When Fire And Ice Meet

Going To Byron and Meeting Julia

The battle was over, but there was still much to do. First, Elsa had to confront Raleigh's soldiers, who rode into town demanding to know what was going on. It took a lot of convincing, but at last the guards were persuaded that Raleigh had transformed into the terrible dragon that was lying slain before them. After taking them back to the castle and putting them under guard, as she no longer trusted them, Elsa had to gather her guests and explain what had taken place.

Most of them had heard the horrendous commotion and had glimpsed the dragon circling above, but the guards remaining at the castle had commanded them to stay in their chambers, out of the way, and wait until it was safe to leave. They were deeply shaken at the news of Raleigh's transformation and death, and the sight of the giant stone dragon engulfed in purple flames sitting in the courtyard unsettled most of them, to say the least.

However, once the initial shock had worn off they each moved to congratulate Braedey and Elsa on their "marvelous" "impressive" and some said, "gorgeous" creation that had saved Arendelle, and a few were even humble enough to apologize to Arren for misjudging him.

Braedey graciously forgave all of them. Elsa could tell he was eager to put his past behind him, and she was proud of the princely way he acted with all of them. He was always meant to be a man of royalty, she thought to herself the morning after the incident, while watching him interact with the guests as they dined around the table. It's a shame he'll always be a prince.

And then like a thunderbolt strike she remembered. King Raleigh's dead. Byron has no leader.

She told Braedey this as soon as she could get him alone. "Byron needs a leader," she added. "Now's your chance to be king."

But Braedey shook his head. "Once, I thought that might be nice. If Raleigh would have let me inherit the kingdom, as he obviously didn't, I would have taken it gladly. But now..." he leaned heavily against the wall behind him. "I don't want to be King anymore. Even if everyone in Byron completely accepts me and are willing to believe that they've been lied to for years by their former king, which I highly doubt they will, I don't think things between us will ever be the same again. I just couldn't be their king. I'm sorry."

"Then who will?" Elsa asked quietly.

"My sister!" Braedey cried suddenly, surprising Elsa. "Julia never seemed like a leader, but I bet she has it in her. She's so wise and calm and loving, and she was always great at being persuasive, especially when it came to breaking up fights between me and Raleigh." He fell suddenly into a pensive mood. "I haven't seen her in so long. I haven't heard anything about how she's been since I left Byron."

"Sounds like it's worth a try. Why don't you and I escort the men from Byron back home and explain what happened to Julia in person so that she knows the full truth of what happened? Do...do you think she'd accept the position?"

Braedey shifted his weight forward so that he was standing fully upright again. "We might as well try." There was a faraway look in his eyes.

"Well then. I'll take care of the preparations." Elsa paused. Now that the important conversation had been taken care off, she felt strangely awkward. Now that she and Braedey had confessed their love for each other, she wasn't sure what would happen next. The two of them had sort of retreated back into themselves, and neither one had ventured to make another move yet. Would Braedey be considered her beau? Or still just a friend? The newly released feelings within Elsa that had stolen back into her heart were shyly awaiting something more.

~*~*~

Last night, when she'd entered the lonely darkness of her private chamber to get some sleep, they'd begun to ache with a pain that made it difficult to close her eyes.