Chapter Two
It had been four days since Regina's heart beat with the rhythem of two, and if she concentrated deep in the night, those heartbeats would join together and sound as one. It was the closest she could be now to Emma Swan, who was too far away for even her magic to find her. Nova, the innocent, had once asked her why she hadn't gone after the woman. The truth was, she could spend the rest of her life chasing Emma, but that wouldn't make the woman want to come back to her. Regina looked out over the water. Her dearies had ceased their singing now that their newest prey had crashed to the rocks, and Graham was salvaging all supplies he could from the cliffs to add to their own. She was surprised by the new addition. She had no names for them and it wasn't like Emma had the time to tell her, but there was one woman who had an almos feral quality about her, even if all of the women seemed to draw more men to the shore these days. This didn't amuse her as much as she hoped it would. She hadn't expected for her encounter with Emma Swan to end in the way it had, either. There had been something about the woman when she was captured. She put up quite a fight, much in the way Graham had. Regina thought she would have had fun breaking all of that spirit the woman held within her. But then the woman woke up...
Something had grabbed ahold of her heart and brought her usual plans of mischief to a screeching halt. Regina had been unable to keep her eyes away from the beautiful blonde lying on her bed. There was something about Emma Swan that drew her in and made her want to be as close as possible. The feelings crashing into her heart were overwhelming, yet invigorating. It brought her to life, made her feel more refreshed than she'd ever thought possible. As she hid in the shadows of her own quarters, Emma's eyes had landed right on her, though the blonde had had no clue. At that particular moment, when Emma's green eyes had landed on her, Regina's breath caught and her hands shook. It was as if Emma was staring straight into her soul, soothing and loving it without even a single word. Regina had never felt such contentment in a single stare before. As soon as Emma's eyes darted away, Regina had felt empty and cold. It frightened her to think that even a single touch from Emma, only to be taken away, would leave an even worse feeling in the pit of her stomach.
She predicted the exact moment Emma had decided to run. Regina knew this even as Emma asked to bathe before she lie with her. She had known, but was unable to force the blonde to stay. She had let her go. Regina had let her run and be free, but neither would be truly free. Not until they were together as they should be. These thoughts plagued Regina's mind as she gazed out the window of her bedroom. She was completely unable to keep her mind off of Emma, still unsure of just exactly what it was that had connected them so quickly. This was exactly the reason why someone had snuck into her room without her noticing. It was the very reason why someone stood silently behind her for seemingly unknown minutes. It was the clearing of a throat that made Regina jump and immediately turn to cast the intruder away with her magic. The intruder was quick to stop her. Regina's eyes widened as her arms were invisibly tied to her sides, and she was unable to move them at all. Brown eyes fell on the face of her mother, a deceivingly sweet smile spread across the woman's lips.
"Hello, Regina. It's good to see you."
"Can't say I'm sorry I don't feel the same," Regina replied, wincing when the magical hold on her increased. Her mother was stronger, that much she could feel right away. No matter how strong she got in her magic, her mother always had surpassed her. Regina could read days on end in every magical text she came across, but she felt she could never beat her. Never.
Cora smiled in the devilish way Regina was used to from the start of her childhood. "Oh come now, Regina. Don't be like that. Can't a mother come and visit her daughter without such silly games?"
"Not when you're the mother," Regina said, ending her scathing remark with a whimpered cry of pain.
"You're a bit too old to be mouthing off to your mother, aren't you?"
"I'm too old to be punished by her as well."
The magical hold on Regina dropped after this. "I would spend the time proving you wrong my dear, but I'm afraid that would be time that I don't have. I didn't come by for a quarrel, as amusing as they are not." Cora stepped forward, the purple of her dark gown glittering slightly in the light of the room. Regina tried to move away, but her arms felt numb after the hold on her. This was new, and Regina didn't like it. "Hold still my darling girl, and mommy will make it all better. You'll see."
Regina glared up at her mother, but she was placed under another spell, one that froze her whole body even as she said, "Don't you dare touch me!" Cora still advanced.
"I'd be lying if I told you this won't hurt you, Regina." Cora said as she bent down.
"Since when do YOU care about Lies-" Her sentence was cut off when Cora's hand reached forward into her chest, so far that her wrist was surrounded by Regina's flesh. And then she felt it. The two heartbeats hit against the palm of Cora's hand.
"Yes, this... This will do nicely," Cora said, more to herself than to anyone who could listen.
Emma leaned against the side of the boat, staring down at the water as they docked. She couldn't seem to get her mind off of Regina. Not even sailing and the open sea helped ease her troubled mind, and that usually did the trick. Her mind just would not let Regina go. Mulan had untied her after she'd woken up, and even though they were far away from Regina, there was still a dull ache in the pit of her stomach. Emma had noticed the necklace hanging from her neck and questioned Mulan about it. Apparently Regina had given this to her. But why? Why in the world would a Siren Queen give such a gift to someone like Emma? Her heart could explain it, but her mind was just unwilling to wrap around the explanation.
The blonde busied herself with things on the ship, running from place to place to try to keep her mind quiet, but nothing helped. Instead, she found herself pacing on the ship for most of the journey. A four day journey full of Regina's voice in her head had taken a toll on her and Mulan. Because of the constant ache, Emma was cranky and Emma had never been pleasant when cranky. That in turn led her to yell now and then at Mulan when she thought she wasn't doing something right. The yelling, of course, turned into arguing. So both women were run down and exhausted by the time they docked.
It was as Mulan was tying the ropes to the dock and as Emma stared down into the water that the necklace began to glow. Mulan was the first to see it, pointing it out to Emma. The blonde looked down at the necklace, eyes widening as it glowed a bright purple. It felt hot against her skin for a moment, burning a circle on her clavicle. Emma picked it up the by chain, jerking it over her head. The necklace vibrated for a moment before the light flashed, burst a brighter purple and then went out. Emma blinked, holding it away from her for a moment. She reached her other hand out to touch it, making sure it wasn't hot anymore. When she was satisfied it was cool, she slowly brought it back towards her chest. Suddenly, her eyes went wide for a moment and then she swallowed.
"Got to put it back on. Go to put it back on." Emma mumbled, her eyes looking intense as she slipped the necklace back around her neck.
"What was that?" Mulan questioned as she ran up to Emma, concern written over her features.
"N-Nothing…" The blonde stuttered, waving her hands and flashing a grin to Mulan. "Nothing at all. I'm fine. You're fine. Everybody is fine." Emma enthusiastically nodded her head before patting Mulan on the back. "Let's so scavenge for supplies!"
And before Mulan could say another word, Emma propelled herself over the side of the ship and onto the dock. Mulan watched for a moment, impressed to see that Emma landed safely on the dock. However, she was concerned as Emma took one step and wobbled the tiniest bit, hands waving out in the air as she balanced herself. She followed Emma, slowly walking behind her and listening to her mumble to herself. This was not the behavior she had seen on the ship, so it made her wonder just exactly what that necklace had done to her.
"Oh the smells!" Emma said brightly, she placed her feet hard to the ground as if she was bracing herself, but nothing was out to get her. She then continued on as if nothing happened. Mulan ran after her and then infront of her to stop Emma from continuing on.
"Hey now. Hey stop!"
"Hello there," Emma said with a smile. It was almost flirtatious if it hadn't ended in somewhat of a wince.
"How do you feel? Something is off," Mulan said.
"Off? Whatever do you mean Love? Off? off with his head? Well thats not nice at all is it?"
"I know you're mad for that Siren Queen, but this is-"
"Oh Regina, owner of my heart," Emma said wistfully. "But I can't, you know. She has my family, so we need supplies. What are we waiting for?"
Mulan set her feet and pushed against Emma's shoulders to keep her from walking and swaying every whichway. "You're sick, Emma," she said.
"Am I? Nothing a bit of a walk and a new set of clothes won't fix. Come now, Mulan my friend. We can't be late."
"Late for what?" Mulan asked.
"That." Emma pointed. Mulan looked behind her, and Emma easily left her hold.
Emma set off for all of the stalls. She was unable to stand at one for too long because of something else catching her eye. She'd point at something and gawk over before she moved on to yet another stall. Mulan tried to keep up with her, unable to look for the things she needed in order to look after Emma. There was no telling what kind of trouble she could have gotten herself into in this state of mind. Mulan nearly lost her as Emma moved into the crowd. She only found her because of a scream Emma had let out.
Mulan rushed up behind her, grabbing her shoulders and looking her over. "Emma! Are you alright? What happened?" Mulan asked, her eyes darting over Emma's body to check for injuries. Emma pulled away from Mulan, a large smile plastered to her face as she pointed a finger towards a stall.
"That jacket! I have to have that jacket. It's THE most amazing jacket I've ever laid my eyes on. Absolutely splendid. Splendous? Splendiferous?" Emma shrugged as Mulan glared at her, completely unaware of how agitated she was becoming.
Emma quickly walked over to the jacket, her fingers running over the red arms and then over the gold stitching on the inside. She picked it up, placing it against her nose as she took in a large whiff. The vender stared at her oddly, side eyeing her as if she were crazy. She hugged the jacket and then snapped her head up, holding it out excitedly as she spoke to the vender.
"How much?"
"Ten doubloons." The vender grunted.
Quickly Emma reached into her pockets, searching for money. However, her search came up with nothing. Emma frowned, taking a second search before she looked back up to the vender.
"Can I owe you?" She sounded too hopeful.
"I'd rather take a swim with sharks." The vender shook his head and reached out for the jacket.
Emma moved away quickly, taking to begging as she clung to the jacket. Mulan stood behind her, ready to jump in before anything got out of hand.
"Please? I always keep my promises. Pirates always keep their promises." Again with the hopeful look, flashing the vender a pretty smile.
"No. Give me the jacket." Again he reached out, but Emma jumped back again.
She was about to make a bolt for it, but Mulan cut her off and jerked the jacket from her hands. Mulan quickly gave the jacket back to the vender and apologized, turning to grab Emma and pull her through the crowd.
"You can't keep doing things like that or we'll be dead before we can even think to save your friends." Mulan chastised, shaking her head as she dragged Emma along the stalls with her.
"Goodbye jacket. Soon you will be mine," Emma promised with a wave. She sent a glare at the vendor and then took a few steps after Mulan, twirling once as if to get out of the way of something only she could see. "Whoa mate," Emma said as she got her footing again, which wasn't really saying much due to the new sway in her step.
"And how do you suppose we do that? We barely have enough on the boat to sell for supplies, and half of that is too heavy for the both of us to carry. We would have to hire some men, but the cost of that would make it so-" Mulan stopped talking when Emma put a finger to her lips. Emma was quiet for a second as if to listen for something, and then she put her finger down. "What-"
"Sh."
Mulan hated being shushed. Emma's eyes got a new glint to them and then she took a direct turn away from her. Mulan took a step forward and then had to sprint once Emma broke out into a run. "Emma?! EMMA!" She was getting looks, but she didn't care. She saw Emma push past people, and she knocked over a man who had a bowl of something in his hand. Mulan didn't have time to apologize for the blonde. "EMMA!" she called out again. The blonde stopped as if to hear her. "What on-"
Emma clapped a hand on Mulan's shoulder. "How much money do you have?"
"I think... Two gold and a dubloon, why?"
"Give it to me."
"No. I refuse to allow you to gamble-"
"Too late, the boy has it." Emma said with a shrug.
Mulan spun and drew her sword.
"Oh, now you've done it, Boy," Emma said. She clucked her tongue.
"Which boy?" Mulan barked, her eyes scanning the street. There were boys everywhere.
However, before Emma could answer, Mulan's eyes spotted a boy running quickly away, dodging past men and women, and nearly knocking a few people over. She quickly took off after him, leaving Emma behind to catch up. The blonde quickly began her own running. The only difference was the fact that Emma had a smile on her face as she ran after the two. She quickly caught up with Mulan, smiling down at the woman as they ran.
"This is fun!" Emma yelled, waving her hands in the air for added effect. Mulan just narrowed her eyes, keeping her concentration on the pick pocketing child.
"This is not fun. I should be buying things we need, not running after a thief." Aggravation was clearly evident in her tone.
Emma only chuckled, keeping pace with Mulan with ease. Mulan was gaining ground on the boy and Emma found herself amused, laughing out loudly every now and then. Mulan cast her a few sideways glances, only to look back at the boy again and find that he had tripped over something. He fell to the streets with a cry, money flying from every pocket in his clothes, and perhaps a few other hidden places.
"Oh look! Money!" Emma hollered, sounding giddy and child like. There was a deep part of Emma, the part of her old self buried deep inside of her, that told her this was unusual. But the connection with Regina that had changed her was shouting over that other voice to ignore it. So instead of acting normally and reprimanding the boy for stealing, Emma launched herself to the ground to pick up the scattered money on the ground.
Mulan shook her head, sighing deeply at Emma before grabbing the boy by his arm and lifting him from the ground. "What made you think you could get away with stealing my money?" Mulan questioned, squeezing on the boy's arm and shaking a little. The boy glanced over at Emma, who was still grabbing at random pieces of money, ignoring the other people around her that stared her suspiciously.
"Well, I did warn you," Emma said. She counted out ten dubloons and pocketed them, found Mulan's little pouch, and then gathered about half of the rest into the largest money pouch the boy had. She handed this out the the boy. Mulan frowned at Emma when she realized that she was about to hand the boy the money back. "I want you to be a good boy take this to The Blue Fairy pub and tell him that the Sirens have Red."
"And what makes you think I will do that? What makes you think I won't just run-"
"Because my friend here is still angry that you tried to steal from her, and she might just kill you. There ain't no one here that appreciates a little rat, scurrying, scurrying..." Emma trailed off. There was a glint in her eye now as her mind took her elsewhere.
"Emma," Mulan said harshly, which brought her back. Emma looked to the boy.
"Also, I have the rest of your money, and I know you won't forget that. You go do that, you get the rest of your money, and we part ways, yeah?"
"How will I know who to tell?"
"He will be the only one who's angry when you say it in the pub. Now move, boy, or I might just have fun shopping with all this jingle in my hand."
The boy ran off as told, glaring back at Emma a couple of times, which she didn't notice. She smiled at the money as she made it jingle some more. "Keep that up and that won't be the first thief we deal with today, and the next one won't be so small," Mulan warned the blonde. "Speaking of, why did you just let him go? What did you have him do?"
"I sent him after Peter," Emma said as she walked away from Mulan, back to where they had started. They were back at the clothing stall, where the merchant sighed at the sight of her. Emma took the ten dubloons from her pocket and slammed them in the man's hand before snatching up the red jacket. As she put the jacket on, she continued, "He owes me, and he loves Red, so we can use what supplies he can bring with him."
"And for the rest?" Mulan asked, following after Emma as they once more went back to where they had parted ways with the boy. She was very tired of this running around, and she needed food, ale and full night of sleep.
Emma took out two gold coins from the rest of the pickpocket's remaining money. "Starter," she said with a grin. Then she walked to the center of a small group. "I play winner, doubles," she said, placing the two gold coins amist the silver and bronze ones. No one would say no to it, she knew.
"New game, one eyed jacks are wild," the man at the table said gruffly, though he wasn't a large man, but he didn't look helpless either.
"Perfect," Emma replied. "But first..." Emma paused for a second, staring at the men, all seven of whom only stared back at here. "Alright. Let's play," she said. No one knew what the long pause had been about, but Mulan had her guess.
Almost an hour later, Emma had not only the seven men glaring at her, but the man doing the dealing as well. She had not only doubled, but tripled the money she had gotten from the boy. Mulan had stood behind her the whole time, sweating nervously. She had been sure Emma was about to lose all of that money. She had been completely wrong. Instead, Emma won game after game after game. The blonde had even been accused of cheating, but she had proven she'd done no such thing. It was the last game, seeing as all the men had lost all of their money, and Emma swung her arms in the air and clapped as the gruff man declared thar she had won yet again.
"I love games! Magnificent fun!" Emma said as she gathered up all of her winnings, shoving it all into a bag.
It was as she tried to fit all of the money into the bag that Henry returned with Peter. The boy tapped on Emma's shoulder, making her jump and nearly drop everything. She quickly caught it though, teetering on her feet before standing still. She tied the top of the bag before she gave the boy her attention.
"Where's Peter?" She asked, raising her eyebrow at the boy.
"Right here." Peter said, walking up behind the boy.
Emma smiled and took a step closer to Peter before shoving the boy aside. "Peter! Good to see you!" She threw her arms around the man to hug him.
There was an alarmed look on Peter's face, telling Mulan that this was not the typical Emma. The man looked pale as Emma finally let go of him. She took a step back, grinning up at him as she folded her arms.
"Emma? Emma, what happened to Red?" Peter questioned, eyes wide as he looked Emma over.
"Red? Red…she us…Red…The Siren Queen…" Emma's eyes glazed over at this point, her throat closing up and her chest feeling oddly tight. She stared off into space, lost in her own crazed mind.
Mulan took this moment to step in, a serious look on her face. "I helped Emma get out of there, but her friends and my crew…." Mulan did her own pause, but continued. "And I'm assuming this Red person is important to you, but I'm sorry to say that she has been captured by The Siren Queen. The entire ship was captured, but somehow Emma escaped." Mulan stopped talking, eyes cutting sideways to Emma. She was still standing stark still, not blinking or moving a muscle. "Emma? Emma?" Mulan shoved at her shoulder, but the blonde still didn't move.
Peter took a step up then, sucking in a breath as he kept his tears at bay. He took Emma by the shoulders, shaking her violently. "Emma! Wake up damn it!" He shook her once more before Emma snapped back into reality, blinking rapidly. "Emma! "We need to get a crew and her ship." He lets go of Emma's shoulder briefly to gesture towards Mulan. "We have to go save Red. Red and your family, Emma."
Emma nodded, swallowing back the lump in her throat. She was silent for a moment before stepping back and slipping back into that odd personality yet again. Mulan began to wonder if this would ever be fixed.
"Yes, well, that's why I'm here. And I just won all of this money, so we're not hurting for it. Now let's get a crew together!" Emma turned to the seven men she had just won all of the money from, a grin spreading her lips wide. The men stared at her with frowns, all of them obviously not happy with her. Emma seemed to be ignorant of this fact.
"What say you to joining my crew, huh? There will be lots of rum!" Emma wiggled her eyebrows, knowing full well such an offer would appeal to these seven men.
One of the men stepped forward, an unpleasant scowl on his face. "How much rum?" He asked, sounding skeptical.
"All of the rum you desire." Emma tilted her head and grinned even wider, if possible.
The man was quiet for a moment, looking back at the others before giving his attention back to Emma. After another second or two of pause, a smile formed on the man's face and he held out his hand. "You have a deal, sister."
"Great!" Emma enthusiastically shook the man's hand and then turned to Peter. "Well, that's seven! Now let's go back to your pub and find some more." She quickly turned to make her way down the street, strutting confidently with a swagger.
Peter watched after her for a moment, shaking his head. He turned to Mulan and frowned. "What happened to her?" He questioned before following after Emma.
Mulan frowned in thought. She wasn't rightly sure herself, but she knew for certain it had to do with the Siren Queen and the necklace. She can't seem to fill in why Emma's mind had gotten so strange. "I don't know if I understand it myself," Mulan admitted.
"You said that she escaped the Siren Queen. How?"
"I don't know," Mulan said again. "But she is under her spell. Strange, though, that Emma had received that necklace from her while she was still on my boat. There is some sort of curse on her now, and I know it has to do with her, but why? Why curse her after giving her a necklace meant to protect her?"
"Don't dally!" Emma sang behind her.
"I wanna be on your crew!" the voice of the boy, forgotten once she had given him his promised money, said suddenly. Emma looked down at him.
"How old are you?"
"Ten."
"Oh. I'm twenty-eight." Emma replied, and then continued walking.
"Stop for a minute!"
"No time boy-"
"My name is Heny, not Boy, and I want to be in your crew!"
"What do you know about being on a ship, huh? You think it is all sunshine and blue sky? You think sword fighting would be fun? Well it is, actually- But no place for you. You've got your money, now leave." Emma pushed him out of her way with a small spank and Henry left with almost a pout. "Are you two STILL lagging behind? I say, if you don't keep up, I will take your ship and do it all myself," Emma said, more to herself than to Peter and Mulan.
"Where are we off to?" one of the seven men asked.
"Don't know, my man. Don't know."
"Surely we're getting supplies. Rum?"
"YES! Rum. I like you. What is your name my man?"
"Grumpy."
"Yes..." Emma said, looking over the man. "The name suits you. Well, we need a few good- Helllllo..." Emma looked over to her right, and paused. She eye the small woman in the stall appretiatively, as did Grumpy. "Well now, maps. We know where she lives, yes, but maps! We can get never go wrong with a good one of those, isn't that right, deary?"
The woman smiled somewhat shyly. "No."
Emma looked at a few of the maps, as did Mulan.
Every now and then Emma would look up at the girl sitting in the stall and smile. She was scoping the girl, getting a feel of her. Something told her she would be right for their crew.
"How much do you know about these maps?" Emma questioned.
"Oh, everything. Maps and books are my life. I study these every day." There was a longing behind the girls words, a longing Emma could somewhat understand.
"So you would say you're pretty good at reading these then?"
"Yes, absolutely."
"Good. Then how interested would you be in sailing with us? Have a bit of an adventure?" At Emma's question, Mulan's head snapped up. She stared at the girl, thinking she would not be well suited for a life on a ship. However, the girl looked absolutely blown away by the question.
"I would give anything!" The girl responded, jumping from her seat.
Emma chuckled. "You don't have to give much. Just a few of these maps, that's all."
Before the girl could answer, Mulan stepped in. "Emma. Are you sure we should bring her along? We are, after all, going after the Siren Queen. It's dangerous." Mulan's tone was a warning.
The girl jumped in again though, a serious look on her face. "I am not afraid of danger. And I know how to read these maps very well. And my sense of direction is phenomenal. I would be of good use to you."
Emma smacked her hands together in happiness and gave a nod of her head. "Then come with us!" And without another word, the blonde grabbed a few maps and began her walk towards the pub once again.
She stopped mid stride though and turned towards the girl. "What's your name?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Belle."
"Oh! Pretty name! Suits you! Mine's Emma! Now come! We need more ship mates."
Emma started for her destination once again, determination in her stride. "At least tell me where you're going this time," Mulan stated gruffly, grabbing Emma's arm.
"Let's see here...We got that lot, a map reader, and a captain- That would be you, Love. Your boat, you see. We got a mad swordswoman- That would be me. We need more for a good crew - at least two, wouldn't you say? Someone could help with repairs, yeah?" she said. For the first time since this new version of Mulan's reluctant friend had arrived, Emma locked eyes with her. It startled the woman, especially when Emma told her that she was to be the captain. Though it was true, the ship was technically hers, she herself had little authority before on the SS Storybrooke, and she wasn't sure what kind of captain she could be. Emma reached up and patted Mulan's shoulder. "We got a fine crew. All we need now is-" Emma stopped, and then smiled after her eyes flickered behind Mulan. "Them."
Mulan looked behind her where she saw a man who was a woodcarver and carpenter, who was deminstrating how to use the hammer he held in his hand to a young man of sandy blonde hair. Mulan assumed this was his apprentice. "Them?"
"Yes."
Mulan sighed. "Alright then. Get them recruited and I will see if Peter can help us find food and rest for tonight. You and I will come up with some sort of plan to get back to the Siren Queen and your family... and maybe some of my men if any are left. Tomorrow, we load up and sail, hear me?"
"Ay Captain." Emma said with a salute. Mulan walked over to Peter and began to speak to him about lodging and food for their newly recruited people. Mulan was confident that Emma's winnings was more than enough to get what they needed for a two month journey, but Mulan wasn't even sure if the SS Storybrooke would make it that long. Even so, Peter spoke about supplies and items he could sell from his own time as an ally of Emma's crew. That alone would cut the costs almost in half.
Emma swayed slightly and held out her hand to the two men. "You two."
"Excuse me?" the carpenter asked, raising an eyebrow at the blonde with interest.
"You're- You're perfect!"
"Perfect for what?" the apprentice asked with a small amused smile.
"We need a carpenter, and here I am, standing in front of two."
"Where do you need a carpenter?"
"On our ship-"
"I don't work for pirates."
"A shame," Emma said. The apprentice looked uncomfortable.
"For how long?" he asked, which earned him a sharp cuff on the back of his head from his mentor.
"WE don't WORK with PIRATES," the man stressed.
"But August-"
"No. I will not go out to sea again."
"I know you had your rough times with whales and all, but you were just saying-"
"Oh NOW you wish yo listen to me, James-"
Emma stepped between the two of the men, her chest against August's. She smirked. "Nice wood."
James choked on his own tongue.
"Now, I would love to listen to that tale, but we're in a bit of a hurry to settling in for the evening and we need to get out of the market before it gets dark." Her gaze turned to August, and she tilted her head slightly. "Please. We need you."
"I. Don't. Work. For-"
"Pirates, I know. But right now, I am not a pirate. Hell, I'm barely a person right now in case you haven't noticed. I am someone who is trying to get her family back and lift whatever it is that has me... like this. I promise you that if you don't die, it shouldn't be more than a month."
"If I don't die?"
"I can't promise you that Poseidon won't be fierce, or that the woman who has my family, my heart and my mind won't leave you unharmed, but if you would rather your last day be filled with wood shavings and sheep and little else, I can leave you right here."
"I don't want to die a shepherd. A-And a wood carver isn't much better of a profession- no offence," James said. "I'll join if he won't," he decided. He looked ready to duck another blow, but none came.
"I promised your mother that I would care for you. If you are going, then I must go," he said, almost through gritted teeth. "If you die..."
"Then I will have died on a quest, woudln't I? I'd almost be a hero. I wouldn't be a shepherd."
"There are worst things in life to be," Emma said softly, unsure if the men heard her. She brightened though. "RIGHT! We have a lovely crew. Lovely!" She hurried to Mulan and placed a hand on her shoulder. After listing off all of the people, her face turned. "Oh..."
"What is it?" Mulan asked.
"Er- We're going to be a crew of thirteen," Belle spoke up.
"Oh," Mulan said with a face full of worry. For a ship that is about to go back up against the Siren Queen, this was not good. Pirates had always been a suspicious bunch and the number thirteen settled well with no one.