Smother ━━ Killian Jones [Discontinued]

nine; gold and coins

Hook finally released the cloth from his mouth, tightly tying it around her hand before squeezing. "And then we run like hell."

"I don't have time to wait for a giant to fall asleep." Sage argued. She hadn't exactly spilled the beans yet and confessed that she had given instructions to Mulan to cut down the beanstalk. Thing was, Sage had no intention of doing so. "The powder Mulan gave us - we need to use it. We got to knock him out."

"Well, that's riskier."

"Than waiting for a giant to fall asleep when we need him to?" Sage busted up some boldness and took a step closer to him, speaking in a confident yet persuasive tone while a playful smirk was on her lips. "Come on, Killian. I thought all pirates were up for a risky adventure."

Her tempting question seemed to work as Hook grinned widely, his blue eyes lighting up. "Point taken. Ohh, you're a tough lass. You'd make a hell of a pirate."

Once he reached over to hand the brunette the wrapped poppy powder, his leather sleeve rolled up to reveal a large tattoo printed on his wrist. It was of a piercing red heart with a sword through it, the name Milah marked in cursive in blank ink. Her cursive eyes lowered down, "Who's Milah, on the tattoo?"

"Someone from long ago." All the playfulness drained from his voice, his voice stern and upset. Sage seemed slightly taken' back, not expecting his mischievous attitude to vanish within seconds. Sage's brows knitted together as her mind started to wander, while Hook ruffled his sleeve back up and walked past her in an angry pace. Suddenly, all the puzzle pieces of Hook's motives fitted together. "Rumpelstiltskin." The sound of the devil's name made Hook stopped in his tracks, his throat going raw as he breathed in, knowing that Sage was smart enough to figure anything out, including him. "He took more than your hand from you, didn't he? That's why you want to kill him."

Both thieves turned around to face one another and for a moment, their stares met. Something ran through them, an unspoken' understanding with one another. Killian Jones was a vengeful pirate and Sage Chamberlain was an abandoned thief; two different people that had more than one thing in common. They were misunderstood who knew what it was like to have hope and love stripped from their lives. Whether or not Sage would ever admit it to herself or to anyone else, she couldn't hate Hook for his lies, or untruthfulness, or alliance with Cora, she couldn't hate a person she understood. That just made her more frustrated with herself. Hook looked at the women with a blank stare, his eyes speaking and his voice laced with anger. "For an orphan, you're quite perceptive, aren't you?"

Sage hoped her flinch didn't become noticed by him. His harsh words didn't affect her too much, but she fixed the pirate with a dry tight-lipped smile, "I've been in love before and I know what it's like to lose them to somebody, one way or another."

✠ ✠ ✠

They had a plan that Sage had a gut-feeling would fail. The two had diverse a loose plan to knock-out the giant with sleeping gas. Sage wasn't sure if it was the best idea that she had ever been involved, but Hook had retorted that this plan was better than nothing. The reluctant former thief clung her arms around the head of a giant statue, holding on tightly. She had climbed onto a stone statue, supposedly hidden from plain sight since she was so tiny compared to this place. Hook was far away, standing on the ground with a broad bone in his hand. He looked up at her, "You ready?"

Sage gulped down her nervousness, nodding. She wasn't go to let her fears cloud her courage. Hook braced himself as well before banging on a fallen' gold shield, the sound rattling from the walls like wardrooms. The whole castle and its complex shook dangerously, causing Sage to let out small gasps of shock. Her hands gripped onto the stature tightly and her legs wrapped around it as well. Loud roars of anger echoed from the inside hallway, causing Sage to quickly question if this giant was bigger and more deadly than she imagined. Once she opened her closed eyes, her questioning was proven right. The giant that had stormed out of the castle in a furious run stood next to her. He was larger, much bigger than Sage thought and judging by the animosity in his eyes, he didn't appreciate any visits. "Oh, damn it."