As soon as Emma got over hearing Regina's evil cackle, she struggled to free herself from Lord Le Bossu's grasp. She detested touching his cold, hard form. Regardless she put her hands on his chest to push him away. He caught both her wrist and she struggled against him.

"You need to know something that would put your mind at ease," Lord Le Bossu pleaded.

"What would ease my mind is if you let me go," Emma yelled. She tried to knee him in the groin but he was amazingly swift at avoiding the blow as if he expected it.

She wondered how many women he had ensnared to have struggled and tried to immobilize him that way. He must have experience in avoiding that pain. He quickly outmaneuvered her until she was in a bear hug in his arms. Now her position was even worse. She tried to elbow him and step on his foot but he deftly avoided that too. He was rather swift for a cripple.

"I'll let you go, if you promise not to run," he said continuing to struggle with her.

"Fine," Emma said but ready to jump at a moment's notice. He let his hold loosen on her and turned her around to face him.

He held a finger up for her to be quiet. He then slowly raised his leather helm from his head. She had braced herself to find a horribly, disfigured person, but instead she experienced another kind of shock.

She mouthed his name, "Killian."

Her eyes started to water. She was so overcome with emotion and relief that he came after her, that he was standing in front of her. His face softened when he saw her start to cry. He took her into his arms in a warm embrace, stroking the back of her head to soothe her. She stood there and let him comfort her as she let out a shuddering sob. Her arms came up to clasp him to her, not wanting him to let go.

They stood there for a while just absorbing each other's presence. Emma didn't want to think what it meant for Killian to be here; she just wanted to take a respite from all the ups and downs that had happened to her so far. She wanted to release all her anxieties and fears that piled up that threatened to drown her on Killian's shoulder.

After a while, she calmed down and stood back to look at his handsome visage.

"I'm sorry I got your shoulder wet," Emma said.

"You can get my shoulder wet anytime, Emma," Killian said in his regular voice. It was no longer the deepened voice of Lord LeBossu.

"Why are you here?" Emma had to ask because she couldn't believe he was here despite holding him.

"I'm here to save you," Killian said with a sincere look in his eyes, reaching a hand to her face and wiping errant tears off her cheek with his thumb.

Emma gasped at the danger he put himself in with Regina.

"Regina is listening. She knows what you look like…on the beach, if she catches you-," Emma spoke quickly.

"Yes, love. Mirror magic. I got rid of any reflective surface in this room," Killian said. "I thought impersonating Lord Le Bossu would be a perfect cover."

"You're very clever. Is there a real Lord Le Bossu?" Emma asked tentatively, remembering Regina's words sent a shiver up her spine.

He felt a sense of pride when she complimented him on his cleverness.

"Aye, but he died a couple years ago and he was just as much of a monster as Regina had described. A pirate named Calico Jack had his woman stolen from him in a raid of a seaside village where she lived and she was sold to Le Bossu. He tortured and killed her. When Jack found out, he killed that monster and started impersonating him. Whenever his crew brought back pirate booty he would use that fortune to buy a female slave and sail her back home to set her free telling the villagers the slave died. He's trying to infiltrate the slave traders to exploit their weak points and destroy them," Killian explained.

"That's awful," Emma exclaimed. "Killian, if you stay here you'll be trapped, too. Regina might find out."

"Hush, love. I won't leave you alone here. I'll get you out but we'll have to continue to play our parts until we see an opportune moment to flee," Killian said. "Can you do that?"

"Oh course, if I can act miserable enough, maybe she will be content and stop watching us," Emma presumed.

"That's a good idea, love," Killian smiled. "She wants you to suffer. It would be easier if we could figure out how to get this cuff off you."

Killian then tried to remove the cuff from her but it was stuck on tight as if it were fused to her skin.

"A phoenix feather opens the cuff," Emma related. "It was in a book of stories that I found as a child only to find out later that some of the stories were true and was more like a journal of a knight that had adventures and encountered magical beings. I recognized the drawings on the cuff from an illustration in the journal."

"Then all we have to do is locate the phoenix feather," Killian said it like it was the easiest thing in the world.

"Do you know where to find a phoenix feather?" Emma wondered cocking her head, peering at him. She considered since he was a pirate, he has probably come across lots of strange, magical things.

"No, but don't give up hope. I know where we can start getting information on it and then we can get you out of that cuff," Killian said cheerily.

She liked hearing him say the word "we" like they were in this together. This raised a lot of questions in her head about the nature of his intent. Did he really care about her? Did he care about the gold he could get for rescuing a princess? What is the state of his relationship with Milah? She didn't want to ask him any of these questions, afraid of the answers. She just implicitly understood that he was here for her in some way and she left it at that.

"Why don't we rest for now?" Killian suggested. "It's been a long day. You take the bed, I'll take the floor."

"I couldn't let you do that," Emma said. "I'll take the floor."

"A gentleman would never let a lady, much less a princess, sleep on the floor," Killian said firmly.

"There's plenty of space on the bed," Emma offered. "We could share."

"That wouldn't be proper for a princess either," Killian said feigning shock.

"You think I'm capable of doing something untoward to you in your sleep?" Emma joked in a challenging tone.

"Says the woman who invaded my chambers to wake me up with a bucket of ice cold water?" Killian said smiling. He didn't appreciate getting woken up that way at the time, but now he could laugh it off and it showed in the humor of his eyes.

Emma smiled and it warmed Killian's heart that he could turn up the corners of her mouth in amusement despite their current situation.

"Well, I did promise to torment you," Emma said teasingly. "You wouldn't want me to go against my word, would you?"

"I couldn't possibly let you do that," Killian answered. He paused at the situation and conceded. "I guess there is room enough for both."

"As long as you keep to your side, I'll keep to mine and you won't have to worry about waking up to a monsoon," Emma quipped. Her humor returned with Killian's presence.

Killian chuckled trying not to be too loud in case Regina overheard.

They settled in for the night, Emma on her side of the bed with the blankets tucked under her chin facing away from Killian while Killian was lying on his back with hand under his head staring up at the ceiling. He had taken off the heavy cloak and boots but he was still uncomfortable. He was used to sleeping in the nude and was always unaccustomed to having clothes on while he slumbered.

But sleeping fully dressed was not what was keeping him up. As soon as the night turned quiet, Killian's mind couldn't help but be assailed by visions of Emma. This was a nightly occurrence but now she was here lying next to him. He was so relieved when he arrived at the auction that she was alive and seemingly well, though her nerves seemed frayed. It was a gamble that he assumed she would be sold at the special, private auction for exceptional looking female slaves. The bidders would be an elite, rich group that wanted a concubine to add to their harem. Her beauty was such that there was nowhere else she could possibly be sold and she most definitely would fetch an exorbitant price. Killian was actually thankful that his men took the gold aboard his ship that Emma brought him to pay for his timely assist with the Evil Queen since it was from that fortune he used to pay for her.

Then when she was stripped in front of him, she looked utterly exquisite. He couldn't contain the breath in his chest; it was expelled suddenly at the sight of her. The beauty of her nude form was permanently seared into his brain. He had never beheld anything more magnificent than the sight of her that morning. He probably in all his life never would. Seeing her distress at being disrobed jolted him into action, demanding the slave trader to cover her speaking in their language that he knew.

Now she was lying next to him and his perseverance on being a gentleman prevented him from giving in to his yearnings. He ached to caress the womanly softness of her, to hold her close, and ease the lusting ache that gnawed at the pit of his belly. Especially now that he knew what heaven lay beneath. The heady scent of her mingled with the essence of pure woman, filling his head and warming his blood. The heat of his hunger spread through his loins, a desire that burned through him and cauterized his mind with his need. He closed his eyes tightly trying to get a grip on the unruly path of his imaginings. When that didn't work, he took several long pulls from the flask of rum he kept in his coat. It had taken a long time until his wayward mind succumbed to sleep.

It was a few hours later until Killian came awake slowly to a tickling on his chest and an unfamiliar weight resting against him. He reacted badly for a moment, forgetting where he was until he raised his head to see the blonde locks spilling across his chest. He relaxed back into his pillow, a strange contentment washed over him. She was using his chest for a pillow, her knees bent and braced against his hips and one hand resting on his side. His hand had been resting on her side as well, just beneath her breast. He didn't want to move at all, afraid she would wake up and pull away.

But then he could feel it happening again. His tumescence sprung to life as he lay next to the sleeping beauty. Killian groaned; unaware that he squeezed Emma's side enough to waken her.

When Emma did come awake, she scrambled back to her side of the bed. Now they both lay awake, unable to go to sleep.

"So you're awake," Killian figured he might as well have the company while he was up. He certainly wasn't going back to sleep with the state he was in.

"Sorry if I disturbed you," Emma said turning her head towards him. "We need to plan what we will do today to make Regina think I'm miserable."

Killian tried to use his imagination as to how to mistreat a female slave without actually having to beat her.

"I don't want to raise a hand to you so we need to think of ways that I can make your life dismal," Killian conjectured. "Any ideas?"

"I guess it would have to be some psychological game," Emma offered.

They both had problems trying to think of ways to create a living hell for someone. Killian, as a pirate, never mistreated any captives at sea. He just locked them up and dropped them off at the nearest port. The same with any errant crew members but they were few and far between. Any of his men were willingly a part of his crew and they could leave when they wanted to. No one was ever keelhauled or walked off the plank. He was rather merciful as pirates go and was only interested in making a profit than causing harm or killing someone. If Killian ever killed anyone, it was in defense of his life, his ship and his crew.

Emma had just as equally a hard time thinking of cruel things to do to someone. Her parents made sure the jails they kept lawbreakers in were humane and clean. Her father outlawed putting people in the stocks since it was usually the mentally ill that were continually placed there. Her mother was very forgiving and tried to rehabilitate the criminals by giving them gainful employment when their sentences were up or teaching them a skill they could make a living at.

"Well, having to kneel at your feet was rather uncomfortable," Emma suggested.

After Emma received the services of the slave traders' staff, Killian remembered looking her over seeing that she wasn't hurt as she kneeled before him. It had taken him a long time to take control of his body then as well. She looked like she was prepared for sex with her dress slit up the sides, her breast pushed up, hair up with tendrils cascading down her shoulders and the beauty of her face that was further enhanced with applied colors. If he could, he would have hauled her over his shoulders and had his way with her.

"You could perhaps fetch my meals, follow me around, wait on me hand and foot," Killian decided to focus on the task at hand rather than let his mind wander to more pleasurable things.

"Yes that's good," Emma answered. "I'm not going to be mad if you yell at me and call me dreadful names. I know it's all an act."

"Aye, but there still might be ill effects from that," Killian stated.

"I'm strong enough to take the abuse without suffering long term consequences," Emma stated.

"You're made of sterner stuff, this I know," Killian said turning to her and smiling.

By morning, they had a game plan and they carried it out to perfection. If Regina was watching or listening, she would hear Lord LeBossu making Emma exist in utter wretchedness.

The days passed with Killian playing Lord LeBossu and Emma acting the desperate slave. Emma would sometimes let out a scream at night to make Regina think she was being taken against her will. Then Killian would lie next to Emma while she was sleeping trying to resist the temptation of reaching out to her. He was beginning to believe he was a man who made his own hell.

Meanwhile, they were both watching and waiting for a chance to escape from the prying, evil of eyes of Regina.