The Land of Second Chances

Chapter 5 - Car Rides and Spells

"Shortly after I joined, Blackbeard showed up and made a bet with Killian. Basically they would duel and if Blackbeard won, Killian would surrender his ship and life to Blackbeard and if he won, Blackbeard would release his sister. Naturally he agreed." Leopold was socked at this new information he had always been told Jones was heartless, that he cared for no one. To hear he put his life on the line for his sister was absurd to him. "So there was obviously a fight and the entire crew of both ships ended up being involved. The first time Killian saved my life was during that. Leia kind of saved herself and the two of us became really good friends very quickly." 

'The first time.' Did that mean Jones had saved Emma's life on multiple occasions? Leopold ended up chalking it up to the fact that it was probably the spell making her think that. He nodded and said okay, in a voice that suggested that he was still trying to absorb all of the information. Emma waited a minute before continuing her tale. 

"I'll admit, I was falling for Killian. Fast. It scared me at first so I ignored it and denied it. He did the same. It would have happened on it's own it just would have taken a long time. Us getting together I mean." Emma added on the end when she saw Leopold was looking a bit lost. 

"It didn't happen on its own?" This was the first thing he really said about the story since Emma had told him she and Killian were lovers and she was relived to know he still had the ability to ask questions. She gets it, even she would have been just as shocked in his situation. The things he must've heard about Killian. She only hoped Killian would be his usual loving self so that Leopold knew there was nothing to be frightened of in him. He was really just a big cuddly teddy-bear. 

"No it didn't. We were stubborn, refused to accept our feelings. Leia was stubborn too though, she locked us on deck together because she was sick of seeing that we were crazy for each other and not doing anything about it. That's when we started courting." Again all Leopold did was nod and so Emma continued. "We had a plan to go to slip into the Green Flower ball and loot the place. You mentioned he was with a woman," Emma addressed Leopold directly, referring to his version of events and he nodded. "That was me." She confirmed and if he was surprised by this he didn't show it. He was probably expecting it though. 

"We didn't know they were gonna be there or we wouldn't have gone" Emma said it so quietly that if he wasn't so intently listening he wouldn't have heard at all. He knew that this is were things went wrong for the pirates, going to that ball. Emma was a part of them now so things that went right for his parents went wrong for his sister. That was just weird. Everything about this is so weird. "They must have been following us since the ball. When Killian lost that fight on the deck of the Roger I was watching through a crack in the door. I couldn't watch him die. I couldn't. I just couldn't" She had to close her eyes and breathe for a second. 

Why did you think this was a good conversation to have while driving? Because you want to get home. That's why. You should be home already. You should have driven home with Killian in the passenger seat, the two of you smirking at each other whilst the girls argue over what to put on the radio. But nooooo. Your parents brainwashed your brother against your fiancé and you have to fix it. Thanks a lot mum and dad. 

When Emma's internal screaming at herself ceased she realised that she had been gripping the steering wheel incredibly hard and had been silent for some time. Leopold was looking at her confused. First she had seemed close to tears, then she seemed like she was daydreaming then she looked like she was going to kill someone. Now she just looked emotionless. Even her tone was void of emotion when she continued to talk. "I couldn't watch him die, so I gave myself away. I got back to the palace and I was more miserable than I ever was in that birthplace of all hellish nightmares." She paused but only for a second and when she spoke this time, the emotion was back. "When I found out I was pregnant I knew that we needed to get out of there. I was not going to let my child grow up the way I did." That was stranger to him than anything he had heard that day. Why take a child away from its father. Neal would have loved his child so much. Her childhood couldn't have been so bad that she would feel the need to take Neal's child away from him. Could it? "I went to the dungeons in secret and told Killian. We made a plan to get out of there, it was supposed to be flawless. It wasn't. The plan relied on them being hung and not shot but what we hadn't been able to plan for was that the guy who hung people was ill at the last minute so it all had to be changed."