A few days later...
Killian stood aboard an unfamiliar deck surrounded by the worst crew possible. The deck creaked nonstop, and god forbid you stepped on the wrong plank. The ropes that held the sails were unraveling by the minute, and this small merchant ship was much too slow for his liking. His days were filled with nothing but Regina's screechy voice filling the air as she tried to order everyone around. It often led to a fight between her and David, followed by Snow acting as the peacekeeper. He couldn't bear to hear another damn speech about how they all must get along and keep hope. On top of all the nonstop chatter, Robin would flash uncalled-for looks at him all day. Nonetheless, the pirate kept to himself. He only had one thing on his mind, and that was getting to Emma before it was too late.
The only peace Killian got on the small vessel was when he woke before everyone else and took in the morning views. To no surprise, it reminded him of his princess.
As the pirate stared out to the glistening sea, he recalled all the mornings aboard the Jolly Roger where he'd find Emma admiring the sun's early glow as she sipped her tea. Her wide smile would follow as he greeted her with a kiss on the forehead. He'd ask her how she slept, already knowing the answer, but he'd do anything to hear her talk. Her voice was the most beautiful thing ever to grace his ears...
His thoughts were interrupted as everyone gathered on deck, "Would you watch where you're going!" Regina shouted at Snow.
And the captain thought Emma wasn't a morning person...
"You mustn't forget, I'm pregnant!" The queen snapped back, "And this constant rocking is making me quite nauseous."
"If you're going to toss your biscuits, at least do it over the railing this time." Robin added as he pushed his way onto the deck, "I despise that my job on this ship is cleaning up after all you people."
"Killian, do you think perhaps you could not rock the ship too much?" David asked as his own nausea took over.
The captain rolled his eyes, "Does it look like I can control the bloody ocean?"
"I can't believe I'm stuck on the world's smallest ship with the king and queen of seasickness." Regina pouted.
Now more than ever did the captain appreciate his original crew. It was a shame he couldn't bring along Smee and a few others to handle the ship's needs. The four people he was stuck with were more likely to drown them all.
As the bickering continued, Killian returned to the helm, where he was consumed by his thoughts once more. He tried to take himself to a more calming place and began to imagine Emma running up to him with a smile on her face as he steered the ship. Her rosy cheeks prominent, and her golden hair flowing in the wind as she rambled on about how much she loved life out at sea and then snuggled up against him once she began to feel cold. If only it were real...
As the day went on, the bickering died down. Everyone had found something to keep themselves busy and out of each other's way. Snow was down in the secluded galley making them dinner, Regina in her cabin trying to find a spell to make the ship go faster, Robin was helping maintain the vessel while David set the table on the deck for them to eat. It took a while, but everyone found their place and got used to the confined space.
The captain watched as Snow brought up a soup pot and placed it on the table, followed by Regina, who commented on how she was starving. "Killian, come eat!" The queen called out.
He sighed and dragged himself over to the table as Robin passed around a bowl of bread rolls to go with the soup. His appetite had vanished, and the bread didn't smell nearly as good as the one Emma makes. "The meal looks lovely." He praised quietly.
"So you can talk." Regina snickered as he had been oddly silent all day.
"Alright, alright, enough." David said, plopping down to eat, "Let's eat then rest up. We'll need our energy when we get to Ambrosia."
"I hope Emma and the boys are getting along okay on that ship." Robin made conversation as he shoved a metal spoon in his mouth.
Snow smiled, "I hope they have enough to eat. Emma isn't as skilled in the kitchen as she should be."
"Hey, it was either teaching her to sword fight or cook." David laughed.
"Oh please, she doesn't need to know how to cook or fight." Regina added, "Magic, remember?"
Their conversation about Emma annoyed the captain. All the negative remarks about her irked him, even if it was just a joke. She was a fantastic cook and by far the best fighter he knew, "She doesn't need magic to be brilliant. She already is." He snapped, throwing his bread onto the plate, "I always make sure my ship is stocked up with food for her at all times, so watch your mouths. She can take care of herself as well as the others."
"Easy mate, we're just teasing." Robin interjected.
"I don't bloody care!" Killian got up from the table as his voice rose, "You all seem to forget that she is out there right now trying to get herself killed for a mistake you all made! So I apologize if I don't find your rude remarks about her to be funny." He walked away.
The table fell silent, "I'll go talk to him." The king offered.
"Please, I doubt he wants another lecture from Prince Charming." Regina remarked as she sipped her drink.
"Then why don't you go talk to him?" Snow asked rhetorically.
"I'd rather gouge my eye out with this spoon than comfort that loathing pirate." Regina responded, "Besides, we all know the only person able to calm him isn't here."
"I'll be back." David said as he kissed his wife goodbye.
Meanwhile, Killian stared out to the dark sea, trying to find comfort in it as he usually did. To no luck, it only brought more pain. Blue wasn't as calming as he remembered it to be. The only color he wanted to stare into right now was his princess's emerald green eyes. She was the only reason he found her family tolerable. Without her around, it became more and more tempting just to throw himself overboard.
"I never thanked you." David approached, crashing his train of thoughts.
His point exactly. Never a moment alone on this damn ship. "Thank me for what?" Killian mumbled back, playing along.
"For taking care of my daughter when I couldn't." The king responded, finally getting the pirate's attention, "I know it was wrong for Snow and I to ask you to keep a secret on top of protecting her. It's a burden that you shouldn't have had to bear, and I apologize if it ruined the relationship you and Emma were building."
The statement took the captain by surprise. Not a hint of sarcasm rang in the air. "I know I'm not the man you want for Emma, but I do love her, and taking care of her was never a burden." He clenched his jaw, "The secret was hard to keep from her, but no one made me keep it. I chose not to tell her, and now I have to deal with the consequences of it."
"We all made mistakes." David patted him on the back, "For what it's worth, I'm glad she found you."
"You are?" Killian raised an eyebrow in confusion, "I often think it would be better if our paths had never crossed."
The king sighed. He knew where the pirate was coming from. "The secret was bound to come out sooner or later, and you had no effect on that." He reassured, "You made my daughter happy. Genuinely happy, and not that fake princess smile she carries around all the time." He smiled at the captain, "That's all I ever wanted for her."
Killian became silent once more. All he ever wanted was to make Emma happy and prove to her father that he could take care of her. With this man standing in front of him, praising him, he should be elated. But he wasn't. The captain hadn't felt sadness like this since his brother had passed. The only difference was, there was no hope of getting Liam back. His mind was at war. Part of him knew he would never win Emma's heart again, but the other part of him hoped it was possible.
He was never one to hope, but the princess had changed that. She brought all sorts of new changes. He was a man who only took what he wanted when he wanted, and how he wanted. The life of another person meant nothing to him. Then a blond-haired, rosy-cheek princess showed him the value of mercy and that there was more to life than just trunks of old coins.
He was a man who used to wake up to strange women in his bed and hurry them off so he could get on with his day. Now he'd lay awake in the morning, cursing at the sun for rising so fast because all he wanted to do was admire how the sun complimented his princess's face and shower her in kisses just to hear her laughter fill the room.
He was a man who drank his emotions away to the point where he couldn't even smell anything in the air but rum, but around Emma, he wanted to be stone-cold sober so that he could inhale the sweet smell of roses she always carried on her and remember every little thing she did. From the way she scrunched her nose out of anger to the way she bit her lip when she was lost in thought.
Prince Charming slapped him on the back, shaking his thoughts once more. "Tell you what, when we return home to Misthaven, you can have your pick at the royal treasure. Anything you want."
Killian scoffed. He might have had the king's approval, but one thing remained true, he would always just be a pirate to him. "I don't want an award for aiding you." He gave a snarky look, "I'm not spending my precious time on this dawdling merchant ship surrounded by entitled dignities for some old pieces of coin. I'm here to make sure my love lives to see her brother grow up. That's all she wants now."
The sentence took David back, "What kind of pirate doesn't want a taste of the royal treasury?" He nudged Killian in a friendly manner.
The captain was in no mood for friendly banter. He was exhausted with worry about Emma, and her overbearing family was no help. They were just a constant reminder. He let out a long sigh and fixated his attention on the sea once more, "The kind of pirate who knows there's no better treasure than having Emma back. Even if she hates me." He pulled her small ring out of his pocket and stared at it, "How can you be so infuriatingly optimistic knowing what she intends to do?"
"I-I don't know." The king revealed as he watched Killian fiddle with Emma's ring, "I just have to trust that Merlin will stall as long as possible and that Henry can talk some sense into her before it's too late."
"Putting your fate in other people is too risky." Killian commented, "I've only trusted two people in my life entirely, and one is dead, and the other is off trying to get herself killed." He added, referring to his brother and princess.
Prince Charming rubbed his stubbled chin. Killian Jones was a hard man to comfort, but so was his daughter. Both a bit too stubborn for their own good, but somehow it never affects their relationship. "Emma used to have a hard time trusting people." He revealed, "Not that I blame her. She shouldn't have trusted any of us." The king scoffed, trying to comfort himself, "I used to tell her it's okay not to trust people, but it's wrong not to allow them to show that they can be trusted."
How the pirate wished she ignored her father's words, "What's your point, mate?" He asked as he put the ring back in his pocket.
"You're scared of losing Emma. I get that. But all five of us are on this ship for one purpose. We may not all get along or agree on everything, but none of us would get in the way of saving Emma." David explained in a riddle, "You can trust us, and we trust you."
The sentence warmed Killian's heart as he cracked a smile, "A terrible choice, really."
The two men laughed as the king patted his back once more, "We'll get Emma back. But first, you need to take care of yourself to do so."
"I had no idea you cared." The captain teased.
"Who, me?" David played along as he pointed to himself with a laugh, "I could care less, but Emma would have my head if I let anything happen to you."
"Aye." He chuckled, "Your wife would no doubt help."
"Indeed." The king laughed, "I'm starting to fear she likes you more than me." He mocked as they started to head back to the table.
"Well, I intend to have that effect on women." The pirate laughed as he took his seat once more.
"I think I see it now." Robin announced, plopping his drink back onto the table as David and Killian joined everyone.
Snow placed a fresh and warm bowl of soup in front of the two returning men, "See what, Robin?"
"The resemblance!" He responded, gesturing to Killian, "My mother used to say women love men to resemble other men in their life, particularly ones that they are fond of!" He stated happily, "The pirate loves rum. I love rum. He's got that stubble look as do I-"
"And we're both good with the ladies." Killian smirks.
"I don't need to hear about that." David looked down in embarrassment as Snow laughed with everyone else, "Besides, I'm her father. Shouldn't she want someone to resemble me instead of a man who smells like they rolled in the mud?"
"Enough of this." Regina chimed in, "You seem to forget I taught her to never settle for a man who loses a duel to her." She smiled proudly, "And my girl has bested every one of you. There isn't a man alive who deserves her."
"Oh please, I'm sure Emma is very happy with Killian." The queen added sweetly.
Regina examined Killian in a humorous manner, "Reakes on rum, short-tempered, very controlling, and in love with a floating piece of wood... my, have her standards gone down."
The captain smirked at the harmless joke as everyone let out a laugh, "I'm winning you over. I can feel it." He pointed to Regina as he took a sip of his drink.
The laughter continued, and for once, Killian felt part of a family. Emma didn't have to be present for him to be accepted at the table of hierarchy. He didn't feel like a pirate, nor did he view them as royalty. For a moment, they were a group of people who could civilly get along. And for the first time, he had faith that Emma was okay and they'd be able to save her in time.
HI!!!! I'm so so so so so sooooo sorry for my lack of updates. If you follow / did follow my Instagram you know I stepped away from that as life is just to chaotic and super busy. But I promise I'm doing my best to update this story and finish it. I have some chapters saved up and that are currently being reviewed and edited so hopefully I can get those out soon.
Thank you for sticking around and being so understanding about my absence. I'm trying to do better so thank you so so much for waiting.
As always, feel free to comment, ask questions, anything!
Thank you for reading:)