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CHAPTER NINE; GOLD AND COINS
Once Sage had opened the small door to her heart and poured out a bit of her own past, the silence between them reappeared. It was like the air was sucked straight out of her lungs once Sage had to rethink about the years she spent with Jefferson in Wonderland. To make it short and sweet, she was a seventeen year old runaway who was just becoming an armature thief. She was lost, alone in a world where madness and treacherous beasts roamed every inch of the land. Then she met Jefferson, an experienced highwayman who had gone to various lands and had seen marvelous things, explored all new possibilities. He was an experienced man while she was a isolated poor girl. But despite spending many of years together, the love was only one sided until Jeff was trapped in Wonderland by Regina but by then, he was enclosed with his own insanity. It's one thing to love someone who does not love you back, but it's another thing when you still love a madman all those years later.
The pair finally reached the top of the beanstalk, glancing at each other before jumping onto the cobble stone floor. The castle, which was now in rubble and ashes from the aftermath of the war, was obviously made for giants so everything looked humongous to Sage and the pirate. As Sage continued to look around in awe, she noticed a very dried up skeletons scattered about, but she still choked down her nervousness. "What happened here?"
Hook peaked over his shoulder. "It's where the final battle was - give me your hand."
Her brows knitted together as she lifted her left hand, noticing a bloody cut that went up the side of her palm. Once she noticed it, the cut began to sting but Sage found it odd how she never noticed she had hurt her hand before. "No, no. It's fine."
"No, it's not." Hook insisted, sliding closer to the girl as he took note she was stubborn. Sage rose her eyebrows at him, feeling small pings of confusion once she noticed the bits of concern in his eyes for her. "So, what, now you're being a gentleman?"
"Giants can smell blood." He whispered, a small smirk quirking at the end of his lips. "And I'm always a gentleman."
"I can handle one cut, trust me." Sage mumbled with agitation, huffing under her breath at this pirate's persistent. Handling cuts and injuries was something Sage got used to in Wonderland, being a thief and all. Not only was thieving a very risky job, considering people were constantly trying to attach you, but Wonderland was filled with strange monster who tended to be ferocious, monsters that Sage happened to encounter a few times. Three long scars were imprinted on the side of Sage's left shoulder, a vivid reminder of the distant events that happened during Sage's stay.
Sage bit down on her tongue as her eyes watched Hook pop open a cork on the bottle of alcohol and pour the liquid onto her hand. Yelps of afflicted pain came from Sage's mouth, burning tenderness spreading throughout her skin. "What the hell is that?"
"It's rum, a bloody waste of it." Hook eyes her wound carefully before yanking his scarf from his neck and gently wrapping it around her hand. Sage didn't necessarily want to dismiss the captain's for his small act of kindness but one good deed wasn't exactly buying her. She still couldn't trust him, no matter what. "Now here's the plan - we wait for the giant to fall asleep. And when he does, we'll sneak past him into his cave. It's where the treasures are - where the compass lies."
Towards the end of his sentence, Hook had bitten the end of the fabric and looked up at Sage, a suggestive gleam in his eyes. No matter how must distrust Sage had in the pirate, she couldn't deny to herself that he wasn't incredibly handsome and had a charming act to him. But she wasn't the type of person to whimper or fall head over heels for man, let alone a dirty pirate. "And then?"
Hook finally released the cloth from his mouth, tightly tying it around her hand before squeezing. "And then we run like hell."
"I don't have time to wait for a giant to fall asleep." Sage argued. She hadn't exactly spilled the beans yet and confessed that she had given instructions to Mulan to cut down the beanstalk. Thing was, Sage had no intention of doing so. "The powder Mulan gave us - we need to use it. We got to knock him out."
"Well, that's riskier."
"Than waiting for a giant to fall asleep when we need him to?" Sage busted up some boldness and took a step closer to him, speaking in a confident yet persuasive tone while a playful smirk was on her lips. "Come on, Killian. I thought all pirates were up for a risky adventure."
Her tempting question seemed to work as Hook grinned widely, his blue eyes lighting up. "Point taken. Ohh, you're a tough lass. You'd make a hell of a pirate."
Once he reached over to hand the brunette the wrapped poppy powder, his leather sleeve rolled up to reveal a large tattoo printed on his wrist. It was of a piercing red heart with a sword through it, the name Milah marked in cursive in blank ink. Her cursive eyes lowered down, "Who's Milah, on the tattoo?"
"Someone from long ago." All the playfulness drained from his voice, his voice stern and upset. Sage seemed slightly taken' back, not expecting his mischievous attitude to vanish within seconds. Sage's brows knitted together as her mind started to wander, while Hook ruffled his sleeve back up and walked past her in an angry pace. Suddenly, all the puzzle pieces of Hook's motives fitted together. "Rumpelstiltskin." The sound of the devil's name made Hook stopped in his tracks, his throat going raw as he breathed in, knowing that Sage was smart enough to figure anything out, including him. "He took more than your hand from you, didn't he? That's why you want to kill him."
Both thieves turned around to face one another and for a moment, their stares met. Something ran through them, an unspoken' understanding with one another. Killian Jones was a vengeful pirate and Sage Chamberlain was an abandoned thief; two different people that had more than one thing in common. They were misunderstood who knew what it was like to have hope and love stripped from their lives. Whether or not Sage would ever admit it to herself or to anyone else, she couldn't hate Hook for his lies, or untruthfulness, or alliance with Cora, she couldn't hate a person she understood. That just made her more frustrated with herself. Hook looked at the women with a blank stare, his eyes speaking and his voice laced with anger. "For an orphan, you're quite perceptive, aren't you?"
Sage hoped her flinch didn't become noticed by him. His harsh words didn't affect her too much, but she fixed the pirate with a dry tight-lipped smile, "I've been in love before and I know what it's like to lose them to somebody, one way or another."
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They had a plan that Sage had a gut-feeling would fail. The two had diverse a loose plan to knock-out the giant with sleeping gas. Sage wasn't sure if it was the best idea that she had ever been involved, but Hook had retorted that this plan was better than nothing. The reluctant former thief clung her arms around the head of a giant statue, holding on tightly. She had climbed onto a stone statue, supposedly hidden from plain sight since she was so tiny compared to this place. Hook was far away, standing on the ground with a broad bone in his hand. He looked up at her, "You ready?"
Sage gulped down her nervousness, nodding. She wasn't go to let her fears cloud her courage. Hook braced himself as well before banging on a fallen' gold shield, the sound rattling from the walls like wardrooms. The whole castle and its complex shook dangerously, causing Sage to let out small gasps of shock. Her hands gripped onto the stature tightly and her legs wrapped around it as well. Loud roars of anger echoed from the inside hallway, causing Sage to quickly question if this giant was bigger and more deadly than she imagined. Once she opened her closed eyes, her questioning was proven right. The giant that had stormed out of the castle in a furious run stood next to her. He was larger, much bigger than Sage thought and judging by the animosity in his eyes, he didn't appreciate any visits. "Oh, damn it."
Hook dropped the bone, waving his arms around to draw attention towards him. "Hey! You big git! Yeah, you. Huh?" Hook started to walk around the giant, leading him step-by-step towards Sage. The girl rose her brows, surprised that he would risk his safety for her. "You want to kill a human? Huh? You want to kill a human? Well, I'm the worst human around. Come on. Come on, then! Come on, then!"
He circled around the giant, continuing to taunt and provoke it. But once he led the giant near Sage, she quickly stood up and threw the wrapped poppy powered directly in the giant's face. Black and grey powder swooshed around his face, his eyelids fluttered before his body dropped to the ground. Hook was out of sight, making Sage's eyes bulged out of her sockets. "Hook? Hook!" She yelled, startling herself on how much panic was in her voice.
At the sound of his name, the pirate reappear from beneath the giant. "He's out cold." He announced as Sage let out a breath of relief, leaning against the head of the statue. "I don't mean to upset you, Sage but I think we make quite the team."
Sage chuckled, biting her lip to stop her smile from widening. "Well, Hook, you're not the worst partner in crime I've ever had. Let's go find that compass."
After the girl had shimmed her way down from the statue, the pair began their journey and walked into the giant's castle. The room was large, the walls made of stone that connected to other hallways and rooms. What caught Sage's eyes was the thousands and thousands of piles of gold coins, all stacked together, tall enough to almost touch the ceiling. Silver and platinum jewelry was scattered around, along with diamonds and other jewels. Sage, being a former thief herself, was slightly amazed at the sight. Why the hell wasn't she here twenty-eight years ago when she was a high-end thief?
"They hoarded all of their greatest stolen treasures in here. Piles of jewels, and every room filled with coins." His voice trailed off, along with his footsteps. Sage looked behind her shoulder, groaning in annoyance when she saw Hook grasping gold coins.
"Let's get the compass."
"What's your rush?"
Sage rose an eyebrow, giving him a look. "How long do you think magic knockout powder lasts?"
"I have no clue."
"That's my rush." Sage sternly stated, before running anxious hand through her brown hair. "The last thing I want is to face that giant again and get crushed like a bug. Death by giant isn't necessary something I look forward too."
"Too right, lass." He said, sticking a gold coin into his pocket before walking past Sage. "Come. Everything we need is right in front of us."
They continued to explore the castle, but the compass wasn't in sight. Treasures were scattered, making things impossible to find. "They kill all the giant housekeepers, too? How are we going to find a compass in this mess?" Sage questioned.
"By looking. Start searching. I wonder how much treasure we could carry down the beanstalk..." Sage looked at him in disbelief, shocked that he would be more focused on the money than the compass. Then again, he was a pirate. "In addition to the compass, of course."
The pair's walking stopped once they came across the narrow bones of a skeleton lying on the ground, a fallen sword besides it. "What the hell?" Sage whispered, furrowing her brows together in confusion.
"That would be Jack."
"As in Jack-"
"The Giant Killer."
The brunette scoffed, finding herself slightly amused. "With that toothpick? I'm surprised he could kill one of em'."
"Well, it packs quite a wallop. You'd be surprised." He said, but when Sage glanced up at him, she saw that he was taking steps backward, an inch away from touching a wire. Out of impulse, Sage swiftly reached over and latched her arms around Hook's back, pressing them against each other. Her head was leaning against his shoulder, her wide eyes looking at the wire behind him. Warmth spread through their bodies and Sage would be lying if she said this position was uncomfortable. But Hook being Hook lifted Sage up higher and closer, leaning towards her lips with a smirk, their breaths mixing into one, "It's about bloody time."
Sage wedged and struggled in his tight hug but eventually pushed herself off of him. "It's a trip wire. Quite a security system." They looked up to see a wide cage hanging above them. If that wire moved even the slightest bit, they would be trapped.
"Well, that's a plausible excuse for grabbing me, but next time don't stand on ceremony." He remarked, using his cold metal hook to tuck a strand of brown hair behind Sage's ear.
She swiped his hand away, impatience gleaming in her eyes, "Let's just find the compass and go home, please?"
Hook nodded, raising his brows as he gestured his hand out in front of him. He wanted her to go first, since of course, Killian Jones was a gentleman. In return, Sage made the same gesture, fixing him a false sweet smile, "After you, Cap."
The pirate smiled at the humor that lingered in her words, and at the little nickname. He hummed before stepping over the trip wire with Sage following right behind, sighing heavily. Working with a pirate was going to be more difficult than anticipated. The pair continued to walk through-out the rooms, finding more and more glamour riches scattered about. If Sage was still a thief, this would be a gold mine to her, or possibly heaven.
Sage looked around, curious. "So it's just...in here somewhere?"
"Allegedly." Hook said before looking up at an open chest that sat on top of a rusty shelf. "Give me a boost would you, love?"
She scoffed at his words. She knew how this trick worked, since she's played it many times before. "So I can't see what you're pocketing? No way. You give me a boost." The girl walked swiftly in front of him, the two standing closely two feet away from one another.
Hook stopped her from climbing, confusion and disbelief mixing in his face. "Try something new, darling. It's called trust." The worst part was his geniuses in his eyes, 'causing Sage to feel like she was under a microscope. She always became crestfallen once Killian went from playfulness to this serious, almost understanding tone.
"Trust isn't exactly in my vocabulary." Sage snapped back, before pausing, taking in a deep sigh and pushing her stubbornness away. "We do it side by side and fast. Who knows how long before the-
Her sentence was cut off the entire castle shaking and trembling, almost like an earthquake was coming about. The stacks of gold coins jingled against each other, crashing onto the stone floor. The thief and the pirate both struggled to keep their balance as thunderous footsteps continued to approach. Sage heard in breath quiver in small bits of fright. "That didn't last long."
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I'm really sorry an update hasn't come out in a long time, but school started not to long ago and things have been stressful. Please comment down because I love your feedback and BIG NEWS, since Forget Me Not has hit 3.1k, I will be doing a Q&A so please comment down questions or inbox me if you have a question! You can ask multiple questions if you want :)