Chapter Six: The Opposite of a Stopped Clock

Chairs aren't comfortable for sleeping in.

Anna could sleep through just about anything, up to and including the tornado that had rocked the city when she was seven and even her sister's Coronation, almost. But with her cheek laid uncomfortably against the back of her cozy chair the slightest noise was enough to pull her from her slumber.

The sky was just brightening outside when Elsa groaned in her sleep and Anna's eyes flew open. More lithe than her usual self, she sprung up and went to the bed. With a mind for where her sister's hands were angled, she placed her own palm against Elsa's forehead. She didn't feel burning up. But she usually felt cold, so wouldn't normal temperature be a fever for Elsa?

The Queen made an uncomfortable sound again and rolled over. Anna was concerned, but she didn't think anything was required. She wished she could check if the bandages were bloody, but Elsa's arm wasn't in view and Anna didn't want to disturb her.

A glint caught her eye, a bit of morning light off the polished buttons on one of Elsa's dresses from the closet. Hmmm.

Elsa stirred when she heard a muffled thud. She remembered there was something she was recovering from and was careful not to rise too quickly, but propping herself up on her elbows still made her a bit lightheaded.

The Queen looked up to see her closet door open and a mop of red hair half inside it.

"Anna, what. . . ?"

She didn't have to finish. "Elsa! Shit, I woke you up didn't I?" Anna frowned and immediately abandoned the closet to tend to her. "How's the arm? Are you bleeding any more?"

"My arm. Oh yeah," she said as she looked down. She was wondering why she felt off. Her right arm was tightly wrapped in white bandages. "Why are you here so early?"

They both glanced at the window before Anna poked out her tongue and said, "The sky's awake."

That made the Snow Queen smile. "Well I can't play right now, my head hurts. Maybe later today."

"I tried to figure out what time it is, but your clock is stopped." Elsa felt a pang at the mention of father's clock. "I didn't know until the sun started rising."

She remembered the dizzy feeling that sitting up had caused and asked Anna, "Could I get some water?"

Gerda had left more bandages, ointments, and a pitcher of water on the bedside table. Anna poured some for her.

"Elsa, I get it with your powers and all, but why do you have goblets with winter themes on them? It's summer, silly."

Elsa finished from her long draw of water and lifted the cup to inspect it. "I'm silly? It's just a goblet." She tried to continue with her thought, but she couldn't find the words. Then her eyes fell on her father's ornate clock on the wall. "It's like the opposite of a stopped clock."

"What?"

She held up the silver container of water. "A themed cup is like the opposite of a stopped clock. What does this do?"

"It holds stuff?"

"Yes. Does the pattern on the outside affect that at all?"

A glint of understanding sparked in Anna's eyes. "No. But what does that have to do with clocks?"

"Well, what does that do?" Elsa gestured to the aforementioned clock.

"Nothing."

"Yes, and no. Its intended purpose, to tell time, is not its only function. If it were a cup, it would have a hole in the bottom. And yet it's there. What it does is fill up space on that wall and make the room more appealing as a whole." She didn't mention how father had given it to her on her sixteenth birthday. "It's the opposite of an out-of-season goblet. Its aesthetic is perfect, but it is unquestionably broken when it comes to it's original function. It's the opposite of this goblet, which is perfectly useful but doesn't fit for reasons completely unrelated to its intended purpose." The Queen noticed she'd slept in her ice dress from the day before and frowned. She glanced at her closet. "It's rather like fashion. The tacky, trendy stuff is all flash and no form. A nun's garb is functional but intentionally bland. Now a good dress," she said as she pictured it in her mind and gave her left hand a twirl towards the air, "a good dress is a unity of function and aesthetic."

Anna looked from her sister to the outfit she had just conjured, mouth slightly wide.

"What?" Elsa asked.

"I'm not sure if that was the most amazing thing I've ever heard or if the poppy is still wearing off."

Prince Oakir heard the rumors that Queen Elsa was hurt the next morning with everyone else. He broke his fast quickly and started asking around the castle until he was directed to the person who was caring for her, a portly woman named Gerda who was busy in the kitchens making a thick soup.

"My Pardon. I'm told you are the person to see regarding the Queen's condition." She looked up over the caldron, but her only respons was a critical gaze. "I was wondering if I could see her?"

"You're the boy she was all bothered over, aren't you?"

"She- what? Is she okay?" He was starting to get worried now. They'd left each other on less than ideal terms, but he certainly had thought they would continue seeing each other in the future. Now with this suddenly happening he wasn't as sure. What had happened? Was it related to how they'd left each other the night before?

Gerda rolled her eyes. "Yep, it's you." She went back to stirring her stew. "The Queen isn't vitally hurt, there was an accident and she fell on one of her ice creations. She cut her arm, but she'll be fine. As for seeing her. . . it wouldn't be appropriate for you to see her in her bedchamber, would it, suitor?"

"No, I suppose not," he said, starting to feel a bit defensive. He just wanted to talk to her.

"I'm glad we understand each other. There's three guards, one at each end of the corridor that leads through the Royal wing, and one at the bottom of the wing's main stairwell. They will do everything in their power to stop any unwelcome princes from seeing their Queen."

"Um. . ."

She simply looked at him as her hands went about preparing the meal. It was a meaningful look, then she turned and yelled, "Victoria, the Queen's breakfast is ready!"

Another lady, shorter but with more grace in her movements. She had what he would have called 'platinum blond' hair if he had never set eyes on Elsa. Prince Oakir took that as a dismissal and made to leave the room, but seeing an opportunity he carefully stalled by pretending to take interest in the massive cookfire.

Gerda mentioned, "Come on, I don't want it to be cold by the time she gets it." It was but moments until Victoria had a tray made and set off. Prince Oakir stopped inspecting the stonework and made for the door himself, then pretended to only just then notice the servant was leaving. He held the door, which earned him a thankful smile, and turned off the opposite way she went.

Then he glanced back. She turned left. He quickly and quietly made for the same corner, then poked his head around.

There were plenty of doors and another intersection just downward, and no Victoria to be seen. She was gone. Shit.

He rushed around the corner and kept his ears open as he went. Down the next right he thought he heard something. The Prince headed that way and tried to act casually when he passed forks and confusing passages and occasionally confused servants.

The third intersection was a choice between a turn to the left or straight. He walked through and looked to his left to see Victoria's burgundy dress. He paused as she made a comment in passing to a guard and then disappeared up a stairwell.

Oakir continued down the passage so that he was out of the guard's sight and considered. He might be able to get past the first guard if he distracted him somehow, but there was still a guard at the top of the stairs. He knew vaguely where he was, having seen the Royal balcony from outside. Dammit, how could he get in to see Elsa?

Elsa wasn't allowed to leave her room for the rest of the day. No matter how many "I'm the Queen, I need to this" or "I'm needed for that" Gerda wasn't hearing it. Eventually she accepted her fate, but once the matron was gone to make breakfast Anna finished the sacking of her closet. The new ice dress Elsa had made had been put on a mannequin until she was well enough to try it herself. Anna had pulled it out of the back of the closet, along with an old changing screen.

As far as ball gowns went, Elsa had maybe a dozen that were tailored specifically for her. But then there was the lion's share of mom's wardrobe that she'd inherited, and maybe another eighteen or twenty from when she'd been younger that didn't fit anymore. Then there were more casual dresses and outerwear and proper riding cloths that she'd never worn. It was quite the adventure, Elsa hadn't realized just how many thing in her closet had never been given a second glance.

They were brought up a thick soup and glog with hearty bread about an hour after sunrise and Gerda's insistence on resting. There was no meat in the food, but Gerda could make a fantasy meal out of nothing but butter and lettuce if she needed to. After she had some food in her Elsa felt better and got up, both to join in on the fun and to get out of the dress she'd had to sleep in.

"Ooo, try this one on," Anna said, handing her one of mom's red ball gowns.

"So. . . Anna."

"Yes?"

"Are you okay? With. . . with the whole Hans thing?"

"Pshhh, are you okay with Oakir? I think that's more important right now."

Elsa took a moment to adjust how the red fabric hung from her shoulders, then said, "I think so. I just. . . I'll need to talk with him, apologize for what I did."

"You never mentioned what happened, by the way. You said you didn't want to talk about it."

Elsa was almost done and peaked around the screen. "And you didn't answer me about Hans either." She poked out her tongue at her sister, then said, "Alright, how do I look?

"Damn."

"What?"

"Elsa, you're freaking saucy."

She laughed. "You've said that before, what does it mean?"

Anna raised an eyebrow and a grin ghosted across her face. "You know what it means. It means 'I wish I could pull that off because Kristoff would never look at another woman ever again.'"

"Please, Anna," she said with am eye roll of her own. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Check the mirror if you don't believe me."

She walked over to the vanity. A fire queen looked back at her, the woman's gaze raking critically across her form. The dress was a bright red, enough to show the shadow just beneath her bust. It matched with the splash of blood that was starting to show through her linens on her arm. Her hair wasn't much, she hadn't done anything with it so it just fell loosely behind her.

"It could be better," Elsa said as she started pulling her hair into her favorite style.

"Oh, let me do it!" Anna said. "We haven't done each others hair since we were girls."

"Okay." They pulled the chair that Anna had slept in over and another behind that.

As she leaned her head back and let Anna braid it she said, "I brought up Hans because. . . well, I don't know if I ever told you about what happened that night, after I kicked you out of my ice palace"

"Oh."

"I. . . I know what he did, and that it is not something that any action could balance out. But that day, the two men from Weselton got past Marshmallow and came at me with crossbows ahead of Hans and the others. I barely managed to survive, it was just ice I conjured by reflex." She shuddered a little as she remembered seeing the crossbow bolt inches from her head. "When I realized I could use my powers to defend myself I pinned one of them to a wall. I didn't hurt him, I just put enough ice around him that he couldn't move. But the second one tried to get around to the side of me. I made a wall between us and pushed it towards him, further and further until he was out on the ledge of my balcony. I realized he wasn't going to stop for anything. He tried to kill me, and either he was going to succeed or I was going to stop him. I kept pushing him until he was right on the edge. I was going to push him off. . . so that I could survive. But then Hans arrived. He said, 'Don't be the monster they fear you are.' And when the pinned guard took one last shot at me, Hans grabbed him and made sure he missed. It hit the chandelier and I got knocked out anyway, but he saved me, in more ways than one.

"I don't know why he did that, Anna. I know he planned on killing me at some point afterwords, along with everything else. But he saved me, and he stopped me from killing that man with my powers. I. . . I just don't know how to reconcile his actions and his motives. I guess as he walked into the room, in that split second he saw something to be gained from saying that and not allowing me to be killed."

"Wow. I- Elsa, I'm not sure what to say."

"You don't have to say anything. I just wanted you to know that, well, Hans was deceitful and ambitious and horrible, but he is the reason I don't have blood on my hands." She stopped to sigh, then changed the subject. "Anyway, I think I am good with Oakir. I need to apologize, but. . . how Gerda talked about him last night made me think. He's just a boy. A boy I could marry if I wanted to, but a boy all the same. If it doesn't work out that will feel like shit, but I've got like, heh, just under other sixty suitors to chose from."

"So what happened there? You said you argued."

Elsa felt heat on her face. "I. . . we kissed." Her sister gasped, a good kind of gasp with a smile and a look. "I kissed him, and just sort of lost myself," she said guiltily.

"Oh. Oh. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, he didn't. . . he didn't let it go anywhere."

"Wait, he didn't?"

"Yeah." Elsa felt like disappearing into the mirror, and a rather heavy snowfall coalesced around them.

There was the gentle pull and tug on her hair as Anna braided it, then, "Elsa?"

"Yeah?"

"What if I told you that. . . no, nevermind."

"What?"

Anna finished off the braid and let her hands fall, so with a nudge Elsa shifted her chair so she faced her sister. "I know what you said," Anna started, "about me and Kristoff and, you know, that stuff. I'm a princess, and this isn't something I can make mistakes on. But, what if I told you that Kristoff and I had. . . fooled around. . . and one thing led to another."

Elsa didn't have any inflection, she couldn't intentionally. Not with the snow suddenly falling around them. But she hoped her eyes showed understanding. "Did you. . . ?"

"Yes." Anna wiped her sleeve across her face.

"Oh Anna," Elsa said with a hug. "Are. . . are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. It's just that, you know, you said I couldn't do that kind of stuff because of marriage prospects, and I said I wasn't ready," she glanced at Elsa, "which was the truth at the time that I said it to you, and Kristoff said we shouldn't because I'm a princess, but it all just felt so right. And we just sort of got caught up-"

"Anna," she said to break her sister's rambling. "It's alright. Everything is going to be fine." She squeezed her sister again. "But you do have to talk with Gerda. If you get. . ." Anna sobbed at that into her shoulder. "Well I suppose we can rush a wedding, it wouldn't be the end of the world. But my point is I know Gerda can make a tea to, you know, stop it from taking."

"I already talked with Gerda about that. I went to her the morning after and she made it for me," Anna said as she came back to herself.

A pang ran through Elsa when she realized Anna had told Gerda before her own sister, but that was silly and she pushed the feeling away. "That's good Anna. I don't know much about this stuff, but I've heard that the sooner the better. Gerda knows what she's doing."

"She said there's still a chance. It's not a sure thing, the tea. I could be. . ." she didn't finish and tear started welling up again in the corners of her eyes.

"Everything is going to be fine. We'll get through this together, no matter what happens. Okay?"

"Okay," she answered with a slight smile. "I love you Elsa."

"I love you too, Anna."

They hugged once more.

"So, how do you want your hair?" Elsa said, trying to move the conversation to a better place.

"I don't care, anything."

"Good, because I only know how to do a french braid," Elsa said with a laugh.

"We can match," Anna said as she wiped her eyes again.

They switched seats and Elsa started unraveling a knot on the side of Anna's head. Only then did she put two and two together. "You slept here last night, didn't you? In this chair."

"Yes I did. My sister was hurt."

"Thank you for-"

Clink

The sound came from the windows. They looked over at it.

Clink

"What the. . . ?" Elsa said. As she got up her room swam slightly, but went to the door the opened out to the balcony. She caught sight of a small rock before it bounced off the glass with a slight scratch.

She opened the door and stepped out. By this time Anna was behind her. Elsa went to the stone railing and was promptly hit in the shoulder with another pebble.

"Ow. Who's throwing these?" she called as she looked over the edge.

The open courtyard was empty at first glance, with a few people going about their day out in the castle holdings. Then she saw a figure detach from the profile of a tree and saw it was Prince Oakir. Anna came up next to her and gasped a little.

"Oakir? What are you doing?"

"I'd heard you were hurt, but they won't let me come see you. I wanted to talk. To apologize for last night."

Elsa rubbed her shoulder and glanced around the courtyard again. This was far too public. It wasn't like a ball or a meeting in the library, he was standing outside her bedchamber window. If anyone saw, she wouldn't hear the last of it.

But Anna was already out on the balcony with her, so there was no hope of doing something sensible. "See the door at the bottom of that tower?" her sister pointed. "Wait until you see me, then go up one flight. We'll distract the guards."

A crease formed between Elsa's eyebrows and she rubbed it, her only sign of frustration. She followed as they went back through her room.

"Alright," Anna said conspiratorially, just before they stepped out into the hallway. "You go send the one at the end of the hall away for something, I'll get that one to escort me into the city. I'll be back to help you get him out in. . . hmmm, how long do you think you'll need?"

"Anna this isn't a good idea. It's so clearly not a good idea."

"You like him. He likes you. You fought, yeah, but now you both want to forget about that. This needs to be done, or else you might not get another chance to talk to each other any time soon."

"We'll see each other tomorrow night at the next ball."

"Elsa," her sister said, in a way that meant how-could-you-think-like-that-it-isn't-nearly-the-same.

"Fine. Give us twenty minutes."

Anna smiled. "An hour it is." She set off towards the tower that led down to the courtyard, the one she herself had used to get back into the castle after her talk with Kristoff. After a moment talking with him she led him down the stairwell.

Elsa seriously wanted to just go back into her room. When the second guard caught Oakir she could feign ignorance. Oakir would see how foolhardy this little stunt was and there would be no scandal for her to deal with. But although it would absolve her, that would likely put him in an even worse position. Especially if the magic words 'treason' or 'assassination' were muttered.

She went to the opposite end of the hallway and the guard there stood straighter as she approached.

"Sir, I-" She stopped. "Your name is Gerrik."

"Indeed it is, 'Mam." He smiled at her recognition. "We talked at the gate four days ago, or maybe five."

"You gave me good counsel." She didn't mention that her advisers were less than pleased she'd found out about that man at the docks. She had a thought and asked, "Tell me, Gerrik, can I trust you?"

"I- Of course, Your Majesty." He seemed slightly offended that she needed to ask.

"What if it went somewhat beyond your vows to protect me and my family?"

"I'm not sure what you mean, Your Majesty."

The wheels in her head were spinning, and she looked back. Oakir would be emerging from the door at the opposite end of the corridor any minute now. It might not matter as much as she'd thought, but better safe than sorry.

"My sister is likely to be back in a moment so I don't have time now. When is the next shift change?"

"In three hours, Your Majesty."

"Could you run and get another two cups of glog from Gerda? No need to bother Victoria, just bring it back with you yourself. And we'll talk more later. Before you change shift."

"I should abandon my post, Your Majesty?"

"Just for a moment. There's another guard at the bottom of this tower, right?"

"Aye."

"Well my sister will be back soon with the other guard. I'll be fine."

Still looking somewhat unsure, Gerrik left.

Not a minute later Prince Oakir emerged from the door at the far end of the hallway. Elsa saw him and slipped back into her room. He made to follow but was met with a shut door, so he knocked lightly.

"Come in."

The Prince felt his throat constricting as he stepped through the doorway. From the balcony she'd only been an angry blur of red dress and white hair, but seeing her so close was difficult in other ways.

Her ball gown fell past her knees, but a slit ran up one side that almost reached her hip. It was sleeveless, showing a white bandage that contrasted against her skin much less than the blood it framed.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"For?"

"For being. . . so perturbed by what happened last night. It just sort of knocked me off my feet, and I needed to get myself back together."

Her look softened. "I can understand that."

"Thank you."

"And I apologize for. . . for being so forward. It wasn't proper."

Oakir smiled. "Well I don't give a shit about proper. Formal language is more a barrier than a tool. It just was something I had to get used to the idea, is all."

Elsa raised an eyebrow. "This was more than a little foolish, however. I just told off Anna's boyfriend for pulling stuff like this. What if you're seen? And even if you aren't, Anna is never going to let me live this down. I'm supposed to be the role model Oakir."

That wiped the smile off his face. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty. That was too familiar of me. I just- I felt that I needed to see you."

She looked down at her arm, then held it out. "There it is. The source of your consternation. A cut. Gerda tended to it yesterday, and now I'm healing. I'm fine."

His eyebrows pulled together until they almost met. "Elsa, this cut," he gestured to her arm that was still held out, "is not my only source of consternation. Our. . . ." He seemed at a loss for words for a moment. "Our, uh, courtship is also something that I worry about. Particularly after last night. I wanted to smooth things over."

Elsa's lips formed a hard line. "Yes, I can believe that."

"So. . . that's what I'm trying to do." He was losing his footing fast. "Yet you still seem upset, and I don't know what to do about that."

"And how would you react if I told you that there's nothing you can do to change how I feel?"

He opened his mouth, but the sinking feeling in his chest made him close it and almost reflexively take a step back, his eyes making their way towards the corner of the room. "I would likely be extremely disappointed," he somehow managed to say.

"You want to-" Oakir noticed her voice catch for a moment, but she didn't let the stumble stop her. "You want to 'smooth things over' with me. That is your intention. Thank you for being honest in that regard. But it seems our priorities are not in the same arrangement on some things. There is a ball tomorrow. We would have danced then. In fact I expect we still will. We will meet again in the future. You thought it was necessary to throw rocks at my window and sneak into my room to smooth things over?"

He couldn't reconcile what was happening with the passion and the daring he had seen in Elsa the night before, when she had closed the distance between their lips and made his stomach do somersaults. It was the only response he could muster, and only too late did he realize it might sound accusatory.

"But you seemed so eager to throw all that to the wind when-" Prince Oakir had to stop himself from physically slapping his hand over his own mouth. Elsa's shoulders rolled back, her hands fell to her hips, and her eyebrows disappeared into the fringes of her wild hair. "I'm sorry. You know I wouldn't say that harshly, Elsa. I'm just so confused right now. Oh man I've lost my footing so badly."

She glared at him. It was a glare that he swore could have frozen him solid, but as distracted as he was he had the presence of mind to note the lack of precipitation in the room. Unlike him, she was on solid ground.

"You know, Oakir, if I didn't know you better that would have been it. This courtship would have been done." He saw a glimmer of hope. This wasn't a complete wreck? "I can see where you went awry, so let me make things crystal clear so that we don't have this miscommunication again. If and when we are ever alone together again and get caught up in- in certain feelings, that is one thing. Alone, with the ability to-" she cast out an arm and her closet door was frozen shut "-ensure our privacy, that is the kind of situation where we might, hypothetically, be able to forget about the fact that I'm a Queen and you're a Prince and our actions affect the lives of every person in a dozen mile radius.

"But in every other situation, we are not to let that fact slip from our minds. If you are ever to be a King one day. . . ." She jabbed a finger and him and he flinched away, fearing an icicle through his heart that didn't come. Elsa saw the motion and her hand dropped like a stone. It was odd because distantly there was the faint clatter of something falling from somewhere. In a softer, shaky tone Queen Elsa finished, "If you're ever my King, you'd better not put some romantic gesture over my people. Are we clear?"

The door slammed open.

Gerrik didn't agree with the idea that a loyal guard was a passive and unquestioning one. Not many of his commanding officers saw the trait in a favorable light. He knew it was risking his relatively comfortable life as a royal guard to question Queen Elsa's order to fetch her food. But his duty was to protect the royal family. Leaving the hallway completely unguarded seemed like enough of a breach to ask for clarification, and the Queen had been willing to oblige him and even reassure him. Fornol was going to be back soon, and Gendry was still at his post at the bottom of the royal wing's staircase.

This is how the Queen's bedchamber came to be unguarded.

The guard had gone down to the kitchens as he'd been ordered, passing Gendry at the bottom of the stairs and quickly telling him to be careful. Then he'd got to the kitchens.

"Queen Elsa requires more glog, 'mam" he said.

Gerda turned to him and burst into laughter.

"I'm sorry," he said, confused. "I don't understand what's so funny."

"Honey, the Queen needs a lot more than glog. Oh wow," she chucked, almost to herself. "I didn't think he would actually do it, but damn."

"So. . . can I have some glog? Two cups, specifically?"

"She asked for two? But Princess Anna left, didn't she?" She started fiddling around with a cauldron then.

He narrowed his eyes. This wasn't the first hint she was eerily knowledgeable. "Yes, she did. But it just happened moments ago. How did you know that?"

"Oh, never you mind. You better get these to the Queen," she said, producing two cups of warm, spiced wine. "You know how she likes her glog," Gerda said with a heavy implication.

"'Mam, the Queen doesn't over drink. I can assure you, I've guarded the royal wing four times now since her coronation."

"I know, dear. I'm sorry. I'll stop messing with you." She handed him the cups and couldn't suppress a mirth filled smile. Gerrik was getting the feeling he was being laughed at.

With a curt but nonetheless formal parting, he made his way back to the royal wing.

"Wish I could have some," Gendry said as he passed.

"Heh. Maybe tomorrow at The Scarlet Candle."

Gerrik of the Royal Guard started up the staircase, then past his own post towards the Queen's bedchamber. He noticed immediately that Fornol's post at the opposite end of the corridor was still unoccupied. It made him uneasy the wing was so undefended, but Elsa had already placated him on that front. She was safe up here, with no one to bother her.

When he was maybe ten feet from Elsa's bedchamber door, he dropped the two cups of glog. He could hear the Queen. Muffled as she was through the door, he only caught a bit. ". . . slip from our minds! If you are ever. . . ." She was clearly distressed, and she was supposed to be alone. Someone had gotten past them, because he had been stupid enough to leave Her Majesty wounded and unguarded.

He pulled his sword from its sheath without hesitation and slammed the door open.

Queen Elsa stood in the center of the room, face slightly reddened to match her violently red ball gown and the splotch on her bandage. A young man, Gerrik recognized him as one of the suitors from the balls, stood several feet from her. He had been facing away, and his back was still turned. The youth had fear in his eyes and without thinking Gerrik lowered the tip of his sword.

He felt like he should demand "What is going on here?" But. . . in just a moment he put the pieces together. The two cups of glog, Gerda's mirth and the seemingly obvious joke that he couldn't possibly get. The abject fear in this young man's eyes at having been caught in the Queen's bedchamber. He wasn't sure of the details, but he didn't have to be to know what was going on. And with that realization he also realized he might have overreacted slightly.

So he settled on carefully sheathing his sword and asking, "Your Majesty, all you alright?"

"Yes, I am. And as you can see, Gerrik, I'm not being attacked. The temporary lack of guards was. . . rather orchestrated," she added in explanation.

"I- I apologize, Your Majesty. I should have- um. . . " he started. "I should not have burst in." That much was true, but there was no way this played out without him discovering the young man here, the Prince if he wasn't mistaken. She had asked for him specifically to bring the glog back to this room. There was maybe a ten minute window in which he would have arrived. If she was going to try to slip her guards and. . . do this, how did she not expect that?

"True, you shouldn't have, but I'll take the blame for that mishap. I should not have lost my temper. This could have gone smoother, but it will be fine." She looked away from him and back at the youth. "Gerrik, earlier I asked if I could trust you. I have your word on that?"

Suddenly he felt a chill. Not a magical chill, no. At that moment the Queen was cold and calculating in a way that had nothing to do with her ice powers. It was his third encounter with this woman, the ruler he had sworn upon his life to protect and serve, but for the first time he saw through the barriers of status and of formal language and caught a glimpse of her cunning. Something akin to awe ran through him. If Gerda had her finger on the pulse of the castle, Elsa was the heart that pumped it. It was by her whim that things moved. She had the power. It was no accident that he had interrupted this escapade just as he did. Gerrik wasn't sure what was going on or why, but he was certain she had played every piece in this little game to her advantage, including himself.

All that happened at the speed of thought though. It took him but a moment to reply, "Yes, Your Majesty." A tremor crept into his voice, a byproduct of being a small pawn on a large board.

"Good. Escort Prince Oakir to the guest wing. Make sure no one sees him leaving my quarters, even the other guards. Then have Gerda come up with more glog. And, of course, tell no one of this."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" He looked at the young man. If he needed a grip on the Prince's arm to get him out, he wouldn't be hesitant to do so. But the intruder took one last look at Queen Elsa before leaving the room on his own.

They marched down the hallway, past Fornol's abandoned post and through the small servant's stairwell that led directly to the grounds.

"Stay here," he said as he opened the door outside and too a glance. There was no one nearby. "Alright, go."

They tried to walk unobtrusively, like a Prince and an attendant, but Gerrik stayed just a tad closer than a servant usually would. They headed towards the guest wing. As they went the guard noticed how defeated the younger man was.

They entered the castle proper and he felt stirred enough to breach the silence. "So, what was that about, anyway?"

Prince Oakir turned away slightly. "I was concerned for the Queen, and wanted to see her. When the matron Gerda would not allow me to see the Queen. . . well, she implied that I shouldn't let that stop me from trying, and I went and found another way to see her. I threw rocks at her balcony window until she and the Princess took notice and things just worked from there."

"The Princess and the Queen were in on it," he said with more than a bit of relief. That was acceptable. If he had failed due to sheer ineptitude, that would have been a fuck up worthy of resigning. But their defenses hadn't been pierced so much as dismantled. He had been considering how he might word his resignation or even handle his dismissal if things came to that, although Elsa had in fact implied that she wanted nothing of the sort.

"Yeah. But Elsa didn't see it favorably."

"I don't either."

"Fuck you," he said just as casually. Gerrik's head snapped towards the young man, but he was beyond acknowledging much of anything as he looked at an angle towards the ground with absent eyes.

They continued on to the guest wing. When the reached it Gerrik saluted and said, "Prince Oakir." At least it earned him a turned head. Then the Prince was walking away.

"Son. . . I'd almost envy you," Gerrik said as Prince Oakir rounded a corner. Then he remembered the chill he got when he figured out he was a mechanism in some larger game that he was blind to and said, "Eh, maybe not."