It had been a very busy today. Anna and I had a lot of meetings at Arendelle Castle and, though we were both very tired, they all went well and we all felt great about what we achieved today. Then it was time for Anna to go back home to her family.
As I walked her out of the gates, we saw Kristoff, Kasper and Rika in Kristoff's sleigh with Sven in front of it. Though I never asked or worked out the answer, my guess was that Kristoff and Sven must have finished their ice harvesting job early today and managed to pick up Kasper and Rika from school and now came to pick up Anna. This never happened before. Anna and I hugged before she got into the sleigh and then the whole family waved to me as Sven dragged them back home. I smiled as I waved to them and then when they were out of sight my face fell.
Don't get me wrong; I couldn't have been any happier for Anna that she was happy with her husband and kids, but it made me jealous that I didn't have a family of my own. I was used to being alone, thanks to my childhood, but ever since my sister moved out to start her own family, I started to feel a bit lonely. And although Olaf still lived with me in the castle, I viewed him as a friend. But at least I wasn't forced into marrying someone and having children for the sake of the future of Arendelle, like I was about six years ago. But on the other hand I thought it was unfair on Kasper and Rika that their futures were decided because I haven't found the right man to marry for love and have children with.
"Hi, Elsa."
I turned to my left and saw Miguel was standing next to me.
"Hi, Miguel," I said. "Had a good day today?"
"Yeah," he replied. "A challenging but productive and happy day today, I would call it." He yawned. "You have a busy day yourself?"
"Oh, definitely. A day of royal duties is always a very busy one." Then I yawned. "But I have the best advisors in the world and they help me and the kingdom get through them as smoothly as they can."
"Well, well done," Miguel said, before yawning again. "See you later."
"See you later, Miguel." Then as I watched him start to walk away, I had an idea. "Say, Miguel?"
Miguel stopped and turned back to face me. "Yes, Elsa?"
"I'm, uh – I'm going to relax now with hot chocolate and biscuits. Would you care to join me?"
"Okay," he said. "Thank you very much."
"You're very welcome."
Miguel walked beside me as we headed towards the castle. We realised later that we were holding hands and we decided to keep on holding them as we both liked the feeling of it.
Soon Miguel and I were in the royal kitchen. I taught him how to make hot chocolate.
"Hmm, these smells really good," he said, after he collected the mugs of hot chocolate.
I smiled as I gathered the biscuits. I was glad he was the same Miguel I met six years ago when he and his friends helped me rescue Anna from the goblins and the two evil sorcerers. "Wait to dunk these delicious shortbread biscuits in the hot chocolate," I told him.
After serving up the hot chocolate in the cups and plating up the biscuits, I led out of the kitchen.
"Where are we going, Elsa?" I asked.
"It's a surprise," I told him.
And the surprise was that I took Miguel and our hot chocolate and biscuits to the roof of the castle.
"This is lovely, Elsa," Miguel said as we sat down on the roof tiles.
"It is, Miguel," I told him. "Whenever I have a stressful day, I just come here at the night and relax. I enjoy seeing the beautiful night sky, the stars and how peaceful the kingdom is."
"Thanks to your excellent ruling," Miguel said.
I chuckled bashfully. "Thanks, Miguel." I even kissed him on the cheek. "Now, don't let your hot chocolate go cold."
"Hmm," Miguel moaned as he ate the chocolate dunked biscuits. "These are very delicious. Thank you, Elsa."
"Well, you've earned them today," I said. "So please tell me about your day."
Then he told me about his day as we ate our lovely chocolate-covered biscuits. He told me that today he and his team of coastguards – that he and Olaf had trained themselves since they made enough money to expand their business – had rescued a lot of ships, including a duke and duchess from England.
"Wow, that sounds like a very tough day," I said.
"You can say that again," Miguel said. "But more importantly I'm glad I did it because it makes me very useful."
"You are very useful," I told him. "What have you been up to since the battle with Cortez?"
It had been three months since we discovered Cortez and his army and stopped them from taking over Arendelle. Apart from working to collect money to buy a house and pay tax, nothing a lot had been happening. He had been busy staying in Anna's barn which was still comfortable since the day he moved in and helped them whenever he could, like when he looked after Kasper when he got sick a few weeks ago. Then he remembered that he had been seeing our Northuldra friends a few times and he attended the wedding of Honeymaren and Acdud, where he had the honour of being Honeymaren's man of honour.
"What about you, Elsa?" he asked me.
I just told him the truth that I had been busy with meetings and feeling lonely in the castle.
"I'm sorry," he said. "To tell the truth, I've been feeling like I need a girlfriend myself."
Then he screamed as he started to slide down on the roof, but I grabbed him and helped him back up.
"Sorry about, Elsa," he said.
"That's okay," I said. "You must be as tired as I am." Then I looked at the clock tower and saw it was half eleven. "Miguel, as it's very late, how about you sleep in the castle here tonight?"
"Well, if you insist, Elsa," he said.
"I do," I said happily. I was so glad that my night with him wasn't over.
I helped him down from the roof safely and back into the castle.
"Which room do you want me to sleep in, Elsa?" Miguel asked.
"This one right here." I opened the door.
Miguel went into the room and he was amazed. "Is this your bedroom?" he asked.
"Yes," I replied. I let him into my bedroom.
"Where am I going to sleep?" Miguel asked.
"In this bed, of course," I replied.
"What about you? Where will you sleep?"
"In this bed, of course," I repeated.
"You mean –"
"That's right," I said. "Now, come on in and join me. Your queen commands you."
"Certainly, Your Majesty," Miguel replied, as he started to strip down. Leaving only his underwear on, he got into bed.
I used my ice powers to turn my dress into a black nightie and then I got into bed with Miguel. "Goodnight, Miguel."
"Goodnight, Elsa."
When I woke up the next morning, I felt better. I felt I had the best sleep ever in my life. Then I saw Miguel was still in bed with me.
"Good morning, Miguel," I greeted him.
Miguel yawned and stretched. "Good morning, Elsa," he greeted me back.
"Did you have a good night's sleep?" I asked.
"I sure did. In fact, I think it was the best night's sleep I've ever had in my whole life. You?"
"That was one of the best night sleeps I've ever had in my life too."
Miguel sighed. "I'm just sorry it'll have to end."
"Maybe it won't," I said.
"How do you mean?" he asked.
"Let's both take the day off and spend it together," I said. "Maybe we can even stay in bed all day."
"What about the Arendelle Coast Guard Service?" Miguel asked.
"Olaf's there and so are the other coast guards," I said, as I wrapped my arms around him.
"Well, whatever my queen says," Miguel said.
"No," I said. "Whatever your girlfriend says."
"What?"
The only reply I gave Miguel was a kiss on his lips. He returned the kiss and the hug. And we kept on hugging and kissing each other.
