Sword of Desire
The King of France had kindly invited Elsa and Anna to his kingdom. The sisters happily accepted; arranging to set sail for France in a week. Anna invited Kristoff to come along with them. They all had never been to France before, so Anna thought it would great if they could all experience the country together. When their ship docked in the harbor, they were greeted by several of the king's men. They took them to the king's chambers, where King Jean eagerly awaited them.
He stepped off his throne, walking towards his newly arrived guests.
"Queen Elsa, and Princess Anna, it's an honor to make your acquaintance. I trust the journey for you wasn't too long?" he said.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. The journey was splendid. We're very thankful for you inviting us on such a beautiful day."
"You're most welcome. Ah, I see you have brought a friend," Jean said, pointing to Kristoff.
Anna could see that Kristoff was a little shy, so she gently took him by the shoulder, and introduced him.
"This is Kristoff Bjorgman, Your Majesty. He's Arendelle's Official Royal Ice Harvester and Deliverer," she said with a smile.
Kristoff smiled at the king. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty."
"Likewise, Mr. Bjorgman. I'm sure my servants can set up a place for you to stay in one of the guest rooms."
"Thank you, sir," Kristoff said.
"Now I hate to leave you so soon as you arrive, but I have a meeting with several dignitaries that I need to attend. I'll join you as soon as I finish. In the meantime, my son, Prince Francois will keep you company. The guards will take you to him now."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Elsa replied.
The guards escorted Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff to the fencing chambers, where Prince François was currently practicing. Along the way, Anna told Kristoff what she knew about the prince.
"François is an excellent fencer I hear. He's competed in tournaments across Europe," she said.
"Really? He must be good then," Kristoff said.
"Yes. I heard he won his first championship when he was only twelve years old. Isn't that something?"
"That's impressive, alright," Kristoff said. Truth be told, the ice harvester was still getting used to being in castles like this. He and Anna had been dating for over a year now, and though he loved her dearly, the royal lifestyle was different from what he was used too. Then again, anything would be different compared to living out of a tent most of your life.
The guards escorted the trio into the training room, where they saw two men engaged in a duel. They were both wearing special fencing jackets, and gloves. Interestingly, neither men were wearing a protective mask. The trio watched the fight for several minutes, until the man on the right touched the man with the tip of his foil, earning a point.
Before the men could resume their duel, one of the guards announced the trio's presence.
"Prince Francois, Queen Elsa, Princess Anna, and Kristoff Bjorgman are here. Your father instructed me to tell you to keep them company until he finishes his meeting."
Francois was a tall, muscular man with jet black hair, and green eyes. He put his foil down, grabbed a cup of water, and drank it slowly.
The prince walked over to greet his guests; a big smile plastered on his face.
"Good afternoon, Queen Elsa, and Princess Anna," he said, ignoring Kristoff. "It's a pleasure to have you in our home." His French accent was very thick.
"Did you like the duel?" he asked.
"Oh, yes. It was very interesting," Elsa replied.
"You were great!" Anna added.
Francois smiled. "I'm glad." He turned his attention to Anna, smiling even more when he got closer to her.
"Would Mademoiselle care to give it a try?" he asked.
Anna blushed. "Oh, no. I've never fenced before. I wouldn't be any good."
Kristoff glared at Francois. He didn't like the way the man was ogling Anna. You could tell by his smile, and his mannerisms that he was interested in her. Kristoff didn't like that one bit.
"Oh, my dear, fencing is an easy sport, once you get the hang of it," he said.
Kristoff stepped into the conversation. "I'm Kristoff Bjorgman. Princess Anna's boyfriend," he said, sternly.
Francois was surprised by this. His eyes widened, clearly not expecting Kristoff to say such a thing.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Bjorgman," Francois said, shaking Kristoff's hand.
"So how long have you been fencing," Kristoff asked.
"Since I was a small boy. I competed in my first championship when I was ten. You see those medals over there," he said pointing to a glass trophy case. "I won all of those myself."
"That's amazing!" Anna exclaimed.
"Yes, it is. Would you like to see more, Mademoiselle?" he asked.
Anna smiled. "That would be lovely, Prince Francois."
"Very well. Let me show you some of my techniques."
"How about I give it a shot," Kristoff stepped in.
Francois turned to Kristoff; looking confused.
"I'm sorry, monsieur. What do you mean?"
"How about you and I duel each other?"
Anna and Elsa were surprised by the suggestion.
"Kristoff, are you sure that's a good idea? Have you ever fenced before?" Elsa asked.
"Yes, Kristoff, it's harder than it looks," Anna chimed in.
"Oh, I've dabbled with the sword here and there," Kristoff said. "What do you say, Francois? A little mano o mono?"
Francois was still surprised by the offer, but he was never one to turn down a challenge.
"Very well, Mr. Bjorgman. One of my servants will give you the appropriate gear and equipment. When you're ready, come meet me on the mat."
"With pleasure," Kristoff said with confidence.
The servant handed Kristoff his jacket, plastron, chest protector, and mask. He was given a traditional foil that was used in professional fencing tournaments. In all honesty, Kristoff had only played around with a sword once or twice before. He had never actually fought someone with one. Nonetheless, he thought he got the gist of what he needed to do after watching Francois battle the other man. Kristoff was determined to beat the man. He couldn't stand his arrogance. Not to mention, his flirtation with Anna really upset him. I'm going to wipe that smug grin, right off his face, he thought to himself.
Kristoff declined to use the mask offered to him, wanting to prove that he was just as good as Francois.
When he returned to the training room, Francois had already taken his place at one end of the mat. Kristoff took his place on the other, holding his foil out in front of him.
"The first man to touch his opponent's right shoulder with the tip of his foil, wins the match," Francois said. "The sport is a little more complicated than that, but I thought I'd make it easy for someone of your kind."
Kristoff bit the bullet; ignoring the snide remark. "Ready when you are," he said.
The proctor counted down to one, signaling the beginning of the duel. Kristoff lunged towards Francois, hitting his blade with his own. The two men sparred for several minutes, each twirling their foils swiftly in the air. Kristoff had to admit that Francois was good. There were times when he almost made him lose his balance, his swings were so fast and precise, but Kristoff was determined to beat him. Kristoff charged forward, swinging his blade repeatedly against Francois', causing the prince to stumble backward. When Kristoff saw a perfect opening to his opponent's shoulder, he took it, tapping the tip of his foil close to Francois' right shoulder, wining the match.
Anna and Elsa applauded Kristoff. "Whoa! Go Kristoff!" Anna cheered. Kristoff smiled back at her. He was pleased with himself.
Prince Francois, on the other hand, was not. The mild-mannered prince quickly showed another side to him; one that was much more aggressive.
"Beginner's luck!" he spat. "How about we settle this the old fashion way?"
"How's that?" Kristoff asked.
Francois ripped off his jacket, and his undershirt, until he was wearing nothing but a pair of pants and shoes. He then walked to the other side of the training room, grabbed two sharp swords, much different from their foils, and threw one of them at Kristoff's feet.
"The first man to draw blood at the torso, wins the match."
"Prince Francois, that isn't necessary…" Elsa started to speak.
"Don't worry, Queen Elsa. I won't harm, Mr. Bjorgman. I just want to prove that he's not as good as he thinks he is."
"Kristoff, you don't have to do this," Anna said. "This could be dangerous."
By then, Kristoff had already taken off his shirt, showing his bare skin, same as his opponent.
"I'll be fine, Anna. Trust me."
Kristoff picked up his sword, which was much heavier than the foil, and took his stance. Before the proctor could count down, Francois lunged at Kristoff, swiping furiously left and right. The anger from his previous loss was clearly evident. There was no way he was going to lose to Kristoff again. Kristoff managed to deflect his every blow, but the prince was so aggressive that their duel moved off the mat and into the other side of the room. Once again, Francois charged at Kristoff, slamming him up against the wall. Kristoff held Francois back with his own blade; pushing as hard as he could. He managed to push Francois backward, but the prince was ready to counterattack his next move, hitting his blade against Kristoff's. Kristoff knew that he had to rethink his strategy. If he made one careless mistake, he would lose the duel. How embarrassing that would look in front of Anna?
Kristoff ran towards the other side of the room. He noticed Anna and Elsa watching closely; both appearing to be afraid for his wellbeing. He was going to be alright though. An arrogant, aggressive prince didn't scare him.
Francois and Kristoff's swords hit each other again, both men furiously swiping at each other. In between swings, Francois tried some underhanded tactics to swipe at Kristoff's chest, but the ice harvester was too quick for him. When Kristoff was standing on a rug, Francois pulled the rug out from under him with his foot, causing Kristoff to fall backward.
Francois angrily charged at him, swiping his sword at his torso, but Kristoff was quick enough to deflect the blow. "You see, Mr. Bjorgman, I'm the greatest fencer in the world. There's not a man on earth who can beat me. Do you understand?" Francois gloated.
As he lay on the floor, he pushed back as hard as he could against Francois with his sword, managing to push him backward. The force was enough to cause Francois to lose his balance. Kristoff took the opportunity to give a quick, but non-lethal slash to his chest, right before he fell to the ground.
Kristoff aimed the tip of his sword at Francois, smiling at his victory. "I think you've made your point," he said. He turned around, and started to walk towards Anna and Elsa. Unbeknownst to him, Francois was furious with rage. The defeated prince got up, charging towards Kristoff, while screaming! Before his blade could hit Kristoff, a sheet of ice shot up from the floor, blocking the blow.
"That's enough!" Elsa cried. "The match is over. Kristoff won fair and square. There is no need for cheap underhanded moves like that, Prince Francois."
"Indeed. If this is how a championship fencer acts in defeat, I must say that I'm very disappointed," Anna said.
The sisters, and Kristoff left Francois in the fencing room, returning to the king's chambers, where they hoped he was finished with his meeting. Along the way, Anna and Elsa expressed their concern for Kristoff.
"Are you OK, Kristoff?" Anna asked, looking him over.
"You shouldn't have challenged him," Elsa said. "That man is way too competitive, and a sore loser as well."
"I wanted to prove to you that I could do things like that too," Kristoff said.
"What do you mean?" Anna asked, confused.
Elsa could tell that Kristoff needed some time alone with Anna. She followed the servants back to the king's chamber, leaving Kristoff and Anna to themselves.
"I'll be honest, I got a little jealous back there," Kristoff confessed.
"A little?" Anna asked. "More like a lot."
"You could tell?"
"Kristoff Bjorgman, I can read you like a book," Anna said. "I saw the way you looked at Francois when he was talking to me."
"Well, I guess I did get carried away," Kristoff admitted.
Anna smiled. "That's alright. I understand. But you don't have to ever be jealous. I only have eyes for you, my love."
She kissed Kristoff on the lips, proving her statement. "What do you say we go meet up with, Elsa?"
Kristoff smiled, pulling her closer to him with his arms. "That sounds like a 'knife' idea."
Anna laughed. "I love you."
A/N: This was fun to write. I could see Kristoff getting jealous of another guy, only to realize that he has reason to be jealous. By the way, the king and prince in this story are fictional. They weren't real during the 1840s. I just thought I would makeup characters to keep this fictional.