Waiting for Liam to join them, Killian informed Emma that no news from Mist Haven had reached the tiny village, as he spent their time apart questioning everyone from the shopkeepers and fishermen to the children in the streets. He could feel the pain radiate off of her at the lack of knowledge, but she remains with a brave face and does not shed a single tear in his sight.
Emma had not seemed put off by food from the tavern, teasingly saying that it was hotter than any meal she'd had on the ship. Liam offered to find a home where the owner's wife would cook for them, but she assured the captain and lieutenant that the food the crew had been drooling over since news of their location had spread was more than good enough for her.
"You have an appetite, your highness," Liam said, hoping that she would not be insulted by the observation.
"I always snuck into the kitchens as a child because I wanted to sample the cooks' work," she answered. She did not offer him the same explanation that she had Killian when he asked the same question during one of their walks. She did not explain how it was the comfort of the food and the fact that it broke up the day that keeps her coming back to it. She does not mention that her mother's tour of an impoverished village had so touched Emma that she felt selfish for wasting a single drop.
Killian did not embellish her reasoning either, simply dipping his spoon into the brown colored soup and quietly slurping up the contents. He tried to keep his eyes focused on the meal and not the princess's animated face or the fact that just the night before he'd had a dream where he was permitted to hold her and caress the skin he knows must be silky and smooth. Such a dream is not even something his brother would condone.
"I have not had the privilege of sailing with your father before, your highness" Liam continued to make conversation though he felt that she was only providing the barest of details. "Does he travel much?"
Emma smiled and dipped a bit of the bread into the soup. "I suppose his travels are more frequently by horse than by ship," she said. "He's an accomplished equestrian. My mother is the same."
"And you, Emma…your highness," Killian asked, coughing in the hopes that his brother won't note his slip. "What of your riding abilities?"
"My father insisted I learn at an early age how to ride, both astride and side saddle," Emma said with a smile at the memory of her father racing her and letting her win as a child. "I think it was among the many skills that he and my mother wished for me to learn."
"Of course," Liam said, eyeing his brother's expression carefully. "An accomplished woman, especially a princess must have many skills and talents, your highness."
Emma pinches off another bit of the bread. "Killian tells me that you are the youngest captain in the royal navy," Emma said, turning the attention back. "That in itself must require a great many skills and talents. Was this something you aspired to early?" She had learned from Killian that the way to Liam's good graces was flattery. However, she was not to be overt in her attentions, instead allowing him to talk of himself.
Liam relaxed a bit as he explained how he and Killian grew up in a small fishing village themselves. When Liam was three and his baby brother was born, the toddler had threatened to run away on one of the ships, as he was certain even then that was his way to fortune.
"Perhaps as a privateer," Emma laughed. "However, as a naval captain I'm afraid the crown doesn't pay enough to be considered a fortune."
The tip from Killian had worked, as the captain and his lieutenant entertained her through the rest of their dinner with banter and stories of growing up and living in such close quarters. Emma only felt momentary sadness over their brotherly affections, as she had never experienced that herself. She was an only child, as was her mother. Her father had a brother, but the man had died before the two had even met. So to see the two men finish each other's sentences and argue over whether it was more appropriate to refer to Killian as the little brother or the younger brother was a rare glimpse into that world.
***AAA***
Liam had searched for Killian after dinner, wanting to discuss the best way to transport the supplies back to the ship. However, he was no place to be seen. Grimacing at the thought that his brother was in fact in some private locale with the princess, he told the innkeeper that he would be back in the morning to retrieve the two residents.
His feet drug along the uneven earth, roots and rocks throwing him off balance as he grew closer to the ship. His eyes adjusted to the dark and he could certainly hear the boisterous noise of the tavern. He was sure he'd even seen the quartermaster being led by one of the more endowed wenches up a rickety staircase to a room. Almost wishing that his brother was that sort of man, he shook off the thoughts that Killian was being anything more than a perfect gentleman to the princess.
"He's a sodding idiot if he isn't," Liam said to himself as his feet hit the weathered wood of the dock. His brother was younger by three years, a time that seemed like nothing some days and decades others. A younger brother, he'd followed Liam everywhere and wanted to do everything his older brother could do.
When he wasn't following his older brother, he was trying to prove himself worthy of the naval commission that had cost Liam every bit of respect he'd earned in the academy. Killian had worked hard for each rank and been the epitome of class and grace in any situation. While others turned off their military personas for a tankard, Killian did not. He lived the life and performed as though he was always up for inspection. To Liam's knowledge, the man had not even bedded a wench during their layovers at different ports of call.
But Liam was not blind either. The princess was a beautiful woman, who was both feisty and intelligent. That was a dangerous combination. And if there was anyone who might tempt his brother, it could be the blonde haired royal who had to know what sort of an effect she was having on a young lieutenant when she brushed up against him or smiled coquettishly across the table. Then there was the dinner tonight. She had been demure and sweetly appreciative of the innkeeper's humble offerings of meat and potatoes. He had not missed that on two occasions she had called his brother Killian or that his brother blushed rosily upon hearing the name.
Liam had intended to talk to his brother upon the end of the meal, expecting that the princess would take her leave to her room as would be proper. Instead, she had declared that she was in need of walking and smiled to his eager brother for agreement. Killian had practically knocked over his chair in order to open the door for her and followed her out into the dark street. Now they were God only knew where, Liam thought.
"Captain," a voice called from a nearby ship at the dock. "Do you have a moment?"
Liam boarded the small ship and wrinkled his nose at the strong smell aboard it. "Just a moment," he offered, standing back as the pale man in an unfamiliar uniform stood at attention before him.
"You made a mistake, Captain Jones," the man said ominously. His eyes looked weak, not only the darkness that was a clue to his hard life. The pallor of his skin was so striking that Liam could not stop himself from staring at the ruddiness that was only showing in small blotches.
"By boarding your ship?" Liam asked, unsure about these circumstances. "It appears that you have had some misfortune, mate." As any sailor, Liam was superstitious and the stench of sickness aboard the other vessel was certainly a sign of bad luck. Ships seemed to carry such things, disease and death without bothering to learn of its victims.
"By coming to village," the man answers. His words are short, almost as though someone is charging him for each one.
"I'd ask you to speak plainly," Liam challenges him. "I have neither time nor patience for vagueness." The man pointed to sit on the steps from one level to the next, but Liam thought better of it given the circumstances.
"You have not been here in years," the man said. "This port sees few officers in it."
"A few years ago I picked up supplies here. I remembered to be a small place, impoverished, but fair in dealings. So when my crew was in need of supplies I found this the most logical of locations." Liam ran a hand in a kneading motion on the back of his neck. "Is that so unusual."
"When you were here before, do you remember anything after you left?"
Liam drew his hand away from its ministrations. "I seem to recall that we ran through quite a storm and lost our course for a bit, but all was fine eventually." He shrugged at the memory that is hazy from his early days in the navy as a midshipman. It seemed unimportant to him in light of the journeys and adventures he'd had since then.
"It is known that any ship that makes the mistake of docking here takes away with it more than supplies," the man said. "Storms, death, illness, mutiny, all seem to follow those who take advantage."
***AAA***
Emma laughed at the longing way he looked to the ships docked at the edge of the village, his eyes seeming to caress each of them in turn. When he turned to see what had amused her so much, he found himself smiling along with her. "You seem to find me entertaining," he said. "I'm not sure that is a good thing."
"Why wouldn't it be?" she asked, pulling the wrap tighter around herself as the stiff breeze off the water grew more insistent. "I should think you'd rather I be amused by you than loathe you. Or perhaps not care at all how I regard you."
"I am just not sure that it is flattering that the princess should view me like the court jester," he responded. "I had hoped for a better reputation."
She tempered her laughter into a quiet smile, brushing back the loose hairs around her face with the back of her hand. "Don't fish for compliments, Killian," she said sternly. "I don't give them very freely."
"I wouldn't dare, Emma."
She sighed, appreciating for a moment the way that he said her name. It wasn't anything that people would recognize as special, but the soft lilt to the word, almost as if he was still unsure. "Do you wish to spend the rest of your life at sea?" she asked, hoping that he would not suggest returning to the inn any time soon. "Or do you hope to have a family someday?"
"There are men aboard who have both," he said, reaching down and removing a stone from his boot. "It is not an easy life, but they find a way to have it."
She tried to imagine it, a woman waiting for months to see her husband return. The knowledge that he was putting himself in danger daily that must play at the woman's mind. It seemed a lonely existence to her, one that would require inordinate trust on both parts and an unfathomable amount of faith. She knew that she was soon to be married herself, but she was sure that she had never felt such a way that she could imagine that life.
Swallowing, she turned from the water and looked back on the village with candles burning in the windows and a soft glow about the buildings. "Did you grow up in a village or were your people from someplace else?"
"You are very curious, Emma," Killian said as he turned to join her, taking the first steps back toward the road to the inn. "I have to wonder if you are this way with all."
"I have scarcely asked your brother any questions," she reminded him as she walked along the now familiar path. "Is it so hard to believe that I would find you interesting and want to know more?"
Killian chuckled. "Someday, I shall turn the tables on you and ask you the questions."
Their pace was leisurely and it was late before they returned to the inn. Killian walked her to her door and offered to sit outside it if she felt the least bit anxious to remain there alone all night. She had refused the offer, stating that she was capable of caring for herself and that his service was not required at that point. However, she told him, she did hope to see him for breakfast.
Entering his room, Killian could sense his brother's presence even before he noted the glowing candle on the table. "Liam," he said, removing his jacket as the door closed. "You were to sleep on the ship, were you not?"
His older brother stood, pushing back the wooden chair with an unsteady hand. "I would ask where you have been, but I don't that as your captain I wish to know," he said, his mouth set in a firm line. "I don't need to remind you that she's far above your station and mine. She's betrothed to a prince, Killian. There's no room in her life for an ardent lieutenant to pursue her clumsily or any other way."
Killian's brows dropped as he listened to his brother's assessment. "I have not made any such error, brother. The princess's safety was placed in my list of responsibilities. To assume that I have somehow grown to have feelings for her because of that is preposterous." He attempted to look angry and offended by his brother, but the older Jones was not buying it.
"She calls you Killian," Liam said as if introducing evidence into a trial. "And did I not hear you refer to her as Emma?"
He'd known that was a mistake, even when she had requested the familiarity. "At her request."
"If a member of the royal family of this or any other kingdom was to hear of this breach in protocol," Liam shook his head. "They would not hesitate to assume that it went beyond just given names, Killian. You would lose your rank and perhaps your position. And then what? Work in the fields? Fish? What would become of you?"
"Brother, there is nothing…"
"She has her family's money and position to mask her participation in any dalliance, but you have no such luxuries. We have no family fortune or even a name to fall back on, Killian. I tell you this as your captain, but also your brother. Princess Emma is off limits to you. Don't put the idea in men's heads that you would even consider it, as the perception can be more dangerous than the truth."
Killian did not open his mouth in response, though a large portion of him wanted to deny that he had any improper thoughts toward the blonde woman in the room next door. As much as he hated his duties and how they appeared to infringe upon her life, he was sure that he would hate missing her just as much.
"I'll determine a suitable replacement for you," Liam stated sternly. "And I'll see about bringing aboard a lady's maid for her company."
***AAA***
Emma expected Killian the next morning, as he had told her the night before that he would accompany her for breakfast downstairs at the inn. She'd actually felt herself excited at the prospect of sharing a meal with him when she wouldn't have to worry about things tumbling off the table. While she still classified herself as bored and listless most days, she did admit that he was good company. It had become one of her new hobbies to watch how fast she could make him blush and how soon he was laughing with her over some old story.
Smoothing the dark green of her dress over her hips, she peered into the looking glass with a sad smile. Once again she found herself in a situation where she cared for someone whose time with her was limited. In a short time they would be arriving in her new home, a carriage waiting to take her to her fiancé. She'd probably never see Killian or Liam again.
The knock at the door broke her from her thoughts and she pulled open on the crude rope handle with a gentle tug. "Captain," she said, a bit shocked to see Liam standing there without Killian by his side. "What a surprise to see you this morning."
"Your highness," he said, dipping both shoulders and head with his hat securely under his arm. "I am here to escort you to breakfast. Are you prepared or should I return?"
She shook a bit of the confusion from herself and followed him to the uneven staircase at the end of the hallway. "I wasn't expecting you, Captain Jones," she said, hoping that he would offer information on Killian rather than insisting that she ask for it. "So please forgive my surprise."
"The fault is mine, your highness," he responded, leading her to a table close to the burning embers in the fireplace. "My brother is seeing to the placement of our supplies. I did not want you to be denied your breakfast because of his redirected responsibilities."
She placed the napkin in her lap, ignoring the burning questions about why Killian's services were required when the crew was so plentiful. "Your brother is quite the responsible and loyal officer," she said, narrowing her eyes a bit. "I should think you are very proud of him."
"Indeed, your highness," Liam answered, motioning for their plates to be brought to them. "He throws himself into whatever job I give him aboard ship. That's predominately why he has ascended the ranks so quickly himself."
She nods, remembering the previous night's conversation. "That's important to him, I'm sure."
"Aye," Liam said, swallowing his first bite. "What with a family to support soon, he's going to have to work doubly as hard to do that."
I will cherish your constructive feedback if you would provide it.
P.S. Don't hate Liam too much for trying to separate them here. He's trying to do the right thing by his brother.
