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anmylica · 1 year ago

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Fly With The Black Swan

Tagging the Usual Crew: @kmomof4 @xarandomdreamx @tiganasummertree @snowbellewells @sotangledupinit @zaharadessert @whimsicallyenchantedrose @deckerstarblanche

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Summary: Captain Hook has finally returned to the Enchanted Forest after an all-too-long stint in the Enchanted Forest, ready to get his revenge, only he’s too late. His Crocodile has been killed by another, but the demon partially responsible for his Milah’s death remains. He sets out, determined to kill the demon once and for all, but a life or death situation puts him right in the demon’s clutches. Reluctantly, he joins the new Dark One, finding himself falling for her against his will and his motivations change. Now, he needs to save this woman from the same demon that killed his first love, and he plans out a way to save her.

But the Darkness has plans of its own.

CSSNS ‘23 Entry. Based on the Sonata Arctica song “Fly With The Black Swan”

Note: I have no idea if this is going to post or not. I am currently in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico with crappy satellite internet and none of my other attempts have gone through. Seriously, I’ve tried it a million times by this point. Maybe this time is the charm? I guess we’ll see. If it does post, I will be editing this Saturday to clean it up when I get home.

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The Jolly Roger landed hard in the ocean waters with a great splash that sent droplets of water into the air and on the deck, drenching most of her crew in the process. Captain Hook stood at the helm, seemingly unaffected by the wake, scanning the seas for any danger, always on his guard. He took a deep breath, turning his face up to the sun high in the sky, practically tasting the ocean on his tongue and thought, ‘This is what freedom smells like.’ The sails glittered with the remnants of the last vial of pixie dust he would ever have to use to get his ship airborne for a sojourn back to the Enchanted Forest again.

He had just spent countless years sailing the never ending circle of Neverland’s waters in the reluctant employ of a demon in a child’s body, never seeing the sun except for when he was Pan’s errand boy on a supply run back to the Enchanted Forest. His years under the deal with Pan were finally complete, and he felt that he had enough information to achieve his true mission: skinning his Crocodile.

Captain Hook stared at the cloudless sky, pondering his next steps as his first mate, William Smee, blundered about giving orders to the others. His crew scurried about letting out sails, hauling in lines, securing their goods, and generally making preparations to sail to the destination their captain ordered. Throughout the hustle and bustle, their captain stood stoic at the helm. He did not steer; his helmsman, Antonio Buckham, had the pleasure of directing the ship, and he stood with his hands tight on the wheel and his eyes on his captain’s profile, awaiting orders.

Hook’s forget-me-not blue eyes finally left the horizon and focused upon the map in front of him. If he had landed his ship in the location he had wanted, then he was just due south of Glowerhaven. This was a pirate-friendly port, and it was going to be the best place at which they could restock their supplies. He looked over at Buckham, who stood anticipating his orders.

“Make way to Glowerhaven,” Hook ordered, and Buckham nodded once.

“Aye, Captain,” he responded, turning to the rest of the crew before bellowing, “Make way to Glowerhaven!”

The crew repeated the order, and Buckham turned the wheel slightly as the others adjusted the sails. Through it all, Hook said nothing else, just watched the sea and the sky pass them by as they sailed towards their port of call. It was a sunny day with nary a cloud in the sky. A good wind at their backs filled the sails and carried them over the water so smoothly it was as if the ship was flying over the waves. All around the deck, his crew carried out their orders, bringing them into the port where they could find a tavern and food and relish their newfound freedom. Hook surveyed the work with disinterest, for so long as they arrived at their destination without issue, it did not matter to him how his crew did their jobs.

His cold, hard, forget-me-not blue eyes watched ahead of the bow as the land of the Enchanted Forest appeared in view. His jaw clenched at the sight. It was there that he would finally fulfill his life’s purpose. As the land grew closer and the short skyline of Glowerhaven became more distinct, he was filled with a sense that, at last, he was on the path for his vengeance. He was about to find his happy ending, however bittersweet it may be. A determined, almost manic glint filled his eyes, and his crew gave him side glances and moved away from him, hoping to avoid his ire, though he paid them no mind.

An hour later, The Jolly Roger had been docked into her berth, the crew had all left, and those tasked with her watch were settled in for a few hours. Hook was the last to leave, wanting to make sure everything was just so. He sauntered down the alleyways between buildings into a tavern at which he had long since been a patron. He knew that the last pieces of his plan could be crafted with information the owner likely had.

He opened the door and stepped inside, scanning the room for any potentially unsavory situations. The room was dimly lit and dirty, much like all portside taverns throughout the realms of the Enchanted Forest. Rough hewn tables of various sizes filled the room and stools of varying heights were haphazardly placed by each table. There weren’t many people occupying the tavern at this time of day, and so most of the tables were empty. His crew occupied a few, already having drinks and food delivered by several barmaids. The bar was manned by a lone attendant, and it was to her that he made his way.

He slid onto a stool at the bar in front of her with a beguiling grin on his face. The old woman scoffed and rolled her eyes, but she moved closer, grabbing a bottle of rum and a glass on her way.

“What are you scallywags doing here,” she demanded, plunking down the bottle and glass roughly. She looked over her glasses at Hook and stared him down, causing him to grin even wider.

“Is that any way to greet an old friend,” he responded, moving to open the bottle and pour himself a finger’s width of rum. He had no plans on getting drunk, but he wasn’t about to turn down the libation.

“You’re hardly a friend,” she retorted, causing him to laugh.

“A patron then,” he amended. “A well-paying patron.”

The woman surveyed him hard and then nodded. “What do you want, Hook?”

He shook his head slightly as he raised the glass to his lips and knocked back the measure of rum. “Many things,” he said, placing the glass back on the bar. “Mostly, I’d like information at the moment.”

The woman crossed her arms. “I ain’t got information.”

Hook smirked. “Come, now, Granny, you and I both know you’re the best there is at collecting information. And we both know how valuable I find it.”

He took out his coin purse and very deliberately counted out five doubloons. Granny watched him as he did so, quirking an eyebrow at him before sighing.

“You want to know about the Dark One’s movements,” she said, grabbing a second glass and pouring herself a measure of rum.

“Aye.” Hook eyed her with curiosity, as this was definitely out of the norm for their usual pattern of conversation.

Granny took a sip of her drink and met his eyes. “You’re a bit behind the times.”

“How so?” Hook questioned, leaning closer to the old woman, a frown on his face at Granny’s implication.

“The Dark One you chase is no longer the host of the Darkness. The host has changed,” Granny said bluntly, a strange look crossing her face.

Hook blinked as Granny fell silent, sipping her rum to allow him time to process her words. He didn’t move as he tasted the information on his lips, a horrible sensation of dread and despair filling him. His immediate instinct was to deny that it was possible, but he knew deep down that the woman’s look of despair and grief couldn’t be anything but real.

“Who is it now?” he asked, studying her face carefully, hoping to pick up on some nuance in her communication. He didn’t know what he was looking for exactly, but he felt disappointment all the same when he realize how upset she was.

Granny poured herself a bit more rum into the half-full glass and knocked back the entire thing in one swallow. Hook watched her dispassionately. She grimaced out of grief, and Hook realized this topic was a festering wound though he didn’t know why.

“I don’t know,” Granny denied, and Hook got the sense that she did indeed know but didn’t want to admit it.

Hook clenched his fist and narrowed his eyes. He felt a rage that he hadn’t felt since Rumplestiltskin had taken his hand and his love from him. All these years of seeking revenge, and for what? What was he left with now? He snarled at the thought of the Crocodile evading his hook another time.

Granny cleared her throat as she choked back tears, calling his attention back to her before he could fall any more into his anger. Her wet eyes shocked him out of his rage long enough to restore sense to his head. “You want any more than that, you’re out of luck. I know nothing else.”

Granny poured herself another shot and knocked it back. Once she had finished, she stood and moved down to another end of the bar without another word. Hook contemplated the bottle before deciding that today’s news had been bad enough. He poured himself a healthy measure and drained the glass. He glanced over to Smee and beckoned his head. Smee scrambled to his side, and when Smee was within earshot, he said, “Tomorrow we travel to the Dark One’s castle.”

Smee blinked before widening his eyes in fear. “To the Dark One’s castle?”

“Aye,” Hook responded. “There will be information there that we need.”

“But won’t he-“ Smee began but Hook cut him off.

“Apparently someone else got to the Crocodile before us. I want to know who and why.” Hook’s eyes hardened in resolve, and Smee gulped before nodding his head. “My best chance at getting answers is there.”

As Smee scrambled off back to the crew to pass the news around, Hook drank another healthy measure of rum, resigned to the situation at hand. This was merely a minor setback in his quest for revenge. He’d waited this long; he could bide his time a little longer.

The next morning dawned bright and cheerful, completely at odds with Hook’s mood. Hook had already left instructions to the next man in charge for getting supplies in his stead. He and Smee arranged for a couple of horses for the journey inland, and they made sure to have the necessary supplies for their journey.

The journey itself to the Dark One’s castle was mostly uneventful. Hook and Smee endeavored to find out all they could about the Dark One’s whereabouts, but no one wanted to talk. Either they didn’t know or they avoided the conversation once questions were asked and quickly hurried off on their way. Hook was quickly becoming vexed with the situation. He needed answers now.

“Don’t worry, Captain,” Smee attempted to reassure him after their latest fruitless encounter in a village just south of the Southern Kingdom’s borders. “We’ll find out more at the next inn.”

Hook just sighed in response. It would do no good taking his ire out on Smee. Not when the man was trying to help. Hook just nudged his horse forward into a trot.

“We can find out all we need once we reach the Dark One’s castle. Come and let us stop wasting time,” Hook replied.

Smee said nothing in response. Hook supposed it was because Smee could see just how fine the leash was on his temper. The two rode on in silence, crossing into the Moors kingdom just before nightfall. They stopped at an inn for the night, keeping their ears fruitlessly peeled for any hint of gossip. None could be heard that bore any importance for their quest.

The next morning’s travels brought about similar results. They crossed the small leg of the East Mountains and into Capetia at around noon. They stopped briefly at a tavern for food before moving on. The ride was boring, and Hook’s mind wandered as the horse trudged onward.

Just who had managed to get the best of the Crocodile? How had that happened? Would there even be anything of value at Rumplestiltskin’s old castle? Was all of this just Hook grasping at straws, unwilling to let a past wrong go, even after the culprit was long gone?

Hook didn’t think so, but he had been wrong before. He decided that the only way he was going to get answers was by raiding Rumplestiltskin’s castle. He could decide on the next course to set once he saw the state of things there.

They reached the edge of the Dark Forest that evening. He and Smee lit a fire for safety and camped under the stars. Neither spoke very much, for Hook was too deep in thought and Smee knew better than to push his Captain when the man was pensive like this. The night passed by uneventfully, and the next morning dawned bright.

A hard ride resulted in their arriving at the perimeter of the Dark One’s lands just after noon. They pulled their horses up short as they surveyed the imposing structure in the distance.

“So that’s the Dark One’s castle,” Smee muttered. “Do you think maybe he was compensating for something?”

Hook sniggered. “Most assuredly. We need to be cautious. If the rumors are false, and he is still alive, he won’t take kindly to seeing either of us.”

Smee nodded vigorously and they dismounted their horses. They tied the mounts off, leaving them plenty of slack to graze, and they slunk off in the direction of danger. They crept along in the surrounding woods, keeping their eyes peeled and their ears alert.

The woods were silent. It was eerie how no animals rustled in the undergrowth, how no birds tweeted in the trees above them. The closer they got to the castle, the quieter it got. Hook felt dizzy with how much he kept looking around them, just waiting for an ambush.

Finally they got close enough that the front doors were just in front of them. The castle had a derelict, abandoned feel. No smoke rose from the myriad chimneys; no movement could be detected behind the windows. The facade was covered in overrun ivies and weeds littered the overgrown lawn.

“Well, Captain, there might just be some truth to the rumors after all.”

Hook glanced at Smee. “It seems safe enough so far, but keep on your guard.”

Hook and Smee each grasped a door handle of the giant wooden doors and pulled with all their might, not noticing the wave of blue light that swept the yard as they did so. Slowly, creaking in protest the entire time, the doors gave away. Hook was just about to step inside the foyer when a fireball came soaring at them. Hook and Smee dove for the ground, managing to just narrowly avoid it. They watched as it flew into a tree and caught it on fire. The flames whooshed as it engulfed the large tree and devoured it until nothing but ash remained. They stared at it before looking at each other.

“Let’s hope that’s the only thing waiting for us,” Hook said. Smee chuckled nervously and they both scrambled up into standing positions. They glanced at the opening, but nothing else seemed to be waiting.

“Shall we try this again, sir,” Smee asked uncertainly.

Hook nodded once. “Without the fireballs, preferably.”

They crept through the arched doorway, sticking to the sides, but nothing else happened. The foyer beyond was dark and cold. It gave off a chilling air of abandonment. Hook and Smee exchanged looks.

“Shall we split up sir? Cover more ground that way,” Smee offered as he shrugged.

Hook considered his first mate for a moment, eyebrow tilting up a bit. On the one hand, splitting up could be a trap, but on the other, they waste valuable time searching together.

Hook nodded once. “Yell if you find anything.”

“Aye, aye,” replied Smee before heading to the rooms on the left. Hook decided to go up the grand staircase that lay in waiting just in front of him.

He walked up the steps one at a time, slowly prowling forward, always expecting another type of security measure. Nothing happened.

The lack of reaction set him on edge even more than he had been before entering the abandoned building. He expected Rumplestiltskin’s slimy high pitched giggle to sound behind him at any moment. As the minutes dragged on, he became even more unnerved at the lack of the coward’s appearance.

He stepped onto the next floor and looked around him. The second floor had the same derelict feel as the downstairs. There was no sign of anyone’s inhabitance. He crept forward, resting his palm in the jolt of his sword, keeping his hook at the ready. The first room he came to was some sort of guest room, but for whom, Hook couldn’t begin to say. He didn’t believe the Crocodile had many guests. The imp hadn’t been known for his hospitality, after all. He searched the room, but nothing was there besides tacky furniture and dusty bedclothes. Hook left the room as quickly as he entered it.

The silence in this place was eerie. It set his teeth on edge, and he clenched his jaw out of tension. He crept down the hallway, forgoing searching other countless bedchambers. The stench of Dark magic hung in the air, cloying and sickening. The further down the hall he traveled, the more palpable the magic became.

He went up another staircase, choosing to follow the feeling of the magic instead of investigating every room. Hook figured the odds of finding something were better if he traced the magic. He hadn’t felt this kind of sensation, this tingling numbness, since the Crocodile had been on the deck of his ship, changing Hook’s life forever.

He followed the tingle of the magic until he arrived in front of what appeared to be a private study. He opened the double doors and walked into a large room. A giant table occupied the center of the room, and display cases that had once held whatever objects Rumplestiltskin deemed important surrounded the table. The room had been decorated in rich shades of red and gold, but now a thick layer of dust covered everything.

The room looked as if it had been ransacked by looters at some undetermined point. Hook breathed a heavy sigh. This beyond anything else convinced him that the Crocodile was gone. Looters wouldn’t have been able to mauraud this castle if Rumplestiltskin had still been alive. Hook felt a dull sensation curdle in his stomach that he belatedly recognized was disappointment.

Discouraged, he wandered into the room, no less on his guard than before, but no longer expecting his mortal enemy to appear before him sniggering with twisted glee. He rummaged through the detritus, looking for something but not knowing what it was. After shuffling a few plates around, he saw a brown piece of fabric, dirtied with age and a few dried blood stains. He frowned and picked it up, his heart sinking even lower in his chest.

He knew those stitches.

He stood and shook the fabric out, using his hook to help fan it out to make sure that it was what he thought it was. He smiled a grim smile at the confirmation. It was a shawl. He recognized the handiwork as Milah’s, and he suddenly felt like crying. It must have belonged to Bae.

He swallowed and cleared his throat, hoping to drown the burning sensation, and rapidly tried to blink tears away. He folded it as carefully as he could, caressing the fabric as he did so. He took a step towards the door, intending to leave this room and all its ghosts behind, when he stepped on something that slid as he put his weight down.

Catching himself from falling, he looked at his feet and saw a cane. He moved his shoe off the wood and bent down to pick it up, recognizing it to be that old cane the Crocodile had once used to walk when the coward boarded his ship for the first time. He held it against the shawl that was also in his hand for a moment, considering all the possibilities that could have happened and didn’t, all the ways fate could have worked out differently for him.

Frustrated, he threw the cane away from him and turned to walk out. As he threw it, a shimmering came from the far corner of the room, catching his attention. The shimmering revealed a cabinet that extended from floor to ceiling. He stared in disbelief at it before his heart started racing. This was what he had been looking for!

He hurried to it and wrenched the doors open, seeing all kinds of magical items and whatnots. Books were stacked high in all areas, potion ingredients were stored three lines deep in bottles, with some already being completed. Magical objects filled the empty areas, and wands were held in stands. The magical items weren’t necessarily what he needed, but the books… the books might just be the missing link.

Hook tore through the books stacked high inside the cabinet, desperately searching for something that would help him piece together what had happened. He quickly discarded the ones that looked as if they were magical instruction books, having no interest in their contents. No, he was looking for something more personal.

Seeing nothing in the stack that could help him, he turned to the table, searching for any hidden compartments. Finding two, he tore open the drawers, the contents rattling as he jerked the drawers out, quills and empty ink bottles and other rubbish littering their insides. There was nothing that could even hint at the circumstances that finally resulted in the demon's demise.

He searched in this manner until he had combed through the entire room. If there had ever been any records, they had long since been hidden or destroyed. The fruitlessness of the search just made Hook more determined.

There had to be another room he had overlooked in this overgrown hunk of an imitation castle. Moving decisively towards the door, his hook got caught in a hole in a shelf of the cabinet in his haste. Hook yanked his hook out of the hole it had gotten lodged in, and the shelf came crashing, the contents falling to the floor in a great crash. Hook just managed to jump out of the way in time.

Hook scanned the rubbish, finding it absolutely ridiculous that Rumplestiltskin had never bothered to secure the blasted thing when it had borne all that weight when something caught his eye.

He scanned the back of the cabinet again, his brow furrowing in concentration. There! A glimmer!! He tilted his head this way and that as he tried to determine from where the glimmer had come. He noticed a notch from in between the wooden panels that covered the back of the shelf.

He put his hook into the notch, which was just big enough for the tip of his hook to lodge into, and pulled. The back panel was stubborn and didn’t come off. He sighed and maneuvered his hook deeper into the hole to provide himself with a bit more leverage. He wrapped his hand around his brace and pulled again, this time with all his strength.

The back panel came loose with a loud screech. It had detached just enough so he could see a small book inside. The cabinet must have had a false backing that only the crocodile would know about.

“Clever,” Hook muttered to himself as he reached in and clasped the book in his hand. Once he had pulled it out, he wiggled his hook out of the hole and set out to peruse the book. It had to contain something of importance if the Crocodile had gone to great lengths to keep it hidden.

He opened the book as he sank into a nearby chair that hadn’t toppled over in his haste to further ransack the room. Hook was pleased to find that it was a handwritten journal. He flipped through the pages slowly, finding a lot of drivel about magical experiments that didn’t interest Hook. Most of it was useless, but almost at the end of the journal, the writing changed. It was spiky, with very slanted words (a far different type of handwriting from Rumplestiltskin's scrawled handwriting).

The script made the document hard to read, so Hook skimmed the pages looking for any clues as to what had happened to the Crocodile (and most importantly, whom had killed him). He flipped through page after page, almost falling into a trance as he skimmed over the entry. Just when he thought the journal had nothing of importance, his eyes caught upon a very familiar name.

Milah.

Hook’s heart skipped a beat. He read the sentence that contained her name but found it didn’t make sense in the context, so he backtracked until he fell upon a section that seemed to detail why her name was on the page.

As he read the entry, his blood began to boil.

It had been easy enough to convince Rumplestiltskin that the only way to satisfy his broken heart upon learning his once beloved wife had fallen in love with someone else was to rip out her heart and crush it. With this, I believe that Rumplestiltskin’s last dregs of humanity have been thoroughly eradicated. I have been successful in imprinting myself irrevocably within his soul. With his black heart now thoroughly darkened, he will have no hope of the use of Light Magic against me, that cursed abomination of a magical force.

I had thought seeing him abandon and break a deal with his son was the ultimate test of his loyalty to me, but his murder of Milah showed me the depths of depravity he is willing to sink to. It will be so much easier to twist and bend Rumplestiltskin’s actions to my will. It was amusing to see how little he resisted the urge once I placed the thought in his head to kill her. He almost seemed to welcome it.

I think the coward enjoyed the thrill of the power I wield over life. He will be much more pliant to fulfilling my desires, I think. After all, he will not want to give up the control over the magic I have given him easily. This just serves as further proof that humanity is corruptible and unworthy of the gifts they have been bestowed. They will all bow to me before it is over. I must make my own plans for that day. This vessel will not be able to support me for very long, and the time will eventually come to find another host.

Hook continued to read, but the rest of the passage detailed how it felt to crush a heart and the magic that had to go into the action. He felt sick the more he tried to read, and he closed the book in disgust. His heart lay in jagged pieces at his feet at the information he had sought and obtained.

Rumplestiltskin had merely been a pawn in Milah’s death. Oh, Hook didn’t doubt that Rumplestiltskin desired her death; by the end, the man had looked upon his estranged wife with hatred in his eyes. But to learn that Hook’s love had been killed because some demon had wanted it done to prove a point? That was like rubbing salt in an already festering and infected wound.

Hook grit his teeth. He snatched the journal up and tucked it into one of the hidden pockets in his leather duster. His revenge was still possible. All he had to do was find the demon that killed her and find a way to end its existence.

He threw open the door, hollering for Smee. His first mate came running.

“Tell me you’ve found something of value in this place,” Hook commanded.

Smee held up a dreamcatcher. “I found this. I think it could tell us who the next Dark One is!”

“What is it?” Hook asked, puzzled as to how such an object would be able to tell them anything.

“I don’t know what it’s called, but when I held it, I could see something. I think it might hold memories.” Smee held it out to his captain.

Hook took it in his hand, and once he touched it, images started to play out amongst the strings. It did look like memories. He watched as a pretty young girl, possibly mid to late twenties, approached the Dark One. Rumplestiltskin giggled, dismissing her, when she held out the dagger. He watched dispassionately as Rumple froze in disbelief. He watched the woman say something and then plunge the knife into Rumplestiltskin’s chest. He watched as oily tendrils of darkness began to ooze out of Rumpelstiltskin, making their way up the woman’s arms until it coated her in the substance. She disappeared, the knife disappearing along with her. Rumplestiltskin fell to the ground of his castle, obviously dead.

“Where did she disappear to?” Hook asked once the memories went black and the images reverted back to the strings once more.

“I don’t know, Captain. But I found this with it,” Smee said as he held up a giant black feather.

Hook took it, his brow furrowed in concentration. “Perhaps we can use this to find out.”

He turned and made his way back into the study where he had found the stash of potions. He went to the box and scanned its contents, pulling out a bottle once he had found what he was looking for. He uncorked it, Smee looking on, and poured its contents over the feather.

“Is that a locator spell?” Smee asked.

“I think so. It’s some kind of potion for it, at any rate.” He watched as the feather floated in the air before darting towards a ragged map of the Enchanted Forest that hung on the wall. It gouged itself into the map, and Hook and Smee hurried across the room to see where it was pointing.

“The North Mountains?” Smee read aloud.

“Aye,” Hook agreed. “That is our next destination. We must return to the ship at once.”

Smee nodded, and after a brief moment to figure out the exact location on the map the feather pointed to, the two men left the Dark One’s castle, never to step foot inside again.

After several days’ journey of riding hard and resting only when needed, Hook and Smee arrived back in the port town they had left the Jolly Roger moored at. After a quick replenishment of supplies, she set sail once more, this time to a village called Sapphire Springs in the Northern Kingdom.

Hartford was a quaint little village that had little to offer pirate crews, so Hook and his band rarely made port there. It was out of the way of the major shipping lanes, as it was the most remote village of the Northern Kingdom. Hook preferred doing most of his business at Glowerhaven and other larger ports where it was easier to blend in with the locals and visitors, but he had been to Sapphire Springs enough to know the lay of the land.

Hook and his crew sailed hard, avoiding most traffic in the shipping lanes. They stumbled upon a ship from Agrabah, and Hook gave the order to take it. He knew his crew would appreciate the opportunity to acquire jewels and riches when they hadn’t yet been able to take any ships since their permanent arrival back in the Enchanted Forest. The crew of the merchant ship were very amenable to surrender, and after a couple of hours, the Jolly Roger rode deeper in the water, her hull full of spices and jewels and Agrabahn wine. Hook allowed them to open a barrel, and the evening was spent toasting their success.

They made a quick stop at a port in Sherwood Forest to sell off the jewels and spices. Smee divided the spoils to the rest of the crew after selling off their wares. The crew didn’t dally long; Hook was in too much of a hurry to make it to the North Mountains to spend much time in port.

After selling off this particular haul, they set sail once more, making a beeline straight for Sappire Springs. Hook stood back, letting his crew do the sailing and navigating as they had been for centuries. He kept his eyes trained on the horizon as he came ever closer to fulfilling his destiny and achieving his happy ending (however miserable an end it may be). If he had any doubts about the dangers that lay before him, he didn’t express it.

Hook continued his vigilance until the sky turned to dusk and the night crew took over. He looked out over the water at the waves, felt the breeze on his face, and heaved a sigh. He turned and slid open the hatch to his cabin and descended the ladder, not noticing the giant black swan that swooped down from the clouds and glided over the ship for a brief moment before ascending once more into the clouds.

#CSSNS ‘23 #killian jones #captain swan #once upon a time #emma swan #ouat #captain hook #cs ff #anmylica writes #Darkness rewrite #Based on the Sonata Arctica song of the same name

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captainssaviors · 8 years ago

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#My OTPs making out on a couch #What a time to be alive #Too hot #Hot damn

#captain swan #karamel #captainswanedit #karameledit #my edits #captain-swan-land edit #ouat #supergirl #emmaswanedit #killianjonesedit #karadanversedit #moneledit #I SHIP THEM SO HARD #I REGRET NOTHING

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coalitiongirl · 3 years ago

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Fic Recs (under 300 edition)

So I wanted to get back to reading Swan Queen fic regularly, and I asked people to rec longfic that they'd read (not written) and loved that had fewer than 300 kudos! I haven’t read most of these, but I’ve collected them here so y’all can go through the list and discover some new fics with me! Please try to kudos and review every fic that you read! It means the world to the writers and will keep em writing, and then we all win. 😁

Atonement by SgtMac (M): With Regina's magical heart failing thanks to years of previous evil, Emma and Regina and Henry (and Granny!) set out to save her life by traveling to the Enchanted Forest and requesting help from ancient magical beings known as the Guardians. Given a mission as simple as it is impossible - to achieve atonement by creating peace - the ladies find themselves joining a rebellion and fighting for the very soul of the Enchanted Forest all while trying to help Regina to understand that the self-loathing and guilt which have driven most of her actions don't have to doom her chance for a new beginning or even, a chance to live and love again. A S4(ish) SQ love story set against the turmoil of war and the chaotic savagery of the old world.

Blood and Sand by cheshire6845 (E): A/U The Savior is a slave forced into the role of fighting as a gladiator for the House of Hearts. The odds are against her survival as she will have to win in the arena, navigate Cora's schemes, outlast a general's vengeance, and not be killed out of spite by the current House of Hearts Champion - Regina the Undefeated. This story follows the major plot points of Starz Spartacus with some twists along the way.

But what if there was no time by KizuRai (M): When she wakes up, it's dark. She can't move, she can't see, she can't feel and she can't hear. Where am I? She feels a forceful oppression, pressing her down, draining her of her energy and she's powerless to stop it. How did I get here? The question of here is relative, she's not even sure where here is. What happened? There must be some reason for being stuck here but her memory is fuzzy, like all her thoughts are being sifted through a filter. Who am I? She's not sure if she actually exists or she suddenly became sentient in the darkness.She hears a voice reverberating in the distance, it's distorted and quiet but she hears it all the same. It breaks the monotony of the silence. Someone's coming for her, they will get her out. She's just not sure she wants them to as the price might be too great.

Finding Home by evl_rgl (T): “I wanted to remember you so badly that I pulled back your cursed town just so that the memories would make sense. I needed you so badly that even when I had no memory of you, I still tried to find you.” Regina gave Emma and Henry memories of a happy life together before they fled Pan’s curse, leaving them with no memories of their lives in Storybrooke. However, when the memory spell shows signs of failing, threatening to rip apart the minds of both Emma and Henry, Regina makes a drastic choice to go back and fix it, understanding that it will mean living alone in a world where her son doesn’t know her. Was the spell really faulty, though? (swanqueen)

Five Flames by MariaComet (U): In the past, Emma Nolan disconnected from her peers in high school, preferring to keep to herself. In her sophomore year of high school, she decided to try and join the boy’s wrestling team because she was bored. She didn’t expect herself to become the champion of the most bullied kid in school or the secret best friend of the school queen. She also didn’t expect to join a club that would change her life. In the present, Emma is trying to cope with a humiliating loss in her martial arts career. She claims to be “training” but is stuck in limbo between wanting to retire and try again. She is isolated from her former best friend, Regina Mills, a local celebrity chef and the rest of her old friends. When one of them calls her with an idea to honor their deceased teacher, she is confronted with unresolved feelings and questions about how powerful love truly is.

A Glamour of Truth by PrincessCharming (T): After 2x10, Regina uses magic to show Emma the obvious truth. A tentative trust forms between them amid hilarious bickering. With Emma's help, Regina struggles to regain a place in her son's life... until Cora arrives, wanting her daughter back. Pieces of Regina's past emerge showing that the board was set long before the game started. The final battle begins soon.

His Dark Materials 'verse by MoonlitMidnight (M): A modern Alternate Universe in which Dæmons (the external physical manifestation of a person's 'inner self' that takes the form of an animal) are present. In which Emma and Regina have led slightly different lives and they make slightly different choices.

How Many Miles to Avalon? (WIP) by RavenOutlander (E): Regina would do anything to save Emma from the darkness and bring her back home safe and sound. Even put up with the two idiots, Captain Guyliner and a bunch of dwarves she decidedly wanted to drop off at the nearest exit. But in their search for Emma, they find that she might not need that much saving after all. Caught up in a search for the infamous Philosopher Stone, an all out war between DunBroch and Camelot, and ghosts from the past to haunt her every waking moment, Regina finds herself scrambling to keep her and her family's happy endings from falling apart.

The Hyperion by FrankenSpine (M): After wishing upon what she believes is a shooting star, Emma Swan finds herself aboard the Hyperion, the royal starship of an alien Queen from a faraway galaxy. She quickly learns of the tensions between the Queen's people and her own, but the Queen takes an interest in her and agrees to take her away from Earth forever. Adventure awaits. *(Loosely based on Guardians of the Galaxy with just a hint of Farscape)*

If Wishes Came True (It Would've Been You) by Angeii_K (M): After Regina films a guest appearance on her friend Neal’s popular show, he invites her to spend the weekend with him and his girlfriend. What she never expected was to actually like the woman. Sparks fly between the two, which results in them questioning everything and making choices they will later regret. 4 years later, they meet again in the most unexpected of ways. Now co-stars on the same show, they are forced to work through the emotions from their last encounter. What will happen next? Only time will tell.

The King Doesn’t Have To Know (WIP) by highheelsandchocolate (M): The White Knight had never seen anyone like her before: the Queen was nothing short of mesmerizing. Her possessive yet neglectful husband, however, was another thing entirely.

The Lich by Dangereaux (M): Gay disaster Emma, exasperated Regina, and a monster. A Halloween special.

Maybe if We Close Our Eyes we Can Reach the Stars by wellthizizdeprezzing (T): Emma is a lonely astronaut. Regina is an adventuring alien. Their paths cross leading them onto a journey of new discovery. Between galaxies and many miles of cold black space, despite not speaking the same language, they manage to fall for each other. An out of this world love story.

A prisoner long forgotten by sugarsweet_19 (M): ‘I wish I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood and as black as the wood of the window-frame. Soon after she had a little girl, who was as white as snow, with lips as red as blood and with her hair as black as the ebony of the window-frame. She was therefore called Snow-white.” This is how our story starts but how will it end?The evil queen as been locked up in a tower and forgotten that is until princess Emma looks for a place to hid from her parents after they tell her she has to marry Neal the son of the dark one.

Revenge of the Three Little Pigs by mskyo (M): Regina and Emma find themselves alone and looking for the rest of their party. The Evil Queen must face the consequences of her past actions. Will Emma come to her aid, or understand that justice must be served... *Some chapters have fairly graphic sex, and violence*

Things I Almost Remember by cheshire6845 (T): A/U Despite an oncoming war between the Dark and the Light, Emma and Regina are best friends growing up in the Enchanted Forest. When war does come, they find themselves on opposite sides. Regina will have to defy her mother to save Emma. Will Emma be able to save Regina when Cora curses her daughter to live in the Land without Magic?

What We Make (WIP) by DiazTuna (M): “My mother.” He says calmly. He’d known all along, she’s aware. But he’d known that today would be the day that would get this going. She wants to ask what it was like, to have woken up this morning, laced up his boots and walked into hell just knowing. “It’s programmed the cyborg to kill her. Before I have a chance to be born.” -In which the leader of the future sends his best soldier back to the past to save his mother from a killer cyborg. Terminator AU.

The Wrong Way by pcworth (M): Takes place right after Zelena steals Regina's heart. Zelena offers Regina a chance to go back in time with her and change both of their lives for the better. But what will be the price of that decision. Slow-burn to SwanQueen

zombie trash by 13pens (T): Zelena could have her brain and eat it, too. Fic operates on three premises 1. this takes place in any universe where zelena is a reformed asshole 2. zombies are a thing and exist iZombie style 3. i have NO chill

#swan queen #fic rec #ouat

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whimsicallyenchantedrose · 3 years ago

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Until the Stars Are All Alight--Previously on...

So yeah. The last time I updated this fic was....I don’t even know, it’s been so long. Between various other fic events/plot bunnies that I’ve been working on, a muse that seems to have left on a near-permanent vacation, and the fact that the stress of all the horrible things happening in the world has just zapped my motivation to do much of anything, I’ve simply found writing this fic to be nearly impossible.

But I have decided, now that it’s spring and the world is waking back up after a long winter, I need to buckle down and actually finish this story. I plan to do something on this story each week day (whether that be writing a scene, editing or outlining the next chapter), and I plan to have the next chapter posted on or before April 1.

As a bit of a teaser, here is a list of the remaining chapter titles:

Chapter 18: Renewed Shall be Blade That Was Broken

Chapter 19: The Pyre of Rumplestiltskin

Chapter 20: Lament for the Fallen

Chapter 21: The Gray Havens

Epilogue

Since it has been so very, very long since I last updated, I’ve decided to begin chapter 18 with a “previously on” section, where I recap what’s been happening in the last few chapters. That section’s written, so I thought I’d share it with you to hopefully whet your appetite for what’s to come!

Tagging a few people who may be interested (Let me know if you want to be added or taken off the list): @sailormew4 @annaamell @flslp87 @emmateo26@bethacaciakay @ultraluckycatnd @effulgent-mind @ilovemesomekillianjones @kat2609 @brooke-to-broch @missgymgirl @galadriel26 @the-lady-of-misthaven @charmingturkeysandwich @jennjenn615 @laschatzi @kimmy46 @snowbellewells @iamanneenigma @daxx04 @nickillian @a-rose-for-a-savior @in-spirational @gillie @britishguyslover @ginnyjinxedandhanshotritafirst @kmomof4 @linda8084 @golfgirld @captain-swan-coffee @searchingwardrobes @hollyethecurious @laughswaytoomuch @deathbycaptainswan @allyourdarlingswans @killiarious @winterbaby89 @facesiousbutton82 @cssns @therooksshiningknight, @lfh1226-linda @tiganasummertree

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: I know, it’s been like 84 years since I updated this fic. I’m sorry! I’ve been busy with various fic events, not to mention the fact that my unhelpful muse has been wanting to follow every plot bunny that hops by rather than actually work on this story, but I’m determined to buckle down, and actually see this thing through to the end before allowing myself to write anything else. Following this chapter, there are 3 chapters and an epilogue to go. Due to the fact that it has been such a very, very long time since this story last updated–so long that even I had to go back and reread in order to remember what’s been happening–I decided to provide you with a little “previously on” section to catch you up on what’s been happening with our favorites.

Previously on Until the Stars Are All Alight: Emma, Killian and newborn Henry spend seven happy, perfectly normal years in the Land Without Magic. As Emma’s twenty-eighth birthday approaches, Merlin becomes concerned that Killian will fail in getting Emma to understand and accept her destiny, and so he appears to now-seven-year-old Henry, giving him the storybook and asking him to help his mother believe. Upon hearing about the encounter, Killian’s resolve is renewed, but Emma only digs in her heels further. On the morning of her 28th birthday, Emma’s tattoo comes off of her arm and forms itself into the dagger, but even that is not enough to pierce through her determined unbelief. Seeing this, young Henry decides to destroy the dagger himself. Taking the dagger, he runs away from home, and quickly runs into Peter Pan, who tricks him into trusting him. Pan convinces Henry to create a portal and come with him through it, but as soon as they reach the Enchanted Forest, Pan reveals he’s actually the evil Malcolm. Kidnapping Henry, he takes the boy to Neverland Castle, the fortress Malcolm shares with his wife, Fiona, the Black Fairy.

Malcolm and Fiona imprison Henry with the other boys they’d stolen to be their slaves and the pair try everything in their power to convince Henry to give them the dagger, but despite everything he holds firm. When the Black Fairy threatens the life of Henry’s new friend and cell mate, Henry offers them a compromise. He can’t give them the dagger, but he can use it to mine all of the dark fairy dust they’d been using their stolen children to mine. This fairy dust will be enough to free the Dark One from his prison.

When Emma and Killian discover Henry’s run away and taken the dagger, the fear and panic is finally enough to convince Emma to believe. Using her connection to the dagger, she’s able to create a portal to the Enchanted Forest. They go to Misthaven castle, and Emma is reunited with her parents. The Charmings and CS use Merlin’s Mirror to figure out where Henry’s been taken–and they’re horrified when they realize it’s Neverland. The next morning, Emma, Killian, Graham and Ruby go on a rescue mission. They succeed in rescuing Henry (and the dagger), and in the process, Emma is forced to kill the Black Fairy. Pan/Malcolm, however, escapes with the black fairy dust. He free’s Rumple from his prison. Rumple, angry that the dagger was in Pan’s grasp, but he failed to get it, kills Pan.

And that brings us up to speed.

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sailtoafarawayland · 3 years ago

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What the Sea Brings Us

(Chapters 1 & 2 - new! )

Summary: You've heard the tales, but you don't know her story — and while legends paint every corner of this enchanted land, his is but a shadow flitting past unseen.

Rating: M (future violence)

So this piece was born a drabble, but it wanted to punch back and say ‘this is who I am’, so here we are with a new story. There are already quite a few chapters written that just need editing. I’ve included the first chapter AND chapter two (which is new) below.

AO3 - FF

-----

Chapter One: Hope

The ship groaned and bellowed like a fallen beast, her bones creaking and bending as she fell through the portal into dark waters, the unnatural storm that had accompanied their arrival dissipating as quickly as it had been birthed.

Fog split around the prow as the tide carried the Jolly Roger closer to shore, the soft wind picking at her sails mournfully. The crew scurried beneath the shrewd eye of their captain as they prepared to moor, their calls echoing hauntingly before the mountainous, green slopes of an island that slowly emerged from the mists.

The skies above were grey and silent of bird calls as the captain tread the deck, spyglass trained on the valleys of dark jungle and the white stretch of sandy shore awaiting them.

It wasn't until the terrified call from one of the crew sounded that the spyglass shifted, focusing instead on the black waters half cloaked in fog around the ship itself.

“Man overboard!” echoed the cry among the crew, and bare feet clambered to the stern of the ship as ropes were tossed into the sea, one of them landing heavily across the back of the man floating listlessly atop a scrap of wood.

Every soul aboard the Jolly Roger was silent as they waited, and hope seemed all but lost until the weight of the rope finally stirred the still figure. With shaking hands, the man clung to the frayed end, barely able to hold on as the crew heaved him through the sea and aboard the ship.

The Captain's boots thudded softly against the damp planks, stopping just shy of the quivering pile that was what remained of a human being – all but the most stubborn flicker of life drained from its exhausted shell. The crew held its breath as the man gasped and heaved, seemingly shocked to find a sturdy surface beneath his body. He shook and swept water-blackened locks of hair from his pale face as he looked up, meeting the eyes of his savior.

“On your feet for the Captain,” growled one of the crew, nudging the drowned man none to gently, but he'd seen the look in the stranger's eyes on many a man's face before, and perhaps there was some deep-seated envy within him that prompted his roughness.

But a swift motion of the Captain's hand stayed any further cruelty, and she knelt slowly, the heavy leather of her greatcoat sweeping the deck as she brought herself level with the man still fighting to catch his breath aboard her ship – emerald green eyes meeting the cold bite of blue.

“I can't thank you enough for your kindness,” the man rasped, his voice raw and gravely from the salt of the sea. “I owe you my life...”

“Well, it's always nice to make an impression,” the Captain smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes, “but where are my manners? We haven't been introduced – Captain Swan. Now, tell me, who are you, and what are you doing half-drowned in the Neverland Sea?”

The man smiled weakly, seeming almost ashamed as he answered.

“I'm nothing more than a simple naval lieutenant. We strayed into these waters and our ship was set upon by mermaids. They slaughtered everyone. I don't even know how I managed to survive. I can only assume they already thought me dead...”

“I'm going to let you in on a little secret – I'm pretty good at knowing when someone is lying to me,” the Captain mused, her blonde curls falling over her shoulder as she leaned forward, closing the space between them.

It was then that the man's eyes left hers, tracking the glint of cold steel that extended from her wrist where a hand should have been, its curved edge frigid and lethal as she tucked it beneath his chin, angling his face toward hers.

“Now, are you going to tell me the truth, or do I need to gut you and toss what's left back in to sate the appetites of whatever else lies in these waters?”

The man's eyes shifted back to hers, but where the Captain expected to see fear, there was nothing but barely restrained mirth, his lips splitting into a wide, almost menacing grin.

“Good for you, you bested me,” he crowed, his entire demeanor changing as he shifted into a more comfortable, almost mischievous position, opposite the captain, every shred of the grateful, stammering victim falling away as he tilted his head and sat on his haunches, studying her.

“Who are you?” she growled, keeping her hook neatly in place beneath his sharp, stubbled jawline – though from the way he turned his head in amusement, following her gaze, it seemed to be of little bother to him.

“Killian Jones, but most people who come here have taken to calling me by my more colorful moniker – ” He grinned wickedly, blue eyes sparkling with something feral as he licked his lips and eyed her hungrily “ – Pan.”

Chapter 2: Misery

( Tags: Threats of sexual assault against a minor, Physical abuse of a minor)

Killian shivered violently, curling in upon himself and drawing his feet as close to his body as he could, his thin, woolen blanket stretched tightly over him. Whimpering, he reached beneath and tried to massage some warmth back into his toes, wincing at the pain that shot upwards with the merest touch. He'd spent the better part of the day knee deep in bilge water trying to remove debris that had clogged the sieve of the main pump, but the colder his fingers grew, the more difficult it had been to make them work, and the back of Silver's hand had reminded him once more that he was useless and hardly worth the scraps he was given. Digging his toes into the meager, hay-stuffed pallet, he trembled against the solid core of ice in his body and waited for Liam.

Exhaustion rose with each rock of the ship beneath him, the small lantern flickering wildly and casting shadows. It was just as his eyes were slipping closed that he heard the telltale creak of planks that meant either one of two things.

Killian hoped it would Liam returning and not the other.

There were dark nights when the men grew drunk and listless, the cold biting them more sharply than usual and making them long for land and the revelries they could find there. There were several of them – though Killian was careful never to meet their eyes above deck – who would sneak down into these darker recesses of the ship in search of a quiet corner.

There had been one night when Silver kept Liam on deck later than normal, and Killian had been lying in his berth, just as he was now. He'd seen the shadows of two men pass, carrying on into the hold where they were unlikely to be disturbed, and then he'd heard the sounds – the rough curses and grunts, and the slap of flesh. He was a boy, but he understood what they were doing, and he listened with some instinctual tremor of fear as they headed back toward the ladder. One of them had paused in front of the open doorway to his sleeping cabin, the planes of the man's face lit only briefly enough for Killian to see his feral grin.

“Ye keep yer mouth shut, slave – or it'll be yer turn next.”

The voice and the warning it carried, he never forgot.

Killian held his breath as the creaking fall of footsteps grew closer, only releasing it as the familiar silhouette of his brother darkened the narrow doorway.

“Liam,” he whispered hoarsely, the words drawing a ragged cough from his chest, “I waited for you.”

“You shouldn't have done that, little brother,” Liam chided, though the typical humor of his voice was dulled with exhaustion, and something else. He reached back to extinguish the oil lamp swaying in the hall, drawing a soft word of protest from Killian.

“Please, can we leave it on tonight? Silver won't know...”

“Aye,” Liam sighed, his fingers dropping back to his side as he limped stiffly into the room. “Now close your eyes, you need your sleep.”

Killian frowned, the chill he couldn't quite dispel from his feet forgotten as Liam groaned and dropped heavily to the floor beside his berth. His brother let his arms cushion his head, breathing heavily at the exertion moving seemed to cause.

“Liam, what's wrong?” Killian whispered, but as he sat up and saw the red stripes that had bled through Liam's shirt, he knew. “Why?”

“You know the Captain. He doesn't need a reason, little brother.” Liam sighed, giving his brother's leg a squeeze. “You're freezing from being down there all day. I'm surprised you've got any fingers left at all. Come here, lie closer to me and shut your eyes.”

“You're not going to sleep?” Killian asked, his eyes flickering to his brother's small sleeping berth. He knew from experience that sleeping was not the most pleasant after one of Silver's lashings, but Liam would need it to get through the day tomorrow. He didn't know why Silver went after him so often, sparing Killian more often than not.

“I don't think sleep would come to me if I begged it,” Liam laughed, “but I'll be fine here. I'll watch over you and you'll sleep a bit warmer.”

Killian fought the heaviness of his eyes as long as he was able, but the weight of his brother's arms against his body was warm and comforting, and though his feet still tingled with cold as he slipped away, he dreamed of the sun burning hot on white sand, and a mother's face he could scarcely remember.

“Out the way,” a harsh voice growled, his words fading, “before yer brother takes another lickin' for ye...”

Killian gasped at the brunt of a foot connecting with his leg, the gunpowder he'd been scrubbing from the deck darkening his arms as he skidded forward and rolled into the rails. He scrambled to gather his rag and pulled his bucket protectively against him as the boatswain stormed past with a man from the harbor, heading toward the helm where Silver stood.

“Killian, come – now's not the time to be on deck,” Liam hissed, eyes darting toward the Captain's glowering face. He lifted his younger brother to his feet and gathered his bucket. “There's rope to be shredded below. There's a quarrel with the harbormaster and you'd be best off out of sight.”

“But Harper spilled gunpowder,” Killian started to protest, still trying to process the words the boatswain had muttered in passing. “Liam, what did he mean, the bosun?”

“It's nothing to worry over, little brother. You know how Silver likes to mete out what he considers justice. Take no heed.”

“Were you whipped yesterday because of something I'd done?” Killian asked, horror lacing his words as Liam heaved him along toward the hatch, hurrying him past the few crew members looking at them curiously. It did no good to rouse anyone's curiosity aboard this ship. “Was it because the pump clogged?” Killian's voice had risen in pitch, wavering as he tried to swallow the fact that his brother had suffered because of him. “I swear I cleaned it when I was supposed to – I don't know how it clogged so quickly again...”

“Killian,” Liam sighed, the tension in his shoulders eased once they were both below deck and far from whatever was currently occupying Silver. “It was nothing – a few more lashes won't break me.”

“But they were meant for me,” Killian insisted, his face twisted with guilt. “It was my fault.”

“No pain of mine will ever be yours to bear, little brother,” Liam scolded, drawing Killian in for a tight hug. “We must do our best here so that we can work off our debt and earn our freedom. Once we do, we'll have the whole world ahead of us. Perhaps we'll even sail with the King's Navy.”

“I'd like that,” Killian whispered, but it was a dream that seemed nothing more than just that – too far and too bright to hold onto and look upon.

That night when he slept, he dreamt of a white, sandy shore that warmed his feet, and jungles as deep as the eye could see – the promise of magic whispering in its canopy, and shadows sweeping into the sky, blacker than the night itself, but so familiar beneath the grip of his desperate fingers.

- - - - -

If you would like to be added or removed from my tags, please let me know. Keep in mind I maintain one list for all updates.

Tagging: @donteattheappleshook @justanother-unluckysoul @kmomof4 @the-darkdragonfly @teamhook @zaharadessert @xarandomdreamx @jrob64 @wefoundloveunderthelight @tiganasummertree @pirateprincessofpizza @lfh1226-linda @alexa-fangirl-forever @alifeofdreams @superchocovian @hollyethecurious @caught-in-the-filter @snowbellewells @itsfabianadocarmo @stahlop @karlyfr13s @elizabeethan @rkrbirdgirl @batana54 @ilovemesomekillianjones

#Captain Swan #cs fanfic #CS fic #what the sea brings us #sailtoafarawayland #emma and hook #neverland

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thatboomerkid · 4 years ago

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SpellJammer: Shadow of the Spider-Moon

Player’s Packet (ver 1.3)

for use with the First Edition Pathfinder Role-Playing Game

by Clinton J. Boomer

with special thanks to Andy Collins, Scott Schomburg, Chloe Michelle, Dennis Detwiller, David Gerrold, and George Loki Williams

additional campaign materials may be found here

The broad theme of the campaign is simple: “outsiders — criminals, rejects, freedom fighters, the lost, the abandoned, the desperate, and the mad — go balls-out, nothing to lose, against corrupt authority and nightmare monsters, surviving on the razor’s edge of the known & the unknown”.

It’s meant to have one foot in Serenity/Firefly, one foot in Pirates of the Caribbean, one foot in Guardians of the Galaxy, yet another foot in Princess Bride, plus little dashes of steampunk / dieselpunk pulp-action high-fantasy on top: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still, Aliens, Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, The Mummy, The Fifth Element, The Rocketeer, and/or Big Trouble in Little China

RACES

Dwarf: a scattered people born of Moradin’s Forge*, 80% of whom now exist solely as slaves beneath the whip and bootheel of the illithid and their grotesque creations. Dwarves in captivity are stripped of their names, titles, and family lineage; for this reason, free dwarves often cover themselves in dense tattoos, transformed into living repositories of their clan history. Dwarves no longer have a homeland but make small communities on Fenris, the Crown-Moons of Garl, Gelth, and Callarduran, and across the Chain of Tears (especially the city of Discord).

For human occupants of Pyrespace, the illithid invasion – which the Church of Yondalla officially denies occurring, under pain of incarceration, transportation, and excommunication – happened ten years ago: half a generation past, when the very youngest of human spacehands were still in diapers.

For dwarves, it happened approximately last Tuesday.

Shepard Book, Zoe Washburne, and Drax the Destroyer are good examples of dwarves.

*NOTE: The Church of Yondalla, which does not recognize the divinity of Moradin, refers to the dwarven home-world instead simply as ‘the Adamant Forge’ in all official documentation.

---

Elf: an elegant race in slow decline, born of Perianth, still recovering from the Unseelie War that split and decimated the species a millennium ago. For the elves, long-lived as they are, the wound is still very fresh: fewer than seven generations have passed since the end of the war, after all (for a human, this is perhaps comparable to a tragedy that occurred less than a century and a half ago).

Elves consume food, water, and air as Small-size creatures. Drow are a playable race, although they suffer a great deal of distrust from everyone … including other drow.

Inara, Simon Tam, River Tam, the Operative, Nebula, and Gamora are good examples of elves.

---

Gnome: engineers and technologists born from the Circle of Gold, greatest moon of the Crown of Sapphire, now scraping-by on the Crown’s remaining moons and across the Chain of Tears: the devastated shards of their destroyed home-world, shattered two-and-a-quarter centuries ago.

Like the elves, of course, gnomes are fantastically long-lived: the very eldest gnomes can recall the true glory of their home world, seen with their own eyes; some of the most ancient were already well into their venerable years, over two and a half centuries old, at the time of the cataclysm. Even for the very youngest of gnomes, those who have never known a home-world other than the Chain of Tears, only about three generations have passed since the destruction of that moon (in terms that a human might understand, this is perhaps similar to an event that occurred 60-70 years ago).

Gnomes may choose to gain +2 Intelligence in place of their standard +2 Charisma; most have the Gear Gnome subtype. Nearly half of all gnomish pregnancies result in twins, and triplets are as common among gnomes as twins are among humans.

Kaylee Frye, Niska, Hoban ‘Wash’ Washburne, Rocket Racoon, Miracle Max (from Princess Bride), and Twigg (from Pirates of the Caribbean) are good examples of gnomes.

---

Hin: Undisputed rulers of Quelya above the waves, thanks much to their ingenuity in social organization & their bountiful harvests even in the most barren of lands. The vast monotheistic religion of the Hin offers prayers to Yondalla and to her Saints, including Davian and Asmodeus; all Hin estates contain a shrine to Yondalla. The priests and nuns of the Church may not marry, though their laity is expected to produce many, many children. Status within the Church is of paramount importance for all Hin; donations to the church can buy writs of indulgence, favorable legal judgment, and even sainthood.

Lord Beckett, Governor Swann, Elizabeth Swan, Captain Barbossa, and Commodore Norrington (from Pirates of the Caribbean), Badger (from Firefly), Buttercup, Prince Humperdink, Count Rugen, Vizzini (from Princess Bride), and the Collector and Grandmaster (from Guardians of the Galaxy) are all good examples of Hin.

A BRIEF NOTE ON HIN NAMING-CONVENTIONS

Hin identify, for the most part, as members of the Church of Yondalla first, as part of a culture second, and as citizens of a nation third.

Thus, a Hin living in Arvoreen, Beshaba, or Brandobaris can be expected to have an Arvorean, Beshabite, or Brandobarin name. However, a Hin living far away from the shores of Green Fields -- in Cyrrollalee or in Urogolan, for example -- with always retain a “proper” Arvorean, Beshabite, or Brandobarin name.

Hin with Urogalandic names, simply put, do not exist.

“Invented” Hin names, which are relatively common everywhere except on Quelya, are the major exception to this general rule: occasionally, a young Hin living off-world will choose to reinvent himself -- and, thus, rename himself -- often, but not always, as a means to get out from under the thumb of a particularly oppressive (or shameful) family.

Venturing forth into the unknown without the benefit of a longstanding lineage is, in fact, a tradition among Hin significantly older than modern Arvorean or Brandobarin society.

As such, a young Hin in Lagas going by the name of “Morgan Drake,” “John Smith,” “Alastair Chapman,” or “Sebastian West” -- for example -- might be looked down upon as a probable criminal or even as a pirate ... but on Ashen, Verdura, or out on the Chain of Tears, such an individual is likely to earn a mark of respect from all but the most conservative and close-minded of Hin.

Invented Hin Male Names: Thomas, Morgan, Smith, Hunter, John, Price, Bennet, Chapman, West, Tanner, Spencer, Walker, Jackson, Clarke, Parker, Mason, Drake, Corbyn, Everett, Garret, Simon, Alastair, Sebastian, Elliot, Fletcher, Graham, Ethan, Oliver, Felix, Callumn, Stanley, Richmond, Lennox, Ford, Jensen, Gabriel, March, Ellis, Wellington, Reginald, Chesterton, Alex, Solomon, Carter

Invented Hin Female Names: Beatrix, Cressida, Gemma, Joclyn, Scarlett, Elizabeth, Rhonwen, Maisie, Isla, Kaitlyn, Briony, Jane, Charlotte, Adalaide, Ivy, Gwendolyn, Kenzie, Finlay, Audren, Haley, Theodora, Abigail

Invented Hin Last Names: (any invented Hin male first name)

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Human: Humans come in many different colors, in many different sizes, and worship many, many gods – usually in the guise of Yondallan saints. Most humans pay at least some lip service to St. Davian, the great champion of Yondalla (who intercedes to deliver the prayers of humans to Yondalla), but humans very often also worship older, more-private familial gods. Humans may not, of course, marry into Hin families nor join in any Hin merchant house as a full partner; the best that a human can hope for, in many cases, is to be a servant remembered fondly by the children of the family he serves.

This, of course, leaves humans permanently at the bottom of the Quelyan (and thereby system-wide) economic food chain.

It is accepted fact, by those who study the pre-history of Pyrespace, that humans were once scattered across the system for unknown purposes and by unknown means, presumably at the whim of the mysterious Precursors. For this reason, the Church of Yondalla is active in seeking-out lost civilizations of humans who have spent unknown centuries far from the light of Yondalla’s mercy.

Captain Malcolm Reynolds, Captain Jack Sparrow, Westley the Farm-Boy, and Peter Quill are good examples of humans.

HUMAN OFFSHOOTS:

al’Zihad: Despite their bizarre appearances and hostile overtures, it is passionately believed that the curious ifrit, oread, sylph, suli, and undine populations native to Ashen were once human: servants of the Precursors adapted over the course of centuries to their alien environment. It is because of this belief that the Church of Yondalla has extended such a warm and generous offer of camaraderie to the “native” al’Zihad population, hoping to reintroduce them to their divinely ordained role as servants … this time, to the Hin.

Aasimar: Human families who commit themselves to the performance of good works in the name of Yondalla occasionally produce an angel-blooded or archon-blooded heir: born to serve the Church as beatific instruments of peace.

Dhampir: Some human children born beneath the Spider-Moon, along the Chain of Tears, or in the wilds of Fenris are infused with strange energies of death-magic. These children are claimed by the Church, for their own protection.

Fetchling: A strange subspecies of human – thought to originally hail from the lost forest-moon of Baervan (circling the Crown of Sapphire), infused with energies from the forbidden Library of the Eremite – these creatures are kept secret by the Church of Yondalla.

Ganzi: The children of humans exposed over-long to the energies of the Crown of Sapphire have been known to exhibit bizarre mutations; such creatures are taken-in by the Church of Yondalla to be kept safe.

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Half-Elf: Increasingly common throughout the system, originally the products of union between a male elf and female human: while elven females will often take human lovers, both male and female, pregnancies resulting from such unions are unknown: elven women must maintain a strict, meditative state of concentration to actually achieve pregnancy. As such, accidental fertilization is impossible, and even the act of impregnation is discomforting enough that no elven female would perform the act without sound – usually political – reason.

Elven men, therefore, are often shocked to discover that a brief rendezvous with a human woman has produced a bastard child.

Half-elves now breed true and have formed small communities in larger cities like Discord, Zionil, Dallah, and Lagas. Half-elves have no place within Elven society and possess little group unity.

Will Turner (from Pirates of the Caribbean) and Inigo Montoya are good examples of Half-Elves.

Half-Orc: True orcs (and their off-shoot species, including ogres, goblins, and hobgoblins) are not born and possess no gender: they are fungal creatures that emerge fully-grown from vast, reeking pits. Humans exposed to this fungus occasionally produce half-orc offspring; half-orcs are most-commonly born from humans captured by the illithid and taken to Moradin’s Forge (where airborne spores of goblin-fungus are dangerously common).

Half-orcs are prized by the illithid as a more perfect slave-stock than dwarves, orcs, or other monstrous humanoids, and have escaped their bondage to breed true: the product of any mating involving half-orcs (human/half-orc or half-elf/half-orc) is nearly always half-orc: their bizarre, altered fungus-genome is nearly viral in this regard.

Populations of “native” half-orcs intermingle with “native” humans across the wastes of Fenris, representing – to the Church – peoples long separated from the light of Yondalla.

Jayne Cobb and Niska’s leg-breaker Crow (from Firefly), Fezzick (from Princess Bride), Yondu (from Guardians of the Galaxy), and Bo’sun (from Pirates of the Caribbean) are good examples of Half-Orcs.

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Kuru: A bizarre subspecies of island-dwelling human driven all-but-extinct by the combined might of the Arvorean navy and the Church of Yondalla; kuru who bend the knee to the Church and denounce the worship of Dagon are given the same rights as other human offshoots (which is to say, not very much and certainly not as much as main-bloodline humans).

Skintwister: A vanishingly small percentage of humans – when directly exposed to alien fauna and extreme environment – rapidly adapt at a cellular level, taking on the most useful traits of a local native animal species within a generation. Human families on Quelya occasionally produce shark-blooded skintwister, while humans on Verdura can produce bat-blooded, bird-of-prey blooded, boar-blooded, crocodile-blooded, or tiger-blooded offspring, and humans on Fenris can produce bear-blooded, bird-of-prey blooded, boar-blooded, rat-blooded, tiger-blooded, and wolf-blooded young. These ‘near-humans’ are much prized by the Church as useful resources.

Tiefling: Human families who commit wicked deeds, marking themselves for eternal punishment in the bowels of Hell, occasionally produce a devil-blooded heir: born to serve the Church as weapons of war. In addition to the devil-spawn tieflings recognized by the Church of Yondalla, demon-spawn tieflings occasionally appear among the hinen (human servants) of Perianth; kyton-spawn appear among those humans on the Chain of Tears who venture too close to the forest-moon of Baervan, and rakshasa-spawn appear with alarming frequency among those humans assigned to toil the plantation-fields of Verdura.

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Warforged: Creations of the gnomes, the original warforged were long ago the original deciding factor in the wars against the ysoki. Redesigned in later centuries to act as adaptable, dependable assistants for gnomes, including the best possible defense against Hive (and later, illithid) incursions into gnome-space, the warforged were manufactured in the tens of millions.

All warforged, under the dictates of the Church of Yondalla, are property: they do not, and cannot, possess souls.

Each warforged is “born” from a generation creche; not a single such creche is known to have survived the destruction of the Circle of Gold (the gnomish home-world), and the technology to repair or re-fire a damaged creche – if one could even be found! – is utterly lost. For this reason, warforged are no longer treated as the expendable resource they were in the days of the Rat-Slaughter or the Hive Marches.

Data (Star Trek), C3-PO (Star Wars), the T-800 (Terminator), K2-SO (Rogue One), Baymax (Big Hero 6), David (Prometheus), Cameron (Terminator: the Sarah Conner Chronicles), Bishop (Aliens), GLaDOS (Portal), Wall-E, and the Iron Giant are all good examples of possible warforged archetypes, but many other interpretations are possible.

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Others:

In addition to the major races and civilizations of the system, two dozen or more other sapient species make their homes across Pyrespace.

Inhabitants of Ashen:

Kasatha: Swift and dangerous hunters adapted for the open desert, a rare few kasatha have left the holdings of their clans to seek bounty beyond their world.

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Inhabitants of Verdura:

A huge number of native species make the wilds of Verdura their home, many of them armed with Precursor technology and decidedly hostile to strangers. Among them are the Catfolk (lion, tiger, jaguar, leopard, cheetah, puma), Giff, Ghoran, Gnoll, Grippli, Kobold, Lizardfolk, Nagaji, Orang-Pendak, Reptoid, Tengu, Vanara, Vishkanya, and Wyvaran.

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Inhabitants of Quelya:

Gargoyle: A strange species of living stone that laired near – and among – the Urogalandic people for unknown millennia, gargoyles struck a deal with the Church of Yondalla during the Siege of Mordheim to assure their own survival; now, more than four centuries later, these hulking devils serve the Hin as bodyguards, elite scouts, heavy infantry, and unstoppable delivery-mechanisms.

Locathah: The curious and grotesque locathah – who are said to intermingle freely with the humans of many remote island communities – are treated with grave suspicion by the Church of Yondalla, as they often act as spies, seducers, and saboteurs for the cults of Dagon. The few locathah able to earn the trust of the Church are still watched closely for any sign of heresy.

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Inhabitants of Perianth:

Gathlain: In the deepest woodlands of Perianth, far from the oversight of Elven noble houses, the bizarre gathlain wander the twilight; these odd entities claim to originate from an “adjacent” reality, one to which the doors have been shuttered.

The gathlain whisper that older, hungrier, and infinitely more powerful spirits of “the Forest Behind the Word” also lurk in the long shadows, slowly rebuilding their strength after a humiliating defeat -- and centuries of enslavement -- at the hands of a nameless elven witch-queen.

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Inhabitants of the Chain of Tears:

Ratfolk: Nearly exterminated a dozen times over by the warforged armies of the gnomes, with whom they once shared a home world, the ysoki are a cunning species of survivors who have adapted to life across the Chain of Tears with endless tenacity.

Goblin-Spore (SQ): Some percentage of ysoki are carriers for a curious strain of the goblin fungus (which births goblins, hobgoblins, orcs, and ogres) to which they alone are immune.

These special ysoki gain low-light vision, are immune to disease and poison, and are treated as Plant creatures -- in addition to being treated as humanoids with the ratfolk subtype -- for the purposes of a ranger’s favored enemy, for bane weapons, for feats, and for purposes of spells such as antiplant shell and horrid wilting, and for all similar effects, although these ysoki do not gain any other normal immunities, benefits, or traits of a true Plant creature.

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Inhabitants of Fenris:

A fair number of native species make the wilds of Verdura their home, many of them armed with Precursor technology and decidedly hostile to strangers. Among them are the Catfolk (tigers and snow leopards), Kitsune, Syrinx, and Tengu.

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Inhabitants of the Adamant Forge

Duergar: engineered slaves of the illithid, built via a foul twisting of the dwarven genetic code, duergar are not a common sight anywhere in Pyrespace except, perhaps, in the company of their horrid masters. That said, some duergar -- such as those dwelling on the Forge-Moon of Duerra -- have shattered the chains of their bondage and now walk free.

Goblin, Hobgoblin, and Orc: various subspecies born of the same strange fungal blooms (all of which possess the Goblin Spore Special Quality, above), sapient members of these races are rare in the extreme. That said, it is not completely unknown for an individual goblin, hobgoblin, or orc to “wake up”: becoming something significantly more complex than a mere weapon of genocide and extermination.

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UNIQUE RACES: Verdura, Fenris, the Chain of Tears, several moons, and even the wilds of Quelya are doubtlessly home to additional sapient species, still as yet undiscovered.

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SETTING

The setting is a single solar-system, Pyrespace, with several major & minor worlds.

WORLDS & NATIONS The Pyre: an incalculably vast stellar engine of incandescent plasma; small dark shapes — rumored to be ancient artifacts of the long-vanished Precursors — orbit the star tightly, flickering low across the endless ocean of flame (burning at an average of 6,000 degree Kelvin), diving through 13,000-mile-tall solar flares that routinely reach 10-20 million Kelvin (up to 100 million); these eerie & barely-visible shapes, whatever they may be, are utterly inaccessible to any modern space-vessel.

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Ashen: A storm-wracked world of dust & salt drifting upon an ocean of vacuum, covered in an inhospitable white desert slashed-through with low, jagged, slate-grey mountain ranges; this world hides strange ruins & wondrous treasures of the Precursors beneath its oceans of dust; it is considered strategically valuable both for its rare natural resources; dotted with Hin refineries, forts, border towns, resupply depots, and mining operations; home to strange native populations of kasatha, alongside clans of ifrit, oread, sylph, suli and undine (collectively known as the al’Zihad), who claim to have come to Ashen while bound in the service of the Precursors: inscrutable masters who once dwelt in a mysterious city trapped deep within the Celestial Pearl.

Ashen has two moons:

Anachtyr the Shining: A blinding-bright tempest-world of endless, boiling amythest-hued ocean studded with towering fumarole-vents dozens of miles in height; mighty coils of eye-searing azure lightning leap eternally between titanic these waterspouts, and the steam of this roaring planetoid can be seen drifting into the void: a haze that glitters like diamonds.

Lessinor the Masked: A world of heavy fog, dripping rust, creaking black tourmaline, and unending gloom, mantled in long shadows which writhe with ancient echoes and whispers, it is said that visibility on this planetoid has a maximum of 100 feet. Vast keeps, palaces, and even lightless cities of cyclopean gold-draped skeleons have been reported dotting the curious surface, but not one has ever been found a second time.

Approximately 10% of Ashen is actively subject to mining, exploitation, extraction and terraforming operations.

Major Cities of Ashen:

Acheron: a dug-in black-site military base / fortress-city / arcane research facility controlled by the Hin nation of Brandobaris

Core: a city-sized, semi-mobile mining and oil-rig facility controlled by the Hin nation of Arvoreen; a joint project with gnome & warforged diaspora from the Chain

Salt Lake: a religious-outreach community controlled by the Church of Yondalla, which seeks to convert the native al’Zihad to the worship of the goddess; this is by far the largest city on Ashen, and the central hub for all rail-travel on the planet.

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Verdura: a world of shallow oceans, towering mountain peaks, massive waterfalls, sprawling cave-systems, boiling mud-flats, impossible plateaus, icy ravines, echoing jungles, smoldering volcanos, bewildering river-systems, ancient lost ruins, and — above all — rainforest seemingly without end; home to an uncountable number of near-human species all-but-universally hostile to outsiders, many of whom are armed with ancient Precursor tech.

Hin rubber plantations, lumber mills, exotic “safari” hunting lodges, and industrial logging-facilities are therefore sprawling, heavily-militarized affairs

Although it boasts no truly massive cities, Verdura is host to the Hin colony of New Arvoreen, the center of Covington Farms – soon to be the breadbasket of the Pyrespace system – and a mountain-set Brandobarin research-station known as Thaumir. In addition, a small community of gnome diaspora have established the technological-marvel nation of Markovia, named for its Founder, Monarch and Supreme Leader, Dr. Adlai Markovitch (and his three nieces).

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The Three Moons of Verdura:

Tiamat: A darkly-glittering, iridescent jungle of venom and razor-sharp glass, a shimmering wilderness of fog-shrouded valleys, viridian mire, and steam-wreathed peaks laid beneath a sky of eternally wheeling stars. Home to many of the deadliest insects and reptiles in the system, this endless deep-emerald hell is yet rumored to contain that most fantastic of treasures: the legendary la fonte della giovinezza: a mystic source of endless youth and vitality, guarded by an ancient knight – Sir Azharul of the Thorns – devoted utterly to the service of Yondalla … and to the execution of all unworthy seekers.

Bahamut: A golden moon of shifting desert sand and sky-rending thunderstorms, of dark clouds howling over rain-spattered platinum dunes, this world is sacred to many of the reptilian monstrosities that lurk in the jungles of Verdura. Priests among these creatures claim that once, long ago, doorways opened from their sacrifice-sites to a huge city of bone, a fantastic place fed by the twin rivers Luar and Kath, ruled-over by a red-skinned, leviathan humanoid: a grotesque thing, serpent-like, with four eyes and four ears, that shot flames from its mouth when it spoke. No true evidence of this fabled city, said to lie “behind the east wind,” has yet been discovered.

Chronepsis: A small, silver-grey ice-moon, this airless and barren world is riddled with vast doorways, leading down into bone-white palaces of titanic, cyclopean design. What treasure might lie within these pleasure-halls is unknown, as few who have ventured beneath the surface have ever returned. It is sung, by the heretical faith of Dagon, that two great serpents lair here – named Null and Faluzure – and that these creatures know, between them, the fate of the dragons … and time of their return.

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Quelya: a world of archipelagos, reefs, marbled sand, dark cerulean waves, and tropical island chains boasting only a handful of sizable land masses, dominated by the Hin (halflings) and their servitor-race, humanity; the hungry, expansionist, colonial-minded nations of the Hin are united only by the rule of a massive corrupt Church and a single vast, hyper-complex monetary system; the planet boasts but a single continent — the Green Fields of Yondalla – which are ruled-over by an ever-shifting array of Hin merchant-houses; in the furthest reaches of the world, shark skintwisters and locathah are rumored to bend the knee in loyalty to the strange and beautiful malenti, and to make horrid sacrifices to the coiling serpent Dagon.

HIN NATIONS / CITIES / HOLDINGS

Acheron: a Brandobarin military base / fortress-city / research base on Ashen

Arvoreen: an aggressive, militaristic nation noted for its perpetual war-footing, it maintains the finest navy in the system; the Arvorean Academy of War is famously egalitarian, admitting humans, half-elves, near-humans, and even warforged into its officer-training corps; national colors of red & gold.

Arvorean Male First Names: Alejandro, Fernando, Santiago, Antonio, Maceo, Francisco, Joaquin, Marco, Cristian, Javier, Rafael, Carlos

Arvorean Female First Names: Yamilet, Carmen, Valentina, Paloma, Lucia, Esmeralda, Alicia, Maria, Sofia, Luna, Catalina, Vida

Arvorean Last Names: García, Fernández, González, Rodríguez, López, Martínez, Sánchez, Pérez, Martín, Gómez, Ruiz, Hernández, Jiménez

Beshaba: The Hin holy city on the banks of the Rio Provendor (and its surrounding hills), most sacred site of Yondalla’s worship, currently self-ruled; the place where Gol-Kaa (the Last Human King of Beshaba) was slain by Saint Davian in single combat; national colors of white & sky blue.

Beshabite Male First Names: Dvir, Asaf, Asher, Elazar, Uriah, Reef, Aryah, Ofek, Yaheli, Arbel, Yinon, Idan

Beshabite Female First Names: Maayan, Danya, Liv, Shoshanna, Alean, Annael, Carmel, Eden, Avitel, Avia, Naama, Ofri

Beshabite Last Names: Ngaere, Zerbibi, Mishayev, Qablan, Magadla, Berdugo, Yayin, Sasi, Sharabani, Akiyva, Hagge, Siyvan, Tzviy

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Brandobaris: an elegant, cultured nation noted for its arts and refinement, it maintains the finest academies of learning – in alchemy, wizardry, engineering, medicine, mathematics, law, history, and space-flight – in the system; national colors bright yellow & light grey; home to the three bitterly warring institutes of higher learning:

Archives Timmestre-Falco: home of both the finest telescope array and most complete orrery in the system.

Sincomakti School of Sciences: known for the deep pockets of its alumni – for use in funding elaborate expeditions – and a particularly notorious library.

Universidad de Lepidottero: specialists in medicine, mathematics, and forensic investigation, on the cutting edge of xenobiology.

Brandobarin Male First Names: Luca, Filippo, Marco, Pietro, Giovanni, Nicolo, Davide, Diego, Giuseppe, Edoardo, Tommaso, Andreas , Cosimo, Lorenzo, Ottaviano

Brandobarin Female First Names: Chiara, Nicole, Ludovica, Gaia, Matilde, Vittoria, Francesca, Alessia, Camilla, Bianca, Arianna, Elena

Brandobarin Last Names: Rossi, Berlusconi, Ferrari, Brambilla, Ricci, Greco, Esposito, Marino, Bianchi, Morelli, D’Angelo, Piazza, Caputo

Chaldira: a massive mining-city on Fenris; although it is ostensibly self-ruled under the auspices of a gnomish coalition from the Chain of Tears, in practice the city bows to the “supervision” of a Brandobarin wizarding-circle. Core: a city-sized, semi-mobile mining and oil-rig facility on Ashen, controlled by the Arvorean armada; a joint project with gnome & warforged diaspora from the Chain. Cyrrollalee: former home of the last human king; an enormous, incredibly-fertile nation noted for its high population of humans (mostly farmers); rumors persist among the superstitious peasantry of “fairy circles” in the woods that lead to other realms; national colors of green & dark blue

Cyrrolaelan Male First Names: Odhran (Orin), Rory, Tadhg (Tag), Senan, Cathal (Kat-hal), Rodnan, Aodham (Aiden), Callum, Eion (Ow-en), Rian (Ree-an), Fionn (Finn), Cillian (Killian), Declan

Cyrrolaelan Female First Names: Aoife (ee-fa), Caoimhe (kwee-va or kee-va), Saoirse (seer-sha), Ciara (kay-ra), Niamh (neev), Roisin (ro-sheen), Cara (ca-ra), Clodagh (clo-da), Aine (on-yah), Aislinn (ash-lin), Alys, Avalon

Cyrrolaelan Last Names: Murchadha (Murphy), Ó Ceallaigh (Kelly), Ó Súilleabháin (O’Sullivan), Breathnach (Walsh), Ó Broin (Byrne), Ó Conchobhair (O’Conner), Ó Raghallaigh (O’Reilly), Ó Dubhghaill (O’Doyle), Mac Carthaigh (McCarthy), Ó Gallchobhair (Gallagher), Ó Cinnéide (Kennedy), Ó Muireadhaigh (Murray), Ó Cuinn (Quinn), Ó Mordha (Moore), Mac Lochlainn (McLoughlin)

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Dallah: a sin-soaked island city of gambling & revelry, part of the Tymoran island-chain; currently under self-rule; “national colors” of black & white Gixx: a floating city named for its watery host-moon, under Brandobarin control, orbiting the Crown of Sapphire Lagas: capital city of both Arvoreen and Brandobaris, existing along the border of both nations at the mouth of the Rio Provendor; a sacred city of the faith of Yondalla second only to the City & Lands of Beshaba

Important Sites in Lagas: The Rusted Sun Theatre, Parrish Place Bed & Breakfast, Café Molise, The Shuttered Door Academy

Important Hin residing in Lagas: Lord Mayor Emilio Dioceres, Archbishop Quirino Stephanos, Minister of Finance Alessio Villanova, Trade Minister Lazzaro Calistoga, Assistant Trade-Minister Dario Adalberto.

Moander: capital city of Cyrrollalee, built on the ruins of Dún Ailinne.

Mordheim: capital city of Urogolan, former home of “Uric, Last Human King of Urogolan”; this cold and half-tumbled fortress city, towering high above the treacherous stone of the Baía da Loucura, is choked in near-constant ice Perryroyal: massive island city at the far end of the Tymora island-chain that serves as the legendary “gateway to Xhiaae-La,” currently under the control of the Arvorean navy Salt Lake: a religious-outreach community on Ashen controlled by the Church of Yondalla, which seeks to convert the native al’Zihad to the worship of the goddess; this is by far the largest city on Ashen, and the central hub for all rail-travel on the planet Thaumir: a mountain-set Brandobarin research-station on Verdura Tymora: a particularly fertile chain of islands inhabited mostly by humans, currently ruled by the city of Dallah; the islands stretch from Lagas to Perryroyal.

Many traditional Tymoran names -- especailly those found in Dallah -- sound vaguely Greek to 21st-century human ears, but the islands are home to over 7,000 unique human cultures and no single list could possibly home to capure the length and breadth of the names used by Tymorans.

In addition, put bluntly, many people of the island chain simply do not think of themselves as “Tymoran,” but, rather, as members of a distinct culture under foreign occupation.

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Urogolan: grim, north-most Hin nation, noted for its vast mineral wealth, dense coniferous forests, fatalistic populace, and bleak weather; national colors of grey and black.

Urogalandic Male First Names: Ander, Hans, Johan, Ulf, Lars, Sven, Ivar, Leif (layf), Magnus, Ragnar, Sigurd (see-gurd), Herleif (her-leaf), Hjalmar (hyal-mahr), Njal (nj-al), Ødger (ed-ger), Roar (ruw-aar), Rune (ruw-n-eh), Sten (stehn), Trygve (trig-vah), Uhtred (oof-tred), gil (ee-yeh-gil), Einar (eye-nahr), Frey (fray), Geir (geyr), Gudbrand (good-brant), Gudmund (good-moond), Gunnar (guhn-nar), Hagen (hah-gen), Haldor (hahl-dawr), Halvar or Halvor (hahl-vahr), Jarl (yahr-al), Kåre (kehr), Aric (aar-ih-k), Arkyn (aar-khin), Brynjar (brin-yahr), Cuyler (kiel-ehr)

Urogalanadic Female First Names: Áma, Åse, Astra, Astrid, Borghild, Brynhild, Eir, Elli, Embla, Erica, Liva, Ragnfríðr, Revna, Rúna, Saga, Sigrid, Sif, Freya, Heidrun, Hildr, Hrefna, Hulda, Kara

Urogalandic Last Names: Any of the above Urogalandic male first names, with one of the following added to the end: sen, son, sson, søn, datter, dotter, or dottir

Xhiaae-La: legendary islands of gold & jade just beyond Tymora, source of human unarmed martial fighting techniques highly valued by Hin employers; currently under Brandobarin control

Xhiaae-Lan Male Names: Liang, Haoran, Zhen, Shufen, Ling, Lan, Kaihong, Taio, Shui, Qui, Jin, Chun, Ai, Bao

Xhiaae-Lan Female Names: Annchi, Baozhai, Changying, Chao-Xing, Chuntao, Da-Xia, Daiyu, Ehuang, Fenfang, Genji, Hu, Huian

Xhiaae-Lan Family Names: (spoken & written first) Shao, Long, Wàn, Zhāng, Qián, Tāng, Yǐn, Lí, Yì, Cháng, Wǔ, Qiáo, Lài, Gōng, Wén

Zuzadlara: an Arvorean military-base and floating “port city” on Perianth, established to assist Elven forces in maintaining peace across the system.

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Perianth: the elven home-world, a mist-wreathed, twilight-draped bioengineered “forest of prosperity” constructed by the Precursors via unknown means; the deep woodlands are said to hold terrifying gateways to other realms of existence; the courts of the elves are closed to outsiders, and non-elves are permitted access only to a vanishingly small number of sky-ports; the elves of both the Western Courts and Eastern Courts alike do a brisk trade in humans bought from the Hin, and some reports suggest that only 3% of the planetary population is actually elven.

Perianth is “ruled” by House Larethian, although the high throne of that House – that of the Phoenix Emperor (Western Court) or Moonlight Dragon (Eastern Court) – stands empty, as does the throne of his bride: Lolth, the Beautiful Eclipse (Western Court) or Lolth, the Crimson Empress (Eastern Court).

The favor of House Larethian is a currency traded by the other noble Houses; the Western Court name is given for each House first, followed by the Eastern Court name:

House Fleuris / House Kaika: painters, vintners, and rose-garden keepers.

House Sanglante / House Chimanire: the most-expert sword-smiths and sword-saints.

House Chanceux / House Kōun'na: Imperial record-keepers, known for their prodigious luck.

House Illustre / House Kagayakashī: the most beautiful and honorable house, known for their mastery of dance.

House Assombrir / House Kage-tsuki: the lowest of the noble houses, experts in medicine.

Perianth is not known to have any major cities, although each House maintains a number of holdings.

Western Court Male Names: Baillieu, Ménétries, Bachelot, Peletier, Bocuse, Marius, Théophile, Roland, Ancel, Thibaut, Sylvain, Médard, Chauve, Rémy, Maret

Western Court Female Names: Solène, Élisa, Émeline, Joséphine, Ameline, Neri, Mélanie, Coline, Émilienne, Iseult, Asselineau, Eulalie, Roxanne

Eastern Court Male Names: Hyotoki, Gatane, Yamitsu, Dainaga, Akihiko, Yori, Hideaki, Kazuhiro, Wantaro, Anoye, Gezushi, Sesuki, Teitada, Hiroaki, Noboru

Eastern Court Female Names: Haitsuke, Narino, Reinatsu, Maera, Benomi, Kohaku, Kayo, Miyako, Aya, Shizuka, Komina, Jionuye, Kakura, Amiri, Reiko, Yuki, Emi

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The Spider-Moon

The sole satellite of Perianth, a massive labyrinthine ruin to-which one third of the elves — the drow — were exiled long ago; the drow are no longer trapped beneath the surface of the Spider-Moon due to the hideous gifts of the illithid. This oversized nightmare realm is ruled by House Lolth and her loyalists: exiled members of all five noble Houses and their servants. This inhospitable world boasts only a single major trade-hub: the Dark City of Xogotha.

Any type of direct approach on the Spider Moon must find a way to navigate the tens of thousands of floating dead (and undead) – casualties of the Unseelie War – still drifting in orbit around the planetoid. For their part, the drow use this corpse-field as a blockade, employing necromancy to bypass the horror-show whenever necessary.

Drow names are identical to elven names.

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The Celestial Pearl: a mysterious planet-sized anomaly bearing what appears to be a perfectly smooth, bone-white surface: this ghostly pale sphere has no atmosphere and no magnetic field, no geographical features, no marks consistent with any meteoric impact, no evidence of historical habitation, a surface temperature of 3 Kelvin, and a core temperature zero Kelvin. The curious surface itself – which appears to be an impossibly-thin crystalline latticework of monomolecular razor-ribbons covered in a few drifting inches of ice-powder, white sand, ash, and stardust – cannot be landed-upon or even approached: weird, invisible, immovable “arches” — made of something harder than adamantium — protrude in a strange, coiling web of whorls into space, reaching up to 500 miles away from the surface.

Zionil: Largest space-station in the system, nearly a moon onto itself, this massive gnomish facility serves as an informal way-station -- a respected, nearly sacred neutral ground -- between the “inner worlds” of Ashen, Verdura, Quelya, and Perianth; and the “outer worlds”: the Crown of Sapphire and the Chain of Tears, Fenris, and Moradin’s Forge.

It also serves as the ultimate melting-pot of cultures across Pyrespace: here, humans dressed in fashionable gnomish top-hats & tails rub shoulders with dwarves travling to jobs on Ashen & half-orcs en route to Verdura.

Dominated by the enormous Cathedral of St. Deneir the Scribe and House of St. Mili, the Voice of Heaven, sprawling centers of worship for the Church of Yondalla, Zionil is also home to a huge Xhaaie-Lan population; the Lantan Shipyards are without a doubt the finest facilities in the system for the design & construction of Hin-built spelljamming vessels.

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The city is unofficially under the control of Baronet Giancarlo Lugocelli of Fenris, a devout human aristocrat admired across the system for his shrewd buisness accumen and unbridled civic spirit.

This artificial moon also serves as home to The Thirteenth: an emergency garrison of specially-designed warforged kept in reserve to make a surgical-strike wherever the threat of Hive activity is detected outside the heavily quarantined moons of Segojan (Hive Colony Euclid), Baervan (Hive Colony Keter), Baravar (Hive Colony Thaumiel), and Urdlen (Hive Colony Apollyon); this force is led by Inquisitor Francesca DiAccursio of La Universidad de Lepidottero as part of a massive anti-xenos taskforce.

An increasing number of dwarves from Moradin’s Forge also now make a holy pilgrimage here to the Muamman Duathal: a library of dwarven law, history, technological innovation, achivement, literary scholarship, and art nearly the equal to the catacombs of lost Dugmaren.

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The Crown of Sapphire & the Chain of Tears: an enormous, shining, many-ringed cerulean gas-giant, host to a dozen moons (listed below) and the long trail of an asteroid belt which follows behind it; the Crown roars with low heat and mild radiation, serving as a “second sun” to the system. As to the means by which the Precursors performed this “stellar uplifting” and manipulated the interior of the Crown, it is impossible to say.

About 70% of the “chain” following behind the Crown was originally the home-world of the gnomes – once known as Kruug od Szlatta, or the ‘Circle of Gold’ – and their many miraculous inventions, which was shattered utterly as the result of a run-away hyper-energy reaction; big money can be made out here, sifting the clockwork wreckage and mining interplanetary debris for rarities; the finest technology in the known universe can be found here: powering the cities, foundries, refineries, sky-docks, casinos, space stations, laboratories, and bio-manufactora which float together in complex nets through the wild void.

Moons of the Sapphire Crown:

Garl: now the largest of the moons, a gem-studded planetoid home to a huge number of scattered mineral-mining operations, including Blistavo Zlatta: now the default capital-city of the gnome people, formerly known best as a decadent, lawless, off-world trade-hub town full of casinos, amusements, cunning illusions, and other cheap entertainments.

Gelth: second largest of the moons, a dark spheroid of endless seething lava-flats, smoldering radioactive pools, toxic black smoke, and jagged obsidian blades miles in height. Home to a small number of mining-colonies (which are outnumbered 10-1 by the destroyed remnants of exactly such facilities).

Callarduran: third largest of the moons, a place of icy-cold wind whistling through thousands of miles of smooth stone tunnels, home to the finest stone-crafting workshops in the system.

Flandal: a hot, near-barren planetoid rich in iron and a number of other valuable metals … but, very specifically, boasting neither water nor arable land. Successfully cleared of all Hive infection after the eradication of Hive Colony Nehemoth in 1463; classified as safe.

Gixx: a fog-shrouded shallow-sea water-world currently occupied by a floating Brandobarin city.

Segojan: a smog-shrouded death-world of fungus and alien monsters, home to Hive Colony Euclid.

Baervan: a lost moon, once a twilight forest-world, now home to Hive Colony Keter; also home to the mysterious, floating Library of the Eremite.

Baravar: a shadowy crystalline moon now home to Hive Colony Thaumiel.

Urdlen: home to nothing but an icy, red-tinged ocean that flows silently between towering black spires, this bleak world now plays host to Hive Colony Apollyon.

Gaerdal: a heavily fortified workshop-moon, now 99% destroyed; original “birthplace” of the warforged.

Nebelun: the still-smoldering remains of a desert laboratory-world, dotted with blackened pits connected by a vast webwork of now-shattered elevated railways.

Rupa u Beskonačnom (the Hole in the Infinite): although not a true moon, this small artificial wormhole drifts in orbit around the Crown of Sapphire, occasionally spiting-out weird horrible alien monsters: the nearby moons of Segojan (Hive Colony Euclid), Baervan (Hive Colony Keter), Baravar (Hive Colony Thaumiel), and Urdlen (Hive Colony Apollyon) are infected with a terrifying strain of bizarre alien life; the wormhole is currently orbited by a small armada of mysterious githyanki ships native to another solar system.

Major Cities of the Chain of Tears:

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Discord: The largest city adrift in the Chain is also the largest city system-wide; in terms of sheer population, only the holy city of Lagas on Quelya even comes close. Discord is a sprawling affair, composed of innumerable asteroids and earth-bergs lashed-together with sparking remnants from hundreds – if not thousands – of derelict and damaged SpellJamming vessels. Although the gnomish population of Discord is lightly smaller than that of Blistavo Zlatta, on Garl, gnomes and their warforged security units run much of the city: High Master Artificer Krenlin maintains strict order among the scoundrels, spacehands, and fortune-seekers … at least, in the neighborhoods capable of paying for his protection. The black markets of Discord’s underbelly are run by gangs of ysoki (ratfolk), dwarves, half-orcs, half-elves, more bizarre human-offshoots, locathah, kasatha, unique creatures from the wilds of Verdura and Fenris, and even drow. Significantly more uncommon are goblins, orcs, and ogres – ancient enemies of the dwarves – and Perianth-born elves; although Hin are occasionally spotted here, it’s incredibly rare to see one without an escort … such as a lumbering Church-sanctioned gargoyle or a heavily-armed mercenary crew.

Serenity: Known better by its inhabitants as ‘Scarcity,’ this ugly warren of trash and filth is – to those with the keen eyes to see it – a goldmine of opportunity. If the ysoki can lay claim to a home-world, this is it: the majority of the population here is ratfolk, and their laws guide the city … for good or for ill. Part of a dense asteroid-field known for dangerous gravitational eddies, the port of Serenity is a haven for pirates and criminals wanted in every other metropolis.

Linger: The last glorious remnants of the Circle of Gold are kept here, a city-sized museum dedicated to the memory of that devastated world, and to honoring the uncounted millions who perished in the flare of its destruction. It is a place of quiet luxury and high technology, where the very wealthiest of those who do business in Discord can pretend – if only for a few hours – that the Circle of Gold was never broken.

Gnomish Male Names: Andrija, Nikola, Luka, Marko, Aleksandr, Jovan, Nemanja, Matija, Miloje, Miroslav, Rodavan, Vlado, Zivko,

Gnomish Female Names: Aleksandra, Teodora, Jana, Katarina, Petra, Malina, Milena, Maja, Hana, Anja, Milica (miy-LIH-ts-a), Sara, Nina

Gnomish Last Names: Jovanović, Petrović, Nikolić, Marković, Đorđević, Stojanović, Ilić, Stanković, Pavlović, Milošević, Katić, Sinđelić, Nedić, Marić, Višnjić, Janjić, Sarić, Miličić, Milenić, Natalić, Zorić, Smiljić, Anđelić

Warforged Names: any; names of warforged are self-selected, are not derived from family, and may be drawn from any culture.

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Fenris: A frozen, rocky world of icebergs & fathomless oceans, mighty fjords, roaring hot springs, steaming river-valleys, shrieking tundra, rolling steppes, drifting ice-floes, frigid marshland, deep emerald forest, and seething volcanoes; it is “ruled-over” by a minority population of warring giants, who tear themselves fully-formed from the simmering ley-lines of the living planet; in their long shadow, bold survivors face the fierce wrath of endless winter; some clans scratch out a meager, subsistence-level hunter-gatherer existence, while others build great longhouses, fortresses, and onion-domed cathedrals of wood & stone, defying the giants; beneath the surface of the world, enchanted mechanical castles — home to slumbering vampire lords — wait in silence to be called-forth for the night-hunt.

Humans and half-orcs “native” to Fenris tend toward Cyrrolaelan and Urogalandic names, suggesting some truth to the legends of doorways in the deep woods leading between Quelya and Fenris.

The massive, smoldering, heavily-entrenched mining-city of Chaldira employs tens of thousands of workers, including innumerable indentured humans and near-humans imported from Quelya by the hundreds through the Church-sanctioned penal transportation program; most such workers are branded, upon arrival, to prevent their disappearance into the local human communities. Specialized squads of “workforce retention agents” operating under Brandobarin authority maintain an uneasy peace with nearby human enclaves … though both groups wisely fear the fury of giants, who on occasion choose to assault the veritable fortress of Chaldira seemingly out of pure malice.

Beyond humans, dwarves comprise the bulk of Chaldira’s employees; outright violence in the barracks between dwarves and their orc-blooded coworkers is frowned upon, punishable by both monetary fine and loss of privileges, but is still not uncommon. Gnomes, warforged, and even ratfolk form the Chain of Tears are also common sights, as are Hin mages and their gargoyle bodyguards, although the only thing rarer than a native of Verdura here is an elf.

For their own part, the native catfolk, kitsune, syrinx, and tengu give Chaldira a wide berth: the huge, heavily militarized mining-city has, for the most part, nothing to offer them.

Moons of Fenris

Bahgtru: A hot, dark, ash-swept landscape of dense black forests, broiling deserts, flinty badlands, murky rivers, and foreboding seas, all bearing the ravages of constant war waged beneath a coal-streaked and starless sky. A dozen or more major orc-blood nations vie for control of this resource-rich, twilight-lit world; the largest single military force – the Broken Skull Clan, led by a hulking creature called Moragrek – dominates less than 10% of the planetoid. In the deepest woodlands, orcs fly crude marrow-stained, gut-stitched banners above fallen towers still sparking with ancient Precursor-tech.

Ilneval: Floating mountains, coiling moebius-spiral waterfalls, serpentine valleys filled with boiling fog, forests of glass, a series of artificial rings, cities of broken fractal room-recursions, walking Precursor-tech “transport-facilities” the size of nations, and stranger landmarks dot this bizarre world. Worse still, the goblin-fungus of this moon has underdone a wild number of dangerous mutations, producing varieties of dangerous goblinoid entities unknown anywhere else in Pyrespace.

Luthic: A damp, echoing, rain-drenched world with a low-burning core, this windswept planetoid sees surprisingly few dangerous meteorological events – considering the near-constant cloud cover -- and features only very mild tectonic activity. As such, impossible caverns filled with warm mushroom forests abound, grazed-upon by bizarre, blind half-fungal elk. This world is by far the economically valuable of the Fenris-moons, a veritable goldmine for its Brandobarin investors; transportation to this moon is a sentence dreaded by every human living under the Church of Yondalla’s laws.

Obould: Miles upon miles of long-fallen ruins – twisting, elegant citadels of what appears to have been ancient elven construction – crisscross this rime-coated world, buried in miles upon miles of shattered ice; unfortunately, whatever strange process causes the planet Fenris to vomit-forth giants from its ley-lines is also active here: titans of frost wander the wastes, obedient to three mysterious warlords: the Shogun of Crimson Snowfall, the Shogun of the Endless Dark, and the Shogun of Winterblind.

Shargaas: High above the roiling toxic cloud-cover, cold mountain-peaks spill miles-long waterfalls from smoldering calderas; far below, falling ash and acidic sleet fall silently on the dark glass libraries of the Precursors. It is said that nothing moves here, in the realm of dead furnaces: a planetoid fallen to night. In the winding passages beneath the dormant facilities, however – the strange passages linking the long abandoned “colleges” of Hopelorn, Cold Fever, and the Citadel of Vanished Audience – somethingold and unclean can be heard clicking-away … hungry, and drawing ever closer.

Vaprak: Trolls are an infectious, predatory presence known across Pyrespace: Verdura, Tiamat, the forests of Cyrrollalee and Urogolan, the wooded isles of Tymora, the Crown-moon of Baervan, and upon most of the Fenris-moons & Forge-moons; in fact, it is believed (but not confirmed by the elves) that trolls may even be known in the wild places of Perianth. No place, however, can be said to have been conquered by the trolls like this horrid planetoid: an endless morass of sinking stonework and icy-cold swamp, a place of stench and the low whine of blood-mad insects.

Yurtrus: Miles below the Brandobarin military research-facility of Khin-Oin, a planet-sized city of war-ravaged, long-overgrown Precursor-tech glitters in the cold sunrise … while another neighborhood, connected by monorails that blur between districts faster than the speed of sound, shines like an ocean of light on the other side of nightfall. The city – nicknamed “Fleshslough” by the researchers who drift in orbit high above, perpetually examining the curious urban properties – is a vast thing of austere, ever-moving wonderment: whatever incurable, perversely-contagious disease hangs in the warm air reduces skin to boiling crimson horror in mere moments.

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Moradin’s Forge: this hyper-dense, heavily volcanic planet is just over half the size of Quelya, yet it commands a significantly more massive gravity well. Although it boasts a minimal surface atmosphere, it serves as the home world of dwarves, goblins, ogres, hobgoblins, and orcs; it is also the staging-ground for an illithid invasion-force with control over a supermassive wormhole situated somewhere beyond the edge of the known solar system; illithid forces include any number of alien monstrosities (many mutated or bio-manipulated by the illithid) stolen from a hundred different systems, of which orcs are the newest prize; 80% of all dwarves system-wide live in bondage beneath the heel of the illithid.

A single rebel city, secret in the extreme, is hidden in the shadows of otherwise-absolute illithid dominance: Veil, last hope of the Forge.

Dwarven Male First Names: Hakk, Osrick, Drok, Brut, Muls, Grold, Urbrik, Aandrak, Buulrol, Kigrer, Fraysik, Korvin, Vog, Bellbaarg

Dwarven Female First Names: Yorgwyn, Urgwan, Rren, Inngva, Kledgeg, Lonnvull, Urrgvi, Kalbri, Khora, Sro, Ohlih, Hyylkis, Memrii

Dwarven Clan Names: Grandmaul, Stonehall, Winterstride, Thunderhand, Icevein, Wargold, Blackstone, Runelore, Heartstrong, Ironblaze, Steelfist, Greysky, Shieldhorn, Axetusk, Proudburn, Stormedge

A NOTE ON DWARVEN NAMING CUSTOMS

Dwarves are hardly a monoculture, and each dwarf has dealt with the loss of Moradin’s Forge in an intensely personal way. Some dwarves have taken to answering only to their Clan name (their first name forever, abandoned), while others refuse to speak their Clan name aloud until they stand once more in the re-taken hall of their ancestors; some dwarves have founded entirely new off-world lineages -- such as Clan Dustblade of Ashen -- and some have adopted themselves into existing bloodlines: Clan Malov, the “dwarven branch” of the Malovitch crime-family is, of course, the most famous of these.

Orc, Goblin, Ogre, Hobgoblin Names: Wurgoth, Gradba, Azuk, Speghat, Cagan, Wilaktug, Sbghat, Omegugh, Fogugh, Braugh, Oggugat, Yegoth, Oogorim, Vothug, Nildud, Golag, Bugharz, Zguk, Ombilge, Zudagog, Tothag, Sogg, Narfug, Ergoth, Xorag, Orpigig, Agronak, Orakh, Xulgug, Fudagog

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Moons of the Forge AKA “The Morndinsamman”:

Abbathar: A shimmering world of vast iron pyrite slabs floating across a seething ocean of molten lead, shot-through with veins of plutonium. Extreme weather events triggered by mega-scale Precursor tech embedded at the moon’s poles – still barely understood, even in theory – routinely cause the surface temperature and atmospheric pressure to reach or exceed 4,000 degrees Kelvin and 18 gigapascals (2,610,680 pounds per square inch): converting portions of the atmosphere into solid, crystalline “red oxygen” while shattering the vast methane-plumes into sheets of pure diamond.

Berronar: A temperate world of steep valleys and winding natural cave systems, with a craggy mineral-rich surface marked by broad streams and small hardwood forests, this served for nearly seven centuries as the “second home” of the dwarven people, founded soon after first contact with gnomes from the Circle of Gold. The early loss of this quiet paradise-moon, along with the entirety of its population, to the illithid during their invasion was a brutal blow to the Clans of the Forge.

Clangeddin: A storm-wracked world of mighty fortresses and massive iron-foundries, this was the very last of Forge-moons to fall: its bleak surface is still marked with endless fields of the unburied war dead, broken banners, and mighty siege-engines half-buried in seas of ash. The endless lightning strikes are said to illuminate black rivers of goblin-fungus running between the most hallowed halls and treasure-filled tombs of the ancient dwarven kings: funerary-stone and pale gold circlets trod into the grey mud.

Duerra: In some ways, on certain battle-fronts, it can be said that the dwarven race yet stands: roaring in open, bloodthirsty, unrelenting defiance of the illithid and all their servants. On this inhospitable planetoid, a vast labyrinth of toxic metal-tainted pools, rusted razor wire, and dizzying mineshafts once used to extract silver, iron, gemstones, and titanium by the cubic ton, two rogue creations of the illithid – the duergar and the dark naga – wage endless war in the dark, focusing the psychic energies of their cold anger on killing anything that so much as looks at them sideways … and plotting, always, to escape the oubliette and shackle the universe as their slave.

Dugmaren: What was once the center of all dwarven scholarship – the eternal echoing repository of some thirty centuries of discovery, poetry, engineering, innovation, and invention, the epicenter of all history recorded by the Clans of the Forge, the memories of a people writ in rune – has been lost. None can say how many tomes and testaments were lost during the Battle of Dugmaren, put to the torch and the axe … nor how many of the great, austere library-moon’s sacred record-keepers were devoured by the rapacious illithid, their minds stolen to be used as horrid weapons against the living. For those who treasure the knowledge of ages, the fall of Dugmaren was perhaps the greatest loss of all.

Dumathoin: A lightless world, shrouded in constant slate-grey cloud-cover, riddled with dangerous – yet fantastically lucrative! – gemstone cave systems of seemingly limitless depth. In the many centuries of its exploration, it yet continues to reveal strange new secrets: some treacherous, some fantastic, all of them beautiful and curious in the extreme. Legends suggest that the winding passages here are truly limitless: that the halls curl back on themselves, leading to tunnels beneath the surface of the Forge, the Spider-Moon, the sands of Ashen, the tombs of Chronepsis, the vampire-castles of Fenris, and even the strange armor of the Celestial Pearl.

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Gorm: A cruel planetoid, a howling nightmare of treacherous, winding obsidian passageways, covered in goblin-fungus and lit only by the low blood-red flickers of a hateful molten core, the Gauntlet of Gorm was once the final testing-ground of the greatest dwarven warriors and the finest dwarven armor: here, unstoppable heroes and unbreakable shields alike were forged. Fallen, now, to the illithid, the retaking of unassailable Gorm may yet represent the last, best hope of the dwarven people.

Haela: The imposing mountain peaks of this glimmering moon are carved with the likenesses of the great clan leaders, the eternal Kings and Queens of the Forge. Beneath their austere gaze, feuding clans have, for centuries, set aside their hate and their bloodthirst to settle generations-old grudges through honorable challenge: tests of skill-at-arms, bravery, strength, endurance, mettle, riddling, drinking, cunning, and even the gift of poetry. The halls here have fallen silent, picked-at now by lean, faceless nightmare predators: misshapen things born under unclean stars.

Laduguer: A hard world wrapped in chill grey mist, a moon of foul reputation and terrible whispers drifting on the winds beneath the stone. Under a steel-grey sky flickering with impossible darkness, bottomless pits sparkling with adamantine and black diamonds rend a jagged landscape of petrified Precursor tech: shattered alien weapons, armor, engines, towers, biological experiments, and massive shipwrecks of sea, star, and air, all transformed to iron. Vast, gaping holes in the surface – some miles across – open into mazeworks of silver and mithral, precious blood-onyx and fantastic skymetals, the tunnels lit by the twisting glimmer of an unwholesome and unnatural flame. The icy peaks of this foreboding moon are home to three long-abandoned dwarven strongholds: the Citadel of the White Rose, the Fortress Hammergrim, and the Throne Perilous.

Marthammor: A wild and far-wandering forest moon of geysers and thermal vents, known for its near-constant earthquakes, its towering native flora and fauna, its softly luminescent gemstones, it extreme and unpredictable weather, and – perhaps best of all – for its sprawling subterranean woodlands: vast, steaming caverns filled with trees adapted to survive seemingly without need of sunlight. Legends speak of doorways in the deep woods to other worlds, and ancient elven runes – some millennia old – can be found carved alongside incomprehensible alien glyphs on the many moss-covered marble pillars, stairs, ivory archways of long-fallen ruins.

Sharindlar: A dusky, crimson and rose-gold planetoid of impossible buttes, wide mesas, abundant hot springs, and huge naturally occurring stone “monuments” interlaced with warm shallow seas, all brushed with glittering, coral-pink sandbars, echoing grottos, and wide white beaches. The rare minerals and exotic plant life of this moon are said to possess a variety of astonishing medicinal properties, capable of restoring life, joy, and vitality to even the most crippled form. A massive temple – seemingly of dwarven construction, yet over 7,000 years old – rises from a golden hillside surrounded by circles of great standing-stones, marked by runes of indecipherable origin.

Thard Harr: Thought to be the ancient origin-point of goblin-fungus, the so-called Labyrinth of Life is home to terrible, primordial beasts seen nowhere else in Pyrespace. This bizarre, sweltering jungle world is stacked in “layers” of independently-floating, constantly shifting plateaus, all orbiting a single boiling ocean: the destination of all waterfalls and the source of constant warm mist and heavy rain. For reasons yet unknown, the maddening complexities of this moon are well-recorded in the oral histories of many monstrous species dwelling on Verdura, who claim to have walked star-paths to this place – for purposes of tending to a mysterious “Temple of the Deceiver / Serpent-Father” – in ancient days.

Vergadain: A small planetoid of gentle hills and clear lakes with a wide orbit, this moon was – for nearly seven centuries, since 1051 A.D. – the preferred meeting-ground to facilitate trade between the races of gnome and dwarf. In the wake of utter cataclysm befalling the shattered gnome home world (in 1492 A.D.), a number of wealthy and prominent gnomish merchant-families established permanent residence here at the heartfelt invitation of their friends among the Clans of the Forge; the casual annihilation of those families by the illithid at their outset of the invasion was a horrific shock to both races.

#pathfinder #spelljammer

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reallivegeekgirl · 3 years ago

Text

StanQuest

Something clicked on in my brain a couple months ago and suddenly Sebastian Stan became the hottest man alive. So I decided to watch everything he’s ever been in. A friend and I called it StanQuest.

Here are my spoiler-free reviews for anyone considering something similar (in inverse chronological order starting with latest works and going back in time. The stars are an overall rating of the work, not of Sebastian’s performance.

This only lists things I could find streaming for free or a price I was willing to pay. It does not count after credits scenes, music videos, or works in which he was uncredited.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021) - TV show - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - This started it all. I very much enjoyed it. Good balance of humor and action, heart and heroics. I’ve watched it four times already, and will watch it again. Bucky Barnes is my favorite character of his and this is my favorite story of Bucky's so far. I can’t wait to see what he does next. (And I have a lot to say about how they treat his trauma in this show. I’ve definitely written about it before and may again.)

Monday (2020) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐ - This is the one where he gets naked. If that’s all you’re looking for, enjoy. It was a very realistic portrayal of a relationship between two deeply flawed people. It can get depressing. But hey, penis.

The Devil All the Time (2020) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - If you think Monday is depressing, this movie says “hold my beer”. But something about it is just captivating. It’s really disturbing, and if you’ve ever been screwed over by American Evangelical Christianity it might be more disturbing. Still, I’ve watched it twice. And as much of a bastard as Lee Bodecker is, he also looks really cuddly. He’s just barely in it.

The Last Full Measure (2019) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - You will cry. A lot. It’s based on a true story. Sebastian plays a man who cares more about his career than this weird quest dumped on his desk by his boss, but changes his mind and his heart as he investigates why a war hero was denied a medal of honor 34 years before. Definitely recommend.

Endings, Beginnings (2019) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - One of two love interests in the complicated life of Shailene Woodley’s Daphne, Sebastian is an adorable mess. The editing is interesting and fresh feeling. Watch it and you’ll see what I mean. Fair amount of sex in this movie, and you see his butt. It’s a very nice butt. I’ve watched this one a few times so far.

Avengers: Endgame (2019) - Movie - ⭐⭐ - There is no reason to watch this movie if you’re not familiar with at least most of the rest of the MCU. It plays merry hob with the rules of time travel, and only makes sense if you don’t really think about it. In my opinion, the ending is really freaking stupid comsidering his character’s history, but at least it sets up TFatWS, which was amazing.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle (2018) - Movie - ⭐ - If you’re into movies that are creepy but also almost nothing happens for most of the movie, this is the one for you. Sebastian is handsome as hell, but also a complete asshole. As fine as he is, I’m not gonna watch this again. I fucking hated it.

Destroyer (2018) - Movie - ⭐⭐- I had a hard time paying attention to the plot because it seemed like they made this movie just to get Nicole Kidman an Oscar nomination for wearing ugly makeup and playing a complete mess of a person. It’s a fine movie, and all of the performances are good. Sebastian looks surprisingly good with the short hair and goatee. Ultimately, the plot is depressing and the whole movie seems kind of pointless.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - Movie - ⭐⭐- Again, no reason to watch this if you aren’t already familiar with all the movies leading up to it. It’s long and the villain looks like Grimace and a California Raisin had an evil baby. The ending made me scream with frustration that I had to wait until the next one came out. Now I just watch them back-to-back if I watch them at all. It’s not a good movie, but it is part of a long-form story that I enjoy in general.

I’m Not Here (2017) - Movie - ⭐⭐- Another depressing one. Told over the course of one man’s terrible life, it’s a sad account of how much your parents can fuck you up. Sebastian portrays the middle part of the man’s life. J.K. Simmons plays the current day part and unreliable narrator.. Do not watch unless you are fully prepared to be sad for a really long time after.

I, Tonya (2017) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐- This movie is hilarious. I mean, the true story is insane and really stupid. The spousal abuse is hard to watch, and Sebastian’s mustache in this is a war crime. But the acting is great and it’s a very engaging movie. The parts that aren’t horrifying are pretty funny.

Logan Lucky (2017) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Watch. This. Movie. Sebastian Stan is only in it a little, but it’s a really fun, clever caper/heist movie and everyone in it is fantastic. I don’t want to say anything else about it if you’re going in fresh. I’ll be rewatching this one a lot

Captain America: Civil War (2016) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - If you ignore how kind of silly the conflict over the Sokovia Accords is, this is a good Marvel movie. Sebastian gets a lot of screen time because Bucky is the more pressing concern/urgent point of contention than the Accords. Bucky is my favorite character of his partly because of this movie.

The Martian (2015) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I’m watching it(again) as I’m typing this. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched it. Sebastian Stan isn’t in it very much, but he’s very cute and so is his little story arc. Mostly I watch it because Ridley Scott made a fantastic movie. If you can get your hands on the Blu-Ray, it comes with a ton of extras. They made a very complete story that isn’t all seen in the movie. A lot of it is stuff about Mars, but there are also extra “crew” interviews, so there’s another chance to see more of Sebastian’s character.

Ricki and the Flash (2015) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - He’s not in this very much, but he’s very cute when he does appear. It’s all about the relationship between Ricki and her daughter. Definitely rewatchable. Meryl Streep is fantastic, because she’s Meryl Streep.

The Bronze (2015) - Movie - ⭐ - This is not a good movie. It’s about Olympic gymnastics, so it might be slightly more interesting right now while the Olympics are happening. Sebastian isn’t in it a lot, but his performance is certainly… memorable. Weirdest sex scene I’ve ever seen. Worth watching just for that.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - This is the one I can watch over and over. I bought a Winter Soldier face mask for when I need to feel like a badass. Bucky’s story is really sad, but he’s also extremely sexy with the metal arm and determined walk.

Once Upon a Time (2012-2013) - TV Show - ⭐⭐⭐ - This show is so stupid, but it’s also fun. If you haven’t seen it, the premise is that fairy tale characters are real and live in another land. Snow White’s Evil Queen casts a spell to transport a bunch of them to a town she creates in Maine called Storybrooke, and gives them all fake memories so she can be mayor and watch them all not remember who they are. Sebastian plays Jefferson, a.k.a. The Mad Hatter. He’s in a few episodes in season 1 and 2, and doesn’t get a ton of screen time, but he’s really cute and tragic as Jefferson. It probably helps to watch the whole first season just to understand his episodes, but that’s up to your tolerance for weird shit. Note: IMDB says he’s in an episode uncredited, but I’ve watched it and didn’t see him anywhere in that one.

Labyrinth (2012) - TV Mini-Series - ⭐⭐⭐ - Two episodes that tell a complete story. Sebastian isn’t in this one a whole lot, but he is adorable. It’s a strange story about religious stuff and a sort of Holy Grail that’s three books. It’s hard to describe. It’s on Amazon Prime right now, but they’re taking it down August 8, 2021, so watch it while you can.

The Apparition (2012) - Movie - ⭐ - If you like horror movies, you might like this. I did not. From what I understand, it’s not a very good horror movie. Watch with caution and expect it to suck.

Political Animals (2012) - TV Mini-Series - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I had to buy this through Apple and watch it on a Mac, but it was worth it. Sebastian plays TJ Hammond, the out gay son of a former American president who is clearly based on Bill Clinton. Sigorney Weaver plays the former first lady and current secretary of state. TJ struggles with addiction and relationship problems. His performance is heart-wrenching. The whole show is pretty great. I wish there was more of it.

Gone (2012) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐ - More of a psychological thriller than a horror movie. Sebastian has a small amount of screen time as the worried boyfriend. Amanda Seyfried is good. She carries the film well on her own.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - If you haven’t seen this yet, I’d like to know what it’s like under your rock. This is a movie I can rewatch a lot, and have. I 100% cried in the theater. Sebastian looks fantastic in uniform as Bucky Barnes. This is his introduction and the start of his ultimately tragic story (before he’s saved by his best friend, again).

Black Swan (2010) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Sebastian is barely in this. He’s basically just in one scene in a dance club. But I watched it to try to complete StanQuest, and I had seen it before. It’s a good movie, but might induce some nightmares, depending on what scares you. If Natalie Portman didn’t at least get a nomination for an award she was robbed.

Gossip Girl (2007-2010) - TV Show - ⭐⭐ - Carter Baizen is a little shit. The episodes with Sebastian in them might have made more sense if I watched the show from the beginning, but I didn’t want to. His character is an asshole, but a very cute one.

Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐- The people who made this movie are bad at math, and their rules of time travel are sketchy at best, but it is funny and entertaining. Sebastian plays a ski patrol bro who’s paranoid about the Russians, which is hilarious irony to me. Worth watching if you want to laugh at something dumb.

Kings (2009) - TV Show - ⭐⭐⭐- Sebastian plays Jack Benjamin, the closeted gay son of the king of a fictional place. It’s loosely based on the David and Goliath story from the Bible. Sebastian is so sad and so gay. His family makes his life a living hell. Ian McShane is a force of nature in this. It’s only one season. I’ve watched it twice. I will watch it again.

Spread (2009) - Movie - no stars - This movie was practically unwatchable. It stars Ashton Kutcher and Anne Heche as a romantic couple, I guess? I ended up just skipping to Sebastian’s scenes and only watching those. Still painful.

The Covenant (2006) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐ - This movie is so fuckig stupid, and I will watch it a ridiculous number of times. It’s about magic and teenagers, like The Craft for boys. Nothing about it makes sense. It’s terrible, almost irredeemable, but an evil Sebastian with magic powers is a siren song that will make me steer my boat right into the rocks.

And there you have it. There are a bunch of earlier things on IMDB that I just can’t find or don’t want to pay to rent. Maybe some day I’ll watch them and add them to this list.

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jarienn972 · 4 years ago

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La Sirena

Captain Swan Supernatural Summer 2020

Posting day is here at last! I have been looking forward to sharing this new @cssns tale with everyone. The past 2 events have allowed me to experiment and stretch my creativity out of my comfort zone, inspiring me to create the world for this story.

This is the story of a disillusioned and lonely siren who chooses to defy her nature and rescue the sole survivor of a shipwreck, providing him shelter while he recovers. The two come from very different worlds but they find a kinship through`their similar failed expectations. My interpretation of the Greek mythology here has not been taken literally. In this story, sirens are shape-shifting sea creatures. Also, please note that the version of Killian written here is the young Lieutenant Jones so he does not have a hook. I know that there are some readers out there who prefer him to have the hook in CS fics so I wanted to make that clear if it is an issue for anyone.

I have to thanks @kmomof4 for being an amazing beta and I also want to thank @courtorderedcake for the absolutely stunning watercolor artwork she created for this story! (Edited to add artwork)

If all goes as planned, I’m hoping to update weekly. I’ll also be posting updates on AO3 and FF.net.

And here he go!

The Siren

For as far back as she could remember, this craggy spit of sand at the southernmost end of a narrow isthmus had been hers and hers alone. She had a nearly unobstructed view of the rock strewn bay as it blended into the deep blue sea at the horizon. Each dawn, she watched the sun rise to the east, basking in its glow until it sank beneath the waves at sunset, rarely encountering others of her kind - which was fine with her.

She'd separated herself from them decades ago, no longer content with doing Poseidon's bidding. She'd tired of using her song as a weapon, enchanting unsuspecting sailors until they leapt to their watery deaths as their ships were crushed against the boulders, their spoils lost to the depths. She'd long been told that it was merely what she'd been created to do, her beautiful voice simply a tool to serve the god of the sea. Her duty to Poseidon to rid the seas of the scourge of humanity.

Some time ago, she'd grown weary of her meager existence, gradually distancing herself from the pack. Her solitude had been her own choice, the years of loneliness easing the conscience that she wasn't supposed to have. These turquoise waters surrounding her cove provided all she needed - all except the one thing her heart desired most.

This day had begun like so many before it, low grayish clouds hugging the glassy surface of the bay. With scarcely a breeze, she knew these clouds would linger until the early morning sun rose high enough into the sky for its rays to dissipate them.

The water calm and clear, she'd decided to take a sunrise swim, wading into the gentle surf until she was deep enough for her land legs to transform into her muscular tail. The metamorphosis began at her waist, shimmering scales replacing her ivory skin as she dove beneath the surface with a flick of her fins. She was grateful for the unique physiology of her species which allowed her to breathe as freely in the depths of the sea as she could on land as it had allowed her the freedom to explore the hidden caves and reefs below the land she called home. She'd become familiar with every detail. Every pebble. Every blade of kelp. Every colorful fish that lived here amongst the coral. These were her friends, her confidants. Today, however, she sensed something out of place.

As she skimmed above the reef, her gaze was drawn upward to the streams of light that filtered through the ocean's surface, discovering a sight that didn't belong - a dark void blocking the light. The anomaly seemed too large to be any sea life from this bay and the shape unlike any ocean creature she'd seen - oddly rectangular but with two shorter and narrower protrusions sticking out from one side. It was also remaining strangely close to the surface… Whatever might this mysterious thing be?

Curious, she gave her tail fin a powerful kick to propel herself upward, poking her head above the waves a safe distance from the floating object. It may have been eons since she'd last used her voice to scuttle a ship into its grave but she could still recognize the long wooden planks as having belonged to such a vessel. Such wreckage was commonplace along these shores but what drew her attention was the human engaged in a desperate struggle to retain his grip on those still-buoyant planks.

She'd witnessed many a man plunge willingly into the depths under the hypnotic spell of the siren song but never had she seen one this close - and never had she seen one fighting to stay alive! She was transfixed by the human's struggle. Such an unusual sight - the flailing and raw instinct to save itself. She found it fascinating to watch - at least until the human's eyes met hers.

In that fraction of a second, she saw the fear in his stare transform into a glimpse of hope and now she was the one who was terrified. No human had ever seen her before, her nature screaming at her to drown this human and put him out of his misery. The problem was, her intuition was telling her to do the opposite.

It was becoming obvious that the man's strength was failing. There was no telling how long he'd been in the water but as his eyes fell closed and his grip went slack, she sprang into motion. She twisted and twirled her body towards the mysterious human, her fins and tail separating into six lithe tentacles, one of which encircled his midsection, raising his torso above the surf as she maneuvered them both to the shore.

She lowered him gently onto the white sand then drew her tentacle back into the sea as she regained her humanlike legs. Splashing her way out of the shallows, she made her way up the beach and dropped to her knees beside him although she had absolutely no idea what to do next. Tentatively, she extended a hand to touch the strange creature, oddly fearful that it might surge to life and bite her fingers off. When her fingertips at last made contact with the human's arm, they brushed against the tattered remnants of the cloth garments the man wore. He made no movement at her touch, boosting her confidence to proceed.

The majority of her kind were female and although there were a few exceptions, she'd rarely had the opportunity to be in close proximity of a male. This one lacked the long flowing locks of the males of her species, sporting dark hair cropped close to his scalp. She traced her fingers along his hairline and down across the exposed side of his face, bristling at the prickly whiskers that lined his jaw. Save for Poseidon himself, facial hair was unheard of, as was body hair. This human possessed a broad patch of wiry, dark hair across the exposed sections of his torso and a similar, though lighter coating covered other sections of visible skin on the man's arms and legs.

There was little doubt that he was the strangest creature she'd ever laid eyes upon.

But there was so much more that she could also see. The man was obviously injured. A trickle of crimson spilled over his forehead from what appeared to be a deep laceration along his hairline and she noticed dark purplish splotches dotting his pallid skin, the most prominent extending from his brow to the hollow of his cheek. The bruises showed only traces of yellowing, indicating that they were recent. His wrists were ringed with angry abrasions and she held no doubts that invisible wounds lay unseen. Whatever had this man suffered?

She hopped backwards as the human lurched awake, curling onto his side while choking and spewing seawater and bile. She'd not intended to flinch, but his unexpected movement startled her. She remained perched just beyond his reach as his fit settled and he dropped listlessly back to the sand, all the while staring at her with his haunting, intense blue eyes. He uttered but a single word before fading back into unconsciousness.

"Angel."

The Sailor

He'd been a bloody, damned fool to allow himself to be captured. The mission plans had been perfect. Liam had drawn them up himself and yet they'd still failed. Most of his landing expedition had been lost in the battle and the rest who'd survived had been captured along with him. All because His Majesty, King George, had insisted that they scout and survey a previously uncharted island that he'd now coined Neverland. The island may have been uncharted but it had been far from undiscovered as his team had found it teeming with bloodthirsty pirates - pirates who had been using the land's numerous craggy coves to stash their treasures.

On their second day after landing the skiff on the deceptively calm shore, they'd run afoul of a band of rapscallions, ill-prepared for the skirmish that followed. That had been his fault. He should have done more reconnaissance. He should never have blindly trusted the vague map and initial scouting report provided, even if they had come with his brother's blessing. As their lieutenant, it was his mission. His to lead and his alone to fail, not that any of it mattered right now…

He believed it to have been a week since he'd been taken prisoner, but in truth, he'd lost track of time. He'd spent most of his captivity bound, beaten and locked away in a foul smelling hole adjacent to the ship's cargo hold. He'd not laid eyes on his remaining crew in days, wondering whether they were in a similar predicament, were they even still alive. His captors had kept him isolated, perhaps because he was an officer in His Majesty's Royal Navy. He might fetch a ransom, should the king show favor upon him. If not, he feared he'd be executed without a second thought.

As each day passed, he was slowly losing hope that he might be rescued. Surely Liam would have learned by now that the expedition team had not returned to the rendezvous point. Would they have dispatched a search team? Did anyone even know he'd been taken prisoner? His dreams of one day captaining a ship himself taunted him as he wallowed here in this dank prison.

But as he did each day, he clenched his jaw and swallowed back the pain as he struggled to wriggle free of the ropes binding his wrists behind his back. His skin might be raw and the hemp bindings soaked with his blood, but he was Killian Jones and he'd be damned if he didn't at least attempt an escape.

The crew of this vessel had clearly been ordered to keep him alive, as evidenced by the swill they brought him as sustenance. The mangy pirates would show up periodically with a bowl of slop, untying his hands only long enough to gag it down. They cackled as he drank it, the contents never identifiable but he didn't dare think about that. He focused solely on the sustaining water it contained, avoiding thoughts of contracting dysentery or whatever other foul disease might be present.

On this day, he'd barely a minute to swallow their putrid offerings before the bowl was snatched away and his arms were yanked behind his back once again. He'd expected them to bind his wrists tighter as they typically did yet for some reason, the ropes didn't feel quite as restrictive. He wasn't sure what may have transpired, whether his captors may have been distracted, but he was certain that he'd not heard them secure the hatch either.

If he could find a way to get free… Find a sword and perchance - a way off of this miserable vessel… There were so many ifs but he had little to lose. At least were he to die fighting, he'd die with honor.

He'd not expected the sudden lurch that came next, his aching body slammed into the chamber wall as the ship's forward motion abruptly ceased. A boom reminiscent of a loud thunder crack echoed through the hull followed by the gushing of water into the void.

They'd struck something.

Was this what had distracted the pirates? Had they run aground on a sandbar or veered into the shallows in error? Oddly, he heard no voices resounding on the decks above. No orders shouted. No fearful pleas for aid. All his ears could hear was the creaking of failing wood and the pounding of his own heart.

It was life or death now for certain. This ship was sinking; he could feel the list to port and there was absolutely no way he was going to be dragged down to Davy Jones' locker on this heap. He felt along the cell walls for anything he might use to free his hands - a protruding nail or even a splintering board would help. As luck would have it, he chanced upon a bent nail which provided just enough leverage to hold the rope taut while he wriggled and contorted his hands until he could pull them free.

He shook his arms out of the bindings, grimacing as his muscles protested but he couldn't spare a moment to dwell on aching bones. While it hadn't reached the cargo hold yet, it was only a matter of time before it filled with seawater so his first priority was to get to the upper deck. He leaned his hip into the hatch, whispering a silent prayer that he'd been correct and it hadn't been fully secured.

The hatch fortuitously swung open as another violent tremor shook the ship, knocking him off of his bare feet. He was certain that the hull was fully breached as he crawled on hands and knees through the tight confines of the cargo hold in search of the spiraling steps that would lead up to the crew deck. He'd remembered to count his paces when they'd led him blindfolded to the tiny chamber so even in the darkness of the hold, he knew they must be around here somewhere.

Killian scrambled to his feet as his hand found the staircase and he scurried upward to the seemingly vacant crew deck. It was strange not to encounter another soul as he ascended through the open hatch. It was eerily quiet but nevertheless, he pressed on toward the midship staircase that would open onto the main deck. At least this deck had lanterns to illuminate his way as he dodged empty hammocks and hurried past the unoccupied bunks to get topside.

The late afternoon sun assaulted his vision as he emerged onto the abandoned deck. There wasn't a single man visible as his eyes swept his surroundings. He spied no one manning the riggings, no one in the crow's nest and most disturbing - no one at the helm. So these cowardly pirates had all abandoned ship, including their captain? So much for the captain going down with his ship…

He crossed the deck and vaulted up the steps to the bow, trying to get his bearings and determine the ship's position. He was only vaguely familiar with this expanse of the sea but there seemed to be a landmass on the horizon off of the starboard side. It was likely where the pirates had set off for although he saw no dinghies in the water. Something didn't seem to add up here.

From the bow, he was able to get a glance of the rocky outcrop they'd struck. It extended well above the surface and in broad daylight, should have been quite visible to the navigator. Experienced sailors would have known to steer away. Everything about this situation was confounding his brain but he had to concern himself with escaping this ship.

The ship shuddered beneath him as it began to slide free of the rocks. He slipped, bare feet unable to find purchase on the slick teak planks as he fell, driven into the side rail as the vessel leaned more to port. He clung to the still-sturdy posts separating him from the sea as his mind went into overdrive. Even if the pirates had left a skiff behind, he doubted he could launch it himself. And then there would be the problem of encountering these deviants again should he reach land but it seemed preferable at this moment to take his chances with the pirates rather than ride this sinking ship into the depths.

He needed to locate something that would float, not daring to attempt swimming that far in his weakened state. Maybe there was an empty barrel? A hatch he could pry loose? And he'd need a way to debark… Where would they keep their rope ladder?

He forced himself back upright using the railing for support. On Liam's ship, the rope ladder was dispatched from the aft deck and as this ship was of similar design to the Royal Navy schooners, he knew he was on the wrong end of the ship - and his good fortune had run out.

Too much water had now entered the ship's hull and she was beginning to break apart. The weight of the water tore the ship free of the boulder that had ripped through the hull and as it slipped deeper into the waves, a crack split the deck apart. Killian grasped wildly to the closest rigging lines he could find as the stern broke loose. The time for plans was gone.

He swung out of control in the tangle of ropes and pulleys, teetering precariously above the deep blue ocean. Damnit, Jones - what the hell have you gotten yourself into? He'd trained for dangers like this - for how to survive a sinking ship… He'd just never figured he'd be without a crew…

And out of nowhere, his chances of survival took a turn for the worst. A steel pulley swinging in tandem with him smacked into his forehead and he lost his grip on the rope. Stunned from the blow, he couldn't coordinate his limbs to reach for anything that would stop his fall, splashing awkwardly into the sea.

That sudden impact jolted him back to consciousness as sheer instinct took over. He was a strong swimmer under normal circumstances, but this certainly was not and to make matters more complicated, the sun would soon set. He could tread water in the dark all night…

There! his weary brain called out to him. There's a board… It will serve as a raft. Get yourself to it! His gaze caught sight of the planks floating a short distance from him. Hampered by the sting of salt water in his wounds, angry muscles that had been abused for too long and a steady stream of blood pouring from the fresh cut above his brow, the swim was arduous. He was near ready to faint by the time he reached the panel of three boards still somehow holding together. He used every remaining bit of his strength to drag himself atop it and collapsed.

Killian was thankful for calm seas as he drifted through the night although less thankful that the current had carried him away from the land he'd hoped to reach. By the time the first golden rays of morning sun crested over the eastern horizon, he found himself enveloped amidst a thin layer of marine clouds. He could no longer see any traces of the ill-fated pirate ship nor any visible land masses.

He'd fought valiantly to remain alert throughout the evening, fearful of losing his perch on the narrow planks but fatigue and injury were taking their toll. He struggled to raise his head as he succumbed to the blissful call of unconsciousness. As a man of the sea, he'd always expected that his death would come at the mercy of the sea. Perhaps he hadn't thought it would come so soon…

I'm sorry, Liam… I've failed you yet again… was the last thought he remembered as he gave in to the blackness.

He wouldn't recall slipping from the planks or the momentary struggle to pull himself back atop of his makeshift raft. The next time his eyes opened, he was certain he'd crossed over into the afterlife. An expanse of azure sky loomed above him and he felt the security of land beneath his back. He wouldn't have expected the aches and pains of his life tragically cut short would have accompanied him into the next life, but he'd never died before…

Of course, this could be but a dream. Exhaustion still weighed heavily upon him so this could all be a mere hallucination of a dying man - more so when he saw her. Killian couldn't make out the details of her face but there she was, cutting a figure akin to a goddess with tresses like the sun tumbling over her porcelain shoulders and bared bosoms. Such beauty could only be…

The words formed in his head: Are you an… Only one would cross his lips - "Angel?"

#cssns #cssns20 #captain swan supernatural summer #cs ff\#cs au ff #siren emma #lieutenant jones #la sirena #edit to add art

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searchingwardrobes · 5 years ago

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Priceless: 8/9

I was planning on this being the last chapter, but I simply couldn't fit in everything I wanted to do, so there will be one more. I also couldn't resist this cliffhanger. Just don't hate me! *hides* Although you can partially blame my wonderful beta, @xhookswenchx. She encouraged me when I mentioned doing a cliffhanger. Though she did yell at me once she actually read it ;)

I also noticed a huge error. I had Will Scarlett in earlier chapters as Killian's contact for the job. Then he popped up again in the last chapter as a cabbie! Oops! That's the problem with taking months to update. I loved Will as the cabbie, though, so I went back and changed the sketchy contact to Jefferson. I think it fits better, actually.

Summary: Desperate men often find themselves in places they never thought they would go, but for Killian Jones it would finally force him to be the hero his daughter always thought he could be. The job was simple: drive the truck, don’t open the back, don’t ask questions. But Killian Jones has never followed instructions very well …

An AU of the movie Priceless starring Joel Smallbone of For King and Country.

Rating: M for themes

Trigger warnings: This story is about human trafficking so there are discussions of rape and non-con, some of it involving minors. None of it is portrayed as positive nor is it graphically described. If you have any specific questions or concerns before reading, feel free to message me.

**in this chapter specifically, there are depictions of violence**

THERE WILL BE A HAPPY ENDING, I SWEAR!!!!

Also on Ao3 as part of my movie au series Captain Swan is My Favorite Rom Com: 2nd Edition. There is also a First Edition.

Tagging: @snowbellewells @whimsicallyenchantedrose @kmomof4 @welllpthisishappening @bethacaciakay @teamhook @let-it-raines @wellhellotragic @winterbaby89 @kday426 @ekr032-blog-blog @shady-swan-jones @sherlockianwhovian @shireness-says @spartanguard @scientificapricot @stahlop @delirious-latenight-laughs @resident-of-storybrooke @vvbooklady1256 @tiganasummertree @nikkiemms @jennjenn615 @profdanglaisstuff @shipsxahoy @cat-sophia @artistic-writer @thejacketandthehook @hollyethecurious @ultraluckycatnd @branlovestowrite @dassala @allofdafandoms-blog @snidgetsafan @pocket-anon @optomisticgirl @flslp87 @onceuponaprincessworld @courtorderedcake @superchocovian @distant-rose

Chapter Summary: After rescuing Emma from the spa, Killian faces dire consequences for his actions.

The cabbie Will whistled in admiration as he turned onto the drive to David and Mary Margaret’s place. I agreed with his assessment - this wasn’t just a home, it was a ranch, and a large spread at that. The cab drove beneath a stone archway. Swinging from the center of it were scrolling iron letters that said “Misthaven Farm.” The land up on these hills was more lush, and there were several smaller buildings lining the long drive that took us up to the house. I assumed they were barns and stables, though no animals were visible at this hour. Will parked the cab in a circular drive right in front of a two story house built of uncut stones and raw timber to give it a rugged air. It was large, but not massive, just the right size to be welcoming and homey.

Will whistled once again when I paid him handsomely for the long ride, much more than was necessary. I wasn’t just paying him for driving. I was paying him for being a good man, one who would ask questions to ensure the safety of an inebriated woman in his cab. And despite my desperation to make a way to be with my daughter, I could no longer keep the money Gold had given me. It was dirty, and I wanted to be rid of it as quickly as possible.

Emma still couldn’t walk, so I scooped her up again and carried her to the Nolan’s front door. Mary Margaret opened it before I even reached the front stoop, rushing forward with a gasp despite the phone pressed to her ear.

“Oh my God, um, Regina, I’ll have to call you back!” She hung up, her hands fluttering around Emma as if she wanted to help her but wasn’t sure what to do. “What happened?”

“I found her, and I couldn’t just do nothing.”

It wasn’t the greatest explanation, but I was more concerned about Emma. Mary Margaret motioned towards the stairs and I followed her up. Emma lifted her head, but her eyes couldn’t seem to focus on anything. She mumbled something, then her head lolled back onto my shoulder.

“They drugged her.” Mary Margaret wasn’t asking a question.

She led me into a modest bedroom at the top of the stairs. It held only a full size bed in one corner, a small dresser, and a desk pressed against a wall. Opposite the bed was a door that led to a small bathroom.

“This isn’t much,” Mary Margaret explained, “but I thought she might be more comfortable here.”

Frankly, I didn’t think Emma cared where she was. I deposited her gently onto the bed, slipped the glittery gold stilettos off her feet, and edged her under the covers. I tucked her in like I often did for Alice, but stopped short of brushing a kiss to her temple. I turned to go, but Emma surprised me by grabbing my hand.

“Please stay,” she whispered.

I glanced over my shoulder at Mary Margaret. She cast her gaze pointedly to the floor and arched a brow. I got her meaning fully and eased down to sit on the floor by Emma’s bed.

“As you wish,” I whispered to Emma.

She let out a shuddering breath and then her whole body relaxed, though she didn’t release my hand. When Mary Margaret slipped out, she left the door cracked open. I stayed there with Emma’s hand grasping mine, my head resting against the edge of the bed. I didn’t think I would be able to sleep, but somehow, my body relaxed and I dozed off.

When my eyes opened again, the light of early dawn streamed through the window, and I realized Emma’s weeping had awakened me. She had released my hand at some point, and when I turned my head I found her curled into the fetal position, facing the wall. I rose up on my knees and placed my hand tentatively on her upper back.

“Emma?”

She tensed, and I withdrew my hand. A heavy silence filled the room, but I didn’t know how to comfort her or what to say. Finally, she rolled over, clasping the blanket tighter around her frame. It enveloped her like a cocoon, and I cursed myself for not asking Mary Margaret to help her change her clothes the night before. The skin tight red dress Emma wore beneath the covers barely contained her curves and couldn’t have been comfortable. A shiver rocked her frame, and I winced.

“I’ll get Mary Margaret,” I finally said, rising quickly to my feet.

“Not yet,” she whispered, then pressed her eyes shut as more tears spilled down her cheeks.

I stood there, feeling helpless and awkward. I noticed an extra blanket draped over the desk chair, and grabbed it. She was still shaking, so I draped the blanket over her, careful not to touch her. It wasn’t enough, but it was something.

“I don’t deserve to be here,” Emma whispered.

“What do you mean, love?” I asked, sinking to the very edge of the bed.

“My sisters. I don’t deserve to be here when they’re still -” her voice broke as if she couldn’t bring herself to say it. “I’m an awful person.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is! Because I’m here, and they’re not, but I . . . I feel . . . “

“Relieved?”

She pressed her eyes shut, as if ashamed of herself. “I was so relieved to hear your voice at the spa. I shouldn’t have called out for you.”

“I’m glad you did.”

Emma’s eyes flew open suddenly, and she scrambled up, shoving me aside as her feet hit the floor. She struggled to stand, with both blankets still wrapped around her, but she swayed and I had to help her sit back down.

“Careful,” I admonished, “I don’t know what they gave you, but it may take awhile for the effects to wear off.”

“I don’t know either,” she whispered, dropping her head to her hands, “but after the first time, they didn’t have to force the pills down my throat. It . . . numbed things, and sometimes if I passed out . . . it was better that way.”

I blinked back tears at the defeat in her voice, and I couldn’t help it any longer. I pulled her next to me and held her close. I whispered nonsense meant to comfort as I stroked her hair. Just empty words, but she clung to my shirt nevertheless, and I prayed that they helped.

“I have to go back. Gold may be mad, but he’ll take me -”

“Over my dead body.”

Emma pulled back sharply. “Killian, I have to! Elsa is still sick, Anna’s just a kid -”

I stilled her words with a finger to her lips. “Emma, do you really think they’ll honor their word?”

“At least I’ll be with them! Besides, what options do we have? We’ll be arrested. Deported.”

“You don’t have to be.” Mary Margaret’s voice spoke from the bedroom doorway, and Emma and I turned to her in surprise. “That phone call I was on when you got here last night? It was my stepsister, Regina. She’s an immigration lawyer, and she says that victims of trafficking by law can’t be deported.”

“But I’ve heard stories from the other girls,” Emma protested, but Mary Margaret cut her off as she sat next to her on the bed and took her hands in hers.

“Yes, some do get deported, I won’t lie, but that’s usually because they don’t know their rights. Or they’re too afraid to speak up against their traffickers. Sometimes the law doesn’t understand what trafficking looks like. It’s not always kidnapping and locked doors. It’s manipulation, fear, and sometimes even Stockholm syndrome.”

Emma nodded. “There’s a girl there in the house - Ivy. She thinks Neal really loves her; thinks the brothel is a family.”

I could tell Mary Margaret was forcing back tears, and I thought of her daughter. Mary Margeret cupped Emma’s face in her hands. “But that’s not you. That’s not your sisters. Not only that, you’ll have Regina. She says she’ll represent you, pro bono.”

Tears poured down Emma’s face. “Why would you do this for me?”

Mary Margaret shrugged. “Faith means we care for those who can not care for themselves.” Then she leaned forward and pressed a motherly kiss to Emma’s head. “Now,” she said, forcing a smile upon her face. “I’ve put towels and a change of clothes in the bathroom over there. They may not fit perfectly, but I thought they’d at least be comfortable. How about you shower and then I’ll fix you some breakfast?”

Emma gave the other woman a wobbly smile. “That sounds nice.”

After Emma rose and shuffled into the bathroom, still wrapped up in the blankets, Mary Margaret gave me a weighted look. “I need to talk to you,” she whispered, and dread coiled in my belly.

I followed her wordlessly downstairs and into the kitchen. I almost tripped over my own feet to see David sitting at the kitchen table with a wet towel pressed to a gash on his head. I looked frantically around the room, my dread only increasing.

“Where’s Liam?”

David’s jaw clenched as he forced himself to meet my gaze. “We were run off the road by an unmarked SUV. We slammed into a ditch, and I hit my head. When I came to, Liam was gone.”

I looked frantically around the room. “They know where we are?”

David shook his head. “I hitchhiked home in a farmer’s pickup. We weren’t close enough to the ranch for them to put things together.”

I sank to the chair next to David. “They just wanted Liam then.” I didn’t even ask why - all three of us already knew.

My phone, still in my pocket, rang. My hands shook as I answered it, and the voice on the other end made my blood run cold.

“Hello, Romeo. That’s quite the rescue you pulled off.”

“Gold,” I ground out, “what do you want?”

“I want my property, naturally. I’m assuming you want your brother. Alive, preferably?”

I pressed my eyes closed as the words hit home. When I opened them, David and Mary Margaret were right by my side. Liam? Mary Margaret mouthed, and I nodded.

“What are you asking?” I finally managed to ask.

“A trade. My girl for your brother. Simple as that.”

My mind spun as I tried to come up with a plan. When it finally came to me, it sounded crazy, but if I played my cards right, it could work.

“Not so fast,” I answered him, adding an edge to my voice. “I know how valuable Swan is. A trade’s not good enough.”

“I don’t know that you’re in a position to negotiate,” Gold snapped. “I can put a fucking bullet in your brother’s head.”

I tsked, “Come now, Gold, don’t be hasty. The way I see it, I’ve got plenty of evidence that I can take to multiple government agencies. Trafficking, immigration violations, drugs - would you like me to continue?”

“What’s your point?” he growled.

I paced, my gaze focused on the tile in the Nolan’s kitchen. “I’ll give you Swan, but I want more than my brother back. I want her sisters too.”

Gold barked out a laugh. “Why in the world would I do that?”

“Elsa’s sick, and it’s gonna cost you to get her well, or you would have done it already. Once she’s well though, she can make me some serious money.”

“I thought you were in love,” Gold replied dryly.

“That’s what I wanted her to think,” I sneered, “and it worked. I had her eating out of my hand. She was good, I’ll say that, but she’s not the only blonde in the world. I’ve seen the money that can be made in this business.”

“And you want in.”

“With you? Hardly. I want to start my own business and with a blonde and an underage red head? I can.”

“The bid on the black market for that virgin keeps climbing,” Gold countered, “why should I give that up?”

“It’s a one time deal, and you’ve got other underage girls. I saw their photos at the house. I’ve gotta be in that market too if I want to build my business. But Swan? She’s top-tier. Even spoiled frat boys driving daddy’s Lexus can’t afford her. Long term, she’s worth way more than her kid sister.”

“How did you know that?”

“I have my sources.”

There was a long silence on the other line, and I prayed fervently to a God I wasn’t sure even cared about me. But he had to care about a frightened sixteen year old and her ill sister. Right? God if you’re there . . .

“Okay. Meet me -”

“No. My terms. I don’t trust you, Gold. You would double cross me in a heartbeat. I wanna make the trade in a public place. Broad daylight. No tricks.”

Gold growled, but relented. He named a time and a place. I knew it already - warehouses in a sketchy part of town. I shook my head at David, and he frantically scribbled on a piece of paper.

“Anthem Hills Park,” I countered.

“Are you insane? There will be -”

“Kids? Families? Exactly. No way you can screw me over in such a public place. Be there WITH Liam and the girls or the deal is off.” I hung up without waiting for a reply and prayed I hadn’t just doomed us all.

“Do you think he’ll be there?” Mary Margaret asked nervously.

I shook my head. “I don’t know, we just have to . . . “ I trailed off when I noticed Mary Margaret’s face go pale as she stared at something over my shoulder. I turned to see Emma sitting on the bottom of the stairs, her hair wet from her shower, and her eyes lifeless as she stared at me. “God, Emma, that wasn’t . . . I mean I didn’t -”

“I get it,” she interrupted in a shaky breath, “Anna’s young and Elsa’s sick, and I’m . . . already used up. Damaged.”

“Emma, no,” I told her as I came towards her, “that was all just an act for Gold.”

She looked up at me with a tentative smile. “Oh, I know that you didn’t mean any of that crap about the business. But let’s face it, Killian. You have to save our siblings, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes. We can’t let Gold hurt them.”

I sank to the step next to her and took both of her hands in mine. “I was bluffing with every word of it, Emma.”

“What? But -”

“No buts. I can’t let Gold hurt you either. Not anymore.”

***********************************************

Later that afternoon, I pulled into the lot at Anthem Hills Park. The day was gorgeous, and the park was filled with people. Children scampered about on the playground, their happy squeals ringing in the air. Parents sat and chatted on benches while others pushed strollers down the walking trails. Right next to the slides, on a park bench, were Gold and his son, Liam and the girls sandwiched between them, just as promised. Their backs were to us, and I swallowed nervously as I pulled David’s handgun out of the glove compartment. I set it on the dashboard and took a deep breath before fixing my gaze on Emma.

“Do you trust me?”

Emma nodded, but more than that, her eyes were blazing and her jaw was set in determination.

“Always.”

I nodded in return, then shoved the gun into the waistband of my jeans. Emma turned to open the car door, but I stilled her by gently grasping her hand. I rubbed my thumb tenderly over her knuckles as her eyes met mine.

“I don’t know how this will all play out, so I just need you to know . . . not a moment has gone by since we met that I haven’t thought about you.”

She searched my face, then her lips turned up in a teasing smile. “Good.”

I returned her smile, buoyed by the pleasure I saw in her eyes. We both exited the vehicle, and I pulled Emma close to my side as we crossed the grass. When we reached the park bench, Liam’s eyes met mine, and I saw a warning in them. He glanced at the girls on either side of him. Elsa, despite the fever trembling through her frame, was stiff and unnatural. Anna was even more so, her eyes wide and frightened. Gold and Neal both opened their coats just enough that I could see the guns they had pressed to the girls’ sides. I caught my brother’s eyes once more, trying to reassure him. This was nothing the Nolans and I hadn’t anticipated.

“Deal’s off,” Gold sneered, “give us our property - all of it - and we’ll let you and your brother be on your way.”

I smirked at Gold. “You know, I’ve been told that I’m many things. I’m too dramatic, I feel too much, I get too attached. I jump in with both feet, and I just don’t think things through.”

I pulled out my gun, brandishing it dramatically so anyone nearby could see. As expected, several screams immediately rang out. People started running, people shouted for someone to call 911. I smirked again at Gold.

“Police will be here any minute I’m guessing. Crazy guy with a gun at the park tends to draw attention.”

“You’re crazy!” Neal screamed, leaping to his feet and pointing his own gun right at me. The screams around us grew louder.

I had anticipated this too, and calmly shifted to point my gun back at him. Emma didn’t hesitate, but raced to Anna’s side and pulled her out of the way. Liam took advantage of the distraction. He leapt up and barrelled himself into Gold, shoving Elsa out of the way. A gun went off. Elsa screamed Liam’s name.

Then Emma screamed mine. I turned to see her tackle Neal and another shot went off. I was shoved from behind, the arm holding my gun wrenched behind my back. My face was shoved to the ground, and handcuffs were slapped on my wrists. A cop began to read me my rights.

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law . . . “

From my place on the ground, I saw Emma scramble off Neal, her hands red with blood. Neal lay face first, lifeless, blood spreading beneath him, staining the ground. Anna raced to her, weeping and holding her close. She was safe.

I turned my head to see more blood staining the ground.

Liam lay prone and still, Elsa weeping over him.

#cs ff #cs movie au #captain swan is my favorite rom com #cs priceless au #human trafficking #non-con #rape #but not graphic #happy ending I promise!!!#violence #brothers jones

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captainssaviors · 8 years ago

Photo

Captain Swan scenes: I was simply trying to jog your memory. (3x12 → New York City Serenade).

#Captain Swan #CS Edit #CaptainSwanEdit #Emma Swan #Killian Jones #EmmaSwanEdit #KillianJonesEdit #OUAT #My edits #csscenesmeme #captain-swan-land edit #OUATedit #Captain Hook #Hook #OUAT 3x12

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jamiebluewind · 5 years ago

Text

Charatcter Descriptions and Summary 2.15

This is the "short" version of descriptions. I have a much MUCH longer one with lots of quotes that I might have to split up to fit. As always, let me know if I need to edit or add anything and tag/ask/PM me about art and stories so I can check them out!

Warning: multiple blood mentions, torture, imprisonment, violence, stabbing, gun violence, canon typical violence, injuries, burns, homophobia and bigotry, gore mention, horror (including body horror), beheading, violence against animals, 69 mention, and disrespecting a mummy

***

Bad Kids

Fabian

Fandrangor stats: +2 to attack and damage. Finesse, one handed. 1d8 piercing. Burn a spell slot on a sucessful hit to add an extra d6 of damage per level.

Wrapped Alistair's foot in his sheet to trip and flip him up before deeply stabbing him in the abdomen

Held his sheet out to further protect Adaine.

Slashed Dayne with a reposte (while also burning a 1st level spell slot on his sword) as he yelled "Toxic masculinity is dead! I dance now!"

Closed in on Penelope using an athletics check that involved jumping and running across the deck. His mobile flourish pushed her to the edge of the deck before he kicked her off the ship.

Took out Alistair and Penelope (details in their section)

Stood at the helm after Bill fell off, turning the ship over due to the gravity being off

Riz

Hissed at Vraz

Got so sweaty and nervous over a terrible line ("You attacked the wrong guy!") that he missed the greesers

Shot Dayne from hiding while saying "You missed spring break" before hiding again (Fabian responding "Classic The Ball. Always shooting from hiding").

Had no clue where his father actually was, telling Bill the little thathe knew.

Got sleepy while he was hiding

Was shot out of the cannon and blasted off into the city (taking some damage). Shouted "I'm the ball!" as he flew away before smashing through a dark red and black stained glass window 200 feet below the ship, tumbling into a strangly familiar building. The room was empty due to all the devils hearing the alarms and fleeing. He rushed down a familar dark hallway.

Witnessed his father being tortured and saying that he didn't care about his son, but still misty steped into the room with the unconscious Pok the minute the devils left.

Tried to scoop his dad up into his Briefcase of Holding, but the two barbed devils came back (snarling as they saw him), one grabbing his briefcase and the other grappling Riz to restrain him. He kept trying to save Pok anyway even while restrained and fought against the devils over his briefcase (see Pok area for more)

Kristen

Rolled up sleeves over Daybreak attacking Tracker

Walked up to Daybreak with anger in her veins (over him hurting Tracker), said "Hi Daybreak. It's so great to see you. I've been PRAYING FOR YOU!", and slammed her staff down, using distructive wave. Light radiated out of her as every enemy was hit but Penelope (due to Globe of Invulnerability) and Johnny Spells and took out 3 Scarecrows. She then spat on Daybreak which hisses on his cheek as he yelled "Ah! Love! Love wins!"

Was knocked out by Daybreak and was back in Silvar looking at a nice tree

Used a 4th level mass healing word before her and Tracker dimension doored away from Daybreak

Adaine

Arcane Hand works like a claw machine with a controler in her hands

While prone, shot a lightning bolt at Dayne, Penelope, and a Scarecrow (after counterspelling Penelope's counterspell). Took out the Scarecrow.

Hit Daybreak with a 4th level Cromatic Orb (cold damage).

Smacked Johnny's fire spell out of the air with a counterspell after calling him "a predator who didn't fuck" and then ignored Johnny completely to go after Daybreak by hitting him with a 4th level (cold) chromatic orb

Used Forceful Hand to grab Bill to keep him from falling (two of the devils stayed grapped to Bill)

Fig

Tried to shake Gilear awake

Fig The Unfaethable

Her insignia burned in her head when she used psionic blast (took out two Scarecrows)

Winked at Ayda

Used Healing Word on Kristen

Attacked Daybreak with Bombing Blade (adds bardic for extra and if he moves willinging before her next turn he takes thunder damage)

Took out Daybreak (details in his section)

Was tossed by Gorgug towards a plummeting Bill like a missile before backpacked onto Bill, snatching a scroll from Vraz's pocket (Vraz: No no no no no! / Bill: What's yours is ours.), and Dimension Dooring back to the ship with Bill.

Gorgug

Stood over Kristen's unconscious body to protect her

Used Reckless Attack twice on Daybreak, the first time dealing 50 damage and the second time ("I'm just so tired of you") another 48 damage.

Took out Dayne (details in his section) and two Scarecrows

Grabbed some holy oil to take with him to coat his weapon with.

***

Familiars and Companions

Boggy: Hit by Penelope's Cone of Cold which caused him to freeze, crack, and fall apart (can be brought back by Adaine)

Gaf: Made incorporial by Ayda to protect him/her/them during the battle

Baby: Was made invisible by Fig. Tried to pickpocket Vraz, but just got a scrap of some kind. Did a very indecent celebration dance while invisible (when Penelope was "killed").

Hangman: Freaked out over seeing Johnny before siding with Fabian. Leapt to attack Johnny Spells, but couldn't make it and settled for slamming into the greeser Sorching Ray. Frozen and knocked down by Penelope's Cone of Cold.

Hirelings and Partners

Tracker

Stayed behind on Goldenrod

Held up a hand with her holy symbol to summon Twilight Sanctuary (gives everyone a d8 of temp hit which they can choose to replace or keep each round).

Cast Beacon of Hope

Knocked out by Penelope's Cone of Cold (which also ended her two spells)

Hit Kristen with a max level cure wounds, yeling at everyone to look away as she jumped onto an unconscious Kristen who was lying between Gorgug's legs (Kristen started touching his leg thinking it's Tracker's). Everyone assumed they were 69ing, but Tracker actually just gave Kristen a very sweet kiss on the mouth and said "Double clerics baby. Nobody can keep us down for long."

Went into flying wolf form to catch Kristen when she fell off the ship.

Ragh

Took out two Scarecrows, goring one before tossed them the ship and spartan kicking the other off the deck.

Ran up to a prone Dayne chanting hoot growl and yelled "I've done a lot of shit in my life because of you asshole!" as he bodied into him (nat 20).

Walked up to Fabian and Gorgug crying after Dayne was killed.

Instigated a three way chest bump with Fabian and Gorgug, not noticing Adaine who was forced to duck ("Oh god! The jocks are being fiesty!")

Was yelled at by Daybreak which he used as an opportunity to confront Daybreak both verbally and physically.

Ayda

Cast a spell that poured out massive amounts of water over Avernus in an attempt to flood hell (in retaliation for them taking Fig) before checking on Fig

Touched both of Fig's arms as she checked if she was okay before casting Protection From Evil And Good on her.

Flew off Goldenrod to help Sandra Lynn protect the ship from incoming fire by throwing up abjurative wards, but came back and landed on the deck before the ship left Avernus.

Flew towards Daybreak and Penelope, teleporting multiple times per second to create a flickering group of 10 of her before slashing out with her talons to damage them both.

Cast clairvoyance to find Riz, pointing at the building he was in.

Used her portent to save Fabian when Goldenrod lost gravity (allowing him to hold on) before flying to catch Adaine.

Sandra Lynn

Left the Goldenrod to cover their tail, doing a swan dive off deck (which looked likes she flew up from the upside down deck) and landing on Baxter before knocking a teleportation missile out of sky with her arrow.

Smashed back down onto the deck with Baxter before healing a down Tracker (Kristen: Thank you Sandra Lynn!)

Hit Daybreak with arrows.

Jumped on Baxter when the ship lost gravity and went to help catch Kristen.

Gilear

Was immediately killed by Bill Seacaster who shot him in the chest.

Brought back by Kristen with 1 hp, a bleeding chest wound, and covered in cenders and fire

Was told by Gorgug (who stood in front of him) to lie on the ground

Hid in the golden sarcophagus (somehow lifting the massive lid to do so)

***

The Pirates

The Goldenrod

The still "living" transmogrified body of Kalvaxus turned into a flying ship against his will

Kalvaxus has to swallow down the cannon coming from his mouth to talk and turning always hurts him

Shot by Bill for calling himself a boat instead of a ship

Captained by Bill Seacaster, crewed by cender zombie pirates, and the flagship of Bill's rebel armada of dragon carcus ships

The ship has it's own gravity and can sail in any direction (including upside down), but the unsecured barrels on deck are a hazard during fast turns.

Able to breached through to Dis, Bill having some way to travel through the levels that the other devils couldn't find

Broadsided The Iron City, firing tons of gold, holy water, and saints finger bones wrapped in old parchment out of it's cannons.

Captain Bill Seacaster

An enormous devil with one cender eye, a devil bone hook, and a floating skull and crossbones insignia over his head

At the helm of Goldenrod after rescuing Riz, Fig, Gilear, Hangman, and Baby/Wretchrot (via being yanked up on rope ladders to the Goldenrod).

Part of his multi level marketing scheme was to have pirates steal holy relics for spell slots and then use the holy relics as ammo against other devils and their ships.

Shot Gilear throught the chest on sight

Got a chain wrapped around his neck by Kystrona

After Gilear was brought back to life by Kristen, he said nice things to Gilear and gave him a massive glowing sword (which was too big for Gilear to wield). The bad kids were all deeply confused by how quickly he went from one extreme to another.

Offered Kristen snuff powder

Ordered his crew to shoot Riz out of a cannon to "help" him look for Pok

As his hook hand was stabbing into one of the three devils he was fighting, he took a legendary action to shake his fist and yell "That's my darling boy!" over Fabian "killing" Penelope. He corrected himself to yell "He's his own his darling man boy!"

When the gravity on the Goldenrod was dispelled, he told Fabian to take the helm before letting go on purpose, taking the three other devils with him (rescued by Adaine and Fig).

Alistair Ash

An intern on the Goldenrod

Skull is cracked open like an egg with part of it fully missing. Inside the socket is roiling fire. His eyes are rotted out, the fire shining through his sockets.

Attacked Fabian exclusively due to being left behind by him

How he was finished off: Fabian stood up, his body very bloody and burned from the beating he's took. Fire enshrouded his sheet as he wrapped Alistair in it in order to spin him like a top. As Alistair twirled in the air, the Hangman hit him in a flash. As Alistair popped of the wheel of the Hangman, Fabian took out Fandrangor (which was rippling with his own inner light and magic) and pierced Alistair's ribcage up through his heart. Silver motes of light burst out of Alistair's mouth, "eyes", and the empty socket of his skull. Bill cried a single tear out of his non ember eye as he said "It be beau-ti-ful". Fabian told his father "I'm my own man now." to which Bill answered "The story keeps getting better!" Meanwhile, Alistair changed his opinion on Fabian, seeing him as chosen one and (since he had to die for Fabian to become who he was) himself as chosen in a way. Fabian asked if Chungle Down Bim was still alive, but Alistair only yelled "He's gonna shit in your mouth!" before being destroyed. One of the many bottles on Bill's belt filled with a red mist that was Alistair, now even more in debt to Bill with another 2000 gold added to his tab to bring him back in another form later.

Cinder Pirates

The crew of the Goldenrod, most (if not all) of which being victims of Bill's pyramid scheme

Assended from ropes to their respective ships after raiding The Bottomless Pit, yoinking up crates and boxes filled with treasure (like books and weaponry) as they went.

Loaded the cannons of The Goldenrod with holy relics, books, golden reliquaries, holy water, and even the body of a dead saint (who was unceremoniously dumped out of his golden sarcophagus). All the relics almost looked like they were from other worlds.

Bill doesn't do the best job putting his followers back together, so most are in worse shape than Alistair. One was missing his entire jaw!

Most were finished off by Penelope's Cone of Cold

***

Bill's Pursuers

Devil Crafts

Iron zeppelins piloted by devils in pursuit of Seacaster.

Shoot ground to air missiles that shot spinning pentagrams of fire teleportation that glowed when they hit, teleporting in reinforcements.

Vraz The Mean, Lorzug The Impaled, and Kystrona The Chained

All appeared through a dimension door at the helm of the ship before the three devils began fighting Bill.

Vraz (after Fig denied a direct order) released all warlocks under Gortholax by making all his contracts null and void.

All of them (including Bill) do tramendous amounts of fire and poison damage, but all of them (including Bill) are immune to fire and poison, so the fight devolved into a bunch of very dangerous people who can't hurt each other just slapping the hell out of each other.

***

Greesers

Johnny Spells

Appeared via teleportation missile with his crew

Roiling in flame with veins glowing in a red light, using a snap comb to brush his hair back and wearing a black leather jacket with a clean white tee.

Hit Fabian with Ray of Fire and then was IMMEDIATELY tossed off the starboard side of the ship by Adaine using her Arcane Hand.

Was saved by Kystrona (via animate chain) before he fell to his "death"

Spent an entire turn to get back on the ship only to have his fire spell dismissed by Adaine.

How he was finished off: Flew off the ship (again) when it lost gravity, saying "No! I had stuff. I had plans. I had-" as he fell to his "death".

Johnny's Crew

Six teiflings greasers who appeared via teleportation missile wearing black leather jackets with clean white tees.

Two trampled over a dead Gilear to get to the teens.

How they were finished off: One was gored by Ragh before being tossed off the ship, one was spartan kicked off the deck by Ragh, two were killed by Gorgug, and two were destroyed by Fig's psionic blast

***

Harvestmen & Friends

Penelope Everpetal

Got to Goldenrod via teleportation missile with Dayne, Daybreak, and four Scarecrow Harvestmen.

Had sunken deep pools of darkness for eyes. She wore a burnt prom queen dress. Jagged shards of metal were stabbed into her skull like a crown (which caused blood to trickle down).

Was protected from magic most of the fight due to casting Globe Of Invulnerability

Stepped forward with a corny line ("Oh I'm so sorry guys. It's time to chill out.") before casting Cone of Cold which took out Tracker, Boggy, Hangman, and most of Bill's crew.

Was knocked off the ship by Fabian and fell down into the sky over the Iron City of Dis, shreaking and wailing as she went. Saved herself by using Misty Step to get back to the ship.

How she was finished off...

Penelope: *appeared in a twirl of magic and hit Fabian with a Firebolt, knocking him down to 4HP* I'm so sorry that you had like... some sort of collapse and appear to be fighting with a blanket now, but I just wanna tell you something. We are gonna drag you and all your shitty stupid little- what? Bad kid friends to hell. Forever.

Fig: I actually already live here. I'm an arch devil.

Fabian: Yeah! Did you hear that? She already lives here!

Kalvaxus: Again if we [re con noise] it later. This fight seems mostly lost. Use reason!

Penelope: Now. It's time for you to go bye bye Fabian *starts casting another spell*

Fabian: (crit, mobile florish, plus 2nd level spell slot with Fandrangor) *throws up his sheet so it blocks her field of vision (like how people trick their pets) and then grabs her and tango swing dancing spins her off the ship as she yells and is destroyed as motes of silver light shoot out*

Dayne Blade

Burning ember flaming vains with a hellish gleam to his eyes

Doesn't know how long he's been there

How he was finished: Begged Gorgug to not "kill" him due to him being an Owlbear, but was ignored. He tried once more, saying "Dude dude dude we're both Owlbears!" but Gorgug simply answered "You're not an Owlbear anymore" before he chopped off Dayne head. Gorgug then pretended his head was a ball and that he was going for a pass.

Coach Daybreak

Burning ember flaming vains with a hellish gleam to his eyes, a whistle, a silvered halberd, and regenerating health

Aggressively targeted Tracker and Kristen (even as Gorgug literally stood over Kristen) and knocked Kristen out at one point

Yelled "No!" while flames shot out of his ears at the thought of ending toxic masculinity

Freaked out over Gorgug being an Owlbrear

Not a true devil, just a soul trapped in hell that was powerful enough in life to fight for the devils, punished to never understand why he was there (Brennan "He cannot find peace, but he can find you").

How he was finished: Daybreak shouted "I'm gonna kill you all. All of you deserve to be here, not me. I was a holy man! *points to Fig* YOU ARE A LITERAL ARCH DEVIL!" Fig answered "Yeah bitch it's fun!" before she used a 4th level psionic blast on him. He screamed as he was knocked off the ship and eviscerated by both Fig's psionic blast and the after effects of her booming blade* (Fig also steals his visage)

Scarecrow Men

The transfigured bodies of four former harvestmen who died

Burnt charred skin, flannel button up shirts, and heads of burlap sacks with scarcrow eyes, which were slightly aflame

How they were finished off: one was killed by Adaine's lightning bolt and the other three were gone in a flash of light by Kristen's destructive wave

***

Dis and Pok

Iron City of Dis

Choking smoke and freezing rain

Endless sprawling cast iron metropolis of dread, misery, and torture

Alarms (clacksaws I think Brennan said?) rang as the devils shouted "It's Seacaster!"

The city was lit up by Goldenrod (while the other ships in the armada caught up)

Building Holding Pok

At least one dark red and black stained glass window (which Riz crashed through). The room within was empty due to all the devils hearing the alarms and fleeing.

Dark hallway leading to a light coming out from under a closed doorway. A slightly ajar door was next to it and a possible third door with steal thrones was next to that. The slightly ajar door had a somewhat reflective marble wall (where a reflection of Pok could be seen from the hall) and a two way mirror that showed an interrogation room.

Pok

A goblin who was strapped to a chair and had a swolen eye. A pit fiend also splashed acid in his face

Was interrogated by a pit fiend flanked by two barbed devils

Kept a good poker face around the devils, at one point was snarling and growling as he had (what appeared to be) a goblinoid frenzy come over him

Was lacerated by barbed whips handled by the barbed devils until he collapsed, asking why he was there as he coughed up blood and appeared to go unconscious.

Shot both barbed devils in the head with his gun (which he picked off of Riz) as they were restraining Riz

Reached up and slapped his right ear to call for an extraction as a halo appeared behind his head. He reached out to grab Riz (Kid, I can't believe you made it here) before a beam of celestial light smashed through the ceiling. He confirmed that he was an undercover angel before raising his fist up in a superman pose as the beam made a loud sound and took the pair away.

***

Questions and Thoughts

How does Lorzug move, much less fight?

Fig shouldn't have told Vraz to eat her ass. She might have taken her up on it and tried to take a bite out of her ass. O_O

What IS a potentate?

How will Fig use her warlock abilities after being released? Was her insignia burning in her forehead how she's still able to do it?

Is Dayne's curse to never know how long he's been there?

How short is Adaine that our three Owlbears (all over 6 feet tall) didn't notice her when they went in for a three way chest bump?

Destructive Wave is the power of pissed off protective girlfriend energy.

When Kristen was knocked out, she was back in Silvar looking at a nice tree. Possible connection to the unknown goddess?

Adaine still has Johnny's warlock switchblade comb.

Will we get updated Pok art now?

Where is Riz now and how will he get back in time? Was this Kalina's plan all along (blow Pok's cover and delay the party longer to give them more of a lead)?

I am well aware that I spelled Alistair several different ways because I have no clue how to spell it and don't have it on my list of how I might spell it.

Please somebody teach Bill how to not suck at making bodies. I mean, I'm over here feeling sorry for those cinder zombies and between the crippling debt and unpaid internships, he could at LEAST give them working bodies with jaws and stuff.

Really paying attention made the 69 scene so much funnier and makes Ayda's confusion over it being a sex act so much more priceless. The couple was fully clothed, Kristen caressed Gorgug's leg while she was unconscious and being healed by Tracker, and (according to Brennan) Tracker just gave Kristen a sweet kiss. Part of me wonders if Tracker was messing with the group while Kristen came to thinking something dirty happened and just went with it, the other teens too inexperienced to know otherwise (save Ayda who must be so confused! XD).

The uselessness of Johnny Spells was one of my favorite parts of the stream.

Anybody else super happy Bill was so supportive of Fabian coming into his own, being supportive of his friends, and embracing dance?

Bill/Vraz. Nuff said.

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vannahfanfics · 5 years ago

Note

Could I request a Nami and Bepo friendship fic with the theme "Mittens," please? I'd just love a cute fic starring my two favorite navigators!

Here it is, lovely! I threw some dashes of LawNa in there just because I know you love them so much LOL. Thanks for the wonderful prompts and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!

EDIT: This lovely image was drawn by @searchfortheonepiece whom from this moment forth has all my love and affection.

Even Polar Bears Need Mittens, Too!

Nami was painfully aware of two things upon waking up that morning. Dirst, the ordinarily comfortable warmth of her bedroom had been replaced by a bitter, breath-fogging chill. Second, the soothing rocking motion of the waves beating upon the Thousand Sunny was eerily absent. Panicked, she threw the covers off herself. She immediately hissed in displeasure and flung the warm, soft blanket back on as the winter air leaped forward to dig into the sensitive bare flesh of her legs with eager teeth.

She rubbed her palm over her legs to find that goosebumps had already sprouted. Treading more carefully this time, she gathered the comforter around her body to serve as a fluffy shield from the cold and eased out of bed. She hopped around, not wishing to touch the icy wooden floors with her bare feet for too long until she found the slippers she always kept at her bedside.

After a few minutes of digging, she was able to procure a set of winter gear— slim-fitting, dark jeans, black combat boots, a maroon knitted sweater, a black overcoat inlaid with ginger faux fur, and a pair of maroon gloves with a matching beanie complete with a black pom-pom. Dark colors absorbed the sunlight better and made Nami’s tresses of tangerine hair pop all the more (because a girl always had to consider her image!).

She walked out into the hall, and it was no wonder it was so cold. Snow flurries buried themselves into her hair, decorating her like glitter, while others spiraled down the current into the hall to flutter lazily down to the iced-over wooden floors. Shivering, she carefully walked up the icy steps out onto the Thousand Sunny’s main deck.

The Grand Line’s unpredictable weather patterns had struck again; the Sunny looked like it had ventured into the Arctic. Snow was steadily falling from the cloudy heavens. It had piled up on the deck about half a foot deep and decorated the balustrade in a fluffy layer. Everything else was completely encased in a sheath of fine, crystalline ice. It wove fern-like patterns within the glass windowpanes, the only reference to the green world in this universe of white and gray and blue.

“Zoro?” she called as she tromped through the snow. Sinking up to her calves, Nami had to take extra-large steps to keep from tripping in the thick icy fluff. The swordsman was often awake in the wee hours of the morning. Yet, he was usually taking an early morning nap around the time the others were awakening, and Nami knew that the dense man could easily sleep through a snowstorm and awaken with hypothermia or frostbite— if he didn’t just wake up a solid blue corpse.

Thankfully, it seemed the chill had roused him plenty. He came stomping through the snow dressed in a coat, though the lout insisted on keeping his chest bared to the unforgiving winter’s bite. Sanji, with a small snow shovel propped on his shoulder and wearing a blue winter coat lined with cotton, came tromping along after him.

“Nami-swan! Please tell me you know when this damn blizzard is gonna end!”

“Why does that matter? We can just sail out of it,” Nami shrugged.

“Not exactly,” Zoro grunted and gestured to the railing of the ship. Nami sloughed through the snow until she got to the edge of the boat and immediately groaned in annoyance. The sea was frozen over in a solid block of ice. Even if they attacked it with pickaxes and tried to coax the Sunny to the faint line of warm blue water hovering at the ice’s edge, it would take days to do so. Nami grimaced at the thought. Who knows how long that’ll take, and it’s cold as balls out here!

“Guess we’ll just have to suffer,” she moaned. Raucous laughter at the end of the deck caught her attention; she turned to see Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy gathering up little handfuls of snow and flinging them in each other’s faces. A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth; they were idiots sometimes, but it always did do her heart good to see them having some good plain fun.

“Hey, why don’t you make us all some hot chocolate?” she called to Sanji. “I’ll see if Law is okay in the submarine, too.”

While the cook tossed heart eyes her way and dashed off to cater to her whim, Nami walked the edge of the boat until she reached the place that the Polar Tang moored against the Sunny.

After the business in Wano, the Straw Hats and Heart Pirates’ alliance had decided to appreciate their company a little longer (which was more Luffy’s doing than Law’s). Franky had rigged up a handy contraption to allow the submarine to the Sunny without damaging it when they were fully underway, and by combining the natural sailing capability with the submarine’s engine, they had improved their speed by fifty percent as well.

“Law? Hey, are you guys popsicles in there?” she called as she climbed down the set of ladder rungs leading to the submarine. The soles of her boots striking the surface of the uppermost deck made dull clunking noises. She walked across the deck to the door, preparing to knock, but was startled when it was suddenly thrust open. She instinctively jumped backward.

She pinwheeled as she lost her balance and tipped back, but before she could land on her behind, the submarine’s captain grabbed her firmly by the elbow and hooked his foot under one of hers to brace her. He held her up by the strength of one arm, which brought a hint of rose to Nami’s cheeks and reminded her once more of how strong Law was even though he hid all his muscles under that long coat of his.

“Careful, Nami-ya. I wouldn’t want you hitting that pretty head of yours.”

Nami’s relationship with Law was an interesting one; one never knew what would come out of their mouths, whether it be purred compliments or insulting jibes. They yipped at each other like a couple of cunning foxes in a perpetual game that dangerously bordered on courtship; it was not uncommon that their words and looks mirrored those of two individuals in a saucy game of “hard-to-get.”

Sure enough, his mouth curled in that undeniable smirk that just begged Nami to retort with some minxy jibe, but with the persistent cold seeping beneath her coat to nibble at her skin, she decided to save it. Using Law’s grip as a bracer, she straightened herself up and ensured that she had a solid stance on the ice. It was only then that she could get a good look at him and see that he too was not immune to the brisk weather, as he had zipped his coat up to hide his sprawling tattoos and had white gloves on his hands.

“So, I imagine that we won’t be escaping this climate anytime soon,” he guessed with one glance at the surrounding ice.

“Nope.” She glanced up at the sky to analyze the speed of the clouds. “The system is moving pretty slowly, so I guess that we’ll be trapped in this ice storm for at least a few days or so.”

“Damn… It’s taking our heating system all it can to keep all the metalworks from freezing over…”

Before the two of them could exchange any more words, a snowball exploded in Law’s face and sent him shooting back into the depths of the Polar Tang. The furry bulk of the arriving Bepo provided a soft landing, thankfully. Nami made no attempt to stifle her laughter as the Surgeon of Death came stalking back out, shaking snow out of his face and hair. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who had flung it at him, either. “Straw Hat-ya, you imbecile, now is not the time for games!”

“Trafalguy! Come have a snowball fight with us!”

“Did you not hear me?!”

“A snowball fight?! We wanna play!” came the simultaneous chiming of Penguin and Shachi from the entryway, and Law let out a strangled urk! as the two boys muscles past him to scamper out onto the deck of the Polar Tang. They slid around on the ice like a couple of buffoons for a few minutes trying to reach the ladder, eventually resorting to easing over on their hands and knees.

“Aw, come on, Law, they’re just having fun. We might as well play in the snow; there’s nothing better to do,” she smiled as she listened to his crewmates’ raucous hoots and hollers of laughter drift down from the Thousand Sunny with the occasional stray snowball.

“I don’t play, Nami-ya.”

“Law! Will you come build a snowman with me?”

As Chopper’s innocent sing-song voice preceded his little furry form and hopeful eyes peeking over the railing of the Sunny, Nami watched Law’s body stiffen. He flushed pink and pulled down his hat, mumbling under his breath for a moment, before he thickly called up, “I’m coming, Chopper-ya…”

Nami chuckled heartily as she watched Law Room himself up beside Chopper, who jumped up and down and hugged his arm elatedly. Not even the Surgeon of Death can say no to our sweet little Chopper.

“N-Nami?”

The navigator turned her head as the polar bear Mink abruptly addressed her.

“What’s up, Bepo?” His watery black eyes could not bear to meet hers but flickered downward to train on the intricate icy patterns adorning the wood. His nails clicked lightly as he tapped them together in a nervous fidget. “Would you mind teaching me more about maps?”

Nami blinked slightly in confusion. In the time that the two crews had spent together, the talented cartographer had been sharing her knowledge of maps with him. Still, she wasn’t sure why he wanted to do such an everyday activity when the opportunity to do something new and fun had presented itself.

“Wouldn’t you like to come play in the snow with us, Bepo?” she suggested with a bright smile. The poor thing couldn’t blush, but she could tell that he was embarrassed from the way he flattened his ears to his head and twitched his massive body.

“I can’t… My paws get cold.”

Nami had no idea how a polar bear’s paws could freeze but considering the circus troupe of colorful people she sailed with, anything was possible.

“Everyone else can play just fine because they have mittens, but we’ve never been able to find any in my size,” he lamented while holding up his clawed paws. Naturally, no market would sell mittens for a bear. Poor thing! He doesn’t deserve to have to sit out while everyone else has fun! Nami thought as a pang of pity pierced her heart. She grinned brightly and reached up to grab one of his furry paws with both of her hands.

“Don’t worry, Bepo! Come with me. I’ll whip up some mittens for you!” she assured him before whirling on her heel and pulling him across the deck of the Polar Tang. The bear just silently shuffled along behind her.

She trekked back through the snow covering the spacious deck of the Sunny. It was falling so heavily that the small trench she had produced just a few minutes ago had already largely filled, forcing Nami to track a new path through the thick fluff. The layer had already thickened up to her knees. Nami pulled out her Climatact to help shovel the snow to wither side to help clear her way, but only with marginal improvement; very soon, her arms were aching.

“Jeez! You wouldn’t think snow would be so heavy. I’ll have to get Franky to shovel some of this stuff off before our deck collapses!” she panted. Bepo, despite his bulk, seemed to have no problem pushing through the snow; after a moment of watching her struggle, he let out a nervous mumble before lightly tapping her on the shoulder. Nami paused to turn around, leaning on her Climatact for support. His tiny ears fluttered, and his little nails clicked together as he considered something silently for a moment. Then, to Nami’s surprise, he leaned down to pull her gently into his big furry arms.

“U-um, I thought it would be easier this way…” he admitted shyly while scratching the side of his head with one claw. Nami beamed, wrapped her slim arms around his thick neck, and nuzzled her nose into his fluffy cheek.

“How considerate! Thank you, Bepo.” She felt the bear’s skin warm as he did the Mink equivalent of blushing, and his words were an incoherent gush of mumbles. Feeling a burning gaze, Nami glanced over her shoulder to see Law staring intently from across the deck.

“Jealous?” she called over while sticking out her tongue. Law snorted in derision and pulled his hat down over his face, but Nami could see the haze of pink over his cheeks. “Don’t worry, Law, I’m sure Bepo would carry you too if you asked him!” she laughed while rubbing the top of Bepo’s head through his hat.

“Ugh, Nami-ya, that’s not what I—” he snapped at her, then flushed further. Grumbling under his breath, he whirled around to instead re-focus his energy on the half-finished snowman that Chopper was molding with his hooves. Nami laughed mischievously again before looking back at the polar bear, who was just trying to pretend that Nami hadn’t been so boldly flirting with his captain.

“Mittens, right? Let’s go!”

Bepo carried her the last leg across the deck in record time. He gently set her down on the steps once they arrived, and Nami carefully picked her way down them, holding one hand against the frosty wall to aid her balance. She would hate to ungracefully slip and tumble down the stairs to earn herself a bruised bottom or sprained ankle on a day that promised a lot of fun.

She led Bepo to her and Robin’s room. His massive frame barely was able to squeeze through the threshold, and he took up a large amount of space, requiring Nami to navigate around him as she searched her belongings for old clothes that she could retrofit into a pair of mittens for him.

“I’m sorry if I’m in the way…” he sighed apologetically and resorted to his nervous tick again. Nami smiled brightly up at him as she rifled through one of her trunks of sweaters.

“There’s nothing to apologize for, Bepo. You’re never a bother!” It was no secret that he was a little insecure, and so Nami always tried to do her best to encourage him. He smiled shyly and shuffled his feet, indicating that Nami’s compliments were warming him a little.

“Ah-ha!” she cried merrily as she procured a lovely yellow wool sweater patterned with black stripes. “It’ll match your jumpsuit, too!” she grinned as she poked at the jolly roger emblazoned on the fabric as she passed him. She walked over to a small sewing machine situated on a table in the corner.

With how much Nami loved clothes and saving money, she of course knew how to sew, and with the boys tearing their clothes to shreds all the time, she had invested in the small machine to make quick work of the many repair jobs. Bepo lumbered over to stand over her shoulder to watch her work, ears fluttering in curiosity; smiling, Nami leaned back so that he could observe her handiwork.

“You’re going to make mittens from that sweater?”

“Mhmm. There’s no sense in letting this fabric just collect dust,” Nami nodded as she cut out the patterns of the mittens using a large pair of shearing scissors. Tossing the rest of the fabric aside into a little basket for later use, she turned on the sewing machine and put the fabric in place. She felt Bepo release an awed breath over her shoulder as the needle began punching thread into them at high speeds.

Nami’s nimble fingers guided the fabric to form the seams. In no time at all, she had produced one bear-sized pair of mittens, complete with holes in the fingertips so his claws wouldn’t shred the fabric. His ears flattened to his head as she whirled around in her little stool to hold them up. “Here you go! Try those on.” He very gently took the mittens in his paws before slipping them on, pushing his claws through the added holes and flexing his hands experimentally. He then gave Nami a huge smile that crinkled his already small eyes.

“Thank you, Nami! They’re wonderful! Now I can play in the snow too!” he rejoiced and jumped from foot to foot. Nami giggled and stood up from her chair.

“I’m so glad you like them.”

“Nami! Will you make snow angels with me?!”

“Of course!” She grinned, then gasped in alarm as Bepo suddenly took off to squeeze out of the doorway and hurry up the steps. “Hey! Not so fast; you’ll fa—”

She heard a startled yelp followed by a series of rapid thunks that could only be the polar bear Mink tumbling down the stairs.

She exhaled deeply with a wan smile, shaking her head before walking out to see if he was all right. She found him on his back at the base of the steps in the process of rolling over; it seemed the fall didn’t do much, as he immediately scrambled back to his paws and went shambling up the stairs with an excited, impatient, “Come on, come on!”

“I’m coming!” she assured with another laugh and carefully followed him back up to the winter wonderland that the Sunny had become. For the next several days, the two crews busied themselves with all sorts of winter revelry, and Bepo made sure he showed everybody the marvelous mittens that the gracious Nami had made for him…

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to perusemy Tableof Contents!

#one piece #nami #cat thief nami #bepo #heart pirates #straw hats #straw hat pirates #navigators #fluff #friendship #friendship fluff #oneshot #oneshots #oneshot collection #fanfic #fanfiction #fanfics #one piece fanfiction

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elizabeethan · 4 years ago

Text

Time and Time Again- Part 2

Follow up to Time and Time Again because I have no self control! Killian’s POV of when they get home from Neverland.

Thanks to @the-darkdragonfly for enabling me and then editing this.

Rated a very soft M... I guess.

Part 2/2 (now it’s complete)

~3400 words

Read on Ao3

Tagging: @courtorderedcake @kmomof4 @stahlop @klynn-stormz @laschatzi @emelizabeth88 @lfh1226-linda @kday426 @elisethewritingbeast @timeless-love-story @captain-emmajones @gingerpolyglot @ebcaver @ilovemesomekillianjones @teamhook @superchocovian @itsfabianadocarmo @tiganasummertree @gingerchangeling @jrob64 @onceratheart18 @xhookswenchx @winterbaby89 @swampmedusa @ultraluckycatnd @dancingnancyy @love-with-you-i-have-everything @shireness-says @snowbellewells @hollyethecurious @ouatpost @daxx04 @the-darkdragonfly @donteattheappleshook

If you want me to add or remove you from my tag list please tell me!!

She’s the strongest woman he’s ever known. Of course, Milah was a fierce lass with fire in her heart, but there’s something about Emma Swan that seems to blow Milah’s disposition out of the water.

Perhaps it’s the way she defeated one of the most cunning and menacing foes he’s ever known. That must be it. The way he’d tried to do it years ago, using sheer violence and residual anger, hadn’t even come close to working. Meanwhile, this bloody woman succeeds in a matter of weeks.

He loves her; he can deny it no longer.

She’s the smartest person he’s ever known. Her instinct is almost always correct and he hasn’t had a single moment in which he doesn’t trust her to the fullest extent.

So he isn’t sure why no one seems to be listening to her.

He’s surprised when she comes to him. It’s not with the intention of confiding in him, but it isn’t a difficult bridge to cross before she is. “There’s something wrong with Henry,” she tells him, voice soft and scared and desperate. She looks so small across the hall from him as she hugs herself. “I don’t know what, but…”

“Alright, Swan,” he tries, hoping to comfort her, reaching through the space between them to touch his hand to her shoulder but careful not to get too close. “We’ll sort this out.”

He can’t move past the look of surprise on her face when he promises this, as if she’s shocked that someone would offer to help her- believe her.

Rumplestiltskin defeats Peter Pan- his father, apparently- but the curse has already been cast and cannot be stopped. It’s determined that nothing can be done, save for Regina casting her own curse and bringing everyone back to the Enchanted Forest.

Everyone but Henry.

But not to worry, Emma escaped the first curse, so she can stay here with him.

And Killian wants to kick and scream and revert back to the man he once was, not too long ago. The crocodile died a somewhat noble death, effectively taking away his chance at revenge, but it would’ve been alright. Because he would’ve had a chance to love Emma Swan and he suspects that would’ve been endlessly better than revenge.

And now she’s leaving.

And she’s crying again.

And he knows he won’t survive this.

“That’s quite the vessel you captain, Swan,” he says in a pathetic attempt to distract from the pain he’s feeling.

She laughs in a way that tells him this hurts her too, and his assumptions are confirmed when she leans in close to him and draws him into a tight hug. “I don’t want to do this alone,” she whispers against him.

He squeezes her back then pulls away to wipe a tear off of her cheek. He feels weak, but she needs strength, so he digs deep. “You aren’t alone, love,” he whispers back. “You have Henry, and we’ll all be with you, here.” He points to her heart, feeling the violent pace it takes as it slams in her chest.

She chokes and sniffles but says nothing, so he supplies, “there’s not a day will go by I won’t think of you,” and he means it more than he’s ever meant anything.

Through tears and strangled breaths she says, “good,” and supplies him with a smile that will surely haunt his dreams.

He wants to kiss her. He’s not sure he can live with the memory of her lips on his and with the knowledge that it will never happen again. But her family is here and he thinks they know naught of their dalliances on the island, so he holds back.

Regina talks of giving Emma and Henry memories that aren’t real to numb the pain of the loss they’ll feel. He’s glad that they won’t remember losing their family- that Emma won’t remember losing her parents again- but he feels jealousy. Forgetting her would be so much easier.

But as he watches her cross the town line in her yellow contraption and the curse whisks them away, back to Misthaven, he knows he wouldn’t trade loving Emma Swan for anything in the world.

~~~~

Six months pass painfully. Killian Jones knows loss, he’s experienced plenty of it in his centuries of life, and this is no easier. The loss of a love not yet bloomed is almost worse than the pain he felt when he lost Milah. At the end of the day, he knew what they had and how they changed each other. He wishes he could have that luxury with Emma.

His crew tries desperately to help him move on. Of course, none of them know the pain he feels and why, but he’s certain that they can sense a change in their captain. He tries to move on as well, attempting to pirate distant lands and pillage royal carriages, but nothing seems to distract from what’s always on his mind.

At month eight, they buy him a night with a woman- a brown-haired lass who stirs nothing in him. He pays her off and ignores the look of confusion on her face as he walks through the streets. The mermaid finds him, threatens him with a blade to his throat if he doesn’t help her, and he can’t fight the thoughts of a love lost that sprout in his mind. He can’t walk away without helping her because, as he painfully realizes, he knows how she feels. She at least has a chance to get her love back.

But then he thinks having the Jolly back will cure him of his ailments of the heart, so he behaves foolishly and throws Blackbeard overboard. It serves him right, truthfully, for stealing a man’s ship. But then the mermaid asks him if true love is worth more than a few planks of wood and a sail, and he knows that it is. He also knows that his love is lost from him, so a few planks of wood and a sail is all that he has and all that he’ll ever have again.

The bird that lands on his helm is a surprise, and the note attached to her leg even more so. Another curse is coming, and Emma’s family needs her. It’s the first time he’s seen her name outside of his mind’s eye and his heart constricts in his chest, thumping painfully against his ribs. He thinks of her when he thinks of his ribs, of how she diagnosed them broken in the street and celebrated silently when she was proven correct, and wonders how morbid of a thought that is.

A curse swept through Misthaven, making travel between realms possible again. The only problem is that he’s essentially destroyed any sense of trust between himself and the fire-haired mermaid who could make him a portal, so he must find another way. The thought of giving his ship back to Blackbeard, who was apparently saved by the siren, causes an ache in his chest that rivals the one he’s been feeling for the last year. But the thought of missing out on the chance to help Emma, to see her again, blows that pain away and it’s the easiest decision he’s ever made. So he takes the bean and thinks of her when he tosses it to the ground. He’s never felt so hopeful.

~~~~

She knees him in the groin. It’s poetic, really, the way he tries True Love’s Kiss with her and she shoves him out the door without a hint of remembrance. But he knew it was a long shot. True Love’s Kiss doesn't work when one person doesn't remember the other. Perhaps it’s foolish for him to believe that she loves him.

He watches as she struggles to answer the scrawny, unkempt man’s proposal. He wonders if it’s because of what he said to her, but he tries not to get his hopes up. He’s missed the fire in her voice, the sarcasm dripping from every word, more than he could have possibly imagined.

She still doesn’t believe him despite having proof, and he shouldn’t be surprised when she chains him up again. He wonders fleetingly how many pairs of these handcuffs she owns as the officers haul him off and lock him in the brig. He’s been in worse, of course, but then they try and give him their strange meat and he knows he must escape.

He’s just started working on his plan, wondering about the strength of the metal bars holding him in place and wishing he had his hook, when an officer opens the cage and sets him free. “You made bail,” she tells him, and Killian wonders what the bloody hell that’s supposed to mean, but he doesn’t waste the opportunity. Once he’s outside, he sees her golden hair and knows everything will be alright.

And she believes him. She believes him! It’s almost too good to be true. She struggles with the decision, but he sees the moment that it’s made in her eyes. The moment she reaches for the vial in his fingers, her own grazing his and lighting a fire in him, and pulls it to her mouth. He sees her take a deep breath and prepare herself for all that is about to change for her.

What he doesn't see is the man rushing by them, bumping into her back and causing her to drop the vial at their feet and destroy its contents. “No,” she says softly, sadly, as she looks down at the broken glass. “I was going to…”

She looks up into his eyes and he sees the same pain that was on display a year ago, when they lost each other. She looks lost and confused and disappointed at the idea of losing the chance to know herself again. She knows there’s something wrong, and she was moments from finding out exactly what it is before her opportunity was crushed at her feet. He can’t stand to see this look on her face.

“Come, love,” he says, offering her his hand which she takes easily. He isn’t sure where they're going, but he can't sit idly by and not make an effort to sooth her worries. “Let’s get out of the street,” he suggests.

She nods, pulling on his hand and leading him down the busy pavement as they weave through other pedestrians until they arrive at her building. He’s let in by her this time, doesn’t have to sneak in through the nearly closing door behind someone, and, once they get out of the metal death trap, he watches her take out a set of keys and open up her apartment door. She lets him in without a second thought and sets her things down, dropping onto the couch with a huff.

“This is… it’s too much,” she finally says after moments of silence.

He steps closer to the couch she rests on, her knees pulled to her chin and her arms hugging herself tightly, but does dare sit down. “I’m sorry,” he says uselessly.

“It’s just that I… I feel like there's something wrong. Like something has always been off, but I've always just denied it. And just now, I was so ready to take that step and find out what my life is supposed to be. And then it just slipped through my fingers.”

“I wish I could fix this,” he says helplessly. “We needed to get back to your family, Emma. They need you and I… I need you.”

Her brows pinch together and she releases her legs, standing quickly and looking as though she wants to walk over to him. “I don't know what we—” she stops herself pensively. “If we have some kind of history, or whatever. But it’s like… it’s like I trust you somehow. And I was looking forward to swallowing that shit and finding out why I trust you so much. And you’re telling me I have to help my family, and even though I’ve never had one, I still believe you. And now knowing that I’ll never have the chance… it hurts so much, and I can’t put into words why.”

She’s crying again. He can’t stop himself from stepping closer to her and taking her hand in his, pulling her as close to him as he can without actually touching his body to hers. All he wants is to hold her until her pain is gone. “I’m so sorry, love,” he says softly, and at the sound of his voice, he can feel her melting closer to him. “I wish I could fix this for you. All I want is to take away your pain; I wish I could bear it for you.”

“I just want to know you,” she says, sinking closer until her forehead is pressed to his chest, and he wants to squeeze her like he did in Neverland. “I wish I knew who you were to me.”

“I’m yours,” he answers easily.

Her arms are around him and there’s no better feeling, until the pain of knowing that it isn’t her, not fully, sets in. He has to squeeze her to keep his tears at bay. “It doesn't make any sense,” she whispers again. “How I can feel this way about someone I don’t know— someone I don’t even remember ever knowing?”

“We did much together, you and I,” he says fondly. “We made quite the team.”

“What happened to us?”

“I lost you,” he whispers painfully, the words burning his throat on their way out. “For a year I suffered thinking I would never see you again. And then I found you, and, well…” He trails off, thinking of their first meeting and the damage she did to his pride and to his groin.

She lets out a small chuckle against his chest, rustling the hairs slightly as she does so, and says, “sorry about that. But you were just some stranger and you kissed me!”

“Aye, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Why did you?”

He falters just slightly before deciding to take the chance, unsure if the consequences of his honesty truly bother him. “It was a long shot. I was hoping the kiss would work to break… Well, I suppose I just hoped you felt as I do.”

She pulls away from him just a bit so that she can look into his eyes from below him. She looks so small from this angle and he wants nothing more than to protect her; scoop her up in his arms and hold her close so that nothing can touch her. “How’s that?”

With a soft, sad smile, he says simply, “I love you.”

Emma cocks her head pensively, looking sad and dejected, but also hopeful. “I’m—” she starts, shaking her head. “I don’t know why, but I…”

She cannot answer him with words, it seems, and instead, she leans forward towards him and slips up onto her toes, holding her arms around him a bit harder to keep her balance. He wishes he could pause this moment while also letting it play out; perhaps if he could relive it again and again, he would be content. Her lips find his and it’s as if there’s an explosion between them, a vibrant burst of rainbow light brightening the room as she slips her fingers into his hair and pulls him closer.

“Killian,” she mumbles against his mouth, though he struggles to pull away from her after a year of knowing he would never see her again. He separates them minutely, his lips still grazing hers slightly as he whispers her own name back to her. “Did we just…?”

He can hardly think of the words that leave her mouth because it’s still so close to his. Rather than responding, he kisses her once more and revels in the feeling of her lips massaging his as she kisses him back. “Aye,” he says against her, keeping her as close as possible.

“I remember,” she whispers into his mouth, and she’s pulling away and looking gleefully confused. “That kiss…?”

“All curses can be broken, love,” he tries to reason.

Expecting to be met with panic and denial, he’s shocked to see some semblance of acceptance in her eyes as she says, “with True Love’s Kiss.”

He smiles at her and cups her cheek in his palm. “You don’t need to say anything, darling. Having you back with me is enough.”

She shocks him more still when she tugs him back to her, her lips crashing into his and her tongue seeking access to his mouth immediately. While their last kiss was soft and slow, this one is wanton and desperate, as if she can’t get him close enough to her.

They should be focused on getting her and Henry back to Storybrooke. Whether their kiss broke the memory curse that made her forget her family, or the Dark Curse that brought them back to the Land Without Magic, he isn’t sure. It’s something they should be trying to figure out. But it’s impossible to focus on that when Emma Swan pulls Killian Jones onto her couch without breaking her lips from his.

She doesn't ever stop kissing him. Not when she pushes his greatcoat off of his shoulders; not when she tugs his blouse over his head; not when she whispers “I love you,” into his mouth. Not when she wipes moisture off of his cheeks before it drips onto her own.

Eventually they break apart, but it’s only when his own lips start to travel down her chin, along her throat, to her exposed chest. She only allows that for so long, sealing them back together and letting him swallow her moan as his fingers find her center. His tongue traces his love for her against her clit until she’s writhing beneath him and begging him to make her his. Obliging, he slides into her easily, fitting perfectly between her thighs and inside her tight core. Their foreheads never part as they make love to each other slowly, with a gentle force that expresses just how one feels about the other.

They reach a precipice together, and he lets himself fall off the edge of the cliff he’s been hanging off of for the last year without her, plunging into the depths of what it is to love her and holding her the whole way down. He’ll never let go again.

There’s a knock on the door hours later, while they’re still bare and covered in only a small blanket. Their time spent sleeping and talking and holding each other and making love some more had to come to an end eventually, and Emma’s realization of who is at the door knocks them back into reality. “It’s Walsh, Henry invited him,” she explains as if he knows who that is, and she stirs from his hold on her.

He tries to pull her so that her back stays put against his chest, but she giggles and pinches his side until he lets go, slipping out from under the small blanket and reaching for her shirt before he can get another good look at her. “I can get rid of him,” he offers.

“No, my memories may not be real, but he is; I at least want to let him down easy.”

He puts the pieces together as he gets dressed himself, only after watching her walk out the door with a promise to return. Walsh must be the man who proposed to her the other night. A sense of worry sets over him as he considers the worst possible outcome. The fact that she could decide to stay with him and send Killian away. Though he doesn't get much of a chance to let this scenario play out in his mind, because he hears a crash from above and rushes upstairs to see Emma alone on the roof, panting and holding a pipe in her hand.

She hurries towards him once he opens the door, crashing into his hold and saying, “I was never safe.”

If there’s one thing he vows now, it’s that she will never feel this way again. He whispers into her ear as they walk down the stairs that they’ll take care of this. They’ll go back to Storybrooke and deal with the threats as they’ll do everything else for as long as she allows: together.

#csnlny #time and time again #captain swan #once upon a time #cs ff #captain swan fanfic #neverland arc #cs smut #but very mild

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ilovemesomekillianjones · 5 years ago

Text

The Soldier, the Witch, and the Dragon - A CSSNS 2019 One Shot

Summary: When soldier Killian Jones shows up on witch Emma Swan's doorstep, two worlds will collide. He will learn of worlds and wonders he never imagined possible and she will learn that true love might just be in the cards for her. Witches, Dragons, and Magic, Oh My! A CS one shot for the 2019 Captain Swan Supernatural Summer event.

A/N: Thank you to @spartanguard for masterfully crafting the banner above and this CS edit to accompany my story, it is magnificent. I love it Kaitlyn!!! @hollyethecurious - much appreciation for being the extra set of eyes to fine tune this tale. And finally, thank you @cssns for bringing together so many talented writers and artists to put together another phenomenal collection of supernatural content for all of us CS lovers.

ao3 ffnet Rated M 15K+

July, 1865

In spectacular fashion, as was customary for him, Killian Jones staggered up the two steps of the single dwelling nestled among the foliage of a supposedly haunted wood. Bloodied and bruised he slumped against the door frame, grunting as the raw nerves of his severed hand met with the rough wood. He brought his other hand to the door and rapped his knuckles against what he hoped to be the entryway to his last chance for salvation, before passing out. Spectacular fashion indeed.

Two days ago…

“Since you are representing yourself, Mr. Jones, you are charged with desertion, how do you plead?” the judge questioned.

“Not guilty,” Killian Jones stated definitively.

“You deserted during war time, is this not true?”

“Semantics.”

“Your honor he deserted the Confederacy in May of 1861,” the prosecuting lawyer argued.

“Your Honor, if I may?” Killian asked.

The judge nodded his head in Killian’s direction, allowing him his defense.

“I merely recognized I was fighting for the wrong side.” Killian smiled his most brilliant smile as if this one statement had won his case.

“Come again, son?”

“You’re required to be impartial, yes, Your Honor?”

The judge nodded curtly.

“I was involuntarily drafted into this war by the Confederacy. Being a former slave myself, sold into it by my father, I would never support such an agenda.” Years of practicing a cool and collected demeanor were working in Killian’s favor as he maintained the facade that hid his disgust for the Confederacy and all it stood for. “Therefore, I did not desert in time of war, I simply... switched sides,” he declared with a flourish of his hand.

“Then you are an enemy of the Confederacy,” the judge amended.

“I beg to differ,” Killian said cheekily, “how can I be an enemy of something that does not exist?”

A low buzz broke out across the courtroom as discourse ran rampant among the lot of Confederate diehards. Killian wondered if they even knew the war was over, and they’d lost.

“All good points you bring up, Mr. Jones. Unfortunately, I am not here for good points, I am here to uphold the law to the best of my ability. As such, I hereby by find you guilty of the charge of desertion during war time. In addition, I am adding and find you guilty of the crime of treason and as such, I sentence you to be hanged tomorrow at noon.”

Before Killian could react to what was happening he was roughly being hauled away by the bailiff and thrown into the shitty cell he’d been sitting in for the last three weeks. His jaw clenched as he lay on the ground where he’d been tossed.

One moment he’d been enjoying rum, riches, and wealth via his stellar poker playing skills and the next he’d been dragged from his bar of choice, carted hundreds of miles, and hauled into this cell. Where had he gone wrong? Perhaps he never should’ve left England with his father and brother, after his mother’s death. Then he never would have been sold into slavery, subsequently landing here in the south.

“On your feet, soldier,” the guard on duty barked.

“For what?” Killian spat.

“For your superior officer,” a familiar, grating voice said.

Killian’s eyes rolled so far back in his head he was sure they might get stuck there. There was nothing superior about this man, nothing. “Captain Cassidy, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Just came to settle a debt, Jones.”

“Ah, I guess my trial was over before it started, makes sense now.”

“You killed my father, you traitorous son of a bitch.”

“He deserved it, Neal,” Killian gritted out, jumping to his feet to meet his former friend against the bars of the cell. “He killed women and children in the name of being victorious for a losing side.”

Neal shrugged his shoulders. “You should have left well enough alone instead of coming back.”

“I didn’t have a choice, it was me or him! I didn’t seek him out, we were engaged in combat.”

Neal reached through the bars and grabbed Killian by the shirt. “Semantics. Isn’t that what you always said? You say didn’t have a choice, I say murdered in cold blood.” He threw Killian back as he seethed the last words. “You’ll never see that noose tomorrow, but you’ll wish you were hanged by the time I’m done with you.”

乂❤乂❤乂

“Wake up! Come back to me.”

Killian smiled as the feminine voice washed over him, adding to the weightlessness he felt. It made all movement a little cumbersome, but he felt healthier than he had during the past month, and he was blessedly pain free for the moment. That is until a stinging slap collided with his cheek. His brow furrowed and a grimace replaced the easy smile that had graced his lips. He struggled to open his eyes to see just who was attached to the voice that currently worried over him.

“Don’t die,” the voice repeated, “it’s the only thing I can’t fix.”

A doctor! he thought as relief washed over him. But when he was finally able to command the muscles of his eyelids, he was greeted by an angel. She was dressed in all white and a halo of blonde tresses cascaded over her shoulders, which positively emitted a golden glow around her being. He thought to himself, if he was dead then there were two things he was grateful for. One, he’d made it into heaven and two, the angelic being before him.

“Hey beautiful,” he rasped out before attempting to throw her his most devilish smolder.

“Oh! Are you in pain?” she asked.

“Not at the moment, which is more than I can say for the last forty-eight hours. Why?”

“You just made a face, I thought maybe your wounds were causing you pain. It would be quite odd if you were experiencing any pain, though. So maybe that’s your normal face?”

So, not a devilish smolder that he’d made then. “If it’s devilishly handsome, it’s my normal face. If not, you are not getting the full effect.”

“Whatever you say,” she said noncommittally.

Do angels really roll their eyes and scoff? Killian wondered.

“You sure are arrogant for a man who passed out after being on the losing end of some sort of fight.”

It was Killian’s turn to scoff. “I do not lose.” He had passed out though, he thought as he reached up sheepishly to scratch behind his ear. “Bloody Hell!” he yelled as something pierced said spot.

“Careful,” the angel chastised as she pulled his arm away from his head. “That thing is a weapon now.”

Killian looked at his left hand, or what should be his left hand. “What the devil have you done to my hand?” Killian looked around in a panic as the events of the past several weeks came flooding back to him. “Where am I? Who are you? Who do you work for?” He was yelling as he realized he was in an unfamiliar room, laid up in a bed that wasn’t his.

“Hey! You showed up here without your hand!” she exclaimed, jumping up from the side of the bed. She backed away from him, anguish washing over her face. “I- I didn’t do anything but try to help you.” She shook her hands as if to cleanse the aura in the room.

Killian gasped as pain seared through him. His wrist burned as if it had been jammed into salt, and his arm felt as though it was going to explode. His throat was parched, and suddenly he was gasping for air. He curled in on himself trying to shut out the pain. “Please! Stop! Please, you’re hurting me.” He pleaded for the blond haired angel turned demon to stop whatever it was she was doing.

“I’m not doing anything to you! You… you distracted me!”

“I’m sorry I yelled,” he rasped.

Inhaling deeply, the woman sat back down next to him and brushed the hair from his forehead. Closing her eyes she shook her hands out once more before sitting in concentrated silence.

Killian’s whole body relaxed as a soothing ambiance floated through him, and after a few moments the pain began to recede. “Thank you, love.”

“I’m not your love,” she scolded, opening her eyes.

“Pity.”

“If you’re going to flirt so outlandishly shouldn’t I at least know your name?”

“Apologies, lass, Killian Jones at your service,” he greeted, extending his right, and now only hand. A smooth flow of positive energy flowed through him when she took his hand. “And you might be?”

“Emma Swan.”

“Lovely to meet you, Emma Swan. Are you my guardian angel? Did you draw me here, in my time of need with your powers of guardianship? Or did I just happen to stumble upon a random angel?”

Emma laughed out loud, an angelic sound if you asked Killian, which is what made her next words even more difficult to fathom.

“I’m no angel,” she chuckled. “But since you are obviously a believer in otherworldly beings, perhaps I can tell you what I am. And if I can’t trust you with my secret, I can always cast a memory spell on you.”

“A memory spell?” Killian enunciated as he tried to grasp the words.

“Just who are you, Swan?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“I do believe I asked.”

“I’m a witch.”

It was Killian’s turn to laugh aloud. “There is no way you are a witch, darling-”

“Em-ma,” she corrected.

“Where is your broomstick and black pointy hat, Emma? And your laugh, that was most definitely not a cackle.”

“It is not a prerequisite of a witch to own a broomstick, or black pointy hat, Jones. Nor do we all own cats and have warts. Though I suppose if that’s your biggest concern with me being a witch, we’re in a pretty good place.”

“If you want to join me here on the bed, we could get to an even better place.” He ran his tongue along his lower lip before biting it and cocking an eyebrow at her.

“In your dreams,” she laughed.

“I do hope so.”

“I just told you I’m a witch, and your response is to flirt more?”

“Perhaps you’ve bewitched me with your beauty and grace?”

“Do you ever stop?” Emma asked as a lovely blush colored her cheeks.

“Do you want me to?” Killian asked softly. A crack of a smile curved Emma’s lips and he hoped she could feel his sincerity, he would stop if she asked him to. He wasn’t quite sure why, but he felt like he’d do anything she asked of him.

“Get some rest Jones, and when you wake we will eat and you can tell me what happened to you.”

Killian yawned heartily as a wave of exhaustion rolled over him. “But I don’t want to sleep.”

“But you need your rest,” Emma insisted.

“Do you have magic,” he asked as he became increasingly tired. The last thing Killian saw was Emma flicking her wrist as a dragon came to rest on her shoulders. A dragon? he thought, then he drifted out of consciousness and into dreamland.

乂❤乂❤乂

“I think we were meant for each other,” Emma whispered into his ear, causing a shiver to course through his body. His eyes were closed and his body was light, yet responsive to her every word and touch.

In his heart he knew she was right. He could feel the connection, mind, body, and soul. “I am yours, love.”

“And I am yours,” she promised as she pressed against his entire body.

Killian shivered again as she gently raked her fingers through his hair and fisted her other hand into the hair on his chest. Her lips hovered just above his as she told him she was going to kiss him now. He eagerly awaited the press of her soft lips as he attempted to wrap his arms around her. Damn, how he wished to hold her.

“Killian.”

What was she waiting for? Where was his kiss? Why couldn’t he reach out to embrace her?

“Killian?”

“What are you waiting for, Swan? It’s bad form to tell a man you’re going to kiss him and then tease him so.”

Her soft chuckle had him opening his eyes. “What’s so funny?” he asked playfully. As the room came into focus, she was no longer laying next to him, but standing at the small table by the kitchen. “And why aren’t you laying with me anymore?”

“I think someone was dreaming,” Emma whispered, giggling again.

“Bollocks,” Killian muttered as he dropped his head back down to the pillow. It had seemed so real, not just her physical presence, but the love. He’d felt her love.

“I’m not going to ask him that,” she scolded. “It’s none of our business what he dreams about!”

Killian tensed as he realized there was someone else in her home. Of course there was. Someone as beautiful and benevolent as this woman was sure to have a significant other.

Attempting to stand up, which was not nearly as fluid as his normal movement, he cleared his throat. He settled for sitting up in bed for the moment. “Apologies, it appears I have overstayed my welcome, I should be on my way.”

Emma cocked her head, looking at him with a perplexed expression. “You don’t have to go.”

“I wouldn’t want to impose on you and…” Killian looked around the room, searching for the person she’d been talking to. “Uh… wasn’t there someone else here just a moment ago?”

Emma blushed profusely as she looked toward the corner of the kitchen. “Not exactly someone.”

“Were you talking to yourself then?”

“No,” she answered indignantly. “I was talking to Henry.”

So there was a man in Emma’s life. “Ah, I see.” He really didn’t, since he couldn’t see this Henry fellow. “Best take my leave now. Any chance I can have my shirt back?” Looking around the small cabin, Killian spotted his boots by the front door.

“Sure,” she said quietly.

He watched as she slowly walked to the basin and picked up his shirt. Great, it was still dripping wet, at least all the blood stains were gone. That would make it a little easier to blend in when he moved on to the next town.

“We can’t force him to stay,” she hissed.

Killian quirked an eyebrow as he watched her argue with a spot on the wall.

When she turned her eyes back to him, he averted his, not wishing to embarrass her. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but something was definitely a little strange. Unable to look away any longer he chanced a glance back at her. She was still staring at him, almost longingly, he thought. He jumped when with a small flick of her hand the shirt was not only dry, but also back on his body. He was jarred back to right before he’d dozed off, he’d asked if she had magic. Unless he’d lost more than just his hand, oh yeah, that, he was pretty sure she did have magic.

“I made dinner if you want to eat before you go?”

Killian wondered why she sounded so defeated, seemed almost sad at the prospect of either dinner or him leaving. “I don’t wish to impose on you and Henry.”

“We don’t mind,” she rushed out.

“Okaaaay… and you’re sure Henry won’t mind?”

“Of course not,” she said excitedly. “Tell him, Henry.”

Killian’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he realized she must have an imaginary friend. Who was he to judge, though? It must get lonely in these woods where most wouldn’t dare venture. She must not know many others of her type. Killian was pulled from his musing when a bird suddenly swooped from above and circled his head. “What the devil? How did a bird get in here?” Waving his hand in the air, he attempted to shoo the bird away.

“That’s Henry,” Emma laughed.

“Henry’s a bird?” he asked.

“No,” Emma said, walking toward him. “Settle down, Henry.”

The little guy landed on Killian’s shoulder and he was overcome with a sense of being welcomed. “How did he do that?”

“Do what?” she asked.

“Invite me to dinner.”

“I invited you to dinner.”

“You told him to tell me it was okay, and now he is sitting on my shoulder and somehow he has communicated to me that it’s okay to stay for dinner. He let me know you both want me to stay for dinner. Does he have magic, like you?”

Emma’s eyes widened. “He did?”

Killian gave a small nod as she seemed to contemplate something.

“Well, since you didn’t balk when I told you I was a witch, I guess I can tell you about Henry.”

“You can tell me anything,” Killian said as he sat forward. He wanted to hear anything and everything Emma Swan wanted to tell him. That feeling of absolute love was back, and although he couldn’t fathom the idea of loving someone so soon after meeting them, he also couldn’t deny the feeling.

“Henry is what you might call a power animal or a spirit animal. He’s my power animal.”

“Power animal?” Killian repeated.

“Power animals are supernatural creatures that convey influence. They can also give a person the powerful traits and characteristics of the animal. They walk through life with certain people, teaching and guiding them, and sometimes protecting them.”

“Do I have a power animal?”

“Everyone has a power animal. They usually only reveal themselves when you need them. Or when…”

“When what?” Killian asked with rapt fascination.

“Dinner’s ready,” Emma said, changing the subject abruptly. “Oh, and Henry is not a bird. He’s a dragon.”

Killian tensed up as he slowly turned his head to try and see the small dragon sitting on his shoulder. He wasn’t so sure allowing a dragon to sit on one’s shoulder was a good idea. As soon as he thought the idea, Henry was communicating to him that he was perfectly safe.

“That is so weird,” Killian murmured.

I know, Henry seemed to say.

“You get used to it,” Emma said with the sweetest smile on her face. “Henry, can you help him over to the table?”

Without too much effort, Killian was up and moving toward the table. He couldn’t believe how… normal he felt. As if he hadn’t had the crap beaten out of him and his hand lopped off. Oh yeah, that. “So, what’s with the hook?” he asked as he sat down at the table to a hearty looking stew and bread.

“I uhh… I don’t know, I just thought it would be utilitarian.”

“A hook?”

Henry landed on Emma’s shoulder and chirped loudly at her. “It is not a lie,” she snapped back. Henry seemed to cock his head in disbelief, and Killian just chuckled at their interaction.

“Sure, you can use it to scratch, stab, eat-”

“Like a pirate?” he asked, just a little outraged at the barbarism she was implying he might employ.

She just laughed at his reaction before continuing, “It would also serve you well in the thick woods, and it’s easier to hold than a hand.” Emma reached across the table to grasp the hook as if trying to prove her statement.

Although it was an inanimate object, Killian could swear he felt that same unconditional love through her firm grasp. “I guess it has its perks,” he said, somewhat lovestruck.

They ate in comfortable silence for a few moments before Emma spoke again. “Can I ask you a question, Killian?”

“Anything.”

“What were you dreaming about?”

A blush crept up his cheeks as he contemplated his answer. He debated brushing it off, or making something up, but then Henry landed on his shoulder and he felt an esoteric need to tell her. “I dreamt we were in love, I don’t know how, I don’t know why, I just know we were truly in love... and you were going to kiss me.”

“Really?”

“Aye, love. I wouldn’t make that up. Sadly I was woken before the kiss.”

“What a shame,” Emma teased. “I’m sorry Henry and I woke you.”

“You could make it up to me, you know.”

“A healed arm, no pain, dinner, and a roof over your head not enough, Jones?”

Killian roared with laughter. “Well, when you put it like that, I guess I do sound like a greedy bastard.”

Emma stood up from the table and began to clear away the dishes. Killian grabbed his bowl and took it to the basin. “If you have magic, why do you continue mundane tasks like dishes?”

“I try not to use magic for every little thing. It helps me to pretend I’m normal.”

“Why would you want to be normal when you have super powers?”

“That’s a story for another time,” Emma murmured. She pointed to Henry, who was still propped on Killian’s shoulder. “And don’t you dare, mister, no compelling me to spill all my secrets.”

Killian gave Henry a conspiratorial look, maybe later, he tried to tell the mini dragon. Too say he was shocked was an understatement when Henry actually winked at him.

“And no ganging up on me!” Emma ordered.

“If Henry is your power animal, why can he communicate with me?” Killian asked.

Emma narrowed her eyes, giving Henry a dirty look. “Did you tell him to ask me that?”

Henry ruffled his wings as if offended by the accusation. “Why would he tell me to ask that?” Killian’s curiosity was definitely piqued now.

“Never you mind,” Emma said walking away from the basin. With small flicks of her wrist she lit several oil lamps and went to sit on the settee.

Henry urged Killian to join her, so he did. He wasn’t quite sure why Emma was clamming up when it came to elaborating about Henry and power animals, but he decided to leave it be. “May I ask why you live out here in these haunted woods?”

Emma snorted in a decisively unladylike manner as she repeated the word with disdain. “Haunted. They’re not haunted, I just don’t want anyone bothering me. So I may wreak a little havoc when people get too close.”

“Doesn’t it get lonely?”

“I’ve never really noticed. I have Henry and I can go to town when I wish.”

Killian looked around the small cabin, it was quite homey and comforting. He supposed that’s all some people required.

“How about you? Did you live alone before you found yourself at my doorstep?”

“I haven’t lived anywhere for a very long time.” A bit of melancholy worked its way into his voice as he answered truthfully. He looked back to Emma and the inquisitive expression she wore. “I suppose that answer was a bit cryptic, but just as you said earlier, that is a story for another time.”

Emma smiled graciously, letting Killian know she wouldn’t push.

Over the next several hours they chatted easily, including Killian telling her the story of how he’d come to lose his hand. Henry had long since taken up residence between her shoulder and hair and was quietly snoring. Killian only became slightly alarmed when Henry emitted several smoke filled exhales.

“Is he going to ignite?”

“No,” Emma giggled. “He is a fire breathing dragon, though, and sometimes when he dreams he gets a little heated.” She yawned, covering her mouth and apologizing. “It’s almost three in the morning!”

Not realizing how late it had gotten, Killian told her, “You take the bed. I’ll sleep here, on the sofa.”

“Absolutely not! You’re not healed yet.”

“I am mending just fine. Besides, a gentleman would never make a lady sleep anywhere else when a bed is available.”

Emma stood up and offered her hand to him. “Gentleman?” she laughed.

“I’m always a gentleman, Swan.”

“Come on, we can both fit.”

Killian shook his head, and slid his hand behind his back. “That’s not necessary.”

“What? Are you afraid you won’t be able to resist my feminine wiles?”

Something like that, Killian thought.

“Stop being a baby.” Before he could stop her, she grabbed his hook and dragged him to a standing position. She led him over to the bed and with a flick of her wrist he was wearing sleeping clothes he’d never seen before. “Now get in the bed, before Henry has to make you.”

Killian held up hand and hook in surrender before climbing into the comfortable bed. “What are you doing?” he gasped as he looked over to see her lifting her skirts.

“I’m changing into my nightie,” she replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Do you suppose for propriety’s sake, or at least my sanity, you might just poof yourself into some night clothes like you did me?”

“Poof?” Emma snickered.

“Yes, you know, magic them onto yourself.”

“You could just look away.”

He knew he could, he just didn’t want to make himself. Her creamy thighs were delectable, and it had been a score. Well, that was an overestimation, but it’d been a long while since he’d looked upon a gorgeous woman. He could feel himself stiffening and had to adjust himself in the thin pants he was wearing. Where was Henry to douse his damnable lust!

“Yes, I could,” he lamented, looking around the cabin, anywhere but in her direction. Still, knowing she was blissfully uncovered had him stirring further. He spotted Henry across the room, curled up on the settee, head under his wing and tail wrapped around himself protectively. Killian guessed he’d have to persuade himself to calm down.

“There, see. All done, and no worse for the wear,” she stated as she climbed into the bed next to him.

Killian’s tight pants begged to differ. Scrubbing a hand over his face he rolled over to face away from her. “Good night, Emma.”

“Good night, Killian.”

乂❤乂❤乂

“You are meant for each other,” the dragon stated matter-of-factly. “You’ve been destined to meet since the moment she was born. She was born many years before you, but was cursed by a jealous witch to walk the world alone..”

“How long ago?”

“Several lifetimes.”

“Why can you talk to me?”

“Because this is a dream.”

“Even when I’m not dreaming, we understand each other.”

Henry grinned at him knowingly. “That is because I am your power animal as well.”

“What? How can that be? How can two people share a power animal?”

“If those two people-

“Henry!”

Killian sat bolt upright in bed as reality came back in on the wings of a dragon who was chirping, angrily if Killian was not mistaken, at Emma.

“It’s my secret to tell!” She was dressed with a flick of her wrist, wearing another flowy white dress, and out the door before Killian could ask what happened.

Standing up to stretch, he was suddenly hit with a wave of pain. The same pain from the day before sliced through his wrist and forearm. Sweat broke out across his forehead and he struggled for air. Collapsing back on the bed black spots infiltrated his vision as he bordered the lines of consciousness. Henry was there on his chest momentarily, and Killian watched as the mini dragon closed his eyes. He was immediately flooded with a cooling sensation and the pain subsided quickly.

“Thank you, Henry.”

Once he’d caught his breath he asked the dragon where to find Emma. Henry let him know he would lead him there. Looking at the clock he couldn’t believe it was already past noon; they had been up late the night before, so he supposed oversleeping was excusable this once. Rummaging around the cupboards he grabbed a canteen, some biscuits, and fruit and put them into a basket from the counter. “Henry, where is my uniform?” he called out as he grabbed his boots.

Henry chirped to him from the bed. When Killian walked over he saw the dragon was sitting upon a fresh pair of pants and a pressed shirt. “Where did this come from?” He certainly did not wish to wear someone else’s clothes. If dragons could roll their eyes, Killian was certain Henry just had. “Well, how was I supposed to know you also have magic?”

“Yes, you’re right, you are a mystical, fire breathing creature, I guess it’s not too far of a stretch for you to have magic.” Killian chuckled as he remembered how odd it’d looked when Emma appeared to be talking to herself yesterday, and now here he was doing the same thing. “Wait! I dreamt you told me you are my power animal as well as Emma’s!” Killian exclaimed as his dream came back to him.

Killian was greeted with utter silence. “Oh, now you’re going to clam up, mate?”

Henry simply shrugged his wings. “Okay, here’s what’s going to happen. We’re going to find Emma and then you are going to make yourself scarce.”

Henry nodded.

Killian wasn’t sure how, but they had a story. He didn’t know what it was, but this woman he barely knew had captured his heart. A fierce determination coursed through his veins with each beat of his heart, and Killian intended to find out just how he fit into this tale. “Wait,” he looked to Henry, “are you making me feel this bravado?”

Henry shook his head adamantly. He also conveyed to Killian that he was done interfering and overstepping.

“You don’t like when Emma’s cross with you, do you pal?”

The dragon hung his head, Killian had hit the nail on the head. “Well never fear,” he said holding his hand- uh... hook up in the air, “Captain Killian Jones is here. I will fix this.”

“No! You may not call me Captain Hook.” He stared daggers at the dragon as the jibe came through. “Yes, it is fitting, I just don’t like it.”

“Okay, fine. It is rather lethal sounding,” Killian acquiesced as Henry continued to emote reasons why this name would be perfect. “But only you can call me that. Don’t go spreading the word.”

The two left the cabin in search of Emma. It wasn’t a far walk, she’d be near the water, Henry had assured him. And the little guy was right, the trees of the forest broke to a small bank along the shore of a glassy blue lake. Emma sat at the edge, her dress pulled up so she could dip her feet in the icy water as she leaned against a large fallen tree.

“I thought you might be hungry,” Killian spoke softly as he walked up behind her.

“Is the traitor with you?”

A smile broke across his face as he realized both he and Henry were being wrongfully accused of being traitors. He was sure Henry’s sentence would be much lighter, just a cold shoulder and grudge from this beautiful angel. He contemplated if it might be worse than a death sentence to have Emma Swan angry with you.

“He’s not-”

“Good.”

“You didn’t let me finish, love. He’s not a traitor.”

Emma whipped around where she sat and scrutinized Killian. “So you’re taking his side?”

Was he really being accused of being a traitor… again. Sitting down next to her, he offered her the basket. “There is no side to take, you two are a team.” An errant thought of wanting to be part of that team flitted through his mind and a small, shy smile graced his lips as he looked down at the ground.

“I think he wants to be on your team,” Emma huffed.

“Maybe he wants us to all be a team?” Killian couldn’t resist the perfect opportunity to speak those words aloud. He was floored as emotion after emotion crossed her face while she seemed to study him. He imagined she was gauging the legitimacy of his words. “I’m not sure how, but I know there is something between you and I, something real, and deep. And I want to figure it out with you, without the influence of Henry… because when I win your heart, Emma - and I will win it, it won’t be because of any trickery. It will be because you want me.”

Before he could read her reaction, he was being pulled by the lapels of his magicked shirt and he was positive she was about to kiss him. Just before her lips could touch his, a loud chirping sounded within the small haven they’d created around themselves.

“Henry, we talked about this. No interfering, right?” Killian asked with a trace of irritation in his voice.

“Shhh! There’s someone here,” Emma hissed. “Henry, how far are they?”

Killian looked between the two of them, the panicked look on Emma’s face and the haphazard flapping of Henry’s wings, and he knew treachery was afoot. “Who is it,” he whispered.

Soldiers, Henry projected, two.

“Emma, you and Henry go back to the cabin. I have to take care of this, I won’t risk either of you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re not handling anything in your condition! If I leave, you’ll be writhing around on the ground like a snake in pain.”

Killian rolled his eyes. “It’s not that bad.”

Emma raised an eyebrow at him and Killian could tell the moment she lifted some of the effects of whatever dampening spell she was masking his pain with. “Fine, but stay hidden.” He watched as Emma and Henry shared a look and knew right away that his request was not going to be met.

“You keep him out of pain, and I will fight with him,” Emma said to Henry who gave a nod to confirm her idea of the plan. “Stay in the trees, I don’t want them to see you. And I’m sorry I got mad at you.” Henry flew over to Emma’s shoulder and nuzzled her cheek with his nose. “Yes, you did overstep. But I overreacted, too.”

Despite the danger lurking, Killian was inexplicably relieved that Emma and Henry had made up. As Henry took to the trees, Emma and Killian braced for the intruders.

“Killian Jones, war criminal and traitor, surrender yourself and no one gets hurt,” a man shouted from beyond their scope of sight.

“What do you want from him?” Emma shouted, grasping Killian’s hook.

“Going to let the little lady speak for you?”

“I’ll be speaking for myself,” Killian gritted out as Cassidy showed himself at the treeline.

“You’re a convicted traitor and deserter,” the other man added, “you’re to be hanged. I hereby place you under arrest. If you come willingly, no one will get hurt.”

“You’ve got the wrong man,” Emma argued. “Killian is a good man, he would never do those things.”

“He deserted the Confederacy in order to fight for the Union. If that’s not a traitor, I don’t know what is, little lady.”

“Stop calling me little lady,” Emma spat. “And if you’d told me he deserted the Confederacy the first time you spoke, I’d have applauded.”

“Oh, did he tell you his sob story of being a slave? Did he brainwash you into believing the North is superior?”

Emma glanced at Killian as if sizing up the affect Cassidy’s words were having on him. “He’s told me nothing. I just know which side I’d choose. Every once in a while, there is an underdog no one can root for.”

Killian wished he had the ability to communicate to Emma silently right now. She was unaware of how easily Neal could be rattled, and right now she was shaking the cage quite hard. “I’m not going with you, Neal. I’m not a criminal, all is fair in love and war.”

“Where’d you get that shit, all those fancy books you like to read?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. Yes, I did.” Killian’s smug grin turned into a gulp as both men drew their rifles. Apparently he was also unaware of how easily Neal was rattled.

“Hands up, Jones. I’m taking you in. Shackle him, Felix,” Neal commanded the other man.

“I told you I’m not going with you,” Killian repeated. “You’ll have to shoot me, but let her go first.”

“No!” Emma shouted.

“No,” Neal answered, “I don’t think I will. I think I’ll take her as a prize.”

Neal set down his rifle, while signaling for Felix to keep his trained on Killian and Emma. He approached her with a sickening leer upon his face. “Yeah, I think I will take her right here. I’ll let you watch, Jones.”

“Over my dead body,” Killian spat as he moved to stand in front of Emma.

“That can be arranged,” Neal nodded at Felix, “shoot him.”

In the time it took Felix to cock his rifle, Emma shot her hand out toward Felix, and as he pulled the trigger a spark flared and it misfired, blasting hot gun powder into his face. Dropping the weapon, he shrieked in pain as he ran toward the water.

“What did you do to him?” Neal screamed as he charged toward Emma.

“It was a misfire,” Killian yelled pushing Neal back. “Not so tough without your gun, are you?” Killian taunted as Neal reached for his gun, obviously forgetting he’d left it back by Felix. “Let’s settle this like men. You and me, fisticuffs.”

“You want to lose your other hand?”

“In what world would you take my hand without weapons?”

“Who said no weapons?” Neal asked as he drew a boot knife and lunged toward Killian. Slashing out wildly, Neal connected with Killian’s face, slicing him. “You’ve got a fucking hook for a hand.”

Oh yeah, that. Killian jumped back as Neal made another pass with the knife. When Neal advanced again, Killian shot his left hand in front of him and deflected the blade, causing a clank of metal against metal to ring out.

The two grappled back and forth, punch for punch, knife and hook competing for the upper hand. Both men panted heavily as they fought on. Felix was still down at the lake dousing his eyes and face in the water, while Emma made sure he stayed put and kept an eye on Killian. She could, no doubt, end this thing with a flick of her magical wrist, but perhaps for Killian’s pride, she wasn’t interceding.

Blood dripped down Killian’s face where Neal had cut a gash across his right cheek, his left eye was swollen almost shut, and his ribs were burning. Neal had two swollen eyes, a puncture wound to his right forearm, and a sprained ankle from where he’d tripped over a log as Killian lunged at him.

“I don’t wish to kill you, Neal,” Killian appealed to Neal where he lay on the ground after tripping. He knelt above the man, fist still cocked and hook at his neck. “If you have another solution as to how you and your lackey can return home and I can stay here, tell me now.”

“You’ll have to kill me,” Neal growled. He grasped Killian’s forearm trying to push the hook away from his neck, but it was no use as Killian threw his weight into pinning the man down.

“There is another solution,” Emma spoke quietly from where she’d perched herself on the same fallen log which had foiled Neal.

“And what’s that, love?” Killian asked.

“I could make them forget.”

“Make them forget…”

“Anything. Everything.” She stood from the log and walked up to Killian’s side. “I could make them forget that they found you or I could make them forget that it is their mission to find you. I could make them forget who they are. It just depends on what level you want to take it to.”

“I knew she did something to Felix. Is she a witch?”

“Well, since it seems we will be erasing your memory soon enough, yes, she is a witch.”

Neal withdrew his hands from Killian’s forearm and formed a cross, apparently trying to ward her and her evil off.

Emma laughed loudly at his antics. “I’m not the devil, that cross won’t do you any good today.” With a flick of her wrist Neal and Felix were both shackled and sitting with their mouths gagged. “How about instead of erasing their memories completely, I give them false memories?”

“What do you have in mind, Swan?”

“For starters, they are going to remember that they found the remains of Killian Jones, that there was no prisoner to bring back to their commanding officer. They will feel that their mission is complete, and they’ll have no recollection of this place or me. Any ideas on where they found you?”

“Hmmm,” Killian thought as he wrapped an arm around Emma. “I think they discovered my remains way up North, they should have a grand time in these fine Confederate uniforms.”

Neal tried to yell through the gag, but only mumbled nonsense could be heard.

“That’s just mean, Killian Jones.”

“He tried to kill us,” Killian argued.

“True,” Emma agreed. “North it is. Heart of Boston? ”

Felix shook his head vigorously, “Uh-uh,” he pleaded through the gag.

“Now who’s being mean?”

“That is a little harsh,” she cackled. “Okay, I will put them on the outskirts of the North, where they might have a fighting chance,” she paused to look both men in the eyes, “if they get their shit together real quick.” She kissed Killian on the cheek quickly before telling him to back up.

Killian watched in awe, from a safe distance, as Emma rubbed her hands together and focused in on her craft. She glowed with magic and the wind swept up around them, she was positively mystical as her hair flew wildly. She was murmuring quietly, her eyes closed when suddenly a brightly colored vortex opened up in the middle of the ground.

Henry landed on Killian’s shoulder at that moment and sent calming vibes through him just as he started to experience small prickles of fear, not fear of Emma, but of the situation. As abruptly as the vortex had appeared, it swallowed Neal and Felix whole and disappeared. “Swan! You were bloody brilliant, amazing!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Emma crumpled to the ground in a limp heap. “Emma!” He ran to her side kneeling next to her and sweeping her into her arms. “Emma, come back to me.”

“I’m okay,” Emma whispered faintly.

Killian smiled as she regained consciousness, albeit a tenuous hold on it. “I don’t mean to upset you, Emma, but I think we make quite the team.”

“Why would that upset me?”

“You passed out when I told you you’re brilliant. I wasn’t sure how you’d handle me saying we are brilliant together,” he teased.

She giggled, that shy tinkling giggle before once again losing consciousness.

He caressed her cheek with his good hand and felt the flush of her overheated skin. “Henry, what’s wrong with her, is she ill?”

Too much magic, Henry broadcast. She will be okay.

“How do you know?” Killian asked desperately. Killian listened as Henry transmitted that this had happened before, any time she used a significant amount of magic.

Gently lifting her, despite the injuries he’d sustained today as well as his previous ones, he carried her over to the lake’s edge, where she’d been sitting when he’d arrived. Sitting down, he leaned against the log and held her. He marveled at how well he felt, the magic used to keep him pain free must be very powerful. It damn sure beat morphine.

“Emma, wake up darling.” He dipped his hand in the chilly water and brushed it across her forehead.

“Hmmm,” she hummed. Stretching her body while still in his arms, Emma curled into his embrace.

Deciding it was probably best to rest he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “Henry, keep watch?”

Aye aye, Captain Hook.

Killian cracked an eye open to look at Henry as he chuckled. “Yeah, I suppose it does have a ring to it.”

乂❤乂❤乂

The next time Killian opened his eyes, Emma was gone. He startled as he realized she wasn’t in his arms. A quick glance around showed she was in the lake. All that was visible was her water slicked hair and bare shoulders. “Isn’t that cold?”

Emma turned around to face him and he thanked the heavens that the most delectable parts of her body were fully submerged. “It’s wonderful once you get in.” She brought her hands up to her hair to ring it out and tie it in a knot. “Join me?”

Killian would’ve been certain his eyes had fallen out of his head except he could still see.

“Come on, you’re all bloody. Let’s get you cleaned up here instead of my basin.”

Still deep in thought over the repercussions of bathing nude with her, Killian stood up and took off his shirt. He proceeded to walk to the water but stopped when Emma asked what he was doing. “I thought you wanted me to join you.”

“I do,” she laughed, “but not with your pants on. You’ll be soaked for hours.”

Killian knew she could just dry them, but maybe that was selfish after all the energy she’d exerted today. He fumbled with the fastening of his trousers as he stalled, trying to think of anything to keep his ardor under control.

“Don’t be shy,” she teased, “I’ll turn around.”

The moment she’d turned, he expeditiously stripped down and barreled into the water. “It’s fucking f-f-freezing!” he stammered.

“Give it a minute, Jones. And you gotta get in deeper.”

Oh, how he wished to get in deeper. He internally rolled his eyes at his lewd mind. Walking in further, he noticed it did seem to warm up, in fact, the closer he got to Emma the more comfortable the water became. He dared not get too close, he was quite certain he wouldn’t be able to handle it.

“Come here,” she said impatiently. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Killian looked down at himself, he did have quite a bit of blood across his chest. He rubbed at the dried stains as he continued toward her. “Better?”

Emma pointed at her face and made a circular motion. “You’ve got a little something… well all over.”

“Ah, yes, I suppose he knocked the handsome out of me.” He’d forgotten about the pummeling he’d both given and taken earlier. Cupping water in his hand, he splashed it over his face and scrubbed.

“No one’s that powerful,” she whispered.

Killian jumped when he realized Emma was but a hair's breadth away from him. He’d felt her breath as she whispered those last words. When her hand brushed the hair away from his forehead and then cupped his cheek, he couldn’t help but lean into her palm.

As Emma wiped away the last traces of blood, Killian was lost to the depths of her bright green eyes. She didn’t look away as she worked, and he swore he could feel love simmering between them. He didn’t miss the way she glanced to his lips several times, or when her tongue lightly traced her own lower lip. That pressure deep down in his abdomen came to life, he wanted her, and not just in the carnal sense either, he wanted everything.

“You have me spellbound, Emma Swan.”

“Is that supposed to be a witch joke?”

“Not in the slightest. I am taken aback, smitten, a fan of every part of you.”

She smiled and a blush colored her pale cheeks as she looked up to him through long lashes. “I’m going to kiss you now.”

“I’ve dreamt this!” Killian exclaimed. His exuberance caused Emma to startle. “Sorry, love, I mean, this was my dream yesterday. Exactly like this.” Just as in his dream, it almost seemed like she was warning him about the kiss, or preparing him for something. Only this time, hopefully he wouldn’t be rudely awoken before getting to taste her delectable lips.

“Whaaaaa-” Emma screamed as she jumped and then unceremoniously splashed down into the water.

Confused and just a bit alarmed, Killian dove down below the surface to see what was happening. Despite the beautiful blue of the laketop, it was quite murky below and he couldn’t see much. Breaking the surface once more, he was relieved to see Emma hightailing it to the shore. He watched as she emerged, water running in rivulets from her hair and glistening as it trailed down her back. Just as her pert backside broke the surface she snapped her fingers and was fully clothed.

Killian growled as he made his way to the bank. “What happened?”

Emma snapped her fingers once more and Killian was dressed too. “A fish happened,” she shuddered. “I don’t know about you, but a slimy fish swimming across my backside doesn’t work for me.”

Killian laughed, he had to agree with her there. At least it was nothing serious this time. “So why are you snapping your fingers now, instead of…” he mimicked her wrist flicking.

“I don’t know,” Emma said, “I really don’t need to do either. It is more a physical manifestation showing I am doing something magical. A courtesy, if you will.”

“So all you need to do is think it, and it will happen?”

“Prove it,” he challenged as Emma nodded nonchalantly. He should not have been surprised that challenging her skill would only end with him being naked. “Cute,” he grumbled, quickly covering himself with his hands.

“Yes, it is.”

Killian’s eyes bugged hilariously before narrowing to mere slits. “Is that supposed to be a size joke, because I assure you, there is no truth to your statement.”

“Prove it,” she snickered.

Just as Killian lifted his hands away to let her look her fill, he found himself clothed once more.

“Hey!” Emma whined. “You’re such a killjoy, Henry.”

Henry chirped and squawked as if to say he wanted no part of this whole situation.

“Henry, my boy! Good looking out.”

“What is this, a boys only club now?”

“Oh, not at all, Swan,” Killian consoled. “Come, sit, let’s eat. I brought some things this morning.”

Sitting down along the bank, Killian passed her the canteen and set out the fruit and biscuits. They talked at great length about nothing in particular. It was more relaxed than either could remember being, and once more Killian found himself marveling at the unique sense of belonging together.

“May I ask you something,” Killian asked.

“Sure.” He noticed her hesitation, as if she was weighing the pros and cons of letting him ask her a question.

“Where are you from, how did you and Henry find each other, and how did you come to be alone?”

A nervous sounding chuckle broke from between her lips. “That’s a lot.”

Killian scooted closer to her and wrapped an arm around her. “I guess that was more than just one thing, but I’d love to know more about your beginnings, Emma.”

“You do?”

“Yes, I want to know everything.”

“Let’s get home first,” she suggested. Something about the way she said home was so endearing to Killian, as if it was his home, too. He understood her desire to have familiarity amidst if she was going to tell him her life’s story.

After packing up the basket they started the trek to the cabin. Emma reached out and grabbed his hook as if it were the most natural action in the world. He was still in awe of how easily she accepted his missing appendage.

It was already late into the evening by the time they arrived. Cleaning up and changing into sleeping clothes once more, they laid down in the darkness.

Tonight though, Killian didn’t face away from her. They lay facing each other, heads on their pillows with just the glow of the moon lighting the room softly. He stayed quiet, knowing that Emma would start when she was ready.

“Do you want the long story or the short story?”

“I want the whole story,” Killian answered, running his hand through her hair. “I want to know everything about you, love.”

A small smile sat upon her lips as she began. “I was born in Massachusetts in 1688 and I’m from a place called the Enchanted Forest.”

“I’ve never heard of it,” Killian interrupted.

“That’s because it isn’t part of this realm.”

Before he could interrupt her to find out what that meant, she placed a finger to his lips. He smiled against them and took the cue to shut up.

“When my mother was pregnant, a prophecy was told that I would become the most powerful witch of the realm. My mother’s stepmother was enraged, she’d been the ruler of the Enchanted Forest for centuries. She threatened my mother, telling her that she would kill her, my father, and me if she didn’t get rid of me.”

Killian’s heart clenched at the thought of a mother abandoning her child. He rubbed his hand up and down her arm, hoping to provide comfort.

“Of course she refused, and so my wicked step-grandmother ordered our deaths. My parents crossed over to this realm and fled to the town of Salem where they planned to live like commoners. Five years later we were living peacefully and safely, but…”

Killian pulled her closer when he sensed her distress.

“I couldn’t always control my magic. It was little things, but soon, none of the other kids wanted to be around me. They were afraid of me. My mother tried to work with me on how to control it, but I was so powerful even then, and she didn’t have the means to train me. After several of the other girls went too far in mocking me, by pretending to be possessed, they accused my mother and her best friend of being witches.” Tear tracks streamed down her nose and cheek as she remembered the anguish as strongly as if it were yesterday.

“The Salem Witch trials?” Killian asked in astonishment.

Emma nodded her head. “So many women, innocent women and a few men were wrongfully hung because of me. All because I really was afflicted. My parents had no choice but to return to the Enchanted Forest. They begged Regina, my step-grandmother for shelter. She refused, and this time she didn’t let us go. She crushed my father’s heart as a warning to my mother.”

“She killed your father?” Killian was outraged, he wanted to slay this beast who’d hurt Emma.

“No, there is a way to live without your heart in my world. If you are true love, you can share a heart. After Regina crushed his heart, my mother split her own heart in half. They live even now by sharing two halves of the same heart.

She ordered me banished, and cursed me to walk the earth alone. She also made it so my parents couldn’t leave the realm without losing all of their memories. The night before I was to be sent away, my mother pleaded to every deity to send my power animal to guide me safely back to this realm and watch over me.” She looked over to the settee and smiled fondly at Henry. “That’s how Henry and I met, we’ve been together ever since.”

Hearing his name, Henry sleepily stirred, and as though summoned, he flew over to the bed and nestled between them. Emma gently stroked a finger over his tiny head and he seemed to absolutely purr.

“Have you ever been back? To try and defeat this evil witch?”

“I can’t risk it. My parents share one heart now, if anything were to happen to one of them, they would both die.”

“But the prophecy said you would be the most powerful witch. That has to count for something.”

“The prophecy also said I’d meet my true love in the form of a…”

“Of a what?” Killian asked when she didn’t continue.

“The point is, the prophecy foretold many things and after almost three hundred years, not one of them have come true.”

“What else did the prophecy say?”

Emma pulled away from Killian’s embrace and he could detect a trace of discomfort. “What aren’t you telling me, Emma?”

Henry stirred again when he sensed the discourse. Looking to Emma, he tilted his head as if asking her a question.

“I’m not scared,” she told Henry. “But what if the prophecy was wrong?” she asked him as tears welled in her eyes. “No, no you won’t. I’ll tell him.”

Killian sat up in bed and leaned against his pillows and the wall. “You’ve nothing to fear, love. You can tell me anything. Can I tell you about my dream from this morning?” He held his arms out to her, wordlessly asking her to allow him to hold her.

Sitting up alongside Killian, Emma scooted closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. She nodded her head, “Tell me what you dreamed.”

“I was having a conversation with Henry. An actual conversation, he was speaking.”

Emma chuckled. “What did he sound like?”

“He had the voice of a spirited boy, and he had some pretty hopeful and positive things to tell me.”

“Like what?”

“He said some heavy things, love. Are you sure you’re ready to hear them?” He could feel the tense of her body. And he knew she knew what he was going to say, but still he waited for her answer.

“Mmhmm.”

“Henry told me we are meant for each other. He said we’ve been destined to meet since you were born. And he also says he is my power animal, too. I don’t know about you, but I believe him, I think he was communicating with me while I slept. And I think that’s why you were upset with him this morning.”

“You seem pretty sure of yourself.”

“You’re something of an open book, love.”

She looked up at him seemingly daring him to ask the question that was on the tip of his tongue. “How can two people share a power animal, Emma?”

“Why don’t you ask Henry since he seems to have all the answers?”

“Because I want you to tell me.”

“The only way for two people to share the same power animal is if they are true love.” The words fell from her lips so softly that Killian almost didn’t believe his ears.

“True love,” he tried the words out. He’d surely felt a connection from the moment they’d met, and he didn’t consider it out of the realm of possibility that this woman could be his true love. “Do you believe it?”

“It doesn’t matter what I believe, Killian. I want to be loved because someone loves me for who I am, exactly how I am, not because of some stupid prophecy.” She hopped up from the bed and paced the room.

Killian felt bereft as soon as she left his arms. He needed to lay it all on the line. He knew he wasn’t wrong, his heart wasn’t wrong. “What if I told you I’ve felt a connection to you since the moment I opened my eyes and you were there.”

“I’d tell you it’s because I’ve been casting a dampening spell for your pain.”

“Not this morning when you stormed out of the cabin, and not today at the lake when Cassidy showed up. Henry was keeping watch over me then. And the connection I feel to you wasn’t broken for a single second, in fact, it only strengthened in those moments.”

Jumping out of bed he walked over to her and placed hand and hook on her arms. “Tell me you feel it too, Emma?”

“Part of the prophecy said that my true love would seek me out and would come to me in the form of a man who wasn’t whole.”

Killian held up his hook, waving it in her face. How could the prophecy possible get more accurate, he wondered, but she continued on.

“I met a man some eighty or ninety years ago, he said he had no heart, he said he wasn’t a whole man. He swore an evil witch had stolen it. Graham was so gentle and sincere. I convinced myself that he was the man from the prophecy. Despite everything that happened, I still believe we shared some form of love. It just wasn’t true love.”

“What happened?”

“He was sent to kill me, by Regina. She held his heart hostage and even had some control over his actions. In the end she killed him when he didn’t fulfill her command to end my life. He died in my arms.”

“Emma, I’m so sorry.” How could she still be the beautiful soul she was after almost three hundred years of a lonely and loveless life? He understood now how she might doubt the prophecy after semantics played a part in her heart break. Still, he didn’t see the harm in trying, he was no hired gun, and he sure wasn’t missing his heart, unless you counted the fact that Emma owned it. “Why would you deny yourself the happiness I know we could share?”

“I’ve dreamed for centuries of blue eyes and a hook, that’s the real reason I chose to give you a hook. The real reason Henry called me a liar at dinner last night. What if I am projecting my hopes, what if we try and I’m wrong again?”

“I know what I feel, Emma. I know you’re it for me, prophecy or not. And if you’ll have me, I’m in this for the long haul.”

“Killian,” she whispered, “I… I feel like I’ve known you my whole life. I feel like I’ve been waiting for you my whole life. From the moment I found you passed out on my front porch I have felt a connection to you that I’ve never felt with anyone. I can’t explain it, but I’m afraid to hope for it.”

“I knew you felt it, too,” he murmured as he wrapped his hooked arm around her waist and brought a hand to her heart.

“I do,” she admitted. “But sometimes when things are too good to be true, they aren’t true.”

“Emma, we feel the same connection, we share a power animal, I am literally missing a hand, making me technically not whole. How much closer could we be to the prophecy? What are you so afraid of?”

“The last part of the prophecy said if I find my true love, all evil would be vanquished from the Enchanted Forest.”

“Doesn’t that mean you could go home?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what it means.” Tears welled in her eyes once more.

“What’s wrong with that?” Killian had a sinking feeling in his stomach that perhaps he wouldn’t be able to go with her. He would never make her choose between himself and her parents, but still the thought of losing her rocked him and a sadness so great overwhelmed him that his own eyes filled with tears.

“No, it’s not that,” she told him. “You could come too.”

“Did I say that out loud?” Killian asked in confusion.

Killian’s eyes widened comically and Emma beamed at him as it dawned on both of them that they’d just communicated telepathically.

“Wait, if I could come too, what has you so down?”

“I am so afraid to hope, Killian. So afraid. What if we aren’t true love? That would mean I met a man I love, but evil won’t be conquered in my realm. I wouldn’t be able to go home. And even worse, what if one day my true love did arrive. What would we do then?”

“You love me?” he breathed.

Emma rolled her eyes, “Of course that’s all you picked up from that entire-”

“Aye, that is all I am hearing, because the rest is horseshit. I don’t know how we prove this true love thing, but I believe, Emma, I can feel it.” He picked her up and spun them around in a circle. “I love you, Emma Swan, with all my heart.”

“I’m going to kiss you now,” she murmured.

“Why do you keep telling me? Why don’t you just do-” His words were cut off as her supple lips collided into his, just as their two worlds had collided. A mix of soft and sweet with dangerous and arcane. Killian only took a second to catch up, opening his mouth to hers. His hand slid into her hair grasping gently at the base of her neck, and he relished the feel of her hands as one caressed his chest and the other played with his hair.

Suddenly the air around them stilled, and it wasn’t that he couldn’t breathe, but that he didn’t need breath. Time seemed to freeze. In his mind’s eye, a flash of every memory he’d ever had, some good, most bad, flooded him. In that moment, he knew that every atrocity that had befallen him, from his mother’s early demise, his father’s treacherous betrayal and abandonment, the years of slavery, the devastating loss of his brother’s life as they fought for the Confederacy, to the loss of his hand, had all happened for a reason. He’d been set on a path by destiny itself to meet this woman, his one true love.

As soon as the thought was born, time exploded back to life as a gust of wind and light burst forth from where their lips were joined. “What was that?” Killian asked as he tightened his grip on Emma.

“That’s true love,” she gasped. “Killian! That was true love’s kiss.” She assaulted him with kisses as she laughed and cried tears of joy.

He kissed her thoroughly before taking a moment to say, “I told you so.”

“Oh my gosh, you sound like Henry,” she laughed.

Killian laughed heartily before planting another kiss on his true love’s lips. “When do we leave?”

“You’ll come with us?”

“What kind of question is that? Obviously, I am going with you.”

“I just wasn’t sure if you had anything here in this realm to stay for.”

“I have you, Swan. Everyone else dear to me is deceased.”

“I know,” she whispered as she stroked his cheek. “I saw everything,” she confessed, “when we were kissing, I saw all your memories.”

He knew it wasn’t pity he saw in her eyes, but perhaps understanding, because when they’d kissed, her past, also filled with experiences no one should have to endure, had been revealed to him. “That was certainly easier than having to tell every sad detail of my past,” he joked. He knew that Emma recognized the deflection with humor charade, and he loved her a little bit more for letting him get away with it.

“You have me and Henry now. And once we get home, you’ll have more family than you’ll know what to do with.”

Killian smiled at the idea of family. He hadn’t had one of those in a very long time. Not as long as Emma, but he was a mere mortal, his lifetime wouldn’t last nearly as long as hers.

Yes it will, Henry pushed into Killian’s mind.

“How so?”

“Hmm?” Emma asked as she broke from the embrace and led Killian back into the bed.

“Sorry love, I was speaking to Henry.”

“Alright mister, I see we are going to have to set some rules eventually.” He watched her pick Henry up off the bed and place him on a pillow that seemed to be just for him, on a nearby table.

Henry huffed in annoyance before conveying his train of thought to her so she could continue the discussion with Killian.

Emma laid back down in bed next to Killian so they could face each other again as she began to explain what Henry was trying to communicate. “My mother was a bit of a rebel in her younger days, she liked to sneak into the mortal world to see how the other half lived. I think she just had a stronger need for adventure than most. My father is a mortal, just like you. She met him when they were both out wandering the woods bordering our Enchanted Forest. He says it was love at first sight. She says it was punch first, ask questions later. Anyhow, my point is, my father ages the same as my mother now. A witch’s mate, if they’re true love, will inherit the same life span.”

“So, I’m not going to age? I’m going to be this devilishly handsome for centuries?” Killian grinned salaciously and waggled his eyebrows, causing Emma to roll with laughter.

“You are so full of yourself.”

“I’ll have you know I prefer self confident. And I will still pale in comparison to your beauty,” he exalted.

“Are you trying to charm me?” Emma asked as she edged closer into Killian’s space.

“It depends, is it working?”

“Even though I know you do not need your ego stroked even a little bit,” Emma paused to lick her lips, “I find your self confidence very attractive.”

Killian inhaled deeply, trying to calm himself, for his mind was still stuck on the word stroke. He definitely had something she could stroke, and goddammit why was his mind going there right now. Here they were, in the midst of a life altering evening, and he was having obscene thoughts. “Then in that case, yes, I am definitely trying to charm you.”

“Good,” she whispered. “I think I want you just as much as you want me, and I have since you got here.”

He could feel her body heat radiating off her in waves, and good God was she trying to kill him? Yes, she may want him, but he was quite sure she didn’t want exactly what he wanted right at this moment. Clearing his throat gruffly and attempting to inconspicuously back his groin area away from hers, he asked again, “So when would you like to leave?”

Emma blinked several times, confusion evident on her face as she processed his change of direction. “Well that depends on a couple things. I can open a portal, which would be the quickest way, or we could travel by land or by sea. If we use a portal we can leave anytime. If we go by land or sea, we have to procure horses or passage on a ship. How quickly do you want to leave?”

“As soon as you want to, darling. You haven’t seen your parents in centuries, the sooner the better, right?”

“I want to leave tomorrow, and I want to open a portal but…”

“But what?” he asked. He could sense concern in her tone, perhaps she was nervous after her reaction to the last time she’d opened a portal. Or maybe she was nervous about bringing him home to her parents? “Are you scared?”

“Not scared, but there is one thing we would have to do first.”

“Your heart’s desire, that’s all I want.” Killian caressed her cheek in his palm and leaned in to seal his words with a kiss.

“You can’t travel through a portal in your condition. The minute I rescind the dampening spell, you will be in pain. We can wait for you to heal on your own, which could take weeks, or I can heal you.”

“That’s easy enough, heal me, and we shall depart at your whim.”

“Okay,” she answered, almost inaudibly.

Killian couldn’t figure out why she seemed so unsure. “What is it, Emma? Are you unsure of your ability to heal me? Because I have faith in you, I have yet to see you fail.”

Emma beamed under his praise. “No, it’s not that, it’s just, well, healing is an extremely… physical process.”

Even in the dim moonlight he could see a hint of blush upon the apple of her cheek. “Physical how, like painful?”

“Touch, I would heal you through touch. It won’t be too painful, but it might be more invasive than you want.”

“I assure you, be as invasive as you like, my body is at your disposal.” He really meant it too, even though he was also trying to make her more comfortable.

“Are you sure?” Emma asked, propping her head up on her hand. “Because a second ago I told you I want you and you completely changed the subject.”

It was Killian’s turn to blush as he chuckled lightly. “I needed a moment to settle my… well I was slightly overstimulated and I don’t wish to offend you.”

“Offend me? When a woman tells you she wants you, isn’t stimulation a good thing?”

“I didn’t realize you were talking in those certain terms, a mere misunderstanding, I promise.” He pulled her close, so close he rested his forehead to hers. “I want you in every way, Emma.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he whispered before kissing her. Threading his hand into her hair he sought a deeper kiss, licking her lower lip and nibbling at it softly.

Her lips were pliant to his request as she opened to him and allowed his tongue to stroke hers. He felt lit up, invincible as their mouths moved together. Rolling her to her back, he slipped his hooked arm under her pillow so he wouldn’t hurt her, and placed his other hand upon her hip. Killian kissed down the column of her neck, pausing when she’d emit a particularly wanton moan, making sure to pay attention to her body’s communication.

“Wait,” she panted. Her hands, which were buried in his thick hair, pulled his head up so he could see her flushed face. “Let me heal you first. If I have to concentrate on keeping you pain free, I won’t be able to fully enjoy you.”

“We can’t have that, Swan.” He acquiesced to her lead as she pushed against him, urging him to roll onto his back.

With a flick of her wrist, his shirt was gone. He gave her a cocky grin and asked if it was altogether necessary to be shirtless, to which she rolled her eyes. He wasn’t sure if that was a yes or a no, but it didn’t really matter either. “Focus on my touch,” she whispered.

When she straddled his stomach, Killian was almost positive it was not necessary, but he’d be a fool to question this woman’s reason for being astride him. Placing each of her hands to his temples, she rubbed delicately, and Killian couldn’t help but close his eyes. The feeling was absolutely serene, his mind felt clear, and the pressure behind his swollen eye dissipated. As her thumbs rolled over his cheeks, the sting of the gash on his right cheek dulled until it was no more.

“You have three broken ribs,” she stated, “and no matter how powerful my magic is, it’s going to hurt when I reset them.”

“That’s okay, I can handle it.”

“I know you can,” she said with a sweet smile. She leaned down to kiss him deeply, a little roughly even, and Killian had to wonder if this whole healing process wasn’t an aphrodisiac for her, it certainly had him worked up.

She slithered down his body, pausing when her core hovered above his fully hardened cock. Fuck, how he wished she would rub herself against him. “Emma,” he whined.

“Shhh, I’ve got you.” She fisted his hair in one hand and placed the other flat against his rib cage. When she set to work, he thought he might be split between heaven and hell. She placed her lips to his once more, then pulled at his hair and ground her hips tantalizingly against his while at the same moment she summoned the bones of his rib cage back together.

The whimper that left his mouth was a mixture between excessive titillation and sheer agony. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to come or cry, or both.

“That,” she said, with another yank of his hair, “was the art of distraction.”

His breathing was heavy as he struggled to gain some composure. A wicked grin cut his mouth as he realized Emma Swan was a bit of a minx, and she was definitely enjoying this healing process. “Come here,” he growled, pulling her down on top of him and kissing her breathless. “That was incredible.”

“I thought so,” she smirked with a buck of her hips. She sat up and grabbed his hook, “Last part.”

Killian gave a nod of his head.

“What would you like?” she asked, placing a kiss to the curve of the shiny metal.

Killian furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Uhhh, I’d like to be healed so I can make love to you.”

Emma giggled and blushed as she told him she wanted that too. “But what do you want for your… appendage? I can give you something that resembles a real hand, it wouldn’t be yours though, unless you happen to have it, or know where it is?”

Killian’s face soured at the thought of reattaching his rotting hand, wherever it may be. “That is quite macabre, and I don’t have it anyhow.”

“I could leave it severed, but healed?”

“Why can’t I have the hook?”

“You can,” she said excitedly. “I wasn’t sure if you would want it.”

“I’ve grown quite attached to it, actually. And Henry…” Speaking of Henry, Killian glanced around and realized the little hellion was nowhere to be seen. Considerate little guy, he thought. “Henry has given me a most colorful moniker to go with it.”

Emma cocked an eyebrow, as if unimpressed. “And what would that be?”

“Why, Captain Hook, of course.”

A loud laugh burst from Emma as she slapped his chest playfully “You boys are so funny.”

“I quite like the name, it’s ominous.”

“Oh yes, so ominous,” she teased. “Am I going to have to call you that in bed?”

“If the hook brings you any pleasure, you must!”

Emma covered her face with both hands and Killian knew then and there that she’d already considered the act. “You little coquette!” Killian sat up and leaned against the pillows with Emma still straddling his lap as he waited for her to regain her composure. She was absolutely adorable.

“Are you ready,” she asked, removing his hook. When he nodded, she took Killian’s forearm in her hands and smoothed her hands over the damaged flesh. Killian watched a golden glow radiate from her palms as she massaged from his elbow down to his wrist. It wasn’t going to be pretty, but it would be healthy.

She kissed the blunted end of his arm and cradled it to her cheek. “How does that feel?” she asked with a tilt of her head.

Killian’s eyes were a little misty at the tenderness she exuded. He rubbed his arm, squeezed up and down the healed area testing for any sign of distress. “Good as new,” he whispered hoarsely. He couldn’t help but pull her into a fierce hug. As they locked in an embrace, love and understanding flowed between them, and despite his missing hand, Killian couldn’t remember a time he’d felt more complete, and he could sense Emma was feeling the same thing.

She acted first as their combined emotions spilled over into need. Killian didn’t hesitate when her lips assaulted his, in fact he pounced back with as much fervor, sucking her tongue between his lips and massaging it with his own. Breaking the kiss, he rucked up her nightie and pulled it over her head, thankful that she’d let him do that the old fashioned way.

Passion filled Killian’s eyes as he looked his fill of Emma Swan. Her breasts were full and tightened at her rosy nipples. He was mesmerized as he scanned her lissome frame down to the apex of her thighs which cradled his still clothed cock. “So gorgeous,” he muttered. He ran a finger between her breasts and down her stomach to her belly button, she was so soft and warm. A shiver coursed through her and covered her skin as he continued to touch her, hand and blunted wrist familiarizing themselves with the feel of her body.

Leaning down, Killian wrapped his left arm around her and sucked a nipple into his mouth, working her gently before switching to the other one. He jumped when he felt her hand wrap around his shaft, he’d been so caught up in acquainting himself with her breasts he hadn’t even noticed she’d magically divested him of his pants. He looked up to see Emma greedily staring as she languidly stroked his cock.

“See something you like?”

“Mmmhmm,” she hummed, never looking away from her ministrations.

Killian ducked his head and surged to her mouth once more, kissing her passionately. He could feel her rubbing herself against his thighs as she continued to work him. Halting her movements, he slid his hand between her thighs and he could feel her heat before even touching her. When he slid his middle finger into her, she broke the kiss to cry out his name. It was the most glorious thing he’d ever heard.

Killian’s cock twitched in her still moving hand as his digit explored her soaking core. His mind raced as he imagined what she’d feel like once he was buried inside her. He added another finger and Emma threw her head back for just a moment before focusing back. He smirked as he realized she really did like what she saw, she liked to watch, her pupils dilated as she stared at his fingers pumping in and out of her. Picking up the pace, he marveled at the way she thrust down upon his fingers, taking what she wanted, and as her soft moans became more needy he grazed his thumb over her clit once.

“Yes,” she panted. “Do it again.”

Killian complied, making the same pass over and over. When she grabbed her breasts to tweak her nipples he almost spilled himself, his saving grace was that she’d had to release his cock to touch herself. It took her but several more pumps of his fingers before she was calling out his name like a praise. Her whole body tensed, and she squeezed his fingers so tightly his cock actually felt jealous.

Before she’d even come down, Emma got to her knees and pulled him in for a kiss. “If your fingers are that good, I can’t wait for the real thing,” she panted between still ragged breaths.

Killian groaned as she grabbed him once more, only this time she slid her coated folds up and down his shaft instead of her hand. It drove him mad as she whispered in his ear before sucking his lobe into her mouth. He quickly flipped them so that she was on her back, and he studied her face for any sign of hesitation. When all he saw was love and desire, he thrust into her in one fluid stroke.

He had no words, he couldn’t even emote how she felt around him because a choice enough description was beyond his scope of thought. He didn’t want it to end, and so he stayed buried, enjoying the pulsing of her post orgasmic walls. When she squeezed his butt and gave a small thrust of her hips, he knew she needed more. Propping himself up on his blunted arm, he looked down at her as he pulled out and then slowly filled her back up. The wet slide of heated flesh against his swollen cock was unimaginable, and he struggled to keep his eyes open. He wanted to see her face though, wanted to watch her pleasure while taking his.

Emma wrapped her legs around his back, and her hands around his neck, and he knew she wanted him close. Placing more of his weight on her, their slick bodies rubbed together as he thrust into her over and again. Killian placed his forehead to hers as he neared the edge, wanting to be connected. When her body tensed up once more, signaling her release, he let all finesse go and pumped into her erratically. As her walls began that pleasurable flutter and clamped around his cock he came harder and more blissfully than he’d thought possible.

Killian sighed out her name while holding her close. “That was…”

“I know,” she whispered.

And he knew she did, there were no words to convey, only feelings. Unconditional love, absolute trust, bliss to name a few. They luxuriated in the peaceful embrace that seemed to permeate the entire dwelling.

“Let me get a cloth to clean us,” Killian said; but before he could even move, Emma had them bathed and spooning under the covers.

“Sleep,” she murmured, “we will have a long day tomorrow.”

“Are you excited?”

“I’m so excited, Killian, and nervous,” she gushed. “I can’t wait to see my parents, my home. And I can’t wait for them to meet you.”

Killian’s heart squeezed a little when he picked up on the pride in her voice as she expressed her wish for her parents to meet him. “I cannot wait either, my love.” Tightening his arm around her waist, he pulled Emma closer into the cradle of his body, and wishes of good night, and I love yous passed silently between them as they drifted off to sleep.

乂❤乂❤乂

“Bugger off,” Killian grumbled, as an incessant knock pounded at the door. Whoever it was, was rather insistent, and it was grating on his last good nerve. He rolled over to see Emma still blissfully passed out. They had been up quite late indulging in more enjoyable activities than simply sleeping.

Answer it, Henry projected.

It’s still dark outside, mate.

Answer it! This time Henry added a persistent chirp.

Fine! Killian projected back as he stumbled out of bed and pulled his pajama pants back on. He ignored Henry’s warning to put on more clothes as he sleepily walked to the door.

“Bloody Hell, give it a rest,” he hollered as he reached the door and pulled it open. “What is so important that has you banging on my door before sunrise,” Killian asked crossly as he stared down the young couple.

“No!” the woman cried out.

Killian studied the short brunette as she clutched at a small crocheted blanket. She looked between him and the blonde man standing next to her.

“But…”

“Shhh,” the man murmured into her hair as he pulled her into his arms. “Sorry to have woken you,” he said to Killian.

Killian stood there watching the couple and his heart squeezed as he witnessed the anguish between them. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but he wasn’t sure that was proper. “Have you traveled far? Would you like to come in and rest?”

“I used the locator spell, David. How could it be wrong?”

“I don’t know, sweetheart. But we will find her.”

Dawning hit Killian the moment he heard the word spell. His heart soared a little as he realized Emma might get to see some of her family sooner than she’d even hoped.

“Killian, come back to bed,” Emma called to him, “and you better still be naked,” she added in a sultry tone. A blush broke out from his abdomen, where his pants were still hanging low, all the way up to his ears. Dammit, why hadn’t he listened to Henry when he’d told him to put on more clothes.

“Pardon me,” he grinned sheepishly, “just for a moment.”

The couple stared at him with puzzlement across their faces as he closed the door over.

“Emma!” he hissed as he double-timed it over to their bed. “Emma! Get up.”

“Why,” she whined. “Come back to bed.”

Killian jumped as she cupped his cock, doing her best to entice him back to the comfort of their bed. “Love,” he implored, “please get up, poof us dressed, and-”

“I’m sorry, but did you say, Emma?” the brunette called from the entryway.

Killian’s head whipped around to see that the couple was now standing right inside the doorway peering in their direction. He lightly smacked Emma’s hand away from his crotch before broadcasting as loudly as he could to her that they had company.

“Oh, shit,” Emma muttered as she pulled the blanket up to her neck. As Killian had requested a moment ago she poofed them dressed and then exited the bed. Who is it? she silently asked him.

Take a look for yourself, Swan. I think you may be able to tell me who it is.

Emma peered around his shoulder to take a better look. “Is this a dream?” she asked as her eyes welled up with tears.

“No, love,” he whispered with a smile.

“Mom? Dad?” Emma asked hesitantly.

“Emma!” the woman exclaimed. “It did work!”

Emma pulled Killian by his hook as she ran to her parent’s embrace. He watched as the three broke into tears, the woman talking a mile a minute and the man simply cradling Emma’s head to his shoulder.

“How did you find me? How did you even know to find me?”

“We felt it,” her mother said. “There was no doubt the moment you and your true love broke the curse. And once the curse was broken, we found you using this,” she held up the white crochet blanket, “and a simple locator spell.”

“What is that?” Emma asked, reaching out to touch the fabric.

“It was your baby blanket,” her father answered, reverently unveiling the part where her name was crocheted in a pretty purple yarn.

After introductions were made, the two couples sat down at the small dining table and Henry perched on Killian’s shoulder, offering a sense of unity, in light of Emma’s parents showing up.

Snow and David explained how Regina had been stripped of all her power and the Enchanted Forest had been immediately restored to its former glory. The people were rejoicing and had already reestablished Snow and David as their Queen and King. Their intent was to take back Castle Misthaven, and the only thing left was to bring back the long absent Princess of the Enchanted Forest.

Emma in turn told her parents how she and Killian had already planned to travel to the Enchanted Forest by portal. Within the hour everyone was ready to depart. Emma packed up the shockingly sparse amount of belongings she’d acquired over the centuries, where Killian had nothing but the clothes on his back, and his mother’s and brother’s rings.

Killian looked around and wondered how different his new home would be, would this new realm be earthly? Or would he be out of his element?

“You’ll be right at home,” Emma whispered, “and I’ll be right by your side.”

Killian leaned into her and placed a chaste kiss to her lips. I love you.

And I love you.

They both said a quiet goodbye to the cabin where their worlds had collided and their magical love had begun, before setting off to their happy new beginning.

#cssns 2019 #cs ff #cs fanfic #cs au #captain swan

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