She was going to be 17. Correction, she was going to be 17 and her parents were throwing a ball to celebrate. Not that this was unusual or anything. Her parents were always throwing balls for big celebrations, but this would be the first time he was invited to one.

Over the years she had told him all about the balls, the pros and cons of them, and even suggested he come. He always came up with an excuse though to get out, mostly out of fear of being caught. In the past nine years no one knew he lived in the cabin, other than Emma and a few animals of course. He would like to keep it that way too. The last thing he needed was some random villager sharing his secret with a friend and his father over hearing it.

This time it didn't look like he would be able to use that excuse. Emma had sent the invitation to him through one of her blue birds. He had never gotten an invitation before, which was his first clue that things were different. He knew had to talk her out of this idea, there was no was he was going to a ball in her castle. He understood why she wanted him there, and he wanted to go too, but it was for the safety of everyone in her kingdom that he didn't.

He went over exactly what he was going to say to Emma as he walked to the clearing to meet her. He needed to be careful with his argument, he knew how stubborn she could be and he didn't want her to be angry with him either. It got lonely in that cabin and she was his only friend, he couldn't afford for there to be a fight.

At the same time they both appeared in the clearing. She ran the rest of the way and threw herself into his arms and pressed her lips to his, which he eagerly replied to.

"I missed you." She said as they broke apart.

"I missed you too." he replied and gave her a kiss on the forehead before taking her hand in his and leading them in the direction of his cabin.

"So did you get my invite?"

"I did." He spoke slowly, he needed to remember his argument, there was no room for error.

"So are you going to come?"

"I don't think it's such a good idea Emma?"

She pouted, "Why not?"

"You know why. I don't want my father finding out I'm back in the Enchanted Forest. It would not be safe for anyone if they learned who I really am."

"That's why I told my parents to make sure that he doesn't show you."

He stopped and turned around the face her, "You told them about me?"

"Of course not, I would never do that. I just told them that I wanted extra security up to make sure no one broke into the party. They understood of course, there are always people trying to kill me or my parents any way so it's nothing new."

He let out a sigh of relief and started walking again, "I still don't think it's a good idea."

"But it's a masquerade."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everyone will be wearing masks so no one would be able to see your face."

"A mask won't protect me from my father, you know how powerful he is."

"True, but it will keep your face hidden from everyone else."

He groaned, he didn't think it was going to be this hard to change her mind. He needed to think up a new tactic and fast.

"What about clothes or a mask?" he asked, it was the first thing that came to mind.

"I can easily find you those and make sure no one notices that they don't belong to you." She shrugged; he should have seen that one coming. Along with food she had been sending him clothes when his fell apart or became too small.

"I don't know how to dance." He blurted out; it was his final attempt and a weak one at that.

"I can teach you all the ones you need to know. I've been taking lessons since I was a child, it's about time I put them to use."

"Fine I'll come to your ball." He groaned in defeat. He didn't know why he bothered trying to argue with her, deep down he always knew she was going to win.

"Thank you." She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I promise, you will not regret it."

The two finished their walk with Emma continuing on all about the ball. At least she was happy about it, which in turn made him happy. He would do anything for her even if it meant risking his own life just to see that beautiful smile on her face.

The days went on as the two prepared for the ball. All their time spent together now was on teaching him how to dance; there were a lot of dances that he needed to know perfectly. His outfit came in pieces too and hung in the back closet so they would not get wrinkled.

Finally the day came, he had to admit he was a little excited for it. With the clothes and mask on even he had trouble recognizing himself. There was no one anyone would notice that he was the son of the dark one and not the upper class.

He put the invitation in his pocket and the map Emma had drawn for him so that he would know how to get to her castle. It was fairly simple and not too far from their clearing. All he had to do was make sure that there were no branches or leaves in his clothes before heading inside.

He followed a crowd towards the ballroom taking everything in, he had never been inside a castle before and wasn't sure when he would get the chance again. If Emma had her way he would be living there, but of course that could never happen since he was hiding from his father. Plus he didn't think her parents would be too happy with her dating a peasant boy who just happens to be related to the Dark One.

It was easy to hide once he got into the main room. No one noticed the lone man standing in the back corner; they were all too focused on each other. If this was what the rest of the evening would be like he would be fine.

The room became quiet with the arrival of King David and Queen Snow White. He had never seen them up close before, but they were everything he expected them to look like. It was easy to see where Emma got her looks from; she was a perfect combination of her parents.

Emma came quickly behind her parents in a green dress, mask, and tiara. She was even more striking in full princess attire, which he did not think was possible. He watched her eyes search the crowd until they finally landed on his. To everyone else it looked like she was excited for her ball, but they knew it was because he was able to come.

The guests went back to their mingling while he stood against the wall and waited for her to come to him, there was no need to draw any extra attention.

"Happy birthday." He bowed when she finally made her way over.

"Stop that." she playfully hit his shoulder before falling into his arms. "I'm so glad you came."

"I know. You look beautiful." He gave her a kiss on the cheek, he wished he could kiss her on the lips but that would be pushing it.

She led him out onto the dance floor and the ball began. Dancing was easier than he thought it would be, even with woman he never met before. No one talked to him either other than a simple hello or thank you. Emma made her rounds with all the men, but always made her way back to him. If anyone noticed she spent more time with him, they kept it to themselves. At this point he didn't care either, he had all but forgotten about his father and why he had to stay hidden. All that mattered to him was the girl in his arms.

Slowly the guests started to leave until it was only few left dancing or talking.

"Come with me." Emma whispered into his ear and took his hand sneaking them out of the room.

"Where are we going?" he asked, but she did not answer.

He followed her up the stairs and threw the corridors until they reached a door.

"I want to show you my bedroom." She explained and put her hand on the doorknob to open it.

He covered her hand with his own to stop her, "But what about your parents, won't they notice I'm here?"

"No they are off in their own room and won't come out until morning. They said goodnight to me already at the party."

"How do you know they won't come and check on you?"

"Because they are probably doing something in their bedroom that I do not want to think about."

He let the conversation drop after that comment and removed his hand. Emma turned the handle and pushed the door open revealing her bedroom. He stepped inside taking in the room and all its contents. There were ball gowns mixed in with her slacks along with swords and tiaras. If he didn't know the princess already, he would be very confused about why she had such contrasting possessions.

"What do you think?" she asked closing the door behind her.

"It's very you." He turned back around to face her.

She carefully took off the tiara and placed it in a box that was on her dresser. Next came off her mask, which she set down next to her tiara. She walked over to where he was standing and untied the ribbon that held his mask to his face.

"I've been waiting all night to do that." she said taking it off.

He didn't reply back and instead kissed her properly on the lips, something he had been waiting all night to do. It seemed like she had been thinking the same thing as she eagerly kissed him back.

She led him over to the bed and lowered herself with him hovering above her without breaking apart. They had been in this position before, them together in bed. It was how they spent many afternoons, kissing and talking or sometimes just lying silently side by side. This time felt different though, and not just because they were in her bed in a castle instead of the cabin. His instincts were right and her hands wandered down to the front of his pants.

"What are you doing Emma?" he asked pulling his lips from hers.

"I think you know what I am doing." She said and kept trying to untie the strings.

He grabbed her hands to stop her from going any farther, "We shouldn't do this Emma."

"Why not? Do you not want to?" she pouted, he hated when she pouted.

"Of course I want to, but we can't…we shouldn't."

"That's not a very good reason."

"Aren't you worried though?"

"About what? My purity? My reputation? I don't care about either of those, I only want you Neal. I can't see myself with anyone else."

She leaned up to kiss him again and he quickly responded. This time when she started to untie the strings on his pants he didn't stop her.