Pole and pillar and arch and roof coalesce to form the Royal House of Arendelle, home to many crown-bearers where hospitality is first and security a close second. Regal tapestries bearing her majesty's seal hang from the rafters, not a single cobweb to be seen. Hearths breathe warm and inviting fire, while maids and butlers aplenty scurry to minister fine wine and fresh loaves laden with minced veal and good humor.
Don't let them in, don't let them see.
Cooks sing joyfully, their melodious tune converge with the clanging of gleaming pots and pans, each filled to the brim with steaming soup and exotic sauces. The mouthwatering smells waft through the courtyard and out the open gates, heightening the festivities where the echelons of society all but disappear on a joyous day of universal celebration. The war is over! All hail the wise and beautiful Queen!
Conceal, don't feel.
Five cannon shots boom across the water, each signifying a year spent battling the depraved sorceress who gave the devil her soul in order to harness nature's most dangerous element. She would still have been considered a child, were it not for the way she decimated a number of Arendelle's mightiest regiment. Now, she is kept under the watchful eye of the Ruler herself, for there was no one more capable or trustworthy.
Don't let them know.
Her highness was extremely cunning and second to none when it came to the persuasive arts, with an eloquence that belied her youthful age and a keen eye that pierced the machinations of others with ease. But underneath all that charming persona lay a heart with flesh and appetite, burdened with a task that constantly taxed her mind and flayed her spirit.
But the show must go on.
Queen Anna stepped out onto the balcony, the crowd's adulation culminating in wild cheers and salutes. With a small gesture of the hand, the people quieted down immediately.
She quirked her lips, "Well, I'll make this short, as I'm sure future plans do not perceive a sober thought for miles." Quiet chuckles rippled throughout the crowd, an unspoken acknowledgment that weeks of excited preparation were about to explode in a mass of color and life.
"Today marks the end of five long years filled with pain and loss. It is my hope that we will look forward now to the future with faith. Though unworthy of such responsibility, I ask that you will continue to share my aspirations for a country unparalleled in strength and honor..."
With the party in full swing, Anna finally took off her crown in the quiet of her bedroom. Quickly changing into less cumbersome wear, she followed a concealed passageway that led deep into the castle, its existence known only by one sovereign and one keeper in each generation.
Anna was about to appoint the next Guardian...now if only she could convince the witch to not freeze her arse the moment the seal was released.
"I can hear you coming, you fork-tongued trollop."
This was going to be harder than she thought.
