They had gone for a walk, not long after Princess Alice finished playing piano, and upon finding a quiet, secluded corner, Anna had tugged him close. She had not given him time to respond, instead sliding her hands up to caress his cheeks, breathing those three little words he was never thought he'd hear. "I love you."
It was as though his heart had stopped. It had been three years since the queen had begrudgingly agreed to allow him to court the princess, and in that time, they had gone from friendship to love- something Lord Bismarck had never believed possible. There was something about the princess he found endearing, darling, and couldn't quite put his finger on; something that made her as unique and special as the queen- something that the king recognized and sought to make his own, be it her heart, her soul, or both.
"Bismarck? Bi- Kristoff, say something, please."
He met her gaze, unaware that he'd turned contemplative. It was the first time he had ever heard his name come from her lips. To be completely honest, he wasn't even aware she knew his name- seeing as the queen's council and the royal family were two entirely separate entities, though the queen and the council worked together for the good of Arendelle. He knew that the king and queen, though forced to be kept separated, collaborated together on every law they signed into life for their respective countries, for they did so with their children and the future of their countries in mind. He also knew the royal children were kept far away from court life- and not just at threat of their paternity being exposed, but because the king and queen wanted their children to have the innocent childhood that they themselves did not.
"Ruling a kingdom- any kingdom- requires that your hands be drenched in the blood of those who seek to destroy you and your monarchy and seek to take your crown for themselves. I will not allow my children, those that came from my womb, to be put before a court and council that seeks to undo all the good I have done. I will not allow my children to attend the court until they are old enough to play the games that are played, until they can understand what it means to constantly have one eye out for the poison being slipped into your drink, and one ear open to hear the knife being unsheathed before it goes hurling into your back. I'm sorry if you do not feel that way, but I have had to learn that just because I sit upon the throne of Arendelle, that does not mean I am safe. If anything, I am in even more danger because I am a woman who wears a crown; were the King of the Southern Isles standing before you, and not I, you would bow to him without a moment's hesitation, but because I stand before you, you see fit to do everything possible to undermine me at every turn, just like the men before you. You are my council, you answer to me! You follow my command, I do not follow yours! I am queen! Not you! I have drenched my hands in the blood of the men who sought to dispose of me and my children, who once sat before me like you, and if need be, if I discover another plot to take my crown, I will not hesitate to spill blood again. Do not mistake my silence for acquiescence, ladies and lords."
Though she had been speaking out in warning, the queen had made it very clear that she was the one who wore the crown, and that, if the beheadings back in fifty were not a strong enough warning, she would be perfectly willing to do so again. Though he knew it wasn't necessarily aimed at him, he knew that the queen was putting herself on the line by allowing this courtship between him and the princess to continue. He could honestly admit that in the last couple of years, he'd fallen in love with the princess, as she had with him, but as long as he sat upon her sister's council-
"I can't."
Her brow furrowed. "What?"
Gently, he took her hands, meeting her gaze. "Princess-" He stopped, taking a deep breath. "Anna, I... I love you too." Her smile shone like the sun breaking over the fjord, and he hated to dim it. "But I can't. I cannot give you my heart, or... or a promise of any kind as long as..." Would he really blame the queen? No, it wasn't the queen's fault. If anything, she had looked out for them these last years, but- "But as along as I sit upon the queen's council, I cannot give my loyalty to Arendelle or her monarch, and you at the same time, without my loyalties and interests becoming entwined."
It took a bit, but eventually, realization dawned for the princess, and she grabbed his lapels. "No! Lise, she... she supports us-"
"And I need to support her, Anna. I cannot give my full support to my monarch while I court her sister behind the backs of the rest of the council. I love you, but I'm sorry. I can't." She pulled away, trying so hard not to cry; without a word, she dashed off in search of Elsa.
"May I speak my mind, Your Majesty?" Hans and Albert looked up from their conversation as Lord Bismarck, who had been mainly silent as they studied Albert's changing blueprints for Osborne House, spoke up. After a moment, he nodded for the young man to speak. Dinner that night had been slightly tense, as both Anna and Lord Bismarck had been quiet; the children had held the majority of the conversation, while both queens had spent the majority of the meal having silent conversations over everyone else's heads. After dinner, as everyone settled in the sitting room for coffee and dessert, Elsa and Victoria immediately took Anna to the opposite side of the room to talk. At one point, the others noticed as Elsa slipped out of the room, headed for the nursery, most likely to nurse. Victoria followed not long after, and after a moment, Vicky went over to Anna, asking the older princess if she would like to join her for a game of chess, to which Anna agreed. Eventually, the two queens returned, both looking ready to go for a ride about the grounds; though both women were dressed in breeches, blouse, riding coat and boots, Elsa's made of ice, her extremely long snow-white hair piled high on her head in curls- similar to Victoria's- and the queen went to her husband, where he stood at the desk looking over blueprints with Albert and Lord Bismarck, rising on tiptoe to peck him sweetly on the cheek.
"Eliza, where are you going dressed like that?" something similar, turned back to them, all coy sweetness and sultry flirtation.
"Victoria and I are going out for a ride."
The men shared a glance, and Anna looked up from her game with Vicky. "Eliza," She turned to him. "it's just past seven in the evening. We've just had dinner-"
"I know." She folded her hands before her, lifting her chin. "Perfect time for a ride, don't you think?"
The king sighed, setting the pen he'd been fiddling with down, and rubbing his face. "Elisabeth-"
"Don't, Johannes." He met her gaze.
"I wasn't-"
"I am sick and tired of people telling me what I can and cannot do. I do for everyone else- I pass laws for the good of my people, I bring industry and commerce and trade to my country, I create alliances and treaties with distance countries who would rather force me to bow to them than bow to me, even though I am of higher or similar rank to them. I have carried and birthed your children, the heirs to two thrones, seven times in the last ten years, and still, to this day, have the men and women of my council asking me when I will marry. I am a queen first, a mother second, a wife third and a woman last. I am taking the night to myself. I am not answering to any of you at the moment, least of all answering to Your Majesty or Mama or Eliza. I'm taking time to be a woman, and one of those I love to do as a woman is ride. Netta is down for her nap, and should she need feeding, get the wet nurse."
Hans stared at her wide-eyed; never, not once, in the entire seven years that Elsa had been pregnant, had she requested a wet nurse, and it stunned him. "I-"
"I am going to take some time and go for a ride; it is cool enough and just light enough that Victoria and I shall be fine, and we will be back for anyone need come looking for us. Now, I assume you three should be able to hold things down here for the foreseeable future, and Anna should be able to help you, yes, Annalei?" The princess nodded, certain her sister and Victoria had lost their minds- for storm clouds could be seen rolling in. "Good. Now, if you all don't mind, we are going for a ride in the country." She turned as Victoria took her hand.
"Or perhaps we will go running off to Scotland." Victoria teased, tugging the young Arendellian queen down the hall. Their laughter faded as they disappeared, leaving two very confused and shocked husbands in their wake. Once they were gone, Lord Bismarck finally spoke.
"Your wife, Your Majesty-" He paused, weighing his words carefully. "she's much too... impulsive for a queen."
Hans chuckled softly. "That she is, Lord Bismarck. And yet she makes a fine one. Arendelle is in good hands with Eliza as their monarch." The young councilman chose not to acknowledge the king's soft, personal slip. It was whispered softly among the staff not within the queen's trusted circle that the Southern Isles King had a growing soft spot for the five-foot queen, so much so that it was whispered that the queen's children were secretly the king's- of which they were right.
"As the Isles are with you, Your Majesty. And," He nodded, towards the children, playing with their cousins. "as your children are, with her as their mother." Hans followed his gaze, drinking in the sight of each of his older children. Sometimes he could not believe the luck he had been granted, to be given the opportunity to be the father of such beautiful little human beings; though it was also evident that the pair could not keep their hands to themselves, nor out of each others' beds when they were at one castle or the other. Adding in their shared chambers at both Jannicke and Halsten, and it was evident that the pair were deeply addicted to each other. Hans quickly cleared his throat, turning back to the conversation at hand.
"Yes, well, the queen is unlike any we have seen in our lifetime." He glanced at Albert, who chuckled softly. "She will build an empire that will stretch far beyond the shores of Arendelle and tear a seam in the heavens above."
"And you, Your Majesty? You have helped in building that empire. It is your children who will sit upon the thrones of Arendelle and the Isles," They turned to glance at Milla. "The empire she builds is your empire as well."
Hans sighed, leaning his hands on the desk. "Her Majesty and I have a love that will destroy the world if we allow it, but it will also rebuild it, Lord Bismarck. She is... a woman of remarkable wit, talent, understanding, grace and beauty. She has creativity of Catherine II, the logic of Good Queen Bess, the bravery of Mary of Scots, the innocence of Marie Antionette, the faith of Isabella of Castile and the beauty of Queen Iduna I. She is not afraid to spill blood if she needs to, even if she does not like to. But she will do what she has to to protect Arendelle, her people, and the alliances she has built, even if that means spilling blood. She has done great things already, as the women who have come before her have done, and history will look upon her as perhaps the most influential monarch ever to sit upon a Scandinavian throne." He moved away from them, moving over to watch Anna and Vicky, caught in a stalemate. After a moment, he picked up the white queen on Vicky's side, studying it briefly, measuring his words. At that point, everyone was paying attention to the King of the Southern Isles. His green gaze took in each in turn before he spoke again. "And the Gods help whomever tries to get in her way."
When he excused himself to check on the baby, Anna and Vicky turned back to their game, surprised to find Anna's black queen in check.
