The next morning...
The captain woke to the gentle rocking of his ship as sunlight cut through the thin white curtains. Not wanting to wake up, he turned to his other side, now facing a pale freckled-faced woman with wavy blond hair. His princess. Her breathing was steady, and her blood-red lips pressed up in a smile as she was still in a deep slumber. Strips of sunlight ran across her face, enhancing her natural glow. He always wondered how one person could be so god damn gorgeous and how he was lucky enough to call her his. Killian let a content smile grow as he brushed some hair out of Emma's face, revealing her rosy cheeks.
The princess scrunched her face as she slowly opened her eyes. Killian felt his heart skip a beat when her emerald green eyes met his. He swore at that moment he'd never see the color green the same ever again. Green was the least of his favorite colors in all his life, but now, it was the color he loved most. "Good morning." Emma's sleepy voice filled the air as she snuggled closer to him.
He placed a kiss on her head as he draped an arm over her, protecting her from the morning sunlight that threatened to wake her up. She buried her face into his chest and let out a peaceful sigh. The captain never felt so at peace. Laying her with Emma, wrapped in his arms, made him feel like life was finally worth living, "Good morning, my love."
Killian shot up in bed, finding he was in his room at the summer palace. Loud banging on the oak door had woken him from his dream. It was too early for this. He laid his head back on his cool pillow, hoping to return to his amicable slumber as the banging continued. He turned to his side, hoping Emma would somehow be there. Unsurprisingly, she wasn't, and yet his heart still sank with disappointment. It almost seemed foreign for her not to be asleep next to him.
Without warning, his door flung open. Standing before him was King David, in his nightwear, with panic plastered on his face. The captain propped himself up in bed, this time a bit more concerned. He could now hear the queen's cry ring through the palace. Something must have been wrong. "Where is she?" The king demanded, tears building in his eyes.
Sleep still fogged the pirate's brain. Perhaps this was another dream. "I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific." He shook his head, genuinely confused.
"Emma! Who else?" David shouted back rudely, "Where is she?"
Killian felt his own panic begin to rise. He hadn't seen her since last night. How the hell should he know?
"Sir, Henry and Merlin are gone as well." A guard popped into the room, "Some of the maids believe clothes are missing, as well as a few bags."
"Where the hell are they?" The king began to shout, "A palace full of guards, and you let three people go missing? One of them being my daughter!"
Killian felt like his ears became clogged as everything fell into a mumble. A thousand thoughts flooded his mind, but he tried to remain as calm as possible. It was as if everything was happening in slow motion as he got out of bed, "Emma's missing?"
David turned to the pirate, sweat beading upon his forehead, "Yes." The king tried to steady his breathing, "The guards woke to do their morning walkthrough and found her missing. Along with Merlin and Henry."
"David!" Snow called from the other room.
Without waiting, the two men dashed into the other room, Emma's room. The queen was standing by a small vanity, "Look." She held up a note, followed by the pink-diamond swan necklace that belonged to Emma.
The king scanned his daughter's note then threw it across the room in frustration, "She's gone to the Kingdom of Ambrosia to talk to Rumplestiltskin." He revealed, "Merlin and Henry went with her."
The captain stood there feeling helpless and shocked all at once. "David, we have to go after her!" Snow panicked.
As the king tried to calm his pregnant wife, Killian walked over to the vanity where Emma's swan necklace was placed. He picked it up, remembering how she never took it off. Even the day they met, she wore that necklace with pride. It almost seemed impossible to imagine her without it. But then again, she also promised to never take her ring off either. The ring that now sat in his pocket, missing its proper owner.
In any other situation regarding Emma, he too would panic, but he felt oddly calm. Almost as if he didn't know how to react, like the calm before the storm. He didn't know what the note said, but he was certain she only went to King Rumple's kingdom to save her unborn sibling. He would never blame an infant, but he could undoubtedly blame the two people who started it all, "This is all your fault." Killian calmly stated without looking up.
"Pardon?" Snow asked as she wiped away a few tears.
"I think you heard me clearly, your majesty." The captain responded, his tone growing harsh, "This is your fault." He pointed at the king and queen.
The king fumed with anger as he crossed his arms, "None of this would have happened if you kept Emma out at sea as we told you!"
Killian Jones was not a man you wanted to shout at. He didn't care if this was Emma's father, nor did his royal status phase him, "None of this would have happened if you didn't make a deal with that bloody imp in the first place!" He shouted back, "You care more about this damn kingdom than your only daughter."
"This kingdom was the only thing keeping my daughter safe!" The king argued back, "I should have trusted my judgment and should never let her go with a pirate." He stated, turning to his wife.
It was as if the air had been knocked out of the captain. He knew him and David didn't always see eye to eye, but he felt he had proven himself to be more than a pirate. He raised his finger and got close to the king, "I have done more to protect your daughter in the past year than you have in her entire life." Killian defended himself calmly.
David's face changed to hurt in a matter of seconds, but before he could respond, Snow stood between the two men. Her swollen stomach providing a decent amount of space between them, "Enough!" She shouted, "We all made mistakes, but we need to find Emma before it's too late."
The captain was the first to regain sanity. They had Emma to thank for that. She was the only thing he'd set the world aside for, "I apologize for my rudeness." He addressed the queen, "How long ago did she leave?"
"We don't know." She responded calmly as she rubbed her swollen stomach, "Please, Killian. If there is anything you know, you must tell us."
"I'm afraid I don't know anything." He rubbed his chin, "I talked to her last night, and we were supposed to meet this morning, so whatever happened must have been after we all retired for the night."
"That's all you can tell us?" David roughly questioned, "How do you spend an entire year with my daughter and not know anything?"
"How do you raise a child and not know a damn thing about her?" The captain matched his energy once more.
"Charming, enough!" The queen scolded, "He has done nothing wrong, and he wants Emma back just as much as we do."
Killian nodded his head as a thank you, "Emma would always talk about using a mirror to view a person you wish to see." He pondered out loud, "She's done it many times to check on everyone here. Perhaps we could do the same to see exactly where she is."
"Yes." Snow agreed, "We know she's heading to Ambrosia, but how?"
"Exactly." Killian nodded his head, "I would assume magic, but Elsa told me that magic isn't enough to travel to another kingdom. However, with Merlin, it may be possible. If we can see where she is, then we have an idea of how much time we have to catch up to her, that is, if they aren't there yet."
"And if she is in Rumple's kingdom?" The queen asked nervously.
The captain's face fell. He didn't want to think about that any more than she did, "I don't know. We just have to hope that time is on our side."
"Regina." David chimed in, ready to be helpful, "She can help."
"Yes!" Snow's eyes widened, "She knows all about magic. She has magic!"
"Well, where is she?" Killian asked, walking to the door.
David raised his hand to stop him from leaving, "She and Robin are out in the forest looking for Emma."
"Bloody hell." The captain let out his frustration by slamming his hand against the wall, "We don't have time to wait for their return."
Regina ran into the room with Robin close behind, as if on cue, "She's not in the kingdom!"
"Yes, Regina. She's going to Rumple's kingdom." The king informed her. "We found a note she left."
"That's not all." Robin added, giving the captain a look of suspicion, "His ship is not at the docks." He pointed to Killian.
All eyes fell to the pirate, and now was not a good time to have the kind of reputation he did. "My ship is gone?" Killian echoed, "That's not possible. I never gave that order."
"You better start talking, pirate." David pulled his shirt collar, making their faces inches from each other. The captain didn't flinch.
"David, enough!" Snow pulled him away, "He doesn't know any more than we do."
"For once, I agree with the queen." Regina raised her eyebrows.
"Who's even sailing the ship?" Robin asked, "We checked, and all the royal navy men are here."
Damnit, Emma. Killian pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes together as tightly as possible. He was sure he would get an earful after this, "Emma must be sailing my ship." He paused, "Unless Merlin or Henry can." He chuckled, trying to ease the moment.
Once again, all eyes went to him. Except for this time, he felt as if they were ready to kill him ten times over, "Why the hell would you teach her that?" Regina raised her voice.
Part of him despised this woman for reasons he couldn't explain, but Regina was important to Emma. Therefore he had to be on his best behavior, "If anything were to happen to me, I wanted to make sure she could at least get home on her own." He gritted through his teeth as politely as he could, given the rage boiling in his body.
"Did you ever think there was a reason I never taught her too?" David spat back.
Killian knew why she was never taught to sail, and it wasn't because her father didn't want Emma to travel to Ambrosia. It was because he didn't want her traveling anywhere at all.
His body shook with anger as everyone began to gang up on him as if he did something wrong. Their problem was they didn't want Emma to know anything and constantly lied to her. That's why she didn't tell anyone she was leaving. He let out a shaky breath, "You asked me to take care of her, and that's what I did. Everything I do is for Emma." He stated boldly, "I'm not standing here, in her room, with all of you out of nobility. I'm standing here because Emma is endangered, and I need everyone's help to save her."
The room fell silent, and for a moment, no one looked at him as if he were a pirate. For a moment, he was just a man trying to find the women he loves. Snow was the first to approach him and pull him in for a hug as best she could. Surprisingly, he found comfort in it. People often forget he has no one else in the world but Emma. Nothing was tying him to this kingdom but her. He was right. Everything he did was for Emma. "What do you suggest we do?" The queen asked, giving him the lead.
He paused for a moment as everyone continues to stare at him, waiting for orders. He cleared his throat and looked to Regina, "Find exactly where she is." He ordered, looking up to the vanity mirror, "The mirror, use magic to see where she is."
Regina nodded her head, knowing exactly what to do. She focused on the mirror and thought of nothing else but Emma. She remembered the day Emma was born and how small and fragile she was. She remembered Emma's first date with Neal and how she wasn't too fond of it but still nervous. She remembered how Emma used to trust her with everything, but now no longer would...
Soon enough, the mirror began to glow and reflected an image of the princess. She was standing on an all too familiar deck, with the wind blowing her hair back. Sadness was evident on her face, but no one had time to worry about that. Henry ran in the background, causing Emma to turn, "How much longer?" Henry asked.
"We only set sail a few hours ago." Emma chuckled, "We have six or seven more days. You'll have to be patient." She looked back out into the distance, "Merlin and I cast a spell on the sails to go a bit faster, but with the Jolly Roger, I'm sure we'll make great time."
"It's too bad you couldn't use magic to get us there." He frowned.
"I know, kid." She responded, "Merlin said it's too far to use magic, remember?"
The image began to fade as Regina could no longer keep it going.
"Bring it back up!" David ordered a bit too loud.
Robin rubbed Regina's back as she fell onto the bed, feeling light-headed, "It's not easy keeping an image up for long, mate." He explained.
"Aye." The captain agreed, feeling slight guilt, "Emma used to get light-headed too. Headaches would follow."
"Six days." Snow said aloud, changing the subject, "How is that possible? They can't be that far ahead. Ambrosia is a ten-day journey.."
"Aye, it is." Killian nodded her head, "However, we made it to Ambrosia in seven days because of the Jolly Roger-"
"The fastest ship in all the realms." Robin remembered out loud.
"Aye." Killian praised, "If the Jolly Roger is at full speed and they're using magic, they'll be there sooner than we'd like."
"No, no." David calmly objected, "Merlin wouldn't do that." He looked to his wife, "He would be stalling the trip to give us time to catch up."
"How can you be certain?" The captain asked.
Snow smiled in realization, "Because he knew Emma would leave with or without him. If he went, he could buy us time-"
"And undo whatever magic Emma is doing." Regina concluded with a grin.
Killian frowned his eyebrows in disapproval, "I don't buy that."
"Merlin can just snap his finger and appear in Ambrosia, no problem." Regina explained, "So why didn't he?" She smiled.
Now Robin was confused, "Emma just said-"
"She doesn't know." Killian interrupted, finally catching on. Another lie, he thought, but this lie was buying them time, "Are you certain Merlin could have gone all the way to Rumple's kingdom with magic alone."
"He's the most powerful sorcerer." David reminded everyone, "He could freeze the ocean three times over if he wanted to."
"Besides, he knows Emma isn't aware of all the power she has." Snow added.
The captain then decided there was no more time to waste. If this man was buying them time, they might as well take advantage, "Go get us a ship. The fastest one you have." He addressed the king, "Everyone else, prepare to set sail."