The stars hung heavy in the sky on the beautiful Northern Kingdom night. Torches illuminated the path that preceded the castle gates as a crowd began to form in eager anticipation to meet their future queen. The banquet was set to begin within the hour and the castle of Arendelle was the most popular place in the city.
Every noble in the kingdom had received an invitation and none of them would be caught dead anywhere else that evening. The banquet was the talk of the town. How often was there a chance to meet the ever-elusive princess Elsa face to face?
Royalty from kingdoms both near and far were also in attendance. Abram had chosen carefully which royal families he extended an invitation to, knowing that the turnout of the banquet would rely heavily on the compatibility of its guests. He was careful not to invite any two kingdoms with a history of conflict or bad blood between them and he had spent hours choosing the perfect combination of royal parties to make the night a success.
Of course, sending royalty all the way to Arendelle just for a banquet proved to be a large task for most of the monarchs, even those in the Northern Kingdoms. In the end, only six royal families sent representatives to the banquet. Four Kings and four queens, a duke, and several princes and princesses had arrived in the harbor that morning all travelling by some of the largest and most extravagant ships that had ever graced the waters of Arendelle. The harbor was a beautiful sight to behold as the massive vessels docked there, a true display of expert craftsmanship, each one more magnificent than the last. An array of different emblems and sigils flew proudly from every ship - when a royal family decides to grace another kingdom with their presence, they tend to make damn sure it was known.
Among the growing crowd that mulled about the walkway near the gates were a pair of royal twins, Prince Aaron and Princess Sophie of the Kingdom of Astor, standing slightly aloof, watching the crowd with stoic expressions and trying not to call attention to themselves.
"When does this thing start?" said Sophie to her brother as she adjusted her sleek spectacles and folded her arms. "I can already tell I'm going to need several glasses of wine to make it through tonight."
"Please don't drink too much, Fi. We don't want to become known as the drunken twin idiots from the west that made fools of themselves in front of the queen of Arendelle. First impressions are...important," Aaron replied.
"Well if Father didn't want us to make fools of ourselves, he should have come himself. If I'm going to meet some whack-job Princess who has never even left her castle before, I'm going to at least do it with a glass of wine in my hand."
Aaron sighed and conceded defeat. He harbored similar reservations about meeting the Princess, after all. He found himself feeling a mixture of curiosity and anxiety about what she would be like, thinking back to what his father had said to him before he left Astor: "Make an impression. A good standing with Arendelle could be exactly what our kingdom needs." In other words: "Try to court the princess because that's your job as a prince." Aaron had simply rolled his eyes.
Sophie tapped her foot impatiently. "You better have a drink or two as well. You'll need it if you're going to woo this weirdo princess like Father wants you to."
Aaron scowled. "I won't be wooing anyone tonight. Father can believe what he wants but I don't think it's right to come as a guest to another kingdom for the sole purpose of courting the hostess. I'll marry who and when I want. Besides, don't we have bigger problems to worry about?"
"Still holding out for true love then?" Sophie said teasingly and shrugged. "You always were a hopeless romantic. Fine then, I'll just tell father that you flirted with her and got wine thrown in your face. He'll definitely buy that."
Aaron opened his mouth to retort but was interrupted when the large castle gates finally swung open and a plump red haired man cleared his throat to address the crowd outside. Everyone hushed immediately and listened.
"Welcome to the castle of Arendelle! I am Kai, head house servant of the castle. I would like to thank you all for attending this evening. The banquet will be underway shortly, so please come inside with your invitations in hand and I will show you all to the great hall."
"Finally," Sophie huffed as she began to make her way to the front of the crowd. Aaron trailed behind sluggishly, running a hand through his jet black hair and trying to ignore his strange nervousness.
Each guest slowly made their way inside, presenting their invitations to Kai as they passed the threshold and were herded by servants to the Great Hall. The nobles gasped with delight upon seeing the grand decorations that lit up the room, complete with a myriad of ice sculptures in every shape from an elegant swan to an enormous leaping marlin. The tables were all beautifully set with the most expensive silverware and china the castle had to offer and the food was artfully laid out on an enormous table at the far end of the room. A small orchestra was setting up in the corner, performing last-minute tuning exercises on their instruments as their audience filed in. The smell of the pot roast filled the room. Abram sat near the front of the hall, watching the guests arrive with a contented smile.
By far the most beautiful thing in the room, however, was the blonde standing next to Abram at the front of the great hall with her hands folded politely in front of her watching the guests file in with an expression somewhere between fear and humbleness. Elsa was dressed modestly – she had allowed Gerda to pick out her dress, a rather plain but elegant purple gown that covered her shoulders and flowed gracefully to her ankles. Her hair was pinned up in her usual, clean fashion, and of course she was wearing long silk gloves that reached her elbows and complimented her dress with a certain queenly composure. Although the future queen didn't realize it, she had learned over the years how to pull off the simplest look with an amazing amount of style and natural beauty and for the first time, it was truly being recognized as the nobles stared in awe at the sight of the gorgeous figure that stood before them.
Elsa tried to smile and remain calm as people entered and hundreds of eyes fell on her. Clearly, she was not what they had been expecting and she saw several people whisper to each other with not-so-subtle surprise, surely commenting on just how normal the princess looked.
The twins shuffled in and took a look around. Sophie's eyes immediately fell on the food and wine while Aaron's became glued to Elsa. She was certainly much more beautiful than what he had in mind and he couldn't stop himself from staring at her enormous blue eyes as they surveyed the crowd.
Eventually it came time for the hosts to address the crowd and Abram cleared his throat. "Welcome to the castle of Arendelle! We are pleased to have you here tonight to show our support for the nobles of the city as well as to rekindle our friendship with the kingdoms that have graced our presence with their royalty. Make yourselves at home and enjoy the food, drink, music, and festivities of the evening. Without further ado, I am pleased to introduce her Majesty, the future queen, Princess Elsa of Arendelle."
There was a smatter of applause as Elsa stepped forward. "I am so pleased to see you all here this evening. There are many new faces here and I look forward to meeting most of you tonight. I am sorry to announce that my sister, Princess Anna, has fallen ill and will not be joining us." There was a surge of disappointed sounds and sympathetic coos from the audience. "However, she is recovering and will be back on her feet in no time. It is my hope that you will all have a chance to meet her in the future. Now, I would like to officially let the banquet commence! Please, enjoy yourselves."
With that, the audience dispersed as the orchestra began to play its first song. The banquet was finally underway.
Elsa took a deep breath. That wasn't so bad. Now I just need to smile and nod for the rest of the night.
The blonde half-expected to be swarmed with people immediately after finishing her comments, but she was pleased to see that the banquet attendees had more tact than that. They started to socialize amongst themselves, waiting for a proper moment to approach the future queen.
It wasn't long, however, before Abram was introducing Elsa to all kinds of royalty and nobles. The blonde had a hard time keeping track of who was from what kingdom and belonged to which house and she found herself zoning out after the first few introductions, deciding the most important thing was to be cordial and polite with the guests to convince them that she wasn't some kind of witch or leper plotting her subject's doom. She seemed to be doing a pretty good job, too, as most of the people she met left her presence with an air of contentment at the surprising normalcy of their future monarch.
Everybody in the room seemed to be waiting for their chance to step up and speak with Abram and Elsa; all except Sophie and Aaron. The twins were in their own little world standing awkwardly next to the steaming pot of mashed potatoes, speaking only to one another. Sophie took a gulp from her wineglass and pushed her spectacles towards her face. "Well, well, this Elsa girl is definitely not what I expected. Seems like a real goody two-shoes. She and you might get along after all, Aaron."
Aaron frowned and took another bite from his plate. "She is quite beautiful." Sophie raised an eyebrow, causing him to backtrack. "B-but so what? My stance on tonight remains the same. I might introduce myself, but not much more. With all the men in here groveling at her feet I don't see why she'd be interested in me anyway."
Sophie shrugged and raised her glass to her lips, surveying the crowd. She noticed some noblemen taking notice of her, casting her suggestive glances from across the room and attempting to move closer subtly in hopes of striking up a conversation. She wasn't surprised. Sophie was a woman with a natural beauty and confidence about her, the type of woman that could turn every head in the room if she chose to put the time into her appearance that warranted it. Instead, she always opted for a more simple and classy style that didn't flaunt her beauty. Of course, it certainly didn't mask it, either. Her long black hair was done up fashionably and she was wearing a white backless dress with a slit up the leg, just revealing enough to garner looks but not appearing overly provocative.
A short man with an ascot and an impressive set of mutton chops approached the twins from the depths of the crowd. "Don't believe I've met you yet. I'm Sir Oswin of the House Locke," he said with a bow.
Although it was clearly Sophie he was addressing, it was Aaron who responded, "Prince Aaron and Princess Sophie of the Kingdom of Astor. Pleasure."
Oswin looked slightly annoyed at the Prince and turned towards Sophie's direction. "I see! Royalty, then! Well, if I may, your highness…" he leaned forward to kiss Sophie's hand. She hesitantly allowed it, giving the short man a look that bordered between pity and disgust.
"If the Princess would be so kind as to join me for this next dance," Oswin said and leaned forward abruptly to whisper something in Sophie's ear.
Aaron couldn't hear what he said, but he assumed it was something suggestive. He tried not to chuckle as he thought of what would inevitably come next. Sure enough, when he was finished, Sophie ripped her hand out of his. "Beat it, pervert, before the knife I have hidden under my dress finds its way into your wind pipe."
Oswin's expression went from playful to terrified in an instant. He looked between Sophie and Aaron for a moment before walking off with a scoff, clearly unconcerned if the princess was bluffing or not.
Aaron looked at his sister incredulously. "Please tell me you were joking. You did not sneak a weapon into the queen's banquet."
"You know I don't go anywhere without it. You used to be the same way. Don't tell me you're getting soft on me, hm?"
Aaron sighed. "I don't think we're in any danger, Fi. Can't you just play nice for one night?"
"I am playing nice. I just don't like being hit on by creepy guys with… weird facial hair."
Aaron rolled his eyes and looked back towards the front of the great hall where Elsa and Abram were speaking with some king and queen that he didn't recognize. He couldn't help watch as the blonde smiled and giggled politely, bringing a gloved hand to her lips. Her blue eyes wandered for a split second and met Aaron's. The prince flushed and reverted his eyes back to the plate of food in front of him.
"I'm going to get some fresh air," he told Sophie. She merely grunted in response.
Aaron fought his way through the crowd and exited the great hall, finding himself in the inner part of the castle by mistake. He had intended to go outside, but realized that he might not be able to get back inside if he went through the main entrance, so he went off in search of a balcony instead.
He quickly found that he was in forbidden territory when he stumbled upon a large staircase that lead to the residential section of the castle. Feeling curious and seeing nobody around to get him in trouble, the prince took the liberty of climbing the staircase and wandering the hallways. He ventured in and out of several rooms, inspecting the portraits and books, being mindful not to touch anything or go anywhere that would get him thrown out of the kingdom for trespassing. He simply needed some kind of distraction from the frustrating and dull event that was going on beneath him - and he definitely needed a break from his sister.
Eventually, Aaron found a room that had two glass doors leading outside to a large balcony and he stepped into the brisk nighttime air, sighing with relief as he felt the wind on his face.
Meanwhile, Elsa was still braving the banquet, pretending to listen to Abram's story about the time he caught a five-foot bass (a story that Elsa had heard so many times over the years she could practically recite it herself).
Strange. I could've sworn I saw the twins from Astor... Elsa thought. She had never seen them before, but Abram had filled her in on what royalty would be in attendance tonight and their description was unmistakable. They are the only royalty here that hasn't introduced themselves yet. Oh well - the less people I have to talk to, the better, I suppose.
"-and that's the last time I use baby food as bait!" Abram roared. Elsa faked a giggle as the group around them erupted in laughter.
"That one never fails to make me laugh, Uncle Abram. Now, if you all will excuse me, I'm going to step out for a moment," Elsa stated to the group, trying not to draw much attention to her departure.
"Of course, of course," Abram said and stepped aside with the blonde as the others excused her.
"Are you feeling alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine, I-I just need a moment of fresh air. I'll be back," said Elsa. Abram nodded and gave the girl a knowing smile before returning to his guests.
Elsa left the Great Hall and climbed the stone steps of the west wing, eager to escape the noise of the banquet. She made her way into her father's old study, one of her favorite rooms in the entire castle. Not only did it have a spectacular balcony, but it also housed the only portraits of her father in the entire castle. It was also where all of the former king's old books and writings were kept, his belongings strewn about the room as if he would return at any second. There were remnants of the man's life in every corner of that room and the memory of him was so thick that Elsa could almost feel his hand on her shoulder and his breath against her skin as soon as she walked through the door.
Elsa gazed up at the portrait of her father with longing eyes before sitting on the luxurious sofa in the center of the room. Her feet were incredibly sore and sitting down felt amazing. Craving more comfort, Elsa stripped her gloves and heels and sat back in relief. Her eyes wandered to the table next to her where she saw a bottle of scotch whiskey that had belonged to her father and gone undrunk for longer than she could remember.
The blonde was never much for alcohol. She had only ever tasted it a few times in her life and never really liked the taste. But tonight, with the banquet going so well, she was feeling a bit adventurous. The bottle seemed to call to her. If there were any night Elsa felt she deserved a drink, it was tonight.
The princess gave in and reached for the bottle. She pulled the cork out and inhaled deeply, smelling the strong, musky scent of the aged beverage, and found a glass on the table, pouring it half full with the golden-brown liquid.
I think I can actually do this. You'd be proud, Dad.
Just as Elsa was about to take a sip, the door to the balcony swung open, causing a loud bang against the wall. There was a pair of gasps and a flash of light as Aaron stepped through the threshold and locked eyes with Elsa. The liquid in Elsa's glass froze in an instant, forming a solid block of brown ice, and the now-slippery glass fell from her ungloved hand to the floor, shattering with an ear-splitting crash. As the glass met the floor, magical blue ice formed and spread from the epicenter of the accident, covering the carpeted room and all of its furniture. In just a few seconds, Elsa had turned the entire study into one big ice-box.
The prince and princess stared at one another, their thoughts coinciding.
This night just got a whole lot more complicated.