I would just like to stress that this is a direct sequel to 'Split the Ice Apart' and I suggest reading that before this if you haven't already.

About four months later…

"Have I ever told you how much I love you, Blondie?"

"Many times, Eugene."

"No seriously, do you know just how deeply I love you?"

"I do, Eugene."

"And, I hope, you love me just as much in return?"

"More than anything in the world, Eugene."

"Then why the hell," Eugene spat, "Are you making me go back here?"

His finger was pointing at the modest kingdom visible on the horizon. The gentle rocking of the boat made Arendelle float up and down in Rapunzel's vision, giving the sense of an unstable land mass. It was September and the first tracks of winter snow were creeping their way down the mountains framing the land. It was an ominous reminder of the last time they were here.

Rapunzel sighed. "These are my cousins, Eugene," she explained. "Sure, you got very sick from the cold last time-"

"I almost lost my arm to frostbite!"

The Princess rolled her eyes; she remembered that a bit differently. "You got very sick the last time we were here, but that doesn't mean you should be afraid to come here again. It's been years! Elsa is a different person than she was before!"

"Listen, Rapunzel, I've been around the block a few times," he started. "Back in the day, if I ever had any real trouble in a town or a kingdom I would ignore that place like the plague. No matter how enticing the job, I would skip it if I didn't feel comfortable with the atmosphere. There," he pointed again as if it added credibility to his flimsy arguments, "Is somewhere that gives me that bubbling feeling in the pit of my heart. Arendelle is the kind of kingdom that dashing rogues like me ignore. I mean, who wants to steal from a place where the beautiful princess is as stiff as the walls of the castle safe?"

Rapunzel raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. Eugene considered the words that just fell out of his mouth and bit his lip. His wife tapped her foot against the deck of the ship menacingly. If he didn't make an excuse quick this was going to be extremely painful. He wondered if she packed a frying pan with them for this purpose. Domestic violence isn't the most tender part of their relationship, but Eugene had to admit that it kept him on the straight and narrow.

"So, it was certainly my surprise when I found the most beautiful princess of all inside an out of the way tower." That was horrible. Rapunzel smirked but kept tapping her foot. Eugene sighed. "I promise I didn't break the hearts of any princesses before I fell in love with you, Blondie. I was bad, but not that bad."

The brunette girl seemed pleased with the answer. She leaned forward and kissed her husband on the cheek. "We're coming here to give our best wishes to Princess Anna and spend some time with family. It's bad enough that we missed the wedding. Imagine how much fun that was!"

Eugene smiled warmly. That was his Rapunzel. She was trying to act mature as much as possible after being criticized by a visiting ambassador to Corona but it was impossible to contain the child-like glee of his wife. She was getting close to striking that perfect balance between 'royal' and 'carefree' as that weird red haired prince described it. He seemed kind of peeved when he came over. Wonder what happened to that guy.

"Well, we can always go to Elsa's wedding," Eugene offered as consolation.

"Oh, so now you don't mind going to Arendelle?" Rapunzel accused. Eugene shrugged. "Anyways, I don't see Elsa getting married anytime soon, if ever. Rumour has it that she doesn't even reply to suitors anymore by mail and refuses to elaborate on her denials in person. There's also a bunch of unsavoury rumours stemming from Anna's wedding. Nobody really knows what's up with her."

"Maybe she bats for the other team?" Eugene suggested. Rapunzel looked confused. He blushed just a little. "You know, uh, she…is a confirmed bachelorette?"

"You are so silly sometimes, Eugene!" Rapunzel laughed. "What does that even mean? You and your thief language."

Eugene twiddled his thumbs, hoping that she wouldn't ask him to explain further. He sometimes forgot that these sheltered types weren't the most cultured people in the world and hadn't been to the more 'interesting' areas of the land.

"You are adorable," Eugene said. He rested his hand on the small of her back and rubbed lightly. He felt her sinking into his touch. Oh yeah, he still knew what ladies liked. You could only take so much 'hood' out of the Robin Hoods of the world.

"I hope you still think that after I tell you that I agreed to go on an Arendelle culture trip into the mountains with Anna and Elsa."

"WHAT!?"

Captain Henrik Eriksson woke up to the full fury of the sun's rays bombarding his eyes. He threw his hand up quickly as a shield until he slowly adjusted to the new light. Surveying the room around him he found it exactly as he left it. The vanity was pressed tightly against the wall, small dents in the paint from where it was repeatedly hit. The large green curtains were drawn apart lazily, allowing enough light in to see but not enough to see inside. The nightstand was a full foot away from the bed, two glasses of water, chilled by magic, sat half finished on it waiting to be emptied. The four posters of the four poster bed were slightly misaligned and the curtain usually hanging from them was deposited on the floor. The floor was wet here and there from melted piles of snow. Exhaustion forced the proprietor of the ice to sleep before she could clean them up neatly.

He turned his attention to the brightest part of the room and smiled at the woman snuggled up to his chest. Her platinum blonde hair cascaded over her back in a familiar braid. Her eyeliner was still immaculate and the magical eye shadow gave her sleeping form an air of lust. Her bright red lipstick was dull, and he could still taste why that makeup had lost its sheen. Her body was cloaked by the green comforter of the bed. He slid his hand to the small of her back and began rubbing, the easiest way to wake her up he knew.

Her eyes shot open and she snuggled even closer somehow. "Good morning," she purred. Her hand snaked its way up to his cheek and she moved up to give him a kiss. "Oh, Captain, my Captain."

He rolled his eyes and held her tight. "I don't think we're going to be able to hide this much longer," Hank warned. He used a free hand to make a sweeping gesture referring to their entwined bodies.

"This is hidden?" Elsa asked. "We danced for hours in front of hundreds of people, I have stopped bothering to even humour visiting bachelors, we make the halls of the castle sing in the evenings, and we make public appearances together constantly. I have kissed you publicly and the passion was there for everyone to see."

Hank swirled his jaw around. Elsa enjoyed watching him think like this. It was cute to visibly see him catch up. "Yes."

"Yes?" Elsa replied.

"Yes," Hank responded.

She gave him a quick kiss then sat up on the bed. "We have to get ready, my cousin is going to be here today."

"We?" Hank wondered with a smirk. "Shouldn't the Queen greet Princess Rapunzel without the presence of her paramour?"

"Oh no, you aren't getting out of this. You had all night to sleep. I need my best royal guard ready and looking his best to escort me out to the docks and help me greet the future King and Queen of Corona."

Hank nodded firmly. "Fair enough," he conceded. He got up and made for his pile of clothes in the corner of the room. Seeing him dress made Elsa feel like she should wear real clothes today instead of a magical dress. It had been nearly a whole week since she put on a tangible outfit.

"You'll like spending time with your cousin, Elsa," Hank assured, "She's a very nice girl. Reminds me of Anna in a way. She was very kind to her husband when he got a little frostbite last time they were here. The guy wouldn't stop complaining but she hung on his every word as if he was actually dying." Elsa had nearly forgotten that Hank had met Rapunzel before. She herself was a little too preoccupied during their last visit to spend much time with her, of course.

"I'm glad," Elsa said, "Since I asked her to come on a trip to the mountains with us while she was here."

Hank spun around to face her. "You asked her to what? Those people had never seen snow in their lives before the last time they came here! How are they going to survive a camping trip up North Mountain?"

"They'll survive because they have the Queen of Snow and Ice and her true love Captain Henrik Eriksson with them," Elsa explained. "As well as the scrappy Princess Anna and her husband Baron Kristoff Bjorgman, who has plenty of experience in the wilderness mind you."

"They're doomed," Hank condemned while pulling his shirt over his head. Elsa threw a pillow at him.

KNOCK KNOCK

"Who is it?" Elsa called, knowing perfectly well there was only one person who knocked on her door like that.

"Kai, you majesty. The ship from Corona has arrived if you aren't too busy with your pet."

"Big words from a manservant," Hank growled. A glare from Elsa silenced any further outburst.

"Of course he's in there," Kai groaned. "Anyways, Princess Rapunzel is here and you better get down to the docks."

"Thank you, Kai," Elsa dismissed. Her voice was cold and forceful, just enough to let him know he was out of line. Footsteps were heard retreating from the door.

"I hate that guy," Hank declared.

"You shouldn't, he has nothing against you personally. He just really cares about Arendelle. He wants the best for the kingdom and he thinks you have a fear of commitment. I'm sure if you were to talk to him and work things out he would love you."

"I care about Arendelle too but I'm not prickly about it," Hank complained, completely ignoring the last half of Elsa's statement.

"Yes you are," Elsa argued. Hank shrugged. She rolled her eyes with a smile and went to her closet, wondering which of her seemingly endless collection of dresses would be the best for the occasion.

"You aren't going to be able to hide it much longer," Kristoff warned.

Anna looked at her bare body in the mirror and admired her fuller curves. Her chest rivaled Elsa's now and her hips were well on their way there. It would be a time for joy if it weren't for the fact that her stomach was going to be bloating soon. Her tummy was already developing a little bump and it was stiff as a rock. She had a month at the most before it was clearly shown to the entire world just how pregnant she was, and that was very pregnant indeed.

"I'm scared, Kristoff," Anna whispered.

"Why?" the Ice Harvester wondered. "We're married. What's so bad about us having a child?"

"What if Elsa is mad at me for getting pregnant so early into our marriage?"

"I doubt Elsa will have very long to go until you're sailing the same ship at the rate she's going," Kristoff quipped. Anna giggled.

"I don't know," Anna said, "I just don't feel comfortable yet."

"We can do it together," Kristoff suggested, "Maybe it won't be as scary?"

Anna shook her head. "It will be scary no matter what." Kristoff sighed, there was really nothing he could do. She had her mind set and nothing was going to steer her off course. "Maybe I could tell Rapunzel first," Anna considered. "Baby steps to build up to the big one."

"How do you know that Captain Eriksson hasn't already told Elsa you're pregnant?" Kristoff asked. The Queen and her guard were inseparable before, now they were glued together. They ate, worked, bathed, and slept together. It would be no shocker that they bore all their secrets to each other as well.

"I can trust Hank," Anna answered. She wasn't completely sure of that though. This was a bigger secret than usual. He didn't tell Elsa of her engagement, so she had a good track record to go on.

Kristoff seemed satisfied with that. He took off his hat and wrung it in his hands. "Do I have to go with you to greet your cousin?"

Anna looked at him incredulously. "Of course you do. You're my husband and she wasn't at the wedding. She expects you."

Kristoff groaned. "I don't like dressing up."

Anna giggled and stepped over to give him a kiss on the cheek. "You look so good when you do though! Besides, this is an easy thing that'll help to get you used to royal duties. Imagine what it must be like for Elsa to have to parlay with ambassadors and argue over trade and treaties."

"Ugh, am I going to have to do that too?" Kristoff asked.

"Probably," Anna replied, "You signed up for it by marrying a princess."
"Maybe that was more trouble than it's worth," Kristoff teased while running a hand through her hair. She smiled and playfully slapped him on the cheek.

"Get dressed before I go all French monarchy on you," Anna threatened with a smile.

"French monarchy?"

"Aren't they the ones who usually kill their spouses?"

Kristoff laughed and went digging through his closet for something nice to wear. He may not like it, but he would at least put an effort in. Maybe Anna's cousin would be yet another fun person he almost missed out on due to social anxiety.

In his experience, she probably wasn't. For every Anna there were a thousand assholes. He sighed and wondered how a lowly ice harvester ever found himself in this situation.

Just a quick note, I'm going to keep my old update schedule of Wednesdays and Saturdays. Keep an eye out or follow/favourite/review to your heart's content! Lots of setup, plot starts Wednesday. See you then!