It almost seemed as if everyone from the kingdom had gathered around the docks. They had the smallest docks in any kingdom, not many people traveled their waters. The only ships that ever came were royal ships, merchant ships and maybe a few common boats from the villagers who liked to fish. But this was far too many people at the docks for a typical day, they must have seen the Jolly Roger in the distance and knew she was coming home. They were all there to welcome home the princess who had been gone for nearly a year. This scenery made Emma realize that her duty was to her people, her people who were so willing to forgive her absence. Guilt consumed her, she should have been here instead of traveling the sea with pirates...
"Her majesty has returned!"
"Princess Emma, welcome home!"
"You were missed dearly, princess!"
"My how you've grown!"
"Beautiful as ever, ma'am!"
Those were all the comments she heard as she made her way down the dock, alone. Killian wanted to give her a few minutes alone with her parents, but she couldn't even find them in the storm of people, perhaps they were waiting in the castle for her to arrive. Emma plastered the best smile she could on her face, yes she was glad to be home, but this was overwhelming. The loud voices asking her questions, the crowd surrounding her, her guilt of being away. It was all too much.
Out of nowhere someone grabbed her arm, she was startled. No one in the kingdom was supposed to lay a hand on her, let alone grab her. She was in too much of a panic to fight back...
"Emma! My gods how I've missed you!" Said the voice.
"August!" She said with a smile, finally recognizing the man.
Relieved she hugged him tight, for a moment she felt sane in all the madness. The princess was glad to see he served no punishment for her abduction. More guilt consumed her as she realized his journey to the kingdoms ended months ago, the journey she was responsible for. Once he returned home, she should have too. But no, she spent another few months traveling the sea while he and everyone else was worried about her.
"Make way for the King and Queen!" Said one of her knights.
Once a path was made Emma saw her royal carriage approach and out came her parents. They were dressed in their more simple clothing. She assumed they were going to wait for her to make her way to the castle but then the crowd held her up. Her parents came to her rescue once again.
"Oh, my darling!" Snow trembled as she made her way over to Emma, embracing her in a hug.
Emma didn't pull back, she leaned in, missing the feeling of her mother's arms wrapped around her. All those nights of wishing she had her mother to cry to would finally be over. They both had slightly watery eyes as they continued to hug each other tighter than they thought was possible.
"My princess." Charming said almost in a whisper as he watched Snow and Emma, his girls.
"Daddy..." Emma responded, releasing her mother and running to her father.
She jumped into his arms as if she was still a little girl. The princess held her father tightly, this time letting the tears fall. No one knew the bond she had with her father. It was a strong one. He was always there for her, from teaching her to walk to sword fighting. He was her best friend. As much as she loved her mother, her father had a special place in her heart. She could share anything with him and he would always have a piece of advice ready to share. While her mother was a tad more strict with her presenting herself as a princess, her father would show her what it was like to have actual fun.
None of them realized that August made the crowd slowly die off, giving them some privacy.
"Are you hurt?" Snow asked, composing herself.
"No, mom... I'm wonderful." She responded, releasing her father.
"We were so worried." Charming stated.
"I know... I'm sorry. Everything just happened so fast and I know I should've come home sooner but-" Emma started to ramble.
"But that's a conversation for later..." Her father finished.
"We are just so glad to have you back." Snow continued on.
"I want to hear all about the date!" Snow insisted, grabbing Emma's hand like a teenage girl.
"Oh mother it was wonderful! Killian somehow managed to get chicken, in the middle of the ocean! And he set up a romantic dinner in his cabin. There were candles and everything!" Emma beamed with excitement.
"Certainly not as nice as a meal here though..." The king said under his breath.
"David!" Snow looked at him angrily, using his real name.
"What, he is a pirate. How nice could it have really been?" He responded grumpily.
"Nevermind him, he's just being immature. Tell me more!" Snow insisted.
"Well... once we finished eating we went on the deck and watched the stars for hours. We talked about anything and everything. We do... we did that every night, watch the stars and talk. Mother... he's not a bad man. The tales are twisted." Emma explained.
"Emma, he could be lying, he is a pirate." David said, crossing his arms, not liking the story his daughter was telling him.
"David, Emma just came home. You could show a bit more excitement." Snow responded, getting irritated by her husband's attitude.
"Was there a kiss?" Snow asked before David could say anything back.
"Yes! It was amazing and so romantic." Emma said, blushing.
"He kissed you?" Prince Charming asked in a yell.
"Well no... I kissed him..." The princess responded, taken back by her father's voice.
"You what?" He asked, slightly mad.
"Charming would you stop. You seem to forget that you were nothing more than a shepherd when I met you, so why are you making a big deal out of this?" The queen questioned her husband.
"Because he's a pirate, the worst one too!" He responded in a louder voice than intended.
"And Emma said not everything we heard is true!" His wife shouted back.
"And you believe him?" He said, raising his voice.
Emma stood there unsure of what to do. Many of the villagers were looking their way, acting as if they didn't notice. Her father was never one to be so hostile towards her and she had never witnessed her parent's fight, especially over something as silly as her going on a date. She hoped Killian and the rest of the crew could not hear this argument as they continued to raise their voices at one another.
"Stop! He's going to hear you!" Emma interrupted her parents.
"And why would he care!" David responded, accidentally yelling at his daughter.
"He has worked very hard to try and impress you so you would like him, but you're not even gonna give him a chance!" Emma shouted back, tears forming in her eyes from her father's outburst.
"Em... I'm sorry... I just thought that once you came home-" Her father started.
"What? I'd just forget him?" she asked, upset.
"Why don't we all just take a minute to calm down. Emma is right, he deserves a chance. If Emma thinks he's worth it then we have to trust her." Snow said, being the voice of reason.
The princess may not be as close to her mother as she is with her father, but one thing Snow was good at was calming them down. She always took both sides into consideration then determined the best output based on both sides. That is what made her a great queen and what Emma admired most about her mother. No matter the situation, she always had the best solutions. In that moment Emma regretted not opening up to her mother as much as she did to her father. Snow didn't know how to keep a secret like her father, but she was still the best person to go to for advice and right now her father wasn't as supportive as she hoped he would be.
"Thank you, mom." Emma said, releasing a heavy breath.
"Where is he anyway?" Snow asked calmly.
"On the ship, Killian wanted me to have a moment alone with you two before I introduced him." Emma responded, making her way back to the Jolly Roger.
"Oh, now he decides to be a gentleman..." Charming said under his voice, still upset.
"He's always a gentleman, daddy." Emma responded, grabbing her father's arm and laying her head on his shoulder.
They made their way up the dock and were now on the Jolly Roger. Many of the crew stared at them, all standing in their best outfits, freshly groomed. They all stared at the princess unsure of what to do or how to react. She ignored them, looking for her pirate. Then she spotted him, in the middle of the crowd. He looked terrified. She chuckled to herself, this was the same man who terrorized kingdoms and got anything he wanted by just looking at someone. Yet he was nervous to meet her parents. She released her father's arm and walked over to Killian. She placed her hand on his cheek reassuring him everything was fine. He leaned into her hand, closing his eyes and nodded. Emma grabbed one of his hands and made her way over to her parents.
"Mom, Dad... this is Killian Jones."
As always... leave comments, suggestions, anything! :)