A/N: Thank you to all my readers who have been ever so patiently awaiting this installment! This chapter gave me more problems than anticipated during the second half, but it's here and hopefully it won't disappoint!

Chapter Four

Liam Jones didn't have much use for festivals in the normal scheme of things. As a sailor, he'd always been too far removed from the day-to-day workings of towns and villages to participate. He was out at sea the majority of the year, and even when they chanced to make port in places during a festival, he was too exhausted after a day of backbreaking work to spend much time at them. Consequently, it never occurred to Liam after he achieved the rank of captain to do anything during a festival other than catch up on sleep.

And he'd had every intention to keep to that tradition in Arendelle, except that he hadn't counted on meeting its queen and pretending to court her.

"Killian, I need you to take something into town for me," Liam told his younger brother while they dined in his cabin for breakfast one morning.

"What is it?" Blue eyes shone with curiosity as they peered up from a text he'd been studying.

Liam, not wanting to consign his brother to a naval career for all time just because he lacked other options, had made a point, many years ago, to see that his brother received an education while they were out at sea. Liam had chosen to enlist in the navy with an eye toward a long-term career in it; Killian had simply enlisted to stay with his brother.

"It's a message for Elsa. Give it to the blond lad skulking around the royal stables with a reindeer. He'll know what to do with it."

Killian tucked the letter inside the jacket of his uniform. "You calling it off?"

"More like keeping my end of the bargain. Now finish your reading and eat. Shaw's expecting you soon to go over a list of supplies he needs ordered in town."

Muttering to himself about the convenience of needing to go into town on errands when Liam wanted to arrange to meet a girl, Killian finished his breakfast in reasonable enough order. "Shall I wait for a reply?" he asked, before setting off to fetch the list of materials from Shaw, the ship's carpenter.

"No," Liam decided after a moment of thought. There was no telling, with Elsa's busy schedule, how long it would be before she found time and privacy to read it, much less write out a formal reply. Best not to make Killian wait for something that might not come. Liam would simply have to trust that she would receive his letter with enough notice to meet him tonight. It was a gamble, certainly, but there would be other opportunities. Although perhaps none quite so convenient as tonight, when most of the populace would be drinking warmed beverages and engaging in winter recreational sports. "That won't be necessary."

Issuing his brother a skeptical look, Killian left the cabin to find Shaw, and Liam returned to his normal duties. Or at least he tried. His brain seemed to lack its normal focus; no matter how hard he worked both himself and the crew for the rest of the day, a certain queen kept preoccupying his thoughts. After a while, Liam simply gave up fighting it—at which point he became downright irritable and difficult to be around. When Killian pointed out, under his breath, that most men became softer and more agreeable when they met a pretty woman, not sodding slave drivers, Liam decided enough was enough and banished the crew from the Jewel earlier than he'd planned. It was the least he could do, he knew, after what he'd just put them through. Perhaps a couple of extra hours in town before the festival would put everyone in better spirits.

And, not incidentally, give Liam more time to prepare.

By the time full darkness fell, he'd managed to prepare a simple meal. It wasn't special, not anything like what she'd get in the palace, but Liam Jones knew a thing or two about women, even if he'd never formally courted one, and he firmly suspected that Elsa would appreciate the effort if not the execution of the meal. And if she didn't manage to make it tonight, well, there was no great waste of expensive food that would be noticed by his crewman and lead to awkward questions.

Slipping on one of his nicer waistcoats, Liam buttoned it and peered at himself in the half-length mirror on the wall of his cabin. He adjusted the collar of his shirt, raking a hand through his brown curls in an attempt to tame them after a day spent in the wind and sun. His efforts made but little difference, and Liam shrugged to himself. It wasn't as if this were dinner at her palace, he told himself. Or a real courtship.

"Hello?" a feminine voice said faintly. "Liam?"

He stepped out onto the main deck, smiling in welcome. "Elsa," he said, walking over to meet her. "Welcome to the Jewel of the Realm. I wasn't sure you would make it."

"Neither was I," she admitted, "but the opening ceremonies didn't take long, and I got to spend some time with my people before Anna covered for me and faked illness, giving me an excuse to leave."

"You weren't kidding about her enthusiasm in helping," he mused, eyeing Elsa sidelong as her eyes darted all over the ship, trying to take in everything all at once. She shivered, her expression faintly perturbed, and he drew closer to her, concerned. Why, by all the gods of wind and sea, hadn't he thought to bring a jacket up on deck with him, so he could offer it to her? "We'll have to find a proper way to thank her after all this is concluded."

Elsa opened her mouth to reply just as a large wave crashed against the side of the ship, rocking her off balance. Liam caught her in his arms before she could fall forward on her face, and their bodies crushed against each other. Mumbling awkward apologies to him, Elsa attempted to extricate herself, and Liam inhaled sharply through his teeth as her chest and hips brushed against his. His body wakened with powerful arousal in response, and Liam suddenly felt like a schoolboy again, hoping the object of his infatuation didn't notice the full effect she was having on him. Don't be ridiculous, he told himself as he waited for it to wane. Both of them were adults. It would only be awkward if they let it be awkward.

"It's all right," he assured her, as she stepped out of his arms, "you'll get used to the ship's movements and get your sea legs in no time." He studied her expression for a moment. She looked disconcerted and uncertain, her eyes darting around the ship again as she took a few steps back, looking as if she wanted to hide. "Elsa!" he said, raising his voice to capture her attention.

Her head jerked up, and she blinked at him in confusion.

"It's more than simply being unused to ships, isn't it?" he asked quietly.

She nodded mutely, wrapping her arms around herself.

Liam processed that information, cursing to himself. He was so used to living on a ship that it simply hadn't ever occurred to him whether or not Elsa might be comfortable on one. He felt like a heel. Didn't a gentleman always consider the lady's feelings first, ascertaining what she liked and felt comfortable with? Fake courtship or not, he should have given the location for their first evening together more careful consideration.

"How does your stomach feel?" he asked with concern. "Are you nauseous?"

"No, I—I feel fine," she answered haltingly. "I'm just…I think I'd like to get out of the wind for a while, if you don't mind."

"Of course," he answered, offering her his arm.

Elsa accepted it, and he carefully guided her across the deck to his quarters. Liam couldn't help but notice that her grip on him was firm, almost desperate, and she leaned on him rather more than he might have expected. Helping her inside the cabin, Liam released her and pulled out a chair. Elsa sank into it with a grateful, relieved expression.

"I took the liberty of making us a late supper," he said with a rueful nod at the simple fare on the table before her, "though I don't know if you'll feel up to eating any of it. I'm afraid I didn't really think this evening through very well."

She gave a short, breathless laugh. "Neither did I."

"What do you mean?"

"When I got your letter, I didn't think about what it might mean for me to be on a ship. I've never set foot on one before, as you've already surmised. And now I've simply made a mess of things."

"Of course you haven't," he replied automatically, sitting down in the chair next to her. "But what does it mean for you to be on a ship, if you don't mind my asking?"

She slumped a little in her chair, looking tired and defeated. Liam, silently grateful that he'd thought to bring a bottle up from their stores in the cargo bay, poured her a glass of wine and handed it to her without a word. Elsa gulped the red liquid down, coughing afterward. "I'm sorry," she said, when she was able to speak again. "I don't usually drink so fast, but…" She set the glass down on the table, eyeing him with a confused, cautious expression.

"That's all right, you don't owe me any explanation," Liam shook his head, "I was simply curious. However, if you need to talk, I'm here to listen." A mischievous smile spread across his face. "After all, if you can't open up to your fake suitor, who can you open up to?"

Elsa's answering smile was mildly exasperated, and Liam was oddly glad of it. It was far and away much better than seeing her so frightened and sad. Like any true gentleman, he'd never been able to ignore a woman in distress, or in need of any help. Perhaps that was why he'd agreed to the madness of this fake courtship. Yet ever since he'd agreed to the plan, he'd been plagued by the nagging sense that something was different this time. The notion made him restless, and Liam had assumed it was an attack of conscience over the sheer level of subterfuge he'd be participating in. Still, he'd given his word and Liam Jones never broke his word if he had any say in the matter.

Now, as he studied the disconsolate queen, Liam had the uncomfortable notion that the difference had nothing to do with simple gentlemanly comportment. Determined not to examine that too closely, he focused his energies on pouring Elsa another drink while she began to speak.

"I haven't been queen for very long," she revealed, "only a couple of years or so, and I still feel so inadequate to the role," she confessed. "And I'm not good with people. You may as well know that at the outset. I'm too reserved, too…" She said the next word with pained, resentful emphasis, "…cold with other people. Half a childhood spent learning protocol and diplomacy, and I still make mistakes and don't know how to relate to people," she finished bitterly, taking another long drink of her wine.

Her cheeks were flushed a becoming shade of pink, presumably from the combination of embarrassment and alcohol, but Liam only vaguely registered it as he stared at her with a puzzled frown. Elsa seemed remarkably strong and capable in her role as queen in the little he'd observed. And a woman capable of sweeping up to a total stranger and inciting him to dance with her certainly wasn't so devoid of confidence as she presumed herself, surely. Or had Elsa simply been that desperate to avoid dancing with the Frost's son, Jack?

"I would imagine your position as queen doesn't help matters, either," Liam reflected. "That's the funny thing about rank: the higher it is, the more you feel obligated to hold yourself aloft so as to maintain order. But in so doing, you feel more isolated from people than ever."

Elsa looked surprised, then embarrassed. "Yes, I suppose as Captain of a ship, you understand something of my plight. However…" She hesitated, her expression almost ashamed, before she said in a rush, "I have magic. Ice magic. Well, it isn't limited strictly to ice, I suppose. I can make cold breezes and frost things, so I suppose cold magic might be a better term for it, but that doesn't sound half so nice, and anyway, I accidentally hurt Anna when we were kids, so my parents kept me away from everyone else, especially Anna, and I didn't get a chance to socialize because they were afraid I couldn't control my powers and I'd hurt someone else. And then my parents died out at sea when we were just kids, and I didn't have anyone—"

"Elsa," Liam said, laying a hand on one shoulder to capture her attention. "Slow down. Now what's this you say about magic?"

She inhaled deeply, held her breath for two beats, then exhaled slowly. "I'm sorry. I—I don't know what came over me…"

"Everything you've ever been put through, I'd wager," Liam answered her sympathetically. He could certainly understand that. He was no stranger to an unconventional, somewhat troubled childhood himself. He had shouldered a lot himself, in his own upbringing of Killian and all the hardships they had weathered together. There had been nights, so many nights, where he had lain awake until nearly dawn, his own stomach gnawing with hunger because he'd given Killian his own meager ration of food, worrying about how he'd get through another day and where their next meal would come from. Or, if they failed to execute their duties to the captain's satisfaction, whether there would be a meal that day at all. "Why don't you start with this ice magic you mentioned? What can you do with it?"

"Well…" Elsa hovered her finger over the tabletop, then slowly traced a square in the air just above the surface. A sheet of ice, approximately half an inch thick, materialized in front of her. Curling her fingers, she scored the sheet of ice across once, then again from top to bottom, without actually touching her nails to the surface. Liam watched, entranced, as her fingers began to dance more in more intricate movements, too quick to follow. One by one, gleaming, translucent chess pieces took shape, filling the board, and Liam held his breath in wonder.

"This is incredible," he breathed, leaning forward to examine the pieces better when she finished. The detail on each of the pieces was phenomenal, he noted with awe. He could actually see the individual expressions on the faces of the regent pieces, and the tiny scales on the knights' leaf-mail suits. Elsa hadn't simply created a chess set, she had created an artistic masterpiece.

She blushed again, her eyes shifting away when he tried to meet her gaze.

"I mean it. You're very gifted. And not just with magic. The artistry on these pieces is better than I've ever seen…" He paused, recalling the large ice sculptures at the ball where they had met. "The sculptures at the Solstice ball, you made them, too, didn't you?"

"Thank you," she said simply, still avoiding his gaze, "and yes, I did. But I didn't always have the control I do now. In fact…" She bit her lip. "I didn't use to have much at all. I was too afraid of myself, of my powers, and what I could do without even meaning to—like hurting Anna. So you can see why my childhood was lonely and lacking in the opportunities to develop much in the way of true social grace."

"But you certainly have excellent control over your magic now," he observed.

"Yes. That's a story in itself, I'm afraid. But it brought Anna and me close again, and I'll always be thankful for that."

"And your parents passed away at sea, orphaning you and your sister before you were ever fully grown. No wonder ships make you nervous." He shook his head with regret. "I'm sorry, Elsa. If I'd have known…"

"No, it's all right," she assured him. "I've lived too much of my life in fear and doubt, and after letting go of that, I promised myself I would never live that way again. I think… No, I know I needed to come see your ship. Being here makes me anxious, it's true, but it doesn't have to keep being that way, do you see?"

"Perfectly," he smiled, admiring her courage. Not everyone could find it in themselves to hold with such a philosophy, much less act on it. Nevertheless, Liam made a mental note to introduce Elsa very gradually to the Jewel and its inner workings.

"So," she said with sparkling eyes and a nod at the chess board, "do you play?"

"I do," he admitted, "but I'm afraid it's been years since I've touched a board. I never had the leisure for it after my father left and my mother died."

"I daresay I'm hardly a prodigy at it, myself, Captain. I so rarely had anyone to play against besides myself or my father." Her happy expression faltered.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, just wishing my powers were a little bit different, right now," she replied with the ghost of a smile. "I'm afraid we've let the meal you worked so hard to make for us grow cold."

"It's no trouble to re-heat it," he said automatically.

"Oh, but it is," she disagreed. "You'll have to build a new fire and wait for everything to heat."

"Nonsense, the hearth should still be warm, and we're not cooking our food, just re-heating it; we won't need to wait for full heat. It won't take long at all to warm things back up."

"Thank goodness," she smiled with evident relief. "I didn't want to trouble you, but I am rather hungry. It's one thing to frost a wine glass, or lower the temperature of a hot room, but forming and sculpting ice takes a lot more energy from me, and I'm always starving afterward."

Thinking about the level of detail and sheer artistry she put into her sculptures, Liam could certainly understand that. He also thought he understood something of why she might take the time to refine her skill in sculpting in order to include such fine detail. It was a physical manifestation and reminder of how far she had come not only in the use of her magic, but of her emotional journey as well.

"Not a problem," he assured her with a smile. "I have a teenage brother with a bottomless pit for a stomach, and the rest of the crew are hearty eaters themselves. There's no use in standing on ceremony and starving yourself when you're aboard the Jewel."

Elsa's shy, answering smile could have lit up his cabin by itself. "Thank you. Then as it's really no trouble to reheat the food, I would be delighted to dine with you."

"And I," he said in a teasing tone, picking up their plates in order to take them to the galley and reheat their contents, "would be honored to lose a game of chess to you."

Liam's insistence that he was rusty at chess notwithstanding, the game ended up being a closer match than either of them anticipated. He put up a hell of a fight against Elsa, who played much better than she had let on. Liam teased her about hoodwinking him at first, but after seeing her react with genuine confusion, he realized that she truly thought she had no real aptitude for the game. Upon probing for more detail, Liam surmised that because Elsa had won the game so infrequently against her father, she had never really recognized the innate talent she had for the game, despite her admission that many of the games they'd played together had been close.

Smiling ruefully, Liam put forth his best effort, his pile of captured chess pieces growing at a steady pace that nearly matched Elsa's own. So when he saw the opportunity to capture her queen and gain the advantage over her, after studying the board a long while, Liam decided to seize it.

"Officer overtakes Queen," he said, shifting his piece across the board and removing hers.

"Checkmate," Elsa announced primly, moving her Marquess into a position that left Liam's King trapped with nowhere else to go.

Liam gaped at her, then down at the board. Sure enough, he realized, Elsa had lured him into a trap—and a rather brilliant one at that. In moving his last Officer to capture the queen, he'd left his king

"Well," he smiled, studying the board some more, and reviewing the course of their game in his head, "that was certainly educational. Fun, though." Elsa blushed, looking pleased, and Liam began to pick up the pieces to put them away before he remembered that there was no place to store them.

"Here," Elsa said, gathering up the pieces, "let me." Gathering the pieces together, she laid them carefully on the board and stretched her hands out flat, hovering over them. Liam watched with fascination as the board and seemed to evaporate before his very eyes. "How did you do that?" he asked with genuine curiosity. "I thought you couldn't heat anything."

"I can't," she replied quite matter-of-factly.

"Then how did you make it evaporate?"

"I didn't, not really," Elsa answered with a shake of her head. "When I made the board and its pieces, I simply pulled the natural moisture out of the air in our environment and applied intense cold and pressure to them, solidifying them into the shapes I wanted."

"So you just put that moisture back where it came from?" he guessed.

"Mm-hmm." She gave him a thoughtful look. "You know, no one has ever bothered to ask about the way any of my magic works before, much less inferred anything about it. Not even Anna, which is odd because she's normally so curious about everything." Her expression became sad and troubled.

"Perhaps," Liam said, standing up to stretch his stiff muscles, "Anna thinks that it will cause you pain or embarrassment by bringing it up."

"That's possible, I suppose," Elsa said with a tired smile. "Thank you, Liam, for having me for a visit tonight

"It was my pleasure," he assured her. Liam held out his hand in a silent offer of assistance, and Elsa accepted it easily, springing lightly to her feet. "I hope I haven't kept you here too late," he said, releasing her hand as he reached for his jacket and pulled it off of the peg on the wall. "Though I suppose if I did, that would work to our advantage in terms of spreading rumors about our illicit love affair," he winked., settling his jacket about her shoulders.

"Illicit?" she sputtered in astonished amusement.

"Isn't it?" he teased, settling his jacket about her shoulders. "A queen sneaking away from the palace and carrying on a love affair with a sea captain seems about as illicit as you can get." ay. Still,

"I suppose when you put it that way..." Her eyes sparkled with good-natured amusement. Stretching up on to the tips of her toes, she brushed a kiss, feather-light, on his cheek.

He gazed down at her searchingly. "What was that for?"

"The jacket. I've told you before that the cold doesn't bother me, and now you know why. But you gave it to me again anyway."

"It's partly habit, I suppose," Liam admitted. "My mother always insisted that it was one's behavior that made a person a gentleman or a lady, far more than breeding. And it seems to have stuck with me enough that I'm trying to impart those same values to Killian." He paused, as a thought struck him. "Does it bother you?" Liam had never thought to ask such a thing before. But then, he'd never had a long-term relationship before, real or fake. And, of course, it was more than possible he'd simply been too much of a self-absorbed ass who was only affecting the airs of a gentleman, to ever consider such a thing.

"No," she shook her head, "not at all. It's sweet that you care enough to still make the gesture, even if though it isn't really necessary."

Liam nodded, but didn't quite know what to say in reply. "I'll escort you back to the palace," he offered.

"Are you sure?" she said quickly. "It's not such a long walk back to the palace. What if your crew return and don't find you here?"

"Then they'll probably think I've gone to one of the taverns for a pint," he shrugged. "It wouldn't be the first time. "Besides, Killian knows what's going on, remember? He can direct the crew and oversee anything that needs to be done in my absence, if need be. It's good for him to exercise some responsibility at this age. Keeps him from seeking out too much trouble in town."

"All right, then," she smiled, leading the way back up to the main deck. "I accept. Thank you. It will be nice to have some company on my walk back to the palace."

They exited the ship together, and Elsa slipped her cool fingers into his as they stepped off the gangplank and onto the docks. Liam glanced down in surprise, but said nothing. He supposed it only made sense for them to hold hands at the very least, if they were supposed to be lovers. Although most people would be sleeping by now, or attending the late night festival, it didn't follow that there was no chance of anyone seeing them together.

They walked through the town of Arendelle in companionable silence, admiring the stars or the cast of moonlight against flower and tree. It was nice to simply be in someone's presence without being required or pressured to speak, Liam realized. His days were filled with so much noise—shouted orders, the companionable singing among his sailors as they worked, the crash and boom of the sea, routine construction repairs… Liam had learned to cherish the somewhat quieter atmosphere of the Jewel late at night. But this, the total silence, was restful in a way that he had never realized he needed. Was it like this for Elsa, too, he wondered, whose days were probably just as busy and full of clamor?

"We should probably say goodbye here," Liam spoke up, finally breaking the silence as they drew near the palace grounds. He paused near a cluster of large, sweet-smelling spruce trees and faced her. Elsa, still holding his hand, halted in her tracks.

"Here," she said, slipping out of his naval jacket. She folded it carefully and presented it to him. "Thank you for a lovely, quiet evening, Liam."

"The pleasure was mine," he replied with sincerity. A sudden impish spirit overtook him. "Shall I make plans for our next tête à tête, milady? Perhaps tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow night is no good," she shook her head. "I'm spending the evening with the Frosts. But I might be able to get away the night after. I'll send word for you to join me, if I can get away."

"Join you?" he echoed.

"Let's just say that I have a surprise for you next time we meet, Captain."

"A surprise?"

Her eyes sparkled with mischief. "Yes. There is someplace I want to take you. Oh, and Liam? When I send for you, dress warmly and bring a change of clothes."

"I'm intrigued, Your Majesty," he said with an arch of his brow. Lifting her hand, which was still clasped in his, Liam pressed a gentlemanly kiss to the back of it. "Goodnight, Elsa," he said more informally. "Sleep well."

"Goodnight," she whispered, backing away as she released his hand. "I—" She seemed to hesitate. "You too."

Liam stood in the shelter of the trees a while longer, watching her slim form grow smaller and smaller as she trekked back to the palace. It was only when he finally saw her cross the drawbridge and pass by the posted guards to enter the palace that he finally let himself turn away and head back to the Jewel. Circumstances being what they were, he could not simply escort her to the door like a proper gentleman, but he would certainly do what little he could to ensure that she got inside safely, nonetheless. Elsa was a nice lass, and she had been forced to grow up far too quickly, just and Killian and he had.

She hadn't said as much, but reading between the lines of everything she had disclosed to him tonight, Elsa had never truly felt cared for by anyone. She'd been forced to keep her own parents and sister at a distance, emotionally if not physically, through the fear of her own magic that had been instilled in her. Letting herself lean on anyone else and share the weight of her burdens simply hadn't been an option. And still, even now that she had control over her magic, and the relative freedom to do as she pleased and visit with whomever she wanted… Elsa seemed inclined to carry the weight of the world on her own shoulders.

Liam felt honored that she had shared anything at all of her troubles and personal history with him, and he hoped that he could be someone she might continue to lean on and share her troubles with.

The fact that one day he would leave Arendelle and their charade of a courtship would end wasn't something Liam intended to examine.

Not just yet.

A/N: "Officer" and "Marquess" are alternative names or translations for the pieces Bishop and Rook, respectively, in case that confused anyone. So there's your bit of chess trivia to impress others with! Thank you so much for reading!