"Sir, the citizens are concerned. The food supply is running low."

"The merchants can hand out free food rations for the time being. We'll just have to pay them back —"

"The merchants don't have any rations to spare,"

The Duke of Weselton leaned back in his chair and massaged his temples. He'd been in his position for only a few months but he sometimes felt as though he'd aged several years. In fact, he believed he'd finally figured out why his predecessor had a problem with hair loss. Either it had fallen out from stress or, what was more likely, the man had torn it out himself.

"Duke Torben? What do you suggest we do?"

The brown-haired man stood from his chair and walked to the window of his office. Outside, the cobblestone streets were in need of repair, the wooden inns and shops starting to sag ever so slightly. He thought for a moment, rapping his knuckles against the glass.

"Ready a ship. I'll be leaving at dawn for Arendelle."

"Sir, surely there's someone else you can send?"

"No. This is too important a task to entrust to anyone else. Jarl Gunnar will serve as regent while I'm away."

"As you wish, sir. But – and please forgive my impudence – perhaps you should inform the queen of Arendelle before simply arriving at her doorstep?"

Torben considered his assistant's idea for a moment but shook his head.

"There's no time to wait for a response. The last relations between our kingdoms weren't exactly the most pleasant. I'd wager anything that a formal request for a meeting would just be denied. I'll just have to hope that the queen's in a good mood when I arrive."

"And if she's not? You're willing to risk your own safety?"

"Queen Elsa's powers don't scare me. I know I've never met her, but surely she knows about the history between our kingdoms. Any sort of retaliation on her part would only end in disaster." Torben grimaced. "I just hope that she'll listen to reason."

Two weeks later

"Your Majesty, please be reasonable!"

"I'm sorry, but we just don't have any way of funding exploration missions right now. If you're still interested around this time next year —"

"Very well. Thank you, Your Highness," the rotund man who had been speaking cut Elsa off. "I completely understand." He left the study in a huff, murmuring vague curses under his breath.

Elsa closed her eyes. She took in a breath and let it out, leaning back in her chair. Before her coronation, she'd known that there would be days where, as queen, she would be pushed to her limits. She'd expected times when her patience and resolve would be tested by fire. But this trial she'd never imagined: Petition Day.

It was a grueling, slogging day that consisted entirely of her sitting behind her desk and listening to her subjects asking redress for every wrong imaginable. Since her ascension to the throne she'd only had a handful of days such as these, but she'd learned something after just the first: there were only two ways to solve a problem – the wrong way and the even worse way.

It wasn't that she didn't care for the Arendellian citizens. She loved them immensely and was eternally grateful for the way they accepted her, especially after the incident with winter arriving five months ahead of schedule. Yet there were many times when it appeared that some residents had taken leave of even the most basic common sense. Elsa took a breath and steeled herself.

"Send in the next person," Elsa sat upright and addressed the guard by the door.

"That was the last petitioner, Your Majesty,"

Elsa's eyebrows shot upwards.

"Oh, is that so? Well, I have other business to attend to." She made a show of shuffling some papers on the desk, hoping that she didn't sound too cheerful. "If anyone else comes by, just let them know that they can bring up their issues next Petition Day,"

The guard nodded. "Of course, Your Majesty."

But Elsa was already gone.

After a long day of meeting with the stuffy local councilmen, Anna was taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather with a much-needed break in the castle gardens. She slept gracefully behind some bushes, snoring with one arm thrown over her face. Her sleep was so sound that it took her a few moments to realize she was being slowly covered in snow.

She jerked awake with a start. "Ah! Cold, cold cold..." Anna spun in a circle, trying to shake the frost from her clothes. She'd gotten almost all of it off when she heard a laugh.

"You're as graceful as always, Anna." Elsa stood off to the side, a smile on her face.

Anna stuck out her tongue at her sister and plopped back onto the ground, closing her eyes. "At least I didn't have to spend all day dealing with petitions,"

"Don't remind me," Elsa sat down next to Anna and stared up at the sky. "But on the bright side, at least I didn't offend any merchants this time."

Anna shuddered. Until she'd seen the aftermath of the last Petition Day herself, she'd never thought that someone as innocuous as a florist could cause such waves in the local government.

"Ah!" Anna suddenly let out a yelp and jumped up. A thin layer of ice was spreading underneath her. "Elsa, cut it out!"

Elsa stared for a second and shook her head. "Sorry. It's just – well, it's almost December. This time of year, it's always a little harder to keep things under control. Something to do with the season."

Anna cocked her head. There was something off about the unquiet way Elsa responded without looking at her. Before she could question her on it, the older sister smiled and pulled Anna to her feet.

"But do you know what it's time for?" Elsa walked away from Anna, glancing slyly back over her shoulder. She spun around and a snowball hit Anna in the stomach. Anna scoffed and narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, you wanna play dirty? All right, bring it on!"

Elsa grinned. With a wave of her hand the ground was covered in a fresh layer of snow. It took only a few seconds before snowballs were flying through the air, some of them hitting the girls, many missing their mark. Elsa had reluctantly gotten rid of her ice shield (Anna claimed it was cheating) and was readying a particularly massive snowball when the castle servant Kai rushed into the gardens, nearly slipping on the frozen ground.

"Your Majesty!" Kai bent over and gasped for air. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"What is it, Kai?" Elsa reluctantly released her hold on the snowball and it scattered to the ground.

"There's someone here who claims they need to speak with you. Immediately."

Elsa groaned. "Tell them that open court is adjourned to petitioners. If they want to –"

"It's not a petitioner, Your Majesty. It's the Duke of Weselton."

Elsa straightened, her mood changing in an instant. Anna could have sworn that the temperature seemed to drop by a few degrees.

"I told that man there'd be consequences if he ever returned here."

"That's the thing, Your Majesty. He says he's the Duke of Weselton, but it's not the same man as last time."

Elsa thought for a moment. She glanced to Anna and back to Kai.

"Fine. I'll meet him in the study in ten minutes."

She brushed the snow from her dress and moved to leave the courtyard. A tug on her sleeve stopped her. She looked behind her to see Anna, a concerned look plastered across her face.

"Elsa, try not to get angry. You don't want anything...you know...bad to happen." Anna's freckled face was creased in worry. "Do you want me to come with you? I mean, I'm not saying that you can't handle it, but if you need someone there to help —"

"Anna," Elsa spoke her sister's name quietly, pulling her into a hug. "Don't worry, I'll take care of this. You go rest and I'll see you when I'm done," Elsa smiled. "We still need to finish our match."

Without waiting to see Anna's reaction, Elsa turned and left her alone in the frozen garden.

The castle study had always been a place of business instead of relaxation. Its wood-paneled walls were always kept polished to their finest, the floor covered in rugs from all corners of the earth. Elsa was sure that it would have made a very nice place to relax, but her father had always insisted on using it as a room to hold meetings in rather than the exceptionally formal throne room. As such, she'd kept the tradition. Many times she found herself wishing she hadn't.

Elsa entered the room, the carved double doors silent on their hinges. A tall man with brown hair and dressed in full military regalia was talking to two other men. Elsa supposed the two others were bodyguards of some kind – they had the broad stance and hard glances usually found in that line of work. The other man had to be the Duke. He looked to be only a decade or so older than Elsa and carried himself with poise and posture so precise she wondered if there was a pole down his back. One of the guards noticed Elsa's entrance and cleared his throat. The Duke looked toward the door, cutting off his conversation mid-sentence.

"Ah, Your Majesty. My name is Duke Torben of Weselton. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." The brown-haired man bowed low as Elsa entered the room. The two large men behind him grunted something similar and inclined their heads for half a second. Elsa returned the favor with a nod.

"I have to admit, I'm surprised to see someone here from Weselton. What happened to the other Duke?"

"After word of his behavior during the incident in July got out, the people of Weselton decided they needed a better ruler. He was removed from his position." Torben offered a slantwise smile, yet it didn't reach his eyes. Elsa noticed that he didn't offer any elaboration as to what the 'removal' entailed.

Elsa bristled. "Would you happen to be the one who removed him?"

"No, I was only offered his position. Before this I was serving as an admiral of the Weseltonian navy."

Elsa's eyebrows raised but she managed to keep her expression stoic. "That's quite impressive for someone your age,"

Torben loosed a short laugh. "So I've been told. But I'm sure you're wondering why I'm here today."

"That'd be putting it mildly," Elsa started. "But if I may ask one favor: May we have this conversation in private? I prefer to discuss business matters one-on-one." Elsa gestured to the two bodyguards.

"...Of course." Torben instructed his guards to wait outside. After much insistence they left, eyeing Elsa warily. Elsa waited for the door to click shut and locked it behind the men. With the two guards out of the room, she breathed a relieved sigh.

"Please, sit down," she gestured to a chair before her desk and sat in the one opposite it. She took a moment to collect her thoughts before speaking. "Duke Torben, I'm not going to pretend that there aren't any issues between our kingdoms. There have been problems between our governments for years. A few months ago the actions of the Duke became too serious to ignore, and as such I've ordered all business with Weselton to end. I'm sure you know this. So why have you come here today?"

Torben straightened in his seat and spoke with gravity.

"Your Majesty, I apologize for all the wrongs that Weselton has caused your people in the past. There have been more than a few times when our people have manipulated yours for political gain. But I want to start a new trade relationship with Arendelle. And to be frank, we're in desperate need of one."

"How so?"

Duke Torben's eyes flitted downward before returning to meet Elsa's.

"You weren't the first kingdom to cut off trade with us. We only have two remaining trade partners, neither of which provides us with anything substantial. Winter's going to be here in less than a month and our people desperately need food and supplies. Arendelle's always been the one to provide us with those things in the past. I was hoping I might be able to discuss the possibility of emergency rations with you."

"'Emergency rations'? Duke Torben, I know a lot about Weselton," Elsa didn't bother to keep the dubiousness from her voice. "I read plenty of history books as a child and I've seen plenty of things happen. Not even ten years ago, the Duke — the same one who's been 'removed' — sent a request to my father asking for an extra shipment of winter coats for the cold season. My father gave him two shipments as an act of kindness and asked nothing in return. A few months later, he found out that Weselton had sold every last coat to another country, asking triple what we would've charged."

Torben's mouth tightened into a thin line. "Your Majesty, I hope you're not implying that I'm trying to cheat you."

"I'm only noting what's happened in the past," Elsa's tone was ice. "In the last hundred years, Arendelle's relationship with Weselton has been tenuous even at the best of times."

The room fell into silence. The Duke's steel gaze focused directly on Elsa but she held her own. Elsa took her chance and spoke again before Torben could offer a retort.

"Let's assume for a moment that you do need supplies. This year we have almost nothing to spare. The storm in July devastated our crops. We'll need to keep every last bit of food just to keep our own people from starving. I have a feeling it's going to be a very harsh winter."

"No offense intended, Your Majesty, but since the early winter was your fault, I assumed that you'd be the one to make amends."

The barbed remark found its target. Elsa's face flushed and she swallowed, her heart beating faster. Her cold, carefully constructed façade had started to crack. She supposed it was possible that there was actually a problem in Weselton. Yet in the past, they'd used Arendelle's hospitality for their own selfish reasons. What if this was just another trick?

Elsa looked away from Torben and her eyes came to rest on a portrait on the wall opposite her desk. Her mother and father's regal gazes looked back at her. If there was actually a food shortage, she didn't want to be responsible for the deaths of innocent civilians. Torben was right in saying the early winter had been her fault. She had to put aside her personal feelings and do what was best for the most people.

Elsa sighed. "I can only offer you a small amount of the supplies that we have — some coats, some lantern fuel. But we can't spare any food. If you'd like, I could write you a letter of trade recommendation. You might be able to use that to set up business with some other country."

Torben set his jaw. "Your Majesty, it's a two-week voyage from my kingdom to yours. By the time I get back, there won't be any time to set up trade with anyone else, especially not this close to winter," The Duke unfolded his hands from his lap and laid them on the polished desk. "If you could give us a portion of your food supply, I'm sure you could manage until you can arrange a shipment with someone else."

"I can't risk the safety of my people. I'm sorry, but there's nothing else that I can do." Elsa pulled some paper and a pen from a drawer. "If you'd like, we can arrange the terms of the shipment —"

Torben pulled himself from his seat.

"Queen Elsa," the man's voice had lost all pretense of courtesy. "You're the only reason why we're in this position in the first place. I was hoping that you'd be decent enough to try to fix what you've done. Now I'm more than willing to look past this insult, but if you insist —"

"Insult?" Elsa felt the all-too-familiar storm come to life inside of her. She rose to her feet, bracing herself against the desk. Her words came out before she could think about what she was saying. "Every chance you've had, your kingdom has taken advantage of my people. The Duke before you viewed both my family and my kingdom as something to be conquered, and you think that I'm insulting you? I've offered you the few supplies I have, and I'll give them to you if you need them. But that is all I can do." Under her hands, ice started to spread across the surface of the desk. Elsa pulled her hands back, hoping that Torben didn't notice. "I thank you for your visit and I wish you well on your return home. But we have nothing more to discuss." Elsa turned to the window behind her and propped her hand on the wall. She closed her eyes and took a moment to compose herself. The window's glass began to frost over.

Torben's breathing grew heavier, his eyes desperate. He spoke through clenched teeth.

"I don't have time for these games. My people are starving, Elsa. I don't care what you think about me or any other ruler, but without help from Arendelle, half the people of Weselton will die. Do you want those lives on your hands? For God's sake, there are children dying!"

He crossed over to Elsa and grabbed her by the shoulder. Elsa spun around and shoved his arm away.

"I said leave!"

The Duke opened his mouth to reply but stopped mid-word. He lifted his arm and looked at the spot where Elsa had shoved him. His eyes widened.

Patches of ice were steadily spreading up his arm, his skin and clothes alike beginning to be covered by a coating of frost. His eyes sprang to Elsa in fear and betrayal as the ice reached his neck.

"Guards!" he cried out. The next instant frost spread over his face, locking his terrified gaze in ice.

There was an immediate pounding on the doors. Elsa took a step backwards, eyes wide. Everything seemed to take on a muddy dreamlike tone as panicked thoughts raced through her mind. She forced herself to take a deep breath and focus.

"What's going on in there? Open the door!" The gruff voice of one of Torben's guards pierced through the paneled wood.

"Everything's fine, don't come in!"

Elsa grabbed the Duke's frozen arm and concentrated. She thought of sun, of warmth and love. She could control this power, she knew how to rein it in. Yet the man remained solid ice. The pounding on the door intensified, voices of her own guards mixing in with the hostile shouts of the Weseltonians.

Elsa cursed and a vice gripped her heart. What if she'd been wrong all along? What if her part in bringing back summer was a fluke? What if she couldn't unfreeze him? Years of self-doubt and fear came surging against the barriers she'd set up in her mind. She hated her powers, she hated herself, she hated Torben for making her react the way she did. She felt uncontrolled power welling within her like a torrent and let out a scream as it ripped itself from her with a frigid blast.

The door gave way and the guards rushed in. They arrived just in time to see Torben's frozen body shatter into a cloud of ice.

Author's Note: First of all, thanks for reading! This is my first story so any reviews or constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. I have the next chapter almost finished and it should be up in a couple of days. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The fun's just getting started.