"What the..."
Jack grabbed his staff and leaped closer to the globe. Maybe North's device was malfunctioning but...no, he could feel the cold rolling off that spot on the map. Jack leaned closer to see through the thin layer of ice that was forming on the top of the small landmass.
"Arendelle...I wonder."
He tried to think through who, besides himself of course, could cause a sudden and noticeable chill to sweep across that big a space. Frosty came to mind, but the old Broadway fool had never cared much for widespread cold; he just wanted an audience to sing with. Jack shrugged, and decided that as a Guardian it was his duty to check this out anyway...and since the Man in the Moon had given him power over ice and snow, he was uniquely qualified to investigate this cold spell.
Well, no time like the present.
Jack gathered the wind to him and shot through an open window, heading South and a bit East towards the mystery land, excited to see what adventure lay before him.
"Oh, come on, Elsa, cheer up! Summer's back, your secret is out, and Arendelle is happy to have you back as Queen! What's the gloomy face for?" Princess Anna of Arendelle never was one to be subtle when she had a question on her mind.
Elsa grinned at her irrepressible little sister and conjured up a snowball to throw at her.
"What gloomy face? Just because I'm not running around singing about love like some people I know..."Anna ducked the snowball with the ease of lots of practice and stuck her tongue out at the Queen."You know you're just jealous of Kristoff and I."
"Well I certainly like him better than the last one you mooned after."
Anna's face grew a little more serious at the mention of that slimeball Hans. The last she'd seen him, he was thrown in a brig headed back to his homeland. And good riddance.
"Wouldn't take much to improve off of that one. But seriously, Elsa, what gives? I know you've been busy running things since you've learned to control your powers, but everytime I see you these days, you're wearing that worried frown. Is there something I can do to help with...whatever it is?"
Elsa looked back at the table in front of her, filled with papers requesting aid, complaints from the distant parts of the kingdom, a couple of treaties that needed to be looked over in case the fine print was tricky, and the ever-present tax forms. Being Queen wasn't all balls and ice-skating rinks but her little sister didn't need to worry about that. In many ways, Anna was still a child, still more worried about the next practical joke or the next party to really understand the serious parts of life. Elsa looked fondly at her sister, her best friend, and knew that Anna needed to keep that innocence for as long as possible.
"No, sis, it's nothing you need to worry about. I'm sure I'll be back to my usual delightlful self in time for the Harvest Ball next week...speaking of, have you managed to drag Kristoff to any dance lessons yet?"
And she was off. Elsa grinned and nodded at all the appropriate places, but let her sister's prattle mostly wash over her without absorbing it. Anna could usually be counted on to go on about those two favorite subjects (balls and her boyfriend) with little to no input from her audience.
Anna's rant about her boyfriend's stubborn refusal against dance lessons came to a dwindling halt at the sound of a commotion down the hall. The two young women exchanged a puzzled glance before starting for the door.
"I've had it! Snowmen belong outside and by all rights should be stationary! Queen Elsa! Queen El- oh there you are, dear."Lady Gwendolyn swept into the room, huffing and puffing her outrage. The girls didn't react to this as quickly as might have been expected-the head of housekeeping was often in a rage but her moods generally didn't last long and she was a kind-hearted woman beneath all of the bluster. After the death of the King and Queen, she had helped to raise the two young princesses and they knew her too well to take her current anger too seriously.
"Ooh...Queen Elsa, that Olaf friend of yours has been wandering through the castle again! I know he's your friend and I'll admit that he's a nice enough fellow, but that Flurry cloud you gave him leaves trail of moisture everywhere he goes! It's a hazard! I've had two serving maids-two, mind you-slip and fall in the past day alone! Something must be done! And Anna just because you are the Princess Royal now, doesn't mean I won't turn you over my knee if you keep at that."Anna broke off making mocking faces behind Lady Gwendolyn's back and blushed in embarrassment. Elsa stifled a grin and hurried to distract the formidable woman in front of her, "I promise I'll look into fixing that problem with Olaf's cloud. In the meantime though, how are preparations going for the Harvest Ball? You did get my message about the Ambassador's party from Northern Isles?" Elsa made a subtle nod towards the door and Anna took the hint and snuck out while Lady Gwendolyn was busy talking about the guest securing her escape, Anna strolled towards the stables, thinking she'd check to see if Sven was back and wanted a carrot. Sven and Kristoff had left yesterday to collect some ice from the North Mountain to sell in the lower villages and Anna had missed her boyfriend. If it hadn't been for the upcoming party, she would have tried to go with them...but as Princess she did have responsibilities-Anna scrunched her face up in disgust at the idea.