The Hallowed Queen
Chapter 3
It was another fine morning in the kingdom of Arendelle. Kai was making his way through multitude of hallways and rooms down in the servant quarters, getting ready to start his day. Although not as lavish and grand as the upper parts of the castle, the servants to the Arendelle Royal family enjoy luxuries that the normal working-class people of Arendelle do not. From well lit hallways, wide open windows with views out to the water, and private rooms for every person to call their own.
Kai couldn't help but notice how ever since the untimely winter, and the subsequent events that followed, the staff seemed on edge, and disenchanted with the prospect of working so close to someone who had what seemed to be, limitless power. Upon entering the staff dining area, Kai found many of the staff already sitting around the large table in the center of the room. All eyes were fixed on the head Chamberlain.
"Master Kai, would it be possible to have a quick word with you?" Eric asked, becoming the spokesperson for the group.
"Of course Eric, what's on your mind? Or should I say all of your minds?" Kai responded after looking around and taking in the scene.
"Well Kai, its not easy to talk about this, but all of us here are kind of dumbfounded about what took place. All of us here are proud to serve the royal family, but we find ourselves scared to walk the halls of the castle to be quite honest. We have already heard how her Majesty has frozen the heart of her sister, we have seen her Majesty bury us in snow for days, and we are now hearing rumors of the Duke being turned into a frog. My cousin is a guard and he told me that the Dukes two man had to get stretchered out of the queen's chambers with both their legs completely mangled up. Is this true, I mean, how does it work, how can she be capable of doing this?"
Kai's shoulders slumped as he knew everything he just heard was completely justified. Taking a deep breath and trying to look as sympathetic as possible he decided that the best thing to do was to be honest.
"Eric, I'm afraid that everything you have said is fairly accurate. Her Majesty has powers which we do not understand, and those powers seem to be growing. The former king and queen have been hiding these powers for over a decade now in the hopes that her Majesty would have gotten control over them. Therefore the staff was reduced, and the gates have been closed since most of you have worked here. However I can promise you that our Queen only wants the best for all the people in Arendelle and is not looking to hurt anyone. I've known Queen Elsa since she was born, she is a sweet girl who always wants to please. She just needs time to find herself after being isolated for so long."
"But what say of the Duke and his men? Or what about Lord Peterson and his poor chair? Some of us had to clean that room up and we found wood splinters thirty feet away from where he was sitting." Eric quickly said dismissing the positives that Kai had mentioned regarding Elsa.
"The Duke and his men are still under investigation. I can't comment on how and why the situation unfolded like it did, but the Duke and his men did confront her Majesty in her chambers. Her chambers are completely off limits to anyone except a very few. So to find the Duke and his guards in the chamber was a little surprising." Kai said as he desperately kept looking for anything to say that would take the pressure off.
"Well Kai, I think we can all appreciate your honesty, but what guarantees do any of us have that we won't be frozen on the spot if we make a mistake?" Eric asked.
"Look, I think this is all being taken out of proportion. I can promise you we are all safe. We have all worked in this castle for years and her Majesty has never hurt or accidently froze anyone. In fact lord Peterson, who you brought up, sat on that poor chair and insulted our queen over and over again. Peterson as you all know was fired and removed from the property, but he was not hurt or frozen. Doesn't that show you all that Queen Elsa is not some monster?"
"Well, Kai none of us really have elsewhere to go, but I would not be surprised if some of us resign before the week is out, none of us signed up for this." With that Eric stood up and gave Kai a small bow and headed off to work.
Kai remained still while all the remaining castle staff got up and followed suit. He wore a confident face, but deep down he knew that the Eric, and the staff were serious, and this was going to have to be something that was dealt with sooner then later. "Well this is terrific." Kai said to himself as he made his way up to the main levels of the castle to get his day started. First stop was to update the Queen on the happenings of her kingdom.
Already out of bed, Elsa was looking out her big window at the town. She could already start to see people milling around, getting the shops ready, doing normal things. She could see ships coming into port, and the crews of dock hands waiting to capture the ship and begin unloading or loading its cargo. "All of these people are counting on me." She silently told herself. The thought of all the people she has let down in the last few days was almost too much to contemplate. Suddenly Elsa heard a knock on her door.
"Come in."
Elsa watched as Kai slowly entered her room. She could see the nervousness even from across the room. "Good morning Kai, how can I help you?" she asked to try relief the stress that seemed to be building on Kai's face.
"Your majesty, good morning to you as well. I have come to give your schedule and give you an update." Kai said, keeping it all business. He knew that he was going to have to tread lightly when discussing a few of the issues that were on the update.
"Oh, ok." Elsa responded. "I'm guessing that this isn't going to be the easiest update to give me?" she said with a small smile gracing her face. Might as well make the best of this shit show, she thought.
Kai began by talking about the damages that her winter has created, the cost of all the emergency aid that the Castle handed out to the citizens during the event. Then theirs the gaping hole in the dungeon wall, oh and a man who is requesting to speak to Princess Anna regarding a sleigh."
"A man who wants to see my sister about a sleigh?" Elsa cuts him off to say.
"Yes, his name was Kristoff I believe. He spoke to the men at the gates. He told them that he lost everything helping the princess look for you, he asked to mention that he was not looking for a handout, all he was hoping for was to get some help in acquiring some of his things and he would pay the crown back when he got back on his feet. But your majesty, we have bigger issues then an ice harvester looking for a loan." Kai said hoping to get to the topic of the duke's man.
"Yes Kai, I understand, but I think it would be best if we started to take care of the people who have been effected by my actions as soon as possible. I don't want them to think that I just ran back into the castle to hide, while they have to clean up the mess, that I created." She said thinking of all the people out in the kingdom, who were probably doing exactly that, cleaning the mess she literally made.
Hearing Elsa make this proclamation for her people in need gave Kai a feeling of pride. He knew that somehow; they would all get through it. "Your Majesty their are only a few other things to report. Doctor Erwin has informed me that the Dukes men are expected to make a complete recovery, although it could take months before they are able to walk again."
"Well I guess that's a good thing." Elsa suggested. She wondered if her powers were able to speed that up and get them out of her country sooner, along with the Duke. Who only knew what he was up to?
"Lastly my Queen, I fear that a lot of the castle staff are feeling a little nervous about the events that have transpired, and some are threatening to leave. I did my best to calm them down, but with the rumors of the duke, lord Peterson, and your ah… your capabilities, I fear they are just a little bit on edge."
"hmmm, well what do you think I could do to help this. I don't want the staff to feel like they are in danger working here." Elsa said, but only half believing what she was saying.
"Well maybe you could try talking to them. I'm sure hearing it from you would go a long way." Kai said.
"I don't know Kai, I'm still a little unsure myself about what is going on with me. Addressing the entire castle staff on the subject of me being safe, could be a little much for me right at the moment."
"Well you could always find something to do that shows everyone that you care and are trying to make things better." Kai suggested.
"That is not a bad Idea, but what do you think I could do, I'm just so bad at this stuff." Elsa thought out loud.
"To tell you the truth, I'm not sure myself but I'm sure you will think of something. You maybe something more then just a mortal, and you might have the power to do anything, but your biggest power will always be the size of your heart. Forgive me if I am out of line but I've known you your whole life, and I know that you will rise out of this mess and become the greatest ruler Arendelle has ever seen, possibly the world." Kai stated, as he looked directly into Elsa's eyes.
Elsa was speechless after hearing Kai's thoughts. "Thank you, Kai,…. That means a lot… I hope I won't let you down."
"You wont, your majesty. Just do what feels right to you and the hell to what everyone else things." With that Kai asked to excuse himself and he made his way to the door.
"Oh, Kai. One more thing." Elsa quickly said before he was able to close the door.
"Yes, what is it you need?" Kai asked.
"Please tell the castle guard to open the gates… Permanently. I think that might help make everyone feel a little more comfortable."
"As you command my Queen, I think you will have at least made one Princess very happy." Kai said as he closed the door and started to walk towards the guard booth. He could not help but grin a little bit at the fact that the Queen, who he has been tutoring, and taking care of since the late king and queen passed, had just made her first major decision as ruler. "That's my girl" he said to himself as he walked on, allowing himself a little laugh.
A few rooms away Princess Anna was already up and getting dressed. She was deep in thought, thinking about what to make of her feelings for her sister. She was intimidated by her sister, but she also knew that she loved Elsa more then anything else. Its just a bump in the road she thought.
Just then Anna noticed something outside the corner of her window. Her window faced the open water but at the right angle she could just see the main gates of the courtyard. Butterflies began to fill her stomach as her brain processed what she was witnessing. Finally releasing the breath she was holding she realized that someone had ordered the gates to be opened.
Who? She thought. Elsa ordered them shut so nobody else in the kingdom would be able to overrule that. "Oh my god!" She said to herself, "Elsa!"
Anna ran down the hall and blasted right through Elsa's door.
"Good morning Anna, nice to see we are becoming more efficient by dropping unnecessary things such as knocking." Elsa deadpanned as her sister paraded into her room.
"Elsa, you opened the gates…. I can't believe you opened the gates, can we go outside, oh.. I know lets go to the chocolate shop at the corner that we used to go to as kids. Wait we can go and check out all the museums.
"Anna."
"We can go and visit people, or get ice cream…. Please.. Wait, why did you decide to open them?" Suddenly fearing that maybe the gates were only opened to allow delivery of a large shipment, Anna froze. Her face was riddled with fear of realizing that this might have just been a major over reaction. The more she thought about it the more she realized that there is no way Elsa would just decide to do something like this.
Elsa just looked at Anna, she didn't even realize she was doing it but she was hearing her thoughts. She hated when this happened. She could control it to the point where she could choose to not hear them. But if she wasn't paying attention, she would just hear the thoughts being talked about in her head as if the person was saying it to her. She started grinning at her sister and decided to take Anna out of her misery.
"Anna, the gates are opened, I felt that in order to show the people that we intend to lead from a position of transparency and openness, that the first step was to open our home to the people." Elsa could see the color return to Anna as she processed hearing that the gates being open were permanent.
"But Anna, I want you to know something as well." Taking a deep breath Elsa started on a small speech that she had been working on since Kai left her room. "I mostly opened the gates for you, Anna. You have been stuck in the castle for to long, and I'm not going to let you feel this way any longer on my account. I know you have been feeling a little intimidated by me, I can hear your thoughts. But I just want to make sure you know that no matter what, or why I was put here with these powers, my main reason is to protect you, love you, and treat you like the sister you deserve to be treated.
"Elsa, please. You don't need to-" Anna started saying but was cut off.
"No, Anna. I do need to say. I've failed you as a Sister and as a friend. I've failed myself and everyone in this kingdom. Yet somehow everyone seems willing to give me another chance. A chance I definitely don't deserve. However since I've been given this chance, I've decided that I will do what it takes to show everyone that I can be the Queen that they deserve, but mostly I will show you that I can be the sister you deserve." Elsa said, feeling happy that she got all of that out.
"I can't promise that it will happen overnight, I'm going to need time to figure things out, but I swear that I will get there Anna."
Anna stood there, speechless. Never in her life did she think she was going to wake up and have her whole world correct itself. The gates were one thing. It was more then enough to make her whole year, but she never thought she was going to get a pouring of the heart from the Ice queen herself. She didn't realize how much she needed to hear this from someone, but the fact that this someone was Elsa herself just made this so special.
Anna saw something other then the ice goddess, or the queen. She saw her old sister who was always there for her at her moment of need. She's still in there, Anna thought. I am going to make sure she gets fully out.
"Oh Elsa, we will do this together. Thank you, thank you so so much." With that Anna ran over and hugged her sister, really hugged her sister. Elsa also reciprocated and started hugging her sister back.
"Elsa, I love you, I'm so lucky to have you as a sister." Anna said while still hugging. "And your powers are not just cool, they are incredible, I mean I would love to be able to help you figure out what they can do when your up for it."
Elsa was about to disagree but seeing how Anna looked so happy, she decided to just slightly nod. The two sisters kept hugging for a few minutes until Anna had a thought.
"Kristoff, oh my god Elsa, he's been without all of his stuff for almost a week now and I didn't even see him. Would it be ok if I went and looked for him?"
"Yes, of course Anna, just please be careful out there. Neither one of us has any experience out in the real world, and if anything happened to you…. Got it would be revelations for Arendelle." Elsa said.
Laughing at Elsa's attempt at religious humor, Anna made sure her sister know she understood and that nothing would happen to her. "Don't worry Els, Ill be ok, you sure you don't want to come?"
"Um, yes I'm sure Anna, one step at a time. Besides I don't think the townsfolk would be able to handle me walking around them just yet."
"Well, I just thought id ask. I think you would love Kristoff, he has huge brown eyes, and he's so thoughtful, he's always tries to act miserable but that's just a cute act he puts on." Anna said well completely leaving reality.
Elsa lifted her hands up. "Hey Anna, watch this. Suddenly a flash of blue sparks started swirling around between both of Elsa's hands illuminating both their faces in a deep blue hue. Suddenly a evil smile graced the Queens face. She raised her hands to be on the same level as Anna's face and she blew through the ball of magic. Anna who was still watching in awe, suddenly saw the blue ball erupt into thousands of snowflakes and blast right into her face, giving her the feeling of sticking her head out of a wagon window during a snowstorm.
"Cool off." Elsa said well laughing and brightly smiling at her sister. "I don't want the castle to catch fire, with the way you keep talking about Kristoff."
Anna wanted to be mad, but seeing her sister laughing, and using her powers for something fun, warmed her heart. She started laughing as well. "Hahaha ok Elsa will see who gets the last laugh."
Elsa turned back to her desk, still smiling at her sister who still had the look of shock and awe plastered all over her. "Ok, Anna challenge accepted, now go have fun and be careful."
With that Anna got some things and headed out into town.
Elsa spent the remainder of the morning having meetings with her advisors. She felt they were making progress, and without Peterson at the meetings, things seemed to be moving forward at a good pace. Elsa felt that the staff was starting to accept her and treat her as they would any normal King or queen.
Suddenly, Elsa noticed a terribly upset Anna run right past the door of the council chamber.
"Would you please excuse me?" Elsa asked the council, before getting up and going after Anna.
"Anna!" Elsa shouted.
"Anna, wait, what's wrong." Elsa asked while still running after her sister.
"Nothing Elsa, I just want to be left alone for a little while." Anna said though tears before running up the stairs and undoubtedly to her bedroom. But not before Elsa read all her thoughts.
Elsa saw Anna looking for Kristoff in town. She had gone to the ice stalls where the Ice harvesters sold their ice. Kristoff wasn't there, but whoever was running the booth had told her that Kristoff wasn't interested in seeing her, that he was upset at losing everything. Anna tried to, tell him that she was tied up in the castle but was looking to find him to make things right. That's when the man told her that Kristoff doesn't want to see her, he went on to explain that he knew the Queen would never approve of him, or care about replacing his stuff, and quite frankly, he was also afraid of her and didn't want to have to deal with it. Anna kept trying to reason but with no use. She eventually just ran back to the castle.
Elsa knew that this again, was her fault. If she hadn't shut the gates, this wouldn't have happened. Anna didn't deserve this, none of this.
On impulse, Elsa walked out the front doors of the castle and into town. She didn't care how awkward, or scared she felt, she was absolutely finished with disappointing her poor sister. Time to grow up she thought.
Elsa knew she was a nice looking woman, just looking in the mirror she knew for sure that she wasn't ugly, and had a nice face. But she never cared much about that sort of thing. The truth was that she was more then just not Ugly. She had long flawless Platinum blond hair which framed a well defined and gorgeous face. She was Tall, slim, but not frail. Every part of her body was exactly what most men in the world dreamt about when thinking about a woman, the truth of it was that she was absolutely stunning. Coupled to that, Elsa gave off a aura of power the emanated from her, probably the result of her being divine, but potentially because of the grace and sophistication that she always carried herself with.
She was dressed in a stunning black dress, with golden embroidery and accents, crafted by the finest dress makers in Arendelle. At the end of her sleave it had the name ELSA stitched with the same golden colors as the rest of the dress. It was customary for the King and Queen of Arendelle to have this stitched into all their outfits so everyone knew that the dress was made specifically for them, And to prevent the illegal sale of royal clothing.
Currently this dress and its occupant were making its way across the courtyard heading out into the town. It was a huge step for Elsa, one which she was not ready for. But she had to do it for her sister. She was nervous, but also excited. Yes, she ran away to the north mountain just days ago. But this is the first time in 13 years that she could just decide to walk out into town and go. Feeling the rush of this new found freedom, Elsa made her way to the front gate where two unsuspecting guards were standing by. The guards were looking away from her, out across the bridge leading to town, neither of them suspected a unscheduled visit from the magical monarch.
"Uh, hi. Please excuse me gentleman." Elsa shyly said.
Instantly the two guards dramatically fell to one knee, while simultaneously looking down at the ground. "Your Majesty!" Both guards said at the same time. "Umm, we, um. Ahhhh." Struggling to get the words out, the two guards just continued to stare at the ground, each secretly hoping that the other would step in and save this carriage wreck of a situation from getting any worse.
Surprised by the reaction of the men, Elsa did her best to put the guards at ease. "Hey, its ok, I'm sorry." She kindly spoke. "You can stand up…. Please stand up."
Both guards stood up at attention. "S-Sorry, your majesty, we were not expecting you to visit us here. We don't really know what to do." The guards weakly spoke.
"Um, I guess the queen coming out to the front gates is a pretty rare event here in Arendelle, so I understand. But in future, all you really have to do is say hi." Elsa said while smiling. "We wouldn't want our people to see the mere presence of the queen compromise her own guard."
"Your majesty, your completely right. Please accept both of our apologies. If you would like, I could ask the captain to repost us to a place more suitable for two guards who have forgotten basic greeting protocol, and have embarrassed themselves spectacularly.
Elsa found herself giggling at the ridiculous comment. Smiling at the two men, and feeling comfortable enough with them, she regained composure. "What are your names?"
"Sergeants Christopher and Henry, your majesty."
"Well Sergeants Christopher and Henry, it was nice to meet you. I feel very confident that I have the right two people out here at the gate protecting myself and my family." This caused the two guards to swell with pride.
"Thank you, my Queen, it's been a rare pleasure to meet you as well. I hope you enjoy your trip to town."
"I'll be on my way then. By the way, do you know where in town I can find the booth where the Ice Harvester Guild sells their ice?"
"Yes, its right in the town center, across from the clock tower. You can't miss it." Christopher said.
"Thank you again, I hope to see you again." Elsa warmly said as she turned to walk past. She enjoyed her little conversation with her two guards, but secretly hoped that she would not have to have such a discussion with every person she met. This was such a new thing to her, she couldn't remember the last time she had to have a casual conversation with anyone.
After Elsa had walked a considerable distance away, Christopher and Henry looked at each other in disbelief. "If you told me I was going to wake up and meet our queen this morning I would have thought you to be insane." Christopher said.
"Yeah, no kidding, I thought she was supposed to be cold and ruthless. The guys will never believe this happened." Henry responded, both men now laughing about their experience. They were both added to the short list of people who had the chance to actually speak to the queen.
Elsa made her way to the center of town. As she walked she noticed that the citizens were stopping to do a triple take of her, then they would run and hide, either in a store or behind a wagon or something. Elsa knew she deserved this reception, but she hoped that in time, it would be reduced to something that a normal king or queen could expect.
Jacob was manning the ice booth, he also noticed the queen walking around the town square. "Hey John, John!" Jacob excitedly shouted to his co worker. "get a load of this. Is that Queen Elsa?" Jacob asked.
"Oh my god, I think it is, and look at her, no wonder Kristoff didn't want to deal with that." John said. "I'm already nervous."
"Well damm shes beautiful, but we all know what she's capable of so hopefully she just stays clear of here." Jacob whispered.
John nodded to Jacob agreeing. "Is it just me or is she looking right at us?" John asked with a light panic. "oh fuck now look, she walking towards us."
"Oh fuck me" Jacob said as he prepared himself to greet their visitor.
Elsa found the Ice booth and was walking towards it when a small boy, no older then five standing with his parents, could be seen jumping up and down with excitement. "Look father, it's the queen. The real queen." The boy kept shouting as the parents desperately kept trying to silence their son, as to not call attention to them.
Oh great, Elsa thought. She had no experience with kids at all. She remembered as a small girl watching her father, King Agnarr, effortlessly shake the hands of his people, and converse with small children. She wanted to just keep walking, but she knew that this would be viewed upon as very rude, she had to do something, maybe just wave, she thought.
The Boy could be heard telling his parents that all he wanted to do was say hello to the queen. Elsa also heard the parents telling the boy, that you do not waste the queens time with selfish requests like that, and that queen Elsa is not the type of queen who goes around saying hi.
Elsa wasn't sure if she heard that, or if it was the thoughts she was hearing. But either way she realized that this was a problem she was going to keep running into if she didn't start taking the opportunity to correct that opinion of her. So she deviated from her path to the ice booth and started walking towards the excited boy and his family. Both mother, father, and son, froze.
Kneeling down right Infront of the boy, wearing a very warm smile Elsa extended her hand to the boy, which was taken right away.
"Hello, and what's your name?" Elsa warmly asked the child.
At first the boy, couldn't even talk or look her in the eye. The confidence he was showing, instantly evaporated the moment he found himself standing less then 3 feet away. The parents were about to start apologizing and begging when…
"I'm Luke and I'm five." The boy proudly said, getting over his shyness. Elsa couldn't help but laugh at the boy's big announcement. Even the parents of the boy who were beyond nervous, couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at their boy.
"Luke, that's a very nice name." Elsa told the boy, starting to sound like a natural. "My name is Elsa, I saw you waving and thought I would come and say hi." Elsa told the boy in a soft voice that she hoped would not scare him, which seemed to be working.
"Thank you Elsa, I was waving hoping you would see me." The boy said before his father quickly jumped in to correct his son.
"I'm so sorry your majesty, He should not have called you by your name. We will make sure to teach him the proper formality's." The father said well sternly looking at Luke.
"Oh its ok." Elsa said waving off his concern. "Yes Luke, your father is correct, but being that everyone here in town seems to be hiding and doing their best to avoid me. I think you deserve to be able to call my by my name." Elsa said while Luke just stood there beaming up at her.
"You two have a very smart and well-mannered child." Elsa said after standing and looking at Luke's parents. "It was a pleasure to meet you all, but I will need to excuse myself. I hope you all have a really nice day."
"Ah, you as well, your majesty. Thank you so much for giving my son your time. I'm sure it's a story that he will hold dear to him for his whole life." The father said.
"Oh its nothing, I'm the one who should be thanking him. He is the only one in the whole town who treated me like a person so far. I hope to see you all around in the future."
Elsa then gave the boy another wave goodbye and started walking back over to the ice booth.
"Oh great, here she comes again." John said nervously.
"Your majesty, what a surprise." Jacob said to Elsa as she arrived at the booth. The booth was nothing more then a large tent. It looked as if it was something that could be taken down and relocated in a matter of minutes. The poles were held up with thick braded rope that went to large metal pegs. In the front was a table and a few chairs where Jacob and John were seated. Behind the men were stacks of semi melted lake Ice chopped into blocks, ready to sell.
"Hello Gentleman, how's business going today?" Elsa asked which kind of took Jacob and John for a loop.
"Well, not to bad today." John started. "Its hot out, so that always helps."
"Well I suppose that would definitely help with sales, so I'm glad to hear that." Elsa stated. "However I'm not here today to talk business. I'm hoping you two can help me find someone. His name is Kristoff and I heard he sells or sold ice here.
"Yes, Kristoff Bjorgman. Young lad, has been harvesting ice and selling it here his whole life." Jacob said feeling relived that the queen was only there to talk about Kristoff.
"Oh great, do you know where I can find him?" Elsa asked.
"Well, Kristoff has been out of action since the untimely winter." Both Elsa, Jacob and John cringed at the mention of Elsa's handywork, but Jacob pressed on. "He lost all his gear and pretty much all his belongings. He was telling us that Princess Anna promised him that she would replace all his stuff as soon as possible. However days passed and nobody contacted him. He eventually realized that he wouldn't be getting anything back and got really miserable." Jacob sadly said. "The Princess was here earlier today looking for him as well but Kristoff told us that if anyone was to come looking for him to not let them know where he is. He especially mentioned Princess Anna."
"Why would he want that?" Elsa asked.
"Well Kristoff is a simple guy, really nice guy. I think he thought that he and the princess might have felt something together. When days passed he just got all depressed having realized that it was probably just the excitement of the event that made him feel this way. Now that life is back to normal, its all over and he's just adjusting to that." Jacob finished. "Id say it's a little bit of heartbreak as well if you don't mind me saying." John jumped in to say.
"No I don't mind." Elsa quickly said. "Look, I know Kristoff asked you to keep his whereabouts a secret, but I need to know where he is. I have to make sure he gets his stuff replaced and to personally thank him for looking out for my sister. I also know that you turned away my sister, who can be pretty persistent. But I'm the queen and I'm ordering you to let me know where he is." Elsa said firmly but still friendly. She could have used her powers to get the information, but he was enjoying doing things the normal way and succeeding. In a way it was allowing her to put the training her father had given her to use.
"Well you're not really giving us a choice." Jacob stated with a grin on his face. He was starting to like how queen Elsa seemed to negotiate. "Kristoff is staying at Roberts cabin down on Runeard Lake. Its about a 2km walk from where we are if you take the path at the end of Quin Rd. He's driving Robert and the neighbours crazy apparently. He's been sulking for days, not sure what he's going to do." Jacob admitted.
Its none of our business, obviously, but I hope you will be able to help him." John added. 'He's a damm good harvester, and a even better guy."
"I hope so as well." Elsa said smiling to herself. Seems like everyone thinks Kristoff is a really good guy.
I wish I took the time to properly meet him when I had the chance. Elsa thought. "Look, thank you both for helping, it was nice meeting you. Good luck selling your ice."
"Well actually, looks like most of it has already melted cause of this damm heat. If its not winter its summer around here, you know haha." John laughed.
Elsa raised her hand and instantly filled the tent with flawless blocks of ice. Both men turned around and were instantly rendered speechless.
"it looks like your back in business." Elsa said with a proud grin. "Ill see you gentlemen later."
"Anytime your majesty." Both shocked men said while swallowing at the same time.
Walking to the edge of the square Elsa found Quin Rd. Soon the town was left behind and she found herself on a nice rural gravel path, with trees and dense forest lining each side of it. The sound of the warm breeze and crunching of the gravel under her shoes, was giving her a sense of peace she had not previously enjoyed. While she walked she wondered how the Ice queen knocking on the door of someone's cabin was going to be received.
Noticing the path was starting to get pretty washed out she made a mental note to talk to her advisors about infrastructure repair, but she suddenly had a thought. "I wonder If I could fix this path." She said. Elsa raised her hand and thought about the path being nice and smooth. Suddenly the earth shook under her and the dirt path started to look as if rollers were moving just under the surface of it. When the movement finished it left behind a perfectly smooth path, not a pothole to be seen. A few moments later the sounds of nature returned as if nothing had even happened.
"Wow", Elsa said to herself. "That's pretty neat. Maybe its not just a curse."
Elsa carried on walking down the perfectly groomed path, playing with her powers and truly enjoying being along and out in the woods for a walk. She thought back to the conversations she had with the guards, the boy and his family, and the two ice man. They all went better then she could have expected. Maybe they will tell people that I'm not all that bad, she thought. Maybe things were simpler then she thought they were.
For the first time in a while, Elsa had hope that she could be a good Queen and a even better sister. Soon she approached the lake and notice a fairly nice cabin all lit up, right on its edge. She could hear talking and some laughing coming from inside. It was getting later in the afternoon and the sun was going to be setting soon.
Elsa suddenly started to wonder if this was a good idea. In fact, maybe it was kind of crazy. But thinking of Anna, she decided that she just had to go for it, and break the record of crazy things she didn't expect herself to do today. So she slowly walked up to the front deck, and stopped just facing the door.
The powerful, intimidating, illusive, and beautiful ice queen, slowly raised her hand to knock.