The following day, Elsa summoned Katherine to her study. When they had discussed their arrangement a few weeks earlier, they had decided that the soldier would remain at her quarters in the military base and that she would mostly accompany the queen on her outings. But today, Elsa had a new idea.
As she waited, apprehension took over her. She hoped the soldier would be on board.
Why was she always so nervous when she had to ask Katherine things? Was she that afraid she would say no?
She was the queen. She could expect everyone to agree to whatever she asked. But with Katherine it was always different. With her, she didn't want to be seen as a queen whose every demand had to be met. She didn't really want that with anyone else, if she was honest, but with the soldier she definitely wanted something different. Something more.
Before, their arrangement had been all about Elsa wanting to get to know the newcomer within a distance she was comfortable in. But during the trip to Stanheim, they had shared a closeness that she wasn't as ready to let go of anymore. An intimacy that was almost intoxicating, that she couldn't get enough of.
How she hoped she said yes.
When she heard a knock at the door, Elsa sat up straighter, as she often did when she wanted to seem more composed than she felt. "Come in."
"Good morning, Your Majesty," Katherine nodded her ever courteous greeting as she stepped in.
"Good morning, Katherine. Please, sit down."
"What can I do for you?" Katherine asked as she took her place in front of the queen.
"I would like to propose a new arrangement for the way your services are provided. What would you think of coming to stay at the castle?"
Katherine tried to keep the surprise from her expression, but her eyebrows still rose. There was already a rotation of soldiers that assured the security of the royal residence at all times.
"I know there are always soldiers around," Elsa said, as if reading her mind. "But with what happened on our way back from Stanheim, I have felt that Anna has become more nervous about my security. And she likes you. Maybe having you around would ease her fears… And I wouldn't mind it either," she added with a small smile.
Elsa might have looked calm and on top of things, as she usually did, but her heart was threatening to burst out of her chest. Admitting to wanting to spend more time with someone wasn't something she was used to doing.
Barely upon registering what Elsa could mean by that, Katherine felt a warm feeling spread across her chest, as if a tiny sun had found its place beside her heart. She wouldn't mind the possibility of spending more time with Elsa either.
"That does seem like an excellent idea, you know, security wise." While Katherine's words were nonchalant, clearly not ready to vocally admit to anything else, her face was, once again, considerably more communicative, as she was unable to stop the smile that stretched her lips.
Elsa saw right through her. "Of course, of course," she nodded before she grinned, beaming.
Katherine made a mental note to start making a conscious effort to remember what could make Elsa smile like that. The queen was beautiful, that much was undeniable, but her smile was often polite and reserved, as if she feared it would take up too much space. However, the way pure, unadulterated happiness made her eyes sparkle in such a magical manner as it did now had the whole world melting around her. At least from the soldier's perspective, who didn't seem to have eyes for anything else.
"So," Elsa said, breaking Katherine out of her trance. "We have a lot of unoccupied rooms around the castle. You could go around and choose your own."
Katherine nodded, and with as much insouciance as she could muster, she asked, "Any chance there's a free room near your own? I'm just thinking, security-wise that would probably be ideal."
Elsa thought about it and realized there wasn't any rooms available around her own. But she had been thinking for a while about moving to her parents' bedroom, hoping to put her lonely past behind her. This could be the perfect excuse for her to finally make the move.
"There is one a few doors from mine," or rather the room that was about to become hers. "Though I do have to say it's not very big…"
"Not a problem. I don't need much. As long as there's a bed, it'll be perfect." Especially if it's close to you, her mind added irreverently.
No, not irreverently. Completely logically. It would just make her job easier. Yeah. That was obviously her only concern.
"It's settled then," Elsa smiled as she wrote down a note that would remind her to make the necessary arrangements later. "Let's go get some lunch," she said as they both stood.
As they walked down the corridors to the dining room, Elsa couldn't help stealing a few glances at Katherine while her own mind wandered to dangerous places. She pondered if she'd be able to keep herself out of the soldier's room if she were to hear her nightmares again.
A few days later, Elsa began the morning being struck by a new idea. She had found a way to solve a problem that had been nagging at her for a couple of days. But now, she needed to find a way to get Katherine out of the castle so she could carry out her plan.
As they ate silently, Elsa figured it out.
"You should take the day off today."
Katherine raised an eyebrow as she looked at the queen. She had been working for her for almost three weeks and hadn't even thought about the fact that she hadn't had an official day off since then. When she hadn't been called to accompany her somewhere, she had spent the day training. "Okay…" she said, curious. Elsa seemed… off somehow. As if she was hiding something.
"You could, I don't know, go back to the training center to spend some time with your friends, take a stroll at the market, go for a ride through the woods…" Elsa shrugged, looking down at her plate, trying to seem innocent, but only managing to look more suspicious.
Katherine nodded. The queen definitely wanted her out of there. "Yeah, all good ideas. I'll go do that." Who was she to protest? So, as soon as she finished her lunch, she took her leave, grabbing Storm to take him for a ride.
Once Katherine had left the castle grounds, Elsa asked Kai to get a couple of guards into the Great Hall for an audience with her.
A few minutes later, two rookie soldiers that had been stationed at the castle for the day, Alexander and Robert, stood before her.
"Gentlemen, I have called you here today because I need your help with something. I appreciate your presence at the castle and I'm in awe of your discipline and your sense of duty, even when most of your tasks are, well, quite frankly, dull."
"It is our honor to occupy our posts," Robert was quick to clarify.
"I'm sure it is," Elsa reassured them. "But it's nothing compared to the kind of action you probably signed up for, am I mistaken?" She gave them a little smile.
They shrugged. They agreed. But they weren't about to tell the queen how they were looking forward to the day where they could see some actual combat.
"So," she continued. "I have decided, to show my gratitude, to set up a training area here in the castle, so that all the soldiers stationed here have a place to stretch their muscles when they have some down time."
Elsa had watched how Katherine had moved around during the snow fight a few days before, seeming delighted, her competitive side clear. The soldier clearly thrived in the heat of action. Yet, most of her time was spent standing around waiting for her. That seemed like another waste of her skill. There had to be a way to have her do something more productive.
The soldiers' eyes widened, and they threw a sideways glance at each other, impressed.
"And how might we be of help, Your Majesty?" Alexander wondered.
"I need to know what you would like to find in a place like that."
Sometime later, armed with the valuable information the boys had provided, Elsa made her way to the courtyard, where she would get to work on building the structure, but not before having some of the staff go into the village to get some things to garnish the new training area.
Elsa practically hummed with excitement as she twirled her hands in the air to erect the ice walls that would house the equipment: wood and hay targets for arrow shooting and spear throwing practice, mats for sparring, as well as other commodities.
It was a simple cube shaped building in the courtyard, to the side of the main structure of the castle. The walls were clear ice, so you could see what was found in the rooms inside. That way, the sunlight could easily filter in, but it still provided shelter from the elements.
A few hours later, her creation was done and completely furnished. She looked at it proudly and wondered if they would like it. If Katherine would like it.
After a day of aimlessly wandering around the woods and around the town, Katherine was on her way back to the castle. She had to admit it was nice to have some time to shut off her brain and take in the simple pleasures of life, as were taking a stroll through a tranquil forest or enjoying a pastry at the baker's shop.
She felt energized, but ready to get back to the life of order she was used to. And to Elsa.
As she galloped onto the Bridge of Arches, though, the two soldiers stationed at the open gates moved to stand in front of the entrance, blocking her way. She tugged on Storm's reins, coming to a stop just before reaching her comrades. She recognized them. It was Frederick Schroder and Patrik Hillesland.
She felt her heart drop to her stomach, worst case scenarios instantly flooding her mind. Had something happened to Elsa? It took her every single bit of self-control to not just order Storm to rush inside, knocking the guards over if need be.
"What's going on, Hillesland?" She demanded as she watched Frederick run into the courtyard.
"We were ordered to stop you when you came back," he shrugged.
As she took in his demeanor, as casual as ever, her panic subsided somewhat. But she still didn't know what was happening. And that was unacceptable.
"Why? By whom?"
"Don't know. By the queen."
Her confusion only grew at that. Did she really not want her at the castle that much? Had Katherine done something wrong? "Does she want me to leave, or…?" She held on tighter to the reins, sitting up taller, trying to look more in control than she felt.
"No, no. She just said to wait for her."
While Katherine waited, she stroked her horse's dark mane, trying to ground herself and keep her mind from going into places of doubt. What was going on here? She was not used to feeling this insecure.
Elsa was in her study when Frederick went to get her. She practically flew down the stairs, her usually composed and calm exterior nowhere to be found.
As she sprinted through the castle and out into the courtyard, servants she crossed on her way were left perplexed, wondering if there was a fire they too should be running away from.
Soon, she reached Patrik and Katherine outside the gates. As she took in their faces, catching her breath, she realized how odd the situation must have seemed. Still, she carried on with her plan.
"Katherine, how was your day?"
Her eyes slightly narrowed, the soldier answered slowly. "It was fine… Your Majesty, may I ask what's going on?"
"You may, but I'm not going to tell you. Not until you come with me." Elsa turned and gestured with her hand to follow her into the courtyard.
Katherine quickly dismounted and did as she was told, walking closely behind the queen as she tugged Storm's reins.
As she did her usual sweep of the area, something new caught Katherine's eye and she did a double take. She noticed the new building — was it made of ice? — in the middle of the courtyard.
"Ta-da!" Elsa turned as they approached the new training area, throwing up a hand toward it in a flourish.
Katherine noticed the training material through the clear walls and her eyes widened in amazement before landing on the shy smile on Elsa's face.
"I… I couldn't help noticing the other day how alive you seemed in battle, and how boring it must be in comparison to spending most of your days staring at the walls. So, I decided to build a training area right here for all the soldiers stationed at the castle. I know there's a lot of downtime and not a lot of action. So, now you'll have something else to do, if you wish."
"Wow," was all Katherine could say. "Thank you, Your Majesty. That's very generous of you."
Now Katherine felt silly. All day, the nagging thought that Elsa was trying to get rid of her had plagued her mind. The idea of being pushed away by the queen had been terrifying, more than she liked to admit to herself. And now, as she looked at Elsa's excited smile, she couldn't help but feel there was something special between them. Something way beyond a professional relationship. Maybe even beyond simply being friends that could confide in each other. And that idea was terrifying in and of itself.
AN: Thank you for reading. Hope you're all staying safe!