My Princess

Chapter 17

The tunnel was very small, barely tall enough to walk through. Hook and Robin even had to duck their heads slightly to not hit the ceiling.
"Did you know about this tunnel?" Elsa asked Emma.
"I had no idea it was there until Bentley pointed it out." Emma replied, moving to avoid some exposed roots.
"So, you have no idea where it lets out?"
"Nope, but I would guess it would be somewhere outside the castle walls."

It turns out, the tunnel went slightly farther than that. At the end, there was a small hatch that opened up to a random place in the woods. Once the group was outside, they could see they were quite a distance from the castle, but the town was through only a few trees.
"Where should we go now?" Elsa asks.
"Well, from my experience, and I'm sure Hook would agree, I've learned that hiding in plain sight is actually a good tactic." Robin stated, looking to Hook, who nodded in agreement.
"Well how are we going to 'hide in plain sight' with me? Everyone knows who I am and what I look like." Emma said.
"That's simple," Hook said, moving towards her. He pulled the hood of her cloak over her head to where it shadowed her face. "You'll have to keep your most recognizable features concealed, and that should be enough to where most people won't give you a second glance." he gestured to the hood. Emma nodded, but was still bothered by the thought of what could happen if they were caught.
The five began walking towards the town, with Emma and Elsa trailing slightly behind.
"Are you going to explain the whole ice power thing or....?" Emma asked, causing Elsa to laugh.
"Oh right, that. Yeah, I've had these powers since I was born, but I've only recently learned to control them with the help of my sister."
"And why am I just now learning about it?"
"Well, my parents wanted me to keep them a secret, in fear of how the kingdom would react. And since I hadn't learned to control them yet, I always wore the gloves, which are now on the floor of your servants' hall." Elsa explained to Emma.
"Wow, it's just incredibly strange to think that you've had these powers the whole time, and how long have we known each other?"
"I know, it was only for safety, apparently some people feared my powers would be destructive." Elsa stared down at the ground, making little flurries with her hand.
"Did your parents force you to hide it because they were afraid of you?"
"I don't know if they were afraid, but  they did. I also thought it was the right thing to do at the time, considering I had no idea what I was capable of. But eventually, after practicing in my room, I began to learn how to properly use my magic and control it. They on the other hand, couldn't see the progress and still wanted it concealed."
"Sometimes parents can't seem to see what's obviously happening right underneath their noses." Emma said.

They finally made it to the tree line which was at the top of a small hill. Down the small slope, there were a few buildings, probably no more than 30 feet away.
"Don't we need a plan?" Elsa asked the rest of the group.
"Well, I was thinking that we only need to find some mode of transportation out of here. If we're out of the kingdom, it will make it more difficult to find us." Robin said.
"Even if we leave here, they'll never stop searching for me. Maybe I shouldn't have left..." Emma put in. Hook took her hand in his.
"You told me that you didn't like how things were there. Do you really want to go back to that strict and complicated life?" he asked her. Robin, Elsa and Smee had turned away, talking about different ways to possibly get out of the kingdom.
"I don't want to, but I didn't think about how hard it would be if I actually left. I'll never be in peace. My parents won't ever stop looking for me, and they won't understand that I don't want to be found. I wish I could be free." Emma stared down at their joined hands. It felt strange to her, since she had only just met Killian that day, but her hand felt like it fit in his like the missing piece of a puzzle.
"But if you go back, you won't have any chance at that freedom."
All the memories came flashing back at Emma. Lilly's frequent rants about leaving. That night filled with yelling. Hearing the news about what happened...
Emma heaved a shaky sigh and closed her eyes.
"But that freedom could come with a price, and I don't know if I'm willing to risk paying it."
Hook was about to ask about that statement when he heard Smee say something.
"What about the Jolly Roger?" Smee suggested.
"What?" Hook asked at the mention of his ship.
"Well Cap'n, we've been discussing the fastest and easiest way out of the kingdom, and I just thought, we already have one. Um, I mean if you'll allow us." Smee told his idea. Hook thought this over in his head.
"The harbor is on the other side of town, near the castle, and I'm not sure we will want to be going back in that direction." he said, looking behind them, in the direction of the castle. He did this partly to make his point, and because it was a habit he had formed over the years while robbing places. It was almost pitch dark, but the moon and stars gave off only enough light for them to see each other, and there could be anyone or anything in the forest. The others continued discussing how they could get the ship out of the harbor without drawing too much attention, but something seemed off to Hook, like someone was out there watching them. He turned back to the group and instinctively moved closer to Emma, trying to disregard the gut feeling.

The hunch Hook had was actually correct, and there was someone watching them. Rumplestiltskin sat giggling in his maniacal way as he watched his plan unfold. Everything was going perfectly. All he needed was for Emma's trust in Hook to become full, and then he'd take things into his own hands.

A/N
I pretty much completely abandoned the Titanic idea I was going for. Oh well this still works. I figured it would be too much to write about him dying and having to deal with Killian actually dying. Ugh I've cried too much.
Guys I haven't updated in forever. Thank goodness I keep a bunch of chapters already written cuz I'm so crazy busy all the time. But let's not talk about my boring life.