Frozen: A Desire for More

Chapter 10

“I thank you for the welcoming ball. Arendelle’s sincere hospitality has gone above and beyond its reputation in all the kingdoms.” 

“Thank you. Arendelle is pleased by your visit.” 

Feeling awkward, Anna and Kristoff watched the exchange of standard polite pleasantries between the two leaders. They both knew it was all a facade covering up the true intentions and hidden agendas, but royal negations demanded these formalities. After another few minutes of rehearsed exchanges, and just as Anna was about to doze off on the table, Rainer got to business. 

“The Kingdom of Weselton is prepared to make a good offer to Arendelle to mark the beginning of a new era of friendship,” Rainer said and one of his servants put a large scroll of parchment on the table. The royal butler Kai took the parchment and handed it to Elsa. She unrolled it and her eyes darted from line to line. Curious, Anna and Kristoff leaned over so that they could take a peek, but Kai loudly cleared his throat and shot Kristoff an angry glance. Both immediately sat upright in their seats, remembering that they were in a formal negotiation. 

“This is a very generous offer,” Elsa stated after she finished reading. 

“Yes,” Rainer smiled and put his hands on the table. “With this offer, I would like to express the Weselton’s and my personal sincerity in reestablishing friendly relations with Arendelle. We are prepared to buy sixty percent of Arendelle’s annual ice export over the next ten years at twenty pieces of silver for every standard sized block.” 

“Wow!” Kristoff sounded, unable to to contain his amazement. 

Anna, who knew nothing about Arendelle’s trade relations, much less the price of ice, gave Kristoff a questioning glance. 

“What he means is that he wants to buy more than half of Arendelle’s ice,” Kristoff whispered to Anna. 

“I know, I’m not stupid,” Anna pouted and kicked Kristoff’s foot under the table. “But the price…?” 

Kristoff nodded. “The standard price is between five and five-and-a-half silver pieces per block of ice.” 

Anna’s jaw dropped slightly. She immediately understood that if Weselton brought sixty percent of ice over the next ten years at a price that was more than double the normal price, it would be an incredibly tempting offer. No, under normal circumstances, it was an offer one simply could not refuse. 

Kristoff on the other hand scratched his jaw and narrowed his eyes. While he knew that Rainer would make an incredibly good offer under the pretense of reestablishing friendship, his offer was too good to be true. So good in fact, even if Count Fidenza hadn’t told Elsa about the plan Weselton and the Southern Isles had made, there would be reason for suspicion. 

His eyes shifted to Elsa. How would she handle this situation? If she refused or questioned his offer too much, then Rainer might begin to suspect that Arendelle knew about his alliance with Prince Hans. If she agreed, then Arendelle was doomed in the long term. 

Elsa stared at the parchment in front of her. Her mind felt calm, but her heart was pounding against her chest. It was such a strange sensation. Butterflies were flying in the stomach, but none of that reached her head. It was as if her mind was detached from the sensations of her body. 

Suddenly, she felt someone’s hot gaze on her. She looked up and immediately froze in her seat. Rainer had stopped talking, but that didn't mean that he sat still. His sharp grey eyes were fixed on her, the glint in his eyes causing her breath to grow shallow. His entire expression was solemn, but there was just the faintest hint of a smile at the corner of his lips. Those eyes weren’t even remotely thinking about ice. No. They were targeted directly at her.