New chapter? Why yes it is! Enjoy.


Chapter 11 – Setting Sail


Anna was still lying in bed trying to rub away her slight hangover when she bid Kai to enter her rooms. He stepped in and gave a small chuckle at the groaning redhead as she rolled over onto her back and wiped at the trail of drool on her chin.

"I'm sorry, Anna. Did I disturb you?" She shook her head and yawned.

"No, no.." She grumbled. "Just waiting for an excuse to get out of bed." She stretched her arms over her head before dropping them over her eyes in a vain attempt to block out the sun shining onto her face as Kai pulled open the curtains. She let out an almost mute growl of pain and annoyance.

"Ah, well her Majesty is requesting your presence in her study at your earliest convenience." Anna quickly popped up, teal eyes wide and no longer hazy with sleep and lingering drunkenness.

"Her Majesty?" Anna parroted. Kai nodded. "Did she say for what?" She wondered at the head servant who merely shook his head.

"She did not. I must go attend to breakfast, Lady Anna" Her lips quirked at her new title. Kai left and she was quick to leap from the bed searching for her new outfit from the night before. Still quite crisp and despite a slightly drunken stupor near the end of the night, still clean she happily found.

She dressed in the suit quickly and managed to tame her hair into its usual twin plaits. She stopped to admire the two metals pinned to the coat on the left side of her chest. Both pinned to the jacket by Elsa after the ceremony. One a gold 8 pointed star with a black enameled crocus at its center, the decoration that told all who saw her that she was a knight of the kingdom of Arendelle.

The second a triangular purple ribbon with gold stripes held a silver medal in the shape of two crossed swords to her chest, the symbol of utmost valor and loyalty, Anna was reluctant to accept it but Elsa insisted that for saving her life from the two bandits Anna had earned it.

She stood proudly in front of the mirror. Lucian would be proud of her. She grinned before slipping into her boots, strapping her sword to her waist and running from her rooms. She couldn't keep her queen waiting.

Servants gave nods and greetings of 'Lady Anna' to her as she passed. Her chest swelled in pride. She grinned widely and nodded to all as she galloped through the corridors to Elsa's study. It seemed a little strange to her that Elsa couldn't simply speak to her at breakfast as she usually did. It was either important or had to do with last night in the very room for which she was heading.

This caused Anna to come to an abrupt stop. She didn't remember everything about the party the night before but that, she remembered with precise clarity. Her lip was sporting a small cut where Elsa's tooth had caught her when she'd assaulted the redhead's lips. She hadn't noticed it until much later.

Now that the alcohol induced fog had lifted, did Elsa regret it? Did she want to speak in private just to tell her that it had been a mistake that was never to be repeated between them?

Anna wrung her hands together, nerves tingling, but not in the pleasant way they had last night after kissing the queen. She forced her feet onward to the end of the hall where Elsa's study was. She hesitated, looking at the door as though it would leap out and bite her. She took a deep breath and gave a few quick nervous knocks, unaware of the smile that flittered across the queen's face on the other side when she looked up, knowing Anna had arrived.

"Enter" filtered through the door to Anna's ears. She opened the door a few inches and poked her head inside, teal eyes roving nervously over Elsa's face.

"You needed me?" Elsa nodded. Anna slipped inside, closing the door quietly behind her, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth.

"I realize today is only your first as a true knight of Arendelle but already I have need of you, Anna." All the tension in her body seemed to evaporate. This didn't have anything to do with last night.

"I'm yours to command, my queen." She gave a sweeping bow that had Elsa, despite the small smile on her lips, rolling her eyes at the overly dramatic gesture.

"I'm pleased to hear it. I'll be leaving in a few hours to travel to see the Duke of Weselton, one of our trading partners." She informed Anna as she scribbled on the documents before her. Anna blinked.

"And I'm supposed to… what?" She scratched the back of her head trying to figure out why Elsa was telling her this. Elsa glanced up at the confused knight and smiled.

"I need you to come with me as my personal guard. You are of course well aware of what happened the last time I was outside the castle walls." She remembered very well, that was how all of this had begun.

"Oh, of course. I should go and gather my things than?" Elsa nodded.

"Yes. We will be gone for five or six days at the least." Anna nodded but was still curious.

"If I may ask though…" Elsa glanced up at her. "Why couldn't you just tell me about this at breakfast?" Elsa glanced out her window and pursed her lips.

"Olaf gets a bit upset when I have to leave the castle. I don't tell him I'm leaving until the last possible minute to avoid that." With that said her eyes returned back to the documents before her. Anna gave an affirmative nod and turned to return to her rooms and gather her things, she was stopped at the door.

"Anna." She looked over her shoulder at the young queen. "You seemed quite relieved when I told you what I wanted you for, were you… worried about something?" Anna ran her tongue over the barely scabbed nick on her lip before turning to face her monarch.

"Oh, um…" Elsa set the pen and paper down, showing her full attention to the woman before her. Anna cleared her throat. "I was just a little… worried that you were… regretting last night." Elsa furrowed her brows in confusion. Anna flushed running her tongue over her suddenly dry lips and glancing anywhere but the queen. Arctic blue orbs widened in sudden realization heat crawling up her own neck.

"No. No, not at all do I regret that, Anna." A small smile slid onto Anna's face. Immense relief flooded her being. "We… we do need to talk about that though." Well that didn't last long. Her stomach immediately tightened into knots at the way the words left Elsa's lips. Her face was obviously mirroring her insides as Elsa frowned deeply and stood from her desk walking up to the troubled knight.

She hesitated a moment before pulling off her right glove and cupping Anna's cheek in her palm, her warm skin hot against Elsa's cool palm.

"Don't look so stricken..." She smiled gently, thumb running over a soft freckled cheek. "I didn't mean anything negative by that. This..." She nodded to her hand on the redheads face. "Simply must be discussed before anything else." Anna gave a single nod, right hand resting over top Elsa's own. A momentary boost in confidence had her head turning to lay a quick kiss against the cool palm. Elsa's blush returned full force at the feather touch of Anna's lips against her sensitive flesh. She cleared her throat pulling back, eyes locked onto Anna's smirking face.

"You had best go and gather your things. Meet me in the dining hall when you're finished."

"As you command." Elsa gave a mock glare at the grinning knight before she left the study.


Anna sat in her chair just as breakfast was about to be served. Neither Olaf nor Elsa had yet to arrive. Some guards had already come and taken her lone bag to load onto the ship they were taking to Weselton, and she'd asked Kai for someone to feed her lizard while she was gone as well as continue Olaf's training. He was only running after all.

She propped her head up on her palm and tapped her fingers against the polished wood. She wondered how upset Olaf would be if Elsa had to employ tactics like this one.

The boy seemed far too upbeat to allow himself to feel down about anything. All Anna could do, was wait. She didn't need to wait long. A few minutes later Olaf came bounding into the dining room with his sister on his heels.

"Anna!" He ran straight to Anna, wrapping his thin arms around her waist. Anna grinned, ruffling his hair.

"Good morning to you as well, Olaf." Elsa sat in her chair and Olaf was quick to run to his seat underneath the table as their meals were place down. Breakfast went as it usually did, Olaf and Anna in verbal battle with the occasional comment from the queen. Anna wondered when Elsa would tell the young prince of their impending departure, but wondered no more when Olaf finished his breakfast and immediately looked up.

"We're going to start on my training again today right, Anna?" Said woman paused glass to her lips. Her eyes cut to Elsa, who caught her teal gaze and gave a quiet sigh before dismissing the servants from the room, no need for them to bear witness to what she had no doubt would happen.

"I'm afraid your training will have to wait a little while longer, Olaf." He looked questioningly at his sister. "I'm leaving for Weselton and I need Anna to accompany me." An oppressive quiet filled the dining hall. Anna glanced back and forth between the queen and prince who had his head bowed. The quiet finally broke with a quiet sniffle. Elsa bit her lip as the sniffling increased before being replaced with a quiet sobbing. Elsa rose to collect her brother but he jumped from his chair and ran from the dining hall sobbing.

"Why is he so upset?" Elsa glanced at her and sighed, wrapping her arms around her middle.

"He always gets that way, ever since he was able to understand what became of our parents." Anna grunted in understanding. Elsa looked quite upset by what had just transpired and Anna wanted nothing more than to comfort the rattled queen, but was unsure if she would be welcome.

"Are you... going to go after him?" Elsa shook her head sadly.

"I've tried before. He won't talk to me, not until I return." Elsa sighed and straightened up.

"I have to do a last few things before we depart. I will meet you at the gates in a half hour." She was quick to exit, leaving Anna sitting quietly alone in the dining hall. Her fingers again tapping against the wood before she made up her mind quickly exiting herself and striding quickly down the hall to Olaf's bedroom.

She could hear the muffled sobbing through the door. She gave a light knock. A quiet cracking voice filtered through the door.

"G-go a-a-away, Elsssa" Anna cringed at the sobbing and hiccupping that followed the warbling cry. She quickly opened the door and slipped inside shutting it noiselessly behind her.

"I hope since I'm not Elsa that it's okay for me to come in." She mumbled quietly. Olaf was huddled on his bed, face buried into the pillow. He looked up at her before burying his face back into the already soaked fabric, but Anna was able to get a look at his red puffy eyes welling over with tears.

He was more than upset now. The small prince felt shame burning up inside him. His hero was looking at him as he bawled his eyes out. He couldn't find the words to tell her to go away though.

Anna pursed her lips as she walked carefully over the toys strewn about the floor to sit on the bed. He flinched when the bed shifted under her weight. She wasn't really sure what to say. She'd never spent a lot of time around children.

She reached out a hand and gently patted his back.

"You're worried about your sister?" He gave a small nod as he continued to sob into the pillow. "You don't need to be worried, Olaf." He continued to cry but he turned his head, watery blue eyes looked up at her. Her heart clenched at the sight. "I'm a knight now. A Knight of Arendelle. Do you know what that means?" His cries were losing intensity. He shook his head. She smiled at him.

"It means that I live to serve and protect this kingdom, and its royal family." She picked him up and sat him on her lap wiping at his tear stained cheeks with the sleeve of her coat. He continued to sniff and hiccup but the tears ceased to fall.

"That means that no matter what, I will protect you and your sister. So long as I'm breathing nothing bad will happen to her, I swore it last night, and I'm swearing it to you right now." He gave a final sniff before burying his face into her chest his arms wrapping tightly around her neck squeezing mercilessly.

"You won't let anything bad happen to Elsa?" His voice muffled by the fabric of her uniform. He pulled back to look at her. She grinned.

"Never" He gave a small watery smile before wiping his nose on his sleeve. Anna gave a snort before standing up, setting Olaf on the floor on his feet. "Elsa was really upset too. I bet you she'd be quite happy if you came to see us off." He smiled broadly and nodded.

He followed her to the gates where a chariot and Elsa were waiting to take them to the docks. Olaf bolted past Anna and ran headlong into his sisters knees, nearly knocking her over in the process. She stared down at the white hair in utter shock as he hugged her legs and wished her well on her trip. Once she could overcome the stun she looked up questioningly at Anna who gave a sheepish grin and a shrug.

Elsa couldn't help the adoring smile on her lips in the face of the redhead's modesty. She didn't know what Anna did, but it didn't matter. Her precious baby brother was no longer holed up in his room bawling his eyes out, and for that she felt even more indebted to the woman before her.

"I'll miss you Elsa, but I know Anna will protect you." He smiled up at her. "She swore to me nothing bad would ever happen to you while she was breathing." Elsa smiled gently at the young prince.

"Then you and I both have nothing to worry about, do we? Not so long as we have Anna to protect us." Olaf nodded his head frantically. He couldn't agree more. Anna looked anywhere but at the siblings, her face growing warm, wholly unused to the praise both royals were heaping onto her.

A guard cleared his throat and Elsa glanced up before nodding. She leaned down and squeezed her brother in a quick embrace before laying a kiss on his cheek and a whispered farewell. She stepped back and gave him a smile.

"We should be leaving now, Anna." She nodded following the queen. She ruffled the princes' hair as she passed, he giggled and she grinned. "See ya in a few days, Olaf." He waved before a guard escorted him back into the castle.

A guard helped Elsa into the chariot and Anna followed. The door shut behind her and she settled herself onto the cushioned bench across from Elsa. It was only a minute or so before they began moving. The moment they did Elsa was on her feet and the next thing Anna was aware of was the overpowering scent of winter and mint. She blinked. Stunned. Elsa wrapped her arms tighter around the young knight's neck, her lips brushing her ear.

"Thank you, Anna." Her voice cracked. "I don't know what.. I.. just... just, thank you." Anna wrapped her arms around the other woman's waist.

"You don't have to thank me. I didn't really do anything." She shrugged under Elsa who gave a short barking laugh. She shook her head, pulling back to stare into bright teal eyes, her hands cupping the younger woman's cheeks.

"You've done more than you think." She smiled, eyes shining with unshed tears.

"I just didn't… want the both of you to be… upset." It sounded lame even to her own ears, but it's the truth none the less. She found herself again wishing to be more eloquent. Elsa giggled, hand pulling back to cover her mouth. The corners or Anna's mouth twitched upwards at that funny little ingrained habit she had of covering every twitch and sound of her mouth.

"That's adorable." Arctic blue eyes widened in surprise at the seemingly random comment. Anna wanted to slap herself realizing she'd voiced her thought. "That… was supposed to stay inside my head.." The queen smirked before pulling back altogether, but rather than retreat back to her seat on the other side, she deposited herself next to Anna.

"Yes well, we need to… talk about that, and now would be as good a time as any." She smoothed out the imaginary wrinkles in the skirt of her dress.

"Okay…" Anna waited for what she was going to say. The silence was tense. Anna fidgeted.

"What happened last night in my study…" She paused glancing everywhere but at Anna, speaking in what Anna would only call her authoritative voice. "It was not… unpleasant." She finally looked at Anna who was blinking slowly. Trying to comprehend the tone and words, it sounded so rehearsed and stiff. Anna slumped, maybe she had misread everything and Elsa was simply trying not to hurt her feelings.

"So…" Anna scratched her neck, frowning and desperate for something to do with her hands. Elsa panicked when she realized that she had definitely not said that right. She laid her hand on Anna's forearm, drawing the knight's attention back to her.

"I… enjoyed.." She pursed her lips looking for the right words, which were harder to find than she had hoped. "Last night was… wonderful, Anna. And should happen more often." She smiled when Anna burned a bright red.

She fidgeted in her seat as Elsa smiled as her. "I suppose it wouldn't be too far a leap than if I were to express an interest in courting you…" This time it was Elsa that rapidly changed colors. Anna sat unaware as the red reached into her hairline.

"I mean… I understand if not. I'm not like, a prince or anything… I can't offer you any fancy or elaborate courting gifts or anything… Just me…" Her confidence was fast dissipating the longer Elsa sat quietly, letting her ramble. "That was stupid of me to say, just never mind it all..." A pair of hands clapped against her cheeks forcing her to stare into icy blue eyes.

She was still quite red but managed to smile at the freckled face in her hands.

"I like 'just you', Anna. That's gift enough. Princes aren't all there cracked up to be, and there are far worse people to be courted by than a brave, noble and kind knight… I accept your pursuit." Anna grinned goofily. "This doesn't need to be a secret, but it would be best to not tell just anyone." Anna nodded in understanding.

The chariot came to a slightly jerky stop, signaling their arrival at the docks. Elsa leaned forward and pressed a kiss against the scar across Anna's nose, flashing a small smile before quickly moving herself back to her seat on the other side. A guard knocked announcing their arrival before the door opened. Anna was quick to follow Elsa out onto the dock. She stared up in wonder at the large ship. She'd travelled plenty but always by foot. She'd never been on the ocean before.

A guard led them up to the gangplank and bid his monarch and the knight a well trip.

Anna smiled excitedly. She had a feeling she was going to like the sea.


New chapter for ya great peoples. Hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter much sooner than this one.

~Malthazar LOS.