It was half past 11 at night and the palace was mostly asleep, except the loyal Castle Guards, and the King, Queen, and their ministers. Fafnir, a young Sergeant, and Sergeant of the Guard for the current shift, again gazed at the grandfather clock.
Come on, already.
Tired and anxious after a long 6 hour shift, Fafnir simply wanted to finish his shift in peace so he, and the several other men on that shift could go to sleep. It wasn't that Fafnir hated his job, as he was proud to serve King and country, and he was trusted to protect the royal family, a position of high honor. However shortly after taking the King's krone, and adopting the Green uniform, he was sworn to secrecy and learned that the oldest daughter of the King, Princess Elsa, had ice powers.
And she was a little girl.
This often meant the Guards and other castle staff had to endure long hours of mopping floors, shoveling snow, and chipping ice as the young princess did what young girls did- play. This also meant that a simple 6 hour shift may become significantly longer if Elsa and Anna did something outlandish, or possibly dangerous.
He was a good soldier, and had been promoted to Sergeant a few weeks ago. Being a young Sergeant meant the more unpleasant shifts and supervision duties, such as the night shift. Less to happen, and a good place to learn how to supervise a shift.
He took one last glance at the clock before stepping off to check on his men. He began to head towards the grand chamber, when he felt the air grow colder. He stopped, and made a terrible realization- he could see his breath, and it was summer.
Oh No.
He proceeded to run down the hall, turning into the Grand Chamber, and saw that it was snowing- the Princesses were playing again. He carefully began down the stairs- He didn't want the young mistresses to see him, and more-ever the last time he blindly went down stairs in the dark, Anna had convinced Elsa that it would be a grand idea to create a giant slide for them. This had caused Fafnir a twisted ankle and his arm in a sling for weeks, a sling that had just come off.
He placed his foot- good, the stairs were still there, and began to make his way down stairs. The young girls had made a snow man, and were playing. He couldn't help but smile. As a guard and as an adult, cleaning up after the girls was a pain, but to be fair, he was a troublemaker as a young boy too.
"Time to inform the King" He whispered to himself as he went back the way he came to avoid alerting the girls. The mess was already made, and he hoped the girls would get a bit more fun before their father ended things.
…
Fafnir knocked on the chamber door, and waited to be permitted in. The door opened to reveal the king, having just sent away the ministers and had been spending time with his wife before the two went to bed. He had unbuttoned his tunic and was holding a glass of wine. Seeing Fafnir, the King immediately grew an annoyed expression. At this hour, a guardsman meant only one thing.
"Elsa?"
"And Anna your majesty"
The King sighed, and began to button his tunic and set down his wine. "Let's go Sergeant"
The two made their way down the hallway, passing the set of stairs Fafnir used a minute ago to get to the 1st floor without using the Grand Chamber's staircase.
"Sergeant"
"Your Majesty?"
"Fafnir is it?"
"Yes, your majesty."
"You have a young son do you not?"
"Yes my king, he's five years old"
"Does he give you as much trouble as Elsa and Anna?"
The young man laughed. "No, your majesty. Dieter is a very well behaved young boy."
"Good, as I know my children give your men and the castle staff enough trouble already."
They heard as Elsa cry out, causing them to go from walking to a dead sprint down the corridor. Queen Idun heard as well, as the Queen quickly caught up. The door was frozen shut, and before Fafnir could step in, the concerned parents both passed him up and began bashing the door down. In seconds the door was open, and a sobbing Elsa knelt next to an injured Anna.
"Sergeant!" It was the queen. "Go get Kai and Gerda, and get your men, we may need them!"
"Yes, your majesty!"
…
Fafnir paced back and forth. A few hours ago he led two horses to King Agnar and Queen Idun, who raced off into the Fjords with their daughters, off to an unknown location. The next shift had replaced his men, with the Captain of the Guard replacing the normal Sergeant of the Guard. Fafnir had chosen to stay, along with one of his men, a young Private named Edvard. He volunteered to stay, as he usually did, as Edvard was bucking for promotion to Corporal.
As day broke, the King and Queen returned across the bridge. As a few of the younger guardsmen took the horses in rein, Fafnir helped the King off his horse, followed by Elsa, who looked terribly worried.
"Captain Sigrid, come with me." The King paused, looking over to Fafnir "Sergeant, you come too."
…
In the conference room a small group had gather. Fafnir, Captain Sigrid, Gerda, Kai, and the King and Queen. The King drank some wine, paused and began to speak.
"Things are about to change dramatically in the Castle. For those of you who don't know, I consulted the trolls for help with Anna. They saved her life, but she no longer has knowledge of Elsa's magic. Nor will she learn again."
Captain Sigrid spoke. "I don't understand, your majesty."
"Elsa is to learn how to control her powers, until she can, we are to close the castle off to the public, reduce the staff, and keep Elsa separated as much as possible from everyone, including her sister."
Fafnir subtly shook his head. While his job was about to get easier, Elsa, the girl he had sworn to protect, was about to be damn near imprisoned, and grow up a lonely child. He thought of his own childhood, and the cherished memories of growing up with brothers and sisters. But it was not his place. King Agnar was a good man and a good ruler. He knew best.
"We'll go into details tomorrow, but for now, prepare for the oncoming changes. That'll be all." The staff members stood, bowed slightly, and turned to leave. Outside, Fafnir felt a pat on his back, and turned to see Captain Sigurd.
"You did good, son. You could not have stopped this, and it's certainly not your damned fault. Looks like I was right making you a Sergeant." Fafnir nodded slightly, seeing the Captains logic, but still feeling guilty.
If maybe I had disturbed them, or ran to get the King, maybe this wouldn't have happened. If only…
"Keep it up, Sergeant, and one day you'll have my job. I'll put you in for a commendation. Now get home, and get some rest, you need it lad."
Fafnir snapped to attention, saluted, and turned to leave. The Servants were cleaning up the snowing wonderland created hours before, as Fafnir left the interior of the castle. It was the break of dawn outside, with the pink and golden rays of the sun coming across the sea. It was a quiet summer morning, and the birds were singing, as if nothing had happened the night before. Fafnir had walked through the Castle gates, with the Guardsmen stationed there greeted him, with the customary "Sergeant". As he passed onto the bridge, the Guards followed their orders and closed the gates, to the public, for the last time. Fafnir turned, understanding the significances of what happened, shook his head, and headed home.
More than ever, he just wanted to see his family.
