Chapter 19 - Uninvited Guests

Anna Penrose sat in the front room of her old-fashioned house, relaxing for the first time in many weeks. The past few weeks had been very busy for the young redhead. She'd finally finished her book and had sent it off to her publisher, as well as finally getting round to redecorating her house.

She'd decided to decorate the walls of her house in the style of the interior of Elsa's castle, to sort of bring a little of the past back to the future with her. So far she'd replaced most of the walls and carpets, but she knew there was still a little bit more to do.

But today she was resting, relaxing, unwinding from it all. As she stared at the ring on her finger, she was reminded that in a few weeks she would no longer be a simple ditsy girl from Montana, but the bride to the beautiful queen of Arendelle.

Elsa had finally gotten around to setting their wedding date, just over a month from now. In that time, so many things would be prepared. From their outfits, to the decor, to the songs that would be played during the ceremony. So much to plan, but Elsa had assured Anna she would get it done.

As Anna rested on her chair, she thought about thankful she was for all the things that had come into her strange little life ever since she had moved into this rickety old house. It wasn't rickety anymore though. After all, after they were married, Anna and Elsa would probably want to start a family and that family would need a place to live.

Rapunzel and Cassandra had clearly left an impact on them. They'd gotten a few letters every now and then from them, most from Rapunzel giving them baby bump updates. While the whole situation was still a bit of a surprise, Anna knew Cass and Rapunzel would be good mothers.

However, as Anna was letting herself be to her thoughts, she heard a loud banging at her front door. Sitting forward, a confused look formed on Anna's face. She wasn't exactly expecting any deliveries or visitors today, so who could it be.

Heading to the hall of her house, Anna then unlocked her front door, opening it to reveal her mystery visitor.

The visitor, it turned out, was a young woman around Anna's age. She wore a green shirt and grey pants, but her most distinctive feature was her frizzy ginger hair that looked like a mess dropped onto her head. Once she saw Anna, the stranger practically beamed with joy.

"Anna!" She exclaimed in a thick Scottish accent. "Thank goodness it's you. I thought I had the wrong house."

Anna giggled, recognising her visitor immediately. "Hey Merida, long time no see huh," she greeted her. Standing to one side, she allowed the young woman into her house.

Merida was Anna's cousin, the two of them having grown up together in Dunbroch. In fact, her family was the ones who had founded the town over a hundred years ago, hence Merida's accent.

As the frizzy redhead looked around, she was thoroughly impressed. "Figures that a history nerd like Ye would make her home in the palace of Versailles," she remarked. "Gotta say, I'm a wee bit jealous."

"You should be," Anna admitted. "Cost me and my folks a pretty penny." She then shut the door behind her. "So what brings you to my neck of the woods? Last I heard, you were overseas in Europe, training for the Olympics."

"Still am," Merida hinted. "My skills with a bow have never been better, but my current training camp here is only a few miles away... So I figured I'd pop round and give my favourite cousin a visit."

Once Merida had made herself comfortable and Anna had made them both a cup of earl grey tea (a favourite of Elsa's that she had picked up on), the two of them were sat down in Anna's front room.

"So..." Merida remarked as she sipped her drink. "Lottie and Tia finally opened that restaurant huh?"

"Yup!" Anna confirmed. "I've been there a few times. Tiana's cooking is just as good as ever."

"On your own or..." Merida then smirked. "It's just I bumped into your friend Kristina on the way here and she told me that you were engaged."

Anna flushed bright red, hiding the engagement ring on her finger. "W-who me? Married? No, that's just crazy. You must be thinking of some other strawberry blonde." She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

Merida laughed. Anna couldn't fool her that easily. She'd known her long enough to be able to tell that she was lying.

Sighing, Anna then realised the jig was indeed up. "Okay fine, you got me." She then showed off her beautiful ring, the diamond on her finger sparkling in the light.

Gasping, Merida looked closely at Anna's ring, taking Anna's hand in her own. After ogling Anna's ring for a few seconds, she beamed. "My gosh. Lassie, this is one beautiful ring... who's the lucky girl?"

"Her name is Elsa," Anna informed Merida. "We met not long after I moved here. She's the kindest, warmest soul you'll ever meet... and in a few weeks, I'll be her wife."

"Maybe I'll be able to make it to the wedding," Merida replied. "I've got at least two more months of training here before I gotta prepare for the games in the summer."

"Actually, Meri, Elsa and I want our wedding to be a private affair," Anna explained. "So... you might not be able to come... I can totally send you pictures though!"

"That would be more than enough for me, Lassie," Merida agreed, before finishing up her earl grey tea. "So... wanna go out back and watch me fire arrows all over your yard? Just like the good old days?"

"I'll do you one better," Anna replied. "I'll set up some coke cans for you to do target practice. I'm always looking for a good use to recycle."

"Oh, you're a true lass, Anna, a true lass," Merida chirped, the two girls sharing a hearty giggle before they spent the rest of the afternoon together.

xXx

Meanwhile in 19th century Arendelle, Queen Elsa was working in her study, going through the various details of her upcoming wedding. Normally, she would be stressed as hell while working on her royal duties, but since she was planning the big day of her and Anna, she was happy to work for once.

She had been going over designs for what would possibly be hers and Anna's wedding dresses. Various dressmakers from all over the world had volunteered their services, which Elsa was very thankful for. With every design she saw, she imagined either herself or Anna wearing it.

Anna would naturally be the blushing bride, and Elsa would also be a bride, but in place of the groom. She knew that Anna, now being the beautiful princess, deserved to be walking down the aisle towards her, wearing a beautiful white dress.

Or it could be green, or even pink. Anna hadn't really decided and Elsa was only going through the designs right now. She knew her dress would be blue or silver. Both of those weren't the traditional white and she knew it was bad to upstage Anna.

But as she was working, Elsa found her thoughts troubled. She kept coming back to Prince Hans, the man who had insulted her and Anna. She knew they would have opponents to their marriage, but Elsa didn't care, but she did worry.

Especially if Hans was an opponent of their relationship with very powerful friends. Powerful friends that if they put their mind to it, would do anything to prevent their love from prospering. But they would doubt Elsa's power. She was Queen of Arendelle and Arendelle had one of the largest armies in the entire world.

She tried to go back to her wedding planning, trying to focus away from the negative and focus on the positive. Conceal, don't feel was her motto after all. However, as she finished looking at a drawing for a potential dress suit for herself, there was a knock at her study door.

Elsa sighed. I thought I told the servants I didn't wish to be disturbed, she groaned in her thoughts. "Come in!" She called.

The door to her chamber opened up and Kai, the royal steward, stepped in through the doorway. "Pardon the interruption, my queen, but... you have a visitor who wishes to see you."

"Tell my visitor that I'm busy planning my wedding," Elsa told her butler. "This is very important to me and they should respect that."

"I did just that, your majesty, but umm..." Kai paused for a moment. "The visitor was most insistent. My lady... the visitor is that Prince Hans fellow from your engagement party some weeks ago."

Elsa stopped, quill in hand. She then looked up at Kai, scowling. "How on earth did he get here? I thought I ordered him barred from the castle."

"I'm not too sure," Kai said. "But he did seem like he wished to make amends after... what happened that night at the party."

Taking a moment to think, Elsa knew for a fact she couldn't trust a word that Hans would say. However, she knew that Hans was the representative of a sovereign nation and any inaction on her part could be treated as a sign of hostility.

Despite damning diplomacy, Elsa had to speak to Hans, whether she liked him or not, but this time, she would make sure she would never see his ugly mug ever again. With a heavy heart, she agreed to go and see the prince. "Very well, I'll go and see him right away."

"Good luck, Elsa," Kai spoke, knowing that this wasn't a choice Elsa had made lightly.

Marching out of the room, Elsa walked down the hallway. She prepared herself for any lie or fake smile that Hans would throw at her. God, he was such a disgusting man, a defining example of why Elsa was glad she was a lesbian.

God, she wished Anna was at her side right now. Hell, she wished Anna could just punch him in his stupid face. That would have been very satisfying. But alas Elsa's true love was not there.

Eventually, Elsa made it to the room where Hans apparently was, Kristoff having been posted there as a guard. As Elsa approached, he smiled at her. "Your majesty," he greeted her.

"I'm going to assume Hans isn't in there?" Elsa wondered, secretly hoping she had found the wrong room by accident.

"Nope, he's here," Kristoff confirmed. "Sorry, Elsa."

Elsa sighed. "It's fine. I suppose fate is being extra cruel to me today." She then stepped forward, opening the door and letting herself into the room.

Hans was there of course. The smug prince was sat on a chair in the room, drinking tea from a saucer on a table beside him. He looked so proud, like a man with no regrets. Such an unbearable man didn't deserve to be in Elsa's presence yet here he was.

When Elsa walked into the room, Hans immediately put down his drink and smiled. "Queen Elsa! It's so good to see you again." He stood up and smiled. "I just came to apologise for my actions the other night. I realise now it wasn't my place to judge your relationship with your fiance."

Unsure of how to properly react, Elsa merely shook Hans's hand. "That is... very noble of you, Prince Hans. I am touched that you came all this way to say it." It took all her effort not to barf at those words. She hated being nice to him.

Sitting back down, Hans returned to drinking his tea. "Oh, it was no effort. I've actually been staying Arendelle these past few weeks while the situation back home in the Southern isles dies down. It's been quite hectic, as you can imagine."

"I understand," Elsa simply said. "But I'm glad you came here, Hans... I hope the tea is to your liking."

"Oh it is, most exquisite," Hans remarked. "But I didn't come here to apologise and drink your fine tea. Oh no, I'm here on more... important business."

Elsa raised a curious eyebrow. "Oh? And what might that be?"

"It's very simple," Hans stated. "I wish for our kingdoms to enter into an alliance. Of course, this would bear no effect on your marriage to Princess Anna, far from that. I merely wish to enter into a partnership that would benefit both our kingdoms once I become king."

"What sort of partnership?" Elsa asked. "Do you mean like a trade negotiation?"

"Better than that, my dear," Hans told her. "I believe our lands should unify as one nation, one that can be great and prosperous, and benefit those in power greatly. The people will rally to our sides as we lead this new nation in a time of greatness."

Those words made Elsa's blood run cold. She had heard of Anna of people in her time, politicians mostly, who said phrases like that and became nothing more than tyrants to their people, their only allies being the nobles and wealthy families they served.

No, Elsa would not be like that. Elsa would make sure Arendelle was a free and equal society. She wouldn't let it go down the route that Anna's country had gone down. "I'm afraid I have to decline Hans... since such an alliance would not benefit the people in any way."

"Who cares about the people?" Hans scoffed. "They're just cattle, going about their daily lives, the cogs in the great machine that is your nation. What a monarch should really care about is their power and how they use that power to bring prosperity to their land."

"You mean prosperity to the rich and wealthy while leaving the citizens to become poor and starving in the streets," Elsa then scowled. "That is not the principles of which my kingdom is built upon." She growled. "You are nothing more than a heartless monster."

"Oh please, we're monarchs," Hans stated. "We're only monsters that wear a mask to hide our true face. Did your father never teach you that?"

Elsa's face contorted with rage. "Get out. Now. Before I have my guards throw you out."

Sighing, Hans stood up, agreeing to Elsa's terms. "As you wish... Queen Elsa." He then left the room with a rather sour look on his face.

Taking a seat on the nearby chair, Elsa rubbed her temples. Hans was a worse man than she had ever realised, nothing more than a heartless devil in human flesh. She could only hope that Hans wasn't the kind of man to bear a grudge.

xXx

After the end of a very long day, Anna was making her way up the stairs to the portal to Elsa's time. Merida had gone home, the two of them having spent much of the afternoon in the garden, Anna watching Merida's incredible archery skills.

She had much fun with Merida, but boy, was her cousin energetic. Anna could barely keep up with her and she was possibly the most excitable dork in the world. Finally, now that the day was over, Anna could go and see Elsa and hopefully curl up in the blonde's embrace.

Walking to the door to Elsa's time, Anna pushed open the door, seeing the evening sun of Arendelle streak into Elsa's room. Surprisingly, Anna found Elsa there, lying on the bed. She was cuddling up with her small cuddly penguin, seemingly asleep.

"Elsa?" Anna asked.

Her blue eye opening, Elsa rolled over, Anna being able to see she had tears streaming down her cheeks. She hadn't been sleeping, she'd been crying. Rushing to Elsa's side, Anna bundled the young queen in her arms, stroking her blonde hair.

Elsa breathed softly and cried into Anna's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. She'd had it under control, but seeing Anna again... she had just broken that concentration. Her hands wrapped around Anna's arms, as the blonde cried herself.

"Shhh," Anna whispered, caring for her fiance. "It's okay, it's okay. Anna is here. I'm right here for you, Elsa." She gave the Queen a kiss on her forehead. "What's got you in such a state?"

"T-That prince..." Elsa muttered. "He's a goddamn monster, Anna. He tried to swindle me into turning Arendelle into some horrid empire, like they do in your time."

"That's... awful," Anna spoke. "That's just horrible. You never want Arendelle to be like that. It's a free and equal nation." Anna sighed. "To be honest, I wish we had more leaders like you in my time."

Pulling away, Elsa wiped her eyes. She hated being upset in front of Anna. Her own sadness brought both their moods down. But Anna would always bring her back from the brink, with that warm smile and hugs that felt so soft, she wore she was being cuddled by a marshmallow.

Resting in Anna's hug as she spooned her, Elsa sighed. "I... I think I'm okay now... thank you."

"No problem," Anna said, holding Elsa close to her. "Would you like to hear about my day? I had kind of a wild one."

"Go on," Elsa said, hoping that Anna's day had gone much better than hers.

Kissing Elsa's cheek, Anna began her tale. "Okay, so my cousin Merida came to visit me. She's training to be an archer in the Olympics, so she hasn't seen me in ages. So she came to visit and we talked and she congratulated me on getting ready to tie the knot."

Elsa giggled. "I hope that's all you told her, Anna."

"Oh, it was," Anna assured her. "Most of the time, I watched her shoot coke cans in the backyard... oh and we played video games! She kinda beat me at Smash Bros."

"Well as long as you had fun, that's the main thing," Elsa admitted, before rolling over and kissing Anna's lips. "You have no idea how grateful I am to be with you."

"I'm always here for you, Elsa," Anna reminded her true love. "And once we're married, I will never ever leave your side... speaking of which, how's the wedding planning going?"

"Very well," Elsa stated. "By the way, does your friend Kristina still know about us?"

"About the whole time travel thing? Yeah, of course she does," Anna agreed. "Why are you asking?"

"Well, I don't think it would hurt for her to come to Arendelle for a little while," Elsa then expressed. "I mean, we brought Cass and Rapunzel to your time. I was hoping Kristina could stay in time for the wedding, so she could be your bridesmaid."

Anna's eyes widened with surprise. "Y-You want that?"

"She is your best friend after all," Elsa admitted. "Besides, I think it would do her good to finally meet her grandfather, Kristoff."

"Oh it's gonna be one hell of a moment when they meet," Anna remarked, giggling. "Tell you what, at the end of the week, when you come round to sleep at my house, we'll go see Kristina on Saturday. She'll have just come back from her big hockey tournament, so I'm sure she will be free."

"That sounds like a plan," Elsa agreed. "Now... would you like to cuddle some more?"

Anna nodded with bright eyes, before kissing Elsa's lips. "You bet I would," she agreed, before wrapping Elsa tight in her arms.

xXx

Meanwhile, on the other side of Arendelle, Prince Hans was making his way through the streets in disguise, wearing a cloak over his head. He knew Elsa had likely sent guards to watch his every move, after her rather reluctant behaviour at their meeting earlier.

Nonetheless, Hans had indeed prepared for this, for all of this had been part of a larger plan. As he moved through the streets of Arendelle, he eventually came across the small hotel he'd been staying at. As he walked through the halls of the hotel, he soon came to his room.

As he unlocked the door, Hans walked into the room, a private office for him and his associate to conduct their business. He smiled. The Queen had no idea this was all happening beneath her very nose. Hans felt very confident with himself.

When he stepped into the room, he heard the sound of his associate clearing his throat. Looking to his left, Hans saw a shorter, bald man with a large white moustache approach him. As he adjusted his glasses, he gazed up at Hans.

"Well," he asked him. "How did your little visit to the castle go?"

"Not as expected, my friend," Hans stated, hanging up his jacket on the nearby hook. "It seems the Queen is adamant not to cooperate."

"As I suspected," Hans's ally remarked. "I told you that your diplomacy was a waste of time. Now the Queen is most assuredly onto us."

Hans chuckled. "I doubt that, Duke," he said. "The Queen is too preoccupied with her wedding to pay any attention to us. We've already scouted the city's defences and entry points. Within luck, this little plan of our will go off without a hitch."

"Just remember our deal, Hans," the Duke reminded him, taking a sip of whiskey from a nearby shot glass. "You get this land and all its resources."

"And you get a cut of the profits and the wealth we will gather from this little... takeover." Hans smiled. "Rest assured, my dear Duke of Weaseltown."

"Westleton!"

"Whatever," Hans scoffed. "The point is that you will get your money and Westleton and the southern isles will rule the northern kingdoms into an age of true prosperity... for the rich."

The duke smiled and took another sip of his drink. "Very good... In the morning, we'll take a boat back to Westleton... and alert the troops."

xXx

Author's note: Yes, after a long absence (not really) this fic is back! This little chapter is here to set up a nice little finale coming out in a couple of weeks so be sure to stay tuned to that. Also, be sure to check out my other new fic, We Can Be Like That Again, that I just released the other day. Be sure to leave comments and favs!

See ya next time!