"What were you thinking angering my father like that!" Emma demanded after she fussed over him. "Is this what you came here for?"
"I came here for you, Emma," Killian said as he kneeled next to Emma sitting on the couch. His eyes roving over her beautiful face.
"What! To embarrass me in front of the whole kingdom?" Emma shrieked. She kept dabbing on the cut above his eye. She was relieved he didn't need stitches.
"You think bedding me was an embarrassment?" Killian cocked an eyebrow. He knew damn well how good she felt after they spent time in bed together.
"No! But…" Emma's face turned bright red. "You didn't have to mention it! Why did you mention it?"
"Did you rather I lied about it?" Killian quipped.
Charming worked himself up into a serious lather after hearing confirmation that they did have relations, "I wish you did! Coming to the ball uninvited has gotten you into serious hot water. King George wants to take you back to his kingdom for a hanging."
"And let me guess, you'll wrap me in a bow and present me as a gift to him," Killian snorted.
"Actually we've been discussing how to get you out of it," Charming declared. "But we need to talk to Emma privately first."
"Father, anything you have to say, you can say it in front of Killian," Emma thought it was silly to want to discuss this privately when it's about Killian's life.
"I think you'll want to be alone when we tell you about Jiminy's suggestion," Snow warned.
"Just say it, mother," Emma couldn't understand why they needed to talk to her alone first.
"Jiminy suggested that you marry Killian so that he can automatically be a citizen of the Enchanted Forest and be under our laws. He could get a fair trial. King George would back off since he would be a member of the royal family and Killian would make reparations," Snow stated.
"Also, you've compromised her. You've let a whole audience know this," Charming was still fuming. "You'll do right by her."
"You can't be serious," Emma was incredulous. "You don't actually want him in the family do you?"
"Oy! Your parents don't even know me, love," Killian feigned indignation. Killian winked. "We just might get along."
Emma turned to Killian and said, "You don't want to marry me, do you?" She couldn't believe he would make joke at a time like this.
"Do you want me to?" Killian countered.
"Well…," Emma was hesitant. "If it saves you from a hanging then I guess I'll have to!"
"Don't do me any bloody favors," Killian acted a bit sore.
"I'm trying to save your life!" Emma yelled. Couldn't he see that!
"Alright, you win! If that's the only way," a brief flash of joy crossed Killian's face before it was replaced by a grim look. He then surprised everyone in the room by saying, "then someone get the minister in here before I change my mind!"
Neal just chuckled. He knew what the man was up to. He gave in too soon and without that much ill grace.
"I'll go fetch Jiminy to perform the ceremony," Neal said as he left the room with a cheeky smile.
"Wait a minute, Neal," Snow said. "We need to ask Emma if this is what she really wants. Emma?"
Emma gave a hard stare at Killian then looked at her parents and Neal.
Killian held his breath.
"Go fetch the minister," Emma said with finality.
Killian was shocked to see Neal come back with a cricket who spoke through a speaking trumpet.
"A cricket is officiating the wedding?" Killian was incredulous.
Snow clarified, "Jiminy is ordained to officiate over wedding ceremonies and it was his idea that you agreed to. He knows the law and assisted in negotiating the treaties with King George so he knows the details of our agreement with King George's kingdom."
Killian figured if everyone else was okay with it, he shouldn't have a problem.
Killian took out a women's ring from a leather pouch. It was a simple white gold band with a blue diamond the same shade of Killian's eyes.
"This was my mother's," Killian said as he held it up to show everyone in the room. "This will do nicely for a wedding band."
"It's beautiful," Emma said. She was touched that Killian gave something personal of his, a family heirloom, for her to wear. "Neal? Can you get grandfather's ring for me?"
Snow's father had given Emma his wedding ring. Her grandfather said the ring held a special charm but he never elaborated. He just winked and asked her to make sure to give it someone worthy of her. Emma always wanted to keep the ring to give to her future husband. Looking at the rings, it almost seemed real and not an out of body experience. They were really getting married.
As Killian and Emma stood next to each other as Jiminy started the ceremony, Emma's thoughts swirled.
Does he really want to marry me?
Was it just to get out of a hanging?
We never discussed anything.
Killian on the other hand was thinking other thoughts.
Blood hell! It worked!
It was not exactly how her parents imagined her wedding to be. They figured Emma would be married to some worthy man, not a pirate and certainly not like this, but this man helped their daughter and they needed to help him. It would have been Emma's decision to marry him and she accepted it with not as much resistance as they hoped.
As soon as Jiminy pronounced them man and wife, Killian gave Emma a kiss with his strong lips to seal the vows they made. Killian wanted the kiss to last longer but Emma pulled away after a few seconds. He tried to decipher her feelings and he could see a myriad of emotions, joy, worry and uncertainty.
Charming asked the guards to come into the room and told them, "Lock him up!" Then he snarled to Killian, "You've had enough wedding nights already."
"Father!" Emma couldn't believe her father would lock up her newly minted husband. "You can't stick my husband in jail after you just married me to him!"
"He has to stand trial, Emma," Snow reasoned. "He is a known pirate."
"I can't believe this!" Emma yelled.
Killian was just happy that Emma called him her husband. He kept his eyes on Emma as he was taken away by the guards.
She was thankful that Killian didn't resist and went quietly along. She watched them take him away and touched her lips that were still tingling from his kiss. Emma rounded on her father as soon as the guards took Killian away.
"Father! You married me to him and you can't place my husband in the dungeon!"
"We need to mollify King George. Then we can set up a fair trial for the pirate," Charming reasoned. "Once the trial is over, you can choose to annul the marriage."
"Oh, so that was the plan," Emma threw up her hands.
"What were we supposed to do? He ruined your reputation in front of half the kingdom. He needed to correct that!"
"Sometimes you are so old-fashioned," Emma bemoaned.
"Emma, you could be pregnant," Snow rationalized. Charming cringed. "We need to make sure that a child isn't forthcoming."
Emma tried to put their mind at ease, "I was careful. I used some herbs to prevent pregnancy."
"Still, they don't always work all the time," Snow was happy that her instructions in birth control were heeded by Emma. Emma had always acted embarrassed when the subject of sex came up and Snow was never sure that Emma listened to her teachings. Despite her lack of ease about the subject, Snow knew how hormones could take over.
"Trust us to make the right decisions, Emma," Snow implored.
"Fine, but can you at least keep him in a heavily guarded bedchamber instead of the dungeon?" Emma asked. "He did save my life after all."
Charming's jaw flexed in anger. He felt the dungeon was a good enough place for the pirate but he decided to make a concession for the blackguard on behalf of his daughter.
"We'll put him in one of the upper chambers, Emma," Charming relented. He went to make the arrangements huffing and puffing the entire time. "With no windows," he added for full measure.
Snow then decided to set up a meeting with King George immediately to explain the events of the past hour.
Emma was left alone to ponder her newly married state. She didn't feel like a happy bride but protecting Killian was more important.
King George was, of course, angry at hearing of the marriage between Princess Emma and Captain Jones.
"He may be your new son-in-law but he's still a pirate that still needs to stand trial in my kingdom," King George was red in the face with anger.
"He is the member of the royal family and according to our treaties, a member of the royal family gets a trial in their own kingdom so Captain Jones will have a trial here," Snow announced with voice that brooked no opposition.
"How could you marry your only daughter to a pirate?" King George asked completely shocked.
"He has saved her from Regina and has provided much needed assistance to her and for that we owe him a debt of gratitude," Snow declared.
"The man stated in front of all your guests that he shared your daughter's bed! He took advantage of her!" King George countered.
"That is my daughter's business and that is not up for discussion," Snow lifted her chin to dare King George to say anything against her daughter.
King George didn't tempt fates by insulting the princess in front of Queen Snow so he acquiesced to the decision and left promptly.
Snow then made the wedding announcement to the guests of the ball. They definitely had a lot of gossip to talk about for a long time to come. The ball wound down to an end and Snow bade the last of her guests' goodbye. It was a long night.
Emma retired to her room. She couldn't stop thinking about how she was a married woman, her husband was held prisoner about to stand trial for piracy and they were spending their wedding night apart. There was no guarantee that everything would work out and she tossed and turned worrying about the future.
Meanwhile, King George met with the Captain of his personal guard in the darkness of the royal gardens.
"I need you to dispatch some of your men to find Captain Jones's ship, the Jolly Roger," King George ordered.
"Right away your majesty," the Captain said.
"The pirate may be protected but his crew isn't. I want them captured."