A/N: So I already know where I want this story to go which will probably mean more regular updates. Anyway here's chapter two where the two meet. I hope you guys like it.
Anaea had spent the majority of the morning in her office with Captain Nilsen going over the finer details of the training that would commence on Monday morning. Nilsen was obviously trying to limit the amount of contact the Albionium troops had with the Arendellian recruits. Anaea couldn't blame the man, she would probably do the same, that however, did not stop his attitude from annoying her.
They finally made some progress after hours of argument when the time came for them to leave and get ready for the Queen's arrival.
Anaea stepped outside into the bright sunlight as her men were getting onto parade. Her heart swelled with pride as she watched them in their drill sequence, each one was smart, each one executing the command given perfectly. Anaea marched over to Major Byrnes as he set the men up into open order, ready for her inspection. Captain Nilsen inspected his own men to the right of her, and she would be lying if she said she didn't get a small sense of satisfaction at the fact that her men obviously out shone his own.
Her inspection was a short one as her men had yet again not let her down and were as usual, perfectly dressed. Nilsen finished his inspection soon after her and they both waited for the Queen's arrival.
The royal guard announced her and the Arendellian guard as well as the Albionium contingent snapped to attention to greet the Queen of Arendelle. Anaea found it torturous that as she stood to attention she couldn't just look to her right to finally see the woman she had been so curious about for so long now.
Finally, the formalities were over and Nilsen and herself could move to the Queen to show her their men. As soon as Anaea moved she was greeted with the Queen who was a mere five feet away from herself and almost fell over when she saw her. She had heard tales of the Queen's beauty but none could prepare her for the woman in front of her. Anaea had never felt this infatuated so quickly with another woman in her whole life. Whilst it was true that Anaea was no stranger to female company, she was actually renowned for being a heartbreaker on the continent, she had never met a woman to have such an effect on her so quickly.
Elsa stared at the foreign Captain in front of her. Elsa had not expected the Captain to be a woman, and had especially not expected the Captain to be such a beautiful woman at that. Captain Forest stood just under six-foot-tall, exceptionally tall for a woman. She was broad, and obviously muscly yet still looked agile and her figure still very much so feminine. She had her hair cropped short, Elsa guessed for practical reasons, and she saw a hint of some curls poking out from under the Captain's hat. Her strikingly blue eyes were one of the first things she noticed about the other woman, her own eyes instantly drawn to them.
"Your Majesty, may I introduce Captain Forest of His Majesty King Albert's Royal Army and her regiment the 4th Regiment of Foot."
Elsa shook herself out of her thoughts to greet the Albionium Captain, "Captain Forest, it is a privilege to have you and your men with us here in order to help, if there is anything that you require, anything at all, please do not hesitate but to come to me immediately."
Anaea shook herself slightly, she wasn't sure if it was purely her imagination or not but she was almost sure the Queen was flirting with her, "thank you Your Majesty, a most generous offer. I hope that my men and I meet your expectations."
The Queen chuckled and nodded her affirmation to the Captain, their eyes never once leaving each other.
Captain Nilsen cleared his throat and carried on with the inspection, breaking their moment for the mean time. Anaea followed them around the troops and into the office she shared with Nilsen once the Queen was satisfied. They sat down and began to talk of the plans Nilsen and herself had managed to make thus far. The Queen was indeed very sharp and quick, Anaea was very impressed with how the Queen handled herself.
After they had spent an hour going over what they had planned, the whole time stares being shared between Anaea and Elsa, Anaea volunteered to show the Queen the men during their training to which she agreed. Anaea took Elsa to the hillside that over-looked the training ground as they watched her men carry out military maneuverers.
"I must say Captain, your men truly are very impressive, you must be proud."
Anaea nodded her head, turning to look at the Queen, "of course, they are all fine men, each one highly skilled and braver than most."
The Queen smiled at her, their eyes locking again as if in a trance. "Captain, might you join the Princess and I for our evening meal tonight?"
Anaea was shocked at the offer, royalty had never invited her to their table before, not even the gentry had, given her status as a prostitute's bastard as well as the peculiarity of having a woman in the Albionium army, let alone a Captain.
"Your Majesty you are far too generous, I could not possibly accept your offer."
"Of course you can and you will, the Princess would love to meet you, and it's about time we had someone new at our table, and I'm sure you're filled with many interesting tales. I won't take no for an answer, and it is rude to make a Queen beg you know."
Anaea found herself shocked at the Queen, she never believed in her life that she would be in this situation, in fact if anyone had ever told her that a Queen would be inviting her to dine with her Anaea would have laughed in their face, yet here she was, the Queen of Arendelle looking at her expectantly after inviting her to dinner.
"Well of course, if Her Majesty is sure, it would be my honour to dine with you and Her Highness tonight."
Elsa almost breathed a sigh of relief at that, she didn't know what possessed her to suddenly invite the Captain to dine with them. That was a lie, she did, she didn't want to leave the Captain's presence and she wanted to find a way to stay in her company even longer. Anna would have a field day with this, Elsa was sure that with the way that Anna could read her like an open book she would immediately realize that the reason Elsa invited the Captain was not just for her stories, but because Elsa felt an insane attraction towards the other woman.
The rest of the day went by quickly after that. Nilsen eventually caught up to the two women and she was whisked away to watch one thing or another, Captain Forest remained silent most of the day, stealing glances when she could at the Queen. She truly was the most beautiful woman in the world as she had heard before.
Sooner than the two women would have liked, Elsa had to leave for her council meeting. When Elsa left Anaea was left anxious for the rest of the day to be over so that she could be in the Queen's company once more.
The training for the day was soon over and Anaea was finally able to head to her quarters to bathe and dress for her dinner tonight. As she dressed in her best dress she couldn't help but fuss with how she looked in the mirror. Her dark curls would not be tamed as usual and eventually she had to give up on the endeavour. Her uniform was pressed to perfection and her dress shoes polished so well she could see her own reflection in them.
She made her way out of her quarters and began the short walk to the castle, with only the Queen on her mind.
Elsa had thrown her. She was expecting a beauty, and she was also expecting an intelligent one at that. However, the Queen had exceeded her expectations and she was left in a state of awe at the woman. Elsa was unlike any woman she had ever met, she was in a league of her own, and unique didn't begin to cover what the Queen was like.
Elsa herself was in a similar state unbeknown to Anaea. After their meeting, all Elsa could think of was the other woman. She found it difficult to focus in her council meeting as they discussed the preparations to turn Arendelle into a constitutional monarchy with an elected Parliament.
Elsa was taken with the Captain. She was the most beautiful woman Elsa had laid eyes upon, she had proven her wit and intelligence throughout the day, and had also impressed Elsa with her devotion and dedication to her chosen career. Nilsen had informed Elsa that Captain Forest was a renowned hero of Albionium, she was highly decorated for her service to the crown. Elsa was impressed with the Captain's record of service and how quickly she had managed to rise through the ranks.
Nilsen had not helped to quench her curiosity as best as he tried. The Queen was also interested in the Captain's personal life. Nilsen divulged that the Captain was rumoured to be the bastard child of a General in the Albionium army and a prostitute. Apparently, unlike many before him, the General had provided for his illegitimate child which allowed for her to become the fine officer she was today. Elsa also found out that the Captain's father had been the one to name her, naming her after two Greek heroes, Anaea after an Amazonian warrior, and Hypatia after a Greek philosopher whom the General had admired for her dedication to the learned arts. They did not share the same last name however, as due to Albionium law all bastards must take the name Forest.
Elsa asked Kai why bastards had to take the name Forest to which he replied that it was traditional that was believed to stem from Albionium's old days in which bastards were sent into the forests to live with outlaws as they were not welcome in society.
Elsa found herself far more curious towards the Captain and wished to find out more about the interesting woman, hopefully from the source herself.
As she dressed for dinner she took extra time and care to make sure she looked her best for the Captain. There was no denying her feelings to herself, the Captain had drawn her in, and she was undeniably attracted to the other woman.
As she waited to enter the dining room she informed Anna of their recent addition to the table. Anna seemed excited to receive the Captain and was looking forward to the stories the Captain would share with them tonight.
Anna was albeit shocked to find out her sister had invited an almost stranger to their meal, an act Elsa had never before done. Anna had a sneaking suspicion that her sister's reasoning for this went deeper than a mere curiosity with the other woman and a wish to show her gratitude for the Captain's upcoming work for Arendelle's military but she knew better than to mention it to her sister just yet out of fear of the reaction she would receive.
Anna made it her own personal mission that tonight's meal would go above expectations and hopefully she would manage to get the Captain and Elsa alone together. It was about time that Elsa finally met someone, even if that was just a friend outside of Anna herself. Anna knew though that given enough time and hopefully, if things went as planned, there may be more than just a friendship between the two women and Anna hoped that given the right time Elsa would finally open herself up to the possibility of falling in love.