Chapter Nineteen

Diplomatic Mission

ANNA

Tossing another of her most formal and regal looking dresses into the acacia trunk on her bed, she looked back at her wardrobe. Was that enough? She really couldn't tell. After all, there was no knowing how long she would be away from home. It was better to bring a sufficient change of clothes in case she got thrown in a dungeon somewhere.

Anna shuddered and tried to shake the thought from her mind. Now I'm just being absurd. It's a normal bilateral summit. Sort of. Queens and kings did it all the time. There's nothing to be jittery about.

"You sure you packed everything?"

Anna didn't need to turn to see who it was. It was the same person who had been standing by her door and watching her pack for the past hour.

"Yeah." Anna threw the last blouse into the trunk and sat on top of it. Thankfully, it shut with a click. She had been worried that the trunk wouldn't close on account of how many things she had stuffed in there. Only essentials, she had told herself at the beginning, but somehow her trunk had ended up jam-packed and looking like it was about to burst open at any moment.

"You sure this is the right idea?" Kristoff asked.

She knew what he was getting at. "Of course I'm sure." No I'm not. Just last night, she had confided in her sister about her feelings of inadequacy and doubts, but Kristoff didn't know that. With all that was about to be piled upon his shoulders, Anna felt that he should be spared one more extra burden.

"I don't know how you can be so confident about something like this." Kristoff said, his arms folded as he leaned against the door frame.

"I have to be." She put on a strong front. "I have to believe that we will get through this together. Even if we're on different teams this time."

"You know, I'm not comfortable with the idea of you travelling to Denmark alone. You'll be going right into the lion's den by yourself."

"As you've mentioned the first hundred times." Anna laughed. "And I won't be going alone. I've got Tracy and Maui and Will coming with me, remember?"

"Still…" Kristoff trailed off.

Anna got off the trunk and walked towards Kristoff. "I think what you mean is: you don't feel comfortable about not being able to come with me." She ran a hand through Kristoff's golden blonde hair.

"I…"

Anna laughed and ruffled his hair. "Which begs the question. Are you more worried about me going to the Empire's new headquarters? Or the fact that you'll have to lead the kingdom in my absence?"

Kristoff grumbled indistinctly. "I'm not sure I'm cut out for administration or running a kingdom."

"Take it as training, Lord Bjorgman." She said dramatically. She knew he hated his official title and loved to see his flush. "After all, you're going to be the new King of Arendelle."

"Prince Consort." He corrected her quickly. "The moment you get back, the kingdom's all yours again."

"The moment I get back and this is all over, we should start thinking about the wedding." Anna grinned. "I did promise to marry you, after all."

Kristoff chuckled and rubbed her cheek tenderly. "First things first."

"Right. Have you got Olaf and Sven stowed away somewhere safe for the time being?"

"Of course. They'll be safe till this thing is all over."

"Good." The last thing she needed was to have to worry about her friends. She walked back to the bed and picked up a royal cape with purple inner lining. She fastened it onto her black and green dress, which she had picked out specially for an occasion like this one. It wasn't everyday that she was going on a diplomatic mission to save her kingdom from a power hungry tyrant.

The cape fell from her shoulders, cascading down to her knees, and the royal purple gave her a sense of confidence and power. Straightening up, she felt more powerful and authoritative, and attempted to pick up the trunk. The weight of the thing dragged her down considerably, and Anna found herself wondering if she really even needed to bring it.

"Here, let me." Kristoff hoisted it up with one hand and rested it on his broad shoulder.

"Thanks." It was really convenient having a boyfriend who used to be an ice harvester, accustomed to manual labour and the lugging about of heavy items such as one queen's suitcase full of "essentials".

The two of them walked out of the room and down the stairs towards the foyer. Kristoff seemed to be having no trouble with carrying the cumbersome thing at all. Once they arrived at the foyer, Kristoff handed the trunk off to the royal servants who began the process of transporting it out to the docks.

Anna held his hand. "You ready?"

"I'm not the one who has to make a speech to the kingdom."

Anna chuckled. She had tasked her publicity staff to send out word the previous day that she was going to be making a speech in the courtyard. The people had a right to know the truth. That something was coming and that they should be prepared.

Marching towards the door with Kristoff hand in hand, the palace servant opened the doors and she was greeted by the sight of a courtyard crammed full of citizens and Northuldra alike.

She literally had to drag Kristoff out in front of everyone with her, and cleared her throat, holding up a hand to signal that she was about to speak. Clearing her throat, she glanced at Kristoff who was trying hard to mask his awkwardness. He has to get used to this at some point if he's going to be King.

"Thank you." Anna began. "And good morning to you all. I've called for a press conference of sorts because I have something important to tell everyone. And I trust that the word will spread once this is over. As you all might have noticed, there are foreigners among you."

She gestured to the Northuldra who were dressed in their own cultural clothing made of fur and their more tribal appearances. The people began to whisper among themselves and she had to hold her hand up again.

"I won't take up too much of your time." Anna continued. "I'm sure you all have heard of the Empire that has been growing larger day by day. Exon's conquest has posed a great threat to our continent and we are taking certain measures to ensure that they do not get to our borders.

"And so, we have called upon the Northuldra to work together with us. Today marks a momentous day where the Northuldra people and the Arendellians co-exist together peacefully and strive together to protect each other."

She nodded at General Mattias who was standing by the side, and Yelena who was at the opposite end. The two walked up to where Anna was standing and stopped when they reached each other.

Anna's personal assistant, Hayley, who was waiting nearby as well, promptly produced two pens and a paper on which the two leaders signed. As they shook hands, the courtyard was filled with applause from both sides. There was an air of accomplishment and Anna swelled a little with pride.

Here she had achieved what no one else had before, with her sister's help of course. Uniting the Northuldra and the Arendellians peacefully after their grandfather had sought to destroy them decades ago.

"Thank you." She said in a loud voice, nodding at Yelena and General Mattias. "And I know that the news of the Empire might be worrying to some. But please, don't worry. We're taking several steps to ensure that war will never come to our home." This part she wasn't exactly confident of, if she was being honest, but of course she couldn't say that in front of the crowd.

She gestured Kristoff forward. He had taken a few steps back away from the eyes of the crowd.

"My fiancé, Lord Bjorgman will be overseeing the administrative operations as well as the joint precautionary measures that will be conducted between the Arendellian army and the Northuldra, all in a bid to defend ourselves from the Empire's approach." She gestured at Kristoff, who was blushing red.

"And as for myself, I will be journeying to Denmark to meet with the Empire's leader in an attempt to stop any potential conflict. Rest assured, we will be doing everything we can to make sure that Arendelle remains a safe haven for the Northuldra and Arendellians alike. Thank you."

She smiled and waved as the people clapped politely, and took Kristoff by the arm. This time, he was more than willing to comply and hurried back into the castle with Anna.

"That went pretty well, don't you think?" Anna said.

"Yeah." As far as she could tell, Kristoff was visibly relieved to be away from the eyes of the public.

"You'll get used to it." Anna laughed. "Now I need to get to the docks."

"I could come see you off." Kristoff offered.

Anna shook her head. "I'll love for you to come, but you have work to do." Here she grinned at him and landed a kiss on his cheek. "From here on out, consider yourself the ruler of Arendelle."

"Prince Consort." He reminded her as he pulled her in for a long hug. "Please be safe and get back as soon as possible."

"I will."

###

Pulling away from Kristoff, Anna headed toward the West Wing of the castle, where the exit led out to a private exit and a clear road down to the docks. Arriving outside the West Wing, she was surprised to see Colonel Frederick waiting by the carriage together with Lieutenant Evans, the escort from the Queen's Guard as well as the royal servants with her baggage.

"Fred?" she said as she started down towards the carriage. "What are you doing here?"

"Good morning, Your Majesty." Frederick bowed with his usual air of military decorum.

She waved away his formalities. "Shouldn't you be down at the base working with Vonco and the others?"

"They have it well in hand with the captains and Colonel Foley for the time being." Frederick opened the door of the carriage. "Besides, I thought I would come down to the docks with you. You know, for old times' sake."

Anna grinned. Good old Fred. He might no longer be the Captain of the Queen's Guard, but he was still an old friend of the royal family. Even though he never openly admitted it, he was probably still honouring a pact with her father to watch over the two sisters.

"Thanks Fred." She climbed into the carriage.

"Anytime, Your Majesty." He climbed in and sat opposite her, motioning to the escorts to lead the way.

As they travelled down to the docks, Anna looked out the carriage window. The docks. It flooded her with so nostalgia. This was the first place she had gone to when the gates of the kingdom had been opened for the first time in years. It was the day of her sister's coronation and Anna still remembered the raw feeling of joy she had experienced running out of the castle, into the city and down to the docks where dignitaries and ambassadors from other kingdoms were disembarking.

Unfortunately, this was also where she had first met Hans, the Prince of the Southern Isles. She soured a little at the thought of him. Nothing like the memory of meeting the wretched man for the first time to spoil her mood. What would her life have been like if she had never met Prince Hans?

She wouldn't have almost died, for one. And maybe Elsa would still be hiding her powers away from the world, and she would be back to living boxed up in the four walls of the castle, shut out from everyone. And she wouldn't have met Kristoff, Olaf, Sven, Melody, Tracy and the rest.

Her bumping into Hans for the first time was a sour memory, but maybe it didn't turn out all bad. After all, it did open her up to new friends and loved ones, and she did eventually get to go on adventures with the Warriors. And best of all, she had eventually reconnected with Elsa who had shut her out all her life.

So maybe there was a silver lining to all that. But now, Hans was again going to be the cause of an uproar in her life, by the looks of it. King Ulrich had given her six days - now five - to bring back his son. An impossible task, since she had no clue where the cursed prince could be.

Anna snapped out of her thoughts when she noticed Tracy, Maui and Will waiting at the end of the docks. A royal ship was waiting together with them, but it was the odd sight of the three Warriors that really drew her attention.

Will was dressed in the garb of one of her Queen's Guardsmen, a formal military dress uniform that was only adorned by soldiers on the most prestigious of occasions. She'd wanted Arendelle to make a good impression on the Empress and whoever was with her, and had instructed Lieutenant Evans to have two uniforms prepared for Will and Maui.

Complementing the smart green military top were black trousers and polished black boots - no doubt the real soldiers had shined them. This was a brand new look for Will, who as far as Anna remembered, had always been dressed in a carpenter's garb and couldn't care less about wearing clothes stained by oil and sweat. He had also slicked his hair back in neat military fashion, which was vastly different from the usual messy appearance he usually displayed.

Matching his appearance was Maui, who was similarly dressed. Anna was incredibly surprised that the soldiers had found a size that could fit the towering demigod. Either that, or the tailors must have had worked furiously overnight. The dress uniform he was wearing appeared to be bursting at the seams though, and the outline of his attractive muscles on his arms, chest and back could be seen quite prominently through his shirt.

The trousers seemed tight too, but the boots had to be the worst. They were practically about to fall apart, unable to contain the demigod's gigantic feet. Pleasantly amused, she really wondered how he had managed to squeeze into the entire outfit and she couldn't resist the urge to grin at him.

Maui's trademark fish hook was missing too, and Anna guessed that it was back in the castle in his guest room. This diplomatic mission meant that no powers were to be used at all to avoid suspicion, and it certainly would raise a few eyebrows if a particularly large Arendellian soldier was carrying a fish hook instead of a traditional musket.

The best though, was definitely Tracy hands down. The trademark black leather was nowhere to be found, but had instead been replaced by a frilly green dress with floral patterns which hung loosely around the girl's ankles. It no doubt gave her the air of a personal assistant, which was exactly the point. The usual boots were gone too, and high heels had been worn in their place. She could almost see Tracy struggling to maintain her balance while even remaining still.

That was not all though. The former sea witch had no choice but to ditch the dreadlocks and now sported black hair pulled back into a neat bun at the back of her head, and she now even wore a pair of round-rimmed spectacles which sat gingerly on the bridge of her nose. That last part definitely had to have been the work of Hayley, her actual assistant who would be remaining behind with Kristoff and the others.

"What're you staring at?" Tracy scowled and tugged uncomfortably at the collar of her dress, completely uncharacteristic of the part she was meant to play, and Anna couldn't help but break out into a fit of giggles.

Not bad, really. Even better than she had expected. "Looks like we're all set." Anna glanced round at the Warriors, and then back at her actual servants and guards.

"Be safe, Your Majesty." Frederick bowed.

"Of course. Keep Arendelle safe while I'm gone." She waved, and climbed up to the deck of the ship together with the Warriors.

The ship pulled away from the docks, and Anna watched as Arendelle shrank to little more than a small dot in the distance. Only then did she turn to the front, gazing out into the horizon. Was she ready for what was about to come? Not really, no. She had only gone through briefly in her mind what she was going to say to the Empress when they met.

It was a two hour journey, so it really wasn't that long. However, it was long enough to get on her nerves and she got the jitters as the ship began to pull into the harbour of Denmark.

"You okay?" Maui asked her, noticing her discomfort.

Anna gulped and let out a sharp gust of air. "Whew. I'm getting jumpy."

"It's gonna be fine, Anna. Chill." Tracy said. She had avoided walking around too much due to her not being used to high heels, but she had begun to get the hang of it and just in time too. "You'll do fine."

Straightening up, Anna sucked in a deep breath. Yeah I would. I was born ready.