Hi Everyone! I am super duper sorry about this forever long hiatus. I was busy with finals and getting things in order for my expected graduation at the end of the year. Sprinkle in a bit of writer's block and travelling over the holidays and time just flies! However, through it all, you all have been just amazing with your patience and support. I even received a few messages from concerned readers to see if I was still alive and well...which I am! Ultimately, you guys are the best and I am 100% thankful for you all! Now enough of my rambling, the next chapter is up and I hope you enjoy it! Happy Reading! :)
Chapter 8
As the sun set on the kingdom of Arendelle, Elsa anxiously waited in her seat at the dinner table with Henry happily bouncing on her jittery legs. She constantly checked the clock on the wall, dreading each second that ticked by. Whenever she was not looking at the clock she was staring at her hands, composing herself whenever she felt an icy urge come on. She tried to think logically, not emotionally, as she thought about how to compose the words she would use to tell Anna about the advancement of Arendelle's weapons. She strained to think of what Anna would retort but she continually drew a blank. The longer Elsa thought about it, the more she realized that if anyone were to have a problem with guns, it would be her. She was the one who saved Anna from getting shot by taking the bullet herself. She was the one who saved Eva from getting shot by killing Jeremiah before he could pull the trigger on her. She was the one who suffered from the nightmares that stemmed from these events. Elsa did not know if she should cry or laugh about this realization, but she did feel a tiny bit of relief. As she let out a cleansing breath, the dining room doors opened and the semi-newlyweds hurried in hand-in-hand. "Well…" Elsa lifted a stern eyebrow, "Look who finally showed up."
Anna wore an apologetic expression as she frantically shook her head and ran towards her seat, "Elsa, we are so so sorry. We were in the stables-"
"Nope." Elsa raised her hand to silence her hyperactive sister as she observed their haggard looks, "I don't need to know." She motioned for the staff to bring out their dinner and as they presented the meal, Elsa studiously observed Anna and Kristoff's appearance. Although they looked genuinely apologetic about being late to dinner, there were hints of giddiness in their behavior. It was not until Elsa noticed a piece of straw tucked in one of Anna's braids and another piece camouflaged in Kristoff's blonde hair that she figured out what delayed them. Once everything was set and the staff disappeared, Elsa tried to hide her teasing smile, "Well, I hope you two had fun."
"What?" Kristoff and Anna responded at the same time.
"You know…rolling in the hay." Elsa took a sip from her glass in order to hide her smile.
The couple looked at each other with horrified expressions on their faces until Kristoff noticed the straw in Anna's hair. "Anna…" He subtly motioned at her hair.
Anna looked down and immediately blushed as she slowly pulled the straw out, "I can explain."
"There really isn't much to explain. Nor do I want you to." Elsa laughed as she wiped some food off of Henry's chin.
"So, uh, how was the meeting?" Kristoff anxiously took a quick swig of water as he desperately tried to change the subject, "Anna told me that it seemed kind of important?"
"Yes…" Elsa hesitated as she gathered her courage, "You two know why Hans and I agreed for him to go back home with his brother. And you two know that Hans and I have a plan for all of this. But I have yet to inform you of that plan." Elsa stopped fidgeting with Henry and refocused her attention to Kristoff and Anna, "The council and I have come to the decision to build newer, better, and more advanced weaponry for Arendelle."
Anna furrowed her brows together in confusion, "Because?"
"Because we are in dire need of an upgrade, Anna. It is clearly evident when we compare our weapons to those of Great Britain and the Southern Isles."
"And Vortex." Kristoff quietly muttered loud enough for them to hear.
Elsa curtly nodded, "Exactly. Which is why…" She shifted her gaze down at Henry and softly mumbled, "I enlisted James Jagger to lead the project."
"What?" Anna leaned forward and cocked her head with intrigue, "What did you just say?"
Elsa hoped that the more confident she seemed about her decision, the least likely Anna would question it. So with an internal cleansing breath, she looked up and locked eyes with her sister before continuing with a clear decisive tone, "I enlisted James Jagger to lead the project."
"That's what I thought you said." Anna slumped back into her seat with a numb expression and all was quiet for about five seconds until Anna leaped out of her seat, "What is the council thinking?! Do they seriously think that entrusting James with something this important is a good idea?!"
"Anna-"
"Do they not know what his work has done to this family?! To you?! You were shot by one of his 'inventions' and they want him to make more?!"
"Anna-"
Anna violently shook her head, "No! Nuh-uh! I am going to speak to them myself and we will figure out a different plan-"
"Anna! This is the plan!" Elsa was startled by how loud her voice sounded and she immediately regretted it when she saw her sister recoil, "I'm sorry, but this is the plan. Our plan."
Elsa watched as her sister briefly shook her head in disbelief followed by a hurt expression, "Is this why you didn't want me at the meeting?"
"Yes." Elsa managed to quietly reply as she felt a lump form in her throat, "I needed the council to trust me and I couldn't afford you reacting like this during the meeting."
"I'm not a child, Elsa. I can control myself." She abruptly sat back down and rested her elbows on the table as she distraughtly stared into her food, "I can't believe you still don't trust me. I thought we were past all this secrecy when we finally opened the gates. But I guess nothing's changed."
Elsa tried to keep her composure despite the tears stinging her eyes, "Anna you're not being fair-"
"I've been waiting for an open relationship with you since we were kids. And every time I think we've achieved that, you surprise me with more secrets that you've been keeping from me. When are the secrets and lies going to finally end?" She rested her chin on her propped up elbows and finally managed to meet her sister's troubled eyes, "What else are you keeping from me?"
"I…" Elsa adjusted her grip on her nephew who was happily making a mess with his food, completely oblivious to the conflict at hand, "I am a self-taught swordsman." That wasn't what Anna or Kristoff were expecting to hear as Kristoff froze mid-bite and Anna's arms almost gave out from under her. When neither of them immediately responded, Elsa cautiously continued, "I have made plans to teach both of you how to fight with swords. Eventually, when the guns are battle ready, we will all learn how to use them alongside our military." Elsa nervously bite her lip as she waited for them to respond.
"Wow…" Anna shook her head in disbelief, "I'm not gonna lie, I was not expecting to hear that." She slowly sat back in her chair and adjusted her composure, "So you know how to fight with a sword?"
"Yes." Elsa nervously drummed her fingers against Henry's tummy, making him giggle.
Anna glanced over at Kristoff, who was still frozen at mid-bite, before returning her gaze to her sister, "And you're going to teach us?"
"We start tomorrow."
Anna remained silent for a few seconds before a small smile spread across her lips, "That's kinda cool."
Elsa couldn't hide the surprise she felt, "Really? You're not mad?"
"Meh, I'm a little mad that you've kept this from me as well as everything else but…" She glanced at Kristoff's stunned expression again before straightening her posture a bit more, "I'm ready to fight."
As the second day out at sea came to an end for the voyagers travelling to the Southern Isles, the sun had set a couple hours ago, dinner had be served and eaten, and most of the crew had gone to bed. The cool autumn air filled the ship's sails as the waves rhythmically rocked the boat at a gentle pace. Hans stepped out of his cabin and took in a deep breath of the clean sea air that he loved so much. With a smile on his face, he calmly strode across the deck with his eyes casted upward at the shimmering stars above. Although it would seem that his mind was occupied, he got the feeling that someone had just sneaked up behind him. With a nonchalant sigh, he suddenly turned around and grabbed the person's wrist with one hand while his other hand forcefully swung toward the side of their head, abruptly stopping when he recognized the person. "Annaliese…" He huffed out a sigh mixed with frustration and relief, "You caught me off guard. Not a lot of people can do that."
"Well, I am not like a lot of people." Annaliese smirked as he still held her wrist and his fist was gently resting against the side of her head, "So are we going to talk like this or are you going to let go?"
"Oh yeah…" He immediately dropped his arms and chuckled in embarrassment, "Sorry."
"Mhmm…" She looked around and noticed that a couple of night crewmen were staring. In response to the attention, she relaxed her posture and sloppily stumbled into him, "Oops!" She laughed loudly as she drunkenly pressed her finger into his chest, "Ooohh well…excuse me sir, but you're in my way."
As she stumbled backwards, Hans swiftly reached out to keep her from falling, "Annaliese, are you drunk?"
"Nuh-uh!" She dramatically shook her head, followed by a loud hiccup.
"Right, I'm going to take you to your room."
Annaliese gave him an exaggerated up and down glance, "You can take wherever you want, handsome." She laughed loudly again, "Ha! Handsome! Get it?"
"Yes, very clever." Hans rolled his eyes as he gently led her to her room.
As they passed a couple of the night crewman, Annaliese drunkenly smiled at them, "I called him handsome, 'cause his name is Hans…get it? I just made that up!"
The men politely smiled and nodded as Hans hastily opened her door and dragged her inside. Once they stepped foot into her cabin, he swiftly closed the door behind them and locked it, "Well played, my dear friend."
Annaliese straightened her posture with a smile, "Thank you. Nice job picking up on the façade." She continued to speak as she walked behind her changing screen.
Hans continued to stare at the door in order to give her privacy, "Thanks. But listen, I know what you were doing and I understand that the crew was staring but …" He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, "It doesn't look good on my part if a drunk can sneak up on me."
Annaliese rolled her eyes as she slipped her robe on over her nightgown, "In my defense, none of that would have happened if you didn't go all defensive assassin on me."
"I couldn't help it. You snuck up on me." Hans tried to shake that strange sensation of being caught off guard, especially by someone he's known almost his entire life.
"Again, I am sorry about that." She stepped out from behind the changing screen and laughed at Hans' position, "You can stop facing the door. You look like you're in trouble or something."
"If my brothers caught wind of this, I would be in trouble." Nevertheless he turned around and when he laid eyes on Annaliese's skimpy nightgown and robe, he let out an irritated sigh, "Really? That's what you're going to wear?"
Annaliese firmly placed her hands on her hips and scowled, "I'm sorry I wasn't aware that you had final say on my wardrobe-"
"What's that?" Hans squinted towards her.
"What now?" She impatiently sighed followed by another eye roll, "Is my hair out of place too?"
"No…" He took a couple large strides across the room until he was only inches away from her, "This…" He carefully examined her neck and gently ran his fingertips down it until he rested it on a dark bruise slightly hidden by her robe. "Annaliese, what is this?"
"Hm?" She was mildly distracted by Hans' closeness and his gentle caress.
Hans furrowed his brow once he realized what it was, "Who did this to you?" When she didn't answer, he knew exactly who did this. His face grew dark as his voice grew in intensity, "Klaus?"
Annaliese took a step back with a bit of shame on her face, "I'm not proud of it, but I got the information we wanted."
A familiar internal fury snapped within him as he turned to leave, "That's it. I'm going to kick his-"
"Hans, stop!" She grabbed his arm and forcefully pulled him back, "Nothing happened. I'm fine, honest." She tightly held her grip on him in fear that he would go ballistic like he did back when he first found out that she was engaged to Kendrick. "Remember the plan. We need to stay on everyone's good side." When the fire in his eyes seemed to extinguish, she slowly released his arm, "Are you going to be okay?"
"No." He closed his eyes in resentment and let out a fatigued sigh, "But I guess I have no choice." He opened his eyes and kindly led her to the bed so that she could sit and relax while he pulled up a chair to the bed's edge. "Alright so…" He casually leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms, "What did you find out?"
Anxiety and stressed pulsed through Elsa's veins as she stood alone in Arendelle's two story armory, observing the impressively large assortment of outdated weaponry hanging on the walls and on the stand-up racks. The armory was one of the largest rooms in the castle, only falling short to the ballroom. Not only did the armory house all of Arendelle's weapons, but it also hosted all of the guards' everyday armor along with their formal battle armor plus a decently sized padded sparring arena. During her shut-in years, whenever she grew stir-crazy in her room, this is where she would come and spend quite a few hours teaching herself the art of sword fighting. She would time her practice sessions between the changing of guards so that no one would find the young proper princess swinging a sword around like an eager young boy trying to impress his father. Even to this day, none of the guards had any knowledge of the Queen's swordsmanship abilities nor have they ever seen the young queen even step foot into the armory. But all of that was about to change. It had to change. With Hans gone, Elsa was inadvertently the face of the military and she needed to gain an experienced reputation among her troops in order for them to fully trust her weapons advancement idea.
A small sigh escaped from her lips as the clock struck nine and like clockwork, the doors to the armory opened and the guards from the night shift entered the armory after being relieved of their long 8 hour shift. One by one each guard paused as they entered the room and caught sight of their Queen, stumbling into each other in confusion by her uncommon presence. Finally after what seemed like forever, the Captain of the Royal Guard pushed through the crowd and stepped forward with a look of impatience, "What seems to be going on here-oh!" When he noticed Elsa's presence, he immediately stood at attention and respectfully bowed, "Your Majesty."
"At ease, Captain." Elsa authoritatively nodded.
The Captain looked back at his men and yelled in an aggravated tone, "What is wrong with you men? Do you not see Her Royal Majesty? Stand at attention!" At the sound of their captain's command, the group immediately stood at attention.
Again, Elsa nodded with authority, "At ease, gentlemen."
The men relaxed and the Captain scrutinized their weary appearances before firmly nodding his head, "As you were. Go get some rest." Slowly, one by one, the men broke from their trance and continued their daily routine as they shed their armor and put it away, with the exception of their weapons. Hans made a policy change in that all guards should have a weapon on them at all times in case of unexpected crises. As the night shift guards began to exit the room, the Captain turned back to Elsa, "As nice as it is to see you, my Queen, I have to admit that you caught me and my men off guard by your presence. Tell me, is something the matter?"
"Yes and no." Elsa led him further away from the main hustle and bustle, "Captain, in a few minutes Anna and Kristoff are going to come in here and I am going to give them a lesson on sword fighting. I would like you to be here to supervise and also aid me in instructing them. I may be a bit rusty."
"Of course, Your Majesty…" He dutifully nodded but Elsa could sense his hesitation.
"You have a concern, Captain?"
The Captain carefully glanced around before lowering his voice, "Permission to speak freely, My Queen?"
"Granted. What seems to be the problem?"
"Queen Elsa, would it not make more sense if I gave Prince Kristoff a lesson?"
"As opposed to me teaching them both?" She understandingly nodded, "Well, I suppose…"
The Captain's body language seemed a bit uncomfortable as he cleared his throat, "Perhaps more along the lines of solely teaching Prince Kristoff instead of both him and the princess."
Elsa furrowed her brow, "Not teach Anna? Why?"
"Your Majesty, with all due respect, if Arendelle should find itself at war, you and the Princess would not be among those on the battlefield."
"What if the Kingdom of Arendelle finds itself as the battlefield?"
"Then my men and I will do everything in our power to keep you and the Princess safe. There is no need for you to fight, Your Majesty."
Elsa cocked a challenging eyebrow, "How about when you and Hans led a troop of men to my ice castle and two of Weseltown's goons tried to kill me? As I recall, knowing how to defend myself turned out to be quite useful."
Speechless and embarrassed by the memory of that incident, the Captain lowered his head and nodded apologetically, "Forgive me, my Queen, for it is my job to keep you and Princess Anna safe."
Elsa gave him a soft smile, "I understand that, Captain, however sheltering us is not the answer."
"Yes, Your Majesty." He straightened his posture and regained his composure, "It would be an honor to assist you in teaching Prince Kristoff and Princess Anna."
"Thank you." Elsa kindly replied as the doors to the armory opened while Anna and Kristoff stepped into the armory.
"Well would ya take a look at this place?! It's huge!" Anna's mouth gaped open as she spun around while trying to take everything in.
"You've never been in your own kingdom's armory?" Kristoff chuckled at her wide-eyed expression.
"I wasn't allowed in here when I was little and I never wanted to disobey Mama and Papa, even after their deaths." Anna noticed Elsa and the Captain standing out of the way together and hurried over to them, "Everything alright?"
"Yes, we were just waiting for you." Elsa smiled as she turned her attention to her brother-in-law, "Captain Stephen will be joining us and he will be mainly focused on training you, Kristoff."
"Uhh, alright." Kristoff anxiously scratched the back of his neck, "But let me warn you, I am not a military man, nor am I that agile."
"Your Highness, it is my job to turn you into an agile swordsman and with a physique like yours, it should come very easily. Now come with me…" He motioned for Kristoff to follow him as he made his way over to one the sword racks.
As the two men walked away, Elsa turned and refocused her attention on Anna, "And as you may have guessed, I will be mainly focused on training you."
"This is so exciting!" Anna obediently followed her sister as they headed toward another rack of weapons, "And who knows? This could possibly turn into another fun sister bonding activity."
Elsa carefully scrutinized the weapons that were displayed before her, "Okay, rule number one, take this seriously. Everything that you are going to learn may one day save your life. This is not fun and games. This is life and death."
"Yeah, okay, got it." Anna nonchalantly shrugged as she ran her finger over the blade of one of the displayed weapons. Unconvinced by her sister's tone, Elsa glanced over at Anna and gave her a parental glare that caused Anna to instantly pull her hand back, "I mean, yes, I understand."
"Good. Now…" Elsa presented Anna with her starter sword, "Shall we begin?"
The darkness of the night was slowly giving way to the light of the sun as dawn was quickly approaching. Thoroughly exhausted, Annaliese and Hans finally finished going over all of the information that Klaus had leaked to Annaliese. As Hans stood up and headed for the door, mentally preparing himself for the short nap he was in desperate need of, a knocking sounded on Annaliese's door which startled the two fatigued collaborators. Annaliese stood up and hurried to the door, swiftly pushing Hans behind it so whoever was at the door could not see him. Tightening her robe, Annaliese opened the door a crack to find Klaus already dressed for the day, "Klaus? What are you doing here? And so early I might add."
"Sorry for the inconvenient hour but I have just been informed that we are approaching the Southern Isles and we will be docking shortly."
"Funny how you have just been informed and yet, here you are already dressed."
"Well, if Hansey had returned to our cabin then he would have known as well and he could have told you. But it seems that he is nowhere to be found."
"Did you check-"
"I've looked everywhere except your cabin, Annaliese." Klaus tried to look behind her into the room, but the door was not opened enough to get a good look, "Which by the way you're acting could only mean that my assumptions are true." He gave her a suggestive smile as he took in her skimpy robe and nightgown, "Any chance that my baby brother spent the night with you?"
"I did." Hans stepped out from behind the door and opened it more so that Klaus could take a good look at him, "But it's not what you think."
"No, it's exactly what I think." Klaus chuckled as he winked at his brother, "Don't worry, I won't tell Elsa."
"There is nothing to tell." Hans deeply frowned as he disapprovingly crossed his arms, "If you would take your mind out of the sewer for just one second and actually talked to the night crewmen, you would know that I stayed with Annaliese all night because she was not feeling well."
Klaus lifted a skeptical eyebrow, "Really? What happened?"
Annaliese let out an embarrassed laugh, "I may or may not have had a little too much to drink. Fortunately, I ran into Hans while I was on deck and he helped me get back to my room. I guess I was pretty messed up since he decided to stay and take care of me."
"Huh…" Klaus carefully analyzed Annaliese and Hans' haggard appearances which unfortunately for him, supported their story. "Just get dressed you two, you look awful." Annaliese stepped out of the way so that Hans could exit her cabin while Klaus turned and resumed his rounds. "Lieutenant!"
One of the men from the night crew hurried over to them, "What is it, Your Highness?"
Klaus waited as he watched Hans hurry across the deck to get to their room and Annaliese close her door before continuing, "Status report during your shift last night."
"All was normal except…"
"Except?" Klaus leaned in with intrigue.
"Well, Miss Annaliese had a drunken encounter with Prince Hans but he helped her back to her room and took care of her."
"I see…thank you, Lieutenant, you are dismissed." Klaus impatiently tapped his foot as he tried to find holes in Hans and Annaliese's story, but everything seemed to check out. It was one thing for them to come up with this story together, but to have the night crew in on it was a little far-fetched. Still, he made a mental note to keep a closer eye on the two friends as they got ready to step foot into the Kingdom of the Southern Isles.
"Welcome back to the Southern Isles, Prince Hans. Please, watch your step."
Hans briefly glanced at the greeter with a forced smile, "Thanks." He hated the way everyone was treating him so differently now that he had married Elsa and inherited one of the most prestigious kingdoms in the region. Just two years ago he was mentally and physically abused by not only his father and brothers but by everyone in the Southern Isles. And now, as he walked side-by-side with his brother, everyone he passed made an effort to stop what they are doing and warmly greet the King Consort of Arendelle. But despite his quickly growing irritated mood, some of which was due to the lack of sleep, he had a job to do and he knew that the sooner he got it done, the sooner he would be on his way back to Arendelle, to Elsa. Elsa… He thought as he stepped foot into the castle courtyard. Whatever happens during my stay here, just remember that all of this is necessary to achieve a secure future with the woman I love.
Hans took an internal deep breath as the third eldest brother, Simon, trotted down the castle steps and proudly greeted them, "Welcome home, dear brothers!" He still looked exactly the same as when Hans was first shipped back to Arendelle to receive judgment. His dark red hair was neatly split down the middle and combed back as his signature Westergard sideburns blended into a neatly trimmed beard that warmed the skin surrounding his lips. His tall, six-foot-two, well-built frame still made Hans feel slightly intimidated but that feeling quickly disappeared when Simon gave them a warm smile as he gave each brother a sturdy but friendly handshake, "You two made it just in time for breakfast."
"Simon…" Hans addressed his brother as he stepped aside to reveal Annaliese who had been quietly walking behind them the entire time, "You remember Annaliese."
"Of course! Kendrick's wife!" He smiled proudly as he respectfully bowed and kissed her hand, "You are looking beautiful as ever, milady. Tell me, where is my brother, Kendrick?"
"He's dead." Klaus bluntly interrupted, "He has been for about a year now."
The shock on Simon's face as nothing short of genuine surprise, "Wh-what happened?" He forcefully shook his head, "I'm…so sorry to hear that. Does Father know?"
Klaus' stoic expression was quite uncomforting, "What do you think? I didn't even know until I was blindsided by Annaliese's presence in Arendelle."
"Hmm…well, I would like to put off this news until after breakfast. Upsetting the rest of the family will do us no good. We need everyone working to their best abilities."
"That doesn't mean much if you really think about the talent pool of our family." Hans' exhaustion and irritation were wearing thin on his patience, so much so that his thoughts turned into an unintentional quip.
The two brothers and Annaliese all turned to him in astonishment, but the silence was broken by the sound of Simon's booming laughter, "Oh, Hansey, how I've missed your wit. Our conversations at the table have been falling quite flat without your presence." He threw a friendly arm around Hans' shoulders as he led the trio inside, "Now, I must be honest with you, we have all been dying to learn the inside scoop about living with Elsa. Is it as terrible as we can possibly imagine?"
"Oh wow, gosh…" Hans clenched his teeth as he ducked his head and gave it a stern shake, "Well, let me just say this: they don't called her the 'Ice Queen' for nothing."
Simon's eyes crinkled in the same way their father's does when he laughs, "Say no more! I want to hear the rest of this over some breakfast with the rest of the family. This sounds like it is going to be juicy." As they approached the dining room doors, Simon abruptly stopped and turned around to give Annaliese a concerned look, "If anyone questions the absence of Kendrick via your presence, it will be your job to explain what happened to our brother."
Here we go! This story is really starting to take off! Thanks again for your immeasurable patience and please review! Have an awesome weekend! :)
