A/N: Finally got this one up! I wanted it to be from Liam's POV ('cos I loves me some Liam) but for such an affable and cooperative lad, he gave me a lot of trouble in trying to finish this chapter.

I'd like to give a 'shout out' to andria. I'm not able to PM you personally, like I try to do for the other generous and kind reviewers, so thank you for your thoughtful words and encouragement.

Thank you to all of you that take time out of your day.

Chapter 21: Soul Mates? Really?

Liam Jones was not a fidget nor a pacer. When he was filled with nervous energy he always channeled it into something constructive. By the time Snow came to fetch him, he'd already unpacked from his trip, sorted what needed to be laundered and, folded and put away what didn't. He'd changed his dusty travel clothes for fresh, washed his face and hands, and made a good start on cleaning the King's boots. He looked up as the door opened.

"Liam? Sweetheart, we're ready to talk to you, now. Do you want to bring David's things with you?" Snow asked, as she walked in and picked up David's cloak, sword and scabbard

"Yes, Snow, right away," Liam said, taking up the boots, satchel and bedroll, before following Snow back down to the royal bedchamber.

Not knowing what to expect, Liam was still surprised by the elegant simplicity of the King and Queen's quarters. There was none of the showy excess or grandeur that Liam expected was associated with royalty. The room suited the Snow and David he was beginning to know; warm, comfortable and cheery.

David took his things from Liam and had the young man sit on the bench at the end of the bed. With his hands now empty, Liam didn't know what to do with them. His fingers itched for an occupation, a physical manifestation of the war in his head between his natural proclivity towards politeness and his pressing desire to push for an answer as to what his brother had been up to.

"We're sorry to have kept you waiting so long," Snow said, as she sat next to him. Reaching for his hand and holding it tightly, she smiled softly. "Really, Killian, didn't do anything wrong, As I said downstairs, he's proved himself a hero, again. He saved Emma's life."

Liam's jaw dropped open. He had not been expecting to hear that. Snow ran her hand through his curls in a motherly gesture; attempting to tidy what travel had disarrayed. "And then Emma saved his."

Foremost in Liam's thoughts was the need to know why Killian and the Princess needed to save each other, at all. It had been no small display of trust on his behalf to have left his little brother in the care of others, even if for only one night. The brothers had not been separated for such a length of time since their father had deserted them. There would be more required separations due to his work as the King's squire. Liam had to know his brother would be safe or they may have to turn down a life at the castle and move on.

Liam didn't want to leave. The King and Queen were the kindest people and, Snow's words about relieving him of the responsibility of being a substitute parent for Killian, had truly hit home. The idea that he could give his little brother parental figures meant so much to Liam. He would always worry about Killian, regardless, but Liam was looking forward to having older and wiser heads on which to place the difficult decisions. Perhaps, in between his chores, Liam would be able to actually spend some time playing with his brother instead of having to parent him.

Obliquely, Liam couldn't remember the last time he had been able to play like other children. His days had been all about survival. So many nights trying to keep the tears and stress at bay, and be the strong protector that Killian needed. To finally lay aside the fear of starvation or worse; to have hope for real futures, Liam would risk much of himself, but not if Killian couldn't be kept safe. Still, he could make no determinations until he had heard what situation had arisen that had resulted in Killian performing heroics.

Over the course of the next few minutes, Liam felt like his head was mounted on a gimbal, as he turned back and forth from David and Snow while they took turns relating the events of the previous evening.

He was not at all pleased to learn that Killian had accompanied the Princess on a parentally unauthorised excursion that had resulted in near disaster. His little brother was going to get an earful about that, because all Liam heard was that Killian had allowed the Princess to get them both into trouble. Surely he had managed to get better sense than that into his little brother's head!

"I've spoken to both of them and I've stressed to Emma that she is not to go out of the castle like that, again. I've told Killian I am relying on him to remember that rule, if Emma forgets," Snow said. "I know Killian is barely older than Emma, but she seems to listen to him."

He was relieved to hear that Snow had set down some very sensible rules to both children. Liam intended to reinforce those rules and woe betide Killian if he put so much as the tip of one toe over Snow's carefully drawn line.

"Killian is usually very responsible for his age," Liam said. Snow couldn't help but smile. It amused her greatly that Liam spoke like a wise old man when he was only ten, then she remembered why he was like that and her smile faded abruptly.

Liam knew that magic existed and there was still enough 'little boy' left in him to feel a sense of wonder at the idea of it. He had no experience of it nor knew anyone who used it, therefore his attitude to it was quite neutral. He didn't know what to think of Emma discovering she had magic but he was filled with gratitude that she had used it to save Killian.

So, no, Liam Jones was not going to fault Emma for having magic, any time, soon.

He did, however, start to squirm on his chair, when the subject of soul mates was brought up.

Liam liked Emma as a person. She was sweet natured, fun loving, joyful and had accepted himself and his brother without any sense of the superior. Snow had asked him to look after Emma like an older brother and he was fine with that. But for all of his maturity, Liam reverted to a typical ten year old boy at the mere mention of any of 'that love rubbish'. Boys that age were not known for their enthusiasm regarding girls and any kind of anything that sounded suspiciously like 'romance'. Snow could try to gloss over it with words like 'friendship' but being confirmed as soul mates was likely to lead to love. Worse than that, being Emma's soul mate sounded as though it would be dangerous for Killian.

"This soul mate thing. What will it mean for my brother? Will it hurt him or the Princess?"

"I've never heard of soul mates finding each other so young, but that's what our family does; find each other," Snow paused to smile at David, lost for a moment in memories of their struggles to do just that. She gave herself a shake to pull herself back to the present. "The Blue Fairy said they will be drawn to each other, that they will want to spend time together, and I intended to encourage that anyway, as I told you the other day. Honestly, I think they were destined to get into mischief together, regardless of the soul mate bond, just because that is what children do."

Liam swallowed hard. "Attacked by dogs is a bit more than mischief," He said, tightly. His blue eyes looked deeply into Snow's, tugging at her heart. "I could have lost him."

"Yes. This is why we wanted to speak to you first. The Blue Fairy warned me that . . . well, Killian would put himself at risk to keep Emma safe. Now, obviously he has already done that . . . twice, for which David and I can never thank him enough."

"I tried to teach him to be a gentleman; to have good form," Liam explained.

"You have, he does," David assured him. "I have met knights who haven't displayed half the bravery and good form of you and Killian. Never doubt that. What we are worried about is his judgement. He's still only a young boy and he hasn't yet learned to temper his decisions."

Liam looked confused.

"I've only known you both for a very few days, but even I can see that Killian throws his whole heart into everything he does. He is all or nothing. There is no middle ground with him. Combine that with his selflessness and the soul mate bond, and he could throw his life away in trying to protect Emma when he doesn't need to. I don't want that to happen. David doesn't want that to happen. We want to keep all three of you safe. While I am so, so happy for my daughter to have found, Killian, I am not blind to the dangers." Snow said. She squeezed Liam's hand in a show of understanding.

"What do I do? How can I protect my little brother and still keep Her Highness, safe? I don't know what to do." For the first time since Snow and David met Liam, he looked completely lost.

"We don't expect you to have the answers. You are a brave and very clever young man, Liam, but that is just it, you are still young. I know that you have seen the hardest side of life; much more than most boys your age. You've had to carry so much more responsibility that you should ever have had to bear, but even you aren't equipped to make the sort of decisions required in this situation," David said. He put a steadying hand on Liam's shoulder, hoping to lend some of his own strength to the young man through the contact.

"For better or worse, Emma and Killian are connected for as long as they both live. Yes, Killian is your brother, but any decision you make for him will likely affect, Emma, too. There's no getting around that. When we asked you and Killian to be our wards, we were asking for your trust that we would look after you. In all honesty, we don't know what the answer is, yet. Emma having magic puts all of us at risk, especially, Killian," Snow explained.

"While we still have breath in our bodies, Snow and I will do everything possible to protect all three of you, but bad people could try threatening any of us to make Emma use her magic for their own plans," David said. "We want her to learn how to use it, and that will allow her to protect herself, but we don't know yet how to get her trained without attracting attention from the wrong people."

"There is somewhere we know of that we might find some more information about magic and, get Emma away from Misthaven for a short while, in case some bad person comes looking for the source of the Light magic that she used last night," Snow said. "Do you think you and Killian could cope with a sea voyage right after Emma's birthday? I know it's very soon after your terrible experience with the shipwreck, so you must tell us if you think it will be too much. It's just that getting there by sea is really the best and fastest way."

Liam bit his lip as his thoughts turned inward. After a few minutes of reflection he squared his shoulders and nodded. "The wreck was bad and I wouldn't want Killian to have to go on the ocean again, so soon, but it seems to me that there is danger here, too, and maybe that's a bigger risk than going on a ship again. Where are we going?"

"Have you ever heard of, Arendelle?" Snow asked.