Cloudless Skies

Chapter 9

He put his plan into action early the next morning. Killian hid behind the wall on the top deck when he heard footsteps coming down the wood towards him. He peaked his head out around the corner and saw Cole talking towards Mr. Gold. Killian waited for the men to pass, and silently followed behind them. When Cole and Mr. Gold went their separate ways, Killian decided to make his presence known to his father. He stood in the pathway of the deck, and watched as Cole turned around. He froze as soon as he saw his son.

"Dad?" Killian asked, faking his confusion. "What are you doing here?"

Cole cleared his throat and pulled on the hem of his shirt and straightened out the wrinkles in it. "Son, I thought that I'd follow you here and make sure you were relaxing like you should be."

Killian smiled and walked up to his dad, placing his hand on his shoulder. They were at equal height and had been for a while. "Wonderful. I hope you are enjoying the cruise as well."

"I am. And you?"

"It's been wonderful. Maybe you could join me for dinner tonight?"

"Sure." Cole smiled and clapped his son on the back. "I'll see you then."

"Aye. See you."

He waited until Cole was a few feet away to start following him again. He figured that he would be going to find Emma, who was hopefully still in bed. He didn't really have a chance to find out how she was feeling because he was busy trying to find the man who he had thought was his father since the day he was able to walk. As Killian followed Cole, he quickly hid around a corner as he saw Emma giving a flute of champagne to a woman. He was close enough to be able to hear every word that was exchanged, but far enough to not be seen.

"You and I had an agreement. You wouldn't tell Killian of my presence," Cole hissed.

"I didn't!" Emma yelled in a whisper.

"Then how did he find me today?"

"Well, the top deck doesn't restrict a time for passengers to be on it. He probably saw you and just wanted to say hello." Killian chuckled at her sassy remark.

"He won't know about our deal," Cole said.

"I know."

"Good. Glad we have that understood."

Emma shifted her weight. Her rib was still hurting, and the bruise was still a nasty shade of purple, but she knew nothing was broken, but it felt better than it did the night before. She was still upset that Killian hadn't been beside her when she woke up, but she didn't expect him to be. He was still a first class guest. He was probably ashamed of having feelings for a maid no matter what he said.

"I don't need him having feelings for a whore," Cole growled. His gaze not faltering.

"Excuse me? That is no way to address a lady."

"Lady?" He laughed. "You're a girl. You get your extra money by letting the men aboard touch you, don't you? At least I can guarantee a woman who is pure for my son."

"I have never fooled around with a man."

"And you can prove that how? It won't be like any man wants to court a maid anyway. You should just run along, and stay away from my son." Cole started walking away when Emma spoke up again.

"You said it yourself. He isn't your son." She walked away, leaving Cole standing in shock.

She ran down to her room and locked herself in it. Sobs racked her body. How dare Cole say those things? He had no right. He didn't even know Emma! She slid down the door and covered her mouth to keep her sobs quiet. A moment later, pounding came from the door.

"Emma!" Her heart stopped in her chest. Killian had heard. In fact, he heard every word. "I know you are in there!"

She got up, and braced herself on the wall for support. She could barely hold her weight up because of her shaking knees. She opened the door and Killian burst into the room. He looked at her with tears in his eyes, but a mad expression on his face.

"I can explain-"

"Please do, Swan! What was he talking about?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"The whore thing. What is he talking about? It seems like he knows you more than I do!"

"He doesn't know anything about me. You have to believe me. He wanted me to break your heart so you would forget about me and go to Regina, but Killian, I can't. I'm not what he said."

"Tell me the truth. I won't be mad if you do. How many men have you been with? How many of them have touched you?"

"None!"

"You can't even be honest with me! Just go and work at the brothel once we dock. Go do something that you will be good at!"

Emma had even more tears streaming down her face. She stormed up to Killian and smacked him across the face. "You have no right telling me what or who I am. I am not some common whore. I don't need you to rescue me from the job that I already have. In fact, I don't need you at all!"

"You sure as hell acted like you needed me."

"You know what? I do need something from you. I need you to get the fuck out and jump off the ship!"

Killian stood there completely stunned at her words. He finally saw how much his words had hurt her. "You wouldn't be able to handle it if I did."

"I would. I would find a man that actually believes me. A man that can love me for who I am, and isn't ashamed of me."

"You don't think that I love you for who you are?"

"You obviously don't!" He took a step forward and placed his hand on her cheek and cupped her neck. He pressed his lips to hers and she stopped fighting him as she got lost in the kiss. A moment later, she ripped herself from his arms and smacked him again. "A kiss isn't going to make everything better again!"

Killian put his head down. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I didn't believe you. I'm sorry for spying. I didn't mean anything that I said, because, love, I do believe you. I love you with all my heart. I wasn't thinking straight."

"You need to go. You need to forget about me. If you don't, Cole is going to kill you."

"I'm not worried about him."

"I am! You mean too much to me, and if we can't be together, then at least you'll be alive." She walked around him and pushed him out of the room. "Goodbye, Killian."

"Wait." He grabbed the necklace he always had around his neck and took it off. It was a ring on a chain. "I've had this for as long as I can remember. It's my good luck charm. It's a symbol for the love between Aphrodite, the Goddess of love and Ares, the God of war. They loved each other, but were forbidden to be together. I've always dreamt about giving it to the woman I loved, and now it's yours."

"No, I can't take this."

Killian grabbed her hand and pried it open. He placed the necklace into her palm and closed her fingers around it. "I want you to have it." He kissed her hand. "Because I love you." He walked away with tears streaming down his face. He wanted nothing more than to turn around and look at Emma, but he resisted the urge. He knew if he saw her, he would break down and run into her arms.