The Next Day
Dear Baelfire,
There's a ball tonight, celebrating Neal's first birthday, and I do hope to see you there. There are some people I would like you to meet, and they're amazing. Plus, I don't want to be stuck with Melody again. She's very nice, but she talks an awful lot, and she's so much older than me. So much has happened since you were here, and it's pretty fantastic, but I miss you. No one else likes to play in the garden with me. Next time I see you, we should have a sword fight. Graham and Daddy have been teaching me. Write back soon.
Yours truly,
Princess Emma Swan.
KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEK
Emma runs through the halls, singing loud enough to wake the dead. She turns a corner sharply, darting into the infirmary turned bedroom to see Killian and Liam.
"There's a ball tonight!" she sings. Killian looks at her in wonder, and Liam just laughs.
"One that we won't be attending I'm afraid," Liam says, effectively killing the princess' good mood.
"Oh yes you will," Emma says sternly. "And we are going to have fun!" she continues, her voice lifting, along with her spirits.
"I'm sorry your highness, but I'm afraid we are not invited," Killian says shyly. Liam chuckles, wondering how his brother is already wrapped around the finger of the princess.
"You live at the castle, what makes you think you aren't invited?" Emma asks curiously.
"What my brother means to say, is that we have nothing to wear, and Killian can barely get out of bed!" Liam laughs, watching Killian's face turn crimson. This sentence stops Emma in her tracks.
"Hmmm, I didn't think of that," she mumbles, not paying attention to the pair of brothers. She wrings her hands, trying to come up with a solution to this newfound problem. Suddenly, in a burst of yellow and red smoke, two formal, but modest outfits appear in front of the boys, along with a crutch in front of Killian. All three children in the room jump in surprise.
"Did you do that?" Liam asked Emma in shock. The look on her face mirrors the one on his own.
"I—I don't know," Emma stutters. "I think so." She walks over to the clothing on Liam's bed and picks it up. The simple yet elegant outfit is made up of a pair of black pants, a white ruffled button down shirt, a shimmering black cummerbund, a sea blue vest, to match his eyes, and a black jacket with emerald green, and sea blue accents, the blue matching the vest, the green complementing the whole outfit nicely. A pair of polished black leather loafers pull the whole thing together.
"This is just like I imagined it," Emma whispers, turning the shoe over in her hand, before setting it down on the floor next to its partner. "Does it all fit?"
"I don't know Emma," Liam says.
"Well try it on, I won't look," the four year old girl says, her voice holding just as much power as her parents. She spins on her heel, walking over to Killian. The sleek black crutch is carved from ebony, a cushion adorning the place where the user would rest his arm. A suit, almost identical to his brother's hangs from the crutch. Killian's suit has one crucial difference though. The accents on Killian's clothing are all bright red, and there's a sea blue and emerald green handkerchief poking out of the jacket pocket. Emma's eyes sparkle as she looks at the young boy, who she has grown to call her friend.
"It matches my dress," she says with a dazzling smile. Killian can't help but grin at the girl as she stares in amazement at the garments.
"It fits," Liam says finally. Emma spins around and her smile only grows wider as she is greeted with the sight of Liam, standing in front of her bashfully, the clothes fitting perfectly.
"Wow," Killian utters at the sight of his brother in what looks like royal garb. Emma's smile now reaches from ear to ear, and her eyes sparkle.
"Well, I'll see you at the ball!" she shouts, prancing out of the room and resuming her singing.
"Aye I guess she will," Liam says, looking down at his clothes. "Come on brother, it will take a while to get you dressed."
At The Ball
"I give you, Queen Snow White, King David, Princess Emma, and Prince Neal!" the man with the loud voice introduced. The trumpets played, and the royal family walked down the stairs. Well, Emma sort of bounced down the stairs, barely containing her excitement. Killian stood with Liam off in a far corner, leaning heavily on the crutch Emma had conjured up from nowhere. He looked at the princess with a bewildered expression. Why was he drawn to her? Why did he want only to make her happy? She was a girl! These were all very troubling thoughts for a boy of seven years old, but what was even more troubling, was the strange boy hugging Emma. Killian's face clouded, and his brother chuckled.
"Cheer up brother, you've only known the lass for a day or two, you have to give it time," Liam laughed. Killian could only watch as Emma grabbed the strange boy's hand, and dragged him towards them.
"Baelfire, I would like you to meet Killian and Liam," Emma said in a regal tone. "Killian, Liam, this is Baelfire." Liam stuck out his hand and the strange boy shook it carefully.
"Prince Baelfire," the strange boy added, eyeing Killian warily, as Emma grabbed both their hands.
"Let's go outside!" Emma exclaimed, dragging the two boys towards the door, Liam following with a smirk on his face. So Killy has some competition, Liam thought. I'm curious to see how this plays out.
The night went on, with Killian attempting to be polite to Baelfire, and Baelfire essentially ignoring him, focusing all of his attention on Princess Emma. Liam could only chuckle as his brother sent him an exasperated look when Baelfire challenged him and Emma to a race. Emma glared at Baelfire, her gaze darkening.
"Bae," Emma started, her voice almost shaking with anger. "How can you be so mean? You can see the crutch, you know he can't run!" Killian's face turned dark red at this proclamation. He and Baelfire both turned to Emma.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean—"Baelfire began to say before Killian cut him off.
"No need to apologize mate I can race," Killian stated matter of factly. Liam looked at his brother curiously, wondering what his brother was up to. Emma just gaped at him.
"No you can't, you're hurt!" the princess said, blatantly wearing her concern for Killian on her face. Baelfire's ears burned with jealousy.
"No if he wants to race, let the cripple race!" Baelfire spat. Liam started towards the spoiled boy at this sentence, and would've beaten him to a pulp if Killian hadn't glanced at him reassuringly. The same couldn't be said for Princess Emma though, who had no problem smacking Baelfire across the face. Bae put his hand on his cheek, more shocked than anything else.
"Alright, one lap through the gardens!" Emma shouted. "The winner," she announced, her voice quieting, a smile on her lips, "May get a token from the princess." Liam smirked once more, watching the clueless boys line up at the starting point. He jogged over to Emma, stopping her before she could say go.
"Emma, no magic okay? I want to see if my dear brother can handle this fool," Liam whispered. Emma nodded her head, and Liam jogged back to his spot. Emma looked at Killian and Baelfire, neither of which had any idea what a Princess' token was, but wanted to have it just the same, if only so the other wouldn't.
"Ready," Emma called. "Go!" The boys took off, Killian hobbling on his crutch, and Baelfire sprinting gracefully down the path. By the time the young prince had rounded the corner, Killian was barely half way. Emma heaved a sigh, but Liam watched curiously as the boy turned to his right, and promptly entered the garden, trampling many plants in the process. Killian made a small circle, emerging from the flower beds a small ways down the path opposite to the starting point. He crutched his way down the path and over to Emma, a smile gracing her face, and an even bigger one spread across his face. They waited together, hand in hand for Baelfire to come running down the path. Finally, he rounded the corner, and the cocky grin dropped from his face as he saw who was awaiting him at the finish line.
"He cheated!" Baelfire cried, frowning at the injustice of it all.
"I did one lap through the garden mate, same as you. I just took a shorter route," Killian smirked, almost feeling sorry for the poor sod. Almost.
"Well I guess Killian gets my token," Emma declared.
"But—" Baelfire began.
"No Bae," Emma said sternly. She then promptly leaned over to Killian and kissed him on the cheek. Both boys were stunned into silence. Liam finally spoke up, trying to keep from laughing while doing so.
"Uh Princess, it's getting late. Why don't you walk Prince Baelfire inside and I'll take Killian upstairs. He needs to rest," he managed to say, snickering as Emma grabbed Baelfire's hand, bringing him back down to Earth.
"Okay Liam," she said happily. "Goodnight Killian. Goodnight Liam. See you tomorrow!" She dragged the young prince inside and Killian sighed.
"Come on brother, let's get you up to bed," Liam said, ignoring the shining white butterfly that fluttered around his brother's head.