They had been riding now for hours, and still there was no sign of Wandering Oaken's Trading Post (and sauna). Elsa sighed, not out of boredom - how could any moment spent in her darling sister's presence be boring? - but from a strange mixture of weariness, guilt, and confusion.
"How much farther, Anna?" Elsa had finally resigned herself to sit on her horse properly, though it had the unfortunate side effect of exposing a great deal of her left leg. She attempted to cover it with her icy cloak, with little success.
"Oh, about another half a league" Anna's usual cheery demeanour appeared to have returned with a vengeance. They had not talked much on their journey to Oaken's, yet they enjoyed each other's company all the same.
Very faintly, Elsa could make out a thin column of smoke rising out of the forest ahead.
Hopefully, that is this Oaken's trading post.
"That's Oaken's ahead," She glanced quickly at the young queen, and Elsa was sure she saw her eyes flit downwards slightly.
Was she looking at my leg? No, surely not. Not like that anyway, probably just thinking that I should have dressed more appropriately. I must look a fool, honestly. Wearing a dress on a horse, for Odin's sake! Elsa once more pulled her cloak over her exposed leg.
Slowly but surely, the column of smoke grew larger before them, until at last, they found themselves in front of a stout and rather cosy-looking cabin. A sign above the door read: 'Wandering Oaken's Trading Post', and a smaller sign beneath it: 'and sauna'.
After housing their horses in the tiny stable to the side of the building, Anna led the way inside the cabin. It was delightfully warm, even Elsa could appreciate the heat of a fire. The cabin was lined with shelves of differing merchandise, some ordinary, like boots and cloaks, some strange, and some downright unidentifiable.
"Yoo hoo," said a voice to their left.
There sat a very large man, with a rather impressive moustache, perched behind his counter with his fingers steepled, peering at them.
"Big winter blowout! We have half price off - Princess Anna? Is that you?"
"Hello Oaken! No, please don't get up!" she said, as Oaken began to rise out of his chair.
"Who is your lovely friend, Princess?"
"Ah! Mr. Oaken, it is my honour to introduce my fair sister, Her Majesty the Queen, Elsa of Arendelle! Queen Elsa, this is Mr. Oaken, noble proprietor of Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna!" Anna gesticulated wildly between Elsa and Oaken.
"Your majesty!" Oaken cried, rising from his chair and sinking into a deep bow. "It is an honour to have you grace my establishment with your presence"
"Thank you, Mr. Oaken" said Elsa graciously. "Please, there is no need for such formalities here. We are your guests, this is your home"
Oaken rose, gazing at the young queen. "S-so, Princess Anna...where is that uncouth young...uh...gentleman you were here with?" he asked, trying to break the silence.
Elsa giggled.
"Oh, Kristoff? He...um...he stayed behind" Anna looked at her feet.
"Ya, I see" Oaken replied. "How may I be of service to you today, majesties?"
"We're spending some time together," Anna explained. "We haven't long reconnected, and there's so much we've been missing, so we decided to take a trip! We were hoping to spend the night here, if-if that's all right with you, of course"
"All right? All right? My ladies, this is more than just all right! It would be my very great honour to host your majesties at my humble establishment."
"Thank you, Mr. Oaken" Elsa replied, again with the same regal grace that seemed to come naturally to her.
"Ya, very good, very good!" Oaken began bustling around the cabin excitedly, looking for nothing in particular, when suddenly he turned, his expression glum.
"I fear, my ladies, that I only have one spare room" he mumbled regrettably.
"Oh, that's okay Oaken! We'll take it, won't we Elsa?"
"Absolutely."
"Ya, very good, but...it...it only has one...um...bed, I fear" Oaken said with caution. "Take mine, my ladies! I will sleep elsewhere tonight, it is no bother, ya?"
"No!" exclaimed both the young women simultaneously.
"Mr. Oaken, this is your home. We will take the spare room, and thank you," Elsa said with a warm smile.
"Very good, very good" Oaken said, still a bit flustered. "You must be tired, majesties. Perhaps an early night will do you good, ya?"
"A good idea, Mr. Oaken" Anna replied. "Goodnight!"
"Goodnight, Mr. Oaken"
Oaken gave a small smile, and returned to his vantage behind his counter.
"Straight up the stairs, first on your left. Sleep well, ya?"
"Goodnight, Oaken"
Elsa followed Anna up the darkened stairway, trying not to let her gaze linger on her swaying hips. They reached the top of the stairs and entered the bedroom.
It was dimly lit, and from what Elsa could see, Oaken was correct. It only had one bed. One, rather small bed.
"Ooh, cosy room!" Anna enthused, obviously not fazed at all by the sleeping arrangements. Stepping around Elsa, she began stripping off her clothes.
"Anna, what-"
Anna said nothing, only giving a meek smile to her sister. She had stripped down to her undergarments, which, Elsa noticed, left little to the imagination.
"Don't tell me you're wearing that to bed?" Anna asked, gesturing to Elsa's ice dress.
"N-no, of course not." Elsa turned her back, and began to disintegrate the dress. For a split second, she was naked, and she was sure she heard Anna gasp, but quickly she fashioned some undergarments of her own of the same icy material. It consisted of a low-cut slip, exposing her midriff, and a short skirt around her hips, nothing else.
Anna was gobsmacked. She had never seen anything as beautiful as her wonderful sister standing there in her perfect glory. "I-Elsa...wow...I mean...not wow, but...".
The queen giggled at her reaction, a soft, heartwarming sound, and slowly got into the bed.
Elsa lay on her side, facing away from Anna, and closed her eyes. But sleep was impossible, her mind was racing.
Gods, what was I thinking? I could have easily not exposed myself like that. Oh Elsa, get a hold of yourself.
Several minutes passed in silence, the steady rhythm of Anna's breathing had an odd calming effect on Elsa, and she felt herself slipping towards sleep, finally…
"Elsa?"
"Mmm?"
Anna leaned over Elsa and planted a kiss on the elder sister's cheek. "I love you, Elsa. So much. Thank you for agreeing to this, it means a lot". She wrapped her arms around Elsa's torso and snuggled up to her, sighing comfortably.
Her warmth was incredible, Elsa never wanted this moment to end. Never in her life had she felt so close to her sister.
Anna placed a tiny kiss on Elsa's shoulder.
Elsa's heart melted. "I love you too, Anna."
The next morning, Elsa awoke. Late. The sun was already high in the sky, but Elsa did not care, for she had experienced the best night's sleep of her life. Anna was draped over Elsa, almost fully on top of her, her face buried in the elder sister's shoulder.
"Anna. Wake up" Elsa gently shook Anna's shoulder, but got no response. Anna shifted slightly, and Elsa couldn't help notice her breasts press against her own. Feeling flustered, Elsa shook her sister once more.
"Anna!"
"Mmmph. Erlsa. What?"
Elsa couldn't help but smile. "It's time to get up, dearest Anna"
Anna lifted her head from Elsa's shoulder. "Mmm. Elsa, good morning".
"Good morning to you too" Elsa replied with a warm smile. "Come on, it's time to go"
"Five more minutes. I'm so comfortable" Anna stretched, her lower body moving off Elsa's, but her torso still upon her.
Elsa's breath caught in her throat at the sensation of Anna moving. She wrapped her arms around her sister and pulled her close.
"Five more minutes."
Two hours later, the sisters were finally ready to leave Oaken's. The pair had stayed in bed for the rest of the morning, mainly talking about their lives apart, all the things they'd missed. Not a single word was spoken about the upcoming summit, or the looming presence of the Western Alliance. Their heartfelt conversation dragged up some old feelings of remorse and hurt, and the two sisters had cried in each other's arms, apologising to each other over and over, hugging each other tightly, Elsa occasionally placing a soft kiss on Anna's forehead, or Anna a kiss on Elsa's nose, making her giggle. It felt so right, the two of them in each other's arms, laughing and crying all morning.
At last, they had arisen, and donned their clothes for the upcoming journey.
"Where should we go? Did you even think where we should go before you dragged me out here?" Elsa smiled.
"Of course, silly" Anna replied, pointing.
Elsa followed her finger upwards, pointing towards a glimmer of light on the mighty North Mountain.
"Anna...why? Why do you want to go there?"
"I don't know, Elsa. I just do. I want us to leave there together this time"
Elsa felt a lump rising in her throat. Biting her lip, she extended her hand for Anna's. Taking it, the younger girl smiled warmly at her elder sister.
"I love you, Elsa, with all my heart. That is why I want to go there."
Elsa felt a tear run down her cheek as she bit back a sob.
"I love you, Anna."
The pair looked at each other for a few minutes, Anna gently wiped the tear off Elsa's cheek, Elsa tightened her grip on Anna's hand, as if afraid she would disappear.
"Come on. Let's go."
The pair journeyed through the deep snows, laughing and talking. Talking about anything and everything, it was pure joy to be in each other's company. Even when Anna settled on the subject Elsa least wanted to discuss, it was not enough to quell the bubbly happiness in Elsa's heart.
"So, what's the issue with this Alliance, then?" Anna asked. She was woefully uninformed about politics, especially for a princess.
"It's a coalition of four nations, Anna. They are officially known as The Most Noble and Mighty Confederation of Allied Kingdoms. Bastion and Valanx were the founders, many, many years ago. It remained this way for a long time, until shortly after my coronation, when the Southern Isles joined. Weselton is its newest member, joining mere days after the Southern Isles. They were...reluctant. I hear rumours that they were annexed."
"The Southern Isles is a member?"
"Indeed, Anna".
Silence fell over the pair for a moment, with only the sound of the wind in the trees around them.
"And this is why we're having a summit? To keep them in check?"
"Partially. We could never control them, not with the might of Bastion in there, not that I want to control anyone, mind you, but hopefully we can continue to keep the peace for another decade. The Northern Kingdoms and the Alliance have never seen eye to eye. There's always something in the way, be it trade disputes, blockades, embargoes, even assassinations. It seems that anything we do they take as a slight against them, and they use that to keep themselves separate from us. So for now, it seems that they are in fact controlling us."
Anna shuddered.
"I foresee many issues with this year's summit, Anna. And they all stem from Bastion. Ten years ago, according to Kai and my father's accounts of the last summit, Bastion was nothing like it is today. Its growth has been colossal, and it has grown into one of the largest powers the world has ever seen! In only ten years! They have the best weaponry, the largest army, the latest battle tactics, the most ruthless men…
It's not even a kingdom, Anna, can you believe that? A city-state, some call it. Ruled over by Lord Rainier, a truly detestable man. Detestable, but clever. Clever and ruthless and terrible."
Anna gulped. "W-what about the Southern Isles? And Weselton and Valanx?"
"In the palm of Bastion's hand, dear Anna. Three kingdoms, yes, relatively weak kingdoms, but kingdoms all the same, all under the shadow of a city! If this was a decade ago, and Bastion was not as it is, we could treat with Valanx and Weselton and the Southern Isles with relative ease. But, alas, it is not so. With Bastion's might, all four of them are now much more confident. They could easily take the Northern Kingdoms, Anna. And if this summit is unsuccessful…" Elsa felt a shiver run down her spine, it wasn't from the cold.
Anna looked at her sister, her eyes wide. "Do you really think there may be a war, Elsa?"
Elsa gazed at Anna, a strange expression on her face, and she reached out and took her hand.
"There may well be, my love. There may well be."