What Could Have Been: A Once Upon A Time Fanfic

Chapter 7

David arose early the next morning, planning to board a ship to search for his daughter Emma. He quickly packed a few essentials into a case, trying to be as quiet as possible so as not to awaken his sleeping wife.
After eating a quick breakfast, he headed out to the docks where the royal ship was waiting.
Just as he began to climb into the carriage that would take him there, he heard a voice behind him.
"What ever happened to ladies first?" his wife asked with a smile on her face.
David hopped to the ground. "I didn't want you to come." he said. "It could be dangerous, and I don't want you getting hurt."
"Since when have you known me to shy away from danger?" Snow said with a smirk as she climbed into the carriage. "Or have you forgotten how we met?" she added.
David's mind went back to that day, when Snow White had dared to ambush him and his then-fiancé Abigail as they passed through the woods in a carriage similar to the one Snow was sitting in now.
"How could I ever forget?" He smiled as he, too, boarded the carriage and shut the door. They heard the driver shout something to the horses, and they began to move.
"Especially with the permanent reminder you gave me." David said, running a finger along a scar on his jawline.
"In my defense, you had just tackled me to the ground." Snow said.
"Only after you stole from me."
"And I still got away." she smiled triumphantly.
"For a time." he said.
They both laughed at the memories. So much had happened since then.
Snow looked out the window and her expression changed from happy to grim.
"Do you think she's alright?" she asked quietly.
"I have to believe that she is. Otherwise, I might go crazy with worry."
Snow White locked eyes with him, and he saw that she was on the verge of tears. He reached across and placed a hand on her leg. "We'll find her. Don't worry."

❦ ❦ ❦ ❦

Emma stretched as she opened her eyes. At first, she was alarmed to discover that she was not in her room at the palace. That is, until she remembered that she was being held captive on a pirate ship.
Sitting up, Emma put on her shoes, then she stood up and walked into the hall.
Arriving on the main deck, she was greeted with, "Heads up!"
She looked just in time to see one of the crew throw something in her direction. Emma squeezed her eyes shut and raised her hands, hoping to catch whatever it was. It landed in her palms with a smack and she looked down at it. It was a red apple.
"Morning!" she heard Hook shout.
"Good morning." she said back.
Emma looked at the apple in her hand with a weird look on her face.
"What's the matter? Haven't you ever seen an apple before?" Hook asked.
"Of course I've seen one! I've just never eaten one." Emma replied.
"You've never eaten an apple?" Hook asked, astonished.
"No. We never had them at home. My mom doesn't like them. So I never bothered to try one."
"Who doesn't like apples?" Hook laughed.
"You don't know who my mom is, do you?" Emma asked.
"Enlighten me." Hook said.
"Snow White." Emma said proudly.
"The one who ate the poisoned apple?"
"The same."
"That explains that, then." Hook said. Then he returned to the ship's wheel.
Emma looked at the apple again before biting into it. It was so good! She couldn't believe she'd never had one before. She continued to eat it as she searched the open water for other ships. She looked in all directions, but there were no other ships in sight.
"Come on, where are you?" she said under her breath. She knew they must be worried sick by now.
She took a final bite out of her apple before tossing it into the water below and watched as little fish came up and began to nibble at what was left of the fruit.
When she grew bored of watching them, Emma looked up and saw that they were approaching land.
She joined Hook at the ship's hull.
"What are we doing?" she asked.
"We're in need of some supplies. Just a quick stop." he replied.
"Can I come?" Emma asked, suddenly excited. This could be her chance to escape!
But Hook just laughed. "And risk you escaping? I'm not stupid, you know."
"So I guess that's a 'no'?"
"Correct."
Emma crossed her arms and huffed.

When they were close enough, Hook and a few other men began boarding a small rowboat that would take them to the shore. Mr. Smee was with them, but Hook stopped him before he got on.
"Hold it, mate! I need you to stay here and keep an eye on the girl."
"Got it, Captain." he replied, but it was obvious that he'd rather not stay behind.
He turned around and addressed Emma.
"Hear that? You'd better not try anything."
"I think I'll just explore the ship" Emma said.
"Alright. Just don't go into the captain's quarters. I don't think he'd want you in there."
"Okay." Emma said as she made her way below deck, knowing she would go to the captain's quarters anyway. She needed something, and was sure she'd find it there. But just to be safe, she checked a few of the other rooms first. She found where they stored the food and where they kept the extra clothes.
Then Emma peeked above deck to make sure no one was watching her. Mr. Smee was sitting against the side of the ship, fast asleep. Emma laughed to herself as she went back down the hall to the very last door that she guessed had to be Hook's room. She silently opened the door and slipped inside, making sure to shut the door behind her.
Emma knew she had guessed correctly because this room was nicer than the others. And bigger too.
There was a huge oak desk sitting in the middle of the room with stacks of papers covering the top. She walked over to the desk and looked over the papers. One in particular caught her eye; it looked like a drawing of some sort, but it was under a few other papers. She carefully pulled it out and held it before her. It was indeed a drawing. It was a woman, drawn from the waist up. Emma was astonished at how well it was drawn. It looked almost real! The woman was smiling, and her long, curly hair appeared to be blowing in a breeze. She was very pretty. On the bottom corner if the picture, there were tiny words. My beloved Milah.
Emma shook her head; this wasn't what she had come in here for!
She set the picture down and looked around the room.
"Aha!" Emma exclaimed when she spotted a wooden cabinet with glass doors. Inside, there was a whole collection of swords. She rushed to the cabinet and was happy to find that it opened easily. Reaching inside, she pulled one of the swords out and tested its weight. It was heavy, but despite Emma's very slim figure, she was strong and lifted it easily.
Emma took the sword to her tiny room where she stared out the window, waiting for Hook to return.
About an hour later, Emma saw the small boat heading back to the ship, and she smiled to herself. She was getting off of this ship. Today.