Never Letting Go || CS

Chapter Seven: Carasera

Emma didn't sleep at all that night, her shoulders were hurting too much. She just laid there, unable to move, and sobbed silently. She sobbed because of the pain, and because she missed her parents, and because she wasn't sure what these pirates were going to do with her. She hoped Hook was true to his word, that he was stopping at a port not far from here to get her something that will heal her shoulders almost instantly. The only problem was:why he would want to help her?He had to have a reason, he wouldn't just be doing this out of kindness, pirates didn't do that sort of thing. He had to have a motive.

As soon as the first light of dawn came through the window in her room, she heard muffled footsteps from above. The crew must have been waking up. She hoped that someone would come down and bring her some food. She hadn't eaten in what seemed like forever and her stomach was practically begging for food. Alas, she knew they would not come down to her for another few hours, as to not wake her. Little did they know, she hadn't slept all night.

a few hours later, she heard the door open, and the doctor walked in with some bread, a cup of water and some pain medicine on a metal tray. "Ah good, you're awake. I thought you might be hungry, and there's some pain medicine there if you need it." he placed the tray down onto a small desk that was at the foot of the bed and went to help her sit up. With a grateful smile, she managed to choke out through the pain; "Thankyou." The doctor gave a small nod and went to pick the tray back up and place it in front of her. She tried but failed to lift her arm in order to eat. The doctor told her not to strain her shoulders and instead, brought the food up to her mouth so that she could eat. She hated that it had to be like this, but she had no choice. He held the cup up to her lips and she gratefully took long gulps of it. She took the medicine and the doctor said just as he was leaving, "The Captain says we'll be at port by late afternoon." She then thanked him as he left her to her own thoughts.

Meanwhile, above deck, Hook was steering the ship, aware that they weren't far from their destination: Carasera. As a crew member, named Dunley, approached him, he said, "Get the men to open the sails. We have to be there as soon as possible." Dunley looked at the captain questioningly then asked "But sir, why are we in such a rush, I mean this stop is only to keep the prisoner alive. Or is there something else?" He asked accusingly. Hook lowered his voice, but that didn't mean there wasn't just as much venom injected into his words as he said "Do you dare question your captain and his motives?" Hook's eyes darkened as rage filled him. Dunley swallowed heavily and shrunk back as he realised his mistake. "N-No sir." He answered tentatively.

"Then why isn't the task being done already!" Hook yelled in Dunley's face, anger rising at his questioning. But deep down, Hook was asking himself the same questions. Why did he care so much about Emma's welfare? Why was he going out of his way to help a royal? Killian had to keep reminding himself that it was the cruel, sadistic royals' mission for the deadly poison that resulted in the death of his beloved brother, Liam. It was their fault that he was dead. All the royals were the same. But why, then, did he find himself caring about how Emma was? Its not like she was any different, was she? He kept telling himself that it was because she wouldn't live if he left her until he could claim his treasure, but deep down, he knew that there was something more. He suppressed this thought whenever it came up and reminded himself that he was a ruthless, cold-hearted pirate, nothing more. But it worried him that he had to keep reminding himself of this. Was he turning soft? No. He wouldn't let that happen.

His train of thought was disrupted when he heard the heavy sails falling, followed by the sound of ropes being tied. He looked up to see two men beginning their descent from the rigging of the ship. By now, the sails had picked up the wind and the ship gained speed, heading towards land. If they carried on at this pace, they would be there in no time. Killian couldn't help but feel relieved and he had no idea why-well, that's what he told himself. He didn't want to admit that he actually cared about someone other than himself.

This girl was changing him. And he didn't like it one bit.

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"Land ho!" The sailor, called Kenton, alerted the rest of the crew when he saw a thin strip of land in the distance.
The sun was now low in the sky and the evening light was now shining onto the waves, making the ocean look like it was on fire. Secretly, Hook enjoyed watching the sun sink below the horizon, but he would never tell this to any of his crew because they would think him to be soft and sentimental.

Hook watched as they grew nearer to the strip of land that was called Carasera. He was eager to reach the land in order to retrieve the magic Emma needed. So, as soon as they made it to the port, Hook left the ship in search of the familiar shop.

He turned on to many different streets, all familiar to him, until he finally reached the magical apothecary. He went inside and greeted the shopkeeper that was at the counter. Before he walked in, she was reading a book, but when she heard the little bell ring, she looked up with a smile. "How can I help you sir?" She said with a kind smile. Hook explained Emma's situation to the woman, hoping she could help him. If this place didn't have a cure, then nowhere would.

"Ah well I have just what you need to heal this girl, but I warn you, this will not come cheap." Hook nodded to this and the woman disappeared into the backroom. He was waiting at least 10 minutes for her to return, and when she did she had a small phial that was filled with what seemed to be glowing pink liquid. She passed it over the counter to him and he left, leaving the right money on the counter for the woman. In the old days, Hook would have just walked out without paying, he was a pirate after all, but today he felt almost guilty if he didn't pay. He needed to up his game if he wanted to remain the most feared pirate in all the oceans.

When he reached the ship, he wasted no time in going below deck to where Emma was staying. He knocked on the door, but when he heard no response, he just proceeded into the room, thinking she must be asleep.

But to his horror, he saw it was a lot worse than what he had expected to see. Emma was sprawled out on the hard wooden floor, her pale face looked so lifeless.