A/N: Three chapters in three days, feeling proud of myself. Hope you enjoy this chapter. As always Frozen belongs to Disney, not I.

Chapter 4: Winter Solstice

December 1843

Kristoff walked through the town square admiring the decorations, the Winter Solstice had always been a grand celebration in Arendelle since before anyone could remember. The country gathered together to mark the shortest day of the year and to welcome the coming of longer days. They remembered their ancestors and prayed to the gods for a quick spring. When the Crown Princess had been born that day the country celebrated her birth along with the Winter Solstice. Now that Elsa was Queen the day had turned into a giant festival. Elsa turned the Castle courtyard into a skating rink, the castle gardens into a winter wonderland where children (and adults) could make snowmen, ride on ice rides, and have snowball fights. Down in the town square artisans sold everything from krumkake to wool scarves from their stalls. Taverns and restaurants offered special meals and discounted drinks. There were ice sled races on the frozen lake just outside of the city, and an annual three-day dog sled race from Snodehiem to Arendelle. The race was set so that the winner should arrive at noon on the winter solstice. Then at 1:00 the royal family would come out and ring the Yule Bell signifying the beginning of the holiday season that ran from the Winter Solstice to the New Year.

It had become one of Kristoff's favorite days of the year and not just because of all the celebrations but because it was the one day a year that Elsa let Anna take care of her, and unsurprisingly the one day of year Kristoff saw Elsa the most at ease and herself. Elsa never smiled as she did on her birthday as she watched her sister run around in a tizzy trying to make Elsa's every whim come true. Today would like to be the best birthday yet for Elsa as it was her first as Pieter's wife. Speaking of the Prince Consort he was currently walking next to Kristoff in the early morning twilight looking for the perfect gift for his wife.

"Shouldn't you have done this days ago?" Kristoff asked as they passed a stall serving waffles, Kristoff's mouth-watering at the smell. He should have been surprised when Olaf and Seven walked up to them from the stall both with a waffle in their mouths.

"What should Pieter have done already?" While Olaf's manners had improved over the years, he no longer ate with his mouth open, he was still as nosey as ever.

"Gotten Elsa a birthday gift."

"Ahh, yes I bought mine last summer," Olaf announced proudly. Kristoff wondered what it could be but decided not to ask at the moment.

"I was going to, but then Elsa got sick last week and I had to fill in at a few meetings for her since Anna is still nursing Renee. Then this week the ambassadors from Luxembourg arrived early because they wanted to experience the festival and Elsa's birthday so I've spent most of my time showing them around."

Kristoff laughed, "I'm so glad you married Elsa because that would have been me if you hadn't"

Pieter glared at him, "I can make sure it is you next time."

Kristoff shook his head, "We both know that if they are important enough you are on host duty, no one wants the Crown Princess's common-born husband when they can have the Prince Consort." Pieter looked like he was going to retort but stopped himself, it was too true of a statement to rebuke. Kristoff decided to take pity on his brother-in-law and pointed to a stall at the end of the square. "Elsa's never been one for all the trappings of royalty, I mean don't get me wrong, like all women she loves diamonds and such, but what she really appreciates is the simpler things. If you watch her shop, the rare times she gets to do it herself, she always gravitates to the small artisan shops and stalls instead of the larger stores the wealthier Arendellians frequent. I'd look for something over at that Northuldra stall, she may not be bothered by the cold but she does like to feel warm."

They walked over to the stall which was being worked by a young man and woman. The Northuldra didn't come into Arendelle city limits often, they lived upon a high forest plateau at the Northeastern border of Arendelle at the end of Arenfjord. They were semi-nomadic people following the reindeer and caribou herds across the plateau. Arendelle largely gave them their own autonomy as long as they paid taxes on the goods they sold across Arendelle and Norway. Most thought them to be descendants of the Sami people which were a more common nomadic people in Norway, but if you spoke with the Northuldra they claimed they lived in Arendelle long before both the Sami, the Norsemen, and Vikings. They were said to have a close relationship with the four elements of the natural world, water, air, fire, and earth. They had increased their trade and visits to Arendelle city significantly since Elsa's powers were revealed. Some had urged Elsa to be wary of the tribe but Elsa wouldn't hear of it and opened up her arms to them.

"I told you to back them last night," the woman was saying the man. As Kristoff got closer to them it was clear they were related, likely brother and sister.

"And I told you that I had to finish tanning the hides that Yelena wants by the new year." The man answered back. The two had dark brown hair, their eyes were a light brown, and their skin tone a warm beige. They wore warm clothing made of animal hides and furs.

"Hello," Pieter called out to gain their attention. The woman turned to say something to them but the word stopped at her lips. "Oh, Your Highnesses. How can we help you."

"Good day Ms…." Pieter trailed off inviting her to introduce herself.

"Honeymaren, just Honeymaren and this is my brother Rider."

"Your Highness, My Lord." Rider greeted coming up next to his sister.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Honeymaren, Rider, I was hoping you could help me, I've neglected to acquire Her Majesty a birthday gift this year."

"Ew bad move." Kristoff heard Rider mutter under his breath but if Pieter heard he didn't make any signs of it, Honeymaren however subtly stepped on her brother's foot.

"And you wish to buy something from our shop, wouldn't Her Majesty prefer some of the finer works from the other artisans or stores?" Honeymaren questioned, clearly shocked the Duke of the North Mountain would look for anything for the Queen in her humble shop.

"I don't know about finer," Pieter remarked as he fingered a hand made silver, green demantoid and purple zircon. It was stunning Kristoff had to admit. "Did you make this?"

Honeymaren shook her head, " It was made by another woman in our tribe, all of this was made from various tribal members, but Rider and I speak the best Norwegian in the village other than the Yelena the tribal elder, so it is our job to come to town to sell our goods."

Pieter took the necklace from its stand, "Please pass on my praise to the artisan then, this is a stunning piece of jewelry. I will take it as well as that shawl behind you. Her Majesty appreciates the works of local artists and prides herself in supporting them as best she can." Rider handed over a beautiful sapphire blue wool knit shawl with white and pink geometrical designs. Pieter handed them three gold Krones.

"Your Highness, this is too much." Honeymaren protested trying to give two coins back.

"No, it is not, as I said this is exquisite work and should be paid for as such. I do hope you enjoy the festivities and have a safe journey on your way home. It is a long way to Northuldra from here."

"We will, thank you Your Highness, and please pass on our well wishes to Her Majesty on her birthday."

They left the stand and started heading back towards the castle, it was only then that Kristoff noticed Olaf and Sven weren't with them, turning his head he saw Honeymaren talking animatedly with Olaf and Rider appeared to be talking with Sven, curios.

"Thank you, Kristoff, I couldn't have found better gifts for Elsa than these," Pieter said gratefully.

"No problem…" Kristoff started but stopped as he saw a pageboy, Geoge, Kristoff believed rushing towards them. He skidded to a stop bowed before speaking, "Your Highness, My Lord, you both are requested to return to the castle immediately. The…." The boys seemed to notice some citizens leaning in so he lowered his voice, "It's the Queen."

XXXXXXX

Something was wrong, Elsa knew it, but she wasn't sure what. She hadn't been able to hold down her breakfast for the past week and then starting yesterday she was nauseous constantly. She hid well yesterday but she wasn't sure could today. If it had been any other day she would have taken the day in bed, a fact she was rather proud of herself for since not long ago she would have fought tooth and nail not to take a day off. Today it was not a possibility, it was her twenty-sixth birthday and she knew as always Anna was excited about it and had likely planned several special events throughout the day that were separate from the normal festivities. Pieter had luckily left early that morning and had missed her episode that morning.

Looking at herself in the mirror she knew when looked like death had warmed over, she was ghostly pale, her eyes dark and sunken in, her lips dry. Her body ached and her stomach was constantly flipping. No today was not a good day but she would power through. She'd called her ladies-maids in and allowed them to dress her and even accepted their offers to use some make-up today. Elsa rarely wore the stuff, only at official events or balls. Finally around 10:00 she was presentable enough to leave her chambers. The one good thing about her birthday being on the Winter Solstice was that it was a national holiday, even the government was shut down for the day. Her father had always had to work a little bit on his birthday, much to his begrudging, but not Elsa she had the whole day to herself. Well, that wasn't entirely true. She was expected to create the skating rink at 10:30 and be at the finish line for the dog sled race, which was generally around noon. Then at 1:00, she would ring the Yule Bell with her family. They would host a small luncheon with the Ministers after that, and then finally once that was finished around 3 she would have the remainder of the day with her family alone, of course as long as Anna didn't plan a surprise ball, as she had last year for Elsa's twenty-fifth birthday.

Elsa made her way to her sister's room, to see if Anna was ready for the day, Renee had indeed proven to be a mild manner child and a remarkable sleeper, so Anna was not nearly as tired with Renee as she had been with Christopher. She also nursed Renee left, between her duties as Crown Princess and making sure to pay enough attention to Christopher, Anna didn't have as much time to nurse Renee, so she and the wet nurse were feeding Renee at an even 50/50 split.

As she entered her sister's suite she was hit with a smell so pungent it literally knocked her out, she felt her stomach roll, her knees buckle and then there was nothing.

XXXXXXXXX

Anna was standing outside his and Elsa's bedroom when he and Kristoff arrived, "Anna what happened?"

She turned to look at him, tears in her eyes, "I don't know, I heard someone open the door and then there was a thud, I thought a maid dropped something so I went out to help, but what I found wasn't a maid but Elsa in a heap on the floor." She rested her head on Kristoff's chest when he came to embrace her. "I called for the guards, they fetched Dr. Olsen; he came quickly and determined it wouldn't do any harm to move her and the guards brought her back here. I've been waiting ever since."

"How long?" Pieter questioned, his mind going a mile a minute trying to determine what could be wrong with his wife. Unfortunately, Anna's story didn't give him much to go on.

"Half hour, forty-five minutes, maybe." Pieter moved towards the door when Anna's voice stopped him. "Dr. Olsen says we aren't allowed in until he has completed his examination."

"I'm a doctor, I will be fine," Pieter stated; he would see his wife.

"Dr. Olsen specifically said not to let you in, that doctors make the worst patients and patient spouses." Pieter took a deep breath and squeezed his nose between his index finger and thumb on his left hand. Dr. Olsen was right, and it was annoying. Pieter was debating if he wanted to be rational and listen to Dr. Olsen or give in to his primal desire to be with his wife.

Just then the door opened, it was Dr. Olsen, "Your Highness, the Queen wishes to see you." Pieter tried to read the old physician's face but it was emotionless. Anna looked like she wanted to rush in but she remained in her place, Pieter gave her a sympathetic look, he knew how he was feeling at the moment and moved into his bedroom. Elsa was sitting up on the bed with several pillows behind her back, Gerda was giving her a cup of tea. She looked exhausted to Pieter, how had he not noticed before. Sure he had been busy lately but that didn't excuse the fact that he missed that his wife wasn't feeling well. Gerda gave him a knowing smile as he left which left him confused. Pieter walked over to Elsa's side of the bed and sat on the edge of the bed by her. "How are you feeling? Anna said she found you passed out on the floor." He reached out and pushed stray hair from her face.

"I'm tired but other than that I am perfectly fine." She admitted.

"Are you sure, is Dr. Olsen sure? Passing out isn't normal Elsa." Pieter reminded her. She was looking at him with a look he'd never seen before on her. She was smiling and her eyes twinkled.

"Well Dr. Olsen did suggest a day or so of bed rest, you see I've been very tired lately, and nauseous, I've barely been able to keep anything down for a few days."

Something clicked in Pieter's mind, how could he have been so obtuse, all the signs were there, he smiled at her, "Are you about to say what I think you are?"

Elsa gave him the brightest smile he had ever seen come from her as she took his hand and placed it on her flat stomach, "I'm pregnant." Pieter couldn't help but laugh out loud as he dove at his wife pulling her into his embrace. Elsa was pregnant, he was going to be a father. Pieter remembered feeling like this once before and how it ended but he pushed the bad thoughts from his mind as quickly as they came, he would rejoice in this moment because Elsa was carrying the future king or queen of Arendelle but more importantly she was carrying their child.

XXXXXXX

As Kristoff pulled the Yule Bell with Anna by his side, Renee in her arms, and Christopher standing at her legs he looked out into the crowd. The people cheered as the bell wrung far and wide signaling the start of the holiday season. The palace had released a statement that the Queen was suffering from rare but not uncommon for her cold and would be absent from the festivities this year, the people had been disappointed but had recovered quickly when they realized the Crown Princess and Earl of Trollmeon would still be joining them. Pieter had even pried himself from Elsa's side to greet the winner of the dog sled race before rushing back inside to be with his wife.

Anna had of course been over the moon at the news. Dr. Olsen had concluded that Elsa had passed out due to a combination of severe fatigue caused by her intense nausea, dehydration again caused by her vomiting episodes, and her intense reaction to the sausage smell coming from Anna's breakfast. He concluded with a few days of bed rest, some herbal teas that would help with nausea, and a ban on sausage in the castle until further notice, Elsa should be back to normal soon. It was hard for him to be sure but he believed she was around two months along.

Kristoff smiled and waved as he used his other arm to pull Anna closer to him, sure today hadn't turned out how everyone had expected, it had turned out much better.

XXXXXX

February 1844

The Privy Council had been informed of Elsa's pregnancy the following day, to say they were happy to hear the news was an understatement. Elsa had never seen a group of men congratulate themselves like they'd done something right when in all actuality they'd nothing. Karoline had rolled her eyes at her peers and instead offered her congratulations to the Queen and offered an ear to listen should the Queen need it. Karoline was the proud mother of three and was a wealth of knowledge for Elsa. Elsa loved her sister dearly and appreciated her insight into what was happening to Elsa's body, but it was nice to get the opinion of another woman every once in a while, especially since other than Anna's difficult delivery with Christopher her pregnancies had gone smoothly. Elsa on the other hand was having a difficult time, she continued to suffer from sporadic episodes of intense nausea and fatigue. They came without notice and at any time during the day. It became the norm to expect the unexpected episodes and the whole castle staff was ready at a moment's notice to come to their Queen's need. It was humbling and embarrassing for Elsa who'd been alone and self-reliant all her life. Karoline understood this more than Anna did, Karoline had been the daughter in a family with five children, she was also the oldest, and when her mother had died when she was fifteen she'd been expected to help raise her four younger brothers.

The public had been informed of Elsa's condition in her fourth month when she began to show. This of course brought the issue of regency up in the privy council. Elsa had shut down the conversation again but had promised to discuss the matter with her family. Now Elsa found herself lounged on the chaise, after another vomiting episode with her family around her. "It'll clear up soon, I promise." Pieter was telling her. While in some ways it was nice to have a husband who knew, at least academically, what her body was going through, it was aggravating at times to have a doctor as a husband. Sometimes she just wanted him to hold her hair back while she emptied her stomach without going into a long-winded explanation for why it was happening and how some women never experienced morning sickness (Anna with Renee), some women had mild or moderate morning sickness for the first few months (Anna with Christopher), and a small percentage of women and intense episodes for the first few months, and finally a tiny minuscule amount of woman had morning sickness throughout their pregnancy. Elsa was beginning to believe she would fall into the last category as her fourth month was coming to a close.

"You keep saying that but I keep getting sick." Elsa snapped back, yes her patience was waning and she had an important topic to discuss. Pieter looked surprised by her tone but neither Anna nor Kristoff flinched. Anna had mood swings with Christopher so Elsa's sudden shift in demeanor was nothing of concern to them. Elsa sighed and reached out to take Pieter's hand, he was sat on the floor by her chaise. "I'm sorry, I just have a lot on my mind."

Pieter shrugged, "It's alright, I know I can get going when I'm talking about medicine." Elsa reached up and rubbed his earlobe between her fingers. It was odd but she found the action calming and Pieter admitted he liked the feeling as well. "What is on your mind, darling, can you share?'

"Actually yes," Elsa said sitting up straighter. "I have been meaning to discuss this meaning with you all for a few weeks now but I didn't know how to broach the topic."

Anna brought her book down upon her lap like Pieter Kristoff was on the floor by her chair. Olaf was off in the library, he'd been reading up everything he could on being a sibling when he found out he was going to essentially be a big brother. Elsa had conceded that was probably the best explanation for what her creations would be to any of her children. It was odd to think of Olaf as her child, but in many ways he was. "What is it, Els?" Anna asked using her nickname for Elsa.

"Regency, the council wants me to write up a proclamation for what will happen should a regency be required." Elsa watched as her sister's face paled and she grew stiff. Kristoff had blinked her words and began glancing between Elsa and his wife, after a moment he moved onto the chair, lifted Anna, sat, and placed her in his lap, his arms encircling her protectively. Elsa looked down at Pieter who had gone so still she couldn't tell if he was still breathing. Elsa placed a gentle hand on his far cheek and guided his head so that he was looking at her. Fear and pain fought for domination in his normally calming eyes. His breath shallow. This was why she hadn't wanted to talk about this issue with either Anna or Pieter. They were the two people in the world who feared losing her the most, who agonized over the possibility of a world without her. They'd both experienced loss in their lives, loss of a sibling, loss of a parent, loss of a wife and child. No, she hadn't wanted to bring them pain, but she was Queen and it was her duty to ensure that Arendelle would not only survive but thrive after her passing, and making a clear plan for regency should she die in childbirth was necessary.

"Pieter, I know this conversation will bring up some strong feelings and memories for you but we need to discuss this. There needs to be a plan in place, God forbid, something happens to me." It took him a moment but he finally responded by getting up, lifting her legs up, sliding onto the chaise, and then placing her legs over his. He then began to rub them gently, "I'm listening."

Elsa explained to them what Karoline had told her, that there was no law in place for regency, that the only concrete law was that the child could not be crowned king or queen until their twenty-first birthday. That meant a regent would be required and it would have to be someone who could rule wisely in her stead while the child grew and who would then quietly step down when the heir was of age. Elsa knew both Pieter and Anna would be such a person, it was just a matter of who would be better.

It was quiet for several minutes after Elsa finished explaining, she let her family digest the information, let them come to terms with the idea of having to plan for the worst-case scenario. It was Anna who spoke first.

"I don't like this conversation, I don't like thinking about it." She sounded so small, like a young child again admitting to her parents that she was afraid of the dark. "I understand though, I know why we need to agree on what should happen should we lose you in childbirth. I don't know the best answer; however, to me it should be Pieter, he is the child's father it just makes sense to me that he would be the best candidate for Regent, the natural person. Besides, he's more qualified for the position than me, more experienced."

"Anna don't. Don't do that, you are more than qualified enough." Elsa reprimanded, she hated that even after all this time, after all Anna had been through, she still didn't have confidence in herself as a leader. The people loved Anna, more than then loved Elsa, they respected her hands-on approach with them, her gentle and approachable manner.

Anna just shrugged as if to say 'I call it as I see it'. "Elsa's right, Anna, you would make a wonderful Regent, you are a strong and intelligent woman, and as for me being more qualified, you couldn't be further from the truth. All this diplomacy I've been doing as of late is new to me, remember I am the youngest son of the extended family of two royal families. I was not educated from a young age to lead a country. I then spent my adult life learning a completely different profession, while I've learned much during my years in medicine it certainly didn't teach me anything useful for being a Regent. You on the other hand have been raised to lead, your parents gave you the same education they gave Elsa, and you've spent the past five years at her side learning the trade of politics and leadership. No, I believe you would make a much better regent than I. I actually prefer it," Pieter looked up at Elsa, she could see the soul-crushing despair in them. "Should I lose Elsa, I would desire to dedicate my life to being the best father I could to our child, I would not want to split my time between my child and this country. They both would deserve 100% of my attention and I would not have to give either what they deserved if I had two duties."

Elsa was touched by his words; that should she pass, his sole focus would be their child rather than his career as it had been in the past. It made her feel more confident that no matter what happened her child would be taken care of by one of his or her parents; that the child would no parental love.

"Well when you put it that way, of course, yes I would be honored to act as Regent." Anna looked at Elsa intently, "Though it won't come to that and this is all a hypothetical for a worst case scenario situation."

Elsa stood and walked over to her sister, pulling her up into her arms and hugging her tightly, "Of course, you're stuck with me forever." She peeked over at Kristoff and then Pieter, "all of you."

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