'Emma, you look so beautiful.' Snow White beamed as her daughter looked up at her own reflection.
'I swear to God, Mom, if you're crying-' Emma said sternly, but a little smile crept up on her face when she caught her mother's eye in the mirror.
'I'm not crying, but I do think this dress will be perfect for the ball. Now we just have to decide on what to do with your hair, and make up and shoes and jewellery.' Snow exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly at the thought of planning her daughter's first official ball as an adult.
'Okay, but you don't need me for that stuff right now, so can I go out into the village?' Emma asked cautiously, watching her mother closely to gauge her reaction. Snow's eyebrows pulled into a frown but she straightened them out quickly.
'Of course, but stay safe and don't venture too far out. Greta's flower stall should be far enough I think.' Her mother bustled about looking through her jewellery boxes, most likely to avoid eye contact.
Emma didn't want to argue so she nodded in agreement. Regina had done a lot of crappy things to her over the past few years, but one of the worst repercussions was her stunted emotional growth. With her parents, she either felt like a childish 5 year old or a rebellious 15 year old, and not the 25 year old woman she actually was.
'Okay, I'll be back before supper.' She said quietly as she pulled at the laces of her dress. Snow quickly took over, gently undoing the intricate fastenings.
'You know your father and I just want you to be safe, right? Regina may have left you alone but we know that Rumplestiltskin still wants your magic.' Emma suddenly felt claustrophobic, the dress too tight and the air too thick.
'I'm aware of that. I still have the broken heart that his first attempt caused.' She replied bitterly, clenching her jaw in anger. At first she had been distraught to learn her first love had been lying the entire time, only using her to get her magic for his power-hungry father. Sometimes she would lie awake at night, wondering if Neal ever even loved her at all. Perhaps he liked her, but he could never love her and cause her so much pain. She would never find out anyway, because he was dead and wasn't coming back. She wasn't sure what had hurt more, the pain of losing him or the pain of his betrayal. Either way, whenever she thought about Neal (She couldn't think of him as 'Baelfire', she didn't know that man, not that she knew 'Neal' any better however) she was left with an empty feeling in her stomach and the strange sensation of simultaneously having a dry mouth and too much saliva all at once.
'Oh, Emma, I wish-' Snow started, but Emma exhaled loudly and her mother stopped talking.
'Please can we not get in to this? What's done is done; no amount of discussion will ever change that.' Emma felt a stab of guilt when she saw her mother's sad face reflected in the mirror, but she thought she might explode if she started dealing with the emotions of everyone around her as well as her own crazy ones.
'I don't mean to be short with you Mother, it's just difficult sometimes.' She really meant all of the time, but Snow didn't need to know that.
'Of course, I understand.' Snow said with a forced smile. After all the relieved and happy hugs and celebrations of her return, Emma actually had to get to grips with the fact that she had spent almost 15 years away from her parents, more time than she had actually spent with them. She loved them obviously, but at times it was strained. She remembered her father reading her bedtime stories and her mother braiding her hair, but she had no idea how to act as an adult with them.
One night Jiminy Cricket had found her crying in the palace gardens and told her that it would take time to feel normal again. She knew he was right but she was desperate for the healing process to be over now. She sighed and changed into a more casual dress before venturing out into the village, darting out of the castle before her mother could assign a bodyguard just to take her shopping.
An old man sat on a barrel of rum as he played the flute, his children dancing around him happily to the tune. Each time someone tossed a coin in his hat he changed up the tune, playing a more difficult piece every time. Hook tossed 4 coins in and the man stopped, staring in shock at the philanthropic pirate before him.
'I don't know anything advanced enough to warrant such a gift, Captain.' The man shakily spoke, his eyes darting to the metal appendage on the Captain's left hand.
'No worries, sir, that was for your children, a piece each to keep any fights at bay.' He said with a wink, and the man gawked before shaking his head and muttering many words of thanks.
'Captain, was that completely necessary?' Smee whispered in his ear as they rounded the corner onto a stretch of small market stalls.
'No, but I'm feeling generous, Smee. My good moods are rare and you should enjoy them instead of questioning me.' Hook muttered to his first mate before walking over to a stall of fresh fruit. He bent down to smell the strawberries when a delicate laugh from his left distracted him. He looked over, seeing a group of little girls surrounding a woman who was kneeling on the ground. Her blonde hair cascaded down around her face and past her shoulders in loose ringlets. The girls were balancing a ring of flowers on her hair, the blue petals matching the woman's long cloak. She laughed again and the musical sound was ringing in his ears. Her smile was beautiful and warm, and there was a glow to her that he wasn't sure was completely natural.
'Alright, girls, I'm sure Princess Emma has business to attend to.' An elderly woman called out from behind the flower stall, and his stomach dropped. This woman in front of him was the princess, and hopefully his way of defeating the Dark One for good. The princess smiled and hugged each of the girls before gracefully standing up and brushing the dust off her cloak. He quickly turned to Smee and quietly whispered his orders.
'Smee, stay at least 3 stalls over from me at all times, and refrain from calling me Captain for now, understood?' Smee nodded in response, not risking it to question his Captain again.
Hook walked slowly towards the woman, casually glancing around at the stalls to look interested. He 'accidentally' bumped into her, causing the flower headpiece to fall. 'Oh, Gods, I'm sorry, lass, I wasn't looking where I was going.' He humbly apologized, bending down to pick the flowers up will strategically hiding his hook behind his back. He heard her gasp before she exhaled and smiled warily.
'It's fine, thank you.' He watched her eyelashes flutter as she looked at him before nervously looking away, and suddenly all the stories came back to him. Kidnapped at 10 and kept a prisoner for nearly 15 years, betrayed by her first love, who died in her arms, and now under threat from the Dark One. The princess had every reason to be nervous of strangers.
'You're the princess, aren't you?' He asked her curiously, even if he already knew the answer. Her green eyes widened before rolling, and he was taken aback by her sudden casual attitude.
'I'm aware that I stick out like a sore thumb, particularly now when everyone is here for my ridiculous ball. I'm assuming that's why you're here?' She asked pointedly, crossing her arms in front of her chest. The corners of his lips twitched up in amusement as he took in the princess. Before, with the children, she had been elegant and kind, just like every princess should behave. Now though he saw a glimpse of the real woman, not her title. He could tell that she was a ballsy woman, perhaps more fluent in sarcasm than the languages her parents wished her to speak.
'Aye, lass, it is. Although it seems the recipient of this splendid ball is rather unimpressed by it all?' He raised his eyebrow in an almost comic manner, knowing women somehow responded well to the gesture. Emma however looked completely unfazed, which threw him off slightly.
'That's really none of your business.' Emma bristled, frowning at him deeply.
'No worries. You're something of an open book to me anyway, love.' That got her attention as she scoffed and rolled her eyes again.
'Am I?' She asked sceptically, but he heard the shake in her voice, the one that told him her defenses were flagging up.
'Quite. My guess is that secretly you actually want this ball because as a child you dreamed about the day of your Cotillion, but it was robbed from you when you were kidnapped by the Evil Queen. The fact that your parents are still throwing you this ball now only reminds you of the lost years spent without them, and everything you could have had if you hadn't been used as pawn in Regina's game of revenge.' He knew from the way her eyes hardened that he correctly hit a nerve, but for some reason he struggled to feel as smug as he had expected.
'Well, congratulations, you've got me all figured out.' She said with all the sarcasm she could muster.
'Do you think you always would have been like this, or is that wall you put up the product of your circumstances?' He continued on. Her eyes widened and her nostrils flared and he knew he had gone too far.
'Who the hell do you think you are questioning me like this? I rescind your invitation to my ball, so you have no further business in this kingdom. You should leave now before I call the guards to escort you away.' She gave him an incredibly dirty look before swiftly turning around and marching back towards the castle, her blue cloak angrily sweeping behind her.
'Um, Captain, was that wise?' Smee whispered as he crept up behind his captain sheepishly.
'That, Smee, was simply phase one.' Hook said with a grin as he watched the princess storm away.
'I don't understand, she looked rather angry with you to be honest.' Smee pressed, scratching his hair under the red hat upon his head. 'The Princess may not be happy with me, but I've gotten under her skin.' Hook was still watching Emma until she disappeared behind a throng of people and into the castle gates. She wasn't at all what he expected but he was pleasantly surprised by her feisty attitude and her ability to still look beautiful even when angry. He might just have some fun at this ball after all.