The rest of the solstice was blissfully uneventful. Once Elsa and Kaya made it back, they were immediately bombarded with inquiries about where they'd been. Thankfully, Kaya quickly thought of the excuse that Elsa had needed some fresh air and had wandered a bit too far. Elsa giggled later at the fact that the excuse had not been very far from the truth.
Eventually, the Congregation ended, and the royals were homebound once again. After the incident at the welcome ball, the "Lord" Stephan had made it a point to avoid the Snow Queen and her ever-present bodyguard. Kaya could not help but find the situation amusing.
She and Elsa became closer confidants, with Elsa feeling more and more comfortable around the leader of her guard. She hoped to tempt Kaya into a permanent position as her Captain, but had no idea how to go about such a thing. Still, she supposed she would worry about Kaya's departure when the time came, and enjoy the time she had left with her in the meantime.
"My Lady!" The guardsman exclaimed.
The raven-haired woman turned from her task. The infatuated general before her could wait another moment, she supposed.
"What is it?" She tried not to take her irritations out on the poor, innocent thing...He was just the messenger, after all. Too bad she had nothing to gain from him.
"They've found her."
Zmeya's head snapped around to look at the guard. There was no need to elaborate on who 'her' was. He could swear her eyes glittered like rock-hard diamonds, and the malice shining through was only rivaled by the twisted pleasure that she obviously had a hard time containing at the sound of the news.
The jubilated, hysterical laughter that followed made every person within earshot cringe as they wished that they lamented not listening to their now-exiled princess instead of the madwoman that now inhabited the palace.
It was unusually warm in Arendelle that summer, not that Kaya had no experience with her surroundings being too hot. Luckily for Arendelle's inhabitants, their Snow Queen was well-named, and decided to hold a snow day as a treat for the citizens.
Since Elsa now knew about her magic, Kaya made less of a conscious effort to not use it around her. Around others, however, Kaya was always careful to conceal her magic so that no one would be making a fuss about nothing. It wasn't that she thought the Arendellians wouldn't accept her magic for what it was, but people were bound to talk. And she knew better than most how fast word was capable of travelling. Zmeya had to have sent spies far and wide in hopes of catching Kaya and force her back to Palladon to be beheaded...or something equally as barbaric, like being kept as a pet in chains instead.
She had to admit, though, watching the children, and quite a few of the adults, laugh and play in the snow created by a kind-hearted queen did seem to help a bit to abate her increasing worry over what her next move would be if the worst happened.
That was, until Thomas, with a disheveled-looking soldier behind him, came running through the gates, nearly face-planting in the ice Elsa had created in their rush to cross the courtyard.
Kaya, having caught their almost-literal slip-up, motioned for them to go around and got Elsa's attention, letting her know of the guards' progress around the ice to speak with her. The queen and her captain made their way across the rest of the ice off to the side of the courtyard and then waited a moment for the guards to catch their breath a bit.
"Queen Elsa," Thomas breathed, not nearly as out of breath as the man beside him. It was obvious who had carried the message farther in its quest to Arendelle. "It's-"
"Palladon." The other guard chimed in, with Kaya noticing for the first time, the guard's differing colors. They were Arendelle's, but in a different pattern. She realized this must be one of the soldiers who manned the towers that resided on the inland borders of Arendelle.
Kaya froze at the mention of her homeland. Had Zmeya's spies finally tracked her here?
Elsa had also realized where the soldier had come from. It was an idea her father had formed when he ruled. Kaya had to commend the idea in theory, but having just a few men at the borders wouldn't do anyone any good if one's enemies came marching past...A warning could be given to the ruler only under the assumption that one man was able to get away from the oncoming attack.
"What about Palladon?" Elsa asked.
"It seems to be a small travelling party, no more than twenty, at the most." Thomas paraphrased while the other man was given water by a passing maid.
Kaya's eyes narrowed. She couldn't inquire whether or not Zmeya was present, since nobody in Arendelle knew of her ties to the Palladonian royal family. It would seem suspicious if she suddenly knew a detailed description of the new ruler of Palladon, considering Palladonian rulers were not reputed to be overly social with their subjects. Not to mention the fact how large a country Palladon was...Hardly anyone other than someone who lived in the capital would have a chance of ever learning what the Emperor or Empress looked like.
Thomas went on, "The woman in charge...she wishes to request an audience with you, Queen Elsa."
The "woman" in charge? This was looking worse by the second. There weren't many women that would fit that description in such a male-dominated country as Palladon. Men in Palladon rarely allowed a woman to be "in charge", and when they did, "allowed" had nothing to do with it; the rare times such an occasion arose, it was at the behest of a higher-up that gave them no say in the matter.
"Did she say why?" Elsa didn't have to say that a random, unannounced visit from the ruler of another country (assuming the woman leading the group was Zmeya, as Kaya suspected) was exceedingly rare; they were all thinking it.
"She said she wants to pay her respects as the new ruler of Palladon." Thomas didn't look at Kaya, but she had a feeling he believed that sentiment about as much as she did. Plus he didn't know Zmeya like she did. If Elsa accepted her invitation, she could be walking into a trap...One ultimately meant for Kaya herself.
"They're armed?" Elsa inquired.
Thomas and the guard looked at each other and then said, "As much as any ordinary Palladonian, I suppose, Your Majesty."
Kaya couldn't be sure if Elsa caught the unspoken meaning in that statement: armed to the teeth, not to mention they're ready and willing to fight.
Like that would be anything out of the ordinary from that barbaric homeland of yours. Orinda chimed in. Kaya couldn't argue with that. Palladonians, men and women alike, went hardly anywhere without a knife somewhere on their person.
Elsa thought for a moment, then said hesitantly, "I don't really see why not..."
Kaya snapped her gaze over to Elsa. She couldn't possibly be that naive?
Clearly, she is. Orinda chortled in Kaya's head.
Elsa proceeded to leave instructions with Thomas and the yet-unnamed guard that they were to escort the Palladonians to the palace, and to be sure to treat them as guests.
As she and the queen made their way back into the castle, Kaya had to force herself not to grab Elsa and shake her for her stupidity. She was truly willing to allow complete strangers within her borders so easily?
"What would you have me do?" Elsa asked, looking back at Kaya as she shut the study door behind her.
"Have someone confirm their intentions. Or at the very least," Kaya tried to resist rolling her eyes. "Have them disarm themselves first!"
"And risk offending the new ruler of such a large, powerful country?" Elsa shook her head. "Arendelle would have no chance of winning that fight; end of story."
Kaya fought to keep her temper in check. She normally didn't have such a problem controlling her temper. It must have been her fear for Elsa's safety that made her so on-edge.
Fear, is it? Orinda chuckled. Now that is a new one!
Kaya had to admit to the truth in that statement. "Fear", or "strakh" in her homeland, was not a word that she allowed in her vocabulary. "Trepidation" and "caution", absolutely, but never "fear". What had she to fear when she had nothing to lose?
Only now, she did have something to lose. Elsa's friendship, Arendelle's safety...Her peace of mind. There was more to lose now than ever.
Frustrated, Kaya growled. At this point, she was limited in her options to protect her new home. Not without revealing how and why she knew so much about Zmeya's likely intentions.
Elsa's voice cut through her musings.
"And it's only twenty men or so." Elsa moved around her desk, seemingly already having discarded the conversation's usefulness in her mind, and started to sift through the papers that laid upon it. "We can handle that many if things got out of hand."
This time, Kaya did roll her eyes as she approached the desk.
"Then you obviously haven't ever been to Palladon." She stopped short a foot of the desk's edge. "The men she brought with her would be all she'd need to bring Arendelle to its knees."
"With my, and now your, magic at our disposal?" Elsa scoffed. "I highly doubt she would be able to take us both on with only twenty men." She tossed her braid lightly over her other shoulder. "You could take that many on by yourself, without my help."
"I never said the twenty were all she brought with her." She laid her hands on the desk. "Have you considered the possibility she brought assassins with her?"
"Oh come on, Kaya, Arendelle is so small compared to Palladon..." She made a gesture about the room. "What could she possibly hope to gain by conquering us?"
Kaya couldn't exactly say that it would be fair payback in Zmeya's book. If Zmeya knew idea how long she'd stayed in Arendelle at all, it wouldn't be a stretch to think that she had figured out that there had to be a reason why she'd stayed, as well..
The fire user stood and glared at said reason for a moment before straightening.
Elsa held her stare.
"Why are you so against them coming here?" She glanced to the left and then back to Kaya's gaze. "You used to live in Palladon...Is there something you're not telling me?"
That would be multiple "something's", dear.
Kaya tossed Orinda's presence to the back of her mind without thinking about it.
She couldn't tell Elsa about Zmeya and her past "relationship". It would ruin all the progress she and Elsa had made.
Progress towards...what exactly?
Kaya attempted to keep the word "friendship" firmly lodged in her mind, but somehow the word never seemed to do justice to what she and Elsa had between them...
"I'm telling you all you need to know." Kaya shook her head, deciding the argument was useless; Elsa wasn't about to change her mind. "All I'm saying is be cautious...Being too trusting is one of your worst faults."
The queen had the gall to look affronted. "And what about your flaws?"
"Unless they are a threat to your safety, my flaws are none of your concern."
Elsa cocked her head, narrowing her eyes at her bodyguard, finally speaking after a moment. "How long are you going to insist on pushing me away?"
Kaya and Elsa stared at each other for several seconds, with Kaya being the first to look away. Elsa missed the contact of the other woman's gaze instantly.
"Just be careful your naivety doesn't become the ruin of your kingdom."
Elsa didn't miss the redirection of the conversation. She tried not to let her disappointment show, but she knew it wouldn't make the stoic fire magic user more likely to open up to her, even if she did.
As the door shut behind her captain, Elsa couldn't help but think,
It's not I have any power over her...I may be queen, but I don't command her heart.
Her own chest felt heavy as she considered the implications.
But the question is...In the end, is that what I really want?
Despite her efforts to decipher her growing feelings for her captain, the Snow Queen still lay in her bed that night, no closer to understanding the fluttering sensation she got in her stomach every time she remembered the glowing amber eyes that conveyed more than their owner would ever admit.
It didn't take longer than a day or two for the Palladonians to arrive. Kaya didn't get much sleep since her argument with Elsa. The two had barely spoken to each other in the days since their intense conversation.
Elsa, for her part, couldn't understand, for the life of her, what had the woman so upset. She had a sneaking suspicion that Kaya and the Empress of Palladon had more of a history than her captain was willing to admit, but Kaya was a vault on such things; even before their squabble, she'd never been very talkative about her past...Not what she had done before she came to Arendelle, not about her parents...nothing. She knew instinctively, though, to only push the woman so far.
She figured she could confirm or deny any connection Zmeya had with Kaya once they foreigners arrived in Arendelle by the way the two interacted.
The platinum-haired woman stood at the gates awaiting the arrival of her guests. Her captain was, as always, standing a few steps behind her on her right side. Though the woman gave no external sign of impatience or nervousness, the way she had been training the guard much harder than she usually did the last few days served as evidence to Kaya's growing unease towards the meeting of the Snow Queen and the Empress.
As the carriage that she knew concealed the snake of a ruler approached, Kaya fought the urge to throw Elsa behind her and send a lethal shot of fire at the carriage, ridding the world of its occupant once and for all.
But she couldn't do that. The thought of Elsa finding out about her shameful past with the Empress sent a wave of nausea rolling through her body. She'd do anything to prevent it from coming to that, but as she watched the wheels of the cart pull to a stop, she felt as if she were being led to her own execution.
Seeing Zmeya emerge from the carriage did nothing for her anxiety. The woman still looked as seductively charming as ever, with her black hair pulled into an elaborate design and golden jewelry flashing at her throat and earlobes. There was no doubt her pristine gown was also part of a blatant display of Palladon's wealth and power.
Kaya forced her stiff body into a bow as the Empress approached, introducing herself so charismatically to the Snow Queen, neither bowing, but nodding in respect to each other. She could only hope Zmeya was in a rare good mood and chose to spare her the embarrassment of revealing their past relations to Elsa and her family right here.
Imagine her surprise when she found that not only was the Empress cordial and relaxed, she bore none of the negative, murderous aura that Kaya remembered her having the last time they'd seen each other. In fact, Zmeya completely ignored her, which was just fine with the fire user, but it didn't help ease her worries at all.
The empress' strange behavior continued throughout her visit, with Kaya becoming more and more convinced that this was all part of a sinister plot to render Elsa charmed and worse, trusting of the new Empress of Palladon. There wasn't a crack in Zmeya's demeanor to suggest her visit was anything more or less than what she claimed it was, but then nobody in Arendelle knew the woman like Kaya did.
Kaya's suspicions were confirmed later that evening, when all had retired to their chambers.
The captain approached her bedroom, her eyes narrowing at the realization that there was someone already in her chambers.
"You've become lax, my dear." A sultry voice said from the shadows and she closed the door.
They both knew Kaya had come to the unplanned meeting completely of her own volition; she'd known Zmeya was here.
"It is my chambers." Kaya stated the obvious, knowing that it would be useless to demand Zmeya tell her why she was here outright. The woman liked to play with her food before eating it.
"Oh, I know." She stalked closer, and Kaya could make out the shimmering of a sheer black nightgown that had no place in such a cold, barren environment as Palladon. It was obvious it had not been made to preserve the wearer's body heat...That would be the purpose of whomever the wearer's bed partner for the night happened to be.
"Aren't you going to ask me why I'm here?" Zmeya purred, making no attempt to disguise her languid survey of Kaya's still-clothed body.
Kaya hummed, deciding to play along. "Alright. Why are you here, Zmeya?"
"Oh, do say my name again." She sighed, moving ever closer. Once within distance, she reached up to drag her two forefingers across Kaya's cheek, digging them in at the first touch. The slight pain whispered of past games the two used to play back and forth, games of power to see who could make the other submit to their will first.
Kaya looked down at the woman with barely concealed contempt. She always won their little games, but deep down she knew it was because Zmeya never had any real desire to tame her. She loved the raw power and roughness Kaya exuded, even if all she was doing was standing calmly behind the timid Snow Queen's chair while Zmeya regaled the table with stories of her homeland.
The fire magic user knew she had to handle this situation very delicately; she didn't want it to get out of control.
She allowed her hands to be pulled towards the other woman's hips, moving them up and to the woman's back, holding her there almost tenderly.
"Zmeya." She breathed in the woman's ear. "Why are you here?" She gripped Zmeya's hair in one hand and pulled down sharply the way she knew the other woman liked, making Zmeya gasp in pleasure.
"Hmm...Why do you think I'm here?" Zmeya said, her body already on the verge of vibrating with anticipation. "I want you back...with me."
Funny, considering the last time they'd seen each other, Zmeya had just gotten done framing Kaya for her own father and stepmother's murders and had been intent on seeing her dead.
"Don't you miss your home?" Zmeya went on. "Your stepsister is just dying to see you..."
"Liar." They both knew Catherine was far away in a place that only her stepmother had known where. Fortunate for Catherine, but not so lucky for Zmeya, who only found that out after the fact and thus lost her chance to eradicate anyone else with a legitimate claim to the throne.
Zmeya shrugged. "It was worth a try." She reached up and undid the tie binding Kaya's hair, allowing it to flow down to her waist. She wound her fingers through the newly freed tresses and whispered, "What I'm really interested to know is why you've stayed in such a boring country so long."
Kaya didn't answer.
"It's that queen, isn't it?" Her voice was like poisoned honey. Sweet, but with an undertone of lethality to it.
The amber-eyed woman again said nothing, but instead bent to start lavishing Zmeya's neck with attention, alternating between mockingly sweet kisses and harsh bites that only left the Empress laughing.
"She is." She choked through her gasps. Suddenly, the air of arousal and seduction was gone, replaced by an icy aura that would have rivaled Elsa in a cold fury. Zmeya yanked on Kaya's hair, forcing her head back to expose her neck. Kaya stayed calm, rolling with the usual mercurial nature of Zmeya's moods.
"I will end her, you understand?" She hissed, baring her teeth as she said the words. "Her and this tiny, worthless kingdom of hers."
The threat to Elsa, while not unexpected, snapped something inside Kaya, making her grab the wrist Zmeya had at her throat and twist harshly, forcing the other woman's body away from her own.
"Touch her," Kaya promised. "And I will see to it that you don't live to regret it, Zmeya. You leave Elsa out of it."
And just like that, the playful seductress was back.
"Ooh, it's Elsa, is it?" She clicked her tongue. "Such a disrespectful little soldier you are, Kaya."
Kaya forced her arm further, earning a hiss caused equally by surprise as by pleasure.
"Is this love, Princess Kaya?"
The former princess started. What the hell did she think she was doing? She knew from experience that pain would only intensify Zmeya's instinct to hunt. It was bad enough she'd already indirectly given away how much she'd come to care about Elsa to Zmeya.
She shoved the Empress away, the other woman easily regaining her footing and laughed as she did.
"She didn't listen to you, did she?" Zmeya continued, baiting her. "She was too naive to listen to her loyal retainer."
At Kaya's silence, it finally seemed to dawn on Zmeya that she was not a welcome guest in this room. She turned towards the door and picked up her previously discarded coat as she passed.
"Well, don't worry, pet." She turned as she placed her hand on the doorknob. "I'll make sure she regrets that decision...you both will."
With that, the unstable woman that fancied herself in love with Kaya traipsed out of the room, leaving the fuming, exiled princess with nothing to do but ponder the likelihood of Zmeya making good on her threat against Elsa.
She came to one conclusion: Kaya knew Zmeya was many things, but capable of making idle threats was not one of them.
