1. Changing Times
There was no reason to feel anxiety in her gut this morning...until the feeling came in contact with conscious memory-Royaume's recently offended ambassador, the clashing officials, the reoccurring tension between some in Arendelle and the Northuldra-Anna wanted to remain in bed and never get up again.
But that's not who she was! Tossing the blankets aside, she decided that she would always get up and do the next right thing, especially since she now had a kingdom to lead and take care of. She ignored the strange fire squeezing in her chest and the momentary darkening of her vision (probably from still waking up).
A familiar smell surprised her on her way to the informal dining room, where she found Kristoff who made her breakfast as he did some mornings.
"Good morning, Honey!" he greeted, and she kissed him in response (fortunately Kristoff didn't mention what happened with the ambassador). Sven was there too, and she pet him in greeting.
See? She had an affectionate husband, the best friends, a beautiful country, oh, and a wonderful, happy sister. Most importantly, she wasn't alone, even when things changed.
The pain in her chest would eventually leave anyway.
Anna didn't grow up with Kristoff's strange mushroom stew, but she was always one to try new food, and had been surprised one morning to discover it tasted delicious. So she gratefully switched to eating what Kristoff grew up eating for breakfast when raised by trolls.
"Good morning, Anna! Kristoff! Sven!" Olaf cheerfully waddled into the dining room. He was carrying two books in his twig arms, and reading one of them.
"Olaf? You're happy again," Anna smiled.
"I take it there's good news about Mr. Hoff's bookshop?" Kristoff followed the same train of thought as Anna.
The special thing about Mr. Hoff's bookshop was that he had a special program for the orphans at Mr. Hansen's to teach them reading and writing. They would put on little plays too sometimes, and for most of the kids that was their favorite part.
Business had always been smooth, until Mr. Hoff's younger brother wound up in financial ruin while traveling abroad. Helping his younger brother's family had cost him too much to maintain his bookshop, and he could no longer keep the bookshop open, especially since he was away from Arendelle now.
His main concern had been that he couldn't help Mr. Hansen, and other people either didn't have the resources or the time to continue the reading and writing program. Anna had considered continuing the program using resources from the castle's library, but to try to organize that when several governing crises were already on her plate would be severely strenuous.
Olaf nodded gleefully.
"Mr. Hansen got a letter from Mr. Hoff just this morning saying he found a friend in Waldstrom who can help."
Anna breathed a sigh of relief. Not only did this take the pressure off of her, but Olaf, who cared about kids and learning how to read, had struggled to stay cheerful. Even though Olaf was always able to eventually find a bright side, he had not found it yet before they all went to bed the previous night.
"But just to be safe, I'm reading this book on financial strategy," Olaf showed them.
"What's the other one?" Anna asked between bites of stew.
"Stories of Magic and Gold!" He added matter-of-factly, "In case there does happen to be a magical solution out there."
Kristoff was about to comment, when Anna felt her lungs squeeze and...burn? It never hurt like this before.
"Anna?" He was at her side in an instant.
She put a hand on his arm to stop and assure him. "I'm fine. It's okay, really! I must've eaten too fast." Now was not the time to worry about her health.
"You might be allergic to mushrooms," Olaf offered. He too had picked up on the previous few times Anna felt the same-only milder-pain.
Maybe it was a serious health issue that might prevent her from doing a good job as a queen.
"Fine. I'll visit Dr. Amundsen this afternoon, okay? But for now, I need to get back to work." She quickly stood up. "Thank you for breakfast, Honey."
He kissed her. "I'm proud of you."
It slowed Anna's mind down in that moment, that he understood what she needed to hear. And her heart squeezed lovingly. 'What would I do without you?' her eyes communicated.
"I love you," she smiled, and he echoed.
Then time sped up again as she rushed out.
"Don't overwork yourself!" he called after her. He would have been lost in thought for much longer if Olaf hadn't spoken.
"No, a mushroom allergy doesn't add up," he hummed thoughtfully. "Do you think she'll be okay, Kristoff?"
He sighed deeply to try and lift the weight off his chest.
"Hey, she's willing to see the doctor at least." He smiled hopefully, "besides, this is feisty-pants we're talking about."
The servants cleaned up the informal dining room while Kristoff went to take care of his royal responsibilities, which he continued to feel insecure and uncomfortable about. He'd been married to the new Queen of Arendelle for less than a year, though, so confidence would likely come in time, right?
"Your Majesty." A servant-Dag, was his name-caused Anna to look up from her desk. "We received a letter addressed to you from Mr. Andreas Hoff." And he handed it to her.
The envelop looked bulky, likely filled with several pages, and Anna fought the urge to groan.
"Thank you, Dag," she smiled cheerfully instead. After all, she was excited to read what he might have to say about his bookshop and the friend who could help him.
Upon opening the letter, she discovered that only one page was from Mr. Hoff, and it read:
To Her Majesty, Queen Anna,
I wish to express my deepest gratitude to you for your concern for my situation and for your compassion towards the orphans in Arendelle. If my brother did not have children, I would have returned, but alas, the current predicament and my responsibility to my nephew and nieces means I must remain at least another six months at most. However, I was fortunate to encounter a clear friend of mine who currently lives with his family in Waldstrom. He advocates for the poor with his law practice, specializing in education, and has been promoting education for all children. His wife is a teacher, and together they have been working closely with an orphanage.
Early on during my visit with them, I was surprised to learn that my friend's wife had two dreams, the same two dreams, in which she saw Arendelle and heard someone welcoming her to it. She had these dreams before I came to visit. As I spoke to them about my predicament and the orphans at Mr. Hansen's, we realized that they would not only be perfect for maintaining my bookshop and home in Arendelle, but would be perfect for working with Mr. Hansen. After my friend and his wife spoke to their daughter about it, they told me they would be willing to move to Arendelle for at least three years. Of course, by then I would hope to have returned in Arendelle, but I can promise you that the gifts they impart to those around them is invaluable.
Their two concerns were these: that they may receive trouble from their own government for seeking to move to Arendelle, and that they may not receive permission from Your Majesty to move to Arendelle.
You see, despite my friend and his family being residents of Waldstrom, they remain citizens of (he had continued in very small, shaky handwriting) Weselton -
Anna threw the letter on the desk before reading to the end. First of all, the extreme formalities Mr. Hoff used in his letter were just ridiculous!
And how could anything good come from Weaseltown? Not only were the Duke and his two guards un-redeemable monsters, but that country's struggle with corruption hadn't changed for the better. Even if this family was good, allowing them, and only them, to move to Arendelle from Weselton would be like dancing on a thin fence with them. Just as she was scrambling to grab a hold of that peace they had been experiencing in Arendelle and it seemed to be slipping away, now this was dropped in her lap.
That fiery pain in her chest returned. Her vision darkened? But she shook it off. She just needed to calm down. All she needed was a drink of water and to go find Kristoff.
The chaos absorbed so much of Anna's attention while walking through the castle that she didn't hear Maya-another servant-address her.
A cold sprinkling on her face pulled her mind out of her tumultuous thoughts, and she looked up to see a grinning Fifth Spirit.
"Elsa!" she breathed. She almost crushed her older sister in a hug, but her sister held her tightly in return. "Honeymaren?" She gave her a hug too.
Then Anna noticed that Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf were there too. Seeing all those wonderful faces at once was such a sudden surprise and, mixed with all the emotions from the past two days, it all caused her to break down in tears.
Author's Notes:
Mr. Hoff is my own character, and I made up the names for the servants. I thought it would be Anna-like to know all the servants names.
The Weselton family from the letter are also my own characters.
Credit for Mr. Hansen goes to the creators of the Comic Book The Hero Within, and yes, Hedda will show up in later chapters. :)
Also, I hate mushrooms, haha! But I like giving characters opposite likes of mine when it comes to things like that. Also, I love how Anna loves Kristoff in all his craziness, especially in Olaf's Frozen Adventure.
I wish you all the best in this crazy time!