A/N: Next exciting chapter is up, loads of stuff is going to happen in this, and the next one. Their adventure is far from over. Hope you still enjoy this little story here, it's been such fun taking part of the CSSNS event this year.
Thank you for all the likes, kudos and comments.
Enjoy.
Chapter 8The morning sun painted the sky in a spectacular palette of pink and gold, with clouds lined in silver. The dragon deck had become Emma's favourite spot and she smiled when the dragons woke up with the sun, shaking out their wings. Toothless grunted and stepped towards the railing, his snout lifted into the wind, sniffing at something they couldn't see.
"What is it?" Emma asked and walked over next to Killian's dragon.
Toothless grunted and flapped his wings excitedly, so it seemed to be no threats nearby. Another grunt sounded behind her and Emma greeted Pearl with a rub down her neck. "So what do you think is out there?" Emma turned around and squinted her eyes from the rising sun out to the east.
"Captain!" The pirate in the crow's nest shouted, "Think we're close, the cloudy mists are on the horizon and the ocean is disappearing."
"What!?" Emma exclaimed and rushed to the main deck and up the steps to the helm, barely paying attention to how the ship shifted lower and lower until it hit the water with a small splash. "What does he mean about the ocean disappearing?"
"Love, this just means we've reached our destination," Killian said and shouted to his men, giving orders to take in the mainsail and only drift by the two smaller sails for now.
"Have we reached the End of the World?" Henry's voice sounded from the stairs.
"Aye, lad, we certainly have, here have a look." Killian found a telescope in his coat pocket and unfolded it deftly with his one hand.
Henry took the telescope and scanned the horizon, "Look, Mother, the ocean disappears, as if we're heading towards a huge waterfall or something."
"A waterfall?"
"Aye, a waterfall, the gates to the hidden world of dragons, is right here at the End of the World." Killian took the telescope from Henry, "Don't worry M'lady, we'll only drift a little closer, then drop anchor."
"Then what?"
"I'll fly on Toothless along with my fellow dragon riders, to find Caldera at the bottom of the waterfall."
"Mother, can we go too?"
"Absolutely not." Emma stated firmly glaring at her son, "You've already gotten into too much trouble on this journey."
"You can come along on Pearl if you want to." Killian offered her, suddenly standing far too close for her liking. She could already smell his intoxicated mix of leather, rum and saltwater. When she turned her gaze to him he had the audacity to wink at her, right here in front of her son and everyone else.
"I haven't flown that much on her." It had only been on short flights around the ship a few times. She still didn't feel confident in her ability to fly longer.
"Come now love, the dragon will follow her mate either way, she might as well have her dragon rider on her back." He rubbed behind his ear, "You won't have another chance at seeing Caldera, ain't you just a little curious?" He lifted an eyebrow.
"Mother, please can we go?"
Emma shifted her gaze between her son and the insufferable stubborn pirate before her. Then she looked to the dragon deck and saw how restless Pearl seemed to be alongside her mate and the two other dragons. The beasts clearly knew where they were right now, close to where they might have been born or at the very least where their ancestors had come from.
"Okay."
"Yay." Henry shouted and rushed over to hug his mother, he looked up at her, "I promise to be safe and listen to everything you say on this adventure."
Emma lifted an amused eyebrow, "Knowing you kid you'll be finding a dragon egg and trying to steal it away from there." The light in her son's eyes had her sigh, "And that will not happen, you hear me?"
"I hear you." He pulled away, "I'll go tell August." Then he rushed down the stairs to the main deck in search of her royal guard.
Emma turned her focus on Killian who was still standing far too close, "August won't like this."
"That man doesn't like a lot of things." Killian mused grimly. "He doesn't like me very much."
"Can you blame him?" Emma dared to step closer to Killian, "You stole the heart of the princess he's supposed to protect at all costs."
"He's jealous," Killian mumbled.
"Surely not…" Emma blinked in surprise, "What… what do you mean exactly by that?"
"I got eyes in me head, love and that man is more than just interested in protecting your delectable arse, he's jealous."
"As in…"
"Aye, the man is smitten with the Misthaven princess, despite what his duty tells him, he likes you, a lot I dare say."
"He was pissed off last night, I just thought it was because he felt he failed to protect me?" Emma blinked in surprise, recalling how August had come into their room last night after he'd caught her kissing Killian. Never had she seen the man so angry, drawing the curtain shut between them with angry tugs so the poor fabric nearly ripped from its rings mounted on a wire hung in the ceiling.
"I recognize a jealous man." Killian got a faraway look on his face as if that was something he'd been through himself.
Emma placed her hand on his cheek, startling him, his eyes blown wide.
"Killian, I've harboured no such feeling towards August."
"Aye, I know that," Killian smirked and twisted his head so his lips graced her palm, sending shivers up her arm.
"Gods, you're so full of yourself aren't you?" Emma chuckled.
"Seems you like me that way." He lunged forward and placed a kiss on her mouth, making her gasp out in surprise. She never had time to answer him as a call was made from the crow's nest again. Something about how far they were from the waterfall, Emma looked to the horizon. It was strange seeing the ocean disappear into nothing, mists of water hung over the abyss. They were now so close that they could hear the roar of the water, "I'm really going to fly over that?" Emma mumbled to herself as she strode towards her dragon.
On the dragon deck, August waited for her alongside Henry.
"Henry tells me you're going with the pirates." August had his arms crossed over his chest.
"Yes we are," Emma said with as much conviction as she could muster. "Will give my dragon a chance to visit her ancestors."
"She can fly without you," August stated calmly, but Emma could see the twisted emotions flickering in his eyes. Killian had been right, why have I never noticed what feelings August harboured for me?
"Well, I'm here now and I'm going to see Caldera, you won't get another chance like this." Emma looked over at Graham and Ruby who were busy preparing their own dragons. "Maybe if you ask nicely, you can ride with Graham again."
"I'd rather not." August said and stepped back, "Be careful down there." He turned around and strode towards the hatch leading to their quarters. Moments later he emerged with her sword and shield and as he approached her, he gave her a rueful smile, "Better take these."
"Thank you, August." Emma took the sword and strapped it around her waist. "I'll be careful, I promise I'll come back."
"You better." He gave her the shield, "I'd hate to bring the news to Regina about you dying at the End of the World."
Emma nodded in agreement, as August gave a final bow and strode to the bow of the ship, ignoring her for now. Emma sighed and turned to her son, "Ready, kid?"
Henry nearly stumbled over his own two feet as he rushed over to Pearl, the white dragon looking down at the boy with blinking eyes. The dragon lifted her head when Emma came closer, and Pearl grunted in greeting.
"Yeah, we're going flying today."
Pearl flapped her wings, showing off the saddle someone had mounted on her back.
"Got her prepped for you while you were smooching with the captain," Ruby said and smoothed her hand over the saddle which Pearl had accepted after a few trials and errors. Emma felt more safe on the dragon's back when riding in the saddle and knowing she'd have Henry along with her it was best to have it on.
"I wasn't…" Emma tried to protest but when she looked at Ruby, she knew that everyone onboard the ship had witnessed the kiss. "Shit, you saw that."
"Oh yeah and let me be the first to congratulate you." Ruby stuck out her hand. "You're the first to crack open our Captain's shield and slink your way into that ol' darkened heart of his."
"He's a good man."
"He's also a pirate." Ruby winked, "But he's got his code and all that, so you scored one of the good pirates in all the realms."
Emma shook her head, still not feeling comfortable speaking so privately with the woman, despite it being nice to have another woman on this ship.
Half an hour later the four dragons were prepared and ready to take flight, they had provisions in saddlebags, just in case. Killian had shown her a specially made crate where they'd be transporting the Phoenix flower. They lined it with dragon scales so the crate wouldn't catch fire once they placed the flower into the crate.
Emma held her breath as her dragon soared to the sky, circling the ship a few times before following Toothless to the edge of the waterfall. Here the roar of the water was deafening and she could hardly hear her son shouting in joy as they flew over the massive waterfall.
Toothless took the lead as they began the descent over the waterfall and Emma tried to take in the surrounding scenery. Water mists had their clothes become damp in seconds and it wasn't possible to see the bottom yet. It felt as if they flew downwards for ages before they began seeing large boulders scattered over the bottom of the waterfall.
Emma kept her dragon close to Killian as did both Ruby and Graham with their dragons. Killian waved his hand towards a large hole between three massive boulders. Did he want them to fly in there? It sure seemed as if their dragons could fly in there with no problems.
Killian flew in first and Emma quickly followed hoping that the other two dragons would be right behind her. It was easy to navigate in the cave as little glowing lights covered the walls and the roar of the waterfall soon was only a muted echo.
"Do you see this?" Henry asked in front of her. She knew that her son's eyes would be huge as he looked around them, but right now all she focused was on following Killian deeper and deeper into this magical place. the lights shifted between pink, purple and light blue.
They entered a large cavernous space, tall columns were holding up the ceiling of the cave. Still, specs of light illuminated the space and as they flew over the floor Emma could see what looked like glowing plants gathered in small groups all growing on the rocks.
She flew up next to Killian, "Where do you suppose we'll find the Phoenix flower?" She looked down at the plants below her, "Do you even know what to look for."
"No." Killian twisted in his saddle making Toothless do a sharp turn to the right, Emma followed him closely.
"What?"
"It will be a plant of fire. Do you know what a Phoenix is?"
"I know what a Phoenix flower is." Henry piped up.
"You do?" Emma asked leaning forward to send her son a hard look.
"Well, not what it looks like no one really does, but I know it grows on lava stone, hence it being named after a phoenix, who burns up when it dies and…"
"Yeah, I know what a Phoenix is, Henry." She ruffled his hair, "You're too damn smart for your own good."
Henry turned his head to her and grinned, "See all that reading does pay off."
"It certainly does." She looked around the cave, "Well I don't see any lava here."
A whooshing sound came from the opposite side of the cave and moments later a group of dragons flew out and circled over them. Both Toothless and Pearl gave out various grunts and hisses in reply to the dragons' sounds. The group of dragons looked friendly enough, but they all kept a wary eye on them just in case. A smaller dragon swooped down in front of Toothless making them stop in midair, the only sound was the flapping of dragon wings. Toothless grunted again and moved its head up and down.
Emma nudged Pearl up beside Killian and Toothless, "Do you think they'll help?"
"They might?" Killian rubbed over his dragon's neck, "Uh, Toothless can they show us the way to the Phoenix flower?" Toothless did a small nod and grunted at the other dragon.
The small dragon shifted its gaze between them all as if assessing their intent, but it seemed to feel safe enough and turned to another cave tunnel to the left. It stopped and swooped around and roared in a beckoning call. It was easy enough to understand that the dragon wanted them to follow him.
Their group followed the small pot-bellied dragon, its wings looking far too small to hold its round form, but it navigated surprisingly easily between the pillars of stone in the tunnel.
"Did you know that's a Gronckle?" Henry asked just as the tunnel twisted sharply to the right. Now the air seemed heavier and had a more sulfur scent. They had to be closer to some sort of lava source now.
"I didn't know that. So is it friendly?"
"She eats rocks to make fire."
"That doesn't sound friendly."
"There's been recorded some Gronckles who have used their gasses to stun their enemy and use their heavy tails to knock them out."
"Really? And you think it wise to trust this dragon?"
"Well, she's not eating rocks right now is she?"
Emma smiled to herself as the words flowed from her son, he certainly had picked up a huge interest in dragons, she knew of his late-night trips to the castle library.
The tunnel widened and Emma could see the walls inside the next cave were painted in an orange glow. They had to be close now and sure enough, they came to a large cave with a river of lava flowing through.
The group spread out in the lava room, all searching for some kind of plant but it didn't seem as if many plants grew in this lava-heated room.
"Here Captain," Ruby called out from behind a large boulder. Everyone flew their dragons to her. And when Emma circled around Ruby she saw the bright flame-looking flower, growing between two black lava stones.
"Won't it burn your hands?" Emma asked.
Graham pulled out a pair of large gloves. "These will protect my hands. Captain, bring over the crate."
Killian flew closer to Graham who jumped from his dragon and strode towards the Phoenix flower.
"See if you can get the roots with it." Henry called out, startling the group of adults, when he noticed this he added, "You'll be able to plant it in a fake lava stone setting."
Killian turned his focus on Henry. "Are you sure that can be done?"
Henry shrugged, "It can't hurt to try." He swept his little arms to the cave, "Seems like a lot of hard work and too much time to travel to this place if someone else in your realm is poisoned by that plant."
Killian's face split in a wide grin, "You know what, Miss Swan you have a smart lad there. You should be mighty proud of him."
"Oh, I am." Emma ruffled Henry's hair, much to his dismay, but she pulled him to her chest, wrapping her arms around him, "I am proud of you, son. You're still far too curious for your own good, but that smart brain of yours will certainly help you when you'll be king."
Henry rested his head back on her shoulder, "You'll be queen first."
The word queen sliced through her mind and heart, she hadn't given it much thought these past two weeks onboard the pirate ship. Her life at the royal court was still waiting for her return. "I still need to find a husband." She mused without thinking, still watching Killian and Graham work out a way to lift the plant from its spot between the rocks, trying to get the roots too.
"Think you have found him."
"What?" Emma scoffed.
"Killian," Henry whispered.
Emma gasped at this, that could never happen, "He's a pirate."
"But there's still a pirate king in his realm once we get that flower back to save his brother. Killian won't be king of Rum Island." Henry mused, sounding far older than his ten years right now.
A pang of wonder washed over Emma. "When did you become so wise beyond your years? Things aren't that easy when it comes to finding a husband."
"You love him don't you?"
Emma paused, her eyes never leaving Killian as he gently eased the flower down into the crate. Graham helped fill several smaller lava stones in to support it on the journey.
"It's just so new and…" She stopped realizing she was talking about love with her young son, "This is not the time for that talk, my son."
Henry hummed as if in disagreement, but let the subject drop when the two pirates leaped onto their dragons again. Now the crate was carried between the two dragons.
The little Gronckle dragon had been watching their every move and when they reached the tunnel leading out of there, it grunted and Killian had Toothless stop. "I thank you for your help, we're much obliged and will forever be in debt to you." The dragon huffed out a small puff of smoke in reply and flew ahead of them, showing the way out.
Emma still marvelled at the beauty of this place, who would have known this place even existed? The shimmering walls lit up their path out of the caves and far too soon they swept out of the mouth of the tunnel. The group of dragons quickly soared above the waterfall, the water mists once again soaking them through. But as they dropped on the deck of the Jolly Roger everyone cheered and hugged, when Killian stopped in front of her he paused before asking, "Do you regret going along on our quest?"
"No," Emma said with a smile, trying not to notice how his wet shirt clung to his chest. He was not wearing the vest that day, showing off every defined muscle of his chest.
"See something you like, love?"
"Shut up." Emma pushed past him, but he gently placed his hook at the crook of her elbow stopping her. "What?"
"Thank you for being here." He leaned closer and kissed her cheek, the flicker of his eyes to her lips showed her he might have wanted to kiss her but clearly stopped himself as everyone was still gathered around them.
"It's been a fun adventure," Emma said, placing her hand on his hooked arm.
"I'll be forever grateful to your son for making this happen," Killian smirked, letting his hook drop away from her arm. Then he turned to his crew and called out an order for preparing the ship to set sail back home.
Emma went below deck to change into a dry shirt and she rested for a bit on her bunk before she felt the now familiar surge as the ship lifted from the water. They would have a long way home before reaching Misthaven. She wondered how everyone had been dealing with her and Henry missing. Queen Regina was a resourceful woman who might have tried a few ways to locate her.
Emma woke up with a start several hours later, in the middle of the night, she heard shouts from the deck and her blood ran cold when she picked up the name Blackbeard. She slung her leather jacket on and picked up her sword and shield on the way out. As she entered the hallway, she realized Henry hadn't been in the room, neither had August.
"Henry?!" Emma called out in a panic, she rushed above deck and kept herself low while assessing what was going on. The pirate crew shouted orders about firing the cannons and a flash of dragon fire above them had her look up. Four dragons flew above them in circles, breathing fire toward the attackers. A group of Blackbeard's men also flew on dragons.
She spotted August near the railing, firing a pistol at the incoming dragons. "August, where's Henry?" Yanking his arm back she glared at him "Where's my son?"
"Up there?" He grimaced as he pointed to the white streak flashing over the sky.
"What the hell!" Emma watched in horror as Pearl and Henry flew close to Toothless with Killian on its back. How in the devil had Henry thought it to be wise to jump on the back of a dragon in the middle of a pirate battle?