Chapter One

Wedding Day

ANNA

(Two months after the Battle of Arendelle and the exile of sorcerers)

Anna stared at the polished, shining oval mirror, and an unrecognisable woman stared back at her. It may have sounded a little like an exaggeration, but that was exactly how Anna felt when her eyes locked with her reflection. The woman in the mirror had her hair in a tight, braided bun, with no strands of strawberry blonde hair poking out randomly as they usually did.

Her face was heavily adorned with makeup that looked more like something her sister would wear. She sighed. There it was again. The thought of her beloved sister was making the deep seated but all too familiar melancholy rise again from the pit of her stomach. No, she resolved firmly. Let's not think about this on my wedding day.

Apart from her face and hair looking spruced up and ready for the biggest public appearance of her life, her clothes were uniquely different too. Sure, she had many regal outfits in her closet, but this one really did take the cake.

A sleeveless white dress that looked more akin to something her sister would wear - there I go again - was clad on her, flowing down all the way to her feet with floral patterns dotting the hem of her ludicrously extravagant wedding garment. Pretty kitten heels, the only thing she was used to, was what she wore on her feet, and to top it off, traditional Arendellian green ribbons were tied around each of her arms.

She took a step backwards and her eyes flicked up and down to size herself up again. No, she really didn't recognise herself. Apart from the physical appearance, it was really the circumstances she had been put through - and put up with - that had really changed her fundamentally as a person.

Slightly more than two years ago, the biggest occasion of her life then had been her sister's coronation. Anna still remembered the happy-go-lucky, carefree and bubbly girl she had been back then, all too excited to get out into the world to find love. And then everything that had followed was history.

On the night of her coronation, Elsa's powers were accidentally revealed to the entire kingdom and the rest of the world. A cunning Prince had tried to usurp the throne and had almost succeeded in killing both her and Elsa. Anna had been united with her sister, and a kingdom wide referendum had been conducted to vote whether her sister ought to remain in power. And that had only been the beginning.

Elsa had then gone on to meet the Warriors and stop the radical military-trained terrorist known as Kane. A few short months later, Anna herself had joined up with the Warriors to save her sister and uncovered secrets about her family's past, not to mention learning that the mythical League of Sorcerers was in fact very real. As if that wasn't enough, Elsa had then become the new Pilgrim, Head of the League of Sorcerers after defeating her evil predecessor.

Things had been fine and dandy for a time, and then Elsa had begun to hear voices. Anna never really understood what had happened even though Elsa had explained it to her, partially because she was too happy that her sister was in fact alive and not dead, and they had gone their separate ways for a while. There was peace in their lives, at long last.

And yet, that wasn't the end of the story. The greatest evil the continent had ever seen rose to threaten peace. The Exonian Empire, helmed by the tyrannous Empress Eleanor Tal Yin, began to sweep across the continent and had set her sights on Arendelle and beyond. She even had the help of a mysteriously resurrected Kane to lead the Exonian army, the Imperial Horde. At the same time, the Southern Isles had courted war with Arendelle as well.

The worst and most bone chilling part was that the villainous Hans had returned as Eleanor's appointed Consul of Exon. Anna would have been glad to never see him again, but yet, he was now Eleanor's closest ally and a greater threat than ever before. Things had been incredibly emotional and physically draining, but somehow, with the help of the League, the Northuldra and the Arendellian Army, Anna and her allies had been able to repel Eleanor and her Imperial Horde from Arendelle's borders.

However, it had already been two months since that battle, which gave Eleanor, Hans and Kane plenty of time to scheme and devise a way to resume their campaign to consume the continent. All that, Anna decided in hindsight, had really changed her as a person, and she wasn't exactly sure it was for the better, though she fervently hoped it was.

"Don't worry, you look fine."

"What?" Anna whirled round. She had completely forgotten that she wasn't alone in the dressing room of the church.

"I said, you look fine." Melody laughed. She herself was in a more modest and less extravagant dress, though obviously she too wasn't a fan of all this frill and lace and trailing bits that were only good for attracting mud and dirt. "You were staring at yourself as if you were wearing turkey feathers instead of your wedding gown."

Anna blinked. "Oh."

Two months ago, Melody had officially left the life of a Warrior behind to take up more administrative responsibilities as the Princess of Denmark. And with a war with the Empire on the horizon, Anna had reached out to Denmark's King and Queen - Melody's parents - to form an alliance between both kingdoms' armies.

Melody had volunteered to spearhead the alliance, and with her parents' approval, had become a close ally of Anna's. Not that they hadn't been close before. They had known each other since two years ago, having worked closely together as Warriors with the rest of the team. But now it was in a more…official and political capacity.

Still, the alliance between the Danish and the Arendellian army hadn't been properly sorted out yet. There was a whole lot of administrative paperwork to do and sign off on, as well as an organisational mess to tackle, but Anna would leave it to her new Minister of War, Destin Matthias, and the rest of her cabinet to help sort things out. Administration had never been her strong suit, no matter how hard she tried to be a part of it.

And now today, on what would be the most momentous day of her life, Melody was her bridesmaid, helping her get ready before the start of the ceremony. She was thankful that one of her closest friends was helping her out with this, because she wasn't particularly fond of being dressed and attended to by streams of palace servants.

"You look unsatisfied." Melody pointed out in observation, breaking her free from her thoughts again.

"Oh, no." Anna strained and picked up a trail of lace which dangled behind her back. "It's just a bit too…fluffy and lacy."

Melody chuckled and took the lace from Anna. "That's what wedding dresses are supposed to look like, though I'm in no position to comment."

"Thanks." Anna said as Melody finished tying the last loose lace behind her back. The rigid dress made it almost impossible to turn or move. "I hate these things."

"It's just for a day." Melody said. "Besides, I can't imagine Kristoff is any more comfortable than you are."

Anna snorted, an entirely inappropriate response for someone of her social status, but she couldn't care less. Kristoff, no doubt, was having an equally if not more awkward time suiting up in a dashing tuxedo. The former ice harvester had never been one for formalities and luxuries, and he certainly wasn't one for it now.

Kristoff in any public setting was still as awkward and fiddly as ever, and would sooner be done with any formal or political events. However, his new position as Prince Consort after the wedding would see him thrust into even more of these instances. Still, he had resolved to marry her even though it meant living out of his comfort zone. That warmed Anna's heart, and she smiled at the thought of the handsome, rugged, well built man who would become her husband within the hour.

"Definitely not." Anna agreed. "Knowing him, he'll be tugging at his too tight shirt."

"The tuxedo's tailored, isn't it?" Melody asked.

"Yeah, but you know Kristoff." Anna giggled. "Give him a rugged tunic any day of the week."

"Or a general's uniform." Melody said. "You've seen how good he is with the army."

"Of course." Anna couldn't help but grin. Surprisingly, Kristoff had turned out to be a very good overseer of the military during their crisis two months back, and had worked with the senior officers a great deal in preparing the Arendellian army for war. "He has a natural talent for it somehow, though he keeps denying it."

"Ah, well." Melody helped to untangle the veil of Anna's dress and pulled it cautiously over Anna's head, careful not to damage her neatly braided bun. "It's time."

"Good," Anna mumbled. Her heart raced with excitement and nervousness, slamming in her chest as loud as the artillery guns on the coast road that horrible day two months ago. "The sooner we're married, the better. Let's get this over and done with."

ELSA

Beads of sweat began to form as she closed the distance to the entrance of the church. The long line in front of her was getting shorter by the second, as hundreds of invited people waited impatiently to attend Queen Anna's wedding with Lord Kristoff Bjorgman.

Somehow, Anna had managed to find out where Elsa had been holed up, and had sent an invitation to her wedding. No doubt with help from her administrative assistant Hayley, but nonetheless it was a heartwarming sentiment. Still, Elsa knew she was taking an insurmountable risk by even being back in Arendelle.

Two months ago, the Confederation of the North had officially instituted the Continental Anti Sorcerers Treaty, or "CAST" for short, which had later become widely and unofficially known as "the Purge". This had been fervently pushed for by King Uxzas of Molcorra, and the majority of the Confederation members had been pressured into agreeing. Others like Anna who were against the treaty had no choice but to comply, or court the disfavour of the rest of the Confederation.

Since Elsa and the others had gone into exile, King Uxzas had established a new division within the Molcorran army, calling it the "Continental Anti Sorcerers Task Force", or CAST Force for short. Over the past two months however, the CAST Force had gained a rather negative reputation for their violence and thuggery, and had been universally dubbed "The Blue Wolves", or simply "Wolves", which was far more appropriate in Elsa's opinion.

After all, that's what the CAST Force was, in spite of King Uxzas' efforts to publicly water down his extremist ideologies. The CAST Force's sole purpose was to hunt down any living sorcerers across the continent and have them rounded up and imprisoned for the crime of being born the way they were.

And being back here in Arendelle which was swarming with these Blue Wolves, she was taking a great risk of being caught and imprisoned. The rest of her allies, the Warriors, had cautioned her against attending Anna's wedding, but Elsa had decided that this was something she couldn't miss. It was going to be a risk she would have to take. She was prepared to run, in any case.

However, that did not stop Elsa's heart from slamming sporadically in her chest as the line in front of her grew shorter and the danger grew ever larger. Stationed at the entrance of the church were Blue Wolves, checking everyone's invitation cards and identities to make sure they weren't uninvited guests…or more bluntly, sorcerers.

It didn't help that pinned up drawings of Elsa and her allies hung on walls everywhere in the kingdom, and in other kingdoms too. The Warriors had gained a rather widespread reputation by freeing sorcerers from imprisonment and were at the top of CAST Force's most wanted list. To put it more accurately, Elsa was at the top of their list, since she was the leader of the League of Sorcerers, and she was still at large.

She'd been called all sorts of names by Confederation propaganda. Witch, monster, criminal, the list went on. Though in all honesty, Elsa felt that she couldn't exactly say they were wrong.

She wasn't normal, that was for sure. But it pained her to think of herself and her friends being branded as dangerous outlaws, hunted like the criminals, terrorists and anarchists the Warriors had spent two years fighting. So this is what's it's all come down to, in the end.

Her eyes flicked up to the rooftop opposite the church, overlooking the courtyard. No one there yet. Was she being overly paranoid? It would hardly be unjustifiable.

Fingering Anna's handwritten invitation card in the pocket of her coat, Elsa nervously pushed the round rimmed spectacles up on the bridge of her nose which was slick with sweat in the summer heat, and probably the anxiety of getting caught too. She had adopted the glasses again as a disguise after her time with the Danish Insurgency, though it didn't exactly do much to hide her true identity, but every little bit helped she supposed. She had ditched her traditional makeup for a more subtle appearance, and wore clothes that marked a middle class citizen.

Dressed in tight grey trousers, a sleeveless white blouse and a dark green double breasted coat, she gave off the air of a common paper pusher in one of the kingdom's ministries. Topping off the look were flat shoes and a floppy brown hat. Her platinum blonde hair, tied back in a severe bun, was hidden underneath the hat. All in all, Elsa did look like a common administrative clerk, but she didn't delude herself into thinking that the Wolves stationed at the entrance were blind.

And then, the dreaded moment arrived. She reached the front of the line, stopping right in front of the entrance. Her grip on her "common clerk's bag" shifted as her palms grew increasingly sweaty. Swearing she could hear her own heart thumping in her chest, she was half expecting the Blue Wolves around her to be able to hear it too.

"Invitation?" The Wolf said lazily, obviously having grown lax after checking hundreds of invitation cards.

Keeping her head down, the floppy brown hat hooded her features in shadows as she reached into the pocket of her double breasted coat and pulled out the invitation card. With slightly trembling fingers, she slowly passed the card to the operative, who took it with visible impatience.

And then with bated breath, she waited. Waited for the Wolf to get suspicious. To take a good look at her. To shout and have a few Operatives pounce on her and drag her away to languish in some musty, warm cell with a thousand other prisoners for the rest of her life.

The man shoved it back at her and just when he was about to ask her to remove her hat and look at him, Elsa's mind raced and her heart skipped a beat. Where is he?

"Ah, there you are." A confident and familiar voice boomed from inside the church.

The Wolf stopped and turned to see who it was. Elsa felt the tension go out of her almost immediately, and she deflated ever so slightly in the presence of her would be captors.

Destin Matthias stepped out of the church in his full dress uniform, and waved away the operative by the door.

"About time you showed up." Matthias said impatiently, loud enough for everyone in earshot to hear. "I needed those documents fifteen minutes ago. You're late!"

Elsa dipped her head even more, so as to portray an air of remorse and embarrassment, though to her advantage this helped to obscure her features further. "I'm sorry, sir." She said quietly in a slightly hoarse voice.

With visible frustration, Matthias grabbed her arm and began pulling her into the church. Just for formalities' sake, he turned to the Wolf.

"My assistant." He explained, and the man nodded. Apparently everyone knew Matthias, Arendelle's new Minister of War, and they knew better than to trifle with him. "Come on, in you go." He roughly tugged on Elsa's arm again, dragging her into the church.

Once inside, Matthias continued to maintain his grip on her arm, though much more relaxed to keep up appearances. The cross look still on his face, he remained wordless, and so did she. They moved in companionable silence till they had navigated through the crowded interior of the church hall, and up the creaky wooden stairs to the second floor where there was no one to overhear them. The balcony on the second floor of the church was cordoned off and empty, and Elsa suspected that Anna had deliberately reserved it for her.

When Matthias was sufficiently satisfied that they were alone, he released his grip on her arm and straightened himself up.

"Apologies for the roughhousing, Your Royal Highness." He whispered. "I had to keep up appearances. I hope I didn't hurt you too badly."

"Nonsense, I'm not hurt." Elsa waved her hand in dismissal. "In fact, you came just in time. They were about to realise they had public enemy number one right under their noses."

"Ah. It's a good thing then." Matthias straightened out the creases of his white dress uniform, the stars marking him as general having been replaced by an ornamental golden flower which marked him as a minister formerly from the military.

Apart from the smart attire on this momentous occasion, he had trimmed his greying hair to a length slightly longer than fuzz, and his usually thick moustache and beard were neatly shaved to thin stubble. His slightly wrinkled eyes danced with more energy and life than they usually did.

"Forgive me, Your Royal Highness, if I don't bow." He went on apologetically. "Best not to risk giving away the game. You never know who's watching."

"Of course." Elsa said quickly. "Don't worry about it. And you can dispense with the formalities while we're at it…in case anyone's listening."

"Ah." Matthias' eyes darted round subtly, before confirming that they were really alone.

"You look good." Elsa smiled to ease his tensed state.

"Feel good too." Matthias adjusted his collar. "I haven't felt this satisfied with my life and job for a long time."

"The life of a Cabinet minister does suit you."

"I agree." Matthias said happily. "I must admit, my days on the battlefield are over. My joints don't agree with me like they used to."

Elsa smiled. "I'm sure you're doing great as Minister of War. God knows we need a good one in these trying times."

"Thank you, Your-" he cut himself off abruptly and cleared his throat. "Thank you."

Elsa chuckled and turned her attention to the front of the hall. The balcony where she and Matthias were seated at was at the back of the church, overlooking the many rows of pews in the large hall. The church was packed to its four walls with people. Foreign dignitaries, kingdom officials, senior military officers, the Northuldra heads - she could make out the back views of Yelena, Honeymaren and Ryder along with a few others - aristocrats, successful merchants and businessmen, along with the rest of the invited guests. There was an unexplainable atmosphere of joy as everyone waited for the long overdue marriage between Queen Anna and Lord Kristoff Bjorgman.

"Here," Matthias pulled out a spyglass from his dress uniform. "A little souvenir from the old days. Thought it would come in useful today."

"Thanks." Elsa took it and levelled it to her eye. Ah, much better.

At the very front row of the pews, she could see her old friends Olaf and Sven waiting in excitement. She let out a small sigh. Oh, how she longed for those simpler days when things weren't so complicated and she could spend an afternoon like this with them, Anna and Kristoff in the marketplace. But no, sadly times had changed.

She turned her attention to the stage and saw Kristoff standing in the middle of the elevated platform where the preachers usually stood. With him was the Archbishop, who would officially marry Anna and Kristoff. Elsa couldn't help but smile at the sight of Kristoff.

The former ice harvester had trimmed his messy blonde hair short, almost military like, and had smoothed back what remained of it immaculately with wax. This was no doubt the work of a few servants in getting him ready, for Elsa was sure that of his own accord, he wouldn't have bothered with his hair or have a clue what to do with it. Kristoff was dressed in a dashing black tuxedo, tailored to fit his broad-shouldered frame.

Every now and then, Kristoff would fidget ever so slightly with his collar, and when he did remember that he was in front of a crowd, he would put his hand down in a hurry. The look on his face made it rather obvious that he was uncomfortable and nervous, though he did his best to hide it but sad to say, it was with little success.

To the side stood Kristoff's groomsmen, comprised of senior military officers whom he had worked with during the crisis two months ago. These, Elsa realised, were some of Kristoff's only friends. He was always more of a reserved and awkward individual, which made his acclimatisation to military life all the more surprising.

And on the other side, stood Anna's bridesmaids, some of whom Elsa didn't recognise since they were probably part of Anna's new staff. Among them were Hayley, Anna's personal assistant and friend, Honeymaren from the Northuldra who looked entirely uncomfortable in a formal dress, and closest to the stage was Melody, dressed not in her usual combat suited attire, but a frilly white dress with an abundance of lace.

Elsa smiled at the sight of Melody, their former ally from the Warriors. It was good to see her. Two months back, Melody had said her goodbyes to them all, deciding to leave the life of adventure behind for her insurmountable responsibilities as Princess of Denmark. Seeing her here in Arendelle was a pleasant surprise.

A pang of melancholy suddenly struck Elsa, almost as if she had taken a punch to the gut. She didn't double over, but she felt it all the same. Everyone important in Anna's life was down below to celebrate, except for her. Elsa felt horrible. This was Anna's big day. The best day of her life. And she wasn't there for her.

Feeling hot tears sting her eyes, she lowered the spyglass. She shut her eyes and let a warm stream trickle down her cheeks. What would Anna be thinking, knowing that her own sister, her own flesh and blood, couldn't be present amongst the bridesmaids to rejoice with her on this momentous day?

"Are you alright?" Matthias whispered in concern.

Nodding, Elsa opened her eyes. She gave a quiet sigh and tried to find a response, but failed miserably.

"I know this must be hard," Matthias sympathised. "Watching from up here, not being able to hug your sister today. For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Elsa steadied her voice. "I just…" she paused and rubbed her arms. "…I could use some time alone."

"Of course." Matthias got up and started towards the stairs. He stopped and turned. "If you need anything…"

Elsa nodded again and gave him a weak smile. "Thank you."

"Always." He departed, leaving Elsa alone up on the balcony of the second floor.

Her shoulders shuddered and she wiped away the tears. Not being able to attend her own sister's wedding or even congratulate her face to face. Since when did life come to this?

"All hail Her Majesty," the forerunner called out in a loud booming voice from the first floor which echoed throughout the walls of the church. "Queen Anna of Arendelle!"

Everyone rose from their seats and stiffened, the church silent apart from the playing of an organ in the far end of the hall. Elsa pulled herself from her wallowing and craned her head over the balcony to see her sister's entrance.

In walked Anna, flanked by a beam of sunlight streaming through the stained glass windows. As if the magnificence of Anna's wedding dress wasn't dazzling enough, the sunlight highlighted every frill, lace, ornament and jewel, giving her the appearance and disposition synonymous with that of an angel. And she really looked like one too.

Anna looked…absolutely stunning. Was this her baby sister? The one who knocked on her door every single day? Elsa was awestruck by what she saw, and couldn't be prouder.

Marching down the aisle beside Anna was Division General Frederick Valquerson, a close friend of the family's who was filling the shoes of the sisters' late father. Frederick was in his formal military ceremonial dress uniform, only worn on the most special of occasions. His white uniform was spotless and crease-free as always, but it seemed to shine all the more today, with the medals and stars sewn onto his jacket gleaming in the rays of sunlight.

Frederick, though unrelated by blood, was practically a father to the two sisters, ever since their parents passed away. And he did cut the fine figure of a father too, with his age and disposition. After all, he was their father's closest friend and personal guard in the old days. It was only fitting that it was he, a surrogate father figure, who would walk Anna down the aisle. There's no better choice than he, Elsa thought with a smile.

Kristoff, waiting at the front of the hall with the Archbishop, was practically vibrating in anticipation and nervousness as he tried to stand still and act composed. Eventually, he was spared further suffering when Anna and Frederick finally made it to the front of the hall.

Frederick bowed and slipped silently into his seat in the front pew of the church, beside Matthias and a couple of the other ministers.

Elsa levelled the spyglass Matthias had given her to her eye again and saw the expressions of tense anticipation and romance on both lovebirds' faces. She watched as Anna and Kristoff took their places opposite each other, with the Archbishop flipping through his bible and clearing his throat.

As the Archbishop drawled on and his words became a distant ringing in her ear, Elsa thought back to when Kristoff had first proposed to Anna on that beach. It felt like a lifetime ago, though in reality it had been less than a year. How times have changed. If only I could tell Anna and Kristoff how proud I am of them…

"I do." Kristoff said. Apparently the Archbishop had finished with the formalities and the two lovers had already exchanged their vows and rings.

"And do you, Queen Anna, take Lord Kristoff Bjorgman to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do." Anna said, her expression practically bubbling with excitement, and she was working very hard to keep a silly grin off her face.

"Well then," the Archbishop drawled annoyingly, though most likely unintentional. "By the power vested in me by God, it is my honour and delight to pronounce you both husband and wife." He turned to Kristoff. "You may now kiss the bride."

Before the Archbishop could finish his sentence, Kristoff had already peeled back the veil, scooped Anna off her feet in his thick arms and planted a long overdue kiss squarely on her lips. Anna, with back arched, leaned forward passionately into the kiss, lingering for what might have been an eternity.

The silence in the church was broken by thunderous applause and cheers from every single person present in the hall. The atmosphere was nothing short of electric, and Elsa watched quietly, smiling in contentment at at least being able to witness her sister and Kristoff officially tie the knot.

"Show's over, witch."

The brief moment of joy faded. Elsa felt her blood freeze in her veins and turned around slowly to see five Blue Wolves on the staircase, blocking her only exit.

Author's Commentary:

Anddd welcome back! We're picking up where we left off in the last book, two months after our heroes were exiled, being hailed as outlaws by the Confederation. I'm excited for y'all to see what's in store. If you haven't already headed over to check out my Frozen Epilogue story, please do so! And if this is your first time here, I'll highly recommend starting from Book 1 and working your way up. The rest of the titles are on my profile