Note:

Added chapter two for more context. The next few chapters should be up by next week.

Disclaimer:

I own nothing that Disney owns – just this story and it's original characters.

Enjoy!

- JQ


Chapter Two: Dinner, Discussions and Distress

Princess Tina sighed once she was in the new found isolation of her guest quarters. Pushing herself off of the door, she began to explore the room that she would be staying in for about two nights. The bed was large – not unlike the rooms they had back at Botarskal – but it was certainly smaller than her own. She ran her hand along the bed, feeling the delicately stitched fabric that was so common on royal bed dressings. The only difference being that Botarskal had a much colder climate than Arendelle, so the bedding would be even heavier. It was a hassle to clean, but Tina loved the comfort of heavy sheets wrapped around her frame during a good snowstorm.

She then laid down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. The purple, gold, and green of Arendelle was tied together in complex and detailed designs that mirrored their kingdom's flag and royal crest. Floral patterns laced with native Norwegian flowers decorated the corners of the room, accentuating the homey feeling of the entire castle. Tina had never been outside of Botarskal until now, but she was growing to admire Arendelle and it's interesting ways.

Before she could get up and explore any other part of the room, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" once the princess sat up, a servant of Arendelle came in with some fresh towels – presumably for her to use while getting ready for dinner.

"Good evening, Princess Hrafntinna. I'll just place these in your guest bath." said the servant. The princess was mildly taken aback by the swift pronunciation of her name. She wasn't used to people pronouncing it correctly. "My name is Gerda, and I am the head servant of Arendelle's castle."

"Please call me Tina." said the princess, "And it's very lovely to meet you, Gerda. I'm surprised that you had no issues in pronouncing my name."

The head servant laughed. "My father was from Botarskal." she said, "He made it a point to teach my siblings and I his native tongue." she then moved into the adjoining bathroom of the guest room and placed the towels down. Once she re-entered the main area, she addressed Tina. "Shall I send your handmaiden up to help you prepare for dinner, Princess Tina?"

The brunette just nodded. "Yes please, Gerda. Thank you." before the servant could leave, Tina remembered something. "Um – wait!" the servant turned around with an eyebrow raised in confusion. The princess shrugged apologetically. "S-Sorry Gerda, I forgot to ask – would it be possible to ask Queen Anna if my advisor, my handmaiden, and my personal guard join us for dinner?"

Gerda just smiled at the princess. "Oh, don't worry about that. Queen Anna loves hosting large dinners – I'll just tell the staff myself."

"Wait," Tina stopped the servant from leaving again, "y-you don't need to run it by the Queen?"

Gerda laughed as she reached for the door handle. "You'll do well to know that Arendelle is not a kingdom like any other." the servant then winked.

The brunette laughed along with the older woman. "It certainly seems that way."

...

"Mooooommmmmyyyy!" whined Stella, as she moved her forks and spoons around.

Un-phased, Anna reached over to fix the princess' cutlery. "Yes, my love?"

Stella just huffed. "Why can't we start eeaaatttiiinnnggg?!" she pointed at the castle workers around them who were setting the table as they spoke. The food hadn't been served yet, but Stella was used to sitting at the table when it was already laid out. While she was a princess, she was only three years old. Impatience kind of came with the territory.

Anna laughed and placed a hand over her daughter's. "Patience, darling. We have guests and we have to wait for them to join us."

The princess huffed again. "But we were here first!" if the tiny blonde wasn't sitting down, Anna just knew that she would be stomping her feet.

"She does have a point." said the ice harvester, earning a laugh from his son. However, he wasn't getting any points from his wife.

"Kristoff..." Anna warned, glaring at him. Like a good husband, he knew when to backtrack.

"Sorry." he said, shutting up immediately. He cleared his throat and looked over at his son. "Oh look, Nolan – a soup spoon!" the little prince chuckled while Anna just rolled her eyes and returned her attention to her daughter.

"As I was saying, Stella," the Queen continued, "when we have guests at the castle, the polite thing to do is wait for them before starting dinner."

The princess exhaled and threw her head back, against the dining room chair. "Being polite is soooo hard." Both Anna and Kristoff laughed despite the little princess not learning the lesson. Knowing Stella, they both knew they'd have to repeat the lesson of hospitality and royal expectations. It didn't matter right now though – the princess would have a whole lifetime to learn what she needed to.

Suddenly, Kai entered the dining hall and cleared his throat so that everyone could hear him. Accompanying him was the princess, wearing a dark green gown. Her dark brown hair was still in a low bun, but this time she wore a gold tiara with emeralds embedded in the design. "Presenting her royal highness; Princess Tina of Botarskal." the princess walked in and bowed before the Queen and Kristoff.

"Thank you, Kai." she said, addressing him before following a footman to her seat.

Princess Tina took in her surroundings once more: Queen Anna sat in the middle; Kristoff was to her right, and two small children were on either side of them. Four empty seats were across from the royal family, so Tina assumed that was for her and her entourage. Once she was seated, the princess looked around again. This dining hall was a little smaller than her castle's, and there were only eight seats at the table. It didn't really make sense to her, as the dining hall here was large and could surely accommodate 30 people for a dinner. Before she could ask, the Queen noticed and decided to put an end to her curiosity.

"We usually have a larger table," the redheaded Queen explained, "but for more intimate meetings, we opt for the smaller table."

"I see," said the princess, "I am flattered that you consider me worthy of an intimate gathering."

"Don't be silly," Anna insisted, "we are happy to host someone from Botarskal."

Tina sighed and released a nervous laugh. "Yeah...I know my kingdom has it's...reputation, so to speak."

"You're reeeeaaaallly pretty!" said the smallest member at the table.

Anna immediately hushed her daughter, but Tina just laughed at the little girl's comment. "Thank you, sweetie. I think you're even prettier." she truly was flattered.

Before any other conversation could take place, the dining hall doors opened again to reveal three new people. The princess cleared her throat and turned to face the Queen.

"Queen Anna, would you please allow me to introduce my staff?" the Queen nodded and allowed the request. Once she had her answer, Tina turned back to the three people and gestured for them to come forward. "This is Ingrid," Tina said, pointing to a young woman with long black hair, "she is my personal handmaiden." Ingrid wore a blue skirt and a long sleeved white chemise. Over the chemise was a traditional Icelandic vest that was dark grey in colour. On her head, she had a deep burgundy head scarf.

Ingrid then bowed before the Queen. "Your Majesty."

Tina then gestured to the man in her entourage. "This is Arnold – he's the advisor who was appointed to come with me on my trip." he wore a green vest, black trousers, and a blue ascot. He bowed gracefully before the Queen and smiled brightly.

"Good evening, Your Majesty." he said.

Tina then introduced the last person in her entourage. Kristoff and Anna didn't know what to think as this woman stood well over six feet and wore a viking helmet. "And this lovely little lass is Gunn-Britt – she's my personal guard." she wore a maroon dress with a short sleeved chemise under it. Her eyes were hidden behind the bangs under her viking helmet and her lips were a bright red.

"Good Evening Your Highness and Your Majesty." Gunn-Britt said. Kristoff, Nolan and Stella paled, visibly intimidated by her presence. Thankfully, Anna was able to maintain her composure and just smiled at her guests.

"It's lovely to meet you all." addressed the Queen. "I am very delighted to be sharing my home with you, on your journey to Vennesvurg."

After some more small talk and other niceties, Anna kindly asked the dining staff for dinner to be served. As the Queen observed her visitors, she couldn't help but wonder what it is they were travelling for. It was not unusual to send a personal guard or handmaiden with a travelling princess, but it was certainly interesting to have an advisor appointed to her.

Usually, travelling Kings, Queens, and other nobility – of a similar standing in their respective countries – would travel with councilmen and advisors. Anna, herself, never had an advisor until she took over as Queen. Elsa also never had an advisor until her coronation (although, the former king's advisor was acting as a guardian for them until her reign began). She decided that she'd make it her mission to find out this evening, after dinner and after the children went to sleep.

...

After dinner, the Queen and her visitors found themselves in the library. The prince and princess of Arendelle really put their visitors to the test as they demanded one bedtime story from each of them. Anna tried to get the children to lay off the visitors, but they didn't mind at all. Princess Tina especially didn't mind. She was currently seated with both children on her lap as she read a story to them. It was the fourth story they made her read as Stella and Nolan preferred her style over the others' reading abilities.

"...and then the brave knight vanquished the dragon with one piercing stab into its' heart." the brunette read aloud, with both the children hanging onto every word. "Its' last mighty roar bellowed through the valley and all the way into the kingdom. 'At last,' thought the King, 'the dragon is no more'..."

Kristoff, Anna, and Tina's crew quietly observed as the visiting princess narrated Nolan's favourite story. Anna leaned in towards Arnold. "She's a very good reader."

On the other side of Arnold, Kristoff also leaned in. "And she's amazing with kids."

"Yeah," Arnold said with pride, "Tina's pretty great with them. The children back home worship the ground she walks on. She reads to them every week, after worship at the church."

"Yeah," Ingrid groaned, "It's disgusting."

The Queen of Arendelle laughed. "You aren't a fan of children, Ingrid?"

"Hell no," the raven-haired woman responded, "If I ever had one of those things, my life would be over."

Suddenly, Prince Nolan hopped off of Tina's lap and ran to stand in front of Gunn-Britt. They stared at one another in a silent contest until the prince spoke. "You're so tall..." Nolan said, looking up at Gunn-Britt in wonder and awe.

The bodyguard looked down at the prince. "That is why you should eat all your bread. Before the Yaks come and steal what's left of your rations for the month."

"Haha – oooh kaaay, Gunn-Britt." Arnold said, patting the guard on her arm. "Maybe we shouldn't scare the children."

"Yes," Anna agreed, reaching for her son, "it's getting late and my little Prince and Princess need their beauty sleep." the prince and princess groaned loudly, signalling laughs from all the adults in the room.

As Kristoff picked up Princess Stella from Tina's lap, she whined. "Can't Tina tuck me in today?" she asked turning to her mother, "Pretty, pretty pleeeeeaasseee?"

Anna shook her head. "I don't think the Princess wants to do that as a visitor, sweat pea. We can see her tomorrow morning, okay?"

"A-Actually," Tina said, getting to her feet, "I don't mind. I can help with getting her down, for the night." realizing she may have overstepped, she cleared her throat and prepared to backtrack. "I-I mean...if Your Majesty would permit such a thing." The redheaded queen smiled softly at the brunette.

"Of course, Tina. Kristoff? Can you stay here and entertain our guests while Tina and I bring the children to bed?"

The blonde man just shrugged. "Works for me." he then kissed his daughter on her head before handing her off to Tina. "Be good for our special guest, okay Stella-Bella?" she giggled at her nickname and kissed him on his chin.

"Okay daddy!" she said. Kristoff then fully handed Stella over to Tina, who happily accepted the small girl into her arms.

"Follow me out this way," Anna instructed as they exited the library. A few more 'good nights' were said as Tina and Anna left with the children.

...

Prince Nolan settled down in his bed fine, but Princess Stella was restless. When Anna and Tina began to tuck her in, she begged for one more story. Anna pleaded with Stella to let their visitor relax but Tina insisted and offered something to the littlest royal in the room.

"Hey," Tina whispered to the princess, "If I tell you a very special story, will you go to bed like a big girl?" the little blonde nodded excitedly and leaned back onto her pillow.

"Yes, yes, yes please, Tina!"

"Okay, scoot over so we can snuggle." once Tina was settled, she looked over at the Queen. "Come join us, Your Majesty." Anna giggled and crawled up the bed to be on the other side of Stella. Once the Queen was settled, she told Tina that she could begin.

"Right," said Tina before she cleared her throat. "In a far away land, where the weather was cold and the people were colder, there was a kingdom. That kingdom, was called...um...Ice Kingdom." Anna laughed – the visiting princess was clearly referencing her own home country. "Anyway, Ice Kingdom was very beautiful and it had even prettier princesses. Five of them to be exact. One day, the littlest princess went out to the village. There, she met a very handsome man. He worked as a leather-smith and made shoes and clothes for people."

"Were they in love?!" Stella questioned with vigor. "Were they?! Were they?!"

The brunette laughed and ruffled the blonde's hair with her hand. "Yes, Stella. They were in love." suddenly, the princess' eyes became sullen. Anna was puzzled as she observed the brunette's shift in mood. "But...but that was not enough for the king."

Stella gasped. "Oh no..."

With a sigh, Tina continued the story. "The king of Ice Kingdom was a very bad king. He made the ruler of a distant land very mad and broke a very important promise."

Stella gasped again in absolute dramatic horror. "No! Kings can't break promises!" the small blonde turned to her mother. "What kind of a king breaks promises?"

Anna looked up at Tina, searching the young woman's face for any other answers. The Queen had a sinking feeling that Tina was hinting at something – something that had to do with her visit to Sweden. Anna then returned her gaze to her daughter. She smiled and tapped the little princess on her nose. "A king that sounds very bad at his job." Stella giggled with glee and Anna said, "Let's be good and listen to the rest of the story."

"Anyway," continued Princess Tina, "the other land was very mad. They threatened to go to war with Ice Kingdom. The king was scared and he begged for the far away land to not go to war. Fortunately, the other land asked for a different solution." the brunette said, "They demanded that the king send something over to them to help restore their promise."

"What did he have to send?" asked Stella.

Tina sighed deeply, but proceeded with the story. "The only way to restore the promise would be for one of the Ice Kingdom's princesses to marry the king of the far away land." at this, both Anna and Stella gasped. "He wanted to send his youngest daughter, because she was closest in age to the ruler of the far away land."

Stella shook her head aggressively and tugged on Tina's forearm. "But she can't! She's in love with the leather boy from the village!"

Anna looked at Tina with sad eyes. "W-What happened next?"

Tina stared back at the Queen and smiled shyly. "Well...the youngest princess was so upset and cried for weeks. She didn't want to go – she wanted to stay with her love." Tina cleared her throat and closed her eyes. "So her older sister went right up to the king and yelled at him for being so mean. She told him that he would make a big mistake to send the youngest princess. The king didn't like her tone, so he told her that if she could save the kingdom, and talk to the ruler to fix the situation, no one would have to get married."

"A-And did she fix it?" Stella asked impatiently.

Tina smiled wide and hugged Stella tight. "She did. She talked to the ruler of the far away land and they made a new promise – that no more promises would ever be broken. Never ever."

"Yay!" exclaimed Stella, "And they lived happily ever after?! Right, Tina?!" The brunette was smiling, but Anna could see the sadness behind her eyes.

"Yes they did, Stella." Tina told her. "Yes, they did."

...

Once Tina closed Stella's bedroom door behind her, it was just her and Anna in the hallway. There was a thick layer of tension once they were alone and Tina knew that Anna was going to ask about the story.

"So..." the Queen began, wringing her hands together nervously, "what really happened to the older sister of the youngest princess?"

Princess Tina looked down at her feet and shut her eyes. She hugged herself to calm her nerves, but it didn't stop the stray tear from rolling down her cheek. Anna stepped closer and wrapped the younger woman in a hug. After a few tense minutes, Tina reopened her eyes and looked at the Queen with the most morose expression she had ever seen. Anna used her thumb to wipe away her tears, patiently waiting for her question to be answered.

With a sigh, Tina reached up and placed her hand over the Queen's and sobbed. "I took my sister's place. I will be marrying the King of Vennesvurg."