AN: Big shout-out to my beta Castle-Dancer1212 for all of her help, but especially for helping me write Killian's POV without completely butchering it.

That night before the ball, Snow asked Charming, Emma, Belle, and Mulan to talk to her in the council room. Emma was worried that something terrible had happened, but it turned out it was just Snow being Snow.

"I'm worried," she explained once they'd sat down around the table. She glanced to the door, most likely to make sure it hadn't magically opened in the past five seconds. "Regina hardly spoke at all during dinner. Do you think we're losing her again?"

Emma just barely refrained from rolling her eyes. She loved her mother, but sometimes her need to save everybody was a lot to deal with.

Charming put a hand on his wife's shoulder. "To be honest, I think Regina's going to sulk long and hard about not having her magic before she stops seeing us as the enemy. For the time being, there's nothing we can do."

Although Emma understood her parents' concerns about Regina based on their past encounters, so far she'd found Regina utterly unimpressive. Sure, she wore those awful outfits, but other than that there was nothing to suggest that she was up to anything evil. Hoping to diffuse some of the tension, Emma said, "You know what I think? I think that the perfect person would be a mix between Regina and Hook. She rarely ever talks, he can't seem to stop talking."

"Emma!" Snow exclaimed, clearly shocked.

Mulan, on the other hand, laughed. "Perfect? Maybe if you're into reformed criminals."

Emma could feel her cheeks burn. "That's not what I meant. I meant perfect objectively, not— perfect as in my true love or something. Come on, you know I didn't mean it like that."

"Emma…" Snow looked as though she were unsure if she should say what she was thinking. "You're twenty-three years old. Do you think you'll ever find your true love?"

This was not where Emma had hoped for the conversation to lead. "Oh, sure," she said, joking tone covering the lump in her throat. She forced herself not to look down or fidget, but instead kept her voice lighthearted. "But not 'til I'm old and gray. He'll still be young and handsome, of course and I'll fall in love with him because he makes me forget about my aching bones."

"Doesn't sound very romantic," Belle said, dimple showing from trying not to smile. "I think he needs a bit more of a challenge to overcome."

"You're right," Emma said, shooting Belle a grateful look for helping her steer the conversation away from serious matters. "Okay, how about this. When I turn sixty, I'll lock myself in a tower and get a pet dragon to guard it. Does that set up enough of an obstacle?"

"Depends on the size of the dragon," Mulan replied.

"I think we're getting a little far away from the subject of Regina." Charming pointed out, looking amused. He turned back to Snow. "Honestly, I'm just as glad not to have to listen to her talk at meals, but you know her better than I do. Do you think there's a problem we should be concerned about?"

"Nothing concrete." Snow looked troubled.

"We could put a guard on her."

Snow shook her head quickly. "No, it'll just make her upset if she knows we don't trust her. I've known Regina for a long time, and she only ever drops her defenses if she thinks no one is watching. If we want her on our side for good, we have to let that happen."

"Okay, no guards. But who says we can't keep an eye on her ourselves?" Charming suggested, looking around at the small group. Emma nodded quickly, ready to be done with this whole thing.

"I guess that's the best we can do about it until we know more," Snow said. In the meantime, I think it's time for us to get ready for the masquerade."

They dispersed, Emma receiving a firm warning to be on time for once. Emma wanted to skip the whole thing, but she knew her absence would be noticed. She had hoped she'd be allowed to wear a costume that truly disguised her identity, but apparently that was a luxury that a princess was not afforded. It was like her parents didn't trust her to show up if she wasn't recognizable as herself, which was probably a smart move on their part.

In her room, Marian helped Emma into her outfit. A lot of really bad costume idea had been thrown around, including the vomit-worthy option of playing up the whole name thing and dressing as a swan. Fortunately, at the last minute Emma had stumbled across her mother's old bandit outfit, and her parents had decided that would be a lovely costume.

Marian accompanied her through the corridors and left her at the door of the ballroom. Emma stepped through the door and out onto a staircase, where she waited to be announced. Sleepy was the dwarf on duty, and his dozing gave Emma a chance to look around the room. Regina was notably absent, and while Emma was relieved by this she knew it make her mother even more worried than she already was.

She continued looking around to see what the others were wearing. Mulan, who was standing across the room, had unsurprisingly worn her armor. She was standing next to Belle, dressed as a phoenix, and a bit further off was Red, who seemed to be dressed as her grandmother in a costume that included a crossbow and a comical gray wig.

Emma had to pause in her observations at that point as her entrance was finally announced. "Presenting Princess Swan," Sleepy said, shaking himself awake. There was a polite round of applause before everyone returned to their respective conversations. Emma descended the stairs sat down on a marble bench on the very edge of the ballroom.

A man sat down next to her. Emma ignored him in favor of looking around some more. She'd expected to see Hook here, probably decked out in his usual pirate garb, but he was nowhere in sight.

After a moment, the man spoke. "Perchance might you be the Princess Swan?"

Emma craned her next, continuing to look around the room. "Yes." Lily, Belle's maid, was dancing with Will Scarlet. Emma only knew him by reputation, but that was as well as she needed to know him to know she disliked this turn of events. What was Lily doing with him?

"I thought so," the man next to her continued. "I'd request the honor of a dance, but I've been told you take pleasure in breaking the toes of your partner beneath your heel if they are too forward with you."

"What?" Emma demanded, looking at him for the first time. He was wearing all black with leather gloves and a troll mask that covered everything but his eyes. "Who told you that?

"I'm not aware of his name," the man said. "But he also said your wit was so dull it could put a dragon to sleep."

Emma was about to reply angrily when she noticed that one of the man's hands was unusually stiff. Leather often looked stiff, but this went beyond the usual level; the fingers didn't seem to be able to move at all. Oh, he thinks he's so clever, she thought, a smile forming on her face. "It must have been Captain Hook who said that."

"I know none of that name," he replied quickly.

Emma feigned surprise and looked at her nails. "Is that so? Well, he's a rather foolish man. He doesn't know how to talk without spewing nonsense of some kind or other. He'd probably cut off his own hand if the thought it would make a good story. In fact, I think he may have already. Are you sure you've never met him?"

"Positive," he said, but she noticed that he couldn't quite keep annoyance from seeping into his voice.

Emma was about to leave and bask in her victory when she saw her mother looking pointedly at her. She sighed internally and turned back to the man she knew to be Captain Hook. "I believe you said something about a dance?" she said in her best aloof princess voice. She could see Hook's eyes gleaming through the mask, and she wondered how she could not have recognized him sooner. No one else had eyes like that.

"That I did. Shall we?" He extended his arm.

Emma took it and followed him onto the dance floor. Hook's false hand went to her waist, his good hand taking a hold of hers. Her fingers tingled. She tried to keep a safe distance between them, but her body betrayed her, moving closer the minute she stopped thinking about staying away.

"Relax," Hook said into her ear. "Dancing's supposed to be fun."

It irked her, that he hadn't called her "love" as he usually did. It was clearly part of hiding his identity, but it left an empty gap in his words. "Only if you have the right partner," Emma shot back.

"Oh, trust me," he said. His breath tickled her ear on every word. "You do."

Where had that come from? Emma couldn't think of an answer, especially without admitting that she knew who he was, but she couldn't let a comment like that slide, either.

Her heart rate picked up as she let herself lean into him slightly. Two can play this game, she thought. All at once, she let go of him and pulled away. "Only time will tell," she said with a wink to rival one of Hook's own, then left to dance with someone else. The rest of the night, every time she caught him looking at her all Emma could think was, I won.

Red was panicking so badly that she'd had to leave the ballroom. Mulan had definitely started her conversation with Belle, and it had taken under a minute for Red to realize she didn't want to be there for whatever happened. There was a courtyard off the side of the ballroom where she had gone to take refuge from her feelings. She sat on a bench, took deep breaths, and tried not to think about how Belle had looked in her phoenix costume. Her crossbow was getting unwieldy, so Red put it underneath the bench.

She was just starting to get her bearings when an inexplicable thing happened. Will Scarlet and Sidney Glass, who Red had never seen in the same space for more than a few seconds, walked out of the ballroom door together.

Red looked at the odd pairing, and they stared right back at her. Finally, she said, "You don't seem like you're here to make out," referring to the courtyard's popularity for clandestine encounters.

"The opposite, actually," Sidney replied smoothly. "We were both trying to escape all of the couples in there."

Red felt a stab of annoyance that they'd invaded her sanctuary like this, but simply nodded and hoped they'd go away soon. Unfortunately, this did not seem to be happening; instead, Will actually sat down on the bench next to her and continued talking.

"The royal family's the worst of the lot," he told Red, who was currently trying to figure out how to move away from him without seeming rude. "Even that maiden they saved from the ogres, though she's not technically a relation."

Red froze. "Do you mean Belle?" she asked carefully.

"Right, that's the one. She's in there with that warrior lass as we speak."

"Oh, that's just Mulan. They're not together," Red explained, feeling the relief wash over her.

"Are you sure? They did seem rather… intimate," Sidney said.

That's not possible, Red thought, feeling frantic. "Of course they are. They're friends."

Will laughed. "Friends, right. Yeah, they looked like pretty good friends in there, didn't they, Sid?"

"Please don't call me that," said Sidney. He seemed to be trying to distance himself from his companion. "But your insinuation that the situation seemed more romantic than friendly is correct."

Red couldn't breathe. Mulan's safer for Belle, her mind unhelpfully pointed out. She's not a werewolf.

"We should return to the masquerade," Sidney said when it was clear that Red was not going to reply.

"Right," Will said, standing up. As he made to leave, he leaned in towards Red and grinned. "Enjoy the party."

As soon as Will and Sidney were out of sight, Red dropped her head into her hands and began to cry, dry racking sobs that hurt her eyes and her throat and made her feel as though she would never be whole again. She didn't know how much time she spent there, but by the time Emma came to collect her the ball had ended. During that time all Red could think about was how tight her skin felt, how badly she needed to run and not have to slow down for anything. She stared at the half moon through her tears and willed it to change. Red pictured herself leaving, imagined running through the woods even as she was, but that wouldn't help her escape herself.

When Emma arrived, she just looked at Red for a few minutes. She'd stopped crying, but knew that she didn't look her best. Thankfully, Emma didn't comment on her appearance.

"Come inside," she said, taking Red by the arm and pulling her up. "Everyone's in the kitchen, they're waiting for you."

"I'm not signed up to cook tonight."

"I know," Emma said, smiling as she gently pulled Red towards the door. "But I think you'll want to be there anyway."

A horrible thought struck Red. "Belle and Mulan aren't in there, are they?"

"Come on," Emma said, ignoring the question. "I promise you'll be glad you did."

Red was too tired to argue, so she nodded and let Emma lead through the corridors and to the kitchen, trying her hardest not to think about Belle and Mulan together.

Emma pulled open the door and all but pushed Red into the kitchen. Mulan and Belle were there, as were Snow and Charming. All four of them looked insufferably happy, and if Emma hadn't been between her and the door, Red would have run. Instead, she stood near the table and leaned on it for dear life.

"Red!" Mulan said, with a larger smile than Red had ever seen on her face. "I talked to Belle at the ball."

"Oh yeah?" Red replied, digging her nails into the table. "I— I hope it makes you happy." You can cry later when you're alone, she told herself firmly.

Mulan frowned and came closer. "What's going on?"

"Wait a minute," Emma said. "I've seen you like this before. You're jealous!"

Mulan furrowed her brow. "You thought I was talking to Belle for my own sake?"

"You know, there's no need to talk about me as though I weren't here," Belle said. She approached Red and took her hands. "I don't know what you thought happened, but you're being an idiot." Red was amazed to see tears forming in Belle's eyes. "Do you remember that day in the kitchen when we first met? I think I fell halfway in love with you during that conversation alone. Even if Mulan had come to me with her own feelings, I would not for one second have abandoned the way I feel about you. Okay?" she asked, cupping Red's face with her hand.

"Okay," Red nodded, only a little embarrassed to feel herself beginning to tear up too.

Belle pulled her hand away and put it back in Red's. "In that case," she said, smiling (and God, what a beautiful smile, Red thought.) "Would you do me the great honor of escorting me to my coronation ceremony?"

Red glanced at Snow, who nodded. "We've decided that since we already consider Belle as family, it's time we made that official. We're having the ceremony two weeks from today."

Red thought quickly. Two weeks from tonight was Wolfstime, but she had her granny's cape. It wouldn't be perfect coronation attire, but… "Of course," she said, turning back to Belle. The look in her eyes made Red's heart do funny things in her chest. All at once, Belle threw her arms around her.

"I think it's your cue to say something, Red," Emma said with a laugh once they'd released each other.

"Why bother?" There were no words good enough for this, the way Belle had felt in her arms, the way her fingers were still stroking Red's as though letting go would be the worst possible thing that could happen.

"Then Belle, I think you'd better say something. Or better yet, just kiss her." Emma sounded far too pleased with herself, but Red was spared the necessity of telling her so when Belle replied,

"That I can do."

Red's eyes widened as Belle moved closer. The hand cupped her face again, tenderly as though she might fall apart at any moment. Oddly enough Red did feel as though she might fall apart from the closeness. She had kissed people before, gawky boys who didn't know what to do with their hands. None of them had held her like this, like she mattered. It was only with Peter that things had felt this way, before... everything. Then Belle's lips found hers, and she closed her eyes at the feeling. Belle tasted like black tea and roses. Her mouth opened slightly, and Red sighed into it.

After a moment, Belle pulled away. Until that moment, Red hadn't even remembered that there were other people in the room with them. Even so, she lingered for a moment to push back a strand of Belle's hair before stepping away.

"Well, looks like everyone's finding their true love but me," Emma said in a joking tone of voice. "I'd better not fall under any curses that need to be broken with a kiss."

"I could find your true love," Mulan said. It was a very odd thing to say; Red looked at her in confusion.

Emma laughed. "Thanks, but I think that'd ruin my lifelong dream of spinsterhood. Anyway, I'm off to bed. Red, Belle, congratulations on finding each other." She exited the room. Red noticed Snow watching her leave.

"What is it?" she asked.

Snow sighed. "Have you noticed that whenever we talk to Emma about love, she turns it into a joke? Ever since Neal, that's been true."

Red winced at the mention of Neal. She had been present when Emma told her parents the truth about what had happened, and it wasn't a memory she enjoyed reliving. "She needs time, your majesty."

"It's been five years," Snow said quietly. "If she's not over it now, when will she be?"

Charming slid his arm around her waist. "Maybe now's not the right time for Emma," he suggested. "You can't force love."

"I know. I know! I know I need to let Emma live her own life, but I'm worried she'll end up alone if she carries on this way," Snow admitted. "She closes herself off so much."

"Maybe we should send her out into the world for a while. I didn't find my true love until she robbed me in the woods," Charming said with a wry smile.

"Oh, I don't think that will be necessary," Mulan said. Once again, Red wondered what she was up to. "Have you seen her with Killian? They'd be a perfect match if they'd stop trying to one-up each other all the time and actually talked."

Charming shook his head. "Believe me, it's crossed my mind as well. But Emma's too stubborn, she wouldn't consider Killian if we suggested him."

"No, we can't suggest it to either of them," Mulan said. "Killian's the same way. But I think there is something else we can do."

"You've been planning something, haven't you?" Red asked. "This morning, when you said Killian would fall in love before the month was over. That wasn't a prediction, it was a plan."

Mulan nodded and looked at them each in turn. "I think that with the right ruse, we can give them the push they need."

Belle leaned forward. "Let me make sure I understand. Are you suggesting that we trick Emma and Killian into falling in love?"

"Yes."

"Well, I for one think that's an excellent idea," she said. "I'll assist you in whatever way I can."

Red, who had already though this sounded like a great deal of fun, was relieved to hear that Belle felt the same. "I'm in. Killian's been way too smug about the whole never falling in love thing."

Charming seemed to think about it, then shook his head. "This doesn't seem right. My first engagement was arranged by someone else, and if I'd gone through with it I would have been miserable."

"But we wouldn't be arranging anything, Charming!" Snow said with apparent excitement. "We'd be giving them a little nudge."

Charming seemed to consider this. "Okay, so what if we give them this nudge and they get together when they're really both supposed to be with someone else?"

"Then it'll fix itself, like it did with us," Snow said. "If nobody had pushed you towards Princess Abigail, you wouldn't have been in the woods that day and we would never have met."

"We could actually be acting for fate by doing this," Red pointed out. "Maybe we're supposed to push them together for some reason we don't even know about yet." If Charming didn't go for this, Red knew that Snow wouldn't either, and then the whole thing would be ruined.

Fortunately, Charming relented. "I seem to be outnumbered," he said. "I guess we're going to make Captain Jones and Emma fall in love."

Belle looked at Red, eyes shining. "Now this is going to be fun."

Mulan smiled and leaned forward across the table. "So here's the plan…"

When Regina let Will into her chamber the next day, she could tell just from his face that he had managed to botch things somewhere along the line. "Enter," she said imperiously. This time, she had opted to remain seated at her desk, as though Will wasn't even worth the time it took to stand.

"Your Majesty," he said. "You'll be wanting news of the ball, I assume?"

"Let me guess," Regina said coldly. Her voice was even, but inside she was furious. "You failed. Sidney, too, since I sent him along to assist you. At great personal risk, I might add."

"It was only a first attempt," Will assured her, far too cheerfully. Regina clenched her fists. "There'll be plenty of other opportunities, rest assured."

"How about you get one more opportunity to prove your worth, and after that your chances at a magic bean just—" Regina waved her hand. "—disappear?" She would have liked to throw a threat to remove his heart, but he knew as well as she did that it would be an empty one.

The grin slid off of Will's face, and he nodded. "I won't fail you this time, Highness. Cross my heart."

"Better. And this time your plan goes through me first, am I clear? Plausible deniability means nothing your plans don't even work."

"Right, very clear." Will swallowed hard; Regina could see his throat working.

"Well?" she asked impatiently. "I'm not getting any younger."

"Right! Well, the last plan, which almost worked, by the way, was to convince the wolf that Lady Belle loved someone else. I say, let's try that again, but with a little bit of proof this time, eh?"

"And how exactly do you propose we do that?"

"Well, the thing is—I've been having a little bit of— a dalliance, that is, with Lady Belle's maidservant Lily. With just a bit of persuasion on my part, I could be seen with her in Belle's room. From a distance—"

"—she looks enough like Belle, I'll give you that much. But how do we ensure this dalliance is seen?"

"I was thinking about that too, actually, and I thought that maybe Sidney—"

"No," Regina said. "I don't trust Sidney with this. I will be the one to make sure Red sees you. Snow, too, it'll crush her. Very well, I just have one more question."

"What's that?"

"Exactly what kind of idiot are you?" Regina felt a surge of satisfaction as Will's face fell. "Your last plan was based on a premise that proved inaccurate, yet you chose to base your second plan on the same flawed idea?"

"Your Highness—"

"Do be quiet, I'm thinking." She closed her eyes, running through a list of possibilities. "It's not totally useless. Yes, a Fidelity Potion would do it." She turned back to Will. "Scarlet, it's your lucky day. You're still useful to me after all."

Will looked a bit nervous, but smiled. "How's that? Besides Lily's complete and utter devotion to my dazzling self?"

"I need you to make me a potion. Don't give me that look," she said. "I'll walk you through it. I just can't be an active participant in making it or it won't work, thanks to the Blue Fairy."

"Meaning no disrespect, but don't the royals have their food checked for potions on the regular?"

"Poisons, yes, but a Fidelity Potion wouldn't show up."

"Not that I'm ungrateful or nothing," Will said. "But how exactly does a Fidelity Potion make my plan any more worthwhile than it was before?"

Regina rolled her eyes. "Fidelity Potions instill trust in a specific person . In this case, me," she explained. "After they've consumed it, Snow and the She-Wolf will believe everything I say about Belle, especially when your ruse will give them a lovely visual. But it has to be done soon. The longer we wait, the less chance that it will work."

"If I might be so bold," Will said. "You should do it in a fortnight's time."

"And why is that?"

Will looked far too pleased with himself. "I may have picked up a tidbit of information regarding a certain lady's coronation and official adoption into the royal family."

"They're making Belle into a princess? That's absurd."

"Doubt it all you want, but remember, you pay me to know things. It'll be announced later today. The wolf's escorting her to the party. But imagine for a moment if the night before, she was given a reason to become very angry with Belle. Falsely accusing her of disloyalty at her own coronation—well, that might just be irreparable damage, wouldn't you say?"

Regina smiled. "Keep up this kind of work, Scarlet, and you might be earning that bean after all."

Killian was sitting in the courtyard, tying and untying knots in a length of rope. This activity could have been just as easily accomplished indoors, but Mulan had taken to giving him knowing looks every time he was in the soldier's quarters. His disguise at the ball and the ensuing actions had seemed so clever the night before, but judging by Mulan's looks today it was possible he hadn't fooled everyone.

Why had he behaved the way that he had? The insults were one thing, and the look on Emma's face had made them entirely worth it, but the dancing? It was best forgotten. He took comfort in the fact that he must have fooled Emma, at least. She would never let something like that slide without mocking. Furthermore, she would never have leaned into him the way that she had.

He let his mind stray for a moment, remembering the way she had felt in his arms, then shook himself mentally. Killian could practically see Mulan's raised eyebrow if she could read his thoughts, and she'd already had a thing or two to say about his opinion on love. Not that it mattered if he had feelings for Emma, which he didn't. He was simply remembering an enjoyable evening. Besides which, Emma would certainly never return those feelings, if he actually had them.

Emma and Killian had been at odds since practically the moment they met. After receiving a message from Queen Snow regarding the Ogre War, he had docked his ship in their kingdom. The message had spoken of a deal, but in his heart Killian had doubted they'd be willing to offer anything he wanted.

Killian watched them arrive through his telescope, wary of the whole idea of joining forces with royalty. All the same, if the ogres destroyed too much of the kingdom, there'd be nowhere to make port with his contraband. It was a predicament, to say the least, but the the idea of actually siding with royalty made his skin crawl. If this had been the kingdom that sent his brother on that fatal voyage, he wouldn't have even considered their offer, but he'd heard rumors about this bandit queen and her husband and, curiosity won out. Even so, he couldn't imagine this would be a particularly long conversation.

However, the minute they stepped on his boat Killian was caught off guard. He had expected an ambassador of some sort, but instead he was graced with the presence of the queen herself, along with the woman he later learned to be Princess Emma. He hadn't recognized the queen from the distance, but there was no doubting the delicate crown upon her head. Killian had to force himself not to calculate its worth and instead focus on the matter at hand.

But before he could say a word, Snow had stepped onto his boat without so much as a request for permission. "We won't take too much of your time," she said. "What would it take to get you on our side for this war?"

Killian was flabbergasted. "Your Majesty," he said, trying to act as though he weren't thrown off by this whole thing. "Would you like to sit? Perhaps a drink is in order."

"No time. I'm meeting with six other people today, all with their own agendas, and quite frankly? I don't care. I'll give whatever it takes to keep my people safe."

The other woman scoffed. She was dressed for riding, in pants and a vest, and Killian had no idea who she was. Snow seemed to realize this, and added, "This is my daughter Emma. She doesn't like the idea of making deals with criminals to win a war."

"I never said that!" Emma blurted out.

"No, but you're thinking it," Snow said shortly. "So, Captain. What'll it take?"

Killian had prepared a list of demands the night before, but somehow it was less satisfying knowing that the queen would give him virtually anything for his allegiance. "Full leniency for all of the crimes committed within your borders both by me and my crew," he said, naming the most important item and forgoing the rest.

"Done," Snow said. "I've got to go. Emma will stay behind to draw up the contracts."

Emma nodded, looking as though she had toothaches on both sides of her mouth. "Come on, pirate, let's get this over with."

"Of course," he said smoothly, leading her into the dining room where he'd had a table set for the expected ambassador. "Care for a drink?"

"Trying to poison me? I'll pass."

Killian's chest tightened painfully as he thought about Liam. He scowled. "Let me tell you something, love." He leaned in. "I may be a pirate, but I believe in good form. Any more insinuations otherwise, particularly while on my ship, will not be taken lightly."

Emma looked entirely unimpressed. "A pirate with a code, huh? Original. So comforting that villains always manage to see themselves as some kind of hero."

"Almost as comforting as the way that royalty always manage to see their birth as a sign that of superiority, rather than luck." Killian smirked at the look on Emma's face. "Be that as it may, I believe we have some contracts to draw up, love."

Emma's face went red. "Stop calling me that," she muttered.

"And miss out on the lovely look on your face? I think not."

"Pirate."

"Never claimed to be otherwise. Now, if you please, the papers."

Emma pulled some parchment out of her satchel and shoved it across the table. "Standard form. We write down what my mother promised you, and what you're giving her in return. In this case, that's full allegiance in the Ogre War. Any retraction of said allegiance renders the rest of the agreement null. You'll be expected to report to the palace in a fortnight, or we'll assume you've changed your mind."

Killian read over the agreement, then, sensing Emma's impatience, read it again just to bother her. Finally, he filled out the necessary portions and signed his name.

She snatched it back from him and stuffed it in her bag. "See you in two weeks, captain, if you don't die in the depths of the sea before then."

"I look forward to it."

The sound of nearby footsteps tore Killian from his thoughts. He looked up, only to see Mulan, Queen Snow, and Red approaching his courtyard. While Red would have been welcome company, Killian was loathe to endure more of Mulan's looks and Red's amorous the Ogre Wars she had been the embodiment of a true soldier; blunt, honest and unwavering in their task. But now, she was less wolf and more puppy, with eyes only for Belle. There was no way out of the courtyard other than the one the women were coming in through. Instead he looked around for a hiding place, quickly spotting a tree that would suffice. His years onboard the Jolly Roger meant that Killian was no stranger to climbing; he quickly pulled himself up into the tree and climbed to a place where he could no longer be seen unless one knew exactly where to look. From that vantage point he could overhear the conversation without having to partake in it. His rope was still on the ground, and he prayed that nobody would see it and realize he was here.

"It sounds like everything's working out for you, Red," he could hear Snow saying.

"It is."

"I just wish thing would work out for Emma like they have for you and Belle," Snow said. "I'm so happy for the two of you, but I'm starting to think Emma's never going to find anybody."

Of course. Even in eavesdropping Killian couldn't escape having to think about Emma. It was as though the forces of the universe were conspiring against him, if one believed in that sort of thing.

"If only she weren't so stubborn," Red said.

"What do you mean?" Snow asked.

Red sighed loudly. "She's been I love with Killian for months, but she won't say anything."

Killian almost fell out of the tree and was forced to cling to the trunk for balance. She what?

"It's probably better that way," Mulan said. "What with Killian's whole anti-love attitude."

"Are you sure she's in love with him?" Snow asked. "They're always arguing about something or other."

"I told her that was the best way to play it," Red said. "Can you imagine if he found out? He'd tear her to shreds. She's finally started getting over Neal, she doesn't need to get her heart broken again"

Who the bloody hell is Neal? Careful not to make a sound, Killian climbed to a lower branch to hear the conversation better. His foot slipped on one of the branches, almost sending him hurtling to the ground. He managed to right himself by catching a higher branch with his hook and dangling for a moment while his legs found footing.

Surely they heard that, Killian thought with a sinking heart. However, fortune seemed to favor him as the women continued their conversation without even glancing into the tree.

"How bad is it?" Snow asked.

"Bad," Red said. "She keeps saying she'll stay away because being around him is so hard, but she can't stick to her decision."

"You saw them at the ball together," Mulan said. "He was the one in the ogre mask, remember?"

So Mulan had recognized him, and from the sound of it, Emma may have too. Killian swore under his breath.

"When we talked afterwards, she said she had to cut the dance off early because it was too hard not to kiss him," Red said. She seemed to be stifling a laugh, which annoyed Killian. What had gotten into Red? She was hardly the type of person to laugh at someone's pain.

In his frustration, Killian gripped the a tree branch too hard, scraping his hand. Blood rose to the surface of his palm. A few dropped fell towards the ground, and Red sniffed the air. Bloody wolf senses. He made his body painfully flat against the tree just as she looked up. Despite the complete lack of camouflage that leather provided, Red's eyes passed over him.

"And there's no chance he loves her back?" Snow asked.

Red turned back to listen to the conversation, and Killian finally allowed himself to exhale. Now was not the moment to be caught eavesdropping.

Mulan laughed harshly. "Killian? The only face he loves is his reflection in the mirror. And even if he did love her back he'd never admit it. He has too much pride, and he's sworn never to fall in love."

"I don't think he realizes he's hurting her," Red said to Snow. "He's just kind of oblivious."

"Although if he did know, he'd tease her even worse," Mulan said. "Telling him would only make things harder on Emma. I saw we should just keep encouraging her not to let him get to her. Eventually she'll move on."

"Poor Emma," Snow said. "I just want her to be happy."

"She will be," Red said reassuringly. "She just has to get over Killian first."

The subject changed, but Killian didn't hear a word that was said after that point. His mind kept repeating phrases like in love with Killian and too much pride. Was that really how people thought of him? And those comments about him tearing her to shreds, when Emma had always been just as quick to insult him as he was her! Unless, like Red suggested, that was a way for Emma to protect herself. But how was he to know that? She had never shown any sign that it was so.

Killian was so deep in thought that he didn't even notice the women leaving, only that they were gone now. He climbed down the tree slowly. His mind was still running in circles, and he couldn't keep himself from thinking about how it had felt to have Emma in his arms, how her lips might taste on his. What would he do if she truly loved him? An imaged flashed in front of his face of her, dressed in leather and steering the ship. But that wasn't a possiblity as the only child of royalty she would have to stay and rule her kingdom. Never mind that the royal family would hardly accept her running off with a pirate. And Killian wasn't willing to remain landlocked forever. He was already counting the days until he could return to the Jolly Roger, if Smee hadn't run her aground already.

Still… Killian sat down heavily on a bench, pondering what he had heard. The possibility of a future with Emma was nothing to sneer at. Mulan and Red would mock him for going back on his vow, but then, hadn't Red done the same? And with the way Red and Belle had been acting lately, perhaps there was something to this love stuff after all.

Not that I'm convinced I love her back, Killian added belatedly. But before he'd had time to think further, Emma herself appeared in the courtyard.

"Don't worry, I don't want your company any more than you want mine," she said as she approached him. "I'm only here because my dad sent me to invite you to dinner."

Yes, Killian thought, there were certainly marks of love in her.

"Thank you for taking the time to come inform me of this," he said, forgoing the opportunity to return the insult.

Emma frowned. "It took less than a minute to get here. Believe me, if it'd been any more strenuous I'd have sent someone else."

"Then let us both be glad that it was not more strenuous, for I can assure you I most assuredly prefer your company to that of whichever dwarf you would have sent."

"Really? That's sweet," Emma said, narrowing her eyes. "Because I like your company too—about as much as I like being stabbed." With that, she walked away.

Killian leaned back and watched her go. So Red and Mulan had been telling the truth. How had he never noticed the lack of malice behind Emma's insults before? Besides which, if she had truly hated him she would have sent someone else straightaway. Princesses were certainly allowed to pass on unpleasant tasks, weren't they? (Killian ignored the unhelpful voice pointing out that while Princesses in general might have that privilege, Snow White and Prince Charming's daughter wouldn't.)

She must be in love with him, and if that was true, there was only one thing left to do.

Killian would have to sacrifice his pride and fall in love with her, too.