A/N: No, you aren't crazy, this wasn't here before. But I should say that anything you recognize from Frozen or Tangled (only a little, and probably not in this update) isn't mine.
When he reached his majority at age 21, Prince Alvred of Arendelle never thought that he would be king. As the third boy in a family of five, he was fourth in line for the throne. He didn't begrudge his brother Julius of his place; Alvred was glad of his freedom to roam the fjords and flirt with the daughters of resident ambassadors. Leave the responsibilities and marriage contracts to Julius and the envy to Lars; Alvred was content. And, as Lisbet and Dorte were fond of reminding their little brother, he was hardly fit to be king, with his clumsiness and impetuosity. The leader of Arendelle must be responsible, poised, self-sacrificing. Alvred just wanted to be himself.
Just that year however, Lars was killed in a shipwreck on his return from acting as the royal representative at Dorte's wedding to the King of Corona. When the family began to recover from their grief, Alvred's carefree existence came to an end. His father, nearly broken by the loss of his son, but determined to do right by his people, insisted Alvred learn all that Julius had about ruling the kingdom, should anything befall his dependable, wise older brother. The one bright side of his training was that he was able to see the world (at least the parts that could be reached by land; his father forbid him to set foot on a boat that went out of sight of land, despite the sea trade's importance to Arendelle).
He was in the Southern Isles, negotiating a trade deal between the nations, when he glimpsed Susanna from across the room. The daughter of Arendelle's ambassador to the Isles, Susanna was an enchanting woman, blue-eyed with long dark locks that he longed to see unwound from their habitual coronet of braids. While other girls would have been content to be served and meet the eligible young men sent from around the world to meet with her important father, Susanna insisted on helping her aging father. In fact, shortly after his arrival, the ambassador fell ill, so it was Susanna who showed Alvred around the Isles, Susanna who guided him through the treacherous politics surrounding a kingdom where too many heirs created a cut-throat air anywhere the royal family dealt. Before his brother died, Alvred had preferred carefree girls, younger daughters as he was a younger son, free to pursue their own interests. Susanna was different.
Weary from a journey made thrice-longer than necessary by the need to skirt the coast, Alvred set out on horseback one morning to enjoy a well-deserved break lounging on the Isles' famous beaches. He was startled out of a very pleasant nap by an icily furious Susanna, who insisted he return to the castle to meet with the royal accountants.
"If he wasn't dead, I'd kill him!" Alvred shouted, then froze, horrified by his statement. In that moment, Susanna transformed before his eyes, soothing him in his anger, grief, and guilt. With her, as he could not with his family, he expressed his fury at the changes his brother's death had wrought upon his life. She nodded, silent but sympathetic. Finally she spoke.
"It is unfair, your Highness, to lose the life you wanted to live. But that is the price of royalty, is it not? Papa always says so. A king, or any royal, or official really, must make the hard choices to protect the freedom of others. I am sure His Majesty your father hates the distance this has put between you, especially after losing your brother and having your sisters leave home. But it doesn't matter. Arendelle must be protected from the perils of having an ill-prepared ruler. We are isolated, you see. We trade in ice, fish, carpentry, but we are too small, too isolated by the fjords. Although our homeland is beautiful in summer, we cannot grow enough crops, don't have enough flatland to raise cattle or sheep, only goats and reindeer are sure-footed enough to range the fjords and valleys. We need trade, else we wouldn't be able to feed our people, much less be as prosperous as we are. A green, uneducated king could easily ruin Arendelle. Your father has been forced to consider what would happen if something should befall Julius. I am sure he would rather keep all of you close. But Princess Dorte and Lisbet's marriages into Corona and Ellonton give Arendelle important connections. And you and Julius must travel, for any ruler of Arendelle must understand our trade partners, despite the risk."
Alvred was silent again, this time in awe rather than paralyzed by emotions unseemly for a prince. She was right. A ruler could not act only for his happiness, or that of his family. The kingdom was his family, his children, and sometimes their needs had to be put above those of even a beloved son. "You said the accountants were waiting, my lady. Should we not return?" His words were serious, but his eyes, he hoped, spoke of his gratitude. Not only had she listened patiently to and validated the feelings he had not dared to voice at home, but she had helped him come to peace with his new role. He understood his father now, and Julius. They seemed distant and uncaring, but in truth they simply had a bigger family than he had known. He had been spoiled, as the youngest, seeing only the glory and freedom of royalty, not the burden.
The youngest son of Arendelle returned a changed man. No longer did he complain or attempt to find excuses to be elsewhere when his father or Julius advised him. In fact, he apologized to them both, mending a breach that had gone unspoken but was painful nonetheless. He arranged for both his sisters to visit, citing the need for new agreements with their husbands, much to his mother's pleasure.
It was fortunate that he did, because that winter was a hard one, and left the old king bedridden, forcing Julius to take over in all but name. By the time summer came, Julius was no longer just his brother, but King Julius II of Arendelle. Alvred became his right hand, simultaneously attempting to keep his older brother from drowning in the grief he struggled to hide. In her grief, their mother could not stand the emptiness of the castle and the cold, so had gone to live with Dorte in Corona, terrified that she would lose a daughter too. Dorte was pregnant, but sickly, and their mother was determined she would not lose another family member. Although her intentions were good and her feelings understandable, her departure meant that Julius and Alvred essentially lost both their parents that summer, and Julius had been left without the comfort of his mother as well as the wisdom of the woman who had ruled beside their father since before they were born. Both men were frightened for their sister as well as concerned at the effect yet another loss would have on their mother, so neither said anything about their regret at seeing her go.
The following spring, Julius sent him back to the Southern Isles, to solidify their alliance now that a new king had risen to the throne. Susanna, her father recovered, spent time trying to cheer him between state functions. Her support in yet another difficult point in his life solidified the bond between them, and they continued to exchange letters after his return to Arendelle, both as friends and in their roles as advisors to the king.
A/N: So this is the first story I've posted on , though I've been a reader for a long time. I apologize if this chapter seems really fast and glosses over a lot. I actually wrote the beginning of this story a while ago and have been adding to it bit by bit, so it wasn't originally written in chapters per se. When I decided to post (mostly just to see what happens and hopefully to inspire me to keep going), I tried to eke out sections that make sense. You guys can tell me how well I've succeeded and I'd be open to changing it up. At risk of sounding desperate, it gets better, I promise!
This is the part where I ask for reviews. Annoying, I know, but I really will have no idea how this is going or what I'm doing right/wrong if you guys don't tell me. Thanks for reading!