Chess Piece

A Game of Politicians

She looked like a thief in her own castle, sneaking with cautious step each time.

Now, if he would find her when he didn't even intend to see her then he really should not have bothered to try and catch her in the first place. Because there she was, walking out of the library, all by herself, and he had stepped back around the corner just as she had turned to look around in case there was other people in the halls before she closed the door behind her. When he peered around, she had her back toward him, making her way down to her study, it seemed.

If she reached that door before he could catch her, then he would not have a chance to talk to her before dinner.

Thus was why he had took long quiet strides to catch up with her, and when he had laid his gloved hand on her shoulder, she tensed up almost immediately, moving so fast to get herself free before he could actually held on, eyes wide in shock before they narrowed at the sight of him.

"Have you been spying on me?" A full blown accusation thrown at him, yet he would not blame her for it as she had not seen nor hear him until he himself had made his presence known. She was flexing her fingers, he noticed, rather nervously as her jaw tightened.

What a strange thing.

"I can promise you that it was never my intention," mustering one of his best smiles, he had kept a respectful distance by not taking a step forward after she had taken one back. "Nor was startling you, as I know you don't like surprises."

Her lips pursed in return of his smile, just as unamused as she was before no matter how much he tried to coax her into giving him a genuine smile. "What could you possibly want from me?" She was holding something back, he could tell, yet far too polite and proper to actually spat it up his face. "I need to work."

His fingers ran through his auburn hair then, looking at her apologetically as he let out a quiet sigh. "Was it wrong for me to wish to know you little better?" Surely she too would find it a little easier to know who she would be married to in more details than what could be found in books, to actually speak to the man she was to share her life with.

"Have you grown bored in the company of my sister?" He had never expected that from her. When his mouth moved to speak she had held up her hand in a gesture to silence him. "I saw the two of you in the gardens. Do not think that you're the only man that has tried to use my sister's innocence to gain information regarding me."

She had been watching them then, up from the library's tall windows, to see him walking with her sister by his side; it made the tiniest part of him wonder if she had been jealous. "Forgive me, for you are such a mystery to the world that I could not help but wonder why you have kept yourself hidden for so long." Kings and Queens who has a daughter as beautiful as she would have presented her to the world instead of doing what the King and Queen of Arendelle had done; they have gone against royal traditions.

"But do not use my sister like that, I expect for everyone to respect her the same way they respect me; that includes you, Prince Hans." Against the common belief that has started to spread amongst the dignitaries that Elsa could care less about her younger sister, the way she had scolded her the other day at dinner truly has them all in a state of shock, she apparently cared deeply for Anna, no matter how much Anna said she had been ignoring her for years. "And it is my business and mine only; you do not have to bother yourself into minding it."

--

"Please forgive me should I speak outside of my boundary but perhaps it would be wise if you give the Prince a chance, Your Majesty."

Her eyes had darted from her own reflection on the mirror to the reflection the middle aged maid then, an eyebrow raised in question. "A chance?" Had she not been giving him one, by not truly shutting him out like she had done to the rest of the world?

Gerda had nodded as her hands continued to undo the Queen's platinum blonde hair from it's bun for the night, it was a task meant for her ladies-in-waiting yet she had not yet dared to have anyone else but the maid to prep her to sleep. "Most grooms in an arranged marriage would not even bother to meet their bride before the wedding, Prince Hans has tried his best to know you, I would say give him a chance of an actual conversation with you, Your Majesty."

Yet until Gerda had left the bedchamber, having finished her duties for the day, the young Queen had stayed silent, eyes watching her own face on the smooth surface before she had finally got up and made her way to her bed.

She had never have anyone so close to her since her isolation, had been pushing them away for their own good, the fear of harming anyone else like she did Anna had always been gnawing her insides. Yet she hasn't been losing control, at least not until she froze everything she ever touched, and perhaps she should give him a chance indeed, for they would share their lives together soon enough.

But would she really be that foolish, to test herself so far out and so on edge just because ice had not yet shot from her very fingertips in a few days of her ruling?

----

"Do you play?"

Green eyes followed the gesture of her hand toward the chess set that sat in front of her, nodding as he made his way to sit on the chair across of her, a silent answer to her question.

It had confused him when he had received the invitation from Kai, who had waited for him to return from his riding at the stables, as it was as vague as it could possibly be.

The Queen had invited him up to her study.

When he had asked her about it, as he watched her made the first move with her white pawn, her eyes had flickered up to see him with an eyebrow raised. "Yes, or else you would not be sitting here with me." She nodded at the board, allowing him to make his own move.

"May I know why?" He hadn't been bothering Anna with questions, just as she had requested him to, had only been engaging in small light talks whenever they had crossed path in the castle.

"To talk; isn't it what you had wanted the other day?" She had actually considered him then, despite her cold and uninterested persona that she had been displaying. "I realized that you do have a point in wishing to know me a little more than others do, agreeing into a marriage to a total stranger would have bothered me too."

He had patiently waited for her to voice what she wished to say, as willingness was the best way to draw her out of her shell, being pushy and impatient would not lead him anywhere but more closed doors.

"Do you ever feel like a chess piece yourself?" She had murmured to him then as her eyes remained on the pawn that she had just moved one square forward. "In a game being played against your will."

No, he hasn't. His father had enough sons to involve in whatever game the politicians have to play, he was more than just an extra piece to add; he was a wasteful, forgotten, and worthless pawn that served no purpose for his father. Elsa was the Queen in the game, the strongest most influential piece of the board. "Do you?"

"Constantly." Her fingers delicately moved her horse and removed the black pawn belonging to him before she looked up at him, and he could see the exhaustion in her eyes, gleaming as a silent cry for help, though he could not figure what she could possibly need from him. "I see them leaning in and moving me around the board." When he asked her of who she was referring to, she had only scoffed with a bitter smile on her lips. "Everyone. I'm sure half the politicians are ready to seize hold of my skirts and drag me from square to square."

She was a young Queen, barely passing her twenties; he wouldn't be surprised that they do. She was the perfect, unprepared young lady that if manipulated correctly would listen to the words of someone she considered trustworthy. "Then you had better master the rules of the game until you play it better than they can." Because no matter how many books, how many lessons and tutors that had taught her, she was lacking of an actual experience.

There was a small smile, just the tiniest that grew on her face, as her bishop made a move across the board. "You don't recommend I have a husband to play it for me?"

"He should be one to play it with you, not for you."