A/N:-Yeah, this took a hell of a long time. Truth is, I finished writing this chapter and the next one a month ago, but then I noticed that I screwed up Kris' character to make him badass. He isn't. He's the cool and calm type, like his aunt.

Anywho, let's skip all that and get right to it. Not much 'action' this chapter, but you'll be getting some in the next one.

Review responses -

BoltXPenny - I'm getting to that. But according to the story timeline, Kris is still on the one month free-trial. Elsa is a Queen, so she isn't going to get pregnant just like that. She has responsibilities that exceed her personal feelings, and she knows that. But I'm not saying that it won't happen. Watch and wait.

Hyrulewarrior13 - Thanks a bunch! Your reviews are really uplifting. No need to worry, I do not intend to give up on this story, ever.

3

Birthday part 1.

Kris banged his head against his desk. Apparently, it was true that you may not always want what you think you want. Kris had thought that he wanted his aunt to love him in the same way he did her, but now that she did, his mind was too preoccupied with thoughts about her to do any actual work. He was one of the youngest minds in the world to actually contribute to society on such a large scale, but he was being distracted by mental images of his aunt.

Sure, it was true that it had been less than twenty-four hours since he had made love to his aunt, and it was common for normal people to be lovestruck for days on end after such an event, but he was Prince Kris, damn it! He hadn't been taking mental discipline lessons from his aunt for nothing! He should have been able to isolate these thoughts with ease!

He looked at the sheet if paper he had been drawing on. It showed his mother, sitting on his aunt's left shoulder. Elsa's left arm was supporting Anna, while her right was raised up, palm facing upwards, on which Marshmallow was doing a one finger (Icicle?) handstand. In his other hand, he held Olaf and a dozen snowgies, while Kris himself was sitting on Marshmallow's inverted feet, at least fifty feet off the ground. It really was a beautiful picture, if he said so himself.

At least they were all clothed this time.

After the rush of the bath incident had completely faded away, his drawings had become increasingly 'family-friendly'.

But judging by what I've been doing with Aunt Elsa, 'family-friendly' would be a poor choice of words. Kris thought.

Kris had never seen such pandemonium in his life.

Even when his mother had chased a pig through the city.

Even when his aunt had decided to bring Marshmallow to the city.

Even when the British empire had tried to conquer them.(That had not ended well. For the Brits, that is.)

Arendelle was the ideal capital city for any kingdom- plenty of freshwater sources, adequate farmlands, and almost impossible to attack. The only way for a large party to arrive was by sea, and for that, ships had to pass through a 100-foot wide seaway with towering cliffs on both sides. In short, it was a narrow route connecting the fjord to the Atlantic ocean, through which only one ship could pass through at a time. So when about a dozen ships showed up at nearly the same time, the docks were thrown into chaos.

Arendelle's docks were rather small, allowing only three ships to be docked at once. When they had finished unloading, they could be anchored further up the fjord. From his room, Kris could see people rushing around, welcoming guests and trying to unload the ships as fast as possible to keep the others from waiting. Even his aunt was personally lifting the heavier loads to minimize the delay.

It wasn't actually supposed to be like this. Normally, they would arrive over the span over a week, and they would be fewer in number. Except that this time, there were several simultaneous incidents involving pirates, storms, mysterious, uncharted islands (Aunt Rapunzel was too adventurous for her own good.) These incidents had successfully caused enough delay to cause traffic issues. Not to mention that the iron import had arrived a day early, and the ship of the third prince of the Southern Isles which had been damaged in a storm and was in need of repairs.

Kris was…bored. There was nothing he could do with the situation outside the castle, and the inside of the castle was almost as hectic, with his mother running around double-checking the decorations. He did not want to get caught up in the middle of that. And thanks to all the commotion at the docks, all the other princes and princesses he was friends with wouldn't show up for at least another hour. He had a severe case of writers' block, and his mind had become a dead zone. Whenever he tried to get his mind to work, it just sputtered out a few semi-coherent ideas before shutting down.

With a sigh, he fell back onto his bed, completely detached from reality.

Ah, so this is the effect of too much adrenaline?

His life had been pretty hectic since the previous night, and he had never actually calmed down. And after being powered by adrenaline for eight hours in a row was a it too much on his twelve year-old body. Darkness crept across his vision, and sleep claimed him.

Dreams were weird. Sometimes you remembered them and sometimes you forgot them. Sometimes they were crystal clear, and sometimes they were so blurry that you could be in the middle of a rainforest and then find yourself in a desert a moment later. Long story short- dreams were weird.

This one was especially weird, because healthy, young males such as himself were expected to have sexual fantasies come true in their dreams, especially so after their first time. It would have honestly been less weird.

Kris found himself on a vast, empty plain, covered with an inch of snow. His vision wasn't exactly blurry, per se, but it was far from realistic. His surroundings seemed to distort as if they were viewed through disturbed water.

"Oh, you're here too."

Kris spun around to face the speaker, who happened to be none other than his aunt Elsa, wearing a simple pair of loose pants and a loose shirt made out of ice. Her powerful figure was hidden by the sagging clothes, making her seem far more relaxed.

"What do you mean by 'too', aunt Elsa? Who else is here?"

"This is your dreamscape. You tell me."

Kris looked around, but as far as he could see, there was nothing but an infinite plane of snow.

"I don't see anyone else."

Elsa put a scratched her chin. "Well, I suppose you never really knew him all that well, so we won't find him here. Let's go."

The moment his hand came into contact with Elsa's, the scenery distorted, and when it came back into focus, they were deep within the mountains. Kris saw a lone man cutting up a frozen lake into ice blocks. His hair was awfully similar to his own, and the reindeer left no doubt of his identity.

"Dad….." Kris said under his breath. Kristoff put down his saw and turned around to face Kris.

"Hey, son. Been a while, hasn't it?"

Kris had lived his entire life without ever knowing his father, and thus, felt no uncontrollable urge to leap into the man's arms. Rather, he was curious.

"Yeah, it has. You look bigger than you are in the portrait."

"I know, right? But I suppose that's to be expected. I'm a common ice harvester. I'm not supposed to outshine the princess."

"Why should that matter?"

"That depends on who you ask. If you ask your mother, it doesn't. If you ask Elsa, it shouldn't. If you ask entitled nobility, it does because I lack 'refined blood' or whatever."

Kris looked conflicted. "I don't get it." Kristoff smiled.

"I don't expect you to. Some things can only be understood by growing old. Which brings me to why I'm here."

"Speaking of which, HOW are you here?! I'm not supposed to be able to speak to the dead!"

"The answer to your question is Elsa. Don't bother questioning it. And I'm not exactly….. dead? Well, I most certainly am, in fact, dead in real life. What I meant was that I am not your father. For now, Elsa has probably just activated the natural connection we have through our blood. I am the personality of Kristoff, but I lack all of his memories save for the ones you already know about."

Kris frowned. "Aunty Elsa never told me she was activating any 'connection'."

"It might have been accidental. You two have done plenty of 'sharing' today, after all." Kris blushed.

"How do you know about that?!"

"I am a figment of your imagination. I know everything you know, and only what you know."

"Not to be rude, but you said you were here for a reason. If you cannot know of something that I do not, then why do you need to talk to me?"

Kristoff sighed and rubbed his forehead with his gloved hand. "Remember how this morning you had an 'awakening' where you realized that you'd never catch up to Elsa? You already knew that, but you didn't comprehend it. Because you connected with Elsa, I was able to sense something when her energy entered you this morning." Kris buried his face in his hands.

"Can you please not say it like that? Do you have any idea how mortifying it is for me to see my father making sexual innuendos about me sleeping with my own aunt?"

"I may look like your father, I may have his personality, but I'm also a figment of your imagination. So no." Kristoff said, smirking.

"All right, fine! Just hurry up and tell me." Kris said, still unable to look his 'father' in the eye.

"Well, you have no significant powers, but I suppose when you are related by blood to someone as powerful as Elsa, you have to end up with something. So you subconsciously assessed Elsa's energy. It's rather fortunate that she's so powerful, or else you wouldn't have been able to sense anything.

"That aside, Elsa's energy was acting awfully defensive. She has sensed danger coming, and she is trying not to worry the rest of you. So stick close to her. There is nothing in this world that can harm you when she is near you. Even if the other three joined forces, Elsa is simply too strong. Keep your guard up at all times. Remember….." But Kristoff's word were cut off when the entire world shook, and the scenery flickered.

"What's going on?!" Kris yelled, trying to stay on his feet.

"Time to wake up, Kris." Elsa said, and Kris jumped. He had honestly forgotten that she was there until this point. She touched him on the shoulder, and everything went black.

Kris awoke with a jolt, his head inadvertently colliding with his mother's, which nearly caused him to black out again.

"Your head's gotten harder. That actually stung." Anna complained, rubbing her forehead.

"And yours is made of iron as always." Kris groaned, falling back down, blinded with pain.

"That aside, everyone is here, so make sure that everyone stays out of trouble. And keep an eye on the twins from the Southern Isles."

"Yes, mother." Kris said, sitting up, blinking rapidly to get rid of the stars in his vision. Anna left, and he changed into what he had dubbed the 'Friend-friendly Formal Party Outfit.' It consisted of aquamarine pants, a light blue shirt with the Arendellian crest sown into it in purple, with a green full-sleeved vest over it. He tugged a pair of sky blue gloves which had survived Elsa's preteens. They normally were quite comfortable, but today, they were making him feel safe.

Kris shook his head. He was overthinking things. It could wait until later. As of now, he had guests to entertain.

"Flynn, put the silverware back. Marie no! That's not supposed to be eaten! Charles, Henry, please do not. Ruby…. No matter what, do not touch that!"

Kris was practically tearing out his own hair. Flynn, the prince of Corona had apparently inherited his father's sleight of hand, something which annoyed him to no end. Marie was the ultimate prim and proper lady, the princess of Biran, third in line for the throne after her two brothers, who probably wore corsets tight enough to crush coconuts, and knew nothing of….. well….. anything. Aaaaand she was unable to differentiate between human and bird food.

Charles and Henry were the first princes of the neighboring kingdoms of Semantia and Fanari. They were both only ten years old, but Kris had been made privy to some rumors through Elsa that a marriage between Charles and Filia, Henry's younger sister was already being discussed. The two were very competitive, almost obsessively so, which led to them quarreling over things as trivial as whose hair was better styled.

Ruby, the younger child of the Count and Countess of Transylvania, was eleven years old, and was uncontrollably drawn to shiny things. This wasn't always bad, but when they were walking the halls of the castle, 'shiny things' meant the suits of armor and their battle axes, which was very problematic. Also, she wasn't exactly a normal person. She too had magical powers, although of a significantly different nature than Elsa's.

Kris once again shot a discreet look at the twins Frederick Jr. and Louis. They were nearly twenty years old, and remained silent. Kris was constantly wary around them, because by studying their postures for just a few seconds, he had determined that they were both masters at swordplay, far better than anything he could hope to achieve. The fact that they were from the Southern Isles didn't help their case. While the relations between Arendelle and the Southern Isles were leagues better than the relations with Weselton, there was still some animosity in the air.

"Flynn, hand it over. That's not going to work on me." Kris said, mildly annoyed.

Actually, he had no idea what Flynn had taken. He just had to tell him to hand 'it' over once every few minutes. Flynn reluctantly handed over a gold ring. Kris raised an eyebrow. Flynn sighed before handing over a small silver goblet, a few gems, and a foldable fan studded with sapphires.

Kris continued to stare at Flynn, until the younger boy cracked under pressure. With a final sigh, Flynn handed over Kris' personal platinum pocket watch in defeat. Kris, finally satisfied, cast the twins another look before continuing to chaperone the group, hoping thigs didn't go awry.

"What's with this level of security?" One of the twins said, the other nodding in agreement. "I can barely see any guards anywhere." Kris was genuinely dumbfounded.

"Why on earth would we need guards?" Kris asked, genuinely confused. "If anything we have too many already."

"Oh really? How many do you have, then?" The other twin challenged. Kris was unable to differentiate them in their identical clothing and facial features.

"No more than twenty, I suppose."

Both twins shared a look, and burst into laughter. Marie looked disgusted, but Kris noted that she wasn't disgusted by the twins.

Seriously, what did I say to cause this kind of reaction?

"What?" Kris asked. "What did I say?"

"Kid, twenty guards aren't anywhere near enough to stop enemies. A single pirate ship would be able to overwhelm your defenses!" One of the twins said. Kris confusion increased exponentially.

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. What do the guards have anything to do with our defense? They're only there for ceremonial purposes anyway. None of them had to lift a finger when the British army tried to attack…" Kris trailed off, suddenly realizing that something which was common sense to him might not be so for the others. "Are you trying to tell me that you don't know what Aunt Elsa can do?" The twins made dismissive noises.

"Everyone knows what she can do. But a little ice isn't going to stop a hundred soldiers." Kris was sure that his jaw was about to dislocate. No one could possibly be this stupid. Right?

"Are… you serious?" He asked, and seeing the unchanging looks of superiority on the twins' faces, he continued. "Aunt Elsa caused a blizzard over an entire country….. for three days without sleep….. without even realizing it… and wasn't even tired after that. That's not 'a little ice'. There's no army in the world that can stand up to her if she tries. We don't have as many guards as you do, because she is the guardian of Arendelle." For some reason, Marie seemed even more disgusted. The fifteen-year old finally decided to speak her mind.

"How utterly barbaric. Women should not sully their hands with trivial things like fighting."

"She's right," one of the twins said. "Women have no place on the battlefield. That's a man's job. Since we are stronger, it is our duty to fight."

Had he been almost anyone else, Kris would have been furious. But what he was being told was so asinine compared to what he knew to be true, that it simply didn't compute.

Kris had met plenty of Elsa's suitors who had the same attitude as the three before him, but he had not interacted with them face-to-face. Thus, for the first time in his life, Kris found himself looking down on someone. And not like a smarter-than-you kind of looking down, but like a prince looking down upon slaves.

"Pfft. Illiterate apes. It should be illegal for anyone to be this stupid. If ignorance indeed was bliss, these three would be the happiest people in the world."

Kris interrupted the others, who were still going on about the importance of being womanly and other nonsense. "Didn't my mother, a woman, permanently disfigure your uncle's face with a single punch?" He asked, not sure whether he wanted to laugh or yell, looking the twins dead in the eye. It was as if they suddenly lost the ability to form words. He turned upon Marie, who was about to make another comment of barbarism. "How many soldiers has Biran lost this year in battle? Don't bother lying, because I already know. I just want to hear you say it."

"Fi-Fifty-nine." Marie said, clearly taken aback.

"Let me tell you how many casualties Arendelle has suffered in the past twenty years- Exactly ZERO, and it's all thanks to Aunt Elsa. She's stronger than all of your armies put together a million times over.

"I don't care what you think, or what your views on the world are. But you all are people with significant political power in the world, and you should know better than to underestimate someone just because of their gender. Besides, my aunt's real power isn't ice or physical strength. It is her intelligence." With that, Kris turned on his heel and marched off. Flynn looked at the twins and Marie.

"I suppose you should ask queen Elsa for a little ice to treat those burns." Flynn said, quickly turning on his heel and following Kris. The others stood frozen for a few moments, before following at a distance.

Eventually, Kris and his group wound up on the terrace where the adults were having tea and playing chess. Elsa was playing against both Rapunzel and Frederick at once. There were other matches going on, but the most noteworthy was the arm-wrestling contest between Anna and Eugene. Both their faces were twisted with effort. Anna had always been overly active, coming up with more dangerous games every day, and had thus become much stronger than a normal person. Eugene's strength had been built up over a life of crime. While Eugene should have been stronger, he had been slacking for the past few years. His fate was decided when Anna gained the advantage and slammed his hand into the wooden table.

" Ha! Take that!" Princess Anna cried out triumphantly.

"Don't you get all high-and mighty on me! I'm still three wins ahead of you!" Prince Eugene shot back.

"Accept your defeat, Eugene!" Rapunzel told her husband, trying to control her laughter.

"So should you, princess Rapunzel." Frederick commented, amused.

"What?"

"Checkmate." Elsa said lightly, with a smile on her face.

Rapunzel looked at the board for a minute, and then groaned. To be fair, she really had done well to last against Elsa this long, her years of practice having helped, but Elsa was just….. Elsa.

"Ah, I suppose I'm in trouble as well." Frederic said as Elsa took out his final rook. He was no amateur at chess, and he could see that the game would end in her favor in three moves. "I admit defeat." He said, bowing his head. "Thank you for the match."

Elsa gave a polite bow back. "Thank you as well. It was quite an entertaining match."

"Kris! Did you finish giving everyone the tour?" Anna called out.

"Yes, mom." Kris answered. All of a sudden, Elsa groaned and buried her face in her hands.

"Queen Elsa?" Prince Frederick asked cautiously "What seems to be the problem?"

"I almost forgot. Prince Gustav of France was supposed to show up sometime this week. I wanted to decline, but I also didn't want to damage the relations between our kingdoms. I never actually expected him to show up today of all days." Elsa said, and half of the adults groaned.

"Ugh, that guy?" Rapunzel said, not hiding her distaste "There's only one reason why he'd be here."

"To ask for my hand in marriage, yes." Elsa groaned.

"Wait, what?!" Anna and Kris said simultaneously. Like mother like son, apparently.

"Elsa, you absolutely cannot even think of accepting! He has no idea on how to be a decent human being! He tried to flirt with me. On my wedding day!" Rapunzel said aggressively.

"I know," Elsa said with a sigh. "I've got better things to do than get married anyway. Like skiing."

"He does lack common decency," Frederick agreed "Not two months ago, he was trying to seduce Patricia, my niece. When he realized that she was already spoken for by a nobleman, he immediately went after the next prettiest noblewoman. He sees women as nothing more that toys that he wants to collect."

"That's it. If he looks at Elsa even for a second, I'm going to knock his teeth out." Anna raged, her fists tightening.

"Whoa, slow down, Anna. I could always claim that I have a secret husband whose identity shall remain undisclosed for his safety. And he would have no way to disprove it. He would not dare challenge my word. The downside is that every other kingdom would send out their spies to look for a man that does not exist. The world would be thrown into turmoil. "

"Or you could give him an impossible challenge that he is sure to accept?" Frederick supplied. "Besting you in swordplay, for instance."

"That thought did cross my mind, but only as a last resort. I am not overly fond of combat, and he would never be able to understand the intricacies of mental challenges. But I suppose that even I cannot have everything that I want." Elsa said. There were of course, innumerable ways to deal with unwanted suitors. She could sink his ship, which she could sense was only twenty kilometers shy of the fjord and blame it on the rocks. She could summon winds and blow him halfway to America. She could turn the ocean currents against him. She could fly to the south pole for the rest of the week, or to somewhere in the middle of the Sahara desert. She could just block his path and tell him to turn back, but she did not want to do that to his parents. They were good people, but they had failed to properly raise their son. More accurately, they had failed to raise their son at all.

"I think that you are being a little too harsh on prince Gustav." Prince Ivan, Ruby's elder brother said. "It is not that he is a bad person. He was simply never taught how to act like a decent one." Rapunzel opened her mouth to argue, but Elsa raised her hand, bringing all conversations to a halt.

"Do not worry about me. I shall deal with him, one way or another. But preparations for his arrival will need to be made, regardless. I will be handling matters at the docks. Anna, keep our guests entertained."

"Sure thing, sis!" Anna said enthusiastically as Elsa got up from her seat.

"Have fun, Kris." Elsa said, patting him on the head before heading into the castle.

"Princess Anna," prince Frederick said as Elsa stepped back into the castle. "Your sister is not the only one who must avoid a proposal today, I fear." Anna was slightly taken aback.

"I'm not sure I….. follow?"

Frederick sighed "I mean no offense, but your late husband was not of noble blood. Prince Gustav undoubtedly knows this, and once his plans of serenading Queen Elsa fail, he will set his sights on you and princess Rapunzel, believing that you are in need of suitable husbands."

Anna's, Rapunzel's, and Eugene's faces were contorted with poorly concealed anger, and Rapunzel's short, brown hair was beginning to defy the laws of physics. Prince Ivan tried to calm everyone down.

"Please, there is no need to get angry…." He began, but was immediately cut off.

"What do you mean 'not get angry'?" Eugene said, his voice elevated. "If he thinks he can make a move on my wife, then he's got another thing coming!"

"I understand, but…." He was cut off once more, this time by Rapunzel.

"No, I don't think you do! Imagine if he suddenly tried to kiss Ruby!"

"In that case, I would feel very sorry for his abrupt demise at her hands, but that's not the point. He's not bad, he just doesn't know what being good means. He may act like a womanizer, but that is because he was never taught that women are actual people too."

"I don't care what kind of person he is," Anna said hotly "If he puts one toe out of line, he'll be going back in pieces."

"As I said before, there is no need to worry, for he has just stepped into the domain of the world's greatest womanizer reformer." Ivan said, and Anna's eyes widened in realization.

The docks had barely been cleared enough when the French ship arrived. Elsa walked on the water to meet the ship, and physically guided it into a much narrower space that was deemed safe internationally. Thankfully, Elsa's powers effectively nullified any chance of accidents. With a thin layer of ice coating the ship, it wouldn't be moving unless she willed it. Ramps of ice materialized out of thin air, specifically made to suit the cramped conditions. They took on a wooden color, and tiny ridges grew on the once smooth surface, invisible to the naked eye, just enough to avoid slipping. No one would be able to tell they were made of ice. Elsa had learned from experience that first-timers didn't respond well to magical ice. She could have simply flaunted her power by parting the ocean, but she had come up with a much better plan that didn't involve frightening the French to death.

Prince Gustav was the first to disembark. It had nearly been a decade since Elsa had last seen him, and he was rather good-looking as well. It was such a shame that his smile and the look in his eyes ruined it all.

"Welcome to Arendelle, Prince Gustav." Elsa said, perfectly faking a slightly cheerful tone as was expected from a royal. "I hope you had a safe journey."

"Indeed, m'lady," He said arrogantly, taking Elsa's hand in his own and kissing it lightly. He was well within the realm of tolerable behavior so far. "It is a pleasure to meet my wife-to-be." Ooookaaayy… Not so tolerable anymore. Seriously, with behavior like this, it was no wonder all the others hated him.

Elsa decided to start off with sarcasm to get his attention.

"I think I missed something. I do not remember agreeing to any wedding, nor have I displayed any sort of interest in marrying anyone."

"That does not matter. I am offering to marry you. We must have a discussion regarding the wedding ceremony."

"Oh really? I assume that you think I wish to be married?"

"That does not matter either. I am here to marry you. There is no need for your feelings."

Elsa found very few occasions on which she could thank her parents for thirteen years of isolation, along with that horrendous lesson of 'Conceal, don't feel. Don't let it show.' This was one of them. She was sure that had she grown up to be even a tenth as outgoing as Anna, she would have sent the young prince flying. If she let her anger out, she could accidentally send France into an eternal winter.

Although at the moment, Elsa was more worried about the anger of those who had overheard the prince's rather loud declaration. She did not need her people demanding the blood of an idiot. There were already several bystanders glaring at the oblivious prince. Whispers were being passed around, and an agitated crowd was forming rapidly.

Sarcasm had one fatal flaw: It didn't work against exceptionally stupid and/or oblivious people. Gustav was both. Time to change strategies.

"I believe we all have work to do," Elsa said, raising her voice, looking rather pointedly at the gathering crowd. They hesitated for a good few seconds, before slowly beginning to go back to their businesses, but they still kept glaring at Gustav. His personal guards didn't look too comfortable.

Strategy #2: Overwhelming strength.

Elsa walked over to the ship from Transylvania which had carried Ruby and Ivan. There would be some incredibly heavy equipment on board specifically to restrain Ruby should she lose control. It wasn't strictly necessary in the palace since Elsa could handle any outbursts personally, but this was an excellent opportunity to show off.

She muttered a few instructions to her obligatory guards, both of whom went in different directions: one to convey her request to the captain of the Transylvanian ship; and the other to where the iron import was ready to be transported. Just a slight detour would take her past one of the blacksmiths' forge. More showing off.

Within moments, three men dragged the device that would restrain Ruby if she ever went on a rampage. It would automatically latch onto Ruby, immobilizing her and draining her energy. Elsa would know, she had helped construct it. It was built from materials with exotic properties, one of which was being extremely heavy. They let it slide down the ramp, and it came to a stop at the bottom. In its deactivated state, it looked like a black cube with two handholds on one of its faces.

"Prince Gustav, we shall need to bring this with us to the palace. Could you assist me? It is a powerful artefact, and only those of noble blood may touch it."

Elsa had also raised a nearly-invisible, extremely thin layer of ice in between them which hid exactly how it had been transported. The ice-screen disintegrated into nothingness, completely unnoticed by all.

"Allow me, m'lady." Gustav said. Elsa stopped halfway from grasping one of the handles.

Just as planned.

"Do not worry, m'lady. You need not embarrass yourself by trying to lift something, for I am a man."

The guard behind Elsa tried not to laugh. He had seen this several times before, and the utterly shocked faces of the foreign royalty were worth more than his yearly earnings. All the guards, including the captain played cards to decide who would be Queen Elsa's honorary guard, just so that they could see a bunch of royal males get emasculated; and royal females faint in shock and horror.

The guards had no such shocks themselves. They had long since learned that Elsa was something out of this world.

Of course, Gustav's attempt was a total failure. He struggled to lift it with all his might, but it only moved an inch. Another attempt, another inch.

He actually managed to drag it for a little over a foot before letting go.

"I must be exhausted from my travels, m'lady. Once I am fed and after some rest, I …. Shall….."

He lost the ability to speak as Elsa picked it up like it was made of paper. She walked away nonchalantly, leaving him with his mouth agape, unable to process exactly what had just happened.

It didn't stop there.

A small distance away from the docks, the first of the unloaded iron was stored in crates the size of a small man. Two of those were supposed to be delivered to Magne Bergen. Her other guard had already made arrangements as per her orders.

Elsa set down the restraints and picked up one of the crates. It weighed at least a thousand kilograms, but to Elsa, it might as well have been a book. She hefted the crate over the shoulder.

"Mind helping me with this one?" Elsa asked. With one hand balancing the crate on her shoulder, she only had one hand free, which wasn't enough to lift a second crate, no matter how strong she was. She could do it easily with ice, but that was the point. She was intentionally baiting Gustav into trying to lift the crates. He most likely didn't know what they contained, so it would probably be quite a shock.

"Allow me, m'lady."

Gustav normally would never have picked up any load on his own; which is why Elsa had deliberately come up with the 'royal blood only' criteria for the restraints. Once he was emasculated, he would do anything to regain his lost pride, including peasant work.

Gustav grabbed the crate from the sides, expecting them to be empty or full of feathers. A woman couldn't possibly lift anything heavier than that.

The crate did not budge at all. Even when Gustav pushed it with all his might, it didn't move. He grunted in effort and his face went completely red. His guards watched him, extremely concerned for his health, while Elsa's guards were trying not to laugh out loud. Elsa was smirking internally. Both Anna and Kris had told her that she could be really evil sometimes. While she would have normally completely and utterly destroyed the prince's confidence, she felt much calmer. Maybe because those 'stress relief' sessions were indeed very stress relieving, and she was feeling much more peaceful.

So she settled on destroying his pride instead.

A/N:- Plots are in motion, and Elsa is going to be roasting people, which is ironic.

Next chapter should be up within a month. I just need to make a few more edits and I'll be done. Exam season is starting for me, so that's taking up most of my time for the next week. Do remember to read and review, and tell me your thoughts on the chapter.

-Storm.