The walk to the town over was done mostly in silence.

Surprisingly, Swan seemed to be incredibly unfamiliar with these woods once they were past the gates of the castle. It was as if she had never travelled here before which further proved his theory that she had been captured by the Dark One and had stayed there due to fear or trauma. Hook had honestly been expecting some sort of backlash once the blonde left the castle - given how hesitant she was about it - but his eyebrows raised when she barely batted an eyelid after leaving which meant that no curse had trapped her there. He vowed to start asking more questions about her and stay away from Dark One territory so she might actually open up.

Even with Hook's new determination to get to know the curious woman next to him, he couldn't bring himself to break the silence between them. There was no awkwardness - it almost felt peaceful. He made a habit of pulling low-hanging tree branches away so she didn't have to duck under them and offering his arm when there was a particularly bumpy pathway or leading her around any mud that she could potentially slide over. Whenever he did any of that, she shot him a small, barely there smile and it made his heart race in ways he hadn't thought possible.

There was something about this Swan girl that made him want to put his revenge on hold just to get to know her.

Had that been anyone else in that castle with information about Rumplestiltskin, they would be hanging from their ankles, dripping with blood, beaten and bruised until they gave up said information... But the thought of hurting her in any way - minor or otherwise - made him feel sick.

"Penny for your thoughts?" A gentle voice broke him out of his inner turmoil.

"Nothing, love, I'm afraid the ponderings of this old sea dogs is not even worth that."

"You're lying." She stated so simply, giving him one of those looks that made him feel like she was staring into his soul. "I always know when people lie to me." She told him as if to clarify. "What are you thinking of?"

"What does it matter?" He asked rather harshly. All of a sudden, he felt like he was the one being interrogated.

"Well I'd rather not walk into creepy, empty woods with someone alone if they're plotting to kill me in their head. Or maybe you're thinking of ways to wring me of information on Rumplestiltskin. Or maybe-" She started to ramble off so he decided to cut her short.

He could hear a wariness in her voice even though she was trying to play it off light-heartedly. She didn't trust him yet and why should she? They'd only known each other for a few hours and in that time he'd broken into her.. Home? Place where she was currently staying, tied her up and grilled her for information. As well as that, he'd bragged about his acts of cruelty as a pirate. No one in their right mind would trust him - and usually he didn't care if they did! "I was thinking that you confuse me." He told her quietly as he lifted up another branch for her to walk gracefully past without interrupting her stride. "You dress in rags even though you walk like royalty, you're clearly well-spoken and I'd bet my ship that you're well-read too yet you spend your time doing chores around an empty castle, you're a beautiful woman yet there's no men fighting for your hand. So just tell me, Swan, who are you?"

His enquiries did what they intended and distracted her from her distrust, she looked entirely lost in her own thought now. The truth was, he wanted to get her drunk to pry some information about the Dark One from her and he couldn't do that if she decided to turn back to the castle.

"Wouldn't you like to know." She settled for as an answer with an almost playful sparkle in her eyes.

That very sparkle had him enchanted enough to let his hand slip on the branch and whack himself in the face with the leaves. The sound of her giggling almost made the embarrassment worth it.

When they finally reached town, he watched as the blonde pulled her hood back over her head like how he had originally found her. It was like she was trying to shield herself. It was just another barrier for her and the world.

"Why do you hide away from everyone?" He asked curiously, keeping the same gentle tone he'd adapted in the castle. It seemed to be the only way for her to answer any questions.

"It's safe." She replied simply.

Hook wasn't sure if she was purposely trying to keep herself as mysterious as possible or if she had practice hiding her true self from everyone. He would find out sooner or later.

"No need to worry about safety when you're with me, love, I'll protect you from whatever you fear." He offered her with a charming smile, trying to woo her into trusting him. It was like the mores she pushed him away, the more he wanted to know her. It was the pirate in him that wanted the forbidden - which, in this case, was Swan's story.

"I'm not the one who needs protecting." She murmured before brushing past him to walk into the main streets of the town.

He furrowed his eyebrows before shaking himself out of his confusion and moving to catch up with her. He brushed her comment off as another of her strange musings and lead her to the tavern his crew were most likely drinking themselves stupid at. "Have you ever been in a tavern before, darling?" He asked with a knowing smirk as he held the door open for her.

His answer was met with a shake of her head as she stared in curiosity at the sight before her. There were groups of men all huddled over different tables, all equally loud as each other. Some had their arms round their mates' shoulders and singing songs terribly off-key, some in the middle playing a game of dice and yelling in triumph whenever they got a good roll, a few quieter ones sitting at the bar either nursing their drink alone or passed out drunk on the counter top and, of course, spare ones that were following around the tavern wenches like lapdogs. It was just like any old, run of the mill tavern. He'd been in better but he'd also been in seedier. Swan, however, looked fascinated by it all, proving to him that she truly never had left that castle. If she was like this with a crappy tavern then god knows what her reaction would be if she ever seen the treasures of the world like the city of Agrabah or the magical waters of Lake Nostos or even a decent restaurant!

He hated that he had an urge to show her all of that and more.

He squashed those feelings down and told himself that he was only being nice to her to get what he wanted. If he couldn't use violence on her then he'd trick her.

"Come on, love," He led her inside and pulled her out a seat in the darkest corner. He was hoping that the more secluded they were, the more she'd talk. "I'll be right back." He told her before going to the bar and ordering them a bottle of rum and two tankards.

When he returned to the table, Swan was watching the game of dice intently as if trying to analyse the rules from afar.

"That's me crew over there." Hook pointed out, startling her slightly. He gestured over to the group of men she was watching again with the rum bottle in hand. "They're all dreadful at cheating though, too obvious when they're drunk - surprised there hasn't been an all out brawl yet." He finished, musing the last part more to himself. "If you want to learn a new game, love, I'll give you some advice," He sat down closely next to her and smirked when he seen her eyebrows lifting in caution.

"Learn from the best." Hook told her lowly, his mouth close to her ear so she could hear him. He couldn't help but felt a bolt of satisfaction go through him when he felt her shudder. Before she could yell at him for personal space or try to distance himself in other ways, he lifted his hand in front of her to show two dice that appeared as if from nowhere.

His Swan looked at him in intrigue, her mood seemingly forgotten.

It had taken Hook a while to get her to drink but when she did, the result was rather anti-climatic. He assumed since she had never left the castle that she had never tasted rum before - or any other booze for that matter - but once again, she proved him wrong since she was drinking her glass like it was water. She told him that she had liked the taste after her first try and damn near finished half the bottle by the time he was on his third glass - and she didn't even seem tipsy! He sent a silent prayer of thanks to whatever god was listening that he hadn't sat with his crew with her because if they seen a tiny blonde woman drink their Captain under the table, he'd be a laughing stock.

Other than that, he was actually having fun with her.

He had explained to her the game of dice and how to cheat at it but she wasn't having any of it.

"Does it really count as winning if you cheat?" She questioned him with a smirk stretching her lips.

"Does it really count as cheating if you never get caught?" He rebutted, shooting a smirk right back at her. He felt another bolt of pride when he made that wonderful laugh come out of her again. He had a feeling that she didn't do it a lot so whenever he managed to pull one out of her, it felt like an accomplishment.

They played a couple of rounds of 'fair' dice with no loaded dice or tricks up one's sleeve until the rum had finished. He had barely noticed it because he was having so much fun with her. She had witty comebacks to him, her 'trash talk' - her words not his - always made him chuckle and she had a real knack for winning at this game. It seemed that Swan simply had a talent for besting him.

It took him a while after that to remember why he had even brought her here in the first place: Information.

"So.." He started with a slow smile, leaning back against his chair casually as he lifted his arm over her shoulder. He had done it with such finesse that she hadn't seemed to notice until his hand moved to her shoulder and even then, she didn't make an effort to push it off. He was almost certain she even leaned into him. "Have I finally earned enough trust to know your true name, Swan?" He asked, thinking that he was starting off with an easy question. It was breezy enough for her to simply shrug off as him wanting to get to know her. However, one would think that he asked her to describe her parents' death in explicit detail with the way she looked at him after it.

He should have known.

The only thing this woman seemed to fear more than possible torture, was lowering the walls she'd built inside herself.

"What's yours?" She asked with a straight face. Any traces of playfulness and teasing were long gone now and she was back to intensely staring at him, forcing him to face his own demons within her emerald-coloured eyes. He figured the way to get her to open up, it was to take the first step - so even though no one alive in this day and age knew his real name, he opened his mouth and out came,

"Killian Jones."

Her hardened exterior seemed to melt at his honesty which let him know he'd made the right move. She shyly tucked a piece of stray hair back underneath her hood again before returning his honesty with hers.

"My name is Emma."

Hook took her hand in his and raised it to his lips to place a gentle kiss to her knuckles, returning her stare from under his eyelashes.

"Pleasure to meet you, Emma." He told her lowly, his gaze pure seduction.

Just then, a blind drunk stumbled back onto their table with a guffaw, his tankard raised above his head after making contact with the wood and soaking them both. Emma shot out of her seat with a gasp, looking down at her rags. She growled almost animalistically and looked back up at the drunk man. Her eyes had even more fire in them than usual as she looked at the man like she wanted to rip him to shreds. Hook never thought such a kind and gentle woman like this even had a temper but boy was he wrong. Just when he thought she was about to pounce, he stood next to her and lightly pulled her back. It seemed to snap her out of whatever had come over her and she looked directly into his eyes which let him see the sheer terror in hers.

"Emma...?"

Before anything else could be said, she abruptly pulled away from him, hugging her arms to herself to shield herself again.

"I'm sorry I have to go." She rushed the words out before quite literally bolting out of the tavern.

"Wha- Emma!" He called after her, eyes widening as he watched her go. He wanted to stick his hook into the drunk man's throat for ruining the moment that had taken all night to make but then he would miss his chance to catch up with her. If she got back to that castle, there was no stopping her from locking him out more thoroughly. He let the bastard live and dashed outside the tavern instead.

"Emma?!" He called out but he couldn't see a hint of her rags or hair anywhere in the crowds of the main street.

"Swan! SWAN!"