*Just in case anyone was wondering, this is going to be T-rated for a while but in later chapters switch to M. I figured I would rate it M for now. Some of the prior chapters have been edited.

For four hours, Emma had been walking through the woods trying to get away from her would-be kidnappers. There had been plenty of times in the past as a little girl when she would escape a beating from her father by crawling out her window and climbing down from the porch roof. It had been an easy feat. She knew the woods like the back of her hand since she spent time hunting, gathering berries, mushrooms and on warm nights sleeping outdoors.

Emma figured it would be best to head to the cabin in the ridge which was used as shelter when she went hunting but she wasn't sure if she would get there before nightfall so she headed in the direction of the river. The shadows started getting longer telling her the sun was going to go down soon. She could sleep in one of the caves nearby then continue her journey to the cabin in the morning.

She heard the snapping of a twigs and footsteps getting nearer. She turned around and saw the three men running towards her. "They must be trackers," she thought.

She started to sprint towards the river.

"Princess! Come back! Emma!" they yelled.

She came to the river which led to a waterfall. She knew that if she were to jump off the ledge into the water, the pool would be deep enough so she didn't worry about hurting herself. She had jumped the ledge plenty of times as a child. She executed a perfect dive and plunged into the water below.

Emma smiled to herself as she swam towards land, perfectly pleased that they wouldn't follow her. "Who would go to the trouble of jumping off a ledge that high when they didn't have to," she thought until she heard a splash of water followed by two more. She looked back and was shocked that they dove in after her. There were other females in the village that would be easier to abduct than her, she thought.

Instead of swimming towards the land, she started swimming so that she could catch the current that would send her farther down the river faster. Of course, there was a chance that the river could grow wild and she would get smashed into a rock or get pulled under by the current and drown but it was chance she would have to take to get away. She felt the pull of the river carry her away. When she felt the current carry her farther enough, she decided to swim to the shoreline. Her muscles were screaming with fatigue and she dragged herself through the mud of the riverbank.

She made it to the grassy bank and fell into a muddy heap. She looked up to see if anyone followed her and was relieved to see that no one did. She checked to make sure her knife was in her boot. When she was finished resting, she walked for a bit until she spotted a perfect place to wash the mud from her clothes and body. It was getting dark but she could still see a small inlet where the water was a lot calmer where she could dunk herself and give herself a short scrub. She decided to take off her skirt and shirt to wash them properly while still being in her shift. When she emerged from the water, she heard the crunch of leaves.

A voice shouted, "What the hell do you think you were doing making a dive like that? You could have been killed!"

In the darkness she recognized a wet, muddy and very irate Killian.

"You weren't supposed to follow me you moron!" Emma yelled as she marched out of the water.

"You're my betrothed! I am responsible for you and to keep you alive!"

"It's all nonsense and you know it!" she yelled while whipping the wet skirt and shirt around to hit him in the face. She turned to run. The force shocked him for a bit until he recovered.

She ran until she was exhausted so she dropped down into a bush where she could hide herself. She felt a hand drag her by the arm out of the bush and spun her around while she screamed. Killian's arms pulled her body to him and he crashed his mouth down into hers. His lips moved over hers with fierce demand. She was stunned. He crushed her body to him with an impassioned embrace. Heat emanated from him in waves through the layers of wet clothing. She felt his erection through his clothes and her shift. She felt a swirl of emotions in her middle which seemed to shoot down to an achy pleasure much lower. The energy she expended running away from him left her weakened and open to his passionate onslaught. It was too much for her and she was too innocent to appreciate it.

They both stiffened when they heard someone clear their throat. They turned to find both Robin and Will tactfully looking upwards as if they had not seen them in a passionate kiss with Emma in only her wet shift.

"Should I start looking for firewood to start a fire since we'll be camping out tonight?," Robin asked holding Emma's clothes that she hit Killian with.

Killian let out a deep sigh and rubbed his head in frustration.

"That's a good idea. It'll be too dark to walk back to town," Killian said. He realized he still had hold of her arms and he quickly let them go. He took a step back from her.

The men escorted Emma back to a clearing near the river and proceeded to make a fire to bunk for the night.