Chapter 3

Emma danced with a number of men and talked to so many people that she thought her jaw would fall out of her mouth at any time, but the whole time, she wanted to run to Killian. The thought of his dark hair and his piercing blue eyes was almost unbearable for her mind. When the ball was finally over, the guests could leave and the men went to their rooms at the castle, but Emma walked slowly to her room, not wanting to be alone.

"Emma!" A voice called after her and she stopped by her name. She glanced over her shoulder to see Neal coming up beside her. "Did you have fun tonight?"

"No! My face hurts from smiling to every person I saw!" Emma complained and massaged her cheeks. "How about you? Did you enjoy the party?"

"Neh, balls isn't exactly my thing." He smiled and Emma nodded. "How's Killian? I saw him practically run out of the room." Neal glanced curious at her and put his hands behind his back while walking beside her.

"I don't know." Emma said. It wasn't exactly a lie, she didn't quite know what was going on, but it was something.

"He's normally happy and joking with the other waiters and waitresses, at least whenever I'm here." He said. Emma shook her head with a sigh.

"Yeah, things can change, you know." Emma smiled and saw that she was approaching the stairs up to her bedroom. "I should go. Long day tomorrow."

"Yeah, good night." Neal said and waved to her before continuing down the hallway. Emma raced up the stairs and in to her bedroom where she kicked off her shoes before struggling to get out of her dress. When she finally managed and to change into her nightgown, she fell down on her bed with a sigh. The room was almost pitch dark except for the little lamp on her nightstand beside her bed which gave the room a soft glow.

"Emma?" A voice called from the door. "You okay, sweetheart?" Snow came in and closed the door behind her.

"Yeah, just tired that's all." Emma lied and sat up in the bed. Snow smiled and sat down beside her daughter.

"You don't have to lie to me, honey." She said and pulled Emma close to her while brushing her hair with her fingers.

"How'd you know I lie?" Emma asked with a sigh and leaned her head on her mother's shoulder.

"I'm your mother, I know when you lie." Snow laughed and kissed her head. "It's about Killian, isn't it?" Emma looked confused at her. "Don't you think I saw you run after him at the ball? Is something wrong?"

"Maybe, I don't know." Emma admitted and pulled her legs under her. She wanted to tell her mother about her and Killian, but if she said it wrong, everything could be ruined or worse. Killian could get fired!

"Did you fight? You know a fight between you guys lasts about a day or two, then you're back to being best friends again." Snow said and patted her daughter's back.

"We fought, kind of. It's complicated, but I don't think it can be fixed this time, mom." Emma almost whispered and let a single tear escape her eye, but quickly dried it off with her hand.

"Oh, sweetie, it's okay! You know Killian would never do anything to hurt you." Snow said and hugged her daughter closer.

"He didn't, I did. I don't know! I just can't to talk about it right now." Emma said and pulled a little away from her mother before drying her now wet eyes.

"Do you remember when he first got here? He barely got in the door before he saw you and you just clicked. I was afraid I had to get a new servant because of his age, but I saw you enjoyed his company, so your dad and me let him stay." Snow said and looked at her. "You will figure it out, you always do. He loves you too much to never forgive you, Emma, you know that." Snow said and grabbed her daughter's hand.

"If you only knew." Emma said under her breath and squeezed her mother's hand a last time before she stood up. "Good night, mom." Snow turned at the door and smiled.

"Good night, honey. Sleep tight." She said before she disappeared out the door, leaving Emma alone in the dark. It was lonely without Killian beside her, his scent full her nose and the warmth of his body close to hers. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and curled up under the covers. Even without the giant empty Killian shaped whole in her bed, she managed to fall asleep.

Snow White walked out of her daughter's bedroom and headed to her own where Charming were. The halls were empty with only a few lights lighting it up. She continued down the long hallway until she reached the double doors to her bedroom and walked inside.

"How is she?" David asked when his wife came inside their shared bedroom. He was sitting in a chair, reading a book.

"She's…sad, but she's holding up fine." She said and sat down in the other chair beside her husband. "She fought with Killian."

"Well, certainly not the first time. Remember when they were 16 and fought about who was the best sword fighter? They almost killed each other." Charming laughed and put down the book in the table between them.

"They love each other, Charming. They will figure it out sooner or later." Snow smiled and reached her hand out to her husband which he took. "Like we did."

"Well, it won't be easy if they don't figure it out before Emma finds someone to marry." Charming sighed and squeezed his wife's hand.

"They will. Killian would never let anyone else have our daughter." Snow assured and stood up along with David. She reached up on her toes and gave him a kiss before wrapping her arms around him to hug him. "We raised her right, David. They will be together."