Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT.
Summary: Emma had never met someone as infuriating as the captain of the Jolly Roger in her 28 years of being a talented thief. When he requires her help to find a dagger to "skin" the Dark One as he likes to say, what she's really agreeing to is late night fights, breaking her walls, falling in love, oh, and winning the war with her parents she knew nothing about. Emma Swan doesn't know what she should be mad about. How about that coin purse he tried to steal that started this whole thing….
Warnings: This is AU. There is no Curse. Hook returns to the Enchanted Forest from Neverland when Emma is 28. Emma is still an orphan. Reasons being that I prefer her to have that lost boy/lost girl connection with Hook. Henry does exist and will be explained for as the story progresses.
A/N: Happy Thursday! I would just like you guys to know that I am very much excited with this story! Have lots in store. So far this is looking to be about 20 chapters long if not a little more. Thanks for the favs, follows and reviews! Now, on with the story!
Don't forget that I do appreciate constructive criticism given that my hand is still a bit rusty with writing!
Seething through his teeth, Hook laid his head on the table, cupping his family jewels that still bloody hurt.
Damn that wench.
He slammed his hook on the table and raked it down until it fell off the edge, leaving a new mark on the worn thing. He really wanted to hurt someone. He exhaled and tried moving his lower body to test the pain. The shock of it went up again but luckily it had dulled since his crew moved him to the taverns.
Bested by a woman…
He lifted his head and watched as the tavern regarded him with scorn. To hell with them if they saw his hook. That move with the bottle bloody hurt, his head was still screaming at him. His pride was well hurt as well and that's what mattered most.
After being smashed in the head with the bottle of whiskey, he saw her and a young boy run off together. No one in the village seemed to stop them. They were bloody helping them escape. He was also fairly certain he saw the dock clerk trip a few of his men on their chase after the pair. He sent his men after them with orders to not cause any more havoc than necessary. That also meant not barging through houses they weren't sure the woman and boy jumped into. This was a really delicate situation if this town had good relations with the Locksley fellow.
The doors burst open and the part of his crew that went after the woman and the boy stumbled in, sporting bruised arms, sprained ankles, and a few bloody noses.
"The hell did that woman do to you lot?" he growled.
"Not the woman captain," one said as he sat down, "the damned villagers."
"Aye, extremely nosey people or so close knit that they open all their bloody doors and windows at the right moments…"
Ahh, they were a well-known pair. Hook stored that information away and ordered a bottle of rum. It was rather irritating to smell like whiskey and not have a drop of any spirits in his body.
"No rum, sir, just whiskey," the plump woman said to him.
He grit his teeth and considered running his blade through this bloody town, again. "Then whiskey, if you please."
She tossed her head up and walked to the bar where a man glared in their direction.
"This isn't the curse of being a pirate, captain…"
"Aye, it's just bad luck you had to pull coins from a woman who has this town around her finger."
Hook's glare darted to all of them and they ducked their heads, mumbling apologies.
"If either of you know what's good for you, you'd best head back to the ship and pray I don't catch you loitering around." Their chairs scraped the floor as they trudged back to the docks, leaving the captain to ponder on the situation at hand.
Indeed, he might have caused a hindrance in the road by trying to steal from that woman. How the hell was she supposed to know she was well liked? The village was small and, more likely than not, close knit. Her purse was just so fat, although currently, there really was no need for him to snatch them. He had more than enough gold to live comfortably away from everything. But he was a pirate damnit, coin purses were eye-catchers. He was also telling her the truth, he really did have a debate with himself on if he should pull her to him or snatch the purse. She was slender, strong legs inside those trousers and her breasts spilled over her under bust corset. He never had a thing for blondes, but he certainly liked the sight that one gave him as she bartered with Smee. Then he spotted the daggers slipped into her boots and knew she wasn't a woman to trifle with.
Ooooh but he couldn't help himself. The purse was a better choice. As he dangled the purse in front of her, he saw fire in those green eyes that drew him in.
Better be careful next time I see that one…
Hook finally received his whiskey and moved his wet hair from his face.
There were other matters to go over. Like his invitation to Robin of Locksley for a drink and a game of cards.
"Cap'n."
"You'd better have a very good reason to be here and not the docks, Smee," Hook growled at Smee while he poured the whiskey down his throat.
"Information, Cap'n?"
Hook regarded the man who fiddled with his cap. The woman also stole a good pair of boots from them if he remembered past the receding headache. He gestured for Smee to continue.
"That woman… Her name's Emma. Emma Swan."
"Swan?" his brow wrinkled.
"Aye, Cap'n. She's a local. Her boy, his name in Henry. He's the heart of the town. Everyone smothers him."
"The father?"
"Doesn't seem to be one, sir."
"Shame… although she didn't seem to be the kind to be tied down in such a way," he chortled and nodded to Smee, "how did you come across this information? Jameson is having a rather difficult time gathering anything about the thieves in the castle."
"This town is tied closely to the thieves, Cap'n. We won't hear anything from them. I heard from the sea-traveling merchants. They're regulars to this town but the rules don't apply to them. They only seem to know Swan and her boy though. They weren't any help with Robin of Locksley or Mulan."
"Ah, a place to prove your worth, I see," Hook balanced the bottle on the edge of its bottom. "Well, Smee is that woman a local or a thief of Robin's?"
He watched Smee's adam's apple bob and started to give Smee a dark look.
"The merchants say she's a local. But the way she bartered with me, I'd say she knows a thing or two about fencing. Cap'n, there is something you should know…"
"If you feel that there is something worth my time Smee, just speak it instead of informing me that there's a detail that I'm missing."
"A-Aye… She mentioned that the people of this town have been selling the Dark One's possessions…" The opening of the bottle paused on Hooks lips. His teeth started to grind against each other as he slowly put the bottle back down.
"Smee…"
"Cap'n, that dagger could very well be long gone. In the hands of some other man."
Hook stared down at his appendage and twisted his arm ever so slightly to watch the light glint off the polished hook. What did Bae say… he drew his powers from the dagger…the dagger gave him his powers…
"I think that unlikely, Mr. Smee," Hook looked at his first mate, watching him stare back with a curious expression. "If another man were to have a hold of that dagger, do you really think those cells would hold Rumplestiltskin back? He answers to the call of his name, a summons. Imagine what he would do if he were to be called with his dagger in another man's hand. The magic would force him to show his face, enchanted cell or not."
"Cap'n, are you sure of that?"
Hook shrugged his shoulders and resumed his drinking. "No, Smee I'm not. But if Rumplestiltskin, a coward with a limp, gained his powers from a bloody dagger, I'd wager that another man could do just the same." He tapped his hand on the table. No, he was almost certain that no one else was in the possession of the Dark One's dagger. "Anyway to reach that castle?"
Smee nodded, "Aye Cap'n. It's a long trek, but there's rumors between the merchants that there's a back way. Much easier. But it's the thieves' path. If we travel that way we'd need to be careful to not kill anyone."
"Aye, too right Mr. Smee," Hook pinched the bridge of his nose. "If Robin is an honorable man, even roughly approaching his men would settle his judgment of us."
"It's not that long Cap'n, the ride to the castle."
"I'm not a man who's fond of land Smee, as you well know. I don't want to have to stay any longer than I have to."
"Sacrifices must be made to have your revenge, Cap'n," Smee whispered, trying to get him to see right.
Hook bit the inside of his lip. That was too true. Patience was a virtue. Even if he had done his fair share.
No need to rush things. He's not going anywhere. Hasn't been able to for twenty-eight years.
"Find us a few horses. And, if there is someone who can deliver messages to Robin." Hook gave Smee a look that seared through Smee and make him shiver. A smirk snaked onto Hook's lips as Smee nodded, understanding.
"Aye, Cap'n." And he left.
His hands rubbed the scruff of his face and he stared at the whiskey in his hand.
Emma Swan.
A tough lass. She held no fear of him in her eyes, regardless of his crew and his stature. She bled adventure and defiance. She was a woman he had only come across perhaps once or twice in his life.
Emma. Swan.
He smirked and drank from the bottle again. That sounded so much like a pirate's name.
"That. Was. Amazing."
Emma rolled her eyes at his son's enthusiasm.
"What was his face like? When I swung that stick!" Henry jumped on the balls of his feet, a toothy grin that reminded her too much of Neal.
"Painful kid, as it should be when you hit someone right there." Emma closed the iron door behind them and locked it, resetting the locking mechanism on the other side. You had to know how to pick a lock to get through the secret doors.
"We work great together, mom. I think we should be a team." Emma, though she cringed at the idea, smiled at her son. She grabbed his chin and held his face close to hers.
"We're already a team, kid. Trying to survive." She kissed his forehead and they started walking again, eye twitching as she rolled her shoulder to straighten up.
"Are you alright?"
"Fine," Emma lied, her shoulder was killing her, her body breaking out in a sweat as she was exerting her energy. "Just keep walking Henry."
"But—"
"Hey, try these on." She gave him the black boots and took one of the baskets from Henry so he could try on the shoes. More pain shot through her arm so she moved the basket to her left hand.
She watched as Henry shrugged off his ratty shoes and slipped the new ones on. He jumped in them, flexed, bent them and did a small walk around her. If they didn't fit she could always fence them off.
"They're a little loose. Only a little, but I'm still growing."
"Yeah, you are. Well I'm glad they fit. That guy want to sell them for three hundred gold coins." Emma pushed him towards the stairs that would lead them to the grand hall.
"Did you bring the price down?"
Emma smiled and looked at her son. He watched her with eyes full of adoration. "Of course I did, what do you take me for? He would've had his money too had that asshole not stolen my purse."
"Derek looked ready to stomp right over," Henry said, jumping over a broken stone and onto a thick table, still testing his new shoes. "I beat him too it."
"You are pretty fast, Henry," Emma placed the basket on the table and nodded to the doors that led to the kitchens. "Why don't you hand the baskets to Leo? I'm sure he'd like to start making some lunch."
Henry nodded and grabbed the two baskets, scurrying down the stairs. When she felt he was out of earshot she leaned over and breathed deeply, careful not to move her shoulder anymore. She reached up and touched the bandages, feeling a bit of the wetness. Something reopened or the cut got wider. She cursed her luck and went in search of Mulan.
It didn't take long. She entered the library on the second floor, where they held their more serious meetings, and found Robin and Mulan hunched over a marked map. She cleared her throat and they looked up.
"Emma, back so soon? The sun isn't even half way through the sky yet."
Emma shrugged, "ran into a few pirates who thought they could best a thief. Mulan, I might need stitches this time."
The warrior nodded and walked to the cabinets close to the windows.
Robin gave her a laughing smile. "Pirates? In the village?"
"You could imagine my surprise, too," Emma perched herself on the edge of the desk and nodded to the map. "What's going on?"
"Thinking of possible areas to move the refuges. The birds and Roland went out last night. If Regina plans to strike a deal with the ogres I might need to move some people around. Keep them safe from her clutches and still bring her down."
"What about her troops? Any idea where we might be able to hit them again?" Emma unfastened the strings of her shirt and slid it off the side of her shoulder to try and examine the damage.
"Regina has been altering her tracks as of late. From what we've gathered, most of our known previous locations have been empty handed for quite some time. We need to re-route alongside them… Emma, what happened?"
Emma started to unwrap the bandages and winced. "Fucking pirate. One of them tried to steal my coin purse. I asked for it back. Kindly, first, mind you. They started to taunt me. The main guy, tall, dark, got a piece of my mind when Henry swung a stick up his balls."
Robin winced but the laughing smile remained. "And how does that explain your bleeding?"
"Oh I wasn't finished," Emma assured him. She twisted her neck and peeled away the last of the bandage while Robin applied a wet cloth to the wound. "Smashed a really good bottle of whiskey over his head."
There was a sound coming from Mulan, who was returning with a curved needle, and a barking laugh from Robin. Mulan tried to bite back her smile as she held the needle over the flame of a candle.
"Salt to the wounds, my dear Emma. How did Henry…?"
"It was his first taste of adventure, Robin," Emma shook her head but smiled nonetheless. "He's already bouncing off the walls begging to be my partner."
"He's a good lad, Emma. He'd learn well from you."
Emma watched Robin who pulled the cloth away to allow Mulan to work. "I don't want him to learn anything from me. Other than to trust only himself."
Robin gave her a sad smile and moved her hair out of her face. "You don't only trust yourself, Emma. I'll admit, it was rather difficult to gain your trust in the beginning. But even you have to admit that trusting us was one of the best decisions you've made. Henry's alive. You're alive. And you're together."
He gripped her good shoulder and gave it a squeeze before taking his seat to resume reading and marking his maps.
It was true. She trusted them. She had to fight tooth and nail with herself to trust them. But that didn't mean it was going to be easier for anyone else. Henry…Henry was still a boy who trusted easily. He, like Mulan liked to say, saw and believed the good in everyone. She bowed her head and reached for the necklace on her throat.
She felt the beak and tail feathers of the silver swan Neal gave her so long ago. It was… still hard. Robin and his Merry Men earned her trust by saving her son from a rivaling group of bandits that kidnapped Henry when he was still just learning how to form proper sentences. Before that she kept to herself, hiding in her room, playing with her son, only emerging when Robin needed a job done and she was the best one for it. She felt she was only able to trust Mulan who, from what she was able to gather through her intuition, never lied to Emma, and kept true to her promises.
"How many ships today Emma?" Mulan asked to break the silence.
Emma let go of the small pendent. "Ten, maybe eleven. I was looking for shoes for Henry so I didn't really keep track." Robin sighed.
"A good thief—"
"Always takes everything in, I know Robin. I'm just…losing my mind with Henry."
Robin looked up at her again, that understanding smile back again. Robin raised Roland without his mother, the same way Henry was being raised, with a single parent, but many other figures. The only difference was that Robin wanted Roland to know the tools of the trade, Emma wanted something else for her son.
"He's still young Emma, there's still time."
"Time for what?" she hissed. "I can't go anywhere to find honorable work. I don't necessarily know how to do that. I can't pay his way through a proper education or life no matter how many raids I pull through."
"Emma, if there's one thing I know about us, it's that we are doing honorable work. I'm not so sure you've noticed it yet..." Emma rolled her eyes.
"Sure, Robin, people hire thieves to bring down the bridges and torch the wagons of our corrupt queen."
Robin chuckled. "Why do you think we have so many run-ins with the black masks of Regina?"
Emma's brow furrowed. She shrugged her shoulders and threw her good hand in the air. "They're not common people? We don't steal from common people…They have bigger loads? They'll leave us alone? You just said they're re-routing to find safer ways to bring supplies back to Regina!"
"Emma. Queen Snow White and I used to grace wanted posters together. When we were both still rather young, running across each other's paths every now and then," Robin stood and walked around the desk to stare her dead on, he crossed his arms and had an odd expression on his face. "We've saved each other's lives several times; she saved Roland's once. And when she became Queen, I secretly vowed allegiance to her and her King, for who would ever expect, or believe, thieves to side with royals? Regina has been after my skin, tormenting people I cared for, for so long I saw no reason to not join Snow and Charming's brigade. I made a deal with them. I gladly, destroy her couriers and remove her supply wagons, they let me keep the spoils. What're we're doing, is in fact honorable."
"Robin," Emma began and then lost her words. They were helping Queen Snow White? "Your allegiance to her doesn't change the fact that I can't get Henry to a better place than this."
Her leader smiled and he reached behind him. He produced a small box from the drawers that held several small notes and held out a sealed letter. "I wrote to Snow White when you started to show your concern. She'll be willing to foster Henry for you."
Emma's jaw slackened. Well… that wasn't something she thought of. A stranger, another woman fostering her son. Raising him. Emma clenched her jaw shut and shook her head.
"Henry's a smart boy. He's bright, charming, and lovable. He learns fast just like you as well. He would live comfortably in the palace, surrounded by children his age. He would learn how to be a gentleman, how to think like a thief and fight like a knight at the same time." Emma started to reach for the letter only to have Robin slowly pull it back. "But Emma, you can't go with him…"
Something flashed in front of Emma's eyes and she suddenly became aware of the numbness of her shoulder and the needle piercing the edges of her broke skin. She knew it…It was too good to be true. "Robin…"
"Emma, with our allegiance to the Charmings, how we run things, it's more than likely that Regina has an image of us floating somewhere around that dark castle of hers. All of us. Except for Henry. I can't risk you travelling on land to the Charmings' castle with Henry in tow. If he travelled with perhaps one of the newer recruits he could possibly make way to the castle safely."
"What the hell do you care about my safety, you're not my father," she hissed reaching for the letter again, with the little movement she was allowed to make with Mulan still pricking her skin.
"I'm the closest you've ever had," Robin's face went grim, still holding the letter captive and out of Emma's reach. "I agree, Emma, about Henry. Life of a thief would destroy the son we all know and love. But he still thirsts for adventure. Life with the Charmings will give him that and more. But you can't stay with him, Emma. You would need to leave him be with the Charmings."
"Robin, give me that letter." She hissed. As much as she hated the idea of leaving her so alone with some strangers, it was the life she wanted for Henry.
Robin regarded her. The fun, loving man gone from his face. He was being very serious. As he always was when he was dealing with the life of his family. Slowly, he brought the letter down from his head. She grasped it, but he did not let it go.
"You cannot go with him, Emma."
"I need a better reason than what you gave me."
Mulan muttered that she was finished and Emma jumped to her feet, staring Robin in the eye.
Robin leaned forward, until their faces were just inches apart. Emma kept control of her breathing while he tried to stare her down.
"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you," he whispered.
"I—"
"Hey, mom!"
Robin straightened and ripped the letter from her hand as Henry's voice bounced against the walls, holding it behind his back. Emma frowned, realizing she tensed at Henry's approach.
"Ahh," Robin started, his smile back where it belonged. "There's the lad. Took down a pirate today I heard?"
Henry's eye widened and he looked to his mother, "I defeated a pirate? Mom why didn't you say anything!"
"It wasn't a need to know basis, kid," she glanced at Robin who seemed to be ignoring her.
He reached for the box again and put the letter away, closing it with a soft 'snap'. She huffed. Fine. She'll get that letter.
Eventually.
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