DISCLAIMER: I do not own any rights to Frozen, it's story lines, or it's characters. I only own my original characters in this story.
"Your Majesty," Georg knelt at the bottom of the leading up to his brother's throne. Common courtesy was an understatement when it came to the Princes of the Southern Isles. Well, at least for twelve out of thirteen of them. Georg was number eight in the line of brothers, and by far the most militarily accomplished. It was just common sense that he would never inherit the throne, therefore the young man had enlisted in the Royal Military Academy when he was old enough. Prince Georg had made a career out of military service. Once his brother inherited the throne, the King had put his younger brother in charge of the Royal Guard.
"Rise, brother!" Frederick spoke joyfully towards his brother as he stepped from his throne and closed the gap between them. His hands clasped Georg's shoulders and squeezed, "How have you been? We've missed your presence here at the palace."
Georg grinned, "I know, but we have trained a new batch of recruits at the Academy, and much of my time has been demanded there." His look was apologetic, but it wasn't warranted. King Frederick was well aware that his brother was in high demand. A highly decorated officer in the Southern Isles military and a prince was a popular combination with their people.
"It's not me you have to apologize to," Frederick laughed, "Josephine and the twins have missed their dashing Uncle Georg. They ask about you everyday."
Georg joined his brother in laughing as they began to walk. He kept pace with the King, but respectfully always one or two steps behind. If anything, Georg had always taken fast to proper etiquette, and remained straight-backed with his hands clasped behind him. Only the King had the right to be lax in movement at the moment, despite the fact they were brothers.
"Your messenger said you needed me on urgent business, brother. Is something wrong?"
Frederick could see a glint in the young man's eye. As usual, Georg was itching for some sort of adventure. Be it military conflict, or just his presence needed in a hostile situation, Georg had been stuck in the peaceful country for far too long. He ached to go back into battle, to use his superior military strategy and foil the enemy. The only problem was, the Southern Isles had barely any conflict since the young prince first enlisted. His days of heroism seemed so far in the past now, and he was oh so restless.
"Calm yourself, Georg," Frederick was laughing again as he exited the throne room and the brothers entered the Hall of Kings. It was a long, ornate hallway lined with portraits of past rulers. Their father had spent many hours with each of his sons in this hallway, naming all their ancestors and their greatest accomplishments. Occasionally, he would throw in a funny fact about one here and there to ease the atmosphere, but he expected his sons to know each King on those walls.
"There is a task I wish to give you, but it is one you would complete as a Prince of the Southern Isles, not a Oberst in the Royal Army." The King continued.
"O...kay," Georg responded slowly, unsure of where this conversation was leading. Frederick had never requested him for official business on behalf of the royal family. There were plenty of other brothers so engrossed in the title as 'prince' that he could ask.
"I will not force this upon you, Georg,, but the Southern Isles are at risk. Our baby brother saw to it when he attempted to usurp the Queen of Arendelle, not to mention his attempted assassination of her and the princess." Frederick kept on walking, never making eye contact with his brother, but obviously still deeply disturbed by their youngest brother's actions, "We need to be on Queen Elsa's good side. Our lands depend heavily on Arendelle not just for trade, but for allies. If the Queen wishes to seek retribution we have very little to offer their rich land, and they would easily squash us in a war. Yes, despite your obvious skill and valiancy, we would be defeated nonetheless. Our numbers don't hold a candle to Arendelle."
Frederick had obviously heard the little scoff Georg had let slip when he mentioned the possibility of a conflict between sovereigns. Still, deep down, Georg knew his brother was right. Not only did Arendelle have bigger forces, they had a queen with amazingly deadly powers. Elsa could probably face the Southern Isles forces on her own and win. He was a man of bravery, and would fight till his very last breath, but Georg wasn't an idiot.
"What of the others? No one else is available to go?"
Frederick sighed, "Klaus, as one of my advisers is needed here with me. Johannes firstborn is due very soon, and his wife has had a difficult time with the pregnancy these past months. Kristian and Karl are both attending conferences in England to hopefully strengthen our foothold with the King there. Caspar, of course, has the finishing touches of planning his wedding in two weeks time, and Rolf is away on his honeymoon."
Georg nodded along as the King listed off his many brothers and their activities. There was a pang of guilt when he realized he had been so immersed in his own duties, he had lost track of them all over the past few years, "What of the other twins, Wilhelm and Werner?" He asked. The last three he knew about. Hans was locked away in the dungeons these past few months, and Henrik and Erik were following his own footsteps and were attending the Royal Academy. Like him, the lads knew their chances of inheriting the throne were next to nothing and decided a life of military servitude was better suited than lounging around a palace all day with a strong sense of self entitlement.
"Wilhelm is in the Western Isles negotiating trade, and Werner is courting the Duke of Cumberton's daughter. The match will be quite beneficial, and I rather not disrupt that." responded happily, "Like I said, I will not force this upon you, Georg, but surely you understand why it is so important someone from the royal family go in person? Our father and Queen Elsa's father worked very hard to pave a future for our two kingdoms in their alliance. I would hate to dishonor that from either kingdom."
"No, you're right." Georg replied firmly, "It should be one of us begging pardon for Hans' wrongdoings. I will go and make peace with Queen Elsa."
"Excellent!" Frederick once again clasped his brother's shoulder in excitement, "I knew I could count on you with such an important task. The ship will leave tomorrow at dawn. I'll let you go and make your arrangements. I now have the task of finding the perfect presents for you to present to Queen Elsa and her sister, Princess Anna. I've heard they are quite fond of chocolates."
Georg chuckled but nodded nonetheless, "Of course, Frederick, but first I think I should go and see my niece and nephews before my voyage."
Both brothers shared another laugh as they entered the great hall and neared the grand staircase. "Of course. They should be up in the nursery, but there is no guarantee. They do love causing trouble."
Up in the nursery, Georg quietly peeked through the half-closed door and watched the children at play. Frederick, or Freddie as most called him, and his twin brother Franz were battling each other with their tin soldiers. Every once in a while, Georg would hear them shout a phrase he had taught them from the military. His niece, Josephine, was off to her side of the room, playing with a toy castle and a doll. The toy had white blond hair and an icy blue dress, most likely custom-made for the girl.
"Uncle Georg!" he heard the little girl cry as she lifted her gaze and spotted him. The man was met by three young children practically knocking him to the ground. He laughed and played raucously with the children for a while until their nanny came in shushing them all. Georg situated the boys back with their tin soldiers, helping them plan out a battle strategy, and then joined his niece by her toy castle. She was holding her blond doll above the castle, and Georg's eyes widened as her free hand released a streamer of blue silk ribbon. The material blanketed the towers of the castle delicately as it cascaded towards the floor.
"That's beautiful, Josie!" He sat down on the floor next to her and watched as she release another ribbon. This time it was a shimmering white silk that molded alongside its blue companion.
"It's the Snow Queen!" Josephine stated excitedly, "You know, like the one naughty Uncle Hans tried to hurt. Grandmama made her for me. Isn't she beautiful?"
Georg grinned and nodded at his niece. Since his father's death, the Queen mother had taken up many hobbies to try to busy herself. Most recently she had grown very fond of her granddaughter and had begun making dolls, apparently.
"You know something," Georg spoke with childlike enthusiasm, "Your Papa is sending me to meet with Queen Elsa, the Snow Queen. I'll be leaving in the morning."
Josephine's jaw dropped and her eyes grew wide, "Do you think Papa will let me go with you? Oh please! Please!" Her voice raised in excitement.
Georg couldn't help but chuckle, "I don't think so darling. I'm going for official business."
Seeing his niece so crestfallen broke his heart. He quickly added, "I know! Why don't you draw the Queen a picture and write a note to go with it? I will personally deliver it to her."
The light brunette haired girl raised an eyebrow curiously at her uncle and got to her feet. She stared down at him, scrutinizing his intentions, "Do you swear?"
Georg's face turned serious, and he placed a hand over his heart, "I, Georg Alexei Ferdinand Tomas, Prince of the Southern Isles, do solemnly swear to deliver to the Queen of Arendelle anything the Josephine Margrethe Ingrid Kristjana, Crown Princess of the Southern Isles chooses."
The next morning, as he embarked on his journey, Georg had a parcel pressed into his hand containing a letter from his niece to the Queen, and the doll she had played with from the night before. Georg could only pray his reception with the Queen went well so that he might fulfill his oath to his niece.
Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the first installment of my story. It has been quite some time since I've posted anything on this website, so I hope you go easy on me! Feel free to leave reviews and any kind of constructive criticisms! I'm always open to suggestions and ideas. Again, thanks for reading!