The clock in the kitchen chimed and Anna looked up. The first batch of cookies would be ready any moment; then it would be time to put in another tray. After that, there were four different types of bread, krumkaker (she wouldn’t fill them with cream in this heat), and at least two spice cakes to make. Her mother hated the idea of her baking cakes that might not sell (“The ingredients cost money”), but Anna knew people would want them, and they made a tidy profit off cakes. It was a win-win.
“You must tell him not to worry so much,” her mother said. “What is meant to be will be.”
“I know. I’m sure he does as well, Tomally, but sometimes the future feels so far away,” Freya said.
“Then focus on now,” Anna said. “Right now you’re doing something really fun with me.”
Her aunt laughed. “That is true. We are blessed in so many ways.”
Anna pulled the cookies out of the oven to let them cool. They were a light golden yellow, just how she liked them. She always timed them perfectly.
“Speaking of food, I almost forgot…” Freya dug into the woven basket she had brought and unwrapped the parchment paper. Inside was just what Anna wanted: several blocks of the darkest, thickest chocolate she’d ever seen.
Anna lifted one to her nose. The chocolate smelled divine. “Thank you! I promise I’ll make this batch last till your next visit. Maybe.”
“Fair enough.” Freya laughed. “I may even be able to bring you some chocolate from another kingdom. My husband and I will be traveling the next few weeks.”
“Traveling?” Anna’s eyes lit up as she placed another tray of cookies in the oven. “Where are you going? How are you getting there? Are you bringing your daughter? Does she like to travel, too? What are you wearing?”
Freya started to laugh again. “So many questions!”
Anna’s mother shook her head. “Always. The girl never stops talking.”
Anna smiled. “I can’t help myself.”
“We’re going alone, and our daughter is staying home with…help,” Freya said, struggling to find the right words. “The journey is long, and it will be good to have someone stay back and take care of our affairs. She’s older than you by three years, so she’s practically an adult.”
Anna began to prepare the icing by beating egg whites and powdered sugar. “I’ve never traveled before. I’ve never even been off this mountain.”
“I know,” Freya said thoughtfully. She looked at Anna’s mother. “It would be wonderful if you could finally visit Arendelle.”
Anna dropped her spoon into the icing with a loud thud. “Could I? I’d bring cookies. Which are your daughter’s favorites? The snowmen? Your husband likes the spice cake, I know.…”
Her mother jumped in. “Anna, slow down.”
Freya was quiet for a moment, lost in her own thoughts. “If I could finally find a way for you to visit, would you like to come stay with me?” Freya asked, her voice cracking.
“Like to come? Of course I’d like to come!” Anna squealed in delight.
Her mother smiled sadly at Freya. “Anna’s always wanted to visit Arendelle. Do you think there is any way to make that sort of trip possible?”
“We don’t know unless we ask,” Freya said to Anna’s mother. Then she looked at Anna. “You’ve waited long enough.”
It was like they were speaking in code. They weren’t making sense to her. It was just a trip to the kingdom. Why were they so hesitant? Anna wanted to ice the cookies fast so she could focus on the conversation. Quickly, she tested the icing on the first snowman, letting it drip from her spoon onto the cookie, then watched it spread out and drip over the sides, covering the snowman in white. She did several more snowmen, then put down the icing and spoke up.
“I want to visit Aunt Freya in Arendelle so badly,” Anna said. She didn’t want to hurt her parents, but she knew staying in Harmon wasn’t her future. “Can I go? Please, Ma?”
Her mother sighed and looked at Freya. “We’re so busy with the bakery we couldn’t afford to have you gone for long.” She paused. “But I’ll talk to your father. It’s not a guarantee,” she stressed, “but I’ll ask. You are bound to wind up there eventually.”
“I’ve always wanted to meet your daughter,” Anna said to Freya. “It would be nice to bake with someone my own age. No offense.” Freya and Anna’s mom laughed.
“Someday soon you two will be together,” Freya said. “Your meeting is long overdue.”
Arendelle. Anna could almost imagine the kingdom she’d spent so many years looking at from a distance. She’d see more than the tops of the turrets. She’d be right there in the middle of everything, with Freya, who knew the place so well. “Do you think Papa will say yes?” Anna asked her mother.
“Perhaps,” Ma replied.
Freya smiled and took Anna’s hand. She seemed hopeful. “When I get back from my trip, we will find a way to bring you to Arendelle.”
I might die of boredom.
Elsa would never say those words out loud, of course. But as she sat in the portrait hall in a large velvet chair and stared up at the ceiling, she couldn’t help thinking them. Her parents had been gone only a week, but already she was feeling the weight of their absence. She’d done all her studies for the next three days, sat in on the visits her father had outlined for her, walked around the courtyard daily, and visited with Olina in the kitchen. The castle’s chef was the closest thing she had to a real friend, if she was being honest. Miss Olina—who insisted Elsa call her Olina now that she was practically an adult—didn’t care that she was the future queen of Arendelle. She gave it to Elsa straight.
“You need friends—or better yet, a suitor,” she had told Elsa that morning. Elsa was sitting in the kitchen with her, eating eggs for breakfast.
Elsa groaned. “Now you sound like the Duke of Weselton.” She knew where the conversation was headed: she was about to get a lecture.
“Would it be so wrong for you to find someone who is your equal?” Olina asked.
Elsa sighed deeply.
“You listen, my darling girl.” Olina waved a wooden spoon, the pink in her cheeks from the heat of the stove growing deeper as she got wound up. “You spend too much time alone.”
“But—” Elsa said, but Olina cut her off.
“I know you’re learning how to follow in your father’s footsteps, and that’s good, but when was the last time you went outside the castle walls? With someone other than this staff? A good queen knows herself inside and out, and you are too inside your head. The only way you can understand the people you serve is to get to know them. Enjoy their company. Hear their stories. In the process you might figure out what you enjoy, as well, when you’re not focused on your studies and your future.”
Olina made a good point. What did Elsa enjoy doing other than spending time with her parents and learning how to be a wise ruler? Olina was right. She needed friends. She needed a hobby. She needed something to do. But what?
“Oh my goodness!” Olina said, spying Kai coming through the door with a large box. Various scrolls and hats were falling out of it. Olina ran over to help him place the box on the floor. “Let me help you with that.”