I own nothing, probably never will own anything cause I spend most of my life either writing or being ill. I don't own CS, OUAT, the cast or characters or crew, that's all down to the hard work of the show as a whole.

I started working on this about a week after I wrote Helping Hand, however, something happened and it made me completely cut off from technology, especially writing. Unfortunately, my grandmother passed away after a year of waiting and so it came as a hard blow to my family and I couldn't face going back to this yet. However, I feel able to come back now, but if I go again just understand that's why.

Kiss From a Rose

3rd Person

Prince Killian stares ahead of him as he takes in the news that's being lain out in front of him quite clearly.

His parents, the King and Queen of the kingdom he's happily called home for the past twenty-four years of his life, are stepping down from the throne with little to no warning in a months time and he is the next to take the throne since his brother can't.

His brother, the lucky git, Liam, had gotten married four months previously to the Queen of Arendelle, Elsa. Because of this, it meant that Liam was now in Arendelle and was ruling with her, meaning that Killian is the next in line for the Misthaven throne.

He never even considered the fact his parents might actually step down or die, he just thought he'd always live the life of the brother who would never be King. However, it seems fate had alternative plans for him considering the fact he's just been told his parents are now stepping down from the throne and passing it to him.

Most people would probably be thrilled to have the money and the power of a King, to be able to do as they please so long as they don't irritate any of the kingdoms they see as allies. Killian isn't most people, he was upset when his brother abdicated himself leaving Killian to be King instead of him, and he didn't want that life.

In actual fact, Killian wanted nothing more than to be able to go and live comfortably in a home out in the countryside by the sea and start a family. But it seemed that life was never in the cards for Killian, as his parents and brother had made his life plans rather simply laid out.

Instead of a quiet life by the sea and starting a family, he's to become the King of Misthaven. And instead of a family of his choosing, a life of his own, his mother has other plans.

"Killian, you can not expect me to actually allow you to rule all on your own do you?" His mother quirks an eyebrow and places her hands on her lap, her dress fanning out from how she's sitting. "I want you to have someone by your side."

"Excuse me?" He asks, still in shock from the news he just received about them stepping down.

"I am arranging you a match, a good one, with a princess from a neighboring village. She's well educated, kind and will make a nice fit for a Queen, so be nice to her."

"Mother, I despise being the one to burst your bubble, but I am not being forced into some arranged marriage with a woman I don't know."

"Killian, you need a Queen by your side, a good Queen who will understand the needs of the kingdom, it's what I want-"

"And how about what I want?" Killian stands up from where he's sat, pacing around. "Have you and father never once considered my feelings in this? My wishes for what I'm being forced into?" He asks, slightly angrily.

"Well-"

"No is the answer. It doesn't matter what I want to you does it? So long as you get the life that I want! To be able to get away as soon as possible! I will not be placed in an arranged marriage, mother!"

"You will if I say you will!" She stands too, stepping to him, his words of defiance upsetting her. "I am the one who gets to arrange things, not you-"

"Mother-"

"Both of you stop!" His father speaks up for the first time, standing, and both of their heads snap to look at him. "You are both right. Killian, you don't have a choice in this unless we grant you one. And Adelaide," He turns to address Killian's mother. "We shouldn't force him into this, into finding love, he should be at least given a chance to figure it out on his own."

His mother stares at Brennan for a moment and Killian hasn't ever been so glad to have his father on his side for once, knowing his father and mother would want him to be happy. His mother always focuses on the needs of others first, namely their kingdom and she was right that he needed someone by his side, he just wants the opportunity to pick by himself.

"A chance…" Adelaide muses to herself, seeming to think for a moment before looking at Killian again. "I will allow you three months, if you find a woman you like that we approve of, I will not force you into the arranged marriage."

"Three months?" He slowly begins to find himself agreeing, needing more time. He needs to find someone on his own, he refuses to be miserable and not in love with his wife for the rest of his life.

Adelaide nods, offering him her hand as a sign of making a deal. "Deal?"

He stares at her hand before taking it. "Deal."

That night Killian needs to think, and plan, and decide what the hell he's going to do with those three months he's been blessed with. So he heads down to the nearest tavern, dressing in the least decorative clothes he owns and is proud of himself when he blends in rather well with a group of sailors from the navy of the kingdom that is in port.

At first, he sits inside before the noise becomes too much and he brings his jug of rum out, sipping it slowly instead of gulping it down like the other men did. There are some seats outside of the tavern that he takes up residence of one, seeing only one or two (already rather drunk) men on the other tables so he steers clear of them.

The tavern is right on the pier where he can stare at the water and read a book he hasn't found the time for recently, and it calms down all of his nerves about becoming King, having to find a wife. The soothing affect of the water chases those worries away like nothing for him.

He reads his book quietly, not caring what a person would think of him for reading in a tavern such as the one he's in, and before he knows it he's in the dark. But he doesn't mind, he's hardly afraid of the dark.

A young woman passes him and he doesn't pay her much attention as she refills his jug, passing her a coin or two, and he hears her little gasp in surprise over how much he's given her, knowing it's far more then she would be used to. "I-Thank you, sir."

With a glance up from his book, he can't help but smile wide at the sight of the woman in front of him.

She's young like him, that much is obvious, probably only twenty-one and hardly used to the ways of a tavern despite the fact she seems to be a barmaid. She's not scantily clad in a breast hugging dress, and she has on none of the paint women seem to wear on their faces to make them look more attractive.

Her long blonde hair falls to a little under her breasts, not that he stares of course, and he takes notice of the fact she's dressed rather conservatively considering her occupation. She has these stunning green eyes that are rather wide from the large payment he's just given her, and she has this faint blush running across her cheeks that makes him realise he's staring.

"It's uh-well…quite alright." He says softly, tearing his gaze away from her, coughing awkwardly, and he curses himself for being so unlucky in the flirting department, hearing her little-disappointed sigh as he turns back to his book.

To his disappointment but not his surprise, she moves on and pours a large amount of rum into another man's tankard, moving away quickly like she expects something to happen, and Killian notices the man didn't pay her at all. Instead of payment, the man reaches for her hand and yanks her back to him, making her gasp in surprise but not sounding happy.

The man seems to say something to her and she fights to get away, frowning, and Killian can't help but get involved, knowing he has to do something. But, because he's the world's biggest idiot who shouldn't be trusted with ruling a tiny uninhabited island let alone an entire bloody kingdom, he can only think of one thing. "Rhea!" He calls aimlessly, seeing both the man and girl snap their heads to him.

"Rhea!" He calls again, looking the girl in the eye as a sign to play along. "Love, is that man bothering you?"

The woman seems happy about his intrusion and he supposes he's done something wrong. "Uh, yes, Oliver. I-I should go back to my husband." She wretches her hand away from the horrible mans and rushes over to Killian, sitting by him.

Luckily, the man believes their little act and Killian blames that more on the rum than anything else, and he walks off with his tankard, making the woman in front of him release a relieved sigh. "Thank you, sir." She says softly.

"It's quite alright." He smiles in a friendly manner to her. "I apologize for naming you Rhea…" He leaves the opportunity for her to tell him her name.

"Emma Swan." She states simply for a moment. "I'm sorry for calling you Oliver, sir, and for saying you were my husband, I'm just not good at thinking on my feet."

He smiles softly, nodding. "Killian." He says softly, putting down his book for a moment, and he sees a look in her eyes, seeing something akin to longing at the book he holds. "Have you read it?" He asks softly.

Emma shakes her head shyly, looking down at the jug that was now empty, placing it on the table. "No, no…I, uh…I can't." She tells him softly, looking upset. "Read, that is. I was never taught to read, write…nothing really."

"Did your parents not teach you?" He asks softly.

"No, I don't have any." She stares at the table for a moment. "I grew up in the orphanage where girls are only taught to clean or sew or cook. I ran away and didn't learn any of it, so I'm here instead." She states simply.

"Oh." Killian looks away for a moment, feeling sorry for a woman he barely knows but is astounded to see her looking as if it doesn't bother her, although she has a look in her eyes as she stares at the book. "Well, if you'd like, I could teach you a few things, you should be able to know how as much as anyone else."

She looks shocked he'd actually suggested it and quickly nods. "I-I would love that, sir. But are you sure you wouldn't mind? I might be rather slow and I'd hate to trouble you."

"It's no trouble." He offers her a kind smile. "There's a library that's open now, a small one but one nonetheless, why don't I take you?"

She bites her lip, glancing at the book and the tavern and then him before nodding shyly. "I shouldn't, I need the money here, but I do want to-"

"I'll give you twice the amount of money that you would have made tonight if you come with me and let me teach you to read, at least a little."

With that promise, she nods.

They end up spending most of the night together in the library, with him teaching her how to read for hours before she reveals that she's never learned how to dance either and that no one ever had with her either.

"Well, that just won't do." He smiles and offers her his hand, slowly helping her stand and walking to the middle of the room.

"Wait…are we…dancing now?" She asks softly as he places her hand in his and his other hand at her waist as her hand goes to his shoulder.

"We are, Swan." He smiles and slowly moves his feet, seeing her feet following his like he told her to a few moments ago.

"But we have no music, no dance floor…we aren't in a ball." She blushes as he leads her around slowly, and forgets her words.

After a few minutes of dancing, he slowly sways with her, Emma's head rested on his shoulder gently, and her arms are around his waist but bend at an angle so her hands rest on his upper back as his arms are around her waist.

"Killian…" She whispers softly, slowly moving her head so she can look at him. "I just wanted to tell you that this has been the best night…in my entire life."

He smiles wide, knowing those words she says are true, that he knows it's the best night of his life too. "I feel the same." He whispers. "But one thing would make it perfect."

"Which is?" She asks shyly, their sway not stopping but slowly slightly.

He swallows softly, tampering down his own nerves at the fact he'd actually say what he wanted to her. "I-It would be perfect if…If you allowed me the honor of a-"

His words are stopped by her lips as she drags him in for a kiss, as if she knew exactly what he wanted, and wanted it herself too. His hand comes up and cups her cheek, deepening their kiss ever so gently before she pulls away with a shy smile.

"Kiss." He finishes, his face breaking out into a large smile, seeing her own face doing the same and is unable to do anything but pull her in for another kiss, which she smiles into before deepening it like he had before.

After a few (far too short in his opinion) moments, she pulls away gently, and their foreheads rest against each other, wearing matching grins and blushes. "I…" She begins nervously. "I have a room we could go to." She whispers. "Nothing has to happen but…I don't want this night to end just yet."

"Neither do I." He whispers fondly.

They end up sitting in her bed with the covers over them as he reads to her, stroking her hair slowly, his voice sounding smooth and as if he's not as terrified as he really is.

She has no idea who he really is and now he finds himself genuinely liking her, wanting to tell her but fears her reaction. He feels guilty and wrong, he knows he is, but he wishes he didn't feel that way and wishes he could tell her just what he's done.

He's about to; he truly is, shutting the book slowly and sitting up with her. "Emma, I have something to tell you." He whispers softly, but she doesn't seem to hear, crashing her lips to his before the words are fully out of his mouth.

His brain is slightly slow but within seconds he's kissing her back, his arms wrapping around her as she pulls him down on top of her by his shirt, quickly discarding it on the ground so that his top half is bare.

"Swan-" He mumbles, but can't help himself, kissing down her neck, his nose nudging the top of her dress out of the way to press kisses to the tops of her breasts gently, but slightly rushed.

It's not until a little later when he's just pulled off his pants, with her lying naked beneath him with a small but nervous smile on her lips that he realises he needs to tell her the truth. "Emma, love, I need to tell you something…" He whispers, kissing the space in between her breasts gently.

"I do too." She whispers softly, pulling his head up and kissing him again, breaking after a few moments. "I-I've never done this before." She says shyly like it's some sort of horrible thing that she's never even thought of, like she never thought she would. "You're my first."

His eyes widen a little, although he's not too surprised considering she doesn't seem like the type of woman who would be sleeping around if her dress from earlier was any indication. His face breaks out into a smile and he sweeps her in for another kiss, feeling her smile on his lips.

"Well, then we better make your first time memorable, Swan."

Hours later he's still there, holding her in his arms, listening to her shallow breathing, slowly pressing kisses to the top of her head to calm her, knowing she was tired and so was he.

"That was perfect." She turns to nuzzle her nose into his chest, just above where his heart is. "Thank you." Her hand comes to lie next to her face; her finger nails slowly raking through his chest hair, seeming as fascinated with it as he is with her.

"You don't have to thank me, I think it's the other way around." He checked softly, feeling her nod. "I'm glad you waited for me because I have no intentions of letting you go." He whispers into her hairline.

She blushes, looking up at him slowly. "Can I admit something to you and for you not to be creeped out or get scared and run away? Because it might be crazy to say it for how long we've known each other, how much we know about each other."

"You can tell me anything, love." He whispers, bringing his hand to her cheek, his thumb slowly swiping over the redness and he can't tell whether she's blushing or because she's tired.

She takes his hand shyly, smiling as she looks up at him. "This is just what I wanted." She whispers, her head slowly lying back on his chest so she won't have to see the look on his face when she admits it to him. "To be able to read, even if right now it's only a little, to be in someone's arms who I know cares about me."

He strokes her hair slowly, kissing her head. "I used to want to live out in the country by the sea and have a family, but…circumstances have changed recently and it looks like I have to stay here now."

She raises an eyebrow. "I'd like that too." She whispers, thinking about his dream. "What circumstances? Are you in trouble or something?"

He looks down at her, seeing her head slowly lift up to look at him. "Yeah, but nothing…too bad. I…lets just say my parents have given me something that means I'll be rich, powerful…have anything I want. Except what I want the most, freedom."

She glances up at him, biting her lip, and considers the irony of the situation for a moment. "Whereas I have freedom and nothing else." She whispers, taking his hand and letting her fingers play with his. "We make quite the pair."

"We do." He whispers into her hair, watching their hands. "Quite the pair indeed…"

So let me know what you guys think, I'm already thinking about the next chapter and I'm excited about it! :)