chapter 6

Killian hadn't been able to stop thinking about what she'd said, about how she was looking for her parents, just like he was looking for her brother, he didn't realise it but perhaps they were similar, he'd seen the pendant around her neck and perhaps it was the same sentiment as Liam's ring gently laying in the middle of his chest. He groaned a little bit and he sat up grabbing his shirt and he rolled it up putting it under his head just for a little extra cushioning. He ran a hand through his hair, if things went badly then he'd just handed himself, a prince, over to the pirate, if the probably for her was money then she could ransom him though he doubted that his father would ever pay it.

He turned his head to the side and he looked at the photo, he picked it up, a few specs of dust still covering the photo which he blew off with a quick puff. He studied her parents, they seemed to be pirates too, experienced ones at that, perhaps that's how Emma knew what she was doing and why she could handle a ship this size with no crew. He sighed and put the photo back down just wondering how long they had been missing and he wondered where they could be, from the looks of the photo they seemed to be a loving family and he doubted that her parents would have abandoned her. He scoffed slightly as he realised that he was almost starting to care about her and her quest, though his quest was first. He rubbed his eyes slightly and he then closed his eyes, though he wasn't sure how long he was looking around the room until he finally managed to close his eyes.

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Emma laid there for a few minutes, just listening to the sound of the waves hitting against the sides of the ship, she always liked hearing it and feeling how the ship moved. She tried to push all her thoughts from her mind, wanting to calm it down so she could sleep. She couldn't stop thinking though, of what he had told her of his life at the palace that maybe he didn't have it as easy as she always thought the Royals did, and of how she probably wouldn't ever find her parents. She wasn't scared of much, but not knowing what happened to her parents and never getting answers to her questions worried her. She shook her head and pulled her blanket up until she was covered from her feet and up to her shoulders as she closed her eyes. She didn't know how long she laid there lost in her own mind until she slowly felt sleep taking over.

By the time Emma woke up for the morning, she had already been up at sunrise, which was the time she always woke up at, ever since she was a little girl. She stood behind the wheel, just looking out at the ocean knowing that they would be near the town shortly. But she also wasn't even sure how she would react to being around the Prince, knowing last night they had both been a little vulnerable to one another, saying things they probably hadn't wanted to share so Emma didn't know how she should react but decided she wouldn't say anything else about her childhood. There were after all other things to worry about as she glanced up to the sky but was glad that it was sunny and clear before one hand reached up and tucked the pendant back under her shirt, mainly for safe keeping.

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Killian woke up slowly, he wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep for but it felt like hours, perhaps that was because this bed was more comfy than the one in the palace, and honestly it was one of the best sleeps he'd had since his brother went missing. He sighed and he slowly sat up, he forget where he out his shirt and realised that he'd used it as a pillow. He grabbed it and pulled it on, he smiled a little bit to himself thinking of what his father would say if he saw the creases in his shirt, the Royal embroidery now visible as he decided that it was probably best to leave the tailcoat of, his brother's ring was over the top of his shirt and his top few buttons were undone.

He slowly stood up and made the bed up again the best he could with the blankets, he relished in the sound of the waves hitting the edge of the ship, perhaps that had helped him to sleep but he sure as hell wasn't going to make a habit of travelling with pirates. He almost lost his footing and felt a little sick as he felt the ship away beneath him, for a moment he'd forgotten that he wasn't on dry land and remembered everything slowly, that they were heading to the next town. He ran a hand through his hair trying to make himself look slightly presentable not that he even cared right now.

He left the cabin and he blinked, shielded his eyes from the sun with his arm for a moment until he got used to the light. He saw the blonde by the wheel just up the small stairs on the top of the deck and bit back the urge to smile. He stepped up, glad the skies looked like they were going to be friendly towards them today. "Morning." He said, his voice a little raspy from just waking up and that being the first worst that he'd said too, though he tried to not make it sound too friendly, the last thing he needed was a friend to watch their backs and protect theirs as well as his own. "This view....it's something." He said with a little nod towards the water and then turned to the blonde, eyes scanning over her slightly as he thought back to how he'd called her pretty the previous day, even if it was meant as a slight insult, he hadn't been wrong.

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Emma turned when she heard the males voice. "Morning." She told him in response, though she didn't mention anything about yesterday, about how they had both been vulnerable just last night. She looked at him for a moment longer until she looked at the water but wasn't able to help but smile a little. "It is." She agreed. "This is one thing I like about being a pirate.. about seeing the water and how it looks in the morning.." she told him, her eyes on the view for a few minutes longer, just taking in the sight.

"We're almost at the town.. should be there in just a little bit." The blonde told him, not seeing her his eyes scanned over her and instead chose to keep her eyes either on the wheel, or on the view of the ocean. "Sleep well?" She asked after a few seconds of silence, she just didn't want it falling into an awkward silence between them and hoped it just sounded curious with that having been his first time on a ship, but she had slept good, like she always did on her ship and with the waves hitting against the ship, the sound always seemed to calm her and relax her. She didn't mind sleeping in a tavern but she never slept well in one. "So.. what's the plan for once we get to the town?" She asked curiously, wanting to know what they were going to do and wanted to just focus on the quests at hand.

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Killian nodded slowly and he took a seat on the top step and ran a hand through his hair again. "I did." He said agreeing to her question about sleeping well, he could have just shrugged but it seemed that conversation was going to be a recurring thing between the two of them. He had slept pretty well though, and with knowing it was morning he knew he'd been asleep for a good few hours. It was nice to not be locked in his room for once.

The water did look nice and he looked over it for a moment before turning back to nod at her slightly. "good, we've made good time then." He said but knew the majority of when they'd travelled they'd just slept through which he didn't mind. "I don't know, I have a photo of him, so I'll just show that to people, maybe the local tavern or somewhere might know something." He said with a little shrug. He sighed and his shoulders dropped slightly, he knew the likelihood of finding his brother in this next town was and knew that he probably wouldn't have any luck, he couldn't help but think that maybe he'd gone to a different realm or he was dead, sometimes he didn't know what the point was.

He cleared his throat a little bit and leaned back onto the deck propping himself up with his elbow, at least it was a nice day. "Have you got a plan for finding your parents?" He asked slowly, he didn't really care all that much but he wanted to make conversation, though as he looked around, even if all he could see was water he didn't think that he even knew where he was.

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Emma gave a nod hearing he slept well but kept most of her focus on the water as she listened and gave a nod. "And if we don't find them in the town? Move onto the next?" She asked curiously before she made sure the ship stayed steering straight as she moved to sit on the deck, closing her eyes a little just to enjoy the sun and the slight morning breeze on the ocean, she liked it. How warm but nice it felt, the smell of the ocean in the morning. This was one reason she loved being on her own like this.

Emma opened her eyes when she looked over to the prince and eyed him slightly but knew he was just trying to make conversation although she could tell he didn't care. She shrugged but then said, "don't go acting like you care because I know you don't." She said, she didn't know why but she felt like lashing out, something she had always done when she was younger and whenever she felt vulnerable around them, she didn't like that feeling. Of feeling so vulnerable. "I guess I'll sail around till i eventually find something. With their reputation as pirates someone is bound to know something." She said, her eyes focused on the sky.

"But I doubt you'll stick around to help with my side of the quest, as soon as you find your brother I bet you two will just go off." Emma said, it was the distrust she always felt towards people. Shes been betrayed and stabbed in the back, figuratively, and she tried to do what she could to avoid that from happening. And she felt that as soon as he found his brother then he'd run off with him.

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Killian nodded slightly with a little shrug. "Yeah...I think that would be best. Hopefully we can find something though, I mean come on, if he did come this way he wouldn't have been that hard to miss, and he's a lot easier to recognise than me." He said with a shrug. Perhaps he didn't mind all this talking because he was just talking about his quest. He ran a hand over his face for a moment, feet resting on the step below him as he sat back up, he was just glad that the day was sunny and the skies were clear, they'd have more luck talking to people.

He turned around and faced Emma with a slight look of shock on his face, he did trust her and he did hope that they could both find what they were looking for, he just couldn't form the words to say that he cared, he couldn't care for anyone else besides his brother right now. "You're right...I don't care." He said and shrugged looking back down into his lap, he lifted a hand and played with the ring resting around his neck. Those words sent a small pang of pain through his heart, he had never really liked lying and his father hated it unless it was him who was lying.

"I meant what I said. About helping you find your parents." He said only briefly glancing back to look at her. If it was him he wouldn't want somebody ruining the chances of him finding his brother, he meant the words and he scoffed slightly. "perhaps you want to talk to me with a little bit more respect or maybe I will abandon you, whether we find my brother or not, I'll walk if i have to." He threatened with a growl, he wasn't happy about people thinking he wouldn't stick to his word, he knew that people found him distrustful because of his Royal blood but it didn't help when his people never saw their prince, it especially didn't help when his father spread stories about him burning down villages or wrongfully arresting people or accusing them for things they didn't do. "Believe what you want." He huffed a little and let his hand drop from his ring and back onto his lap as he turned his head to look out at the waves.

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Emma just gave a small nod as she listened hearing what he said about his brother and how he wouldn't be so hard to miss or that others would probably know of where he was. She turned to face the prince after a moment, noting the shocked expression on his face but she ignored that, she didn't regret her words but saw him messing with a ring around his neck. She narrowed her eyes slightly, "just because you're a prince doesn't mean I'm going to treat you like one." She told him, she didn't care if he was of a Royal blood, she wasn't going to treat him any differently.

"Then go ahead and abandon me, it's not the first time that's happened but I'm not going to go treat you any nicer or differently just because you're a prince so don't go expecting that." Emma told him before she stood up, her jaw clenched slightly. "How is me thinking that about you any different than how you think of me?" She asked him, seeing the town coming into view. "Ever since you've met me you've thought of me as nothing but a filthy pirate, someone who means nothing, right?" She asked, steering the ship towards the pier. "Doubt anything could change your mind." She told him as she maneuvered the ship to be next to the pier and walked over to the side of the ship, putting the anchor down to keep it from floating off before she climbed off the ship, tying a rope to the pier just for good measure but she didn't say anything else to him, knowing if she did then more words will come out that she would probably end up regretting a little later.

But after a moment she did speak, but she now kept her words mainly focused on the quest. "Where do you want to start at first for the search? There's a few taverns that way." She said, pointing with her thumb over her shoulder in a direction off from the pier. "Or there's a few shops." She told him.

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Killian clenched his jaw a little bit and pressed his lips together in a thin line, he didn't like being told off by her, he didn't know what he had to do to make her understand that he didn't give a damn about being a Prince. "Well maybe you'll care how you talk to me when I'm king one day and I can actually change things for the better in this realm, when I can order guards to look for your parents, stop children being on the streets." He grumbled a bit but shook his head, he stood up and shook his head. "Let's just focus on the quest." He said with a sigh, he knew everything he'd just said probably contradicted what people had been told about him but he didn't care, he was sick of not having his own life and not having control over it like Emma had control over hers.

He quickly went down into the cabin while she was dropping the anchor and he picked up the black and silver tailcoat, he shook it a but to get the dust off and slipped it back on, once again hiding the royal crest on his shirt from view. He didn't need people knowing that he was a prince. He looked at the photo frame of her parents and her and he looked over his shoulder. He put the photo down on the table so the back was facing up and he took the photo out of the frame, he slipped it inside of his tailcoat, just glad the insides had big pockets so that he didn't have to hold the photo. He went back out and just decided it best not to say anything to her.

He gave a small nod to her as he followed her off of The Jolly Rodger and out to the town, he stuffed his hands into his pockets slightly and he listened to what she said. "Tavern first...that usually has the most gossip." He said with a nod and pressed his lips together, once again a little bit nervous to be in town surrounded by people who might know him. With that he started to follow her to the nearest tavern.

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Emma knew she probably shouldn't have told him off like that but she hadn't been able to help herself. Her father had always told her she often spoke before thinking and having a temper like her father did. But she had to work on that, her temper and words are what often get her into trouble. That and the reputation she had. She strapped her sword around her waist, feeling the familiarity of it as she waited for him and turned hearing his voice and gave a nod about the taverns. She has been here a few times so she knew her way around.

She kept her eyes straight but she felt a little tense and wasn't sure if it was because of him, the quest or the town. She paused once outside the tavern but before she could think, she reached out and grabbed his arm. "Stay close. This tavern gets.. some rougher edged pirates." She told him but she wasn't asking him, she was telling him. She knew the pirates that hung out here and for some reason she didn't want him to get hurt.

With that, she let his arm go and turned to the door as she walked up and walked into the tavern, holding the door open before she stepped aside to let him in, she'd stand by and let him ask around but she'd be there incase anyone started anything. She knew he could probably handle himself but she knew how pirates could be. Especially when some of them are slightly drunk.

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Killian followed her, eyes scanning around the town for any signs of danger, he still felt a little nervous even though he had his sword strapped to his side, perhaps it showed that he didn't get out of the castle much. He made sure that the ring was tucked beneath his shirt and he looked at the tavern as they approached it. Suddenly he felt something on his arm and he looked down quickly realising that it was Emma's hand. He glared at it, he didn't know what to think about a pirate touching him, though up close she looked anything but a filthy pirate. "I will." He said and cleared his throat a little bit.

He entered the tavern once Emma stepped aside and he looked around, well she hadn't been wrong, it did seem rougher than the last tavern they were in together. The air smelled more of alcohol than the last one, and the room was filled with more slurred speech. He gave Emma a small nod and he reached inside his tailcoat, he made sure to reach into the right pocket and he pulled out the small photo of Liam. He was nervous, he wondered if all pirates had the same views on Royals, whatever it might be, he didn't want to find out. "Excuse me?" He asked softly as he walked towards a group of drunken pirates around a round table, tapping one of them on the shoulder to get his attention. "Have you seen this man recently?" He asked.