Thawing Together Chapter 14
Anna had done a wonderful job of arranging the happy couple's carriage tour of Arendelle. She'd planned a route, sent messengers to each town to warn them that the Queen and the future Prince-Consort were coming, prepared a special carriage and horses, and chosen the most reliable coachmen and grooms and... guards?
"Anna, do you really think we need Palace Guards riding along with us?" Anders was getting accustomed to calling Anna and Kristoff by their first names instead of "Your Excellency," mostly because they insisted on it, but that didn't mean he agreed with everything they said.
"It's quite common for the Queen to have a small honor guard when she travels," Anna replied. "She doesn't always have guards, but... well, Kristoff will tell you."
Kristoff nodded. "I've heard that there are people in the outlands who distrust the Queen's power. There are places where they still call her the Bringer of Winter, and you'll be traveling through those places. It's best to be ready for anything."
"Four well-dressed men on horseback won't ruin your tour for you, will they?" Anna wondered.
"I guess not," Anders nodded reluctantly. "I was... kind of hoping to get some... you know, personal time alone with Elsa."
"Nope," Anna replied with a wagging finger. "None of that! No smooching the Queen in public, even after you're married. That's not how royalty behaves." She sighed. "Believe me, I understand. We had to go through that, too. It almost caused a scandal when Kristoff kissed me after he got his new sled. You have to be perfectly correct when you're out in public. It's part of the price you pay for the crown that you'll wear."
"I think I'd trade that crown for a day alone with my fiancée," Anders said ruefully. "She's been so busy doing queen things, I haven't seen her in days, except at meals."
"That's normal too," Kristoff reassured him. "I think a royal engagement is for everybody's benefit except the royals. You'll get your time alone with her! But in the meantime, you have to wait."
"You'd better!" Anna added firmly.
The day finally came when the engaged couple climbed into their white carriage, rode out of the courtyard across the bridge, and began their tour of the kingdom. They were accompanied by a coachman driving the two horses, a groom riding on the back of the carriage, two guards in their dress uniforms riding ahead of them, and two more behind them. It was a little bit awkward at first; they weren't even sure how close to each other they were supposed to sit, or whether they should hold hands. He tried to break the ice by asking questions about the scenery they saw. She knew just as little about most of the scenery as he did; her focus had always been on people and on important places.
They finally found common ground in Anders' humorous stories. They passed a herd of cattle being driven to market, and one of them had no horns; that reminded Elsa of the first joke Anders had ever told her. She encouraged him to tell her some more, and he knew plenty of them. They were soon enjoying their ride and their time together without any self-consciousness. All Anders cared about was that his Elsa was laughing; he loved that sound more than any other.
They had almost reached the little town of Liten Landsby, the destination for their first day's travel, when the head guard signaled for a halt. "Is something wrong?" the coachman asked.
"There's no sign of a royal welcome," the guard answered. "There are no signs up ahead, no banners, no people lining the road... they haven't even cleaned up the edges of the road to make it look neat! Something is wrong."
"They know we're coming, right?" Anders asked. "The Princess sent messages to all the towns we're going to visit – I saw the list of the towns."
"Could the secretary have written the wrong date on this town's message?" Elsa wondered.
"I guess it's possible," he nodded. "If the Queen shows up and they don't know she's coming, their burgomeister is going to have a heart attack! Someone needs to go into town and give them a little advance warning." He turned to the chief guard. "Can one of your men ride into town and tell them what to expect?"
"I'd like to, Baron," the guard apologized, "but my men and I aren't well-versed in arranging royal visits. I don't know what we'd tell them."
"All right, I'll tell them," Anders decided as he stood up.
"Please, watch your step!" Elsa asked him as he stepped down from the carriage... straight into a three-inch-deep mud puddle. He stepped out and shook most of the mud off his boots.
"I guess I'll get these cleaned up tonight," he said absently. "It will take me at least half an hour to get to town, find the burgomeister, and explain the basics of how to greet a queen. Then we ought to give them another half an hour to get organized. So you all might as well stand at ease and relax – you're going to be here for a while." He set off resolutely down the road. Walking didn't bother him; he did it all the time in his barony. He just felt bad for the leaders of the town, who were going to panic when he told them who was waiting on the outskirts of their village.
The town was about ten minutes away on foot. A few people were walking around here and there, but the guard was right – there were no signs of a royal welcome at all. He asked a young girl where to find the burgomeister, and she pointed him to a house near the town's inn. Evidently, he had interrupted the man's early supper; he had a napkin tucked around his neck and a chicken leg in his hand when he answered the door.
"May I help you, sir?" Anders was sure he didn't present a very imposing picture, with his traveling clothes and his muddy boots.
"My name is Anders, and I serve the Queen," he began. "Has your town received notice that the Queen will visit soon?"
"Yes," said the burgomeister. "She is scheduled to arrive a month from today. I assure you, she will be welcomed with all appropriate ceremony."
"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, sir," Anders said apologetically, "but that message was in error. Her Majesty the Queen will be visiting your town today."
"WHAT?!" The man's eyes bugged out of his head in panic.
"Whoever wrote that message wrote the wrong month. Her carriage is outside the town, waiting for me to tell them it's okay to proceed."
"Oh, no," the man moaned. "Oh, no! What am I going to do? We have nothing ready! Nothing! I haven't even brushed up on my royal protocols yet! This is a disaster! What am I going to do?"
"Sir! Please – if I may, I can steer you in the right direction."
The burgomeister knew a lifeline when he saw one. "Yes, yes, please! Any help you can give, I'll take it!"
"Okay. For starters, the Queen is not a protocol monster. Basic good manners are all you'll need. Just line the streets with whoever you can round up on short notice; they don't have to wear fancy clothing. If some of the children can wave flags or hold flowers, that will make the crowd look nice. When the Queen gets out of her carriage, have the people line up to greet her. It's customary to bow or curtsy over her hand and say something pleasant like, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness.' The children will probably say whatever is on their minds, but don't worry about that – Her Highness has a good sense of humor.
"We will dine in your inn tonight; we'll mix with whoever else is there, and we'll eat whatever your cook has prepared for the night. There are eight of us – Her Majesty the Queen, myself, two servants, and four guards. We'll probably need four rooms for the night; they need not be fancy as long as they're clean." He glanced at his feet. "And I will need the services of a bootblack," he sighed.
"What about in the morning?" the burgomeister asked nervously.
"We'll talk about that tonight," Anders said. "Let's get through the arrival first. Can you have a small crowd ready in, say, half an hour?"
"Yes... yes, I think we can do that." He pumped Anders's hand vigorously. "Thank you so much for your help! I'll be sure to tell Her Majesty that you're a fine servant!"
"Thank you, sir," Anders smiled. "I'll leave you to your preparations. Oh, wait – there are two other things you need to know.
"One: do the best you can, but don't get stressed over it. Her Highness would much rather meet a small, disorganized, happy group than a well-organized meeting party who are stressed and upset.
"Two: you may have heard of Her Highness' special talent with cold things. She may do some simple tricks with snow and ice to amuse the people. Don't panic; winter won't come back until it's supposed to."
"Thank you, Anders." The burgomeister's gratitude was heartfelt.
"Well, I need to get back to Her Highness' carriage. We'll see you in about half an hour. Remember – try to relax!" He turned and retraced his steps to the carriage, where his fiancée was waiting for him.
"It was pretty much as we foresaw – the announcement had the wrong month on it, and they panicked," he reported as he swung up into his seat. "I gave them some basic advice, and I think they'll take it. We'll give them another twenty minutes or so, and then we'll make our entrance."
To his surprise, Elsa wanted to know more details of what he'd said, and what the burgomeister was like, and what the town looked like. He expected that kind of curiosity from Anna, but it was unusual for Elsa.
"That's simple," she smiled when he commented on it. "When we get back, Anna is going to want to know every detail of everything that happened, so I might as well get those details into my head now. She won't take 'I don't remember' for an answer."
By the time he'd told and retold the story in enough detail to satisfy Elsa (and Anna), their twenty minutes had passed and it was time to enter the town. The coachman and the guards flicked their reins, and the small procession got moving. It took them only five minutes to reach the town.
Both sides of the street were lined with an assortment of townspeople in wildly diverse garb, from dirty farm clothes to semi-formalwear. Everyone waved; a few of them had found flags and banners on short notice. The Queen and the Baron waved back royally. When Elsa noticed a quintet of children standing together, she wiggled her fingers and created an inanimate Olaf right in front of them. That amazed them and made them laugh, which was exactly what she had in mind.
The people's greetings were unpolished but heartfelt. After everyone had had the chance to speak to the Queen, they retired to the inn for supper. The menu consisted of mutton stew, fresh-baked bread with cheese, and goats' milk – not fancy, but quite tasty. The burgomeister tried to apologize for the non-royal quality of the meal, but Elsa wouldn't hear of it.
When Anders excused himself for a few minutes, the burgomeister approached the Queen again. "Your Highness, I want to take a moment to express my thankfulness for the help your servant gave us in getting this ceremony together on short notice. You ought to reward him in some special way; he did a superb job for us, and for you."
"My servant?" she asked, puzzled.
"Anders, the man who sits next to you. I assume he is your major-domo?"
"Is that what he told you?" she wondered.
"He just said his name is Anders and he serves the Queen. He certainly does that, Your Highness. Extremely well."
"I might need to wring his neck," Elsa said quietly. At the burgomeister's shocked expression, she turned to face him. "That's not my major-domo. That's Baron Anders, my fiancée! He's the future Prince-Consort!" His face changed from shock to horror. "Oh, I don't blame you, burgomeister. If he didn't tell you, it's not your fault. But it's time he started acting according to his new rank."
"Honestly, Your Highness, I had no idea! I didn't know he was that Anders! He just acted so normal, so friendly, I had no idea he was a nobleman! I'm sorry, that came out wrong. But I didn't mean to treat him like a commoner, honestly, Your Highness! I meant no offense! I didn't –"
"Please relax," Anders said from behind him, and laid a hand on his shoulder. "We're all doing fine. Don't get stressed." The burgomeister went rigid, then saw something on the other side of the room that needed his attention and hurried off.
"Anders, is it true that you didn't tell him who you are?" Elsa demanded.
"I didn't see how that made any difference," he replied as he took his seat. "The poor man had enough to worry about; he didn't need to know a future prince was knocking on his door."
"Anders... I hate to sound like the Duke, but there is such a thing as royal dignity!" she sighed. "You are going to be the Prince-Consort to the Queen of Arendelle! It's time you stopped living and acting like a wool trader, and accepted your new position in life."
He started to argue, but stopped himself. Her fork was beginning to frost over. She really looked upset, and he wanted to avoid that. But – he realized – it wasn't because he was afraid she'd throw a snowstorm. It was because it genuinely bothered him to see her upset. His life was becoming bound up with hers, and his happiness with hers.
"I'll try," he said quietly. "It won't happen quickly; I've been acting like a wool trader all my life. But I want to please you, so I'll try."
Elsa looked startled. "I didn't expect you to surrender that quickly. What's the catch?"
"There's no catch," he smiled. "I love you, and I want to make you happy. That's more important to me than a set of clothes, or a way of talking, or even a way of thinking. Just remind me when I start going wool-trader on you. It might take me a while to change for keeps."
She stared at him in surprise. She still wasn't used to him reacting to her this way. As he watched, the frost crystals on her fork melted away. She touched the back of his hand. "Thank you, Anders. I appreciate that." He smiled and returned to his meal. It took her a few seconds before she regained her composure enough to do the same.