Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time does not belong to me nor do the characters. However, I do own any original characters (OC's) that come along in this story.

"For every dark night, there's a brighter day."
-Tupac Shakur

Mysterious Void

"This ship has a chef? Since when do ships have that?" Eva asked, waving her hands in the air out of frustration. In the last few minutes, she had almost been killed by Milah, who was undoubtedly the chef of the ship. She stared at the fellow brunette in front of her, awaiting for a response. Meanwhile, the roar of the outside ocean waves were growing louder, and the night was becoming deeper. The tinge of saltiness could be smelt n the room through the small cracks of the wood that covered the windows, and drops of water leaked onto the floor, eventually being absorbed by it.

"Of course, it does! But more importantly, you look tarnished, Eva!" Exclaimed Milah as she got up, and shifted through the dusty cabinets. The older woman pulled out a loaf of bread that looked to have over-exceeded its expiration date. Its color was a dirty brown and mold covered the top and bottom parts while pesky flies flew around in wary alarm of the 'thief'. I am not eating that no matter what, Eva thought harshly to herself.

Eva cringed in sight of the perished food; her lips curling downwards in disgust. Milah seemed to have noticed this reaction. She tossed the loaf of bread away to a corner, and the flies and mice made their expected appearances, feasting on the generous find.

"Tell me, Eva. You haven't seen a certain Rumpelstiltskin around, have you now?"

"I have...The other day, I spotted him on the ship's deck. But he later left without even mentioning why he was there in the first place. Why is he of importance to you?" Eva folded her arms loosely on the table as the lighted white candle on the table flickered soundly several times, leaving little crackling noises behind with every flicker. She stared intently at the orange-yellow flame until Milah suddenly cleared her throat.

"Before...before he was known as to what he is today, The Dark One, he was my husband. Right now, I considered us to be apart but no matter, I am still his wife. It has been - I am not even sure how long, but it has been years since I have last seen him. Unfortunately, I have come to know that he thinks I am no longer alive, and that's why I am asking you about him, Eva. How is he? Does he look okay?" Eva didn't know how to respond to the surprising information. She had always though that everyone in the world had some amount of human in them, but Rumpelstiltskin - she couldn't imagine him as a human being more so a human being with a wife and possibly—

"We had a son together too."

There's the answer that question.

After choking up on her words, Eva finally responded. "Well," She began, pausing to think of how to continue. Instead of giving her the details, Eva chose the best way to sum things up. "he doesn't exactly look human anymore, Milah."

"I thought so." Milah said dimly, drooping her eyes onto the liquid pool of wax that had formed around the wick of the candle. "You're probably wondering why I had chosen this life." She squeezed her right hand together into a tight fist, but loosened it again as her eyes settled calmly onto Eva's.

"I fell in love with him, Eva." The woman said, a gentle smile to her lips.

"You fell in love with who?"

"The Captain, but he already knows that. He doesn't share the same feelings with me as I do with him, but ever since giving him and his crew a taste of my cooking, I've been the chef, the only chef, on the ship. Poor men mainly ate pickles before I got here too! Sad, isn't?" It's nothing compared to what I've been through. Eva reminisced on her old days. She had remembered it all — the conditions, the severity, the longing, and the scars. She bit her lip fiercely, almost aiming to draw blood.

"What about your son? Whatever happened to him?" Eva questioned. The unexpected crack of thunder alarmed her, inflicting feelings of fear and angst through Eva's veins. The panels covering the windows shook loudly, and the strong wind rocked the boat vigorously as more cold water seeped into the kitchen. Milah hurriedly took notice of the water, and went into another room. She later returned with a hammer and a pile of wood, nailing the pieces onto the previous boards to reduce the amount of leaks entering the dining area. Eva then realized that Milah had never answered her question. Maybe if I asked at another time.

"It seems that we'll be sleeping in here for the night." And with that, she went over and blew out the candle.

The morning after, Eva awoke to the sound of chirping birds and the soft waves of the ocean. She stretched out her arms widely, finally opening her eyes to look at the faded brown ceiling on top of her. She had fallen asleep around the kitchen, and Milah had done the same. Eva turned left, recognizing that Milah was still asleep. She leaned forward, sighing as she thought about the night before. To think that someone like Rumpelstiltskin was once probably an innocent young man who just wanted the best for his wife and son somewhat scared Eva. How someone could change just like that was a mystery, and it was one she did not want to unravel.

Slowly but surely, Eva crawled out of her spot into the main dining room. She walked over to the wooden door and turned the knob cautiously. The door made a soft click, revealing busy crew-members wandering the ship and the gorgeous scenery of the outdoor ocean. Seagulls flew in circles a few distances away from the ship, and the white outline of their bodies could easily be seen. She later spotted Dock, and casually went over to him.

An hour later, Eva found herself helping Dock mop the deck. Dock unfortunately had originally refused her help a couple of times, stating that it was his work and she didn't need to do it, but Eva insisted. Ever since the ship continued to sail the seas, she had needed something to keep her mind occupied. Dock and Cube had been giving her odd looks ever since the day she had first arrived, wondering what reason why their Captain had bought Eva out of slavery. Despite the odd looks, the two crew members had remained friends with her. Today was one of those days where Dock was thinking as to reasons why Captain bought her. Dock leaned against his mop and muttered to himself, "Now why would Cap'n buy you?"

"What?" Eva said, continuing to mop the wooden floor of the ship, "Did you say something, Dock?"

Dock cursed to himself for the slight slip of the tongue. Even if she hadn't heard what he had said. "It was nothing." He quickly lied, "Just remembering the good ol' days when I had first earned my sea legs."

"Oh," Eva giggled lightly, her green eyes filled with curiosity. "I wonder how on earth that happened."

"I remember it like it was yesterday." Dock started. And indeed he did. Earning his sea legs was an important moment for a sailor. "I just turned fifteen. 'Round that time, you were considered as a man; though in your case, you would be already considered as a woman." The man looked distant, as if he was in a far-off land. "I had just started to sail and was already part of a crew. A storm was brewing around the time and we were a few hundred meters or so away from the docks. I could almost picture it right here and now. The sky got darker. The waves were roaring. The wind was getting harsher by the second, and we had to go half-sail instead of full sail. Rain poured down from the sky so hard that it hurt! And on top of everything else, we were being attacked by a band of pirates wanting to take our ship."

"Well, what did you do?" asked Eva.

Dock smiled at her, "Me? Well, I just grabbed a sword that was lying on the ground and starting attacking the annoying nuisances. Strange enough, the storm also helped 'cause it led a few pirates overboard, but nonetheless, some of us manned the cannons and some raided the other pirates' ship. We saw them scampering away on their little ship going to their mothers crying their hearts out with us having their little treasures," the short crew member smiled at the memory, remembering how he fought like a man despite his lack of swordplay that day. "Good times they were."

"That reminds me then," Eva laughed, smiling brightly. "How did you meet Captain Hook?"

"It was a few years ago." Dock replied, "I was in a tavern that day counting the items that I had gained and lost over the years. Cube was there with me drinking his third glass of rum, and was heavily drunk. I was staring into space and Cube passed out after his fifth glass when Captain sat in front of us and asked the waitress for a beer. We started chatting, eventually coming up to the part of our sailing experiences and asked if we could come with him and be a part of his crew. I obliged for the both of us, knowin' he would do it too, if only he hadn't pass out with all that rum. And now, here we are, examining the masts, manning the cannons and swivel guns when need be, and repairing the sails if the situation calls for it. It's the usual maintenance on the ship and followin' the Captain's orders."

"Did you leave anyone behind when you first met Hook?" She asked.

Dock continued mopping, "No," he said, "My first love is the sea, and always will be until my very last breath."

What an…interesting life, Eva thought as she recalled the story. I wonder what life I would've had if I was like Dock—Her thoughts were interrupted by the Captain, himself; the man entering the scene, greeting most of his crew.

"Well, I'll be," said Dock, rubbing his black beard. "The Captain looks extra happy today!"

Eva chuckled at his comment and watched as the Captain gave orders out to the entire crew. She picked up the two mops and buckets and went over to say 'hello' to Captain Hook.

"Captain, you never told me that the ship had a chef on it! In particular, Milah." She promptly placed the cleaning items in one corner, and proudly stood up to talk to the Captain.

Captain Hook furrowed his eyebrows and gave her a confused look, "Really? No one told you we had a chef?" He asked her.

Apparently not.

Author's Note: First of all, I am so sorry this update is late. Originally, I had finished this chapter ages ago, but my betas have been so busy lately. Future updates may also take a while as well.

**Special thanks to blackopalz21 for being my beta**

**Special thanks to TheCynicalCrocodile for being my beta**