It was late afternoon as Inga's birthday party started. In the winter, it would already be dark, but even this late in the summer, the sun was going to stay above the horizon for many hours, and true darkness would only happen in the middle of the night, when most people were asleep, even after a party like this.

It had been a warm, sunny week, and the cobblestones kept the heat from the day well after the greener areas began cooling off when the sun began to go down behind the mountains. There was enough of a breeze coming off the ocean that it was quite pleasant, even with all the people and torches burning. Inside the castle, on the other hand, it had become rather stiflingly warm in some of the rooms.

The one thing she was looking forward to for her birthday party was the dancing. The band began their first set with some folk dances, which several people from the town joined in dancing. Visiting nobility and royalty, plus the usual set of ambassadors and their staff stood around the edge of the courtyard engaging in what they viewed as vitally important conversations.

Inga was standing with her mother in one corner of the courtyard when the music began, but she was quickly dragged into a dance by her brothers, and Kate and Edith enthusiastically joined in with them, as well. The younger children began their own circle, with Sofia, Meibel, and some children from the town leading the way. Inga saw Henry looking at her, smiling apologetically, stuck in the middle of a group of princes that Inga supposed had been at Henry's coronation ceremony the summer before, though she couldn't remember if she had been formally introduced to any of them.

There was a break for the band to get some refreshments, and drinks were served to the guests, as well. Inga stood at the side with Kate and Edith, who were catching their breaths more than she was. Inga could see them looking around the crowd. Suddenly, one of them nudged the other, and they both looked at Inga very closely.

"What is it?" Inga asked as they looked her up and down, and looked back across the courtyard.

"Inga, do you see?" Kate demanded.

"See what? There are a lot of people here, and a lot going on. What am I supposed to see?" Inga was feeling a little annoyed at the hinting and not getting to the point.

"Isn't that Baroness Dagmar's daughter?" Edith asked her sister.

"Oh, yes," Inga interjected, "I suppose that's Johanne, so what?"

"Inga, do you see? She's wearing the same dress as you!" Kate exclaimed.

Inga looked closely at the girl across the way, and laughed. Baroness Dagmar was right, her daughter's dress was the same dress that she herself was wearing. She had turned down the offer of Johanne changing, so Inga couldn't exactly complain now, even if she had been offended instead of amused.

"You're not offended?" Edith asked her.

"Why would I be?" Inga smiled, "I think it's really funny."

The other girls giggled, acknowledging that it was funny.

"You know," Edith said, catching her breath, "when Lady Johanne has her back to us, she really even looks like you!"

Inga laughed a bit. "Even her mother got us confused earlier, so I believe you. I don't see it, but I can't exactly see my own back."

She turned as a footman came by to collect glasses. Suddenly, Kate and Edith were tugging at her arm.

"Inga!" the two of them said in unison.

"What now?" Inga asked in exasperation. Then she looked over where they were pointing, and saw that Henry was walking over to Johanne.

"Do you think you should go over there? There's a proper dance coming up soon."

"Oh," Inga said, and began walking across the courtyard, trying to remain calm. As she got closer, she could see Henry bowing to Johanne from behind, who then turned around and smiled.

"Yes, goodness, I'll take this dance, thank you, Your Highness!" Inga heard the other girl exclaim as she got closer.

Henry looked and saw Inga, and he mouthed a silent "sorry" and she waved at him not to worry. Inga wasn't worried about Henry, though she was a bit disappointed not to be dancing with him, and would probably need to accept someone else's offer to dance.

Just then, Kate and Edith motioned her over to where Captain Olsen was standing. His wife Isabel was sitting by the side of the courtyard in the shade, being pampered by him. Kate and Edith went over and whispered to Isabel, who giggled, and then motioned to her husband to tell him what Inga had told the sisters.

Captain Olsen stepped forward and bowed to Inga. "Your Highness."

"You know you don't have to call me that, Siggy," Inga scoffed playfully, giving him her hand, and they went to join the dance that was just starting. Inga had known the Captain as long as she could remember. He was around ten years older than she was, and his father had been in the guard before him, so he was very much a family friend by now.

"You know," Inga said as they were in the middle of the dance, "I'm not actually sure if I'm doing you a favor or if you're doing me a favor."

"I thought you were doing me a favor," he told her, smiling over at his wife, "or better yet, doing a favor for Isabel. She was feeling guilty about not being able to dance right now."

"She shouldn't feel guilty," Inga insisted, "she's got a good reason. Are you excited?"

"Very nervous, mostly," he admitted, "Isabel assures me that everything will be fine, and I'm sure it will be, of course."

"Yes, I'm sure it will be," Inga smiled.

"So," Siggy began, changing the subject, "what is the favor I'm doing for the princess? Has Her Highness been jilted?"

"There was some confusion about dance partners, but I think this works very nicely."

He glanced over to where Henry was dancing with the Baroness's daughter, then back at Inga. "You've picked a popular dress."

"Yes, it would seem so," Inga laughed. "Her mother offered to send her up to change, but I didn't want to have any fuss."

"Your friend will make up for it, I'm sure," he winked.

"My friend?"

"Isabel tells me her sisters have been talking about nothing else the last day or two."

"Really?" Inga asked.

"Isabel also reminded them not to go repeating rumors," Siggy added.

"Well," Inga began, "I wouldn't say there's nothing to it, but please don't say anything before there's anything official?"

Siggy nodded, and just then the music ended, and he walked Inga back to where his wife and her sisters were waiting. Inga excused herself and went to find Henry.

"I'm so sorry," Henry laughed when she got to him, "all I can say for myself is that I thought I was going to be surprising you."

"You did," she teased. "But it's fine."

She had touched his hand without thinking about it, and he was holding it.

"It sounds like they're starting another dance," Henry smiled, tugging gently at her hand, "would you like to dance with me?"

"Of course!" She wanted to say that she'd been waiting for months for the chance, but there were people around.

"That looks like a lovely necklace," Henry hinted, looking at the chain around her neck.

Inga pulled the chain up just enough to reveal the ring Henry had given her that morning, before putting it back down.

As the music began, Henry was looking where she had tucked the necklace.

"Aren't you supposed to be looking at my eyes?" she smirked.

"I'd be happy to," he said, looking up at her intensely. "I was looking at Lady- Miss- whatever her name was… I was looking at her eyes, and they are very different from yours. And your nose, it's… it's a different nose."

"My nose?" Inga scoffed.

"Noses are important!" Henry said in all seriousness.

Inga was trying not to laugh.

"I mean, for portraits, you know?" Henry sighed. "I'm sorry again, I still feel rather foolish."

"You're dancing with me now," Inga reassured him.

"Thank you," Henry murmured in her ear.

Inga felt the urge to find a private spot and escape the party right then, but this was her own party, and people would notice.

She looked in his eyes again, locked in on them, and kept dancing.

As the music ended, Henry held her hand, leading her off to the side.

"Are you thirsty?" he asked.

"Yes, actually, I don't think I've had anything to drink since I came outside."

They each took a glass of punch from a passing footman, and stood silently for a moment holding the glasses without drinking.

"I think I saw a nice spot to sit down by that tree over there," Henry suggested, not actually indicating any location.

"That's a wonderful idea," Inga replied, taking his hand and leading him to the quiet area of the garden no one else ever seemed to find.

They sat down on the edge of the bench under the tree. She began drinking her punch, and watched as Henry took a sip, while looking at the chain holding her ring again. She noticed that they were, in fact, alone and unobserved, so she set down her glass next to her and kissed him. His hand was on her cheek, brushing down along her neck, and tracing the line of the collar of her dress down to where the ring was. Inga trembled as he gently reached to bring the ring up to see.

"It matches your dress," he observed, smiling. Inga nodded, almost unable to smile. His eyes quickly moved back to her. She forgot to worry about anyone seeing them and touched his face, which was smooth now, not a few hours before, when it had been rough and unshaven at breakfast, but she didn't mind either way.

A crash immediately behind her brought them back to the present.

"What was that?" Henry asked, already standing up and looking around.

Inga looked next to her spot on the bench and groaned. "My glass fell onto stones under the bench."

"Well, I suppose people might have noticed you were gone soon enough," Henry sighed, helping her up. "

"Of course, you're right," Inga agreed, suddenly remembering to put the ring back under her dress, before fidgeting with the sides of Henry's coat, flattening them down. He grabbed her hands and kissed each of them, holding them and looking at her.

"Do you think we could talk to your parents now?"

"Yes. Let's find them," she said, jumping up from the bench and heading back toward the courtyard.

Before they had gotten back to the party, they ran into Inga's brother Anton.

"Inga!" her brother shouted, "we were looking for you! It's almost time for our show! Come on!"

Anna and Kristoff didn't get around to dancing as much as they would like to, but when the band started playing, they found themselves drawn into one of the circles of dancers in the courtyard, and after that, Anna could hardly say no when Kristoff asked her to dance one of the more formal dances. Anna reminded herself that while it was Inga's birthday, it was also an excuse to have a big party that wasn't for any official purpose.

Anna hadn't been paying much attention to anyone else during the first two dances, but during the third, she was fairly certain she saw Inga off to the side talking to some unfamiliar foreign dignitaries, which seemed odd, especially since she didn't see Henry anywhere. Once the third dance ended, she and Kristoff were ready for a break. They sat down at the table near the edge of the courtyard, and footmen brought them both drinks. Another dance was starting, and this time, Anna was happy to just watch.

Frederick came over, having just finished dancing one dance each with each of Kate and Edith, and he sat down across from them at the table.

"That first dance was pretty funny, wasn't it?" Frederick laughed.

"What was funny?" Anna asked.

"Oh, you didn't see?" Frederick asked, "I guess you had to be there. Inga can tell you, I'm sure."

"What can Inga tell us?" Kristoff asked, glaring at his oldest son with a bit of a smirk.

"Oh, just that she ended up wearing the same dress as someone else, and Prince Henry asked the other girl to dance instead," Frederick said, trying not to laugh again.

"Oh, that must be Dagmar's daughter," Anna stated, "I hope Inga wasn't upset."

"I don't think so?" Frederick shrugged. "Kate didn't seem to think so, and by the time I was dancing with Edith, she was talking about something else, I forget what was interesting at that point. I think it was something that Meibel had told her."

"Frederick!" Anton called over, "Peder and I are ready to set up for… you know what!"

"Oh, right!" Frederick exclaimed, jumping up from the table fast enough to shake the drinks and spill a little.

Anna frowned a bit as she wiped her drink from her lap, trying to decide if it was worth running inside to change. Kristoff chuckled at the situation.

"Is it noticeable?" she asked him.

"How long will it take you to change into something else?" he asked her.

"Not long at all," she laughed, and went up to change into another dress.

Frederick looked around. The piano from the ballroom was on the side of the courtyard, and the seats were set up for what he and his brothers had planned for Inga's birthday, but she was nowhere to be seen, and he had sent his brothers in either direction to find her. Now, their parents weren't anywhere to be seen, either.

He looked at the groups of foreign dignitaries, wondering if Henry might have gotten caught up with one or more of them, but they were only talking amongst themselves. Aunt Elsa was talking to Baroness Dagmar and her husband, and Captain Olsen and Isabel were still sitting in the corner.

Frederick spotted his friends Dahl and Jorgensen from the training mission, wearing the same uniforms that he was, and he was about to get them to help him look for everyone, but just then Inga and Henry showed up, following behind Anton.

"Inga, you really need to stop disappearing from parties!" Frederick chided. "Where were you?"

"I was- we were…" Inga trailed off, looking at Henry as if he'd have an answer.

"Peder's back!" Anton called out.

"I've found them!" Peder announced, coming back with their parents. "We can start now!"

Inga looked at the seats for the concert her brothers were going to put on, and wasn't sure where she would be able to sit, but was relieved to see her aunt Elsa waving from a spot in the front row near her parents, and she had obviously saved two seats.

"Thank you!" Inga whispered as they got there.

"Here," Elsa said, moving over, "I'll sit next to your mother, you two can sit in the other two seats."

"Perfect," Inga said, glancing at Henry with a smile.

Soon after they sat down, Frederick stood up and announced what he and his brothers were playing. Attention was briefly centered on her, and she sat up straight and gave a brief wave of acknowledgement. Then, they began playing, and everyone was focused on the music. Inga recognized the musical style of Frederick's friend from the Conservatory in Bergen, though she hadn't heard this particular piece before. Of course, he often got new compositions sent to him.

The piece ended and everyone applauded. The hot afternoon was turning into a mild summer evening, still just warm enough to be enjoyable, and cooled off enough that dancing was less strenuous than it had been earlier in the day. Inga and Henry stood up to allow the staff to move the chairs back to have a dance floor again, and began walking nowhere in particular.

"You know, Inga," Henry said once they were a little further away, "I'm kind of surprised you don't play any instruments."

"I used to have piano lessons," Inga admitted.

"Why did you stop?"

"I got too frustrated. Frederick never practiced but was always better at it."

Henry stopped for a second. "There's always someone better, you know."

Inga sighed. "I suppose so. It was rather silly of me, since that was the only thing he was better at then."

"If you weren't enjoying it…"

"Maybe I could enjoy it now. Who knows…"

"Your Highnesses!" Ambassador Meyer greeted them, appearing practically out of nowhere. "Prince Henry, so good to find you again! I'm pleased to see you're enjoying your time in Arendelle!"

Inga looked over at Henry, who nodded politely at the ambassador but looked annoyed. He had already been stuck having dinner with the ambassador earlier in the week, and Inga was fairly certain he shared her desire to spend the party in more pleasant pursuits.

"Your Excellency, Ambassador Meyer," she said. "I hope you're enjoying the party. I think they're about to serve the cake, so we should get going."

Inga gave a quick nod to Henry, who followed her to the table where the cake was being served.

Once they had cake, they moved over to the table where some of her family was sitting. Inga looked around, and no one was paying much attention, so she leaned over to Henry. "You never did tell me what Ambassador Meyer was talking to you about at dinner the other night," she smirked. "I have a bad feeling, though."

Henry looked over with half a smile. "What do you think? You told me yourself that he's been thinking about matchmaking for years, right?"

"Oh no," Inga groaned. "I guess we'll just have to accept it if he decides to take credit. I can't exactly tell him that he made me bound and determined to dislike you."

"Really?" Henry laughed.

"That didn't last, obviously," Inga smiled.

"So, um," Henry mumbled, "I was hoping I might find your parents here…"

"I wish I knew where they were right now," Inga mused, looking around. "I see my aunt, let's ask her if she's seen them. Come on!"

Kristoff looked for his wife and daughter in the crowd. Some of the trade guild representatives were ready to go home for the evening, but had a few gifts to present to Inga, and they would be more than a bit grumpy at their next meeting if they felt that they were brushed off.

Inga was talking to Elsa in the corner.

"Hello," Kristoff said as he got to them. "The trade guild people are getting restless to go home, so if we can find your mother, Inga, you can accept their presents and they can go home."

"Oh," Inga said, frowning a bit. "Right, we don't want them feeling slighted."

"I haven't seen Anna in a few minutes," Elsa told him, "but I think the baby was ready for bed. She might be back once that's done."

Kristoff saw Prince Henry standing nearby, and caught his eye.

"Have you been enjoying the party?" Kristoff asked him, figuring he should try to make some conversation.

"It's been very… nice," the young man replied, sounding somewhat nervous, "I was wondering-"

Anna hurried over to where they were standing just then. "Kristoff, someone said you were waiting for me?"

"Oh, sorry, it's not me, it's the trade guilds, they want to present a gift to Inga and then get home for the night."

"Well, we have everyone, it looks like," she laughed, "let's be gracious hosts now."

The trade guild presented their gift to the Princess Anna Idunna Ingeborg of Arendelle, and then bid good night to everyone. Most of the rest of the guests were more than happy to stay on. The younger children began to doze off in corners of the courtyard, with some more attentive parents and nannies taking them home to bed.

When the music started up again following the presentation of the gifts to the princess, Inga found herself accosted by several noblemen and princes who had not yet gotten a dance with her, and had been looking for her.

The first was from Bavaria; she didn't catch his name, but it was either Ludwig or Ludolf, but she was too embarrassed to say she had already forgotten, and it didn't matter, anyway. After that, a young prince from Russia seemed to think he was next in line. She hoped the next one might get confused by Johanne in her identical dress and allow her to get away, but it was not to be; Dagmar was already prompting her daughter to turn in for the evening.

After a few more dances, she finished dancing with the young Lord Esterhazy, grandson of Count Esterhazy, thanked him and excused herself. She was going to find her brothers, if anyone asked, but she was hoping to find Henry.

"I was hoping I might have one more dance," Henry suggested.

"With you, of course!" she smiled, "but they're about to start the next dance, so let's not waste time." She grabbed his hand and they hurried away.

They enjoyed the dance, swirling around quickly, too quickly to have time to talk. She looked at him as the music ended, breathing heavily along with him, smiling.

"There," she smiled as she caught her breath. "Now you've had another dance with me. And it is getting late. I suppose I might head in soon."

"We haven't talked to your parents yet," Henry reminded her.

"Maybe we'll see them privately before the council meeting tomorrow?" Inga suggested.

"That's a good idea. There's a bit of a crowd around them." He paused. "By the way, I got you a present."

"Another one?" Inga asked, fiddling with the chain on her neck.

"Yes, but it's upstairs. I need to go get it."

"I'll tell my parents I'm heading up. I mean, I suppose I'll meet you up there?"

"I'll go get it. I suppose I'll run into you at the top of the stairs?" Henry smiled.

Inga looked around before giving him a quick kiss. "I'll see you in a few minutes, then."

Inga went over to her parents, who had just said good night to the Baroness Dagmar and her husband and children. Inga politely wished them good night, and waited a moment to speak to her parents.

"I hope you've had a fun evening," her mother said.

"Oh, I have!" Inga exclaimed.

"Good. I was worried, but I'm glad everything's working out."

"I'm getting kind of tired, though," Inga said. "Do you mind if I head up? You can continue without me."

"Well, the foreign dignitaries certainly seem to want to continue with the party," her father laughed.

"We'll see you tomorrow, then," her mother said, "and Happy Birthday, Inga!"

She gave her parents a hug, and then remembered her question.

"Wait, one more thing," Inga added. "Do you have any plans before the council meeting tomorrow?"

"I don't think so," her mother replied.

"Could we have lunch then? I mean, um, with Henry? But nobody else?"

"Sure, I don't see why not?" her mother said, giving a little smile. "Kristoff, do you have anything going on?"

"No," he replied.

"Fine, I'll tell Kai to set it up."

"Thank you," Inga said, "and good night!"

Inga turned and hurried to the castle.