infatuation - killian jones DISCONTINUED

Chapter 1

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"You're too slow, Emma!" Delilah yells as her horse, Ember, speeds past Emma's, her sister giving her a hard glare. The glare didn't last long as the eldest laughs, watching as her younger sister rides off ahead of her. Delilah looks forward again and smiles when she sees her parents walking out of the castle, letting the two girls know it was almost time to get ready for the ball. Delilah slows her horse down and stops in front of her parents, hearing Emma do the same a few seconds later. "Is it really almost time already? I feel like we just got out here."

"You two have been out here all day," Delilah's dad points out, laughing at his daughter's face as she groans. "Tomorrow you can come right back out and ride Ember again."

"Is this your way of saying you don't want to celebrate my birthday?" Emma teases from behind Delilah, causing the girl to turn toward her frantically.

"That's not it! Emma, I love you and of course I want to celebrate your birthday-"

"Del, I was kidding," Emma laughs, jumping off her own horse now earning her own glare from Delilah as she gets off of hers. She pets Ember before handing the reigns to one of the workers in the castle, thanking them before he walks off with the horses.

Charming takes hold of Snow's hand as the family heads back into the castle, soon splitting off as the girls go to get ready for the ball that's in a few hours, one Delilah was not particularly excited for. She loves her sister and wants to celebrate her birthday, but she despises the balls they hold for every tiny thing that happens in their life. Emma learned how to use a sword, they threw a ball; Delilah learned how to ride a horse, another ball. It all gets tiring when balls are held almost every other day.

But knowing who her parents are, Delilah kept her feelings and thoughts to herself. If being forced into tight-skinned dresses, high heels, and heavy jewelry all while having to act like a proper royal to keep her parents happy, then that's what she will do. But, deep down, Delilah knows if presented with the chance to go out and do things she's never done before, she would take it and run.

Her parents did always tell her to chase her dreams.

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"Mother, do I have to wear this dress?" Delilah asks, twirling in the mirror and frowning at her reflection. The dress was heavy, having layers of ruffles that started at her hip, and she knew she would never be able to put on her shoes without a struggle. Not to mention she could hardly breathe in the corset underneath it all. "Why can't I wear something that's a little less heavy?"

"Because, Delilah, I've seen your clothes, and none of them are nice enough for your sister's birthday," Snow walks up behind her daughter, already in her own dress and with her hair all done. She smiles at Delilah through her reflection, a frown still on her daughter's face. "I know you're not a big fan of the dresses and all, but the faster we get this over with, the faster you can take it all off."

"You make a compelling argument," Delilah sighs and walks away from the mirror, going to sit down so her mother could do her hair. Delilah continues to look at her reflection through the smaller mirror in front of her, her thoughts elsewhere.

"Mother, what's it like outside the castle walls?" There was no stopping the words from escaping her mouth the second the question entered her mind.

"Do you mean the village?"

"No, beyond that," Delilah had been to the village only a handful of times, always surrounded by guards and not allowed to adventure too far from the group she was with. But, her mind could only imagine what was beyond the strict path she was supposed to follow through the village and around back to the castle. Dragons, pirates, fairies, and all the other kinds of people she had never been able to meet.