Anna walked down the hallway toward Inga's room. It was two days before her daughter's eighteenth birthday, and she had cleared her calendar for the rest of the week so that the final preparations could be taken care of. Last night at dinner, she had realized that it would be more important to speak with Inga now, rather than later. Henry was obviously more than just a good friend, no matter how many times Inga had protested as much over the last few months. The two had been stealing glances across the table at each other during dinner any time they thought nobody was looking.
It had been difficult to get a word in edgewise during dinner, what with the younger children there. Frederick, not surprisingly, seemed to get along well with him, but that seemed to be true of everyone that boy ever met.
She was at Inga's door. Inga was usually awake early enough, but would she have gone out at this hour? She knocked. It seemed quiet inside. She knocked once more.
Anna stopped for a second, and then let her curiosity get the best of her, turning the doorknob. The door opened easily, and she peeked inside.
The room was empty, and the bed was disheveled. Inga's riding clothes were hanging on the back of a chair, clearly not cleaned since the day before. Anna shook her head, recalling Gerda's complaint that Inga never let anyone come in during the morning unless she called someone. Privacy was one thing, but the staff had a schedule to keep up. She'd need to talk about this with Inga, too, but this wasn't the conversation she'd meant to have today.
There was a noise from the far end of the corridor. If she wanted Inga's trust and confidence in talking about, well, everything, and finding her mother snooping around her room would not help that, to say the least. Anna closed the door quietly and looked in the direction of the noise she heard. It was Henry, and he seemed to be carrying some bread. She hadn't bothered to ask Kai where his room was, but he wasn't anywhere near the guest rooms.
Anna walked quietly toward the stairs, but he saw her before she could leave without being seen.
"Good morning, Your Majesty," he said with a nod, looking unsure of what to do with everything he was carrying.
"Good morning," she replied, "you know you don't need to worry about titles here."
"Oh, sorry, I- Ambassador Meyer found me first thing this morning, and he seemed to think it was very important to keep up decorum."
Anna smirked a bit. "He would say that, wouldn't he? Don't worry about it."
Henry stood awkwardly.
"Are you lost? It can be a bit confusing here," Anna offered.
"No, no… I mean, I guess I am, but, I think I'll just figure it out. Thank you, have a nice day." He gave another nod, and turned around, heading to the stairs.
Anna gave a sigh and went to ring for Gerda. At least Inga's room could get cleaned this morning.
Henry put his money down on the counter and the clerk began counting out change as soon as she had finished wrapping up his purchase.
"Keep it," Henry told her as he picked up the wrapped item.
He had decided to walk around the town and find a gift for Inga after he couldn't find her that morning. The breeze blew in from the ocean, cooling him for a moment, and he realized just how many layers he was wearing. The town wasn't that much different than he'd seen it in the fall, except it was much warmer in the summer than in the fall, just like the day before.
The day before. He'd been here one day, that was all. In some ways, it had felt like an eternity. He felt his coat pocket, just to make sure the box was still there. His one regret from the day before was entrusting the box to James before he left the ship. Normally it would have been a good idea, but he had run into Inga so early.
Still, what was his worry? She wanted to marry him, now the only thing was to make sure everything was officially approved and accepted, and they could do everything the right way. Sometimes he wished they could just run off and get married without worrying about those sorts of things, but then what? His sister often scolded him when he'd get lost, telling him that she didn't want to be the one stuck in charge. Perhaps she had a point, though. He didn't want to run away, he simply wished his future wasn't considered everyone's business.
Inga sat on the grass in the middle of the castle garden. Before her was a breakfast tray, with coffee and some toast. She wasn't particularly hungry this morning, but she'd woken up early, and been much too restless to do anything in particular. She had thought about looking for Henry, but had felt awkward about the idea with so many people coming and going this week. Her eighteenth birthday wasn't for two days, but the party was going to be entirely too big for her taste, and she could already see decorations going up in the courtyard. She had decided this was for her mother more than her, and she was fine with that. Still, unless she wanted to turn it into an engagement party and have even more attention on herself, she would have to be pleasantly social with everyone during the entire thing.
Nonetheless, she would enjoy what she had at the moment. At some appropriate time, she and Henry would tell her parents-
No, they would ask permission. She wasn't old enough to just tell them. Her aunt was going to be coming today or tomorrow. She wondered what her aunt knew already. She often wrote to Henry's mother, though she wasn't sure if he told his mother very much. Aunt Elsa had other ways of knowing what was going on. She was never quite certain what she might learn. It had usually been kept fairly mysterious even when they were visiting up north.
Inga had originally hoped that Henry would say something at dinner the night before, but her brothers and sisters were a little too intrusive to get a word in edgewise. Even Frederick, who usually knew better, had been going on about the plans to go to the Naval Academy in Corona, asking Henry for anything he knew about the place.
She would like to visit Frederick while he was at the academy. She missed him during the spring, and that was only a month or so. She hadn't thought about visiting Henry, though. They hadn't actually talked about where they would live once they got married. That would be the sort of thing that would be good to discuss.
She heard a squirrel scamper up a tree, and looked up to see her father approaching.
"Inga?"
"Oh!" she exclaimed "Good morning!"
"Did your mother find you already?"
"She was looking for me?"
"I'll take that as a no," he sniffed. "She wanted to talk to you alone, so if you can find some time, let her know."
"Oh… is it about the party? I told her she can do what she likes, I won't mind."
"It's… it's not about that. I saw Frederick this morning. He told me you went out riding yesterday?"
"Um, yes, I did. Did he say anything else?"
"No, not really," her father answered, sounding somewhat suspicious. "He does seem to like Henry, and I'll take his word on that."
Inga felt a knot in her stomach, realizing that she hadn't actually asked anyone about going out on a ride with Henry, nor had she told anyone except for Frederick. Frederick, of course, probably couldn't lie to save his life if he was asked a direct question. Her father didn't seem upset, but she had the sudden feeling that he wasn't quite approving, either.
"Tell Mother not to worry. I'll… I can meet her this afternoon."
Her father nodded, and gave a bit of a smile. "I'll let you get back to your breakfast now."
"Thank you," Inga muttered quietly, starting to feel a bit calmer as she watched her father walk away.
Henry got back to his room, looking at the clock to check that it was, in fact, already two in the afternoon. His pocket watch and the clock in the town had said exactly the same thing, but he felt the need to check, all the same. After running into Inga's mother in the morning, he had decided to go into town. He had gone to Hudson's Hearth for lunch, hoping that no one would recognize him, but unfortunately had run into Ambassador Meyer from Corona, who, on learning that there were no formal dinner plans, insisted that Henry join him that evening.
Inga had mentioned in her letters that there were a lot of people invited to the party, and this morning in town, Henry had to come to the awkward realization that Inga would, in fact, have to share her time with other young men at her upcoming party. He had met a young grand duke at Hudson's, and Henry had already forgotten the name of his Grand Duchy, but the prince was certain that he had met Henry in one of the countries he had visited that winter. Charles? Something like that. Charles or Carlos or Karl, whichever way he had introduced himself. At lunch, the Grand Duke had been talking to him, mostly to him and not with him. He asked after his sister Hilde, and he seemed to have been allowed to call her Hilde, and not refer to her as Clothilde, so perhaps they had been on friendly terms. Had he really been that distracted? Then he asked how well Henry knew the family in Arendelle, and Henry had to think quickly, and honestly replied that he had met them. The Grand Duke then laughingly said that she seemed like a good catch. Henry hesitated before answering, and the Grand Duke stopped him from saying anything sensible.
"Oh, I know, some people just go to these parties without any kind of motive."
Henry shuddered as he remembered. He mumbled something to the other man about needing to check in on something, and he was thankful that Halima was right there so he could pay for his meal. While he had, in fact, ordered something from a shop that morning, which he picked up before returning, he would have made up any excuse to get away right then.
He rang for James. Several months of travel could take its toll, and he really hadn't let himself rest very much. Perhaps with no plans today, he would try to take a nap this afternoon. He was trying to prove that he wasn't a lay-about, lazy, good for nothing prince like he'd hear people complain about, but rest was rest.
James came in with only a quiet knock, as was his habit. "Your Highness," his valet addressed him as he walked up.
"Oh, thank you James. I think I might take a rest right now, but the Ambassador saw me this morning, and so I'm stuck with him for dinner tonight. Can you find me something to wear for that?"
"Of course," James agreed.
Henry realized he had no idea which clothes he had with him. "I had hoped nobody would recognize me here, but I decided to have lunch at the same place as the Ambassador, just my luck."
"You were saying you wanted to buy something in town. Did you have time for that, or should I go instead?"
"Yes, I did remember to buy something, though I'm not sure if it's any good, to be honest."
"Well, that's for her to decide, isn't it?" James asked pointedly.
"I suppose so. Here it is." He pulled a small package from his coat pocket and unwrapped the paper to reveal a picture frame. "Last week on the ship I finished the painting," he added.
"I'm not the one you're trying to impress, but I think that sounds very nice," his valet smiled. "Would you like me to take care of framing the painting?"
"Could you? That would be wonderful. I always have a hard time with that part, and this isn't some little thing I'm sending to an embassy."
"Indeed," the valet chuckled, "although you should be careful never to let any of them hear you say that."
"Oh! Of course!" Henry exclaimed earnestly as his valet took his coat.
"Should I be checking the pockets?" James asked him.
"No, it's in the drawer. Or, I think it is."
His valet felt the pockets just in case and nodded, carefully folding and hanging up the coat. "I'll be sure to check for it. Obviously that's not something you'd want to forget."
"No, of course not!" Henry laughed nervously.
"Will that be all this evening?" James asked him, picking the frame that Henry had set down.
"I think so, thank you." Henry watched with some trepidation as his valet stopped on his way out and opened the draw of the night stand. Picking up the ring box, he opened it to reveal the ring. Smiling and giving Henry a knowing nod as he placed the ring box back and closed the drawer again. He then went and picked up the painting on the table, and Henry nodded that it was the correct one.
"Good afternoon, Your Highness." James excused himself as he quietly closed the door behind him.
Henry sat on the bed, suddenly not as tired as he thought he had been. He opened the drawer in the night stand, and pulled out the notebook next to the small box that his valet had just returned.
The sketch book was nearly full, and he would have to remember to get a new one at some point. He flipped through the pages, mostly filled with sketches of parts of the ships he had been on recently, and a few new sketches of his brief time back in Corona. He looked at the last page. The night before he had drawn, as best as his memory allowed, a sketch of Inga sitting under the tree in the meadow on their ride the day before.
Carefully setting down the sketchbook, he closed his eyes, remembering the day before. He wished he had remembered to bring the ring along then, and he would have to fix that. As much as they'd already settled on the idea, he really did want to do it properly.
He looked at the page of the notebook again, and remembered the painting he had seen in the hallway near his room. The family portrait was from nearly ten years earlier, and a smaller copy of it had been sent to Corona and other countries as the official picture of the Arendelle royal family. In the painting, Inga was a serious faced young girl, looking like there was something more important on her mind than sitting for a portrait. He had always been fascinated by it, even though he loved looking at all of the portraits they had, that one had always stuck with his imagination. He didn't dare tell her. She knew there were portraits of her everywhere, but she didn't know that he had memorized hers before she had even visited.
His parents had told him stories about their time in Arendelle, though he had the idea, from what Inga had told him, that there was something his parents knew about their time there but weren't telling anyone, including himself and his sister Hilde. Inga had mentioned telling him what she knew at some point. Perhaps later. He didn't need to pressure her about that.
Soon, Henry realized he had no interest in taking a nap this afternoon. He had already run into the ambassador and that annoying grand duke, so he might as well just try to find Inga now. He grabbed his sketchbook as he exited his room, then heard a noise from one of the windows.
When he walked over, Inga jumped out and waved.
"Hi," she interjected almost apologetically. "I was going to come see if you were here, then I hid when I saw your valet come in, and I wasn't sure how long he'd be, and this is stupid, but, um… hi."
"Hi," Henry replied, not entirely sure what to say. Talk about the weather? Ask about her plans for the afternoon? Tell her something incoherent about her dress or her hair? Admit out loud to her that she was exactly the person he hoped to find when he left his room just now?
"Were you going anywhere in particular?" she asked.
"Not really," he admitted. He wanted to find her, and he found her, the rest didn't matter.
"Well, come to the garden with me," she insisted. "Do you think you'll want to come to dinner this evening? I know we still haven't really spoken to my parents, though I think Father will be meeting with the trade guilds about something this evening, but my mother will be here."
"Sorry," he sighed with regret, "but Ambassador Meyer found me earlier today, and now I'll be stuck with him for dinner tonight."
"Oh," Inga pouted. "Well, all the more reason to come with me now. You can change for dinner later."
Henry followed her down the stairs and out a side door. The sun was bright and he blinked a bit as he stepped outside.
She sat down by a tree, her skirt billowing up before settling down in a circle around her. Henry noticed people coming and going not too far away, and sat properly a few inches from the edge of her skirt. She took in a deep breath and leaned back with her hands behind her. He took out his sketchbook and pencil, finding the first blank page.
"What's that?" she asked, leaning toward him a bit.
"My notebook," Henry answered.
"Are you going to draw something?"
"I was thinking about it, yes," he mumbled, feeling self-conscious. These weren't the drawings he shared with anyone.
"What else have you drawn in there?" she asked.
"Really, nothing much," he insisted. "These are basically scribbles…"
"Can I see?" She smiled sweetly. He couldn't think of any good excuses.
"I guess so," he agreed, trying not to sound nervous, and just handed her the book.
She gave a smile and began on the first page. He couldn't remember what was on those pages; he'd filled up his previous notebook a few days before returning to Corona earlier in the summer, and there had simply been nothing memorable in the weeks before he left again for Arendelle.
She began leafing through silently, then paused. She was only silent for a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity to Henry.
"Is this the harbor in Corona?" she wondered, turning the notebook around.
"Yes," Henry confirmed, relaxing considerably. He had drawn it the week before, waiting to board the ship to come to Arendelle. He hadn't thought much of it then or since.
"I remember arriving there last year. I was so glad to be back on land." Inga looked back down at the book and turned the page.
"Isn't this… is this a drawing of the photo I sent you?"
Henry swallowed. "Yes… I hope you don't mind."
"No, not at all. I keep the drawing you gave me last fall in my dresser. I just didn't realize it was something you'd draw more than once."
"I've drawn from it more than once, yes," Henry admitted, not wanting to tell her just how many times he'd studied that photo. Nor did he want to admit that he'd left the photo in Corona this trip, and the drawing she was looking at was from memory.
"Oh..."
She turned the page again, and Henry had to resist the urge to grab the notebook back from her. The next several pages were attempts at drawing Inga in the different outfits he remembered seeing her in the previous fall. He had to admit he had been a little obsessed on the journey that last week.
Inga smiled as she turned to the drawing of Arendelle harbor he'd made just the day before, and then saw the final drawing, the one of her in the meadow the previous afternoon.
"So, were you planning to draw me right here?" she asked, handing him the book back.
"I was," he confessed, sounding surprised.
Inga wasn't sure if this was something she ought to be doing, but she had begun ignoring the voice in her head telling her what she shouldn't be doing. That voice was still there, and she imagined it scolding her as she touched the spot on her neck from the day before that was only just beginning to fade.
Henry was sitting silently looking at her.
"Great!" Inga exclaimed. "What should I do?"
Henry gave a little chuckle. "I was just going to draw you sitting here, but I suppose that's a lot like what I already drew, so maybe you could stand up and lean against the tree instead?"
"Like this?" Inga stood up too quickly and stumbled a bit as she backed up to the tree, causing her skirt to fly up a little.
She had expected Henry to laugh, but he was looking away..
"Sorry," she groaned, stepping forward.
"I don't know, there was something to say for that-" Henry stopped.
Inga now held her hands down on her skirt protectively.
"You should probably sit down," Henry said, trying to sound serious. "Your dress looks very nice that way."
"Did you see anything?" Inga asked him bluntly, sitting back down.
"Um… you don't want me to answer that, do you?"
"I'm sure you saw worse in Paris." She knew very well she shouldn't have said that.
"I didn't get to see any art studios or live models, if that's what you're asking. And the paintings they have are no more interesting than some of the paintings you have here."
"I thought everyone who learned how to paint did that, though."
"No, not everyone. I'm not exactly an art student," Henry demurred. "Not like anyone in Paris, at least."
"Well, none of them have painted me. Not like you have, anyway." She rather liked how he had drawn her. He had turned an awkward photograph into, somehow, someone who looked better than what she saw in the mirror each morning.
Henry smiled, reaching over to touch her face. She grabbed his hand, looking around tentatively, before pulling him over to her to kiss him. He dropped his notebook, and the drawing session was quickly forgotten.
Elsa arrived first thing the next morning, with no fanfare, and made her way inside via a side entrance to the castle and up to the family's quarters. Inga was in the hallway near her room. Her niece had obviously been down to the kitchen to get herself some breakfast, and seemed surprised to see her.
"Aunt Elsa! Good morning!" Inga exclaimed as she saw her aunt, nearly dropping a roll, but catching it quickly.
"Good morning, Inga. Happy Birthday, by the way," Elsa smiled.
"My birthday isn't until tomorrow," Inga replied, then seemed to remember herself, adding, "but thank you."
"Are you looking forward to the party?" Elsa asked, not entirely sure what Inga's honest answer would be.
"I really don't know," Inga stated. "I have to be honest, I'm not sure I want that many people focusing on me. Of course, it's my own fault that the guest list grew. I suppose my mother didn't think quite so many people would be coming when she sent those out."
Elsa laughed quietly to herself. "Well, where are you going right now? I don't suppose many people are awake this early."
"I'm just heading back to my room. If you'd like to join me, you're welcome to."
"Of course, if you don't mind the company," Elsa replied, following her to her room, and opening the door, since Inga's hands were full, and they sat down at the table by the window, which was wide open to let in the warm summer air.
"Would you like anything?" Inga asked, setting down her tray which had a little more food than she'd be able to eat.
"I'm good, but thank you," her aunt replied.
Inga sat eating for a little, pouring herself some more coffee. Her aunt sat quietly, saying nothing, but it didn't feel uncomfortable like some silent moments could feel.
"Aunt Elsa," Inga asked, "this spring, when you told me to send Elizabeth your best wishes, did you mean anything in particular?"
Elsa looked at her niece quietly, the girl's face as hard to read as ever. "Why do you ask?"
"You know she had a baby earlier this month," Inga stated. "She and Lars did. I was just wondering… do you keep track?"
"Sometimes," Elsa admitted, feeling a little guilty.
Inga shifted uncomfortably in her chair.
"Inga, if it makes you feel better, I don't… I try not to spy."
"I wasn't worried about that," Inga replied a little too quickly.
"I know you've been writing more letters than your mother is aware of," Elsa told her with a bit of a smirk.
"I- I'm sorry, I can stop that," Inga stammered, "if it's a problem."
"I didn't mean it like that," Elsa reassured her niece, "but, you know there are, well, procedures you're supposed to follow. If you think there's anything serious, you might want to go ahead and say so."
"Oh…" Inga swallowed. "It's… um… not official yet."
"If we're talking about what's official, you're supposed to get approval from the council. It's usually just a formality, of course, but last I heard you haven't asked your mother about anything yet, you'll have to wait that much longer."
"Who said anything about waiting?" Inga asked. "Why would I care about waiting?"
"I'm just saying, the council had several years to get used to the idea of your father, so just think ahead a little bit."
Inga sat still and looked nervously out the window.
"You can tell me if I'm talking nonsense, but you should be sensible about this," her aunt warned her. "I-"
"It's not like… I'm not my mother."
"I know that very well," Elsa smiled. "You two can be quite different, and I try to remind your mother about that when I can. And Henry seems like a very nice boy. His mother has told me a lot of nice things about him. I'm not worried about him at all."
Inga looked like she was about to say something, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. Inga looked at her aunt, then got up and walked to the door without saying a word.
Inga opened the door to Prince Henry standing smiling, and looking somewhat nervous. "Good morning," he said, reaching for Inga's hand.
Inga stepped back quickly. "Henry, do you remember my Aunt Elsa?" gesturing toward Elsa.
"Yes, of course," Henry replied, quickly gathering himself to look serious.
Elsa stood up and walked over. "It's nice to see you again, Henry," she smiled, offering her hand. Henry took her hand and gave it a polite kiss.
"Did you have a good trip here?" he asked.
"Yes, thank you," she replied. "I hope your family is well."
"Yes, they are, thank you," Henry responded.
"Henry," Inga interjected, "have you had breakfast? I brought up some extra food."
"Um, no, I haven't eaten yet."
"Why don't you join us?" Inga asked. "I'm sure my aunt wouldn't mind?" Inga looked pointedly at her aunt Elsa, hoping after nearly getting a lecture from her, at least, she thought that was where it was going, her aunt wouldn't suddenly leave the room. Then again, she did say he seemed nice.
"Yes, of course," her aunt smiled.
Henry looked around Arendelle's market square. This was his third day here, and he felt like he knew the place fairly well now. During the slightly awkward breakfast with Inga and her aunt that morning, Elsa had given him what he could only describe as a knowing look. He had to wonder if Inga had told her that they were already engaged, but he couldn't imagine Inga doing that. Of course, people always made assumptions like that, didn't they? He wanted to make it properly official before they started telling people they were engaged, though.
When he was in Portugal, he had managed to find himself alone in Lisbon. Hilde had insisted on mailing the letter to Inga that she had seen him writing, or, at least, having her maid mail it, but she had gone with the maid, and at first, Henry was with them. Hilde and her maid went in to look at some dresses, and Henry waited outside, but then saw the jewelry shop. The ring had caught his eye, and he bought it right away, almost memorizing what the jeweler had told him about it. He was out of the shop before his sister had decided which dresses she wanted, and hadn't told anyone about his purchase, though he knew very well that his sister suspected as much. She could read him too well sometimes.
He felt his pocket to make sure it was still there. Now to find a time.
"Prince Henry!" someone called out from across the road.
"Yes?" Henry looked across the street, and there were two young men that he may or may not have seen before. They knew him, though.
"I thought it was you! Georg, I told you he was coming, you didn't believe me!"
"You're right, Paul," said the other.
Henry still couldn't remember who they were. He would have to pretend.
"Come on, Henry," urged Georg, "let's go have some drinks and catch up. I haven't seen you since your Coronation last year!"
0o0o0
Anna sat back in the garden enjoying the laughter as her children played. Her sister had arrived early that morning and was entertaining them by making whatever ice toys they asked for, the baby taking shaky steps as she attempted to follow them around. Inga had come over to sit with her a few minutes before, but hadn't said anything, and there were things she wanted to know.
It was increasingly frustrating that she had been too busy to find time to talk, especially since Inga and Henry hadn't been able to keep their eyes off each other the other night at dinner, even if they, perhaps, thought they weren't being obvious. And Frederick had mentioned being certain that they were writing more than what went out in the official mail. She would have to ask Elsa about that.
"Mother?" Inga asked as she looked over.
"Yes, Inga?"
"Yesterday, Father said you wanted to talk to me."
"I did. Do you have time now?"
"That works. What did you want to talk about?"
"Well, I suppose there's your party. We've had a lot of guests arriving, but you've only had one join us for dinner," Anna hinted, hoping that Inga would admit the rest.
Inga sat thoughtfully for a moment, then began pulling at her hair nervously.
"The other night at dinner… what did you think?"
Anna took a deep breath and tried not to smile too much. She reached out and grabbed Inga's hand. "I don't think you're asking me about the food or the table manners of your brothers," Anna said with a smirk. "I'll just say he seems very nice. I'm sure you would tell me if he wasn't."
"Of course," Inga said. "And… if there were anything the council needed to do, would you…"
Anna tried not to speak too quickly. "I'm not trying to rush you, but the official details with these things do take time, you know, so the sooner we start, it would be better. I can make sure the council is available the day after tomorrow, would that work?"
"Um, yes," Inga said, hugging her knees. "I… we… we have been talking about… well, things."
"Things?"
"I don't want to say more if he's not here right now," Inga said.
"You'll need to be more specific than that when you meet with the council, you know."
Anna decided to leave things at that for now. She hoped the council wouldn't give too much push back to Henry courting Inga, especially since there had been rumors circulating back the fall before about their already being engaged. Inga seemed to be done talking, and anything more that Anna wanted to talk to her about would best not be done with so many people around.
"Do you know what you'll be wearing tomorrow?" Anna asked, changing the subject.
"I haven't really put much thought to it, to be honest," Inga admitted.
"Well, I'll check in with Gerda later, and I'm sure we'll find something nice for you."
"That would be helpful," Inga acknowledged.
"Come on, you two," Frederick shouted as he ran over. He helped Anna up, and Inga followed behind, ready for whatever game they had planned on the other side of the garden.
There was a small fire going in the library, even though the windows were all wide open for the breeze. The family, aside from the youngest children, was gathered after dinner, and Frederick was talking on and on about the academy and his friends from the training voyage in the spring. Inga sat near the window, wondering what Henry was up to this evening. She had almost wanted to find him after dinner, and invite him to join them in the library, since everyone had gone to bed so early the night he had arrived. They would still have time, even if the party was too busy. As both her aunt and her mother had pointed out, they needed to start the process with the council if they even wanted to think about a wedding date, and they did want to properly tell her parents, of course.
"Inga?" Frederick asked.
"What?" Inga hadn't been paying full attention, she realized.
"If I'm studying in Corona, it'll give you a nice excuse to visit, won't it?" Frederick teased her.
"Oh, um, right, I suppose it would," Inga replied, almost yawning, and too tired to even try to be evasive about answering Frederick's question.
"Is Father going to need to carry you to bed just like Sofia?" Peder teased.
"No, but I should probably go to bed," Inga replied. "Good night, everyone."
"Good night, Inga," Anna said as her daughter left the library.
Peder went over to Anton, and the two quietly discussed another song to play. As the music started, Frederick sat down for a game of chess with Olaf, who had wanted to play the winner of Frederick's game with Inga earlier. Inga had won.
Elsa had been sitting quietly next to Anna on the sofa, though she hadn't said anything for most of the evening. "Anna?" she prodded.
"Yes, Elsa?" Anna asked, slightly startled, though not loudly enough for any of the boys to notice.
"Has Inga said anything to you about Prince Henry?"
"Yes, she has, and I'm going to get the council together the day after the party, though she hasn't outright said what they want," Anna said as quietly as she could without letting the whispering become suspicious. "If you know something, you'll tell me, right?"
"Of course," Elsa promised, "I think they're just waiting for the right moment to make it official."
"I got that idea from what she told me, but I wish she would be that straightforward with me."
"I don't know anything particularly illuminating, though from what his mother has written, he's fairly smitten, I think. Nothing official there, either, of course."
Kristoff came in from taking Sofia to bed, and sat down beside her.
"I don't think there's anything to worry about," Elsa said, not sounding as confident as Anna would have liked. Anna looked up at Kristoff, who was focused on the boys. The twins had just finished playing something on their violins, and Anna realized it was probably a good time to call it an evening.
"Kristoff, do you think it's time that Anton and Peder got to bed?"
"I think you're right," he told her. "Anton, Peder, it's getting late. Why don't you go to bed now?"
The twins groaned, but packed up the violins and said their good nights. Their chatter could be heard for a while as they walked toward their rooms. Frederick looked up from his game after they left.
"I know you were talking about Inga and Henry," he said calmly, focusing back on the chess game.
"Oh! What are we talking about?" Olaf piped in.
"Nothing," Kristoff grumbled, "and I think it should stay that way until there's something official."
"It's about as close to official as you can get without being official," Frederick muttered.
"I love unreliable narrators!" Olaf giggled.
