Knock Knock Knock
"Who is it?"
"It's me, your majesty. I heard that you wanted me to run an errand for you?" I asked. I opened the door and found the queen quickly scribbling down the notes with her quill on her desk. She then got up and with the most sincere smile and said.
"I need you to buy this special type of chocolate for me. I am having foreign dignitaries over from the neighbouring kingdoms and I want them to have a taste of Arendelle's finest chocolate."
"As you wish your majesty." I say as I bow and close her door.
I begin strolling through the castle hallways until I take a quick glance through the window. I see grey clouds covering up the sky. Then, I notice droplets of water trickling down the window. Dang, it's raining again. If I recall correctly, I'm sure it was sunny in the morning. This Arendelle weather is as mysterious as the queen.
I head downstairs snatching my raincoat from my cloakroom. As I wear it, Kai approaches me.
"Good afternoon Erik," he says with a smile. "could you head down to the outdoor market and buy some bags of herbal tea? I need it for the guests this evening."
"Alright. I'll get some. I'm going there anyway for the queen's errands." I say.
"Good man." Kai pats me on the shoulder and heads upstairs.I walk out from the castle gates and give a nod to Edvin, the afternoon shift guard. As soon as I cross the castle bridge, I can hear laughter and shouts coming from the market. Even though it's raining, it's still bustling with people. Merchants are shouting and competing with each other for lower prices and children are laughing and running around, soon scolded by their mothers for getting their clothes dirty and wet. The scene just puts a smile on my face; although the castle is larger than the market, it is often quiet and I never get to interact with the townspeople. Under the covered patio, a group of fiddle players play their tunes; they call themselves the "Raining Rhythm". Whenever it rains, they always come out to the town square and play. I toss a coin in their can and they all simultaneously say "Thank ya sir."
As I pass by the fruit stand, this grotesque vendor grabs my arm.
"Good day mate. Care to try these delicious apples? They are from Landvik. I can guarantee that all of my fruits are as sweet as chocolate." he said with a weird accent. He must have been a former pirate. But, as soon as I hear the word "Landvik", I give a silver coin to the vendor, take a bit on one apple, and take four apples into my messenger bag. Mmmmm. These apples are sweet! Landvik does deserve its fame for rich fruits and vegetables.
I trot along the cobblestone pathways until I found Amundsen's. He is a chocolate wizard; I swear, he writes stories with his chocolate.
The bell rings as I open the door. "Good afternoon Erik. What can I do for you?" says Amundsen with this loud friendly voice.
"Hello. Good afternoon. The queen requested this special type of chocolate to be made." I give him the note that the queen wrote.
"Ah, this one. Oh, I guess she has some important guests over? You can comeback half and hour later. I'll be finished by then." he says.
I walk across the market; I see some exquisite and some weird items sold. Finally, I arrive at the tea shop.
"Hello Erik dear. How are you doing and what can I do for you?" says Elisa. She's a nice old woman who ran this shop for years. I remember drinking tea here everyday when I was a child.
"I'm fine Elisa. I'm just going to buy some herbal teas. Any recommendations?"
"Oh, I just got a fresh batch of lavender tea this morning. Why don't you get these dear? Fresh tea is always the best." she says. She puts a bag of tea leaves on the counter and passes it to me.
"I'll take it. Thank you." I smile, give her two silver coins ,and tuck the tea leaves snugly into my messenger bag. I head back to where I came and revisit Amundsen's.
"Aye. You are just in time! I finished these special handmade chocolates for our queen and that will be two gold coins." he says. I give him the coins and take the box of chocolates.
"Alright. Thanks. See you later." I say as I head out from the shop. I go back to the castle and as I head to the bridge, the shouts and the laughter slowly dissipates. I re-enter the gates and suddenly, as I'm about to head to the castle door, I see Princess Anna and the Royal Ice deliverer kissing.
"Well, well, well. Did I just interrupt a scene?" I say with a mischievous smile. They finally notice me and break off.
"Oh, um... it's not what you think it is." says the princess. She and her partner both blush and the ice deliverer just scratches his head.
"Riiiight. Ok. I'm just gonna return this to the queen." I say
"Wait, is that the handmade chocolate from Amundsen's?" says princess Anna excitedly.
"Why yes. It is." Princess Anna snatched it from hand and ran towards the hallway. "Wait ma'am. That's for the dignitaries who are coming this evening!" I shouted.
I hear a crash and run to the scene to see what happened: Queen Elsa and Princess Anna crashed and the pieces of chocolate were laying around floor.
"Ugh, what happened?" said the Queen and looked around and her eyes grew wide as soon as she realized. "Anna, I told you not to run around the castle. It's time to start acting like a real princess." she scolded the princess.
"Well, it's your fault for making Erik deliver Arendelle's best chocolate when I was making out with Kristoff. Wait what?" the princess says.
"Anna, didn't I tell you to limit your personal affection with your boyfriend?" the queen asked.
"Uh, um.. yea." the princess says meekly.
"Okay. Your majesty should I make an another trip to the chocolate shop? or should I leave you?" I ask awkwardly
"Oh, I'm so sorry for what happened here and yes, could you order another box of chocolates please?" the queen says with her sincere voice.
I tap the ice deliverer on the shoulder. "Hey, want to give me a ride?"
"Sure. Just wait in the courtyard." says he. He soon brings his wheeled sled and I hop on. As we exit the gates, I say "Hey, I'm Erik."
"Oh, hi. I'm Kristoff. Nice to meet you." he says
"So care to tell me how sweet the princess's lips are?" I ask mischievously.
"Let's.. not. talk about it." Kristoff says.