It was the summer and nearing Elsa's twenty third birthday, in the years since her coronation and the end of her concealment she had become a lot more confident. The renewed relationship with her sister, the loving support akin to awe from Prince Consort Sir Kristoff and a faithful companion of her own had brought her back to social speed. The acceptance and love of her kingdom had filled in the rest.
In thirteen years there had been no events, no balls or parties. After the coronation there had been a whole lot more. One was in the offing tonight in fact. A Prince from a neighbouring kingdom was passing through and would be stopping at the palace for hospitality and that of course meant a party.
At one o'clock in the afternoon precisely a party of horses and men entered through the gates into the town. In the lead was a tall handsome man with tight black curls and a slight hint of colour to his skin that belied an exotic relative, riding beside him was a broad shouldered man with swept back blonde hair and the complexion of those who lived amongst the fjords. They were dressed in fine clothes and boots, marks of royalty for all to see. A small group of soldiers rode behind in formation lending weight to their arrival.
The whole assembly rode to the palace. The Queen and Princess were in the courtyard to greet their guests, Anna had insisted on accompanying her sister despite the slight swell to her abdomen these days. Freya stood close by in attendance, decked out in her formal uniform.
"Well met Prince Ulrich." Elsa said to the black haired man. He jumped from his horse to take a respectful bow.
"Well met Queen Elsa, Princess Anna." The prince straightened up and flashed a smile to the pair. Anna had to fight not to metaphorically fall over; he was meeting the traditional Prince Charming features dead on. 'He has to have come here for a reason. Like Hans...' She kept thinking to herself. Trying to keep a pleasant expression on her face she extended a hand.
"How wonderful to meet you Prince Ulrich. I hope your journey was alright." Anna smiled; he took her hand gently but did not move to kiss it. He had olive green eyes she noticed.
"It was most picturesque your highness, a very enjoyable ride. Why, Lars must have seen at least six avian specimens for his little book." The prince laughed and gestured to his aide who had also dismounted. Palace staff were settling the horses and the visiting guards were moving to the barracks as a matter of manners.
"Indeed, there are many we do not have in Vitdall that live here amongst your trees." The broad blonde man joined them. "Lord Lars Eira." He introduced himself politely to the royals.
"I must thank you for extending the invitation to a land of such, beauty." The Prince said; a sparkle in his smile and eyes. Anna seethed, if she hadn't promised to Kristoff that she would take it easy now the baby was growing.
"It was no trouble when we heard you were travelling through." Elsa replied, accepting a formal handshake from both men. "I see your horses and men are being taken care of, would you like to have a tour of the castle?"
The Queen led her guests inside the palace; Freya trailed behind to help Anna, her clumsiness had taken a slightly alarming note amongst the little family as her pregnancy progressed. Anna acted annoyed but was secretly grateful for the concern and assistance provided, she was worried too. "I don't like him." She hissed to Freya when there was enough of a gap between them and the guests.
"Why not Anna? They seem friendly enough."
"So did Hans." Anna said, a touch more angry than she had meant.
"Oh Anna..." Freya wrapped an arm around the shorter woman in a quick hug. "He really did a number on you didn't he?" She tsked, "Don't worry; I'm here to keep an eye on Elsa. If Prince Charmer here makes any wrong moves I can cart him out."
"Okay." Anna grudgingly accepted, "but I want to be able to warn you if I think he is putting the moves on my sister."
"Anna honey, if he does that I will be booting him out of my own accord." Freya chuckled and got a grin out of the princess.
Elsa conducted a tour of her palace for the visitors, gave a brief and artistic demonstration of her power and even managed to pass on their subtle threat by freezing some strawberries solid for some children who had seen the snow and wanted to play.
The princess and the guard both had a giggle at the visitor's expense to see them looking pale at that little trick.
Later in the day there was a formal dinner, because it was formal Freya had to stand to attention at Elsa's left hand; however it seemed the Queen had different ideas. As Lars took up position beside the prince Elsa held up a hand. "No, sit. You are a guest." She then turned to Freya, "It would only be fair if you joined us Freya, seeing as Lars is." She smiled and patted the chair beside her. Freya slipped into it with a grateful nod.
Despite the change to routine Freya still found the dinner unbearable. The Prince did indeed chat in an overly familiar manner to Elsa and worse still, Lars was trying to talk to her. "So, a female guard, that is unusual to see." The man said; a line of conversation she couldn't dismiss easily or answer quickly.
"I'll have to explain it all later." Freya replied, once again focusing on Elsa and the flirting prince. From the other end of the table Anna glared daggers at the visiting royal.
"Feisty-pants don't do anything that might cause a diplomatic incident." Kristoff warned. "Besides, you have to keep serene and relaxed for the baby,"
"The Baby agrees with Mama and doesn't trust princes getting all flirty with Elsa." Anna snapped back, hardly looking at her plate as she ate, still pointedly looking at her sister.
When the evening meal ended the ball began. Town dignitaries had been entering the ballroom all the while and were awaiting the Queen, the Princess and their guests. Kai presented the sisters to the crowd to applause and cheers to their health. Kristoff and Freya had entered unobtrusively, Freya as it was her job to do so and Kristoff preferred to avoid the rigmarole of royal life.
"I also introduce Prince Ulrich of Vitdall." Kai intoned to the gathered people, there was polite applause. Now the formalities were dispensed with a group of the Aldermen's wives came to cluck around Anna, they had all been making a dreadful fuss of her since she fell pregnant and had only got worse when it had begun to show.
This left Elsa alone with the prince again, just as the music started up. He bowed smartly and removed his gloves to ask her to dance and Freya simply fumed. In this formal situation she had no case to dance with Elsa at all, she was stuck simply watching from the sidelines.
Elsa and the Prince wove about the crowd gracefully, Freya followed every move and so too did Lars from the opposite side of the room, their gazes would cross at brief moments. "It's strange, but if you dressed him up in green that Ulrich guy would look like you." Kristoff said when he joined Freya. The woman sputtered.
"What do you mean?"
"Dark curly hair? Green eyes; or so Anna told me..." Kristoff noticed the burning gaze to his right and gulped. "And that Lars guy... Really light blonde and blue eyes. If I didn't know any better I'd say someone was trying to pair you up."
Freya slumped back against the wall, "They couldn't be... I mean, Kai and Gerda would never do that and Judge Tobias is happy that your children will inherit the throne. Could it..." Freya felt lost a moment, her unseeing gaze falling over the dance floor, just in time to see the Prince dip in close to Elsa to whisper, to see her giggle and put a hand to her mouth.
Envy assaulted her mind. "I, I need to get some air." Freya croaked and hurried out. Kristoff couldn't stop her and she rushed past Anna fast enough for the Princess not to notice.
In the hall Freya felt sick to her stomach, her mind racing along dark lines. Elsa was true to her,they loyal to each other all the way. They had been planning to visit the trolls on her birthday to wed... She wouldn't be considering this Prince a match would she? It wasn't possible, it couldn't be possible.
Approaching footsteps moved Freya to enter a room at random. It was the Tulip Room. A room she had sat in so long ago, fretting about Elsa's safety with a message to deliver. The door clicked as it was opened and she prepared to face whoever was intruding on her.
"Ah, Lady Freya. I thought I spotted you nipping out." Lars smiled; a friendly look at least. No trace of threat or calculating on the surface. Anna had said Hans was like that too, right up until he locked her in a cold room to die.
"I needed a little air, the ballroom was getting stuffy and standing for so long was giving my shoulder more strain." Freya excused, sitting on a comfy chair, still facing the man.
"Shoulder injury? How would you sustain that?" Lars came closer and took a seat; he noticed the guarded look in Freya's eyes. "Really, I am curious. As I said at dinner, a female guard is unusual." The man still sounded unthreatening and genuinely interested. Needing a moment to collect herself before facing her troubling thoughts, she decided to tell him the story.
"Where did Freya go?" Anna demanded of Kristoff when she finally escaped the fussing women.
"She said she needed air." Kristoff said carefully, Anna would find out what he had said and be mad... Spending the night with Sven would be the best option if he was lucky.
"You were talking to her before she left." Anna's eyes narrowed. "What did you say?"
"Nothing Anna, just a stupid idea that the prince and his assistant look a little like Elsa and Freya and maybe someone was trying to pair them off and I am a very stupid man." He stopped talking and looked at angry eyes Anna.
"Yes you are." Anna chided. "It is silly nonsense." She looked across at Elsa still dancing with the Prince and gawked, he was holding her sister close in a manner entirely too familiar. "Oooh, he's getting a piece of my mind!" She growled. Knowing he was already in trouble Kristoff took the risk and held her back.
"No international incidents when you have a baby to think of." He said to her ear. "We'll get talking to Elsa or Freya after the ball." Still angry, Anna just glared and sat in a chair at the side of the room. She hated it when her husband's ideas were sensible.
Freya related her story to Lars, always watching his eyes, his hands. While he had seemed friendly enough she wasn't sure why he had followed her. This was a calculated risk, but her exploits would give him pause if he did dare force himself on her. When she finished her tale his eyes sparked in amusement. "So was this before or after you fell in love with her?"
"After mostly…" Freya replied before she could catch herself. Her flush of fear set her heart and mind racing back to the darkness and possible problems she had fled the ballroom over.
"Lady Freya, do not fear for I had you down the moment we met," he said, "the phrase "it takes one to know one" was never more apt." Lars chuckled in a self-deprecating manner and flicked a portion of blonde hair behind his ear.
"You?" Freya managed to say through her surprise.
"Prince Ulrich is devastatingly attractive and conveniently the third son." He shrugged with a roguish grin.
"Prince Ulrich!" Freya couldn't help her surprise but it rested her disgruntlement at the man's flirty chats and close dancing with Elsa.
"Indeed, we were quite fortunate you know. As the third son he was far from useful. There was already an heir and a spare so to speak so his father was at a loss. To train the boy up too far would set ideas and ambitions in his head that could risk his brother's lives but to leave him would cause resentment. So, he was shipped off to a respectable school for boys." Lars gestured as he spoke in a merry tone.
"I am the second son of a lord so minor as to be minimal," Lars chuckled again, the laughter crinkling his eyes. "I was sent away to the same school as an attempt at betterment by association with higher ranking nobles. What a boon it was that I was roomed with Ulrich due to our adjacent territories and similar language." He paused a moment.
"We became fast friends and the, ah, revelations of our inclinations could not have been in a more convenient situation. When school was over he hired me on as aide, valet and man, such as those of his rank are expected to have." He smirked over that. "Then we set about building a reputation you could bounce bricks off." He winked. "Father was so pleased that his son had reached a position so much higher than expected and Ulrich has developed a reputation as a chaser of the attractive members of the female staff, his father finds it an acceptable distraction to potential plotting."
"And I suppose you are known for chasing the higher ranked ladies who are unlikely to agree to your advances?" Freya relaxed back into her seat.
"Quiet, but when I noticed you and Queen Elsa I thought to share a favour."
"How could you tell?" Freya grumbled, she was always so careful in public, as was Elsa.
"There were certain looks you shared, subtle gestures. It was something like observing myself and Ulrich to tell the truth. Nothing any casual observer or someone not in the know, so to speak, would notice."
"That is good at least. We have to try so hard, at least a good solid layer of ice on the door keeps things private for us." Freya chuckled and Lars joined in."Now what then?"
"Now you were seen in public to slip away with a hearty healthy man." Lars said with a winning smile. "Those more inclined to gossip or think too far into things won't link you with such a scandalous preference. Nor will they think you and Elsa have some relationship beyond the known public face." He shrugged. "It is an arrangement similar to one that sees me leaving the stables quite askance with the palace butcher's daughter not so far behind as to be unnoticed. While Ulrich and the palace librarian often get lost amongst the stacks, we four have worked it out quite well back home."
Freya finally laughed out loud. "Lord Lars you are a cad but a marvellous one." She extended a hand and they shook heartily.
"Now, it has been half an hour, would it do to return?" Lars looked at the door he had kept latched with a chair.
"Thirty minutes? I am so very sorry good sir." Freya winked and the man reddened.
"Oh, I see."
"I'd add in a good ten more and shout a little for the benefit of eavesdroppers." Freya said and made good on her word.
Ten minutes later and they indiscreetly returned to the party to dance. Elsa's questioning look was met with a wink from Lars and Freya. A knowing look in return from the Prince and a quiet whisper to the Queen had them all back to enjoying the ball. While Freya danced the rest of the night with the well-built young man Prince Ulrich monopolised Elsa's time.
Anna seethed from her corner under Kristoff's watchful eye. He was just as confused as to why Freya had gone from upset to willingly dancing with the man.
There was no explanation for them that evening. Before the ball had finished Anna had fallen asleep. Kristoff picked her up, it was still easy to carry her in his arms. Elsa noticed him arranging Anna against him and left the company of the prince.
"Anna's worn out then." She looked down with affection and pressed a kiss to her sister's temple. Anna smiled in her sleep and Elsa melted like she ever did when some small intimacy was shared between the two.
"Yeah, I'm going to get her to bed and turn in too. Though she is going to have some words for you in the morning." Kristofff warned. "You and Prince Charmy over there. And Freya with that Lars guy."
Elsa looked crafty a moment, a face Kristoff knew resulted in avalanche of magic snow in a snowball fight and was worrying in a context outside of snow-play. "I'll explain tomorrow. Really." She gave her bother-in-law a hug and smoothed her sister's hair before ushering them away .
The ball ended late at night. All the guests were seen home or to their suites before Freya and Elsa could retire to bed. They changed quickly and were settled together soon after. "I had an interesting chat with Lars." Freya said before they attempted to sleep.
"Yes?" Elsa replied, "Ulrich was quite complimentary on my taste as we were dancing you know. He was impressed I had made such a catch." She turned over to face Freya, however much she enjoyed being the little spoon it was just as nice to watch her partner's face.
"Lars was a little more forthright," Freya chuckled, "I think "Was that before or after you fell in love with her?" Were his exact words." Elsa's eyes widened and Freya cut her off with a kiss. "Of course, I blundered in and said after, he was quick to point out he had guessed from personal experience. I think we have a useful pair of assistants to this subterfuge."
"Is that so?" Elsa nestled her head beneath Freya's chin, her voice growing softer. "We'll have to discuss it tomorrow. After we placate Anna." She yawned delicately. "Sleep now though, my love."
"Of course dear heart." Freya placed her arms around Elsa's slender shoulders. Once her partner was breathing the steady rhythm of sleep she let herself drop off into the land of nod.
"Just what do you two think you were doing!?" Anna said the moment the servants setting breakfast had left the room.
"Anna, volume." Elsa said, serving herself some food.
"Don't volume me! I can be as loud as I like! You let that Prince Smarmy get all over you!" Anna stood up to direct a glare.
"Anna. He was my guest and I had to dance with him." Elsa looked at her sister. "Besides, he doesn't have any love for the female form in any context but the artistic." She said it easily, between bites of toast and preserve. "And he dances very well."
"Lars was too, it was an experience to be led for once." Freya added with a grin.
"Him and him! Them?" Anna had all the wind from her sails. "Really?"
"Yes, Lars explained it all." Freya smiled. "We're going to make an arrangement."
"Quite useful, even if I do have the succession all arranged a suitor circling around will quiet the complainers." Elsa smiled to her sister. "Though I appreciate your concern Anna and I am sure you could have dissuaded him if he got too 'handsy'."
Though Anna was cross at what she deemed a "mean trick" she was quick to forgive the two and the visiting prince. Over the course of the morning the Freya, Elsa, Ulrich and Lars hashed out a basic plan to avoid scrutiny through mutual association without any set-in-stone commitment at the end of it.
When they bid their guests goodbye and fair journey all four put on a show for the town aldermen that was convincing enough that the rumour mill switched subjects. Freya and Elsa were safe from any gossip again.
It was the first of many visits from Prince Ulrich and Lars and the start of a lifelong friendship.
Lars and Ulrich were characters I created when sketching out a Becoming Family that went the route of a biological child, before I decided that such a child would demand more reasons than could ever be given. I didn't want to lose them so I popped them in here.