Chapter 2: A Coincidence of Fate

AN: This is still a little bit of exposition but I promise it'll pick up real fast in the next chapter.

The first time Killian sees her it's an accident. He's been swimming through the shallows of the waters he found far away from their domain without paying much heed to where he was until he hears an aggravated yell and the slam of a door.

He's sixteen and reckless and decides he wants to see who made the noise. What he wasn't expecting was to find that it had come from the balcony of one of the castle's towers, from the pretty blonde sitting on the balcony's edge.

He should have known better, really he should have, but he was sixteen and reckless and she was captivating.

The first time Emma she sees him she's lounging on her balcony, laying on her stomach with one leg and arm hanging dangerously off the side. She's fifteen and bored and is waiting for her adventure.

(She can practically hear her parents warning and ignores it).

She's counting the waves that roll in on the alcove beneath her tower when something bright catches her eye. At first she thinks it's a flying fish but when the tail that breaks the surface is much larger she nearly does fall off in shock. And when a dark-haired head breaks the surface shortly after, clearly swimming away from her secret alcove, she gasps in surprise. Mermaids.

They're real. She knows her mother says they're real, says Ariel was one but this…this is a real mermaid. Merman she corrects herself. She's seen him and she decides she'd very much like to see him again. After all, she's fifteen and adventurous and he's fascinating.

The next time he sees her he pretends it's an accident. He had been swimming in the same waters, very much not watching the balcony, when she had appeared again. This time he took a moment to observe her.

Her hair was brighter than sunshine and the curls whipped around her face in the wind. Even from the water he could see that her eyes were greener than the sea on a summer's day. She was the most beautiful creature he'd ever laid eyes on.

And he was in so much trouble.

The next time Emma sees him is weeks after his first appearance. She's either terrible at surveillance or he's better at hiding than she'd given him credit for–

–she's leaning towards the latter because she's found herself to be pretty perceptive.

She's strolling around the castle, very much not avoiding her etiquette lessons in preference of searching for a mythical creature when she sees him lounging on a sandbar.

He was…well, if she was honest he was unfairly handsome. Dark hair, blue eyes, and a little bit of scruff that meant he was trying to show off he could grow facial hair (she rolled her eyes). But there was something else. He was…he felt familiar, like they were old friends or had met before, which they hadn't because surely she would have remembered. But it was in his eyes; they tugged at something deep in her gut and reminded her forcefully of herself.

He dropped himself off the sandbar he'd been sitting on and dove under the water without resurfacing and she guessed he had left. Emma resolved that she was going to meet this mysterious lurking merman.

Killian had finally stopped lying to himself about going to see her. Whenever he could get away without his family or friends noticing he swam out to the castle.

He wasn't a stalker, really he wasn't. But he just…he felt like he knew her. Like they had some sort of connection. He couldn't believe he'd floated along her palace by pure coincidence.

However, she was a human and he was a merman. And there were rules he was supposed to obey. Rules that made his every move punishable and ill advised. He looked back up to her, sitting on her usual perch as she gazed over the water, and smiled. He'd never been very good at following rules anyways.

By the time he was seventeen he had gotten used to where he needed to hide when he visited the castle. The small alcove below the tower with her balcony gave him a place to sit and swim and not be seen.

Or it had been, until she became a little too curious and far too observant for his own good.

Killian had been lying back with his eyes closed, letting the warm water wave over his body, when he'd felt the first ripple. Foolishly he'd thought it was merely a fish swimming along. That was until he felt a hand grab hold of his fin and jerk.

"What the- "

"I knew it!"

Oh bloody hell.

"I knew you were real!" She finally released his fin and he righted himself, coming face to face with her for the first time.

His breath caught in his throat. Her hair was waterlogged and splattered across her forehead. The shirt she had on was clinging to her shoulders and nearly see-through. Her eyes were lit up with curiosity and wonder and bloody hell he was lost once again.

"Okay, wait- "

"I knew it!" She repeated, trying to shove the mess of hair out of her eyes. His fingers twitched to help but he remained where he was. "I knew I saw you. My mom said you all don't come so close to shore anymore but I knew it. Just wait! Just wait until I tell my mom."

She had already mentioned him, his pulse sped up with anxiety. "You can't tell anyone!"

"What? Why?"

"I'm not- it's against our laws to be up at the surface. We're not supposed to talk with humans."

She smirked and he felt something tug in his belly. "Clearly you're as good at following your rules as I am at mine."

"Shut up, princess."

She stuck her tongue out and he rolled his eyes, sending a small splash at her.

"I prefer Emma," she arched an eyebrow in challenge. "What about you, fishboy?"

"Fishboy?" He sputtered, clearly offended. "My name is Killian."

Emma gave a makeshift curtsey as she stood in the water. "Well, it's nice to meet you Killian." She quirked an eyebrow, "What brings you to the very boring waters around the castle?"

"Curiosity." He deflected, not lying but not telling the whole truth. "I find certain aspects of the human world…fascinating." He shrugged and her eyes dipped to his bare chest for a moment before finding his eyes again. "I thought I was being subtle."

She snorted in a highly un-princess-like fashion. "You're severely lacking in subtly. And I'm highly observant." He raised an amused eyebrow. "What? I'm the only who noticed you swimming around the castle. Points to Emma."

"Fine. Points to Emma. But you still can't tell anyone." She frowned. "I shouldn't even be here at all." He made a move to start swimming off, cursing himself for getting caught, when her hand caught his arm.

"Wait!"

"What?"

She bit her lip, shuffling her feet in the wet sand. "What if I promise not to tell anyone? I keep it a secret. That way you don't get in trouble and I don't have to answer weird questions."

Was she really… "You want me to keep coming back?"

"Well, yeah." Emma spoke as though it were obvious. "There's hardly anyone in the castle my age, let alone worth talking to. And you haven't gawked over me being a," she wrinkled her nose. "A princess. And…I don't know," Emma shrugged. "What could be better than breaking both our rules and having fun in the process?"

Killian stared at her, slightly in awe. He hadn't said anything for a few moments and Emma began to fidget. "Unless you don't want to."

"No!" He broke out of his reverie, wishing he had legs to kick himself with. "No, I…yeah, we'll keep it a secret. The princess and the merman?"

Emma grinned. "Works for me. What do you say fishboy? Friends?"

His grin matched her own and he took her proffered hand, feeling like he had signed much more than his friendship away. "Friends."