It was grey and overcast, and there was a distinct chill in the air this morning. It had been a few days since the ship had left with Corona's emissary and the prince and princess, and Lars was silently counting down the days until the inevitable as he walked down the hallway to the Ambassador's room.

"Good morning, Mr. Meyer," Lars greeted the Ambassador. The other young man from Corona, the one Lars was training to replace himself, had not arrived yet, even though it was the first full work day since the morning the ship had left him alone in Arendelle.

"Here," the Ambassador said dryly, handing him something, "it's an invitation to tea with the Queen."

"Sir?" Lars took the card from the Ambassador, reading through it. "This is only for me?"

"Yes," the Ambassador replied gruffly. "I assume it will be a briefing for your new position."

"Of course, Sir," Lars replied, swallowing hard, and hoping the Ambassador thought it was nervousness about his promotion. Lars could only think of one reason that the Queen would ask him, and only him to tea. Kristoff had obviously told her about their talk. Lars had absolutely no idea what he might actually say to her, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know what she might have to say to him.

Meyer had already turned to his papers. "We have a few hours until you need to be ready for that, so let's get to work here. I hope this new young man doesn't usually sleep in like this."


Inga looked out the window of the study, somehow hoping to see something besides grey sky and dark mountains. Frederick was busy sorting through the letters, and their mother was signing off on some official documents. She felt a kick from her brother, and noticed that he had just passed along a letter from Count Esterhazy, written in Latin, as usual.

"This is just announcing their annual harvest totals, you know, you didn't need to kick me," she whispered.

"No, I didn't know that, which is why I passed it to you," he grumbled, "it could have been some wedding invitation or something, I don't know!"

"Why would a wedding invitation list bushels of wheat and barrels of wine?"

"Because… well, the wine would make sense for a wedding!" Frederick's voice rose in frustration.

Their mother looked up suddenly. "Is there something I should know about?"

"I think Frederick should join Peder and Anton with the Latin tutor again," Inga smirked as her brother glared.

"Anything else?" their mother asked, her eyes darting suspiciously between the two.

"No," Inga said quickly.

"Well," her mother paused, then looked over at Frederick seriously, "it would probably be good for you to spend some time with the tutors this winter if you're going to go on that trip with Sorensen in the spring."

Inga could see Frederick tense up on hearing it described as a trip, but was happy that he held back from correcting the detail. She occupied herself with writing a quick reply to Count Esterhazy, detailing the many varieties of squash they were now growing in Arendelle. She tried to tune out her mother worrying out loud about Frederick's safety if he was going to take the naval training seriously.

"It's not dangerous!" Inga heard her brother exclaim.

"I just..." her mother stopped herself, biting her lip. Inga quietly walked over to pick up a Latin dictionary, realizing she had no idea what the word for squash was, but mostly glad to leave her mother and brother alone for a moment.

"I promise I won't do anything stupid," Frederick huffed. "Besides, I'm not the one who got thrown from my horse, but I'm the one you worry about being safe."

"Who got thrown from a horse?"

Inga turned around to see her brother looking at her, and her mother looking up blankly. Without thinking, she tried to excuse her lack of communication. "I thought you knew. I just assumed when Aunt Elsa wrote you-"

"Who was supposed to write? What happened?"

Inga stomped back to the table. "I was fine. I fell into the water, I had to change my clothes, that's all! Frederick, why did you have to bring this up now?"

"I thought she knew, too," he mumbled.

"Can you just tell me what this is all about? Is it about your trip to Corona?" Their mother sat looking obviously frustrated with them, stopping short of banging the table.

"What's there to tell? The first day we were in Corona, they only had sidesaddles at Elizabeth's house, my horse got startled, and I fell into the water." Inga was feeling rather flushed.

"That's not the way I heard it," Frederick laughed. "Wasn't there something about a Viking shield maiden rising from the water?"

"So, you went riding in Corona?" her mother asked.

"Yes, of course," Inga replied.

"And you were riding with Elizabeth?"

"Yes, but she had gone ahead, and I was trying to catch up. It was foolish, I know, and I've learned my lesson. Don't worry about it. Frederick really can take care of himself, I think."

"I have the feeling I'm still missing something here," she sighed, "but let's take a break for lunch. I have a meeting to prepare for now. You two can have the afternoon off, and I'll see you at dinner," she said, standing up to go.

"The weather is terrible, I'd rather just help you," Frederick pleaded, looking out as a few raindrops hit the window.

"No, it's private business," their mother replied quickly.

"Well, eventually at least one of us will have to know everything, right?" Frederick insisted.

She saw her mother briefly glance her way. "Frederick, let's find a game to play in the library," Inga suggested. "We'll worry about state secrets another day."

As they left to walk down the hall to the library, Frederick rolled his eyes at her. The library was empty, and he walked straight to the chess board and started setting it up.

"Do I get a say in the game?" she demanded.

"No," he smirked, "but you got a say in how much you told Mother just now."

"Hardly," Inga sighed, sitting down at the chessboard opposite her brother, "she just got bored of probing."

"Why are you acting like you have something to hide?" He made his opening move.

"I'm not. I just don't feel like it's anyone's business right now." Inga didn't particularly like chess, but made her move.

"Nobody will mind," Frederick said, pausing to think after he made the next move. "Although, the council might decide on the succession bill faster."

"What are you talking about?" Inga was glad they were still at the start of the game, because she was too flustered for strategy.

"They won't want whoever is in the line of succession to be in direct line for somewhere else. Not if they can help it." Inga watched as he took her pawn.

"It doesn't matter, I'm too young still," she replied, trying a move she had read in a book once.

"Fine, if you're too young, and you say it's your own business, then there's nothing to worry about," he said, looking at the board. "What on earth is that move?"


By lunchtime a cold steady rain was coming down. Lars wasn't feeling very hungry, but he knew he wouldn't want to eat during the tea, even if there was food available, and dinner wouldn't be until evening. He forced himself to have a few slices of bread with butter, avoiding anything that might upset his stomach.

His replacement had managed to show up an hour late. The young man apologized, explaining that he generally slept in when the sky was overcast, especially if it was raining. Lars had never noticed the veins on the Ambassador's forehead before, but they were quite prominent as he explained to the young man that he would be expected to find a way to show up on time regardless of the weather, and if he needed to hire a servant to knock on his door every morning, it would come out of his own salary. Otherwise he would write to the Emissary to return straight to Arendelle with the other candidates.

Any other day, Lars would have taken the young man out for lunch and gently explained over some beer that the Ambassador had a point, and he should simply get used to it. But today was not that day.

He stepped into his room, and saw Elizabeth seated at the window with his mother. He was forcing himself to keep thinking of her that way, though that made his upcoming tea all the more awkward to think about.

"I'm sorry," Elizabeth said, slightly startled, "I would have had something sent up for you, but I thought you would be going out for lunch."

"Don't worry about it," he said, coming over to give her a kiss. He gently touched his mother's hand before sitting down on the bed. "It seems I'm expected for tea with the Queen this afternoon."

"Oh! Should I change?" Elizabeth asked.

"No, it's only me she wants to see today," he said, making eye contact with his mother, who subtly nodded.

"I left my knitting in my room," Margit Nilsen said as she finished her lunch. "Elizabeth, dear, I'll leave you to help Lars get ready."

As his mother left the room, Elizabeth got up and sat next to him on the bed, leaning her head on his shoulder. "When is this tea?"

"In an hour," he sighed.

"You'll be fine," she assured him, "they've already selected you, and if you're thinking about turning it down, I need to know first."

"No, I won't turn it down," he said flatly.

She rubbed his back. "So, I suppose you'll want to change clothes. Your nicest suit has Corona insignia on it. Will that be a problem?"

"That might be too formal, anyway," he said glancing over to the wardrobe, "but I'll let you decide."

"Let's see," she hummed as she walked across the room and leafed through the suits hanging there. "Tell me what you know. That will help."

"What?" Lars felt a sudden rush of panic at his wife's request.

"What kind of meeting will it be?" she clarified, not turning around.

"Just tea," he replied, forcing his voice to be calm as he took off his coat.

She picked out a suit and brought it over, laying it on the chair next to the bed and then sitting back down next to him. "It's still bothering you... Whatever it was your mother told you last week, I mean."

"I… did she tell you?" He knew he should tell her himself, but perhaps it would be better if she found out some other way. He wasn't sure he could say the words yet.

"No, she hasn't told me anything, and I haven't really asked. Was it something about your father? I know I've heard some rumors."

"Yes… I mean… no. No, the rumors aren't anything," he stammered.

"Well, that's good to know," she smiled, helping him with his necktie while he finished unbuttoning his vest. "Those rumors sounded rather crazy. Don't worry about it right now. You can tell me when you feel up to it. I don't want to make you feel more stressed before this meeting."

"I'm going to be stressed about this no matter what," Lars sighed, unbuttoning his shirt as Elizabeth got down to help with his shoes. "I really don't know what to expect."

"You'll have to tell me all about it tonight," Elizabeth insisted, setting his shoes out of the way. "In the meantime, you'll do fine, I know it."


Anna sat at the end of the table, breathing slowly and deliberately as the rain beat on the windows. She wasn't sure she wanted to do this, but Kristoff had insisted it would be a good idea. Kai had set out the tea and some food a moment before, so there would be no interruptions.

She heard Kai's familiar knock. "Your Majesty?" he asked, opening the door a crack.

"Please come in," she answered, sitting up straight, pressing her fingers to the table as she caught herself fidgeting.

"Mr. Lars Nilsen, Your Majesty," Kai announced as the young man stepped in, looking straight ahead, but not quite meeting her eyes.

"Your Majesty," he bowed.

"Thank you, Kai, that will be all," she nodded, and the steward quietly shut the door as he left.

"Please, sit down," she offered, gesturing at the seat opposite hers. She remained calm on the surface, but it was going to take all she had to maintain this image of poise. The occasional fidgeting was bad enough, but the memories from twenty-one years ago, and the panic and shame she felt, were pressing on her mind. She had to remember that everything had worked out, probably for the best. Now, she knew who he was, and he knew who she was. She studied him closely as he walked over, looking at the obvious resemblances.

"Yes, Your M-"

"No," she interrupted. She took a breath. The whole meeting would be pointless if they were going to be using formal titles and address. This wasn't a meeting between the Queen of Arendelle and her new functionary. "Sorry… I know it's a habit, but let's at least drop the ceremony right now."

He nodded, sitting down. She poured herself some tea and took a sip, not sure whether she would need to hold up the entire conversation. He looked at his tea cup.

"Please have some tea," she insisted. He poured the tea, adding a cube of sugar.

The rain continued to beat against the windows for a long time while neither of them spoke. Anna took another sip of the tea. Lars did likewise, and briefly glanced up as if awaiting more instructions. She sighed, trying not to sound as frustrated as she felt. She had hoped that he would have more to say, or at least something to say, so that she could simply listen and answer any questions he might have.

"You don't have to wait for me to say something, you know," she told him, closing her eyes for a moment. "You… if you have any questions, please just ask."

He set down his cup and stared at it. She began to think this meeting had been a mistake.

"I'm sorry," he said a moment later, looking up. Maybe she was putting too much pressure on him. Why should he have anything to say if she couldn't think of something to say?

"You don't need to say anything if you don't want to," she assured him.

"No, I mean, I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what?"

"For… for everything, for me."

She stopped. "What? Why?"

"No, that came out wrong. I mean... when I was born, and all that entailed."

"Oh." She wasn't sure why, but she hadn't been expecting that to come up. "It was a while ago now," was all she could think to say.

"I only found out last week."

"I know," she told him.


Frederick sat at the dinner table. It was already dark outside, and the rain continued. He was the only one who had shown up so far, and dinner was supposed to have started five minutes before. He had made some conversation with the footman, who offered to bring him an appetizer, but he declined, wanting to wait for the rest of his family.

His father came in, stopping as he stepped in the door, clearly expecting to see more people present. "Hello, Frederick."

"Hi, Father," he replied. "We're the only ones here."

"I can see that," Kristoff laughed.

"I'm starting to think everyone is avoiding me," Frederick said, "except you're here, so I guess not."

"I can't speak for your sister," Kristoff sighed, "but I'm not trying to avoid you, and I know your mother isn't. You don't think that I'm trying to avoid you, do you?"

"I don't know," Frederick sighed, "one minute you're fretting about what to do with me, but then you don't want me doing the naval training. I know Mother said I'm too young, but most people start younger than me. I'm going to be fifteen. That's not very young, not for them. She was going on and on about my safety this morning."

"Your mother is worried about you, and I don't think you're going to change that, but she'll get used to the idea," Kristoff paused. "But when were we talking about what to do with you? Do you mean the Succession Bill? That's obviously going nowhere, so I wouldn't worry about that."

"I guess I wasn't supposed to hear, but it was the time I brought you the letter about the American ambassador," Frederick admitted, "your door wasn't closed all the way when I got there, and I listened in, sorry."

"Oh," Kristoff groaned, pressing his forehead. "You're right, you weren't supposed to hear that, but it wasn't about you."

"What was it about then?"

"Never mind that," his father quickly interjected, "but… you're doing well. I should probably remember to tell you that. Don't feel like you have to prove something."

"I'm not trying to prove anything," Frederick insisted.

Inga showed up then, with some noise in the hallway indicated the twins were coming soon.

"Did Mother's meeting go late?"

"No, but it was… tiring," Kristoff replied. "She said to start dinner without her."

"Of course," Inga said in a tone that made Frederick wonder if he was missing something. "Shall we?"

0o0o0

The rain had cleared by morning. It wasn't even particularly cold, or perhaps Inga had finally accepted it was Fall.

"Good morning, Mother," Inga said, walking into the study.

"Good morning, Inga," Anna smiled up at her before looking back down at what she was reading.

Inga sat down and looked around. "Where's Frederick?"

"He's with his tutors," her mother replied, not looking up from the letter in front of her.

"What? I was joking yesterday. Mostly."

"He didn't say anything about that this morning."

"Oh, um, good, then, I guess."

Her mother passed her a stack of letters and continued reading the letter she was examining. Inga got to work, feeling a twinge of guilt about her words to her brother the day before. Still, it was his decision to buckle down and study. Part of her wished she could feel that amount of motivation her brother was starting to show right now.

After a few minutes of silence while both worked, her mother spoke again.

"So, Frederick seemed to think whatever happened to you in Corona was rather funny…"

"He would."

"And you?"

"I guess it was," Inga snorted, catching herself smile a little.

Her mother sighed and went back to signing some documents.

Inga looked out the window, letting her mind wander to planning the next letter she would write to Henry. "I wish things didn't have to be so very public," she heard herself say out loud.

Her mother looked at her; the lightheartedness of the past few minutes was gone. "You know very well that plenty of things aren't public."

Inga looked down, feeling thoughtless. "Well, I wish that the good things didn't have to be public, at least sometimes."

"I'm not asking you to make any announcements or ask official permission or anything like that. Not yet, unless you have plans I don't know about. But as your mother, I would like to know if you do."

"What?"

"If I'm misinterpreting what I saw last week between you and Prince Henry, tell me now."

"Um, yes, I mean, yes, you're right," Inga acknowledged, feeling surprisingly relieved, knowing exactly what her mother was hinting at. Her mother didn't need to know every detail, but Inga realized she didn't want complete secrecy. She wasn't about to run off and elope. "And, I guess, thanks? There's nothing you need to worry about, at least, no, there's nothing to worry about right now. I'll let you know if that changes."

"I'll trust you to tell me then," her mother smiled gently.

Inga found her mind racing ahead on the topic, and continued talking. "Frederick seems to have thought through all the political implications, though. For someone who's so clueless..."

Her mother chuckled a little and smiled. Inga went back to her stack of letters, and her mother pulled out the next item from her own pile.

"Oh!" her mother exclaimed, "I almost forgot, we need to plan the harvest festival. Would you like to help?'