Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen or its affiliated characters. I just own the story and the little boy that you don't yet know about
From A Distance
He peered at her from the doorway, an inconspicuous shadow among the silence of the castle halls, admiring her from the distance. Her long, silver blonde tresses hung limp against her back in wavy tendrils that had long been released from the braid she tamed her mane with. The Queen of Arendelle, so regal, so celestial, so ethereal-all words he was too young yet to understand-but did not stop him from repeating them like a cycle over and over again in his head. Even now, more silent than any castle mouse, he could see the greater beauty in the being who sat by firelight reading her documents of import. Someday, she would say as he climbed upon her lap on occasion, this would all be his inheritance as the sole heir to her throne in a great lineage of royalty. A King. The King.
"I can see you." Her voice, powerful and confident, startled him. She was perfectly capable of raising her voice, yet she need not do so. The authority permeated from her every movement and the command with which she spoke was soft, yet strong like iron.
When he did not reply, as a result of his paralyzed fear at having been caught, she caught his gaze with her fiery blue eyes, "Come in, sweetheart."
His chest caught with genuine excitement and he barreled shyly through the doorway with his head tucked downwards. She caught him in her arms and swung him easily upwards.
"And what are you doing up so late?" It was a soft, motherly chide, but a punishment nonetheless. She rarely did any sort of punishing that was physical or loud because it was not in her nature. Nor was it in his, either. They had much in common, this matching duo. For so little a boy, he was as endless a mystery as his mother when it came to explanations.
"I had a dream."
She chuckled.
"Not a bad one." He supplied quickly. Quietly.
"A good one?"
"No, not that either." Cold, familiar, fingers ghosted across his skin as she tucked them beneath his chin and raised his eyes to hers. Sapphires. Glittering blue with the orange flame of the fire dancing across the surface. The castle servants and all whom had seen him since his birth swore that he was the mirrored reflection of his mother. Handsome, they all said, one day he would be so stunningly handsome that women would fall prey to his charming good looks. It all sounded so unpleasant.
"That is very serious. Should we sneak to the kitchen and find something sweet?"
He nodded exuberantly. A grin expanded across his chubby, rose tinted cheeks. Giggling, she let him down to walk and he waited for her to take his hand. Together they made their way down the sleeping halls, mother and son. Mirror reflections. Behind them trailed a small flurry of snowflakes that dissipated seconds after they landed on the old, reliable carpets. It appeared that they shared the gift, although his was more towards the manipulation of water and how he could create it from the air around him. With a little force of concentration and will power, he could make it snow or make it drizzle. His cousins, two spritely children with wild reputations, enjoyed that most about him.
"Chocolate for me," she said as they finally found the kitchen. From the reserves of quality food, his mother found a few trays of delectable truffles, and stole just a few. Then a few more. Ate one, then stole another. She winked at him which caused the young Prince to stifle his childish laughter.
"And a piece of cake just for you." From another silver tray she sliced a generous piece of strawberry and vanilla cake. They feasted on the floor of the kitchen, the prince happily devouring his decently sized serving while his mother tried to steal bites. He shared, of course. They always shared.
"Do you think that Gerda will notice?" Chewing and talking at the same time proved to be harder than he thought. Messier, too.
"If you're asking me whether or not your Aunt Anna will be blamed, then I think yes." He loved her laughter. He loved everything about her. As far as mothers went, she could not be a better one as far as he was concerned. Aunt Anna had her perks but she was not his mother. There was no other suitable companion than the one right beside him at the moment.
His cousins were far too encumbered by their exhaustion in the evening that they could not keep their eyes open long enough to sneak out and play. They were also too lazy at night to travel from the East Wing to the West Wing. Morning people, his mother explained, which was very ironic considering that Anna spent most of her time sleeping in. The only reasonable explanation would be Kristoff, his very large, mountainous Uncle. Ice harvesting was best done at the peak before the crack of dawn. His children certainly took after him in that regard. Early to bed, early to rise.
Now if he had a brother or a sister, much like the one his mother had lost seconds after his birth, he would be occupied all of the time. Although it was a somber subject to bring up as he once discovered when he was old enough to ask about the things that the servants sometimes whispered. His mother gently explained that his brother, who would have been the third look-alike, did not make it. After that, once he had seen her shed her diamond tears, not one servant ever spoke of it again. Following their suit example, he never begged for a little brother or little sister again in his prayers. Besides, he had his mother all to himself, and that was exactly how he liked it.
"If you're finished, my little sleepwalker, we should get you back to bed." Ruffling his hair, which was already in a chaotic everyday disarray, she stood up to her full height and reached a slender hand out for his.
Not wanting to be alone, not out of loneliness, but because he did not want to go, he took her hand and dared to ask, "May I stay with you tonight?"
"I still have paperwork, darling. Weaseltown has sent another trade correspondence and you know how prompt we like to be with our rejections." He understood what that meant. He was seven and quite mature, so she told him many things. When it came to their powers, she had arranged for Kristoff to take them up the North Mountain so that she could teach him about his blooming powers. That was one year ago. Not even his cousins knew about the Great Freeze, which he considered himself to be a historian of sorts and cut above their level. Edith had a year on his seven and Thomas had at least five. Where they had age, he had brains.
"I can sleep while you work!" He offered. She may have argued, but he had won out when they passed his bedroom door and found their way to hers.
"I suppose you can, but if you're not sleeping by the time I'm finished, I'll call for Olaf." Ah yes, the charismatic snowman that never slept. He was always wandering around somewhere.
"Okay! Okay. I'll sleep. I promise!" He giggled as she scooped him up into her arms. The room was bathed in firelight and warmth, which he quite liked.
"You are my favorite shadow. I just can't go anywhere without you, do you know that?" The softness of the world did not compare to the sinking comfort of his mother's bed, not even his own. It was one half of the reason why he always came to her room at night. The other half was being tucked in by her for a second time.
"That's because I go where you go!" He said excitedly, pushing the quilt away the second she pulled it up. Shocked by his surprise attack, she fell backwards onto the bed and laughed.
"What would I ever do without my shadow following me around?"
"You wouldn't have one!"
"Too right you are, now it's time for bed! You need to rest like your lazy cousins." She pushed him gently down against the soft mattress and brought the blankets to his chin.
"I love you, mama."
"I love you more, Finn." Prince Frederick "Finn" of Arendelle. Only Finn, never Frederick. It was her name for him that meant more to him than when his cousins teasingly referred to him as Freddy. It also sounded better.
"Goodnight." A peck on the forehead and she was back at her desk again, glowing just as she was before he had been caught. In all of the nights he had ever fallen asleep, this was his favorite way: safe in his mother's room, warm beneath the blankets, and heavy with sleep. It was not long after she had tucked him in that Finn finally slipped into an undisturbed slumber.
I just wanted to test this idea out. I thought about her having a husband, but I liked the idea of her having a son so much more. Hopefully you liked it! Maybe with enough reviews and good feedback I'll try and get back into the game of updating an actual fanfiction that isn't one chapter long! Hope to hear from any and all about this idea. Thanks so much for reading :)