The once heavy rain was a fine mist when Emma and Killian left the tavern, but the damage had already been done with the water turning usually dusty roads to muddy pits. Despite the condition of her dress, Emma dodged the larger puddles for the sake of her shoes and let Killian lead her around others.
His gaze returned to her time and again, as if he could not quite stop the quick glances in her direction. Though he meant them as a way to memorize her before their next separation, she was clearly self-conscious over the attention and kept her eyes aloft.
Offering his arm to her, Killian breathed in sharply at the startling yet familiar sensation of her hand on his forearm. Even with the wind and rain having left her hair clinging to her high cheekbones, he couldn't help but see the beautiful curls that shone in the sunlight on one of their walks. Just the way she said his name seemed to affect him, which was not what he wanted to admit even to himself.
She pushed back on her damp hair with her free hand, blowing out a frustrated breath when it would not behave. "You don't realize how lovely you look, Emma, even drenched by the rain and the drinks."
In spite of herself, she chuckled. "I believe you may need spectacles," she said sternly. "I must be quite frightening in this state."
"There are few things about me as consistent as my blunt honesty," he said, then throwing his head back in a peal of laughter. Most probably would find that he was quite maddening. "I suppose I am to say that if I say something then it is the truth. It is my silence that is more telling of half-truths and lies. But if I tell you that you look lovely, Emma, and I am telling you that, then it is because you are quite possibly the most beautiful woman I know."
She flushed miserably. "You could have simply said yes," she argued.
"I apologize," he said in return. "I suppose I have a special affection for you in this state, as I met you while drenched by the rain."
There was something distinctly infectious about her smile at the memory. "You were quite a sight yourself," she teased. "The kohl around your eyes had smeared and stained your face so that I thought you must be a blacksmith or someone else who worked in fire and ash."
"We both seemed to have designs that the other was much more humble than our lives would indicate," Killian remarked in a dropped tone. "How much easier life might be if that was true?"
Emma's radiant joy crumpled as she considered that. "But we are not, neither of us," she said with a sadness in her voice's register. "But still I cannot help but find it endearing that you are such a sentimental man."
"You tease and wound me," he challenged back. "But I will let you get away with it for now."
He tried not to look too proud as he walked with her, enjoying the sensation as much he could. He also tried not to look at the royal carriage that stood stately on the street with its ornamentation and clearly marked decorations. It only served to remind him that he had only moments with her, stolen ones that nobody would approve of him taking. The tall form of one of the guards jumped into his peripheral view and loomed toward them.
"Milady, I will fetch something for you, if you need it," Walter, one of the guards who had been waiting by the carriage, said as she explained she would be heading toward the ship. "It might be…"
"It might not," Emma said in a tone that Killian had rarely heard her use. "I'm fine, Walter. Killian will protect me from whatever evil might lurk." She waved a dismissive hand at the nervous looking man. When he didn't move, she frowned. "Is there a problem?"
"Your highness," the lanky man said, pausing to clear his throat. "He's a pirate."
Killian did not meet the man's eyes, noticing instead that Emma's hand was protectively around his forearm and her stance was swaying toward him. Normally he might have raised the hook into view of snipped off some remark to send the man running, but Emma seemed all too capable. "I'm well aware," she said. "And I believe I heard that you were accused of quite heinous crimes yourself prior to your commission to the royal guard. Are we to believe those accusations make you less fit?"
"But milady…"
"Who better than a pirate to protect me on a ship?" Emma asked rhetorically. "If it bothers you so much, you may accompany and wait above deck as I change." She did not wait to see if he would follow, allowing Killian to lead her to the ship and letting him guide her into his cabin. He immediately apologized, having realized that she could consider that some sort of trick.
She thanked him with a gentle smile. "I didn't get a chance to say hello to you at the tavern," she said, folding the green gown that Elsa had packed over her arm. "I apologize for that and our reunion being ruined by my lack of grace."
His smile back was not quite as bright, but managed to warm her anyway. "My dear you still seem to have the grace of a swan about you when you move. I did not see your incident as your shortcoming, but that of the server girl who should not have been in your way."
The Princess giggled but tried to look stern. "Don't blame others for my shortcomings," she warned, wagging a finger at him. Crinkling her nose, she informed him of her intent to change and he stepped outside the door, pulling it almost completely shut as he did.
The lanterns that hung from the ceiling swung with the rocking motion of the ship, casting oddly shaped shards of light against the wooden planks of the corridor. Killian watched the light, following its patterns with his blue eyes.
"I'll just wait out here," he said somewhat awkwardly, the leather of his boots dragging a bit on the floor. He felt oddly nervous there in the closed space, but he could not quite place the reason. She was feet away from him, her scent in the air around him and delicate breaths she took still ringing in his ears. He had expected to be delighted in seeing her again, even excited, but this nervous feeling was something foreign. His tongue now felt too thick for his mouth and his hand seemed to find no purpose other than to shake and pull at his leather vest.
She was mumbling something about the dress, but he couldn't quite make out her words. Still just to hear her made his chest tighten uncomfortably. His shaking hand touched the door that separated them, careful not to push it open as it was cracked slightly to allow them to talk.
"I did not truly expect you given the weather," Killian announced suddenly. "You must really have wished to see your friend."
Her voice was muted as the pulled the fabric of the dress over her, but he could hear the words. Perhaps she had turned toward his direction. "I wished to see you," she said, lifting the last word to a higher pitch. "I knew I would see Elsa when she arrived, but I wanted…"
His smile was brief, the words of encouragement for her declaration caught in his throat. "I am happy to see you too," he offered weakly.
Their conversation was of the polite sort as they stood there on opposite sides of the door. She asked after his crew and the weather they had experienced sailing. He asked after Leo and expressed some surprise that Granny and Red had taken on the journey to be at her family's side. When she emerged to open the door, he felt very much younger than he had felt in a long time. She was standing there in front of him in a gown of deep green. The flecks of gold in her sea green eyes shone brightly as she combed through her tangled hair with her fingers. Damp tendrils framed her face.
"I want to thank you for bringing Elsa," she said, dipping her head out of his eye line for a moment. "You can't know how much that means to me."
"I assured you that I would do anything within my power to help you. I meant it."
She weighed that in her head. "I trust that you do," she remarked. "I don't necessarily trust many people, but I do trust you, Killian."
He felt the air leave the room as she said that, the echo of her sincerity beating against him and taunting him. There was a part of him that wanted to tell her not to be so naïve. Never trust a pirate, he said to himself. "That's quite an honor, Emma," he said instead. "Quite a responsibility that I will try to live up to and not squander." She appeared to him to be embarrassed at her confession. "But if I may, Emma, what has caused you to be so distrustful of others? Who hurt you, love?" He knew that she had an extraordinary gift of conversation, but for whatever reason she was remaining quiet on the subject.
Sadness passed over her features and the ship seemed to sense the change, moaning in time with the mood as the waves hit the hull. "I'm afraid we are so short on time that I would rather discuss happier things," she said, swallowing.
"I would be happy to discuss any topic or subject with you." His shoulder brushed the door jam, leaning against the solidness of the wood. "You are right. Our time is limited."
She turned from him to gather the soiled dress she had been wearing. "The last time I was here," she mused, evidently leaving behind the thoughts she had over trust and the past. "The last time I was here we…"
"Aye, we did," he said when she didn't finish her thought. "I suppose it would be rather forward if I was to ask if you regret that. For I know you aren't so used to men like myself. I would imagine that princes and royalty are much better behaved." If someone were to have overheard them, they would have believed him to be teasing. And had she been facing him, she might have seen the way his eyes followed her as she moved slowly.
"Don't," she said with a slight hitch in her voice. "I regret nothing of the kind. You weren't my first kiss, you know?"
His smile bordered on laughter. "Emma, I am not a man to critique such things with a woman, especially one such as yourself. But I never accused you of inexperience." He chuckled to himself as she wavered between relief and offense, settling on a sigh of resignation.
"Most men would prefer to be a woman's first, while a woman is most interested in being a man's last," Emma retorted. "At least that is what my mother always said."
"I'm not about to argue with the wisdom of a mother, least of a mother who is a queen," he said, his index finger tracing over the tip of his ear. "But if your guard were to hear this conversation, I doubt he would remain stalwart and calm."
She folded the other dress over twice and placed it in the crook of her right arm. Taking on a look of anticipation, she patted the fabric. "So tell me of you," she said, pretending that the previous conversation had not happened. "Tell me of your plans. You must be eager to return to your life at sea."
His weight shifted with the groan of the ship. "No doubt that I will eventually go back to it," he said vaguely. "I have plans inland first though. It appears that it was quite fortuitous that your duties for me brought me to these shores. In addition to seeing you, I am closer to a long time goal that I have been aiming toward the majority of my life."
Her eyes lit with the news that he might not be leaving so quickly. "You must be very pleased to be within reach of your goal, Killian," she said. "Where is it you are headed toward? I know this land quite will since it is part of my parents' kingdom."
"It is a bit out of the way, but I understand it to be within a day or two of here," he said, reaching out to remove the dress from her arms so that she would not find her borrowed one to be ruined. "It is on the edge of the Dark Forest. Perhaps we will see each other on the road."
Emma could hear Walter's nervous throat clearing and pacing up above that indicated his impatience. Still she stood there with quiet dignity. "I owe you for your carrying Elsa here to me," she said, flicking her hand in his direction when he moved his lips to speak. "You could have been doing more to work toward your goal rather than playing courier. So I will offer you this. My parents' palace is less than a day's walk from the Dark Forest through a short cut I know. If you should like, you could ride with us in that direction." He had no way of knowing how relieved she felt to deliver that invitation without trickery or lies.
"You needn't…"
She stood her ground firmly, telling him that it was no bother. "Besides, you will make Elsa and I feel so much more secure than the guards. We should like your company."
***AAA***
Red was not sure if Regina was accurate in her translation of the text, but she pretended to have an interest in the elfish writings as David and Robin both studies some of the other texts. She was acutely aware of the sharpness of the stays of Emma's dress and the fact that the poor girl could probably not even draw a deep breath. While the Princess was clearly young and beautiful, Emma was lacking in comfort, the dark haired woman decided.
Johana and Granny interrupted the studying when they brought the three rambunctious boys into the room. Cheeks red on one side from their naps, Roland ran to his father and Henry to his mother with sturdy legs chugging along. Red watched the young boy climb into Regina's lap, laying his head against her shoulder. She knew that Emma had interacted a few times with the boy so to play along as the Princess, Red waved to him and said hello.
The young boy drew back and wailed in abject terror at the sight of her. Burying his face half in the velvety texture of Regina's gown and under his own small hands, the boy whimpered as the former Queen soothed him. "It's alright, Henry," she said. "You know Emma. She's not going to hurt you." Regina's tone was almost accusatory toward Red, emphasizing Emma's name.
The boy's wails grew louder and soon Roland joined in with him in a show of young solidarity. Leo looked on in disbelief as he saw the woman he assumed to be his sister fidget. "I'm so sorry, Regina," the blonde woman said. "I didn't mean to frighten him."
"He's fine," Robin chimed in, lifting Roland and balancing him on one side as he came up behind Regina. "Just a bit startled is all."
Red backed away, aware that David was becoming increasingly worried about his daughter. She waved them all off. "I think I'll have a nap of my own," she said. "I feel very tired."
Pausing outside the door, she heard Regina make excuses for her, saying that Emma was tired and overwrought with pressure. But most heartbreaking was the sound of Henry still crying.
***AAA***
Elsa leaned her blonde head against the corner of the carriage, her eyes falling shut. The slight jostle of the carriage was lulling her to sleep as Emma and Killian both spoke. While they weren't leaving her out of the conversation, she had told them that she was tired and for them to not worry about keeping quiet for her sake.
"With my sister I have learned to sleep with my eyes till open," she teased, then blushed upon realizing the criticism of her sister. She usually had no tolerance for such a thing from anyone, including herself.
Killian still managed to drop his usually louder voice to a lower volume. "Your parents won't be pleased that you brought me to their home, Emma," he acknowledged. "You have a plan or are we to pretend I am not who I am."
"I will speak to them," she said, hoping she sounded a bit more confident than she felt. "You already know Red and Granny. They will protect you."
Laughter reverberated off the interior of the carriage. Killian's hand rested on his knee, his fingers drumming a bit out of nervous energy. He practically jumped as Emma reached a hand out toward his.
"This must be quite an important quest for you, Killian," she said. Pushing the now dry hair out of her face with her free hand. Her fingers of the hand on his, ran along his and found the spot between his so they were laced together. He didn't pull away and neither did she, both of them studying the formation.
"I shouldn't worry you with it, love," he nearly whispered. "You seem to have your own demons to deal with."
Her green eyes seemed even greener with the dress she was wearing, but he was aware that at times they could seem almost as blue as his own. "Granny always says that in removing the demons from our lives we must be careful not to be overzealous and remove the angels as well. There must always be a balance between the light and dark."
"It appears you have some wise women in your life, love," he uttered. "So tell me, what has you so frightened that you seem to be preparing for war. I don't think you would call for your friend without provocation."
Emma's bottom lip slipped between her teeth as she looked up at him with clearly worried eyes. Squeezing her hand to his, she sighed. "I thought we were going to talk about your daring journey first."
"Very well," he said with a nod. "I suppose I owe you that much since you have said you do trust me. I am going after the Dark One."
Emma gasped audibly, her free hand jerking with the mention. "You plan to take him on alone? He's more powerful than…He's so close to the palace? What quarrel do you have with him?"
"Aye," Killian said, concern etched on his face as he watched the color drain from hers. "Love, I didn't mean to frighten you. My quarrel with him is a long one and far more intricate of a conversation than we should have in this carriage. Suffice it to say that I have seen his merciless behavior first hand, including his treatment of his own wife." He frowned as he watched her fidget. "I will spare you the details."
She worried her lip again. "Killian," she began, her throat constricting. "Killian, the danger in this kingdom comes from the Dark One. He is threatening and planning to kidnap a child. We know it must be for some nefarious reason that could bring suffering upon the people here. So I have been chosen, because of my magic, to lure him out and to start the battle that will end the darkness or at least harness it." She looked determined, but quite young as the words settled on them both. "It is probably a fool's mission and an undertaking I should bolt from."
"I could hardly call it that," Killian answered, sounding hoarse. "Your reasons are your own, though I suspect you have been commissioned for the task."
"My parents and others. I won't be alone in it." She breathed in as deep as her dress would allow her to do. "Might I have your backing too?"
He paused, his gaze drifting to the hook at his side. "The last time I tangled with this man I lost my hand. You see, love, he came for his own vengeance, as I had helped his wife escape from his reach. While my intentions toward her were not that amorous in the beginning, I fell in love with her. We were quite happy together and had plans…" He broke off, his eyes blinking rapidly for a moment. "When he came to us in his fit of magical and maniacal rage, he killed her though she offered him everything to leave us be. And when he was done he took my hand." Killian scrutinized their still entwined hands, realizing that she had not pulled away from him as he would have suspected she would. "It is not a happy tale, love, especially not for you."
"I'm far tougher than I appear," she said with a quivering smile. "But I don't understand something. The Dark One hasn't been married in many, many…"
"We have much to talk about, darling," Killian said. "I suppose it is time that we compare notes."
Thoughts?