New Beginnings

Again Elsa slept hard, and when morning came, she didn't want to face it. But this time, for another reason. She didn't want to leave. She didn't want to leave Heinrick.

Knock knock knock-knock knock.

"Come in," she said somewhat lifelessly.

Anna slipped inside. "Yeah, I saw this coming," she said with sympathy. She sat on the bed next to Elsa and slipped her arm around her. Elsa's eyes had not left the floor. "A day at a time, right sis?"

Elsa just silently rested her head on Anna's shoulder. After a moment Elsa said, "time to reach for that steel."

Heinrick was not at breakfast. Elsa had mixed feelings about that – every minute would be nice, in a way, but straining, too. As they were about to get up to leave the room, he entered wearing riding clothes. "Elsa," he said, "would you join me for a ride?" She hesitated. "Please?" She gave a reluctant nod.

They rode quietly north from the castle. "This is the route my brother and I would ride," Heinrick said. Once they had reached the tree line, he added, "right here is where I was thrown." They rode into the trees, both of them awkwardly quiet. Ahead was the rise where, to the west, was the hundred-foot cliff where Enceladus had perched. The horses slowed on the hill. Heinrick took a deep breath. "My father wants to meet with you before you leave," he said. "Well, it's not entirely his idea. But before you end up in that position, I need to talk with you first." He gave her a glance. She was tense. "You did so much for me; you were so instrumental in my journey to healing. When I met you, I honestly expected to deliver my 'thank you' message and move on. I never imagined you getting caught up in all this. Of course, I never imagined all this." He was silent for a minute. "I apologize: I've spent a long time fancying that I understood you in some capacity, and now I find myself entangled between who I imagined you to be and who I've discovered you to be." He sounded a little self-reproving. "I remember my father saying that the best antidote for thinking someone to be something that they are not, is to find out who they really are."

Elsa's face registered her remembrance of Kristoff's equivalent advice. So there are love experts down here too, she smiled.

Heinrick stopped his horse. He was looking at her. "I would like the time to do that – to get to know who you really are. I want to know if you would like that, too."

She couldn't keep back her smile. "Yes, I would."

He held her gaze. "And who I've found you to be is remarkable," he said with earnestness.

She looked down with a blush. "Thank you," she said quietly. It was time to reward forthrightness with the same. "You have … unlocked a place in my heart that I never knew was there."

He held out his hand, and she took it. They held each other's gaze for a long minute, and then he said, "do you have time to ride to the top, or do you need to get back to the castle? There's a view. I used to think it was a good view, before I saw Arendelle."

"We can go on," she replied.

The view was of two valleys, one to the north, and one to the south. The view to the south was of Cliffs' View, of course. The view to the north was of the river which emptied into the sea, where the Weselton ship had staged its surprise attack, and the little fishing village there. As with her trip to the southern border, what made the view interesting was all you could see at once. She scanned the scene for a long time. The river curled all the way to the eastern horizon. "Have you traveled up the river?" she asked.

"Yes. It eventually turns north into Ventner. It would be a great shipping channel if it weren't so shallow in most places. It's used a lot by smaller boats. Believe it or not, people have dreamed of dredging it deeper. Every so often someone comes to the castle with a new plan, but it's invariably expensive speculation, and they come to us when they can't find anyone else willing to speculate."

Elsa couldn't help herself: I bet it's nothing a little ice couldn't gouge out, she thought. Probably best to keep that thought to herself for now. "Well," she announced, "I would like to see it someday." She gave him a hinting smile.

"I will make note of it," he smiled back. They rode back to the castle after that, chatting much more freely as they went. Soon enough the forest opened onto the plain with the castle half a mile away.

"I hate to end this on a business note," said Elsa, "but regarding the Falster ships: what do you plan to do with them when I unfreeze the bay?"

"Well, they're not our enemy anymore. We plan to return them. I certainly wouldn't want to deprive Fenris of them if he ends up needing them. The question is how to man them. Some of the leadership were supportive of Terence, and some were just acting under orders or duress, but it's not simple to sort them out. Their crews know, so we're talking to each man and tabulating results. It's a time-consuming process. Until then, they can just be anchored in the bay." Elsa was very satisfied with the answer.

When they arrived back at the castle, a very curious Anna was waiting for her. "So? What was that about?" she asked enthusiastically.

Elsa smiled. "It was about whether we had a mutual desire to get to know one another better."

"Oh! Whew! I'm glad that one worked out!" Then her eyebrows furrowed. She put her hands on Elsa's arm. "Wait, what did you tell him?"

"I told him I did."

Anna squeaked and wrapped her in a hug. "The committee approves," she whispered in her ear.

About a half hour later the chief butler found Elsa in her room and relayed the message that king Reginald wished to see her before she left. Elsa presumed that he meant now would be a good time, so she took a deep breath and invited him to usher her to the throne room. When she entered, king Reginald was standing at the windows, not sitting in his throne. He turned at the sound of their footsteps.

"Ah, dear Elsa, thank you for coming. Please, join me." Elsa walked over and stood before the windows overlooking the courtyard, her hands clasped at her waist. "Again, I thank you so much for all you have done for Mittergaard in general, and for my son in particular."

She nodded. "Thank you for your kind words, your majesty."

He continued. "It is no secret to me that in the course of things you have won my son's heart." Elsa stiffened as he turned to face her. "He has requested my blessing to officially begin a courtship process of the queen of Arendelle." He smiled. "I am prepared to grant that request. But I would like to know your heart in the matter before I release him on that course."

For some reason Elsa was hesitant. She had thought she was ready for this, but now that it was happening, she wasn't. She felt a slight frown of indecision on her forehead. Perhaps all those years of holding people at a distance. When it was just her and Heinrick, the connection was natural - undeniable. But speaking with king Reginald put it into its broader perspective: this wasn't just a connection between Elsa and Heinrick, it was a connection between two kingdoms that would last for generations. The implications were so much larger.

And then Fenris' face popped into her mind – the memory of him coming in the back door of his house outside Crescent Bay, halfway between panicked and determined. Wait a minute, she thought. This is the beginning of the process, not the end. She found her smile. "Yes," she said. "I would welcome him as a suitor."

King Reginald beamed. "Excellent! Excellent! He could not have chosen better!"

Such a father, she thought warmly.

"Now, there are a few logistical matters. For the next several months or so I would like to retain him here to assist the new king of Falster. I understand you have an arrangement to deliver him to the capital in two weeks?"

"Yes. And following that, I was thinking of stopping by every so often myself, as my schedule permits," she said. And I have a promise to keep – in Bieves.

He clapped his hands together. "Oh, that's wonderful! Beyond that, then, can I assume that you will find a place for him in Arendelle for the duration of your courtship?"

Elsa thought for a moment. "Your majesty," she said, "what I have enjoyed most in my dealings with your son has been working with him; collaborating with him on this project. I wouldn't have pursued it at all without his vision, and I don't think I would have been successful without his guidance. Perhaps rather than conduct a typical courtship, we could find some legitimate role for him to play in Arendelle for a time."

King Reginald's eyebrows furrowed. "Hmm... That may work, and that may not." He was thoughtful for a moment. "But I suppose if it does not, it will be for reasons that are best discovered in a courtship rather than in a marriage." He nodded. "Did you have a particular role in mind?"

She sighed. Her feelings were mixed. "I realize some might consider it a demotion from the admiralty, but it so happens that I am in need of a new chief diplomat."

The king nodded gravely. "I understand," he replied. "I will discuss it with him."

Sparkling flecks whirled together just above the water to the east of the Arendelle castle, eventually coalescing into a huge glowing snowflake. A few seconds later Enceladus burst through, sending shards of ice flying into the sky as he extended his wings to land somewhat gently in the water. There were no boats on this side of the castle, but the wave kicked up by his "gentle" landing was enough to splash over the causeway between the castle and the mainland. Several people had to scurry to the far side. Enceladus lowered his wing over the castle wall, and Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff walked to the castle courtyard. They watched as he launched himself into the air and circled above the city, while a second grand snowflake formed in the sky. Then he was gone; the reverberating sound dying after him a minute later.

"What now?" asked Anna.

Elsa took a moment, and then a breath, but before she could say anything they were overwhelmed with a loud, happy "you're back!" as Olaf came bouncing across the courtyard. They all greeted him with smiles as he hugged their legs.

"Yes, Olaf, we're back," Elsa said lovingly. "I hope you treated Kai well." She looked up to where Kai was standing at the castle door with a relieved expression on his face.

"Oh, we're best buds," he said, elbowing her wisely. "It's so cute how he rolls his eyes."

The chatter continued as they walked up to the door, where Kai had a pleading look on his face. "Are you back, your majesty?" he asked.

"Yes, Kai, I'm back," she smiled reassuringly. "And the ships will be back in about a week. Sadly, though, Patrice Barr was lost in battle."

Kai nodded grimly. "Yes; we received your letter. His family held the funeral last week."

Elsa's face fell. His family. She wished she had been able to attend the funeral. She had missed him, but for purely selfish reasons. His family... The chief diplomat position wasn't exactly expected to be a dangerous one. She had risked her life, and the lives of her guards, but she hadn't really expected to lose Patrice, of all people. To the degree that she could, she needed to try to make it up to his family. She felt Anna's arm slip around her and give a squeeze.

Instead of going straight to her room, her feet carried her to her privy council chamber. There she stood before the large windows overlooking the water and the cliff face beyond. So many white birds… She wiped a tear from her cheek. How quickly she could descend into self-pity. She took a deep breath and straightened her back. "There is value even in loss," she reminded herself. "Often the things that are the most valuable and beautiful blossom from our losses." She had lost a diplomat, and a – a child, she thought. What had blossomed was the saving of many lives, the reconciling of two kingdoms and quelling of a matter that could have broadened into a far wider conflict…

… And the gaining of a suitor.

At the moment, it didn't feel like enough, but that was where her heart would have to believe her head. She walked from the council room to her personal quarters. Everything was so still and pristine. Except for one thing that was out of place. Sitting on her tidy desk was a wrapped gift: an eight-inch cube. She picked it up – discovering that it was quite heavy – and looked for a name or a message, but there was none. She unwrapped it and gasped in amazement. It was a finely crafted metal snowflake, only instead of being flat, it was composed of numerous overlapping snowflakes that were fastened together to form a ball. The symmetry was breathtaking. And when she looked closely, she could see that within the ball was a smaller one that rotated independently, and within that, an even smaller one. "How in the world…?" she said. There was a tag dangling from the bottom. It read:

With much gratitude;

Byron Byrd

A warm smile overtook her. "It looks like Halvord found his services of value," she remarked to herself. "I have to show this to Anna!" She hastened from her room carrying the shining silver snowflake.

END PART ONE