Never Letting Go || CS

Chapter 18: Safe For Now

Emma woke up with strong arms wrapped around her waist. She smiled, knowing she was finally free. She turned to face Killian. He looked so peaceful, so innocent, all the worry that was constantly etched onto his features was gone when he slept. Not many people noticed the slightly worried expression he always carried, but Emma did. She wondered what had been so horrific in his life to make him this way. It had to be more that just the loss of his friend, Milah, he'd lost countless friends. It was something more than that. Guilt, perhaps? She was determined to understand Killian more, and get him to open up to her.

She rested her head against his chest and felt the steady beating of his heart. She inhaled the salty-sweet aroma that she knew she would never get used to. "Good morning, love." Killian said, his voice still groggy from sleep. Emma tilted her head up to look him in the eyes and smiled softly. "Good morning." Killian leant forwards and kissed her lips softly. He pulled back and looked out of the window. He breathed a sigh of relief knowing they were miles away from Emma's Kingdom by now, so they would be safe.

He was a little tired still, having stayed up half the night seeing to it that they reached a safe distance from shore. Only then had he managed to relax enough to sleep with Emma by his side.

"As much as I'd love to stay like this all day, we have jobs to do." Killian muttered into Emma's ear. She groaned in defiance as Killian slipped out of the sheets.

Emma sat up and blushed when she saw Killian's toned, bare chest. She was staring for far too long, but broke out of her trance when she heard Killian's voice. "Like what you see, love?" He had a smirk on his face as Emma's cheeks turned crimson and she looked away.

He walked towards her and lifted her chin to look him in the eyes. "You're cute when you blush." She closed her eyes as he leant in and pecked her lips. "Now, you need to get up, I believe the crew will need your help today, and if not, your presence on deck is much appreciated by me." He winked and exited the cabin after picking up his sword and securing it beneath his leather overcoat.

After getting dressed, Emma went onto the top deck. Killian grinned and beckoned her to come to him. She walked towards him, where he was steering the ship. "I've had a great idea. I'm going to teach you how to sail this ship." Killian explained. Emma beamed at the thought as he guided her to stand at the wheel. He stood closely behind and told her to take the wheel.

Hook put his hand over Emma's and turned the wheel to the left slightly. "When sailing a ship, if I say go towards starboard, I mean go right. If I say go towards port, I mean go left. Got it?" Hook explained. "If you ever get confused, just look at that." He pointed to the carving on the wood that held the wheel in place. He'd carved that centuries ago, to help Baelfire learn how to sail.

After half an hour, Emma got used to sailing, and she loved it. She had a smile on her face as she stared out at the water ahead of her. "It seems you've got the hang of it, Swan. I better watch my back in future, you might just be able to replace me." Killian joked. Emma giggled, and Killian thought it was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard. "I don't see that happening any time soon." Emma said as she turned to face Killian. He chuckled and leant in to kiss her passionately.

------------------------

"Come here!" As soon as the order was shouted, a grey smoke cloud appeared, revealing a man with yellow-green, calloused skin. "What do you want, dearie?"

"I think we need a change of plan, and fast." A mischievous smirk appeared on his face. "Why?" Rumplestiltskin asked. "Because it seems our pirate is moving on from his beloved, and that's not what we planned." He had a scowl on his face as he said this. "Show me." The dark one said simply. Rumple followed him silently to a small pond, where he waved his hand over it and an image appeared. Rumple peered at it curiously as he watched his enemy and a pretty blonde girl laughing together. After a few minutes, he saw them kiss passionately, and that made him furious. "How could he possibly have moved on! I thought Milah was his true love!" Rumple shouted in anger. "Maybe that's just one of the many wenches he picked up from a bar, as usual." Rumple said hopefully.

"He risked his life for her more than once, it's apparent that he loves her. You'd have to be blind to not see that. We must act quickly to ensure our captain remains unhappy. That's what you want, isn't it?" The boy asked. Rumple huffed and nodded. "So, any ideas on how we split them apart?" Rumple asked, still fuming with what he just witnessed.

After a few minutes lost in thought, he replied "I know just what to do."

---------------------------

a/n that's a wrap for today! Who could the mystery person be? All will be revealed in time >:) Why don't you guess in the comments section. Thankyou for over 1k reads on this book. You have no idea how happy this makes me :) As always, your reads, votes and comments are much appreciated xxxx