#bound series

***

It’s Halloween, and Remus is miserable.

There's a party in the dungeons; the Slytherins are hosting. "They're twats," James declared before he left their dorms, deliberately dishevelled in his pirate costume, a cutlass dangling from one hand and cider in the other. "But they throw a good piss up."

Peter agreed, predictably affable and struggling into his Peter Pan outfit. Sirius ignored them both, concentrating on doing his eyeliner right. He's a self-declared glam rock icon tonight, black glitter and flares and Marc Bolan curls. His pirate costume (second mate to James's Hook, of course) lay discarded on his bed in favour of something louder, more offensive, more Muggle.

They've all been too polite to ask why. (They all know it's because Regulus might be there).  

The party probably is good. Remus isn't there.

He was there, for an hour or so. Just long  enough for two chipped mugs of butterbeer heavily spiked with cheap whiskey and to see Sirius with his tongue down Margot Holdings' throat, his lipstick smearing crimson onto hers.

Remus begged off then, made his escape after throwing James some crap excuse about how the moon two nights ago was still making him feel woozy. James knew it was bullshit. He said nothing though, and let Remus scarper off like a kicked dog. James is the best of mates that way; he bulldozes through most conversations and into people's lives but he knows when to be quiet, how to keep a secret.

When to let Remus skulk off to their dorm to hide in his bunk and stew about Sirius.

Remus pulls the curtains tight. He kicks his shoes off, but leaves the rest of his costume as it is, pressing his face to the pillow and probably smearing lazy Dracula greasepaint all over it. It was a half-arsed effort, really. Three quarter-arsed, at best; Remus doesn't like dressing up as monsters. (He has enough of a time playing human).

He closes his eyes, then opens them again. He huffs grumpily against the pillow, wriggling to get comfortable and failing. He feels crap. He has no valid excuse for it―not one he's willing to admit to.

James knows about Remus and Sirius, and the bed hopping between them. He has ears, and eyes, and the dorm's not that big. It's not really a secret. The four of them just act like it's one, for everybody's sake.

Whatever it is, it's usually just a mess. And not a particularly monogamous one.

Remus has no reason to be upset about it. He and Sirius aren't an item. They're something, but Sirius isn't breaking any rules by snogging pretty girls under dimmed party lights. It might be nice if he didn't do it in front of Remus, but it also might be nice if he hadn't tried to make Remus a murderer two years ago. There's a lot of ways they could be nicer to each other. In perspective, the kissing doesn't seem that bad.

Remus could do the same, and might, if he trusted himself around anyone other than Sirius. (If there were girls as pretty as Sirius).

Remus doesn't trust himself with people other than Sirius, though. He's bookish and boring and plain and sometimes he daydreams about ripping his classmates apart. He's tall and pleasant and polite, and he's forever five years old, a rag doll in a wolf's jaws in a field in Ireland, changed and scarred. Sirius gets it, even if he can be a prick. He pushes buttons. He lights up the room. He gets under Remus's skin and makes him feel sane at the same time. He's one of the few people Remus trusts himself and the wolf around, even if he doesn't really trust Sirius anymore. Sirius fucked that right up for the both of them. It's confusing, but Remus is smart. He'll figure his way around it.

He devours books instead, pages and scrolls and tomes. He tries to be boring. He tries to be plain. He tries to be someone people like but mostly forget, the nice Irish lad tagging along with loud James and cocky Sirius and sweet Peter. He worries sometimes that he's doing it too well.

He tries not to think of Margot's hands on Sirius's waist, but he falls asleep to fevered images of them just the same.

***

Remus half-wakes to the <i>swish</i> of curtains flinging open. There's a low giggle and then the thump of platform boots hitting the floor.

"Moony." The bed dips. "Moooonyyy."

Remus is half asleep, surfacing from dreams he's already forgetting. He snuffles into his pillow, as if he can bury himself like a mole and back into sleep.

He's almost back asleep when he feels arms wrapping around his chest, Sirius spooning up behind him. He smells like alcohol, the remnants of cologne and clean sweat. He smells like someone else too; Remus shuts that thought down as quickly as he can, but it's too late. That little wolfy part of him that doesn't vanish with the full moon is always attuned to these things, pricking up its ears and growling low and threatening. Remus feels it in his belly. He's wide awake now.

"Sirius," he whispers, low and annoyed. He swallows. "You know this isn't your bed, yeah?" he grumbles.

Sirius laughs. He's drunk, loose and pliant. Remus doesn't know if that means he fucked her. He could tell, if he tried, if he let the wolf sniff her out. He's not going to do that though. He's got to have some self respect.

Sirius snake arms squeeze around him tighter. His knees are tucked up behind Remus's. "I couldn't find you," he slurs. "And then James said you were sad." Sirius exhales on a half yawn.

Remus waits, but Sirius doesn't say more, as if this is enough of an explanation as to why he's crawled into Remus's bed and wrapped around him like a vine.

Honestly, it is. Sirius can be complex, and sometimes he can be impressively simple.

And if Remus keeps his eyes shut, and doesn't look at the time on his watch, then he can pretend it's only been half an hour since he left the party―that Sirius noticed quickly and didn't stay on for hours, 'til dawn was approaching and the morning birds were chirping, didn't finger Margot behind a statue and kiss her neck until he left marks and then saunter back to his other mates, proud and loose-limbed and swigging whiskey before working up a sweat on the makeshift dance floor. That he didn't ask James as an afterthought once he'd had his fun, <i>hey, where did Mooney bugger off to?</i> That he didn't come and hop into Remus's bed as a way to end his night instead of the purpose of it.

It's a night thought. It's horse shit, and Remus knows it, but if he never sees the time then it will never be confirmed. If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, if your best mate is a careless prick but you weren't there to see it, then did it really happen?

Behind him, Sirius's breath gusts over the back of his neck, and then again. The rhythm of sleep. His chest rises and falls easily, pressed all up against Remus's back, hips flush against Remus's pyjama-clad thighs. Remus keeps his own breathing shallow, tries not to breathe him in. It makes his head spin a little, not quite enough oxygen getting into his lungs. He's wide awake, and so is the wolf, the scar on his shoulder prickling like pins and needles and his senses tingling too.

His pillow is going to smell like Sirius for days now after this, longer if he hides the case from the elves and doesn't let them wash it. He'll want to roll in it, smell like Sirius, rub his face over the plain cotton and mouth at it until his breath dampens the pillow and Remus can taste it on his tongue. He might let himself do it. He'll hate himself afterwards, but he might let himself all the same.

He blinks, his vision swimming a little from his half-held breath before he gasps down a lungful, and there it is. Sirius all around him, thick in the air. He smells sweet, and sleepy, relaxed and content, and with a bitter pang Remus can smell her too. The wolf inside him can smell her. Remus braces for the comforting lurch of anger, of rage, for gnashing teeth and snarling lips, but it doesn't come.

There's a whine building in his chest instead, something sad and bereft, hurt. It feels like ears pulled back against his head, like a soft muzzle pressed against the cold ground. It sounds like a kicked dog, crawling on its belly back for more anyway.

Remus sniffs, blinking the sting away from his eyes and feeling his lashes come away wet. He curls a fist into his blanket, fingers tense and his breath shaky as he alternates between short sharp breaths and letting himself breath Sirius in, his chest tight from more than Sirius's boa constrictor arms. His eyes droop eventually, his face sore from frowning, but sleep hovers in his periphery like the moon slipping out of view over a highway.

Remus is too smart to fall for Sirius. The wolf isn't.

           “We saw you coming.”  Elsa looped her arm around Anna’s shoulders and began leading her towards the wood line.  Kristoff kept pace behind them.  “I saw you coming.  Ahtohallan showed me.”

           “I don’t understand how it came down.  I’ve touched it before.”

           “So have I.  So has Mother.”  Elsa squeezed her.  “I think it’s because we had to touch it at the same time.  Like a bridge.”

           “That doesn’t make any sense!”  Anna laughed and wiped her eyes.

           “Do the spirits ever make any sense?”  Elsa laughed.

           “You’ve grown up!”  Destin clapped her on the shoulder as they reached the trees.

           “I know!  This is my husband, Kristoff.”

           “I know, we watched your wedding!”  Anna and Kristoff exchanged a look of confusion at Destin’s words.  But as Elsa opened her mouth to explain, another voice rang through the woods.

           “Oh my Spirits!  Anna!  Anna!”

           “Mother!”  Anna pulled free from Elsa and flung herself at her mother, tears starting anew.  “Mother!”

           “Anna, I missed you so much!”

           “Mama, I missed you-“

           “I’m so glad you’re safe!”

           “Still not safe yet,” Kristoff mumbled as he rubbed the back of his neck.  “The king and his riders weren’t that far behind us.”

           “No?”  Destin frowned and looked at the snow field behind them.  He turned to a young woman who was keeping a respectful distance.  “Beat the drum.  Let everyone know they’re going to be near here.”  He jerked his thumb over his shoulder.  “We’ve also got the Earth Giants helping.  The army isn’t about to attack with them at our backs.”

           Anna smiled as she listened to the pair, but reached out, groping, until she caught Elsa by the arm and pulled her into the hug with their mother.

           “Grandma is going to be so happy to see you!”

           “Is she alright?”  

           “She’s fine.  She’s healthy.  She’s closer to the Guardian Stones with a few others.”

           Anna reluctantly let her mother pull away.  Iduna cupped Anna’s face in her hands with a tender smile and used her thumbs to wipe away her tears.  Just as she had when Anna had been a little girl.

           “I’m sorry to interrupt, but if Kristoff is right, we should move you all further into the woods.”  Destin shifted uneasily.  “Make sure the soldiers can’t grab you up or shoot you.”

           “I’ll shoot back.”  Anna started at her mother’s leaden tone and realized that there was a crossbow slung at her side.  It looked Arendellian.

           “Runeard and Hans will be alone.”  Elsa’s voice was just as heavy as she looked out over the plains.  Though the snowflakes wafted gently nearby, there was a maelstrom not even half a mile away that stopped inexplicably.  As though the Mist had moved and taken on the trappings of winter.

           “His vanguard was with them,” Kristoff said as he pulled Anna close.  “And the others weren’t far back-“

           “They’ll be alone.”  Elsa repeated, her eyes narrowed.  The wind groaned in the distance.  Anna looked at the storm and then back at her sister and smiled.  “They’re not going to be able to hurt you.”

           “We won’t let them.”  Destin said as several other armed Northuldra arrived.

           “Oh, hey, Princess Anna!”

           “Princess Anna made it!”  Anna blinked.  Two or three familiar faces from the Cadet Corps appeared.  She couldn’t recall their names, but she remembered them.  She gave a weak wave.  One grinned and waved back.  “Destin, we asked the Earth Giants to move closer, but they’re not listening or don’t want to.”

           “Uh.”  He looked at Elsa.  She gave a one shoulder shrug and looked back out across the snowy field.

           “They’re close enough.”  She nodded towards the storm.  “Besides, look.  Here come Grandfather and Hans.”

           “That was fast.”  Anna swallowed hard as she covered her abdomen with her hands and pressed against Kristoff.

           “I put the wind to their backs.”  Elsa smirked.  “Like I said, they’ll be alone.”

           “Elsa.”  Mother warned.  “Anna, I want you to stand back.”

           “But-“

           “She’s right, Anna.”  Destin said.  “He killed Chief Valde just at the edge of the woods.”  Anna flinched and let Kristoff lead her away from the open field.  Destin raised his voice to be heard.  “Everybody fall back a hundred feet!  Into the trees.  Use cover, but make sure he knows you’re there.”

           Anna positioned herself behind the twisted trunk of a juniper tree that bent at the perfect angle to protect her body while allowing her to see what was happening.  Kristoff stood at her side, one of his large hands braced against a low branch, the other around Anna.  Sven grunted as he stood behind her.  Anna watched as Elsa stood a few feet away, not bothering to hide behind a tree, staring intently at the field as two gray figures struggled on horseback through the suddenly heavy snowfall.  It had only taken Kristoff and her a minute or two on Sven to cover the same ground that Hans and Grandfather were now slowly crossing as they bent into the headwind that Elsa sent.

           “What are you doing?”  Anna called.

           “Disorienting them!”

           “Would you look at that?”  Kristoff breathed.  Anna nodded.  It was clear that Elsa’s powers had only grown in the past few years.  She didn’t even need to raise her hands anymore, the wind and snow just bent itself to her will, rising high to the sky before turning back in on itself to batter the men approaching them.

           After several minutes, they finally broke through the maelstrom and into the calmness of the forest.  Their panting horses staggered and reared at abrupt change in the weather.  Anna scowled.  Grandfather looked furious and ready to ride into hell itself as he sharply reigned the horse to a halt.  His moustache was frosted in snow.  Hans looked equally angry but was visibly shivering in his sleet-slicked coat.  They slid off their horses which bolted the moment their riders dismounted, fleeing the storm for the safety of the deep woods.  One let out a panicked whinny as it raced past Elsa.  Hans looked startled at their flight, but Grandfather didn’t seem to even notice.

           “You!”  He boomed as he thrust a finger in Elsa’s direction.  Elsa’s eyes narrowed and Anna watched in horror as Mother approached, crossbow held at the low ready.  Grandfather let out a low growl as he caught sight of her.  “And you!”

           “Runeard.”  Mother’s voice was colder than Elsa’s ice.

           “Where is she?”  He demanded.  Anna froze.  Kristoff gripped her tightly.

           “That’s not your concern.”

           “Not my concern?  I have the whole of the Arendelle Army at my heels!”  He bellowed.

           “No,” Elsa said calmly.  “More than half have turned back.  They fear my storm more than they fear you.  And they love Father more than they love you.  You can’t lie to the spirits.”

           His face twisted with rage.  “I will not hesitate to burn this forest to the ground to get her back!  Your spirits cannot stop that!  We will put all of you to the torch!  Now hand her over or-“

           Anna jumped and let out a short shriek as a crossbow bolt bloomed in crimson through Grandfather’s throat.  He staggered and made a gurgling sound as blood began to flow from his mouth.  He stared in wide-eyed shock at Elsa who gasped.  And at Mother, whose mouth was opened wide in amazement, her crossbow still pointed at the ground.

           “No!”  The sharp cry echoed across the trees.  Anna gaped as she caught sight of her grandma, a few yards beyond Grandfather, crossbow still raised.  Grandfather had just enough time to turn and catch sight of her before he collapsed to the ground, jerking a few times like a dying fish before going limp.  His blood was remarkably bright against the snow.

           “You will not take any more of my family from me!”  Grandma hissed at his prone form.  Kristoff let out a soft curse.  Hans swore and placed a hand on his sword.

           “Stop!”  Mother ordered, raising her crossbow.

           He glared at her and shook his head in disbelief.  But he took his hand from the hilt of his weapon.  “You just killed your king!”

           “The King of Arendelle.”  Anna heard Yelena’s voice ring out from somewhere behind her.  “Runeard was not our king!  He was never our king!  He was never King of the Northuldra!”

           “Do you think that will matter?”  Hans shot back.  He sounded annoyed.  And desperate.  “Do you think that will stop the Arendelle army from destroying you?  From burning the woods?”  There was a long moment of silence.  Anna saw Destin roll his eyes and open his mouth to respond, but Elsa waved a hand to silence him.

           “That won’t happen,” she said firmly.

           “It doesn’t have to happen.”  Hans agreed.  “Let me take Anna back.  I never threatened the child.  I don’t care about whose baby it is.”  

Anna opened her mouth to call him a liar, but Kristoff put his mouth against her ear and whispered, “Don’t let him see you.”

“Everyone in Arendelle is expecting us to be wed.  Anna will be Queen and I will be the King.  I will leave your people alone.  I have no interest in annexing the forest.  The soldiers know that Runeard was preparing the documents to ensure my reign.  I can tell them not to attack.  That his death was an accident.  They’ll listen to me!”

“Listen to you?”  Mother scoffed.  “You will be King?  Who are you?  You’re no one.  Agnarr is next in the line of succession.  Agnarr is king!”

“Agnarr?”  Hans raised an eyebrow.  “Prince Agnarr?”

“Yes!”

“Prince Agnarr is dead.  I killed him-“  

“No!”  Anna screamed.  

Mother’s bolt smacked him square in the forehead and he dropped to the ground like a stone.  She dropped the crossbow, breathing heavily, shoulders heaving.  She turned to Elsa.

“Is he- did he?”

“No.”  Elsa pulled Mother into a hug.  “Father is fine.  He’s in the dungeon.  He’s safe.”  Anna felt a relief so powerful that it made her knees give way and she would have collapsed if Kristoff hadn’t caught her.  If Elsa said Father was safe . . .

“The army will be here soon,” Destin said as he slowly approached the bodies.  “And that one was right.  There will be a lot of questions.”

“Aren’t you the Queen now, Iduna?”  Yelena walked up and nudged Runeard’s corpse with her toe.  “Can’t you smooth things over?”

“Don’t be so cavalier, Yelena.”  Grandma warned.  Anna walked numbly over the knot of people who were starting to gather in a ring.  Kristoff kept his arm around her shoulders, but Elsa still took her hand and squeezed it tightly.

“I’m not being cavalier, Seita.”  Yelena nodded at Mother.  “She’s the Queen of Arendelle now, right?  They have to listen to her.”  She looked at Anna.  “Or was Agnarr stripped of his powers?”

“I don’t know if the papers had been signed.”  Anna swallowed hard.  “I think they were waiting for the wedding.”  She stared at Grandfather’s corpse.  She wasn’t certain how she felt looking at it.  Mother sighed.

“Elsa, how long do we have?”

“As long as we need.”

“Let’s pull the bolts.”  Destin shrugged.  “We pull the bolts from them.”  They stared at him and he shrugged again.  “It’ll be grisly, but if we do that, then we can ask the Earth Giants to drop a few boulders on them.  We war gamed this, remember?  We’re in the woods.  They crossed the border.  We can just say the Earth Giants thought they were invaders and hit them with some boulders.  They’ll believe that.”

“Will they?”  Yelena sounded uncertain.  Destin heaved a sigh.

“Well, do you have a better idea?”

*          *          *          *          *

           Agnarr sat with the back of his head resting against the stone wall.  He could feel the damp slowly saturating his hair, but it didn’t matter.  Although they had taken the time to strip his jacket away, it had only been to put the manacles on and gag him.  One of the guards had even provided him with a thick blanket that he had wrapped around his shoulders.  Once the adrenaline and desperate rage had worn off, the dungeon was damn cold and it felt as though ice had replaced the energy that had been flowing through his veins.  He cracked his neck breathed into his cupped hands to warm them.

           He spent the day before watching the sun trace a path across the floor until the shadows had swallowed up the light.  No one came to light the torches in the scones.  No one had come to give him dinner.  That was when he was certain that Anna must have escaped.  

If she was still in Runeard’s clutches, there was no way the old man wouldn’t have come to gloat.  He hoped that he helped give her the time she would need to evade capture.  But despite the dark night, he was unable to fall asleep.

           No one brought him breakfast when the sun rose.

           Agnarr wondered if this was a good or bad sign.  Perhaps his father meant to forget about him here. Or perhaps the castle guard had ridden out in search of Anna.  It was impossible to tell.  Still, his tongue had gone woolen and he was feeling rather lightheaded after going nearly a day without food or water.  The sun was now high in the sky.  The manacles had chafed the skin raw from his wrists and the lack of sleep helped nothing.  He was in a half-stupor when the heavy sound of the key clanking in the lock drew his attention.  Groaning, he felt his joints click and pop as he staggered to his feet.

           The door opened and Iduna swept into the cell.  His heart nearly stopped.  She was wearing the very dress she had been in the day that she and Elsa had fled.

           “Agnarr!”  The relief in her voice melted him and he took an unsteady step towards her.  A sharp pain welled in his chest and his eyes burned.  If she was here, wearing the trappings of royalty, that must mean . . .

“One of you come and unlock these!  This is your king!”  She called over her shoulder, never breaking her stride.  His chains rattled as he tried to embrace her and she stood on her toes to untie the knot of the cloth that had been used to gag him.

           “Iduna!”  He managed to choke as she threw her arms around him and held him fast.  Unable to move his hands more than a few inches apart, Agnarr gripped the soft material of her dress tightly in his fists and buried his face in her hair.

           “Your Majesty?”  A young guard spoke hesitantly and held up a key.  Iduna stepped back and pivoted to his side, her hand resting on his shoulder.  Agnarr nodded, not trusting himself to speak, and held out his arms.  The guard removed the manacles and stepped back, looking uncertain.  “Um, if you-“

           “Leave us,” Iduna said.  “And leave the door unlocked this time.”

           The guard bowed.  “Yes, Your Majesty.”

           Iduna turned back to him with an ecstatic grin.  She laughed, tears welling in her eyes, and brought her hands up to touch his face, running her fingers along the stubble of his jaw.  “You’re alive!”

           “So are you!”  He managed to croak.  Agnarr caressed his wife’s cheek as he studied her face.  There were more lines than he remembered, the barest touch of gray in her brown hair, but the same lively blue eyes and dazzling smile.  “I can’t believe you’re here!”

           “Neither can I.”  She let out a half-laugh, half-sob and hugged him again.  Pressing her face against his chest as he wrapped his arms around you.  “I missed you so, so much, my love.”

           “Not half as much as I missed you.”  He kissed the top of her head.  “How are you here?  And in thatdress?”

           “I saved it,” she murmured against him.  “It reminded me of you.  Anna thought it would be wise to wear it during our return.  The cadets outgrew their uniforms years ago.  Destin agreed it might help the officers if they remembered who I was as soon as they saw me.  They were right.  It worked.”

           Agnarr huffed a laugh and kissed her again.  “Mattias will be proud.”  He stood there with his arms around her, eyes closed, taking in her warmth and the faint scent of pine that clung to her hair and clothing.  “But, truly, how are you here?”

           There was a moment of silence.

           “Runeard is dead.”

           “Good.”

           “And Prince Hans is dead.”

           “Even better.”  He felt Iduna snort against him.  “I mean it.  It turned my stomach every time that snake was near Anna.  It’s well worth any diplomatic headache as long as that little shit is dead.”

           “Agnarr!”  Iduna laughed and squeezed him again.  He smiled and bent to kiss her.

           “Where are the girls?”

*          *          *          *          *

           “Where are Mother and Father?”  Anna asked as she joined Elsa in the library.  Her sister had conceded to wearing a modest cream blouse and dark blue skirt while staying in the castle.  Honeymaren, on the other hand, had been having a wonderful time trying on a new style of dress every day.  “I haven’t seen them since breakfast and I wanted to talk to them about tomorrow’s banquet.”

           “I believe they’re off being ‘enthusiastically married’,” Elsa said with a small smile as she looked up from her book.  Anna made a face and Elsa giggled.  “General Mattias said they were making up for lost time.”

           “Ugh, then it can wait.  Honeymaren is coming, right?”

           “Yes, she should arrive this evening.  She’s helping Kaija bring the children down.”

           Anna grinned.  “Halima has been baking all day to get ready.  She has a dozen cookies for each grandchild so far.  And no intention of stopping.  Colonel Mattias said he’s going to sleep at the castle before spending the night in a house with that many sugared-up children.”

           “I think he’s hoping they’re so cute that she won’t kill him when he tells her he intends to stay in the North.  Father said he’d be happy to have him serve as a military liaison in the forest.”

           “Yes,” Anna said dryly.  “Keeping those murderous Earth Giants under control.  Pity about Grandfather and Hans.”  She sighed and drummed her fingers against the table.  “Father arranged to have his body sent back to the Southern Isles.  What was left of it, anyway.  Along with his condolences.”

           Elsa shuddered.  “It’s horrible, but I think Destin was right.  Better everyone think they charged foolishly into the woods and were killed by the Earth Giants.”

           “Honestly?  I don’t know that it will matter.  Hans wasn’t fond of his family and I don’t think they cared much for him.”

           “Anna.”  Elsa raised her eyebrow and cocked her head.  “They might not have cared much for him, but I doubt they would have nothing to say about the Queen of Arendelle killing their son.  Regardless of how justified a killing it was.”

           “I know, I know.”  She raised her hands.  “Father said he’s sending them some of the documents that Grandfather was drawing up.  It will strengthen the case that Hans was trying to steal the crown by manipulating an old man with a frail mind who was senile enough to try and charge into a magical forest that had just reappeared.”  Anna smiled and played with her wedding ring.  “It’s a good thing I’m already a married woman or I’d never find a husband with how we’ll look after this.”

           Elsa smiled.  “Did Grandfather really worry that people would think ‘Dark Magic’ ran through our bloodline?”

           “I mean, people know that magic does.”  Anna shrugged.  “And they’re not wrong.  No one is going to mess with Arendelle with you around!”

           “Anna,” Elsa spoke gently.  “You know I’m going home once all the festivities are done and Mother’s and Father’s coronation is over, don’t you?”

           “Don’t remind me.  But that’s three weeks away!  And besides, with Nokk, it takes you hardly any time to get here.  So you can come and visit whenever you want to.  And let’s be honest, Arendelle has way better chocolate than the forest, you I know you’ll want to.  And then once the baby is born, you can teach me to ride Nokk and I can come visit you!”

           “No!”  Elsa laughed.  “My answer is the same as when you were nine.  I’m not teaching you to ride Nokk.  But I will be here anytime you want me to be.”

*          *          *          *          *

           “I thought this day would come sooner.”  Iduna whispered as she closed her eyes and listened to the steady beat of his heart against her ear.  Agnarr chuckled and pulled the heavy blankets around them, tucking the edges under her back.  His bare skin against hers had the same effect as huddling near a campfire, warm and comforting, but the winter wind off the harbor was bone chilling.  She could hear it whistling against the windows.  Yawning, she wondered if it would be inappropriate to ask Elsa to calm it the following night.

           “I didn’t think it would ever come.”  Agnarr replied, taking one of her hands in his and wrapping his other arm around her back.  She smiled as his fingers circled a knot beneath her shoulder blade.  Her craving for his touch had not abated during their separation.  And now that she could indulge in it, she would enjoy every moment she had missed.  “He made it very clear that he wanted me removed from the line of succession as soon as Anna was of age and established.”

           “She would have stepped aside-“

           “Hans never would have allowed it.  I think he must have been the spitting image of my father in his youth.”  Agnarr sighed.  “They got on so well.”

           “I’m sorry.”

           “What happened isn’t your fault.”

           “Still.”  She kissed the back of his hand.  “I wish things had happened differently.”

           “I wish you had poisoned the bastard before he found you out.  Or is that what you meant?”

           “What I meant, Agnarr, is that I’ve missed us and missed this and missed you terribly.”  She raised her head and stuck her tongue out at him.  He grinned.  She returned the smile and laid her head back down.  “And that the girls weren’t apart so many years.”

           “Well, the girls will have to find their own ways,” he said with a wistful tone.  “But I respect Elsa’s decision to return to the North.  She can feel the eyes of Arendelle on her with all the lies my father told.”

           “Honeymaren would never agree to stay here either.”

           “No, I can’t imagine she would.  And Anna and Kristoff will be busy with their baby here.  But with the Mist down, they can send letters.  And Nokk was always a quick ride.”  Agnarr shifted his weight so that she tilted her chin towards him.  He ran his thumb along her jawline.  “And as for you and I, well, I won’t rule without my queen.  So you’ll just have to play Iduna the Adoring once more.”

           “Now, there’s a name I haven’t heard in years.”  She giggled.

           “Not since we were newlyweds.  But doesn’t this remind you a little of those days?”

           “Hm, I don’t know.  Let me grab a knife and maybe that will refresh my memory.”

           They both laughed and then settled into a comfortable silence, listening to the wind outside and the sounds of dying embers popping in the fireplace.

           “You could always call me the ‘Royal Bedwarmer’ again.”  He suggested.  She squeezed his shoulder.

           “You do fulfill that duty nicely.”  She yawned once more, a pleasant drowsiness beginning to overtake her.  “I hope living apart again won’t be too hard on the girls.  Elsa missed Anna terribly.”

           “Anna missed you both.  It was hard, watching her try to hide it.  But they can write.  And they can visit.”  He rubbed her back reassuringly.  “And in due time, not too soon I hope, they’ll both rule Arendelle and the North in their own right.  And maybe that’s how it should be.  An alliance.  An egalitarian alliance.  Like we might have had if not for my father.”

           “Anna ruling Arendelle and Elsa leading the Northuldra.”   Iduna murmured sleepily.  “I think you’re right.  I think when they’re older, that would be best for everyone.  I think it will make people happy.”