CHAPTER 16

The following morning found Princess Anna standing in the castle courtyard, waiting for Prince Mattias to arrive. The sun was just beginning to rise, and the sky was illuminated in different shades of red and purple. The Princess, however, was far too cold and far too tired to appreciate the beauty of Arendelle's early-morning. It was a rare occasion that Anna was awake before dawn, but Mattias had insisted that they begin her training as early as possible, so here she stood, adorned in a simple tunic and pants as instructed, arms clutched tightly across her chest to stave off the bitter cold of the morning.

It was several more minutes before Mattias joined the Princess. He was wearing what Anna assumed to be his training outfit and had a sack slung over his shoulder. His free hand rested on the hilt of one of his swords. The smile he beamed at her in greeting only served to annoy Anna as she pondered how anyone could seem so happy this early in the morning.

"Good morning, Anna!" Mattias shouted excitedly as he waved to her. The Princess simply glared at him.

"Goodness, it's cold today!" he exclaimed, now standing at the shivering woman's side. He drew in a deep breath before looking up at the sky and smiling.

"I don't think I'll ever get over just how beautiful Arendelle can be, you know?"

Silence, and another glare.

"Oookay then. Well, let's get to it, shall we?" Mattias said. He turned and began to walk towards the castle, motioning for Anna to follow. He opened the main door and began to step inside, but Anna's voice stopped him.

"W-wait." she said through chattering teeth. "W-we aren't t-training outs-s-side?"

"Heavens, no!" Mattias replied. "It's far too cold out here. We'll train in the ballroom." Anna looked at him incredulously.

"W-why did I n-need to c-c-come out he-here then?"

"Nothing wakes a person up quite like the morning cold." Mattias said with a smile.

After a brief pause, Anna reached out and hit Mattias on the chest.

"You j-j-jerk! I've been st-standing out here in the f-freezing cold for n-n-no reason?!"

"Ow!" Mattias yelped. "The reason I had you come out here is that I needed to make sure you were awake and fully alert, and it worked perfectly, just as I expected it to."

"Ugh, whatever." Anna replied as she shoved her way past the man and into the castle. "Come on, l-let's get this o-over with."

Mattias led Anna through the castle and into the ballroom. He removed the sack from his shoulders and placed it on a plain looking table that had no business being in the ballroom. Anna scoffed and rolled her eyes, realizing that the Prince had undoubtedly procured it from another area of the castle, probably the staff quarters if she were to guess, and probably without the staff's prior knowledge.

Anna silently watched as the Prince's hand reached into the sack and emerged with a sword. Mattias arranged the sword on the table before repeating the task with several more weapons before stepping back from the table.

The Princess jumped as Mattias drew his own swords from their sheathes on his belt in one lightning-fast motion. He proceeded to swing and twirl the blades with an elegance and swiftness that could only be gained from years of training.

'It looks like he's dancing with them.' Anna thought, eyes wide with wonder.

Finally, the Prince stopped moving and exchanged his swords with another pair that he had previously placed to the table. Anna giggled to herself as she noticed how gently he placed his weapons down.

"You really love your swords, don't you?" she asked the man, who looked up from the table and smiled.

"Yes, very much." Mattias replied. "They were a gift from my father."

The Prince walked over to Anna and offered her one of the weapons in his hand. She apprehensively reached out to grab it and was surprised to find that it was much lighter than she had expected. After a moment, she realized the sword was made of wood.

"If we used real swords, we'd both end up dead." Mattias said, answering her question before she could ask it.

He then beckoned for her to follow him to the center of the room. They took up spots several feet apart from each other. Anna held her sword apprehensively while Mattias haphazardly rested it on his shoulder.

"So what now?" Anna asked as she looked around the empty room before her eyes fell on the man before her. He smiled and let out a small laugh.

"Now," he began. "we dance."

Anna raised a brow at the Prince's choice of words. Mattias began to walk in a circle around the Princess.

"Sword fighting is just like dancing." he began to explain. "It's two people moving together in harmony. Of course, when you dance, your partner isn't usually trying to kill you."

Anna looked at the man quizzically.

"In order to be a good dancer, you need to anticipate your partner's next move before they make it." Mattias continued. "You can only react properly if you know what is coming next. Will he dip me? Will he spin me? Switch from left to right?"

Now the Prince began to waltz alone around Anna, who stifled a laugh at the odd behavior.

"The same principle applies to sword fighting." Mattias explained. "You need to think a step ahead of your opponent at all times. He attacks? You parry. He falters? You strike. It's all give and take. Just like a dance partner will broadcast the next step before it happens, a sword fighting opponent will broadcast their next move. If you can figure out how they broadcast it-"

The Prince stopped speaking in order to spin on his heel before ending his dance with a bow.

"-then you will be able to best them every time."

Anna laughed and applauded the man.

"That was lovely, Mattias." she said.

"Thank you." the Prince responded. "I have seen you dance, Anna, and I believe you will be a natural swordsman. I think that the best way to train you would be simply to spar."

"Wait, what?" Anna said. "This is the first time I've ever held a sword, and you want me to fight you?"

"Yes." Mattias replied. "I'll go easy on you. For now."

With that, the Prince flourished his sword before pointing it at Anna. She defensively raised her own weapon in response.

"Well, if you're sure..." she said apprehensively.

"Remember: give and take." Mattias said. "Watch my movements. Take note of any time I twitch or shift my weight. Look for the broadcast. Dance with me."

"I'll try." Anna responded. She was starting to feel the effects of the adrenaline that was beginning to flow through her veins. She could feel her heart beating in her chest and her nerves were firing like mad.

She adjusted her grip on the sword and watched Mattias. He didn't move a single muscle. Anna couldn't even see the rise and fall of his chest.

Suddenly, Mattias lunged forward and swung his sword at Anna's side. She closed her eyes in anticipation of the strike, but opened them when she heard the sound of wood making contact with something hard. Without even realizing it, she had raised her sword and successfully blocked Mattias' first attack.

WHUMP

Mattias had lashed out with his open palm and pushed Anna back hard while she was reveling in her small victory. Mattias jumped forward as the Princess fell to her back. She looked up to see him standing over her with the tip of his sword resting a hair's breadth away from the flesh of her neck.

"Do you yield?" the Prince asked. His voice was calm and even despite the fact that they were fighting.

"Ugh, yeah I yield." Anna said as she propped herself up on her elbows. "I thought you said you would go easy on me."

"Easy, yes." the Prince replied. He retracted his sword and offered a hand to the woman. "However, I'm not going to let you get away with making mistakes. Otherwise, you'll never improve."

Anna took the proffered hand and the Prince pulled her to her feet. She rubbed her now-sore backside and looked at the man with a frown.

"You could have just told me my mistake." she said as she shifted her attention to her throbbing chest. "That really hurt."

"I apologize for hurting you, but the best way to learn is through experience." Mattias replied. "The lessons here are never hesitate, never lose focus, and always expect the unexpected. Just because it's a sword fight doesn't mean that your opponent can't use his hands or draw another weapon."

"I'll keep that in mind." Anna answered.

"See to it that you do." the Prince exclaimed.

Anna took a breath and looked at the sword still in her hands. She kept re-living the way she blocked Mattias' attack over and over again. The pride she felt, though brief, was incredible.

"It felt good, didn't it?" Mattias said, snapping her out of her rumination.

"Yeah, it did." the Princess responded, eyes still on her sword.

"Well, I've got nothing on my schedule." Mattias said. "If you'd like, we can do this all day."

"I think I would like that." Anna answered with a grin. The Prince returned the smile.

"Excellent." he said. "Now, again."

Anna raised her sword once more. She wanted to feel the rush of blocking the attack again, and she was determined to not let Mattias get the best of her.

"Remember, stay focused, keep moving, and anticipate." Mattias recited before raising his own sword and shifting his stance.

Anna let out a long, slow breath and locked eyes with the Prince. She could feel her heartbeat again, but the intervals between the beats seemed to be getting longer, as if time itself was slowing. When Mattias lunged forward again, he seemed to move in slow motion.

Anna kept her eyes open this time and easily blocked the first attack. She notice Mattias' empty arm twitch, and sidestepped to avoid the same strike as before. The Prince's hand didn't connect, but he quickly spun his entire body around and swung his sword into Anna's now-exposed side.

"Aghh!" Anna yelled as she recovered from the blow. She grimaced and clasped her arm around the tender flesh.

Mattias withdrew his weapon and smiled at the woman.

"What's so funny?" Anna said through clenched teeth.

"That was much better." the Prince responded. "I was right about you. You're going to be very good at this eventually."

"But it only took one more attack than last time to hit me." Anna said despondently.

"That may be true, but you were able to see my strike coming." Mattias retorted. "You're a fast learner. Trust me, you will be an expert in no time at all."

Mattias raised his sword once more and adjusted his stance. Anna quickly mirrored his actions, planting her feet and slightly bending her knees. She mulled over the Prince's words and a new found confidence took root in her mind. A small grin formed on her face as she raised her sword to meet her opponent's.

Mattias returned the smile and lunged forward.

The sun had fully risen shortly after they began their training, filling the ballroom with light. Many hours later, the duo's shadows had grown longer and the room began to darken. After several more rounds of combat, the pair had moved on to strength training and calisthenics, followed by mental exercises designed to sharpen their focus. After an hour break for lunch, the pair made their way outside and had been climbing the castle walls and buildings for the better part of the afternoon. They then made their way back into the ballroom to finish the day's session with more sparring.

Princess Anna stepped backwards as she parried strike after strike from the Prince. They had been dueling for the better part of three hours, and she had yet to strike him. She was getting better, though, and each round was longer than the last. The current fight had been happening for almost ten minutes and she was running out of strength. Anna was surprised she had lasted this long, considering how much physical exertion she had undergone over the course of the day.

Anna was quickly nearing the wall of the ballroom and Mattias' attacks were relentless. She needed to do something fast before she was pinned. It was then she saw the sun, low in the sky, shining brightly through one of the many windows. The angle was perfect. If she were to spin the right way and lead Mattias into the sun's rays, the glare would blind him.

Mattias raised his sword to slash downward at her. Anna's heartbeat grew louder and stronger as he did, and once again, time seemed to slow. The Prince began to bring the sword downward ('far too slowly', she noted) and she made her move.

Anna spun right, dodging the slash and making sure the sun was directly behind her. Mattias recovered from his missed strike and spun to face her, only to recoil when the sun shone right into his wide-open eyes.

'This is it!' Anna thought. She spun her body around, putting her full weight into what would be the final blow.

"Rrrraahhh!" she growled as she swung the sword. To her surprise, however, she didn't make contact with the Prince. It was already too late to do anything when she realized that he had dropped to his knees. Mattias lashed out with his leg, and swept Anna off her feet.

"Oomph!" she said as she hit the floor with a thud. Before she knew it, she saw the all too familiar sight of Mattias' sword pointed at her neck.

"Do... you … yield?" he said through heavy breathes.

Anna stared at the man. She hadn't won, but if his heavy, erratic breathing was any indication, she had put him through his paces. She smiled at the realization.

"Yes," Anna replied. "I yield."

Mattias' sword fell ungracefully to his side and he helped Anna back to her feet. She then took a moment to reflect.

She was bruised, sore, tired, and sweaty. Her arms were numb and her hands were shaking. Her hair was a mess, and her shirt was stained slightly crimson. She still tasted the copper in her mouth from one particularly nasty hit.

Yet despite the physical discomfort she was feeling, Anna was ecstatic. Sure she was tired and sore, but it was a good tired, one she earned. She felt proud of herself, despite not hitting Mattias once. She gave it her all, and that made her feel good.

"I was right about you." the Prince declared. "You're going to be better than me soon if you keep improving at this pace."

"And sure, you didn't win, but you kept up with me." he continued. "I've been doing this since I was twelve. You've been doing this for a few hours. You're a natural-born swordsman!"

Anna let out a short laugh. She could tell the compliment was genuine, and that made her pride swell even more.

"Thank you," she finally answered, bowing her head slightly and smiling as she did. "but it's only because I have such a good teacher."

Mattias returned the grin and winked at her.

"Well, we better go get cleaned up." he said. "Dinner is soon, and I doubt your sister would appreciate it if we showed up like this."

Anna laughed as the Prince gestured at his disheveled appearance.

"I think you're right." she responded. "I'll see you at dinner, then."

The pair walked to the threshold of the ballroom and exited. Before they went their separate ways, Anna leaned over placed a light kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you, Mattias." she said. "This was a lot of fun."

"You're very welcome." the Prince responded warmly. "Also, I think we can postpone our excursion into town until tomorrow evening. I would say that we've earned a night off"

"Alright, I don't think I'll have the energy to climb and jump anyway." Anna replied.

With that, the two headed to their respective quarters in order to prepare for dinner.

"Urgh, why won't you cooperate?"

Queen Elsa growled in frustration as she tried for the fourth time to braid her platinum blonde hair. She slowly twisted each length of hair together, over and under, back and forth. After reaching the end, she tied the braid off and studied it in the mirror. She frowned when she noticed a misstep midway down the braid.

"Ugh, I give up!" she said, untying the knot and throwing her hands up in annoyance. She placed her elbows on her vanity and propped her head up in her hands. The Queen stared at herself in the mirror, eyes full of disdain. It was then she noticed the frost that was forming around the edges of her reflection as if it were framing her displeasure. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and tried to coax her magic to disperse.

Elsa concentrated on the one thing that always calmed her down. She imagined Anna, sword in hand, standing at her side like a valiant knight. A small smile crept onto her face and she heard the frost hiss as it evaporated.

Her reverie was interrupted when she felt warm hands run through her still unkempt hair. She jumped and her eyes jolted open, only to see Anna's face smiling back at her in the surface of the mirror. Elsa returned the smile and closed her eyes as the Princess continued to massage her scalp.

The younger woman's hands moved diligently and before long Elsa's hair was braided in her trademark style. The Queen opened her eyes when the movement stopped and saw that her hair was once again tame. She tilted her head back to look up at her sister.

"Thank you, Anna." she said. "It wasn't listening to me."

"You're welcome." Anna giggled and leaned down to place a quick kiss on Elsa's lips.

"Anna, I need to say something, but before I do, you know that I love you no matter what, right?" Elsa asked after her sister retreated.

"Of course." Anna responded, worry seeping into her features. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong, darling." Elsa replied.

"Then what is it?"

"Anna," Elsa smiled. "you smell terrible."

"What? I smell terr- oh!" Anna jumped back as her cheeks began to blush. "I'm so sorry! I was training all day with Mattias and I must have gotten dirtier and sweatier than I thought, of course I did we were training for hours! And it's almost dinner, and I'm a complete mess and I'm-"

Anna stopped talking mid thought as she noticed audible laughter coming from the Queen as she continued to stair at her in the mirror. Anna's brow furrowed and she flicked her sister's braid, which swung around Elsa's head to strike her nose.

"Sorry, sorry." Elsa said as she tried to stifle her laughter. "It's not that bad, honestly."

Elsa finally stood up and turned towards the Princess with the intention of hugging her. The smile on her face was replaced with shock and concern, however, when she finally took in Anna's appearance.

"Anna, what happened to you?" she asked, voice laced with worry. "Is that blood?!"

"What?" Anna responded. She looked down at her blouse which was still stained crimson from earlier. "Oh, that. Yeah, it's blood."

"Oh, Anna!" Elsa cried before rushing over to her sister. She quickly brought her hands to Anna's face, searching her skin for wounds. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, really." she answered. "Mattias accidentally hit me in the mouth and I cut my lip. It's no big deal, it doesn't even hurt! Plus the bleeding stopped hours ago."

"What? Anna, if you're going to keep getting hurt like this I don't think you should-"

"Elsa, I'm fine. Really." Anna interrupted. "It was a lot of fun, actually, and Mattias says I'm really good at it!"

Anna grasped her older sister's hands, gently pulling them away from her face and holding them between their bodies.

"I want to keep training with him." she said gently. "I want... well... to be able to protect myself; to be able to protect us."

Elsa winced slightly. Anna couldn't have known about Viggo's letter; about whatever danger might have been lurking.

"What do we need protection from, Anna?" she asked, feigning ignorance.

"I don't know..." Anna shrugged her shoulders as her lips bent into a frown. "What if another Hans comes along? Or another Duke of Weselton? Or worse?"

She released the Queen's hands and began to pace around the room.

"You can defend yourself with your magic, but I don't have magic, and there will be times when we're not together. Sure, we have guards and soldiers and whoever to keep us safe, but what if they're not around either? I just... I don't know."

Elsa frowned at her sister's anxiety. She silently thanked the gods that Anna didn't know what she knew. It would be a terrible burden to bare, especially after what had happened so many months ago.

"Anna, is this about-"

"I trusted him, Elsa!" Anna cut her off with fury in her voice. "I trusted him, and he tried to kill us! How can I ever really trust anyone ever again?"

Elsa saw the tears forming in her younger sister's brilliantly expressive eyes. There was so much pain and anger shimmering behind the rapidly-forming moisture. More than anything, however, there was guilt.

The Queen immediately took Anna into her arms and held her tightly as she began to sob into her shoulder. Elsa gently rubbed her sister's hair as each sob sent a tremor through her body.

"Shh. It's alright, Anna." the older woman cooed. "He can't hurt you anymore. No one will ever hurt you again, I won't let them. I promise."

Anna nodded into her sister's shoulder.

"You can trust me, my love, and I trust you." Elsa continued. "I trust you to make your own decisions, and if you think you need to learn to fight for our safety, then I won't stop you. I promise."

Elsa kept her sister in her arms for a few more minutes, silently waiting for the Princess to calm down. Her fingers drew circles on Anna's back as her other hand slipped through copper hair. Eventually the sobs stopped and Anna was able to speak.

"I'm sorry, Elsa." she whispered sadly. "I'm sorry for everything. I should have listened to you that night."

"You don't have to apologize, Anna." Elsa retorted. "I don't blame you for anything. Hans would have tried to hurt us one way or another. The only thing you're guilty of is being a good person, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that."

"I know," Anna wiped her nose and sniffled. "but, I just- I just feel so stupid. How could I let that happen?"

"He took advantage of your kindness, Anna." the Queen responded. "You are not stupid."

"I don't know..." Anna said as her eyes looked to the ground.

"Come on, Anna." Elsa said as she grabbed her sister's face to force their eyes to meet. "You are not stupid, not even a little, and I want you to believe that. Now say it. 'I'm not stupid'."

"I'm not stupid..." Anna muttered.

"Louder, darling. Make me believe that you believe."

"I'm not stupid. I am NOT stupid." Anna said loudly as anger returned to her eyes. "I am not stupid! Hans is stupid for thinking that he could do that to us. I am not the stupid one, he is!"

"There you go, Anna." the older woman said with a smile. "Do you feel better now?"

"Yeah, I do." Anna replied and kissed the Queen's cool lips. "Thank you, Elsa."

"You are very welcome, my love." Elsa responded. "Now let's get you cleaned up for dinner."

"Ooh, will you scrub my back?!" Anna asked excitedly.

"Of course, my love." Elsa giggled and gestured towards the bathroom.

"Anything for you."

A/N

Hey folks. Sorry for the delay. Life's gotten pretty shitty lately and finding time to write has been difficult.. As I said previously, one of my very close relatives was diagnosed with cancer recently. She just had surgery and it went well, but the cancer spread to her lymph nodes, which isn't good news.

On top of that, another family member passed away in her sleep last night at the incredible age of 97. Crazy, huh?

I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I feel the need to justify the delay. I'll have the next chapter out by Wednesday at the latest, I promise.

Thanks for sticking around, everyone. You're the best.

-Cosmic