Disclaimer*I don't own Frozen or the characters, but I do own the story and the people you have never heard of R*R

A Celebration

Arendelle was beautiful in the Spring. Warm weather, fair winds, blooming sprigs and green plantation for miles around. Most of the villagers were besotted with the season, but only because it was around this time that the castle prepared for its celebration of the King's return for the Crowned Prince's birthday ball. It was also in combination with the annual feast that came with the arrival of Spring, which was set years before the birth of the Prince. Queen Elsa gave everyone within her Kingdom the freedom and responsibility to prepare a dish in honor of both the merriments presented this season. By May 1st, the festivities would begin and last for a week. No more, no less; and with the grandeur of a party came the guest list.

"If we must, then invite the Duke of Wesselton." In all of her explicit responses regarding the Duke's apologies, she had to recant her previous declaration for the betterment of her Kingdom. Also, because his horrid dancing would suffice for entertainment value.

"Of course, your Majesty. Is there anyone else you would add to the guest list before I send out invitations?"

"My husband's family is due to arrive before he does, yes? I would also like to extend an invitation to the King of the Southern Isles. He has sent correspondence in the past few years expressing his desire to visit, in order to set right what was done by his brother. I think that's fair, what do you say Kai?" The Queen peered up from her paperwork to catch the hint of a concerned expression twitching at her advisor's face. He had long been promoted from servant to advisor once his loyalty had been proven, and also because Elsa trusted no one else within the castle walls to speak to.

"The King's family will be here shortly before he returns," Kai began. "As for the Southern Isles, I would deem the King and his closest family the privilege of staying with us. That Hans fellow-"

"I've been told that Hans was sent off to live on an island, completely isolated and guarded by the King's most loyal knights. He rarely speaks to his brother." Elsa sighed, sinking into her chair from sheer exhaustion. She had been at the paperwork for nearly three hours. By now her son would have barged in demanding that she practice sparring. He had gotten so big, so powerful, and so controlled in the past five years that it was astonishing.

"I am in full support of your decision, Queen Elsa."

"Just Elsa, okay Kai? We're in private." She chuckled, which earned her a grin from the aged man she might as well have considered family. An Uncle, perhaps. Finn certainly took to Kai the way he did to his Uncle Kristoff.

"Then why don't you take a break, Elsa? Lunch should be ready soon."

The Queen did not object, in fact, she stood up and stretched to gesture that she was in full agreement with this plan of action.

"Lunch sounds good. Now, where's my son at?"

"I believe he's with-!"

Speak of the devil and he shall come.

"MOM!" Finn's voice was as familiar to every servant's ears as it was to his mother's. He took after Anna in tepidness and unyielding, boisterous vocal projection. Simply put: he was loud. Then again, so were his cousins. Unlike his mother at his age, he had grown out of his awkward, yet adorable, shyness because of his exposure to children his age. Elsa had once been like that, too, but that was before the accident with Anna.

To see Finn bursting through her doors, red-faced, and knocking his much bigger counterpart, Thomas, to the side, filled Elsa with too much happiness. He was not a shut-in.

"Frederick. Thomas." Kai hissed paternally. Both boys jumped to a regal posture and bowed.

"Aunt Elsa." Said Thomas.

"Mom." Said Finn.

Elsa could only laugh, "Boys."

"I'll leave you to the ruffians then, my Queen. We can finish the guest list when you're feeling lighter." Kai excused himself past the boys with a wide smirk spread across his face. He could always discipline them when they were acting up and he certainly took an immeasurable amount of pride in it.

"What have you two been doing?" Elsa waved for them to enter as she leaned against the large desk in the study. Thomas went straight for the duvet and dove face first, landing flat on his stomach. Finn crossed his arms and laughed.

"They were practicing their swordplay."

Elsa perked up. Her Captain of the Guard, Rolland, and her husband's best friend, perched himself in the doorway to her study. He was a bit older than Elsa, like her husband, but only by five or six years. He had followed his King dutifully to Arendelle to whip the men into shape at the request of Kai. Elsa would have developed many enemies during her reign, especially after the Great Freeze, and those protecting her needed to be well led. General Rolland transcribed himself well into the battlements after Elsa's marriage to Riordan. He was an excellent Captain and an even better teacher.

"Babysitting again, Captain?"

"They sought me out, your Majesty." Rolland smirked, uncrossed his arms, and laced them behind his back to take on his attentive stance. He, like King Riordan, spoke with an affluent accent from a Scottish or Irish origin. She enjoyed that most about the pair of them, though she did secretly favor one over the other.

"Yea, mom! Rolland taught us tougher stuff today. We've officially graduated from beginners to amateurs." Finn said proudly, turning to his cousin whom was already passed out on the duvet snoring softly. Elsa, who shared a look with her Captain, tried to contain her laughter. Beginner to amateur wasn't exactly a high honor considering the levels between the two, but she would not break down his confidence. He was doing so well with Rolland.

"Should we request that the Queen escort us back to training, Finn?" The Prince could barely hold back long enough before he was pushing Thomas to wake up and grabbing his mother's arm.

"Come and watch us! Please?"

"Alright." She chuckled, allowing him to run ahead with Thomas as they pushed each other back and forth. Rolland shook his head, offering his arm to Elsa, which she took shakily.

Rolland was an undeniably handsome man who stood at least four inches taller than her. He was all wide and muscular up top and proportioned to his lower half. His training, like Kristoff's ice harvesting, made him a product of his environment, but the roughness did not take away from his nicely chiseled features. Warm, brown eyes, short cropped brown hair dusted with gray that was barely visible unless seen up close, and a strong jaw to match his narrow nose. From this angle, she could openly observe his profile without warranting any strange eye contact. That would just be awkward.

"You're tense, my lady." He's always so formal, despite the undertone of the hidden meaning in the way he refers to her as my lady.

"These days it's hard not to be."

"It troubles me that you work yourself so much." Though the pair have never shared anything more than a few affectionate glances or touches that may have well been ghosts skimming across water, there was still an air of the unspoken between them. Rolland and Riordan; one born to marry and rule, and one born to serve. Elsa had only become aware of Rolland's fondness the year after her son discovered his gifts. She had denied him, even though she could not fully deny herself that she, too, was quite fond of the Captain.

In his declaration of love, Rolland had vowed to be hers, and only hers, to Command until his death. From then on, it was hard to shake him from her thoughts when Finn was constantly jabbering about Rolland and how great he was at teaching him. It once slipped from Finn that he was even better at being a father than his own father, which he retracted seconds later. Thankfully her son had not been so observant as to notice how warm Rolland was around her and how less tense she was around him. That would be entirely too hard to explain to a young boy who knew nothing about love and selfish desire. Anna, however, understood. She was the only other person that knew.

"Oh, Rolland…you don't need to worry about me. I need you focusing on teaching my son to swing a sword without almost taking my head off." She laughed, squeezing his arm to exaggerate her joke. He grinned and looked at her. She wished he wouldn't look at her like that.

"I wouldn't let him harm you, or anyone. That was my vow to you." How could she forget? His vow had been so intimate, so fierce, that she could hardly hold herself back from embracing him entirely.

"So dramatic." She scolded playfully as they came upon the doors that led to the outside. Finn and Thomas had already strapped on their practice armor and reached for their wooden swords when Elsa and Rolland joined them.

"Alright boys, should we give her a show?!" Rolland released Elsa, reluctantly, and clapped his hands together. Finn and Thomas barked loudly in unison as their teacher jumped into the ring with them. A couple of his men brought him gear and hurried away just as quickly.

Elsa could not have been more proud of Finn. His steps were in perfect sync with his mentor. He was fluid like the water he had learned in himself to control with a depth she could hardly comprehend. It was now that she felt the sudden jolt of sadness that twisted inside of her: he was growing up. In a few short days, her little shadow would be thirteen years old and he would be her shadow no longer. Finn was her one and only love, and no other child she could give birth to would replace that. Anna could have more children and be satisfied, but Elsa need only one. Frederick was everything good about life.

"How'd I look, mom?!" Finn jumped onto the wooden planks that surrounded the makeshift sparring arena, causing his mother a significant amount of alarm.

"Amazing." Without thinking, she moved forward and reached for his face. Placing a kiss on his forehead, she could almost feel herself crying but would not allow it. "I am so very proud of you."

Finn said nothing back because he did not have to. Elsa already knew how much her son loved her, so they stood together (Finn slumped on the top rail of the fence) and watched as Thomas took his turn in the arena against Rolland. Together they jeered and encouraged Thomas from the sideline until Kai came for the royal family to join in the Dining Hall for lunch.

"Go and wash up you two." Elsa waved them off, though she could hear the distinct suggestion that Thomas made about having a personal water well. Finn hit him with a splash of water and laughed, joking about how Thomas had no reason to bathe that night. Then they were gone, voices drifting into the air as they raced in the opposite direction.

"That boy could never love anyone more than he does you." Rolland said as he wiped his sweat-drenched face with a wet, dirty cloth. "Not even his father."

"Oh, I think I have some sturdy competition when it comes to you." Elsa narrowed her eyes and smiled.

"Nah, he's just using me up until he can take my station from beneath me."

"How fortunate for you! Then you can retire and finally settle down." She challenged.

"Never." Elsa could not look him in the eye as he said it because she knew what he was trying to convey. True to his vow, Rolland had married himself to her monarchy. Any advances that women made or blessings she gave him, he refused to have anyone else. What she would imagine as torture, he saw as a blessing; he could not take the love of his life from his best friend because of loyalty and law, so he chose to be hers entirely without the pretenses of marriage. And because Elsa had never been selfish a moment in her life, she kept him the way she kept Finn; close and a part of an unbreakable link in her chain of those she held most dear.

"I should go," she managed suddenly. "Thank you for being so good with him."

"It is an honor, my Queen." She could feel him bow the way a soldier should and took her leave. The pounding in her chest halted the second she reached the dining room. Finn was not laughing and neither was Thomas, but rather they were talking. Intermingled voices drifted from the hall and wrapped themselves around Elsa, pulling her forward further. She knew before she was even inside what awaited her.

He was home.

The King had returned.

Oh gosh, it just hit me today: I HAD TO WRITE THIS. This may be in three parts, haven't decided, but I think these are going to be short drabbles or short stories with three or four chapters. Anyways, the focus won't fade away from Finn and Elsa, because I really do want this to be a sweet mom/son kind of thing, but I needed to satisfy those who wanted to know about the King. I wanted to know, too, hence this chapter. I'm actually in love with Rolland, just so you know. So, I hope you enjoyed this! I'll update soon. Leave me some REVIEWS! I love getting feedback from you all :)