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In the Light of Day: A Frozen Epic	By : GeorgeGlass Category: +1 through F > Frozen Views: 21552 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of Frozen or its characters. I made no money from writing this story. I am completely divided about whether Elsa or Anna is hotter.

Chapter List
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Chapter 6: The Attendants

"So," Anna said, standing in the doorway of Elsa's bedchamber, "how'd it go today?"

Elsa sighed. “I just spent an hour listening to Prince Gormal talk about, among other things, the best way to remove the eyes from a freshly killed stag so that you can put in glass ones while you’re stuffing it.”

“Yeesh,” said Anna. Suddenly, reading all those dusty books didn’t seem so bad. "What about your other two interviews?"

Elsa sucked in a breath, then bit her lip before saying, "Sefu seems like a nice fellow, and I'm sure he'd be very interesting to talk to if he could maintain eye contact for more than two seconds instead of constantly glancing at the floor. And Prince Javier would be quite charming if he didn't keep calling for Dr. Montalvo every ten minutes to bring him pills for his malaria, yellow fever, septicemic plague...I swear, how does he think he could even be alive if he had all that?"

"I guess thinking doesn't really enter into it," said Anna.

"Oh, and in between these amusing chats, there's my actual job. I'm trying to resolve a dispute over logging rights, the Big Elk Dam still needs some expensive repairs and our funds from last year's taxes are running low...ugh."

"Shhh, not so loud,” Anna said in a mock whisper. "You'll disappoint all the little girls who want to grow up to be you."

Elsa smiled wanly. "Well, we can't have that. And it's not as though I hate my work; the truth is, ruling Arendelle is a wonderful experience. It's as though I can see every little piece of it and how they all fit together to make up the kingdom I love."

Anna smiled at her. "So the view is better from here than from the North Mountain?"

Her smile warmed. "Much better."

Thinking of the view made Anna glance out the window. The sun was getting low in the sky.

"Okay, I'd better run," Anna said. "I'm meeting up with Hildy, and since I kind of blew her off yesterday, I don't want to be late."

"That's fine," Elsa said. "I'll be here reading memos while Gerda straps me into my ballgown. I swear, putting on a suit of armor would probably take less time and effort."

"Queen's gotta look good for her peeps," Anna said with a grin. Seeing Elsa's quizzical look, Anna felt her face get a little warm as she added, "I guess that's another 'colloquialism' I’ve picked up."

"You're a woman of the people,” Elsa said, smiling. “See you later."

Anna went down the hall toward the spiral stairs that led down to the main floor. As she turned the corner into the stairwell, she nearly ran right into Baron Herringholtz.

“Ah, your Highness,” the Baron said awkwardly. “Good afternoon.”

“Good afternoon, Baron,” Anna replied. “What have you been up to?”

“Just…taking a constitutional,” Herringholtz answered. “Please excuse me—I must attend to some business. I will see you at the ball this evening.”

“Of course,” Anna replied.

The man walked off, and Anna found herself wondering about the bulge she had noticed in Herringholtz’s red velvet jacket. It had a shape like a plus sign; what would that be?

Then Anna realized—it was the hilt of a dagger. This struck her as odd, because there was no rule in the castle against carrying weapons openly. Why would Herringholtz conceal one?

She doubted that the man was a threat, but she couldn’t take the chance. But she also couldn’t spy on him herself without being obvious. A high profile was one of the downsides of being a princess, she supposed.

She turned around and went back toward Elsa’s chambers, knowing there were guards stationed at various places on that floor of the castle. She soon found a pair of them and approached the more senior one.

“Baron Herringholtz,” she said in a low voice. “Keep an eye on him.”

“Yes, your Highness,” the guard said.

***

Anna met up with Hildy in the clothing district for some window shopping. The princess hadn't wanted to return to the tea shop, as she was a bit embarrassed about having drawn stares there the day before. Anna didn't actually need to shop for clothes—the royal tailor would make her anything she needed, and precisely to her measurements—but it never hurt to seek a little inspiration. And it was nice to be looking at things that were more than two feet away from her face. She was starting to wonder if she'd be nearsighted when all of her reading was done.

"So," she said, "are you coming to the ball tonight?"

"Hmm," Hildy said mock-pensively. "Come and see seven hunks from exotic foreign lands in their finest formalwear? No, I think I'll stay home and catch up on my needlepoint. Yes, of course I'm coming!"

"'Hunks' might not be the right word," Anna said. "At this point, I'm not sure Elsa is going to pick any of them."

"Hmm," Hildy replied. "Well, I'm not too proud to check out a royal castoff. And speaking of things that end in 'stoff,' will Kristoff be on your arm tonight?"

"That is the worse segue in history,” Anna replied, “but yes. I thought I'd have to ask Herringholtz to put him on the guest list, but he's already on it. I guess being Royal Ice Master makes him a 'prominent citizen.'"

"Doesn't seem to be making him rich, though," Hildy said, "if his attempted haggling with the wainwright yesterday is anything to go by. Or is he just the type that likes to argue?"

"No, he's not like that," Anna replied.

Anna knew the reason: Kristoff was in quite a lot of debt. He had never discussed it with her, but it hadn't been hard to deduce from the regularity of his visits to the wainwright, the sleigh-maker, and a couple of different moneylenders in town. (One could see a lot from a castle tower.) But she didn't really want to get into all that with Hildy—at least not while they were in public.

"He's just kind of a bargain hunter," Anna finished lamely. "So...what are you going to wear tonight?"

"Well, I was a little slow getting in my spring ball gown order with Helga, so it isn’t ready yet. Maybe that’s just as well; it’ll save me twenty minutes of searching the thing for any pins or needles she accidentally left in it.”

“Why do you even go to her?” Anna asked.

“She may be a drunk,” Hildy replied, “but she’s the unparalleled master of décolletage. In any case, I'll probably wear my burgundy velvet tonight. A winter gown seems more appropriate for this crappy weather, anyway."

Anna looked at the gray sky, which was turning black toward the south. "No kidding. And it looks like it's going to rain again, too."

"Ugh," Hildy replied, also looking up. "Not the way I was hoping to get wet tonight."

"Do you say these things just to make me uncomfortable?"

"No, I say them to try to help you bust out of that princess-prison you've been locked in your whole life.”

“Excuse me? I’ve been out of princess-prison since last summer.”

“The one in the castle, yes. The one in your head, not so much.”

“What do you mean by that?” Anna protested.

“You’re totally afraid to open up. And I don’t just mean that in a vaginal sense. Have you ever even said the L word to Kristoff?”

“Why would I say ‘lesbian’ to Kristoff?”

“Wait—are you messing with me?”

“Of course I’m messing with you. I wouldn’t even know that word if you hadn’t taught it to me.”

“What I mean is, have you ever told him that you love him? Because I’m pretty sure you do.”

“Well…not in so many words…”

Hildy slapped a hand to her forehead. “Oh, come on, really? How do you expect this relationship to go anywhere if you pulling back on the reins?”

“Why is that all MY fault?” Anna protested. “He’s never said it to me, either.”

“Probably because he’s afraid you’ll run for the hills if he does.”

“This…This just isn’t a good time to be taking things to the next level,” Anna argued. “I’ve got a lot on my plate right now.”

“You’re a princess. You’re always going to have a lot on your plate. So if not now, when?”

“Can we talk about something else, please?”

“Girl, you’re a mess. It’s a good thing you’ve got the Love Goddess looking after you.”

Anna rolled her eyes.

“But fine,” Hildy continued, “let’s talk about the ball. I have to admit, I’m pretty excited about it.”

***

"I have never been so bored," said Hildy.

Kristoff looked around. Outside the windows, the rain, which a short while ago had been coming down in buckets, had begun to taper off to a drizzle. Inside, the gigantic floor of the ballroom was only sparsely populated. Apart from Anna, the Queen, and the seven princes and their attendants, only a handful of guests had shown up.

"The weather today’s been brutal," the ice-man said, glad to put the focus on something outside the room—he always felt dorky dressing up for these things in his only suit, which was a nondescript dark green. “A lot of the roads are flooded, and even some of the bridges are washed out. I mean, I live pretty close to here, and I barely made it."

“Same here,” said Hildy. “I wouldn't expect any of the nobles who live outside of town to show up anytime soon. Not that they’re missing much; the princes I’ve danced with so far have been total disappointments. Especially the one who told me not to get too close because his leprosy was acting up.”

“Jeez,” Kristoff said.

“And then there’s that creepy Herringholtz guy who keeps looking at me,” Hildy added.

“Hildy,” Anna said to her friend, whose burgundy velvet dress was showing Hildy’s customary acre of cleavage, “when men look at you, all it means is that they’re not blind or dead.” Then she turned to Kristoff. “Is Sven okay out there?”

“Yeah,” Kristoff said. “The stable hands were nice enough to take him in for the evening.”

The orchestra began playing a waltz, and Hildy left the group to “try a couple more items from the prince-buffet,” as she put it. Immediately thereafter, Elsa approached, walking rather swiftly, and stopped in front of Anna and Kristoff.

"Hello!" she said with what seemed like forced cheer. "Don’t you two look nice? Anna, might I borrow this dapper fellow for a dance?"

“Okay,” Anna said, “but try not to step on his feet too much. I just got him those mocha-suede loafers.”

Kristoff, seeing a certain degree of desperation in Elsa's eyes, accompanied the Queen—who looked resplendent as always in a pale-blue ball gown—onto the open ballroom floor. Kristoff noticed a couple, Lord and Lady Something-or-Other, eying him with disdain as he took Elsa’s hand for the dance. At least they weren’t giving him the dagger-eyes that they and some of the other nobles tended to aim at him when they saw him with Anna.

"You doing okay?" Kristoff asked Elsa as they started to dance the most basic version of the waltz. Neither of their respective upbringings had given them a great deal of experience with formal partner dancing.

"Things just keep finding ways to go wrong," Elsa said. "The fact that we're having the worst rainy season in thirty years is just the flavorless gray icing on this underbaked cake of an event.”

“Geez, quit holding back and tell me how you really feel,” jibed Kristoff.

“I feel especially bad for the attendants,” Elsa said. “They’ve hardly got any locals to socialize with, and I think they’ve run out of things to say to one another.”

Kristoff glanced over at the seven attendants, who were scattered among a few of the round tables at the edge of the dance floor. Indeed, every one of them had the weary look of the terminally bored.

“Poor guys,” Kristoff agreed. “Hanging out with royalty does have its downsides.” Then, quickly, he added, “I didn’t mean-“

“It’s all right,” Elsa said. “I know there are some in the nobility who don’t approve of your relationship with Anna. And I don’t doubt there are some commoners who have a problem with it, as well.”

“You could say that,” Kristoff replied. “But…I don’t want to dump my problems on you. You’ve got enough to deal with.” Then, attempting a more cheerful tone, he said, “So, anybody in the batch of princes look promising?”

Kristoff sensed that Elsa was suppressing a sigh when she said, “Not so far.”

“That bad, huh?” Kristoff said, looking at the princes, who were variously talking and dancing with the few local nobles who had managed to show up. “Yeah, I could see how the one with the stilts might not make the best dance partner.”

“And he’s far from the worst of them. That Prince Rajiv…oh, he drives me insane. Talk about your Prince-Anything-but-Charming.”

***

“You, sir, are really quite charming,” Hildy said to Rajiv as he artfully twirled her and then brought her neatly back into the frame of his arms in time with the music.

“You are very kind,” the prince responded. “As are many of your fellow Arendellans, I am finding.”

“Arendelle’s kind of at the ass-end of the world,” Hildy replied, making Rajiv chuckle, “but the people are pretty great. Including our Queen, I hope you’ve noticed.”

“Yes, well,” Rajiv said awkwardly, “I’m sure she is, ah, an excellent ruler.”

Hildy seemed to pick up on the halfheartedness of Rajiv’s compliment.

“You know,” she said, “a lot of people think that because she’s literally an ice queen, she must be one figuratively, too. But she’s not like that at all. You know how most kings and queens always have their personal physician within shouting distance? Anna says the Queen’s doctor isn’t even in the castle half the time, because Her Majesty is always sending him out to treat sick kids in the provinces. Man, and when she heard that Big Elk Village was about to be flooded last month—well, you never saw anybody in a royal robe ride that fast. She got there just in time and saved everybody.”

“I’m sure she is a fine person,” Rajiv replied. “I simply do not think she and I are…compatible.”

“Oh, you’re not into sweet, intelligent, powerful women who fill out a ball gown very nicely?” Hildy rebutted. “Look, I know I hardly know you, but talking to you right now, I think you and she might be more ‘compatible’ than you think.”

The song ended just as Rajiv was about to reply, whereupon Hildy curtsied and said, “If you’ll excuse me” before heading back to where Anna was standing.

***

Anna peered out the window. “Well, at least the rain has stopped.”

Suddenly, Kristoff’s head whipped from one side to the other as he glanced around the room. Then he said, “Hey—how about we ditch the princes and go have some fun?

“What?” said Anna. “We can’t do that. I’m one of the hosts.”

“Your sister and Baron Fishface have everything under control, and I was thinking we could take the attendants out somewhere,” Kristoff continued. “Those guys could use a break. And it’d be good for international relations, right?”

Anna shrugged. “I’ll buy that. And whatever you have in mind, it’s got to be more fun than this ball. I’ll see if Hildy and any of her friends want to come.”

Just as Hildy rejoined Anna, Kristoff walked over to where Dr. Montalvo sat. The man appeared to be wincing as he watched Prince Javier ask the local nobleman with whom he was chatting to feel his forehead to see if he had a fever.

"Doc,” said Kristoff, “you feel like getting out of here and doing something fun?"

In one rapid exhale, the man replied, "Oh dear God in heaven yes."

Kristoff went around to the other attendants, all of whom firmly embraced Kristoff's plan. After Mofa accepted his invitation, Kristoff checked with Prince Hypatios' attendant, Lord Otos, who was standing nearby.

"Otos, you in?"

The man sighed. "I would dearly love to," the man said sadly, "but given Prince Hypatios' age, I really shouldn't leave him unattended."

Kristoff patted him on the shoulder. "You're a good man, Otos. How about we bring you back a beer and a couple of barbecued moose ribs?"

"Sir, you are a true gentleman," the Dianisian lord replied gratefully.

***

Kristoff, in an effort to protect his only good suit from sweat and reindeer fur, had come in his ice wagon, rather than on Sven's back. This now proved doubly fortunate, because he was able to give the attendants a lift. Halfdan, the only attendant to have come by land rather than sea, volunteered his horse to be hitched up next to Sven, thereby providing sufficient power to pull the wagon and its seven passengers. Kristoff couldn't tell whether Sven felt relieved or insulted.

Anna had told Kristoff to go on ahead with the attendants. She, Hildy, and any friends they managed to persuade to join them would borrow a carriage and driver from the castle’s stable.

Ajay had split from the group when they first departed the banquet hall, saying that he wanted to retrieve something from his room and that he would meet them outside. Now, as Kristoff finished harnessing Halfdan's horse to the wagon, the big, turbaned Sundaran reappeared with a medium-sized barrel under his arm.

"Party supplies, eh?" said Kristoff.

"Indeed," Ajay replied with a smile, but he said nothing more.

"So where are we going?" Mofa asked.

"A little place I know in the hills," Kristoff replied. "The owner and I kind of got off on the wrong foot, but we're pals these days."

The other attendants pretty well filled up the back of the wagon, so Ajay, having arrived last, sat on the bench next to Kristoff. The Sundaran captain was dressed warmly, but he nonetheless clutched himself when a chill breeze arose.

"Is it always freezing cold here in April?"

Kristoff glanced back and saw that most of the other attendants looked similarly chilly.

"Oh, come on," Kristoff teased. "The temperature hasn't been below freezing in weeks. We're in the full bloom of springtime now." Halfdan was the only one to laugh.

The five attendants in the back got to talking among themselves, loudly enough that Kristoff decided to ask Ajay a somewhat delicate question.

"Hey," he said, leaning a bit toward the big Sundaran, "feel free to tell me to go to hell, but... I heard a rumor that you and Prince Rajiv crashed this prince-party."

"Crashed?" Ajay replied.

"You know—came without being invited."

Kristoff thought Ajay might take offense, but the Sundaran just raised an eyebrow.

"Oh-ho," Ajay said. "So that's what Herringholtz was on about."

"What do you mean?"

"The Baron came to our rooms before dinner last night and asked to see the Prince's invitation. He seemed a bit surprised when I showed it to him, even though it was written in his own hand."

"Weird," Kristoff said. "Maybe he's forgetful. Who knows with some of these noble types."

"Mmm," Ajay replied.

They rode on for a while, out of the capital and into the foothills of the West Mountain. Soon they came to a wooden building where warm lamplight glowed through the windows. Kristoff got down from the wagon’s driver’s seat, unharnessed Sven so he could wander as he wished, then went inside. Bells jingled with the movement of the door.

"Yoo-hoo," a voice called in a sing-song greeting from somewhere among a set of shelves in the back. “Who is there, please?”

"Oaken, my man, it’s Kristoff!"

A gigantic man emerged from behind the shelves. He looked at Kristoff and glowered.

“You,” he growled. Then he raised a hand and started toward the ice-man.

END CHAPTER 6
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In the Light of Day: A Frozen Epic