Chapter: Knots

The next morning was easier for Emma. After another night of rest, she was pleasantly surprised at Matthews stopping by her cabin with a pale of hot water and soap for her to freshen up with. Knowing that an opportunity to bathe was probably going to be rare in this time period, she took the best advantage of it. Even if it was by all accounts a pan bath with rough lye soap, she scrubbed at her skin and did her best of washing her hair with it to get rid of the smell of sea water. Dressed again in her borrowed clothes with her hair braided down her back to dry, she took the pail to throw out the water over ship.

Walking up to deck, everything was bustling and busy, she supposed that yesterday she didn't have the time to notice. Emma weaved out of the way from any sailor and felt a little out of place as they all looked at her strangely.

"Good morning, Miss Swan." Captain Jones greeted her cheerfully, stepping down from the quarter deck towards her. She smiled to him with a nod in greeting as she tossed the contents of the wash bucket over the side of the ship.

"Good morning, Captain. I suppose I slept in compared to all of you."

"A ship's life starts early, it's true." He smiled friendly. "But I wouldn't demand of you to keep to our schedule."

"Well, I won't laze about either." She stated plainly. "I don't expect to take advantage of you."

There was something of approval in his eyes as he looked her over.

"Very good of you then." His smile turned mischievous. "Lieutenant!"

Captain Jones didn't even have to gaze to where his brother was, but Emma felt a lump forming in her throat. She was a little embarrassed at the thought of seeing Killian this morning after the previous night. Still, she glanced around and didn't see the blue-eyed officer on deck when her attention drifted upwards to the main mast.

The lieutenant was up assisting with one of the sails. Even from so far up she could feel his clear blue gaze focusing on her intently. She wondered if he had been watching her since the moment she stepped out on deck. She couldn't tear her eyes away from him in amazement as he easily trapezed about before taking a line and swooping down from his height. Calm and sure of his movements that he must have mastered for a long time. He landed casually a few feet away from them, smoothing back the few strays of hairs that brushed across his forehead with a warm smile that made her want to melt like butter.

She had to admit he was handsome, with dark hair pulled back in a small tail on the nape of his neck and tan skin from being out at sea. The dark blue uniform only highlighted the color of his eyes, and his jaw was traced with a thin outline of facial hair to give him a scruffy masculine look. She was willing to bet even beneath his uniform he had a strong muscular physique to only add to his appeal. And to top it all off he had to have an accent that sent shivers down her spine. Without a doubt he was the most gorgeous man she'd ever seen, and he looked at her as if she was the only woman he'd ever seen before.

"Aye Captain?" His attention was directed towards Liam as he approached, buttoning up his loose jacket until he looked every bit that perfect naval officer as she had met him as. It was strange, but for some reason she liked when she could see the young man he hid well beneath the officer.

"Lieutenant I would like you to take the day to show Miss Swan around the ship. See to it that she knows everything she would need, and I expect you to find her suitable work to occupy herself with."

"Sir." Killian saluted seriously. Liam nodded and departed with a small bow towards her. "Miss Swan."

Killian waited until his brother was several paces away before dropping his stiff pose. A goofy boyish smile spreading over his face.

"Shall we then Miss Swan?" He asked with a smile. She returned it if a bit awkwardly and once again he held up his arm for her expectantly. Emma just stared at it with blank confusion. Snickers coaxed around the deck before Killian lowered it again, disappointment across his face replaced by his relaxed composure. She followed him down the ship in silence to the galley until they were completely alone. Emma swayed on her feet, waiting as he began piling some things onto a plate.

"Does…did you tell your brother about what happened last night?" Was the first thing out of her mouth. He looked up to her with a kind smile and his eyes holding a tenderness as they appraised her.

"No Miss Swan. I can understand that this was something that you wouldn't wish to be discussed about. If you went through all the trouble of sneaking out to be alone, you obviously wanted it to be kept discrete."

"Yeah. Thanks. But I mean… about last night." Emma paused, fiddling with the rope wrapped around her waist, unsure what it is she really wanted to say.

"We don't need to talk about it if you wish."

"No…well I don't want to talk about it. I'm just curious. How did you know I went up on deck? How did you know I was…upset?"

He paused in gathering a few items onto a plate and turned to her with his blue eyes focused on her so intensely it made a part of her stomach do flips.

"I…I don't know how to explain it. I just knew to come up on deck. I knew I would find you there." He laughed softly and walked over with the plate. "It doesn't matter now."

Lie. She detected. A small lie, but she could tell it was something that mattered to him more than to her. So, for that reason, she let it pass.

She examined the food with a curious eye and pointed to something that looked like a mix between a cracker and bread.

"What's that?"

He smiled and picked up a piece, breaking it off between his own perfect white teeth.

"Hardtack. Essential to a sailor's life." He chewed it a bit and then swallowed audibly. "I'm afraid we used up the last of our bread last night. So, until we make port again, it will be hardtack. But you have some very good eggs and an apple to pair with it all to be washed down with goats' milk."

She crinkled her nose a bit at goat's milk having never tried it but took it from him none the less.

"Is this what you eat every day?"

"Most days it is, we have little ways to give it variety. The eggs and milk are everyday though I'm afraid. I hope you don't get sick of them."

She held up the mug and eyed the inside liquid carefully before taking a quick sip, resulting in her coughing loudly.

"Oh god." She smacked her tongue. "It really does taste different than cow milk. I guess I'll get used to it though."

He blinked at her curiously.

"Do you have that often?"

"What milk? I mean time to time, I never really liked milk though. But cow milk is easier to find than goat's milk in my world."

"Really." His fascination over milk made her chortle.

"Is that not true here?"

"No, the opposite. We keep a goat for the milk just because, well, goats are smaller and easier to transport. Even on land though you have to have money for a cow or to afford the dairy."

"Another difference between our worlds then." She nodded, before picking up one of the boiled eggs on her plate. She pealed it easily enough and cut it in half before popping a piece into her mouth.

"What else is different between our worlds? Other than…magic or the availability of dairy cows." He asked, itching behind his ear casually.

"We'd be on this ship for a while before I could finish listing the differences. You would hear me talking all day." She laughed. His eyes lit up at that idea and he smiled to her.

"I wouldn't mind listening to you all day." He was earnest in stating it that she blushed a bit. She had to gulp down another swallow of milk to distract herself.

"Well for starters, I've never seen this before in my life. Only heard about it from history class." Emma took up the piece of hardtack and crunched it between her lips. It wasn't too terrible just bland, although she could see how it could get boring. Killian only watched in a fascination as she ate self-consciously.

"Am I that interesting to watch?" She teased, taking another bite of egg.

"You are." He stated plainly and blushed right after. She snorted at his direct behavior but didn't choose to comment. "I was just thinking how you eat like a sailor."

"Should I take that as insult or compliment?" He chuckled nervously at that, fiddling with his fingers.

"I meant it as...you aren't very picky with it. You haven't said or done anything that would make it seem as if you were discouraged by it."

"Well, it's not pop tarts." She remembered he would have no clue what she was talking about and shook her head at his beginning question. "I mean...when you don't have much to eat anyways...you eat what you can. I won't say I like it, but it's better than starving. I doubt you've been there."

He tensed at the last statement and Emma knew she hit some sort of nerve.

"I do know Miss Swan. Liam and I and I'm sure just about every other man on the ship know what it's like to have starved a day, two, even a week before. It's why we join the navy." His smile returned if but a bit forced. "At the very least for free food and lodging for work."

"Is that why you joined?"

"I joined because Liam spoke highly of doing it."

"So, you did it to follow your brother?"

"Not just that. I love being at sea Miss Swan. Being on the waters is my life, it's where I belong. I've known it since I was a boy. My life has always been on a ship." He bit his lip, drawing Emma's attention to it, making her curious how soft they would feel. "Joining the navy is an honorable endeavor and I'm proud to be serving."

"How old were you when you joined?"

"I received my commission when I was just sixteen." She blinked at that statement and looked at him in shock.

"So young." She gaped and could have sworn his chest puffed with a bit of pride. She rolled her eyes realizing how much people probably commented on that and how it would only feed his ego.

"Aye, I was doing so well in the academy that they sent me for officer training. I've only been a Lieutenant about a year and a half now."

"How old are you now then? You can't be that much older than I am."

He laughed his grin wide with delight at her.

He really is handsome when he smiles like that. She thought and felt a part of her always wanting him to smile that way.

"I'm nineteen now. Second youngest on the ship."

"Third now." Emma corrected. "I'm seventeen. What were you doing before you joined then?"

He laughed fully, a bashful smile on his face.

"So curious about me all of a sudden?"

"It's fascinating." She shrugged. "And it provides insight for this world."

"I don't know if fascinating is the word I would use. I'm sure your childhood would be much more interesting to hear about."

Emma paused at that, feeling the heaviness of her past weigh on her again. She expected him to prod more about it, but instead she felt a gentle hand over hers. He smiled gently at her, almost in understanding before moving his hand around to pick up her bare plate.

"We can exchange our tales of childhood another time. But I do have an assignment today, so let's start with the tour of the ship. Starting in the kitchen. I think you'll like our cook."

After he showed her around in the kitchens with friendly introductions to Cook, he started at the bottom of the ship. Beginning in the damp dark brig and the cargo hold of supplies. Showing her where they kept the water barrels and how they were sealed to help it avoid going stagnant. They briefly passed over the crew quarters, that was nothing more than a large room full of rocking hammocks, and up to the few cabins on ship she was unfamiliar with. The only one she hadn't really seen was apparently Matthews, who's room was nothing more than a closet full of medical supplies. By the end of the tour, they were back up on deck with the sea breeze soothing across her face.

"So, what will you have me do Lieutenant?" She asked in a lilting voice. He paused stiffly and looked at her, his eyes roaming all over her face and she could swear there was something almost bashful in the way he was looking her over.

"I…you…" He cleared his throat. "I was considering just some simple cleaning assignments could be put to order and maybe helping out in the kitchens."

Emma wasn't surprised at being assigned cleaning duty or kitchen work, after all she was new on the ship and didn't know much about anything.

"Well, put me to work." She nodded. The day passed with him showing her how to clean certain things on the ship. Taking the time to do it with her and how to get it done efficiently. With him on his knees next to her polishing some of the wood, the odd glances from the other crew members told her that this was definitely not something the lieutenant would usually be doing. But he was doing it with her and that warmed her heart.

Liam made no comments about it, instead just passing by them every so often with nods of approval. Not trying to pull his brother away once for more important duties. She had to admit it was nice to spend the entire day with Killian. He was true to his word and asked question after question regarding her world. He asked about everything from the food, the music, even boats.

"What are the ships like there?"

"I don't think people really call them ships anymore. But they are huge, larger than this one and completely metal."

"Larger than The Jewel? I would need to see that."

"You probably wouldn't, they aren't nearly as nice looking as this one is. People still pay a lot of money to be on one of these ships."

It was after dinner that he was showing her some basic knots that she was laughing at some of his own stories about life at the academy. She couldn't ever recall having such fun talking to someone. She never got along well with anyone in her world before and never had a friend other than Lily. Already she could tell that Killian was better than the only friend she ever had, because he wasn't lying or using her.

"How many knots do you know?" She asked, finishing one and holding it up to him for approval.

"A lot. There can be a knot for anything." He took the piece of rope from her and tested it with a few tugs. "Good job, that one will hold."

"Can you tie a noose?" He raised a brow at her before unwinding the rope carefully.

"Aye, I can. I hope you don't want to learn so you can hang a man."

"No." She laughed. "I've always just been curious to tie one. Besides you never know."

"Well in that case." He demonstrated it slowly for her, explaining the steps with care before unwinding the rope for her to start again.

"Miss Swan, what's your home like?"

The question was like a sucker punch. She knew he was going to ask more about her life, but she never expected him to ask her that question. Asking her about the one thing she always wanted.

"I…I don't really have one."

"What about…where you were living before? Didn't you consider it your home?"

"No." She answered plainly. "I…I was abandoned on the side of a road as a baby. I never met them. In my world you're sent to an orphanage or put into foster families, they are people chosen to take care of you for a while. They are supposed to until you turn eighteen, but I ran away. I was…traveling to find somewhere I wanted to stay when whatever happened brought me here. But I never really belonged anywhere."

"So, you grew up…on your own? Alone?"

She paused in working the rope at that question. It was so straightforward and blunt. Others would ask if she was ever adopted, if she grew up in foster care, or in an orphanage. No one was that honest about it.

"Yeah." She nodded solemnly. "I guess…I guess I have."

"That…that must have been hard on you." He cleared his throat and looked out to the sea. "I…its not the same…but when I was a lad…my father sold Liam and I into indentured service to escape his debtors. I know what its like to be abandoned as well."

A sinking feeling fell in the pit of her stomach. She thought Killian grew up in a perfect family, with loving parents he would visit whenever he made port. Yet he was abandoned as well. Worse, he was abandoned by a parent he already knew and loved and was betrayed. Maybe it was better she didn't know her parents than to feel she was sold off.

"I'm sorry." She muttered.

"I find that feeling sorry for each other doesn't do much." He looked to her. "But I can empathize with you in a way. I know the sting of abandonment and wanting to find your place in the world. Home is out there for you Miss Swan. Don't loose hope in finding it."

"Easy for you to say." She huffed. "Your home is right here. Your brother, the ship, the crew. Mine is a whole world away. A whole realm or dimension or something."

"Is it? What exactly is your home then? Is there…is there someone waiting for you back there?"

Emma raised a brow at that question after she told him that she didn't have a family or caretaker that worried about her. She paused then and thought it over, realizing she was misunderstanding him.

"Are you asking if I have a…boyfriend back home?"

"A boyfriend?" He repeated slowly but clearly distastefully. "Is that another word for beau or suitor?"

All thoughts about families and homes went away, and she couldn't help but grin at his clueless nature.

"Yes."

"Yes, you do?" His eyes were shadowed with worry at the thought.

"No, I don't have anyone like that back home. No one has really had the time or patience for me like that before." She laughed and stood up with a stretch. "That's funny Killian, but I think after all this work today I'm going to turn in early. Good night."

She walked away and left him where he was sitting on deck. A fair distance away that she couldn't hear his heavy sigh.

"I would have all the patience in the world for a lass like you Miss Swan. And I will."

.

.

Emma dunked her brush back into the bucket of water and scrubbed at the deck. She had been at work for it for the better part of the morning. Usually, Killian would hover around her to keep her company while she worked, but that morning he was down with Liam seeing to the cargo to list supplies they needed. So, she hummed to herself a familiar tune while she scrubbed at the wood.

"It's pretty." A voice commented. She blinked up at one of the crew members, a young man that was probably the closest to her age next to Killian. Andrews she thought his name was. His brow crinkled in confusion, probably from why she was just staring at him without saying anything. "Your…your singing. It's lovely."

"Oh." She felt a little bashful, the others did their own humming or mumbling while they worked. She assumed no one minded. "I…it was just humming."

"I'm sure you have a lovely singing voice though. The others…they hope one day you might sing."

"None of you want to hear me do that." She laughed. "No one has ever liked it before."

"Well then I think they were lying. Everyone listens to you hum, if you were to sing while we work, we would probably never stop."

"That's very nice of you to say." Emma smiled and went back to work, but the boy just hovered over her.

"Is that a song from your homeland?"

"Yes."

"What's it called?"

"Are you so interested in what I sing to myself while I clean the deck?" She raised a brow at him.

"I'm just interested to share a conversation with a pretty lass. As you can see, we have a short supply of those on deck."

"So, I'm just the only one available is that it?"

"Not at all milady. You are without a doubt the prettiest lass I've ever seen. We all think so."

"What is it that we all think Mr. Andrews?" The two both looked up to see Liam and Killian standing over the hatch, their looks sent freezing chills down her spine. She could only imagine how poor Andrews felt since he was the target of their scrutiny. Immediately the boy straightened up, no longer leaning against the deck.

"That she's…a hard worker sir."

Emma only smiled at the obvious lie told just to save himself from embarrassment. With a glance to the brothers, she could tell they knew he was lying as well.

"Then perhaps you can learn a thing or two from her and get back to your own duties." Liam suggested, nodding his head in dismissal before turning up to the quarter deck. Killian walked forward to her, but not before passing an appraising look to Andrews.

"If you're going to flirt Mr. Andrews, the least you can do is be honest about it." His blue eyes trailed over to her, and a wide smile crossed his face. "Especially if the lady is right here."

Andrews slinked off without another word, and Emma didn't even bother to hide her giggles.

"I'm sure you would do the same if you had the captain catching you in the act. Especially one like your brother."

He quirked a brow at her, his smile becoming daring.

"I'll have you know I wouldn't. Its bad form to lie to your captain. If he caught me flirting with you, I would say so proudly. As any man who was flirting with you should do."

"Well." She grinned, leaning closer. "That would only be if you were flirting."

His shocked expression had her smiling in triumph as she threw out the cleaning water and sauntered away. Killian might not be the most experienced flirt, but she still couldn't resist playing along with him whenever he got the nerve to do it. The more time they spent together on the ship he started to do it more openly with her. She had no complaints on the matter, after all Killian was much better than Andrews in comparison.

By dinner time his embarrassment had dissipated, and he was back to being his overly friendly self-engaging her in conversation with the rest of the crew. Dinner times were her favorite at night by having the whole crew around to talk to and all of them seemed to have the best stories to tell. Even in foster care dinners tended to be cold and informal. Usually just quiet time or eating in front of the TV. Here, it was the time to socialize and entertain with only conversation. It took her time to warm up to it, but Emma was starting to like listening to the crazy adventures all the sailors claimed to have.

"Lass its your turn tonight!" An elder sailor literally named Codger grinned. "You need to tell us a story."

"Yes, Miss Swan a story."

"A story from your world!"

She felt her cheeks blush and she looked to Killian in an attempt for help. He only shot her a cheeky grin and shrugged. Clearly, he was as interested as the rest of them.

"I don't really have any good ones happen to me." She tried to excuse.

"Oh, coddle that milady." Codger grunted. "We don't need it to be true. You can tell us any story from your world. I doubt we've heard it before."

"That's right. It can even be a romantic one."

"We sailors are a romantic lot don't you think so?" There were rounds of laughter and she felt as if she was missing the joke that everyone, even Killian seemed to be aware of, but she thought it over. There had to be something that they would like to hear. Something that probably involved adventure and probably some romance.

"Alright." She nodded. "But you all asked for a story, and I'm not the best. But there is one from my land that I liked. Have any of you ever heard of Aladdin and the magic lamp?"

By the shake of their heads and confusion she grinned. It might not be on parr with Disney, but she was going to try and tell it to the best of her abilities.

"Long ago in a far away place, the middle of the dessert lay the great city of Agrabah. In this city there lived a young boy, a common boy who was really nothing more than a common thief." So, she told the story as she remembered it, all of them were captivated by it though apparently Agrabah was not a fantasy land to them, but an actual city in the desert. But it was enough that for the rest of the week that insisted on hearing more stories from her, and she did. And every night whenever she glanced over to Killian, she swore no one listened as intently as he did. Like he was really seeing a whole new world through her that she knew no one else ever had seen.

.

.

By the third week on the ship, Emma was much more accustomed to life at sea. She woke with the crew and ate with them in the galley in the mornings, mostly with Killian by her side. Afterwards she would spend time in the kitchen with Cook helping to clean or prep whatever was to be cooked for their supper that night. In the afternoon it varied between her doing chores that needed tending around on the ship or learning what she could from Matthews. The surgeon was quite interested in her company just to ask what she knew about the medical field in her world. Even if she didn't know much, he shrugged and would offer to teach her what he could about medicine in their world. She learned how to set bones, blending some medicinal herbs for medicine (mostly for when seasickness got too bad), and he taught her how to sew. Apparently basic sewing was a necessity for everyone in this world, even for sailors.

It was after her time spent with Matthews for the day that Emma decided on getting some fresh air back up on the main deck. Pulling herself out of the hatch, she was greeted with the hollers of the sailors and a clanging of metal, something that was unusual at dusk aboard The Jewel.

Emma pushed herself through the gathering of men, several of them stepping away for her to pop through and realized how these men were so riled up. The same way men everywhere would be riled up. They were watching a fight. Usually this would be a fist fight, but in the case of trained military men, it was a fight with steel. She watched as two sailors moved about with their swords clashing together. She assumed they were all versed in using them, but this was the first time witnessing them use the blades.

As she found her way to the front of the crowd and noticed that one of the sparring men was Killian. His appearance making her swallow audibly. His jacket was gone, leaving him in just his white shirt and vest that was accumulating patches of sweat. His forehead and hair were damp with it as well, with his blue eyes sparkling with life from the thrill of the fight. Emma watched in fascination as he practically danced with the blade. Evading the blows of his opponent with such grace it made the other man look like a clumsy oaf. She giggled aloud at that.

Apparently, that was enough to draw his attention from the fight. His blue eyes flickered to her, and he looked shocked to see her up on deck watching this with the other men. Quickly that disappeared however, when he struck at the other sailor's blade, fast and aggressive. He went from graceful evasion to sudden onslaught. In less than a minute the other man was disarmed and holding his hands up in surrender.

"Good show Lieutenant." He smiled and offered Killian a handshake. Killian returned it with fervor, offering out the disarmed sword and then heading over to Emma. She could have sworn there was a particular air of smugness he had walking over to her with his chest puffed out and head held high. He was clearly posturing.

"Excellent job." She still nodded. "You look as if you've been doing that every day."

"Ever since I started working on ships." He smiled back to her. "A man has to defend himself from the blights of the sea."

"And what would that be?" She asked in a whisper, leaning closer. His eyes lit in surprise before he leaned into her ear. This close she could smell him, his heady scent mingled with the salty breeze made her feel relaxed and comforted by his presence.

"Pirates." His whisper breathed across her neck. She could feel chills ripple under her skin, but she coyly looked up at him with a smile.

"Never want to be unprepared for them."

"Oh, I'm never unprepared."

"Alright Lieutenant, it's my turn for a go." Liam's voice called over the deck. "Enough patronizing with poor Miss Swan."

Killian's cool demeanor evaporated with his face flushing scarlet, and not from his exertion. Emma couldn't help but giggle again.

"I thought you're never unprepared?"

"My brother is one of the two exceptions to that statement." He whispered back.

"What would the other one be?" She asked, he only smiled at her before turning away brandishing his sword. The whole deck was silenced as the two brothers circled around each other, the tension in the air palpable. Emma felt that it wasn't every day that the Jones brothers did this. A glance around deck confirmed it and could see some of them whispering while others pocketed money. Bets. She doubted either of the honorable brothers would be happy to hear about that, but the first clang of mettle drew her attention back to them.

It was Killian who struck first, his blade parried by Liam's and the two engaged in a series of fast footwork across the circled deck. It was blinding and too fast for her to watch but it carried out longer than the first fight. It turned into Liam's favor when he finally got through Killian's defenses and held the tip of his blade over his brother's neck.

Claps ensued around the deck, but Emma just quirked a brow. Something wasn't right from the display, and she made a note in the future to come up and watch them both carefully again to find out what it was. Killian shook hands with his brother before sheathing his blade and taking hold of his jacket that was draped across one of the barrels. Many of the crew members began drifting apart, most likely to head down for their dinner now that the display was over.

"Have you ever won against him?" Emma asked, sauntering over. Killian looked up with a wry smile, tugging his jacket back on, his cravat loose around his neck that he began tying.

"Well, I have yet to best him, so never." He laughed at himself.

"I find that hard to believe."

He raised one thick eyebrow at that, a crooked smile taking over his face.

"Are you that confident in my abilities Miss Swan?"

"No, I'm just observant."
"Well, there's nothing more to say than my brother has excellent skill."

"That's obvious, but I think there was something else to it."

"Well to be fair, I did have quite the distraction." He grinned at her cheekily.

"I'm not a distraction." She threw back with an eye roll.

"No, your much more than that to be sure." His whispered rolled over her and she cast a glance up to him, but he was turned away, taking out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his brow. "Shall we go to dinner then Miss Swan?"

"Sure." She whispered, and followed after the throng down to the galley. At the meal she was called upon for another story, and that night she started telling the story of the Titanic. She described the ship as best as she could and how it was thought be unthinkable, and all of them were captivated at the gargantum of the size.

"How could such a monstrosity sail?"

"It doesn't seem possible for there to be something so large."

"A ship that large would surely sink."

"It did." Emma added in. "Her maiden voyage, everyone claimed that the ship was unsinkable. A luxuorious large ship that was trying to sail through iceberg fields in the dark. Everyone claimed that it would not sink, when one night in the middle of the voyage, it collided into an iceberg on the…starboard side?"

She cast a glance to Killian with a questioning look.

"That would be on the right side of the ship." He provided helpfully.

"Yes…thanks. It collided into the iceberg and ice water began to flood the ship in a matter of hours. With only a limited amount of lifeboats and the waters well below freezing, thousands died that night. The famous ship living on for infamy of the famous sinking decades after it happened."

"Not enough lifeboats? That's absurd."

"Not only that, what kind of Captain thinks to steer in ice yards in the dark. If the ship is as large as you say it was bound to happen."

"This sounds like a ghost story lass."

"No, its true. Years later they developed the technology and were able to send ships down below the ocean and found it."

That was met with silence as they all looked at her as if she was insane.

"Ships that go below the waves?"

"That doesn't sound possible."

"Are you sure you don't live in a realm with magic?"

"Blimey a ship that can go underwater, that would be a sight."

"I don't believe her. This is just another story."

Emma rolled her eyes and took up her plate.

"You asked for a story, and that is one of the most famous ones in my world. There even was a sad romantic tale aboard the ship."

"What?"

"What happened then?"

"Come on and tell us lass?"

Emma turned with an impish smile and shrug.

"That gentlemen will be a tale for another day. Good night."

She headed towards the stairwell and walked back up to deck, the sun finishing its descent and she was able to make out the telling of a few stars coming out into the darkening sky. She smiled at that and picked up a piece of spare rope and sat on her usual barrel.

"They mean well Miss Swan." Killian's voice followed up after her. He walked over with his hands crossed behind his back. "Only small jokes and teasing."

"I know that. It's not my fault they don't believe me."

"Well to be fair, you don't believe in the magic of our realm."

"That's because magic doesn't exist."

"Aye, back home in your world. But here it does. And here, giant boats don't exist. You must admit to us some of your realm sounds too good to be true."

"I guess that makes sense. Do you believe in the stories I tell then?"

"Of course, I have no doubt that there can be a world like that exists. Just like I think deep down inside you believe in magic."

"Do not." She grinned, recognizing his teasing voice.

"But you want to."

"I can want to believe in magic, but as of yet, I haven't seen it."

"Then how would you explain you getting here?"

Emma paused at that and shrugged. She preferred not to question that anymore. Her concentration was slacking on the knot she was trying to form until it looked like a jumbled mess. With a lighthearted chuckle, Killian took a seat beside her and taking up a piece of rope, he recognized the knot she was trying to make and finished it with a flourish.

"I don't see how you can tie it so easily." Emma grumbled, untangling the messy knot from the length of rope in her hand. Killian chuckled softly beside her while deftly releasing his own knot.

"Lots and lots of practice for starters. But don't worry, by the time this boat docks you'll be tying them like any other sailor. We have plenty of time to perfect it."

"If you think so, but I'm not having much luck with this."

"Don't fuss over it Miss Swan, here. Let's try another one. This one is called the monkey fist."

"Okay." She held out her rope to him. "Show me."

His grin widened as he took it in hand and leaned closer to her, his shoulders brushing up closer to hers.

"It's a simple one, more ornamental than serviceable but I find it a soothing one. Now three fingers like so, and you wrap around three times." His fingers moved nimbly with the rope until it slipped off his fingers and pulled tightly formed a perfect spherical knot. "There we go."

"Wow, okay. Not exactly what I would call easy." She tried again, mimicking his motions as she recalled from memory, but from all the knot tying practice she learned from him, this one was proving to be the most difficult. "Ugh, you might need to show me again."

He huffed a sound that sounded like a laugh before moving closer.

"May I?" He whispered softly. She could only nod, feeling the heat of his presence as he shifted behind her. His arms wrapping around her and taking hold of her hands in his. The way he held her hands within his so delicate that it sent electricity rippling under her skin. She watched it in wonder, him directing her hand, moving her fingers as a tool through the motions of making the knot. His rich accented voice whispering the steps in her ear.

"This reminds me of another story in my world. One I remember reading in school, that was about a monkey paw granting wishes?"

"A monkey paw?" He laughed, his warm breath husky against her ear.

"It sounds silly, but it was said to possess magical qualities. I take it that doesn't exist here?"

"Definitely nothing I've ever heard of. It sounds morbid though. Who would ever wish on the appendage of an animal?"

"I don't know. But it was a cautionary tale, to be careful what you wish for."

"Aye, a wise lesson that would be. But why teach that lesson if magic doesn't exist in your world I wonder?"

They finished with a final tug, and in her palm, she rolled around the spheric knot before turning to him with a wide smile. She froze, realizing suddenly how close his face seemed to hers, and she became lost appraising him.

"I…." She cleared her throat and scooted away from his proximity. "Thanks for showing me how to do it."

"Miss Swan?" Killian asked "Do you recall when I asked about…your home?"

Emma stiffened at that but nodded anyways. She really didn't want to have this conversation again. Her gaze shifted from the rope up to him and she could see he was scared and nervous about whatever was on his mind. His tongue ran out along his lower pink lip, taking her attention away from his blue eyes for a moment.

"Yeah…what about it?" She prodded. His blue eyes met hers.

"It's probably not my place to ask, but if you don't consider that place a home…then why do you want to go back?"

It was the truth, but it still stung when he said it. Emma went back to fiddling with the rope at her waist, a little more aggressively than she had been.

"It isn't your business." She spat a little bitterly and regretted it just as fast. Killian was…well he was her friend. Probably her first real friend since Lily, and he was different than that already. He was genuine. He was honest and considerate. And for some unknown reason, she felt she could trust him with her life or even so much more.

"But why go back? You said you don't have any family there and that you were on your own. I just…why go back then?"

"Because it's all I've known Killian." She snapped. "It's all I've ever known, and I don't know where else to go if not back."

He was silent for a moment, but his hand caught hold of hers that was still gripping tightly to the knot.

"You could stay here." He said so gently, his hands taking hers to hold. "You could sail with us. You do great work already, you tell amazing stories, the crew likes you, and…people care about you here. We would miss you when you leave. I certainly would."

Emma felt frozen on the spot. Her first instinct was to accept the idea. How easy it would be to trust him and join this life. She felt as if everything was pivoting on this moment, but she knew that it wasn't to be true. She removed her hands from his and got up from the barrel she was sitting on.

"This isn't a joke. I don't need you pretending to step in to help me."

"I wouldn't dream about joking or pretending about this Emma. I'm genuine."

Truth. She didn't need her lie detector to tell her that.

"I can't stay with you on a ship Killian. I need to go home."

"Where is that then? A different world? One where you can roam place to place to find belonging?" He stood up too and walked closer to her. "What if you already found it Emma? What makes you so afraid of possibly staying here? Don't try to deny it, I know you are frightened about something."

"Because this won't last! Sooner or later there will be trouble. Sooner or later there will be a reason that I can't stay with you or that you will leave me. When the going gets tough I've always been the one who gets hurt. So don't say things like that." His expression became blank, and he eyed her carefully.

"You think I'd abandon you too? Like your parents."

She turned and was ready to walk away. To run from this conversation and the thoughts that circled in her head. He moved around in front of her, blocking her from moving away from him.

"That's it! You'd rather be the one to run than to have someone else leave you."

"And is that a crime? I know better than to listen to promises of staying together." She shoved her way past him. She didn't like thinking about this, about him. She needed to get away from thinking like this. Thoughts of staying and getting closer to the dreamy blue-eyed sailor. A 'thunk' on the deck had her glancing behind her and she was shocked that Killian was on his knees before her.

"What are you doing?" She huffed in exasperation. He held her gaze in earnest.

"I'm making a promise. You can't refuse a promise from a man on his knees." He said it so seriously she almost laughed, instead she was mostly getting annoyed.

"Get up."

"No. You're not taking me seriously. You think I'm just being civil when I say it, but here I am Miss Swan. I am on my knees and I promise you, I will not abandon you. I will not leave you for any reason and I will protect you. Because you are worth fighting for."

She blinked, unable to believe what she was seeing but he was completely serious. He was on his knees promising that he wasn't going to abandon her. Like so many people ever had.

"Do you believe me now?" He asked with a quirked brow and a sly grin. Emma was so baffled she could only nod slowly. Satisfied with her response, he leapt back to his feet with ease and took her hands back in his, overlapping the knot until the rope was digging into her skin.

"I mean it with all my heart Miss Swan. On every ounce of honor in my body. I can see that you've had a difficult past…full of fair weathered promises. Well, you should know that any good sailor doesn't make those. There's no such thing as a fair weathered sailor, just a man with a boat." He delicately lifted them both to his mouth and again placed a kiss to each knuckle. "I am going to earn your trust even if I have to swim in another storm to get it. But I hope you will see that you can trust me to not hurt you. I hope you will trust me with much more soon."

He released her hands and walked away, leaving her on deck clenching them again and again. Her heart was racing in her chest, something that was feeling more for the young lieutenant than she cared to admit. His promises of earning her trust were well within reach, but she knew he was talking about more than just her trust or loyalty.

Emma held up the perfect spheric knot in her hand, feeling it tingle in her palm with an unforgettable promise.