a/n: A note on geography — OUAT canon says that the Enchanted Forest is a two week journey from Arendelle / the Southern Isles, but that hadn't happened yet when I wrote the original one-shot so I decided to stick with my au canon as opposed to changing it. Therefore it takes 6-7 weeks by sea to travel from the Southern Isles to the Enchanted Forest (think something like a cross-ocean journey). Furthermore, Snow & Charming's (still unnamed) kingdom is just one of several small kingdoms within the Enchanted Forest (together with Cinderella's, Midas's, Prince Eric's, etc.) Likewise, I decided that the Southern Isles, together with Arendelle and the other geographically named island kingdoms are part of an area called "Futhark." Futhark is the name of the runic system OUAT has been bastardizing for stuff like the Snow Queen's prophecy and the carvings on the urn so I figure it's at least plausible as possible canon. Wow, that got really long, but hopefully I helped to make the geography a little clearer. Onto the chapter!
The clouds had cleared overnight and bright morning sunlight glinted off the water in the harbour. Killian stood on the quarterdeck of the Jewel of the Realm together with his brother, their combined officer corps, and Prince Hans Westergaard waiting for the royal cavalcade to finish making its way from the castle down to the docks. The king and his daughter would normally have been received onboard the grander Nautica, but the berths were too shallow for the great ship to moor at the dock.
Killian studied the prince's profile from his post. He still wasn't sure what to think of King Anders' youngest son, despite it not being the first time that the prince had come aboard the Jewel. Prince Hans was by most accounts a well-respected man of about Killian's age and a competent naval officer — even if his commission had never taken him as far afield as the Enchanted Forest.
It mattered more to him what Emma thought of the man. She'd been annoyed yet unconcerned the previous night but there was always the chance that might change. While they had spoken of plans for the future, his princess was also adamant that he not make his decision to stay official until some unspecified later date. It left him in an uncomfortable sort of limbo — sure of the feelings that they had for each other yet also fearful of her choosing a man more suited to one day serve as consort.
For his part, Prince Hans seemed determined that the princess think well of him. Liam said he'd been peppered with questions on the voyage over in a determined attempt by the prince to gain insight into Emma and her family. His brother was clearly a better man than he was; Killian would have been tempted to deliberately sabotage the prince's efforts, good form be damned. Liam, apparently, had simply claimed to know little about the crown princess apart from the fact that she was a lovely and charming young lady.
He wasn't wrong. Princess Emma was both lovely and charming; she smelled of lavender and roses and her kisses were sweeter than any ambrosia of the gods.
Finally, the royal party came into view — six mounted knights leading the way and another half dozen bringing up the rear behind Emma and her father. As they got closer, he could see that she wore dark breeches and a richly embroidered riding jacket with slits up the back that fanned out behind her as she rode astride. Her hair was braided in a golden crown around her head and she looked every inch the regal princess. Straightening, Killian scanned the sideboys and the line of receiving officers, running over the protocol again in his head.
The knights all came to a stop and dismounted in one synchronized movement. King James offered his daughter a hand, and together they walked past the knights to the base of the gangplank. Navy protocol prescribed a seven-gun salute for all visiting monarchs with a trumpet greeting immediately following. The king and his daughter waited on the dock as all sailors stood to attention and the starboard cannons discharged blanks.
As the trumpet began to sound out across the harbour, Emma and her father boarded the Jewel of the Realm. For the first time it struck him how hard it must be for some to see her as anything but a princess. Killian was fortunate enough to have seen her both at home in the castle and outside the strictures of royal life, but never before had he seen her performing her royal duties. She was the absolute picture of poise and elegance, smiling at each sailor she passed, her hand resting on her father's arm. His heart leapt in his chest just seeing her again and he wondered if this could be a glimpse into their future. If he stayed in the Enchanted Forest to court her, would she come down to the docks to welcome him home?
Killian bowed along with Liam and the prince as both royals came to a stop in front of them.
"Presenting His Majesty King James and Her Highness Princess Emma," the boatswain called out behind him.
Prince Hans stepped forward. "Your Majesty, allow me to welcome you aboard the Jewel of the Realm. I am Prince Hans Westergaard of the Southern Isles. I believe you are already acquainted with the Captains Jones."
"Well met, Prince Hans. Our kingdom is honoured to receive you, your captains, and their crews as both friends and allies."
"The honour is ours," Liam replied, though the prince was already moving on to Emma.
"Princess, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. Rumours do not do justice to your beauty."
She curtsied politely while he lifted her gloved hand to his lips. "Would that I had known you were coming, Prince Hans, that I might reply with some flattery of my own. I will have to inform the rumour mill at court that they have been found lacking."
The prince gave a fawning smile. "My decision to attend the treaty signing may have been last minute, but it is my sincere hope that this venture allows you and I the opportunity to forge a bond as strong as that which now exists between our two kingdoms."
Emma's eyes flashed wide before she quickly fixed her face back into a collected mask. "While I'm certain that would be lovely," she said, extracting her hand from his, "My parents have charged me with overseeing the naval activities related to the treaty signing and I intend to be very involved. In all matters."
He couldn't see the prince's face, but Killian noticed a moment of hesitation before he spoke again. "I would expect nothing less from the heir to such fine rulers. As an admiral, I look forward to showing you all that our ships have to offer."
Killian gave a small, encouraging smile as her eyes met his for a moment. Prince Hans would not make this visit easy on either of them, but while he merely had to watch the attempted courtship Emma would have to remain carefully neutral to his advances until their ships left on the return voyage. Prince Hans could make their lives difficult in any number of ways if he suspected that one of his own captains was competition for Emma's heart. He might strip both he and Liam of their rank, or refuse to sign the treaty, or —
"There is a ball at the castle tonight," Emma said, skipping over the prince's last remark and drawing Killian from his nightmare scenarios, "I hope that you and all of your officers will attend as our guests of honour."
"We would not miss it, my lady."
The king stepped closer, reasserting his position next to his daughter and offering her his arm. "Most excellent. Once again, we bid you welcome to the Enchanted Forest."
King James inclined his head, and all aboard the Jewel bowed once more. Emma shot him a smile over her shoulder as she turned to leave and Killian watched her mount her horse, reminding himself that it would not be another seventeen months before he saw her again.
It made no difference. He missed her anyway as soon as she was gone.
Emma sucked in a breath as Madelyn, one of her ladies, tugged and pulled at the corset, tightening it even further. Guests for the ball had been arriving for the past half hour or so, and she was anxious to finish dressing so that she could join her parents and get her little speech over with.
A year and a half ago, before the ball celebrating her 21st birthday, she had been giddy and distracted while getting ready, already thinking ahead to when she might sneak out and meet Killian again. She hadn't known at the time that he would be attending the ball, nor that he would recognize her from the night before, and she had wound up spending most of her birthday avoiding him. Now, months later, Emma knew that she'd be trying to avoid everyone else.
Stepping into her dress with its layers upon layers of tulle, she slid her arms into the sleeves and stood tall while the buttons were carefully done up the back for her. She had chosen this gown months ago — bright crimson with a full skirt and long sleeves to ward off the early spring chill. Her mother had questioned why she was so worried about being cold in a ballroom full of people and Emma had made up some excuse, not admitting that she entertained thoughts of being a horrible host and sneaking off into the gardens during the night.
Gods knew she would need the break from Prince Hans and his attentions. He was handsome enough, to be sure, but there was something that felt off about him. He had been unnervingly direct regarding his intentions and while his charm was well-practiced it felt lacking in sincerity. In any case, it wasn't him she'd been waiting seventeen months to see. Sooner rather than later she would have to speak with Killian about his decision to stay in the Enchanted Forest, but for tonight she just wanted to dance. She'd dance every song with him if she thought for half a second that she could get away with it.
There was a knock at the door and Madelyn opened it to let in her mother, dressed in a cream-coloured gown structured similarly to her own but with vines and leaves in sage green embroidery winding their way all through the skirt. Emma smiled and reached out to take the queen's hand.
"You look beautiful, Mother. As always."
"As do you, my darling. You will shine brighter than any other lady in attendance tonight."
"I'm not exactly trying to blend in," she laughed.
Her mother gave a reluctant smile. "Prince Hans has asked your father for your first dance."
Emma sighed and suppressed an eye-roll. "I thought that he might."
"Be careful with him, Emma. It wouldn't do to insult him mere days before the treaty signing."
"I intend to be perfectly courteous with Prince Hans, but he will fare no better than any other suitor has."
"Not even your young captain?"
They had spoken of Killian a few times, and while she understood her mother's worry, Emma refused to let her heart stay frozen any longer. She'd lived paralyzed by fear for years. It was time to try something new.
Emma pressed her lips together to hide the smile that seemed to come whenever she thought of Killian. "We should go," she said, linking arms with her mother and leading them towards the door. "It wouldn't do to keep our guests waiting."
The queen hummed in agreement and made no comment about the change in subject. Their guests were all gathered in the main gallery and her father stood waiting for them near the top of the grand staircase. He kissed her cheek, murmuring compliments in her ear and as he turned to greet her mother Emma took the opportunity to peek out and scan the faces of the lords and ladies gathered below.
The herald sounded his trumpet and at once the guests' chattering stopped. She finally spotted Killian standing with his brother and their lieutenants close to the stairs and smiled as his eyes met hers. As she'd hoped, he was wearing his blue dress uniform — just like he had the night of her birthday. She kept her eyes on him as she trailed her parents down the stairs, letting herself pretend that it was just the two of them and the rest of the world didn't matter.
Her parents moved to stand beside the banister, and Emma stopped with a few steps still to go, taking as deep a breath as she could manage in her corset. "On behalf of my parents, it is my honour and great pleasure to welcome each of you here this evening. Tonight we celebrate two kingdoms coming together and solidifying their bond of friendship. May this be only the start of brighter things for not only our two nations, but for all of the kingdoms in the Enchanted Forest and the Futhark Archipelago."
There was polite applause and as Emma descended the last of the steps, Prince Hans came forward and bowed. Unlike the rest of the Southern Isles guests, he wore the navy's white formal uniform with a red sash to mark his distinct status.
"It would be my honour to lead you in the first dance, my lady."
Of course it would, she thought. But she curtsied formally and put on a practiced smile, accepting his proffered arm and trailing just behind her parents as they led the rest of the guests into the ballroom.
She was stunning. He'd known she would be — she always was — but seeing her come down the stairs in her red ball gown had momentarily stripped him of the ability to breathe. If he had one regret from his first visit to the Enchanted Forest, it was how poorly he had reacted to discovering the woman he'd met at The Unlucky Oyster had in fact been the crown princess. Her birthday ball had been an unmitigated disaster and as soon as he'd heard there would be another one to welcome the officers and celebrate the new treaty he'd thought of it as his second chance to sweep her off her feet. All his life, the only place he'd felt he belonged was out on the sea. This was his chance to prove otherwise, to prove that he could belong in her world as well.
Killian's heart swelled in his chest as she addressed the invited guests with both clarity and poise, clearly already a practiced speaker. It took a nudge from Liam to get his feet moving as Emma linked her arm with Prince Hans and led the way into the ballroom. They followed along behind the royals and lined the dance floor to watch as Emma and the prince danced alongside the king and queen.
This was her work, he reminded himself, and he could not simply wait around for her to have time for him. Emma would tell him that he had nothing to prove to anyone, and maybe he didn't have to prove anything to her, but he did have to prove to himself that he could hold his own at such events and mingle with the nobles and diplomats. His eyes drifted over to her parents as they danced, seemingly blissfully unaware of everyone else in the ballroom. Perhaps he had something to prove to them as well. King James seemed to like him well enough, but he'd always gotten the impression he still had to win over the ebony-haired queen.
"I hope you're not entertaining any thoughts of bad form tonight, little brother," Liam said, drawing him from his contemplation. "The princess cannot afford to spend the entire evening with you."
"Trust me, I know," he gritted out, clenching his jaw as Emma smiled at something Prince Hans had said.
The first song ended and as the royals were joined on the dance floor by other lords and ladies Killian chose to step away. He may have resolved to mingle and dance with the other guests, but that didn't mean he couldn't indulge in a drink first.
The evening passed slowly. At each moment he was aware of where Emma was in the ballroom, of who she was dancing with or speaking to. It was as though he were trapped in an exceedingly long dance of his own, one where he followed along behind her at each step of the way — speaking to lords or dancing with ladies after she had moved on to the next group of guests.
A servant passed by with a tray of drinks and he took one eagerly. The dwarf he'd been speaking to had fallen asleep so he made his way around the edge of the dance floor towards the intricate stained glass windows, watching as Liam bowed to the princess and led her in a minuet.
"How are you enjoying the ball, Captain Jones?"
The queen's voice behind him nearly startled Killian out of his skin. "It's a beautiful party, Your Majesty," he answered, turning to face her and giving a polite bow.
"And did you enjoy your first night back on shore as well? I hear the musicians at The Unlucky Oyster are very popular with the local clientele."
Killian coughed and attempted to regain his composure by consuming a large portion of his drink. The queen raised an eyebrow, taking his measure the longer she waited for his response. Wonderful. He'd barely said anything and had already made a fool of himself. He had to try and turn the conversation if there was any hope of salvaging the situation.
"It would have been lovelier had you been able to join us, Your Majesty. Although I think my brother was quite pleased by your choice of proxy."
Queen Snow White gave a half-smile and plucked the fluted glass from his grasp, handing it off to a passing server. "Will you ask me to dance, Captain?"
He took a deep breath and bowed again, grateful that his gloves would hide any nervousness apparent on his palms. "Would you like to dance, Your Majesty?"