It was much too early in the morning for most folks. The sun had yet to peak through into the sky, and the frigid winter temperatures did little to help. Yet at the same time, the air was sharp and fresh, like a good glass of water. The Princess, despite having been a late-riser in her recent years, breathed in deep and relished the brisk morning. Yes. This was where Anna truly belonged. Back to the ways of childhood, when the northern lights would wake her, and the dawn would stir her spirit, beckoning her to rise with the day.

What was the Princess of Arendelle doing outside in a cold, winter morning? She was off to do some sightseeing, is what. Ever since the Great Thaw, Anna took it upon herself to explore her kingdom; an act which she had been incapable of for most of her life. Though sometimes visions and spirits of faint memories flashed before her (of creeks and trees and cliffs in the countryside, of tents and the merry giggles of her and her sister, dashing through the wild bush), a few sparse recollections of camping trips wouldn't be what one would call "knowing the land like the back of my hand" as Anna so eloquently put it.

Did the Queen worry? Of course she did. She always was one to do so. But of course, the Princess had been insistent, and her "A princess must know her kingdom!" logic was hard to refute. Elsa knew better than to continue keeping Anna shut inside the castle. No, that was too much like how it had always been, and they were making sure things wouldn't be as they used to. So Elsa let Anna go on her excursions across their lands... but not without some protection, of course.

Anna sighed a little as her elder sister took it upon herself to fix and fiddle with her cloak, making sure everything was tight fitting and proper. "Is this really necessary?" she asked, her eyes staring at the three mounted guards, all lined up neat and proper before her in their usual green uniform. How boring.

Elsa pulled tightly at the strings at her bunad, not even pausing to look at her sister's face. "I've told you once, and I'll tell you again. Yes, it is." She jerked at the strings tightly, making Anna lurch forward a little. "Now would you please stop asking me that each time?"

The young one puffed her cheeks in a pout. "But they make things so... awkward, Elsa. I try to have a conversation, but they won't even try to put a word in-"

"As they have been trained," interrupted Elsa.

"Right, and I can't fathom why; who's idea was it to make guards boring?"

The Queen sighed audibly. "I'm sure you've already been taught why, Anna, as I have. It's for military discipline and the establishment of appropriate boundaries." Anna looked away at that, her lips puckered in her pout, though the Princess was indeed already aware of the reasons. "Just go and enjoy yourself, alright? You should be grateful I'm letting you go at all."

"But it's Jarle and Allen and Bastian! The most boring of the bunch! Couldn't you have gotten some of the younger guards?"

Elsa bit her lip in frustration. "For one, it's rude to speak of them in such a way. They may not be chatting up the place like you are, but they're not deaf Anna. Secondly, these men have proven their loyalty to our family many times. The Captain of the Guards is the one who assigns them, and you would do well to trust in his judgement."

The Princess found it hard to make any sort of comeback with such comments, so she finally relented, albeit with a sheepish expression on her face. "Sorry, you're right, sorry." She turned to the guards, who if they were feeling miffed themselves, they weren't showing it. "Sorry, you guys, don't take it personally. I'm sure you are all super interesting at the pub or something." Elsa took it upon herself to groan at such a comment.

Anna then turned back to her pony, giving its muzzle a soft petting before finally mounting it. She looked at her sister, who looked rather ready to head back into the castle, a yawn growing on the Queen's lips. "I'll see you in the evening," said the Princess, "I should be back before the sun sets."

Elsa smiled softly. "I'll see you then. Do be careful, now." I love you.

Anna returned the smile. "I will." I love you, too.

With that and the crack of the reins, the four of them set off down the bridge of the castle's entrance, heading towards the wooded, wilder lands of Arendelle. Elsa watched them go for a while, waiting until they had turned into small specks in the distance, before finally turning back into the castle, a handmaiden swiftly following her, insisting as usual to cloak her in this 'deathly cold of a morning' despite Elsa's own insistence that it wasn't necessary.

After the initial rush of the early morning mixed with the energy of a good gallop, Anna quickly found herself feeling awkward again as the four of them journeyed through the rocky slopes of the outback.

The Princess was a talkative one, and though being alone wouldn't have made good company, at least she could have talked to herself out loud, or to her horse, or something. With these three around her, she couldn't even do that; no, not if she wanted to at least seem sane. Though she already knew she had a less than refined of a reputation amongst the staff, she at least wanted to seem like she had all her marbles together. 'If only Olaf were here!' she lamented inwardly. While the snowman seemed to share many traits with her, waking up early wasn't one of them. So, naturally, he wouldn't have been able to join her at such an early hour. And Kristoff was also a no go; he was off on his own outing, except it was a harvesting type of outing, and therefore he wouldn't be back for another week. So, what was Anna to do on her own?

She could try talking to her escorts. Again. She knew what the outcome of that would be, but no one could blame her for trying!

Or, she could just keep quiet, and let the scenery distract her. Which, and Anna had just realized this, she hadn't actually been paying attention to for a while. 'Focus, Anna,' she berated herself, 'Don't forget what you're out here for.'

So she slowed her pony down a little, and decided to trudge through the scenery around her at a more leisurely pace. And sure enough, as she had been re-discovering, Arendelle was beautiful. Especially in winter. As much as Anna enjoyed the warmth that summer brought, she knew that it was in the winter that these trees and hills really shone through. With such pure powder nestled on the grounds and the branched, it felt almost regretful to trot through it, marring the smoothness with hoof tracks and kicking up snow and dirt.

"Isn't it beautiful?" she said to the guards, and though they didn't respond, she could tell they were also paying attention.

They kept moving though, as this wasn't the Princess' destination. She'd already been to this area before on a previous ride. Anna's sights this time around were set on the eastern mountain range, a place far from any town or village, where only hunters and harvesters tended to visit. Kristoff had told her about the place before in conversation; the way the trees towered over on their steep perches, the way the clearings sparkled under the sun, the way the creeks gurgled and mumbled; a valley like no other. Anna had to see such a place for herself.

So the Princess and her escorts trudged through the snowy wilderness, passing through large clearings, through forests and bushes and rocky meadows, taking in the sights while they trudged on throughout the day, stopping only to let the horses rest and to eat a little before setting out again, each time a new vigor in their steps. And eventually, Anna forgot about the fact that there was not much in terms of talking; her awkward thoughts pushed away by the nature around them, which was as silent as the group itself. Which is what usually happened. Though the girl often complained about the silence in the beginning, in the end she would take comfort in it. Of course, by the next trip she would have already forgotten what the good quiet outdoors sounded like.

And it wasn't as if the guards were statues. While they didn't take part in Anna's type of light-hearted conversation, the occasional words were spoken- ones out of necessary rather than pleasure: "Shall we rest here, M'Lady?", "Watch the roots here, the horses could trip.", or "There's a stream nearby here for water.", etc. So in the end, Anna found pleasant enough companionship with Jarle, Allen and Bastian; three men who had known her since she was born; guards who had watched over her and her family for as long as she could remember.

The group continued, beginning to near the mountain range as the sun marked the midday.

"All rise for the Queen!"

The room echoed with the sound of wood grinding with the floor as the councilmen stood up for Elsa entering through the grand doors. With a pace not too quick and not too slow, she strode to the head seat and sat down, prompting the rest of the men to do the same. "The council is now in session," she declared.

And so the meeting started. The session started off slow, with discussions of business-licences needing approval, small farms requesting loans, the current stock of food that the kingdom had for the winter and its proper rationing- all important, very important, the Queen reminded herself as she discreetly covered a yawn. 'Goodness,' she thought, 'Anna must be rubbing on me.'

But soon came one of the most difficult of topics to the table: foreign relations. Ever since the Thaw, Arendelle's quiet, uninteresting reputation was turned upside down. Suddenly, the small kingdom was faced with attention from all fronts; both good and bad. One particularly stubborn neighbour was causing trouble worth at least two or three of the rest. And as one of the scribes read out the latest message from that neighbour, the Queen suppressed the urge to shoot the parchment with a shot of her ice.

"'...And if Her Majesty would be so kind as to finally reconsider her decision'," the scribe continued on, though not without a hint of hesitance in his voice, "'Wesleton would pardon any past... sins Her Majesty had committed and absolve the accusation of witchcraft.'" And with that, the man coughed awkwardly before rolling the parchment up and putting it away. The atmosphere in the council room was thick and unpleasant as no one uttered a word for at least half a minute afterward. Another cough echoed through the court.

Elsa finally spoke. "If you would Councillor, please see to it that the same reply be sent to His Grace," she said, bitterness ripe in her throat, "and make sure that the letter is burnt. Meeting adjourned." And with that, the awfully silent crowd spilled out of the room, each looking a bit worse for wear than when they had come in that morning.

The Queen took a breath as she lingered on her chair, trying to pretend that she wasn't affected by such words. Words she'd heard from all the Duke's other letters to her court; ones that had a great knack for knocking Elsa back a few steps on her journey towards self-acceptance. Something that, though the Great Thaw had definitely put it into motion and helped greatly, hadn't exactly found itself quite yet. Especially not when there are those who would say that her powers were nothing more than satanic ritual. Oh, how the Queen had just about enough of Weselton and its callous, egotistical attempts at what can hardly be called 'reconciliation'. Sighing, Elsa got off her seat, heading towards her chambers, where yet more paperwork was waiting for her.

Or perhaps she should head to the chapel. Let the bishop reassure her anxieties. 'Nonsense, Elsa,' she scolded herself, 'you're fine. You can't just let a letter go and change your plans for the day.' So she headed to her chambers, after all, and there she would remain for the rest of the day, buried in her papers and hoping it would distract her. At least she could look forward to Anna returning soon.

They had arrived.

Anna knew it the moment she saw the way the sun shined on this place; there was an untouched nature about these lands. It was just as Kristoff had told her, and more. Yes. She was glad she had come here.

Settling on a clearing which had the best view of the valley, Anna and her escorts unsaddled and took the opportunity to take in the scenery. It was truly beautiful, truly... Arendelle. With the gentle fog resting on the mountains before them, and the smoothness of the snowy lands before her... it was all Arendelle. These were her lands, their lands.

"If only I were a painter," she breathed, "I could keep this scene and hang it upon the walls. I don't want to ever leave."

Shing. The sound of metal.

"Don't worry, missus. You won't be."

Anna turned, before even thinking, and suddenly it wasn't just Jarle, Allen and Bastian with her. There were now many men, and many horses. They were surrounded. Anna instantly recognized the red uniforms.

Weselton's soldiers.