Anders couldn't believe how badly his brother had failed in Arendelle. He'd spent several years figuring out how to fix where his brother had gone wrong. He did think the original plan wasn't a bad idea: Sucker a naive Arendellian princess into marrying him and becoming King. So simple. So how had he ruined it so much?
After all of that planning, Anders realized that Hans had underestimated how closely bonded Anna and Elsa were, despite being apart for so long. But now having spent the last three years watching them, Anders had learned so much more than Hans ever had. He realized Hans had just acted too soon. But where Hans was impatient about the big picture, Anders was determined to have much more patience. Being eleventh in line made you much more cunning being brutalized by your brothers for years but not having the attention of being the youngest. He'd grown up fast. And he would make sure it'd be worth something.
And his waiting would be worth something after all. Now that Anna was Queen and Elsa had revealed herself as some sort of superbeing, if Anders could control Elsa, he could control much more than Anna and Arendelle. He could control the world.
Elsa woke up in her tent in the Northuldra village to Anna curling into a tight ball and whimpering.
"Anna?" Elsa gently called her name and placed a hand on her arm, "Anna, honey, you need to wake up."
Anna started crying and shaking.
"Anna!" Elsa was now calling her name louder and shaking her arm, trying to get her to wake up. "ANNA!"
Anna bolted upright, looking around frantically, tears streaming down her face and sweat pouring off of her.
"Anna, look at me, honey," Elsa cupped Anna's face in her hands, worry etched all over her face. Anna was hyperventilating, but after finally focusing on her sister she was able to start breathing normally and calm herself.
"Elsa..." she finally said timidly, her voice shaking.
"Yeah, honey, I'm here. I'm right here, it's okay."
Anna then burst into tears burying her face into her sister's shoulder.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Elsa asked.
Anna shook her head, but Elsa knew what she had dreamt anyway. It had been the same nightmare she'd had for weeks, ever since being trapped in the cave thinking her sister had died. Elsa's heart ached, knowing it was her fault that Anna felt this way but also knowing she'd saved Arendelle by doing what she did. She hated that her choices always left Anna hurt.
Anna cried into Elsa's shoulder for quite some time before composing herself and finally getting ready for the day. There were a lot of meetings the new Queen had to attend to continue rebuilding the relationships with the Northuldra.
After numerous meetings to discuss trades, rebuilding, and environmental needs, Anna was exhausted. But Elsa knew just how to cheer her up.
"Nokk seems anxious - did you want to go for a ride with me?" Elsa's eyes held a glint of knowing in them.
Anna, despite her tiredness, lit up at the suggestion. "Yes, let's get out of here." She smiled at her sister. Elsa took her arm in hers and led her towards the shore.
They rode for many miles along the coastline, enjoying new places they hadn't explored yet. They talked and enjoyed each other's company, something they didn't get to do as often now since both women were so busy with their new roles.
Anna wished the two could just stay out there for days, maybe even weeks, ignoring all she had to do back home. Or maybe just stopping time for a while. She loved Kristoff, and she loved her people and her new role, but all of it was so exhausting sometimes. She'd always known her parents were busy keeping up relations since they traveled so much, but now she realized there was more to it than she ever realized. The former King and Queen hadn't done much of their business at the castle due to their desire to keep Elsa hidden, so they traveled to other kingdoms. It meant Anna not only was far too behind about other kingdoms since she'd never traveled with her parents, but she felt woefully behind in her knowledge of what to do in these meetings. Her only real exposure had been watching Elsa, and she still relied heavily on her older sister's advice. And there had recently been an issue weighing on her mind that she wanted to ask her sister about.
"Elsa, I need your advice," she started, unsure of how to ask about this particular topic.
"Of course, Anna, what do you need?"
"Well," she dragged on before blurting out, "It's about Weselton, and I totally get it if you don't want to talk about that place, I'm sure I can figure it out on my own, but - "
Elsa cut her off laughing. "Anna, you can talk to me about anything, you know that."
Anna looked at her with slight skepticism written on her face.
"Even about Weselton. Actually, especially about Weselton," Elsa continued. "Tell me about it; what's on your mind?"
Anna sighed with relief. "Thank you," she said, her eyes slightly brimming with tears. It still meant everything to her that she could be so open with her sister after so many years of being denied that part of their sisterhood. "The new King of Weselton, Christian, has written to ask for permission to attempt to gain favor with us again after the last few years. They've greatly increased their metal exports and it would benefit the kingdom to have them as a trade partner, certainly, but I'm very unsure about whether or not I trust them."
"Wait, the new king?" Elsa asked.
"Oh! Yes! I think the previous one was the second brother? So I think this one is the third brother."
Elsa merely shook her head. "And what happened to the previous brother?"
Anna shrugged. "King Christian said in his letter that his previous brother died due to exposure on a recent hunting trip that was caught in a snowstorm. But I figure we'll probably never know the whole story."
"You're right. I would think assuming his brother was murdered - probably by Christian - is in our best interests. We, I mean you, need to keep your guard up about them."
Anna touched her sister's arm lightly, smiling. "It's still 'we', Elsa. You're still a part of our family and our kingdom."
Elsa smiled back. "So what do you want my advice on? It sounds like you have it all figured out."
"Well, you remember we lost a forge on the outside of the city when the river went back to its previous levels, and another one went up in flames last week. I originally hadn't given much thought to King Christian's letter went he'd written about a month ago, but we really need to balance out this loss. We have plenty of trade to offer, but we need more metals to strengthen our new infrastructure now that floods are more of a concern. Do I take them up on their offer or risk having outlying villages flooded because we couldn't strengthen them in time for spring?"
Elsa took a moment to think, letting Nokk trot along the shoreline, heading back towards home. She finally pulled him to a stop before answering.
"How about this? Something in the middle of accepting trade or not accepting trade?" She explained her thoughts to Anna, who thought they were brilliant. And for once, she was excited to get back home to tackle the challenge.
I hope you like the first chapter! We'll start a little mushy with some good sister fluff. Don't worry, if you're here for the darkness it's coming...
Leave a review if you'd like! Hearing from readers is always the best.
