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Credits: Thanks go to hybrid-rain as always and sporadic-tiger for agreeing to be my proofreader and nitpicker. Both are found on Tumblr.
Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen and its characters, plots, etc and I do not make or intend to make any profit from this.
Not for the first time and surely not the last time, Queen Elsa of Arendelle cursed her ancestors for their most ingenious idea of making the royal chair the most uncomfortable in the council room. She knew the reason for that; the duties of a king, or in her case, a queen, should never be considered a comfort, her father taught her. What she didn't understand was why the other chairs were more comfortable when their duties were just as important as hers. Perhaps it's to remind them that their job was a leisure she could freely take away if they displeased her. Whatever the reason was, she shoved her irritation aside as the Royal Treasurer continued his report.
"The commissions for the ice sculptures for Agrabah have been added to the Royal Coffers. This combined with the revenue generated from your influences into our trade has resulted in an adequate surplus in our budget."
Elsa gave herself a small smile as she thought about the ice ships that were now sailing all over the seas under the flags of different kingdoms and companies. When she returned back to Arendelle and her powers became common knowledge, she had struggled for ways they could be used to contribute to her kingdom aside from hosting public ice skating rinks in the courtyard. And then an idea struck her when Anna returned from a late night kitchen raid with two large pieces of chocolate cake she claimed from the icebox. The next day, she requested a meeting with the Royal Society of Naval Architects and made her proposal. Minutes after the meeting concluded, Arendelle's shipyards began construction on the first ice ship and by the end of July, the ship christened Ghaccio unfurled its sails with a cargo of fresh fish destined for Corona. Not one fish had spoiled in the voyage. The success of her idea spread throughout Europe and soon requests for ice ships came pouring in.
"Can we manage the increased demands?" asked Elsa as she briefly glanced through the summary of orders.
"We will have to allocate some of the construction to neighbouring shipwrights. We have sent them the specifications to which they're to abide and afterwards, the ships will be sailed here for your…enchantments. In the meantime, we have plans for the expansion of the existing Royal Shipyard with a proposal for an additional one. They are waiting for your approval."
She quickly found the papers in question and placed them aside. "Very well," she commented. "Regarding the ice harvesters, how have they adjusted to the new conditions in Arendelle?"
"They have done well under your arrangement with them. Some have decided to seek employment in your ice storehouses but most of them continue to supply ice throughout the kingdom."
She nodded, again pleased with this decision. Within days after her coronation, the ice harvesters had assembled before the court and asked her what was to be their fate. Knowing that their professions had been an ancient tradition of Arendelle, she promised them she would do nothing that would endanger their livelihood and any ice created by her for commercial purposes would be used only if the demands exceeded what they could supply.
"That is good to hear. Is there anything further to report regarding our finances?"
"No, Your Majesty," said the Royal Treasurer.
"Very well, proceeding to our affairs abroad. Mr Director?"
The Royal Director of Foreign Affairs rose from his (more than likely comfortable) seat and read from the sheet of paper in his hands.
"The King of Holstein has sent his deepest apologies for the behaviour of his subordinate, the Duke of Weselton. He continues to say that he has restricted the Duke's autonomy and will accept any trade agreement between his kingdom and ours."
"Good. Then he should have no objections to the amendments I've added."
"You mean these amendments, Your Majesty?" he asked, picking up another sheet of paper and adjusting his optics. "But, Your Majesty, I must confess, they are far too harsh. The King would never accept this."
"You just said the King will accept any trade agreement between Holstein and Arendelle. This is the agreement I want for us. It is no harsher than the agreement we were forced in with Weselton between my father's reign and my own."
"Her Majesty is right," chimed in the Royal Treasurer. "Those three years saw some economic depression thanks to them."
"Furthermore," continued Elsa. "Should the King neglect to remember his promise, remind him that his subject attempted to have me killed. What other news from abroad?"
The director continued. "A message from the Southern Isles. Apparently they have banished Prince Hans and stripped him of all titles. They are also sending the Crown Prince with tribute in apology. He is due to arrive in three weeks."
"They could have simply sent the tribute and be done with it," muttered the Spymaster to the amusement of the other Council members.
"I see," Elsa simply said, not sure how she should feel about the arrival of yet another Prince of the Southern Isles. The memories of Hans still burned deep in her mind as they surely did in Anna's. She did not particularly relish having the Crown Prince present in her kingdom but she doubted she could find a way to accept his tribute without accepting his visit in a diplomatic fashion. "We will discuss this further when the visit is closer. For now, prepare accommodations outside the castle. The prince may come to this kingdom but he will not sleep within these walls. And if he find this disagreeable, then he can sleep in his ship."
The Council members chuckled again as the director scribbled a note.
"Now, if that is all, ladies and gentlemen," said Elsa. "I believe this meeting has…"
"A moment if it pleases Your Majesty," interrupted the Commander of Defence of Arendelle. "I have here a summary of the armed capabilities of Arendelle that I would like you to review."
Elsa mentally sighed as she accepted the rather thick red folder and placed it on top of her pile of paper she would be spending today's evening reading. "Thank you, Lord Commander," she said. "Are there any further matters we need to discuss?" After a moment of silence, she continued, 'Very well. Then thus concludes today's meeting." She rose from her seat, eager to finally free herself from that chair, and gathered her work into her arms. Her council immediately stood up and bowed their heads as she departed from the room.
When she walked out, she found Kai standing dutifully by the door, waiting for her it seems. She, to this day, had no idea how he somehow managed to materialise when she needed him.
"Your Majesty," he greeted, bowing from his waist before keeping up with Elsa's pace. "Lunch has been prepared for you at your leisure."
"Thank you, Kai. Let me drop these off at my study first. Could you please find Anna and ask her if she would like to eat with me?" She was fairly certain she knew her sister's answer but sometimes Anna still found ways to defy her predictions.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Would you like me to bring that to your study for you?"
"No, it's okay, Kai. Thank you, though."
Kai bowed and hastened off to find her sister as Elsa continued walking toward her study. Every few yards she passed a guard who straightened upon seeing her and did not relax until she was well out of sight. She managed to convince the Lord Commander that she did not need a constant escort hovering around her while inside the castle but she strongly suspected him for conspiring with the Spymaster because in addition to the guards, she would pass a maid or a servant who seemed unusually interested in the movements of the castle's inhabitants. However they were much more subtle than guards flanking her as she moved throughout so for now, she tolerated their presence.
As if to make her point, a maid carrying a feather duster walked out of her study just as Elsa turned the corner. If she wasn't one of the Spymaster's little seeds, she would eat her slippers. At least, she did her pretend job, she mused when she entered, noting the neat organised desktop and the clean shelves. As she walked around the desk to sit, she placed the bundle of papers in her arms underneath an existing pile on the left side before leaning her head back and releasing a sigh. She then took off her gloves and put them in a drawer in the desk. She still wore them in public, mostly to assure people she would not use her powers, but whenever she had them on in Anna's presence, her sister would just glare at them as if they had done an incredible offence to her and would only stop when she peeled them off. She allowed herself a few more minutes of rest before she rose from the considerably more comfortable chair and made her way to the dining hall.
"Ummm…Kristoff, there is something I should probably tell you…." Anna recited, facing herself through the full length mirror. A mirror she must have broken twice in her childhood due to her clumsiness. For the longest time she wondered if that was the reason why Elsa never came out of her room or why she never met anyone in her life that didn't work for her parents. Hopefully the recent events in her life used up all the misfortune her actions caused. She was fidgeting in front of the mirror, her arms moving from behind her back to across her chest to nervously clasped in front of her. "I think we need to talk about something… I wanted to talk to you about something important… I think we should talk and it's important so you should listen…"
Was it just me or was each revision worse than the one before it? she thought as she grounded her teeth in frustration. She could just not give him an explanation but Kristoff deserved as much.
She honestly couldn't say when she realised that she didn't love Kristoff as much as she first thought. Maybe it was after he suddenly and unexpectedly kissed her in the lips. Maybe it was after all the excitement died down from their adventures and things slowly returned to a sense of normalcy. Maybe it was after she began to interact with more people and found that love was often an excuse used to disguise more nefarious intentions, particularly with her sister. Or maybe it was after she spent more time with Elsa and saw just how much joy she found in her presence. Even when she was preoccupied with her duties, Anna simply relished being near such perfection and when she turned her attentions to her, she often felt dizzy from elation. Realising her thoughts were drifting again, she shook her head to focus them.
"Kristoff, I need to tell you something," she tried again. "I'm really sorry but I don't think I love you like I used to…. No, that won't work…" Taking a few deep breaths, she made yet another attempt. "Kristoff…I'm really sorry but…"
"Sorry for what?" Kristoff's voice said. She gasped in surprise, nearly jumping into the mirror and giving herself more years of misfortune.
"Kristoff!" she squeaked, looking at the ice harvester standing at the door. He hastily brought his hands up in a pacifying manner.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he immediately said. "I knocked a couple times but I guess you didn't hear me so I tried the door."
"Oh, it's okay, just…" she said, fidgeting with her right braid. "You just startled me, that's all."
"But what are you sorry for?" he persisted. Anna looked down and took a deep breath before raising her eyes to face him.
"I…I don't think I love you, Kristoff," she confessed and then quickly added, "I mean, you're a good friend and I appreciate everything you did for me and Elsa. I really do. And I like you, just not, you know, like like you. But after everything that happened with, you know, him, I just don't think I'm ready to go through something like this again."
Kristoff stared at her for the longest time until he bowed his head and sighed. "I understand, Anna," he finally said. "At least, I guess I do."
"Just so you know," Anna said. "I don't think you're like him. At all. You couldn't have been any more different than him. It's just…"
"You're not sure right now and you don't want to do anything hasty again," he finished for her. Well, it wasn't exactly what she wanted to say but it was close enough that she allowed it to pass without a comment.
"I'm really sorry, Kristoff," she said. "I didn't want to say this to you but…in the end, I thought you deserved to hear it from me."
He simply nodded, sighing again. He then turned to leave, lingering just long enough to say "I think I need to go see my family. I'll be there for a while. Take care, Anna." And with that, he closed the door behind him. Anna sat down on her bed. She brushed strands of her hair on the right side with her fingers and twisted her right braid as she wondered if she did the right thing. Shouldn't she feel better if she did? She hoped that now that she had told Kristoff how she truly felt, she would feel relieved but instead she found her heart growing heavier inside her.
This time she heard the gentle knock against the door. "Who is it?" she asked, her voice a little higher than usual.
"It's Kai, Your Highness," the voice behind the door replied. "Your sister was hoping to have lunch with you, if it is all right with you."
"Of course!" she said, her mood lifting almost instantly. "Just give me a sec…" She stood in front of the mirror to make sure she looked presentable to her big sister before walking out to follow Kai to the dining hall.
"Is she there already?" she asked excitedly as they walked down the corridors.
"She said she first had to go to her study so she must be on her…" Kai started but never got around to actually finishing what he had to say. For the princess hitched up her skirts and rushed past him like a redheaded cyclone.
She sprinted past guards and maids, mindless to her surroundings as usual. But then distantly, she saw Elsa calmly walking towards her and she tried to slow down. Of course the monument continued to carry her and she then tried digging her heels against the carpet. She just managed to skid to a halt mere inches from Elsa's outstretched arms, clearly anticipating a collision.
Aware she just nearly almost ran into Elsa, Anna meekly said, "Hi."
"Hi," she said. Anna simply smiled at her before looking at the door she nearly ran into her sister in front of. It was the door into the dining hall, a fact that apparently did not escape her sister's notice. "So…let's find out what the cooks have prepared for us."
Anna looped her arm around Elsa's and said cheerfully, "I hope there's a lot of chocolate!"
Elsa bowed her head and chuckled. "You always hope there's chocolate," she said as she opened the door for them.
"Yes, but today I really need it," she retorted. Her eyes passed over the smoked salmon smørrebrød and the Jarlberg cheese until they found her glutton's desire: a small chocolate cake already sliced for them. She beamed at the sight and clapped her hands eagerly. She didn't notice the concerned look her sister gave her until they both seated at the table.
"…Wait, why?" she asked, her slender arm reaching for a sandwich. "Did something happen?" If Anna were to look under the table, she would see the fingers on Elsa's right hand were slowly collapsing into a fist.
Instead she was about to grab a slice of chocolate cake when she withdrew her hand. "Oh, well," she said, looking down at her plate. "I broke up with Kristoff today… Actually about five minutes ago."
"Oh," Elsa said, tilting her head. "Was it his fault?"
"No, no, no. Nothing like that. It's just…I don't love him like I thought I did." Now that she confessed her disinterest in Kristoff, she found it difficult to stop talking. "I mean, there's a lot about him to love. He's incredibly brave and nice and he's good looking and funny too. Plus he does have that adorable reindeer. And I still like him as a friend. But I don't know. Lately it felt like we've been growing apart and maybe it's my fault for drifting away like that. I should have tried harder to be closer to him."
"No, Anna," she said. "That is not your fault at all. I'm sure Kristoff is a wonderful man and any woman will be lucky to have him."
"But not me…" she muttered dejectedly. Then she felt a cool but comforting presence on her hand. She looked to see Elsa's hand resting upon her own.
"Don't worry, little snowbug," she said with a smile. "From what I read, it happens to couples from time to time. They become different people and they just don't love each other."
"But that'll never happen between us!" Anna protested. "…Will it?"
"Of course not, Anna. We're different, remember? We're sisters."
"Always be together."
"You and me," Elsa finished with another chuckle, one that Anna joined. She gave her sister's hand a couple of pats before removing it. "Now are you going to eat that cake or are you actually going to eat lunch first?"
Anna stuck her tongue out at her sister as she grabbed the slice and plopped it on her plate. "You know what, Elsa?" she said, splitting a piece of cake and spearing with her fork. "I'm glad you're back with me."
"Me too, sis," she said, calmly wiping her lips with her napkin before smiling at her. "Me too."
Author's Notes:
Thinking of what Elsa could do for her kingdom didn't actually take that much thought. Given the time period, I think the greatest thing she could do is essentially mass producing refrigerators for her citizens. The Council members will be given names; it's just at the time of writing, I couldn't think of any.
I have no idea of Weselton is part of a kingdom or was an independent duchy like Milan so instead I compromised into saying that it was part of a kingdom but the Duke was given a certain independence.
Once again, I welcome any and all feedback you might have to offer.