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bigfrozenfan-fanfics · 8 months ago

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Chapter 78 - Weselton

Links: Chapter overview, Character list, Map, Glossar Rating: M over all Publishing cycle: around every 2-3 weeks

Remarks: all my chapters contain carefully selected music tracks (try to use headphones). It’s your own decision if you want to use them or not while reading. The purpose is to musically support the respective mood of the plot. If you can please use a browser for reading (not the Tumblr app) due to the text formatting and music.

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A few hours later, the sea had calmed down again and the Draba glided gently over the waves. Commands on deck could be heard all the way down to the sleeping deck and Kristoff, who was lying snuggled up to Sven on the ship's bare planks, woke. Sven was still asleep and his breathing was calm and even, Kristoff realised with relief. He stroked him between the ears and thought about all the adventures they had lived together since they were little.

Sven was only a few years younger than him, but Kristoff knew that the average life expectancy of reindeer was only about twenty years, not much more. Sven had long since reached that age and he now wondered how much longer he could stay by his side. He was his best friend and the idea of Sven leaving him one day tormented Kristoff.

He threw off the blankets without waking the reindeer, wrung out his wet clothes and put his clammy things back on before seeing the captain. He urgently needed something dry to wear and hoped that the captain could help him out.

A short time later, he knocked on the captain's cabin and heard a 'come in'. The skipper was surprised to see him instead of one of his sailors. He rose from his chair.

“Your Highness, you're all wet and your clothes are even dripping. We really must do something about that, otherwise you'll catch your death. Sit down first, please.”

He briefly left Kristoff, who had just sneezed, and returned shortly afterwards — with the ship's doctor and one of the ship's boys, who had a bundle of clothes over his arm.

“This is Otto, one of the best physicians in Her Majesty’s Navy, Your Highness, he will examine you after you have changed in my bunk. I could never forgive myself if you became seriously ill on my ship. This way, please …”

He led Kristoff into a narrow compartment separated by a curtain and the ship's boy handed him the dry clothes before he drew the curtain shut again.

Kristoff was grateful that it had worked out so quickly without words and after putting on the spare clothes of an officer who must have been about his stature, he stepped out of the bunk, sneezing loudly again, and sat down in front of the captain's table. The ship's boy had left in the meantime and the two others looked at him with concern. The doctor began to examine him without further ado.

“Nothing to worry, Your Highness. It's just a normal cold. Besides that you're frozen and dehydrated. Nothing that a warm meal with plenty of fluids, fruit and warmth over the next few days can't fix,” he said.

“How did this even happen, Your Highness? Have you been on deck the whole time in this weather?”

Kristoff nodded and explained everything.

“That's partly my fault,” the captain admitted, “because I should have ensured someone got you to safety below deck in good time. You are my passenger and I am responsible for your well-being while you are on board. Please forgive my inexcusable negligence.”

“That's all right, Captain, I should have reacted more quickly and was probably too careless. However, I am worried about Sven,” Kristoff replied.

“Sven?” asked the captain in astonishment.

“Sorry, my reindeer. He doesn't seem to be feeling well. Could you go and check on him?” He looked at the doctor questioningly.

“I'm not a vet and we don't have anyone else on board who knows anything about reindeer, as far as I know.”

“Please. Just a quick look.”

The doctor and the captain looked at each other doubtfully. Finally, the doctor relented.

“All right, I'll take a look at him and check his heartbeat,” the doctor sighed in agreement.

Kristoff jumped up gratefully and grabbed his clothes, which he had put down next to the chair. As he did so, his carving fell to the floor unnoticed. The captain realised, however, and frowned as he picked up the unfinished work and turned it over in his fingers.

“Wait, Your Highness. This is supposed to be a love spoon, isn't it? What are you using to carve it? A normal knife?”

Kristoff nodded and took it from his hand with relief.

“I'll let the carpenter know and he'll bring you more suitable tools.”

“Thank you, Captain. The spoon is indeed very important to me and I would like to have it ready when I disembark in Arendelle.” Kristoff waved the carving in front of his face to emphasise his words. Then he nodded gratefully and led the doctor to Sven.

Sven had already woken up and was back on his feet. As he trotted happily towards Kristoff when he came in with the doctor in tow, he hugged him joyfully and promptly received a wet tongue across his face and Sven sniffed in surprise at Kristoff's unfamiliar clothes.

“Oh, Sven…”

“Well, I'd say he's fine,” the doctor said with a grin. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I must fulfil my duties on board.” Then he bowed briefly and left.

Kristoff grabbed a couple of blankets for himself and Sven and led him up on deck.

“Come on, Sven, it's too gloomy down here and we both need some fresh air.

Once they reached the top, they were greeted by bright sunshine and a cloudless sky. The large, white sails billowed above them in a cold, steady breeze. All the sailors they came across gave the sailor's salute when they noticed the officer's uniform and he smiled back.

Later, he asked one of them to hang his wet clothes in the rigging to dry and received a puzzled shake of the head, but he was helped without asking further questions. Sven hopped across the deck, rejoicing and looking down here and over the railing into the spray of the displaced waves. Kristoff asked a sailor when they would reach Weselton and learnt that the Draba would drop anchor there tomorrow evening.

Around midday, the ship's bell rang and the ship's boy from this morning brought him an invitation from the captain to dine with him and his senior officers in the wardroom. Kristoff accepted with thanks, but first fetched some food for Sven from his wagon.

In the afternoon, a carpenter's assistant brought the tools promised by the captain and Kristoff began to work on his love spoon again with Sven at his side and warm blankets over both of them. This time they had chosen the raised aft deck, where they were not in anyone's way and the carving progressed faster and more precisely than before.

~~~

Meanwhile, Elsa and Anna had a lot of fun with Mari and tried to take her mind off things. The dinner of home-gathered mushrooms had been delicious and, as expected, Olina had shown her cooking skills and given the dish her distinctive flavour.

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Later, they sat in the lounge for a long time with a cup of hot chocolate and chatted about this and that, mostly trivial things that had nothing to do with Mari's problem. But the siblings didn't forget, and after Mari said goodbye for the night, they planned the next steps for the coming day. Elsa would look after Mari, while Anna had to deal with the usual queen’s duties.

After Anna had taken care of the most important things the next morning and Elsa was out and about in the city with the princess, she searched the archives and the library for a solution to Mari's problem. But she needed peace and quiet and didn't want to be constantly disturbed by Olaf's comments on some new fact from a book while he was in his favourite place, the library.

A few servants who met her on her way through the castle were surprised at the pile of books that Anna was dragging along the corridor to her study, stacked up to her chin. Once there, she heaved the pile onto the table and then dropped into the armchair, panting.

She wanted to go through the books, journals and Arendelle's Laws later that evening with her sister to find solutions, or at least come up with some good ideas. But there was enough time to start now. She grabbed one book after another from the pile and leafed through the first few law books while she pondered.

If Kai were here now, she would probably only have to ask him and he could give her the answers she needed without hesitation. But he wasn't there and she had to search for them herself.

She remembered how mum and dad were about to get married. Wasn't he originally supposed to marry a princess he didn't know and then everything turned out differently? But what had been the reasons for him marrying a commoner instead of someone with royal blood? She and Elsa had never talked about it, it was just the way it was; and Mother hadn't mentioned anything about it on their trance journey either. But now that Mari had brought it up, she had to think about herself and Kristoff.

She had never questioned it and since Elsa had appointed her as her successor and she had been crowned, there was simply too much to do to have time for it. Something was constantly coming up and she was fully occupied with all the unfamiliar duties at the beginning, all the appointments with delegates from other kingdoms and, of course, the worries and needs of her citizens.

Kristoff had proposed to her even before she became queen; and she had said 'yes' with relief and joy. But now that she thought about it, she realised that it was obviously no problem for a Queen of Arendelle to marry a commoner. Technically, they already were. She had never expressed any reservations to Elsa, and her sister had never mentioned anything about possible problems of this kind herself. It was just the way it was and she was very happy to marry someone she had known and loved for a long time and who didn't need royal blood to fulfil her criteria. She shuddered at the idea of taking a prince she didn't know as her successor to the throne.

Just as she picked up the next book to find answers, there was a knock. It was Gerda, bringing her a tray with snacks and something to drink. She frowned at all the books and could barely find room to put the tray down on the table. Gerda knew Anna very well and of course knew what she needed as nourishment, so the chocolate, which she liked so much, was not missing.

“Thank you, Gerda, that's exactly what I need right now,” she said with a little sigh and popped a chocolate praline into her mouth before leaning back in her comfortable armchair and letting the chocolate melt on her tongue with her eyes closed.

“You look very stressed, Your Majesty. I hope it has nothing to do with new problems for Arendelle,” Gerda remarked in a worried voice. “When I see all these books here …”

Anna opened her eyes, swallowed the rest of the chocolate and shook her head as she looked at Gerda. “No, no, don't worry. I'm just looking for something about the succession to the throne and the regulations on marriages of monarchs.”

Gerda raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Can I perhaps help? Kai and I were able to give your parents answers to this question back then. I don't want to offend you, of course, but if you're wondering whether you as a queen are allowed to marry a commoner, I can confirm that you are. Nowhere in the laws of Arendelle does it say that it has to be a prince.”

Anna's jaw dropped in surprise. Then she stood up and gave the astonished Gerda a big hug.

“Gerda, you're a darling! That was exactly the answer I was looking for. Thank you!” she said, holding her at a distance again to look her in the eye. Gerda looked a little embarrassed, but then smiled happily at her.

“Yes, I saw the same relieved expression on your father Agnarr's face when Kai and I could give him the good news after hours of research. He was overjoyed that he was allowed to marry for love … and not a foreign princess.”

Anna nodded, now she knew the details of her parents' marriage. “Gerda, can you send someone up to take all these books back to the library?” she said with a sweeping gesture over her desk. “I don't need them any more.”

“But I'd love to. Is there anything else you need?”

Anna shook her head and doubts arouse again in her mind after Gerda had left the room. Mari's situation was different from that of her parents or Elsa and herself in one crucial respect. On the one hand, her father was still alive and therefore presumably had the right to decide on the terms of his succession. On the other hand, it was a matter of Vesterland, a different kingdom - as Elsa had already said - with different laws and customs.

Suddenly, Anna had an idea. The annual Arendelle Winter Ball in the castle was coming up at Christmas time. What if Mari met someone there, someone she was attracted to purely by chance and who might also be a nobleman? That would also avert the risk of one day having a Westergaard on Vesterland's throne with Mari.

Anna had to go through the planned guest list with Elsa soon anyway, perhaps her sister had another idea. It was at least a possibility.

A sharp knock on the door snapped her out of her thoughts. From the sound of it, it must be a male person with an urgent matter, but she wasn't expecting anyone at this time. Perhaps Kristoff had returned and there was a problem?

“Come in!” she called, standing up expectantly and anxiously at the same time.

Captain Einar entered somewhat hesitantly and bowed. “Sorry to disturb you, Your Majesty, but there's an unexpected problem in the dungeon with Albert Monrad.”

Anna raised an eyebrow. “What kind of problem, captain?”

“Well, as you may know, we've put the three war criminals from the Misty Pass incident in Monrad's cell, in consultation with General Mattias I might add.” He explained their plan in brief words.

“So?”

“Well, it wasn't Albert Monrad who wanted to get out of the cell and finally confess, as we had expected and hoped, but these three other prisoners.” Anna raised her other eyebrow as well. “They insist on their right, as they say, to remain among themselves and not to be overheard by some unknown fellow prisoner, whom they believe to be a spy for the general, until their trial begins.”

Anna sighed, “I see, and since you haven't been able to prove anything about Monrad's brother after days or find any evidence in his house, you now want my advice on how best to proceed with him, right?”

Einar nodded a little sheepishly, “I'm sorry, but yes. I'm running out of ideas and, to be honest, we can't keep a presumably innocent man in prison forever. Besides, there could be an unpleasant incident in the cell, who knows …”

Anna looked broodingly at the window for a moment, then turned back to Einar.

“All right, let him go. But keep him under observation as unnoticed as possible. I don't trust him any more than you do, Captain Einar.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.” He bowed and left the study again.

Anna sat down and thought about this supposedly innocent wine merchant. Something was nagging at her and she couldn't shake off a vague feeling of unease about the matter.

~~~

In the afternoon, Elsa turned up and entered the study with a quick knock as a warning to Anna, who had returned to her normal royal duties. The desk looked the same as before and all the books had been removed.

“There you are again,” Anna said after looking up briefly, but then continued writing on her document until she had finished. Meanwhile, Elsa sat down opposite her.

“So, what have you two been up to in the city? How is Mari?”

“She's doing well. We visited the places where you two were looking for a … “purpose” for each other before I suggested the ambassador thing for both of you. Do you remember?”

Anna raised her eyebrows. “That was a long time ago, though.”

Elsa nodded, “Well, and now you're the Queen of Arendelle and Mari has made herself over the years too. You've both grown over the years and I'm proud of you, especially you, Anna.”

“Thank you, sis!” Anna stood up and walked round the table. “Oh, and about that and Mari's problem … I've been poring over a few law books today, looking for a solution.” Anna told her about Gerda and her announcement about the marriages.

“I already know, Anna,” Elsa said tersely and her sister could only stare at her in bewilderment.

“What, you knew about it and you never told me?”

Elsa shrugged her shoulders, “Well, I thought you already knew that. You're usually so well informed about everything and …”

“No, not at all in this case. You shouldn't have kept me in the dark or perhaps reassured me as a precaution, especially after my idea about the emergency wedding with Kristoff. He's a commoner too, just like Mama was for Papa back then. Or to put it another way … did you already had the plan to put me on the throne before or after Kristoff proposed to me?” She pressed her arms to her hips, as she always did on such occasions, and put on a matching expression.

Elsa twisted the corner of her mouth regretfully and thought “Oh dear, now she's upset“. Then she stood up and gently placed a hand on her sister's cheek.

“I'm sorry, Anna. I just didn't realise. Back then, I almost had to memorise all of Arendelle's laws until … until the accident happened.”

“Which, as we now unfortunately know, wasn't an accident at all,” Anna added and her eyes began to fill with tears. Elsa took her in her arms as soon as she saw it and hugged her.

“Yes, but he'll pay for it for the rest of his life in never-ending agony, I'm sure of it. I know it's only a small consolation …”

“… but still. And once again, we have saved Arendelle and the Northuldra — together,” Anna added, sniffling. Elsa nodded into her shoulder.

They had never wanted to talk about Kolgrimr again, but now the feelings were returning — for both of them.

After they had regained their composure, Anna said, “Oh, and I thought of another crazy idea for Mari.” She talked about the upcoming winter ball.

“Actually … it's not a crazy idea at all, Anna. It could actually work. But we'd have to invite both of them, including King Jonas.” Elsa thought for a moment. “What do you say we accompany Mari tomorrow and talk to him together?”

“Good idea, Elsa, and this time no one can turn us away at the gate. Nevertheless, we should still look for more ideas and arguments tonight. Who knows what we'll need to convince him.”

“Indeed we do. Maybe we'll find something in the secret library about Vesterland's laws.”

“That reminds me … didn't we want to leaf through Lord Peterssen's diary?”

“Anna, you're brilliant!”

She smiled mischievously and remembered something else, that she had wanted to send a messenger to Snoob two days after these two supply wagons arrived, to find out where Kristoff was staying for so long. He could at least have sent a message. Before she left for Vesterland, she absolutely had to take care of that.

~~~

Kristoff looked up from his carving as soon as he felt a few raindrops on his head; it was also getting noticeably windier. He stood up and looked around so that he could quickly disappear below deck with Sven if necessary. But the sea around him showed no sign of an approaching storm. He hadn't been paying much attention, but the Draba seemed to have made good time in the last few hours.

When a sailor called out “Land in sight” from the lookout shortly afterwards, the sailors on deck began to stir. A little later, the captain came up and pulled apart his telescope. Kristoff stood next to him as he gazed into the distance.

“Are we there yet?” he asked him, “I thought we wouldn't reach our destination until tonight.”

The captain nodded and pushed the binoculars back together with a clacking sound. “You're right, Your Highness, but the wind has carried us well. That is indeed Weselton up ahead. We can drop anchor there in just under two hours.”

“What awaits me there? I mean, what's Weselton like?”

“Hmm, Weselton is probably a paradise for birdwatchers and sheep breeders, perhaps also for nature lovers. But it's very barren there and the bad weather in the winter months is really no fun, at least for someone who isn't used to it or knows it from long boat journeys.”

“How big is the island?”

“Oh, it's not just one island, there are dozens, but only a few of them are inhabited and Weselton is the biggest of them all.”

“Sorry to ask so many nosy questions, but it's my first time and I don't know too much about this place. How many people actually live there?”

“You don't need to apologise, Your Highness. The duchy certainly doesn't have more than half the population of Arendelle's capital, but I don't know for sure. You'll soon see for yourself.” The captain had not looked directly at him until now, instead casting scrutinising glances ahead and into the gathering clouds above them. Now he looked directly at Kristoff, “Are you planning a longer stay?”

Kristoff shook his head. “No longer than absolutely necessary.”

“That's good. We'll take on fresh supplies and in two days' time at the latest, once we've made landfall and the winds are favourable, we intend to head for another island in the west before returning to Arendelle. Plenty of time to take your supplies on board, if Weselton can spare any. Well, you'll see for yourself.”

Kristoff was surprised and realised that his calculation of the journey time had been quite wrong. But he had to admit to himself that he was only a passenger and couldn't expect the Draba's only task to be to drop him off at his destination and return with him immediately afterwards.

“How long to get there?” he asked.

“If the wind is fair … hmm, about three more days. Back to Arendelle will be almost six in total.”

Kristoff swallowed and nodded, sighing softly. There was nothing he could do about it now. Things were not going as he had imagined. The captain noticed his disappointed expression.

“But please don't say you didn't know about it and the admiral didn't warn you.”

What should he say to that? Kristoff hesitated. Then he raised his shoulders apologetically. The captain shook his head in disbelief and thought to himself that His Highness probably still had a lot to learn. But he also knew that it was Kristoff's first major voyage and now everything was starting to make a lot more sense.

“Don't worry, you may have the opportunity to take a ship from Weselton for the return journey - or you can just accept the longer journey and stay on board when we leave. It's your decision.”

~~~

Shortly before dropping anchor in Weselton's sheltered harbour, the main sails were hauled in and the command was given to loosen the ropes and plumb, causing the ship to slow down. Kristoff stood in the bow of the Draba with Sven at his side, taking in the sight before him.

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The island had rugged, high cliffs and the hills and the only visible mountain behind it were treeless, smooth and green with vegetation. A multitude of gulls and other birds circled cawing over the Draba or clung to their nests in the cliffs. The sky above was grey and cloudy, the sun had faded and a light drizzle wetted Kristoff's eyes as he looked up.

The houses on the hillside above the harbour basin were as grey as the sky, topped by a large grey castle with a blue and white flag fluttering on a mast on the highest wall in the stiff breeze.

Kristoff had never seen this type of construction before, instead of being made of wood, as in the capital of Arendelle, everything here was built of rough stone, almost as if it had grown together with the rocky ground. Only a few houses were painted red, blue or green, but everything here looked dreary and deserted, which could of course be due to the weather; he mused.

The Draba entered the harbour alongside a large brig flying Weselton's flag, the rest were more or less large fishing boats, the most impressive of which had a long harpoon at the bow. All the sails had been taken in and the boats bobbed along lonely and without any crew.

"Ready to anchor!" shouted the skipper from his elevated position on the aft deck and the crew responded with "Clear fore and aft!", followed by the helmsman's command, "Drop anchor!"

The anchor on the chain was lowered slowly but noisily into the harbour basin until hand signals were given that it had reached the bottom. Then all the other sails were hauled in and shortly afterwards, the ship was moored and the gangway lowered onto the pier.

Kristoff saw the captain waving to him and Sven and he moved towards him, ready to disembark. Kristoff's heart was pounding with nervousness and when he looked down at the gangway, some of the inhabitants were already standing there waiting with astonished faces, their eyes wide open and looking upwards. A few more people were now also gathering at the top of the quay wall.

Kristoff followed their gaze upwards and then he suddenly realised why they all looked so astonished. The flag of Arendelle was flying prominently on the main mast.

Kristoff couldn't help but wonder how long it had been since Weselton had been visited by Arendelle. His eyes fell on Sven and he put his head in both hands.

“Sven, it's probably best if you stay on board for now. The gangway is steep and I don't want you to slip and plop into the harbour basin. You've had enough excitement on the way here, all right?”

Sven looked at him sadly and made a plaintive sound, which prompted Kristoff to hug him and then scratch him between the ears.

“I'll be back soon, be patient and be a good reindeer.”

Kristoff carefully walked down the wide plank with the crossbars and after briefly introducing himself to the first person he met, asked to speak to the duke's nephew.

This man pointed to the only way up through the small harbour town.

“Just follow the road to the castle, you can’t get lost. Their lordships can be found there.”

Kristoff nodded and wordlessly followed his advice. The man had just spoken in plural, so the Duke was probably also present. Kristoff felt a little uneasy.

He took his time and looked around curiously. Some of the citizens he met made the sailor's salute on their foreheads and he assumed they were probably fishermen or crew from the brig. Until he suddenly realised why. He was still wearing the uniform of an officer, probably a lieutenant in the Royal Navy. No wonder they showed him this gesture of honour.

He passed by various shops, mostly for groceries or fishing supplies, but also one or two taverns from which there was an audible sound of bustling activity. He stopped curiously at a knitwear shop, where cute animal figures made of felt were on display in the window. One of them seemed somehow familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place it. It showed a small bird with a large red beak next to sad-looking beady eyes and red waddling feet like a duck.

However, this harbour town didn't exactly look like a wealthy place, more like an oversized fishing village with a farm, as the number of chickens and sheep on the way up to the castle told him. A wide variety of birds were also constantly looking for food around him, making all kinds of noises from chirping to cawing. The captain had not promised too much in this respect.

Kristoff was curious to see what the inside of the imposing castle looked like. He saw only a few window openings, most of them unusually narrow, and the walls seemed to be more than half a meter thick. There wasn't really a castle courtyard to speak of here, just a large paved area in front of the entrance flanked by two guards and a pompous, unharnessed carriage in front of it. A few buildings were clustered nearby, one of which looked suspiciously like a stable and two horses in front of it that looked more like ponies, small as they were.

When Kristoff was a few meters away from the entrance, the guards in an unusual appearance for him crossed their halberds in front of it.

“Halt! What is your desire?” asked one, scrutinising him from top to bottom.

Somehow this situation seemed familiar to Kristoff, only this time he was dressed more appropriately, it seemed to him.

“I am Kristoff Bjorgmann from Arendelle and I wish to speak to Lord Rupert Wolfgang. And no, I don't have an appointment for an audience,” he added as a precaution.

“Please wait a moment, I'll announce you,” said the other of the two, leaning his ceremonial weapon against the castle wall and disappearing behind the double-leafed high door.

It took him less than five minutes to return, and with a distinctly different expression on his face, for he smiled as he held the door open and said, “Please come in, your lordship, the young lord is already expecting you.”

Aha; thought Kristoff, this promises to be interesting, nodded briefly to the guard and entered the castle.

Inside, it looked more like what one would expect from the residence of a duchy. A high entrance hall, thick tapestries, oil paintings, animal trophies and various types of weapons adorned the walls, with sconces placed at regular intervals in between. A few pieces of polished armour stood here and there and an enormous chandelier hung low from the ceiling with burning candles.

At the front, Kristoff was greeted by the warmth of a wide fireplace with a crackling fire and a leather suite with a table in front of it. To the left and right, two wide, curved staircases led up to the balustrade, behind which half a dozen closed doors could be seen.

Only now did Kristoff notice a younger man sitting in front of him by the fireplace, smiling and leaning around the back of his leather armchair.

“Please come closer, my lord. I am very pleased to have a visitor from Arendelle,” he said and stood up. “My uncle is upstairs and has a family visit, he probably doesn't even know that someone has arrived from Arendelle.”

Kristoff stepped closer and offered him his hand, which the duke's nephew returned with a vigorous and extremely friendly shake.

“But I suppose you didn't want to speak to him yourself, did you? Because, as the guard told me, you asked specifically for me. How did I get the honour? Arendelle's attitude towards the Duke is therefore unchanged, I assume? I really must apologise for my uncle's behaviour back then. He really didn't make any friends. But please sit by my warm fire. May I offer you something? Wine, brandy or something else? Please…” He made an inviting gesture towards the armchair opposite.

There seemed to be no end to the nephew's torrent of words, Kristoff thought. The admiral had undoubtedly hit the nail on the head. Annoyance really did seem to run in the family. However, Kristoff was very glad that he would probably not have to face the duke today.

“Thank you, Lord Wolfgang, a glass of wine would be fine,” Kristoff replied.

“Why don't you just call me Rupert? May I call you Kristoff? Casual encounters are always my favourite.” He stood up briefly and poured Kristoff a glass of wine from a bottle on a nearby side table with all sorts of other spirits on it and placed it in front of his guest.

“What is your request, Kristoff? How can I be of assistance? I very much hope I can, if it is within my power. My uncle is very particular about some things, as you can well imagine. I apologise again. But if necessary, I'll be happy to ask him to join us later, only if you wish, of course, Kristoff. But we can also take a tour of our beautiful island, or a little carriage ride perhaps?”

Kristoff had only had the chance to utter a single irrelevant sentence so far and was increasingly annoyed by this kind of conversation, if such a dialogue could even be called that.

“I came here on my own initiative, without an official commission from the royal house, but Arendelle has a … little supply problem with food and animal feed. I am therefore travelling on a private mission to help Arendelle and ask for support. If—”

Kristoff didn't get any further, however, because a loud voice near the entrance interrupted him.

“Visitors from Arendelle, what a nice surprise!”

Two tall men approached them, one blond with a large handlebar moustache, the other brown-haired with a protruding chin beard and round glasses.

Kristoff recognised them immediately because they were Leopold and Lutz, who had taken part in the Arendelle Cup, the annual sled race, a few years ago and had to be rescued from an avalanche by Anna and Elsa.

They all greeted each other, shaking hands, before they both sat down.

“Your Highness, what an honour that you are visiting Weselton. May I introduce myself? I am Leopold von Amstel and the gentleman next to me is Lutz,” Leopold said gallantly and the duke's nephew's jaw dropped at his address.

“Yes, I've seen you both before in Arendelle, but it's been a while,” Kristoff replied, nodding.

“Wait a minute … Your Highness?” Lord Wolfgang asked in astonishment.

Kristoff looked at him. “That is indeed my title now,” he confirmed, “for I am the … the queen's fiancé,” he improved just in time, as the official wedding had not yet taken place.

“Sorry, I didn't know that, so please forgive my direct behaviour, Your Highness. That was probably a little inappropriate.” He chuckled uncertainly. “However, you also left me somewhat in the dark … um…”

Kristoff waved him off, “That's all right … Lord Wolfgang, but I've hardly had a chance to say anything so far.” He grinned and Lord Wolfgang turned a little pale.

“What brings you to us?” Lutz asked in between and Kristoff continued with what he was about to explain before he was interrupted.

Everyone listened attentively and wondered a little about the reasons for this supply bottleneck.

“Well, a fire broke out on the farmland, which unfortunately spread to the grain silos and the barns where the loaded wagons were waiting for the planned autumn festival,” he explained, but refrained from going into the real reasons, “which we unfortunately had to cancel for the first time in Arendelle's history.”

“That's terrible,” said Lord Wolfgang and the other two expressed their regret and sympathy.

“So you can see that Arendelle urgently needs supplies. Can Weselton perhaps help us with this?” continued Kristoff, looking round.

“Well, to be honest, Arendelle broke off all trade relations with Weselton of its own accord back then. But if this could be changed, the duke would certainly not say no,” said the nephew. “Besides, we don't have that much ourselves that we could do without, and—”

“Oh come on, Rupert, you almost sound like your uncle! And you're always apologising for him, no matter where you go. We both, Lutz and I, are deeply indebted to the Queen of Arendelle because she—”

“Saved your lives back then?” Kristoff added bluntly to Leopold's sentence.

He and Lutz looked down in shame and Lord Wolfgang rolled his eyes.

“And only because we were arrogant enough to think we could win the Arendelle Cup by playing tricks,” Lutz admitted. “Stupid of us and we're still sorry about it today.”

“The queen and her sister don't hold grudges and in the end we were all friends again, weren't we?” said Kristoff.

“Indeed we were! So, Rupert, how can we help His Highness?”

“The duke doesn't need to know anything,” Lutz added, twinkling one eye at the duke's nephew.

~~~

The following day, friends Leopold and Lutz organised the undercover transport of goods from various villages and farms on the island to the ship from Arendelle. Meanwhile, Lord Rupert showed Kristoff around the island, including the nesting sites of the cute puffins. However, Kristoff did not want to spend the night in the castle the day before, because if he had bumped into the duke there by chance, the support would have been denied. Kristoff also decided to set sail on the Draba, as he didn't want to push his luck by asking for a passage on a ship from Weselton.

In the end, dozens of bales of hay, baskets of winter vegetables and a few sheep ready for slaughter were stowed in the Draba's hold, along with crates of wool to make warm blankets for the winter in Arendelle's capital.

Kristoff was very pleased with the successful outcome of his mission and the farewell was suitably warm. He promised to put in a good word with the queen in favour of Weselton to re-establish trade negotiations, but could make no promises beyond that. However, he thought the chances of the duke ever setting foot on Arendelle's soil again were very slim and wouldn't even bring it up there to avoid incurring any wrath.

At dawn the next day, the Draba cast off and somehow Kristoff was very glad to leave Weselton and return home, albeit much later than planned. Hopefully Anna wouldn't be angry with him in the end, but at least he would finish the love spoon by then and bring this cute little puffin figurine from the shop as an extra present.

~~~

Around the time the Draba left Weselton and was on its way to another island in the north-west, another ship arrived at its destination.

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Master Fabian stood in the bow of the ARN Voyager and enjoyed the view of his old home, Corona.

Many thoughts flashed through his mind, old memories inevitably making their way back and making him feel both joy at his temporary return and a shudder that made the hair on his arms stand on end. An uneasy feeling crept up his spine to the back of his neck, because back then, decades ago, he had been a fugitive. About to be thrown into one of Corona's infamous dungeons! He remembered that the royal house had not exactly been squeamish with prisoners accused of murder and he had been sure that the Brotherhood had brought this very matter to the authorities.

He hadn't thought much about it before, even though he'd spent enough time on the Voyager for days, but now, at this breathtaking sight, he couldn't help but wonder what consequences he would face - if any. On the one hand, would anyone recognise him, and on the other, would he have to give his real name as soon as he set foot on land and presented his request for an audience with the royal family. After all, he had been sent on behalf of the Queen of Arendelle and not on his own initiative and just for fun here in Corona.

Fabian sighed; it would all work out somehow.

Commands were called on deck and the topsails were hoisted. The ship slowly glided towards one of the longest landing piers on the right-hand side of the huge arched bridge that connected the almost circular island to the mainland. Fabian had recognised seven piers around the island, but suspected that there were just as many on the far side of it. He had never been there himself, but perhaps there would be a good opportunity for a long walk in the next few days.

Every space on the island was tightly built up, with no room for parks or food growing areas. That was all over on the mainland and — as far as he remembered — this led to a constant back and forth of transport vehicles over the bridge or by boat. All the citizens on the island were more or less well-off and the wealth of Corona spoke from everything here, even the smallest details. The poorest and less well-off inhabitants had their homes and huts on the mainland and that was where even the dodgier characters hung out. One of their favourite meeting places was a disreputable tavern in the middle of the woods that not everyone knew about. Fabian had never been there himself, but as a child he had literally soaked up all the exciting stories about robbers and pirates that came to his ears.

Despite the time of year, the sunny weather here in the south was excellent and all the picturesque houses that wound their way up the high mountain to the royal castle shone in all their splendour. How Fabian had missed this beautiful sight and a broad smile stole across his face.

As they came closer, he could also clearly recognise the flags of the other tall ships. Most of them were unfamiliar to him, but some of the ships of various designs bore the emblems of some of the kingdoms with which Arendelle had trade relations, including two from Zaria and Vakretta. Even a beautiful ship from the distant desert kingdom of Eldora had docked here. Fanciful names adorned its bow and stern and he tried to make out details of the crew and other things on deck. It had all suddenly become so exciting for him.

Finally, the anchor rattled into the water and the crew prepared everything to take supplies on board for the onward journey. When the gangway was lowered, Fabian took a deep breath and was the first to disembark. From now on, he had to watch out like hell. His attentive eyes darted left and right, registering every reaction of those he passed as he walked slowly along the pier, standing tall and with the pride of an elderly fencing champion.

~~~

--- Note: my edit of Weselton Castle is based on a historical picture of Scalloway Castle on the Shetlands, colored by me. The added flag also is based on the real flag of the Shetlands. For me the location of Weselton seems to be the Shetland Islands in our real world.

Remark: I hope you have enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a comment if you liked the story, I would be pleased to read your opinions, even criticisms. If you want to be tagged as soon I publish the next chapter please let me know, except you are already tagged :-)

Tagging: @true--north @annaofthenorthernlights @dronning-formynder05

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