"They can't just do this! They can't just kidnap me!" Naomi seethed. The first words she had spoken since they had promptly left the Palace.

In fact, none of them had spoken a word the whole ride back to the Port.

Shortly after Oswall's obvious threat, a staff member had come in to inform "King" Edward that the horses were ready for the afternoon hunt. That seemed to perk up Edward's sour mood so quick, that he left the group without another word.

Oswall was all too happy though to wish them a pleasant day, confidently exposing his back to them as he followed after the Phony King, almost daring them to plunge something into him. Naomi would have been more than happy to oblige, if her fingers hadn't felt so stiff and clumsy.

As soon as The Wayfarer had come into view, they had all left the carriage and their Norberg escorts before they had even come to a complete stop. On board, the crew eagerly waited for an update from their Captain.

Before they could, Esteban said to them, "Come with me." And with no other options, the two Turner women followed, leaving the crew in the dark for now. Of course, if Guards were as big of gossips as Sailors, they would be updated soon enough.

They were led into Esteban's Quarters. They actually used to be Naomi's Quarters on the few occasions her and her father had traveled with her mother, mostly to move to the next kingdom.

It seemed that nothing had changed in here, from the bunk beds, to the glass windows that faced towards to the sea, and even to Naomi's carved initials on a floorboard after she had smuggled her first small dagger. However, there was now the addition of a huge library that seemed to have sprung up out of thin air. Open books and papers were strewn around the tiny desk that was provided in that cabin. Even more were stacked in some of the trunks that Esteban had brought with him.

Naomi hadn't bothered to do any further investigation at that moment though, for as soon as the door clicked shut behind them, her fury had come out in full force.

"Why are we even listening to them!?" Naomi continued, unable to stop herself as she began pacing around the room. "We know they must have killed Queen Abigail and Chloe fled for her life."

"Because like it or not, we have no way of proving that they killed Queen Abigail," Esteban said, crossing his arms. "And we don't know for sure that Chloe fled herself. She could have just as easily been kidnapped by them."

"But, we have her letter!" Naomi said, pointing to his pocket where Esteban had stashed it.

"Which all it says now is that Queen Abigail was mistrusting of the generous and divinely sent Edward." Esteban said, taking out the scroll and waving it in front of her face. "It'll just be seen as slander against the Queen than Edward himself. And that's just if we don't give it to the wrong person who throws it into the fire and gets rid of it entirely."

"They would do that?"

"It's what I would do," Esteban said as he angrily threw the scroll onto a nearby table, no longer caring if it sustained any damage. "Oswall's already twisted the story once before. I have no doubt that he could do the same to you as well, Queen's favorite or not, if you come for him."

"Then I'll just sit here at let them try and come for me!" Naomi exclaimed as she unsheathed her dagger without hesitation, and feeling a source of confidence at knowing she had that ability back. And next time, she wouldn't hesitate. "I've fought plenty of villains before, ones 10 times more powerful than them, they can try and kill me."

"There are fates worse than death," Esteban said with so much certainty, that a heaviness immediately settled in Naomi's stomach.

She caught her angry reflection in her dagger's shiny blade, and felt shame wash over her. It was exactly this rashness that had gotten her here, and it undoubtedly wasn't going to help her get out of it.
Naomi closed her eyes and took a deep calming breath before she sheathed her weapon.

"So we can't fight them, so what if we just leave? What if we just ran?" Naomi asked, thinking about her map and drawn out routes that she had safely stored in the Captain's Quarters. All the crew was already aboard with them. They could immediately weigh anchor and be out of here with enough distance between them and any Coast Guard ships they may send after them.

"Then you would put Elena in the position to be accused of harboring fugitives and she could be ordered to either give you and your whole family up or possibly go to war."

"Then, we don't have to stay in Avalor." Naomi quickly corrected herself. "I don't have to stay in Avalor. I can just jump on my ship and sail as far and as fast as I can away from Avalor."

It was Scarlett's turn to object. "And spend your days being hunted!"

"If that's what it takes!" Naomi said boldly and stood her ground, just like her parents had raised her to do.

Her mother didn't look happy at this response though, as her mouth set into a firm line. "She could still seek sanctuary." Scarlett pointed out, and Naomi felt a spark of anger at the fact that her own mom just blatantly ignored and talked past her.

"Then what will happen to you and dad?" Naomi asked, taking a step to the side to make sure she was in her mother's direct line of sight.

"Ah, don't worry about us, Noams," Her mother said with a clearly forced on smile. "Your father and I have our own battles to fight and we won't force you to be in the middle of them."

"Don't worry about you!? You're my parents!"

Naomi turned back towards Esteban. "Do you think that they will ever be safe if I leave? Truly?"

"Perhaps if they were to seek Sanctuary in a Sacred Building, and you could even join them, than legally Oswall couldn't-"

"That's not what I asked," Naomi said firmly as she walked over and stood right under him.

Esteban looked deeply at her. His mouth was slightly open, but no words came out. Finally, he shut his mouth and shook his head. "No."

That one word seemed to bring down the entire mood of the room, crushing their hope in a slow and painful way.

"It doesn't matter where you go Naomi," Esteban said flatly. "Whether you hid in Satu, or Vallestrella or even on a deserted island in the middle of the Chaos Sea. The wrath of Oswall and Edward, and thereby Norberg, will be placed upon Avalor and your family that is left behind." Esteban then abruptly turned away, hiding his face away from them. "It's just the way it is."

In that moment, Naomi fully felt the weight of her actions settle upon her. They began to crush down on her shoulders and chest so much, that she felt forced to take a seat on the bed.

She hadn't meant for this to happen. Naomi had met, and joked, and even made snide comments at Monarchs before, and none of them had acted in the way that most common people feared: with outrage or backhanded slaps or, most severely, beheadings.

Naomi just couldn't sit there and listen to such blatant mockery of Abigail and Chloe, two people who had done nothing wrong. Foolishly, Naomi had expected to be able to leave that room untouched after her comment. Or better yet, that Edward would pull out that sword and come at them. Then, they could defeat them and those two could be arrested for their crimes, just like that, just like she and the rest of her friends had been able to do a hundred times over. Everything wrapped up so perfectly.

An idea then donned on Naomi.

"And there's no hope that we can get the other nobles here to side with us, to unseat these two from power?"

"Even if the more heroic tactic did work, without Chloe, we could just be providing an opportunity for another noble family to take the throne." Esteban looked to her mother. "Edward said that you gave up a noble title, would your family be of any use to us?"

"No," Scarlett said instantly. "Last time I talked to my family, they were ready to seek power wherever they could. And I've been out of that world too long to know who to trust anymore. Not that I trusted anyone to really begin with."

Naomi placed a hand on her mother's forearm in comfort. She didn't know much about her matrilineal side of the family. Only that they had been snobbish, controlling, and old fashioned. And that was more than enough for the Young Captain to know that she was better off without them. Still, would have been nice if they could at least be useful in this moment.

With desperation beginning to truly set in, Naomi went over to the nearest stack of books and picked up the top one and read the cover: 'Norberg reign of Ivan the Agreeable.'

So that's what Esteban had been doing on the journey here and how he probably knew about that obscure trade agreement. If he knew something as insignificant as prunes, than he had to know how to get her out of this.

"There has to be something else you've learned from these books," Naomi said, gesturing widely to the all the stacks.

Esteban pressed a finger to his temple and closed his eyes. "As far as I can tell, the only way you could get around this without putting anyone in overt or immediate danger is if you weren't a citizen of Norberg anymore."

Of course! It was the most obvious solution. She had even stated on the docks of Avalor a few years ago, right before they were about to come live in Norberg for her mother's Admiral position, that her home was there, and her heart hadn't changed since that fateful day.

Her brows than drew together. "Wait, how am I already not an Avaloran citizen?"

"The request for the change of Citizenship can only be given out as an official decree by the Ruler of the Kingdom," Esteban explained. "And Elena hasn't officially made you one since you were under the guardianship of your parents, and then obtained your majority while you were still traveling."

"Then we just have to get an official decree from Elena." Naomi motioned to the stack of blank parchments that were on the desk. "We need to write her a letter."

"It would never get there in time," Scarlett said in a hopeless tone. "Even the Jaquins tired coming here to Norberg, so there's no way a raven could get there any faster."

Naomi felt the sudden sting of tears come to her eyes. But she immediately squeezed her eyelids shut in an attempt to banish them away.

"Is there any other way to make me a Avaloran citizen?" Naomi asked, although, she felt like she was running out of questions.

Esteban sighed and tucked one finger into the collar of his yellow cravat and tugged at it, as if he was trying to loosen it. "The only other way is through Marriage. If you marry a citizen of Avalor then you can instantly obtain citizenship through your partner."

"You sound so certain."

Esteban turned his face away from her again. "During the beginning of Shuriki's reign, when it became very clear that Elena nor the other Royals were returning, and Alacazar was nowhere to be found, many fled rather than live under her dictatorship. Some decided to marry citizens of neighboring Kingdoms in order to get rid of their Avaloran identity."

Naomi felt her stomach twist. "That's horrible."

"Well, after Shuriki demanded the mass burning of everything the resembled the 'old' Avalor, most didn't have much more to lose," He said with a simple shrug. "The good news is that divorce is legal in Avalor, so it can be undone, but requires a minimum of one year of marriage."

"Would my family be protected too?" Naomi asked. She wasn't seriously considering this. Well, maybe she was, at least a little. She needed to know all the options and avenues that could be taken.

"Not necessarily, that usually depends on the spouse," Esteban said leaning against the wall. "The higher authority the Spouse's family has, the more unspoken power they tend to have."

"So you mean an Avaloran noble?"

"Precisely."

"Why do nobles and Royals think they're so important again?" Naomi said with a roll of her eyes.

"It's also an Avaloran Royal who's trying to help you out right now," Esteban retorted back.

Naomi groaned a little. Well, even if she had half considered grabbing one of the nearest crew men and putting a ring on their finger, she doubted they could help her stand against those two Royal nutcases.

Scarlett than let out a loud sigh. "I...I don't really like it. But, if there's no other way and Naomi is okay with it, then I will give my blessing."

Naomi looked to Esteban, but he only seemed to share her confusion.

"What are you talking about mom?"

"Marriage, that's what you were proposing, right Chancellor?" Scarlett motioned to Naomi. "To marry Naomi in order for her to gain protection. For surely the Queen's cousin gains quite a lot of this 'unspoken power' you were talking about."

Esteban looked absolutely dumbfounded and sputtered slightly. "I hadn't been offering-It's positively crazy-well Miss Turner would surely have some objection to this proposal too!?"

Of course she had objection to this! Marriage!? To Esteban!? How could her mother even suggest that!?

Her parents had never pressured her with the idea that she would have to get married someday. Not like Mateo's mother, who practically used Mateo's 18th birthday party to double as a speed dating session before Rafa realized that his heart belonged to Elena and hers to him, even if they hadn't said anything yet.

While Naomi had been entertaining the idea of a companion to travel with her since she had returned. But that was it. A companion.

Before she could voice these thoughts though, the City Center bell rang out. Indicating another hour had passed. That more time was lost. Another hour closer before she would be forcibly handed over and her fate left uncertain.

Naomi ran a hand through her hair and she began pacing again as her agitation had riled her up too much to sit still. But she tried to put this all in perspective.

They had already thoroughly exhausted all their other options. There was always the hope that there was still some small law or loophole stuck in the pages of these books. Even then, it was as Esteban had said, Edward and Oswall had already twisted the truth, they could easily do the same to anything the group presented. Those two held all the power.

It truly sickened Naomi, and she wanted to bring them to justice, but honestly, she also wanted to make them pay for abusing their power and thinking they could control her.

But she couldn't do that from a dank and dark torture chamber. Or if she was missing her head.

Naomi turned her eyes to the sea, something that always brought her comfort, as she folded her arms over her chest tightly.

"If I marry you Esteban, then will my parents and I be protected by the Royal family? I will be able to get on this ship tomorrow and leave? Correct?"

He was silent for a good long moment before he answered, almost solemnly, "Yes."

Naomi took one hard swallow in an attempt to parch her dry throat. She then squared back her shoulders and turned to look at the waiting faces of her mother...and her fiancé.

"Okay, then let's do this."

Planning a secret wedding, or elopement, or whatever this was, took a lot longer than Naomi had anticipated.

They first needed to find a Sacred Building, a place that had been blessed by magic in someway. Then someone to perform the ceremony. And, most importantly, they needed to get a Certificate of Marriage that they would need to sign and have this all be legal and binding.

Naomi had of course offered her services to complete one of these tasks, since time was of the essence. This was shot down by Esteban though, who warned them that Oswall and Edward might have a spy or even spies, keeping an eye on them.

Her mother agreed, and offered instead, that it would be best if Naomi and Esteban drew the attention onto themselves and away from the rest of the group that would go take care of these tasks.
So, after a few mindless walks around the open streets, Esteban and her were now in the shadows of an alleyway between a bakery and a flower shop.

Naomi sat atop a barrel of molasses and was picking at some kind of sweet flaky pastry her mother had suggested she should go get, and had even given her the money to purchase it. It was a nice gesture from her mother. She was trying her best to make Naomi feel better, and honestly, even her father probably wouldn't know how to comfort her in a situation like this.

Esteban was leaning against the wall across from her. He had a piece of parchment and pen in his hand and had been furiously scratching at it the entire time they had been here.

"What are you doing?" Naomi asked, with nothing else to distract her.

"Writing up the trade agreement."

"For the prunes? I thought that was just a lie?"

"It was a lie," Esteban stated, his eyes never leaving the paper. "But you usually have to make something believable about the lie or it will come back to bite you."

He said this all with the ease as he had said earlier about burning incriminating letters, and divorce, and completely abandoning your identity. How could someone be so pessimistic?

Naomi could understand that serving under Shuriki must've not been smooth sailing, that woman had had the blackest heart Naomi had ever seen. But Elena had been trapped in an amulet for 41 years and conscious the entire time after watching her parents get murdered, and she knew how to have a never ending sense of hope and optimism that even annoyed Naomi at times.

Were those two really cousins?

The scratching pen noises abruptly came to a halt.

Esteban than loudly cleared his throat that caused Naomi to look at him. "I'm going to be forward with you Miss Tur-Naomi. Have you been kissed at all? Have you been intimate with anyone?"

That was not a question she had expected him to ask. And it made her blush all the way to the roots of her hair.

"W-why are you asking me that?"

"We can officially and smoothly annul the marriage in a year on the grounds of it being unconsummated. But, we will have to publicly seal the union with a kiss." Esteban waved his hand around lightly, as if he was searching for the right words. "And it would make me...it would ease me knowing that I wouldn't be...taking away anything from you."

"Oh...right," Naomi said as she reached up to begin fiddling with her choker's gems.

She was open about talking about sexuality and relationships, she had nothing to be ashamed of. Well, almost nothing. But it was the fact that it was Esteban, the most straight-laced man she had ever met, was the one asking her this, that she was completely thrown off balance.

"I mean, uhhh, yes, I've had a few...intimate relations with people I've met on my travels. Nothing too serious has ever come around though."

Esteban didn't look at her shocked or disapprovingly. In fact, he seemed to sigh a little in relief before turning his attention back to the treaty. Naomi was grateful, she would hate to have to start yelling at him right before they were supposed to get married.

"I'm assuming that there's no need to ask if I would be taking anything away from you?" Naomi asked as brazen as she could. It was only fair that he was also forced to say it out loud too.
Esteban only looked at her though with a not very amused expression.

"I mean, you are you."

"I'm a gentleman, not a monk," Esteban said, his irritation front and center.

Naomi felt her own irritation rise. "Doña Paloma doesn't count."

"And I told you I never had anything like that with that dragon woman!" Esteban loudly exclaimed, his cheeks actually turning red. "I've had way too many experiences with people of higher caliber to ever do something so depraved!"

Way too many, huh?

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Naomi asked in a snippy tone.

Esteban just huffed at her, annoyed that he had fallen for her trick, before flapping the treaty dramatically in front of his face.

Naomi decided now that she was thoroughly vexed that now was as good of time as any to try and take a small bite of the pastry. But she couldn't even taste any of it, her body was still in too much shock.

Really, she could go for a whiskey right about now. All she would need is one drink, just something to take off the edge before she was forced to stand before witnesses and claim union to a man that she was planning on divorcing as soon as possible, and to seal that union with a kiss.

A kiss. They could barely talk to each other right now, and they were expected to kiss. It would probably end horribly. And this was going to be in front of her mother and her crew.

Naomi couldn't let that happen. For prides sake if nothing else.

"I don't know about you, but I don't like walking into something that I know I could prepare for." Naomi finished swallowing down the last few crumbs of the pastry that had been stuck in her throat. "So, since you're right about the fact that we are going to have to kiss, then we might as well do it now and get the initial shock so we don't make ourselves look like fools up there."

Naomi heard Esteban's pen scratch so loudly, that she actually thought he put a hole through the paper.

He looked like he was about to ask if she was joking until their eyes met, and he saw that she was dead serious. His eyes then broke from hers and shifted around for several seconds.

"I suppose you're right," Esteban agreed most reluctantly. He placed the paper and pen on another near by crate and moved to overtly straighten out his jacket.

"Okay," Naomi said as confidently as she could. She jumped off the barrel and wiped the crumbs off her breeches. She lifted her chin up in a dignified manner.

When she looked up into his eyes this time though, she felt herself froze.

It wasn't that she thought him unattractive or even his age that bothered her. She had been around adults for most of her life that age seemed like nothing but a number, and didn't deter from who she became friends and even lovers with.

But this was...Esteban.

The last time they had truly touched was a rather aggressive and tight celebratory hug when they had almost fallen off a cliff in a run away carriage. Which they than promptly let go of each other and agreed to never speak of it again, blaming the adrenaline from facing a life or death situation.

Just the thought that it was him alone made her wonder how did she kiss people up until this moment.

She tried to reach into her memories to remember. All she could remember, however, was the overwhelming warm desire and lightheartedness. And most importantly, it feeling natural.

But, here, in a dark alleyway where the shadows that surrounded them seemed to be getting colder, as they now stood toe to toe, bodies tense, it felt anything but natural.

Digging deeper into the memories and breaking it down on a step by step level, Naomi decided to raise herself up on her toes to at least get closer to him. Mercifully, he took her cue and bent down towards her.

Had he always been this tall?

They tilted their heads a little, but then both simultaneously halted. Neither of them moved and just continued to stare at one another, daring the other to be the one to back out.

Suddenly, Esteban just leaned forward and their pursed lips were pressed hard together. Naomi couldn't help as her body curled and cringed from the uncomfortable feeling of the surprise attack. Her instincts telling her to lean away.

But, before she could force herself to relax, Esteban pulled away.

Naomi reached up and touched her lips, they still felt cold and hard.

That was it? Was that how he thought people kissed? That was nothing!

Naomi narrowed her eyes. Her and her family's safety and security was relying on this crazy plan and that's how he was going to be!?

Her hands flew up and gripped his jacket collar and brought him crashing down into another kiss. She used too much force though and their teeth clacked slightly and their heads knocked against each other.

"Ouch," Esteban mumbled against her lips.

"Sorry," Naomi mumbled right back.

They both pulled back and Naomi released his now crumpled collar, which he promptly went to straightening back out.

This was not working. If they couldn't get a kiss down, who knows what else would go wrong?

Naomi let out a sigh and cupped her forehead, rubbing the sore spot.

She looked out the corner of her eye and saw that Esteban was looking at her.

They each let out a weak laugh, both no doubt feeling ridiculous at how they were acting during this whole situation.

It helped lighten the mood as Naomi breathed out. "Okay."

Naomi turned to fully face him. This time however, she put her hands on his shoulders.

Esteban's own hands then pressed directly on the middle of her rib cage, careful of not being in danger of slipping up or down to an inappropriate place.

They both bent down and again hesitated before contact. Their lips now danced in front of each other and their breath now occupied the same space.

However, as Naomi met his gaze and really looked at those light brown eyes, she was reminded...this was Esteban.

The man who had spent late nights with her on council business, organized the exhibit for her and Professor Mendoza's findings with her, and personally invited her family to Navidad.

Amongst the snide remarks and disagreements, she trusted him.

Holding onto that fact, Naomi closed her eyes and gently pressed ahead for this third and final kiss, that was by far the most decent one.

Esteban worked with her rather than against her this time. So, Naomi allowed herself to get a little more immersed with the feel of his surprisingly soft lips and the familiar scent of his spicy cologne.

He must have been doing the same as one of his hands came up and cradled the back of her head, his thumb stroking her smooth and fine blonde hair.

There was no underlying fire that erupted in her heart, and his styled mustache annoyingly tickled her face, and his posture still felt a little stiff underneath her hands.

But, it was nice.

They parted and he kept his hands on her until she was firmly back flat on her feet.

They both remained silent, letting the entirety of the moment sink in.

"We can make this work," Naomi declared, her voice clear and strong because she truly believed it.

"This is true," Esteban said softly. He then reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Naomi's breath hitched in her throat as he did that, that small gesture feeling more intimate than the kisses they had just shared.

Her hand instinctively reached up and touched the hand that was still close to her face. Both of them became paralyzed.

It was the barest amount of skin to skin contact, and yet it felt so foreign to be touching the other.

True, they had shared casual touches before, and a kiss could just be a kiss. So why did she feel so hyper-aware of him? Was it because she knew him that her body naturally reacted to him?

Gabe and her had had feelings for each other, but she had never been like this. Was it because she never kissed him? Did that really shift a relationship that much?

Naomi now wondered if they were making a huge mistake.

"Chancellor Esteban. Captain Turner."

The pair automatically jumped away from one another, as if they had a reason to be ashamed that they were standing to close to one another. They were about to get married for goodness sake.

William's face appeared around the corner of the alleyway.

"We have everything in place, so we can safely move you. Luckily, the building's only a few streets over from here."

Naomi nodded her head quickly. "Thank you William, lead the way."

The man nodded and disappeared back around the corner.

"Right, shall we get going?" Naomi awkwardly and unnecessarily readjusted her waist cincher, even though it felt like it had gotten tighter.

"Yes, lets." Esteban said hastily as he rolled up the treaty and stuck it into his jacket.

He didn't wait for her as he exited the alley and out into the sun and busy street.

The brief courtship was officially over.