Chapter 17

Emma looked at Killian before she nodded knowing he probably wouldn't have been able to sign something being locked in a cell and with a hurt hand. She gave a nod but she believed the prince, even if before she never would believe a royal but she found herself believing Killian and she did know that the Jolly Roger being taken would take away his chance to be able to find his brother.

Emma watched them quietly, her eyes looked between Killian and her father but nodded a little hearing Killian needed air and looked at her parents. "He didn't do this." She said once Killian left but saw her father follow the prince after a moment and looked at her mother.

"You truly believe he wouldn't do something like this?" Snow asked. Emma shook his head, "the Jolly Roger is the only thing helping to get him towards his brother. He wouldn't ruin that." She said but then heard what sounded like a cry of pain and got up, moving to the door when she walked out to see Killian on the ground and her father stepping on his hand but could see the blood and knew his wound had reopened but also knew if it got too dirty the wound could become infected and she didn't want him getting sick because of that.

Emma walked over, grabbing her father's arm and tugging him back. "Leave him alone." She snapped. Though people didn't ever think it, she was a lot stronger than people thought she was. "If you aren't believing him then why don't you believe me? When I said that he wouldn't do it." She told him. "His father is not the nicest man and I think him being locked up and running from him to search for his brother wouldn't give him time to go signing a document." She told him, hoping that her father would believe her before she glanced down at the prince but after a moment, she held a hand down to him to offer to help him getting up but saw some blood on his cheek.

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David pressed harder into his hand not really caring that his boot was covered in blood or that Killian's hand was covered in blood, or that they were both nearly soaked through from the rain. He grunted a bit feeling his arm pulled and he studied his daughter for a moment. "Fine." He said and he took his foot off his hand. "Just so you know...he made an Oath with Snow, if he hurts you or betrays any of us, he's given me permission to run him through with his own knife. I'll give him on free pass." He said and took a few steps back towards the tavern before pausing and looking around at Emma. "Don't think that I won't do it." He warned before he went back inside and he sat back at the table, shaking the rain from his hair and giving a small smile to his wife. "we'll believe him for now. But one hint of lying and he's gone." He said and cracked his knuckles slightly.

Killian winced, having given up trying to tug his hand free or protest that he was innocent in this. He gasped feeling the foot off his hand though it was pretty much numb now. He curled around it slightly but seeing Emma's hand to help him up he took it and hauled himself up, though he stumbled into her slightly as he was a bit lightheaded. His hand was covered with blood and mud, the wound still bleeding fresh blood and he held it to his stomach, blood dripping off his fingers, not caring about how much he was staining his shirt. "You believe me?" He asked though it almost sounded like he was begging her to believe him. He winced and let out a few sharp breaths as he looked up at the tavern. "I...I shouldn't go back in. I don't want to be an inconvenience to Marie." He said softly and shook his head, though by now he'd just been stood there for a few minutes resting his head on the pirates shoulder.

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Emma looked at her father and gave a small nod hearing what he said and watched him a moment before she looked at the prince, one arm instinctively wrapping around him feeling him stumble into her but glanced down seeing his hand covered in blood and looking at him. "Marie won't mind. And we need to get that hand cleaned up and bandaged." She told him.

Emma felt his head on her shoulder and let him, she said. "Come on." She said as she kept one arm around him if he was still lightheaded before leading him inside but after having a quick word with Marie, she led Killian up the steps and to a room, a room she often had whenever she was in town. She closed the door and walked him over, sitting him down on the bed. She left the room for a moment, coming back with some bandages and a wet cloth as well as a small thing of alcohol. She walked over and sat down as she held her hand out and carefully grabbed his hand before pressed the cloth to his hand to stop the blood and clean it off his hand. "We will have to keep an eye on it, we'll use the alcohol which should help clean and get all the dirt but we still need to make sure it won't get infected." She told him.

Snow looked up when she heard her husband and watched him but Marie had sat bowls of stew with bread and water down on the table for them. "We're going to believe him then?" She asked and nodded. "Are you okay?" She asked knowing he hadn't been happy.

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Killian leaned into her, not thinking about how close they were right now. He bit his lip softly with a small wince as he felt his hand throbbing. "I'm sure it's not that bad." He said with a small shrug of his shoulders, though he knew that it was, especially with his hand having been in the mud. He held his hand on his lap as he watched Emma walk around the room and grab a few things. He put his hand into hers when he saw her asking for his hand and tensed a little bit in anticipation at the pain he knew that he'd feel, he was just sure the bleeding had slowed a little bit by now. "I'm sure it'll be fine, just a bit of dirt. Nothing I can't handle." He said softly.

Though feeling the cloth pressed to his hand he sucked in a breath of air and clenched his jaw, it took everything in him not to pull his hand away, but he was a prince, what good would it be if he couldn't even handle a little pain. His other hand shot out and placed itself over Emma's and the cloth. "I can do it myself." He offered softly, though as he looked at her, his thumb gently brushed over her hand, surprised at how her hands felt smooth and rough at the same time, experienced hands that had been through a lot. "You don't have to take care of me." He said, eyes flicking down to her hands and the warm tingly feeling he was getting at touching her hand and he didn't want to pull it away.

David shook his head as he sat back down. "No. Were not. Give him the benefit of the doubt maybe, at least until he slips up. Then we'll have a real excuse to run him through." He said and shook his head to his wife. "There's no way in hell I'm trusting another royal after we've been locked up for so long." He said with a little growl. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "well...I think he's learned his lesson today, but I really doubt that he didn't know about us being locked up in Midas' castle, his castle is practically down the road." He said with a sigh and leaned over giving his wife's cheek a kiss. "No. Not really. I'm not exactly happy to learn that somehow they've even managed to get their hands on the Jolly Roger, I miss the sea, sailing, the wind...and we've only just got it back. Now what, they're taking it off us?" He asked and shook his head, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword and his other hand was resting on the table, fingers drumming rapidly on the wood. "I won't let that happen. Even if I have to kill the king myself." He said.

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Emma looked at him and knew he was trying to act as if he was fine despite the fact she knew that it probably hurt after what had happened. She looked up at him as she held one hand under his. "You may say it but we don't want it getting infected." She told him but looked down feeling his hand placed over hers but he hen she looked up at him she know realized how close they were but she found herself not wanting to move away from him.

"I.. know you can but I feel like I owe you. You did hurt your hand saving me from being hit after all and my father.. we're just lucky he didn't do more than just step on your hand." Emma said softly knowing how ruthless her parents could be, especially angry, she knew the prince could have been hurt worse. "I know I don't." She said hearing she didn't have to take care of him. "But.. I want to." She admitted and found that was the truth, she wanted to take care of him, to protect the prince and make sure no on else hurt him. "And even if they done, I do believe you. When you said you didn't sign it, I know you wouldn't do that. I just want you to know that." She told him.

Snow looked at her husband and listened. "So you think he may slip up on something?" She asked him and smiled a little bit with a nod as she gave her husband's arm a squeeze. "The first wrong move he makes we will take care of it." She said and gave a tiny smile. "I just don't want our daughter getting hurt either by the Prince.. she seems to actually care for him and I don't want her hurt by a Royal." She said.

A female that had been near, giving a couple customers their food had overheard Snow and David's conversation and she couldn't help herself as she walked over. "You're Emma's parents?" She asked and looked slightly amused. "If it assures you, I don't think you'll have to worry about her. I'm sure the moment he hurts her she'll run him through with her own sword." she said, knowing she had basically been eavesdropping but she didn't care.

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Killian could only nod his head in agreement, he really didn't want his hand to get infected, much less having it roughly bandaged the first time and then thrown in the cell, nevermind it being pressed into the mud, though now that it was starting to look cleaned up he saw that it didn't look too bad and had just split back open slightly, hopefully with proper care it wouldn't leave too much of a bad or I could scar, with the proper care that Emma was providing him, a bloody pirate of all things, yet, he could not find one reason to complain.

He noticed her looking down at their hands, he had done so too a moment ago but he'd rather not draw attention to that fact, the fact that in his heart was a small place being developed for a certain blonde pirate. "Well...you don't need to owe me anything after this, I'm sure I owed you anyway for saving me twice now." He said finding that a small chuckle escaped his lips. "No, I suppose he could have stuck to the vow and run me through with me own blade." He said, his eyes drawing away from hers and to the sword that was thankfully still down by his side and bit through it. "Well thank you..." He said, not quite sure how to follow up the thanks if appreciation, it wasn't something he displayed often, if ever. He looked up at her hearing her words if belief and with that his eyes narrowed, half from suspicions and curiosity, he didn't know why she'd believe him when she had the most reason to hate Royals. He found himself not asking but instead pulled his hand away slowly from hers and gave a warm smile. "I think...it's clean enough. Just needs bandaging now." He said trying to clear the tension that he felt in the air, god in this light she looked beautiful, and seeing her with Marie it was the first time he'd really seen that side to her and he liked it, and he knew it wasn't the most perfect time to be having visions of him standing up, one hand cupping her neck, the other her waist and kissing her, backing her up until her back hit the wall.

He blinked and pulled himself out of his thoughts that were slowly becoming more scandalous and he gave a nod. "I am...grateful. That you believe me." He said slowly, choosing his words carefully, he didn't need to give her enough rope so that she could later hang him with it, metaphorically speaking. "I will fix this. He won't get your ship." He said, a new and kind sparkle in his eyes behind the layer or the cold hard ones, he knew this ship was more than just a vessel to her, it was her home.

David gave a smile to his wife. "Royals make mistakes all the time, it's only so long before he's bound to admit it or slip up." He said with a shrug, very convinced of his own words and he raised a tankard to his lips that had been brought over to them. "I won't let her get hurt, and if she is developing...a friendship with him, then we'll have to do it very carefully." He said thinking of multiple ways already to get rid of this man, this Royal, this disgrace to the realm. He could make his death look like an accident, or that he'd chosen to leave, find some dirt on him and blackmail him or...

His internal thoughts were cut off when he heard Emma's name being mentioned by a voice that he didn't recognise. His eyes turned to her and he scanned her up and down, he didn't recognise her so knew that she was no threat, the only person who invoked almost the same amount of fear or respect by reputation as their family did, was Blackbeard. He stood up, a hand going to the hilt of his sword, he could have asked her about why she seemed so sure that he was going to hurt Emma but his mind went to his daughter instead of the pirate, a stern look across his face, a deadly gaze boring into hers as he slowly slid the sword about a quarter of the way out of its sheathe, making sure his wife stayed beside him even though she could handle herself.

He slowly leaned forward, and intimidating move planned by him. "And what...are you meaning to imply about my daughter?" He asked, his words cold and methodical, if there was one thing in this realm that he wouldn't stand for besides Royals, it was others talking about his daughter behind her back, to where she couldn't defend herself. But she didn't need to anymore, he may have been locked in a cell for years, but he was there now and he wouldn't tolerate anyone bullshit to his family, sure he didn't know just what sort or reputation his daughter had acquired for herself, one of the last times he could remember with her she was a young child, both sat in a small boat on the ocean next to the Jolly Roger and talking about the stars. His mind was taking more than a moment to accept and attune to the fact that his little girl had grown up into a young woman who could protect herself.

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Emma looked up at the prince after a moment, pulling her gaze from his hand and shrugged a bit. "I may have saved you.. but you helped me with one of the things I've dreamed about my whole life." She said softly, knowing that despite things being slightly rocky at the start, she did have her parents back and she felt she owed it to him for having risked it and helped get them back. She looked down at his hand hearing about it being cleaned enough. "Right," she agreed with a short nod, pushing away her own thoughts of wishing to feel his arms around her. Instead, she just focused on grabbing some bandages. "We can take this stuff with. Just so it'll be better to have this on the ship to clean your hand and hopefully with keeping it bandaged and cleaned then it won't get infected or it won't leave too bad of a scar." She told him as she turned slightly to wrap his hand but once done, she stood up and grabbed a satchel, putting the stuff in it as she paused slightly and turned to look at the prince and gave a nod hearing he wouldn't let her ship be taken. "We should get back down.. eat and then figure out our next plan." She said.

Snow looked at David and nodded. "It'll be alright. And we'll make sure the Prince gets what he deserves if he slips up or does anything." She said since she wasn't going to let her daughter be hurt by anyone else, much less a Prince, even if she could handle herself. She knew her and her husband thought the same thing, that they weren't going to let her be hurt after everything and now that they were free and reunited with her, she wasn't going to let anyone hurt her, her thoughts being pulled away when she heard someone's voice she didn't recognize and saw her husband standing up and the sword pulled slightly.

The woman kept her eyes on David, not seeming too afraid of him pulling his sword slightly. A slight look of amusement showed in her eyes. "She didn't tell you then?" She asked. "What.. I am implying about your daughter is how cold blooded of a killer she is." She said, that was when Marie's voice cut through, making the woman turn to walk away. Marie hadn't heard everything that was said but whatever it was, could tell David had not been happy. "Get back to work." She told the woman and though Emma had her parents back, she still had a soft spot for the blonde and wanted to protect her.