Chapter 1

The sun lazily drifted upward through the morning sky, shinning down on the glistening sea. There wasn't a cloud to be seen nor was there even a hint of a breeze to disturb the tranquil waters as they lapped quietly against the land. Towering above it all, the mountains remained as stoic as ever, their frosty peaks still wreathed in the snows of winter. Despite the icy grip on their summits that would persist even through summer the rime on the lower slopes was already beginning to thaw. It would be a few more weeks before the trees would begin to bud in earnest but some songbirds were already beginning to find their way home.

Spring was returning to the land of Arendelle at last, heralding the approach of the distant summer. Gone were the long, dark nights of the winter when the winds would howl and the snows would blanket the hills and meadows. The world was beginning to awaken from its arctic slumber, with flowers pushing up through the snow and animals emerging from their dens. Soon the forests would be alive with new life celebrating the retreat of winter for another year. For now, though, the world dozed on. Except for one little fjord.

Nestled against its mountain, the city of Arendelle was thriving with activity. The people were emerging from their homes, taking a moment to greet one another before hurrying about their business. Rushing to their place of work, they quickly set about performing their craft as though they had not time to spare. Finally the city could wake from its self-induced coma but there was no time to delay, with so much to do with so little time to do it. Before they knew it the Blooming Festival would be upon them.

Even though it was only a couple of days away, there were still tons of things to make ready in preparation for the weeklong celebration. Marking the official return of spring, it was by far the most important time of the year and saw thousands of people flocking to the capital from all corners of the kingdom to join in the festivities. Arriving from cities like Harstal in the west, Stjorden to the south and maybe even a few from Varhan in the far north, they came to forget the hardships of winter by celebrating the new life that spring brought with it. In order to impress all the coming people everything had to be perfect. Especially since this year's Blooming Festival was to be accompanied by a very special occasion.

It had been a little under three decades since the last royal wedding had occurred, marrying the former king to his bride-to-be. Now the time had come for his daughter to be wed and the citizens were abuzz with excitement. While some considered it to be scandalous for someone of royalty to marry a commoner the rest were just elated for the happy couple. In the short time the young man had lived there he had come to be well-liked in the community, even if he was different, so no one really complained about the matter.

Rumors had quickly spread that delegations from all the neighboring kingdoms would be coming, including Corona and the Southern Isles to the south and Maneva to the west. There was even talk of a dignitary coming all the way from the shrouded kingdom of Ildonen. They came to pay their respects and attend the wedding while some would even stay for the Blooming Festival, so now not only did Arendelle have to appease its own citizens, it had to impress its neighbors as well.

If the city was thick with commotion, though, it was nothing compared to the castle. Squatting on the island that sheltered the city's harbor, the fortress was normally quite serene as it overlooked the fjord. Within its towering keep and sweeping walls there was generally little activity other than the usual hubbub of the staff who were employed to maintain it as well as see to its occupants. However, with a wedding to host and a festival to prepare for there was nary a moment to waste for anyone, causing its hallways to fill with both servants and nobility alike.

It was down one of these hallways that a particular man walked. His amber eyes were distant yet he still managed to slip through the crowds with relative ease while he mulled over his thoughts. A sheathed sword was bound to his side while an ebony cloak draped over his shoulders, trailing behind him slightly as he walked. His polished boots clacked against the lacquered floors and a few people offered greetings to his passing but he didn't seem to hear any of it, instead continuing forward unhindered. That is, until an unfortunate maid happened to wander directly into his path.

Giving a yelp of surprise, she dropped the linens she was carrying while spinning to see who had so rudely nearly knocked her over. Whatever protests she might have had, though, quickly died away when she saw who it was, instead lowering her gaze and nervously brushing her hair aside, blushing profusely. "Oh! Lord Aaron!" she exclaimed with a small smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you coming. Had I known I would have-"

Torn from his musings, Aaron cut her off before she continue with a broad smile of his own. "It's quite alright, no need to apologize. It was my fault. Should have been looking where I was going." He then paused to give the maid a closer look and added, "You're Sally, right?"

This lured a second smile out of her and she gave him a small curtsy before timidly lifting her eyes to meet his. "Yes, my lord. So kind of you to remember a lowly maid like me."

Shrugging, he replied, "I make a point of remembering everyone who works in the castle, be they a guard or a cook or even a maid, such as yourself." Glancing down, he looked at the clean sheets strewn across the floor with a frown. "Sorry about that. Here, let me get that for you."

With that he stooped down and began gathering up the linens as she stammered out a objection, trying to usher him away while looking around in the vain hope that nobody else was watching. "Oh no! You don't have to do that! Really, I should do it. Please, a lord shouldn't have to clean up after a maid."

Ignoring her pleas, Aaron quickly scooped the sheets together before standing again to hand them back to her. They were no longer the neatly folded stack she'd been carrying before their collision but he'd done the best he could. "It's quite alright, it was no trouble at all," he said, waving off her protests. "A man should clean up his own mess. Again, sorry I made you drop them."

After one last futile attempt to ward him off she consented with a gracious nod, accepting the sheets. "Thank you."

His smile reappeared and he returned the nod, saying, "You're welcome. Now, I'm in a slight hurry but is there anything else I can do for you?"

"What?" She was taken aback by his question, clearly not used to being asked such questions from lords. Normally she, like other maids, was blatantly ignored by other nobles and yet Aaron had asked if there was anything he could do for her. Trying not to blush again and failing, she quickly shook her head. "No, no. I shouldn't keep you from wherever it is that you're going." He had just started to turn away when a thought occurred to her. "Well, actually…"

Halting midstride, he gave her a patient look and, when she didn't respond right away, prompted her with a gentle, "Yes?"

It still took her a few seconds to reply, anxiously biting her lips and looking away while she thought. Eventually, though, she managed to pluck up the courage to speak. Absentmindedly twirling a lock of hair around her finger, she said, "Well… the other maids and I couldn't help but notice that you don't have a woman in your life." As she said this she gave him a hopeful glance.

However, as she spoke his face steadily hardened until, though he still smiled, he wore a guarded expression. With a curt nod he replied, "That's correct."

The sudden departure from his normally friendly demeanor unnerved her somewhat, so she decided to pull back on her approach, instead looking down at the floor anxiously. "I guess what my question is… what I was wondering is what it is you do with your spare time?"

What she had hoped for was an interested look or a warm reply. What she got was a slow headshake and an amused chuckle. "Oh Sally. I'm the Lord Protector of Arendelle." When she looked back at him she saw that he was giving her a dashing grin that made her innards leap. "What spare time?" Without waiting for her to respond, he brusquely added, "Now, while I hate to be rude, if you'll excuse me I have urgent matters to attend to. Enjoy the rest of your day." With that, he turned and continued striding down the hall.

He was already out of hearing when she managed to mumble, "Thank you, my lord," watching him go with a wondrous expression on her face. It was only after he'd disappeared into the crowd that she turned and hurried towards the nearest stairs. Having completely forgotten about the linen in her arms, she was eager to tell the other maids about her encounter.

Meanwhile, the woman was already far from Aaron's thoughts before he'd gone so much as a dozen steps. There were far too many things for him to be focused on at the moment to be thinking of her. There was the drills to run tomorrow morning, the guard detail to be planned out for both the festival and the wedding, and the manifest problems that he needed to run by the commissioner of trade. Of all the objectives he needed to address, that was the one he was looking forward to least, seeing how he and the commissioner of trade didn't get along very well. Not to mention the fact that he was already running late before the brief accident with the maid.

Working his way through the crowd, careful not to inadvertently cause any more accidents that would delay him further, he made it to the large staircase at the end of the hall and vaulted up it, taking the stairs two at a time. Luckily the number of people on the second floor was considerably less than that of the first. Most of the work was being focused on the great hall and the main ballroom so the only people to be found on this floor were a handful of guards and one or two servants who were still finishing the morning cleaning.

Ignoring all of them, he barreled down the hallway until he reached the far side of the castle and approached a twin set of sealed doors, which were flanked by a pair of guards. They both snapped to attention at his approach but he paid them no heed, not even hesitating as he flung the doors open and strode into the room. It was a relatively spacious room, with a fireplace situated along the left wall and a large bank of windows to the right overlooking the water of the fjord. Numerous paintings and tapestries lined the walls, and while they were beautifully made he didn't look at any of them. His attention was focused on the long table in the center of the room that had seven or so people sitting at it, all of whom had looked at his entry.

A few gave disgruntled mutters to one anther but Aaron ignored them, keeping his eyes fixed on the figures at the far end of the table. There sat two women, a regal blonde who sat at the head of the table and a cheerful redhead to her right. The redhead, who was wearing a lovely green dress complete with a silk bow in her hair, perked up at his arrival and gave him a friendly smile accompanied by a small wave. Unfortunately, the blonde, on the other hand, didn't look so happy to see him. Though her face glowed with immeasurable beauty and her azure gown shimmered like frosted dew in the light of a dawning sun her expression was ominously foreboding as she fixed him with an icy stare.

After pausing to shut the door behind him, he turned back to the table with an apologetic look. Starting with the redhead, he gave her a polite nod along a warm smile. "Princess Anna. You're looking as lovely as ever."

Returning the nod, her smile widened. "Thank you, Lord Aaron. Nice to see you too."

With that pleasantry out of the way he let his face grow somber while drawing in a deep breath and gave a deep bow to the blonde. Bending forward until his torso was parallel with the floor, he spoke in a revered tone. "Queen Elsa."

She waited until he was standing upright again before piercing him through again with those striking sapphire eyes of hers. Her voice was stern and her words chilled as she replied, "Lord Aaron. So good of you to join us."

Though she was staring daggers at him and her voice contained all the menace of a hissing cobra Aaron was fairly certain that he could detect just a hint of amusement lurking within the depths of her eyes. Construing it as a small pardon, he resumed walking towards the table. "My queen, let me apologize for my tardiness. It's just that-"

Before he could continue, though, he was abruptly cut off when one of the elderly men at the table rose to his feet and gave him a harsh glare. "You are expected to arrive at these meetings on time, Lord Aaron," he growled in a gruff voice.

Coming to a halt, Aaron wheeled to give the man an equally hostile look. While the queen could speak to him in whatever tone she wished, he was in no mood to be talked down to by someone who had no authority over him. Letting anger seep into his voice, he tersely replied, "Yes, Lord Stien. And maybe I would, except that you know full well that I was finishing inspections in the barracks not five minutes ago. In fact, you knew that when you scheduled this meeting."

Growing agitated, the man's face started to grow red as he said, "That is not my problem. The scheduling is adjusted to accommodate the most people. If you had a problem with it then you should have mentioned it at some point."

Aaron slowly strode to the edge of the table, his anger mounting. "You know damn well I mentioned it. Several times, in fact."

"Then perhaps you ought to have-"

"Enough, gentlemen," Elsa interjected, standing suddenly. Though her voice was quiet both men relented immediately, though Aaron continued to give the other man an irritated look while Stien fidgeted under her frosty stare. When both fell silent she turned to the elder one first, giving him an admonishing look. "Lord Stien, whether you like it or not Lord Aaron is a part of this council and you will give him the respect he is due."

Bowing his head and reclaiming his seat, the man stammered, "Yes, your majesty. Forgive me, I forgot myself." He continued to stare down at the table until Elsa looked away before giving Aaron a quick glare.

Aaron was about to return the scowl when he realized that Elsa was now focused on him. "As for you, Lord Aaron." The words hung in the air for several seconds surrounded by nothing but silence while her cold eyes burrowed into him. Then, just as quickly as it had come, the anger in her eyes vanished and she reseated herself. "Try to be on time for the next meeting."

Letting out a silent sigh of relief, he gave her another deep bow. "Of course, my queen. My apologies. It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't." Her eyes lingered on him for a second longer before she returned her attention to the table. "Now, what were you saying about the trade between here and Harstal, Lord Kai?"

After clearing his throat, Kai gave her a nod. "Yes, your majesty. As I was saying…"

With that, the meeting resumed as though nothing had happened. All focus was back on the subject at hand, though Stien continued to flash him dirty looks out of the corner of his eye. Aaron didn't care, though. Let Stien hate him. It wasn't like he could do anything to him. Taking care not to disrupt the meeting further, he quietly walked to the only empty seat available, the one situated at the closest end of the table and the farthest one from Elsa. Sinking into it silently, he tried to focus on the current discussion only to find that he had nothing to contribute. As Lord Protector he was charged with defending the realm from all would-be threats, not determining the most cost-efficient goods to be shipping.

Unfortunately this was how most council meetings went. Unless a question of security arose or there was concern about properly defending the shipping lanes there was little for him to add. The meeting would then drag on for another hour or so while Aaron would find himself growing increasingly bored. No matter how bored he became, though, it was nothing compared to the looks that crossed Anna's face. She listed aimlessly in her chair, vainly trying to focus on the monotonous conversations as her expression only became more and more dull. In fact, during one meeting she'd become so bored that her head, which had been resting on her hand, had slipped and nearly clacked against the side of the table. The only thing that had prevented that was some quick thinking by Elsa, who managed to reach out in time to catch her.

Today was proving to be no different as Anna stared out the window with a vacant look on her face, clearly not listening to the discussion. Even Elsa didn't appear to be entirely focused. Though she watched the council members with a rapt expression on her face something in her eyes suggested that she had begun to zone out of the meeting. Despite this things continued to drag on for a prolonged stretch, with most of the subjects being dominated by Stien griping in one form or another about how the expenses of the upcoming festival would somehow bankrupt the entire kingdom. Then Kai would wrestle back control of the meeting for a few minutes only to have it slip back into stagnation.

Eventually the conversation became impossibly bogged down, with Stien and another lord bickering about the usage of ships traveling to Maneva. One was insisting on using them to transport livestock, the other adamantly claiming on the side of grain. While they fought Aaron found himself studying the grain of the support beam in the ceiling above him, his fingers tapping out a random beat aimlessly on the wooden table. Then, just when he was starting to feel like he could bear no more, he heard a chair slide away from the table followed by silence. Looking down, he saw that Elsa was now standing and everyone else at the table was giving her their full attention.

Her eyes were weary as she said, "Alright. I think that's enough for today." Stien made to protest but was silenced with a glance. "Anything not covered will have to be addressed in the next meeting of the council."

With that she looked at Kai and nodded, who returned the nod. Turning to the others gathered at the table, he said, "Very well. Meeting adjourned."

Anna let out a relieved sigh before she climbed to her feet, smoothing out her dress as she did so. While he shared in her relief, Aaron was careful not to show his glee. Stretching both his arms and giving his neck a quick roll, he also stood, turning immediately towards the door. There were too many things for him to do to waste time making small talk with the other members of the council so he made his departure. He hadn't gone more than a step, though, when he heard Elsa call out to him. "Lord Aaron. If you would wait a moment."

Pausing, he glanced over his shoulder to see that she was giving him an expectant look. Questions quickly began to circle within the depths of his mind as to what she could want but he didn't give voice to them, instead merely nodding. "Of course, my queen."

"I wish to have a word with you." Glancing at the other men in the room, she added, "In private."

They all seemed to get the hint, quickly gathering together their effects and making for the door. Rather than following right away, Anna lingered for a moment to have a quick word with the queen. They shared a few whispered words followed by a quiet giggle and then she started to walk from the room as well. Passing by Aaron, she gave him another smile before stepping into the hall and quietly shutting the door behind her.

With silence settling into the room, Aaron suddenly became acutely aware of the fact that it was just him and Elsa left. Moving slowly, he turned to look at where she stood by the fireplace. A delicate smile that decorated her lips still lingered from her quiet exchange with her sister but that quickly faded when their eyes met, her face becoming placid. Neither bothered filling the air with useless words, instead letting their eyes do the talking and in turn causing the tension in the room build. Several seconds ticked by, with neither of them looking away, until one finally broke.

Letting out an exacerbated sigh, he dropped his gaze and gave his head a small shake. Aaron stared down at the floor as he let out a chuckle, starting to walk forward and raising his eyes back to hers. She know wore a triumphant smirk, her eyes having become beckoning as though to offer an invitation. An invitation he dared not refuse. Elsa neither retreated nor moved to meet him, patiently waiting for him to close the distance between them. As a result, by the time he reached her his hunger had grown to the point that he didn't even hesitate in reaching out and taking her into his arms.

"Finally," Aaron breathed heatedly, slipping a hand behind her neck and pulling her into a fervent kiss.