Treasure

Chapter 38

"Do you want to tell me why you're so upset now?" Killian asked in a soft tone as he broke their hug.

Emma rolled her eyes and laughed, her problems always seemed so meaningless to her, "It's really dumb now that I think about it."

The Captain's face remained straight, "nonsense, Swan." He said as he took her hand and led them back to the side of the Jolly Roger to look up at the stars.

Emma followed, knowing she wasn't going to get out of this conversation, "It's getting stronger." She said vaguely.

Killian looked at her, confused, "What is?"

"My magic..." She said looking down.

Killian was still confused, "Well I guess that makes sense, love." He responded, still unsure of what to say, "I mean, once you started using magic it's bound to get stronger."

Tears formed in the princess's eyes again, "That's not what I meant!" She said louder than intended, "I'm scared." she said in a whisper.

"Of what?" The pirate asked, still not understanding.

Emma took a deep breath and composed herself, "Every time I feel mad or angry or even right now... I can feel my magic just boiling up inside of me." she said as Killian listened, still unsure of how to respond, "Every time I argue with my mother I'm scared I'm going to hurt her, like if I just raise my hand a little, all of this power will come out and I can't control it."

Killian started to put the pieces together, "Like what happened at the ball your mother threw, for my birthday..."

Emma nodded as a tear fell from her face. Regardless of the fact that the man was trying to kill the Captain, Emma hated that she hurt someone. She hated that her entire Kingdom saw her hurt someone. The thought of what would happen if she hurt one of her own people by accident, scared her. Would they forgive her or fear her?

"Keeping it to yourself surely isn't the way to deal with it." Killian said quickly, shaking both their thoughts, "You come to me with these things and you trust me." He responded in a serious tone taking a step towards her.

Emma backed up, scared she could hurt him, "I know and I'm sorry."

Killian took a step towards her again, "If we're going to be stuck out at sea for months together, we need to learn to talk to each other. We have to stop hiding things from each other."

The Princess took another step back, only to run into a barrel, "Killian, I don't want to hurt you." She said as small white sparks came out of her hands.

He took one more step towards her, invading her personal space, "I know you Emma, and you would never hurt anyone intentionally. Especially not me."

"That's quite a lot of faith you're putting on me" She laughed.

"Aye, it is." Killian said with a straight face, "Look down."

Emma looked down to see her hands. No sparks of magic anymore. "What did you do?" She asked.

Killian laughed, "Nothing, Swan. I did nothing, it was all you."

"You mean I can control it even without realizing it?" She asked.

"Aye. You have control of your magic. You just have to trust yourself and everyone else around you." He responded, lifting her hand with his, "There is nothing you can't do." He said, placing a kiss on her hand, "What happened that night at the ball was an accident, but you also saved everyone."

"How?" She asked, confused.

Killian gave a small chuckle, "You saved me that night. I was laying on the floor nearly dead but you stopped him-"

"August stitched you up, Neal carried you to the room, my dad made sure you didn't die... I didn't do anything." The Princess interrupted.

"Don't belittle yourself, love." He responded softly, "You stopped him from killing me, you made it easier for everyone else to save me." Killian paused to stare at his beautiful Princess, "You saved everyone in that room. There was no telling what he could've done if you didn't stop him. You're a hero, Swan."

Emma savored the moment, promising herself that she would remember it forever. He had been the only one to realize she was upset, even though she did her best to hide it. He showed no fear of her and her magic, whether he had any or not. He had been the one to save her from herself on several occasions. He had been the one to make her believe she could do anything. He was the one she wanted to be with forever.

Emma shook her head, erasing her thoughts, "I'm sorry I ruined tonight."

"You could never ruin any night, and regardless, I'm the one who had an outburst." He said looking away from her.

The Princess placed her hand on his face, "I know you're working on it."

Killian smiled, "I have something to show you, below deck." He said, pulling her hand.

    They made their way below deck and into the Captain's quarters, "I don't see anything new?" Emma questioned.

    Killian walked over to their desk, where there was a newly placed object, "This is a waterproof safe." He said, showing off the safe.

    "Okay?" Emma chuckled.

    "Open it." The Captain responded, handing her a key.

Emma did as asked, with a confused expression on her face. When she opened it, there were two journals inside, each with her name on them.

"For me?" She asked in disbelief.

"Aye." Killian responded with a smirk, "I know how upset you were about your last one and I'm sorry I couldn't save it." He paused, "But we're off to a new adventure and I know you'll fill these journals quickly."

Emma pulled him in for a hug, "Thank you, Killian."

He smiled as they hugged, "The safe is also yours, to keep your journals safe."

The Princess broke the hug, "As sweet as that is, it's our safe. Not just mine."

He laughed, "As you wish."

The two of them enjoyed their quiet moment together before Emma's grand birthday ball, one last night of chaos.

Hello! I realized I never fully explain who the 'mystery man' that stabbed Killian at the ball was (from a few chapters back). Basically, they don't know who the man is. Killian has no clue who the man is as well. He really is a mystery man. I kind of left it up for assumption. Could it be someone from Killian's past or just someone who doesn't like pirates? I haven't decided that either. As of right now, I'm not sure if the 'mystery man' will make another appearance or not. After all, he was exiled from Misthaven, and Emma and Killian are about to go on another adventure! I kind of just write and see where the story takes me, so I really don't know what to expect myself. Hopefully, this clarifies anything or any confusion. I know I'm not the best writer but you all make me feel like I am!

As always... leave comments, questions, suggestions, anything! Thank you for reading :)