Chapter 37: Seeing the Lights
"There's been no sign of his ship?" Anna asked from Elsa's bed as she watched her sister prepare for that night's lighting of the lanterns. It had become a habit for the girls to gather in Elsa's rooms to prepare together for any function in Arendelle, and they continued it in Corona.
Elsa shook her head slightly as she placed her tiara in her hair. "No. Uncle told me that a lookout is to send word the moment a ship with the Arendelle flag is spotted off the coast." She sighed, trying to hold her disappointment at bay.
"Maybe he'll make it. He promised he would," Rapunzel added, holding the guest of honor for the night's festivities.
Elsa looked out the window and into the sea, which was darkening as the day ended. "I don't see how. I just pray that he is safe." She turned to kneel to where her namesake could toddler toward her. "I refuse to let this little hiccup in our plans take away any of the joy of tonight. There's so much to celebrate, namely you!" she scooped Little Elsa up into her arms, garnering a warm, wet kiss right on the lips.
She closed her eyes, treasuring the feeling of Little Elsa's love. How did she ever live for so long without affection? She honestly no longer knew. Those long, lonely days of isolation seemed like a lifetime ago, and in truth they were.
Rapunzel lovingly stroked her daughter's brown hair which was growing longer every day in a normal, non-magical fashion. "There's even more to be thankful for." She placed a hand on her abdomen. "All the signs show that we should expect another princess or a prince by the end of the year."
Anna squealed, and jumped to hug her cousin. Elsa managed to hug and congratulate her as well, without having to put down Little Elsa. "This is amazing! How long have you known?"
Rapunzel smiled. "I've had my suspicions for a while, but just felt the first flutterings of movement this week. Eugene and I wanted you to know before you left for Arendelle in a couple of days."
Anna instinctively placed her hand on Rapunzel's stomach to try and feel, which so early on she couldn't. "So there's another crazy family member in there?
"Uh huh," Rapunzel nodded.
"Wow!" Anna exclaimed, realizing that it was entirely possibly now that she could possibly make a similar announcement any time in the future. She found it exciting and frightening.
The ladies were summoned to join the King, Queen, and Queen Mother on the main balcony of the castle. Eugene and Kristoff joined them, happily awaiting to escort their wives. King Albert took Little Elsa from her godmother, and Queen Elsa took a place next to her grandmother. The King and Queen, with their granddaughter's help, untied the ribbon loosely holding down their lantern. Elsa and Granny then did the same with theirs, then Anna and Kristoff followed suit. The three main lanterns were gradually followed by thousands more, as they were released all over Corona in a wave of glowing beauty.
Rapunzel had explained it perfectly, they really were like stars, floating across the night sky. All of her life, Elsa had watched the aurora borealis paint the evening sky, bringing a faint light of hope into her isolated world. The lanterns though, they were something wholly intoxicating and different. Possibly it was the fact that they were different that so enthralled her, but she was definitely bewitched by them.
Taking a moment to tear her eyes away from the lanterns, she glanced around to witness the rest of her family enjoying the lanterns. Her aunt and uncle had "stolen" their granddaughter and were happily smiling and cooing at the beautiful toddler girl, no doubt trying to enjoy something they didn't get to with Rapunzel. Rapunzel and Eugene seemed lost to each other at that moment, as did Anna and Kristoff. Everywhere there were couplings, and once again she was all alone. Granny had managed to quietly disappear to be by herself, probably thinking of her own lost husband and daughter. Though the cold never bothered her normally, Elsa suddenly felt chilled and very lonely. Quietly, she stole away from the balcony, down a staircase to a little, private garden to watch the lanterns alone with only her thoughts, or so she believed.
Somehow she felt his presence before she even heard a footfall. Ever since that first dance they had shared, she could always somehow feel when he was near. The hair on the back of her neck would suddenly stand on end, and an excited nervousness and a grounding familiarity filled her core.
He didn't say anything, just seemed to stand there, mingling with the shadows. He had been watching her from a safe distance throughout the ceremony of the lanterns, not wishing to interrupt and make a scene. He admired the innocent wonder that painted her face as the lanterns danced across the sky. He observed as she noticed that she was the only one quite alone, and he couldn't help but follow from a distance as she separated herself from the others. He wasn't even sure if she was aware of his presence until she quietly spoke while running her fingers through a little stream of water that ran through the garden.
"I never imagined that I would ever see anything as beautiful as this. I never allowed myself to dream that such wonderful things happened, much less that I would be a part of them." He knew she was referring to her years of isolation.
"It is the most beautiful sight my eyes have ever seen," he replied, not caring a wit about the lanterns. He didn't even notice them, but rather Elsa and the way the glow from the lanterns seemed to illuminate her very soul. She slightly turned her head to look his way and smile a slow, timid, but almost seductive smile. Though his feet felt like lead, he made his way to where he was standing next to her, close enough she could feel his warm breath on her neck.
Tentatively he laid his hand on top of hers, expecting her to recoil from his touch after their being apart for so long. Only, she didn't. She instead turned her hand to where their palms touched, electricity running through both their veins, and laced her fingers through his, giving him courage to slide his other arm across her back, and hold her other hand just the same, pulling her back to his chest in an embrace. He rested his head on her shoulder, and she leaned hers against his. She no longer felt the chill of loneliness but a warmth she was still growing accustomed to. In this manner they watched the rest of the lanterns as they floated off to distant lands, carrying with them the dreams of many.
When the last lantern floated off into the far off distance, Elsa turned in his embrace, placed her hands on his chest, and gazed into his eyes. "I certainly never imagined that I would ever know what it is to feel what I am feeling here, with you in this moment. God, how I've missed you!"
His voice suddenly hoarse, "Elsa, I…"
Something in the warm salty Coronian air made her bold; far bolder that she would have been out in the open in Arendelle, and she lifted her head to where their lips met, gently kissing him with soft lips that were anything but frigid. The gentle kiss grew into a hungry one and many more that grew deeper and deeper to where she had to catch her breath lest her lungs explode. He responded in kind, exploring her mouth, her neck, her shoulder so wonderfully exposed, causing her to moan at the exciting sensation of his heat upon her skin.
They came up for air, and she cupped his sweet, handsome face in her hands. "I don't think that I can bear any more partings, James. My heart aches for you. My soul is in pain when we're parted."
He ran a long, slender finger along her neck and shoulder. "I feel like an opium addict, Elsa. I can't seem to get enough of you and always crave more. These past weeks away from you have been pure torture. I can't think straight. I can't sleep. I can't eat. Please tell me…" he was once again interrupted.
"Ah, there you are, old man! The captain of the guard mentioned he saw you head this way!" a male voice appeared in the darkness.
James turned around, searching for the voice in the darkness. "Fergus?"
Though the lanterns had long gone away, the moon still glowed bright that night. Out of the shadows emerged James' brother with his sister-in-law in tow. "We knew you would be here, so Mary and I thought we would bring the boys into the city to see the lanterns and their favorite uncle."
"Brother!" James exclaimed, vigorously hugging Fergus, then Mary.
Fergus noticed Elsa standing frustratingly alone in the moonlight. "Oh my apologies, I see you're not alone."
James brought Elsa forward, his hand never leaving her arm. "Queen Elsa, you remember my brother Fergus, Duke of Westbrooke, right?"
Elsa smiled and gave Fergus her hand. "We have had the pleasure, James." She turned to Mary. "You must be Mary! Your husband, James, Amelia, and Celia all have spoken quite highly of you. It is so wonderful to finally meet you! I am deeply sorry for your family's loss. Celia had become a dear friend to me."
Mary curtseyed. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Your Majesty. I have heard many good things of you as well. Please accept my family's thanks for your friendship with Celia and also Amelia. It has been a difficult time, but we will survive."
Elsa nodded. "Please call me Elsa, we are in a sense, family after all. Tell me, where are your boys? I've heard so many tales of their exploits that I feel I know them already."
"They are being entertained by I think your sister and her husband," Mary answered. "Would you like to meet them?"
Elsa glanced longingly at James and answered, "Y-yes, absolutely! Please take me to them! Their names are Hamish, Hubert, and Harris, am I correct?" They made their way back through the darkness to where the family was.
Far behind the women, James and Fergus walked together, at a slower gait. "I'm very sorry, Jamie." Fergus apologized. "It appears we may have interrupted something. Had I known, well…"
"You did interrupt, but there will be other chances," James told him, only a little angry. He had missed his brother. "Did Elinor come with you?"
"No, no. She claimed to have a cold or something and stayed at home." Fergus sighed heavily. "I don't know what to do with her, James. She's becoming more and more secretive and reclusive, especially in the past few months. I'm thinking of sending her to live with another titled family, possibly arranging a marriage for her before she gets herself into trouble."
"I have heard that the teenage years are the most difficult," James advised. "Give her time, brother! Don't force her into an arranged marriage… at least not yet."
"I have been giving her nothing but time, Jamie. She is too headstrong for her own good. Let us not argue about that now though. So, you and the Ice Queen, eh?" Fergus punched James' shoulder.
"Her name is Elsa," James corrected, "and yes. We are very much together. I'm fairly certain Aunt Lillian, Rapunzel, and Princess Anna already have the wedding planned. You just interrupted my proposal."
"Ah, that's a good thing, I think. You may want this before you do it. By your letters, it seemed like I needed to give it to you sooner rather than later." He handed him a box. James opened it, and in the moonlight he saw a diamond ring that had once belonged to his mother.
James stopped and just stared at his brother. "Shouldn't this go to one of the boys or Elinor?"
Fergus patted his brother's shoulder. "She wanted you to have it. She told me on her deathbed, James. It's meant for your wife and someday your daughter. So, will this make you King of Arendelle, because having a king as a younger brother would be pretty spectacular!"
James shook his head. "No! No I wouldn't be king, I would only be a Prince Consort. It doesn't matter what my title would be, I would be Chief Chamber Pot Emptier just to be her husband though, Fergus."
"Look at that!" Fergus exclaimed. "Jamie is besotted! I imagine you're probably one of her chief advisors and will have a role behind the scenes?"
"I don't know, Fergus. I don't really care. It's not like I want to be a king. I advise her, it's my duty, but she doesn't need it. She is quite capable, standing on her own. She is by far the most intelligent, strongest woman I have ever known. There is not a woman on this earth who can compare to her, and I should know. I've sailed the Seven Seas. Being with her makes me a better man, and it makes me want to make the world better for her. Being her husband, waking up next to her every day is all that I want."
Elsa, who had been wearing a sheer scarf and lost it in the heat of the moment, went back for her scarf and overheard James' last comment to his brother and felt her heart swell with love and respect for that dear, dear man. She had always known, but to hear him say that he loved her for her and not her crown, made her love him all the more. Thinking of Rapunzel's dreams of seeing the lanterns, she realized that she too had many, many new dreams that all involved a future with a young man with one dimple.
This is the last chapter without any added material for a while. For those of you who've read the original, you'll get more next chapter. For those of you who haven't, I hope you enjoy this.