"Another sunny day, Your Highness."
Elsa glanced up from her desk. The Spanish Dignitary stood before the tall windows in her study, gazing out at the fjord with his hands clasped behind his back. She wished he'd spare her his snide comments and company.
At this rate, she wouldn't finish her stack of correspondence without freezing her entire desk in frustration. It was bad enough that Tor, Prince of the Stubborn Isles had written again seeking her acceptance of his family's apology. Elsa frowned. As if any piece of paper could make up for what his brother, Hans, had done to Anna. She'd never accept his apology, and she looked forward to telling him so for the eleventh time.
After she dealt with her unwanted visitor.
"Of course," she said calmly, setting down a pen covered in frost. "Summer in Arendelle is always sunny."
"Yes, yes, of course," he said, smiling stiffly over his shoulder. "I simply thought we might expect more… variation... in the weather. The past year has been so surprisingly normal."
Elsa leaned back in her chair and tilted her chin, the picture of a serene queen.
"Was there something you wanted, my lord?"
"No, Your Highness." He bowed after a moment's hesitation. "I only wanted to wish you good morning."
She held herself very still until he departed, then sighed and slumped forward, elbows on her desk and hands over her eyes. Ice spread out from under her arms, turning her neat piles of paper into heavy blocks and her pens into icicles. Elsa didn't bother to stop or reverse it this time, not yet. She needed to let these feelings out before they suffocated inside her. Some people might rant or cry when their emotions overwhelmed them, but Elsa's release was quieter, solitary. She simply froze everything around her and let the cold air soothe her until she felt calm again.
"Queen Elsa?"
She was still slumped over her desk when Kai appeared at her shoulder, brow wrinkled in concern. She quickly swept her hair back and sat up straight.
"Good morning, Kai."
"Is-" he glanced at the desk, "something amiss?"
Elsa smiled grimly. Ordinarily, she would confide in no one, but she'd changed in the past year since returning to Arendelle. She no longer wanted to bear all her burdens alone, but she refused to rely too heavily on Anna. Her younger sister was newly married and madly in love, and Elsa wouldn't ruin her happiness with her problems.
"They're still testing me," she said. "They're all waiting to see if I lose control again and endanger the kingdom. Sometimes, I think they want me to fail."
Kai had served the royal family since her father was a boy. To Elsa, he felt more like an uncle than a servant, and she knew that he was unquestionably loyal. His next words did not surprise her.
"Not everyone, surely." He frowned as he studied her face. "Those who matter know that you love Arendelle as your father did. They know that you would never hurt us."
Elsa sighed.
"Not intentionally."
She looked down at her hands with a sad smile on her face.
"Chin up, Your Highness," Kai said. "Princess Anna and Mr. Bjorgman are waiting for you in the blue drawing room."
"They're here?" Elsa stood up immediately and swept a hand over her desk, willing the ice to separate into crystals and dissolve into the air as effortlessly as it had appeared. "They aren't due back from the honeymoon for another three days."
"Perhaps they wished to surprise you."
"Does the staff know? Are the rooms ready?"
Kai bowed.
"I'll inform them at once."
For months, Elsa had worried that Kristoff would convince Anna to leave the castle and join him in the woods across the fjord. She knew Anna's husband valued his privacy, but she wasn't ready to let her sister go, not now that they'd finally become the best of friends again. The castle would be so unbearably quiet and lifeless without Anna, so she'd promised the newlyweds a private wing all to themselves. While they explored the Continent on their honeymoon, she'd set the servants to cleaning and redecorating the dozen rooms as a surprise.
But Anna had surprised her instead. As she approached the blue drawing room, Elsa slowed down at the sound of laughter. The door stood ajar, so she crept closer and peeked through the crack. What she saw made her smile.
Anna and Kristoff stood by the windows, laughing. They looked different somehow, more relaxed, especially Kristoff. As Elsa watched, he caught Anna around the waist and hoisted her up against his chest. Her legs dangled in the air and their noses touched as Anna tightened her arms around his neck. When they tilted their heads and kissed, smiled, then kissed again, it looked like the most natural thing in the world. Their eyes shone with promise when they broke apart.
Elsa remained hidden as Kristoff lowered Anna to the ground. She couldn't hear their whispered words, but she watched as her sister grabbed his hand and pulled him towards a settee near the fireplace. They sat close together, Anna's head on his shoulder, Kristoff's arm around her back, gently stroking her hair. Neither spoke. Anna closed her eyes, her expression full of contentment, while her husband just stared at her as if she was the answer to every important question he'd ever asked.
Elsa felt a pang of envy deep in her chest. She knew, instinctively, that she'd never know that kind of contentment, that she'd never feel comfortable enough to rest her head on the shoulder of someone she loved, that no one would ever gaze at her as if she was their sun and moon and stars. Most of the time, those feelings never bothered her, but now, seeing her sister sharing a happiness she'd never know, she felt the loneliness like a physical void in her chest.
"Don't feel it," she whispered, the old mantra like a shield.
She cleared her throat, lifted her chin, and pushed the door open with a gust of cool wind.
"Elsa!" Anna jumped to her feet and tripped across the carpeted floor to throw her arms around her sister. She felt so warm. Elsa hugged her back and glanced over Anna's shoulder, noticing the way Kristoff's eyes softened as they followed his wife.
"It's so good to have you back," she said. "Both of you." She smiled at Kristoff as she released Anna. "How was the honeymoon?"
"Oh, it was amazing!" Anna ran straight back to the settee, into Kristoff's waiting arms. "Did you know that in Paris, they make these flaky pastries with melted chocolate inside? It's called pain au chocolat," she declared in her best imitation of a French accent. "You should have seen me. I ate a dozen all by myself."
Elsa smiled. The empty armchair across from the settee looked rather lonely set apart from the rest of the furniture, so she dragged it closer and sat down, crossing her ankles primly beneath her seat.
"And in Spain, they make this heavenly seafood dish with rice of all things, but it's delicious. It's called paella and-"
Elsa giggled into her hand.
"Did you do anything besides eat?"
"Well. Yes. I mean-" Anna trailed off. She exchanged a heated look with Kristoff before both faces turned bright red.
"We had a great time," he said hurriedly.
"The best," Anna added. She glanced at Kristoff again. A slow smile spread across his face, an entire conversation contained in the merest glance.
When had they learned to communicate without words? Elsa folded her hands in her lap, marvelling at the change in her sister and brother-in-law. They'd left as individuals and returned as two halves of one whole. Her parents had been similarly in sync, and for the second time that morning, Elsa fought that void in the center of her chest.
"I'm glad you finally got your wish to travel beyond Arendelle," she said with cheerfulness she didn't feel. "You didn't miss anything here."
"That's not true," Anna protested. "I missed you. And, oh! We brought you so many souvenirs. They're somewhere in our trunks, but when we unpack-"
"About that." Elsa stood up and held out her hands, banishing that lonely feeling with the anticipation of showing off her surprise. "Would you like to see your rooms?"
"Yes!" Anna leapt up and clapped her hands together, her excitement contagious. "Gerda told us that you were up to something. I want to talk about the pillows and the curtains and the rugs, and- oh! The paint!"
Kristoff grinned and slid his arm around Anna's waist as he stood up.
"I'm going to check on Sven," he said. "He'll be grumpy that we didn't go see him first." He kissed her temple, then released her with obvious reluctance. "You and Elsa catch up without me."
"You just want to escape talking about pillows and paint," Anna teased.
"You got me." He shrugged sheepishly. "I'll be back soon."
After he left the room, Anna tilted her head and studied her sister with an intensity that made Elsa want to build a wall of ice to hide behind.
"Something's wrong," Anna said. "You look… sad. And you feel colder than usual."
"I'm always cold."
Anna shook her head.
"No. This is different." She walked closer and twined her arm through Elsa's. "Did something happen while we were gone?"
"No." Elsa sighed. She wasn't lying, not really. Nothing specific had happened to spark these feelings, nothing she hadn't faced a hundred times before. She'd spent her entire life preparing for her role as queen, she'd never expected her life to be anything but challenging and isolating. So why did it bother her so much? "Nothing new, at least. The ambassadors are still testing me and Hans's brother won't stop sending me letters-"
"Which brother?"
"Tor." Elsa waved her hand dismissively and lead Anna into the corridor. "He claims he's the diplomatic one."
Anna snorted and Elsa smiled at her sister.
"My thoughts exactly," she said, guiding Anna towards the new wing. "He wants me to formally accept his family's apology and revive our friendship and trade with the Southern Isles. I am not inclined to agree. I've told him so several times, but he persists in writing these infuriating letters."
Anna's arm tightened on hers.
"Hans is still under house arrest, right?"
"Of course," Elsa said. "His brother reassures me of it half a dozen times in every letter." She watched Anna bite her lip. "Why?"
"It's just-" She took a deep breath. "While we were in Germany, we heard these rumors of a prince searching the Black Forest someone who could curse him with the magic to take over a kingdom."
"It sounds like a fairy tale." Elsa blew open the door that kept Anna and Kristoff's wing secluded from the rest of the castle. Anna paused in the doorway.
"Elsa, they said he was banished from his own kingdom." She bit her lip again. "They said that the kingdom he wants is ruled by a snow queen with ice magic."
Elsa turned and reached for Anna's hands. She held them tight.
"Still a fairy tale," she said soothingly, as if they were still little girls sharing a room and Anna was frightened by a nightmare. "Hans wasn't banished, he's under house arrest. He will never hurt us again."
She waited until Anna smiled, just slightly, just enough, then drew her into a hug.
"Come on," she said, releasing her, "I have so much to show you and we still have decisions to make."
"Yes, yes," Anna said. Her eagerness made Elsa smile. She lead her sister down the main corridor, freshly painted the blue of an Arendelle spring sky.
"This is one of my favorite colors," Anna said, running her hand along the wall.
"I know," Elsa said proudly. And she was proud. After years of hiding in her room, she was finally free to notice all the things about her grown up little sister that she'd missed.
Anna stopped and stared at the wall. Slowly, she traced her finger around the gilded frame of a family portrait, one of the few paintings in the castle that showed Anna, Elsa, and their parents all together. Elsa had moved it purposely into Anna's wing, knowing how much it would mean to her sister.
"Thank you. Now it feels like a real home."
"You're welcome." Elsa tugged her gently forward, worried about her own emotions as snowflakes twirled down from the vaulted ceiling. "I'll show you the bedrooms next."
"Is mine still pink?"
"Green. The current fashion is for adjoining bedrooms, but the servants weren't sure if you and Kristoff would prefer one bedroom or two, so we still need to decide on-"
"One," Anna said loudly, suddenly tripping over an invisible obstacle on the rug. "Just...uh…just one bedroom." She chuckled nervously. "One's good."
"Oh." If Elsa was capable of blushing, she was sure her face would be red as a lignonberry. "Great."
She continued down the corridor, one step ahead of Anna, until her younger sister stumbled up to her side.
"It's not what you're imagining… uh… what you're trying not to imagine."
"Anna, you don't have to-"
"I mean, that part's amazing," Anna said quickly, "and really fun once you get the hang of it and just kind of- well, you know." She shook her head furiously. "I mean, not that you know, but-"
"Anna." Elsa laid her hand on Anna's shoulder. "It's okay."
"It's the waking up that's the best part," her sister said, her voice soft and dazed with happiness. "Waking up in the arms of someone you love, knowing they held you all night- that's the best part of sleeping together." Anna grinned. "Even when you both discover that you drooled all over his chest."
Elsa laughed with her.
"I'm glad you're happy, Anna. Truly."
"Me, too." Anna clasped her hands behind her back. "I just wish-"
She was interrupted by a loud knock on the main door. Kai opened it before either sister could answer.
"Forgive the interruption," he said. "Queen Elsa, a matter has arisen that requires your immediate attention."
Elsa could see the worry in his eyes. Kai hadn't worn a look like that since her coronation over a year ago. Something was seriously wrong.
"I'll be back before dinner," she said to Anna. "Keep exploring and make a list of anything you'd like changed. The servants will bring your trunks in soon."
Anna nodded, but as she glanced back and forth between Elsa and Kai, she looked worried, too.
"What is it?" Elsa whispered as soon as she and Kai were alone, the door safely shut behind them.
Kai hesitated.
"If you'll come this way," he said. "He's waiting in the receiving room."
"He?"
Elsa had no idea what to expect when she threw open the doors with a blast of arctic wind, but a lanky man with wild, dark hair and silver spectacles sliding down his aristocratic nose wasn't it. He blinked at her as he adjusted them and stood up tall. Elsa blew the doors shut behind her.
"Queen Elsa," he said, bowing respectfully low. Something about his deep voice made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up straight. She wasn't sure that she liked it.
"Who are you?" The last thing she needed was another ambassador here to spy and test her control. She raised her chin, determined to send him back to whatever provincial kingdom he came from and return to Anna.
"Tor of the Southern Isles," he said with a lazy smile, as if he knew very well that she'd be shocked. The floor seemed to rock beneath her feet and before she could stop it, icicles appeared on the ceiling above his head. Tor glanced up at them for only a moment, his expression unchanged. Surprising.
"I did not invite you here," she said angrily. Snow began to fall in earnest and she didn't stop it. It melted in his hair and landed on his spectacles, but still he appeared unaffected. "In fact, I thought I made it exceedingly clear in my letters that I wanted nothing to do with you or your kingdom ever again."
"You did."
"Then why are you here?"
He leaned against the wall, his lazy smile growing.
"Perhaps I found the temptation to spar with you in person too much to resist."
Elsa shook her head.
"I don't have time for this."
"I know," he said, the smile erased in an instant. He opened his mouth to say more, but Elsa stopped him.
"You look nothing like Hans."
"Different mothers," he said, shrugging. He raised an eyebrow. "Did you really think one poor woman bore all thirteen of us?"
Elsa lifted her chin higher.
"I gave it no thought."
"His mother was a shrew," Tor said. He took a deep breath. "Elsa, I have something important to tell you."
He stepped towards her and she instinctively stepped back.
"What gives you the right to address me so informall-"
"Hans has escaped."
The icicles instantly doubled in size. He ducked to move around them.
"What?" She twisted her finger, built a chair of ice, and staggered to it. "You wrote me eleven letters assuring me that was impossible."
"I believed it was," he said sincerely. He stepped closer still. "He was put under lifetime house arrest on the smallest of the isles with no one but guards for company."
"Incompetent guards, apparently." She shot him a look even colder than the snow stinging his face.
"I don't know what happened," he said, crouching before her chair. "I was away on royal business. As I told you, I'm the diplomatic one."
Elsa pressed her hands to her temples.
"Where is he?" Her heart had never beat so hard. Snow swirled around them, faster and faster. She was building a blizzard and still she didn't stop it.
Tor hesitated.
"Elsa, I came to warn you. He wants Arendelle and he wants revenge, and he's arrogant enough to believe that he can have both."
"Ha. He's no match for me." She threw her arm out and a sharp blade of ice appeared. It cut a deadly path across the room, stopping right beneath Tor's chin.
"He's in search of magic of his own," he said gravely, shifting away from the ice. "And he may have found it. When he does, he'll come straight to Arendelle."
"I will protect us."
"Elsa, Arendelle has no army." When his hand closed over hers, she bristled and he pulled it away immediately. "You've grown complacent. The fjord has protected you against invaders for centuries, but it will be no match for my brother if he succeeds in getting what he seeks." His eyes bore into hers. "You will be the only thing standing between your kingdom and his domination. Are you certain that's enough?"
"Why are you telling me this?" she hissed. She hadn't felt this out of control since she fled to the North Mountain. "Why warn me? Why not help Hans?"
"He's mad."
"He's your brother."
"He's wrong," Tor said simply. The snow swept his spectacles away, he squinted at her through the white out rising between them. "I knew what he was capable of and I wanted him imprisoned, but my eldest brother has a soft spot for blood."
"How did you know?"
Tor sighed.
"My father was a king first and a papa second. A distant second."
Elsa nodded numbly and the wind stopped. She understood. Fear that she'd forever be neglecting her kingdom or her family, torn between them and never able to be everything she needed to be, was the primary reason she'd resolved never to marry.
"With thirteen boys competing for his attention," Tor continued, "you can imagine how rarely we saw him. We each had one day per quarter, assigned on the calendar by a secretary, to spend with our father. I didn't care much, I had my books, but Hans-"
"Was always cruel?" Elsa finished bitterly. She blew the snow away for a better look at him.
"He always wanted more. More time, more attention, more friends, more clothes, just more. He locked Rolf's puppy in a root cellar once and told him that his dog had died. Rolf was so distraught that he skipped his day with Papa, and Hans eagerly took his place." His jaw tightened. "He has always been greedy and capable of cruelty, and I'm sorry it's come to this." He looked her straight in the eyes. "Deeply, honestly, sorry, Elsa."
"You still haven't answered my question," she said, her voice confoundingly breathless. "Why warn me?"
"Perhaps I've come to admire you and would be sorry to see you hurt."
She arched an eyebrow.
"I've told you eleven times that I despise your entire family."
His lips quirked.
"Perhaps I like a challenge." His expression sobered. "And perhaps I'm sorry I didn't do more to prevent this when I still had the chance."
"What, precisely, is he seeking?" she asked, though she had a dreadful suspicion that she already knew the answer.
Tor swept his wet hair back from his forehead.
"There are trolls in the Black Forest who will grant a wicked person's heart's desire," he said grimly. "In exchange for part of his soul."
Elsa shuddered.
"He seeks a power to rival your own," Tor continued. "He wants to call forth fire from his bare hands." He swallowed and met her eyes again. "Elsa, listen to me. He'll melt every bit of ice you throw at him, every pile of snow on the North Mountain."
"But that-" She stared at him, eyes widening. "He'll flood the fjord. He'll flood Arendelle! And if I retaliate, I'll only make it worse."
Tor shook his head as frost spread over his clothes and every inch of the room.
"If we don't fight back, if we don't stop him, he'll drown us all."
End of Part I