A/N: Princess & Protector AU (I really wouldn't mind working in normal Princess & Protector verse, but whatever). Follow up to the previous Princess & Protector AU piece, prompted by skagengiirl: Emma and Graham on their way to talk to Snow and Charming and then the actual talk with them.
She is nervous as she heads to the castle, Graham at her side. The guards cast them strange looks but she is the princess and she knows how to carry herself to go unquestioned.
She worries, though. He is free, a wild thing, and if her parents allow what they want, for them to be together, then he will be caged here. It is a life he's never known, and she has to wonder if he can adjust and not be miserable. He has been nothing if not reassuring - insisting that they will find their way no matter what happens now, so long as they have each other. But that doesn't mean she won't fret.
She takes his hand, pushing open the door to her father's study, where her parents are planning out the ball.
"Emma, there you are," her mother speaks without looking up from the list of possible dishes - at least at first. After a moment, though, she does, and her brow furrows in confusion.
"Who's this?" she asks, and that is when her father looks up.
"You- You asked me to choose a suitor," she starts, hesitantly, "This- This is Graham. And he is my choice."
"Emma-" her father's voice is stern as he starts to speak and she expects him to chastise her, "I am not arguing your choice- But I do wonder at the fact you have chosen someone your mother and I do not know."
"What your father means, dear, is to ask how you two know each other." Emma knows full well this is not what her father means - if he had wanted to ask the question he would have asked the question.
"We met eleven summers ago," Graham speaks up, with a squeeze of her hand, "Your Majesty." The title is added as almost an afterthought. He did only learn of her true status this very day, so she cannot blame him for forgetting.
"I- I've been sneaking to the forest for years now," she admits, an addition to his statement.
"The forest?" her father raises an eyebrow, eyes flicking over Graham's form - tall, lean, powerful, dressed in leathers and furs, "You're a huntsman, boy?"
"Yes, sir- Erm, Your Majesty."
"Do your parents know about- Your coming here?" her mother asks. He tenses next to her and she grips his arm gently.
"Graham doesn't have parents," she answers for him.
"An orphan?" her mother questions, sympathy in her tone and pity in her eyes. She did lose her own parents young.
"A wilding," Graham corrects, casting his eyes to the floor in an expression that looks to Emma like shame. She reaches up, resting her hand on his cheek, his scruff tickling her palm. She knows it is a sore spot with him, and she is offering comfort the best way she knows how, he reacts best to touch and more physical comfort, he always has.
Her parents exchange a look, a wordless conversation like they have always been so good at.
"You love him?" her mother asks.
"Yes. So much."
"And you, boy," her father looks to Graham again, "You love Emma?"
"More than anything, your majesty."
"If you marry her, your life will change incredibly," her father warns, "You'll have as much help with the transition as we can give you, but being a huntsman and being a royal consort- Those are very different lives."
"I know. But I am willing to be whatever Emma needs me to be. Or- I am willing to try. For her."
"Emma-" her mother speaks again, "What happens if we say no? Would you choose a prince instead?"
She hesitates to answer, not because she does not know, but because their saying no is her greatest fear in this moment.
"No," she says firmly, "I would not choose a prince. I would- I would run. To be with him."
"You love him that much? You would give up everything for him?" her father's tone has softened and he looks at her with what seems to be sympathy.
"In an instant."
"Now, Emma, have you thought this through?" her mother asks the question, and she gets the feeling this is more about testing her commitment than anything else, "If you were to run... To cut yourself off... Love can easily turn to hate when you have nothing."
Graham tenses even further, at her side, growling lowly. She knows her mother has hit another sore spot. She's gone out to see him many times only to find him bloody and bruised because the other huntsmen like to pick fights with him over his status, the fact he's a wilding with no home but the woods and no family but the wolves.
"I don't have much, it's true," he states, "But I have a way to make a living and take care of us, if it came down to it."
"I could never hate Graham," she shakes her head, "Only a life without him. And mother- You know me. You know that I've never liked this life anyway. What would I be giving up, save for a cage I cannot stand?"
"You would turn your back on the people you are destined to lead?"
"If it was my only option, yes."
Her mother looks horrified by this statement, but her father is smiling fondly, almost proudly, and she wonders at this difference in their expressions.
"I would rather not, of course," she clarifies. Putting her people first- It's what she's been raised to do, and- She does want to, not being able to is the one regret she would have if they wound up running.
"Emma-" her mother starts to speak again, but cuts herself off with a sigh.
"You're both willing to give up the only lives you've ever known for each other," her father states slowly, "In order to be together. But if being apart was the only way to keep each other safe, would you be able to do that? Emma, if Regina was to take him captive and say that if you didn't go into exile, she would kill him- Would you be willing to be apart from him for his own good?"
She knows why he asks this, knowing her parents' story and the things that happened to them; the enchantment against the Evil Queen, who still looms on the horizon, only protects their direct bloodline and therefore- Graham would be in danger if the wicked woman were to decide to attack.
"If I could be assured that she would keep her word -" something she doubted very much she could be - "Then yes. I would be miserable, but yes. I would put his life above my happiness."
"And you, Graham? Regina cannot harm Emma, but others can. If someone were to threaten to hurt or kill her if you did not leave - would you?"
"Assuming that killing whoever threatened her was not an option, then yes, if I had to."
Her parents share another of their wordless looks. She is nervous, and clings closer to Graham. He, in turn, wraps his arms around her, lips brushing lightly over her temple.
Moments later, her parents turn back to them.
"Welcome to the family, Graham," her mother smiles, though it does not truly look like she's happy. But Emma knows that's more about the ball and all the now-useless preparations they've made and the soon-to-be-disappointed suitors they'll have to inform that she is no longer un-betrothed than it is about who she has chosen.
"And don't worry," her father's smile is brighter - but though he was generally overprotective, her father was also the one who'd always been more open about the possibility that her True Love might not be a royal, "You're not the first one in this family to come from the people. I grew up a shepherd. You will have help with the transition."
She crosses the room quickly, hugging her parents happily.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!" she exclaims, tears of joy forming in her eyes.
"We always hoped you would marry for love, sweetie," her mother has tears in her eyes as well.
She stays in her parents' embrace a moment longer before returning to Graham, wrapping her arms around him and leaning in to kiss him. He returns it with passion, callused fingertips caressing her cheeks gently as they revel in this moment.
"I told you, Emma, I told you that they would allow for your happiness," he whispers as they part. She has never been happier to hear "I told you so" in her life.
"You did," she agrees. She rests her head on his shoulder. They still have a long way to go before their happily ever after - but at least they are getting off to a bright start.