CHAPTER 6

Elsa sat at her desk in the library. After finally leaving her ruined study with Anna, she decided that the shocking revelations that took place there would be too much of a distraction to her for the foreseeable future. The library was just as good of a work environment as her study, so that is where she set up shop. Elsa was still exhausted, but she pushed it out of her mind to focus on finding a way to get her lover out of this situation.

She had to tread carefully in her investigation. She did not want anyone to find out about the betrothal, and she certainly couldn't have anyone finding out her motives for wanting the contract void. The guards that accompanied Anna the previous day already knew too much, having seen her breakdown personally.

The Queen had attorneys that could help her, of course. A legion of them. The best Arendelle had to offer. She had gone to them earlier in the day with the betrothal agreement under the guise of checking it's validity. They only made her feel worse when they told her that the signatures and seals on the document were valid. After making the group swear that they would not speak of what had transpired, she stormed out of the room in a huff, leaving a trail of frost in her wake.

Now, she sat at her desk across from the only man that could truly help her. She glared at Viggo, making sure not to break eye contact with the older man. She was trying to read him, but as usual, his expression gave away nothing. She wished he would slip up and let his face betray his thoughts as he did when he delivered her father's journal to her two days ago.

She had summoned the spy after the abysmal meeting with her attorneys. While they were useful, she could not ask them to try to void the contract. They would require a motive to do so, and her motive was a forbidden love for her sister. Viggo was not an attorney, and did not require or care to know a motive, and luckily for Elsa, arranged marriages were not contained to the Royal court; normal citizens could be betrothed as well.

So, Elsa had tasked the man with speaking to the best attorney in Arendelle that wasn't under the employ of the Royal Court. She had him inquire about voiding a marriage contract that he had unwittingly arranged for his "daughter" after a night of raucous debauchery at the local tavern.

Viggo sat across from her, still as death and expression infuriatingly neutral, to report his findings. Elsa had to admit to herself that she was nervous of what the man was going to say, but her calm and indifferent expression did not betray anything either.

She cleared her throat before speaking.

"Well?" It was all that need be said.

Viggo snapped to attention and began his report.

"I have news, but I am not sure that it is what you want to hear. Keep in mind though, that this information is meant for a normal citizen, and not the Royal Family. Any consequences that the attorney told me of with be amplified exponentially for you."

Elsa grew annoyed at the way the man was seemingly dodging the question.

"Out with it." she spat, brow furrowing in anger. She was in no mood for idle chit-chat.

"Right. Sorry." The man apologized, drawing a deep breath. "To make a long story short, there is no way to break off the betrothal without legal repercussions, including but not limited to fines or jail time for the offending party. Obviously fines and imprisonment are of no issue to you, as you are Queen. As I said, the repercussions for you would be far more severe, and could include anything from being kicked out of the Council of Nations to war being declared on Arendelle. The Council might even demand you abdicate the throne.

The man tensed as he noticed the temperature of the room drop noticeably. He saw ice creeping out from under the Queen's chair, but he continued.

"Fortunately, however, there is a possible solution." The man paused, waiting for approval to continue, but the Queen did not move a hair on her body. She had nothing to say to the man. After a tense few seconds that seemed like an eternity, Viggo explained.

"While there are no legal ways out of the contract prior to marriage, after the marriage is an entirely different story. The Princess could request an annulment on the grounds of abuse or mistreatment."

Elsa's brow shot up and the ice expanding from under her desk halted in it's tracks. Viggo had caught her attention. He continued explaining himself.

"Obviously, proof of mistreatment would be required and the diplomatic repercussions of accusing a Prince of spousal abuse could be severe, but I know well of the King and Prince of Ørnhavn. They are reasonable people, especially the Prince. He might even be able to be convinced to agree to the annulment outright."

The spy noticed Elsa's shoulders relax, and the room began to warm. Viggo took this as a sign that he could speak more candidly.

"Obviously I will have to investigate this further. I would not want to give you false hope. But if I may be so bold, Your Majesty, if you truly want this marriage void, I believe waiting until after the Princess and the Prince are wed and petitioning to have the marriage annulled is the best course of action."

He noticed the Queen's breath hitch as he finished speaking. She opened her mouth to respond, but found it difficult to form words. Closing and reopening her mouth, she tried again.

"Thank you, Viggo. You have done well. Please continue investigating our options."

She pushed her chair back from the desk and stood. Viggo stood immediately after her and bowed as she walked around him towards the door.

The Queen opened the door but stopped before stepping through. Without looking back, she spoke.

"Do what you must to make sure that not a single soul finds out about my inquiries."

"Of course, Your Majesty." the man replied, still bowing.

Elsa left the room and closed the door behind her.

After hearing the door click shut, Viggo straightened himself and let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

Queen Elsa walked through the halls of the castle with purpose. She needed to find Anna, and nothing could stop her. Elsa didn't notice several of her advisers trying to speak with her, nor did she notice the concerned looks of her staff as they stared uneasily at the fractals of ice radiating from her feet with every step she took. She didn't care what the staff needed from her; she had a way to keep Anna.

The Queen replayed her conversation with Viggo in her head over and over again. Obviously waiting until after Anna was wed was not the most preferable solution, but a way out was a way out. Unless she could find another way, it was their only option.

She found Anna in the portrait room. The Princess sat cross-legged on the floor staring up at the painting of Joan of Arc, as she had done many times before. This time was different, however; the Princess wasn't speaking. She usually came here to vent her frustrations to whichever historical figures were willing to lend an ear.

Elsa frowned. She knew that her sister was lost in thought about the marriage. The betrothal plagued her own mind, and she wasn't the one that the marriage was arranged for. She couldn't imagine what her younger sister was going through.

Princess Anna sat in the portrait room as she often did. The eighteen-year-old was staring at Joan of Arc, trying to untangle her own mind in an attempt to figure out what she was feeling and what she should be feeling.

She should be angry. She should be upset, afraid even. But she wasn't. She was conflicted. Her head was locked in an impossible struggle between her desire to stay with her sister-turned-lover and her surprisingly formidable sense of duty. She didn't know which side would win, or which side she even wanted to win. So she settled on the only thing that could describe what she was feeling.

Princess Anna was confused.

She knew that there was likely no way out of the marriage; she had reached that conclusion the night prior, in Elsa's study. For some reason, she wasn't nearly as distraught as she thought she would be. She knew that the marriage would benefit her people, and the Princess part of her was glad about that. But the side of her that was her sister's lover was most displeased. She couldn't leave Elsa. She didn't want to leave Elsa. But she had to, for her Kingdom.

Anna groaned audibly and flopped down onto her back. Being a Princess was exhausting.

Elsa's frown turned into a slight smile and she let out a quiet laugh as she listened to Anna groan and fall backwards. She approached her sister slowly, making sure not to startle her. Anna must have noticed her footsteps, because the Princess's head tilted to look in her direction.

Elsa smiled at the younger girl, who returned the smile with fervor. When she was next to Anna, she knelt down and lifted the woman's head into her lap. Elsa then leaned down and kissed the Princess passionately, trying to send reassurance to the redhead with her lips.

After a few seconds, she ended the kiss and brought her head back up. She began stroking the copper locks in her lap and broke the silence.

"Don't get too excited, but I think I found a way to get you out of the marriage."

Anna clambered to her knees upon hearing what her sister said. She twisted her body around to face the Queen, eyes hopeful. She remained silent as Elsa continued her explanation.

"Unfortunately, there is no way to break the contract without causing a diplomatic catastrophe." Elsa said. Anna's brow lowered and her eyes found the floor, her hopes slightly dashed. The Princess understood; she knew that there was no real way out of the arrangement that wouldn't result in some sort of international conflict. Anna's eyes found her elder sister's again as the Queen continued.

Elsa braced herself for what she was about to say. "You will have to go through with the marriage. As of now, there is no way around it."

To Elsa's surprise, Anna's expression did not falter. Elsa knew that the Princess had realized this fact. This made the emotional impact of the statement much easier for Elsa to bear, and she continued to explain.

"After you are married, you could petition for annulment. You could accuse the Prince of mistreating you, which could also have political consequences, or you could get the Prince to agree to the annulment. Either way, you wouldn't stay married."

Elsa gave her sister a moment to process what she had told her. Anna's eyes darted to and fro, indicating she was lost in thought. Both sisters remained silent for a long moment before Anna took Elsa's hands in her own and finally spoke.

"Elsa, you and I both know that I can't do that. We wouldn't suffer the consequences, our people would."

Elsa frowned at the statement. Anna was right, she just didn't want to admit it. She forced the lump forming in her throat back down and spoke.

"I- I know that, Anna, but I was hoping that maybe, just maybe, you wouldn't care."

A tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek before she felt a warm hand reach up to wipe it away.

"I have to do this to keep our people safe. To keep us safe. I'll marry Prince Mattias, but I will never love him. You are my true love, and nothing will change that."

With that, Anna stood, dragging her sister up with her. She looked lovingly into the Queen's eyes before wrapping her arms around her and putting her lips to Elsa's.

Elsa could feel the love radiating from the kiss, and it reassured her that what Anna said was true. She knew nothing would keep Anna from her, not even a husband.

Anna pulled back from Elsa and their hands found each others again. Anna smirked slightly and Elsa's brow rose in confusion before Anna spoke once again.

"I'll marry him all right, but if he even thinks for a second that I'm leaving Arendelle, he's got another thing coming!"

Elsa couldn't help but smile.

A/N

Here's a quick update for you. I'd like to update on a schedule, but this weekend has been hectic. Plus I caught a cold on the first weekend after class started back up. Can you believe that? Utter b.s. is what it is.

Anyways, we're trucking right along. As I promised, it's time for some fluff. CH. 7 will be the longest so far, and it's fluffy as all hell. I almost vomited while writing it. I'll say around chapter 10 is where stuff starts getting more interesting.

I'd also like to address when the AC stuff will come into play. All I'll say is pretty soon after ch. 10. Assasssins are stealthy, you know? I have to write them into the story stealthily.

Anyways, keep the reviews coming folks. I'll have another update for you tomorrow morning!

One love,

-Cosmic