Chapter 7

The Preparations

"Please. Save him. I'll pay any price." He begged, cradling his brother in his arms, rocking him gently.

A voice snickered. "Those are pretty dangerous words from a pirate." The voice walks over to a spring pulling away the vines obscuring it from view. "Drink from this will heal the poison. But be warned, it comes with a price." He rushed to the fountain filling the canteen with water and forcing it down his brother's throat He didn't care for the price, he'd give anything for his brother.

It worked almost instantly, making him cough up the foul poison. "Are you alright brother?"

He nodded silently, recovering his strength that was sapped by the venom. He turned around to face the child who had assisted them. "You saved my brother. However can I repay you?"

For a brief moment, he thought the child had vanished.

Killian jolted from his sleep.

He hated that dream, that memory. It was perhaps worse than the last, the day that sent his life spiraling so far that Killian wasn't sure he'd even know the bottom when he hit it. It had been two days since the beginning of his classes with Swan. Since he realized that he needed to stop avoiding the inevitable. That he needed to start being a man that his brother would be proud of.

But he didn't imagine it would hurt that bloody much. Every inch of his body was screaming with pain, making getting up a real challenge. He had bruises from where the blunt edge of Swan's sword caught him by surprise, or when she'd kick him, saying that the guards would do anything to win and to be prepared.

She even began mixing in a bit of her magic spells in order to help prepare him for an opponent with magic.

"Why do you think he imprisons them?" She reminded him, "He finds a way to control magic users, bending them to his will."

He half suspected however, that it was a precaution against the Ice Queen when she decided to turn on them, why else had Swan seemed so against helping her at first? There must be a great deal of history there.

Killian blinked in surprise, wondering when his thought became muddled enough to think Swan his companion, a 'them'.

It wasn't like he didn't think Swan was attractive, oh she was, she was beautiful, breathtaking. If one were to ask him to imagine the perfect woman, he couldn't help finding himself imagining the blonde sorceress.

Through her fits of rage, oh there were many of them, he could see this softness that made him want to caress her head, hold her close and promise that things would be alright. He could see that her anger was her mask, just as his meek cowardice was his own.

But their friendship, if he could call it that, had a specific timeline. Once she rescued her friend's aunt. Once they returned to their home port, she would be on her way and Killian would be back to his daily occupation.

He would no longer be forced to be Killian Jones, Sailor to the Dark One, no. He'd be the Jewel's lowly deckhand.

He wondered what Swan would say when learning the truth; she had to have her suspicions.

He stretched his arms upwards, cursing as one of the bruises on his side flared with one of his older injuries. A half healed slash at his side, just under his ribs. He pulled up his shirt grimacing where his wound, from the day before he met Swan had reopened, staining his shirt with his blood.

Killian grimaced at the gruesome memory, crawling somewhere safe after receiving it to patching himself up. Experience told him that it would continue to open due to his own lack of finesse in trying to mend it. He needed an expert.

"Killian! Wake up!" Swan snapped, knocking on the door roughly. Killian was surprised at her sudden respect for his personal space, but stunned nonetheless of her sudden call.

His eyes went wide as he pulled his shirt over his head as fast as possible. He couldn't let Emma see. It would bring about questions, more questions than he wanted to answer.

"Stop talking back so much Killian, all he does is hurt you when you do."

"Just a second love!" He called, straightening the red vest before putting on the heavy jacket. Swan had conjured it, saying it would match the roll he would need to play soon enough. It was better that he got used to the heavy material now. He couldn't help but like the way it felt on him, made him fell more than what he was.

It had Swan calling him a real pirate.

Killian hurried, securing its position and making sure it didn't look like he had had a restless night sleep. He didn't want her green orbs to catch a glimpse at some of the older injuries, for he feared she'd be able to come to her conclusions rather quickly and to be quite honesty, it was beginning to be harder to keep his thoughts from the lass.

Killian didn't know what he would do if she knew, if anyone knew.

She burst through the door, a frustrated growl in her eyes and…quite a bit of ice on her face.

Now that can't be good.

"Someone needs to tell that popsicle how far away we are, I can't make heads or tail of your maps and if I have to hear her complain one more time, I'm going to Let it go, it being her lifeless body right over the edge!" she seethed. Her magic consuming her to the point of leaving singe marks in the form of footsteps as she entered his room.

Killian smirked. There was something about her rage that was alluring. She was definitely no Milah. "That's because they were made for a pirate. Pirates code their maps so only the intended reader can decipher them." He explained. "We are on a pirate ship after all."

Her eyes searched his face, getting angrier all of the sudden. She gripped his arm like a bloody harpy, digging in her nails as she dragged him along. Then she stopped, dropping his arm and recoiling like he burned her.

Did she see? Did she know?

"Who's Milah?"She asked.

Killian froze, looking at the exposed tattoo on his wrist, the broken heart with her name on it. There was also a sword striking through it. It might have been a drunken mistake, a night when he let himself fall under the dark sorrows of his past, but it was significant all the same. While it was better than having her see the jagged edges of the scars littering his body, it was definitely unexpected.

"Someone from long ago." He murmured as he attempted to pull down his sleeve, wanting to avoid the conversation altogether. He averted his eyes, analyzing the room itself, the captain's quarters. She had insisted he slept here, better to get accustomed with his role by feeling the perks of leadership.

"Where is she now?" Swan asked, hand grazing over the colored skin. She was no longer mad, actually, she looked quite curious. Her skin was soft against it, gentle even, but it sent lightning up his arm.

"Dead." He said darkly, memory making his breathing catch. He could still see the blood, feel the tears that had tumbled from his eyes, watched as the child, her child had seen him and screamed for what he had happen, for what he had let happened, why? Because he wasn't brave enough to prevent it, because he had been a coward.

It's almost like Swan could sense his despair because she pulls the sleeve of her blouse, revealing a buttercup flower staining her skin, it looked fairly recent, only a year or two old. There was also a strip of leather wrapped around her wrist, besides it a silver chain with a swan icon.

"So are they." She said softly.

They didn't need words to convey their feelings. No words were ever needed when it came to grief.

"Come on then pirate. Tell us, are we there yet?" Swan asks, changing the subject rather abruptly, pushing him with a teasing poke up towards the main deck.

He chuckled as they reached their destination. Elsa waited there with cold frustration in her eyes. "It would be so much easier if you just kept his heart." She reminded her. "Then you wouldn't have to get up yourself, he would just come whenever you desired him."

Killian blushed at the double meaning to the sentence, one Elsa had purposely done. He could see her look of triumph, and for some reason found himself riled by it. She wanted desperately to knock the former Queen from her ice pedestal "The maps are enchanted lass." He told the queen, a smirk quickly appearing as a wicked idea flew into his mind. This idea would either get him killed or prove to be quite amusing. It was something his brother would do.

Remembering his brother was always better than remembering Milah. It hurt a little less.

"They wouldn't work if you tried forcing my hand. A pirate doesn't like to have his hands tied." She met his gaze, and for once, he didn't look away. "Not by a stranger at least." He said giving her his best sinful glance.

Swan cracked up laughing when the slightest of pink graced the pale complexion of the ice queen. In embarrassment, she waved her hands freezing the deck, pulling the pirate from Emma, her hand around his throat. He could feel the sharpness of her nails, the mint in her breath for some odd reason.

Perhaps baiting the Ice Witch wasn't the smartest play, but he had to do something. He was tired of being treated like some piece of meat to be shared between the two. He wouldn't survive the trip unless he ventured from his comfort and acted like a real pirate.

He had to act like his brother.

"And are we strangers, pirate?" She taunted.

"You did steal my heart." He shot back, licking his lips. A hand over his chest for extra effect. "I'd say that would place us on pretty familiar terms."

Why was he saying this?

"You think you're smart because you have her fooled. But you can't fool me. You're just like them. You are either afraid of us, think we're monsters or you want to use us." Her eyes looked him over. He would swear she saw something flash in her eyes. "Or you leave us." It was a memory of some kind.

"I've seen my fair share of monsters lass. You two are by far the most gorgeous." He said sweetly, looking from the corner of his eyes at Swan. "No, I do not believe you're monsters. Just…desperate souls." He took a breath, "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to do my duty and look through my maps yes? That is what you wished of me yes?" He waggled his eyebrows. "Unless you can imagine more pleasurable activities I could be doing."

She hissed angrily before pushing him back, leaning on the deck, arms crossed. She once again blushed brightly.

"Yes, yes…We'll be docking in a few hours; I'll have her circle around to a more covert spot to keep the element of surprise on our side." He reasoned.

"Fine. Come get me when its time." She hissed, turning in a flurry of sparks, receding deeper into the ship. "Until them I don't want to be disturbed."

He waited for her to be out of hearing range before letting out a large breath and a barrage of laughter. "Bloody hell." He cursed, letting out the breath he didn't even realize he had been holding. "Bloody hell."

Killian almost died then and there. He almost got killed trying to rile the Queen and it had worked. It had bloody worked.

Emma let loose a crackle of laughter. "I can't believe you did that!" He nodded.

"Neither did I." He admitted. He felt like he was about to lose his stomach from nerves "I was just so tired of her treating me like some sort of animal on your leash."

She nodded. "Understandable. She isn't usually like this. At one point, she was utterly terrified of her powers." He looked at her curiously, wanting to know the story behind that particular tale. From where he stood, the Ice Queen didn't look scared of anything.

"Ingrid took her in after she ran away from her home after her parents died. Her sister never understood her, and they got in a fight during her coronation. Ingrid taught her not to be afraid of people, to accept her, to love herself powers and all. That's when I met her too." Emma said absently.

"I don't know why I'm telling you this. Maybe it's because I usually don't agree with Elsa about a lot, but she has a point there. Everyone I ever met has either used me or been the very monster I see in the mirror" She seemed to glow when she laughed, pushing him away, pulling out her blade with a smile on her face.

A real one, free of a malicious sneer or a manipulative subtext, he couldn't help but marvel at her beauty when she stood like that, blonde hair whipping wildly, her sailor garb making her look less intimidating, more human, but her eyes filled with power and strength.

Swan was breathtaking

"Enough of this," She said with a scowl, obviously catching his stare. She held out her blade for a moment before putting it back. "I think you had enough practice with a blade. Now I need you to have some magic lessons." He froze, nearly dropping his sword.

"But Swan! I thought magic takes years to perfect and I don't have magic and isn't that dangerous and-" She held up her hand with a bored sigh.

"Are you going to complain every time I make a suggestion Sailor? Because it's getting annoying."

Killian's cheeks flushed up with embarrassment. "Sorry love." He replied softly. "Your just…a very unexpected challenge, I haven't been feeling like this in a long while…"

She raised a brow. "Like what?"

Killian bit his lip, face turning practically the same hue as his vest. Was he to tell her that he's been a coward for so long that he actually forgot how to take a risk? To challenge himself? That he actually was starting to fancy her from time to time?

When she wasn't yelling at him of course…

"Like a hero." He settled on. He felt like a bloody hero, and that scared him. His brother was the hero, the risk taker, the man that would sweep women off their feet with his charm. Killian was his kid brother turned deckhand after he lost him.

His reply sent a dark laugh shooting through Swan.

"If you're feeling like a hero, it's not because of me. I've never been a hero, nor will I ever be. My heart is just too dark for that. I turn everything I touch to darkness, even those I love." She replies "Trust me, stick around long enough and you'll either run, want me locked up or die."

Killian sees something and so, in a moment of bravery, he steps forward. "For someone who claims to have never been in love, you know an awfully lot on the subject of losing it." He inquires.

"Maybe…maybe I was in love…once." She whispers before shaking her head. "But enough on that, now I have to do some magic and you have to learn the plan."

Agreeing to drop the subject, he watches her touch his sword, noticing it glow blue. "Plan?"

She nods, smiling mischievously. "You didn't think we were just going to pillage and plunder did you? No, The Dark One always has a plan."

Then Emma strikes him across the face.

A little background, a little fluff, and a little of the usual piratey-Killian coming out to play.

What more from a chapter could you want at 1 in the morning my time?

I just want to thank the reviewers who either don't have an account, or ,I didn't get a chance to reply to, for reading and liking this story, I really really appreciate it.

And yes, I had to stick that reference in here, if you don't know what I'm talking about...Let it go.

Yes. I had to.

Sorry, it's 1 in the morning what do you expect?

~Luna