"Maximus!"

Rapunzel ran over and hugged the great white mare around his broad neck. "I'm so glad to see you, Maximus! Oh, you're such a good guard horse!" She brushed back his braided mane. "To think you followed us all this way."

Eugene groaned. "Why did you follow us here? And how did you follow us?"

Maximus glared at the man, but neighed a few times in reply.

"Well now that that's cleared up...do you think I speak horse?!"

"He was just worried about us," Rapunzel cooed, "weren't you, boy?"

Maximus snuggled his nose into Rapunzel's neck, causing her to giggle. "Oh, Maximus," she guided him over to Prince Marco, "may I introduce you to Prince Marco of Sicilia. He's another guest of the Coronation...," she looked away, "which has been slightly delayed."

"We've already met, actually," Marco admitted, "you see, while my ship was heading out this way, we passed by the ocean beyond Corona, and to our surprise found a magnificent horse riding a small raft in the direction of Arendelle! Not wanting to leave him we picked him up and brought him here. I left him at the stables to eat up and rest after his long journey. I never realized he was such an important figure from your Kingdom."

"Hah," Eugene snorted, "he wishes. He's just head of the guards...which reminds me. Who's in charge while you're away?"

"Your excellence," the royal guard enquired, "there's panic in the streets! We're under attack from a group of rag-tag bandits, and we're short staffed! What do we do?"

Pascal made a small 'eep' sound and ducked under the papers at the main desk in the castle office, going a bright red.

"Um...your excellence?"

Maximus shrugged.

"Well that makes me feel a whole lot better."

"Never mind that right now," Rapunzel rubbed the horse's back, "we have bigger things to worry about. Eugene, you go speak to Hans about the situation. Prince Marco, if you would be so kind I'd like you to check out the fiords if you could. Maximus and I will find us some clothing to wear for the cold weather ahead."

Eugene smiled. And she was worried she wouldn't make a good Queen someday. "Don't worry, I'm on it. Prince Hans couldn't have gotten too far." He raced off into the castle.

Prince Marco bowed to Rapunzel. "I'll go see if there's anything amiss at the fiords." He paced away, leaving Rapunzel and Maximus alone. The rest of the villagers were already home, preparing for the winter temperatures.

Rapunzel pet Maximus on the head. "...Oh, Maximus, what do I do? Queen Elsa has run off, and now it's snowing. I know she didn't mean it, but...what if she doesn't want to come back? What if she's too scared to unfreeze everything?"

Maximus sensed the great worry Rapunzel bore, and nudged her with his wet nose to comfort her. She smiled and hugged him again. "You want to tell me that I'm not alone, don't you?" After a moment of standing together, she nodded.

"You're right. Now, let's go and find us some better clothing before we freeze to death!"

"How far could he have gotten?" Eugene looked around every corner of the castle, but Hans was nowhere to be seen. "Prince Hans? Hello?"

"Yes?"

He turned to see the young Prince rushing up to him. "Has something happened?"

He shook his head. "No, there's no need to worry. I was just wondering...you know, what's next. We have quite the situation on our hands."

"You mean I have quite the situation on my hands."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Just you...?"

Prince Hans sighed. "I mean that I don't want you or any of the guests to worry yourselves. I'll take care of everything, okay? I just...I just want you all to stay together and be safe and secure. I can handle it, honest – I will fix this."

Strange...he almost sounded...possessive?...Geez, Eugene, way to jump to conclusions! The poor guy has a lot on his plate right now, that's all...still... "You know, you don't have to do it alone. What with all of the Dukes here-"

"I could never ask them to help care for an entire Kingdom," Hans cut him off, "it'd be too stressful...I mean, yes, they already help run their own Kingdoms, but..."

"We can help," Eugene assured him, "Princess Anna didn't mean for you to do everything alone, did she?"

Prince Hans smiled at him. "...You're right. Perhaps asking for some help would be most beneficial...for the Kingdom's safety."

"Oh no."

Prince Marco gawked at the sight. Boats, rafts, docks – everything was frozen in ice. Not a single trace of the fiord was left untouched by Queen Elsa's power. The winds blew hard and sent chills through him, and he shivered. "Brr! This is b-bad – t-the f-fiord is completely f-frozen over!"

Another thought suddenly raced through his mind - one that only worsened the situation.

"...N-no one c-can leave! W-we're t-trapped here!"

"These should do," Rapunzel commented as she picked out the clothes for her, Eugene and Marco. They had stopped at a small store and managed to pick out some cheap articles before they were sold out. Maximus even found a new set of reigns, saddle and dark velvet blanket to put under.

"Well," Rapunzel asked as she walked out of the changing room in front of the horse, "what do you think?"

Her winter outfit consisted of a dark indigo button-up jacket and matching dress underneath, with some black winter boots, mittens and a bright white snow cap that was snug over her ears. She twirled around. "It's so comfy!"

Maximus neighed in agreement. She looked beautiful!

"Thank you, Maximus." She strode over, but was distracted by a glance outside the window. It looked far off into the mountains, shrouded in snow. She placed her hand up against the brisk glass. "...Oh, Elsa..."

Clenching her fist, she bit her lip. There has to be a way...

"...Maximus, let's find Eugene," she turned back to him,

"I know what we have to do."