Anna stood up, slightly awkwardly. "Yeah, that's me, well done! So, I'll just do my thing – thanks guys – just sitting here drinking my drink; not in anyone's way… umm…"

Everyone was staring at her, some were frowning, some were glaring. Anna gulped. "So, umm… yeah, great job out there guys! You really showed them a lesson, I'm proud of you!" She gave the nearest person – a tall, intimdating man – a fake punch on the arm. He did not look amused. "Ok-kay… so, how's business? How are you all?"

The silence was broken by Tilda. "So it was you, I should have known."

"I was wondering why you didn't recognise me, actually…"

"You know her, Tilda?" asked one of the woman.

"Yes, she came in a few times in the Summer with that fiancé of hers. Never came back, after the Queen returned. Too busy raising taxes, I suppose."

"Hey, that's not-"

Everyone started talking at once. "Yeah, raising taxes! Just letting us all starve, while you're in that castle of yours with lots of money and food! Just starving your own people, eh?"

Okay, this is not good. Anna remembered to count three, before saying in the most commanding tone she could muster, "Shut up, please."

There was silence again.

"Right. Thanks. Now, first of all, I have nothing to do with those taxes. I actually didn't properly realise what was going on till this morning, and-"

"How could you not have known? We're your own people!"

"I've been sick…" she tried. "I've only just started to recover."

The air was filled with mutters, protests, how-could-yous. Anna bit her lip. The crowd parted slightly to make way for the man who had stood on the table earlier. Anna could see the door over his shoulder; there was no way she could reach it now.

"What are we going to do?" the man said, addressing the crowd more than Anna. There were murmours. "What on earth are we going to do?"

"Nothing?" suggested Anna. "I mean, it's not like I'm going to do anything… I mean, really."

"You are the princess. We are plotting to break into the castle. You heard us. We can't trust you." The man's nose was inches from Anna's face, and she used all her willpower not to flinch, not to back away. "We are doomed."

"Not really, I'm not going to say –"

"We cannot trust you," said the man. His eyes grew hard, narrowing. "You live in the castle, eating three good square meals a day, while we starve in the streets." He stepped away, holding her eyes in his. "And you let us starve." The man spat at her feet.

"Oh Jon," breathed Tilda. Everyone else was silent, glaring.

Anna had never been treated in such a way. Her first impulse was to spit right back in that man's face, stomp her foot, demand he be thrown in the dungeons. But her mind was blank. She gaped at him, something unknown keeping her hands stuck by her side. "I... I didn't want any of this, you know." Her voice came from elsewhere.

"Sure. No really, sure. You sit there, in that castle, doing nothing while we starve." The man's voice was thick, soft, and angry. "I have not had a solid meal for a very long time! And neither have the children! Or the wife!"

"No, I get it, I really do," said Anna, though she wasn't sure did. "My sister… Well, I'm sure you're all old enough to remember those few years ago when the Queen went all 'ice crazy'?"

There was a cautious nod.

"Well, I have a theory that Elsa is going back into that state. And I don't know what caused it, but ever since she came back, she's been… different."

"Yeah, that's pretty obvious, isn't it?"

"Well, I think I might know who's behind it. You see, her chief advisor – Charles, his name is – is responsible for a lot of the taxes, plus he's been really suspicious lately, and –"

"And we don't care who's doing it, we just want it stopped!"

Anna hesitated. "Your name is Jon, am I right?"

"Yeah." He shook his head. "What do I care if you know my name. You're going to kill me anyway. But I don't care. If that's what this country's going to, then I'd rather leave."

"Are you kidding me? I'm not going to kill you!" burst out Anna. "Wherever did you get that nonsense from?"

"I don't know, maybe the fact that you're starving us?"

"I didn't know!" Anna yelled. "I didn't know what was happening! I was sick remember, dying – okay, not dying, but sick enough to bloody not go outside! There!"

"How could you not notice that your sister is killing us?" said Jon, bewildered.

"I don't know. I didn't know, I mean." Anna sighed. "When it happened last time, it just… ended. With her saving me. With love. But now, it's started again and it's been so slow and gradual that I didn't notice. What on earth am I meant to do?"

"What are we meant to do?" said Jon. The room was downcast. "Even if I do believe you, trust you, how am I to know that you won't just take your story straight to the Queen?"

"Well, you have to trust me. You don't have a choice."

"I know," said Tilda. "We know. But you can't just say things like that, it's not right. Not decent. We're people too."

Jon stepped forward. "But what are you going to do?" he asked, with an eerie smile on his face. "We are your people. We are starving. You're our only hope now."

"What… what do you mean?"

"Look at it this way." Jon pushed through the crowd and pulled a woman out, a sickly woman with a desperate complexion and an embarrassed look on her face. "This is my wife, Joan. Joan here has not had a proper meal in a terribly long time."

"Oh, stop it Jon."

"No love, I mean it. Your majesty, you are our only hope. You are our only reach into the royal palace. If you are really, really on our side…" He leaned into her face, noses nearly touching, and continued in a whisper, "Then you will help us."

"Umm… There are a lot of flaws in your plan," said Anna, because she didn't know what else to say.

"It doesn't matter. If we can really trust you, then you will help us."

Anna drew herself up to her full height – she was still at least a head shorter than Jon, but at least she was taller than his wife – and said, "Very well. If that is what it will take to get you to trust me – and mind, your plan is terrible – then I will help you."

The entire room seemed to take a sigh of relief. "Good," said Jon.

"How? How am I going to help, I mean."

"That's your problem."

Anna would have protested, but she was too busy thinking. How can I help… where can I get help…

And the answer came to her like a cease in the middle of a snowstorm. "The trolls."

"The what?"

Anna cleared her throat. "Ahem… Alright everyone, I have no idea how I'm going to help the Queen or any of you, but I know where I can get help."

"Where?"

"The trolls."

/

"This is stupid," said Jon, as he followed Anna through the forest, wading through puddles of melting snow. "There ain't even such things as trolls."

Anna smiled to herself. "Here we are," she said, and stepped out into the entrance to the trolls' place. "Come out!" she called. "Come out little trolls! Come and see me!"

There was silence.

"This is stupid," said one of the rioters. "Can we please go now?"

"Let the princess do her thing," said Jon, though he didn't look pleased. "Your highness, please hurry up."

"Come on trolls! Please come out, please don't be angry with me…" called Anna.

"She's lost it."

"Bonkers."

"Jon, please can we leave?"

"Yeah," said Jon. "Let's leave. Come on, your highness."

"I'm not coming! They're going to come out – Grandpappy!" yelled Anna hopelessly.

The forest didn't reply; simply being still. The clearing's emptiness was somewhat eerie.

"Nope, still no one there," said Jon, and the rioters gave a laugh. "Come on Highness."

"Fine, leave then." Anna folded her arms. "But I'm not going nowhere."

Jon stuck his hands in his pockets and looked at the sky. Then his eyes met Anna's – his tired, strong eyes bore into hers. "Your Highness, we can't just let you leave."

"Sorry?"

"We let you leave," said Jon, "You'll tell the Queen that we're literally going to attack her palace tomorrow. She wouldn't be very happy, I expect."

"Is this a threat?"

"Yes," said Jon. The rioters looked grim. "This is more serious than you think."

Anna thought fast. "Fine," she said. "Fine."

"Good," said Jon. "You can stay at mine. We'll look after you; we're not animals. Just no running off."

With that, he motioned his hand. Two rioters stepped forward – tall men, with fierce eyes – they seized Anna's arms, she tugged and struggled …

Just then there was a great rumbling. Stones knocked against each other and the ground shook.

The men let go of Anna, and the rioters yelled and clutched onto each other in their terror.

There was a loud noise of boulders rolling. Down the stone steps they came, and unravelled at their feet. The rioters yelled. There were little trolls, big trolls, baby trolls – and not one of them looked happy. Anna breathed a sigh of relief, which turned into a gulp halfway. "Umm… where's Grandpappy?"

"He's asleep," said one of the trolls, glaring at Anna. "Which is good for him."

"What's the matter, dear?" said a troll, her face twisted with barely hidden anger. "Why are you so upset?"

With that, the trolls burst into a rousing chorus.

So she's a tad untrustworthy

And we really blame her for that,

Our baby Kristoff,

Our dear old Sven,

Sent off without a hat…

Oo oo ooooo

We're not saying you're all mean,

Even though you really are,

We're just saying that you shouldn't have

Trusted the Queen so far…

People make bad choices if they're

Mad or scared or stressed.

She has lied to you before,

She has lied to you before,

And that is not okay!

Why won't you let him stay!

"This is not about Kristoff!" yelled Anna. "Please don't include him in this!"

The trolls blinked. Another blink. They consulted in a huddle. The rioters whispered among themselves.

So she still doesn't get it

It's a really annoying thing

How can we get her to see that he's not a maniac

Oh my gosh – where is her ring?

Out of the huddle, surrounding Anna, they sang,

What have you done, you are awfully mean!

What have you done with your engagement ring?

It was made by Max,

In a fire of flax,

And was really precious to us all!

So you kicked him out and got rid of the ring,

And that is not okay…

Will you please believe us and take back the one you sent away!

There was a rolling as Grandpappy burst into the scene. Anna – who was nearly in tears, why wouldn't they just stop – knelt down and bowed her head. Grandpappy lifted her chin, and the other trolls were silent. "Dear child," he said. "So much has happened since we have last seen each other."

Anna's throat was caught; she could only nod.

"You want help," he said, "Help to deal with your sister. Questions, so many questions. Well, we must start somewhere."

"I'm sorry," Anna tried, but Grandpappy shook his head.

"It's okay, you won't see Kristoff today." There was a muttering amongst several of the trolls, but he shook his head. "Never mind about him."

"It's just so hard, he had to have – Elsa wouldn't lie to me!" cried Anna, before biting her lip.

"I know," said Grandpappy. "But never mind that now. For the present, let's concentrate on what's happening to your sister."

"Do you know what is? Is it Charles? Of course it's Charles!"

"You must go to the problem," said Grandpappy, ignoring her questions. "The problem is – the reason why the citizens are so angry – is because the taxes are raised to a point where they can't even function anymore."

"Yes, I suppose – but it's also Elsa. She's so different, so changed. I don't know what to do."

"But the problem is that she's raising the taxes." Anna nodded hesitantly. "Well, then, you must confront her and find out why."

"Ye-es, but– "

"You must find it out. Why she needs the money, why she is raising the taxes, what is pushing her to hurt her own people."

"But… but you were meant to tell me that." Anna bit her lip. "You were meant to tell me why. I wasn't meant to find out for myself."

"Sometimes, the only way to fix our problem is to face it head on," said Grandpappy. "This is one of those times. If I told you, the problem would be worse."

And with that, the old troll tucked up and rolled away, the other trolls on his tail. Up the stone steps they tumbled, and Anna was left kneeling on the stone pavings, only able to think why. Why. Why didn't he tell me!

She jumped at a hand on her shoulder.

"Princess Anna." It was Jon, his eyes sorrowful. "I'm sorry I doubted you."

Anna pulled herself together, and stood up. The rioters were huddled together, all of them terrified.

"I will save you," she said, her voice strong. "You just need to trust me. And hold off the attack."

Jon was tired; very, very tired. He nodded, slowly. "Very well, your Highness. We will wait until your orders."

"And trust me, as your Princess."

"We will trust you. Or, at least, I will," said Jon. He looked behind him, at the group of starved citizens. They nodded. Jon turned back to Anna, and looked her in the eye. "We will trust you."

"Good," said Anna. She turned and looked at the empty courtyard. "I know just where to start."