Author's Note: So, so sorry that it took me years to upload this, but here's a long chapter for your kind patience. Thanks to my fairy tales course at university, I was able to get this out, and I might even have the next chapter up in the coming weeks. I hope you are continuing to enjoy this story as much as I enjoy continuing its contents. Also, I wonder if you've seen the lovely spoilers that have been announced and shown for Once Upon A Time-because I know I have, and they are wondrously lovely. I'm wonderstruck, I swear. Um, keep asking questions, because I love to answer them, and I hope you enjoy this next chapter-it covers a lot of groundwork in the Emma/Killian budding friendship and a few years do pass by.

Also, to let you guys know for future reference (keep this in mind for later chapters), while Snow and Charming were around 28 when Emma was born, Regina being about five or six years older than them, Ruby was only about 16. She seemed young to me when she was with Peter, so I kept her young to fit the needs of my story. You'll understand later.

Thank you again to Zerousy for the continued support! I've begun to consider you my number one fan of this fic (I hope that doesn't freak you out, I mean, I just love reviews). :)

To the Guest reviewer who commented about Emma's siblings, have patience, dear. I had always intended for Emma's sibling(s) to make an appearance in later chapters. Snow and Charming had enough on their hands with Emma as a toddler, and then with taking in the Jones Brothers, they needed time-to do the dirty and discuss more children. So, I hope that you continue to read and this does not "ruin the story for you". The child is coming. To quote the Little Mermaid, "Watch and you'll see." But, by watch, I do mean read. ;)

Disclaimer: If I owned anything at all, Killian Jones would be tied up in my bed...in the good way he so wishes for. ;)

It was decided that the boys would be staying on the first floor of the palace-each in their own separate bedrooms. Charming had asked Snow-with the assistance of Emma-to escort the boys to their rooms.

As the boys followed Snow down the hall, Emma fell into step beside Killian. She glanced sideways at him, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Well," Snow said, coming to a halt in front of two very large, very homey bedrooms. "These are your rooms, boys. You can pick whichever you'd like and there is a door in between the two, so you can get from room to room and visit one another." She smiled at each of them in turn. "Emma," she said, turning towards her daughter. "I trust you can make Liam and Killian comfortable." She gave her daughter a pointed look. Emma swallowed and nodded minutely. "Good. Well, then boys, I have a new mother to check on."

As soon as Snow turned away from the three young children and began to retreat back down the hall, Liam called out to her, "Your Highness?" He asked apprehensively.

Snow turned to face the young man. "Yes?" She asked.

Liam looked down for a moment, and then up at the Queen. He squared his shoulders back and stood proud and tall. Emma was impressed. He was nervous, that was certain, yet he wasn't as nervous or antsy as his younger brother appeared to be. While Liam stood tall, Killian was hunched over and shuffling his feet on the floor. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

Which pissed Emma off to an extreme.

Did he not like her? Did he despise this castle because they were royalty and he disliked royalty for some godforsaken reason? Did he want to steal her daddy from her? Was he intimidated by her?

A thousand irrational questions ran throughout Emma's young brain, and led to irrational anger. Anger towards one young Killian Jones.

Hell hath no fury like a woman who believes she is scorned.

Or...about to be scorned.

Emma never really got that saying.

"I was wondering if I might accompany you to attend to the Queen and Robin of Locksley?" Liam asked her mother-a bit of hesitance seeping into his tone. "After all, he was quite anxious to get back to his wife when we had been in the forest, and had I not pointed him out to the magic man, I'm afraid he might've imploded. I just wanted to make sure that everything was alright." Liam finished honestly and compassionately.

Snow felt her heart melt a little.

Emma-still not without her suspicion, because, obviously these boys were strange and suspicious-even swooned a bit.

Killian lifted his eyes to her and scoffed. Emma turned towards him and narrowed her eyes. Then she glanced at her mother, who was too preoccupied with smiling at Liam Jones to notice her, and stuck her tongue out at him.

He smirked in response-a smirk that might make the Blue Fairy blush.

Emma was not amused.

"Evil spawn," she thought as she glared at him.

He continued to smirk devilishly at her.

"Of course you can." Snow gushed at the young man. "Come with me, dear. Emma, honey, you can show Killian around, can't you?" She called over her shoulder as she and Liam continued upstairs.

"Of course." Emma spat out in a tight voice.

"Good." Her mother replied, not noticing the hostile inflection in her daughter's tone of voice.

Emma and Killian continued to stare at each other even after Snow and Liam had disappeared from the room.

"So," Emma started, breaking the silence. "Who are you?"

"That's really what you want to start off with?" Killian replied smoothly; the first words she ever even heard from him and they were sardonic.

'Who does he even think he is?' Emma thought. 'Coming into my house, stealing my daddy, and being rude to me? And he stared at me for soo long? Why? Does he think I'm ugly?'

Emma was very confused and very angry.

Killian Jones was absolutely, certainly, by the name of the Gods, an evil spawn.

Perhaps he and Liam were adoptive brothers.

"Yes, that's what I want to start off with." Emma retorted sharply. "Who are you? How old are you? Where did my daddy find you? And why don't you like me?" The questions left Emma's mouth in an embarrassing rush, and she clapped her hand over her mouth after she had finished her torrent of questioning towards Killian.

She really did have her father's tact. And, apparently, his verbal diarrhea, as well.

Killian smirked again-but this time, it didn't feel quite so mocking. It was more...flirtatious. Now she was extremely confused. If he didn't like her, why was he flirting with her?

Men.

Well, boys.

"Quite the slew of questions there." He claimed, quirking an eyebrow up on his forehead. "Well, as for the first one, I was quite certain you already knew that, Princess. I'm Killian Jones. My elder brother, who just went off with your mother a few moments ago, is Liam Jones. I'm eight years old-my birthday is in May, or so my mother told me." A flicker of hurt flashed across his eyes then, when he spoke of his mother, and Emma felt heavily guilty for even asking him about himself, but then it was gone as if it had never been, and his face hardened into the flirtatious mask once again.

Killian Jones was certainly old beyond his years.

"Your father found my brother and I in the cottage we grew up in in the kingdom of Ulaidh. Our mother passed away of a very deadly illness just three months ago." Again there was a flicker of hurt in his eyes, but it was gone before Emma could comment on it. "Our father became quite depressed and began to drink heavily. He was a cruel drunk." A mix of anger and fear crossed Killian's face, and just then, did Emma notice the yellowing bruises on Killian's upper arms and one faint blue mark just below his left eye. A silent gasp of shock and compassion passed her lips. She thought he hadn't noticed.

He did.

"One day, about a month ago, he just up and left. Never came back." Killian said quietly, his eyes downcast. Emma felt immense guilt for even bringing up the conversation. She exhaled a breath, and tentatively reached out her hand to place upon his shoulder. His gaze snapped to hers, and he searched her eyes for the pity and thinly veiled disgust he was so certain he'd find there.

He saw none.

What he saw was compassion, sympathy, and understanding from the young princess.

And it shocked him.

But he found that he liked it. Very much so.

"I'm sorry." Emma told him quietly and honestly.

He smiled softly at her, and replied. "It's not your fault." He exhaled and continued his answering of Emma's questions. Her hand stayed on his shoulder.

"We had stayed there, in the cottage, because we had nowhere else to go. When you father and his band came across us, he realized that we were alone, and decided to take us with him. He said that 'no one should be left alone'." He gave her a wry grin.

She turned her head slightly and eyed him with amusement. "That sounds like my daddy."

"He's a very good man." Killian replied softly, looking at Emma from under his lashes. "And to answer your last question, why would you think I didn't like you?" The look on his face was utterly perplexed.

Emma found herself beginning to fidget under his intense gaze; it was like he could see right through her, into her very soul. And Regina had told her of people like that (not before her mother had hushed her step-mother, and told her to stop frightening Emma before she went to bed-but what if they were real?), elves that stared into the very depths of your soul and learned all of your darkest secrets, only to use them against you when you least expected it. And Killian seemed to have quite pointed ears, and Emma's eyes began to widen, before she realized that she had not spoken in quite some time and now Killian was looking at her funnily.

Emma shook the silly thought from her mind. It's not as though her father would've brought an evil elf to come and live with them (but would he even know-he thought that trolls were dwarves once, oh goodness-no. He wouldn't.). She exhaled quickly and began to stammer out a reply. "W-well, it's just-I mean, you were staring at me. Since you g-got here. All the way to this room. Until m-my mother left. Why? Do you not like me?" She raised a brow in confusion (and, if she were to be entirely honest, slight hesitation. For she feared his answer. No one ever decided that they hated her when they first met her. Was she too much of a brat? She didn't mean to be.)

To her surprise and utmost horror, Killian began to laugh heartily at her in response.

In her humiliation and anger, Emma's cheeks flushed a deep and rosy red and she narrowed her eyes and furrowed her brows at one Killian Jones. He was laughing at her? Why was he laughing at her? (And she knows she wasn't as polite as she could've been when she met him, but she didn't mean to be very rude and no one had ever laughed so brazenly at her before and why was he still doing it?)

"You know," she hissed out through gritted teeth. "There are a lot of people in this kingdom and in many others who wouldn't dare laugh at me. And they find me very pretty and a very nice girl! I don't need you laughing at me because you think I'm not, so you can just-"

"No, no! No, Emma, that's not-I mean, I'm not...I uhhhhh.." Killian interjected with a hasty and stammered response. His laughter had stopped abruptly once he realized that the princess had thought that he was laughing at her. Of course he wasn't. Why would he be? But you see, this is the moment where Liam would knock him on the head and call him a ponce for being so bloody stupid.

Now he had to make up for his lack of thinking before he opened his bloody stupid trap.

"That's not what? What you meant? What else could it mean? You were laughing at me!" Emma nearly yelled in her frustration. This boy was really getting on her nerves. What did he mean?

"I wasn't laughing at you." Killian stated calmly.

Emma stared at him, dumbfounded. "Then why were you laughing?" She asked, confused.

"I was laughing at how utterly ridiculous your question was. And how naive you were being." He stated simply, raising a pointed brow at her, mirth dancing in his eyes.

"What?" She asked blankly, clearly not understanding where he was going with this.

He sighed and his ears tinged a deep rose colour. As though he was embarrassed.

'Interesting.' She thought.

"I was staring at you not because I didn't like you or thought that you were rude or strange-looking, but because I was taken with your beauty." He said quietly and in a rush, looking down at the ground.

"What?" Emma breathed out, awestruck, after a moment. She was simply astounded. He was taken with her? And she missed that? How was this even possible?

"You heard me." He said, tone of voice just as quiet as it had been during his confession, as he raised his head to look her in the eyes. She blushed and looked away.

He tried to hide his small smirk, and failed.

"I, um..." She started, pointedly not looking at him. "Killian, I-um, I..."

"Have my truthful words flustered the princess, then?" He quipped with a sweet smile.

"No!" She exclaimed a bit too loudly, and blushed promptly after the exclamation. "No." She replied quieter. "No, I'm not flustered."

Feeling bold all of a sudden, he took a long step towards her, so that they were almost nose to nose. "Oh?" He asked disbelievingly. "Then what are you, then?"

"I'm-"

"Emma!" A loud voice boomed from down the hall, and Killian and Emma hastily jumped away from each other, turning to face the person behind the voice.

Her father's smiling face appeared from around the banister, and Emma exhaled a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.

"There you are." Her father stated, smiling at the both of them in turn as he halted to a stop before them. He grinned widely at his daughter. "How would you like to meet your new uncle?"

She chanced a quick glance at the boy next to her and then gave her father a small smile. "Of course." She breathed out quickly, and made to follow her father. She was especially glad to be getting away from this boy who kept taking her by surprise.

Recently, she found that she really didn't like to be surprised.

At all.

Her father turned to look back at her recent companion. "Killian, of course you should come, as well." He said with a smile. "Robin and I wouldn't have made it back in time for Henry's birth if it weren't for you and your brother's aid."

The boy smiled politely at her father and repeated her earlier words. "Of course." He followed in step behind her and Emma groaned inwardly.

'Well,' she thought sardonically to herself. 'This is going to be terrific. Just terrific.'

Contrary to what they both had thought, Emma and Killian became fast friends.

Killian was still utterly and completely taken with the princess, and Emma was still more flustered around him than she was with any other person in the kingdom, and yet, somehow, they made it work.

When Emma introduced him to Speedy, he was unfazed-unlike everyone else she had introduced her very best friend to, even Belle-and she found that the fact that he was able to take her introduction in stride, made her like him even more.

Not that she'd liked him a lot before, nope. No.

Of course not.

However, despite the fact that Emma was well-versed in how to ride a dragon, she had yet to learn how to handle riding that of a horse.

Whereas Killian Jones, was a natural.

"Come on, Swan!" Killian called as he ran ahead of her. 'Swan' was the nickname he'd given her shortly after they'd first met. She tripped over her skirts as they had been following her father to meet young Prince Henry, and he'd soon realized that what had appeared to be a lapse in footing, was actually just a core part of Emma's existence.

Her clumsiness.

He'd claimed with a stifled chuckle that she was "as graceful as a swan", when he'd witnessed her falling off of her chair one evening at supper, just out of nowhere. She hadn't even been leaning in the chair, and just, off she went.

Nevertheless, the nickname quickly stuck.

Her father had decided that today was the day she should learn to ride a horse-lest the rather impractical practice of riding a dragon become her default method of transportation. Considering she and Killian were practically inseparable nowadays, and due to the fact that Killian actually had experience in riding a horse, King David decided that he would take the two of them with him for riding lessons.

It also didn't hurt that Killian and Liam seemed to be David's new favorite pals, as his wife often joked with him. He had taken a shine to the two orphaned boys and made sure they knew that they were welcomed and loved within his home.

"I'm coming! Wait up!" Emma huffed, as she hoisted her skirts and tried to keep up with him. No matter that she was learning to ride a horse, her mother had decided that she simply had to wear a dress, much to her father and Regina's objections. It didn't make sense for a young lady to wear a dress when she was going to ride a horse.

"Well, my daughter is going to be a proper young lady, and proper young ladies wear dresses no matter the occasion. In order to look sophisticated." Snow claimed with a scoff, to which Regina snidely remarked, "Oh yes. I'm sure she'll be real proper when she's riding that horse and all of the kingdom can see up her skirts!"

That left Snow speechless. And prompted her to allow Emma to wear riding boots and breeches under the ball gown, despite the fact that she still actually had to wear it.

"You'd be able to run a hell of a lot faster if you weren't wearing that abomination!" Killian snickered as he slowed his pace to walk beside her. He offered her his arm, but she slapped it away and replied, "This abomination was my mother's idea, and you know it." She glared dubiously at the boy, daring him to make another comment. He held up his hands in surrender.

"Don't bite my head off!" He exclaimed, eyes wide in faux shock. "I'm only stating a fact, lass. And that is, that that dress is just too...extravagant for a riding lesson."

"Don't I know it." Emma mumbled angrily, looking down at the sky blue ball gown, which was now trailing along in the dirt. Then, suddenly, she got a strange look on her face. It was the look in which her eyebrows scrunched together and her eyes got this faraway look-as if she was seeing something right in front of her that was never before seen, that no one else would ever have the privilege to see, only Emma. It was the look that Killian had come to know as Emma's "brilliant idea look".

Whether the idea was actually brilliant or not, well...that was to be determined. Later. After they had gone along with her plan.

They were only children, after all. Or so they argued with her parents when they were scolded for such "unnecessary insanity".

"What is it?" he asked her warily, quirking a brow high on his forehead in a quizzical expression.

She turned towards him and he noticed her eyes light up excitedly. "I'm wearing breeches underneath this dress!" she chirped in excitement, almost jumping up and down at her newfound discovery.

He furrowed his eyebrows in his puzzlement, before indignantly asking, "So? What the bloody hell has that got to do with anything?"

Emma merely grinned at him as wide as the Chesire Cat. "I can tear the gown and wear the breeches to my lesson! Just like I wanted! Gosh, it'll be so much easier now to ride the proper way! I am so happy, Killian, you don't even-"

"Emma, Emma," Killian interrupted her excited chattering. Emma tended to get a tad bit carried away when she was excited-and right now she was practically bubbling with excitement. "It's alright, I get it." he huffed in faux exasperation.

(As if he'd ever tire of her).

"Now then," he began with a smirk. "Shall we ride?"

"YES!" she shrieked and ran towards her steed. Then they were off, riding round in circles.

And that was how her father found them some time later, when he made his way down the valley to give them their lessons.

"Emma!" he called, and his daughter whipped her head around to face him, giggling. He grinned broadly. As he approached the duo, he said, "I didn't recognize you without dirt in your hair and on your face."

She gave her father a look.

He held his hands up in defense and laughed heartily. "I'm only jesting you, dear. It's good to see that you're riding without difficulty."

"Thank you." she beamed as she hopped off her horse and sprinted over to her father. Her comrade followed suit.

"It seems as though you no longer need my assistance. Your skills have sharpened expertly in a matter of hours."

"It's because I'm wearing my breeches." she stated proudly, swaying back and forth.

"I can see that. And you, Killian," he began, turning his eyes to the young boy he'd grown so fond of. "Your skills are even better than they were last time. Care to explain?"

The boy fidgeted under the King's scrutiny. "I just...followed Emma's lead, sir."

"Because he's not as quick as I am!" Emma yelled as she pushed Killian's side and ran towards the horses. Once he caught his bearings, he followed her. Both children laughed like maniacal hyenas.

David smiled after the two. While his wife might not approve of his fondness for the pair's budding relationship, he can hardly help himself. He is, after all, a fan of true love.

As the years passed, Emma and Killian became closer than ever. The two would spend days and nights together, running around through forests and fields, and going on adventures throughout the palace. But there was one place that stayed constant to them; one place that was their place of refuge.

The Meadow Brook was reminiscent of The Troll Bridge, where Emma's parents first fell in love. It was a beautiful, babbling brook surrounded by a vast meadow. The grass was emerald green and pink middlemist flowers haphazardly filled the clearing. The brook stood bordered by rounded pebbles and stones that reminded Emma of the Rock Trolls and there were always brilliantly coloured fish swimming around in the water.

It was magnificent, enchanting.

Yet, the best spot was past the meadow brook, where the fields molded into the mountains and the mountains bled into the sunset on the horizon. The were large boulders facing out towards that vast space where time knew no boundaries and the light faded into the darkness. This was the spot where Emma and Killian enjoyed the most. This was the spot they'd come to when they were feeling lonely or sad or happy or in need of comfort.

This spot was their safe haven, and theirs alone.

It was here Emma fled to when she discovered she would no longer be an only child.

She had overheard her parents speaking in hushed whispers around the table, with Regina, Robin, Red, Granny, and a few of the dwarves at their sides. She had figured it was just another business meeting, where her parents and their most trusted advisors sat to discuss trade deals and the safety of the kingdom. She would have thought nothing of it, if it weren't for her finely tuned ears.

She heard her name and she was taken aback-she just had to know what they were discussing.

Emma crept behind a pillar that stood in front of the opened door where the royal dignitaries were holding their meeting. Honestly, it was carelessness on their part that led her to snoop, for had the door not been opened, she wouldn't have heard a thing.

"Emma might not take the news well," Snow whispered, her voice wavering in anxiety. "David, what if she's angry with us? We've kept this secret for too long!"

"Secret?" she thought. "They've been lying to me?" she scrunched up her nose and narrowed her eyes.

"I doubt she'll be angry, dear, but rather, overjoyed. A new companion will be a blessing-both to our daughter and to us." her father replied.

She perked up at the term companion. Perhaps her parents had finally caved and were allowing her to house a sea dragon.

"I know, but what if-"

"Oh, for Gods's sake, get over yourselves!"

The interruption had been sharp and biting, a tone which belonged to only one person.

Regina.

"Regina!" David yelled in indignation.

"Well, sorry, but you have got to get your heads out of your asses! Emma isn't going to be angry about this-she's not a spoiled child. If anything, she'll be hurt." The Evil Queen insisted.

"Why would she be hurt?" her mother questioned.

"Because you haven't told her that you're expecting!"

"Expecting? Expecting what?" a lilting voice spoke right in her ear. She started and she would have screamed in shock, but she remembered that she was snooping and settled for a gasp.

"Killian, don't sneak up on me like that!" she whispered angrily.

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry." he held up his hands in his own defense. "Why are we whispering?" he whispered.

"Because we're not supposed to be here and I'm trying to hear what they're talking about."

"Ah, so you're eavesdropping," he concluded, kneeling down next to her. "That's bad form, you know."

"I'm only listening in because they're talking about me! Now, if you'd shut up, I'm trying to figure out what secret they've been keeping from me!" she hissed.

"As you wish," he said with a smirk, and at her scoff, he opened his mouth once more. She quickly slapped her hand over it to ensure his silence.

He grinned under her touch.

Emma turned her attention once more to the room and together, they listened.

"...it's just not right." A young female voice finished. "Red," Emma thought.

"It's a joyous occasion. Why shouldn't they be happy? I know I was when I was in your position, Snow White." Regina stated matter-of-factly.

"Because they weren't able to be happy the last time! With Emma!" Ruby spat.

"And why not?" Regina pressed.

"Because of you! The Evil Queen!" Grumpy exploded.

"..oh."

"It's not your fault, Regina. You've changed." her mother offered. "It's just, I don't know how we can be happy during this pregnancy when we were unable to be happy with Emma. It seems unfair to her. We were so anxious the entire time, always waiting for your next move, and so ready to give up our daughter in order to save the kingdom. How can we be happy that we've been blessed with this baby when it felt as though we were cursed to lose our last one?'

"Pregnant?" Killian whispered to a wide eyed Emma. "You're parents are gifting you a sibling?"

"Pregnant." she said. Her tone was indifferent but her heart felt as though it had shattered into a thousand pieces. And so, she did what she did best.

She ran.

She should have known he would have followed her-he was always following her-but that didn't stop her from roughly asking "What are you doing here?" when he approached her on the boulder. He only smiled in response and took up next to her.

"I'm not mad, you know."

"I know." he replied smoothly.

"I'm just...I-I"m just...the last time they were expecting a baby, it was me, and the Dark Curse was looming over their heads. They couldn't celebrate my birth. They were ready to send me away so that I could save the kingdom in twenty eight years. I was not born unto happiness and joy, but rather fear and hope. This baby will know that, throughout the entire pregnancy, it was wanted, they were happy it was coming. I never had that."

Killian grabbed her hand in his. "Emma," he said. Her eyes stayed downcast, focusing on the ground below them. "Emma, look at me." Slowly, she raised her gaze to his and he caught her melancholy eyes.

"Emma, never for one second think that your parents didn't want you. Of course they wanted you. You were always wanted." He spoke with a fervent urgency, trying to make her understand just how wrong she was through the sheer force of his words alone. "Yes, they feared the Dark Curse, and yes, they put the kingdom first, but they always wanted to keep you safe. They knew that by giving you away, you would have your best chance-far away from this land and its curse and safe."

"Yeah, sure." she breathed, her head lowering once again. He turned her gaze towards him once again, with his hand under her chin. "Yes, I know I'm right. And the only thing that you need keep in your mind, is that you were born, not unto fear, but love. You are the product of true love. You were born from the love of your parents, and they loved you even when they meant to send you away. You've always been loved, and you always will be loved." At this, a few tears fell from her eyes and she gave him a watery smile as he wiped them away with the pad of his thumb. He smiled softly back at her.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Anytime, Princess."

They stayed there for awhile longer, watching as the sun returned the darkness to the sky and the stars were brought to life once more. Finally, they made their way back to the castle, and when her parents told her their news, she smiled and embraced them, promising that she could not wait to meet her younger sibling.

And when the little prince finally came into the world, during the spring of her thirteenth year, Emma was ecstatic. She held her brother close to her chest and smiled across the room at Killian.

For she knew, she was loved, just as Prince Leopold. Though, perhaps, she was loved in a way her brother had not yet experienced.

But that was only a possibility. Pushing the thought aside, she turned towards Belle and gushed about her new brother, Killian watching from afar all the while.