Later that evening...
It was now dinner time and Killian was starving. He had skipped lunch due to his earlier argument with Emma. Guilt flooded his mind all day over it, knowing she probably was dismissed by the crew and her feelings were most likely hurt by him not joining her for lunch. They might not have seen much of each other during their time on deck, but they always made sure to eat lunch and dinner together. A tradition he now broke...
He headed down to the galley where the smell of fresh bread filled the air. No doubt in his mind was it Emma's doing. She always made the most heavenly bread. Unfortunately, Sebastian informed everyone that the leftover soup would be served for dinner because no one seemed to want any before and he wasn't going to let it go to waste. The captain felt as if he was just punched in the stomach. No one wanted Emma's cooking? She was a marvelous cook and they used to come running to it...
Killian tried to find his princess in the small crowd of angry men, but couldn't seem to spot the gorgeous blonde. After asking Mr. Smee if he had seen her, he was informed she snuck back down to the captain's quarters. The captain then decided to make his way to their cabin to at least check on her.
Meanwhile, in the captain's quarters, Emma sat with a warm bowl of her famous vegetable soup in front of her along with her freshly made bread. Her appetite was lost as she moved the soup around in the bowl with her spoon. Her heart ached knowing she was upsetting the crew to the point where most of them didn't want to eat because they discovered she made the meal. Luckily a few pirates who didn't completely despise her told her it was an amazing meal. Sebastian was quite angry with the crew for wasting her soup and said he would heat it up again for their dinner. He told her that if they didn't want it, they could starve.
Despite all that, what hurt the most was that Killian didn't check on her once during the day, nor join her for lunch as he always promised... The princess thought maybe she did push him too far this time by demanding he make port in the kingdom that was responsible for his brother's death. All she wanted to do was be in everyone's good graces again.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Killian walking into their room, "Did you eat?" He asked as he cleared his throat.
What a dumb question Emma thought to herself. He could clearly see the bowl full of food, but she knew he was just trying to make conversation. "You didn't come down for lunch." She remarked, getting straight to the point.
The captain let out a heavy breath and sat in the chair in front of her, "I apologize for that, love. It was rude of me."
She pushed the bowl of soup away from her and got up from the table, making her way to their bed. "I suppose you heard the crew has decided they're not going to eat if I continue to cook." She said heading over to their wardrobe to grab some clothes and prepare for bed.
He followed quickly behind, "So let them starve." He declared, "Emma, I'm not changing our course just so you can make them happy."
For some reason, him using her real name didn't feel right. He always called her by a nickname and that's when she started to realize how serious he was... "They hate me." She yelled, throwing her nightgown onto the bed and looking at him.
"Not all of them hate you- none of them hate you." He stuttered, trying to find the correct words to use.
"More than half of them have told me they don't like me today." Emma responded with a crack in her voice.
Killian felt rage run through his body. How could anyone hate her? She was nothing but loving towards the crew and always took their side. He remembered when she first boarded his ship they adored her, now they won't even give her two seconds of their time. "Enough of this." He said, storming out of their room.
"Where are you going?" The princess called out. To no surprise, he didn't respond. He was already halfway above deck, and sadly, Emma feared she had just gotten the crew in more trouble. She quickly rushed after him to find him above deck.
"Gather round!" The captain yelled over his crew who were having their evening fun. Many of the crew members grumbled but did as asked. "You all need to start treating Emma with respect, or you all can be fish bait!" He continued to yell, "She has done nothing but defend you bastards and give you a life other pirates would dream of having."
"She's made us soft, captain!" A voice yelled back.
"Aye!" Many of them agreed.
"We want to find treasure, not to be a pampered princess's servant!" Another crewmate yelled.
"Aye! Everything we do revolves around that damn princess!" Another unfaithful deckhand called out.
"Shut your bloody mouths now!" Killian snapped, "I don't care what you want. I make the demands on this ship, you follow them. You all know I don't tolerate mutiny." He shouted, causing the crew to fall silent, "The next time we make land you are more than welcome to get off my ship. I don't need anyone who is going to hurt my Emma." He proposed, "If any of you want to continue to stay on my ship, then you will show her respect. I don't care if you don't like her, but you will respect her." He announced, looking around at his small crew, "If anyone can't follow these orders then go walk off the bloody plank yourself and pray those sea monsters take pity on your soul, have I made myself clear?"
"Aye, captain." They responded, barely above a whisper.
Emma watched the whole ordeal play out from the shadows of the ship. She was sure no one saw her... She blushed at the thought of Killian defending her, even though she had been rude to him earlier... She was about the head back down to their room when, BANG, the ship was struck with great force.
"Enemy ship!" A crew member shouted.
"Find where it came from, prepare for a counterattack!" Killian ordered. Quickly everyone dispersed and took their positions. Everything fell quiet once more, then, BANG. Another hit, and still no sign of a ship. "Someone get up in the crow's nest and find that bloody ship!" The captain continued to yell.
Emma wasn't sure what was going on and knew she would be ordered to go below deck, but she had to go check on Killian... She quickly made her way through the chaos and over to her captain, "Killian!" She called out over all the loudness.
The captain shot his head in the direction of the familiar high-pitched voice. "Emma, what are you doing up here?" He asked, pulling her out of the way, "You need to go to our room where you'll be safe." He instructed as the ship continued to sway.
The princess paused as another cannon stuck the Jolly Roger, "We're in King George's waters." She whispered to herself with wide eyes.
"What?" He asked above all the noise. He shook his head, clearly not hearing her comment, "Nevermind that, go below deck." He insisted, pulling her hand.
"We're in King George's waters!" She said louder so he could hear.
Now Killian was the one who paused, "No..." He whispered to himself, "We're in unclaimed waters." He clarified for her.
"No." Emma shook her head, "I heard Anna and Elsa talking one night, they said King George bought out more territory." She explained as Killian walked them over to the helm, "I thought they meant land, but they must have meant sea."
"And you didn't bother to say anything?" He yelled at her as he tried to steer them farther away from the enemy's waters.
"I didn't know!" She yelled back.
He didn't respond to her, instead, he walked away, "Men, put the cannon's away!" He ordered, "We're gonna have to ride this one out then dock for supplies..." He whispered to himself. "I hope you're happy, Swan." He said returning to the helm, "Now we have to dock in his kingdom to fix my ship." He continued, clearly upset.
The princess looked at him in disbelief as the attacks begun to stop, "I didn't plan this." She responded angrily.
"Aye, but you wanted to stop in his kingdom and like always you got your wish." He spat back without thinking.
Everything in her screamed to slap him. How dare he'd think she wanted this to happen. He was the god damn captain, why would he even travel in the direction of his enemy's kingdom? "A good captain wouldn't even have gone near his waters." She shouted back, not caring if she hurt his feeling this time.
Before the captain could respond, she ran off. At least she was heading below deck now... Deep down he knew she didn't plan this, it would be absurd if she did. He was the one charting their course and he checked it every day. How could he have not known King George claimed these waters? Emma was right, he shouldn't have been sailing anywhere near his kingdom, even if he was hundreds of miles away from the kingdom itself...
As the attack came to an end, the Jolly Roger was in terrible condition. Sails ripped, planks gone, holes all along the side of the ship. Luckily they were still afloat and it seemed to be nothing more than uncalled-for warning shots. No doubt to make his ship dock in the Kingdom of Mal, King George's kingdom. Killian felt as if everything was falling apart. His crew was on the verge of a mutiny, his ship was barely holding up, he and Emma weren't on great terms... The captain knew she would ask to return home sooner if things kept going against them. And normally he would agree to return home, but he still hadn't heard from Snow and David regarding any news of Rumplstiltskin's plan. All he really knew was that he had to be out at sea for at least six more months...
Hope you all are doing good and thank you for reading!!
A super long chapter coming next week ;)