AN: What? I'm alive? I'm sorry for kind of dropping this story for a couple months. It wasn't planned, otherwise I would've warned you. I've recently been diagnosed with tendonitis in my wrist and it hurts to type. I also had terrible writer's block. I tried to write this chapter a lot of times, but couldn't force anything out of me. It's been kind of tough. Especially with family problems, a new school, and saying goodbye to a close friend that is off to the Marines. I hope to maintain some sort of steady schedule, but with the tendonitis it's going to unpredictable. But I am alive, and I haven't dropped this story. I'm so sorry.
As always, thank you so much whoknowsheregoes. You catch a lot more mistakes than I'm willing to admit, and continue to improve my writing. I couldn't make this story what it is without you.
Summary: Captain Swan AU. Snow and Charming decided to live as bandits instead of taking back the kingdom. Emma and her family are thieves. One night, she comes across the infamous Captain Hook. She decides to try and steal from his ship, but ends up in his bed instead. Rated M for occasional smut scenes.
also on FF.net
9. Moment of Truth
Emma found Red after only a day and a half. Emma had inherited her mother's gift for tracking, so it hadn't been too difficult. She was hiding out in a burrow that was partially concealed by a large fallen tree. It was only a couple miles outside of Merritown.
Red ran to the blonde as soon as she saw her, wrapping her up in a tight hug. It seemed like a lifetime since the last time they'd seen each other. How had so much changed in such a small amount of time?
"Where have you been?" she inquired, looking worried as she pulled back from the hug. Emma let out a huge sigh.
"I can explain later; it's a long story." That was not something she wanted to get into right now, her decision to leave still weighing heavily on her heart. Every thought was polluted with him, and fuck, she just needed a moment that he wasn't there. She mentally shook herself and asked, "Where do we start? Do we have any sense of a plan? How did she even get them?"
"I have no idea how Regina got them, but she's kept them in the dungeons for the last few days. Her guards have been setting up something in the courtyard since the capture, so I assume she is planning to make a huge spectacle. A public execution, by her own hand—very dramatic."
"I expected nothing less from this woman." The two shared a look.
"I figure our best chance is to attack right before. Your parents will be out in the open, and we can hopefully disappear into the crowd." They began walking back toward town.
"That is extremely risky. There is no guarantee that the crowd will take our side."
"I know. We'll have to go on faith—there is no way to tell who is loyal to Regina, and who is loyal to your mother."
At that, a certain redhead popped into Emma's mind.
"We might not have to go in blind. Give me two hours. Meet back here." As Emma walked in the opposite direction of Red, she allowed her mind to wander back a few years in time.
Regina's knights were catching up quickly. Emma felt an arrow fly past her head, nicking her ear. Snow and Charming had split down another path, effectively dividing the round of knights. Half followed Emma, and the other half her parents.
Unfortunately for her, the path she chose was mostly straight, which was basically the same as being a standstill target. It was pure luck that she'd only been grazed on the arm and ear. To her left were stonewalls and jumbled forest to her right. There was no foreseeable exit, unless she somehow smashed through the walls—
"Hey!" Emma barely heard the shouted whisper. Her head snapped to the side. Just ahead, peeking from the top of the wall, was a redhead. She was frantically waving at her. Emma had no idea who this girl was, but she was in no position to reject help from anyone. With a glance behind her, she readied herself to jump. She nodded at the stranger. She snatched up her bag, and when the moment was right, pushed off the horse and gripped the woman's hand and the wall tightly. With a highly skilled maneuver, Emma swung her feet into the first knight, forcing him off the horse and creating the domino effect to the others.
The two got Emma up and over the wall, and once Emma was leaning against a wall, she huffed out a thank you, holding her hand over her injured arm. "I was dead for sure. I can't thank you enough." She caught her breath and finally looked at the stranger. The maiden had kind eyes, long wavy red hair, a light blue dress, and no shoes. "Who are you, anyway? Why did you help me?"
She smiled. "My name is Ariel. I'm a friend of your mother's from a long time ago. I hope she's mentioned me a couple of times."
It took her a moment, but she did remember hearing about her. And that she was… "Didn't you used to be a fish?"
Ariel laughed. "I was, yes. I gave it up for my husband. I wanted to be with him, and I am now. He rules this kingdom, and I'm his queen. I sometimes go back, to visit my father and sisters, but I'm human more often than not." She held out a hand. "Come inside the palace. We'll get that wound cleaned up, and you can gossip with me about what you and your mother have been up to lately."
It had been a few years since that encounter, and Emma had seen very little of her between then and now. A life on the run didn't allow many social calls.
She hoped Ariel would help them now. In the past, she had offered to shelter the Charmings for as long as they needed, but they'd all decided that posed too much danger. Regina's kingdom was significantly larger than Ariel's, and they wouldn't have been able to live with themselves if their presence cost Ariel her life and kingdom.
Merritown itself wasn't very dangerous, so the palace doors had only four guards at the front. Emma approached cautiously. "I request an audience with Her Majesty, Queen Ariel," she commanded, shoving as much authority into her voice as possible.
"The queen isn't giving audience at this hour. Try again tomorrow," the gruff guard answered.
She bit on her inner lip to keep from being snarky. "Tell Her Majesty that it's Emma Nolan." Not many people knew her true last name, and Ariel was one of the few that did. Using 'Nolan' instead of the usual 'Swan' would get her attention without drawing the suspicions of the guards.
"I'm sorry, Miss, but no audiences today."
"Listen, I'm a close, personal friend," Emma growled, "and when I do see her, I'll make sure you—"
"Emma! What are you doing here?" Emma and all four guards whipped their heads to see where the familiar voice had come from. The guards immediately bowed.
The guard she'd been talking to began sputtering explanations.
"Your Majesty, this woman was wanting to see you, but I told her you were not giving audience today and—"
"Nonsense," She rebuffed, waving her hand. "Emma is always welcome in my home. Now come. We must catch up while you're in town." She held out her arm to Emma, which she looped her own arm through. The two walked while Ariel's ladies-in-waiting trailed behind them. The two went into the castle and made small talk until they reached Ariel's bedchambers. The chipper façade broke the moment the door shut. "What's wrong?"
Emma hesitated. She glanced at the one lady-in-waiting that had come in with them. She was brunette, petite, with kind blue eyes. But that didn't mean she was trustworthy.
"Oh!" Ariel threw her hands up. "I forgot to introduce you. This is Belle—completely trustworthy, I promise." Emma's weary eyes lingered on the brunette for a moment longer.
"Okay," she conceded. She then rehashed the situation, watching the queen's eyes widen considerably. "So what I need you to do is rally your people. I know it's asking a lot. But we can't let her win."
"Emma…" She was shocked, near speechless, her jaw hanging open. "You're asking for an act of war. Are you prepared for that?"
"Yes," she answered without hesitation. She would do anything to protect her family. "They deserve a better life, and I'll fight for it. The difference between Regina and us is that we have followers. I know there are still people out there who believe in Snow White, their true queen. We just have to remind them of that faith."
There were a few moments of thoughtful silence. Emma felt her heart race as she waited eagerly for Ariel's response.
"All right," she agreed. "We can go talk to Eric together. We'll save them, Emma, I promise. And then you can go get your throne."
Emma let out a small, humorless laugh. "I'll officially be a princess." The thought was almost terrifying, running a kingdom instead of hiding from one. However, she knew she would be just fine with her mother and father by her side. They would be fine as long as they were together.
Emma slunk through the circles of people, keeping her hood up and her nose down. The new stone stage that rested in the center of Regina's public court was covered in rich fabrics. She knew that behind it were her parents, probably being tied to wooden posts at that very moment. Sprinkled around her were Ariel's people, those loyal to her and Snow, or at least those who were against Regina. Everything was in the place.
The whispers died down as Regina's fanfare began. She emerged from the castle, covered in black, with a wide smile on her face. Emma's lip twitched, the only outward sign of anger besides the cold steel in her eyes.
Despite her beauty, Regina's age had begun to show all over her face—the frown lines and hollow cheekbones and deep purple half-moons under her eyes. Beautiful still, but her many years of dark magic, disappointment, and deceit had clearly taken their toll.
She took her time getting to the stage. Emma's hands tightened on the bow she was concealing inside her cloak. She tried to hide the sparks of white light flying from her hands, by gripping her weapon tighter—letting the magic seep into the bow. She feared the effect it might have on her weapon, but what else could she do? For two days, on and off, her hands had been spurting specks of light. It was all she could do to just keep her hands pressed tightly to herself, hopefully absorbing the foreign magic rather than harming someone.
The end of the fanfare prompted Emma to look back up. Regina gave the crowd a regal and triumphant smile.
"Citizens, thank you for gathering here today. Today will go down in history. Today is the day that the criminal Snow White and Prince James will be put to death." She paused and yanked down the fabrics, revealing Emma's parents tied to pyres. "Snow White and Prince James—you have been accused of banditry, murder, treason, and treachery. Do you have anything to say in your defense?"
Snow went to shout something and Regina waved her hand, sealing Snow's mouth shut.
"No objections? I'll take that as a confession." A huge grin crept across her face. "I, Regina Mills, First of my Name, Queen of Misthaven, and Evil Queen of the Realm, hereby sentence you both to burn on the pyre until dead."
With dramatic flourish, Regina readied up her fireball, and Emma took her stance. She threw back the cloak and pulled her bow taut. Her magic sparked through her fingers, and traveled with the arrow when she released it, sending it sailing through the air toward Regina. The infused light in the arrow cracked loudly as it approached its target, and pierced right through the center of her hand. The Queen was screaming, her fireball dissolving into thin air just as quickly as it had appeared. The arrow, charged with Emma's magic, pulled Regina down and pinned her to the platform.
Emma moved through her shock, weaving through panicking people to get to her parents. Regina was screaming for her guards. Emma's hidden allies in the crowd drew their weapons and formed a small army. Emma shot arrows at anyone who tried to harm her. It was complete chaos in the courtyard, and for once it was useful. Emma successfully made it to the stage, stepping around Regina, who was still trying to pull the magic-infused arrow out of her hand, to no avail.
"You," Regina screeched. She created a fireball in her left hand. Emma dodged it as it was thrown, and quickly positioned and shot into Regina's free hand. With the enemy completely pinned down and her guards occupied, Emma turned to her parents and pulled out her small dagger. She began sawing through the ropes.
"Emma," Snow White cried with happiness, smiling up at her daughter. "You found us."
Emma offered a smile of her own.
"Of course I did. I will always find you." She finally broke through the ropes and moved onto her father's. "Red and Ariel are waiting for us. I'll take you to the rendezvous point, and then we'll finally be free."
"How can Regina not free herself?" Charming asked as he stared down at the Evil Queen who was still struggling to free herself.
"It's a long story," She decided to reply, as she continued sawing at the ropes. Once she'd successfully freed her father, she handed him her dagger. "Let's get out of here."
Emma grabbed a hand from both of her parents. The three moved together, jumping over Regina as she squirmed, and sprinting toward their escape route.
There was still fighting occurring throughout the courtyard, swords clashing, disjointed screaming, and a lot of people fleeing. It left plenty of cover to escape. Emma didn't like leaving the people to fight while they fled, but for now, they had no choice. They would fight when they could.
They made a break for the open archway, dodging fighters and fleers, never straying too far from one another. Since Emma had given Snow her bow, and Charming her dagger, all she had to defend herself was a small knife and her magic. She was sure her parents had questions about that, but they would have to wait. Even if they weren't in the middle of a coup, Emma hadn't the faintest idea of how she might explain it.
After a few hours, they finally decided to rest. It had been an exhausting day, and despite the threat of the Black Guard and Regina's wrath over their heads, they couldn't go one more step. Emma took the liberty of building their makeshift tent, weaving a large canopy over them. Charming collected the firewood, and Snow started the fire. Emma had a loaf of bread in her pack that she'd swiped before the execution that she broke into threes and distributed.
A perturbing silence hung heavy in the air while they ate. No one knew how to breach the subject of Emma's magic. After all, magic had been the weapon of choice for their greatest adversaries for so long. With the Ripper of Hearts, the Evil Queen, the Dark One—magic did not have a good reputation; it had become synonymous with evil. Despite her close relationship with her parents, fear struck her heart as she considered all the ways they might react.
Emma nearly jumped out of her skin when her mother suddenly pulled her into a violent hug. "I am so happy that you're safe," Snow cried. Charming scooted closer to her and hugged from behind. She was between them. After a moment and a deep sigh of relief from all three of them, Emma's parents pulled back. Snow tucked a piece of hair behind her daughter's ear, and Charming was rubbing her arm affectionately. "We have been so worried about you. Where have you been? How did you find us? How did you know to contact Ariel to help? Where have you been all this time?"
"That is a lot to answer at once." She laughed. "Um, let's start with why I left." She explained that night, how she wanted to help them do better by pulling a Robin Hood. She told them everything, about Hook—censoring details for the purpose of not giving her parents a heart attack—discovering the magic, all the way down to their rescue. It took a long time to explain everything, but afterward, she felt a huge weight being lifted from her chest. She'd gone weeks without being able to tell anyone anything. She had to avoid talking about her family and her past with Killian, and was reluctant to discuss him with Red or Ariel. The pain of her decision to leave still lingered.
"A lot happened," she continued, "and I still don't know how to process most of it. It's been the craziest few weeks of my life, and you weren't there…" Snow placed her hand on Emma's. "I refuse to let us be separated again. And the only way to guarantee that we never will, we need to take back the kingdom, just like you said. It took awhile for me to get on board, but I realize now how important it is. We deserve our thrones. We deserve happiness."
They both smiled. Charming responded, "You're absolutely right, Emma. Now that we have our path, we have to take it. And I'm thrilled to see you evolve the way you have. I can't wait until I can give you your first proper dance lessons."
She laughed lightly. "Let's slow down. First we have to win a war." Snow waved a hand dismissively. Emma and her father looked at her incredulously.
"What? It will be difficult," Snow explained. "But I have faith—in us and in our people. We will win this, and restore peace. And then we'll have dance lessons and feasts and balls and beautiful gowns."
Emma's father cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Let's get back to this boy…you said he's a pirate?" Emma's cheeks flushed a bright red.
"I think it's time for bed," She replied quickly. "It won't take long to reach our friends once we get moving tomorrow."
Charming saw right through her excuse, but decided not to push it further. He would have time for interrogation later, when they weren't exhausted from the day's events. Emma gave each parent a kiss on the cheek and a long hug. It felt good to be in their arms again. She stomped out the fire, spreading the ashes and residual wood around.
"See you in the morning."
The Charmings were all wrapped into a group hug when they arrived at the rendezvous point.
"I'm so glad you're all okay," Red murmured. "I thought that plan would fail for sure." Emma scoffed, and Red began laughing. "Honestly, it was a half-constructed plan that hinged on luck. Don't look so offended; it's true."
"It still worked," Emma mumbled, taking a seat in the corner of the room. Their meet-up place was a nearly deserted inn, located on an almost forgotten trail.
"We're here to discuss our plan to win this war, not the flaws of Emma's siege plan," Charming interjected. Emma gave her father an incredulous smile.
"I believe I am the one that gathered us. I know you're technically a prince, Dad, but no need to commandeer my council." He bowed mockingly, gesturing to the spot in front of the fireplace where he'd been standing. Emma backpedaled, "No, no, I was joking. You're to be the king, you need to be the one to do this."
"And you're to be the princess, and future queen," He shot back. "You have to learn how to do this too." They shared a serious look, and the weight of what he was saying hit her. He was completely right; council meetings and decisions and courts would be her future. She nodded understandingly, and stood where he pointed.
She took a deep breath to steady herself. "I've gathered you all here today to discuss the issue that has been haunting us for as long as I can remember: the Evil Queen. She's terrorized us for the majority of our lives, wielding magic and the Black Guard over us. We deserve to live our lives without constant fear of the Queen's retribution. We deserve to rule the kingdom that is rightfully my mother's. She used a fake pregnancy to keep the throne from her once, and wouldn't let it out of her claws. Anyone that can usurp an entire kingdom simply for the sake of revenge isn't a true leader. I believe that we have the people's best interest at heart and that justifies waging a war in order to win the freedom of our people. Will you stand with me?"
She'd been avoiding their faces as she spoke, choosing to look right above their heads instead. She wasn't much of a speech giver. She wasn't trained for it. After a moment, Ariel was the first to speak.
"If I didn't know you, I'd still follow you."
"I couldn't have said it better myself," Snow said, beaming at her daughter. Charming had a matching smile.
"It's official then," Emma declared. "We're going to war."
When was your magical moment of joining the jolly ship Captain Swan?
Reblog with your answer.
Mine: While I adored the chemistry between them in season 2 and Hook scenes were among my favorite, the last of screen time between them prevented me from fully jumping on board until season 3.
My magical moment: when Hook and Emma were flirting in 3x02 (Lost Girl) and he said, "Perhaps I would." --and I died.
Note: Before then I thought they might have a one night thing, given Emma's fondness for them, but never thought she'd let him close enough for more. However, in hind sight, it is easy to see how this was set up from their first episode, the creators just taking their sweet time to drag it out.
