Author's Note: Whew, ok first fanfic, lets see how this goes! Couple of things first: This story is inspired by 4mation's own story "Argos". Seriously, go check that out if you haven't already. If you love yourself some Frozen and you love some Game of Thrones (and really who doesn't?) go read it! Do it, I'll wait here.
Done? Good. Also a shout out to battousa24 for helping me put this thing together. Without him the final quality of my chapters would be a whole lot worse and that is something I am not afraid to admit. His own stories are also awesome as well, go check them out too!
And of course I need to include that I do not own any of the characters, setting, or anything else to do with Disney's Frozen. Any constructive criticism you guys can provide, whether big or small, for my own story however would be immensely appreciated.
The kingdom was teetering on the edge of summer and fall by the middle of August. Throughout the town it was easy to sense that everyone was in a mad dash to finish up what they were doing and get home as quickly as possible, both for the night and the coming season. The townsfolk were scurrying left and right and locking their doors, local merchants were closing their wares to the public, and what few drunkards there was were probably asleep in the alleys by now.
Kaya knew this was the only time she felt it was safe to meet.
She quickly pulled her hood over her head and discreetly rushed out of the markets to the harbor where her acquaintance would be waiting. The plan was to meet him exactly after dusk had fallen, but she quickly realized that at her current pace she would be several minutes late.
No matter, she thought; better to be late than be exposed.
At last when the sun had completely set and the moon was at the beginning of its twirl around the earth did she arrive at the docks. Several small merchant ships had been docked for a couple of days, among them were the rather ordinary looking Benjamin, a British schooner that sat idly by on the farthest dock. Of course, Kaya knew that such an unremarkable ship would make a good enough meeting place; after all, being unremarkable was one of the most important things in her line of work.
Kaya quickly arrived at the short dock the ship was anchored in, being careful to watch her step on the rotting wet wood. At the front of the ship stood a normal looking fellow, shorter than the average man and a little overweight, dressed in the dark yellow cloths of a humble merchant man topped off with a brown hat to cover most of his graying brown hair.
"I'm sorry madam but the last of my best wares were sold today and I don't think anything I have left could impress a fine girl such as you," he called out to her.
"I was told by another salesman that you have some of the finest Venetian silk this far north," She replied, know that only he could come up with a convoluted correspondence such as this.
"As a matter of fact, I believe I do my lady," He smiled, "Come aboard and you can feel the elegance of the cloth yourself!"
Without another word Kaya removed her hood to let her short black hair feel the slight breeze the night had created and climbed up the schooner's ramp to its top deck. There she found his contact standing alone on the middle of the ship with a warm look on his face.
"Kaya, my girl, it has been far too long!" her old friend exclaimed, "Nine months it has been hasn't it? I was wondering when you were going to arrive. You always did have a nasty habit of showing up late for important meetings."
"I suppose it is something you taught me a long time ago when I had just started out, Viarmo," Kaya chuckled, "I seem to recall you being late to distract the guards before the rest of us could nab the finest wine from the storehouse. Something about the Baron of Westumberland's sister distracting you the night before?"
Both of them laughed at that for a minute, but the entire time neither person had moved an inch on the deck, remaining half a dozen meters apart and not daring to step closer. As the chuckling died down Viarmo's face turned to that of complete seriousness.
"I take it you have a couple men with crossbows a reflex away from lodging an arrow into my head?" He asked.
"But of course, no doubt you have done the same." She replied coolly.
"Half a dozen at this very moment. Par for the course, as the saying goes, you understand?"
"We were always taught such things were we not? Precautions are precautions..." Kaya answered.
"… and business is business, even in such a pretty place such as this. I may be old but I remember the words too, Kaya," He then clapped his hands together, "and boy is it booming at the moment! You and I are no doubt going to live very happily if we manage to get out of this trade in time."
Viarmo began to walk to his left in a perfect circle, and Kaya responded by doing the same thing. The two shuffled across the deck as Viarmo continued to speak.
"It makes sense, of course. After all, we are living in very extraordinary times the two of us. The magnificent inventions that are being created these days! The people moving to and fro en masse across the oceans in great vessels of coal and steam! The railroads turning faraway countries into a mere few hours from home..."
"…and the discovery of the Ice Queen." Kaya muttered.
"Indeed!" Viarmo stopped moving and exclaimed, "I bet that sure has changed your own priorities hasn't it? The one secret that you never uncovered: why did the kind and courteous former King and Queen, gods rest their souls, find it necessary to trap their own child, their own heir, to the confines of her room? I can't blame you though, no one could have guessed in their right mind the cause for such drastic measures, certainly not I."
"Humble now are we Viarmo? I would never have expected you to empathize with me."
"Like I said, extraordinary times my friend. It has been what, only a month or so since your majesty created her 'eternal blizzard'? No doubt thanks to the marvelous inventions of just the last few years do people know about her the world over! It is a shame when you think about it however," Viarmo sighed, "Men and women such as us will no doubt be obsolete a few decades from now."
"Oh? How so?" asked Kaya.
"Think about it Kaya!" he responded, "Who knows what new revolutions we will see twenty or thirty years from now? And then look at us standing here! We are all bound to the old ways, the teachings past down for the last two thousand years! Our era of power is going to end soon Kaya; we best make the most of it while we still can…"
Kaya pondered her old friend's words. The world was changing, she agreed, but whether or not it would be to their advantage was something she wasn't so sure of yet.
"…But I have digressed long enough," Viarmo came back from thinking, "we have wasted enough time as it is. So, what is it you need to know about the Southern Isles?
"Yes," responded the younger spymaster, "I need to know what the King of the Southern Isles intends to plot against Arendelle."
"From what him and his sons have told me, nothing." Responded Viarmo, "He chastised Prince Hans for his deploring and unforgivable embarrassment he caused the family, and he has been stripped of what little titles he has and restricted to his quarters. It is a shame, I always thought of him as the most promising of the siblings. Were it not that he was last in the line he could have become one of the greatest leaders my kingdom has yet seen."
"That bastard managed to outwit both of us Viarmo! He almost brought both of our ruling families to rubble!"
"Believe me I would know, he is certainly of his and her majesties' lineage. However you must admit it yourself that his plan was quite impressive and understand that I must commend him for his schemes even as I approve of his necessary punishment."
"I suppose so," said Kaya incredulously, "I am surprised though by your lord's actions; I never expected the king to be so harsh even to his thirteenth son."
"His majesty knows that it is all about image in the family's current state,"He raised his eyebrows, "something your own master would be rather keen to know."
"My Queen knows that she will have to tread lightly when handling any foreign affairs in public. I believe that she has the power to become as great a ruler as her parents if not more so," Retorted Kaya.
"I do not doubt your words. From what I am told Queen Elsa is as beautiful, intelligent, and cunning as the best leaders of today," Viarmo quickly responded, "Just be sure to remind she has the eyes of the world upon her every now and then, hmm? I trust you have already been planning all forms of circumspection to protect the Queen and her sister from threats both domestic and foreign?"
"Please Viarmo, the task I have been given now may be unusual but it is child's play compared to our escapades awhile back," Kaya smirked, "Nothing she does will be able to slip past me. And if it does, I can always count on her majesty freezing any enemies in solid ice."
Her old companion had to chuckle at that before nodding to the ramp, "Very well, if there is nothing else left to talk about I suppose we must both scurry back to our hiding holes, wouldn't you agree?"
Kaya smiled and took a mock bow in front of her fellow spymaster as she left the ship. "It is always a pleasure to speak to you, your Excellency."
Viarmo replied with the same gesture saying, "The same can be said of you, my fellow shadow." Before turning around and giving the signal for his watchmen to lower their weapons as he walked back to the ship's captain quarters.
Kaya sighed as she pulled back on her hood to cover her ears from the chilly wind that had managed to pick up while the two had talked on the ship. She was not convinced by Viarmo that the King of the Southern Isles had no intention to do anything in response to the discovery of her majesty's powers, but she knew that he understood there was no point in trying to hide it as well. The two had served for years together as spies and had saved one another on more than one occasion. They knew all about each other's strengths and weaknesses from a decade of subterfuge, and were capable of exploiting them to hell and back if the need arose.
The cloaked woman grumbled. The whole thing made Kaya especially apprehensive, and Kaya really hated being apprehensive, because when she was nervous she knew she lacked all the details, and when you lacked all the details as a spymaster you end up dead and years of intricacies exposed. All she could do now is hope that she could piece everything together in due time and make sure her lord wouldn't do something incredibly foolish.
A/N: Yep, bringing in historical context on this one! Word of god from the creators of Frozen has said that the story takes place in the 1840's in case anyone is wondering. I am a big history nut so you might see me adding similar stuff into future chapters. Like I said at the beginning any criticism that you guys have that would help improve the writing would be awesome.