It was a peaceful night and the cool sea breeze blew over the sea-side town of Arendelle. Shouts could be heard from the few ships due to set off that evening from the docks as they made their final preparations. workers bustled around as they made their final preparations for closing up shops. And on a high balcony of the large castle that protected the town stood a single man, leaning against the railing.

He had a look to him that made him seem like nothing could disturb him. He had golden-blonde hair that almost matched the color of the simple crown that he held in his hands. But, his face had a troubled expression. His ice-blue eyes were a well full of three main emotions. Sadness, guilt, and longing all swirled in the deep orbs.

He thought sad thoughts of when he used to spend hours, playing and laughing with his red-headed aunt. He felt guilt when he looked down at hands that probably could have saved her. He felt longing to see and talk with her one last time. He definitely wanted to see her again. But, he longed for the chance to try and save her. He knew that he could, he knew it! He had the power… yet, he couldn't do it.

The thoughts continued to swirl, and repeat themselves well into the night. The Stars were shining, the moon was bright, and no one was out except for the guards when he heard a voice from behind. The voice was gruff from the crying that only comes with grief.

"Isenderen." The voice paused for a moment. "Can I talk with you for a moment?" The voice belonged to the husband of Isenderen's aunt, his uncle Kristoff.

Isenderen looked at the red, puffy-eyed man and nodded his assent. "I'm so sorry uncle." He looked down at his crown and slowly lifted it to set it securely on his brow.

Kristoff's eyes reflected the same emotions but on a much grander scale and with a hint of guilt. "I can't believe she's gone." A few tears trailed their way out of his eyes and down his face. But, he looked appalled when he and Isenderen's eyes met. "You don't think it was your fault do you?"

Isenderen looked far below to the rippling waters of the fjord which caused Kristoff's eyes to widen. "Oh my god, you do…" His eyes hardened a considerable amount and he forced the younger man to look at his uncle. "It wasn't your fault Isenderen. You aren't the one to blame for this. No one is to blame for what happened to her. Especially not you."

Isenderen did not meet his uncles gaze when he responded. "I don't feel that it's my fault uncle. It's just that I know that I could have saved her uncle." He lifted his hands from the wooden railing to look at the light blue, icy power that emanated from them. "I know that I could have." A slight crackling sound came from his feet as jagged frost emanated from the soles of his shoes. "I was succeeding! But then something overcame my power." When he was speaking, the ice surrounding his body grew many, razor sharp spikes.

Kristoff once again forced his nephew to look him in the eyes while carefully avoiding the spikes. "No, you couldn't have." Kristoff wracked his brain for the right thing to say. He had to, so his family member wouldn't blame himself for not saving Anna. "I know that you may have the ability within you, but it was her time," kristoff told the distraught young king. "She told me that herself just before she passed," he took a deep breath when he prepared to repeat his wife's final words, "She told me as she slipped away, 'Remember, to us the people we love always go before their time. We just need to remember them and remember that even though they are gone in life, they will always be in our hearts.' "

Isenderen closed his eyes and was silent for quite a while as he thought on his uncles words. Slowly, as the words settled in his turmoil filled mind, his face relaxed. The Stars had moved quite a bit when his eyes opened cracked open. The emotions of sadness and longing were still there, but the blue orbs no longer contained guilt. In it's stead, a spark of understanding shone from within.

The king stood tall as he spoke with a new certainty in his voice. "I understand it was her time now uncle."

"Good." Kristoff said as he turned to leave the room. "I need to get to bed now. I'm too old to stay up like you can."

"Goodnight." Isenderen called after him.

"Goodnight Isenderen."

(-)

Early the next morning the king was in his large study. He was still affected with the loss of his family member, but the understanding he had gained from the talk with his uncle dulled the pain. It also helped that there were a few things to get out of the way that day. Mostly just the weekly reports from the border guards. Buried under the reports there was also a notice of a storm system that might affect the trade routes. The notice drew his attention for a moment but upon closer inspection it was pushed to the side.

So many things to do. The young king thought to himself. And this isn't even an average day! How am I supposed to do this until I'm 60 or 70? In Arendelle, the typical reign for a monarch is about forty to fifty years. Then, either the ruler's eldest child takes over, or a close relative does depending on if they had children. The system was accepted around 300 years ago as a way to give the monarch a respectable ruling career, but still leave them some time to live their life away from the throne.

The King's attention was dragged from his thoughts as he heard a pair of shoes walking into his study. The source of the sounds was his eldest niece, Serina. But, she was without her usually cheerful demeanor. She had a sad look to her.

"Are you alright Serina?" Isenderen asked as the seven year old girl walked in the room.

She jumped when she heard the sound of his voice and whirled towards him, "I'm fine uncle," she walked over to a chair and sat down, "just sad that Grama Anna is gone."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

Serina looked up at the painting of her uncle to her right, her eyes studying the colored paper, "No, I don't think so."

"Ok. I'm right here if you need anything."

The two royals just sat in silence for hours. The young one staring into space, the crowned one working. Once in a while a servant would pass by, or papers would rustle, disrupting the silence. But, the day continued to relentlessly drag on.

A few hours after she walked in Serina looked directly at her uncle. "What is it?" He asked as she stared intently at him.

"You, you're always so calm and nothing seems to bother you." She looked down at her hands, "how? I can't imagine how you do it. But, you do."

Isenderen sadly smiled at her words, "Honestly, I don't know. I've just always been like that." He got up and brought Serina over to the couch that sat against the wall. "An old friend of mine used to say this, 'still waters run deep'."

"What does that mean uncle?"

"It means that for some people their feelings are just deep within."

"Oh."

"That's what she used to say about me. And even though that was a long time ago, I still think it's true, although maybe not as much."

"I think I agree with them," she told him, "You definitely do have your emotions below the surface."

He looked over and smiled at his niece, "She was a wise woman and was right about many things. Now, I have a story for you."

She frowned, "A story? What about?"

"It's after the Snow Queens story, it's about her son, daughter, niece, and nephew…"

A/N: Hey everyone, I'm going to take a break on this fic for a while. But when I come back I'm going to rewrite the two other chapters I have. I've just ran out of ideas for this that fit together into the story. I also just got a spurt of inspiration for my Minecraft fic from Saycria and Amanda The Huntress. Please check their fics out as they are really well written and have interesting storylines. Anyways, Please review, favorite, and tell anyone you know who might be interested to read this. In the words of LugubriousDBB, more to come!