It was almost dinner time and Emma was outside wearing her leather pants and a shirt with her hair put back in a braid. She was trying to improve her skills in archery. She pulled back the string of the bow and released watching the arrow fly towards the target on the tree. Emma sighed as it missed her target by an inch. She put down the bow in frustration; she had been practicing for hours now.
She looked over at one of the guards who followed her out here, "John what time is it?"
The man looked at the horizon then back at the young girl, "I would say it is about 7'o'clock." Emma began to panic because she knew she was late for dinner. Without a word, she started running towards the castle. Once she got closer, she put her bow and arrows in a shed and ran the rest of the way to the castle entrance. Now inside, Emma looked around deciding if she had time to change. She didn't. She ran towards the dining room and stopped as she approached the door, taking a breather. She could hear her parents talking.
"How did your meeting go?" Snow asked Charming before taking a sip of her drink.
Charming smiled, "I think I finally got the council to see my side, but I won't know their decision until Monday." Emma took this as her chance to casually walk in and take a seat at the table.
Snow was about to say something else to Charming when she saw Emma taking a seat, "Nice of you to join us," She smiled. Emma returned the smile as she began to eat her dinner. Snow looked back over at Charming, "Hopefully the council will come through," She paused taking a small bite of her food, "They usually do."
Charming nodded also taking a bite of food, "Were you outside of the castle, Emma?" She nodded, continuing to eat. "Doing what?"
"Trying to hit a target with my bow." Emma appeared frustrated after saying that, which only made Snow giggle.
"How is that going?" Snow asked, clearly amused her daughter is taking a liking to bows.
"I keep missing the target by an inch and I'm not sure why." Emma crunched her face trying to think of the reasons behind it, but then giving in to her hunger instead.
Charming chuckled at his daughter's facial expressions.
Snow eyed Charming with a smile, but kept her attention on Emma. "Well maybe I can help you. I've been shooting a bow for a long time now and I could be of some help."
Emma smiled graciously at her mother, "Really?"
Snow nodded, "Absolutely."
Charming smiled, "Your mom could teach you a lot of things if you let her." Snow smiled back at Charming.
Emma took a sip of water and smiled, "Okay!" She continued to eat when she forget to mention something to her dad, "Melody said her mom could drop her off by 2 tomorrow."
Snow instantly looked at Charming with a look that said 'Are you kidding me?' Charming sheepishly smiled at his wife before keeping his eye on his plate. Snow looked back at her daughter, "Did she?" She spoke with a hint of irritation, directing it towards Charming.
Emma didn't notice the tension between her parents and continued, "Yup!" Emma smiled at her father and Charming returned it. Charming looked at his wife and put his hand on top of hers and squeezed it. Snow loved Charming, but also wanted to kill him at the moment.
Charming decided to lessen the tension in the room, "Why don't you both come to the ball tomorrow evening?" Snow wasn't happy with having both children there, but figured that was a good compromise.
Emma gave her dad a look and sighed, "Do I have to?" Charming nodded finishing his meal.
"It'll make your mom and I very happy to see you there and maybe with a friend around you can actually enjoy the ball." Emma folded her arms in front of her chest in defeat and irritation at her parents. Snow and Charming exchanged a smile as they continued their conversation from before.