1908
The Garden of Linnea Castle,
Arendelle
"She changed her name."
He nodded at the girl's soft declaration. "She did. She wanted to be known as a separate entity to her mother, for her mother was also named Iduna Elisabeth, which, upon taking her mother's first name, made her the second one to bear it. However, her mother was only known as Queen Iduna of Arendelle. From that moment on, she insisted on being called Iduna Elisabeth, however her sister of course refused, having grown up with her, as did her most trusted of household staff."
"What about the king? Did he call her Iduna Elisabeth?"
He chuckled softly at Lisi's innocence, becoming lost in thought.
"I for one, refuse to call you Iduna Elisabeth."
"You are going to have to-"
"For royal functions and visits and the like, yes, but I will not call you such when we are alone, nor with Anna. Iduna Elisabeth you may be with your council or at court, but here, alone, with me, and Anna, you will always be Eliza. My beautiful, strong-willed, outspoken Eliza."
"Anna calls me Elsa, or more commonly, Lise. It stems from our childhood; my parents used to call me Lise as well. Anna picked it up from them."
"Well, to me, you will always be Eliza... and soon, one day, you will Mama to our little one."
"I'm afraid the king flatly refused to call her Iduna Elisabeth. She was not Iduna Elisabeth to him, but Eliza, and always would be. Of course at court she would be Iduna Elisabeth, but with her family it was different. They were very different people than their courts and councils, and even their people saw- over the years, they went from idealistic young adults with dreams of grandeur to realistic rulers who had developed strong grasps on ruling. By the time the second year of the young queen's reign came around, the two countries had developed strong ties, and by their first wedding anniversary, she had rejected fourteen different proposals from various suitors. The men in her council assumed it was just the young queen being particular, and she constantly informed them that she was only the tender age of twenty, and still had plenty of time to find a suitor and produce an heir. The king, likewise, had rejected every portrait brought before him, insisting that he did not need to marry so quickly, not when there was so much more to be done for his people."
"Did they ever have children, 'papa?" Sofia asked, folding her hands in her lap. The other women shared glances, before turning back to him, all waiting with bated breath as he mulled her question over. He sighed softly.
Children? Of course they had children, beautiful children who looked like her with his hair and eyes, who grew up traipsing the hills of Arendelle and the beaches of the Isles... who grew into beautiful women and handsome men, long after their mother had passed on to the next world. "Yes, Sofia, they did. They had many children, but not right away. They were careful, in that first year or two, to keep from producing an heir, in case the Arendellian council become suspicious. In fact, it would be another two years before the mentions of an heir would come up, and by then, it would not just be talk."
"How many children did they have? And where did they live? Did they live in Arendelle? Or the Isles?" Iduna asked excitedly. He chuckled, meeting her gaze. It was evident that the girl was infatuated with the soldiers of the Imperial Guard, and that she longed to be married and have a family of her own some day.
"Iduna." Magda's stern reprimand caused the girl pause, and she closed her mouth. "Let Grandfather speak."
"The King and Queen were young; she was barely twenty-two when her first child was conceived, and he barely past the age of twenty-three. At first, the response among the most trusted of the King and Queen's households to the conception of the King and Queen's child was one of shock; in fact, the Princess did not take it well, the day the Queen informed both her husband and her sister of her pregnancy."
"No! Elsa, not... you carry a WestergÄrd bastard in your belly?"
"It is not a bastard, it is the heir to two kingdoms, Anna! I carry the next in line to the Arendelle throne and the throne of the Southern Isles within me!"
"From a secret marriage that will never be recognized by Arendellian law, Elsa! You know the law- marrying Hans meant you would willingly give up the throne of Arendelle-"
"I've given up nothing, Anna. I still hold the throne of Arendelle."
"But it cost you your husband."
"But I have our heir with me. Even if I cannot have my husband, I at least have our child."
"But you would willingly allow your child to grow up without ever having laid eyes upon its father? Elsa-"
"We do what has to be done, Anna. It is the way for those who wear the crown. No one ever said it was easy. I pray you never have to bear the burden of a throne."
"Do I not get a say in this? That is my child growing within my wife's womb-"
"No!"
"Annaliese! That is not fair! Hans is my husband, he is the father of this child! I may carry it, but he has as much say in its existence and its life as I do. Not you."
"How can he have any say in its life if he is across the sea ruling the Isles and you are here ruling Arendelle, Elsa? Think about that! A child cannot grow up with their father ruling one land while their mother rules another! It is not done!"
"No, Anna, it has never been done. We will make it work! Our love is strong enough to withstand anything."
"You truly believe that once that child is born, your love will withstand the fact that you rule two entirely separate countries? Truly?"
"Yes, Annalei. I know it will. Our love will set the entire world on fire."
"It took some convincing, but eventually, the Queen and King were able to get the Princess on their side, especially once she realized how happy they were- that this was just not an heir to two thrones, but the start of her sister's family."
"What changed her mind, Grandpapa?" Lisi asked, and he met her gaze.
"Seeing the happiness the news of her pregnancy brought her sister, that is what changed the Princess's mind. Because deep down, all she truly wanted for her sister was true happiness."
