Usual disclaimer. This chapter is very backstory focused, particularly on Tonna. If you don't feel like reading entirely about Tonna for about two thousand words, then scroll more towards the end. As always, thank you for choosing my story to read in your time and I hope you can drop a review to tell me what you think/if you have any questions! Speaking of, responses from last week's reviews are at the end of this chapter. As always, enjoy!

"Yusraa," Princess Jasmine said, grasping the attention of her sister. They were back in the Palace again, Yusraa taking her leave as soon as possible after the Election. She had more important things to attend to at home than she did in Fiji. Jasmine continued on.

"We still have gotten nowhere with the people that we captured. The only slight thing that could be useful was this X on their left arms, but they're not telling us why they are uprising. They just keep repeating a single phrase, over and over again. It gives us nothing but more questions than it does answers."

Yusraa rested her elbows on the table, burying her face in her hands. These uprisings and skirmishes were a major thorn in her side, in addition to the fact that they were making her Line look cruel and troublesome; especially with the Line of Water. While it was no secret that the two Lines had a deep rooted rivalry, peace among them had always been maintained. The sudden outbursts were unwarranted and unprovoked, this she knew. There was no reason for either side to attack each other.

So what in the hell was the problem? Sighing, the black haired Lady lifted her head and looked at her sister tiredly.

"What exactly were they saying, dearest sister?" she asked her younger sibling. Jasmine's gaze shifted uncertainly.

"It was a different language, I believe. One that I've never heard, at least, and you know how much Father made me study the languages growing up. I think it is a lost language, one that has not been used in upwards of a thousand years. I can't be certain, though," she explained to her older sister, "But they were saying the same thing, over and over again, like a broken record. Nothing else, all five of them." Yusraa's curiosity and impatience flared up.

"And what exactly was the phrase?" she inquired. Jasmine closed her eyes in recollection, then opened them a few seconds later.

"An rí teacht. Scriosadh bheith leis an ordú."

Elsa walked back to the hotel with Tonna, mind alight and racing with thoughts. Though she kept her face stoic, she knew that Tonna was still bound to ask about how the night went. And with that, she would tell her about her new student, whom she also went on a date with in Geilo. She really wasn't sure how Tonna would take the news; would she be happy, sad? Angry, even? Was it even proper to take on someone as your pupil who you could potentially acquire feelings for?

Elsa blinked at the thought. She was getting ahead of herself, this she knew. To be attached meant to have a weakness, but it also meant to have cause, to have purpose.

Ugh. She exhaled quickly through her nose. This was going to be a hell of a lot more difficult than she originally thought. She noticed Tonna regarding her out of the corner of her eye, ceasing her tirade about how Sweden fared poorly in the World Cup of Hockey this past game.

"Something is on your mind, and I know it's not the fact that you're as appalled as I am at Sweden's dumb team," she joked, lightly prodding Elsa to tell her what's wrong; or, for that matter, what's right. Elsa seemed to contemplate telling her, for a few seconds, but concluded on explaining the situation.

"I've been assigned a pupil." Tonna blinked; once, twice, three times. Then she broke out into a smile and pulled Elsa into a fierce hug. The younger of the two was surprised, entirely taken aback by how well Tonna received the news.

"That's amazing! Why, you could bring them back to the Temple and all!" her exclamation had Elsa smiling from ear to ear as they resumed their walking. They soon arrived back at the hotel.

"Who is it, exactly?" Tonna asked. She had a right to, Elsa knew, but this is the part she'd been most apprehensive about telling to her past mentor.

"Well… Do you remember the girl I was telling you about in Geilo, the one who I went on a date with?" Her ears still darkened at the memory. They got into the elevator and Elsa hit the third floor. Tonna's eyebrows scrunched together, and she nodded in confusion.

"It's her. Her name is Anna," she told the greying woman. As the elevator arrived at their floor, Tonna stood in the compartment, shocked. Her eyes passed over about fifty different emotions, soon settling on something unreadable. No matter what the predominant emotion was, as unknown as it was, there was one emotion Elsa knew for certain.

Pain.

They settled down in their hotel, Elsa undoing her hair and sitting cross legged on her bed. Her full attention was turned toward Tonna.

"I think it's time I tell you about Rörik Nordin, my dear. Sit down, for this is by far a tale that you need to strap in for."

Tonna Ek was a young, bright minded eighteen year-old when she went to her first Order meeting, twenty four years ago. She was incredibly gifted in Ice, and knew virtually everything there was to know about it. Her mother and father were both well respected members and mentors in the Glaciem Magistri, allowing them certain access to meetings that normally only Lords and Ladies would have access to. That brought her here, to watch the voting process by which the Heads and Magi would vote upon who would be the new Aqua Magus.

Unfortunately, Lord Poseidon Thálassa, the old Aqua Magus, had resigned, creating a gap at the table that the Magi had sat at then. At this time, Lord Walter Disney had been the Ultimum Maleficus, and thusly sat in the largest throne of five present.

Although Tonna had been sad about Lord Poseidon's resignation, she knew that it was time for him to go anyway, being that he was about eighty five and becoming too old even the normal paperwork that Tonna knew the Lords and Ladies had was becoming laborious.

As Lord Disney stood, so did the rest of the congregation. Confused, Tonna sat, before her mother Joline tugged her up with she and her father Neo. It seemed that everyone had anxiously awaited the Lord to say something.

"Nos incipere," he said before taking his seat. Tonna understood those words; she was well versed in Latin, as every Elemental was. Hearing the words 'We begin' bore some importance, she knew, especially at a meeting like this. She noticed the wave of people sitting down as soon as Lord Disney took his seat, and soon followed suit. Soon, the general run over of news began to stream from the Lord Ultimum Magus's mouth. Out of disinterest, she began scanning the sea of people.

Then, she noticed him.

In a crowd of people, she knew it was possible to lose someone among the faces. But this person was, without a doubt, the most… interesting person she had ever laid eyes on. He had fair skin, but the thing that stood out the most to her was that his hair was very, very thick, pushed back on his head and the deepest black she had ever seen. She realized he had belonged to the Line of Water, and not only that — to the Glaciem Magistri. An older man sat next to him, listening to Lord Disney attentively, with salt and pepper hair, that was undoubtedly his father. The only apparent difference was their hair color, height, and the slight wrinkles that marred the older man's visage, along with a beard of the same color as his hair as opposed to his son's clean shaven face.

Oh, Gods, she thought, I know them.

Mikel Nordin and his nineteen year-old son, Rörik! When Rörik looked over to her, rubbing the back of his neck out of boredom, doing the same thing that she was in the moment, she noticed the final difference between himself and his father: his eyes were the brightest shade of golden green she had ever seen in her life. Mikel was the current Lord Glaciem Magistri, whom Tonna had gotten her induction into the Glaciem Magistri from. That was nearly three years ago; she had been learning the Ways since she could walk, and spewing Ice came as easy to her now as breathing. Most things were, as a matter of fact; her intelligence was superior to many.

Rörik, however, was one thing she couldn't decipher on sight. Thus, she knew that she had to talk to him. At the end of the election, when the young Lord de l'Eau was elected the new Lord Aqua Magus and the feast began, Tonna went up to Rörik; he was easily six foot two, a foot taller than her small self.

"Hello, Mister Nordin. My name is Tonna Ek; you might know my parents, Neo and Joline," she said. He nodded.

"Just Röry is fine, thank you Miss Ek," he responded, his voice cool and collected, "Your parents are valuable voices to the Glaciem Magistri. I suppose that's why you're all here?" She confirmed his beliefs.

"Indeed," she replied, before waving her hand, "And please. No need for formalities like that. I'm just Tonna."

"Just Tonna?" he returned, "You're too pretty to be 'just Tonna'." They both looked at each other in surprise; clearly, Rörik was just as shocked as she was at the declaration.

"So tell me, Röry… How do you sit through these meetings all the time? I would go insane from boredom," she asked, not allowing there to be an awkward silence. He rolled his eyes and dragged a hand down his face, sighing deeply.

"Get used to it. It's the most awful thing in the entire world," he groaned, evidently having been to such long meetings before. She laughed loudly, before showing a toothy smile which he returned.

"Please, do tell of your survival strategies; I may need them so I might not die of disinterest in the future," she joked.

"Why don't you sit down with me and I'll tell you every single one," he chuckled with a wink. The two sat together and talked all evening, enjoying each other's company and speaking of senseless nothingness.

Eventually, their families had to come get them and almost force them apart to get them to stop talking. Forlornly, they said their goodbyes to each other; Tonna wanted to know him more.

So she decided to do something about it.

As Rörik and Mikel began to walk away, she turned and ran after the younger man.

"Röry!" she exclaimed. He turned in surprise, before being pulled down by two hands around his neck. Tonna gave him a peck on the cheek and his face got bright as a tomato.

"Here's my address. Write me!" she demanded playfully. He nodded slowly, before his own face morphed into a smile. They parted their separate ways then, each feeling satisfied with the night.

"And from there, Elsa, we began to see and write each other at least every other day," the current Tonna explained, "and soon enough, our friendship blossomed into a full blown relationship. By the Gods, Elsa. I loved that man more than I loved anything else in my life. He was the single most important person I had. And after my mother died, one of the only people I had. When his father died, he was grief stricken, and asked me to take over the position when we he was twenty three and I twenty two. We had been together for four years at that point.

"I said yes, under the condition that he became my advisor," she explain. Tonna heard the blonde breathe in deeply, knowing the answer to the mystery of Tonna being advisor-less until just today would be upcoming soon.

"He proposed, when I was twenty six and he twenty seven, but that's a different story for a much different time." She smiled in recollection, before her face fell into a deep frown, a face full of pain becoming evident.

"Tonna… if it's too much to talk about, I understand," Elsa said carefully. This was clearly a very tough topic for her past mentor to discuss, and she didn't want to push her further than her mental boundaries would allow.

"No, Elsa. I need to tell you about this," Tonna replied, and continued on.

It was as normal day as any; just a few weeks after Tonna's twenty seventh birthday and just a few months before their wedding. The dirty blonde woke up with her head on Rörik's bare chest, his hand holding hers over his hip; she smiled at the beautiful ring on her finger. She listened to the steady rhythm of his gentle pulse, slow from the veil of sleep. It was about eleven in the morning, and she knew that the past night of lovemaking had exhausted the both of them much, and the long rest that followed in the afterglow was necessary for the both of them to face the day. She could have stayed there all day, content to lie in bed. However, it was getting late. Reluctantly, she propped herself up on one elbow, the white sheets falling down her torso.

"Min kärlek… It's time to wake up" she whispered in his ear. When he stirred only slightly, she gently peppered kisses along his jawline, which now had a light beard lining it, before reaching his mouth. She softly coaxed him into awakening by repeatedly pecking his lips until he began to reciprocate. His arms wrapped around her waist as he pulled her on top of him, so that one of her legs was on either side of his hips. The black haired man pulled back and rested his forehead against hers.

"You're lucky I love you, Kära," he teased, smile evident in his tone. She giggled.

"You're lucky that you love me, Röry!" she joked, slapping his chest and getting out of bed. "Uppity up my love, we have to clean the house; your mother is coming today!" Her fiancé groaned from the mattress.

"I don't want to get up, Ton," he complained. He loved his mother, that shew knew; however, the cleaning part was always his least favorite part by far.

"Well, tell your mother that when she comes her to a filthy house," she retorted. She heard him scoff, but begin to move.

"It's not filthy, love. Now you're just exaggerating." She rolled her eyes as she finished getting ready, throwing on a pair of sweatpants and a black sports bra, proceeding to put her dirty blonde hair in a pony tail. She heard her lover open his drawers and grab out boxers and a pair of jeans. As soon as they were done brushing their teeth, they got to work cleaning.

It was simple enough for the majority of the day. Around dinner time, they got washed up and set the table for Elise, Rörik's mother. Their Ice cat, Björk, purred loudly as he rubbed his flank along Tonna's leg. Smiling, her fiancé embraced her from behind.

"She's mine, Björk. Back off!" He chastised playfully, kissing the top of Tonna's head. She grinned widely, stirring the carrots she currently was boiling. Rörik rested his chin on her hair, humming in thought.

"What's on your mind, sweetheart?" She inquired.

"I'm just thinking about how obviously good the cake is going to taste at our wedding," he replied, causing them both to chuckle.

Then, the doorbell rang. That fucking doorbell. Tonna had gone to go answer it, thinking it was her soon-to-be mother in law arriving just in time for dinner; but Rörik had gone instead, since she had been in the middle of cooking.

"Mama—" he began, only to be greeted with a black steel sword through his abdomen. He gave out a silent cry of agony before the blade was removed and he dropped to his knees.

One moment, she and her love had been talking about how excited they were for the delicious cake to be consumed by the pair. The next, her fiancé was on the floor in a rapidly expanding pool of blood.

Tonna's body moved on instinct. Her eyes glowed a dangerous yellow as she created a protective dome around Rörik's body, and killed the assailants in an instant. Rörik's dead mother's head was held in one of the assassin's hands.

Oh my Gods, Oh my Gods, Oh my Gods.

She ran back inside and made the dome disappear, finding Rörik trying and failing to ice his wound shut. He was losing energy and life quickly; Tonna was not of the Healing Sector, and therefore could do nothing to save her love. She grasped his hands in hers, the normally strong fingers wrapping weakly around her hands.

"Kära, du är kärlek i mitt liv ... Jag älskar dig med hela mitt hjärta," he proclaimed softly, but with unshakeable confidence. She started openly sobbing at this point, and he shakily reached his hand up and wiped away some of the tears flowing from her eyes.

"I love you, Rörik. I love you, I love you, I —" she cut herself off with a choked sob. He shook his head slowly, a small, small smile gracing his paling features. Even in his time of dying, he managed to retain part of his good nature.

"Come on, my dear. Show me that smile I fell in love with on the night we first met," he pleaded. She cried harder, but attempted to anyway for him. He smiled at her loving, the warmest expression in his eyes he could muster with the energy he had left.

"Kiss me, my love, so that I may greet Horatius with a smile," he requested weakly.

She leaned down and kissed him; again, and again, and again, all the while allowing her tears to fall freely on his face, hoping to kiss him back into good health. She kissed him until she felt his body limp, until she felt the Magic exit his body with a final breath against her lips. And she stayed there, sobbing, crying, hoping to wake up from the nightmare this had to be.

"If it was a nightmare, Elsa, then I am still living in it," she whispered, a lone tear rolling down her cheek, "Because I have never woken up next to Rörik since that day."

Elsa had started quietly crying ages ago; her mentor, the good person she was today, went through such an ordeal and still retained the generally positive outlook she did on life? Her mental strength far superseded Elsa's, in every respect. She wiped away her tears, before meeting Tonna's eyes.

"So, my dear, you must understand why I was so hesitant about having another advisor. I haven't allowed anyone to get close to me like I have you since Röry's death," she said, wiping away the tear that had trailed down her cheek, "Because I simply could not have dealt with the death of another person I cared so deeply about. And with the rising tensions between Lines over the recent years, bloodshed has become more and more common…" She shook her head, lips becoming a thin line.

"Elsa, I love you as though you were my child," she told her. The words meant more to Elsa than Tonna realized; or maybe did realize. Elsa's eyes began misting over again. Serving as her maternal figure for the past ten years, she was the only maternal figure that the younger woman had to reference off of. Hell, she had practically raised her.

"So putting you as my advisor was, easily, the hardest decision I've ever had to make," she explained, "because it would mean that I could no longer protect as one of my pupils. And to have another person in my life taken away…" Her voice cracked, brown eyes shifting to the side.

"Well, then living would be even more laborious than it was fifteen years ago," she paused for a moment, collecting herself, before carrying onward, "and I don't know if I'd remain in the Order for much longer." Elsa's eyes widened immensely. Her mother figure, the Lady Glaciem Magistri, one of the most devoted figures in Water, to step down? The idea was so foreign to hear she wasn't even sure if she had heard her correctly. But by the look on her face, the blue eyed girl knew that she had.

There came the sudden realization, like a freight train, that Tonna was mortal. She felt pain, and that agony was one she had to live with each and every day of her life.

Elsa had never respected her more than she had in that moment.

"Tonna… who killed Rörik?" she asked, a frightening coldness that the older woman was taken aback by. She knew that it was not directed at her, but it still put her at unease all the same.

"I've not the slightest idea. The only thing that I remember after inspecting the bodies was the fact that each of them had a brand on them, specifically an X on their left arms," she started slowly, "this was at the time that many Lords and Ladies had assassination attempts on their lives. For what reason, I'm not sure. I, the Lady, failed to be killed… at the expense of another. There were more afterward, but each and every time they failed to end me." Elsa sat in quiet contemplation. For once, Tonna could not read her face.

"Regardless, my friend. I didn't tell you this story out of nowhere, or without reason. Elsa, you're on your own now. For both of our sake's, please keep safe… The one you love most could be ripped from you at any moment, or, perhaps worse… you be ripped from them. There are many things that have been happening as of late that worry me. Especially between Water and Fire… Speaking of, isn't Anna of Fire?" she questioned.

"Yes, indeed she is. She somehow has the ability, to some degree, to master water." The Lady's eyebrows scrunched together, before thinking of something that danced over her eyes for a few moments, before she seemed to come to a defeated conclusion.

"She cannot train at the Temple." There was silence following the statement, Elsa not seeming to fully comprehend what she had just said.

"What?"

"I said, she cannot train at the Temple." Seeing that she had heard correctly, Elsa's eyes glowed an unnaturally bright blue, the temperature in the room beginning to drop rapidly. She jumped up suddenly, jaw clenched.

"You tell the story of how you lost the man you love, then have the audacity to say that you love me like your child, but refuse to let me mentor at the capital of Ice," she fumed, "Why? Why in the Hell would you send me off after telling me how much —"

SLAP!

The temperature in the room returned abruptly to normal, the glow in Elsa's eyes stopping suddenly as she stood shocked, the handprint on her cheek already forming an angry red mark.

"How dare you, Elsa," Tonna said, an icy calmness coating her voice, "How dare you question me and think that I would send you away without a reason. I just exposed the most difficult moment of my life to you, and am soon to be faced with another one; sending you off isn't fucking easy, I hope you realize this." The expletive shocked the blonde almost as much as the slap had. Tonna was pissed.

She got up in Elsa's face, the intensity of emotions and adrenaline typically associated with battle giving her eyes an unnerving glow. It wasn't like Elsa's, not the neon blue that her cerulean eyes normally got when she used Magic. Though her eyes were brown, they now glowed an eerie yellow from her interpretation of Magic.

"Anna is of the Ignis. Magum. I cannot risk the sacred place of hundreds of generations by chance that she slips up and accidentally releases a Lightning bolt or wave of Fire. She could potentially destroy one of the oldest relics of the entire Order, Elsa. We don't even know if she's dangerous or not to us. You know of the uprisings recently; who's to say she isn't part of that crew?" As much as Elsa didn't want to admit it, her past mentor had a point. The blonde broke eye contact, conceding defeat. Her lips pressed into a tight line, a ghost of a frown forming on her lips. Tonna's eyes slowly melted back into the warm brown they usually were

"Where do I go, then?" she mumbled. This was definitely going to prove to be a problem.

"Your father, maybe?" Tonna replied, slipping off her belt, "I call first shower, by the way." Elsa flopped back on her bed, trying and failing to come up with rational reasons as to why she shouldn't call her father. Everything she tried to supply to herself was futile, and soon realized that his house on the outskirts of Arendelle could be her only option at this point, until she could save up enough Krones to buy her own house or cabin or even temporarily rent a place.

"I suppose so, Tonna… That seems to be about my only option at this point," she admitted. She summoned Æinarr to lay with her and comfort her. The Snow fox laid next to her and snuggled into her stomach, curling up and falling asleep. Elsa scratched between his ears, causing a sound akin to a purr to bubble within his chest. His creator smiled to herself at his cuteness.

"I suppose I'll tell Anna tomorrow over coffee…" she thought outloud to him. He nuzzled into her side once more as she laid her head upon her pillow and shut her eyes, yawning. Sleep was more than welcome to wrap its gentle arms around Elsa, ushering her off into the realm of blissful nothingness.

"Iakob, I think this is going to be my final night with you and Kristoff." The redheaded girl knew she was going to have to tell them all why she was packing a day early. Kristoff looked at Anna sadly, knowing that she needed to go down this path but nonetheless wanting her to just stay with him and Iakob and Sven and Grand Pabbie and everyone for as long as possible. They were basically brother and sister, having grown up together since they were four years old. Kristoff was the first person she came out to as bisexual to, and from his positive response she knew she could come out to the Trolls as well. They were a kind breed of magical beings, created from Plinius himself and placed on Earth as a gift to the Elementals when they were still the Children of Earth. Kristoff sighed.

We're all going to miss her.

Iakob had anticipated this coming, knowing it was only a matter of time until Anna chose to move on. She had learned the Ways of his Branch, and therefore completed her knowledge of the Ignis Magum; she had also never been one to sit contently around while knowing there was more that she could explore, so her statement wasn't as shocking to him as it was Kristoff.

"So that's what the meeting was about earlier," Iakob said plainly, a statement more so than a question. The girl nodded, confirming his suspicions.

Anna looked at the two men, waiting for them to react physically in some form. No sooner had she finished the thought had Kristoff engulfed her in a huge hug, holding her tightly to his chest. Sven came over soon too and nudged his head under Anna's arm. She felt tears come to her eyes and snuggled into Kristoff's broad chest. The redhead murmured something intelligible to the honey blonde before he pulled away from her, a questioning look in his kind brown eyes.

"What was that, Red?" he asked, earning him a grin at the use of his age old nickname for her.

"I said thank you, Kris." It was then when she pulled away from her adoptive sibling and looked over to Iakob. The man's kind smile told her all that she needed to know. He walked over to her and rested his hands on her shoulders, his eyes observing her eyes for her certainty. Seeing this, she nodded; there was an unspoken agreement between mentor and pupil.

"You remember that chick that gave me the money for the scimitar?

I will not forget you.

"Anna, if I may talk to you privately," her mentor requested, pulling them out into the hallway. Normally, they wouldn't have discussed something without Kristoff being there, but this was something important, something that he needed to make sure she knew.

"Anna… You know of the skirmishes between Water and Fire right now, correct?" Of course she did. Nearly everyone in the Ignis Magum and Aqua Magus did. She nodded.

"Well… Be careful, Anna. I have a little niggling in the back of my mind that they are using the pretenses of being in the Ignis Magum falsely. From what little we have gathered, the groups that keep attacking have X's branded into their left arms but don't speak the common tongue, or refuse to at any rate. I just want you to be safe, Anna; these men don't seem to use natural magic, not that any of us can sense anyway." The curly haired man placed a hand on her shoulder. "Just, please be safe. Alright? In the morning, I'm assuming, is when you're leaving." She nodded a confirmation. He patted her head fondly.

"You've been a great pupil, and I am sad to see you go. You're going to great things, I can feel it in my bones. And you know what they say —" he began.

"One's bones are never wrong!" They finished together. She laughed at the familiar phrase that a drunken old man had yelled at them when they were passing by the Parthenon, when she first had begun training with Iakob. They shared a brief smile before walking back in. Kristoff had, per usual, skipped his shower and was now on the couch, snoozing quietly with his head resting against Sven's furry side.

"You're already packed, right?" Iakob asked quietly.

"Mmhm," she confirmed, flopping down on her bed. The redhead stretched before settling underneath of the covers, undoing her dual braids. Yawning, Anna snuggled into her pillow, looking up to Iakob with tired eyes.

"Get some sleep then, young one. Gods know you need your rest for tomorrow," the tan man kindly ordered her, slipping into the bathroom for his nightly shower. Anna preferred morning showers; they were they only thing that seemed to wake her up.

Knowing that Iakob could create his own light to see, Anna shut off the lamp and closed her eyes. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, and she needed to be as well rested as possible. Eventually, coupled with the steady sound of the shower hitting the floor in the bathroom, Kristoff's gentle snoring, and the warmth of her comforter, Anna finally fell into the kind embrace of sleep, hoping to dream of Elsa and the new life she was about to enter.

A/N: As said previously: a lot of backstory this chapter on some of the minor characters. Poor Tonna! I want the backstory on our dearest Anna to be held on until it's brought up in conversation with Elsa. I was definitely debating on breaking this up into two chapters, but I felt one would be good. This is about three thousand words longer than one of my usual chapters, which usually weigh in at about 2,500ish words per chappy. I think it's important to preface the importance of Elsa's position now, and why she was chosen as opposed to someone with more experience. Sorry for the angst again, but pain makes the pleasure all the more better.

And now, for the reviews! (You guys who reviewed/followed/Favorited me this past week, thank you. I love y'all!)

Strasza says: I like how the story is going so far, and I would like to see how Elsa and Anna's relationship develops, I just hope you don't go the same route The Queens Mercy went, and make the two love birds end up at odds with each other

Burns: Thanks! Don't worry; there are going to be rough patches as far as the relationship goes, but there will no doubt be a happy ending for our favorite lovebirds. It will take a LONG time and a lot of pain, but they will end up together in the end. As much as I love the Queen's Mercy, there's virtually no part of its plot in my story.

Keanan765 says: I really enjoy this story and I'm pumped for updates! I love The Queen's Mercy too! I'm excited to see how you play this all out because there's so much!

Burns: thank you! That means the world to me :) and how could you not? It's an awesome story! The fanart for it too is really cool as well. Thank you! There's probably going to be 60+ chapters in the end, as I have about 5 arcs laid out (so far, anyway).

So, as always, thank you all for your love and support. I wish you all a fantastic week. Be ready to be in your fluffy feels next week!

Love you guys, and I'll see you all next time! ~Burns