Chapter 7 Titanium
AN: This chapter is named after the song Titanium by David Guetta. I have to thank Natalie for editing this chapter! I hope that you like it!
Sir Lancelot couldn't help but smile when looking over at Emma and seeing the carefree look on her face as she stared at the open sea. He was worried that he might have made the wrong decision — worried that Prince James and Snow White might banish him — but seeing Emma like this was worth it. The only other time that he had seen her so carefree was anytime she was with Graham — or when she was on the Jolly Roger with Captain Jones. It seemed like Emma really loved the sea — which was perfect, since she had fallen in love with a pirate.
"Isn't it the most beautiful thing that you've ever seen?" she asked him suddenly, turning around to smile at the knight whom she owed so much to. He had looked after her, he had befriended Graham before anyone else had, and he let her know Graham wanted her to move on. Now he had sacrificed his future at the castle for her and to keep his promise to his friend.
"It's the second most beautiful." He smiled at her, admiring the sunset himself. It was true that it was the most beautiful sight he had seen — in nature.
"What was her name?" Emma asked him, getting his attention. "You didn't think I'd realize the look in your eyes?"
Lancelot smiled at her. "Guinevere," he replied simply, not elaborating — but the look in his brown eyes said everything words could not.
"Where is she?" Emma asked, keeping her eyes set on him. The next look in his eyes answered her questions before he could reply. She was all too familiar with the look of heartache and lost love.
"As you know, not every love story has a happy ending…she is married to another — a king," Lancelot shared. Emma's eyes filled with compassion. "She has a kingdom to rule and a husband to take care of, so…I had to leave, and I ended up at your kingdom."
"I'm sorry," Emma replied to him, a frown on her face. "Is anything I can do to help you with this?" she asked him, wanting to help him as he had helped her.
"You can put a good word in with your father after he finds out that it was I who took you to Captain Jones. I love living in your kingdom, and I want to stay there," he replied, not wanting to lose the home he had come to love.
"I swear on my life that you will always be welcome in my kingdom as long as I'm alive." Emma smiled at him, and he nodded at her in reply. "How long until we catch up to them?" she asked, worried they might not find Killian.
"We should catch up to them tomorrow evening before sunset — they were planning to a stop in a port for two days to get rum and spend some time onshore," Lancelot told her. Emma turned to frown at him. "Princess Emma, if I could get us there faster, you know I would."
Emma sighed in dismay; she knew what "going ashore" meant to Killian and his crew — going to a tavern, drinking, gambling…and bedding women. Her stomach churned as images of Killian taking women back to the Jolly Roger flickered through her head. She tried to stop them by reminding herself that she had no right to be angry at him since she was the one who had sent him away. "Why don't you get some sleep? I'm wide awake."
"Okay," he complied as she walked over to the helm. "Just keep heading west and follow the compass. If you need me, be sure to wake me," Lancelot added, letting her take over the controls before going below deck to the small room underneath.
Emma was sailing the boat into the night as the first star appeared in the sky, and for the first time in a very long time, she made a wish. "Star light, star bright, the first star I see tonight — I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight," she whispered, staring up at the bright star. "Please let me find Killian, and please help me to not to be angry with him for whatever he has done since I hurt him. It would be wonderful if he hasn't been with anyone, but I will love him despite anything. Please — just lead me to him, "Emma wished, closing her eyes and then opening them. Many stars now filled the sky, but she was unable to find the star that she wished on. She couldn't remember if that was bad luck or not, although she would find out if it was soon enough. Since there was absolutely nothing to do, she thought about what she would say to Killian when she found him.
Meanwhile
Killian followed the redheaded tavern wench up to her room above the tavern. She held his hand and pulled him up the stairs, giving him a seductive grin. However, he didn't feel aroused or excited at all by her. His crew had pushed the girl on him, knowing that he needed to work off some aggression and hoping that being with her would soothe him. They hadn't seen him so angry since they had failed to attain the dagger to kill the Dark One by two days and he had killed three men for talking back to him. Yesterday, he had killed two for mentioning Princess Emma's name in a suggestive way, but he claimed it was done in retribution for mentioning a land that he wanted to forget.
Personally, he didn't want to go upstairs with the girl named Shelia, but he was determined to get Emma out of his mind by any means necessary. Shelia led him to her room and shut the door behind him before pushing her body up against his. He in turn put his arms around her. "I'm yours, Captain Jones — so whatever you please to me…" she whispered into his ear, nibbling on his earlobe and running her hands down his chest.
Killian found her voice and touch very appealing, so he allowed her to touch him. Normally, a lass nibbling on his ear excited him greatly, but this time it didn't cause even a flicker of lust in him. I will forget her, Killian swore to himself as he backed the girl over to the bed. He felt her smile against his ear while reaching for the laces on his pants. He stilled her hands and then kissed her, desperate to get rid of his memories of Emma — but images of her looking at him with disappointment and hurt started to flash across his mind. Without a second thought, he pulled away and shoved Shelia away far enough to put distance between him and her. "What the hell has she done to me?!" he exclaimed, pacing the room and wanting to take the girl to prove his point.
"What do you want me to do to you?" she purred, thinking he was playing a game and walking over to him. She pushed her body up against him again, running her hand over his cheek. When she heard the men wanted a different girl, not a blonde to entertain their handsome and sexy captain, she had jumped at the chance to have him. His reputation for pleasing women was legendary.
Killian swore that he could hear Emma crying, and he saw her face as she asked him, How can you do this to me? Emma's heartbroken face, tears streaming down her cheeks and her expression filling with utter disgust for him bedding another woman, continued to haunt him.
"DO NOT TOUCH ME!" he yelled at her angrily, moving away from her like she had the plague. Her blue eyes grew large, realizing that he was most certainly not playing a game. "She bloody ruined me!" he growled to himself as he paced the room, his whole body shaking with fury.
Shelia had had only one other man pace before her, but he had been a young man about eighteen whom his friend had paid her to seduce in honor of his birthday. The guy had said that he was in love with a girl, but he hadn't told her yet — therefore, he couldn't go through with bedding Shelia. Most men who came upstairs didn't care about their wives or fiancés' feelings, thinking they could do whatever they pleased. "What is her name?" she asked him quietly. He turned, narrowing his eyes at her. "We can talk, or we can get naked — it's your choice," she told him, hoping for the latter while starting to unlace her corset.
Memories of Emma wearing a white corset and leaning over the table while taking her table earnings hit him in the face, making him even more furious. "I wish that I'd never met that damn bloody princess — I won't let Emma do this to me!" he exclaimed to himself, pacing the floor again. He could hear the sound of moaning couples in the rooms next to him. "Look at what she has done to me — every time another woman touches me, I can't stand it because it's not her," he muttered, massaging his temples with his hands while continuing to pace.
Shelia knew better than to say anything to him now — his blue eyes were lit up with fury at what the girl that he loved was doing to him. She was beyond disappointed that the Captain wasn't interested in her, but she found herself wondering who could have captured his heart so completely and so fiercely. "I can still tell everyone that you pleased me beyond measure — would that help at all?" she asked him, finally sitting on the bed and raising a brow at him.
Killian let out a deep breath, looking at her briefly. "Aye," he said in almost a whisper, sitting down in a chair in the room and then putting his head in his hands. "What I am going to do?" he asked himself, taking a bottle of rum out of his jacket pocket. He began downing it so he could forget everything — forget her.
The tavern wench grinned, hoping that once he was drunk he'd forget all about the girl named Emma.
Two hours later
Killian grinned as he lay on the bed and stared up at the ceiling of the room, his blue fluttering open and shut. He turned over to see the red-headed girl lying next to him. "Do you want some rum?" he asked, handing her the flask.
"Please," Shelia moaned, taking a huge drink out of it. As soon as she swallowed it, she began to cough, barely able to tolerate the terrible tasting rum. "How can you drink that?" she sputtered out while coughing, quickly handing the flask back to him.
"Pirate's rum is the best rum that there is, lass." He smiled before taking another drink of the rum. "Emma likes pirate's rum," he slurred. "She would make a bloody brilliant pirate." He smiled up at the ceiling, picturing Emma's beautiful face.
Shelia sighed, looking over at the very drunk, fully dressed captain. He had spent two hours telling her everything about this Emma, who he obviously was very much in love with. She wondered what had happened between the two of them, which was the one subject he hadn't mentioned since he had started talking about this girl he loved. There were so many things she knew about Emma — she was a beautiful princess with the softest blonde hair that Captain Jones had ever touched — she could sword fight better than most men — she was the only person to ever beat Killian Jones at poker — and she had stolen the heart of Captain Hook.
Killian's light snoring pulled Shelia out of her thoughts. Walking over the other side of the bed, she took off his boots and then covered him with a blanket. There was soft knock at her door, but before she walked over to it, she fluffed her hair to mess it up and deliberately unlaced her corset. "Yes?" she whispered, blocking the entrance with her body on seeing one of Captain Jones's men.
"I'm here to collect my Captain," Smee said. He had heard a soft snoring echoing from within the room and had instantly known it belonged to his captain.
"He is worn out — you can collect him in the morning," Shelia told him. Smee had noticed that the red-headed girl looked very tired as well.
"Please tell the Captain when he wakes that I will be back for him in the morning." Smee nodded before walking back downstairs to collect the rest of the men. He hoped his captain would be in a better mood tomorrow after having bedded a pretty girl — but he also had a feeling it wouldn't be of much help.
The next morning at sunrise
Emma kept glancing behind her at the sun rising up in the sky while steering the ship, the rays of the sun starting to reflect from the bright blue water behind her. It looked like the entrance to heaven from a distance, and it was in this moment that she knew she had also fallen in love with the sea and its beauty. The idea of going back to the castle seemed unbearable; she had been suffocating there ever since she had lost Graham. Any happiness that she could have found while living there wouldn't be within those confining walls — she now knew that she wanted to live the rest of her life here on the sea. The only problem was that her parents would not accept her wishes, so she had to figure out a way to not only win Killian, but also to be able to stay with Killian on his ship.
"You should have woken me up." Lancelot's voice withdrew her from her thoughts as she turned to look at him. He wasn't prepared for the look of absolute contentment shining in her green eyes as she shrugged at him. There was only one other time he remembered seeing Emma look beautiful and at peace: it was when he had stumbled upon her and Graham snuggled together in the woods near the place where they had first met — he had been reading to her, with his hand on her abdomen.
"I'm not tired yet — besides, I wanted to watch the sunrise." Emma smiled, her eyes flickering back up to the sky.
"I'll take over so you can watch it — then go get some sleep," Lancelot offered, walking over to the helm to take over.
"Thank you." Emma nodded before walking to the other end of the ship, watching the sun slowly rising across the sky. She knelt down and rested her arms on the side of the boat, her awestruck eyes set on the horizon.
The Charming's castle
Alexandra had slept in Emma's bed and pretended to be sound asleep with her head buried in the blankets when Snow came in to check on her, kissing her on the top of her head while telling her that she loved her. Alexandra's and Emma's hair were of the same length and color, so Snow would never have noticed the difference in the dark.
Alex felt bad for deceiving the two people whom she loved like family, but she need to give Emma a head start. Also, she had missed falling asleep to the sound of Eric's heartbeat as he held her in his arms against his chest. After Snow had left, Alexandra managed to sneak out of Emma's bedroom into Eric's room to find lying on his bed, reading a book. "Good morning," she greeted him, walking into the room as he looked up from the pages.
"It is now." Eric grinned as Alexandra rushed over to the bed, jumping on top of him and kissing him passionately.
"Breakfast is ready," s guard called out from the other side of the door, knocking on it loudly. The abrupt sound made the couple pull apart, both of them dreading what they had to do this morning.
"Okay, let's do this." Alexandra let out a loud sigh as they climbed off his bed. They made sure they took their time getting to the dining room, holding hands all the way there. She felt Eric squeeze her hand gently when they turned around the corner and entered the dining room to see Snow and Charming, both already seated at the table.
"Good morning," Charming smiled, looking behind them to see his daughter. "Where is Emma?" he asked, frowning.
"She probably has locked herself away again." Snow sighed and closed her eyes, wishing that she could do something — anything — to heal her daughter.
"Actually…about that…" Alexandra began before swallowing hard and walking towards them with Eric, "…she—I—" Snow and Charming stared at Alex as she stumbled over her words, their eyes filling with fear as they started to get up.
Eric reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment. "This explains everything," he told them, holding the letter out to them.
"No, you two will explain it," James boomed, anger and fear dominating his features as he glared at the couple in front of him.
"Emma went after Killian!" Alex blurted out, biting her lip and leaning into Eric for support. She couldn't take her eyes off of Snow or Charming. Surprise was written all over Snow's beautiful face, but there was no trace of anger in her expression. On the other hand, Charming looked irate as he slammed his fists on the dining room table.
"She DID what? When did she leave? Is she alone?" he shouted, his chest heaving as he stared down at the young couple. They stared at him in silence. "Answer me!" he demanded.
"Dear Mom and Dad," Snow's voice soft voice began as she read the letter out loud, getting Charming's attention. "I know that you are going to be furious with me for leaving, but I had to. After I watched Graham die in my arms on my wedding day, I myself have been dying every day since then. I was suffocating, wishing that I could die so I could be with him—," Snow's voice broke, tears running down her cheeks, "—until I met Killian. He made me want to live again; he brought me back to life. When I chased him away, I started dying again and I can't live like that anymore. I want to start living again, and I want to be happy. I want Killian. I'm sure you can't understand why I love him, but I do. I'm sorry that I had to leave this way, but I'll be back as soon as I can. I love you, mom and dad. Love, Emma," she finished, looking up at her husband with a small smile on her face.
"How can you be happy about this?! Our daughter is alone at sea, chasing after a pirate. She could die," James asked, disbelief in his blue eyes.
"Sir Lancelot went with her to keep her safe," Eric spoke up, trying to help calm James — but it didn't seem to help at all.
"Oh…and that makes it all okay," Charming replied sarcastically, glaring at the prince. Eric only stared back, not intimidated by him. "We are going after her now — get the ships ready," he yelled to the guards. They began to run out of the room to get all of the men and royal vessels together.
"No, we are not!" Snow's firm voice rang out through the dining room, stopping the guards in their tracks. James looked at her with wide eyes. "Our daughter wants to live — for the first time in almost a year. She loves Killian, and he makes her happy. I'm not going to let anyone take that away from her — and if you truly love our daughter, you bury your stubbornness and accept her love for the pirate." The determination in her voice made her husband see the truth. "If you bring her back and force her to stay here, you'll have to lock her into a tower — because she will just go after him again. If we drag her back home now, we are condemning her to a fate worse than death."
Snow's words stung James; he couldn't help but flinch, because he knew that every word she spoke was true. For some reason beyond his understanding, Emma had fallen in love with a three-hundred-year-old pirate nicknamed Captain Hook. He let out a frustrated sigh. "My wife is right. As you were, guards," Charming relented, looking up at a smiling Snow. "I'm not happy about this," he added.
"This isn't about us — it's about Emma," Snow wisely told him, putting her hand over his on the table. "I love you, Charming." She smiled as he leaned in to kiss her.
"I love you too," he replied, pulling her into his arms and hoping that they were doing the right thing.
The room above the seaside tavern
Killian opened his eyes and looked around the strange room. Memories of the night before ran over him, and he rolled over to see a red-headed girl lying next to him, sound asleep. He got out of the bed and put on his boots before grabbing his coat and leaving the room without looking back. Last night, he had not been able to touch the lass sleeping beside him because all he could think about was Emma. He ignored the leers from the girls cleaning the tavern as he exited the tavern to go back to his ship.
He boarded the ship to the sound of his crew cheering at his return, the men congratulating him on his conquest. Killian bowed to them, getting another round of cheers, before he went back to work; he wouldn't and couldn't tell them the shameful truth about last night. He decided they would spend one more night at port before setting sail tomorrow to acquire more rum and a large amount of gold. He went into his captain's chambers and found Smee mopping the floor. "Good morning, Captain Jones. I came to collect you last night, but the girl said you outdid yourself exhausting her, so I left you there," explained Smee.
"After we collect more gold and rum tomorrow, let's head for Neverland," Killian told him. He knew it was the only place which could possibly help him forget her.
"Yes, Captain," Smee answered, leaving the Captain's room. He was surprised that Killian wanted to return to Neverland, but he couldn't question his orders. Killian dropped down to his bed and closed his eyes; he wanted to sleep away the throbbing headache he had acquired from all the rum and whiskey he had drunk last night at the tavern. Tonight he would take more gold from the men in town and just not bother to attempt to seduce any girl, knowing that only Emma would suffice. He decided that going back to Neverland to get magic from the pixies to kill the Dark One would be his sole mission in life.
Emma and Lancelot's boat
Emma yawned as her eyes fluttered open. She got out of the bed and walked up the steps to the ship's deck — it looked like it was close to late afternoon by the appearance of the sky, and she could see land in front of them in the distance. She turned to see Lancelot at the helm, and nervousness as well as excitement ran through her veins at the thought that she would soon be able to see Killian. "We should be there in an hour or two," Lancelot informed her without turning around; he had heard her footsteps on the deck. "Do you have a plan?" he asked as Emma walked up beside him, which made him glance over at her.
"Oh, I do," Emma replied, ringing her hands together as her heart raced with anxious anticipation. "I just hope he can forgive me," she added as she looked back at Lancelot, who gave her a small smile before putting his hand on her shoulder.
"When you love someone deeply, you can forgive that person just about anything. It might take some work, but I assure you that it's possible," he replied.
The rest of the journey was silent except for the sounds of the ocean around them. Emma had gone below deck to change her clothes and didn't come out until Lancelot had called to her that they were getting very close to the dock, where the Jolly Roger was anchored. He heard the click of boots on the deck of ship and the dropping of the anchor when they reached the dock, where the ship's movements stopped.
"Are you ready…?" He froze after he turned and saw Emma. His eyes widened at her ensemble of black, high-heeled leather boots and a short red skirt which exposed most of her thighs. Her legs were bare, and the top of her dress was a corset-style top with black laces pulled tight around her tiny waist, a small amount of red fabric showing off her cleavage. Her long blonde hair was blowing in the wind, with a red bandana tied around the top of her head. She was looking at him nervously. "I hope you have a coat for that, or I will have to fight every man in town to keep you safe." He shook his head, hoping he wouldn't have his hands full in fighting off all the men in town with her wearing an outfit like that.
"Of course, I do," Emma beamed before she disappeared down below. When she came back up, she was wearing a long, black leather overcoat with silver buttons on the chest and sleeves, which hid her sword underneath her coat.
"Good — please stay near me," he told her, stepping off the boat himself before helping her to get off as well. They walked over to the Jolly Roger, only to see the deck abandoned. "It looks like they are at the pub." His dark eyes ran over the abandoned ship, and then looked up to see a pub near the deck. It was lit up, loud chatter and laugher coming from it.
"Well, let's go get a drink — I know that I could really use one," Emma said, walking down the pier. She could barely hear the sounds of the pub over the sound of her heart, which was racing wildly in her chest. She couldn't ever remember being so nervous about anything. The closer they got to the pub, the more nervous she grew; she didn't even hear the whistles or see the leers of the men outside of the pub, all staring her up and down.
Lancelot glared at the men and pushed his sword outside from his coat in warning to keep away them from Emma. "Stay right by my side — these men would try to take you," he whispered, putting his arm around her and hoping they would think she belonged to him.
"I can take care of myself, but if it will make you happy…" she whispered back, moving closer to him. She knew he was right by the looks on the faces of the men who were standing near the door when they approached.
"How much do you want for the girl?" asked a dirty man with brown, messy hair. He was missing some teeth, licking his lips as his brown eyes ran over her.
Emma's sword was out of her coat and its tip pressed against the man's neck in the blink of an eye, startling everyone who was watching. "You should learn some manners before you address a lady — there isn't enough money in the world that would make me to even think of touching you," she hissed at him, anger flashing in her eyes. She pressed the sword harder, drawing a small line of blood. "I won't hesitate to slit your throat if you or your friends come near me — are we clear?" she said between gritted teeth, raising her brow.
"Yes," the man managed to say as Emma lowered her sword before entering the pub with Lancelot. He peeked back at the men, who looked furious that a girl had bested them.
They walked through the busy pub to the bar, all the men present staring at the beautiful woman who had just arrived. However, the chatter and drinking soon continued around them. Emma reached the bar and opened her coat slightly, flashing the bartender some cleavage while she leaned on the bar. The man rushed over to her. "What can I get you, my beautiful lass?" he asked, his eyes traveling up and down her face and body before resting on her exposed cleavage.
"Two meads — and where I can find Captain Jones," she smiled, batting her eyes at him. His eyes darkened with want.
"I'll give you whatever your heart desire," the man flirted, filling two large glasses with ale and pushing them across the bar. "Yours is on the house," he winked at her, leaning over the bar to be closer to her.
Emma leaned in closer to him as well, pushing five gold pieces across the bar. "All I desire is to know where I can find Captain Hook." Disappointment filled the bartender's eyes, but they brightened when he saw the gold.
"Captain Hook must be really something to have all the lasses chasing after him — he spent the evening ravishing one of my tavern maidens last night," he said after taking the gold and putting it in his pocket. Pointing to the back of the tavern, he continued, "He's in the back room, gambling — but if you get tired of his roaming eye, then I'll still be here for you, lass." He winked at her before walking away to serve more customers.
Emma felt nausea overwhelm her — she had to grip the bar upon hearing that Killian had been with a tavern girl last night. Her facial expression stayed neutral, but her heart was breaking in two at the thought of him with another girl. She took a deep breath and then downed her mead. I can't be angry with him for having been with another girl, after I rejected him, she kept repeating over and over in her mind while drinking the alcohol.
"Are you okay?" Lancelot whispered to Emma. He knew that the bartender's comment about Captain Jones's conquest had hurt her.
"Yes, let's go get my pirate," Emma whispered, stomping off towards the back room with Lancelot right behind her. She was going to make it clear to every woman in the tavern — or hell, every woman alive — that Killian Jones was hers, and only hers. She stopped at the door, hearing the chatter behind it; she could hear Killian's laughter, along with that of a girl's. Taking a deep breath, she kicked the door open with a loud thud, causing the chatter and laughter to cease instantly. The sound of swords being drawn echoed throughout the room.
Emma stepped into the room with her sword also drawn, her green eyes narrowed. Fury and jealousy flickered in them as they narrowed in on Killian Jones. He sat at the table facing her with a redhead seated on his lap, her arms around him. With her gaze fixated on Killian's blue eyes staring back at her, Emma didn't even notice all of the men standing around the table in a defensive stance. "Get. Off. My. Man!" Emma's low voice hissed threateningly with emphasis on every word while giving turning a withering glare on the frightened, stunned girl on Killian's lap.