Alrighty, new chapter! This weekend has been super busy, but I'm hoping to get back to the chapter a day that I was able to do last week. Thanks for all the follows, favorites and reviews! But I'd love even more!
icemaxprime: I'll do my very best to keep things up! The response to this story has been massive compared to any other that I've written.
Frostdraga: Thanks for the review! I can kind of see what you mean. Most of my stories lack fluff, which is something I need to work on. So... Sometime in the next two or three chapters I'll try to include some fluff!
* And I know I said this would be a Elsa central chapter... Yeahhhh... that didn't happen. Sorrrryyy, I couldn't get the pacing right. As a note, the Arendelle and Corona stories aren't happening concurrently, the Arendelle one being slightly behind.
"Your Majesty, they await you."
Elsa stepped into the grand hall, trying not to grimace as Josephus held the door for her. Hundreds of men, wearing a variety of different uniforms, stood in serried ranks in front of the throne. Standing at the front of the waiting men were the three men she detested most of all, Ivan the Brutal, the Duke of Weselton and Prince Helmut, and…
Her breath caught in her throat as she caught sight of Hans, standing slightly behind his elder brother in nearly the same uniform as he had worn to her coronation. His eyes were hard, his face drawn into a sneer as he noticed her look at him.
What a dreadful person… She thought, trying to dispel images from her nightmare.
She forced her feet to move forward, and went to stand by her throne. Looking out over the sea of faces, she saw that Hans was not the only one sneering at her, though the men from Valdiston, all wearing armor, looked impassive.
The Duke of Snake River stood close by her, as did a bandaged and bleary eyed Duke of Draugen. A line of men from Valdiston stood in front of her throne, separating her from the masses.
"Queen Elsa," Her eyes flicked to the Duke of Weselton as he spoke, seeming even tinier than he actually was standing next to Ivan, "We have requested your presence for a very particular reason."
"And what reason is that?" She snapped, doing her best to keep her voice pitched regally.
"Why, your impending marriage of course!" Helmut called from where he stood.
My marriage…
Her eyes narrowed, as her mind moved slowly, oh so slowly.
"We have called council between our three states," She heard Helmut continue, "About what to do with Arendelle. We've decided that a member of one of our households should marry you."
Elsa felt her legs go weak, as realization struck her.
They… they can't do this! She protested to herself.
"Through our deliberations, only one choice came to mind," Helmut continued, nodding towards his brother, "As the King of Weselton does not have an heir, and King Ivan's heir is… indisposed at the moment," She heard Ivan growl, a deep, feral noise, "My younger brother Hans, the only unmarried Prince of the Southern Isles will be your groom, and the King of Arendelle. We thought it appropriate since you two are already acquainted."
For the first time in her life, Elsa's legs buckled, and she fainted.
"Don, wake up!"
Don's eyes popped open, and his hand went to the dagger that he had stuffed between the headboard and the wall. Unsheathing it, he whipped around, confronted by the sight of several people standing in his room.
They shielded their eyes or turned as he stood there, and it took him a foggy minded moment to remember that he'd slept in the buff, as he didn't have any night clothes, and as spring had so suddenly come upon them with its warmth.
"My goodness, Don," He heard Anna say, as she, Rapunzel, Kristoff, Eugene and Olaf did their level best to look everywhere but at him, "Why don't you warn us next time!"
"Warn you, you've broken into my room!" He said, dropping the dagger and grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around his waist, "Haven't you ever heard of knocking?"
"Well, since you're leaving tomorrow morning, we thought we'd surprise you with a little picnic!" She continued, with Olaf adding, "Picnic, yay!"
Don knotted the blanket in front of him, looking down at the scars that covered his upper body.
"I'm semi decent now," He said, a little red faced. The others turned, and he heard the two woman suck air through their teeth as they caught sight of the numerous healed scars across his chest, along with the still red and very sore crossbow wound. When he saw their looks of concern, he just shrugged, "Remember who my father is."
Going to the wardrobe, he pulled out a light and simple set of clothing, white shirt with black pants, and a light and simply vest over that, nearly identical to what the other two men wore.
"You may want to turn around again." He said, as he dropped the blanket, and threw on all of the clothing as quickly as he could. "Alright, totally decent now. Now, what was this about a picnic?"
He felt his stomach grumble, and he heard Kristoff snort.
"They've," He said, gesturing to Eugene and Rapunzel, "Decided to take us to a secret meeting spot outside of the city for the picnic."
"Yeah," Rapunzel put in, "It's where I grew up!"
Don nodded, pulling on his tall black boots, sliding the dagger into them, he stood.
"Well, then let's be about it!" He said cheerfully.
The stable was crowded, with two dozen King's Guards already mounted and waiting for them. Don politely refused to ride in the carriage, and instead quickly saddled a horse, climbing up and into it. It was a big horse, a warhorse from what he could tell, its white coat impeccable.
It looks to be a Percheron, or some mix thereof.
As he spurred it towards the side of the carriage, Eugene looked up at him.
"That there is Minimus," He said, pointing towards another horse that was staring at them, almost sadly from the stables, "He's Maximus' oldest colt, nearly as strong as his father. Be careful though, he may be well behaved now but when…"
Don's legged locked, squeezing tightly across the horses girth, as it rocketed ahead without a command. He soon found himself clutching the reins in one hand and the other holding onto the saddle pommel with white knuckled strength.
The horse seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if it could not believe that he had held on. Don had never been particularly good with a horse, but father and his retainers had drilled him relentlessly in just about every art. He could load and fire a crossbow, a longbow, a ballista or a catapult. He could even use one of the infamous fire launchers, which shot burning liquid at other ships. And if I can do all of that…
…Then by God I can break this horse! He thought, as the horse once again began to buck. Holding on, he could hear laughter as the carriage went by.
On and on the horse did this, with Don holding on, before, slowly but surely, it began to tire, and finally stopped.
"Alright, Minimus," He said, patting the horses mane lightly, "Let's go catch up with the carriage."
The horse whinnied, before complying. Pulling up next to the carriage several minutes later, he looked away, as everyone was staring at him.
"Well, it seems like you've made a friend, haven't you, Minimus?" He heard Rapunzel say, sweetly.
Minimus turned his head slightly, snorting unhappily.
"Oh, stop it you silly horse," Eugene said, tossing Don an apple, "We're almost there."
Several miles passed under hooves and carriage wheels, and they all talked and laughed, speaking loudly and happily.
When Eugene said they had arrived, Don simply knew it was going to be an exciting, a fun day.
Elsa's little fainting spell did not last nearly as long as she had wanted. Her eyes opened to look out over the crowd, to the sneering and jolly faces in the grand hall. The Duke of Draugen, ugly as sin, had caught her, though his arms shook from weakness.
"Your Majesty, I am sorry I could not stop this," He whispered, "But… there is little I can do, now."
Now. She didn't know why, but that word… that word gave her hope. She used the arm of her throne to help herself up, as the Duke held her other arm. As she turned, Hans pushed through the line of guards, a look of concern plastered across his face.
"Elsa…"
"Don't speak my name, you… you…" The crowd shifted slightly, and she turned, finding that her throne was covered in ice. She hadn't meant to do that… But, the ice began to expand, to flow down the thrones legs onto the floor, before expanding. She looked sharply at Hans, hissing through clenched teeth. "Get. Away."
The prince took a step forward, and his face changed. Where moments before there had been a mask of concern, now his face was one of consternation and anger.
"I am to be your King, woman," He ground out, stepping onto the ice "And your husband, you will not speak to me that way."
Her hand seemingly frozen to the chair, she could only glare at him as the crowd looked on.
"I will not be your anything, you pig!" She yelled. Laughter roared across the hall, and she saw Hans grimace, stepping close to her, even as she got her powers under control.
His hand arced up, and she let out an undignified yell as she fell to the floor.
"Don't forget your sister and that oaf she so likes," Han's hissed at her, "If you don't do as we wish, then they will be punished."
She nearly killed him right there, very nearly sent a spike of ice slamming through him, but held back, as… as thoughts of the bloody bodies of her sister and Kristoff laying lifelessly crossed her mind. Looking up at him, she saw how serious he was. He held out his hand, and she took it.
I… I can't do this anymore. She thought, finally giving in.
"Please…" She closed her eyes tightly, "Please don't hurt my sister or Kristoff."
"Then you will do as we say?" Hans said.
"Yes." She said breathlessly. "I'll do anything you ask. Just don't hurt them."
Disgust filled her as Hans turned her to face him, and kissed her. She tried to recoil, tried to push him away, but he was too strong. His tongue probed her own.
No… She thought, as her nightmare became her reality.
Tears ran down her face, even as cheers erupted from the crowd.
"We're so lucky to have men such as these around us…"
Rapunzel smiled, as they watched Don, Kristoff, Eugene and Olaf throw a leather Frisbee back and forth. Anna's words rang true in her own heart, as she watched the way they laughed and smiled.
She turned her head slightly, looking up at the tower that had been her home for those long eighteen years. She'd had it refurbished, as a sort of quasi- summer lodge. A door now sat at its base, Rapunzel having discovered the winding stairs that had lain under her feet for so long, hidden.
It was filled with bitter memories, but also with good ones.
"I don't know what we did to deserve them," She finally responded to Anna's statement, "But I'm thankful every day that we have them. My life would be so different if Eugene hadn't climbed into that window all those years ago. Where would I be, what would I be doing?"
Her little introspection drew a girlish giggle from Anna.
"I sometimes think the same thing." She said. "A little over half a year ago, I hadn't been outside of the castle for a decade. Never been able to smell any flowers except the ones in the castle gardens. Never got to see any light except from the windows or the courtyard. Never got to meet anyone except the servants."
Rapunzel and she sat there for a moment, in a companionable silence, as they both thought of how their lives had changed.
"But now," Anna continued after a moment, "I've… I've met all of you. I met and married Kristoff, and almost got my sister to profess her love to Don… I'm almost as happy as I could be."
"Well," Rapunzel said, leaning back on the cloth they were using as a ground cover, "Once we retake Arendelle, we can all be happy."
Her hand went to her stomach, to the secret that dwelled within, her lips quirking up into a smile. She stood quickly, much to Anna's consternation, and went to the carriage, grabbing her guitar. Returning to sit beside Anna, who looked at her dubiously. She strummed it, tuning it where it had lost its clarity. Then she began to play a tune.
Don's head snapped around, slightly faster than the others. Anna perked up as well, clapping her hands and saying, "I know this one!"
Good…
Midnight
Not a sound from the stonework
Has the moon lost her memory?
She is smiling alone
In the lamplight
The withered leaves collect at my feet
And the wind begins to moan
Don and the others approached as she sang, coming to stand around her. As she started the second verse, Don and Anna joined in. Their voices joining hers in a swirling mass of sound that echoed across the clearing.
Memory
All alone in the moonlight
I smile at the old days
I was beautiful then
I remember
The time I knew what happiness was
Let the memory live again
Rapunzel felt her heart race as Don's voice, like some kind of vocal Horn of Jericho, seemed to smash down the walls of sadness that had grown up around them. She smiled at him, as did Anna, and he smiled back, a toothy grin.
Every street lamp
Seems to beat a fatalistic warning
Someone mutters and the street lamp sputters
And soon it will be morning
They lost themselves in the music, Rapunzel's fingers plucking the guitar strings melodically, the notes seeming to hang in the air over them.
Daylight
I must wait for the sunrise
I must think of a new life
And I mustn't give in
When the dawn comes
Tonight will be a memory too
And a new day will begin
Burnt out ends of smoky days
The stale cold smell of morning
A street lamp dies, another night is over
Another day is dawning
Touch me
It's so easy to leave me
All alone with my memory
Of my days in the sun
If you touch me
You'll understand what happiness is
Look, a new day has begun
They all smiled as they finished, Don holding the not just slightly longer, before finishing. Only Kristoff didn't smile, as he hadn't joined in.
I guess he can't sing, how unfortunate!
"That was beautiful," Anna said, wiping a tear from her eye, "Where did you hear it from, Don?"
He scratched the back of his head, still smiling.
"We had a troupe of singers and dancers come through Valdiston when I was ten," He said, "My mother paid them very well to teach us their songs before they left. That was my favorite."
"I remember reading it out of a book," Rapunzel put it in, "Which will probably still be up there someplace." She opened the picnic basket, which so far had been untouched. "Now, let's eat!"
The song is "Memory" from Andrew Loyd Webers "Cats"