The castle of Arendelle had gas lamps in the halls, and Antimony liked slipping out of her room to make them grow brighter and dimmer. She only did it when no one was around to see her and be alarmed, although sometimes she did want someone to arrive, simply because she wanted to see how they would look at her. She wanted to meet their gaze and see whether they would be willing to accept her or whether they would turn and walk away.
She got her first chance when David appeared at the end of the hall. He met her gaze easily and only lifted one eyebrow at the sight of the gas lamp with its high flame before walking down the hall to meet her. "I'll need you to come with me, Miss Westerguard. There's a difficult situation."
Her first thought was that something had happened to Elsa or Émeric, and as David led her at a quick pace down the hall, she asked, "What's happened?"
"It will be easier if I show you," he said, "though I suppose you ought to have some explanation. A fleet of ships from the Southern Isles has arrived and formed a blockade in the harbor."
"I thought they weren't expected for another few days," she said, wondering both what could have brought her brother there so early and how he had managed to gather such a fast fleet of ships. Something in what he had said caught her attention, and she sped up, trying to reach the harbor as soon as she could. "Did you say something about a blockade?"
"Yes, Miss Westerguard," David said. He was normally unflappable, but now his voice shook, and she saw that he had his hands pressed tightly against his sides, perhaps to keep from wringing them. "Your brother has said that no ship will enter or leave Arendelle's harbor until he sees you."
He must have heard. There was no other explanation she could think of. "Has he said why he wants to see me?"
"He hasn't, though he sounded very angry."
"Where's the queen?"
"The last I saw, she was trying to negotiate with King Morten." David's voice trembled more. "With your permission, I would like to go with you, to ensure her safety."
"I don't mind at all," Antimony said. Morten wouldn't dare hurt Elsa; that would start a war more certainly than anything else.
The Silver Hammer, the flagship of the fleet of the Southern Isles, was in the harbor when Antimony reached it. She had seen it several times, but never before had she felt such dread at seeing its shining sails. The dread didn't stop her from weaving through the crowd to reach the docks, though the closer she got, the less she had to weave. The people parted for her, whispering, and she caught some of their words.
Abomination.
Ambassador.
Princess.
She reached the docks and saw Morten standing before her, glaring out at the crowd. He must have heard the whispers as well, and a shiver ran down her spine at the thought of what he might want to do to them for insulting her. He was dressed all in black, and his expression was grave as he took a few steps closer to her. "Antimony," he said. "Darling sister, what are you doing here?"
"I'm doing my job," she said. "I'm the ambassador to Arendelle. Master Hansen approved of me, and so does Queen Elsa."
"I heard that Master Hansen had agreed to send you here," he said. "I also heard that he tried to keep it a secret from me. However, I have ways of loosening tongues, and I soon learned all I had to."
Antimony considered letting the dock burn below her feet. It wouldn't hurt her, and it might not hurt Morten badly, but it would show her exactly what she thought of what he had done. "You tortured Master Hansen? How could you?"
"I'm only trying to keep you safe, Antimony," he said. "I nearly lost you once, and I won't do it again. I must insist that you return to the Southern Isles with me."
"I won't give up my place here," Antimony said. "I have a place here, and I'm happy. There are people willing to show that they care about me, and I have responsibilities. I'm not just the tenth-born. I'm an ambassador, and I'm not going to leave if going back will only bring me more of what I left behind."
"You have responsibilities at home," Morten said. "You're still tenth-born, but until I marry and sire an heir, you're the next in line for the throne. We're the only Westerguards left, and I want the throne to stay in our family."
It felt so strange to think of herself as the among the last of anything. She knew she was the last trace anyone had of her mother, but that felt so abstract that she had grown comfortable with it. If Morten died before fathering a child, she would be the last Westerguard, and that shook her world. Her family had always been large and spread out, but now that there were two of them, perhaps it was only right for them to be closer together. For a moment, she wanted to be with her brother again so they could be a proper family, and the yearning hung heavy in the air between them.
To the people of Arendelle, she was an abomination that needed to be sent away. She was the princess of another kingdom. She was also their ambassador, and the first ambassador from the Southern Isles to feel love for Elsa rather than fear. Perhaps it wasn't the sort of love they would have expected or even accepted, but it was love nevertheless, and she hadn't fled. This would be her place, and she lifted her chin. "I understand, Morten," she said, "and should the throne fall to me, I will return to the Southern Isles at once to take my place there. Until that day, I will be the ambassador to Arendelle. As far as I can tell, I've nearly set a record for staying here, and I don't intend to leave."
Morten glared and took another step forward. Antimony didn't so much as flinch. "If I can't ask you to come back, then I'll have to order you," he said. "I'm not only your brother but also your king. Antimony Westerguard, you will board this ship at once, and we will return to the Southern Isles."
"And if I don't?"
She heard a gasp from somewhere behind her, and it was only then that she realized the whispering had stopped. Whether they wished her well or ill, the people of Arendelle were listening to her, and they wanted to know whether she would stay with them or return to the Southern Isles. She hoped they would want her to stay, since the only other reason she would leave would be if they wished it.
"Then I will be forced to take action against Arendelle."
Antimony shook her head and reached behind her to undo her braid. As the plait came away, her hair lit up like a fire and rose behind her. More people gasped, and Morten took a step back, growing even paler than before. "You aren't the one in power here, dear brother," she said. "I can advise the queen as to what action to take the Southern Isles, and even though I've only been here a short while, I believe I have her trust."
"What are you?" Morten whispered.
"That depends on who you ask. Some people here think that I'm an abomination. My cousin told me that I'm a fire elemental, like my mother before me. If you were to ask me, I would tell you that I'm Antimony Westerguard, an ambassador." The fire of her hair cast strange shadows in the night, and she heard people murmuring behind her. They didn't sound terrified, though; they sounded intrigued, and those that were frightened or angry were quickly silenced. "I think the question is about what you think I am. Who am I to you, Morten?"
"You're my sister," he said. "Why are you asking me this?"
"Because I need to know. If I'm your sister, why would you ignore me for so long? Why did I never see you?"
"I was busy." Morten stepped forward, and for a moment Antimony thought he might reach forward and embrace her. "When we were younger, I was too busy learning how to be a king, and after our father died, I was too busy trying to run the kingdom. I did try to see you, though. After you were shot, I sat by your side for days. I didn't know whether you would live or die."
"I wasn't dreaming, then?" The memory had faded, but if she thought, she could still see her brother's face as it had been when she thought she had seen it. It had been gaunt and weary, and even now she could see traces of that. If this wasn't how he always looked, then being the king was taking a toll on him. His cheekbones were sharp, and there were shadows under his eyes. She supposed it could just as easily be his worry over her as being the king, for their father had been a large man, very different from how Morten was now.
"Is that what you thought it was? If I'd known that, I would have come back." He swallowed and glanced out at the crowd. "I don't suppose there's still a chance for us to be a family again?"
"Not every family has to be close together," she said. "Our uncles were scattered across the world, and they still were family. I'm only a few days of sailing away, across a strait." She wanted to smile, but she couldn't forget what he had done to Master Hansen. "Our letters should find each other easily."
"Only letters?"
"You have responsibilities, and so do I," she said. "We can't just walk away from those, no matter what you might want."
Morten looked at her for a long while, then he nodded once. "I understand. Will you forgive me?"
"For what? For torturing the man who gave me a new life? Never. For blockading Arendelle's harbor and threatening war? You'd have to ask the queen for that." To keep the despair from his face, she went on, "I can forgive you for what you have done to me – but only to me – in the past. Will that be enough?"
"It will have to be," he said. When he held out his arms, she stepped into them for a quick embrace, and when he tried to hold her longer than she had planned, she pulled back. "Thank you, Antimony. I'll write you when I can. Would you send my regards to Princess Anna and carry my apology to Queen Elsa? Things are still difficult back home, and I shouldn't be away too long."
"I'll carry your messages," she said, and after giving her a quick smile, Morten boarded his ship and the fleet moved out. Once all the ships were gone, Antimony let her hair fall back around her shoulders. For a long moment, the crowd behind her was silent, and then someone broke out into applause. A moment later, people were cheering, and they eagerly parted to let her walk back to the castle, where she found Elsa.
"I think they've found a new hero," Elsa said as they stepped inside.
"Only a little earlier they were calling me an abomination," Antimony said. "I don't understand them."
"They're fickle, but you've won their love," Elsa said with a smile. "I'm not sure why, but people standing up to foreign kings tends to enchant them, even if those people are foreign themselves. I don't think you'll have any problems with them."