Classical music played from the upper half of the ballroom building, with men playing violins or pianos.
A big chandelier hung above the party, and everyone was having a hell of a time. It was loud, and everyone had some food to eat, and wine to drink.
Emma stood with her father in her red corset dress, hair still curly but now with a little (almost unnoticeable) tiara on her head. It was a cute outlined diamond tiara.
"Emily, you grow up so fast." she heard, and looked up. Joey. Still bald and covering it with his hat. He was coming over to them, and this time, instead of a usual judgmental eye, Joey smirked down at her like he approved.
Ew.
Behind him, followed his son, who held his hands behind his back and appeared when his father moved, letting Emma take in the site of him and he grinned down at her.
Craig had grew up even more handsome than Emma remembered, but still, it wasn't changing her mind as he stopped in front of her.
"My lady." he teased, bowing a bit before reaching his hand out for hers.
Emma smiled and looked down as he kissed her hand. He smiled wolf-ishly. She was a remarkable girl and he was happy to make her his wife. She had always been spirited, bright, and a beautiful girl. The fact she still had her innocence too may excite him as well.
"When shall we make the announcement?" Joey muttered to Snake, and Emma narrowed her eyes, eavesdropping
Snake shrugged, watching everyone enjoy the party and dancing, "Let them dance first, have some fun. Then we will tell everyone."
"May I have this dance?" Craig whispered in Emma's ear, snapping her out of it.
Yes, she would dance with him, but at the end of this song, she'd go hide in her favorite hiding spot she had since a kid. Behind the curtains by the entrance, which led to a private room for the royal but nobody ever used. It was like an office.
They couldn't make an engagement announcement without her, now could they?
((*))
Outside the ball, a line up waited to be let in, and Jay and Sean had finally stepped up next for a tall, but skinny man to hold his arm out, not letting them pass.
Jay and Sean raised their eyebrows at another. To think they had actually beat up a pair of guards at the castle for clothes for this? To be shunned at the door already?
Both Jay and Sean wore royal navy uniforms, leaving them looking quite distinctive and irresistible. Jay even looked quite charming as his pirate hat was off his head and instead now showing off his short, brown hair that brushed against his forehead and styled in that 'messy but cute' way. His dark eyes narrowed to check out the 'party' they were being blocked from.
"It's a shilling to enter if not on the list." the doorman said, holding out his hand, and a bucket of dollars on the table sat beside him. Jay eyed it.
"You're saying we aren't on the list?" Jay asked, pointing at himself and Sean and put on his best offended face.
The doorman opened his mouth and didn't know what to say. It was clear by the uniforms they were navy, and he wanted to watch what he said.
"Do you know who we are?" Jay raised his voice again.
"N-No."
Sean leaned closer, putting a hand on the doormans shoulder and said quietly, "How about we forget the names and you can take our five shillings?"
"F-five? Yes, yes! Go on in." he smiled graciously and Sean paid him, then led Jay in
"5?" growled Jay, following Sean inside.
Sean smirked as he raised the small bucket in his hand that he stole right from under the doormans nose, "Thats nothing. Look what I got."
Jay's eyes flickered with glee. "Must be over 20 shillings in there."
Sean nodded, emptying it in his hand and putting it in his pocket, throwing the bucket away.
Jay sighed and looked around at the people dancing before they entered the party. "This better be fun." he said as Sean led him more into the party.
The pirates were here.
The party was just starting.
((*))
As Emma danced with Craig, everyone's eyes were on them, smiling and admiring the cute little interaction.
How could people who hardly knew another be in love or get married though? Emma thought, as she laid her head on his chest as she pondered this, missing the mysterious figure from earlier enter the ballroom and take in the site of her with Craig.
Sean wore the white mask which only covered the right side of his handsome face, along with the blue royal navy uniform he had on. He pushed his hair back as he pushed through the crowd, and tried to blend in but many women looked twice when he passed.
((*))
The dance with Craig was over, which meant time to hide. Emma split from Craig as he was greeted by 'fans' of he and his father (Some men Emma hadn't seen before). She saw her father looking around and hid behind a couple as he almost spotted her.
She walked quickly for the 'secret' office room, that laid behind a red curtain. She squeezed through some people dancing, and dashed through the curtain and into the room. It was dim lighted, and she turned to peak out to see that her father was still clueless.
Thank god.
She sighed and backed up more into the room, before a deep voice startled her.
"Having fun?"
She turned to see a uniformed navy leaning against an office desk, his arms crossed and wearing a phantoms mask. The room was surrounded by dark grey walls, floral carpet and old paintings of past relatives. The mysterious guy seemed to be enjoying her nervous behavior with this smirk she couldn't explain that he had.
Even though he was wearing a mask covering half his right side of his face, she could tell he was still good looking by the other half and the smug grin he was giving that made her knees weak. The dimples he had caved into his cheek and his eyes even behind the mask twinkled blue and smoldered her.
Where had she seen this look before? Left her breathless.
"So." he leaned off the desk, coming over to her, and she narrowed her eyes wearily. Smart girl, he thought. "..who are we hiding from?" Sean teased.
Emma tried to hide a smile as the stranger stopped right in front of her and moved the curtain just behind her open, to peak out. She turned, slowly, and they both peaked out together with him closely up behind her.
She narrowed her eyes at the stranger, sensing something so familiar about him. She turned back to the ballroom they were peaking at from behind the curtain, in their own little hiding spot.
"Him" she states, pointing a finger at Craig.
Sean didn't even take a second glance, cornering his eyes at Emma as she watched Craig with an unsure look upon her gorgeous face that made him a little bit happy. He closed his eyes when she turned her head to look for her father, and he inhaled her vanilla scent.
"Em.."
Emma gasped a bit, turning and looking up at him, and squinted her eyes closely. She knew she knew him. Who was he? Nobody but close friends and family called her by that.
"Who are you?"
"So who is he to you?" Sean asked, ignoring her question, glancing back out the curtain to where Craig was, "Are you with him?"
"Soon I will be." Emma said with a raised eyebrow. She could see his hands clenching. She tilted her head and for some reason, pushed his buttons more, "We're getting married."
"That's a laugh." he nearly sneered, and she gasped, stepping back but against the wall now and he trapped her up against it, his strong arms resting up over her to lean his hands on the wall to trap her.
She looked up with her big hazel eyes and before Sean could blink, she noticed his small scar on his cheekbone and she ripped his mask off.
"I knew it!" she smacked her hands against his chest and dropped the mask. His arms fell from off the wall, an unreadable look on his face as he didn't move and her small shove did nothing to move him. She was still pressed against the wall with his body against hers. "So what?" Emma taunted up at him, tilting her head a bit, "You just ditched town and became some navy or something?"
Sean just smirked.
Her knees went weak. "So?" she pressed and got frustrated by his silence, "Answer me!" She wanted to know where he had been all this time.
"Make me." he teased. She swallowed and he tilted his head, eyeing her shock that someone wouldn't answer to her. His princess had been spoiled far too long, he should of come sooner.
"I don't have to tell you anything." he said and looked rather smug and she wanted to slap that smirk off his face.
Suddenly there was a scream outside the curtain from in the Ballroom and Emma's eyes widen, to look back at Sean. She went to run to go find out what it was but his hands grabbed her arms and held her in place and up against him.
She bit back her moan and he leaned down quite close, inches from her lips. "Stay quiet." he warned. His eyes searched hers and then lingered down to her lips.
"What's happened?!" another yell from outside bellowed.
Sean took Emma in his arms, hostage, and inched towards the curtain, peaking out.
They saw a gaurd, the doorman, and a lady standing together as the doorman explained, "The bucket at the front has been robbed!"
From behind them, the door bursted open, and guards raced in, her Fathers men. Emma tensed in Seans arms, and narrowed her hazel orbs to sneak a glance at him, seeing him looking rather interested at the situation out there.
Sean had locked eyes with Jay, who was in the back corner of the party, and nodded at him when Sean caught his attention. He nodded to the back, and Jay glanced at it, to go sneak out the back.
Good idea.
When the gaurds had stopped, one yelled out to Snake, "My King, we have bad news to bare from the castle. Your jewels and weapons are missing from the your chambers."
"I've been robbed!?" Snake shouted, face going red from anger.
That guard turned and grabbed two other half naked guards, in only their undergarments and looking embarrassed. "By pirates!" he informed.
Everyone screamed. Emma gasped and Sean's hand went over her mouth, his gaze hard on the guards and slowly closing the curtain, backing him and Emma up towards the window to sneak out.
She finally yanked away from his hand and whispered bitterly over her shoulder, "Run and they'll just kill you."
He sneered in her ear, "Pirate, Em. They'll kill me either way."
"Thats not true!"
He scoffed and opened the window, letting her go for the moment, "You're as blind as a bat."
"And you're not the guy I thought you were!" her words cut him like a knife, as he turned from the open window, the drapes flowing softly in the wind as they locked eyes.
"You know what Emma," the way he said her name made her heart stop, "I think you're the only one who really did know who and what I was." he scorned her with the truth, burning his eyes into hers and waiting for her to answer..
. She knew who he was, and she even had his necklace.
"Where's my necklace, huh?" He asked as he stalked over to her and she inhaled sharply.
Oh god, he knew.
It was hiding in her dresser back at the castle. She never threw it away.
"I don't know what you're talking about"
Suddenly he reached out, grasped Emma at her hip and pulled her to him. The movement was so swift and fast she didn't even realize it until she was pressed up against his hard chest and gasped again. He slid one hand behind her neck and up into her hair and pressed his lips against hers. It was like an electric shock pulsating through her body. Her heart was thundering in her chest as he slowly took her mouth with his. She whimpered and felt her insides melting by the time she kissed back but then alarm bells were ringing off in the back of her mind.
PIRATE!
Coming to her senses she pushed him away and extracted herself from his grip.
With that, he dashed out the window anyways.
Emma's eyes widened, covering her tingling lips with her trembling fingers. She'd never been kissed like that before. Certainly not by a pirate.
Her heart was pounding.
"Where's the princess?!" she heard her father panic and bellow, before she snapped out of it and ran to the ballroom, looking back at the window Sean jumped out of, and then tried to run to her father while wondering what to say about what just happened.
Author Note: Stopping here. I've renewed this story and it's December 29th, Im waiting for reviews and still haven't got any! Which is sad, I have a lot of Semma plans for this one and more romance/smut than I usually put in. your loss! Unless you leave a comment. Hehe. Until then, no more chapters.