"A place like this is a bit morbid for a sweet looking thing such as you..."
The man's voice startled Belle from her daydream and she stumbled away from the gravestone at her feet and glared up at the tall figure leering down at her. Indeed he was a lot taller than herself, nearly as tall as Gaston though perhaps it was the man's lean frame that attributed to the apparent height difference between them.
His sandy brown hair hung limply over his one eye and she could tell by the slight glaze in the man's eye that we was not the most sober of men around. The man continued to leer at Belle, his mouth turned into a crooked grin as his eyes raked over Belle's crouched form.
Quickly standing, Belle straightened her cape around her body and lifted her head high, attempting to appear much bigger than she was.
If Rumpelstiltskin can make himself appear bigger then why can't I?
She thought as she straightened her shoulders and tried to emulate the Dark One himself.
"I didn't mean to startle you, Milady." The man drawled, though he didn't look a bit apologetic as he continued to languidly peruse her person. He made her skin crawl.
"Indeed, you should have made your presence known, for propriety sake…" Belle bristled while straightening her cloak and discretely wiping away stray pieces of grass from her skirts. The man barked a laugh and shook his head while running a gloved hand along his chin.
"Propriety? That's quite the big word." He laughed though Belle didn't exactly see the humour. "Well, forgive my intrusion, Milady. I'm the Sheriff around here. Nottingham's my name." He bowed his head and grinned at her smugly, clearly very proud of his title. Belle only gave him a curt smile in return and thought of a way to sneak past the man and return to where Rumple had left her. She should have stayed near the Tavern where Rumpelstiltskin was within a close distance.
"And does Milady have a name?" he grinned, his eyes focusing on a point below her chin and somewhere near Belle's breasts. She fought the urge to roll her eyes and shove past the sheriff and instead crossed her arms over her chest so as to cover herself from his wandering eyes.
"Verna." She replied with another curt smile.
Nottingham's eyes snapped back up to her face and his grin slightly faded and his eyes narrowed, as if trying to remember something important. Just as quickly as his eyes narrowed they widened again slightly and he stood just a bit straighter and grinned again, licking his dry lips this time before continuing.
"Verna. Lovely to meet you. Tell me Verna, what is a pretty girl like you doing in this ancient graveyard?"
Belle a nervous flutter at the pit of her stomach when Nottingham said her pseudonym, but her curiosity was slightly peaked at the mention of the graves,
"Ancient?" she parroted, attempting to distract Nottingham from her effort to exit the secluded graveyard and head toward the Tavern at the base of the hill.
"Well, maybe not ancient. However long ago the Ogre wars were," the man scratched his head in thought before looking down at a crumbling stone cross near his boot, "maybe three hundred years?" he said, giving the cross a kick with his boot and grinning as the rock crumbled away. Belle screwed her face up in disgust at his disrespect and shot him a small glare to which he completely ignored and instead attempted to give Belle another of his flirtatious looks.
"You know, I grew up around here and I know a lot about the history. Maybe you and I can head into town, I can show you around, maybe show you my place. I have quite the estate just off the main road…" he said with a grin and a waggle of his eyebrows. Belle grimaced again and fought another urge to roll her eyes; really why was it that men never got her hints?
"Actually, I should be getting back. My husband will be waiting for me." Belle lied, adding an emphasis on 'husband'. Unfortunately the Sheriff seemed unfazed by her heavy hint and instead took a few steps toward Belle, effectively blocking her way around him. She could swerve to the right but there were a few bumps of shallow graves and gravestones sticking up and Belle just knew she would trip over them in her haste. She needed to just brush past him and quickly head back down to safety.
"Ah, blow him off. That husband of yours is a fool to leave a beauty like yourself alone and without an escort. Being the Sheriff, it's my duty to show beautiful and lonely women such as you a good time around my town."
"That's very generous, I'm sure," Belle replied with a frosty smile, "But I must decline. Now if you'll excuse me."
Belle made to brush past Nottingham but his hand shot out and caught her elbow before she could get away completely.
"Oh come now Verna, there's no need to be cold. I won't hurt you, I promise." He grinned.
"Please let go of me." Belle replied, all attempts at being strong quickly fading with the familiar scene before her. She felt that same urgency to run as she did back at the Winter Ball, and now she was alone once more with a man who just didn't understand the word no.
The Sheriff leaned closer to Belle and locked eyes with her, his mouth still grinning but his eyes now taking on a more serious look,
"I could arrest you, you know." He said lowly, his eyes dropping back down Belle's front and lingering again at the spot just below the clasp of her cape. Belle let out a mirthless laugh and shook her head in disbelief.
"On what grounds?" she replied hotly, her anger slowly overcoming her fear. He said it so easily that Belle wondered how many women he threatened into coming home with him.
Nottingham shrugged and slowly inched his hand away from her elbow, his gloved finger lightly tracing inside her arm,
"Doesn't matter, it's my word against you. Perhaps I caught you whoring yourself off up here. Prostitution is illegal in Southead you know…" He snickered as his hand slightly brushed against the side of Belle's left breast.
With flared nostrils Belle smacked his hand away with her left hand while her right hand made contact with the side of his cheek. Nottingham let out a shocked cry and stumbled away for a moment before breaking out into another grin, this time feral.
"Or I could arrest you for assaulting an officer of the law." He laughed before stepping back toward Belle and roughly grabbing her by the wrist.
"I believe the Lady said she wasn't interested, Mate." Another voice spoke off to Belle and the Sheriff's left and both heads turned toward the source. Standing about five steps away was a handsome dark haired man with an air of grace and an underlying feeling of danger just lurking beneath his charming grin and mischievous blue eyes. Of course, at the moment that feeling of danger that Belle could sense was directed toward the leering Sheriff still gripping Belle's wrist tightly in his gloved hand.
"This is none of your concern, Pirate." The Sheriff sneered at the man. Belle raised her eyebrows up in surprise and looked more carefully at the so called Pirate before her. He didn't exactly look like the sort of Pirate she read about. He didn't have a wooden leg, or a parrot or an eye patch; none of the markings of the classic Pirate.
The Pirate smiled widely and shook his head before raising a dark eyebrow at the Sheriff.
"Well, I am making it my concern, Sheriff. How could a pirate like me resist a damsel in distress." The Pirate dropped his gaze onto Belle and his face softened as he looked her in the eye, "Are you hurt, My Lady?" he asked softly, his blue eyes not once leaving her own.
"Just my wrist currently." Belle replied briskly and shooting a glare over to the Sheriff who sneered at the Pirate and tried to pull Belle toward himself, though Belle resisted.
The Pirate nodded and returned his gaze to the Sheriff, his blue eyes growing cold as his hand slowly drifted down to his belt.
"Unhand the Lady, Nottingham." The Pirate said with his hand resting on the hilt of a sword strapped to his side, "Its bad form to manhandle an unwilling maiden."
Nottingham sniffed in indignation and reached for his own sword,
"You gonna fight me for her?" Nottingham laughed as he gripped the hilt of his own sword and released it from its covering, his attention no longer on the girl in his grasp but now at the handsome pirate before him. With his focus no longer on herself, Belle quickly twisted out of his loosened grip and before Nottingham knew what was happening, Belle swung her basket of thread and hit Nottingham against his head and catching him off guard. As he turned toward Belle she moved again and threw her knee up squarely into Nottingham's middle and he doubled over with a loud grunt, his sword disappearing into the long grass.
Realizing his mistake, Nottingham reached out for his sword only to be forced to freeze in place as the Pirate's broadsword lightly cut into the side of the Sheriff's neck. Belle had fallen just a step behind and to the side of the pirate, in the safety of his shadow which was being cast by the late afternoon sun.
The Pirate smiled winningly as he pressed the edge of his sword just a bit harder against the soft skin of the Sheriff's neck.
"I believe you owe the lady an apology for your drunken misconduct, Sheriff. I believe you may have bruised her wrist" The pirate said through gritted teeth. Nottingham carefully gulped and eyed Belle with a withering glare,
"Apologies, Milady." He spit before wincing as the Pirates blade cut just a bit deeper before being removed altogether leaving a small trail of blood along Nottingham's neck.
"If I catch you manhandling a Lady again, I will slit you from navel to nose. You understand, sheriff." The pirate said with a big grin. The sheriff nodded rapidly and scrambled to his feet, reaching for his sword. However the Pirate was quick to stop his hand with his sword once more, clucking disapprovingly at the cowering Sheriff. "Swords mine now. You've lost your sword wielding privileges I'm afraid." The pirate said before scooping up the discarded sword and balancing it in his one hand while his other holstered his own broad sword.
"It's nice, good balance, lovely craftsmanship on the handle… I think I'll be able to get a good price on it. My thanks, Sheriff." The pirate said with a tip of his head. The sheriff swore under his breath and scrambled to his feet, quickly running down the hill and away from the Pirate and the Lady. Belle let out a soft sigh of relief and smiled gratefully at the pirate.
"Thank you for the help." Belle smiled, bending down and replacing the few spools of thread that fell out of her basket when she attacked the drunken Sheriff. The Pirate laughed and bent down to help retrieve one of the yellow spools that had rolled near his feet.
"It's no problem. That man always rubbed me the wrong way, I was only too happy to help." He smiled warmly and handing Belle the spool of thread to which she accepted gratefully. The Pirate then turned and headed past Belle and down the hill, his new sword tucked safely under one arm. Belle watched him for a bit before picking up her skirts and trailing after him.
"Are you really a Pirate?" she asked as she caught up to the man and walked along side him toward the juncture where the Tavern was situated. The man turned his head to Belle and smirked at her.
"That I am. Does that frighten you?" he asked playfully.
Belle let out a snort of laughter. Once upon a time she probably would have felt nervous but after nearly a year of living with the Dark One himself, the idea of being frightened by a Pirate was almost laughable.
"Not really. Does that disappoint you?"
The Pirate laughed out loud and shook his head no, "I didn't think you would be frightened. The way you skillfully handled that basket and your knee shows me that there is very little that frightens you."
Belle couldn't help but blush slightly, delighting in the slight compliment.
"I've handled my fair share of beasts in my time." Belle replied, thinking back to Gaston and shuddering a bit at the memory.
The Pirate nodded sagely, a hint of a smile still lingering on his mouth.
"Do you have a name?" Belle asked and interested to know what an actual pirate's name sounded like. Her books always spoke of pirates with the ridiculous names like Peg-Leg Jim, or Dastardly Jack.
"Jones. Killian Jones." He replied, stopping just before the fork in the road and giving Belle a deep and respectful bow. When he looked up from his lowered position he noticed the small flicker of disappointment in Belle's face and smiled once more, his blue eyes lighting up happily.
"Not what you were expecting love?" he laughed before returning to an upright position.
"I was expecting something a bit more pirate-y." Belle replied with a shy smile.
"Well, if it's any consolation, Killian Jones is only my land name." he smiled conspiratorially. Killian looked around as if making sure no one would overhear them before leaning toward Belle. "My crew actually refers to me as Hook. Captain Hook." He winked and Belle grinned happily.
"Captain Hook? That's much better." She laughed, "Does this mean you have your own ship?" she continued conversationally, wanting to prolong her conversation with her first pirate.
"Of course I do, what sort of Captain would I be if I didn't have my own ship?" He replied, playfully affronted. He turned then toward the docks and pointed out toward one of the larger ships tied up at the edge of the docks.
"See that ship right there? That's mine." He said proudly, like a man showing off his child. "The Jolly Roger is the fastest ship in the South, and maybe even the East as well…"
"The Jolly Roger?" she gasped delightfully before reaching into her basket to retrieve her book of adventure stories. Killian's brow furrowed as he watched in curiosity as Belle produced the blue tome and handed it over to him for his inspection.
"Adventures of the Seven Seas…" he read out loud before quirking his lips into a crooked smile. Belle excitedly opened the book in his hand and turned the pages to the story about Blackbeard and the Jolly Roger. Killian let out a short laugh and shook his head,
"This one is also called the Jolly Roger." Belle laughed.
"That's because it's the very same ship, love." He replied easily.
"What?" Belle gasped her eyes wide with surprise.
"This Jolly Roger," he pointed to the book before pointing to his ship, "Is one and the same. Blackbeard was my Captain before I took over the helm when he departed."
Belle's jaw dropped slightly and she glanced at the book then back up at the ship in the distance. It can't be.
"Your Blackbeard's first mate?" she said in astonishment, "But this book was published at least two hundred years ago, you couldn't possibly have been a sailor under the Blackbeard…" Belle mused.
Killian laughed again and tilted his head in amusement, "Let's just say my crew and I spent a few years in a land where time stands still."
Belle smiled widely and clutched the book to her chest. "A land without time?" she replied excitedly and Killian nodded.
"Aye, Neverland. Don't ever go there though, it's a horrible place." He cautioned with an air of seriousness. Belle laughed and looked out at the ship, thrilled to see it in person.
"Would you like to take a look?" Killian asked, gesturing toward the Jolly Roger. Belle gasped lightly and stared longingly at the ship. Yes I would love to take a look! Her mind excitedly agreed, but Belle shook her head and glanced at the Tavern where Rumpelstiltskin was probably still sitting.
"I can't… I shouldn't. I wish I could but I'm supposed to be waiting for someone." Belle replied sadly, biting her lip and turning apologetic eyes to Killian.
"How long were you supposed to wait for?" he asked with his eyes narrowed,
"About two hours…" she replied slowly, unsure of where Killian was going.
"And how long has it been?" He asked as he started moving toward the docks with his eyes still trained on Belle as he walked backwards. Belle thought for a moment and smirked,
"Perhaps a half hour."
Killian shot her a winning smile and continued to slowly back away. Belle felt herself being pulled forward and slowly following him away from the Tavern,
"Well then what's the harm? It won't take long…" He wagged his eyebrows flirtatiously, still backing away slowly.
"I shouldn't…" Belle laughed, her argument sounding weak to her ears.
"My Lady, I promise, no harm will be done. Most of my crew is still ashore so I won't be kidnapping you anytime soon, and besides I know exactly what your knee and basket swinging arm is capable of, so I won't be tempting to take away your virtue anytime soon." He grinned wickedly, "Unless you want to of course." He winked
Belle blushed and shook her head with a smirk, "You're terrible."
Killian laughed and stopped his backwards travelling.
"I promise just a little tour of my ship, fifteen to thirty minutes tops. And afterwards I will escort you back to wherever you need to be to meet your friend. Pirates honour." He said, lifting his free hand up to his chest and bowing his head respectfully.
Belle bit her lip and looked at the man before her, then back up to the ship from her books. They were now standing just at the Stern of the ship, a plank leading up toward the nearly empty decks, all but a handful of sailors still on board. She always dreamed of meeting a Pirate and boarding on his ship. Dreams when she was a little girl usually involved her becoming the Captain of her own Pirate ship and travelling the world and having adventures at sea.
It was only going to be a short while; Rumple wouldn't even know she was there. And if Killian were indeed not as honest as he appeared she could always call Rumple couldn't she?
Shooting a final look behind her at the Tavern, Belle returned her gaze to Killian, his face open and awaiting her decision and she smiled eagerly at him.