Little Things

Iduna gulped as she looked at herself in the mirror. Today she just happened to have a date with Agnarr and she just so happened to have a present for him, too. And that's exactly why she was so nervous right now. What if he didn't like her present? He was the king, he literally had everything he could wish for. Maybe even the same item that she wanted to give him.

For a moment she thought about to just keep the damn thing or bring it back, but a second later she chastised herself to not be such a coward. Even of Agnarr didn't like it, he wouldn't tell her anyway. He could throw it away after that.

After taking another deep breath, she grabbed her satchel with the gift inside and left her little home. They both had some work to do before they could meet each other. Agnarr had his usual king stuff to do and she needed to tend to his garden. Well all the herbs she was allowed to grow in his garden. And some flowers.

He was very amazed when she once told him she knew a thing or too about herbs, too. Not just how to make fire and see what berries could be eaten. Then he asked her if she'd like to use his garden for things and who was she to decline? Although, she still refused to take his money for payment. Yeah, she practically worked for him but to her it was more like a hobby. And she did have a real job to earn her money. And so the very next day Agnarr actually let all kinds of seeds ship to Arendelle and just giving them to her saying to 'just do whatever you want with them'.

So yeah, and that's why she was in the castle even more often than she already was. All of this gave her image a big boost where all of Arendelle knew her name. Kind of a bad thing for someone trying to lay low...Not that she minded it, though. The people were really nice. Didn't mean she'd tell anyone here anything about her heritage though.

And as soon as she was officially courting the king, people had an even closer eye on her. That was quite uncomfortable, but she didn't regret courting Agnarr for even a second. They were both extremely happy that the council let them. To be honest they were both ready to fight if they had to.

Iduna greeted all the people on her way to the castle as she always did and the guards let her go though the castle gates with a polite greeting. Then she made her way to the gardens and began her work. She pulled out the weeds, removed leaves and watered them all, all the while trying not to ruin her dress. The brunette was done with her work quite fast that day, maybe because of her nervousness of meeting Agnarr later. After washing her dirty hands, she decided to go to their tree and wait for him. They've spent quite a lot of time under -or on- that tree. They'd read books, play chess, talk about everything or just sit there and enjoy each other's company.

Once there, she sat down on the ground and leaned back against the tree. She should've brought a book to kill the time...But then again, she didn't plan to finish her work that fast. For a few minutes Iduna just looked up at the sky and watched the clouds, seeing all kinds of things in them. One of them looked like their water spirit Nokk and another looked a bit like Bruni, their fire spirit. At some point her eyelids grew heavy until she had no other choice but to close them.

The first thing Iduna noticed was something warm and soft touching her cheek. In her hazy mind she couldn't pinpoint what it was, but it felt good so she leaned into it. And then she felt something soft touch her forehead and a voice calling her name gently. She'd recognize this voice anytime.

So when Iduna opened her eyes, she already expected to see Agnarr's face. "Hey, good morning, sleepyhead." He greeted, smiling at her. Then he removed his hand from her cheek and she almost groaned at the loss of his warm hand.

The young woman stretched her back and yawned. "Sorry. I guess I was more tired than I thought."

"It's okay. You're cute when you're sleeping." At his words, Iduna looked away to hide the blush creeping up on her face. "I should apologize. Things took a bit longer than planned...I didn't mean to keep you waiting for so long." Now that he mentioned it...In just a few hours the sun will set.

"So no date today, huh?" She asked jokingly, trying to lighten the mood, but it didn't work. He only looked more worried and guilty than before.

"I'm really sorry. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"It's okay!" Iduna said quickly, to stop him from apologizing. "It's okay, you're the king after all. You have a lot of work to do and I understand it. Don't worry about it. At least we can spend some time together now."

Agnarr looked definitely less tense now, his smiled widened. "I have no idea what I've done to deserve you." He mumbled, looking intensely into her eyes.

Now she couldn't stop herself from blushing. Iduna tried to hide it again, but Agnarr cupped her face in his hands to hold her in place. Now she had no other chance but to look into his eyes and openly show him her embarrassment. "I love you, Iduna." It was even more embarrassing now when he said this and looked at her with so much love in his eyes. Though, she'd be lying if she said it's a bad thing.

"I love you, too." Agnarr's face came closer and Iduna closed her eyes in anticipation, but his lips pressed against her forehead instead. The brunette opened her eyes and frowned when she saw him giving her a cheeky smile. "You know what? I had something for you but now you won't get it." She said, pouting at him. Then she grabbed her satchel and before Agnarr had the chance to hold her back, she ducked under his arms to get a few steps away from him.

"Wait!" As expected, Agnarr ran after her and grabbed her wrist to stop her from leaving. Iduna tried her best to hide her smile, when she turned to him. "I'm sorry. Don't be mad, okay?" He asked her, looking at her with those big puppy eyes she couldn't resist.

Iduna let him wait a few seconds, before saying something. "Okay. You're forgiven." Agnarr visibly sighed in relief before tilting his head and giving her the same puppy look as before.

"You have something for me?" He easily followed her plans as if he already knew them. She nodded and glanced to a bench, telling silently to sit there. The king knew exactly what she meant and led her to the bench while holding her hand. They've began 'talking telepathically' a few years ago, it reminded her so much of her parents and till then she always wondered how they're able to read each other's minds like that.

Once they sat on the bench, her nervousness returned and only increased when she took the neatly wrapped box out of her satchel. "It's nothing special..." She mumbled self-conscious, before giving it to him. "I just saw this and had to think of you..."

The king unwrapped his little present and revealed a wooden box. Iduna thought it had some beautiful carvings on it, but that wasn't the reason she got it for him. Leaning over, she turned the key a few times and opened it for him. The box played a calm melody they both knew all too well. They both just listened to the tune and as the song came to an end, Iduna became extremely nervous, but forced herself to look into his eyes. Meanwhile he stared at the music box with wide eyes for a few more seconds, before looking up at her. "It's...the lullaby my mother sang to me." The girl nodded. Agnarr didn't talk about his mother much, but when he did he told her about a lullaby she used to sing to when he was anxious. He sang it to her -after being forced by her, since Agnarr couldn't sing even if his life depended on it- so she was shocked to find a music box to play the same melody. It actually was a common lullaby around there, though Iduna had no idea for obvious reasons. She grew up with completely different lullabies.

Iduna tilted her head, when Agnarr stayed quiet for a few more minutes. Now she wished to really read his mind, because she couldn't guess at all what he might be thinking now. Before she could ask him anything, he put the box down and pulled her into a hug. "I love it." He said, his head leaning on hers. Now she was the one to sigh in relief. He liked it. Iduna hugged him back, but he pulled away way too soon and earned himself an annoyed glare from her. "You know...I have something for you, too."

Her annoyance instantly turned into curiosity. "Really? You don't have to give me anything." Getting gifts from Agnarr always made her feel bad because they're always so big. The garden, the seeds, his friendship and his love...there's no way she'll ever be able to repay him for what he gave her and did for her. Even if Agnarr kept insisting that she didn't have to repay him anything, or the way he said 'being with you is all I need'.

"Well...I wanted to wait a little longer...but now I'm certain." Iduna tilted her head, wondering what kind of gift it was that he's talking about. He took her hands in his and gave them a gentle squeeze. "Iduna..."

There was something in his eyes, something in the way he looked at her that she couldn't guess the emotions going through him. Never has she seen him looking at her like this before. For a second she thought that gift might be something bad, like breaking up with her, but she dismissed the thought immediately. No, he told her he loved her. But what if the council were against their relationship after all? She really didn't want to think about it...The girl kept waiting for his next words but they didn't come. Then he looked away embarrassed, which made her even more confused. "I don't know how to say it...I've practiced this a lot but I can't get a word out now." He joked, chuckling bittersweetly. Then he looked into her eyes again. "I've prepared a whole speech, you know."

"I don't mind if you keep it simple." She said, hoping this'll help his nervousness. And it seemed to work, when his look became determined now.

"Simple, huh..." Then he slid off the bench to kneel on one leg in front of her, his left hand reaching inside the pocket in his pants for something. Iduna wasn't dumb, she already guessed what he's planning to do. Was she ready for this? "Iduna. You're the light of my life. There's no one I'd rather want to be with. So..." It's not the first time he told her this, but it was sweet every time. Then he held up a wooden spoon, apparently he carved it himself. But wait, a spoon? Iduna needed a second to think before remembering. A love spoon! Right, that's the Arendellian way to propose! "Please marry me, Iduna." He said, staring at her with unblinking eyes. As if he's afraid she'd disappear if he lost sight of her for even a second. "Be my queen." She had no idea if it was intentional, but Agnarr looked at her with his puppy eyes again. And again, who was she to deny him?

"Yes." She said, her voice breaking. The tears she was trying to hold back fell freely now. Agnarr cupped her face in his hands again and whiped the tears away.

"I love you. So much. You have no idea how happy you're making me right now."

Iduna giggled through a sob. "I think I can imagine it." She tried to tease, but it wasn't very effective this time. Not that she cared, there was plenty of time she could spend teasing him. Then she pulled him up to kiss him. For real this time.