IDUNA
The morning of my real Birthday dawned bright and warm.
I twisted over in my bed, a drowsy and vague smile stretching across my lips.
Everything from the previous day slowly came back to me, replaying in my mind. The adrenaline and excitement coursed through my veins again until I bolted upright, remembering it was my actual Birthday and I was finally sixteen!
I had been waiting for this moment for so long now, and it had finally come!
Halima had left me a few presents to open so I had that to look forward to. Plus, being sixteen meant I'd be able to find work.
Not many people would be happy about that, but spending most of my time around Royals who never got to live a normal life made me feel incredibly lucky that I did have one. I felt like it would be disrespectful to not take advantage of my peasant blood.
I had a few places in mind for employment and I couldn't wait to start looking through them with Halima; she'd promised she'd have a look with me that afternoon.
It may only be the two of us and it may turn into a rather quiet day, but I couldn't have pictured it going any differently. Of course, I hadn't seen that surprise party coming, but my sixteenth Birthday was either going to be quiet and pleasant or wild and exciting. And now it was both!
I threw off my blankets and slid down the banister to find Halima working hard in the kitchen.
"Good morning Halima. What are you doing?" I asked her, resting my chin on her shoulder.
"Just making you the best Birthday breakfast in the world." she answered.
I blinked in surprise and looked about the kitchen, only then realising that it was filled with all my favourite breakfasts; marmalade toast, bacon, hash browns, boiled egg and soldiers ...
My mouth began to water and I could hardly wait for the meal to be on the table.
When, at long last, it was placed there, I tucked in as soon as I could, eating a little bit of everything. Well, admittedly, a lot of everything.
"What?" I asked, when Halima gave me a strange look, "You present me with so much of my favourite food; I'm bound to eat a lot of it."
"It'll be lunchtime by the time you've finished." she chortled, leaning back in her chair and pushing away her own, empty plate.
I gave a shrug and stuffed my mouth with a spoonful of beans, "What can I say? Brunch?"
"I think we better make it that." she began to clear the table then, dropping a few of the leftovers into Crickets' bowel on her way to the wash bowel. (Cricket much preferred human food to dog food; it was extremely unhelpful.)
When I'd finally admitted that I was full, we retired to the living room for an hour or so of games - both Northuldran and Arendellian. It was very nice and I was really enjoying my quiet Birthday after the riotous party of the previous day.
As we'd both had such a large breakfast, we decided to pass lunch and instead discussed my employment options earlier than I'd expected.
"Where would you like to work then?" Halima asked, settling herself back in her armchair with a cup of tea, ready for the potentially long discussion that was about to take place.
"I've narrowed it down to a florist, a dressmaker or a carpenter." I answered with a grin, counting the three potential jobs on my fingers.
Halima pursed her lips thoughtfully and drummed her fingers against the mug, "Well. There's a Florists right across the street, that would be quite easy for you to walk to each day and your love for nature would probably make you very good at that job."
"That's what drew me to it." I told her. It was true; my love for forests was the main reason I'd considered being a florist. I didn't think working with flowers would help with not forgetting the Enchanted Forest or making it a less painful memory to hold, but that did seem another benefit.
"You've made some lovely dresses over the years and you've a keen eye for detail which would be hugely beneficial with such a job." Halima went on, thinking aloud.
I nodded, "I enjoy needlework and all that. So I think it could be a fun job, but I'm not so sure about it."
I was far more interested in the last option.
"Ah right. And then there's woodcarving." she took a long pause, "The thing you'd have to be prepared for is a lot of disappointment. I know the man who runs the woodcarving business in the town. Thomas isn't known for his kindness. He's a stubborn man and won't take lightly a girl applying."
I stared at the ground, "Well. I know that it's supposed to be a man's job, but since when have I cared about that? Woodcarving is my favourite past time! If I have a chance to make a living out of it, I've got to try."
"Well, of course you must. I know you love it so much. You often sit out in our porch and chip away with those tools I got you, but I want you to be prepared for the struggle it may take to become a carpenter." Halima was watching me with sympathetic eyes, but I couldn't meet them.
Of course I wasn't walking into this blind; I'd watched that man at work before to get a taster. He was hard on his employees and every single one of them was male. But I was determined that by the time I was seventeen, that job would be mine.
I looked up at Halima again and opened my mouth to reply when a knocking at the door suddenly sounded through the house.
We both knitted our brows; neither of us were expecting guests.
"Do you want me to get it?" I asked her, bracing my arms on the side of the chair to answer the door.
She gave a nod, "You can if you'd like Iduna."
I grinned at her and rose, skipping into the hallway where I caught my reflection in the mirror. I looked rather dishevelled, having not taken that much care when I woke up. While I received many compliments for my looks, I never really cared about making myself look pretty in order to receive those compliments. So, as usual, I didn't think much of it, shrugging it off with my usual dismissal, and opening the door.
Where I froze.
The one person for whom I'd have cared about the way I looked was standing right there. I dearly wished I'd taken the time to at least brush down the loose strands of hair, but there was no point now.
"Happy Birthday." Agnarr said. He sounded like he'd just ran all the way here. Now I came to think of it, he looked as though he'd run here too; his hair was all astray and his shirt a little unkempt.
"Thanks." I gave a small smile, gripping the doorframe weakly.
He rubbed the back of his neck with the hand he wasn't hiding behind his back. I suddenly became curious about that.
"I umm." he stuttered, "I came here to give you these." he thrust out his hidden hand, revealing a gorgeous bouquet of flowers.
I gasped in delight as I took them from him. I nuzzled my nose into the centre of the bouquet and let the sweet smell of the flowers fill my nose. They were a selection of the many magical-looking flowers from the Castle gardens. I'd often fancied picking some, but had never dared. Now I didn't have too!
"Thank you so much!" I exclaimed, looking back at him.
He had a strange look in his eye and I could see his chest moving a little faster than before. The only thing I could think of was that he was working up the courage for something.
But what?
"I'd better go get some water for these," I started, "otherwise they'll wilt -"
But I never got to finish what I was going to say as all of a sudden I couldn't even breathe.
Agnarr had leant forwards so quickly I hadn't been able to do so much as blink with astonishment. He hooked an arm around my waist as if afraid I'd go anywhere.
And pressed his lips against mine in a breathless, needy kiss.
The flowers tumbled from my hand and my eyes went wide. For a moment which felt like a lifetime I couldn't move.
Was this even real?
And when it sunk in - that this had to be real - I melted into the kiss with the desire of three years.
This was real. Agnarr must be in love with me. He couldn't be faking this. I couldn't be making it up. He was returning my affections.
I suppose there'd always been some kind of unspoken bond between us - we'd had many little moments, like on the roof during his ball and the times I'd kissed his cheek - but this was the most intimate we'd ever been and I didn't want this moment to end.
My arms snaked around his neck and his other hand rose to caress my face, his thumb running over my cheek fondly.
I felt shivers down my spine and sparks on my skin. A smile crept onto my face, making it almost impossible for the kiss to continue.
But it didn't stop, we clung to each other and kissed until we had to come up for air.
Then we had to break apart and we stared at each other for what felt like eternity, breathing hard. I'd always known I could get lost in those hazel-green eyes of his, and I still wasn't wrong.
Agnarr suddenly cleared his throat and I came back down to Earth. But he didn't say anything else. I suppose he couldn't think of anything; neither could I.
What was there to say? Everything seemed to have gone unspoken with that kiss which had left me light headed and as if I was floating above the clouds.
At last he said, a little uncertainly, "So ... having a good Birthday?"
I bit my lip shyly before boldly answering, "It's even better now."
His eyes went wide and his cheeks flushed red.
I leant forwards, clasping my hands behind my back and grinning, "You didn't think so?"
"Well - I, err ..." he stammered, "I wasn't sure whether you'd let me ..."
"Let you? Agnarr, I've been waiting for this moment for years." then I went pink, realising I'd just admitted that to him. I hadn't meant to, it had just slipped out.
"You have?!" he cried in surprise, "Really? So have I! I've never worked up the courage before and then I realised that I couldn't let you go and -"
I was getting ahead of myself as I grabbed his collar and pulled him into another kiss. He couldn't let me go. The buzzing excitement of that had been too much to bare and I couldn't stop myself.
Thoughts about the two of Us swirled through my head as I began to think what this would mean.
It would most likely mean we'd be official, so to speak, like Arianna and Frederic.
But wait ... disappointment suddenly swelled in me and I pulled away again, Agnarr watching me with concern as my eyes fell to the ground.
"How would your advisors take the news of this." I spoke aloud, unsure whether I had at first until Agnarr answered.
He scratched his head, "Well, I mean, they may not take it lightly, I suppose." then he took my hands in one of his and lifted the other to tip my chin up to face him, "But who cares what they think? After years of denying our chemistry, I've finally realised how much time we've wasted. Let's seize our moment."
His hand moved to my cheek again and I leaned into his touch. "I guess so."
"Don't sound so enthusiastic." he grinned, but it was a little unsure.
"No no." I assured him, placing my own hand over his, "I want there to be an Us. I just don't want anything to go wrong."
"Nothing will go wrong." he promised.
It felt like such a raw promise, hearing him say it. It was like a promise he would never break, not for anything. It made me trust him even more and made me believe that maybe - just maybe - we had a chance.
His advisors certainly wouldn't take it lightly. With Arianna it was different; Frederic was a Prince. But I wasn't Royalty, I wasn't even of high blood. I was only a commoner, an orphan as everyone believed. I wasn't even from Arendelle, though people didn't know exactly where I came from. And if they did, then I'd be even more of an outcast. I was the least desirable suitor for a King, especially a King of such a powerful, prestigious Kingdom.
Not that I expected Agnarr to be thinking of marriage; I wasn't even thinking of marriage. This could just be a thing that happened in our youth, with nothing ever coming of it! However his advisors would most definitely be thinking of his marriage to a noble girl of a wealthy origin who has much-wanted contacts around the globe, making her the perfect wife ...
But for now, we were content with each other. It didn't matter what either of our status' were; so long as we were together, I felt like I could conquer the world.