The port of Arendelle's eponymous capital, in truth its only city, was full of ships. There were the fishing boats of the residents, the trade vessels that came regularly during the spring and summer when the water was free of ice - or mostly free of ice - and now there was a small fleet of private vessels that had arrived carrying visitors from afar and not so far. The small harbor was crowded, but just outside the harbor sat one particular ship under current scrutiny.

"Avalonian?" It wasn't really a question. Despite the distance Queen Elsa of Arendelle could clearly see the Avalonian colors flying atop the ship's mainmast in the early morning light. She turned down Kai's offered telescope. She didn't need any help seeing this ship. "That's big."

"Ship of the line, Your Majesty. Seventy-four guns. The HMS Vigilant." Kai, her butler and confidant, answered. "It was spotted by one of our sloops last night, but the Vigilant unfortunately beat our ship here, so we didn't have any warning until she was already in the fjord."

"Big and fast." The queen frowned as she considered the obvious question. "So why? They are rather far from home. Why a ship of the line? Is this a threat?"

They both knew that this vessel was much larger than anything Arendelle had in its Navy. Were it to be here on a less than peaceful mission, any naval battle would be short and very ugly for the little kingdom. Arendelle was peaceful, carefully neutral in the great wars that wracked the Continent. Elsa had to think well into Arendelle's history to find the last time her kingdom had been involved in a hostility. It had been very, very long ago, probably when one of her ancestors named Ulf the Huge and Mighty or something like that, had gone viking – most likely on Avalon's shores, which when she thought about it could have a certain unfortunate irony now.

"Perhaps, Your Majesty, said Kai. "As you know, your father resisted Avalon's attempts to forge an exclusive alliance, but now that you sit on the throne ..."

"Arendelle is led by an inexperienced girl, who can freeze a fjord," Elsa sighed.

"I wouldn't have put it in quite those words, but yes. Then again, perhaps it is just King William of Avalon being - King William of Avalon. However, I would expect whoever is aboard that ship to further push an alliance, and I would expect an offer of marriage. The King has four sons."

"Wonderful." Elsa looked heavenward. "Good thing we're throwing a party, then."

Tomorrow was Elsa's twenty-second birthday, the official celebration anyway. She had been born in mid-winter but good sense and a desire to have some foreign visitors had led Arendelle to celebrate their monarch's birthday in what was usually the more balmly weather of July. As was traditional for a monarch she was hosting a ball to celebrate, but not without some reluctance and a little trepidation.

The usually balmly aspect of July in Arendelle had held for hundreds of years until Elsa's first ball, her coronation ball. There her ice magic had been unexpected revealed by her sister. She had frozen the entire kingdom including her sister. And she had been a sword's breath, or more accurately her sister Anna's handsbreath, from her own demise, and Arendelle being cursed with eternal winter as well as having that slime-covered fjord rat Prince Hans as its ruler. This ball, no matter how personally uncomfortable she found the prospect, could not possibly go that wrongly.

So she had agreed to the festivities, even though it seemed that given her current marital status holding a ball was something akin to declaring open season on herself. Nobles from far and wide had arrived with expectations and hats in hand. Elsa had met more third and forth sons of monarchs, more Dukes, more Counts and Barons in the last month than she thought there were castles in the world, and so far her only observation was that inbreeding did nobody any favors.

Her resigned sigh turned into a chuckle, "Papa did say that Avalon likes to show off. He just didn't mention that it would be quite this close to our home."

Kai only nodded.

"You know, two can play that game..."

"Your Majesty?"

"We're not completely helpless, Kai, and I would hate for them to get the wrong idea." The queen gestured back out to the large ship. "What do you think, 2000 yards?"

Elsa got a twinkle in her eye that Kai usually associated with Anna the Princess of Arendelle, second in line to the throne and first in line for pranks and mischief. He had hoped the queen would have a good influence on her sister, now that they were reunited after thirteen years of separation. Sadly, rather than Elsa's reserved queenly grace transferring to Anna, it seemed more and more the reverse was happening.

"Are you sure that's wise, Your Majesty?" He warned.

"I guess I'll find out," she replied with a shrug. She looked up into the sky, squinting as she brought her fondness for geometry to bear, quickly estimating the proper angle and velocity. Then pushing her hands out from her chest, she let go of a short burst of magic.

On the Vigilant a chorus of shouts and alarms rang across the deck, interrupting the hectic routine of settling into a port. The officers looked to their captain, and at her command called for an end to the row, reassuring the men as best they could, redirecting them back to work with glares and tersely worded orders if reassurance didn't work. The captain herself looked up from from her place on the quarter deck to the gentle snowfall that encompassed her ship and only her ship. Then she looked down at the short, rotund the man at her side, Henry Evenrath, Duke of Ledsham, Avalon's new Ambassador to Arendelle. "It looks like the Queen of Arendelle has sent her greetings, Your Grace."

Later the next day, after the Vigilant had found berth in the harbor, for it was far too large to moor to the quay with all the other boats there, and the activity had settled into the routine of a ship in port, Captain Fitzwilliam, mistress of the Vigilant found herself in the highly unusual position of begging.

"Are you sure I can't convince you to go," Captain Fitzwilliam pleaded with her First Lieutenant, Lieutenant Hanson. "Please. If you come then we only need to find two others for cards. I'm sure there will be a smoking room or some closet we could press into service. And more importantly, I won't be stuck alone with - His Grace."

"You know that isn't happening, Captain." Hanson laughed. "Even if I could, I wouldn't go. Couldn't pay me enough. Not even sure you could order me. I've got no need of hanging around a bunch of lords 'n ladies who all know they're better than me."

Fitzwilliam could think of no satisfactory response to that truth. "Fine then. Fine. See if I come to your aid when your neck's in the noose," she grumbled.

She did not want to attend the Queen of Arendelle's birthday ball either, but she hadn't been given the choice. That walrus of a Duke she had around her neck like an albatross - well, a walrus-sized albatross, with his pasty white skin and propensity for blowing his nose in an awful lace handkerchief – had made it plain she would be attending. And her orders were to follow the Duke's orders, which left her very little room for exerting any privilege as commanding officer of the ship. He had some mad fantasy that her as a woman would make the presence of the Vigilant less intimidating, a thought that Fitzwilliam rejected as both untrue and highly insulting, an insult she would have challenged if the man weren't her superior. Her ship brought down Gallic dogs with the same ferocity as the rest of the Avalonian fleet, better than most and that wasn't even a boast. Her sword was feared as well. Being a woman in the fleet had meant that some felt it necessary to insult her credentials or her competence or breeding. She hadn't killed everyone she had taken down on the field of honor, but those left alive often wished they weren't, she didn't like to settle for only taking a man's pride. Now her reputation was such that it was rare that some drunk or full of himself young Lord would cast such aspersions, and when they did they were always quickly pulled away with apologies by their compatriots.

Tonight, however, she was to be paraded at this ball like a trained bear whose teeth had been pulled to render it helpless, all for the benefit of this queen, a woman likely too involved with herself to be interested in anything outside of her arm's reach. Fitzwilliam thought if the queen had any temerity, she'd be queen of a lot more than this one tiny valley. She had not been privileged to read any of the in-depth intelligence on Her Majesty of Arendelle, but she imagined, aside from the ice magic, she was like any of the other Princesses she'd met. Shallow, sheltered, no sense of how the real world worked and therefore vulnerable. Someone who, and the captain winced at the thought, needed a man to protect her, which was after all why they were here.

A cry brought her out of her reverie, and she looked over her shoulder to where a dozen of her crew were wrestling with the boatswain's chair to get Duke Ledsham into the captain's gig. His Grace was completely indisposed to any discomfort or exertion, which made getting him on and off the ship without a gangplank rather difficult.

"Oh!" The Duke yelped as he swung gently down.

Fitzwilliam gritted her teeth to keep from laughing. This was a site she would cherish forever. The man was nothing short of impossible. "Careful there," The captain said to her boatswain loudly enough to be heard below. "We don't want any unnecessary swims today."

"Aye, aye, Captain," came the reply. And the Duke howled yet again.

She stepped back so her chuckles would at least be unseen, until she heard him yelling at the oarsmen waiting to pull him down into the boat. Fitzwilliam looked over the side where Ledsham hung turning slowly in the breeze.

"Captain, are you coming?" he demanded.

"Yes, Your Grace. I'll be right down." After an exchange of salutes with the boatswain, she gave her dress hat a push to make sure it was firmly on her head, and she climbed over the rail, deftly descending the Jacob's ladder to the waiting boat. Then she helped the oarsmen guide their prize down. She had to duck the Duke's kicking feet, but finally he was aboard, and they pushed off toward the docks.

As soon as he had caught his breath the Duke began his lecture. This was an important occasion. Avalon's interests were vital. It might be only a ball, but often the tone of an entire negotiation could be determined in a social setting. And of course since they had to convince the queen that Avalon and its citizens were refined and upstanding, and that Avalon was the center of culture and civilization, she must be on her best behavior. The captain wanted nothing more than to tell him that she was going to take her unrefined self to the local pub, so as not to distress any royalty with her uncouth presence. Hell, she'd even stay on the gig if it meant getting out of this ball. However she supposed in the end, drinking someone else's champagne and watching the clock tick was a small price to pay for the privilege of commanding the Vigilant. That didn't change the fact though, she thought as she brushed off her dress coat and reseated her hat for the carriage ride to the castle, that she would much rather go toe to toe the whole Gallic navy.

"How long do we need to stay here, Elsa? You know we could move around a little. A short walk – maybe over there," Princess Anna gestured to where Kristof was standing very near the chocolate fondue.

Elsa and her sister were up on the small dais at the end of the ballroom formally receiving the guests as they came in. Elsa liked that the step up put a barrier between her and the rest of her birthday well-wishers. It made them keep a little distance, and that distance made the whole greeting process bearable. Her sister was not taking the same comfort though. Kristof, who looked quite the part of a gentleman this evening, had declined to stand with them, which meant that Anna was chomping at the bit to go dance with him and ravage the dessert table. The queen, never looking away from expanse of the room before her, whispered to her sister. "You don't have to stay here if you don't want to."

"But then you're going to say I ran out on you and left you at the mercy of some strange prince, aren't you?"

"I absolutely will." The queen's expression returned to a serene half smile.

Anna huffed,"I'm not sure I'm all that helpful standing here. I mean suppose I'm really the problem. What if I'm actually attracting them. OK, I know I'm probably not, I mean I know you are the queen, and they're here for the queen, well to see the queen, not like take the queen. OK, who are we kidding they probably want to take the queen, and I'm only the princess. But you don't know - maybe they think it's safer to come talk to you if I'm here. That could be what's happening. I could be a Prince magnet, and I don't see how that would be helping you."

Elsa repressed a laugh at 'Prince magnet.' Her sister was not getting off that easily. "Anna, you're great at providing conversation. Think of yourself as the social outreach royal for the evening. "

"Oh come on. It's not like you don't know how to talk about things. I mean you're quite the conversationalist, well better anyway. You really have improved in the last year, although OK, I might not be the most unbiased of people, but you're out of your room, and that's something. And you talk to – dozens of people during the week. Well, a dozen, maybe two. And, and wait – this is important, you do so many more interesting things than I do, you know … taxes, and trade agreements, and farm reports, and other fun stuff. And, and you read more, which means you have lots and lots of important and interesting things you can talk about, you know compared to me. So I'm not sure you need me anymore. I mean the right here, right now, kinda anymore. You could so handle the conversation."

The queen finally glanced over at her little sister, "Anna, I will always need you, but nice try."

The silence settled.

Anna shifted and tugged at her ballgown. She looked over at her sister, who still held an unfocused gaze over the room as if it were a perfectly normal comfortable thing to do for hours at a time.

The silence stretched on.

Anna finally broke down,"OK, OK, you made your point."

Elsa's smile grew with her victory.

"I'll stay for a while longer. Just a little though, I really want to dance."

"I know." Elsa gave her sister a wink before her attention was caught by a small commotion around the entrance to the ballroom. "Oh look, here's Avalon." She momentarily pursed her lips in annoyance as the delegation came through the large double doors. Then she whispered, "Just stay for this one more. Then you can go."

"Really?" Anna's eyes lit up. "Then I can go? Well, let's get this show on the road then."

The party from Avalon bowed and a remarkably short squat man stepped forward, a lace handkerchief dangling from his sleeve. "Greetings Your Majesty, Your Highness," he said with another bow, "I am Duke Ledsham, representative of His Majesty William V of Avalon, and this is …."

"Your cabin boy," Anna jumped right in giving the captain a grin as she hopped down from the dais.

With her eyes wide in a moment of confusion, the captain looked from the Duke to the Princess and back. "No, actually I'm ..."

"Oh, I know, I know, one of those officer children," Anna interrupted again. "What is it? I know the name; I know the name. I had a tutor who was positively gaga over Avalonian navy stuff. You know," Anna lowered the pitch of her voice, no doubt to imitate the tutor and said, "'Avalonian navy, finest navy in the world.' Aaaand, it's coming to me …. ahhhh …. Midshipmen … Midshipman? You're a Midship man, but I mean not really a man, you're what? Fourteen? Probably not even. You don't even have the trace of a whisker, and your voice certainly hasn't changed. You're cute though. Tell me is it really as hard as they ..."

As rude as it was to interrupt royalty, Fitzwilliam decided that this had gone on long enough. And if the Princess pinched her cheek again she was likely to get her fingers smacked.

"If her Highness will permit," she said using a voice more suited to the quarterdeck than a ballroom. "I am Captain Fitzwilliam of the Vigilant. I am 29. And not to disappoint, but I both unlikely to grow a beard or to have my voice change." The captain removed her hat with a sweep, and bowed again, before she said something she might regret.

Elsa understood first, and her hand flew to her mouth to try to suppress her laugh. It came out as a rather unqueenly snort followed by a breathy, "I am so sorry, Captain. My sister ..."

"What, what? What did I do now?" Anna stepped away as her sister elbowed her in the ribs.

"Captain Fitzwilliam is a woman, Anna."

"Ooooooh." She blushed, looked back to the captain, waved, and said in a high pitched voice. "Hi. I'm so sorry."

"It was nothing, ma'am," the captain said quickly. "It happens all the time." Which was a lie. It had never happened before, but she could think of nothing else remotely appropriate. In civilized parts of the world, or those uncivilized parts where she and the Vigilant patrolled, she was well known. However, Arendelle was apparently neither of those.

"It is indeed a pleasure to meet you, Captain Fitzwilliam," the queen said mercifully ending the awkward exchange. "I hope you enjoy your stay in Arendelle."

Fitzwilliam nodded in what she hoped looked like agreement, bowed again and withdrew leaving the Ambassador to conduct whatever god forsaken conversation he was intent on having. She wondered if they had whiskey here or good rum. She wanted, no needed, a stiff drink.

The party was now in full swing, and the room was packed. Elsa made her apologies to the party of the Prince from Brunswick, or Luneburg … or …. her head spun sorting out all the principalities of Germany, and tried to disappear before the next minor prince found her. Heading for a pair of curtains she knew covered the doors to a balcony, she almost ran headlong into her butler.

"Your Majesty?" he said. "Is there something you need?"

"Fifteen minutes, Kai." Elsa saw the sigh rather than heard it in the noisy ballroom. "Ten …. I need ten, just a moment alone. I can't breathe in here," she pleaded.

The butler sighed again, nodded and beckoned two guards over to cover her exit. "Not too long, Your Majesty. It's your ..."

"I know, it's my party," she agreed feebly. "And if Anna asks ..."

"I will tell her that you will return in ten minutes."

Elsa mouthed a 'thank you' and slipped through the curtain and through the open balcony doors. Shutting them gently behind her, she exhaled a deep breath. Out here the party was a bearable rumble, not much louder than the sound of the fjord on the rocks below. A summer breeze wafted gently through, bringing the welcome scent of fresh air and the sea. The sky was the hazy twilight that passed for night this far into summer, and long shadows stretched across the landscape in front of her. With her gloved hands tucked close to her body, she slowly walked to the balcony rail.

The gloves were not part of her usual attire, not any longer, but at such a large gathering, with so many people whom she didn't know but who would all want to speak with her, both she and Kai had agreed that discretion was the better part of valor. Skewering the visiting raft of diplomats and suitors on giant icicles would not help her reputation as the "evil Snow Queen," nor would it ensure peaceful relations with neighboring countries. And still, for all that they were her idea, the gloves chafed, her fingers tingled and she felt the magic building up inside her. Her old mantra, "conceal, don't feel" danced through her consciousness, but she pushed it aside. 'Not feeling' was not an option. Not only did it not work, it made things worse, and Arendelle did not need another untimely winter.

So she tugged off her gloves, laying them carefully on the rail beside her. Then closing her eyes to savor the moment she gestured with her left hand. A spray of frost flew from her fingertips. Her eyes opened, her smile broadened, and she did the same with her right. She continued with the flurries, making them larger and larger, gradually bringing them together into cohesive, unnaturally large snowflakes. The crystalline structures shot up from her hands and then floated down into the sea. This display was such a small thing, showing more control than power, but it brought the needed relief. To finish she brought both hands together in a circle and thrust them upwards, leaning back to revel in the softly falling snow. It was wonderfully cool. Had it really been so hot in the ballroom? She would have to discretely take care of that when she went back.

"That's beautiful – magnificent ..."

Elsa jumped and squeaked as a figure emerged from the shadows on her left.

"Really exquisite. I had heard … heard rumors, but I had no idea it would be so ... so beautiful. Your Majesty," the speaker stopped a few feet from her and bowed. "I am sorry if I startled you."

Elsa looked at the intruder from head to toe. It was that captain from earlier, the one from Avalon. The woman. Captain Fitzwilliam. "I didn't realize there was anyone out here."

"I was taking a break, from the noise of the party, Your Majesty, and thought to enjoy the view of the harbor."

"As was I," Elsa replied still a little breathless, "taking a break."

"If Your Majesty wishes to be alone." The woman bowed again and reached for the door to return to the party.

"No. No. I intruded on your peace. And besides," the queen looked slightly rueful, "I can not stay away long. I will be … missed." She said the last word with more resignation than she intended. She knew her duty, and she did not resent her place in the world. It was after all what she had been born to do. But dozens of men hounding her at every turn, large gatherings at all really, were not the sort of activity her solitary upbringing had prepared her to enjoy.

"As you wish, Your Majesty." The captain bowed again and turned her gaze back to the fjord, taking care not to turn her back on the Queen of Arendelle, but also completely ignoring her.

Elsa was surprised. She almost felt dismissed. All night people had been watching her, following her, coming over and talking to her about things she had no interest in, or even worse nothing. This lack of attention from the captain was new, and not she thought with a bit of surprise, entirely pleasing the longer it went on. This woman had an interesting combination of self-assurance and calm that goaded Elsa into wanting to see if she could shake either of them.

"I want to apologize for my sister." Elsa said, finally breaking the silence.

The captain seemed to pull herself from far away. She wheeled, bowing yet again, and said with a deceptively blank expression. "Really, there is no need."

"She gets carried away, and she's not very observant."

"Really – no – need," Fitzwilliam allowed again, her tone still even, but her jaw clenching ever so slightly.

This time when the silence fell they both looked away. The captain's eyes immediately went back out to the harbor. Elsa's however, returned to take a moment and study the woman beside her. She was tall, tall and broad shouldered. That should have been Anna's clue, she thought. No prepubescent boy was that size. Her skin was not the pale white Elsa associated with life in a castle, but a browner shade that showed her time in the sun. Her hair was a dark brown, again showing the effects of the sun as it was a lighter on the top and around the edges and darker underneath, and her eyes were possibly brown or maybe green. It was difficult to tell at this angle. The uniform of an Avalonian naval officer was as dashing as she had heard, and this captain did it justice, from her shiny black boots, gleaming white breeches, neckcloth and waistcoat, to her elegantly embroidered dark blue coat. Her sword hung in a brass scabbard at her side. It gleamed in the twilight. Elsa was sure someone had spent some hours polishing it. The captain stood very straight and erect, but without any obvious effort at it. She stood, Elsa though with a private grin, very much like she had been taught to stand, with supreme confidence – whether she was feeling it or not and that made her wonder if the captain was really as unflappable as she seemed.

"Are there many?" the queen asked.

"Your Majesty?" Again the captain pulled her eyes back from their distant stare. "Many what?"

"Women … women in Avalon's navy?"

The captain shook her head, "No. A few. Some junior officers now, and a larger crop of Midshipmen. And one … well, one of command rank."

"So you broke the mold." Elsa tried a smile.

"I broke something," the captain said dryly, a flicker of amusement lighting her eyes. "But as Your Majesty knows, one cannot let ones gender interfere with ones true calling," her eyes moved again from Elsa's but this time only for a moment, looking out to the harbor and then back. "The sea suits me."

The silence fell again, however, this time the captain did not look away but held her eyes on Elsa's. Not uncomfortably, but in a manner that told the queen the option of conversing or not was still entirely up to her.

"Your boat?" Elsa asked, gesturing out to her vessel, certain that the captain would see that for the idle conversation it was.

"My ship, ma'am." The captain replied wondering if the queen was teasing her; surely she knew what a naval vessel was called.

"Oh, forgive me," she said, her smile broadening, "your ship. The enormous one with, what is it, seventy-four cannons pointed at my castle?"

Fitzwilliam's tone lightened although she still looked very serious. "I'm afraid that not all the guns would be pointing here at one time, ma'am. I'd have to come about to bring the other twenty-eight on the far gun-deck to bear. And we would need to be somewhat closer for maximum effect, which might turn rather chilling for us all, wouldn't you say?"

"That's a good assumption, Captain." Elsa affected her own innocent expression. "So your intentions are entirely peaceful."

"Entirely, Your Majesty. For if they were not, we would have acted on them well before you even knew we were here, and you would be standing in the aftermath."

One sculpted eyebrow shot up, and Elsa said. "Indeed, would I? It seems you are rather cocky, Captain."

"No, Your Majesty," Fitzwilliam replied with a straight face, "I am very good. I am very good in a navy of the best."

Elsa rolled her eyes at the boast, but in truth she was enjoying the conversation. Compared to others she had been having this evening it was refreshingly frank. She was also enjoying that Captain Fitzwilliam was not overawed with royalty. There was no fawning, no forced conversation, in fact when she turned her eyes away, the captain returned to staring out to sea with the same implacable manner she had exhibited since admiring her earlier magic display. Elsa was here to take a break, and it appeared that this woman had no intention of doing anything to interfere with that. It was silence, but it was a companionable silence, a rarity in Elsa's life. Not the lonely silence of her room or the council chambers late at night, no it was the sort of silence she might have shared with … Anna … if her sister were ever silent.

Then there was a knock on the glass. It was Kai. "Damn," the queen muttered. When she looked back she realized the captain was now staring at her. "What, surely you've heard the word before? Isn't there something about sailors and swearing."

The queen was sure she saw the barest hint of a smile play on her lips when the captain answered. "Yes, ma'am, indeed. There is, however as I recall, very little about about queens and swearing."

"They just don't do it in your company," Elsa retorted. She looked back toward the ballroom and sighed. It was where she was supposed to be. It was her duty, and duty was not always pleasant. Still these last few minutes had been the most enjoyable moments, aside from teasing her sister, that she had experienced all night.

"Captain, do you dance?"

"Da ... dance … not, not usually …" The personal question caught the captain quite by surprise, and for the first time she sputtered, unsure of her words, "I mean, men, not my ... um ... two swords tend to get tangled up together and that's a terrible mess, and tripping, and there aren't many women who ..." the queen cut off her stream of consciousness ramble.

"Can you dance?"

"I have had lessons ..." the captain said very slowly.

"Good. Then please, dance with me."

The captain wrinkled her brow in confusion as she took in what had just been said. She opened and closed her mouth several times in aborted sentences before she finally choked out,"Your Majesty, you do me a great honor but are you sure ..."

Elsa was pleased with herself for finally getting a reaction from the stoic captain."I am the queen. It is my birthday. And there are two dozen persistent prospective suitors in there, all climbing over each other to monopolize my time with exclamations about my beauty and Arendelle's great bounty. Something that you mercifully have avoided ..."

The captain felt a flush rising from her tall boots right up through her cheeks. "I'm sorry, of course Her Majesty is breath taking …."

Elsa held up her hand. "Captain Fitzwilliam." The captain seemed surprised she remembered her name.

"Captain Fitzwilliam, the Queen of Arendelle has just asked you to dance. Your answer?"

Fitzwilliam glanced down at her well polished boots. Queen Elsa was enjoying her discomfort far too much. "Yes, of course. I am always Your Majesty's servant."

Elsa looked back to the rail, and gave her dance partner a gentle tap. "Then if you would get my gloves, you may escort me in."

The queen's return to the ballroom did not go unmarked. Fitzwilliam wondered if a prearranged signal had gone off, the way a host of people started to swarm around them. Still the queen appeared not to even notice. Instead she tightened her grip on Fitzwilliam's arm and whispered in her ear, "Head straight for the dance floor." And the captain did as she was bid, the floor clearing before them.

Elsa didn't relax until they were safely away from the press. The orchestra began the opening strains of a waltz. She draped her left arm on the captain's shoulder as she felt Fitzwilliam guiding her into position with a strong right hand just below her shoulder blade, pulling her closer.

"I did worn you I'm not in good practice, Your Majesty" the captain whispered nervously as they began to move on the floor. Her heart then skipped a few beats when the queen replied,"That's fine, Captain. I just learned about two weeks ago."

The captain was a strong lead, moving the queen firmly. She was a little stiff, very aware of where she was, and who was with her, but she was clearly a practiced lead. Elsa, meanwhile, was trying to keep her chin up and eyes off their feet. They managed a respectable turn or two around the dance floor. No one tripped; no one fell; no toes were trod upon. Which reminded the queen ...

"Over there," she gestured with her eyes to where her sister was dancing. "Can you get over there to my sister?"

"Of course, your Majesty."

Fitzwilliam cut a path directly to where Anna was twirling in the arms of Kristoph, trusting on either her momentum or the queen's presence to clear the floor before them.

"Anna," the queen said in sotto voce, "Anna."

"Huh. Oh, hi. Elsa … Queen … Your Majesty."

"Please, come stand with me after this dance, Anna."

"Sure." Anna looked over at Fitzwilliam and winked. "But it looks like you already called out the navy. It could get crowded. I wouldn't want to cramp your style or anything."

Elsa shot her eyes skyward and shook her head. "Excuse my sister … again."

"You know I heard that, right?"

Elsa merely laughed as they moved away, but Fitzwilliam felt her blush begin anew. And despite the cool touch of the queen's hands, this time it lasted until the dance was over. She had no idea why the queen had chosen her. If someone had told her she was to be squiring Queen Elsa of Arendelle on the dance floor, well she wouldn't have even given it enough credibility to call it mad. But here she was dancing with one of the most eligible … and now she would add beautiful … royals in the world. She knew that there were a host of men staring at her right now cursing her and her impudence. That thought pleased her, but it didn't explain the strange unsettled feeling she had in her stomach.

After the dance the royal party, this time with Kristof and the captain in tow, all retired to the side of the ballroom nearest the dessert table. Captain Fitzwilliam having delivered her charge safely off the floor, bowed deeply yet again, and begged the Queen's leave. Elsa was in the middle of replying that she was not inclined to give it when the captain felt a pull at her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" came a heavily accented voice. When Fitzwilliam turned she found that she was staring into the eyes of a Gallic gentleman, minor nobility by his attire.

"Excuse me," Fitzwilliam said through tight lips, "I'm not sure we've met."

"That is only because you do not pay attention." His index finger poked into her chest. "I am the Baron Henri D'Adnet, third cousin to the King himself."

Fitzwilliam still was not sure she knew the gentleman, but it was becoming clear he knew her.

"And you are Captain Fitzwilliam, your reputation I know." He sneered as he looked her over. "You enjoy to cause the scandal. You disgrace Queen Elsa, Arendelle, and your Avalon, who would of course allow a dog such as yourself to be amongst the civilized people."

Fitzwilliam felt her temper rising. This would probably be a good time to excuse herself. She stepped back trying to move the annoying Baron away from the queen before she let him know exactly what she 'enjoyed' to do, preferably to wipe that obnoxious look off his face, but it was the queen who answered next.

"She was dancing with me, Henri." The queen said, a picture of studied calm. "And now she's talking to me."

"Your Majesty, I would not have your reputation sullied by this ..."

"Take care, Your Excellency," Fitzwilliam growled. At some point during the Baron's tirade she had removed her own leather glove and now she tapped it on the palm of her hand for emphasis.

Elsa blanched. The threat of a challenge on the field of honor was unmistakeable. This was exactly the sort of international incident she was not going to have here. "Captain Fitzwilliam," she said sharply. "Your Excellency. Need I remind you that this is a festive occasion? A party. My party." She looked between them, hoping the silent threat was understood.

"Of course," The captain answered first, stammering, looking from Elsa to the floor and back, the heat of her anger immediately chilling into the dread of embarrassment. Her mind went blank except for a loud internal voice shouting , 'You idiot, this was the very thing you were not supposed to do.' But truthfully it wasn't the Duke's concerns that mortified her. It was the look on the queen's face, her annoyance and disappointment were clear. "My apologies - I - I must withdraw." Fitzwilliam turned and moved as rapidly as she could without running toward the doors, aware of every person staring at her abrupt exit. The crowd moved quickly out of her way to avoid being mowed over, and Elsa watched her retreat, right until the door closed behind the captain, wondering to the end what she might possibly say to stop her. When she looked back Baron Henri had settled himself next to her, a smug satisfied curl to his lip.

"Leave me," she snapped to the young noble.

"Pardon?" he asked surprised.

"I said, leave me. Leave the room. In fact, you may leave Arendelle." Elsa's eyes narrowed dangerously. She knew the temperature was dropping in the room and a few stray snowflakes began to fall, but she really didn't care. This man needed to be gone.

The Baron stepped back in alarm, turned, and muttering to himself, made his own much slower path to the exit, collecting his entourage as he left.

The brief snow flurry ended. The temperature remained cool but not cold. The ball continued, and the queen managed to avoid another dance. Then after what she decided was a decent interval, Elsa gave her sister a small smile. "I think I'm … I'm tired. Do you mind?"

"No, no. I'll keep the party candles burning at both ends … or whatever," Anna gave her sister a big hug. "Don't worry. Go … go cool down." Anna winked.

"You did not just say that," Elsa groaned at her sister's attempt to improve her mood.

"Of course I did. I'm the conversationalist, remember?"

A/N - First I must concede a great debt to Halm Vendrella author of Frozen: The Snow Queen and The Snow Queen: Love and Duty. His writing is beautiful. Read them both if you want to read something more novel-like and just plain better than this. He set his works in the same early 19th century that I love, and it was reading the words "ship of the line" in Love and Duty that sent me on the path to this. Next of course comes Requ and A Formal Affair because it too is wonderfully written and OMG hot. Elegance and imagery all in one sexually tense beyond all belief package. This is my first effort. All mistakes grammatical and otherwise are solely mine. Critique is welcome, even "You suck" as long as you tell me why.

This story is now complete, but don't let that stop you from leaving comments. I read each and every one of them ... savoring every letter.

Disney owns Frozen and its characters. I will be happy to discuss transformative work with anyone though.