Councilor Marda was Queen Elsa's advisor on farming and livestock. She was very thorough. Elsa was rubbing her temples with her gloved fingers while Marda described the effects of the queen's snowstorm on Arendelle's farmers and ranchers.
"The snowline stopped at Piney Ridge, your Majesty. The orchards and farms in Unnam Valley survived the freeze unharmed. But everything on the exposed side of the mountain died. We lost most of our wheat and corn crops. Every kitchen garden from the waterline upward froze. Reports are still coming in on how much of the livestock died, and that will be mostly the ones born this spring. Adult animals mostly weathered the storm," Marda summarized.
"Can we eat this winter?" Elsa asked.
The door flew open and Olaf scurried in. "Elsa! Can I go to the marketplace?"
Marda shot an uncertain look at the little snowman. As councilor, she'd known Elsa for years. The explosion of Elsa's secret a few weeks ago had rocked through the Council, who had assumed that they had a withdrawn, invalid Queen, not a magical, healthy one. Intelligent, competent, and hardworking, not one of them knew how to deal with Elsa's strange powers. As a body, they were trying to ignore them. Marda was no exception. Even as they worked to categorize and contain the damage from the unseasonal freeze, they assiduously ignored its cause.
"Yes, go. Find Kristoff and stay with him," Elsa said. Olaf had been interrupting meetings, offering warm hugs, and generally making a nuisance of himself for two weeks. No one had enough time or energy to cope with him right now, and he made her councilors nervous.
"Thanks! Bye!" Olaf called as he left.
Marda waited a few seconds, stammered, then picked up where she left off. "The root crops were unaffected. The freeze didn't last long enough to penetrate the ground. We'll have to tighten our belts, but no one should starve this winter, your Majesty."
