So I finally figured out how to connect the last chapter with the next one (Which is already almost completely written) which I have been looking forward to for quite some time as it introduces one of my favorite and a very important character. I also got some good insight into this story and am pretty much set in where I'm going to take it and what's happening when (I idea vague idea before but now its pretty concrete and I'm super excited about it!)
"Where are we going?" Alex hurried to catch up with Emma.
"Sh." Emma put her finger to her lips. She tucked her hair further under her hood. She glanced over, making sure Alexandra's hair was equally as well hidden. She motioned gate in the side of the castle wall... "This way."
"Out of the castle I take it." Alex muttered.
"We're going to town." Emma explained as she opened the door.
"Town?!" Alex's eyes grew wide.
"Sh." Emma hushed her again. "Yes, that would be what I said."
"But…" Alex looked shocked. "Without guards?"
"That is the idea." Emma nodded.
"I can't believe your parents are ok with this" Alex shook her head.
"They're probably not but they don't really have a say in." Emma shrugged.
"Running off without permission." Alex laughed. "There's a shocker."
"Did I break the rules a lot as a child?" Emma inquired.
"All the time." Alex grinned. "Well… sort of. You actually followed rules exceptionally well and hated getting in trouble. It was the unspoken rules you broke. You liked to test the boundaries. If a rule wasn't there, even if it was kind of obvious, you didn't hesitate to break it. You liked living on the edge, which terrified your parents."
"Sounds about the same as now." Emma laughed.
Alex looked at Emma suddenly. "Wait, what do you mean they don't have much of a say?"
"It's part of our agreement." Emma explained. "I'm allowed to come and go as I please."
"What?" Alex's mouth dropped open. "I can't believe your parents would ever agree to that. They were always very protective of you."
"Well I'm pretty capable of protecting myself now." Emma shrugged. "Plus they don't really have the authority to make rules in my life. I didn't grow up here. I never lived by their rules. At least not that I can remember. I'm used to being fairly independent."
"And how do your parents feel about that?" Alex asked carefully.
"Probably not happy." Emma admitted. "But it's the only way they could think to get me to stay. That's why they don't impose rules as much. They know I could leave at any time."
"Would you really do that?" Alex inquired.
"I don't know." Emma shrugged. "I mean I grew up somewhere else, someplace I always thought of as my home."
Alex paused before asking her next question. "Are you going to go back?"
"I…" Emma sighed. "I still haven't figured that out. I'm living in a sort of limbo right now."
"Is it really so much better than having a family?" Alex asked.
"I had a life of adventure." Emma looked at Alex. "I learned exciting things and visited exciting places and they trusted me to do all of these incredible things. And I trained, and yes it was regimented at times, but I had a life to look forward to that involved something other than sitting on a throne in a castle with guards."
"I get it." Alex said gently. "I really do. I hear tales of our parents adventures before all of this happened. Before we happened. And people tell me how lucky I am to grow up in a time of peace where I don't have to struggle for anything. Where I am loved and safe. But that's all I am, safe. I want their life, their adventures. But they'd never let me have it."
"Because they want to protect you." Emma finished.
"Because the love me." Alex looked at Emma. "Tell me. Besides all this adventure and excitement… did you have love?"
Emma paused, not knowing how to answer. "I had people who cared very deeply for me, who were invested in my well-being. I was always safe and cared for. I had my friends and I guess you kind of love your friends right? We were each other's family. And there was this woman who was assigned to our year and a few other years. She took care of us, watched over us, made sure we were happy and safe and… well I think she loved us. Juliana was the closest thing I had to a mother growing up. Maybe Serafine but she… well I think she loved me she just didn't really show it in the comforting way."
Alex regarded her friend carefully before speaking. "It's hard to chose between two worlds that are so vastly different but you care about so much."
"Yea." Emma said quietly.
"Well lets not think about that." Alex looped her arm through Emma's. "Why don't we go have some fun in the town."
"I'm glad you're on board." Emma smiled. "And I'm very glad you chose to ditch the gowns for trousers and a tunic."
"It's actually quite freeing." Alex grinned as pulled off her hood now that they were out of site of the castle. "I see why you like them so much. Much better for movement."
"You can't exactly fight in a dress." Emma agreed. "Or hide your identity."
"You're sure the people in the town won't recognize you?" Alex clarified.
"They've never seen princess Emma." Emma grinned. "To them she's just some enigma in the castle that they like to gossip about and make up stories of who she is, where's she's been, what she's like. They're quite entertaining really. They might even be insulting if I wasn't so comfortable with who I am."
"What do they say?" Alex laughed.
"Oh they're so outrageous it's hard to know where to start." Emma shook her head. "Some say I'm crazy, some say I never left, others say I'm held against my will by parents because they think I've been brainwashed. Oh some say I'm disfigured because of the years of torture I endured at the hands of my parents enemies and they don't want me to leave the castle and be judged by the masses after being such a beautiful child."
"Well I didn't want to say anything but you did grow up to be rather unfortunate looking after having such beautiful genes given to you." Alex teased. "And you had such potential."
"Shut up." Emma laughed. "Anyway how do I know they won't recognize you? The beloved Princess Alexandra from the northern kingdom."
"Oh there's a decent chance they'll recognize me." Alex said slowly. "But we have the fact that I'm not in a dress working in our favor. That's something they haven't seen before."
"That's why you need to keep this on." Emma tugged Alex's hood over her head. "At least your hair's pulled back so they might not recognize you at first glance."
"So what's your grand plan for the afternoon?" Alex asked.
"I thought we'd explore the town." Emma shrugged. "I have only had a few chances to do that and I know we won't be able to truly experience it if they know who we are."
"So you want to see the good, the bad, and the ugly?" Alex mused. "The nice vendors, the corrupt ones, the assholes?"
"Pretty much." Emma nodded with a smile. She glanced at Alex and noticed the nerves on her face. "What? Are you nervous about shadowy side of Dewar, the black market."
"A little." Alex admitted. "Aren't you?"
"I'm not afraid any shady shopkeepers." Emma said confidently. "I've dealt with far worse. If I can't handle a dirty business man I deserve to be swindled out of my money."
"You've faced some pretty dangerous situations haven't you?" Alex asked tepidly.
"You could say that." Emma nodded. "You'd probably rather not hear about it thought. Trust me. Its not because you would find it boring… it's just." Emma looked at Alex carefully. "You know your parents are right about some things. As frustrating as it is to be protected they are right about one thing, there is a line you can cross that you can't come back from. And there are things that you can't unhear."
"You've done bad things." Alex said simply.
"Yea." Emma admitted.
"How bad?" Alex asked quietly.
"Without context?" Emma looked up. "Some might say unforgivable."
"You've taken lives." Alex wasn't asking a question.
"They were almost all very bad people." Emma couldn't meet Alex's eyes. "But even terrible people have families, loved ones. You hurt the innocent even when you don't mean to. It's sometimes hard to convince yourself you're saving lives by taking them. "
"So how do you?" Alex asked.
"You learn to shut on and off the part of you that feels." Emma said simply. "Because it changes you to kill."
"Have you ever…" Alex took a deep breath. "Used magic to kill?"
"No." Emma shook her head. "Never. Using your magic for something like that… it darkens it, forever. It darkens your soul. Serafine would never allow us to ruin our magic like that."
"But doesn't killing darken you as well?" Alex asked.
"It's different." Emma explained. "Your father has taken lives, does that make him corrupt?"
"No." Alex shook her head quickly. "He does it on the battle field, to protect people."
"So do I." Emma explained. "We're just an army for hire. Sometimes assassins for hire, but we only take the jobs that protect those who cannot protect themselves. We try to make all the worlds a better place."
"But you don't know if you believe that." Alex caught on.
"I believe our intentions are noble for the time being." Emma said. "But I also know that humans are vulnerable to corruption. Not everyone will succumb to it but as I've grown older and seen corrupt societies, the fear that someone in Altair may start taking jobs to line their pockets instead of to protect people haunts me."
"You can't live in fear of the future." Alex pointed out.
"But to ignore potential danger is foolish." Emma countered. "You have a point though. There is no point in distrusting a home that has not betrayed me."
"Maybe they really are different." Alex suggested.
"Maybe." Emma agreed.
"Well, lets not talk about that." Alex squeezed Emma's hand as the entered the edge of town. "We came here to have fun so… lets have it. So, what dark things are we going to be purchasing today?"
"Spices." Emma laughed.
"Spices?" Alex looked confused. "Can't we just go to the regular shops for those?"
"Not what we're looking for." Emma shook her head. "These come from other realms and to get them requires magic and magic isn't exactly allowed here…"
"So that's why they're on the black market." Alex nodded in understanding.
"Exactly." Emma smiled. "The dark market here in Dewar isn't as dark as other lands. Though you can find some pretty shady stuff if you look hard enough."
"I vote we don't." Alex said seriously.
"Ok." Emma laughed, pulling Alex down an alley. "Come on."
"What exactly are you looking for?" Alex raised an eyebrow. Emma handed her the list she had brought with her, which Alex carefully examined. "Em what is most of this stuff?"
"Stuff I've found on my travels and absolutely fallen in love with." Emma explained. "I think the cooks here could really benefit from some of it. Others are just for me."
"Yea but I haven't even heard of most of this. I'm not even sure if I can pronounce some of this.. galang… galangal… whatever." Alex shook her head. "Hibiscus powder?"
"Tea." Emma answered. "Really, really good tea. We can have some tonight."
"Cilantro?" Alex asked.
Emma grinned. "One of the most potent, but best tasting herbs ever. If you can get it fresh it is maybe one of the best things I've ever tasted."
"Cinnamon?" Alex looked at Emma.
Emma's mouth dropped. "You don't know what cinnamon is?"
"No." Alex shook her head.
"You have not lived." Emma directed Alex into a dark doorway.
Alex pushed her hood off and looked around the dimly lit store. Taking in all the odd things on the shelves. "This place is creepy."
"It has… charm." Emma shrugged. Stores like this didn't scare her, she had been in far stranger. "Hello?"
"I'm coming." A gruff response came. The man stopped short when he came out of the back room and saw the two girls standing there. "If you young ladies are lost you best get going. This is not the part of town you want to be in."
"We're not lost." Emma assured him.
"Sure you aren't." The man shook his head.
"I'm looking for a few things that I heard you might be of use helping me to obtain." Emma walked to the counter. "They aren't exactly things you could find in the typical shop."
"Look girly I don't know who put you up to this but we don't do none of that stuff around here." The shopkeeper shook his head. "Now run off back to your rich father or estate or wherever the two of you came from."
"This isn't a joke." Emma said firmly, she was used to shopkeepers not believing someone like her would be looking for something that wasn't legally sold. "I know what I want and I know where to get it. Believe me, if I wanted to get you in trouble there are about fifteen things on your shelves right now that are not native to this land. I've dealt with shopkeepers far seedier than you and have been just fine. All I'm looking for is what's on this list and I know you can get it for me. Now I suggest you do so before I decide I do want to turn you in." The shopkeeper regarded her carefully, not taking the list. "Let me make something perfectly clear. I get what I want, now get me what's on this list."
The shopkeeper reluctantly took the parchment, glancing down at it. "It will take me a moment to gather all of this."
"I understand." Emma nodded curtly as he disappeared in the back.
"Wow." Alex said in awe as Emma turned to her. "That was… you intimidated me."
"I know how to get what I want." Emma shrugged simply, perusing the shelves. "See anything in here that interests you?"
"I don't know." Alex looked around. "Half of this stuff scares me."
"Because it's illegal?" Emma asked. "Please Alex, this is a relatively safe black market shop. The things in here aren't dangerous for the most part. It's just all stuff from other realms. I bet you could find some pretty cool stuff if you looked around."
"Ok." Alex said reluctantly, turning a more discerning eye to the shelves. Emma herself examined them, seeing if there way anything that interested her.
"See anything you like?" The shopkeeper called as he walked out, seeing Alex fingering a delicate gold ring.
"This is beautiful." Alex whispered, holding out the ring for Emma to sing. A soft pink stone was set into the rose gold ring.
"Morganite." The shopkeeper nodded. "It belongs to the same family as an emerald."
"I thought emeralds were green." Alex asked.
"Typically." Emma spoke up. "But the range of gemstone types and colors is endless."
"How do you know?" Alex asked.
"There's this island that has thousands of gemstone mines." Emma said nostalgically. "They're fabulously wealthy, all the inhabitants, but especially those who own the land that the mines are in. You can visit and there are loose stones of every color and cut and size and it's incredible. It's one of my favorite places in all the realms."
"Do you want it or not girl?" The shopkeeper asked.
Alex paused, looking at Emma nervously. "It's fine." Emma assured her. "You can tell them you found it at some shop in town. They'll never know."
"Ok." Alex nodded. "I want it."
The shopkeeper looked at her carefully before naming his price. "Twelve gold opes."
"Twelve?" Alex looked surprised.
"That's a good price." Emma spoke up. "For an object that's not legal and not from this land, it's fair, and you can afford it."
"Ok." Alex sighed, reaching into the pouch at her waist.
"See anything you want?" The man looked at Emma.
"I did see some high quality arrows over there." Emma admitted. "They looked like they may be from Alderwood?"
"Oh you have a keen eye." The shopkeeper smiled. "Would you like them.
"I'll take three." Emma said decisively. "And two of the Rowan ones."
"I'll wrap those right up for you." The shopkeeper seemed to be warming to Emma's knowledge of artifacts of other realms.
"Does arrow wood really matter?" Alex added.
"Very much." Emma nodded. "The flexibility and strength of an arrow can determine flight time, penetration, and how you string the bow."
"You're nuts." Alex shook her head. "My father would love if I knew as much as you."
"It's something you pick up with time." Emma laughed.
"Before I give you your total will this be it?" The shopkeeper asked.
"Can I get that Elraunian dagger?" Emma caved. "My little brother will love it."
"That is quite a nice dagger for a boy." The shopkeeper mused.
"Yea well my current dagger is Valyrian so…" Emma trailed off as the shopkeeper shot her an astounded look.
"Valryian." He repeated, making sure he had heard her right.
"Yea." Emma nodded. "Cost me a lot but it was worth it."
"Wow." The shopkeeper shook his head. "I've only ever heard tales of that steel. Do you mind if I see one?"
"I don't have it on me." Emma admitted. Seeing the shopkeepers disappointed look she reached down and pulled her blade from her boot. "But I happen to have a gaulranian dagger."
"How did you get this?" The shopkeeper gasped as he reverently took the blade.
"Stole it." Emma shrugged. "Won it, escaped with it. It's all how you spin the story."
"This is magnificent." The shopkeeper handed it back.
"Thank." Emma grinned. "Now before you quote me a price on this how about I show you what I have to offer."
"And what is that?" The shopkeeper looked interested.
Emma reached into her satchel and pulled out her leather pouch, showing the vials to the shopkeeper. "See anything you like."
"Many things." The shopkeeper marveled.
"Be careful with what you ask for." Emma warned. "I'm an experienced trader and know what all of these are worth. I collected them myself. I'll take into account that these items are not legal here and that they had to be imported but don't overquote me."
"I won't." The shopkeeper promised, entranced by the many vials filled with all different things.
"What are those?" Alex asked.
"A lot of different things." Emma explained. "Elixers, hair of rare animals, feathers, blood, dragon tears, other things."
"Wow." Alex gasped.
"This." The shopkeeper held out a vial to Emma who nodded.
"That is a more than fair trade." Emma agreed. She pulled out a smaller vial. "Take this for your generosity."
"Thank you." The shopkeeper took the vial and cradled it in his hand. "Please, do business with me anytime."
"I will." Emma promised as she put her purchases in her satchel and the arrows in her quiver. "Come on Alex."
"Thank you for the ring." Alex smiled before following Emma out the door. When they were clear of the alley Alex looked at Emma in awe. "You are the most amazing person I have ever met."
"Thank you." Emma said.
"No seriously." Alex shook her head. "That was thrilling for me and I bet it was just a normal trade for you but… where did you get all that stuff."
"Adventures." Emma said simply. "Some simple, some not, but all great memories."
"I wish my life was like yours." Alex sighed. "That was fun though. Really fun. And this is pretty right?" She held up her hand to let the sun sparkle on the pink stone."
"Yes and when your parents ask you where its from…" Emma prompted.
"It's from some small shop in town." Alex cut her off. "The shopkeeper was a bit odd but warmed once you got to know him."
"Nice." Emma seemed impressed.
"I can lie Emma." Alex pulled the cloak over her head so she wouldn't be recognized. "I was always better at it than you were."
Emma looked doubtful, "Really?"
"Don't look so surprised." Alex pretended to be offended.
"Was at least a decent liar?" Emma asked.
"God no, you couldn't tell a lie to your parents to save your life." Alex laughed. "You worshiped them far too much. To others, you could get away with little lies or tricks but when it came to your parents… you would break down in tears before you could lie. It always had to be me. You were a strange mix of a goody-goody and a rule bender."
"Wow." Emma said softly.
"I'm sorry." Alex bit her lip. "I know I'm not supposed to be talking about the past."
"It's ok." Emma assured her. "It's fine. I'm just surprised that's all."
"Are you a good liar now?" Alex asked.
"Well you kind of have to be when you travel to other lands that aren't always friendly to magic." Emma pointed out.
"Right." Alex nodded her head as she remembered.
"You learn to become different people." Emma shrugged.
"What I'd give to be someone else sometimes." Alex sighed.
"Sometimes its nice to just be yourself." Emma saw a couple of teenage boys eyeing the two of them carefully. She reached up and tugged Alex's hood off. "Like now."
"What the…" Alex shot a bewildered look to Emma.
Emma projected her voice. "Princess Alexandra it's been so nice spending the afternoon with you."
"Oh you're so dead." Alex glared at Emma.
"What are you going to do about it?" Emma taunted good naturedly as the townspeople began to gather, all eyes on Alex.
"How do you think they would respond if they knew they were in the presence of their princess?" Alex asked smugly.
"You wouldn't dare." Emma warned.
"Want to test me?" Alex smirked. She glanced over her shoulder, preparing to shout at the townspeople and the royal guards who were beginning to notice there was no escort for Alex.
"Ok, Ok." Emma tugged on her arm, laughing. "We'll outrun them."
"Who?" Alex asked.
"Them. Follow my lead." Emma nodded at the guards. She lowered her voice and yelled at the guards. "You'll never get your princess back." Emma grabbed Alex's arm and pulled her behind her.
"What the hell Emma?" Alex hissed, ducking around the corner after Emma as the guards began to shout and chase after them.
"We're having a little fun." Emma explained as they ran.
"By making your guards think you're kidnapping me?" Alex asked.
"You wanted adventure." Emma said simply, pulling Alex into an alley. "Keep up."
"You're insane." Alex laughed. "Here." She pointed Emma into a small hidden doorway just large enough for both girls to squeeze in undetected.
"Good call." Emma whispered.
"Believe it or not, as a princess you get good at hiding." Alex explained.
"Can you climb?" Emma asked.
"Yea." Alex nodded. "Why?"
"Cause we are." Emma pointed up and grabbed onto a window and hoisted herself up.
"You suck." Alex moaned as she followed. When she finally reached the roof she found Emma surveying the quickly gathering guards. "What if we can't get away?"
"What's the worst that can happen?" Emma didn't sound worried. "This is low risk. If they capture us, they find out its me and they just take us back to the castle where we're going anyway so… who cares."
"Valid point." Alex laughed. "I'd love to see the look on their face when they realize the girl they're so worried about kidnapping the princess from the north is their own princess."
"Yea well the goal of this particular game is to not get caught." Emma stood up and leaped to a nearby roof.
"Are you insane?" Alex looked terrified. "No, you are insane."
"It's easy." Emma promised. "You'll make it with room to spare. Unless you want to get caught."
"Literally the worst." Alex muttered but did as Emma suggested, leaping to the next roof.
"See that wasn't so hard." Emma continued to move.
"See." Alex mimicked Emma. "What are you doing?" Emma kicked a wooden panel in and dropped into the room below. "Jumping to my death. Obviously." Alex dropped down after Emma, following her down to the first floor.
"We're at the edge of town." Emma glanced out. "We're going to make a run for it. This backs up to the forest and we can make it back to the castle from there."
"Let's go then." Alex nodded. "After you princess."
Emma nodded and sprinted toward the forest with Alex on her tail. There were shouts as guards noticed them. Neither of the girls stopped running despite the guards chasing after them. With Emma's knowledge of the forest and experience outrunning tails the girls finally evaded the guards. Alex doubled over, trying to catch her breath. "You are absolutely, one hundred percent psychotic… and I love it."
"Good." Emma grinned.
"Thank you." Alex said breathily.
"For what?" Emma asked as they slipped back into the castle.
Alex stopped and looked at Emma. "For giving me a little taste of what its like to be you."
Emma pulled her hair up into a ponytail, preparing on going out for her daily run. She tucked her sleeveless tunic and slipped out of her room. She rounded the corner and stopped short. "Oh… hi."
"Emma." Snow smiled. "I was looking for you."
"You were?" Emma looked surprised. "Well, you missed the most obvious place, my room."
"I was just headed there." Snow explained.
"How may I help you?" Emma prompted.
"I was wondering if you would like to take a walk with me?" Snow looked hopeful.
"I uh… was planning on going for a run but…" Emma saw her mother's face fall. "I can put it on hold. What did you have in mind?"
"The forest?" Snow suggested.
"The forest." Emma mused. "I thought you hated it."
"And what gave you that notion?" Snow asked as they began to walk out of the castle.
"It's what a lot of people say." Emma shrugged. "Will… who I guess can't exactly be considered a reliable source."
"I can't believe you two don't think I like the forest." Snow shook her head. "I guess I haven't been able to spend as much time out here because of my duties."
"So you do like roughing it?" Emma smirked as they walked out a side exit reserved for the royal family and their friends. "Hard to believe for someone who is the picture of poise."
"I'll have you know I didn't always live in a palace." Snow said indignantly.
"Oh where?" Emma teased. "A smaller seaside estate with two servants and a butler."
"A hovel in a tree." Snow answered.
"What?" Emma sounded shocked.
"When I was on the run from my stepmother." Snow elaborated. "I made my life as a bandit."
"No morals." Emma gasped in fake shock. "How scandalous. And I'm supposed to look to you for moral guidance."
"You're really funny you know that." Snow said dryly.
"I've been told." Emma nodded. "The forest, really? How long?"
"A couple years." Snow admitted. "We don't really like to talk about it. It's not a life we wanted to encourage for Will, and you."
"Well it seems I took after you more than I thought." Emma mused. "In the running sense of things that is."
"Yea." Snow nodded. "Just in a more extreme way. So… the guards told me something interesting today."
"Oh yea?" Emma asked. "What would that be?"
"They said they saw Alex in town and were very worried." Snow shot a pointed glare at her daughter. "They seem to think she was kidnapped."
"Kidnapped." Emma looked at Snow. "Well you should probably tell her mother that a decoy is impersonating Alex in her chambers."
"Very funny." Snow said dryly.
"That's insane." Emma told Snow. "I was with her all day. Did the guards see me too?"
"No." Snow admitted.
"Then its impossible." Emma said simply. "It was probably just someone playing a prank."
"Its quite a strange prank to play on palace guards." Snow didn't sound convinced.
"I find many people to be quite strange in general." Emma answered.
"Uh huh." Snow regarded her daughter carefully, knowing she wouldn't get anything further from her. "I have something to tell you."
"You do?" Emma asked carefully.
"Ella and Thomas have to return to Erril." Snow said.
"Oh." Emma nodded slowly, not sure how she felt about their departure. She had actually grown fond of the family. Ella was one of the sweetest women she had ever encountered and Thomas was easy to get along with. He made a great sparring partner for her after he had discovered her father had not been over-exagerrating her talent. Andrew mellowed Will out and the two of them had been progressing quite nicely in their fighting under Daniel and Emma's guidance.
"While their visit has been lovely and they are dear friends and we want to see each other…" Snow started.
"They're monarchs of a different kingdom." Emma finished. "They have a duty."
"They do." Snow nodded. "But we have all discussed it and they have agreed to allow Alex to stay here for the time being"
"Really?" Emma seemed surprised.
"That is if it is what you want." Snow asked carefully.
"I mean." Emma paused, was it something she wanted? She was surprised by how close she had gotten to Alex in their short time together. While Alex may have grown up in a vastly different lifestyle than her, she was easy to get along with and there was something about her not being from Altair that made her refreshing to spend time with. Emma imagined if the two of them had grown up together they would have been the dear friends everyone described them to be. "Yea. If her parents are ok with her staying."
"Ella and Thomas figured the two of you had ten years of visits to make up for." Snow smiled.
"So things are going to get back to normal?" Emma clarified. "I mean whatever normal can be described as around here."
"Not exactly." Snow said slowly.
"For the love of…What now?" Emma groaned. The disapproving look on Snow's face sent a slight look of guilt across her own. "I'm sorry it's just meeting new people that know me and expect things of me… not my thing. I mean I am a people person and I do well with meeting new people. But I typically prefer it when we both are unfamiliar with one another."
"I know." Snow assured her daughter. "But Fredrick and Abigail just couldn't wait any longer and it has been so long since we've seen them. Plus your father needs to speak with Fredrick."
"About the war." Emma said. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her mother's look of shock. "Seriously. I understand battle strategy and am aware enough to realize what's going on around here. Even behind closed doors."
"It's nothing you need to concern yourself with." Snow said quickly.
"I know." Emma's voice had a sing song, slightly exasperated quality to it. "I'm just saying. I get what's going on so there's no need to try to hide it from me or protect me from it. It doesn't bother me, really. It's part of being a royal."
Snow regarded her daughter carefully. "You have good knowledge of what it takes to rule a kingdom."
"I know diplomacy." Emma corrected.
"Well then I can trust you to be diplomatic to their children?" Snow brought the conversation back around. "Charlotte and Christoph? Chris can be a real charmer."
"Don't start." Emma shook her head. "I'm sure he's just fine but I'm also sure he's equally uninterested. As am I."
"Ok, ok." Snow held her hands up in surrender. "I just thought I'd mention it."
"So when do their royal highnesses get here?" Emma roller her eyes.
"A week." Snow answered.
"Then I have a week to prepare." Emma nodded.
"Prepare for what?" Snow asked carefully.
"Oh my sword fighting skills of course." Emma grinned. "I assume that no only will you charming husband want to brag about my skills but I also have a feeling that he'll want me to fight them off with everything I have."
Snow burst out laughing. "You, my daughter, are a very astute observer. So yes. Prepare. I think your father will be most pleased."