Elsa Comes Out (Of The Castle)

ONE SHORT DAY

 

 

        The door creaked ever so slightly as the Doorward pushed it open spilling light into the Queen’s study as Elsa looked up from the papers spread out before her. Anna stepped through the portal, a smile appearing on her face as she saw her sister. Elsa looked back down to her papers. The study was her father’s, shelves lined the walls and were filled with books, light filtered in through the window that filled the final wall, even so Elsa had beside her a candle casting her in an orange hue and turning her hair to spun gold.

        She listened to the door close and heard the footsteps of her sister approach. 

“How long have you been in here?”

“An hour or so,” the queen said back, “At most.”

Anna glanced at the candle beside her sister, the butlers replaced the candles nearly every night, this one was nearly guttering out, “Oh, okay…” She pulled a chair over from one of the sitting tables and sat next to her sister, “Elsa, when was the last time you went outside?”

        “This morning,” she said not looking up.

        “I don’t mean the garden, or the balcony. I mean out into town. Out the gates”

        “Anna, please, I don’t have time for this.”

        “When?”

The queen sighed, “When we had that party, wasn’t it? We made a festival ground in the square.”

        “That was my birthday” Anna said.

        “Yes, that’s it.”

        “That was two months ago, Elsa”

        “Hmm,” Elsa’s attention was already back firmly on the papers. Anna leaned over to look at them. A bunch of official looking letters, and off to the side were maps. She sighed and got up, “Come on, Elsa, let’s go out, let’s take a walk! Anything, you’re spending so much time in here.”

        Elsa jerked her arm away from her sisters grasp, “No, Anna. I have work to do.”

        “But Elsa-“

        “These trade papers are not going to go over themselves, Anna. I need make sure they’re in our best interests, I need to approve them…” she trailed off as she looked over a map, seeing how far away one trade partner was from another.

        “Don’t we have Eddard for this?” 

        “Mom and Dad aren’t here anymore, Anna. I need to know how these things work before I can have someone else do them, Anna”

        “But right now? Come on, Elsa.”

        “Anna, enough! We can’t all just dance through life like you and your, your boyfriend!”

Taken aback, the princess was speechless. The queen stared at her sister before turning back to the table and the trade agreements. A few moments passed, the only sound that of the girls breathing and the faint sound of a finger moving over parchment.

“You can go now, Anna.”

        Elsa watched her sister leave the room before looking out the window. Smoke rose from bakeries, she could almost hear people yelling from the markets. With a sigh she went back to her papers.

Stepping out of the room, Anna sighed to herself and turned to the Doorward, “Gregory, How long has she been in there?”

        “All day, your highness. We’ve had to replace the candles twice.”

 

        “I just don’t know what to do,” Anna said. On either side of the princess sat an animated snowman and a reindeer. All three stared into the water, “She’s shutting me out again, Sven. She’s locking herself up and I can’t bring her out again.”

She looked at the reindeer, empathetic eyes stared back, “Maybe you should leave her alone?” Sven said.

Anna looked behind her to Kristoff, and made a face, “What? No. She should be out here with us!”

        Kristoff shrugged, “In my experience if people don’t want to talk about these kinds of things, it’s just best to let them be. That’s what I’d want.”

        “You’d shut yourself up and want to be left alone?”

        “Uhh yeah?”

Anna made another face, got up, and started walking along the pier, arms outstretched as she balanced on the edge, “We have got to get her out of there.”

        The girl swayed, arms waving and fell back, into the man’s arms. She looked up into his face, “Maybe she just needs some time. Let her get there on her own, you know?” said Kristoff.

        “I just need to find out what’s wrong with her.”

        “Well the first time she was out with people she got run out of town,” Olaf piped in.

        “But she came back after that,” said Anna.

        “It’s not really something you could get over that quickly,” Kristoff said, “How long ago did you say she started locking herself in her room?”

        “Ever since we were little…” the girl trailed off, looking at her feet, before her head jerked up, a smile on her face, “We just have to show her that she shouldn’t be scared of people!”

        “We should just leave her be, Anna”

        “I think Anna’s right; sometimes people need help with these things. When it happened to me I couldn’t have gotten through it without my friends.”

The pair stared at the snowman, “How long were you wandering around before we found you?” Kristoff finally asked.

        “About a day” the snowman said with a smile.

        “Olaf’s right. We need to help her with this.”

The ice harvester shook his head, “Anna, you’re listening to a snowman, remember our talk about bad decisions?”

        “Olaf’s practically family!”

        “He is?”

        “I am?”

“Of course,” Anna knelt down to Olaf, “I always thought she was just scared of hurting me.”

“People are always scared of being hurt themselves,” he said back.

“So we should find someone that Elsa knows won’t hurt her.”

The pair of them looked at Kristoff.

“Hey hey. No. I say we leave her alone. You should do it, Anna. She’s your sister.”

“She already knows I love her, Kris. It has to be someone else.”

“Anna…”

        “Pleeeeeeease?”

 

The palace garden was in bloom, the tulips swayed in the faint wind the scent wafted along the halls of the palace. Purples streaked with yellows, whites with reds, and in a specific patch, orchids, tulips, anemone, hydrangea and carnations, all a faint light blue like ice.

Elsa smiled as she smelled the flowers. Anna had planted them under her room’s window after the coronation. She breathed in their scent and her mind was filled with the thought of Anna digging in the dirt, planting the bulbs and plants herself.

Oh Anna.

        Elsa wasn’t sure of this whole plan of hers. ‘A day off’ was how she described it. Anna would take care of any petitions, of any problems and she wouldn’t take no for an answer, no matter how much Elsa had protested. So here she was, waiting in the gardens debating going out or going back inside.

        She took another lap around the garden, smoothing out the dark blue skirt she’d worn. Leaving her work and going out into town?  She felt more like Anna than herself. Now that she thought about it that might be the only reason she was out in the garden.

        Maybe she should go back in, make sure Anna knew about how to-

        “Good morning, Your Majesty”

        It was her Ice Master and Deliverer. That’s right, she was going to be chaperoned. Make sure she didn’t just come back in.

        She hadn’t met the man often, maybe two or three times. His courtship of Anna was the talk of the town, if the maids were to be believed.

        “Oh uh… Kristoff,” she took her hand away from the door as the man strode into the garden.

        “You ready?” he asked. Elsa nodded and the pair walked to the garden’s street exit. Just before leaving Kristoff stopped, “Oh, wait, almost forgot. Can’t take a break if everyone knows you’re the queen.” He reached into the pack slung over his shoulder and pulled out a long purple scarf, almost large enough to be a shawl.

He swung it over her, wrapping it around her head and tying it into a loose knot under her chin. “Oh… “ the overall look was like a bonnet. She did her best to hide the surprise at the overly familiar gesture, “uh, thank you” She stared at the man as he pushed the gate open, he looked back.

Watching her glance back to the castle Kristoff sighed, “Look, I was against this from the start, it’s all Anna’s idea. I’m not gonna stop you if you want to go back inside.”

 A day where she wasn’t queen? Anna could use some help, what if something came along and she didn’t know what to do?

“Are you coming?”

She shoved he hair under the shawl and scurried out the gate.

Outside the gate somehow the world seemed brighter, people moved here and there, from building to building or simply along the streets. Seeing that the garden gate was open a boy and a girl ran up to them.

        “Is the palace garden open?”

        “Er, yes. Of course.” Elsa said, looking at the children. A blond youth and a raven haired girl, they both cheered at the news and pushed past her and into the garden.

        “Pretty nice disguise, right?”     

        “They didn’t even know who I was, did they?”

        “That’s kind of the point,” he said back. He nudged her shoulder, “Come on.”

He doesn’t care that I’m the queen either, does he? She hurried after him.

        Just down the street was a cart and harnessed to it, a reindeer. That’s right, Anna told her that he’d always have the animal with him; it was like his pet or something.

        “Sven, we’ve got a guest today,” the man said, unhooking the animals harness from the cart. The animal made a snorting noise and took a few steps forward and sniffed at the queen.

        “Hello… Sven”

        “Hello” the reindeer said back.

Elsa stared at the animal and then to Kristoff, he was grinning. She did her best to stifle a giggle and a smile.

        “Ahh, you can smile,” he said, “So, where to first, Your Majesty?”

        “If I’m not the queen for the day, should you really be calling me that?”

        “Oh uh, right,” he scratched at his head, “So, where to, uh, Elsa?”

Elsa looked around the square before the palace. A cool spring breeze blew off the water and she breathed in the scent of the ocean, “How about the market?”

        “Alright then.”

 

        Before she knew it, Elsa was in the press of people in the market square, it took some getting used to. At first she shrunk away from the people, but it couldn’t last forever, eventually she pushed back. Eventually she found a sort of contentment; it was nice to be a part of the hustle and bustle, to be a part of the hoi polloi and not its focus. People bumped into her, said hello, no one bowed and she had to shove her way through them to reach a stall. It was like playing with Anna when they were little.

        After moving through the press the two of them sat on a stone palisade that over looked the harbor, other than the reindeer no one took any notice of them. Elsa watched the people moving to and fro, these people she was the queen of. She sighed and looked up at the castle itself. Somewhere in there Anna was making decisions.

        Watching her lips tighten, and her brow furrow, Kristoff nudged her shoulder, handing her an apple.

        “Thank you.”

        “So why are you locking yourself up in the castle again?”

Kristoff patted her back as she coughed from the surprise. She looked up at him, “You’re certainly curt and to the point, aren’t you?”

        “Hah, when I first met Anna I was just rude. Nice to know I’m moving up.”

        “Hmpf…“ Elsa snorted, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

        “Hmm…” Kristoff looked back out at the square, “Hmm, okay, how about this, I tell you something, you tell me something?”     

        “Like what?”

        “Did Anna tell you about when she met my family?”

        Elsa thought for a moment, “That was... the Trolls right?”

        “Yeah. Did she tell you what they did?”

        “Just that they told you about how I froze her heart…” Elsa’s voice trailed off. Kristoff pressed on.

        “Well they tried to marry us too, you know.”

        “What?”

        “Yeah I know.”

        “Why?”

“I think at that point they’d have tried to marry me to any girl. They even wanted me to get rid of Hans. I told them I’d never do that,” he said before realizing who he was talking about, “Er, not that I wouldn’t now, I mean. I’d completely try to get rid of him now. We didn’t know what he was like and, uhm- c-can I start over?”

As Kristoff did his best to try and sort out a proper sentence, Elsa smiled. Anna, it seemed, had found a man that was so much like her, though her sister smelled better. Kristoff smelled of soap but under that was dirt, and pine and well reindeer.

        Elsa let out a giggle, “I know what you mean. Thank you” she enjoyed the thought of it being Kristoff and not Anna coming to her rescue. Maybe there could have been a sword fight.

        “I don’t think I ever really thanked you for what you did for us. Anna and I.”

        “I didn’t really do anything, besides the sledge is more than enough,” he thought for a moment, “Is Ice Master really a thing?”

        “Not really,” she admitted with a laugh, “Anna wanted you to have a title; I think we were all hoping you’d be able to figure something out for it.”

        “Ahh…”

Elsa sniffed at the air and closed her eyes, “Is that… chocolate?”

It was.

 

Elsa rubbed the speck of brown from her mouth as she stepped away from the stand, a small packet in her other hand. Sven sniffed at it as she rejoined her chaperones.

        “Ahh ah. No no. These are not for you,” she said, pulling the packet away from him.

        “Here, Elsa, catch,” an orange blur shot through the air and the queen grabbed it. A Carrot.

        “Uhh”

“For Sven”

The Elsa’s mouth turned into a little ‘O’ and she held the carrot up, pointing it at the reindeer. Sven chomped off half the thing from her hand, to her surprise. She smiled as the animal crunched down on it, and then ate the rest of it. Elsa sat down as she scratched under the reindeer’s chin.

        “It’s your turn you know,” Sven said after a few more minutes.

        “My turn?” Elsa asked, scratching Sven’s snout.

        “I tell you, you tell me,” he said, chewing off the end of a carrot.

        “Oh. Right,” she looked back at the castle, from here the tops of its spires poked up between two houses. She could see one of the window’s she’d always look out of when she was little. She sighed.

        “If you don’t want to that’s-“

        “It’s just that… All my life I was… shut away. And now… now I’m queen. I… I never got to be… Ugh,” she shook her head, “I promised myself I wouldn’t be like this, I’d just be-“

“Yourself?”

She nodded, “But, I have to do things the right way. I’ve got to prove I’ll be good at it. Be the good girl. Be a good ruler. Maybe they’d really forget.”

        “Forget what?”

She rubbed her arms, looking down “What I am.”

        “Ah… that… For uh… for what it’s worth, I always thought you were amazing. Your powers I mean. I mean making ice and snow out of nothing? That’s great. You’re not a monster.”

        Elsa closed her hands, and from the gaps in her palms a slight fog rose. When she opened them again, a small Reindeer head stared up at them, “You and Anna are the only ones that never seem to mind,” she handed him the sculpture, “Thank you.”

Kristoff held it up, no tool marks, perfectly smooth, crystal clear slow frozen ice. It was Sven. He smiled. Elsa lapsed into silence again. Sven glared at Kristoff. He shrugged mouthed ‘what am I supposed to do’

        Sven snorted, jerking his had up.

        ‘What?’

        He did it again, Kristoff looked behind him.

        That might help, maybe.

        “Hey,” he took Elsa’s arm, “Come on.”

 

High above the city standing outside of the lighthouse’s lamp, Elsa leaned over the wrought iron railing. The smell of the sea and the city mixed and swarmed around her, the wind tore at her skirt whipping and spinning it about her legs. She closed her eyes and for a moment it was almost like the ice palace again.

“You know I’ve never seen it like this. Up in the mountains you get the view but, not the smells. Hey!” The shawl billowed away and Elsa’s hair spilled out, “Oh come on, I spent ten krone on that scarf!”

Elsa laughed as he reached over the railing. He sighed and, like her skirt his hair thrashed in the wind. He glanced and her and laughed.

“You know, just because you’re queen doesn’t mean you can’t be yourself. You’ve got tons of people in the Castle don’t you? Can’t any of them take care of things for a day? Everyone should have a day off, Elsa.”

        She smiled, “Maybe.”

They stayed in the lighthouse for some time pointing out parts of the city they knew: where Kristoff got his sledge, or clothes, the ice storage rooms, anything they could think of. Elsa had far fewer places to point out.

 

An hour later, Elsa wanted to return to the palace and true to his word Kristoff obliged. He bought a new real shawl, and with it over her head, they made their way back.

He didn’t know if the Doorman was in on the whole thing, but he’d stopped them all the same, refusing to let them into the castle proper. Until Elsa took off the shawl.

        “Y-Your majesty!” the man sputtered, bowing so fast Kristoff thought he’d end up in the ground, “I’m so sorry”

        “It’s alright,” she said, kneeling down and touching the man’s shoulder. Kristoff as sure he’d seen him flinch at the touch. He was sure Elsa had seen it too.

        Kristoff nudged Sven, and the pair turned to leave, before stopping dead as the queen cleared her throat.

        “Kristoff.”

        “Yes, Els-“

        “Ha-rumph!” jowled the doorman. Elsa mouth twisted up, holding back her giggles.

        “Er… Queen Elsa?”

 “As a friend of the crown, you are hence fourth allowed all access to the castle, at any time of your choosing.”

“What?” The door man glared at the young man.

“It means I have to let you in.”

He looked from the doorman to the queen, “O-oh,” save for a man who nearly lost his hair, Kristoff gave the most awkward bow Elsa had ever seen,” Uh... thank you.”

As he righted himself Elsa was smiling, “I’m sure Anna and I will need a ‘day off’ soon.”

 

The last of the stewards was leaving as a final person came into the audience chamber. Unlike the rest of the people that would come in, she didn’t look around and marvel at the columns, or wonder at the paintings on the walls or the sculptures, she just looked straight ahead.

Anna was sitting upon the throne. Well, more like lounging maybe. She looked exhausted.

“Oh I’m sorry, we’re closed, please come back tomorrow!” she called out.

It wasn’t until she was halfway across the room that Anna realized it was her sister. She sprang out of the chair, “Oh my gosh, Elsa, I’m sorry.”

The queen laughed, “So how did everything go?”

Anna waved away the question, “Oh well, you know, I’m a natural. Easy peasy, didn’t even freeze the kingdom. Er, sorry. Uhm- how was your day?”

Anna didn’t know her sister was capable of a bear hug, “Oh! Uh, that good huh?” she wrapped her own arms around her sister.

“It was a wonderful time, Anna, thank you.” Elsa felt so warm as she embraced her sister, she’d missed this. She didn’t want it to end, “Come on. I got chocolates.”

“Chocolates!”

 

Elsa swayed slightly; she could feel a bit of a food coma coming on. Maybe she’d had too much chocolate after dinner with Anna. She waved out a match after lighting the long tapered finger of a candle. It really had been a wonderful day.

        She’d been hesitant at first, about Anna and Kristoff. Heaven knows what happened the last time she’d brought a boy home. But Kristoff was a good person. Maybe she could do right by him. Of course they’d have to give him a real title. No matter how much Anna may like him a princess couldn’t marry a peasant.

        She smoothed out the shawl on the chest of drawers. It was dark blue with a thin white trim to it with faint purple flowers embroidered around its edge. Kristoff had insisted on buying it for her.

        He’d probably look very good in a uniform.

 

----

 

A FEW DAYS OUT

 

        “Elsa hurry up!” she could hear her sister calling from the door. She’d be doing her best to peek through the keyhole.

        “I’m coming Anna.”

        “Kristoff will be here soon!”

Kristoff would come in to the castle once, twice a week when he had the time, spending time with Arendelle’s princess. Eventually Elsa would ask to join them; the three would roam the castle, or the town, finding whatever little delights they could.

        “I know,” The queen smiled in the mirror and, gathering up her hair into a bun, wrapped the shawl about her head. She’d only wear it for these outings. She opened the door to Anna, her in an off white blouse and green and brown skirt, and Elsa in a blue and black jacket over a dark brown blouse and blue skirt. They were their ‘disguises.’

        “Ready?”

        “Yes, Anna.”

        “Come on!” the younger woman grabbed her hand and the two started off running.

        Kristoff had told Anna that he was going to take her on a picnic. When she told her sister the queen had said it would be nice to go out and eat without anyone around. It had turned into an agreement to come along.

        “Stop pulling Anna, I’d like to use my arm again.”

        “No. Come on, hurry up!”

        They found Kristoff past the bridge alongside a market stall. He waved as they came closer. Anna nearly jumped into his arms when they hugged. Elsa laughed watching them before turning to Sven.

        “Sven, look what I have for you,” she waggled a carrot in front of him and laughed has he tried to bite it from her hand before giving it to him, scratching his chin.

        “Alright, everyone ready?”

        “I’ve been waiting all week! Come on!” Anna was already in the cart.

 

         

        A cool breeze blowing through the air cut the heat of the sun beating down on the trio. It took them nearly another hour riding in the wilderness to find the spot Kristoff had found a hill with trees that frames a picturesque view of the town below. White sails moved past the castle, moving in and out from the port. Arendelle drove along fine without its princesses, like it had for years before.

        The cart was largely empty save for some whicker baskets which Kristoff hauled out. Inside one of the baskets were bundles of paper, each wrapping a sandwich. The other had a collection of fruits, Apples, pears, and a bundle of carrots.

        The three ate and laughed, Anna and Kristoff telling Elsa about the last time she wasn’t with them on one of their little adventure. Wandering through the woods, watching animals: Deer, ducks, even a bear with its three cubs.

        “Do you remember that wooden bird I showed you?” Anna was sitting next to Kristoff. She’d pulled his arms around her.    

        “Mm hmm” her sister said back.

        “Kris made it! Can you believe it?”

        She hardly could. The bird was beautiful, one wing was out stretched, while the other was broken, not by accident, it seemed like that was simply where the piece of wood ended, “You do carvings Kristoff?”

        Kristoff shrugged, “Well, no. I just uh, cut at the things and it turns into what it turns into, that’s all.” He said, a little bashfully.

        “You sound like you’re very good with your hands,”  Elsa said back with a smile, enjoying the sight of the man blushing.

        Kristoff scratched at the back of his head, “Well I don’t-“

        Anna cut him off, “You two should see who can carve the better ice sculpture!”

        “What?” the other two said in unison.

        “Yeah it’ll be great. We could cart them out and everyone could pick out which one they like best.” They stared at her.

        “Between me, and the queen.”

        “Yeah.”

        “Me?” Elsa chimed in.

        “Ah-huh”

        “Who can control ice?” said the queen, a grin creeping over her face.

        “Oh”

        Elsa stopped laughing. Eventually.

 

The day wore on and the three of them just found themselves laying back and looking at the clouds. Anna and Kristoff had snuggled up against each other while Elsa lay out by herself, hands behind her head. Every now and then Anna would let out a little squeal and Elsa knew that Kristoff had said something funny to her or hugged her and she’d smile.

 Anna had spent years alone, and none of it her own fault. She should be happy, Elsa thought.

The younger sister pointed out into the sky over Arenedelle.

“That one’s a rabbit,” she said.

“No it’s not, that’s a beaver” said Kristoff.

“What? No. Where’s the tail?”

        “Right there, can’t you see it?” 

        “I see it” Elsa said.

        “I don’t see it.”

        “Oh come on its right there,” Kristoff waved at the cloud.

Anna got up from the man’s lap and smoothed out her skirt, “Well I don’t see it. Uh… where can I… uhm…”

        “It’s the woods, Anna. There’s no one around,” the man said, matter of factly. Anna kicked at him.

        “I’ll be right back,” she said as she wandered off.

Elsa watched her sister walk out the clearing and disappear into the tree line. For a moment a flight of concern fluttered through her mind, the forest could be dangerous. But no, Anna could take care of herself, and besides, she was here. She and Kristoff. She looked over at the man as he stared out over the town. She slid herself along the grass to sit next to him.

        “Okay what about that one?” she said, pointing at another cloud.

        “Is that a squid?”

        “A squid? No,” Elsa said, “That’s Sven,” The reindeer let out a hoot at the sound of his name, and looked out into the sky, “See look, there’s his face. Right there. And his antlers are there. See? He’s running.”

        “That’s not Sven.” Kristoff said curtly.

        “Yes it is.” the queen shot back.

        “I’d know if it was him.”

        “Would you now?” Elsa just smiled and looked back out over the kingdom. The breezes of the day began to die down and the sun was quickly warming the hillside. Elsa pulled of the shawl, and undid the bun of her hair, pulling her braid over her shoulder.

        Kristoff glanced at her. At first, you’d think the two sisters were nothing alike. Anna wasn’t so elegant, or had the poise of her sister. But for all of Elsa’s refinement, putting her and her sister together like this, outside, and they were practically twins. Elsa smiling and laughing was endearing. She looked good with a smile.

        Elsa caught the young man looking at her and smiled, “Thank you for letting me tag along, Kristoff.”

        “It’s nothing,” he said, “The more the merrier right?”

        “Right,” she said, fiddling with the shawl, “It’s just being out here like this, it’s nice.  I-“

        “Feel more like yourself?” he finished.

Elsa leaned back on her hands, “Yes.”

Kristoff did the same, looking out into the sky. Their hands brushed against each other.

        The two sat in a contented silence as they waited for the princess to return. Below them on the hill road a cart rumbled slowly by.

Anna broke the silence when she’d suddenly returned, “Elsa, did I ever tell you that Sven can sing?”     

        Nearly jumping Elsa spun around “What?”

        “It’s true, he and Kristoff were singing when I first met them.”

Elsa glanced at the man, who was doing his best to look everywhere except at the two women, “Really…”

        Anna pulled Sven’s head down and the animal lay between the sisters.

“Yeah. I think it was something like...” she cleared her throat and leaned next to the reindeer.

“Reindeers are better than Kristoff.

Sven, don’t you think that’s true?”

Sven leaned back against the girl as Anna dropped her voice

“Yes Kristoff won’t help you, or hug you, and keep you

He’s just not as lovely as you two.” He sang.

Elsa scratched the reindeer behind the ears, “Aw! Thank you Sven.”

“When did you two have time to practice this?” Kristoff grumbled.

Anna stuck her tongue out at the man, “But Kristoff smells better than Reindeers

Sven, don’t you think I’m right?”

“Now that is a lie.

        I mean just look at that guy.” Sven sang.

“Alright alright,” he groaned as Anna scratched at the reindeer.

Elsa leaned against the man, “I think you smell fine.”

 

        The Castle always felt some empty without Anna around, but it was rather welcome after the birthday party Elsa’s sister had thrown for her. The queen wandered the halls. There were no petitions today, and Eddard and Kai were dealing with dignitaries that pressed for her audience. Her birthday was yesterday, but today was her day to do with how she pleased.

        She closed the doors behind her looking around the chamber and smiled. Shoes clicking on the floor and walked the patterns on the floor, this was her favorite room in the whole castle. It was her and Anna’s play room, once upon a time. She imagined she could see her sister, jumping from snow pile to snow pile. Or when they both made forts and had snowball fights. And then there was that one time.

        She understood what had happened now. It was her sister, it was simple as that. She’d never want to hurt her.

        She pushed the thought from her mind, in the past year the castle had seen more use that it ever had since the gates were first shut, and not just for welcome people to the castle. On their last little diversion Anna had insisted on dancing, and what better place than the ball room?

        The issue of course, was that Kristoff didn’t know how to dance.

 

Elsa could think of a few things that were more amusing than watching Anna lead Kristoff in a dance but few could rival her trying to dip him.

        An hour later Kristoff was good enough to lead, but every now and then a stepped foot would stop the music, so to speak.

        “Aaah!” Anna hopped up and down, “Ow ow ow.”

        “Sorry, sorry,” Kristoff’s shoulders sagged as he sighed, “I don’t think this is working.”

        “No no no no, I just- I can’t see what’s going wrong.”

        “I can’t dance, that’s what’s going wrong.”

        “Everyone can dance,” Anna said, furrowing her brow, “You can’t be like Elsa, she didn’t even dance at her coro...na…tion…” a devil of a smile slid along Anna’s face and Elsa blood ran cold.

        “Oh no, no no no”

        “Yes yes yes” said the almost manic grin on Anna’s face.

        “I don’t dance Anna!”

        “It’s time you learned!” Anna pushed her sister into Kristoff.

        Anna fussed over their stances, pushing them closer, moving their hands. Elsa’s on the man’s shoulder, Kristoff's on her waist, “There now. Okay, now just like I was showing you.”

        As the pair went on, Anna wondered if this was what it was like watching her dance with the Duke at the coronation.

        “Argh!” Kristoff yelped.

        “Sorry!”

        “How did you step on my heel?”

        “I don’t know!”

        They both learned fast, a few bruised feet later and they were cautiously waltzing like well, people that couldn’t dance.

 

        Elsa laughed as her feet panged with sympathetic aches. That had been a long day, but it was fun, in the end. Poor Kristoff, she’d trodden on his feet far more than he hers. Still it might be nice to try again. It just wouldn’t be today.

        Elsa was surprised at how let down she was that she couldn’t go along, and that was a foolish thing. She’d gone on half a dozen little outings with the pair, and spent a fair number of hours just walking the halls with them, what would one day matter?

        Yet somehow for some reason it did matter. She twisted her shawl in her hands. She didn’t even remember picking it up. She looked down at the garment and shook her head.

        That couldn’t be it. No no no. She wasn’t looking that. She couldn’t actually… like him, could she? Not her sisters…

        The floor began to frost over as she strode from the room, and into the hall. As she walked flurries of snow and frost trailed behind her.

No it was stupid. She didn’t want him. He was just the first man to be kind to her. It was just like Anna and Hans. She’d sent away all the suitors that vied for her affections. Most of the time she barely even looked at them.

The queen yanked open the door to her room and strode to the window. It opened at her slightest touch. She looked at the shawl Kristoff had bought her. Most of the suitors were more scared of her than wanting to court her, Kristoff was the only man who didn’t fear her powers. He liked them, enjoyed them. Anna’s Kristoff.

She couldn’t throw the thing away. It wasn’t the fact that he’d given it to her. It was… special. She wasn’t the Queen when she wore it. She was just herself. He could understand that about her, in a way that Elsa could never seem to tell her sister.

         She turned around and looked at the door. She could feel herself on the other side of it, hearing Anna’s heart break a little each time she called out for her to play, to help her. To let her in. She wasn’t going to let something like this hurt her sister.

        “Conceal it,” she said, “don’t feel it,” Elsa balled up her fist. She pulled open a drawer in the chest and shoved the shawl inside.

 

----

 

A NEW DAY

 

        Tapestries cloaked the walls of the castle with depictions of the heroics of the royal family, of their lineage, their hopes for the future. One such hanging showed a queen, dressed in the countries purple and green and in armor that shined like crystal, at the head of a mighty army while a blizzard raged about them. Anna always thought it was just another glorified defense of the kingdom, now she wondered what Elsa would look like atop a horse, gallantly defending their home.

        “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us, Elsa?”

        “Yes, Anna, I’m sure”

        “He’s just down stairs, you can still change your mind,” Anna said. Elsa smiled and shook her head.

        Paintings looked down over the sisters. Kings and queens, families and children watched as they walked through the halls of their castle. The girls could hardly have been dressed any differently. Anna hurried back to her sister. She wore a brown Turkish dress with a plain tan blouse; suspenders tied it tight about her waist. Anna needed the bloomers; Kristoff was going to be showing her how to harvest ice. In all the months they’d been going out she’d never actually seen him do it.

        Elsa was wearing one of her newer dresses, one she’d commissioned from a tailor in town; a pleated light and dark blue skirt with a matching dark blue bodice with a sweetheart neckline over a plain tan chemise. Golden crocus and tulips ran along the hem of the skirt. The tailor insisted on at least that little bit of ornamentation.

        Anna cast a sidelong look at her sister. Something was wrong; it wasn’t like her sister wasn’t leaving the castle. On the contrary she’d put out those clothing commissions in person. She’d go to the market, visit artisans that did work for the castle, all manner of things that Anna never thought she’d do. She just never went out with her and Kristoff anymore.

        “You’re not… mad at me, are you?”

Elsa gave her sister a confused look, “What? Why would I be mad at you?”

        “It’s just that…”she said.

        “Don’t worry about it, Anna,” Elsa gave the blond a smile and continued walking on.

It looked sad to Anna.

        “Just tell me, Elsa.”

        “It’s nothing Anna,” Elsa said, quickening her pace.

        “Don’t do this, Elsa” Anna chased after her, “Just tell me.”

        “Anna-“

        “It’s Kristoff, isn’t it?”

Elsa stopped and rubbed her arms, “No.”

        “Elsa-“

“No, Anna. Just go on your… date, or whatever it is.”

“You like him, don’t you!”

        “Anna, please stop, don’t shout.” Elsa pleaded, looking around, “Jus-just come here.”

Elsa grabbed Anna’s arm, pulling her through a pair of double doors, closing them behind her. It was one of the castles many drawing rooms, warm oak floods and furniture decorated the room, sofas and reclining chairs over coloring carpets with a wall of shelves filled with books.

        “Anna, you cannot just yell about these things,” Elsa said, her back pressed against the doors, “We have people here, dignitaries. Our cousin’s Foreign Minister is here. Something like that it could cause a scandal.”

        “But you do, don’t you?”

        “I don’t want to talk about this,” Elsa said.

        “Elsa, please,” Anna took her sisters hands. Elsa pulled back and turned away.

        “I… Maybe…” Elsa sighed, “I don’t know… yes…”

The queen had expected crying, or for her sister to shout. She’d braced herself for a diatribe that she rightly deserved, “Anna you have to believe me, I didn’t mean for this. I never really cared about-“

        She didn’t expect the hug.

        “This is wonderful!” Anna squealed, moving around her sister.

        “What?” Elsa was boggled, “Why aren’t you angry?”

        “Why would I be?” Anna smiled, “My sister likes someone!”

        “B-but it’s Kristoff!”   

        “So? Why shouldn’t I be happy about that?”

“I-It’s not something you should be happy with! You- you should be sad. You should be yelling at me. Why aren’t you-” Elsa started to pant. Anna hugged her sister again until her breathing slowed and she stopped shaking.

“I don’t see why we can’t both like him. We’ve shared a bike since we were ten,” Anna said with a squeeze.

Elsa let out a nervous laugh, “That’s… that’s not the same thing, Anna,” she said, hugging back, “Not at all.”

        “No, but, well…” Anna smiled, “You should come with us. We’re going ice harvesting. You could tell him you love him.”

        “I never said love, Anna,” Elsa shot back, “I just… it’s just something I’m not used to.”

        “Still, you should come.”

        “No, Anna,” Elsa said, looking down, “I shouldn’t. I-I shouldn’t”

        “But it’s fine.”

        “No it’s not. You go, have your fun. I’m fine...” She pulled away from her sister again.

        “Elsa.”

        “Thank you for saying its okay, Anna, but it’s not,” her voice started to sound hollow, “I couldn’t hurt you like that.”

        “But Elsa-“

Elsa gave her another sad smile, “its fine. Besides I have some reading to do,” Elsa opened the doors again and walked out.

        Anna watched her go. Hurt her? She just told her…

Anna sighed. Aaargh, Elsa’s such a stinker. She was starting to ruin everything. Anna paced the room, if Elsa wanted to stay inside instead of going out that was fine. Maybe Kristoff was right, letting people do what they wanted was best. She giggled to herself as she left the drawing room.

 

        When Elsa couldn’t get something out of her mind she’d read, and she needed it now. She had her own bookcase, and always made sure to move any book’s she’d read with ones she hadn’t yet. The result was a wall of unknown knowledge always waiting to be plumbed for information. All except for one book on the bottom shelf, its spine heavily creased, its pages worn, it was a book on geometry.

        Elsa looked to her door as muffled voice filtered in. It was ajar, it always was now. Between her and Anna it was an unspoken agreement that the doors to their rooms would never be closed again. It was probably Gerda showing a new maid around the grounds. They were getting louder, or closer.

Elsa pulled out a book on folklore. There was something her cousin had told her on one of her visits years ago: ‘Whenever you meet someone from another country, it’s always best to know more than them about that country.’  It was something about being able to understand where they came from, of course her husband then chimed in with ‘Plus you can always one up them with their own history.’ Elsa smiled at the memory as she walked around the small table to her sofa. She sat down and, pulling her legs under her, she started to flip through the pages.

The book was filled with stories of grimalkins and fairies. They’d speak to people, pushing them to do what they wanted, tricking them to get what they wanted. Most of the time it was their children. Maybe one of her ancestors was taken by a fairy and that’s why she had these powers, Elsa thought. She chuckled to herself, maybe a little bit of the fair folk ran in the family.

Just as she’d found the chapter she was looking for, a story of a man falling in love with a mermaid, her door was knocked open.

        “Hey, wait!”

        And in toppled a man, the door closing behind him.

        It was Kristoff.

        Elsa stared at him before a stark realization hit her. She jumped off the sofa and ran for the door. Pulling at the handle the rattling of metal against metal greeted her.

        “Anna, open this door! Anna!” Elsa rapped her fist against the wood to no avail. She heard another door open and she turned around. The dressing room! She bounded around the still dazed man on her floor and grabbed at the other doors handle just as the loudest click she’d ever heard echoed from it. The door rattled as she shook it.

        “Anna you can’t just lock me in my room!”

        “I already did!” Anna sang out, through the door, “And you’re not coming out until you figure things out!”

        “Anna! Anna!” Elsa banged on the door, panting, “Anna, unlock this door right now! Anna!” she could hear her sister walking away, ‘la-la’ing a little melody to herself. That girl! How dare she! That… that… little monster!

Hearing Kristoff groan Elsa spun around, her back to the door, “Did you have anything to do with this?!”

        Kristoff rubbed his shoulder and stared at the door, “That girl is way stronger than she looks.”

        “Did you have anything to do with this?”

        “Do with what? I don’t even know what’s going on.”

Elsa sighed, “Anna… she. Well, she’s locked us in.”

        “What? Oh Come on!” Kristoff’s shoulders slumped, “I’ve got deliveries! I have to get out there.” He picked himself up as Elsa walked around him and sat back on the sofa in a huff. He looked around the room. Four post bed, shelf full of books, wardrobe, and chest of drawers. He looked at the queen, “So why did she lock us up in your room?”

“Because she’s a brat,” Elsa mumbled.

        “Hmm?”

        “Nothing,” she sighed, and took her book of the floor, opening it back to her place.

Kristoff looked over her shoulder, “Aren’t we going to try and get out?”

        “I’m sure Anna will get bored after a while,” Elsa said, on edge, “I’d rather not break down my own door.”

        As she leafed through the pages, Kristoff walked around the room. Every now and then Elsa would sneak glances of him from the above the pages. He fiddled with the curtains of the bed, then walks to the crest of drawers, and looked at the candle sticks sitting there, the candles untouched.

        “So this is what a queen’s bedroom looks like?”

        “Is there something wrong?”

        “No, no” the man stammered, “It’s just ah… well, large, I guess? It’s nice. Nicer than my place,”

        “What kind of house do you live in?” Elsa asked perhaps too eagerly. Thankfully Kristoff had turned around again looking at the runner covering the top of the chest.

        “It’s, uh… More like a cottage. Or a shed, probably,” He chuckled, “Anna figured she could touch all four walls if she laid on the floor.”

        “Oh… Anna’s seen where you live?”

        “Oh yeah, two or three times.”

        “Really, that many times?”  She said, ice in her voice.

        “Er…” Kristoff couldn’t help but feel the room had gotten colder. He was starting to regret this line of conversation, “uhh yeah.”

        He really wished the queen would stop staring at him like that. He let out a sigh when she went back to her book. He walked over to the door again, trying to open it.

        “Why don’t you have a key for your own room?”

The queen didn’t answer. He tried the other door, wood and metal rattling against each other as the lock held fast, “I mean, shouldn’t you have a key to your own room?” She still ignored him.

        He walked back to the small table, sitting across from the queen in a small chair with purple cushions matching the sofas, “So… what are you reading?”

        “We’re going to have to make sure you two marry now. You know.” Elsa said, curtly.

        “What?”

        “You’ll have to be given a real title,” her eyes never left the pages before her, “Maybe making you a Duke or something.”

        “Er…“

        “Arendelle isn’t large enough to make a duchy for you, of course.”

        “Elsa-“

        “Your children won’t be able to inherit anything, obviously.”

        “Elsa-“

        “But if it’s done quickly enough no one should suspect-“

        “Elsa you’re freezing your book.”

        “What? No I-” sure enough the tome had a sheen of frost over it. As she tried to close it, it crinkled. She put it down and closed her eyes. After a moment the ice started to recede over the cover, until the book was good as new, “Sorry.”

        “Ah huh…” Kristoff leaned forward, “Why’d Anna lock us in here?”

Elsa glanced at the chest of drawers and then back at the man. Oh God, she was going to have to go through this twice in one day wasn’t she? She sighed. They were going to be stuck here anyway…

        “Because I… I told her that I… that I liked you,” she said, looking away.

        “What?”

        “Please don’t make me say it again.”

She wouldn’t look at him. Kristoff had never seen her like this. This was the same person, the queen, who when the second-in-line to the throne of the southern isles came to Arendelle marched the castle guards out to the harbor and didn’t even let them leave their ship. Here and now she was just, well, a girl.

        “You told her that?”

        “Yes,” came her small little voice.

Kristoff looked up then around the room, “You’re sure she won’t open the door any time soon?”

        Elsa just shook her head, saying nothing.

        “Oh, this makes sense now,” Kristoff muttered, “I uh… guess I… well,” he fumbled for words.

        Elsa looked up; Kristoff was looking at the fireplace. Elsa hadn’t used it in years. “What are you-”

        “I uh.. I told her after we danced,” he shirted his weight, chuckling “or ah, tried to anyway. I figured she’d be mad, or yell at me. But she just smiled and we… ah, ahem.” He scratched his neck.

“She did the same thing with me.” Elsa said, standing up “She… can be strange, huh.”

        “I told her it didn’t mean anything,” Elsa couldn’t help the hurt look on her face, “But she just said it was okay.”

        “She… said I should tell you… that she was happy for me,” Elsa could hardly hear herself with her heart beating in her ears.

Kristoff let out a soft laugh rubbing his fore head. He looked at Elsa, “So now what?”

        Elsa’s head thudded and she could feel her face flushing. She looked back to the chest of drawers. What would Anna do? She’d jump in head first, not thinking or not caring about what would happen later.

        The queen threw her arms around the man.

        It was a clumsy, awkward thing, but for Elsa it was magic. She felt a frizzing in her, like her hair standing up on end, like a chill running up your spine. She felt the kind of elation she’d feel when she’d fill the room with snow for Anna. It was little more than mashing their lips together. It was her first kiss.

        She lingered as long as she dared before pulling away “I should not have done that…” Elsa said, mostly to herself, “It-It was stupid, I’m sorry,” she still had her arms around his neck, and his arms were around her waist.

        “Its fine, Elsa,” Kristoff said, he almost sounded as if he was in a daze.

Being held by him was strange for Elsa. She wasn’t used to having anyone this close to her, except maybe Anna, and certainly not like this. She liked the feeling, his hands on her waist. As always Kristoff smelled faintly of soap, but there was always that smell of dirt and pine sap, dead leaves and grass. Earthy smells. All the kinds of smells she’d nearly forgotten after so many years.

        She chuckled, “I’m not exactly sure what we do now.”

        “Well, you’re queen, so I suppose you can do whatever you want,” Kristoff grinned. She smiled back.

        But he doesn’t really care that I’m queen.

        “Maybe I could not be queen for a while?” she whispered, “What would...”

Just jump in head first.

        “What would you do if it was Anna here?”

        “How about if it was just you here?”

When she tried to answer Kristoff pulled her close. This time he kissed her.

It wasn’t the chill, biting buzz of the first time. This one was warm, inviting. Before she was running in the snow excited to be alive, now she was being brought it from the storm to snuggle up by the fire.

        That would be nice, she thought.

She could feel Kristoff’s hands start to slide up her back; each little catch over the laces of her bodice sent another little thrill through her. More so whenever a finger brushed against the lighter cloth of the chemise. His hands stopped just at her shoulder blades and Elsa realized she didn’t want him to stop. Thirteen years without so much as a hug and now this? She wanted to know what it felt like.

        She pulled away, “Wait,” she said, pushing Kristoff away.

        “Elsa, what’s-”

Feeling like her face was beat red, Elsa reached behind her back and pulled at the laces of the corset.

        Just remember, she said to herself, He harvests ice, he was raised by trolls. His best friend is a reindeer and he loves to eat carrots. When he thinks no one is looking he picks at his nose, but he flicks it away most of the time. Most of the time. He chews his food on the right side of his mouth, and most importantly you’ve known him for more than a year.

        She held the garment in her hands, a small debate in her head as to what to do with it. Seeing Kristoff's smile, she dropped it to the ground and found herself in his arms again. Feeling his hands against her back, her legs, her hips. She pressed herself against him, the more contact she could make, the more she wanted.

        Soon enough she found herself undoing the toggles of the man’s tunic, pulling the small bits of cork through the eyelets with fumbling fingers.

 It didn’t take long for Elsa to be down to only her petticoat, and she clumsily pulled off Kristoff’s linen undershirt, leaving him in only his trousers. She reached out a hesitant hand to his shoulder sliding it, feeling the coarse hairs on his chest as she bit her lip.

In her head a tempest brewed. What would Anna do? What would her parents say? What would happen if anyone found out about this?

Looking at the man before her, Elsa found she didn’t care what they’d say.

She shrugged out of the chemise, letting it pool on the floor.

        She let the storm rage.

Kristoff gaped and she couldn’t help but feel buffeted by shyness. But she’d already gone too far. She slid her hands along his arms to his shoulders before taking a hold of his head; Kristoff could feel her hands shaking ever so slightly. She felt his hands come back to her hips and they kissed him a third time.

        This time Elsa’s tongue danced out, and met with Kristoff’s own. It wasn’t cold, or warm. It was something beyond. It was a heat and a want and a desire Elsa didn’t know she had. The thought of it scared her and excited her. Like the feeling of the man’s hands on her skin, she wanted to feel more of it.

        Kristoff couldn’t say when or how they’d gotten onto the bed, but there he was, with Elsa on top of him, pressing herself against him. She kissed down his neck to his shoulder, his chest, each press of her lips leaving a cold tingling sensation that quickly evaporated. Looking at the formally frozen book on the table, he wondered if she even knew she was doing it. Her leg slid up against his own and he reached down, caressing her thigh, before grasping her and turning them both over.

        Elsa gasped at the reversal. He smiled at her as she softly panted, and felt her flinch from his hand as he ran it along her skin up her stomach to cup and squeeze her breast. Kristoff kissed at her neck as he massaged her, feeling a soft groan rumbled through her throat. He kissed down and down, her soft skin quivering against his lips. Elsa couldn’t stifle the moan as his mouth reached her breast. She ran her fingers through his hair, and felt her heart beat faster as his hand left her chest and slid down her stomach and snaked its way between her legs.

        The feeling of Kristoff's hands roaming her body that had so excited and enticed her before paled as she slowly felt his finger enter her. Electric shivers ran through her as she grasped her lover's head, his mouth still working at her skin. She panted as the man’s hand continued its work, “K-Kris…” She moaned as she felt another finger push against her folds. A jolt ran through her and she curled against herself, hugging the man’s head as she let out another groan, “Kristoff, please…” Kristoff’s hand stopped and he lifted his head. He saw Elsa laid out, soft beads of sweat dabbling her goose pimpled skin. An enticing sight, to say the least.

She ran her hands down to Kristoff’s own, wishing he’d stop and hoping he wouldn’t. He pulled his hand away to a suffering sigh from Elsa’s lips. Elsa had read books on anatomy. She may not have known how to get there, but she knew what came next.

        The both of them grabbed at his belt and pants, letting them loose, and soon both of them were naked. She’d not realized what their coupling had been doing to him. A part of her wanted to try and comfort him the same way he had her, but instead he pushed her onto her back, gently, lovingly. He was above her now, and she stared into his eyes.

        In truth, she still didn’t know if she loved him or not, but when he asked the question, “Elsa… Are you sure?” she had only one answer.

        She pulled him down into kiss and wrapped her legs around him. Kritoff surged forward and entered her.

 

        When Anna was sure Elsa and Kristoff’s ‘discussion’ was over, she slowly turned the key in the lock and peek through the doorway. She let out a soft gasp at what she saw.

        Elsa’s room was almost completely covered with frost. Frozen spirals spread over the floor. Floral, and ivy arcs and lattice work. The floor looked almost as if it was silver, and the walls gleamed like sapphires. Here and there small spirals rose out of the floor or from the ceiling and small motes of snow floated in the air. It was beautiful, but cold.

        Knowing she wouldn’t be venturing out today, Anna had changed into a plain linen dress and shift, she wasn’t even wearing stockings and her bare feet, sadly, melted the frost wherever she stepped.

        All of the frost emanated from one central point, the bed. Her sister’s bed. There, hardly covered by he covers, were Elsa and Kristoff, dozing in the early afternoon light that filtered through the frost sheened window. When he was sleeping Kristoff always reminded Anna of a puppy. All soft cheeks and maybe a little twitch too. Elsa was different. Somewhere along the line her hair had come undone and it fell around her head in a silver halo, like an angel. Elsa’s head lay on the young man’s chest. She looked so happy; Anna couldn’t help but giggle at it.

        That was enough to stir her sister.

        “…Anna…? Anna!” the queen grasped at the sheets and covered herself.

Anna’s breath fogged as she laughed some more, sitting on the edge of the bed, “I guess it went well.”

        Elsa was at a loss for words. What was she supposed to say? What could she say?

        “I really do love you,” she said, “Both of you,” Anna smiled and leaned over, brushing some hair out of Kristoff’s face, “Do you feel any better?”

        Elsa looked from her sister to Kristoff. She didn’t have a hope of hiding the smile and blush from her sister. Anna wondered what it would feel like to make her sister blush like that.

        “You know, it’s kind of cold in here…” Anna finally said, breaking the silence, “Do you think I can sleep in your bed?”

 

----

 

DANCING THROUGH THE NIGHT

 

        The drawing room was distressingly cramped. Between Elsa and Anna, their guards, Kai, the messenger, and his guards, it was standing room only.

        Elsa was dumbfounded by what the messenger had to say

“Say that again?”

The man bowed, and repeated the last part of his missive, “The Queen Mother, shall be arriving four days hence.”

        Elsa allowed the man to leave and the messenger bowed once more and retreated. The whole audience was thrown together rather haphazardly. Elsa had given the man free board in some of the castle apartments. All the better to not run back to their cousin and tell them how terribly they received him.

        And to buy them some more time to throw something together to greet her.

        The rest of the audience left, the guards finally filing out leaving the sisters alone once again.

Elsa put her head in her hands,”This is terrible.”

        “What? It’ll be nice to see Auntie again. It’s been so long,” Anna said looking up from her book, “I haven’t seen her since I was… eight?”

        “Seven,” came Elsa’s muffled voice, “I was ten.”

        “So what’s the problem?”

        “She’s the Queen Mother, Anna,” Elsa said, rubbing her face, “We have to prepare; we have to have a proper reception. There has to be a party.”

        “Oh! You should let me be in charge of the party!” Anna said standing up, “We’ll have purple and gold curtains, and, and tapestries. Little sandwiches and we’ll cut out the olives to look like-”

        “Anna, do we even have any of that?”

        “I’m sure we have everything from when she last came. Do you think Uncle will come? OH we should have a dance!”

        “Anna…”

 

        Regardless of any actually order, Anna was true to her word, throwing herself whole heartedly into preparing a receiving party. Old wall hangings, not seen for nearly ten years were found and set out, food was test and selected, slowly the audience chamber’s paintings of famous battles waged, the royal heirs, kings and queens, tapestries showing the lines of queens, were replaced with purple, green, and gold.

        “I have to say, Anna, you’ve done very well,” said Elsa, looking around the room. The sconces along the pillars cast a warm light around the room, even in the darkness of the early evening the place was inviting, “What are the wires for?”       

        Anna looked up, “We’re going to be hanging lanterns there. They have that tradition there, right? And around the columns we’re going to have golden tulips and crocus and it’s going to look so great!”

        Elsa looked around and tried to imagine what it would be like when the party arrived. In would come the guests. Prominent families in the kingdom would be the only ones able to attend. They’d have to gather all of the court guests to fill everything out. In enter the Queen Mother and her husband, then their retinue. Greetings shared, she’d have to make some kind of official greeting and proclamation, and the party would start.

        “I didn’t just ask you here to see how you were doing, actually, Anna.”

        “Hmm?”

        “I um. That is, the dance…”      

Anna chuckled, “Haven’t you and Kristoff been practicing?”

        “Well…” she hadn’t been.

        “You’ve still got two left feet.”

        “More like two left clogs…” Elsa said hanging her head.

Anna laughed while she rubbed her sister’s shoulder, “You want me to help?”

        With a strained smile Elsa looked up, “Please?”

        “Come on”

        Anna pulled her sister into the center of the chamber and the two quickly started going through the steps. Anna led the queen through the dance, four steps in and they turned another four steps and another turn.

        “What are you talking about Elsa, you’re doing wonderfully!” Anna said as she spun her sister, “You’ll be dancing with Kristoff in no tiAAHM!”

        Elsa stopped as Anna hopped away, concern on her face, “Anna I’m sorry.”

        “It’s fine it’s fine,” Anna said, waving her sister off. Anna sat down in the throne and took off her shoe; rubbing her foot, “Hmm…” she put the shoe back on, “Let’s try something…”

        She got up and they tried again. Steps and turn, steps and turn, Anna spun her sister and they came together again. The pair danced through the pools of light.

        Anna stopped them, “Alright, so now let’s try something else.” She took her sisters hand again and pulled her closer than before. Elsa let out a little ‘oh!’ Anna smiled at that, “Now let’s have you close your eyes, and let’s say you’re dancing with Kristoff.”

        Elsa was able to get through ten steps before her heel came down on Anna’s toes. Anna sat on the floor, nursing her foot.

“I am so sorry, Anna, but you did have me close my eyes…”

“Yeah… that’s my fault,” Anna said with a smile. Her sister still needed her help.

 

For the next three days the sisters spent their nights dancing through the audience chamber, as each day brought more and more decorations to the hall. Before long it was just like the coronation. Courtiers were assembled, larders, cabinets and grocers were raided and on the fourth day the royal party sailed into the harbor.

Elsa wringed her hands. This would be her first real official reception since the coronation, and that worked out so well.

It should be easy; all she had to do was remember to not freeze everything and everyone.

That should be easy.

        The queen looked over the guests. They certainly weren’t what you should have when greeting a woman who ruled a country as powerful as Corona, but with such short notice they didn’t have any time to invite anyone else; mostly just the court members that lived inside the walls of the city, a few village leaders from out in the woods, the head of the Ice Lake Mine, and of course the Ice Master.

        Kristoff pulled at the dark blue and purple doublet. It looked a little small on him, but it did show off his large shoulders. The purple stripe down the side of the trousers was a nice touch as well. He was doing his best to avoid speaking to the head maid. She was an older woman, and notorious for her flirting. Kristoff must have been fending off advances left and right. It was cute.

        Elsa still wasn’t sure how she felt about the man. She still felt the… what? The infatuation?  The attraction?  She still felt it from the weeks before. There were two sides to her about him. She knew that Anna loved the man and despite her sisters insistence otherwise she truly didn’t want to get between them. She’d hoped he’d forget about her and stay with Anna. Another part wished he’d walk up to her and sweep her off her feet. Oh they’d spent time together since, but nothing so intimate as their tryst in her bedroom. More than once she’d thought about the encounter, late in the night when no one was around-

        “He does look rather dashing, doesn’t he?” Anna said.

Elsa jerked out of the little day dream and looked at her sister, “Oh er, yes. Did he always have that?”   

        “Kristoff?” Anna laughed, “I practically had to dress him myself to get him to wear the outfit. He hates it.”

        “I think we should make it the Ice Master’s Official Dress.” Elsa said, grinning. The girls giggled together as the doors to the audience chamber opened and a herald dressed in the purple and gold of the visiting nation, a sun emblazoned on his chest.

        “Presenting The Queen Mother, Princess of Corona, Mother of King Maximillion, and beloved of the kingdom, and her husband!” the man shouted over the din of the room.

        When the woman entered it was to thunderous applause. She didn’t rule in Arendelle, but there wasn’t really a person alive there that didn’t know her. She was bedecked in a gown of pink and purple and gold, the sun of Corona stitched onto the bodice of the dress. Purple cloth was bunted around the skirt and it ruffled as she moved. The woman herself was old, by now she had to be nearly ninety years old but if there was an image for ‘aged well’ it was her, she barely looked fifty. It was said that she was often mistaken for her son’s wife, rather than his mother. She had longer hair than Elsa last remembered, but that was eleven years ago. A round face with large bright eyes, creases betrayed a life of smiles and laughter. The man was older, and looked older, but still very well preserved compared to others his age, over ninety years old and only barely looking sixty. He looked so debonair when they last visited, and now with more grey in his brown locks he looked downright regal.

        The couple walked down the aisle made by the crowd as they still applauded. They moved with a poise and elegance that both Elsa and Anna envied more than a little and both were left confounded when the royal couple reached the little dais. The Queen Mother curtsied to the sisters, the man bowed low.

        “It is wonderful to see you again, your majesty” the older woman said.

        “And you both look far lovelier than the last time we saw you,” added the man.

        To the rest of the world they were, possibly the most influential couple this side of the Rhine, to Elsa and Anna, they were Auntie ‘Zel and Uncle Eugene.

        “Stop it, Eugene, you’re far too old for either of them,” his wife said playfully slapping the man.

Both Anna and Elsa smiled at the couple.

        “All of Arendelle is happy to have you both here,” Elsa said, “You and your party can all stay for as long as you’d like.”

        The queen and princess both bowed to the couple, and the couple returned it. The musicians struck up another song and the girls stepped down from the dais and hugged the couple.

        “It’s wonderful to see you Auntie!” Anna laughed.

        “Oh my goodness, is that truly you, Anna? Look at you!”

        “Uncle Eugene,” Elsa said, as the man released her from the hug.

        “Little Elsa,” he said with a smile, “Look at how big you are. You look quite the queen.”

Elsa blushed at the platitude. The man took both her hands, “Perhaps, if my wife would let me, you and I could share a dance?”

        “Er. Hum, of course,” Elsa said, turning to the Queen Mother, “If Auntie ‘Zel is fine?”

The Queen Mother waved them off, “Oh please, I’ve had enough of the man on the boat. You’ll be doing me a favor.”

        The man pulled the queen out into the floor and amongst the crowd they danced.

 

        “I would simply love to hear more about how you slayed that awful snowman,” the woman said.

        “I er.. I actually just ran away from it. Uh…” Kristoff looked around him. There had to be someone who could get him away from this leering woman.

        “Oh no, I heard that you used those... big… strong shoulders, and just cut him down to size on that mountain…”

        “No, I’m pretty sure I ran…” Anna was near the thrones standing in a dress of green and a purple so dark it was black. She was speaking with the woman in pink. What had they called her? Mother something? She was introducing her to Olaf. No help there.

        The woman came closer, a devious luster in her eyes.

        “Oh er, it that the head cook? I should see if, uh. He needs more…uh. Ice…” He pulled away from the woman, and quickly tried to lose himself in the crowd. In doing so he found himself pushed to the edge of the dancers, and there found Elsa dancing with an older man. A man who, at one time, was a king.

        She was blushing. Laughing.

And she was actually really dancing. He’d never seen her dance before. The man never jumping from having a foot stepped on, never stopped because of a misstep. For once Elsa showed the same kind of elegance on a ballroom floor that she could show anywhere else.

        The couple spun and sashayed through the spotted chiaroscuro cast by the ‘floating lanterns’ Elsa and the man would move from light to dark, only to show up again in a shimmering brilliance.

Elsa was clothed in a dark blue dress with accents of icy blue, with a formal half jacket of the same color over it. As she turned the skirt would ever so slightly twist around her hips, hugging them close. The man leaned in and she laughed again.

        Kristoff wondered about the etiquette of asking a King if he could cut in.

 

        “…and then with the whole kingdom watching, he turned the pot over and dumped the whole thing over my head,” Eugene said with a grin.

        Elsa laughed and patted his chest, “I’m glad you’re here, Uncle.”

        “Well, we’re sorry we weren’t here for your parents when you needed us,” he said, “Or for your coronation. We did send the grandkids, but well, they didn’t fall far from the tree.”

        “They were a handful,” Elsa admitted.

He spun her, the skirt and jacket flinging out and returning as she did. He picked up and flicked her braid over her shoulder.

        “You’re wearing it down now?”

Elsa blushed again, “Yes, it… it feels better.”

        “It looks nice. A Queen should always look beautiful. I remember when Blondie was first put on the throne,” he said, a nostalgic smile playing on his face, “she had the entire kingdom fawning over her. I may have been the most envied man you’d see for miles.”

        Elsa laughed again as the both spun, “Why do you call Auntie ‘Blondie’ Uncle?”

        “No one ever told you that story?” he said as the music stopped. Like all the other couples he and Elsa bowed to each other. He straightened up, “Well it starts like this. ‘This is the story of how I died…’”

        “Excuse me?”

        Eugene stopped and turned around, far quicker than Kristoff would have expected from a man his age, “Yes?”

        “Kristoff?”

        The older man was grinning at him, “Er… mind if I… uhm… cut in?”

        Eugene looked the boy up and down a look of bemusement on his face. After a few moments he held up the queen’s hand, “If she says so.”

        Elsa took Kristoff’s hand; Eugene kissed her on the cheek. Kristoff over heard him whisper ‘You danced better when you were ten,’ and laugh as he walked off.

        “What was that about?”

        “He was just making a joke,” Elsa said.

New music struck up and Kristoff could already feel his feet start to ache. Elsa never stepped on a foot. A few steps in Kristoff spoke up.

        “What uh, kind of joke?”

        “When Uncle Eugene was her last, Anna and I both danced with him. I was ten and she was seven,” She laughed as they spun, “We did little more than just bounce around as we held his hands.”

        It was actually one of the few good memories she had after she’d hit Anna with her powers.

        “Well, you seemed to be having a find time with him,” Kristoff said.

Elsa smirked, “Kristoff, it sounds to me like you’re jealous.”

        “What? No. No. I’m not. Just-”

        “Well I’ll admit, back then I did sort of have a crush on him,” the queen said with a smile, “You know he proposed to me?”   

        “What?!” Kristoff said as he let go of the queen.

Elsa laughed, “When I was ten!” she took his hand again, “Uncle Eugene always loved stories. And what better story for a little girl trapped in her room than for a handsome prince to come and rescue her?”

        Kristoff stayed silent for a moment, until another thought occurred to him, “The former kind of Corona is your uncle?”

        “Well… no. Auntie ‘Zel is our…” she trailed off as she remembered it, “First cousin, twice removed. But they’ve always been Uncle and Auntie. That’s what our parents called them.”

        “Huh.”     

        “We are royalty, even if we’re not the most prominent,” She said. Elsa rubbed Kristoff’s shoulder lightly. They were actually related pretty far and wide. Corona was simply their closest relation. Elsa had been a little interested in genealogy when she was younger; she’d read up on their family tree. Distant relations in Germany, France, Spain, Ireland, she was fairly certain that Anna’s erstwhile beau Hans had at least been a fourth cousin, “Since our parents died, Corona’s been the closest family Anna and I have.”

        Kristoff knew how the girls felt about family. He knew Anna loved him, and he loved her. He wasn’t sure about Elsa, but well… he cared about her too. He knew both of them would leave him behind if it was him or their sister.

The music came to an end. Kristoff was going to apologize for butting in, but Elsa cut him off, smiling.

        “Well maybe not all the family we have left.”

 

----

 

A NIGHT OUT

 

        The table was filled with rainbow of fruits, a bow filled with eggs, platters of bred and slices of ham and carafes of water, juices and wine. Far more food and drink than was needed for the four breakfasters at the table.

        “Elsa, dear, that has to be at least the seventh yawn this morning.”

        “I just had a bad night’s sleep, that’s all, Auntie” came Elsa’s reply, through another muffled yawn.

        “Did you get any sleep?” Anna asked.

        Elsa wasn’t about to tell Anna about the dreams she’d had, not with their ‘Aunt’ and ‘Uncle’ around. It had been enough of an embarrassment telling her sister how she felt about the man, she wasn’t sure she could handle telling her about having dreams about Kristoff.

        “I’m fine,” she yawned.

        “Why don’t you let me handle everything today?”

        “No. no,” Elsa said, waving off her sister, “I can, aaaawh, I can do it.”

        “I remember when you were first made queen, Blondie,” Uncle Eugene said through a mouthful of bread, “You’d end up spending half the night awake worrying about this or that.”

        “And you didn’t care about anything,” his wife shot back.

        “Except you, of course,” he kissed her cheek as she rolled her eyes.

        “Speaking of, Elsa,” Rapunzel said, ignoring her husband, “Who was that young man you two danced with last night?”

        “Hmm?” Elsa said, looking up from the small bowl of fruit she’d made.

        “The young man in the purple, all his clothing was too tight?”

Anna giggled, Elsa sighed and looked at her elder cousin, “That would be Kristoff” she said, “He’s Arendelle’s Ice Master,” If there was one thing she was sure her Auntie would love it was talk of, well, true love, “He’s courting our Anna here.”

        Sure enough, the older woman’s face lit up, “Courting you? Oh my goodness my dear, why didn’t you introduce me!”

        Their cousin’s hands were all over her sister, fawning over the girl, Elsa couldn’t help but smile. Eugene, leaned over to her.

        “He seemed rather…eager to cut in with you and I. Why is that I wonder?”

        “I do employ him, Uncle, and who better to ask about Anna than me?”

Elsa didn’t like the way her uncle grinned at her.

        “Well he wasn’t able to stay, you see” Anna said.

Now that was a lie. Elsa knew for certain that the man had been able to ‘pay a visit’ to her sister. She popped another berry into her mouth.

        “You should have let me dance with him.” Rapunzel said.

Anna glanced from the older woman to her sister, “I think he had plenty on his plate between the two of us, Auntie.”

        Elsa especially didn’t like the smirk Anna gave her.

 

The rest of the day wasn’t much better for the Queen of Arendelle. Mundane approvals for merchants, the royal ship’s resupply. There was also a fire the night before and petitions were made for use of the royal coffers in rebuilding the homes that were damaged.

        The former Queen and King of Corona also wanted a tour of the castle, and the city at large. It was past midday by the time the royal party had made it through the castles apartments and had ventured out across the bridge into the city itself. They toured the market square, went over the harbor district, Anna showed her family through the stores on the colloquially named ‘Craftsman’s Alley’

        It was the fifth time Elsa caught herself doing off while walking that she finally excused herself from the others. Exhaustion would be the official story, Anna would handle anything else for the day, their Auntie insisted. A queen needed rest like anyone else.

        And so the Queen of Arendelle lay in her bed, the icy blue of her pajamas matching the sheets. She yawned, staring at the ceiling, the walls, the curtains, the window. She turned over, curling the bed sheets.

        Kristoff burst open the door and Elsa sat up with a start, covering herself.

        “Kristoff, what are you-”

        “We have to get out of the castle, Elsa!” He said, slamming the door behind him.

        “What’s happening,” she asked.

        “There’s people. They’re coming to the castle,” Kristoff moved to the window. It was dark outside, Elsa realized. She must have fallen asleep after all, “I have to get you out of here.”

        “What about Anna?” Elsa asked as the man came closer to the bed.

        “Elsa, they’re coming to make her queen,” he said grimly, “And kill the witch that’s taken her throne.”

        “What?!”

A hurried and curious hammering came from the door, “Damn, they’re here!” Kristoff pulled Elsa from the bed and to the window.

        “Kristoff, wait, Anna.”

        “I have to get you out of here, Elsa.” He climbed up the sill and kicked out the window, the wind whipped and pulled at Elsa’s nightgown. Kristoff pulled her close, and leapt from the window.

        Elsa opened her eyes. She wasn’t flying through the air, just laying in her bed.

Uugh, it was just like the night before. She rolled over again, pulling the sheets with her.

        She continued to drift to sleep, dream, and awake many times over the course of the day. Dreams of Kirstoff, her parents, Kai and Gerda, and Olaf.

        Her final dream was one she hadn’t expected. Herself and Anna sailing on a ship, nothing but the seas and dreams ahead of them. During the day they commanded a crew, ventured into unknown lands, and at night, they retired with the help of their first mate, Kristoff. When she finally awoke again the dream brought back sharp memories of a day weeks ago. As she twisted and turned feelings from the dream assailed her and before long she’d found her hand betwixt her thighs.

        She sighed and panted at the thoughts of the dream, watching her sister with the man before they both turned to her. It was just feelings of caresses and sighs. Anna’s shining bright eyes, a smile. The queen moaned into her pillows, and the dream in her head wavered. With a groan she cast her mind back to it; Anna stripped Kristoff, both of their hands running over his chest.

        Maybe they should give the town more money for rebuilding.

Elsa screwed up her eyes, doing her best to forget she was queen. She just wanted to be a girl. Anna smiled at her and Elsa and Kristoff shared a kiss before taking her sisters cheeks and kissing her herself. In the dream her sister tasted of strawberries.

        The fruit merchants were trying to get lower taxes on their wares.

        Elsa slapped her fist against the mattress.

She felt like her clothes and sheets were sodden with sweat. She pulled herself out of the cocoon of sheets and opened her window. A soft breeze blew in, scents of the mountains and a chill of their snow wafted in. It felt good. Summer was waning. Night had crowded into Arendelle while the queen had slept, or tried to sleep. Trails of smoke curled from homes, and a scant few lanterns lit the windows, save the harbor that was ablaze with light, as always.

        Elsa’s chest rose heavily with frustration. This was the first time her sleep had been like this twice in a row. She’d done her best to deny whatever longing she’d had but an ache inside her told her she no longer could. Oh God she never should have danced with him at the party.

        Elsa rifled through her clothes, looking for the most mundane she could find. The slight chill to the air, and venturing into the mountains had her grabbing for a heavier cloak and dress, both were green. Over the dress she pulled on a tan brown bodice tying the lacers as best she could.

        There, ready. She went to the window and looked out over the city that expected her to know what to do, but she never really did. She took a step up unto the sill, and stopped. Something was wrong…

        She jumped down and hurried to the chest of drawers, yanking open a drawer and rummaging around. She pulled out her shawl, the shawl, and wrapped it around her head enjoying the slight earthy outdoor smell of it. With that the queen smiled and threw herself out the window.

        Below her feet frost sheeted out as she slid over the shingles and expelled herself into the garden. With the self defenestration over with Elsa pulled her cloak about her and hurried out of the castle walls.

 

        Winter was coming quickly this year. Elsa had only been out the town gates for an hour and already a light dusting of snow could be seen over untouched grass. It was probably from the rains a few days ago. Elsa could already see the lines of people begging her to get rid of the snow, for a longer summer, for at least a taste of autumn. She trudged on, following the winding path further into the woods, the mountains, and eventually, into the snow.

        Anna hadn’t lied about one thing to their aunt. Kristoff did have to leave yesterday morning. He’d be high in the mountains, where the wind and the rain and the cold could all meet and make the ice he was ever so fond of.

        A thought shined in her head, of Kristoff with a statue of her made out of ice, outside his little cottage, she couldn’t help but laugh at it.

        Speaking of Kristoff’s home, what was it Anna had told her? Kristoff would be in a sort of hovel up near the ice when he would be our harvesting, not the shed that Anna had been in. The Ice Lake then, inside a small valley to the west of the north mountain. Kristoff always said that’s where he went for his ice.

        The North Mountain. Well that was easy; she practically already knew the way. Elsa walked on as snow slowly started to take over the path as well. Heavy footprints rutted and dimpled the powder. Elsa couldn’t help but notice an additional set of footprints in the snow, and almost ‘O’ shaped track. A reindeer had been on the trail.

        She walked on, following the trail and the tracks. And it wasn’t long before she was hiking up the snow clad slops of the north mountain. It was all very nostalgic, and Elsa couldn’t help herself humming an almost forgotten tune. She pushed through the tree line and finally spied the lake.

        Like with the snow, even in the late summer or early autumn the lake was completely frozen over. Except for the large gashes in the ice, large rectangular cuts in the ice, a mirror smooth black sheen reflected the moon back up into the sky. That would be Kristoff’s handiwork no doubt. There were so many pits of exposed water. The man was clearly the right choice for ice master if he did this all on his own.

On the coast right by the ice was something, something that Elsa could really only describe as a tent. A lean-to, probably covered in heavy cloth, or skins, Elsa thought, though it was hard to tell with it covered in snow like it was. Kristoff never mentioned much about his living arrangements when he was working. For some reason Elsa always imagined an actual cottage out there, by the ice. Hah well that was a dream long gone.

        She came closer to the tent and finally noticed someone out on the ice. Well, a man, a sledge and an animal. A Reindeer. She skirted the ice, getting closer to the working man. He was… singing something. A work song, Elsa figured. She watched him as he plunged the ice saw into the snow, in time with his singing. She watched him hack enormous block of ice free from the shelf, watched him and Sven haul them out of the water, chopping them to size. He lifted one ice block, it must have weighed at least two hundred pounds. She couldn’t see the man’s body but she could imagine what it would look like, muscles knotting and releasing, sweat beading, his hair matting to his forehead. Elsa bit her lip and rolled over.

        Oh God she was acting like a little girl seeing a shining knight for the first time, with tales and songs of chivalry and courtly love ringing in her ears. She shook her head. Kristoff wasn’t the kind of person to kneel below a window and sing sonnets. Stumble across words and walk away in embarrassment more like.

        “Come on, Sven, that’s enough for tonight,” The man said, dropping another block onto the sledge, Elsa watched him harness up the reindeer and the two set back off to the shore. Back to his cozy little shack. Elsa imagined what it would be like inside, filled with animal skins, the only heat generated by those inside. She could be generating that heat. She imagined Kristoff walking inside and finding her, covered in the skin blankets and nothing else.

        With a smile she pushed herself up and followed Kristoff across the ice.

 

        Kristoff struggled through the heavy flap covering the opening to the lean-to. Most of the time these things would just be put up with sticks and burlap or leather, but he’d built this one a number of years ago after he’d found the lake. He was the only one that got ice from here, as far as he could tell, and a slightly more permanent shelter did him good. He dropped the lantern into the middle of the wooden shack and opened the latch, letting what little heat it gave out spill into the one room building.

        He shucked off his hat and pulled off the scarf. He’d been at this ever since the sun went down and it was a long night. Right behind him Sven pushed through the covering as well, shaking off the snow and ice covering his hide.

        “Hey buddy, ready for some sleep?” Kristoff asked, tossing the animal a carrot.

Sven caught the root and chopped it down. Kristoff felt practically dead on his feet. In the corner was a straw cot with a pile of blankets of any kind of make you could think of. Kristoff ran his hands through his hair and sat down and as he did a cold wind blew into the shed and he looked up.

        A woman had stepped in, in green and brown, a scarf wrapping her head. She pulled the shawl off and a tumble of platinum hair fell out.

        “Elsa?” he said standing up, the queen’s cheeks were flushed. That’ be normal for anyone else, but her? “What are you doing here?” 

        “I. I wanted to see you,” she said with a smile.

        “You came all this way to… see me?” he said slowly.

She looked around the room. And nodded to herself, like she approved of something. She took off her cloak, “Well… no,” she admitted.

        “Then why are-“

        “Sven,” Elsa said, kneeling down and scratching his head, “Can you’ve give us a little time alone?”

The Reindeer looked from the queen to Kristoff. Arendelle’s Ice Master shrugged. The reindeer looked back into the queens smiling eyes and got up.

        With the reindeer outside, Elsa pulled at the laces of her top.

        “Er, Elsa. What are you doing?”

She threw the bodice onto the cloak. When the two had been a part in the weeks since their tryst there had been a sort of, well, agreement. It had just been something to get her to feel better. Just like the ‘days off’, it couldn’t be a real thing, she’d thought to herself then. She pulled off the dress, finding herself only clad in a beguilingly thin chemise. She could feel the cold from outside snaking little tendrils of chill into the room. She could also feel the warmth from the bed.

        “I thought that-” Kristoff began before Elsa moved closer took his face in her hands and kissed him. Kristoff was sure this was like a dream he’d had once. By the time she pulled away both of them were sitting on the cot.

        “Elsa. What are you-”

        “Kristoff, please,” she said back, trying to push him down. Trying and failing.

        “No Elsa, what are you doing? Why are you here?”

She sighed and looked down, “I haven’t been sleeping well lately,” she said, holding the man’s, “I’ve…uh… been having dreams. About you.”

        That was enough of a shock for her to push him flat on his back. Elsa climbed onto of the man kissing him again. The little fire that had kept her awake for most of the day was demanding satiation, to be quenched. Kristoff could feel her hips rolling over her own, and he couldn’t help but slide his hands along her smooth milky thighs up to her rear.

        “Elsa, I thought that…” Kristoff said as the girl pulled her lips away from his. He could feel her hands pulling at his pants.

“I think maybe I might…” she trailed off, her head falling onto his chest.

The two were still for a few minutes before Kristoff spoke up again.

        “Elsa?” He could feel the queens light breath on his neck, soft sighs to whatever little dream she was having. He wondered if it was about him. Kristoff sighed.

        She really must not have been sleeping well. He pulled the covers over the two of them. After a moment Sven peeked his head in.

        “It’s okay buddy,” Kristoff said.

The reindeer gave him a face, looking from the sleeping queen to his friend, “But what about her?”

        “Yeah I know. We’re in kind of a mess, aren’t we?”

        “I was outside,” Sven said back.

 

        Elsa looked up at her window, still open like she’d left it the night before.

The castle was glowing red and orange in the rising sun. The maids and butlers were awake by now, but no one else would be. And none of them would even dare to look in her room, not without knocking and getting permission. Elsa looked around the gardens and stepped into the patch of various blue flowers, her present from Anna. Slowly a mound of snow grew below her, propelling her up and up, past windows and beams and lattices to her window. She stepped off the drift and watch the snow evaporate, freeing the grass and blooms that she’d covered as if nothing had ever touched them.

        She hopped inside.

        “Back in my day, it was the would be prince charming that snuck in,” she’d heard a voice say, “Not the princess sneaking out.”       

        “Auntie?”

        Rapunzel, former queen and current Princess of Corona sat on the Elsa’s bed, as ever clad in varying shades of pink and white. She kicked her feet like a girl sitting at a brook. She was giving her the same grin her Uncle Eugene had the morning before.

 

----

 

ANNA AND SEIGFRED

 

        “Elsa, do you want to go out?”     

        “No Anna.”

Elsa could hear her sister walking around the garden; she kicked at something, “Maybe to the bakery? Mister Bekett makes the best crème puffs. I’m sure he has some.”

“You can go if you’d like.”

And right now Anna would be staring at her. Elsa wondered if she was puffing out her cheeks. She opened one eye ever so slightly.

She was.

Elsa smiled, “Anna can’t you just sit down and enjoy the day?”

        Anna let out a small huff and Elsa could hear her sit down. She opened her eyes.

Elsa was laying on a blanket under the largest tree in the garden wearing the lightest dress she could find, an off white linen and bodice. She felt so, what was the word? Refreshed. Yes. The night’s sleep with Kristoff had done her wonders. She only really wished she could have remembered more of it. She remembered entering the lean-to, and kissing him, but not much beyond that.

        Elsa stretched out her legs, pulling up the hem of her skirt to feel the sun on her calves. Still whatever had happened had helped, she felt so good now.

Except when she saw Anna this morning. At that moment she couldn’t help but having felt she’d betrayed her sister. Of course Anna had said it was fine, she even said she thought that Kristoff and Elsa together were rather cute, but Elsa couldn’t help but feel like she was taking something from her sister. Not to mention the scandal of the whole thing if it got out.  A Queen and a common man? An argument could be made for Anna, but her? There wouldn’t be any such luck.

        “Elsa?”

        “Hmm?”

        “Do you think Mom and Dad would be happy with us?” Anna said, “With how everything’s turned out?”

        Elsa opened her eyes and looked out into the deep blue of the sky, “I think… I think they’d be proud of you, Anna. Fly by night engagement notwithstanding,” she said with a grin.

        “Ugh. You try and marry someone you just met one time and you never hear the end of it.”

Elsa laughed with her sister, “Why do you ask, all of a sudden?”

        “Well I mean, I’m just kind of there and I don’t do anything and you’re queen and everything and you talk to everyone and you do all these things and…” she trailed off.

        “You do plenty, Anna. You sit in for me-”

        “Only when you decide to let me! Like yesterday when you just disappeared for the rest of the day!”

        “I was resting,” Elsa said, scratching her forehead, “I was tired.”

        “And even then nothing happened,” Anna sighed, “I just want something to do. Kristoff’s been gone for weeks…”

        “It is his job, Anna. You wanted me to make him Ice Master,” the queen sat up and patted her sister on the shoulder. The girl wanted responsibility. That was understandable, she supposed. What else could a princess do other than simply be around? Maybe something that let her talk with people? Maybe.. oh!

        “Yeah, I guess I just didn’t think he’d be so busy. I wish he’d spend more time with us,” Anna smiled at her sister only to find her staring behind her with a look of pleasant surprise on her face.

        “Anna, do we have a cat in the castle?”

        “No, what?” Anna turned and sitting rather stately next to one of the garden walls was a black and white cat. It was a large animal, with long legs and an oval head, long thick hair and tufts of fur in its ears. It stared back at the couple with ambivalence.

        “Ohh! Look at the kitty!” Anna jumped up and hurried over to the cat, Elsa followed. As the two came closer the cat clearly had made up its mind; it wanted very little to do with these things coming towards it. It bounded for a bush.

        “Oh no, come here, please?” Anna pleaded as she followed it. The cat ran from bush to bush as Anna chased it with Elsa simply enjoying the show.

        “Leave the thing alone, Anna,” Elsa said laughing.

        “No, he’s my friend now!”

        “He’s running away from you.”

        “We’re playing a game you wouldn’t understand!”

Elsa shook her head as Anna followed the cat until it came to the thatch of blue flowers she’d planted below the queen’s window.

        With no bush to hide in, and Elsa standing nearby, the large feline did the only thing it could think of, it climbed.

“Hey! Hey no!” Elsa protested as the cat scurried up the wall, over the rock foundation of the castle, up the wooden plank sidings and up onto the sill of Elsa’s room and then inside.

Anna gave her sister a sheepish smile and shrugged, “I guess he wanted inside?”    

“I will not have cat fur all over my room, Anna.” Elsa pointed at her sister, “Come on, we’re getting him out of there.”

       

        “Your majesty, I truly wish you would-”

        “No Gerda. This is Anna’s fault and she has to fix it.” Elsa said to the head housekeeper, “Just bring a bag or something for us to take it out of the castle in.”

        “Yes your majesty,” the woman closed the doors to the queen’s bedroom as she retreated.

The cat was nowhere to be found, more importantly, nothing had been scratched up or damaged, thank God. Elsa glared at her sister before walking over to the window and pulling it close.

        “Can’t we keep him?” Anna pleaded

        “It clearly doesn’t like being near people.”

        “He’s just a little frosty. He’ll warm up to us! Come on help me find him.”

        “Help you get rid of it.”

        “Hush”

Anna went about searching around the chest of drawers and her sister’s wardrobe while Elsa looked out the window to see if the creature had made their lives easy and just left while they were arriving. She couldn’t see anything in the garden below but that didn’t mean much, there were plenty of places to be if you didn’t want to be found. Elsa knew a thing or two about hiding.

        “Oh there you are! Come here pretty baby.”

Elsa turned to find her sister halfway under the bed, her legs sticking out from under the bed skirt. She kicked her legs, “It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you.”

        Elsa lay down next to her sister and looked under the bed. Pressed against the wall was the cat, and puffed out as it could make itself. Anna was stretching her hand out to the cat, palm open.

        “You’re being too eager, Anna,” Elsa said, “Don’t look like you’re trying to grab him, just hold out your hand, let him sniff it.”

        Anna looked at her sister and shrugged, and closed her hand into a loose fist, “It’s okay little guy, come on.”

        It took another ten minutes before the cat finally creeped forward and sniffed at Anna’s hand and another few minutes after that before, to Anna’s delight, it rubbed its head against her knuckles. Elsa smiled as her sister cooed at the animal as, just within arm’s reach, it let her scratch it’s head.

        After a while Anna was able to coax the cat out from the bed, holding it in her arms. She stroked the animal’s long fur as she sat on the floor leaning against the bed.

        “You’re just the sweetest thing aren’t you?” Anna said, “Oh we are so going to keep you. What’s your name little guy?”

        Elsa crouched down next to her sister, “I suppose when it’s not running for its life it is rather cuAAOW!”

        Elsa pulled her hand back as the cat hissed and scratched at her hand.

        “Oh! Elsa are you alright.”

        “I’m fine,” She said, holding her hand, three long welts stretched across her palm, a small droplet of blood was starting to form, “We should call the little devil Hans.”

        “Oh he’s not that bad are you?” Anna held the cat up looking into its yellow green eyes, “Nooo, you were just protecting me weren’t you?” Anna smiled, “I know, I’ll call you Sigfred.”

        The cat gave a quiet little miao, as if it approved.

        “Ohh!” she pulled the cat into a hug before getting up.

        “You’re not really going to keep it are you?”

        “Of course! He’s here to stay, aren’t you Sigfred?” she cuddled the animal, “Here,” she said, holding the cat out, “Kiss and make up.”

        “Anna. No.” Elsa said taking a step back.

        “Come on, Elsa. Please?”

        Oh god she’s doing the eye thing again, Elsa thought. Gingerly she held out her hand. Sigfred’s ears went flat as the hand came closer and Elsa braced herself for another hiss and more welt marks. When she felt the cats rough tongue tickle her skin she nearly jumped.

        The pair spent the rest of the day fawning over the animal, though the cat clearly preferred Anna over her sister. Blankets were found and piled and a small bed formed in Anna’s room for the cat. Brushes were obtained for the animal’s long fur. They even got the creature a few fish for its dinner.

        Elsa watched her sister stroke the cat’s tail as it ate its way through the fish, the melancholy that her sister felt in the morning now long gone.

        Still, what she’d brought up then was a good idea. She got along well with nearly anyone. The people loved her, she even got a cat that she’d chased around to eat out of her hand…

        “Anna?”

        “Hmm?” the girl lazily looked at her sister.

        “If you still want to be able to have something to do, there is one thing that I couldn’t find myself trusting with anyone else,” Elsa said.

        “What’s that?”

        “Well, you could be a diplomat. You’d be the person who would speak for Arendelle and you’d be able to see the world. If you really wanted to.”

        Anna’s face was practically glowing, “Really?” In her mind she pictured herself at balls, lying on white sandy beaches, walking through palaces that made their castle look like, well, Kristoff’s shack.

        “Of course.”

Anna wrapped her arms around her sister, laughing and chanting thank you’s while Sigfred finished his fish and stared at the pair with the closest look a cat could muster for contentment.

 

----

 

GOSSIP

 

        The royal apartment had been decorated in purples and golds, the tapestries cloaking the room in a deep purple gloom. The colors don’t really work well unless you’ve got a lot of light, Eugene thought. Without the sun blaring in through the window, or a thoroughly ludicrous number of candles the room could nearly have been pitch black.

        Eugene turned from the rest of the room and looked out the window.

Corona was filled with light, night and day. It practically lived on tallow. Here in Arendelle at night you could probably count the number of lanterns lit on one hand. That is until you looked into the sky. It was just like the old days, slumming it out in the woods, watching the stars in their slow march across the sky.

        The door swung open, surprisingly well oiled hinges barely making a sound. Eugene watched his wife bustle in.

Rapunzel sat down, brushing her hair behind her ear. Eugene smiled, “So you talked to her?”

        “I didn’t have to,” she told her husband, “It’s pretty obvious, even if she doesn’t know.”

Eugene laughed, “I’m sure she still fancies me you know.”

“Of course she does, Eugene.”

“You don’t think so?” he said, hoping for a rise.

“I was just agreeing with you, dear.”

        “You wouldn’t even be worried if she was, would you?”    

        “No,” she said with a smile, ”I know you too well. Oh you’ll flirt and be a letch but in the end? You’re not nearly as charming as you think you are.”

“Tell that to Mary. I was run out of the Tipping Drum Inn because of-“

His wife threw a pillow in his face with a laugh, “That was me you dolt!”

        “Was it?” he dodged another pillow, “Oh to be confused and in love,” he leapt off the bed, fencing at shadows against a backdrop of stars, “I almost remember what it was like, being so young.”

        “I don’t think you ever got older,” Rapunzel said with a smile.

        “Look who’s talking.”

 “Still, they’ve all gotten themselves into a mess, haven’t they?”

        “Yes they have,” She said back, “We can’t all be so lucky, can we?”

        “No, we can’t. I do sort of wish we could help the poor girl.”

Rapunzel smiled at her husband.

        “Oh no no. I know that look. That’s your meddling look. Blondie, we’re not getting into this. You remember what happened last time.”

        “It all worked out fine,” she insisted.

        “You almost caused a war!”

        “But Max did end up happy!” she said again.

Eugene raised his hands in defeat, “Sometime’s there’s just no talking to you.”

        An all together sultry smile crossed his wife’s lips, “Then come to bed.”

 

----

 

GIRL TALK AND BAR TALK

 

        Anna’s room, pink light reflecting off the walls and the sheets, carpet, and, well, everything else.

And it was a mess, and nearly absolute mess. How did she even get the curtains down? They’re twice as tall as her, at least!

        “Gerda, could you please get a maid in here to clean this?”

        “I’m sorry, your majesty, I just don’t know how she does it.” The maid replied with a bow.

        “You and I both, Gerda…”

Sigfred’s bed was little more than a mountain of blankets, with several from Anna’s bed added to it. Elsa couldn’t help but think of her sister, cocooned in the mass of sheet using the large cat as a pillow.

        “Is something wrong, your highness?”       

Elsa waved the woman away as she tried to stifle her laughter, “No no, it’s nothing. Thank you, Gerda.”

        Elsa left the head housekeeper in the room. It was one of those few and far between days when it seemed that nothing needed her attention. Arendelle marched on and on, all on its own. Elsa walked the halls of the castle, like she’d done time and time before, past drapery and portraits she’d already seen countless times.

        The queen stopped before a painting of her mother, and her parents, her grandfather and mother. The patriarch stood tall and grim, a great white beard with a small streak of blond hair running down it and a shortly cut head of hair. Her grandfather had come from the south, as she understood it, He’d asked after her grandmother seven times as a suitor before she relented. She looked happy in the painting, laugh lines and crow’s feet telling a life of smiles. The then queen wrote the diadem in her auburn locks, pulled back into a bun as was the custom.

        Elsa’s mother stood in front of her parents, she must have been sixteen at the time. She smiled like she always did and like her mother her hair was pulled back, but in a very loose and messy bun. Maybe that’s why grandfather had that scowl?

        “Oh I remember this painting,” came a perky voice behind her. Elsa turned to find her cousin standing near the other wall. Elsa’s twice removed cousin and her husband had stayed in the castle on into the autumn. They’d have to leave somewhat soon, if they wanted to beat any kind of freezing of the fjord.

        “You do?”

        “Of course. This was painted just before your mother and father met,” Rapunzel smiled, “Or given Julius’ face, maybe right after.”

        Elsa returned the older woman’s smile, “He certainly seems imposing.”

        “He only looked that way, he was such a softie. Always doted on your mother, you know. She was always his little princess.”

        “Like Anna was for momma and papa,” Elsa mumbled to herself.

        “Hmm?”

        “Nothing.”

Elsa was of two minds about the royal party. It was nice seeing them, but the smirks and the grins and questions were starting to unnerve the queen of Arendelle. She had enough with her own problems without the older couple meddling with her feelings.

Elsa’s cousin looked her up and down, then shrugged, “Your grandfather and your father never really saw eye to eye, now that I remember it,” she started to walk off. Elsa hurried after her.

        “What do you mean?”

        “Oh, people never get on with their in-laws, Elsa,” a faint smiled was waxing on the woman’s face, maybe from a memory, “And fathers never get along with their son-in-laws.”

        The pair had come to a painting of Elsa and Anna’s father and mother, standing together in very formal wear. The man in a nearly black waistcoat with a purple and gold sash, and white pants. His hair was shorter than the family portrait and he didn’t even have his mustache.

        “Oh now this one was of when they were just married,” Rapunzel said to herself, “I still kick myself for not being here,” she looked at the younger woman, “Do be sure to invite me for your wedding, Elsa.”

        “Oh yes, of course Auntie,” Elsa said, “Wait what?”

Elsa looked into the beguilingly innocent smile of the other woman, “Oh, wonderful,” she said, “Any ideas on who the lucky man might be?”

        “Auntie, that’s not really- I don’t think that will be for some time…“ Elsa stammered.

        “Oh that’s such a pity, Elsa. I hear you’ve had some very fine suitors.”

        “Most of them are really just scared of me…”

        “One of the princes was very handsome I heard. What was his name? Gregor? I think… Of the Southern Isles-“

        “No.” Elsa said flatly. She’d see to it that not another sprig from the Southern Isles would take root in the Aren family tree, even if it took a thousand years.

        “Oh well,” she said with sly smile, “You’ve met Justin, maybe we could have another joining of our families?”

        She had met her distant cousin, and his sister. They’d arrived for the coronation, and frankly, left much to be desired by way of courtly conduct. Elsa and just glad they could get the stains out of the curtains and off the ceilings.

        “I don’t really think so…”

        “Ahh well… maybe someone a little closer to home then? We’ll just have to find someone from your court I suppose.”

        Elsa thought about her court. Most of them were old men and women. People her father and mother had elevated to their positions, some of whom only recently had come back into their titles. All except one.

        “This is about Kristoff, isn’t it?”      

Her cousin smiled, “Got it in one.”

 

        Kristoff mopped the sweat from his forehead after hauling the last of the ice blocks into place.

Around him the air of the icehouse fogged and at his feet a perpetual mist clouded the floor.

        “Alright, that’s the last of it,” he said, climbing the ramp out of the cold cellar.

        “You’re a blessing in disguise” the proprietor said, “This should last us a good long while.”

There were few people in Arendelle that really appreciated Kristoff’s job. What did they need with an Ice Master and harvesters if the queen could just make the ice? At a certain point he just got tired of telling them the queen would just never have the time.

        “Well, it’s only mid autumn; I’ll be heading back out again in a day or so.”

        “You’re a saint, Ice master,” the man smiled.

        “Well this saint likes to get paid all the same. I don’t get an allowance for this, Brynn”

        “Yes yes, of course,” the man counted out the copper and silver coins, “There we are.”

Kristoff scooped up the payment and said hid good byes, the man yelled out for him to spend it on something nice for the princess. Kristoff just hurried off without a reply.

        “Well how’s it feel to be back, buddy?” Kristoff called as he turned the corner to find Sven obediently standing by the sledge. The Reindeer hooted back. A day or two before they headed back out, that was all they really had. Kristoff patted the animal’s neck. He really should look in on Anna, but if he was being frank, he really just wanted some time alone, kind of a strange thought considering he’d been out in the mountains for weeks on end without seeing another person. Well except that one time.

        Kristoff scratched his head at the thought, “Come on buddy, I’ll put you up at a good stable, how about that?”   

        “You mean I’m not going with you?”

        “Nah, buddy. You know they don’t let reindeer in the taverns. Not after last time.”

The reindeer hung its head, dejected.

        “Don’t be like that, Sven. I’ll make sure you get plenty of carrots wherever I put you up, how about that?”

        The place wasn’t too bad actually, big, warm, and Kristoff doubted he’d be able to forget the face Sven made when he saw the giant pile of carrots sitting there for him. Sven nearly had the whole place to himself too, no horses to bother him or anything.

        With that sorted Kristoff headed into town and ended up in one of the two places any young man arriving in town with a pocket full of money would end up.

        The Lute and Fisc tavern was one of the older establishments in the city. Kristoff glanced up at the sign, depicting the stringed instrument over a purse before going in, ignoring the well read sign by the door. Inside was a smattering of patrons, most sitting in tables on their own, a few in couples. Kristoff looked around, doing his best not to breath, and walked to the bar counter. He’d been coming in here ever since they’d let him through the doors and the place hadn’t changed since then. Same tables, same chairs, same stools, same barman.

        “Hallo Mattheus, give me a pint,” Kristoff slapped a few coppers onto the counter top.

        “Right you are, Kris,” the barman said. Mattheus has the bushiest pair of eyebrows Kristoff had ever seen, that and the mustache that ran from the man’s lips right to his ears made it all the more apparent that he had not a single hair or scruff on the top of his head. He poured out a mug of beer from the barrel and handed it over.

        “Thanks,” Kristoff said before taking a swig. The beer was stale, but the first drink here always was. It just got better the more you drank. Finishing the mug, Kristoff ordered another one. Another pour and another frothy mug was placed in his hand.

        “Well look who it is!” Kristoff jumped as hand was clapped onto his shoulder, nearly spilling out his drink. He glanced behind him and came face to face with the elderly man he’d seen at the royal ball nearly a month ago.

        “Ah, uhm. The uh, the Queen’s Uncle, right?”

        “Eugene, to you,” The man said, sitting down beside him, “I thought I saw you coming in here. Where have you been?”

He already smelled of alcohol.

        “Shouldn’t you be in the castle?”

        “I’m sure my cousin-in-law has told you castles can be horribly boring,” he said, “Barkeep! Give me another!”

        Another mug was offered and Eugene eagerly picked it up. Kristoff leaned forward, “How many has he had so far?”    

        “Five,” Mattheus said back with a shrug.

        “Six now!” Eugene said, “You know, kid, you don’t get beer like this in a castle. Most places wouldn’t even stoops so low as to serve beer like this! I mean it as a compliment of course Mattie.”

        The barman turned his glare away from the old king and went back to wiping down the counter.

        “You only get this stuff in the really good bars, see?” Eugene went on pulling Kristoff into a one armed hug, “And lucky for you, I know exactly how you can tell which is which. You just close your eyes and walk in and take a big whiff. If you don’t get the color brown, you just walk right out. Or into a door. I’m sure I’ve hit a door once or twice.”

        “Yeah that’s really great…” Kristoff struggled out of the man’s grip.

        “So is that no reindeer sign out front because of you?”

        “Oh uh, yeah, it is” he said sheepishly.

        Eugene laughed and held up his mug to the younger man, “Cheers!”

Begrudgingly Kristoff knocked his own mug against his and the two started to drink. And drink, and drink. Kristoff glanced at the older man, who wasn’t even pausing between gulps. Not wishing to be outdone he gulped down his own beer as fast as he could. Neither mug was going to hit the counter unless it was empty.

 

        Elsa hurried through the hallways, doing everything she could just short of running to get away from her cousin, but the older woman was far faster than she looked.

        “I am not going to talk about this, Auntie.”

        “You’re going to have to as some point. There’s only so many halls,” Rapunzel said, just a few steps behind the girl.

        Elsa stopped and spun around, a clouding flurry following the draped cloth of her sleeves “Why does it even matter to you?”

        “Because it should,” the older woman said, brushing a snowflake from her shoulder and into oblivion, “And it should matter to you too.”

        Elsa stared at her relative in disbelief as the cloud of snow settled around them.

        “What is it dear?”

        “W-why aren’t you scared?”

        “About what?”

        “My powers?”

        “Oh please, I’ve seen more impressive,” Rapunzel said dismissively.

        “What?”

        “Tell me about Kristoff,” she insisted.

Somewhat stunned Elsa backed up against a wall. She shook her head, “He-he’s just a friend. Anna wanted him to have a place in court so she could see him.”

        “Oh come on, dear, do you really think you’re the only one I’ve asked about him?” she said, “Anna said you were learning to dance for him.”

        “I didn’t…”

        “And I watched you dance with him. Those little touches to his shoulders and back, that smile of yours, oh I remember when I was flashing those at Eugene,” she was starting to sound whimsical.

        Elsa sighed, “I… I uh. I don’t know.”  

        “Elsa-“

        “No, I don’t know, Auntie.”

        “Well, I do. You care about the man. You snuck out to see him. No, don’t deny it I know,” Arendelle’s queen looked hurt and Rapunzel relented, “Look, girl, you’ve not done anything wrong…”

        “Can we not do this here? Someone might hear.”

        The pair walked through the halls to Rapunzel’s apartments, the older woman all smiles, and the young queen crestfallen. When they arrived Elsa told her cousin about what had happened. Anna’s little plan, her well, yes, date with Kristoff, and all the little days afterwards.

        The look of surprise on the woman’s face made her feel a little better about the embarrassment.

        “I never really meant for it, I told Anna the same thing.”

        “Well in truth, this isn’t as bad as I was expecting,” Rapunzel said, “If Anna seems fine with this, what’s the problem?”

        “I don’t know,” Elsa said, “I’m not even sure if I…”     

        “Love him?”

Elsa didn’t respond, the older woman pushed on, “You snuck out of the castle at night to see him. What in the world did you think that meant?”

        “I don’t know. And even if I did, I couldn’t do anything…”

Rapunzel’s eye brow rose, “Couldn’t do anything? You’re queen, Elsa, you can do nearly anything you want.”

        “It’s bad enough Anna wants to marry him, Auntie. At least for her an exception can be made, she’s not the queen. A… an ice harvester wouldn’t do.”

        “Oh, Elsa,” Rapunzel took the girls hands, “Do you know what Eugene was doing when we had found each other?”

        “He rescued you from a castle, or something didn’t he?”

        “Oh God, no! He was stealing the crown.”

        “What?”

        “Oh not this one, the official one. He was a thief, dear. He still is, you’ll want to check our luggage before we leave.”

        Elsa chuckled at the older woman as she smiled.

        “So you see I’ve already gotten you beat there and my husband only saved me. This fellow helped save the both of you,” she said, putting her hand on Elsa’s, “You might find that people are very forgiving if it makes their queen happy.”

        Elsa looked down at her hands, “I’m just… scared.”

Rapunzel sat down next to the girl and pulled her into a hug, “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my years, Elsa, it’s that you should never be scared to love.”

 

        The entire tavern was in an uproar as Eugene led them on into another song.

“Og vi skåler for våre venner og de som vi kjenner, og de som vi ikke kjenner, de driter vi i, hei skål! Og så svinger vi på seidelen igjen, hei skål!” he sang with the other patrons.

        “This doesn’t make any sense, how does he know these songs?” Kristoff asked himself.

        “Oh kid, don’t you know? Everyone drinks in the same language!” Eugene said as he downed the last of his mug. He’d gotten a cheer when he announced that he’d be paying for all the drinks. He didn’t tell everyone that he was going to be getting all of the drinks. He wobbled a bit as he slapped Kristoff on the back, “Wossa song mean anyway?”

        Kristoff closed his eyes, trying to concentrate through the floating sea of beer that was doing its best to occupy his skull. “uhh.. ‘A toast to our friends and those we know. And those we don’t know we don’t give a shit. Now let’s take the neighbor’s wife home.’”

        Eugene gave him another slap on the back, “Hah! I like this song!” He raised his mug and got another cheer from the tavern.

        Kristoff’s nice quiet day to himself had, somewhere along the line, gone awry. How’d he even get away from the bar? When did he sit down at this table?

        He felt Eugene sit next to him on the bench, rocking the whole thing as he nearly dropped himself on to it. The older man once again clapped a hand onto his shoulder.

        “I te- Tell you, Christopher, iss good to get outta those placess.” The old king slurred.

        “Well, at-at least we agree on that,” Kristoff looked up. He always got a little antsy if he couldn’t see the sky. He looked Eugene grin.

        “Sssee? Lookit us, fast friends! Ha!”

The man had to have had more than two dozen beers by now, “How… how are you not dead?” Kristoff blurted out.

        “What?”    

        “You’re. You’re like. So old howre you not dead from all thisssdrinking? Whyre you so. So…. Spry!”

        “Well there’s this flower. Right?” Eugene said.

        “And?”

        “And what?”

        “What about the flower?”   

        “What flower?”

        “Huh?”     

        “You’re not making any sense.”

The two men stared at each other, Kristoff to his credit still sat there, sturdy as a mountain, and Eugene couldn’t help but sway.

        The tavern had become livelier in the half hour since Kristoff and Eugene had started drinking. Maybe it was the old king but Kristoff had never remember the Lute and Fisc as being this popular. All around their table men cheered and caroused and, this being Arendelle, a number of the women drank more and cheered louder than the men.

        “Can I ask you a question?” Eugene finally asked, breaking the would be silence between the two men.

        “Hmm?” Kristoff just generally looked out at the people around him; this whole place was starting to get a little too much like his family.

        “How did you do it?”

        “What?”

        “You know, get both of them under your thumb?”

        “What are you talking about?”

Eugene leaned in close and maybe it was just Kristoff’s imagination, but he stopped his swaying, and his voice no longer slurred, “What does it take for a guy to romance both the princess and the queen, eh?”

        Kristoff stared at him, for how long he didn’t know, but he stared until the man’s words finally clicked in his head, “How? What? Who told you about that?”

        “I heard it from a little flower,” the older man grinned; he slapped the young man’s arm, “Come on, let’s find some place that’s a little quieter.”

        When Kristoff didn’t move, Eugene told him that if he’d rather have him just talk about this in front of everyone in the Tavern that was fine. Reluctantly the mountain man stood up and followed him to a more secluded corner. Eugene sat down and put his feet up on the table.

        “The way I see it, most men would be more than happy with just one of them. So how’d you end up in this mess?”

        Kristoff looked into his beer, “I don’t know. It just kind of happened.” He looked up into the expectant face of the man, he wasn’t satisfied. Kristoff rubbed his forehead, “It was Anna’s idea that startedet. She wanted me to show Elsa what it was like outside the castle. Then she started join in on these little days off and I take them out and such. It all just sort of happened.”

        “So you fell for the queen.” Eugene summed up. Kristoff hung his head as Eugene put his hands behind his own, “Well, I can relate to that. But I have to ask. Why Elsa?”

        Kristoff looked at the man, it was clear to Eugene he didn’t understand the question.

        “I mean, what is it about her? To me, Anna is obvious,” he said, “She’s so much like Blondie. Elsa’s cold in comparison.”

        “She’s not always like that…” Kristoff said, “I mean on her own, I guess she can be, if you don’t know her. But being the queen? Standing there and smiling and waving and all that official stuff? That’s not really her. Get her out of that, get her with her sister, she’s just a girl like everyone else,” He smiled as he finished, “Both of them are just missing something when they’re on their own.”

        Eugene couldn’t help the warm smile, Rapunzel didn’t really have a ‘secret face’ herself, she was always Rapunzel.

        “So why are you here, then? Not up in the castle?”

        “The whole thing’s a mess,” Kristoff said, “After I told Elsa about how I felt some… well, some things happened and I guess we pretended it never happened.”

        Eugene could see how this was turning out. No wonder his wife wanted to get into it. Young people today were so turned about, “How about I give you another round, eh?”

 

        The sun was just starting to pour itself over the sky by the time Kristoff had set out back into the mountains. The light sparkled off of faint dew on the grass and trees as he and Sven made their way out of town on the sledge, its wheels creaking over the compact dirt. He’d been marginally surprised to find how much money he still had in his pockets after what seemed like a day of drinking. He was also surprised at just how much it felt like a weight had been taken off his shoulders. He’d been talking to Anna’s Uncle, he remembered. And he’d said somethings hadn’t he? About Elsa?

        Whatever he’d told him it made Kristoff feel better about the whole affair.

As he and Sven crested the hills outside of town he looked back. The castle had always dominated the view of Arendelle, but now it seemed like it was for a reason other than architecture.

        Kristoff might have been interested to know that at the same time Elsa was leaning out through an open window, similar relief having touched her as well. It would have been romantic to think that, at that moment, the two would be lovers were looking out at each other, but the window Elsa had opened looked out into the sea. But she thought of the mountain man, so that should count for something.

 

----

 

A CALL FOR AID

 

        The halls of Arendelle’s castle seemed a little bigger, a little roomier, a little darker, to Anna. Like a little bit of life had gone out of the place. Nearly three weeks ago her cousin Rapunzel and her husband had left, taking with them all of their own house guards and attendants and, Anna found out later, more than a few candlesticks.

        Early morning frosts had already been happening for some time when the couple had announced that they would be leaving and their departure was well timed, a week the harbor had its first freeze. It had been an easy task for the dock workers to clear out the ice, it was barely any kind of thickness, but Elsa was right, winter was coming early this year.

        It had been sad to see their family go. Even Elsa who’d been, at best, agitated by Auntie’s stay seemed genuinely sad to see them go. At the ship sailed to the horizon the two sisters had stood there on the dock. Anna couldn’t help but notice her sister smiling the whole time.

        In the days since Anna walked through the castle and through the streets doing her best to fend off the nagging feeling that she was missing something. She seemed… bored. But that wasn’t right. She had plenty to do and she enjoyed it. Just a few days ago she’d enlisted Olaf and took a bunch of the town kids up into the woods and they built snowmen and snow forts and had snowball fights. But when those things were done it felt like it wasn’t really important. So she invariably found herself walking the halls.

        Anna did take some solace in the fact that Elsa seemed far happier these days. She wasn’t sure yet if it was because of, or in spite of Kristoff being gone for so long. Anna knew her sister still had eyes for him; her troubles dancing had been obvious on that. Anna did have herself to blame for that, of course. She remembered seeing the two of them in bed and she couldn’t help but feel they looked cute together.

        Anna loved Kristoff, she wanted to marry him. Really all she was waiting for was for him to ask. She couldn’t imagine what Elsa would do when they finally came to her with that news. She truly wished she’d agree to the marriage, when and if it happened, but she couldn’t help that nagging thorn of a thought: ‘What would Elsa do then?’

        They both had been alone for so long, Anna couldn’t help but feel like she was betraying her sister by finding someone. But Elsa was practically all smiles these days. If Anna hadn’t known any better she’d think that Elsa had found someone.

        Even knowing all that Anna couldn’t help that nagging feeling she carried.

She’d rid herself of that feeling with the news that had just reached the ears of Arendelle’s queen.

        “The Duke of Weselton has been overthrown?” her sister said.

        “That is close enough, your grace,” the messenger bowed. He was from the Grand Duchy, though he hadn’t announced it until he was in the queen’s presence. He never would have been allowed off his ship if he said otherwise, he reasoned. Elsa had relented and told him he was right, but his news changed everything, “He is currently held in his home, and unable to participate in court, your majesty. The Duke’s rule had turned sour in recent years, and the people call for his head. The other nobles of Weselton cannot decide on the duke’s fate.”

        “So why, exactly, have you come here?”

        “We have no successor, your grace,” the man said, “The Duke has no children and the people will not allow him to leave his castle or allow the court to enter for him to officially name one. We are left without a statehead. I and my fellow royal messengers have been sent out to either gather aid in naming a successor, or to bring one back. We are desperate, your grace.”

        Elsa had thanked the messenger, and allowed him to stay in the castle for as long as it took her to reach a decision on the matter.

        “What are we going to do?” Anna asked her sister as the messenger was escorted from the audience chamber.

        “I don’t know, Anna. We don’t have a stake in Weselton anymore. What they do is none of our business,” Elsa said.

        “Why do they even need our help?”

        “Weselton was part of a larger kingdom some time ago,” Elsa told her sister, “When the king died, he didn’t have an heir, so by succession law, his territories were split between his relatives. The majority went to the Prussians. But a small part was awarded to the king’s uncle. This turned Weselton into a Duchy. If they can’t find an heir now, or have the Duke name a successor, then Weselton would have to be awarded down the line to the closest heir of the duke’s family line.”

        “So?”

        “So, Prussia will lay claim to the duchy based on their awardment years ago, but Aunties family also has a claim to the place, and by extension, so do we. It could be war, Anna.”

        Anna looked from her sister to the retreating form of Weselton’s messenger. She’d been doing her best to learn from her sister about all of this politicking and something about this situation was sticking to her. The gap between the sisters felt more and more like Elsa was waiting for something.

        And it struck Anna.

        “Let me go,” she said.

        “What?”

        “I can go. You wanted me to be part of these things right? I agreed didn’t I? This is what that is, isn’t it? Let me go,” she said quickly, “I can try and make sure that whoever ends up in the duke’s seat would look favorably on us.”

        “Anna, this is too much, you’ve never-”

Anna took her sister’s hands excitedly, “I know I can do it. And besides, I’ve never seen Weselton.”

        “You’ve never seen anyplace, Anna.”

        “Okay, yeah but that’s what this is about isn’t it? Please Elsa? I’ve felt so… so cooped up, I don’t know.”

        Elsa looked at her, Elsa wasn’t sure if she was sad or proud, or maybe both, “What about Kristoff?”

        “I’m sure he can manage without me.”

The girls shared a laugh.

 

It was decided to allow a few days for the messenger and the men that crewed his schooner time to rest and resupply, as well as form a cadre to escort Arendelle’s most beloved princess. A few thing freezes of the harbor made some think that the send off would be delayed, but the ice was so thin that the harbor master said it was no danger to anything.

        Anna, Elsa, Kai, and the rest of the household that had watched the two girls grow up crowded the docks as bailiffs hauled supplies onboard the ship that would bear her to the distant duchy. The barquentine had a total of ten fifteen pound guns. It and the schooner and brig that would escort them, Elsa hoped, would be enough to see her sister there and back safely.

        Anna was practically buzzing. This would be her first real adventure away from home. Her first time seeing a whole new land. She’d wondered if it was warm in Weselton. It wasn’t that far away, she knew. She’d made sure a few lighter dresses had been packed. She had her luggage before her, watching the men move to and fro. She wished Kristoff could have been here to see this, they’d sent out a message to him but they didn’t have the time to wait for him.

        “Are you sure about this Anna?”

        Anna looked to the blond girl, “Oh I’ll be fine. I’ll be more then fine. I’ll be the best… Wait, what do I call myself?”

        “Princess of Arendell will suffice I’m sure,” Elsa said.

        “Ah okay,” Anna laughed nervously, pushing some hear from her face. It felt like her and Elsa were alone on the dock, with how she was looking at her.

        “We’re ready to board, your majesty,” came the captain’s voice. He was a seasoned sailor, never lost a boat and, as Kai had told them, was fiercely loyal to Arandelle. When Elsa had summoned him, he boldly told her that he would die rather than see the princess lost to pirates.

        “Thank you captain,” Elsa said to him.

Anna lifted her bag, swaying from side to side, “Well, I guess this is it.”

        Elsa’s breath was quicker, more ragged, nearly panting before she hugged her sister. Anna was sure there were tears in her eyes.

        “Whatever you do, Anna, I forbid you to let them bully you. You understand?” Elsa’s voice was muffled, “You go and you speak your peace, you come right home.”

        Anna was stunned when her sister pulled away from her. Elsa was smiling, “I’m going to miss you,” she said.

        “I’ll only be gone for a few weeks…” Anna said, suddenly a little unsure of this whole idea.

        “I’ll still miss you.”

        “I’ll miss you too.”

Anna pulled her luggage up the gangway and onto the ship before some deck hands took it below decks. The cables were set free from the docks, the sails unfurled, and gangway pulled up. Slowly the canvas caught the wind and the boat began to pull away from the dock.

        The very moment the gangway had hit the deck, Anna realized what she was doing. She was leaving Elsa behind, leaving Arendelle, leaving the only place she knew. She ran to the deck and called her goodbyes to her sister, her caretakers. God she wished Kristoff was there.

 

        Elsa waved until she couldn’t raise her arm anymore, and stayed on the pier until Anna’s ship was well out of sight and the sun began to set. There was a feeling in her that if she moved from that spot Anna would be gone forever. It would be her fault if anything happened to her. She shouldn’t have told her she could help her like that. She shouldn’t have agreed to let her attend this meeting or council or whatever it was. She shouldn’t have let her get on that ship. She shouldn’t have let go of the hug.

        “Elsa?”

She gasped at the break in her running thoughts and turned. It was Kristoff, still in the heavier snow gear for the mountains. She felt the tears well up in her eyes and she threw herself at him, crying into his chest and repeating over and over that she’d let her go.

        Kristoff gathered the girl up, letting her lean on him as he and the rest of her house brought her through the harbor and into the castle gates.

 

----

 

DIVULGENCE

 

They were already half way through the castle by the time Elsa realized what she was doing, blubbering like a child about her sister leaving. She tried to push Kristoff away, only to find it hard to stand on her own, nearly collapsing before his arms lifted her up again. Pull yourself together, Elsa told herself in her head. Even so, she couldn’t really stop the tears from sliding down her face, she didn’t even notice them freezing as they dripped from her chin a trail of diamonds in her wake.

Kristoff was at a loss of what to do or say save letting the girl lean on him and carry her back to her room. He’d never seen such an outpour of emotion from Elsa before. Save for a smile or a laugh she’d always been stoic.

        “Ice master…” it was one of the castle bailiffs, his hand out. Ready to help him with the queen, Kristoff assumed.

        “No, it’s alright, I’ve got her,” he said, nodding the man off. In her clouded mind Elsa thanked him.

        By the time the pair, and the maids, and the butlers, had reached the queen’s room she’d composed herself, a slight shudder or gasp all that betrayed her emotions. She thanked the household for their help, and told them she was fine now. The collection of people bowed, Kristoff realizing he was supposed to a moment afterward, and began to disperse.

        “Kris-Kristoff, wait,” she said, a soft gasp for air escaping her, “I’d... I’d like to talk.”

The blond man gave her a long look, her hair was out of place, make up had run down her cheeks from the tears, she was a mess. Kristoff imagined Anna didn’t look much better. He nodded and followed the queen into her chambers.

        The queen walked to a basin and mirror, pouring out water and soaking a cloth before washing her face with it. Kristoff simply looked around the room, the occasional sharp breath and the sloshing of water filling the room with an awkward silence between them.

        It hadn’t changed since he’d last been in here, that day months ago. He’d have to admit he thought a bit about that time, and judging by how Elsa acted when she’d barged into his shed at Ice Lake, the queen did too. Kristoff sighed.

        He turned his mind to Anna. He’d rushed straight to town the moment he’d heard about her leaving, cursing himself to go faster every minute. He’d missed her by hours, of course. But it still felt like if he could have gone just a little faster he’d been able to see her off.

        “Thank you, Kristoff.”

The break in the silence startled him and he turned to the queen. Elsa had mopped up her eyes, the mascara and eye shadow now gone. She still looked at beautiful as always, “Oh, it’s no trouble.”

        Elsa wrung her hands, “Did… did anyone see?”

        “You crying?”      

“Yes…”

        “I, uh. Yeah. I think so.”

It was a mortifying thought, “People shouldn’t see their queen like that. It’s not right. I’m supposed to be better than that.”      

        “You’re only human, Elsa.

A sad little smile caressed her lips, “I suppose,” they lapsed into silence again, an arrangement of thoughts set between them. They just didn’t know how much they thought of the same thing.

        “When uh. When will Anna be back?”

Elsa’s heart broke a little at seeing the man’s face as he asked after her sister.

        “A few weeks at least,” Elsa said, “I’m sorry Kristoff, we sent a messenger to get you when we decided when she’d leave.”

        “It’s fine.”

“You know she thinks the world of you, Kristoff.”

That seemed to cheer him up at least. The two shared a sad smile. Kristoff coughed and looked around.

 “The uh, castle. It’s looking good.”

        “Oh? Thank you,” Elsa said, “Anna wanted to leave some of the tapestries and flowers from Auntie’s visit.”

        Another awkward silence deadened the air in the room. Elsa’s mind ran through things to say, Most of it was about Anna. No no. Not Anna. If you think about her you’ll start to crack again.

        “Is uh. Is ice delivering is going well?”

“Yeah uhh.. Yeah. It’s… going… good,” Kristoff said, “What uh… What’s new?”

Elsa let out a sigh of relief, “With winter coming on, we’ve opened the castle to anyone that needs a place to stay. For what it’s worth, you’re welcome to stay. You and Sven.”

“I don’t know, Elsa…”

        She had the same listless look to her that Kristoff had seen her with when Anna first wanted him to take her out of the castle. Kristoff wondered if that’s what she was like when she had to close Anna out. She needed a friend. This time he put his hand over hers.

        “Yeah I guess,” he smiled, “Yeah I’ll stay.”

He really was sweet, wasn’t he? Elsa thought. Anna didn’t really know how lucky she was. Elsa wanted that. Well, no, she thought, she had it, for a scant few moments she had it. Elsa loved Anna, with all her heart she loved her sister, but she still found herself jealous of her little sister. Neither of them had the best time growing up, but Anna could meet people. Anna could remember the warmth of their mother’s hug. Elsa had forgotten it long ago.

        His hand was warm. He was always warm.

        “Kristoff.”

        “Hmm?”

She lifter her hands to his face and before he could say anything she lightly kissed his lips.

        Why did this keep happening between them? “Elsa, what are you-”

        “I love you,” she said, she was smiling, her eyes were smiling. Why did she feel like she was about to cry?

        “You’re just upset, Elsa, you-”

        “No. No. I wasn’t sure before, but- but I am now,” she said, “I know how you feel about me. I know how you feel about Anna. You should marry her. You should. I just… I wanted you to know.”

        “Elsa…”

 

The snow queen leaned back, her fingers tracing the muscles on Kristoff’s chest. She rolled her hips and she took in a sharp breath, he was still inside her. She shouldn’t be doing this, she knew. Not after Anna just left. Before she’d had Anna’s blessing, but now? She was distraught, she’d tell herself later. It was all the feelings of being alone again. They’d made a sort of promise, she and Anna, they wouldn’t leave each other, they wouldn’t shut each other out. She didn’t know what her sister would do when she found out. And she would. Kristoff would tell her straight away. They didn’t have any secrets. She’d cross that bridge when she came to it. Right now she felt so warm.

 For the second time that night Kristoff was taken aback by the girl. Before Elsa had been hungry, but nearly flinched at any touch. This time she was hungry like before but she pulled him along. Nearly every moment she had one of his hands pressed against her and when he pulled a hand away she’d take his other and pull it to her, to caress her, fondle her. Like before it seemed like what she wanted more than anything was to be touched. It was another little ‘secret face’ and one that only he could see.

Elsa smiled at him, running her hand over his chest as she rolled her hips. When Kristoff groaned she pulled his hand to her chest. She could feel him begin to stiffen again.

 

----

 

ANNA AT SEA

 

        Waves rose and fell, blue snow capped mountains with foam flying off in the cold wind. Anna had been leading over the rail of the ship, staring out into the ocean for an hour now. They’d been at sea for days and she still ran how she left through her mind.  She’d stood at the side of the ship long after the coast was out of sight. It was strange, they’d barely seen each other for years on end and now when it finally came to saying good-bye it was so hard to watch her sister slowly shrink on the pier as the ship pulled away. Anna had tried so hard not to cry which of course she’d failed at. She just felt so alone.

        Of course she wasn’t alone. Elsa had placed with her four guards, their steward Eddard, and a clerk who, Elsa told her, was an expert on the peerage of the kingdoms involved. And that’s not even mentioning the captain and the sailors. So Anna had spent her days learning everything she could about boats.

        It was actually kind of fun. The captain of course wouldn’t allow her to climb the rigging or anything like that, but when the captain was away a princess will play. She’d been sure to pack bloomers and whenever the captain had to take his rest she was out amongst the ropes and cords, hauling in lines as best she could, learning what a mizzenmast was, square rigging, forecastle, yards, everything.

        She could never get a single answer as to why the crew had taken to her like they did. She’d asked around; the captain told her it was because she was the princess, the first mate, whose name was Mr. Stubs, said it was because she reminded him of his own daughter. Everyone else just gave mostly a noncommittal grunt or shrug. Once one of the deckhands had even smacked the back of her head when she wasn’t paying attention to the cordage she was storing.

        Anna turned from the railing when she’d heard the captain announce we was going to his cabin. He’d been awake all night steering them through a storm, it was about time he’d put his head down. She watched the man step down and enter his cabin. The first mate smiled at her from the wheel and Anna looked up. The crow’s nest swayed with the ship, like a tree in the wind. Ever since she’d seen the ship she wanted to get up there. It could be like flying.

        She hiked up her skirt, tying the material behind her. With her legs freed she ran to the side rigging of the ship and swung herself over the water and climbed. Sailors stopped and watched the girl as she went aloft. Last time she got to the lower most yard, but clung to the rigging after she looked down.

        Anna had been so ashamed of that. She’d told all the others about it and when the time came she froze? Well not today, not this time. She clambered up the ropes, up and up, past the first of the yardarms and up and up. She must have been only five feet away from the second yard when she heard a man shout from below her, and then more yells.

        “Ya can do et girlie!”

        “One rung at a time, Princess!”

        “Just don’t look down again!”

        Anna smiled and pulled herself to the second yard and up further, each step a little more assured than the last. The second sails lower most yard was in reach, and soon enough she left it behind, and headed for the topmost yardarm of the main mast. She hauled herself to the top of the rigging and faced down the long large trunk of the yard leading to her prize in the center; standing upon the platform was the look out, leaning nonchalantly on against the topmast. When Anna started to climb up onto the yard the man’s eye widened.

        “Hold on princess, No reason to do that, just let me-“

        “No no! I can do it!”

        “Don’t walk on the yard, at least us the-”

        “I can do it!”

Anna stood up on the yard, doing her best to sway with the ship, her arms outstretched. A tantalizing step forward, and then another and another. She inched her way across the yard.

        “Alright princess, just, uh. Keep looking at me, come on, you can do it.”

Anna’s heart was pounding in her ears. She did her best not to imagine how high off the deck she was. Or how it would only take one unexpected wave and she’d fall. Fall to her death. Just a few feet away now. Anna toed the yard doing her best to stare at the lookout.

        Anna slid her foot forward and her heart stopped as it slid off the yardarm. She didn’t even have time to yelp before she was pitched over by another wave hitting the ship. Elsa, I’m sorry, was all she could think as she went over open air.

        “Don’t worry, I’ve got ya!”

        The lookout had caught her arm, while Anna’s other foot was still on the yard, both of them leaning out over the emptiness above the ship with Anna looking straight down. He hauled her towards him and they both landed onto the platform over the bunt of the yard.

“You did pretty good, Princess” the lookout said. Anna laughed, flushing with fear, and embarrassment, well mostly fear and embarrassment. She quickly rolled herself off of the lookout.  His name was Oliver, Anna was pretty sure anyway. Oliver was a tall and, well Anna had to admit, handsome man. He had swarthy skin and a dusky voice. If Anna was to guess she’d say he was Irish. He wasn’t as built as Kristoff but well, he’d felt nice to lay against.

        “Er oh, hah. Thank you.” Anna said, pushing some hair out of her face. She looked away from the man, and out over the water. This high up She could see for miles. Anna had never been able to see the whole horizon around her before. She stood up, grasping the topmast.

        “This is amazing,” she said, “I can’t believe I did it!”

Oliver chuckled behind her, “This isn’t the crow’s nest, Princess.”

        “Huh?” Anna looked back and saw him pointing up.

        “That’s the crow’s nest”

She followed the finger up, fifteen feet up was an open barrel. There was no cordage leading up to it, no ropes or rigging or anything. Anna let out an exacerbated sigh, “How do you even get up there!”

        Oliver grinned at her and leaned over the side, “Send it up me trunks!”

Anna heard a lot of grunting and commotion from the deck and half a minute later, a small board swing had been hauled up. Oliver grabbed it, pulling it over the platform, “Maybe next time you’ll just take the bosman’s chair, my little look out.”

        Anna struggled into the chair, and the lookout tied her into it, no chance of falling out now, he’d said. Making sure she was all tucked in, he leaned back over, “On up boys! Send her away!”

        Again Anna heard the men below hauling, their grunts and chants louder as they hoisted the now full swing.

        “Oh!” Anna said as she was pulled up into the air, once again over empty space, but the tight cord about her waist and the board she was sitting on lifted away her fears along with herself. It was another short half a minute before she was up above the crow’s nest; she toe’d her swing over, and into the barrel. A world of blue stretched out before her the only things above her Arendelle’s flag and the clear blue sky. Below her only the boat and the rolling waves. Blue above and blue below, it reminded Anna of Elsa’s ice palace. Anna closed her eyes feeling the wind whip her hair, and blow through her clothes, she stretched out her arms and she was right. This is what it must feel like for a bird, soaring into the air. She had the nagging feeling that she should yell something, some exultation to the world, but she couldn’t think of anything to say.

        All she could think of was Kristoff, and how much she wished he was there with her.

Anna opened her eyes and found small little tears on her cheeks and her hands shaking. It must have been the scare from before. Almost dying was always a bit of a shock.

She yelled down to Oliver, her voice a little unsteady, and she was pulled up and out and back down from the crow’s nest. It must have just been bad luck that the moment just before she set foot on the deck the captain emerged from his cabin.

        He harangued both her and the crew about safety, the princess, this that and the other. Anna wasn’t really listening.

       

        That night saw Anna in her cot alone. It was a side room to the captain’s cabin and Anna realized it was probably a room for the captain’s wife or child. Protecting her like he was his own flesh and blood, eh?

        Anna tossed and turned, she’d gotten used to the swaying of the boat quick enough, no worry of sea sickness there, she just couldn’t seem to get the day’s events and thoughts out of her head. God he missed Kristoff. He’d been gone for more than a month before she left and she never even got to say good-bye.

        What was he doing right now, she wondered. Probably out on his lake, sawing into the ice. No wait, it was winter. He always came into town for the winter. Anna had convinced Elsa to let him stay in the castle last year; maybe he was back there now. She sighed and closer her eyes, imagining the man’s strong arms around her. She smiled as he kissed her ear then down her neck to her shoulders. Kristoff always said he liked her freckles. She giggled as she felt his hands slide along her stomach, one up to her chest the other between her legs.

        “Hmm, Kris…” Anna whispered to herself.

The man’s hand rolled her breast as he busied his fingers between her thighs. Anna moaned softly, hoping the captain wasn’t in his cabin. Kristoff nibbled at her ear and Anna wished she could kiss him, turn around and pull him close. She let out a sharp breath as a finger caressed just the right spot.

        “Kristoff…please…” He sucked at her shoulder and she felt him move, push forward. “Ahn,” she gasped and felt his hot breath on her ear. Anna screwed her eyes tight, her heart beating faster.

        “Elsa” he’d said.

Anna let out a shuddered breath, and opened her eyes.

        She hadn’t been completely truthful to her sister or Kristoff. When she’d locked them in the queen’s bedchamber she’d well. She’d been curious. She’d peeked in on them.

        Anna closed her eyes again and shuddered. Anna had been a little confused as she watched her love with her sister. She was rather enticed by the image.

        So Kristoff lay atop her sister, her legs about his waist and her arms around his neck in a loving embrace. She listened to her sister moan out his name and Anna moaned softly with her.

 

        Three days later land was sighted and two days after that they were just entering port. Nothing much else had happened on the ship in that time. The crew had taught her some sea shanties, which the captain then berated them about. Just about the most interesting thing was finding out that Oliver’s name was really Polly.

 

----

 

KJÆRESTE

 

        Anna was getting married, and Elsa was the one to walk her down the aisle.

Oh she looked beautiful all in white with her hair cascading down her back. Elsa had even convinced her sister to wear a tiara. When she protested Elsa had told her that, if ever there was a time a princess should wear a crown it was her wedding day.

        Kristoff stood up at the altar dressed in a white and black suit with, strangely, a green cloak that looked almost as if it was made of leaves. When he smiled at Anna, Elsa could feel her tremble.

        As Elsa watched her sister say her vows and eventually kiss her new husband, Elsa couldn’t believe just how happy she was for her.

        It was such a wonderful dream; it was a pity the queen had to wake from it but wake from it she did. Elsa sighed to herself as she stretched out her arms, pulling the covers of the bed down as she spread out her toes. Elsa had heard of ‘Droit du seigneur’ even if she’d never heard of it ever actually happening, she smiled and wondered if there was such a thing as ‘Droit du dame’

        She turned over and felt the depressing softness of the sheets next to her. She let out a disheartened sigh.

        It had been almost a week since Anna had left and Elsa and Kristoff had shared a night together. In the time since she’d done her best to make time for him, but the moment she tried to get closer he would leave. At first she didn’t think much of it, but now? Elsa was nearly agonizing over it.

        She pulled herself from the bed as a knock came from the door.

        “Yes?”

        “Your Majesty, guests are beginning to arrive for the feast, Kai says you should be the one to greet them.” came the voice of a steward.

        “Oh yes, thank you.” Elsa had forgotten, tomorrow was the Winter Feast. The gates to the castle were always open, but this was the sort of ceremonial start of winter for Arendelle. The castle would be open to anyone that needed a warm bed or a hot meal in the coming winter. Elsa had a feeling it would be a harsh one this year.

        The queen smoothed out her hair, pulling her braid over her shoulder, and struggled into her dark blue and black dress, the one with the jacket. She stepped out of her bedchambers and met face to face with the accusing steward that had attempted to wake her.

        “Please make sure that at least some of the court is there. Especially the Ice Master.”

 

        Elsa did her best to sit up straight in the throne as another party was escorted into the audience chamber. A wizened man with a balled head and bushy muttonchops bowed his head, leaning heavily on a cane.

        “Thank you for coming, Gaerter. How is your village?” Gaerter was an old stone mason; he’d helped build the latest additions to the harbor, and was the chief of one of the furthest outlying villages.

        “We are doing well, you’re highness. Though, with the early winter this year we’ve lost far more in our fields.”

        Elsa considered this for a moment, “We’ll see what help we can offer,” she said at last.

        The man bowed again, and said this thank you’s. He’d be put into one of the castles many apartments. Hopefully a warm one, he did look older than when Elsa had last seen him. Elsa looked sideways at the few peoples collected for court. There behind Kai and the head steward was Kristoff he was clearly trying to hide. The fact that he was easily had a head and a half over both of them made the whole thing a little absurd.

        Another party came in and again, Elsa welcomed them, all the time sneaking glances at the man. He looked bored. At least she didn’t make him wear that outfit Anna had bought him. She smiled as the noble’s party was escorted away, she waved Kai over.

        “Is that the last of them?”

        “Yes, Queen Elsa.”

        “Oh thank goodness,” Elsa practically collapsed into the back of the throne, “We’re done for the day I think.”

        “Yes, my queen.”

        “Kai, I keep telling you, you can just call me Elsa.”

The man smiled, “Yes, my queen,” Elsa sighed as he stepped forward, announcing the end of the petitions.  Elsa stood up and walked out one of the side doors as those gathered bowed their heads. She waited outside the door, waiting for the rest of the court to follow. Well not all of them, just one.

        She’d waited for Kristoff like this several times like this before, walking with him, chatting with him. But the moment she’d bring up how she felt about him, he’d make an awkward excuse and have to leave. Well she wouldn’t let him this time.

        Kai and the others filed came out of the room, discussing something or other that Elsa wasn’t much interested in. Elsa smiled and returned any hello’s she received. Kai, Herro, Juliet, and Mark all walked past. No Kristoff. Elsa was just about to walk back into the audience chamber almost running into someone else.

        “Oh! Olaf?”

        “Hi Elsa!” the little snowman said cheerfully.

        “Er… hello,” Elsa said looking past the snowman, “What are you doing here Olaf?”

        “I heard you were going to be giving away free food.”

Elsa’s brows knitted together, “Olaf, you’re a snowman. You can’t eat anything.”

        Olaf looked up at the queen, all puppy dog eyes and confusing before h brightened up,”Oh yeah!” he started off down the hall.

        “Er. Olaf?” Elsa asked, “Was uhm. Was Kristoff coming?”

        “Oh no. He went outside.”

        “Ah, thank you!” Elsa hurried out back into the audience chamber.

        “I’ll never understand why they keep calling Sven, Kristoff” Olaf said shaking his head. Maybe he’d go look at the paintings.

 

        The garden’s had been dusted with snow, a sprinkling of white over the perennial greens. Kristoff was heading towards the castle gates when Elsa pushed open the doors to the little sanctuary of nature.

        “Kristoff!”

He turned to find her red faced from running. “Elsa?”

She smiled “I’m hah. I’m glad I caught you.”

Kristoff started to turn away, “Elsa, I really don’t have-“

        “W-wait, I wanted to talk”

He continued walking through the garden shoulders tense and squared. Elsa hurried over to him and grabbed his arm, “Kristoff, Why are you avoiding me?” when he didn’t answer she pressed on, “Every time I-I try to get close to you, you run away.”

        He whirled around, “Because I…” he began, stopping when he saw her face. He sighed and looked down, “It’s… Elsa. I don’t know if I can keep doing this.”       

        “What do you mean?”

When he didn’t answer Elsa realized something. Since Anna left, every time they were alone she’d tell him how she felt. She wasn’t entirely sure why she kept saying it; it was just a wonderful feeling to finally be able to say it. But in all that time he’d never said the words back to her.

        “Kristoff… don’t you…“

        “…I don’t know,” they shared a long look before he pulled away.

Elsa watched him clump through the thin snow, a little voice in her head screaming for her to not let him go. She could stop him, she thought. Order him to come back. He’d do it, she waged. She could order him to kiss her, or tell her he loved her. She could scream from the guards to grab him.

        She watched him walk through the portcullis of the gate.

 

Elsa pulled open the wardrobe and stared at the clothing inside. She’d been a bit scatterbrained from yesterday. She pulled out an outfit and absentmindedly looked it over. Kristoff didn’t love her. Of course. Yes. He loved Anna, that’s right. She’d just… forgotten.

        The queen set aside the clothing before looking back through the wardrobe. Maybe something lighter would be better? It might not do to be bundled up, telling people they were welcome to stay in the castle to keep warm. Maybe she was just being selfish, she’d always felt like she was turning her back to her sister whenever she thought about her feelings, it must have felt just as badly for him. It just, it seemed like for the first time in forever she’d finally just been free. The only other time she could feel like that was with Anna.

        Elsa sighed and shook her head. Maybe the ice dress? She hadn’t had that on in some time. It might be the perfect thing for welcoming people to the cast-oh!

        Elsa didn’t remember this dress, she’d never ordered it from anyone, and it certainly wasn’t one of Anna’s. She pulled it out and a little note fell out. She picked it up and read the short note. Oh Auntie, she even signed with a heart. Elsa could already imagine what she’d look like in the dress, and how everyone else would look at her too.

        Elsa realized she should have felt bad about the whole idea. If she was to tell herself the truth it was because of Kristoff’s love for Anna that she realized how she felt about the man.  It was manipulative. It was wrong. Elsa smiled, it just might be perfect.

 

        Did he really have to wear this?

Kristoff tugged at the formal doublet. The damn thing was too tight, if he lifted his arm it felt like the dam thing would rip right off him. He didn’t like the blue and purple the stripes made him feel foolish. Give him grey and he was as happy as a reindeer with a carrot. And the pants? Don’t even get him started on the pants.

        The dining hall was filled with people and food. Sconces filled with flame, a warm glow filling the stone and wooden room. Like the ball months before the dining hall was filled with just the peoples of Arendelle. The lesser nobility of Arendelle dressed in bright oranges and yellows mingled with village chiefs wearing much the same as Kristoff was now, all of them looked uncomfortable and Kristoff felt a rare pang of sympathy for his fellow man. The heads of Arendelle’s largest lumber and fishery companies flaunted their finery as best they could, gold rings and necklaces; these people have more jewelry on them than Kristoff had ever seen on Elsa or Anna. In a place like England these people might be considered common rabble but here they were the cream of the crop.

        He’d rather be neck deep in snow.

Why was he even here? Elsa couldn’t have been happy with him. God she looked like she was about to cry when he’d left the garden. Things were easier when it was just him and Anna, before she’d had him try and bring Elsa out of the castle. Maybe if Anna wasn’t-

        The conversations around him stopped and Kristoff finally noticed all necks had craned and turned to the large entrance doors. Elsa was making her entrance.

She looked gorgeous. A white corseted top encircled her torso a sheer white slid from the corset to her throat in a halter neck line, thin filigree like stitching in black ribbed the garment, black flowers and ivy over a snowy field. The gown flowed down into a white skirt that dripped off her hips, hips that swayed from side to side with each step. Elsa could teach a snake to sashay. A thick black hem with gold lacing running through it trailed the skirts movement.

        Elsa’s already wider hips and larger bust were more than accentuated by the dress she wore. Kristoff swallowed hard. Elsa smiled at the people, nodding and thanking people who asked after her. One time she even bowed a little. Men stretched their necks to see.

        She eventually took her place at the head of the long table and standing there, addressed the whole room.

        “Thank you everyone,” she said, “winter has come early, and once again I will keep the castle doors open to anyone who needs succor in these times. Winter has come early, I know some of you here are chief’s of villages far flung from our seat here in the city. I know that some of you have had poor harvests, and that the early frosts have ruined what little you were able to gain. I assure you, our stores here are large and I will gladly send out shipments to help you with anything you may need.” A cheer went up from the crowed, “So please, sit and eat and drink.”

Loaves of bread, hollowed out into bowls, were brought out. Pots of soups, sausages, and fruits were brought out. More loaves of bread were ordered and for a night every person there ate like a king.

        Kristoff would keep glancing around the room, and to Elsa, seeing just how many people were able to actually take their eyes off her. A fair number of women kept on gawking at her, and men would occasionally look up, especially if the queen ever laughed. He didn’t like it, not that he should care. Elsa could ware whatever she wanted. Kristoff glanced over at her again.

        A dance hadn’t been scheduled, but that didn’t stop some of the more amorous of the guests. Eventually Elsa relented and a small band was brought in. In the eaves of the room people waltzed to the strums of guitars and the blares of horns. An old man with a bald head, Kristoff remembered him from the day before, one of the village chiefs, was just asking Elsa something. Probably to dance with him. Kristoff took a bite of his now empty bread bowl.

        The man next to him was saying something about crops, or raising sheep, something like that but Kristoff wasn’t listening. Elsa said something to the older man and stood up; he pulled her over to the side of the room and the two swayed together talking. Kristoff could do without the déjà vu and tavern that thought brought with it.

       

‘I’ll level with you, Christopher,’ the old King had said.

        ‘It’s Kristoff.’

        ‘Whatever, the point is sometimes these things happen. I fell for Blondie after like two days. Hell we never even got to dance before we kissed.’

        ‘How’d you know?’

        ‘Oh well, it was easy for me. Or complicated. She made me want to give up being a thief. Or steal her the whole world. It’s not an easy thing to describe. But it’s just one of those things. You’ll know it when you see it. Or feel it I guess.’

        ‘I know, that’s how I feel about Anna. She makes me feel like. Like when you first hear that crunch of the grass after the first frost. Or when you see a lake frozen over for the first time in the winter. It makes me want to stomp around or skate, like I’ve got all this energy that I have to burn off.’

        ‘Okay I don’t get you people and your winter stuff, but whatever. Yeah that’s it.’ He lowered his voice, ‘And the queen?’

        ‘I don’t know. It’s sort of the same, but, different. I just feel, I don’t know. Calm? Something like that. At ease.’

Like the man had done so many times before he clapped him on the shoulder, ‘Like I said, you’re in a mess. I’m sure you’ll see the light some day.’

 

        Yeah, real helpful Eugene. ‘How do you feel’ never seemed to help anyone. Kristoff finished his mug and slammed it onto the table harder than he’d meant to. Elsa had finished her little dance and, oh look, someone else was asking for one, he took her hand and placed his own at her waist.

        Kristoff turned to the man next to him, “Sorry, I uh, I just remembered something. What were you saying?”

        “I was saying it’s a good thing that the queen’s doing,” the man said. He was an older man, slightly balding with a great beard. He wore a simple brown coat and vest. Probably a village man that came as part of a leader’s party. Though he did have a heavy accent, from France if Kristoff had any kind of guess.

        “What the feast?”

        “No, sending out food. There’s not many that would do something like that.”

Kristoff thought about this. He didn’t know much about anyplace else in the world, other than the ice houses would ship off the ice he cut to various places when there was a surplus of it, but he figured people in power liked to keep it that way. Sharing probably wasn’t their biggest concern, “I suppose you’re right.”      

        “Oh I know I am,” the man said, “Have you ever been to France, young man?”

        “Oh no.” Kristoff said.

        “Dreadful place these days, all because of the monarchy really. The people revolted over it.”

        “And that fixed everything?”

        “Well, no,” he admitted, “I was thinking of writing a book about it.”

Kristoff wasn’t much of one for reading either, “I guess that would be good.”

        “You’re not that good of a listener are you mister…?”

        “Er.. Kristoff.”

        “I’m Victor. Victor Hu-”

        “Oh my goodness look!” the woman behind Victor exclaimed, “I think the queen’s finally seeing a suitor.”

        “What?”

        Kristoff spun around to spy a man kneeling before the queen, holding something small before her. Elsa stood open-mouthed at whatever he was trying to give her. It took Kristoff a moment to realize what was happening.

        “Oh my,” the man named Victor said, “It looks like he’s proposing.”

        “What!?”

Kristoff watched in a somewhat confused state of horror as Elsa took whatever it was the man was offering her dazzling smile on display. She’d accepted. Kristoff backed away from the table, nearly knocking over the bench he and those around him sat on. The room was suddenly stifling. It seemed to him that he reached Elsa side without actually traveling through the space between them. He grumbled something to her. He didn’t even know what, some excuse probably. Something anything. The queen said something to him. He didn’t hear him through the buzz in his head, it seemed like an agreement. He pulled her away from the man and out of the dining hall.

“Kristoff, what are you doing?” Elsa asked, practically dragged through the halls. Kristoff gripped her arm tight enough that it almost hurt. He turned at the first door, yanking it open and pulling both of them inside, It was the royal gallery, paintings looked down on the couple as they clambered in “Kristoff what-“

        “Are you insane?”  

        “What?”    

        “You just met the man! Anna loves telling me the damn story of when she brought that Hans guy to meet you and now you’re doing this?”

        “Doing what? What are you talking about?”

        “You’re going to marry him!”

For several moments the room around them was silent, and then Elsa broke out laughing.

        “Oh God, you think.. hah. Oh no no no.” Elsa leaned back against the wall.

        “Why are you-”

        “He wasn’t proposing, Kristoff,” Elsa held up her hand, a ring was shining on her first finger, a silver band with a small set of gemstones in it in the shape of a snowflake, “It’s a gift. Maybe not something I would have chosen but well, I couldn’t say no, could I?”

        “He wasn’t a suitor?” Kristoff asked. He was feeling dumber by the moment, and the more ashamed of the scene he’d made the more he felt his cheeks flush.

        “Of course not. I should be furious at you even thinking it!” she said waving her hand at him. When he looked away she smiled, “But it’s sweet that you’re so concerned.”

        “Well… of course I would be. I mean-“

        “Though the man was rather handsome,” Elsa said with a devilish smile, “It might make a smart match.”

        “Elsa…”

        “I’m joking.”

Kristoff rubbed his neck, “Just uhh…” Elsa’s eye brow raised, “Maybe… don’t get married. Any time soon…” This wasn’t going at all as Kristoff had planned it. Well he’d planned to just be yelling at her, this wasn’t right. The buzzing in his head wouldn’t stop.

        Elsa blushed in spite of herself. Seeing how Kristoff reacted to what had happened, she felt ashamed. He didn’t deserve that.

        “I’m sorry about yesterday” they both said before stopping and chuckling at each other.

        “Kristoff, I. I shouldn’t have asked that of you. I know how you feel about Anna. I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that. If you want I’ll… I’ll stop…” she said, “I’ll stop trying to get you alone, I’ll stop making you come to these things I’ll… I’ll stop”

        She smiled again, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She didn’t want him to agree. As the silence between them dragged on she looked down.

        “You’ve… you’ve kind of got me alone now…” he said. Elsa looked up, eyes wobbling and smile shining. The room felt warmer to the man, “Uhm. C-could I-“

        “Yes!” she chirped before throwing her arms around him. Kristoff laughed as the force spun them around before their lips met in a soft kiss. As they pulled apart Elsa pressed herself close to him, simply enjoying the feeling of being in his arms again. She smiled as she saw Kristoff blush as he looked down at her, “I saw you, you know. Looking at me.”

        “Oh, ah. Sorry. It’s just, the dress…”

She didn’t think he could look redder. She stroked his cheek, “I wore it for you,” she lowered her voice. If she wasn’t wearing what she was, Kristoff would have believed she was being bashful. Elsa pushed herself closer to the man. The combination of the corset and their closeness turned the queen’s bust under the lace into two snow covered hills against his body, “I missed you Kristoff,”

        If Elsa was waiting for an answer she got it in the form of another kiss. Elsa felt she would melt in it, evaporate like she could with ice and snow. Kristoff pulled away from her and after looking in her eyes for a moment, almost as if asking for permission. Elsa smiled back

        He leaned forward and whispered a scant few words.

Elsa felt her heart beat faster as he kissed down from her ear to the nape of her neck. She tasted like freshly fallen snow, that quick sharp coolness that melts away so sweetly. Kristoff kissed down from her neck, down to the gossamer fabric that looped around her neck. Elsa cooed as he plunged further down her chest kissing at her skin through her clothes, his face nearly nuzzled between her breasts.  Elsa looked up at the paintings that surrounded them.

        People might be coming soon. People would be wondering where she went. They could come through the door any second now. She might be a queen but this was still something she should try to keep a secret. She smiled and giggled softly as she felt Kristoff’s hands slide along her back and pull her closer still. Oh, let them see, she thought. She didn’t care anymore.

        He’d finally said the words back.

 

----

 

ANNA THE DIPLOMAT.

 

        It had a nice ring to it, didn’t it? Anna the Diplomat.

Anna smiled as she said it in her head again. Anna the Diplomat. Anna the face of Arendelle to the world. Anna, her voice carries the weight of the queen’s. Princess Anna, when she speaks, people listen.

        The girl giggled to herself.

        “You’re in a good mood,” ‘Oliver’ said.

        “Of course ‘sir’” Anna said with a smirk, “Why shouldn’t I? This is the first time I’ve done this!”

        “Well, you’ll be speaking to some very important people. What if you say something wrong?”

Anna stopped in her tracks, “Something like what?”

        “What if you accidentally insult someone?”

Anna was starting to regret asking for ’Oliver’ to be her chaperone inside the gates of Weselton. The captain had said the entire crew was at her disposal, so she’d picked out the look out. She was the only one that Anna could think of as a friend.

        “I-I’m sure I’ll do… fine…”

This time Oliver smirked, “I’m sure you will,” she continued on without the princess.

        “Hey wait!” She chased after her chaperone. Oliver showed her the sights of the city. Weselton’s architecture was close to that of Arendelle’s but it seemed to show off the structures. Some of these buildings were clearly there to be seen. Elsa would love this place, Anna thought. I should bring her here. She could look at the buildings, I’m sure there’s a library around here somewhere.

        Anna tried to imagine the familiar image of her sister with her nose in a book but the only thought she could have was that of sister and would-be fiancée kissing.

        Elsa wouldn’t really do that, would she?

        Anna looked over at Oliver.

“Pol- er.. Olive-ah. What should I call you?”

        “Oliver is fine, Princess.”

        “But you’re name is-“

        “Oliver.”

Anna sighed, “Okay, do you have a nick name, maybe?”

        Oliver thought for a moment, mulling the thought over and looking the princess over, “Well, sometimes the guys call my Oz. How does that sound?”

        “Hm… Oz. OZ. Ozzy. Ozzer,” Anna said to herself, trying out the name, “I guess that works.”

        “Good,” she said back pointing at Anna.

        “Er. Oz? Do you have a sister?”

The look out looked away, “I uh… I had a brother.”

        Had, Anna thought, “I’m sorry”

        “It’s fine,” she said, “Why do you ask?”

        “Well, I mean. Did your brother ever take something from you?”

Oliver looked back at her, “What do you mean?”

        “You know what? Never mind,” Anna said shaking her head, “When is this whole meeting thing supposed to happen?”

        Oliver lifted up what looked like a small leather pouch and flipped open a small cover, revealing a pocket watch, “Oh, about half an hour.” Anna smiled and nodded to herself, “And it’s on the other side of the town, we should hurry.”

        Like a deer spying a hunter just before he lets an arrow fly, Anna stared at the other woman. Oliver smiled and grabbed Anna’s hand, “Come on, Princess!”

 

        Just like the messenger had said, there was indeed a crowd of people surrounding the erstwhile duke’s mansion. Instead the gathered nobles were meeting in a separate building nearby, they’d taken to calling it the Bundehaus.

        “What does that mean?” Anna asked as the pair followed a steward through the halls of the building. Anna was used to the halls of buildings being filled with paintings, or armor. This building had nothing, plain dark sandy walls surrounded them as they followed carpeted hallways.

        “It’s just a building for the Bundestag,” when Anna didn’t say anything Oliver continued, “That’s the Diet. The nobles.”

Anna just stared at her. She felt lost. Elsa probably knew German. Elsa probably knew everything about this place. Oh God what was she doing here?

        The steward led them both to a pair of heavy dark stained wooden doors, with a pair of empty shields upon their faces. Anna was about to ask about them when the steward thrust open the doors.

        Inside the room was occluded by a fog of smoke. Shapes moved in the mists of tobacco and as the two girls ventured in shapes turned into people, sitting around a circular table with a hole in the center. Oliver tapped Anna on the shoulder and said her good-bye’s. She was just a deckhand, she said, she wouldn’t be welcome in a place like this.

        All around eyes squared themselves on Anna and once again she felt she wasn’t just in over her head, she’d taken a diving bell directly to the bottom of the sea.

        “Uh. Hi, I’m-”

        “May I present, Princess Anna of Arendelle, Diplomat of Queen Elsa of Arendelle,” the steward announced before closing the doors with a smart snap.

        “Yeah. Right. What he said,” Anna finished.

 

        Around the princess sat not just the nobles of Weselton, but also dignitaries from Corona, England, France and Prussia. A man in a sever grey and black uniform with a chest covered with medals stared at her as Anna eventually found Eddard and the clerk and the empty seat next to them. Eddard was an older man, with hair that hung down to his neck, mostly. He’d tied it back today. The clerk looked as if he was even younger than Anna with his rounded face and large eyes. This was their peerage expert?

On one side of her party a man with a white wig on, and sporting a mustard yellow overcoat over some kind of frilly white shirt, all ruffles at the cuffs and collar. His face was a bit runny, like it was just hanging off his bones. On the other was a woman in a dress of purple and blues, covered in jewelry. She was comely, in a way she reminded Anna of her elder cousin.

Everyone in the room seemed to be waiting on her.

        “Oh, um. Sorry,” Anna said, finally noticing, “Sorry I’m late. I just uh, lost track of time,” she tried giving them her best smile. The room was not impressed and they turned back to whatever it was they were discussing before she came in.

        “It was already decided years ago, this duchy should be given to House of Hohenzollern,” said the man in the grey military uniform.

        “You know that’s not true, Brenden. If Prussia was set to inherit they would have long ago,” came the reply from the woman next to Anna, “Other families have rights to the area that are newer and stronger than yours.”

        “Illegitimate claims!”

        “You’re the only one that thinks that,” came another man’s voice. This one came from a man opposite Anna. He was wearing a bright red and white coat and from his accent he was clearly English, “All the claimants here have actual ties to the family, other than yours.” He said pointing at the Prussian man. The man had combed back blond hair, very light blond hair almost like Elsa’s, and with a strong jaw, and what looked to Anna like two perfect sapphires for eyes, he was very handsome. Across his chest he wore a blue and white sash with a number of medals on it. Anna wondered if he was a military man.

        Wait, Anna thought looking down at her own clothes; A Green dress with a black bodice over it. No sash for her kingdoms colors, and most certainly no medals. Should she have worn medals for this? Was she supposed to look fancier? Why didn’t anyone tell her these things?

        “Actually he’s right,” said the clerk next to Anna. The collective heads of the states turned towards Anna and her party once again.

        “Wait who is?” Anna asked.

        “The Viceroy,” the clerk said to her.

        “Er…and… who is that?”

The clerk pointed to the man in grey, and then addressed the council, “A number of houses here have no relation at all to the Duke’s family. They could make a claim on the older kings that claimed the land but that would be tangentially at best.”

        “What do you mean?” asked the handsome Englishman.

        “To bring it to a point, neither Hohenzollern nor Windsor have a familial claim to Weselton,” the clerk said, curtly.

        “And just who are you, little man?” demanded the Prussian viceroy.

        “He is part of Princess Anna’s delegation party,” Eddard’s strong voice was always a bit of a shock to Anna. He barely spoke, preferring instead to listen to others, but when he did speak it was hard to not simply do as he said.

        “Yeah,” Anna said, “And he’s an expert on this stuff!”

The older military man turned his steel clad gaze back over Anna and she swallowed.

        “Listen to me, girl. The only reason your little runt of a country is here is because of your relation to that batty old wench in Corona. You and your sister are lucky your little pissant strip of land is ever even noticed. Why anyone would bother with you, I haven’t the faintest idea.”

        Pissant? Batty wench? Anna’s eyes narrowed, “Probably because no one else has a queen that could freeze their capitals solid. Who many winters in a row can you’re little country live through? Hmm?” Anna thought of her sister wearing military dress, astride a horse as hail rained down on the enemy before her. It was stirring to say the least, “I doubt your high and mighty attitude would last long when all you’re eating is snow, snow, and more snow!”

        Eddard pushed Anna back down into her seat. She hadn’t even realized that she’d stood up, or that she was leaning over the table.

        “Was that a threat you little-“

        “I’m sure the princess was simply reminding you that her kingdom, while small, has in the past easily repelled invaders to their little hamlet, and that it wouldn’t be wise to make light of their sovereignty,” said the Englishman again.

        The Prussian sat back down in his chair and eventually a recess was called. Tensions needed cooling. A light dinner would be served in the dining room a butler said as he opened the double doors leading out.

        Anna was the first to rush out of the room, breathing a sigh of relief as she leaned against a wall in the hallway. Elsa shouldn’t have agreed to let her go. Oh God she just practically declared war with Prussia! Prussia! She should excuse herself from the rest of this. Eddard can handle it. Eddard and the clerk, she’ll just spend time walking around the city with Olvier that’s what. It was always nice talking to her.

        “Well that went well.”

        “Oh my God!” Anna jumped, smacking her head into the wall

        “Whoa easy,” it was the Englishman. He was taller than Anna was expecting, though shorter than Kristoff, and now that he was standing she could see how slim he was, “Are you alright?”

        “I’m fine. I’m fine,” Anna said before rubbing the back of her head, “I uh... I’ve got a thick skull.”

        “Heh, good to know I suppose,” he said chuckling.

        “Oh. Uh. Thank you for that. In there, I mean. The talking to the guy. Vicroy?” Anna stumbled over her words.

        “Oh it’s fine. The man’s a pompous ass, if you ask me.”

Anna smiled, “I’m Anna, of Arendelle.”   

        “I know, the steward announced you,” he said with a grin.

        “Oh right.”

        “I’m Prince William Fredrick, Duke of Edinburgh,” he said with a smile and a small bow.

Anna laughed and returned with a curtsy.

        “I suppose we might as well get something to eat,” The prince held out the crook of his arm, and Anna hesitantly took it, the pair began walking down the hallway. A prince from an island country, being this nice to her?

        “Er, you should know, I’m married. Well, engaged.”       

        “Really? Congratulations,” William said, he didn’t seem to care.

        “Oh yeah. Well. Soon I will be. He’ll ask my sister soon, I’m sure.”

The prince’s brow furrowed for a moment, “He’s going to marry your sister?”

        “What? No!” Anna quickly blurted out, “No. I mean, we’ll be engaged soon, once she says it’s okay.”

        “Ahh…” they continued walking, “You have to tell me, can you’re sister really freeze a city?”

        “Oh yeah she’s done it before.”

        “How?”

        “Oh it’s a long story…”

When they finally made it to the dining room she told him all about Elsa’s coronation.

 

----

 

THE MORNING AFTER

 

        Elsa squirmed, the claws of wakefulness ever so slowly dragging her from sleep’s loving arms.

        Elsa’s eyes opened, filling her view no longer with the loving smile of her dear sister, but instead that of her ceiling. Right, she thought. She lay there considering the view she’d woken up to the morning before, and the morning before that, and the morning before that.

        I should have a mural painted, she thought, then my ceiling wouldn’t look so empty.

Elsa smiled. Unlike her ceiling, her bed wasn’t so empty. Kristoff lay next to her, an insurmountable mountain range on her bed. He was sleeping almost soundlessly. Elsa always figured he’d be the kind of man who would snore. She sat up, leaning onto her hands, letting the sheet fall away from her body. Kristoff looked like an angel, he really did, sleeping like he was. Elsa softly brushed some hair from his face.

        He had not been an angel the night before, not by a long shot. Elsa’s juvenile little plan to make him jealous had worked and he’d told her those three little words she’d wanted to hear from him since before she even knew it. Then he’d taken her, then and there in the gallery, beneath the gazes of the works of old masters where anyone could have walked in on them. Neither of them had even bothered to remove their dress from the feast. Once or twice she thought to tell him to stop, that they should go to her bed room, but that ended when he had finally entered her. Back pressed against the wall, one leg hiked up and wrapped around his waist, all she really thought of was him.

        There were times, Elsa admitted now, that she would have wished they were naked for, seeing Kristoff’s strong bare arms holding her close, or the feel of his forested chest against her skin always thrilled her more than she dared tell him. But there was a certain excitement to their passions. Of not waiting to even undress, of not being able to wait. He’d always had a hand on her rear, holding her up while his other hand roamed her body, squeezing and rolling and massaging her breast when they kissed, stroking her back, or caressing her thigh when his lips were needed elsewhere. The feeling of the man’s kisses against her skin, even through the lace halter of her dress he was like a ravenous babe trying to suckle at her. She’d pressed his head closer to her, loving the feeling of his lips through the cloth, his obvious hunger for her breast driving her more and more.

        That and the salacious thought of someone finding them, walking in on them in that state had caused Elsa to be far more receptive than she’d thought. It hadn’t taken long at all before Kristoff had take her to the height of a mountainous range, and there, looking over the fog covered valleys and snow dripped peaks, sent her off the precipice as he plunged into her. Elsa was only so glad that she’d had the wherewithal to kiss the man as he did, lest she call anyone’s attention to the gallery.

        Elsa blushed at the memory, a heat rushing through her. She’d gripped him then, finally wrapping her other leg about his waist. She’d hugged him close, pulled him deeper. It was because of him, she’d wanted to say, even if he clearly knew already. She’d held him there, feeling his warmth inside her, heating her more and more. As she panted from the high, sighing at the feeling of being filled, he began again.

        Elsa stroked the man’s cheek. Had he been so… so hungry for Anna, when they’d told each other they’d loved each other? Had he whispered it in her ear every time she gasped as they both wallowed in the pleasure of each other?

        When finally they were both spent, they’d simply stayed against the wall, kissing and carrying on as if they were still in the act until finally she’d whispered to him to take her to bed. What would the subjects of the paintings have thought, if they could see them? What would the Maid of Orléans have made of the tableau before her?

        Elsa shook the thought from her head. She didn’t need long dead zealots in her head. Kristoff was enough for her. More than enough. There had been a second time, once they came to her bedchamber, but unlike the passionate need in the gallery, here it was slow and sensual. They’d been gentle, loving, an almost coy and shy affair of barest touches and faint whispers against a raging hunger and rutting of before. Elsa couldn’t decide which she’d enjoyed more.

        She leaned over the man, kissing his lips softly. His skin tasted of sweat and, she could almost imagine, her perfume from the night before. Just as she was thinking of ways to wake her Ice Master, a pleasant groan escaped his throat.

        “Good morning,” he said.

        “Good morning,” she said softly with a smile, “How long have you been awake?”

        “Oh… since when you kicked me and told Anna to ‘stop tickling you there’,” Kristoff grinned, “I’ve had a lovely view.”

Elsa playfully slapped him before leaning over and kissing the man again. She felt his arm wrap around her and pull her closer, pressing her flesh against his. She could feel the coarse hair at his chest tickle and scratch itself against her breast and the flush of heat returned inside of her. She held his head and let her tongue explore his mouth, counting his teeth. In her head she imagined their shapes and dimensions. Reluctantly they parted as Kristoff let go of her waist and looked at the window. The sun was already bright in the sky; it was well past mid morning.

        “Don’t you have that thing to go to today? That church?”

        “You mean the one that burned down? It’s finally been rebuilt.”

        “Yeah that’s it.”

Elsa kissed Kristoff’s neck, “I don’t want to go,” she said, “Kai can take care of it,” she slid herself down lower, kissing his collar bone, “I’m not feeling well,” again she slid lower, letting her breasts run over the man’s skin.  She kissed his chest, “I should stay in bed…” then his stomach.

        “You can’t shirk your duties just because you want to.” he said. Inside her head Elsa cursed him a little. She sighed and got out of bed.

        “Fine…” she looked back at Kristoff and smiled before walking to a table near the corner on which stood a large mirror, and a small chest.

        Probably filled with makeup, Kristoff thought.

The queen rocked her hips from side to side, almost invitingly. She reveled in her nakedness, Kristoff realized. In more ways than one. She’d told him, once that she felt Kristoff understood how she felt. How she felt about Anna, about other people, about him. That he understood what it was like for her to not want people near her. He really did. To him, she’d said, she nearly felt naked all the time.

        Elsa sat herself down, looking at Kristoff through the mirror as she pulled her braid out from behind her, letting it fall lightly over her shoulder. She pulled at the hair, delicately and slowly pulling the two bundles apart, unthreading them and separating them until her hair was free of the style. She ran her fingers through it, pulling it back and letting it slip down her back, tickling her skin. Kristoff swallowed hard as she did so, the motion of her fingers through her hair oh so similar to what she would sometimes do in the throes of passion.

        Elsa smiled in the mirror, seeing her lover’s arousal in the clear light. She stood up from the chair, her platinum blond locks covered her breasts just enough to make them more tantalizing.

        “The event won’t be until past midday,” she said crawling onto the bed, “and besides, I’m queen. If I order them to wait, they’ll wait.”

        Kristoff found himself straddled by his queen. She leaned down and took both his hands into hers and brought them to her hindquarters. Instinctively Kristoff squeezed. Elsa drew in a sharp breath and looked down at him.

        “Now,” she breathed with a smile as she slowly sank herself down onto him, “Love your queen.”

        Kristoff did as he was ordered.

 

        The people gathered around the churched hadn’t had to wait at all. Elsa had been there to see the newly rebuilt church open on time. The castle’s coffers had ended up paying for the house’s resurrection. Had Arendelle’s people been more ostentatious a statue may have been made in the queen’s likeness and placed in a seat of honor in the church.

        Instead Elsa simply took part in the service, receiving her blessing from the priest, taking communion, and reciting their prayers, almost all of which while having her Ice Master on her arm. She prayed for her sister’s safe return, for the Lord to help watch over her people and keep them safe, and in a thought that turned her a deep crimson, she secretly prayed for an heir. She glanced over at Kristoff when she’d finished. She wondered what he prayed for.

 

----

 

DUTY OF THE COMMON MAN

 

        Beneath his feet the slightly moldy, somewhat splintering wood rolled and bucked. Kristoff stumbled as he attempted to walk across the deck. He was not used to boats. He was not a boat person. So why had he decided to come aboard?

        Well, at court a ship captain had arrived with news of a large ice pack heading south for Arendelle. If it came to close it had the chance of the currents bringing it into the harbor, blocking off any trade they might get, not to mention fishing and whaling vessels. Arendelle could be strangled for the winter. Kristoff decided he’d take a few men out in boats, and see the ice pack for himself. If it was so bad they could start slicing it up, make the chucks small enough for boats to push aside or break through if need be.

        Elsa had asked him not to go, but frankly, Kristoff was glad to be out of the castle. It was maddening in there some times with nothing to do but sit around. The old King of Corona had been right, sometimes you just needed to get out of the lap of luxury and get your hands dirty.

        Not that it was all bad, Kristoff thought as he finally made it to the gunwale and leaned on it. He smiled. Since the winter feast things had become far simpler with Elsa. She still insisted on not having anyone know about the two of them, but that just made the shared glances and looks all the better. And when they were finally alone? Elsa seemed to be nearly insatiable. Kristoff had quickly learned that there was hardly anything he could do that she wouldn’t enjoy. Just had found before she simply loved being touched. One time while she was practically asleep she’d even said that she wanted him to love her ‘in any way they could’ Sometime she’d let him take charge, and other times, others she’s take his hands and please herself with them. Kristoff never much minded. He did love seeing her happy

He knew it wouldn’t last, not when Anna came back. He’d have to tell her, and he honestly didn’t know how she’d react. When he’d told her the first time, all those months ago, she was far happier than he had ever expected, and with locking them together, he didn’t know what to think. But would she still feel the same way? He shook his head. He really did love both of the girls, and whenever he wasn’t with one of them he felt terrible about the whole thing. He needed to do work; the ice pack was only a few days away by boat.

 

        “So, did anyone inherit Weselton?” 

        “No.”

        “Anyone claim it yet?”

        “No.”

        “A new Duke been decided?” 

        “No.”

        “What do you all do in there all day then?”

        “We argue!” Anna finally snapped back at the look out. Oliver backed away.

        “Alright alright, Princess.” She said smiling. Anna had been nearly exhausted as of late, Oliver had found. The princess seeming to be more and more depressed as the talks about the future of Weselton dragged on.

        “I’m sorry,” Anna said, “It’s just, this stupid man from Germany! He keeps going on and on about how Weselton belongs to them and-and. Aargh!”

        Did all royalty speak so candidly? Oliver had seen the Queen on the dock when they’d left the harbor, she’d seen composed and elegant, she couldn’t imagine her ranting over some dignitary like this.

        “I’m sure you’ve made some leeway, yeah?”      

The princess sighed, pushing her braids behind her back, “Well… today we finally got him to stop saying that Prussia is owed the duchy.” 

        “Well that’s good”

        “Now he’s saying he’s the perfect candidate for installation as the next duke.”

        “Ahh.”

Oliver watched as Anna let her face fall flat onto the table, “This is going to take forever.”

        The lookout glanced out the window. Anna had insisted that they share a room; she was after all the princesses’ chaperone and guard. Lights twinkled in the town like little stars as the real ones shined up above. Oliver noticed one building full of light and life; she could almost hear the laughter.  She gave the princesses arm a friendly slap, “Come on, you need some cheering up.”

        “Huh?”

        “We’re going out.”

 

Oliver pulled her charge through the streets and to the tavern. Even from outside you could make out the words of songs being sung, and cheers and toasts. Ahh, Oliver thought, this was her kind of place. They opened the door; it swung easily on well oiled hinges, not even making a sound. Oliver closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She smelled orange, a muddy orange, brown, with hints of red and greens, but definitely brown. Ahh this was one of the good ones.

        The place was filled with the warmth that humid deep in your core happy warmth that only large groups of people can make. They roused another song from the shanty man, waving mugs and bottles in the air. Women sat on men’s laps. Women lean with men against the walls. Men gambled their hard earned wages away, and women pulled away those hard earned winnings with more ale and beer.

        “Oh wow” Anna said. Oliver figured she must have never been in a tavern before.

        “Oh you’ll love this,” the swarthy deckhand said with a grin before walking to the bar and ordering two drinks. Anna walked to the nearest table and watched four men playing at cards. She didn’t know the game, but it seemed to involve match up cards with the other players. There was a points system involved.

        “Here” Oliver said, handing the younger girl a mug, “Drink this”

        “What is it?” Anna said. Without waiting for an answer she took a sip.

        “A drink for men,” Oliver laughed as Anna coughed.

        “This is awful” Anna said.

        “Only the first time, come on,” Oliver led the princess over to an empty table. Anna took another drink this time. A longer one. She coughed less after it.

        “Do you always drink this?” Anna asked.

        “Only when we’re in port,” Oliver replied, taking a swig.

Anna took another drink, and then another. Before long she had an empty mug, “This is supposed to make me feel better?”

        “Generally, yes.”  

        “Isst’s not working,” she said. Against her better judgment, Oliver got the princess another mug when she’d started to make a scene. The two drank their beers as the tavern jovially roared around them.

        “Elssa shouldn’t have picked me,” Anna said after a while, staring at her drink.

        “Hmm?”

        “I’m no good at this,” she said again, “I almost started a war, you know?”

        “I doubt it was that bad, princess.”

        “I could start a war if I wanted.”

        “What?”

The blond slid back into silence, taking another drink.

        “This whole thing not working out how you thought it would?”

        “I… I just thought it would be all parties. And. And. And. Parties,” Anna said, “Not stubborn old men yelling all the time.”

        “I guess it’s like sailing…” Oliver trailed off.

        “Hmm?”

        “Oh you know, in stories it’s all about adventure, seeing new lands, but then you do it and it’s just work and work and getting no sleep.”

        “Why’re you onna boat, Oz?”

        “Er…” well what harm could it do? “I’m… following someone.”

        “Ohh! Like. Like your husband?”

        “N-no. Not really..”

        “I used to have a husbad.”

        “What?”

        “No. wait. What? No. I still do, but we’re not married yet.” She drained the last of her mug and asked for more. When Oliver came back Anna had laid her head on her arms, she nudged her with the mug.

        “Hmm… are you buying better drinks? They taste better.”

Oliver smirked, “I must be.”

        Anna took the mug and took another sip and the two sat in silence again. Another song came up from the shanty man.

        “I think my sister is sleeping with my boyfriend.” Anna said abruptly.

Oliver’s mug stopped halfway to her lips, “What?”

        “Well no. Not. Not think. I know. I kind of told them to.”

        “I uh... I shouldn’t be hearing-“

        “It’s just. She wash so sad. Right? Right.” Anna said, talking to the wall, “I just. Just. I wanted to see her happy and she shaid she liked him-m.”

        Anna turned and faced the sailor, “But see, the strange thing? Right? I mind, but I don’t,” she pointed an accusing finger, “Oh my God their kids would look so cute. Can you imagine their hair?”

        Oliver didn’t even know the Princess what engaged to anyone. Being as sea kept you out of the loop, “Oh yeah. Yeah. Of courses”

        “Do you think it would glow?”

        “What?”

        “Hmm?”

Anna took another drink, “But I want him too,” she said, almost wistfully, “I saw him first. Hesh mine. I want my own bike. Right?” she asked.

        “Well… maybe you could-“

        “I know this song!” Anna yelled as she stood up.

Oliver watched in a mixture of horror and amusement as Anna slurred along with the other singers to The Worst Old Ship. An hour later she slowly carried the princess back to the apartments they stayed in. Anna sang to herself, mumbling the words of three different songs together and talking of Kristoff and Elsa and sharing bicycles.

 

        Kai wouldn’t say he stalked the halls of the castle; he didn’t have the right build for it, for one thing. But everyone always said he seemed to be far too quiet for a man his size. Still whatever was the cause for this talent, in the end it served him well. More than once he’d caught maids not doing their jobs, of house guests trying to abscond with what little ornamentation the castle had. The loss of those candlesticks was still a black mark on his record.

        He heard the soft laugh of his queen, and watched as she walked down the hall, her Ice Master ever in tow. He must have said something to her. It did Kais’ heart good to see his queen as happy as she was, for the past few weeks she’s been rather melancholic. Kai smiled to himself as his queen continued on past him, both her and the lowborn courtier nodding a hello as they passed. It was obvious what the cause of their lady’s recent happiness was. You’d be blind not to see it.

        The fit of sadness had only started when the Ice Master had to leave for his duties. Kai had told him that he no longer had to even leave the castle if he wished but the man refused him saying that he wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he wasn’t out on the ice. And once he comes back to the castle? The queen is once again far more vivacious than before, laughing, making jests at others.

        It was actually rather cute, Kai thought, the way she tried to hide the affair. Like a little girl not wanting to share her new toy. He had gone around to the maids, butlers, bailiffs, steward, door wards and all other manner of servants in the castle that anyone found out to be speaking of any of it outside of the castle would be jailed for high treason, he’d see to it personally. He was Crown Regent for three years before his queen came into her own, and a proud steward of the house of Aren he would not see salacious rumors fret about this second family of his.

        Still there was some cause for concern. What would happen when the queen’s sister returned? The Ice Master was all but her betrothed at this point. Kai had read of kingdoms being brought low by far less than a pair of squabbling siblings. And if it did come to that, he wondered, who would he support? In truth it wouldn’t look good for the queen. The Freezing was still fresh in people’s minds and every now and then you’d hear rumors. The queen was a witch, a monster that’s why she hadn’t married yet. Her skin was so cold you would burn yourself if you touched her. It was all poppycock, but it would mean the world if the worst should happen. The entire kingdom might call for the queen to step down if it did.

        Kai sighed and continued down the hall. He should put a stop to it, he knew. But Queen Elsa just seemed to be so happy. He hoped his queen knew what she was doing, and more importantly, he hoped the Ice Master was at least as honorable a man as he appeared. Kai walked down the same hallway as his queen had just passed through, there weren’t many people staying in this wing of the castle. It was mostly the older apartments and the library. When she was younger Elsa would spend her time there if she wasn’t locked away in her room. As he walked past the seldom used rooms Kai couldn’t help but hear the faint sound of whispers.

        ‘- are you- mmm‘

        There was a pause.

        ‘Mmm. I missed you.’

        ‘It was only two nights.’

        ‘Mmhm’

Kai had half a mind to barge in on them but he remembered his and Gerda’s little trysts throughout the halls. There was one particularly pleasant memory of an attic in the west tower…

        ‘There’s not even a-’

        ‘That’s never stopped us.’

        There was another pause and a rustling of sorts.

        ‘Ahn!’

        And a thud against the wall.

        ‘Ohhh, ahn. Ah-hmmm mm’

Kai shook his head. Things never seem to change much no matter how long time marched on.

        ‘- look. In the mirror.’

        ‘ohh, wait let me-ah!’

        ‘heh’

        ‘Oh God, look at us.’

        ‘Look at you’

        ‘Ahn! K-Kris!’

Kai began to walk off. He’d tell the staff not to worry about the eastern wing of the castle for the day.

 

----

 

UP ON THE HILL

 

        Kristoff ran, chasing Sven through the halls of the house his footsteps echoing as he bounded over the wooden floors. His mother ran after him long bright blond hair bound up in a braid bouncing behind her. The both of them laughed as they both caught their quarry, tumbling together along the floor.

        Arendelle’s Royal Ice Harvester pulled the quilt around him as the room chilled him. He didn’t remember leaving the window open before he went to sleep. He opened his eyes, tears surprisingly staining his vision. He wiped them away, along with lethargy of sleep.

        The single window in his castle apartment was indeed open; a soft wind of snow blew in. It must have been opened by a breeze in the night. With a groan Kristoff pulled himself from the covers of the bed. By the time he’d gotten to the window the snow that had blown in was already melted, leaving small puddles on the floor and dark stains on the carpet.

It wasn’t snowing outside. No, the sun shone bright in the sky, though clouds were threatening out at sea. Kristoff hope it wasn’t enough of a storm to upset any boats returning to harbor. He slid his hand along the smooth wood when his fingers fumbled over something that rolled away. Kristoff picked it up.

It was a tiny little snowman made of ice.

He couldn’t help but chuckle as he shook his head. It was almost like crystal, it was so clear. Kristoff was sure he could cast rainbows around the room with it, there wasn’t even a single seam or cut mark. Of course there wouldn’t be. Kristoff set it down. It was a little sad, it’d have melted by noon, he thought a little depressingly. He looked out over the ocean again, watching little cresting waves untenanted with ice. There hadn’t been a freeze in a while so he’d had depressingly little to do, and it looked like today wouldn’t be any different. If he craned his neck and leaned out the window he could just barely see the mountains, evergreens dusted in snow, rising up, coddling the little dell that the city sat in.

        Kristoff smiled and went to struggled into his clothes.

 

        The muscles in his shoulder bunched as he stretched his arms over his head, yawning away his drowsiness. Going out and about would be good, Sven could use the exercise, Kristoff would never tell him but he was getting a little fat in the castle stables.

        Speaking of the stables, out in the small courtyard the stables occupied Sven was already walking out and about, a slim man in a heavy winter coat was leading the reindeer along and patting his side.

        “Hey now, Sven, you’ve got a friend?” Kristoff called as he entered the courtyard, “Since when do you make friends so quickly?”

        “Oh, I think we could be fast friends,” the man said, turning.

The voice was obvious enough, “Elsa?”

        The queen was all bundled up in a heavy coat; fur trimmed the hems of the coat and the hood that she had pulled up over her head. Her braid stuck out by her neck, a little tassel of platinum peeking out from a sea of grey and dark tan fuzz. She had similar colored pants, the same slate grey as the coat. Something about the absurd outfit on the Snow Queen was endearing.

        “Hey,” she said, giving Sven another pat on his neck, “Looks like we had the same idea.”

        “Why are you even wearing that?” Kristoff asked as the queen brought Sven over. The reindeer was happily plodding along behind Elsa. He had on a harness with the official royal seal.

        Ahh Kristoff thought, all dressed up.

        “Well everyone would notice if a girl just rode out of town in winter in some silly dress,” Elsa said. She looked Kristoff up and down. He was wearing his usual winter gear. The same clothes he’d wear to go harvesting. His outfit was much like her own, save that his had the red trimming on the edges that hers lacked.

        “Elsa’s running away again,” Sven ‘said’ Kristoff grinned at the queen.

        “It’s not running away if people know about it,” Elsa said, tightening Sven’s harness.

        “Well I didn’t know,” Kristoff complained.

        “If I told you, I wouldn’t get to see your mouth gape like it did,” Elsa giggled looking back at him, “So, do you want to build a snowman?”

 

        Unlike in the city, the hills and trees overlooking the small valley still sported a cloak of snow across the grass, well, except for the bare spot picked clean by Elsa and Kristoff. Elsa sat on a stump watching Kristoff pack snow together forming a head for their little snowman, Sven fussed over things and the two of them were talking.

        “No Sven, he can’t have cheeks that big, he’ll look like a squirrel full of nuts.”

        “But he’ll look adorable.”

        “He needs a larger chin.”

        “It makes him look like a brute”

        “Hey, I have a strong chin!”

        “Exactly!”

Kristoff laughed to himself as he crunched a handful of the white stuff onto the snowman’s face. Elsa giggled at the conversation and got up.

        “Who say’s it’s a ‘he?’”

        “I do”

        “Well, I’m queen, I say it’s a she.”

Kristoff grinned, “You can’t be the queen. She’s got a little crown and she wears pretty dresses. You’re just some girl in a coat.”

        Elsa pulled the man’s hat down over his eyes.

        “Hey!”

In the end they ended up with a slightly mushy looking snowman, no hard strong noble chin, no real evidence that it was a girl it was just, well, a snow man.  Elsa seemed to like it anyway. She took off her gloves and ran her fingers over it, feeling the little bumps in the snow. She smiled and as her hands slid along the surface the snow started to slough off the pair’s little creation revealing solid, clear and beautiful ice underneath.

        “If you were going to do that in the first place, why’d we even bother?”

        “Because,” Elsa said, watching as more and more ice was revealed, “It. It wouldn’t have been as much fun.” She took a step back. The iceman gleamed in the light; it might as well have been made of diamond.

        “Well that is… something.” Kristoff said, coming closer to Elsa’s creation.

Elsa smiled and walked away from it, sitting down in the grass and looking out over the hills, you could just barely see some pennants from the castle fluttering in the wind.

        She looked back at Kristoff looking over the snowman he’d made.

        “You must really like ice, being able to make things like this,” Kristoff said after a while, mostly to himself. He took off his own gloves and felt just how smooth and perfect the ice really was, just like the one in his room this morning.

Some people at court had mentioned something similar, asking her things like if she liked winter more than summer, or if she could even feel heat. She scoffed at the thought. Of course she felt heat. She loved being warm. All bundled up in a warm cloak, or curled in a nice warm bed. She just, well, never felt uncomfortable from the cold. And as for winter, or snow, she never really understood the questions. Snow, ice, they were just things. You may as well ask someone if they liked or preferred breathing. It was just natural to Elsa; she’d been able to do these things all her life.

        She remembered when she snuck up to Kristoff’s cabin in the summer, watched him cutting up ice blocks in the mountains. She’d liked that. She could make ice easily enough. She could make a palace, or sculptures. If she could see it in her head she could make it. Blocks were nothing for her.

        But when Kristoff made things, even those simple hunks, they were different. She only had to think of it, and the magic would do the rest. Kristoff, he worked at it. When he carved things for Anna, or sliced up ice, he put sweat into it. He put his soul into it. For some reason everything he’d made looked more, well, real. He’d made the snowman, she’d just made it ice. It looked real enough to her. Elsa turned back to the hills and lay down, looking up into the sky. Dark clouds were just starting to thread themselves overhead, but plenty of blue could still be seen.

        Kristoff sat down next to her and watched the clouds slowly roll along the icy blue above them.

        “This was uh. A good idea,” he said, Elsa could hear him lay down, “No offense to the castle but, it’s just so boring…”

        “I thought you had those other men, your friends at the harbor?”

        “To help clear the ice? Ehh,” Kristoff said, shrugging his shoulders, “They’re not really the most, you know, happy bunch. Unless they’re drunk.”

        Elsa giggled looking at the man before turning her head back to the sky. Kristoff seemed to know all sorts of people. Harbor workers, bartenders, warehouse managers. He probably had drinking buddies, people who said his name when he walked in not because he was important to everyone, but because he was important to them.

        “How do you do it?” the queen asked.       

        “Huh?”

        “How do you, you know, make friends? Talk to people so easily?”

        “Uh… because uh. I have to? You kind of made it my job.”

        “Oh right…”

Kristoff looked at her. Elsa just looked up into the sky brows knotted together.

        “Why are you even asking about this? You talk to people all the time.”

        “But not really! Not… Not like this.” Elsa sighed, “You, Anna, Olaf… you’re pretty much the only people I know. The only person other than you three I’ve ever talked to was Auntie when she was here. With everyone else I feel like I’m. I’m-”

        “On thin ice?” Kristoff suggested.

        “On egg shells,” Elsa said, glaring at the blond.

        A humid blast of air hit her face and she craned her head back and was met face to face with possibly the largest nose she’d ever seen.

        “What about me?” Sven ‘asked’

        “Alright the four of you, “But I’m not like Anna. I can’t just… just walk up to people. I can’t just be their friend…”

        “Because it’s always worked well for Anna?”

        “Your sister tries to marry someone once and you never hear the end of it…” Elsa said with a weak smile.

 They lulled into a silence as the clouds rolled off, a blanket coming to cover the sky in a dark grey, and from the look of it, the ground in a pure white. Elsa let out a depressed sigh and dropped her hands to her sides.

        A small cloud drifted over head, ahead of the front blowing in, it looked almost like a flower.

        “If it were me, I wouldn’t worry about it much,” Kristoff said, “Those guys… they’re not really… I’m pretty happy with our little family of friends.”

        He kept on looking at the flowery cloud.

Elsa looked at him, his hands on his chest as he stared out at the sky. A family would be nice. Just her and Anna and Kristoff, Sven and Olaf. Maybe she could do with that. The queen looked away. She had to remember he wasn’t courting her. This was… pretend. She’d stop when Anna came back. It was only fine because Anna wasn’t here.

She looked back at his hands. Had she ever held them? Not when they were in bed but just, around the castle? Just to show she liked him? Why should she want to, it wasn’t like she hadn’t already felt his hands against her.

Elsa reached over and tugged at Kristoff’s arm, taking his hand and sliding her fingers between his. They laid there watching the sky until a light snow began to fall.

 

----

 

DINNER WITH FRIENDS

 

        “So ah… this dinner”

        “Just an informal gathering, I assure you, Princess Anna,” Prince Frederick dismissed Anna’s concerns as he escorted her through the mansion. He grinned, “It’s generally agreed that we won’t talk business, but no one ever abides by it.” Anna giggled as the Duke of Edinburgh waggled his eyebrows at his own little joke. He offered her his arm as they came closer to the dining room.

        “Oh, er. Hah. Thank you,” she said taking the proffered limb. Frederick was wearing another red and white coat over his usual dress, and light tan pants. He looked nearly like a soldier naked of his weapons. As in almost all of the dignitary meetings medals were pinned over his breast, Anna was surprised he didn’t clink when he walked. Anna on the other hand felt very plain looking at the man. She hadn’t thought this would be something she’d have to dress up for. She glanced down at her own dress, black bodice and green skirt, with Arendelle’s common flower and crocus designs flowing over them. The most ornate thing about her appearance today was her hair. She’d kept it in her two braids, but looped them up, pinning them down with the tails of them pointing up. Anna liked it; it almost looked like she had a little flame sticking out the top of her head. Oliver said she thought it was cute. That was about as girly as she’d ever gotten.

        Ever since coming to Weselton for these talks Anna had taken most of her meals back in her room with Oliver, or recently going to a local tavern. Dinner in the mansion was a little too close to dining at home. All it really made Anna feel like was missing her sister.

        The white doors swung open without a sound and inside the dining room was a blizzard. A white carpet covered the floor, white table clothes and napkins, the butlers, servers and maids all wore white. It nearly hurt the eyes.

        “In Arendelle we get tons of snow every year,” she whispered to the Prince, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much white.”

Frederick laughed, “Ahh yes, well. Whoever made this place seemed to think that white would show you it was clean,” he shrugged, “just imagine what they have to do to clean the place.”

Anna laughed again as the two came up to a table crowded around with people, the same people as all the little delegations, “Ahh here they are, our own little Prince and Princess,” Said one woman, she was in purple and gold last time Anna had seen her, “Sit down sit down!”

        Chairs were pulled out and Anna and Frederick sat down. Anna went back through all the names of those around the table. The blond, the one that had greeted them and reminded Anna of her dear Auntie, Linda, she was from Corona. There was another woman, Arabelle, was younger and Linda but older than Anna, she always seemed to dress in greens and blues and reds that matched her fiery hair, was from Denmark, she always struck Anna as a little fishy. Next to her sat Frederick, and on the other side was another man, the only one wearing white. He was from Orleans if Anna remembered it right, he looked a lot like Jeanne from her painting at home, it also didn’t help that his name was Jean. There was another chair next to Jean, but it was empty.

        “Ahh we’re all here now” Linda said, “We can finally eat.”

        “We are? But what about…” Anna waved.

        “Brenden never comes to these things,” Arabelle said.

        “Always seems to spoil the evening,” Jean added.

        “It’s better this way,” Linda finished.

It was strange, there was the same number of ambassadors as always, but they could all sit so comfortable at the table, a far smaller table than their delegations were held at. Did the clerks and stewards really take up so much space? Anna wiggled herself in her chair, looking around. Maybe with just us we could actually get something done?

        “So, Anna, Frederick, you two seem to be spending so very much time together these days. Should I be telling the Queen Mother to expect a wedding invitation soon?” the Corona emissary asked.

        “Wait what?”       

        “No no,” the duke held up a hand, pardoning the curtness, “Just shop talk. Last time Anna was telling me a few stories about her sister.”

        “The Queen of Arendelle? What stories are these?” Jean asked, leaning towards the princess.

“Just, some stories, you know. Of when we were kids.” Anna said, all eyes were on her, she smiled, “We would sneak out at night, and play.”

        “Oh everyone’s done that,” Arabelle said dismissively, “I snuck out late with my brother all the time. There’s probably not a single corner of the manse that I don’t know by heart.”

        “Oh it’s the same for me, I probably know everything there is to know about the castle. You explore a lot when you can’t leave for years.”

        “You couldn’t leave? Why?” Jean asked as the others looked at him. It seemed word hadn’t spread quickly to his country.

        “Princess Anna and Queen Elsa, were kept in the castle for their protection,” Frederick said, “Because uhm…”

        “Because when we were little there was an accident. Elsa has uhm.. magic, I guess?” Anna watched as Jean’s eyebrows rose, “Well see she could make ice and she kind of hit me with it and, uhm, it’s a little fuzzy even when she tells me about it.” Anna let out an unsettled laugh.

        “Well at least you were stuck in a castle,” Linda said. “If I had to be locked up in the mansion for years I doubt I could take it. Why just last winter I was forced, forced mind you, to stay in with a terrible fever. For a week! I nearly went- Oh here we are!”

        The Corona woman stopped talking as plates and wine glasses were laid out for the dining guests. White steaming meat sat on the center of the plate, little flecks and crusts of brown black and red littered each dish. Also over the white meat were strips of green and red, yellow and orange, with them on the side were leaves of lettuce and cabbage. There was one strange sort of elongated thing. It was green with little pale green and white spots or cuts along it, it had a little stem.

        “Ahh.. what is this?”      

        “It’s just chicken, surly you have chicken in that little country of yours,” Jean said slicing off a chunk of meat and sticking it into her mouth.

        “I know that, just uhh.. what’s all this…?” Anna poked and flipped the colored slivers and pointed at the stemmed vegetable.

        “Oh it’s just some stuff my cook does, he’s Spanish you see. They’re all about these things. I can’t stand it myself,” Linda said, shoveling them away from her chicken, “He calls them jalapenos”

        “Well I like them,” Arabelle said, putting a slice into her mouth.

        “Hmm,” Anna looked down at the little ‘jalapeno’ she cut the end off of it and as delicately as she could manage popped it into her mouth.

        It was like a little spark at first, a burst of a flavor Anna couldn’t really pinpoint. Something about it spoke to her, like in one of those stories Elsa has read to her once, a message in a bottle, except in her mind. A rush, like running, or leaping or chasing someone. And then the fire came.

        “Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!” Anna coughed into her hand as the other guests laughed.

The Duke of Edinburgh patted her on the back, “Never had a chili pepper before? It’s a bit of a start isn’t it?”

        “Yes,” Anna wheezed hoarsely, her words interrupted with coughing, “It is.”

        “I told you not to eat it,” Linda said, piercing leaves with her fork.

        “Don’t mind her, we all did the same thing,” Arabelle said, taking another bite of her chicken.

Anna could feel that her face was red, and the sweat beading on her forehead. Her tongue stung with crackles of flame, “Can ah- Can I have some water?”

        “Oh no no,” Arabelle raised her hand and a waiter was immediately at her side, “a small glass of milk for the girl.”

        “Of course ma’am”

A brief moment later and a small glass was brought forward and placed beside Anna’s plate.

        “Thank you,” she croaked before taking a sip. Almost immediately the flame in her mouth started to subside, but never truly went away. As it was slowly dying out Anna felt a little sad. It had hurt but that little rush… Maybe she could bring some peppers with her home.

        Frederick smiled as her coughing stopped, “Well, now you’re one of us, Princess.”

        “Here! here!” the other guests said, Linda rather half-heartedly, raising their wine.

        “You all eat this?” Anna asked.

        “Oh of course,” Jean said, as Linda glared at him, “Linda’s cook has been cooking for us from the start. She was here before any of us.”

        “Really?” the company nodded, “why?”

Linda shrugged, “The queen mother bade me to come to Weselton,” she said ‘it would just be lovely for us to have an ear in that little place, don’t you think?’ I could leave it all is you ask me, but you don’t say no to Queen Rapunzel. Anyway when I got here I’m told the Duke’s been deposed! And they’re sending out people to get all the kingdoms that have a stake in the duchy to come and help. It’s just the luck, isn’t it?”

        Auntie asked her? Lucky for sure…     “Wait everyone here has a stake in Weselton?”

        “Well obviously not us, we’re well to-do for sure, but none of us are royalty. Excepting you and I of course Princess,” Frederick said, “Arabelle is here thanks to Weselton being part of Denmark before that whole business making it into a Duchy. Jean over there is here because Weselton owes France a great deal of money, and he needs to make sure debts are sent along, the poor banker he is.” Frederick grinned at the Orleans native, “I’m here because we were told of some marriage years ago that only a clerk could remember. And of course, you and Linda are here for the exact same reason. A son married into your family line some generations ago.”

        Anna considered this, “What about Mister Brenden?”

        “Mister tall grey and overbearing?” Arabelle said, putting down her fork, ”Weselton was part of a larger kingdom one time, the old king died but an heir for the duchy hadn’t been sorted out then, while the larger piece of his land had. Prussia got the territory through marriage and since has believed that it should also inherit Weselton as well. Weselton meanwhile went to the king’s brother, who remained a strong enough influence to keep other kingdoms at bay.”

        “Until now,” Frederick finished, “Now it’s up to us to see who gets to sit in the big chair, so to speak.”

        Anna looked at the people surrounding her as they all smiled and nodded in varying degrees. And she hazily remembered the jovial faces she and Oscar had met in the tavern. They all seemed to be doing find without the Duke. Some of them had some stories about the man, and well, he did try to kill her sister. Other than the fewer and fewer people outside the mansion no one seemed to actually care that the Duke wasn’t really around. The world simply kept on spinning for all of them.

        Maybe they didn’t need a new Duke. Maybe they could get along on their own just fine.

       

 

        Elsa glanced over her own book to the man across the table. The blond was reading through a small book. Less a tome and more of a notebook. It was a written account of some American sailor, said he’d found a continent of ice at the very south of the world.

        She knew he wasn’t the best reader. Kristoff wasn’t really illiterate, he just had trouble. She’d called him up to make him read more. He probably hadn’t seen so many books until he first came into the castle. The queen’s own room had enough books for a library in Arendelle. The study had more. The castle library had enough books to last the city a life time. Elsa had read almost all of them

        She watched him reading. He tried to hide his finger tracing the pages, but it was clear enough to her. She smiled as she watched him mouth the words before him. Ohs and Aes moved his lips as he wrapped his head around the letters. It was the little things.

        Elsa squirmed in her chair. Lately she’d felt like the world pulled down at her a little more. Like she was just that little bit heavier. She wasn’t gaining any weight was she? She didn’t look it, she didn’t think. Maybe she should run or something like Anna always seemed to.

Anna.

        It had to be soon didn’t it? She could put it off for another day, couldn’t she? Tomorrow, maybe.  Maybe when Anna came back. Maybe when they got married.

        Elsa sighed as she cast her eyes back to her own book. It was math. Geometry, and algebra and calculus. The queen had read it before but these books always made her feel better. Math had equations, it had rules. Rules you couldn’t break. Structure. Normalcy. One was one.

        Besides he was enjoying the book. Why take that away from him?

Another sigh. Their awkward little family. Elsa had thought a lot about that since they had last gone out. She knew what he’d say if she pushed the issue. She was pretty sure she knew. Elsa took a deep breath and looked back at Kristoff, still engrossed in his book.

        Her shoulders were starting to ache.

“Kristoff?”

        “Hm…” He didn’t look up as he turned a page.

        “Kristoff?” Anna said again, “Kristoff!”

        “Huh? What?” Kristoff looked up to find Elsa flustered, her book flat and open on the table. She seemed to shrink away when his attention turned to her.

        “Ah. I wanted to…” Elsa looked down at her hands, “I think we should talk…”

        “What?”

Elsa got up from her seat and walked around the table.

        “Anna’s going to be coming home soon. She might be on her way now. As…” she took a deep breath “As much as I don’t’ want to… Oh God why is this so hard” Elsa ran her fingers through her hair, “We need to talk about… about us.”

        “Oh…”

        “I’ve been thinking about what you said before…” the queen said.

        “What do you mean?”

        “Our little family... but it’s not really,” Elsa looked away, “I’m not really a part of it, am I?”

Kristoff stood up, “Of course you are.”

        “No I’m not,” she said taking a step away, “You and Anna are, you always were. And I’m happy for you. It’s just… I wanted…” Elsa could feel a stabbing at her heart.

        She looked so small as she stood there all alone. Kristoff tried to touch her, reassure her. She shrunk away from him.

        “Do you love me?” is was barely more than a whisper.

        Elsa never asked anything like that normally, only when she was feeling particularly passionate. It was a little jarring for her to simply ask like this. Elsa let out a dissettled laugh, before looking at him, great big eyes wobbling and wistfulness in her voice “I imagined we could run away together. It would be like one of our trips. Just you and me. I wouldn’t be a queen, I could do what I wanted, like...”

        “Elsa you know I couldn’t do that to Anna.”

        “I know…but I always-“

        “Elsa, You know I lo-“

        “But just not enough.”

        “Elsa don’t say it like that.”

        “But it’s true. I’m just something extra, aren’t I?”

Kristoff deflated at the accusation. Maybe it was true but he couldn’t believe it. Both Anna and Elsa were important to him. Elsa became silent again, still looking away from Kristoff. He almost thought he could hear her crying. He reached for her, his hand lightly touching her back. Elsa was shivering and she flinched.

        “Elsa, it’s not that- I just don’t know.”

Elsa knew it would be like this, she could feel her eyes stinging, “Yes you do…”

        She was silent again after that, silent for so long. Kristoff would think she was a statue if not for her shoulders shaking every now and then. He didn’t know what to do, what to say. A pregnant air surrounded him as he looked at those shaking shoulders.

        He pressed his hand against her back and she turned around, tears down her face, half of them ice. He kissed them away and whatever dam they leaked out of broke. Elsa clutched to him like she was drowning, more and more tears sliding down her pale, faintly freckled cheeks. She cried and blurted out words. About Anna, about her own hopes and dreams. She kissed him back as he whispered assurances to her. Rubbing her back, holding her close.

        The next morning under a shining sun Elsa wrapped her shawl around her hair and they set out. Sven reluctantly took them out of town and into the mountains. The cold air pulled them along the snowy roads as it pulled them closed together. They rode to the ice lake and Kristoff’s lean-to.

        No.

Kristoff shook his head. He couldn’t do that to her, nor to Anna. Not after everything that happened.

        Picking up his book, Kristoff looked back at Elsa, all alone in a room that was far too large. Going from the table to the door was possibly the longest walk he’d ever taken and it was over all too soon.

 

        The next day it was snowing. A heavy wet snow blanketed the kingdom. Barely able to see through the windows of the castle, Kristoff skulked around the castle, trying to build up the courage to check on Elsa. He shouldn’t have left her like that. He should have said something. Anything.

        He turned the corner, entering the far wing that housed the queen’s bedchamber. Dark brown doors sealed in the queen’s room from the rest of the world, the first time Kristoff had ever seen the doors closed from the outside. The door rattled as he tugged at the handle but didn’t budge.

 

----

 

OVER HER HEAD

 

        All around her the other envoys stared. Eyes of people who, like her, had the authority of kings and queens, entire empires looked to her. Anna cleared her throat. After years and years of practically begging for attention, right now all she really wanted to do was hide in her room. Was this how Elsa felt every time she had to welcome people like this?

        Anna remembered consuls from England and France and Spain arriving before, all of them wanting trade agreements at the expense of the others. Elsa had handled it so well. Anna didn’t know who they were trading with, of course, but she didn’t really need to. Well now she did but she didn’t then. Anna really just wished she could be as strong and smart as Elsa.

        “Uh right. Well um. See,” she stuttered. It dawned on her she should have talked to Eddard about this. Or their clerk, she didn’t even know the man’s name! “I was thinking that, well. Weselton doesn’t really feel all that bad, you know, without the Duke. Uhm… Why do they need a new one?”

        A knot of confusion spread across the table as the Viceroy from Prussia whispered to his own attendants. Spreading from the German to the woman from Denmark beside him. Arabelle’s own helpers began to discuss things with her. Soon the delegation from Corona, and France we all talking to each other, Linda and Jean glancing at Anna once or twice. Anna swallowed hard. The only ones not talking amongst themselves was Frederick and his people.

        “Princess Anna, what… exactly are you suggesting?”

Anna could hear Eddard saying something but she ignored him, “I mean why not, like, rule themselves?”

        She could hear Brendan laugh over with his other grey clad Prussians.

        “Anna that’s… I don’t even know what that is. We can’t let them govern themselves, have you looked at them?” the Duke asked her, a chuckle slipping past his throat.

        “Have you?” Anna jabbed back, glaring at him, “They’ve gotten along fine since they kicked him out! They’re already doing it!” Again Anna thought back to the tavern’s she and Oliver had gone to. Everyone smiled, they were happy. People talked about meetings to discuss things. Work had to get done even without the Duke around. Things had to be decided, people had to get paid. It all kept on working, “And it’s not like this has never happened before. I may not have read about it but my sister kept on telling me about this place Greece? And they always let the people make their choices. It was like, if they didn’t they wouldn’t have discovered the triangle!”

        “Anna that was a long time ago now-“

        “Then look at the Americas! They seem to be doing fine!”

        “Anna.”

She hadn’t noticed the tone in the Englishman’s voice, the sound of steel sliding on steel, “They have their problems but they always seemed to get through them, they even beat…”

        You. Anna thought to herself as she finally realized what she was saying, and to a Prince. She turned from the Prince and looked to the other groups. Linda’s little troop talked amongst themselves still, as did Arabelle’s but Jean and his men were once again looking to her.

        “Jean, what about you? France wanted the same thing!”

The Frenchman coughed, “Well, his majesty Philippe I, has only charged me with securing debts, princess…” he looked at his men, “And it seems to me that a more… democratic Weselton may feel that the Dukes debts are not their own… I cannot say, in good conscience that my King would support forcing a dynasty to abdicate.”

        Eventually all the chatter around her had died down and Anna found herself standing in a circle she was no longer part of. These people she’d had dinner with only the night before showered her with looks from glowers to amused grins.

        Anna did her best to swallow the knot in her throat.

 

        Her trepidation hadn’t abated by the next day either. The entire night Anna had tossed and turned with a sort of empty little feeling in the pit of her stomach. A feeling of failure. The little gnawing of discontent and self doubt chewing at her insides. It seemed like she’d only just gotten to sleep by the time Eddard had called her down. It was time to face the council again.

        Again the large double doors reared up, the empty shields on their faces another little accusation at the ambassador’s inability to solve any problem. Strangely, this time the steward that always seemed to guard the door had two men with him, colorful uniforms denoted them as guards of the mansion, and each of them carried a long pike. As Anna and her retinue drew closer, the pikes came down, a cross over the doorway.

        “I am sorry, Princess Anna, but you and your group are no longer needed,” The almost rat like man said, looking down his nose at the princess.

        “What?” Anna asked.

        “It has been decided that you have nothing more to offer the proceedings here. You are of course welcome to stay for the duration of the council, and will have free access to the mansion, but you are not allowed to enter into the meetings.”

        “You can’t do that,” Eddard rumbled.

        “I’m sorry to say that I can sir,” the little man squeaked, “The other emissaries were, ah, unanimous in their decision.”

        “Eddard, can they-“

        “I’m afraid so, princess. We have been uninvited; we are no longer welcome here.”

        “Better luck next time, maybe?” came an older woman’s voice. Anna and Eddard turned to find Linda and the rest of the Corona group walking along the hallway. The woman was, as always glad in some combination of purple and gold. She was smiling too. Grinning. Smugly.

        Anna glared at her as the older woman came closer. “Oh don’t be so glum, Princess.” The pat on the cheek felt almost like a slap to Anna, “We’re not all cut out for this sort of thing.” The lady gave Anna another smile before the meeting room’s doors were opened for her, and she disappeared beyond them.

        The.. the… what was the word? Nerve? How could they do this? All of those people in there, they didn’t care at all bout Weselton, about the people that made it, they just wanted the Duchy. So she comes up with the only idea that might help the people and they throw her out?

        “Eddard, find the captain,” Anna said as she turned around in a huff, “We’re going home”

Anna strode out of the mansion with as much indignation as she could muster. She’d thought of hitting things. Maybe tipping over a vase watching it smash against the floor in its little priceless porcelain pieces. She settled for unstraightening a painting of some king.

        Outside of the mansion there were still people gathered around the Duke’s home, fewer than ever. Soon enough they’d all be gone, whatever grievance they’d had all but forgotten, the whole council all but pointless. The Duke would probably be able to return to his duties before any of the diplomats could make a decision.

        Those stupid stupid stupid people. They’d been here the whole time and never even bothered to look out the windows of their rooms. Weselton was fine without them. And Linda! That insufferable old lady with her stupid smile. Where had she seen that face before? It was like, like.

        Like the face her Auntie had made when Anna had told her Elsa was making her a diplomat.

 

----

 

DID YOU HEAR THE NEWS?

 

        It was six thirty in the evening and the table was filled. It always was. Mrs. Fiskjal’s rules were the most clear and unbreakable ones in all of Arendelle. You could have an audience with the queen but if you weren’t at the table at six thirty on the nose you had better hope she fed you.

        The boarding house hadn’t gotten any new members in a few years, but it also hadn’t lost any. Greda Fiskjal had invited people into her home after her husband had died some ten years ago while fishing, she simply couldn’t stand being alone like she was. Once she was surrounded with people however, she found that they couldn’t live without at least one rule. So that rule became dinner.

        And around the table sat all the boarders, all ready and waiting for Mrs. Fiskjal’s evening bounty. Albert Witwhicker had been a dock worker before some more work had dried up a year ago. Since then he’d joined the boarding house. He looked around the table at his other diners and housemates of the past year. Adolf Kaerjist worked at one of the smaller ice houses and, as far as Albert knew, as the first member of the boarding house. He was a somewhat terse man, and looked a bit like a runny egg.

        Sitting next to him was Agnetha Nettle, a seamstress that found her usual wages didn’t quite cover a better apartment. If Adolf was an egg then Agnetha was the hen that laid him, though she was more chicken than hen. Like Adolf she’d been there since before Albert’s time. Across from Agnetha was another woman Johanna Halfs. Albert was never really sure what she did, but she always seemed to have a lot of friends and always had the best gossip. She was younger than the rest of them, practically a girl herself, pretty with short brown hair. Next to her, as always, sat Jürgen. Albert never knew his family’s name. Like him he worked at the docks and had come to Fiskjal’s home soon after him. Jürgen didn’t talk much, and reminded Albert of a wolf with his combed back black hair and bushy eyebrows and sideburns.

        “So what’s in the paper today?” Adolf asked as the group waited for the meal to be served. All eyes turned to the last of the company, Edvard White. Edvard had the more important job at the table; he was the keeper of the paper and the arbiter of all talk that was good and decent to have there. Even Mrs. Fiskjal seemed to refer to him when conversation started to get away into untoward topics. The paper was splayed out in Edvard’s hands, hiding him from view.

        “It says here that Ice prices have gone up.” Edvard said in a low rumbling voice. Some people found it off putting but years of hearing the creaks of planks underfoot and the rumbling of cargo made Albert feel a strange kind of ease as he let the man’s voice wash over him.

        “That’s just strange”, Adolf said, shaking his head, “You’d think with a queen that can make ice it would go down!”

        “It’s because of that Ice Master, I tell you!” Mrs. Fiskjal called from her small kitchen, her sanctuary from the table, “He’s raising the prices and lining his pockets, I tell you!”

        “He’s not so bad,” Albert called back, “He’s actually surprisingly nice, if distant. He’s courting the princess isn’t he?”

        “Probably just wants the family’s money” Edvard rumbled. He always seemed to agree with Mrs. Fiskjal. Albert was so sure they were married when he’d first arrived.

        “Oh look at these two Albert, no sense of love,” Adolf said, waving at Edvard.

Agnetha coughed, “I’d heard that he was an orphan when he was younger. Never had a family.”

        “No no, he had a family,” Adolf said, “He was raised by reindeer.”     

        “I thought it was his family was changed into reindeer,” Albert wondered, “And that one he’s always with is his brother.”

        Adolf thought on this, “Well I have seen him once or twice… and he does talk to it. Who could change a family into reindeer?”    

        “Elves,” came the simple answer from Jürgen.

        “We have elves around here?” Agnetha asked.

        “No no. No elves,“ Johanna said, ”We’ve always had trolls in the rocky parts of the forest.”

        “There’s no such things as trolls or elves for fairies,” Adolf said, “I enjoy a good story but that’s all they are.”

Albert simply shrugged it off, “Is there anything else interesting?” he asked instead.

        Before the man could answer Mrs. Fiskjal boomed into the room, a large wooden tray carrying the day’s meal. Sausages and potatoes. Not a feat by any means but was more than welcomed by the houseguests. Their house mistress took her seat at the head of the table opposite Edvard.

        “Well dig in now, it’s not going to get any warmer, I tell you.”

        For a moment conversation stopped as the dinners got stuck into their food. The sausages were plump and greasy, the kind of food you craved after ten hours in the wet and the cold on the dock. The skins were crunchy, with little flecks of black and brown. The meat inside, juicy with the occasionally chewy bit of fat and you squeezed all the flavor out of before swallowing. The potatoes could be cut with a fork, and were practically able to be mashed at the touch. They had that faint taste that Albert could only describe as ice. That sort of far away cold stale flavor. Still the warmth of the potatoes was inviting and added more body to the meat.

        Agnetha and Johanna politely and delicately cut up their meals, while the men practically scarfed down their first sausage each. Soon the conversation was struck up again.

        “Says here the queen is sick again. Going on a week now.”

        “Again? I thought she’d just gotten over something?” Jürgen said.

        “That was ages ago,” Johanna said, “She had some kind of summer flu, remember?”

        “Oh yes that’s right.” Albert said.

        “She’s sick because she misses her sister,” Mrs. Fiskjal said, “They’ve always been very close, I tell you.”

        “I heard that she’s locked herself up because she’s pregnant,” Johanna said.

        “That’s slander, is what that is,” Adolf returned, “The queen’s not even married,”

        “I’m just telling you what my friend told me,” she shot back.

        “Who are these friends anyway, ‘Hanna?” Agnetha asked.

        “Good ones. They know people from the castle.”

        “Oh, ‘they know people,’ So who’s the father?” Agnetha said in a huff.

The younger woman eyeballed the older one, “They say it’s the Ice Master, as a matter of fact. Getting into the family indeed!”

        The table scoffed at the idea, “Now that is slander,” Jürgen said, as he chewed on another bite of sausage.

        “Who could possibly think that?” Agnetha said, “He’s already going to marry Princess Anna, everyone knows that.”

        “I think it would be romantic,” Johanna insisted, “Two lover’s separated by money, having to decide between their family or their love…”

        “Another one of those silly books you girls read.” Albert said grabbing another potato.

        “I’ll have you know I have it on good authority that Princess Anna reads those same books!”

        “The authority of those ‘friends’ of yours?” Agnetha sniggered.

        “Hush up you two,” Mrs. Fiskjal, “Edvard, please tell me there’s something more appropriate for the table.”

        “Hmm” came the rockslide grumbled from the man’s throat, “Says here they’re going to start building another section of wall. More people are building houses around the city and they want protection.”

        “Do they need workers? I’ve still not heard from the docks,” Albert asked, trying to crane his head to see Edvard’s face. Somehow the man was eating while still holding the paper before him.

        “That business with Weselton hit us hard,” Jürgen said.

        “Well can you blame the queen for cutting ties? They did try to kill her,” Agnetha said.

        “Still, you should think of your people. We could use that money.” Mrs. Fiskjal said.

        “So about that construction work…” Albert tried to reach for the paper before Mrs. Fiskjal slapped his hand away.

        “No reaching!”

 

----

 

NOT THAT GIRL

 

        How long had she been in here? After the first few days it just seemed to blur together. She slept and awoke at all manner of hours, she wasn’t even sure what day it was and in truth she didn’t really care. She was back in her room, just like years before. It was… strange. At first it was scary, then comforting, worrying, happy and sad. A feeling of being home and completely out of sorts all at the same time.  She’d felt too much, all her memories had hurt then when the door had closed behind him.

        Elsa did miss the snow though. At first, when Kristoff left and she’d cried, her room was filled with frost. Spiky ridges and elegant ranges had surrounded her stretched out from the warring mind that had made them. Eventually they all went away, melting to nothing as time went on.  She couldn’t seem to do it anymore, that little tingling feeling was gone. She looked at her hands trying to grasp at what used to bring forth that bracing cold

        Nothing came.

She could open the window and let it in but it wasn’t the same. It didn’t float in the air anymore, it didn’t twirl or dance. It just sat there or fell. It wasn’t the same. She laughed. It would certainly have made things easier, wouldn’t it? Not having to worry about the curse. It should have happened sooner, she could have had a normal little life. Winter days spent outside with Anna, maybe momma and papa. Snowmen and forts. None of this being a monster or a witch or anything like that. If she was normal things would be better. But her power was also the only thing she really knew about herself.

        Elsa sighed; at least the open window helped with the silence, the books didn’t anymore. She glanced at the door. Kristoff had banged on the door, talking to her, saying such sweet things. That he did love her, she was important. Elsa couldn’t stand hearing them; each entreatment begged her to open the door and stabbed at her heart and her head. Even so, she couldn’t bare to send him away, as much as the words hurt her she knew that not having them would hurt so much more. So she’d simply sat against the door and listened.

He’d stopped days ago.

        She should have let him in. Elsa held her arms and shivered. It used to be that just thinking of the man holding her in his arms could set her heart a flutter. It was like the books a hug from Anna, or the old reassuring smile of her father when she didn’t have to use the gloves.

        Soon those feelings had drained away. Now it was just... She was disconnected from everything and all that did was make her feel stranger. Worse. Something was wrong and she didn’t fit.

        Elsa looked over at the books piled onto her deck and table. They didn’t send her mind along the heights they normally did either. It was like there was something missing within them now. She found it harder and harder to see the shapes in her mind, how the equations fit together to make things that could span the world in the smallest of spaces.

        Maybe if she ran more, like Anna. She wouldn’t feel so damn heavy. She could try and be happier, that would help. Anna was always smiling or laughing, that must have been it. There was something, she knew. One little thing she could do to win him over. She just needed to find it. The little missing piece.

Elsa felt her stomach lurch; she’d been feeling sick for the past few days as well, feeling like she was going to vomit nearly every morning. Kai would probably be telling people she was ill. At least it wouldn’t be a total lie.

        She could change her hair. She’d read something about that hadn’t she? Berry juice, or, or crushed flowers in water? They could change your hair color if you soaked it in it. She could start putting her hair in two braids. The queen pulled herself to the vanity and to the mirror there. Her hair was a mess, locks stuck together, one side of her head had her hair flattened against her head the other side had her hair stuck out at strange angles. She looked like a wild woman, she felt like she hadn’t washed in days, were those bags under her eyes?

        She didn’t know who stared back, not really. Oh yes, she knew it was her, but she didn’t know who that was. She wasn’t that perfect girl that ran from her coronation, she knew that much. And what of the girl that came down from the North Mountain? Was she there in the mirror? She didn’t look familiar anymore. Elsa pushed away from the vanity sending small jars and containers clattering against each other and the wooden frame.

        She wasn’t Anna. That thought shined in the haze of confusion. And she, she shouldn’t try to be. But there was something she could do to make him stay, surely? Some small little thing. Elsa clutched at her stomach. She felt sick again. She didn’t even remember eating. The only thing she’d ever had brought to her room was the small bowl of fruit. Something like grapes shouldn’t upset her like this. It felt hot in her chest, all knotted and burning. It- it wasn’t just Kristoff it was… what. Everything? Nothing. She didn’t know. She wanted to do something, do anything to try and take her mind of whatever this was. The things she’d enjoyed felt flat and the only thing that had made them feel better she’d shut out. Again. Conceal, don’t feel. It was all just dark, even in the light.

        She tried to grasp at the ideas in her head but she just could seem to hold onto them. It was all spinning and twisting up inside. She couldn’t understand it.

        A knock came at the door, thundering through the room and her head.

        “Elsa? Please, I know you’re in there…”

It was terrifyingly sweet, a voice full of yearning for contact, hope, love and all the things that she’d heard for a dozen years. It broke her heart to hear it.

 

----

 

I JUST WANT TO BE ALONE (TOGETHER)

 

        On the fourth day of their journey they got their first sighting of ice. Hours after that the ice pack was in view, choking the see in a way that Anna hadn’t thought was possible. The next day the ship was battered with snow, it was thick and heavy dousing everything in white. They’d still be stuck there now if an Ice Breaker’s ship hadn’t happened upon them. The ice pack had been growing, it seemed, and Arendelle’s Ice Master had put any harvesters he could find to helping to break the ice apart and free the cities frozen harbor.

        The men’s smaller ship was able to snakes its way through the broken ice and they graciously allowed the princess aboard. Anna had said her goodbyes to Oliver and the crew, with a promise to send more men to bring them home.

        Anna hadn’t seen Arendelle so covered in snow. Here, back in the city, the storm had abated, but it was powerfully cold and the wind was biting.  The ice breakers had to leave the ship, walking out over the ice and chopping hack and sawing their way through it, pulling the boat along the cracks, its metal sheathed prow nudging the white floor of the ocean out of its way. It had been slow going but with the work of the men progress was made, eventually more open water was found and the ship was finally able to reach the harbor.

        Kristoff was at the harbor already; talking to people, there were maps pulled out with little drawings all over them, blue lines and red lines crisscrossed over blank areas. Kristoff sent a man off down the pier, Anna hadn’t heard what he’d yelled to him, but Kristoff looked stressed, running his hand through his hair, brows creased in worry. It all turned to shock when he finally noticed her.

        Anna imagined they’d spy each other across the pier like this. Kristoff would call her name and they’d run to each other and into a hug, Kristoff spinning her around like when they’d first kissed. He’d realize what he was doing and put her down in a flustered storm of apologies. Instead he said nothing and ran to her, and pulled her into a kiss.

        She liked that just fine too.

        “I guess you missed me” Anna said, laughter on her lips as she was finally able to breathe.

Kristoff smiled, for some reason it struck Anna that he must not have for some time, “You have no idea,”

        Anna looked around at the commotion around them, no one noticed the Ice Master with the princess, work needed to be done. The harbor only had a few rather small chunks of ice, but it was in a noose of ice, already Anna could see the men that had brought her here were already getting ready to head back out again.

        “The blizzard hit pretty hard huh? We had to sail through a couple of storms…”

        “It did, but this isn’t a blizzard, Anna,” the mountain man said, grim certainty coloring his voice, “It’s your sister. I uh. I have to tell you something.”

        The confession was… well a part of her was always expecting it. Kristoff had told her he would always tell her the truth but she’d expected to have to try and worm the answers out of him, she didn’t expect him to just tell her the moment they were in the castle.

        It was strange hearing him saw all the things he had. Yes she’d said it was okay at first but she’d thought that would be it. Elsa never seemed like the kind of person who would really latch on to anyone like that. Kristoff told her about the night when she’d left, about trying to comfort Elsa as she’d practically bawled her eyes out and to where it led. Her heart felt tight and she could feel the pressure in her eyes of tears trying to well up. Kristoff told her about keeping away, about the Winter Feast and things after that. It hurt, it hurt for reasons and in places she couldn’t really say. She’d kind of brought this on herself, hadn’t she? But still…

“Anna I’m. I- I don’t even know what to say. I’m sorry, Anna.” He was practically pleading, “I’m so sorry.”

        “Is… is that why the weather is like this?” she asked, she sounded so small, “Because I was coming back? I was going to ruin everything for her? Again?”

        “Actually… she… well. Asked me to…” he trailed off, like he hoped he wouldn’t have to bring it up, “she wanted me to run away with her…”

        “And you…”

        Kristoff simply shrugged, and it was answer enough and for a moment Anna’s heart soared. She launched herself back into Arendelle’s Ice Master, wrapping her arms around him and nuzzling her face into the bulky coat he wore. He chose her. She could feel the tears again. Kristoff. Her Kristoff. She should never had worried about Elsa taking him. He wouldn’t…

        Wait.

        She pushed Kristoff away and looked up at him, “What did you say?”

        “I-I said I didn’t know.”

        “What did you do?”

        “I…I just left,”

Anna could feel it like an icy hand around her heart and around her stomach. Elsa locking herself out of her life had felt like it was killing her before, if Kristoff had done it too? If she hadn’t had anyone to help her?

        She was surprised at herself, looking up at Kristoff as he reeled back. His cheek was already turning red, and not from the cold. Anna’s hand stung and she pulled him back into another hug.

        “That was for Elsa… and so’s this…”

        “Anna-“

        “Come on.”

 

        Elsa opened the door, and there shining like the sun was Anna, glowing with sadness and sweetness.

        “Hi,” Anna said.

        “Hi,” was all Elsa could muster. Kristoff was behind Anna and Elsa’s eyes darted from her sister to the man and back. Anna had to of noticed, she took a step to the side, doing her best to block the queen’s view of the man.

        “Can I come in?”

Elsa stepped aside as Anna came in, she didn’t see Anna motioning for Kristoff to stay outside, nor did she see her sister close the door as she came in. Elsa stood in the center of the room; she could hear Anna walking around the room. All things considered she’d seen the room in more disrepair, but Elsa still felt a blanket of shame at having her sister there, “Did you, uhm. Have a nice trip?” 

        “Oh? Oh! It was fine,” Anna said, “Weather wasn’t too good on the ride home though.” Anna had walked over to the bed, sitting down on the sheets. They were nearly uncomfortably cold. She patted the bed next to her and kicked her legs.

        Elsa swallowed hard. Anna already knew, she had to. So why wasn’t she yelling? She fidgeted with her hands and eventually, slowly, sat down. This close Elsa could see wet streaks on Anna’s cheeks, sparkling in the light of the room. She looked away and to the floor.

        “Anna-“

        “I think Auntie might be an evil genius,” she said abruptly. The silence that followed sucked at the both as they stared at each other until they both burst out into laughter.

        “W-where did that come from?”

        “It was just. Just something I thought of,” Elsa leaned against her sister and was reassured when Anna pushed herself back against her, they made a little triangle on the edge of the bed. Elsa felt a little bit of weight lift off her as she leaned onto her sister. Anna here brought back a little bit of warmth for her; the depressive grey feeling was pushed back a little. They lapsed back into silence, simply sitting with each other, trying to find the right words to say.

“I thought we weren’t going to be locking anymore doors,” the words came softly from Anna’s lips, but they sat accusingly in Elsa’s ears. Elsa kept her gaze away from her sister’s. The isolation she’d sought and feared and begged for stretched out around her as Elsa sat there with her sister. The longer she was there the stronger she felt and the more scared she was about what was to come. Anna would want to know her side of things. Want to know why.

“I… I just wanted to be alone.”

Anna’s hand snaked its way over hers and she clutched it, “Do want me to leave?”

        Elsa felt like her heart was going to break out of her chest. She wanted Anna to leave. She didn’t want her to come back, but she didn’t want her to leave.

        “Maybe you could…be alone with me?” she glanced over at Anna and caught a little smile.

        “Okay.”

Elsa smiled back and squeezed Anna’s hand, the strawberry blond squeezed back.

“I’m sorry, Anna,” Elsa said after several minutes passed, “I know you said it was alright but, still I-I shouldn’t have-“

        “Do you really love him, Elsa?”

Before Anna had squealed at the thought, she didn’t say anything now, “I can see why you love him, Anna. He… it was like he could understand things. Why I didn’t… why I couldn’t….” Elsa sighed. How do you tell your sister that you wanted to take her suitor? Elsa had always tried to push that thought out but she couldn’t now, not with Anna here. She felt stupid, letting something like a man get into her mind like this. She was a queen wasn’t she? “I didn’t feel like I could go on and then things just…”

        Anna scooted closer, “This isn’t really about Kristoff is it?”

And at that it seemed a flood broke in Elsa. She choked and coughed and for the first time in days tears ran down her cheeks. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time and as she sucked for air she even thought that she might have been dying. Her heart and head were pounding as words tumbled out.

        “I-I don’t know. He made me… I felt like myself.” She said between gasps, “I don’t know I don’t know. I just wanted. I wanted me. I don’t know…” She held onto her sister thankful when Anna arms wrapped around her, slowly she started to breathe more normally, but she could still feel the wetness on her cheeks, “Kristoff never expected anything from me. I was… I’m just a person to him. I could be anyone. I could be me. I don’t think I could without him…” Elsa took a few deep breaths, “Why don’t you hate me, Anna?”

        “What?”

        “You should hate me. You- you’re there and you try to help. I almost got you killed twice and you saved me and this is how I thank you? You should hate me.” Elsa wasn’t crying anymore, it was a strange flat truthful voice, she believed every word of this, “I should step down. The people like you more anyway. You’re fun and happy, and smile and and you should hate me for how terrible a sister I am.”

        “Elsa-“

        “I tried to take him away from you, Anna! Who does that?” Elsa clutched at what was left of her braid, “I should leave and you should hate me. I couldn’t hurt you anymore if you did. You could be who you should have been. You and Kristoff would be happy. You two deserve more than you think. You deserve everything.

        “Elsa please.”

        “Just let me go, Anna… I was never worth it.”

        Anna hugged her, trying to pull Elsa up. Anna had never expected this. She was supposed to be angry, she should be shouting at Anna, trying to take Kristoff from her like she had. Sleeping with him. Getting him to say… But what do you say to this? What can anyone say? Somehow even before seeing Elsa like this, Anna wasn’t as angry as she was sure she should be. It was Elsa, it was Kristoff. She loved them.

        “You’re worth it to me, Elsa,” Anna said, little tears in her eyes, “I don’t know about the rest of it but I know you’re worth it.” She squeezed her sister, she didn’t want to let go. Never let go. “And maybe I can help… You’re the most important person in the world to me, Elsa. You’re my sister. I could never hate you. We could fight, and you can be annoying and yell but I’ll always love you. No matter what. I just want you to be happy.”

        And it was true. More than anything Anna wanted Elsa to smile, to laugh. She wanted to see her sister to never have a reason to cry. It broke her heart seeing her like this, hearing what had happened. More than what had happened while she was gone it was seeing what became of it when she came back that hurt the most. The little family she’d always wanted, and had for almost a year was breaking apart. If that happened Anna could at least try to make her sister happy.

        “And if that means letting Kristoff go then… I want you to be happy, Elsa,” Elsa looked back up into Anna’s eyes, the queen was trembling, “Do you love him?”

        “Anna…” Elsa said three little words.

 

----

 

AND TIMES AFTER

 

        It didn’t happen overnight, things seldom do, and it wasn’t easy, for things seldom are, but in the months that followed Elsa began to come to terms with the oily black feelings that writhed in her stomach. Kristoff, Olaf and the rest of the household gave what encouragement they could, but it was on Anna that Elsa truly relied. Whenever Elsa needed it, Anna would take her and the sisters would retreat to one or the other’s room. No one else was ever allowed in, no matter how long they were closed, but eventually the doors always opened again.

        They would talk, more often than not. About things that were close to them, about things that didn’t matter, and all the things that were both at the same time. It wasn’t always talking of course. Sometimes they just needed to be near each other. Some of Elsa’s favorite times then were when they simply sat in silence and read with each other, Anna with her books of fairy tales and Elsa with books of math or history. Unfortunately more often than she’d like Elsa and Anna would end up in shouting matches, screaming about that they didn’t like about each other, or about themselves. But they were always there for each other.

        Other than the talks a letter from the Weselton thanking the princess, nothing else much of note came upon the castle, until The Ice Master came knocking at the queens door for the first time in months.

        Elsa called for him to come in, even if the door was still open. Their relationship had changed of late. For the longest time since Anna returned Elsa had kept her distance from the man, and even when they had finally gotten closer to how they were she still wouldn’t tell him what had happened behind those closed doors.

         Kristoff smiled at her, but it didn’t reach his eyes, Elsa could see the concern behind it.

        “Elsa, there’s something I need to ask you…” he trailed off.

        “Yes?” She stood up out of her chair, her book still splayed out over it. She already knew what he was going to ask, she’d suspected it for days now. She just thought that she’d have more time.

        With a heavy sigh he continued, “I know that… with before, I don’t really have, you know, the right to ask this but… well.”

        Elsa smiled, “Just say it.”

        “I’d like to…” he looked around the room, seeking a reason to put it off. Elsa hoped he wouldn’t. He wrung his hands against each other, tying them together, knots of fingers looking as if they were about to snap “I’d like to ask for your blessing, for me and Anna.”     

        She’d told Anna she loved her. She wasn’t going to take away another thing from her sister. She couldn’t.

        She came closer, taking his worrying hands into her own. She sighed softly before looking up at him. It had been hard, seeing him almost every day after that but each day it got a little easier. Each day it hurt a little less, and each day she was a little happier, and when she wasn’t Anna would be there to hold her hand and help to end the little wars the queen waged on herself. Elsa couldn’t help but feel she could ever not love the man, not with how much he’d meant to her.

        She knew it was coming, but it didn’t make it any easier, she could already feel the weight in her chest growing heavier. But it wasn’t a time for that. He was sweet and abrasive; sometimes he was lucky to string a whole sentence together. He was lucky that a girl like Anna had fallen in love with him. Elsa was lucky that a man like him had fallen in love with her.

        It tore at Elsa to hear it, but she’d given him away so many times in her own head after she’d told Anna that she couldn’t take him from her. Sometimes she cried, they both cried, or she screamed him out, refused. Sometimes he didn’t even ask. Sometimes it was all three. But Elsa knew what her answer was going to be. She’d left the Rubicon far behind her and now she was determined to make of it what she could.

        She squeezed his hands and forced a smile, “Of course, Kristoff.”

The walls bowed out as Kristoff let out the sigh, the tension and worry he’d felt finally melting away and freeing his hands from each other. He gave the queen a genuine smile.

        “I was worried that-“

        “But,” the smaller blond interrupted after taking her hands away, “I do have one small request first.”

        “Anything, name it.” Kristoff said quickly. A little too quickly for Elsa’s taste.

        Elsa reached up to the man’s cheeks and kissed him. It was brief and soft. It was totally different but it felt the same. The queen could feel her hair stand as gooseflesh spread over her skin. It was a magic that could hurt and heal at the same time. Her face and lips burned with joy and she wanted to sing. It was barely a touch of the lips. It was their last kiss, but Elsa hoped it wouldn’t be.

        She pulled away and a stuttering sigh escaped her as she smiled up at Kristoff, patting his cheek. He had no words and neither did she. She wanted to tell him that she would always care for him, even after everything. If not for Anna things might have been different. Her sister would marry him, and Elsa hoped that a far off dream she’d had once would come true.

        She watched him leave, and the lingering look as he moved out of the room kept her in place long after he was gone. Eventually the queen finally got back to her book and the histories of the Lancaster’s and York’s stretched out before her, and their feud that pitted England into war once again. Little men went to war because of the tangled love life of their kings. Far off on the other side of the castle she could hear a squeal of joy and she laughed.

        Elsa had, when she was younger, measured the dimensions of the castle in all sorts of ways. Surprisingly to her, one of her favorites was in footsteps. It was practical and, you could always use a new measurement of them. From Anna’s room to hers it was exactly 274 steps. Now Anna was a little shorter than her, and she’d be running. Ah but first she’d hug and kiss him, and he always spun her around for things like this. Let’s say… twenty-three seconds.

        The thudding of feet game at eighteen, louder at twenty, and at a count of twenty-three, Anna burst through the door. Elsa was shaking her head.

        “Elsa!” she shouted leaning against the door as she closed it, the queen turned in her chair just as her sister threw her arms around her, “Thank you thankyouthankyouthankyou!”

        “You welcome, Anna” Elsa laughed as her brother practically pulled her from the chair, “You can- You can let go no.”

        “Oh right. Sorry.” Anna let go of the older girl and stood in front of her, practically bouncing, “Oh I can’t, Thank you Elsa!”

        The queen was once again squeezed in the arms of her sister.

        Elsa just continued laughing, “Anna. Anna? My arms Anna.”

        “You don’t need them anymore, I’m getting married!” She was squealing again, jostling her sister as she bounced, “Oh Elsa!”

        “It’s nothing Anna, we both knew this was coming.”

        “It’s not nothing!” Anna said, once again releasing her sister, she glanced at the door. Elsa wondered if Kristoff was on the other side, waiting, “I-I know how hard it was for you, and I know that I can’t thank you enough.” Anna put her arms around her sister’s shoulders again, cradling her head as she sat in her chair, “I love you Elsa.”

        “I love you too Anna,” the queen said back.

        “I uh... I also wanted to ask you about a…well you know… a bike…”