Killian laid, side by side with his brothers, contained within his wooden shell. The box that held them all, kept them apart with the seperate segments for each of them but, he didn't really a mind. He had known since his creation that he was . . . different. While his brothers were bedecked in the finest glossy red, the painted on buttons gleaming bright gold, he (being the last to be made) had been made with some leftover blue. Being last had also resulted in his arm, which hadn't had enough tin to be completed and cut off just below the elbow, leaving a silver stump behind. They were the boy's Christmas present (bestowed upon him that very morning) a navy set with one of each rank. Killian himself was a lieutenant but there was also the admiral, officer, commander and captain to name a few.

As the night fell and the light grew thin, he wasn't the only one in the girl and boy's bedroom who was growing eager. Most of the other toys were growing anxious for the night to truly begin. To stretch and walk about and live. The only ones who really could contain their enthusiasm well were the soldiers, being military men.

The one who was truly the most excited was the little's girls doll, the ballerina, Emma. As a ballerina, the thing she loved most was to dance and during the restricting hours of the day, she was physically forbidden. So, when the night came, she took it upon herself to dance to her hearts content. She was quite a sight as she twirled through the miniature courtyard of the little girl's castle (It was her castle too but the little girl came first).

When the hour struck and the clock struck midnight, the room was suddenly alive with toys, eager to be free of daytime's curse. Killian and his brothers pulled themselves from the box and began the march through the boy's bedroom, taking in the new surroundings.

As they marched along, stepping over books and around various strange things belonging the boy and the little girl, Killian tripped over the edge of one of the books but when he fell, he knocked his brothers over like dominos. Instead of accepting his hasty apologies, the soldiers huffed angrily, stood, turned again and ignored him, except for the captain who helped him to stand before running to catch up with them.

Then, Killian noticed the book he had tripped over in the first place.

Once upon a time

The title's gold lettering winked at him. Carefully, he pulled the cover over and flicked to a random page. He found a magnificently illustrated picture of two people, a man and a woman embracing each other. They looked happy. Perplexed, Killian again folded the pages over and saw yet another couple, this time with lips sealed together. A few more page flips and he began to notice a trend, the happy pairings continued to show up. Did everyone eventually become a happy pair? Killian wondered.

He soon started paying less attention to the pictures and more to the stories written that accompanied them. They fascinated him. Being newly created, he had never heard of the term 'true love' but it was written several times. Strange, very strange.

Looking up from the book, Killian was hit with a sinking feeling when he saw that his brothers were no where to be seen. They had forgotten him entirely, he supposed. Then he saw something else that intrigued him. There was a majestic castle tucked into a corner of the bedroom with pink turrets and glittering miniature flags. This, of course, was Emma's castle although he didn't know it.

He made his way to the castle, unsure if his brothers would be there or perhaps someone who could direct him to wherever they had gone. He entered from a gateway, overlaid with silk roses and green velvet embroidered bushes into the gardens.

Something had happend of late that certainly didn't please Emma. The Jester had taken to trailing after her. The Jester wasn't, in fact, a jester at all. He was a jack in the box. Everyone had taken to refering to him as The Jester due to his preffered garb. He dressed in bright purple and gold with bells and tassels. Despite being a jack in the box, there were two contradictory things about him, his real name was Neal, not Jack and he preferred it outside his box. He had never bothered to stray too far until recently when he stumbled across Emma. He became quite taken with her beauty and was intending to woo her. So far she had remained quite obstinate in her opinion that he was a pompous fool. He approached and she stopped in the middle of her dance and turned to glare at him, her hands planted on her hips.

"Leave me be, Jester." she said, making shooing motions with her hands.

"Why must I? I've only just arrived." he said, leaning a bit more close than was proper. She backed up but he caught her from behind by the waist.

"I don't care a whit if you've just arrived! I have no interest in you, Jester!" she spat. Footsteps were heard, echoing. The source was only a few feet away and getting louder by the second. Neal reliqushed his grip on Emma and slunk away, out of sight.

A tall man with dark hair and a blue uniform came through the welcoming arch, an expression of curiosity etched on his face. He caught sight of Emma and strode purposefully towards her. She was both annoyed and relieved that he had come, annoyed because he had intruded on her courtyard univited and relieved because his presence had scared The Jester away.

When Killian entered the garden, he saw the ballerina and he couldn't help but stare. She was a vision amongst dolls, golden locks like strands of sunshine, eyes like emerald chips and skin of the finest white porcelain. Then he decided that she might be the one to point him in the right direction. He felt a bit nervous attempting to speak to someone of such a higher quality than him but swallowed his fears.

"Lass, have you perhaps seen my brothers, the tin soldiers?" Emma stared up at this man who quite bold and wasted no time getting to the point. There was no denying that his good looks or that he was of the military sort. He had eyes that were painted a clear, light blue and his uniform shone brightly.

"If they look as you do, then I'm afraid i've seen nothing of the sort." she said, trying to ignore the intensity of his gaze.

"We look quite different, my brothers and I. Asides from the color of our uniforms, they have certain things I lack." he said, waving his butchered left arm, showing off the unpainted stub left behind. Her emerald eyes widened and her hands went to her mouth.

"Does it hurt?" The foolish question slipped involuntarily from her lips. She blushed and cringed but he was not offended.

"Thankfully, no. I was just made this way. Tis the price of being made last, I suppose." He smiled good naturedly and his tone was upbeat but his eyes held a hint of meloncholy amidst the ocean of blue painted hues.

"That's quite horrible." Emma said, "I suppose I'm lucky to have been made with both hands." She turned her hands, palms up and gazed at them with newfound respect. He placed his single hand on top of Emma's, comparing his to hers and she supressed a shiver. He then shook Emma's hand as an equal might.

"Thanks anyway. I suppose I shall have to look elsewhere." he turned to leave.

"Wait!" she called after him. He turned back, a bemused expression.

"Yes?"

"I don't even know your name."

"It's Killian."

"Emma." The ghost of a grin passed over his face.

"Will you be coming this way again? Tommorrow perhaps?" she asked.

"Nothing could keep me away." he said, simply. Then he took Emma's hand once more and kissed it before leaving the garden with a strange fluttery feeling in his heart.

Hope you liked the story! This is probably going to be a two shot and it might have an epilogue as well.

Reviews? Suggestions?