Late August, 1848

Linnea Castle,

Arendelle

The midwife had been right; it would not be long.

A couple hours after the midwife and her apprentice had left, Elsa had requested to be left alone, for she was unable to sleep, and wished to get some work done; Anna had asked her if she would be okay by herself- and if it was all right if she went into the city later in the day? Her sister had agreed, as long as one of the guards went with her. The children had awoken and came to see her at one point before returning to the nursery, and Elsa spent the early morning hours attending to paperwork as well as working on letters to her husband.

... I have been informed by the midwife that our babe could come anytime today, for my waters have bulged greatly and I am more than halfway dilated and more than half opened. I have been having pains that have been regular, but not painful enough to worry. At this point, I simply wish for our babe to be

She stopped, a sharp pain grabbing her around the waist. Setting pen and letter aside, she pushed herself up, pulling the blankets back and moving towards the edge of the bed. Releasing a slow breath, she carefully pushed herself up, taking a couple shaky steps forward. However, the contractions that had been getting stronger in the last few hours grabbed her around the waist, and she stumbled, managing to catch herself before she stumbled into the window seat. The sun had slowly broken over the horizon, amid the light snowfall. The crackle of ice reached her ears, and she looked up to see the windows become decorated in her ice. A groan escaped her, as she felt her knees give out at the exact moment the sac burst, painting the floor with fluid.

Crouched upon the cold hardwood floor, hands between her thighs, she released a soft moan, before following her body's cues, and pushed. This little one is as impatient as their brother was... she groaned, snapping her eyes shut and bearing down as hard as she could. It was just past dawn; the household would slowly be awakening-

Another strong push brought the babe's head out between her legs, and she rose upon her knees, letting out a squeal as another push brought forth one shoulder and then the next. She had no time to scream, nor to alert any in the household, for the babe was arriving fast. With another push, an arm appeared, and then the second; she rose higher, until she was up upon her knees, leg spread wide to allow the child more room to enter the world. Fluid dripped upon the floor, mixing with blood, coating her hands and filling the air with the scent of metal.

To bring forth a child into the world is to listen to your body, Majesty, for it knows what to do. Men claim women are the weaker sex, but there is nothing weak about childbirth; there is nothing weak about pushing another living, breathing human being from your body. They claim we are weak because they know that were they in our position, they would never be able to endure what we do. To give birth is to possess a power men wish they held.

Still, she continued to birth, straining and pushing and bringing her child more and more into the world with each push. A firm knock sounded, and Elsa shut her eyes tight, bearing down again, for she had only the energy to focus on the task at hand. Another knock sounded, followed by young Marta's soft voice, "Your Majesty?"

The queen released a groan, not noticing as the door opened and the young girl entered; she gave one last, strong, hard push, and the baby slid out of her, bursting forth in a release of blood and birth fluid. "Your Majesty?" As she lifted her newlyborn son from between her legs, the girl stopped as she made her way around the bed. "Majesty!" The cries of a babe, just expelled from his mother's womb reached the girl's ears, and after a moment, the young maid rushed to get help. "Mrs. Gerda! Mrs. Gerda! Her Majesty has just-"

Elsa didn't notice the girl leave, nor did she notice the barrage of footsteps and voices that came hurrying down the halls towards her chambers as she sat back against the window and cradled her newborn son against her chest. His cries were strong, indicating that his lungs were healthy, and he was good-sized, like his siblings had been. She watched him, looking for the subtle indications of his father within him, and after a moment, she shrugged out of the shoulder of her nightdress, watching in absolute love as the baby turned towards the bud of her breast and instinctively took it within his mouth, beginning to suckle.

She tipped her head back, closing her eyes briefly; when she opened them, she found herself surrounded by the most loyal of her household.


Nine and a half pounds, six ounces.

She was barely listening to the dead argument taking place within her chambers, for the council had been summoned upon discovery of the queen's second unexpected birth, and upon entering her chambers, they found her settled within her bed, in fresh, clean nightclothes, and cradling her newborn son. It had caused immediate questions- why had she informed no one that she had gone into labor? Why was the midwife not called? How could she possibly be so calm about having just given birth and why had she not alerted anyone?

"Your Majesty, are you listening?"

Slowly, she lifted her head, tearing her gaze from her baby boy. Lord Oslo stood by the foot of the bed, red-faced, eyes glimmering with annoyance. A moment passed, before she finally spoke. "Of course I'm listening, Lord Oslo. But you do understand that I have just given birth to my third child?"

"A child who's father we know nothing about- other than he is of 'high' blood-"

The soft sound of crackling could be heard, and the temperature dropped slightly. "He is of high blood, higher blood than any of you. He is a good man; better than any of you could ever hope to be-"

"And yet, you will not reveal him." Oslo cut her off. You speak of high blood and good character, yet you refuse to tell us who he is! For all we know, Your Majesty, this 'high-born' man could be no better than a stable boy! That you would pollute your blood-"

"How dare you! The man who has fathered my children is of none of your concern! He owns my heart and I own his! He is no stable boy! The man who has fathered my children is of royal blood, Lord Oslo! Strong, deep royal blood and sound conscious! He bears a weight upon his shoulders that you will never bear! None of you! His care for the people of Arendelle is only matched by my own!"

Silence fell; the ice that had slowly begun to coat the room grew, working its way towards the councilmembers, slowly taking over their shoes and crawling up their legs. They struggled; all but Lord Bismarck, who, by his loyalty to Elsa and Hans, remained untouched. "You will not tell me whom I can love! Because you are men, you believe you have the right to tell me- the ruling monarch- who I can and cannot love, dictate the children I carry and bear, and insert yourselves into my life! You are my council, not my father! I am the piper, it is the tune I play which you dance too! And the secrets which I keep are mine and mine alone to keep or share! Those I love are mine! Not yours! You will not tell me who to love! As queen, I know what is best- for my people and myself! And if you refuse to see that, then I suggest you get out."


"I cannot help who I love, Lord Bismarck. Telling me that I cannot love Hans is like telling a fish it cannot swim in the sea and must fly on the air. No matter how much you tell the fish, it will not listen. It will keep swimming anyway." The young councilman waited for the queen to continue, his mind working slowly through her analogy. "I will keep loving my husband, as long as I am allowed, as long as he is allowed, and as long as we have the strength to keep returning to each other, we will. He may be the King of the Southern Isles and I may be the Queen of Arendelle, but that does not mean we do not deserve to love each other, or create children and raise those children as our heirs, together, the best way we can."

She and the princess had asked him to stay back after the disastrous meeting with the council, and he did, silently watching the queen as she cradled the young prince in her arms as she nursed him- it still amazed the young councilman that the queen, unlike many highborn or royal women of the day, still did not see the need for wet nurses. Still, she insisted that because it as she who bore her children, it would be she who would nourish them, as the Gods above had intended. He watched silently as the nearly-four-year-old Crown Princess crawled towards her mother and curled into her side, sucking quietly on her thumb. The two-year-old prince stayed curled in his aunt's arms; his auburn curls slowly changing to snow white, while his sister's were turning a soft auburn, similar to the king's.

He watched as, with her youngest son nursing contentedly at her breast, the queen turned to the little girl, and with a look of exasperation, gently tugged the girl's thumb from her mouth. "That's quite enough, Camilla." She then leaned down to press a kiss to the child's lips. Bismarck noted that while the princess looked very much like the queen, there were hints of the King within her as well- and not just her changing auburn hair, but in her cheekbones, her jawline, the dip of her nose. Yes, the King of the Isles and the Queen certainly make gorgeous children.

She sighed, returning her attention to the matter at hand. "We understand the consequences my country would pay were our marriage to go public, which is why we've kept it secret- from the people as well as the council." She didn't look up as a soft knock sounded and her sister got up to allow the housekeeper entrance. She carried a tray with three cups and a kettle. "Thank you, Gerda, just on the table there." The older woman did as told, before turning to the young royal, reaching for the nursing infant to return him to the bassinet which had been placed beside his mother's bed. Elsa looked up, and Bismarck saw an entire conversation pass between the two women in the span of seconds. "I'm perfectly capable of putting my own son down after he's nursed Gerda," The queen's tone was clipped, a little girl trying to prove that she was able to do her own hair or tie her own shoes.

"Very well, Majesty. I just figured you would want to put more attention to the matter with Lord Bismarck once the young prince had finished nursing."

Anna snorted as her sister narrowed her eyes. "I am a mother first and a queen second, Gerda. You forget that." She nodded towards the princess curled into her side. "But of my children, you may put Milla down for her nap. Annes as well." The child's soft whimpers did not last long, as one sharp look from her mother silenced any that worked their way up her throat. Bismarck chuckled as the housekeeper reached for the child, who, all skirts and toddler limbs, clambered over her mother's still rounded belly towards the older woman as opposed to scooting down and climbing over her legs. The queen jerked, letting out a grunt of pain.

"Milla!"

"You must be careful, little princess!" Gerda scolded softly as the child climbed into her arms. "Your mama went through a lot of pain to bring your youngest brother into the world mere hours ago, and she is still very, very sore." The little girl turned back to her mother, who affixed her toddler with a stern gaze. "It's why her belly is still quite round; it takes time for her to heal." The child whispered an apology, as Gerda brought her closer to her mother.

"That's okay, my Milli-met." The queen whispered, accepting the kiss her daughter gave her before pulling away and letting the older woman take the prince from his aunt's arms. Once the trio were gone, Elsa turned back to their conversation as Anna moved to pour tea, only to have Lord Bismarck step in, pouring three cups and handing two to Anna, one of which the princess placed on the nightstand table for her sister. "Thank you. Now, that my wayward little prince and princess have been taken back to their nursery, where were we?"

"How you and the King of the Isles met, I believe, Your Majesty."

Elsa nodded. "Ah, yes. We met at the Tercentenary celebrations back in thirty-eight, when I was still Crown Princess and he the lowly thirteenth son of the royal family of the Southern Isles. Back when my parents, rest their souls, still ruled. 6Over the years, we corresponded, and we hoped, that a betrothal would be put in place but it never happened. When I next saw him, he'd already been crowned King of the Isles, and I had just been crowned Queen of Arendelle. Our romance... continued, and developed, and we fell even more in love, until we married in secret, on the deck of one of my ships, on the sea that separates us. We know we can never rule within the same land, that I can never sit upon the throne of the Southern Isles, just as he can never sit upon the throne of Arendelle, but we make do with what time we are given together."

"Your 'official' visits to the Isles-"

"Time spent together under the guise of only focusing on trade agreements or treaties. The same with his visits here. I will not deny that on both occasions, those visits did not turn into more, and that they did not result in Crown Princess Camilla, Prince Christian, and this little one on at least three separate occasions, and I will not deny that my family's trips to our lodge out in the country is not a guise to be with my husband when he comes here on official visits; wiser rulers than we have done less work to keep their families together."

"Wiser rulers than you have sat upon only one throne, Your Majesty." He replied, and she blushed, as the baby finished nursing and she gently shifted to rub his back, before sitting up and scooting to the edge of the bed. Bismarck quickly moved the bassinet closer so the queen would not have to move more, given the circumstances she'd endured hours earlier, and she smiled softly at him, before laying the baby into his bassinet, gently pushing it so it would sway. Anna helped her settle back among the pillows, tucking the blankets back around her, and she smiled at her sister.

"If only that stupid law did not exist." She turned her gaze to the window, watching the birds fly overhead. The storm that had taken place during her labor had vanished as quickly as it had come, and blue skies now shone overhead. "I do not understand why it was put into place at all-"

"To keep the monarchy from crumbling, especially if there was only one heir to take the throne. If the next in line was a princess, she would marry and leave her homeland, going to her husband's to be with him; if more than one child, that was fine, but if only one child came from a union, and she left to marry in a distant land-" Bismarck replied, and she turned to him; he blushed, realizing that her question was rhetorical and did not necessarily require an answer. She smiled softly.

"There would be no one to succeed, and the monarchy would crumble, sending the country into chaos." He nodded and she turned her attention back to the letter she had been writing, before crumpling it in her hands. "But... but the Isles- they are our neighbors!"

"At one time, they were our enemies, Your Majesty." He reminded her. "At one time, they fought against us, not with us. This law was put in place specifically to prevent a daughter of the ruling house of Arendelle from marrying into the Isles, especially if she was the sole heir with no siblings behind her. By this law, no daughter of Arendelle- specifically no ruling daughter of Arendelle- can marry into the Isles and take her place as queen, for it would be considered-"

"Treason. And Arendelle does not take treason lightly." He nodded, seeing the conflict in her blue gaze. "My children are the rightful heirs to my throne and the throne their father sits upon, Lord Bismarck." She turned back to the window. "Would you truly ask me to choose my kingdom or my husband?"

"I would not, Your Majesty, but it is not solely up to me."*

"Can we not change the law?"

"Not without full consent from the council, and you heard them today- they will consent to the abolishment of the marriage law when the world freezes."

"Which, with Lise having powers over ice and snow, it just might." Anna joked lightly.

The queen laughed humorlessly, returning her hands to her belly out of habit, her thoughts a thousand miles away, in the Isles with Hans. "I might as well be the Queen of Isolation, for all the good that stupid law does me."