Treasure

Chapter 43

    After a long ride into the village, Neal, Emma, and Killian were fast asleep. They were woken by a sudden stop of the carriage, causing them to jerk forward. Emma went to open the door to see what all the commotion was about but Neal stopped her, "No Emma! It could be some sort of setup."

    "And perhaps it's just a fallen tree." Emma said peeking out the window to see a tree trunk spread across the path.

    "Must've spooked the horses." Killian added, still half asleep.

    The coachman opened the carriage door, "My apologies, Princess Emma. A tree has fallen, we won't be able to go around anytime soon. Shall I direct us back to the castle?"

    "No!" She responded quickly, "We couldn't be that far from Aunt Regina's house. We'll walk from here."

    "As you wish madam..." The coachman responded, helping her out of the carriage.

The princess was surprised her coachman didn't object to her walking. Typically she would have been brought home with no explanation. Perhaps her parents have given new orders to the staff since Emma was now older or perhaps it was because she was accompanied by two men who would never let anything happen to her...

Regardless she started to walk down the dirt road with her two men following behind. Not that they had a choice, she just really wanted to be at Regina's house.

Once they got into the more residential area, many of the people greeted the princess with a smile which she gladly returned. Neal and Killian were a few steps back just observing the interactions. No one paid too much attention to them, Emma was the one they adored. Once the word got around that they were in the village, many of the children abandoned the school work they were supposed to be doing to come talk to their Princess. Causing some minor delays, she said hello to them and encouraged them to go back to school. Many of the boys got sidetracked on the way back once they saw Killian in his full pirate attire. They now recognized him unlike at the ball where he was dressed much more formally. Killian did his best to smile and not act completely uncomfortable by all the hands grabbing and touching his outfit. The only child the pirate was comfortable around had to be Henry, and that was because he quickly learned Killian's boundaries. Luckily Neal saved him by telling the boys they better hurry up before they upset Emma for not following directions.

After what seemed to be an endless journey, they arrived at Regina's house.

"Oh, there you are! I was starting to worry." Regina said, exiting her house to meet Emma.

Emma let out a small laugh of exhaustion, "My apologies, Aunt Regina. You won't believe the day we've had." She said as Neal and Killian finally arrived.

Regina pulled Emma in for a hug, "You all look a mess! Come in, come in, get a drink."

After receiving a refreshing cup of beer, Neal looked around the house to find someone missing. "Where's Robin? Usually he comes running to the smell of beer."

Everyone laughed, "He's out in the forest, said he heard a strange noise." Regina responded.

Killian gulped down his beer and wiped his mouth, "It must have been the sound of the tree falling."

Before anyone could respond Robin walked through the door with his bow and arrow. "Don't tell me I missed the princess!" Robin said with a smile as he went to hug Emma.

Emma beamed with happiness as she hugged him back, "You're just in time, Robin."

Robin pulled back from the hug, "Didn't you hear? It's Uncle Robin now." He said with a smile.