Chapter 28 – Interpretation
Elsa arrived in the castle courtyard shortly after dawn. The castle stablehands were already busy preparing six mounts, five from the Royal Guard's string of horses, and Sitron, formally belonging to Prince Hans, now used by Queen Elsa herself. Five royal guardsmen were also present, packing their cold-weather gear and readying their weapons, in preparation for today's excursion.
Elsa herself had dressed in a riding habit, one now actually tailored for her, unlike her last trip to the mountains when she had to borrow pieces from Anna's wardrobe, cut in the royal colors, purple and green. Upon her entrance, the guards and stablehands paused in their efforts and bowed.
Elsa nodded in return. "Thank you, gentlemen," she said in acknowledgement, then turned to the leader of their expedition, Lieutenant Hanssen. "Are we almost ready?"
"Just a few more minutes, Your Majesty, and we can be off." Lieutenant Alvar Hanssen was a tall, lean man, clean shaven, and starting to go bald. He had been with the Royal Guard for a just over ten years, having transferred to it from the militia, and had since risen to his current high rank, reporting directly to Captain Krog. He had been a member of her father's personal retinue whenever he had need to travel, infrequent though that had been, and was now the commander of hers.
Normally there would have been only three additional guardsmen completing the unit, but for this trip there was one extra, Guardsman Olaf Skogjeger, by the queen's own request. Having been the subject of his fellow guards' hazing, Elsa had decided to reward him for his stalwartness by requesting his inclusion on their upcoming travels, an assignment normally reserved for more senior guardsmen. A request from the queen, however, would not be refused without a pressing reason. And, it seems, there was none, as the junior guardsman seemed to be perfectly competent in managing his own horse and pack.
And, of course, rounding out the contingent, was the other Olaf of note, Olaf the snowman. The guardsmen had been studiously ignoring his antics, cavorting about the horses and men. Finally noticing Elsa, he came running towards her, stick arms outstretched.
"Elsa!" he cried out, arriving by her side.
Elsa leaned down and gave him a snowy hug, the snowflakes from his personal flurry tickling the back of her neck.
"Elsa, did you know that his name is also Olaf?!" he noisily whispered, holding one hand up to his mouth as if it would block his speech, the other pointing to the junior guardsman.
Elsa feigned surprise, "Really?" Then, leaning back down again to the snowman's level, she whispered conspiratorially, "Do you think they're all named Olaf?"
Olaf sprang back, gasping in shock, looking rapidly back and forth for any additional surprises.
But before the snowman could make and further comment, Lieutenant Hanssen stepped up and announced, "We're ready, Your Majesty."
Elsa turned and approached her steed, Sitron, whom the groomsman had just finished saddling and packing. "Hello," she said to the horse. "Are you ready for a ride up to the North Mountain?"
Elsa felt a bit odd talking to a horse in this way, but she knew that this horse was not like other horses. This horse had a magical spirit within it that gave him greater stamina, greater speed… and greater intelligence. And so it didn't seem right to Elsa to treat him with any less respect than she would another person. Communication wasn't easy, the horse couldn't talk, of course, and he didn't have a human to speak for him, like Sven had Kristoff, but he seemed to be able to make himself understood.
And, in response to Elsa's question, Sitron bowed his head as if nodding, and scraped at the ground in anticipation and eagerness to get under way.
Elsa paused for a moment in consideration. "You've been there before, haven't you, at my ice palace? With Hans."
Sitron looked back at Elsa, and she was sure she could feel concern in his gaze. He nodded again, slowly.
"That encounter didn't end very well. I almost didn't survive it myself. Well, you don't have to worry about getting mixed up in any more of his machinations."
And in response, Sitron rubbed his nose against Elsa's sleeve, which Elsa took as appreciation.
As Elsa moved around to the side of the saddle, a groomsman approached to assist her in mounting. But Elsa waved him off and pulled herself up and into the saddle. It wasn't as if the groomsman would be accompanying them on this trip, and so she needed to be sure she could manage such matters herself.
Grabbing the reins, Elsa was about to turn Sitron towards the courtyard exit, but was surprised to see a bleary-eyed Anna at the castle doorway. She wore a robe over her nightdress and stood in her slippers, but there she was, and Elsa's heart leapt that Anna managed to drag herself out of bed at this hour to see her off. Of course Gerda, who stood behind Anna, likely assisted the effort.
Anna rushed over to where Elsa and Sitron stood, and the sisters exchanged a hug, awkward due to the height difference, Elsa being mounted and Anna still on ground level.
"I know you said I didn't have to get up to say goodbye, but I had to get up to say goodbye!" declared Anna.
Then, after releasing her sister from the embrace, Anna turned her attention to Sitron, the horse. "And you better take care of her, do you understand me?" To which Sitron managed a bow, giving his word to Anna.
"We'll be fine," said Elsa, patting Sitron on the side. "I have the royal guard to assist him as well, so we'll all be fine."
"Hmm," said Anna, "I wonder if we should make Sitron a member of the royal guard. I hear they do that now in Corona."
It was still early when Kristoff came down from his room in Dag's Place for breakfast in the commons. One of the nicer rooms now, not the small room at the end of the hall, half full of supplies, and certainly not the stables like when he was a kid. He had money now, and could pay for one of the nicer upstairs rooms, the ones with actual beds and furniture. It still felt a bit funny, though, after just barely getting by to now being able to afford the good rooms.
"Thanks, Margott," Kristoff said to the serving girl laying out his breakfast. Eggs, bread, some cold fish; he still ate like a normal person, though he could afford that expensive juice now, the kind they squeezed from fruit imported from the Southern Isles.
"If there's anything else you need, just call me. Anything…" Margott smiled at Kristoff before turning away to mind her other duties, a smile that seemed a bit more than just friendly. Margott was probably about the same age as Kristoff, pretty, with long, dark hair. He knew her from all the times he'd stayed at Dag's, and she had always been nice enough, but she hadn't really paid him that much attention before, but now…
"Bjorgman! You here?"
Kristoff pulled his gaze away from Margott's retreating figure and turned towards the voice.
"Master Alversen, I'm here." Kristoff stood and walked to the man standing in the doorway. He was relieved that it was Alversen, and not Elsa; he had finished collecting all the supplies he needed yesterday, or so he had thought. He had already sent the message downhill, to the castle to let Elsa know he was ready. It was only later when he was repacking his sled that he noticed that some of his cargo wasn't right. He had rushed back to Alversen's shop to exchange it for what he had originally requested, but he was out of stock. But Alversen said he could get it to him tomorrow, first thing. Had to be, Kristoff insisted, his "client" was arriving early and can't be delayed.
But Alvensen was good for his word, and he had the proper equipment and supplies there on his cart.
"Pull it around back and we can load it onto my sled."
Behind Dag's Place, next to the stables, was Kristoff's new sled, mounted on wheels at the moment, loaded full, a tarpaulin tied down over it. Kristoff unknotted two corners of the covering, flipped it back, and started rearranging the gear to make room.
It only took a few minutes to unload Alversen's cart, but Kristoff wanted to move things around some more, for better balance, to make it easier for Sven to pull, so Alversen lead his horse and cart back around to the street and started back to his store. It only took another few minutes, and once done, Kristoff tied the tarpaulin back down, and headed back around the inn.
Reaching the front of the inn, Kristoff noticed two of the royal guards stationed by the entrance, and another a bit further down the road, tending to half-a-dozen horses. Looking back to the guards by the door, Kristoff was pretty sure recognized one of them, Kurtzfel if he remembered right, from around the castle. The guards turned towards him as he approached, but they clearly recognized him as well.
"Master Bjorgman." Kurtzfel and the other guard stood at attention upon his arrival.
"So, uh, the Queen's here?" Kristoff asked, realizing the stupidity of the question as he asked it.
"Inside, sir," replied Kurzfel, nodding his head in the direction of the door.
"Um, thanks." Kristoff scratched the back of neck, nervously. Was he supposed to salute or anything? They weren't doing anything special, so he pushed the door open and re-entered the commons room.
Inside, things were a bit more agitated. Elsa was sitting at his table, a guard standing nearby, while Margott attempted to serve her some tea, and Åsta, Dag's wife, who had emerged from the kitchen, was yelling to someone down the hallway to go get her husband (why? because the Queen is here!) The handful of other patrons, mostly other independent ice harvesters and couple travelers, just stared in stunned amazement, both at the Queen as well as at the walking, talking snowman busily introducing himself.
Kristoff approached, the royal guard watching dutifully, and bowed. He wasn't sure how much or how long he was supposed to bow. He wasn't royalty or nobility, but he had a royal-sponsored position, but did that actually count for anything? He hoped he got it right. "Your Majesty."
He could see Elsa smiling and nodding approvingly. It was "Elsa" in private, but "Your Majesty" in public. He was still working on that, too.
"Master Bjorgman, it is good to see you this morning," quoth Elsa in her best "Queen" voice. "Are we about ready?"
Kristoff resumed proper standing posture. "Yes, Your Majesty."
"Well, I've only just been served my tea, and I see you've barely started your breakfast," Elsa waved towards Kristoff's untouched food, "so I think we can take a few minutes."
About fifteen minutes later, Kristoff was in the stables, getting Sven into his gear. That complete, he lead Sven out to the sled to be hitched up where he found Margott, apparently waiting for him.
"So, you're really working for the Queen." She came close, touching his shoulder.
"Uh, yeah. I'm the Official Ice Master and Deliverer." Had she changed her dress? No, she'd just taken off her apron, but without it, he could see a lot more of, um, her.
"Well, when Her Majesty is done with you," she murmured, leaning in close, pressing up against him, "you be sure to come back and visit the people you knew before, hmm?" Margott drew her hand down Kristoff's arm playfully then stepped away. She walked backwards a few steps smiling back at him, then turned coquettishly while grabbing her discarded apron from a nearby cart and disappeared back into the inn.
Kristoff stood, staring into the now empty courtyard. Sven gave him a bump in the back, waking Kristoff from his stupor. "Yeah, that happened."
Kristoff finished rigging Sven to the cart, and led him around to the front of the inn where Elsa and the royal guards would be waiting.
They left Ice Town on the North Road, one of main avenues into the mountains. There were other trails that they could have taken, like the East Road which Kristoff had used on his last trip, collecting ice off of Mt. Ørjas. But today, the North Mountain was their destination.
A small crowd had gathered outside of Dag's Place before they left, and Elsa had felt it necessary to talk to them a bit before heading out. The royal family had been isolated from the people of Arendelle for so long that Elsa now felt it paramount to take any opportunity to reconnect with them whenever possible. And it was almost becoming commonplace that whenever she traveled in public, there were calls for her to make it snow. Usually from the children, but not always.
Once outside of Ice Town, there were a few buildings, a few outposts, a farm or two, then finally just the wilderness. Clear of civilization, the local fauna could be seen on occasion, when not spooked by their sortie.
The trip would take most of the day, according to Kristoff. This was longer than usual, he explained, mostly because they couldn't go at the usual speed. The primary reason was Sven was pulling a fully loaded sled up the mountain; normally, the sled would be nearly empty, just tools and some supplies, when climbing, and full, loaded with ice, when coming down. And due to that full load, they couldn't take the most direct paths, as they were steeper and had sharper turns. The full sled required them to follow some alternate directions, along trails that didn't climb or bend quite so severely. Therefore they expected to arrive at the peak of the North Mountain late in the day, around the time the sun was setting.
The next several hours were spent quietly riding. They climbed hills, followed trails along ridgelines, and cut through a few passes. These were well established routes, well-trodden by hooves of horses and reindeer, and the runners of ice harvesters' sleds. With the gain of altitude, there was a corresponding drop in temperature, and the combination of quiet contemplation and cool air had Elsa feeling rather contented.
Finally, they broke for lunch. They were now quite high, so despite it being late summer and the sun overhead, it was quite cool, almost cold. They had climbed the forested trails of Mt. Grønnløype, traversed the Gråstein Pass, and would soon be approaching the summer snow line. The guards took the opportunity to switch to their cold weather gear, and Kristoff himself had put on his heavier coat. The only ones unaffected were, of course, Elsa and Olaf.
"So, this is nice," commented the snowman. Not needing to eat, nor needing to change clothing, there wasn't anything productive for him to do. During the climb, he rode mostly with Elsa, discussing the various merits of vegetable crops grown on the Arendelle farms that they passed. After leaving Ice Town, he moved to the sled with Kristoff, but eventually migrated to ride with his namesake, the junior guardsman, from whom he got a detailed description of the native wildlife.
The traveling party sat in a small circle around an unlit campfire pit that they found a short distance from the main trail. Kristoff had noted it as they approached, knowing the location from having used it a number of times in the past. One of the guards distributed the packed lunches that they had brought with them from the castle, while another ventured further off the trail to collect fresh water from a nearby stream.
While the humans, horses, and reindeer ate, the snowman animatedly bounded around in circles about the camp site. "You know these trees stay green all year long, while these trees drop their leaves in the fall? And some of the trees we saw at the bottom of the mountain grow actual fruit!"
Elsa listened to his continuous monologue about the trees and his other observations. It was odd, she thought to herself; Olaf can talk fluently in Norse, and seemed to have some knowledge, but was ignorant in other aspects of the world. She had to wonder where he got any of his knowledge. It certainly wasn't by her direction; she hadn't even known she was giving him life when she created him. Perhaps it was from that mysterious source of information, that intelligence that Professor Ångström had suggested. There certainly were mysteries related to her power that she wished she understood. Perhaps another visit to Grand-Pabbie Troll would be in order.
Lunch and contemplation complete, they party remounted their steeds to resume their travels. The rest of the trip would be a good bit more arduous, rockier, steeper, and, of course, the snow. And the snow started becoming noticeable shortly after they embarked, becoming definite within the next hour, and after two, it was thick enough that they had to stop to allow Kristoff time to remove the wheels, converting his to sled back to its proper form.
From that point on, the trail was covered, and they would be depending on Kristoff's experienced navigation to guide them. While the cooler air she enjoyed earlier was nice, the mountain as it was now, blanketed in snow, simply felt right. Elsa had to resist the urge to hop down and scoop up armfuls of the white stuff.
It took four more hours of travel, climbing along thin ridges, dragging along sleep slopes, clambering up along the now rocky heights, before reaching the summit of the North Mountain itself. By now, the sun was falling low, and only because of their great height could they still see it, it having dropped below the mountain peaks. The horses now moved quite slowly, their legs sinking deep with each step. And after a short distance, Elsa recognized their location, the very spot where she made the choice to throw aside her limitations and embrace who she truly was. To let it go.
Climbing just a bit further, they rose to the top of the ridge, and could now see it. An intricate and filigreed stairway crossed a chasm and lead to the grand entryway of a glorious edifice of ice. Or so it should have been; half the balustrade of the staircase was gone, fragments of broken ice lay scattered along its steps, and high up where a balcony would open up to greet the rising run, the doors lay askew and a rampart of ice stood rudely in the middle. And this was just the most obvious evidence of her most recent encounter, she know it to be much worse within.
Steeling herself, she dismounted Sitron and called to her party to follow her inside. But before they could get too close, a great pile of snow next to the base of the archway rose up, forming the shape of a giant.
"Go away!"
