Chapter 21: The Two Queens

"Thank you for your time, your majesty," the man concluded as he bowed.

Elise drummed her fingers on the armrest of her throne as the man was ushered away. Her head rested in her other palm in an unprofessional pose that only the most oblivious wouldn't take for obvious boredom.

That's one more down. And too many more to go by the looks of it.

"You could at least pretend," Anna spoke up from her seat beside the throne as the man was led out of earshot. It was actually thrones now, however, one of them was currently unoccupied.

It was true that Elise wasn't making any effort and it was unfortunate for those that were attempting to petition the crown this day for it was Queen Elise's turn to hold court with the citizenry. Elise simply was not concerned with the little details; she had her attention on the larger, broader issues like foreign relations and diplomacy. The finer details of domestic policy were Elsa's realm. That was Elise's school of thought ever since she took the throne over a month ago.

Elise sighed before turning to Anna. "Let's not pretend your sister isn't any more enthused with holding court for the common folk," Elise answered. That was true, since Elsa did prefer holing herself up in her study all day.

"Your wife may be shy, but at least she is genuine with her subjects," Anna retorted.

"Eh..." was Elise's only response as she waved Anna's opinion off with a dismissive swish of her hand. Anna just rolled her eyes.

"I might as well hold court myself from now on," Anna murmured to herself.

"Hmm?"

"I mean, between your inattention and Elsa's...Elsaness, I'm wouldn't be surprised if people aren't just coming to see me," Anna continued, more to herself than Elise.

Elise smirked. "There's a reason we make you attend after all," she taunted, knowing full well that Anna was trying to push her buttons.

"Oh, really now?" Anna asked. "And here I thought I was just here to look pretty."

"Well, of course not. That's what Elsa and I are here for," Elise jested. "You're the one supposed to be listening."

"Oh, you just wait till Els hears about this!" Anna huffed as she crossed her arms. "There'll be no sex for you tonight."

Elise looked sharply at the princess. "Anna!" she scolded under her breath. "Cut it out, we're in public."

"Oh, no one can hear us, besides-"

Anna was suddenly cut off at the sound of a commotion coming from the gathered crowd of citizens eagerly awaiting to seek forum with the crown.

A man had forced his way out of the crowed. He was screaming at the top of his lungs, "Norway belongs to the Norwegian people! Arendelle has split this country for too long! Down with these incestuous witches! Norwegians for Norway!"

He was heading straight for the throne and Elise was quick to jump up and step in front of Anna. Though it was a useless gesture as he barely made it outside of the designated waiting area before being tackled by several guards. They didn't need to wait for the queen's command to haul him away, however, he continued to kick and scream until he was forced out of the throne room.

As his screaming faded away, the only sound that remained was the murmur of the crowd, which also ended as soon as the yelling faded completely. Anna had jumped up as well and was now hanging onto Elise's arm in defense.

"Queen Elise, Princess Anna, are you okay?" one of the head guards asked as he came up to the sisters.

"We are fine. I don't believe he was a threat, I didn't see any weapons. However, make sure he is dealt with appropriately," Elsa commanded. "Kai?"

"Yes, your majesty?" Kai asked as the head guard bowed and took his leave to carry out his orders.

"We're done for the day. Give apologies to those that didn't get to see me, then escort them out," she ordered. "Anna and I are leaving."

"Very well, your majesty," Kai answered, bowed, and then left.

Elise immediately turned and strolled out with Anna in tow before any kind of official ceremony could be conducted. There was certain decorum that was supposed to be followed while conducting court. Elise figured there was no better time when that decorum could be ignored.

The incident had Elise more annoyed than shaken up. The same couldn't be said for Anna and that was what made Elise's anger rise. She didn't like when people scared her little sister.

"I really don't think he meant to hurt us," Elise assured to Anna after a few minutes of walking in silence. At the moment, Elise wasn't leading them to any particular destination.

"I know, I just hate when I hear those nasty rumors about you two," Anna explained and Elise could tell her shock was soon turning into her anger.

"Uh, those rumors are true, Anna," Elise corrected her.

"But they don't know that! They know they're spreading lies, even if they're technically right. But that's not the point, the point is they're blasphemous. I mean, what are they trying to accomplish?"

Elise considered her response. It was a complicated situation. "You know what, Anna, let's forget about it and go find Els. See if she's done her work," Elise suggested.

"Alright, fine," Anna agreed.

It didn't take the pair long before they ran into Elsa in the hallways on the way to her study.

"Oh, Elsy, Anna. I was just looking for you two," Elsa greeted with a carefree smile. "I heard you guys had a little incident at court. It's my understanding that everything's okay, correct?"

Word traveled fast. "Don't even get me started on it," Anna remarked.

"That bad, huh?" Elsa asked.

"Well no, I think Anna is exaggerating just a little," Elise pointed out causing Anna to fold her arms and huff at Elise. "She's a little worked up, but it was nothing really."

"Well, you can tell me all about your day now. I know how much you love holding court," Elsa teased. Elise rolled her eyes.

"Oh, good, you're done for the day, too?" Anna eagerly asked. Holding court was the last thing Elise – and Anna – had planned for the day. At the same time, Elsa had been in meetings and dealing with paperwork. They all had other things on their mind.

"Yes, our evening is completely free. What do you want to do?" Elsa asked. Ever since the marriage, all three sisters had more than doubled the amount of free time they could share together. It was amazing.

"The baths," the three girls answered simultaneously causing them to giggle.

"I just don't get it," Anna wondered out loud as she lounged against the side of bath's edge. "Why do people suddenly care about Norway after all these years? What's the big deal?"

"It's called nationalism, Anna," Elsa pointed out from across the steamy pool of water with Elise by her side. "Pride in one's country is a powerful force."

"But why now? Why do they choose now to make a ruckus about it?" Anna whined, splashing at the hot water.

"I'm not sure. People are opportunists though. Some people aren't happy with me marrying my own sister, so the nationalists use that to raise a storm and tack along their own movement with it. However, Norwegian nationalism has always been here, Anna, but there was never a reason to act on it before. People were content. Now, I guess they're not so content," Elsa tried explaining.

"Not content? How are their lives any different from last year? How does this marriage make them not content? How does it affect them at all?" Anna questioned.

"I don't know. They're probably just looking for an excuse to rattle the cage," Elsa answered. "They're just a fringe though, the majority of people are content. I can assure you that."

"It concerns me though," Elise spoke up. She was staring off at the far wall, unlike Elsa and Anna who had their eyes closed this whole time. "There are more and more cases of rebellious sentiment popping up. They're giving the secret police a run for their money too. I don't like it, Elsa. I'm worried."

"You're telling me, it's not even safe for me to go out into my own city alone anymore," Anna added, opening her eyes to look at her two queens. The Captain of the Guard, and subsequently Elsa's head of secret police, had advised that the princess no longer go out into the city without a full guard detachment. There were simply too many things that could go wrong now that tension was rising.

"Well, I think you two should relax and enjoy the water, which I should point out that neither of us have froze yet," Elsa observed.

"'preciate it," Anna said while Elise just shrugged.

"Oh Anna, by the way, you promised to tell us about your trip with Kristoff last weekend," Elise pointed out as she shifted in the water to snuggle up with her wife, who hastily accepted.

Anna, who had been eagerly awaiting, but kept forgetting, to tell her story was ecstatic and began without a hitch as if she'd been prepared to tell it this whole time. Which wasn't true since Anna had of course forgotten.

She launched into it at once and her story had gone on for quite a while before she realized neither Elise nor Elsa had interrupted her or commented once. She had realized it actually, but Anna was on a roll and she wasn't stopping now.

It was the rather loud giggle though that eventually caused Anna to pause. She opened her eyes for the first time since starting to find Elsa sitting in Elise's lap, which wasn't abnormal during their occasional trips to the royal baths.

Elsa and Elise were not paying attention to her in the slightest. They were snuggling close and kissing in-between whispering into each other's ears. Anna watched the cute display with fondness for a few minutes before growing annoyed at realizing that they had been ignoring her this whole time.

"Hey, you two haven't been listening to me at all!" Anna yelled, startling the couple out of their session. "That's so rude, I'm leaving."

Anna bolted up out of the water in anger without bothering to grab her towel, instead using her hands and arms to cover herself.

"Anna, we're sorry...we just got carried away," Elsa tried explaining quickly before Anna could make her retreat.

"No," Anna interrupted. "I was looking forward to telling you all week. Plus, now that I thought about it, that is kind of gross. You're both naked and fondling each other while I'm right next to you. Why don't you two just have sex while you're at it?"

The blush that formed across Elsa's face was too cute, but Elise's smirk drove Anna up a wall. Especially because she knew Elise was sure to make a comment.

Sure enough, Elise opened her mouth for a sharp remark and Anna visibly balled her hands into fists in annoyance. Elise was Anna's best friend, but sometimes Anna felt like she was on her own to fight the twins when they ganged up on her like this.

Elise though, recognized Anna's building frustration and closed her mouth. She and Elsa exchanged a regretful glance, but Anna just huffed and turned her back to the twins.

"Come back in Anna, we'll listen now. We promise," Elsa pleaded.

"Yeah, Anna, we're really sorry. That was rude and we should have been paying attention," Elise added.

"Wellll...no, I won't come back in, but you owe me. Right now," Anna demanded as she turned back to the twins.

"Fine, what do you want?" Elsa asked.

"Hmmm," Anna said as she tapped her chin with a finger while her other hand rested on her hip, obviously forgetting to cover herself back up when she turned back around. Elise was rewarded with an underwater pinch on the thigh when Elsa caught her eyes wandering downward. Elsa glared at Elise who smirked back. Anna missed the whole exchange.

"I got it-"

"Snowman?" Elise and Elsa cutoff Anna together.

"Hey! Not fair!" Anna whined. Of course Anna was going to say that though.

The two twins giggled.

"So, are we going to be building snowmen in the nude?" Elise asked as she stood up out of the water without covering up.

Anna's face flushed over as her eyes met Elise's body, half a second before she took the hint and flailed around trying to find her towel causing Elise to burst out laughing.

"You two are so immature," Elsa observed as she got out herself. "Come on girls, let's get dressed and we'll build snowman to Anna's heart's content."

"And?" Anna asked.

"And we'll listen to your story," the two twins answered in unison.

"Good," Anna said as she wrapped her arms around her two older sister's shoulders and led them to the dressing room. Anna almost smirked at her own cleverness. Surely spending the evening building snowman with Elsa and Elise had been her plan all along – and she truly had forgotten about that story she'd been meaning to tell all week – but Anna's plan had been to pester them until she got her way. It wasn't like they didn't like building snowman with her, but sometimes Anna wasn't so successful. Especially when they spent the evening before doing that activity. Like last evening for example.

Okay, maybe that was more luck then cleverness, but we're still building snowmen regardless.

"I bet you think you're clever," Elise admitted out of the blue, as if reading Anna's thoughts.

"Huh?"

"Guilting us into building snowmen like that," Elsa added.

I swear these two can read each other's minds sometimes.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Anna said innocently.

She was rewarded with Elsa rolling her eyes. "It's like you actually expect us to decline if you just asked," she pointed out.

"Well, you do...sometimes," Anna began.

"That was like twice, Anna," Elsa replied back coolly.

"Well, maybe I figured you'd get bored of building snowmen," Anna retorted, shrugging.

"Anna, since when has 'building snowman' just been building snowmen?" Elsa inquired. It was true, 'building snowman' had become an euphemism for playing with Elsa or Elise's powers, mostly because building snowmen always turned into something else, something more.

Well, I might not have been so clever after all, but I still consider this a win for me.

And so it was, enough that for the time being at least, neither sister had the troubles of the kingdom at the forefront of their minds.

The trouble of the kingdom was at the forefront of the mind of everyone else, however. The joyous celebrations of the wedding and coronation had long since died down and the tension that had been building all winter had resumed and continued to grow.

It started during the cold winter months. Rumors about the beloved queen and her, supposedly, wicked twin. They had been nasty rumors, blasphemy in the eyes of the common folk who respected their leadership, and were aimed at their sensitivities such as their love for their princesses. That the wicked Queen Elise, then princess, had forced her way to the throne through seduction while defiling her baby sister, the beloved Princess Anna. The accusations were extreme and usually scoffed at. Surely the shy princess that the common folk saw out in town with Princess Anna wasn't doing anything of the like. She was quiet to the people, however, everyone noticed how much those two enjoyed each other's company. And even the queen, the few times she got out, was chipper while with her sisters. Surely something like as vile as the rumors spoken weren't going on. Then again, the people knew very little what went on within the castle walls.

As hated as they were, like all rumors, they began to spread. At the same time the nationalists decided to make an uproar of their own, a long since dormant desire to return to one Norway. Not since the days of Arendelle's independence had people cared for the issue of an intact Norway. Norwegian nationalists had been dormant until spurred on by events such as the Greek War of Independence, however, they were only a minority. But with this new casus belli against the current leadership, the spreading idea of nationalism had found an issue to give it voice.

The long winter months reminded the residents of the Great Freeze and how lucky they had been to survive that ordeal and how much extra work they had to make up for to survive the natural winter as consequence. The dissenters and gossipers made sure to remind the people whose fault that accidental winter was and that now with Elise in the picture, there was an even greater chance of it happening again. Even Elise and her murky background brought out strange rumors and tales that exasperated the rumors against the royal family. The lack of a history meant she was a wildcard, an unknown piece in the power that held up stability. If the power structure of the country was like a building, no one was sure if Elise was a support constructed out of solid material or material that was completely rotted on the inside. Even the most stringent royalists couldn't say for certain if Queen Elsa herself was a strong support, being a complete recluse for twenty-one years herself.

In the eyes of many though, anything that was threat to the stability of their lives was a threat to them. Elise's lack of background and to a lesser extent Elsa's elusiveness, combined with their dangerous powers, were too much of a threat to stability. On their own the gossipers and rumors were nothing but that. But with a movement behind them, the nationalists, people started to listen and follow. And while the majority of people that took up the banner of one united Norway may not have believed all the lies and rumors about the royal family, it was fear and uncertainty that ultimately swooned upon them.

A small minority of people genuinely believed the lies perpetrated against the crown and wanted, at least one or both, witches burned at the stake. A larger portion, mostly out of fear or self-preservation – and in some cases legitimate nationalist desire – desired that the Kingdom of Arendelle come to an end and the Norwegian nation be complete once more. The majority of the people of Arendelle though, were either undecided or were strictly loyal to the crown. However, everyone could feel the tension as more and more people, friends and neighbors sometimes, chose the dissenter camp.

But everyone knew it only took a small minority to throw the whole system off balance.

"So, as my report states, there is only minimal risk of violence and I firmly believe that the situation has plateaued," the Captain of the Guard reported to the council. "Within a month, we'll have Arendelle back to normal if the Council approves my plan."

"Captain, you are aware how easily a crackdown such as this can reignite the flames of rebellion," the Queen Elsa spoke.

"I am very aware, your majesty. I intend to take every step and precaution to ensure this operation does not make a martyr of the targets," the Captain replied.

"I have seen your proposal and what you have planned, Captain. I do believe you are taking all the necessary precautions, however, this operation of yours worries me. If anything goes wrong, things could get out of hand very fast," Elsa cautioned.

"If the situation has plateaued as your reports states, why not let it wither away on its own?" Admiral Hoffman asked.

"Because there's no guarantee that the problem will go away without getting worse again. We cannot let this insurrection fester any longer," General Holt quickly answered. "Any number of random events could rekindle the flames."

"Such as a heavy crackdown like the Captain proposes," Chancellor Jakobsen pointed out.

"With all due respect councilors, this is a very delicate situation and requires necessary action, but I am very prepared to handle it with such a delicate touch so not to disturb the peace any further," the Captain announced before further bickering among the councilmen could continue. "I give you my word on all my years of service to the crown that I will handle this accordingly, your majesty."

"Queen Elise, what is your opinion?" Elsa inquired to her wife/twin that sat at her side.

"I think, that we should do whatever's necessary for the safety and protection of Arendelle. If you have confidence in the Captain's ability to handle this situation than so do I," Elise declared.

"Then it is decided, unless there are any of those who disagree?" Elsa looked around the room, but there were no objections. "In that case, Captain, you may proceed with your plan."

Elsa could tell that the admiral and chancellor both disagreed with this idea, but she was left with no choice. Elsa didn't agree with the Captains reports that the situation had calmed down. Her own secret police had been telling her the opposite which meant there was a major slip up in one or either organizations. They were both run by very good and honorable men though. It was, however, definitely time for major reforms in both organizations, her Royal Guard and her secret police. In the meantime, Elsa had confidence that her Royal Guard could put an end to this headache once and for all.

"I will execute my orders as promised, your majesties," the Captain said with a bow.

As he turned to depart, Elise quickly intervened. "Oh, by the way Captain, I have not yet been able to look over your other reports. How has the conversion to the new firearms gone?"

"Oh splendidly, Queen Elise. The percussion cap firearms have been fully integrated into service with the Royal Guard."

Elsa remembered denying a request for such firearms a little less than a year ago. Money was tighter then. And as Elsa remembered, the request had been made because of Elise in the first place. Elsa looked over at her twin and almost laughed out loud right in front of everyone in the in the council chambers. To think that when she'd first denied that request, the day after Elise arrived, that Elsa and that strange intruder would soon be side by side as twin sisters, rulers, and lovers was absolutely ridiculous.

Speaking of the firearms, Elsa also remembered that there was a certain deal that Elise had made that allowed her the capital for such modernization. A deal that required her end of the bargain to be fulfilled in just the next week.

"Have the final preparations been made?" asked the burly man from across the table.

"Everything is ready to go on our end," answered the royal councilor. "You'll make your move when we give the signal."

"And what about this upcoming Guard crackdown?" the man asked. "Should we be worried?"

The Foreign Minister of Arendelle smiled to himself. This nationalist leader may have been a key player in their coup, but that didn't mean he needed to know any more than necessary.

"Just worry about your own mission," Minister Hansen assured. "Leave the other details to us."

"I need to know what I'm going up against before-"

"Just do what you're supposed to if you want any say in the future. Have your men secure the positions we've asked for and await further instruction," Hansen interrupted. "Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir. But what about the queens?" the man asked, obviously to Hansen that he was more worried about the Queen's power over ice and snow than the Royal forces of Arendelle.

Hansen smiled. "Leave that to us."

Later that evening...

"Are the nationalists ready to move?"

"They're now awaiting on our signal," Hansen answered to the Minister of Army.

"What does he say about the crackdown?" the general asked.

"He's aware of it, but I assured him not to worry about it. That's your job, after all."

The general was pacing back and forth across the room. "My men will handle it. The poor saps won't know what hit them and we'll be gone before they have a chance to recover."

"Good." The foreign minister continued to watch the general pace. "You seem extra worried. What's wrong?"

"Of course I'm worried, boy, do you know what's at stake?" the general spat.

"If you don't think you can handle this job…" Hansen started.

"Of course I can, Hallvard. I know what forces are loyal to me and which ones will be problematic. I'm confident my men can handle the dissenters and royalists." The general stopped pacing to look over a map with counters that showed the positions of Arendelle's local army units. It hadn't changed when he looked at it twenty minutes earlier.

"And the navy?"

"Hoffman's navy was a tougher shell to crack then we thought," the general quickly reported. It was true that the loyalty of Admiral Hoffman's men to the crown was unparalleled. The conspirators had to give up trying to infiltrate it rather than risking exposing their operation. "I'm afraid in this case we have to rely on Arendelle's coastal defenses."

"You're not concerned with most of the crown's naval assets being sent to Trondheim?" Hansen continued to question the general. "They could be used to counterattack?"

"It's a blessing that they're gone," the general stated, dropping into the nearest seat. "As long as you do your job, there won't be any counter-attacks to worry about. Am I correct?"

"You should be as confident in my abilities as I am with yours," Hansen replied. The general's job was to secure Arendelle from royalist forces and take command of the nationalist rebels that were supposed to rise up in arms following the "little incident" that was planned for the upcoming crackdown on dissenters. Arendelle's army was already fleeting as it was; Arendelle's also fleeting navy was always considered the more significant arms of the two. A combined force of General Holt's loyal army units and nationalist militias should have been enough to secure Arendelle from what royalist forces remained in the capital, however, it was the "people's army" from Norway that was supposed to serve as the true catalyst of their coup. Nothing was final until those forces arrived in Arendelle.

Foreign Minister Hansen's job, however, besides securing foreign support for the conspiracy, was to secure the seat of power itself. That required incapacitating the three royal sisters and the rest of the Council. The latter was the easy job. Chancellor Jakobsen, Minister Vinter, Minister Nielson, and the Minister of Treasury's replacement for the late Kristoffersen, Minister Olav Ostberg were all to be arrested at their offices. Hansen planned on offering and was hoping that Ministers Vinter, Nielson, and Ostberg would accept new positions in Arendelle's interim government for their skillful work. The Chancellor would be offered no such deal, for his loyalty to the crown was far too great.

"I suppose you will be dealing with Admiral Hoffman then?" the general asked casually as if reading Hansen's mind.

"Of course, he will most likely be with Queen Elsa at the docks," Hansen stated. Admiral Hoffman would be arrested when the Guards came for Elsa while she attended the docks. He would be the most difficult of the councilors to detain.

The first of the American "ice ships" that Queen Elsa was under contract to fill with ice were bound for Arendelle within the week. A small ceremony had been planned for the filling of the first batch. However, that same morning Queen Elsa and her Admiral were due to check out and inspect the ships. That's when they were to strike. That's when the whole coup would commence in fact. Princess Anna would be the easiest of the royals, she would be taken while still, probably sleeping, in the castle. Her apprehension was actually quite vital to securing Queen Elsa's apprehension actually. Princess Anna was their bargaining chip to get Queen Elsa to comply rather than force a fight. Hansen and his people intended to take Queen Elsa alive and hold her which they had made preparations for thanks to the lessons of holding her AND Queen Elise in the past. She was to be either held indefinitely or put on trial. The last thing that they wanted was a repeat of the French Revolution, but Elsa and her magical powers were a special case. Perhaps they could use the princess to break the deposed queen's spirits? That was a possibility.

Queen Elise on the other hand was a different story. She was a wildcard, too unpredictable and too unstable to leave as factor. She was to be killed on contact. Hansen's contacts had gotten him in touch with people who had firsthand experience fighting an ice sorceress, the Duke of Weseltown's bodyguards, and Hansen and forwarded that information to the team responsible for her demise. She would be tough to take down, but Hansen was certain that she would be dead before the morning was up.

Hallvard Hansen had never been one to care for the rumors that Queen Elsa and Queen Elise were having a forbidden, incestuous relationship. They had just been a tool for his own success. But perhaps if they were true, would it not be poetic justice that the cause of the royal family's downfall was these rumors? For twenty-one years the crown's secret police had kept Elsa's powers a complete mystery to the world. And in less than one, it took a rumor to make it so ineffective that they couldn't even see under their own noses. If Queen Elsa really had been wasting all her resources on covering up the truth, then it really was justice that she rendered her own secret police ineffective.

It didn't matter though, truth or not, because in less than a week, Queen Elsa was going to learn her mistakes the hard way.

A/N: Thanks to my beta readers, Mig and rd.

Sorry for the huge gap in updating. I just got caught up in stuff and things just snowballed from there. The good news is that I'm well caught up now and the next update should be arriving shortly. With Winter Break arriving, I should be putting out chapters fairly regularly.

I'll say this again just in case anyone is still confused, but Norway in this story is still part of Sweden-Norway so technically the nationalists want to be ruled by the Swedish. Norway is pretty autonomous, so as long as they get their united Norway, they're okay with it. If you have a question, please feel free to ask. There are no stupid questions, except for the stupid ones.

Thanks for reading and please keep reviewing.