On Stranger Tides

Chapter 8

It was quiet on the Jolly Roger without all the men on deck. Emma lied very still looking at each streak of the wood planks above her. The soft rock of the boat almost lulled her to sleep many times, but she always would awake suddenly remembering what has just happened. Her mind was racing. She couldn't decide if what she did was wrong, or not. At the moment it had felt completely right, it even felt amazing. Emma wasn't one to judge kissing as she had only kissed one other man, but that was the best one she's ever had. Her thoughts began to quiet down, and the rocking of the ship became more prominent, she eventually fell asleep, happy.

~

"Swan, wake up. Smee found a bean. You should hold onto something when we go through the portal." Hook said shaking Emma gently, waking her from her sleep. She blinked, eyelids still heavy and yawned.

"Why so early?" She asked, her voice cracking.

"It's not as early as you think, love. You can stay here or come on deck just be ready." He said smiling before exiting her room. Emma sat there running a hand through her hair. She didn't want to go above deck but the only thing calling her to go up there was her empty stomach. She stood up straightened out her hair and clothing, then walked to the creaky wooden stairs that led to the deck. Emma was almost blinded by the bright sunlight, but her focus was quickly brought to the crew, who were running in every direction, carrying supplies to safety and lifting the sails.

"Good morning, Miss Swan." An older voice said from behind her. Emma turned around to find Smee. He had walked away from his duties of moving food barrels into the dining quarters to greet her.

"Please, it's Emma," She said smiling, "and good morning to you to Smee." Smee was quite an odd fellow, but he was always respectable and hardworking, although he could get quite annoying.

"Of course, miss Emma. Here I brought you something to eat, you must be hungry." He said holding out a bright red apple. Emma was taken aback by his kindness but hesitated to look down at the shining blood-red fruit.

"Thank you very much Smee, but I cannot accept, I appreciate your offering but I do not like apples," Emma replied. She never wanted to eat an apple after hearing the story of what had happened to her mother long ago. She didn't want the same thing to happen to her, even though it was highly unlikely. The Evil Queen and her supporters hadn't been seen for many years.

"Who doesn't like apples?" Smee asked surprised.

"It's a family thing." Emma simply answered.

"Very well, I'll find something else for you when we land."

"Thank you, Smee. That's very kind of you. If I ever need to find my own food let me know," Emma chuckled as he walked away.

"Get ready crew!" Hook yelled from the helm. Emma looked up to Hook, to find that his eyes were very clearly watching her. She almost became distracted. Everyone quickly grabbed onto something, the closest thing to her was the railing to the stairs that led to the helm. She grabbed ahold and waited, she wasn't quite ready to go back to Neverland yet. As soon as Emma clung to the railing Hook threw the magic bean into the water, opening a portal. He slowly guided the ship through the center. As the ship began to fall through, Emma held on for dear life, but only seconds later she opened her eyes to see the one place she never wanted to see again.

Although it was barely dawn, it was pitch dark and cold, just like she remembered. You could feel the magic surrounding you, it was thick, it almost made it hard to breathe. Emma started to panic, every memory of Baelfire coming back to her. All she could think about was being alone, she hated being alone. The feeling of solitude rushed over her and she almost lost herself within it.