Ch. 1

The Evil Queen stood with her hands tied behind her back, bound to an old pole. Her typical, ornate gowns were replaced with a tattered dress, inadequate for the likes of royalty. However, her challenging gaze, overflowing with contempt, still remained. Regina stared the onlookers down and took a quick breath to steady her voice, "...When I - look back at everything I've done, I want you all to know what I feel, and that is… regret. Regret that I was not able to cause more pain… inflict more misery, and bring about more death. And above all else, with every ounce of my being, I regret that I was not able to kill… Snow White!" With that remark, Charming ordered the archers to shoot and Snow buried her already tear-stained face into her husband's shoulder. The arrows flew straight and sure and embedded themselves into Regina's chest. Silence fell over the onlookers, interrupted only by a scream of pure anger that sounded throughout the courtyard. The offender, a scaly hooded figure, disappeared in a puff of purple smoke, but the King and Queen were too consumed in their own troubles to notice the outcry.

"We've made a terrible decision, Charming." Snow murmured, her gaze stubbornly avoiding the body of the Evil Queen.

Unbeknownst to Snow at the time, her statement could not have been more accurate, for the fate that fell upon Regina was not at all what destiny had intended to happen. Yet destiny's imminent correction of what had been wronged was not punctual, and the kingdom of Misthaven returned to a sense of normalcy. Snow gave birth to the Nolans' first child, a fiery daughter by the name of Emma and two years later, they were proud to announce the birth of their first son and their last child, Leopold. As the years passed, talk of Regina became more seldom and the royal couple did their best to quietly write the Evil Queen out of history, ashamed that their hearts had been prematurely laced with darkness.

A single arrow flew through the air and missed its target by a substantial margin. The archer, a teenage girl with long, blonde curls, growled and stomped her foot ungracefully into the ground. She grabbed another arrow from the quiver and nocked it, her green eyes glaring at the target.

"Emma, honey, you are getting far too agitated, just relax," Snow said to her daughter, giving her what she hoped was a reassuring smile, but her words of encouragement did not have her intended effect. Emma let out another breath of annoyance as the arrow she shot flew past its target. She dropped her bow none too gently onto the grass and turned to glare at her mother.

"We've been at this for hours! This is useless," Emma huffed, crossing her arms, "Why do I have to learn how to shoot a bow if I have my magic?"

Snow took a deep breath, hoping to keep her voice free of annoyance, "We have already had this talk on multiple occasions, Emma; you know that Blue doesn't want you to use your magic unless it is absolutely necessary. Therefore, your father and I have decided that it would be best for you to be trained in combat as well as magic, so that you may defend yourself if the need arises."

"Dad already taught me how to use a sword," Emma retorted through gritted teeth.

"I know, honey, but range weapons are just as important as melee weapons." Snow said, picking up the bow and handing it to her daughter, who reluctantly accepted it.

"I just don't understand why I can't just use my magic. What's the point in having powers in you never use them?" Snow sighed wearily at that remark. Her daughter enjoyed her magic lessons with the Blue Fairy, but whenever Emma attempted to learn a skill that did not come to her naturally, her patience would always run thin.

"All magic comes with a price, Emma, you know that. Besides, not everyone is so willing to accept magic, you wouldn't want to scare anyone, now would you?" Emma bit her lip and looked away from her mother, crossing her arms. The Queen let out another sigh and retrieved a coin purse from her trouser pocket. "Why don't you take a guard with you to the marketplace and buy yourself a treat? You've earned it." Emma forcefully grabbed the purse from her mother's hands.

"I'm sixteen, Mother, I think I can handle going to the marketplace without a guard. Besides, my melee skills should protect me if necessary." Emma retorted and she ran back to the castle to grab her sword and cloak.

Once at the marketplace, Emma pulled the hood of her cloak over her head. There was nothing she hated more in this world than being a part of royalty. She despised the stares she received and how her parent's subjects insisted on calling her by her title, Princess Emma. The formalities and the civilities were all too much for her. For as long as the young princess could remember, she had always felt out of place in this world, as if she was meant for a different life; a life where she could be free. If it was possible for someone to be homesick for something that they had never known, it was certainly true for her. All she wanted was to never have to be bowed to again and to be free to travel wherever she wanted, but that was impractical. In spite of what she believed, she was still the crown princess and she would one day be queen. She had a responsibility to the kingdom, and as much as she hated to admit it, her duty as crown princess came before anything else.

Emma pulled the cloak closer to her and adjusted the hood to ensure that a shadow was cast across the entirety of her face. She weaved through the market stalls, searching for a particular one. Ruby, a friend of her parents and virtually an older sister to Emma, and her grandmother owned the stand that she was looking for. Emma caught sight of Ruby's red cloak in the corner of her eye, swaying peacefully as its owner swept the cobble stones surrounding the stand. Emma grinned as her eyes then fell on the resilient old lady standing in the window of the stall. There was no one older than Granny in Misthaven and it was often said that nothing would ever be able to kill her. The townsfolk would often joke that Death himself was too frightened to take her, and Emma had to admit that she believed the rumors. The princess approached the stand, knowing that Granny would recognize her immediately, but not caring.

"What can I get for you, sir?" Granny asked and Emma knew that her inference was correct when the old lady humored her with a wink.

"A slice of bread and… hot chocolate," Emma said and Granny gave her a knowing smile before retreating further into the stand. The stand was larger than the surrounding stalls, reminding Emma of a tavern, only with no seating area and a compacted kitchen. She looked around the bustling marketplace as she waited for her food. She was envious of the townsfolk and their ability to live a normal life. She would never share these thoughts with her parents- her mother would only scold her, saying that envy was unbecoming for a lady- but she could not prevent the thoughts from slipping into her mind. Oh, how amazing it would be to be alone and free for a day.

"Are you alright, dear?' Granny asked, food and drink in hand. The old lady's voice broke Emma from her reverie and she turned to face her.

"Yeah-yeah… I'm just thinking about how I'm going to be an adult soon," Emma lied easily as she emptied the contents of the coin purse onto the counter, knowing that her mother would want her to give all the extra money she had to Ruby and Granny. Granny gave Emma a thankful smile and placed the bread and hot chocolate in front of the poorly disguised princess, before she brushed the coins into the palm of her hand and put them into a jar underneath the counter.

"You're going to have to start looking for a suitor before too awful long," Granny said and Emma did her best to hide a cringe; she was not ready for that at all.

"I guess I will… So, how's business?" Emma asked, changing the subject. Granny furrowed her eyebrows, but let it slide, nonetheless. They chatted for a few more minutes before Emma grabbed her bread and hot chocolate and bid farewell to both Granny and Ruby. She took a careful sip from her hot chocolate and let out a contented sigh when she realized that Granny had remembered the cinnamon. Bless that woman.

The princess continued to walk around the town while sipping her hot chocolate, simply enjoying the anonymity of the situation. However, the peace did not last long and her serenity was violently disturbed when a mass greater than her own came crashing into her. Scalding hot chocolate spilled all over her and it was quickly seeping into her cloak. The package of bread flew to the ground and landed, with Emma and the unknown object following shortly after. Her breath was knocked out of her and she was thrown into complete darkness. She elbowed whatever had her pinned to the ground and she heard a soft grunt. That's not a thing, that's a person, she thought and squirmed, desperately trying to push the individual off of her.

"Get off of me, I'm armed!" She tried to yell, but her cry was muffled. The offender stirred, as if realizing for the first time that someone was under them. They quickly removed their body from on top of Emma and she let out a hoarse cough, spitting out hair from her mouth. A hand appeared in front of her face, offering assistance and unknowingly bringing her to her senses. She jumped onto her feet and took several steps backwards, away from her attacker.

"My apologies, love. I should have looked where I was going," said a man's voice. Emma looked up and her eyes locked with the man who had tackled her . To call him a man was a bit of a stretch, for he only appeared to be a few years older than herself. His dark brown hair was tussled, whether naturally or from their collision, she did not know, and his eyes were a startling blue. He seemed to notice her staring as he began to awkwardly scratch at a spot behind his ear. Emma impulsively pulled her hood down lower over her face.

"It's alright, I wasn't exactly looking where I was going, either…" She trailed off, wincing as she felt the hot chocolate burning her skin. The man's eyes trailed over her stained cloak and he hastily removed his own, holding it out to her.

"It was all my fault, love. Please, take this as my apology." He said and Emma tried to politely decline, but the stranger would not back down. She eventually gave in, knowing that her mother would not appreciate it if she deliberately upset one of their subjects. The princess then slowly removed her cloak, fearing that the man would undoubtedly recognize her. By some miracle, he did not and she felt relief flood her body. She threw the cloak on, a cloak which was notably less regal and expensive than her own.

"Thank you…?" Emma said, quietly prompting him for his name.

"Killian Jones at your service," he bowed playfully, a small smirk growing on his face. His gesture caused her heart to flutter nervously and she threw the cloak's hood over her head.

"May I ask what your name is?" Killian said and raised one of his eyebrows. The panic that Emma felt intensified and she searched desperately for a name to give to the stranger, but she came up woefully short.

"Swan… My name's Emma… Swan," Emma kicked herself mentally for the pseudonym that she gave to him, for the only thing that she could think of was the tapestry of a swan that hung, behind her bed back at the royal palace.

"Swan… what an odd name, I like it," Killian stated with a smirk and held out his hand for Emma to shake. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Swan, albeit under unfortunate circumstances…" Killian trailed off, giving her a simultaneously awkward and apologetic smile. The princess stared at the peasant's outstretched hand for a moment before she unceremoniously shoved the package of bread into his arms, causing her to receive a confused look in return.

"Payment for the cloak," Emma stated simply, as an answer to his unasked question. "I really must be going.," Emma said, turning around before she dashed towards the palace without looking back. The marketplace was far too crowded and with passing second she spent chatting the dark-haired stranger, the odds of her being recognized or of Killian remembering her would continue to increase and that was not something she felt like dealing with today. It was all just too much for her.

"Wait, you don't need to pay me for the cloak!" Killian called after her. He reached out his hand as if to somehow stop her motion. When she had successfully disappeared, he wrapped both of his arms around the package.

"Bloody hell," he said, shaking his head. He then turned around and walked towards the docks.