Thawing Together Chapter 2

It was a lovely wedding, as everyone knew it would be. Kristoff was a classic bridegroom – handsome, nervous, slightly clueless, and totally fixated on his bride. Anna was so radiant, she probably could have lit up the chapel all by herself. That chapel was packed with noble visitors from all the nearby kingdoms and nations, almost as many as for Elsa's coronation.

The princes and princesses got the best seats, and the low-ranking nobles sat in the back, along with the only two common people in attendance. Now that the royal palace was staffed with a more conventional number of servants, the Queen had rewarded Kai and Gerda for their years of faithful service. Kai was now the Queen's major-domo, Gerda had charge over all the other servants in the palace, and both of them had received royal invitations to Anna's wedding. It was traditional for mothers to cry at their daughters' weddings, but Anna's mother was no longer present, so Gerda did the crying.

The reception was held in the ballroom, and it was a great success. The walls and ceiling were covered with lacy, sparkling decorative patterns in shades of blue and white. If anyone touched them, they realized that the "decorations" were ice, and that they were Queen Elsa's handiwork. Every half-hour or so, she quietly made them disappear, and replaced them with a different pattern. There were servants bustling back and forth with platters full of the best food, tables groaning under the weight of the desserts, and a band playing dance music for those who were inclined to dance.

Anna was so inclined. She was hardly a skillful dancer, but she'd taken some basic lessons for this occasion, she was enthusiastic, and she wanted to be ready in case her sister pulled another "I don't dance, but my sister does" on her. Besides, her past experience had taught her that many other nobles weren't so hot on the dance floor, either, so she didn't have to be excellent to win a good reputation on the floor. Kristoff, of course, had no idea what he was doing, so she tried not to embarrass him. She made a point of dancing at least once with every nobleman in the room, returning to her new husband's arms the moment he looked wistful or jealous. If she embarrassed any of those nobles, oh well – it was all in good fun.

Elsa was much more subdued, and managed to escape the dance floor altogether, by the simple method of pointing all potential partners to her indefatigable sister. "I don't dance, but my sister does" became her catchphrase for the night. The Queen sat demurely, munching chocolate and exchanging small talk with anyone who wanted to talk to her. There weren't many of those; many of the nobles at the wedding had also been present at the coronation, and the misadventures and tragedies that had followed, and they weren't completely sure how to approach her. That didn't distress her – she was used to being by herself, and it didn't bother her the way it would have bothered her sister.

After a while, Anna noticed that one particular nobleman seemed to be avoiding her. Whenever she tried to get Baron Anders to dance, he had either just taken another dessert, or had just stepped out for some fresh air, or had found some other good reason why he couldn't dance with her at that time. He was quite skillful about it, too – he seemed to know when she was coming for him, and took evasive action at just the right moment. She decided that this reception would not end before she'd gotten at least one dance out of him, not because he was reputed to be a good dancer (he had no reputation at all), but just so he couldn't think he'd outmaneuvered Anna of Arendelle.

She almost got him when he took a moment to congratulate Kristoff, both on his lovely bride and on his ascension to the upper reaches of the nobility. "I keep forgetting about that," Kristoff nodded. "I married a princess, so I guess that makes me a prince now, right?"

"Right, Your Excellency," Anders nodded. "Once you get back from your honeymoon, maybe I can give you some pointers about how to fit in with people who were born noble. I figured it out the hard way; there's no reason you should have to do it that way, too. If a prince is willing to learn from a lowly baron, that is."

"I'd really appreciate that," Kristoff nodded gratefully. Then his eyes lit up, and Anders realized that Princess Anna must be coming up behind him. He ducked into the men's washroom. Anna was starting to get frustrated.

"The next time you get close to Baron Anders, could you knock him down and sit on him until I get there?" she demanded of Kristoff.

"Why would I want to do that? He was being nice to me," Kristoff objected. "Most of these nobles can't wait to shake my hand, say some nice things, and get back to their private little groups. At least Anders treats me like a person." She grunted and looked around for someone else she hadn't danced with.

Anders finally slipped up when he paused to compliment the Queen on her decorations. She engaged him in polite conversation, and kept him focused on her, right up to the moment when Anna grabbed his wrist from behind and cried, "Gotcha!" Elsa hid a giggle behind her hand as her sister led her prey out to the floor.

She expected him to be a terrible dancer; he actually was better than half of the men in the room. When she mentioned this to him, he replied, "My secret is, as long as I don't step on anybody's toes, most women think I'm a great dancer."

"You're better than you think you are," she commented, then demanded, "Why were you avoiding me?"

He looked embarrassed. "I saw that you were after me, and… I'm really not that comfortable dancing."

She recalled how he'd jumped when she rested a hand on his shoulder. "I'm starting to think you aren't comfortable with ladies in general."

"I certainly don't know much about them," he admitted.

"How come a nice guy like you isn't married yet?" she wondered.

"I guess I'm too noble for the common folks, and too common for the nobles," he shrugged. "I'm not good-looking or muscular, I don't have a fun personality, I don't have much rank, I don't have money… I don't know what women want in a man, but I'm pretty sure I haven't got it."

She grimaced. "With people skills like those, you and my sister would make quite a pair."

He shook his head vigorously. "Her and me? As if that would ever happen! There's no way a lady like her…" His voice trailed off. The music ended, people clapped, and someone pulled Princess Anna aside to wish her the best. Anders returned to standing by the walls and nibbling on desserts, where he stayed for the rest of the evening.

The next morning, Kristoff and Anna boarded the ship that would take them on their honeymoon tour of northern Europe. Elsa was the last to bid them farewell and bon voyage. Anna could tell at a glance that her sister was upset.

"What's wrong, Elsa? Do you know something about honeymoons that I don't?"

"Anna... don't you remember what happened the last time someone I loved got onto a ship and sailed away?"

"Oh, Elsa, this isn't the same thing at all! It isn't even the storm season! I wouldn't take a chance like that – you know me! We'll be fine. We'll be back in a month, I promise!" They hugged; then Anna joined her new husband on the deck of the ship. They waved to the assembled crowds as the lines were cast off.

Elsa stood on the docks and watched until the ship had sailed out of sight. Then she slowly returned to the palace, arms folded, head down.