"It was my cow first!" The portly man pointed an accusing finger at the man next to him. "This man, this… this thief stole it from me! He says it wandered onto his land, but I put up fences. I know it couldn't have left my property without somebody's help. None of his cows can breed so as soon as one of mine gets pregnant he snatches it up."

Elsa looked at the tall man whose only defense was to roll his eyes. Why had they come to her? A seemingly simple matter like this could have been addressed by any judge. She glanced at her advisors; several were on the edges of their seats peering down at the tall, imposing figure. One of them, Samuel, gave her a furtive look. He didn't trust her to make the politically correct choice. Elsa looked closer and almost groaned aloud. He was Eddard Cambert, one, if not the richest non-royal in Arendelle. She couldn't risk irking him.

"Do either of you have proof the cow is yours?" The farmer had to give her some evidence.

Eddard took it upon himself to step forward, "I never stated the cow was mine. She wandered onto my land ten months ago. The farmer never complained until he realized she's pregnant. If he didn't notice before, he shouldn't care now."

Elsa nodded, this was easier than she'd thought, "The cow must certainly belongs to the original owner," Eddard straightened and her shot her apprehensive glances. "However the calf was conceived of Eddard's land and that makes the calf his. Until the calf is born the cow will be kept on Eddard's land." Neither looked particularly pleased, but they were sated.

Elsa watched them retreat and turned to Samuel, "How many more are there?"

"Only two more, your majesty."

Elsa nodded and gave a subtle stretch. There were always a lot of plaintiffs the day before market day.

The next lady stepped forward. Her beauty showed through the swell of her belly which she stroked with anxious, trembling hands. "Your majesty," she attempted to give a curtsy, but her belly prevented her from bending over too far.

"State your complaint." Elsa smiled down at the frail woman.

"I was working at the tavern in town," she paused looking upset. "Once they found out I was pregnant they dismissed me."

Samuel stepped forward. "Don't bother us with such petty complaints. If the dismissal was on ground of your pregnancy, then you can return to your job once the baby is born. In the mean time your husband can support you."

The woman blushed, "My husband is dead." Why then wasn't she mourning? Elsa wondered.

Elsa looked at her advisors, hadn't they been complaining that she needed a maid? "You're fortunate, but the castle has a shortage of employees." The woman's eyes lit up "come here in a week and we'll get you situated."

"Thank you your majesty," the woman attempted another curtsy. "Thank you so much!"

Elsa nodded; it was nice when she could do something for her subjects. Her advisors frustration was palatable. They clearly didn't approve of her decision. Never the matter, she was queen. The next plaintiff stepped forward. He was a tiny boy, definitely below ten. His clothing was dirty, more patches than actual fabric. Elsa's stomach twisted.

"Your majesty," he gave a clumsy bow almost falling.

"State your complaint," Elsa tried to give a sympathetic smile to the young boy. He looked so scared.

"My brother was put in prison," he looked up. His face twisted by desperation, "He's innocent. He wouldn't hurt anything."

Samuel stepped forward, "I'm sorry, but if he's in jail than he has committed some crime. You've mistaken what we do here."

"Please! I know he didn't do anything wrong!"

Samueal moved to speak again, but Elsa held up her hand. "I'll do everything I can." The boy still looked nervous. "I promise, I'll take care of this. What's your brother's name?"

"Christian, Christian Nelson."

Elsa tried to give the boy a reassuring smile, "I'll see to it personally."

The boy gave a blinding smile, "Thank you your majesty!" His shoulders loosened and when he departed the room he nodded to almost everyone he passed.

Elsa stood up, brushing imaginary wrinkles out of her dress. Around her the advisors came out of the statue positions and Samuel turned to her. "If he really committed a crime, you can't free him. Having a little brother with big eyes in no way makes you special."

"He's not asking me to free him; he saying he believes his brother to be innocent." Elsa turned away, "Siblings are surprisingly intuitive."

You wouldn't know. You've never really been a sister. You failed at that, just like you fail at being queen.

Elsa left the hall; best not to let her advisors see her with a shadow.

Imagine if they knew you were insane! Several of them already think they should depose you.

They wouldn't depose her; Elsa was a good queen. Sure she had ice powers, but that didn't take away from her ability to rule.

Oh darling, you're far too sentimental. You just proved that you let your emotions rule.

Letting emotions rule isn't a bad thing. Elsa turned into the library. She slammed the door behind her. The hazy warmth washed over her, chasing away the shadow. She stepped forward and sunk into the chair behind her desk. Even its solid build and sharp corners seemed comforting

Elsa opened a drawer and pulled out the journal. Tucking her legs beneath her, she began to read.

I'm sorry I haven't written in a while, but legibility is a near impossible feat on this ship. I am sailing to Seekren. Adgar tried to stop me. He believed that the trip might be dangerous in my condition. I'm pregnant not ill. (Though I must confess the waves do not help my morning sickness.) He tried to come with me, but a diplomatic meeting is scheduled for this month. In my humble opinion, it is a bit his fault. He probably shouldn't have planned a diplomatic mission for the month I was due.

A guard reported that someone had seen my brother in Seekren and I knew that I had to leave, whatever my condition. If I wait for the pregnancy Kai will be long gone. He rarely stays in one place for an hour, much less an entire month. Even though I left the day after I heard of my brother, I know searching for him is near impossible.

Despite its improbability I have to take the chance that I'll at least learn more about what happened to my brother.

…

"Come on!" Sanderson followed Jack up the hallway.

"I'm not interested." Jack ignored him; he had to get to the library. Stick's expression darkened considerably.

Sanderson grabbed Jack's shoulder and spun him around. "It was just a bit of fun. I'm sorry that you took it so seriously."

"You attacked me! You were an inch away from hitting my head."

Sanderson leaned against the wall, his eye's as lazy as his apologizes, "Look, you clearly weren't learning anything from those boring drills. I was just trying to speed up your training."

"You're supposed to be cleaning the privies." Stick stepped towards Sanderson trying to intimidate the smaller man, but Stick rolled his eyes, ignoring him.

"Calm down, I'll go clean the privies in a minute." He turned to Jack, a pathetic expression on his face. "I would never actually hurt you. I just wanted you to get a taste of what actual swordplay is like. When you're actually fighting it's fast and confusing and you're so incredibly afraid." He gave jack a gentle smile and held Jack's gaze "I really am sorry. Thinking back my actions were pretty out of nowhere." When Jack made no move to respond, Sanderson gave one last smile and turned around. "I'm going to go see if the maids have any cake left."

Stick lunged after him, the vein in his neck popping. "You're going to the privies." Jack glanced at Jack and sighed. His eyes brows squeezed together and he rubbed his temple. "Don't bother the queen! Just go in and finish the invitations. Do you think you can handle that?"

Jack nodded and started back down the hall. He wasn't ready to forgive Sanderson yet. However he couldn't forget what he'd said: 'You're so incredibly afraid.' Could Pitch be here? The possibility had always been there, but Jack had never seriously considered it. It still seemed ridiculous. Why would Manny send Pitch here? Jack shook his head. He was being ridiculous; someone mentions fear and he immediately jumps to Pitch. Fear existed before Pitch.

Jack shoved the thoughts away and pushed open the door to the library. The queen, Elsa, sat curled on a chair by the desk. The light from the library illuminated her. He paused in the doorway; he didn't want to disturb the picture in front of him. This was the first time he'd seen her look truly happy. The first time he'd seen her not focused on being a queen. If he didn;t enter the room, maybe she wouldn't have to be a queen again? Maybe she would always be this calm and content

Elsa looked glanced up and jumped. She shoved the book into the desk and sat up, returning to the queenly posture Jack had always seen her in. "Where's Baard?"

Jack entered the library, going to sit in the familiar chair. "Stick's taking care of another guard."

Elsa nodded and shoved parchment at him, "Let's see if you can replicate yesterday's success."

Jack grabbed the parchment and quill, his fingers nimbly tracing the elegant swirls. He couldn't get Pitch out of head. Could Pitch be spreading his fear in this land? He tried to shake the idea out of his head. Manny would never transport Pitch to this land

He pushed the invitation across the table. He had to stop getting all mopey; he was the guardian of fun.

Elsa picked up the invitation, "This is what I get for being all soft and encouraging."

"When have you been soft and encouraging?"

"You got lazy." Elsa threw the invitation in the wastebasket. "I know you can do it, so there's no excuse for that sort of sloppy handiwork."

Jack huffed, blowing his hair out of his face. She was as strict as ever. If Pitch tried to get to her he'd find her ice cold and unshakeable. He scrawled another invitation, this time tracing every curve with a gentle unwavering hand. He was loath to admit it, but there was something reassuring about calligraphy. He'd never noticed it before, but the curves of the letters reminded him of frost and each word was as intricate as a tiny snowflake.

He glanced over at Elsa. He probably shouldn't be surprised. She had ice powers, didn't she?

"Can you create something?"

A frown crept over Elsa's lips. She disliked incoherent sentences. "What are you talking about?"

"Your ice powers," it was too late to back out. "I've heard you can create snow and ice."

Her entire body tightened, "You heard correct."

"Could you show me?" The guards had had such overblown stories about what she could do. He just wanted to see it for himself.

"Why?" Her mouth was hard and tight, full of anxiety and doubt, but her eyes were wide, in them he saw hope and wonder.

He couldn't tell her that he was the spirit of winter and wanted to evaluate her powers. "I'm from the South. I've only saw snow once before," heshrugged and tried to look bashful. "It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. I just wanted to see it again."

The tiny smile grew on Elsa lips, "okay."

She paused for a moment, glancing at him with those same big eyes. He smiled at her, trying to alleviate her fears. She took a deep breath and then shoved the parchment and quills away from the center of the table. She tapped the center with one finger and ice spiraled out, forming a perfect circle. She waved her hand in a circle above the makeshift ice rink and a gentle snow began to fall. Now she scrunched her nose and inspected the rink. She stuck her hand back above the rink and pulled upwards. Tiny piles of snow sprouted from the ice, as Elsa concentrated they grew more detailed. Each was a tiny person, a tiny skater complete with a unique face, outfit and skates.

Jack knew he was gaping, but as the people skated around the ice their bubbling chatter reached him. They had personalities; they were people. Sure he'd seen Olaf, but the significance had never hit him. Elsa could create life.

"How do you create so many tiny people? Is it difficult to give each of them a personality?"

She had a slight blush, but Jack believed it was from excitement. "I'm not creating them." She tucked a loose strand of her back into her bun, "It's hard to explain. I steal a bit of life from something-the wind, the trees, the ocean-and I place it in the figures."

Jack looked at the tiny scene and shook his head. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

That was the first time he saw Elsa's real smile. The scene became the second most beautiful thing he saw that day.