HEY GUYS THIS IS MY NEW FIC I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT!

Emma awoke suddenly. There was knocking on her chamber door. "Princess Emma! You must wake up! Your Birthday Ball is tonight and we have much to do!" Emma groaned as she slid out of bed. Today she would turn 21. And, at her ball she would be introduced to Prince Neal, the Prince of the Kingdom of Mallowhedge and the man she was to marry. When she was little, she always had the fantasy that she would marry for love, just as her parents Queen Snow and King David had. But, that was all too rare in the world of nobility. Her marriage would amount to nothing more than a simple business transaction, a merger of two kingdoms. There was another knock at the door. "Princess, do you require help?" It was one of her handmaids, Elizabeth.

"Yes, you may enter, Elizabeth."

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"All hail Princess Emma!" The fanfare echoed throughout the ballroom. Emma entered with her father by her side, and her mother trailing behind them. Emma could barely breathe in the death contraption they called a 'corset'. Emma sat down at her throne, watching the festivities unravel in front of her. "Happy Birthday, Emma." David said, waking Emma from her trance.

"Thank you, father." Emma didn't look up, her eyes distant. David didn't seem to notice, but Snow did.

"Emma? Is something wrong?"

"No, mother. I am fine I assure you."

"Then perhaps you would like to dance with Prince Neal?"

Emma sighed. "Yes, mother." Emma descended the throne steps, Prince Neal waiting at the bottom, his hand outstretched. Gracefully, she took it and he led her onto the dance floor. He was a handsome man, with his hair nicely groomed and a bit of scruff sprouting on his chin. He put his arm around her waist, and took her hand as the waltz began. As they danced, Emma could only stare at her feet.

"Hello, Princess. Are you enjoying your Birthday?" Neal said, trying to get her to focus her attention elsewhere.

"No."

"Why ever not? My 21st birthday celebration pales in comparison to this lovely ball."

"I always thought I would marry for love." Emma explained, sighing.

Neal's smile faltered. "I understand how you feel, Princess. My heart belongs to another you see…but we can never be together."

"Why not?"

"She is not of noble blood."

"I see."

"Well, if I already had someone that I loved, noble or not, I am certain that my parents would not hesitate to let me be with him."

"Is that so?" Neal asked, chuckling lightly.

"Indeed. My mother used to be a bandit, and my father a shepherd."

"I don't believe that is common knowledge of the King and Queen."

Emma chuckled. "Oh, it is not, but they would not be ashamed of their origins."

The music stopped. Neal bowed. "Thank you, Princess. I had a pleasant timetonight. "

Emma smiled and curtsied. "As did I. I am pleased to know that I'm to marry an honorable man."

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That night, Emma went to the palace library. It was where she always went when she wanted to think. She breathed a heavy sigh as she took in the sight of the familiar, towering, dusty bookshelves. The library had enough books to last a lifetime and then some. Much to the dismay of her parents and of the guards, Emma's favorite section was the 'Forbidden' section. It held books of ancient spells and runes, and cursed tomes. Emma walked over to the section and ran her fingers over the bindings of the books. Her fingers came to rest on an old black, leather-bound book. She pulled it from its place on the shelf and dropped it on the table in front of her, dust flying in all directions. She brushed off the cover to find a worn Jolly Roger symbol on its cover. "How strange…" She muttered. Hesitantly, she opened the book.

"Hello, love," came a voice. Emma turned around to see a pirate, dressed completely in leather, long trench coat, falling to his ankles. And…he had a hook for a hand.

"Who are you?!" Emma asked, holding up her candle-holder.

"I'll call the guards!" She warned.

"Relax, I cannot harm you, I am merely a ghost." Emma's face looked puzzled and she put the candleholder back on the table.

"A…ghost?"

"What, you don't believe me, darling? Watch this." Suddenly, the strange man walked straight through the table which Emma was leaning against.

"But…"

"That book was my prison, of which you so kindly freed me." There was a smirk on his face.

"So, you're…dead?" Emma's face paled slightly.

"No, love. Not dead, just stuck. I was cursed by a witch, my spirit was freed from my body."

"And…your body?"

"It lies in the North Mountain Cave, under a preservation spell."

"Oh…" Emma wasn't sure what else to say.

"Am I the only one who can see you?"

"Yes, that's how it works."

"And… the curse?"

The man sighed. "I know of only one thing strong enough to break any curse."

"True love's kiss." Emma mumbled.

"Aye." His blue eyes pierced hers for a moment as Emma's face showed sympathy.

"What…happens when I close the book?" The man chuckled.

"Nothing, I'm afraid you're stuck with me."

"Great, and you haven't told me your name."

The pirate grinned devilishly. He walked over to Emma and kissed the back of her hand. He could see the confusion in her eyes and it made his smirk grow. "My apologies, lass. I'm Killian Jones, otherwise known as, Captain Hook." Emma's face grew even more confused.

"The Captain Hook?"

"Ah, so you've heard of me," he said, still holding her hand. Emma looked down.

"How are you…you're not…"

"Real? On the contrary, I can be as real as youwant." He suddenly wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling their faces close to each other. "What's your name, princess?"

Emma's heart started beating hard and fast, and she was sure he could hear it. "Emma, of the Kingdom of Ezra."

Hook scoffed. "Ezra? Of all the kingdoms I could have ended up in, it was Ezra?"

"What's….wrong with that?"

"It is the kingdom for which I served in the Royal Navy, under King George. The tyrant."

"My grandfather," She mumbled. "But you don't look any older than 27!"

"For someone who claims to know of me, you know very little."

Emma scoffed. "I know that you're said to be the most cutthroat pirate ever to hoist a sail. I know you killed the fearsome Blackbeard with your own bare hands. And I know that Rumplestiltskin took your hand and your true love's heart (in the literal sense)."

Killian chuckled. "The stories are very accurate." Their faces were still inches away from each other, his hand still on her waist. "But I was also in Neverland, the place where people never grow old, for three hundred years."

"What happens when I close the book?" Emma asked, changing the subject and pulling away from him.

"Nothing. It appears you're stuck with me."

"Great," she said, closing the book and putting it back on the shelf. All of the sudden, he materialized in front of her, his face dangerously close to hers.

"Tell me, Emma, have you ever been in love?" Emma swallowed.

"No, I have never been in love."

"We shall see..." With that, Killian disappeared into thin air.

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