When mother and son arrived home, Emma sent Henry to his room to do his homework while she cooked dinner. Normally she was too tired to cook and preferred to order take-out, but Emma needed a distraction from the day's events. She used up what few ingredients they had in the kitchen making a chicken and pasta recipe she found online. Which means grocery shopping tomorrow, she thought with a sigh.
While waiting for the dish to finish cooking, Emma decided to do some cleaning. The place was getting rather cluttered, which was especially inconvenient considering how tiny the apartment was. In the middle of clearing away Henry's toys, Emma heard a loud, rapid knocking on the door.
Lily Page, who lived a few doors down, stood on the other side, arms crossed and a little amused. While Emma wasn't close to any of her neighbors, she took special care to avoid Lily. Lily was rather depressing to be around and tended to bring bad luck with her. And then there was the sole time Emma had trusted her to watch Henry during a work emergency.
"Hey Lily." Emma said without enthusiasm. "Need something?"
"So, are you like a princess now?" Lily tilted her head, with one eyebrow raised. Emma stared at her, not comprehending. Scoffing, Lily let herself in and went straight for Emma's laptop.
Emma protested, "Hey!", but at that moment the oven timer went off. Emma sighed, turned to the kitchen, and took dinner out before it burned. "Henry! Food's ready."
"Wow, he's so hot." Lily looked up from the laptop and smirked. "Lucky you, Swan."
Henry came out of his room, somewhat surprised to see his neighbor casually sitting on the couch using his mother's laptop. "Hi Miss Page."
"S'up squirt. Oh sorry, Prince Squirt."
Growing ever impatient, Emma put her hands on her hips, "What are you going on about? What are you even doing here?"
"Relax, I just came to offer to congrats on snagging on a fu-" Emma glared at her "a prince. Prince Killian Jones of Arendelle. Seriously, you won the soulmate lottery. Look, you're all over the internet." She turned the computer screen to Emma, showing picture after picture of her standing with Killian outside Henry's school. There were also a few with Henry himself.
Emma felt her insides turn to ice. Vaguely, she was aware of Henry running up to Lily and asking to look at Killian's picture, but that seemed a million miles away.
Prince Killian Jones of Arendelle. Prince Killian Jones. Prince.
"Excuse me." she said in a watery voice. Fumbling for her cell phone for a second, Emma raced into Henry's room and closed the door behind her. She forced down a sob at having to hide in her son's room; she let him have the one bedroom she could afford while she slept on the couch. And Killian was apparently royalty.
Furiously, she scrolled for his number and pressed "Call". He answered on the first ring. "Emma?" he asked anxiously.
She sank to the floor, gathering her thoughts. "Are you a prince?"
"...Yes." Killian answered sheepishly. "My cousin Elsa is the queen of Arendelle."
Emma could almost picture him shrugging, perhaps fiddling with his collar. It was one thing hear it from Lily and another to hear it from Killian himself. He just casually mentioned that his cousin was a head of state. That he exchanged Christmas gifts with a queen.
"And you couldn't have warned me?" She tried to sound cold. But her anger was already dissipating, so she just sounded whiny and awkward.
"I'm sorry, Emma." Killian replied. The sincerity in his voice made her legs weak. "I was afraid of scaring you off. You already had one foot out the door and I was afraid dropping something like this would get you running."
He wasn't wrong, Emma begrudgingly admitted to herself. She leaned her head against the door and closed her eyes. "So now I'm on the internet, apparently."
"I swear, I had no intention of anyone finding out-"
Emma interrupted him, "I'm not angry with you, if that's what you're worried about. I get it - the whole soulmate thing is pretty conspicuous and you're a high-profile guy." Her eyes flew open when it struck her that she was now a high-profile girl, a real-life Cinderella. "Oh shit, I'm gonna get roped into this royalty thing, aren't I? Fuck."
"I promise I'll do what I can to keep you and Henry out of the spotlight." Killian swore. The fact that he remembered her son's name shouldn't have made her feel so warm, but it did. And that said some rather unpleasant things about her love life.
"Thank you. Look, dinner's getting cold. Can I call you tomorrow?"
"Yes. Tomorrow sounds- Regina!"
Emma heard a brief struggle before the smooth voice of a woman entered her ear. "Hello, this is Regina Mills, a friend of Prince Killian's. You're his soulmate, Emma, correct?"
"Yes?" Emma answered hesitantly.
Regina's words came fast and slick, like a particularly heavy downpour. "Listen Miss Emma, please don't take this the wrong way, but we can't exactly take this slow. News travels fast and the longer we wait to make an official statement, the more suspicious the public will. I know, it's ridiculous, but that's just want to know everything as it's happening; you know how it is. Anyway, I'm going to set up a press conference for tomorrow night."
"Wait." Emma's head spun trying to keep up with her. "I can't just leave and hold a press conference, I have a five year old at home."
"We'll send someone to watch the little tyke." Regina replied blithely.
"I'll have to go to work afterwards." Emma knew she was fishing for excuses, but she couldn't help it.
After a pause, Regina gave a little laugh, "Miss Emma, you're practically a princess now. You don't need a day job anymore."
"I'm his soulmate, not his wife." Emma replied somewhat bitterly. She grimaced. "Fine."
"Trust me Miss Emma, it's for the best." Regina told her in a softer tone. "Now, I just need your address. And your measurements. And your last name."
Emma wrung her hands together anxiously. She sat in front of a mirror, half a dozen lights shining in her eyes, as the hair stylist fixed her blonde hair into a elegant knot. In the corner of her eye she could see the likely thousand dollar dress Regina Mills had picked out. Her stomach flipped at the thought of wearing something so expensive.
"Nervous?" Mary Margaret, the personal assistant assigned her, entered the room. She had a sweet voice and a warm smile, and Emma liked her right away.
"A bit." She admitted.
Mary Margaret leaned against the vanity mirror. "You wanna know a trick my dad taught me? Take your greatest weaknesses and spin them in your favor. You're nervous? Be so endearing awkward that people find it adorable. Don't know how to act in fancy state functions? Remind them you're a modern Cinderella and still learning the ropes."
"Wow, thanks." Emma smiled sincerely.
"Now let's get you into that dress." Mary Margaret answered back with a smile of her own.
Regina's choice of outfit was simple and conservative, elegant but not too formal: a knee-length peach-beige number that hung loosely from her body, with a slightly darker shawl draping her shoulders. It felt frighteningly soft and delicate, and Emma shuddered at the thought of accidentally tearing it or getting it dirty. Along with the dress, she got a pearl necklace and earring set; like something a dignified dowager on television would wear. She didn't even dare look at herself in the mirror; she already felt like a little girl playing dress-up.
Not long after Emma finished getting dressed, Regina, stunning in her burgundy suit and dark make-up, came to fetch her. "Enjoying your Princess Diaries moment?" Regina remarked.
Emma gave a tight smile in response.
At the end of the hall, Killian stood waiting with his entourage. His suit jacket and pants were light brown, but his tie was the exact same shade as her dress. And, she noticed upon closer inspection, he wore a white watch that fit right in with her pearls. Oh god, Regina put them in matching outfits.
"Ready to go?" Killian said with raised eyebrows. He had a lighter air about him, like he was more at ease. This was his world after all. He'd been dealing with the press since he was kid, Emma surmised.
He extended his arm to her, and Emma slowly accepted. This was the closest she had ever been to him; close enough to notice a faint scar on his cheek. She'd have to ask him about that later.
Together, Emma and Killian stepped into the main, and a thousand cameras flashed at once.