Emma had lived the majority of her life alone. It was where she was comfortable, it was where she was safe. No one could hurt her and she couldn't hurt anyone else. The silence made her feel safe.
It was that reason that she was holed up away in the dark castle for so long.
Her day had started like any other, with her turning straw to gold at the spinning wheel from dusk to dawn. She didn't like to sleep and rarely ever ate so this is what she mostly done to pass time. She'd spent a large part of her life in this castle and in that time, explore every nook and cranny of the premise, read every dull book in the library - except the spell books, gods knew only what kind of Pandora's box she was opening with that - sorted through the antiques, clean the whole place more times than she can count and doing many other boring, tedious chores that she didn't care to list off.
The point was, she had her routine.
She knew how to occupy her time and for good reason. She couldn't let herself get bored and give into the temptation to leave the castle grounds.
In theory, it was a good plan. She lived her life in solitude in a place where no one dared traveling to. That was, until him.
Hook barged in like a madman on a mission. If she wasn't so sure he was here looking for someone else, she may have attempted to flee. Well, that and the squid ink that froze her in place while he went off on his obviously rehearsed rant. Thankfully her back was turned to him when she rolled her eyes.
However when he stood in front of her, her eyes didn't flicker away from his for a second. Perhaps she was so fascinated with him because he was the first person to share her company in so long, perhaps it was because of the intense blue colour of his eyes that reminded her of the ocean she'd only read about in books, or perhaps it was because he was intriguing to her. In front of her stood a bloodthirsty pirate willing to stop at nothing to kill the Dark One, and yet, his eyes told a different story. He was broken. He didn't come here with the intent of killing Rumplestiltskin for his power, he wanted him dead for personal reasons and there was part of her that wondered if Hook truly thought he was going to win or die today.
Either way, he seemed to soften when he spoke to her. Whether that was because he was disappointed she wasn't who he thought she was or something deeper under the surface, she didn't particularly care either way.
He was dangerous and she wasn't going to help a villain.
Especially after his temper snapped and he broke the spinning wheel next to her. She was sure he would try and do the same thing to her.
Despite his many threats to hurt her or end her life, he never left a single mark on her. In fact, the only time he even touched her was to tie her arms and legs to the chair she was sitting on. That definitely made her raise an eyebrow.
If he was as evil and cruel as he bragged about, why was he showing her mercy?
She knew he wasn't just blowing hot air about his stories because she had an ability to see past lies and he was telling the absolute truth.
It was clear to her from the start that he was going to stop at nothing to find his enemy. Part of her wanted to send him on a wild goose chase but her conscience didn't sit well with that, and another part of her believed that if she told him the truth then he'd be quick to kill her before she'd finished answering what he so badly wanted to find out. She decided to wait him out and sit in silence, studying him.
He was a very attractive man, she concluded. His eyes were far wiser than his years, his body firm and tight from whatever dubious activities pirating entailed, his hair wild and untamed - much like his temper - and his face looked like it had been sculpted by angels. Emma had no reference of men other than famous paintings of royalty that were hung along the walls of the castle and she always believed no one could look like any of those men but Hook did as well as taking it one step further with his dark and brooding persona. She let herself enjoy the view as she had already decided that she would never see him again after today. Either he would leave the castle or she would force him out. No matter what the conclusion was, he wasn't going to get the answers he wanted.
It wasn't until he had nicknamed her that she actually started speaking. She'd heard many nicknames of herself over the years, seen a lot of them written too, but never had one been as... Flattering, as Swan.
"You really haven't heard any word of the Dark One?" Emma questioned even though she knew the answer. Alright, no one knew the true story of Rumplestiltskin but surely there had to be whispers on the outside world. She hadn't kept track of how long she'd been in here but it couldn't have been so long that no one heard Rumplestiltskin was out of commission.
"All I know is that when I left this realm, the Dark One was everywhere and tormenting everyone, and when I came back, he's missing." Hook answered irritably. "You're in his castle and you're the only one who could know where he went."
"Unless I came here when he wasn't here?" She said as more of a suggestion rather than a legitimate clue, just to humour him.
"Did you?" He demanded, narrowing those beautiful blue eyes.
She shrugged.
"You're bloody impossible, Swan." He grumbled, lifting his hand to his forehead and soothing away the migraine that was surely forming.
A feeling of playfulness swept over Emma and it was foreign to her. She liked teasing this man and pushing him to his limits. It wasn't something she had got to do as a child so Hook was a good outlet for roleplaying some of those lost experiences. The feeling stayed with her even as he continued to drill out for information. She either shrugged him off or wound him up, seeing how long it would take for him to snap.
She almost wanted him to act out and strike her. It would give her an excuse to force him away from her presence and never return, but a small part of her enjoyed sparring with him - even if it was just verbal.
Eventually she put a stop to it. Hook had already spent too much time here and she couldn't let herself become affected by his presence. She had to go back to the silence, go back to being alone where nothing bad could happen. "Give it up, pirate." She told him tiredly. Her spirits were dampened by the realization that she actually liked talking to him - even if it was just an attempt to piss him off - and soon he would be gone. She told herself it was for the best.
It was then that he pulled her closer to him until he was inappropriately close to her with their faces only inches apart. His strong arms were on either side of her, trapping her even more into the chair. He didn't seem to realize that she couldn't be intimidated because he kept trying.
He droned on about his 'accomplishments' as a pirate captain as if it was something to be proud of. She had to admit he wasn't acting like she thought a pirate would have in a kind of situation like this but that didn't mean he was good. He chose to do bad things, chose to do those deeds that got him such a deadly reputation, chose to wear his body count like a badge of honour.
That made it all the more sweeter to tell him she'd never heard of him. Sure there were a lot of books of different kind of legendary pirates in the library such as; Sinbad, Blackbeard, Bluebeard, Anne Bonny, Black Bart and Jack Sparrow, but never a Captain Hook. She speculated that no one ever lived long enough to write his tale - that or Rumple deliberately destroyed any stories of him but she doubted he would waste time to do such a fruitless task as that.
"How long have you been alone in this castle?"
His question threw her off guard. In truth, Emma had no clue how long she'd been here. She'd stopped keeping count a long time ago and kept the curtains closed over the windows a lot of the times so the rising and falling of the sun wasn't any indication. She decided to answer this one question because... Well, she didn't have a reason. She'd never really gotten to talk to anyone about being alone before and there was something in Hook's eyes and tone that held an understanding of some sort.
"As long as I can remember."
He looked like he deflated after that. The understanding in his eyes was more prominent than ever and she couldn't help but stare at him once more. There was something so strange about this man. He was so clearly dangerous and wanted people to fear him yet at the same time, he was so expressive and, dare she say it, sympathetic.
Hook turned away from her and for a moment, she thought he was finally going to give up and leave.
However, as it turned out, he didn't seem to give up so easily. After a few terse minutes, he turned to her and slashed his hook at her arm. She didn't flinch but she did believe this was the moment he was going to strike - instead, he cut through the ropes, not her flesh like she predicted.
She stared at him in bewilderment but he avoided her eyes for the first time since he stood in front of her.
"Well let this be the first story of Captain Hook in your memory." He started as he cut away the rest of the ropes. "Now, I don't know your story and you've been tight-lipped about everything to do with the Dark One so far, but I would like to propose a truce."
Emma remained seated even after the ropes were all gone. She couldn't find it in her to move and risk cutting him off before she could hear his proposal.
"Join me for a drink at the tavern in the next village over, or be alone once more with nothing but a broken wheel to keep you company. What'll it be, love?" He offered her his hand like a traditional gentleman would.
Here he was, offering her solitude once again - something she had wanted since the second he barged in here - but it didn't sound so appealing anymore. Then again, neither did leaving the castle, especially with a complete stranger. She thought on the subject for a long time, till the silence between them turned awkward. She knew she'd be safe if she sent him away but is that what she wanted? To spend the rest of her life just being safe? No one had ever offered her an alternative before. She decided that if more Captain Hook stories ended the way that one just had, she wouldn't mind being apart of them... Maybe just this once, she would be rebellious.
Emma smiled and took his hand, and the smile she got in return was dazzling.
One drink couldn't hurt, she concluded.