Sitting on a large rock from which he can see North Mountain in the far distance, the old troll has his eyes closed. He is far from asleep though. "Reading the air", which humans might consider to be a form of magic, is a concept that at some point he tried to explain to Kristoff, and even though the boy is part of the family, as a human he lacks the troll senses that would really make him understand. Pabbie wonders if Elsa, of all humans, may understand. Most likely, he muses. Eventually, at least.
And he wonders if it would have been better to have Elsa stay with the trolls to learn and understand her form of magic. But she was a human girl after all, and a heir to a throne no less. So a decision was taken at the time. For better or worse, it was taken.
Unseen to the human eye, a shimmer twists and turns around North Mountain, as if in search of something, calling out soundlessly even as the shimmer grows fainter and fainter.
And then, the last of the ice palace collapses onto itself in a thundering crash that takes seconds to reach the troll's ears and which persists for quite some time until it is replaced by an utter silence.
Pabbie opens his eyes. It's time to pay his son a visit.
Further down the mountain, having finished his work for the day, Kristoff allows himself a respite. He wipes his brow, then sits down next to a still dozing Sven (the summer is just too hot for a reindeer!), back against the wall of his small house, and pats his friend's back. It is early evening, and Anna and Elsa should've been back from their trip by now. They wanted to stop by again on their way down, didn't they?
Kristoff wonders if Anna will be all smiles, with Elsa more composed but eyes shining just the same. He hopes it will be the case at least.
It is so easy to see really. How much they love each other.
Kristoff stretches and smiles at the recollection of Anna, confessing in small, but excited voice a shared kiss with Elsa in the library. And then how right it felt and yet how she has no clue what this means and if Kristoff thinks it's weird because they are sisters after all and how Elsa cried a bit then and they haven't talked about it but it feels like they will and…
Anna really is adorable when she rambles.
He cares about Anna. And about Elsa now, as well. What a relevation, Kristoff ponders, to find out that you have come to care deeply for two girls you didn't even know a few months ago. That you are able to care, outside the circle of those you have been your family for most of your life. And he doesn't need more than what he has now, does he…
Kristoff scans the path to the mountain for any signs of the siblings. Maybe they are just late. Maybe they went straight back home to the castle.
Olaf crosses his field of vision, seemingly lost in thought as he wanders by with eyes fixed on the ground, muttering to himself. The little snowman, usually so talkative and carefree, seems bewildered. Has he been like this for a while now? Kristoff didn't really pay much attention to him, absorbed in his work as he was.
"Olaf?" Kristoff calls out to him, but there is no reaction. The snowman continues to waddle on, dutifully followed by his little cloud.
Kristoff shakes his head, about to close his eyes when a familiar voice to his right startles him out of his relaxed position.
"Son, you need to do me a favor."
Having your hair down really makes one feel a bit like a different person, Anna muses as she walks down the corridor next to Elsa. She feels difference of temperature on her left side, a cold that originates from ice dress that Elsa is wearing and that is not just stunning, but that could be called almost intimidating if Anna didn't know better. It definitely commands respect, which considering the circumstances might be just the kind of message. When she is a monarch, Elsa really does have a way how to deal with people.
Torben and Gustav, another guard, are standing outside the council room, positioned at either side of the double-winged door. Is she only imagining it, Anna ponders, or have they always looked to stern when foreign visitors are present? She knows them by name – she knows everyone in the castle by name in fact – and usually they nod and smile when she passes by. But now their faces are expressionless, military-like if not for a flicker in Torben's eyes. And it dawns on Anna that if Arendelle is going to war, then the guards know that they are what army there is.
They open the door to the council room for them. Henrik and Gunarsson are sitting at the large, oval table that occupies most of the space in the room. Gunarsson is a man in his late forties perhaps, with a well-trimmed beard that stands in stark contrast to whatever hair is left on his head. Of average height, and though the diplomatic events and travels have seemed to have made him somewhat heavy and slack, his eyes are watchful and observant. A negotiator, if you want to be kind, Elsa thinks. A very skilled negotiator in fact and the grease that keeps the wheels of foreign affairs turning. A man who is as much at ease outside the diplomatic world as a fish on land.
A young, tall officer clad in a military uniform stands behind the Alliance's councilor. Next to him and reaching up his thigh is a brown-haired girl, maybe four or five years old. The girl wears a slight scowl on her face, though she cocks her head to the side as Elsa and Anna enter, as is she was trying to make up her mind about the two of them.
"Your Majesty." Gunarsson rises from his chair and bows deeply, mirrored in this by the officer as well as Henrik. Even the girl curtsies, albeit without taking her eyes from the sisters. "Thank you for receiving me on short notice. It is much appreciated."
"It is always a pleasure to have you with us, Councilor Gunarsson, though we certainly didn't expect you to be back so soon," Elsa replies with a smile and no obvious edge in her voice, and Anna groans inwardly. There we go, exchange of pleasantries which is, in fact, as pleasant as walking barefoot on sand knowing that hidden somewhere underneath are fine, sharp needles.
"Princess Anna," Gunarsson bows again, though not as deeply as before. "May I say you look especially lovely. I admit I almost didn't recognize you at first."
Anna smile is somewhat uneasy. "Thank you, Councilor. It…er…has been a few weeks. How do you do?"
Elsa intervenes before Gunarsson can respond. "Councilor, just to fill you in on the latest developments here in Arendelle. Princess Anna has been named co-regent and second queen of the kingdom. It was going to be officially declared in a couple of days. Consider yourself to be the first foreign dignitary to know." Her smile doesn't change the slightest bit.
"Actually, he can consider himself the first to know together will all the others in this room," Anna adds in her mind, surreptitiously glancing at Henrik whose face remains neutral, maybe too neutral, considering what Elsa has just revealed. Anna cringes again.
This lack of reaction does to apply to Gunarsson tough. He looks genuinely surprised for a moment. But then he bows again.
"I believe congratulations are in order then, Princess Anna. Excuse me, your Majesty of course. The love the people of Arendelle hold towards you is well known. And I am sure you will match your sister in noblesse and wisdom as you do in beauty."
Gunarsson gives Elsa an appraising look, as if she had just made a move he hadn't anticipated. Anna doesn't know what to make of him at all. She decides not to like him, but he is too smooth to allow for a very strong opinion of him. But considering his role in this whole affair, it is unlikely he'll end up ranking high in the popularity scale. To put it mildly.
Gunarsson gestures at the young man beside him. "May I present to your Majesties my son Holgar, one of Gent's generals and third commander of the Alliance's armies." He says that with obvious pride. Said Holgar stands to attention and salutes, the heels of his boots resounding in the room as he slams them together. It is easy to see that he, as opposed to Gunarsson, as opposed to Torben and Gustav, IS a military man. His face doesn't betray any emotions either.
"And this is Solveig, my…ward."
Elsa's eyes wander between Gunarsson and the girl, who returns her gaze with a mixture of shyness and defiance. His ward, Elsa thinks wryly, feeling sorry for the girl and while wondering about the presence of girl in the first place. Holgar she can understand that he would be present at the meeting as one of the Alliance's commanders. But a little girl?
Out of the corner of her eyes, she sees that Henrik looks uncomfortable, something which has rarely, if ever, happened. Gunarsson seems to notice it too, and the smile that tugs at his lips causes Henrik's expression to turn to stone again.
"Holgar, Solveig. Welcome. It is a pleasure to have you here in Arendelle," Elsa says.
Gunarsson's smile widens. "Your Majesty, may I emphasize that Solveig was particularly thrilled at visiting Arendelle for the first time. Considering her line of descent, she…"
Henrik interrupts him rather sharply. "Gunarsson, while you may have your reasons for bringing your ward with you on this journey, may I suggest that we leave this topic for later. I am sure that there are matters of utmost importance that need to be discussed, and the queen…the queens made it clear that a pragmatic approach is to be taken. There is after all a lot to prepare before the Queen of Valdar arrives."
"I cannot but agree with you Henrik, and I apologize for getting carried away." Despite his apology, Gunarsson's smile looks as if he had just won a small battle over Arendelle's chief advisor.
"I was going to ask Princess Anna to take care of Solveig while we held our meeting. But seeing that the situation has changed, I would ask for a motherly figure in your household to keep an eye on my ward."
Henrik nods curtly, then stalks over to the doors and whispers to one of the guards. Solveig's scowl has grown deeper, and the little girl has crossed her arms in front of her chest defiantly as if to say "I didn't want to be here in the first place". Only Elsa and Gunarsson seem unfazed by the uncomfortable silence that follows. Holgar kneels and places a placating hand on the girl's shoulder, whispering to her gently.
"He seems to care more for her than Gunarsson, that's for sure," Anna can't help but noticing.
After an eternity of almost three minutes, Gerda arrives and takes a somewhat reluctant Solveig with her.
Elsa sits down at the head of the table, with Anna and Henrik at either side of her. They face Gunarsson and Holgar at the opposite side of the table. Careful not to show it, Elsa takes a deep breath, smile unwavering.
"Councilor, if you would be so kind as to bring latest news from the Alliance…"
Two hours later, the meeting is declared over and Holgar and Gunnarsson retire to prepare for dinner. Anna rubs her temples. She, Elsa and Henrik have remained standing outside the council room.
"Didn't you say you wanted to cut formalities short, Elsa? It's not that he's been saying much, and neither did you. Why didn't you tell him that Arendelle is not going to go along with this. And why a war anyway."
Elsa, who looks tired, smiles the first smile in two hours that reaches her eyes. "Anna, that WAS as direct talk as is possible at this stage. I am sure Gunarsson was prepared to take a much slower approach. Diplomacy is an egg dance where clues are given as you talk about the weather. As privy councilor his first goal is to assess Arendelle's…first reactions. A warm-up before things get more serious."
"But he didn't really *say" anything," Anna pouts, almost exasperated. "All he said how difficult relations with Rashdar are, and then all this talk about history and who married whom a hundred years ago…and this Holgar barely said a word at all."
"This is exactly it, Queen Anna." It is Henrik who replies now, not Elsa, "Queen Anna" rolling effortlessly off his tongue.
"It is all a first step towards making it impossible for Arendelle to say no, not without serious consequences. Arendelle….you will have to find just as subtle arguments why Arendelle wants to stay out of this until the time for subtleties are over. But if this first phase ends up in at least a draw, you will have much better cards for when Queen Katharina of Valdar arrives. She is…rather direct, I have heard. This is probably why Gunarsson arrived here first. It would not surprise me if he himself advised the Queen to take this approach."
His eyes focus on Anna. "It has been Queen Elsa's goal to keep Arendelle off of the political stage as much as possible these past months. I am sure that as second queen you support her in this effort."
"Of course I do!" Anna says with vehemence and Henrik smiles gently, as if he hadn't expected any other answer.
"Henrik…I am sorry we didn't inform you of our plans beforehand, and that you had to learn about the co-regency in this way," Elsa says quietly. "But I believe it was an important sign to send to Gunarsson. Under other circumstances, you know that I would have…"
Henrik dismisses Elsa's apology with a wave of his hand and grins. "Well, it took me by surprise for a second, I admit that. But the announcement also caught Gunarsson by surprise. Very much so, and he is not accustomed to being unprepared. So well-done, I'd say, both of you. It may very well prove a wise move to share the power and responsibility and not have them centered around Elsa."
There is a fatherly tone in his voice that doesn't seem to surprise Elsa as much as it does Anna. The blonde nods almost imperceptibly, but it's easy to see that Henrik's words mean much to the young monarch. Then again, Henrik helped Elsa through the three years until her official coronation. Of course they would be close. She wonders if it hurt him to learn that Elsa never disclosed her powers to him until it was too late.
"I suggest that you leave the preparations for the official announcement of the co-regency to me, Elsa," Henrik continues, and for the first time Anna hears him drop the honorific. "It should be done as soon as possible, before Queen Katharina arrives. And since Queen Anna managed to talk us out of an official dinner with the dignitaries from Gent…," he continues, winking at Anna who beams, "we have time until the next meeting before noon to prepare our next move."
A grin tugs at Elsa's lips. "Count on Anna to get her will when she's set on something," she says, and Anna beams even more. The redhead feels slender, cool fingers brush gently against her for a moment.
"Henrik, Anna and I have a lot to discuss, as I am sure you understand. We will take dinner in our chambers. Let's meet in the morning to prepare to face Gunarsson and Holgar. And one more thing."
"Yes, your Majesty?" Henrik asks, all chief advisor again.
"Go and see Gerda. Find out what you can about the girl. I have the nagging feeling that Gunarsson brought her here on purpose, and he wants us to know that. I want to know Gunarsson's reasons."
Henrik nods, and there is this flicker in his eyes again, the same unease that he tried to conceal earlier. "I already had intended to do that, your Majesty," he replies. "I will ask Gerda to have dinner sent your rooms. You two should get some rest. It has been a long day, and the next days will be even longer I'm afraid."
He bows briefly and starts walking down the corridor. Elsa watches him go until he is out of earshot.
"He knows something. About this girl. I wonder what it could be," she eventually says, quietly.
Anna nods. "I have the same feeling. But what kind of role could a child play in all of this? It didn't even look like she particularly wanted to be here."
"It makes me think how long she has been Gunarsson's ward, really," Elsa muses as both of them start to make their way back to their chambers.
"More like Holgar's. For a military man he sure seems to care more for her than his father does. At least at first glance."
"Hmmm…," Elsa responds in a non- committal way and Anna decides to change the subject.
"I like your idea though. About having dinner in private. When did you come up with that one?"
"Oh, right after you made it clear that the two of us were very tired after our strenuous mountain trip."
Anna grins. "Well, it's true that this has been quite a day, but I am not that tired."
"I see." The smirk is more obvious in Elsa's voice than it is on her face. Once more, both of them have arrived in front of Elsa's door.
"I mean, I agree we have a lot to talk about. So…I see you in your room, later? Let me just get out of this dress. And out of these shoes."
"I'll come and get you this time. Just be in for a surprise when I do," Elsa says with a wink. And, in what can be considered a déjà vu from yesterday evening, the blonde places a gentle peck on Anna's lips before disappearing into her room. How she winks at Anna before doing so is new however. And very, very promising.