Apparently, the king's visit to the stable had been a sign of his improved health. But rather than celebration, a pall fell over the castle grounds. The windows were darkened, the courtiers and servants milling about the grounds had swapped their typical clothes for dark damask and silk, and black wreathes went up on each of the castle's entrances.

Of course, Iduna knew why they were going into mourning. But it seemed odd that they would wait so long after the last king's death.

"It's practicality, is all," Hekla said over their dinner when she'd brought it up. "No one was sure if the prince would make it, and it'd only make sense to have the two together if he did die." She looked up at Iduna, shaking her head at the shocked look on her face. "Don't look at me like that."

"But that's horrible. Treating death like it's an…an inconvenience or something?"

"I mean, it is." Hekla chuckled at Iduna's unimpressed look. "Look, girl, people die all the time. And Queen Rita's always been the practical sort. I'm sure she's grieving, but when everything in your life is a public spectacle, you have to find a way to make it as easy as possible on the public. Two royal funerals back to back would be too much fuss." She nodded over to a box on Iduna's cot. "Though speaking of, that's for the funeral. All the servants are required to attend."

"Would you not go otherwise?" Iduna asked, getting up to open the box.

Hekla shrugged. "Horses don't care if a king lives or dies, and truth be told, I'd much rather make sure they're taken care of than listen to a priest tell me about King Runeard's soul for an hour."

Iduna furrowed her brow at that, but instead turned her attention to the box. She took a breath as she pulled out a fine-looking black dress.

"Yeah, no trousers allowed for us. It's a pain, but…"

"It's lovely," Iduna murmured, stroking her hand over the soft fabric. She looked up at Hekla, eyes wide. "I'll pay you back for it. You shouldn't…"

"I'm not having you pay to wear uncomfortable clothes to the funeral of a man you've never met," Hekla said gruffly. "Just try to keep it from getting mussed for two days, all right?"

Iduna nodded, running her hand over it again. She sucked in her lips tightly before looking back at Hekla. "Should…I even go? I mean, with what happened, it feels like it's…what if it's not right?"

Hekla let her head fall back with a deep sigh. "Did you personally kill the king?"

"No!"

"Then you have just as much right to be there as anyone else." She rolled a shoulder with a grimace before getting up, standing right in front of Iduna with her hands on her hips. "I'm willing to bet that Arendellian funerals aren't like what the Northuldra do, and royal funerals are a whole different mess altogether. People who loved the king will be there. People who hated the king will be there. People like you, who never even met the man, will be there. It's all a big show." She tilted her head. "And besides, if you don't go, then I get a chewing out by the Court Mistress. And do you know how annoying that is?"

Iduna smiled a bit before carefully setting the dress back in the box. "What did you think of the king?"

Hekla shrugged as she made her way back to the fire to grab the kettle. "I was employed by him, so my opinion was that he kept my coin purse full enough." She shrugged. "He and the queen didn't fuss themselves with us. Don't think I ever said more than five words to the man, and I've worked here since I was a touch older than you."

Iduna sat down on her cot. "Is the new king like him?"

"Do funerals always bring out questions with you?" Hekla asked shortly, but shook her head. "It's hard to say. We won't know what he's like until he's properly king."

"He's not?"

"Of course not. He won't be of age until he's twenty-one."

Iduna frowned. "What does that mean? The soldiers said he was the king when they left the forest."

"This is the last question I'm answering," Hekla warned as she refilled her cup with steaming tea. "He's next in line to the throne, so the title's his from what I understand. But his mother's calling the shots for now. Just as well, because I don't think anyone wants a concussed teenager running a kingdom." Her thick brows furrowed together as she looked down at her mug. "Don't suppose we know what kind of king he'll be. A lot can change in seven years." She waved at Iduna. "Anyway, you'd best be getting to sleep. We'll have to do twice the work to make up for what we're missing tomorrow."

Iduna pressed her lips together, but she carefully set the box beneath her cot and settled down. Seven years…that was such a long time. What would he be like by then? What would she be like by then? Would she be back home? Would there even be a home?

She did her best to shove any kind of wondering away as she shut her eyes.

"And so we commend the soul of King Runeard of Arendelle into the charge of the Lord…"

Iduna fidgeted as the ceremony dragged on, only to get a warning box on the ear from Hekla. At first, she'd been moved by the ceremony and seeing all the people who had come to celebrate King Runeard's life—she'd only been to a few funerals before now, and even having the whole village attend paled in terms of attendance. But then the ceremony kept going. And, for all of her misgivings of attending, she found she couldn't even feel guilty, because she really hadn't known the king at all.

Her gaze wandered as the servants in front of her shifted, letting her see the nobles standing closer to the priest. And there, right in front, was the Queen and her son. Like before, the Queen was striking —she stood tall beside the memorial stone, shoulders high even as her head bowed soberly. A dark veil hid her face, and she was swathed in a heavy black dress, but even so, her mourning was dignified and silent.

The same couldn't be said about Agnarr.

The young king held a wreath of white flowers, and he was obviously trying to remain as composed as his mother. But his shoulders shook, and while Iduna couldn't hear him from back here, she knew each time his head twitched up had to be a sniffle. His mother's hand lightly rested on his shoulder as she whispered something to him, but she quickly withdrew it as he reached to grip it.

For the first time during the funeral, Iduna felt her throat tighten, and she quickly rubbed at her own eyes as she felt a heavy, warm hand rest on her shoulder.

"Don't tell me this droning's actually getting to you?" Hekla whispered. Iduna shook her head.

"No, no. It's…it's nothing," she said quietly, rubbing at her eyes again. Hekla looked down at her, then squeezed her shoulder.

"Ah, I knew you were soft-hearted. You can cry if you'd like, it doesn't bother me." She patted Iduna's shoulder. "Just try to keep it down; they paid a lot for those professional mourners over there, and they'll be upset if you out-wail them."

Iduna couldn't help laughing a bit, but the tears continued to fall. For the boy who'd lost his father, for the people who'd lost their king, and even for herself, so far away from home. She covered her mouth, trying to keep quiet as every emotion she'd been trying to stuff down for the past two weeks bubbled out of her. As ugly as the grief, the doubts, the uncertainty was, there was something freeing in just…being sad.

Hekla's hand went to her head, pulling her in to hug her tightly—though whether it was out of genuine comfort or just to help minimize the sound, Iduna wasn't sure. But she wasn't about to argue any sort of comfort, not now.

To her surprise, the tears didn't last long; the priest hadn't even finished his prayer by the time her sobs had quieted into deep, shuddering breaths. She shifted away from Hekla, sniffling and wiping at her eyes before returning her attention to the ceremony.

"And now, if Their Majesties will come forward to say their final goodbye."

Queen Rita swept forward elegantly, her hand once again on Agnarr's shoulder as she guided him forward. She stepped up to the stone first, kneeling down in one smooth motion. Every attendee was silent as she pressed her forehead to the stone, and even the ocean's waves below the fjord seemed to go quiet. After a moment, she rose to her feet and stepped back. Iduna bit her lip as she watched Agnarr stand frozen in place even as his mother beckoned to him. Finally, he moved jerkily forward, as if he were focusing entirely on moving one foot in front of the other. He stopped in front of the stone, dropping awkwardly to one knee as he set the wreath of flowers down. He stayed in place, head bowed. Then one loud, keening sob rang out over the silent crowd.

So quickly it was nearly invisible, the queen waved her hand, and two servants quickly stepped forward, helping Agnarr to his feet and quietly ushering him back to the castle as he tried to quiet his cries. Iduna watched with wide eyes, ignoring the priest's parting words as she felt her heart twist. Was he not allowed to cry at his own father's funeral? What was so bad about grieving?

She turned back as the crowd gave a murmured "Amen" in reply to the priest, brow furrowing as she saw Queen Rita sweep back toward the castle—still collected, still calm, but definitely walking with purpose. Maybe she was going to comfort her son; Iduna could hope for that, at least. The rest of the crowd followed suit, and Hekla patted Iduna's shoulder again.

"Finally, we're free to go," she said. "Come on, you know how fussy Baldr gets when we leave him too long."

Iduna glanced back toward the castle, but followed Hekla slowly. "Where's everyone else going?"

"The reception."

"Reception?"

"Do you not have those back home? You know, the party after the funeral's over. But that's just for the nobles; work doesn't stop for us no matter who dies." Hekla grimaced as she adjusted her black dress uncomfortably. "That, and I'm itching to get back into my trousers."

Iduna chewed her lip as she looked up at Hekla, then back at the crowd. It'd been a long time since she'd seen anything remotely close to a celebration, and knowing how the castle looked, it was probably beautiful inside, even with all the mourning. She stopped, fingers fiddling together before she said, "I, um, I think I'm going to stop by the kitchen. Baldr might be in a better mood if I get him a couple apples."

Hekla turned, looking at her warily. "And what's wrong with the apples in the cottage?"

"We're out." Iduna hadn't checked on their apple stock lately, so there was a chance that this wasn't a lie.

"You're not just trying to get sugar for them, are you?"

Iduna rolled her eyes. "Just apples. Maybe a carrot if I'm really feeling like spoiling them."

Hekla frowned, crossing her arms for a moment as she debated. "Fine. But no dallying. I don't keep you around to disappear when it's time to work."

Iduna gave a little noise of acknowledgement before heading back to the castle. She wouldn't be long; she didn't know the first thing about attending a royal party, much less sneaking in to one. But she could afford a moment to take a look.

Slipping in through the kitchen wasn't too much of a problem; she didn't know the castle staff very well, but they seemed too preoccupied with cooking and dishing and serving to notice her grab a couple apples. She quietly followed a serving girl out of the kitchen, trying her best to stay out of the way while trying her best not to get lost. After a moment, they came out into the largest, grandest room Iduna had ever seen. The ceiling seemed to be as tall as some of the trees back home, with tapestries on the wall and delicate etchings in the wood columns and floor. Enough food had been laid out to feed her whole village at least three times over, and even with the cloud of mourning over the party, there were so many people talking and milling about that the air was practically electric.

Iduna wished very much that she could stay.

But Hekla would be irritated if she stayed away for too long, and it was going to be quite a trek getting back to the stables. Her dress had no pockets, so she gripped her apples tightly before slipping her way through the crowd. It was much easier than she thought it'd be, and in next to no time, she was hurrying down one of the hallways back.

"You know better than that."

Iduna skidded to a halt as she heard a voice come from behind one of the doors. Up ahead, she caught one of the grand wooden doors just slightly ajar. Her brow furrowed. Should she close it? Seemed like someone was having a conversation in there, but closing it might draw attention to her.

"I-I didn't mean to. I just…" The second voice in the conversation let out a shuddering breath, catching as he tried to speak again. "I-it didn't seem real before now."

"Well, it is real, and a king should know better than to make a scene like that."

"But I'm not…"

"The moment your father died, you became King of Arendelle, Agnarr. So act like it. What do we say?"

"Mother, I-I ca-an't…"

A quiet sob interrupted him, but it was quickly silenced by the unmistakable smack of skin hitting skin. Iduna covered her mouth to hide her gasp.

"What do we say, Agnarr?"

A moment of silence dragged by, followed by a very meek, "Conceal it, don't feel it."

"Don't let it show," Queen Rita replied. "Emotions get the better of you, and you need to learn how to keep them in check. No one wants a quivering wreck leading their country." She sighed. "Go get yourself together. Come back when you can think with your head."

There was a mumble of a reply, and the door opened before Iduna could run away. Agnarr froze as he saw her, eyes wet and cheek still red from the slap. For a moment, it looked as though he might cry again, and he quickly darted away from her, keeping his head down. Iduna hesitated, watching as he hurried down another corridor. She started to step after him, but froze in place as Queen Rita exited the room. The queen looked down at her with sharp green eyes, head tilting very slightly as though trying to place her. Iduna quickly bowed her head politely, hiding the apples between the folds of her skirt.

"I, um, I beg your pardon, Your Majesty," she said quickly. "I'm…" What was she supposed to say? "I'm very sorry about the king. Your husband, the king, I mean." She tentatively glanced up and received a small, polite smile from the queen in reply.

"Thank you for your condolences. But if you'll excuse me, I must return to the reception." She looked over Iduna curiously for another moment, then knelt her head before gliding down the hall.

Iduna stayed put in the hallway, chewing her lip as she fiddled with her apples. She should really head back to the stable, especially after being caught like that. That'd be the smart thing to do.

But, then again, Hekla always said she could be awfully stupid sometimes. This might be one of those times she needed to be.

Don't let it show. Don't let it show. Don't feel don't feel don't feel…

Agnarr gritted his teeth as another wave of hot tears stung his eyes, hugging his knees tighter as the sea breeze made him shiver. The stairs leading to the water had always been where he could clear his head, but it wasn't helping in the least. His mother was right, of course. He couldn't let his grief get the better of him, not when all eyes were on him. But he couldn't stop.

He took a shaking breath as he wiped at his eyes again, trying to restart his mantra. If he told himself to conceal it and not feel it, then maybe it'd actually work. He swallowed hard, curling up tighter as he heard the door behind him click open.

"I'll…I'll be at the reception in a minute," he said, hating how thick his voice was. "Tell my mother I…" He opened his eyes and was immediately met with a shiny red apple right in front of his nose.

"It's for the horses, but they make pretty decent snacks for humans, too."

"Iduna?" Agnarr finally uncurled, looking up at Iduna with wide eyes. She gave him a small smile, wind tugging at her loose curls as she pushed the apple toward him again. He silently took it, watching as she sat down beside him and bit into her own. "How…how did you find me?"

"Luck," she said, then glanced up at him. "Well, that and I asked Gerda where the king liked to run off to when he wants to be alone." She took another bite. "Servants know everything, you know."

"I guess so." He swallowed hard, rolling the apple in his hands as he felt his ears burn in embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to see me like this. I…"

"I don't mind," she said. "You're grieving, you're supposed to be sad."

But he shouldn't be. He should be able to separate himself from his emotions. He should be able to be as cool and calm as his mother. He should be able to be rational. And that's what he should have told Iduna, but instead what came out was a choked, "Everything happened so fast. I woke up a-and my father was de-was gone and I was king and we-e lost so many soldiers a-and…and everything's so different now."

He dropped the apple and quickly covered his face as he took a gasping breath. Don't feel. Don't feel. Don't feel. Don't…

Two arms wrapped around him tightly, Iduna's cheek resting firmly on his shoulder.

"I know. I understand," she whispered. "I'm grieving, too. It's so hard." Her voice caught, and she hugged him even tighter. "You can be sad. You're allowed to."

There were several kingly ways to deal with this kind of treatment. Agnarr ignored all of them, leaning heavily on Iduna and letting out the shaking breath he'd been holding. And with her permission, he finally stopped fighting. He let himself sink into the sadness, the uncertainty, the deep ache that had filled him since he'd woken up. He grit his teeth, hand reaching up to grip Iduna's arm like a lifeline. If she stopped hugging him now, he might just completely fall apart.

Surprisingly, no tears came with this wave of sadness. Really, it was surprisingly relieving to just be sad, and more relieving still to finally, finally be comforted.

They stayed motionless and silent, Iduna's hug never slackening even when he resurfaced from his thoughts. Slowly, he lifted his head, taking a few deep breaths as he let go of her arm.

"Thank you," he whispered as she finally unlatched from him, taking a moment to wipe her own eyes. "Really, Iduna, thank you. You didn't need to come over here."

She gave him a smile, a little wobbly but surprisingly bright, as she took his hand and squeezed it tightly before letting it go. "It's what I'd want someone to do for me."

Agnarr tried his best to smile back, though he wasn't sure how well it actually came across. As it faded, he looked over her face curiously. "I…this is out of nowhere, but have…have we met before?"

"I wandered into your room and you visited the stables."

He shook his head. "No, before that. I just…look, this sounds crazy, but I feel like I know you."

Iduna bit her lip, looking away before looking back up at him and shaking her head. "No. I just moved here a couple weeks ago, Your Majesty."

Agnarr grimaced, feeling his ears burn again. "Of course. I'm sorry, it's…it's probably from hitting my head." He turned away from her slightly, looking back out at the water. "And I…probably made this really awkward. I'm sorry."

"You apologize a lot." Agnarr looked up as Iduna lightly leaned against him. "But so do I, so I get it."

Agnarr half-smiled, then let out a long sigh as he looked back at the water. "You should really come out here when it's sunny. Or when the lights are out, my…my father took me out in one of the little boats one of those nights, just a few months ago." His throat tightened, but the feeling wasn't quite so uncomfortable now. "I'm really going to miss him."

"And that's okay," Iduna murmured. "If you miss him, that means you loved him a lot. I think that's a good thing."

Agnarr glanced at her, then swallowed before he shifted. "I…I should probably get back." He smiled wryly as he got to his feet. "I think I can actually conceal, don't feel now." He held out his hand to Iduna, who frowned.

"That doesn't seem right," she said before taking his hand and pulling herself up.

"It helps. It really does; I like being able to think straight." The words didn't quite feel honest as they left his mouth, but he'd told himself the same thing so many times that it had to be. He was just a little more emotional right now was all.

Iduna didn't look convinced, but she didn't press anymore. "Well, I should get back to the stables. Hekla's going to be furious that I took so long getting apples."

"I can talk to her if…"

Iduna shook her head. "No, I don't need the King to make any excuses for me." She smiled at him. "I can take care of myself just fine, don't you worry." She climbed up the steps, then stopped and glanced back at him. "But you will need to sneak some sugar in next time you visit the horses. They'll be upset that I was spending time with you instead of them."

For the first time in several days, a croaking laugh escaped Agnarr. "I promised before I'll fill my pockets with them, and I always keep my word."

Iduna gave him another warm smile, then quickly slipped back into the castle. Agnarr stayed put for a moment, taking a deep breath of the chilled air.

He could conceal his grief now, but it had been nice, in a weird sort of way, to let himself feel it. He was very lucky to have found someone to tell him that, to give some comfort instead of just rules and reason.

Maybe one day he could return the favor.