Fissure

A/N: I know two chapters in one day, a rarity I know. The advantages of trying to write ahead. Anyway this one is rather short to, probably could have been included as part of the last chapter but their tones are different which is why a split them up. I hope you enjoy it. As always thank you for taking time out of your day to read my story, it is so appreciated. I do not own Frozen or Frozen 2 or any of the characters that appear as part of cannon, they are the property of Disney.

March 1846

The sun shone brightly in the clear spring sky, snowdrops and crocus carpeted the floor beds in white and purples, the blossoms of the cherry and magnolia trees brought color and life to the once sleeping trees. Before two small gravestones sat a young woman on a white and red picnic blanket, three babies sat or crawled around her, one, the eldest was testing out nine-month-old legs by pulling up on her shoulder. There was a constant stream of gurgles and babbles as the siblings spoke to one another in a language only known to them. Her gaze was upon her three miracles; yet, her mind and heart were with another, the little angel Elsa knew with all her heart was the guardian of the triplets.

Despite the odds and the concerns of Dr. Olsen and Pieter, all three of her babies were thriving as they drew closer to a year old. Elsa lay her hand on the tombstone of her first child, Astrid. She remembered back to January when Aren, Haakan, and Solveig all came down with a nasty cold. They had raging fevers, barking coughs, and breathing became extremely difficult for all three but especially Solveig. Elsa and Pieter had taken to sleeping in the nursery in case one of their children needed them. It had been nearly two in the morning by the time Elsa had succumbed to sleep after a particularly difficult night in which Elsa lowered the temperature in the room to ease her children's crup. A young girl with chestnut brown hair, hazel eyes, and a beautiful smile appeared in a garden with the most beautiful roses, irises, crocus, and other wildflowers that Elsa had ever seen. The girl swayed gently on a swing attached to a large oak tree. She beaconed Elsa closer, "Push me?" she'd inquired. Elsa complied, it felt as if they stayed there in a calm contentful silence for hours when the child finally turned, her little hand reaching out and grasping Elsa's as she went to push the swing again. "No worries Mama, they will survive, my brothers and sister will grow to be everything you and I wish them to be and so much more. They are never alone as you will never be again." Elsa had tried to speak to Astrid but the dream faded quickly and Elsa awoke to the sound of a giggling Solveig in her bassinet. That day all three babies woke healthy and happy, no sign of the struggles of the past few days.

Haakan crawled towards the grave and determinedly pulled himself up, his little fingers tracing the words engraved in the stone. "That is your big sister, Haakan. She loves you dearly and protects you from heaven." Elsa told her son who gave her a gummy smile back. Elsa's heart ached with the loss of Astrid yet the joy of Aren, Solveig, and Haakan.

"Do you mind some company?" Anna's voice came from behind Elsa, she turned to see her three-month pregnant sister coming towards her with Rapunzel and Arianna who was cradling baby Iduna in her arms.

"Of course, I was just introducing the triplets to their big sister and guardian angel." Elsa motioned towards the gravestone. Arianna's eyes drifted to the small grave next to Astrid's. "I always believed that my little prince watched over Rapunzel, even when she was taken from us." She remarked as she sat closest to her lost child's final resting place.

"He sure had his work cut out for him with this one." Anna joked pointing to Rapunzel who blushed as she swatted at Anna. "There is nothing wrong with being adventurous."

Arianna shook her head, "You won't be saying that when Stefan, Edith, and Iduna are sneaking out of the palace to go on mysterious quests." Rapunzel wisely held back any retort to her mother's comments. Instead, she turned to Elsa, who was smiling at the interaction between her Aunt and cousin. "We do appreciate you returning to Corona, considering all that happened last time you were here."

Elsa shook her head and took Rapunzel's hand, squeezing it, "It was not your fault."

"We know," Arianne responded. The three women fell into casual conversation mainly pertaining to the children, how fast they were growing, the funny things they did, and how much it hurt to be away from them when duties called. They spoke of Anna's pregnancy, when the child was due, and if Anna had any feeling as to what the child would be. "I think it will be another boy," She said as she rubbed her small baby bump. "Kristoff on the other hand swears it will be another girl. We will be happy with either as long as it is healthy."

It wasn't long later that a page boy arrived, he bowed to the group of women, "Your Majesties and Royal Highness, please excuse the interruption; however, His Majesty requests Her Majesty Queen Elsa join him in his private study at her earliest convenience."

Surprised by the unexpected invitation Elsa excused herself immediately with the promise from the three women that they would watch over the triplets before returning them to the nannies. Elsa quickly moved through the Coronian palace, her mind trying to decipher what could have occurred that would cause her uncle to call upon her.

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King Frederick stood by the hearth, the low fire chasing away the slight chill in the air. March was often warmer outside the castle than it was inside. It was a rare occurrence for a meeting to be held in his private study; however, this was a different type of meeting. He was meeting with his niece and while they were both monarchs they were family first; any government business between them should at the very least occur in a less formal setting, besides what he liked to discuss was just as much family business as it was political.

A light knock at his door drew him from his musings, "Come in," he called out. He smiled as his niece entered. She stepped in gracefully, gently shut the door, and turned to him. She was everything one would expect a Queen Regnant to be, Frederick recognized the Queen facade in an instant. She was intelligent and had gathered rather astutely that he requested her presence not as his niece but rather as Queen of Arendelle.

"Uncle, you requested my presence." She addressed him formally. Fedrick moved toward the settee, "Come niece, have a seat." He motioned to the seat beside him. She swept in her cream casual dress flowing behind her.

"I do apologize for pulling you away from your relaxing afternoon. I know you were visiting Astrid, this however could not wait," He stated as he handed her a short missive. He watched as she read. It was rather impressive how well she schooled her facial features as she handed him back the letter. The potential ramifications should the contents of the letter be proven true were vast and dangerous for Arendelle and by extension Corona.

"Do you trust your informant, how confident are you that what he reports is the truth?" Elsa asked calmly. In the past, Frederick was sure the room's temperature would have dropped a few degrees, but he felt nothing.

"He is one of our best, which is why I sent him there." His words were true, Frederick needed to know the political winds of Scandinavia, as an ally and family to Arendelle, should Arendelle engage in war it would be expected that Corona honors its decades-old partnership. War in Scandinavia meant war for Corona.

Elsa stood and walked around the couch before stopping and looking down at him, he could see the wheels turning in her brilliant mind. "Are you 100% sure there can be no mistake?"

Frederick gave her a sympathetic smile. He knew what would happen if his spy was correct, Elsa knew too. "I am confident there is no mistake, the Swedish and Finnish have been seen conducting joint maneuvers near their shared border."

"And the presence of the Russian Duke?." Frederick rubbed his beard, "the official line is that he is simply there as an impartial judge to determine the winner of the exercises." "I highly doubt his presence is benign in nature," Elsa remarked then she looked at him and her eyes narrowed, "While I appreciate the prompt sharing of intelligence, tell me Uncle what is the other reason you wished to see me?"

Frederick held in a laugh, she was very intelligent. Standing he walked over to his desk and pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her, "I have not discussed this with Rapunzel or Arianne yet, and while I appreciate their console, it is ultimately not their decision." He again studied her as she read his proposal, she didn't conceal her feelings quite as well this time, he could see the sides of her eyes squint slightly and the corner of her mouth turn into a slight frown.

She looked up at him before giving him back the contract, "Aunt Arianne and Rapunzel will be very displeased that you didn't include them in this decision." Her voice was neutral and firm.

"They will, but again as Monarch, it is my decision, not theirs. We are on the precipice of war, should Sweden and Finland declare war on Arendelle then by the terms of our alliance Corona shall go to war on your behalf."

"You are correct, Uncle, we have enjoyed a mutually beneficial alliance for nearly three decades now, why the need for marriage between our families?" Elsa held her hands before her formally, they were now discussing the matter as rulers of two countries, not as a mother and grandfather. As much as Frederick wanted to have a family conversation about the betrothal agreement they couldn't, state matters came first in this instance.

"Elsa, while we are family and will always be family, Corona and Arendelle are not united through bloodlines, the union of countries is through Queen Consorts. Aren may one day be King of Arendelle and Norway, he will need a King's Consort whom he can trust, who will have the same desires for Arendelle and Norway as he will. A betrothal between Aren and Iduna would cement our countries' unique partnership. My council will have no room to suggest that Corona stay out of Arendelle's business if their princess will one day be its queen if Corona's future queen has grandchildren in Arendelle."

Elsa turned her head considering him, "Your council is giving you trouble?' Frederick nodded. He decided to sit again and gestured for Elsa to do the same, "There is a small voice of dissent, a belief that we are too involved with Arendelle considering we are just in-laws and not blood. It is a small minority but that minority took the events of Edith's christening as an example of how only trouble comes from our alliance with Arendelle." He wondered what she was thinking at the news that not all of Corona was behind her. He knew the events of the christening still weighed heavy on her. The knowledge some people wished her harm because of her gift was a hard reality to accept.

She leaned back into the couch, a small indication that the conversation was shifting from one between rulers to one between an uncle and his niece. "I've already informed Finland that I will not consider a betrothal agreement between Christopher and Princess Kaarina until his sixteenth birthday; how can I only a few months later agree to a contract between Aren and Iduna? They will see it as an affront, it appears they may have already perceived my delay as such; any chance we had that Finland may not follow Sweden into war would certainly be gone."

Frederick sighed and pulled her into his arms, she willingly leaned into him, "I did not know Finland had offered a union between Christopher and Princess Kaarina. You are correct, you can not accept my proposal without humiliating them."

"Anna will kill me if I turn around and accept the proposal for Christopher, Aren will be king at 10 months old." Frederick snorted but stopped when Elsa eyed him. "Oh, she's really that upset about it?'

"Upset is an understatement. I love my sister deeply, she is a better person than I will ever be, but when it comes to politics, she makes decisions as a sister or a mother. She has her principles and she will not forsake them no matter the cost. I will lose my sister if I accept a marriage proposal for one of her children." It was unsurprising Elsa's revelation about how Anna felt about arranged marriages. He knew his youngest niece well by now, she was a stubborn strong-willed woman, it took much to convince her to change her mind once it is set to something. "I know your proposal is wise, Uncle, I could think of no one I would rather have my son marry and rule with than one of my little cousins, but please give me some time to convince Anna that accepting Finland's offer is in all our best interest."

Frederick agreed then spent an hour just holding his niece whom he knew was missing her father's presence at that moment. He would stand-in for his brother-in-law gladly.

April 1846

"How are we having this conversation again?" Anna yelled from her seat across from Elsa. Pieter was stunned, he'd never heard Anna speak to Elsa in such a manner. His sister-in-law was his wife's best friend, her right hand, her pillar, and in some ways her keeper; to see Anna so enraged was disconcerting.

"Circumstances have changed, Anna. Finland and Sweden are conducting joint military maneuvers and the Russians are involved. We need to act, we need to do something to placate Finland." Elsa stated evenly. She sat regally, and to the untrained eye she would appear completely unbothered by her sister's anger, but Pieter wasn't most people. He knew that small, minute-down turn at the edge of her mouth on the right side indicated that she was very troubled.

"And my son is the price? I must trade my son like a prized cow in order to assuage Finland's fears that you are a power-hungry world-dominating witch?"

"Anna!" Pieter and Kristoff both shouted simultaneously as Elsa visibly sunk into herself.

"No," Anna stood up from her chair, "she lied, she promised to put this off until Christopher was 16. She lied to me." Anna turned her eyes burrowing down at Elsa, "I swear if you do this I will never forgive you." Then she stormed out. Kristoff stood where he had during the exchange, he glanced at Elsa who looked as if she was an emotionless statue, and back to his enraged wife storming down the hall. "I'll talk to her, she didn't mean it, Elsa, I promise." Pieter watched as the large blonde man sprinted out of the room.

Pieter turned to his beloved wife, her eyes were shut, her knuckles were white from how hard she grasped the arms of her chair, "Elsa, Nysno, look at me." He tried to cajole her to open up to him, to get out of her head where he knew she'd retreated. "Sweetheart, it's alright, Anna didn't mean it."

Elsa shook her head, "She did…" she paused and her eyes closed tighter and her body began to shake, "get out."

"What no." He placed his hand on her shoulder only to yank it back as the cold of her skin nearly burnt him.

"Now, Pieter, go." He hesitated a moment, but when he saw that ice was rapidly encrusting her chair and inching up the walls and door, he turned and ran out. He had just shut the large double doors when he heard her yell in agony and the door frosted over. Pieter tried in vain for nearly an hour to get the door open, he was sure he just about dislocated his shoulder ramming the door after his attempts to talk his wife out of the room failed. Anger, as he'd never felt it before, welled up from inside him. Turning on foot he marched towards the apartments of the one responsible for his love's turmoil.

When he arrived before Anna and Kristoff's door he didn't hesitate a moment before he began to bang loudly. "Open this door now," he roared. A maid passing squeaked and hurried away, he should probably worry about the gossip the sight of him attempting to break down Anna's door would cause, but it barely registered in his mind. He was surprised at how quickly the door opened, though he wasn't surprised to see it was Kristoff.

"Where is she? I need to speak with her this instance." Pieter demanded with the authority of the Queen's Consort he was.

"She isn't here." Kristoff sighed. Pieter felt his anger only grow.

"What do you mean she is not here? Don't protect her Kristoff, you know she was in the wrong. She has devastated Elsa. I was forced to flee from my wife's side in her greatest moment of need and am now prevented from returning to her side by a door frozen shut. This is your wife's doing."

Kristoff's shoulders dropped, "It's that bad huh?"

Pieter was caught off guard by Kristoff's response to his tirade; he expected Kristoff to come to Anna's defense.

"Don't give me that look, Pieter, I know Anna was out of line, I even mentioned as much to her, all it did was get me banned from my own home as my wife takes my children to our estates for an undisclosed amount of time."

Pieter was gobsmacked; Anna was out of control if she had just banned her husband from their home, from their children. "This is ridiculous. We are royals, Anna is a princess of Arendelle, the country comes first, politics comes first, she is being selfish and irresponsible by refusing this arranged marriage." Pieter retorted.

Kristoff wrung his hands, "I don't necessarily disagree with her reasoning, I want Christopher to marry for love as well, I didn't grow up in this world of politics as you and Elsa did. I do; however, know that if Elsa could avoid making an arrangement like this then she would."

"Perhaps you can convince your wife of that truth before she puts her sister in an early grave." Pieter snapped back. It was a dramatic comment, he knew that, but at that moment it felt more true than it should be. Anna was Elsa's world for over twenty years, she was Elsa's everything for so long, it was hard for Elsa to not put Anna first. Anna's opinion and happiness meant more to Elsa than anything. Pieter turned on his heels and walked back to Elsa's study, hoping that she was calm enough to let him in the room so he could comfort her.

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