Women's Work Chapter 14

Epilog: three years later.

"Anna, that's a cute idea, but it just isn't going to happen."

Princess Anna had asked to speak privately with her mother. She had just attended a meeting of the Nobles' Council for the first time. The discussion bored her, as did most of the nobles, but she picked up on one intriguing fact almost immediately. That was Baron Anders' reaction to her sister. She'd caught the young Baron staring unabashedly at the Crown Princess several times during the course of the meeting. At one point, Elsa had glanced at him and smiled; he'd reacted by turning red and staring at the table. Anna saw a possible couple in the making. Of course, like all royalty, Elsa could not choose her own husband; her parents had to make that decision. So Anna had gone to her mother and suggested that a nobleman from Arendelle would make a better Prince-Consort for her sister than a stranger from some other land. Queen Idun had gently but firmly vetoed the idea.

"He's just a Baron, dear. Elsa is going to be a queen; she'll need a prince, or someone of similar rank. That's how these things are done."

"But, Mother, they like each other! If you just pick a prince from somewhere else, they won't even know each other!"

"Dear, I hardly knew your father when I married him, but I learned to love him. That's how it is with royalty everywhere. Marrying for love is something your sister can't do. We'll pick a nice prince to form an alliance with some other kingdom, which will be good for Arendelle."

"But what about what's good for Elsa?"

"She'll learn to love her husband, just like I did. Don't worry about it, dear. I'm sure she'll wind up happy."

Anna was not convinced.

o

"Elsa, I'm amazed that you'd even suggest such a thing!"

Elsa had picked up on a pattern. Every Monday morning around nine o'clock, Anna made sure she had no lessons or other obligations. She would spend about half an hour in one of the spare bedrooms upstairs with the door closed, then return to the family with a spring in her step. Elsa was curious, so she'd freed up her own Monday morning and staked out a place in the guest room next to Anna's chosen spare room. Whatever Anna was doing, it probably involved looking at something out the window. Elsa meant to find out what that was.

She quickly found out. Today was ice delivery day. The good-looking young man with the sled and the reindeer was now the principal ice man for the palace. He stopped in the courtyard, looked up at Anna's window, smiled, and waved. After a moment, he went about his business. When the sled was emptied of its cargo, he looked up at the window and waved again before he gave the reindeer a carrot and rode away. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on. Elsa had brought the matter to her mother's attention.

"He's just a commoner, dear! I'm sure he's very nice, but princesses don't marry commoners! Surely you know that."

"But, Mother, they like each other!"

"With royalty, liking each other has nothing to do with it. Your sister will marry a nice prince, or maybe a duke, and they'll learn to love each other." Elsa began to object, but Idun held up a warning finger. "I'm happy that you're looking out for your sister and that you want her to be happy, but princesses do not marry commoners. Ever. Just put the idea out of your mind."

Elsa was not convinced.

o

The kingdom was celebrating. It was Princess Elsa's coming-of-age day.

It didn't actually mean much, in real-life terms. Elsa was now entitled to represent the kingdom in dealing with other nations, but with Arendelle's king and queen still young and strong, there was no need for her to do so. She was also entitled to a permanent seat in the Nobles' Council, which she often used – she took her future responsibilities very seriously, and wanted to prepare herself in any way she could. (Besides, there was someone there whom she liked to see.)

But the Crown Princess turned 21 this week, and the kingdom had to celebrate. Her actual birthday was a subdued affair, attended only by the family. The coming-of-age ceremony, on the other hand, called for a week of festivities attended by high-ranking guests from all over Europe. Elsa had good control over her powers by now, and wasn't worried about any ice or snow leaking out in the middle of someone's speech. She just didn't want to be the center of all that attention.

There was a lot of attention. It started with a formal ceremony in the palace chapel, conducted by the bishop, in which she made vows to faithfully support Arendelle in all her dealings, and was rewarded with a tiny golden coronet and an assortment of rights and responsibilities that she doubted she'd ever use. There were dinners, and balls, and receptions, and games, and parties, and too many other events for her to keep track of. And there were guests of all kinds – princes and princesses, dukes and duchesses, counts and countesses, barons and baronesses, and some lesser nobility like knights and escuderos from other nations. A handful of the male nobles were unescorted. King Agdar and Queen Idun kept an especially close eye on those. One of them might make a fine husband for one of their daughters.

The unescorted nobles were hopeful. It was no secret that Arendelle had two princesses of marriageable age and notable beauty. It was slightly less well-known that the Crown Princess had some unusual abilities, which made some of those nobles nervous. They could all see the miniature palace made of ice in the real palace courtyard; it was a spectacular decoration, but it unnerved the ones who knew that Princess Elsa had made it herself, in about five minutes, without any tools. At the various parties and receptions, Anna got a lot more male attention than Elsa did. That was unusual; in conventional circumstances, the Crown Princess would be considered the more worthy prize. But these circumstances were not conventional.

It was soon clear that, in the race to impress the King and Queen and win the hand of a princess, the front-runner was one Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. He was handsome, courtly, pleasant, and eager to please, and he made a good impression on nearly everyone he met. "I think he'd make a good husband for Anna," Agdar decided.

"I was thinking of bringing him and Elsa together, and seeing what happens," Idun replied.

"Nothing is cast in stone yet," the king shrugged. "We'll try both of them, and see what happens." She agreed. Neither of them knew that the princesses were preparing to take matters into their own hands.

Elsa was the first to make a move, but it wasn't on her own behalf. She managed to catch the Prince in a corner during one of the endless morning cotillions. "I've heard a lot about you, Prince Hans," she began shyly.

"Mostly good things, I hope," he smiled.

"Would I be right in guessing that you're here to find a wife?"

That kind of forwardness took him aback. "Well... my father said I should keep my eyes open for all possibilities," he admitted.

"Is my sister one of those possibilities?" she went on.

"I'd be lying if I said I hadn't noticed her," he said.

"It's only fair to warn you, she's already in love with someone else."

"Oh," he said, disappointed. "Have your parents approved of the match?"

"No." It was Elsa's turn to sound disappointed. "They probably won't approve, ever. He's the palace ice man."

"The ice man?" Hans couldn't believe his ears. "Are you serious?"

"He's a very nice ice man," Elsa said hesitantly.

Hans laughed. "Princesses don't marry commoners! That's silly!" He leaned toward Elsa. "Your Excellency, take some good advice. Tell your sister she's never going to marry her ice man, so she should get serious and pick out a nice prince for herself." He flicked an invisible speck of dust off his lapel. "And tell the ice man to mind his place and court a milkmaid, because he is never going to marry a princess! What a foolish concept! Oh, and one other thing, Princess. You might want to keep that special ability of yours under wraps so you don't scare somebody." That was when a baron from Trondheim tapped the Prince on the shoulder; he wanted to iron out a minor diplomatic misunderstanding. Elsa was left fuming.

A few hours later, the Prince finally got Anna alone in the palace gardens. She didn't show much interest in him, but she tried to be polite. He soon realized that he wasn't getting very far with her, so he tried Plan B. "If I wanted to impress your sister, how would I go about it?"

"You'd turn yourself into a baron from Arendelle," Anna answered readily. "He's the only man she's ever noticed. I don't think she's actually in love with him yet, but –"

"A baron?" The prince couldn't believe his ears. "Are both of you determined to marry down? A Crown Princess needs a fine prince from a fine family, not some baron from the back of nowhere! Anna, please give your sister some good advice. Tell her to mind her rank, and set her heart on a real nobleman!" He flicked some imaginary dust off his cuff. "Barons! Ice men! I hope the king and queen of this realm are more sensible in these matters than the princesses are." He decided he'd made his point, and he clearly was getting nowhere with this princess, so he wandered off to start a conversation with the Duke of Weselton. At least that old man understood the principles of statecraft, unlike these girls with their fairy-tale romantic notions. He hoped their parents would straighten them out soon.

Anna was fuming even worse than Elsa was, until she stopped to think. How did he know about Kristoff? she asked herself. He must have talked to Elsa about me. He probably gave her the same treatment he just gave me. She glanced up and saw her mother watching her from the balcony. Mother, if you think that prince would be good for either of us, you're mistaken, and you need to know about it. She resolutely headed indoors to talk to her mother.

Idun listened politely, then nodded. "Thank you, Anna. I'll take that into consideration." Princess Anna left, unsure if her parents still meant to pair her off with that Southern Prince. Idun sought out her husband for a conversation of her own.

"Interesting," Agdar nodded. "That sounds almost exactly like what Elsa told me an hour ago. If it's true, then this prince isn't the wonderful young man we thought he was. That kind of name-calling and backbiting is not royal behavior at all."

"Do you suppose our daughters have cooked up a scheme between them to discredit this prince?" she asked.

"Neither of them is a liar," he responded with a shake of the head. "They told us very similar stories, so I'm ready to believe them. We can be thankful that our daughters are willing to talk openly to us about these things. We can also be thankful that this prince showed his true colors before we did something irrevocable."

"You mean, showing contempt for others?" Idun wondered.

"Yes, that, and also showing contempt for our daughters," the king replied. "He made a play for both of them, without showing any preference. He obviously doesn't care a bit about either of them, just the thrones and the crowns that they represent. I will not betroth either of my daughters to a man like that!"

"But that sends us right back to Square One!" Idun protested. "This Prince Hans was the only young man who was remotely good enough for either of our daughters! None of the other visiting nobles are even in the same league. How are the princesses of Arendelle going to find decent husbands?"

Agdar looked thoughtful. "We need to discuss this some more," he said slowly, "but if this is what the region's princes are like, I'm starting to wonder if the idea of a baron and an ice man as sons-in-law is really such a bad idea after all."

o

It was the last day of the coming-of-age celebration. The palace had requested an extra delivery of ice to keep the last of the food cold, and Kristoff had readily accepted. He realized that he probably wouldn't be able to see the Princess because she'd be busy at the party, but he might get lucky. Sven was drawn to the sounds of festivities, so they made good time. Sure enough, the upstairs window was empty. He unloaded his sled into the cold-storage room and waited for the palace servant to give him his usual payment.

Today, something was different. The servant who approached him in the courtyard was the King's personal servant, and instead of a handful of coins, he bore a message. "Your presence is requested in the throne room."

Kristoff was stunned. "Me? Now?"

"You, sir. Now, sir. Please follow me."

The ice man shook his head in disbelief. What had he done wrong, that the King would want to see him? Did he know about the way Anna always smiled and waved at him, and the way he smiled and waved back? If he was in trouble with the King, then he was in serious trouble indeed. He mutely followed the servant into the palace. He'd never been there before, except through the back door to fill the cold-storage room. He tried not to stare at the fancy decorations, or the soft carpets, or the other servants who were bustling back and forth with heavily-loaded trays of food. He was expecting bad news, and was trying to brace himself.

The servant opened a large double door and gestured for him to enter. He stepped into the long, brightly-lit throne room. Three men in fancy clothes stood against one wall; they were probably noblemen of some kind. At the far end were four thrones. The two in the middle were occupied by the King and the Queen; the outer two were empty.

The King was holding a drawn sword in his hand. Kristoff gulped and forced himself to walk toward his own doom.

When he was ten feet from the throne, the King stood. Kristoff stopped, took a deep breath, and waited. King Agdar stepped toward him and raised the blade.

"Sir, I can explain..." Kristoff stammered.

"There is no need for explanations," the King replied sternly. "Kneel." Kristoff knelt and closed his eyes tightly.

He felt the sword tap his left shoulder, then his right. Then... nothing happened. At last the King spoke. "Rise, Viscount Kristoff of Arendelle." Kristoff didn't move.

"He means you, young man," the Queen said. She didn't sound stern or harsh at all.

He opened his eyes a crack. The king had stepped back, sheathed his sword, and taken his seat. "Me? I thought you said Viscount."

"I did," the King said in a much more kindly tone. "By royal act, you have just been made a nobleman, in the presence of these noble witnesses." The three men nodded solemnly.

Kristoff struggled to find his voice. "Sir... I mean, Your Highness... can I ask what's going on?"

"It's quite simple," the King smiled. "My younger daughter likes you, but princesses can't marry commoners. So you are no longer a commoner. We've seen you in action over the years; you're honest, hard-working, humble, and kind. That means you're the kind of man who would be good for our daughter. Do you wish to marry Princess Anna?"

Viscount Kristoff felt like he'd been pole-axed, but in a good way. "Uhh... uhh... if I can, then yes. Yes, very much!"

The king nodded in satisfaction. "Then by royal command, you are now engaged to be married. Congratulations." He turned to a side passage. "Anna? Come say 'hello' to your fiancée." Anna burst out of the passage with a shriek and threw herself at Kristoff. He barely managed to stay on his feet, but he needed no encouragement to hug her back. The nobles applauded politely.

After a few seconds, the King spoke again. "Right, that's enough of that. Let's remember our royal dignity, shall we, Anna?"

"How can I act dignified at a moment like this?" she protested.

"Please try," her mother encouraged her. "The nobles are watching." They broke off their hug, joined hands, and turned to face the King.

"Thank you, Father," the Princess said in something close to a dignified tone.

"Yes, thank you, sir. I mean, sire. I mean, Your Highness. I mean..." He broke off in confusion.

"You've got a year to learn some royal protocol before the wedding happens," the Queen told him. "Don't worry about details like those. Just be kind to our daughter."

"I... I think I can do that," he stammered, glancing again at the beautiful girl he'd just been betrothed to. "In fact, I know I can."

"Excellent," the King nodded. "This ceremony is complete. The noble witnesses are dismissed. No, not you, Anders. Approach the throne." The thin young baron stepped nervously away from the other two and did as he was told.

"Your Highness," he stammered, "have I been singled out for a reason? Did I do something wrong?"

"Not at all," the Queen reassured him. "But we have to attend to an important aspect of royal protocol. It won't be appropriate to announce that the younger Princess has gotten engaged before the elder." She turned to the side passage. "Elsa?"

Anders stared as the most beautiful girl in the world stepped out of the passage, looking happy and nervous at the same time. The Queen went on, "The Crown Princess will need a Prince-Consort, and it pleases us to provide one from within our own borders. Baron Anders, are you willing to marry Princess Elsa and become the future Prince-Consort of the Queen?"

If anything, Anders was even more dumbfounded than Kristoff had been. "You mean... I could do that?" He glanced at Elsa and somehow found his tongue. "Y-y-yes! I mean, yes, Your Highness. Totally yes, completely yes, absolutely –"

"We get the idea," smiled the king. "Then by royal command, you are also engaged to be married. Congratulations. Elsa, say 'hello' to your fiancée." He stood rooted to the floor for several seconds. Then Anna gave him a push, and he nearly fell over. He glanced again at Elsa, looked into her eyes, and finally got himself moving. She met him halfway, and while they didn't fling themselves at each other like Anna and Kristoff had done, it was obvious by the way they joined hands that they were both extraordinarily pleased with this development in their lives. Not even royal dignity could dampen Elsa's smile.

The King turned to his Queen. "There are going to be some unhappy princes and dukes all over Europe when we make this announcement tonight."

"But we've got two happy princesses right here, and two happy future princes," Idun replied. "Our kingdom's future is in good hands, and our daughters are in good hands. That's all that matters to me."

"Indeed," he nodded. "But tell me, my queen – between the kingdom's well-being and the daughters' happiness, which of the two matters most to you?"

She glanced at Elsa, who was holding hands with Anders and showing no signs of ice or snow, and smiled. "I think you already know the answer to that."

The End

o

A/N
This story was inspired by reading "Embracing the Second" by ptahaegyptus2. The two stories have little or nothing in common, but inspiration hits me in strange ways. It's very likely that other people have already written similar stories, but this is my version.

The sister relationship between Anna and Elsa is the heart of "Frozen," but there's a third lady in the story who gets almost no attention, and that's Queen Idun, the princesses' mother. I've learned a thing or two about mothers over the years, and it's inconceivable to me that a loving mother would let her daughter suffer alone if there was anything, anything at all, that she could do about it. This story is about the mother/daughter relationship; it's not as rocky as the mother/daughter relationship in "Brave," but they're not a perfect storybook family, either. I tried to portray King Agdar as well-meaning but misguided. He's not a villain, just a human being thrust into an incomprehensible situation, and he's capable of admitting that he's wrong.

I admit, this last chapter isn't much more than fan service. I'd meant to end the story with Chapter 13. But several reviewers wanted to see more of Baron Anders, and one or two wondered about Kristoff, so I created this epilog, and it's probably a better ending than the one I'd intended. (Also, I'm thrilled that people wanted more of my OC!)

If you like this story, you might enjoy my "Together" trilogy – Frozen Together, Thawing Together, and Growing Together. If you've already read those, then thank you for being a faithful reader. Maybe you'll also like some of my "How to Train Your Dragon" fics, of which I've written several dozen.