"Come on, Jim. We're nearly home. Cheer up!" Red slapped her first mate on the back good-naturedly, guiding the ship's wheel with her other hand.

"Gepetto is not going to be pleased that we lost the ship. He spent a lot of time making those modifications, Red." Jiminy answered, and Red rolled her eyes.

"Would he be happier if we were all dead? Because that was our other choice. We had to abandon ship." She reasoned to her more conscientious crewman, she hadn't been pleased to leave her ship, but she had a feeling she'd see the Mangy Wolf again; Hook's obsessive personality was part of the reason she'd decided to take his ship.

"I suppose not… still, I'll be happier when we're back home. Something about that chest in the hold is giving me a bad feeling. I'll be glad when we can give it to Queen Snow." Red had felt the same thing when she'd taken a good look at the chest; the only thing Hook and his crew had bothered to take back when they'd boarded the ship… aside from Hook's coat, but that was personal. The chest wasn't.

She knew it was magical, but beyond that, her expertise was limited. No one could get it open, not that anyone had tried very hard. Like Jiminy said… a darkness lingered over it, something foreboding that had made her skin crawl just to look at it. She'd be happy once she could unload the thing in Queen Snow's lap; let her decide what to do with the thing, and Red could kick back in the tavern and enjoy a couple of pints.

They reached port later that day, and while the crew were excited to get some shore leave, she and a few of the men set off for the castle to deliver the mysterious chest. Needless to say, the petite queen was none too pleased.

"This is all your exploits have brought?" Clad in the color of her namesake, Snow paced around the chest curiously. "I must say, I expected more returns on my investment when I enlisted your services, Red."

"We ran into some… unforeseen complications. Not to worry Snow, I expect to make up the difference shortly. Just thought you might want to keep an eye on that; Regina seemed quite keen to get her hands on it." Red tossed her curls back over her shoulder casually, her eyes following the Queen's progress back to her lavish, silk-draped throne.

"Hmm… I'll have Rumplestiltskin take a look." Snow nodded as she took a seat on her throne, gesturing for a few guardsmen to take the chest to the wizard's tower. Rumplestiltskin had once been an enemy of the crown, but after a few favors that had gotten him on the queen's good side, he now enjoyed a position of power in the kingdom. He still gave Red the wiggins, but as long as he kept to his tower, she didn't have to deal with him, so she supposed it didn't really matter. Red breathed a silent sigh of relief as the chest was removed, glad to see the last of it. "Now… what's this Jiminy tells me about you and a certain pirate… a Captain Hook?"

Red bit the inside of her cheek, bloody traitor. She should have just let him stay a cricket until the end of his days! "We stole his ship. No more to it than that."

"That's not what Jiminy tells me." Snow gave her a knowing look, and Red rolled her eyes.

"We've had a couple of run-ins, what can I say? He's an easy mark." Red shrugged off her concerns easily enough.

"Well… I'll take your word for it. Just be careful. Rumple tells me that man's trouble; I'd rather not have you caught up in whatever his scheme is." Red smirked, getting to her feet.

"Aw, your majesty, it's so sweet of you to care about my well-being." She curtseyed deeply before the queen, turning to take her leave. "Reminds me of that sweet young thing I found stealing eggs, all those years ago-"

"Don't make me regret it, Red." Red chuckled, sweeping out of the room with her crewmates in tow.

"Now, lads… let's find a tavern, shall we?"

Finding a tavern to while away the hours until sunset wasn't difficult, and by the time Red and those of her crew that were still staggering made their way back to the ship, the moon was high in the sky overhead, the stars twinkling merrily down on them. Climbing up the gangplank, it did strike Red as somewhat odd that no one was awake and guarding the ship, but she was too eager for the soft embrace of sleep, her judgement clouded by alcohol, that she didn't think on it as long as she should have. She pushed open her cabin –or rather, Hook's cabin, since they were still aboard the Jolly Roger for the time being—blinking at the candle lit inside. Had she forgotten to blow it out?

The cabin door shut with a bang and she jumped, the sound of metal scraping signaling the latch sliding into place. She whirled, her ears perking up at the sound of her men shouting beyond the door, but her eyes landed on a figure in the shadows instead, curved metal glinting in the candlelight.

"Hook," she was already reaching for her cutlass, but her reflexes were slow from ale, and the pirate had no trouble disarming her.

"Please, Lady Red. Call me Killian," his words were polite, but there was venom in his voice as he threw her sword to the floor with a clatter, advancing towards her. She stood her ground, looking up into his eyes defiantly as he drew near.

"I already told you, I'm hardly a lady." She growled in response, taking a step towards him, she brought her foot down hard over his own, and he grunted in pain, pushing her back. She stumbled back against the hull, her eyes flashing gold dangerously.

"I'm starting to understand that." He spoke through clenched teeth as he followed her, pressing his hook into the side of her throat. She froze at the touch of the steel, and he smirked cruelly, his eyes dropping to her gaping neckline as his hand groped at the fabric hanging around her hips. "You have no idea the things I've thought about doing to you in this room… and now that you're here I can hardly decide what to do first."

She inhaled sharply, her eyes tracing the curve of his hook digging painfully into her neck up to his face. "Oh, I'm sure you've thought long and hard about it, Killian." She taunted, a laugh in her tone as she rubbed her knee against the inside of his thigh, leaning in towards him-

"I don't think so, love." He shook his head, grabbing hold of her knee and pushing it down before she had a chance to do anything he'd really regret. She laughed, and he pulled her close, leaning down to capture her lips with his own. He trailed his fingers down her arm, and she reached for his hand, but then she felt metal against her wrist, and a sharp click. She pulled back, looking down to see a manacle locked in place around her wrist, bolted into the floor of the cabin. "Not taking any chances this time, darling."