Chapter Twenty
Day eight.
Day eight was a disaster.
An unmitigated disaster.
No, wait, Anna reminded herself. Try to look at the positive side of things.
It was… a learning experience.
Hooboy was it ever a learning experience.
First lesson: shush the messenger. Preferably before sending him to the kitchen.
Second lesson: the kitchen was the gossip center of a castle. Anyone wanting to learn the latest news, greatest or not, found their way ever so conveniently to the kitchen.
Third lesson: foreign delegates were very much interested in learning the latest news. The less great, the better.
If there was anything Anna could say was good about the day, it was the revelation of just how interested the delegations were in Arendelle's goings-on.
Her first clue was when she was able to compose herself enough to find the soldier messenger Sergeant Jostein had deposited in the kitchen while she had read the parchment. She had been too shaken to do more than nod when the Sergeant had suggested the weary soldier might could use a bit of food and rest. It was difficult to say how much time had passed while she read and re-read the letter. Finally she realized she had gleaned all she could from Elsa's careful words. The realization had driven her to seek out the soldier that had brought it, which in turn led her to the main kitchen.
Eager to find out what details her sister had omitted, it took a moment for her to register an unexpected body in the crowded warmth. Only the Royal Cook's pointed glare caused her to focus on the well-attired young man that sat next to the travel-worn soldier she sought. They were seated on stools set away from the kitchen staff's bustling paths. The soldier had paused mid-bite of a honeyed hunk of bread, eyes wide and staring at Anna. His free hand was arrested in the midst of some expansive gesture. The young man leaning towards him stared at that hand a few moments before turning an irritated frown to Anna.
"What are you...," he began, a thick French accent slurring his words into a near-unintelligible mass. A heartbeat later his brain caught up with the message his eyes were relaying. He was just a step behind the soldier in scrambling off his stool and stumbling into a clumsy bow.
The soldier had a bit more grace, neatly tucking his saber to one side with his free hand while making a respectful sweep of the hand holding bread. "Your Highness!" he gasped. "I wasn't expecting you to come to the kitchens personally! Although Sergeant Jostein said you might! I just didn't think… not really… I mean, my apologies, Your Highness!"
"Whyever wouldn't I come here?" Princess Anna said, eyes still on the Frenchman. He continued to appear more irritated than embarrassed, even going so far as to lift his chin defiantly when he realized she was watching him.
The soldier glanced between the Princess and the Frenchman, but it was the Royal Cook that answered.
"Why indeed!" the burly woman bellowed. "Her Highnesses may come through whene'er they please, and bound I be to shove a loaf at whatever stray waifs they send my way, but here of late? Seems e'eryone keeps comin' to my kitchen! Ye'd think it was the throne room, the way folks come strolling through and demanding food all hours of night and day!" She finished with a particularly vicious glare at the Frenchman.
Anna was used to the woman's abrupt manner. She actually found it refreshing, if a bit startling, especially when compared to court politics. For his part, the Frenchman sniffed and turned his shoulder to the Royal Cook. "Your staff seems rather impertinent," he commented to Anna, that thick accent and lifted chin elevating his words.
Princess Anna straightened her spine and shoulders, setting her jaw with her own words. "We prefer honesty here in Arendelle," she said, her own irritation startling her. "If it comes at the price of some level of tact, so be it. That being said… have you been bothering our kitchen staff?"
"No!" the Frenchman blurted at the same time the Royal Cook barked, "Yes!"
Blue eyes tinged with green narrowed. "It is in our kitchen staff's interest to keep to regular mealtimes. I would appreciate it if you would attempt to adhere to them. I'm sure we could arrange some bread and cheese to be kept in your rooms, if our mealtimes are that much of an inconvenience."
"You are taking the word of a servant over my own?" he blustered.
The Arendelle man stood even straighter, his free hand dropping to the hilt of his saber. The bread seemed to be in danger of being crushed by the fist of his other hand. Princess Anna held up her own hand, imitating a gesture she had seen Elsa make many times. The soldier immediately relaxed his body, though his gaze remained on the Frenchman.
Princess Anna turned her own gaze back to the Frenchman. "I was not aware your rank was so high, that you could address me and my castle staff so," she said, drawing haughtiness about her like a cloak. Protective anger still buzzed hot and fierce under her skin.
For the first time, the man faltered. He glanced from the soldier to Anna, then reluctantly to the Royal Cook. Realizing the burly woman had already dismissed him and was again supervising her staff, he hunched his shoulders under the weight of a compressed ego. "I… may have overstepped myself," he sullenly slurred.
"May have," Princess Anna echoed with just a touch of mockery. There was something about the man that was tweaking every nerve she had. "I believe you have. While the delegations are certainly welcome here at Arendelle, a certain amount of mutual courtesy is expected. Please do not trouble my staff like this again… and make sure others know this as well."
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she remembered teasing Elsa about how proper her sister's speech became whenever she went into "Queen-mode". Wryly Anna had to acknowledge to herself that Elsa's response about the usefulness of concise speech was fairly accurate. The Frenchman sketched a stiff bow, eyes glittering and lips pressed into a thin line.
"My apologies, Your Highness," he said, then following Princess Anna's imperious gesture, turned to the Royal Cook and added, "My apologies to you as well. I was not aware I was being such a bother."
The Royal Cook snorted loudly. She glanced at Princess Anna, though, and held her tongue with a firm nod. She turned her back to the Frenchman instead, dismissing him in favor of her own staff. He jerked upright, eyes bright with anger, but repressed any comment he might have made when Princess Anna crossed her arms over her chest. With another stiff bow, he left the kitchen.
Dropping her arms, Princess Anna blew air noisily. "Whew! He's a character, isn't he? How long has he been bothering you, Cook?"
The ox of a woman answered over her shoulder, "Pretty much since they first arrived, Yer Highness. Comes down here and loiters the day away, bugging good people with inane questions. Meant to tell you before, but, well… you seemed to have hands full. Wasn't sure it'd be worth your bother."
Anna flinched at the unintentional criticism. "Well," she stated, "it is. You're part of this castle's family. If any of them bother you again, please send word to me."
"Hah!" the Royal Cook scoffed, "Now that I know your stance, I'll just give'em the what-for myself." She waved a heavy metal ladle in a fashion more reminiscent of a Berserker with a mace, baring a grin to match. Dismissing the topic as closed, she returned to managing the organized chaos that was preparing food for an entire castle.
Shaking her head, Princess Anna faced the soldier that still stood at attention. His eyes were wide as he stared at her. Realizing belatedly that she was staring curiously back, he shook his head. A faint blush crept across his cheeks. For the first time, Anna realized he was very young, possibly as young if not younger than her. The realization set oddly with her, making an uneasy mix of guilt and her earlier flash of anger.
"Are you okay?" she asked him, trying to distract herself from the roiling emotions.
He blushed harder, shoulders and spine rigid. "I, ah, I," he stammered.
Princess Anna gave him an amused half-smile. She gestured to the stool. "Please, sit. Keep eating. I just came to see if you could tell me any more than…," she paused, lifting the parchment that was Elsa's letter. "Well, I just know my sister can be a bit… sparse… with the facts. So I was hoping to hear your account…?"
The soldier, having taken his seat again along with a bite of bread, nearly choked. "You… but I'd already told Sergeant Jostein some… but me, personally, to you… Ah! No offense meant, Your Highness! I just… and then that foreigner, I was telling him… probably more than I should have… I'm so sorry, Your Highness!"
Princess Anna laughed and held both palms outward, parchment rustling between fingers. "It's okay! Oh, what is it you soldiers say… be at ease? Ease up? At ease, please! Here, I'm going to be a bit at ease, too." With a slight grunt she hoisted herself onto the second stool. "There!"
The soldier shook his head slowly. "You… are different from the Queen… your sister. Ah, Your Highness!"
Princess Anna tilted her head. "How so?" she queried.
"Well, Queen Elsa, she's much more… regal. Aloof. She can seem cold, hah! Our Snow Queen, cold," he said, puffing his chest with pride. A moment later he hunched his shoulders, self-conscious again. "I mean, but once you get to know her, or at least travel with her, she's very… kind. Still distant, but caring? Whereas you, Your Highness, you're… uhm..."
Anna laughed again, but this time it was with her own measure of self-consciousness. "Not quite so regal, huh?" she asked, guessing the answer.
Her guess proved wrong, however, as the soldier vehemently shook his head. "No, you're actually very… well, you were pretty terrifying just now. In a good way! Like it's good to serve a Princess that shows she can fight, too!"
"I… what?" Princess Anna blinked several times.
The poor soldier looked as though he wished he could sink into the floor. "And you're not so distant! You're more… relatable? It's like we've got the best of both kinds of rulers!" Realizing that he was only digging his hole deeper with his enthusiasm, he abruptly shoved the rest of the bread into his mouth. Through dripping crumbles he mumbled, "I tall thoo muth…."
Anna chuckled again. "It's okay. Although… how much did you say to that man?" She gestured with a thumb at the exit the Frenchman had taken.
The soldier's pained expression told her plenty. She didn't think she'd taken that long to compose herself, but everything had pretty much blurred as soon as she read of Elsa's injury. Sighing, she assured him, "It's okay, really. I should have said something to Sergeant Jostein before he took you away. I should have… well… let's just say I'm learning all the things I should have done."
He gave her a half-smile, apparently disbelieving that a Princess would confide such a thing to him.
Princess Anna gave herself a small shake. "Anyway. Think you could tell me your account of what happened?"
He nodded, then blinked as the Royal Cook breezed by and deposited a small bowl in his lap. "Some of yesterday's soup," the hefty woman grunted. "Took a bit to heat. Eat up." She turned to Anna, hands on ample hips. "And you, Your Highness?"
Anna shook her head, slightly intimidated. "I'm good, thanks. I'm eating light, these days."
The Royal Cook grunted. "Them meat pastries still bothering you?" The sudden green tinge to Anna's skin was answer enough. The woman grunted again. "Well, don't go eating so light it weakens you. Temper's well and good, but won't help if you pass out in the midst of a deserved tongue-lashing. You need something, you tell me, Your Highness. I'll fix you up!"
"Yes ma'am," Anna said meekly, then stared as the intimidating figure barreled back to the main cauldron. She exhaled, then exchanged a glance with the young soldier. Both of them burst into laughter like errant children. Only after the snicker fit had passed was she able to direct conversation back to his account of past events.
It took well over an hour, especially since Anna kept interrupting him with questions. Some things he was direct witness to, others he had to provide second- or third-hand accounts. Her heart hurt over the description of the attack, and the men that could not be found afterwards. It also warmed in response to the soldier's glowing account of Elsa's bravery during the fight. She twitched with suspicion when he described the not-boy that was found prowling around the horses, and tried valiantly not to whimper each time he described Elsa's careful stance after the attack. Hope was held close when he mentioned her eating and planning with them. She even had to hold back a small chuckle at the soldier's awed account of sitting at the same table as his Queen.
His account of his own journey back was rather simple. There were no attacks or even accidents, just a very chatty village guide. The guide had parted company with him at the castle gates, leaving the soldier to seek his commanding officer on his own. The soldier had thought it odd, remarking that he had expected the villager to want a personal tour of the castle. Princess Anna suspected the villager had found the castle intimidating. She could still recall the first few times Kristoff had ventured into the castle, and how relieved he was to escape stone walls once outside again.
Once the soldier's tale and meal were done, Anna sighed heavily. "You've definitely had an… eventful… past week, haven't you?" From the corner of her gaze she caught the soldier's pained look. Without thinking, she reached out to pat his arm. "Elsa and I… er, Queen Elsa and I, I mean… will be doing everything we can to find those missing men, and stop these attacks so nothing happens to anyone else."
He stared at her hand, then at her. Almost shyly, he said, "That I have no doubt of, Your Highness. Truly, our kingdom is blessed to be ruled by such sisters."
Princess Anna just barely kept herself from making a wry comment about unproductive trade meetings in regards to her royal abilities. Thinking of that reminded her of the lurking Frenchman. For the first time, she began to wonder just what the members of the delegations were up to between meetings. That led her to realizing that although the delegations were not shy about making demands, they did not require more frequent meetings. Indeed, they actually seemed to prefer the every-other-day pattern she had adopted to try and balance out local affairs with international ones.
Just what were they up to on those off days?
Giving herself a shake, she brought herself back to the immediate present. "Well, we're certainly doing all that we can," she said with a half-smile. "Now for you… what did Sergeant Jostein want you to do once you were rested and fed?"
Guilt colored the young soldier's cheeks. "He said I'm to report to my immediate officer as soon as you were done with me, Your Highness." He glanced at his honey-sticky fingers, then tried to unsuccessfully brush crumbs from his attire. "Are you…?"
Princess Anna nodded once, briskly. "You've given a thorough account, I think, and," she paused, grinning, "as steadily as you've been eating, I daresay you're fed enough for now?"
He nodded with a hesitant grin of his own. "Yes, Your Highness."
"Then I'd say go ahead and check in with your officer. Meanwhile, I've got to figure out how to relay the news to a bunch of stuffy bureaucrats… ahhh you didn't hear that from me."
The grin grew a bit. "Yes, Your Highness," he responded more confidently. At a gentle shooing gesture from Princess Anna, he slipped off his stool and marched out of the kitchen.
Princess Anna took a few moments to speak with the Royal Cook. She idly noticed a number of the kitchen staff whispering to each other, but she thought it simply because the Princess was in the kitchen. After reassuring herself that the Cook would come to her with any more accounts of lurking delegates, she took her leave of the oven-warmed rooms.
Stone hallways echoed her thoughts as much as her footsteps. So engrossed was she in her concern for Elsa and the missing men, her puzzling over delegates' behaviors, and her planning on how to address those concerns with advisers without creating more, that she didn't even notice the pale shadow she acquired until it spoke.
"Is Elsa okay?" the snowman asked with uncharacteristic hesitancy.
Anna yelped, then gripped the fabric over her galloping heart. "Olaf! You just about scared the life out of me!"
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Olaf frantically waved his stick arms. "What does it look like? I'll catch it for you!"
"It… what?"
"Your life! You said I almost scared it out of you!" He paused, crooking a twig finger across his lips. "Come to think of it, what does a life look like? Hm. I imagine it would depend on how you live it, huh? Oooh I bet yours would look like a dancing butterfly made of fire!"
Anna's hand moved from her chest to her head. "Olaf, what… ah, nevermind. Where did you go?"
"Right here!"
"No, no I mean… when I was reading the letter… I just… I'm sorry, Olaf, I lost track of you!" She immediately knelt before the snowman so she could meet his eyes. "I'm a terrible friend. Of course you're worried about Elsa, too! She's fine… mostly. Apparently she took a hit to her head, so they're coming back early. A monster attacked them… they lost twelve men… but she's okay, Olaf. She's coming home."
Olaf blinked a few times, then wrapped Anna in a warm hug. "It's okay," he assured her.
Hugging him tightly in return, it took a moment to register his words. "What do you mean?"
"It's okay to be both glad and sad. You can be glad for Elsa, and sad for your men, at the same time. It doesn't make you a bad person. It makes you a full person. Full of caring." He hugged her again before taking a stubby step backwards. "So it's okay."
Tears leaked from the corners of Anna's eyes. With a shaky laugh, she rubbed them away. "You always do go straight for the heart of the matter, don't you, Olaf?"
The snowman shook his head. "I wouldn't know how to do that! I don't have a heart!"
"I think you have more of a heart than most of us," Anna said with a sniffing chuckle. Sighing, she leaned back on her heels. "But seriously, where did you get off to?"
"Well, you seemed busy, and I wanted to stay and hear what Elsa had written, when it occurred to me that maybe I could read it when you were done, and then I realized I didn't know if I could read, and since I couldn't very well ask to try and read the letter when you were reading it, I thought I'd head over to the library and see if I could read, and what do you know, I can!"
Sometimes there were just no words when talking with Olaf, so Anna resorted to another hug instead. He happily returned the hug, but added, "Except for some of those really long legal treatises, those things are boring!"
Princess Anna laughed, tears once again sneaking from between her eyelids. "Oh, I agree!" Letting go of the snowman, she pulled out the letter and offered it to him. "Here, Olaf… go ahead and read this." She shifted her legs so she could sit more comfortably, unconcerned about royal decorum for the moment. Her eyes rested on Olaf as he eagerly read the letter, his snowy features scrunching with concern. Finally he handed the letter back to her.
"She was hurt pretty bad, huh?"
"Okay, so it's not just me." Anna had to scrub hard as more tears sprang forth. "I think so, yes. Not… not permanently so, obviously, if she could write and ride and..."
Olaf sat beside her, a twiggy hand resting on her arm. "We'll see her in a few days. She won't be able to hide anything then. It's funny, isn't it? We don't want to hurt the people we care about, so we try to hide what hurts us from them… even though they're the ones that can help us the best." He shook his head slowly. "Craziness."
Anna tilted her head, wondering through her worry if there was more to the snowman's words than simple pondering. Her thoughts were interrupted, however, by the approach of one of the castle maids.
"P-princess Anna?" the young woman stuttered, "Y-your Highness?"
"Whoops!" Princess Anna scrambled to her feet, hastily brushing dust and dirt from her gown. "I mean, yes? Is there something I could help you with?"
Confusion cleared from the maid's face, only to be replaced by soul-crunching grief. "Oh, I'm so glad I found you! Please, tell me it's not true!"
"What? What's not true?" Anna exclaimed, panic causing her heart to leap in her chest again.
"Please tell me the Queen's not dead!"
For one horrible moment, Anna felt as though she had once more frozen to ice. Sound and sensation receded, the very stone walls about her seeming as substantial as clouds. Only Olaf's gentle touch on her hand returned warm reality to her. Forcing her leaden lungs to draw in a ragged breath, she asked in a deceptively calm voice, "What do you mean?"
"Well, I was talking to – I mean, I was cleaning the room of – and we just started talking, of course, and he was telling me, that he'd heard it from one of the other parties, oh he said that he'd heard the Queen's party was attacked by a pack of monsters! And that the Queen… the Queen…!"
Suspicion bloomed, chasing away dread with an almost feral alertness. "Was it one of the French delegates?" Princess Anna inquired, her hands curling into loose fists.
"What? No, no, it was one of the footmen for the Irish party, Your Highness. He's always such a good one for stories, and he said he'd overheard it from some other delegate, Your Highness, said he wouldn't just relay any hearsay, but something so dire he just had to see if I knew anything about it, and of course I didn't, I don't, is it true, please tell me it's not true!"
Princess Anna reached out to grip the maid's shoulders and give her a single gentle yet firm shake. "Queen Elsa is fine. Yes, her party was attacked – by a single monster, not a pack of them – and she was injured, but she's fine. She's riding back even as we speak. Should be here in a couple of days. That way we can work together towards a solution."
The castle maid sobbed, sagging in Anna's grip as relief loosened her muscles. "Oh, I'm so glad to hear that, Your Highness! Your family's lost so much, I just couldn't bear… oh! I'm so sorry, I must seem such an idiot!"
"No, not at all," Anna shook her head. Glancing at Olaf, she even dared a small smile. "It's okay to be upset, especially over such horrible… stories. Because that's all it was, a story. You'll see the truth when Elsa… Queen Elsa… returns." The snowman nodded vigorously in agreement.
Looking from Princess to Queen's creation, the maid sniffled a few times. "Really?" she choked.
"Really," reassured Anna. She waited for the young woman to take a few steadying breaths before releasing her shoulders. "You okay now?"
"Yes, yes of course, Your Highness. Thank you. And I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..."
Princess Anna shook her head once, decisively cutting off a second round of hysteria. "No apologies. Thank you for seeking me out. I had no idea such stories were already circulating that quickly." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "In fact… could you do me a favor?"
"Of course, Your Highness!" The maid even went so far as to clasp her hands before her chest in eagerness.
"Could you tell Gerda about the story you heard, and who from? Also tell her the truth, of course! And let her know I'll need to see her and Kia… probably at lunch. It's almost lunch time, isn't it? And if you hear any more stories… correct them. And let either Gerda or me know about whatever you hear, and who you heard it from?"
At first, the maid just blinked at her. Understanding dawned, and an awed expression settled over her face. "You… you want me to spy for you, Your Highness?"
Anna flipped her hand in the air with a nervous laugh. "Spy? Nah. Just do what you usually do… but let us know what you hear, okay?"
"And from whom," the maid repeatedly, a shrewdness creeping into her tone. Abruptly she swept into a low curtsy. "Of course, Your Highness. I will do everything in my power to assist you. And I'll make sure everyone knows the Queen still lives."
Princess Anna wished she could simply hug the young woman, but she had already learned spontaneous hugs from royalty tended to upset the average staff worker. She opted instead for a gracious nod of acknowledgment that became a deep, thoughtful frown as the maid ran off.
"Wow," Olaf commented. "Looks like stories can grow faster than a snowball heading downhill!"
"Looks like," Anna agreed. She sighed heavily. "Something tells me I've got a very busy day ahead of me."
"Oh," the snowman said in a crestfallen tone. "I suppose I need to stay out of your way, then."
Anna vigorously shook her head. "No, Olaf. You've been right about so much, and I just keep… forgetting you. And that's wrong of me." She turned to peer down at Olaf. "You're as worried about Elsa as I am, aren't you?"
He looked down at the stone floor and twisted his hands until the wood crackled. "Maybe. Just a bit. Maybe a lot."
Placing a palm on his head so that snowflakes from his ever-resent flurry kissed the back of her hand, Anna said, "It would mean a lot to me if you stayed near, Olaf. And… I want to be there for you, too."
Looking up with shining eyes, Olaf nodded.
Lunch turned out to be very soon indeed. She and Olaf entered the private dining area to find Kia and Gerda waiting. With a sigh, Princess Anna pushed aside her plate and handed over Elsa's letter. Gerda immediately pushed the plate back while Kia read. Once he was done, he silently handed the letter to Gerda. The Royal Housekeeper wouldn't read a single word, however, until Anna began making at least a token effort to eat her lunch. Kia pulled a plate towards him and also began to eat, his body moving mechanically. Olaf pulled up a stool and sat next to Anna, oddly silent as his worried gaze followed the letter.
Gerda exhaled shakily as she finally set the letter down. "At least the Queen is mostly well. I was so afraid…," she broke off, concerned gaze on Anna.
Anna gave a valiant smile around a mouthful of potato. After a slightly choked swallow, she said, "It's come to my attention that stories are already starting to circulate… wildly inaccurate stories."
Kia nodded solemnly. "That is the way of gossip. Forget armies. It is often one of the greatest challenges of a kingdom, keeping gossip from undermining it."
"Speaking of undermining," Princess Anna commented, waving a fork at the Royal Steward, "one of the French delegates was hanging around the kitchen. I wouldn't be surprised if he's the source of the stories."
"If he was in the kitchen," snorted Kia, "then I would daresay the entire staff could be the source. A castle's kitchen is a veritable hotbed of gossip. Not to speak poorly of our staff! It is just..." He glanced to Gerda.
The Royal Housekeeper gave a slight smile. "Food and talk naturally go together," she said with a shrug. "A bit of honey to go with one's bread to sweeten a meal, you could say."
"Well, in this case it's souring the meal," Princess Anna grumbled, poking at the remaining food on her plate. At a concerned glare from Gerda, she hastily stuffed another bite in her mouth. While chewing, a thought struck her. "Prmmbly," she started to say, then covered her mouth to keep from inadvertently spitting food. A few awkward chews and a swallow later, she tried again while ignoring the slight smirks on Kia's and Gerda's faces. "I probably should call a meeting, shouldn't I?"
Kia nodded. "Of advisers and delegates both, I would recommend. It won't stop rumors, of course, but it might help control the more outlandish ones. At least until Queen Elsa returns."
Princess Anna laid her fork on her plate. "I'll just be glad when she's back. And Kristoff. And Sven. And… well… all of them."
Gerda dared to lay a hand on Anna's arm. "We all will be, dear." She smiled knowingly. "It's one thing to be told in a letter all is well. It is quite another to see it in person."
Anna smiled gratefully at Gerda, then grunted as Olaf launched himself at her in a heartfelt hug. Chuckling, she cradled the snowman to herself. "You too, huh?"
"Oh, definitely me too! All of you are my family! And I want my family happy and safe and sound!"
"Me too, Olaf, me too." She lifted her gaze to Kia. "So… what recommendations do you have to help contain this shipwreck?"
The corner of Kia's mouth lifted a little. "Well, Your Highness..."
In short order, runners were sent to summon each of the advisers and head delegates. Although they were nominally messengers, they had additional instructions as well. They were to take note of where they found each person, and in whose company, then report those findings to Kia. They were also to describe not just the official promised attendance, but also the manner in which they acquiesced. Finding the Frenchman so eagerly grilling the Arendelle soldier troubled Anna's thinking and set her to wondering where else delegates might be found. She also recalled her conversation with the Weselton delegate and the hints he had dropped. She wasn't quite sure how they tied together, but Kia agreed that such a hunch should not be ignored.
While the runners scattered, Princess Anna submitted herself to Gerda's care. Olaf was playfully ushered out even as handmaidens were ushered into the Princess's waiting room. He stationed himself outside her door like a guard… if such a guard was a fluffy, happy puppy. Every person that wandered by received a loud, cheerful greeting.
"Better than a guard dog, that one!" one of the handmaidens quipped as yet another ringing announcement marked the passage of one of the Royal Guards on patrol.
"Olaf is a person," Princess Anna corrected. She sat very still as the handmaiden tugged her hair into tight braids. "And a dear friend."
"If you say so, Your Highness," the handmaiden responded with an especially firm tug. "Person or no, friend or no, still, there's no mistaking who's passing your door!"
When she was finally allowed to emerge, Princess Anna found herself walking with the erect, sweeping stride she had so often seen Elsa use. A giggle nearly escaped her as she realized what she had always taken for pure attitude was at least in part necessity. The thick, tightly bound corset and heavy skirts of her court audience dress allowed for little other manner of movement. She paused to reach a hand down for Olaf, smiling at the encouraging grin he gave her as his twiggy hand clasped hers. Nor did she have to slow herself overmuch, as the stubby-legged snowman could reach surprising speeds with his rolling walk.
Kia fell into stride alongside them as they walked down the stone hallways. He and Princess Anna reviewed salient points to discuss. Only a few of the runners had been able to report in so far, and their reports seemed completely unremarkable. Princess Anna was beginning to suspect she was jumping at shadows. A tug on her hand made her look down at Olaf.
"Don't doubt yourself," the snowman said with an unusual solemnity.
"The snowman is right, Your Highness" Kia added a bit stiffly. He tilted his head towards the throne room they were about to enter. "You cannot show doubt in there, no matter what you think or feel… but I would daresay have faith in those thoughts and feelings. Your instincts have proven correct far more often than not."
Princess Anna eyed the doors and took a deep breath. "I hope this is not gonna be one of those 'not' times. It's gonna get ugly in there, isn't it?"
"Perhaps," the Royal Steward shrugged. "But it is better to face this ugliness, than allow worse to grow and fester."
Letting her breath out in a noisy exhale, Princess Anna squared her shoulders. "Right. Let's do this." She took a step forward, then paused, turning blue-green eyes down. "Olaf… are… are you sure you want to go in there with me? There will probably be a lot of yell… what have you got there?"
Olaf stopped bouncing the rounded stone in his free hand. "Oh, this? I picked it up on the way over here!"
"But… when… how…?"
"Oh, I just saw it laying there on the ground and it looked so lonely and pretty I figured I'd just go ahead and bring it with me!"
Anna had to shake her head. She was beginning to have second thoughts about bringing Olaf along. His support as a friend and his connection as Elsa's creation both steadied Anna's frantic nerves, but those were purely selfish reasons. Would his child-like innocence crumple under the political knife-fight that was awaiting them? Would the delegates and advisers take his presence as some sort of threat of Elsa's powers? Speaking of Elsa, how "okay" was she, really? How could Anna be confident about something she wasn't sure of?
Another tug on her hand made her look down to Olaf. Gripping her hand, he looked up to meet her eyes. "You're thinking too hard," he chided gently. "If you keep thinking like that, you're gonna go to itty bitty pieces. I know. I've thought so hard my legs fell off."
Kia grunted, staring at the small snowman. "I believe it-"
"He," Anna corrected without thinking about it.
The Royal Steward blinked, then continued, "-he has a point. I said it before, I will say it again: your instincts are correct, more oft than not. I would also add that while your methods may be unconventional, they can be very effective. You can do this, Your Highness."
Princess Anna took a deep breath, letting it out in a controlled exhale. "Last chance to back out, Olaf. It's gonna be loud in there, probably a lot of yelling."
Olaf rolled his eyes and grinned. "I'm not about to let you face that alone!'
"I just don't want them to upset you," she said, not seeing the knowing expression that crossed Kia's face.
"And I don't want them to upset you," countered Olaf, "but sometimes we can't stop upsetting things from happening." He paused to bounce his rock in his hand. "So the best we can do is make sure we don't face those upsetting things alone."
Anna knelt to give the snowman a huge hug. He happily hugged her back. After a moment Princess Anna stood, squared her shoulders, and said, "Okay. Let's do this."
Kia swung open the doors, then stepped back as his Princess and her attending snowman swept through. Pride and apprehension flickered across his features as he watched them enter the room. Unobtrusively he followed them, closing the doors behind him.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: My apologies for the lack of updates for over a month. Suffice to say, life happened with great and mostly unpleasant abundance... but things are evening out now. For the few, loyal, and new readers - I thank you so much for hanging in with me on this, and again apologize for the delay. I fully intend to finish this story, so hopefully will be able to resume a regular update schedule.