CHAPTER 3

Queen Elsa frowned as she sat at her desk. She grew more and more annoyed as she stared at the leather-bound book in her hands, trying to determine why the spy had brought it to her. Viggo was a master of intelligence gathering. He was silent, swift, and as far as the rest of the world was concerned, he didn't exist. He was the perfect man for the job. However, the man was cryptic, at times almost to a fault.

Elsa found that infuriating.

She was also bothered that he had intruded on her late father's belongings.

Elsa recalled a long-concealed memory from the night that she had received word of her parents' untimely passing. After the Sun disappeared from the sky over Arendelle, she had ventured to her father's study. Since she couldn't leave her room in daylight in fear of seeing Anna, she had to mourn her parents alone and under the cover of darkness.

After sobbing at the foot of her father's desk for what seemed like days, Elsa began to look around the room. She admired the antique, hand-carved desk, the enormous bay window overlooking the courtyard, and the massive bookshelves that lined the walls. She tried to take it all in, all the sights and smells and feelings that the room presented her. She stood silently with her eyes closed, breathing deep, trying to absorb as much of her father's essence as she could. King Agdar was beloved by his people, and Elsa doubted she could be half as good of a ruler as he was.

She choked down another sob as her eyes fixed on the family portrait hanging behind his desk. The painting represented happier times, when she was still allowed to communicate with her darling sister. Elsa remembered posing for the portrait and smiled as she recalled how difficult it was to get a then four-year-old Anna to sit still.

As Elsa smiled at the memory, she noticed that the painting was crooked. She approached the painting with the intent of straightening it, but on doing so she noticed that the space directly behind it was recessed. Her curiosity got the better of her and she removed the painting from it's place on the wall. Upon doing so, she discovered a hidden book shelf, lined with several dozen identical leather-bound books, each with a volume number on the spine. She picked up the first in the row and ran her hands over the worn and faded leather of the cover. There were no markings to hint at the book's contents, aside from the number one pressed into the spine.

She wondered why her father would keep so many volumes of books with no titles, and why he would keep such a vast collection hidden behind a painting. She opened the text, hoping to find some answers. Inside was handwriting where she was expecting print. The lines of ink were faded with time, but she was able to make out the only words on the first page: The Journal of King Agdar of Arendelle. Elsa's eyes widened in surprise. She had discovered her father's personal journals.

Elsa debated reading further into the journal and discovering what secrets her father might have stored inside, hoping that perhaps he left some of his wisdom behind to assist her when she was crowned Queen. After a lengthy internal debate, she decided that her father's private thoughts should remain just that; private. She returned the journal to it's spot on the shelf, readjusted the painting to hide the volumes, and moved to leave his study. As she approached the doorway, she took one last look at the family portrait. Her eyes focused on her father, and she weakly returned his smile.

Queen Elsa was brought back to the present by a rhythmic knocking at her door; two knocks followed by three in quick succession. After the last knock, her sister, Princess Anna, burst into the room. A smile immediately found it's way to the Queen's face.

"Good afternoon, your majesty." said Anna, curtsying slightly before hurriedly standing. She closed the door behind her as she scampered into the room. Elsa smiled and let out a quiet laugh at the unnecessary formality.

"Anna, you know that you don't have to be so regal with me, especially when there's... no... one... what exactly are you doing?" A confused look overtook Elsa's smile as she noticed Anna had locked the door and was now traveling around the room and drawing all the curtains.

After closing the balcony door and throwing the curtain over it, Anna skipped over to her sister's desk. She leaned forward on the desk with both hands and a seductive half-smile began to show itself.

"This." Anna said, as she leaned in and kissed Elsa deeply.

Elsa's eyes widened in shock. She was not prepared for the amount of passion behind the random kiss, but she slowly sank into it as her sister began crawling over her desk towards her, scattering papers every which way.

Just as Elsa was beginning to truly enjoy herself, Anna broke the kiss and looked down at Elsa's lap.

"What's that?" she asked, referring to the book resting on Elsa's thighs.

Elsa began slowly opening her eyes and responded, but the kiss caught her so off-guard that she was finding it difficult to formulate complete sentences.

"Uh.. whu... huh? Oh. Oh! This!" she finally managed as she picked up the book from her lap. "This is one of Papa's journals." she explained.

Still on the desk, Anna sat up on her knees and a puzzled look overtook her freckled face.

"I though you said you weren't going to read them." Anna said, more of a statement than a question.

Elsa once again struggled to respond, but for different reasons. She couldn't explain to Anna how she had gotten the journal, as Viggo was known only to her. She trusted Anna implicitly, but no one could know of Viggo's existence, not even her. If even one other person knew about the operative, his effectiveness as a spy- as well as his life- would be jeopardized. So she did what she had to do in order to protect state secrets, and lied to Anna.

"I thought that, maybe, it's been a long enough time since Papa passed and that perhaps he wouldn't mind if I read them." Elsa explained. "And who knows, with all the foreign relation problems we've found ourselves with after my coronation, maybe he wrote something in here that could help. After all, he was a very good King."

Anna looked questioningly down at Elsa for a few more seconds before her expression eased and a smile grew across her face.

"Okay. If that's what you think is best, then go for it!" Anna said as she leaned down to place another kiss on Elsa's lips.

Elsa smiled at her sister lovingly as Anna hopped off of the desk and sat down in one of the chairs in front of it.

"So." Anna began, after taking a document off of one of the large piles of paper on Elsa's desk and eying it curiously. "What's all this stuff about?"

Elsa was surprised at her younger sister's interest in her work. The girl was known for having a certain aloofness to her, but in recent weeks she was growing more and more concerned with the goings-on of her country, even going so far as to sit in on meetings with Elsa's advisers. Elsa felt a swelling sense of pride at the fact that she was watching Anna mature into the role of a leader. The people of Arendelle adored the Princess, and she returned their adoration with fervor. It was about time she started to care about what it actually took to keep the citizens safe and happy.

Elsa sighed and began to explain the day's work. "Well, nothing fun. It's mostly economic things. I'm afraid that Arendelle is in a bit of a tight spot money-wise, between our severance of trade with Weselton and the issues with the Southern Isles. I'm looking over new tax and tariff proposals for our domestic economy and considering raises to external trade prices of Arendelle's exports. If we can adjust all this without becoming overbearing on our citizens, we should be able to cut our loses and perhaps even be as well off as we were while still trading with Weselton."

Anna's brow furrowed in anger at the mention of their former trade partner. "Weaseltown." She spat, as though the word left a sour taste on her tongue. "Still causing us problems. At least the Duke isn't trying to have you assassinated anymore."

"Ever the optimist, Anna." Elsa laughed. She was amused by her sister's ability to see the bright side of even the worst situations.

Anna continued. "Well, The Duke and Hans both tried to kill you. I'm sure the citizens understand the need to cut ties with them, even if that means the tax rates will increase."

Elsa exhaled longingly. "Hopefully you're right, my love. The last thing I need is the citizens opposing my economic policy on top of being afraid that I'm an 'evil Ice Witch'." she said half teasingly, but Anna knew that the comment wasn't all in jest and frowned at the statement.

"Elsa, you know they don't think that. You showed them that you can control your powers. You unfroze the fjord, stopped the Eternal Winter, and kept Arendelle out of Hans' grubby little hands! They should be grateful."

Elsa shrugged. "I suppose. But technically it was you that did all that." she said with a grin.

Anna crumpled the paper in her hand and threw it at Elsa, who raised her hands defensively and laughed as it bounced harmlessly off her head. "Oh shush." Anna scoffed. "It was both of us. Neither of us could have done it without the other."

Still laughing, Elsa replied. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Although I'm positive that there are some citizens that are still wary of my powers."

Anna raised her shoulders in reply. "So let them be wary. I'm all that matters anyway." she said and stuck her tongue out at the elder sister.

They both laughed for awhile, and fell into an amicable silence. The sisters locked eyes, ice blue meeting bright aquamarine. She saw nothing but love and total trust in Anna's eyes, a testament to the true love they shared. She frowned slightly as she remembered lying to Anna about the journal and decided that reading it could wait. She made the decision to spend the rest of the day with Anna in recompense of the deception.

"I'm tired of paperwork and reading for today. Why don't we do something fun for the rest of the afternoon? Together." Elsa asked, and Anna's eyes lit up before narrowing as she smiled coyly.

"Hmm... I can think of a few things we can do together." Anna replied in a low sultry voice. Elsa understood immediately and half-smiled as Anna stood and bowed in her direction while offering Elsa her hand.

"Come my Queen, let us retire to our chambers for an afternoon of... fun." the copper-haired Princess said in a mock-male voice and she took Elsa's hand.

"Oh my, do be gentle my Prince!" Elsa raised her free hand to her mouth and giggled as her sister dragged her out of her study and towards her bedchambers.

A/N

Hiya folks! There's that useful Anna stuff I mention earlier. Plus, we finally got some ElsAnna (yay implied sexytimes!). Isn't that neat?

Also, feel free to leave reviews, whether it's too yell at me for bad writing, yell at me for good writing, share a recipe, vent about your ex, convert me to your religion, whatever you want. I only request that you leave at least one productive comment amongst the noise.

So this is more story buildup. The ice (get it? ice? Frozen?) hits the fan in the next chapter, so strap in, homies.

Stay beautiful!

-Cosmic