You don't appreciate the ability to breathe through your nose until you're writhing in mucus-filled agony.
"Here." Mary handed Fritz another hanky, which was promptly painted with snot. "You look terrible."
"Nah, nah, ahm fine." With a great deal of effort, Fritz managed to lift his head off his pillow. "Ah need tuh work today. Elsuh's busy. She needs mah-" He sneezed into his pajama sleeve. "-mah help."
Mary gave him a pitying smile. "You're not going anywhere in your condition." She pressed a palm against his forehead. The coldness sharpened Fritz's thoughts, leaving him just on the other side of delirious. "Lie down, sweetheart. I'll take care of you."
"Buh you'll miss tha party!" Fritz struggled against her, fighting to free himself from the covers. "Yer s'posed to be playing your violin."
"It's just a party, Fritz. You're more important." Mary kissed the top of his head.
"Ahm fine." With one last push, Fritz made it to his feet. He was a bit wobbly at first, but eventually he managed to stand upright. "See? Perfectly healthy." He wobbled towards the servant uniform hanging off the closet door. "Now I need tuh get tuh work. Someone's gotta fix the queen's lunch."
Queen Elsa was the only person Fritz had ever met who could look so perfectly happy and so impossibly stressed out all at the same time. She was clearly about to collapse from exhaustion any second now, and yet she greeted Fritz with a blinding smile the moment he approached the royal end of the dining table.
"Here you are, Your Majesty." Fritz set the tray down before her. Resting atop it was a big, steaming bowl of pea soup. "Enjoy."
"Thank you." But Elsa didn't touch her lunch. Instead, she shut her eyes and exhaled slowly.
"You okay?" frowned Fritz. "Not working too hard?"
"It'll be worth it," said Elsa. "I'm making sure everything is perfect for her."
"Ma'am?" Just then, the royal chef approached the table. "May I have a word with you? I had a question about that ice cream cake you ordered."
"Of course." Elsa rose to her feet and followed him out the dining hall.
Fritz watched her go. Wow, Elsa was really pulling out all the stops for this bash. Fritz didn't care what Mary said, there was no way he was missing such an awesome party. Fritz wasn't that delirious. He was only seeing three or four sets of Elsa's hips.
Out of nowhere, a terrible itchiness assaulted Fritz's nostrils. Before he even realized what was happening, he reared his head back. "Ah- Ah- Ah-CHOO!"
Fritz slowly opened his eyes. He was staring right at Elsa's pea soup. It was slime green – the perfect camouflage. Gross. Well, no big deal, he would simply throw it out and get Elsa some more soup from the-
"That didn't take long." Elsa skipped back into the dining hall and returned to her seat. "I'm starving."
"Your Majesty, wait-"
Elsa already had the spoon in her mouth. "Mmm, this is good. Saltier than usual."
Fritz slowly backed towards the door. Okay, okay, no big deal. She hadn't noticed. All Fritz had to do was... not say anything. Play it cool. Ignorance is bliss and all that. No big deal. Everything would be fine.