Treasure

Chapter 27

The next night...

It was the night of the ball. Princess Emma sat at her vanity as a hairstylist bushed out her long blond hair, preparing to put it in a bun. She studied her dress in the mirror in front of her. A red ball gown with long sleeves. It had a lower neckline than most of her other ball gowns, revealing slight cleavage, but not too much. Emma was surprised her father approved of such a dress, usually he was a fan of the dresses that had high necklines.

    "Oh, Emma you look beautiful!" Emma's mother said from the doorway, startling both her and the stylist.

    "Thank you, mother." She responded with a blush.

    "I brought your crown for you to wear." Snow responded holding up a diamond crown.

    "Mom I don't-" Emma began to say.

    "Oh it will look marvelous, my queen!" The hairstylist interrupted.

    "You know I don't like jewelry..." Emma said under her breath.

    "Oh nonsense Emma, you're always wearing the necklace your father and I gave you... not to mention that ring the captain gave you..." The Queen responded, mumbling the last part.

Emma didn't respond. It was pointless to argue with her mother, especially for an event like this. She sat there in silence as her mother and the stylist talked about Emma's hair and how it seemed lighter and more brittle from her time being on the ship in the sunlight all day. Then on to her skin and how it was tanner than usual, causing small freckles to become visible and how it was harder to find a dress that would compliment her new skin tone.

    "Ah, there's my girl." Prince Charming said, making Emma smile.

    "Hello, father..." Emma responded, slightly blushing.

    "Isn't she a beauty David?" Snow asked with a smile approaching him.

    "Well she did inherit my good looks." He responded humorously.

    "Daddy, is everything set for later?" Emma asked.

    "Of course. Your mother made sure everything arrived on time. Everything will be perfect." He responded, wrapping an arm around Snow.

    "I know I haven't said it, but thank you for everything." Emma said, rising from her seat and hugging her parents.

    "Of course, we love you." Snow said in the middle of the hug.

The three of them made their way to the ballroom. Many of the guests had already arrived, waiting for the ball to start. Killian and his crew were amongst the crowd of people, some recognized them as pirates while most ignored them. The crew was once again in their best outfits and Killian was in the specially designed outfit the Queen had made for him.

Killian had been to his fair share of balls from his time in the royal navy but this one was like none he's ever seen. It seemed like the ballroom could hold an infinite number of people, servers were everywhere attending to every guest with trays full of food and drinks. Live music echoed through the entire room. A few people stared at him and many avoided him. His fearsome pirate reputation still scared many of the guests regardless of the fact that he was in a relationship with the kingdom's beloved princess.

"Prepare for the arrival of the King and Queen." A servant at the top of the long staircase announced over the crowd.

Many people started shoving their way to the front as if they have never seen the King and Queen before. Killian didn't bother to move, all he cared about was seeing Emma, looking as gorgeous as ever.