Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited, and followed the story! You guys are awesome for taking the time out to check it out. So the big question everyone is asking is: how old is Killian, and for now, because I'm still outlining it is left up to your imagination. There will be no Henry or Neal, at least not yet. I haven't decided if they will be in the story or not. This story will mostly have Emma finding out about her family and then breaking the curse and of course there will be lots of Captain Swan. It's a what if Emma had been drawn to Storybrooke earlier, kind of story. If that makes sense. And yes, Killian is cursed along with everyone else, for now. If you have any requests or questions I'll do my best to ask and incorporate! Thanks again!
Thank you to: AJojojo (x2!), vansandelotte, curlynath, PiziePaws1, Nouqueret, MalDek, NaomiTheUnicorn, & onceuponatimetherewasaoncer!
Enjoy!
Chapter 1 Welcome to Storybrooke
Emma Swan walked down Main Street taking in the little shops and the smiling townspeople ambling along as they journeyed from one place to another. She wasn't sure what shocked her more, the lack of rushing around or the fact everyone was so cheerful. She'd never seen so many real smiling faces before, she'd never felt so much happiness either.
It was odd, but at the same time a calmness seemed to bubble within her that she'd never experienced previously. She almost wished she could hold on to that feeling and save it for when she felt left out and forgotten – because that was a feeling she was all too familiar with.
As she walked down Main Street she spotted a little diner with a cute little patio in the front. The sign read Granny's and she hesitated before the archway deciding if she wanted to spend what little money she had on food.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!"
Emma looked behind her to see a petite woman with black pixie style hair looking extremely apologetic.
"I-It's okay." Emma stuttered uncomfortably aware of how repentant this woman looked for simply bumping into her.
"I should've watched where I was going." The woman said.
Emma shook her head, "no, I should've moved out of the way."
The woman smiled and then cocked her head a look of curiosity forming. "You…you aren't from around here, are you?"
"I guess this really is a small town." Emma muttered in way of answering.
The woman smiled slightly, "well welcome. My name is— "
"Excuse me, Ms. Blanchard. Are you planning on entering the restaurant? Or will you be blocking the archway in an extremely rude manner so the rest of us are unable to – Hello. Who are you?"
Emma glanced over at the woman who had interrupted their conversation and for some reason an intense wave of dislike washed over her, stronger than she'd had in years.
The new woman was standing on Pixie Haircut's other side, a look of aggravation decorating her face. If she didn't have a look of extreme detest on her face, Emma thought, she'd be rather pretty.
She was wearing a royal purple skirt suit with black pumps, a briefcase was in her hand, and her eyes were trained suspiciously on Emma.
"She's new in town." Pixie Haircut said unnecessarily.
"Obviously that is the case. I'm the Mayor and I don't recognize her."
Emma rolled her eyes and glared at the second woman her hate for authority coming out in full form. Purple Skirt was evidently important in town, but that didn't mean much to Emma.
Emma had never taken well to unwarranted aggression, especially aimed at people who seemed too nice for their own good. Like Pixie Haircut, who didn't seem to have a mean bone in her body.
"Excuse me, young— "
Emma scoffed at Purple Skirt trying to reprimand her for obviously blowing off her question and she turned around – back toward the way she was headed – to continue walking through town. She heard Purple Skirt yell after her about being Mayor or something and she heard Pixie Haircut ask if she was okay, but she ignored both of them and kept walking.
She ended up sitting on a bunch at the docks wondering what the hell she had gotten herself into. She'd been in town for less than two hours and she'd managed to upset someone who seemed very important.
Although it didn't beat her record of how quickly she could upset people. In one of her foster homes at fifteen she'd angered her foster father after thirty minutes into their first meeting because she refused to make dinner for him.
It was while she was glaring out at the water that he walked by.
A dark haired guy, who seemed to be as lost as she felt.
When he noticed her staring she threw a glare at him not wanting to be bothered as she attempted to calm herself down from the Confrontation That Wasn't outside of Granny's. When he raised his eyes though she noticed how they seemed to match the ocean she'd been staring at and when their eyes connected she felt an unfamiliar shiver race through her body leaving an odd feeling behind.
One she quickly pushed away not wanting to analyze it.
She shoved it down deeper when he nodded at her, and she resisted saying something to make him feel as off kilter as she suddenly was because he looked at her.
What was she becoming? Since when was she one of those girls who became a puddle of mud when a guy gave her some attention. She scowled to herself and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose to stop herself from fidgeting obviously.
Watching him saunter away she admired his swaggering walk and wished on some level that she had called out to him.
Maybe then this uncomfortable tightening in her chest would stop.
The sun began to set slowly and Emma watched quietly letting her mind wander. The sky was beginning to darken to a deep lilac with streaks of pink so Emma figured she should start finding shelter for the night. She tried to ignore the grumbling of her stomach as she walked down the docks to see if any of the boats looked plausible to sleep in.
As the last few rays of sunlight disappeared Emma decided to give up on sleeping in one of the boats and decided to make her way back to town wondering if she could break into a car and sleep there for the night.
She noticed as she strode through town that most of the shops had closed down, the only few things remaining open were Granny's and a place that looked like a bar called the Rabbit Hole.
It was strange to her that things would close so early here, but it was a small town and Emma was beginning to think that living here was going to take some getting used to.
Scratch that, living here was going to be a lifestyle change, she thought as she saw Purple Skirt striding toward Granny's the same angry scowl on her face from earlier.
Out of wanting to avoid the woman Emma ducked into the alleyway behind Granny's and into the shadows as Purple Skirt passed her none the wiser. Breathing a sigh of relief Emma leaned against the wall and tried to come up with Plan C, since Plan A – sleep in a boat was nixed – and Plan B – find somewhere in town – was rapidly falling apart.
"Hey. You lost?"
Emma looked behind her curiously to see a tall slim brunette girl with red streaks in her hair. The girl smiled brightly at her as she held a bag of trash in one hand with her other hand on her hip.
"Uh…no." Emma said.
The brunette smirked and threw the bag into the dumpster that stood between them.
"Were you hiding from Regina?" the brunette asked her smirk widening.
"Who?"
"Regina. The woman who constantly looks like she had a stick shoved up her ass and has never had a good lay in her life."
Emma stared for a moment unsure what to say.
"You must be new in town if you don't know Regina. Also I've never seen you before so you're obviously new." The girl said narrowing her eyes at her.
"People here really know their townspeople." Emma muttered already getting ready to leave the alleyway.
She was beginning to think coming here was a mistake, she wasn't sure what to make of all these people knowing and asking if she was new to town. It was like they'd never had a stranger come through before.
"It's just…no one really comes here. We're kinda a hidden gem. Except not. Because it's awful here. Everyone's so…well it's a small town, you know. There's nothing fun to do unless you're into, like into animal sacrifice or hiking." The girl said with disdain.
Emma smiled slightly at the girl's obvious hatred for living in a small town.
"I'm joking, by the way. Animal sacrifice is so 80's."
Emma laughed despite herself surprised to find that she liked talking to the brunette. It had been a long time since she had genuinely liked talking to someone. Usually she kept to herself and liked it fine that way.
"I'm Ruby, by the way. What's your name?"
"Emma."
"Well it's nice to meet you, but I have to get back to work. Granny is kind of a slave driver." Ruby said rolling her eyes playfully.
Emma nodded unexpectedly feeling disheartened by her departure. Emma had the feeling that she could genuinely like her if they spent more time together. But then her survival instincts kicked in and she mentally reminded herself that 1) she needed to find a place to sleep and 2) Everyone left. The forlorn feeling in her chest slipped away and was replaced by indifference, the emotion she tried to default to when her walls were sky high.
"You should come by some time. Granny's food is the best. Plus, I'll be there and can show you where all the good wilding goes on once I get off that is." Ruby said winking.
Emma smiled and nodded watching as Ruby went back inside. She waited another moment before exiting the alleyway and continuing her search for somewhere to stay for the night.
Killian Jones decided to take the long way back to the docks that evening. He wasn't eager to make his way back to his empty home, even though his shift at the Rabbit Hole seemed to drag by.
It was a Monday and Mondays tended to be slow, since everyone was still recovering from the weekend. The only people that came in on Mondays were regulars, so the night was too long-winded and Killian found himself watching the clock for a majority of the time.
As he sauntered through town square he paused momentarily when he heard a chime. Looking around for the source of the noise his eyes again fell on the clock tower. He watched with apprehension as the hand moved off the twelve and ticked so that it read 4:01.
He blinked to clear his eyes and continued to stare at the clock wondering if he was seriously going mental.
Earlier that day as he walked this way to work and had seen the hands on the clock move he'd thought he just imagined it, but now he was wondering if he was seriously going insane. The clock tower hadn't worked in…well ever. He couldn't remember the clock tower ever working and now…now it seemed to be ticking away like it had always functioned.
It was odd to say the least and he wondered if anyone else in town had noticed it. He made a mental note to ask the next person he came across and he began striding toward the docks once again.
As he neared he noticed a figure sitting on the bench. As the moon beamed down and he moved closer he realized it was the blonde from before.
Had she been there all night? Shouldn't she be at home? The town was usually dead this time of night or morning depending on how you looked at it. What was she doing here of all places?
As he drew nearer he saw her head move to face him. The green eyes behind her black glasses and blonde hair brightened as the moonlight shone down on her making her look ethereal. A feeling of déjà vu came over him, but he pushed it away knowing he'd never met this woman before.
"You're back." He said breaking the silence.
She shrugged and tightened her arms around her stomach.
"What are you doing out here, love?" he asked coming to a halt in front of her.
"What are you?" she shot back.
He smirked watching as she drew her chin forward in a defiant manner. He stared down at her struck by how beautiful she was, and yet she seemed to be surrounded by walls made of stone. He was also surprised at how young she was, much younger than he would've thought. She reminded him of a siren, beautiful and tempting, and yet somehow he knew that if he got to close he'd get burned, or worse.
"Just got off, darling. What's your excuse?" he asked sliding onto the bench beside her. He felt her stiffen at his close proximity, but he ignored it.
She turned away and back toward the water instead of answering.
He watched her and distinctly heard a grumbling.
"Are you hungry?" he asked.
She shrugged determined not to answer anymore of his questions.
"What's your name?" he asked feeling more resolve to get her to answer as she stayed silent.
"Why are you asking me all these questions?" she asked finally turning back to him with a look of suspicion in her eye.
He looked away and ducked his head, scratching behind his ear, which was an old nervous habit he had.
"You're quite untrusting. Has anyone ever told you that?" he said after a long moment of silence.
She dipped her head quickly, but he swore he saw a small smile forming.
"My name's Killian." He said suddenly.
She raised her head a new rigidness in her green eyes.
"Emma." She said reluctantly.
He smiled charmingly at her and then gestured down the dock. "I'd best be geting home, love. Do you have— "
"I don't need anyone's help." She snapped those walls around her racing sky high once again.
He tilted his head knowingly and then stood up from the bench. He swept a hand down the docks again and gave her a significant look.
"The Tiger-Lilly's owner bought a house not to long ago. His house boat is vacant now, but he does come out to stretch her legs on the weekends." He said beginning to walk backward toward his own boat. He watched a look of confusion and then understanding wash over her features and then he turned around to continue home.
He wasn't sure if he imagined it, but he thought he heard a soft 'thank you' directed toward him, but it could've also been the wind.
He hoped it wasn't.
(A/n: There it is the first official chapter. I hope you guys liked it! Please review!)