2.
The dull thuds of Kai's knocks reverberated through the hallway. Already past midnight, the hallways were bereft of the usual chatter of bored servants and the clunk clunk of wandering knights' hefty armours. The only thing he could hear now was his soft breathing; the only things he could see constrained by the soft illumination of the candle in his hand. He stood still and waited.
Moments passed and yet no answer was forthcoming.
Kai had not moved from his spot. There was no doubt in his mind that his Queen was inside, just as surely as he knew all the cracks and crevices on the castle walls. Cold. Follow the cold and you will find your Queen.
His breath curled into white condensation before dissipating. He stood still, unflinching as a layer of intertwined ice formed up the door as it swung open.
His Queen. How terribly prone to whimsical displays of power.
The door fully ajar, he slipped inside and bowed against the soft click of closing doors. Breath streaming white, he allowed his pupils to adjust against the bright glow of the fireplace, noting the silhouette of his Queen's figure in front of it. He stepped forward and bowed deeply, holding the pose for five counts of his heartbeat, then resumed his steps, stride unbroken as he placed the candle on a shelf mid-way.
"Your Majesty," he said, stopping a few strides scant of the chaise his Queen was currently lounging in, her platinum hair gleaming under the fire's dancing light. A thick tome was in her hands, no doubt about the history of yet another kingdom.
He waited patiently for her to finish reading the current page. Finally slender fingers gently closed the book shut, placing it on the tables besides the chaise. The Queen finally gave him her attention. "Kai."
Kai bowed once more, shorter and shallower. "My Queen. Forgive my intrusion at this unreasonable hour."
"There's no need to apologise. You weren't interrupting anything important," Elsa said with a dismissive wave, adjusting her position to sit upright to face Kai with her legs crossed. "Is there anything that requires my attention?"
Her voice betrayed no irk or false politeness, and Kai wondered if she ever sleeps at all.
"A messenger has come, bearing the seal of the Kingdom of Corona. It pertains to your…" He cleared his throat. "To the lady."
"Show me."
Years of training and servitude reigning any show of hesitation felt, Kai reached into one of his vest's pocket and handed the letter to Elsa,
Similarly, nothing showed on Elsa's face as she broke the wax seal and read the content out loud: "' The lady is bound towards Arendelle.' I see."
A second and a lazy flick of the wrist later, the parchment had floated lazily into the fire: an almost instantaneous disintegration with only small, flying sparks arching lazily in the air as evidence for its existence.
"Is that it?"
"That is it, Your Majesty."
"Very well. You are excused."
But Kai did not, showing a rare defiance of her order. Elsa quirked an eyebrow. "Or is there something else?"
"No, Your Majesty," Kai said, expression carefully unreadable. "But as your loyal subject, I do need to once more remind you that this is not a sound idea."
Another royal flick of the hand. "We've been through this, Kai. And I've told you enough of the reasons why that surely by now you would have learned to if not accept it, then merely tolerate it?"
"I'm just not quite convinced if 'keeping your enemy close' is a good enough reason, Your Majesty. She will remain oblivious if we let her be – there is no reason to invite a potential threat to your own doorsteps—"
At this Elsa barked a single, disbelieving laugh. "Threat?" She said, voice lilting high with incredulousness. "A simple peasant girl? To me? Must I remind you what my powers are, again?"
Kai heard the wind howl against the castle, signifying impending storm.
"No, Your Majesty. I am quite familiar with your power."
"I'm glad," said Elsa, voice back to its usual polite dismissiveness. "Let me just remind you that the threat of a coup d'état should she ever realise her true heritage will be far easier to mitigate once she is within our walls, yes? The Kingdom of The Southern Isles was built from the rebellion of a farmer who by all rights had less supporting cause than a King's bastard child."
"Only due to their predecessor's cruel, tyrannical monarchy, Your Majesty."
"And I am a witch-Queen who commands the power of ice, feared even by my own subjects. Is that not worse? They will happily overthrow me for so much less than a royal bastard's banner."
Kai did not refute that statement, having heard enough with his own ears of the dissent growing between Weselton and their allies. The ripple of fear passing through the citizens of Arendelle – her own people she had never failed to protect. The world was unjust, and his young Queen bore it all with the infinite patience of Atlas.
She would buckle under the weight; that was inevitable. But until then, he would remain by her side. He had sworn this to the King and Queen. To himself.
"They will come to understand your powers," Kai said. It was to convince himself as much as it was to convince the Queen. Elsa stared straight into his eyes, impassive. Neither of them believed it. "Then let me ask you this question, Your Majesty: If she were to pose a threat, what will you do?"
Elsa did not miss a beat as she said: "She will be disposed of."
"Your own sister?"
"Had blood-ties ever stopped my forefathers?"
"No, Your Majesty." He was well aware of the regicidal bloodshed that had built the foundations of the Arendelle dynasty. It was the sole reason behind the late King and Queen's decision to only have Elsa as their child, baring… that girl. But her existence was merely a mistake, something that even Kings were allowed to make.
Elsa's insistence of bringing in her illegitimate sister had complicated things, although Kai knew that if the times comes, she would be more than capable to handle the situation. But it would never come to that; he would nip the threat in the bud.
His Queen had enough blood on her hands; she did not need to have her own sister's added to it.
"I think I've sufficiently answered your questions – even if they did border on insubordination." A pause. "Or is more needed to satisfy your boundless curiosity, my liege?"
The storm had turned into hail. It was time to go. Any time the Queen had taken sarcasm in her words were times when the veneer would threaten to crack. Kai knew this well enough. It was a trait of the late King too, and he knew when to cease pushing and revert back to the discreet, loyal servant he was meant to be.
"There is no need, Your Majesty. I will question your judgement no more. May I take my leave?"
A shadow of emotion flickered across Elsa's expressionless face, but it was too brief for him to determine what.
"Wait. Is the messenger still here?"
"He is, Your Majesty."
"Send a message back to Corona, thanking Princess Rapunzel as well as the King Philippe and Queen Anora, with the reassurance that six of our warships will be sent immediately to join their fleet, as it had been dictated by our agreement."
"It will be done."
"And, Kai?"
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
A flush appeared on Elsa's pale cheeks as she looked guiltily at Kai. "Tell the kitchen to send a cup of hot chocolate and a slice of cake, please?"
For the first time in a while, Kai felt his lips curve into a genuine smile for the Queen. The shy little girl he had loved so much was still there, after all.
"That too, will be done with all due urgency, my Queen."
By the third week at sea, Anna was ready to hurl herself off the ship along with her breakfast. Clutching the waterskin tightly in her fist, she took a gulp and gurgled the water in her mouth before spitting it into the sea.
Take that! She mentally shouted, glaring at the ocean like it had personally killed her parents or something. At least now she was voluntarily spitting on it instead of involuntarily throwing up her stomach lining. Small victories. Baby steps. Whatever. She gurgled and spit again, just for good measure. And also to wash the last of the bile taste out of her mouth.
Bile.
She immediately turned green again.
"Heya. How's the morning sickness, my lady?"
Any thought of emptying her stomach disappeared when she heard Kristoff's jab behind her. She turned to face him and glared balefully, hand on her hip. "Like I'm due for delivery, that's how." Goddamned Kristoff and his goddamned lack of sea sickness. She swore that man's stomach was made out of iron lining or something. "Also, I hate you."
Kristoff chuckled. "You love me."
"Don't flatter yourself, you big oaf."
Anna couldn't deny that, though. The loving part. She didn't love love Kristoff, but they had definitely hit it off pretty well, ever since he caught her nearly tumbling out of the deck in her attempt to catch a seagull at their first day off the port. She never found out how she got the idea of trying to catch a bird out of all things, but she was glad she did. Ever since then their relationship had solidified to what Anna thought an easy sibling relationship would be like, and she was sure Kristoff felt the same way too, judging by his constant jabs at her expense.
That was what siblings do. She had gathered that much from the times when she was still a child, when she could still feel jealousy and hope: the two emotions she no longer allowed herself to feel. She was glad she had met him – his presence alone made the seasickness and the isolation tolerable – but she would never dare hope that their bond would continue on land. He was a Field Marshal of the royal army, and she was not quite sure what she would be.
She would savour these moments with him, she decided. It was the happiest she'd felt ever since mama had left.
"So, big oaf," she said cheerfully, jabbing him in the shoulder with all her strength, knowing he could take it, "what's the plan for today? Are we gonna continue our reading lessons? Because I think I'm starting to memorise the alphabets pretty well… though sometimes I wonder if the people who created the English language just kinda winged it, y'know. Can't they just make one letter have one sound? Instead of like, twenty?"
Kristoff's laughter boomed around the deck as he ruffled her hair with apparent fondness. "Three at most, my lady. Easy with the hyperbole there."
Now that's a new word, Anna thought. She sounded it again in her mind, trying her best to remember it. "Hyperbole?"
"Exaggeration," said Kristoff. He smiled down at her, familiar with her keenness to learn about absolutely everything and anything. "Which was what I thought your whole five sugar inside your tea thing was all about. Then you put in six. I've seen men shove some nasty stuff into their mouths, but you're the first to actually make me regret eating dinner."
Anna grinned cheekily. "Well I'm glad I'm your first, eh?"
"One of many." He winked, then turned serious. "But addressing your question, no, we won't be having any lessons today – oh don't give me that hurt puppy look; I'm already immune to it. Though to cheer you up, I think you'd be very happy at the alternative to stuffy reading lessons."
Pouting, Anna whined, "But I like our lessons. You're an awesome teacher, Kristoff."
Another bark of laughter. "Oh I know – but stroke my ego any more than that and my head wouldn't be able to fit through a door. Still Anna, I have a different plan in mind." He grabbed a passing deckhand gently by the collar. "Lend your scope for a bit to the lady here- thanks; we'll give it back soon."
Anna looked down at the scope the scampering deckhand had unceremoniously dumped in her hands, then up at Kristoff. "What's this about?"
"Comere," Kristoff said, taking her elbow and leading her towards the other side of the deck. "All right. Now hold it up to your eye and close your eye – not with the one on the scope, you goof. The other one."
Anna did. She squinted to the best of her ability, feeling a side of her face spasm as she tried to keep that eye shut. Everything was magnified through the scope, and—there! She could see the close up of a bird in the horizon. She leaned forward to take a better look, but was immediately yanked back by Kristoff.
"Yeah. Let's not nearly fall into the ocean again."
"But I didn't, and that's the only thing that counts. What are we looking for anyway? I doubt it's just for bird watching, is it?"
"Only partly. Look through it again."
Once again she obeyed. Still saw nothing but that bird and more water. "Wha—"
A pair of large hands grabbed her shoulders and she was awkwardly angled away from the bird, now facing slightly towards the left.
She heard his voice coming from behind her. "See that?"
"See what?" Anna definitely could not see. She swung the scope this way and that, trying to figure out what Kristoff was trying to get her to see. Maybe the sea was finally getting to him. Because there was absolutely nothing- then she found the extender, turned it counter clockwise and gasped.
"A port!" She exclaimed, excitement bubbling within her. "I see a port, Kristoff!"
"Not just any port. The finest port on this side of the sea and most probably the other side, too."
And it certainly seemed that way. Leaning forward safely with his hand still hooked to the scuff of her dress like a safety anchor, she could make out a town surrounded by gentle slopes of lush, green valleys. There were probably a few dozen trading boats moored around it, as well as what seemed to be giant war ships. Must be the Arendellian fleet. Now she could understand why Rapunzel had spoken of Arendelle like it was so much powerful than Corona – because it was. She'd seen Corona's fleet before, returning in glory from some distant war somewhere, but even with all their navy congregating in their port, she could definitely tell that Corona's fleet didn't hold a candle against Arendelle's seafaring might.
Arendelle was a warring nation, she realised, watching the tiny pinpricks of flags gently furling and unfurling against the easterly wind. But like the difference between Arendelle's and Corona's navy, whatever awe she had for the mighty fleet paled in comparison to the awe she felt when she finally saw the castle in background, a giant structure nestled on a hill far above the town.
A "whoa" was all she could muster. "The castle's huge! Holy crap, the towers look like they could touch the sky! And the gates? They're probably twice as big as the ones in Corona. Holy crap. I wonder how much one of them costs. What are they, rich?" She whirled to face Kristoff. "Wait. Are we going to dock today?"
"Yep! The wind's on our tail so we're making good time. If this continues, which it will, we should be there before sundown. Thought you'd be happy about that…" he paused, looking at Anna carefully, his brows furrowing. "But it seems like you aren't. Are you all right, Anna?"
Because she wasn't. Any remaining sense of wonderment had left her as soon as Kristoff had confirmed her question. She couldn't help but feel an air of finality settling in around her. She thought she had more time with him. Wished she had more time. Was it too much to ask for just a day or two more?
It was. Even time was never on her side, it seemed. Once they land and this dream of a voyage had ceased, Kristoff would resume his duty as a Field Marshal and Anna would. Anna would what? She would meet the Queen. Then what? What was she? What would she do? Where would she go? All the questions hung empty with no answers to greet them.
She placed a hand on her stomach, willing the waves inside to dissipate. It wasn't from seasickness.
She forced her lips into her best grin, unable to bear the look of worry Kristoff wore. "Nothing. Just wondering if I'd still be able to meet my best big oaf, that's all."
Almost immediately his furrowed brows smoothed and Anna found herself enveloped into a bone crushing hug. "Of course you will, silly. I'll see you every chance I get."
She didn't dare hope.
"You better deliver, then. Or else." Her voice sounded muffled and small against his broad chest and his embrace was becoming quite painful. But she didn't mind the least. He smelled like warm linen, like comfort. When was the last time she had received a hug from anyone?
Eight years ago.
She tried not to show her disappointment when Kristoff broke their hug. "So," she started, not minding the least that he was still patting her head like a puppy, "what are we gonna do now?"
Pat. Pat.
"Now, we have an early lunch. Then you'll go back to your room and try to have some shut eye. I expect Her Majesty to want to meet you soon after you've settled in. Better be prepared for that. Wouldn't wanna offend by falling asleep into your salad bowl or by hurling last night's pudding into her dress."
Anna huffed. "There's no more pudding to hurl. They're all in the ocean now; probably fish food."
"Let's hope the Queen is benevolent enough to spare you death for mass murdering the flora and fauna in her waters, then."
Anna's best kick to his shin only elicited more laughter.
She could've sworn his entire body was made out of iron lining.
"…na? Anna? Anna!"
"YES!"
Anna's head snapped up so fast Kristoff cringed, wondering if he would be convicted of manslaughter for indirectly breaking her neck.
"Dear lord, woman. Are you all right?"
Anna looked at him dazedly, and he chuckled when he saw the line of drool on the corner of her mouth. "Huuh? Krish… Kristoff? What's wrong—blurgh!"
A sudden gust of wind had swept the window's curtains inwards, resulting in Anna's inelegant consumption of fine royal fabric. He was still laughing as he took his left hand off his horse's rein and reached inside the carriage to gently pull the curtain off her face.
"You okay there, feisty pants?" Using a hand to guide the horse's pace to match the carriage, he peered inside, once again tickled at the sight of a post nap, post curtain munching Anna.
"…would be better if you were here instead of outside," said Anna under her breath, pulling the last bits of thread out of her mouth. "Why'd you have to ride outside anyway? I got so bored I fell asleep and dreamt about being seasick. Again. As if I didn't have enough of that."
"Because it's easier to serve and protect whilst on a horseback than within the small confines of a carriage."
Arms crossed, Anna snorted. "Protect me from what? I'm just a tavern girl. Not someone important."
As important as someone the Queen had personally mobilised her vast network of spies to search for. He wondered about that, too. Not to question Elsa's judgement, but he did feel a bit miffed at his exclusion from information that he should have been privy to – if not for his position as Elsa's childhood friend, then at least to better protect Anna from… whatever it was.
He couldn't figure out Elsa, sometimes.
He had watched her blossom from a shy girl who saw beauty in everything the world has to offer, who grinned at everyone even if it meant showing the gap from her missing baby tooth, who loved a game of hide and seek more than a good book of swashbuckling adventure, to a competent, ruthless monarch with her heart safely tucked behind thick palace walls. A monarch who could order a man's execution without a blink of her eyes.
He wondered if 'kind' was still an adjective that could still be used to describe Elsa. He liked to believe it was.
He kept his voice light as he answered, "just as precaution, really. Don't worry your pretty little head about it. God knows just simply breathing hurts your brain enough as it is." Because he wasn't going to admit ignorance of his childhood friend's plans. His pride would probably not be able to take it.
Anna stuck her tongue out. "That's mean! Taking orders from rambling, drunken idiots take more than enough brain power, if you must know."
"Oh I know, believe me," said Kristoff, who was more than familiar with seedy old taverns. A change of topic. "So how do you like Arendelle?"
It took a while before she answered. "It's… different."
Ah, the safest answer. "It certainly is," Kristoff said with a nod.
The soft click clack of his horse's gait matched the creak of the carriage as the conversation petered out and they continued slowly in silence.
"It's different from the atmosphere in Corona. Everyone seemed… uneasy, somehow."
Click. Clack.
"You're right," he said. He was not at all surprised by Anna's pinpoint observation. "There are more and more active skirmishes around the border. The folks are just worried, that's all."
Skirmishes. Ha! He almost snorted in derision. That was only half of the truth. A very small, insignificant half of the truth. His size and open demeanour might have him look like nothing more than a mindless brute, but even he was aware of the wary glances trained on their small procession. They probably thought there was a Queen inside. Bloody idiots, the lot of them.
His knuckles tightened against the reins. All he wanted to do was jump down his horse and shake one of those blithering idiots by the collar and just. Just shout at them. Stop being wasting your energy being so suspicious of your own Queen and focus on the threat outside, you goddamned fools!
Mood darkening, his lips pursed into a thin line and his eyes narrowed, causing a few of the gawkers to disperse from his side. No doubt back to their safe hidey-hole. And who did they think had made it possible to live their daily lives in such carefree comfort?
The Queen they called a goddamned witch.
Cowards. Cowards. Cowards.
"Hey Kristoff?"
"Yeah?"
"We'll be safe, won't we?"
"Yeah." He kept his face away from Anna, even if he could feel the pinpricks of her stare against his cheek. His gaze was firmly focused on the road ahead. They were close to the royal estate now. He could see the small outline of the barely used side gate. Good. He needed to have a talk with Elsa. "Ser Glennane!" He barked, and immediately a horse and its rider sprung forward from the procession fanned behind the carriage.
The knight fell in line besides Kristoff. "Present, Field Marshal."
"I want you to break rank and send word to the palace that the Queen's guest has arrived. Please also inform the Queen's steward that I require her audience as soon as time permits."
And Glennane was off.
"Are we nearly there?"
"Yep. Quite soon indeed," he said after finally willing his face to resume a more neutral expression, and almost got hit by a wayward head. "Hey!"
"Ooooh. Is that the castle gate? It seemed kinda… well. Small? I expected something bigger." Poking her head and shoulders out of the window, Anna let out a small huff of disappointment. "Oh stop laughing. I'm terminally underwhelmed here, you big oaf."
He lifted his right hand and ruffled her hair, ignoring her yelp and various protests about hard gauntlets this and that. It's amazing how easily Anna could change his mood, really.
"Do you want us to slow down a bit? Maybe take some time to smell the flowers and stuff? I mean it's dark, but if you squint hard and bring enough torches to burn an entire mountain you can see some flowers, probably."
Another head had apparently sprung from his neck, judging by how she was staring at him.
"Why would we do that?"
The chains in his armour clinked with his shrug. "I dunno. Most people would be nervous about the prospect of facing royalty. Thought I'd just buy you time. We can even visit the kitchen first if you want. Get some bread rolls in you eh?"
Bread rolls. Anna's nose crinkled at the word. She's had thrown up enough bread rolls to last a lifetime and a half. Kristoff's concern was cute, though.
She squeezed her shoulders back into the carriage. "Nah, I'm good. Might as well get this over with. The sooner I know why I'm here the better I'd feel. Hopefully."
A pause.
"If you say so."
"I do say so."
"I'm not increasing our pace though."
"That's okay. I'll just squint hard and swoon at all the flowers I can't see."
"That's my girl."
For the second time in her life, Anna found herself politely deposited inside a room big enough to host several herds of stampeding elephants after Kristoff had sadly waved his goodbye. However, in comparison to her brief stint inside the castle walls of Corona, there were three major differences:
1: She was seated primly in front of a dining table so enormous it could probably be used as a stage for a travelling circus.
2: There was no cheerful brown haired princess to greet her.
3: Because instead, she was face to face with a striking, pale haired woman with an air of such magnificent regality the Kings and Queens of legends would probably run and hide from the sight of this woman alone.
She felt like rolling herself into a carpet and staying there for a long, long time.
"H—hi," Anna squealed.
"Hi," said the Queen.
Continued
A/N: Oh dear lord. I didn't expect to update this soon, but I have an assignment due… today, and my first thought is to procrastinate by writing more fiction, of course. I just needed to get this out of my mind before I can fully commit to the drudgery of school work. Please don't expect other updates to be this fast – it will be one or two weeks at most for the next one. Unless I've decided to fail my classes. In which case, soon.
But on a side note: thanks for the reviews, favs and follows! I was pleasantly surprised to wake up this morning to a list of updates from in my inbox. I love you all. Please keep the reviews coming. And I'd also very much appreciate any constructive criticism.