Broken Crown Chapter 2 – Tempt Me

Hello again friends! Just one day since I posted the first chapter, but I haven't made neither of them very long, I find it quite hard to write very long stuff. I think five people have followed this story right now and it makes me so happy. If anyone would review I'd neary shit my pants of how happy I'd be.

I do not own Once Upon A Time or any of the characters I've used. The lyrics and the story title comes from the song "Broken Crown" by Mumford and sons which you should totally check out if you're reading this!

I'll be home, safe and tucked away
You can't tempt me if I don't see the day

It had been a time now, a time since she got out of jail. Emma was completely, utterly broken to pieces. The numbness had taken over and most days she just wandered around what she called her home, a small cave in the woods next to the village where she was "brought up", well at least where she had been running around as a kid.

To live in a cave felt so… Odd, but it was the closest thing to a home Emma had ever had. When she had Neal he had been a kind of home but Neal had... Let her down. Thinking his name sent pain down her body and Emma sat down again on the ground of the cave. It all felt so black. She didn't know if Neal still was out there but she hid away here, where he couldn't find her. She didn't really know what would be worse, him searching for her or if he didn't.

She had felt like killing herself, but she had to admit that couldn't. She wanted to se the world, she really did. She didn't want to hide away forever.

It was still early in the morning when Emma Swan arrived to the port, ready for her adventure. She was determined where she wanted to go, The Enchanted Forest. She hadn't heard that very much about that place but her sudden wanderlust screamed at her to go there. The fact that she'd heard nothing about it before actually made it more attractive. Running away was her best option.

The morning was foggy and a bit cold but there were sailors a little all around working on their boats. Emma stopped and looked around, trying to find the boat, or ship, she was going on. There was one ship that stood out, a big one and even if Emma knew nothing about ships, she could tell that this one was a pretty one. Her eyes started to wander around the big ship and found some planks that were sticking out on the back. She put them to her mind as they could be useful in the future.

"Emma! So you came at last to join us!"

Emma heard the voice she recognised as Hook's, his Irish accent standing out, calling on her from… Where was he?

Of course he was on one of the tall… whatever they were called. Hearing his voice made it all a lot more real and suddenly she felt her heart rush a bit. Was she really going to do this? Of course, she had made her way through life before, playing people to get where and what she wanted because of her always thinking the worst of people, never expecting anyone to do anything for her, but this was special. Never before had she tried to get a pirate to do as she wanted and judging from what she knew about this one he seemed to be pretty clever but, as usually, she was probably smarter. Also, he was very full of himself.

Emma took her small bag over her shoulder and continued to walk to the ship, still with her heart pounding.

Hook had came down from his place and he walked impatiently to her with an annoyed look on his face but when he saw her he smiled a big, confident smile. This man, he knew he looked good and was charming and that annoyed the crap out of Emma, but playing her simple role she smiled back, trying not to look like what she felt.

"Welcome to the Jolly Roger," he said and swept proudly his hook over the ship. Hook held out his… hook, offering to take care of her bag. Ignoring the hook Emma walked up on the big ship. "Roger?" she said, "Isn't it a her?" Of course she couldn't keep her tongue in check, damn you Emma.

Hook looked a bit amused by her question but answered shortly

"The Jolly Roger is just a name." He winked at her and turned around.

"All men aboard! We're heading out!" A crew of six, maybe seven sailors (or maybe she should call them pirates) started running and screaming things Emma didn't understand to each other. It was quite the sight, seeing them work as one, when Hook headed to the ship's wheel and waving to Emma to follow him.

A little awkwardly she followed him to the big wheel and ended up just standing there as he shouted out instructions and spun the wheel.

"So where are we going?" she asked, hoping for the best when the instructions didn't come quite as often.

"The Enchanted Forest." He answered and something lit up in his eyes as he said the name. He shot her a look before returning to his work and Emma couldn't help but catch something in those blue eyes of his.

So they were going to the enchanted forest… Emma felt revealed, she could be tough but if the pirate had told her another name she wouldn't have had much to set up against him, that she was sure of.

When they had reached the big open sea Hook yelled out some new instructions and the men ran around for a while until everything was quiet aboard the ship again. Emma, who still stood next to the wheel, was looking out over the ocean.

"Lass, come here and I'll show you the way to where you're bed is. Unless you want to sleep in mine instead," Hook smirked as Emma walked past him, ignoring what he just said.

Hook led the way down to the little hut, where the men slept.

"Nothing is like home, aye?" He asked her teasingly when he saw the look on her face.

"There is no place for me," she said and looked at him with an annoyed look.

"Love, you're going to work for me and this is where the crew sleeps. But, if you're a good girl I may let you sleep with me."

Emma looked at Hook with a 'you-really-want-to-do-this'-look on her face.

"Rather not," she said as she dropped her bag on the floor.

"Oh, you're just in denial, darling."

Hook turned around, dramatically as usually and walked out of the hut onto the ship again. He was such a dramaqueen.

The days passed on and Emma tried to keep on a good face while scrubbing the floors and jumping around the mast of the ship doing stuff she never imagined she'd be able to do. Hook was really a pain in the ass but he had left her alone pretty much since her arrival. Her plans had started to grow in her head and she told herself everything she would do once this ship reached the coast of… the enchanted forest.

She felt really relieved at being on this ship actually, she felt kind of free for the first time in her life.

Three days after the beginning of the journey she lay on the floor of the hut, trying to sleep. Her eyes were closed but it was pretty hard to fall asleep on the floor of a rocking ship even if she was exhausted after a day of work. Probably thinking she was sleeping she could hear whispers in the hut.

"Is she really the saviour?" one voice asked but the only answers the voice got was a bunch of "hush"-es and one said,

"Don't say a thing. The captain said that she couldn't know."

Emma froze. She had to keep on trying to look like she slept but it was hard when her whole system started to malfunction. What was this? Did Hook really… Did he really think she was the saviour? The one who was the daughter of, Emma could barely think it, Snow White and Prince Charming?

Now she finally understood why there hadn't been any piracy onboard, he really did think she was the… saviour. It all started to make sense now, why he had asked her to join him on the ship in the first place.

Emma wanted to laugh at his face, she, the saviour? She had grown up all alone, an orphan trying to pass through life. Some way she had succeeded at staying alive, but she pretty much owed her life to the other children of the streets where she had lived.

So he thought that she was the saviour? This should be interesting.

Emma felt as if she was the one on top, one step ahead of the captain. He just couldn't find out that she wasn't the saviour.

This would make it harder to run away later, he would probably want something from the saviour so she thanked the pirate, who had whispered in the dark, quietly in her head now forming new plans.

Hook sat on the deck of the ship, watching the stars. The stars were one of the few things he really appreciated here in life but tonight there were no stars on his mind. He had revenge on his mind, as always. Finally, he had found a way to get to the crocodile. Rumplestiltskin had for long now been… away you could call it. He had been cursed, really, and there had been no way to break it until now. Until Emma. Hook had the very key to breaking this bloody curse that lay over the enchanted forest as a thick and soft blanket.

One day the whole kingdom just froze and ever since then time had stood still there. The curse itself was a mystery and no one Hook knew had known who had cast it. Maybe something had went wrong, Hook wasn't sure. He had no idea how the princess had gotten out of that place but she had and now he could free the kingdom and finally kill the crocodile and then maybe, he could find peace at last.

At least, peace was what Hook wished for but there was a small part of him that always questioned him if he would get peace after that bloody Rumplestiltskin was dead. That small part of him knew that maybe his own life was in danger, that this really just was a suicide mission but hell, he had dedicated his life to something, aye?

Hook chuckled to himself as he sat there, all by himself. There was something funny in the death of the crocodile, something really bloody funny.

So that was the second chapter!