#plus i have court attendance tomorrow ffs

[scythc]

.

[wefoundloveunderthelight]

Skyline Manor by GleefullyCaptainSwan

Chapter 1/13

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Chapter 1: Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a time in the faraway land of Bostonia, lived a Princess named Emma Swan and her son, Sir Henry and while Sir Henry loved and adored his mother, he longed for adventure. Life at Skyline Manor bordered on mundane, and Sir Henry wanted to see the world, find buried treasure, or save the kingdom from impending doom. But most of all, the thing Sir Henry wanted most in all the realms was for his mother to find true love.

Princess Emma had many suitors, presently she was being courted by Duke Humbert of Rockport, a friend of her brother King David’s and an honorable man. Yet for all the dancing, flowers, and bold intentions, his mother had not yet settled for the Duke.

For Sir Henry knew that his mother was longing for her own adventure. He had observed her many times from her window, while glancing up from his place in the garden. She would sit, stoically, her gaze always looking outward, staring wistfully at the sea. But alas, adventure was frowned upon for the Princess, as King David wanted her to settle down and marry, forever giving up her chance at finding the one thing that had alluded her. A happy ending.

“Henry, dinner is ready.”

Henry dropped his pen and turned toward his door, shoving his notebook in his desk drawer as his mother entered his bedroom.

“Did you hear me? Dinner’s ready.”

“Yup, just finishing up my homework.” He closed his math book and stood from his desk. “We aren’t having meatloaf again are we?”

His mother tussled his hair and pushed him toward the kitchen. “No, mac and cheese tonight.”

“Oh yum.” He exclaimed before she grabbed him by the shirt.

“Wash your hands first.”

“Mom.” He whined. “My hands are clean.”

“Now.” She demanded. “Then come to the table. We won’t start without you.”

“We?”

“Yeah, I told you last week that Graham was coming for dinner tonight?”

Henry smiled, “Oh yeah.” He turned away from his mother so she wouldn’t see the frown on his face. Graham “The Bore” Humbert and his mother had been dating for six months. It wasn’t that Henry didn’t like him; he just wasn’t interesting. He had been excited when he first met him, leather jacket, with a shiny gold badge, he couldn’t wait to hear all his stories about chasing bad guys or shooting a gun, only to find out that he wasn’t exactly a cop but more like a security guard for an old folk’s home.

He was a nice man, polite, friendly, and his mom seemed to like him, so he tried not to show his disappointment when his mother invited him along to things they used to do together. Going to the zoo, spending time at the park by the docks, or go-kart racing, all of the previous mother/son activities became, mother/son plus Graham activities. While it was disappointing, his mother deserved to be happy. She had gone through a rough time with her dad and though they had stopped yelling at each other, he knew that she had been unhappy for a really long time.

Seeing his mother laugh and smile was great and everything, but Henry just didn’t feel like Graham was the right man for his mom. Case in point, when he and his mom wanted to try sailing, Graham got seasick and threw up the entire trip. Or when they went to that new escape room downtown and Graham ignored his mother’s suggestion to enter the code they found in the chest on the cabinet lock and ended up wasting twenty minutes entering random numbers until time ran out.

Henry was sure that someone could be a nice man, just not the right man.

He spent many of their outings trying to find a better match for his mom. Every man they passed, or spoke to, became eligible options for Emma. So far he hadn’t found anyone worthy enough. He guessed Graham could do until he found something better. At least she wouldn’t be sad like she was before Graham had arrived.

“Goodness, did you wash off your fingerprints?” His mother asked as he sat down at the table.

“Sorry, I got distracted.” He said sheepishly as he sat down.

“How are you Henry?” Graham turned his attention nervously toward him.

He shrugged. “Good I guess.” Dinner was quiet, he dug his fork into the noodles, slipping them into his mouth as he glanced around the table. There was small talk that didn’t include him, mostly things Graham had dealt with at work, some man named Leroy fell and hurt his hip, the lady he always called Grans had gotten angry about the food in the cafeteria again, so he had to settle her back to her room. Not terrible things, but nothing that interested Henry and he wasn’t exactly a part of the conversation either. “Can I go hang out with Will tonight?”

“I thought maybe we could watch a movie.” She replied, looking between him and Graham.

“Will promised we could finish the Falcon tonight.” He whined.

��You’re building a bird?” Graham asked.

“The Millennium Falcon.” He corrected with an air of disappointment when the man shrugged his shoulders, not understanding what it was.

“Ok, what’s that?”

Henry’s mouth dropped and he turned toward his mother. “He doesn’t know what it is?”

“Afraid Graham doesn’t like Star Wars.” Henry blinked slowly. Another strike against you, buddy, he thought. “We were thinking we could watch “Paul Blart, Mall Cop.” His mother smiled toward Graham.

Mall Cop, he groaned internally. His mother hated that movie. He tried to fake a smile. “Sounds great.” He knew his voice must have sounded disingenuous when Graham cleared his throat and spoke.

“Emma, if he wants to build this Falcon car, I don’t mind, we can watch the movie some other time, or I can leave it here if he wants to watch it after we do, tonight.”

“Ok fine, but you have to go to bed at 9 tonight, you have school tomorrow.” Henry jumped up from the table. “And tell Will I said no bad words. I’m still getting dirty looks from the principle after you felt the need to use the phrase bloody hell when your teacher asked if you did your homework last week.”

“Got it, bed by 9, no bad words. Love you mom.” He kissed her cheek and ran out of the room, sticking his head back through the opening of the door. “Bye Graham.” He announced before running from the room toward the front door and sprinting across the hallway, colliding with something solid as soon as he shut his door.

He fell backward, landing on his rear and looking up to see a tall, dark haired man in a leather jacket staring down at him. “Sorry, lad, I fear I didn’t see you. I hope I haven’t injured you.” He held his hand out and helped him off the floor.

“Takes a lot more than that to hurt me.” He replied with a grin taking in the stranger’s appearance, wondering who he was and what he was doing here.

“Alright then lad, glad you’re not hurt.”

Henry looked down and picked up the item the man dropped, turning it over in his hand, it was a set of keys with a ship’s anchor hanging from a chain. “Cool anchor.”

The man laughed and took the keys from his hand. “Thanks, mate. I’m Killian Jones, I just moved in next door.” He gestured to the door on the other side of his own.

“My name’s Henry.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Sir Henry.” He stated and Henry’s eyes grew wide. “I hope you get to where you’re going safely.” He chuckled.

“Thanks, just going to visit my friend Will, he lives across the hall here.” Pointing to the door in front of them.

“Alright then, I won’t keep you. Be careful, I’m sure your mom and dad would be quite upset if you were injured.”

“I just live with my mom. My dad doesn’t live here.”

“You sure do give out a lot of information to strangers. You should be careful with that; I could be an untrustworthy person?”

“Are you?”

“Well, no, but you should still be careful, lad.” He said with a laugh. “Have a good evening, I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

Henry waved as the man retreated down the hall, his anchor keychain jingling from his back pocket. A smile grew on his face. A new player had arrived on the scene, he thought before knocking on the door in front of him.

Will Scarlet opened the door, smiling down at him. “Bloody hell, it’s already 7pm. You’re already late.”

“Mom says you can’t use that word while I’m here. And I couldn’t help it, Graham came over tonight and wanted to watch Mall Cop.” Will Scarlet was his mother’s best friend. They had known each other since before Henry was born. Will was Henry’s Godfather and Will’s place was his favorite place to be besides his own home.

“Oh God. He takes that security guard thing a bit too far doesn’t he?”

“He doesn’t even watch Star Wars. Who doesn’t watch Star Wars?”

“Loads of people, mate, loads of incorrect and ignorant people.” He teased as they sat down in front of the multitude of Legos spread out on the table in front of them. “But cut him some slack, he’s a good man. Your mom could do worse.”

“She could do better.”

“Henry!” He warned. “Just because he’s a snoozer, doesn’t mean your mom doesn’t like being around him. She seems to see something in him that’s worth having around to her, so don’t screw that up, kid.”

Henry rolled his eyes. “I know, I know, I was nice to him. I promise.”

“Good to hear, kid.” He ruffled his hair and they worked together to find the pieces they needed to continue where they left off. “Did your mom get the chicken for the barbeque next weekend?”

Henry’s favorite summer tradition was the annual Skyline Apartment’s barbeque. It was held every June on the roof of the building and all the residents attended. The roof had the best view of the harbor in town and was the main reason his mom chose this place when they moved here three years ago.

“Yeah, she got it on Wednesday.” He paused. “Oh yeah, there’s a new guy, we need to invite him too.”

“Which new guy?”

“The guy who moved into the vacant apartment next door, 4C, I ran into him on my way over here.”

“I’ll make sure Rubes invites him, then.”

“Awesome.”

When Henry returned to his room later that evening he pulled the notebook out of his drawer and stared at the page.

Sir Henry hoped that a new adventure would be revealed at the annual ball. Every year, the residents of Skyline Manor hosted a party, which was attended by the King and Queen of Bostonia. Perhaps this would be the moment that his mother would find her true love. As preparations for the ball were being set, a mysterious ship dropped anchor at Bostonia Harbor, helmed by the bravest sailor in all the lands, Captain Killian Jones.

~*~

Killian Jones dropped his keys on the counter, looking around the empty apartment in front of him. Stepping out onto his balcony he closed his eyes and listened for the sound of the seagulls. He smiled to himself as he drank in the smells of the fresh ocean air. He could barely believe his luck when a unit opened at Skyline Apartments. He had been on the waiting list for a year after scoping out the best apartments close to the harbor.

This was a rare find. Living near the harbor meant he no longer had to sit in traffic to get to his job each day. Killian loved the ocean. When he moved to Boston from Maine two years ago, he knew that he wanted to work on the water. It was by chance that an old Navy friend of his knew of a job for a charter company that needed a Captain to give tours of the harbor to paying guests and the rest as they say, was history.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and he fished it out from his restrictive denim jeans to glance at the screen.

Belle: Want to get dinner tonight? I assume you haven’t bought any groceries for your new apartment and if I didn’t get to you soon, you’d have already ordered pizza and opened a beer.

Killian laughed; Belle knew him so well. He’d been seeing the lass for the last six months, but he tried to keep things light between them. Dinner and a movie, perhaps a round of pool at a nearby bar, but Killian Jones didn’t have a girlfriend. She never spent the night, they didn’t celebrate each other’s birthdays, and they never talked about their future.

He liked Belle very much, she was a friendly lass, very attentive, an excellent lover, and honestly a great friend. But he couldn’t afford to make attachments.

His last relationship, if you could call it that, had lasted two years. The woman he had been seeing wasn’t exactly up front on all aspects of her personal life. Perhaps he should have seen the immediate red flags when they met and her relationship status on Facebook was “It’s complicated.” Turns out complicatedmeant married, and not in the separated variety either.

An arrest from a bar fight and a restraining order later, it was over. Everything Killian had thought he knew about his life had turned upside down. He had lived with a friend for a few months while he tried to recover from losing the woman he had planned to ask to marry him. When he was finally determined to move on, lost in drink and terrified of having his heart broken again, he swore to his brother that he would never enter a relationship with another woman.

He had not broken that drunken vow since. He enjoyed women, in fact, he had enjoyed the company of many a lass after nights spent at the bar, carnal activities were something he found himself quite skilled at. But that was usually as far as things went. One-night stands, chance encounters, never emotional connection.

Sure, his one-night stand with Belle French had extended into six months. One dinner that turned into a string of dinners and bedroom romps, but Killian kept his heart out of the transaction. Belle was fun, she was safe, and she seemed to understand their arrangement.

Killian: Or you could bring sandwiches from that place we went to on 5th. I’ll provide the beer. As long as you don’t mind sitting on the floor. Furniture doesn’t arrive until tomorrow afternoon.

Belle: On my way!

Killian stepped into the hall, locking his door behind him. He knew there was a convenience store within walking distance where he could purchase some beer for the evening. Turning toward the elevator he saw the door to the apartment next to him open and a man step out into the hall. He believed it to be the one the young lad came from earlier when they collided in the hall.

“Tell Henry goodnight for me.” The man’s attention was focused on the occupant still inside the apartment. “Sorry he missed the movie.”

“Maybe next time.” He heard a laugh as he approached, nodding to the man in the hall and turning toward the open door. He made eye contact with the most radiant green eyes he had ever seen, almost tripping over his own feet.

“Good evening.” He offered the greeting to the couple with a nod.

“Hey.” The woman said with a gorgeous smile that seemed to cause the entire dark hall to light up brightly. He continued to the elevator, only turning back when it opened, and he saw the man turn toward him.

“Hold the elevator.” He leaned over and kissed the woman, running down the hall and joining him in the small space. “Haven’t seen you around here before.” He offered his hand toward him and Killian shook it. “I’m Graham. Do you live here?”

“Aye, just moved in to 4C. Name’s Jones.”

“Ah you’re neighbors with my girlfriend and her kid.”

“Ah, Henry, I believe? I think I bumped into him in the hall earlier.”

“That’s him. Great kid.” He said as he exhaled. Killian nodded, unsure of what else to share with the man. He hated small talk and found it completely unnecessary. He was relieved when he heard the ding of the elevator announcing they had arrived on the ground floor.

“Nice meeting you.” He offered as he headed toward the exit.

“Yeah, I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

~*~

Emma stood in her doorway watching her boyfriend and the mystery man enter the elevator. She’d never seen him in the building before. She wondered if Ruby had met someone new recently. Obviously if she had, she could understand why she was keeping him a secret. He was gorgeous in that sort of dangerous, don’t-take-home-to-mom, kind of way.

She closed her door, locking it behind her as she went about cleaning the cups from the living room. It was a lovely evening with Graham, even if the movie was on her do-not-care-to-watchlist. Graham was a really good man. He was friendly, had a steady job, and treated her well. It was more than she had with her ex-husband, Neal.

Neal and Emma had burned with a fire that she knew could never be sustained. They burned hot and blew up just as quickly. She had been married to Neal for less than six months before he got arrested for breaking and entering. She should have known things weren’t going to work out when their first date was to a club that turned out to be a target for a robbery that he had been scoping out. She tried to reconcile all the reasons he could change if they stayed together. But Neal never grew up.

As soon as the ink dried on their divorce papers, she found out she was pregnant because isn’t that just how life works? She had thought she would be done with Neal forever, and then they were forced to work together to parent a child. Henry being born did cause Neal to grow up at least a little, and he gave up his previous life in order to maintain joint custody of their son. Emma had threatened that the moment she found out he was messed up in anything illegal, she would take him back to court immediately.

Eleven years later, and Neal was still clean. Completely and utterly immature, but at least he had held down the same job for the last three months. And he was getting paid legally instead of under the table, which was a welcomed change. For the most part they got along, mostly for Henry’s sake, but she was happy that Henry had both of his parents in his life.

That had been the most important part to her, growing up in the foster system without knowing her real parents had led to a difficult childhood. However, when she turned six, she had been adopted by Ruth and Robert Nolan. They had a son that was only 2 years older than her, and Emma and David became best friends. She had been so grateful to finally have a home, and a family and she never wanted her son to go without either.

She had everything she could ever want in life. A beautiful son, a wonderful family, the best friends she could ever ask for, and a man who cared about her. For all accounts, Emma was happy with her life. Which was all the more reason to be frustrated when she found herself sitting on her balcony tonight, like she did most nights, wondering if there wasn’t something more out there for her. She had everything she had ever asked for, so why was she always looking for shooting stars or waiting for the clock to hit 11:11 to make the wish she made every night when she closed her eyes…

I wish something big and exciting would happen.