1908

The Garden of Linnea Castle

Arendelle

"They became friends."

"They did. The king and queen sent many a letter to the queen and her consort, exchanging tid-bits about their days and how their children were doing; what new laws had been passed and how the changes made to their countries were doing; sharing in the setbacks and advancements. On each of the children's birthdays, small gifts were sent with personal letters filled with well-wishes and love; many diplomatic visits were shared between the two countries, and England fell in love with the Scandinavian royals as much as their monarch and her consort had. Rumors swirled among the British cabinet members that an affair of sorts had been started during that first visit by the Scandinavian royals, rumors that were widely dismissed upon the discovery that the King of the Isles was deeply in love with the Queen of Arendelle."

"Wait, the British people knew about their marriage?" Alexander asked, and he nodded.

"Purely by accident, of course. The king and queen and their family spent Christmas at Buckingham palace in eighteen-fifty-seven, at Victoria and Albert's request, while stepping out with the British Royals on the balcony to greet the people, the king had whispered something in the queen's ear. She had turned to him, and he had knelt down and kissed her; it was only revealed later that the king had gotten hold of a sprig of mistletoe in attempts to trick his wife into kissing him- he had been trying all night on Albert's joking insistence- and managed to catch her off-guard on the balcony. The people had adored it, and soon it was the kiss seen 'round the world. Of course when both were confronted with it by their respective councils, it was denied that there was anything going on between the couple. The king informed his council that it was a mere stunt to turn the views of the British in their favor, thereby making it easier for Queen Victoria to justify keeping the trade agreements and alliance with the Isles and Arendelle- and the queen agreed."

"But that was a lie; they lied about it."

"Sometimes a little lie is good for the soul, Amalie." He looked at each of them in turn. "When Victoria, the Princess Royal married Prince Frederick of Prussia in January of eighteen-fifty-eight, the royal family attended the wedding, and Victoria and Albert were made the godparents of one of the king and queen's younger daughters."

"Which one?"

"Wait, they had more children? How many did they have?"

He chuckled softly. "We will get to the rest of their children all in good time, Duna, my love. Now... where were we? Ah, yes, I remember now. Just after the visit to England. Things had settled down in the intervening weeks since they had met with Victoria. The king and queen returned to their correspondence; both needed to stay in their respective countries for a bit, for they had laws to craft and meetings with their respective councils to attend. And while her sister was busy with ruling the country, the princess made it her mission to get to know young Lord Bismarck better. Upon returning from England, she found it difficult. They spent many walks about the gardens in silence unsure of what to say to one another. Neither realized that they had been building a friendship for years, and that that friendship had slowly turned to love."

"They didn't acknowledge it?"

"They didn't know how to, Magda. The princess had watched her parents, watched her sister and brother-in-law; she knew what strong marriages and real love looked like in others, but could not recognize it for herself. It was only when her brother-in-law came to spend time with his family and to celebrate Prince Vanja's birthday in late August that the pair realized they had been falling in love."

"Was their love like the king and queen's, Grandpapa?" Lisi asked, biting into a biscuit, and he considered her question before answering.

"Not exactly. The king and queen were much more realistic in their love, whereas the princess was much more of a romantic. She had dreamed of handsome princes and grand parties and true love from the time she was a child, even though she knew such a thing as finding true love was unlikely, due to her station. A royal did not marry for love, they married for politics, to create alliances and build empires. In a way, her sister had done just that when she married the king that night on the Southern Sea, however private and secret the wedding had been. But in a way, her sister had also found her true love, for she and the king had loved each other for years; they were a love match, wrapped in the secrets of a political marriage under the guise of a political alliance. The princess wished to have a love like her sister had."

"Did they tell the king and queen?"

"They did not know how to acknowledge such feelings themselves, Pia, let alone explain it to the king and queen. Though the children noticed, as children do, for children are much more perceptive than adults. They had noticed that Lord Bismarck was spending not just more time with the princess, but that he had seemed to gain personal favor with both the king and queen, and, as of late, had been spending more and more time with the princess and, her sister and her family. The tongues of the Arendellian court began to wag, so to speak, and the princess soon found herself confronted by the queen's council in regards to her dalliance with Lord Bismarck. It was in those moments when she was forced to acknowledge her growing friendship to the council that she realized she was in love. Though she admitted nothing more to the council other than friendship with Lord Bismarck, insisting that she wished to learn more of what her sister dealt with every day, which seemed to satisfy the council for the time being. As usual, though, the duty of watching out for the princess and making sure she remembered her place fell onto the queen's shoulders- and it was one conversation the young queen dreaded having with her sister, for who was she, to forbid a building love when she herself had gone behind her council's backs and married the king?"

"It was a difficult position for both of them, wasn't it?"

"It was. And the king... he did not help, by adding his opinion to the matter."

"He only made it worse."

"He did, though he merely wished to help, for he loved the princess as much as he loved his own wife. The queen however did not see it as helpful, she saw it merely as interference, and it brought about a argument the likes had never been heard between the couple."