Author's Note: 702 hundred reviews! That is awesome guys! Now after quite a lot of chapters on Hiccup and Elsa, it is time for Anna to shine in the spotlight! And some other characters.

Chapter 18 – Conspiracies and Consequences

The ride or in their case, flight back to the castle was a silent one. Anna didn't mind however, as it was the good kind of silence. The silent and calm flight was just as enjoyable as their initial adrenaline-fueled flight. It also gave her the time to think and process today's experience.

The day started quite badly, no thanks to the Viking King's attitude. Thankfully however, it was handled soon enough and the two monarchs were on good terms. After that, well, Anna didn't know much about Hiccup to make judgments about him. However, it seemed that Elsa liked Hiccup well enough to invite him to her ice castle!

That was a huge step. Elsa's ice castle was a very private place and so far, only Anna and Kristoff were the only people allowed there. Well, Kristoff had asked Elsa's permission for other ice harvesters to use it during emergency. Elsa allowed it but both Royal Sisters doubted that there will be any emergencies that would require her ice castle.

Really, the ice castle was located on top of a mountain. Who the heck would climb mountains during emergencies? Well, normal emergencies might not apply but abnormal ones such as deluge, war, or just about anything that was really, really horrible can be considered. Or running away from a country when one had a power breakdown can be considered as well.

Anna always wondered how in the world Elsa had managed to went to the top of the mountain without problem...or a sled.

Anyway, thinking about today's experience made Anna feel giddy, happy and most importantly proud. Anna was proud of her sister for being able to handle the supposedly 'barbaric, evil, uncompromising' Viking King. But most of all, Anna was proud of herself.

To be more specific, she was proud of her contribution for the day. After all, without her, Elsa would not have talk sense into Hiccup and the whole day would have gone badly. Without Anna, Elsa might have been a little bit clueless on where to bring Hiccup for the tour of the town. Without the Princess, the Snow Queen might not have flown with the Viking King.

So really, the reason why this whole day went so well was because of her, the Princess or the 'spare'.

It was not to say that Anna was a prideful person and that she would brag what she had accomplished. Oh no, it wasn't like that at all! It was just that, it was rare for Anna to able to help her sister. Elsa had done so much for her. She had protected Anna in expense of her own happiness for 13 years! She also allowed Anna to continue her relationship with Kristoff and much more.

In their relationship, Anna had been 'taking', a lot. She realized that. It was rare for Anna to be able to 'give' in return, especially something as life changing as today. And that feeling of giving something and seeing the positive result firsthand was…amazing, priceless.

Anna smiled.

Little did she know, that feeling would turn on itself.

...

It was already dark and yet the Princess and Queen of Arendelle hasn't return to the Royal Castle. For Frederik Harvar, this should be a cause of great worry. However, he wasn't worried, only annoyed. He wished they would be back already so that he wouldn't have to wait for them for so long.

'Another 30 minutes, I guess?' Frederik thought while he repeatedly tapped the pommel of his sword.

And so Frederik decided to spend the time by thinking about the one thing that was more important than his life, his duty towards Arendelle.

Frederik Harvar was Arendelle's General of the Army and it was his duty to protect Arendelle from threats, inside and out. Truth to be told, outside threats were easy. The worst situation that could happen would be war and Frederik wasn't really worried about that. War was something that he could manage. If he couldn't, he wouldn't be the General after all.

It was the inside threats that were hard as they need to be handled differently. He couldn't use the usual sword and shield method of dealing with outside threats but instead he must use the cloak and daggers method. It wasn't that Frederik couldn't play dirty. Oh, he could assassinate people just as well as he could fight them to the death.

It was just that he didn't want to. Unfortunately, most of the time he had to.

Frederik could handle normal inside threats well enough and according to his own standards, he did a great job so far. After all, he was the reason why there wasn't any revolt against the Queen. All this time, Elsa thought the people of Arendelle were saints because they didn't demand her to be burned like a witch.

Oh, that wasn't true. If only Elsa could hear what those rotten apples had wanted to do to her. Fortunately for the Queen, she doesn't have to.

Unfortunately, Elsa herself would pose a threat to Arendelle in the future.

Her powers had made her too powerful in the eyes of the world leaders. The Snow Queen wasn't someone that they could turn ignore even if they wanted to. And so, if they can't have her, they will destroy her, even if it meant Arendelle was in the way. Frederik could handle wars, but that doesn't mean that he could win all of them, especially not when the whole world might unite against you.

Thus, to prevent that risk, Elsa would have to be removed before that could happen.

But that brought up another problem, namely, the Royal Princess Anna. Once Elsa was gone, she would take the throne, except that she wasn't fit to be a Queen yet. Sure, she was a people's person, even more so than Elsa. If there was a popularity contest, she would probably win in the social department. However, she was also impulsive, ignorant of the consequences of her actions and tend to lack common sense.

It was those...flaws that had almost destroy Arendelle during the Great Freeze and not Elsa's powers.

Oh, Frederik had prepared for years along with the late King on how to manage Elsa should she lose control of her powers. As for Anna, he did not prepare a contingency plan to deal with her mostly because he did not think it was required for her. Well, clearly he was wrong. Clearly, the whims of a teenager was more dangerous than a young adult with magical powers.

Anna had completely caught him of guard with her actions that people with common sense wouldn't do. She tried to marry someone she just met for the first time and lo, she had to pick the rotten one. Then she went after her sister alone, leaving him to hold the castle instead of going after Elsa.

The General scowled. All those years of planning were almost derailed by a wildcard that he and the others thought were harmless.

And if that wasn't enough, she decided to hook up with a mountain man. It wouldn't be so bad if said mountain man didn't liked his reindeer more than people and have some clue on how to run a country. Coupled with Anna's own abysmal country ruling skills and you would get a recipe for disaster. Frederik and the others had hoped that Anna's choice of husband would at least be decent. However, it seemed even that was too much to hope for.

'If only Hans weren't rotten,' Frederik thought.

Frederik sighed and he took out a golden pocket watch. The watch has the inscription of his name on the back and a portrait of himself on the inside. Frederik glared at the device for a moment, as if it was the cause of all the problems in his life. He clicked his tongue and opened the watch to look at the time.

It was 8.30 p.m. and it was past the Royal Princesses' dinnertime. He wasn't worried, only annoyed.

Frederik snorted as he closed the watch. He was like an annoyed father waiting to discipline his children that came back home from a late outdoor session.

That wasn't far from the truth actually. Frederik was appointed by the late King to be the Royal Sisters' godfather, which according to the General, was a bad idea. But the late King and Queen thought otherwise.

'And you thought that they would know better,' Frederik shook his head.

The General sighed and rubbed his temples. He already has a country to worry about. Making him their godfather could make him attached and that would be bad. That was why he didn't have any children. Attachments would only slow him down. As such, the General rarely stepped in the role that was entrusted to him and he appear more as a distant and somewhat grumpy uncle that rarely exercised his rights as a guardian.

And because of that, it made him partly responsible and at fault for Anna's behavior. Even with Anna's shenanigans that most parents would consider extreme and unacceptable, Frederik rarely scold her in place of her father. And that made Anna tend to disregard the consequences of her actions.

To be fair, her parents rarely scold her as well. Raise a child without punishment for his wrong doings and he would think that he could do no wrong.

Now he has to rectify that mistake before Anna took over Arendelle, which, according to the plan, Frederik and the others have almost a year to do so.

'Not much time left. Damn, I should have acted a lot sooner,' Frederik thought.

"Sir! It seems that the Princess has returned!" one of his guards told him. Frederik then turned his attention to the sky and sure enough, the silhouette of a four winged dragon could be seen. However, the black dragon that was carrying the Queen was nowhere in sight. That would mean two things; King Hiccup and Elsa might be late or they might went somewhere else, probably the Ice Castle.

Instantly, the gears in his mind began to turn and the General grinned. Frederik hoped that it was the latter, because it might just provide him with the perfect opportunity to further his plan.

…

When they arrived at the castle garden, Anna couldn't find the Viking twins. That would mean they have either returned to their ship or were waiting for them inside. However, she did found the General and Arendelle's guards. Anna had expected for the General to look grumpy but much to her surprise, the General...grinned?

It was so out of character for him that Anna had to shook her head to make sure that she didn't imagined it. When she looked at the General again, the grin had disappeared. She didn't have time to ponder about it however as Fafnir the dragon touched the ground. Anna and Kristoff then quickly got off before the Princess looked up to the Sigurd.

"Thanks for the ride! Join us for dinner!" Anna offered.

Sigurd smiled. "I need to return Fafnir to the ship first and get the twins,"

"How do you know the twins are at the ship?" Anna asked.

"They might not even be there," Sigurd shrugged. "If they're inside your castle, tell them to stay put until I come,"

Anna grinned. "Alright. I'll send a messenger to notify you when it's time,"

Sigurd nodded and he motioned for Fafnir fly again. With a single flap of its four wings and a push from its legs, the dragon took off to the sky. A few seconds later and the dragon was gone.

"Phew! What a day!" Anna said and Kristoff nodded. He was about to speak when someone beat him to it.

"Where's the Queen?" Frederik asked behind Anna, causing her to go stiff. Anna didn't instantly turn to face the General. Instead, she took a deep breath and steeled herself before facing Frederik. Anna had already prepared herself for this situation in her mind.

'Relax, relax! It's only the General! Your uncle!' Anna told herself.

In her mind, she would told the General what had happened and he would predictably get angry and stuff. Anna would then use her Princess authority to prevent Frederik from butting in Elsa's and Hiccup's moment and then that's all to it. The General won't be able to do anything about it and the worse that Anna would get was just some complaints from the General. Even then Anna doesn't have to listen to it.

'Just a slap on the wrist!' Anna thought confidently.

When Anna faced the General, he had his arms crossed and a furious look on his face that could make grown men cower. It also reminded Anna of her father when he was really angry.

In that moment, Anna was reminded that even though she was the Princess and Frederik was just the General, the man still held a degree of authority over her and even Elsa the Queen.

It was the authority of a father figure. And right now, what had happened wasn't something a father figure would like.

Unfortunately, had Frederik Harvar stepped in that role more frequently after the King's death, Anna wouldn't think that all she could get was just a slap on the wrist.

"Elsa and Hiccup is at the ice castle," Anna said bravely. Kristoff realized this and hold her hand and gave it a squeeze for support.

Frederik narrowed his eyes. "And when will they be coming back to the castle?"

"I think they will have dinner there. They might return to the castle or they might spend the night there," Anna replied.

Frederik sighed and rubbed his temple. "And why aren't you there with her?"

"I don't want to interrupt them," replied Anna.

Frederik was silent for a moment before he glared at Anna. "And do you think that is a good idea?"

To Anna's own surprise, she hesitated. Why would she hesitate? Before this, she was damn sure that it was a good idea. Heck it was the best! Now however, she wasn't so sure. Still, she decided to stand by her decision.

"Yes,"

"And why is that?" Frederik asked.

"Because I believe that Elsa can take care of herself should anything happens and I believe that Hiccup is a good person," Anna answered confidently and proudly.

Frederik was silent again and it was maddening for the Princess. To her, it was just as effective, if not, more in breaking her will and confidence than words.

For Anna, silence was rarely a good thing. Anna's parents had realized that the silent treatment was a more effective form of punishment for her. Of course, this was rarely enforced as Elsa's own silent treatment was bad enough for Anna.

"Well?" Anna challenged.

"I ask you again, do you really think that it is a good idea?" Frederik asked again.

Anna hesitated again but her answer was the same. "Yes, I trust the both of them. I trust that they won't do anything immoral and that Elsa can take care of herself,"

Frederik's sighed and he shook his head in disappointment. "Ah, yes, you trust the both of them. You trust the Viking King whom you've met only today and even then you hardly spent any time with him. Need I remind you that you've spent more time with Hans and yet how did that turn out?"

Hearing that caused Anna's face to become red. In her mind, she never thought that her uncle would use her past against her.

Kristoff also thought the same. "Woah there! Let's not open old wounds! Besides, this is about Elsa, not Anna,"

Frederik glared at Kristoff, causing the mountain-man to flinch. "This has everything to do with Anna!" the General said through clenched teeth. "All of this is because of her! All because she refused think!"

"Excuse me?!" Anna said angrily. Frederik turn his attention to her and didn't back down.

"That's right, you don't think! You just act on your feelings," Frederik claimed.

"I did think! I know that Elsa and the Viking King can be trusted!" Anna countered.

"You trust Elsa who have little to no experience in romance and intimacy. She is just like you when you met Hans," Frederik replied.

Anna clenched her hands into fists. "Elsa isn't like…like me! She knows better!" It was a hard statement to make but Anna have accepted that Elsa would always be better than her.

Frederik narrowed his eyes. "She is still a human. A human that lacked romantic and sexual experience and that makes her vulnerable,"

"Elsa is not that weak! She wasn't easily swayed by the other suitors before! And this one will be the same!" Anna countered.

"I agree with Anna, Elsa is a sensible person," Kristoff tried to support Anna only for Frederik to glare at him, daring him to interfere again. Kristoff involuntarily gulped.

"Have you forgotten that Hans fooled you by acting as the perfect Prince Charming? Your experience with Hans has made Elsa wary of the usual Princes that come to court her,' Frederik explained.

In Anna's mind, it was true. King Hiccup was completely different from the standard fare of Princes and Dukes that came for Elsa. However, that doesn't mean that King Hiccup has evil intentions like Hans.

"King Hiccup isn't like Hans! He isn't a deceiver!" Anna claimed.

"And how would you know? Have you spent years dealing with thieves, liars and murderers to know one? You only had one experience and you think you've known them all?" Frederik challenged and Anna was fuming.

"I don't have to! I know-" Anna was cut off by Frederik who raised a hand to stop her.

"Stop. The fact that you think like that shows how naïve you are. And foolish as well," Frederik said.

Anna pursed her lips. "Well I don't care what you think!" she said and wanted to storm inside but Frederik stopped her with a slap, surprising Anna and Kristoff.

The sound echoed throughout the gardens and silence followed soon after.

Anna was so shocked that she didn't even turn her face towards Frederik. The pain stung so much that her eyes began to tear. Never in her whole life had anybody slapped her. Not even her father.

Kristoff wanted to interfere but Frederik had anticipated this.

"If you know what's good for her, you'll stay out of this," Frederik warned. Kristoff wanted to argue but Frederik didn't give him a chance.

"And that's your problem Anna. You don't care or think about the negative consequences that could come from your actions," Frederik continue. "You wanted to marry Hans the first day you met him! What do you think would happen had Elsa allowed it?"

Anna's eyes widened as she remembered what Hans' plans were.

"I figured after we were married, I would have to stage a little accident for Elsa," Hans said.

That wasn't fair. How could she knew what Hans were planning? Before Hans, her opinion of princes were colored by fairy tales and romance books.

"And then after Elsa revealed her powers and ran to the mountains, what did you do?" Frederik asked the question that everybody knew the answer for. "You went after her, alone,"

"But then she doomed herself and you were dumb enough to go after her," Hans continued.

Elsa had also scolded her on that part. She should have taken a guard along with her.

"You were lucky that you came across Oaken and Kristoff. If not you would have died! What do you think would happen should Elsa know that you were dead because of her, hmm?"

Elsa would most likely freeze the whole world and it will be her fault.

"You were extremely lucky, Anna. But how long are you going to depend on luck? Have you ever wondered about the consequences of your actions when luck wasn't a factor?" Frederik pressed on.

"You left Elsa alone with a stranger, "Frederik pointed towards the ice castle. "We wouldn't even dare to leave her alone with a blind cripple that has a rusty blunt knife. But you, you left her alone with a skilled warrior that has a dragon with him! And you dare think that he couldn't harm Elsa?"

Anna's optimism died like a candle whose flame was blown by the wind. The logic part of Anna, the one that wasn't clouded by her desire agreed with the General.

"I…but Hiccup…wouldn't," Anna tried to say.

"What if you were wrong? Have you ever thought about that?" Frederik cut her down. "What if the Viking King had wanted to invade Arendelle all along? You've just given him the best chance to take out the only person that could stop them!"

Anna's eyes widened again as her mind imagined the scenario of Elsa lying in a puddle of blood in her ice castle. Her eyes were open and staring at her accusingly. Then, dragons began to swarm Arendelle.

And it will be her fault.

"And honestly, that's the most merciful thing that could happen to her. Maybe the Viking King doesn't want war but he just want your sister as conquest. If she was willing, then that wouldn't be so bad. But what if she wasn't and the Viking King had his way with her?"

Her imagination went wild again and this time, it was crueler than the last.

Elsa looked fine when she returned from the ice castle. However, once the Vikings had left and when Elsa was in closed doors only then she revealed that she was broken. She didn't want to be touched and she would have nightmares that was even worse than when she had hurt Anna.

Anna's heart tightened at that. She could imagine the backlash that could come from it.

"You have a man that loves you! Me?! Who could love me after this?!" Elsa screamed at her.

"N-no!" Anna instinctively said and she hugged herself. That wasn't what she wanted!

"Oh I'm not finished, Anna. What would happen if Elsa were to get pregnant, hmm? Do you think that she would go with the abortion? Knowing Elsa, she wouldn't. What if the Viking King didn't want anything to do with Elsa and the child after that? Then, you would have a fatherless child on your conscience. Can you live with yourself then?" Frederik pushed on.

"Mama, why is Auntie Elsa's child doesn't have a father like I do?"

Anna could imagine her child asking her that question. Would she be that cruel? To condemn a child to a life like that while hers would still have their father? No, Anna wouldn't. She couldn't. And to think that all of it could happen because of her naïve desire to help her sister.

That revelation was too much for Anna and her knees dropped to the garden floor. "No! No!"

"Hey, hey! Don't you think that you're blowing this out of proportion?!" Kristoff grabbed the General's shirt and challenged his stare.

The General did not flinch. "If you have a daughter, would you leave her alone with a stranger?" Frederik asked calmly.

Kristoff's eyes widened. "I-I,"

"I thought so," Frederik finished for him. "And it is my duty to overthink situations like these. In fact, it is the duty of those that are responsible for the lives of many to think far ahead and worry for the worst outcome. What's the worst that you have to worry about, Kristoff Bjorgman? Your next meal? Your reindeer?!"

"I…" Kristoff suddenly found that he couldn't look the General in the eye. His grip slackened and the General slapped his hands away before turning his attention at Anna.

"Anna, look at me," Frederik said and Anna weakly looked up at him.

"You are not a fairytale princess that could do no wrong. Your actions will have consequences. You were just lucky that things turn out for the best. But what if it didn't? Can you live with the outcome?" Frederik said and Anna turned her gaze away.

"You're not a princess whose duty is to only wait for her prince and provide heir. Just because Elsa is the Queen it doesn't mean that you have little to no responsibility," Frederik continued and this time, he turn his gaze at Kristoff.

"And you," Frederik caught Kristoff's attention. "Anna isn't a peasant that doesn't have any strings attached to her. She has a burden, namely Arendelle. To be with her means that you have to share that burden. Even if you marry her and the highest title you could gain is the King Consort, it doesn't mean that you can just…freeload,"

"I know that!" Kristoff said angrily at what the General had implied.

"Do you?!" Frederik countered and it was his turn to grab Kristoff's shirt. "What can you provide for Arendelle in return? Ice?! In a kingdom ruled by the Snow Queen?! If it weren't for Elsa's good will, you would have been made insignificant!"

Kristoff's tongue failed him. Not that he has anything to say in his defense.

"Royal Ice Master and Deliverer?! A title specially made for you because of your connection to the Princess?! Don't make me laugh!" Frederik said released his grip.

"What else can you provide, hmm? A child?" Frederik snorted. "And even THAT wouldn't worth much, especially when paired with Anna,"

Kristoff fumed and rage bubbled within him. The General had put him into place but enough was enough! He could only saw red when he delivered a punch at the General.

Only to find that the General had skillfully grabbed it and twist Kristoff's hand behind him painfully. Kristoff screamed in pain but the General silenced him with his next word.

"There's a good reason why the council doesn't like you. And it wasn't because you weren't a noble or rich. Oh no," Frederik shook his head. "We didn't care about that. Hell, we would have preferred a farm boy over you. Do you know why?"

Kristoff didn't answer. He didn't want to give the General that satisfaction.

"Because even a farm boy would realize how lucky he is to be able to court the Princess. And he would do everything that he could to improve himself, so that he would be worthy of not only the Princess but also the people that she is responsible for. In the past two years, what have you done to improve yourself, ice harvester?" Frederik said before he twist Kristoff around and pushed him, causing the mountain man to fall on his bottom while facing the General.

"Your social skills is still comparable to an ape. And to think that you're going to be a public figure along with Elsa and Anna. You are going to represent Arendelle to the world and yet, after two years you could still embarrass them in front of foreign powers with your brutish etiquette," Frederik glared at Kristoff.

Kristoff could only glare in defiance and balled his hands into fists.

"I'm not asking you to change what you are completely. I'm asking you to improve. You might not care about what others think about you, but honestly, you won't have that luxury if you are serious about Anna. It won't be just about you anymore, Kristoff Bjorgman. Think about that," Frederik said and turned his attention back to Anna.

"And this isn't just about you Anna. Is your desire to help Elsa truly for her sake? Or are you doing this just to make yourself feel useful?" Frederik questioned.

Anna's eyes widened before she looked away. Frederik sighed before he walked away from the wrecked pair.

...

Silence followed after the General's departure for a moment, but it felt like an eternity to Kristoff.

'What the heck was that?!' Kristoff thought and punched the ground. It all escalated too quickly for the ice harvester. Everything was fine until the General decided to explode on them!

'That was uncalled for!' Kristoff thought again. However, he couldn't deny that the General was right in everything, especially about him.

It wasn't fair to say that Kristoff didn't do anything to improve. He did! He tried his best to fit in! He had learned everything about royal etiquette and stuff!

'But it wasn't enough! When will it be enough?!' Kristoff thought angrily.

"I shouldn't have left Elsa alone…" Anna said weakly, breaking Kristoff out of his thoughts. "I just – I thought I was doing something nice for her!"

In that instant, Kristoff's anger and self-doubt dissipated as the desire to comfort Anna dominated his being. The ice harvester then went to hug her. "Come on feisty pants, it's not your fault," Kristoff tried.

"It is my fault! Everything is my fault!" Anna said and in a surprising burst of strength, broke free of Kristoff's embrace. "I have to go to Elsa!"

Anna only spared him a glance before she ran off to somewhere.

"Wha?" Kristoff was dumbstruck for a moment before he shook his head. "Anna, wait!" The ice harvester quickly went after her, hoping that she would not do something dangerous again.

Author's Note: Well that escalated quickly.

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