A/N: OI Oi saveloy, I'm back. Hope you enjoy this chapter I'm sorry the updates are kind of sporadic but that's student life! I pan on developing things further as I feel the storyline is stagnating a bit so expect rapid change and some dark themes in the future chapters, yet again this is subject to change though as I write these on an ad hoc basis.
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The words stung as they came from her mouth, the bitterness and resentment dripping the sentence with hatred. Agnarr's face scrunched in confusion, his soft features now scrunched into an indelicate frown.
"What do you mean?" he replied, features still scrunched together.
The words hung silently amid them, Agnarr's honesty on fuelling Iduna's rage, roaring Sea met dense Forest as the two battled with stares in the thick silence. A solitary tear streaked down Iduna's cheek, her thick makeup being dragged along with it, the red flesh underneath revealing her discomfort.
"You know what I mean. Ethel told me." The war lines had been drawn.
His face scrunched up even more, the auburn stubble creasing under his chin.
"What did Ethel tell you exactly?" the words were long and drawn out, as though he was trying to defuse a powder keg.
"She told me that you and a princess were in love when you were younger and would write letters every day. Why didn't you tell me Agnarr? I thought we trusted each other." The hurt in Iduna's voice made him wince, but despite that he started laughing softly. The laughter grew until it entirely consumed him.
"That sneaky..." the sentence was cut off with yet more laughs, the deep-set belly laughs that rack you from the inside out. "Follow me" he managed to let out in between laughs as he left the room, beckoning for her to follow. The two entered the library and he lifted an old leather-bound book off from its shelf. The leather was worn and frail, years of use being evident, and the light layer of dust that smothered it seeped into the dry leather, giving it an air of permanence. Silently, he walked out of the library and back into his room, fiddling with a lock on the bottom draw he triumphantly forced the creaky wood open, revealing a stash of letters underneath.
"These are the letters she was referring to. The Signature reads 'Princess Ariana of Corona'" he flips open the old book, its weighty spine thudding against the teak desk. "And here..." he gestures to a faint red line connecting them "Is why I love her and why we wrote to each other every day" Iduna traced the red line along to his mother, then across to her sister and back down again.
"You're cousins" she whispered, the realisation setting in. "But why did you stop writing to each other"
"When my mother died our families... fell out. Although we didn't hate each other like our parents did we couldn't write to each other and so we lost touch" he rubbed his brow with relief. "Ethel is good at stirring things up. She told enough truth to make you panic but not enough so she could be called a liar." he cupped her streaky cheek. "For god's sake Iduna just Ignore her, I know it means a lot to you to be accepted by everyone, but you can't please everyone at the same time. I want you to be happy and forcing yourself to wear burning makeup and go through her trying to tear us apart isn't worth it. Please, for yourself just ignore her." She absorbed the words, lips trembling as the stress seeped out of her. She threw herself at him, hugging tightly against his chest as she buried her face into her chest. Wrapped in each other, the two clung tightly on each other for their lives, a stormy sea of emotions consuming them as the stress and fear of past days poured out of them. When Iduna broke free of the embrace she looked down at his tunic revealing a white smudge roughly the size and shape of her face on the dark fabric.
"S-sorry" she muttered as she tried desperately to wipe the paint off his chest but only succeeded in smearing it further. He held her hands still in a soft grasp. Hugging her tightly once again, this time however he noticed a clump of hair had fallen out of her head and onto his chest. Pulling it off his tunic he examined it closely, watching with intrigue at the substance.
"Has this happened before?" he asked, filled with concern.
"Only for a few days. I think it's the stress" she replied nonchalantly.
"I think we should go to the doctor's Iduna, hair doesn't fall out of people like this when they're stressed" He had returned to examining the hair with caution.
"If you say so, I'm going to wash this paste off first it makes me get pins and needles in my feet and hands." she turned to go to the bathroom. This revelation stunned him.
"Wash it off now and get the jar immediately" his seriousness startled her; the iron clad stare he gave her made her scared. She nodded and ran to the bathroom, washing off the paste leaving red skin exposed behind it. More hair came out in clumps and Iduna started to panic. She ran to her dresser and wrapped the pot in a spare cloth. Furtively she snuck out of the room and jogged back to Agnarr, by which time a doctor had already arrived. She handed the wrapped up jar to the doctor who locked it away in his leather briefcase with care. The three for silent for a while, the gravity of the situation sinking in to the three of them.
"I will have to do some tests, but it seems as though the paste was poisoned. Where did you get it from your majesties?" Agnarr ignored the wrong titles.
"We got it from Queen Ethel as a gift to Iduna" he said darkly, arm wrapped protectively around her. The doctor mixed a spatula of the paste into a clear liquid and it turned a deep crimson.
"It is Thallium poisoning. Take these." the doctor was cold and harsh, straight to the point. In his hand were two blue pills. She swallowed them and drank a glass of water.
"I would recommend you bring her in for questioning, I will send my report to the commissioner" The doctor packed up and left, leaving the two in shock.
"She was trying to kill me" Iduna muttered, wrapping her arms around his chest.
"She was" the anger grew in his chest, burning inside like an inferno. A guard reported to their side after the doctor had left the room.
"Your majesty, how should we deal with the situation"
"Place Queen Ethel under house arrest and notify her homeland of what has happened" The guard nodded resolutely at the king. Agnarr looked down at Iduna, her face a now angry red, with clumps of hair missing. Her eyes were glassy orbs set into her skull, the shock overtaking her and forcing her muscles into a trembling spasm. He kissed her head once again, pulling her warm body closer to his as she shook violently into him. "Let's go to the library" he whispered into her ear softly, wheeling them gently to the warm room with plush couches and waiting cups of hot chocolate. Snuggled together they watched the fire crackle in the hearth, its golden glow filling the wood panelled room.
XXX
"Is it always going to be like this?" she asked, to no one in particular.
"No, I can promise you that. One day we will be married and have three Children..."
"Two Children" she interrupted.
"Two Children..." he continued "One day we will have our own little family. We will have our own little happiness" She smiled warmly at the fire, the hot mug nestled between her legs sending burning sensations through her muscles, oddly soothing the young woman.
"I'm looking forward to it" her smile made all the worries of the day disappear, the pink sky casting rays of red and pink onto her chocolate coloured hair.
She stood up and went over to the window, looking up at the faint aurora, the greens and blues undulating in the pristine sky. "When I was in the forest my parents would tell me that the northern lights were the spirits of our ancestors showing us the way through life." she chuckled to herself warmly, fondly recalling the memory. "rahkisvuohta" she said to herself softly, eyes still gazing into the soft green lights. Suddenly she became aware of two strong arms encircling her, a gentle kiss placed to her cheek. "Your eyes look like the lights" she said, turning around and meeting him.
"That's funny I was about to say the same thing" he replied, giving her a tender Eskimo kiss. He suddenly tugged on a lock of hair. "Your hair isn't falling out anymore" he hugged her tightly.
"It was scary" she said, sinking into his embrace. "Too scary" the two stared at the lights, the pristine white landscape shining underneath the moon as the snow glistened in its light.
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6 months later
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The two's relationship had blossomed after the poisoning. Ethel had been extradited to her homeland and banned from travelling to the kingdom. Agnarr had settled into his role as king even more as the winter months gave way to the damp spring and warm summer. Arendelle had bloomed from a small fishing town to a trade link with Russia and the Baltic, bringing imports from around the world to the northern kingdom. Iduna's and Agnarr's popularity had spread throughout the kingdom, the council even swaying to Iduna's side as the effect she had on the king was more than noticeable.
"Checkmate" he said triumphantly.
"How do you always manage to beat me at this Agnarr?" she exclaimed exasperated.
"Because my dear, I'm better at tactics and you're better at science" a smug grin plastered his face. "Now it's time for your consolation prize" he leaned over the board and pressed a kiss to her cheek, making her blush furiously. Iduna opened a pack of cards and dealt out two each.
"Blackjack" she said, eyeing him confidently. Suspiciously eyeing her he took up the cards, noticeing the glint in her eyes. The first round he won, but the second he lost.
And the third
And the fourth
And the fifth.
"Wait a minute" he paused the game "Can you just pass me that chess piece over there" he gestured to a black knight on a low-down bench. Far enough away to be a stretch to reach, but not too far to stand up.
"Of course, my love" she said sweetly and made a long, drawn out reach over; shaking her sleeves just to prove she wasn't cheating. Vindicated she smiled to herself and continued playing, inevitably winning the sixth round. The two played several more times, each time her winning flawlessly. On the final round he had finally cracked her.
"You're counting the cards" he said, throwing the cards on the table and pointing at her.
"It's not cheating, just... tactics" she replied, grinning mirthfully. He swooped around the table and picked her up, she screamed in delight as he threw her on the couch and started tickling her.
"Tactics is about honour" he got in between tickle attacks, her squealing happily on the pillows. "Card counting is just dirty"
"It's only dirty because you can't do it" she replied, eliciting another set of tickle attacks from him. Iduna grabbed his neck and pulled him close, the two falling silent as their faces nearly collided. They were so close that she could feel his warm breath on her face. "It seems you have the advantage" she breathily said to him, the warmth caressing his cheek.
"Do you surrender?" he whispered back, the warmth tickling her cheeks slightly as he gazed into the sapphire eyes, he loved so much.
She craned her neck upwards, so her lips were adjacent to his ear, softly she whispered "Surrendering is for cowards" in an instant she kicked the leg supporting him on the couch and he fell to the floor with a thud. Blindingly fast she jumped on top of him, pinning him down with her knees on his chest, he groaned with the weight as his hands and arms were pinned above his head by her.
"It seems you have the advantage now" he replied breathlessly.
"Surrender?" her eyebrows peaked into a smile, a playful glint in her eyes.
"How about compromise" he asserted, trying desperately in vain to get loose.
"Okay, your compromise is that you meet me in the garden at six o'clock sharp" she pressed a quick peck to his cheek and darted away, the warmth on his chest replaced by a chilly draft as she fled through the door.
XXX
Soft
It was a strange word to enter Iduna's mind that evening, but it nonetheless was perfectly appropriate. She drifted through the garden, its green vines and flowers stretching up trees and bushes, bursting with colour in the mid-summer. The evening was still light, as they were so far north, but the sun had long since sunk below the mountains leaving a baby-blue paint in the sky. Soft she thought again, one arm wrapped around Agnarr's, her familiar crimson shawl draped over her shoulders. Breathing in the cool evening she sighed to herself, peace and calm consuming her, although silent the two moved and glanced as one, their movements paired by invisible strings. Her soft brown hair hung loosely in a braid over one shoulder, her head resting on his.
"I love this" he said to her, the stone pavements beneath them still warm from the summer's day.
"I love you" she replied, reaching up and pressing a soft kiss on his lips.
"Me too" he sighed, absorbing her sapphire eyes for the millionth time. His face scrunched up as he processed what he said. "Sorry, I meant I love you too" he turned a beetroot red and shrugged his shoulders, her gentle giggles soothing him. She hugged his arm softly and the blush retreated.
"I'm getting nervous" he admitted, rubbing his hands together by his navel. "The situation in Gallia is spiralling out of control, our troops may well be sent to fight in a war we didn't start." his confession stunned Iduna, he had never spoken to her about business or the kingdom. "If we are dragged into this I will have to go too; to support my troops. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier I just didn't want you to worry"
"There is no point in worrying dear, it only makes us suffer twice. If we are as prepared as possible for any eventuality, then I am sure we will make it. If you must go to war, who will run the kingdom?"
"The council will take over mainly day to day activities, but you will take my place as figurehead. All you will have to do is sign off documents and act as a role model for people to look to. Remember many of their sons will be off fighting in the same war as I" he rested his chin on her head, inhaling her cinnamon and clove smell; he opened his eyes and was met with a messenger dressed in a dark tunic, gold piping rimming the buttons and sleeves. "Speak of the devil" he whispered and broke the embrace summoning the messenger over.
"Sir, Albion and Corona have declared war on Gallia. They have called for our troops to be deployed." the message was expected but it still knocked the wind out of Iduna.
"Very well. Gather the men and ready the Navy for a transport to Corona. We will meet with their forces in the city and march south to Gallia" Agnarr said, green eyes darkening slightly in the sun. The messenger nodded curtly and left, polished boots clacking against the stone slaps monotonously.
"Looks like we are going to war"
XXX
A/N: Yes, I know this chapter is a bit all over the place, but I wanted to speed up the pace and add in some continuity markers for the movies and this story. We see Agnarr has several medals so he must have gone to war at some point, it will also help explain some of his behaviour and actions later down the line in the story.