Hello, I'm back with a brand new fic! YAY! This is for my tumblr Captain Swan Secret Santa, thejeweloftherealm. I know, its over 2 weeks late, but things have been happening and I struggled to write. But here it, better late than never.

This is Part 1/2.

Naturally, I don't own OUAT.

Princess Emma was stuck inside during the first snowfall of the season.

If it were any other day, she would have been racing to don her cloak and gloves, before making her way out to the castle gardens. Emma had loved watching snow fall for as long as she could remember, the way the flakes float down from the sky landing delicately on whatever they find beneath them, each one extraordinarily unique, yet deceivingly identical.

But today is not any other day. Today Emma has agreed, at Queen Snow's request, to spend shadowing her mother as she prepares for the arrival of the neighbouring kingdoms royals for the annual Yuletide Ball. Snow has been running around the palace in a panic for the past two weeks, as the first of the guests are due to arrive in only two moons time. As the Queen wouldn't actually let Emma do much, insisting she just watch and learn, Emma believes her time could be best spent elsewhere.

"Mother, is this really necessary?" Snow didn't even look up from the documents she was overlooking. Something about the importation of foreign foods for the Ball.

"Yes, Emma, how many times do I need to explain this?"

"At least once more." Emma sat down in the closest chair, already exhausted from following her mother around the castle and gardens all day. Snow sighed and placed the papers down on her antique desk. She delicately folded one hand over the other and turned to face her daughter.

"Before long you will be married and taking over as Queen. You will be the one hosting Balls and such, it's about time you learn how it's done." Emma knew this. She knows she has much to learn before she can rule the kingdom (don't even get her started on politics), but she is still so young. She still has adventures to go on and dangerous situations to get into. There will be many years for learning royal duties after she had lived her life.

"But mother, I have yet to meet a man who takes my interest, let alone fall in love, and get engaged. Marriage is too far on the horizon to worry about yet, and I don't even want to think of my coronation."

"You are 21 years old. I regret to say this Emma, but before long you might not have the luxury of falling in love first." This got Emma's attention. Since when has falling in love been a luxury? She has always known it to be a right. It should be a right.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me." The Queen went back to studying her papers.

"But-"

"The kingdom comes first, Emma. Remember that." A dismissal, if ever she heard one.

Furious, Emma abruptly stood up from the table and stormed from the room. She couldn't take it anymore. How is this fair? She deserves to fall in love all by herself. Her parents had that opportunity so why couldn't she?

She rushed down long stone hallways, flying past anyone and everyone she crossed. Soon the lush green of one of their many courtyards came into view, the trees, benches and pathways all covered in a light layer of snow. Emma reached for the door before pausing. As much as she wanted to escape into the beauty of a winter landscape at night, she knew it was too cold and she didn't have her winter wear with her. She would freeze before too long. Hesitantly, she backed off from the doorway and retreated to her quarters.

The trek to her room seemed shorter than it would usually be, due to being lost in thought. The conversation with her mother gave her much to think about. For starters, should she do what's best for her or the kingdom? Many would say that she should put the kingdoms happiness before her own, but how could she rule a kingdom when surrounded by a cloud of complete misery. There are pros and cons to each situation. Emma contemplated these as she changed into her night gown and settled into her bed. It was still on her mind as she fell asleep.

***CSSS***

The next morning Emma rose with the sun. The rays of early morning light gently streamed into her bedchambers, rousing her from sleep. As any other day she bathed and dressed in a simple blue dress (she has refused help from maids ever since her body started maturing, insisting she can do it herself) and made her way downstairs to where her parents awaited her in the dining room for breakfast.

She found the double oak doors open as she approached the doorway, and heard voices coming from within. Voices that do not only belong to her parents. Emma knocked lightly as she stepped into the large room and the chatter settled. All eyes turned to her.

"Emma, darling." Her mother reached out towards her. "Come here. There are people I would like you to meet."

Emma was still upset with her mother for her words yesterday but knew that anything except the pretence of a picture perfect family in front of their guests would land her in big trouble. She moved towards her mother, sporting a pleasant smile.

"Emma, this is Queen Ariel and her husband King Eric." The woman, Ariel apparently, had long, red hair and a beautiful smile. She wore a simple yet elegant off the shoulder dress in light green. It flowed to the floor, but floated around her legs, giving the illusion of being in water. Eric wore what looked like a sailor's uniform, but with an obviously royal quality. His blue eyes, neat black hair and white teeth gave the appearance that he was younger than he could be. Together the couple looked like the nicest people you could possibly meet, and Emma had no doubt that was true.

"Ariel and I used to have wonderful adventures many years ago. Unfortunately we have not had the opportunity to reconnect since you were very small, due to the distance between our kingdoms."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Emma curtsied to the couple and whilst Eric bowed back, Ariel pulled her in for an unexpected hug.

"The pleasure is ours. You have grown into a beautiful young woman."

"Thank you very much." She turned to Snow. "I didn't think anyone was due to arrive for another full day."

"The tides were in their favour during their journey so we are blessed with their company for an extra day."

Before anything else could be said kitchen staff entered the room carrying trays of delicious smelling food. Hotcakes, eggs, both scrambled and fried, sausages, toast with a variety of spreads and at least three different fruit juices.

Breakfast passed by rather quickly thanks to their guests. Queen Ariel told the story of how her and Snow met, and King Eric shared tales of life on the open sea. Emma also learned that they have a teenage daughter, Melody, who remained in their home kingdom as she refused to be away from her friends for so long. If it were Emma, she would have jumped at the opportunity to travel, friends or not.

As plates were emptied and conversation died down, Emma excused herself from the table, insisting that she needed fresh air. The truth is she really wanted to see her best friend.

Ruby Lucas works in the kitchens with her grandmother half the time, and spends the other half at the kennels, which is exactly where Emma found her this time. Ruby has always had an affinity with animals, dogs in particular, and would happily spend the day playing with the puppies and exercising the older dogs when they're not being used for hunting. This time she was teaching the 12 week old puppies how to sit and lay down.

"They're doing well." Emma stated, laughing as the puppies bounded over to her, tails wagging. "They'll be jumping through hoops next."

"They're getting there, but they still get distracted very easily." Ruby got up from her spot on the ground to embrace her friend in greeting. "So how are you? You didn't meet up with me last night. I was waiting for an hour!"

"Oh gosh, Ruby, I'm so sorry. It completely slipped my mind. I just had so much to think about." Emma walked with her friend to a bench just outside the kennels and told her of what her mother said the night before.

"Wait a minute, she really said that? Love is luxury?!"She jumped up from the seat with her hands clenched by her sides. "You of all people are worthy of falling in love. That's just not fair!"

"I know, Ruby, but there's nothing I can do about it." Emma pulled Ruby back down to a sitting position and rested her head on Ruby's shoulder.

"No, but maybe there's something I can do about it." Ruby sounded excited and she turned in her seat to look Emma in the face. Emma was confused. What could Ruby possibly do?

"What do you mean?"

"I could find nice young men in the village for you! I'll set you up on blind dates, it will be fun!" Emma groaned. Of course that would be Ruby's solution. She would admit that it's not terrible as far as her plans go, but it just wasn't logical.

"No, Ruby, you can't. What if word got around? That would be bad for the palaces reputation. Besides, I'm just not comfortable with that idea."

"We could dress you up as a villager and take you to the pub instead?" That idea was even worse. Emma was not entering a dirty inn full of drunk old men with wandering hands.

"Ruby…" Emma glared at the brunette.

"Ok, no to those plans then." Ruby bowed her head as if she was trying to think up another plan. Emma couldn't let that happen.

"I appreciate your help but there's nothing that can be done." Ruby raised her head back up, looking deflated.

"Don't say that. I may not ever fall in love, but you will. I'll make sure of it." With that, Ruby stood up and ran inside to grab her cloak. "Now let's go for a walk and talk about something nice."

Emma linked arms with her best friend and started on their leisurely stroll with light conversation, but Emma's mind was turning over Ruby's last words. "I may not ever fall in love, but you will." She felt bad for her friend. It isn't that Ruby is hideous or cruel; in fact she has a wonderful, caring personality and a body most women would die for. Ruby's problem is that she's a werewolf. For a few days a month, werewolves have the ability to turn from humans into actual wolves. Ruby was born with this curse. She has learned to control her shifting and her actions when transformed, but since she accidentally ate her last boyfriend, she won't put herself in that situation again. That's why she keeps a low profile in the kitchens and kennels. No one but her grandmother and Emma know about her transformations and she intends to keep it that way. If it weren't for 6 year old Emma running into her in the halls one night on the hunt for a midnight snack, they might have not ever met. But they did, and Emma is thankful for that every single day.

***CSSS***

The palace grounds had a fair dusting of snow due to it falling overnight. The air was bitingly cold, but Emma didn't mind. The beauty of it all was the reason winter was her favourite season.

Ruby chatted her ear off about cute guys she saw in the village and how she's going to do her hair for the Ball (She'll be serving with the other kitchen staff but that doesn't mean she can't look fabulous.) but Emma found herself zoning out. There, sitting on a bench by the partially frozen pond, was a figure Emma had never seen before. She was curious. Yes, the palace grounds are generally open to the public at this time of year, but this particular area is more often than not deserted, due to the lack of evergreen plants. But there the figure was, staring at the water, all on their lonesome.

As they got closer Emma could define more features. Clearly male, in a navy uniform, light scruff on his face. His hair, which Emma originally thought to be black, was in fact dark brown, and styled in a low, short ponytail. But it was his eyes that struck her the most. Astonishingly bright blue and filled with such emotion. A true mirror to the soul.

It was then that Emma noticed she was staring and he was staring back. She quickly looked away as she walked past him, but the blush rising on her cheeks gave her away to her friend. Emma nearly forgot she was there for a second, but Ruby noticed everything.

"Now he would make a fine suitor."

"We don't know him, Ruby. For all we know he could be just as stuck up as the rest of them." Emma has courted a few princes and high ranking offices in her time, but at the end of the day they were just after her money or her title. There was something about this man that makes her doubt that he would be the same, but she didn't want to risk it. Not again.

"Well as they say, there's only one way to find out." As Ruby said this she stopped. Emma looked at her and saw exactly what she knew she would. That look in her eyes. The look of mischief that only Ruby could pull off. In an instant Emma knew what she was going to do.

"No. Ruby, no, don't you dare." But it was too late. Before she knew it, Ruby had ducked behind the nearest wall and within seconds a large grey wolf emerged. Yes, it may have been day time, but it was still wolfs season and Ruby had enough control to change whenever she wanted, though she couldn't keep it up for long.

Ruby gave her one last glance before bounding over to the man by then pond. Emma watched in complete horror and embarrassment as she pounced and pushed the stranger to the ground.

And started licking him.

She saw the man try to push Ruby off but Emma was frozen to the spot. It was only when she saw heard the metallic scrape of a sword unsheathing that she ran to the rescue. She just didn't know exactly who she was rescuing.

"STOP!" She cried out as she ran the short distance towards them. Ruby backed off straight away, but the man jumped up with his sword in an attack position. Emma had no choice but to jump between them.

"PLEASE DON'T! She's friendly, I promise!" She had her hands up in the universal 'don't hurt me' gesture, but the man was looking straight past her.

"It attacked me!" Oh dear lord an accent too. That just wasn't fair.

"She was just saying hello. Are you hurt?" The man paused, looking at her for the first time close up. His features seemed to soften as he realised no one was in danger. His eyes were mesmerising.

"No, I suppose I'm not." His face hardened again as if he suddenly realised where he was. "But you should still control your animal." Just like that the connection was broken.

"She's not my- You know what, let's start over. I'm Princess Emma and this is one of the palace wolves, Ru- uh… Ruffles." Emma held out a hand, hoping to hide her blunder, and he hesitantly shook it.

"… Lieutenant Killian Jones of the Jewel of the Realm."

"Pleased to meet you." Ruby nudged Emma's leg with her nose, indicating that she's going to have to change back soon. "I have to go now, but I hope to see you around court." And before the man, Killian, could say another word, she retreated. As soon as she and Ruby were out of sight she changed back. Emma turned on her.

"You are in so much trouble." Emma was mad but Ruby just smirked.

"Worth it."

***CSSS***

The rest of the day passed like any other. After her walk with Ruby, Emma met with her sewing mentor to finish her latest piece, a robin on a branch, and then she left for the training yard to brush up on her sword fighting skills. After that was afternoon tea with her Mother, followed by two hours in the library and her evening riding lesson. The only difference between this day and others was the fact that she couldn't stop thinking about a certain handsome stranger with bright blue eyes.

This morning's situation caused her much distraction and greatly impacted on her ability to perform to her full potential. Her sewing mentor was constantly pulling her up for inconsistent tension in her stitches, she lost count of the amount of times she was bested in the training yard and even though she's been able to ride a horse since she could walk, she ran into branches multiple times. None of this went by unnoticed by anyone, especially Queen Snow, and whilst she didn't say anything during their tea, Emma was stopped by her mother just before dinner time.

"What's wrong, darling? You've been acting out of sorts all day."

"Nothing, mother. I wasn't feeling well is all, but I'm perfectly fine now." Not a whole lie, she was feeling out-of-sorts, but she just wasn't ill.

"Are you sure you're alright? Perhaps you should retire to your room?" Snow pressed a hand to her daughter's forehead but Emma pushed it away.

"I'm in full health now. Nothing out of the ordinary, I promise."

And whilst that may have been the truth at the time, it all changed when she walked into the dining hall and spotted him sitting in the seat next to hers. Emma surveyed the room and determined that there was, indeed, nowhere else for him to sit. The King was at the head of the table, his wife and daughter on one side of him and the honoured guests on the other. Killian was seated next to her so that would mean that his Captain would be the man sitting next to Queen Ariel. Her thoughts were confirmed when everyone had arrived and were sitting at the large table.

"Emma, Snow," David started. "I would like to introduce you to Captain Liam Jones of the Jewel of the Realm, finest ship in the land, and his Lieutenant and younger brother, Killian Jones." Liam was easily ten years older than Killian, but very clearly related. They had the same colour hair, but whilst Killian's hair was straight, Liam sported curls. Both brothers had the same eyes as each other but somehow, and Emma wasn't sure how she could tell from this single meeting, Liam's lacked the depth that Killian's held. "Liam and Killian here are welcome guests as well as personal guards to Ariel and Eric."

"We are very honoured to be here." Liam spoke up on behalf of both himself and Killian. "Killian and I have been to many kingdoms but never this one. It is truly as beautiful as everyone says, isn't it brother?"

"Aye, 'tis lovely."

"Well thank you very much." Said Snow. "We are very pleased to have you here. This is my lovely daughter, Emma."

"A pleasure." She said quietly with a small nod. Introductions done, Emma's parents delved into conversation with the visiting royals and their captain, leaving herself and Killian to sit in awkward silence. Both glanced around the room avoiding eye contact before Killian spoke.

"I'm terribly sorry about this morning. It was bad form on my behalf." His words were again soft and Emma found herself gravitating towards them.

"No, it's honestly fine. She shouldn't have jumped on you like that. I understand you were startled and responded accordingly." The sword may have been a bit much, but she can't blame him for defending himself.

"I still feel terrible about it." Killian paused and seemed to take a moment to think. "Your highness, I know we attempted a start over of our meeting but I would have preferred we met in other circumstances. What do you say we happen upon each other again at the same time and place tomorrow, but without the wolf?" A grin graced his face, showing his perfectly white teeth. The smile was crooked, but Emma found that all the more alluring.

"I would like that very much." He smiled a full smile at her (Emma will deny any heart skipping at this point) and looked away, but she was still transfixed. She had a question she needed to know the answer to for it had been pestering her all day. "If I may ask, why were you there in the first place? That area of the gardens doesn't usually attract visitors."

"It was a long journey on a ship with many loud sailors. I needed a quiet place to breathe. But that's enough for now, we will learn about each other tomorrow." Emma turned back to the table to find the food had already been placed on the table. How could she not have noticed? Her parents and the other guests at the table had already started eating so Emma, not wanting to seem rude, began too. The dinner served was one of her favourites, but unfortunately Emma couldn't enjoy it as much as she normally would because her stomach seemed to be already full of butterflies for her meeting with the handsome and mysterious Killian Jones the following day.

***CSSS***

Emma was writing of the day's events in her journal that night when there was a knock at her door. She was barely out of her chair before the door swung open and a clearly exhausted Ruby dropped on her oversized bed.

"A month of dishes? Really? Was what I did that bad?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Emma managed to keep a calm voice, though she turned back to her diary lest her grin betrayed her. She had forgotten that she had a word with Granny about Ruby turning in broad daylight (she wasn't going to mention Killian) and suggested dishes be suitable punishment. A whole month worth might be slightly overdoing it but Emma was satisfied with the reaction non-the-less.

"Of course you don't. You would take any excuse to ruin my perfect nails, wouldn't you? You're lucky you're my best friend and that I love you or I would be far madder right now."

"Sure you would be. I know you, Ruby. You can't hold a grudge for long." Emma moved over to the bed and lay down beside her friend, both staring at the patterns on the ceiling.

"Yeah well, enough about that. You sat next to a certain someone at dinner and a little bird told me you were deep in conversation with him. What was said? I want to hear all the details." Emma groaned and looked away, but Ruby started poking her in the side and she knew the wolf wouldn't stop until she got what she wanted.

"There wasn't that much conversation between us. He apologised for his reaction to you and said that he would like us to meet again on calmer footing. It was nothing." Emma shrugged, but Ruby wasn't convinced.

"Nothing? You call that nothing? He wants so see you again! Next thing he will be asking to court you! It's so romantic, like a fairy tale." Emma cringed internally. This is exactly why she didn't want to say anything. Ruby tended to have a flair for the dramatic.

"Slow down there, we're barely acquaintances. Nothing is going to happen."

"Perhaps. We will see. Don't forget I have stronger senses than you I definitely picked up a scent of desire. And his pupils grew when he looked at you. I've read somewhere that's a sign of attraction." Emma had heard that too, but she refused to believe it was anything more than a trick of the light or something much more reasonable.

"He probably just had the sun in his eyes."

"It was grey and cloudy. Don't fool yourself. I can tell you like him back. Your heart beat has gotten faster since we started talking about him." Subconsciously, Emma put a hand over her heart in an attempt to slow it down.

"That's ridiculous, Ruby. We hardly know each other." Ruby gave her a look that told her that her lies were see-through. "Ok, fine, there might be some sort of… attraction there. I am an adult and I can admit when a man is good looking or not."

"And don't forget the accent too." Damn, that accent. She had found it very hard to eat her dinner with that voice in her ear.

"Yes, that's a bonus. But I don't know him well enough to judge his personality, and that is a very important factor in men." She had met too many horrible people to not be picky when it comes to personality.

"Yes, but think about it this way. You were just told that you don't have much longer to find a husband by yourself and the next day you meet Killian Jones? It's fate."

Emma sighed and leaned her head back against the bed. "I don't believe in fate and you know that. Everything good that happens in your life is something that you have to work for. Things like this don't just fall into your lap."

"Oh Emma, it's too late to be getting the deep with me." Emma threw a pillow at her head and laughed.

"Shush."

***CSSS***

"Your highness. I'm glad you're here."

The morning after was bright and sunny, though the wind was still very chilly. Emma found herself a little disappointed that she would be unable to wear her new snow cloak, beautiful red with a fur hood. She still made sure she looked nice before she left though (in every reflective surface she saw, one might say).

Emma slowly approached Killian at the pond where it all started. Ruby has begged her to tag along in human form last night but Emma had refused. Although she has the best intentions, Ruby would more than likely interfere in some way. Emma needed to do it by herself.

"Well I did say I would be here. Going back on that would be, as you say, 'bad form'." Killian gave a little chuckle at this, flashing his crooked smile. Emma felt a slight jolt in her stomach.

"We can't have bad form, can we?"

"No, of course not, Lieutenant." Emma moved to the same bench by the pond she first saw Killian on, and organized her skirts so they wouldn't bunch up under her as she sat down. Killian followed suit, sitting next to her. He was closer than one would normally sit next to someone they have just met, or even a friend for that matter, but not so close that they looked like a couple. Emma didn't know what to make of it. She was more than likely over thinking it all.

"Ah, but you don't know who I am yet." Confusion graced her features for a second before she remember they were there to have a second first meeting. She decided to play along.

"Of course not, my mistake." She stood up and curtsied so gracefully her mother would be proud, before sitting back down. "I am Princess Emma, heir to the throne of the Enchanted Forest. And you are?"

Killian repeated her move, but instead with a low bow. "You're highness, I am Killian Jones, Lieutenant on the Jewel of the Realm."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant." Killian grasped her by the hand, bringing it up to his lips and gently kissing it. Emma could have sworn she stopped breathing for a moment, which scared her.

"The pleasure is all mine. And please, call me Killian."

"In that case, Killian, you must call me Emma." If Killian noticed how breathless her voice was, he didn't say anything.

"Emma." He said the name slowly, as if testing the sound of it. She can honestly say she's never felt this way about hearing her name before. What was wrong with her? This had never happened before, and she had been alone with her fair share of men. Some were sweet at first, but these feeling were very new to her.

As it turned out, Killian had brought a small picnic from the kitchens (Ruby was at the kennels at the time, thankfully.) consisting of grapes, bread, a selection of cheeses and a bottle of nice wine. It wasn't anything overly fancy, yet it was clear a fair amount of thought had gone into it. Emma appreciated it.

The next couple of hours passed in a blur. Both Emma and Killian ate their food and talked about their interests (both enjoyed reading and art) and what they would be doing with their lives if not for the hand fate had dealt them. Killian said he would most likely be a blacksmith, and Emma spoke of always wanting to help uphold the laws and bring criminals to justice. As princess, she may have some power in those departments, but she had always dreamed of having more of hand in it; chasing the criminals down and getting into danger. Whilst Emma spoke much about her family and her life growing up in the kingdom, the Lieutenant spoke very little of his loved ones and upbringing. All Emma could get out of him was that he was brought up by Liam as their mother died in childbirth and their father abandoned the boys when they were very young. Both joined the Royal navy as deckhands just to earn some sort of meagre income, and there they stayed, earning rapid promotions until they became the youngest ever Captain and Lieutenant on the realms most renowned ship. Even though Emma was envious of their adventures, she found herself appreciating her fortunate life just that little bit more.

The pair walked and talked for what felt like both hours and minutes, not once finding themselves in anyway bored or uninterested. Emma took her new friend to the greenhouse which contained a rose garden (maintained so they flower all year round) and taught him the meanings of some of the different colours. Red for love, white for purity, yellow for joy, etc. She encouraged him to smell them and he happily obliged.

As they approached the back of the greenhouse, Emma found herself rambling about the buildings history.

"Of course the roses would die during the winter season so my mother had this greenhouse erected for the public to enjoy all year round. We have plans to build more for other plant species but-" A tap on her shoulder brought her out of her zone and back to the present. Emma realised that she has been talking about boring flowers without pause for at least 10 minutes. An embarrassed blush flushed her cheeks and she turned around to apologise but stopped short at the sight of Killian holding out a rose to her. A beautiful violet rose.

"A special rose for a special princess."

Emma was speechless. No one had ever given her a flower before, especially not one with a meaning like this one. The violet rose symbolizes 'love at first sight'. Of course, Killian didn't know this, so he clearly picked it for its stunning colour, but Emma still felt her heart stuttering in her chest.

Reaching out for the rose, Emma could see her hand shaking. Butterflies were performing a dance number in her stomach. She was afraid her heart would leap out of her chest. Her mind, usually filled with all sorts of thoughts, was suddenly blank, and she didn't care.

She knew what her mother would say about this. Ruby would say the same thing. They knew what these feelings were and Emma knew exactly what they would tell her. But she was afraid. Although the last 24 hours have been great, if somewhat confusing, that's exactly what they were. 24 hours. Only a whole day. How could she know this man well enough for these feelings to be what she thinks they might be?

Her hands were still shaking when her fingertips made contact with the flower. Emma shouldn't have been surprised, it must have only taken mere seconds, rather than the hours it felt as she stared at his eyes. A sharp pain snapped her out of her daze and she dropped the rose, a bead of blood forming on her index finger. From the corner of her eye, Emma could see Killian pull something from his pocket, a handkerchief, then he grabbed her hand. His grip was gentle, yet firm. Delicate, but strong. He lightly dabbed away the small amount of blood on her hand, careful of causing her pain, as if he could possibly do such a thing.

When the blood was gone, he wrapped her fingers up in his hand and gave her a gentle squeeze. Emma pulled her eyes away from their intertwined hands to look up at him. Her breath caught in her throat as she realised how close they really were. Mere inches away, his eyes resembled the most pure of aquamarine gems. She could feel the puffs of his breath on her face. A slight scar on his cheek proof that he wasn't perfect, yet Emma saw that imperfection as something that made him even more wonderful. How could this man be real?

Emma found herself slowly drifting toward the handsome sailor. He followed suit, his gaze swapping between staring at her own green eyes and her slightly parted red lips. Emma's eyes began fluttering shut, her heart nearly beating out of her chest. They were mere centimetres apart. This was it, this was-

"Killian, are you in here?"

The pair instantly jumped apart at the sound of the voice. Captain Jones, it seemed, was looking for his brother.

"Killian? Killian, what- oh. Your highness." Liam bowed low. "Forgive my intrusion."

"Not at all, there was nothing to intrude upon." Emma spoke in a confident voice, however she suspected the vibrant blush high on her cheeks and the fact that she couldn't look anyone in the eye might be telling a different story.

"In that case, you won't mind me borrowing my brother for the afternoon? We are required on a hunting trip with the King."

"Not at all. I hope you have more luck than my father does." King Charming was known for being bad luck on hunts. He could slay a dragon, but a boar was another situation entirely.

"Much obliged your highness. Killian?" With that he turned on his heel and exited the greenhouse. Killian gave Emma one last shy glance and hurried after his brother.

It was only when the Lieutenant exited her line of sight that she felt some semblance of control over her body again. Did that really just happen? Was she really that close to kissing an almost complete stranger?

The violet rose still in the floor caught her eye, so she bent over and picked it up, this time far more carefully. She lifted the rose to eye height and studied the delicate petals. Love at first sight. Killian couldn't have known what it meant, however he could not have picked a more perfect flower.

For although they had only just met, Emma Swan was falling in love.

Thanks for reading, hope to see you for the second installment.

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