Notes:
Sleds and Hans. Hans and sleds. Elsa gets seriously sassy.
17/04- tweaked some of Olaf's dialogue, changed the date of the brochure (from 1823 to 1833), added in a bit more dialogue for the merchant regarding Cobbler Busters and made the name of Elsa's mysterious book Norwegian and not Swedish.
"Anna." Elsa strode towards her sister, who was in full-flow and dragging the ice harvester in the direction of the library. They both looked round at her voice.
Olaf bounded along behind her, waving. "Anna! Kristoff! Hi!"
"Hey Olaf!" Anna crouched down to say hello. "Where've you been?"
"In the kitchens," the little snowman replied, somewhat shamefacedly. "But I've been banished. Now I'm helping Elsa!"
Anna looked up at her sister with raised eyebrows. "Well, that sounds great. You doing ok?"
"I'm doing great."
"Good." Anna grinned at him and then straightened to speak to Elsa.
"Hi. I was going to come find you in a minute. How's it all going? Were the dignitaries ok?"
Elsa nodded. "Yes. Everything is fine." She frowned for a second. "What is that smell?"
"Oh – I got sunburnt." Anna grimaced. "Stupid really, I know I burn easily – but Kristoff gave me some balm stuff," She examined her arms. "And it feels so much better already! What's in it?" She turned back to Kristoff, arms still outstretched like a ballerina.
"Oh – you know. Mountain stuff." He said very vaguely.
Elsa decided she'd rather not know, and continued to answer her sister's question. "The dignitaries will be staying in the guest wing of the castle tonight, and joining us for dinner before leaving tomorrow. The letters are all written, and I've heard the grievances of Arendelle," she looked utterly worn out at this and Anna couldn't help but walk over and take her hand. "Only a few things left now. Can I speak to you a moment?" Her eyes flickered to Kristoff. "Alone?"
Anna opened her mouth to reply – anything you have to say you can say to both of us – before her brain caught up. She closed her mouth and nodded.
"Sure. Could you give us a minute, Kristoff? If you want to go in, I'll be there in just a second. It's that room there." She pointed to a large pair of doors a little further down the hall. "Oh – could you put this back for me?" She held out Frankenstein.
He took the book and nodded, glancing only briefly between the two sisters before plodding over to the library doors and disappearing inside.
Anna turned back to Elsa and smiled. "What's up?"
"I've been looking into sleds."
Anna grinned. Beside them, Olaf was bouncing up and down in excitement.
"I've had Kai find a few quotes for me, and I was wondering if you or Kristoff would like to make the final decision."
"Ohh, yes!" Anna bounced up and down. "I'll do it. I'd like it to be a surprise for him."
Elsa nodded. "Now?"
"Now is good. Hang on."
She half-skipped down to the library door, Olaf waddling along behind her. She poked her head through.
"Kristoff?"
Elsa heard the rumble of his voice from inside the library.
"Do you mind if I just go with Elsa for a bit to sort something out? I'll be –" She'd looked back out to Elsa. "Twenty minutes?"
"About that."
"Anna stuck her head back inside. "Twenty minutes."
Another rumble.
"Only if you want to. Olaf can keep you company? Or the portrait gallery is just a floor up, or – can you find your way to the stables from here? Or I can just get a servant to bring you some tea here if you like? Or –"
Elsa heard a laugh, and then one final rumble of a response.
"Ok! See you in a bit!" Anna retracted her head and turned to the little snowman. "Olaf, can you stay here for me and keep Kristoff company?"
"Sure!"
"Not a word about the you-know-what."
He nodded solemnly. She thanked him, and skipped back over to Elsa. "Ready!"
Taking her arm, Elsa led her down the hall. "All ok?"
"Yeah. I need to find someone to get him some tea though."
"He's a tea drinker?"
"He is," she grinned broadly. "Where's the sled stuff?"
"This way. Come on."
Just before they reached the doors to Elsa's office, Anna spied a servant.
"Emma? Could you ask the kitchen for a pot of tea for Kristoff? He's in the library. No milk or sugar or anything. Just plain tea."
The servant named Emma dipped into a curtsey. "Of course, m'lady. Anything else?"
"And some sandwiches."
"Of course, my lady." She hurried off.
Before Elsa could say a word, Anna jumped in: "I know dinner is in an hour and a half, but this is afternoon tea."
Elsa rolled her eyes and smiled.
Kai stood in the office with a tall, thin man that Anna didn't know, who, as they entered, bowed low and kissed her hand. Anna raised her eyebrows at Elsa and made a small 'o' with her mouth.
Elsa held back a laugh as the man wrinkled his nose very slightly, presumably at the smell of that sunbalm.
"Your ladyship. Your majesty." He swept over and kissed Elsa's hand too, though she could not have been gone more than five minutes. "May I show you the sleds I have to offer?"
Anna fought back a giggle, and nodded.
Elsa seated herself at her desk. Anna perched on the arm of her sister's chair.
The tall man – a wealthy merchant, judging by his manner and clothes – laid a large, extravagantly decorated book before them on the desk. Anna just had time to see the cover – Pleasurable Sledding: Summer 1833 – before the man flipped it open to reveal meticulously detailed illustrations as well as long lists of specifications and details.
"I had a copy of our latest brochure printed for your majesties as soon as I received word you were looking to purchase a sled. I would not wish your majesties to inconvenience yourselves by having to visit the workshops."
Anna pointed to one of the sketches. "I like this one. It has four seats!"
"Ah, your ladyship has excellent taste. This is from our sporting range. Built for speed and sophistication. Very popular with the younger gentlemen, these days."
"There's hardly any room for Kristoff's ice, Anna," Elsa pointed out. "And I'm sure that would be his priority."
"Hmm, good point," Anna poured over the other pictures, examining each one in turn. She pointed to another. "What's this one like?"
"Ah, this is one is made from the finest spruce wood this side of the western ice plains. Built for comfort and style, though if it is carrying capacity you are looking for, my lady, may I suggest this one?" The merchant flipped through the brochure and pointed a drawing of a very slim-looking sled, with sturdy runners and a curved nose.
"It doesn't look that big."
"It's width is deceptive, my lady. This is our longest sled, and can carry twice the weight as some of the lighter models."
"And what about this one?"
To her credit, Anna was meticulous, pressing the merchant for every detail about every sled he had to offer. Elsa waited patiently, occasionally exchanging a look with Kai.
Finally:
"A cup holder?" Anna was enthralled. She picked up the book. "Ooh, Elsa look at this one. It's got loads of room for ice, and a – tailgate, did you call it? – at the back that comes down, and a cup holder!" She looked back up at the man. "Does it come in any other colours?"
Only after Anna had considered and exhausted all the colours and patterns the merchant could offer, did she make a decision.
"Blue it is. With that pattern," she pointed. "In white. But a kind of cream-white, you know?"
"Very well, my lady. An excellent choice! Would my lady be interested in optional Cobble Busters?"
Anna was confused.
"A simple mechanism, which allows the user to engage a wheel assembly for ease of travel on an unfrozen surface."
"You mean it changes it changes into a cart?"
"Of sorts, your ladyship. It streamlines the carriage of goods, as no change of vehicle or conveyance is necessary. My own, patented design."
"Absolutely!" Anna beamed. "That sounds great! I can't wait to see his face. This makes his old sled look like a… toboggan. Thank you!" She enthusiastically shook the merchant's hand, still grinning broadly. "It'll be ready tomorrow, you say?"
"Indeed, my lady. We have two of these with a blue base coat in stock – the pattern just needs to be applied."
"Amazing. Thank you!"
"A pleasure doing business with you, my lady." Gathering up his book, the merchant bowed low and kissed both Anna and Elsa's hands again. "I do hope the young gentleman enjoys his sled."
"That's the dream!"
Gold changed hands and the merchant left.
Anna turned and threw her arms around Elsa.
"Thank you, Elsa! He'll love it. I know he will." She beamed. "Thank you. Is there anything else I can help with?"
Elsa smiled and shook her head. She certainly did not want her little sister helping out with the final item on her list today. "No, thank you Anna. That's everything." She hesitated. "I know the ambassadors will be at dinner tonight – but of course, Kristoff is still welcome to attend, if he wants to."
Something in her sister's tone jogged Anna's memory.
"Elsa – I forgot to say. Distracted by sleds. Earlier – Kristoff told me – some guards basically told Kristoff he didn't belong here. They didn't believe he was our guest," Anna frowned. "I haven't spoken to Captain Lukas about it yet – I thought I should talk to you first – but obviously, it's totally not ok. How could people treat him like that?"
Elsa was surprised by her sister's rare foresight.
"Slow down, Anna. What happened?"
"The guards. Kristoff can be kind of cagey, so I don't exactly know what happened – but I got the gist. They basically figured an ice harvester couldn't be our guest. The way he was talking, they were pretty rude about it."
Anna wore an uncharacteristic expression of worry.
"I didn't even think. About how Kristoff would feel. Being here. Or how people would feel about Kristoff. Or..."
Elsa tried very hard not to sigh. Her sister really did live in a world of her own sometimes.
"I can't believe I was such an idiot. How could I not think? I mean, this is someone that I – God, I'm so –" Anna let out a noise of frustration and put her face in her hands. "I'm a terrible person."
"Anna." Elsa took her sister's hands and led her back to the desk. She sat her down and half-glanced at the still-hovering Kai. "First of all, you are not terrible person. Second of all, we need to have a talk. Could you leave us a moment, Kai?"
Without question, he bowed and left the room, discreetly shutting the door behind him. Elsa turned back to her sister and appraised her with an inscrutable eye.
"Buying all these things for Kristoff. It's not just about replacing what was lost with his sled, is it?"
"Um. No?"
Elsa sighed again and stood perfectly still, staring at the wall for a moment. She considered how to begin what she knew was an inevitable conversation.
"Um. Yes?"
"Anna, I like Kristoff. He's not royalty or nobility, but I like him. And I think – correct me if I'm wrong – he makes you happy. But I don't want you… rushing into anything. I understand that we owe him a lot, and I am more grateful than I can say. But I don't want this to cloud your judgement in any way, as I have tried not to let it cloud mine. He seems to be a good guy – but you are my primary concern, Anna. Always."
Her sister's quiet glow at hearing this thawed any ice lurking in Elsa's veins.
Anna made a strange motion that looked like it was halfway between a vigorous nod and a vigorous shake of her head. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out at first. Finally:
"Elsa, he makes me so happy."
Elsa nodded. She had always been a good judge of character, and her sister and this ice harvester were so transparent in their emotions – but it was good to hear her thoughts confirmed.
"But no rash decisions?"
"No rash decisions. I promise."
Anna stuck out her little finger.
Grudgingly, Elsa's mouth twitched into a small smile and she curled her own little finger around Anna's in the unbreakable vow of a pinkie promise.
"In that case, I will speak to Captain Lukas. And we'll arrange some way to show the guards how valued a guest Kristoff is, without embarrassing him too much."
Anna grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, he embarrasses pretty easily. What…?"
Elsa smiled. "I'll get back to you on that. One thing at a time." She stretched. "Right. I've still got a few things to take care of, and you should go find that ice harvester. Can you send in Kai on your way out?"
Anna stood and left with that spring in her step.
When Kai entered, Elsa was sitting back at her desk, chin resting on interlaced fingers.
"Kai. Can you fetch me the Lovene i Landet? I think I have one more thing to do before visiting our prisoner."
"Of course, your majesty."
As she descended the steps to Arendelle's dungeons, Elsa felt that it should have been dank, dark and chilly – but it wasn't. The enormous hole she had blown in the wall let in light, warmth, and a soft summer breeze. It was a bizarre juxtaposition, and Elsa didn't like it one bit.
Hans himself was locked in the cell furthest from the breach – but that had not stopped him loosening his cravat, taking off his jacket and resting with his hands behind his head, enjoying the trickles of sunlight playing into his cell.
Elsa scowled. He looked all too comfortable.
"Prince Hans."
He looked around and, seeing who it was, slowly got to his feet and bowed.
"Queen Elsa. No ice dress today, I see."
Elsa ignored this. "I have come to explain the situation to you."
"Explain the situation. In person? That is too kind of you."
Elsa ignored this too. "Due to your rank, and my desire to avoid causing further tension between Arendelle and its neighbouring kingdoms, I have made the decision to return you to The Southern Isles for prosecution. No charges of treason will be pressed against you in Arendelle."
Hans did a very good job at concealing his relief – Elsa caught only the slightest glimpse of it slip through his flawless composure.
"Your majesty. Thank you." He hesitated, then approached the bars of his cell. Elsa appraised him coldly. "Your majesty, your mercy makes me think I perhaps misjudged you. And for that, I must apologise."
He looked so sincere – blue eyes filled with something that looked like genuine regret. Elsa could see, for a moment, how her sister had been so totally and utterly taken in by him. Even with the swollen, puffy nose, there was a tragic handsomeness to his face, an inexpressible elegance in his movement, and here, behind bars, he looked for all the world like a martyr.
Elsa mentally shook herself.
"That's a great sentiment, Prince Hans, but forgive me for not throwing myself at your feet in gracious acceptance. Tomorrow, the French Ambassador will take you back to the Southern Isles, disgraced and in custody. Bearing a letter detailing your actions whilst here, he will deliver you to your father and brothers. Good day." She turned to leave.
"Your majesty, wait – " Elsa did not break stride – "will you not permit me to say a few words in my defence?"
"No," said Elsa shortly. "No, I will not."
She had almost reached the doors, when –
"Your majesty, please, about Anna – "
Elsa paused. She half-turned her head, but did not look at him. In a dangerously quiet voice:
"How dare you presume to speak my sister's name after what you have done to her. You are not worthy of my time, my energy, or even of the title 'prince'."
And she swept from the dungeon, closing the door with an echoing, concluding bang.
Hans swore. All traces of gratitude and decency drained from his face, leaving only an unhandsome snarl in their wake.