A/N: First of all, thank you for clicking on my story. I'm known for writing descriptions that lack intrigue, so if you clicked anyways, have a cookie. ;) The idea for this story came to me quite randomly one day and I worked on details for the next several days. If you could tell from the description, this story in itself will focus on young Emma and Killian Jones in a totally AU plotline. The curse never happened and Emma is able to grow up with her parents. Killian Jones is the son to the captain of the kingdom's official sea merchants and navy. :) Killian and Emma become fast friends and the story will revolve around their adventures together.

I had not originally planned to include this prologue, but decided maybe a little background as to their friendship's beginning would be nice. Plus, it kind of parallels nicely with a certain scene in 'The Heart of the Truest Believer'. It's not polished and written as wonderfully as I imagined, so perhaps I'll go back and edit it sometime, but for now, it will do and you should get the gist. Alright, enough gabbing from me - enjoy!

Prologue:

It was that stupid boy again. Emma narrowed her eyes, folded her arms across her chest and stuck her chin in the air in defiance. He seemed to show up everywhere, just to annoy her. The boy who was positioned next to his father on the deck stuck his tongue out in return. Her eyes widened. The boy's father stole a quick glance down at his son, who, much to Emma's chagrin, had resumed his dutiful stance at his side. When the father looked back up at her parents, she grabbed this chance to shoot him a return of his gesture.

"Emma!" A light tap on her shoulder brought her back to reality.

Looking up, she found the disapproving blue eyes of her mother glaring down at her. The Queen shook her head, warning her young daughter that a talk about how young princesses were to behave would be revisited later. Emma pursed her lips and let her arms hang at her side. She raised her chin, looking everywhere but at the boy in front of her.

"We can't thank you enough for your service, Captain."

Emma's father stepped forward with an outstretched arm to seal the deal. After mutual biddings of farewell had occurred, the two families turned to be on their separate ways. The dark-haired captain and his look-a-like son boarded their ship, while Charming, Snow and Emma meandered down the dock towards their castle.

A loud splash caught Emma's attention. Letting go of her hold on her parent's hands, she picked up her heavy skirts and shuffled over to investigate. A loose board on the dock caught her off-guard. Swinging her arms out to try and balance herself, she let out a small squeak.

"Emma!" Her parent's cried in unison.

Tumbling forward, Emma scraped her shins on the edge of the dock as she fell. The ocean reached for her. With a loud splash, it claimed its victim. She waved her hands around, reaching for the surface. The weight of her light blue layers of frills, however, pulled her down. She could hear her parent's cries of fright intermingled with sailors shouts above her. Panic arose in her chest as her lungs began to burn in pain. They craved air she could not pull herself up to.

Something brushed against her leg. She kicked out with fervor, a few ounces of precious air draining. No matter her feeble attempts to stop, her body continued to drag her down. Something began yanking on her back. She reached her arm behind her to push whatever it was away. To her surprise, fingers wrapped around her wrists. Someone had dove in to rescue her! They continued to tug, releasing her of the heavy dress she had always despised. There was immediate relief, but she had run out of energy to swim up to the surface on her own.

Arms wrapped around her waist and dragged her towards the surface. As soon as they broke through, her mouth shot open sucking in all the air she could amidst desperate chokes. She kicked her feet below her, trying to keep herself afloat. The person next to her helped her to the dock, where a pair of heaving parents and several sailors overlooked the ordeal. A rope was slung down and wrapped around the two bodies. A pair of hefty sailors pulled them up from the chill of the ocean's waves.

Emma collapsed on the deck, her father quick to wrap his cape around her shivering form. Her mother followed by wrapping her daughter in her arms. Emma spluttered, water pouring from her mouth. Glancing to her left in a haze, she found the young boy she'd had such an unpleasant encounter with before, soaking wet next to his father. She blinked as the realization hit her. The boy who possessed an incessant need to annoy her had saved her life!

"Boy! What's your name?" Charming asked.

"Killian, your majesty," the boy replied.

"You saved my daughter's life, Killian, and for that, I am forever grateful."

The boy bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement. The royal pair proceeded to wrap Emma in their arms, lifting her up in caution. As Charming carried her gently towards the castle, Emma peered at the boy from over her father's shoulder. He was wincing in pain, holding his sides.

"Thank you," she mouthed and laid her chin on his shoulder.

He stared back and promptly stuck out his tongue. She smirked and returned the gesture. At times, it seems, unbreakable friendships are born in the most incredulous ways.