question if I was gone for a while. I walked over to one of the guards near the doors and asked him where the restroom was.
"Through those doors, sir. Just walk down the hallway until you come to the third passageway. Take a right and then a left at the next turn, and it is the second door to the right," he explained.
"Thank you, my good sir," I said, giving him a clap on the shoulder. I turned and walked through the doors, and decided to follow his directions. Might as well start my search somewhere.
As I made my way down the winding corridors my eyes scanned over all the doors I passed. The door to the treasure room was likely to be at the end of a hallway, since it was bound to be huge. I sidetracked down several passages but the doors at the end only opened to bedrooms or storage rooms. Eventually I came to the hallway the guard told me about. What was it he said? Second door to the right?
As I turned my gaze I saw the door was slightly ajar. I crept over and saw the golden haired lass from before. She was standing in front of the sink, her dress skirts hiked up and one leg raised, her foot placed in the sink as she cleaned it. A discarded stocking and shoe lay on the tiled floor as she scrubbed at her foot. Her skirts were raised so much that a fair bit of skin was showing. Normally something like this wouldn't make me think twice, as I've seen my fair share of women unclothed, but this was obviously a noblewomen, so what on earth was she doing?
Her gaze briefly flicked up to the mirror and then did a double take. She yelped, and as she spun around her foot got caught in the sink. She tumbled backwards and I lunged forward, catching her midair.
As soon as our eyes met she relaxed and a hint of a smile pulled at her lips. "Oh, it's just you."
I quirked an eyebrow in confusion. "Have we met before? Surely I would remember a face as lovely as yours."
"No, not officially. You were the one who winked at me though, I remember."
I gave her another dashing smile. "Always nice to make an impression."
"Can you let go of me now?"
I realized I was still holding her waist. I pulled her upright and took a step back. I looked down at her foot and saw blood.
"You're hurt."
She made a face. "Some oaf trampled all over my feet." She then gave me a playful smirk. "Can you keep a secret?" I nodded. "I'm kind of glad he did, it gives me an excuse to leave. I didn't want to be out there anyway."
"Here, let me help you." I motioned for the closed toilet seat and she sat down. I still had time to rob the place, so there was no reason why I couldn't make some time for a pretty lass. Besides, Captain Killian Jones never left a damsel in distress when she needed his help. She sat down and lifted her foot, while I pulled out a handkerchief. I dabbed at the blood and then wiped it away. She hissed in pain and I gave her a sympathetic look.
"Sorry, love. I used it to clean off the wine some woman spilt on me. It's for the best though, it'll help clean the wound," I said as I pulled off my cravat and wrapped it around her foot.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked.
"I can't let you walk around with a bloody foot, or risk falling again by preforming acrobatics at the sink." I gave her a coy grin as I bit down on one of end of the silk cravat and pulled on it, tying it. "Though I wouldn't mind if you wanted to perform some other form of acrobatics in your bedroom." When I looked up I saw her staring at me in slight shock, but then she sent me a warning glare when she saw I was looking.
"Is your other foot alright?"
"Yes, it was just this one," she said, moving her foot. She slipped her stocking back on and then cringed as she pulled her shoe back on. I stood up and offered her my hand, pulling her up. "What's your name, sir?"
"Lord Liam Jones of Sherwood," I lied, taking my brother's name and hoping she hadn't previously known him. "And you, my fair lass?"
"Princess Emma, of this kingdom," she said, and my eyes widened in surprise. She saw this and furrowed her eyebrows. "Wait, you didn't know?"
My mind spun as I reassessed my situation. This could end very badly if she found out I wasn't who she thought I was. She could tell the King and Queen about me later, giving them a detailed description of how I looked. I was too smart to give away anything about myself or my crew, but it could pose a problem if my face appeared on Wanted posters.
So far I've been able to remain a mystery. Sure, people knew the colorful moniker I'd been given by my crew, Captain Hook, and they knew my reputation everywhere, but the face of the legend was a mystery to all but my crew, which was why I managed to sneak into this ball at all. That could all change, and I wasn't ready to have my face gracing the Wanted posters in every kingdom.
I looked up at her smiling face and soft blonde hair falling over her shoulders. Since she had no reason to suspect me yet, I didn't have to dispose of her, but I'd have to play my cards carefully. It would be a waste to kill such a beauty; she certainly wasn't the ugly lass I was expecting. In fact, she was one of the most beautiful girls I've seen in a long time, so why was she not already married?
"You're not going to treat me differently now, are you?" she asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.
"No. If I may ask, Princess, why are you not yet married?"
She didn't look away but her jaw tightened and the edges of her eyes crinkled. "It's a secret."
I sent her a smirk and leaned forward. "I thought you liked sharing those," I whispered in her ear.
When I leaned back she looked a little flustered, but did a good job of covering it up. I could see in her eyes that her walls had come up as she tried to hide her emotions, and I knew I must have brought up a sensitive subject. In her eyes I could see past the walls and recognized the hurt look in them, the pain of being abandoned. She must have loved someone who left or betrayed her.
"Well, I don't need you to share. You're something of an open book," I said, and she raised an eyebrow.
"Am I? And what exactly do you think you see?"
"You've been in love before, but you've also been betrayed and hurt—I'm guessing by the same person."
She crossed her arms and gave me a suspicious look. "How could you see that?"
"You have that look in your eyes—the one you get when you've been betrayed."
She turned away and brushed past me, "You're very perceptive, Lord Jones." When she reached the doorway she stopped and turned around, an intense and probing gaze in her eyes, like she was trying to see through me. "Now that you know my secret, are you going to tell me yours?"
"I have no secrets," I lied with a shrug.
She narrowed her eyes. "Since you claim to know me so well I'm going to let you in on another one of my secrets—I can tell when someone is lying. It's like a superpower of mine. You're hiding something. I don't know what, but you've not been completely honest with me."
I felt a hint of panic in the pit of my stomach. I could easily overpower her if it came to that, but for right now I'd try and talk my way out of the situation. I hated to make things messy when there was a much easier way to do it. Besides, it was so much easier to charm a lady than to kill her…and much more fun.
He was lying, I knew that much for sure. From his first smirk I knew something was different about him. Now I was certain. No nobleman would ever make such a lewd remark, but then again, any sensible noblewomen—especially a princess—would have probably slapped him and ran out the door…but not me. To be honest, I felt a rush of excitement shoot through my body. I'd never had someone talk to me like that before, and it was new and thrilling.
He lowered his head and looked up at me from under his eyelashes, giving me a devilish grin. "Why don't you try and guess my secrets?" he suggested, leaning forward and whispering in my ear. That was the second time he did that, and I felt heat flooding my face when I felt his warm breath on my neck. He was trying to distract me.
I opened my mouth to reply when I heard the thump of boots down the hall. A moment later one of the guards rounded the corner and stopped short when he saw us standing there, barely standing an inch apart. I cleared my throat and took a step back, allowing an impassive mask to slip across my face.
"Yes?" I asked, turning to face the guard.
"Your parents sent me to find you—see what was keeping you," he replied. I let out a sigh. That was just like them.
"I injured my foot and Lord Jones here was assisting me. We were just returning."
"Actually, I need to clean up before returning. You go on ahead." I turned to face Lord Jones, crossing my arms.
"If all you need to do is clean up then I can wait." He was a mystery I needed to solve, and I wasn't about to let him out of my sight. I eyed the stain of red wine on his shirt, where I assumed the noblewoman he told me about had spilled her drink. "If you're talking about that stain, you can forget about it. No amount of water and soap will get it out."
"Then I suppose I will return with you," he said, forcing a smile this time. The guard escorted us back and when the doors to the ballroom opened all eyes were on us. I could feel other noblemen shooting Lord Jones a jealous look, and others looked suspicious, wondering where we had been. The band struck up a new tune, and ignoring all the eyes on us, I turned to Lord Jones.
"Would you like to dance?"
"Isn't the gentleman supposed to ask the lady to dance?" he teased.
"Would you ask me to dance?" I rephrased. He held out his right hand and I raised an eyebrow. "I take your left hand, sir."
"Why not switch things up?"
I took his outstretched hand and placed it on my waist, then grabbed his left hand. As soon as I wrapped my hand around his gloved hand I understood he didn't offer it. It had looked normal enough, but his hand was too hard, and his fingers were too stiff to be anything other than fake.
"Your hand is missing," I stated. He looked over my shoulder as I said this, avoiding eye contact. "What happened?"
"I lost it in a duel," he answered quickly. Too quickly, I thought, like it was rehearsed. What could he be hiding?
"You know, for someone so concerned about my secrets, you sure have a lot of your own," I remarked.
"Some secrets are dangerous and you would do good to leave well enough alone," he whispered, but there was no seductive tone this time, only an underlying threat. Whatever he was hiding, I'd have to figure out myself.
My mind traveled back to a story I heard in passing by some of the servants. There was a pirate by the name of Captain Hook who took over a ship of my parents. They said he was called Hook because lost his hand and wore a hook in its place, but which hand was it again? Lord Jones—if I should even call him that—was missing his left hand, but I couldn't remember if that was the hand Hook lost. Unfortunately, nobody knew what Hook looked like, so I couldn't judge the Lord based on his appearance alone, but the missing hand was a pretty good clue. If he was the famous Captain Hook, then the only question that remains is, why was he here?
"Have you ever visited our kingdom before, Lord Jones?" I asked as we danced around the ballroom floor.
"No, this is my first time." He gave me a smirk, daring me to catch the double meaning to his words. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
"It's just too bad you came at a time like this," I lied, hoping he would take the bait and ask why.
He raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"
I nodded towards my parents sitting on their thrones, talking to the people who came to greet them. "My parents aren't usually so grim-faced, but just a week ago a pirate attacked one of our best ships. He goes by the name of Captain Hook, have you heard of him?"
I watched his reaction and noticed his posture became slightly stiff, and the corner of his mouth twitched ever so slightly. Yeah, he was definitely Captain Hook.
"I might have heard of him. The name sounds somewhat familiar," he remarked, shrugging one shoulder casually. The music faded down as the song finally ended. "Now if you'll excuse me." He gave a slight bow and walked away before I had time to respond.
What should I do? I couldn't just let a pirate run free in the palace, but I wasn't sure I wanted to tell the guards, or even my parents. The adventurous side of my brain told me to follow the pirate and see what he was up too—it would be exciting and maybe even dangerous. The rational part of my brain—the one my parents always expected me to obey—told me to go to my parents at once and tell them about him. I'd always yearned for adventure, and here was the opportunity right here in front of me.
I bit down on my lip and headed towards the doors Captain Hook went through. First, I would need a sword to defend myself, although I doubt I would be any match for a pirate. I hurried down the halls and finally entered my chambers. I scrambled down on my hands and feet and pulled out the sword from under my bed, then pulled out the matching sheath from my dresser where I'd hidden it earlier. Slipping the sword in its place, I lengthened the strap attached to it and slung it across my back. Now, where would a pirate head? My mind instantly went to the one thing all pirates wanted—gold.
Of course, he'd go to the treasury.
One more chapter to go! I tried to reference and parallel some of their moments from the show in this chapter, and also the next. Reviews are always appreciated! :)