Inga squeezed her eyes closed. She had closed the curtains the night before, but the angle of the sun this afternoon was forcing itself in to hit her bed.

She was afraid of what her mother would say when she came to check in as promised. She also hadn't really looked closely at the dress that had been selected, and now was curious. She was sure she'd like it, because she really wasn't picky about such things. Would her mother be upset if she asked now, admitting how foolish she had been? Or would there be another argument?

Inga heard a knock at the door. She'd been laying in bed, not really tired, for long enough, so without saying a word, she got up and walked over to open the door, expecting to see her mother coming to see her a bit early.

"Frederick?" she gasped in surprise when she opened the door and saw her brother standing there.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

"Um, sure," Inga mumbled, letting him in, and gently closing the door behind him.

"You don't mind?" he asked, standing near the door still after she'd closed it.

"Of course not, silly," she snorted, motioning him over to the window.

"I heard you and Mother earlier today …" he began as he sat down.

"Ohhhh," she groaned. "How much did you hear?"

"Just some shouting through your door," he told her, "right after I saw the dressmaker and her apprentices leaving. What happened?"

Inga laughed a bit. "It's stupid, it really is. I couldn't decide what dress I wanted, and Mother was refusing to help me decide…"

"But… it's your wedding, isn't it?"

"Ugh!" Inga exclaimed. "That's exactly what she told me!"

"Oh. Well…" Frederick stammered. "Well, you know, most people allow a bit more time for wedding planning, I think, don't they?"

Inga took in a breath, reminding herself that this was Frederick. He didn't need to know why the wedding was happening so soon. He'd figure it out on his own soon enough.

"Let's not talk about that, please?" she asked him.

"Well, fine," he grumbled, "but it seems silly, if you ask me. I think everyone is stressing themselves too much trying to throw this all together in under two weeks."

"Well, maybe you're right, but it's happening now," she said, wondering how long the pretense that this was a purely spontaneous idea to have the wedding right away and not the reality that everyone who knew what was going on was nearly in a panic.

"Look, Inga," Frederick said, seemingly intentionally changing the subject, "the weather is nice right now. Why don't you come outside?"

Inga looked out the window. "Right. You're right. Let's go."


Inga and Frederick walked into town, and Inga tried to stay inconspicuous if she could help it.

"Would you like to go to Hudson's?" Frederick asked.

"I think I would rather stay outside, now that I'm out," she said.

Kate and Edith might be at Hudson's. She had briefly spoken with them during the Harvest Festival a few days before, but she and Henry had agreed with her parents that they would avoid announcing the wedding until they had spoken with the bishop. Now, of course, it had been announced, and as soon as someone noticed her, they would congratulate her. When the wedding had seemed like a far off event and she had been spending so much time visiting Isabel, she had promised Kate and Edith that they could be bridesmaids. She couldn't think of a reason not to now, because she had no other ideas, besides possibly her sister Sofia. It would make them happy, at least.

They walked along the harbor, then circled back up to the market square.

"Inga, are you actually going to talk, or are we going to walk along silently?" Frederick asked her.

"What's there to say?" Inga asked him. "Anything interesting, and I don't want to talk about it in a public place, and anything boring, what's the point?"

Frederick gave a huff, and Inga realized that maybe she was being rude.

"Fine, can I talk, then?" Frederick asked.

"I don't see why not. I don't mind hearing what you're doing."

"I was wondering more about you," Frederick said. "When are you going to move to Corona?"

"I… I haven't really given it any thought. I mean, we haven't talked about it, not yet, that's something we'll be negotiating once Henry's family is here. Besides, I thought you were talking, not asking me questions."

"Not thinking about it is an answer," Frederick smirked. "At any rate, the thing is, if you are in Corona, that will be nice, since I'm going to be there, after all. I missed you this spring. I missed everyone, but I missed you a lot."

"That's really sweet, thank you," Inga said, giving her brother a hug. She realized that she was going to cry very soon if she wasn't careful. "If I'm being honest, Henry and I were starting to talk about waiting until next year like Mother had suggested."

"Really?" Frederick asked. "I suppose you decided to go ahead before the council changed its mind again, then?"

Inga looked at Frederick, who seemed completely sincere.

"Sure, something like that."

"Can I ask you another question?" Frederick asked her.

"Well, you can ask it, but I can't promise you that I'll give you any kind of answer."

"Fine," he laughed. "That's fair enough. So, maybe it's a weird question, I don't know, but I guess I was wondering, do you think the council decided on the succession now?"

"What?"

"You know, if they think you and Henry will be having children, they won't want you first in line?"

"I- I hadn't thought about that," Inga said.

"It makes sense, though, even if they didn't say anything. You'd probably have some sooner or later, right?"

"That's… that's really personal, you know," Inga replied, hoping to drop the subject quickly.

"Uh, I guess you're right," he said. And now that I think about it, Henry's parents got married six years before he and Hilde were born, so I suppose it's not something that always happens that quickly. I mean, you were born less than a year after Mother and Father got married, so I guess it could go either way."

"Um, yes, I suppose so," Inga hemmed as Frederick looked out over the harbor to see which ships were coming in.

"It's too soon for the steamship from Corona," Inga said. "They only left two days ago."

"You're right," Frederick said. "I'm surprised they already found out about the wedding, since we don't have any telegraph lines yet."

"Aunt Elsa showed his mother how to send letters when we visited last year," Inga explained, not wanting to say too much in public, especially so close to the harbor where foreign visitors were coming and going.

"That makes sense, then," Frederick laughed. "I haven't written to Aunt Elsa lately, I should do that."

"She'll be arriving soon enough," Inga said. "You can tell her you're sorry for not writing."

"I suppose I'll do that, then."


Anna sat alone in her study, where she had been since leaving Inga's dress fitting that morning. Kristoff had been busy elsewhere, and she didn't feel like burdening him with what was bothering her when he was clearly already troubled by the whole situation. She wished she could take back the words she had said to Inga that morning, even if they were true. They had given Inga considerable freedom, and she wasn't lacking for anything.

There was a knock at the door, and Anna motivated herself to walk over and open it herself.

"Elsa!" she exclaimed, immediately hugging her sister. "I didn't expect you so soon!"

"I left as soon as I got your letter," Elsa said, hugging her back.

Anna gestured over to the table by the window, and shut the door, making sure to latch it.

They looked at each other silently for a moment after sitting down.

"I think I understand what's going on, but I want to hear it from you," Elsa said.

Anna closed her eyes and nodded. "Inga's pregnant," she said almost as a whisper.

"So those rumors last summer…" Elsa began.

"We all paid too much attention to proving it wasn't Dagmar's daughter, and not enough attention to Inga admitting she had stopped by his room. I think I wanted to believe that the rumors were just rumors, because I thought she knew better."

Elsa pressed her hand on hers. "I don't think any of us thought she needed a constant chaperone. What about Henry?"

"Inga won't let him take the blame. I suppose I should trust her about that. They were both involved, obviously."

"Do his parents know?" Elsa asked.

"He's written to them, and they're all coming for the wedding, but I don't think that he's told them why. I'm sure they have their guesses."

"Of course."

"I can only imagine what she thinks of us…" Anna mused.

"Rapunzel? I don't think she'll judge you or Inga."

"I think Inga thinks I'm judging her," Anna sighed.

"Are you?" Elsa asked.

"I don't know. But we barely avoided a public scene with the dressmaker earlier today. I did say some things I regret, even if they're true."

Elsa nodded.

"She didn't want to pick out a dress, but if nothing else, it's unfair to the dressmaker to expect her to drop everything on such short notice for one dress."

"I'm sure she would have dropped everything to make Inga's dress regardless," Elsa smiled. "I've heard they like to be able to say they made the dress for a royal wedding."

Anna paused. "Did you know about the dressmaker in Corona last year? Inga mentioned that she had gotten a dress from them in exchange for using her name in advertisements."

"I remember something about that. It was Elizabeth's family, so it wasn't like she was taking on random endorsements."

Anna smiled a bit. "I suppose that's a good point."

"So, how is Kristoff doing?" Elsa asked.

"Henry is still alive, I'll give Kristoff credit for that."

"That bad?" Elsa sighed.

"He really wanted to find any solution other than a rushed wedding, but Inga is set on it, as much as she doesn't want to deal with the planning."

"What would he like to do instead?"

"Hide Inga away for a while, and then tell people that the baby is ours. Kristoff is right, nobody would think anything of us having another now."

Elsa nodded, sitting silently for a moment. "Do you regret what we did for you?"

Anna shook her head. It had been in the back of her mind, but she had tried not to think about it. "I don't know. Even if the- the politics had been different, I can't really think about it now. Everything would be so different."

"So, would you like me to talk to Inga right away?" Elsa asked.

"I think I need to speak to her first," Anna said. "I promised her I would check in on her."


As Inga and Frederick returned to the castle, they found Henry in the courtyard, with Ambassador Meyer speaking to him. Ambassador Meyer saw Inga.

"Your Highness! May I offer my congratulations?" the ambassador said to her, giving a bow.

"Thank you, Your Excellency," Inga replied.

"I was just asking Prince Henry if you will be moving to Corona right away after the wedding."

"We haven't worked out the details," Inga replied. "That will happen after further negotiations."

Inga hated the prospect of her future life being up to other people's negotiations, but at least she and Henry would get to be together. She wasn't entirely sure what her father had been thinking about suggesting not getting married right away, but it would certainly not allow her to be with Henry, whatever the idea was. Even if they were allowed to get married a year or two later, what would happen? There would be a child out there that they would not be allowed to talk about, not in public.

"Yes, His Highness was informing me that his family will be arriving quite soon. I'm sure you have many preparations to make, and I have another appointment, so I will leave you now."

There were a few more words of leave given by everyone.

Frederick snorted.

"As much as nobody seems to like Ambassador Meyer, I would have liked if he had at least said hello to me, too!"

"Oh, Frederick, I'm sorry," Inga said.

"I know he's very excited about the wedding," Henry said.

"Well," Frederick sighed, "I suppose I'll find something to do. Henry, do you know if my father is in the stables right now?"

"I didn't check," Henry replied. Inga was certain that Henry had been actively avoiding places where they might run into her father.

"I'll go check, then," Frederick said. "And, Inga, I'm glad you're feeling better!"

"Thanks, Frederick," Inga replied.

"We're almost alone," Henry said, looking around and seeing only a few people busy running various errands near the edges of the courtyard. "Were you feeling unwell again?"

"I wasn't feeling sick," Inga said. "Not this time. But picking out the dress this morning did not go well."

"Oh," Henry said. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"There's a dress, it's just that my mother and I… we had some words with each other."

Henry nodded. "Your mother wasn't the one I was worried about the other day. I'm surprised she would be upset now."

"It's… it's not as strange as it sounds," Inga said. "I probably set her off with what I said about sending me away."

"What do you mean?"

"I think that- well… I'm sure that both of them were thinking of something else, not you and me."

She looked at him, grabbing his hand and stealing a quick kiss.

"I'm still confused," Henry admitted.

"I believe my father when he said he wouldn't send me away," she began. "At least, I doubt I would have been sent very far."

"But?" Henry asked.

Inga swallowed. "I don't think they would have let anything happen to me, but I think he would have preferred to keep us from getting married right away, and cover up our… our situation. I wouldn't want that, though, not now."

Henry squeezed her hand. They weren't quite private enough to do more than that, and they knew it. At this point, going to his room or her room simply wouldn't be an option.

"Aren't we trying to cover things up now?" Henry asked bluntly.

"I mean… it's not the same. Once we're married, when we- we'll-" she looked around. "What I'm trying to say is, it will be ours, and we won't have to pretend otherwise. That's what I mean."

Henry nodded, understanding their need to avoid speaking about it directly when other people might be listening. "But why would your parents think of covering it up that way when they know we want to get married?"

Inga took a deep breath. Henry obviously didn't know.

"Henry, do you remember how last year when I was in Corona, I was curious about the things your parents had told you about their time visiting Arendelle?"

"Yes," he replied, "I think I told you, I asked them and they never really explained any of that. Did you ever find out anything about it?"

"I did," Inga sighed. She looked around, and realized they were near the door to a quiet area down by the fjord. "Let's go this way."

Henry followed silently until they were standing in an isolated area along the shore of the fjord.

"So," Inga asked in a low voice, despite their privacy, "you know that my mother was eighteen when your parents visited Arendelle?"

"Yes, and I don't know why we have to whisper about that," Henry replied.

"That, well… it's still a bit sensitive, even the part everyone knows about…"

"What other parts are there? Hilde tells me all sorts of gossip about people everywhere, and I've never heard other versions of that. The Southern Isles, all of that… your parents don't think I would want to hurt you, do they?"

"I know you wouldn't, and I don't think they think you would, but, well, it's not as simple as that." Inga realized that Henry's parents had been keeping her mother's secret quite well. "Do you remember Lars Nilsen?"

"Of course I do," Henry replied, almost laughing, "he and his brother used to play with us back in Corona all the time when we were younger. What does he have to do with this?"

Inga still didn't want to come right out and tell Henry the truth, and despite their privacy tried to think of a way to get to the point. "Were there any other children who regularly played with you?"

"I suppose so," Henry mused, "we weren't exactly isolated, but it would have gotten a little dull with just the two of us after a while. Mother found some girls our age to bring over to play only after Hilde started complaining about it."

"Ah, too many boys your age, not enough girls?"

"Not really that many boys, it's just that Lars and Karl were over so often that it felt that way sometimes."

"Did it ever seem strange that those two in particular would have been given extra attention?"

"I don't know," Henry acknowledged. "It… nobody ever said this exactly, but my parents had been married for several years already when Mrs. Nilsen arrived in Corona, and I think my mother wanted to have some children to dote on. Ironic, really, my parents having to wait so long before we were born, and now us…"

"Ironic is one word, I suppose," Inga said, looking out toward the ocean.

She had never really thought about that aspect of it, but the irony of Rapunzel helping her mother back then sounded nearly unbearable, and she couldn't blame her for losing touch with Rapunzel after all of that.

Henry touched her face to get her attention. "But sorry, I was rambling. Why did you ask me about that? Lars Nilsen and all that…"

Inga swallowed. "Because last fall I learned that he's not really Mrs. Nilsen's son. She was only supposed to be his wetnurse, at least at first."

"He isn't her son? That's odd. Though it kind of makes sense, because he and his brother always looked rather different from each other. Does anyone know who his parents were?"

"Yes," Inga said. "So, about my mother… like I said, she was about my age… She traveled to Corona with her sister and your mother under the pretense of a royal tour, but the purpose was to give birth in secret. Your mother arranged everything once they were there."

"Oh," Henry stepped back, stunned. "But what about your father?"

"He wasn't involved. It was… it was the reason we don't have any real diplomatic relations with the Southern Isles. Obviously, you need to keep this a secret."

"Of course, of course," Henry frowned. He leaned over and pressed her hands and kissed her on the lips. "And obviously I forgive your father for what he said about me the other day. I assume he knows?"

"Yes, he's known for years. I only found out last year, in fact, it was a few days before you showed up. My mother, both my parents, really, they didn't know that Lars was… who he was… until he'd already been here several months."

"And that's why he's in America now, on your payroll?"

Inga nodded. "He knows now, too, though from Elizabeth's letters, I get the idea that he hasn't told her yet. I don't know if he should tell her or not, but it's not my decision. Frederick doesn't know, either, and obviously, the younger children don't know."

Henry took Inga's hand and they hugged. Inga started crying.

"What's the matter?" Henry asked her.

"It's just, we've been so careful the last few days, and I just wanted to touch you again."

Henry squeezed her tighter and kissed her.

"I am glad you told me all of this," he told her before kissing her again. "A lot more makes sense now. I'm going to need to ask my parents about some things, of course…"

"Of course. I know it's a lot," she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder.

"We'll be fine."

"How do you know?" Inga asked.

"I suppose I don't know," Henry admitted.

They stood a little longer. Inga remembered standing with him a year before. She often thought about that time.

"Will I be invited to dinner again?" Henry asked.

"I think so. Father might not be happy with you right now, but he wouldn't leave you to dinner alone with Ambassador Meyer."

"I should probably go change then."

"And I should get back inside before anyone misses me. My mother said that she would check in on me"


Rapunzel and Eugene sat silently in their cabin on the ship heading to Arendelle. The weather was fair and calm, despite the time of year.

"Have we heard from anyone other than Henry about this?" Eugene asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Rapunzel asked.

"It's just, I think we have our guesses about why the wedding is happening so fast, but, well, I would feel a little bit better if we knew, well, who knows what, and what they know, and…"

Rapunzel sighed. "You think that Inga's pregnant?"

"Do you really think it's something else?" Eugene asked.

"No, I really can't think of anything."

A wave sprayed against the porthole.

"At least this ship is making good time. I hope it's not too awkward for Henry right now."

"I can only imagine what Anna is thinking. Inga is the same age that she was, you know," Rapunzel said.

"What-" Eugene started to ask. "Oh, right. How is Lars doing in America, anyway?"

"He's doing well. They've lined up a shipbuilder to supply Arendelle with new naval ships, and they seem to have generated a lot of interest in people visiting there."

"We should get him working for us," Eugene laughed.

"Well, he was working for us," Rapnzuel said. "And I don't think he's really supposed to be writing to me, but he is, anyway."

"Keep quiet about Lars writing, got it."


Anna knocked at the door of her oldest daughter's bedroom. She had left the room earlier in the day with anything but good feelings between herself and Inga. It was a stupid argument from every side. Inga shouldn't have gotten so angry in front of other people, but she shouldn't have said some of the things she said. She knew that. Perhaps now they could talk more calmly, but perhaps not.

"Just a minute!" she heard Inga yell through the door. A moment later Inga opened the door wearing a dressing gown. "Hello, Mother!"

"Hello, how are you feeling?" Anna asked her nervously.

"I'm fine now. I'm sorry about earlier. I… I shouldn't have acted like that. There's just so much happening and I don't know-"

"I understand," Anna stopped her. "I shouldn't have been so insistent about you picking out the dress. There's still time if you don't like what I picked you, but I think it will be nice."

"Oh," Inga smiled a bit. "I was actually meaning to ask you about that… I didn't take a good look at it because I was still upset."

"I have the sketch and a fabric sample in my study, if you feel up to coming with me. Or I could bring it right back here," Anna suggested.

"I just got back from going into town with Frederick, or, well…"

"I'm happy to hear that, really," Anna said.

Inga followed her silently down the hall to the study, and Anna closed the door as she went inside and sat down.

"Here," Anna said, opening a desk drawer and bringing out the fabric sample and the sketch, setting them down in front of Inga.

Inga nodded, then started crying.

"If you don't like it, I told you, there's still time," Anna said.

"No, I'm sorry," Inga said, clearly trying to pull herself together. "It's lovely, it's very nice."

Anna ran over and sat down next to Inga, grabbing her hands. "I said things I shouldn't have said this morning, and I'm sorry."

"You're right though. You were right."

"Not everything needs to be said, that's the important part. And if anything, I had no business saying those things to you."

"I should have known better," Inga sniffed. "I didn't have any excuses."

Anna looked at Inga, and wiped a tear from her face. She forced herself to stay silent for a moment. She knew what Inga meant. When she was Inga's age, she had no mother to advise her. That was certainly something. At the same time, had she actually given Inga any real advice?

"Inga, I should have pressed the subject a bit more than I did. And maybe a bit earlier." She stopped herself before saying that she was afraid that Inga wouldn't have listened, anyway. That would not help anything here.

Inga nodded, still crying a bit.

"I don't want to leave," Inga said. "I want to stay here."

Anna swallowed. She didn't want to think about that part, either.

"You'll be able to visit. You can visit as often as you like."

"Will you visit me?"

Anna paused. She hadn't been to Corona in so long. "I'll try."

"Frederick will be there, too, you know," Inga said, almost cheerful.

"Oh, yes, that's true." Anna really didn't want to think about the Naval Academy. She was being irrational, though.

"But…" Inga began, sounding sad again.

"What?" Anna braced herself for whatever was coming.

"Will the dress still fit?" Inga asked.

"The wedding dress?"

Inga nodded. Anna had to do her best not to laugh now.

"Yes. It's only two weeks until the wedding, it will fit."