On Our Way Home
"Finally!" Idunn yelled as she picked dup their savings in her hands. It had taken much longer than she and Adgar had wanted to earn the 40 krona it would cost to board a ship back home. Adgar had managed to find a job quickly, shining shoes. The pay however was quite meagre, paying 5 krona a week. Idunn had also managed to find a job helping an elderly woman clean and run her household. Together they managed to earn about 8 krona a week. However, they hadn't considered the fact that they would need to eat and sleep. This meant they had to spend about half of what they were making in order to survive in the city. However, they worked hard, and after 12 weeks they had saved exactly 40 krona.
They couple ran to the docks, money in had. Once they had arrived they went straight to the ticket counter. "Two tickets to the Kingdom of Arendelle please, on your very next boat." Adgar said. The man frowned down upon them. "I am sorry sir, our next cargo ship won't be along for three more weeks, and we are not currently taking reservations for it. Please come back in two weeks time." Adgar and Idunn were devastated, but Adgar had excellent bargaining skills and knowledge of the shipping industry.
"Would there happen to be a passenger ship running withing the next week?" he inquired. The man turned and looked at the boat schedules. "Yes, there is an express passenger ship leaving Tuesday at nine in the morning. The couple smiled, relieved. However, their relief did not last long, "however, the cost in 100 krona." Idunn gulped. "100 krona?" she repeated, hoping that she had misheard. The man nodded, and Adgar and Idunn walked away devastated.
"There is one way." Adgar said, staring at Idunn. "Hmmmm." Idunn murmured, indicating to her husband to continue. "We could reveal ourselves." He said, eliciting a gasp from Idunn. "What?" she gasped, shocked. "No Adgar, we cannot. If he told anyone than Elsa's reign may be in danger. We need to find out what the situation is at home before we can dare to reveal ourselves!" she said. Adgar shook his head. "No, the express ship takes 3 months to reach home. There is only one express ship every 6 months from here. If we buy a ticket minutes before the ship leaves, after everyone has boarded, than we should make it home before anyone else can get the news home. The next ship from here would arrive in about six months' time." Idunn thought on this for a moment and nodded gently. Then the couple headed back to their room, thinking of a way to prove their identity to the ticket seller.
The following Tuesday the couple headed out early, arriving at the docks by eight in the morning. They watched as the passengers boarded, and then the crew. Running to the ticket seller, they asked again for a ticket onto the boat. The man laughed and denied them access again, saying the cost was 100 dollars. However, this time the couple didn't accept that. Instead, Adgar pulled out a token he has carried with him for the last 5 years. Somehow it stayed with him through the entire ordeal, and he has never let it go. The man looked at the token confused, witing for an explanation. "Sir, we need passage on this ship. You see, we are actually the King and Queen of Arendelle, believed dead by the world. We don't want any trouble and we don't want our true identity to be known until we reach home. This token is the only one of its kind in the world, it has belonged to every ruler of Arendelle ever born, passed down from first born child to first born child. If you do grant us passage on this ship, we will send to you the entire fare, as well as a bonus gift of great value for your aide and for keeping our secret." Adgar said quickly, seeing the ship preparing to leave.
The man stared at the couple, slowly seeing the resemblance, the hair had grayed, and there were many more wrinkles on their faces, but he did see it. Beneath the mangled and aged exterior, lived the former rulers of Arendelle. Nodding he handed them their tickets, "Good luck," he said, don't cause another great freeze!" he laughed waving at the couple. However, when the couple heard the words great freeze they quickly turned around. "What did you say?" they asked in unison. "The great freeze…the queen caused this winter right in the middle of July…" he said. Upon seeing their panicked and worried faces though he sighed. "I'll let your daughters fill you in on it." He said. The couple now panicked abou tht estate of their kingdom ran onto the ship.
Thoughts of their people dying from the cold, and thoughts of Elsa being killed by the people flooded the couple's head. They could no longer sleep, and their appetite was nearly gone. Their only hope was that their return would bring back peace and stability to the kingdom.