EMMA POV
Their kiss was really something. She hadn't meant for it to get as heated as it did, a simple kiss between friends is all she intended. When her lips touched his, though, the thirst she had been feeling for years was finally quenched. He most likely didn't feel the same tensions that she did. Killian was always really formal with her, even though she was closer to him than she had been with anyone. Anytime she wrote to her friends, the letter always contained news of Killian.
When she saw the doll that he'd made for her, she was touched. It probably took him months to do all the work to make the doll this beautiful. The gown she was dressed in was a brilliant red, with a tight corset and a flowing bottom. Her hair was pinned on top of her head, and he even painted the different sections slightly different colors of gold to show how it was sectioned.
"Your highness, forgive me. That was not good form." She looked up at him and he was hanging his head.
"Killian, you didn't do anything wrong."
"You're the princess. I should have shown restraint."
"I kissed you because I wanted to. Did you not want to kiss me back? Is that why you are being hard on yourself about it?" she asked him, feeling guilty. She felt tears gather in her eyes and she turned away, he wouldn't see her cry.
"Your highness," he took her hand and turned her around to face him, "not wanting to kiss you back was the last thing on my mind."
They heard Geppetto yell for him, "Killian, could you come here for a moment, please?"
"Just a minute, I'll be right there." He cupped her face in his hand, "I'll be right back."
She watched him walk away, her stomach falling with each step. Their first kiss had played through her mind a million times, but none of them had ended with her feeling like this. Only when he left the room and shut the door behind him, did she allow a tear to escape. He acted like he wanted to, until they stopped. It was as if he was upset because it was her. He looked at her like a little sister, she imagined. She turned around and picked up the doll he made her. She would always cherish this. She had to admit, the doll looked just like her. The gown he'd picked was beautiful.
Cheers of excitement from the next room interrupted her thoughts. She placed the doll back on the table and followed behind where Killian had just left.
She opened the door and saw Geppetto embracing Killian, and there was Graham standing in the doorway smiling at the pair. Killian was holding a letter in his hand.
"Your highness! I've been accepted into the naval academy! They are taking me in at 17." he exclaimed when he saw her.
"Killian, that's great!" she said walking over and looking at the letter. As she continued reading, her excitement slowly went away.
Mr. Jones, we are writing to inform you that we have reviewed your application, and are eager to announce you have been accepted into the program. Due to the references you listed, we are willing to make an exception to the minimum age limit. We would like to invite you to begin training at the end of the week.
There was more in the letter, but that was all she could focus on. He was leaving… in 4 days. She didn't know how long he would be gone, and the thought of his departure was physically painful. He had been a part of her life every day for 3 years. She thought she would have a few more months to say goodbye, he had only turned 17 three months ago. Those wanting to go aren't normally even considered until they are 18.
"Who was the reference they are talking about?" she asked trying to sound indifferent.
"It was me," Graham spoke up from the door. "I vouched for him, and said that he would be a great candidate to have now, even at his young age. We've been working on his sailing and other important things that you learn in the academy, and he has exceeded even my expectations, so I put a good word in and got him in a year early." He smiled at Killian and slapped him on the shoulder, "Well, you have a lot to get ready. I'll leave you all to it and will see you in 4 days." And with that, he left.
Killian and Geppetto started talking about what things he would need to take with him and who would pick up the slack with work, and how to tell Pinocchio, but Emma was in her own, painful bubble. She knew he would be leaving, they both knew it. From the first day they met, he'd told her that he was going to go into the navy. He wanted to be just like his brother, but she thought their goodbye would be months away, not in a few days.
"Your highness? Is something wrong?" he grabbed her hand and she put on her best face that she could.
"I'm really happy for you, Killian. This is what you've wanted to do for as long as we've known each other. I'm really proud of you, but I'm really going to miss you." Her voice betrayed her and cracked.
"I'll miss you, too." He pulled her in for a tight embrace, and she let the tears go. Her jaw was cramping trying to hold them back for so long, and he let her cry. Yes, she was happy for him, more than she could put into words because this was his dream. He held her for a few more moments, her eyes were puffy, her nose was running, and his shirt was soaked.
"This is your dream, Killian. I really am very happy for you." She looked up at him and he wiped the tears off her face. He pulled her chin up to make her look at him,
"There isn't a day that will go by, that I won't think of you."
She chuckled, "good." She put her head against his chest and felt his arms wrap around her. The doll he made her watching their embrace from the other room.
XXXX
Killian's last days passed in a blur. It was a combination of excitement and sadness for the both of them, they both knew that these last few days were going to be the last they would have in a while, so they spent all the time they could together. Her parents excused her from her lessons, and Killian was excused from work. They walked to the ocean, they walked through the palace and the gardens, and they walked through the town. They didn't always talk, sometimes they just walked and enjoyed the others company. He'd be gone for 6 months. They figured that what he learned with Graham put him in with those who'd already been in the academy longer, so they weren't going to make him stay away as long as normal. They didn't kiss again. She knew for her it would make things harder. What he thought about it, she wasn't sure.
The night before he left she didn't sleep. She knew if she closed her eyes, morning would come that much sooner and he would be leaving. She held her doll close and cried into her pillow. When her body won and she succumbed to slumber, her dreams were filled with Killian. His intense blue eyes, his mesmerizing smile, and the feeling of his hand cupping her face in is calloused hands.
When the light coming through her window woke her, she jumped out of bed, grabbed the first pair of pants and shirt that she could find, slipped on her boots and ran. First, Geppetto's shop, but when she got there all she saw was the old man sanding a rocking horse.
"Where is he? Where's Killian?" she asked him franticly.
"Your highness you just missed him, hurry you can catch him before he leaves." He said with a wave of his hand towards the dock. She didn't wait for him to finish, taking off at a dead run she headed towards the docks where she could see the waiting ship. As she got closer, she could see the bodies aboard and the movement of the crew. A lone figure was walking towards the ship with a bag thrown over his shoulder.
"Killian!" she screamed, praying he would hear her. He stopped and turned around to see her running to him, he dropped his bag and caught her as she jumped in his arms.
"I didn't think I'd get to say goodbye." She said, very much out of breath.
"Oh your highness, I wouldn't leave without a proper goodbye." He said setting her down and placing a fallen piece of hair behind her ear, "it may seem like a long time, but it will pass. I'll be back before you've realized I'm gone."
"If anything happens to you, Killian…." She said not knowing how to finish. What would she do if something happened? She didn't even know.
"Emma, if there's one thing I'm good at, it's surviving." And he kissed her. Though not as demanding as their first kiss, it was bliss. He called me Emma. She thought as he pulled away, "Write to me." He said as he walked away, boarding the ship to take him away from her, but towards what he had always wanted.
"Come back to me." She said to the air where he once stood.
AN: So Killain is gone:( this was the sad part I was talking about. Im posting this late and I'm exhausted, so proof reading was a struggle. Review and let me know if you like the direction I'm taking or if you have any questions! Big thank you to all who have favorited the story or myself, or if you have reviewed or followed the story! Hope you all like this so far, I know I do.
