We do not own 'Frozen' or any of its characters.
"Frozen Again: 'Love Never Ends"
Act VIII
Chapter 15
"The Skater's Waltz"
The multiple servants who had decorated the Castle for the Masquerade Ball just yesterday had stayed on to begin the task of adorning the kingdom's Palace with Christmas Yuletide decorations now.
Silver and gold tinsel, bells in red and green ribbons, and wreaths with blue-and-white snowflake crystals were gracing every corner of the castle.
Queens Elsa and Anna welcome their new friends, just about their age, into the Winter Wonderland of the Arendelle courtyard. The Ice Queen doesn't disappoint as she adds her own creative decorating skills to the frozen pair of fountains, with glistening sparkled results.
Next, Elsa forcefully steps her high-heeled foot down to the cold ground until it freezes over with a thin layer sheet of ice from where the blonde beauty stood, all the way to the far corners of the brilliantly frozen courtyard.
"Nicely done, min kæreste." Raising a pair of ski goggles from his eyes, Hans Westergaard, out of the blue, comes racing up on skis to the edge of the courtyard with the brown haired Russian Prince who arrives just seconds behind, both out of breath.
"Udivitel no! (That was amazing!)" Was Prince Hugo speaking of Elsa's cryokinetic transformation of the courtyard before their eyes? Or was he more talking about the fact that this foreign Prince of the Southern Isles - of all places - should turn out to be an ultra experienced, high slope skiing expert.
As well as a challenging short run sprinter at cross country skiing down that North Mountain we had just traversed? Impressive…
"I'll say! You guys practically tied! I've never imagined anyone could ever nearly be as fast as you, Hugo! Especially on so slight an incline!" Princess Sofia makes the mistake of giving some male other than her boyfriend too much praise, causing Hugo's amazed smile to then turn on Hans with a pursed competitive frown.
"Technically, Hans did get here first." Varian settles the question when his scientifically exacting mind arrives with Kristoff driving the sled to pull up to the rear side courtyard with the young alchemist and Sofia in the rear seat together.
"Hmph. Skiing is way easier than ice skating." Hugo snidely comments under his breath to which a dared Hans' lips curl into a challenging smirk of his own.
"Care to make a wager on that?" Hans asides as he and Hugo take a seat on the ice bench Elsa intuitively had created on the sidelines for the two competitor boys to remove their skis in exchange for skating blades.
"Name the stakes." A deliciously challenged Prince Hugo also had an older brother to whom he would always be game to take a dare from.
"You find a way to give my fiancée and I some cover time to sneak off to be alone and out of her father's glare for a half-hour at sunset." Cunning Hans had been planning this romantic assignation with Elsa since last night. Perhaps he could take advantage of a little interference from this unlikely source for a quixotic rendezvous as Hans replaces his skis for a pair of men's skate blades that a footman silently supplies.
"And if Sofia and I win? What is it that will be our prize?" Hugo poses the question to Hans as he attaches the curved blades of his own skates in qualified quick succession.
Hans cocks his redhead, considering the idea for a moment before speaking. There, in the distance, his viridescent green eyes alight upon a certain glimmering castle in the air, and an idea pops in his head.
"You appreciate fine artistic structures, like in your homeland, correct? I will give you directions to take your Princess sightseeing to a Palace made entirely of pure ice high up in the mountains that will blow your mind beyond your wildest dreams." Hans had a feeling this would entice the Russian Prince with his well worded temptation. The offer gains Hugo's look of intrigue at the thought of visiting such a mountain winter sportsmen's dream in this stunning wintry Land of the Midnight Sun.
"Game on." The Prince of Kiev had heard rumors of the legendary frozen mansion of the Ice Queen of the far North. He accepts the Prince of Southern Isles' dare with a firm shake of the hand as each rise from the bench seat where they held their hushed conversation.
"Are you two plotting something over there?" Princess Sofia asks as she blithely executes a cute spin and loop jump after a quick turn around the supercooled courtyard Ice Queen Elsa had brilliantly created.
Hans and Hugo exchange a guileless look at elegant Elsa who was moving across the ice with a shaky Anna. The ginger was desperately trying to regain her skating legs as Anna hangs onto her sister to approach the group from behind Sofia.
"Nyet." (no) The two, tall, trim, dexterous young men treading ice before the curious females answer their inquisitive pretty gazes simultaneously with the most innocent of countenances, full of charming smiles.
"I don't trust either of them." A folded arm Princess Anna grimaces to Kristoff as he joins them at the rink from the stable after attending to their horse drawn sleigh. The honest Ice Harvester gives a suspicious glance to the two sickeningly, treacly faced rogues and their disarming smiles that had been obviously hiding something dastardly underhanded from the womenfolk.
"That goes for all men." From the sidelines, Cassandra Schmidt agrees with Princess Anna's assessment as the independent handmaiden was walking the edges of the courtyard rink. The tough young lady was doing her best to not appear to be searching for a certain skinny young inventor amid all the others as she arrived in the gaggle of princesses.
They easily found their male partners readily accessible for this silly skating frolic.
"By the way, Princess Sofia… Didn't I see Varian with you on that sled?" The raven haired guardswoman with the sharp eyes was sure she spotted her awkward, long limbed fellow Coronian sharing the transport as it was cutting across the field to the now frozen courtyard here.
"He's still in the stables, adjusting his skates." Kristoff plainly answers Cassandra with a big thumbed mitten pointing back towards Arendelle's multi-stall horse stable building.
"Sounds like him." Cassandra rolls her eyes at the always fiddling around genius boy, who found room for improvement in practically every gadget and mechanism known to mankind.
And even some that were not known yet that his continually whirring brain would try to formulate.
"Sometimes Varian's too smart for his own good." She mutters, a tad annoyed to not get out on the ice already to instead chase after her mad scientist friend. But for some reason this special Christmastime in the mountains, Cass wanted to share this experience with her longtime admirer.
The tall able woman, who had not yet strapped on her provided skates for her own practice run, rolls her eyes and marches in the snow towards the stables to fetch her oft-late, always ecccentric companion.
"My Queen, you do look a treat this fine morning." Hans, now donning his Sjoforsvaret Vise Admiral uniform quite proudly, deftly skates up to his pale blue, fading to violet organza trimmed with iridescent snowflakes sweetheart with a gentlemanly kiss to her ungloved cool hand.
He scans Elsa's deliciously tight-fitting, shoulderless gown (as expected) skating party version of her Ice Queen attire. But upon inspection of her filmy, almost see-through iridescent chiffon ice petal skirts that swished in the breeze as she skated, Hans found he had to restrain himself from giving that low wolf whistle he could still hear his older brother Didrik employing at desired females in such situations.
On second glance, Hans' hungry eyes cause him to resent all the other young men assembled who could also view his Queen's scandalous curves shockingly displayed before the gathering.
"I thank you, Vise Admiral, for your approval. At least I meet with yours." With a slight reference to her paternal parent's unease with her fashion statement from earlier, Elsa smoothly skates up in a mesmerizing pirouette spin to display her daring costume especially for her foxy fiancé.
Confident on the ice, Elsa shows off all of her model-like fashion, tight around the torso, yet billowy around everything else, new outfit's advantages. The ice crafted creation shivers and twirls in the breeze around her tantalizingly lithe pale body surrounded in wisps of chiffon and organzas envisioned in her elemental ice.
"Do you ever necessitate for my approval, Elsa?" Hans breathes in Elsa's cool ear as he wraps his arms around her rather familiarly in public to practice the couple's first partnered skating moves on the ice. He was secretly glad the King was not yet present, as Hans, running his hands fluidly along Elsa's lines, was becoming acquainted with how much intimacy ice skating partners required.
"I'll take whatever you have to offer, my handsome Prince." As they skate in unison across the ice rink floor, breathless Elsa seductively whispers. She deliciously feels nimble-fingered Hans' hands snake their way around her diamante bejeweled pale blue torso to feel their way around her tight hips for the first time—all for the sake of the skating, of course.
Then the agile young man spins his woman around three times in perfect rhythmic succession before drawing his Elsa back in for a synchronized pair, one-legged glide to travel clear around the rink.
"Wow! You look so good together!" Princess Amber exchanges nods with her brother James and fellow princesses Hildegard and Cleo all dotted across the ice rink practicing.
"Should've figured that Hans would be good at this, too." Anna murmurs as sourly as her swishing tummy felt this morning. But the braided young woman's frown inverts when her big blond boy comes skating up to her on a pair of wobbly legs that the lifelong Ice Harvester never quite got the knack of doing elegantly.
"Kristly, you and I have to try that spinny thing!"
Now that statement causes Kristoff's hard abs stomach to ache.
"Impressive, comrades." With folded arms, Hugo thought he was the ultimate authority on all things 'ice' as he gives Hans and Elsa's first stab at being a combined pair some respect. They displayed a certain indefinable grace and poise of unity that his critical eye appreciated more than the other swooning girls and their envious male partners gathered in the rink.
"Have you skated in competitions together before?! You two are going to be absolutely amazing in this skate off, full of exhibition components!" Sunshiny Princess Sofia – who had seen her fair share of competitive skating with Prince Hugo around - claps in unadulterated friendship that was stark contrast to her sullen longtime boyfriend's competitive streak.
"I LOVE skate-off component exhibitions!" Olaf suddenly exclaims, waving his arms around from the sidelines he was approaching with Eliana. They were helping Gerda bring out some cups of hot cocoa and crumpets at the stall beside the benches Kai had instructed the servants to set up for the royal visitors' comfort during this wintertime skating frolic.
"What's a 'component exhibition'?" The inquisitive snowman murmurs out the side of his crooked mouth to Eliana as he trots from the plowed snow banks blissfully onto the ice surface towards where Elsa and Anna and the others were talking.
Just then, still holding his newly refined blades, Varian dashes out from the stable, where he had been tweaking his innovative skate design, towards the courtyard behind them. "Watch how balanced these are!" He eagerly shouts in excitement to Cassandra who was chuckling right behind him as she pauses at the bench to attach her newly provided, special skates.
But watching his long-legged friend, lost in her eyes as he was dying to show-off his newest invention he designed with her in mind, Varian forgets to strap his own redesigned blades tightly to his footwear as he blithely followed Olaf's lead out onto the ice.
The skinny, awkward young man finds himself skittering and off balanced, nearly falling to a pile on the slippery ice until a more agile Cassandra rushes onto the icefield to steady him.
But a flailing and kicking Varian unwittingly knocks them both down to the icy ground despite her best efforts to halt him.
"Now, THAT'S a prime example of a component exhibition, snowman." Sporting his burgundy and aqua ice hockey jacket that wore the crest of Enchancia on its lefthand chest, Prince James jokes, getting elbowed by his sisters on either side of him for being rude.
"That's not funny, James. Poor boy may be hurt." Shy Cleo speaks up for once, stopping James' gleeful chuckles dead in their tracks. The dark-hair ponytailed Corinthia Princess in her demure muted pale pinks and mauve long dress decorated with flower buttons and feathers looks at James with a reproving glance. The kind hearted girl skates over to lend her kneeling assistance of the downed young stranger.
"Uh – Cleo! I didn't mean –" Putting his foot in his mouth, Prince James stops in his smooth skating course to reach out back towards the departing gal. The, at times thoughtless, yet well-meaning, ice hockey player runs a hand through his flustered bangs that had fallen to his instantly ashamed face.
"Nevermind her, James. Cleo often gets herself in a fit of a self-righteous pickle. I thought your jest was amusing and in good fun, suiting this outing. Let's share that hot cocoa now." More flippant Princess Hildegard, in her primped cerulean blue frills and strings of pearls, maneuvers the distraught young Prince of Enchancia away in the opposite direction towards the refreshment bar.
"I guess so. He looks okay." James looks to make sure that Varian truly wasn't hurt as the Ice Queen uses her ice magic to help steady him to his feet with Cassandra's already up and about help, or the nice guy would quickly lend a hand. But the mellow prince often gave up easily after being persuaded to obey others whims' and not listen to his heart instead.
"Here, hold onto me." Cassandra instructs Varian, genuinely anxious at the sight of his awkward arms and gangly legs going in every which way, making her usually steady heart leap. "Let's try strapping on those new skates of yours properly before we come back out on the ice, silly." Cass softly berates Varian as she brushed back his sticky-uppy tousled black and teal bangs.
Then she leads him on her strong arm to the nearby bench to recheck the straps on his newly remodeled, remastered skating blades.
"Oh, yeah. I messed up again. Whoops." With a shiver of his wet cold posterior that hit the ice pretty hard, Varian cutely states with a self-deprecating smile up at the tall, dark-haired woman whose piercing gray eyes always enthralled him.
"This is true." Esteban adds his favorite little axiom with a shrug at Johanne, who elbows him again as the pair of older folks move in closer.
"Good thing I'm around. You'd forget your brilliant head if I wasn't here to hold it on for you." Cassandra uncharacteristically pets Varian's chapped trembling lips as she displays her tender side which she rarely showed to anyone. Then she kneels to Varian's feet to ensure that he secured the newfangled blades he invented on correctly this time.
"You're the best thing that ever happened to me, Cassie." Remembering what Hans' said about honest confessions to women and second chances, Varian breaks through his fear to honestly admit in a blush. It reddens his cheeks from more than the rush of cold air on this Norwegian morning.
While that sweet tableau of awakening young love was occurring with the backdrop of several other couples performing their own romance on the ice dance in the few moments of allowed practice time, another visitor in Arendelle was on the sidelines.
She was watching with keen interest at the foreigners' sport taking place.
In her youth, Iduna enjoyed a good turn around the river of ice before she chose you over her people, Ice King…Since she is not present, I must assume our songbird is yet disturbed…All I know is that they say your time is running short to make the decision…
"That was a textbook execution of the long jump combination from your pair, Prince Hugo. And an impressive side-by-side synchronized close spin from you two, as well, Queen Elsa. Truly, it is good to see such professional performances and true skating technique so early in the morning." Chancellor Esteban of Avalor steely praises Hans and Elsa's, and Hugo and Sofia's practice runs across the cleared ice rink in the courtyard.
"You sound like you know a thing or two about ice skating, Chancellor. That is fairly impressive for someone hailing from a South American nation where little, if any, icefall precipitation is ever present in the climate." Prince Hans is conversationally engaging to the older gentleman as the Danish Prince and his fair Queen tread ice near the sidelines for a breather from their skating practice.
"I must admit I have been an avid fan of the beautiful winter sport since my ambassadorial travels often took me to the high mountains of Peru where the elegant pastime is embraced by many competitors there for great prizes of distinction and wealth. I must also admit to partaking in my younger days and being the victor in a few frolics such as this. It being my only venue for escape in the darker days of my misspent youth – for strenuous exercise purpose mainly, to rejuvenate the blood, of course." The tall, refined South American gives a tug to his jacket lapels as he mildly brags past exploits of a younger man.
A younger man who needed some diverging recreation every now and then. If just to take his mind off the trouble in his home kingdom of Avalor when an evil sorceress had stolen the kingdom and all but destroyed his familia.
"Of course." Elsa smiles sympathetically at his slight shiver, despite the warm fur collared long coat this affable old friend of her parents was wearing.
Chancellor Esteban had come out this early to accompany and assist his newly betrothed, Johanne, to serve out hot cocoa and coffee and other refreshments to those young people involved in the festive skating match.
"The holiday decorations which have been arranged here in your kingdom do put one in the celebratory joyful mood, Queen Elsa. It is only a shame my creaky old bones, after that thrilling night of dancing the Flamenco, are protesting, or I myself may have entered the competition with my spry bride-to-be. With my stylish form and classic moves combined with my beauteous, elegant fiancée, we would have undoubtedly taken the trophy." Esteban jokes and boasts and flirts all at once with the titillated Johanne, making her laugh again in ways she never thought possible anymore.
"I am no such thing, you irascible charmer." Johanne lightly smacks Esteban's shoulder as he affectionately pets her blushing cheek with his warm, tanned hand.
"And here I thought Halima and I were gonna be the ones to take the prize from all those young kids with our – ahem - mature style." General Mattias pipes in when he awkwardly skates onto the ice for the first time in a very long time.
The old soldier smiles to his ladylove of a baker who was expertly skating around the courtyard rink, dishing out hot buns and even hotter chocolate to the chilled princesses like a pro on the ice.
Which was totally unlike her clumsily just trying to maintain upright posture while he kept a straight face husband.
"Whoa-oh!" With Halima's hands full of the hot liquid carafe, Mattias would have to skidded out of control had not a gentle wind carried an old friend to the scene.
"You are out of your element, General." Yelana plainly states as she links her arm in Mattias' to steady his wild streak across the smooth ice.
"You and your elements! But…thanks for always putting me in my place, lady." He smirks down at his new old partner. "I thought you said these 'giddy competitive games' and 'grandiose castle decorating' were silly youthful pastimes and were leaving with Ryder and Maren to catch up with the reindeer herd's migration south?" He then queries as the determined soldier starts to get the hang of skating on Yelana's proficient arm that slowly leads him in instruction as if she was one with the frozen surface or something like that.
Is there anything else you can't show me up with?
"There is one defiant buck, that's been giving me trouble for years, which I must yet witness run its true path." Yelana responds enigmatically as ever, causing the Arendelle General to furrow his brow, he having a feeling she wasn't exactly referring to some rebellious rangifer on the loose.
"If anyone can, I'm sure you'll be able to teach the stubborn beast to do the next right thing, Yelana." Mattias says, giving the older Northuldran Chief praise for her wisdom and experience as they skate to the center of the ice rink, arm in arm.
"It is not I who was sent to channel the spirit within to be greater than the sum of his parts." Chief Yelana imparts this one last nugget before she deposits a surprised Mattias right in the middle of the courtyard in a cloud of wind kicked up snowdust. Wiping his eyes, Mattias blinks his them clear, sure Yelana had disappeared into the direction of the sidebar.
But the older native woman was nowhere to be seen.
"Hehehe. Yep. You still leave me in the dust with your riddles, woman. And your amazing mobility. Whew-whee! that gal can shake a leg when she wants to!" The good-natured man chuckles in wonder at Yelana's uncanny speed for someone of their – ehem! - considerable years before he carefully ventures, one foot at a time, towards his bride.
To Halima's gasps and laughter, her apologetic faced man was lucky to make it across the frozen rink in one piece back to her in between the recklessly speeding skaters in excited practice for their frolic skate-off.
"Here's where my military training of the offensive 'serpentine weave' paid off dividends, Sugarpie." Mattias huffs out in relief when the uniformed soldier finally made it back to his sweetie's welcome arms.
"Hey! I have an idea!" Prince Desmond suddenly pipes up as he and Princess Amber join the growing group hear the refreshment table. The top student of the Royal Prep School in Enchancia indeed had improved in his ice skating, thanks to many practice sessions this season with Amber's twin brother James.
The timid young man, who once had quite a fear of even stepping out onto the ice in his youth, could now face his aversion to the slippery frost surface. Desmond had overcome many of his past fears as he matured over the years.
Mainly because he wanted to impress a certain shining, golden beauty who was so quintessentially perfect named 'Amber'.
"No, never mind." But his shyness never completely faded as Desmond sheepishly withdraws both verbally and physically, moving several paces backwards on his skates after every eye lands upon his unexpected outburst.
"Come now, we want to hear what you have to say, Desi." Not inhibited at all, Princess Amber would not allow shy Prince Desmond slip back into timidity again. She insistently tugs her habitually recalcitrant young suitor back to the foray as his supportive backbone, so to speak.
"Um… I was only going to nominate Chancellor Esteban – since he seems to know everything about skating technique and style - and isn't participating in the competition, I think – to be the judge of this skate-off. I mean, I thought it might be more logical rather than each of us voting on the other pairs when some of us really don't have the credentials to assess what technical and artistic elements are necessary to judge properly." Saying more words in this thirty-second span of time than he probably had in the past couple days, the retiring Prince of Burgundy puts his judicial book learning to task.
The studious young man – though his thin voice rose and fell to nearly a whisper during his assessment, emphasizes the unbiased rules of nominating one disinterested party, as opposed to the mob rule of competitors voting against or for one's friends and rivals alike on the field.
"That sounds pretty fair to me, giving us more of a chance to focus on our own skating rather than consider how the other teams are doing. I like it better that way. Dez. You've got my vote. How about you girls?" For a member of royalty, fair-minded Prince James holds his own democratic vote of sorts. He raises his hand while turning his blue-green eyes to Princess Cleo particularly for her forbearance for his mocking slip-up earlier.
"Whatever you say, James." Always primping, self-absorbed Princess Hildegard of Freezenberg was too admiring of herself and her bouncing curls in the shining reflection the sparkling ice at her feet to have her sensibilities care about the young prince's compunction for any fairness doctrine.
But she would not stand in his way if it pleased the handsome prince she intended to have woo her.
"I agree with the vote. This outing is meant to be an enjoyable holiday exhibition, where we intend to spent pleasant time with one another and each do our best to bring pleasure to the season, not merely mar it was competitive rivalry alone. I will be happy to sit on the sidelines and cheer you two on, James, Hildy." Princess Cleo concedes to James' open mouth and Hildegard's triumphant grin.
"Why thank you, Cleo. It is very good if you to realize James and I stand a better chance of securing first prize together, due to my excellent taste, recognized grace, and competitive spirit you lack, Cleo. Your skills lie in other fields, my dear friend." Princess Hildegard once again misses the point as she claims James' arm.
He sadly watches the girl who was more like the fun-loving boy's conscience than just a mere friend, leave the ice.
"But style and beauty are way more important than winning, Hildegard. That's what I believe anyway." Just then, the heir to her throne someday, and trying to grow magnanimously into it, Princess Amber's tiny bit of vanity still shows through every now and then.
"That is true. But victory and style both mean little if fairness and evenhanded integrity are not employed." Always chic with a fair amount of feminine vanity herself, Elsa could see Amber's point, to a degree. But the Queen of Norway had also been elegantly groomed to sit on her kingdom's throne someday, with her father's overwhelming righteous sense of nobility impressed on her and passed down as it had been for generations of the Norwegian Royal bloodline.
"Here here, min kæreste. Chancellor Esteban is the perfect choice for upstanding judge of this friendly little competition. We second the nomination." Hans boldly takes the initiative, that sure he was of his fiancée's opinion. Elsa nods to Hans in total agreement, with a gracious smile for the Avalor dignitary.
"I will only be too glad to accept the delightful duty, my young friends. But with the condition my Johanne and this lovely young lady may, on equal footing, quorum with me as a council of sorts, with their valued opinions?" Esteban takes the cue, with an arm each around Johanne and Cleo's shoulders.
"Indeed, that would be equitable with me – I mean us." Hugo was so set in his ways as a singles competitor, but sweet Sofia was weaning him into thinking as a skating pair more of late. So he too gives a consenting nod towards Duke Esteban Flores, who smiles.
"That is, if it's understood that you confer no ice magic powers - which would certainly give your team the edge - will be employed on the competitive field, yes, Queen Elsa?" The Russian Prince surmises the self-denial of Elsa's Ice Queen prowess that he had seen a little of last night and heard of much before being bandied about in royal circles.
"Of course, it goes without saying. Queen Elsa can indubitably restrain her gifts of the ice by sheer will and brilliance of character and control of mind." Praiseful Hans makes the second statement confidently as he gives Elsa's suddenly stiffened shoulders an encouraging squeeze.
The Danish Prince was totally unaware that he was repeating the very words of her father King Agnarr from many years ago that always stuck in the frightened little girl's psyche which never wanted to disappoint the most important man in her life.
Elsa gulps at Hans' unconditional defense of her against Prince Hugo's implications, feeling the tingles of her Ice Queen cryokinetics, recently merged with trained 5th Spirit Elemental magics. Not to mention her latest enhanced North Winter Mistress innate powers coursing through her veins.
Sure, I've got this whole control thing down.
"The Queen of Arendelle possesses an enormity of intellectual capacity to choose if and when to use her cryokinetic magic. You need not be apprehensive of our integrity, sir." Though Elsa was not affronted, Hans obviously was insulted by this impudent foreign man's insinuating audacity. The Southern Isles Prince takes a stance on the ice in front of the platinum blonde woman he loved, extolling her virtues all the while.
"It was never my intention to offend, Prince Hans, Queen Elsa. Please pardon me if I gave that erroneous impression. I trust you both entirely." Prince Hugo apologizes after Sofia elbows him in the ribs to be so rude to their new friends, as he gives Elsa a gallant bow on his balanced skates.
To which, indignantly annoyed Hans merely stares silently down his pointed celestial nose, his male ire up and itching for a fight.
"Hans. Please. 'But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance…'" Leaving the Galatians Bible verse open-ended for her angry lover, Elsa was a mature woman now who had increasingly grown into her ice prowess control. With Hans' emboldening help, Anna's sisterly friendship and God's abiding love that her parents – though they did wrong in some points of raising her in her childhood – were wise enough to instill in the unassuming girl a faith that, through it all, would overcome all troubles.
The pair had become so close, with a press to his hand and large eyes gazing expectantly up at him, Elsa knew Hans would complete the holy words she knew he had come to also cherish to calm his unhappy youth's bitter soul in his hard times.
"'…kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self-control.' Galatians 5:22-23." Taking the Biblical Scripture to heart with a remorseful sigh, Hans murmurs the remainder of the New Testament verse to her before turning to Prince Hugo.
"Apology accepted, my friend. Let us now share the joy of the season in a worthy game where no one need be anxious for unsavory cheating, for we are all decent, God-fearing people and allies." Breaking the hot tension that was especially palpable in the cold air, Hans gives Hugo a genuine smile as the two young men exchange a nod and handshake.
"Agreed." Consummate ice dancing skater Prince Hugo gestures with one extended hand for his partner Princess Sofia to be ready to accompany him out onto the center of the ice like a true ballroom dancer.
The pleased Arendelle Queen then gives her Prince her most soothing, tender smile, gratified her young man was so sure of her and defensive that it inspired renewed confidence in herself too.
I like how you can always do that for me, my handsome Prince. You make me feel special. Elsa thinks with an adoring gaze upon her betrothed. She consciously puts her ice abilities – and warning of any residual aid Gale the wind spirit, for example, may entertain here un-requested by her fellow elemental - aside to compete as a normal woman and best skating partner that her sleek Danish Prince deserved.
"Then shall we begin this competition? How do we decide who goes first?" Glad he did not have to step in to break up the building confrontation, Chancellor Esteban Flores asks the question, primarily of Elsa as she was the monarch of this nation.
Or was that Agnarr? It is hard to keep up with the succession of royalty here in this enchanted Land of the Midnight Sun of many secrets...even more difficult than it was once upon a time back home in Avalor…hehehe…Foolish man, now given a third chance at living a good life…My sainted Mami and Papi must be watching over their little boy, doubletime…
"Ooh! Ooh! Wait, wait! I'll hold up straws to see who goes first!" Olaf excitedly offers any aspect of the game he could participate in. "Did you know that drawing straws to select a winner goes back to ancient Greece? In Athens 6th Century BC, the selection of government by the citizens drawing straws was called 'sortition'. Isn't that old tradition interesting…And they did it wearing…togas…?" As he rattled off some innocuous information share his eager maturing mind had soaked up recently, Olaf looks sadly around the table to find no straws present.
So, always ready to help her friends, Anna quickly gathers up some fallen sticks from the tree-lined courtyard edging for Kristoff to snap in two or three different sized twigs for eager Olaf to use.
Two by two, Hans and Elsa, James and Hildegard, Hugo and Sofia, Varian and Cassandra and Amber and Desmond, join Anna and Kristoff by Olaf.
He excitedly bounces around at the table, holding up the branch 'straws' with a goofy grin to each set of competitors.
It was chivalrously decided by silent unanimous male vote that the female partner of each the six young pairs would step forward to select a crisp brown stick.
"Eek!" Princess Hildegard shrieks and drops her chosen straw when the stick wiggles back up at her.
"Whoops, sorry! Sticky fingers!" Olaf giggles when one of the branches he was offering turned out to be his left hand forefinger that Hildegard was unlucky to pick. Attachinng it back in his branchy socket, Olaf then spins around and resets the sticks behind his back, splunking them into his midsection snowy mound in equalized heights instead.
"Try again, please." After all was said and done, the order of the lineup of the skate off, from shortest twig chosen first to the longest one to perform last was:
Amber and Desmond, James and Hildegard, Anna and Kristoff, Hans and Elsa, Hugo and Sofia, and finally, Varian and Cassandra would finish out the ice skating exhibition.
"Oh, how exciting! We are the first couple in the exhibition, Desi! We shall endeavor to shine before everyone to make this presentation's introduction great." Lofty Crown Princess Amber takes hold of her shy Prince's plump hand that was already perspiring from the tension he was feeling the moment they stepped out together on the ice.
"Then let the first Arendelle Ice Skating Frolic Pairs Competition begin!" After a trio of chairs at the refreshment table are set up, three sets of quickly scribbled number markers from 1 to 9 are placed on the table before them.
With Johanne on one side and Princess Cleo on the other, Chancellor Esteban steps up to the plate of being elected official arbiter of this friendly youthful competition with two lovely ladies at his side to confer with as 'judges' of this competition.
"Thank you." Princess Amber whispers as she elegantly removes her hand muffler to place down on the judges table. Then the pale peppermint green dressed girl with the holly sprigs accented in her long golden hair waves grabs hold of Prince Desmond's trying not to freak out hand.
"Just like you did in all those practices with James, Desi. Just don't look down." With a whisper in his blushing ear, Amber was blissfully unaware of how terrified of the ice he was. Ice-skating was probably pretty high in the top ten of Desmond's long list of frights that the sheepish boy had compiled since early childhood.
But to impress Princess Amber as they matured together, the Prince of Burgundy was desperately trying to overcome each one.
Although, no matter how much practice Amber's twin brother, James – who was star player of the hockey team – included his bashful friend in during his ice hockey half-time breaks, Prince Desmond could never see himself as a great skater.
Or even a good one. But he would try his darndest for Amber's sake now.
The Baroque era music of Bach's languid and sedate "'Air from Orchestral Suite No. 3'" begins to play softly in the background. Queen Iduna had kindly offered to supply the music after conferring with the entrants which classical piece chosen by each couple she would play for them on her piano which had been rolled onto the castle third floor balcony. It was just overlooking the courtyard where the proud mother could watch her children at the frolic and be part of the festivity.
So, beneath the tall and stately, black sable hat, the highbrow Princess of Enchancia, who was a fine ice dancer in her own right, prompts her self-conscious chosen partner to join her in a lovely display of skating.
Performing just enough of the compulsory aspects, Prince Desmond, wearing his signature indigo blue striped suit, frilly tie and periwinkle cape, follows Princess Amber's graceful artistic interpretation. The timid youth was keeping his focus on her smiles more than his fears as they glide together across the courtyard's ice rink at a careful, yet elegant pace.
The lovely young woman in her stylish scarves understood her meek boyfriend's reticent nature and chose their music accompaniment thusly. So she was content to have her partner gently lead her in a few languid side-by-side spins and gentle hops more than hard jumps until the cute pair complete the three minute performance in a slow and steady manner.
Once impatient and self-centered Amber was now mature enough to consider others more. Over the years Amber had worked on getting timid Prince Desmond to come out of his shell. And that lesson taught the fast-paced Princess patience and generosity in soft, subtle ways that exemplified the goodness of her soul.
CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!
As the yin-and-yang couple complete their skating program with a sweet spinning embrace, the growing crowd of onlookers applaud. Beyond several interested members of the staff decorating the courtyard, joining the applause were a few early riser townspeople. The Christmastime enthusiasts wanted front row seating for the Arendelle Bellringing Ceremony that was scheduled at noon time with the royal family in peaceful times again in their beloved town.
8 - 5 - 7
Johanne, Esteban and Cleo raise their numbered scorecards, causing Amber to squeal with delight in her partner Desmond's disbelieving-he-did-so-well ear as she squeezes his hand tightly with glee at the high marks.
"That was lovely, Princess Amber, Prince Desmond." Elsa takes her queenly role of praising her new friends seriously, from where she had been practically sitting on Hans' lap in the crowded 'bullpen' side benches she had cryokinetically created earlier.
"See? Told you didn't have to worry about it. High five, Dez." Prince James skates over with a hand extended to slap that of his friend who rose to the occasion despite all of his fears of the ice and falling and jumping. Not to mention his inherent shyness to the intimate proximity of the hands-on sport with James' twin sister.
"Ouch." The shy Prince winces slightly at his more fervent friend's heartfelt hand slap. "No falling or slipping permitted. No falling or slipping permitted. No falling or slipping permitted." The shellshocked young man with the tan coiffed hair was stuck repeating the self-imposed edict still echoing in his mind, not believing he had succeeded and overcome this bigtime fear.
"We succeeded beautifully. Now, let's go have a sit down, Desi." A glowing Amber exchanges their tried-and-true, two by two grin with her twin sibling over her shoulder as she compassionately leads her trembling partner to the pair of seats James and Hildegard vacated.
The more quick-rhythmed and expressively elite, snobbish music of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons 'Spring'" unseasonably soars across Queen Iduna's piano keys when livelier hockey player Prince James and flamboyant fashion plate Princess Hildegard step out together on the ice to strut their stuff.
While James was undoubtedly a great athlete who excelled at the forceful strength and power technique aspects of the sport, Hildegard opted for a more traditionally elegant approach to figure skating.
When the golden haired athletic young man executed a pretty daring take off triple axel jump at the music's soaring refrain, his partner Hildegard chose to stay on the ground and perform some expressive twirls she believed displayed her frilly, long mauve pink gown to better advantage instead.
Although both were technically and artistically proficient in their own rights, this couple was not exactly in time or rhythm with one another. They broadcasted an almost argumentative, vying-for-leadership mood, unlike a proper cohesive skating pair should project in their performance.
For the rest of Hildy and James' skate music score, it went much the same. James and Hildegard's effortless movements may have been in time with the music, showing character and rhythm and use of the dance. But that all important cohesive relationship between the partners did not reflect at all in the character of their skate all the way to Vivaldi's symphonic crescendo.
CLAP…CLAP…
The lackluster applause that followed reflected that of the, at moments, somewhat erratic program.
Now that is was over, it was pretty clear to both James and Hildy, along with everyone else, that neither complemented one another. As the less athletic, but more united, Amber and Desmond who skated before them did.
While critical judge on athletic form Chancellor Esteban appreciated Prince James' obvious capabilities on the ice, he had to abide by the rules he knew. He had to deduct the pair several marks for not being in sync with one another at all whatsoever. Nor for even making the attempt to, with snobbish Hildegard often skipping some of the most important technical elements.
On the other hand, Johanne approved of the Princess of Freezenberg's more classical ice dancing technique, while she found James' splashes of athleticism too overtly overwhelming for the artistic side of the ice skate she preferred.
Simultaneously smiling to one another, Esteban and Johanne hold up the drastically opposing numbers of three and six.
As for the third member of the judging panel, Princess Cleo was having a tough time raising her numerical card. She did not wish to hurt the feelings of her snobbish childhood best friend who often treated the less ostentatious Princess of Corinthia like a second-class citizen.
Plus there was that underlying rivalry between the two princesses that grew exponentially with their dual affections for the friendly, winsome, easy-going Prince of Enchancia, who diplomatically showed every sign of liking both of them evenly.
But indecisive diplomacy never won the heart of fair lady. And never a true lady who had any real sense of justice and fairness.
6 – 3 – 3
"What?! Cleo! That was an excellent performance! I am shocked and appalled you judges did not appreciate my impeccable skating program!" Insulted Hildegard tosses back her purple locks that had been so delicately styled in a high bunch cascading around her vexed face now looking with antagonism at her friend.
"That may be so, Hildy. You were wonderful, as a singles skater perhaps. But your skating together wasn't quite right. I'm sorry, but you didn't seem to ever progress during the entire performance to understand one another's rhythm. That's what I was trying to tell you before during practice." Princess Cleo quietly confesses in an almost tearful whisper, as she averts her eyes from her angry faced best friend.
"What do you mean?! James and I complimented one another! I demand a recount!" The spoiled Princess of Freezenberg stamps her foot on the ice, feeling offended and snubbed by her closest companion.
"No, Hildegard. They're right. You and I might have done a phenomenal job each on our own, skating our individual thing. But we were hardly a worthy combined pair. C'mon, we both know it. The goal of playing intense ice hockey taught me to never to be a sore loser. That's the only way for life to be fun and keep us on our game for new challenges. Looks like I've gotta brush up on how to be a team player better." More fair-minded and just, Prince James concedes to the opinion of the young woman who was more his conscience's guide.
His parents, King Roland and Queen Miranda, look down from the balcony with pleased smiles at their son's spoken up wisdom.
"I…suppose, James. Looks like I have to learn more about team sports. And listen to dear Cleo's advice more than just hear it. I'm forever hogging the limelight, but that's my nature." Unusually self-deprecating Princess Hildegaard scoffs at her vanity softly. "That doesn't make it excusable. Cleo would certainly have been a better partner for you, James, because she always is ready to go half-way and adapt to your style of fun. Just like she has uncomplainingly done for me all these years, too. All this time, I just didn't want to admit it—until now." Addressing the touchy subject of the girls' almost decade-long rivalry over this handsome, affable boy, Hildy gives her two friends a soft smile as she concedes on many fronts to link their hands in an unspoken blessing.
"Merry Christmas, Cleo." Taking a deep breath, the more assured, self-secure princess extends herself to initiate a hug full of friendship. And forgiveness was silently begged for as well for failing to notice how well Cleo and James fit together spiritually, more than she and he ever did.
"Merry Christmas, Hildy!" Cleo erupts in the joyous expression as she warmly enjoys the hug and then pulls a blushing, ignorant of this catfight over him, James as well into the trio's friendship embrace on the ice.
"Aww…That's a perfect intro into our Christmas season presentation, isn't it, Kristly?" Anna was viewing this soap opera, care of her new friends from Enchancia, with a sloppy expression full of tacit emotion concerning their relationship status.
The three skating friends exit the ice rink for one of the side benches together as one, quite a bit to discuss between them now.
In a complete Winter Wonderland shift, holiday girl Anna had chosen for her skating mood music "Joy to the World" from Handel's 'Messiah'. As her Mama's talented fingers easily play the self-described, 'joyful' tune, Anna, in her pale blue velvet shirt and fluffy white pom-poms, leads Kristoff, who had ditched his blue coat to now just be sporting his tight, striped vest, onto the ice.
The mountain man may have been a little shy it times, especially to be on such public display at a subject he was not that familiar with at all, nor very skilled at. However, if his sweet gingerbread cookie wanted to do this together, Kristoff Bjorgman would give it a valiant try.
"But are you feeling better yet, Baby? Are you sure you want to do this? We could sit this one out and just watch the others…" Kristoff was trying to be as helpful and accommodating to his girl, whose psychic signature had been giving him so many crazy, mixed signature signals this morning, his mind felt numb.
But feisty Anna was so busy all this morning, getting ready and practicing her happy little heart out that she had refused to address those issues to herself even, never mind say anything was amiss to her anxious young husband.
"No way, Kristly! I want to win this skate-off and show them how it's done in Arendelle!" Anna takes a deep breath before making the battle cry, rallying herself as much as Kristoff to take the victory on the Norwegian gal's own snowy home turf.
The festively festooned Princess had added some extra golden bells from her wedding crown – the same one she had worn in her sunflowery wedding veil to this hunky man about six months ago – to her pale blue velvet frock's new ice dancing overhaul.
Kristoff shrugs, the mellow fellow used to abiding to his peppery mate's whims. And if Anna really wanted to ring in this Christmas celebration on the ice in this outlandish skating competition, he would do it.
Queen Iduna, at last seeing beyond her own seething anger at Anna and Elsa's father all morning, sensed in her deep Northuldran soul the small twinge of her younger daughter's poorly wellbeing. The mother stands from her piano bench, almost about to call down to ask her doughty pixie if she was alright.
But that was when jubilant Anna grabbed Kristoff's hand and gives her musical Mama at the balcony a vibrant thumbs up to start their program music, beaming her bright smile to the audience all the while.
Iduna shrugs away her matronly anxieties as mere pent-up frustration at her husband Agnarr and sits back down at the bench, flexing her fingers that had become used to the chill. The petite Queen launches into the joyous intro music of Handel's 'Joy to the World' on Elsa's new white grand pianoforte while Anna drags Kristoff onto the center ice stage.
The intensely smiling young woman and her compliant partner spin around the ice rink in a jaunty, frolicking manner to the glorious music that totally suited the triumphant, classical Christmas winter season start.
As Kristoff does his best to keep up, Anna, as if trying to prove herself, launches into a fervent series of expressive spins and hops set to the 2/4 time music that had the audience already enthused and laughing with joy.
Kristoff nor Anna may have been as rhythmically sound or elegant skaters as the past pairs already gone by had been. But Anna's lively and interesting interpretation of the piece's step sequences made up for it.
Even reserved Elsa had to join the audience in loudly clapping with glee to see Anna's large muscled partner try to mimic the elastic gal's playful movements on the ice.
The Ice Queen smiles at her effervescent baby sister's performance that was perhaps not polished or fluid, but a fun and lively skate, with strong Kristoff game to be joyous Anna's big lumbering shadow.
Hans stands behind her seat, hands on Elsa's shoulders, basking in the soft chuckles at her beloved single sibling. Anna certainly brought this 17th century 'Joy to the World' to life with tinkling bells and prayerful hands raised grateful to Heaven merrily as she zips pass, waving wildly in time to the music to her big sister with a razzle at 'that Hans.'
"There's our holiday girl, spreading love and joy this season already."
About halfway into the joyful program, Iduna was not startled by her husband's sudden appearance at the sound of music familiar. She almost expected his cool hand upon her shoulder to be there as she played the seasonal favorite, just as he always did in years gone by.
"She is a gift from Heaven Above to us all." The Queen could not help but share his sentiment with a proud motherly smile back up to her King standing behind her, who was trying to make his first overtures of begging for forgiveness to his slighted woman.
And my second miracle of a headstrong, stubborn little Gingersnap is so much like her Father here on earth, too…
But Queen Iduna withdraws her quick smile when she recalls their recent tiff as the raucous skating program of 'Joy to the World' marches onward.
Although, she could not help but enjoy King Agnarr's trick massage of her stiff neck. She recalls pleasant holidays past when his magic hands were also involved, as musically inclined Iduna competently continues to play the classical Christmas carol her daughter requested for the skate to put everyone in a happy mood.
Just as the giddy ginger Princess was aglow that her skating had succeeded in inspiring the joy of the season, and maybe even this unspoken argument between her parents too, something suddenly goes wrong.
During her final long spin and set of successive tiny jumps in time with the notes of the higher octaves of the 'Let Hea~ven and Hea~ven and nature sing!' crescendo, Anna's happy little lithe body - that had been running on vapors of enjoyment amid the sounds of laughter and applause and bells - suddenly becomes dizzy and lurches forward.
She forces herself from retching at the sudden move, stopping so suddenly at that speed that it sent the ginger Princess, for a split second, head over heels in an unintended spill.
It would have surely sent her spinning body from the sheer momentum catapulting across the rink to skid across the ice on her pretty face –
GASP!
Everything happening too fast, Elsa jumps up from her bench seat. With the innate ice she had been mentally curbing, she reacts to the abrupt accident about to occur. But terrifying visions of a pair of much younger sisters frolicking in snow created in a castle Throne Room once upon a cursed time flash through Elsa's mind. Anna's falling accident again panics the tender-hearted 5th Spirit as she sees her horrified younger self's ice magic unwittingly unleash a striking blast that only made things worse for her little sister, replaying over and over in the Ice Queen's distressed mind.
Sensing her alarm, Prince Hans was immediately at his fiancée's side, steadying Elsa's trembling shoulders and looking calmly into the chaotic eyes witnessing this scene in terror all over again.
"Elsa, soft snow mound several feet in front of Anna. Now." Hans' insistent directive succinctly enters Elsa's frazzled head as he breathily speaks into her ear in that commanding way only he could reach her. She instantly obeys, sending a soft layer of snow down across the cold hard surface of the ice a few feet before Anna.
Love is stronger than fear. Elsa closes her eyes with the heart-secure prayer for her darling baby sister that their Mama had recently reminded her of.
"Elemental spirit! Please help this special child of the Northuldra!" To Elsa's gratitude, Chief Yelana – as always, the calm voice of wisdom - had stepped out onto the ice from out of nowhere on General Mattias' strong arm. The older native woman lifts her hands and voice up to call upon Gale the Wind element to aid Anna from skidding across her pretty face out on the harsh ice rink ground.
But fortunately, due to his wide open Spirit Whisperer ability of inner insight, especially for his Baby love – and a touch of the elemental Wind spirit's positive gust – the Snow Prince, in mid-matching choreographed spin, reaches towards his lover's out of control skidding body.
She'd always been a go-getter, Kristoff rarely seeing his Anna back down from any challenge come her effervescent way. It wasn't so strange for Anna to be pushing herself so hard, especially since she preferred to win any game so much. Kristoff had been picking up Anna's increased confusion mental state for the last minute or thereabouts of the skate, so the limber young man was already ready at split second notice to be her hero again.
As everyone else watched in gasped fear, Kristoff Bjorgman incredibly launches himself through the enchanted air in an unheard of, perfectly executed four revolution quadruple axel to catch up to his ginger love. Unsophisticated skater Kristoff lands himself in a dive to the snow-covered ice surface breaking his flailing partner's fall as he takes the brunt of the impact instead of Anna.
CRASH!
With the wind at his back, Kristoff had used all his pure muscled force to envelop his girl within his larger body without crushing her. All while simultaneously – with Gale's assist - diverging his added momentum across the frozen surface to stop Anna from spinning out of control on her face.
His catapulted form had shielded his wife in a big bear hug embrace, Kristoff goes down hard.
But the man of nature was thankfully not badly broken or scarred, due in large part to the snowmound that Elsa had swiftly created at Hans' command for specially summoned Gale to help ease the pair down to.
Mattias, Hans and Hugo were quick to skate up and lend assistance to a shellshocked Kristoff who took the full force of the crash for his little wife. They pry open his arms and lift Anna up to her nearly weeping, traumatized older sister, right at her side.
"Anna! Are you all right?! ANNA!?" Elsa cries out, clutching Hans' arm and caressing Anna's blessedly unharmed face. The Ice Queen was fraught with emotion as Hans cradles Anna in his arms with a deep look of genuine worry on his pretty boy features.
"Whoa… Red? I'd recognize your thick cologne a mile away. Is this like a nightmare or something?" A woozy Anna quips to Hans as she reaches over to pat Elsa's quivering cheek hovering over her after a few tense seconds of the dizzied girl's senses being whacked out of her.
"At least our little cookie's trusty mouth's still working." The anxious General of the Arendelle Army adds a much needed spot of levity as he flashes a smile to the young visiting royals at his back.
"Always can count on that." The ginger Princess wakes up and groggily waves to the crowd who spatter applause in relief. With a smile, brave Anna proves to a distraught Elsa and her frazzled parents just rushing down to the scene that she was still intact.
"Anna! Are you unhurt?!" The Ice King and his Queen holding tight to Agnarr's cryokinetically conjured sled arrive through the air in a matter of seconds to their accident prone child's side. The King shares a worried glance with Mattias, who nods to his old friend after both steal a look at the enigmatic woman standing at the far end of the courtyard rink.
"Just my pride." A weak-voiced Anna smirks with a shake of her addled head. "Ugh. Guess my tummy's pretty upset with me for taking that nosedive. This is way worse than my usual gassy." She cutely complains, holding her stomach, with eyes closing in the sheer pain Anna was doing her darndest to deny for some days now.
"Min Flicka! Away in a manger, no room for His rest. The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head…" Queen Iduna starts to sing a healing Christmas melody as she was accustomed to doing for her clumsy younger child growing up wild. At the same time, King Agnarr gathers Anna up from Hans' warm arms into his anxiously stiff, cold ones.
"Everyone! Enough of this! Come inside out of this cold! No more of this competitive skating nonsense for delicate Princesses." The spoilsport King, as per usual, blames the game for Anna's injury that was merely an accident.
"No, Papa! Please don't cancel the games! I just got a little winded with a slight tummy ache, that's all. Silly me must've eaten something disagreeable this morning." Speaking in her wheedling voice, Anna shoots Hans and his early potato lefse smothered in maple syrup a smirking inside look. "Please don't stop the fun! I wanna watch and find out who wins! I'll be right as rain soon. I'm dying to see Elsa's performance! Please let me watch!" Looking up into her Papa's pale hazel eyes, Anna cajoles her anxious father in her sweet baby voice that always got him to do whatever she wanted.
"We're only halfway through! Pretty please? It's Christmas." She flutters her eyelashes at her upset Papa.
"Well… I suppose. But then you must promise to come rest with Mama and I, Gingersnap, for the remainder of the day. No more stress for you today. I will call in the Royal physician to come and attend to ensure nothing vital inside has been dislodged in that fall. You look rather peaked." Agnarr touches Anna's head to check her temperature like every good father should.
"Elsa can perform the Bellringing Ceremony on her own for the people of Arendelle while we watch from the balcony, if you're feeling well enough by then to view it, Anna." Juggling responsible leader and father, Agnarr knew how much this observance meant to the citizens of Arendelle.
So he also realized they, as rulers, must perform this obligatory duty to show all was sound within the royal family, lest the nation founder.
The King murmurs beneath his frosted moustache with a serious gaze upon his older daughter. "I'm sorry, my darling Snow Angel. But one of us must remain here out of respect for the other competitors and also to demonstrate to the citizens who have come out in this cold weather that they may still continue to enjoy the start of this winter solstice into Christmas season commencement."
"Yes, Papa." Elsa nods in full comprehension of her sovereign duty, but her previously blissful insides were now a jumble of worries for Anna's oddly inexplicable collapse.
"Good citizens! Princess Anna has merely tripped on the ice and will be fine soon to participate in the festivities of the season in the upcoming days leading to Christmas! Please do not fret and continue to fully enjoy this skating exhibition with your Queen Elsa." The conscientious King speaks to the hushed crowd, alleviating some of their worry for their beloved little Princess, even as he carries her away.
"I'll be watching from the window, everybody! Lend Elsa all your love and support in my absence!" Unselfish Anna gives her all to smile to the crowd before she turns to her big sister. "Good luck, Elsa! Show us one of your awesome performances. Try to keep up, Red." Anna encourages her sister with a wave and teases Hans at the same time, even if she felt like she had been kicked from inside and out as she bravely smiles anyway.
"Oh, and thanks for taking care of Kristly, General Mattias, Halima." As her father and mother take her inside the castle, Anna was glad to see the older gent and his wife with a sweet drink and ice pack for his noggin helping attend to her sturdy Kristoff. Though the blond mountainman was still sitting on the ground in a pile shaking his head, heseemed to be in one piece.
"You can rely on us, Your Majesty. Just get yourself better, little lady. Christmas is coming real soon, and we're gonna need our Christmas Queen to pass out the treats." Sharing a smile with Elsa, Mattias gives Anna a wink from where he was kneeling at Kristoff's woosy side. From talking to Gerda and Johanne and the others, Mattias knew how much this sunshine girl would love celebrating the holy holiday.
And the joy Princess Anna openly brought to this kingdom that had seen so many sadnesses and secrets was something he was personally looking forward to.
"Don't worry, Anna! Kristoff has a 'hard skull', remember? The skull is the bony part of the human head that rests on the first vertebra of the spine, called the 'atlas'. Isn't that interesting? But the word atlas has several meanings, doesn't it? Spelled the same way and everything! Why is that? It's also a book of maps. Oh! And the name of the Greek mythological titan condemned to hold up the sky. Sounds pretty tough to me to hold something so see-through up with your arms all day. Let me see…Kristoff's 'atlas' looks intact! So it's all good." After portraying his arms over his snowmound head for several 'tough' seconds, encyclopedic Olaf inspects Kristoff's spinal column. Then he gives Anna a branchy thumbs-up from where the funny little, inquisitive snowman had skated over to the winded Ice Harvester's wobbly side.
"Did anyone get the number of the sleigh that hit me?" Kristoff slowly comes to with Halima applying Olaf's midsection as ice compress to Kristoff's growingly red, egg shaped noggin that bumped the ice surface. The tall blond shakily stands to his feet with a little help from James and Desmond from the icy mound he mostly landed on.
The mountaineer, who had suffered worse bumps and bruises in his life to his tough skull before, had heard his klutzy bride's insistent voice and instinctively sensed she was safe, for the most part.
Anna was thankfully unharmed by her dizzy skating accident, in part thanks to Elsa's soft snow cushion, along with his own selfless interception to take the brunt of the fall care of Gale's timely wind boost.
The rough-and-tumble harvester would do it again for his Feistypants, any time.
Strong silent type Kristoff Bjorgman quickly comes to and scrambles to his feet to stumble skid across the rink in pursuit of his wife departing on her father's magic ice sled into Arendelle Castle with all due speed.
"Slow down, young man! You'll do yourself a mischief again!" Halima calls after the blond boy who just sprang from her lap like he was made of rubber rather than battered and bruised mortal flesh.
"Methinks the problem is that he already has. Hehehe. Let's leave the skate-off for these kids and go see what challenge is going on upstairs, eh, Mrs. Mattias?" The dark- skinned soldier gives his wife a sweeping bow invite.
"Sounds good to my bunions that you'll be acquainted with massaging later, Mr. Mattias." The kindly baker woman jokes back, catching her husband's lighter drift. It smoothes away her worry lines for their dearest gingerbread customer of a sweet-toothed Queen as Halima links her arm in Mattias' and both serenely skate towards the castle rear entrance where the others had disappeared inside of with Anna.
The silent, grey-haired Northuldran leader follows with the excitable accompanying Wind, that the child of the sun had called upon earlier, pushing Yelana into the Arendelle castle not too far behind.
At a loss for what to do next, Chancellor Esteban and the ladies of the judging panel put facedown their scorecards of 3 - 2 - 5 for Anna and Kristoff's eventful and clumsy, yet undoubtedly spirited and lively performance, that was at least joyous to the world, until the end.
"The King has instructed we continue this competition to its finish, so the kingdom can proceed as normal to the Arendelle Bellringing Ceremony afterwards to initiate this holiday season. For the better good of the country and its citizens, it is the next right thing to do, Chancellor." Accepting General Mattias' salute as he leaves Councilor Kai quietly takes heed of his once rival's wise words. Then the Regent Councilor came from behind to speak civilly to Esteban where the Avaloran emissary was seated next to Kai's similarly anxious sister Johanne, in worry for the little gingersnap Princess.
Kai had finally gathered himself, at Gerda's gentle prodding and Agnarr's authoritative goading, to help prepare the castle to oversee the annual Bellringing Ceremony.
"Yes, I agree. We all heard that lovely and brave myshka (little mouse). Princess Anna wants to see a proper competition. So let us give it to her, my friends. I'm sure it will make her feel better." Prince Hugo took Anna's begged request for the competition to continue to heart as he easily accomplishes a practice loop jump before returning to bench seat beside Sofia.
"We shall strive for performances that will not let the Princess down." Seeing this would calm the jittery crowd down, svelte and sinewy Hans takes up the challenge with a just as confident triple axel jump to display his aptitude and talent for the winter sport.
"Come, min kæreste. We must give our Anna a show to remember." Hans takes hold of Elsa's trembling cold pale hand in his heated warm one.
With a noted nod to Gerda, who had scurried to appeal to her friend from the Arendelle church choir in the crowd to take over the reins of the piano accompaniment, with an encouraging smile, Hans pulls Elsa by her two hands out onto the center of the ice.
To the haunting Beethoven melody of 'Für Elise', Prince Hans leads Queen Elsa in a beautiful ice dance where elegance and grace was the utmost theme.
Poised Queen Elsa responds to her debonair Prince's stable, yet fluid body movement. The iridescent wisps of her chosen skating costume glisten in the morning sunlight as the well matched pair flow and swirl in spins and dips across the frozen skating rink in a lovely unified display of artistry and romance combined.
As the evocative music told of Hans and Elsa's yearning love, filled in a dreamy sequence of tender moves with one another. In a side-by-side step sequence, Elsa was depending wholly on her fiancé's excellent agility as he eases her single raised long-legged form like a filmy cloud across the ice.
Elsa does her best to forgo all the negative anxiety that responsibilities of the crown and Anna's earlier accident brought back. Together, as one, she and Hans sweep across the ice in perfect unison with each another, astonishing the hushed crowd.
Hans performs a stunning lasso lift above his head as the lovely music flares, Elsa taking the star sideways position of her upper body being parallel to the ice by Hans' strong arm. But in this exhilarating high-altitude speed with the wind through the beauteous 5th Element's hair and fluttering her dress exquisitely in icy flower petals all about her, Elsa could glimpse something above the crowd of wowed onlookers.
From swift moving royal carriage, that spared not the horses, comes the harried arrival of her father's elderly Royal Physician whom she recalled from her early youth coming to visit when her mother was terribly ill with the cholera pandemic from tainted seafood.
Is Anna that ill?! Oh no! She said she was all right! I wonder what is so wrong to have made Papa call that doctor in?! I can't bear to see Anna not feeling well at Christmas time. She's been looking forward to it so much!
SLIP!
But all those confused, negative thoughts filled with doubt and anxiety stole Elsa's focus away from Hans' gorgeous, intense eyes. And in that vital split-second of their increasing rapid speed, as the pair were swirling around the ice wrapped together, she misses his extended hand…
Elsa may have suffered an even worse fall than her sister in this daring skating maneuver dubbed the 'death spiral' for good reason, where one broken hand link between partners could have spelled disaster.
That is, if Hans Westergaard had not the strength and perspicacity to stretch lunge forward to grab Elsa's other hand and ambidextrously lean to his left side skate and almost immutably switch gears on his own.
Without missing a beat, Hans deftly changes his toe anchor to continue to circle his pale blue ice partner on the deep edge with her slender, willowy body almost parallel on the ice held for an entire dramatic rotation around the courtyard ice rink.
In perfect rhythm with the music, perceptive Hans brings Elsa back up to him as he wraps both arms around her intimately close and safe and warm, kissing away her fears in what seemed perfectly natural symbolism of the poignant 'Für Elise' music score.
The pair spins back into one last smooth spin around the ice in a common axis, holding one another in this close embrace to the exquisitely romantic tone of Beethoven's most romantic piece's climax.
CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!
The audience was utterly bowled over by how seamlessly their young Queen and her chosen suitor Prince floated together with the majority of effortless movements in time with the music that reflected the tender emotion nuance of their classical music.
The trusting, passionate, beautiful relationship that had grown between Elsa and Hans was made obvious to all spectators – even the King of Arendelle, whose guarded eyes were upon his first child and her selected mate.
Agnarr had to honestly admit how well they fit together from where the King had been watching from the balcony above.
Anna was now carried by Kristoff on the balcony to view her big sister's skating performance, whether the perplexed old doctor inside the upper bedroom liked it or not.
"Even a fool could see that they are made for one another." Iduna comments after peering over her stiff-necked husband's shoulder. The Queen gives her wide-eyed mate a saucy smirk as she wraps her cherished knit Northuldran shawl around her younger child's shoulders where Anna was leaning against Kristoff's strong chest.
9 - 8 – 9
The nearly perfect triple 9 score again sends ripples of applause and cheers through the crowd of onlookers.
"Thank you." Hans charms the ladies in the audience by responding for his team in a gentlemanly, sweeping hand bow.
Elsa wishes she could use her up to now muffled cryokinetics to fly up to the castle balcony and check on how Anna was doing, but she refrains as Esteban addresses her.
"That was a nearly flawless performance indeed, Queen Elsa, Prince Hans. But to the critical eye, there was that one slip and lunge, as gracefully fluid as you did in masking it…" Perfectionist, by the book judge Esteban was extremely pleased Hans had so deftly pulled Elsa out of the off-time death spiral's danger with finesse.
But unison and timing were two essential parts of the four characteristics to evaluating perfect pair spins as Esteban cocks his trained head with a sympathetic smile to the redheaded Prince on giving his unavoidable '8' score.
"Don't listen to him! That was amazing, big sisty! BEST SKATING EVER! Period!" Fangirl Anna's cheery voice was loudest of all. It gladdened anxious Elsa to hear Anna so sprightly from where she was wide awake on the balcony in Kristoff's arms, clapping her little gloved hands so hard they hurt.
In fact, everything hurt on the inside. But the feisty girl would not show it to the crowd of Arendelle townspeople below, their visiting royal friends, her parents and especially not Elsa at this happy time of her birthday and Christmas combined.
"Please don't worry so, min älskare. Anna appears fine." Prince Hans was the master of emotional disguise, his handsome face a mask of encouraging assurances as he wraps his arms around Elsa's shivering shoulders. He couldn't show the anxiety he felt for Elsa's piquant sibling's inexplicable collapse of the ice.
After all, Hans felt he and Anna had become close – even friendly – during the recent confrontation with the Devil Troll King to reclaim Elsa's heart.
"You see, good citizens! Your Princess and Prince Consort have recovered from their accidental fall already. Let us give a round of applause for their good health and speedy recovery before continuing with the next couple's presentation." Esteban smoothly takes the reins of the situation at the tittering voices of the wary audience, as he leads them to clap and shout approval for Anna and Kristoff, who swiftly peek back over the balcony shyly to their adoring, cheering crowd.
"Prince Hugo, Princess Sofia. If you would?" The Chancellor motions for the Prince of Kiev and the Princess of Enchancia to step together onto the ice.
"With pleasure, we will hope to entertain and bring smiles to the good people of Arendelle, sir." Charming Prince Hugo gives his most dapper, low bow first to the no longer alarmed audience. Then, he awards another to Sofia, whose cheeks flush pink just lovely as they take to the ice's center stage side by side fluidly.
The triumphantly gregarious march of Berlioz and Lizst's 'Symphony Fantastic Reveries' suite begins to play. Experienced figure skater in his frozen homeland of Russia, Prince Hugo, with well-defined lines in his slick matching tuxedo with tails, leads an pale indigo satin and lilac lace double skirted Princess Sofia for an ambitious skate together along the ice.
To an enthusiastic run through the piano keys playing, Hugo shows off his skating skills, with step sequences and rhythmic transitions, complete with numerous salchow and toe loop combination jumps that bright and chipper Sofia matched him for jump for jump, side-by-side.
After all, their years of practice together since childhood displayed the pair's seamless connection to one another.
In lifts and spin after spin, Hugo and Sofia were so flawlessly accustomed to one another and well practiced, it showed.
But partway through their well rehearsed program, even to the perfection of their own death spiral, Hugo sensed the audience was not as enthused as they were watching Prince Hans and Queen Elsa. So he decides to step the performance up again.
"Axel throw jump, Sofie." In a low whisper in her ear, Hugo informs his partner of the small shift from the easier toe-lift jump takeoff they had practiced before to be replaced by the more difficult axel throw.
"Ookay." Sofia had no choice but to agree, with a few reservations of the one technical aspect that the experienced skating pair were yet to perfect. Yet she would always do her best in everything she set her heart to doing, especially for the boy she had come to care so much for.
So in rhythm with one another, Sofia matches Hugo's acceleration speed increase across the ice before the pair launch into the taxing axel jump where the distance, speed and height had to be absolutely perfect or else –
Courting another disaster, Prince Hugo was so competitive he had forgotten one little detail. That was the importance of sleek athletic costuming – not frills and lace - required for such a throw that his Sofie usually sported in their past attempts to execute this difficult element…
R-R-RRIIIIPPP!
His decorated gold embroidered suit jacket's fancy waist buttons catch on Sofia's trailing lilac lace extra skirt as Hugo was focusing on perfectly tossing the small girl through the air.
That little snag blessedly wasn't enough to cause Princess Sofia to stumble or fall.
The expert skater in Prince Hugo made it not as noticeable in his level manner of stepping out of the throw's delivery. He coolly chooses to simply tear Sofia's ripped costume part from his chest and toss it aside carelessly.
They then continue on their practiced program instead of him improvising to smoothly blend and embrace his flustered partner close as Hans did after their slight error.
Not to mention the fact that Sofia's pretty lace skirt was now left distractedly torn and fluttering crookedly between her legs for the remainder of the otherwise flawless performance.
CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!
The applause was not half as thunderous as it was for their adored Queen, but the Arendelle citizens were polite to the pretty, sweet-faced visiting Princess of Enchancia and her Russian counterpart beau for the well-delivered, technically difficult, fast-moving performance.
Out of breath, her bouncing brown curls up in a stylish comb Princess Sofia sheepishly gives a bow to the audience, her pretty costume bedraggled, even as Prince Hugo smiles confidently that they pulled off a win.
8 - 9 - 9
An impressed Esteban fully awards the professional quality technical performance in trained unison throughout to the challenging 'Symphonie Fantastique' that he considered pitch perfect for a skater's display.
Princess Cleo was equally impressed by both Sofia and Hugo's athletic control, performed jumps and effortless flow through Berlioz and Liszt's exhilarating music that, to her, made it totally comparable to Elsa and Hans' beautiful grace and elegance with their moving Beethoven piece.
But a horrified Johanne, noticing the costume malfunction and the Prince's lackluster gallantry concerning the princess' fashion, as only a proper ladies' maid would, deducts that crucial point that would have put their pair ahead.
Hugo sends to Hans a twisted smirk that plainly stated the competition between the men was not yet over.
Now that the two teams were essentially tied, both handsome young males were already considering as to how the tiebreaker would have to be carried out, most likely as a one-on-one skating duel between them.
As this was all occurring, shaky Varian Gutenberg was being led towards the center ice floor by the most non-ostentatious female competing today, who needn't worry for her tight, unobtrusive, no frills costume to get caught on anything.
Normally down-to-earth Cassandra Schmidt would have shunned this sort of freak show. But the athletic young woman had been a secret skating enthusiast all though her lonely childhood. It was then, in too many cold frigid days and nights spent utterly alone in a tiny cottage in the forest of Prussia where her mother, Gothel, had practically abandoned her – before the Captain of the Guard kindly adopted the weeping lass – the orphan girl could always keep her mind and body practiced and well-toned, preoccupied and trained alone on the frozen lake ice nearby.
Since we're not in the glaring view of fellow townspeople we know in Corona…
…And there's no annoying Fitzherbert to ridicule me…
After that awful mermaid costume fiasco that kept her muscle toned body so very constricted all night, Cassandra was just itching to cut loose and be free to fly and jump and kick and spin in a competition just like this.
So what the hell do we have to lose?
"Are you ready for this, Varian?" As she fluidly moves across the ice like a sleek black panther, Cassandra glances over to the lanky young man who had agreed to her unspoken request to join in the competition, despite his better sense.
But Varian would do anything for his Cassie when he saw the light in her eyes glow at the tough guardswoman's one and only hidden passion he'd seen since they met.
"Ready… Ugh… as I'll ever be?" An unsure Varian takes to the ice at her side nonetheless after a few minutes of practice in the sidelines with his new skate design that Cassandra had trusted the inventor boy to wear as well, without question.
Cassandra gives a soft smile to the nervous, dark-haired young man who was staring at her with trepidation etched across his cute features. But Varian looked especially sweet in Arendelle's borrowed velvet blue coat and striped vest she had to employ some last-minute handmaiden skills to tighten the buttons thereof around his tiny waist and nonexistent hips.
"Hey, look at me, V." The gray eyed young lady was simply wearing her normal, tight black pants and just as tight purplish black shirt outfit that made her look slinky as a cat – and somewhat reminiscent of her black crystal days. She gives her tentative younger sweetheart – Are we that?! – her full attention, yanking his chin to her intent gaze between stern fingers.
"We practiced with your new skate blade design and they worked really great. You were really great. You're a brilliant inventor, and a pliable, quick learner, Varian, so you don't have a thing to be nervous about. Just focus on me and forget that we have an audience, okay? It'll be fine if you think it's just you and me on the ice, right?" Cassandra quietly speaks to her shy recluse alchemist as they float on the frozen surface of the courtyard side-by-side on the elongated metal blades he had redesigned just this morning.
"Yeah. It'll be easy for me to focus on you since I only ever see you in the crowd, Cassie. And that's because I have always – and will always love you."
Did I just say that OUT LOUD?!
Varian, in his flustered excitement to perform good enough to be worthy of standing beside this tall, athletic, gorgeous partner, had relented to the stubborn and bold little voice in the back of his mind. That voice recalled Hans' advice to have the courage to open up his raw emotion to the only girl he ever, ever cared for now at this chance they had to be alone.
For several silent, palpable seconds as the pair approached the center of the ice, Varian loses himself in Cassandra Schmidt's wide exotic eyes as his true confession slipped out with his long-held unrequited love, at last, unwittingly declared.
Never one to waste words when actions spoke louder, the tough as nails, strong guardswoman gathers her wide-eyed male counterpart's deeply red cheeks in her gloved hands to land a wet kiss directly on his shocked quivering lips as her wordless reply to his admission.
While their first public liplock only lasted a moment or two as the couple spun into the designated center stage start, it was more than enough to have emboldened Varian's stimulated senses to fully rise to the occasion.
Sporting his inventor's metallurgical enhanced toe pick and innovative elongated blade that revolutionarily ended well beyond the back of the pair's skates, Cassandra leads Varian in an unorthodox, but invigorating ice dance to the fun, fast-paced tune of Mozart's 'Rondo ala Turca'.
The quick, quirky music lends to the most technically challenging, yet emotionally rousing program to date, as the trio of judges, onlookers from town and servants from the balcony above join in the astonished audience already crowding around the frozen courtyard to watch the final performance.
Upon these more efficient skates, customized by the male skater himself for sure metabolic power, and the optimal length of blades for better control, Varian follows Cassandra's lead to hit each and every note in perfect rhythm with the music and one another alike.
With finesse that showcased the up-tempo Mozart classical piece to a tee, Cassandra was pleasantly surprised by how braniac Varian had quickly mastered the sport she so adored.
As if in complete understanding of one another at last in the confession of love that had just flared before everyone's eyes so openly, expert Cassandra and pliable Varian ice dance as never dreamed before in either of their reclusive, solitary, independent lives.
The blossoming relationship between the newly realized couple was wonderfully expressed in the quick and precise spins and perfectly executed side-by-side jumps. Their mirrored take-offs, difficult twist lifts, and scrupulously rotated throws were directly attributed to the quick study physiologist of biomechanics and body movement kinesiology that Varian was.
The astute young genius had mentally bottled and transcribed the proper rhythm and timing from his earlier watching the movements of the skating couples who had gone before.
Because he vowed to not let the woman he loved down in this, or anything he could turn his brilliant mind to solve.
Varian Gutenberg was an intelligent enough man to embrace Cassandra Schmidt's aggressive style as she takes lead with wild and passionate intensity.
But somehow, the originality of the female rather than the male skater doing the throws and leading the jumps was invigorating for the astonished crowd to see. There were still many fun and refreshing moments amid the wild and uproarious confusion of the Rondo's thrilling motif.
With his bright eyes in sync with her every movement, Varian never strayed his focus from his beautiful Cassie's mesmerizing, fine form and athletic feats on the ice. She was the one to launch the wiry and pliable young man in several throws that Varian, inspired by his strong, robust female, landed with precision.
From start to finish, Varian partners Cassandra in unexpected technique and flow to achieve utmost unison and timing, the quality of their rhythmic posture as well as rotation speed. And that indefinable glow of the first moments of true love on display for all the dazzled world to see certainly enhanced their performance greatly that would make their mutual friend Rapunzel proud.
As the fast-paced music comes to a dramatically sudden halt, tall and strong Cassandra had never imagined she would be so thrilled to end up with a man so intimately dipped in her perfectly timed, physically powerful arms.
And the fact that this before unpleasant idea involved one of Corona's former diabolical criminals in particular, totally blew the justice seeking handmaiden away.
We ladies up here seem to be strangely attracted to criminally reformed men, who could be wicked, and wouldn't… Right, Raps?
Now that the thrilling skate was over, Varian gazes breathlessly up at Cassandra. He was not at all vexed nor embarrassed that the hard-hitting woman had uniquely and successfully taken the lead of their pair in place of her thin, lanky partner for the most of this one-of-a-kind, unprecedented performance.
CLAP! LAUGHTER! CLAP CLAP! LAUGHTER! CLAP CLAP CLAP!
Amused, exuberant laughter intermingles with all the uproarious, impressed applause of this entirely entertaining frolic's totally unexpected final performance that the good people of Norway needed as respite after all the bitter cold and terror and fear they had recently experienced.
9 – 9 – 9
Whether due to unique Lady Cassandra's secret hidden talent in excellent skating lead; Varian's masterful new skate blade improvement for better controlled edges and acceleration; or the sheer blissful sentiment of young love finally come to full fruition before the audience in a dynamic skate interpretation on this lovely winter afternoon; the three judges award the final skating pair with a perfect flawless score for their contemporary unique style together.
"Congratulations, Lady Cassandra, Varian. You both truly deserve this win." Hans was first to skate over to the unexpected dark horse couple of pairs skaters give as he gives his ingeniously quick learning, new young friend from Corona a brotherly pat on the shoulders.
"It seems to me you've found your partner not lacking, m'lady." Hugo states the obvious with a smirked salute from Varian to Hans, as the proud young man submits to give the charcoal and black bob haired athletic woman a full bow.
Cass had to practically hold up her shaky inventor boy when King Agnarr soon arrives down at the ice rink with a heavy trophy to present to the victors of the sporting event his children participated in.
"On behalf of the kingdom of Corona, we thank you, your Majesty." Cassandra bows her head reverently to the Norwegian King as she accepts the trophy with a gracious curtsy. She had learned every bit of royal protocol when her Dad brought her to work at the palace in the service of the Crown of Corona.
And she learned well it, along with everything else determined Cassandra Schmidt undertook in her life, now with an intriguing, obliging young man to accept the tough lady for all she had to offer in this restricted Victorian era.
"Go get'em, Kid. Tck, tck." Smirking Destin Mattias clicks his tongue at the revolutionary pair of the sleek, mature guardswoman in black and her innocent wide eyed young inventor.
"We all hope that Princess Anna is feeling better, Sir. We enjoyed her performance and that of Prince Kristoff, as well, so much." Princess Sofia gently prods Hugo to agree with a nod.
At her kind words, the provoked King stays enigmatically tightlipped.
"I thank all of you participants on behalf of my daughters, as well as the panel of judges, and the citizens who have opened the Kingdom of Arendelle to much excitement on this blessed season in our kingdom already." He nods to Mattias who had accompanied his monarch down to the courtyard.
"Now that this tournament has concluded, if the rest of you will kindly make your way back to Arendelle Castle's front entrance as we prepare for the customary Bellringing Ceremony to commence this year." General Mattias says as he looks to the King. Agnarr appeared to be in a hurry as he instructed his right hand man to address all the formalities for his citizens before turning to Hans.
"Come, Vise Admiral." Is all the dignified King quietly orders as he impatiently stands at the courtyard siding.
Hans scurries to remove his skate blades strapped to his shoes at Elsa's father's beckon.
"Is anything wrong, Sir?" Once he swiftly strides across the rink edge to join the King, Hans asks his commanding officer warily with Anna's collapse earlier weighing heavy on his mind.
It caused Hans to be more anxious for the ginger Princess he had such a history with, perhaps owing to her big sister's terrified countenance before the Ice Queen left this skate-off's conclusion to be represented by Hans alone so as she could return to the Castle to check on her little sister.
"Queen Elsa requests your presence." Is all the curt monarch replies.
Hans shoots a look to Mattias at his side who only, straight-lipped, mimics his King, the subject apparently closed to further discussion.
The Admiral's mind apparently was wandering in deep thought as his cryokinetics motivate the steps to be a frozen escalator to hasten he and young Westergaard's ascent to the second floor.
In the interim where he dutifully followed alongside General Mattias, Hans holds his tongue, considering the stern expression on his future unsettling father-in-law's concerned profile. Without a further word spoken between them, the tall and svelte trio of silent men cross the upstairs halls of Arendelle Castle, single file towards Anna's quiet bedroom.
Haute couture – High fashion in French
Gorlatnaya – A tall, black sable fur winter hat for Russian nobility
min kæreste - my dearest in Danish
myshka - little mouse in Russian
min flicka – my little girl in Swedish
min älskare – my love in Norwegian
November holiday greetings, dear Frozen friends!
Whew! I know it's been a while! But with all the birthday present making and party planning for Setsuna's happy day coming up, I haven't had much time for story! But at last a moment to catch our breath has come! And it's always a long one when my scribbled notes pile up over the weeks to keep adding! :0
So here it is! It was an eventful, surprise 'Skating Frolic' (as they used to call a skating party back in the day) for the Frozen girls and their guests! I hope you enjoyed the exciting competition! Did you put your bet on the winning dark horse couple? : (Relationship cementing blossoming love for Cass x Varian at last on their last day in the romantic matchmaking paradise of Arendelle! :)
I finally had the chance to include in this chapter an old passion of my sister's & mine growing up - Pairs figure skating! Can't you just envision Helsa gliding in one another's arms so beautifully graceful and poised and full of pure love for one another, boisterous Anna sprightly and lively with big Kristoff trying his best to keep up, along with all the others in their own skater's waltzes in your mind? There's no place better to intimately ice dance and throw two young people together than on the dangerous, cold ice to cling to one another for warmth, eh?
But it's also a major accident waiting to happen zone! What's up with poor Anna?! And she was having so much fun before she tripped up on the ice rink. Stay tuned for the next, sure to be romantic Christmas in Arendelle installment.
God bless you all as we enter this holy season when 'God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son…' to save all of mankind from sin.
Can't wait to hear your reviews! See you soon!
Love and early Thanksgiving and Christmas greetings to all,
HarukaKou
