There was nothing special about it, just another ball. Or so she thought. She couldn't deny it, there was something different. Not in the ball, but in the way she felt. She felt something she hadn't felt before. She couldn't explain it, she just knew that after dancing with him, something had changed. Something was different, and she didn't even know who he was, other than that his name was Baelfire.

It all started the night of the winter ball her parents Snow White and Prince Charming held every year. Balls were definitely not Emma's favorite thing. She didn't hate them, but didn't like them much either. Wearing fancy dresses and socializing with countless other royals from countless other realms were not some of her favorite things. But nonetheless, she couldn't help but feel something was going to happen tonight, and that gave her more motivation to make it through the night.
Once the party had started and all the guests had arrived, she blended herself into the crowd, while her parents sat at their thrones greeting those who were arriving. Finding her way through the guests, a certain mysterious boy around her age caught her eye. The guests at these balls were always the same, and most she had seen countless times before. This mystery boy intrigued her, and she made her way over to him.

He saw her coming his way and wanted to get away as quick as possible fearing she would discover who he was and return him to his father, but he just couldn't make himself do it. There was some undeniable feeling he had that made him stay. She reached him, and the gentleman in him asked to dance.
She accepted, and after a bit, the question that was eating at her curiosity escaped her lips.

"The people who come to these things are always the same. I've seen them all countless times and know their names well. Yet I've never seen you before. Who are you?"

Of course she would ask the one question he was dreading, but how could he hold back from the princess?
"My name is Baelfire."

"Baelfire. That's a strange name. I like it," she said smiling.

As they continued to dance and talk, the connection grew, and they could both feel it. They knew they had something special, and they couldn't deny it. Something had changed. The time he spent with her made him feel like he wasn't alone, unlike when he was with his father or the others who felt sorry for him for what he lived with. She made him feel special in some small way.

Dancing with him made her feel more free than she usually felt. He made her feel special for more than just being the princess, more than just being the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. It was the feeling she could see her parents had for each other, or at least what she assumed it would be. And then it hit her. Maybe this mystery boy would be her future