A/N: I hope y'all enjoy the chapter, don't forget to review, your words mean a lot.
"Alarik, may I introduce my sister, Elsa, Queen of Arendelle."
Alarik's head whipped around, his eyes widening. "Queen?"
"Of Arendelle." Anna supplied helpfully.
Elsa resisted the urge to wrap her arms around herself, aware that with her muddy hands and rain-soaked attire, she didn't exactly resemble what a queen should look like. She attempted to wipe off her hands on her equally muddied tunic.
"I, uh . . ." Alarik opened his mouth, then closed it without speaking, a blush raising from his neck to his ears.
Elsa grinned, but Alarik's father was far from amused. Lord Oskar bowed deeply. "If you would excuse me, Your Majesty."
"Of course," she said, folding her filthy hands in front of her like she wasn't covered from head to toe.
The Baron turned his attention to his eldest son, face glowing red. "My study, now."
Alarik dipped his chin with a sober "Your Majesty" but winked as he walked past.
Elsa watched the two depart, then took a deep breath to steel herself for the onslaught of questions and demands she knew were about to erupt from her sister. In her periphery, she could see Anna was watching her way with a narrowed, calculating gaze, like she was trying to decipher a particularly trying puzzle. Elsa drew together all the regal grace a person covered in mud could and lifted her chin. "I need a bath," she announced.
She turned toward the hall leading to their quarters, knowing her sister would follow. The two walked in silence all the way to Elsa's room. At first, Anna's restraint impressed her, knowing full-well the girl had to be bursting with questions, but as the silence dragged on it grated her nerves.
As they drew near her room, a servant opened the door for her with a low curtsy. "Your Majesty, there is a hot bath waiting for you as per Lord Oskar's request. Do you require assistance or need anything I can get for you?"
Elsa raised her eyebrows, that was quick. She held a muddy hand up and shook her head. "No, thank you." The girl curtsied once more and Elsa stepped into the room. She moved behind a privacy screen where the steaming bathtub was waiting.
Finally, she could stand the silence no longer. "Anna," she said, poking her head from behind the screen. Her sister had settled onto the bed and was staring down at her hands. "Just say it already, before you bite through your tongue."
Elsa unbuttoned her tunic. The infuriating silence stretched on a moment longer, before Anna exploded, a rush of unintelligible words that Elsa could not quite follow. "Anna, slow down." she called through the screen as she slipped into the bathtub. "Try one word at a time." She let out a sigh as the hot water went to work on her sore muscles.
Anna drew an audible breath. "When I said you should relax and have fun, I didn't mean riding through a rainstorm and attempting to give yourself brain damage. What were you thinking?"
"Well, not that I'd go out riding during a storm and crack my head on a rock."
"Crack your head on a rock?"
Elsa winced, realizing the poor choice in words; she could hear her sister's panic ratcheting up a notch. "Anna—"
"You do realize this is the second time in three months you've hit your head. That can't be good for you."
"Anna—"
"You remember what happened last time, right? Or did you hit your head so hard it knocked out the memories?"
She knew her sister couldn't see it, but that didn't stop Elsa from throwing a dirty look through the privacy screen. How could she not remember, she came terrifyingly close to being killed by her own chandelier thanks to Hans. She wasn't sure she'd call it luck, that she got away with only being knocked unconscious as she spent the next few weeks sick. The entire affair only made worse by her admittedly stubborn refusal to stop working until she literally collapsed. Anna had thrown a fit and made threats to give Elsa something that would make her sleep for a week if she didn't follow the physician's advice and allow herself time to heal.
"Anna," Elsa attempted a third time. Her sister thankfully stayed quiet long enough to get a word in. "I promise, it's just a bump."
"You were thrown from you horse and hit your head on a rock," Anna countered.
Elsa tilted her head. She couldn't argue that point, and now that the excitement of the day had worn off her head was bothering her, nowhere near as bad as last time, but enough to notice. "If it gives you peace of mind, I will let their doctor look me over."
"It will."
"Very well then." Elsa slid beneath the surface of the water long enough to wet her hair and wash the mud and grime from the long platinum strands.
After a long stretch of much more comfortable silence, Anna cleared her throat. "So. . ."
Elsa rolled her eyes, wincing slightly as the motion caused an unexpected stab of pain, then pulled herself from the tub. "Anna." she said in a warning tone as she wrung the water from her hair and grabbed a robe draped over the screen.
Anna huffed. "Tell me about what happened!" She bounced excitedly on the bed as Elsa emerged from behind the screen. "How did you end up going riding with Alarik?"
Elsa tied the sash of the robe around her waist. "It's not that exciting, really. I had some unexpected free time after the meeting with Baron Oskar, before I was planning to meet you at the festival," she was quick to add. "It's been a while, so following your advice, I thought I'd take Garnet out for a ride. I ran into Alarik—" Literally "—and he offered to show me the trails."
Anna smiled, her gaze far-off and dreamy. "Sounds like the start of something romantic."
Elsa snorted softly. "Hardly. He was being polite to who he thought was your lady's maid," she said with a mischievous smile.
"Oh, I'm sure he's getting an earful about that right now. Not that he regrets it, of course. It was clear he likes you. You guys should, you know . . ." Anna shrugged, her expression suggestive.
Elsa shook her head as she sat down next to her sister. "You're incorrigible. I don't know Alarik and even if I did, and liked him like that, nothing could ever come of it."
"What?" Anna asked, brows furrowed. "Why not?"
"He is the son of one of my Barons."
"Which would make him a noble," Anna supplied helpfully, as though it was that easy.
"Which would make him one of my nobles," Elsa returned.
"Right. . ." Anna shook her head. "I still feel like I'm missing the problem here."
Elsa sighed patiently. A part of her was glad that her sister was still innocent enough to not understand the problem her theoretical pairing presented. "There would be no political gain to Alarik and I as a pair."
"So?" Anna frowned. "There's no political gain to Kristoff and I, and everyone is okay with that."
Elsa laughed. "No, everyone is not okay with it. The council hounds me every meeting about you, begging me to allow you to entertain courtship offers from far-off princes and nobles in search of some political gain or alliance."
Anna wrinkled her nose. "What? I haven't had offers for courtships."
Elsa shook her head. "You have. Many of them, in fact. I've turned them all away, which is why I asked you the other day about making your courtship with Kristoff more official. If, in fact, that is the direction you both are looking to move. The council will have a fit, but there's not much they can do."
"Oh." Anna's eyes were wide. "I thought you were kidding about that."
"Afraid not." Elsa shook her head. "And if you think they are kicking up dirt about that, you can imagine what their response would be if I tried courting with one of my own nobles."
"I thought you said they didn't want you to. . ." her sister waved a hand.
"They are understandably uneasy about any children I might have. Creating an alliance through marriage is an entirely different situation. As Queen, it would be preferable that I marry to solidify an alliance with another kingdom."
"But Mama and Papa married for love."
Elsa took a deep breath, feeling the pang for her lost parents, the one that never really went away. "Papa was a king with a strong rule and the council, the people never had reason to doubt his ability to do his job."
Anna's brow crinkled in the middle. "Elsa, no one doubts your ability to be queen, you're doing a great job."
Elsa smiled sadly at her sister. "No, Anna. I'm Arendelle's first female ruler, a queen with magic who stayed hidden for thirteen years and then nearly destroyed those I had sworn to protect. My rule is far from secure right now."
"Elsa, that's not true." Anna reached out and covered Elsa's hand with her own. "The people see what you've gone through. They've seen the work you're putting in to make things right. They—"
A knock on the door interrupted her sister and Anna glared at the door, then pushed up off the bed, pulling open the door. "It's the physician." she said, looking over her shoulder.
Elsa nodded, pulling her robe more tightly around herself. "You can let him in."
Anna pressed her lips into a thin line, then sighed. "I'll go check on Alarik. Make sure his father didn't just out right murder him."
Anna walked down the wide staircase, replaying the conversation with her sister. She sighed. Elsa was too hard on herself, trying to make up for past mistakes by setting impossible standards, then condemning herself when she failed to live up to them. She wished there was something she could do to show Elsa that she was a great Queen and loved by her people, but her sister would refuse to believe it, always choosing the story where she's the one at fault.
Anna paused near the bottom of the stairs as Alarik appeared on his way out from his father's study. "You survived," she teased with a lightness she didn't feel, stepping off the last step.
"Your Highness," he greeted with a dip of his chin. "You know, I always thought that you were the biggest troublemaker I ever met, but I am fairly certain that everything you've ever done-combined- would not have earned me the ear-lashing I just received."
Anna chuckled. "Well, you did refer to the queen as my lady's maid."
"Only after she let me believe that's who she was."
"And, if I remember correctly, you called her hardheaded."
Alarik snorted. "Okay, I'll give you that one. How is Her Majesty?"
Anna's gaze drifted upward, where she'd left her sister. "The doctor is with her now. Hopefully, he shouldn't take long." Even as she said it, she felt a nagging bit of worry worm its way into her mind. She glanced back the way she came, as if she could make the doctor manifest through will alone.
Alarik nodded and rolled his lips against his teeth. "And you?" he inquired.
Anna turned back to him with wide eyes. "What about me?"
"Well, I can't imagine the last few months have been a simple transition, even if it's everything you've wanted."
Anna blinked; then a smile spread across her face, color touching her cheeks as she remembered a conversation that she and Alarik had many years ago. Being six years her elder, it was rare that they played together as children, and even rarer for them to talk once she was older. Alarik had joined the military as soon as he was old enough, much to his father's well-voiced displeasure.
But the last year she'd visited the manor her normal partner-in-crime, Danel, was laid up in bed with a sprained ankle that she would swear to her last breath had nothing to do with her or the magical white rabbit they had spotted in the woods. The Baron's daughters had been away, leaving Anna with only herself, once more, for entertainment.
A twenty-year-old Alarik, home for the week, briefly spared her. She was sure the last thing he wanted to do was spend his days off with a fourteen-year-old girl, but instead of brushing her off, he took her out to ride, then into the village for hot chocolate and other sweets. She remembered how smitten she'd been with the older man at the time and could only pray that he either didn't notice or had completely forgotten.
On her last night at the manor, Anna had been feeling down and Alarik took her into the village to the bakery. It had taken some chocolate bribery, but he convinced her to share what was wrong. She confided in him that she didn't want to go back to Arendelle, to an empty castle and a sister she thought hated her. Over the course of the conversation she told him what she wanted more than anything in the world was for the castle gates to open again, to have her sister back.
Anna folded her hands behind her back and rolled forward on the balls of her feet. "It's been quite the challenge," she said, unsure how to properly summarize the whirlwind that had been the last three months. "It wasn't what I expected." A wide grin crossed her face. "But I've honestly never been happier."
"That's good to hear. You deserve to be happy."
Anna ducked her head. She didn't know how to respond to that, but didn't need to as the doctor appeared, walking down the stairs. Her good mood evaporated quickly at the reminder of her sister's possible injury.
The man bowed his head as he reached them. "Your Highness. My Lord."
"How is she?" Anna asked, cutting straight to the point. The events surrounding the last time Elsa took a hit to the head and the stressful weeks that followed were still fresh in her mind, and she wasn't interested in beating around the bush.
"Her Majesty should be fine-"
"Should be?" Anna didn't like that phrasing at all.
The doctor paused, reconsidering his words before continuing. "The Queen has a minor cut on the back of her head where she struck it but isn't showing signs of a concussion. However, as she may be at higher risk of getting sick due to the thirteen years of isolation from people, I would recommend she spend the next day in bed, just as a precaution."
Anna folded her arms across her chest. "I'm sure that went over well."
The doctor raised an eyebrow in agreement but didn't comment. "If anything changes, please feel free to send for me at any time."
"We will," she said. "Thank you."
After the doctor left, Alarik turned to Anna. "Your sister isn't one for bedrest, I take it."
"I can barely convince her she needs the normal amount of sleep. Tell her she needs to stay in bed the entire day? Especially when it's going to push her schedule back a day," Anna snorted. "The last time I managed that, it was only after she collapsed during a meeting, and even that took more than one threat."
Alarik's mouth quirked. "Isn't threatening the queen treason?"
"That's what she said, but I was willing to take my chances."
"Sounds like you have your work cut out for you."
Anna blew out a frustrated breath. "Elsa's job requires she take care of an entire kingdom. The least I can do is make sure someone is taking care of her."
He smiled. "She's lucky to have you."
"If you can remind her of that when I tell her she has to delay her schedule," Anna said, returning the smile.
