Prompt: Young Princess Emma spies on the recently turned pirate Killian at the local tavern; naturally, she is intrigued by him, so she approaches him...

A/n: I apologize to anyone reading this and thinking it's going to be good.

It was late – far later than any princess should be out gallivanting around the village. But she was not like other princesses. Where others followed the rules that were set out for their lives; she sought to turn her back on them. Which was exactly why Emma had donned her dark cloak, tucked her blond curls into the hood, and switched a day dress for her riding clothes. Pants always made sneaking out of the castle far easier than a dress ever would.

She had heard tell from one of her handmaids that a ship had just come into port. A pirate ship. Her life had been lived through books, yearning to have the adventures that had been pressed into the pages of novels, tales that she would never have. But if she could just meet a real, live, pirate – then at least her entire life wouldn't be for not.

Emma slipped in through the front door of the White Swan, lowering the hood of her cloak, hoping that today wouldn't be the day that the guards from the palace would be having their evening off. But no one paid her any attention. She was just another patron not the princess.

Her eyes flickered around the tavern, searching every face she met. What did a pirate look like? Would they even come into the village to carouse with the townspeople? In the stories that she read pirates always came in two varieties – handsome, debonair, swashbuckling young pirates and the less desired variety of hideous, ancient, lecherous men.

"A mead please." Emma said as she laid a few coins on the top of the bar.

"Coming right up, love." The barmaid snatched up the coins, tucking them into her apron before setting out to fill a mug for Emma. "Mind your coin purse tonight, love. Pirates." She nodded her head towards the back of the tavern; to table that was obscured by the vertical beams.

Emma's eyes widened, swallowing thickly as she took in the sight of the men that sat at the table. Most of them were the later variety of pirates, old and very unattractive, but there was one – who seemed to be in the thick of it all, that was exactly what she'd been looking for. His eyes met hers, as if he'd felt her staring at him and she flustered, feeling her cheeks turn red. She ducked her head, turning back to the bar, curling her fingers around her mug.

The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, but she couldn't rightly look over her shoulder and see if the pirate was still looking her way. What if he was? She'd come to see a pirate and she had, a real live pirate, that was enough wasn't it?

"Hello there, lass." The voice was rough, thick with an accent that wasn't like those in this village. Emma tilted her head, just enough to affirm her belief that this was the pirate that she had seen. "I promise I don't bite, love."

Emma stat her mug of mead down on the counter, if only to hide the fact that her hands were shaking. "Hello." She said rather shyly, which wasn't in her nature at all. She was frequently chastised at court for being far too outspoken and ill-behaved. She was far from demure. Except right now.

The pirate sat down on the bar stool beside her, a warm sort of air about him. He didn't seem like the pirates her parents warned her about; in fact he was very much the pirates of legend, of stories. Impossibly blue eyes – like the sea – and jet black hair, and a strong handsome jaw.

"What's a lovely lass like you doing in a place like this?" The pirate questioned, clearly attempting to make conversation with her. Which was endearing, because he didn't know who she was – so that wasn't his ulterior motive.

Emma tilted her head, a faint smile on her lips as she met the pirate's gaze. "I've just come down for a drink. What's the harm in that?"

"Oh, well there are all sorts of riffraff that frequent taverns like this." He extended his hand towards her, "The name's Killian, Killian Jones. Captain Killian Jones." He sounded almost as flustered as he was, which eased some of her nerves.

"Captain?" Emma quipped, finding her voice again and witty tone again. One brow cocked upwards as she gave him a haughty a look. "Certainly not a Captain in the Royal Navy –" She let her eyes flicker over him, taking in the sight of his leather clad legs and the red vest that clung tightly to his chest. He needed to button up a few more of his shirt's buttons, because the dark hair that dusted his chest was distracting. "Not with that outfit." She dropped her voice to a whisper, drawing him in. "You're a pirate aren't you?"

"Aye, that I am." He smirked, taking another sip of his liquor. "Does that worry you, love?"

Emma shook her head, leaning her elbows against the bar. "I came down here because I heard there were pirates in port." She glanced over his shoulder at the men he had been drinking with. "See, those are the sorts of men I pictured. I didn't expect a young Captain." Her eyes widened as she realized that she had said all of that out loud. Her cheeks went crimson red and she turned her attention to the bottom of her mug.

Killian chuckled, nudging her arm with his elbow. "No harm in any of that. I wasn't expecting to come to the tavern and find a beautiful young woman here. But now look who I discovered." He leaned a little closer, dropping his voice low. "What's your name lass?"

"Ava." Emma lied, swallowing thickly as she took in the planes of his face now that he was so near to her. Plenty of handsome princes, dignitaries, knights, and all a sundry men had come to the palace in her life time, but none looked quite like him. Her mother had told her once, a long time ago, that she had nearly named her Ava for the late Queen, but she didn't want her to live in the shadow of that namesake.

"Ava," He drank to that, a smile plastered across his face. "What a beautiful name." Killian glanced back at the group of men he had been drinking with before she came in, "Would you care to join me and my crew in a game of Liar's Dice?"

"As long as you don't mind being beat." Emma countered, looking up at him from beneath her lashes as she finished her mead.

Killian leaned back against his chair, casually slinging his arm around the back of her chair, his fingers ever so lightly brushing her shoulder. "You know, we weren't meant to dock here this evening. In fact we weren't meant to come here at all. But that recent storm that hit caused enough damage to the Jolly Roger that it forced us to take the first port we came to."

Emma tilted her head, a wide smile on her lips as she met his gaze. "I guess some things happen for a reason." She laughed before grabbing her mug, taking a long swig of her third mug full of mead. "I need to be getting back home soon, sadly."

"Leaving us so soon, Ava?" Killian puckered out his bottom lip as fluttered his lashes, trying to look as pitiful as possible. "I hope I've not said anything to deter you from staying."

"No, it's just… It's late and I'm not exactly supposed to be here." Emma admitted, running her finger along the rim of the mug.

"Where shall I be escorting you?" He offered, smiling warmly at her, his fingers brushing her shoulder more purposely now.

"The castle." Emma said before she could censor herself. "My parents… they work for the palace." She swallowed thickly, feeling her cheeks burn red. "I need to go." She sat her mug down on the table, rising to her feet. She kept her head ducked, tucking her hair behind her ears as she lifted the hood of her cloak. "It was a pleasure to make you acquaintance Killian." She whispered, before swiftly moving across tavern.

Leaving was far from what she wanted to do. She would have gladly told him, with no uncertainty, that she wanted him to abscond with her and take her far from this godforsaken kingdom. But, that could not be. She had duties and he was, well to put it frankly, a pirate.

"Ava, wait!" Emma had barely gotten past the tavern before he was calling out for her. She should have kept going. Should have, but didn't.

She turned around, hands on her hips beneath her cloak. "What?"

"It's late, someone should walk with you. Wouldn't want you to run into danger." Killian said warmly, offering her his arm.

"Aren't you a man of honor?" Emma teased, instinctively reaching for his arm, looping her arm through his.

Killian chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. "I'm more than just a pirate, love." He glanced at her, a faint smile on his lips. "Come along, before you're faced with cross parents."

"Oh, they'll be cross one way or the other." Emma shrugged her shoulders, walking side-by-side with him as the wound their way up the path towards the castle. "If they knew where I'd been…"

"Surely drinking at the tavern is the least a servant's daughter could do." Killian scoffed, "Your parents are far too strict. Just leave off the bit where you've been fraternizing with a pirate. That might be frowned upon seeing as you're a subject of the crown and all."

"More than you know." She muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing." Emma said quickly, shaking her head.

"It could be worse, you know. You could be like that poor princess, always cooped up there in the castle, never allowed out." Killian laughed, though his expression fell when she didn't join him in laughter.

"She is allowed out from time-to-time." Emma retorted, releasing her hold on his arm. "Her situation is not a laughing matter either. She's not allowed to live a real life because she's supposed to be some prophesized savior. A human key – not a human." She ducked her head, hiding her gaze beneath the hem of her cloak. "I should go."

Killian caught her arm as she started to head towards the castle, pulling her back towards him. "Wait…" He trailed off, release her arm to push her hood back, looking down at her. "You're not Ava are you?"

Emma looked away, biting her bottom lip. "No. Now please release me, I have to return before they realize I'm gone."

"You're the princess." He smiled, though there was sadness in his eyes. "I was just beaten at Liar's dice by the princess?"

Emma laughed, her voice strained as she looked up at him. "Yes you were. I told you I was going to beat you." She retorted, trying her best to be sassy and not sound defeated. "This will be a story you can tell your crew someday. The tale of the princess besting the pirate." She glanced over her shoulder at the castle behind her. "But for now, the princess really must go."

"Will I see you again?" He asked, still not releasing her arm – not that she'd made any move to pull away.

"Why would you want to see me again? I'm really not anything special." She smiled up at him, her eyes searching his. They were far too blue to be real. "I'll always be here, though, if you come into port again come find me. So I can best you again."

"I'll do just that." He assured her, releasing his hold on her arm. "It was a pleasure to meet you Emma." Killian mocked an overly dramatic bow, keeping his eyes on her face.

"It was quite nice to meet a real, live, pirate." She laughed, chewing on her bottom lip. He was staring at it, she could feel his eyes focusing their. Emma inhaled shakily as he stepped closer to her, her eyes studying his face.

"Good night, love." He whispered, pressing a brief kiss to her lips before he pulled away. Killian brushed his knuckles over her cheek, before retreating. The sound of guards changing post would have been enough to make anyone retreat.

Those blue eyes would haunt her dreams until she saw him again and if she never did that ensured that she would never forget him.