A/N: Thanks for the continued support, it means a lot to me especially throughout the exam period. Enjoy!

XXX

"Your majesty, they're ready" Kai said, bowing to the young king. Agnarr straightened his Forest green uniform, the gold and silver epaulettes hanging stiffly on his shoulder. Fiddling with the crimson ribbon cross hanging from his neck, he cleared his throat and nodded shortly. Stepping out onto the platform he was greeted by the faces of the silent crowd. Soldiers lined the sides of the courtyard and two battalions stood to attention in the centre, their regular rows of evergreen still in the eerie silence of the square.

"The Spider and the Fly cannot make a bargain." he said, his voice echoing throughout the stone walled town. "The war that we have fought in was a necessary one, although it came at a bitter cost the Gallic offensives would have reached our shores sooner or later, and so it was imperative that we struck first to weaken them. The cost has been dear, as I and many other who were on the front lines know, but it is by the blood of the fallen that we are kept safe. It is through their sacrifices and their suffering that our great nation will be safe for a while longer. Indeed, amidst the brutality of the front I saw amongst my men bravery, honour, courage and integrity that prides me to call myself their king. It prides me to call myself an Arendellian knowing that amongst my ranks are characters that have displayed the greatest valour in the most brutal of places. We are here today to celebrate these characters. To celebrate their distinguished acts of valour and courage that brings glory to this state. God has truly shined upon these men, and in the half light of the cannon fire, in the light of glinting muskets has granted them the gift to fight for their country with a tenacity and strength that is second to none. Hail to these strong men. Long I've Arendelle!" he shouted, finishing his speech. The voices of the crowd joined in the chant. Agnarr descended the ramp leading to the courtyard, the unseasonal chilly wind whipping his auburn locks to the side. Kai walked up next to him and presented the first medal. Pinning it on then soldiers forest green cloak the soldier saluted him, a poorly hidden haunted look swimming behind his eyes. The process repeated, each soldier standing stiffly as the wind whipped around them. No cheers of praise or celebration were heard from the crowd, the numbers of men coming home too few, so only the wind moaned quietly at the festivities.

"And now, the award for gallantry in battle. Step up Major Arundel" a slightly older man marched up to the podium and had a ribbon pinned to his chest, its crimson standing out brightly against the dark green tunic. The man saluted and returned to his ranks like a well-oiled machine. He shouted orders to the men in the square, all marching to the same beat as the battalion moved out and formed up from the courtyard. The citizens filtered out of the granite court, turning their backs on the king, he too returned to the castle. Throwing his sword off in the great hall he slumped into the seat at the head of the table. Allowing his gaze to wander to the ceiling he admired the starry sky painted in gold and navy blue on the rafters, he exhaled sharply and shut his eyes, images of a silver moon haunting his memory. He didn't feel the warm body curling in on him.

"Agnarr? Are you okay?" Iduna asked, rubbing his shoulders beneath the golden epaulettes.

"As good as I can be flower" he replied, rubbing her soft hands with his coarse ones.

"Kai asked me to give you this, as you didn't want to be given them in public" she held out a black leather box with the military seal embossed on it. He opened it and revealed black, red and green ribbons with gold medals hanging off them. Above them all was a large cross with a ribbon stretching out like an eagle's wing over the smaller three. "They say you led a charge" Iduna stated, blue eyes boring into his soul.

"I did"

"And that you may not have come back"

"I shouldn't have"

"Not even to me?" Stricken blue eyes met his emerald ones and something distant twinged in his heart.

"I'm not the man you fell in love with anymore Iduna" Agnarr said, a rising bitterness in his voice.

"You will always be the man I love Agnarr. I promised you when you left for Gallia and I intend to keep that promise" she pressed a kiss to his lips. "Why would you say that?" she asked, her face twisted in a pained expression. He gazed at her, pain tugging in his chest at her unease.

"I love you Iduna, more than the world. You are the only reason I came home" He gulped, a silent tear falling from his left eye. "But I have done things..." the image of the Gallic officer, face blue from lack of air, filled his mind "Seen things that you would hate me for. Please Iduna, I'm a monster" his visage broke and a pained sob racked his body as his head fell into his hands.

"There is nothing you could possibly do that could make me think that." her resolve hardened as she placed tender hands on his face, pulling his face to meet hers. "Start talking to me about it, we can do this together"

"There are some things that you don't want to know Iduna" he lifted her off him and stood up. "Please, just leave it" he turned away from her pained look as he left the room. Alone she felt her chest move quickly in and out as her heart broke, tears pouring out of her eyes as her hands shook. Unfeeling she didn't notice a gentle hand on her shoulder, she jumped up and met Gerda looking warmly at her.

"He will come dear, just wait." the unspoken wisdom filled her simple words and Iduna nodded, wiping away the hot tears from her face.

XXX

Agnarr wandered the castle gardens, the cool breeze whipping between lilies and tunics with a manic speed, sending petals and pollen flying through the crazed air. The uniform was too stiff, the epaulettes too heavy and he felt lopsided as the weight of the medal pouch in his pocket tugged on his mind. Gazing at the open gates and into the now empty courtyard he hardened his resolve and headed out to the closest pub.

Stepping into the warm building the once noisy room fell silent as they saw who entered. Eyes gazed at him suspiciously as he strolled anxiously towards the bar. "Pint of ale please" he asked, the men turning back to their conversations.

"Which one?"

"Your strongest" Agnarr threw out a copper penny and a tankard of ale was poured out. He took a sip, wincing at the bitter taste of the drink but forced it down, nonetheless. Just as he did that another man dressed in a forest green uniform came through the door, his arm dressed in a white sling with faint bloodstains beneath it.

"Agnarr!" the man shouted, clasping his good arm around the king.

"Amundsen" Agnarr returned the embrace as another pint was poured. He took a sip and relished in the flavour once again, a look of serene calmness coming through his pained features.

"What brings you here your majesty?" Amundsen asked, nursing his drink.

"Same as you I suspect" Agnarr took another swig.

"Don't you have young somebody to tend to?" Amundsen raised his eyebrows in a quick movement and quickly downed his pint, getting another just as quickly.

"She won't love me anymore"

"What makes you say that?" Amundsen asked, turning on the stool carefully to not knock his injured arm.

"It's tearing me apart, if I tell her what happened then it will eat her up and she will hate me. It's best if she doesn't find out and fall out of love with me naturally" Agnarr finished his drink too, ordering another one with a sharp nod.

"That's rubbish" Amundsen said "What would she rather have, you defending yourself or you rotting six foot in the ground next to some other poor fucker who was too scared to stick up for himself" he used his good arm to send two sharp prods to his chest.

"I've seen Iduna and you together. She loves you with all your heart, that doesn't come so often nowadays" Amundsen turned around.

"When I came back from my first war it ate me up too. Nightmares, visions and flashbacks constantly would destroy me from the inside out, I was a complete mess. Tired when I wasn't in training, irritable when I was, it took everything from me." he leant in close to Agnarr's face and stared into his green eyes. "My sergeant told me a piece of advice that I still hold dear this day."

"Conceal it, don't feel it. Don't let it show"

Agnarr nodded solemnly, downing his drink and getting up, throwing his tunic back on he headed towards the door.

"What the hell are you doing?" Amundsen looked at him like a madman.

"Taking your advice" he shouted, sprinting out the door.

XXX

He rushed into the attic, throwing open the creaky old trapdoor leading to the observatory. Iduna let out a shocked squeak as he rushed into the room and hugged her tightly. She stiffened at first, frightened by the sudden noise and grasp but soon melted into him as she realised who he was.

"I'm so sorry Iduna" he whispered pulling her into his warm arms "I've been an arse to you for no good reason"

"It's okay Agnarr really, what's gotten into you?" she asked, breaking a small gap between them.

"Just... An Epiphany of sorts" he said, hugging her tightly once again.

"Are you going to talk about what happened then?" the hope in her voice was clear.

"I don't need to. I can just put the past behind me" he said, shrugging slightly with his shoulders. "I know how to deal with things when they... get bad, and the war is over. We don't have to worry about anything at all" he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

"Agnarr I don't think that's wise" Iduna's voice felt tight and constricted.

"How so? It's not real Iduna it can't hurt me" he shrugged once again and flinched under her gaze. "It's in the past" he said, less confidently.

"Just because it isn't real now doesn't mean it wasn't then" her words shook him.

"I won't let the past destroy me Iduna" he said more firmly.

"I won't let you destroy yourself!" her voice broke into an exasperated sigh as she paced around the room and pinched her brow. I have seen this before Agnarr, when warriors came back from battles they would be screaming at night for days. It would eat them from the inside out. The only way to stop it is to talk and come to terms with it." she sounded desperate now, visions of the screaming men and the nightmares they described filling her mind.

"I am not as soft as you think I am" he said, bitterness rising in the back of his throat.

"It's not about being soft. This is something you cannot control Agnarr. Neither you nor I can have any say in the matter. Please trust me!" her voice was shaky and panicked as though she were on the verge of tears. "You promised me you would come home from the war, but now it's as though you left part of yourself on that field" His head whipped round and a flash of anger flushed over him, his soft face twisting into an ugly glare that he immediately softened when he saw the pain on Iduna's stricken face.

"I am here am I not?" he asked, for a second fearful he was in a fever dream.

"Not all of you is" her voice was soft and thick, strangled by tears.

"I love you Iduna, but you can't help me" he ran down the trapdoor and left her. Her heart shattered as she heard his steps fade down the corridor, she sank to the floor and let out an anguished sob, the horrible noise reverberating around the observatory, punctuated to an orchestra of whistles and creaks as the wind whipped the roof with a furious passion. Tears fell freely now, her blue eyes a dark sapphire with the pain and sorrow of feeling part of him lost, as though it had died. She cried loudly once again, the papers on the desk now forgotten as she creased in half with the weight of the pain.

XXX

Agnarr returned to his study and sighed. Suddenly a wave of white-hot anger rushed over him and he snapped, picking up a brass statue and throwing it across the room with all his strength. He felt the sinews in his arm protest under the force, but he followed through, sending the heavy figurine hurtling and careering through the air like a cannon ball. Brass met glass and for a second time seemed to stand still, fractals of shattered mirror spread out from the point of impact, stretching out across Agnarr's reflection as the figurine hurtled forward, bouncing against the backboard. The fractals of reflection started to fall, their loud crashing and piercing screaming numb to agnarr who watched the shards of his own visage fall to the ground in a ceremonial heap. When it had finished the shards lay in an ugly pile as Agnarr stood staring at it, fragments of his face still visible in the mirror shards. Kai burst into the room and checked the king.

"What happened your majesty?" he asked, noticing the kings dazed expression.

"I seemed to have broken a mirror" Agnarr numbly replied, dark green eyes unflinching from the shining shrapnel on the floor. He backed out of the study, eyeline not breaking with the shattered mirror until his back was pushed against the wall on the opposite side of the hall. He looked over his right epaulette and locked stares with Iduna's puffy blue eyes, streaked red with her crying. He flinched away under the intensity of her gaze as his cheeks flushed from emotional exhaustion. Snapping out of his gaze he walked away from Iduna trying to escape the regret pooling in his stomach. Immediately after he escaped the maze of corridors in his castle, he found the great hall. On the oaken table was his newspaper, a habit he had recently started doing in order to keep up with the politics of the world. He glanced over the headlines.

"Gallic War ends in Victory for Albion as surprise attack knocks out capital"

He shook his head, not believing it.

A surprise attack ordered by King William of Albion ended the Gallic war yesterday. Landing his troops at Pointpetier the army of Albion swept through the countryside through weakened defences due to the ongoing battle of montmartre ridge and claimed the capital with minimal casualties. Gallia surrendered unconditionally shortly afterwards. The war, which has lasted six months now, has claimed many lives and has been one of the bloodiest the continent has seen. By distracting gallic forces the courageous King William strategically wiped out Gallic defences and took the victory with few casualties in his forces. One must, however, remember the great losses at the battle of montmartre ridge especially amongst the Arendelle and Corona armies who lost a great proportion who fell bravely in the bitter battle.

Bile rose in the back of Agnarr's throat, but he fought it back down. His face blanched and his arms began shaking with a mixture of anger, bitterness and fear. He felt his throat grow hoarse and at that point he realised he was screaming out in an anguished cry.

"They used us as bait" he whispered to himself. Gerda thrust herself into the great hall hearing the king's cry. With a feeble and broken voice, he pronounced to her:

"They used us as fucking bait"

XXX

A/N: I hope you liked this; I've finished exams now so I can put a lot of effort into this project. I'm thinking of writing a sequel of this of sorts which takes place in between frozen 1 and 2 which deals with the secrets and fallout from the original movie and this storyline. Let me know what you guys think about this prospect and whether you actually enjoy my writing or not lol.