Chapter Eight

The Southern Isles

ANNA

The next morning at daybreak, Anna was awakened by the sound of steady knocking on her bedroom door, which was annoyingly incessant.

"Yeah?" She groaned, still half asleep.

"Your Majesty?" The voice outside was familiar.

"Yeah?" She slurred as she fought to sit up, eyes still closed. "What is it?"

"There's an urgent matter which requires your attention." It took Anna a while, but she finally placed the voice as Frederick's.

"Fred?" She opened her eyes groggily. "What's going on?"

"Might I suggest you wash up and get dressed now, Your Majesty?" There was a tone of firmness in his voice which made her realise the magnitude of the situation, whatever it was. "I'll see you downstairs."

With all her willpower, Anna forced herself out of bed and plonked her feet on the carpeted ground. She went to her bathroom and splashed some cold water on her face to freshen up, before trying her best to untangle the mess on top of her head. After fighting to make her hair look as close to presentable as possible, she threw on a coat over her nightgown and slipped into a comfortable pair of shoes before heading out of her room, which was still dark.

Arriving at the bottom of the flight of stairs, she found Colonel Frederick, General Mattias and couple of armed soldiers from the Queen's Guard.

"What's going on?" Anna asked.

"Good morning, Your Majesty." Mattias bowed, and the rest followed suit. "Sorry to bother you this early, but there's a foreign ship heading towards our docks."

"What?" Anna rushed out of the castle, followed by her entourage. Outside the castle, she looked out at the nearby docks, where a ship was looming in the still dark horizon.

"According to my men down in the intelligence sector, the ship bears the flag of the Southern Isles." Frederick said.

"The Southern Isles?" Anna echoed and frowned. It had been close to two years since the two kingdoms had had any dealings with each other, since the villainous Prince Hans had tried to usurp Arendelle's throne. Whatever could their people want with Arendelle now?

"Your Majesty, what do you want us to do?" Mattias asked. "Shall we allow the ship to come in? Or do you want us to set up a defence position at the docks? We don't have time to send out our ships to intercept their path. I could have my artillery battery stationed here as a precaution."

"No," Anna waved a hand. "We don't want to start a full blown war with the Southern Isles. Let them come in, and we'll see what they want."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Mattias said. "But all the same, we'll have an increased number of guards, just in case."

Frederick motioned to one of his lieutenants to fetch more reinforcements.

As the ship drew nearer to the docks, Anna could see for herself the ship's flag, and sure enough, it was the flag of the Southern Isles. She rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet, growing increasingly jumpy though she tried to hide it as she watched the ship dock.

A platoon of soldiers formed up in two columns, muskets in hand with bayonets attached. They faced the ship, flanking a straight path for the queen and the senior officers to walk down.

A man peered over the deck of the ship nervously and called out. "I come in peace!" He climbed down the rungs of the ship, touching down on dry ground. "I'm just a messenger from the Southern Isles."

"Who sent you?" Anna asked.

"His Majesty, King Ulrich Westergaard."

Anna cocked an eyebrow. Westergaard. That was Han's family name.

The man stood a distance away from her, eyeing the armed soldiers warily. "King Ulrich has requested the queen's immediate presence upon the delivery of this message." The messenger said. "That is all."

"Wait, what?" Anna was confused. "You came all the way here to tell me that?"

The messenger nodded. "That was what His Majesty tasked me to do."

"Did he say why he wanted to see me?" Anna probed. "Why now? It's been two years since our kingdoms have had any dealings with each other."

"I don't know, Your Majesty." The messenger said. "But a word of advice if I may? Heed the king's words, for he is not a pleasant man to deal with when he's angry."

"I can tell, after having dealt with his son." Anna muttered under her breath. "Thanks for the advice anyway."

The messenger bowed again, before turning to leave. He was escorted back to the ship by two of the soldiers, and Anna turned to walk a short distance away with Frederick and Mattias.

"Dare I ask what's going on?" Frederick broke the silence.

"Honestly, I have no idea." Anna stared at the two men blankly. "Why would the King of the Southern Isles want to meet me, and on such short notice too?"

"Beats me, Your Majesty." Mattias said.

Anna frowned and scratched her nose.

"I assume you're going to the Southern Isles then?" Frederick asked.

"Doesn't look like I have much of a choice."

"I'll have your ship ready to set sail by…" Frederick took out his pocket watch. "Seven o'clock."

"Thanks, Fred." Anna said.

"Please excuse me." Frederick bowed to Anna and saluted Mattias before he departed to make the necessary arrangements for Anna's trip to the Southern Isles.

"Are you alright, Your Majesty?" Mattias asked.

"I don't know." Anna admitted.

"If you want, I can send one of our own messengers to inform King Ulrich that you're not feeling up to the journey."

"No no no." Anna looked up. "I have to deal with this. Whatever this is."

"Understood, Your Majesty."

###

By the time seven o'clock had struck, Anna had already filled in Kristoff on her newest predicament, and he had insisted on following her to the Southern Isles for her own protection. She wanted to argue, but then quickly realised there was no talking Kristoff out of going. He was as determined and stubborn as she was. They had their belongings packed and dressed in formal clothes, and boarded the royal ship together with a couple of soldiers from the Queen's Guard as well as Hayley, the queen's personal assistant.

"You know," Kristoff began when they were alone in the private quarters of their ship, away from the ears of everyone else. "There's something I wanted to talk to you last night, but it didn't seem like a good time."

"The truth is," Anna blurted out before she could stop herself. "I have something I wanted to tell you too, but everyone was so happy last night that I didn't want to spoil the mood."

"What?"

"Never mind, you go first." Anna said quickly. "You were the first to bring it up anyway."

"No, no. Now I'm nervous." Kristoff raised his eyebrows. "You go first. What did you want to tell me?"

"It's…about the kingdom actually." Anna tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "We have a new problem. A big one."

"Okay…" Kristoff crossed his arms.

"I paid a visit to General Mattias and Colonel Frederick yesterday." Anna said slowly. "They called me in for a top secret meeting."

"Wait," Kristoff interrupted. "Is this something I'm officially allowed to know?"

"Sooner or later, everyone will know." Anna muttered to herself.

"What?"

"Yeah, it's important." Anna said. "You know of the Empire of Exon right?"

"My knowledge about the world is kind of limited to reindeer and ice." Kristoff admitted. "Remind me again?"

"Okay long story short, they used to be a kingdom. And now they're an empire, thanks to their new queen - now Empress." Anna continued. "They've conquered everything in their path, and they're moving up north towards us."

"They're coming to Arendelle?"

Anna nodded with an air of gravity. Although telling Kristoff didn't solve anything, it felt good getting that off her chest. With bated breath, she waited for Kristoff to react.

"That's…" Kristoff finally said. "A lot to take in for one morning."

Anna laughed breathlessly, a little nervous.

"But thank you for telling me." Kristoff gave her a small, reassuring grin. "Thanks for letting me into your inner circle."

"I thought you already were." Anna grinned back.

"What did Mattias and Frederick say they were going to do about the Empire?"

"They're monitoring the situation." Anna explained. "They said they would update me if there was any new development. I'm sure they have a plan…I think."

Kristoff nodded and chuckled. "I guess you win. Your story's a lot better than mine. And it sort of proves my point, ironically."

"What do you wanna tell me?" Anna asked.

"I don't know if now is even the right time, what with everything going on." Kristoff rambled on. "As it is, you already have enough on your plate to deal with. Maybe this can wait. Till this crisis is over, and then-"

"Kristoff!" Anna grabbed him by the ears. "What is it you're trying to say?"

He freed himself from Anna's grasp and cleared his throat. "Ummn, well, it's been five months since we got engaged. And we haven't really gotten down to planning our wedding. We don't even know when we're having it. I just thought we should start thinking about our future together."

Anna sighed. "You're right, I guess. It's been five months and we haven't really gotten anywhere. But with everything that's going on now, I don't know. Not that I don't wanna get married." She added the last part quickly. "It's just that… like you said, it doesn't seem like a good time.

"There's too much on my plate right now and I want to get things right. I owe it to the people of Arendelle to be the queen they deserve, and I owe it to you to give you my full focus and devotion. But I can't do both right now. As harsh as it sounds, my first priority is still to Arendelle."

There was a silence after Anna finished, and she waited anxiously for Kristoff to speak.

"I understand." Kristoff nodded.

"Really?"

"Yeah." Kristoff said. "I get it. It's okay. We'll just have to wait for a better time. When things blow over and get more stable."

"Phew." Anna grinned. "For a moment there I thought you might get upset."

"Nope," Kristoff took her hand. "I understand. Besides, my love is not fragile."

Anna squeezed his big, calloused hand. "At least we're still together, even if we aren't married yet."

"Yeah." Kristoff smiled. "What about Elsa?"

"What about her?"

"Now that she's no longer cooped up in Arendelle and free to be herself with the Northuldra," Kristoff said. "Do you think she's found her special someone yet?"

Anna snorted. "My sister? She's a tough nut to crack. I don't think she'll be opening her heart up to anyone anytime soon."

"Don't be too surprised. You never know."

"I know my sister well enough." Anna chuckled. "Elsa falling in love? That'll be the day."

###

Within an hour, they arrived at the shore of the Southern Isles. The entourage from Arendelle were received by a Southern Isles ambassador, who had carriages prepared for the royal guests and their followers. As the horse carriages were pulled through the city, Anna looked out of hers. She'd never been to the Southern Isles before, as she had never had a need to. Not that she wanted to either, after what Hans had attempted to do to her kingdom. The colours of the entire kingdom seemed to be so much duller than Arendelle's in general, with buildings that looked like they had not been renovated or refurbished in decades. It looked like the Southern Isles had survived a war of some sort years ago, and never fully took the time to reconstruct the city. The citizens looked moody and unfriendly as well, and the entire atmosphere just felt incredibly different from Arendelle. A lot heavier and darker.

No wonder Hans wanted Arendelle for himself, Anna mused. Who wants to be king of such a lifeless kingdom?

Finally, the carriages arrived outside a palace that stood out in stark contrast to the rest of the buildings in the kingdom. The home of the king had amazing architecture and was extremely large, looking like it had just been renovated not long ago. Apparently the government prioritized the well being and comfort of the king so much so that they completely neglected the citizens of the Southern Isles. Anna grimaced. She hoped that something like that would never happen to Arendelle. Not on her watch, at the very least.

Anna and Kristoff were brought into the audience chambers, while Hayley and the escorts from the Queen's Guard waited outside in the foyer. King Ulrich Westergaard was already seated on his throne, waiting for them impatiently. He was a broad shouldered man, with white hair that was slicked back and a well trimmed beard, topped off with the same green eyes and pale skin that his son Hans had.

"King Ulrich?" Anna said cautiously, approaching the man with Kristoff by her side.

Ulrich stood up, straightening out and adjusting his royal regalia. "Queen Anna of Arendelle, I presume. Pardon me for being so direct, but word of your sister's abdication came as a surprise to us all." He turned to Kristoff and sized him up haughtily. "And you are?"

"Lord Bjorgman of Arendelle." Kristoff bowed.

"My fiancé." Anna explained.

"Ah." Ulrich seemed amused. "I see you found someone else after my son's-" here he cleared his throat. "Mistake."

Anna remained quiet, not knowing how to respond to that. Or rather, she did, but her answer would be incredibly impolite and it would be better not to say it for the sake of bilateral relations. As it was, the relationship between Arendelle and the Southern Isles was already unstable enough after the incident with Hans two years ago.

Ulrich paced around his two visitors slowly. "As you both probably already know, I am King Ulrich Westergaard, sovereign ruler of the Southern Isles. You've met my youngest son, Hans."

"Yes." Anna replied cautiously.

"Which brings me to why I called you here, Your Majesty." Ulrich returned to his original spot, facing Anna and Kristoff. "It's regarding Hans."

"Hans?" Anna was confused. "What about him?"

"He has gone missing." Ulrich said coldly, without any trace of parental sentiment in his voice. "As you know, after his treacherous crimes in Arendelle, he was sentenced to prison to serve ten years without any possibility of parole. I gave the order myself."

Anna was beginning to get a little disgusted. She could see the resemblance between father and son. Ruthless, arrogant and cold.

"When did he go missing?" Anna asked, trying her best to sound concerned. Honestly, she couldn't care less about what happened to Hans. How could she, after what he had tried to do?

"I have no idea when this happened. The warden of the prison had been covering up his disappearance. Apparently, according to one of the guards who came to me discreetly, Hans had already been gone for some time after a disturbance in the prison. The warden had kept it quiet to protect his reputation." Ulrich said. "Of course, I had him executed for his deceit and incompetence to keep my son locked up."

Anna bristled. "So Hans escaped? With all due respect, Your Majesty, I'm not sure what all this has to do with me."

"You can stop keeping up the facade." Ulrich's cold voice abruptly turned into a nasty snarl. "I know that you have something to do with my son's disappearance."

"What?" Anna was taken aback at the change in his disposition. Still unpleasant, but even worse now.

"You have it wrong, Your Majesty." Kristoff defended her as politely as he could manage. He was still not exactly accustomed to royal etiquette. "Before today, Queen Anna didn't even know that your son had gone missing. I swear, we have nothing to do with this."

"Silence," Ulrich snapped fiercely at Kristoff. "You will speak when spoken to."

"It's true, Your Majesty." Anna protested. "Arendelle has nothing to do with Prince Hans's disappearance!"

"You're lying." Ulrich seethed, his face turning as red as a beetroot. "You're holding my son prisoner. He's rotting in some deep dark dungeon in Arendelle and is being tortured, isn't he?"

"Why would-" Anna stuttered at the absurdity of his claim. "Why would I hold him prisoner? It's been two years since Hans came to Arendelle. Two years. If I wanted to pay him back for what he did to my family, wouldn't I have done it sooner? This doesn't make any sense."

"You have the gall to paint my son as the villain?" Ulrich snarled. "He's not a villain. He's nothing more than a pathetic loser who tried to marry his way into a different kingdom when he knew he would never be King of the Southern Isles. And you had him broken out of prison to exact vengeance against him."

"That's ridiculous!" Anna exclaimed, throwing all royal etiquette out the window. "You have it all wrong!"

"Stupid little girl." Ulrich spat acidly. "Trying to cover up your crime, but you can't hide the truth from me. Hans might be a worm, but he's still a part of the Westergaard family, no matter how insignificant he is. And if you mess with my family, you're messing with the entire kingdom of the Southern Isles."

"Would you listen to me for a minute? This doesn't make any sense!"

"You have six days." Ulrich ignored Anna's protests. "Count that as a show of mercy. Complicit in his capture or not, if Hans is not returned to my custody within six days, a war is coming to Arendelle's shores on the morning of the seventh. You will taste the wrath of the Southern Isles.

"You think my son was a menace? Wait till you see what the entire navy of the Southern Isles is capable of. Test me, if you dare. I will not hesitate to unleash everything I have. You will not be spared."

Anna and Kristoff both stared at the enraged and raving king, bewildered and speechless.

Ulrich sat down on his throne. "The clock is ticking."

It was clear that there was no use arguing with the hot blooded king. He only saw what he wanted to see, and was far too stubborn to consider the possibility that Hans might have escaped of his own accord. Maybe his father really thought that he was too stupid and incompetent to break out of prison.

Anna shook her head and left the room together with Kristoff.

"Well, that was a complete disaster in there." Anna let out a long breath. "So much for bilateral relations."

"He's mad." Kristoff said plainly when they were safely out of earshot of anyone from the Southern Isles. "What do you plan to do? We have no idea where Hans is. He could literally be anywhere in the world by now."

"I don't know." Anna pursed her lips. First the threat of the Empire of Exon, and now six days till Arendelle faces the wrath of the Southern Isles. Ugh, things just got a whole lot more complicated.