Elsa stood watching the map of the area surrounding Arendelle, lying open on the 'war table'. The map had stayed rolled up and unused for so long that they had to use paper weights on all four corners to keep it straight. General Garrison spread his hands all over the map, pressing down in an attempt to straighten it. Lieutenant General Longwood stood alongside, watching the scene with a frown on his face.
Elsa's heart beat rapidly. She had never been in a war before. Technically, Hans' attack at Anna's wedding had been a battle, but it had come and gone like a storm, before she could realize what was happening. Now, they stood gathered around a map, plotting their moves. It scared her. She felt nervous, afraid, unsure and incapable. She looked at the door, visualizing the soldier guarding it on the other side. Once again, she wished Jack could have been here. Thank God she was not completely alone. Where was he? The meeting would start without him.
Footsteps were heard at the door, and she could hear someone talking to the Guard on the other side.
"Kristoff," Elsa breathed in relief.
"What?" asked the Lieutenant, "The commoner will be attending the war council?" Distaste was clear in his tone.
Anger surged within Elsa, and pushed the nervousness away. "It will benefit you to accept the fact, Lieutenant Longwood, that Kristoff is to be the future Prince of Arendelle, and I will not have you speak of him with such disrespect."
Longwood froze, his expression neutral. Then, he spoke in a cold voice, "He has no royal blood, and no experience with running the kingdom. And as of now, no official title either. I would recommend it to my dear Queen to not let feminine emotions cloud her judgement."
"On the contrary," Elsa hissed, "it appears that your prejudice is clouding yours. Now, Kristoff will be attending this meeting, and if that is not acceptable to you, you may leave. Please bear in mind though, that I will never forget how you sparked an internal feud when we needed to stand united against a dangerous enemy."
On Elsa's last word, the door opened, and Kristoff stood on the other side, smiling nervously. He could sense the tense mood within, however, because he walked in with a confused frown on his face. The guard closed the door behind him.
"Kristoff," Elsa said happily, "so glad you could make it." She watched the Lieutenant grimace, but he made no move to leave. She would have to take that as a small victory and move on, for now.
"Prince Kristoff," General Garrison said, surprising Elsa, "I didn't get the opportunity to congratulate you on your brave and outstanding service to the kingdom during the attack on your wedding day."
"I..." Kristoff began, shock drying his mouth. Then, he swallowed and said, "Thank you, General, but you need not use that title. I am not a Prince - not yet anyway."
The General waved the comment away, "It is but a technicality. Had it not been for the attack, you would have been married to Princess Anna that day. As my Queen has informed me, we will get to the official ceremony when Prince Hans is dealt with. Till then, you already have begun assisting the Queen with the running of the kingdom."
Elsa smiled gratefully at the General, glad for the support. Anna had been right. If she would just let people in, she would find that so many people were there for her.
"He's right," she said with a smile to Kristoff, and he smiled back. As he came to stand near her at the table, he mutterred, "Well, the things one has to do for the fiancé."
Elsa laughed, and the two army men looked at them disapprovingly.
"Sorry," she mumbled, and turned to the map seriously. The dread returned, but she felt better with Kristoff and now, the General.
"Our spies tell us that a man from the village of Garben has spotted Prince Hans in this region," the General said, pointing to an area in the mountains north of Arendelle, "He claims he saw 'a man on fire' walking through the snow, and out of fear, immediately ran back to the village."
"But, what would Hans be doing there?" Elsa asked, confused, "There's nothing that way. Just uninhabitable mountains. I had expected to find him en route to the Southern Isles."
"I suppose he had no option," the Lieutenant provided, "He couldn't go home because the only way would be to find passage in one of the ships - and we are thoroughly inspecting all ports."
"So you think we've got him cornered?" asked the General, "He went that way because he didn't know what else to do?"
Before the Lieutenant could respond, Elsa interjected, "Don't underestimate the enemy."
"The terrain will also be a problem," Kristoff added, and everyone went silent. It had been his first input in his first ever meeting, and he spoke nervously.
"What do you mean?" asked Elsa.
Kristoff placed a finger on the location. "This is high altitude, and that's coming from an ice harvester. We used to go pretty high to get our ice, higher than most villagers, and yet I've been to this valley only two or three times in the years I spent harvesting ice, and that was in the peak of very dry summers."
"Your point being?" asked the Lieutenant. Elsa flinched at the annoyance in his tone, but Kristoff was talking a bit convoluted, and so sort of had it coming. He still had some learning to do.
Kristoff blinked, then started again, "My point is that it won't be easy on the soldiers to attack this location. Nothing like you've ever done before. Will require totally different gear. Also," he furrowed his brows as he continued, "what was the villager doing up so high anyway?"
"That is not relevant," the Lieutenant responded, sighing loudly, "And as any real soldier would tell you, battle is never easy. So both your points are unnecessary. You have also forgotten, Kristoff, that we are talking about a single man."
"A single man with magical fire powers," the General corrected, then turned to Kristoff, "Point noted. We will prepare accordingly." He looked towards Elsa and continued, "If I may, my Queen, I suggest we attack immediately, before Prince Hans has a chance to move out. Staying in the vicinity of Arendelle implies his malicious intentions towards us haven't wavered. I can lead a troupe of twenty soldiers to the location at the break of dawn. Along with mountaineering gear." He nodded at Kristoff at the end.
"Thirty soldiers," Elsa said, "And I will go with you."
The room was shocked into silence. "Your Highness-" the General began.
"I will not be argued with," Elsa interrupted, "He has fire powers. You cannot deal with him alone. This is not up for discussion. We'll leave at dawn. Anything else?"
"I'm going too," Kristoff said.
"What?" Elsa cried, horrified.
"I may not be a soldier," he said, "but I am a mountaineer. And I have more experience navigating those areas than any of your soldiers. No offense, but without me, you'll get lost."
"Actually," the General said, "I agree with you there. Thank you, Your Highness. That will be most helpful."
"Suppose we're done here," the Lieutenant muttered, bowed towards Elsa, and walked out the door. The General smiled apologetically, then said, "He's just upset we aren't taking him along. If there's nothing else, my Queen, I must get preparations underway?" Elsa nodded her head, and he left as well.
"You're not going," Elsa blurted as soon as she was alone with Kristoff.
"Don't be ridiculous. You need me."
"Kristoff!" Elsa cried in frustration, raising her hands to the ceiling. Then, she sighed and tried again, "If anything happens to you, Anna will kill me."
"And if anything happens to you, it will kill Anna."
Elsa looked at him and smiled weakly. Kristoff smiled back, "I guess it means we'll both have to watch each other's back?" Elsa's smile grew, and she nodded.
"We'll do well, I'm sure," Kristoff continued reassuringly, then slowly asked, "Is Jack coming?"
Elsa shook her head slowly, an unhappy frown on her face. Kristoff understood. Jack wasn't available.
"No problem," he said cheerfully, gave her shoulder a squeeze, and left the room. Elsa watched him go, then, slowly sat in a chair. She felt they could do it, but it would have indeed been nice to have Jack's mischievous smile by her side.
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