She was too distracted; it was just like when she was in Arendelle, her body was there but her mind not so much. Since she had tried to leave the room and walk away; Zackary insisted on taking her hand to keep her close.
The king of Arendelle did not know exactly what his wife was up to, but he was not willing to take risks, any wrong move and he could lose everything. Throughout their marriage he had struggled to crush Elsa's self-esteem, to make sure she would never try to betray him, he had his doubts about what she would be capable of, but this was not the time to underestimate the queen.
- "Do you feel good, dear?" - Zackary asked in his wife's ear. - "You look quite nervous, we could say that you feel unwell."
- "I'm fine, seriously" - She replied. - "Also, I think that if I cancel my meeting with the king I would raise suspicions"
- "That's my girl" - Zackary said before kissing her on the lips. - "I know you're not going to disappoint me, are you?"
"No, I won't," she murmured.
- "I knew that Admiral had only written that letter full of lies, but calm down my angel, she will pay to try to blame you for something, I swear that I will find out what she is planning and she will regret it"
The blonde looked down, still did not want to believe what Zackary said, she had not seen the alleged letter, she was clinging to the idea that her husband was not trustworthy, throughout their marriage he had never done anything good for her He always tried to make her unhappy, she tried to convince herself that everything was an invention to play with her head and control it; as usual.
At the same time a part of her wondered if all that was true, Hans had devised a whole plan to murder her in the past, it was also true that she and Anna had prevented him from keeping the crown of Arendelle,
Her feelings were confused, she didn't even know if she wanted to see Hans, she didn't even trust anyone anymore, either of them could lie, maybe she had trusted Hans too much, after all for some time it made her feel that he was the solution to her problems, but what if she had been a game all along? Was it all part of a cruel revenge?
Her insecurities and fears were controlling her and what she needed was to be alone, but she was sure that her husband would not allow her to get away from him, she did not know what crossed her mind, but she knew that it was not a good thing, a clear sign That something was wrong was that he was treating her fairly well, even though there were no people nearby.
- "Oh, my sweet angel. I'm sorry I exposed you to that man "- Zackary said. - "But you are already safe, and I will compensate you for everything, if everything goes well in your meeting with the king, I will make you the happiest woman in the world." - Zackary assured her. - "Everything depends on you, Elsa." - She didn't say anything, she just wanted to end this whole situation. - "I know I have not been the husband you always dreamed of, but I will be eternally grateful to you after this visit, things will change at home, I promise you"
- "Aren't you upset with me?"
- "Why should I be upset with you?" - He asked. - "You were only a victim of the facts, he took advantage of you, I made a mistake in entrusting your safety to him and I apologize for that."
- "What will happen to Anna?" - She dared to ask.
- "What about her? You know she has things to take care of here" - Zackary replied - "but maybe, if you behave, she can visit us at Christmas or allow you to visit her when her baby is born."
- "Ok, that sounds good" - She said resigned. - "I will be a good wife, I promise"
- "I know yes" - He kissed her on the forehead. - "I really missed you, Elsa. I missed you at night, did you miss me in your bed too, my love? "
- "Yes, very much" - she lied. - "I think I should ... I have to ... we should"
- "Easy, do you need to practice a little more?"
- "We have to hurry, I think the best thing is that all this ends soon"
- "There is still a little time until your meeting, but come, let's take a walk in the gardens" - He said. Without letting go of the hand - "The fresh air will do you good"
He held her by the waist, she made a gesture of pain; she had several bruises after the night before; That served as a reminder of what kind of person her husband was; He had even treated her roughly when he claimed he was trying to make her happy to side with him.
As they walked he told her about some of the things he had done in Arendelle during her absence, but Elsa didn't pay much attention; she simply pretended to hear him, suddenly looked away and her eyes met the Admiral's.
Hans looked at her somewhat surprised; Had he been as baffled as he was by Zackary's presence?
She turned her gaze away from the redhead, as much as she wanted the man to hug her and tell her that everything Zackary had told her was a vile lie, she also didn't want to risk knowing that everything was true, that perhaps after taking what she had taken. He wanted her, he had decided to betray her, maybe he was on Zackary's side all the time, but before he finished with her, he wanted to play with her.
- "But look who has the guts to walk this way" - Zackary said. She watched as the redhead approached both of them. - "Honey, you should go to the king's office, I'll take care of this"
Elsa nodded and walked away. The redhead quickened his pace, but the king of Arendelle intervened. - "Oh, Admiral Westergaard, I must admit that you surprised me more than I expected and in a different way" - The king said.
- "I didn't think you would come"
- "Well, I couldn't ignore certain correspondence" - Zackary said - "A tip that you should start to seriously consider is that you should save your plans and not share them before executing them"
- "What did you say to Elsa?" - I ask.
- "I don't know what ideas you put in my wife's mind, but nobody can play with her mind like me. The poor little girl was so sad when she found out that you had asked me to come. "
- "I do not…"
- "No matter the content of that letter, it is enough that she doubts you" - he said - "It is a hard lesson, but that will teach her not to try anything against me again"
- "You wanted to murder her"
- "Just like you" - He spoke. - "Anyway, now I will have to pretend that I would never harm her, after you put my cousin on alert I cannot get rid of her, also little Elsa still has some courage; At least I have learned not to underestimate her. "
- "I will not allow you to harm her"
- "After Elsa denies everything you have said to the king, I will see to it that you receive a punishment for high treason. You will never speak to her again, if you do she will pay the consequences "
(…)
Elsa waited a bit until the king was able to attend to her. She entered that large and intimidating office. - "Queen Elsa, please take a seat" - The king told her, she walked to the chair in front of the desk.
Her body felt like it was shaking.
- "How has your visit been? Has Weselton captivated you?" - Asked the king.
- "It was good, your kingdom is beautiful and I was able to spend time with my sister, thanks for asking" - Elsa replied. - "I also thank you for receiving me, Your Majesty"
- "Let's get to the point, Queen Elsa" - The king spoke. - "Admiral Wesetergaard has provided me with certain information involving your husband; King Zackary, and I would like to corroborate that information "
- "What is it about?" - She questioned pretending bewilderment. - "Is my husband in trouble?"
- "Your Majesty, I am aware that since you have married, it is not you who is in charge of Arendelle, but I know that you are an intelligent woman, surely nothing goes unnoticed by you" - he commented. - "I also think it important to remind you that you pledged allegiance to the kingdom of Weselton at the time we signed our agreement"
- "I remember, but I'm somewhat confused, what did Admiral Westergard tell you?"
- "Tell me, what relationship do you have with Admiral Westergard?"
- "We don't really have a relationship, I haven't heard from him for years since he attempted against my life, but he showed up at my anniversary party, he apologized for his past actions and earned my husband's trust, he escorted me here. , but I don't know him too well, may I ask why the admiral is involved? "
- "Better tell me, are you satisfied with the reign of your husband?" - He asked ignoring her.
- "I think I have not heard any complaint from the council members, the people of Arendelle also seem to agree with their reign. At first I did not ... that is, at first I had my doubts about how she would govern, since I knew little about her before the wedding "
- "I understand"
- "I think he does a good job, he has a good control over the kingdom, I am also sure that he is up to date with the money that he agreed to periodically deliver to Weselton"
- "Yes, in effect all payments have been made in a timely manner"
- "I think everything is in order, if at times it is stressed due to the pressure that exists from the council, allied kingdoms and even from the subjects due to the lack of an heir."
- "I appreciate that you touch that subject, Your Majesty" - The king spoke - "Two years have passed since your marriage, certainly when the wedding took place I thought it would be a matter of months to receive the news of your pregnancy, I know that sometimes those things They take time, but the pressure is that without an heir with Weselton blood; Arendelle's kingdom wouldn't be entirely Weselton territory, would it? "
- "Zackary and I have tried, we both wish we could give Arendelle an heir"
- "Zackary has mentioned on more than one occasion that he believes you are incapable of conceiving a baby" - The king mentioned. - "Although I have my doubts as to whether he is the one with the problem, that is, Zackary does not make an effort to hide his lovers, but I have never heard of an unrecognized son, he has never impregnated a woman, so, I think we can get out of doubts "
- "Excuse me, I don't understand what you mean" - She said stammering a little.
- "Come on, Elsa. I think it is an open secret that sometimes certain measures are taken within the monarchy "- He spoke. - "If the only problem with your husband is the inability to get pregnant that can easily be solved, your husband is my relative so there is a certain similarity, I have had healthy and strong children, Zackary does not have to find out if you are concerned that this it bothers him, but if he finds out I'll take care to make him understand "
- "Your Majesty, I think I'm a little confused" - She spoke. The man stood up, walked around the desk and stood in front of her.
- "I can give you the heir that you need so much, everyone will believe that it belongs to your husband and nobody will have to question it" - She said while caressing the queen's belly; who felt that all that was a cruel joke of fate. - "I would not mind helping you solve your problem, you are also a beautiful woman with whom I would love to share the bed" - He said before approaching her and trying to kiss her.
- "Can I think about it?" - She asked quickly looking away to avoid being kissed.
- "I await your response by tomorrow at this time, we will meet again to discuss certain aspects, and if you accept my proposal; I will be happy to show you my rooms "
She said goodbye in a hurry, left as fast as she could from there while she felt tears of frustration come out of her eyes. She was tired; tired of Zackary, Hans, the king of Weselton, tired of everything. She did not want to tolerate it anymore, she was tired of being used, tired of feeling that she could not trust anyone, of feeling so useless, vulnerable and of being completely ignored.
She had trusted Hans; who apparently had betrayed her despite everything, had clung to the stupid idea that the king of Weselton would give her a solution to her problem, but if the solution he offered her was to take her to bed he did not want her, he was fed up with Zakcary getting into his head and manipulating it as he pleased.
Frustrated, she could no longer contain her emotions and screamed, while unconsciously using her powers and ice covered much of the palace, Elsa breathed heavily, looked at what she had caused.
- "I am the snow queen" - she murmured to herself. - "I am the snow queen" - She repeated this time louder. - "I am more powerful than him" - She said in a trembling voice, despite all the care and insecurities that Zackary and many others had caused her, she was no longer willing to endure more.
She knew that Zackary was not someone to trust and that nothing would stop him from hurting her again and trying to murder her, the king of Weselton was not much different from him, she had married Zackary in order to save Arendelle, but now it seemed that only Weselton benefited, she had to be the queen who had sworn to be the day of her coronation.
- "Elsa!" - Hans exclaimed, the redhead's voice made her turn. Snowflakes fell around her, while the admiral looked at her with genuine concern.
No, she no longer wanted to risk trusting him. It was all too confusing, but she couldn't and wasn't willing to put her destiny back in someone else's hands. She stomped on the ground and the ice spread further, the blizzard intensified and snow invaded every place in its path.
This time the negotiation would be under her terms.