I Will Find You

Chapter 2: Empty

Killian's POV

Nothing prepared me for the emptiness that I felt when she left. I was hollow, as if a part of me was missing. I knew I loved her, and now I knew that she loved me, but I never imagined our bond to be this strong. I never imagined that being separated from her could hurt this much. It hurt even more than when Milah died. It hurt even more than when rumple ripped my heart out. Now that she was gone, I knew something for sure. I had never loved anyone as much as I love Emma Swan.

It all happened so fast that night. Her warms hand on my chest, tears in her eyes. Those three words; I love you. Our foreheads touched. I could feel the power radiating from her, I could feel the potential that she had. I could feel her love, and then the next second I couldn't. Just like that she turned her back to me, and thrust the dagger into the darkness. Just like that, she was gone. Just like that, the crocodile's name was no longer written on the dagger- Hers was. I immediately collapsed.

Everything was a blur. I punched the ground until my knuckles bled. My ears were ringing, and I couldn't hear the words coming out of Charming and Snow's mouths. I could barely make them out through the tears in my eyes. They were yelling at me- probably telling me to stop. But I wouldn't stop. I would never stop until I had Emma back. That night, laying in my bed below deck of the Jolly Roger, I made a vow to myself. Under my breath, I whispered; I will find you, Swan. Even if I have to go to the end of the world.

That's where I was now, nearly two weeks after she disappeared. The Jolly Roger bobbed up and down in the harbor, with the salty sea air wafting through the open windows. I lay in bed and took a deep breath, trying to take my mind off of the pain of losing her. None of us understood it, but Emma had simply disappeared without a trace. We had looked everywhere we possibly could, but it seemed as if she wasn't even in Storybrooke. Even Rumple, who had finally recovered about a week ago, didn't understand why she was gone. He said that when he became the dark one he had simply stayed put right where he was. No teleporting or getting flashed off to another realm. But Emma obviously wasn't anywhere in Storybrooke that we knew of, so where was she?

Suddenly I heard a knock on the door. I jumped out of bed, completely oblivious to who could be there. It's not like my ship is off limits, but you can't just come onto a bloody pirate's ship without his permission, and I was sure there wasn't anyone in Storybrooke who I was close enough with that they would feel comfortable coming onto my ship without my permission. Unless...

I quickly dressed and slipped on my leather jacket.

"Who's there? Don't you know it's not honorable to come onto a captain's ship uninvited?" I hoped to hear her sarcastic voice answer, but instead it was deeper, and most definitely male.

"Since when have you cared about honor? Heck, is there even a place to shower on this dirty ship?" It was charming. I could hear his smirk through his voice. I opened the door, and sure enough he was standing there. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, in fact there is. But I doubt you really care about that. Why are you here?"

"I'm sorry for barging in uninvited, Killian, but you're going to want to hear this. I think Belle's found something."

"You know where she is?" I couldn't help asking the question with pain in my voice. He could probably sense my anxiety.

"Not exactly. But there might be someone who does."