Chapter 1: New Recruit

The Captain of the Guard studied the approved application completed on fresh parchment, then matched it to the face of the youth standing before him. He looked younger than his purported 21 years, at least in the shape of the face. But he was lean, strong as displayed by his training exam, and eager to learn. The recommendation from his training commandant had been glowing.

"You wish to have a challenge, eh?" the Captain of the Guard asked the young lad.

The lad nodded. "I do, sir. I only wish to serve my country and its people. I can think of no better way than to serve the monarchy and guard its sovereignty."

The Captain of the Guard rolled up the parchment and rose from his desk. "Very well. We are seeking to fill a vacancy in Her Majesty's Honor Guard. I will write you a commission for this post at once."

The lad's eyes went wide in surprise and elation. "The Honor Guard? To... protect the Queen?"

The Captain of the Guard smiled at him kindly. "Your superiors tell me you are quite talented. Despite your youth, I have no reason to believe you wouldn't be an asset. But, if you're coming along, we must be on a name basis."

The lad smiled. "My name is Joseph. Joseph Swanson."

"Very well, Private Swanson. I will deliver you to your assignment."

Joseph followed behind his new commanding officer, wondering how he had come to be so fortunate so quickly. He was looking at the outset of a very promising career, and resolved not to waste the opportunity.

The Captain led Private Swanson into the throne room, where a group of five soldiers dressed in the finest uniforms of the palace congregated about the throne itself. Upon seeing their leader, all five snapped to attention and saluted. "At ease," the Captain ordered. He then gestured to Joseph. "This is Private Joseph Swanson. He will be your sixth comrade from now on."

Joseph found his new brothers-in-arms to be quite friendly, and shook hands with each of them in turn. "May I ask, what happened to my predecessor?"

The guard to his immediate right tsked sadly. "Fellow took ill with a right awful case of syphilis. It was a hard winter." The others nodded sympathetically.

"Yes, and that was without the Queen's influence."

Joseph nodded, smiling as he remembered the stories he heard about Arendelle's beautiful Queen who could conjure ice and snow. "Yes, the Queen: what's she like?"

The Honor Guard's leader, a gray-haired fellow by the name of Corporal Jasper Butrourke, smiled softly. "I have served on this Honor Guard since her Majesty was a small girl, yay big," he gestured to about the height of his knee. "She was guarded and shy as a child, but over these past two years, she has become quite open and kind."

"Since the Great Freeze," another guard explained.

Just then, the double doors off to the side of the throne room swung open.

"Atten-hut!" Butrourke cried in his commander voice. "Present arms for the Queen!"

Joseph stood at attention, sword in one hand and saluting with the other. At that moment, he was glad to be stock-still, for if he hadn't known any better, he would have sworn he had been frozen by much more elemental forces.

Queen Elsa of Arendelle was breathtakingly beautiful. Her white blonde hair cascaded down one shoulder in a nice braid. She wore an azure dress that seemed to be made of the ice and snow itself. Beside him, Joseph felt one of his comrades nudge him subtly in the ribs.

"Ice dress. One of her favorite ensembles," his comrade winked.

Corporal Butrourke saluted the Queen, then gestured directly to Joseph. "Your Majesty, I present to you your sixth protector: Private Swanson. He has just been recruited to the palace."

Elsa regarded Joseph with ice blue eyes, then dipped her head in approval. The tiniest hint of a smile graced her face. Joseph did all he could to not blush.

"Are you ready for your early morning constitution, Your Majesty?" Butrourke asked.

Elsa nodded. "I am. Let us proceed, Corporal."

"About face!" Butrourke wailed. "Forward - march!" Joseph quickly fell into an easy goose-step, high strutting three deep to the Queen's left, with one comrade in the front and one behind him.

"Just to get your feet wet, lad," the soldier who had pointed out Elsa's dress called over his shoulder. "Her Majesty's morning constitution is a quiet event."

The group of soldiers exited the palace and into the courtyard before passing through the gates beyond, heading along the cobblestone streets into the Main Village. Glancing to his right, Joseph could see sunlight glistening over the waters of the harbor, just off of the Children's Pavilion. As they were approaching the fjord - just beyond the hay stalls where most of the palace horses grazed, a man in a hooded cloak suddenly entered the main thoroughfare from a side street. Corporal Butrourke was busy talking in low tones to Elsa, so he didn't react right away as the figure boldly rushed into the Honor Guard's mix, plunging a hand into his robes as he screamed, "PERISH, WITCH!"

Joseph's training took over. Before he could even fully see the weapon being procured from the figure's robes, he had leapt out of his place in line, wrested the blade from the assassin's grasp, and forced him to the ground. A sharp blow to the head with the butt of his spear, and a few swung fists for good measure, and the assassin was being subdued and placed into handcuffs.

"Take him away," Elsa ordered three of the Honor Guard with seemingly no emotion. But as the assassin was hauled off to be detained, Joseph noticed the sad expression that crossed the Queen's face. Only now did she appear slightly shaken. Quite unexpectedly, and to Joseph's great surprise, she turned to him. "You've done well. What's your name, soldier?"

"P... Private Joseph Swanson, ma'am," Joseph stuttered a little. The Queen was actually speaking to him!

"Joseph," Elsa tried out the sound of his name, sending Joseph's heart into a perpetual tap dance. "You're an educated and skilled guardsman. Where did you learn?"

Joseph glanced down shyly. "My father taught me. Retired from the Princess Anna's Honor Guard these last seven years."

Elsa took in this information with interest, flashing Joseph probably the most dazzling smile he had ever seen from her. She even laughed a little. "He taught you well," she praised. "Tell me what else your father has taught you." And she turned with a snap to head back towards the palace.

"Uh, I can read and write Arendellian..." Joseph bumbled, as he fell into step beside her and his pleased commanding officer.

Later that afternoon, Joseph was expected to be debriefed by the Captain of the Guard and deliver a full report of the incident by the fjord. It was standard protocol, and Joseph followed orders with precision and enthusiasm. Though the circumstances were unspeakable, the Private felt he could not have asked for a more exciting first day on the job.

A day that became even more exciting when Corporal Butrourke approached his new underling on evening rounds with the news that Queen Elsa wished to speak with him in her study.

Nervously, Joseph followed the portable map of the castle to the Queen's study and knocked gently.

"Enter," a soft voice commanded.

Joseph did to find himself in an immaculately tidy study, with bookshelves lining the walls. The Queen was at her desk, going over important documents. Glancing up, she smiled at the visitor.

"Ah, Private Swanson. I've been expecting you." She rose gracefully from her seat, and seemed to almost float as she circled the desk. It took Joseph a moment to turn his focus away from her beauty and to the dagger in her hands. The same dagger confiscated from the attempted assassin that morning. "I was wondering if you could help me identify the make of this blade. You demonstrated clear experience in blocking it during the... incident this morning."

Joseph gingerly took the blade from his Queen. One finger brushed Elsa's palm as he did so, and he slightly shuddered at the electric shock that seemed to pass through his veins. He recovered quickly as he turned the blade over in the light, examining it. Indeed, he did recognize the make right away - it was a Fairbairn-Sykes blade, more commonly known as a fighting knife. Short and thin, but sharp, it could be easily concealed and find its mark rather quickly. Joseph felt fortunate to have stopped the attack. With a weapon of choice such as this, the assassin came closer to killing the Queen than anyone might care to appreciate. Joseph found himself frowning in displeasure at the knife as he studied it.

"I hate these things," he sighed. "I grew up with them."

"Where did you grow up?" Elsa asked.

"In the shantytowns along the fisherman's wharf, about three-quarters of the way around the fjord," Joseph supplied.

That would be close to the place where I made landfall after crossing the fjord, during the Great Freeze, Elsa noted to herself. "Have you seen blades like this used in fights?"

Joseph shook his head sadly. "Too many of them. On my stoop. In the woods behind my yard. On the docks across the street. Fighting knives came with the neighborhood where I lived. The poorest of the poor will use just about anything, if they're desperate enough." He focused in on the blade again. "Funny, I wasn't thinking of it... I guess you try to forget those things," and he laughed a little. "You don't use this kind of knife the way that fellow did today. You have to hold it underhanded like this to maintain your best balance. In order to stab downward, say, at the heart, you'd have to change your grip."

"How do you use it?" Elsa inquired curiously.

"Underhanded," Joseph answered readily, then stepped back and stabbed at the air to demonstrate. "Like that. Anyone who's ever used a fighting knife wouldn't handle it any other way."

Elsa dipped her head in acknowledgement. "I must say, Private Swanson... I am quite impressed. And it takes much to impress me. But your background does you credit." Oddly, she glanced away, fingering a hand through her blonde braid - probably a nervous habit, as she murmured, "I am sorry you grew up poor as you did. I hate that Arendelle has any destitute folk at all, and only wish I had more resources at my disposal to help their lot." She shrugged a little, self-deprecatingly. "I suppose I know very little about how the other half lives. My brother-in-law was raised wild by mountain trolls, but that's the closest I can come to understanding what it must feel like. To go without."

Joseph didn't even know how to begin to respond to that, except to say quietly, "None of us poor folk resent you, Your Majesty. The weight of the kingdom rests on your shoulders, but you too are only human. Not every problem can be solved, no matter how much we might wish they could be."

Elsa cocked her head to one side, face contemplative as she considered his words. At last, she nodded. "Thank you, Private Swanson. Your counsel is most heartening."

Joseph flushed at the compliment, and bowed respectfully. "Do you require anything more of me, Your Majesty?"

"No, that will be all, thank you. Dismissed."

Bowing again, Joseph left the Queen's study.