Firstly I want to apologise for the delay in updates. This chapter proved more difficult to write than I thought, nonetheless because I was also entangled with exams and finals. But it's finally here and I thank all of your for your patience.

Thanks as always go to jaspurrrr as always for being an inspirational sounding board and helping me come up with ideas sporadic-tiger for agreeing to be my proofreader and nitpicker, emirael for helping with the world building, and frickfractals, the-perfect-girl-is-gone,izzyvonheeringen, winterqueenelsaa, patronustrip, elsauna, 50shadesofelsanna, and fyeahkristelsanna for promoting and recommending my fanfics. One thing that is truly amazing is how quickly the aforementioned list is growing. All of these great people can be found on Tumblr. And of course, readers for your follows, favourites, and reviews. You guys are seriously the absolute best. You guys are the absolute best! :))

Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen and its characters, plots, etc and I do not make or intend to make any profit from this.

"Riders approaching!" the sentry cried from outside Hans' makeshift study.

He looked up from the collections of maps he had gathered and quickly grabbed his bastard sword. Upon leaving the mayoress's house, he joined the rush of mercenaries as they gathered at the village boundaries where a row of archers and pikemen greeted the riders.

"That's close enough!" shouted Mr Bolvangar, his voice lightly coated with an accent. "Identify yourselves!"

"Lord Lars of House Gyldenløve," one of them replied. "We're here to pledge ourselves to the leader of this brigade."

Then Mr Bolvangar did the dumbest thing he could possibly do in this situation. He turned and looked at Hans in the midst of his men, swiftly marking him as the man in charge. If his men hadn't come so highly recommended, Hans would be tempted to cleave his head in. With little choice, Hans shouldered his way towards the riders.

"I'm Hans, formerly of House Westerguard, the exiled Prince of the Southern Isles," he said as soon as he came out into the open. Each time he had to introduce himself like that, a piece of him withered inside him and died. He couldn't wait until he had Arendelle in his hands to deliver to his father.

"Prince Hans?" Lord Gyldenløve repeated in shock. "The queen has named you as the leader of her enemies but there are few who believe it to be true."

"That was by design, my lord," Hans said. "I had a suspicion my name was not well-received in Arendelle so I chose to work in the shadows. Have circumstances in the city changed?"

"They have, my prince," he said. "May we talk in private?"

Hans thought about it for a second and gave a curt nod. The lord dismounted from his horse and threw the reins towards Mr Bolvangar. The mercenary captain in turn gave a few short orders in their own language. Most of the soldiers melted away to go back to their own affairs, leaving a handful to guard the ten or so riders. Meanwhile Hans led the lord into the mayoress's house and gestured a chair for him to sit in the small parlour.

"I would offer you a drink, my lord," he said, taking a seat for himself. "But the previous occupant didn't have anything worthy of a noble guest such as yourself."

"No need to apologise, my lord," Lord Gyldenløve said. "I would be highly surprised if you found anything here suited for our tastes."

"Quite. Now what do you have to tell me and why did you defect on your queen?"

"The queen has unjustly ordered my arrest after her sister attacked one of my men on my property. She severely wounded him and would have finished him had my guards not intervened. Then she ran like the cowardly fool she was."

"Fool she may be, your man must be more foolish to allow her to humiliate his master like this."

Lord Gyldenløve's eyebrows flared up as he said, "I come here, fleeing for my life. And you find amusement in my predicament?!"

"Consider mine, Lord Gyldenløve. I have, before me, a noble who just betrayed his queen. He offers me, his former queen's adversary, loyalty and information. He already knows my plans for the kingdom and my desires and if I should remain victorious, he would undoubtedly want to occupy the same position as he did with my predecessor, if not higher. But then what would this noble do if a similar situation arises in the future? Can you understand why I'm reluctant to trust you?"

Though he frowned and gripped the armrests of his chair, the lord said with a resignation in his voice, "I see your point. But, please, allow me to prove my loyalty to you. Ask me of any questions and if it is within my knowledge, I shall answer them."

Hans had some doubts about the lord's knowledge but nevertheless persisted. "Very well. Were you given something to give me?"

"Yes!" Lord Gyldenløve said, his hazel eyes lighting up. He dug through his coat pocket, took out a sealed envelope, and handed it to him. Hans took a brief look at the featureless wax seal and was pleased to see that at least someone working for him had some brains.

Pocketing the letter for future review, he continued his interrogation, "How popular is the Snow Queen now?"

"She has her supporters but they are growing fewer and fewer each day."

"Who are they?"

"Her sister, obviously. Even if they're not sleeping with each other, they are obviously close. The Sami peasant the princess has taken for her lover as well. Lord Trym of House Myhre has openly proclaimed his loyalty to her but the rest of the court can be relied to support the victor. Whoever that might be."

"As to be expected," Hans said. Lord Gyldenløve nodded with apparent approval. "And her opponents? Who are they?"

"The Ordo Malleus, obviously. The bishop has made no secret that the kingdom is blessed to receive your army. Lord Lindahl is the main proponent of the opposition against the queen. You should seek him out for support."

"If he's the main leader of opposing the queen, then it means he'll be the most heavily watched by her spies," Hans rebuked, wondering if the Snow Queen had taken all the keen subtle minds in Arendelle.

"Of course," he muttered.

"Who else? Any of the merchants? The common people? What of them?"

"What about them?" Lord Gyldenløve asked bewilderedly.

"Do any of them particularly dislike or resent the queen or do they blindly support her?" Hans asked, trying his utmost best to suppress his irritation. "You can't hope to hold a kingdom unless you either have the fear or the love of its subjects. Of every class."

Lord Gyldenløve continued to look at him in confusion as if the idea that the working or the middle class could influence politics was a ridiculous notion.

"Never mind," he said, deciding that it would be rude to sigh in exasperation. "Finally, your finances. What do they look like?"

"Why do you want to know?" the lord asked. For the first time in the conversation, Hans noted that the lord shuffled into a more defensive position in his seat.

"Because I may rely on them for further continuation of my efforts here," he replied. "My principal financial backer has restricted how much I'm able to spend and it seems like that leash is shorter than I thought."

"I see… Well the majority of my money are in Norges Brannkasse. I brought my letters of credit with me as well as a few hundred ducats. But I do not plan to just donate them to your cause."

Hans expected as much. This was how the world operated. Quid pro quo. "What do you want?" he asked.

"I want a Council position."

Hans kept a blank face but in his head, he was raising his eyebrows to the ceiling. Lord Gyldenløve was one of the last people he would want serving him. Not only that but he was doubtful that there would be a Council in his reign.

"Of course, I shall see where you will of the best service…" he began.

"No, not in this frozen wasteland. In the Southern Isles. Either a Council position with a good salary or a substantial estate with accompanying retinue and income."

That would be even more difficult. Lord Gyldenløve could have the estate he once held in the Southern Isles if Hans couldn't find him one but he doubted his father would let someone like him into his Council nor did he think Frederik could be persuaded into taking him on.

"I'll see what I can do," Hans said. "The estate I believe I will be able to grant you when I return home from here. The Council position is less certain."

He simply shrugged and said, "As long as I get what I want. In addition to my money and information, what else do you want?"

Hans reflected on the question for a brief second. "Nothing that I can seem to recall. If something comes up, I shall let you know. In the meanwhile, I will see about vacating one of the more comfortable houses here for you."

"I appreciate that," Lord Gyldenløve said as they both stood up. They both shook hands and then the lord took a swift bow and saw himself out, leaving Hans alone in his appropriated house.

He immediately went back to his study, tore open the wax seal, and read the letter inside.

Hans,

I pray the messenger's loyalty will be proven by this action and my trust in him was not misplaced. I was only informed of his actions at the very last minute and thus had no time to prepare for a better method of delivery.

You may be reassured that no help can be expected from the Queen's allies. Corona has been summoned to support the Prussian Empire in their war with the Russians. Similarly the British Empire, and DunBroch with it, are engaged in Africa to press their interests there. Berk is currently engaged in yet another battle with enemies beyond our concern. The other empires have made it clear that they have no interest in the affairs of Arendelle with more significant events occurring in the world. Arendelle is quite alone in this war.

However, the same cannot be said of the Queen. She currently has the support of both her Lord Commander and her Spymaster and with them, the military and the intelligence. The Home Secretary is less certain but I have my doubts in swaying his support to our cause without a clear benefit for him. If you were to launch a successful attack against the city, however, he might be more willing to join us.

You still have forces in the city loyal to you. Or at least disloyal to the Queen. I know that is not ideal but you understand that this is the best we can hope for under these circumstances. The Ordo Malleus has preached daily against her and encouraged opening the gates to you but I would not trust the people take their sermons to heart. The nobles continue to be disgruntled with how she has handled this situation we have created and their resentment will only grow. The Queen has so far been hesitant to take action against treachery for fear of upsetting the people and driving them away from her. But after the attack on her sister, she may revise that position. Right now there hasn't been a Council meeting in days and I fear she has taken to private meetings. Lord Lindahl suspects that the Queen will continue to give herself more power and is planning to openly speak out against it. With force, if necessary.

However neither he nor any of his compatriots have disclosed to me who they have bought in the City Watch and the military. What I do know is that recently several bought members of the Spymaster's forces have ceased communicating with them. We can assume that not only has she successfully found and disposed of them, but she has made efforts to locate disloyalty in the other branches. Therefore I continue to reiterate that you must strike soon before you find yourself with no friends inside the city.

May you find this letter more informative than the last and may we triumph over our adversary.

Your humble servant

When he finished, Hans folded the letter and held it over an open candle. When it burned itself out, he brushed the ashes off the table as he considered his next move. Fritz continued to remind him that the mercenaries were getting restless and perhaps he had overestimated their patience and their fondness of sieges. Still he doubted they were eager to fling themselves against the Snow Queen's walls and archers with no apparent goal in mind.

He looked back at the maps, wishing, not for the first time since he started, that he had Valdemar's keen military mind. If he was to make a successful assault, he needed all of his forces, both inside and outside of Arendelle. He could press the attack on all sides while using the people loyal to him to launch a revolt as a distraction. The Snow Queen was powerful but she couldn't be everywhere at once and her own forces could only spread out so much before they were overwhelmed. But how to coordinate… He couldn't send a messenger bird to those sympathetic to him in case it was intercepted by the Queen. Mice would be more subtle but he was aware of how successful those had been. He could simply launch his attack and hope that the cult and the nobles would seize the opportunity but he trusted more in animals than he did in people.

Maybe he isn't that smart after all, he thought begrudgingly. Maybe everyone's working with me is a simpleton.

There was a knock against his door and Hans had half a mind to tell the person to leave. Instead he called, "What is it?"

"My lord Hans," Fritz's voice came through the door. "A messenger from one of the icebreakers has arrived. They've reached as far as they can go."

"What do you mean?" Hans called back. "Did they get stuck?"

"No, my lord. The captain said that any closer and they'll be in range of their archers."

"And how does he know that?"

"He got an arrow in the shoulder. He's worried that they would try to throw fire at us next."

Fire! That was it! he thought triumphantly. That was how he could breach the icy wall. Sure it would be costly but he had already given so much to this mission of his that it seemed inconsequential to the grand scheme of things.

"My lord?" Fritz asked cautiously from behind the door.

"Get all the mercenary captains and your brother here. And have food and water brought up here. We're going to be here for quite some time."

"Should you really be trying to get up?" Kristoff asked anxiously, looking at Anna as she gingerly pulled herself up from the bed.

"Sure," she said, feeling her muscles slowly groan after days of little use. "If I stay in this room any longer without moving, I think I'll go insane. Plus Dr Tollesan removed the stitches this morning. Said he'd never seen anyone recover as quickly as me."

While Anna was rather pleased that neither her wounds nor the sutures would leave any marks, she wouldn't have minded a scar as a remainder of her first victory in a proper sword duel. Her wound on her thigh healed well enough and she didn't feel any stiffness or soreness from there. But the one on her collarbone still ached if she moved it in the wrong way. Those thoughts quickly went away as she placed her feet on the floor and slowly stood up.

Her legs shook a little bit and she felt herself waver a little as she stood, causing both Kristoff and Olaf to step towards her with outstretched arms. But she soon regained her balance and to her delight, her feet felt comfortable holding her body up. Then she took her first steps for nearly four days and found walking was no longer a problem. What was still a problem was her shoulder. She tried rotating her shoulder but she felt a little more resistance than what she thought was normal.

"How do you feel?" Kristoff and Olaf asked at the same time.

Anna gave a huge sigh and smiled at them. "Fantastic!" she said. And as if the moment couldn't be any better, the door opened and in came her sister.

"Elsa!" she cried, running towards her with opened arms.

Elsa caught her sister instinctively, staggering a few steps back, wrapped her arms around her, and squeezed gently. Anna pecked her in the cheek and was rewarded with a similar kiss on her own.

"Anna," she greeted before looking at her. "Should you really be on your feet?"

"That's what we tried to telling her," Kristoff said. "But you know how she is. She could only stay in bed for so long. And well, she says she's fine."

"I am fine," Anna corrected. "See, Elsa?"

"Yes, yes," Elsa said hastily. "But what did Dr Tollesan say?"

"He said if I was feeling up for walking, I should go ahead and try it."

Thankfully Elsa did not notice the scepticism creeping up on Kristoff's face. Anna made a mental reminder to get back at him for his lack of faith.

"Well," Elsa sighed. "I'm glad to see you're better, Anna."

"Me too," Anna said cheerfully. She looked at her sister with utter bliss and contentment in her eyes but her happiness slowly drained away when she noticed that Elsa did not return her gaze. In fact her eyes slowly drifted away from her, causing her to slowly grow suspicious of what was on her sister's mind.

Then Elsa said, "There's something I need to tell you."

Her suspicions growing stronger, Anna asked as innocently as possible, "What is it, Elsa?"

Instead of responding, however, Elsa turned around and said, "Kristoff, Olaf, could you please leave us?"

Kristoff nodded and simply said, "Anna, Elsa."

Then he left the room, followed by Olaf who gave them a fearful look before he waddled out. Whatever Elsa wanted to talk about, it better be worth scaring our little snowman, Anna thought. She turned her gaze back at Elsa and, to her fury, saw that while her sister was looking at her direction, she wasn't looking at her. But she wasn't angry enough to demand again, instead waiting for her to speak first.

"I'm…I'm sending you away," she finally said after a few minutes of silence. "To Corona. To Cousin Rapunzel."

"Wait, what?!" exclaimed Anna but Elsa continued as if she didn't hear her.

"Olaf, Kristoff, Kai, and your two guards will go with you along with another pair of guards. At night, you'll sneak out the city walls and past enemy lines to the south-eastern coast where you'll find the crew from one of our patrol ships. From there, they'll take you to Corona where you will stay until this siege is over."

"Elsa, stop!" she cried, grinding her right foot against the carpet. Either Elsa said what she needed to say or she actually listened because she fell silent. However she still was not looking at her.

"Let's get one thing straight," she continued. "No one is going anywhere."

"Anna, don't be ridiculous," Elsa said, with a heave of her shoulders and exasperation in her voice. "Of course you are."

"Why? Do you think I can't handle myself here?"

Elsa scoffed. "I know you can but that's not the point. You've been attacked twice in the last three weeks. I'm not counting on luck to save you from a third."

How…dare she?! she thought furiously. Despite what her sister said, Anna couldn't believe Elsa didn't trust her to take care of herself. Really trust her. Okay, she was right about her being attacked but no one could have predicted the Soliuan incident and she was outnumbered by Lord Gyldenløve's men after she ran half across the city and fought in a duel against a corrupt City Watch officer. Those were hardly her fault. Anna knew that and she knew that her stinker of a sister knew that as well.

"And do you think by sending me away, I'll be safe? Remember the last time we had family sail to Corona?" She spat the words faster than her mind could process what she just said and even she was surprised by them.

Bringing them up was a cruel move and Anna knew it. And judging by the way Elsa flinched, she knew that she definitely hit a mark in her sister. But instead lashing back at her, she just stared at the ground. And although her face didn't show much of her emotions, it showed enough for Anna to see the weight of her duties crushing her beloved sister. And immediately she felt regret.

"Elsa…" Anna said. "I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring them up like that. And I shouldn't have. That was cruel and wrong and I'm a horrible person to say that to you."

Elsa shook her head gently and Anna could hear her mutter, "No, you're not."

Anna took some time to gather her thoughts and plan her next words carefully. Her heart told her that she didn't want to leave Elsa behind. They've been separated for thirteen years. She wasn't going to let anything, not even this siege, break them apart again. But she could guess why Elsa wanted her to leave. Anna was a distraction. Oh her sister would never say that but that was who her sister was. Silently suffering the burdens for the happiness of others. But by staying in Arendelle, Anna was forcing her sister to divide her attention between her people and her sister. Yet she had a feeling there was a part deep inside Elsa that wanted her sister with her. A part that was covered by her fears and concerns. But if Anna could reach out to it, she might be able to help her sister realise what they both truly wanted.

"If you think I'll be safe away from you and in Corona, if that is what you honestly think, tell me. And I will go. Because you're my sister and I love you and I will respect what you say. If you truly believe I'm not safe next to you, then look at me and say it."

For several long minutes, Elsa stood there, looking away from her. Then Anna saw her legs shake and her hands ball up into fists. She squeezed her eyes closed and moaned, "I can't..."

"It's okay, Elsa," Anna said, slowly approaching her. "Just…just say what you want to say. What you truly want to say."

There was an even longer silence and as the minutes dragged on, Anna was tempted to say something but she overcame her impatience and waited. And finally, Elsa said, "I…I…I want you with me."

Anna sighed in relief and allowed some of the tears she had been holding to fall. But now that she was going to stay in Arendelle with her, she knew she had to make extra sure to take care of herself in fighting. If she allowed herself to be injured again or, God forbid, killed, she knew that Elsa would blame herself and just tear herself to pieces with guilt. But she wasn't going to let that happen. She had to prove herself of Elsa's trust. And she didn't doubt it would be hard but she would do it. Anything for Elsa.

Elsa staggered forward and collapsed into Anna's arms and as Anna cradled her sister, kissed her forehead, and stroked her hair, Elsa muttered her apologies over and over. Finally after she said her last "I'm so sorry", she stepped back and said, "There is one thing I need to do though. For you."

"Do what?" asked Anna.

"This…" Elsa waved both hands forward and a pair of columns of ice and snow erupted from the floor. As they rose, bits and pieces fell off them and dissipated while her magic sculpted and moulded them. When it was done, Anna's mouth dropped as she gazed upon her sister's work. Standing before her were two humanlike beings, six feet tall, armoured in thick ice from head to toe. Etched into their shields was Elsa's characteristic snowflake. An ethereal blue light glowed from the eye slits in their helms. Silently they went down on bent knee in front of Anna, the tips of their icy swords pointed against the floor. To Anna, they were the epitome of the valiant knights she read in her childhood tales, nobly fighting to defend their lady. And her dear beloved sister made two for her.

"These are for me?" she asked breathlessly. "Oh wow…but what about you? Aren't you going to need someone to protect you?"

Just as Elsa was about to reply, they both heard a booming roar in the distance. A roar that sounded like "Mother". A roar that almost sounded familiar.

"Is that…?" Anna asked at the same time as Elsa said, "What…?"

Then suddenly they heard a crash outside the palace that shook the floor with a violent force. The two sisters exchanged a quick look before they sprinted out the room.

After thinking both Elsa and Anna wouldn't like seeing him lurking outside their room, Kristoff managed to get Olaf to leave by inviting him to see Sven. As they walked, Olaf asked, "So what do you think they're talking about?"

Kristoff just shrugged his shoulders and said, "Beats me. Could be anything."

"But Elsa didn't look happy so it must be something bad, right?"

"Probably. A lot of bad things are happening now with this kingdom."

"Yeah…" Olaf said sadly. But then his voice sounded happier as he said, "But Anna and Elsa will fix it! I know they will. When they're together, they can do anything!"

Kristoff knew Olaf meant to cheer him up but the thought of the sisters in a relationship like that kinda ruined the effect for him. Especially since, well, Anna left him to be with Elsa. He could deal with breaking up with Anna but he wasn't sure he could with her finding someone so soon. Especially when said someone was her sister. A part of him was glad that she took the time to end their relationship before starting another one and another part of him was upset that the reason why she ended their relationship was so she could start another one. So overall he was just confused.

Family members falling in love and having relationships were not completely unfamiliar to Kristoff. Most of his family were, at least, cousins of some sort with each other and there were a few sibling couples. But often it was done to produce an offspring. Furthermore, they were…trolls. He didn't know if there were other trolls like them anywhere else. Both Anna and Elsa, even with her amazing ice powers, were humans and just the idea of human siblings forming this kind of relationship was just foreign to him. He supposed "foreign" meant different things to different people but he was sure that besides the two sisters and Olaf, sisters loving each other that way was definitely foreign.

But if he was a man of good heart, the man Bulda and Cliff raised to be, then his concern for Anna should be her happiness. And nothing else.

"Kristoff?" Olaf said, startling him from his thoughts.

"Ah yes?" Kristoff said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Oh I was wondering what you thought about Elsa and Anna together. Aren't they the most darling couple ever?"

Kristoff just nodded, hoping it was enough for the snowman. Thankfully it was as Olaf grinned brightly. They were half down the stairs when they heard a crash outside the castle.

"What's that?" asked Olaf.

"No idea…" he replied. "Let's find out."

They rushed down the stairs before running off towards where Kristoff thought the noise had come from. As they ran, they could hear the roars of an old friend.

"Is that Marshmallow?!" Olaf asked excitedly. "I think it is!"

Kristoff tried to smile but he was sure it ended up looking like a grimace. But who couldn't honestly blame him? Being thrown around like a ragdoll by a giant snow golem wasn't exactly a fond memory for him. They burst through the gates and into the courtyard and sure enough, surrounded by a small ring of nervous soldiers, was Marshmallow.

"Where is my mother?" he asked, barely noticing the crossbows and spears pointed at his direction.

Standing among the soldiers was Kai, who noticed Kristoff, walked towards him, and asked. "Mr Bjorgman, Is he…referring to Her Majesty?"

Kristoff nodded, looking at Marshmallow.

"Very well, I shall retrieve her," he said, before dashing back inside the castle.

"Yeah, you…you do that," Kristoff said feebly, still staring at Elsa's creature and wondering just how it managed to get in here. Most likely explanation was that he jumped over the walls. At least he was kind enough to land in the courtyard where he wouldn't crush any buildings.

Moments later, Kai returned with both Elsa and Anna and two ice knights. The two sisters first gazed silently and open-mouthed at Marshmallow. Then, walking towards her creation, Elsa asked, "What…What are you doing here?"

"I thought Mother needed help," the golem replied in his gravelly voice. "Thought Mother was in danger."

"Well, I'm glad you came," she said. "I think Arendelle could definitely use your help."

Seeing that he was no threat to either their castle or their queen, the soldiers lowered their weapons and went back to doing whatever it was they had been doing. As Elsa continued to talk to Marshmallow, Anna joined Kristoff and Olaf and said with a note of discomfort, "Well…he's back."

Kristoff nodded again. They were all thoroughly surprised when Elsa turned to them and called, "Anna? Guys? Don't you want to come down? Are you okay?"

Although Olaf eagerly walked forward, Kristoff held him back. "I'm fine, Elsa!" Anna replied. "Just…last time I saw him, he threw us out of your palace. And chased after us. And kicked Olaf off a mountain."

"He what?!" cried Elsa, whirling on the snow golem who started cowering. "What did you do to my sister?!"

"I'm sorry, Mother…" Marshmallow said. Near him Anna chuckled and Kristoff couldn't help but share in her delight. The sight of the giant powerful Marshmallow being scolded by Elsa like a mischievous child was just too much for him. It certainly made him less terrifying.

"Don't apologise to me," Elsa scolded. "Apologise to Anna."

"Yes, Mother," he said shamefully. Then he turned to Anna and said, "I'm sorry, Auntie Anna. For scaring you."

Hiding her chuckles, Anna did her best to look stern and assertive as she said, "Apology accepted…Marshmallow. But you must also apologise to my friends."

He could see Elsa mouth the word "Marshmallow" towards Anna as the golem said, "Sorry, Anna's friends."

"It's okay, Marshmallow!" Olaf said. "I forgive you!"

Kristoff just smiled weakly. Then the Lord Commander approached Elsa and the two of them began a muttered discussion, likely over how best to use Marshmallow in their defences. Meanwhile Olaf went towards Marshmallow to bond with him, leaving him alone with Anna and her guardians. For some reason, Kristoff found them rather unsettling. Maybe it was because they looked almost too human. Or maybe it was because they didn't make a sound when they moved and it didn't seem like they could talk. Olaf and Marshmallow, he could handle but this was something completely different.

But however uncomfortable he felt about them, he still went with Anna when she returned into the palace.

"So…" he said as they walked inside. "What did Elsa wanted to talk to you about?"

"Oh, something really silly," Anna replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. However this one seemed a lot…angrier than her usual gestures. "She wanted to send us to Corona."

"Us? Corona? Why?"

"You, me, Olaf, Kai too, and a few guards. I have a cousin in Corona so that's where Elsa thought would be the safest place for us to go. And well, she didn't think it was safe for me here and she thought she was protecting me by sending me away."

"But you're not, we're not going anywhere…?"

"Nope. I managed to convince her that the best thing to do was let us stay."

"I'm…not sure that was the best thing," he said as they walked into one of the sitting rooms.

"How come?" she asked, sitting on one of many sofas with her legs crossed. The two guardians stood on either side of her.

"Have you heard what's been going on?" Kristoff asked cautiously, taking a seat for himself across from her.

"No, I've been in bed almost the past four, five days, remember?" Anna replied, leaning back.

"I know but like…did Elsa tell you anything about what she's been doing?"

"No, she hasn't…" she said very slowly. She now leaned forward towards him and he could feel her eyes piercing through his. "What has she been doing?"

Kristoff realised that he had made a mistake but it was too late to stop now. Even if he kept quiet, Anna would eventually dig the answers out of him.

"I've been through some of the taverns and cafés in the city and I've… I've heard things," he said very, very reluctantly.

"What things?"

"A couple nights ago, a merchant of some sort just disappeared. His family doesn't know where he is and since we're under siege, he couldn't have left the city. I mean, it could be something else but several people think the City Watch or the military or worse just took him. No warrant, no reason, nothing. And they think your sister gave them permission to take him."

"That's not true," hissed Anna, crossing her arms. "Elsa wouldn't do such a thing."

"I thought you said she would do anything for you," Kristoff pointed out. "Anything. Didn't you say she had someone executed even though she had promised to spare him?"

"She promised to not charge him for trying to kill her," Anna corrected. "She charged him for trying to kill me instead and executed him for that."

"That's a technicality and you know it," Kristoff retorted. Realising he was sounding very harsh to her, he stepped back a little. "Look, I like your sister. She's a great friend and a greater queen. But she has one weakness. You."

"Are you saying I make my sister weak?!" Anna asked angrily.

"No, no," he said, a bit of panic seeping into his voice. "It's just…she might have had other reasons for trying to send you away, Anna."

"Like…?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Do you know why I don't bring Sven to my training in the army?"

Anna shook her head.

"Well, since I have a royal position, instead of the pikemen or the archers, I train with the men-at-arms. The training itself's not bad. You basically try all the different weapons and work on the one you like the most. What is bad are the guys I work with. See, most of them are either noble or wealthy, sometimes both. So already they didn't like someone like me training with them even if it wasn't for that fact…you know I'm Sami."

Anna nodded in understanding as she uncrossed her arms and brought her hands over her knees.

"So when they saw me with Sven on my first day, they laughed. At me, at Sven. Them making fun of me, I can deal with. That's nothing. But I couldn't stand them laughing at Sven."

Anna once again nodded. "So you don't bring him so his feelings won't get hurt?" she asked.

Kristoff shook his head. "No. I don't bring him because I don't know what would happen if I heard them saying those things about him. There are a lot of weapons and well…accidents can happen. But I couldn't let myself do that."

"So you're saying…."

"What I'm saying is…maybe Elsa is scared of what she will do for you. She'll do what she needs to do protect you, no question about it. But it doesn't make it any less scary for her. Just…just something to think about, okay?"

And for the third time, Anna nodded.

Like I mentioned, this chapter was just a nightmare to write. Several scenes were written and then rewritten, characters were created and then deleted. It was a mess and that was partly why this took forever to get here.

For those of you wondering, Hans will try to attack the city walls soon. The reason why I delayed it so long is because sieges don't work like that. The attackers usually just wait until the people inside starve to death. But it seems that Hans doesn't have this luxury.

I can only hope that the next chapter will come sooner. Until then, I welcome any and all feedback or criticism you might have to offer.