Same disclaimers as before. I also don't own any Disney character period.

Chapter 2: Stupid Politics

Queen Elsa of Arendelle had her head in her hands. Before her was a letter from a distant kingdom written on expensive and decorative stationary. Behind her, one of her two advisors knitted quietly.

"Calypsa," Elsa said, "Can you look over this and make sure I'm reading this right?" She handed the paper beck to the older, olive-skinned woman. Calypsa and her twin brother Ajax were born in a distant land and had traveled the world their entire lives before settling down in Arendelle. They had often been an asset to Elsa's parents, but she was beginning to suspect that she had called on their services more in the six months she had been queen then her father's entire decades-long reign.

Calypsa looked over the letter, her old hands shaking slightly. "It would appear," she said finally, "That the Kingdom of the Southern Isles wishes to re-open the trade routes you closed."

"I thought so," muttered Elsa. She stood and paced around her throne. Her footsteps echoed around the large hall. In the far corner, Ajax whittled quietly with an old hunting knife.

Elsa walked up to the wall behind her throne. It was made of rough wood, covered in bumps and rises with no discernable pattern. Elsa raised her hand and a wave of frost covered the wall. With the white dust covering its various nooks and crannies, the wall revealed its true form; a large map of the known world. Elsa traced her hand over the map until her finger landed on Arendelle. A large snowflake grew out of her fingertip to mark her kingdom.

"We sit at a unique crossroad in the world," said Elsa to herself, "If the Scottish chiefs want to trade their lumber for the Kaiser's wheat," she traced the route with her finger, a line of snow following it, "They need our permission to pass through the Arendelle Strait. If the King of Corona wants to send his textiles to the Czar for his steel, he has a choice. He can send a ship on a three-year journey around the continent, or he can make a month-long trek around Queen's Peak." She traced the route again, her finger just skirting her kingdom. "And now, so soon after their betrayal, the Southern Isles want to sail their livestock to us in exchange for our ice?" Elsa glared at the map and struck it with a grunt. Where her fist hit the wood, a shockwave of snow blew out, scattering the frost and ruining the map.

Calypsa didn't look up from her knitting. "So will you refuse them?"

Elsa sat back down in her throne and sighed. "I don't know. Probably."

In the corner, Ajax cackled, exposing his few remaining teeth to the world. "If you refuse them, then one of three things will happen. The best case scenario is that they'll send their armada to dethrone you and annex Arendelle."

Elsa raised an eyebrow. "Just for some ice?"

"It's not about the ice, Queen Elsa," said Calypsa, "It's about the trade. You said it yourself; Arendelle is a highly profitable trade center. If the Southern Isles need something desperately, but you refuse to send them the goods they need, then war is their only option."

"And they aren't the only ones who rely on our trade," said Ajax. He flipped the wooden stake he had whittled and tossed it lazily. It landed with a thunk in the far wall, joining the dozens of other wooden weapons he had made. Without missing a beat, Ajax withdrew a fresh piece of wood from his pocket and began carving it.

"We won't lie, Elsa," said Calypsa. She held up the socks she was knitting and sighed in disappointment. "Still not as good as mother's. Regardless," she tucked the socks into her pocket. "If the Southern Isles don't invade if you refuse them, other nations will see you as favoring some of them over others. As preemptive measures, they'll invade to secure their control over the trade centers."

Elsa groaned. "And the third option?"

"We live in a mountainous region, my queen," said Ajax, "Our farmlands are small and our herds lacking. We need others as much as they need us. Without constant imports from other lands, we'd starve on our own resources."

"So we need access to the Southern Isles' livestock?"

"Precisely." Elsa rubbed her temples. She really was starting to hate this job. Unfortunately, she would never know just how her father managed the stress of having an entire kingdom on his shoulders. Maybe that was what the epaulettes were for.

"You're my advisors, what do you advise?" she asked. Calypsa and Ajax looked at each other and shrugged simultaneously. "Really, guys? Nothing at all?" She muttered in despair.

"If you accept the Southern Isles proposal, you may appear weak and vulnerable." Said Ajax, "If you don't, you'll appear threatening and dangerous."

"If you want to build up your military, it'll cause suspicion and fear in the other countries," said Calypsa, "If you keep such a small army, you'll be an easy target for anyone to attack."

Elsa stared at them. "But you approved my rescinding of our trade contract with Weselton!"

"Pssh!" muttered Calypsa, "Weselton's salt mines were running dry anyway. Besides, they were ripping your father off for years."

Ajax cackled. "We told him he was getting a bum deal, but what did he say? It would be bad for the country's image. Ha! As wise a leader as your father was, he always cared too much about appearances."

"Now Ajax," chided Calypsa, "In internationally politics, appearances are important!"

"Appearances can be deceiving," Ajax pointed out, "Nobody knew Elsa had her powers for 18 years."

Elsa rubbed her forehead in frustration. "How do my powers factor into any of this?"

Ajax shrugged. "I'm just saying. You hid an important aspect of yourself. Would your powers have affected international trade? Probably not. But any of the countries we trade with could be planning to pull a fast one on Arendelle at any time."

Elsa snarled, her fists clenching. In a way, the twins were her best and worst advisers. They told her what she needed to hear, but not what she wanted to hear. "So what should I do?"

"You cannot fight an entire army by yourself, my queen," said Ajax dryly, "Our advice can only do so much for you. The ultimate decision of the direction this kingdom will take belongs to its queen."

Elsa leaned back in her throne. "I need some alone time," she said with a sigh, "Do you guys mind?" Ajax and Calypsa bowed slightly and left. Elsa waited until she heard their footsteps walk down the hall before she stood up. For a moment, she just stared at the paper before her. Finally, she screamed in anger and grabbed the letter. As she tore it up, the paper shreds mixed with the flurry of snow that grew around her. A vortex of frost and paper formed and she tossed her hands up. With a wild yell, snow scattered around the room, covering everything in a layer of winter.

Elsa panted and clenched her fist. The large doors to the throne room swung open and her sister, Anna came skipping in, humming a tune with her eyes closed. Elsa glared at her oblivious sister as the happy red-head cart-wheeled and tumbled around the room, snow rising and falling as she kicked it up. "What are you so happy about?" snapped Elsa finally.

Anna stopped and stared at her sister nervously. "I-I'm just happy?"

Elsa sighed and sat down in the snow. "I'm sorry, Anna. It's just…ugh! I hate politics!"

Anna knelt down next to her sister and rubbed her back. "It's okay, I get you're under a ton of stress."

"You have no idea," Elsa fell back in the snow and lay spread eagle, looking at the ceiling, "So why are you so happy anyway?"

Anna joined her on the ground. "Kristoff is coming back today, remember?"

Elsa glanced over at Anna. "Already?" Kristoff had spent the last month harvesting ice in the mountains with Sven. As much as he loved the cushy palace life with his girlfriend, he was a mountain boy, born and bred.

Anna grinned. "Yup. I hope he likes my surprise."

Elsa rolled her eyes. "I'm sure he'll love it." Anna had spent the first week of Kristoff's absence knitting together a large and comfortable blanket for Kristoff to take with him on his trips. Elsa closed her eyes. "Why did I have to be queen?" she muttered.

"Cause you're the oldest."

Elsa snorted. "You want to take over? I'd gladly give this up."

Anna laughed. "No way. I can barely decide what I want for lunch; let alone what's best for a country."

There was a knock on the door. "Hey guys?" came a muffled but distinguishable voice, "Can I come in?"

Elsa smiled. "C'mon, Olaf." The doors opened and the enchanted snowman peeked in.

"Oh, you're having a snow party! Without me! Can I join?"

Anna giggled. "Get in here, silly!"

Olaf jumped up in the air and clapped his twig hands together. "Hurray!" As he fell back down, Elsa formed a snow slide for him. He screamed in delight as he was launched into the air, his parts separating. He landed in a snow bank, his head between his stomach and bottom sections. "Haha! That was fun! Where's my nose?" Anna and Elsa laughed as they felt around in the snow for Olaf's carrot.

The doors slammed open and a guard rushed in. "M'lady!"

Elsa looked up as the guard skidded to a halt before her and bowed deeply. "What now?"

"A letter, m'lady," said the guard.

"From the Southern Isles? Write back and tell them I haven't decided yet."

"No m'lady, from Agrabah." Elsa frowned. Agrabah had no trade relations with Arendelle, they were separated by thousands of miles and several more accessible trade points.

"What does Agrabah want?" The soldier held forth a scroll. Elsa took it and opened it, her eyes scanning the lines with tactical precision.

"What is it, Elsa?" asked Anna.

Elsa furled up the scroll. "Sultan Aladdin wants us to be a stopping point for a Scottish trading armada."

Anna frowned. "What does the Sultan want from Scotland?"

"It doesn't say," Elsa handed the scroll back to the guard, "Show this to my advisers. I'll meet with them later." The guard bowed and dashed from the room. Elsa made a snow cloud in her hand and sighed as she tossed it to the ceiling.

Olaf laughed happily as the cloud expanded and showered winter down upon the room. "Now it really is a snow party!" he gasped and his eyes widened, "We should get everyone in the palace in here!"

"Why stop there?" asked Anna with a giggle, "Let's get the whole kingdom!" Elsa allowed herself a small smile as she left the room, leaving Anna and Olaf to call the entire palace staff into the throne room for an afternoon of fun. She walked slowly and purposefully to her room. As she had expected, Ajax was sitting outside her room, twirling the scroll between his fingers. Almost immediately, she could sense something was wrong. Ajax's aura of cynicism was gone, replaced by a hard scowl and grim expression.

"Well?" Elsa said, motioning to the scroll, "What do you make of it?"

Ajax sighed and dropped the scroll on the carpeted floor. "There's nothing in Scotland that Agrabah couldn't get easier from somewhere else," he said, "There's only one thing I can think of that the Scotts could possibly provide them."

"What's that?"

Ajax fixed Elsa with a steely glare. "Scottish craftsmanship. Sultan Aladdin wants to by weapons off of King Fergus, and needs to go through us to get them."

Elsa frowned. "What could the Sultan need with a surplus of weapons? He has blacksmiths in Agrabah, doesn't he?"

"War, my dear," said Calypsa. She emerged from behind Elsa, sharing her twin's grim face, "The only reason Aladdin would want more weapons is if he's building up his army."

. . .

Far to the south, a bearded man sat on a wicker throne. He wore an ornate turban and wore heavy rings on his fingers. Servants gently wave fans over him, shielding him from the sun. Across the room, the dark, mahogany doors smashed open from the force of a giant fireball. The servants quivered in fear and backed away uneasily.

A muscular, tan man walked into the room, dragging a black cloaked figure behind him. On the throne, the bearded man opened his eyes. "Back so soon?" he said sarcastically.

"He ran like the wind, brother," said the muscular man, depositing the unconscious figure on the floor, "These northerners are fast."

The bearded man stood and walked forward slowly. "I jest, Salam. So long as you delivered me the results I desired, I bear no ill will towards you," he grinned, "Except for the whole killing-our-parents thing."

The young man hung his head and looked away. "Please, Mehmed, do not talk of that."

The bearded man, Mehmed, grinned. "What? Does it make you upset?"

The young man's eyes began to steam and he quickly shook his head. "Please stop brother. I don't want to lose control."

"You killed them," hissed Mehmed gleefully, "You burned them to a crisp because you couldn't keep control. You are weak, Salam."

Salam shook, his skin turning red as it heated up. "Stop, Mehmed!" he growled.

Mehmed grinned. "Make me!" Salam roared as his body became engulfed in flames. Mehmed stood confident as his brother raised his fiery hands. The servants gasped and shivered in fear as their Caliph was threatened. After a moment's hesitation, Salam slammed his fists down on either side of Mehmed.

As the fire around his body faded away, Mehmed scowled at the sight of his brother's tears. "I'm sorry, Mehmed," whispered Salam, "I am still weak. I'm so sorry."

Mehmed sighed and walked back to his throne. "Leave me, Salam, return to your cell. When next I see you, I want you to be able to run faster than my best horse." Salam nodded in shame and stood up. As he left the room, a servant squealed in relief. Salam spun and threw a fireball like a stone. It smashed into the servant's fan and it burst into flame. The servant screamed and dropped the fan. Salam turned and left with an angry grunt, his eyes burning in rage.

"There may be hope for you yet, brother," said Mehmed, closing his eyes.

. . .

I guess this is going to be more political than I intended. Oh well, the cards will fall where they may. Please review!