Chapter I

18 year old Crown Princess Emma made sure Ava and Robert, her younger siblings, were asleep before heading out of the castle. Once she made sure they were sleeping, she breathed a sigh of relief and headed to her bedchamber to change into something more suited for her plans. She grabbed her lantern as she left her room. She took off her shoes and tiptoed through the hall and down the stairs. She looked around. She heard the guards talking. She pulled her cloak off its hook and put it on, covering her head. She grabbed a sword, sheathed it, and headed toward the door. She decided to go out the back entrance hoping she might slip out unnoticed. The guard stopped her.

"Princess Emma …" he said, crossing his weapon in front of her chest. "Where are you going?" He asked.

Darnit! Emma thought silently. She squared her shoulders confidently. "It's a beautiful evening, I thought I'd take a little walk," she lied.

The guard cocked his head. "Without an escort?" He asked, puzzled.

"Oh, it's FINE," she assured him. "I'm in a disguise and I have one of my father's swords. You know he's taught me everything he knows. I'll be fine. I just … need some time to myself right now. It's been a long day and I wasn't feeling well and I think the fresh air will help." She said as sweetly and as innocent as she could. It wasn't a complete lie - she had been feeling under the weather these last couple of weeks.

The guard wasn't so sure. "But, Your Highness…" he started. "What if the king and queen find out that you left the castle without any protection?" he asked anxiously.

Emma thought for a moment. This could be a problem, she thought. An idea struck her. "Well, first of all, they're NOT gonna find out because they're not here. And if they DID find out, you'll have nothing to worry about because I'll say that I snuck out with some of the servants." She said, putting a hand on the guard's shoulder. He nodded and looked the other way. Emma bolted out the door before anyone else might stop her. She pulled the hood of her cloak back over her head, tucked her thick blonde hair inside her cloak as well as she could, and headed toward the forest.

When she reached her destination, she stood still and listened until she heard movement. She turned around and a large smile flashed across her face. "Baelfire!" She said excitedly. He returned her smile with his own smile. She reached out and hugged him, then took his face and kissed him. He kissed her in return and she flung her arms around his neck and tightly hugged him. Emma pulled away and placed her hands on her hips. "You have NO idea how hard it was to escape tonight!" She exclaimed. She affectionately ran her hands up and down his arms. "I think the castle guards are on to me."

Baelfire smiled. "I thought you said you were good at escaping unnoticed." He said teasingly. He kissed her forehead.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Well I am!" She retorted. "Usually. I don't know how the guards got so smart all of a sudden." She added with a shrug. "But I'm here now! So let's just walk. Please? It's kinda chilly tonight. One could freeze to death if they stood still for too long."

"Okay," Baelfire put his arm around her shoulders and lovingly squeezed them. Emma looked up at his eyes and smiled amorously.

Baelfire cleared his throat. "So, have you told your parents about us yet?" He asked her.

Emma gave him a quizzical look. "Um, no! Why would I wanna do that?"

"Because we probably should. Especially if we plan on getting married." He answered. Emma crossed her arms. "It's been almost a year…" he added.

Emma swallowed. "Well… it's not so much my mother I'm scared to tell. It's Daddy…" she paused. "He can be a little … overprotective at times. I'm kind of afraid he'll tell us 'no'." They stopped walking and she turned to face Baelfire. She looked at him in his round, hazel eyes. "What about you?" She asked. "Have you told your father about us?"

Baelfire looked to the side to avoid her thoughtful, caring gaze. "He … I don't think he needs to know that I'm in love with the princess," he swallowed hard and looked back at Emma. "He'd be really upset with me… something about how marrying the daughter of lightness will weaken his power."

Emma placed her hands on his shoulder. "Understandable." she said. "We have a bit of a problem then. I can't tell my parents we want to get married because Daddy might want to kill us. You can't tell your father because he may use it as an excuse to find a way to ruin the kingdom while also trying to break us apart." She looked off into the distance and then back at Bae. "Well then," she began again. "Until we decide what to do and when to tell them about our relationship, we'll just have to keep meeting like this." She kissed him and he returned it. Emma briefly broke away to smile at him. As he returned her smile she then kissed him again, this time with more passion. He returned the same and gently held her face. Emma pulled away for a moment. "I just have to be back home in time before the change of the guard. I uh … kinda bribed the one that saw me sneak out…" she told him.

Baelfire gave her an amused look and smiled. "Naughty," he said with a mischievous grin.

She put her finger on his lips. "Mmhm…" she nodded with a seductive wink. "And you are too for going along with this." She stroked his face.

They walked deeper into the forest and Emma didn't give a care what the guard thought or suspected. Or if she'll ever be caught. All she cared about at that moment was that she was with Baelfire, her true love, and she was going to savor every second she had with him tonight. She wasn't going to let anyone, or any negative thoughts, ruin their night with one another.

A few hours later, at their hideout in the forest, Emma decided it was time she'd better start back to the castle. She wanted to get back home before the change of the guard. After all, they'd get suspicious of her. Baelfire looked disappointed. "You can't even stay for say, ten more minutes?" he asked.

"I'm sorry," Emma answered while she buttoned up the top of her dress. "I'd love to, I want to, but I have to get home! The guard changes soon and my parents are expected home sometime today." She sat down next to Baelfire and kissed him. "I had fun tonight," she said with a seductive wink. He sat up and kissed her on her cheek. "Do you want me to walk you home?" he asked as he began dressing himself.

Emma's eyes went wide. "And risk the Royal Guard seeing you and me together? Bae, they'd tell my father in a heartbeat! Half a heartbeat!" She quickly shook her head. "No! I mean, thank you, but no. I'll walk back home myself." She said confidently.

Baelfire wasn't going to give up. "Just to the courtyard at least?" He kissed her on the mouth, hoping that would convince her.

"Um …" she thought for a second and kissed him back. "There are guards outside the courtyard too. Uh, how about just to the edge of the forest? The castle is close enough to the forest so you don't have to feel guilty for letting me walk alone the rest of the way but far enough away so the guards won't see us." She smiled.

He smiled back. "Ah, clever! That's fine with me!" He answered enthusiastically. He stood up and grabbed both their cloaks and helped Emma into hers and walked back hand in hand.

They eventually reached the point where they had to part ways. But before they did, they gave each other one last drawn-out embrace and kiss. They then said 'I love you' to one another and pulled apart, walking off in opposite directions.

Emma arrived just in time. Much to her relief, the original guard had not yet changed posts. She pulled her cloak closer to her body as she walked closer to the steps. The guard cleared his throat. "That was a long walk." he said. Emma gave him a side eyed glance. What did he know? She wondered. "Did you have fun?" He asked her. Emma thought she was going to vomit. "Uh …" she stammered. "I … uh … ran into an old friend and we … caught up on a few things," she lied.

The guard nodded. "I see," he said. "Well, all that matters is that you're safe." He added.

Emma shot him a deadly look. "This friend would NEVER hurt me," she said. "Now… if you'll be so kind as to let me back into the castle please?" She asked defiantly.

"Indeed, Your Highness," he obeyed.

Emma rolled her eyes. "And WHAT have I said about the Your Highness stuff?" She whispered loudly.

"I have to call you that, Miss," he said apologetically. He opened the castle door and Emma uttered a groan. She took off her cloak and was about to take off her scarf when she noticed a small figure standing in the entryway. It was Ava. Emma's eyes widened in terror. What was she even doing up at this hour?

"What are you doing, Emma? And why are you dressed like that?" Ava asked innocently.

Emma just stared, not knowing what to say and hoping Ava would just go back to doing whatever it was she was doing. She didn't.

"Who was that boy you were with?" Ava asked.

Emma's heart leaped into her throat. She choked. "Uh, what boy?" she asked. She started to feel nauseous again.

Ava put her hands on her hips. "Don't be funny, Emma! I SAW you with a boy outside near the woods!" She said.

But it's dark out! How could she see? Emma thought silently. She tried to cover for herself. She patted Ava's head. "Ava, honey, you're imagining things," she said with a nervous giggle.

Ava wasn't buying it. "Were you outside ALL night?" she asked in horror.

This cannot be happening! Emma thought to herself. "Uh…" she didn't know what to do. No amount of lying and covering would get her out of this mess. She ran up to her little sister.

"Emma…?" Ava looked a little nervous. "Is everything all right?" she asked.

Emma's face went white. She looked Ava right square in her big blue eyes. She firmly took her by the shoulders. "Ava, you CANNOT breathe a WORD of this to Mama and Daddy, do you HEAR me?" She said desperately. Ava just stared and nodded her head. She looked at Emma's arm. "What's that?" she asked curiously. Emma looked down at her arm and noticed the mud from Baelfire's hideout. Emma's mouth went dry. If it's on my arm, it's in my hair and on my FACE! She panicked. "Mud." she answered quickly. "I, uh, fell on the way back here." she lied. Thank goodness Ava was young and innocent. If she wasn't, she'd wonder, and Emma's and Baelfire's secret would be out. She again held Ava by the shoulders. "Ava… do you understand that you CANNOT tell ANYONE about ANY of this?" She said, desperation flooded her voice. Ava submissively nodded yes. "I MEAN it, Ava!" Emma shouted.

"I won't!" Ava started to get agitated. She didn't know why her sister was being so mean all of a sudden.

Emma removed her grip and stood up straight and smoothed her skirt. She looked down at her sister. "Good." she said. "Now I am going to go take a bath and get cleaned up before Mother and Daddy get home, okay?" Ava nodded yes. "That means leave me alone, okay, Ava?" She said as she rolled her eyes. She headed to her bedchamber to go clean up. That was CLOSE, she thought to herself as she closed her door.