Aaron awoke to a rhythmic grunt coming through the thin wall separating his guest room from his sister's. He sat up and surveyed his unfamiliar surroundings, taking a moment to come to terms with the fact that last night had not been a dream and he was in fact still in the castle of Arendelle under the strangest circumstances imaginable.
The grunts continued, each one followed by a soft thump. He checked the clock to see that it was only 8 AM. Groaning in protest, he rolled out of the comfortable queen-sized bed to get prepared for what would surely be a strange and uncomfortable day. After stretching his sore legs, he dressed in the outfit that Kai had provided him the night before – Aaron's full luggage hadn't been brought to the castle yet. Kai had insisted that anything that the prince needed could be found in the castle and so far that seemed to be the case – each guest room was extravagantly furnished and was complete with its own fully stocked bathroom. It was more than enough.
He yawned as he walked the few feet down the hall to Sophie's where he decided to try the door without knocking, knowing that his sister had surely passed out without locking it.
The door swung open and Sophie let out a startled gasp as Aaron entered. She was lying on the ground, her hands positioned behind her head and her feet tucked under the bed, holding her in place. She was in only her undergarments and was looking at Aaron upside down, apparently interrupted mid sit-up, and a bead of sweat rolled across her forehead. Aaron couldn't help but grin at the ridiculous position he had caught her in.
"Jesus, Aaron, you scared the shit out of me! Close the door, I don't need the servants seeing me without pants on. How very unprincess-like," she said before resuming her exercise, panting and pulling herself up into a sitting position and counting under her breath. The bed shook slightly with each repetition, bumping into the wall and causing the soft thumping noise Aaron had woken up to.
"You know what's unprincess-like? Doing sit-ups first thing in the morning, but that doesn't seem to bother you," Aaron replied with a half-grin. "You know, I think you're the only person in the world that could drink twice as much as me and still wake me up the next morning with your exercise routine. I don't know how you do it. I'm your twin for Godssake and I still don't understand it."
"It's called discipline…. Something you lost… a long time ago."
She finished and stood up, catching her breath as she snatched up her glasses from the nightstand. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get ready for this dreadful day and I suggest you do the same. I'm sure this younger princess is eager to meet you and scope you out. Do be sure to shave, you look like a barbarian."
Aaron brought a hand to his face and felt the rough stubble that lined his chin before waving his sister off and returning to his own room, thinking about what he should expect from the coming day. There was a lot at stake for both Elsa and Aaron here - unfortunately, Elsa was the one with the power (both literally and figuratively). He reminded himself that as long as Sophie remained blissfully ignorant, everything would be okay.
The Astorian prince glanced at himself in the mirror before leaving the room, smoothing back his hair and staring at his bright green eyes. He looked presentable, but not particularly princely in the rather plain vest, shirt and trousers that were provided to him. He had taken his sister's advice and shaved his face clean, showing off his chiseled jawline and olive complexion.
Sophie was still locked up in her room when Aaron came out. Instead of bothering her more, he explored the hallways of the castle, admiring the foreign architecture. He rounded a corner just in time to see who he recognized as the head-maid exiting a room with a tray of tea and half-eaten biscuits. He heard a resounding fit of coughing coming from through the door and assumed that he must have stumbled upon Princess Anna's room.
The maid noticed Aaron approaching and bowed her head. "Greetings, your majesty. I hope you slept well."
"Yes, of course, everything has been quite accommodating, thank you…" he trailed off.
"Gerda, your highness, at your service," she reminded him, unoffended.
"Ah, yes, Gerda. If you don't mind me asking, what exactly ails the younger Princess? I hear she is quite ill."
"Oh, Princess Anna merely has a common cold. She has been quite prone to them ever since she was a young girl but she always bounces back very quickly. The poor girl has quite a vicious fever right now, though. I'm afraid I've tried everything, but it isn't going away," she explained.
"I see." Aaron rubbed his chin and thought for a moment. "If you wouldn't mind, and if it wouldn't be too much of an intrusion, could you show me to the kitchen? I may be able to offer something to help."
The two made their way across the west wing and through a pair of double doors to the residential kitchen. The castle was home to a couple different kitchens - one near the barracks where chefs hustled to and fro almost constantly to feed the guards and servants - and another that was meant solely for the private use of the royal family. Elsa and Anna rarely cooked for themselves but they did enjoy fully stocked cabinets of ther own that only Kai, Gerda, and themselves had permission to use. Its purpose was to fulfill their small needs - mostly midnight snacks and morning cups of tea or coffee.
Aaron inspected the ware of the room and said, "It might seem like a strange question, but I don't suppose you have any icebloom lying around, do you, Gerda?"
The maid thought for a moment. "Icebloom… oh, yes, that flower with the blue stem? I do believe we have quite a large quantity growing in the castle gardens, why do you ask, your highness?"
"If you don't mind fetching one of them for me, I would be grateful. Just one flower will do. And before you go, could you show me where you keep your tea and kettle?"
Gerda did as the prince asked, eager to please her guest; the maid rarely got to attend to anyone except Elsa and Anna and she was thrilled to have change in routine for once.
Aaron began to heat water in the teakettle and searched the cupboard while he waited, retrieving a jar of honey and the strongest tea leaves he could find.
It wasn't long before the maid returned with the icebloom flower in hand. She appeared slightly out of breathe and Aaron smiled at her dedication to his request.
"Didn't take long to find one, these flowers are quite common in Arendelle. Whatever do you need it for?"
The kettle started to whistle and Aaron removed it from the heat before answering, placing the tea leaves into the pot and allowing it to brew. "Not many people know this, but the petals of the icebloom flower actually have unique healing properties if prepared in the right way." As he spoke, he picked up the delicate flower, carefully stripped each petal, and inserted exactly three into the teapot, using a wooden spoon to stir the mixture. He then took the blue stem of the plant and broke it into four separate pieces. He carefully inspected each fragment of the stem and after a moment, chose two that he placed into the concoction and discarded the rest.
"The petals help with the symptoms of a cold – stuffy nose and sore throat and all that – while the stem actually soothes the stomach and provides relief for the more… vulgar side of the illness," he explained as Gerda watched with intrigue. "Unfortunately, icebloom tastes just awful – that's why you mask it with sugar or honey, or else it'll make you feel even worse than you already did." He took a hefty spoonful of honey from the pot he had found and mixed it with the hot water, placing the lid of the pot over it to allow it time to properly brew.
"The honey is actually essential. Without it, the tea won't work properly."
"I had no idea!" Gerda exclaimd. "What a fascinating discovery. Where did you learn about it? Surely there is no icebloom all the way in Astor, is there?"
"It was my mother, actually. She used to prepare this exact tea when I was a young boy whenever I was feeling under the weather. She went to the trouble of importing icebloom all the way from Arendelle. Where she learned about its healing properties, I can only guess. I suppose I'll never get the chance to ask her now..." Aaron's expression fell.
Gerda frowned and placed a hand to her chest. "Oh yes, I remember hearing years ago about the Queen of Astor's passing. I am so sorry for your loss, your highness," she said gently.
"It's quite alright, Gerda. I miss her dearly, but my time to grieve has passed. She was a wonderful woman." A pause. "Now…"
He took the lid of the teapot off and inhaled sharply. "I think it is about ready." He poured the completed beverage into a tea cup and sipped the hot liquid, testing his creation and smacking his lips.
"It's not quite as good as mother used to make, but I expect it will do. Take this to the princess and tell her to drink at least two cups over the next few hours. She should feel much better by this evening."
Gerda gathered the teapot and cups onto a tray as he spoke. "Of course, Prince Aaron. Anna will be quite grateful. Thank you."She bowed politely before rushing off to deliver the remedy to her princess.
Aaron sighed deeply and stared at one of the leftover petals of the icebloom flower with distant eyes, the memory of his mother flooding over him like a cool breeze.
"Thank you Captain, I believe that will be all for today," Elsa stated, closing out the meeting with the gruff man across from her.
Elsa had been swamped with meetings all morning, a fact that seemed to have completely slipped her mind the night before. She was more than anxious to get through them all so she could turn her attention to her guests and keep them... entertained? Busy?
Somehow it feels more like I need to keep an eye on them…
Fortunately, this meeting with Desmond Holdt, the Royal Guard Captain, was Elsa's last of the day and when it was through she would be free to check up on the twins. The captain bowed his head as he stood to leave. "Thank you, Majesty. Until next time."
He started to turn towards the door but stopped before he reached it. "Oh yeah, one more thing. About these two guests of yours. Where did you say they were from?"
"I never mentioned it. They are from far to the west, a place called Astor," Elsa replied.
"Astor? You don't say. Huh, somehow I never would've guessed," said Desmond, raising his eyebrows.
"Are you familiar with it?"
"I wouldn't say I am, but one of my guards says he's from there. I believe his name's Liam. Real quiet guy, joined about a year ago. He doesn't like to talk about his old life in Astor, he always clams up whenever anyone asks. Mysterious place. It seems like barely anybody knows anyone from there. Hell, nobody seems to know anyone that's even visited it."
"That's strange. Come to think of it, I didn't know much about Astor myself before meeting the Prince and Princess and it seems Abram doesn't know much more than me. I think the royal family is just very private and don't get involved in many foreign affairs."
Desmond shrugged. "You're probably right. I guess it might be good for those twins to be out here anyway. Maybe they'll come out of their shell a little."
With that, he bowed again and excused himself from the room. Elsa stared off into space, thinking about how bizarre it was that she knew so little about Aaron and Sophie's home kingdom. She thought back to the conversation she had with Aaron on the balcony. You are not alone.
Astor… she pondered, rubbing her temples. I definitely need to know more about it. Hopefully I can ask the twins some questions tonight. But for some reason, I'm not sure if I even want to know the answers.