#shout out to the day off chapter where he was just casually discussing the stock market

[rose-tinted-vision]

At this point i think its quite obvious who are my favorites in Blue Lock...

[slight manga spoilers up till the latest chapter]

Because I also really love Reo's expressions, its just so well drawn that his sad expressions physically hurt.

These three are my personal favourites:

I'm particularly drawn to these three because it feels like at least some of his will to fight came back, like he found a reason to fight again (no matter what the reason) and confidence just looks so good on Reo :)

Also, i just realised that we so rarely see Reo looking happy in the manga. In fact, these maybe the only few frames where he seems happy at all (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, please).

Of course, the break up arc that broke the NagiReo nation and Reo's will to fight was gone. shattered into pieces at Nagis feet and broken again just when he found some strength to move on alone.

(I'm quite salty about it, yes)

These are...a miscellaneous collection for no reason other than Reo Mikage is one of my favorites characters and I just love how dynamically his expressions are drawn.

[jordanstrophe]

Be a Good Guest, collab part 4

Part 3

Pheonix’s masterlist - Gabriel’s masterlist

Gabriel is collabing with the lovely @whumpasaurus101 and his character, Pheonix! (We can really crank these chapters out with two of us, lol.)

CW: Electrocution, held captive, escape attempt, returned to whumper, slapped, belting referenced, restraining, multiple whumpees, *inhales* parental, possessive, overprotective and intermate whumpers, and whumper turned caretaker... Kind of sort of

Gabriel awoke, he was laying on his stomach in an attempt to spare his back any more pain than he was already in. He couldn’t even have the blankets touching it, so he just had the white sheets tucked around his waist. He was swollen and bruised as every muscle caused aching pain through his body. He grasped the sheets tightly in his fists and he rasped out a groan, gritting his teeth as he forced himself up. 

He felt a hand caress his head as he cried out in fear, cringing his body as he fell back down on the bed. 

“Hey! Darling, it’s okay little one.” Walter sighed with concern, his hand retreating. Gabriel only let out a broken little whimper into his pillow. “I need to run to the store, stock up on some supplies before we head home. I’ll just be about fifteen minutes, will you be okay?” He whispered.

Gabriel nodded his head into the pillow, refusing to speak a word to him. “Okay...” Walter murmured sadly, before heading out and locking the door, making sure to bring the keycard with him this time. 

-

Pheonix awoke to a swift kick in the stomach. He gasped as the air left his lungs as he doubled over, twisting his body in pain.

“Rise and shine, bella Durmiente!” Mateo smiled, standing over Pheonix’s cringing figure, taking pleasure in his weakness.  

“S-Screw you too..” Pheonix rasped. Mateo let out a chuckle as he grabbed his arm, dragging him to his feet. “Come now, mi amore, you have no one to blame but yourself for this mess.” He struggling to get Pheonix up who couldn’t quite get his feet under him. “We’re heading home today, so try and behave yourself on our last little day.” He smirked.

“W-what? We’re leaving -today? We can’t stay for a little longer?” Pheonix tried to give him the most innocent eyes he could muster. Mateo’s eyes, however, narrowed. “You think you can cause the ruckus you did last night, and you have the audacity to ask for more?” Mateo hissed at him, his hand shooting out to grip his hair, wrenching it to the side to make him cringe lower to the floor so Mateo could tower over him. 

“N-no! I-It’s not like that! I just-” “-Just what?! You wanted to see your little boyfriend again? That’s not going to happen, mi amor, never again.”  He growled.

Pheonix squeezed his eyes shut as he fought back tears which tried to escape. He gulped around the lump in his throat.

Why, why did that upset him so much? He hardly knew Gabriel. He just clicked with him so quickly... He could understand what Gabriel goes through every day, and Gabriel understands him. It was the first time in so long he had someone who he could relate to...

“But... Gabri-” He was slapped hard across the face as he staggered back, covering his face with the palm of his hand. He looked at his hand with a speck of blood on his fingertips from his bleeding lip. Mateo grabbed onto his shirt with both hands and slammed him against the wall, forcing him onto his toes just to keep his footing.

“I hate, hate how much you’ve become infatuated with that boy. Don’t you dare let his name leave your lips ever again, or I might just take away your privilege in speaking at all!” Mateo shouted, pressing his body against his to keep him pinned against the wall. “You’re going to forget about him, you hear? This is the end of this discussion.” He spat. Pheonix tilted his head to the side squeezing his eyes shut, flinching into a nod as his shirt was released as he slunk to the floor with a gasp.

“Noah’s packing you in the car, if I hear a peep from him that you disobeyed him in the slightest, I’m doubling the punishment waiting for you at home. Aurora is going to get some exercise tonight.” He sneered, leaving Pheonix crumpled on the ground shivering and trembling.  

Phoenix held himself as he took deep shaky breaths. He had to calm down, he just needed to breathe… Noah came in shortly to take him to the car, his face was full of nothing but smug and coldness. “Get up off the floor, hurry, It’s time to go.” He grumbled. Phoenix scampered to his feet, as Noah backed him into a corner and zip-tied his wrists together over his still damp sweater. He held his posture low as Noah wrapped his hand around his arm and led him out of the hotel from the back. There was a car waiting, mostly packed up with suitcases.

Phoenix’s heart jolted when he felt the zip ties shift around his wrists. He glanced down to see they weren't quite tight enough, as they were sliding down his jacket sleeve. He glanced up at Noah, who was barking at someone aggressively to hurry up with the bags. “Pheonix wrestled his jacket until he slid it out from underneath the ties, it was loose enough he could slide a hand out. 

Phoenix needed to think of a distraction, something that would give him some time to run. But what? Then it hit him, he remembered eavesdropping on one of Noah and Martín’s conversations. They talked about Beyoncé for hours, which was really weird, but it came in handy! 

“Hey! Look! Is that Beyoncé over there?” Phoenix called. “Wait, what, where?!” Noah asked, squinting over with a puzzled look as Pheonix put his ruse into motion. He slid his wrists out and slammed his full weight into Noah from behind, who flew off his feet and hit the sidewalk hard. 

“You littl-” He shouted, struggling to climb back to his feet, but Pheonix had already bolted as fast as he could. He had no idea where he was, or where he was going, he didn’t have a clue what was in the area, but he had to find someone, anyone who would help him. He heard Noah shouting his name not far behind him, which encouraging him to run even faster.

-

Walter sat in his car with an anxious expression. He had gotten everything he needed from the store but got caught in a traffic jam on the way home. Drat! He had told Gabriel he would be home in fifteen minutes! Oh, that poor boy must be so worried sick and scared!

Meanwhile, Gabriel was still peacefully sound asleep.

Walter called Mateo on his phone while slamming his fists on the car horn as if that would speed things up.. 

“Mateo! This is a huge emergency! I’m stuck in traffic and I won’t be back for a while, can you please check on Gabriel?” He pleaded.

“Por amor de dios! Forget that, Phoenix just bolted!” Mateo screamed on the phone. Walter held the phone away from his ear, cringing at his loud ear-piercing voice. “Mateo! Calm down, what do you mean he bolted? He’s gone?” He asked. He looked out the window, glancing around before he froze. 

Oh, speak of the devil. 

“Mateo, I’m going to have to call you back. Please watch Gabriel for me, I got this.” He muttered. He heard Mateo barking something at him in Spanish before Walter hung up the phone. He reared the car off the highway, taking a side road over to a quiet alleyway, hardly anyone walking around, except one soul. 

“Fancy seeing you here,” Walter spoke. Phoenix jumped in his skin, whirling around only to be immediately tackled and pinned to the ground. Well, that’s karma for him. 

“No! Nooo! Not you! Anyone but you, get off of me!” Phoenix cried out, struggling to fight him off from behind as Walter dug his knee into his back. “Quiet down now. Looks like someone has wandered quite far from home.” Walter chuckled, pulling his belt off and tying his wrists together, using the access to bind his upper arms as well. Phoenix wrenched his shoulder out from under him, only to be rewarded with a second knee digging into his shoulder blades sharply as he cried.

“P-please! Please don’t… Don’t take me back, I’m begging you!” Phoenix sobbed, tears flowing as they dripped into the concrete. He cried and cried until Walter was satisfied with his bindings, taking some weight off of him and turning him around to lay on his back. He wrapped his legs around his waist to ensure he was still pinned to the ground, as he grabbed his chin and forced him to make eye contact. 

“As cute as a button you are, I’m afraid I owe it to a friend.” He grinned. “W-Why? Why are you doing this to me? To Gabriel?” He whimpered.  Walter’s face went tense, “You’re just a boy. You wouldn’t understand. Maybe one day you’ll realize just how much we do for you ungrateful kids.” He muttered, digging through his bag. He pulled out a bag with tape, straps and a device, pulling Pheonix’s shirt up and taping small dense squares to his stomach and chest. 

“This is probably something you’re not used to, but you’ll get the hang of it.” Walter shrugged. He let some weight off him as Pheonix immediately started squirming around again, Walter slammed his thumb onto a button as Pheonix gasped as it felt like thousands of needles were stabbing at his chest. He let out a scream as his body unwillingly arched off of the pavement. After a few seconds, he let off leaving Pheonix to catch his breath.  

“Struggle again and I’ll keep shocking you, It’s simple. So behave for me please, I’m late and I really want to get home to Gabriel.” He gave him a small sad smile. 

“OKAY! Okay…” Phoenix cried out. Whatever that thing was, he did not want that to happen again. His body was quivering as Walter helped him to his feet. “Good boy.” He smiled, casually taking his elbow in his and walking him to the car. Walter walked at Pheonix’s pace, pausing when he stopped, helping him along when he struggled, Phoenix was surprised and relieved he was being given patience. His stomach was still twisted with discomfort from the shock, knowing the threat of it was still lingering from the device taped to his chest. The car was parked in a secluded area, so he had no chance to run otherwise.

Walter opened the door for him as he climbed in. His back was uncomfortable against his bound wrists behind his back. He expected to be left to ride like that the whole way home. 

“Lean forward a bit, dear.” Walter smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder to coax him forward. Phoenix instantly obeyed, completely out of fear more than anything. To his surprise, the belt was unbuckled from his wrists. “Can I trust you to be nice?” Walter asked, raising an eyebrow. Pheonix flinched into a nod as Walter gave him a warm smile. His eyes fell to Pheonix’s bandaged arm, blood had soaked up a portion of it as it looked messy and ragged. His eyes looked sad as he stood there for a moment, before grabbing a bag from the back seat. 

“Let me see your arm, son.” He said, his hand extended out. Phoenix gulped as he presented his arm, trying to hide the trembling. Walter wrapped the belt around the upper handle of the car, tightly securing both his wrists in front of him, giving him some slack, but just enough that he couldn’t reach the tape on his chest under his shirt. He pulled out medical supplies and got to work on his arm. The snake-like cut ran deep, as Walter tsked before cleaning up the extra blood. “Rough night?” He asked as Pheonix nodded sadly. He gently finished wrapping the bandage, Phoenix looked up at him with glossy eyes and muttered a “Thank you.” Walter smiled at him before climbing into the driver’s seat. 

He drove back onto the highway, shooting a glance at Pheonix every now and then to ensure he was behaving. He drove with one hand on the wheel, the other resting in his lap with the button, a finger hovering around the trigger. “I just want you to know I don’t take any pleasure in this.” Walter mumbled.  “You said you owed it to a friend… Do you mean Mateo?” Pheonix asked, as he nodded. “Let’s just say I wouldn’t have Gabriel if it weren't for him.” He said. Phoenix perked up and looked at him, “What does that mean? What did he do?” He asked. Walter stayed silent, not taking his eyes off the road. 

Phoenix sighed as he let his back hit the seat. “I’m sorry, about last night. I just… I wanted to talk to him. After the restaurant, I knew we were in similar situations, and I guess it made me realize I was really lonely.” Pheonix admitted. Walter’s eyes shot over, a realization clicking in his head. “You were lonely…” Walter repeated back with a murmur, flowing deep into thought. “I know what it’s like to be lonely.” He sighed. He perked up as he quickly got distracted. “Hang on!” He yelled, rearing off the highway to an ice cream store. “What? Wait, where are we going?” Phoenix cried, gripping the belt for stability. 

“The ice cream store.” He smiled, pulling into a parking space. “Got anything in mind?” Walter asked. Phoenix quickly perked up, “Bubblegum!” He cheered. 

“Bubb-..” Walter muttered, cutting himself off. “You don’t want anything like Rocky Road, or Peanutbutter? Bubblegum seems a bit out of your style.” Walter chuckled.  “No!! I want bubblegum or nothing!” Phoenix hissed. “Okay! Okay, bubblegum, jeez.” He laughed, as he climbed out of the car. Before closing the door, he bent until he was eye level with Pheonix, “Don’t go anywhere.” His eyes burning into his, before turning into a sweet excited smile. “Wouldn’t dream of it!” Phoenix called.  

Walter returned shortly after, struggling to carry not two, but three ice cream cones. He managed to open the car door with his foot, taking Pheonix’s hand and placing a light blue ice cream cone with colorful sprinkles on it. Phoenix’s hands were thankfully tied at just the right height to eat it comfortably. “Thank you,” Phoenix mumbled while simultaneously licking the ice cream. “You’re welcome kiddo.” Walter chuckled, setting the third one aside. Phoenix’s eyes darted down at the third cone next to him. “Did you get yourself two?” He asked.

“What? No, of course not. This is for Gabriel.” Walter said, his tone almost sounded insulted. Oh, of course it was for Gabriel, he should have guessed. 

They made it back to the hotel, Phoenix quickly finished up his cone before the fear struck his stomach when he realized he now had to face Mateo, with not one, but two escape attempts. He began to tremble, gripping the belt around his hands tightly as he looked over at Walter with pleading eyes. “Please wait… You-, you don’t know what he’s like! Please he’s going to hurt me!” Pheonix pleaded, his breathing quickening. “Ssshh, it’s alright little one.” Walter murmured, gently cupping his cheek. “Just be silent and let me handle Mateo, okay?” He didn’t let Pheonix respond as he was already out the car, ready to meet Mateo as he marched out of the hotel. He saw Mateo’s face burning red, yelling and cursing at Walter who tried to calm him down. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but as time went on, Mateo slowly began to calm down, but constantly shooting him death stares. Walter gave Mateo a pat on the shoulder, who had visibly calmed down, the color returning to his face. 

The door burst open as Gabriel shot out of the hotel, he stopped at the entrance as he looked up at Walter with watering eyes, his face flustered pink. He rammed his face into Walter’s chest, who gasped as Gabriel’s arms were wrapped around him, desperately clinging to him while he quietly whimpered into his coat. Walter’s face fell with pure horror and concern at Gabriel’s state, but he had to admit… being hugged by him willingly was unbelievable and heart melting. Gabriel was affectionate and desperate as he clung to him like he finally needed him. Walter wrapped his arms around him, being mindful of the gashes on his back as he pulled him into a loving embrace, planting a kiss in his hair.

“I missed you too, little one.” Walter smiled. He had no idea what had happened while he was alone with Mateo, but he was bound to find out. But for right now, he was going to savor this moment for as long as he could…

(Alrighty! @whumpasaurus101 is up for Gabriel’s side of the coin. BIG thank you to him for helping me with the chapter <3)

@alien-octopus @yesthisiswhump  @lave-whump @whumpasaurus101 @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @hamiltonwhumpdump @just-another-whumper @castielamigos-whump-side-blog @approach-me-and-ill-cry   @whump-it @kixngiggles @as-a-matter-of-whump

ʕっ• ᴥ • ʔっ  Thank you for reading!

[bad-at-names-and-faces]

Timing and Dates

Chapter 9

There was a faint glow of twilight on the horizon.  The baby was turning rather roughly, and Anna wished she had eaten a lighter dinner the night before.  She grabbed for a small mint in the jar she was keeping at her bedside now.  Kristoff was snoring. She knew she wouldn’t be sleeping, but tried closing her eyes again.

"Why won't you touch me?" she asked him again.

"I… am touching you… what do you mean?"

"We're not in public. We're alone, and married, and it's been more than two years… the doctor even said it would be perfectly fine now. At least, that's what I thought he meant… he wasn't exactly being clear when he spoke to me… if I was jumping to conclusions and he told you something else…"

 "No… that's what he told me, too. You didn't misunderstand that…" he said, turning around to sit on the edge of the bed.

"So… I'm… Am I just not really attractive any more?" 

He turned around quickly at the suggestion.

"No. No, you are, very… very… You're beautiful. Still. And it's torture not to…" 

"If you don't want more children, at least just say so… We have four, that can be enough."

"No, I mean… I would love more, but… it's not about that, really…" he said, turning back away.

"Then what?"

"I don't want to lose you."

"We’re all going to die sometime," she said with a nervous laugh.

“In the future…” he said, turning around to look at her, “and don’t joke about it, please, you almost did...”

“But I didn’t.”

"I don't want them to grow up without their mother."

Anna stared out the window at the horizon, the blue glow slowly changing to purple and pink. The white nights were hard enough to sleep through when she could sleep, but it had been difficult lately. 

"I'm not blaming you," she said with her hand on her belly, "but you're welcome to come out at any time." 

She was amazed that Kristoff was sleeping through all her tossing and turning and getting up out of bed in the middle of the night. She had pretty much settled on just sitting up in bed to sleep with pillows stacked around her for the last few weeks. She felt like the only one who wasn't worried at these times. She didn't want to hurt anyone, and she knew why they were worried about her. But she wasn't afraid for herself.  

Her memories of the twins being born were vague and scattered. It was a month before anything should have been happening, and then she remembered the two of them looking at the baby and commenting that he had her hair. Then there were increasingly dream-like memories of people rushing about her. She remembered sitting up to see Kristoff asleep in a chair that had been pushed next to the bed, but then feeling suddenly ill and blacking out, she didn't know for how long. Elsa was there the next time she woke up, and she realized she didn't hear a baby, and at this point wasn't even sure she had really remembered holding it. 

"The baby! What happened to the baby?"

"They're fine, both of them."

"Wait… both?"

Anna got up and walked to the bathroom.  She turned on the light and looked at herself.  In the gaslight, at least, she hadn't really changed.  Outside, the sun was up. What day was it?  Last night, Kai had told her that nearly the entire council had arrived, certainly enough for a quorum.  She had agreed to go ahead and have the meeting first thing in the morning on Monday. It was Monday, that was all she had thought about. She wished she had told him to wait until the next day, at least.  Twenty-one years now.  She could try not to think about it.

She started to doubt whether it would be a good idea to try to spring any changes on the council when they were still expecting at least another few weeks to themselves. A few of them had been around before her father was even born. And now she was thinking about what day it was. 

She decided to ring the bell for breakfast, since Kristoff would need to wake up at some point. She ran her fingers through his hair.

"Honey, they're probably going to have that meeting this morning. You should get up. I've already had breakfast sent up for us."

"If you expect me to get up,” he said, pulling her back down on the bed, “you’re doing a bad job of it.”

“The meeting will be early, though,” she said, gently pulling his hand away and sitting up, “There was no way around it.”

Kristoff reluctantly got up.  Breakfast was set out when he was cleaned up and dressed, and Anna had already started her toast.  They both focused on eating.  When they had finished, they made their way to the library, where the council was already waiting.

Anna sat down, and introduced the proposed change.  It was obvious that several of them really had been given the line about changing the regency clause, and they were looking disgruntled already.  She had really meant it as a joke, and regretted saying it out loud. The proposed change seemed simple enough, though, and most of the council members were quietly nodding in agreement.  She asked if anyone had questions before she left to let them discuss the matter amongst themselves.

“Yes,” one of the oldest members spoke up, “does this mean you intend to take out the legitimacy requirement?”

Anna looked at Kristoff, who had been sitting quietly across the table, and he met her gaze with a mix of panic and anger.

“Excuse me, Your Grace,” Anna said, “I don’t think I understand.  Why would we intend to do any such thing?”

“It didn’t seem worth mentioning before, especially as the princess has so many brothers, but there was some… talk… about the timing of her birth.”

“That is quite some talk to be bringing up now, but I don’t see what the problem is. We were married in November, and I remember that you were there, and she was born in August, that seems simple enough.”

“Ah… Yes, that was a… charming little thing… However, I seem to recall that the bishop did not perform the ceremony until some time later, and then perhaps there was some… urgency."

Anna breathed slowly to try to control the flush she could feel in her cheeks. She looked over at Kristoff, and could tell that he was subtly fidgeting and clenching his jaw to avoid saying anything regrettable. 

"Thank you for reminding us, Your Grace. It is true, we weren't able to schedule a ceremony with the bishop until April, but I still don't see how that's relevant to the topic at hand."

"Your Majesty, if I may be blunt, allowing the princess to inherit would open the door to… many other claimants.  Your grandfather, and certain of his ancestors, were not exactly known for… I beg your pardon, Your Majesty, but I think you understand me?"

"I understand perfectly, and you don't need to worry about offending me on the topic of my grandfather. However, as you clearly have never read the laws closely, I will remind you that laws on legitimacy have no say about length of gestation, and whichever wedding you choose to accept, there is nothing to question…" she took a deep breath and shut her eyes.

"Your Majesty…"

"If that is the only question Your Grace has on the matter, I believe I have answered it completely. There is no question of legitimacy here, and comparing that to… whatever my grandfather did outside of marriage… please, let's leave it at that."

She looked over at Kristoff. He looked like he might explode any minute. 

"I need some rest," she said, "I expect the council can come to a decision."

Kristoff took the opportunity to walk over and help her out of her seat. 

They walked out of the room with his arm around her shoulder. As soon as the footman had closed the door behind them, he picked her up and carried her back to their room.

He freed one hand to open the bedroom door, and it slammed behind them.

"Is everything… are you...?" Kristoff tried to ask.

"Frustrated, that's all,” Anna interrupted, “They've had seventeen years to bring that up."

"I'm sorry I suggested it at all."

"No, it let me see what that man really thinks. I never felt quite right about him, and now I know for sure."

She adjusted herself on the bed, breathing and closing her eyes to calm herself as Kristoff helped her get her shoes and stockings off. He unlaced her gown and slipped that off.

"Could you hang it up over there? The maids always tell me what a pain that one is to clean and press, and it will be the only really formal one that fits me for a few months… thank you."

After hanging up her dress, he came back over and sat down, letting her lay her head in his lap.

Anna sighed, "I suppose I was a little too impatient about getting married right away."

"There were two of us. I could have told you to wait."

"Could you have? Once I suggested it?"

"Probably not," he admitted, "and I wouldn't change anything… not about that, I mean."

She smiled up at him and closed her eyes again, working on collecting herself a bit more and calming down.

"And I'm glad you kept me from saying anything in there,” Kristoff admitted, “I don't think I could have said anything useful."

"I read through the law books in the library when I got tired of novels… it's been helpful."

"Do you think they'll make a decision today?"

"Maybe? It's hard to say. Everyone else was nodding… I mean, of course, a lot of them nod in agreement just because they don't feel like arguing, so that doesn't mean much. But that man didn't exactly have the others jumping in agreement with him, and I don't think it was out of politeness."

"You kind of had me worried," Kristoff said, "and I think some of the others really thought you'd have the baby right there…"

"That's probably why the doctor wants me to avoid official duties right now," she laughed nervously, then looked up. "Hey… why haven't you changed out of your suit? I feel really underdressed now."

"I didn't notice… or, well, maybe I did, but I really was worried about you. Would you feel better if I changed?"

"Yes, please…" 

There was a knock at the door. 

"Just a minute!" Kristoff shouted as he kicked his suit to the corner of the room, grabbed his casual clothes and went into the bathroom. 

"It's just me!" Frederick shouted through the closed door.

"Go ahead and come in!" Anna said, hoping she didn't need to shout. Her throat felt dry from her talking during the meeting. 

"Mother?" Frederick asked hesitantly, "Is there something going on? Yesterday I saw one of the council members riding in, and this morning it looked like there was a meeting going on…"

"Oh…" Anna hesitated, "it's probably going to be nothing. What have you heard?"

"Nothing, really, just that they were called in."

"Can we hold off discussing this for a little while? Like I said, it's probably going to be nothing, and your father and I aren't… in the best of moods."

"Um, ok… is it something I did? I didn't mean to leave a tab at the tavern. I promise I'll start bringing money with me."

"Oh. No, no, that's not it, not at all.  Well, I mean,  I don't want you eating all their food and not paying… That is a good idea to bring some money with you. Please do that."

"Aren't your tutors looking for you?" Kristoff asked as he came out of the bathroom. 

"Not yet. It's early, if you haven't noticed."

"Oh, right."

"Inga was going to the library to study, and heard the council in there arguing, and she told me, and that's why I came to ask about that…"

"Oh," said Anna, "I'm surprised Kai didn't think to check with anyone about that."

"Huh, no, the tutors only come there when they can't find Inga."

"Um, well, why don't you go get ready, then…" Kristoff said.

Frederick frowned but quietly left.

"So…" Anna began.

"What did you tell him?"

"I said that it's probably going to be nothing."

"You don't know that."

"Inga was worried about him, and he seemed worried. I don't want to worry him more than necessary unless we need to."

"What did she say?"

"Nothing in particular… It was about that event in Corona… she was saying she'd prefer to have him along if she goes. Maybe he would enjoy a trip."

"I guess he's not that young, either."