How had the lousy waltz made jack this sore? It hadn't been as intense as his normal workouts, yet his arms and legs burned even more than they had when Jack had started training. What had he done? What had made him so sore? His arms had ached from holding the broom and his legs had begun to tremble after the twenty-third turn, but other than that it had been a breeze.

Jack sank back onto the pillow and closed his eyes. It was better to just let his muscles dissolve melt into the mattress. Let all the pain sink away.

Pillow? Jack shot upright. Where was he? He whipped his head around, trying to find a familiar landmark, but all he saw was the shabby cotton curtain that surrounded his bed.

"Is anyone there?" Jack called out.

"You're finally awake." Erika peeked through the curtain. "You've been asleep for almost an hour."

"Shit, Stick's going to kill me."

"You're fine; he was the one who sent you here."

"What!? There's no way Stick would let me take a nap during training."

"You think so little of him. Besides," Erika laughed. "It's not like he could force you to train after you collapsed."

"I what?"

"You collapsed. Don't you remember?"

"The last thing I remember is squats." Jack rubbed his forehead. He'd been so tired in the morning he'd decided to skip breakfast and sleep in. He really hadn't though it through.

"They think you got heat stroke. You'll have to stay in the infirmary for another hour, but after that you can go back to the guard's lodgings, though you aren't allowed to train. Don't look so pleased; I think it's a punishment for not drinking enough. Oh!" Erika rummaged behind her, pulling out a bucket and a tiny cup. "I'm supposed to tell you that if you don't finish all this water by the end of the day Stick will 'remove the mattress from your bed and force you to sleep in the stables.'"

"Didn't you just tell me he was actually nice? Have you not been paying attention?"

"Oh come on" Erika passed jack the bucket. "He just does it because he cares."

"Cares my a-" at Erika's raised eyebrow Jack faded into a mutter.

"I have to be going now." Erika said softly. "Sanderson and I will check on you during our free time. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah, it sounds fine." Jack took a sip of the water. "I'm not a puppy you know. You don't have to-" Erika had already left.

Jack sunk back into the pillows. Maybe having sunstroke wasn't too bad; Jack got a free day off training and plenty of time to sleep. Perhaps he should get sunstroke more often. But then again, there was no way Sanderson was going to let Jack's fainting spell slide. The teasing from this one instance would be bad enough, much less if it became a common occurrence.

Jack nuzzled back into the pillows and felt the wind ruffling through his hair. He gave it a reassuring nudge before closing his eyes. It was best simply to enjoy the moment, Sanderson be damne-

The door slammed open, "She did what!?"

"She has offered the prisoner a position with the guard. If he agrees not only will all his charges be absolved, but he'll make money."

"That insolent girl!" There was a pause, then the same voice let out a cold chuckle. "Then again what could you expect from such a young woman. She's bound to make poor decisions with a heart that soft."

"I'm more worried about her becoming dangerous."

"That shouldn't be an issue as long as pretend to like her. Just smile and nod."

"How much longer do we have to put up with her?"

"Not do long."

Jack's cup shattered against the infirmary floor, reverberating through the room. The people on the other side of the curtain had fallen silent.

"Who's there?" The voice commanded, footsteps rushing towards Jack's bed.

Wind! Jack pleaded. Help!

The wind tugged Jack into the air just as the curtain opened. A shock of blond hair entered. Jack tried to see the face, but could only make out the olive green of the guard's uniform.

"Looks like its empty. The cup most have been left by a patient." The man turned back without looking at the ceiling. "Guess we got lucky. Right Samuel?"

"Never address me so informally again."

"Sorry sir."

"Let's go. That was far too close. Next time you have news be more careful about where you chose to impart it."

"But sir! You were the one wh-"

"Don't talk back to me. We're done here."

The first set of footsteps exited the room, quickly followed by a second. Jack relaxed when the door slammed close, but it wasn't until ten minutes later that he finally came down from the ceiling.

….

1-2-3-1-2-3-

Elsa traced out the steps do the waltz, but she wasn't really listening. Normally she adored this dance and gave it her utmost attention, but tonight her mind was elsewhere.

He had to accept. There was no reason he wouldn't take her offer to be a guard; she'd had sound reasoned logic that he couldn't refute. He'd agree and his brother would be happy and she'd stop having to feel so incredibly guilty every time she passed the staircase to the dungeons. It would all be over.

She tried to picture him finally happy all decked out in a guard's uniform, but all she could see were his green eyes sharp with disdain. He hated her, or at least he hated the nobles that she represented. He'd always made it clear that she was hurting the nation with taxes and her other governmental reforms, but she wasn't hurting the country; she was just doing her best to make sure that parts of the country hurt by the drought. Seekren needed the food. He just didn't understand that.

Oh please stop trying to make it sound so noble.

Elsa froze, causing the teacher who was serving as her partner, to stumble. She nodded to him and then returned to the dance.

She wasn't trying to make anything seem noble. She was trying to help Seekren, unfortunately that meant having to raise taxes, but in the end she was helping.

You might have been trying to help Seekren, but you never really cared about the effect those taxes would have.

She had thought about it; she'd thought about all the aspects of taxation. Perhaps she hadn't realized just how hard it was for some people to buy bread, but nevertheless she had considered it.

Oh sure, you realized that taxes would be raised, but you're far too used to your life of finery to consider how much a small change in price can hurt people. You're too rich to imagine ever having to scrap together money just to buy bread.

That wasn't true. Elsa had tried to think of everyone, she just hadn't anticipated how much it would hurt them.

Darling be honest you've been trapped in your room for so long you have no idea how to empathize with people. You're an ice queen trying to rule over a kingdom of warmth. Really you shouldn't be so upset you were bound to fail.

"I'm a good queen!"

The teacher and Anna both stared at Elsa. Her cheeks warmed and she tried to find words to make her last exclamation more sensible, "so I should be able to dance; dancing isn't as hard as running a kingdom."

"That's it," the teacher sighed. "I can't teach you."

"Excuse me?" Elsa was a bit rusty, but definitely not unteachable.

"You have no passion." His few hairs trembled with emotion. "Dancing is not the same as running a kingdom. You can't just do the steps; you need to care about what you're doing."

"I'm sorry," Elsa folded her hands. "I'll try to focus more."

"Focus isn't the issue!" He shook his head and grabbed his bag. "I can't teach you if you don't even know what you're doing wrong."

He left the room. A flustered Anna chased him,, but failed to get a further explanation. As his footsteps faded away Anna turned to Elsa, "I have no idea what he's talking about. You're dancing looked perfect to me."

"He was a dance teacher, he probably knows what he's talking about."

"He doesn't know you. You're dancing is composed and controlled, because that's who you are. You're not a passionate or emotional person."

That wasn't true.