In Arendelle Castle

It was early afternoon by the time Arendelle customs had cleared the ship to dock in town. Ambassador Meyer was pleased that the castle had sent porters to assist them in moving into their quarters. Not every kingdom was so considerate, no matter where in the capital they would be residing. Their respective monarchs were distant relations, but he knew that even close relations between monarchs never guaranteed real friendliness between nations.

As the ambassador's private secretary, Lars had the job of making sure everything was settled for getting ashore and moved off the ship. He had everything of his own packed to be taken to his quarters in the castle, and he checked with the representatives from the castle to see that everything was in order for the rest of their party.

The horses were the first thing taken off the ship, and Lars was quite keen on making sure they were well taken care of. They would have no official business for at least a few weeks, so Mr. Meyer gave his secretary leave to follow the horses to the castle stables after the basic preparations for going ashore had been made. The ambassador hoped his secretary would blend in enough to gain some knowledge, but the young man was still naive enough that he had to avoid telling him directly.

Lars had been born after his mother had left Arendelle, but he was never quite clear on the timing, not that it mattered. His brother Karl was about a year and a half older, and they had been very close growing up. As children, both boys as well as their mother were certain that both of them would go into the navy. By the time they were seven or eight it was clear that his brother was much more suited to a life at sea. Horsemanship was the only physical endeavor where the brothers were near equals.

Thankfully, Lars had been the better student all along. He didn't remember how he had caught the eye of the diplomatic school. Soon after his brother had left for sea, he was beginning to read history and politics and learning a half dozen ancient and modern languages. He found it enjoyable. He was sociable and had a near photographic memory for geography and history.

It was nice living so close to the palace. He made sure to have lunch or dinner with his mother as often as he could. He wanted to work his way up in his future career, but was glad he didn't need to leave his family right away like his brother. He soon became thankful that he would make such a pitiful sailor.

As he stepped off the ship, following the horses being led ashore, he felt oddly unsteady, given how seasick he had been many of the days on the voyage. His brother had told him about this when he had first gone to sea, that just as it took some time to acquire sea legs, getting used to land again could take time, as well.

As he was catching his balance, he looked around him. Up the nearby ramp, he could see the market square. He hurried to follow the groomsmen with the horses. They were very close to the bridge over to the castle, so would have much less time than he expected to look around the town first, at least if he wanted to check on the horses. He didn't always trust strange stables, and the town would be there to explore in the next few weeks while they waited for actual work to do.

The weather was warmer than he had expected, very similar to summers in Corona. He realized the weather charts he had read for different countries never said anything to the contrary. The late sunsets for the next month or two might take some getting used to, he knew. That was the one detail he remembered from his mother's few stories, she missed the light summer nights. Sunset was certainly later during the summers in Corona, as it was hardly tropical, but only young children needed to worry about going to bed before the sun had set.

Lars hurried along following the royal grooms leading the horses, across the stone bridge and through the castle gates into the courtyard. He stopped just inside the courtyard to look around. The castle looked very different from the castle in Corona, being nearly surrounded by tall cliffs, rather than being the highest point for miles around. It had its charm, nonetheless, and seemed a more intimate place, though it was by no means small. Most importantly for his own plans, the stables seemed to be very convenient both to the castle living quarters and the town. He would need to find people who might have known his parents, so perhaps he would check around the fishing boats later on. He had no idea where to ask about his mother.

As he approached the stables, he heard a muffled conversation between whoever was inside. His horse and the ambassador's began neighing excitedly as they entered the stables, and he couldn't hear anything else over their noise.

"...the horses belong to the ambassador and his secretary," he heard the grooms say as the horses quieted down.

"Hopefully they'll get along well," a man said from inside as their horses were led toward the other horses. Lars followed them, and thanked the grooms as they left, walking directly to his own horse.

"You're glad to be on land, too," he said, stroking his mare's neck, "poor Amytis, I think that trip was worse for you, not even getting to go up to the top deck."

"Can I help you?" It was the man he had heard from outside, but he could not see who he had been talking to before the horses arrived.

Lars turned around with a start, seeing a large bearded man smiling at him.

"Sorry, this is my horse, and I just like to keep track of her... she misses her brother, too," he began, "at any rate, you seem to belong here, will anyone mind if I come by myself and take her for rides when I'm not working?"

"If she's your horse, I don't see why not," the man said, "but you didn't tell me who you were."

"Lars Nilsen, private secretary to his Excellency the Ambassador from Corona," Lars recited, pausing as he heard a noise from behind the man, "are those... reindeer? I've never seen any before!"

"I expect we'll be getting another joining us in a month or so," the man said, "since the Northuldra bring one as a gift for each baby."

"Amazing," said Lars, "may... may I look closer?"

"Of course, they're friendly," the man said. Lars walked over cautiously.

"What are their names? Or do they have names? I really don't know anything about them… I wasn't even sure if I should believe them when they told me there were reindeer here…"

"Yes, they have names," the man said when Lars took a long enough pause. "This little one next to you is Ragnar."

"Oh, like the Viking?"

"Yes, like the Viking. Ragnar came with Karl, but the name was Frederick's idea."

"Let's see… Karl is the youngest? That one was easy for me to remember because it's the same name as my brother, but Frederick…" Lars began, wracking his brain for the full royal family names he had memorized before being assigned to Arendelle. "That would be the eldest son, and the heir to the throne?"

The man raised an eyebrow, "I'm impressed, a lot of official visitors only learn the first names. Don't call him Fred or Freddy, though, he's grown out of that. Now I'm tempted to quiz you on the entire family."

"We had to learn the full names and titles of everyone. I suppose some of my colleagues promptly forget everything once they've been tested, except for the names of the monarch and the first in line for the throne, and maybe a regent when that's relevant. All of the official documents we have call him Prince Agnarr, though... names are funny things, really, they're just words, and yet we treat them like they've got magical powers..."

"Oh?"

Lars had been scratching Ragnar's ear, and got a lick on the face. "Woah! You are friendly!" The other reindeer began edging in on him. His horse Amytis snorted jealously. Lars stood up, petting the reindeer, and walked over to his horse. "Sorry, girl, I won't ignore you, I promise!" A larger reindeer walked over and started nuzzling him.

"That one is Samantha," the man told him, "she was the first one the Northuldra brought."

"Samantha?" Lars asked. "That's an unusual name. It sounds very English."

"I guess so? I'm not really familiar with English names," said the man.

"I had to learn English and French once I'd mastered Greek and Latin," Lars said, "luckily I've never had a real problem with languages."

"Since you ended up getting assigned here?"

"Oh, that was probably because my mother grew up here. I think the ambassador picked me expecting I'd have some special knowledge of the place, which I'm embarrassed to say that I don't. The whole trip here he was asking me about any little detail I might have picked up that couldn't be found in the official versions of events, and I was just spending the whole time trying not to be sick… I think he's disappointed in me, to be honest, and work doesn't really start for a few more weeks."

"Should you be telling me this?"

"Oh, you're probably right. Spies everywhere, I suppose. You never heard me say any of this! I hope I can trust you, you seem nice enough!" Lars looked around somewhat nervously, realizing he had not been paying attention to what he was saying or even just looking around to see who else might be listening.

"I can keep a secret," the man laughed.

"Thank you!" he said, breathlessly.

Just then, a man in royal livery appeared at the stable door.

"Is the ambassador looking for me already?" Lars stammered.

"No," said the man, very calmly, "though your rooms are ready if you wish to inspect them."

"Thank you," said Lars, then looking at the man in the stable, "and, nice to meet you, and I'll come back to see the reindeer again, I'm sure," he said, running off to the castle.