Thin, pale fingers tightened against the once gently held paper, blue eyes widdened and then frowned.

"Unbelievable... Outrageous."

"Your majesty?" Kai approached Elsa in concern. Ever since the letter from the Duke of Weselton had arrived, tension had been quite high within the castle. They all knew that man was, aside of a ridiculous individual, a greedy buffoon who wouldn't think twice about stirring trouble if he got any profit from it.

The queen sighed, and rubbed her temple with her free hand, trying to clear her thoughts.

"What's the matter?" The voice and accent were easy to tell apart: Astro had approached, jet black brows furrowed in concern as she could tell something was off.

It had been a few days since Elsa had coaxed the foreigner out of her room, and she was very slowly beginning to adjust. The people of Arendelle were still quite insecure around her, but the castle staff were finally beginning to get used to this quirky individual.

"The Duke of Weselton was a guest at my coronation." The pale-haired woman explained. "Aside of making a fool of himself at the ball, he sent two men to kill me when I had retreated to the mountains, and even tried to gain profit once it was time for him to leave."

"What does the letter say, your highness?" Asked Kai, hands on his prominent belly as he tried not to fidget.

"He demands a huge monetary compensation for the physical and psychological damages he allegedly suffered." As she answered, Elsa put down the letter on the desk of her study. Despites the situation, the sun shone brightly through the windows. "He insists that I attempted to murder him with my witchcraft and devilish arts."

A loud clap was heard, which startled them both: they had never seen somebody facepalm as hard as Astro had just done.

"And if we refuse?" The leader of the servants asked again, his worried brows causing his forehead to wrinkle.

"He threatens to take it by force."

Elsa's words fell on them heavily, as if the whole building had crumbled on their heads. Kai held onto the edges of his jacket.

On the other hand, Astro's sharp teeth were gritted, and her ebony hair was bristling like that or a cat's, eyes glimmering with fury.

"So he plans on starting a war? Countless of innocent civilians will die!" She declared.

"Isn't there any diplomatic solution?" Asked Kai, gesturing with his hands as if trying to calm down the general ambient.

"I don't know." Elsa shook her head, doing her best to stay collected. "I refuse to let him feed on our resources like a vampire. He has always been jealous of Arendelle's successes."

"Mayhap exchanging more letters could help convince him against fighting?" The servant asked once again.

This was difficult, and way outside Astro's expertise, but even she understood how risky this was. Would Arendelle degrade itself for the sake of peace? Would a counterthreat scare some sense into the Duke? He knew about Elsa's powers, and yet, either he was an imbecile to risk soldier lives to face her, or he knew of the Queen's kindness and her will to not let her magic hurt anyone.

Would Elsa be antagonized if she was forced to fight in order to protect the kingdom?

"Elsa." Astro said. "I don't quite understand these high noble things, but if worse comes to worse, I am worth a hundred soldiers in a fight. You have given me a home in Arendelle, and I will protect it and its people with my life."

It was an oath. The warrior was entirely devoting herself to this land and its people, and that touched Elsa deeply.

"Thank you, Astro. I know I can count on you." She replied with a thankful smile.

"Come to think of it, Arendelle has allies, correct?" Astro added. "Maybe you should let them know about the situation. Mayhap they are ready to help. Either that'll scare that Duke away from his idioticy, or help Arendelle in case of war."

That was actually a good point.

"You're right." There was hope in the monarch's voice. "I will write to them immediately."

Kai cleared his throat politely. "Should we tell the princess, your majesty?"

Elsa looked away, blue eyes focusing on her desk.

"...not for now. I... I don't want to worry her."

.

It was quite sunny indeed, but the once gentle breeze had now become colder, and the trees were no longer green, as their leaves were now acquiring reddish and orangish shades and colors. It was quite beautiful.

"If only you could see this, Samantha." Said Olaf, happily holding onto the egg. "It's so beautiful, but nothing is as beautiful as Summer. You will enjoy it next year! All we have to do is wait for Autumn to end, and then Winter and Spring..."

The egg was stirring. The snowman's expression contorted into one of panic as a crack appeared on the crust.

"Samantha is breaking!"

He ran to the castle, stumbling upon Anna.

"Anna! Anna! Samantha is breaking!"

The princess examined the egg, and her worried eyes switched to sympathy and excitement. "She is not breaking, she is hatching." She explained. "Samantha is being born!"

Olaf gasped, eyes now wide with wonder.

As the crust fully broke, out came a baby goose, its fluffy yellow and dark feathers soaked with yolk, its eyes barely opening as it began to chirp.

"Aaaawh." They both chimed. It was truly adorable... And slimy. Samantha needed to dry, and she also needed to be kept warm.

"Come with me, we'll take her to the coops." Anna said, but suddenly, the gosling spontaneously combusted, leaving them both in utter shock.

The flames lasted but a second, and once they faded the newborn bird was already fluffy and clean.

"Samantha... She's a phoenix!" Olaf exclaimed in awe.

"I think she's a goose." Anna said. "This is probably a side effect from the magic Astro cast upon her egg?"

But the snowman was no longer listening. "Wow Samantha, you're so amazing! I'll find stuff to feed you."

The freckled princess shook her head with a smile, and led the snowman and the flammable hatchling to the coops in order to find food for her.

.

Lots of diplomatic letters had been written, and the queen put down her quill with a heavy sigh. She needed a break. This whole ordeal had been extremely exhausting, having drained her mostly mentally and emotionally, but her writing hand had begun to hurt a little as well.

She opted to breathe some fresh air, exiting the castle through the back door, that which aimed towards the shore... And was surprised to be greeted by the smell of burnt and the vision of nearby flames.

The calm sea waters had a few rocks emerging within, wide enough for a person to stand. Astro was there, practicing fighting moves, each as impressive as those Elsa had witnessed the day they had met, when Astro had literally jumped on the face of one of her soldiers.

She was punching, kicking, reducing imaginary foes and dodging imaginary attacks, counterstriking harder even as she jumped from rock to rock, presumably having chosen that setting surrounded of water to avoid accidentally burning something nearby, or to make her powers even stronger, since the warrior's choreography was accompanied by her fire magic. Either she was training her fighting skills, calming down her fury, or both.

"Astro?"

The queen's voice made the woman stop, the fire around her arms slowly dying. She had removed her jacket and boots, staying in a tank top and comfortable trousers. The tanned skin of her arms, neck and feet was visible, along with the many scars lining it.

"Your grace?" The warrior turned to Elsa, clearly surprised to see her there. She jumped from rock to rock, reaching both the shore and the pale woman in it.

"Are you okay?" Drained as the shorter woman was, she would always put others first. As the queen, the weight of the kingdom laid upon her shoulders, and her main priority was to ensure everyone's wellbeing.

"...I am." Astro didn't want to worry her host. She was aware of how much responsibility the woman before her was dealing with, but she didn't want to lie either. "I am okay, just... Angry. I am mad at the people whose happiness and fulfilling resides in the misery of others. I am enraged that the greed of that piece of scum might endanger this peaceful place, and its people."

Elsa noticed how the ravenette's hands were now closed into fists, all the force poured in that gesture making them shake, knuckles whitening. This woman had fought all her life, and she might need to fight again.

"I'm sorry..." Said the queen, blue eyes slowly moving to glance down and away. "I wanted to provide you with a safe home, where you wouldn't need to fight to survive anymore, where you would be safe and happy."

Astro's fists relaxed, and slowly, she took one of Elsa's hands, with extreme gentleness despites her strength. "This is not about me." She said. "I don't mind fighting again, if it's to protect the home you have given me, and you. It is that Duke guy I am furious at. If he attacks, I will make him pay."

The queen was surprised to see one of her hands on the other woman's. She glanced at them, that gesture and those words moving her, encouraging her to look back into her eyes.

"Thank you, Astro. I will fight, too. It's time I use my powers to protect what I value." She inhaled, then exhaled. "You have good control over yours. Do you mind if I train with you?"

The offer made the warrior blush a little, but finally getting to train with someone and help them improve caused her to feel an excitement she very well concealed. Truth be told, she felt a foreign warmth within her chest whenever she was near Elsa, a feeling she wasn't used to, but that she welcomed cautiously.

Yes, maybe this is what friendship felt like.