"So what's the plan, boss?"

Don looked up sharply at the voice from the early morning darkness. It was Georg, and beside him Dieter. The sounds of more footsteps heralded Johannes and Raoul's arrival.

"You know you aren't sworn to me anymore, my friends," Don said mildly, pulling the final strap tight on Minimus' saddle, "My title as a Ritter of Corona has been superseded…"

Georg and Dieter laughed.

"Boss, it doesn't matter if you're a Prince or a pauper," Georg began, with Dieter finishing, "We'll follow you to Arendelle. Or hell, whichever you prefer."

Don grunted, looking to the other two men.

"We feel the same." The usually quiet Raoul said, with Johannes simply nodding. "We've come this far, no reason to stop now."

Nodding, Don looked towards the rising sun which was just rising over the far off mountains.


"Anna, you need to go to sleep."

Kristoff rolled off of the uncomfortable cot, turning to see Anna sitting in a chair by the door. She'd stayed up the entire night, or at least Kristoff thought so.

"I didn't wake you, did I?" She asked, her voice drawn.

Anna had told him of her conversation with Don, and it had disturbed him greatly. How could he go on like that? Rushing towards Arendelle to die?

But then again, you don't understand many things. Kristoff thought derisively of himself.

He went to stand by her, seeing how sunken her eyes were.

"Anna?" He said, touching her shoulder. "Anna, what's wrong?"

She put a hand on her stomach, and winced.

"My stomach has hurt all morning," She said, "Really bad cramps…"

"Well, let's get you to the camp doctor," He said, picking her up, "I don't want you getting too sick."


"Oh no, oh no, no, no…"

Anna sat in the little folding chair, as the doctor finished her examination.

"Come now, My Lady," The doctor, a middle aged, bespectacled man, said, "This is joyous news, isn't it?"

Pregnant… She thought, her mind fighting between joy and concern. I would get pregnant in the middle of a war…

Kristoff sat beside her, stroking her hand. He seemed fit to burst with joy, grinning like she'd never seen him grin before.

"I think I'm just a little shocked, is all," She said, interlacing her hands with Kristoff's, "How… how far along am I?"

The Doctor pulled out a piece of parchment, which he had scribbled upon earlier during her examination.

"At best guess, a few months," He said, ticking off numbers on his fingers, "I'd suspect an early fall birth."

They nodded, bidding thanks to the man, and walked hand in hand back towards their tent. The camp was already winding itself back together for the long march, from what Kristoff had heard earlier in the morning, Don was literally frothing at the mouth to move on. And he really couldn't blame him.

Maybe this news will make him smile.

Their tent had been dismantled, with several camp followers helping them to mount their horses. What little luggage and personal items they had would go with the tent, to be set up the next time they made camp.

Spurring their horses along the rapidly disappearing rows of tents, they found Don and Eugene speaking… animatedly.

"Eugene, we must make all do haste," They heard Don say, as he and Eugene looked over a map, "We should take the High Road and force a march, we could be at Arendelle's door within three days that way."

"And all of our men would be worn out when we got there." Eugene bit back, tracing another route with his finger as Anna and Kristoff approached and dismounted. "We should take the lower road, it's a little rougher, but shorter. And we're not going to force a march. Twenty five kilometers a day at the maximum."

"But then it will take five to seven days to make it to Arendelle," Don said urgently, "We don't have that kind of time."

Anna approached, curtsying to the both of them.

"Ah, hello, Anna," Eugene greeted her, bowing back, before turning a concerned eye towards her appearance, "Are you okay? You look pale."

"I'm fine…" She responded, stepping in close as Kristoff took care of the horses. "But, Kristoff and I have some good news."

Don turned to look at her finally, not having spoken to her since the day before.

"I'm pregnant." She said, smiling brightly.

Eugene was the first to react, coming around the table to give her a small, polite hug.

"That is wondrous news!" He said, patting Kristoff on the shoulder. "Looks like our children with have some playmates!"

Don remained silent, still looking down at the map, tracing a path from Arskall to Arendelle. She knew he wasn't happy with her, his cheeks still being slightly red from where she'd slapped him the night before, and his eyes were frosty when he finally did look up at her.

"I am happy for the both of you, Princess Anna." He said formally, only making eye contact for a moment before returning them to the map. "Now, Eugene, if we can cut off even a few days…"

Eugene turned on Don, his face sterner than she'd ever seen.

"Damn it, Don," He said, "I don't know why she told you, or what happened when she did, but you need to snap out of it. I'm not going to allow you to march this army to death just to stop this wedding, which may have already happened, especially if they have any idea that we're coming."

"Prince Eugene," Don began, trying to fight out of the other Prince's admonishment, but Eugene wasn't finished with him.

"And I thought you three were good friends," He said, "No matter what she said to you, that shouldn't change it. Now congratulate them properly, Prince Donner."

The formality of Eugene's demand, from someone who was ubiquitously informal, seemed to snap Don out of his little funk. He put both hands on the table, seemingly taking a moment to compose himself, before looking at Anna. His eyes were noticeably warmer as he looked at her and Kristoff.

"I'm… I'm very happy for both of you," He said, standing and coming around the table, "You two will make excellent parents."

His motions were still slightly wooden though, and without saying anything else, he went back to the map.

Anna turned away, saddened.

It's consuming him. She thought. I made a mistake in telling him.


"Sir… I mean, Prince Donner, Count von Fontaine wishes for you to pull back with the main body."

The messenger's horse was breathing heavily, having to ride the near-mile distance between Don's advanced party and the rest of the army. Eugene had set the pace, they were to ride no more than twenty five kilometers per day.

That means we'll arrive barely a day or so before this wedding.

He shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind as the messenger, not a young boy this time, one of the many barons who led their own personal guards with the army, waited for reply.

"Tell the Count that I will lead from the front, I have enough men that I don't fear any attack can bowl us over before the main body can move up."

The messenger nodded, putting a hand to the edge of his wide brimmed hat before turning the horse and trotting away.

One hundred cavalry followed at his back, made up in large part of men from Corona and from his newly acquired Princedom. Another fifty hussars from Corona, light cavalry that wore nearly no armor, were spread out for another half mile ahead and miles to each side. They were his scouts, and had already reported back via signal flags and messengers that they could spot nothing ahead of them for many miles.

That suited Don just fine. He was truly in no mood to fight now.

He and Anna's little conversation had… really hurt him, as he saw how his opinion of himself had changed. But he had neither the time nor the energy to reflect upon that, though he did feel a pang of guilt in his heart for how cold and wooden he had been towards Anna and Kristoff, thought his heart had swelled with pleasure knowing the happiness that the two of them likely felt.

I don't want to push them away. He thought. But it may be for the best in the end…


"Kristoff, Anna, I would strongly advise against this little trip of yours…"

Captain Godwinson's words caused Anna to sigh again, they'd had this conversation twice already today when she'd made it clear that they'd be making a visit to the Valley of Living Rock.

"Captain, we would like very much to be able to tell Kristoff's family of my pregnancy," She chided, as the rest of her guards formed up around her, "And we're only an hour's ride from the Valley, so it cannot hurt to ride a little out of the way."

Harald nodded, knowing that he'd never win an argument with her. Kristoff spurred his horse up beside her, with Finlay and Olaf taking up a position behind them. The little snowman had grown quite attached to the quiet boy, and Anna had heard that they were nearly inseparable, though she didn't see either of them as much lately.

Anna felt strange though. A sidesaddle couldn't be found for her, so now she was wearing a pair of borrowed trousers. They felt strange to wear, as if she were only wearing bloomers. But Captain Godwinson had made clear that she should not go about in royal dress while on campaign. It would make her a target. So now she only wore dresses in camp. It also made sense since now she could ride a horse without dealing with a troublesome side saddle.

The ride ended up taking nearly two hours, and by the time they reached the Valley, the sun was already starting to set. It was silent within the valley as they rode onwards, the forty men eyeing their surroundings with suspicion. Even Olaf was quiet, as signs of a change since their last visit became obvious.

Plants and vegetation were trampled, and there was refuse and what looked like the hastily dispersed remains of a large camp that stretched for a good distance across the valley.

"My lady," Anna jumped as Captain Godwinson spoke into the silence, "This was a fairly large camp; at least a thousand men were here recently. I think it would be safer for us to turn back now."

Anna shook her head, a sense of dread washing over her as she made eye contact with Kristoff. His eyes were wide with fear.

We're less than a half mile from the trolls… There's no way that soldiers could miss them…

"Captain, we need to move on, quickly." She said, before spurring her horse, a little awkwardly since she wasn't riding side saddle, forward.

Her heart leapt with relief as she saw the familiar round, rocky shapes of her husband's family. More refuse was strewn about, several crates of indeterminate origin chief among them.

"Hey, you, wake up." Kristoff said, having dismounted and tapping one of the larger rocks. Their guards looked at each other at this apparent madness, until the rock began to slowly unroll.

"Oh, thank goodness it's you, Kristoff!" Cliff, his adoptive father, said. "Where have you been? We've been worried sick!"

Anna dismounted, looking up at Captain Godwinson as his jaw dropped in surprise. She smiled, going to Cliff and the other slowly awakening trolls.

"Kristoff, is that a wedding ring?" Bulda asked insistently as she waddled over. "Is it?"

"Yes, it is." He said, taking Anna's hand in his own. The trolls cheered as they saw the matching ring around Anna's hand. "Now, what happened? Where's Grand Pabbie?"

"I'm here, I'm here," The old troll said as he rolled to the forefront, "I must say Kristoff, it is nice to see you alive and well. We've all been worried sick by the developments in Arendelle. Where have you been?"

"Corona," Kristoff said, kneeling down to Pabbie's level, "The Captain of the Guard was able to free us from imprisonment, but wasn't able to get Elsa out. We've come back with an army, Pabbie. We're going to free Arendelle."

The trolls looked at each other, their eyes blinking.

"Arendelle has been taken? By whom?" Bulda asked. "We only know that things have been strange there, and that there are armed men traipsing about."

"You remember what I told you about the Southern Isles and Weselton?" The trolls nodded in sync. "It's them, along with Valdiston. Donner, you remember him, and Prince Eugene of Corona are leading the army to liberate-"

"The Cursed One?" Pabbie said, interrupting them. "Why would the Cursed One be leading an army to liberate Arendelle?"

"It's a long story, Pabbie," Anna replied, "But… just know that his intentions are pure. We also have a second announcement."

The trolls all looked at her, unblinking.

"I'm pregnant."

A wall of sound hit her as the trolls cheered, jumping and spinning through the air. They danced, spinning about Kristoff and she, while even their guards, some of whom still hadn't heard the news, yelled with joy.

Their little singing and dancing didn't go on for long, but ended abruptly as Grand Pabbie handed Anna something. It was a small glass vial, filled with a clear fluid.

"Anna," He said into the sudden silence, "Take this. It is… a token of the bond between us trolls and you and Kristoff. It is a simple magic… But a powerful one."

Anna took the vial in suddenly careful hands.

"What is it, Pabbie?" She asked, suddenly very curious.

"Dear Anna, they are my tears." Pabbie said, smiling. "If you are ever sick, or injured, even grievously wounded… Simply drink that, and you will be healed. But remember to drink it all… And, unfortunately, it will only work for you."

"Why only me?" She asked.

"It is simply the way the magic works, my dear." He replied.

Anna wrapped her arms tightly around Pabbie, thanking him quietly, as she noticed that Captain Godwinson seemed to be growing nervous. She turned, just as a crossbow bolt sprouted from his neck.

She screamed, as the other guards began to turn, wheeling horses around. Godwinson's eyes locked on her own for a moment, and she saw the sorrow and the fear that encompassed them, before the light behind them went out, and he slammed to the ground.

More bolts slammed into their guards, even as Kristoff grabbed her and hurled her up onto her horse, while climbing onto his own. She carefully pocketed the little vial, as Finlay and Olaf turned to shield her, while she fumbled getting her feet into the stirrups.

She chanced a look back, and saw a large mass of men advancing down the valley towards them, some stopping periodically to fire a crossbow in their general direction. A great flag was barely visible in the scant moonlight, but she could see the red background and white cross.

They're soldiers of the Southern Isles.

"Go! We will do our best to help you escape!" She heard Pabbie say, as the larger trolls assumed their rock forms and began to roll aggressively towards the onrushing men. The smaller ones scattered, or began to dig down into the ground.

Anna spurred her horse forward, as her thirty remaining guards followed behind her, firing back with their own hastily loaded crossbows.