The Red Crocus (Chapter 14)
Author's Note: This chapter is a little shorter than the last few, but this is the perfect cut off point for it. Oh, and my apologies to any one reading this in France. The French people have a diverse and unique culture, but stereotypes can be funny, It's just a joke :-)
Guest: Thank you, I improve with each chapter (I think). It's honestly the reviews from you and my other readers that make me drag my ass to the library and type.
As Always a special thanks to my anonymous Beta.
...
Earlier that afternoon
As Elsa ran out of the room, she encountered Gerta who was carrying a tray with a filled high ball glass and a bottle of vodka (the Queen insists that a traditional tumbler doesn't hold enough.).
"My Queen, will you still be taking your libations in the gallery?"
"Nope." Elsa then lifted the ten oz. fine crystal with gold thread inlays and downed it in one gulp and then hurling it against a wall where it shattered.
"This isn't Kors is it?" Elsa asked in a slur.
"No Your Majesty, its Ketel One. You drank all of the Kors last night."
"And why would you think that this swill would be an ok substitute?" Elsa was becoming a little agitated.
"I am sorry your majesty, but the Sommelier claims that it was the last of the Kors, and that it cost forty one thousand Specidalers per bottle."
"I don't care about the cost, go get… No I can't wait that long, here." Elsa swiped the bottle and started to chug it like a beer.
"Please my Queen, allow me to retrieve another glass from the kitchen. One of your station should not drink straight from the bottle."
"I'm the Queen, I will shotgun this bottle dry and then fill it back up with piss and then dump it on top of Hans' smug head if I choose to do so."
"Well that's a little kinky even for me," Hans chirped in from behind.
Spinning around, and then stumbling a bit Elsa saw the embodiment of everything wrong with her life, while what appeared to be Victoria Vorstad walking towards the exit fixing her blouse.
"So I was thinking that the wedding should be in a week. That should be enough time for all of the important regional dignitaries to arrive," Hans then added.
"Eat a dick Hans." Elsa shoved past the arrogant prince taking another gulp from the bottle as she drunkenly made her way down the hall.
"Well Gerta, I'm glad I came across you. I need this printed up and posted up all over town before nightfall." Hans handed her a slip of paper and turned to walk away. A grin came across his face as he heard Gerta exclaim "SHOW DEM TITTIES!"
….
Approaching a room that was guarded by two BA soldiers, Elsa gave a dismissive wave of her hand and the two men parted opening, the door allowing her, and her alone access. Once the inebriated Queen walked thru, the guards shut the door and resumed their normal post.
Elsa struck a match and lit a candle while she walked towards the marble statue of Olaf. Once the two sisters had argued and said things that didn't really mean, Olaf had started to feel sick, and after a couple of days his flurry disappeared and he simply melted into a puddle of water and then evaporated, leaving behind only a couple of twigs and a carrot lying on the ground.
"Hello Olaf, I'm sorry I haven't visited you in a while, but being a Queen takes up a lot of your time." Elsa let out a sad chuckle. "That and I am usually too ashamed to come see you." Elsa took another big swallow from the bottle of vodka before dropping it to the floor. "I am a terrible Queen to Arendelle; I was a terrible mama to you, and a terrible sister to Anna. And now in a couple of weeks I will be married to the most despicable man in existence, oh what am I going to do? How can I fix things?" Elsa asked in desperation as she started to weep.
"Stop being a little cry baby bitch," a hollow ghostly voice came at her from behind.
Elsa spun around with an ice spike in one hand and ball of sleet in the other. Fear and anger had over ridden her sadness momentarily.
"Who's there, come out now or I'll drop the temperature of this room to two hundred below!"
The hollow voice spoke again, though it had a feminine quality to it and it came directly from the large portrait of her late parents that sat over a table covered with a purple cloth. "We love you, but you have been a full throttle fuck up for the last few months."
"Mama, papa?" Elsa asked in a whisper.
"Yes Elsa, we are here because you have been a very bad girl."
"I had no choice, if I hadn't joined the Baltic Alliance my people would have starved and frozen to death in winter."
"No Elsa, you have been a good Queen," the masculine ghost voice said.
"But you have been a totally lame sister," the feminine ghost voice added.
Elsa's eyes narrowed a bit. "She made her choice, and she's better off without me any way."
"That's a load of bullshit and you know it. You are supposed to love your baby sister, not hide in the castle and drink when things get hard. Nobody likes the drunk chick."
"It's too late now, Anna hates me."
"Anna could never hate you, she wouldn't know how. Anyone who would come to your door every day for ten years loves you and she didn't give up on you then, she didn't give up when you froze her heart, and she hasn't given up on you now. You have given up on yourself."
Elsa was sobbing in guilt. "What do I do?"
"Quit crying, go put on your big girl panties, and go tell her you're sorry. Really Elsa, you're the smart one."
The Queen stood up and wiped her eyes. "I will, I'll fix things with Anna. You'll be proud of me."
"Oh and you should totally give Kai a raise," the masculine ghost voice added.
"Gerta too" chimed in the feminine one.
"Yes mama, yes papa, I will. I'll go find Anna now, I love you both,"
After Elsa ran out of the room, soft laughter and the sound of two wine glasses clinking together could be heard coming from under the table.
…..
The door to Vicky and Anna's cottage swung open as the older brunette walked through, followed by Kristoff who was yelping as Anna repeatedly smacked him in the back of the head.
"You idiot! What the hell did you think you were doing? That Sir Galahad stunt you pulled might just get you killed. You can't just grab a nobleman and start beating the piss out of him, even if he deserved it. Do you know how many times I've been felt up in that bar?"
"I would like to know the answer to that question," Vicky stated with a frown and her arms crossed.
Anna stopped slapping Kristoff's head and blushed a little while fidgeting with her hands. "None since we've been together baby."
Vicky pulled Anna in to a hug and whispered into her ear. "Better not have, those are my titties. No one feels on them but me."
"Ahem," a polite man in his late forties coughed.
Vicky turned to see the man standing there. "Mr. Pitre thank you so much for babysitting."
"My pleasure Ms. Vorstad. I would watch them anytime; the kids are such a delight."
"Our kids?" Anna asked with a look of shock.
"Oh yes, Ms. Vorstad; little Wilma woke up about an hour ago and we sat in the living room reading 'Little Red Riding Hood'."
"Make sure that you still have your wallet," Anna instructed.
"ANNA!" Vicky blurted in embarrassment.
"Now, now, even the most rambunctious child has their moments of peace. As with all things, children must be taught to find a happy medium." Mr. Pitre said with a smile.
"Of course Mr. Pitre. Again thank you for coming over so late."
"My pleasure. Ladies, Mr. Bjorgman, have a pleasant night."
After the man left Anna started smacking Kristoff again. "Stupid, stupid, stupid."
"Anna, I couldn't just stand by and…"
"That is exactly, what you were supposed to do. Damn it Kristoff I couldn't bear the thought of losing you, you're my best friend."
"Anna, what's done is done. Beating up Kristoff isn't going to change anything," Vicky said as she walked over to the living room's liquor cabinet.
"Besides I have a rare treat," the brunette said as she held up a bottle of vodka with a golden cross made from leaves and the words 'Exclusive property of Her Royal Majesty Queen Elsa of Arendelle'.
"KORS!" Anna squealed in delight.
"Wait, Vicky I thought that no one outside the castle could get a bottle of that imported any price," Kristoff asked as he eyed the bottle of super-premium spirits.
"Oh I might have worked out something with the Royal Sommelier," The olive skinned woman said with a cheshire grin.
"Oui mademoiselle Vorstad that is the exclusive private stock of Queen Elsa," the French born Royal Sommelier answered as he made a poor attempt to nonchalantly checkout the sides of her breast through a gap in her blouse. In her rush to get away from Hans she had missed a button.
Vicky continued to speak as she palmed the handmade crystal bottle, while pretending to not notice the Frenchman's leering gaze. "Was it also enjoyed by the former Princess?"
"But of course, it is Princess Anna's favorite vodka. Alas, the poor chéri will never get to drink it again. The Princess, she was such a fun loving girl, like a little ray of sunshine."
"She still is. Maybe we could make her happy."
"Sûrement pas! The Queen, she would turn me into a cup of sorbet."
Vicky frowned a little, and then smiled. She was getting her Anna that bottle, and that's all there was to it. The brunette reporter then looked down at her blouse.
"Oh would you look at that my button came loose."
Vicky stepped closer as the Sommelier inhaled deeply. "Are you sure we can't come to an arrangement?" Vicky asked as she loosened the button above the open one. The fabric of her bra was showing.
"Please mademoiselle, I… I cannot do such a thing, Queen Elsa, she would become furious, she really does like her vodka."
Giving a seductive glance to the Sommelier, Vicky started to button up her shirt, "That's such a shame. I was going to take you into the pantry and let you look at me naked while you beat on your baguette."
"Well I'm sure the Queen won't notice one missing bottle."
"Now that's more like it, but no touching got it?"
"Oui, oui, the Princess, she would beat me with a crêpe pan, no?"
"I knew you would be thrilled baby," Vicky said to Anna.
"Yes I'm thrilled. Hey Kristoff when's the last time you had KORS?"
"The night of the ball."
"I hope it's as good as the two of you are making it out to be,"Vicky said with a shake of her head as she retrieved three tumblers from cupboard. Because I'm still covered in French white sauce.
…..
Hans and Duke Hubert were standing over a map of northern Europe, which was spread out across a table in his study.
"So once we move the second fleet around this cove, Corona will have all of its resupply lines blocked, and within a month Queen Rapunzel will be begging to sign on as a vassal to the Alliance," the Duke of Wesselton said as he pushed a battleship figurine with a croupiers' rake towards the coast of Corona."
"Excellent Hubert, once we seize control, we should have Prince Consort Eugene executed to show that we mean business."
"And I will then take Rapunzel as my bride."
Hans grinned from ear to ear. "You sly old devil, I thought there might be some life left in you after all."
Suddenly the door burst open and a sniveling noble in a powered wig fell through.
"Yancy!" Hubert shouted as he walked over to his nephew.
"Someone sure worked you over," Hans mused, taking in the Count's blackened eyes and swollen face.
"Th… that stupid ice harvester, Elsa was engaged to beat me up. I have already sent a squadron of soldiers to arrest the peasant ruffian."
"Why, I didn't even know you had be acquainted?" the Duke asked.
Once Yancy explained what had happened Hubert started to go off on a tirade about punishing the brutish mountain man until Hans interrupted him.
"Actually that may be a problem. The Office of Royal Ice master carries the equivalency of an Earl, an office he was never removed from. So technically he is a nobleman, a low stationed one, but none the less high enough for the Arendellen peerage to take notice. We are doing so well because almost all of Arendelle's noble class supports us but that might not be the case if we make them think that we will come after them. Oh and let's not forget that this is the man Elsa is in love with. Making that frigid bitch subservient is one thing but if we take it too far… well it's kind of like poking a bear with a stick."
"A bear with magical ice powers, so of course you are all frightened," an unfamiliar voice says from the corner.
Hans, Hubert, Yancy, and two BA soldiers who had been remaining quiet up to that point all turned to see a man that had not been there a minute beforehand, The Jester.
"You're that terrorist, that blew up the Navy's Flagship on the day we arrived," the Duke of Wesselton said with a pointed finger.
"Terrorist is such a horrible term."
"But an accurate one. Shouldn't you be off bugging the Red Crocus or something?" Hans asked with an amused grin.
"That's who I came to converse with you about."
"I don't have conversations with insane peasants." Hans then turned to his soldiers and spoke with a dismissive gesture. "Kill him."
As the soldier drew their swords and walked towards the masked man, the Jester side stepped the first one and within one fluid movement he spun behind the BA soldier and extended the blade from his marotte allowing it to enter from the back and exit thru the front of the man's neck. Observing the death of his partner in such a horrible fashion the other soldier lifted his broadsword high and took a wild swing at the Jester who dodged by crouching fast and then came back up to plunge his sword through the man's left eye and exiting through the back of the skull.
Duke Hubert's jaw hit the floor, while Hans cocked his head slightly.
"Ok, I guess I do have conversations with insane peasants."
The Jester leaned down to clean the blood off of his sword before allowing it to slide back into his marotte. "I was wondering if you would like to know where the Crocus is going to show up before his arrival."
"Of course we do. That menace must be stopped." Hubert said in an excited voice.
"What do you know about the Crocus?" Hans asked while he leaned against his desk.
"More than I am going to tell you. I will however tell you that dismissing the incident with the ice harvester is a wasted opportunity. Bjorgman is special to the Crocus, special enough to protect."
Yancy then looked over and said with a scoff, "Oh and how would you know that?"
"Because I know who the Crocus is, and no, I won't tell you, have to figure that out on your own."
Hubert became flabbergasted. "Then why would you help us at all."
"To maintain the balance between good and evil."
Hans then quickly withdrew a flintlock pistol from his desk and pointed it at The Jester. "Screw the balance. Start talking."
The Jester just chuckled and made a quick lunge towards Hans fast enough to make the Prince pull the trigger.
CLICK
Everyone but the Jester looked at the pistol in shock.
The masked clown gave a laugh. "Son, that pistol was empty before you even entered the room." He then disappeared in a sudden cloud of smoke.
Waving his hand back and forth Hans muttered "Weirdo" before he looked over to his fellow Coregent. "How does knowing any of this help? Who gives a shit if the Red Crocus is friends with the Ice Master?"
Hubert walked over to the coffee service sitting in the room and started to prepare a cup. "In the old days a man could be publicly flogged for assaulting someone of a higher station."
Hans looked over to Yancy's beat up face and smiled. "Well a Count is a higher than an Earl. Tell me Yancy, when did you send the security force after Bjorgman?"
"Right before I walked in here, I sent them to find that bitch ex- Princess. I think he left with her."
"Well we should head over there. Perhaps Ms. Vorstad would like some company." Hans suggested.
Duke Hubert then rubbed his palms together. "And I shall have the pleasure of being the first noble to make that uppity reporter Show Dem Titties."
"Beat you to it," Hans said as he slipped on his coat.
"Damn"
….
Crystalline hooves exploded into snowflakes as Elsa's Pegasus touched down and then disintegrated in front of Vicky and Anna's house. A maelstrom of emotion swirled around in the young Queen's head. Anger, pain, love, betrayal, happiness were all present but it was overshadowed by one feeling -how much Elsa missed her baby sister.
Taking a deep breath Elsa walked up to the door of the blue and green cottage and knocked on the door.
After a few moments the door opened, and Anna saw her sister for the first time in seven months. Both women stood there in silence while water filled their eyes.
"Baby who is it?" Vicky called as she walked up to the threshold and saw Elsa standing there.
"Elsa," the only word Anna or Kristoff could get out.
The Queen stood there in total shock. She had expected to see Anna, and she was prepared to see Anna. She was not prepared to see Anna and Kristoff at the same time. Elsa stepped back as her sister and ex- fiancé walked out on to the porch. Remembering her promise to her parents Elsa was going to fix this, and the first step was to apologize.
"I'm sor…"
"Seize him" A rough voice said filling the air moments before an arm grabbed Kristoff's shoulder and two muskets were pointed at his head. More than a dozen Alliance soldiers had appeared out of the darkness of the moonless night.
"Kristoff Bjorgman, by order of the glorious overlords, and Her Majesty the Queen. You are under arrest."
By this point Hans and his entourage had arrived at the cottage, and the Prince was just close enough to hear Elsa speak to her sister.
"What? Wait No…" Elsa was turning her head back and forth in confusion; the BA Security Force was the last thing she had expected to see.
"Elsa! You brought troops with you?" Anna said in an alarmed voice. Even though their relationship had been strained a bit, she would never think such a betrayal was possible.
"Anna no, I…"
Seeing this as opportunity to keep Elsa isolated and easier to control, Hans spoke loudly with his standard grin. "Excellent work darling. Everyone, I think Queen Elsa deserves a round of applause, not just a pretty face and a crown; oh no our good Queen has proven herself a loyal and valuable asset to the Baltic Alliance."
"Here, here" Duke Hubert chimed in as he Hans dismounted their horses while all the soldiers started to clap.
"No Anna, I didn't…" Elsa started and then abruptly stopped as she saw Hans standing behind Anna holding his left index finger to his lips while he pointed a flintlock at the back of her little sister's head.
"Then what's going on?" By that point Vicky had walked out to stand next to Anna and face Elsa, neither woman seeing the pistol only inches from Anna's skull.
Hans cocked his head while he stared at Elsa from behind Anna and her wife. The evil smile Hans was almost saying "go ahead, I dare you".
Elsa just held her head in silence knowing that she had to let Anna think that she was involved. After a few silent seconds rage overcame the petite ginger, and she slapped Elsa across the cheek.
"YOU FUCKING TRATIOR! I HATE YOU!"
"NO!" Anna screamed as she turned towards the soldiers holding on to Kristoff charging towards them, ready to fight every last one, including her turn coat sister with her bare hands.
"NO Anna!" Vicky tackled Anna like a football player and held on to the petite redhead for dear life. "It'll be ok baby, it'll be ok."
"Vicky let go!" Anna tried to squirm free from the older woman's grasp, something that she could easily do, but not without hurting the brunette.
"This isn't the way Anna, well do something. Vicky spoke soothingly as she gently stroked Anna's hair trying to calm her down.
Hans ignored Elsa's glare as shackles were placed on Kristoff's hands. "Take him to the castle dungeon."
Elsa held her head silently in shame as Anna screamed while still on the ground wrapped up in Vicky's arms "YOU FUCKING BITCH, HOW COULD YOU? I HATE YOU! I WISH I HAD LEFT YOU ON THAT MOUNTIAN! I SHOULD HAVE LET HANS KILL YOU ON THE FJORD! I HATE YOU, YOU FUCKING CUNT!"
Each word sliced into Elsa like a razor, she had never thought Anna capable of such seething hatred and anger
Smiling cheerfully, Hans addressed Elsa smugly. "Well darling, this seems like a private matter between you and your sister. Men fall out."
Elsa said nothing to Hans as he and his men rode away with Kristoff, because at this point Vicky had helped Anna to her feet and was walking her inside, the girl was sobbing uncontrollably by then.
Approaching the two women Elsa tried to speak, "Anna wait."
Over the wails of anger mixed with sorrow and painful sadness coming from her wife. Vicky's face hardened. She had had enough of noblemen and royals hurting her Anna.
"Oh why don't you just go have another drink."
The door slammed shut in Elsa's face. Standing on the porch the pale blonde looked through the front window in silence as Anna sat in the living room floor crying, her wife and two children holding her as she wept and sobbed. Elsa stood motionless as Anna's loved ones held on to the girl, comforting her. Tears started to roll down Elsa's own cheeks as she realized that 'Anna's loved ones' no longer meant her.
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