Once Upon a Time 1. Prologue

**AN: I do not own OUAT or any of the characters. **

For most of the residents of Storybrooke, Maine, the breaking of the curse was the happiest day of their lives. As soon as Emma kissed her son and the power surged out from them, everyone was transported back into the Enchanted Forest, more or less at the exact places from where they had vanished twenty-eight years prior. The only major flaw with the return was that not everyone was accounted for. Henry had appeared with his grandparents in the castle, but his mother was nowhere to be seen. Snow and Charming had sent out many search parties in the weeks following their return, joining the soldiers and their friends when they could. After two months had passed, the king and queen had become weary and desperate as there hadn't been even the smallest glimpse of Emma Swan.

Hundreds of miles away from the castle shared by the Charmings, in a little seaside town, a woman with pale blonde curls piled on her head and light green eyes stared at her reflection in a mirror. Powder paled her skin and highlighted her eyes. The low cut of her dark blue silk dress revealed a large amount of her chest and while the skirt trailed onto the ground in the back, in the front it only fell to halfway down her thighs. She watched from her seat as the moon began to rise over the ocean and applied a bit of lip paint to make her thin lips even redder.

"Hurry up, dearie," a sing-song voice said from the staircase that led from her room to the lower levels of the building. A slight tension settled across the woman's shoulders. She could see the man in her mirror, light from below shining on the odd gold shimmer of his skin. He flicked a strand of his limp brown hair away from his face. "We wouldn't want to keep the customers waiting, would we?"

She stood and took a step towards the stairs. "I'll be down in a moment," she replied, experience masking the hesitation in her voice. Waiting to hear the click of his shoes on the stair, she turned to face the window once more. Breathing in the fresh air that would be scarce in the next few hours, she could hear the music from the ground floor drifting up to her. Men's bawdy, drunken laughter and the clink of tankards followed the music, drowning out the calming sound of the nearby sea. The laughter was a sound that she had grown all too used to, and most days she couldn't even find the energy to hate it.

Emma let out a breath. This had always been her life. She danced in a tavern owned by the Dark One since she was fourteen, given over to him by the parents she had never met. He claimed that they had owed him some sort of payment, and she was the only coin with which they had been able to pay. Rumplestiltskin had kept her in a small house by the sea during her childhood, raising her to be a beauty that could stop a man in his tracks one moment and then rob the man blind the next. She had tried to run away more times than she could count, but he had always tracked her down again and returned her to her prison. Finally, at twenty-eight, Emma had stopped trying to run away and had accepted her place as the prize of Rumplestiltskin's collection of living jewels in his tavern.

Oh, how she hated Rumplestiltskin with all her heart, remembering countless times he had shoved her at men for his own gain. He had never shown her the smallest bit of consideration while she grew up, and she could remember full days of her youth that had been spent crying because of loneliness or emotional hurt. All the same, over the past two months she had caught him looking at her differently, seeming to be weighing her worth. Emma did her best not to think about those glances. She figured he probably had some man lined up to be strategically manipulated by her until Rumplestiltskin had whatever it was he wanted.

Sitting down on the little stool in front of her mirror once more, Emma slipped her feet into the dainty, heeled slippers that matched her dress. The floor beneath her feet was rough, the walls were stone, and her tiny bed was tucked into a corner of the room beneath a small window. Her room wasn't luxurious by any means, but it was the one place where no one made demands of her. After having men stare at her all night, grope at her, and make crude suggestions, the simplicity of her room was comforting. It wasn't a home, but it was a place where she could let down her walls a little. That was all she needed.

After checking her reflection once more, Emma went down the spiral staircase and descended to the main floor to the cheers of the men waiting for her to appear.

It had been ages since he had found himself at this particular port. His crew scampered through the town, looking for a brawl, a lass, or a good tankard of ale. He followed the cobblestone streets, wandering and looking for something worthwhile. In his all-black clothing, he practically melted into the shadows. The metal hook attached to his left arm glinted in the moonlight as he paused in front of a tavern on the edge of town. A wooden sign swayed over the door, naming the place "The Jewelry Box."

Killian Jones, more commonly known as Captain Hook, stepped through the door and into a room packed with people. Men drank, women flirted and danced, and a group of musicians stood in a corner. In the center of the room, a square of the floor had been raised to form a stage of sorts. As he moved further into the tavern, a woman with blonde hair and a dark blue dress was handed up onto the stage. The music changed into something sultrier, bringing the memory of humid nights in Neverland to the front of Killian's mind.

The blonde, a pretty little thing, began to move to the music, each movement drawing the eyes of anyone watching to another curve of her body. She kept her eyes closed as the music picked up pace, snapping them open dramatically in perfect time with a crescendo. Her light green eyes flickered to Killian's dark blue ones, and he lost track of his surroundings, the music, and the chatter of the people in the tavern. For a moment, only Killian and the beautiful woman existed.

Her eyes slid away from his, and the moment shattered. Killian moved to an open table near the stage, slipping onto a chair. He ordered rum from the barmaid, delaying her for a moment when she returned with his drink.

"Who is the lass in the blue?" he asked, voice low.

The maid glanced up at the stage. "Emma. She's the Dark One's prized dancer. No one gets close to her without his permission, and even then there is an extremely high cost."

Killian watched the woman in blue as she left the stage and moved to a staircase in the corner of the room. His fingers drummed lightly on the table. As a pirate, he always enjoyed taking what others considered to be theirs. If he could take something that had been claimed by his worst enemy, who was he to let such an opportunity slip away? It didn't hurt that Emma was an attractive woman. Killian made a note to tell his men that they would be staying on shore for longer than expected. He had business to tend to.


	2. A Meeting

**AN: I do not own OUAT or any of its characters. **

Emma piled her hair on the top of her head, pinning the curls into place and off her neck. Her simple dress was a faded green and cut modestly. She pulled well-worn leather boots on before grabbing her shawl and leaving her room. Rumplestiltskin watched as she walked towards the door, flipping through a pile of papers at the bar.

"Remember, you have to be back by midday, dearie," he called across the tavern. "Not even a minute later, or I might reconsider this little arrangement."

She chose not to respond, moving forward into the bright sunshine. For a moment she stood still, face turned up towards the sky. A light breeze carried the scent of the sea to her, and she could hear the quiet chatter of the townspeople in the outdoor market. Pulling her shawl tighter around herself, Emma walked towards the edge of town.

Once a week she was allowed to wander freely through town and Emma always walked to the docks where ships anchored at the meeting of the land and the sea. She never actually went onto one of them in an attempt to leave the town, but just looked at the vessels that could have taken her away to a better life. The docks were her favorite place to go. No one there looked down on her for what she did in the tavern, and usually no one even tried to speak with her. Emma would sit on the edge of the pier for hours, breathing in the scent of the sea and losing herself in her thoughts.

Her boots clacked against the wooden planks of the pier as she walked towards her usual spot. A light breeze teased the strands of hair that were falling from her pins and caused the slightest bit of creaking sounds to drift from the canvas sails of the surrounding ships. She settled at the edge of the pier, her feet swinging over the water. Closing her eyes, she let herself imagine for just a moment that she was on one of the ships she had passed, sailing away from everything in her life.

Footsteps on the pier behind her alerted her to someone's approach. She opened her eyes again, ready to get to her feet or drop into the water if the person seemed to be a threat. To her surprise, the stranger sat down on the pier about a foot away from her. Emma watched him from the corner of her eye. His dark brown hair was messy from the wind, and his bright blue eyes were outlined with kohl. He wore black leather pants tucked into a pair of well-worn boots and a black cotton shirt. One of his hands was missing and had been replaced by a silver hook.

"Lovely, isn't it?" the stranger asked, staring straight ahead of himself. His voice was a bit husky with a pleasant lilt to it. "No matter where you want to go, the sea can take you there. It's like another world, a better one than any world based on land."

"I wouldn't know," Emma replied shortly.

He looked over at her, his blue eyes matching the color of the water in the sunlight. "That's a shame. A lass as beautiful as you should see every corner of every realm imaginable."

Emma rolled her eyes and looked back at the sea. "That's a nice line. How many women have you used it on?"

He grinned wryly and nodded. "Aye, I've used my share of lines and stories. It doesn't make what I said any less true. I'm sure other people would agree that Rumplestiltskin's prized jewel should see more than just the town where she works."

She looked at him, a frown on her face. "What's your name?"

"Captain Killian Jones, at your service," he said, bowing from his seated position. "You may have heard of me as Captain Hook."

"The pirate?" Emma asked. "I've heard a few stories of you. What brought you to this quiet town?"

He shrugged. "My ship needed supplies and my crew needed a break. We pulled into the first harbor we could find on this side of the sea."

"And how did you know I work for Rumplestiltskin?" she asked, still frowning.

Hook grinned, a wicked gleam in his eyes. "After being at sea for over a year, a man misses the company of women. I just happened to wander into the tavern when you were dancing. I must say, you were a sight for weary eyes."

Her lips pursed slightly. "I'm glad to know I was able to bring some joy to a pirate."

"Oh, that you did," he agreed. "I've heard more than a few stories from my crew about the women of the Jewelry Box since we weighed anchor. From what I saw last night, you all live up to the stories."

Emma shook her head and swung her feet back onto the pier. "We all do what we have to. Goodbye, Hook."

He jumped to his feet and walked beside her as she began making her way back down the long pier. "Are you telling me that you do this out of choice? That you just accepted your place as a slut in the Dark One's brothel? I thought you looked like you had more fire than that."

Emma stopped and slapped him across the face, shocking him into silence. "You know nothing about me, Hook, and don't even try to pretend like you can figure me out after a two minute conversation. I don't let random pirates into my life, and I definitely don't let them call me a slut."

His blue eyes held the gaze of her green. "My apologies. Let me make it up to you. Say the word, lass, and I'll take you on board the Jolly Roger and we'll be gone before the Crocodile could say a word or try to track you down. We'll sail the seas and find you a place where you could live away from taverns and debts."

Her eyes narrowed. "What makes you think I need to be saved?"

"You're being held captive by a villain," Hook replied, grinning. "Who am I to turn my back on a damsel in distress?"

Emma began walking again. "I'm no damsel," she replied. Hook watched her walk back to the cobblestone street that led from the pier to the main part of town. He waited until she had turned a corner before returning to his ship.

The tavern was filled with people and noise. Killian sat at a small table in a corner, watching the flirtations and dancing. He nursed his rum, waiting to see if Emma or Rumplestiltskin would appear.

His conversation with her on the pier had been replaying inside his mind all day. He had meant to simply convince her to run away with him and leave the tavern to spite Rumplestiltskin and hopefully lure him into a confrontation. Killian hadn't expected her to be emotionally guarded and a bit feisty. His lips quirked into a smile as he remembered the harshness of her slap. She certainly had fire, and he respected her for holding onto her spirit when she was forced into slavery by the Dark One.

His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of both Emma and Rumplestiltskin. She was wearing a deep red dress that matched the color of her lips. It pushed her breasts up and clung to her body like a second skin. Her blonde hair fell in loose curls around her face. Rumplestiltskin stood beside her, a hand on her elbow. Another man approached them and spoke briefly with him. Something was passed from the man to Rumplestiltskin and Emma led the other man up the staircase in the corner of the room opposite from Killian's table.

Killian downed the rest of his rum and stood up, a plan forming in his mind as to how he could get closer to Emma and try to bring down his Crocodile at the same time.


End file.

Once Upon a Time, Drama, Romance