Chess Piece

Husband and Wife

A man would not be changed merely by gaining a marital status, if any; he would actually become bolder than before.

Her life had fallen into a constant and repeated cycle with her duties as Queen as her first priority above all, for Anna had begun to avoid her again after their last encounter that had left both sisters in the state of distraught while she had Hans assigned to the small duties that would involve him more with the public as he was far more capable of handling them than she.

Hours she would spent in her study, overlooking paperwork and reports that had come to her way, of letters with various of seals that bear different offerings and trades with Arendelle's neighboring kingdoms, of notes from her meetings with her council as they constantly in attempt to find the best solutions for the people that would be profitable to both.

She had thought that the knock on her study's door would come from one of her council members, or perhaps one of the servants that came to report of anything that may happen inside the castle, instead she was met with the delicious smell of the food tray brought in by the auburn haired man that was supposed to be down the docks and oversee the shipping of trades instead of here.

"Why is it that you love to miss lunch?" He had questioned as he came to stand in front of her desk while one of her brows had rose at him. "This has been the fourth time that you did this week."

Had he actually counted it? "I'm the Queen; it is my duty to care for my kingdom."

"Yes, yet you wouldn't be able to do so should you get sick." He had placed the tray down on the low table instead of her desk, thankfully, for it was full of important papers that she would be so upset with should they be ruined.

She had never fallen sick before, it was one of the very few good things that her powers had come with besides her immunity against the coldness, no matter how low the temperature was. "Weren't you supposed to be somewhere else?"

His brows furrowed then as he straightened up. "I have finished earlier than I have originally thought." It was a must that she admitted his ability to work was far better than any of her council men, better than her, and she began to wonder if he truly had prepared himself ever since he was young even before he knew that his fate would be sealed to be a Queen's husband. "And I was informed that the Queen had not eaten anything since breakfast despite not even finishing her meal then."

His attention to even the smallest of details was remarkable too, he paid attention to everything around him, he paid attention to her no matter how their marriage had gone as nothing more than a mere social status as they had not yet fulfill Lord Melbourne's wish for them to consummate either.

"You could have sent a servant to bring the food to me, no need to trouble yourself like so." Though she did appreciate his attempt to care for her, she found it unnecessary for him to come and see her directly to deliver the tray and his scolding.

His shoulders lifted up in a shrug as he approached her desk once more, hands clasped behind his back as he came to stand behind her, looking over the papers before her with a tilt of his head. "I do not see why I should not care for my wife ever once in a while."

It was the first time he had ever addressed her as his wife, not even during his appearance at one of her council meetings regarding the kingdom's trade partners did he called her so in front of her men, only addressing her as the Queen or Her Majesty instead, and it sent a strange chill down her spine that she had no explanation behind it.

"Well then," she had cleared her throat as her eyes remained fixed on the paper, though she had failed to actually read the words written with black ink on it, somehow too distracted with the man behind her. "Your service is no longer needed, husband, thank you. You may be excused now."

She did not expect the chuckle that had come from him either, or the way he had leaned down to better see the papers, and has he not been aware that his breath was so close to her neck now? "I could help you here to overlook some of these, that way you may be able to actually join me and Anna for dinner."

Another pair of helping hands and fresh eyes would have been a great help, yet could she truly spend her day with him in such enclosed space? Sure they had slept in the same room, in the same bed, for weeks now, yet it was different for both were well... asleep. To have both awake and aware of each other was another story.

"I still need you to oversee the upcoming trade with Corona." She had instead told him as she had took one of the opened letters from the top drawer at her left, holding it up for him to take. "I was informed they would come tomorrow around noon, should the waters were friendly. Could you please see the preparation to welcome them?"

There was an amused smile on his lips that she caught from the corner of her eye as he took the letter from her hand. "Of course, My Queen."

She watched him make his leave then, letter in hand, though her call for his name did made him stop and turn to look back at her. "Thank you for the food, I truly appreciate it."

His smile return, the one she had remembered from their past encounters back when they were not yet married to each other. "Please eat it soon, before it gets cold."

--

She was tired and yet her eyes remained opened.

The Northern Lights had made it's appearance outside of the large window, dancing gently over the dark sky of the night; they reminded her of Anna.

The sky's awake. The Princess would say as she climbed onto her bed, hands shaking her sister's shoulders to awaken her from her sleep, asking for her to build a snowman with her power, back then was harmless and produced nothing but beauty and fun.

For the first time ever since their wedding, she had actually turned around until she face the man beside her instead of only giving him her back to see, blue eyes watching as he snored lightly in his sleep, face so peaceful that she envied him, for even in sleep she sometimes still had to face her fears, her nightmare of the night she had hurt her own sister.

Perhaps it was her own exhaustion that had pushed her to reach up and cautiously laid her gloved hand against his face, feeling the slight shift he made under her touch before he settled back in without even much of a flutter from his eyes, and she took a quiet deep breath as she let her eyes closed, enjoying the warmth of his skin.

Should she not possess magic, then she was sure that falling for him would be so much easier.