Your P.O.V
A few days had passed since the whole "wagon incident" and I still couldn't get myself to realize what had happened. It felt like it was some kind of a silly joke but I knew it wasn't. The place I was in at the moment though, didn't help me believe it.
I was inside a huge room that could fit at least a hundred of people, with a high ceiling holding a gigantic crystal chandelier and tremendous windows that appeared on almost every bordeaux-wallpaper-covered wall. There were portraits of royals and knights' armors were standing tall, as if they were alive. The polished, wooden floor had beautifully painted traditional symbols on its center that almost looked like they had been put there from Mother Nature herself. Everything seemed out of this world.
My eyes roamed over the whole room of the castle I had been so desperate to step into. I had to bite my lip to prevent a smile spread across my face. I had to be dreaming; there was no way I was really there.
I had signed up to become a castle guard and, fortunately, my request had been accepted. I was surprised at first; only a few women were able to become guards and they were all above the average age, which was 21 years old. I was 21 but I guess not being older than that, didn't matter so much.
The main reason, I believe, I managed to get there was because of my father. He was a castle guard himself for a long time and his service and activities as one seemed to have not been forgotten. And at that moment, I couldn't feel prouder to stand in the same room he had been standing years ago, waiting for the Queen's arrival, wearing his own uniform. It was old and a few sizes big, but it was an honor to finally wear it. Besides, it was what had brought me in that room.
Apart from that, luck seemed to be on my side too. The one who had accepted my request was none other than the Queen. I had signed with my name, but she probably didn't know it was me. I didn't want to let her know; I wanted to serve as a guard because I was considered worthy to, not because I saved the Queen's life. Her chief advisor probably didn't know this was my name either, which left the door open for me.
I was lost in my thoughts, when I heard people gasping and whispering while secretly pointing at me.
"Is that (Y/N)??"
"Doesn't the Queen know who she is?"
"Isn't she too young to be here?"
"What is a woman doing here? Especially her", one said like I was the only woman in the room, while there were at least two more in there.
Ugh, men. They're all the same. I'm so glad my ruler is a woman.
I glared at them and hissed. The words falling from their mouths stopped midway and never touched the floor. I smirked, this old trick still worked.
My smirk fell immediately from my lips when I heard footsteps coming from the hallway. I straightened my back and lifted my chin up; this was one of the methods my father had used to make a good first impression. I had decided to follow his example and I did as he had, but when the chubby servant came in, I hung my head trying to hide from him. If he saw me there, I'd have to say 'goodbye' to my chance.
"Gentlemen. And ladies," he said, "due to some changes the Queen wished to be made, I want you all to follow me to the gardens. Her Majesty will meet you there".
We all nodded. When we started walking, some tried to warn the servant about my presence but were quickly stopped by my silent growl and my clenching fists.
As soon as we got to the gardens, my anger vanished almost instantly. It was a breathtaking sight. It felt... magical. But my daydreaming had to stop; I had to stay focused and look serious. This wasn't a walk to the village!
"Queen Elsa will arrive here any time now", the chubby man said walking away to escort the Queen in to the gardens.
I couldn't wait.
Elsa's P.O.V
"Your Majesty, they're ready", I heard Kai saying, behind the door.
"I'm coming."
I placed the documents I was holding on my desk, before walking towards the direction of the man. The new guards were waiting; they had to take an oath, according to the protocol. They were supposed to be on the ballroom but I asked for this to be changed only because I needed to take some fresh air. I had never thought being a Queen would be so... suffocating.
We were soon close to the gardens. I could already see the new guards' figures standing still.
As I made my way out, everyone bowed down.
"You may rise", I said calmly.
All men, and women, straightened their backs and looked at me. I could see they were all ready to take the oath. However, I had to learn their names first.
I went to each one of them and examined them carefully; they all seemed trustworthy.
I was almost done with this 'process', when I laid my eyes on a young (H/C) woman. I gasped and quickly walked to her. She startled once she saw me approaching, but still managed to keep her intimidating posture.
"It's you!", I exclaimed but my voice came out only as a whisper. She nodded and tried to hide her half-smile, by bowing down. She got up from her curtsy and laid her eyes on mine. It might sound crazy, but I had missed those eyes. They looked deep into my soul like they had done it a million times before. I was so happy to see her; I still hadn't figured out what this feeling meant but now she was here, it would be easier.
"Your Majesty?", Kai called. I turned my head to the butler and nodded; I knew those guards were waiting but they could wait a little longer for their Queen, couldn't they?
"I need a moment", I said, confusing the man. Once he saw the woman next to me though, he turned pale and even more confused.
"Your Majesty, she's-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence; I had already turned my attention to the young woman.
"Follow me."
She looked confused but did as I told her.
We started walking in silence, and I was surprised it wasn't awkward.
"What's your name?", I asked what I've been eager to know the past few days.
She chuckled. "Depends. Which one do you want to hear, Your Majesty?" she answered with her soft yet hoarse voice. It seemed like it was the result of not talking much.
I raised my eyebrow, questioning her answer.
"People have given me many names. You choose which you want to know." Her answers were unveiling a strange feeling of mystery that left you with even more questions.
"Your real name. I want to know your real name", I answered without giving it a second thought.
"(Y/N). (Y/N) (L/N)", she said proudly. I looked at her surprised. "My father had served the King, your father. So, I get why it sounds familiar".
'It's not only your last name that sounds familiar but, also, your name. Let alone how familiar you look, too'. I almost said that out loud. I couldn't help it. Everything about her felt like already known.
"Is this his uniform?", I asked interrupting my own thoughts.
"It is. It is a little too big, isn't it?", she said with a hint of self-deprecating, looking down at her uniform. I chuckled, hiding my mouth behind my hand. The uniform was indeed too big for her, but she still had managed to make it look good on her. She was still looking at her uniform, when her eyes widened in shock and her eyes shut closed, while it seemed like she was mentally cursing herself. She then facepalmed and turned her back to me. What got into her?
"Forgive me for my abnormal behavior, Your Majesty. I just realized something". Her voice came out sharp but I could still detect the embarrassment on it.
"What is it?", I asked walking close to face her.
She was massaging her temple roughly, sighing. "There's this...". She pointed at a slightly visible stain of -probably- mud and hung her head low. She was really frustrated. "Forgive me, my Queen, I didn't mean to appear in front of you like this. I didn't notice that." Her eyes looked straight into my soul. Her gaze was intimidating and yet so apologetic, when it didn't have to be.
"Hey, it's alright". I told her, giving her a small but real smile. It looked like she didn't believe me; I'm sure she thought this was unacceptable. "I promise", I said and I meant it. I remembered when she asked me this and I still found it sweet. However, when these words left my mouth, she looked even more devastated than before.
"I want to apologize for that, too. It was really foolish of me to ask the Queen such thing. Please, forgive me".
"Forgive you? But you said nothing wrong. Quite the contrary". She raised an eyebrow at me, like she asked for further explanation. "You not only saved my life that day, but you also checked on me. It was a truly touching move and I must tell you that I am really glad you will be one of the castle guards". She flinched at the word 'touching' for some reason, but when I finished she gave me one of those half-smiles of hers.
"It will be an honor to serve you, Your Majesty". I smiled. She would make a great guard, I could tell.
"Now, let's fix this, shall we?'', I asked pointing at the stain. "May I?". She nodded and with a flick of my wrist my signature snowflake appeared and got attached on the soft fabric, on the right side of her chest. I watched as her mouth slightly opened, amazed by the magic happening in front of her eyes but yet, it seemed like she had seen it a million times already. She didn't react like everyone else. Probably, because she wasn't like everyone else; not at the slightest.
"Thank you, my Queen," she did a small bow, "but how are we gonna explain the existence of this on my uniform?"
"Don't worry about that. This is gonna be a symbolic award for saving the Queen's life", I smiled at her. She smirked and we started walking back to the waiting guards. "Speaking of that, I still need to thank you properly", I said, turning my gaze to her. She was surprised and had a frown on her face, like I had said something I shouldn't have.
"I don't mean to sound offensive, Your Majesty, but there is no need for that", she simply answered, leaving me surprised. She had risked her own life in order to save mine, how could I not thank her?
"I insist," I said, "tell me; what does your heart wish for? Name it and you'll have it". From what I know, most people would say 'gold' if they were (Y/N).
"There is one thing I want," she said, "I want you to do me a favor".
A favor? She could have asked for anything she wanted and that was it?
"I'm listening."
She stopped walking which made me stop too and look at her. "You will hear many things about me, my Queen. And all I want from you is to judge me for who you see and believe I am, not for who other people present me to be". She was serious but I could see a barely visible desperation in her eyes; like she was trying to hide the fact that she longed for me to know her real self. Her gaze was almost unreadable but it felt like she couldn't hide from me; like I knew her too well to buy this. "Is that too much to ask?", her voice was heard again after my answer didn't fall from my lips.
"No, of course it's not. If this is what you want, I give you my word I will do it". My eyes locked with hers and the well-known feeling got stronger. I almost told her about this, but I bit my tongue, successfully preventing it.
"Thank you", she said and allowed her lips to curl up into a teeny tiny smile that still showed her gratefulness. And with that, we got back to the guards' gathering. A gasp left their lips when they saw us approaching and their frightened gazes rested all on (Y/N)'s already tensed shoulders.
Who was she?