"August," she breathes, still not quite believing her eyes, while August is unable to move.

Emma may be in shock, not quite knowing what she thinks, but August is in a whole different world: he found himself aboard this ship to get away not from palace life, or Misthaven, but her, the exact woman he needed to get away from. Emma may be running away from her marriage, her expectations as a princess, but August was just a shadow of a thought at the back of her mind.

There are so many things August wants to say, to yell at both his princess and the captain, but they are all flying around his head so quickly that he cannot get any of them out.

Emma looks back and forth between the two men, her head spinning in the same haze of blue eyes that lulled her to sleep - but she does her best to push them to the back of her mind, instead continuing the question she burst out of the captain's quarters to ask.

"Hook, what the hell is going on? Why did the ship lurch like that?"

"If you're afraid of heights, I wouldn't go looking overboard, Princess."

Emma, it turns out, is not afraid of heights; she is, in fact, the opposite, and makes her way over to the railing of the ship, looking below her. She sees the reflection of the full moon on the waves below her, but does not quite understand what she is seeing; she conjures a fireball and drops it, her eyes slowly widening as it falls to the ocean below them.

"Captain," she asks, turning back to them, only to find that he has filled in the space between them, leaving August by himself at the helm, watching them. She tries not to get caught up by just how close the pirate is to her, but at the same time, she can't stop focusing on the perfect way that the moonlight reflects in his brilliant blue eyes. After what seems like a lifetime, she pulls her gaze away from his, looking down towards the polished boards of the deck. She clears her throat, pulling herself together, and finally continues, though quieter this time, "Where in the hell are we going?"

"Mr. Boothe only asked that we leave the realm of the Enchanted Forest, and when I asked for ideas, he procured a star map and suggested the Land Without Magic."

"The Land Without Magic!" Emma yells at him, overcome with too many emotions, but when she realizes that every man on the deck of the ship is looking towards her and Killian, she takes a deep breath and lowers her voice slightly. "Captain, I wish to speak with you in your - uh, my? - quarters. Alone." And before he can answer, or she can look around to see the faces of everyone around her, and especially the man standing behind the wheel above her, she makes a beeline for the door of the captain's chambers, which she left open.

She has a moment to pull herself together, running her fingers through her hair and sitting down on the edge of the bed, before Killian follows her, closing the door behind him.

"What seems to be the problem here, lass?"

After a moment, she looks up at him. "Are you insane?"

His eyes widen, then he furrows his brow at her. "What are you talking about, Swan? I've been hearing stories about this land for as long as I've been hearing stories, and I see no reason to be afraid of a land like this, especially not when I've braved so many lands before."

"I've also heard tales of this land, most of them from my father. And none of them ended well for the people who traveled there. They don't understand people like us, people - people like me." She holds out her hands, building a small flame in each of them.

Killian sits down next to her, trying his best to keep at least a few inches between his leg and hers, but lets his eyes see deep into her soul. "You have no need to be afraid, Emma. I will protect you. I would - " He sets his hand on her knee, testing the waters between them. His hand is warm, almost searing her skin, even through her pants, but she can't bring herself to ask him to move it. "I would do anything to keep you safe."

"Killian," she whispers, but can't bring herself to say anything else, just longed for the feel of his name in her mouth. She looks up at him through her eyelashes, searching for some sense of him lying - somehow, she thinks that would be easier to deal with, if he was lying to her about his feelings. But all she finds in the bright oceans of his eyes is the truth, comfort and warmth and the soul of a man who cares for her in a way that no one has done before, not even August. "I need to know something," she says after a few long moments.

"Aye, love, anything."

"How - how is this ship flying?"

It is just about the last think Killian expects to hear, and it catches him by surprise - but after a moment, he can't help but smile at her. The tension in the room clears up a bit as he begins to recall the story, Liam's commission from the king, the Pegasus, their trip to Neverland - Liam's death in his arms, in this very room. And while everything in him told him to burn the Pegasus sail, there was another part, a smaller part that screamed that he needed to keep it, to use it for the opposite of the evil the king created it for - and for years, he has been using it to travel between the realms, flying under his own banner on his stolen Jewel of the Realm, his whole life changed after the death of his dear brother.

A beat of silence passes between them before Emma realizes that she has wound her fingers through his, still resting on her leg, but instead of pulling away, she squeezes his hand. "You really have a soft side, then, huh?"

She smiles up at him, and he returns it. "Aye, but if you tell anyone, I'll send you to the brig."

When he presses his lips against hers this time, she doesn't push him away; in fact, she does the opposite, running her fingers through the hair on the back of his neck, pulling him towards her. She feels his tongue on her bottom lip, and she grants him entry, deepening the kiss together. There is something in his taste that calms her, between the sea and the rum, that she wants more, wants to never forget it.

They pull apart at the same time, keeping their foreheads pressed together.

"Emma, I - " He starts, but she has to get something off her chest before she can let him say anything else.

"Please, Killian, let me," and he nods to her, his eyes soft and bright. "I want this, I want to give us a try, but I need to talk to August first. I may not - I don't - you know - but I know how he feels about me, and he means so much to me, as a friend. I can't just throw this on him, especially on a pirate ship flying through the sky, when he has no other choice than to see me." Killian doesn't answer right away, and Emma takes his chin in her hand, pulling his gaze back to him. "Is that - you understand, right?"

"Aye, love. I've waited for you for ten years, I can wait a little bit longer to call you mine."