Disclaimer: Not mine, just taken it out for a Jolly-ride

Chapter 5:

The Crusader and the Pirate

Gwen's apartment

Killian knew Tawny's second offer was not to be something he would like to hear, judging by her nervous lip-nibbling and second hair-behind-the-ear-tucking. That and the fact that he doubted their fighting lessons deal was the 'hazardous pact' she had been referring to the other night.

It wasn't.

"I need you to be my 'meddlesome maid.'"

His eyebrow shot up of its own accord before he jeered, "Well, lass, if role-playing is your cup o' tea – "

Instead of the eye roll or silencing glare he expected, she retorted with a quick, "I now know you're willing and up for the challenge. Huzzah. But I was thinking of something of more like what I did for you, than the bedroom sport, Captain."

"And what castle are you attempting to storm in this little hamlet?" He queried dryly, valiantly (or so he thought) resisting the urge to boast about his 'willingness' or ability to 'rise to the challenge'.

"Not a 'castle', a community," Tawny corrected. "The less than savory. And I don't want to invade their territory, just merely keep tabs on them and thwart on occasion."

He shouldn't have been surprised, but he was. He had forgotten that the Tawny he had known had always worn the mask of self-interest but was truly a crusader. Her mask could be very convincing at times.

~ E * N * C * H * A * N * T * E * D ~ F * O * R * E * S * T ~

Killian had been anxiously waiting for their first weekly rendezvous since she had gotten hired at the castle, and while he waited, he had plenty of time for doubts to creep in about this chit of a girl and their pact. During the few days that they had journeyed through the Forest together, she had proven an exceptional student – a quick learner and open to critique. She was an excellent traveling companion as well. She was comfortable with silence and did not pester him with questions, rambling stories, or details of her provincial life. But nor was she adverse to conversation or verbal sparring when he initiated it.

All in all she was proving herself to be too good of a partner. So he had waited for the other shoe to drop when she met him outside of the fortress walls. However, he could find nothing to complain about. She provided him useful details as to the guards' rotation and personalities and even some of their watchwords. If this wasn't the Witch Queen's castle, he could get his men and successfully storm the place with this much information. But with magic involved, he was reluctant to do so.

Killian supposed it was unfair of him to be so itchy with suspicion because she had done too good of a job. But he couldn't help it. His mind was whirring with misgivings. No lass with that sweet of a face should be comfortable with the idea that he was hell-bent on killing a man and anyone who got in his way. Even if said lass could swear to make a sailor blush. Even if said 'sweet' lass had an aura of mystery about her, amplified by her reluctance to talk about her past or even give him her real name.

If she was more than she claimed to be, more than a survivor, only interested in quid pro quo dealings, what was she? Why, oh why was she helping him?

So after bringing her to this secluded meadow just beyond the Queen's soldiers' patrol, he asked.

"So, Tawny, why does a sweet looking lass, such as yourself, not mind helping a bloodthirsty pirate attempt murder?"

The golden-haired maid ceased her inspection of the clearing to eye him warily, asking, "Are you planning on murdering this girl of the Queen's?" Her contralto voice dripped with accusatory suspicion.

"No," he denied, placing his good hand over his heart and swearing, "On my word as a gentleman, I will do right by the once noble maid."

When she didn't seem immediately convinced, he sighed and reassured impatiently, "I plan on talking to her." And then he 'helpfully' pointed out, "But whatever I learn from her, will hopefully lead me to what I can use to kill the Dark One. So essentially you will be an accessory to murder."

"In my experience, the only good sorcerer is a dead sorcerer," was the lass's hard, cold, and bitter reply. "You'll be doing me and anyone else that could be a potential collateral victim to his schemes a favor."

'In her experience'? Now that was interesting. Quirking his eyebrow, he taunted with dry amusement, "So shall I kill the Sorcerous Queen too while I'm at it?"

"Bite thy tongue, Captain!" She fiercely commanded, richly rewarding his efforts. No longer cold and indifferent and inscrutable, she was fiery and openly angry as she whirled on him, hissing, "No one plots Her death in these woods except those who have a death wish, and I do not."

"No? But you conspire to steal from her, to violate her home, do you not?"

"For a man who has allegedly lived centuries, you know nothing, Killian Jones." She replied irritably, rolling her eyes in derision.

"Oh, do enlighten me." He challenged, his kohl-rimmed eyes narrowing with equal irritation at her dismissive tone.

"All soldiers who dare to talk of the Queen's business tell the tale that she spies upon the land with the aid of a bewitched mirror that is nigh omniscient," was her pontificating reply. "It is said that the only reason Snow White has been able to defeat the Queen is because her heart is pure and holds no true desire to kill her stepmother."

Tilting his head to the side, he scrutinized the chit before him, carefully assimilating this revealing tidbit, and when it clicked for him what she considered to be the important distinction between him and her, he smiled and gleefully chortled, "Oh ho! So your motives are pure, are they?"

Tawny glanced away, her shoulders hunching up as if to shield herself from his perceptive gaze.

Still chortling, he asked, "I'm right, aren't I, lass? Don't deny it. You read like an open book."

"If I am such an open book, what are my so-called altruistic motives?" She snapped with a toss of her golden curls.

Killian carefully considered her once again before postulating, "You want to free the poor imprisoned maid, and you want to protect the innocents from the Dark One." As he spoke, her whole body tensed to the point he feared her teeth would shatter from the pressure of her grinding. Conversely, he began to relax. She was not a puppet of the Dark One's, sent to lead him astray. But truly a sweet lass pretending to be an indifferent brat.

His relief was so strong, he chortled gleefully, "You're a bloody champion of the people, in disguise as an urchin!"

"Apparently not a very good disguise…" She grumbled.

"Cheer up, lass." He jovially commanded. "You had me going for quite a while – talking about your revenge upon the trappers and taking what's owed you."

"So what should I have said or not said?" Her hazel eyes wide, open, and expectant.

And there it was. One of the many reasons he admired her. She was able to accept defeat graciously and then attempt to learn from it.

"You should have said that the princess' heart is 'perceived to be pure' and 'holds no evil intent'. This leaves room for doubt that her heart or yours is truly pure, you see." He helpfully advised.

Bobbing her head and grinning mischievously, she boasted, "Well, you're just bloody lucky that my heart is not blackened by vengeance like your own or you would never get near the castle."

In a far better mood, he magnanimously complimented, "And once again you prove you have brains as well as beauty, as evidenced by your phrasing, which leads me to ask: 'And, pray tell, what is your heart darkened by?'"

Smiling wickedly, the wench leaned forward and whispered huskily, "By all manner of vices."

~ S * T * O * R * Y * B * R * O * O * K * E ~

"And why, dear Tawny, do you need to spy upon and foil the dodgy inhabitants of this fair town?"

She shrugged and fiddled with her tea cup, before softly confessing, "Before the Curse, I had no one. And when the Curse was broken, I thought that I was alone once again. But…" She raised her gaze to his, her eyes misty with profound emotion, "But these people that I now call friends, remembered me and asked after me. And Emma Swan the Savior can't protect them from everything, so I do what I can."

He carefully considered what she said. A small part of him wanted to say that before the Curse she had had him. But that wasn't true. Their relationship had been strictly professional – lessons for information; and when he no longer needed her information, he had barely given her a second thought.

"Very noble of you. But in case you didn't recall, I'm a revenge-seeking pirate. Hardly the ideal recruit for this sentimental crusade of yours," he pointed out with truthful self-deprecation.

Again, she surprised him. Instead of being disappointed or hurt by his less than sympathetic attitude, she smiled with – fondness? – asking, "And you want to know what I have to offer that would make this endeavor worth your while?"

Warily, because the seeming affection she was displaying was disconcerting, he confirmed her (delighted?) suspicions, "Got it in one, darling."

Pushing her tea cup to the side, she clasped her hands in front of her on the table and leaned forward, briskly and confidently stating, "You, Killian Jones, are no longer Captain Hook. Your Crocodile is for all intent and purposes no more, and after 300 years, you now have no purpose. The benefit of my 'sentimental crusade' is that it will give you a cause to live for once again."

Hearing her words and staring into her earnest hazel brown eyes, Killian wanted to run. The last time a golden-haired lass asked him to do the selfless thing and belong, he had ended up alone anyways. Granted, he had saved Milah's grandson in the process, but…

He was going to make this one work for it and prove it was truly advantageous for his well-being.

"I can tell you have given this offer a lot of thought, Tawny." He observed casually before leaning forward and insisting with great intensity, "And you are going to tell me every single one of them before I even begin considering accepting."

Her eyes narrowed, "Challenge accepted."

Leaning back, she began ticking off her arguments on her slender fingers.

"You're the perfect candidate for a double agent, if you'll pardon the dramatic title. You have the infamous reputation, which will get you in with that sort of crowd. You also have the we-survived-an-ordeal bond with 'The Family,' which will lend credibility to any information you or my other sources gather. Credibility which I lack due to the necessity for anonymity. And because you're the sorry sap who didn't get the girl, you have motive in the eyes of most for wanting to piss off Swan by reverting back to your old ways after months playing the hero."

And as if that wasn't enough, she continued: "Moreover, while most would fear that your self-interest-above-all-else instincts will lead you to succumb to the 'underworld' of Storybrooke and eventually betray the 'noble cause', I believe you have the potential of being a man of honor. And despite the fact that you broke your word to me in the past concerning a certain damsel-in-distress, I know that you are indeed a gentleman buccaneer."

~ E * N * C * H * A * N * T * E * D ~ F * O * R * E * S * T ~

"I don't know what you're talking about, and I have no idea how to… How to kill Rumpelstiltskin…No. And…And nor would I," protested the foolish girl, Belle.

Hook's rage boiled. He had been so close…And now this bonnie imbecile was going to deny him his justice? Protect that monster?

'I truly am doing right by her, love. It's better that she be dead than a slave, a mindless devotee to that demon.' He silently justified to his golden lass, as he raised his hook for the killing blow.

~ S * T * O * R * Y * B * R * O * O * K * E ~

"One good deed is not enough to acquit a man's lifetime of selfishness." He scoffed.

"No, but it might be enough to doom him to a road of amends and absolution." She countered, a slight smirk playing on her lips.

Killian was floored. This chit of a girl – no, woman – truly and unequivocally had faith in him. Not since Milah had he experienced the weight of that to such a degree. And to the intense gleam of her eyes to the sad smile on her lips, he could see that she knew that he both desired such unfettered trust and resented its burden and that she sympathized with him. It was enough to make him want to kiss her.

And then she spoiled the moment.

With gleeful relish, she added, "And three, I figured you would want to clean up your mess. Or did you forget that it was you and those anti-magic loons who left the very much undead Dragon Witch's cell door wide open?"

His mouth gaped open. He felt sucker-punched. He did in fact feel extremely guilty for his part in unleashing the Hag onto the unwitting townsfolk. It was a small part though. Regina in keeping her there at all shared a great deal of the blame. And then one must not forget the fools with their lightning guns, which only rendered the Hag mostly dead. Nevertheless, for the chit to go there… T'was dirty and underhanded.

"That was below the belt, Tawny," he chided.

She snorted in dry amusement and then triumphantly mocked, "Yes, but I was taught by a pirate, was I not?"

~ E * N * C * H * A * N * T * E * D ~ F * O * R * E * S * T ~

~The first night on their journey to the Queen's castle~

The lass was quick and agile. Even from this first practice bout, he could tell that given enough time she could take on even a few of the Lost Boys – gods forbid. Good footwork. Good instincts. A natural. But too focused on him, leaving herself open for attack from other opponents or for –

He kicked a loose log from the fire at her legs, causing her to jump back and stamp out the embers before they ruined her skirts.

"Bad form!" she accused in outrage, as soon as she was in the clear.

"Yes, but not everyone out there is me or a knight of the round table, love, especially not anyone who is threatening to harm a sweet thing like you." He admonished. "So Rule #1: never ever fight fair."

~ S * T * O * R * Y * B * R * O * O * K * E ~

"Too well, it seems…" was his grudging reply. "So yes, I will consider this second offer further."

"Please, do." She encouraged as she walked him to her front door. "Because I have no doubt that in the next few weeks you will be approached by some sort of fishy shady fellow, and that will be your opportunity to do the noble thing."

Killian snorted (elegantly of course) and then grinned cheekily, "I cherish those moments. I like to two-finger salute them as I sail on by."

Tawny rolled her eyes, stating exasperatedly, "And on that note, G'night, Jones." Her farewell was also accompanied by a very rude hand gesture before she shut the door in his face.

"Oi! Where did you pick that up, m'lady?!"

~ E * N * C * H * A * N * T * E * D ~ F * O * R * E * S * T ~

~Second night on journey to Queen's castle~

"Cachi!" Tawny cursed in what must be her native tongue, after he 'killed' her yet again. He could only pick up every third word, but she went on to add something about unholy frog-humping testicles and unintelligent inbred stacks of meat. He didn't know whether to applaud her ingenuity and daring or plug his ears so that they wouldn't bleed.

"Oi! Enough of that." He commanded before taking a refreshing swig of rum. "You have the mouth of a shanty town doxy, and, darling, that does not conjure up a pretty image." Offering her a sip from his flask, he asked, "Where did you pick up such foul language and why?"

"Here and there. I have worked in more than one sailors' tavern," (a fact which she demonstrated by not flinching from the liquor's burn), "And I quickly learned that those who speak with clear diction and without …local color tend to be considered easy pickings."

He considered her carefully – her stance naturally in the en garde position, her chin lifted stubbornly, her gaze clear and unrepentant. Spunky, to say the least.

"Well, by the time I am done with you, lass, you won't ever be."

~ S * T * O * R * Y * B * R * O * O * K * E ~

Glancing down, he examined the glossy portrait in his hands. It was one of those that Swan was so fond of taking when locking him up. Blue background. Placard with a string of letters and numbers. Except this was held by a young woman. Stubborn chin. Guarded expression. Unrepentant gaze. And vibrant pink pixie hair.

Looking at it, he couldn't help but chortle to himself, for even be-cursed she was a tough lass.

A/N: Next chapter titled The Road of Redemption. Guest stars will include characters from Cinderella, Tangled, Peter Pan, 101 Dalmations, Beauty and the Beast, and Robin Hood. So stay tuned ; ) And review, por favor.