Elsa frowned as her eyes searched the ship for Anna.
It had been three days since the beginning of their journey to Corona. To ensure that they arrived before the other delegations and make certain that they were adequately protected, the monarch had chosen to take the trip using Arednelle's flagship. The pride of the Royal Navy, it had been commissioned by Elsa herself at the beginning of her reign and completed roughly a year ago. Inspired by the nickname her magic had garnered her, Elsa had chosen to christen it the Ice Queen.
The ship was nearly five hundred feet long and fifty meters wide, possibly making it the largest maritime vessel in existence. Massive white sails and dozens of ballistae mounted on the top deck served to make its speed and power second to none. It had cost her a fortune to build, but its construction had served to give her citizens hundreds of jobs during a slow harvest year. And, judging by its success against the pirates who were known to prowl the northern waters, the investment had turned out to be a wise one.
She had been prepped by her advisors thoroughly prior to departing, but on this trip, Elsa was representing Arendelle alone. Her Uncle had stated his desire to have this conference consist of only the four rulers themselves in order to come to an agreement as directly as possible. Infighting among councilors would only make things more difficult, and since all four countries were (at least in theory) absolute monarchies, the request was reasonable.
The Queen had never liked to leave Arendelle, especially for long periods, but there had been no choice. In situations such as this, all of her current orders stood. Her Council was (for the only time) given true authority, but they were meant to act as little more than figureheads and by law could not override any of Elsa's previous decrees. If something drastic happened, such as a natural disaster or a declaration of war, the Council could vote on a response. But all involved knew that they were responsible for the actions they chose to take… and were liable to face Elsa's judgment when she returned.
Fortunately, this at least meant that the Queen had the executive chambers all to herself. Well, almost all to herself. Elsa loved sleeping with Anna; nothing was more comforting than having the redhead in her arms. But it was terrifying at the same time. This experience was still so… new to her, and for all their virtues her parents had done little to educate her about relationships. Let alone a relationship with another woman.
When Anna's eyes were closed and her face was frowning peacefully, the Queen would continue to lie awake and stare at her. Anna was so beautiful and so amazing… and she didn't even realize it. But with that thought would come the fear that Elsa would do something… anything… wrong, and Anna would shatter like glass. She knew it was ridiculous, given Anna's strength in both mind and body, but the monarch couldn't rid herself of the anxiety that she would do something to the detriment of their relationship.
It was either share her chambers with Anna (which was expected anyway, given the kingdom's newfound knowledge of their courtship) or have her personal attendant sleep in the guards' barracks on board, where the dozen or so Royal Guards she'd brought along were also quartered. As nerve-wracking as it was to have Anna in her bed for five consecutive nights, Elsa would never dream of subjecting the redhead to the latter experience.
To her credit, Anna hadn't pressured her again following her first failed attempt. But Elsa knew that she wanted to. The Queen could see the desire in her attendant's eyes every time they kissed. There was enjoyment, yes, but also the desperation for more. And though Anna thought she was being sly, Elsa could tell that the final location of the attendant's head on some mornings wasn't the result of random chance.
Not that the Queen didn't understand how Anna was feeling. Despite her relative unfamiliarity with sexual desire, Elsa knew that she wanted the redhead. But she wasn't ready… Elsa couldn't quite explain why… but it didn't feel like the right time just yet. Maybe she was simply nervous, worrying that her inexperience would result in Anna being unsatisfied. The Queen was working on fixing that; she'd been doing some private reading in her free time. Though it couldn't substitute for actual experience, hopefully it would educate Elsa to the point where she wasn't jumping into bed blind.
She'd be ready soon. And Anna would be the first person to know.
But for the moment, her concerns about the oncoming war and the prospect of sex could wait (especially given that there was nothing she could do about the former until they arrived in Corona.) Another problem was currently presenting itself, and like her entire life over the past few months, it revolved around Anna.
The redhead had taken well to sea life. Either Elsa's magic had made it impossible for her to get seasick or Anna was just naturally resistant. Regardless, she had marveled at the Ice Queen's magnificence. And in the three days since their journey began, she'd been content to spend most of her time not sleeping or playing Chess with the monarch in their cabin (finally, Elsa judged her attendant a match for a ten-year-old when it came to the board game.)
And now, she was missing.
Elsa had already told her off once for climbing around in the rigging. Although her climbing abilities and her ability to survive a fall made it relatively safe, Anna running around the top of the Ice Queen's sails still had the tendency to distract sailors when they were busy working to clean the ship and keep it on course.
After waking up roughly an hour after sunrise to find Anna gone (a rarity, given her attendant's distaste for mornings,) Elsa had searched each of the ship's decks in a fruitless attempt to find her. Now, as her eyes failed to find any sign of the redhead throughout any of the rigging, the Queen was starting to grow worried. Had Anna fallen off while doing something rash? It was always a possibility.
Ignoring the looks of astonishment from the crew, Elsa commanded ice to shoot out of her feet. Throwing out her left hand behind her, the monarch began a continuous blast of cold air that propelled her up the newly created ramp. Within moments she was gliding upward sharply. There was one more place she had to check.
When she was finally close enough to spot the flash of red sitting in the crow's nest, Elsa sighed with relief.
" Anna," Elsa scolded as she deposited herself next to the redhead. Her girlfriend simply smiled, continuing to rest her chin against the wooden ledge and stare out into the sea surrounding them.
"I told you not to come climbing up here. I couldn't find you; you had me worried! How was I supposed to know you hadn't fallen off the side of the ship doing something foolish?"
Anna finally turned to her. "I wasn't bothering anyone," she said defensively. "And I'm not that stupid. I'm just enjoying the sights; I've never really gotten to see the ocean before."
"Wanted to be a pirate when you grew up?" the Queen couldn't help but snark.
The attendant smirked. "Not exactly. I may have been a thief, but I never wanted to hold people at swordpoint and make them walk the plank," she said. "But I always wanted to see the sea. Not just the shoreline; the actual ocean. And I can see it best from up here."
"I've been on a dozen voyages. It gets boring after a while," Elsa remarked.
"Wish I'd been there."
The Queen frowned thoughtfully. Apparently, she wasn't perfect at concealing her emotions, because Anna gazed at her curiously. "What are you thinking?" the redhead inquired.
Elsa sighed. "It's silly," she protested.
"So am I," Anna replied, making the monarch raise her hand to conceal a light giggle. She sat down beside Anna, glad that they were in private. If her consort wanted to know, the Queen would tell her, but she wouldn't let the entire kingdom in on her illicit thoughts.
"Sometimes, I can't help but wish that we'd grown up together," Elsa admitted. "You would have gotten the life you deserved, a pair of loving parents… and plenty of opportunities to see the ocean," she added with a small smile. "I would have gotten the little sister I'd always wanted; someone to play with and talk to when my parents were busy."
To the Queen's surprise, Anna grinned. "That would have been nice," she agreed. "But I don't think the Council, or the rest of the kingdom for that matter, would have approved of you courting your own sister. The nobles would probably be even angrier than they are now."
"Probably," Elsa replied. "But despite the taboo… I think I would have wanted to court you anyway," she admitted. "Not when we were young, of course… but when we were both old enough…" she stopped herself. She was being ridiculous.
Anna laughed. "Me too," she agreed. "Sister or not, you're irresistible." Suddenly, a sly grin appeared on her lips. "But if there was another heir, wouldn't you have been afraid of facing a challenge to the throne?"
"I still would have been the elder," Elsa pointed out. "The throne would have gone to me regardless."
"Unless I pulled off a coup," Anna retorted. "I could have forced you to give me the kingdom, kept you prisoner in your bedroom, and won everyone over with my dazzling smile. Maybe if you behaved like a good girl I would have brought you some chocolates and let you have a kiss every now and then."
Elsa shivered slightly. Despite herself, Anna's last sentence was making her a little warm. In reality, she knew that Anna would never have wanted the throne… and even if she did the redhead was far too loyal and kind-hearted to make a play for it. She would have been perfectly content as the second-in-line, happy to remain a Princess and watch her older sister rule.
"What were we talking about again?" Anna muttered.
The Queen frowned. "Before you distracted me with speculation, I believe I was admonishing you for disobeying my orders and climbing up here," she replied. One of Anna's most pleasant yet most frustrating qualities was her ability to suck Elsa in with her words and cause her to forget about the world.
The attendant smiled. "Then let's stop talking," she said with a wink. The monarch's face went red as Anna pulled her in for a kiss, but despite the open air, they were still too high for the crew to spot. With that thought, the Queen resigned herself to be lost in Anna.
\
Two days later, the couple was in a similar position in the crow's nest. With Corona almost upon them, Anna had persuaded Elsa to join her atop the ship to spot the coastline.
"Do you think your family will like me?" Anna wondered out loud as the two women stared ahead. "They don't know about us yet… do they?"
"No," Elsa confirmed. The Queen had wanted to be the one to tell her relatives about her choice in partner and thus had demanded that a reluctant Rapunzel keep her mouth shut when the Princess returned home. Though it would have not been easy for her, the monarch knew that her cousin always kept her word.
At the look of anxiety on Anna's face, Elsa was quick to reassure her. "They'll love you," the Queen said confidently. "They have nothing against two women being together, judging by Corona's policies, and they welcomed Eugene with open arms when they saw how Rapunzel cared for him. They might be surprised, but they'll be happy for me."
"I hope- there it is!" Anna shouted. Thousands of feet ahead, a blurry coastline was slowly coming into view. The redhead leaned forward, marveling at the sight.
"I've got to go down," Elsa said a few minutes later. "Meet me on the deck." With that, she vaulted over the wooden ledge and plummeted towards the ground. Halfway down, she splayed open both of her palms towards the deck below and released a constant jet of cool air from each of them. It wasn't quite enough to sustain flight, but it allowed her to descend at a comfortable speed.
"Show off!" she heard Anna shout above her.
\
Anna bit her lip as they walked through the door of the King's study.
After being escorted to the Coronan Royal Palace (a bit smaller, but generally a similar building to Elsa's Castle,) the Queen and her personal attendant had gone to speak with the royal family while the rest of the Arendelle delegation were shown to rooms in the guest wing.
In theory, it was a simple courtesy being extended by the ruler of Arendelle towards hosting Royalty. In practice, it was a family reunion. And for Anna, it was the closest experience she was ever going to have to meeting Elsa's parents.
"Elsa!" a high voice greeted them as they walked inside.
The room had almost exactly the same layout as Elsa's study. At a large desk in the center sat a large man with brown hair, a prominent beard, and blue eyes. Atop his head rested a large golden crown. To his right stood a slender woman with light brown hair that ran down past her shoulders. Bright green eyes illuminated her otherwise gentle face. Like her husband, she wore a tiara of gold in her hair. A necklace of white pearls hung around her neck.
Two large chairs faced the desk. One was being shared by Rapunzel and a thin yet muscular man with dark brown hair and a small goatee. To their left was a slightly older man, his black hair and blue eyes setting him apart from the rest of the family… though like them, he was handsome and well-built.
Why is royalty always so beautiful? Anna couldn't help but wonder.
"It's so good to see you all!" Elsa said as they all stood up and greeted her at once. According to the Queen, it had been nearly a year since they'd all seen each other. Anna stood back awkwardly as Elsa embraced each of her family members in turn, though she calmed slightly once Rapunzel sent her a small smile.
"Everyone, this is Anna," the monarch introduced her. "She saved my life a few months ago, and she's been protecting me ever since. Last month, I made her my personal attendant, and it wasn't long after that she rescued me again. She and I are…"
"Pleased to meet you, Miss Anna," the black-haired man she assumed to be Rapunzel's older brother Prince Thomas interrupted. He stepped forward, took her hand, and placed a light kiss upon it. "You have my utmost thanks for protecting my dear cousin. Though I must admit, it seems a shame to see a beauty such as yourself preoccupied with guarding a-ow!" He broke off in pain as Rapunzel indignantly whacked him across the back of the head.
"You'll have to forgive my brother," she apologized. "He's an incorrigible flirt." The King and Queen did nothing but smile at the scene with amusement. Evidently, this sort of thing was a common occurrence.
"Hey!" he protested. "There's nothing wrong with complimenting a woman. I'm just being polite. Besides, it's not as if she's taken."
Elsa frowned. "She is," the Queen corrected. "By me ."
Well, that was sudden.
Save for Rapunzel, the entire Coronan royal family stared at them in shock. The man Anna took to be Rapunzel's husband Eugene looked to be the most unfazed, but even his eyes widened in surprise. Thomas looked as if he had just heard that his kingdom was being invaded by an army of dragons.
"You mean…" Queen Lenna started.
"Yes," Elsa confirmed. "Anna is my consort; we've been together for almost a month. I… appear to like women. I didn't even know, not until after I met her. Rapunzel knew, but I asked her to let me be the one to tell you… in person." As she spoke, the Queen reached out and grasped Anna's hand firmly.
Thomas was the first to recover; he began to laugh loudly. "It figures that the most beautiful women end up playing for the other team," he said ruefully. "But you have my utmost admiration for managing to warm my cousin's frozen heart. Honestly, I thought she'd never get together with someone…"
"What he means to say is that we're very happy for you, dear," Queen Lenna corrected. At her words, Anna released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Maybe this wouldn't be as difficult as she thought.
The King smiled, laying a hand on his wife's shoulder. "It appears that our daughter has set a trend," he remarked, gazing at his son-in-law.
"You mean falling in love with a dashing hero who came into her life and rescued her repeatedly?" Eugene questioned with a smirk.
"No. I mean choosing a consort guaranteed to anger her country's aristocracy. But if our nobles got over you, then I'm sure that the lords and ladies of Arendelle will grow to accept her," King Marcus corrected.
\
One by one, the members of Elsa's family shook Anna's hand warmly (save for Rapunzel, who pulled her in for a hug.) Sitting in a chair of their own, for once Anna allowed her Queen to do most of the talking. The more she told of the redhead's story, the more the Coronan royal family seemed impressed with her. Anna was too modest to do more than provide some of the details that Elsa hadn't witnessed, but the Queen of Arendelle seemed more than happy to extol her attendant's virtues for minutes on end.
By the end of Elsa's recounting, Anna's face was burning bright pink. Still, it was a far more pleasant reception than she had received from the nobles of Arendelle. None of them even batted an eye when they learned of her past as a thief, probably due to the fact that she wasn't the only former brigand in the room.
As Anna had previously requested, Elsa glossed over the details of her journey to see the trolls. All she mentioned was that the creatures had turned out to indeed exist, but had been unable to assist her at the present time. Rapunzel was silent during most of this recounting, likely because of the deadly glare she was receiving from the Queen of Arendelle, and Anna was grateful not to have to answer any of her questions at the moment.
Eventually, the discussion inevitably turned to grimmer topics. The good news was that the monarchs of Albion and Lucrania had agreed to attend this conference; both were scheduled to arrive in two days' time. Unfortunately, Elsa's relatives shared the Queen's lack of optimism. No one, not even Rapunzel, had any confidence that an agreement would be reached.
A few hours later in the afternoon, when they had been shown to their chambers (Anna was glad to see Elsa affirm that they were rooming together, she didn't fancy sleeping with the rest of the guards) the redhead stated the obvious.
"I don't understand," Anna admitted once they were alone. "Arendelle and Corona both have so much money. Why not just tell Albion and Lucrania that they can split the copper fifty-fifty and use money from your treasury to compensate for what they lost?"
Elsa offered her a small smile. Not the usual warm smile brought upon by affection, but the condescending look that a mother would give a young child. "That's just not the way these things work, Anna. First of all, that would still be a lot of money, and people in Arendelle wouldn't exactly be happy about me giving it away. It would set a bad precedent, letting other nations know that they can threaten war with each other and receive free donations from Arendelle to back down. We'd be inviting ourselves to be blackmailed. But even if those things weren't true, Albion and Lucrania would never accept it. They're both incredibly proud countries, especially Albion. To have their foreign policy dictated by the pockets of foreign countries? Gods, there might be a revolt. No. If there is going to be any agreement at all, it's one with which both nations are able to save face."
Anna frowned. "I don't see how that can work," she remarked. "What kind of settlement can there be where it doesn't look like they're being bossed around?"
"Exactly," Elsa agreed.
\
After the day's discussions, Anna was exhausted. But there was one more thing she needed to do, and she would prefer not to do it in front of the entire Royal Family. Following a lovely dinner they shared with Elsa's relatives in their private dining room, Anna showed the Queen back to their chambers and made certain that she was secure before venturing back out again. Elsa had looked at her curiously but thankfully had decided not to question her intentions.
Corona's Royal Family was lodged on the floor above. Since she and Elsa had already received a brief tour before dinner, the redhead knew exactly where her destination was located. The guards on the steps appeared to hesitate briefly before letting her pass, but eventually, they recognized her as an honored guest of the Royal Family and let her through without complaint.
Anna took a deep breath, then knocked on the door. Hopefully, its occupants were not in a state of undress.
The entrance to the room opened to reveal Rapunzel standing before her still clothed in her evening gown. The Princess's initial look of curiosity quickly made way to reveal a wide smile.
"Hi, Anna. Something I can do for you?"
The attendant bit her lip nervously. "Actually, I was hoping we could talk for a few minutes. May I, uh, come in?" she asked.
"Of course."
Anna walked inside to the Princess's large, well-furnished bedroom. Unlike Elsa's chambers, Rapunzel's living quarters were colored by bright yellows and oranges, colors that both suited her personality and were often associated with Corona. It quickly became apparent to Anna, however, that the two women were not alone in the room. Sitting on a sofa in front of the room's lit fireplace sat Prince Eugene, still clad in his formal evening wear.
At the sound of their conversation, he arose from the seat. "I'll leave you two alone," he offered.
The attendant was about to nod but stopped herself. Perhaps it would be best, after all, if Rapunzel's husband was around to comfort her once she heard the news. The last thing she had wanted was to potentially embarrass the Princess in front of her family, but Anna doubted such a thing would occur between the married couple. According to Elsa, the two had been very close ever since they'd met.
"No, Your H- Eugene," the redhead corrected herself as she'd been told to do. "Stay. I just needed to tell Rapunzel… I mean, maybe you should be here for this," she finished. Both royals looked at her curiously but nodded.
"What is it, Anna?" the Princess asked.
The attendant bit her lip, willing herself not to ramble. There was no point in beating around the bush. She just had to say it and get it over with; stalling wouldn't spare Rapunzel from any pain in the end.
"Shadow is… Shadow is dead," she revealed. "The night I left for the trolls, six men with crossbows came after me. I killed them… but Shadow got hit with a poisoned bolt. There was nothing I could do… I'm sorry."
The look of pain that spread across Rapunzel's face was agonizing to watch. Without thinking, Anna moved forward and spread her arms, taking the Princess into a warm embrace that she immediately returned.
It was thirty seconds before the two of them pulled back. As Eugene came forward and rested a comforting hand on his wife's shoulder, Rapunzel finally found her voice. "It's… not your fault, Anna. You were attacked… and it was me who let you go," she managed.
"Who was after you?" the Prince asked. "Did you find out?"
Anna shook her head. "The only one I managed to take alive killed himself before I could question him. But that's not even the end of it. Throughout the trip, I was assaulted two more times; once in the forest and once in the capital itself on my way back," she said. It was still too painful to mention Kristoff and Sven, but at least she could get out the rest of the details.
"The second attack was, it was… uh, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't been there myself," she continued. "I was hunted down by a pack of wolves… they were faster than normal and seemed to be single-mindedly focused on killing me. And when I got back to the city, I was attacked by two skilled mercenaries and a woman who could shoot fire."
The royals stared at her. "Why didn't you or Elsa mention this earlier?" Eugene asked.
"I thought you might not want to be in front of everyone when you heard… what happened," Anna explained. Rapunzel gave her a small grateful smile, though her eyes had begun to glisten. "But Elsa's going to tell your parents tomorrow. It doesn't even really matter though. I mean, we still don't have the slightest idea on who's behind it all. All we can offer is speculation."
Eugene frowned. "A fire mage?" he mused. "Like Elsa?"
"Thank the gods, no, nothing like Elsa," Anna answered. "She was dangerous, don't get me wrong, but all she could do was shoot small balls of fire. I was lucky, but I was still able to kill her even after she used the element of surprise to burn me. Elsa would have destroyed her."
Rapunzel frowned. "That may be, but still… what if this mage wasn't the only one they have who could use magic?"
"I don't know," Anna admitted. "I guess all we can do is pray that none of them are in Elsa's league." The thought nearly made the redhead shiver. The idea of facing an enemy with the Queen's abilities and none of the moral restraint… it was unthinkable.