To My Beloved Cousin,

I like the way you write to me. I like your colloquialisms, catchphrases, and punchlines no matter how "frustrating" they can be at times. Those charming quirks are important parts of your self-expression, and you shouldn't try to change that to fit a standard set by people who don't care about you. I used to say that there was no right way to be a king or queen except to put our kingdoms before ourselves. You've been doing that since the very beginning to a fault, so now my advice to you is to make yourself a priority.

What I don't like is the way you minimize the impact that pain has had on you while you're hurting. It's okay not to hide behind a joke after something traumatic has happened. It's okay to open your heart. It's okay to say that you can't take it anymore. "It's okay to not be okay."

You make a habit out of writing to me like you're alright after something awful has happened to you, which is something that drives me nuts about you, so we're even on that. You have to let yourself feel, Eugene, and you have to share those feelings with someone. Why would getting intimate not be some part of the plan when it involves your family? Even from a diplomatic standpoint, I need to know about your feelings and experiences in order to get a better understanding of everything I need to do on your behalf. If we pull back now, it would be damaging to both of us.

I've said before that I understand why our relationship will take some getting used to, but I don't want you to back away from me. This "us thing" that we have is a building bond between relatives, and I want our progress to be comforting instead of intimidating. What happened last winter is exactly why I want you to always confide in me without holding yourself back. If you hadn't cried while you were writing that letter, I wouldn't have known your mental state.

That's why I have to thank you for sharing such a vulnerable part of yourself with me. It was intense and shocking, but I want to nurture that part of you because it's also been neglected. One thing you must understand is that there is no getting over the passing of those infants just like there is no getting over the passing of Rapunzel. You may not be able to live through this experience without feeling any post-traumatic pain. You may always see those crying faces, but you don't have to believe everything your mind tells you when you're alone in your bed.

Before you go to bed every night and after you wake up every morning, I want you to tell yourself that you are worth Frederic's crown; you are trying as hard as you can; you do have the strength to get through this; your existence does matter, and you have always deserved to be loved. Be gentle to that fragile part of yourself that you keep neglecting. You give so much love to those who matter to you, yet it is you who needs your love more than anyone else in the world right now. I just wish I was actually there to shower you with my own, because I also died again after hearing about what happened to you and your children. I wanted to reach through the barrier and hold you close, if I could have .. .. . I wanted to embrace each and every one of you. . ...

I understand that I can't turn back the hands of time, but I badly want to be that person for you and Corona. When I first started writing to you, I told you that Anna and I could stand in these moments with you no matter how far away we were. Now it just sounds meaningless to say, "I'm by your side" when I can't even touch you. I didn't even have time to just sit down and write "Happy Birthday" to you and your daughter because I've been spreading myself so thin for people outside of our family. I took your paragraph about your role in your people's lives as a departure note, one that said you had made the choice to either leave this world or leave your throne. I allowed my emotions to cloud my judgment and let one impulse lead to another. Since the travel ban prevents me from sailing, I chose that month to do the next reckless thing: use my powers.

Using my powers to reach you ended very badly because I landed myself back in bed with my physician treating the consequences. I probably shouldn't have done it the way I did it, but I don't regret following my heart. I see that Fredmund purposely left that part out. He also gave me some information about your days. You mentioned a scandal with a servant last year, which appears to be frighteningly widespread in Corona.

I don't know if it's true or false because I, for one, am not living in Corona with you. I am also not a man, so I can't say if temptations, especially in an emotionally fragile environment, are hard to resist as a man, given how much you've spoken about your difficulties with women in the past. I've chosen to believe that you are innocent until proven guilty. You didn't sound evasive to me when you brought it up for the simple fact that you did, and several people in Corona seem like they're out to push you over the edge with whatever they can. Add that to the way hecklers are abusing you after everything you've done for Corona, and I'm more concerned about a revolt breaking out than I am about the possibility of another child.

Your country's opinions about your presence as king aren't remotely reasonable, so don't you dare kneel to them. The same people who turned their backs on Corona are the same people who refused to dock in your harbor before these allegations came about. They're the murderers, not you. You have many personal victories to celebrate this year. Try to keep them in mind whenever you start doubting your existence.

For the record, you are Corona's drop of sunlight. I won't ever stop telling you that, but I also won't sit here and tell you that I don't understand why you're feeling the way you feel. I won't tell you that your feelings are invalid, either. People weren't just attacking me in the past because I had magic; I really was the cause of everything that went wrong, so I thought that if I'd stepped down from my throne, everyone's lives would've been better. I learned too late that giving it up only makes things worse by opening a door to havoc, so I had to go back and fix my mistakes.

Like Arendelle was for me, Corona is your destiny now, so wherever you run, you can never fully escape it. Foreigners know that. They dread that. However, your sanity has to come first. The dangers that both you and your daughter have to face are not just physical threats anymore.

On those grounds, I need you to tell me what your next move will be. Even though I feel like your letter is whitewashing the fact that abdication may or may not still be on your mind, I won't make you feel bad about it. It's not my place. I'll support you either way. I just want to know what your long-term plans are.

Are you thinking about reconsidering my offer to have one or both of you live with Anna and I? Are you going to keep going as you are? Or are you going to consider other possibilities outside of abdication? I think it's wonderful that you have so much faith in Isolde's future. Seeing and striving for the best for your daughter is exactly what a father is meant to do, but there's still a very big chance that she'll always have health difficulties.

Before I end my letter, I should add that I read what you had to say about my trip to the Southern Isles, Hans's family, the Kiribas, and my feelings towards Prince Aloysius. I respect your opinions even if I disagree with many of them; some, however, are correct.

I can't report any new developments or reply to every single detail in your earlier letters at this point in time, but one thing I couldn't wait to thank you for was your kind speech regarding my powers. I now understand why Rapunzel fell in love with you.

From Arendelle,

XII of April, 1849

With love,

Elsa