The Strange Medium Guy with a Bad Haircut

aka Pearson "Doc" Mui

presents

Frozen: A Little Pre-Dinner Show

Author's notes: This takes place several years after the end of "6 Times Elsa has Felt Beautiful." This was written for the Frozen Fluff Challenge.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters that Disney has created, nor am I making any money off of this.

Kai was the first to see the...situation. The majordomo had served the royal family faithfully for years. He was not one to display a great deal of emotion, especially where discretion was needed.

Nevertheless, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the sight. It took a considerable amount of restraint for him not to chuckle.

Princess Lillian was clinging to her father's leg. She was, in fact, clinging tightly as he made his way to Elsa's office. Behind them, Olaf waddled happily, carrying a scroll of some sort. The absurdity of this little parade was not lost on Kai.

Not for the first time, Kai was glad that his Queen had married a good man. It certainly helped that Daniel's parents had been good friends of the former King and Queen. Not being royalty was also something in Daniel's favor. The most important quality that Kai liked about Daniel was that the young man made Elsa happy, albeit with a little help.

"Do you require assistance, sir?" he asked. The merest hint of a smirk formed on his face.

"No, thank you, Kai," Daniel said easily. He tried to carry on as normal, even though his stride was significantly lopsided. "Lily is just a little...clingy, today."

Kai arched an eyebrow. "I can see that, sir. Will the Queen be joining everyone for dinner?"

"That is what we are here to ensure," Daniel said with a smirk. "We intend to make a production out of it."

Kai stifled a chuckle. "Good luck, sir. The Queen has been particularly adamant about sequestering herself to finish her work."

"Mama works too hard!" Lily interjected.

"Indeed she does," Daniel agreed, gently patting her head. "In any case, I think that can make a…persuasive case," Daniel said with a mischievous glint in his brown eyes. As if to punctuate that remark, Lily giggled.

The majordomo nodded with a distinct glint of humor in his eyes. "I shall inform the rest of the family that Queen Elsa shall be arriving for dinner shortly."

"Thank you, Kai," Daniel said with a nod. "We shan't be long."

Elsa knew who to expect when she heard the knock at the door. After all, she had a good grasp of Daniel's quirks, even before they'd gotten married. It was the slight shifting of the floor that gave him away as he straightened up before knocking.

She chuckled to herself. They'd been married a little over three years and he still stuck to protocol whenever possible. Then again, a lifetime of diplomatic training wouldn't fade away easily.

"Come in, Dan—oh!" she exclaimed, her cerulean eyes growing wide. She tried to restrain her amusement as he stiffly loped to her desk, Lily clinging tenaciously to his leg. It was obvious that their daughter was enjoying herself. Behind them, Olaf waddled happily with his scroll, the contents unknown for the moment.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, fully aware of the absurdity of the situation.

She tried to retain some semblance of dignity. It was a struggle.

"What was the word of the day?" Elsa asked, clearly amused.

Much to their surprise, their daughter had been blessed with an insatiable curiosity for words. Every once in a while, Lily would see a word and ask what it had meant. And, just to make sure she understood, she sometimes acted out the word.

This necessitated a clear rule: Under no circumstances was Daniel to mutter any of his choice words, especially those starting with "b". The last thing they needed was for an Incident to occur, just because Lily had been mimicking her father.

"I'm a limpet!" the little blonde declared happily. She giggled as she clung to Daniel's leg.

Elsa arched a questioning eyebrow. She was looking forward to hearing this.

He cleared his throat. "Shipping reports," he said, his voice somewhat clipped. "Some of the sailors were complaining about the increase in barnacles, limpets and the like."

"And Lily just happened to be nearby," Elsa concluded. "Well, it's a good thing that you have such strong legs."

"Indeed," he agreed. He reached down and gently patted his daughter's back. "Lily, is there something you want to show your mother?"

Lily grinned. She unlatched herself from Daniel's leg and presented her arms. They were covered with Anna's "dragon feet" socks.

Elsa blinked. Clearly, her family was going to put on a little show.

"Nom nom nom nom!" Lily chanted nonsensically, making the "dragons" talk. "We are hungry dragons!"

Elsa spared Daniel a quick glance. She was going to get her husband for this.

Daniel, for his part, merely arched an insouciant eyebrow. Clearly, he was prepared for the consequences.

"Oh, no!" Lily cried out in mock-dismay, pointing the "dragons" towards her mother. "The dragons are attacking! Who will save Mama?!"

Daniel smirked and gently deposited Sir Jorgenbjorgen on one of the few bare spots on the desk. He gesticulated with the stuffed puffin.

"I, Sir Jorgenbjorgen, knight of Arendelle, shall answer the call!" he proclaimed in a baritone voice. "Noble dragons, I ask you but once…leave my fair queen in peace."

Lily giggled as she lowered her voice. "Why, Sir Yorkiebyorkie?"

Elsa stifled a giggle of her own. It was a creative mispronunciation of the puffin's name. She'd never had the heart to correct Lily.

"Because I command a fierce and loyal army," Daniel said proudly. He hesitated and raised an eyebrow at Olaf, who had been taking in the spectacle. Daniel cleared his throat.

Olaf blinked. Then he hurriedly held out a rolled piece of paper to Daniel.

"Oh, RIGHT!" the snowman exclaimed. "One army, coming right up!"

Daniel took the paper and unrolled it behind the puffin. It was a surprisingly well-drawn crowd scene of…snowgies?

"I command a fierce army of snowgies!" Daniel declared. "They stand ready to defend their queen!"

"Oh no!" Lily exclaimed in mock-terror. "Not snowgies!" The "dragons" retreated from the background. "Dragons don't like snowgies!"

"Snowgies do not attack friendly dragons," Daniel said meaningfully. "Are you friendly dragons?"

Lily made the "dragons" nod, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. "Yes, Papa—uh, I mean, Sir Yorkiebyorkie! We are friendly dragons!"

"Very good," he replied. "Friendly dragons may sit at the table and eat with the queen. After all, it is dinnertime. Someone needs to keep up her strength."

As one, Daniel, Lily and Olaf looked expectantly at Elsa. Daniel had even turned Sir Jorgenbjorgen around.

For a moment, all was silent as Elsa mustered her willpower in the face of her family. The moment passed as she suppressed a snigger.

"You…do not play fair," Elsa said as she shook in her seat. "Whose idea was this?"

"Mine, Mama!" Lily exclaimed. "Papa said that Sir…Yorkiebyorkie…is a brave knight!"

"He is, indeed," Elsa said as she gently patted the stuffed puffin. "So, of course, a knight has to defend his queen."

Lily nodded. "And Aunt Anna let me borrow her dragon feet!" She presented her tiny arms and grinned. "Nom nom nom!"

There was the faintest choking sound as Daniel kept himself from chuckling. He gently picked up Sir Jorgenbjorgen and deposited the puffin in his pocket.

"I thought that a pre-dinner show would motivate you to detach yourself from your desk," he said. "Besides, skipping meals isn't good for your condition."

"Fine," she said with a resigned sigh. With some effort, she got out of her chair. She gave Olaf a grateful look as the little snowman helped her.

Lily immediately scampered towards her and hugged her. She then leaned her head on the slight swell in Elsa's belly.

"I love you Mama," she said gently. "I love you, baby."

"We love you too," Elsa returned fondly. She bent down slightly and kissed her daughter on the top of her head.

Lily grabbed both of her parents by the hand, leaving her in the middle. "Come on, Mama! Aunt Anna's waiting!"

Elsa would have said something, but she was stopped by the look in Daniel's face. It was a look that said that he was the luckiest man in the world.

She disagreed. She was the lucky one. She had a family she did not deserve.

"Awww..." Olaf said as he took in the scene. "I wish I could paint this."

"You did very well with the sketch," Elsa complimented him. Until recently, she hadn't known that Olaf had had artistic inclinations. He wasn't a great artist, but his drawings were enough to entertain Anna's children. There had even been some talk of a picture book by the little snowman.

"Thanks," Olaf said, looking...shy? "I don't think I got their faces quite right."

"You did fine," Daniel reassured him. He was always gentle around the little snowman. He never treated Olaf as a nuisance, nor did he forget any outings with the snowman.

Olaf rolled up his paper and looked at the three of them. Though he was straightforward and simple in his intentions, he'd learned how to read the room. Right now, it was obvious that the three of them needed a little time alone. He gave a little wave and waddled ahead.

"I'll see you at the table!" he called out.

For a moment, all was silent. Then Elsa smiled fondly at her family.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Sometimes I get so wrapped up in running the kingdom that-well, I needed the reminder."

"So, you liked the dragons?" Lily asked.

"I liked the dragons," Elsa confirmed. Then she turned her attention to Daniel. "That was a very good voice for Sir Jorgenbjorgen. Very noble."

"I try," he said modestly. "Well, let's not keep everyone waiting."

"Oh, heaven forbid," Elsa sighed. She could just imagine the put-out look on Anna's face.

"I still think that it'll be a boy," Daniel said as they made their way to the dining room.

"How do you know?" Elsa asked.

"I was right about Lily," he reminded her.

"You had a fifty-fifty chance," she returned. "And besides, we won't find out for another...six months?" She turned her attention to Lily. "What do you think?"

Lily furrowed her brows in concentration. The moment lasted until a growling sound worked its way around the room.

"I think you're hungry," Lily said. "So the baby's hungry, too!"

Elsa sighed and nodded. "Maybe just a little."

As expected, Anna was pouting slightly when they arrived. That quickly vanished as she turned her attention to her own children. Kristoff helped where he could, but they'd inherited Anna's boundless energy.

"Did you enjoy the show?" Anna asked as the food was being served.

"I did, indeed," Elsa replied. "Thank you."

She smiled as she watched Lily gesticulate wildly, relating her part in the show. She would definitely be "illustrating" tonight's bedtime story with ice figurines tonight.

She briefly reflected on her life after marriage. The days were generally quiet, perhaps even mundane. It was the life she'd never dreamed of having, the one she didn't deserve, but got anyway.

"I love you," she said softly.

The entire table stopped. Everyone gave her a questioning look, wondering who she was talking about.

"Yes," she said with a beatific smile.

The children were confused. The adults, however, understood perfectly.

The End