Treasure

Chapter 72

Later that evening...

It was now dinner time and Killian was starving. He had skipped lunch due to his earlier argument with Emma. Guilt flooded his mind all day over it, knowing she probably was dismissed by the crew and her feelings were most likely hurt by him not joining her for lunch. They might not have seen much of each other during their time on deck, but they always made sure to eat lunch and dinner together. A tradition he now broke...

He headed down to the galley where the smell of fresh bread filled the air. No doubt in his mind was it Emma's doing. She always made the most heavenly bread. Unfortunately, Sebastian informed everyone that the leftover soup would be served for dinner because no one seemed to want any before and he wasn't going to let it go to waste. The captain felt as if he was just punched in the stomach. No one wanted Emma's cooking? She was a marvelous cook and they used to come running to it...

Killian tried to find his princess in the small crowd of angry men, but couldn't seem to spot the gorgeous blonde. After asking Mr. Smee if he had seen her, he was informed she snuck back down to the captain's quarters. The captain then decided to make his way to their cabin to at least check on her.

Meanwhile, in the captain's quarters, Emma sat with a warm bowl of her famous vegetable soup in front of her along with her freshly made bread. Her appetite was lost as she moved the soup around in the bowl with her spoon. Her heart ached knowing she was upsetting the crew to the point where most of them didn't want to eat because they discovered she made the meal. Luckily a few pirates who didn't completely despise her told her it was an amazing meal. Sebastian was quite angry with the crew for wasting her soup and said he would heat it up again for their dinner. He told her that if they didn't want it, they could starve.

Despite all that, what hurt the most was that Killian didn't check on her once during the day, nor join her for lunch as he always promised... The princess thought maybe she did push him too far this time by demanding he make port in the kingdom that was responsible for his brother's death. All she wanted to do was be in everyone's good graces again.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Killian walking into their room, "Did you eat?" He asked as he cleared his throat.

What a dumb question Emma thought to herself. He could clearly see the bowl full of food, but she knew he was just trying to make conversation. "You didn't come down for lunch." She remarked, getting straight to the point.

The captain let out a heavy breath and sat in the chair in front of her, "I apologize for that, love. It was rude of me."

She pushed the bowl of soup away from her and got up from the table, making her way to their bed. "I suppose you heard the crew has decided they're not going to eat if I continue to cook." She said heading over to their wardrobe to grab some clothes and prepare for bed.

He followed quickly behind, "So let them starve." He declared, "Emma, I'm not changing our course just so you can make them happy."

For some reason, him using her real name didn't feel right. He always called her by a nickname and that's when she started to realize how serious he was... "They hate me." She yelled, throwing her nightgown onto the bed and looking at him.

"Not all of them hate you- none of them hate you." He stuttered, trying to find the correct words to use.

"More than half of them have told me they don't like me today." Emma responded with a crack in her voice.

Killian felt rage run through his body. How could anyone hate her? She was nothing but loving towards the crew and always took their side. He remembered when she first boarded his ship they adored her, now they won't even give her two seconds of their time. "Enough of this." He said, storming out of their room.