Never Letting Go || CS

Chapter Six: New and Strange Surroundings

Emma's body jolted upright as she woke up. She immediately regretted it as an agonising pain shot through her shoulders and she let out a loud cry of pain. The men upstairs must have heard it by now because she heard footsteps outside the door. She fell backwards onto a comfy pillow. Wait....pillows? The last place she remembered being was the dark room with all the crates.

She half expected to be greeted by Captain Morgan. Instead, a man with dark, almost black, hair that fell over his eyes slightly and a short cut beard. His eyes were as blue as the ocean itself, perhaps even bluer. He walked towards where she was laid and looked down at her. Emma struggled to keep her eyes open as she watched him examining her. "Are you alright there, love?" He helped her sit up so she could lean against the headboard of the bed that she was laid in. "Now, I believe your name is Emma Swan, am I correct?" To that, Emma simply nodded in response, still feeling weak from the ordeal that the cruel captain had put her through. "Well I'm Captain Hook. Pleased to meet you." The sarcasm in the last sentence was apparent to Emma, but she did not dare respond to it, for she had heard the name many a time among her parents' important meetings that they had dragged her along to. From what she had heard, he was not a man you would dare to cross if you valued your life.

Emma's expression must have reflected her fearful thoughts because Hook said; "I'm guessing you've heard of me then. Well, you don't have to worry about me, love. I won't hurt you unless I have good reason." He flashed a smile her way, hoping it would calm her down a little. It apparently worked because she relaxed a little. "Now, we were heading the wrong direction before we found out where the exchange for you was taking place, so we are a little off course. The journey will last around a month including regular stops at ports along the way. The first stop we will be making will be for some magic to heal your shoulders. Luckily, I know a place about a day from here that has just the thing to treat your injuries." Hook explained. "But where is 'here'?" Emma asked in barely a whisper. "You've found yourself aboard The Jolly Roger. Consider yourself honoured, love." Hook flashed a proud smile at the mention of his ship.

She nodded and smiled at his pride, but soon regretted it as a sharp pain coursed through her shoulders. She let out another cry of agony as she began to shake because of the pain. "Emma? What's wrong?" Hook asked, and when she didn't reply but continued to shake, he exited the room to go and alert the Doctor on board.

The doctor was examining Emma for the best part of an hour. Hook went back to steering the vessel in silence and the crew continued to work as normal. When the doctor emerged from below deck, Hook went to query how Emma was doing. "If we don't reach port soon, she might not make it. We have to get her that medicine if we want that ransom money in exchange for her." The doctor explained. "Will she last 4 more days? That's how long the journey is from here." Hook said, worrying that if she didn't live, they would not have anything to bargain with. "Perhaps, with the right treatment, but her shoulders were dislocated far longer than they should have been." He had a grim expression, knowing the pain Emma was going through.

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The next morning, Emma was feeling a little better and she managed to stand up with the help of the doctor. Although she was ordered to stay in bed, curiosity got the better of her, so she decided to go and take a look around. She slipped out through the slightly open door and found herself in quite a long, plain hallway that was lined with various wooden doors. As she moved, the floorboards underfoot squeaked with her weight. She winced at the noise she was making, fearful for if anyone heard it. She knew she wasn't supposed to be out, but they didn't exactly lock her in, so that must've meant something. Or, they could have presumed she was too weak to get up by herself yet. She did wonder why she thought this was a good idea because now there was a dull throbbing that had started in her shoulders. Besides, she couldn't lift her arms, nevermind actually open any doors to look inside. She decided just to go back to her room when she heard the clunking of footsteps coming closer. She was only a few steps away from her room. she knew she wouldn't make it, but she had to try.

She increased her speed towards the room, but just as she stepped inside, she heard a voice which stopped her in her tracks. "And where did you think you were going?" The thick British accent asked. He continued to walk closer to her as she turned around to face him. "I-uh- I was just stretching my legs, you know?" Emma was a really bad liar, and by the look on Hook's face, he could tell. "That's not the real reason is it." This was more of a statement than a question. "What makes you say that?" Emma avoided Hook's accusing stare because she felt she would buckle under his intense gaze. "I think I know where you were going." If Emma would've looked up, she would have saw that Hook had a playful smirk on his face. "I know its hard, love, but next time you'll just have to wait for your chance to gaze upon my dashing features." He raised his left eyebrow as he said this, the smirk still plastered to his face. Emma sighed and looked up at him in relief. She really thought she had been caught sneaking around then. Then she realised what he was insinuating and she quickly replied: "Well, I'm flattered that you would want me to be staring at you, but I really did need to strech my legs, and plus I was bored whilst just laid there." Hook smiled at her smart response to his teasing.

"I guess now that you've stretched your legs, you can go back to where you should be." With one last glance in his direction, Emma returned to the bed where she perviously was, but couldn't pull the duvet up because she couldn't lift her arms up at all. Hook saw this and went to help her. "I didn't realise you were such a gentleman, for a pirate." She said with a smal smile, meaning she was joking with him. She didn't know why, but felt comfortable around him, even though she knew he was a fierce pirate that would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. She felt like she could joke with him and he would be perfectly fine with that. If he had been any other person right now, Emma would be terrified. She should be terrified, but for some reason, she just wasn't.

"What are you talking about. I'm always a gentleman." He bowed dramatically and Emma genuinely laughed. It felt like forever since she had a proper smile on her face, and it felt good. Soon after, he left to resume his duties as Captain, leaving Emma alone with her own thoughts.

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a/n sorry for the short chapter, this just felt like an appropriate place to stop. So! They've finally met! *does a little dance*
Hope you liked the chapter and thankyou for taking the time to read this fanfic :)