Elsa listened to her council half-heartedly. They were determined to make sure the queen (not her of course) was placated in every way possible. She would be ushered in on a red carpet, bowed to, kissed on the footsies, and, if possible, carried hither and thither at her whims.
Bleh.
There was one upside here.
"So lemme get this straight; I dump a guy, and we still have to put his mom up?"
The entire council turned on Anna.
"What? I'm just saying that, since I dumped him and his brother both," Hans glared earning a sheepish laugh from her, "In a way, that we shouldn't have to deal with what are obviously mommy abandonment issues!"
Hans paused. What, how did she know….? Elsa! He glared daggers at her. She shrugged.
"We're sisters, I had to tell her!"
Hans ground his mouth shut. His jaws clenched in anger, but Anna continued, "Well, just tell her we're not interested in hosting anybody!"
Hans smacked his face into his hand and answered her, "She runs the country, Anna!"
"Yeah; the Southern Isles, not Arrendelle!"
The entire room was quiet.
"Arrendelle is a part of the Southern Isles," Hans ground out. Elsa stood, flushing angrily. He glared at her. She balked, "Okay," He sighed, his voice devolving into a growl. The council sat completely silent as he spoke. No more Mr. Perfect Girl. Boy. Whatever, "Let me make this perfectly clear," Hans shuddered as he felt the familiar darkness taking over. Control and a lust for power surged through him. He had enough of whining, and complaining and being whipped. They all feared him. And it was time to remind them why they were all so very, very afraid.
Then he saw her.
"My queen, why don't you take a turn?"
Elsa frowned, "I suppose there's no harm in hosting her. I would like to meet her, actually," She paused, sending a pointed glare at Hans, "Don't you think that's best?"
"No," Said Anna, "I think Hans sucks."
The council gasped.
"Your Highness!" Sputtered Councilor Miller, "Do you know to whom you are speaking!?"
"Uh…." She looked to Elsa for help. Her sister sighed.
"Please tell me this is about grammatical help, and not because you don't understand what Mr. Westerguard's role is."
Anna looked back blankly.
"Very well. The situation is this; due to a certain incriminating letter, Arrendelle was dissolved and absorbed by the Southern Isles. As such, we are beholden to them."
"Boo!"
"I understand your anger. However, angering this…" She turned to Hans, "What's your mother's name?"
He frowned trying to think, "Elaina, I believe."
"What, you don't even know your mom's name? Wooooooow, you're really screwed up," Anna turned towards her sister, "I'm just glad I didn't have to invite them to the wedding. Could you imagine the chaos?"
"We have another problem," Hans growled, "Which could shortly be rectified by removing the disgusting murderess from the council's room."
"She's staying, Mr. Westerguard," Elsa answered.
The princess stuck out her tongue.
"That's not your choice to make, my queen," He snarled in response, "Protector of Arrendelle, Admiral of the Southern Isles. I can deem her disruptive and have her removed."
Elsa shot him a hurt look, hoping no one would notice, "She's my sister."
"I'm doing this for her good. I mean," He brushed his hands through his hair, "It's like bringing in a dog. It's loud,"
Anna interrupted, "Hey!"
"Smelly."
"Hey! Elsa!"
"And disruptive!"
"You suck!"
"Enough! Both of you!" Elsa slammed her fist down on the table, "You!" She pointed to Hans, "Serve me. You swore your allegiance to be my protector. So protect," She pointed towards the younger girl, "And you- best behavior or we can't hang out!"
"I object to letting an unrepentant murderess out of prison."
"It's not even a good prison!" Elsa objected, trying to be reasonable. Hans crossed his arms over his chest defensively.
"I'm doing the best I can with what I've got!"
Anna snorted, "A common complaint from common men!"
A chorus of objections rose from the table as men and women took offense to the princess' comments.
Elsa allowed them to all yell at each other for a few more minutes. She interfered but once, when Hans turned on Anna. He looked angry, really, really ridiculously angry. The Protector himself rarely displayed any emotions outside of the bedroom. Therefore his queen crouched in her chair, slipped her foot under the table, and ran it up his calf.
This placated him.
Elsa smirked. Anna was a different story, obviously. She rarely didn't display emotions. Currently, she was none-too-short on one her sister referred to as 'buttface'. The queen didn't even bother to settle her down, deciding instead to lie back in her chair and wait for everyone to tire of their fighting. The redhead had no idea why her elder why bobbing her right leg contentedly, but happy to continue the argument regardless.
Finally, the upper-limits to the throats of those at the table reached their peak. Then Elsa rose, silencing all objections.
"I have made my decision."
She then left the room.
Both Hans and Anna pursued.
"You seriously cannot back this murderous maniac, right?" They both asked. Elsa kept walking.
"Elsa!" Her sister cried.
"My queen!" Screamed Hans.
She held up her hands silencing both of them.
"If you want, both of you may return to the dungeon," She looked from one to the other knowing full well neither wanted to leave her.
"Or you could try to get along."
They both shifted uncomfortably. Hans muttering under his breath, and Anna bumping him with her elbow.
"Children! Enough!" Elsa through her hands up in frustration.
"….started it," They both muttered.
"Fine," The queen ran her hands through her hand, getting a better grasp of the situation. Both of them would listen to her, "Here's how this is going to work; I have an afternoon free…."
Anna lit up like a candle. Hans visible shifted.
Elsa smirked. Oh yeah, he wanted her.
"We are all going to spend it together."
"OH!"
"The first one to act up loses visiting rights."
"Elsa, I'm not sure that our," He paused, glaring at Anna, "local serial killer-"
She snorted in response, "Oh, so I replaced you?"
"I replaced you bitch," He growled at her before turning back to his love, "is ready for that kind of contact," In an effort not to lose Elsa-time, he raised his eyebrow a bit suggestively.
Oh.
"You think you've won some kind of favor in the eyes of your queen?"
Hans let out a deep sigh of disappointment. Anna laughed.
"Ha!"
"You think you're winning me any favors in the eyes of the Southern Isles queen?" Demanded Elsa, rounding on her sister.
Hans snorted.
Anna pouted.
Satisfied that the two were not going to fight anymore, at least for the time being, the brunette turned and walked away.
Anna frowned. Something was off. Turned to open her mouth only to find Hans sprinting past her.
"My queen! Wait for me!" He was running full tilt. Well, if he wanted to compete for attention, he was going up against the princess of attention grabbing! Ha!
"Hey! Elsa! Wanna hear a joke?" Anna yelled, running after them.