On Stranger Tides

Chapter 2

The dark of night seemed to last forever. But as soon as Emma saw the first glittering speck of sunlight, she was ready to go. She was very anxious, awaiting the arrival of a palace guard or a commoner spreading the news of a missing princess. However, Emma was wise not to get drunk like the rest of the people in the tavern especially Captain Hook's crew, she could use it to her advantage. She sat across from Hook at his table all night, watching as he drank and laughed, saying crude things to his men and gambling away his treasure that he probably didn't have. He was totally strung.

"Hook," She said pulling his drink away from him, that he was just about to grab. "It's dawn we should head out." Emma was hoping he would be easy to convince.

"No one makes orders but me, love. When I tell ye' crew it's time to leave we'll leave. Now be quiet, or watch your tone." Hook replied rather harshly, pulling back his drink quickly.

"No one tells me what to do but me," Emma told him sharply.

"You're a stubborn one aren't ya?" He slurs drunkenly, pointing at her.

"So I've heard. So Captain, when are we heading out?" Emma now asked politely.

"That's better now, Swan, and your answer is when that sun," He says pointing to a mountain where the light from the sun is just peeking through, "Is completely out from behind that mountain."

Her parents probably have already seen that she was gone, they would send guards out before that time. She looked worriedly at Hook for a moment. He was laughing at a worthless joke someone had just said. His laugh was rough but also filled with so much depth as he had walked this world for a long time. Emma had to admit that Hook was quite handsome, his raven hair, crystal blue eyes, jawline with a light scruff covering its sharp angles. Stop it, Emma, you can't think this way about a filthy pirate. Emma thought. She knew she had to get away now or else her parents would find her and drag her back. Emma could see that Hook was just as stubborn as she was, there would be no convincing him, unless...

"How about we leave now... and tonight we can do more pleasurable activities." Emma stuttered out, instantly regretting her words. It might be the only way to change his mind, she listened to him all night and all the things he had verbally said about the women in the tavern, which was a little repulsive she thought. If she was right about this he would be up for anything.

"You know what, I like you Swan, so I'll agree to your terms." He says giving Emma another flirtatious smile. "I'll get the crew together." Hook stands up and walks to the center of the tavern and yells at the top of his lungs, "mates, we're leaving!" He then looks at Emma and begins to walk towards the stained door. Emma rolled her eyes and followed the crew out.

It was like a heard of cows, they were all jabbering and walking in no order. Some were worse than others. Emma tried to ignore their whistles towards her and their words, it was quite easy because she had no idea what they were saying, their words all strung together and inaudible. The whole crew was loud, obnoxious, and just plain dumb, or so Emma thought. As soon as her feet hit the creaky wooden deck of the ship, she wasn't sure if this was the best idea. Emma had the urge to turn and run and find some nice sober trade captain to join. 

"Listen here, crew!" Hook yelled. "We have ye' new member of our crew, Emma Swan. Yes, she is a lady, but we must treat her with all our respect. If any of you hurt her or much less touch her, she will walk you off the plank herself. Understood?" He said, almost respectfully, although it was hard to believe since he had just agreed to Emma's "terms."

"Aye, Captain." They all mumbled. The crew all went to their work on the ship. Some were tying up the sails, others scrubbing the deck with filthy water. Emma wasn't sure what she was supposed to do, so she wandered around deck playing with the hilt of her sword. The Jolly Roger was very grand, it was quite a big ship for a group of pirates. The outside had stripes of yellow and blue. The wood was well worn and up near the helm, there were scratchings of directions. On the side of the ship, there were 5 words that were very hard to see, worn with age but to Emma, they stood out as 'The Jewel of the Realm,' meaning that this ship was probably stolen.

"Swan!" Hook called her from the wheel, she jumped a little as she was suddenly brought back to the reality of things.

"Yes, Captain?" Emma asked.

"I think it's time we took a tour of this beauty of a ship." He answered patting the smooth wood of one helm.

"Not so fast Captain. We'll have a tour as soon as you leave the docks. Or have you forgotten our deal?" Emma responded not wanting to waste any time and risk being caught by her parents.

"Well if the lady insists." He said with a sigh. "Get ready to leave the docks!" He then yelled to the crew.

"Aye, aye, Captain!" They responded.

Emma watched from the side of the ship as it moved away from the docks. The two yellow and blue painted stripes were bright and went perfectly with the different shades of the water. She watched in fascination as the life she was used to began to fade away from her sight. Emma thought she would be happier about leaving, but a part of her was longing to go back home and hug her parents. She wanted to apologize for that adventure a few years ago, she wanted everything to go back to the way it was when she was younger before she became hidden. However, the more Emma thought about her secret adventure too long ago, the more she didn't regret it. It made her. It was Snow and Charming that had decided not to trust their own daughter and decided to punish her for a simple naive act. It would have been okay with Emma to set some ground rules or even a small grounding to her quarters, as long as she still could've had her freedom. If they knew the whole story she would be locked in the dungeon, she was sure of it, based on how they've already acted to her running off.

"Now about that tour." A voice said from behind her, interrupting her never-ending train of thought. Emma nodded her head and followed Hook into the depths of the Jolly Roger.