Here Comes The Sun

Chapter 17

By: The Duchess of Arendelle

AN: Sorry for any mistakes.

"What the heck were you two thinking?" Kristoff said to Elsa and Anna as they rode back to the castle on horses provided by the royal search party.

"Do you know how worried everyone was? I was? Rapunzel's going to tear both of your heads off when we get back to the castle that's for sure." Kristoff continued to angrily scold. He had been worried sick after hearing from the stable hands that Elsa had ran off in a trail of ice closely followed by Anna. As minutes turned to hours he decided to call for every available guard to search the kingdom, hills, and mountains for the missing royals. It turned out that wasn't necessary as three hours in they found the trail of frozen grass Elsa had left behind. They followed it all the way into the hills where the trail had come to an end right under a frozen weeping willow tree. There, he found the two disheveled royals, one looking worried and the other clasping at her left ankle. Both women looked up, at first shocked and then extremely relived to see the blonde haired mountain man.

*Earlier*

"Kristoff! Oh thank God you're here!" Anna spoke happily with relief dripping from her voice. Elsa was too relieved as she gave a polite smile and nod to her worried and cautious guards. Kristoff took one look at Anna holding her ankle and the relief he felt at finding them quickly faded.

"Anna you look like shit, are you okay?! What the heck happened?!" He asked as he swiftly ran to her side. Anna exchanged a quick glance with Elsa and looked back to Kristoff. With a shrug she said,

"Long story…"

Kristoff stared at her in disbelief then rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Let's hurry up and get you two back to the castle." He grumbled as he carefully picked Anna up bridal style and carried her over to one of the waiting horses. A twinge of jealousy hit Elsa at the sight but she quickly brushed it a side. Anna was hers, the girl had said so herself. What had she to fear? Especially after what they had just gotten finished doing.

Anna rode on the horse with Kristoff while Elsa took one for herself. She had requested that the two guards stay behind and try to locate her and Anna's missing steeds, but if they could not find them in an hour's time then come back to the castle and wait until morning to try again. The two men bowed gracefully and set off further up the hill in search of the horses. This left Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff trekking back down the hill alone.

*Now*

"Relax Kristoff, were fine… well mostly fine." Anna tried to joke. Kristoff was not amused as he steered their horse towards the castle. Elsa remained silent on her steed, looking every bit of the royal she was. Though she did feel bad that she had worried everyone, she felt she didn't owe anyone any kind of explanation, last time she checked she was queen. Besides, it's not like she could tell them a true explanation anyway. Kristoff looked over at Elsa, as if reading her mind. The blonde ice queen was shocked by the expression on his face. She had never seen the mountain man look so serious and he gave her a look that said he was going to get an explanation. No ifs, ands, or buts. Elsa looked down and away, focusing instead on her horses reins.

After the long trek they finally arrived at the castle's gates. The guards all flocked to the front of the castle, opening the huge metal gates and letting them all through. There were mumbled whispers coming from the staff as Kristoff jumped off his horse and carried Anna through the caste's large wooden doors. He headed straight for the infirmary as Elsa took her time climbing off her horse. She unconsciously reached for her hand to tug on gloves that were no longer there. It had been a habit of hers back when she still wore them. As she walked through the castle's doors, she caught bits of what her maids and other staff were saying.

"…hurt Princess Anna again?…"

"…poor Princess Anna…"

"…the queen has returned. I hope she is not in a foul mood…"

"…Princess Anna be okay?..."

Elsa walked with her head slightly bowed. Her people thought she was a monster again. Or maybe they never stopped thinking it. Maybe they had been waiting for the other shoe to drop the entire time. Elsa shook her head, trying to rid her mind of those thoughts. She began to wonder towards the kitchens. She wanted to avoid bumping into Kristoff or Rapunzel. She was not ready for those confrontations just of yet. Elsa slowly enter the kitchen through the servant's doors. She intended on having the night cook, Maria, fix her and Anna something to eat so she could bring it to the redhead when the doctor was done with her. Looking around, she saw the kitchen was completely empty. She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and sighed loudly. It was 2:00 in the morning. The cooking staff had long since retired for the night. She sighed again as she and looked around in the ice box. She didn't really know how to cook. The most she could do was boil an egg and make sandwiches. Just when she was about to resign herself to making Anna and herself some ham sandwiches she heard a heavily accented French voice speak to her from behind.

"Ah the ham and cheese. It is a classic no?" Elsa spun around and frowned a bit. It was Prince Adam. Even though Elsa knew what Anna told her was true, she couldn't help but resent the man just a little.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I saw you come in and decided to speak." Adam continued, hands held up in a surrender gesture. Elsa quickly placed a small polite smile on her face along with a slight blush as she answered him.

"It's quite alright. And yes, it's um… sort of all I know how to make…" Elsa responded embarrassed. Adam laughed good naturedly and walked further into the room. He came up beside Elsa and smiled a wide grin, showing off his perfect white teeth.

"What is a queen doing preparing her own meals anyway?" he asked as he climbed on the stone counter next to the ice box.

"Well it's quite late and my cooking staff has retired for the night. It would be very inconsiderate of me to wake them up this late at night." Elsa responded, looking at the prince cautiously. He just continued to smile his friendly smile.

"That is very thoughtful of you. Most of the royals I know would make their servants get out of their death beds just to fetch them a glass of water… two inches in front of them." Adam joked but then turned serious.

"You really are a just and noble ruler Queen Elsa." He said. Elsa was shocked at Adam's words but was grateful to hear them.

"Thank you for saying so Prince Adam. Perhaps more royals should prepare their own ham and cheese sandwiches?" Elsa responded, smile just a bit bigger. She hated to admit it, but this Prince Adam was someone she thought she might actually be able to get along with. Adam was at first stunned by the ice queen's unexpected joke then laughed heartily.

"Haha! Oui! Oui, Queen Elsa, maybe they should! And please call me Adam."

"Perhaps in private, and you may call me Elsa. In private of course." Adam smiled and nodded.

"Of course!"

The two remained quiet for a moment as Elsa went back to the ice box. Adam then got an idea and smiled.

"Elsa? Have you ever had a spinach and leek quiche before?"

***FROZEN***

Thirty minutes later found Elsa and Adam talking animatedly as they waited for the quiche to come out of the oven.

"…and then Coggsworth, he falls down the stairs and the only thing I could do was laugh with Chip! Belle tried to help of course but she also ended up laughing!" he was telling Elsa a story about his life back at his French Palace with his friends and his cousin Belle. Belle was Adam's Anna in that she made Adam open up and be himself like Anna had done for Elsa. At first Adam had lived alone by himself, the king/his uncle having granted him a small palace in the country. He told Elsa a bit of his backstory.

"Believe it or not I use to be a beast of a man. I was spoiled and bitter. I had no one to talk to about the things I was feeling. It was terrible. And then one day my uncle, he comes to me and says, 'This is your cousin Belle, she will live here with you from now own.' When Belle first arrived I treated her terribly, but no matter how many times I yell and scream at her, she came back. Eventually I began to warm up to her. She became my best and closet friend. I told her about me, my secretes, my feelings and she did not judge. She is the kindest soul I know."

Elsa listened and absorbed Adam's words. He was very much like her. They both went through the heartache of losing their parents, the despair of feeling different, and wanting to be completely alone. Elsa would have never guested that she would relate so closely to someone who wasn't Anna. Adam also opened up about his concern for Belle and his country.

"There are talks of a revolution. The royals in France, they do not care that the people are starving. Only very few of them actually listen to their plights. I am afraid they will very soon revolt and overturn the government. I just hope Belle and the others will be safe while I am away. Belle, she cares about the people so much, she wants to change France, to make it a place of peace and equal opportunity. But people like tante Marie are so careless with the royal funds, yet oncle Louis does nothing to stop it. Just last month she spends 200,000 francs on cake. Cake!" he looked so distraught and Elsa truly felt sorry for him. She had no idea that France was going through such a hard time. Adam looked up at Elsa and tried to smile.

"I am sorry for burdening you with my problems. Let us talk of happier things!" he said and then went into his story about Coggsworth and the others. Elsa smiled and laughed and listened with interest but all the while she was thinking about what Adam said about the royals of France. Arendelle had never been so careless with their funds. Her father made sure none of the royals took advantage of his people and Elsa had been trying to do the same. Her family had always enjoyed the simpler living. Well, as simple as a royal family could be. But what would she do if her people ever decided to rise up against her? That was something she defiantly didn't want to think about. She tried to be good to her people and for them. When she had frozen the entirety of Arendelle in the middle of summer, Elsa had destroyed thousands of dollars' worth of crops. Her first official act as queen had been to make sure everyone who had been effected by her mistake had been reimbursed and taken care of. Her advisors had called her mad, it would cost a fortune to do that, but she was queen and the final word was hers. Now Arendelle was thriving again and they were making even more revenue now that they had canceled trade with Wealsetown and opened up with a newer independent country. America was it? It was farther away then she would have liked, and it was a strange country, they didn't have a King but a… President? What was that even? But the trade was good and her people were happy. Elsa was drawn out of her thoughts and Adam's story when a buzzer went off. Adam's face lit up as he opened the over and removed the extremely hot tin with pot holders.

"It is done!" he said grinning at Elsa. Elsa had to admit, the foreign dish smelled absolutely amazing.

***FROZEN***

Elsa and Adam began their journey to the infirmary. Elsa was holding a try of tea along with two plates, forks, napkins, and a knife, and Adam was carry the hot quiche on a separate platter. As they reached the infirmary, Adam had stopped outside its doors. He looked distressed again and Elsa felt she should ask why.

"Are you alright Adam? What's the matter?" she inquired as she took in Adam's posture. He looked nervous all of a sudden. Elsa was about to ask him if he was alright again when he finally looked at her and asked,

"Was this all my fault?" Elsa was stricken silent by the unexpected question and was also slightly confused.

"Was what your fault?"

"You and Anna leaving the castle? Anna getting hurt? It was my fault yes? I am sorry. I know about, you know, your relationship." He whispered that part, cautious of any nosy servants that might be wondering around. He then continued on.

"I did not intend for it to seem like I had intentions for Anna, I was just making a new friend." He finished, head downcast. Elsa stared at him shocked. It was hard to believe this man was once a selfish beast. Elsa then smiled sadly at him.

"No need to apologize. It was my fault. I still need to learn how to trust and… let things goes." At that Adam looked back up and smiled softly.

"At least you have someone who loves you enough to chase after you." He said sadly, a frown gracing his lips, but then disappeared as quickly as it came.

"I am overjoyed that you do not blame me even if I still blame myself. I consider you a close friend now Queen Elsa." he said cheerfully with a wink. Elsa smiled back and nodded her head.

"As I you Prince Adam."

"Shall we?" he said motioning towards the door.

"We shall." Elsa said, pushing the door open and walking inside.

***FROZEN***

Walking into the infirmary was like walking into a professional hospital. The room in which Adam and Elsa stepped into was huge and had different quarters attached to it. The infirmary was a fairly new addition to the castle, built during Elsa and Anna's father King Alexander's reign. It had been built to care for the royal guards and troops during a great war that lasted four years. The enemies were unknown and had come out of nowhere. They disappeared after the final battle in which the king had presumably killed their leader, Lord Bakarious, never to be seen again. The war had been in King Alexander's younger days, it was how he met and married his wife and Elsa and Anna's mother Queen Helena. He had saved the visiting Coronain princess from her sinking ship in one of the earlier attacks on the kingdom. It was love at first sight and young Helena had decided to stay despite the urges of Alexander and her people to return to the safety of Corona.

Elsa herself had read some of the archives of the war, but most of the information was inconsistent. Pages were missing from books and sometimes entire volumes were lost. Words were marked out and some were written in a foreign language that looked almost ancient. Elsa had never really thought about what all of that could mean, though she had been young and it was just something for her to read during her 'Anna watching' sessions in the library.

Elsa led Adam into a side room, it was the royal's quarters and she knew that's where the castle's doctor, Dr. Andrew Fritz, would have made Kristoff bring Anna. Sure enough as the two walked through the door, trays in hand, they saw Anna laying in the plush hospital bed, frowning as Dr. Fritz continued to worry over her. Dr. Fritz was an older gentlemen, around his 70s by now with a full head of gray hair. He had been their family's doctor for years. He always fretted over them, the tiniest of scraps or bumps had him extensively examining them to make sure they were okay. One of the many reasons Alexander adored him, he loved Anna and Elsa almost as much as the king himself.

"I told you Doc, I'm fine! Completely fine! My ankle isn't broken and I don't have a concussion." Elsa heard Anna say to the good doctor as he continued to check her eyes. Adam chuckled a little at the sight and Elsa elbowed him playfully in the side, smiling at her sister's dramatics. Anna, having heard Adam's laugher, quickly looked in their direction and smiled.

"Elsa! Adam! What are you two doing in here?" she asked happily as she tried to sit up further in the bed only to be halted by Dr. Fritz. He placed a hand on her head, feeling for a fever. Anna groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Elsa, save me. Please?" Anna asked as she shook the doctor's hand off of her forehead. Elsa's smile grew as she shook her own head.

"Anna, the good doctor is just doing his job. Let him." She told the pouting redhead as she shot a grateful smile to the doctor. The gray haired man returned it with a, "Thank you my queen." Then looked pointedly at Anna. Anna groaned again and gave Elsa her own look that said, 'You're definitely paying for this later.' Elsa mouthed back a 'Sorry.'

"Adam?" she asked hopefully but the browned haired prince just shook his head, grin wide. Anna flopped back in the bed, accepting her fate. After few more minutes of prodding and checking, the doctor had finally given her an almost clean bill of health.

"Just a sprained ankle Princess Anna. It should heal nicely after a few days, but I want you to stay her overnight. And absolutely no walking until I give the okay, do you understand?" Dr. Fritz gave Anna a seriously look from under his thick bifocals. Anna rolled her eyes but nodded her head in understanding.

"Yeah, yeah. I got you. Now can you go please? You're suffocating me." She said in exasperation, but smiled afterwards. He smiled back and patted her on the head. He packed up his tools and headed for the door. He then stopped beside Elsa and whispered in her ear.

"Make sure she gets some rest love. You know how stubborn your sister can be." Elsa nodded her head and giggled.

"Don't worry Dr. Fritz, I'll make sure she properly rests. You can count on me." Elsa responded. Fritz grabbed her shoulder and squeezed it briefly, smiling, before letting go and walking out of the room.

"Finally, I thought he'd never leave. And what smells so good?" Anna asked, once again attempting to sit up in her bed. Adam took this as his cue to walk over and present her with the dish.

"This, my dear Anna, is a spinach and leek quiche, lovingly prepared by myself and Elsa." He said holding the still steaming hot dish out for Anna to observe.

"Wow, this smells amazing! You made this Elsa?" Anna asked in disbelief.

"Hardly, Adam did all the work." Elsa said, blushing and shooting a shy smile over to Adam.

"Please do not sell yourself short Elsa. You did a fantastic job helping." Adam responded smiling back. Anna looked between the two of them. Wait, what? She just realized how comfortable Elsa was acting around Adam. They were on a first name basis, when did that happen? Did she miss something here?

TBC

AN: So like I said before, not historically accurate at all, but this is fiction and my/Frozen's/Disney's universe so I'm grinding all these together. I'm placing my story around the late 1700s like 1770s or 90s or something. What Adam is talking about is the French Revolution, tante Marie is Marie Antoinette, America has only been free for a couple of decades, yada yada. Also, you guys might be wondering why Elsa and Adam are getting so close? Well I figured Anna has a support system outside of Elsa, she can talk to Kristoff or Rapunzel when she needs advice, and although Elsa is chummy with both of them, they are mostly Anna's friends. I felt Elsa needed a friend of her own that she could relate to and talk to should she need advice about something she can't talk to Anna about. So that's why that's happening. BTW, I suggest you pay attention to this chapter, a lot of different things from this chapter are going to be coming back in later chapters.

Tante- Aunt

Oncle- Uncle