That same night...
Emma walked a dark dirt path alone in no particular direction. She just needed some time to be alone with her thoughts, without any interruptions. Sadly she couldn't head to the Jolly Roger, it would be the first place Killian would come running after her, the second would be the inn he was planning on taking her to spend the night. Unfortunately, she didn't know this island too well so all she could do was walk until she found her way back.
The princess knew Killian had been acting differently lately. It was more than his usual stress of being the captain, she knew that much. He handled being captain quite well and he ran a tight ship with loyal crew members, so what could he be so worried about? Their journey was going well with very little delay. The weather was in their favor and they rarely had to make port. These were all good things. Jamie was less of a problem than anyone thought, so he couldn't be the cause of stress. The captain was finally getting enough sleep and enough food, so he was taking care of himself and they had discussed their relationship many times and determined it was solid. Sure he wasn't a fan of anyone coming near her without his permission but he never resorted to such violence before, at least not intentionally in front of her... what could be bothering so much that he had to take it out on someone else? She couldn't put her finger on it.
As Emma was lost in thought she inhaled the fresh smell of oak coming off of the trees. It almost reminded her of home. The sound of trees blowing in the wind and the calming smell of soil under her feet. She remembered many hunting lessons her parents used to give her, they would tell her to become one with the earth. Move with the wind, listen to the forest, feel the dirt under your feet shift...
Her thoughts were cut short with a sudden sound of a branch breaking. The princess quickly turned to the source of the sound, releasing the dagger she kept at her waist, "Who's there?" She called out.
The princess tried to make her breathing steady as she was taught but she couldn't help it, she started breathing heavier and louder as she slowly kept turning around. Damn herself for wandering off alone...
"You're quite aways away from the tavern where your pirate is." A strange voice called out.
"Who are you?" She asked, turning to the sound.
The British man laughed, "You're gonna break an old man's heart." He said as he revealed himself from behind a tree.
"Captain Blackbeard." Emma announced lowering her dagger, "Are you here to lose another fight?" She smiled as she remembered their last encounter.
"As much as it may dismay you, no." The bearded man responded, "I would like to kidnap you, take you for ransom, maybe have some fun in between." He laughed out.
The princess's face showed nothing but disgust, "Well if you think I'm just going to leave with you, you'd be terribly wrong."
"On the contrary." He responded, walking towards her, "I brought my crew..."
Before Emma had time to think a man grabbed one of her arms as another man grabbed the other, pinning them behind her back. Another one of Blackbeard's crew members took her dagger from her waist and threw it to the side where she couldn't reach. She started to panic, now she had no weapon...
"Help! Help!" She screamed out, not knowing what else to do.
"Cover her mouth!" Blackbeard screamed.
And in no time her hands were tied behind her back and her mouth had a filthy rag in it. His crew placed her on a nearby log to sit as Blackbeard and some of his other men argued over what to write in the ransom note.
Her eyes widened as a thought came to her mind... magic. She has magic. What the hell was wrong with her, how could she forget... quickly she let her blood boil, burning the ropes on her wrist. In no time she was free and released the gag from her mouth.
"Captain!" A crew member called out. Emma wasted no time and struck him with magic, sending him flying into a tree.
"A witch!" Another crew member yelled out.
"Not a bloody witch you idiot!" Blackbeard yelled, "Get her!"
The princess raised her hand letting a ball of fire form. She didn't have the heart to actually throw it at anyone, but she threw it in their direction so they knew she wasn't scared of them.
"Restrain her!" Blackbeard continued to yell.
"I don't think so, mate..." A calm accented voice said from behind all the commotion, holding a sword up to Blackbeard's neck.
Blackbeard turned around, "Captain Jones... always a pleasure." He said with his hands up.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you?" Killian asked coldly.
The lesser captain let out a loud laugh and his crew followed, "You wouldn't dare kill anyone in front of that princess of yours." He said pointing to Emma.
Killian took one quick glance at his princess, it's true he couldn't. But he would if he needed to. "Is that so." He responded, unamused.
"You've gone soft." Blackbeard responded, putting his hands down to prove the point.
Killian laughed, letting down his sword, "At least I can win a duel."
Emma rolled her eyes in the background, they were such children when they argued. She began to walk over to her pirate, ready for the night to end, when a young man from Blackbeard's crew grabbed her waist and pulled her to his chest, raising a knife to her throat, quickly getting Captain Jones' attention.
"Let her go!" Killian yelled out as Blackbeard laughed.
Blackbeard walked in a circle around the other captain, knowing he had full control at this moment, "What do you say old chum, care to make a deal?"
Frustration was all over Killian's face, "What do you want?"
"Ten sacks of gold." The gidish man responded, "It's more than fair, you and I know she's worth one hundred times that."
Killian could easily take out Blackbeard and his crew, but he didn't feel like fighting let alone risking Emma's life any further, "Deal." He said quickly.
Emma stood there in shock, he wasn't going to fight? That wasn't like him, that wasn't like her... quickly she grabbed the boy's hand closest to her throat and let her magic make her hands boil, burning the boy as he let out a painful scream as he threw himself on the floor.
Killian quickly punched Blackbeard, knocking him unconscious as he hit the ground. And his loyal crew didn't even bother to put up a fight with this captain. They dropped their weapons and dispersed into the forest.
"Swan, are you alright?" Killian asked, approaching Emma quickly, concerned all in his eyes.
"I'm fine." She responded out of breath, "How did you find me?"
His mouth opened but no words came out, "I don't know... I was just walking and I heard you scream for help and I just knew."
"Well... thank you." She said with a weak smile.
The captain placed a comforting arm around her shoulders, "Come on, let's get back to the Jolly Roger..."
The princess agreed and started walking but soon stopped once she heard the young boy she burned cry out in pain, "Perhaps we could take him with us?" She suggested.
Killian snickered, thinking it was a joke, "I wouldn't let one of Blackbeard's men on my ship even if Blackbeard was dead himself."
It was evident Emma was vexed, "He seems only older than Henry by a few years." She protested, "He must be scared and obviously in pain." She continued on, slowly making her way over to the boy.
Now the captain was getting irritated. Here she was trying to save another person that didn't want to be saved, "You can't save everyone, Emma!" He burst out, causing her to stop in her tracks.
She frowned her eyebrows, stomping back over to him getting equally as upset, "My parents try to save everyone they can, and so will I!" She yelled back, "It worked out with Jamie so who's to say this won't work out-"
"He was working for King George!" Killian blurted out without thinking. His eyes widened at his mistake.
"What?" Emma asked quietly, taken back by the statement.
Killian closed his eyes in realization of what he had just said, there was no going back from that... he took in a deep breath, trying to find the right words, "Jamie, he- he came to me the other night and confessed everything." He revealed with a pause, "King George is looking for you and Jamie had intentions of kidnapping you for a reward, but soon changed his mind." The captain took a step towards the princess who rejected his movement and took a step back, "I told him not to come back." He admitted, "It's too dangerous to have him aboard, you'll only be easier to find, love. I didn't tell you because I knew you'd be upset."
Emma didn't respond nor did she move. She was in too much disbelief to acknowledge the screaming man behind her and a passed-out captain on the other side of her. Killian's face showed nothing but hurt, and surprisingly she didn't care. He was always the one who was big on honesty and trust and he just broke that. Not only had he lied to her, but it raised the question of what else he was hiding from her.
Idiotically, she let that thought leave her mind. This was the king that took his brother's life, so it seemed to make sense that he would act irrationally with the same threat coming towards her. She felt the anger leave her body and brought herself to say only one sentence, "Secrets keep us from the people we love... so next time please just come to me."
Everything in him knew she was right. He tried to be as honest with her as much he could, and he had been till her fate with Rumplestiltskin was revealed. He thought this was a better time than any to reveal that secret too, but unintentionally he remembered a conversation he had with her parents. Emma would no doubt turn herself over to the imp, no doubt try to reconcile with the ruthless king. And he remembered one piece of advice her father gave him... "And sometimes secrets protect the ones we love..."
Emma shot her head up and stared at the captain for a long second, she had heard that sentence only a few times in her life. She often heard her father say that to her mother in a whisper when they thought she wasn't listening, "My father used to say that, did he tell you to lie to me?" She asked slightly, raising her voice.
"No, love." He responded calmly shaking his head, "He told me to keep you safe and that's what I'm trying to do."
"I don't need you to keep me safe, I can take care of myself!" The princess responded, getting worked up.
Killian raised his hand slightly in an effort to calm her, "Believe me, I know that!" He said louder than intended, "But that doesn't mean I don't worry about you, it's my job- or I hope it's my job, to keep you safe." He continued, with a crack in his voice, "You are all I have in this world. You are the only thing I care about. So yes I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe despite how well you can take care of yourself." He admitted truthfully, "You know me, Emma, there isn't a thing I wouldn't do for you."
For the first time in a long time, Emma believed every word he had just said, "I know you love me and you want to protect me, but you have to stop hiding things from me." She responded with watery eyes, "We are trying to build a relationship together, so unless you don't want a relationship-"
"I want you, love, I want you more than anything." Killian quickly interrupted letting a tear slip down his cheek.
She placed a hand on his arm, "Then trust me because I trust you. You need to tell me these things because then situations like tonight could have been avoided." She responded with authority, "I'm used to everyone treating me like a child and hiding things from me to keep me 'safe', but I expect you to treat me like how you always have when you didn't hide things from me."
Killian swallowed the lump in his throat, everything she said was correct. She was more than capable of standing on her own, especially with magic on her side. And now that he thought about it, there was nothing she couldn't do. He missed the old them, the them that used to sword fight on deck and solve endless problems together. The them that used to stay up to watch the stars then catch the sunrise. A lot of their problems were caused by him and he knew that. He was always so wrapped up in trying to protect her and keep that promise to her parents that he forgot to let them live. He knew better than anyone that life was full of danger, but that only meant you had an adventure to look forward to. He was a god damn pirate, he doesn't run from fear, he lets it fuel him. And Emma was a soul destined for more than a trapped life in a castle and certainly destined for more than a trapped life on a ship. "You're right." Killian agreed, "From now on, we do everything together, as a team."
A smile grew on the princess's face as she wrapped her arms around one of his and laid her head on his shoulder before they began to walk away from the two unconscious bodies, "Any more secrets you want to tell me?"
He had a huge secret to share, one that would shift their relationship. The secret Snow and David begged him to keep... One he had to keep. He rubbed the back of his neck and thought quickly, "Your aunt had me drink this magic position that lets me rip out someone's heart." He said with a laugh.
Emma giggled, "That does seem like something Aunt Regina would do."
Killian looked at the beauty attached to his arm. God he loved her. She deserved to know everything, she deserved to live a life without constant fear of being kidnapped and killed. She deserved a life full of adventure. And Killian intended to grant her every desire, but first, he had to let go of that last secret. The secret of Rumpelstiltskin's plan, the secret that everyone she loves knows of her fate and has lied to her for her entire life... How he wished more than ever that he never found out about that damn secret.
Hello friends !! Next chapter they will finally reach Arendelle... :)