"To The Royal Majesties of Arendelle,

I have taken your daughter, Princess Anna, as a captive on my ship. If you wish to see her returned safely, you are to meet me and my crew just along the edges of the Southern Isles' waters. The trade will take place at a deserted island called "The Serpent's Head", in precisely one month. You are to bring one million chests of gold to exchange for her life. Trickery of any kind will result in the princess' death. Any written correspondence may be passed through this messenger hawk.

-Captain Elric of The Snow Queen"

Elsa studied the letter she'd written and cringed at how cold she sounded. Of course she wasn't going to harm the princess in any way, let alone kill her. But she couldn't let her adversaries know that, or else she'd have to deal with the Arendelle navy. Heaven knows she didn't want that.

"Hopefully soon this whole mess will be over with," she heaved a sigh and sat down, rubbing her face tiredly. She wished to sleep. Tomorrow would be a trying day for her, as sailing through The Bear's Teeth was not something one did lightly. Or at all, really.

A timid knock on the door drew her attention. She straightened her posture and answered the door, finding Anna and Kristoff on the other side.

"Be seeing you, your highness." Kristoff said with a polite nod and walked away.

"Goodnight, Kristoff." Anna called at his retreating form.

Elsa fought off a tiny surge of jealousy at the interaction. I'm being ridiculous. That was just him escorting her back, and her being polite. A-And even if it wasn't, I don't have any grounds to be jealous, of all things!

"Please, come in." she held the door open for the princess, who thanked her with a slight blush.

The door now closed and locked, Elsa returned to her previous seat, though now her posture was more rigid. "How was dinner with the crew?" she asked conversationally. Elsa secretly wanted to make sure that they all knew their places and hadn't tried anything funny behind her back.

Anna beamed and sat down across from her. "Oh, it was very entertaining!" she gushed, "Everyone was very nice to me, and we sang songs! Shanties, I think they're called? I didn't really know the words, but they helped me learn them."

Elsa smiled, seeing Anna so happy lifted her spirits tremendously.

"Then the Beast decided to start a Fanorona tournament, so Kristoff taught me how to play. And guess what? I won!" Anna giggled into her hands, her eyes lighting up with mischief and mirth. "I told them that I used to play a similar game with my tutor, but we called it checkers. Then they asked me about my life before, which led to a lot of funny stories from everyone. It was great!"

Elsa couldn't banish the adoring smile that seemed to be stuck on her face. "I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed yourself, princess." Neptune, I'm sinking to the depths for her.

Anna sobered a little, regarding her with curious teal eyes. "What about you captain? Did you finish the letter?"

Elsa nodded, getting up and striding over to her desk. "Yes, the letter is complete. I will have it sent by hawk tomorrow morning before we leave."

A dainty hand resting itself on her back startled Elsa, and she quickly turned. Anna looked apologetic. "Sorry," the princess mumbled, "I was wondering if I could see what you have written."

Elsa's heart was beating quite hard in her chest while having the young noblewoman so close to her. She could almost count each of the girl's beautiful dark eyelashes. I'd only have to lean down a little and—she cleared her throat to try and regain her control. "Of course, princess." She stepped aside and allowed Anna (and herself) some space.

The redhead looked over the letter, her brows furrowing slightly. She turned back to Elsa once more. "May I make a request, captain?" her voice was soft, yet pleading.

The blonde wouldn't have said no, even if she'd wanted to. Anna seemed to be her greatest weakness.

She noticed the princess' hands curl into nervous little fists over her dress. Her fingers trembled, and Elsa impulsively reached out and covered them with her own. Anna's hands were warm…

"Do not be afraid to ask for things, princess," Elsa murmured, trying to soothe the girl's nerves, "I will never get angry or belittle you for asking. I promise."

Anna stared up at her with wide teal eyes. They were so beautiful, so deep. They reminded Elsa of the ocean she loved. But then the connected gazes were broken as Anna's stare fell to their joined hands. Elsa's eyes were also drawn downward, realizing that she had yet to let go of the princess' hand. There was a long pause before both of them blushed pink.

Elsa went to pull her hands away, an apology on the tip of her tongue, but Anna held them there. Elsa's heart froze, along with every muscle in her body. The princess slowly threaded their fingers together while the captain watched with a halted pulse. Neither could ignore how perfectly their hands fit together; like two puzzle pieces, as if made only for each other.

Alarm bells began to ring in Elsa's head. This is inappropriate, she reasoned, I should not be holding her hand like this! This is something that courting people do, not pirates and princesses. I have to stop this before I…before I do something I regret.

Elsa bit her lip and stepped back, much to Anna's disappointment. The blonde sighed, still feeling the ghost of Anna's warmth on her hands. Elsa suddenly remembered that they had been right in the middle of a discussion. "What is your request, princess?" her voice sounded strange to her ears, hoarse almost.

The princess stared at her, those wide curious eyes diving into her own. Several moments passed like this. Just staring, neither moving, neither saying anything. Suddenly Anna looked at the desk, crossing her arms. "I'd like to write a letter to my brother. To inform him that I'm alright." She broke the silence.

Elsa considered this for a moment. She really wanted to abide Anna's request, but how could either of them be sure others wouldn't read the letter? Others being the King and Queen, who needed to be under the impression that Elsa was a ruthless and cruel pirate captain.

The princess seemed to sense her internal struggle. "I could write it in my brother's special language if that would make it more convenient? No one else but him would be able to read it, then."

Elsa raised a curious brow. "Special language?"

Anna nodded. "When we were children we got into all sorts of trouble. We made up an alphabet to encode messages so our parents and the royal staff wouldn't know what we were up to."

"That…"Elsa paused in thought, a small smile spreading over her lips, "That could work."

Anna grinned excitedly, her eyes lighting up. "Oh thank you, captain!" caught up in her happiness, she placed a quick peck to Elsa's cheek.

The blonde froze. She…she just kissed me!

"Oh, I'm sorry," Anna apologized sheepishly, noticing the red in Elsa's pale cheeks, "I just- I knew that you didn't like me hugging you, so…" she trailed off with embarrassment.

Elsa straightened, trying to calm her racing heart. It was up to her to ease the situation. "That's quite alright." She told her, "Let me know when you've finished writing so that I may send it along with the other letter." With that, Elsa quickly left (fled) the cabin. That girl will be the death of me!

Anna was not stupid. She knew that she was treading into dangerous territory with Captain Elric. But there was just something about him, the way his beautiful blue eyes gazed upon her with a timid fondness, or the way he had moments of fragility that he hid from the others. The captain was simply unlike any other man Anna had ever met. His hands were soft and gentle…

With a final sigh, the princess got to work on the letter.

"Dear Brother,

I hope you still remember how to read this. Mother and Father might have already told you, but I've been kidnapped by pirates. Oh, but don't worry! They're all very nice people. Especially the captain, he's…well, he's kind of dreamy. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I'm safe and sound. How are you? Is Father still hounding you about studying royal politics? I dread to think of how boring those lessons are. Maybe you should get yourself kidnapped by pirates too! I'm only joking, of course.

Much Love,

Anna

P.S. Don't tell anyone what this letter says! Lie if you have to, this is tip-top secret information!"

First, I'd like to offer you all a HUGE apology. One, for the shortness of the chapter, and two, for the lateness of it. I have no other excuse than the fact that work is hectic and college is CRAZY! I'm taking nearly twice the course load for this semester because I'm very stupid. I'm not even kidding. I dumbly thought, "Oh hey, I can totally do this. No biggie. These classes don't even sound that hard. Teeheeheeeeeee~~~! (insert derp face)". So in conclusion, I'm very sorry. I will try to be better about posting more frequently.

Thank You For Your Patience,

Snow