Author's Note: (*waves awkwardly* Hello fellow Captain Swan fans!) I originally wrote this just for my sister, but she somehow convinced me to post it. I hope it makes you smile, for that was its intended purpose. :)

Emma didn't understand why her hands were shaking; why her breath was coming and going so quickly; why she felt like she was stumbling toward a massive black hole instead of walking down an aisle. The aisle. Not an aisle. The aisle. The one that leads to true love and marriage and unending happiness. Or so she'd been told.

It wasn't like she didn't like Baelfire. She liked him fine. Cared for him, even. She also cared for her horse Gumdrop.

Emma looked at the clock sitting above her door. She had roughly ten minutes before her mother came with the maids to help her into her dress. Her wedding dress, that lay across her bed this very second boring a hole into her back as Emma stared at it's reflection, wide eyed, in her mirror.

She wasn't a coward. That's why this was so confusing for her. She took pride in her fearlessness, and now she was shaking in her boots at the thought of getting married in an hour. One hour… One hour!

Emma jumped to her feet, nearly knocking over the chair she'd been sitting in at her vanity table, and ran for her closet. She tore off her nightclothes and threw on a flexible pair of trousers, a warm shirt and her favorite pair of hiking boots. Yanking her satchel out from the back of her closet, she shoved several more random pieces of clothing into the bag and made a run for the window.

Getting from her window on the second floor of the palace to the ground had been difficult when she'd been younger but after much (much) practice it was as easy as walking out the door. Keeping her confined to her room had never been an easy task for her parents.

When her feet hit the grass she took off for the road, only momentarily slowing at the gate so as not to alert the guards. They nodded at her as she walked by.

She didn't know where she was going. Her plan wasn't very well thought out. At all. Not even mildly. The plan was to RUN. Not her best work. Oh well. She wasn't going back now. Not yet. She needed a few more days. Just a few more days and then she'd go back and marry Bae just like everyone wanted her to. But…not yet. She already felt better, her chest getting lighter the further from the palace she got.

A mile down the road she stopped dead and swore.

She should have left a note. Her parents would go clinically insane with worry and send every troop at their disposal looking for her. She wouldn't make it far before they caught up to her. Emma kicked the dirt and swore again. That's what she got for being hasty. She bit her lip and picked up her pace again. If they caught her then that was it, but she wasn't going down easy. Deciding the road was too open, she headed into the woods, hoping to throw anyone off who might be following her.

After ten minutes of bushwhacking, Emma wished she'd thought to grab her sword before her desperate escape out her bedroom window. Instead she only had the knife she always kept in her boot to cut through the foliage. Not fun. She lost count of how many branches and leaves had smacked her in the face. And she was sure she'd lost half a head of hair after having it get tangled in everything she walked past. She should have brought Gumdrop. She wouldn't have been able to cut through the woods with him but she would have been able to travel faster near the road.

When she finally stumbled out the other side of the wood she was sure she looked like a half-crazed homeless woman. Though, at the moment, she supposed it was better than looking like the princess.

Slipping her knife back into her boot, she walked toward the few people wandering around by the docks. There were fewer out than usual because most were getting ready for Emma's wedding ceremony. They were going to be disappointed.

Emma tried her best to walk past the wanderers as casually as possible. She hoped they'd be too wrapped up in their boats or trades to notice her. On the other side of the docks was the road to the next kingdom. She didn't intend on actually visiting the neighboring royals but she did intend on taking the several days journey to clear her head. Halfway past the docks she heard the pounding of hoof prints and then a loud voice yell, "Princess!"

Reflexively Emma ducked her head, then cursed herself for doing so. She hoped she hadn't drawn attention to herself. Quickly, she jumped to the right onto one of the docks and hurried down it's length until she reached the ship stationed at the end and climbed up it's side. She threw herself onto the ship's deck just as she heard the soldiers get closer. "Princess! Princess!" they yelled. She shrank further down, nearly lying down on the deck. They were going to catch her; she knew they were. She hadn't been fast enough. They would search every ship, including this one. There was no hope for her now. She would be taken back to the palace, where she would marry Baelfire and her future would be set in stone. A future she knew she should want, but didn't.

Goodbye freedom. Fare thee well…

"Either you're the prettiest recruit I've ever seen or you've stumbled somewhere you don't belong, love,"

Emma jolted back so hard she hit her head. She reached for her boot, grabbed her knife and held it out toward the stranger that stood before her. She wanted to stand to better defend herself but she couldn't risk any of the troops seeing her. Unless the stranger made any advances she was staying down.

The man looked down at her, a small smirk on his face. "Well which is it? I haven't got all day, lass." He was dressed in black leather with a red shirt that had a deep V and a long black coat over it. The color matched his dark hair and the scruff on his face but made his incredibly vibrant blue eyes stand out. She could see them from where she was sitting. He was attractive too. Talk about tall, dark and handsome.

She opened her mouth to respond but snapped it shut when she heard footsteps on the dock. Against her better judgment, she turned to peek over the side of the ship. She caught sight of three soldiers making their way to her hiding place. She quickly ducked back behind the side of the ship. Mr. Good Looking was still watching her. He glanced beyond her, toward the soldiers most likely, then returned his eyes to her.

"Ah. I see." he said simply, then took a step toward her. She tensed and made a jab at the air with her knife as a warning. He held up his hands. "I mean you no harm, lass." Still, Emma kept her knife up. He suddenly looked up and dropped his hands. Ignoring her and her knife he stepped toward her again. For some reason when he stopped right in front of her and placed his hands on the rail just above her head she pulled her knife back.

"How can I help you, gentlemen?" he asked the soldiers on the dock. Was he going to rat her out?

"By order of the King and Queen we are to search your ship," one of the soldiers said.

"And why is that, might I ask?" Good Looking said. Emma watched him as he talked. From where she was sitting she could see his Adam's Apple and the way his mouth moved when he spoke. "I haven't broken any laws lately," he let out a chuckle. "That I can remember."

"It is not of your jurisdiction to know." replied the soldier.

Good Looking nodded once then reached up to rub a hand over his jaw. He glanced down at her casually, like he was looking at something on his boot or the floor of his boat. Well… Emma knew if he was going to give her up it would be now. Their eyes locked for a matter of two seconds before he looked back up at the soldiers.

"Is this about the missing princess?" he asked. Emma looked away from him and bit her tongue so hard it bled. Anger rushed over her. She shouldn't have expected him to try to help her; she didn't know him; he didn't know her. But still, she felt the overwhelming need to jam her dagger into his thigh.

"It's none of your concern is what it is," said the soldier.

"It is if you want to search my ship, mate." Emma looked up again, her grip on her dagger loosening slightly. "You'd be wasting your time, anyway. There's no princess aboard my ship. Believe me, mate, I'd know." The urge to mutilate him was getting increasingly less the more he spoke.

"By order of the-"

"Look here, mate," he cut the soldier off. Nobody had the guts to do that. Nobody except her. And apparently this handsome stranger. She was liking him more and more. "There hasn't been a problem between pirates and this kingdom in a long while. I think your king and queen would prefer it stay that way. If you wish to obliterate that thin veil of peace then by all means, come aboard. If not, best be on your way."

That was a threat if she'd ever heard one. And he wore a smile as he delivered it. Damn he was attractive. Damn he was a pirate.

Get it together, Emma.

There was murmuring amongst the soldiers on the dock. Emma held her breath, waiting for their decision. Her handsome stranger drummed his fingers against the rail, seeming to appear impatient. Emma studied his profile. She couldn't help herself. Why was he helping her? He clearly knew who she was. Why risk it? She was concentrating so fully on the man before her that she didn't hear exactly what the soldiers said, only that they were leaving and that the pirate wasn't to move his ship until they had further instructions from the King and Queen.

Emma let out a breath as she heard their footsteps fade away down the dock. The pirate looked down at her once they were gone and smiled a sickeningly cocky smile.

"I think you owe me one, princess."

Emma slipped her dagger into her boot and pushed herself to her feet, forcing the pirate to release the rail and take a step back.

"How about we just take the fact that I didn't castrate you while I was down there and call it even." she replied, crossing her arms.

The pirate laughed an amused sounding laugh. "Aye, that sounds fair."

She was surprised he conceded so easily. That didn't fall in line with what she'd heard about pirates. She eyed him warily. "How do you know who I am?" Any of her parent's subjects would know exactly what Emma looked like but this man clearly did not belong in this kingdom.

"I took a guess and from their reactions it was obvious I was right," he said. His eyes tickled with amusement. "I'm quite lucky like that, actually."

"Why did you help me? I've got nothing for you, so if you were expecting any gold or anything…else then you're out of luck."

"I expect nothing from you, love. I was only doing a good deed. My first in…two years, three?" He looked at her as if she might have the answer. "You're free to go anytime you like. Or stay, if you'd rather…" He wiggled his eyebrows at her. Emma scoffed, but she couldn't keep the small smile from reaching her lips. For a few seconds he looked her over, his face becoming more serious as he did.

"What's your name, love?"

It felt weird that he didn't already know. Everyone knew her name. She kind of liked that he didn't know even something that simple about her. For once in her life here was someone who knew absolutely nothing about her. It was different. Nice.

"Emma," she replied slowly.

"Emma," he repeated. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Emma. I'm Killian Jones; captain of the Jolly Roger."

"So you're not only a pirate, you're the head pirate."

"And you're not only a pretty girl, you're a princess." He raised an eyebrow as if daring her to contradict him. He seemed pretty talented with what he could do with those eyebrows.

Emma replied simply, "Yeah, well, at least I'm legal." A dumb quip, but she couldn't think of anything else.

Killian grinned and took a step back, turning to walk in the other direction. When he looked back at her and inclined his head she realized she was supposed to follow.

"So tell me, Emma, why are you hiding from your Merry Men?" he asked as they walked.

"They're not my anything. And I needed a break from…everything."

"The duties of a princess are tiresome?"

"Some of them."

Killian stopped at the ship's wheel and leaned against it. "So you needed a break? That's it?"

"That's all I'm going to tell you, at least."

"Truthful. That's refreshing."

"Not many honest pirates?"

Killian inclined his head slightly. "We prefer to keep the truth to ourselves. Lie, steal, cheat. That sort of thing. Easier to stab someone in the back."

"Well, that was pretty honest." Emma pointed out.

"It was, wasn't it? You're changing me, Emma." he teased. Emma rolled her eyes.

"You don't seem like someone who would do anything he didn't want to." That actually sounded pretty familiar to her. After all, she was supposed to be getting married right about now.

"You would be right." Killian studied her for a moment before he spoke again. He seemed to be contemplating something. "I would like to show you something. If you'd like to see it, of course." Emma didn't see a reason why not to at this point. She nodded.

Killian reached under the wheel and pulled out a giant piece of rolled up paper. He unrolled the scroll and spread it out across the wheel. It was a map of the stars. Pretty, but she didn't know why he was showing it to her. She wasn't in the mood for an astronomy lesson.

"You see these stars over here," he indicated a section of the map. She nodded again. "Second star to the right, do you see that?"

"Yeah…"

"That, love, is Neverland. And it's the Jolly Roger's next stop."

"You want to go to the land of the lost boys?" Emma asked skeptically. "Why?"

"Why? Because I'm a pirate in need of constant adventure to sate my unquenchable thirst of wanderlust. That's why." he said it like it was obvious.

"Okay?" Emma said, confused. "Good for you. Do you want a farewell parade or something?"

He chuckled lightly. "No, love. I was wondering if you'd like to go with me."

Emma nearly choked on her surprise. "Are you joking?"

"I wasn't. Should I be? You seem as much in need of some adventure I am."

He was definitely right about that. Emma had craved adventure her entire life. But that didn't mean she could just up and leave for Neverland. She'd only planned to be gone a few days. Who knew how long a trip like that would take. On a side note, what did it say about her senses that the only thing to keep her from going was the duration of the trip? Did the fact that he was a pirate really bother her so little?

"I can't," her words slipped out with a sigh she hadn't meant to release. "My parents would never go for it." And that was putting it lightly.

Killian nodded for second like maybe he understood, then he rolled the map back up and asked, "How old are you?"

"Twenty-one." Emma answered without question, though she did give him a curious look.

Again he nodded. "Old enough to make your own decisions, then."

"I-" She realized she didn't have a good argument to that. "It's not that simple." Though he sure made it sound like it was.

"Tell me, princess," Killian said. "Did your parents approve of today's outing by chance? What would they think of you talking to a pirate." The look he was giving her both irritated and invigorated her. She never felt that way when Bae looked at her. Irritated, maybe, but usually she just felt indifferent. But she never felt like she could conquer the world with a single look from him. Not like she did now.

Killian stepped toward her. They were now as close as they had been on the other side of the ship. If she leaned forward she could kiss him.

Weird thought.

"If you close your eyes, love," he said, his voice softer, coarser, than it had been before. "perhaps you'll be able to hear yourself more clearly. Always helps me."

For whatever reason, Emma closed her eyes. Maybe it was because there was something about him that made her want to trust him.

She was self-conscious at first. Tense. She didn't like not being able to keep an eye on her surroundings. And then her shoulders relaxed and her breathing slowed. She was able to hear men talking at the end of the docks, the water as waves crashed a little further out into sea, and she could hear the soft sound of the pirate's breaths from where he stood before her. A strangely calming sound. Most importantly, for the first time in a while she could hear herself think. She didn't have her mother whispering in her ear telling her what was right, or her father saying how proud he was of her for the choices she was making. She got to think about what she wanted, and what was right for her, even though it may not be what they would choose for her.

When she opened her eyes she had made her decision. The pirate smiled at her, as if he knew what it would be, and Emma couldn't help but smile back.

Looking at Killian Jones she realized why she hadn't been able to stop shaking that morning. Her hands had never been so steady when she said, "When do we leave?"

So she'd be gone a little longer than a few days. She'd send her parents a note.