** Present Day - March, 1841 - Eight months after the Coronation of Queen Elsa **
"Elsa, I never quite understood why you had considered abdicating." Anna and Elsa were continuing the conversation that had started in Elsa's study. "You've talked about it a little, several times. But it seemed a little ... drastic." They were sitting comfortably on the floor in front of the fireplace.
The two women had moved back to the library after a quick raid on the kitchen. A fire crackled cheerfully in the fireplace and the remnants of their pre-bedtime snack was on the floor between them, tea cups sticky with sugary dregs and plates of cake crumbs silent witness to a sweet tooth being indulged.
Elsa sighed. "I was despondent, Anna. Overwhelmed. Mama and Papa were gone, I had no one to lean on." A guilty glance at her sister. "It was a desperate act for a desperate girl."
Anna huffed in exasperation. She wouldn't replay all the conversations they had already had about the awful decision making that had left Elsa alone and afraid. There was nothing new to be said on that topic.
"I'm just glad you didn't go through with it. Why didn't you? Although I doubt making me the Queen would have improved the situation very much." This last sentence had a bitter taste in Anna's mouth.
"Anna, you know better than that! If something were to happen to me, Arendelle would be left in good hands...your hands." Elsa was often galled by Anna's self-deprecation.
"I didn't do it because of you, but not for that reason." Elsa went on. "I didn't do it because if I abdicated, I became nothing and no one, entirely powerless. And you would have been left with no one to protect you-from anything, not just my magic."
Anna was startled. "What do you mean? Why would I need protection?"
"Think, Anna. You were fifteen, not even legally an adult. Mama and Papa were gone, I would be off somewhere in self-imposed exile ... or worse. They would have appointed a Regent for you. Even then I didn't trust the Council to do the right thing. Who knows who they would have appointed? You would have been at the mercy of men whose first thoughts would have been for how they could manipulate you to their own benefit."
Elsa took her sister's hand. "I couldn't do that to you. I couldn't trust anyone else to care about you, about Anna. You were my baby sister, and I couldn't abandon you to strangers, to become a pawn in their games of arranged marriages 'to insure the succession'. No matter what it cost me." Elsa's eyes were bright with unshed tears. Anna moved close and wrapped her in a hug.
"I burned the draft declaration of abdication that I had written. Then I called the Admiral in, and asked for his help in building ... my alternative." Elsa was alluding to the dungeon she had built as a remedy if her magic had created an extreme danger to the kingdom.
Anna just hugged her closer. "You and your selfless self-sacrifice." She was trying to tease Elsa out of her mood. "Saint Joan has nothing on you. You would let them burn you at the stake if you thought it was the right thing to do, wouldn't you?"
Elsa smiled at her sister. "Well ... I love you."
"Of course you do! Who is more lovable than me? The bearer of chocolates, builder of snowmen, singer to ducklings!" Anna fell into a melodramatic pose, bringing the back of her hand to her forehead, nose in the air. Elsa had to giggle at this display.
"Okay, singer to ducklings. I think we've had enough tea and cake for one evening. One of us has an early meeting. Oh, wait, BOTH of us have an early meeting!" Elsa smirked at Anna. It was another exercise in providing the younger woman experience in governing. Anna would be attending her first Royal Council meeting tomorrow.
Anna flopped onto her back, arms splayed. "Ohhhh, no! I had forgotten about that! Elsa, this succession planning thing is going to do me in with all these early meetings. Why can't we have meetings at a civilized hour, like maybe noon?"
"Anna, not all the lessons can be me just talking while you eat!" Elsa laughed as she helped her sister to her feet. "Let's go, sleepy head. It won't be long before you have to rise and shine!"
"I'll rise, but I most definitely won't shine, my sovereign spoilsport!" Anna grumbled at her sister's teasing.
Arm and arm, they went off to their rooms.
** July, 1838 - Kingdom of Arendelle, Estate of Bjorn Thorstad **
"You fool! You unmitigated, stupid, hot-headed, bloody FOOL! What in the hell did you think you were going to accomplish with that stunt?" Thorstad was berating Anders Reinertsen in a fashion that made him squirm. "You're lucky Naismith didn't challenge you just on general principles!"
Reinertsen paced back and forth, his anger just intensified by the tongue-lashing. "She infuriates me! A mere slip of a girl! Inexperienced! What misfortune left this kingdom with a naive, empty-headed princess to rule it!"
Thorstad snorted in derision. "You are a fool. That 'empty-headed slip of a girl' has seen through every one of your schemes so far. She has an even better sense than her father for a deal that is not to Arendelle's advantage and a truly delicate sense of smell for the slightest whiff of peculation. And now you've gotten yourself removed from the Council for your troubles. Truly genius!" He turned to the sideboard and poured a drink.
"Here! Drink this! Sit, and calm down enough for us to figure a way to salvage something from this mess!" Thorstad made another drink for himself and sat in a comfortable chair opposite Reinertsen. He let the man fume and drink until he might be able to listen to reason.
"This will cost me a fortune! The humiliation of being tossed from the council like yesterday's stale bread!" Reinertsen continued in this vein until Thorstad cut him off.
"Shut up. Just shut up. Most of your money comes from trade with Weselton, and the Duke doesn't give a fig about Arendelle politics. He'd do business with a reindeer if it meant profit for him." Thorstad continued, "and you ducked the humiliation of being dead at Naismith's sword. For a moment I was afraid you were insane enough to challenge him."
This last comment finally broke Reinertsen's rage. He deflated at the vision of dying on the field of honor. A shudder, and he gulped the last dregs of the fine whiskey in his glass. He rose to refill it.
Returning to his seat, he admitted to his confederate, "You're right. I let my emotions overwhelm my common sense."
Thorstad suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes, you did. Now what are we going to do about it?"
"What do you mean?" Reinertsen was confused.
This time Thorstad did roll his eyes. "Think, Anders! We've been trying to work out a way to get a young, pliable Princess Anna on the throne. Young, pliable, under the influence of a strong, mature man to guide her, perhaps marry her. Ready to step up to the task of helping her rule a kingdom should something ... untoward ... happen to her older, unapproachable, invisible sister."
Thorstad got up and refilled his whiskey glass. Returning to his chair, he leaned back, looked at the ceiling, and mused, "Now, who should we be recruiting to replace you?"
Reinertsen quieted down with a thoughtful scowl on his face. Thorstad's own thoughts, however, were elsewhere. He wondered why Queen Elsa's mere existence seemed to enrage the man. Even before the King died, he had dismissed her and her sister as mere irritants, though superficially he seemed to imagine himself a suitable consort. Thorstad wasn't sure if it was simply contempt for women in positions of power or something else. Reinertsen's lack of a noble title could be provoking such an extreme reaction as well. Thorstad knew it chafed at the man, like an itch he couldn't scratch.
Such foibles made a man easy to manipulate. Thorstad sipped his drink and considered his next steps while Reinertsen rambled on about someone he thought would be sympathetic to their positions.
** Present Day - March, 1841 - Kingdom of Arendelle, Royal Council Chamber **
Elsa suppressed the urge to glance at the door for the hundredth time. Anna was late again. Sometimes Elsa just wanted to throttle some common sense into her, as if she hadn't failed to do so the last fifty times she had tried.
The Council was beginning to get restless; Elsa was so punctual that they could set their pocket watches when she walked into the room to start the meeting. Any delay was noteworthy.
A flurry at the door and Anna came bustling in, out of breath. She looked a bit disheveled. Clearly she had been singing to ducklings or something equally frivolous when she had realized the time. Elsa simply waved her to the chair next to her own. They would discuss this breach of good manners later.
"Gentlemen, I would like to introduce Crown Princess Anna to those of you who may not have previously had the pleasure of her acquaintance. As my Heir, she will be attending these meetings on occasion." Elsa managed to keep a smile plastered on her face during this introduction.
"Your Highness." The seven men around the table rose and bowed to Anna, who blushed and gave them a little wave of acknowledgment. Protocol usually flustered her; this was no exception.
"Very well, then. The first item on our agenda today..." and Elsa moved briskly into the business at hand.
Three hours later, Elsa adjourned the meeting. Bishop Norgaard and Admiral Naismith stopped to exchange a few pleasantries with Anna before they left. She was no stranger to the two of them and they tended to deal with her like indulgent uncles would with a spirited young woman like her.
The other members of the Council were content to simply bow and murmur "Your Highness" as they left. Except for Bjorn Thorstad. He seemed to rustle his papers as though arranging them until the Bishop and the Admiral had finished talking to Anna. The Admiral had been pulled aside by Elsa for some discussion as the Bishop left. Anna simply stood looking around the room, focusing on one of the paintings on the wall for some reason.
Thorstad approached her. "Your Highness! May I say how utterly delightful your presence was today. It certainly livened up the mundane business of the Royal Council." He smiled pleasantly.
Anna was somewhat chagrined. She had 'livened up' the proceedings by knocking over a water pitcher and soaking Elsa. Who was able, fortunately, to simply freeze the water and whisk it away into the ether with a few waves of her hand. While shooting a look at Anna that promised retribution in some form Anna would not enjoy.
"Thank you, Baron Thorstad? I believe?" Anna extended her hand and was somewhat thrown off guard when he took it and kissed it while bowing gallantly to her. She had expected a simple handshake. She blushed.
"That is correct, Your Highness. I look forward to seeing you again. I am sure that watching the Council in action will be most educational for you." He bowed again and took his leave. Anna watched him go, puzzled a bit by the exchange.
Elsa had been watching this interplay over the Admiral's shoulder while she was talking with him. The Admiral caught the intensity of her gaze and took a quick look to see what was drawing her attention. Hmm. Interesting. Bjorn Thorstad was on a very short, very personal list that the Admiral kept in his head and shared with no one.
"Your Majesty?" Elsa had finished talking and was simply frowning distractedly. She shook herself and looked up at the Admiral.
"Thank you, Admiral. I will be looking for your report on those raiders within the week, then?" There had been some pirates raiding in the waters near Arendelle recently, and the Royal Arendelle Navy was looking for their bases to root them out. It was the primary focus of the Royal Arendelle Navy. Maritime trade was the lifeblood of the kingdom, and pirates were bad for business. The surrounding kingdoms appreciated the efforts as they benefited as well.
"You may count on it, Your Majesty." Naismith bowed to her and left.
Elsa walked over to Anna. Her anger had been momentarily suppressed and replaced with curiosity. Anna had a distracted look on her face, and she was rubbing the back of one hand.
"Anna? What was that all about?" Elsa meant the conversation with Thorstad.
"I'm not sure. It was ... weird ... and a little creepy." Anna suddenly looked sheepish. "Elsa, I'm so sorry I knocked over that water pitcher on you! I was just thirsty, honest, and I thought ... " Elsa cut her off.
"Don't worry about that. But we need to discuss the common courtesy of being punctual to meetings." Elsa had her stern Big Sister face on, and was using her stern Big Sister voice. Anna shuddered inside. At least it wasn't her Snow Queen voice. THAT one had been known to reduce brave men to tears.
The lecture lasted all the way to the dining room and through the noon meal. Anna couldn't remember the last time Elsa had gotten this worked up over her tardiness and she smarted under the reprimands.
After lunch, Anna went off to find Kristoff and Sven. It was only March, and there was enough snow on the ground that selling ice wasn't a very lucrative business right now. Kristoff spent time working on Ice Guild business, but she knew that he had planned to spend the afternoon with her.
She found Olaf in the castle courtyard, playing with some of the children of the staff. This time of year he didn't need his personal flurry to keep from melting.
"Hi, Olaf! Have you seen Sven and Kristoff?" Anna asked the little snowlem.
"Anna! Hi! I haven't seen you in a couple of days! Have you been having fun?" Olaf ran up to her and threw his twiggy arms wide to hug her.
"Oh, yeah, Olaf! Elsa and I have been having lots of fun. Not as much as we would with you, but..." She returned the hug with enthusiasm. "Sven? Kristoff?" Olaf's attention span was short.
"Yeah. They're in town. Kristoff said something about hot chocolate at the inn. Not sure why. Sven prefers carrots."
Anna had to laugh at her little friend's confusion. "Okay, thanks. Want to come with me?"
"Nope. The children and I are going to build some more snowmen. We're going to pretend they're an army to fight off Weaseltown, like last fall." Anna frowned a little at the memory. Elsa had to personally fight off an attack by a fleet sent by the Duke of Weselton.
It had taken Elsa by surprise, both the attack and the emotional aftermath that came with creating her own small army of snow golems. The night after the attack, Anna had to nurse Elsa through an emotional collapse from the stress of using her snow powers to fight off an enemy army. Then Elsa had a crisis of conscience when she realized that Olaf, Marshmallow and the new snowlems were truly living, sentient beings that she had created with her magic. This understanding of her ability almost overwhelmed her with its stunning scope.[A/N: See Below]
"Okay, Olaf! I'll see you when I get back!" and Anna went out the castle gate to find Kristoff.
"Hi, Feisty Pants!" Kristoff was where she expected to find him, at the Inn where they often met for coffee or hot chocolate. She had ruffled Sven's fur to say hello when she saw him tied up outside. He wriggled in pleasure and brayed a greeting at her.
"Hi, Kristoff! Been waiting for me long?" She took off her winter cloak and hung it on a peg on the wall, then sat down next to him at the small table. The scents of the various beverages and dainties available filled the air and tempted her to order a second lunch dessert. Or an early dinner dessert. Or just a treat because it was Tuesday.
"Nope. Maybe 15 minutes. Let me order something? What would you like? Tea, coffee, glogg, or hot chocolate?"
"Hmm...I think I'll stick to hot chocolate." Anna said.
Kristoff just laughed and shook his head. "I should have guessed that."
Later, as they were finishing their second cup, Anna decided to bring up the topic Elsa had shocked her with yesterday.
"Kristoff? Do you ever think about the succession?"
"Succession to what?" Kristoff was thinking about how lovely Anna's hair was in the light of the afternoon sun coming through the window. How the golden light brought out the freckles on her perfect skin. How he could sit here forever drinking in that lovely vision of Anna.
"The throne." Anna spoke a little louder. "Are you listening to me?"
Kristoff came back from his daydream. "Uh, yeah. Of course. What throne?"
Anna just sighed. "Elsa's throne. Remember? Crown Princess? Stuck with it if anything happens to Elsa? THAT throne."
Kristoff had to admit to himself that he hadn't thought about it. "Ah, what brought that on?" Why was Anna thinking about it? Was she hinting at something?
Anna sighed again and looked melancholy. "Elsa was teaching me about political reality, and it led to a long discussion about royal duties and succession planning and heirs and spares and all that stuff. About how she and I are nothing but brood mares to men seeking power. Like Hans."
The mention of that name caused Kristoff to clench his fist in reaction. He would have punched that bastard into the fjord just on general principles if Anna hadn't claimed first right. Sometimes, when he was trying to split a particularly hard block of ice, he just visualized the creep's face on the block, and it was amazing how much more force suddenly seemed to appear for swinging his pickax.
"You're not a brood mare to me." Kristoff said earnestly.
"Really? I guess that's good." Anna didn't look very impressed. She supposed she didn't want to thought of that way, but Kristoff still didn't seem to be taking this seriously. "Heaven forbid you would think about being the father of my children."
"Children?" Kristoff squeaked, wondering were that idea had come from.
"You do want to have children right?" She looked at him sharply.
"Wait, what children? That's not what I meant." Kristoff was digging his hole deeper by the sentence. How had they gotten into this conversation?
"The children we would have after we got married!" Anna huffed.
"Married? Who said anything about getting married?" Kristoff dug faster. Every time he tried to imagine asking Anna to marry him, he failed. Why would a princess marry an ice harvester?
"Apparently not us!" Anna wasn't sure why she was angry. This wasn't the conversation she wanted to have with Kristoff, she wanted a calm, deliberate discussion about the two of them and what their future held. But her emotions were still raw from the lecture Elsa had delivered, she hadn't gotten enough sleep and she just wasn't thinking straight.
She stood up, grabbed her cloak from its peg, and was gone in a whirl of pink wool before Kristoff could say anything more. He followed her out the door, but she was heading toward the castle with such determination that by the time he had gone back in and gotten his own jacket, she was too far away for him to catch up.
He just stood there next to Sven, looking toward the castle, jacket in hand. "What just happened?"
Sven shrugged. "I wasn't there, buddy. You'll have to fill me in."
Author's Note: For the whole story about that attack by Weselton, please see my story 'Protector of the Dominion'