A/N: And we start with the main part ofthe story. The previous part was a way to introduce part of the past of the new character. Now enjoy our Snow Queen in her many facets! Again, reviews, comments and ideas are always welcome! (Pd: All characters of Frozen are under the ownership of Disney.) "Have a great time!" *wink*
10 years later
It was after midday of a warm day in early June, near the Summer Solstice in Arendelle, the castle noisy of business with servants coming and going, doing their jobs to attend the royal sisters and the present noblemen of the neighbor kingdoms that had arrived that morning to discuss of diplomatic, trading and other affairs. It was a common noise, one that was broken by high double wooden doors being slammed shut and the clacking of high heels. The braided platinum blonde hair of Queen Elsa swung behind her, light blue icy cap almost flowing in the air from the speed of her steps, high ice heels clacking with annoyance in the floor, the tail of her long icy gown trailed behind her and intense blue eyes staring ahead her path while storming through the hallways to her office.
"The nerve of that man! Please, Lady Nightingale, remind me to never invite that men again! This is outrageous! Talking to me like I was a uncapable of thinking for my own and insinuating that I cannot rule a kingdom! After two years of ruling and in my home! Unacceptable" Elsa said annoyance in her soft mezzosoprano voice. She looked towards the young women who was accompanying her, and blue eyes met silver ones.
"I will, your Majesty, I would also suggest to delicately call for another representative for Incoria's Kingdom."Lady Nightingale answered with her serene contralto voice. She wore black trousers with a golden line by the side, a simple white shirt under a black buttoned jacket with golden epaulets in the shoulders, several medals at the right side of her chest and the golden crocus of Arendelle in the left side and black leather gloves covered her hands. She was as tall as Elsa, about 5'7''ft, and her long white hair was tide in a single high ponytail that allowed to see a little more of her toasted skin. "But, let me say that you put that man in his place… His face of utter shock was quite a view"Lady Nightingale said while arriving to Elsa's office. The memory of an authoritative and queenly Elsa raising her voice to silence the man while freezing her side of her table and the wall behind her was one she always felt proud at seeing not only because Elsa had beautiful winter powers, but also you scarcely could see the Queen being overwhelming since she has a good heart and is always gentle towards the people around her, which tended to cause for the outsiders to look her less.
"About that… you shouldn't have point your sword at him… It was, after all, a diplomatic reunion." Elsa said with an eyebrow raised.
"Well, I was protecting your emotional and mental integrity. It is part of my job, your Majesty."Lady Nightingale said with a sly smile and an amused tone in her voice while patting the hilt the sword by her left hip.
"Elsa…"
"Beg your pardon?" She said closing the door behind them. The room they had entered was big but simple, with an antechamber that worked as Elsa's office with a dark wooden desk and two matching seats on front and a little living room near a fireplace followed by a wooden white door that connected with Elsa's chambers.
"I have told you to call me Elsa when we are alone, Kira" Elsa said almost accusatory. "Two years as Queen, and two years you keep been formal with me even alone. I've known you for ten years and since I'm queen I had to remember you every day of the same thing, why?" Confusion in her blue eyes staring at silver and resignation in her voice.
"I'm sorry Els, I'm just too proud to call my friend with such a high title. Just as I call by her title to Anna… And she also gets bothered by it…"Kira said scratching the back of her neck with a sheepish grin "I can't avoid it… I'm happy for you both" She gave her a warm smile and Elsa answered back with one of her own while a little blush crept in her pale cheeks.
"It's alright. Just try to remember it or I'll call you by your title too, Grand Marshal and Lady Protector Nightingale." Elsa said while sitting in her desk, Kira sat in the seat in front of her across the desk
"Ok...ok. I'll remember it… didn't know it bothered you so much…"Kira said while raising her hands playfully.
"No. It doesn't, I'm sorry… it's just…" Elsa trailed off.
"You want to be treated like a normal person and not a special one?"Kira said, knowing what she was talking about, although Elsa didn't know that part of her.
"Yeah… I don't know how you can understand me so easily… even from when we first met." Elsa said with a soft smile. Kira shrugged
"I just felt… identified… by you. People expecting things and behaviors from you, not actually wanting to see the real you, some others even afraid of you, having to take distance to protect other, but knowing that you have family and friends that love you and support you…"Kira trailed off.
Elsa give her a warm smile as an answer and started going over the scrolls that she had left undone before the last meeting, although she was still a little annoyed for the early encounter but was trying to let it go. She started reading a trading scroll, she loved working with numbers and strategizing, but a few minutes later she realized she couldn't concentrate in the scroll in her hands, something was bugging her. She looked up to speak to Kira, only to hold herself at seeing her focused in other scroll that she had taken from the desk to aid Elsa in her work.
"What's bugging you?"Kira said without looking up the scroll, she knew Elsa very well to even sense when was disturbed or upset. "Something about the meeting with the neighbor Kingdoms' deputies?"Now she was looking right to Elsa, concern written in silver.
"Yeah. There was something odd, but I can't put my finger on it. Something was not right." Elsa said with a frown.
"Maybe it was Lord Huntington's attitude?"Kira said with a sly grin
"No, it wasn't" Elsa retorted a little annoyed at the remainder of that bald eccentric infuriating man. "This is serious, I'm not playing around, there was something odd… You walked around the room… Did someone acted different or looked nervous?" Elsa was forcing her brain trying to figure out what was the strange thing in that room.
"Now that you mention it… I think I did. Lord Bachelsen from the Southern Isles and Sir Figenborg were acting more agitated than usual… I could see them squirming lightly in their seats and sending glares to each other now and then… I thought at the beginning that they were just nervous at your presence or that didn't want to interrupt you… but even after talking of their department of interest, they keep on in the same attitude. I dismissed it because of Lord Huntington's attitude with his poking and his ego… he was really testing our composure and resolution…but it was ...mmm… peculiar…" Kira answered Elsa's question after thinking a little while. "Should I ask one of my men to look into them?"She raised an eyebrow.
"Let's no rush to conclusions… You said that our Captain of the Guard was acting strange? The guard hasn't show any different schedules from previous ones… mmm…" Elsa was deep in thought, her eyes like looking to a void while her long delicate fingers tapped in the wooden desk. She couldn't imagine the tall, dark haired, kind and loyal man as a possible conspirator.
"Elsa…?"
"Yes?"
"You were saying…?"
"Oh! Sorry… I was thinking…" Elsa blushed and gave a small sheepish smile. "Change the schedules of the guards, let's see how the Captain response… and about Lord Bachelsen… let's give him the benefit of the dude… maybe he was anxious for the King of the Southern Isles pressing him to regain trust with our realm." The decision was acceptable, but Elsa still felt uncomfortable like she was missing something or wasn't diligent enough with this; only that she didn't know even if they had a possible threatening situation in hand, there was just suspicions of it from the late behavior of two people, so she let it go for the time being. She felted a warm hand gripping gently hers. She looked to see her hand been covered by a gloved one and then up to her owner.
"Don't distrust your hunch, you know something was wrong and I also sense it. Besides, you have Anna, Kristoff and me to support you… and the rest of the Kingdom… So, don't worry, or you'll wrinkle your forehead" Kira said in a warm light chuckle. Elsa raised an eyebrow and giggle at her last statement knowing that she was trying to distract her from her worries.
"Now, we should talk of the Summer Festival for the Kingdom. It's two weeks from today and we need to plan this…" Elsa said with a more serious expression, then coughed to cover the grumbling noise of her stomach which failed when she realized that Kira was raising an eyebrow and sniggering.
"Kai?!Kira call to the door to be, seconds later, opened by a bulky man with the servant's uniform and half-bald brown hair. He was Elsa's loyal steward since the accident with her sister that ended in her being secluded in her room and had accompanied her all the way through including the death of her formal King and Queen and the events of her coronation.
"You called, Lady Nightingale?" Kai asked
"Yes, Kai, would you be so gentle to ask for our lunch and to be brought here at the Queen's office" Kira said with a polite smile
"It's not necessary… I am not…" Elsa started saying but was cut off at a serious stare from Kira
"It is… her Majesty has skipped her breakfast and is about to do the same with lunch. We do not want an unhealthy ruler, do we?""Kira retorted with a sly smile to Kai.
"Fine, and please ask for two cups of black tea too." Elsa said and waive her hand as a dismissive while saying thanks without noticing Kira mouthing to Kai for some sweets while winking at him. Kai bowed and left with a soft smile. He later returned with some trays with the lunch, a couple of cups of warm coffee and a sophisticated box of chocolate that he put in the center table at the living room across the desk. Kira nod to Kai while giving a soft smile and offer Elsa a hand to help her stand and take her to the living room, then help her sit comfortably and sit in front of her. They started eating calmly without talking, until Elsa broke the silence.
"Now that I think it, I have never asked you about Arkaria and their traditions, how it was like? Do you have the same traditions or are they different from ours?" Elsa said innocently but her eyes shone with excitement.
"Ah… well… yes… our traditions are different than yours. For example, the Summer Festival for us wasn't a day that every merchant will put a spot with a little of each of their summer products and let people taste it and then a big ball for everyone to dance and keep on eating. Not that it's bad, don't take me wrong…Our is… was… a gathering of every citizen in the main squares of every city, we would cook our meal by the Great Fire in the center and share the meal that we did around it, then, when everyone had finished, we would dance around the Great Fire saying goodbye to the spring and welcoming the summer with the 'Dance of the Sun', dancing with the movement of fire to ask for a warm, lively, fruitful and prosperous season". Kira stopped talking for a second, her gaze lost with a soft smile in her face, like she was remembering something. "The Princess was always bubbling around trying to help people to cook, but as she was little, they always asked her to bring the food and supplies not actually wanting her to get near the Fire, and she always was overjoyed by that. Then she would take a tray and give as better and elegant as she could the meal to the King and Queen, and then to me, but she always stumbled in her way and dropped part of the meal."Kira gave a sad chuckle"Anna does remined me of her…" she trailed off while giving a warm sad smile to Elsa that was frowning at seeing her best friend upset.
"You worked as a companion for the Princess?" Elsa said softly, trying not to bring more pained memories to her friend.
"Y…Yes… I accompany her everywhere as my parents worked in the castle. The Royal family really cared about me and I used to play with the Princess every day and try to avoid getting in trouble… She was really mischievous, excitable and a little clumsy."Kira said with a light giggle looking to the unlighted fireplace. Elsa felt like Kira wasn't telling everything… or she wasn't telling the truth?... she didn't know, but she dismissed it as it was a painful memory for Kira.
"And why it was called the Shifting Kingdom?" Elsa enquire, excitement back in her eyes.
"Uh… that's because the colors of the buildings of every city in the Kingdom would change depending on the weather, and the runes that we had in our bodies would shift when we achieved certain ages or change of work or rank on it. It was a blessing that our realm received by the gods… or that's what the tales told"Kira said shrugging.
"Do you still have the runes? Can I see them?" Elsa asked excitedly
"Em… n…no…they…the runes disappeared after the destruction of the capital..."Kira responded sadness in her eyes. In her head, she was screaming "Damn it, Elsa! Why all the sudden you are so interested in my past… you don't want to know who I am, what I did, the monster I became… no! she can't know! She won't know!"