Chapter Three

Return of the Prince

VALLOKEN

So much for staying away. Val looked out of the airplane window of the royal family's private jet. Somehow, although he'd jammed his escorts' phone signals, the Arendellian intelligence sector had managed to find him. Well, Val thought to himself. Not bad for a fresh graduate, I suppose. He'd graduated with honours from the University of Vjor at the top of his cohort, with a specialisation in both engineering and computer science. The professors at the university had called him a genius, but Val knew better. He had so much more to learn if he was ever going to be a lead innovator and Head of the Arendellian Military Intelligence.

Truthfully, he didn't need any of that. He was already the damn Prince of Arendelle. But Val aspired to be something more than just the shadow of his older sister. Talya. The name still sounded strangely foreign and distant to him. Growing up apart from your sibling does that to you. Val scowled to himself, feeling bitterness rise up within him again. His parents had kept both him and Talya separated for most of his life, and the only times he had really seen and spoken with her were at the annual Christmas reunions and Arendellian celebrations. And of course, their parents' funerals.

Back when Father had died, Val had still only been a young boy. His mother had comforted him, but he remembered wondering why his older sister was mostly absent. After that, he was sent back abroad to further his studies, not even given a chance to stay for a few more days to mourn the loss of his own father. He remembered hating Mother for that. And then when Mother died of an incurable disease, he had been summoned home, and once again he'd hoped that he could grieve together with his sister, now that they were the only ones left in the family. Alas, Talya still kept her distance, leaving Val to mourn by himself. He had never blamed his sister till then, but the anger he'd felt towards his parents was suddenly directed at her. This time, he didn't need to be sent away. He left of his own accord, leaving Arendelle to bury himself in his academic endeavours and to drown out the rage and hurt.

It'd been four years since then, and in truth, Val never wanted to return. All that was waiting for him back home was the reminder of his abandonment and exile. He had finally gotten to a place where he had drowned his anger with his studies, countless drinks and the company of his friends, and he wasn't looking forward to confronting his feelings again, and especially not in front of Talya.

When the news came that Talya was to be crowned Queen at last, Val had purposely ignored the news and tarried out of spite. As far as he could help it, he was going to miss the coronation. He knew it meant the world to Talya, and he wanted to hurt her. After all, it was payback for all those years. Till this day, he never understood why she'd kept her distance, and he wasn't about to start bothering now. It was far too late for that.

To his vexation, his escorts had finally realised that he'd been jamming their mobile signals, and soon the Arendellian intelligence sector was upon him like the plague. Val had no choice but to return to Arendelle, short of having to answer why he was deliberately avoiding his own sister's coronation. He didn't need that kind of drama being stirred up in the media.

And so, he was put on the family's private jet and whisked off back to Arendelle. He'd almost happily forgotten his identity as the Prince, but seeing all the escorts, the royal staff and the premium service they were giving him dredged it all up again. Val sighed to himself. He would've happily lived in Vjor away from the life of a royal, but unfortunately, it'd come to drag him back into the fold. And it looked like he was going to have to stay.

Well, maybe it won't be that bad, Val reasoned as the jet went through some turbulence. I can finally get started in the Military Intelligence Sector like I always planned.

His secretary, a stiff old man called Winston, stood at the side of his luxurious seat and cleared his throat.

"I know you're there, Winston." Val sighed. "What is it?"

"We're touching down in Arendelle in half an hour, Your Highness." Winston said stolidly.

"Thank you, Winston." Val turned back to the window, to see that they'd already begun a slow descent through the clouds.

Winston cleared his throat.

"What now?" This time, Val didn't bother turning round.

"I just thought you should be prepared, Sir. The local media will be waiting for you to make a statement about your return to Arendelle."

Val grunted. Just what he needed. The media pigs swarming him and getting up in his face. He should've thought of that. People would want to know about his long absence and his years abroad, and his plans moving forward.

Winston went on. "My advice would be to keep things…politically correct."

Val snorted, removing his spectacles and cleaning the lenses meticulously. Even Winston knew he had a penchant for speaking his mind and not caring what anyone thought of him. "Duly noted."

Very soon, Val could see the city, spanning across the fields and mountains. His home, he noted, was really quite beautiful from up here. He had never ceased to be amazed by Arendelle's modernity and technological advancements, and always looked forward to seeing his kingdom from a bird's eye view. It always seemed to pass so quickly. Before long, the private jet touched down on the ground, rolling to a halt in the middle of the Southern Norway Airport. Apparently, people from the other kingdoms had heard of the young Prince's return to the country, and had come out in droves to catch a glimpse at the handsome, eligible young man. Men, women and children lined the airport viewing galleries and also the runway, waiting for Val to emerge.

Putting on a dapper grey suit jacket that the staff had prepared for him, Val ran a hand through his hair and clipped a pair of shades onto his spectacles to avoid the glares from the camera flashes that awaited him. I'm not ready for this.

"Ready, Your Highness?" One of his escorts called out, standing by the cabin door.

Val grunted, buttoning up his suit jacket and making his way over to the door. The door to the private jet slid to the side, revealing a set of steps that led all the way to ground level. Climbing down, Val was immediately flanked by his own escorts who were dressed in civilian clothes, as well as soldiers from the renowned Valquerson Rifles, adorned in their ceremonial white uniforms.

"Welcome home, Your Highness." A lieutenant saluted him.

Val gave him a curt nod and adjusted his shades. The midday sun was still blazing overhead, and he immediately felt very warm. This was another reason why he hadn't been looking forward to returning home: the infamous summer heat in this part of the country.

"Your Highness!"

"Over here, Your Highness!"

"Prince Valloken!"

It sounded like a million people were shouting into his ears as Val, surrounded by his security team and entourage, began to walk in between the aisles of reporters and media representatives from all the largest news companies around the country. Val ignored them mostly, but it was getting increasingly hard to do so, what with photographers shoving cameras into his face and flashes going off every two seconds.

"Prince Valloken!" One reporter had enough nerve to crawl below the barricades and got into the middle of his path. She held an audio recorder to his mouth. "Your sister was crowned Queen yesterday. Why have you arrived late?"

"Delays." Val answered in a clipped tone, waving away his guards' attempts to remove her from his path. He admired the woman's courage to risk being manhandled by his security just to get a quote.

"Her Majesty announced yesterday that her first act as the new monarch of Arendelle will be to try and establish bilateral relations with the Southern Isles." The reporter continued, still holding the audio recorder up. "Were you aware of her intentions?"

"No I was not."

"What are your views on her proposed actions? Do you think the queen should attempt to reach out to the Isles so quickly?"

"I don't presume to know what my sister is trying to do." Val tried his best to keep the spite out of his tone and failed. "But I couldn't care less."

Upon hearing his response, everyone instantly grew quieter, and Val could feel the hushed tension in the air as everyone strained to hear what he had to say. From the corner of his eye, he saw his secretary Winston mouthing the words "Don't" at him. All of a sudden, Val felt emboldened, and a triumphant smirk began to creep onto his features.

"Sir, care to explain what you mean?" The reported asked, breath caught in her throat.

"I meant exactly what I said." Val said with an air of nonchalance. "I couldn't care less. What my sister does is her business."

"But you are the Prince of Arendelle."

"I may be the Prince in name, but I have no intentions of getting into politics." Val announced. "I am back home to fulfil my own purposes and goals."

"And what would those be?"

"Innovation. Intelligence. Security." Val whipped out his phone from his pocket, and waved it about for everyone to see. "You think your world is safe. That mobile security cannot get any better. But what if I tell you that you're wrong?" He tapped a button on his screen, and immediately the phones of everyone in the vicinity began to power down and reporters gasped as they lost their audio recordings of his words. Then without warning, every phone began to blare loudly as though a thousand alarms were being set off at the same time.

"The digital world is a more convenient one. But it doesn't mean it's free from danger." Val went on, speaking into the only remaining audio recorder that he hadn't hacked. "I intend on making it a safer one."

"And how would you plan on doing that?" The reporter standing before him had an awed look on her face.

"By taking an active interest in Arendelle's Cyber Intelligence." Val said plainly. "The military deserves better security and intelligence. And I'm going to start by giving it to them. Now, if you'll excuse me." With that, Val slipped past the awe-struck reporter, and his escorts followed in a hurry.

"Sir. That was…uncalled for." Winston said unhappily once they got into the car that had been waiting for them.

Val smiled. "But necessary."

"I fail to see how."

"The people need to know that I'm not going to be my sister's lap dog. I've come back of my accord to do what I want, not what she intends for me to do."

Winston looked uncomfortable. "I suggest you clarify things with Her Majesty. I wouldn't presume to know what she thinks of all this."

Victoriously, Val looked out the window as the limousine started down the road. "Neither do I."

TALYA

As her servants helped her don her formal lavender dress with a traditional Arendellian green cape, Talya shifted impatiently, her mind racing. News had spread of her brother's arrival at the airport, and it had spread fast. By four in the afternoon, every major news channel was reporting on Val's return after four years abroad, and the message was very clear: Prince Valloken of Arendelle wanted nothing to do with his sister's plans.

Talya gritted her teeth. Damn it Val, why did you have to make a scene the moment you touched down? She'd often heard the phrase "there is no such thing as bad publicity". Unfortunately, that was not so in her case. She had desperately hoped that Val's escorts and staff would keep him from saying something stupid that would stir controversy, but it seemed they had failed to do so.

And now, the whole world knew that Queen Talya and her brother Prince Valloken had differences in opinion on the very day he was making his return to the palace. Just the publicity we need. Talya had to keep herself from frowning as she was escorted out of the palace, met by the hundreds of media hounds that thronged the courtyard in the cool of the evening. She put on a cheery smile, waving her gloved hand at the masses. She was grateful that wearing gloves wasn't entirely out of tradition. The nervousness from being in public coupled with the annoyance she felt towards her little brother were enough to have sent her sorcery spiralling out of control if not for the gloves. Talya often wondered how it was that the gloves could keep her powers at bay, but preferred not to question it. If it worked, then it worked. But she knew that sooner or later, she was going to have to find a more permanent solution to deal with her very unique problem.

"Your Majesty!"

"Ma'am!"

"Queen Talya!"

A hundred voices shouted in her face at once, camera flashes blinding her and a sea of microphones thrust in her direction. This time, she let a genuine smile slip. Even though she hadn't been queen more than a couple of days, her people already knew that she wasn't strict or cold, the type to adhere to formal tradition or royal decorum. Any other monarch would have been put off by so many reporters shouting in her face. Well, except for maybe Queen Anna.

"It's alright." Talya nodded at Liam.

"Are you sure, Ma'am?" Liam looked apprehensive. "It goes against protocol."

"I'm not my father." Talya said, a little more stiffly than she had intended.

"Yes, Ma'am." Liam turned and signalled to his men to stand down and to return to the queen's side. The Valquerson Rifles drew back from the crowd, leaving a thin line of guards to keep the reporters from leaping over the barricades that had been erected all along the lengths of the courtyard.

"Your Majesty," A young bespectacled reporter's voice rang out above the others. He held out a microphone with the logo of the Fjord Times, displaying for all to see that he was from the largest local media establishment in the kingdom. "You mentioned yesterday that you aim to re-establish bilateral relations with the Southern Isles. Your predecessors have tried for many years, but with no real success. What do you think you will do differently from them?"

"Well first of all, I'm not my predecessors." Talya said coolly, clasping her gloved hands behind her back in case they trembled out of edginess. "I plan to take a less conventional approach."

"Such as?"

"That, of course, I cannot disclose just yet." Talya smiled. "I am still working with the prime minister and minister of foreign policy to draw up a plan, but you will all know when it's ready."

"Your Majesty!" Another journalist from somewhere further back said loudly, squeezing to the front of the barricades. Her notebook was emblazoned with the logo of the Fjord Times' biggest rival, the Free Arendellian Press. "What are some of your other plans moving forward?"

"Well, I plan to strengthen bilateral relations with the Danish." Talya answered. "My ancestress, the great Queen Anna used to work hand in hand with Queen Melody of Denmark, so I don't see any reason why I shouldn't attempt to reach out to this generation's version of the Land and Sea Queen."

There was a round of polite laughs from everyone around, and chatter began to fill the air as more reporters shouted their questions.

"And what about His Highness?"

Her heart skipped a beat. She turned to regard the reporter who'd asked the question. "What about him?"

"Earlier today, Prince Valloken made a statement upon his touchdown at the Southern Norway Airport. He made it clear that he had ambitions beyond the throne and that he wanted nothing to do with the crown. Is that true, Your Majesty?"

Talya froze. Her voice caught in her throat, and her mind annoyingly went blank.

"Did you know about his intentions, Ma'am?"

"Your Majesty! Did His Highness inform you of his plans to enter the cyber intelligence sector?"

A million voices seemed to bombard her at once, and unconsciously, she began to backpedal away from the barricades. A long trail of her dress was caught on her high heeled shoe, and she very nearly tripped backwards, but she steadied herself at the last moment. Trying to keep her breath calm, her eyes darted around. The Valquerson Rifles had been dispatched to keep the peace, forming a thicker line to reinforce the barricades as the photographers continued to wave their cameras at her and reporters shouted their questions. The faces were a blur now, but all of them seemed to have fixed their eyes on her, and she felt the pressure mounting. Talya could feel her hands growing cold, the sorcery threatening to burst forth but weakly held at bay by the gloves. She had to say something in response, and fast, before the damage was irreversible. But what?

Suddenly, just like that, the atmosphere had changed. The attention was no longer on her. The camera flashes that blinded her had grown fewer, and almost everyone had turned their focus towards the driveway leading through the courtyard towards the entrance of the palace. A sleek black limousine drove through the driveway, lit up by the hundreds of camera flashes that went off at the same time like a volley of ancient musketry muzzle flashes.

Talya swallowed, feeling the nervousness ramp up. She'd known this was coming sooner or later, so why was she feeling this way? This was her own brother, not some random cold dignitary from some faraway country. But it might as well have been. After the hostility the family had been through, she honestly didn't know what to expect from their reunion, but she was about to find out one way or another.

The limousine purred to a stop in front of the shallow flight of steps that led up to where Talya was waiting. A soldier from the Valquerson Rifles opened the passenger door, and boomed loudly: "Presenting, His Royal Highness, Prince Valloken of Arendelle!"

The courtyard exploded with applause and cheers as the door was opened, and out of the car climbed a young man dressed in a dapper grey suit jacket, his short black hair smoothed with an almost military like style. He was handsome, of average height and build, with intelligent hazel brown eyes hidden behind a set of round rimmed spectacles and a set of freckles that resembled Talya's.

She watched her brother presented a false smile to the masses and waved benevolently the way royal etiquette had been taught to them both, albeit separately. As her brother finally turned and slowly ascended the steps, Talya sucked in a long breath. The moment she'd been both longing for and dreading had finally arrived. Val is back.