Of Wars and Family

Book 3 of Of Shackled Hands and Open Hearts Series

A/N: Finally Book Three is here. I know a lot of you have been waiting patiently for it. I tried to get a few chapters written ahead of time before publishing, unfortunately, I didn't get as many done as I had planned before starting to publish the first chapters. Please bear with me as I write and share this story. I am trying a slightly different style with book 3 compared to books 1 and 2; there will be more time jumps than in the first two stories. Please let me know your thoughts, I appreciate any constructive criticism. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

November 20, 1846

Trondheim Times

Queen Dowager Karina To Return To Russia, Prince Issac Officially Proclaimed King of Norway

The Royal Palace has officially declared that Queen Karina is not with child, confirming speculations that heir presumptive Crown Prince Issac is the new King of Norway. The Queen was placed in confinement following the death of King Harkon on October 10th. The Palace recognizes the traditional confinement period for a widowed Queen is three months; however, the Queen and King, due to a visit to Russia by the Queen and the royal duties of the late King, had not been in one another's presence for two months. Queen Karina has expressed her desire to return to her home country and will be set to leave Norway in the coming weeks. Crown Prince Issac has been officially recognized as King of Norway by parliament. The coronation of King Issac is set for late December.

November 30, 1846

Bergen Daily Press

The House of Nordberg-Hague: Getting To Know The New Royal Family of Norway

His Majesty King Issac is the grandson of King John of Norway through King John's youngest son Prince Frederick of Norway. Prince Frederick married Queen Margaretha of Vakerrta's sister Princess Karianna, Duchess of Hague. Upon their marriage, Frederick took on his wife's title as Vakretta is an absolute primogeniture. Prince Fredrick and Princess Karianne had two children, King Issac and his younger brother Prince Markus of Vakretta. King Issac married Princess Catherine of Great Britain and became Duke of Hague upon his mother's death in 1835. King Issac and Princess Catherine have 3 issues; Princess Sofie, Princess Mary, and Prince Pieter. King Issac's brother Prince Markus married a French noblewoman, Claudette of Grand Est. Prince Markus and Lady Claudette have two children Princess Josephine and Prince Frans.

HRH Princess Sofie Duchess of Hague was born at the family estate in Hague in August 1809, she is the eldest child of King Issac and Queen Catherine and as heir to her father's Vakrettian titles; she became Duchess of Hague upon her father's ascension to the Norwegian throne. Princess Sophie married the fifth son of the Zarian King, Prince Abram. Princess Sophie and Prince Abram have two sons, Prince Gerard Johan Alwin born May 1833 and Prince Issac Christiaan Nicolaas, born June 1836. Princess Sophie continues to reside in Vakretta.

HRH Princess Mary Marchioness of Drachten was born at the family estate in Hague in February 1811 and is the second child of King Issac and Queen Catherine. Princess Mary married Steffen Marquis of Drachten in March 1834. Princess Mary and Marquis Steffen have two children, Prince Hendrick William Charles, born November 1835 and Princess Karianne Catherine Maria born January 1838. Princess Mary continues to reside in Vakretta.

HRH Prince Pieter Duke of the North Mountain and Earl of Snodehiem, Prince Consort of Arendelle. Prince Pieter was born at the family Estate in Hague in August 1812, the youngest of King Issac's children and the only son. Prince Pieter moved to England at eighteen where he began his studies in medicine. He met and married Lady Harrietta, the first daughter of the Earl of Twerskberry, the two were wed when Prince Pieter was 19 and Lady Harrietta 18. Lady Harrietta passed away after giving birth to a stillborn son less than two years into their marriage. Prince Pieter remained in England where he finished his studies in medicine, becoming a physician. He practiced in London until he traveled to Arendelle in 1841 for the 'Fall of Suitors' as one of many royal and noble men seeking the hand of Her Majesty Queen Elsa of Arendelle. Prince Pieter and Queen Elsa were married in May 1843. Their Majesties have three surviving children, triplets: Crown Prince Aren Agnarr Bjorn, Princess Solveig Liv Anna, and Prince Haakan Issac Odin, born in June 1845. The triplets were reported to be born extremely early and their survival is seen as miraculous. The Majesties' first child, The Angel Princess of Arendelle, Astrid Engle Hilda, was stillborn after an assassination attempt on Queen Elsa's life, in Corona during Princess Edith's christening, in April 1844. Prince Pieter currently resides in Arendelle.

HRH Prince Markus and Lady Claudette Princess of Vakretta reside on a small country estate outside of Eindhoven that was left to him by his father. Prince Markus is a Kolonel in the Royal Vakrettian Army.

HH Prince Frans was born at the family estate in 1814. He followed his father's footsteps into the Royal Vakretta Army and is currently a Luitenant-Kolonel. Prince Frans married Lady Lucetta in 1835. They have two children Lord Markus born in 1837 and Jonkheer Fredrick in 1841.

HH Princess Josephine was born at the family estate in 1818. She married Lord James Earl of Aberdeen in 1839. Princess Josephine Countess of Aberdeen and Lord James had three children Lord Albert born in 1841, Lady Mary born in 1843, and Lady Charlotte born in 1846.

December 20, 1846

Oslo Herald

Coronation of King Issac

Trondheim-In a modest yet regal ceremony, King Issac was crowned King of Norway. The King made his way towards Nidaros Cathedral at precisely noon in a gold gilded carriage accompanied by the Queen Consort. Members of the Royal Household walked beside the carriage flanked by members of the Royal King's Guards. Regiments of the Norwegian Army processed behind the King's Carriage. The members of the royal family lead the procession to Nidaros with His Royal Highness Crown Prince Pieter accompanied by his wife Her Majesty Queen Elsa of Arendelle in the foremost carriage behind several regiments of the Royal Norwegian Navy followed by Her Royal Highness Princess Sophie Duchess of Hague and her husband His Grace Duke Gerard of Hague, and Her Royal Highness Princess Mary and her husband The Most Honorable Marquis Steffen of Drachten. Following the Princesses were His Royal Highness Prince Markus and Her Royal Highness Lady Claudette and their family; including His Highness Prince Frans and his wife Lady Lucetta and Her Highness Princess Josephine Countess of Aberdeen and Lord James Earl of Aberdeen. Munkegata, the main road leading from Stiftsgården to Nidaros Cathedral was lined with thousands of well-wishers, waving and calling out God Bless the King.

The procession arrived promptly at 12:10. The royal family entered the cathedral before the King, led once again by HRH Crown Prince Pieter and HM Queen Elsa. The members of Norwegian clergy, nobility, and parliament were seated towards the front of the Cathedral with visiting foreign royalty including: His Royal Highness Crown Prince Charles Duke of Utrect, Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth Marchioness of Eiden (the Vakrettian cousins of King Issac), Her Royal Highness Princess Anna Countess of Trollmoen and His Lordship Kristoff Earl of Trollmoen and foreign dignitaries sat towards the back of the cathedral. Members of local governments across Norway filled out the remainder of the cathedral.

The Bishop of Trondheim, Bishop of Bergen, and the Bishop of Oslo greeted the King at the entrance of the cathedral with the proclamation "The Lord bless you're going out and you're coming in now and forevermore". The King and Queen proceeded to their thrones in the choir of the cathedral. The Bishop of Trondheim began the ceremony by intoning the first line of the Introit hymn, which was then sung by the choir and the people. Next, the Bishop of Oslo recited the Nicene Creed following which the Bishop of Bergen intoned the first six verses of the Te Deum. The Bishop of Oslo presided over the sermon. Once the sermon was completed the King approached the dias in which a solitary throne sat before the altar, the King's mantle was removed, and he was enrobed in the royal mantle by the Bishop of Trondheim and the Chief Justice. The King then knelt before the altar and the Bishop of Trondheim anointed his right forearm and forehead with holy oil. The king then sat on the throne, and the bishop of Trondheim and the prime minister conjointly crowned him. The bishop of Trondheim and the foreign minister then handed the king the scepter; this was followed by the orb, which was handed to the king by the bishop of Trondheim and a Councilor of State. The bishop of Trondheim and another Councilor of State next handed the king the royal sword. Once the King processed all the Crown Jewels the first half of the national anthem was sung and the Bishop of Trondheim blessed the newly anointed King one final time. The King returned to his throne in the choir and the Queen was then crowned similarly. Once she was anointed, crowned, and received her scepter and orb the final half of the anthem was sung followed by a hymn. The coronation concluded with the President of the Storting proclaiming the coronation act to have been properly fulfilled. The Bishops and parliament processed out of the church followed by the royal family and finally the newly crowned King and Queen of Norway to the applause of thousands outside the cathedral. The King and Queen waved to the crowd before returning to their carriage for the ride back to the palace.

Once at the palace, the Norwegian Army Band played an assortment of military marches before concluding with the National Anthem. The King and Queen made an appearance on the front dais of Stiftsgården waving to the joyous crowd. The King and Queen were shortly joined by the remainder of the royal family, including His Majesty's grandchildren Prince Gerard, Prince Issac, and Prince Hendrick. Absent from the family gathering was HRH Princess Mary's youngest, Princess Karianne, and HRH Prince Pieter's three children Prince Aren, Princess Sloveig, and Prince Haakan.

The sight of the new royal family as one at Stiftsgarden, caused the already cheerful crowd to erupt into a renewed fervor, the likes of which had not been seen since the death of Princess Magri.

January 2, 1847

The Arendellian Inquirer

Assassination Attempt on Royal Family Fails

Arendelle- The normally peaceful and jubilant New Year's Town Tour by the royal family, a tradition started during Queen Elsa's first year as Queen, turned into a moment of chaos and near tragedy, when a lone assassin fired three successive rounds at the royal carriage holding Her Majesty Queen Elsa, and their Royal Highnesses The Duke of the North Mountain, Prince Aren, Princess Slovieg, and Prince Haakan. A source inside the palace reports the first bullet grazed Her Majesty's right shoulder before striking the carriage driver's right shoulder. The second and third rounds were lodged in the ice wall Her Majesty was able to make instantly after hearing the first shot.

The shooter attempted to flee but was apprehended by civilians in the crowd. Witnesses report that the assassin was beaten by the crowd before the Palace Guards were able to reach him. There has been no word from the palace on the health status of the assassin. The palace released a statement confirming that the carriage driver was hurt in the assassination attempt but is well and recovering at home. The palace reports that the royal family, while understandably shaken by the events of the day, are all well and healthy. The Queen is reportedly set to meet with the Privy Council of State today to discuss the assassination attempt and the ramifications it will cause for Arendelle.

Gerda

The castle was a noticeable few degrees colder than the January air outside. Servants and Palace Guards went about their daily duties and chores in a quiet yet tense manner. Everyone was aware that Her Majesty was in a state never seen, anger was by and far a poor assertion of Her Majesty's current emotional state. There was an unsaid order for all servants to remain well away from Her Majesty's suites and allow Gerda to perform any duties for the remainder of the day. It was not as if any castle staff or servant could blame their Queen for her mood, they would likely be in a similar state if their children had been in a carriage shot at by an assassin.

Gerda cautiously approached her Queen's suite doors. She'd just managed to get the royal triplets down for their nap (after battling with an irate and distressed mother to be able to take them away for a much-needed rest) before going to the kitchen to pick up tea and sandwiches. She could hear indistinguishable voices as she reached the door. She knocked but no answer was given, she paused a moment before deciding to enter even without admittance, the Queen and Prince both needed to eat. The conversation became audible as the door opened.

"I'm fine," the Queen snapped.

"You've been shot, you need to rest," the Prince sounded just as irritated as the Queen.

"It's a graze, I am perfectly fine, even Dr. Olsen said so." There was relief mixed with disbelief in the Queen's voice.

"I know what he said, I don't care. Elsa…Nysno please just rest." The desperation in the Prince's voice was palpable and the Queen must have noticed as well because after a moment there was a sigh and "Okay".

Gerda was pleased the Prince was able to get the Queen to take a moment to pause. Gerda's heart stopped when she saw her Queen, her surrogate daughter, enter the castle with blood dripping down her arm and off her dainty fingertips. Dr. Olsen had examined the Queen swiftly and determined that a few stitches were all that was needed. Once he'd finished Her Majesty had not stopped, barking orders, meeting with the Privy Council, then the Minister of Defense, Minister of Justice and Public Safety, and the Director of the Arendellian Intelligence Corps, then she spent an hour holding and fussing over the triplets before Gerda insisted the little princes and princess needed their own rest.

"What are we going to do Pieter?" Gerda suddenly heard the Queen ask with a vulnerability she'd not witnessed since the death of Princess Astrid. "It was one thing when it was just myself these maniacs were after, but now they've gone after my family, my children. We can't hide behind the castle walls again, but we can't risk the children's lives. Slovieg had just been on my shoulder, if she hadn't squirmed down to be with her brothers on the carriage floor she could have, no, would have been shot."

Gerda could hear the settee compress as the Prince sat next to his wife, "I don't know, but I think Captain Knutsen is onto something with creating a division of the Palace Guard or a separate agency whose sole purpose is to protect this family and other high members of the government as bodyguards. They could work in conjunction with the AIC to uncover and prevent threats to the Royal family specifically." He sounded genuinely intrigued by this concept.

"Oh yeah, Anna would love the idea of a guard following her everywhere." Queen Elsa quipped.

"If it meant the safety of Christopher, Renee, and Freya, she would have no arguments."

Knowing she'd heard more than she should without her presence being known, Gerda knocked louder on the door and called out, "Your Majesty and Your Highness, I've brought you some refreshments."

The slightly ajar door to the Queen's bedroom opened wider and Prince Pieter emerged. "Ahh Gerda, perfect timing. Thank you for always taking such good care of us, of her." Gerda smiled at him like a grandmother would her grandson, and in a rare break of protocol she reached out and patted his forearm as he took the tray from her, "Thank you."

He smiled knowingly before returning to the Queen's bedroom. Gerda promptly left, she liked the idea of personal guards for her girls, for her family very much.

Kristoff

January 7, 1847

The dankness of Flussgefängnis prison was overwhelming to Kristoff, which was saying something considering he had spent most of his life with ice harvesters, rock trolls, and a reindeer. The further he walked the darker and gloomier it became. Despair reached out to him, begging for mercy, for freedom; he ignored the living skeletons, his mission the only thing on his mind.

Finally, the guard stopped in front of a door, there was only a small opening at the bottom, no larger than a bowl, covered by a hatch. The guard opened the door permitting Kristoff to enter. The cell was minuscule, 3 feet wide by 6 feet long, with a 1 by 1 foot barred window near the ceiling 10 feet up. It provided just enough light, to see a wretched figure huddled in the corner where the light was the brightest. Kristoff wouldn't be surprised if light illuminated the cell for a mere hour each day, if at all during certain times of the year.

The guard grumbled to call out when he was ready to go as he shut the thick oak door. The man in the corner was barely a reflection of who he'd been; skin and bone with dead eyes glancing out from a sunken face. Pity tugged at Kristoff's heart for a millisecond before he remembered who this man was, and why he was in this dismal place. "I have a proposition for you." The man said nothing, so Kristoff continued, "There was an assassination attempt on Her Majesty Queen Elsa, like you, the assassin failed. He, like you, is sitting in the deepest and darkest cell in all of Arendelle. Like you he is refusing to talk, but his determination, his zeal, it's…" Kristoff paused letting the moment drag on, when he saw the man glance up quickly he continued "wanting. There is no doubt that we will break him in time."

The man continued to listen, Kristoff could tell even if he wasn't looking at him. Kristoff stepped closer and crouched closer to him, his voice low, neutral, "We will break him, it is only a matter of time, maybe a month, maybe less but it will happen. Arendelle, unlike Corona, has yet to outlaw the more…" he paused again before continuing "creative ways of gathering information from felons like yourself."

He stood up and took three steps to the far end of the cell near the window, where the sunlight was already fading. "However, if you help us gain the information we need sooner than it will take to break him, we are willing to grant you a single request. A larger cell, more food…"

"Outside." The man's voice was hoarse and difficult to hear and understand.

"Excuse me?" Kristoff inquired.

"Outside." Charles Bisset stood as he spoke, "I want more time outside. Two hours every day." He started at Kristoff with hope mixed with determination. Kristoff had been given leeway to negotiate with Elsa's assassin as long as the terms were within reason. Kristoff was not sure how everyone would feel about allowing the man who'd tried to kill Elsa such a generous request. "An hour every day with an additional 30 minutes added to your current Sunday allotment."

The man thought a moment before nodding, "What do you want to know?"

Anna

Princess Anna, Countess of Trollmoen, stood leaning against a large tree in the Coronian Palace's royal garden. A bench sat immediately to her left before two tiny graves. The graves of a Coronian Prince and an Arendellian Princess who never took a breath on this planet, yet impacted the lives of all those who loved them. Anna's gaze; however, was on her two oldest children, who were laughing and playing with their cousins Prince Stefan and Princess Edith. Prince Stefan was now four and as rambunctious as his mother and mischievous as his father. His hair was chocolate like his grandfather's and his eyes a hazel. He had a dusting of freckles on his nose like his grandmother and Arendellian cousins. Princess Edith was two and making the most of discovering the world around her as her little legs (and nanny) would allow. She had caramel blonde hair and big green eyes like her mother. Her nose was all her father, as was her proclivity to get under the feet of the palace guards. She had a gentle soul like her mother. They were beautiful children. Their younger sister, Princess Iduna, was just one and with the nanny in the nursery, so Anna had yet to see her.

"Adorable aren't they?" Anna was startled and turned to see her husband standing beside her.

"Kristoff, I didn't see you approach." She laid a hand on his shoulder. He smiled at her as he kissed the top of her head, "Clearly. You alright?"

Anna nodded and then indicated with her hand towards the children, "They're so happy, I wish they always are, that they don't lose their childhood like Elsa and I, like you." Kristoff pulled her into a tight embrace looking down at her with love, "They won't, we won't let them" Then he kissed her passionately.

"Ew gross," a small voice called over, causing Anna and Kristoff to pull apart. Anna looked over at her 5-year-old son, the disgust on his face made her laugh outright. "You know if you keep kissing me like that Freya won't be our youngest for very long."

Kristoff smirked, "I wouldn't mind that." Anna smiled gently back, Kristoff had made his desire for a large family very clear to her, and Anna could not disagree with him.

Remembering where he'd come from, Anna felt heaviness in her heart, "How'd it go, did he give you anything?"

Kristoff nodded, "As much as he could. The Russians are involved. He said he was hired by a Russian, he thinks he was military by the way he spoke. There was a second man with him, he didn't speak directly to him, but Charles heard him speak to the Russian as he left, he spoke Swedish, and was well-dressed. He was paid half up front and then he was instructed he would receive the rest of his compensation in Weslton, where he was to meet up with a man named David."

Anna couldn't believe what she was hearing, it was possible that Russians, Swedish, and Wesltonians were all allied, and were responsible for putting a bounty on Elsa's head.

"This is bad." Anna inched closer to Kristoff, her eyes finding the children once again.

Kristoff ran his hands through his hair, his face tight, "I know."

They didn't speak for a moment before another question came to Anna's mind, "How did you get him to talk?"

"I told him that the other assassin was close to talking."

Anna turned and looked at him in disbelief, "The other assassin is dead, the crowd killed him."

Kristoff shrugged, "He didn't know that. Anyway, I did tell him that, but I think he would have broken anyway, his soul is broken. He requested more time outside in exchange."

"You agreed?" Anna was not a fan of rewarding her sister's would-be assassin for cooperating but she'd been voted out by Elsa, Pieter, and her Uncle.

"Yes. Though he wanted two hours every day, I granted one hour every day with an extra thirty to what he already receives on Sundays. Friedrick has already agreed to it."

The laughter of the children interrupted them again. "It's a shame we leave tomorrow," Kristoff said.

"It is, but Elsa needs to know what you learned," Anna bit her lip and pulled Kristoff tighter to her, "I have a sinking feeling war is coming our way."

"So do I."