Emma ran as fast as her trembling legs could carry her. Her boots kicked up dirt as she gasped for air. Tears were running down her face, but you could hardly tell with the equal amount of sweat dripping from her forehead. She paused for a moment and fell to the ground. What she had just learned shifted her entire world. Rumplestiltskin, her best friend's father, wanted her magic. Magic she was prophesied to have. Magic her parents urged her to learn about and control so it would become stronger. Magic she never even wanted. In a heartbeat, she'd give it up, but the price would be her life. However, it was a small price to pay for her baby brother's life.
She didn't understand how a man who watched her grow up could want to kill her. This man threw her parties, gave her wonderful gifts, always made sure she was safe in his disgusting kingdom. The princess thought she was a damn fool for thinking that Rumplestiltskin protected her because he cared about her. All those times men harassed her in his kingdom, or when she in Neal would get into sticky situations, he came to the rescue. It was all a lie. He only protected her to keep her alive long enough for her to gain control over her magic, then kill her himself.
And Neal, how could he lie to her once he found out? They were best friends. They grew up together. They were engaged for god sake. It started to make sense why he was so quick to drop their engagement. It wasn't a secret he loved her, but everyone knew the Princess of Misthaven only fancied him as a friend. It also explained why he was always in her kingdom, whispering with her parents.
Emma's head continued to spin as she leaned up against a nearby tree. Her anger grew as she realized all the people who knew. Regin, Robin, and all of her parent's friends. People who could look at her as if she didn't have a death sentence.
As she thought about it, it wasn't a huge shock that her parent's friends would keep this secret from her. They kept many things from her. After all, they weren't her friends. But to know that Robin and Regina kept this secret, stung a lot more than she was willing to admit. Out of all the family she had, the princess felt she could have trusted them the most. She even trusted them more than her parents at times.
Regina was that fun aunt who you'd go to complain about your parents while she made you some cookies. She was the aunt who helped you get away with things you shouldn't be doing. The kind of aunt who'd cover for your ass, no questions asked. Aunt Regina made her feel like more than a princess. The two of them drank, shared jokes, and had many secrets. To know that she kept this secret was infuriating.
Robin knowing, on the other hand, annoyed her. Emma was angry with her aunt but annoyed by Robin. She did love him very much, and the two got along quite well, but at times she could only think of him as Regina's lover. Not her uncle. It was a shame too because he knew how to comfort her when no one else could. Robin always provided her with a good laugh and the best hugs. Not to mention, he'd always bring her something from his travels. But at the end of the day, he didn't feel like family, and he didn't have a right to keep this secret.
Speaking of family, the princess was more than angry at her parents. How dare they look at their only daughter every day, knowing what they did. How dare they play this perfect king and queen, with the perfect kingdom and adored daughter. Not only had they lied to her, but they lied to their entire kingdom and put them in danger. Rumple may not hurt the royal family, but the kingdom was defenseless against him. And this baby, her brother... already given a death sentence as well.
For some reason, she didn't care so much about her fate. But to know the fate of her soon-to-be-born brother, she couldn't forgive them. It was beyond idiotic to promise his life over for hers. Even if they didn't plan on having him, it still wasn't a good excuse. There were many ways for them to prevent pregnancy, yet they failed miserably. She hoped that the baby resented them as much as she did right now.
Surprisingly, all that wasn't what upset her the most. Yes, it was a lot to take in, and she was fuming, but it started to all make sense. Why her life was so sheltered, why her parents never talked about another baby, why she had to learn how to handle weapons. She cursed at herself for being so blind.
The most heartbreaking part was finding out Killian knew. Her first real love. The person she trusted most in the entire world. The person she knew she could depend on. The person who never looked at her like a princess. The person who made her feel safer in his arms than in a palace full of guards.
A mixture of rage and sadness brewed inside her. She wanted to slap him, scream at him, cry her eyes out. How could he do such a thing? They were supposed to be a team against the rest of the world. They were supposed to tell each other everything, trusting one another to be able to take care of themselves. It turns out, it was just another relationship built on lies.
She needed to get as far away from this place as possible, and running wouldn't do. Emma turned her head to a nearby guard and stood up, "Fetch me my horse, please." She managed to stay as composed as possible.
As the guard nodded and headed off, she wiped her tears, inhaled a deep breath, and closed her eyes. What she needed was to be alone and think. However, an all too familiar voice rang through the thick air, "Swan, a word?"
Only one person called her that. The princess opened her eyes but refused to turn around. His deep voice was filled with mourning, but she didn't care. He didn't have a right to be upset, "Out of all people, you think I want to see you?"
Maybe it was best she didn't turn around. Killian's face was covered with tears and his eyes were bloodshot, but he needed to apologize. He tried to reach out for her arm, but she was quick to refuse his touch, "I swear I wanted to tell you, but-"
"Why didn't you?" She shouted as she turned around, "Why keep this secret from me?" Her eyes flaring memorably.
The captain's eyes darted back and forth, soaking in her appearance. A completely red face, matched with her unruly blond curls blowing in the wind. Her nails were wet from her nervously biting them. Her body trembled from the exhausting amount of emotions running through her, "Because I knew what you'd do, as well as everyone else." He managed to say, "We knew you'd give yourself up to save everyone, not caring if you'd die."
His appearance was one she hadn't ever seen. He was not one to cry, but it was evident he had been. His nose was red and his cheeks looked warm to the touch, and his hair a moppy mess. Any other day, she'd feel sorry for him, but not today. She didn't care that this was the first time she had seen him cry. She didn't care if he felt bad for what he did. She didn't care if what she said was going to hurt him, "That is what decent people do." She spat back, "But you, nor my parents, know anything about that."
Her words stung, but he gulped them down, "Tell me what I can do to fix this?"
Emma paused for a moment. There wasn't a goddamn thing he could do, but she wanted to know the truth. Or at least hoped he would tell the truth, "How long have you known?" She looked to the ground.
The captain clenched his jaw, "Over a year now." He faintly revealed, "More specifically, at your Aunt Regina's house. She and Neal told me everything when you were out with Robin."
The pieces started to align perfectly. It made sense. After they left her aunt's home he was oddly silent. When they left Misthaven, he was oddly protective, on top of being very distant. She felt like a fool for missing all the signs, "How could you look at me every day, knowing what you were hiding?" She mumbled, "How could you lay in bed with me and ruin me in the worst ways possible, and not feel one ounce of guilt?" She raised her voice.
"I swear I wanted to tell you." He expressed, "But I couldn't lose the only person I love, not again." He stated unapologetically, "There wasn't a moment that went by where it didn't pain me, but I wasn't going to risk everything I had when we're all trying to find a way to save you and the baby."
That sentence set her off. There everyone goes against trying to save her. If they didn't put her in risky situations, there would be no need to save her, "You could have trusted me!" She yelled, "I'm not as ignorant as you all pin me for. Now the time has almost run out, my brother will be here sooner than we'd all like." She acknowledged, "You were the one rambling on about trust every day, and you dared to lie to me? I can never forgive you for that."
He never expected her to forgive him, but a small piece of hope she sparked in him ages ago, wished she would. He felt himself grow unsteady as she radiated hate, "I don't expect forgiveness." He uttered, "I lied to you in so many ways. I made you feel as if you were insane for not trusting everyone. I dragged you through the ocean to buy your parents time. I made you feel unloved because of the guilt I felt every night. I hid Henry's letters from you. I treated you as less than what you are." He went on, causing her to give him a questionable look, "I did all of those things because I love you-"
"Don't" She interrupted, "You don't get to say those words to me." She raised her finger, "You are no better than my parents or anyone else who knew. You were supposed to be the person I could trust, the person I could count on."
Killian watched as tears rolled down her cheeks. He had seen her cry dozens of times, and each time was painful, but none more gut reneging than this. His heart ached to the point where he wished he could rip it out and bury it deep in the dirt. He deserved all her words of hate, "You can still trust me, love." He took a step towards her, "I-I made a terrible mistake, and I should have told you. Please, let me fix this."
"You can't!" The princess burst with anger, "Every day you had an opportunity to tell me, but you didn't."
"I was scared, Emma." His glance shifted to her hand, "I promised to take care of you, and I thought that's what I was doing."
She watched where his eyes had shifted and caught herself twisting the ring on her finger. The ring he had given her after their first huge argument. She couldn't remember what that argument was even about, but it was surely not as drastic as this. She took her ring off and stared at it. It wasn't as shiny as when he'd given it to her and it left faint tan lines on her finger since she had never taken it off. She remembered when he gave it to her, it was a promise that they'd always work out problems together. What a lie. They were no team, not anymore, not ever.
Emma handed him the ring, which he took with the most heartbreaking expression written across his face. She looked away, scared she'd forgive him, "I want you out of my kingdom." She ordered.
"W-What?" His voice cracked.
She looked into his eyes as hers filled with more tears, "I want you of my kingdom, I want you out of my life." Her voice shook as if she wasn't too sure of her response, "I never want to see you again, so don't make port here or in any of my allied kingdoms, or I will order an exile."
Finally, the guard had returned with her horse, Oakley. Killian watched as she bored the pear white animal, "Emma, please." He begged, "I- I can't just leave you here-"
"I can't trust you now." She interrupted as she settled onto her horse, "How can I? I always thought you were more than a pirate, but you proved me wrong."
His brain scrambled for a way to make her stay, to make her want him to say, "I-I can't just leave." His accent became thick as he spoke quickly, "It takes time to leave port and gather the men."
Another lie. The princess knew that they could leave port within a moment's notice. They've done it dozens of times. She had enough of the lies and turned her horse, "Captain Jones, you have until tomorrow morning to leave my kingdom."
His eyes grew big as he realized what she was doing, "Emma, wait-"
"Please don't." She said barely above a whisper. She didn't need to be convinced to let him stay. She wanted him to stay. But now he was standing in her way of helping her brother. She wanted to trust him, but she just couldn't, not anymore...
The princess hadn't called him 'Captain Jones' since they became real friends. It almost seemed unnatural and he missed the sound of his name coming off of her lips. The exile didn't bother him as much as he thought, her parents would have the official word and he was sure he could smooth-talk them. After all, they owned him. But knowing that she was willing to take such drastic measures to avoid seeing him was a punch to the gut. He shook his head, eager to change the topic, "Where are you heading?"
Emma gave her horse a light kick to get the animal going, "That's no longer your concern, captain."
"Emma!" He called out one last time.
Soon enough she was gone, only leaving kicked-up dirt in the air. He thought of going after her, but he could no longer fight this losing battle. He had finally lost her.
Not my best work, but I didn't want too skip a week and not post. Hopefully you guys enjoyed! See you next week <3