Tales of the Mangy Wolf and her exploits reached port before the Jolly Roger did, and when Hook's ship limped to the docks, they were greeted by jeers and taunts from sailors and dock workers alike. It was…less than ideal, but at least it afforded his men the opportunity to relief some stress as they took out their anger on those fools who dared to make a mockery of Captain Hook and his crew. But in the time it took to repair the ship and resupply, several more ships came to port in much the same condition, all of them ships bound for the Wicked Queen's kingdom. Apparently, Queen Snow's little terror wasn't taking her job lightly. The stories were always much the same.
"…and then she took my treasured sapphire earring!" One man finished his tale of his harrowing encounter with the Mangy Wolf at the next table over, pointing to the empty hole in his ear as proof, and Killian leaned back in his chair, feet propped up on the table casually.
"Let me guess, then she 'compensated' you for the loss with a kiss?" He interjected, recalling his own experience with little enthusiasm. But the man didn't answer, and when Killian glanced back towards him, it was to meet a baffled gaze.
"I should think not! As if I'd want that…harpy's taste on me!" Hook smiled slightly, intrigued by this information, his enthusiasm suddenly rekindled.
"Bit more like a siren, I'd say…." He murmured under his breath, taking a long draught from his tankard of ale and trying not to let his mind linger too long on the memory of her taste.
Fortunately, her exploits made her much easier to track down, and by the time repairs on the ship had been completed, Killian had a good idea where he ought to look for his little queen. His men didn't even bother trying to talk him out of it; they knew all too well that when Killian Jones wanted revenge, he always got it.
Approaching her ship under the cover of darkness, Killian took a longboat and several men to board in the dead of night. Caught unawares, the men who were on watch were easily dispatched, and Killian slipped into the captain's cabin unchallenged.
It was dark inside, but a sliver of moonlight shone through an open porthole, illuminating the sleeping captain in her bed, glinting off her dark curls splayed out over her pillow, and his gaze traveled over the exposed skin of her face and neck, silvery in the moonlight, and down to the swell of her breasts hidden beneath the blankets. His mind flashed back to another dark haired beauty he used to admire in her sleep…but this wasn't the time for those thoughts. His eyes traced the curve of her body, barely concealed and tantalizingly close, Killian didn't even notice he was moving closer until he was standing over her, pausing when he saw his prized coat draped over the bedpost. He smirked, but glancing back towards her, there was something else he wanted more. Forcing his eyes away from her, he continued searching the cabin until he found it…her jewellery box.
Draped with chains of gold and silver, pearls and gems and massive rings filled the ornate box, but Killian had no trouble finding the large sapphire earring. Palming it, he left something else in its place with a grin. He turned back to the sleeping pirate, only to find himself staring down the pointy end of a sword.
"Find what you're looking for, Hook?" She clutched the bed sheet to her chest with one hand, slowly getting to her feet without ever lowering her sword. "I think you'll find several pieces in there that would bring out your eyes."
Holding up both hands, he showed her the sapphire earring he'd taken. "I've developed a partiality to this one, actually," before he tossed it out the open porthole behind her, "but if I can't have it, no one will." He used her moment of distraction as she flinched at the jewel flying past her face to his advantage and lunged forward to seize her wrist, twisting it until she gasped and dropped the sword with a clatter. He pulled her to his chest, resting his hook against the nape of her neck in an unspoken threat, he captured her lips with her own, kissing her fiercely. It felt good, her warmth pressed up against him with only a sheet to separate them, so soft and smooth under his wandering hand. She leaned into him and he tightened his hold, until he felt her hand fumbling around the hilt of his sword at his belt. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who didn't like to give up.
He pushed her back, and she fell back onto the bed, glaring up at him from under her thick eyelashes while she wet her lips with her tongue. "I thought you might like that back, since I'm taking this back." He told her with a cocky grin, reaching out to grab his coat off the bedpost, he pulled it on while he backed toward the door.
"How thoughtful of you," she growled dangerously, eyes locked on the one-handed pirate as he smirked arrogantly and bowed out of the room.
Back on the deck, he whistled and his men knew it was time to make a hasty retreat, and by the time he heard her yelling for men who had already been knocked out, they were back in the long boat and headed back to the Jolly Roger. By the time she roused her sleeping men, they'd be back on board and speeding away before she even had a chance to weigh anchor. "You boys find what we were looking for?"
"Aye, Cap'n. We got it back." One of his men answered, tapping a locked wooden chest with a grin. "You get what you wanted?"
He did have his coat back…but looking back towards the ship, his eyes lit up when he saw her leaning on the railing of the ship, backlit by the moon so he could only make out her silhouette, but as he watched, she lifted her arm and waved at him, wiggling her fingers goodbye. He grinned. "Not yet, lads, but I have a feeling I'll get another chance."
As the longboat disappeared into the night, Ruby dropped her hand, frowning, and then she turned to one of the men who was now rushing around the deck. "Figure out what they took… and round up the men that were supposed to be on watch. Their inattentiveness could have cost us all our lives." She barked at her first mate, before she headed back to her cabin to decide exactly what to do with her men.
Lighting a candle to see by, her eyes caught on a flicker of red, and she paused next to her jewellery box. A smile tugged her lips up when she saw, in place of the sapphire earring Killian had tossed out the window earlier, a ruby drop glittered in the warm light, and she picked it up to examine it in the light. She always had preferred red, she thought, her smile spreading infectiously before she hooked it into her ear. She and Killian Jones were far from done.