She let him kiss her again, pressing his soft, warm lips against hers before she pushes him away, her hands staying pressed against his bare chest for another fleeting moment, then she turns away from him, backing towards the window of the cabin, trying to put space between them.
She doesn't know what to think - or, more appropriately, thinks too many things at once. Part of her wants to kiss him until they can't breathe, not because of any reciprocated feelings, but because she needs something like him to keep her centered right now; but at the same time, she has gone through so much in the past few weeks, between her father making her marriage decision the same day she was going to do the same, to losing everything she ever thought was concrete. She appreciates his presence at the moment, the warmth of him against her, the memory of him on her lips, but she can't do that to him, to the man that not only just kissed her, but confessed his ten-year-old love of her.
She spends too much time in her head trying to decide what to do, that Killian takes matters into his own hands, wordlessly leaving her in the cabin alone. After a few moments, she sets herself down on the bed, stuck deep inside her head.
What had she done? How many relationships could she ruin in one day?
She thinks back on the pirate, whose blue eyes bear into her soul even though he is no longer in the room with her; but she also can't stop herself from drawing up the memory of the man who confessed her love to her just a few days before, the one she decided she would be happy with for the rest of her life, could learn to love even though they had been friends since friendship. Unlike Killian's confession, this one didn't burn in her soul; instead, her father's response to her telling him is what burned, quick and fast and repeatedly, every time she had thought back on it over the past few days. He had forbidden him from the castle, acted harshly towards the boy he had known his whole life - and acted even more harshly towards his daughter, forcing her to marry someone she did not love.
She begins to doze off, jumping back to reality a few times, visions of two different sets of blazing blue eyes swirling through her head,the two colors so similar yet so different, one strong and bright, like fresh, cool water; the other soft and warm, the clear sky on a beautiful day. Why did she have to keep finding herself in the company of beautiful men with shining blue eyes? This is the last question she asks herself before the slow rocking of the ship - which she thought would keep her up - lulls her to sleep.
Killian stands at the helm, searching the stars that he has come to know so well. He had not decided on a heading when they left Misthaven, only knowing that he had to leave when he did, get himself and his first stowaway as far away from this bloody realm as fast as he could. With all the places he has been, he can't seem to decide just where to go next. If he had seen the man in the guest cabin since he came aboard, he would ask him if he had any preference: leaving the Enchanted Forest was his idea in the first place. But his guest asked for privacy, to not be bothered for any reason, unless the ship was sinking - and the chances of that happening to the Roger were few and far between.
So Killian does the next best thing: calls his crew to him, and they gather around him on the deck.
"I've asked you all to keep your ears open for mentions of other lands that we have not yet explored, and if you have one, now is the time to speak up!"
They mumble among themselves for a few moments, looking around at their comrades; none of them seem to have an answer for their captain. But then, the door to the guest cabin opens, revealing its inhabitant for the first time since he entered the cabin: a tall, muscular man, his shaggy dark hair and bright blue eyes similar to Killian's, and he notices that in his arm lies a large, brown book, one of the only possessions he brought with him onto the ship.
"I know of somewhere you may not have explored yet, captain," he announces, taking another step onto the deck.
"Aye, mate, and where might that be?"
"It's called the Land Without Magic." A grin spreads across Killian's face, one that the guest returns. "You've heard of it, then?"
"In tall tales and stories from weathered sailors when I was just a lad, yes."
"A c-c-cursed land, c-captain."
"The best place for a cursed captain, then, Smee!" Killian holds up his hook for emphasis, then grabs the wheel with it, turning back towards his guest. "The only problem with traveling to an unknown land is, even in a magic ship, you must know where it is you're going."
But the stranger is one step in front of him, already leafing through the pages of his book to procure something. He approaches the helm, finding what he was looking for, then hands it to the captain: a map, both of the land itself and - more helpful in their present situation - a star map.
Killian looks over the two of them, his heart pounding excitedly in his chest thinking of the adventures before him, and he smiles at his guest, then turns to his crew.
"Gentlemen, it appears that we have found our heading!"
Many of them cheer, but it is the first mate, Mr. Smee, who seems to be the most worried. Like Killian, Smee had heard his own collection of stories about this Land Without Magic, one so very different from their own, even from the others they had visited - and so he fails to share the same excitement with his captain, although he has learned to trust the man with his life.
After examining the star chart for a few more moments, then realigning his own bearing with the stars, he hands the maps back to his guest. "Many thanks, Mr. Booth. I imagine this journey will be one worthy of your book?"
August smiles back at his captain, a man who had quickly become a fast friend in the tavern just a few days before. "I do believe so, captain."
Killian's men make quick time of the preparations for take off, and within just a few short minutes, they are ready to take to the air. Killian gives the order, and they are off the water and into the sky, his new friend standing next to him at the helm.
He is so used to the change between water and air that it does not phase him anymore, and he could be anywhere on the vessel at the moment it happens and not think twice about it - but it is moments too late when he remembers that the man standing next to him is not the only guest aboard his ship, a fact that searching for a heading allowed him to forget momentarily, and the moment he begins to head down the stairs to secretly calm the woman occupying his chambers, he hears her open the door below them and step out, either furious or terrified, or some concoction of both.
To one of the crewmen, she asks where the captain is, and he wordlessly responds, pointing behind her, to where Killian and August stand next to each other behind the large wheel of the ship.
"Killian, what in the hell - " she begins, then realizes exactly what he sees in front of her: the two men who have confessed their love to her in the past few days - the only two men she has ever loved, though in very different ways - standing shoulder to shoulder above her, August's mouth gaping, Killian slowly shaking his head, seeing his mistake unravel right before his eyes.