A Dilemma.
Princess Emma was always surrounded by people who loved her, but when her parents want her to start settling down, she finds herself in a small bit of a dilemma.
Authors' Note- I hope you guys enjoy my very first OUAT Fic!
Chapter 1.
"Ow!" I yelp as the pin pricks in to my side. "I swear, I will have more holes in me than a sponge."
"Emma, you know it's not right to swear." My mother says, looking up from my waist, where she is hard at work, trying to get the floor-length ball gown that I have on to fit perfectly.
"Well, at least try not to prick me with the pin every time you move it."
"It would help if you were still, Emma." She mumbles. "Okay, I think that's it. Oh, Emma, you look stunning." She continues, standing back to admire her handiwork.
"Why couldn't you say I look stunning when I'm dressed in my normal clothes?" I ask, swiftly turning to face my mother.
"Because this dress is way more beautiful than your 'normal' clothes." She laughs. My mother, Queen Snow, always the stylish and ladylike woman in the family. If I had it my way, I would always dress in my riding clothes. "This," she begins, as I turn to face the wall of mirrors, "will almost guarantee that every man in the kingdom would want to dance with you."
"Mother, you really outdid yourself this time." I reply.
"Good, so your warming up to it." She says, stroking the baby-blue silk of the full skirt.
"I wouldn't say exactly that, but I think I look good." I answer proudly.
"All eyes will be on you tonight, Em, even though it is mine and your father's anniversary party."
"Like you had to remind me! I've been hearing about this party non stop since the last one!"
"Hardly, sweetheart." She replies. "Now, I'm going to go check if everything's ready, and then I'll go get dressed. You'll know where to find me." She finishes, elegantly striding out of the room, but stopping and turning abruptly. "If you get one mark on that dress..."
"I know, you'll send the Huntsman after me."
She smiles, and says, "Red will be in in a few minutes. I don't trust you with that curling iron." She laughs.
When I hear her footsteps fading as she proceeds down the corridor, I realise, that for the first time today, I have a few minutes alone. I flop down onto my four-poster bed, providing temporary relief from the smothering corset, which my mother has already laced up at the back, so it is almost impossible for me to remove it, with the multiple-tiered skirt that is almost twice as big as I am. Staring at the ornately decorated ceiling, I allow my mind to wander to a conversation I overheard between my mother and father having a few days prior.
"Charming, sweetie, you can't force her to do this. You have to let her figure it out on her own." Is what I had heard my mother saying, from my hiding place in the castle, located just above the banquet hall, with a small vent in the wall so that I could hear them.
"Snow, she's twenty-one. The same age you were when we met." My father, King James, replied.
"Just give her some time. She'll find someone."
"And if she doesn't? What does that mean for our kingdom?" He quietly shouted in return.
"It means that she will run the kingdom on her own, which I am sure she is plenty capable of doing!" My mother had yelled in return.
The conversation from then on was out of my earshot. There was no doubt in my mind that they were talking about me, and, more specifically, whom I was going to marry. I knew that they were going to bring that up soon, because my father was right. I am twenty-one, and from the looks of it, running out of time. My father is trying to convince my mother that an arranged marriage was the way to go, but my mother is still holding out hope that I will find true love before I reach twenty-five. The truth is, unbeknownst to my mother, is that I already have someone in mind.
A rap on the wooden door pulls me out of my daydream and back into the real world.
"Hey, Red."
"Hey, Em." She greets. "You ready to get all beauty-fied?" She asks, waving her make-up tools above her head.
"I guess." I reply gloomily.
Sensing my tone, Red says, "Come on, Em! It'll be fun!" Red, although twenty years my senior, is my best friend in the castle and my confidante. "Sit!" She commands, pulling the chair away from the table where my mother has laid out the hair tools.
The minutes pass without us speaking as Red gathers sections of my hair and twists it up elegantly.
"Your parents are hoping you'll find a nice man at the ball tonight." She says, breaking the silence.
"I know. But they can't force me to." I reply sternly.
"I know they can't force you, sweetie, but nevertheless they still have a point." She says sadly, pulling in a deep breath. "You are twenty-one Ems, and running out of options fast."
"What do you mean 'running out of options'?"
"I mean that nearly all the decent men in the kingdom are being snapped up quickly, and if you don't find someone soon, you may never find someone." She states matter-of-factly.
"What happened to 'finding true love'?" I laugh.
"Emma, honey, not to put a downer on your party mood, but not everyone finds their true love. It's hard enough with all the people in this realm, plus, may I remind you, that your parents found each other with the help of The Dark One, and I would hazard a guess that they would never let you near that man." She says, cocking her head to one side.
"I know that they threw this party to gather every eligible man in the kingdom to one place, I heard them talking about it earlier this week." I sigh. "And hearing them say that they want to marry me off to some prince or nobleman to secure peace in the kingdom for a while got me thinking."
"Ems, you know I hate it when you think." She interrupts, tapping her temple.
"Just hear me out, Red." I say. "There may be someone...that I may or may not have my eyes on."
Red arches her eyebrow, and I know that I sparked some intrigue.
"Do go on." She says, waving her hand in front of her.
I smile a wide, proud smile at Red. "His name is Bae." I say, cocking my head to the side. "Baelfire."
I hope you liked it, and please drop a review on the way out!