Chapter One
Chapter 7: Empire is RIsing / Game Night
ANNA
Frederick led Anna to a tent on the other side of the camp, and stopped outside, pulling back the opening flap.
"In here, Your Majesty."
Anna stepped into the tent, and realised that it was a lot larger than she had imagined it to be.
"This is the Command Tent." Frederick explained, lingering at the opening. "It's where the senior officers hold meetings and discuss important military affairs, such as the one we need to address."
"Which is?" Anna was getting impatient.
"That's…not exactly for me to say." Frederick said. "Not without the General present, anyway. Excuse me for a moment, Your Majesty. I'll have him brought over."
He slipped out to find a runner, and Anna let out a sigh. She looked around. The tent was certainly functional and minimalistic, dimly lit and with the bare essentials. A bedroll was laid out on the ground, and a foldable writing desk was placed in the centre of the tent. Two stools were placed on either side, and there was an oil lamp on the table. Apart from a few trunks in the corner of the tent, there was not much else.
Living in the army must be tough, Anna thought to herself. Even when the soldiers were not on campaign, they still had to adhere to a regimental lifestyle in peacetime, which meant avoiding comfort or luxury. She was sure she wouldn't survive very long as a soldier. Thinking about the living conditions of the military made her long to return to the castle, even though she had just left it in the morning.
Frederick scratched the flap of the tent to announce his return and reentered the tent. He cleared his throat and straightened out the almost non-existent creases in his uniform.
"General Mattias will be here shortly."
"Fred, what is it you want to talk about?" Anna asked again. "You're scaring me."
"That's not my intention." Frederick sounded a little appalled, though he did his best to hide it. "I just think you should be aware."
"Aware of what?" Anna sounded a little more vexed this time.
Another scratch on the tent's flap indicated the arrival of someone else. General Mattias peered into the tent before making his entrance, with a rolled up map in his hand.
Frederick drew himself up and ripped off a parade ground salute which was incredibly fluid and natural for him.
"Welcome, Sir." Frederick said.
"Thank you, Colonel." Mattias smiled and acknowledged the paying of compliments. He then turned to Anna and bowed smartly.
"Your Highn-I mean, Your Majesty."
Anna stifled a chortle. Apparently Mattias was still getting used to the fact that Anna was no longer the princess, but the queen. She hadn't seen him often since they had returned from the Enchanted Forest, and she could tell that he had been busy. The General's green uniform looked slightly worn out in stark contrast to the two silver stars sewn on each of his epaulettes, which marked his rank of Arendelle's only division general. His hair was greying and he looked incredibly tired, with heavy eye bags and a week's worth of stubble.
"Hello, Mattias. It's good to see you again." Anna greeted him warmly.
"Likewise, Your Majesty." Mattias gestured at the table and ushered her to a seat. He waited for her to sit before he sat down at the opposite end of the desk and placed the rolled up map on it.
"So," Anna said. "What do you want to tell me?"
Mattias looked up at Frederick, who was standing a short distance away from him. "Frederick, would you like to tell Her Majesty about our…predicament?"
"Certainly, Sir." Frederick said. "Your Majesty, are you aware of the existence of Exon?"
"Yeah." Anna replied. "They're a part of the Confederation of the North."
"Well not anymore." Frederick said mildly.
She blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Exon withdrew from the Confederation some time ago."
"Why?"
"To establish their own empire, free from having to answer to the Confederation." Frederick said.
"Wait, I'm confused." Anna frowned. "They're building their own empire?"
Mattias nodded. "Led by their queen, now self-declared Empress."
"You mean Eleanor Tal Yin?" Anna was shocked. "I met her at the Summit last year! She wasn't there at this year's Summit for some reason and there was no Confederation representative from Exon. No wonder!"
"The Confederation Head, King Uxzas, has been keeping things quiet, not wanting panic to spread. That's why you and the others weren't informed about Exon's withdrawal." Frederick said.
"Unfortunately, in a very short span of time, the army the Empress has raised and called the 'Imperial Horde' has already conquered the surrounding cities and kingdoms in her nearby vicinity as well as the ones to her west," Mattias unrolled the map and straightened out the creases, pointing out a few spots on the map which had been marked out in pencil. "And they're now moving up from the west to the north."
"Wait, why are you telling me about this now?" Anna was slightly indignant. "Why not when Exon first began their campaign?"
"Ah." Frederick paused and glanced at Mattias.
Mattias swallowed. "We thought that the Imperial Horde weren't going to march north. We didn't want to alarm you unnecessarily if Exon wasn't turning their gaze to Norway."
"Wait, what are you saying?"
"Unfortunately, they have begun to, according to our scouts and reconnaissance teams." Frederick continued. "Which means they are coming for Arendelle, sooner or later."
Anna got up from her stool. "This can't be happening. Tell me this isn't happening."
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty." Mattias said, rolling the map back up. "We're doing everything we can to monitor the situation, but it hasn't been easy."
"Due to winter, it was almost impossible to monitor the Imperial Horde's movements. In the first place, no sane army would carry out campaigns during winter." Frederick added.
"But they did." Mattias glanced at Frederick.
"Wait, so you're saying that we won't really know for sure how soon they'll be at our front door?" Anna asked, her heart sinking.
Frederick nodded. "We'll only have a day's notice at best, assuming they march from the Kreshein Forest.
"Also, the Imperial Horde has conquered so much in so little time, which makes it hard to judge when they'll show up at our borders." Mattias added.
"Are we ready for something like this?" Anna asked.
Mattias pursed his lips. "Honestly, Your Majesty, I don't know. No one even knew that Exon had such a capable army. They just seemed to come out of nowhere, as if they had never even existed before this crisis."
"But we're doing everything we can to prepare for conflict. We will keep you updated on new developments." Frederick said. "My men in Reconnaissance have been working very closely with the Ministry of Information to gather intelligence about the Empire of Exon. We'll send word to you the moment we have something."
Anna nodded grimly, running a hand through her hair. "I don't get it though. Eleanor seemed like a decent ruler, wanting the best for her people."
"Appearances can be deceiving." Frederick said.
"She may want what's best for her people, but that doesn't necessarily mean that she'll care about how she achieves it." Mattias said with an air of heaviness. "From what we can tell, she doesn't care about who she hurts, as long as she claims the city or kingdom under Exon's flag."
"And she's coming," Frederick continued. "We have to be prepared."
"Alright." Anna sighed. This was a lot to take in.
###
By the time Anna arrived back in the heart of the kingdom, night had already long since fallen. Alone, she brought her horse through the town square, which was filled with citizens. The Arendellians did love their night life. Now that spring had come and the square had been cleared of snow, the food carts were out again and buskers lined the street, serenading the atmosphere with music. Citizens went about their night shopping, socializing with one another on the sidewalks, while others queued to buy local delicacies from the food carts. Finger food and alcohol were in abundance again, now that winter was over, and business was good.
As Anna rode through the streets, the people cheered and waved as she passed by. She responded warmly, putting on a good natured expression though her mind was burning with what she had just learnt. Finally, she crossed the long bridge that led to the castle, and dismounted from her horse when she saw Kristoff and Sven in the courtyard waiting for her.
"Lord Bjorgman." Anna said mischievously and giggled when Kristoff flinched. She so enjoyed seeing him flustered.
"Welcome back," Kristoff kissed her affectionately. "Long day?"
"How did you know?" Anna sighed as she ruffled his golden brown hair.
"It's kind of obvious." He laughed, enveloping her in his big arms. "Your dress, your hair, your tired appearance…"
"Is it really that bad?" Anna looked down at her dress and ran a hand through her strawberry blonde hair. And she had just travelled through the town square where everyone could see their dishevelled monarch!
"You need a break," Kristoff said sympathetically. "That's what game nights are for."
"Yes, I can't wait. Waiting two weeks has been pure torture." Anna scratched Sven on the head as the reindeer grunted affectionately. "Is Elsa here yet?"
"No, not yet." Kristoff said. "But Olaf's upstairs by the fire waiting for us."
"What time is it?"
"It's ten minutes past seven. Don't worry, Elsa always shows up on time. That means you have about twenty minutes to wash up and eat."
"I could use a long, hot bath." Anna groaned. "It's been a really long day."
Thinking about what she had just learnt, she decided that she would not tell Kristoff or Elsa about the Empire of Exon just yet. After all, Kristoff was still having trouble adjusting to his life as a Lord of Arendelle and being the queen's fiancé was evidently not easy for him.
Elsa probably had enough on her plate too, what with her being the protector of the Enchanted Forest and all. It wouldn't be too wise to lay the burden on them both, not when she had things under control. At least, Anna felt she did.
She decided that she would worry about the Empire tomorrow. Elsa would be here soon, and Anna was going to make sure that they had a great time as a family. She only got to see Elsa once every two weeks, so every second had to count. That meant compartmentalising and not thinking about her duties as queen.
After a long bath and changing into her favourite lime green night gown, Anna went into the dining hall where she found a scrumptious spread waiting for her. She looked at the clock. She had five minutes before Elsa arrived. More than enough time.
Anna quickly gulped down a bowl of lobster bisque, and turned her attention to a large slab of steak. The palace cooks knew very well that their queen had an enormous appetite. She began devouring the steak in the most un-queenly way, since there wasn't anyone around watching her. She could let down her guard and be herself.
"Take your time. The steak isn't going anywhere."
Anna spun round to see Elsa at the entrance of the dining room.
"Elsa!" Anna got up with her mouth full and rushed to greet her sister. She enveloped Elsa in a tight bear hug, not caring if she squeezed the breath out of her.
"Ow, ow." Elsa winced. "Anna, any tighter and you're going to force my dinner out."
Anna laughed and let go of her sister. Elsa was dressed in her new favourite white dress, with blue leggings and opened toe flats. As of late, Elsa kept her hair loose and flowing finely, which was a fitting look for her. She seemed to be more at peace than ever, released from the stress of being suffocated within the castle walls and free to be herself.
"I've missed you, Elsa." Anna beamed at her sister, hands clapped on her shoulders.
Elsa chuckled. "I've missed you too, Anna."
"I wish you would come more often though." Anna said, beckoning for Elsa to join her at the dining table. "Once every two weeks is way too seldom."
Elsa sighed. "We've talked about this before, haven't we?"
"Yes, I know, I know." Anna shovelled more steak into her mouth.
"How's things going with Arendelle?" Elsa asked, watching her sister eat. "Are you coping well as the queen?"
"You ask me the same questions every time we meet," Anna laughed, setting down her cutlery. "Why? You miss being the Queen of Arendelle?"
"What?" Elsa was a little stunned. "No, no. Not that I didn't enjoy being the queen, but it's…I-"
"I'm just kidding," Anna sniggered. "I know you're just concerned about the kingdom. And me. You know, you could always just stay and help me run things."
"I…" Elsa stuttered.
Anna shook her head, smiling. "I'm kidding. I know you have your own life to live too."
"But really," Elsa asked. "Are you doing fine?"
Anna thought for a moment. No. She wouldn't tell Elsa about the Empire of Exon. It wouldn't be fair to pile all that on Elsa's shoulders, not when Anna could see her sister so carefree and peaceful at long last.
Elsa had been through enough. First having her powers exposed to the entire world, then being kidnapped by an evil witch and blackmailed into joining the League of Sorcerers, and then finding herself as the new leader of the League, and finally learning about the reason why she had powers and deciding that it was her duty to protect the forest?
It was more than any woman should have to bear. And Anna felt that it would be horrible of her to add to her load. Elsa had been through enough.
"Anna? Did you hear me?" Elsa asked anxiously, reaching across the table to place a gentle hand on top of her sister's. "Are you alright?"
"What?" Anna shook herself from her thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm doing pretty well, I must say. Not to boast or anything, but I've got things well in hand I think. But I'm really tired. There's so many things to do and tend to. How did you do it? You made it seem so effortless."
"Effortless?" Elsa laughed. "I struggled too. It's something that you'll never get used to, I guess. You just have to find what you're doing it for. Find something that fuels you. The one thing that kept me going…" Here she paused. "…was you."
"Awww." Anna scrunched her face up. "That's sweet."
Elsa's cheeks began to colour and she looked away in embarrassment.
"Alright, alright, enough." Anna laughed when she saw Elsa relapse into awkwardness. "And what about you?"
"What about me?"
"Have you found anyone special from the forest yet?" Anna grinned.
Elsa's face grew redder and she laced her hands together. "Why do you keep asking me this same question every time we see each other?"
Anna laughed. "Everyone's got to have their special someone."
"Well I don't," Elsa said. "Not everyone's destined to be attached to someone. Our parents had each other, you have Kristoff, but me? I think I'm better off without a partner."
"Okay, fine." Anna threw her hands up in defeat. It was impossible to get her sister to fall in love with someone. Anyone. She was such an introvert. "Come on, it's time for game night."
As usual, they played charades. It was the favourite of the entire family. Well, maybe not Elsa's. The reason why Anna, Kristoff and Olaf loved to play it was because they enjoyed watching Elsa struggle with acting out her given word, though of course they never said it out loud. Elsa always had a hard time expressing herself, since she was always the more introverted and awkward one among the four of them.
When they had first begun playing, Anna had been annoyed that Elsa could never act out her word, causing them to always lose. Anna was the type of competitive girl who only liked to play games she knew she could win. However, once she got past the fact that being on Elsa's team meant that she would always lose the game, she started to see the funny side of things.
No matter what word Elsa got, however easy or hard, she had trouble acting it out. Anna and the others had to constantly hold back fits of laughter whenever Elsa was trying helplessly to perform the word through choppy, reserved motions. Anna remembered Kristoff remarking quietly that even though Elsa had changed her appearance, she was still just as laughably bad at charades. So that's one thing that never changes.
"Time's up!" Olaf shouted gleefully.
"But I-" Elsa stuttered, an awkward leg hovering above the ground.
"Next word." Kristoff tried to hide his grin.
Elsa drew another piece of paper from the basket and stared hard at it. She looks absolutely bewildered, Anna mused to herself. She knew for a fact that her team wasn't going to win the game, but she was still going to enjoy watching Elsa act.
"Uhh…" Elsa stared blankly at the rest.
"Time starts…now!" Olaf shouted, and Sven flipped the hourglass.
"Ummnn…" Elsa blinked and lifted her clenched fists as if she were in a fight.
"Boxer!" Anna shouted. "Fighting?"
Elsa dropped her hands and furrowed her brows. Then, she pretended to draw an imaginary arrow from a quiver on her back. She bashfully went through the motions of nocking the arrow in the bow and releasing it.
"Melody? Archer!" Anna threw out more guesses.
"Uhh…" Elsa shook her head and frowned hard. She stared blankly at Anna and then pointed at the far corner of the room.
Anna looked across her shoulder to see that Elsa was pointing at a sword.
"Knight!"
Elsa grinned a little and gestured frantically with her hands and cut through the air in jerky, awkward motions. If she was trying to nudge Anna in the right direction, Anna had to give her credit for trying her best. So she was getting warmer.
"Swordsman?"
Elsa pretended to put on a mask, and then shyly feigned holding a sword.
"Time's up!" Olaf shouted.
"Mercenary!" Elsa blurted out.
"Oh…." Anna leaned back in her chair, grinning widely. To be fair, this was a pretty tough word to act out.
Nonetheless, they all had a good time together, and Anna did her best to drag family game night in an attempt to make the fun and joy last as long as possible. After charades, Anna suggested cards, and then a game of hide and seek. By this time, it was already five minutes past midnight, and Anna hoped that Elsa didn't notice the time.
"Shall we go for another round?" Anna asked hopefully.
"Uhh sure." Kristoff said. He knew what she was trying to do but had just decided to play along.
"Of course!" Olaf chimed in and Sven gave her a grunt of excitement.
"Anna, it's getting late." Elsa said.
"Really?" Anna feigned surprise and looked at the clock. "Ohh, right."
"I should really get going."
"You know what? I have a better idea." Anna said. It was time to pull yet another trick out of the bag. "Since it's so late, why not stay the night in the castle? There's plenty of space in my room. And oh, I know! We could go to the city church for the early service together in the morning and have breakfast after, before you leave for the forest again."
Elsa chuckled and shook her head. "I know what you were trying to do."
"What?"
"Dragging out the games so that I would forget about the time and asking me to spend the night." Elsa smiled. "Pretty smart move actually, hoping I wouldn't notice, but I did."
Anna sighed. "Alright, you caught me. But would you at least stay the night?"
Elsa shook her head apologetically. "I'm sorry, Anna. But my home is with the Northuldra now. I made a promise to protect the forest. Don't worry, I'll be back again soon. And remember, I'm never far away."
"Okay." Anna sighed deeply. Not far for Elsa, since she had a magical water horse to bring her wherever she wanted to go in the shortest span of time, but millions of miles away for a mere mortal like the queen herself.
"Hey," Elsa placed a hand on Anna's shoulder. "You're doing great as the queen. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
"Can I walk you out?" Kristoff offered.
"I'll be fine, Kristoff, but thanks." Elsa said as she gave her sister a tight hug and did the same with Kristoff and Olaf. She scratched Sven on the nose and waved goodbye to her family.
"And there she goes again." Kristoff remarked as Elsa walked out of the room.
Anna slumped on the sofa moodily.
Kristoff motioned for Sven and Olaf to give them some time alone, and Olaf shot a mischievous and curious look at him. He rolled his eyes as the two left the room.
"Anna, are you okay?" Kristoff asked.
"Yeah," Anna said. "It's just that…I don't know when this became the new normal for us."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, Elsa and I living apart like this, having to wait for two weeks before we get to see each other, and feeling the sadness and pain whenever she leaves to go back to the forest." Anna sighed and shook her head. "It hurts to see her go every time."
"I know how hard this must've been." Kristoff said empathetically. "She's my family too."
"I just…" Anna looked at Kristoff helplessly. "I'm scared that eventually she'll forget about me."
"What? No, no, no. Come here," Kristoff drew her into his embrace. "Elsa will never forget about you. Never. She loves you too much to ever let that happen."
"I hope so," Anna whispered.
"You're tired, Anna. It's been a long day. Come on, it's time for bed." Kristoff said with his arm around her shoulder, ushering her out of the room and back to her own bedroom.