After Emma landed on the dirt road she immediately continued walking away from the Mills' residence, just in case he decided he actually would arrest her. She heard him sigh in irritation, cantering back towards the palace. She waited until he was out of sight before turning around and following him back on foot. When Emma reached the Mills estate the sun was just beginning to dip beneath the horizon.
"Shitshitshitshit..." Emma prayed that Rociante made it back, if he hadn't, there would be hell to pay from Regina. She crept into the stables to see Rociante waiting for her. "Thanks, Ro for leaving me in the middle of the forest with a crazy stick-throwing royal asshole!" As Emma continued to rant about the arrogant man she met in the forest she untacked Rociante and brushed him down, only pausing when August, her friend and the head groom entered.
"What's got you so riled up this time, Emma?" August smirked, clearly having heard her up in the loft and finished grooming Rociante with her as they chatted about Cora and what she'd missed that day in the Mills house. "I can feed and water him so you can go to Henry if you want to." Almost all of their conversations ended in such a way, Emma would begin to fidget and look towards the door until August noticed and he would tell her just that. Then she would quickly hand him her brush (as she did now) to run through the door, calling loudly for her son. ("Henry!") She'd barely entered the house before Henry would be hurtling over, an amused Regina following. ("Hey, kid! What've you been doing today?") Henry would recount an outline of his entire day to Emma as she sat down in the servants' common room and she asked just enough questions that he wouldn't notice her exhausted smile as she looked at her baby boy. He'd been growing up so fast lately, these moments every evening where they just sat together and talked about their days were on some days the most she would see of him, so Emma made sure to relish every second.
"So that's pretty much all of what I did today. What about you, mom? Why were you so late?" Emma glanced at Regina before turning back to her son.
"I took Rociante to order some dresses for Regina, Zelena, and Cora. Since I had a lot of time left, I decided to come back the long way through the forest beside the castle. And now I'm back. Now, I'm going to snag some leftovers from dinner, and you can tell me more about what you learned today. Sound good?"
"Yeah!" Henry lead her to the kitchens, practically bouncing off the walls in excitement. When she sat down in the servants' dining hall, he launched into an extremely detailed description of what he'd learned in his daily lesson with Regina. Per Emma's request, Regina had begun teaching Henry everything he might've been taught if they'd been wealthy enough to afford tutors for him. Regina had started a few days after his sixth birthday and had continued every day except the holidays since. Emma wanted Henry to have everything she hadn't had, including an education. "Regina is teaching me about the king and his different laws. Did you know that there's a provision in one of the standard laws that says it's illegal to hunt or kill bluebirds? Or that horses pulling round-ish carriages can't gallop? Or that live-in servants are essentially the property of the person who pays them? Or that if you catch a fish that's less than six inches you have to throw it back?" Henry continued listing interesting laws and why they were enacted, but Emma couldn't pay any attention to them, fixated on the third law he listed.
Late that night, Emma snuck into Regina's room, anxious for answers. But Regina wasn't in her bed. Emma looked through the rooms attached to the bedroom, finding Regina in her study.
"Regina?" Regina didn't respond, but the slight movement of her head in Emma's direction indicated that she was listening. "That law that Henry mentioned earlier, can you tell me more about that? The one that said servants are essentially property?" Regina turned to face her.
"Of course I can, but I don't know if you truly want me to." At Emma's half-hearted glare, she continued. "That particular law was enacted a good fifty years ago, by our current king's father after there were growing reports of servants refusing to work. The law previously was that employers couldn't physically harm any of their employees, and the king at the time decided that the easiest way to resolve the problem would be to essentially make live-in servants slaves and their employers their owners." Emma sank to the carpeted floor, too shocked to stand again. Regina had to help her into the chair she'd previously occupied. "Emma?" Regina crouched to meet Emma's hazel eyes. "Are you alright?"
"No." A tear traced its way down her cheek. "I'm not." She sighed heavily. "This law, where does it leave Henry?"
"As long as you both live beneath my mother's roof and she pays you for work, he's in the same situation as you." Regina pulled another chair to face the one Emma occupied, sitting down and taking her shaking hands. "But you never signed a contract Emma. At any moment you could quit and take Henry away with you."
"Your mother, Cora, could she take Henry from me?"
"Yes." Regina put a hand beneath Emma's chin. "If she were to take Henry, she could essentially put him up for sale, and it would be completely legal. I was going to tell you after Henry turned eleven, since twelve is the youngest someone can be legally employed at. For now, my mother would gain nothing by taking Henry. Which is why you need to find" Regina's voice broke, "a job somewhere can't stay here." Tears coursed down Regina's cheeks, matching Emma's.
"I can't take him away from his mother, Regina. I couldn't do that to him, or you." Emma finally met Regina's gaze, smiling slightly when the other woman covered her mouth with her hands to stop her sobs. "I know how much you love my son, Regina. And I know how much he loves you in return." Emma took a deep breath a wiped her tears with a sleeve. "There's got to be another way." She paused. "What are the laws about adoption?"
"They're pretty flexible, but to adopt you must be married with a house in which a child could safely live." Emma nodded, deep in thought.
"Regina, do you love Robin?" Regina's head shot up in surprise.
"...Yes, I do."
"Would you marry him?"
"Yes! Of course I would, but how does this help Henry?"
"Does Robin want another child?"
"He already has Roland, but yes, I would think he does. What are you planning, Emma?" Emma stood up and began to pace across the room as Regina watched, a plan coming together in her head.
"I know Robin loves you, and would marry you in a heartbeat. So if you were to marry, you could adopt Henry, and he'd be safe from any future employers I might have. I could save some money and buy a house beside yours, and he could visit whenever he wanted." Emma looked at Regina. "The only question is if you would run away, and be alright without the luxury you're used to." Regina lit up as she understood what Emma was proposing, but her face fell once more.
"There's one more problem. Robin gives every extra cent away when he steals. We wouldn't be able to buy a house in the first place. There's also the fact that Henry couldn't stand to be away from you for the months, maybe years it would take for you to buy a house as well." Emma's face fell too, when she realized the truth in Regina's statement.
"What about the festival? Who's been invited?"
"Every rich or noble family in the kingdom, why?" Emma waved away Regina's question, proposing one of her own.
"What if we sold your gowns and your jewelry? How much do you think would be left over after replacing it with a more practical wardrobe? Could you get a house big enough for the four of you?"
"Maybe a small house in town, or a decently- sized cottage with room for a garden farther away from the city, but not for all four of us. Either way, we'd need another full wardrobe and a half for a comfortable home with furniture."
"What about old Macdonald's farm? How many of your wardrobes would that be? It's only been for sale a week, and Mitch says his father is looking for someone he already knows and trusts to pass his farm to so that he can move in with his son and daughter-in-law."
"I'd say one and a half, but the building materials to expand the farmhouse and also build a small cottage would be the other half. Furnishings would be about a quarter of my wardrobe, and it would be good to have some savings as well."
"All in all, about three wealthy women's wardrobes, six or seven if it's just the jewelry. Yeah, we could swing that. What do you think?"
"How do you propose we get that kind of money, Emma?"
"You leave that to me Regina. You just focus on your surprised face when Robin proposes the first night of the festival."
"Wait, we-you-we're actually doing this?"
"You want to live happily ever after with your soulmate, don't you Regina? Leave it to me and you'll have the happy family you've always wanted. Okay?"
"I suppose." Emma pretended not to notice Regina's dubious expression.
The next morning, that is, a couple hours after Emma concluded her conversation with Regina, she took Rociante into town once again, leaping from his back before he came to a stop in front of Ruby's shop, landing on her booted feet.
"Ruby! Open up!" Emma banged loudly on the locked door until Ruby opened it, clearly still half-asleep.
"Emma? What do you want? The sun hasn't even risen yet!" Emma shouldered her way into the store, walking purposefully into the back room.
"Do you still have the dresses from your cancelled orders? I need three. And a mask, I guess. Preferably tailored. Can you get it done before the masquerade beginning the prince's festival?"
"Yeah, I mean, that isn't too hard, but what do you need ball gowns for, Emma?" Ruby asked as she opened a large cupboard, pulling large heaps of fabric out that Emma could only assume were dresses.
"I'm going to the festival." Ruby dropped the fabric in shock.
"How did you get an invitation? It's only for the rich and nobility!"
"I wasn't invited, I'll be sneaking in. Speaking of which, could you actually modify the dresses so that I can easily reach my sword, but you can't see it, and I could potentially fight in them? Iis that way too much to ask on such short notice?"
"No, no, just give me a second. Okay, five dresses-" Ruby began scribbling furiously across a piece of parchment.
"Just three actually-"
"Five dresses - you need a different gown every night or people will notice, Emma - with a pocket big enough for a sword, and flexible enough to fight in. One with a matching mask, and each with matching slippers."
"Actually, I don't need new shoes, I'll just wear my boots. And now that you mention it, a pocket on the other side that's just really big would be great too."
"Okay, a really big pocket in all of them. Anything else?"
"That's it, thanks."
"Alright, let me get your measurements and you can go. Come back two days before the festival and I'll give you your gowns." After Ruby had taken her measurements, Emma thanked her profusely before riding back towards the Mills estate, making a quick pit stop in the forest across the road to meet with Robin Hood, she made it back to the stables just as the sun was rising.
A few days later, Emma took a brown mare named Horse (by a then three-year-old Henry) back into town for the third time in a week to collect her dresses from Ruby. Dorothy took Horse around the back of the shop as Emma entered through the front, getting many gasps from other patrons for her blouse, trousers, sword, and boots. Ruby beckoned her into the back room where she had five dresses hung on a rod just below the ceiling. One was light blue, another green, then purple, midnight blue, and a striking scarlet finished the collection.
"I need you to try each one on, and then if they fit we'll see how accessible your sword is. If everything works, you'll go out back and see how mounting, riding, and dismounting feels in each gown. Got it?" Ruby's dark hair was pulled away from her face, her stance impatient, and not waiting for Emma to respond, just pushed her behind a curtain and threw one of the gowns in with her. It was a beautiful emerald, with no clear way to take it on or off - "You might need to feel the bodice for the clasps!" Ruby's voice penetrated the short silence.
Emma did as instructed and opened a panel in the middle of the chest to reveal the ties that normally would be in the back where a lady's maid would have to help the wearer put on the gown. She pulled it on over her head and used the ties to tighten it around her body. The skirts were light, and only barely grazed the ground, leaving her legs relatively free. Smoothing the fabric down her hands brushed against a small bump in the fabric. Emma pulled it and accidentally lifted a flap that revealed a belt around her waist. She traced it and on the left there was a rise in the leather that was actually a scabbard hidden beneath the skirts. She removed her sword from the scabbard she'd discarded when changing and slid it easily into her dress, at the perfect angle for a quick removal with her right hand. On the right side of the dress, a small sack was tied to the belt, creating the perfect removable pocket. All in all, the design was genius, the hilt of her sword hidden beneath a small cape that wrapped gracefully around her shoulders.
"So? What do you think? It's pretty great, right? The mask covers your face from your mid-forehead to the end of your nose. Also, the sleeves are long, but if it's an inconvenience the seam along the shoulders is loose so you could rip them off if you need to. Now come out here so I can see it." Emma pushed the curtain aside and walked over to Ruby. "Oh, I almost forgot Emma, I left just enough room that you can still wear your pants underneath the dress. So, what do you think?" Ruby asked for the second time, but actually waited for Emma's response.
"I think… that this is the greatest thing I've ever worn!" Emma laughed, spinning a bit, watching the skirt flare out around her.
"Great! Now get on that horse!" Ruby dramatically pointed to the door that lead to the stables.
The first night of the festival Emma was tasked with preparing both Regina and Zelena for the masquerade ball, including bruising Zelena's ribs with the corset in her princess costume and tying Regina into her bride costume. Once the Mills had driven away, Emma laced up Ruby's emerald creation, secured her mask, sheathed her sword, mounted Rociante, and made her way to the palace. The plan was simple: while Regina and Robin were married by Father Tuck, Emma would sneak into the ball and steal as much jewelry as she could get her hands on. When she arrived at the palace, it was clear to see that the stables were completely unguarded, since most people were only just arriving, so as to be 'fashionably late' at nine o'clock when it started at seven. One stall was clearly a makeshift holding pen, the perfect place to put Rociante in case she needed to make a quick escape. She then went around the back of the castle, focusing on the few open windows on the first floor. She needed to enter somewhere unoccupied, but close enough to the ballroom so she wouldn't be suspicious loitering around the palace. Emma edged along the castle wall as far as she could, until she had to stop or one of the guards posted outside the ballroom would see her. Lifting herself up with only some grace, she swung into one of the rooms, careful not to bump into anything. Quickly making her way out of the room, she followed the music until she entered the ballroom. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen before, with chandeliers glittering overhead, a smooth marble floor beneath her, it was clear that she was in a room fit for royalty. Mentally shaking her head, she directed her attention to the people around her, and more specifically, the sparkling bits of their outfits. Walking through the crowds, she noticed how none of the women's necks were bare, precious stones dripping from their collarbones. Looked like her first piece of jewelry would have to be a necklace so she could blend in. One woman in particular looked like she was wearing four different necklaces, each featuring a different gem. Walking towards the other woman, Emma pretended to slip on her dress, catching herself using the woman's shoulder. Apologizing profusely, she snuck her other hand to the clasp of a necklace as she hugged her supposed 'savior' and quickly snuck away when her prize was in hand. Slipping into an alcove, she secured the necklace around her neck, only just noticing that it was an emerald. Feeling lucky that her jewelry would match her dress, she made her way out into the gardens where many were relaxing outside the crowded ballroom. After making a few rounds and stealing over a dozen pieces of jewelry, she decided it would be best to go back into the ballroom where there would be more people with more money.
Killian was bored. There wasn't anything to do but dance and drink, and seeing as a prince couldn't be drunk at his own festival, he was left with dancing. So far he'd danced with twelve princesses, nine queens, and eight brides (that is, women dressed up as such. Most of the eligible ladies were dressed as one of the three, not-so-subtly hinting at what they hoped to gain from the ball.) The rest of the women were the mothers of said eligible ladies or already married. Running a hand through his hair, Killian decided to take a break out in the gardens, hopefully escaping the young women and their unsurprisingly determined mothers. As he made his way through the ballroom, he accidentally bumped into a young woman in a green dress. Tripping over her skirt, he stumbled, but not before making out a muttered "watch where you're going, asshole" from the blonde. He could've sworn he'd heard that voice before, and the hair seemed familiar too. The blonde woman continued on her way, slipping out of his sight just as he remembered the barefoot blonde from the forest. She was here. But before he could go after her, another woman recognized him and practically dragged him to the dance floor. It was four more dances until he escaped, making his way to a balcony which he knew held a great vantage point of the gardens, all the while watching for blonde hair and a green dress. Killian made it to the balcony and realized that he wouldn't need to use it to find his blonde, as she was already there.
"Hello again." The blonde whirled around at his voice, shock clearly written across her masked features.
"You! You're the jerk that bumped into me earlier! What is it with you and physically assaulting me?" She combed through a part of her hair with her fingers, the moonlight glinting off of the rings on all of her fingers and the delicate bracelet around her wrist.
"In all fairness, both times were entirely accidental." He paused, looking over her emerald green gown and matching mask. "May I ask what your costume is, exactly?" She blanched, hazel eyes widening beneath the fabric of her mask.
"Um, I'm a, um, I'm dressed up as an emerald." Killian couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her clear unpreparedness.
"Might I know your name then, Lady Emerald?" He bowed, only half mocking, since her attire and presence clearly denoted a noble status.
"No, that's okay, 'Lady Emerald' works just fine. Any way, I need to get going, so, I'm going to go now." She tried to leave the balcony, but he couldn't help but wrap his good arm around her waist and spin her so that she was back to facing the gardens. She huffed out a breath and moved to sit down on the bench beside one of the walls. As she did so, he noticed a worn pair of riding boots beneath her skirts.
"It seems, my lady, that you are beginning a record of not wearing the appropriate shoes whenever we meet." 'Lady Emerald' looked down to her feet and shrugged before returning her gaze to the gardens before them.
"Who says riding boots aren't the appropriate shoes? They're far more comfortable than anything the women out there are wearing, anyway."
"But wouldn't it be embarrassing for you if you were to be dancing and your choice of footwear were to be revealed to the other guests?"
"I think my attitude towards people seeing my shoes was made pretty clear when I shrugged instead of blushing like a teenager when you saw my boots, Your Highness."
"Fair enough. But wouldn't your family at least be somewhat ashamed if the previous situation were to happen?" 'Lady Emerald' paused as though deep in thought.
"I guess they would." Then she shrugged. "But then again, who says I'd be dancing in the first place? I'm guessing you haven't seen me out there tonight, dancing with some handsome bachelor. If I don't dance, people can't see my shoes, and if I don't want to dance, I won't."
"There is one problem with your solution Lady Emerald. I saw your shoes, and you weren't dancing at all." She shrugged again.
"But it's also just you, it's not like anyone else is watching." Her quick dismissal both annoyed and relieved him. It was relieving to meet someone who would treat him like a normal person, but annoying that she would have so much disdain towards a position he was quite proud to occupy. So he sat down next to her, looking at her masked face.
"You know, I'd be much more comfortable conversing if you took off your mask, since I'm not wearing one. Or if we just properly introduced ourselves." The woman's expression told him exactly how ridiculous she thought his proposal was. "I'll go first. I'm Prince Killian, pleased to meet you. And you are…?"
"I'm good, thanks." The clock began sounding out twelve bells, signalling midnight. 'Lady Emerald' stiffened and stood. "This conversation has been great. I had a lot of fun." Her sarcastic tone hadn't changed at all since he last saw her. "But now I really do have to go. So, bye." Just like that she took off.
"I think I'm going to call you Cinderella!" Killian called out to her. She paused and looked back at him, her question clear. "You know, odd shoes, a stepsister, and leaving at midnight?" His only response was a quick nod, instead of the rebuttal he'd hoped for to make her stay, even just a few minutes longer, and she disappeared into the crowd once again. Every few seconds he would catch a glimpse of her bumping into one person or another, but not once did Cinderella look back at the prince she was leaving behind.