Chapter 4

"Then what was the point?" Emma asked, she didn't know why she had focused on the word pretty. Maybe it's because she wasn't used to hearing it like that from someone. She kept that to herself, she didn't need anyone else knowing how odd it was to be called that. "You're the one who called me pretty instead of a 'filthy pirate' as you've made very clear." She said, shrugging.

Emma turned her head to look over at him, raising an eyebrow slightly and hearing what he said. Though she was curious about who he could be looking for, many others knew it but Emma would be honest and say that she honestly didn't pay too much attention to the royals, maybe a small part of her was jealous of the way they got to live, of the luxury they could have. Although, she also wouldn't ever change her way of life. She loved being on the water, it's where she felt the most relaxed, where she felt in control. But it didn't bother her if he wasn't going to go telling her who he was searching for. She didn't care if they kept their own secrets.

Emma shrugged, though she had noticed how softer his voice sounded but didn't question it even if she had wanted to comment about it. "Would you rather wait? To instead go in the morning?" She asked, eyebrow raised. She watched him eat for a moment and gave a small chuckle. "And to think you were going to turn down the food." She said although she knew they hadn't ever actually exchanged names. She stood up, going over to a woman, having a few words with the owner, just asking her to put his horse up in the stables for a while and to keep an eye on it till they returned. She turned towards the male hearing what he said.

"I'm Emma Swan, by the way." The blonde said, figuring she should at least tell the male her name but that was all she said as she walked to the door, pulled it open, and walked out, glancing back over her shoulder just to make sure he was following as she headed away from the tavern, down the harbor and over to where her ship was docked at.

×××

Killian sighed, this girl definitely talked way too much, and he wasn't looking for conversation, it hadn't even been his plan to team up with someone, but he guessed that he didn't have much of a choice and he was just glad that he had access to a ship now, he doubted that he could take his horse everywhere with him. "The point was that a girl of your stature should be careful how much she drinks." He said and shrugged a little bit, he could tell she had a slender frame but he didn't know if under her clothes there were just bones or actually muscles, for all he knew she could be one of the worst pirates out of the lot of them, and she had said it herself, there were much harsher pirates out there, which also usually meant more experienced.

He shrugged a little as he finished off the last of his bread, he wished he had all the time in the world to search for his brother, perhaps if he'd of started earlier then he would have but he didn't have a chance to now, and although he knew that he probably only had a certain amount of time before the King or the guards found him, he was trying to act like he was in no rush. "Doesn't make a difference to me." He said, he wiped the corners of his mouth with the edge of his coat and he stood up tucking the stool under the bar as much as he could. "Don't expect a thanks from me for that." He said pointing towards the empty bowl and crumbs of bread. "I declined. You decided to give me it. I owe you nothing." He said, the prince really didn't like being in debt to others, never mind pirates, just the thought itself was unthinkable enough to send a shiver up his spine.

"I'm P...." He started to introduce himself and as was habit began to give his title. He cleared his throat and looked around at the other pirates in the tavern just hoping that none of them recognized him or took what Emma said about him being a Royal too seriously knowing that the king, once he realized he was missing, would most likely put out a reward for any information on him. "I'm Killian, Killian Jones." He said and followed her outside, he gave her a little nod seeing how she glanced over her shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm still here, and you don't have to worry about me stabbing you in the back." He grunted, he wished he meant figuratively but he didn't, though as he said it his hand was once again resting on the pommel of his sword, one could never be too cautious in these parts of the realm.

He followed her outside and slightly tugged on his shirt pulling it so that it was slightly closed more, he didn't want to risk catching a cold and becoming unwell. He followed her closely, casting a look towards his horse just wanting to make sure that he would be taken care of. He followed Emma away from the harbor, thankfully the people outside weren't too perceptive and he knew that his clothes with having his shirt open and chest hair showing, the long tailcoats, and the leather trousers people would probably just think that he was a pirate, which he strangely found himself thankful for. His eyes scanned the environment, body tense, shoulders squared slightly, he was always ready for an attack.

He got to the harbor and looked around, honestly, it was like a part of his fantasy with Liam coming true, but the thought of his brother only made his heart ache more. "It's a nice town." He mumbled under his breath, the tavern wasn't too shabby and the water that almost surrounded one sound of the town had a nice color to it, even if it was dark and he could see how the moonlight rippled along with the waves. "Which one is yours then, Swan?" He asked almost eagerly, if he could set foot on the ship then his wishes to be one step ahead of his father and one step closer to finding Liam were on the verge of coming true.

×××

Emma looked over at him hearing what he said about drinking and shrugged. "I never drink enough to get drunk. I like to keep clear-headed." She told him. Which was true, she may drink a bit but never enough to get too drunk like all the other pirates out there. She liked to stay on guard, making sure no one could try anything or start a fight.

"I wasn't expecting one." The pirate said, shrugging. Since she knew that she wouldn't be getting a thank you or anything for having got him something to eat. "It can be hard to owe people." She said, knowing she's owed a few favors in return to others.

"Well, nice to meet you... Killian." The blonde said as she left a bag of coins she had gotten from a previous town, leaving it for having given the male some food. She raised an eyebrow, turning around to face him so she was walking backward but wasn't worried about tripping or bumping into anyone. "You know, that doesn't make me feel any better." She said, that though she agreed to this, she still felt a little distrustful. "When most say they aren't going to stab you in the bag, figuratively or not, that usually always happens." She told him, shrugging as she turned back around to watch where she was going.

Emma grinned a little when she heard him ask, walking over to the end of the dock where her ship was. "The Jolly Roger." She said, slight pride in her eyes but she loved the ship, it was her home and one of the last few things she had from her childhood. She honestly didn't know what she would do if she lost the ship, it would probably break her heart at the thought, the ship had belonged to her father from what she had been told as a young girl when things had at least been normal and she had her parents at the time, so she tried to make sure the ship stayed in good condition and if something was wrong, she worked to fix it. She walked over and climbed up onto the deck. "So, do you know where to start your search for this.. mysterious person you're looking for?" She asked him. She didn't care if he didn't tell her who he was looking for but she would like to be able to know where to set sail too.

×××

Killian wasn't sure if he should respond to that statement, let's just say that he had yet to meet a pirate who preferred to keep a clear head than to get drunk until they couldn't walk straight. His eyes studied her for a moment, perhaps it was true. The only thing that was true about her that he knew for sure is that she was either confident or cocky with how she began walking backward, either she had been to this port many times before to know her way to be able to walk backward, or she held a much higher reputation than he first thought she did, especially how she trusted people not to walk into her. "It sure can." He mumbled to her statement about owing people, though he'd made sure to never put himself in that position.

He studied her for a moment. "Well...I suppose that would be an issue, wouldn't it? If I cared how you feel." He mumbled but loud enough for her to hear, they weren't there to braid each others hair or make friends, they were there to get a job done, for the both of them it seemed, and it wasn't going to be much more than that. His hand however came off the sword at his side and he relaxed slightly knowing that nothing would probably happen, though perhaps he was that as he was a prince he always had a target on his back. "Even if I could, why would I? I need you." He told her with a dismissive shrug as he continued to follow her to the end of the pier.

Killian followed her, paying close attention to her footsteps, the last thing he wanted was to slip and fall. He followed her into the top deck of the ship, from what he could see any way it looked rather nice, he didn't see anybody else about and was confused for a moment, she must have a crew somewhere, unless she was a Captain which he found very unlikely. "He's not a mysterious person okay, he's just a person. He's lost and he needs help." He growled a little as if Emma's lack of information angered him but knew he could only blame himself for that as he hadn't told her anything more. As if somehow she was making him sound less important and he didn't like that. "I don't know...I was just thinking of the next town or two over?" He suggested knowing that if a prince had passed through there then there would be gossip and rumors, and Prince Liam was much more recognisable than he was.

×××

Emma glanced at the Prince, chuckling a little bit. "Who would have thought that you would say you 'need me' to a pirate?" She asked, she couldn't help herself at times when it came to angering someone. Sometimes she found it fun.

As Emma walked up onto the deck, she glanced over at him. "There's no crew." She told him. She knew she sometimes worked with one but otherwise, she preferred to work alone, it made her feel better. This way she could make sure no one could betray her or stab her in the back, both figuratively and literally, since she could keep to herself. Others may think it's lonely but to her, she didn't mind, it made her appreciate being in the open sea a little more. She raised an eyebrow slightly hearing the anger, "Don't go getting angry at me." She told him knowing she didn't have much to work on with who the person he was searching for was, though she didn't go demanding him to tell her but she also wasn't about to let anyone take a tone with her.

Hearing what he said, the blonde gave a nod. "We can start with the next town over." She said. Her eyes scanned over the sails, making sure they were ready before she walked over to the side of the ship, pulling up the anchor. "Let's set sail then." She said but it felt nice to be on her ship again, knowing she was going to be in the open water, where she had control. She looked at the prince for a moment before she turned and walked over to the wheel, turning the wheel slightly to steer them away from the pier and out into the seat and to sail towards the next town but knew it would probably be a little while before they got there.

×××

Killian scoffed incredulously and shook his head. "You know very well I hate pirates. So I suggest that you shut your mouth before I do it for you." He warned turning to her, his sword being pulled out of his sheathe slightly to accentuate the threat to her, snarling at her. He knew there wasn't much point and he didn't want to affect the mission he was on so he slid his sword back down into his sheathe and walked over to the side of the ship giving her a small nod. He knew she needed him too because of her quest, whatever it was, he didn't care. "Alright." He mumbled and leaned his elbows on the side of the ship looking down at the water below.

Killian raised an eyebrow slightly, he was used to having guards at his disposal, one might say a kingdom was nothing without a kingdom or heirs, but that's where people were often wrong, a kingdom was nothing without it's guard, without it's defense. A Guard company was the only thing that protected the kingdom, without it, the kingdom rest on the shoulders of one man who could easily be killed, stabbed in the back, and on to the next heir. Without no guards, the kingdom was a weakness, a vulnerability that invited their enemies, even their allies to invade them and take over it, and as much as he hated being prince, he had a duty to the people, his people, and he vowed to be a better king years ago, kinder than his father, noble, gentle and fair with the inhabitants of The Enchanted Forest, a place that once again thrived the way it did before his mother unfortunately passed.

He held tightly onto the side of The Jolly Roger as it began to move, his feet stumbled a little bit but he quickly found his footing and cleared his throat trying to save him the embarrassment of falling over. He'd never been on a ship before so naturally it felt uneasy for him, to be on something that he had no control of, something that moved on a force of nature so big it couldn't be tamed by anyone, pirate or king alike. "next town is fine." He agreed with a little grumble though repeated it again over the roaring of the waves as they set sail. It wasn't like riding a horse, nothing like it, and he could already feel his legs shaking as he tried to navigate this new way of travel, yet as he looked at this Swan Pirate she seemed to have got it all figured out. "So...you're telling me, that you run this entire ship...by yourself?" He yelled. He was tired of yelling, and he wasn't one for it so he slowly started to make his way towards her, hands gripping onto the sanded-down sides of the rails as he shuffled sideways closer to the top of the ship where Emma stood. "Can you even navigate in the dark?" He asked a little worried though hid it with his normal cold tone. "I mean...what if we like...get eaten by a Kraken or something?" He asked her not sure if that sounded ridiculous to her, Kraken's were rare sightings and most believed them to be fiction, a tale for children, unspoken and untrue creatures, sea beasts that had no mercy, and Killian definitely didn't want to run into one of them before he even started his journey.

But maybe, just maybe...Emma Swan was different.

×××

"And why exactly is it that you hate pirates so much?" Emma asked, glancing at him. "Did a pirate hurt you or something?" She asked. She knew everyone had their reasons for hating them but was curious on why Killian did so much. She glanced down seeing him pull his sword out slightly but if she was scared, she didn't show it. After all her years, she's managed to hide when she felt fear believing it showed weakness.

Emma kept the wheel steady, knowing to just go straight, she glanced at the male, wanting to make sure he hadn't fallen over. "Have you ever been on a ship?" She asked him, grabbing a rope as she tied it at the end of the wheel so it helped to keep the wheel steady so the ship stayed going straight. "You sound surprised that I'm able to handle it." She noted and shrugged. "I'll have a crew. Sometimes, if people need work I'll let them travel and work as my crew, otherwise, I prefer to travel alone. Makes it easier for me to make sure people don't go stabbing me in the back." She explained. "And naturally, I'm the only one I trust with this ship." She added.

Heading about his next question, she chuckled. "Of course I can." She said, almost sounding like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "The stars give us light, they help guide us." She said, her voice seeming to soften there for a moment, momentarily taken back to a small memory of her and her father.

"Look up at the stars," the young Emma was being told as she and her father lay on the deck, the boat gently rocking on the waves as it sailed, her mother just down below asleep. It was a dark night, the only light being the moon and the stars which she loved.

"Father, what if we get lost?" The young girl asked softly, "We'll be lost at sea!" She said, her eyes wide as the girl looked up at her father.

Her father chuckled slightly, gently tugging his daughter closer to keep her warm as it was a slightly chilly night. "Do not fear, my daughter. Us pirates, we look towards the stars for the light and to help guide and navigate us through the darkness of the night." He said softly. "If you ever feel lost, just look to them." He said.

Emma shook her head, coming back to reality, not realizing she had just been staring off into the night. "Hmm?" She asked until she heard him mention the Kraken and chuckled. "That beast is a rare sight, mostly told to children for bedtime stories." She told him. "I have never seen one in all my time sailing these waters." She told him. "Are you afraid we will see one?" She asked him. But she was hoping that would assure him but honestly, she didn't know how to reassure someone. "Look, I know my way around these waters. I'm good when it comes to navigating at night, as long as there are stars we will be fine." She said but had seen he seemed a little shaky. "Feel free to sit if you want, it'll be a while before we reach the next town. Or you can go get some sleep down below." She said.