The Young Diplomat [Frozen II post-canon]

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.