The days seemed to have no end. There was nothing to look forward to and nothing she wanted to look back on. Emma stared up at her ceiling from her bed, facing the darkness that was dangled above her. No stars showed through her window, not even the moon, making the pain and darkness much more vast. Emma closed her eyes and tried to imagine his eyes, his smile, or his arms around her. Their time together was so short that these thoughts didn't last very long.
Coming home wasn't very easy, her parents had expected her to act as if nothing had happened. Her wedding to Prince Matthias, the son of King Frederick and his Queen Abigail, was sill to be continued, and her doors locked for good. The biggest surprise she found when coming back home was the announcement of a new heir in her family. Emma's mother was pregnant. Her father explained it as "an accident" that would of been "beneficial" to the kingdom if Emma was not to be found, not that this new child was her "replacement." Emma couldn't agree less, but made no effort to fight the issue. She could not take them seriously anymore, them being believers of "hope" and "true love" they have taken both of those opportunities from her, for that they can never be forgiven in her eyes.
Emma wished that the stars could be seen from her window. She missed their clarity and the light that they showed upon everywhere. Emma wondered if Killian - or her son- was looking up to the same sky, asking the same question. Why am I alone? The question could never be answered fully or truthfully.
~
Two years ago, Emma was again behind locked doors. She spent her time in the courtyards practicing her bow and arrow or reading a book. These were the closest things she could get to an adventure. The stories were so descriptive that she could almost see each word come alive. At least that is what her boring mind believed. The stories of the hero and the mystical lands that brought new villains and even new friends. These simple stories made her wish that she was a part of one that was so great. However, some days they never seemed to be enough to make Emma's hunger for adventuring go away. She felt as if she were in a museum, behind a glass dome. Everyone could come in at any time and watch in her misery. Her parents, the maid, the kitchen boy.
~
"Your dinner, Miss Emma." Said the kitchen boy, Samuel. He came into Emma's room after knocking and walked to set her dinner on the side table with quiet feet. Samuel was small, with strawberry blonde hair and hazel, almost brown eyes. She had known him for a very long while, he was only a few years younger.
"Thank you, Samuel," Emma said politely, as he had been nothing but to kind to her all these years. "Any news?" She then asked since he always kept up on all the rumors going around the castle.
"Not a lot, everyone, however, is buzzing about your return. Everyone asking where you went this time. There is one thing though, you won't be happy about it Miss." He said, his voice cracking with change.
"What is it?" Emma asked, he now had her full attention. She looked at Samuel with wide questioning eyes.
"Your wedding day has been set. The 28th of May. A little over one week away." He said looking to the ground. He obviously knew how Emma felt about the topic.
"Thank you for telling me, Sam. My parents still haven't come to talk to me about anything really. I bet they can't wait to send me away with this man." Emma remarked.
"I bet that's not true. Some day they'll realize who you really are, not even you have figured that out yet." He said.
"Who do you think I am?"
"I think you're someone who is willing to fight for anything, even if there is near impossible obstacles. I also know that you're very stubborn and won't let this wedding happen." He laughed, and Emma smiled and let out a giggle herself.
"Thank you. I also believe that you can do whatever you want. I see that this job isn't what you want to do your whole life, you're trapped just as I am."
"I'll know when my last day here will come, and who knows, it may be soon. Have a good evening Emma." He said with a tilt of his head before turning to the door.
"You too," Emma replied before he left, where she was then alone to think once more. She thought about her conversation with Samuel and the cogs in her head began to turn. Emma had an idea. A really awful, impossible, yet brilliant idea. She ran to her vanity where there were parchment and pens and began to write;
Killian,
My marriage to Prince Matthias will be on the 28th of May. You probably want to hear nothing of this but I have a plan. It will involve you and all your crew. The night before I will send a friend to meet you at the docks where he will then lead you into the castle secretly. The wedding will most likely be in the morning, he will hide you until it is time. There will be no one guarding the back entrances or my rooms since everyone will be in the main foyer awaiting the wedding. This is when I'll try to sneak out to you. If anything to go wrong, or if anyone comes to attack this is where some members of your crew might be useful. My friend Samuel will be willing to help in any way he can (though I haven't asked him yet, he will!) I hope this gets to you in time so you can make it here to me. I can't marry this man, I can't be imprisoned here or anywhere else any longer. If you do not make it to the docks the night before midnight, Samuel will know that you will not be coming, he can't help you. If you make it here after that time, it is up to you how to save me-or not. I hope to see you again and to spend more adventures with you.
Love, Emma
She closed the letter within an envelope and rushed to her door. She opened it partially to see if anyone was in the hallways. To her luck, there wasn't. Emma quietly walked down the hallway to the stairs that led to the courtyard. It was nearly sundown but the gardens still looked beautiful, the lush green bushes or the vibrant colors of almost every flower you could imagine were in full blossom at this time. She whistled out a tune that her mother had taught to her, one that calls upon messenger birds. One came flying down from above, landing on a tree branch not too far from her. Emma hurried over to it and tucked the message into the ring around its ankle.
"Take this to Killian Jones upon the Jolly Roger, fast," Emma said, and the small bird nodded its head before taking off into the endless blue sky. A single star shone as a beacon of hope.
YOU ARE READING
On Stranger Tides
Fanfiction°•A Captain Swan Fanfiction/Alternate Universe/Short Story•° Princess Emma was born and raised in the Enchanted Forest. She has been taught to be a hero since the day she could walk. Young Emma was waiting for adventure but there was something stand...
