Henry woke up coughing. He was in a different room than he had been staying in for some time. The bed was large and soft, and the blankets were warm, and in the corner there was a heating stove that he could tell was keeping the room much warmer than the rainy November weather outside. Was it November now?

"Oh, good, you're awake."

It was the man he had been talking to outside in the courtyard.

"Yes," Henry said, before going into another coughing fit.

"Would you like me to ring for some tea? It would help that cough of yours, I think."

Henry wanted to say no, but he had nothing to lose by accepting the offer.

"That would be nice, yes," he replied. Almost instantly after the man had rung for a servant, Henry was handed some tea.

Henry sat up in the bed, looking out the window, but all he could see were the branches of a large yew tree.

"Where are we?" he asked after a few sips of the soothing brew.

"In a much nicer wing. I made sure to have you moved up here discreetly."

"You mean that nobody knows where I am?" Henry asked.

"A few of us. We're still debating about you, if I may be honest."

"Surely you're aware that holding me like this-"

"Customs about diplomatic immunity are often waived when there is a serious crime."

"What crime?"

"We can always find a crime. There is certainly enough evidence in the papers."

"Those-" Henry began coughing again.

"Again, we are happy to come to an arrangement. Your ambassador did…"

'Pincar? What arrangement?"

"If you agree, we can discuss more details. But once you know those details, I wouldn't recommend changing your mind."

Henry tried to take another sip of tea, but began coughing again.

"You need to take care of yourself," the man said.

"What if I change my mind, then?" Henry asked, when he had caught his breath.

"Ludvig Holst could tell you about what happens then."

"Wait… the one you said was dead?"

"I was under the impression that you didn't know him."

Henry didn't answer. He was having difficulty speaking without coughing, and saying that he didn't know of Ludvig Holst had become a habit of his over the last decade. It was simpler, really.


John heard a clock strike from the hallway. He had been speaking with the valet to the Glowerhaven ambassador for some time, but now it was the time when he and Lars had agreed to meet outside.

"Oh, look at the time!" John exclaimed. "I need to check on my employer."

"I could use some fresh air, too, if you don't mind," his new friend said.

They walked out, and John noticed Inga sitting on the steps, reading a letter intently. John stopped, turning to his new friend, who seemed to be looking at Inga intently.

"She looks familiar," he said.

"Does she?" John replied, suddenly remembering that the man had worked at the Corona embassy, and Inga would have been in at least one of the portraits.

"She reminds me of that princess from Arendelle," he said. John realized his guess was correct.

Before John could think of a reply, Inga looked up.

"Oh, John, there you are!" she said. "I think Lars is still inside, unless he left a different way."

John nodded. "Inga, let me introduce-" he realized he still hadn't gotten the man's name. He was usually more careful than this.

"Edward Grimsby," he replied quickly, sensing John's hesitation, and giving a quick bow to Inga, who was now standing.

John smiled.

"Ingeborg," she replied, extending her hand, which Edward took and gave a gentle press before turning to John.

"And now I'm going to guess that your name is John," he said.

"That's right."

"Miss Ingeborg, I hope you don't mind my saying, you bear a very strong resemblance to the princess from Arendelle."

John saw Inga look at him wide-eyed.

"Edward here used to work in the Corona embassy," John explained.

"Ah, yes, I should have mentioned, there is a portrait of her in the front hall, I don't know if you've noticed. The Princess Anna Idunna-" Edward stopped and looked at John with a raised eyebrow.

"So he knows…?" Inga asked.

John nodded.

Lars came down the steps right at that moment.

"Oh, good, John, you're here, too," he said, then saw Edward. "Who's this?"

"Edward here used to be Mr. Pincar's valet," John explained.

"Well, isn't that convenient," Lars laughed sardonically. "I think we should be heading back. Perhaps Edward can stop by the Corona embassy tomorrow and inquire after his former employer."

Edward bowed.


Anna sat at the head of the table in the council meeting. The discussion had gotten off the original topic of trade agreements with the Northuldra, and somehow the supply of parchment had turned into discussions of suitable daughters of the nobility who might interest Frederick, or perhaps his younger brothers.

One provincial earl spoke up. "It's been nearly five years since your daughter married, don't you think you should make some plans for your sons?"

"They will decide for themselves when they're ready," Anna insisted. "Now can we please get back to the topic at hand?"

A knock at the door interrupted things further.

"Your Majesty," Kai said urgently. "We've just received a telegram."

Anna got up, not bothering to excuse herself, since no one had been listening anyway.

"Yes?" she said after stepping out into the hallway.

"I have not yet read it," Kai said, handing the note to her.

She read it silently. There had been an explosion in a harbor town to the north.

She stepped back into the room.

"Admiral Sorensen?" she said. "I think you should see this."

Sorensen joined her, looking at the note, and frowning, glancing quickly at her, then back at the note.

"That's the town where the Aren was scheduled to be docked today."

"Frederick is on the Aren," Anna whispered.


Anna sat in the room with her daughter's trunk. Her maid Oline had immediately told her Inga's plans, as far as she knew of them. She had supposedly gone off to Bergen with Captain Olsen from the castle guards, and though Anna was now sure that an affair wasn't what was going on, Kristoff had mentioned traveling on to Bergen to find Captain Olsen, just in case.

Elsa walked into the room. "Did you learn anything?" she asked, sitting down on the bed.

"Not really," Anna sighed. "I've barely gotten past the first few pages. It seems she left her old diary back in Corona when… well, you know. She was worried about Frederick, that much is clear."

Elsa cocked her head. "Do you think she'd write anything incriminating in a book she left behind?"

"That's a good point," Anna admitted.

"So…" Elsa looked at her. "You read your daughter's diary."

"A little, but not the whole thing. I don't want someone else to read it, even if there's something important in there, but I didn't like reading some of the things. It wasn't what she said, it was just reliving it all."

Elsa nodded. "I understand. Maybe I should look?"

"Here…" Anna handed her the journal, carefully holding a page open. "It starts in March…"

"March 1870," Elsa read aloud before she began silently reading.


Rapunzel walked out to the balcony to find Eugene, and saw Hilde sitting with him.

"Hilde? I didn't realize you were coming over today," she said.

"Oh! Hello, Mother. Is your meeting done?" her daughter asked.

"They're taking a short break to rearrange their schedules," she said, looking at Eugene.

He cleared his throat. "Hilde has been telling me some interesting things," he said.

"What's going on?" Rapunzel asked.

Hilde slid over the newspaper, and Rapunzel instantly spotted the headline about Ludvig Holst.

"What? He certainly had some enemies, but-"

"I'm trying to think of anything he's said recently," Hilde said.

"Wait.." Rapunzel began.

"I've been trying to get the whole story," Eugene said. "Hilde assures me that she hasn't been the source of any of the stories about our family."

"Well, that's good, I suppose," Rapunzel sighed. "We still need to figure out where Henry even is. But why have you been talking to him?"

"I thought I had a handle on just talking to him about whatever clothing I had recently acquired, just like with everyone else…"

Eugene held up his hand. "Let's stop worrying about the reason. Did he know anything that might help?"

"His father was Prince Ludvig, does that help?"

Rapunzel stopped. "Prince Ludvig of the Southern Isles?"

"Yes. He owns a lot of the papers, that's how Holst got his job so young."

"Wait, I always had the feeling Holst got his job through some kind of family connection, but the mystery newspaper owner is a prince of the Southern Isles?" Eugene asked.

"Hilde, did he say anything about Lars Nilsen?" Rapunzel asked.

"He said his mother was always jealous of the attention Lars and Karl got from you, that's it," Hilde said. "Why?"

Rapunzel thought for a moment. Hilde didn't know. "Did he ever talk about the succession crisis in the Southern Isles?"

"He was a bit worried about that. He hadn't told very many people about his connection, but his father had wanted to meet with him a while ago to discuss serious matters."

"What serious matters?"

"He never told me, but he seemed… changed."


Arianna looked out the window. She couldn't see the mountains while lying down, even if it wasn't dark out, but she could see that it had stopped raining. That was good, at least. It had been raining more often than not recently, and she hated being stuck inside.

"Arianna?" her brother whispered.

"What is it, Aggie?" she asked.

"I was just in the library, and I heard that Uncle Frederick is back?"

Arianna sat up. "He is, I saw him just before dinner tonight."

"And you didn't tell me?" her brother whined.

"I didn't get to have dinner with him, either," she explained. "Were you talking to Aunt Sofia?"

"She didn't know I was there. I was going to the kitchen."

"Didn't Nanny get you dinner?" Arianna asked.

"She did, but I wanted a second tart."

Arianna was going to scold him, but she was mostly jealous that she had missed out on tarts this evening.

"Anyway," he continued, "do you think he's going to go fetch Mama?"

"What makes you say that?"

"It's about time for her to be back, isn't it?"


Frederick listened to the rain beat against the windows. Meibel was in bed beside him, seemingly asleep. He was listening for a return letter, either from Inga or his aunt, but nothing was coming.

"Meibel?" he whispered in her ear.

"I'm awake," she replied immediately.

"I don't have time to wait for anyone to send a return message," Frederick said, almost surprised by the words coming out of his mouth.

"What do you think you'll do?" Meibel asked.

"I'll have to go up there," he said.

"Arianna will be disappointed," Meibel said.

"I think her parents might be in trouble, so I hope she'll forgive me for being gone tomorrow."

"Should I come?" Meibel asked.

"I think I need to do this alone."

"And Pearson?"

"Oh! Pearson was going to come over tomorrow for lunch," Frederick said. "I don't think Pearson should come, either, but perhaps you can see if Oaken knows anything. Pearson might want to discuss his idea with Oaken, anyway."

Meibel sighed. "Do you think you're up for riding that far alone?"

"I'll be fine," Frederick insisted.

"Ride Olive, she's more careful than your horse," Meibel suggested.

"You're right."

"Why don't you get some more sleep now? You've got a big day ahead, and it's not even five in the morning."


Isabel walked into Hudson's first thing in the morning.

"This is a pleasant surprise!" Halima exclaimed. "Good morning, Isabel."

"Good morning," Isabel smiled, walking over to kiss Halima on the cheek. "The weather is a bit better today, so I decided to walk with Hallie on her way to school."

"Sit down and make yourself comfortable," Halima said. "It's going to be quiet for the next hour or so, I'll turn down the stove and come join you."

Isabel sat down in a booth, and a moment later Halima joined her.

"Have you had any luck finding new kitchen staff?" Isabel asked.

"We'll see," Halima sighed. "No one who's quite as good at everything as John was, of course, but I've found a few people who can at least take on a bit of the strenuous work."

Isabel nodded.

"Did you know that Frederick is in town?" Isabel asked.

"Yes, he and Meibel were here for dinner last night, but he seemed pretty determined about going up north soon. Knowing Frederick, if he's decided, he's already on his way."

"Really?" Isabel asked.

"Now, don't start any gossip about that, please."

"I'll do my best," Isabel sighed. "Speaking of which, have you heard from Edith recently?"

"Yes, we got a letter the other day, though she asked that most of it stay private."

"I have a letter from last week. She didn't make me promise anything, but she did say that she'll do her best to visit soon."


Inga sat at the open window in her room in Corona, looking out over the city below and the countryside beyond. It was a lovely day, but there were dark clouds on the horizon. Henry would be returning from a trip in a few days. Arianna was playing on the balcony down below, and little Aggie was fast asleep in the nursery.

She stared at the nearly blank page in her diary, "March 19th, 1870" being the only thing she had written.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in!"

Hilde walked in. "Inga, have you seen the newspaper today?"

"What is it, Hilde?"

"What ship is your brother serving on?"

"The Aren, why?"

Hilde handed over the paper.

EXPLOSION IN ARENDELLE PORT

"Oh," Inga said, glancing at the article. "But that's where they often have shore leave. They're probably waiting to report until everyone reports back."

"That could be," Hilde said. "I'm sure you would have heard something already."

Suddenly, the breeze blew in, and a note landed on Inga's lap.

"This is my father's handwriting," Inga said.

Dear Inga,

Please come back to Arendelle as soon as you can. Your mother is not well, Frederick is missing.

Inga looked out the window at the Corona harbor, unable to finish reading the note.

"Inga?" Hilde said, touching her arm.

Inga handed the note over. "I… I need to ring for Oline."

Hilde read the note, then set it down on the table next to Inga.

"I'll tell my parents. Do you think you should go now and have Henry meet you a few days later?"

"I don't know…" Inga said. She didn't want to face the trip back alone, but she wanted to be with her parents as soon as possible.

"Think about it," Hilde said. "I'm going to find my mother. I'll be back in a few minutes."

As soon as Hilde had closed the door, Inga grabbed a piece of paper and wrote to Henry.

Dear Henry,

Frederick's ship may have had trouble. I need to get back to Arendelle quickly. Should I wait for you or go now?

Love,

Inga

She quickly folded the letter, whispered for Gale, and waited as the wind picked up her letter out the window.

She heard a light rapping at the door a moment later, and opened it to find Oline.

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

"I need to get back to Arendelle quickly," Inga said. "Please pack what I need. And let the nanny know to get the children ready."

Oline nodded and immediately walked over to the wardrobe. Soon, Hilde returned to the room with her mother.

"I just got a note from your aunt," she said.

"What does she know?" Inga asked.

"Not very much, unfortunately. But more than the ministers seem to know."


Meibel sat at the piano in the parlor and began playing. The maid and cook had returned from their day off, and Frederick had gone north. Her playing was suddenly interrupted by a knock at the door.

She walked to the door and opened it to see Mr. Pearson.

"Hello," she said. "Frederick said you would be coming by today. Unfortunately, he left early this morning for Bergen."

Pearson looked concerned. "Alone?"

"Yes, he was quite emphatic about that," Meibel sighed.

"I'm actually happy to hear that," Pearson said. "Not that I mind helping him, of course."

"You've been turned into more of his valet than anything else, I have to admit," Meibel replied. "You studied at the Royal Academy of Gymnastics in Wesselton, after all."

Pearson chuckled. "Yes, I know I was a bit of a snob about that when I first arrived."

"I'm still surprised you never went back to going by Peddersen, though."

"Pearson has been the name I've used professionally for over a decade and a half, I don't see a point in changing that just because I'm no longer in America."

"I suppose that's true," Meibel mused, then smiled. "Thank you for putting up with Frederick when you first got here."

"That's part of my job," Pearson replied. "No one is in a good frame of mind in the beginning."

"Now then, were you expecting food?"

"I'll have some if you've got something planned."

"Well, the cook isn't coming back from her time off until this afternoon, and I was a little tired this morning," Meibel admitted.

"Then don't worry yourself," Pearson insisted.

"If you'd be interested in coming with me, Frederick thought that perhaps I should see whether Oaken knows anything about this situation. I'm sure you could discuss your big idea with him some more."

Pearson readily agreed, and took Frederick's horse to follow Meibel out to Oaken's trading post.


Hilde slipped out of Inga's room after she brought her mother to her, grabbed her cloak, and hurried down the stairs and out of the palace, going to a nearby tavern she wished she wasn't familiar with.

"I thought I'd find you here," she said, sitting down in the booth.

"So you've seen the news?" Holst replied.

"What do you know?" Hilde demanded.

"Just what I printed."

"Really?" Hilde pressed.

"How would you like to go on a ride?" he asked.

"I don't want to be away too long," she replied honestly. "Inga is worried."

"Fine, have it your way," he said, putting some coins down on the table as he stood up. "Let's walk towards the palace."

With that, he pulled the hood of his cloak over his head and walked out the door. Hilde followed him.

"Well?" Hilde asked as she caught up to him.

"Did you miss me last month?" he asked.

"That's an odd question," Hilde replied.

"I was visiting the Northuldra."

Hilde stopped. Inga had told her about her visits there, and the few times she had met the former queen of Arendelle, she had asked many questions about the place. The one thing she remembered was that most outsiders were not welcome.

"How did you get permission to do that?" she asked.

"I didn't. Lots of people go without permission." He stopped, looked at the palace up ahead, and looked around. "Let's take a detour," he said.

Hilde felt like she had no choice but to continue following him.


Inga went straight to bed when they got back to the embassy, first sticking Frederick's note inside Henry's sketchbook. Would Frederick actually try to find her in the Southern Isles? Did anyone know she was here?

Suddenly, she remembered the hints she had heard at the party about what had happened to Frederick's old ship. Perhaps she could ask in the morning, but it might be best to ask now.

She grabbed a robe to cover up her nightgown, and walked downstairs. Lars and John were in the front parlor, having some tea, and it was obvious that they had heard her come downstairs and stopped whatever conversation they had been having.

"Is something wrong, Inga?" Lars asked.

"You said that there was some truth to what I heard about Frederick," Inga said.

"What did you hear?" John asked.

"Just that… it sounded like the Aren- when the Aren- it might not have been an accident?"

Lars and John looked at each other.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" John asked Lars.

"I did promise her we'd explain more," Lars said. "And she knows you visited the Enchanted Forest, so you won't have to explain that part."

"Yes, she confronted me about that already," John said, looking at her.

Inga slowly sat down in the nearest chair. "Please, whatever it is, I'm sure I've imagined worse by now."