The clock in the hall struck midnight. The sky was dark. The remains of the last Winter snow were piled here and there around the courtyard. The castle was empty except for the Queen and the staff. Queen Elsa knocked at the door. There was commotion on the other side. The door opened.

"Your Majesty! Did you ring for me? I'm terribly sorry, but I was asleep," Kai sputtered.

"No," Elsa replied. "Sorry, I didn't want anyone else woken up. I know you've personally vetted all the new staff, but-"

"Of course," he breathed in relief, waiting expectantly.

"As you know, Kai, there is a ship in the harbor leaving first thing in the morning for Corona."

"Yes, of course," he replied. "Her husband boarded this evening, as you saw."

"Indeed," she affirmed. "Now, I need you and Gerda to go to Margit Nilsen and tell her it's time. She should have nearly everything ready to go. Please help her with anything that remains and get her and her baby quietly on to the ship."

"As you wish," he promised.

"Kai, there is one more thing." Elsa spoke hesitantly. "I will be on that ship, too."

"I understand, Your Majesty," he acknowledged as the Queen turned and left.


Elsa sat deep in thought poking at the remains of her dinner when she smelled the freshly baked chocolate cake being brought out. She set her fork down and a servant quickly came by to remove the plate. As she waited for the cake to be cut and brought around, she noticed Lady Amelia of Wesselton bring Elizabeth back inside. Lady Amelia introduced her to a young Wesselton admiral. Elizabeth looked slightly uncomfortable, but she seemed to hold her own at the conversation.

"Did I miss dessert?" Frederick said as he suddenly reappeared at the table. Elsa chuckled, gently pointing out the servants only beginning to deliver slices.

"Did you leave your sister alone out there?" Elsa asked him.

"No, she's fine," he told her. "Prince Henry is out there with her."

Elsa raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Their cake was served just then. Elsa and her nephew ate in silence. As Frederick accepted the second dessert being brought around, Elsa excused herself to walk around. Elizabeth was still stuck in conversation with the Admiral, and the musicians were preparing to start the first waltz. Elsa could see the Queen hurriedly whispering to her granddaughter, who then rushed out to the balcony to find her brother. As Elsa returned to the table to keep an eye on her nephew, she saw a flustered looking Prince Henry rush past her, followed by Hilde, who glanced behind to make sure that Inga was coming inside.

"Aunt Elsa, there you are!" Inga looked like she was going to hug her, but her skirt got in the way.

"Inga, is everything okay?"

Inga scrunched her face a little, but Elizabeth came over before she could speak.

"Inga," Elizabeth spoke with a cheerfulness that sounded forced. "I promised the Admiral over here that he could have the first dance with you."

"But…" Inga began.

Elizabeth moved closer to Inga and whispered just loud enough for Elsa to overhear. "Please! I don't want to dance with him. Lady Amelia didn't tell him I'm engaged, and he's a little too interested… Help me out!"

Inga nodded, glancing around before speaking. "Elizabeth, why don't I get Frederick. He'd probably love to dance with you!"

Elizabeth smiled with understanding, and went to inform Lady Amelia of the plan. Elsa followed her niece back to the table. Frederick groaned slightly at not getting a choice in the matter, but he admitted it would be better than some of the other ladies looking to dance, and went straight away to Elizabeth.

Inga held back, and looked hesitantly at Elsa.

"Inga," Elsa gently prodded. "It's only one dance. It could be worse."

"Oh," her niece mumbled. "It's not that. But, um… Save me some dessert, please? I'll be right back after this dance."

"Fine," Elsa smiled as Inga went to be introduced to the Wesselton Admiral.


By the end of the waltz, Inga could admit that the Admiral was a tolerable dancer. He seemed sufficiently awed by Inga's position that he kept up polite conversation with her, but seemed to have no further intentions. Inga's attempts to steer the conversation to learn more about Wesselton or at least its navy were thwarted by the Admiral's occasional distracted glances in the direction of her aunt causing him to lose his train of thought.

As the first dance came to a close, Inga took her first chance of polite escape and sat down next to Elsa to claim her piece of cake. Inga slowly poked at her slice until the music started up again. She saw that Frederick was now dancing with Hilde, and Prince Henry had taken over dancing with Elizabeth. Swallowing the bite she had just taken, she glanced around quickly, and then turned to Elsa.

"Aunt Elsa," she began. Elsa looked at her and nodded silently. "I was wondering about… well… about several things. I was talking with Prince Henry outside, and-"

"Are you sure I'm the best person to ask?" Elsa interrupted.

"About Lars? I mean, I know you only met him a little while ago, but you've known his mother longer," Inga sighed. "I'm not entirely sure, but… Henry was telling me something about how he remembered that Lars was originally supposed to be in the Palace Guard here, and I just found that… odd. But he was telling me several things that seemed odd. So, I guess, I was just wondering if you knew anything about it, since the other night you had been talking with Princess Rapunzel for quite some time, it seemed..." Inga trailed off.

"Oh," Elsa breathed a little, then seemed to stiffen again. "That's what you wanted to ask about."

"Yes, what did you think I wanted to ask about?"

"Nothing," Elsa smiled. "What was it that Henry said about Lars?"

"Well…" Inga stopped to remember what she had already said. "Henry was saying his mother seemed bothered when Lars was selected for the diplomatic school instead. Why would she care?"

"She told me it was unexpected," Elsa stated.

"Why was she concerned at all?"

"She was looking out for his family."

"Really?" Inga tried to keep her voice quiet. "But didn't they arrive here from Arendelle just before Lars was born? And Lars mentioned his mother got a pension from Arendelle, too."

"She… her family… they were of service to Arendelle." Elsa took a moment before continuing. "There was also a promise from the Crown Princess to look after them when they arrived."

"Oh, of course, I suppose, but the pension, I don't rememb-" Inga stopped as she saw Prince Henry approaching, looking directly at her.

Elsa looked over her shoulder and smiled as she turned back to Inga. Inga did her best not to show any emotion, attempting a polite smile. She realized she still had cake left, and began to eat it again.

"If… if you're still having dessert, I can wait," Henry stammered, beginning to turn around. Inga was about to nod in agreement while her mouth was still full of cake.

"I'll watch your cake for you, Inga," Elsa offered, smiling at her in a way she wasn't used to seeing. Inga wondered why her aunt wasn't reminding her that this was only one dance, the way she had with the admiral earlier.

Inga set her fork down and reluctantly stood up. Henry smiled and offered his hand, which Inga took, and followed him down. His hand was warm, and it felt like he was holding back, even though his grip was strong. She found herself smiling in spite of herself.

A polka was announced. Inga had hoped for any other kind of dance, though usually this was one of her favorites, but right now it felt like too much. With the Admiral, she was able to go through the motions of the waltz without being bothered, and she had a much easier time breathing, now that she thought about it. As the music started up, she felt Henry's hand firmly on her back, and he led her into the dance.

She tried to think of things to say, but each spin around, she lost her concentration, and it was all she could do to watch him and follow his lead. In the bright lights of the hall, she could see that his eyes clearly were gray. He had shaved today, but of course he had. He was on display. The music seemed to continue forever, and she kept up, but she felt increasingly dizzy and lightheaded. She hardly noticed when the music stopped, except that Henry had stopped. As he released her, she stumbled, and she felt his arm grab subtly under her elbow to steady her.

"Thanks," she whispered, briefly looking at him, then looking to see if anyone else was watching.

"I'm sure you want to get back to dessert now," he smiled. She looked back at the table.

"No, I'm not actually that hungry," she admitted. "But I think I need some air."

"We can go back to the balcony, if you like," he offered. She nodded and walked outside with him, his hand still on her arm.

She still felt lightheaded, but just outside the door to the balcony there was a bench, which she hadn't noticed before. As he let go of her arm, she sat down a little too quickly, and had a moment of panic when she realized just how narrowly she had avoided causing her skirts to fly up. She closed her eyes and nervously smoothed out the fabric.

She opened her eyes to look out at the sky. The city lights were dazzling. Henry was standing a few feet away, leaning on the doorway.

"You should trust your own memory a little better," she said as she looked out at the city.

"What do you mean?" he asked, a little startled.

"I asked my aunt about… about the thing with the guards. You did remember correctly."

"Oh," he breathed, looking over at her. "You know, if you want, I'd be happy to tell you more."

"Maybe," she found herself saying. "But I need to figure a lot of things out." Inga still had the feeling that while her aunt had told her the truth, something had been left out.

"How long do you have?" he asked. "I mean, before you sail back."

"I think we're supposed to leave tomorrow," she told him. "But it might be the day after that, since we have so many people coming back with us, and I think the captain we hired suspects that our luck with the wind will continue on the return journey, so we can give people a little more time to pack."

"That seems like a bit of a gamble on his part," Henry sniffed.

"I'm pretty sure he's making a safe bet," Inga laughed. "Maybe I'll explain that to you some time."

"I think I understand the basics of sailing," he said firmly, though he looked a little confused.

"That's not what I meant," she blurted. "But never mind."

"Well," he sighed. "I wish you were staying longer." As his eyes met hers, Inga felt slightly dizzy again, but took a deep breath and collected herself.

"I could write, if you like," she offered. "I take care of a lot of the official correspondence, anyway, it's not like anyone would notice if I'm writing a few extra letters." Inga wasn't sure why she had said the last part out loud.

"I'd like that," he smiled. "You know-"

Frederick had just walked out to the middle of the balcony and was looking around.

"Inga? There you are!" Frederick exclaimed after having first looked every direction except back by the door. "Aunt Elsa wants to know if you're going to finish your dessert."

"Oh…" Inga stood up. "I think I will finish it. Tell her I'll be right there, thanks!" Frederick ran back inside.

"Um, good night, then?" Henry stood looking at her.

"Good night?" she blinked. "Is it getting that late?"

"No, just… I don't know." He looked inside at the dancing.

"Well, I might be up for one more," she offered. "After this next one. I really should finish the cake after all that fuss."


Two dances had passed since Inga had gone outside. Elsa had made pleasant conversation with the King and Queen, who admired her niece and nephew, and asked after the rest of the family. Then she found herself talking to Arendelle's own ambassador to Corona, who was quite eager to arrange lunch the following day along with Inga and Frederick, and didn't even seem put out by having been ignored so far on their visit, at which point Elsa felt obliged to agree to the lunch.

Frederick returned to the table after a second dance with Elizabeth, who had arranged things so that the Wesselton Admiral had conveniently met up with Princess Millicent of Maldonia who was eying Frederick for a dance.

"Are they actually out of cake?" he pouted, looking at his sister's abandoned slice.

"I'm sure you can find something," Elsa told him.

"I suppose I'm actually more thirsty than anything," he admitted. He looked thoughtful for a moment. "So, do you think I'm 'safe'?"

Elsa blinked and stared at her nephew. "What do you mean?"

He looked back earnestly. "That's what Elizabeth told me while we were dancing. She said I was safe. I don't know, I mean, I never step on anyone's feet. At least, not in a long time. I'm sure Inga will tell you how many times I stepped on her feet."

Elsa looked at him and smiled, laughing gently. "What else did she tell you?"

"Oh, not much," he said, fiddling with his empty glass. "She was mostly saying that she didn't want to dance tonight. I told her I would be fine with not dancing if she didn't want to, and that's when she told me I was safe and she'd be happy to keep dancing."

"Well, I suppose you are a bit like your father sometimes," his aunt smiled. He looked at her skeptically. "But, Frederick, do you know where your sister is?"

"I'll go find her," he said, jumping up.

Elsa watched him head out to the balcony. Hilde was talking with Princess Millicent Maldonia, and Elsa could see Hilde watching as Frederick went out on the balcony, whispering something to the other princess. Inga came back inside, and caught Elsa's eye, heading straight back to the table, sitting down and promptly finishing her dessert. They both watched as Prince Henry danced with the princess from Maldonia. Elizabeth was nervously talking to the King and Queen. There was a brief intermission following the dance, during which some sorbets were brought out, as well as some more drinks. Frederick reappeared for the sorbet.

"Where were you hiding?" Inga asked him.

"I never came inside," he laughed. "Was anyone looking for me? I think I've had enough dancing for tonight. What about you? You've been hiding a lot."

"No, I wasn't," she insisted. "You found me right away. Anyhow, you can breathe in what you're wearing, I can't. Though I'm amazed that anything still fits you."

"Mother said I'd grow into this, and I guess she was right," he shrugged.

A quadrille was announced as the musicians got ready to play again. Henry came back over, and Inga went eagerly, saying she could handle a quadrille, but then she really would need to call it a night. Frederick had gotten up to leave, but got snatched up by the Maldonian princess to complete the group of couples opposite Inga and Henry. Elsa watched as they moved in formation. She couldn't be certain at her distance from the dancers, but she could swear that Frederick was making faces at Inga every time they passed each other. Elsa sighed and rubbed her forehead.

As the dance ended, more drinks were passed around. The young dancers each took one, and stood off to the side talking and laughing. Inga seemed quiet, but not unhappy by any means, aside from an occasional glare at her brother. At some point, she noticed Inga whispering at Frederick, pointing at his glass. Elsa decided to get up and check on them.

"I think Frederick needs to go to bed," Inga told Elsa as soon as she drew close.

"I'm fine!" he whined, coming a little too close to yelling.

"I think your sister is right," Elsa told him. He pouted a little, but didn't protest.

"Inga, how much longer will you stay?" Elsa asked.

"I'll be right up as soon as I'm finished with my drink," she promised.

Elsa took Frederick to his room, quickly wishing Rapunzel a good night on her way, and asking her to keep an eye on Inga.


Inga found herself dancing again with Prince Henry. This time, as the dance came to a close, he whisked her away in his arms, through the halls of the Corona palace. They were running together now, through a garden, then up a path overlooking the fjord...

The fjord? It somehow made sense. He kissed her, and she closed her eyes, sinking into his embrace. When she opened her eyes to look at him again, it was no longer Henry, not the brown hair and grey eyes she had carefully studied during the dance at the ball, but a man with red hair and green eyes, sneering at her.

It was snowing, and she found Lars. He led her back to the palace in Corona. Frederick was there. She tried to ask what was going on, but there was too much confusion. She tried to find her parents. She seemed to be running in circles. Finally, she spotted them in a far corner of the room, and began to run, but Lars was blocking the way.

Inga woke with a start. She grasped at the few persistent images she could remember from her dream. Was any of it real? She had been dancing that evening. Everything else was muddled in her head. She looked outside. The sky was completely dark. She had noticed the thinnest of crescent moons setting just after sunset the night before. She had forgotten most of the details of her dream already, but now she remembered some of the questions she'd had the evening before. Henry knew things, she realized, but he obviously didn't know enough to realize there was anything to hold back, unlike her aunt. She lit the lamp by her bed and went to get some paper to start a letter.


Inga stood in the hallway, not sure where to go. She had just returned from lunch with Ambassador Larsen from Arendelle, who had accompanied Inga back to the castle as far as the door to her personal office, where she needed to go to prepare for a meeting in an hour. Elsa had gone to check on Mrs. Nilsen as well as Elizabeth's family. Frederick had immediately returned to his room to change out of the suit he had worn for lunch. Inga felt fine, despite the late night at the party, and sleeping til nearly noon, when Elsa had woken her up to get ready for lunch. She felt out of sorts from her memories of the dream the night before, and trying to remember which things actually happened at the party. While she was thinking about this, she heard footsteps.

"There you are," Prince Henry nearly shouted. She turned around as he stopped a few feet from her, looking somewhat flushed. Inga supposed it was probably from rushing down the hallway, though she was still trying to remember which of her memories from the night before were only from her dream, and which actually happened at the party.

"Hi," she replied, putting her hand into her pocket. Inside, before she'd left for lunch, she'd placed the letter she'd written to Prince Henry when she had awoken from her dream in the middle of the night. She pulled it out. "Here, um, I was going to mail this, but I might as well hand it to you, since you're here. It's… not that interesting. Or, um, not like that… Don't get the wrong idea."

"Oh," he muttered, looking a little confused. Inga handed the letter over rather awkwardly, and he ended up brushing her fingers as he took it.

"I hope… did you sleep well? I suppose everyone was up rather late." Inga grimaced at the words she found herself saying.

"Um," he hesitated, "I really don't remember… I mean, I didn't get to sleep as long as I would have liked. We pretty much got dragged out of bed for an early meeting."

"That seems like poor planning," Inga laughed in spite of herself.

"That's what I told them. They didn't appreciate the suggestion," he smiled.

"So, do you have to be at the meeting with Ambassador Larsen?" she asked him.

"From Arendelle, oh, yes, that is next, isn't it?" he seemed distracted.

"I won't hold you up," she told him. "You can write back whenever you have time."

She started to turn.

"Wait," he said, grabbing her hand, letting it go almost immediately, but grabbing something out of his vest pocket. "Here," he said, thrusting it into the palm of her hand.

She looked down. "Your photograph?" she asked, confused, looking at the small framed miniature, which resembled the sort they received from other kingdoms all the time.

"Um… it's an extra, one of the official ones we took for this."

"Thanks, I don't remember if we have one," she admitted, feeling her cheeks getting warm.

"I figured you didn't," he laughed. "So maybe if you see me again, you'll know who I am."

"And what about you?" she snapped back, smiling a bit.

"You'll need to send me a picture where you're not ten years old," he replied.

"I'll see what we can do about that," she promised. "You'll have to remind me."