Thank you RJCA27, CrunchdeNumbers, bagofpopcorn, Batman1809, and everyone else who has reviewed my story! I love reading your comments and even if I can't always come up with an intelligent reply, they bring a smile to my face.

But enough about me. On with the story!


Chapter 9: Now That's Ice

After the events of Petition Day, Friday and Saturday passed by in a blur of work. When Elsa wasn't in meetings with the Council and everyone else, she was in her study, buried under a pile of paperwork. Usually she was able to use the weekend to catch up on everything that hadn't gotten done during the week at a leisurely pace, but she had to squeeze two days of catch-up into Saturday. At least Anna and Kristoff were both so busy with their own preparations for the festival that she didn't have to feel guilty about not being with them.

Still, before she knew it, it was Sunday morning, and it was time for her to go.

She made her way out into the courtyard. She was wearing the blue cloak with the snowflakes that Anna had gotten her for Yule. It seemed appropriate for a winter festival. Plus, the dark blue worked well against her pale coloring … or so Elsa thought, and Marte had enthusiastically agreed.

Kai was waiting in the courtyard with the royal sleigh. Anna had gone to the park before dawn to assist in the judging; Kristoff had taken her, and Olaf had gone with them. Since the sun only rose at nine this time of year and was gone before four in the afternoon, the festival would open sharply at ten to allow everyone as much time as they could to enjoy the ice sculptures.

Not that opening day would be the only time to enjoy the Winter Festival. The park and the ice sculptures would be on display until spring came. Food vendors and artisans selling little trinkets would be there every week. But there was something to be said for the charms of opening day.

Or so Elsa was told.

She sat next to Kai in the sleigh. Kai smiled fondly down at her. "I hope you don't me saying so, but you look very lovely today, Your Majesty. Your parents would be so proud if they could see you."

Elsa smiled. "Thank you." She arranged both of her hands in her white fur muff and took a deep breath.

Kai gently touched the reins, and the horses began to move forward. "You will be fine, you know."

"I keep trying to tell myself that. I—"

Elsa could say no more. They were crossing the causeway, and the cheer that came up from the people nearby drowned out all hope of conversation.

"Gods bless you, Queen Elsa!"

"Long live the Queen!"

"Queen Elsa!" That was a very young voice. "Do the magic!"

Elsa gasped – but when she turned to look for the young speaker, they had already passed by, and the crowd had swallowed the child up.

The guards had done a good job of forcing the crowds back, and she and Kai made good time to the park. Kai stopped the sleigh at the entrance, which was blocked with a royal blue ribbon. The mayor of Rosen was standing nearby, anxiously pulling at his lapels until he saw Kai helping Elsa out of the carriage.

"Your Majesty!" The mayor hurried forward, then, remembering himself, bowed, "Words cannot express how honored I am that you elected to open up the Festival this year! Might I hope that this is the beginning of a fine new tradition?" He grinned at her. Somewhat to her surprise, the grin looked wholly genuine to Elsa.

"I … cannot say for certain. But I would not want to trespass too far on your good nature, Master Mayor. I do understand that opening up the Winter Festival is traditionally one of the benefits of the office of mayor."

The mayor winced. "Well, if I am to be completely honest, Your Majesty … there comes a time when one grows tired of ceremony. I am sure you would understand, of all people?" His smile was accompanied by a wink. "Besides … they expect me to make a speech. You, all you have to do is cut the ribbon, smile, and look pretty, and everyone will be more than satisfied!"

Elsa laughed, or tried to, since she wasn't entirely sure that was as much of a compliment as the mayor seemed to think it was. She glanced at the assembled dignitaries. Most of them were representatives of the various guilds, aldermen of the city, and – Arud. Elsa tried not to wince. It was only natural he would be here as the representative from Letemark, but she had yet to reprimand him for his actions during her first meeting with the Weselton delegation, and now would not be the time.

The mayor noticed her glance and gasped, remembering himself. "Ah, Your Majesty, forgive me! I've been keeping you to myself all this time. Here, let me introduce you …" He lead her forward and the inevitable exchange of pleasantries began.

They occupied themselves in small talk for the next few minutes, at least until the mayor took his pocket watch from his waistcoat and glanced at it. "Only two minutes to ten … goodness, I wonder what's keeping the committee …"

"Here we are!" That was Anna's clear, ringing voice – the crowd sent up a cheer as her red pigtails bounced into view. She spared only a moment to wave at them before ducking under the ribbon. "Sorry about that! The judging took longer than we thought it would."

"Well," said Chancellor Tennfjord – Elsa wondered how she had been roped into the judging for the Winter Festival, but forbore to ask – "some of us had to spend a great deal of time exclaiming over every ice sculpture. And trying to determine who had made it." Even as the Chancellor rolled her eyes, there was something indulgent in the way she smiled at Anna.

"I just want to make sure that the best ice sculptor wins!" Anna replied, trying to make her smile look innocent and failing miserably.

Elsa shook her head and chuckled. Anna grabbed her arm. "So! Are we almost ready to get things open?"

"Oh, yes!" The mayor hurried forward. He took a pair of scissors from the pocket of his greatcoat and handed them to Elsa. "I'll introduce you, Your Majesty, and then you can open up the festival, and then," he clapped his gloved hands together, "we shall have a splendid day!"

Elsa tried to smile, but just taking the scissors was enough to make the nervousness bubble up within her. The way the crowd cheered when she flashed that nervous smile at them didn't help.

"People of Rosen!" called the mayor, signaling to the people to be quiet. "It is my great pleasure to—"

The sound of church bells from Rosen's great cathedral – ten o'clock – forced him to stop speaking. As soon as the last chime died away, the mayor sighed and shrugged. "Well, bully that! I said the festival would open at ten o'clock, and so it shall!" He waited only for the obligatory cheer to die down before turning to Elsa. "Your Majesty, will you do us the honors?"

What, now? Already? With no time to prepare?

"I …" Elsa coughed, as if to clear her throat, really to calm her nerves. She put the scissors against the ribbon. "I hereby declare this festival," she snipped, "to be open!"

The ribbon fell away, but Elsa had no time to wave to the crowd or show them the merest respect – Anna was already dragging Elsa inside, Kai just barely following behind. "Finally! Oh, Elsa, this is going to be so much fun! We're going to check out the different stalls, one of the old ladies has the most adorable scarves and I think you and I should buy matching ones, and then we're going to get some hot chocolate, and then we're going to see every last ice sculpture and try to figure out which one is Kristoff's, because I looked and looked and couldn't figure it out—"

"Wait. Where is Kristoff?" Elsa looked around. "And Olaf?" She almost asked after Sven, too, but realized that he was probably with the sleigh.

… Probably.

"Oh, they're meeting us at the North Pavilion!"

"The … North Pavilion?"

"Yup! It's where we put all the food vendors!" Anna replied. "And there's a stage in the middle, too! We've got different musicians coming in every weekend, plus there are dancers, and we even managed to get the theater to put on a couple of little acts."

Elsa blinked. "I don't remember that from when we used to come as children."

"You wouldn't. This was my idea!" Anna continued to bound ahead, Elsa following as quickly as she could and wondering what else about the Festival had changed, and how much of that was due to Anna's influence.

Anna led way right to the scarf-vendor, a charming old lady who nearly fell off her stool when she saw the Princess and Queen making a beeline for her stall. "I told you I'd be back with Elsa, Mistress Larsdatter!"

"Yes, my dear – I mean Your Highness!" The old lady smiled nervously at Anna and Elsa, and Elsa smiled just as nervously back at her.

Then Anna started chattering, and Mistress Larsdatter turned to her, and all thoughts of nervousness were washed away with Anna's bubbly good spirits.

In the end they didn't get matching scarves. Anna selected a rich forest green scarf that she immediately wrapped around her neck, complete with matching cap, while Elsa found a snow-white fichu that she asked Mistress Larsdatter to wrap for her. Anna barely gave Kai enough time to settle the payment with Mistress Larsdatter before she was dragging Elsa off to another stall.

They spend about an hour dashing from stall to stall, oohing and aahing over the pretty things for sale, before finally making their way to the North Pavilion and food. Luckily Kristoff had already saved them a table, and luckily he was easy to find: he was the only one with at a table with an exited snowman dancing on top and a bored-looking reindeer chewing on a carrot standing next to them.

"Have a seat, my ladies," said Kai, pulling out one of the rough wooden benches so Anna and Elsa could slide onto it. "Now what can I get for you?"

"Hot chocolate for everybody!" replied Anna. "And let's see – oh, there's one lady selling cinnamon-coated pretzels, make sure you get a pretzel for all us, Kai. Now, what else …" Anna paused a minute, then she rattled off an order that would make for a substantial lunch for all of them, Kai, Kristoff, and even Sven included.

"Here, Kai," Kristoff said, standing up, "Let me help you get all of that."

"It's no trouble, Master Bjorgman."

"Don't be silly, with the way a certain someone eats," he nodded to Anna, "it's either going to take two people or two trips. And it's Kristoff."

"Well …" Kai clearly considered the logic of that. "If you insist …"

Kai and Kristoff walked off. Elsa was fairly certain she heard another "Master Bjorgman" coming from Kai's direction. Oh, Kristoff, you won't win that battle with Kai, no matter what others you may win!

Anna scooted nearer to Elsa on the bench and wrapped a quick arm around her shoulder. "Isn't this the best?"

"It is," Elsa agreed.

Anna started talking about the rest of what she wanted to do for the day, and as she talked, Elsa let her gaze wander. One group of musicians was exiting the makeshift stage to make room for another group. She could see families sitting around the pavilion, people of all sorts talking, laughing, and eating. So this is Arendelle, she thought. Everyone in one place, having a good time. When was the last time she had seen that?

Then she saw the Ambassador.

He was leaning against one of the columns of the pavilion, drinking something. As far as Elsa could tell, he was alone. He had a small half-smile on his face, and he seemed thoroughly absorbed in people watching.

Elsa turned away before he could realize that he had become one of the watched.

But as their meal progressed – even after Kristoff and Kai came back with more food than Elsa thought they could eat in a week, let alone one meal – Elsa kept glancing back at the Ambassador. He was by himself. He didn't seem to mind too much, but …

Nobody else was all by themselves …

When they finished, somehow managing to finish all of that food, except for some chocolates that Anna stowed in her bag to save for later, the Ambassador was still standing by himself. Elsa bit her lip and glanced at Anna and Kristoff, Olaf and Kai, even Sven. "Excuse me a moment," she murmured, then slipped away.

She hurried across the pavilion, head ducked down and hoping no one was noticing her – at least not until she came to the Ambassador. "Ambassador?" she asked.

He straightened, blinking, and started to bow. "Your Maj—"

"No – no, please, there's no need to stand on ceremony." She tried to smile. "I just couldn't –" No, that wasn't the way to go about it. "Are you waiting for your party?" Elsa asked instead.

The Ambassador grinned a little ruefully and shrugged. "Alas, no. It's just me today. Master Grahn and Master Pilkvist …" He shrugged again.

"Oh. Well – would you like to join our party?" Elsa asked.

The Ambassador's jaw fell. "Truly?"

"I …" Elsa twisted her hands together, and since she had left her muff at the table, there was no hiding it from him. "The Winter Festival isn't something one should have to enjoy all by oneself …"

"I would be honored," the Ambassador replied. "That is – if—"

"Of course," Elsa answered. Before she quite knew what she was doing, she extended her arm in an inviting way. The Ambassador took it with a huge smile that made Elsa flush and stare at her skirts.

"So," the Ambassador asked as they began to walk. "Where is your party?"

Elsa chuckled. "I assure you, we're not difficult to find. Just look for the large mountain man, the reindeer, and the scampering snowman."

"… You know, that would set you apart from virtually every other group of people here."

"Or anywhere else, I'd imagine."

The Ambassador's only reply to that was a chuckle, and together they hurried back to Anna and the rest of the group.

Anna was the first to see them coming; her wide eyes told quite the story. She elbowed Kristoff, who turned to her, then to them, and then his eyes went wide too.

"Nick!" That, of course, was Olaf. "Hi, Nick!"

"Hello, Olaf," Nick replied. He barely had time to brace himself for a warm hug.

Meanwhile, Anna and Kristoff were looking at Elsa, then the Ambassador, then each other. When Anna looked back to Elsa, there was a question in her raised eyebrow that made Elsa flush again. Even if it wasn't like that.

Then she remembered her duty (at about the time Olaf let go of the Ambassador). "Um – anyway! Ambassador, Anna, you know each other," the Ambassador let go of her long enough to bow, Anna ducked in a hasty curtsey, "and you've met Master Andersson," Kai bowed slightly, "which leaves," Elsa took a deep breath, "Master Kristoff Bjorgman, Arendelle's Official Ice Master and Deliverer. Kristoff, this is Ambassador Solberg, of Weselton."

Kristoff's eyebrows had migrated somewhere into his hairline in the middle of that, and with no further ado he stuck his hand out to the Ambassador. "Hi. I'm Kristoff, Kristoff Bjorgman."

For some reason, the Ambassador … grinned? "Nick, Nick Solberg. Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise," replied Kristoff as they shook hands.

"Ok!" Anna said. "Now that we all know each other, we can go see the sculptures. Kristoff, you have to show us which one is yours!"

"No."

"No?"

"You haven't announced the winner yet!"

"So? The judging's all in! I can't change anything now."

"Oh! Oh, well, in that case …" Kristoff grinned, grabbed Anna's hand, and the two of them scampered into the park, Olaf and Sven following and Kai doing his best to keep up.

The Ambassador glanced sidelong at Elsa, then hesitantly offered his arm. "Your Majesty?"

"Thank you," she said, taking it, and they followed her sister and her mountain man into the park.

They didn't make it to Kristoff's ice sculpture first. There were too many others to see and exclaim over. There was a water well, complete with chain and bucket, titled "I'm Wishing," and a mermaid sunning herself on a rock called "Part of Your World." A carving of a tin soldier, missing one leg but featuring hat and crossbow, was called "Steadfast." Anna exclaimed over an orangutan sitting on a throne, called "I Wanna Be Like You," and Elsa noticed how the Ambassador's steps slowed when they passed a table set with a teapot and cup, candelabra, and mantel clock called "Be Our Guest." As for Elsa, her favorite was the darling little fawn splayed on what had to be a frozen pond, looking at his legs with a puzzled expression. That one was called "A Little Wobbly."

"Are you kidding?" Anna asked as they stopped to look. "This isn't yours?" she asked Kristoff.

"… No?" Kristoff replied. He glanced at Sven, who shrugged.

"But—but it's a reindeer! I was almost sure it was yours!"

"No, it's not."

"Yes, you said it wasn't, I got that—"

"No, I mean – it's not a reindeer."

Elsa had to hide her mouth behind her hand so Anna wouldn't see her giggling.

"It's … not?" Anna asked.

Kristoff shook his head.

"Then … what is it?"

Kristoff tilted his head to one side and scratched his head. "Dunno. Maybe a white-tail dear? Maybe a roe deer. Kind of hard to tell when it's just … ice."

"… I guess," Anna replied. "Well! Then you have to show us yours!"

"All right, all right, hold your horses, feistypants."

Kristoff led the way to where his ice sculpture was installed. And when Elsa saw it, she wondered how Anna could have thought anyone but Kristoff created it.

After all, there were fewer than a dozen people who had seen her ice palace, and as far as Elsa knew, only one of them was in the contest.

"… This was my second guess," Anna said when they came to a stop in front of the sculpture.

Elsa felt a slight tug on her arm – the Ambassador, adjusting his spectacles and moving a little closer to the sculpture. Elsa let go of him and waved him forward, while she stepped back.

"Fascinating," the Ambassador murmured, circling around the sculpture.

"You – you like it, Nick?" asked Kristoff. Elsa would have been deaf not to hear the pride in his voice.

"It's extraordinary!" The Ambassador looked up and down the sculpture, taking in the soaring towers, the balconies, and everything else. "I've never seen a castle based on a hexagonal shape before. Where did you get the inspiration, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh, that's easy, I—" Kristoff started, then he turned toward Elsa, probably to say exactly where he got the idea.

Elsa was shaking her head, and Kristoff's mouth clicked shut. "It … um, just came to me."

"Just came to you?" Olaf started. "Kristoff, what are you—oof! Anna!"

Anna had dropped to the ground and was giving Olaf a big hug. "Olaf—I just remembered, it's been too long since I gave you a warm hug!"

"D'aww, Anna, that's nice of you!"

Over Olaf's head, Anna winked at Elsa. Elsa smiled back.

As the Ambassador continued to circle the sculpture and examine it from every angle, Kai sidled next to Elsa. "Did Master Bjorgman do it justice, Your Majesty?"

Elsa swallowed, but she had to nod. It didn't catch the light the way her ice palace did, but every detail that Kristoff could capture with his blade had been captured.

Her reverie was interrupted by the chiming of the bells – quarter to two. Elsa blinked. Where had the time gone?

Anna gasped. "Crap! I have to announce the winners in fifteen minutes! Come on, Elsa!" Anna grabbed Elsa's hand and dragged her forward. "We have to get back to the North Pavilion!"

"Wait – we? Anna, you didn't say I had anything to do with this!"

"You don't! Well, ok, I said you'd hand out the prizes, but that's easy! All you have to do is smile and hand out the medals!"

Elsa sighed as she gathered her skirts in one hand and jogged with Anna. "You know, Anna – one of these days, you and I need to have a talk about proper warnings."

"If I gave you proper warnings you'd never agree to anything! Now, come on!" Anna (somehow) picked up speed, and it was all Elsa could do to keep up.

They made it back to the North Pavilion, scooting around the crowds that were already forming. Anna dashed up the steps while Elsa tried to make her way up with something resembling dignity. "Hi!" Anna said, a little breathlessly, when she got to the top. "We're not late, are we?"

"Ah, royalty is never late," replied Chancellor Tennfjord with a faint smile, "everyone else is merely early. However, I will point out that we were a bit worried about how early we were going to be, until you arrived."

Elsa flushed, but all Anna said was, "Phew! So we're not late. Ok, Elsa, you're handing out the prizes …" Anna looked around and grabbed the three medals. Gold, silver, and bronze – or, if Elsa's eyes were any judge, almost gold, silver-ish, and more-or-less bronze. "The prize is mostly bragging rights," said Anna with a shrug. "I wanted the medals, but we didn't have much of a budget for them."

Elsa weighed the medals in her hand. They were simple, but they were something tangible. Real. More lasting than the memories or even the sculptures. "I don't think anyone will be complaining, Anna. It's a lovely touch. Just like everything else you came up with."

Elsa hadn't even thought before she spoke, but when she looked up, Anna was beaming. "Really, Elsa? You really think that?"

"Of co—"

She didn't get a chance to finish; Anna practically tackled her. "Thank you so much, Elsa. That means a lot, coming from you."

"You—you're welcome. You're always welcome," Elsa answered, hugging her little sister back.

Anna's hugs were even warmer than Olaf's.

Chancellor Tennfjord coughed, and just after her cough, the cathedral bells began to ring. "Right! Prizes! Winners!" Anna said. She turned around, and while they waited for the bells to quiet, she waved to the crowd.

The crowd's cheer completely drowned out the bells.

"Hello, everybody!" Anna replied as soon as the bells died down. "Is everyone having a good time?"

That cheer was even louder than the first.

"Great! Well, then I hope you'll be back for next weekend, and the weekend after that, and so on! There will be food and vendors here every weekend, as long as the weather isn't too bad, and the sculptures will be up all winter. So make sure to bring your friends and families if they haven't been here yet!" Anna cleared her throat. "However! I'm sure you didn't want to hear the schedule. You wanted to hear the prizes!"

This time, hats went up in the air as the cheer came up.

"Unfortunately, we can't do that just yet. First I want to thank everyone else on the committee, Chancellor Tennfjord, Master Spillum, Mistress Hagebak …"

After six months on the throne, Elsa had a very good sense of when she needed to listen, and when it was appropriate to smile, look attentive, and let her mind wander. So she did so, though her eyes were a little busier. She hoped Kristoff, Kai, Sven and Olaf were close.

There they are! Sven was the only reindeer in the crowd, which made finding everyone else that much easier. The Ambassador was still with them. For some reason this made Elsa smile.

"… but now that we've gotten that out of the way, on to the prizes!" Anna finished. "The envelope, please?" she asked the Chancellor.

Chancellor Tennfjord pulled a slim white envelope out of her sleeve. "Third place," she murmured.

"I know – so, for third place," Anna pitched her voice to carry, "the bronze medal, and bragging rights for the next year, we have the sculpture 'I Got No Strings,' by Josef Danielsen!"

Josef Danielsen was an older man with a shock of white hair, a mustache, and a pair of spectacles perched on a large red nose. He grinned openly as he came up to the stage to receive his medal; then he bowed to the crowd. Soon, though, he was ushered off the stage to make way for the next winner.

"Ok, for second place …" Chancellor Tennfjord passed the second envelope to Anna, "we have 'Mistress of All Evil' – oh, that one was good, I'm going to get nightmares from that one! – by Frida Matsdatter!"

Frida, a short young woman with a red bonnet and a red cloak, bounded up to the stage. She gratefully accepted the medal from Elsa and made her curtsey to the crowd.

Then it was time for the winner to be announced. Chancellor Tennfjord handed Anna the third envelope. Anna's hands were trembling; Elsa moved forward almost without realizing it.

"All right, everybody, this is it – the big one! The winner of the first place gets not only an almost-gold medal," Elsa held it up obligingly to a cheer, "but, I'm told, bragging rights forever! And the winner is …" Anna ripped open the envelope and read it.

She gasped. "Kristoff!" She waved the sheet of paper. "Kristoff, you WON!"

Elsa was grateful for her vantage point; the shocked expression on Kristoff's face was one she would remember until the day she died. "What do mean, I won?"

"You WON! You won, it's right here!" Anna jumped up and down. "Come and look at it if you don't believe me, you big lunk!"

"I believe you!" Kristoff made his way through the crowd. "I just can't believe I won!"

"Well, believe it!" Anna took a few steps backward.

"Anna, wait, what are you—" Elsa started.

Anna took running leap off the stage, her arms out and cloak flying – Elsa couldn't look, but she had to look, she had to create a snow pile in face Anna missed –

She didn't miss. She landed right in Kristoff's arms, and he spun her in a full circle before finally setting her down again. Elsa let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding.

Then she looked away, because she had found that not witnessing public and improper displays of affection between Anna and Kristoff was the only foolproof scheme she had to ensure that she wouldn't have to do anything about them.

Unfortunately, she would have had to be much more naïve and sheltered than she already was to not know why everyone was suddenly cheering.

When Elsa figured they must have run out of air, she dared to look down. Kristoff and Anna were still locked in each other's arms, staring into each other's eyes. Elsa coughed. "Anna?"

Anna looked up. "Oh!" Elsa held out the medal. "Thanks, Elsa!" Elsa tossed it down, and Anna put it on Kristoff's neck, Kristoff beaming all the while. Then they hugged again, and Elsa thought it prudent to look away.

"However, everybody!" Anna called out after what felt like an eternity, "We have another surprise for you! Come on, Elsa!"

Come on, Elsa? "Anna?"

Anna was looking up with that big, hopeful smile, and those big, hopeful eyes, and Elsa had a feeling that she wasn't going to be able to say no to whatever was coming next.

However, she still had her dignity. So even though Kristoff wordlessly offered to catch her if she wanted to leap of the stage, she took the stairs.

"Come on!" Anna hooked her arm through Elsa's and led them forward in a pace that was just shy of a run. Elsa could hear the rest of the crowd following.

Anna led the way to the pond in the middle of the park, frozen over now more or less. "Here it is, Elsa!"

"Here … what is?"

"The space for your masterpiece! Make something!" Anna clapped her hands and moved back.

Elsa barely held back a gasp. She glanced over her shoulder at the assembled crowd. Kristoff and Olaf (and Sven) were at the forefront, all looking very eager, even Sven. But everyone else …

She could only see smiling faces, but the faces up front would be smiling, wouldn't they? They would be the eager ones, the curious ones. The hostile ones, the annoyed ones, they'd see no reason to hurry and so would be hostile and annoyed in the back, where she couldn't see them.

"Elsa." Anna's hand was on her arm, a big smile on her face. "Everyone will love it. I promise. We all want to see what you can do."

"I …"

Elsa had kept her door closed to her sister for thirteen years because of that face. That face she could never say no to. And it was being turned on her now.

She tried to smile in reply. "All right."

"Yay, she's going to do it!" The crowd cheered in reply.

Elsa turned back to the pond. She frowned. Then she started to pace.

She paced for a few minutes before Anna spoke. "Um … Elsa …"

"I'm thinking." She sent a rueful smile to her sister. "I told you, Anna. Proper warning."

"Ah. Right."

Elsa continued to pace. She looked again at her canvas –

And then she had it.

She strode forward to the pond. It wasn't safe enough to walk on, at least for anyone who wasn't Elsa. But the moment Elsa's foot hovered over it, an extra foot of ice grew from the surface of the pond, just to be safe. She stepped onto the ice.

Then she started to create.

She moved all around the ice, her hands wafting through the air as the pictures in her mind took shape on the ice around her. It wasn't perfect. She didn't have enough time, enough study, to make it perfect. But … it would do, for now.

When she was finished, Elsa turned to Anna and the crowd.

She saw many fallen jaws, not least of which were Anna's and Kristoff's. Elsa tried to smile. "It's – it's –"

"It's ROSEN!" shouted Olaf, jumping into the air. "WOW, Elsa! That's amazing!"

And it was. It was the whole city, in miniature – the palace wasn't even as tall as Elsa – not quite to scale, not quite perfect, but there, and recognizable.

"The—the ice is thick enough to skate in the fjords," Elsa said. "Er … metaphorically speaking. As long as not too many people come out at once." When nobody else seemed inclined to say anything, she asked, "Do … do you like it?"

"Do we LIKE it?" answered Olaf, again. "We LOVE IT!"

And for once, Olaf seemed to speak for everybody, for the crowd cheered, and hats were thrown in the air, and Anna ran onto the ice and hugged Elsa, and for once, just for once, Elsa felt like she was in the middle of a group of people who might actually like her.


"… and then the whole crowd started to cheer, and it was just disgusting," sighed the voice above Olaf – Roahl, Olaf thought. He remembered him and his friend Knut from earlier in the week, the last time he'd been at the Priest and Fish.

They had nearly ruined his evening last week with the nasty things they said. Olaf was afraid they were gearing up for a repeat.

"The multitude always will cheer a spectacle, Roahl," replied Knut. "It's bread and circuses, my friend, that's all."

Roahl sighed. "We could us a little more bread in my quarter of the world and a few less circuses."

Knut tapped his mug on the table; Olaf could hear every last metallic clink. "The delegation has not even been negotiating for a week …"

"And she threw your petition right in your face. I'm not holding out hope that we'll get the embargo lifted before spring."

"Perhaps a bit more public pressure. Perhaps Cicero—"

"Oh, gods, not Cicero again!" Roahl sighed. "Have you even gotten Hummel to print another Cicero letter?"

Silence, then more tapping of the cup. "The problem with Hummel," Knut finally replied, "is that he's a man whose loyalty can be rented, but not bought."

"He's not going to print another?"

"Oh, he will. When he has the space," Knut scoffed. "He has no understanding of the stakes."

"No. He just wants to sell more newspapers. Huh." Roahl chuckled. It was the kind of chuckle that made Olaf feel shivery, and not in a good way. "His is probably the only business that's improved since she took over."

"Unfortunately, you might be correct. And unfortunately for us, the Times is still the best-regarded paper in the city, if not the country."

"Meaning it's the one the toffs read."

"… Yes," Knut agreed.

"And if we can't get the toffs on our side, we've got no one."

"Well …" Olaf watched as Knut leaned back in his chair, rising and falling on his toes. "There may be … other ways to get the people's attention. We may not require the support of the aristocracy. That was going to be enough of an uphill battle anyway. Perhaps if we can get the common people on our side – surely there are enough sailors and dockworkers out of work …"

"Maybe. Maybe not. You forget, this is a slow season for them, the sailors especially. They might have hope things'll pick up by spring."

"Surely all men of good conscience …"

"Hang good conscience, Knut. Conscience doesn't move men, bread does." Roahl paused. "And maybe the occasional circus."

"Hmm. Perhaps … perhaps we've been going about this the wrong way. Mere newspaper articles … sure, that was how the Americans started things, but—"

"Oh, you and your Americans!" Roahl sighed, the table seemed to tremble as if a weight had suddenly been lifted from it. "How many times do I have to tell you that Arendelle isn't America? Our problem isn't an ocean away, it's right here. It's not going mad, either. And it's got all the wealthy and influential men in its back pocket."

"So you say. But I say – perhaps a few pamphlets devoted specifically to the issue, instead of using the Times, perhaps some street speeches, something to get the people riled up—"

"Which is all well and good of you to say, but who's going to pay attention to a political pamphlet? I've never bought one of the things in my life! Face it, unless you have some big trick up your sleeve, nobody's going to pay attention."

"That – that cannot be the case. The Americans—"

"I'm telling you, the Americans don't matter! That was there, this was now. Even if they didn't—" Roahl stopped suddenly.

"Roahl?" asked Knut. "Roahl, are you all right?"

"But they did, didn't they?" Roahl asked.

"Did—didn't do? Did what?"

"The tea – the tea in the river. What city was it? Baltimore? The Baltimore Tea Party?"

"What? Oh—you mean the destruction of the tea in Boston Harbor?"

"Yes—yes, that! That's what the Americans did! Something big, something to get everyone's attention!" Roahl pounded his fist on the table; then he lowered his voice so Olaf could barely hear him. "That's what we need. Some big demonstration, something that will get people's to notice … something …" He jumped in his seat. "I have it!"

"Oh?"

Olaf heard the chairs scraping and barely scampered away as the two men got closer to each other, right where he was sitting a second before. He could only hear snatches of the conversation.

"If I …"

"Yes?"

"Then we …"

"No! Would she?"

"Guess."

"Ah, now I get it!"

Then Olaf heard a chuckle, one that made him shiver. "Let's go."


You knew I couldn't end on a happy note when the whole chapter was happy, didn't you? Review, favorite, follow – I appreciate feedback of all sorts. Thanks in advance!

Also, I will be awarding 10 Internets to whomever can name all of the Disney references in this chapter. Results will be posted at the beginning of next chapter. ;)