Do I have to do a disclaimer every time? Ugh...I don't own the Frozen characters or the story, but I do own this story and all the Mary Jane's that make your life so impossibly hard to live with. R*R please :)

Ps. If there are any typos, I apologize. Sometimes I don't catch them when I do a read through.

Celebration II

Finn could not have been any less excited when he found his father chatting up his Uncle Kristoff in the Dining Hall. Everyone, including Edith and Aunt Anna, seemed to be enjoying the splendid company of the King. A King, Finn noted, who did not act like much of a King as much as he did an Admiral at sea. His mother might as well declared herself a widow with the way he remained an absent part of the family. His presence was almost never missed, not even when they painted the Royal portrait to hang beside the late King and Queen's (Finn's grandparents). Now, with his 13th birthday just days away, Finn felt the heaviness of what it meant to have his father home.

"Frederick, my boy!" His father, King Riordan, bore little resemblance to his son. He was a tall, slender, well built man with dark black hair and a long, regal face. Perhaps the only attribute that Finn inherited was his father's long, handsome nose. If not for his status as an Admiral that abandoned his Kingship, the women might not have found him to be so attractive of a man.

"Hello, father." Finn nodded. Beside him Thomas made a short bow and subtly elbowed his cousin to move forward.

"Well come here! Let me get a good look at you." Still garbed in his sea-faring attire, and Finn in his training clothes, he looked a bit drab compared to his father.

"Finn and Thomas have been learning swordplay from Rolland, haven't you two?" Kristoff held his arm out for Thomas and ruffled his hair when he was close enough.

"Rolland taught me, too. You'll have to take me out in the morning to watch you practice." Said the King, patting his son on the shoulder like a stranger would to someone they just met.

"I've been meaning to head out there myself and watch Thomas. Harvesting has been rough these past few weeks, but Elsa gave me the go ahead to take these next few days off until the party." According to Aunt Anna, Kristoff had been somewhat socially impaired his whole life, but his adjustment into the royal family had been smooth. He was well equipped when it came to lightening the mood in the room, but it also helped that he was on good terms with the King. He had been the first to welcome Riordan and Rolland, so said his mother.

"Don't let her work you too hard." The King chuckled, releasing his grip on his son and turning his attention to Kristoff.

"Kristoff likes to keep busy. Sometimes he'll even take Thomas up in the mountains with him when he's not fighting with the Captain." Anna commented from her seat at the table. She didn't even make eye contact with the King when she said it because her eyes were too busy glistening with Kristoff to see anyone else. Finn often wondered why his mother never looked at his father that way.

My mommy married daddy because she loves him! Edith once said when Finn attempted an argument with her about Anna's arranged marriage. It was out of political respite that she married Kristoff, he had said, but that was not the case. It was only true for his mother.

"You should take Frederick with you! Get him big and strong like Thomas." Though the King was partly joking, Finn became very aware of how disapprovingly scrawny he was compared to his cousins. Even Edith was built a smidgen bigger.

"Are you kidding? I'm way ahead of you. Finn's my number one go to weather machine when it gets rough up there. He's kept at least six seriously bad storms at bay." Kristoff's enthusiasm for Finn's immaculate abilities quickly replaced his abrupt discontent. "The men can't stand it when I leave these two behind."

"And I can't stand it when you don't leave my son behind," Elsa's voice was like a much needed breeze in the humidity of a hot summer day. "Between his studies, ice harvesting, and Rolland's incessant lessons, I barely have any time to spend with my son."

Finn took a few paces backwards as his mother joined him, taking his arm as he offered it to her. Together they were a force of nature, literally.

"My Queen," said the King as he bowed deeply.

"You're home early." Her voice was neutral, no hint at anything like surprise or disappointment. Just monotony.

"I thought I'd surprise you! Did it work?"

Finn glanced at his mother briefly, catching just a twitch of a smile at the corner of her red lips as she offered her husband the most decent form of affection she could muster.

"Can we eat now?" Edith complained and the adults laughed, taking their individual seats noisily. Finn on the right, his father on the left, both occupying two different sides; two different people.

Ten minutes into lunch and Kai interrupted as he escorted a clean looking Rolland into the room. The King greeted his friend with the biggest welcome and a great big clap on the back.

"I was wondering if you were going to eat with us or with your men!"

"Ah, trust me, eating inside is more tame than what happens out there." At that, there was a bit of laughter and it felt less impending with Rolland at the table now. Finn even noted that his mother was more relaxed. Perhaps because the conversation drifted between the men and sometimes Anna, but not once did Elsa make a comment. But no one seemed to notice. Between the two friends, King and Captain, their back and forth rapport was increasingly more humorous when one factored in their hearty accents, which also distracted from the one silent person in the room.

After lunch, Elsa requested that Finn escort her to her study where she appropriated her silence as a form of focus. She still had much to do in the way of planning and signing off for docking permission at the bay. No one stopped her from doing her work, but they did wish she would stop pushing herself so hard. Then Anna added that she would come by later for tea with Edith and that was the end of their meal.

"Is it so awful to wish that he wasn't here?" Finn asked quietly as they walked down the hall.

"You shouldn't, but I understand why you would." She knew how blunt the King could be and how very un-father like he was towards Finn. There were signs that she could see that read as plainly as an open book.

"How long will he be here?"

"At least three weeks. I'll speak to him tonight to discuss what his plans are for the next few months."

"Grandmother and grandfather?"

"For a week, at most."

"She's going to be pinching my cheeks the whole visit." Finn groaned and his mother laughed quietly.

"I heard what your father said."

"How much of it?"

"Enough to say that I am so proud of you. You should never feel ashamed in front of him because of what he says. He doesn't understand you the way that I do, or that Anna, or Kristoff, do. But while he's here, you have to give him a chance." Her voice was soft and kind, never harsh. She didn't have to be to get her point across or strike him as being serious.

"I'll try."

"Thank you." She said as they entered her study. It was empty, save for the desk and few chairs that littered the room. Now with occupants, it felt less stiff from the breeze blowing in.

"Now, onto more important issues. Should we have chocolate cake with strawberries or vanilla cake with strawberries?" Elsa asked as she took her seat behind the large desk scattered with papers.

"Definitely the second." Finn chuckled. Since leaving, his mother had brightened a little and as a direct result, so had he.

"Perfect. I'll let the chef know. Now, why don't you go and find Gerda? I heard she was looking for you and your cousins for a fitting."

"Great." He breathed sarcastically. Fittings were not a good way to spend an afternoon, especially with Gerda at needlepoint. She was a bit shaky in her older age.

"Oh, go on then. You can go back to doing nothing later when your suit is properly measured." Finn said nothing more and headed out the doors with a simple wave. Elsa turned back to her papers for only seconds before there was a knock at the door.

"Might I have a word with my wife?" Looking up, she could see that her husband was in good spirits. She ushered him in with a nod. Without any sort of hesitation, he came for her in a great stride and lifted her from where she sat. "I have missed you too much."

As much as she could try and resist him, he was too gentle to deject so she let him kiss her. It was not so much that she detested him or was disgusted by him, but rather she did not love him enough to be so romantic. She had seen how Anna looked at Kristoff and how he looked at her that it was so intense at times she felt she needed to look away. Riordan shared that look at times, but she could not return it. As hard as Elsa had tried to love him the way Anna did Kristoff, she could not. That was the downside of her marriage. No matter how much Riordan loved her or told her so, Elsa could not feel the same, not that he would ever know.

"We've missed you, too." Not I missed you, too, just we.

"I have something to talk to you about." He said as he drew her away from the desk and towards the balcony that overlooked the fjord.

"Good news?"

"Definitely good news." He smiled.

"Go on then."

"I've been thinking of making this a more permanent visit." Elsa stiffened beside him. Her small habits were something he was not accustomed to so he did not react the way Rolland might or Finn.

"Don't you have duties to fulfill? You are the Admiral."

"But I am King first. My duties have always been here, with you, in Arendelle. In any case, Frederick is older now and he needs his father here to teach him what you can't, not that I can discredit you any praise for raising our son," he began forcefully. "I want to help the Kingdom grow and take half the load of work away to free you up some."

"I manage just fine with the work."

"You do, and you are an exceptional Queen," his voice tapered off. "But I want our family to be bigger. I want more children, Elsa, and coming home to be with you is all I can think about lately."

I don't want any more children. Finn is perfect. He's more than I could have ever wanted. There's no child now that could measure up to the son that I have. No more. No more children.

Elsa could feel the swirling emotions of panic and resistance building up inside the longer she remained quiet on the subject. He wanted to take control. He wanted to be a present King in the their lives. More importantly, he only wanted to be a part of it now because Finn was old enough to bother with. That may have been the circumstances of his life back home, but in Arendelle, under Elsa's watch, she refused to subject her son to that type of childhood. A mother for the first half of his life and a father for the second half.

"We've talked about this before, Riordan." She said firmly, placing a hand on his chest to ward him away. He appeared to be conflicted.

"I have four brothers and two sisters. Why are you so against having anymore children? Frederick-"

"Finn. Everyone in the Kingdom calls him Finn. The only other person who refers to him as Frederick is Kai and that is strictly for addressing him when he's done something wrong." Elsa did not back down and grew even more fierce with every word. She was Queen, made so by her birthright, and he was King only by marriage.

"Alright, Finn then. That's what I'll call him."

"No, that won't do. I am not having any more children. You barely even know your first born, so how do you expect to keep up with another? Finn will be my sole heir and I will not hear another word about it," to further exaggerate her point, she glided across the room back to her desk and sat down. Riordan followed slowly, completely flummoxed by her outrage. "You made the effort to have a son, now go and make an effort to learn more about him."

"When did you become so difficult, Elsa? You told me before that you wouldn't mind more children."

"And then you left. Gone for months at a time." She said coldly. "A lot can change."

Elsa dropped her eyes to the paperwork and blocked him out. He left, wordlessly and silently. No one bothered her for hours after that and she fell into a routine of signing and wavering, listening to Kai when he finally came in. Around sunset, Anna came in with a tray of tea and the doors closed behind her. Anna prodded information out of her about the celebration, her work, and finally how she felt about Riordan being at home.

"I should feel lucky, Anna, but I don't." Elsa massaged her temples as Anna prepared a third cup for her, which she sipped hastily.

"But you are lucky. You may not think so, or feel that way, but I know that Finn makes you happier than anyone else does."

"And that's why I don't want more children. Finn is enough, he'll always be enough, and if my husband can't accept that, then he might as well stay out at sea."

Anna laughed, "Are you still fond of Rolland?"

Elsa, despite her previous attitude, did feel warmer at the sound of his name spoken out loud. In private, she could lament endlessly in her forbidden love for another man.

"It's hard not to be."

"I knew it!" Anna clapped, her face becoming red and her eyes growing wide.

Inside of the Queen, there was a restless stirring of giddiness that she let out when her sister was around. But only when Anna was around.

"He's just so good with Finn and I know that he's fond of him as well. Did I tell you that Finn admitted Rolland was a better father? I can't disagree with him. That boy is every bit of me, good and bad."

"You're right, you shouldn't have anymore kids." Anna commented.

"Oh?" Elsa was a bit taken aback by that.

"You play favorites!" Anna giggled, flicking a sugar cube at her sister and ducking when a small snowball came her way.

"I do not!" Elsa argued, her laughter growing off of Anna's. They went back and forth with sugar cubes and snowballs, stopping only when they collapsed on the floor from sore middles and sides. "Thanks, Anna."

"For what?" She asked as she rolled over, still a reflection of her sixteen year old self, just older and a bit more mature.

"Cheering me up."

"Don't thank me yet."

"Huh?"

Kai burst into the room, visibly annoyed and shocked, by the mix of sugar and snow littering the ground around the Queen and Princess. Catching his expression sent the sisters into another fit of laughter, momentarily excused from any sort of serious business going on inside or outside of the castle. Thank God for Anna. Thank God.

I've just been having a lot of luck writing lately, so here's another chapter. I'm in love with this story, so I hope you are too. If Finn isn't in here a lot, he will be soon. I just wanted to give Elsa some screentime. Hope you're enjoying it!

Special thanks to everyone who leaves a review, favorites, or adds this on their watchlist! You helped make this happen.