Emma watched Killian's tall dark figure standing on the dock become smaller and smaller as the Grinder made its way down the river. A warm feeling blossomed in her chest when she heard him proffer his assistance towards her cause. She wouldn't allow it because it would be too dangerous for him to follow on the Jolly Roger and battle against the Evil Queen. Her decision to leave Killian behind was also so she wouldn't have any distractions. Her mind was firmly planted towards vanquishing the Evil Queen.
She assembled the troops to create a battle plan that could get them into the castle. The captain of the guard offered his valuable military tactics and Emma drew a map of the Enchanted Forest and the layout of the castle. Together they assembled a plan that hopefully would work without too much loss of life.
It was under cover of darkness that the Grinder sailed into the nearest port of call that wouldn't sound the alarm of the castle. Emma and Elsa's troops disembarked and slowly made their way through the Enchanted Forest. Some of the troops split up knowing the job they needed to do.
Emma boldly went through the front gates of the castle, shooting magic out of her hands, stunning the sentries and other guards that were part of the Evil Queen's mercenary army. Emma's plan was to draw the Evil Queen's attention so that the troops can deal with the hired soldiers. When Emma stepped into the courtyard, she saw that her mother was tied to a stake ready to be set on fire while her father was forced on his knees to watch her execution.
As soon as Emma saw that her anger reached boiling point and she spew all her rage at Regina. Regina was blasted back by her magic and bounced off the wall of the castle. Emma waved her hand and threw the soldiers off her father. He was free to grab a dropped sword on the ground to run and save his wife. He quickly cut her bindings and carried her away.
Once Regina got her wind back in her lungs, she circled and stalked Emma.
"So the little girl thinks she can play with the big girls," Regina taunted Emma.
"Go ahead, underestimate me. It'll be the last thing you do," Emma blasted Regina with her magic trying to get Regina away from the castle so no errant blasts would harm anyone in the castle.
Regina put up a shield trying to push her magic back and spotted a cart full of hay to throw it at Emma. Emma ran out of the way of the oncoming cart which gave Regina the opportunity to shoot a fireball towards her. Emma saw water in a trestle and lifted the water with her magic and threw it at the fireball. Emma realized she needed to run out of the castle courtyard to lure Regina away from the castle. Finally, when she got to a big field she turned and the full battle began. Regina conjured knives, axes, fireballs, anything she could think of to kill Emma, but Emma conjured maces, daggers and wind to fight against Regina's weapons.
Anyone who witnessed the fight knew they would never see the same spectacle again. This was the showdown to beat all showdowns. Regina in desperation conjured a huge dragon made of fire which really sapped her energy. Emma's terror grew as the dragon flew towards her breathing fire so she conjured up a tornado to take care of the dragon. Both displays of magic weakened the other, but Emma soldiered on. Emma decided to use the water well to her advantage and whisked gallons and gallons of water towards Regina in an attempt to drown her while Regina turned the water to steam in an attempt to burn Emma in which she used the tornado to whisk the steam away.
Neither woman was going to back down nor did neither woman realize they were slowly headed toward a cliff. Regina was the first one to be aware of how close the cliff was and was determined to blast Emma off it to fall to her death. This gave Regina renewed steam and she exerted magical force on Emma towards the cliff while Emma held her off with an invisible shield. Emma realized how close she was towards the edge and grew scared. She pushed back with all her might using a lot of her energy to force Regina back. Emma was able to move her a few feet back but by the time Regina gave out so did Emma. They both fell on the ground breathing hard and exhausted.
Regina having practiced magic a lot longer than Emma had recovered faster and stood up to raise her hand to give Emma the last death blow. Emma stared at the fireball that was forming in Regina's hand. She was too weak to ward it off and was prepared for her life to finally be snuffed out. As Regina drew back her arm to hurl the fireball at Emma, the sound of cannon fire was heard and a cannon ball sailed straight at Regina. She had a split second to get out of the way before the round heavy metal projectile hit her. When it landed, it sent up a shower of dirt from the ground that knocked Regina away and caused her to momentarily be blinded. Regina coughed from inhaling a cloud of soil and smoke.
This gave Emma enough time to regain her energy and conjure a metal strap that she shot towards Regina and wrapped around her arms and torso. Emma wanted to deal a death strike at Regina, but she heard her mother's words in her head about being merciful. She paused to think about it, Regina had been dealt mercy before and she still kept attacking her family. This was not a time for mercy; it was time to end everything. She conjured a sword in her hand and was about to strike at Regina, but Regina had just enough energy to teleport herself away from there.
Emma couldn't believe it. She had a chance to finally get rid of the witch and she lost it. She slumped down in a state of weakness and relief that she had survived. She looked across the cliff to see who shot the cannon ball at Regina and she saw the sails of the Jolly Roger. Her heart leapt when she realized Captain Jones had followed and helped save her.
A crowd from the castle had gathered at the edge of the field to watch the biggest magic fight of their lives. When Snow and Prince Charming broke through the crowd, they spotted their daughter kneeling in the field and gave a cry. They rushed towards her thinking the worst but they found Emma alive, breathing and exhausted. They took turns hugging and kissing her until Emma was able to get her breathing under control and some of her strength back. Charming helped get her to her feet but she was still trembling with nerves.
Emma started getting congratulations from the crowd that had freed them from the overbearing rule of the Evil Queen. Emma's strength slowly started getting back to her and she was able to smile at the cheers and the happiness that poured forth from the castle folk. She was able to make it on her own feet towards the castle where she rested further.
Hearing the clanging of swords and shouts, Emma realized it was not over. There was still Regina's mercenary army that needed to be defeated. Charming took up his sword and went into the fray. Snow ran to get her bow and arrow to help her husband fight back the intruding army. It was their fight now.
Some guards were able to stay with Emma in her weakened state in case any errant soldier-for-hire was to attack her. Charming did what he did best and took down one opponent after another, hacking and swinging his way across the sea of mercenaries. After much fighting, eventually Regina's army surrendered their arms since they looked around and saw many of their comrades down. They knew they wouldn't have a chance to win the battle. Charming and Snow were triumphant in bringing the castle back once again under their rule. The crowd cheered and hoisted King and Queen on their shoulders. Emma was also hoisted on their shoulders for defeating the Evil Queen but she knew it was only short term.
Once the news of the takedown of the Evil Queen filtered onto the villages and streets of the Enchanted Forest, everyone was celebrating. Captain Killian Jones docked the Jolly Roger at the port. He was anxious to hear the news of the outcome of the fight. He only saw Regina disappear and Emma slump down after he aimed the cannon at Regina. He didn't know the final outcome of the fight. He cursed himself for not being able to take Regina's head off. Besides saving Emma, he felt satisfaction in trying to take down an evil and corrupt ruler like Regina.
Killian started hearing from the village people the news that filtered down from the castle that the Evil Queen was defeated by Emma and the king and queen have taken control of the castle and kingdom. He was happy to hear that and decided to start celebrating with a bottle of rum. Despite coming to her aid, uncertainty festered in his brain, he wasn't sure if he was welcome by her side. He concluded that she would want to be back with her family for the time being and decided to wait for Emma to come to him, if she were to come to him that is. He knew that the Jolly Roger was visible from the castle and that she would know he was there if she wanted to come thank him for aiding her.
As he looked around for Graham, Killian saw that he had disappeared into the festivities. He hoped Emma didn't welcome Graham into her arms. He still was unsure of how Emma felt about him despite the two overwhelmingly, passionate kisses they shared. The fact that she was a princess also put a damper on his spirits. Princesses usually wanted to be with princes and not with pirates. His heart ached as he pictured Emma with some simpering ponce of a prince. Surely a woman as vibrant as Emma wants more out of life than being a spoiled, coddled princess locked in a golden cage, she could use some adventure with a handsome rogue such as him, he thought.
Killian continued to battle with his insecurities as he had his own private celebration with his bottle of rum sitting on the deck of his ship. The rest of his crew filled into the taverns to enjoy the celebration, even if it wasn't their kingdom. They all knew the part the Jolly Roger and their captain played in the victory. Even though they were pirates, they celebrated anyway getting caught up in the moment and of course, they would take any excuse to drink and be merry.
Emma was so tired from the battle that she fell asleep for an hour needing to recharge her energies. She had no idea she would be this exhausted but apparently there was a limit on how much magic she could discharge. She would have to remember that if she were to battle Regina again. When she awoke in her own bedroom, she was relieved to be around all her familiar things. She needed to find out what happened to the rest of her family, her baby brother Neal, Red and Granny.
When she arrived in the main hall, she was welcomed by her mother and father who had already dispatched a courier to retrieve their young son, the prince, and close friends of the family, Red and Granny. They also sent word to their other friends the dwarves, fairies, and others to tell them it is safe to come back to the castle. Emma hoped they were all safe and that Regina or her army didn't find them.
Emma saw the Jolly Roger from the window of the castle and she knew she needed to thank the Captain and his crew for helping her. She told her parents what happened near the cliff and how she almost perished if it wasn't for the pirates.
"Pirates!" Charming exclaimed. "How did pirates come into the equation?"
Emma wasn't sure how much of the story she should tell so she gave him an edited version, "Pirates escorted me to Arendelle where I got assistance from Elsa.
"I saw the colors they wore on their armor belonged to Arendelle," Charming noted. "I'm glad you went to Elsa."
"They didn't ask for gold in return for their aid?" Snow asked.
"Just for getting me to Arendelle. Shooting a cannon at Regina is what I owe them gratitude for," Emma answered. "
"Well, pirates being helpful is a new one," Charming stated.
Emma said. "I better go."
"You can't go to a bunch of pirates all by yourself, Emma," Charming said as a concerned parent.
"Father, I just trounced the Evil Queen," Emma pointed out. "I think I can handle myself."
Emma turned and left while Snow and Charming looked after her with concern.
Emma ran towards the dock where the Jolly Roger made berth, slowing down to a jog because she didn't want to be all sweaty and breathless when she got there. The closer she got, the more nervous she got. Her heart fluttered in anticipation of seeing Captain Jones. She plunged headlong across the gangway to spot Captain Killian Jones leisurely sitting on a barrel on the deck with his legs stretched out and crossed, drinking from a bottle of rum. He was too handsome for words.
As soon as Killian's gaze alighted on Emma walking towards him, he couldn't help but smile, "Princess Emma, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
Seeing her board his ship filled his empty heart with joy.
"I wanted to thank you for helping me on the cliff," Emma said "If it wasn't for you I might have been barbecued by a fireball so thank you."
"I always said you would be a tasty morsel," Killian said while wetting his lips. "Remember, pirate's code."
Emma looked at him with doubt, "Is there really a pirate's code that says once you save a person's life you are indebted to them until they return the favor?"
Killian smiled when she recited his words back to her, "It's part of my code, princess, and I am a pirate."
"Well, then, I guess you've paid your debt to me."
"Perhaps, some gratitude may be in order," Killian said cheekily pointing to his lips.
Emma smiled, knowing exactly how he wanted her to express her gratitude but she continued to pretend to not know what he meant.
"Yeah, that's what the thank you was for."
"Surely, there are more imaginably enjoyable ways of showing a man your appreciation?" Killian said standing up and moving closer to her.
Emma no longer had the old excuses to act as walls to throw up to prevent her from enjoying this man, other than her worry that he would steal her heart. He was a pirate after all. She stepped closer to him which Killian took as a sign of encouragement and took hope in her wistful, radiant look.
If you have been following the T-rated version, the story ends here with Emma developing a relationship with Captain Killian Jones. He decides he wants to give up being a pirate and joins Charming and Snow's royal navy so that he can court and marry the beautiful Princess Emma. Graham doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell because Killian has way more sexual appeal.
I'm changing the next chapter to an M-rating. My muse has been giving me some ideas that want me to change the direction of the story. The story continues…