Thanks for all the reviews, guys! Really it means a lot to me!
Credits: Thanks go to hybrid-rain as always for being an inspirational canyon, promoting this like mad, and tolerating my "look at how clever I am" moods and sporadic-tiger for agreeing to be my proofreader and nitpicker and giving me a creative insult for Anna to use.
Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen and its characters, plots, etc and I do not make or intend to make any profit from this.
"'The sorceress Elsa, not content with tainting the royal throne of Arendelle with her vile magic, has now seen fit to corrupt the bed of kings and queens with acts of fornication between herself and her sister, Anna. There can be no mistake about it. If these blasphemous sisters are not removed and judged before the Lord, then He will send his wrath upon us. Like Sodom before, our kingdom will be burned with hellfire. Thus saith the Lord.'" Elsa finished reading one of apparently many pamphlets spread throughout Arendelle and let the paper fall onto the table dismissively. "So they added a bit where apparently my sister and I engage in carnal acts with each other. I don't see how this is otherwise any different from the usual fire and brimstone ravings they spew."
"But Your Majesty, to be accused of such indecent behaviours would sour our reputation abroad!" Director Fossen protested.
"Then what do you propose we do?" she asked.
"Stamp the rumours out, Your Majesty," he suggested. "Send men to find and destroy these pamphlets wherever they can be found, shut down taverns and cafés that allow talk about these matters, and charge Bishop Mathesien with malicious slander."
Those sound like good ideas, Anna thought as she sat next to her sister who looked like she honestly couldn't care less about this Ordo Malleus, which really confused her. She could never understood how she could be so calm about these nutters.
"You could also marry," proposed the Home Secretary. "Your engagement would certainly be taken as proof that these rumours are false."
Immediately Anna whipped her head towards him with a glare that could make flowers wither and small animals faint. No way was she going to let her big sister marry some snobby lord because a bunch of lunatics scared her into it. Fortunately for her, no one seemed to notice her expression as they all chimed in their approval to the ideas. All of them except the only person who mattered: Elsa. Oh, and the spymaster.
So naturally Elsa turned to the spymaster and asked, "What do you suggest, Mistress Julia?"
"What do I suggest?" she repeated in a voice that sounded too surprised to be true. She shrugged and said, "Nothing."
This is our spymaster?! Anna thought angrily. Nothing?! She wondered why Elsa liked her so much if she suggested silly ideas like that. And apparently so did the rest of the council because they began to mutter furiously. The Royal Director of Foreign Affairs was particularly vocal.
"Are you mad?" he very nearly roared. "Do nothing?"
"Do you know how you best deal with a wildfire, Lord Director?" Mistress Julia calmly asked. "If the fire is at no risk of causing damage or harm, the best course is often to let the flames burn themselves out. That is what this rumour is. If we let the rumour be, eventually the common people will grow tired of it and find interest elsewhere and the rumour will die out. However, if we attempt to suppress it, then they will continue to discuss it. They will wonder if we have something to hide and breathe further life into it."
After taking a minute to digest her words, Anna found herself quickly revising her opinion of Julia. Elsa nodded in agreement and then suddenly, turning her face towards Anna, asked, "What about you? What do you think?"
"Um…me?" she asked in shock, holding her right hand against her chest. She did not expect to be asked for her input. The only reason why she was at the meeting in the first place was because she somehow got dragged into it by her sister.
Elsa nodded again. "Yes, Anna. This rumour concerns you as well. You should have a say into what we do."
"Well," Anna said, clearing her throat and trying to sound a lot more confident than she was. "I like what Mistress Julia said but I don't think we should just do absolutely nothing. Like I know we can't make everyone shut up about it, but couldn't we….I don't know…get someone to say it's not true?"
"That's an idea, Your Highness," Mistress Julia said. "Obviously we should not make any official proclamation regarding the rumours. But we can sow doubt in more subtle ways. It shouldn't be too difficult to use either my seeds or the Lord Secretary's covert officers to do that."
"Also…" Anna began before faltering as she noticed everyone looking at her. It was only when Elsa nodded encouragingly did she continue. "Just how many people think my sister and I are sleeping with each other?"
The Home Secretary replied, "From what the City Watch reported, certain districts of the city are more inclined to believe the rumours than others. But as of now, it would appear that while the majority of the people are uncertain about the veracity to the accusations, the rumour has been the most popular topic to discuss at public areas."
Elsa asked, "And has Bishop Mathesien or anyone else in the order brought forth proof to their accusations?"
"They claim to have the testimony of a maid who wasded recently dismissed because she had spied on Your Majesty and Your Highness performing sexual acts with each other."
Anna's eyebrows came together as she struggled to decide what was more ridiculous: the fact they thought they had sex or the fact that people actually believed them. They haven't even kissed. But they did spend their nights in the same room…so if someone had been spying on them, they could easily guess…
Elsa's eyebrows disappeared into her bangs. "That's peculiar," she said. "I don't seem to recall either Gerda or Kai dismissing anyone from the household staff. Has this maid publically testified?"
"I'm afraid not, Your Majesty. The bishop has said that after the maid confessed to him, she took a vow of silence and retreated to a convent."
"How very convenient," Anna muttered under her breath. Again no one seemed to notice her except for the spymaster who gave her a brief smirk.
"Very well, then," Elsa said, after a moment of thinking. "This is what I want. Mistress Julia, I would like you to find this woman. Question her if possible and discover if there were any…motivators for her testimony."
"Noted, Your Majesty," she said, with a small incline of her head.
"Secretary Hovland, assign some of the more discreet members of the City Watch to begin spreading word to counter these accusations among the more public places. Taverns, docks, market squares, cafés. Mistress Julia, if you could please do the same, please."
"At once, Your Majesty," he said while the spymaster just nodded.
The Lord Commander cleared his throat and asked, "Your Majesty, would you like me to increase the palace guards until these falsehoods have died out?"
Elsa was about to reply when Anna interjected, "Yes."
Her sister turned to her and opened her mouth to say something but Anna swiftly looked back at her and continued, "Look, I understand if you don't want to send the City Watch or anyone else against this bishop and his followers but you should at least try to protect yourself." She widened her eyes in hopes that her sister could see the plea in them.
To Anna's relief, she did. "Very well," Elsa said. "Lord Commander, you heard my sister."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Your Highness," he confirmed with a nod.
"Now, lady and gentlemen," the queen said as she stood up, Anna following suit. "If you will kindly excuse me, I would like to retire to my chambers."
They all stood up and bowed, or curtseyed in Mistress Julia's case, as the two sisters walked out of the council room.
"Elsa, I…" Anna began to say but Elsa shook her head, causing her to frown. She hoped she didn't do anything wrong when she told the Lord Commander to put more guards in the palace. Maybe it would look like the princess is trying to take some power from the queen but honestly she was just concerned with her sister's safety. There wasn't anything wrong with that, right? She would hate it if she caused another break to form in their relationship. Especially since Elsa was beginning to open up to her touch.
It was only when they entered their bedroom did Elsa finally speak. "I'm sorry if I seemed rude earlier," she immediately said. "I just didn't want anyone listening into what we say."
"Well if someone reportedly spied on us in this room, wouldn't that mean it's not safe to talk in here?" asked Anna.
Her sister shook her head and said, "I don't think so… Do you get the feeling this rumour makes absolutely no sense?"
She thought about it for a few seconds and exclaimed, "Yeah! I mean, first of all, we haven't even…you know…done it. Let alone on Mum and Dad's bed." Neither of them mentioned that none of them felt comfortable sleeping in their room after their passing.
"And no one but Gerda is allowed in our room to clean. Plus if she or Kai had to fire someone, they would have told me first."
"So the maid probably doesn't even exist. They probably made that up along with the fact we're having sex on our parents' bed."
"Everything about this is made up except for the part we're in a relationship," Elsa said, her voice faltering at the end. "…We are together like that, right?"
"Of course, silly," Anna replied playfully although her heart sank knowing that Elsa still needed confirmation that they were a couple. "But how would they know that part? No one heard us except Olaf and he would sooner throw himself into a fire than betray us. Unless the Spymaster had someone listening…"
Elsa shook her head furiously. "Absolutely not. I strictly told her that she couldn't plant her seeds in my old bedroom." She tilted her head to the side in confusion. "I thought you knew that already. Wasn't that why you wanted to talk in that room?"
Anna winced and admitted, "Actually…I just chose that room because I thought Olaf could hide in there more easily."
"Oh…" she said. "Well, that does make sense… So if we rule out Olaf and, unless Julia has suddenly decided to go against my commands…or do you think she has, Anna?"
She frowned and replied, "I don't know her as well as you do, Elsa. But she spies on people and lies for a job." She finished with a shrug, causing her sister to frown contemplatively.
"Maybe…or maybe…" she said, her voice drifting away.
"Maybe what, Elsa?"
"Maybe they made that bit up as well," she finished. "Julia might not be the most honest woman in the world but she certainly isn't stupid. She has nothing to gain by disobeying or betraying me. Even if she knows we're romantically together, she isn't going to run and tell people."
"Okay so if this Bishop Mathesien just made up the entire incest rumour, why did he choose now of all times to announce it?" Anna asked. "He obviously doesn't care about getting proof and he has to know that sooner or later, people will find out that he's the biggest liar in all of Arendelle."
"I don't know," Elsa admitted as she began to pace around the room, each step adding a thin coat of frost on the hardwood floor. "And that's what worries me the most. What if he's preparing for something worse?"
"But I thought you said he or the people in his cult weren't going to do anything, Elsa."
"That was before he tried to spread an obviously fake rumour. And I seem to recall I also said everyone else thinks they're a bunch of nutters but now I don't know."
"Well, everyone still thinks that…right?" She added hesitantly.
"I don't know!" Elsa repeated, frustration leaking into her voice. Her hands balled up into fists and now ice began to form around her. "Which is why I don't know what to do. This whole situation is unstable and if I make the wrong move, I could just make this worse!"
"Well, let's start with what we know," Anna said in a soothing tone, sitting on the bed and gesturing for Elsa to join her. She did and although the frost still remained on the floor, thankfully the bed had not begun to freeze over. Yet. "So we know that Bishop Mathesien hates you and thinks you should leave or die otherwise the kingdom will be doomed."
"Us, Anna," corrected Elsa. "He hates us both."
"Yeah, okay," Anna said dismissively. "He has a group of followers who either believe him or are forced in some way into supporting him. When did he first appear?"
"Ummm…." her sister said, looking up to the ceiling to remember. "Maybe a couple days after the Great Thaw?"
"Okay so for about three weeks or so, he just preaches about how evil we both apparently are. Suddenly he decides to drop this rumour on us. Why do that now? What's changed?"
"I…oh…" Elsa gasped as realisation seemed to hit her. "Right…"
"What?" asked Anna concernedly.
"Bishop Serslitru."
"The guy who crowned you?" And presided Mum and Dad's funeral, she added in her head.
"Yeah. He had to go to Rome to argue that I should be allowed to keep my crown. Of course. And while he's gone, Bishop Mathesien can go in and grab as much power and support as possible before he returns. But…that still doesn't make any sense…"
"What doesn't?"
"Whatever power he has isn't going to last long. As soon as Bishop Serslitru comes back with the Pope approving my reign, not many people are going to support him much longer."
"Well what if he's trying to ruin your case with the Pope? The Royal Director guy said that these rumours are going to make us look bad abroad. Maybe that's the point?"
"Perhaps…he would know when Bishop Serslitru would be leaving for Rome so that could explain why he choose today to spread those lies. But I don't think that's what he wants."
"But…" Anna started to say. She wanted to tell her that if Bishop Serslitru failed to convince the Pope to let her keep the throne, then she could be forced out and Anna would have to take over. Or worse, the Pope could condemn her as a witch, giving all of their potential enemies an excuse to go to war against them to remove her from the throne. But she knew that Elsa knew that as well as she did, probably even better. So she trusted her sister's judgment and stayed silent.
Elsa didn't seem to notice as she got up from the bed and sighed. "Anna," she asked in a soft voice, her head facing away from her. "Do you think I'm doing the right thing?"
Anna was at a loss for words. While she had seen more of who her sister was underneath her queenly mask, she had never seen her so uncertain. She was Elsa, the perfect powerful queen, full of grace, wisdom, kindness, and justice. She was the one Anna looked to when she was feeling weak or conflicted. She was the one that she sought for guidance and strength. The one person that would assure her everything was all right. To see their relationship reversed like this was just strange.
But she knew what she needed to do. She stood up and walked to her sister. Then she wrapped her arms around her sister's chest, over her stomach. She could feel Elsa tense up just a bit. Just enough that Anna and Anna alone would have noticed. But she then felt her sister relax into her body and her hands hold her wrists and brought them closer. She leaned her head closer to Elsa's ear and whispered, "Elsa. No matter what you do, I know you will always do the right thing. And you know I will always be here for you."
Learning her lesson from earlier, Anna refrained from kissing her sister, not even a chaste peck on the cheek. But she did nuzzle her head against the curve of Elsa's neck and was rewarded when she felt her sister tilt her head towards hers. This is where she belonged, she thought, at her side. And as long as they were together, nothing, not the Ordo Malleus, not the Pope, not all the kingdoms and all the empires in the world would ever pull them apart again.
Elsa sat behind her desk in the study with her glasses perched on her nose. The lamps were lit and the fire was cheerfully consuming the letters she had thrown in the hearth earlier that day. While her eyes read the words on the papers in front of her, her mind was far too distracted to allow them to be absorbed. She sighed, probably for the thirtieth time that evening since she entered this room. She couldn't begin to sift through the matters that clamoured for her attention. Of course, there were the rumours that the Ordo Malleus was spreading. It appeared nightfall only brought more curious listeners and while the Home Secretary reported only a small percentage of people believed them, it was an increase from this afternoon. Consequently support for the cult have grown as well. Marginally, of course, he had said. No reason for concern.
Then there were the concerns abroad. The outcome of Bishop Serslitru's mission in Rome could be affected by what she did here in Arendelle and she had no way of knowing what direction her actions would direct it. And should the bishop fail and her reign come into doubt, she would only gain more attention from empires, now given an excuse to drag Arendelle into their affairs. They wouldn't threaten her, not at first. They had to be civilised first. They would make offers instead. "Join my side and I can guarantee your sovereignty," they would say. "Refuse and we will have no choice but to remove a blasphemer and a witch from power." She was powerful, true, but even she couldn't challenge all the empires in the world without dooming her kingdom.
And there were also the concerns and the support of her people. To be frank, no ruler was ever truly beloved by all of his or her people. In the bazaars of Agrabah, people still muttered bitterly about "The Street Rat Sultan" and in the dark corners of certain taverns, one could hear malicious gossip regarding "The Robber Prince of Corona". Not even the princesses and queens, those who were once lost and then found, were spared from insults. "The Ragged Princess" and "The Servant Queen" were some of the kindest labels hurled at them. Elsa knew she was not universally loved in Arendelle. She knew her outburst on her coronation had its consequences and no matter how much she strived to make up for them, there would be those, both common and noble, who either continued to fear her or hate her for whatever reason. Nevertheless, they were still citizens of Arendelle and as their ruler, she had to consider their wishes as well as the wishes of others and make her decisions that would help the greatest number of people.
Finally, there was Anna, her sister and apparently, now her lover. But for how long, she didn't know. It wasn't that Elsa didn't trust her to stay loyal to her. Far from it. It was that she didn't trust herself to be worthy of Anna's faith and affection. Maybe one day, she wouldn't be able to fully return her love or she would jump like a frightened mouse at her touch one too many times. And it would be too much for her sister to bear and she would rightfully find someone who deserved her love more. She never knew that being in a relationship could be so stressful. But it was worth it. It was worth the worries to wake up and see her sister's beautiful fiery hair in an endearing mess around her head bathed in the sunlight. It was worth struggling against years of self-discipline to feel her warm hands against her skin and surrender herself into her caressing embrace.
A knock on the study door took her away from her thoughts of her sister. "Begging your pardon, Your Majesty," the guard shouted from the other side. "Mistress Julia here to see you."
"Please let her in," she replied. Part of the increase in palace guards was now there was a pair of guards that followed her everywhere she went. At least for now they had the courtesy of standing outside of the rooms.
The door opened and Julia stepped in. "Your Majesty," she greeted.
"Mistress Julia," Elsa said as she set her glasses on her desk and prepared to slip her hands into her gloves. But Julia shook her head and said, "No need to trouble yourself for my sake."
She made a small frown as she deliberately dropped them on her desk.
"I believe you summoned me, Your Majesty," Julia said smoothly. "What concerns do you have?"
"This rumour. My sister and I have been thinking it over."
"Oh?" she said, taking a seat. "And what conclusions have you and Her Highness arrived at?"
"That the rumour is completely fabricated," Elsa replied. "The maid who provided him with the testimony likely does not exist. Both Kai and Gerda told me they haven't made any dismissals recently."
Julia nodded. "My seeds have visited all the convents in Arendelle and report that none of them have accepted anyone in the past month. What else?"
"The timing of the rumour's release is too neat to be coincidental. He chose to spread it on the very day Bishop Serslitru left for Rome which means he's been planning this for quite some time. For the short term gains, he will spread uncertainty about my ability to rule and use the ensuing chaos to gain some support and power for himself."
Julia nodded again and asked, "And for the long run?"
Elsa's frown deepened and admitted, "I have no idea. Anna thinks he wants to sabotage my case with the Pope."
"A reasonable guess, Your Majesty. And this is where you want my opinion?" she said, tilting her head.
"No, this is where I want you to tell me why your seed in the cult haven't told us about this rumour earlier."
Julia straightened her neck and replied, "He didn't report it because he only heard about it this afternoon. The same time we did. I'm afraid he isn't planted deep enough to be privy with the bishop's more intimate plans."
A reasonable enough explanation, Elsa thought. "So what does he have to report?" she asked.
"The bishop has been in steady correspondence with someone not in Arendelle. We are attempting to find out who and where."
"And efforts to intercept these messages?"
"The palace hawks are of no use, I'm afraid. The messenger birds most frequently used here have grown rather adept at avoiding them. But I don't think they would fare as well with a Xiongnu falcon."
Elsa tilted her head as she struggled to recall the name from her lessons. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with them," she confessed a minute later.
"They're commonly found in the areas north of China, Your Majesty. Regarded as one of the most intelligent, fastest, and most deadly birds. It's tradition for the Chanyu of the Xiongnu people to have one as a pet."
"Would they be fast enough to get here to be of any service though?" asked Elsa sceptically.
"Oh, we wouldn't have to bring them from their natural territory. The Royal Falconry in Oslo will have more than a few, from which we can borrow. For a price, of course."
"Take what you want from the treasury. You always have anyway."
Julia smirked with a childish delight. "Just the one for Bishop Mathesien?"
Elsa thought for a minute and shook her head. "Two. One for him. The other for Hans."
"As you wish, Your Majesty. Anything else?"
"As a matter of fact, yes," Elsa said. "What measures have you taken to secure the palace from spies and eavesdroppers?"
For once in this meeting, Julia frowned as she droned, "The usual befitting a queen. My own seeds among the household staff, the palace owls and cats for trained rodents and birds, comprehensive background checks of recent employees. Why? If you suspect the maid to be a figment of the bishop's imagination, then surely you would have no need for concern for prying eyes."
"Just…being thorough, Mistress Julia," she replied with a sigh. She probably sounded paranoid to her but right now, she couldn't care less. Anna's safety was everything to her and she had to know if she was safe in their own bedroom. "Thank you for your time."
"It was my pleasure, Your Majesty," she said with a final smirk. Elsa watched her as she rose from her chair, curtseyed once more, and departed. It was only when the door closed with a sharp click did she release a loud and gaping yawn that had been building up for the past hour or so. Her eyelids were feeling like weights and as comfortable as her chair in the study was, it was quickly becoming a temptation to just close her eyes and sleep. But she had her duties. As she placed her glasses back on, she gave a passing thought to wonder just what Anna was up to now.
Anna, as it transpired, was at the training yard, standing in front of a leather mannequin that represented a man's head, neck, and torso with an anatomy book open at her feet and her rapier in her hand. She hardly ever practiced so soon after a lesson but Elsa was busy with queen duties and she kept finding herself too distracted for anything else. Plus she wanted to try her instructor's advice. About three-quarters of the book she couldn't make heads or tails from, her mind reeling with all the complicated Latin words. Seriously, who knew there could be so many muscles in just your forearm? But she knew that people needed blood to live and places where a lot of blood was moving seemed really important. And she did know what all the vital parts of the body are and, with the help of her book, she found them on the dummy she dubbed "Freddie".
She started with simple lunges, shifting her weight forward and back with every attack. She found that was slightly different from her lessons with Lord Halvert. While in their bouts she was free to hit anywhere on his torso she liked, here she had a specific location in mind to attack and oftentimes she would miss it to her frustration. But as time went on, the tip of her sword strayed closer and closer to her target. When she was satisfied with her progress, she changed sword hands, using her left instead. Soon it got to the point where she could call her targets and hit almost exactly where she said it would with either hand.
"Throat!" she cried, lunging forward. Her sword tapped Freddie's neck right under his chin.
"Right chest!" Her sword landed at a point where, according to her anatomy book, was between the ribs and right through the lung.
"Stomach!" Although this time Anna hit a place that she had to guess was the liver. She frowned as she looked down at her book to confirm. When she looked up to verify where her sword landed, she suddenly had a brilliant idea. She tried to picture in place of Freddie's featureless face, the face of Bishop Mathesien. Which was admittedly rather difficult since she never actually met the man.
Nevertheless in front of her, she saw a man dressed in black and violet robes with a withered wrinkled face. His nose stuck out so far from his face that it was almost like a beak. By contrast his eyes were so sunken that it looked he had no eyes at all. But they gleamed bright with pure hatred for her sister. And when he opened his mouth, Anna imagined the lies and malice pouring out of his throat like black sticky goo. She wasn't sure if this is what he actually looked like and to be completely honest, she really didn't care.
She yelled," So! You think my sister is a witch, huh? You think she deserves to die?" She leaned back, twirled her sword a few times, and bared her teeth in challenge. "Well, take this, you miserable crusty botch of nature!" She lunged forward and struck him just below his left shoulder. She withdrew back and struck again. And again, each attack accompanied with an insult that grew more and more creative. She found joy, pretending the dummy she was abusing so gleefully was the man who was giving Elsa so much trouble. But just as she aimed to strike the mirage of the bishop in the heart, the image in her mind abruptly changed. And in its place was him. Dressed in the green winter coat, his mouth twisted in a smirk full of sadistic pleasure. He was holding his sword high in the air and slowly bringing it down.
"No!" Anna cried, much like she did that day. Only this time, instead of blocking the sword with her bare fingers, she parried with a sword of her own. "No! No! No!" she continued to scream as she slashed frantically at him. She promptly lost control, forgetting every lesson she had learned over the years as she swung and whipped her sword in wild motions with every ounce of her rage and her strength. All she saw was him coming after Elsa and all she knew was that she was the only person between them and the only person who could stop him. "No…" she finally whispered with a sob, falling to her knees and letting go of her sword.
"Your Highness…" a voice asked. "Are you all right?"
"Yes…yes," she replied weakly in between rapid breaths. She blinked her eyes a few times to bring her head back into this world and turned to see Evald, one of the guards assigned to her protection, with his hand held out. She grabbed it and allowed him to help her pick herself off the stone floor. It was only when she got up and took a few deep breathes did she see the damage she wrecked on poor Freddie.
While she certainly didn't receive him in the best of conditions, he was at least somewhat intact. Now…? Deep slashes were scored across the thick leather and in a few places, she could see the padding peeking through his wounds. Freddie's head was only attached to his body by an inch or two of neck. Not that would have helped since he also had a massive wound against his temple that looked like someone took an axe to it. Or a very angry princess swung her sword at it like an axe. And to finish him off, sticking out of his chest where his heart would be if he had one was Anna's rapier. When she looked behind him, she could see three inches of her blade had pierced through his body.
Knowing that tomorrow she was going to be called to account for the horrifically maimed Freddie, Anna grabbed her sword and pulled. Frowning at the motionless sword, she pulled again, only harder. The sword still refused to budge. She growled, used the other hand to grip Freddie's shoulder, and tried again. The sword remained stuck.
Feeling rather embarrassed now, she sheepishly asked, "Uhh… Evald? Help?" She tilted her head towards the impaled dummy. Evald grinned at her as he took the sword and pulled. He was as successful as she was in the task. For a few minutes, he tried tugging on it until they tried a different method. First she pulled on the sword while he pulled on the dummy in the opposite direction. Then they switched positions and tried again. Neither worked. Had it been any other sword, Anna would be tempted to just leave it there and maybe use Freddie as a trophy of some sort. But the rapier had been forged as a gift from her father for her eighteenth birthday. A gift he would never give. And while she held a small grudge on him for his well-intentioned but misguided decisions, he was still her father and she still loved and missed him.
They ended up calling Tormond, Anna's other guard, to help and with Anna holding the sword and her two guards seizing the mannequin, all three of them groaned and strained from the effort for several minutes until finally the sword was separated from Freddie. She staggered a few steps from the force and carefully inspected her rapier. It looked to be undamaged from her outburst but she made a mental remainder to bring it to the Royal Armourer tomorrow for his inspection.
"Are you done, Your Highness?" asked Evald. "Or would you like us to find another dummy for you to destroy?"
Tormond chuckled and said, "Actually, I don't know, Evald. I reckon this one still got a little life in him."
Anna joined them in their laughter as she sheathed her sword. "No, I think I'm done for today," she said. "Take me to the baths first and then I'll retire for the night."
They nodded and opened the door for her. As she passed, she turned her head back. And what she saw wasn't the wounded leather body of Freddie. She saw Elsa's enemies and their fates should they ever try to hurt her big sister.
This chapter was interesting to write because it's fairly Anna-heavy compared to previous chapters. This was inspired partly because the challenges I face writing Anna and partly because parts of the Elsanna fandom have felt she's been neglected, a sentiment I share. And this story is going to be an exploration of both sisters and how they're both different yet similar to each other. And for a "look at how clever I am" moment, I deliberately wrote it so Anna would know her guards' names but not the people on the Council and vice versa for Elsa. Also I'm trying to address some of the problematic parts of their past here and there with my own interpretations.
According to Wikipedia, Shan Yu's falcon is apparently a Saker falcon but I decided to make it a fictional species because a. he's far too intelligent to not be fictional and b. because it's cooler. Speaking of, notice how the animals in the Disneyverse, even the ones that don't talk, are rather intelligent. Think of all the ways that could change society. It would certainly make messenger birds much more reliable.
And yes, the nicknames I thought for Aladdin and Eugene seemed reasonable because people are always going to be mean and people are always going to use cruel nicknames.
Thank you for the support, guys, and please, if you have any comments or criticism, tell me.