Chapter 4

"I've stationed a dozen guards by the gate and sent a contingent out to the harbor to greet our guests."

The halls of the castle were bustling with activity. Attendees, guards, maids, everyone was scrambling to complete last minute tasks in an effort to finish before guests started to arrive. Through the center of the chaos Aaron marched down the hall with his deputy by his side.

"Good," he replied with a nod. "Have me notified once all ships have landed. And what of the throne room?"

"Everyone knows their place, sir. The queen's greetings will go off without a hitch, I swear by it."

When Elsa had tapped Aaron for Lord Protector it had come as quite a shock to everyone, himself included. He'd never held such a position before and didn't really know what he was doing. As a result, having Captain Reynard there to help him was a godsend.

Most seemed to disapprove of his appointment but if Reynard agreed he'd never even so much as hinted at it, in spite of the fact that he was considerably older than Aaron. Instead he seemed perfectly content to guide Aaron where he could and lend advice where he couldn't. And when Aaron had confronted him about this lack of jealousy all he'd said was that he was there to serve the queen and the betterment of the realm.

Aaron had found this unambitious mentality to be infectious and as such made sure the man was by his side most days. After all, they were there for the betterment and protection of the people first and foremost.

"Excellent work, Captain Reynard," Aaron said. "And if anything should arise I want to be notified at once."

Ever the professional, all Reynard offered in return was a nod. "Of course, sir."

As they walked, though, Aaron spotted a figure standing alone in the swirling vortex of commotion around them. Whilst he'd thus far proven himself capable of handling the attention that came with marrying a princess, Kristoff still had a nervous look about him as he surveyed those around him. Of all things he could probably use a friend.

Coming to a halt, Aaron gave Reynard a satisfied nod. "Well, if everything is ready then I'll see you in the throne room. In the meantime I have other matters to attend to."

Clacking his heels together, Reynard bowed his head and replied, "Very good, sir," before continuing down the hall, calling for some nearby guards to fall in step behind him.

Aaron watched them go for a moment before returning his attention to his friend. Sidling up alongside him, he quietly cleared his throat. "Your highness."

Kristoff glanced over to reply but the moment he saw who it was his brows fell in a disgruntled look. "I told you not to call me that."

"Just doing my job, sir," Aaron replied, resisting the urge to smirk.

"Keep it up and when I actually am a prince you'll be out of a job." With that he blew out a slow breath, looking at the crowd around them. "This place is really bustling."

Nodding in agreement, Aaron also looked out at the mass of people. Considering that neither of them were particularly comfortable being around so many all at once it was a blessing that they each had the other to rely on. "Just wait until everyone's here. We haven't even started and already I can't wait until things return to normal."

"Agreed. I can't believe Anna actually talked me into all of this. How did a simple country boy like me get caught up in all of this?"

"Honestly, I've been asking myself the same thing since I got here. Guess this is the price we pay to be with the ones we love."

That got a smirk out of Kristoff as he replied, "Well then at least it's worth it."

As he spoke, though, his smirk faded and that same nervous look crept into his eye so Aaron placed a hand on his shoulder and quietly asked, "How are you holding up?"

"Me? Fine, why?" Kristoff replied with a confused look.

However, even though he was clearly pretending to be fine Aaron knew the man all too well to fall for it. "I mean, you are getting married tomorrow so it's understandable if you have some jitters."

Once again Kristoff tried to bluster his way through Aaron's comment, replying, "Of course not. This is Anna we're talking about. How could I be anything but…" But eventually he just gave up and heaved a sigh. "Okay, honestly I am a little nervous."

"I noticed," Aaron said with a comforting smile, allowing his arm to fall back to his side.

Now that they were openly talking about it Kristoff's nerves really began to show as he quickly said, "But that's fair, right? It's not like I'm unexcited, I'm thrilled. I get to marry the woman of my dreams. And then I think about all the people and crowds…"

"Hey. Everyone feels like this right before they get married. Or so I'm told, anyway. And we both knew you were going to feel like this. Why, right before you were going to propose I thought you were going to pass out."

"I nearly did. Good thing I didn't have anything substantial for breakfast that day."

"And then she said yes and you became the happiest man in the world. All we have to do is get you to that altar and you'll feel that way again."

"Yeah." The memory of Anna screaming yes and nearly tackling him seemed to break through his funk as Kristoff gave a small smile. At the time Aaron hadn't been sure if she was going to hurt either herself or him but after a brief explosion of adulation he'd never seen two people so happy. Which was exactly the sort of memory he clearly needed right now. "Just get through tomorrow morning."

"Exactly."

After a quiet pause for thought, Kristoff gave him a smile. "Thanks. Who knew you'd be an okay best man."

Returning the grin, Aaron turned his attention back to the masses surging by. "That's what I'm here for."

There was no denying that the last few months had been difficult for Kristoff. The idea of becoming a prince and being placed for all to see absolutely terrified him to the point that he'd nearly contemplated running back into the mountains with Sven. Fortunately Anna's calming influence always set him straight again and if that didn't work Aaron was always prepared to tackle Kristoff to prevent an escape. But he'd only had to do that once or twice so no harm done.

"How about you?"

Realizing that he'd allowed himself to get lost in thought, Aaron looked back to see Kristoff giving him a concerned look. "How about me what?"

"How are you holding up? These next few days aren't going to be easy for you either."

"Oh." There was no question what Kristoff was referring to but he forced himself to hold a confident expression. "I'm sure I'll be fine. It's not like this is the first time that suitors have come to call."

Of course, they both knew that first comment was a lie. As far as the world was concerned Elsa was a single queen so she was bound to attract all manner of men eager to try their shot but that didn't mean he didn't find the whole thing infuriating. In fact whenever one arrived he wasn't quite sure how he didn't set half the castle ablaze.

Fortunately by this point Kristoff knew not to push the subject too hard, although he wasn't quite willing to just let it drop today. "Yes, but those weren't royalty. These ones will be, so Elsa can't just blow them off. Not unless she wants to start a war or something."

"I know. But it's only temporary. We just need to last the week and things will return to the way they should be."

With that Aaron fell silent again. Just thinking about what was coming was enough to aggravate him, especially since he knew that this was going to be worse than before. The worst part of these encounters was the fact that the only thing he could do was absolutely nothing. All he could do was stand there impotently whilst men harassed the woman he loved as his blood boiled.

Luckily Elsa was able to turn away each and every one of them quickly and effortlessly. But as Kristoff had said, those men weren't royalty. So now he was going to have to watch her fend off a prince or two and who knew how irritating that would be.

They'd known each other long enough for Kristoff to know when to let a subject drop so he also stood there quietly, letting Aaron stew for a moment before something caught his eye and he gave a grin. "Uh oh."

"What?"

"Trouble headed our way."

Part of him wanted to continue stewing a while longer but he knew it wouldn't help anything so he gave a small sigh before following Kristoff's gaze. What he saw caused his frustration to vanish like a morning frost fleeing before the dawning sun.

Striding towards them with the crowds quickly parting to make way were the two sisters. They were a contrasting pair, with Anna her typical cheery demeanor and flaming red hair next to Elsa holding herself poised as ever along with her pale platinum braid, but no one could imagine where Arendelle would be without the guidance of their queen and princess.

Not that Aaron noticed Anna all that much. He only had eyes for Elsa.

She'd chosen a simple sapphire gown for the day and hadn't done anything particularly special with her looks and yet she was still just as gorgeous as she'd been the day that he'd first laid eyes on her. And in those moments of clarity, when she brushed aside the swirling storm that was the world around them, he knew beyond any benefit of a doubt that he would do anything to just spend another day with her. Anything to make her smile until the end of their days.

Even his euphoria was somewhat dampened, though, when he saw the crown nestled into her hair. She only wore it on official occasions when she needed to look every inch the queen that she was, although on most days she instead opted to leave it in her quarters where it belonged. However, even though he couldn't deny that the crown absolutely suited her, Aaron still found himself wishing that she didn't have to wear it. Things would have been so much simpler if she'd just been any other girl rather than the sovereign of an entire nation.

But there was no use in daydreaming about another reality so he did what he always did, shoving his concerns away for another day, whilst comporting himself as he and Kristoff patiently waited for them to arrive.

Only whereas Anna was normally as merry as can be right now she looked somewhat annoyed. "What are you two doing out here? They'll be coming any minute now," she scolded, letting her irritation fade long enough to give Kristoff a peck on the cheek before giving him another cross look.

For his part all of Kristoff's anxieties seemed to have all but vanished at the sight of his impending bride, giving her a warm smile. "I'm pretty sure they're not going to start the greetings without the groom."

"No, but I will," she retorted, even though she clearly couldn't maintain her annoyance against his smile. Even so, that didn't stop her from spinning him around and pushing him down the hall. "So you'd better march your pretty butt in there, mister."

"Yes ma'am."

And just like that they were gone, walking through the castle arm in arm without a care in the world. It was only after he'd watched them go that Aaron realized he was alone with Elsa. Only not really.

They were an island in the middle of a stream, with all the others making sure to give Elsa a wide berth so that it was only him beside her. There were so many things that he wished he could say to her in moments like that but he knew there were also so many that he couldn't. And judging by the way that she wasn't looking at anything in particular it was clear there were things that she also wanted to say but couldn't as they stood there in awkward silence for a moment.

But only for a moment as Aaron cleared his throat and offered one of the few things he could say. "My queen. You look lovely this morning."

"Thank you, Lord Aaron," she replied with a nod, giving him a soft yet meaningful smile. "You don't look so bad yourself."

After another pause where he resisted the urge to compliment her further he gestured the way the other two had gone. "We should probably follow suit before her highness notices we're not behind her." Then a thought occurred to him and he offered his elbow to her. "May I?"

That caused her smile to grow, if only slightly as she nodded again. "Of course."

With that she slipped her arm around his and they also strode in the direction of the throne room. Admittedly it wasn't much, escorting Elsa through the castle. He had to maintain a constant air of professionalism and decorum, his gaze fixed firmly ahead, that was so different from the carefree waltz of the other couple ahead of them. But it was something and that was enough for now.

That is, until they arrived in the throne room and he was forced to halt at the foot of the raised dais. There at its heart stood the throne of Arendelle, the seat of Elsa's authority and a place that he did not belong.

Anna and Kristoff strode onto the dias without hesitation, taking their place alongside the throne but he had to stop there. His place was alongside the other lords and ladies stationed around the periphery of the dais.

For her part Elsa also paused as she looked at the throne before them, her thoughts a mystery behind those azure eyes. After a moment, though, she slowly if somewhat reluctantly removed her arm from his and gave him a nod. "Thank you, Lord Aaron, that will be all."

This time he had to force the smile as he took a step back and gave a solemn bow. "Of course, my queen," he said quietly before taking his place.

Elsa watched him go, still smiling softly as her eyes followed, until he stood ready before turning her gaze back to the throne as her face grew serious. The room behind her was filled with all manner of dignitaries and nobles, anyone from the city important enough to warrant an invitation, who were all watching her as an anticipated buzz of whispers filled the air.

But Elsa didn't seem to notice any of them as she stood there alone, taking a deep breath before stepping onto the dais. Coming to a halt with the throne directly behind her, she turned to look out over the room and lifted a hand for silence. Instantly the whispers faded away as everyone waited eagerly for what she had to say and after surveying them all for a moment she spoke.

"Thank you all for being here today," she said, her voice clear and strong so as to reach the furthest corners of the room. "As you all know my beloved sister is to be married tomorrow and a number of esteemed guests have arrived here today. Which is of course why it's so important that you are all here. The eyes of the world shall be on Arendelle for the next few days so it's vital that we impress, project from a position of strength. Soon those doors will open and…"

Although he could listen to Elsa's voice for forever Aaron found that he was having a difficult time concentrating on her speech. She was of course correct but he couldn't shake this nagging feeling as he looked up at the three of them. Anna and Kristoff listening respectfully whilst the woman of his dreams stood center stage. He would have given anything to stand alongside them. Of course, he knew how he could...

The applause from the crowd shook Aaron from his thoughts as he realized that Elsa had finished speaking. Adding his own applause, he pushed those thoughts aside. There would be time for all of that later. For now he just had to make it through the next few days.

And so it was with a hesitant smile as he watched Elsa turn to Lord Kai who was standing off to her right with a large scroll in his hand. "Is everything ready?" she asked quietly to which he nodded. "Very well. Let us begin."