It's been six weeks since she last saw Killian. And these past six weeks have been the longest ever. When the one month mark reached she was so excited. She waited the whole day for Killian to show up but he never did. Those days turned into weeks. 6 weeks to be exact. She was growing restless.
'Maybe he forgot about me.' She told herself sadly.
Charlotte noticed that Emma has been lifeless lately. She wasn't the lively Emma. Charlotte knew this had to do with Killian. But what did Kiliian do to cause Emma to act like a zombie. All Emma did was stay in her room. She didn't even try to sneak out of the castle. Even her parents noticed something was wrong with their daughter.
Emma was sitting on her bed when she heard a knock. Her mom walked in.
"Can I come in?"
"Sure mom." Emma replied.
Snow walked over to Emma's bed and sat down next to her. Snow wanted to know what's wrong with Emma. For the past six weeks Emma has been down and she wanted to know why. She was worried about Emma. Emma is not being Emma and that worried Snow.
"What's wrong Emma?" Her mom asked.
"Nothing. What makes you think something's wrong?"
"You're not acting like yourself."
"What do you mean?"
"You're no longer lively. You're like a zombie. Did something happen?"
Snow was worried that the Evil Queen did something to Emma. Did she cast a spell?
"I'm fine mom. It's nothing at all." Emma lied.
"You can tell me anything. You know that." Snow said.
"It's nothing mom." Emma said all annoyed.
"It's not nothing." Snow kept on pressing.
"Fine. It is something but I don't want to talk to you about it!" Emma raised her voice.
"Emma-"
"No! For once, can you just leave me alone!" Emma voice broke.
She didn't even know why she was being like this. Her mom was only trying to comfort her. She felt bad for acting like a brat. She didn't even know why she was being so emotional about this. And she was stupid enough to think that she actually meant something to Killian. Maybe that's why she's so mad. She's mad at him for not keeping his promise. She's mad at him for making her feel something for the very first time. She's mad at herself for feeling something for him.
"Alright. I'm sorry Emma." Her mom said and got up from her bed and left her room.
"I'm sorry mom." Emma whispered.
Emma spent the next few days doing the same routine: stay in her room for the whole day. Occasionally she would skip meals because she didn't have to appetite to eat. She felt stupid for acting like a girl going through a heartbreak.
"Emma dear. Would you like to take a walk in the yard?" Charlotte asked her.
"I'm fine Charlotte." Emma smiled sadly at her.
"It'll make you feel better. You'll forget about him." Charlotte told her.
It hurt Charlotte to see Emma like this. She knew Emma was hurting because of Killian. But who said true love was easy.
"You think so?" Emma asked.
"I know so. Let's go dear." She told her.
"Okay." Emma agreed and they headed to the yard.
"What happened between you two?" Charlotte asked.
"Nothing."
"It's not nothing dear."
"It's nothing really. I feel stupid for moping like this. We're not even together or anything. We've just met. I don't even know why I'm acting like this."
"It's clearly not thing to you Emma."
"He promised me that he'll come find me in a month." Emma confessed.
"And he didn't?"
"Yeah. He probably forgot about me."
"Don't say that dear. The voyage probably took longer than he expected. Don't lose hope dear."
"He doesn't even like me so why am I acting like this?" Emma told her.
"Because you like him dear. It's written all over your face. You're in love with him. And I know for a fact that he's in love with you too."
"He is?" Emma asked.
"Yes."
"You're just saying that to make me feel better."
"No I'm not. I can see it in his eyes dear." Charlotte told her.
"There's no way he would like a girl like me. He probably likes those girly girl type. Plus, I break the rules and he loves to follow the rules." Emma told her.
"Keep telling yourself that then." Charlotte told her.
"I will." Emma sighed. "Maybe I should just give up."
"Don't honey. Just give it a few more days. He will show. I know it."
"I guess." Emma said and she heard footsteps approaching.
"Emma! There you are. It's good to see you outside again." Her dad told her.
"Thanks dad."
"Everything alright princess?" Her dad asked her.
"Perfect." Emma lied but her dad knew she was lying.
"We have guests over. Why don't you meet me in the dining room when you're done with getting air." He asked her.
"I don't know daddy." She said.
"Please honey."
"Alright." She said and her dad walked off.
They stayed outside for another fifteen minutes before Emma decided to go greet the guests. Emma was too lazy to change into anything nice. She walked to the dining room and knocked on the door before entering. Her eyes widen when she saw who the guests were: Killian and his older brother! There he was… looking handsome as ever. She felt her heart racing like crazy. Stupid heart… stop beating so fast! Killian looked at her and gave her a smile. She missed that smile… she missed him.
"Emma! You're here. Remember Captain Liam and his little brother, lieutenant Killian?" Her dad said.
"Y-yeah." She said softly and bowed to them and they bowed back.
"How are you princess Emma?" Liam asked her.
"I'm good. Thank you and how are you captain?"
"I'm good also. And just call me Liam, princess." He told her.
"Then call me Emma." She said.
"Okay Emma." Liam smiled at her and he looked over at his brother and elbowed him.
"Hello princess." Killian said.
How she missed that voice… but she was mad at him for not keeping his promise!
"Hello lieutenant." She said and Killian sensed the coldness in her voice.
He knew she was mad at him for not keeping his promise. He wanted to keep it but the voyage took longer than he expected. He wanted to voyage to end earlier so he can see her. He missed her like crazy. He was going to do everything to get her to forgive him. Liam looked over to his brother and saw his brother staring at the princess. Liam knew Killian had a thing for the princess. It was written all over Killian's face: he was a lovesick puppy.
"The guys were telling me how the voyage took longer than they expected." Her dad told her.
"I see." Emma said.
"Your majesty… is it okay if I showed you some of the things we found on this voyage?" Liam told Charming. Liam wanted to give his brother an opportunity to spend some time with his princess.
"Of course. Let's go to my library and talk about your voyage." Charming said and led the way to his library.
They left the dining room leaving Killian and Emma by themselves. None of them talked. All they did was stare at each other. Killian made the first move.
"I know you're mad at me Emma but I can explain."
"It's princess Emma to you lieutenant." Emma told him and Killian sighed.
"Let me explain then princess."
"Go."
"The trip took longer than we all expected. We ran into some complications. I wanted to keep my promise to you. I really did princess. It was my fault that we ran into complications."
"What do you mean?"
"I was careless because I wanted to go back and made a mistake." He told her.
"And why would you make a mistake?"
"Because all I thought about was you." He told her and her face soften.
Did Emma hear right? He thought about her all the time? So it wasn't just only her thinking about him?
"Why?" She whispered.
Killian knew it was too soon to tell her how he felt about her but he didn't care. He was going to take a chance. Even though they've known each other for a little over a month, she still meant something to him. She had a special place in his heart and he couldn't deny that anymore. He was going to let her know how he felt about her.
"Because I like you. You're all I think about Emma. I miss you when I don't see you. I get excited thinking about just spending time with you. I know we really don't know each other but I like you. You're different from all the other girls I've seen. You're special to me. I know that a princess like you would never like a guy like me but I wanted to let you know how I feel about you. And I don't like you because you're a princess. I like you because you're you. Because you're Emma. My Emma. And you drive me crazy." He confessed.
Emma couldn't believe it. Killian Jones likes her. He likes her for who she is. Not because she's a princess but because she's just Emma. And she's his Emma!
"You're an idiot!" Emma smacked his chest. "I waited and waited for you! It felt like forever waiting for you! I thought you forgot about me."
"Never." Killian told her.
"You're all I think about too Killian. Ever since that day. You're all I ever think about. My heart beats like crazy whenever I think of you. It's beating like crazy right now and I hate it for doing that. I always thought that a guy like you would never like a girl like me. I'm not what you call a girly girl."
"And that's why I like you." He smiled at her.
"Don't smile at me! You're not forgiven!" Emma glared at him.
"I'm sorry. Forgive me? I won't break any more promises." He told her.
"I hate you." She told him and he frowned.
"I see then princess. Good day then." He told her and walked towards the door. He had a small smile on his face.
"Where are you going?" She shouted after him.
"I'm going home. You hate me. You rejected me after I confessed my feelings to you."
"Who said I rejected you?"
"You hate me."
"I lied!" She said and he stopped walking.
"About?"
"Hating you. I like you a lot too Killian. Don't go." She said and he turned around with a smile.
"I know love. I was kidding." He walked over to her and pulled her into an embrace.
"So what now?" She mumbled in his chest.
"What do you mean?"
"What does this make us then?" She asked.
"You're mine now. You can't look at anyone else." He told her.
"And you can't either! You better not flirt with anyone while you're on your voyages." She warned him.
"I promise love." He told her.
"Okay." She broke the hug and smiled at him.
"One more thing: I want to ask your parents for permission to court you." He told her.
"No!" Emma shouted.
"Why not?"
"I'm not ready to let them know. Can this just be between us for now?" She said.
"Alright then. But I will ask them one day." He told her.
"I know. Not now though."
"As you wish."
"So when are we going to visit town? I've been waiting for weeks!" She told him.
"Easy love. Not today. I promise you soon though." Emma frowned at his answer.
"But you promise!"
"I know love but if you sneak out now we wouldn't have that much time to spend together. Since I'm already here… let's spend time together here." He told her.
"Alright then. How long until your next voyage?"
"Two weeks. I have two weeks to spend with you." He smiled at her.
"Okay." She smiled back at him.
The rest of the day they spent it in the yard just talking. He told her about the voyage and she just sat there and listened to his stories. Snow happened to walked by the yard and saw her daughter laughing while Killian was telling her his stories. This is the first time in weeks since Emma laughed. Emma looked happy. Snow couldn't help but smile. She knew something was going on between these two. She was going to ask Charlotte about this some time later. Snow stood there looking at the scene in front of her. It then all clicked… Emma was in love. That's why she's been moping around and all quiet these past few weeks… she missed Killian while he was on his voyage. They were in love with each other.
"She's all grown up now." Snow told herself.
"Indeed she is." Snow heard Charlotte saying.
"How long have you've known?" Snow asked her.
"Since the first time they met. I knew they had this spark to them." Charlotte explained.
"But how did it escalate to this? I mean they only met here. And six weeks later they're like that." Snow told her.
Charlotte didn't want to tell her the truth because Emma and Killian will get in trouble.
"It was the same way for you and his highness. You guys didn't spend that much time together and you guys still fell in love." Charlotte explained.
"That's true. He's a good guy right Charlotte?"
"A very good guy. He loves your daughter and I know for a fact that he would do anything to protect Emma."
"That's good. Let's keep this a secret from my husband for a while. He'll probably freak out. Let's let the kids have their fun for a while."
"Yes your highness. But why?" Charlotte asked her.
"Because I love Emma and if he makes Emma happy then I'm happy. Like you said, he's a good guy so I trust him." Snow explained.
"They do look good together don't they?" Charlotte added.
"Indeed they do." Snow smiled.
It was time for Killian to leave. Emma didn't want him to leave but she knew that she couldn't do anything about it. They spent hours together but it didn't feel like hours.
"I'll be back later." Killian told her.
"When?" She asked.
"I don't know yet but I will come for you. I promise." He told her.
"Alright." Emma sighed.
"Love, I won't break my promise this time. Next time we will go visit the town." He assured her.
"Please don't take to long." Emma told him.
"I won't." He smiled at her. "I won't keep you waiting this time."
"Good." She smiled and kissed him on his cheek.
"Good night love. Sweet dreams." He said and kissed her hand.
"Good night." She told him and he left to go find his brother.
Emma sat there staring at him walking away. Emma couldn't believe that they are together… she couldn't believe that a guy like him would like a girl like her. She smiled to herself and just stared up at the sky. She felt like silly for being this happy but it didn't bother her at all. She was happy and nothing was going to ruin this for her. She felt someone sitting down next to her. It was her mom.
"Mom, I'm sorry for acting the way I did this morning. I know you were just worried about me but nothing's wrong. I'm okay now mom." Emma apologized.
"I'm sorry for being overbearing Emma. I know that I can be overprotective sometimes but I do it for your sake. You're my only daughter and I hate seeing you hurt."
"I know mom. And I'm sorry. I love you." Emma smiled at her mom.
"I love you too honey." Snow smiled at her and reached for Emma's hand.
"Mom." Emma said.
"What honey?" Snow asked.
Emma wanted to tell her mom about Killian but she was afraid her mom will tell her dad. Her dad will kill Killian if he found out. But a part of her wanted to let her mom know… she wanted to let her mom in.
"Promise not tell to dad?" Emma said.
"I promise." Snow smiled.
She knew what Emma wanted to tell her. And she was happy that Emma trusts her enough to tell her about Killian.
"Promise not to laugh too?"
"I promise honey." Snow told her and she heard Emma giving a long sigh.
"I'm in love." Emma confessed and Snow pretended to be surprised.
"What? You are? With who?" Snow asked.
"Killian Jones."
"Lieutenant Killian Jones?"
"Yes." Emma said.
"I see." Snow replied and smiled at her.
"That's all you have to say?" Emma said. To be honest… she was surprised with her mom's reaction. She thought her mom would make a big deal out of this.
"Yes. What am I suppose to say?" Snow told her.
"I don't know? Lecture me? Interrogate me? Anything!" Emma told her and Snow laughed.
"You're cute honey. I'm happy that you trust me enough to tell me about this. But I saw you guys this after noon and I put the pieces together. Why you were moping around for these past few weeks. It all clicked to me. You are in love with him. And he's in love with you." Snow explained.
"You knew?"
"Yes dear. I'm happy for you Emma. I want you to be happy and from what I saw he makes you happy. And that's all that matters to me. Every mother wants their daughter to be happy." Snow told her.
"Thank you mom." Emma pulled Snow into a hug.
"You're welcome. I'm not going to tell her father about this for a bit so have fun with Killian. But your dad will find out about this one day." Snow returned the hug.
"I know. Thanks mom."
"So I'm assuming we will be seeing more around here?" Snow asked.
"Yeah." Emma lied to her mom. Her mom would freak if she found out that they are going to sneak to town.
"He's always welcome here but you guys are not allowed to stay in your room without any supervision." Her mom told her.
"I know." Emma broke the hug.
"Good. And if he breaks your heart, I'm going to kill him."
"You're the best mom." Emma told her.
"I know." Snow smirked. "I'm going to see where your dad is. Go wash up and we'll have dinner together."
"Ok. I'll see you in a bit mom." Emma said and headed towards her room.
She was glad that her mom knew about Killian. And it made her happy that her mom understood her. Yes, her mom is still overprotective but she's beginning to understand her. And that's the only thing that mattered.
Killian was in his room on his bed smiling like an idiot. He couldn't believe it! Emma likes him and Emma is all his! A princess actually likes a guy like him. He was never going to let Emma go. He will always protect her and be by her side. For the first time in his life… he didn't care about anything but Emma. She was all he thought about. He heard a knock on his door and Liam walked in.
"What are you doing?" His older brother asked him.
"Nothing." Killian replied.
"You seem happy."
""I'm always happy."
"Whatever you say little brother." Liam smiled at him.
"Did you need something brother?"
"No. Just wanted to check on my little brother."
"Why? I'm okay."
"Okay then." Liam smiled. "You want to know something?"
"What?"
"I've been wondering why you made such a careless mistake like that on the voyage. You're usually the responsible and careful one out of everyone so I was surprised when it happened. I've been trying to think of every possible answers there is and after today I knew the answer."
"W-what is it?" Killian asked.
"Emma." Liam teased him. "You're in love with the princess. You wanted to see her again. It made perfect sense when you were all excited about visiting the palace. And I knew for sure when you were acting like a love sick puppy around her. You've got it bad for her little brother."
"I know." Killian confessed. "And I'm lucky enough that she returns my feelings for her."
"Wait. She what?!" Liam was surprised by his little brother's confession.
"She likes me too. I confessed to her today and she accepted my feelings."
"When?!"
"When you left with the king to his library."
"Wow. I didn't expect you to confess so soon."
"Well I did brother." Killian smiled at him. "And I'm happy."
"I'm happy for you but you do know that it will be difficult for you two to be together right?"
"Why?"
"For one she's a princess. She's in a different class from us… what if her parents don't approve? You just can't go against the king and queen."
"I know that but I'm going to prove to them that I'm worthy enough for their daughter. I will fight for their approval." Killian told him.
Liam has never seen Killian this determined and it made him very proud. His little brother was growing up. His little brother is in love and he's determined to be with her no matter what. He was actually jealous that his little brother found someone to make him feel this way.
"Then I will support you 100%. Just be careful brother. Protect the princess and don't let her get hurt."
"Never. And thank you. It means a lot to me that you support me."
"Of course. You're my little kid brother. I have to support you." He teased Killian.
"I'm not a kid anymore! I'm 18!" Killian whined.
"And you're sure you're not a kid?" Liam laughed.
"I'll let it slide since I'm happy." Killian grinned.
"You are such a love sick puppy." Liam shook his head. "You better not let this affect your lieutenant skills on our voyages."
"You have my word brother. It won't happen again."
"Good. Well good night kiddo." Liam said and left his room.
It felt good to tell his brother about Emma. He had someone to talk to about his feelings for Emma. He wasn't lying when he told his brother that he'll do whatever it takes tog et Emma's parents' approval. He was going to prove to them that he is the right man for their daughter. He will show them he can make her happy. But most importantly, he's going to love Emma with all his heart.