Disclaimer: Frozen (c) Disney
Mikkel, Rikard, Ulrik, Tomas, Ruben, Ildri (c) Me

Title: A Queen in Regency
Author: Nada
Rating: T for Teen
Genre: General
Pairings: None
Warnings: Part of the Burned universe,OOC-ness, Background OCs

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Part of the Burned universe. PLEASE READ BURNED BEFORE READING A QUEEN IN REGENCY!

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Well, this took longer than I wanted it to. I wanted it to be funny but some how it turned into THIS, whatever THIS is. This one-shot was originally supposed to be a stand alone side story, but I decided I'm going to make it a bridge for Cursed. I'M SORRY GUYSSSSS ITS LOOOOOOONG!

A Queen in Regency

It all started with a sneeze. It'd been so miniscule at the time that Anna had dismissed it as a reaction to lingering dust or pollen in the air. When her sister sneezed again during dinner that night, Anna giggled. She always thought her sister's sneezes were quite humorous. The faces she made—priceless!

When Anna met up with her sister for breakfast that following morning, Elsa's sneezes came more frequently. Anna lost track of Elsa's sneezes half way through breakfast and by the time she met up with the older girl again for dinner, Elsa's sneezes were accompanied by a cough.

By the third day, when Elsa hadn't showed up for breakfast or lunch, Anna was worried. She had stopped by the Queen's usual haunts but found her sister hadn't been present anywhere for most of the day. It wasn't until dinner time, when Elsa was once again a no show, did Anna finally put her food town. She had stormed out of the dining hall, up the stairs and down another corridor to her sister's room did she finally understand her sister's disappearance.

That was when the panic set in.

Queen Elsa was sick. Actually, truly sick.

Anna couldn't remember a time in recent history when her sister was bedridden this way. The last time she had ever seen Elsa so defenseless and frail was when she was four and Elsa was seven. They'd both been sick then, right after the other. Elsa had been ridden immobile for two weeks;' her ice, which Anna could recall vaguely, had gone absolutely haywire at the time. Winter came early that year, if she recalled.

They hadn't been prepared.

She'd gotten sick the week after Elsa, but that hadn't been nearly as shocking to her parents. Anna was always getting sick. When that horrible illness swept through Arendelle, it was a surprise Anna wasn't the first one down for the count (never mind the fact she'd been sick for three weeks with that horrible disease and Elsa had only been incapacitated for one).

Seeing her sister cocooned in her bed, looking as pale as death and glistening with sweat, was such a shock to her system that her flame suddenly ignited on the fabric of her dress.

Anna frantically patted her thigh. She gave Gerda a sheepish grin before cautiously approaching Elsa's bed, her blue eyes filled with concern. She grabbed her sister's hand the moment she was close enough and gave a tight squeeze, memories of their early childhood years flashed vaguely in her mind's eye. She'd held onto Elsa's hands just like this once, with mother and father watching in concern by the doorway. A sense of fear rushed into Anna's veins upon contact with Elsa's hand; her skin felt so unnaturally warm.

"Oh Elsa," Anna whispered, caressing her sister's sweaty hair. "Please don't die."

Gerda gave in an inelegant snort that made Anna's freckled cheeks redden in embarrassment.

"Don't be ridiculous dear," she said, switching out Elsa's old wash cloth for a fresh one. "The Queen is sick, is all. It's just a minor cold."

"Elsa doesn't get cold, Gerda." Anna huffed, slightly dejected. "She's Elsa. Colds don't bother her."

"Even the strong fall prey to illness my dear."

Elsa's small sickly chuckled filtered into Anna's ears. She grabbed a cup of cold water from a nearby table and gently tipped it against her sister's dry lips. Elsa greedily drank her fill.

She fell back against the lush pillows, her platinum blond hair fanned out around her head like a halo. Gerda used the new wash cloth to pat away the sweat dotting the Queen's brow then politely excused herself from the room with promise of a healthy breakfast and cold liquids for the morning.

They waited until she was gone and even then, Elsa's lips refrained from moving until another minute or two had dragged on in silence. Anna had never been very good at sitting still or quiet—that'd been one of her worst weaknesses during her lessons—but with Elsa's frail state, she did her best to keep herself from speaking lest she aggravate her sister in any way.

Instead, her nervous energy affected her powers. The hands she held Elsa with fluctuated with heat. She'd gotten so hot, Elsa had physically winced.

Anna withdrew her hands immediately.

"Sorry! I'm nervous."

Elsa shook her head, a feeble smile gracing her chapped lips. "'tis OK," she whispered tiredly.

Anna leaned in close, re-grabbing her sister's warm hand again. "You sound terrible Elsa." She frowned, squeezing her sister's hand tightly. "Are you sure you're not dying? I've never seen you this sick before. Or ever—well not true—not since we were really, really, really little anyway." Her blue eyes started to water. "You almost died then! Remember? I was so terrified!"

Elsa shook her head again, squeezing her sister's hand with the little energy she could muster. It made Anna's heart hammer with anxiety.

"No," She managed, her voice hoarse. "You did…remember? Your body was… so hot."

Anna couldn't recall that. She'd been sick for three weeks—or so she'd been told—but the only thing she could recall from that time was celebrating Elsa's recovery and then promptly vomiting her little heart out a few seconds later, but the fever? Almost dying? Had they really been that sick then?

She couldn't recall. Her memories of that time were so vague, Anna had pretty much forgotten they'd ever been sick at all until now.

"Anna…"

The girl in question shook out of her thoughts and graced Elsa with another worried frown. She leaned in close again, not wanting her sister to strain her achy throat any more than she already had to.

"Yes?" She urged quietly. "What is it? Do you need the bathroom? Do you need water? Are you too hot? You look like your melting."

Elsa suddenly scowled.

"But in a good way!" She hastily explained. "You make melting look so elegant."

The sickly Queen rolled her tired eyes playfully, a small amused smile gracing her lips. "Thank you." She whispered then grew somber. "I need a favor from you, Anna."

"Anything." She urged.

"I need you to take care of Arendelle for me."

The red head blinked, her mind suddenly blank.

Elsa gave her an exhausted pointed stare, but when her sister remained passive, she sighed.

"Anna, I'm appointing you as Queen Regent. It'll only be for today."

Anna suddenly withdrew from her sister's touch, her freckled face marred with confusion and slight horror.

"Wait, what? Elsa-!"

"Mikkel will assist you," The Snow Queen interrupted, sensing her sister's concerns. "It'll just be for one day. He'll help you, I promise. You'll be fine." She coughed.

Anna shook her head frantically. "B-Be Q-Qu-Queen?! I can't be Queen! I'm not supposed to be Queen! That's why I was born last—so that you're Queen! I can't even walk around town without the townspeople giving me glares or-or flinching whenever I'm too close to them. They hate me Elsa, I can't rule them even if it is temporary."

"Anna please…" Elsa whispered, her sweaty brows set into a frown. "I trust you. Arendelle trusts you—"

"Arendelle despises me, Elsa." Anna stated. She anxiously toyed with her hair. "They'll be really upset if they see me sitting on your throne tomorrow."

"I need you… to do this for me… please." She made a feeble gesture toward her vanity on the other side of the room. "You'll get to wear my crown." She added softly, as though the tiara proved to be an extra incentive.

Without waiting for a reply, Elsa curled into the covers. She snuggled comfortably into her pillow, a relieved smile forming on her dry lips again.

"You'll be OK…" She murmured, already feeling the lull of sleep tug her subconscious. "Arendelle… still… adores you…"

Anna hesitantly approached the vanity, her eyes fixated on the innocent golden crown perched delicately on top of a velvet violet colored pillow. She carefully plucked it from its perch, her mouth propping open slightly. It felt surprisingly light between her fingers; the light blue gem still bright despite the dim flickering of light.

She forced her eyes to gaze into the mirror as she raised the tiara-like crown above her head. With extreme caution, she placed the small crown on top her sunset red head and examined herself in the mirror.

It sparkled prettily in the fire light.

Elsa jerked awake at Anna's squeal. She gave the girl a warning glare that made the princess duck her head shamefully then drew the covers over her head; her temples now aching profusely.

"Rest easy Elsa," Anna whispered.

She quietly exited the room with the crown still perched on her head. A bright massive smile split her face the moment the door clicked shut behind her.

"I can't believe this—Queen for a day. If Elsa thinks I can do this then I know I can do this! I'll prove to Arendelle that I'm not some scary witch!" She ran down the hall in a moment of excitement and determination. She slid down the stairs railing with a boisterous laugh that filled the entire hall. She barely avoided colliding into Mikkel at the end of stairs, who eyed the princess with a curious, yet disapproving frown.

"Your Grace," he greeted, bowing low. "It's rather late. What on Earth are you doing awake?" His eyebrows shot up the moment his eyes caught sight of Elsa's crown perched on Anna's head.

He was instantly reminded of a conversation he, the Queen and members of the council had had in passing one day. Elsa had wondered, out loud no less, on what it would be like were Anna the Queen instead of her. The thoughts that had passed in Mikkel's mind had been… disastrous.

The council members were of like mind.

"Your Grace," he began again, clearing his throat. "How is her majesty?" And why does the Crown of Arendelle sit on your head? He thought worriedly.

Anna drew herself up to perfect posture. She wiped away imaginary dust from her dress and clasped her hands together in the same way she knew Elsa had done countless times before. Already, Mikkel felt a sense of foreboding.

"Sir Mikkel," She began in a tone that reminded him of the Queen. "My sister Elsa is very sick. She'll be bedridden for a while but—"

Oh heavens there's a but. Mikkel thought, horrified.

"She has made me Queen Regent until she feels well enough to rule again." The red head suddenly beamed. "She said you'd help me out if I had any questions, which I do by the way, but seeing as it's late and you look like you're very tired, I'll ask you everything I want to know tomorrow morning. OK? Good night Mikkel! Sweet dreams." She gave the Adviser a curtsey then ran back up the stairs in delighted glee, her previous concerns of the townspeople not liking her cast aside for temporary enjoyment of having the opportunity to wear the Crown of Arendelle.

The pile of papers Mikkel held in his arms fell to the floor in a grand flutter.

Lord have mercy on Arendelle. He gulped.

The sun had barely risen in the sky when an incessant series of knocks roused Anna from sleep. She jerked beneath her covers and turned to her side, a t rail of drool escaping her partially opened lips. She mumbled something incoherent, waved a hand at nothing then started to snow lightly.

Another series of knocks pounded at her door.

"Your Grace, please awaken." Mikkel's muffled voice came from the other side. "Breakfast is ready. We have a lot of things to do today."

Anna groaned again. She curled the pillow around her ears, thoughts of getting more sleep overpowering anything else. Anna was an early riser on most occasions, but getting to wear Elsa's crown temporarily last night had made her so excited, she spent a few good hours in the courtyard letting out waves and pillars of over ecstatic fire. She'd gone to sleep at 3 AM that night; it stood to reason her body craved for more rest.

"Queen Anna, please rise. We have many things to do today!" Mikkel said, purposely stressing out the princess's temporary title.

Anna suddenly stiffened in bed.

Oh, that's right, I'm Queen Regent.

The red head suddenly shot out of her bed with energy that hadn't been present before. She opened the door, making Mikkel jump in momentary terror at her wild, mangled mane of red hair and rumpled clothes.

"Give me five minutes!" She said then slammed the door shut.

Mikkel swallowed thickly.

She was out and about three minutes later; her hair done up instead of her signature braids and donned a dress made perfectly for a temporary Queen (but then again, all of Anna's dresses were made to fit very specific occasions.) Placed on Anna's head was Elsa's tiara-like crown, sparkling bright in the hall light. Mikkel raised an eyebrow at the princess's appearance, but shook his head.

"Your breakfast is ready." He stated again, giving her a proper bow. "Shall I escort her grace into the dining hall?"

Anna smiled bright. "Of course!" She grabbed his arm and yanked him along with her.

Three hours of sleep was not enough. Anna hadn't been sure of the time until Mikkel began reading the schedule while she ate breakfast. She nearly choked on her eggs when Mikkel told her she only had fifteen minutes of eating before she could be whisked away at 6:30 for a brief meeting with the council.

At 6:45, she would once again be whisked away to the study where Mikkel will give her forms to sign on pre-approved tax cuts; funding for the rebuilding effort and last minute trade agreements Elsa had yet to officially sign. (The thought of getting to sign official documents that had to do with rebuilding Arendelle after her biggest screw up of a lifetime felt oddly satisfying to her.)

At 7:00, she would officially stat the day with an open court and listen to the wails, cries and disappointments from the people of Arendelle for two hours.

Two. Hours.

("Doesn't Elsa do three?"

"Two and a half, actually."

"Why am I only doing two?"

"Else does not get so easily bored."

"Hey!")

At 9:00, Mikkel had planned for Anna to practice her flame.

("Really?"

"The stress of the day might begin to affect your magic. I thought it would be in your best interest if I schedule a few minutes for you to ventilate your powers. Her Majesty the Queen knows techniques that better handle her stress. You, quite frankly, do not.")

At 9:30, another council meeting would be held to thoroughly discuss the current state of the kingdom.

("That means I'm only getting thirty minutes to practice."

"You have a busy day your grace.")

At 12:00, lunch would be served and brought to the council room should it prove necessary.

(Anna physically wilted at the thought of discussing politics for two hours and thirty minutes. The only redeeming quality about having lunch with the council was the fact that it was an hour long. Lunch time was down time, Mikkel had explained. Anna planned on seeing her sister then.)

At 1:00, Anna was expected in the study to sign more papers.

("Why so much paperwork?"

"Queen Elsa hates paperwork."

"That doesn't mean I like it!"

"Comes with the crown, I'm afraid.")

At 1:30, she was expected to meet up with Kai and go about the town in order to oversee how the rebuilding effort was thus progressing.

(She was a bit reluctant to do this seeing as how most of the townspeople eyed her with contempt.)

By 3:00, Anna was expected back in the castle to oversee plans for their upcoming voyage to Corona.

At 3:30, Mikkel arranged for another fire practice run.

("Oh thank goodness!"

"Stressed already, your grace?"

"No." She pouted.)

At 4:00, more paperwork was to be expected. (The loud groan that escaped her mouth was enough to make Mikkel frown in disapproval.) At five was the tailoring session for their dresses for Rapunzel's birthday and at six, dinner would be served.

Another council meeting awaited her at 6:30 to discuss the day's events as a whole and a bath would be drawn up for Anna at 8:30. The rest of the day was hers to spend, but Anna knew, after having a day like this, she would crash by ten. Or die. Dying was likely.

She swallowed nervously.

"Are you ready your grace?" Mikkel asked casually.

Anna gave him a slightly strained smile.

"Ready! Bring on the day!"

Mikkel smirked in amusement.

Anna's early morning experience with the council was humorous at first. Having the council gawk at her the moment she announced herself as Queen Regent had been funny—she'd even giggled for a good twenty seconds at their reactions—but her entertainment turned sour when horror, concern and disbelief crossed their faces. Their mixed reactions was enough to make Anna feel they questioned her sister's judgment, and that thought alone made her heart ache. Why did people always seem to mistrust her?

Getting them to discuss anything important with her was like pulling teeth. Her status as Queen Regent meant nothing to them, it seemed. They still—and always would—view her as Princess Anna, the one who wasn't quite as elegant as the graceful Queen; wasn't quite as breathtaking; wasn't quite in complete control.

In the end, the meeting proved counterproductive. Anna wasn't able to get a good idea of where Arendelle stood as a whole or what the day would bring her.

She left the stuffy council room with Mikkel in the lead, partially grateful that she would have the next fifteen minutes to herself, even if it was just signing papers.

Cutting down on Elsa's paperwork proved to be more informative than the highly unhelpful and bigoted council. She learned more about the economical state of Arendelle just by skimming through tax reliefs and funding projects than she did in the fifteen minutes she spent being ignored by the council.

The number of tax cut documents seemed never-ending in her opinion and it worried her that Elsa felt the need to continue cutting back so much. The kingdom was still in mourning, she knew that—it'd only been two weeks since the fire after all—but Eugene did all he could to soothe the wound she had caused on the kingdom. The extra funds from Corona and Copenhagen wouldn't be able to mollify the heartbreak losing a loved one left behind. Even Anna understood that the best remedy for their people was time, for it was obvious nothing else would appease them.

They did not plan on forgiving her any time soon.

In the middle of the paperwork, Mikkel excused himself briefly. Open court would begin in ten minutes, he had explained, he would be back to escort her to the throne room then.

Anna sighed the moment he was gone and rubbed her burning, tired eyes. She continued to sign, lazily scrawling her name along the bottom when her hand knocked into the bottle of ink and sent it toppling off the table, splattering black liquid all over Elsa's beautiful rug.

"Shoot." She grumbled, picking up the fallen bottle. She searched around the table for something to soak up what she could before Mikkel returned with another disappointed scowl. She looked through the drawers in the desk when something strange caught her attention. Rather, it was most ordinary compared to all the paperwork stock piled on the desk, and had Anna not been doing anything else, she would have just crossed it off as more things to sort through, but what had made her pause in her search for a napkin was the wax symbol of a kingdom she barely recognized, already broken as though read.

It was an old letter, one that Elsa had already seen and most likely responded to, but why would be tucked away in a drawer near the bottom? It looked almost as though her sister had been trying to… hide it. When Anna looked closer, she realized there were more letters with broken wax seals wedged near the bottom of a desk drawer. How curious.

Spilled ink now forgotten, Anna reached into the drawer and pulled out the hidden letters, marveling at the handful she had managed to pick up and the rest still lying beneath inconspicuous papers. Only a few would do for now, she didn't have time to read all of it.

She read the first letter with the strange suit of arms and immediately frowned. It was a letter of inquiry for Anna's hand in marriage.

Elsa hadn't told her about this.

She eyed the date marked at the bottom of the signature—her frown worsened. It was old, written and sent just a month before the festival had even been entertained in Anna's mind; even before the princess knew she had magic of her own flowing through her veins. What had her sister's reply been? Why hadn't she brought it up?

The temporary Queen glanced back to the rest of the letters, her blue eyes flashing gold. She fished through each of them; unfolding, refolding; reading; scanning. The number of people asking for Elsa's hand in marriage was surprisingly small, though Anna supposed she shouldn't have been surprised. Being sovereign Queen meant Elsa was allowed to choose her suitors, regardless of birth status and age. Being princess, Anna knew that her prospects were severely limited, as well as her choice in the matter. She'd be handed down to the highest bidder, of course, which was why these letters were a troubling discovery.

The number of letters asking for her hand in marriage was terrifyingly high and it seemed to increase in number once word had gotten out that the Great Fire of Arendelle had been her doing. In fact, there were a few letters sent by the same kingdom, who seemed to flourish their desire for her post-fire whereas, she was certain they hadn't seem too interested before it. (Anna really shouldn't have been surprised. Hadn't Elsa made a mention about an increase of marriage proposals days after the fire?)

It was like Hans all over again. The number of people wanting to marry her power outweighed the number of people who wanted to marry her. It was enough to aggravate her already aching mind and worsen her already sour mood.

The letter she held in her hand—from a kingdom somewhere in Europe—blackened beneath her fingers. She hastily dropped the message just as Mikkel returned to the study. He stopped mid-stride and gave the girl a curious brow. He eyed the pile of letters spilled in a messy pile atop of more important documents then spotted the inky mess that dripped casually down the side of the desk and onto a puddle in the rug. He opened his mouth to say a word, but Anna silenced him with a surprisingly hostile glare; golden eyes fiery.

"Are they ready for me?" She asked instead, shoving the letters back in their proper place. She'd have to speak with her sister once she was healthy again about this.

The Royal Adviser nodded, surprised. "Open court shall commence in three minutes, your grace."

"Then let's not keep the people of Arendelle waiting."

Anna was the perfect picture of queenliness for a good thirty minutes into open court. She handled her first batch of townspeople as quickly, gracefully and maturely as possible. She'd come up with solutions even she herself was surprised in having that effectively, calmly and quickly took care of any problem the troubled townspeople had. Everything had just been flawless until thirty minutes later, when she finally came across a commoner whose way of life had been abruptly destroyed during the Great Fire of Arendelle.

The pure, utter contempt the shop owner held against her was engraved so harshly in his eyes, Anna felt like the man was literally radiating hatred despite keeping his facial muscles calm. Her mere presence alone greatly annoyed him with the way he had stiffly approached her and hesitated so blatantly when it was time to kneel in greeting. (It was customary for the people of Arendelle to kneel when approaching their sovereign ruler in open court.) But he had kneeled before her and she saw the fire of rage burn within his eyes for just the briefest of minutes. He had spoken his desire—("Your…majesty…I humbly stand before you today on behalf of my terribly wounded wife. You see, she'd been injured, horribly so, during the Great Fire of Arendelle. She lies in bed, constantly suffering, whilst our poor oldest daughter does what she can to make her mother comfortable. Our gracious Queen—your beautiful sister—has given us compensation in order to rebuild my ruined shop, and although my family and I are truly grateful for Queen Elsa's gracious donation, I fear the medical expenses for my wife prove to be too much for my family to handle. Please, your…majesty…I humbly ask for assistance in my wife's tragic recovery.")—and she had given him an answer: ("Yes, of course. My sister and I will personally compensate for your wife's medical expenses.") The look on his face; that terrible, nasty hatred. Her words burned him; the way his lips curled subtly at her response. The way he half-walked, half-marched out of the throne room like he wanted nothing more than to be far, far away from the sole reason why his family were the way they were.

She'd come across forty more like him, all with the same story; the same anger; the same sorrow.

(Elsa's open court following the "Eternal Winter of Arendelle" hadn't been like this from what she could recall.)

It made the guilt she felt a hundred times worse.

The rest of the requests were thankfully not so heavy on her mind. She felt immensely relieved whenever her people complained about a few stolen items here and there (Easy fixes. Her mind supplied). She had to contain herself whenever a personal squabble would come up pertaining to unruly neighbors or lazy relatives (Easy, easy, easy. Was the mantra in her mind). And then there were the truly outrageous claims of cows being tipped over in the dead of night or a horse having been molested.

("Wait, what? Molested?"

"Yes, your majesty."

"Molested?"

"Yes, your majesty."

"Um, ew."

"Agreed, your majesty.")

In spite of the tragic stories involving the Great Fire of Arendelle, two hours of open court had taught Anna something valuable. Being Queen was, quite possibly, the worst burden to behold. Coupled with their magic, it was no wonder Elsa freaked out on her coronation day. Being Queen sucks.

Anna released an exasperated groan the moment the last civilian left the throne room. She slouched exaggeratedly on the throne, the heat of her fire licking beneath her skin in anticipation.

"Thirty minutes," Mikkel reminded her, tapping the schedule in emphasis. "Then I'll come get you for the council meeting."

She rubbed her aching temples. "Yeah, yeah." She grumbled. "Thirty minutes."

Left entirely alone now, Anna sluggishly pulled herself to her feet. She walked towards the center of the empty room, her pulsating head enjoying the silence. She contemplated her options.

Thirty minutes wasn't enough time for a dance. Creating her favorite flaming bird was definitely out of the question. (She didn't want to explain to Mikkel while Ildri burned the draperies again or deal with Elsa once she was better.) No, staying small was her best bet. She had two more sessions of practice later on in the day, playing it safe now would take the edge off and keep herself from overheating the room.

With that decided, Anna tugged the heat within herself and pulled it to the surface. It manifested into a small red flame, floating just above her palm. She willed it into a different form then smiled when it took on the shape of a fiery red snowflake Elsa enjoyed making during their practice sessions. She raised a brow, not quite pleased with the design.

As if reading her mind, the red fire shifted into blue.

Her smile broadened.

"I'm getting better at this." She mused happily. "I'll have to remember to show Elsa this the next time we practice. Hmm, a snowflake that isn't frozen…" She waved the fiery snowflake away with a laugh.

She returned to the throne, eying the vast emptiness of the hall. She allowed her mind to drift, recalling the last two hours of open court.

Two hours of listening to the people of Arendelle; of watching them flinch under her graze; watching them scowl; hate her in silence.

Two hours of "Where's Queen Elsa?" "Is her majesty alright?" "When will she return?"

("My sister is sick. She'll be fine. She'll be back tomorrow.")

Anna shut her eyes, feeling her warm fingers massage her temples in a soothing circular motion.

("My grace, please, I implore you! My poor little boy is sick. His wounds from the fire have gotten worse. My husband and I… we fear that his time with us is limited. Please, I beg of your assistance!"

"We've run out of funding, your grace. How do you expect us to rebuild when the relief money is barely enough?!"

"Someone's been tipping over my cows and trespassing on my property!"

"At least you have a cow! Someone stole mine!"

"Can one marry a horse?")

"An—woaaaahh."

Anna's golden eyes snapped open.

Olaf stood at the end of the room, his snow jaw unhinged and his eyes wide in awe. Blue fire flickered hypnotically all around the throne. Two trails of it flowed down the length of the red and gold rug, all the way to the door where Olaf stood. The petite snowman stepped into the room slowly, entranced by the leisure flicker of the sapphire flames. He held out a twiggy hand toward the small wall of fire, completely oblivious—or simply not caring—that Anna's blue flames were hotter than most.

The red head immediately rose from the throne, fear and anxiety bursting to life in her chest. "Olaf, don't-!"

He stuck the entirety of his arm into the blaze and withdrew, to Anna's great surprise, unscathed. He wiggled his wooden fingers in emphasis.

"Amazing." He gaped then stuck both arms into the flames. "It doesn't burn! It's not even hot. That's amazing Anna! I didn't know you could make fire that doesn't burn."

Anna gave him a sheepish smile. She willed the flames away, much to Olaf's disappointment, and joined him by the door.

"I've been practicing." She said, a little quietly. "Elsa mentioned something about my blue fire being different so I thought 'why not experiment?'" She shrugged, feeling a little embarrassed for doubting herself. "Anyway, what brings you here?"

"I came to see Elsa. I heard she was sick and I thought she might be a little lonely. Snowmen can't get sick, you know."

Anna smiled warmly. "She'll be happy to see you, Olaf."

"Are you coming too?" He asked, suddenly spotting Elsa's tiara-like crown perched on Anna's head. "Oh! Did Elsa make you Queen? Are you running the kingdom now? Congratulations!" He suddenly frowned. "I didn't miss the ceremony did I?"

The red head shook her head. "No, no, I'm just temporary. It's only until Elsa feels better." She gave him an apologetic smile. "I wish I could go say hi, but Mikkel has a lot of work for me to do today. Tell Elsa to get better for me, OK?"

"Sure thing Queen Anna!" He gave her a flourished bow then continued on his way, humming contently to himself.

The Queen Regent watched the gentlemen of the council bicker amongst themselves dully. She had a hard time keeping her eyes open and managed to fall asleep more than once. She was constantly being aroused by Mikkel, who gave her a look of disapprove upon every awakening. She'd groan, shift in her chair then struggle to remain awake all over again.

On her tenth fall into slumber, one of the council members slammed a chubby hand against the table. She jerked awake in panic, sending a streak of fire across the wooden table that made everyone in the room scream.

"Sorry! Sorry!"

"My apologies, your grace." Said the chubby council member. Anna vaguely recalled his name as Sir Tomas. "I did not mean to startle you."

"What happened?" She yawned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

The council members glanced at each other.

"Well, erm, you see, your grace—" Sir Tomas struggled.

"We were just discussing the, erm…" Sir Ulrik trailed off.

Mikkel rolled his eyes. "Marriage proposals, your grace. They were just discussing marriage proposals."

The heat that already surrounded them from the summer's day suddenly intensified uncomfortably. The council members shifted awkwardly in their chairs, straining their collars and dotting handkerchiefs across their already sweaty brows. Anna straightened her back and eyed every council member with honey gold eyes.

"Marriage proposals?" She inquired. She thought back to the letters she'd seen hidden in Elsa's desk drawer and wondered… had there been more? "What about marriage proposals?"

"Your grace," one of the middle aged men—Sir Ruben was it?—began. "You must be aware of the current situation in the Southern Isles, yes? Arendelle's allegiance with them is… delicate…at best. King Marcus has yet to recant his proclamation of war and with the reinstated trade treaty between our kingdom and his still fragile, we all fear that war is very likely."

"And so what if it is?!" Sir Ulrik rebuked. "It if means putting King Marcus in his place then I say we should go to war!

"A war would not be in Arendelle's best interest." Mikkel commented casually. "As it is now, Arendelle cannot afford to send our army elsewhere."

"Who says we need an army?" Sir Ulrik laughed. "What use is an army when we have ma—" Sir Ulrik suddenly cut himself off at Anna's curious gaze. He cleared his throat, reached for his drink then dotted his brow with his handkerchief, all the way looking as though he had never spoken.

Anna couldn't help but frown.

"The marriage proposal is still on the table." Sir Rikard stated.

Sir Tomas scowled at the thought. He turned to Rikard, looking as though he were ready to argue about the topic once more when Sir Ruben rose from his chair, effectively silencing the men.

"We shall discuss this at another time." He said, pale green eyes glaring into the eyes of the others. (It gave Anna the impression she was not meant to overhear any of this despite her current regency.) "I do believe we should adjourn the meeting for now. All this arguing has made me famished. Lunch is in order."

It was a bit early from what Anna could observe on Mikkel's face, but she was grateful to finally leave the stuffy old room and fill her body with much needed sustenance.

Lunch had been thankfully uneventful. She spent most of her time in Elsa's room, watching Olaf juggle a series of snowballs for Elsa's amusement and spent the remainder of her break time discussing her day overall. She was reluctant to leave her sister's side, but the exhaustion in Elsa's eyes urged her to carry on with her day, and to hold on. The day was almost over.

She spent the last five minutes of her break flexing her fingers, watching as the flame traveled beneath her flesh like blood.

Thirty minutes of paperwork felt like an hour. Anna had lost count of how many important documents she had signed and wondered if she would get in trouble for squiggling a signature rather than appropriately signing it.

At 1:30, Mikkel dragged Anna into the kingdom to oversee the rest of the rebuilding effort. Having to walk around in broad daylight, observing their efforts to undo the damage she had done, was worse than open court. At least then, she didn't have to see quite clearly how much these people despised her.

Anna dunk her head beneath the surface of the water that night. Her day had been absolutely horrendous. How was Elsa able to handle so much stress in one day?

How could she possibly deal with the villagers constantly scowling at her as though she were the most horrible creature on Earth?

How could she possibly keep track of where all the funding was going?

When did she ever find the time to just escape and find peace? (Oh yeah, the Ice Palace… that I totally melted.)

Anna broke the surface of the water with a gasp. She wiped her bangs away from her eyes then eyed the crown perched neatly on her night gown; the small crystalline gem sparkling innocently beneath the candle light.

"Ugh," She groaned, her temples aching again. "How did father ever handle this?"

The stress of a kingdom was one thing, but a marriage? War? Truly? The thought was frightening.

Anna felt the temperature in the room increase before the water started to boil. She fell back against the tub and allowed her fire to steam the room, hiding the world behind a misty veil.

Elsa awoke bright and early the next morning. Her body still felt sore and her throat still stung, but the terrible fever that plagued her body had finally dissipated during the night. With a hardy stretch, she grabbed a robe from a nearby chair and crept silently out of the room. She journeyed the short distance down the hall to Anna's room and quietly peaked into the darkness. She found her sister sprawled diagonally across the mattress, one leg dangling over the edge, her head lolling on the other end.

Elsa's thin brows shot upwards in surprise. She had never seen Anna sleep so haphazardly before.

"Anna?" She whispered, poking the younger girl.

Anna remained motionless.

"Anna?" She tried again, tapping the girl's head.

No response.

Elsa frowned. "Anna!" She called, nudging her harder.

Her sister responded with a light snort.

Elsa sighed.

You sleep like the dead, Anna. She thought, a small, loving smile gracing her lips. I hope you don't get sick after this.

"Sweet dreams little sister." She whispered, placing a gentle kiss on top of Anna's head. "Thank you for watching the Kingdom for me."

She left the room in silence soon after, crown safely in her grasp, a gentle smile on her lips. Her contentment soon soured, however, when a thought trailed through her mind. Elsa shoved it aside for now, hoping on blind hope that her sister had not gone snooping while she slept. After all, she was sure Anna would not appreciate being kept in the dark about the marriage proposals.

Cursed is going to be fun. There are exactly four things (3 obvious, 1 very, very subtle) that's going to be a recurring theme in Cursed. Cookies to anyone who figures it out before the first chapter gets posted!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

-x-X-x-

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