The older brother
"How is it having Robin around all the time?" Queen Elsa asked her younger sister. "It´s alright, quite funny, actually. I mean, he has an amazing sense of humour, you know, it´s really similar to mine" Anna told her. She liked her first day with Robin so far, he was fun to be with. "It´s good to hear that, Anna, because I´ve got to admit something. I decided to get you a guard instead of me not only because I can protect myself due to my powers, but also because I thought you might want to have a companion, someone to spend time with when I´m stuck in council meetings or paperwork. I was sure you would choose Robin, and as he was your age and he seemed nice I thought it might be a good idea." Anna smiled and then hugged her sister tightly. That was typical for Elsa, not to tell her what her true intentions were, but they would get over that eventually. "Thanks Elsa. You´re right, I don´t want to be alone anymore, and I think Robin and I are going to be good friends soon, and a friend is something I need, but that´s also what you need. I mean, you didn´t leave your room or talked to anyone since our parents died! That´s something, and I really don´t want you to feel lonely when I´m spending some time with Kristoff." "Oh Anna" Elsa smiled. That was just the moment Olaf came around the corner. "Hey, what´s up? Does somebody maybe need a warm hug? Because I love warm hugs!" The sisters started laughing. "Everything´s fine, Olaf" Elsa assured him. "And Anna, I´m never going to be lonely as long as Olaf is around." Anna snickered. "Sure, but you might want some human company at some point." "Your Majesty." Karlson the butler was approaching the two girls. He was working in the palace as long as Anna could remember, probably even before Elsa´s birth, and was really conservative about some things, for example relationships, which was why he didn´t particularly like Kristoff. "The council meeting with your advisors is about to begin" he declared. "Tell them I am coming, Karlson. I´m sorry Anna, but I´ve got to go." They shared one more sisterly hug and then Elsa made her way to the council chamber. "Robin?" Anna called. "Yes?" The boy appeared from behind the next corner. "Come on, let´s do some eavesdropping."
"No! No trade with Weaseltown!" Elsa declared confidently. "But, your majesty, we have to get food somewhere. The crops are estimated to be lower then anytime in the last hundred years due to the, uh, strange weather this summer. We have to act before a real food crisis develops. Hungry people are angry people, and angry people start riots, and riots are something we do not want any more than we want Arendelle´s citizens to starve" one of the royal advisors explained. "But there has to be some other way, some other trading partner!" "We are sorry, your majesty, but Arendelle does not usually import any food, so our trading partners are probably not going to be able to supply some. Weselton, on the other hand, is said to have been lucky with the weather this year, so they should have some surplus food we could buy." "And there is no other kingdom where there are estimated to be excessive crops?" Elsa asked her councilmen. She tried not to show it, but she was desperate for another solution. "Well, of course, but we would have to negotiate about the trading terms first, a delegation would have to come here for that, it is much more easy to just go with Weselton." "As long as there are other opportunities, we will not contact Weaseltown or do anything into that direction. The Duke insulted me and sent his men to kill me, and I wish to never lay eyes on him ever again" the queen stated. She would not allow that man to set foot into her kingdom again. "But-" "No!" Elsa slammed her hand on the table, which immediately started freezing. She was shocked. Things like that weren´t supposed to happen anymore, they were a thing of the past. "We thought you could control that now, your majesty" one of the advisors said. "I can, it is just that" Elsa hesitated. "Sometimes it just slips." "You should not let it slip when the delegations of our potential trading partners are here, it does not make the impression that you are very much in control." "I know! But there are no other magical people, it appears, and the only person I know who had some knowledge already told me everything he knows."
Anna and Robin were standing just outside the door, pressing their ears against it. Anna had been angry at the mentioning of Weaseltown, but now she was quiet and tense. "What about science, your majesty? These scientist people believe they can solve every problem and explain everything that exists on earth. Maybe a scientist could unravel the mystery of your powers." Now Robin tensed, too. This was his chance. "Are there any to be found here in Arendelle?" the queen asked. "No, your majesty, your father did not think it to be wise to have some of those nosy scientists running around here." "Well, then I think that is not an opt-" Elsa´s reply was interrupted when her sister and her sisters guard burst in. "I´m sorry for interrupting, your majesty, but Princess Anna and I were just passing by and I heard that it was said that there were no scientists in Arendelle" Robin justified himself. "So?" the queen wanted to know. "Actually, there is one" the boy claimed. "His name is Roland, he is the assistant of the Court Physician and, uh, he´s my brother. But I assure you, he really is a scientist, he went to an expensive school and all that."
"Don´t worry, it´ll be better by tomorrow, I promise. I will have a look on it again next week, but if something´s wrong, don´t hesitate to come earlier and let me check on that." Roland gave the elderly lady a smile and she smiled back at him. "Thank you, doctor" she said while he helped her get to her feet. "You are such a nice and caring young man." She took her cane and slowly walked out of the infirmary. The young physician sighed in relief. It was a lot less work now then it was several weeks ago, when the winter had just ended and many people had a cold or fever or the flew, but today was a busy day again. He thought he could take a short break now, but that was only until seconds later he saw Queen Elsa, her royal advisors, her sister and his brother all coming toward him. "Are you Roland Johanson, the Court Physician?" the queen asked. "Uhm, Assistant Court Physician, but yes, that´s me. Do you want me to get you the doctor?" "No, I am here to see you." "Well, your majesty, I´m really sorry, but I can´t see why" the young man explained nervously. Never had he spoken to someone as important as the queen before, even her butler seemed to see himself to much superior to ever talk to him. And why did she want to talk to him, anyway? The doctor was far more experienced in the art of healing, he had just finished school two years ago. "Because you seem to be the only scientist in the whole of Arendelle." "Well, that´s probably true. What could I possibly do for your majesty?" "I need a scientist, I will explain the details to you in private." She glanced at the other people in the room, telling them to leave. "Until we meet again for the next council meeting next week, your majesty" one of the advisors said and they all bowed and left.
"Me too?" Anna asked. "You too" her sister stated. "Oh man. You wouldn´t even be here right now if Robin and I hadn´t been eavesdropping!" "Eavesdropping? I thought you were just passing by." "Uh, yeah, uh, well, we-" "We go now" Robin declared and tugged Anna behind him. "We will talk about eavesdropping later, young lady!" Elsa shouted, which made the two leave even faster, and then smiled. "So, where were we?" "You wanted to inform me about my new job." He sure was nervous but he looked her directly in the eyes, which not a lot of people did. His were of the same dark blue colour as his brothers, but with a spark of green in them as well, like a dark teal. His dark auburn hair was cut rather short and he wasn´t as tall as his brother, probably about 5' 11''. "I want you to try to find out something about my powers" she explained. "But your powers are magic, your majesty. I highly doubt that science can explain magic." She shot him a glance that showed that this was not the answer she had expected. "I mean, I can of course try, run some tests, but they are very time consuming and probably won´t do any good. I have to admit, none of my experiments worked so far, and I´ve never discovered anything new or spectacular. I´m a decent physician your majesty, but counting on me is surely going to be a waste of time, sorry" the young man explained, now constantly looking at the floor. He seemed to be really shy, quite the opposite of his brother, which reminded her of herself and Anna. "Anything is better than nothing. Even if it is a failure, which I don´t believe it will be, we at least tried. Sometimes it´s just all about trying" the queen tried to cheer him up. Elsa was an expert on being miserable, after all. "So, are you willing to help me?" "Of course! I would be honoured to work for you, your majesty, if you want me to. I will start developing a series of tests immediately. What exactly do you want to explore? I mean, uh, what aspects do you want to know more about?" The young man pulled a sheet of parchment out of nowhere and snatched a quill. Now he was all excited and ready to start. "Do you want me to run tests on the heat-resistance of your ice, how cold you can possibly make it, just tell me and I will figure something out." He gave her a questioning look. "I don´t know, I am not familiar with science, I don´t know which test would make the most sense. Something basic, I think, I don´t really know much about my powers at all, besides that I can do the things that I have already done, I have gained all my knowledge through experience" Elsa explained and for the first time realised that she knew close to nothing about her powers at all. Roland nodded and noted something on the parchment. "Alright, then. When do you want me to start?" "As soon as possible." "Tomorrow?" "That would be fine." It would be an excuse to take a break from the paperwork she had to do. "You just have to send some servant to fetch me when you are ready, I´ll most certainly be in the infirmary" the physician told the queen. "Alright, I will see you tomorrow afternoon. Have a nice day" Elsa gave him a graceful nod, he bowed low and then disappeared into another hallway.
"You are gone for a few hours and when you come back, everything´s just entirely different. Like, your sister is trying to explain her powers with science. I mean, I didn´t even know science existed in Arendelle until you told me" Kristoff exclaimed. "Yeah, neither did one of us, but obviously there is. I mean, Robin´s brother has just come back from school one or two years ago, but he is a real scientist, he knows about physics and chemistry and stuff" Anna explained. "And as long as it helps Elsa, I don´t care." Kristoff nodded. Anna was still concerned about her sister a lot, although she wasn´t always showing it. "How´s Robin?" he wanted to know. "I like him, he´s nice, we´ll probably become best friends. Oh, come on, I am allowed to have male friends, as long as it´s platonic and all that." Kristoff smirked about that, he was not so sure Robin wanted to be just friends as well. "I don´t think he´s a challenge for me. He´s barely eighteen and only half-baked whereas I-" "You are a very manly ice harvester with unmanly blonde hair" Anna giggled childishly as she came closer to her boyfriend. Their faces were just inches apart when a voice sounded behind them. "No making out in the hallways, your highness, or I´ll have to report this to your sister" Karlson said. "Oh Karlson, we were just kissing, nothing scandalous. I mean, I´m pretty sure you can kiss someone without consequences even if you´re not married." Karlson´s look clearly showed that he was of a different opinion, but he kept his mouth shut and just shot the couple a warning glance. Kristoff was pretty sure the old butler disliked him in particular. "Sometimes living in a palace just totally sucks" Anna complained.
"Your majesty?" "Yes, please come in." Elsa sat behind her desk doing paperwork when Roland entered the room. "Welcome to my study" the queen greeted her Court Scientist. "Shall we begin?" "Yes, your majesty. I think it is best if we would just stand in the centre of the room, not to close to the furniture." She stood up and came toward where he was standing. "Alright, Roland, I will just do what you tell me to." As the queen, this should be somewhat strange to her, but she had for years followed her parents every order and just recently started making her own decisions. "So, could you make some snow and some ice, please?" the young man, who was holding a notebook and a pen, asked. "Alright. And now make the snow ice and the ice snow, if possible." It was, which was something she had never really cared about, but he noted it in his book. "Can you also make it thaw so it becomes water?" "I don´t think so, but I can try." She focused on some warm thoughts like Anna´s hugs and hot chocolate but the snow and ice just vanished. "Interesting, your powers seem to be tied to the cold, and not to the element water. You see, ice of course is just water that is solid because it´s so cold. If your powers were tied to the element water, then you should be able to make and control water and steam as well, but obviously you aren´t, you can only control ice and snow" he explained to her. "So that is how science works? You do things, observe them and think about what that tells you about it?" He looked like she had just found out about his most embarrassing secret. "Well, yes, that is the basic thing about science, and pretty much everyone can learn that with some time. Everybody can be a scientist, really." "Maybe, but there´s surely more to it than just logical thinking" Elsa stated. He seemed to fear that now that she had found out how science worked, he wouldn´t be needed anymore. "Indeed. There are lots of methods and chemicals and experiments you have to know about and how to perform them, and you need some knowledge about the basic rules of science. And patience" he explained and seemed to be a little more optimistic now. "Then Anna wouldn´t be a good scientist at all" Elsa told him. "Neither would Robin" Roland replied. They shared a smile and got back to their work. "So, does it make a difference to you whether you make ice or snow?" She had to think about that. Did it make a difference to her? She didn´t know, she never really consciously used her magic a lot, and she certainly never tried to make observations about it. She recalled what she had done moments ago. "No, it doesn´t." He nodded and scribbled something into his book. "Okay, there is one last question, your majesty, then we will be finished." Elsa was surprised of this statement, she had been sure this would take a bit longer and be an excuse to do a lot less paperwork than she should. "Well, basically, it´s two. How cold can you possibly make it, and do you ever feel cold?" Another thing she had to think about. When she was up on the North Mountain, she definitely wasn´t feeling cold, and that had been the coldest place in a frozen kingdom, so she was very sure the cold had never bothered her in any way, but how cold she could make it? It was not as if she had ever tried that. "I don´t remember feeling cold ever in my entire life, but I can not tell you how cold my powers can possibly make it, I´m sorry" she explained and felt stupid for knowing so little about the powers she had since she was born. "You don´t have to be, I mean, you always tried to not use your powers, how would you know that? It must be quite a change for you to openly use and try to find out more about them. But that´s what I´m here for, right?" His voice grew fainter as he spoke, but at the last words, he looked up from the ground into her face and smiled at her shyly. "But I´m afraid now I have got another question. Do you feel heat? And if you do, do you feel it in the same extend as your sister, for example?" Heat. She didn´t think she felt heat a lot before, but that could be due to the fact that she had always accidentally frozen, or at least cooled, everything that came close to her. She had only recently discovered what warmth felt like, due to Anna´s hugs, hot chocolate and warm bathing water. It had been refreshing to be able to take a bath again, as she had to stop when she started to freeze the water solid. "Yes, I do feel it, but I never compared it to how Anna did. Wait, there is one thing. Anna always drinks her chocolate sooner after she gets it, when I thinks it´s unbearably hot." That felt good, actually knowing something that could be helpful. "Alright then, your majesty, I propose the following approach: Tomorrow, we will test your ability to cool a room down and not get cold and how you respond to heat, if that goes with your plans" he explained. "It does not interfere with my plans in any way, so I will just have someone call you." "Yes, of course, your majesty. There is one last thing, though. These tests may have results that" he bit his lip and gave her a look that she could not really sort in. "That could be used against you. Trying to define the nature and limitations of your powers will not only surface your strengths but also your weaknesses and I feel obliged to inform you about the danger further tests and experiments could possibly become." He was right, of course, and she again felt silly for not thinking about this. The question was: What was the greater danger, her not knowing about the nature of her powers, or others knowing their limitations? "I appreciate your concern of my well-being, Roland, but I need to know more about my powers. We will continue tomorrow." He nodded and bowed and left the room so she was alone again.