Here's the next chapter. There was recently a trailer to Frozen 2, so Elsa, Anna and Kristoff look like how they are in the trailer, just so everyone knows.
I own only my original characters, nothing else.
"So, how is our beloved queen, anyway?," Ashe asked as he lead Ryan to his new council room.
"She's nervous and skeptical of me," he said. "I don't blame her, as I am the same."
"If we're being honest, I am as well. I believe almost everybody is."
"Those who have doubts are amongst the wisest of us all."
"Hmm... so, who shall be on your council?," the new Chancellor asked.
"Uhh... you," he answered as he ran his fingertips along the council table. It was quite similar to Queen Elsa's council table, if not a bit smaller. "My father and my brother, Marcus. Oh, and of course Cato Pax. Also someone from the military as well, I've got an idea as to who. Doesn't matter who else as long as you and those three are on my council."
"Very well. Keeping you enemies close, sir?"
"Much more complicated than that, unfortunately," Ryan said as he found his chair and sat down in it. "The party would throw me out of office if I don't include them in my administration."
"Milord?," Gerda said coming in.
"Gerda? Why aren't you with my niece?"
"Oh, I left for a moment and I returned to see Princess Anna playing with her and Olaf, so I decided not to disturb them. Though I believe she's beginning to miss her uncle."
"Very well, I'll be but a moment," he said and she nodded before walking out. "Who's Olaf?"
"A snowman that the queen made with her powers during the Eternal Winter," Ashe said as he stood across the table. "You know I heard that the party was quite dead set on making your brother, Marcus, the new Lord. Kind of like an inherited succession I suppose. But your father wouldn't have it."
"Oh, I'm sure they did. I haven't the slightest idea as to why my father made me his successor, so I ought to speak to him sometime. Whatever reason it was, my father is even more of a fool than I took him for to have me be the next Lord. This is a time of war and they've put a blind man at the wheel of the ship that is our kingdom. A blind man with no experience in war, no less."
"Well, do not forget that we have a queen leading us with no experience in war as well. Hardly anyone in this castle knows anything on the matters of war, considering Arendelle has been in relative peace for almost half a century."
"Then I suppose we'd best learn," he said, standing up and Ashe went over to help him. "And we'd best learn fast. Or we will lose all that we hold most dear."
Ashe said nothing to this but helped him to the library, where they began to hear laughing. Ashe opened the door and chuckled slightly. He saw Anna and Maggie on the ground, Anna tickling her and Olaf just giggling at the sight. When they heard him chuckle, they stopped and Maggie's smile widened even more and she ran over to hug her uncle, who picked her up.
"Did you get to meet the queen?!," she asked.
"I did. You're looking at the new Lord of Arendelle," Ryan said.
"Oh, you're the new Lord?," Anna said.
"So it would seem, your Highness."
"Oh please, call me Anna. I hate formality. Hate it."
"Then I believe we shall get along just fine... Anna. I am Ryan Cormac, middle child of Fredrik and Sarah Cormac."
"Wait, what?! I thought he only had one child."
"You may wish to speak with your sister, the queen. She might be able to explain better."
Anna slowly nodded, still surprised at what she had learned.
"Okay... I guess I'll go now and ask her. It was nice to meet you, Maggie. I hope we see each other again soon."
"Me too. Bye, Anna."
Anna smiled at this and she walked out as Kai walked over.
"My Lord?," he said.
"Yes, Kai?"
"I would first like to say congratulations to you, and also before he left the castle, your father hoped to have a moment of your time. I believe he's at your old home now."
"...Alright," he said.
Ryan and Peggy later left to begin packing their things as they were to move into the castle with the royal family.
As they left, Anna arrived at the Queen's study and knocked on the door.
"Elsa?"
"Come in, Anna," Elsa said and she opened the door to see her older sister looking at her. "How's your day been?"
"Fun actually. Olaf and I made a new friend today, Maggie."
"Maggie Cormac?"
"Yes. That's what I wanted to talk to you about," she said. "Did you know Uncle Fredrik had more than one child?"
"I was informed last night," Elsa said as they looked out of the window to see the carriage leaving. "To answer what's likely your next question, yes, he is blind."
"Are you sure about having a blind man as the new Lord? Especially with the war going on?"
"...I'm not sure about any of this right now. But he's the only one the Opposition will accept and put their confidence in."
"...I guess will have to see then, huh?"
"Indeed...," Elsa said.
"He's pretty handsome too, you know?," Anna said and her sister just rolled her eyes.
"Ugh... Anna!!"
"Oh... so you think so too!!"
She rolled her eyes again then used her magic to make her little sister's hair stick up straight and freeze it that way. Anna immediately ran out to try to fix her hair, and Elsa just laughed at this before looking back out at her kingdom.
When Ryan and the others arrived back at their place, they found Fredrik was waiting for them there in Ryan's office.
"Grandpa!!," Peggy yelled and ran to her grandfather, who picked her up.
"Hello, Margaret," he said. "Hello, son."
"Father...," he said. "Peggy, can you go and help Maura pack?"
She nodded and Fredrik put her down and she walked away. They stood in silence for a few moments before they sat down.
"So... how is Peggy doing?," he asked his son.
"She still misses her mother and father," he answered. "...Why?"
"Because your brother-."
"My brother is the excuse. What is the reason?"
"...The reason is that I might be able to see my country at peace one last time with you as it's lord."
"What do you mean?"
"...I'm dying, son," Fredrik said and there was a long pause as Ryan was processing what he had just said. "No one but Hailee knows, as she was the one to give me the diagnosis. I have close to a year left."
"...Does the queen know?," he asked.
"No, she doesn't. I was hoping you could tell her."
"You're a foolish man on two accounts. One, you should've told the queen, you always in form the monarch of such things. Also for thinking that peace can be restored. We're at war and the only way out... is forward."
"Son, we must push for peace-."
"Peace is lost, father. It can only be restored through victory... or defeat."
Fredrik said nothing and soon enough, Peggy and Maura were all ready to move into the castle.
"My lord, it's time," Maura said and nodded before gesturing them to wait for him in the carriage.
"...I shall inform the queen for you. I can only imagine what her reaction shall be," Ryan said and he just continued to look down at the desk they were sitting at. "...I have always understood why you never had time for my sister and I. I do. The Lord of Arendelle is a busy person and having a blind son could've hurt your political relationships. It's just that the pain still lingered despite my comprehension. You were never there for us, and I've always resented you for it. Mallory, however... she loved you despite all of that. She always tried to see the best in everything and everyone. She was the optimist, I'm the pessimist. Before she died, I promised I'd take care of Peggy and try to forgive you... so perhaps now, we can attempt to mend what was broken. But not right now. I'll see you in a few days when I address the House of the People."
Ryan slowly got up and began looking for his cane, which his father quickly handed to him, and he slowly walked out and got into the carriage.
"We're ready now!!," he called out to the driver and soon enough, they were on their way back to The castle.
Meanwhile, Kristoff returned from his job as Royal Ice Master where he was met by a carriage arriving at the same time.
"Any idea who this is, Sven?," he asked his reindeer friend, who simply shrugged.
"Kristoff!!," Anna said, coming up and pecking his lips and scratching the reindeer's head. "Hi, Sven."
"Hey Anna, who's this getting out of the carriage?"
"Oh, that would be the new Lord of Arendelle, along with his cousin and niece."
"Oh. Who did Lord Fredrik recommend?"
"Well, here's the thing... I talked to Elsa after meeting him and...," she began to say and Ryan climbed out of the carriage with Maura's help. She knew she didn't have to say anything as Kristoff could see the similarity.
"...He has another son?!," he said.
"Yup. His name's Ryan. And that's his cousin and Hailee and Ethan's little sister, Maura, and then that's Maggie."
"Anna!!," Maggie yelled and hugged the princess' legs.
"Hey, Maggie!," she said crouching down to hug her. "Hey, I'd like you to meet someone. This is Kristoff, my boyfriend."
"Hello, Maggie," Kristoff said smiling.
"Hi. You're very tall," she said, making them chuckle.
"Yes, he is, isn't he? Oh, and this is Sven."
She turned around and grinned when she saw the reindeer. He sniffed her for a moment before smiling and licked her face, making her laugh.
"Hi, Sven!!"
"Who are you talking to, little lady?," Maura asked them seeing the princess and quickly bowed. "Your Highness."
"No, please don't. Just call me Anna," Anna said and she nodded. "You must be Maura, right?"
"That's right."
"Maura... can you show the servants where to put everything?," Ryan asked and she nodded then said her goodbyes as he took her place. "Nice to hear you again, Anna. But who might this new voice be?"
"Huh?," Kristoff asked, confused and looked to Anna for an explanation.
"He's blind," she whispered.
"Oh... well, uh... I'm Kristoff Bjorgman."
"Ah... so you're the ice master deliverer I've heard so much about. Ryan Cormac, the new Lord of Arendelle," he said, stretching out his hand which Kristoff took and they shook hands.
"Good to meet you. Forgive me, but I have to ask... just how will a blind man be the Lord of Arendelle?"
"Kristoff!!!"
"It's quite alright, Anna. It's a fair question, and in all honesty... I don't know. I'll let you know when I figure it out."
Then Ryan felt something breathing on him, or rather sniffing him.
"Is there a dog next to me?," he asked and Anna snickered.
"Sven might as well be," she joked as the reindeer licked the man's face, much to Ryan's annoyance. "Haha... he likes you and Maggie a lot. He's a reindeer, by the way. Forgot to mention that."
"Hmm... interesting choice for a pet."
Ryan simply pulled out his handkerchief and wiped his face.
"Anna?," Maggie said.
"Yes, Maggie?"
"Is that the queen up there?"
She turned to see where she was looking and saw that Elsa was watching them talking, and she waved to them, which they returned, except for Ryan for obvious reasons.
"Yup. That's Elsa. You wanna meet her?"
Maggie's eyes almost popped out of their sockets when asked this and nodded excitedly.
"Can I, Uncle Ryan, please?!!," she asked.
"...How can I say no to those big eyes of yours?," he replied and after a moment, everyone laughed a little at his joke. "Of course, as long as it's alright with the queen."
"Oh, she'd never refuse to see her sister," Kristoff said.
"Alright then. Peggy... you go ahead. I have to finish setting everything up. I'll see you at dinner."
She hugged his leg for a moment before running over to take Anna's hand and they started walking into the castle.
"There anything Sven and I can do to help?"
"Yes, actually there is, Master Bjorgman" Ryan answered. "How well do you know your way around the castle?"
"Fairly well, I should hope. Anna takes me on the tour every other month," he joked and they both laughed.
"Haha... excellent. Could you walk around the castle? It'll help me figure out where everything is in my head and makes it easier to move around without bumping into everything."
"Oh, sure. I'll need to put Sven in the stables first, though."
"Of course," Ryan said. "I'll just wait here then."
Kristoff quickly walked off with Sven, just as a less welcome person came over to the new Lord.
"Hello, brother," Marcus said, walking next to him.
"...What do you want, Marcus?"
"Whoa... what's with the hostility, brother?"
"For one, we've never really been brothers. Second is that we hate each other. So I ask again... what do you want?"
"...Very well. I don't know what trick you pulled over Father, but it won't work for long. You will not get away with this." Marcus said.
"You give me far too much credit," Ryan said calmly. "You think I wish to be the Lord? I don't. Then again, that may be the reason that I was chosen. Maybe you should go home and ask our father yourself."
Marcus said nothing and waked away from his brother and from the castle while Ryan was left troubled by his brother's words.
"...Brooke!!"
The driver of the carriage then got down and removed her coat to reveal a Arendellian soldier's uniform. The woman had very long black hair and blue eyes, this was Brooke, the oldest of Ryan's cousins on his mother's side and his personal bodyguard.
"Yes, my Lord?," she asked, walking up to him.
"I want you to have your brother keep an eye on Marcus. Let me know if he does anything suspicious."
She nodded and walked away as Kristoff returned.
"Who was that?," he asked.
"My cousin and bodyguard, Brooke Payne."
"Fitting name. How many cousins do you have?"
"Six in total. My father has three siblings, and my mother had a brother. Shall we?"
"Sure. Uh, how should this work?"
"Just put your hand on my shoulder."
Kristoff nodded, doing so, and they began walking around the castle.
"So, when do you plan on asking a certain princess a certain question?," Ryan asked.
"Oh... well, um...," Kristoff sputtered out, making Ryan laugh.
"Hahaha!! I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. But you should think about it. Not only is she literally waiting for you to ask... between you and me... a wedding, a royal wedding at that, might just be what this kingdom needs."
"What do you mean?"
"What emotions do you feel at weddings?"
"Love... joy... hope, those are the only ones I can think of."
"That's perfect. Those are positive emotions, and that can boost morale and not just for the soldiers, but the people in general. I don't mean to pressure you, but it might be something to think about. Plus... I can tell that she's waiting for you to ask her. Don't even need eyes to see that."
"...Yeah, it is something to think on."
"Master Bjorgman, cousin," Hailee said in front of them. "May I spea with the Lord of Arendelle alone?"
"Of course," Kristoff said. "Nice talking to you, Ryan."
"You as well, Kristoff," he said, shaking his hand and the man walked away.
As soon as he was out of sight, Hailee quickly hugged Ryan tightly, which he returned.
"Congratulations, Ryan!!"
"Thank you. I only wish it was under better circumstances... and that Mallory could've been here to see it."
"She saw it... wherever she is now, she saw it. Come on, I have something to show you."
He nodded and she led him back to his council room, where a bottle of champagne was popped open.
"Three cheers for Lord Ryan!! Hip hip!! Hooray!! Hip hip!! Hooray!! Hip hip!! Hooray!!," seven voices cheered in unison.
"Heavens!! Sounds like quite a surprise," Ryan said. "Lee, are you here as well?"
One man came up and shook Ryan's hand firmly. He was much taller than the Lord of Arendelle, a few inches taller than Kristoff, he had short red hair and the makings of a beard. And he wore a Arendellian Naval uniform.
"Hello, Ryan," Lee said, shaking his hand then pulling him into a hug. "Cameron is here too."
"How are you doing, kid?"
"I'm good," Cameron Payne said. He was his sister's height, he was younger than Maura and dirty blonde hair.
"I'm here too, by the way," Ashe said, getting Ryan's attention.
"Oh... good for you," he joked and everyone just laughed this while Ashe just gave an unamused face.
"Well, come on everyone, let's all make a toast," Ethan said as Maura began to pour the champagne into eight glasses and handed them out. "Hailee, you're Ryan's eldest cousin. Why don't you give a little speech?"
"Oh um... alright," she said as Lee helped Brooke pull out a small box. "Well... when the queen first mentioned that Ryan was to be our uncle's successor, I'll admit that... skepticism was my first thought. But then I remembered everything that Mallory had ever told me about her brother, and immediately that was replaced with confidence and hope."
Ryan simply stood and listened to her speak, quite surprised by not what she was saying... but rather how she was saying it.
"I know that our cousin shall struggle through this task of his, as will we all. However, we as a family, will no doubt stand by his side and aid him where we can in serving the Royal Family and ending the war and bringing peace back to Northern Europe. We shall never abandon you, cousin. We'll always let you know that you are not alone in this. So, if you would permit me, I give you... Ryan Cormac... the Lord of Arendelle."
"The Lord of Arendelle!!," they all said, raising their glasses, along with Ashe and Ryan.
"Here's to... bringing a swift end to the war," Ryan said.
"To bringing a swift end to the war!!," they all said at once, clinking their glasses together.
"Oh, before we get back to work, we all got you something," Maura said, placing a box in his hands. "It was meant to be a present for you but I think this is more appropriate."
He nodded and opened it and felt what it was. It was a black and dark blue suit with a trench coat, blue vest and black boots, (Grindelwald's outfit from Crimes of Grindelwald).
"Hmm... this certainly feels nice. A new outfit for me?"
"And a new stick," Ethan said, handing him a new walking stick, decorated by a head of a crocus flower with a snowflake behind it. "Didn't think Uncle Fredrik's cane would work for you."
He nodded in understanding before taking it.
Meanwhile, Anna and Maggie were walking down a hallway along with Olaf. Anna was telling Maggie the story about her nineteenth birthday. How Elsa tried to make it perfect but ended up getting a cold, which ultimately led to things turning disastrous.
"When she sneezed, little snowball sized snowmen were created. They began to make quite a mess," she said and Maggie just giggled at the image. "Haha... yeah it was pretty funny. But Elsa thought she'd ruined it my birthday, since she had put so much work into the party."
"But she was there, wouldn't that make it perfect for you?," Maggie said and Anna just grinned.
"Thank you!! Finally, someone agrees with me besides Kristoff, Hailee and Ethan."
"You know Uncle Ethan and Aunt Hailee?"
"Yup. Ethan is the Captain of the Guard and Hailee is my sister's closest advisor."
Then they came to the Queen's study, and Anna briefly knocked.
"Come in," Elsa says from inside and the door opened to reveal her little sister with Olaf... and someone else. "Hey, Anna. Hey, Olaf. Who might that be with you?"
"This is Maggie," Anna answered, then she noticed that she'd gone and hid behind her out of shyness, though who could blame her as she was meeting the Queen. "It's alright. She won't bite... much."
"Haha, Anna... don't frighten her," Elsa said, chuckling a little, then she got up and walked over to them. "You must be Maggie. Your uncle spoke of you."
She slowly came out from behind the princess and gave a little curtsy.
"Your Majesty," Maggie said.
"You can call me Elsa, if you wish."
"Okay. Uncle Ryan told you about me?"
"Mmhmm. Said you were something of an admirer of me. Love what you've done with your hair, by the way," she said, making the child blush. "Hey, Maggie... do you wanna build a snowman?"
This just made Maggie grin and her eyes sparkle, making the royal sisters chuckle.
Back with Kristoff, he was now hanging out in the stables with Sven.
"He's an interesting guy, isn't he? Ryan?," Kristoff asked and the reindeer nodded in agreement. "He said that I should consider proposing to Anna."
"I've been telling you that for a while now too," Kristoff said in a deeper voice, translating for Sven.
"Well, I'll need to ask Elsa's blessing before I even think about doing it."
"Doing what?," Anna asked, walking over.
"Oh, uh... nothing. Just... something stupid."
"You need my sister's blessing to do something stupid?"
"So, where's that kid from before? Uh... Maggie, was it?"
"...She's inside, playing with Elsa and Olaf."
"Bet she was excited to meet her, huh?," he said and she nodded.
"Oh yeah."
"Your Highness, Master Bjorgman," Kai said, getting their attention. "Dinner will be served soon."
"Thank you, Kai. We'll be right in."
He nods and walks away, Anna not far behind.
"Oh, man, that was close," Kristoff said quietly, and Sven just snorted in amusement and smirked. "...Glad you find it funny."
He then walked out and got into more formal clothing and joined Anna and Elsa in the dining room, where he also saw Maggie to Elsa's left and Olaf next to her, but she was not in the chair directly to Elsa's left.
"Good evening, Kristoff," Elsa said as he sat next to Anna.
"Good evening, Elsa, Maggie, Olaf."
"Hi Sven!!," Olaf said happily.
"Sven? Isn't that the reindeer?," Maggie asked.
"Easier to just leave it be," Elsa said as the doors opened once again to reveal Ryan, in a new outfit and with a new stick. "Ryan, that is... definitely a different look."
"Thank you," he said, sitting himself down and receiving a hug from Maggie and placing her on his lap. "They were gifts from all of my cousins. We had a little celebratory toast at me becoming the new Lord."
"It's looks great on you, Ryan," Anna said then remembered something. "Wait, all of your cousins? How many do you have?"
"Six. Four on my father's side and two on my mother's. The ones you haven't met are my chauffeur and bodyguard, Brooke Payne, her little brother and who could be considered my spymaster, Cameron, and then Admiral Lee Dorian of the Arendellian Navy."
"Admiral Dorian is also one of your cousins?," Elsa asked and he nodded.
"Yeah, Uncle Lee is so funny," Maggie said as she sat back down between Ryan and Olaf.
They all began eating, getting more acquainted with each other while doing so.
"So, Peggy, did you have fun today with the queen and the princess?"
"Uh-huh. Elsa, Olaf and I all got to play and make snowmen and we had a snowball fight, which I won."
"Wow, that's saying something considering you up against the Snow Queen," he said and everyone chuckled a little. "Elsa, I wish to thank you for allowing my family and I to live here in your home. I promise that you will not regret it."
"You're very welcome, Ryan. After hearing about you and your niece, I would've invited you and both to live here even if you weren't the Lord."
He doesn't reply to this, but does nod as he takes a drink from his glass. The rest of dinner went by quickly, and soon afterwards, Gerda and Ryan took Maggie to her room where he tucked her in.
"Big change to our lives today, huh?"
"Yeah. Is Uncle Marcus angry?," she asked.
"...A little, but you let me worry about him, alright?," he answered and she nodded. "I promise you much like I promised the queen... I will do my best to make sure you still have a home at the end of all this."
She smiled and hugged him as tight as she could.
"I love you, Uncle Ryan."
"I love you too, Peggy."
He hugged back a little before placing her back in her bed.
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight," she said back tiredly, already falling asleep.
Ryan then walks out of the room and has Gerda escort him to his own room. Once she brought him to it, she left and readied himself for bed and as he laid down, he began to wonder on how his life could have changed so dramatically and so quickly.
'It shall be interesting though, working with Elsa,' he thought to himself. 'With luck, the two of us can end the war together.'
Hope this was good. For anyone who is curious as to why Ryan has so many cousins, I'm basing his family off of my own as I have six direct cousins. Until the next chapter is up, see ya later.