A/N: Semi-Graphic Violence and disturbing content in this chapter.
Anna lets out a slow, controlled breath as Jasper and his guardian Moira—the last two in the room—finally leave. Sighing, Anna rubs her temples gently.
It's noon of the third day of the talks, and she is no closer to a solution than she was before. In fact, tension is running so high that Anna had to cancel one of the three meetings they always have and shortened the length of the one she still has to deal with so no one starts jumping over the tables and starts punching each other in the face.
I only have a day and a half before that cease-fire contract runs out, and if I don't get this shit together I'm going to have to suffer through another gruelling war. Anna thinks, gritting her teeth. She pinches the bridge of her nose. Hard.
"Are you okay?" Elroy asks, stepping away from his spot at the wall.
"Fine." Anna sighs, refusing to look at him.
Ever since she figured out who Elroy really is, she finds herself avoiding eye contact and unnecessary conversation whenever she can. She knows the poor 'golem' thinks it's because of the fainting episode two days ago and that Anna is angry with 'him', but Anna can't exactly say otherwise, can she? She's been barely been able to keep calling the golem Elroy instead of Elsa, and the more she interacts with him, the harder she finds it to keep the two identities straight. So, to avoid the hassle and keep Elsa a secret, Anna finds herself avoiding the masked queen altogether. Well, as much as she can, at any rate.
Without looking up, Anna motions for Elroy to leave.
"Go to my room and get the medical golems to look at you." Anna orders. Elroy frowns.
"But they said—"
"I don't care what they said." Anna snaps, cutting Els— Elroy off. "I don't want to risk you collapsing again, because who knows where it'll be next time? I would rather not have you around for short periods of time then have you as a useless lump on the floor." Anna can practically feel the golem's shoulders slump, and she knows her words came harsher than she intended.
"I'm sorry." The deep, rumbling voice of Elroy whispers. His voice stabs at her heart strings and she sighs, finally looking up to meet his regretful eyes.
"I'm just worried about you." Anna says soothingly. "I'm sorry for being harsh, the meeting took a lot out of me." She stands and stretches, groaning as the vertebrae in her spine pop. "I need a vacation." She mutters, fisting the knots in her lower back. She glances up to Elroy, who still looks reluctant to leave. Anna smiles. "I'm just going to pack up my stuff and stealthily avoid people on a quest for food, so don't worry – I'll be fine, and I'll be sure to grab you before I head back here for round two." Elroy still hesitates, but he nods nonetheless.
"Okay." He concedes. "I'll wait for you in your room." He says, turning heel and leaving. Anna hums when the door closes behind him.
"How you can function flawlessly with a gaping wound in your side is bloody mystery." Anna murmurs, collecting her stack of papers—the huge collection of notes she's been taking over the past two and a half days—and puts them in her satchel. Latching it shut, she slings the strap over her shoulder and waves for her tigers to follow her as she walks for the door.
When she opens it, the Iloa queen and her snowy guardian are waiting for her.
"Well, so much for being going unnoticed." She murmurs, half debating simply running away and pretending she didn't see her.
Considering she's literally three paces in front of you, I think that excuse will fall flat. Anna's internal voice drawls sarcastically. The queen smiles as Anna steps into the hallway, bowing her head politely.
"You're highness,"—the queen says—"it's a pleasure to finally meet you in person." Anna smiles awkwardly and rubs the back of her neck.
"Yeah – sorry about that, your grace. It must have been strange for you and your children to get golems assigned to you without ever meeting someone from Arendelle." She says. One of the golems standing guard at the negotiation room doors hands Anna her weapons. She secures them to her waist as the queen chuckles softly.
"It's okay – I understand." She says. She glances pointedly to the door behind Anna. "You've had a lot to deal with." Anna's face falls at the reminder. The queen's smile becomes strained. "So it's as I feared." She whispers. Anna frowns.
"Peace may be allusive, but that doesn't mean it's impossible to catch." Anna replies, trying to sooth the queen's worry. The princess gives the woman a lopsided smile. "It's going to take Pryne more than giving me a splintering headache to keep me from drawing up a treaty everyone will be willing to sign." The queen smiles gratefully, but there's a weariness to it that Anna is pained to see.
"You only have until tomorrow afternoon, you know." She says, as if already accepting the worst. Anna takes a step forward and gently cups her hands around the sides of the queen's neck. She knows it isn't proper etiquette to touch other nobility so intimately without permission, but she never did follow rules very well.
"Everything's going to be fine." Anna whispers softly. "I have plenty of time to come up with a solution and, if the worst arises and I can't prevent hostiles I . . . I have precautionary measures in place." Anna says, unable to completely suppress her resultant wince. The queen frowns.
"Why don't you sound very thrilled about it?" The queen asks, caution lacing her tone.
Because it means mobilizing all her golems and possibly using the cannons in the Royal Grace. It means slaughtering the Pryne officers before they leave the castle in order to cripple their fleet's chain of command right before Iloa strikes. It means fortifying the city with snow golems and killing countless enemy soldiers to save the Iloa population. It means being entrenched in war that will last months or years and lead to immeasurable death.
It means the end to Anna's sanity.
Despite her dark thoughts, Anna only frowns faintly. "I'm not thrilled about any alternative to peace, honestly." She says, worrying her bottom lip. The queen gives her a weary smile.
"Sometimes there's no other choice." The queen says, trying to lay it to the young princess gently. "I think,"—the queen continues, ever cautious—"you may have to accept the fact that there's nothing you can do." Anna instantly jerks her hands away from the woman and steps back, as if she's been burnt. She narrows her eyes at the queen.
"No." Anna grits. "There's always something – I just have to find it." The queen's eyebrows draw together sadly.
"Princess—"
"No." Anna growls. "Peace will be had – and I will give it to you by the end of tomorrow." She says, turning heel. "Until next time, your grace." Without waiting for a reply, Anna walks away. "They're all crazy fucking bastards, aren't they?" Anna whispers, glaring at the span of hallway in front of her. Lila growls softly in her throat in the affirmative. Anna sighs and rubs her eyes gently. "Stubborn fools."
Elsa grunts as the shorter male medical golem gently removes the last of her bandaging and takes a look at her wound. He hums in indecision.
"You're getting better." He says, moving to grab some salve. "But you know it would be healing a lot faster if you allowed yourself to rest."
"Yeah, I know." Elsa breathes, trying to focus on anything other than the paste being rubbed into her wound. "I'd just rather deal with this; it . . . it hurts far less than loosing Anna ever could." The taller female medical golem returns from the small pile of supplies in the corner with new bandages and a small tray of food.
"This might be a strange thing to ask,"—the golem starts, handing the tray to Elsa—"but the conversation is morbid enough to allow it."
"Lovely." Elsa drawls, taking a bite of dried meat. The golem ignores the interruption.
"Once you die—whenever that may be—what happens to us?" She asks. Elsa's eyes widen in surprise.
"I . . . I don't— why do you ask?"
The golem shrugs. "With everything that's been happening it's been on my mind a lot. I mean, I know us snow creatures all have our own consciousnesses, but we also have an unyielding connection with you that we can always feel no matter how far away you are. What will happen to us once that connection is gone?" She asks. Elsa sucks on her bottom lip in thought.
"Well,"—Elsa starts, slowly—"you also have a connection with all the other snow creatures, but that doesn't mean you share the same fate as them when they parish."
"If a twin baby dies in the womb it doesn't mean the other will share it's fate." The golem rebuttals. "But if the mother dies with them still inside of her, the unborn children go with her."
"If the pregnancy is far enough along the children can be cut out and they'll survive." Elsa throws back.
"This conversation isn't unsettling at all." The male golem murmurs, just finishing with replacing Elsa's bandages.
"It'd be a hard transition." The female golem responds, ignoring the other golem's comment.
"Hard but manageable." Elsa says, smiling gently. "I have no doubt that my eventual death will leave a hole in all of you, but it's the same as anyone dealing with the death of a loved one. It'll be hard, sure, but you'll survive – because my death doesn't automatically demand yours." The golem shifts uncomfortably.
"Will it . . . change us?" She asks. Elsa's smile softens to something more reassuring.
"No one can force you to be something you don't want to be – not even me. If you recall, I've never had any power over what any of you feel or do. Sure you follow my orders, but you're doing it willingly – not because I'm personally controlling your movements. I honestly don't see how my death would change that." Elsa soothes, shrugging gently. The golem rubs the back of her neck, thinking. After a moment, she nods.
"Okay." She relents. Elsa's smile broadens.
"Good." Elsa says, turning back to her meal. Between mouthfuls she says; "thank you guys for bringing this stuff – I wasn't doing so well fending for myself." The shorter golem chuckles.
"It's to be expected considering the big gaping hole in your side ribs." He says, grinning. Elsa rolls her eyes, opting not to answer in preference of eating. The golem continues. "You should really rest before the next negotiation bout, too. You might only have a little under an hour, but it'll do you a lot of good." Elsa frowns slightly and swallows the food in her mouth.
"Where do you suppose I do that?" She asks. The golem gives her a funny look.
"On the bed." He states, as if it were obvious. Elsa's eyebrows fall into an unamused line.
"If I sleep on the bed my scent will rub off on the blankets and pillows." Elsa says, very much in the same tone as the golem.
"Anna's going to be in a meeting for a couple of hours after your done, giving us plenty of time to get some maids in to change the bedding." The golem replies, raising a challenging eyebrow. Elsa pauses, processing the logic. When it sinks in, she glowers at the golem, who only grins in response and takes her now empty tray away from her. "Get to sleeping." He says, gesturing to the bed. "We'll wake you before Anna returns."
To Anna's dismay, avoiding people in the huge castle is virtually impossible. On the way to the kitchen she was cornered by four people—including the queen—on her way back from the kitchen she was cornered by two people, and on her get-away back to her room she ran away from three people.
Now she's practically sprinting down the hallway, her food safely tucked under her arm and her satchel held from bouncing around with the other. She knows she probably looks like a maniac, but she could really care less as long as she's safe from people ambushing her.
Needless to say, she arrived back in her room a full half an hour sooner than she originally intended.
Anna huffs as she slams the door shut behind her and pushes her back up flush against it, not even caring that she left her two tigers in the hallway. They're the ones who guard outside the door at night, anyway.
The two medical golems freeze and stare at her, then slowly turn to stare at the lump curled under the sheets of Anna's bed. Anna's heart flutters and leaps.
Rushing to the desk and dropping her food and satchel on it, she bounds over to the bed and carefully hovers over Elsa's sleeping form.
This is the first time she's seen the older girl's face in two and a half weeks.
"Hey beautiful." Anna whispers, cautiously sitting on the edge of the bed and moving a stray piece of hair out of Elsa's eyes. Anna smiles gently, tears welling in her eyes. One of the golems gently takes Anna by the shoulders and coaxes her away from the bed and sits her at the chair of her desk. The golem—the taller female one—goes down on one knee and smiles apologetically.
"I'm sorry, but we can't risk you waking her up." She says, her voice a soft, low hum. The shorter golem, off to the side of the room, shrugs.
"With the demand of her wound and the toll it's taking on her, I doubt we'll be able to wake her up if we basted a trumpet in her ear." He says. The female golem frowns and turns to him.
"Wait, you told her to sleep and that we'd wake her up when it's time for the next meeting without any intention of actually waking her up?" She asks, accusing. The other golem merely shrugs again.
"We have the right supplies with us to create a concoction that'd wake her up, I was just hoping I wouldn't have to." He says, turning pointedly to Anna. She gives a little squeak at the sudden attention.
"Me? You want me to decide whether you wake her or not?" She asks. The golem nods.
"You're the only one who can say whether or not Elroy's absence will be missed in the proceedings. If it will be, then I'll wake her up; if it won't be, then I'll let her sleep." He says, giving Elsa a sorrowful side glance. "The Heavens knows she needs it." He whispers, barely loud enough for Anna to catch it, but she does. She glances to Elsa and sucks on her bottom lip gently.
"Aw hell." Anna sighs, rubbing her eyes gently. "I wouldn't have the heart to wake her up even if she was needed at the proceedings, not with what you've told me of her condition."
"She's not as bad as this numpty lets on." The female golem says, jerking her thumb at the shorter golem who, for his part, just shrugs again.
"She has a big open wound in her side that broke through her ribs. Ribs, might I add, that are only snapped back in place because Elsa used her magic to reset them. In fact, the entire reason her condition isn't critical—let alone allowing her to be functional—is because her magic is literally holding her together. So no, her state of being isn't as bad as I might have let on when I first explained everything to you, but it's not all sunshine and butterflies, either." He says, giving his medical partner a pointed look. This time she shrugs.
"She's still not as bad as you let on." The golem says, in a tone Elsa often uses when Anna talks herself in a hole and proves Elsa's point without meaning to. Anna chuckles softly.
"Give it a rest guys, I get it." Anna drawls, a playful twinkle in her eyes as she turns to her food and digs in.
Elsa's mind is fuzzy when she finally wakes from her sleeping stupor. If she's honest with herself she can admit that she's still tired, but she definitely feels better than she did before she lied down.
Plus it's so soft and warm. Elsa thinks, purring as she snuggles deeper into the blankets.
It only starts to register that something isn't right when she realizes her eyelids aren't being assaulted by blinding light the midday sun would demand.
Elsa blinks her eyes open, only to see that there's no light at all except that of what she assumes is a sole lantern. Frowning, Elsa carefully rolls off her right side onto her back—not wanting to aggravate the wound on her left side—and turns her head to look at the desk.
Anna—with an edgy expression, narrow eyes, knotted shoulders and a tense jaw—is intently pouring her efforts into whatever she's working on. She's so focused on it, in fact, that she seems completely obvious that Elsa's awake.
Anna hisses and pinches the bridge of her nose with her spare hand. Hard. Elsa frowns.
Why does it look like she's fighting a mild wave of PTSD instead of dealing with a peace treaty? She wonders. When she glances to the bruises on the left side of Anna's face—the only side she can see from both their positions—her frown deepens. Has the bruising gotten worse? How is that possible?
She is broken from this train of thought, however, when she grasps a more pressing concern.
Why is she and Anna in the same room when Elsa isn't in disguise?
Elsa's eyebrows knit together in confusion, stilling her oncoming panic as she eyes the younger girl carefully.
She doesn't have any trace of anxiety related to me, she isn't hovering by my side, but, most of all, she doesn't seem overly concerned about waiting for me to wake up. Elsa thinks, sighing as the obvious conclusion settles over her.
"How long have you known?" She asks. Anna jumps, startled, and looks around the room with wild, alarmed eyes. Elsa's eyes widen and she holds out her hands in a pacifying motion. "Whoa there, it's just me." Elsa says, trying to calm the girl. Anna stares at her for a full three seconds, a frown tugging at her lips, until her brain processes the situation. Nodding slightly, Anna gives Elsa a tense, apologetic smile.
"Sorry – I'm a little unnerved at the moment. How are you feeling?" She asks. There's a distinct distant note in Anna's voice makes Elsa frown, but she chooses not to address it.
"Better than before." Elsa allows, before changing the topic back to her original question; "how long have you known?" Anna's eyebrows knit together in confusion and she frowns, not quite understanding the question for a couple awkward beats. When she does, she gives the same tight, apologetic smile.
"Sorry – my brain's in a million places right now." She apologies again. She shrugs. "I've known ever since you fainted on the first night here. May wrote; 'this is Elsa' on your breastplate so I wouldn't spiral into a breakdown." Anna says, but Elsa can tell her heart isn't exactly in the conversation.
If Anna is troubled to the point where she's not even engaging in proper conversation with her, something is definitely wrong. Elsa voices this concern with:
"What happened?" She asks. At the reminder, Anna stiffens and her jaw clenches painfully. Elsa observes the change in alarm and props herself up on her elbows. "Anna, what happened?" She presses. Anna's jaw clenches tighter; she tries to smile, but it comes out more as a painful grimace.
"A lot." Anna strains, literally forcing out the words. She squeezes her eyes shut and roughly rubs her temples. "There's been . . . some unfortunate incidents. There's also been something of a breakthrough with the peace treaty, too, but it comes a little too late to provide much comfort." Elsa frowns. Exactly how much has she missed?
"How long have I been asleep?" Elsa asks, a pool of dread welling in her stomach. Anna's face contorts, her mouth moving silently with mental calculations.
"Nine or ten hours, maybe?" Anna suggests, frowning as she tries to confirm the numbers in her head. "Yeah,"—she says, but doesn't sound overly certain about them—"about that amount."
"Anna!" Elsa scolds, throwing off the blankets and pushing into a seated position, one hand cradling her wound. "Why didn't you wake me? I— damn it! I came here to help you, not sleep through the time when you actually need me!" Elsa sneers, but her tone drips with so much worry that her angry façade only makes Anna smile sadly.
"Sorry."—She says again, her voice way too soft for Elsa's liking—"I didn't have the heart to wake you. Besides, with your wound you wouldn't have been able to help me that much anyway, not without using your powers and exposing yourself."
With the pit of dread growing in her stomach, Elsa looks around the room for any hint of what happened.
Her eyes land on a discarded pile of clothes. She can't see much from the light of the sole lamp in the room, but she can make out enough to see a pair of formal breeches with one leg mostly cut off. Her heart sinks when she notices a dark stain on the remaining section of the pant leg.
"Anna,"—she says slowly as she turns back to face the girl—"let me see your leg." Anna stiffens instantly, but she forces a smile and tries to play it off.
"Only one? Kinky. Do you have a preference?" She jokes. Elsa narrows her eyes.
"My preference is to see the leg you don't want to show me." Elsa bites. She doesn't mean for her tone to be as sharp as it is—especially when Anna winces—but her fraying nerves are getting the better of her.
"I'd rather not." Anna says. The girl raises her hands to stop Elsa's coming argument. "Not because I don't want you to see it,"—the girl assures—"it's just painful to move my leg right now. Hell, I had to get the medical golems to help me change out of my breeches in order to get these on." Anna says, pulling at the loose, ice-blue trousers she's currently wearing. Elsa nods slowly in understanding.
"Okay." She allows, much to Anna's relief. "Then just tell me what happened." Anna stiffens again. She shifts uncomfortably, trying to think of a way to get out of this, before simply sighing in defeat.
"Someone stabbed me."
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
"What?"
Anna winces at Elsa's tone.
"Yeah." Anna confirms hesitantly. "The action cost him his hand, though." She says, wincing at the memory. Elsa's eyebrows furrow in confusion.
"Attacking a royal is an immediate death sentence, so why would anyone— wait, did you . . .?" Elsa leaves the question open, but Anna flinches anyway.
"Not intentionally?" The girl provides weakly, looking anywhere in the room to get reprieve from Elsa's piercing gaze. Elsa's eyes soften at the sight and she offers the girl a weak smile.
"Why don't you start at the beginning?" Elsa suggests, giving the court completely over to Anna. Anna nods slightly, uneasily, and clears her throat awkwardly.
"Well,"—she starts—"I guess it all really started after I left the second negotiation meeting."
Five hours prior.
When Anna gets out of the next meeting—nearly four and a half hours after she left Elsa sleeping in her bed—she's frustrated enough to kick random strangers in the face. Not being able to walk around the castle without being accosted by anyone who thinks their anyone isn't helping, either. So, after ranting to a couple of patrol golems, she decided she wouldn't be able to get any work done—or do anything productive, really—until she calms down.
After determining that that meant getting out of the castle, she fled to the stables and left the castle grounds.
Now, in her fancy ice-blue formal-wear—sleeves rolled up past her elbows like always—and riding gloves, she trots astride Leo into the city. She hums in appreciation.
"Did I tell you how much I miss you?" She asks, grinning when Leo holds his head up with pride and whinnies. She absently looks up to the semi-heavy blizzard falling above her head, frantically settling on her hair and shoulders. "Nice to have a reprieve from the heat, as well." She murmurs, more as an afterthought than anything else.
While it's true that Anna has mostly had to adapt to the temperatures, it would be a blatant lie if she said she was used to it. Hell, half the time she's surrounded by enough golems—and her tigers—that the temperature around her is always seven degrees cooler than it's actually suppose to be, anyway.
However, going outside in the direct sunlight—that is still over three hours from setting—is a story all on its own. Sure she still has her three main snow creatures, but that doesn't necessarily help her if she decides to be her normal self and start running around and acting like, well, Anna.
Though that might be a difficult option. Anna thinks as she enters the more populated area of the city, watching as the crowd splits as if struck by a whip when they notice Anna approaching. It might also have to do with the fact that I'm riding a massive snow warhorse with ice armour and that I'm flanked by two icy tigers that are almost as tall as me. Anna contemplates, humming softly.
When she reaches the main square—a humongous area milling with people—she dismounts and motions for Leo to follow her, but remain a moderate distance behind her. The crowd still splits as if she were soaked in poison, but thankfully it's a little less prominent then it was before.
Anna pauses when she sees a little boy, with no parents in sight, staring at her in complete and utter fascination near one of the market stalls. Sending him a dazzling smile, she turns heel and walks towards him. His face falls into undeniable fright, but when Anna kneels down not two meters in front of him—her snow creatures legging behind to make her less intimidating—and smiles reassuringly, his enthralment reappears with a new vigour. When Anna opens her arms for a hug, the boy gives her a toothy grin and runs at her – practically throwing himself into her arms. With a joyful laugh, Anna wraps the boy in her arms.
"Why hello, dear sir." Anna says, a playful lilt in her voice as she draws herself away from the small boy. "I wasn't expecting to meet someone so handsome on this outing – the surprise of our acquaintance has dazzled me and I simply had to meet you. I am Princess Anna, valiant knight of justice, at your service." Anna places a hand over her heart and bows as much as she can in her kneeling position. "May I inquire and ask of you your name, good sir?" She asks, raising from her bow. She barely keeps herself from grinning at the astonished, wide-eyed look on the little boy's face. Seemingly unable to control himself, he squeals and bounces on the balls of his feet.
"Max." He says, grinning from ear to ear. Almost as an afterthought, he drops into his impression of a courtly bow. Anna has to bite her lip to keep from giggling.
"Well, my liege, it is an honour to finally make your acquaintance." Anna says, smiling broadly. She leans in and whispers conspiratorially; "what do you say about blowing this formal necessity and playing tag, instead?" She leans back and wriggles her eyebrows. The boy gasps excitedly and shakes his hands, expelling his overflowing excess energy.
"Really?" He asks. Anna can practically see his excitement fluttering in his chest. She grins.
"Really really. So how about you grab all your friends that are here in the square and meet me back here in ten?" She asks. She barely has time to register his sharp nod before he's bounding away. Chuckling quietly to herself, Anna shakes her head and stands, pulling off her gloves and stuffing them into her pockets.
"You don't have to do that you know, your highness."
Anna frowns and turns to the woman manning the stall the boy had been standing close to. Anna tilts her head curiously and walks closer to the stall.
"What'd you mean?" Anna asks. The woman, not expecting Anna's complete and full attention, startles slightly and bows her head.
"Pardon my frankness, your highness, I didn't mean—"
Anna waves off her concern. "If someone's willing to give something to be straight instead of trying to talk me in circles it'll be a welcome relief." She says, chuckling at her own dry joke. "So come on then – tell me what you wanted to say." The woman stares at Anna with a bemused expression. When she makes no move to speak further, Anna laughs. "I swear I'm nice – I might growl a little bit, but unless you literally try to punch me in the face I won't bite. Promise." Anna gives the woman a disarming smile. The woman, bashful, rubs the back of her neck.
"Well, your highness,"—she starts, slowly—"I just meant that you don't have to try to win our favour by talking to us – I'm sure you have better things to do." An amused light sparkles in Anna's eyes.
"Is that what you think I'm doing?" She teases, twitching a soft smile. "For your information I happen to love conversing with common folk and playing with children. Beats the hell out of dealing with boring nobility with speech so stilted and manipulative you just want to shove their head underwater and shake them." Anna mimics the action loosely with her hands, then blinks. "Huh." She hums, scratching her jaw. "Probably not the best thing to admit, considering the circumstances." She murmurs. For her part, the woman just chuckles and smiles broadly.
"It's what we all think – you just have the guts to admit it, your highness." The woman says. Anna grins.
"Aye, but I have to be responsible, remember." She says, winking to show how little she believes in the statement. "Now,"—she continues, starting to unbutton her formal tunic—"I need to be getting ready to run around before Max and the other little ones return." The woman's eye flash in surprise, as if not truly believing Anna was actually going to follow up on her word. Anna sees the look and grins. "All children dream of nobility, so who am I to deny them a dream come true?" She says, shrugging lightheartedly. "Everyone deserves a happy fantasy or two to come to life, and if I can help fulfil some of those then by the Gods I will." The woman stares at Anna, speechless, simply watching as Anna shrugs off her tunic—leaving her with a ice-blue tank top overtop of her bound chest—and throws it over Leo's back. The woman barely keeps herself from staring at Anna's rippling, toned muscles.
"You truly are something, aren't you?" The woman breathes, clearly meaning to go unheard. Anna, hearing nonetheless—but interpreting it differently then how it was intended—smiles gently and turns back to the woman.
"We all may have different roles in society, but if someone deserves respect I'm going to give it to them no matter the status they've been given, because your station doesn't define you. Sure it's a big part, but it's up to you whether you let it get to your head or not." Anna raps her knuckles lightly against her skull and chuckles. "That's why I like conversing with the populous so much; you're real and you just . . . are. A lot of nobility have forgotten how to be like that, if they ever knew at all." At the strange look the woman gives her, Anna laughs lightly. "Sorry – I didn't mean to go all saintly on you. Please forgive my intrusion." Anna says, bowing politely from the shoulders.
"No, no – please don't bow, your highness." The woman says, desperately. Anna quirks an eyebrow and straightens, giving the woman a faintly amused look.
"I don't see why I shouldn't." Anna teases, a smile twitching at the corners of her lips.
"Because you're a princess." The woman snaps, harsher then she intends. Her eyes widen and she bows. "I'm so sorry, your highness, I didn't mean to snap at you." A frown tugs at Anna's lips.
"I was adopted by the king and queen of Arendelle." Anna says slowly, watching the woman's reactions carefully. "I could have just as easily been tending to stalls or be a servant to a noble." She shrugs helplessly. "I was lucky, and I'll be damned if I don't share my good fortune with the people who deserve it." She glances in the direction Max had run off to. "Children are the obvious recipients,"—she turns to the woman, giving her a pointed look—"but that doesn't discard adults." Anna sends the woman an charming smile. "Give yourself more credi— oof!"
Anna grunts and stumbles as a small crowd of children literally barrel into her legs and latch themselves to her. The woman behind the stall bursts into laughter.
"I'll let you go – it seems to have your hands full." The woman says, trying to cover her humour and failing miserably. Anna sends her an amused smirk. The children, chattering away, start tugging on her pant legs and hands to get her attention. Laughing, Anna kneels down. The children, bouncing with excitement, instantly form a semi-circle around her.
"Okay, this is our plan of action."—Anna says, in an exaggerated battle strategy tone—"We're going to be playing an epic game of tag. The rules are simple; no violence and the playing area is this square only – if you go out of bounds you're out of the game until you re-enter the field. Is this clear?" She asks. The children nod, most letting out a chorus of 'yes's' while the others simply cheer eagerly. Suppressing a giggle, Anna gestures to the center of the square. "We're going to take our game to the fountain to get us away from the stalls. The moment we get there, I'm going to select who's it and we're going to run around and have fun, okay?" Again, a chorus of cheers and agreement. Anna grins. "To the fountain!" She declares, laughing when the children literally start sprinting away from her, fervent to get the game underway. Standing—pulling her gloves out of her pockets and slipping them on—Anna winks playfully at the woman behind the stall before turning heel and following the children.
The crowd is already murmuring among themselves at the sight of the collection of children, and it only grows heavier when Anna joins their ranks. Anna, used to massive amounts of attention drawn her way, pays the crowd no mind as she stops in front of the two dozen children.
"Okay."—Anna calls over their noise—"The player who will be it first is . . ." Anna looks at the anxious, eager faces with exaggerated suspense. When she feels a good time has passed, she shouts; "Max!"
She's unable to stop her laugh of delight when the children split, squealing in excitement. It distracts her so much that she forgets to run herself, until she feels a swat on her arm and hears:
"You're it!"
Anna gapes at Max as he runs away from her, but it's soon replaced by a mischievous smirk. She raises her arms up, her fingers curled like claws, and she bounds forward in a strange side-to-side run as she starts chasing the children.
"I'm it! Om nom nom!" She calls, in an odd growl-like roar that the kids eat up like candy – instantly squealing and bolting in all different directions.
Soon enough the game becomes so popular that the crowd literally hovers around the outskirts of the square—leaving the entire center free—so they can watch the proceedings without getting involved. Yes, admittedly the game had lead to Anna and some of the kid smocking into people, but that was also part of the reason the news of the game spread so quickly and the center of the square was cleared, so Anna doesn't care. Sometime during this mix Lila, May and Leo settled themselves around the fountain, and somewhere in that time Anna removed her sword belts and draped them over Leo's back. The last thing she wants is one of the sheathes spinning and slamming into the face of one of the kids. That'd be sure to leave an everlasting impression.
"Oh no, the mighty guardian has been hit!" Anna cries, with over the top theatrics that she knows the children love. "Why do you strike me so, dear knight?" She falls to a knee, pretending to be felled. "By my heart and soul, I— got ya! Ah ha!" Anna says, recovering from her lunge at a nearby child and rolling to her feet, sprinting away when the child tries to get her back. Anna gives a hearty laugh and wipes the sweat from her face with the back of her gloved hands.
By now the game has been going on for nearly a half an hour, and between the heat, running around and not having her snow creatures at her side to keep her cool, she's nearly overheating.
Well, that's what she gets for thinking it's a grand idea to play under the hot sun.
One of the children scream. Anna's ears prick. That wasn't a scream appropriate for fun and games. A bad feeling immediately washes over Anna and she starts looking around the square, dread welling in the pit of her stomach.
"Everyone come here! Quickly now!" Anna says in a forced cheer to not frighten the children. She knows the adults probably see right through her—considering most of them look concerned as well—but the kids are none the wiser. Anna grins when all the children in the square are encircling her with eager eyes. It makes her heart fall all the more. "Okay, we're going to—" Anna stops herself, frowning as she looks around at all the children's faces. "Where's Max?" She asks. The children look around, but shrug – unbeknownst to the danger and therefore unconcerned with his absence. Anna pales. "Stay here." She commands, walking out of the circle of children and scanning the crowd. "Max?" She calls, continuing to look around. When no answer comes she grits her teeth. "Max!"
What she sees next makes her blood run cold.
Max, lifted up and held tightly to a man's chest as they exit the crowd, has a slice on his cheek—running blood down his jaw and neck—a broken wrist and a dagger held tightly against his throat.
Without taking her eyes from Max, she waves her hands at her snow creatures. "May, Lila – protect the kids. Kids – stay exactly where you are and, whatever happens, do not move, do you understand me?" She barely registers their confused murmurs as she raises her hands in a pacifying motion and takes a tentative step towards Max and his assailant. "Tell me what you want." Anna says, progressing with her slow advance. The man laughs harshly and presses the dagger tighter to Max's throat, enough to draw blood.
"Unless you want me to kill this boy I suggest you don't take another step." The man threatens. Anna freezes instantly. An oily smile spreads across the man's lips. "Pretty and obedient, wonderful."
"Please help me." Max sobs, tears streaking down his cheeks—mingling with the blood—and his broken wrist gently cradled against his abdomen. Anna's eyes mist and she grits her teeth.
"I am, Max, don't worry – everything is going to be okay soon. I promise." Anna says, in the gentlest voice she can muster. The man cackles loudly, then gives Anna the cruelest smirk she has ever seen. It turns her stomach.
"It's not good practice to make a promise you can't keep." He says. He pulls the dagger away and flips the blade inward, preparing to plunge it into the boy's heart. His arm flexes.
"No!" Anna screams, taking an involuntary step forward and reaching for the boy, even though he's a good four meters away from her. Lila and May's eyes flash and they turn to the man, roaring as loud as they can and getting ready to dash at him and tear him apart. Anna whips back on the beasts and holds her hands out for them to stop. She knows that their real goal with the roar was alerting the Royal Grace, but they also look just as likely to sink their teeth into the man's flesh and tear him limb from limb. "Hold!" She shouts, turning sideways and showing one halt hand to her tigers and one to the man holding Max. "Everyone hold it! No one is getting slaughtered today, alright? So just tell me what you want so everyone can get out of this alive."
The man stares at Anna for a long moment before his eyes flicker to the humongous tigers who look like they're a hair away from lunging at him. His jaw bulges and his hardened gaze shifts back to Anna.
"You and your beast are non-combatants – you aren't allowed to hurt me even if you wanted to." The man says, sneering. Anna sends the man the darkest look she ever given.
"Do you think I give a shit about technicality when a young innocent life hangs in the balance?" She growls, spittle flying from her mouth. "If it means I have to sever your head from your shoulders or get my protectors to maul you to death to save this boy's life then that is what I'll do; so don't think you have more leverage then you do because, if it comes down to it, I will kill you." She spits, venom dripping from her words much like salvia dripping from a growling wolf's mouth. The man barks a laugh, but Anna can hear the trembling quality to it.
"Well,"—the man says, his voice laced with forced amusement—"if you want to take me out you're going to have to go through my friends, too." On cue, eleven men step out of the crowd behind the man, flexing their muscles, cracking their knuckles and flaunting their weapons if they have one.
They're soldiers. Anna observes, a frown tugging at the corners of her lips. She glances back to the child. The man chose to grab a child and no one else, so they had to of known I have a soft spot for children. Anna's eyes narrow darkly, and she scowls. Arwyn was the only one I told, meaning these bastards are from Pryne.
"If they want to share in whatever miserable fate you've designed for them, then I am more than happy to oblige in helping them meet their end." Anna snarls, much to the shock of the men. A cruel, remorseless smile spreads over Anna's lips and she chuckles darkly. "I suggest you give me your demands and make them reasonable, least you meet some untimely fates." When she sees doubt in the main man's eyes, Anna's smirk grows wider. "My words are not threats – they're a promise. So you better speak up and you better do it fast." No one seems to notice Leo slipping away into the crowd.
The main man's jaw muscles bulge and he glowers at the princess. "You think you and two piles of snow can take twelve highly trained men in enclosed combat?"
Without my weapons? No, not really. Besides, fighting a mass of soldiers solo was Elsa's specialty, not mine.
"Just twelve?" Anna says, ignoring her thoughts and barking a laugh. "You've obviously underestimated my fighting abilities." The man stares at Anna for a long moment before he reluctantly accepts Anna's words as the truth.
"We want you to leave Iloa and immediately sail back to Arendelle." The man states. The crowd gasps and starts murmuring to each other. Anna clenches her jaw and her eyes harden.
"You know very well that I'm under contract – if I try to leave now Iloa has the legal right to cut trade with Arendelle and declare war on us." Anna says, trying her best to stall for time. How long will it take for the Royal Grace golem reinforcement to arrive? Did they hear Lila and May's call at all? The man barks a laugh.
"I think we have more pressing issues than Arendelle with Pryne ready to hack us to bits." He says.
Wait, what?
They're pretending to be Iloian to pull the attention from Pryne. Anna thinks, scowling – but the soldier isn't done.
"All you're here for is to make sure whatever happens is profitable for Arendelle – you don't care about what happens to Iloa. For all we know you could be forcing the king's hand to sign over the kingdom." He shouts. The crowd's murmuring grows louder. Anna grits her teeth and glares at the man.
"That's rich coming from a Prynian." Anna growls. The man laughs, but there's a nervous flutter to it.
"Have you not been listening? I—"
"Obtaining Iloian clothing and speaking in the tense that you are Iloian instead of Prynian is easy; obtaining Iloian high grades weapons in the middle of a possible war, however, is not." She points to the men with him with short swords, medium swords and daggers. "If you weren't so stupid you wouldn't have brought any weapons from your ship. As it is, you just covered the hilts with different fabric so that they weren't gold. Besides, who the hell openly defies a royal negotiator in public with the colours of their own kingdom? No one, that's who. You seriously should have thought this moronic plan through before following through with it because now you're making Pryne look like even more of a dick sucking whore than they already do."
"Don't you dare talk about Pryne that way!" One of the other men shout, pointing his sword at her. "Pryne is twice the worth of any of these pitiable kingdoms!"
"Shut up!" The main man hisses.
"Ah, so you admit it. To be honest I knew you were all Prynian but I didn't actually have any solid evidence to prove it; granted it all makes sense and it's bloody obvious, but it still could have been disputed without your conformation, so thank you for that." Anna says, smiling smugly.
"Well, this failed." A gruff man says, shrugging. "Might as well make the most out of it."
"Wait, not!" The main man shouts.
Before anyone has time to react, the man hurls his dagger and it lands solidly in Anna's left leg. Howling in pain, Anna stumbles back and falls to a knee, her injured leg straight out in front of her. She assesses the damage as quickly as she can.
If I get can put pressure on the wound, stay off my leg and get medical attention as soon as possible it'll be fine, but I need to get the hell out of here. Anna thinks, gritting her teeth and pulling off her tank top, leaving her toned torso covered only by the binding on her chest. She hears a few whistles from the group of men, but she pays them no mind as she lays the shirt right above the dagger lodged in her leg.
Gritting her teeth and steeling herself, Anna pulls out the dagger.
Letting out a cry, Anna throws the dagger to the ground, puts her tank top over the wound and ties it as tight as she dares. Her wound throbs painfully and sharp spikes of pins and needles shoot up and down her leg and spine, but she tries her best to swallow it.
"With this act you have declared yourself, your friends and Pryne an enemy of Arendelle." Anna snarls, grabbing the dagger and pushing herself to standing, resting all her weight on her good leg. She spots Leo's head above the crowd behind the men and breathes a soft sigh of relief. Pointing her bloody dagger at the group of men, she shouts; "from this point forth you are hereby charged with the attempted assassination of an Arendelle royal, and your friends charged with assisting your cause. You are all to be arrested and taken back to Arendelle where you will be tried and executed for your crimes."
"Fuck you!" The man who threw the dagger spits, grabbing the medium sword of the guy beside him and dashing for Anna. Anna's eyes widen in surprise.
"Leo!" She shouts, leaping out of the way of a deadly swing to her head. Leo exits the crowd instantly and rears, slamming his hoof into the main man's head with an awful, wet cracking sound. He goes limp and crumples to the ground. Max takes the opportunity and bolts. Two of the men shout after him and start chasing him, but Lila temporarily breaks from her guard of the other children and intercepts the men, roaring loudly in their face, making them stumble back, fall and scramble away. Lila gently guides Max to the other children.
Leo gets in-between Anna and her assailant and rears again, raking the air with his hooves in warning. Anna's formal tunic falls from his back and she catches it. Her eyes widen and she glances back to the men who, just like she feared, are holding her swords that feel from Leo's back during the first time he reared.
"Fuck." Anna grinds, tossing away her dagger and pulling on her tunic, but not bothering to do up any of the buttons. When Leo is back on all fours, Anna reaches up and grabs the pummel of the leather saddle to give her injured leg relief when she puts the foot of her good leg in the stirrup and pulls herself up. She doesn't move to swing over her leg to sit on the saddle, instead she grabs the icy swords on either side of Leo's flanks and draws them before jumping back to the ground.
Out of the corner of her eye she can see May rounding the other men to keep them from fleeing into the crowd. There's also blood dripping from her teeth, but Anna does well to ignore that fact. She also notices, however, that the men are trying to split into multiple groups to get around the sole beast.
"Leo – help May!" Anna orders. He obeys without question. When Anna is back to facing off with the man, Anna twirls her swords and falls into the best fighting stance she can muster. The man eyes flash with something akin to fear as he eyes her ice swords, but otherwise looks unfazed. He falls into a fighting stance.
Heavy attacks. Not light on his feet. Brute fighter. Downward and sideways slashes only. Is used to holding a heavy shield. Anna assesses as she rakes her eyes over the man's bulking form. I need to be light and only go for blows that I can easily spin out of. Nodding slightly at her strategy, Anna readies herself for the coming onslaught.
Only to hear it coming from behind her.
Anna ducks mere seconds before a man with her swords scissors them in a motion to chop off her head. She spins around the man—narrowly missing the downward slash of the original man—and drives her sword up into the sneak attack man's armpit.
She tries to ignore the sickening twist in her stomach when she feels it crack bone and pop through the joint.
The man screams and instantly drops the sword he held in that hand, only for it to be picked up by the original guy.
Gritting her teeth, Anna rips out her sword and kneels just enough to slam to butt of her sword as hard as she can into the injured man's knee. It pops out of place with a hideous crack that makes the joint disfigured. It makes Anna queasy. The man collapses like a sack of potatoes, howling and screaming in agony. The original man drops his medium sword and picks up the other one of Anna's—that the injured man has no use of anymore—and hefts them in his hands to feel the weight of them.
"You have good taste in weapons." The gruff man hums, falling back into his original fighting stance. Anna examines it quickly.
Trained in duel wielding but not his forté – his stance is still angled more to the benefit of a shield then for two weapons. She thinks.
"You have poor taste in who you choose you be your enemy." Anna counters, growling and swirling her swords beside her – the blood from her right sword fanning off and splattering on the man's face and clothes.
Anna hears the sound of crunching bone behind her, followed by a blood curdling scream.
Anna refuses to think of exactly what caused it, but, if her opponent's suddenly pale face is anything to go by, it was either May chomping down on a man's limb or Leo tramping over someone.
Fighting a wave of nausea, Anna presses forward and dances around her opponent—with much more skill then you'd think her wound would allow—swinging her swords and slicing at his skin when she can. More often than not her swords are deflected and his attacks redirected, but, out of the two of them, Anna has landed more blood-drawing hits than he. Well, if you don't count the dagger he lodged into her leg before the fight.
To Anna's surprise, her great expanse of training takes over her completely and an eerie calm settles over her – as if her body is trying to get her brain to shut off to not judge the morality of her own actions. Instead, her body forces her brain to flash back to what seems like a distant memory, but in reality happened not even three weeks ago.
"Uh, okay. Right." Kristoff says, shifting and clearing his throat uncomfortably. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but I've been wondering . . . would you kill again? If you had to, I mean."
Anna muscles go rigid so fast she swears she gives herself whiplash. Kristoff winces, regretting his words immediately.
"I'm sorry." Anna says, her face contorting in pain. Kristoff holds out his hands to pacify the girl.
"No, no – it's my fault. I shouldn't of—"
"That's not what I mean." Anna says, gritting her teeth. "I'm sorry because I know what you want to hear . . . but I can't give you that answer."
Anna grits her teeth at the memory, forcing herself back into the present.
Then instantly regrets it.
The sight that awaits her is her opponent howling in pain, both swords clattering on the ground as he cradles the messy, blood squirting stump where his hand used to be.
Despite her better judgement, Anna looks to the ground.
She stares at the severed hand still tightly gripping hilt of one of the swords.
This time Anna can't suppress her gag reflex, but she's able to keep it under control enough not to puke. In her effort to control herself, however, the man roars and slams his fist into Anna's face. To her disproval, it lands in the exact same spot Elroy punched her twice not four days earlier.
Sputtering and letting out a cry of pain, Anna stumbles back and shakes her head gently, trying to clear her vision and the ringing in her ears. Knowing that the man will try to attack again while she's blind, she spins her swords in a tight circle in front of her.
To her upmost regret, she feels one slice through flesh and lodge into the joint between bones with a horrid crunch.
Anna's senses clear up just in time to see her sword half severing the man's elbow of his good arm and hear his desperate, pitiful howl of pain. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Anna yanks out her sword – dislocating the elbow joint completely with a sickening pop in the process.
When the man crumbles to his knees in a mess of screams in front of her, Anna takes a moment to survey the scene around her.
Blood and a few scattered body parts—including a foot, Anna notes; barely suppressing the urge to vomit at the sight—litter the ground. Blood drips from May's mouth, and blood is splattered all up the front of Leo's legs.
Out of the original twelve men, only four—who cower in a clump on their knees, hands behind their heads—remain un-blooded and in one piece. Anna limps further into the square, the full scale of what just happened not quite hitting her until she takes in the sight of the terrified children, and it hits her square in the chest.
They're not scared about what just happened, they're scared of her.
Anna drops her swords as if she were burnt and clutches the side of her head with one hand, frantically waving to Lila with the other.
"Get them out of here." Anna commands, clenching her teeth as she tries to control her breathing. When she notices Lila doesn't move, Anna whips on her. "Get them out of here!" She bellows, her voice cracking. Her lips quiver, but she has enough restraint to hold her sorrow back.
Right now she had to deal with this mess.
Golems from the Royal Grace start piling into the square.
Well, better late than never.
"Aid the injured and clean up the square!" Anna projects, limping towards the fountain. "Use your ice to slow the bleeding until the medics say otherwise."
From the other side of the square, Iloa soldiers push their way through the crowd. They stare at what beholds them in horror.
"Get the wounded to a hospital under golem surveillance. Transport the able bodies to the Royal Grace for imprisonment." Anna continues, her voice slightly weaker than before as she sits on the edge of the fountain. She buttons up her tunic with shaky hands and gingerly pulls off her gloves. She forces out a slow, even breath – willing herself to calm down. Only she can't. This is the first time since the war that she's had to maim someone and—
Anna's breath hitches in her throat.
Gods, she can't take this right now.
Just like that, the pain from her wound, her exhaustion and her almost heat-stroke hit her all at once. As her eyes flutter into the back of her skull, she barely registers the cries of alarm when she teeters backwards – fainting as she feels herself being engulfed in water.
Two hours later.
When Anna opens her eyes next, it's still far too soon for her liking. Groaning, Anna throws an arm over her eyes – even though the only light comes from two solitary lanterns on either side of her bed.
"So, you're finally awake."
Anna groans more and throws her other arm over her face. She doesn't want to deal with people. Not right now. She hears the person sigh softly.
"I'm sorry about what happened to you."
Wait, I know this voice.
Anna throws away her arms and looks to Arwyn with narrow eyes and an angry scowl.
"You should be sorry about what your brutish soldiers did to that poor boy and what they subjected the population to. You should be sorry that you crossed Arendelle by betraying my trust by using children against me. If those men confess that you or Thayne are behind this—which we both know that they won't, even though it's true—death would be the least of your fucking worries." Anna snarls, glaring daggers into the woman. May and Lila, at the end of the bed, growl at Arwyn.
Anna notices the drying blood in and around May's mouth and her stomach reels. She averts her eyes and squeezes them tightly.
"Clean yourself off, May." She says, waving her arm for the tiger to leave. When she hears the beast walking away, she takes in a shaky breath and hisses it out as steadily as she can. She can't stop the trembling in her hand when she reaches up and rubs her eyes.
"I'm sorry." Arwyn says, far softer then Anna thought the woman was capable of. Frowning, Anna opens her eyes and glances to the woman, who winces at the attention. The woman's gaze falls to her lap, where she twists her fingers together uncomfortably. "When I explained everything to Thayne, he used the child variable to deduce that you'd eventually leave the castle. I didn't actually think that he'd—" Arwyn's voice hitches and she clenches her jaw tightly. "I may have sent along the Iloian clothes to the ship, but it was Thayne who sent along the orders – I had no idea what he was planning." Anna stares at the woman, a frown tugging on her lips.
"Why are you telling me this?" Anna asks, confused. "We may not have any witnesses so I can't use your word in court, but you're literally handing me what I need to know—and shouldn't be so willing to give up—on a silver platter. Why?" Arywn shifts uneasily. She looks up just long enough to give Anna a self-conscious smile before turning her attention back to her lap.
"You've . . . grown on me a lot more than I'd like to admit." She confesses. Anna's frown deepens.
"Then why did you relay that information to Thayne? Why did you help him?" Anna asks, genuinely confused but not without the hint of blame. Arwyn gives an exasperated gesture with her hands.
"It was after the first meeting on the first day – I didn't know you and I didn't know what he was going to do." She grinds, as if the words were painfully dragged from her lungs. "I never wanted you to get hurt." She whispers, the muscles in her jaw bulging as tears well in her eyes.
Anna blinks, matching the words to Arwyn's tone.
Her conclusion takes a full three seconds to hit home.
"You're falling in love with me." Anna breathes, hardly believing the words even as Arwyn stiffens uncomfortably, but doesn't deny them. "Well." Anna says, scratching her cheek nervously. "That . . . I did not see that coming."
"You should've." Arwyn mutters, crossing her arms over her chest and turning her head to the side, trying to hide her flushed cheeks. "You're very disarming and charming." She admits, barely loud enough for Anna to hear. Anna smiles shyly and, admittedly, a bit uncomfortably.
"Thank you – I'm flattered, but I'm already taken." Anna says, as if dealing with a wild animal. Arwyn shrugs, but it's a jerky motion.
"I know. There just happened to be an unfortunate disconnect between my brain and my crotch on the one subject I needed them to agree on." Arwyn sighs, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples gently. Anna nibbles on her bottom lip gently.
"How are you second in command of the whole attacking fleet?" Anna asks, changing the topic. It throws Arwyn for a slight loop and she frowns. Anna elaborates. "I mean, you're only a commodore. Not that that's not impressive, because it is – it's just that Thayne is a fleet admiral. It doesn't really make sense to me that they'd send the highest rank only to follow it with a rank three stations down." Arwyn, catching up with the topic, nods slowly.
"I have a lot of sway." She says tentatively, as if measuring how much she should give away. "So yes, I'm not the second highest rank currently in that fleet, but my civilian position gives me power over these types of decisions." Anna knows Arwyn is holding an important detail back, but doesn't push it. Instead she asks:
"How much power does that give you in the peace negotiations?"
Seeming to know where this is going, Arwyn shifts uncomfortably. "In a military sense I only have as much power as my station allows, but when it comes to matters of state . . ." Arwyn chews her bottom lip uneasily, eying Anna as if determining if she's to be trusted or not. Anna sends her a kind, reassuring smile. After a long, awkward beat, the woman sighs heavily – reluctantly. "I'm half royal."—She finally admits—"So when it comes to matters such as the peace treaty, Thayne may be able to sign a draft before our king can finalize it, but my signature would set it in stone. That's why I've been letting Thayne take the lead on this deal – to make you all believe that he holds the most power on our side of the table so that you'd get him to sign the draft instead of me." Anna hums gently.
"I was wondering why someone so bright never took the bull by the horns; especially since everyone else from your kingdom seems to have that hell-bent I'm-the-best: everyone-look-at-me personality." Anna says, a faint teasing note to her words that makes Arwyn twitch a small smile.
"Coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment." She says, seeming to be dragging herself up from the hole that she's dug for herself. Anna smiles gently.
"That's probably the best way to take it." Anna says, still reluctant to forgive the woman she blames for the fresh blood-stained memories chaffing her nerves raw. Arwyn seems to hear a note to that effect in her voice, because her look changes to one more calculated – not in a cruel or emotionless way, just thoughtful.
"You where mumbling in your sleep." Arwyn finally says, apparently determining the topic safe enough to dive into. Anna stiffens slightly.
"Oh yeah?" Anna asks, her voice carefully stripped of emotion. Arwyn smiles sadly.
"Don't worry – I was the only one around, and you didn't say anything too personal." She says, pausing thoughtfully. "You were calling out to people I've never heard of and you . . ." frowning, Arwyn rubs her bottom lip gently. "You started crying." She finishes. By the look on the woman's face, she seems disturbed by the memory.
Huh, so that's why my cheeks are kinda crunchy. Anna thinks. The thought of 'crunch' makes her pale, and she smiles weakly.
"Yeah – I do that sometimes." Anna admits, but not going as far as admitting that she as PTSD. Not that she needs to – she has the stinking suspicion that Arywn already knows. Arwyn's frown deepens.
"I don't like that." She finally says. Anna tilts her head curiously.
"You don't like what?" Anna prompts, confused. Arwyn forces a pained smile.
"The thought of you suffering." She confesses. Anna smiles.
"Thank you." Anna breathes sincerely, her smile widening when Arwyn twitches a shy, lopsided smile. "You know, with your station you can help me from suffering any more." Anna raises her hand when Arwyn makes to argue. "If war breaks out between Iloa and Pryne I'll have to honour my contract with Iloa Jasper had to sign to get me here." A frown twitches at the corners of Arwyn's lips.
"What do you mean?" She asks. Anna blinks, mildly shocked.
"You mean you don't know?" She asks. When Arwyn shakes her head, Anna lets out a small bemused huff. "Huh. Well, it pretty much states that we'll act as a support network in the city, but it also unintentionally means that me and my golems are the city's last tier of defense. So if war breaks, I'm going to be in the worst position anyone could have ever drawn up – I'll be helpless to influence the tides of war until it's too late to be of any use to anyone. At any rate, my fragile sanity will shatter fairly quickly under the pressure. If you can live with that, though, well . . . I can't really stop you from firing your cannons if you really want to." She says, a frown tugging at her lips at the thought. Arwyn shifts uncomfortably.
"I want to help you, but if I sign Pryne into an agreement the king doesn't agree with I'm as good as dead. At the very least I'll be stripped on my position and imprisoned for the rest of my days." Arwyn says, her eyebrows knitting together. "I really do want to help you, but you're going to have to give me something I can work with." Anna nods in understanding.
"Okay." She says. "I'll draw up a fair treaty tonight and have you look at it before I present it tomorrow – that way I won't have to change anything." Arwyn quirks an eyebrow.
"Me agreeing with it doesn't automatically mean that Iloa will." She says. Anna waves off her concern.
"This kingdom is easy enough to appease when it comes to dealing with Pryne – as long as the deal is mostly fair and they know you're going to sign it, they will too." Anna says, passing the kingdom off as a discarded toy. Arwyn's lips quiver as she tries to hold back her humour.
"That's a little harsh, don't you think?" She asks, a smile starting to break over her lips. Anna shrugs.
"I don't care – it's the truth, isn't it?" Anna states, blunt as ever. Arwyn barks a laugh, mirth shining in her eyes. As she stares at the woman, Anna can't stop the watery, thankful smile that spreads across her lips. "Thank you." Anna whispers. Arwyn's humour subdues at Anna's tone and she gives the girl her upmost attention. Anna's smile broadens gently. "After all the shit of the past three days I . . . I didn't know if I was going to be able to make this work, and it hurt thinking I wasn't able to do anything." Anna wipes at her eyes as she starts tearing. "Sorry." She says, chuckling weakly. She feels something soft wiping her cheeks, and she looks up to see Arwyn using an expensive looking cloth to dry her tears. The said woman smiles kindly.
"Don't be." Arwyn whispers gently. "I get it. So . . . just draw up your perfect little treaty you've been threatening me with and summon me when you're ready for me to read it over." Anna feels her heart flutter and she smiles as brightly.
"Thank you." Anna repeats, pouring her heart and soul into the words to try to convey the extent of her gratitude. It seems to work, because Arwyn's eyes mist and she gives Anna a brave, watery smile. She rises from her chair and leans over Anna, pressing her lips gently against the younger girl's forehead.
"You're welcome." Arwyn whispers, patting Anna's cheek gently and straightening. "I'll go get a golem to help escort you back to your room."
Present time.
Anna nods her head to the stack of papers she was working on when Elsa woke up. "So I've been working on this treaty ever since then. I'm almost done it, but that's mainly because I had most of the ideas already – I just never voiced them because Pryne seemed too unreasonable to accept them."
Elsa stares at Anna for a long time before clearing her throat awkwardly and rubbing the back of her neck. "Wow, that's . . . that's a lot to take in." She says, worrying her bottom lip. She stares at Anna tentatively. "How are you holding up?" Anna tries to shrug, but it comes out as more of a jerky twitch.
"Honestly? Not very well." Anna replies sincerely, her eyebrows twisting in thought. "I don't really want to deal with those men again either, let alone sail back with them. I'm hoping Pryne or Iloa will take the lead on that to regain favour with Arendelle and take the men into their custody." Anna says, frowning. Elsa shrugs.
"You can always bring up the issue with Arwyn when you meet with her tonight." She suggests. Then she frowns. "Please don't make out with her in some sort of persuasion technique." Anna blinks and gives Elsa an astonished look before bursting into hysterical laughter.
"I'm already taken by you, dummy!" Anna hoots, holding her stomach as laughter continues peeling through her. She sobers enough to hold up her left hand—showing off her ring—and wriggles her eyebrows suggestively. Then a thought seems to come to her, because she then sends Elsa an annoyed—yet still amused—look. "The way you proposed was dirty, by the way. I didn't like it." Elsa can't help herself – she laughs. The vibration immediately goes to her side, however, and she yelps. Anna's eyes flash with concern as Elsa winces and holds her side tighter. Anna tries to go to her side, but then she yelps when she puts pressure on her leg. She falls back into her chair with a grimace. Elsa chuckles dryly.
"What a lovely pair we make." Elsa says, twitching a faintly amused smile. "How did we get through a war without any major wounds only to succumb to shitty luck?" Anna chuckles and shrugs lightly.
"Because we wanted to be different?" She suggests, amusement lacing her words. Elsa barks a laugh, then winces.
"Ow. Okay, note to self – no more laughing." Elsa says, sending Anna an apologetic smile. Anna twitches a smile and waves off Elsa's worry.
"Don't worry about it – I'm not exactly in a better position than you are right now. But at least I don't have any broken bones." Anna jabs, smirking.
"At least I can walk." She teases, returning Anna's smirk with a devilish one of her own. Anna's mouth drops in mock offense.
"Excuse me, madam – but I am a princess. If I so desired I could have servants carry me to wherever I please!" She huffs and turns her head dramatically to the side. Elsa laughs then, again, winces.
"Okay, as much as I love you – please stop making me laugh." Elsa says, her side now throbbing painfully from the abuse. Anna twitches a self-conscious smile.
"Sorry."—She apologizes, shrugging weakly—"I just missed playing around with you." Elsa's eyes soften, but instead of going sappy Elsa says:
"Well I've missed your head between my thighs." She says, sighing dramatically. "Oh, the scarifies." Anna roars a laugh and slams her hand down on the table in mercy. Elsa smiles kindly. When Anna calms down, she grins broadly before sobering and tapping the peace treaty in front of her.
"I really need to finish this soon. Can you entertain yourself for a bit?" She asks. Elsa is half tempted to make a masturbation joke, but instead she simply nods.
"Of course. Do you need any help with it?" She asks. Anna shakes her head.
"Naw, I pretty much have the thing completed already." She says, smiling gratefully. She's about to turn back to the papers when she pauses. "Actually,"—she starts, slowly—"there is something I might need you to do." Elsa's ears perk in interest.
"I'm listening." Elsa prompts, waiting for Anna to continue. The girl nods.
"I won't need you with this, but when we're in the room tomorrow—"