Elsa ran her fingers along the green velvet interior. “Thank you, Papa.”
He placed his hand atop hers. “It may not feel like it now, but someday your whole life will change in ways you can’t possibly imagine.” He hesitated. “Promise me when it does, if I’m not here to guide you—”
“Papa—”
He cut her off. “Promise me that when that day comes, you will look to this box for guidance.”
Look to it for guidance? It was a box. A beautiful box, but a box nonetheless. Still, it was a big step to be given a lockbox like the ones Papa and the kings and queens before him had used. “I promise,” she said.
He kissed her on the forehead. “Put it somewhere safe.”
Elsa picked up the box and walked to her parents’ bedroom door. Papa followed her into the hallway, watching her. “I will,” she promised.
Papa smiled, and went back to his work in the library.
Elsa walked back to her room with the lockbox nestled in her arms. The air was warm, and though little breeze came through the open windows, the sounds of the village drifted inside. Elsa lingered at a nearby window, staring over the castle walls and the courtyard to the world beyond. The village was alive and full of people. Horses and carriages came and went. The fountain that held their statue near the castle gates shot water high into the air like a geyser. Children were splashing in the fountain fully dressed, trying to stay cool. She watched as a mother pulled her son out of the fountain and scolded him. Despite the tongue-lashing, the boy looked like he was having fun. When was the last time Elsa had done that?
She wished Mama were there to have tea with that afternoon. It was a pity to sit alone in the castle on such a warm summer afternoon. Where was Mama on a day this spectacular? Why hadn’t she let Elsa join her?
“Do you need something, Princess Elsa?” Gerda asked. “Water, perhaps? It’s so hot today!”
Like Kai, Gerda had been around since before Elsa was born. She made sure Elsa was always well taken care of. At the moment, she was carrying a tray of goblets with cold water. Elsa suspected they were for her father and the Duke.
“Thank you, Gerda, I’m fine,” Elsa said.
Gerda hurried past. “Okay. As long as you’re staying cool. I don’t want you overheating!”
Elsa kept walking, holding the box tighter. She needed to find something to do to pass the time till Mama returned. Maybe Gerda was right: she needed to stay cool. She could take a walk around the courtyard. Or perhaps she’d read for a spell. Her father had given her some books to look over that explained arrangements Arendelle had with other kingdoms.
She knew he wanted her to become familiar with things for the future, but at the moment, reading up on the kingdom’s dealings didn’t sound like fun at all. Elsa opened the doors to her room and made her way to her childhood desk. She placed the lockbox on top of it, staring at it for a moment. Alongside her things, the green box looked out of place.
Maybe a box that sacred wasn’t meant to be out in the open. What important papers did she have to place in it? What correspondence did she engage in? No, for now she wasn’t queen. The box wasn’t needed, and hopefully it wouldn’t be for a very long time. She took it to her hope chest, her right hand grazing the letter E hand-painted on the lid, and placed it safely inside, covering it with a quilt her mother had made her when she was a baby. Then she closed the lid. A moment later, Elsa grabbed a book from her nightstand, the lockbox all but forgotten.
Elsa heard knocking and woke with a start. The late-afternoon sun was casting shadows that tiptoed along the walls. She must have fallen asleep reading.
Gerda poked her head into the room. “Oh, Princess Elsa!” she said in surprise. “I didn’t mean to wake you. I was just coming to get you for supper before I called on your parents.”
“It’s all right. I’m up,” Elsa said, stretching her arms wide. If her parents were joining her for dinner, that meant her father’s meeting with the Duke of Weselton was done and her mother had returned. “Why don’t I call on them for you?”
Gerda walked to Elsa’s bed and started to smooth out the quilt and fix the pillows. “Thank you, Princess!”
Elsa’s room was above her parents’ chambers, which were above the Great Hall, where dinner would be served. While Gerda tidied up, Elsa headed down the stairs and stopped short when she heard them arguing. Her parents never fought, and she was so surprised, she wound up eavesdropping.
“There must be something we can do! We can’t continue like this!”
It was her mother talking.
“Iduna, we’ve been over this time and time again.” Her father sounded frustrated. “We don’t have a choice. We must wait.”
“I’m tired of waiting! We’ve lived like this for far too long!”
“When it comes to magic, there is no timeline. He warned us about this.”
Magic? Magic was part of a child’s imagination. The stuff of storybooks. Why would her parents be talking about something that didn’t exist?
“We were desperate. We didn’t think. We should have tried to change their fates. Maybe if we appealed to Grand Pabbie again…”
“No! We can’t be seen there. Even your travels to the village are getting too risky. What if someone learned where you were going? Who you were seeing? Do you know what would happen if she were brought here?”
Who are they talking about? Elsa strained to hear more. Was this about where Mama disappeared to on her outings? Nothing they were saying made sense.
“I am always discreet, and I won’t stop visiting.” Her mother sounded defiant. “We’ve missed so much already.”
“It was the only way. You and I both know that. The magic will break soon.”
“It’s been over ten years and it hasn’t waned! It isn’t fair to any of us, especially Elsa.”
She perked up. What did this have to do with her?
“Elsa is fine.”
“She’s not fine, Agnarr. She’s lonely.”
Yes! Elsa wanted to cry out. I am lonely. Her mother knew her innermost thoughts. It almost made her want to cry with relief. But she didn’t understand what that had to do with their argument.
“We will introduce her to more people. The Duke of Weselton mentioned a prince he thought she might connect with. We’ve let her start coming to royal outings. The important thing is she’s safe. They both are. Isn’t that what we wanted?”
“She deserves to know what she’s capable of, Agnarr.”
“She will when the time is right. We haven’t seen any sign she still can—”
“There you are, Princess!” Gerda came up behind her and Elsa jumped. “I was wondering if you had gotten lost. Olina is ready to serve supper. Have you spoken to your parents?”
“I…” Elsa’s cheeks flushed as her parents stepped into the hallway, looking from Elsa to Gerda.
Her mother kissed her forehead. “How long have you been standing there?” she asked.
“I had just reached your door when Gerda arrived,” she lied.
Her mother’s face relaxed. “I missed you today.” She linked arms with Elsa and started walking with her down the hall to the staircase. “I want to hear what you did while I was gone.”