Note:

Chapter six it all it's glory! The chapter after this one is going to be a lot longer, considering I am consolidating some things. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer:

I do not own Frozen at all.

Happy reading!

- JQ

Chapter Six: Notifications

The next morning, Prince Nolan and Princess Stella woke up to quite the surprise. They went to bed with no guests in their home, so they were quite shocked when the dining hall was full of familiar faces. Their parents were at their regular seats, already enjoying their food. Olaf and Sven were eyeing the sweets on display and several other people were filling their plates at the breakfast buffet table near the big window. They noticed Gunn-Britt first because of her height and her characteristic viking helmet. They didn't really care for anyone else until their eyes landed on one particular guest.

"AUNTIE ELSA!" they screamed in unison. Elsa – who was just trying to place some smoked salmon on her plate – turned to see two blonde blurs running directly towards her. Elsa quickly placed her plate down on the table and braced herself for the onslaught of hugs she was about to receive. She immediately knelt down to receive them. As predicted, the children leapt into her awaiting arms and tackled her to the ground. The three of them lay in a pile of giggles on the dining room floor.

While the Queen was entertained by how happy her children were, they needed to sit down for breakfast. "Kids," Anna called out, getting their attention, "Let Auntie Elsa get some breakfast. The sooner you're all done eating, the sooner you can –!"

"Play with her?!" Nolan asked eagerly.

"– get to your lessons. Nice try, Nolan." Anna finished, with a pointed look. Stella and Nolan groaned loudly. "But once your lessons are over, then you can play."

"You'll be here after our lessons, right Auntie Elsa?" Nolan asked hopefully, tugging on the blonde's arm. It was no secret to the royal family that the little prince idolized his aunt and she was (very obviously) his favourite person in the world.

Elsa smiled down at the boy. "Yes, Nolan. But we can't play until you finish your lessons, okay?"

He huffed defiantly, but it was his aunt that was telling him to do it. "Yes, Auntie Elsa." she smiled and leaned down to kiss him on the top of his head.

"That's the spirit. Now go get some breakfast before my friend, Ryder, eats everything." the ice wielder knelt beside him to whisper in his ear. "He can eat half the table by himself." immediately, the little boy's eyes widened and he ran to secure breakfast so that he wouldn't get in trouble.

Once everyone started to settle down for the first meal of the day, Stella was a little distraught as she looked around at everyone sitting at the table. Kristoff noticed her temperament and leaned over to ask if she was okay.

"Hey, Stells," Kristoff said softly, "do you need anything? Do you want more strawberries for your waffle?" The little princess just shook her head. She looked troubled, so Kristoff picked her up and bounced her on his knee – she usually loved when he did that. When it didn't work, he frowned. "What's wrong?"

Stella just pointed at Gunn-Britt. "The lady with the helmet is here. Where is Princess Tina?" even at three years old, she had impeccable reasoning.

"Uh...well..." The ice harvester scratched the back of his head as he was at a loss for what to say. He frantically searched the table for assistance, but everyone looked shell-shocked, as they weren't sure they wanted to tell her that her favourite was in a coma. Elsa put up her hand and looked away; the Nattura siblings started whistling; Gunn-Britt just looked...well...like Gunn-Britt; Arnold was biting his nails; and Ingrid gave him a glare that told him she was out of the question. He looked over at his wife, "Can you help me?"

Anna shook her head, "No." she then started poking at her soft-boiled egg and smirked. "You asked her. I want to see how you handle this one." Kristoff sighed. Parenting was no joke.

"Well..." the ice harvester began, holding her tighter, "...Auntie Elsa and her friends, Honey and Ryder, are here because they rescued Tina and her friends from an accident." the little girl gasped and clutched his vest in her little hands. "Don't worry Stells – Tina's okay. She's just got a very big boo-boo –!"

"Boo-boo?" Honeymaren scoffed and tried to hide her laugh. Kristoff just rolled his eyes and continued.

"As I was saying," Kristoff said, "Tina's hurt and she just needs to sleep. That's what the doctor said."

"Poor Tina." Stella said, looking sadder than before. She then looked up at her father. "D-Do you think she'll feel better if I make her a drawing?" everyone at the table (except for Ingrid) released a heartfelt 'awe' at the little girl's idea.

Anna smiled and reached over to place an encouraging hand on her daughter's shoulder. "I think that's a wonderful idea, baby girl." Stella smiled proudly and giggled. "But first, finish your waffle and your fruit. The faster you get your lessons over with, the faster you can start on the drawing." the little blonde girl suddenly looked very determined.

She hopped off of her father's knee and sat back down in her original seat. Everyone laughed as she attacked her waffle and tried to scarf it down as fast as possible.

Anna just laughed. "Eat your food slowly, baby. And remember to chew properly."

...

[Vennesvurg, Sweden]

Two days after the visitors had returned from the enchanted forest, the Kingdom of Vennesvurg had received Queen Anna's letter about the accident. Upon its' receipt, King Karl's royal advisor Norman Malkvist grimaced. He had been anticipating the Princess' arrival and this was not aligning well with his plans.

"Rubbish," he said, "this might be another excuse by that stupid Hallgrimur."

"Well..." stated started King Karl's assistant Ethan Lindahl, "...it came directly from Arendelle's council, on order by Queen Anna herself." he wished to quell Malkvist's temper as soon as possible. "King Hallgrimur has remained exclusive for a significant amount of time, sir. I highly doubt that Arendelle is implicated in anything. Her Majesty hasn't even mentioned the wedding – no one else knows about the contract."

Taking in the younger man's words, Malkvist stroked his beard and stepped towards the window. "I'm hesitant to agree with you, simply based on our lack of trust with Botarskal as a whole."

Lindahl was not fully convinced. "By 'our' and 'Botarskal' respectively, you obviously mean 'yourself' and 'King Hallgrimur', right?" Malkvist turned around to glare so the younger of the two began to backtrack, "A-A-All I mean to suggest is that we have no reason to disbelieve Queen Anna, sir. Arendelle has been a great friend to Vennesvurg – our ties transcend generations of rulers." Lindahl truly didn't believe it would be wise to ruin Vennesvurg's ties to Arendelle – especially when so many other kingdoms that are allied with them loved Queen Anna.

Before Malkvist could make another argument, King Karl's butler, Anton, entered the room. Malkvist and Lindahl quickly straightened their postures knowing that the butler only ever came in unannounced to declare the King's arrival. "His Majesty, King Karl, has arrived." shortly after his announcement, the king entered the space.

King Karl had shaggy brown hair and had a thin beard on his chin without a moustache. He was not very tall, which was uncharacteristic of his father and his father before him. Vennesvurg's kings had stood tall and hefty – not unlike the kingdom's fearsome reputation. But Karl had definitely taken to his mother's genetics. On the bright side, young women in Vennesvurg, and other allied kingdoms, fawned over his overall stature and demeanor. He was considered 'handsome' and kind to everyone. He was a kind ruler, but Vennesvurg's strong and revered reputation transcended his reign. It was a good reputation for a young king to have, especially since he was only nineteen years of age.

Malkvist and Lindahl bowed before their king. Malkvist was the first of the two to make a greeting.

"Afternoon, Your Majesty."

Karl nodded in acknowledgement of his men. "Afternoon Lindahl and Malkvist." he makes his way to the window to look out onto the kingdom's main square. He observed his people as they went about their day-to-day lives. "I heard, from Anton here, that we received some harrowing news about our future queen."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Lindahl stepped forward to hand the King the letter from Arendelle. "They had gotten in an accident, a few miles into the enchanted forest."

Karl looked at Lindahl with a troubled glance. "The enchanted forest?" he then turned to Malkvist, "Did we not give them the updated map, from two years ago? There was a distinct disclaimer in the notes for the updated map that I instructed you to give them."

Malkvist was panicking on the inside, but his face did not give it away. "And it was so, Sire. I gave them the newest map." he defended, "Whoever was leading the way must've ignored your instructions."

Karl rolled his eyes. "This whole thing is obviously off to a great start, I see." Karl then walked over to a lounge chair and sat down. He slumped back and released a heavy sigh. "Can one of you remind me why we are doing this wedding, again?" it was no stranger to the King's staff that he was not a fan of this arrangement. He had never even met Princess Hrafntinna – no one had. He had received a painting of her, shortly after the engagement was confirmed, but that was it. He admitted that she was beautiful, but he was still miffed that this was not his choice. He was especially cross that she had gotten seriously injured as a result of said choice. He knew this news would plague him every night going forward until she recovered.

"Well," Lindahl said, looking at Malkvist. This whole tryst with Botarskal was under Malkvist's orchestration.

"Your Majesty," Malkvist approached the clearly upset king with caution, "Botarskal has a rich history of being allied with us and they had been exchanging resources with us for years." Vennesvurg was located near the northern part of Sweden, so they did not have much control over any sea ports. They relied on places like Arendelle and Botarskal for fish.

Karl waved his hands dismissively at the advisor, "I know we use them for fish and they rely on us for wood, but marriage? That seems like such a steep deal, Malkvist."

"With all due respect, Your Majesty," Malkvist said, trying to keep his emotions at bay, "King Hallgrimur had promised many things to your father and has not kept any of them." the way he stared into Karl's irises made the king visibly tremble. While he was upset, he knew that the advisor had a temper of his own. "In addition, Your Majesty," Malkvist continued, "it is my duty to look out for the kingdom's best interests."

Karl cleared his throat and adjusted the collar of his shirt. "T-Thank you, Malkvist." the king then stood and began to make his leave. "Malkvist – please see to it that you investigate the map incident with Botarskal as soon as possible. I wish to have all notable correspondence given to me, or Lindahl, by the end of next week. See to it that this is completed. Should I need to wait any longer, I'd wish to receive eighteen hours notice." Karl then addressed Lindahl. "Ethan – please send Arendelle any resources they request and thank them profusely for taking care of Princess Ha – raft – half – GAH!" frustrated, King Karl began to run his hand through his hair, lightly tugging on the strands – he always did this when he was upset or anxious. "I don't even know how to say her dang name!" after his little outburst, he stormed out of the room. Anton followed him and bid both Lindahl and Malkvist farewell.

Once they were alone in the room, Malkvist kicked the ottoman in front of the lounge chair. Lindahl winced as the furniture screeched across the hardwood. "Can you believe the tone of that ungrateful little brat?!"

Lindahl cleared his throat. "Well, he is the king. He's entitled to inquiries about this..." Lindahl tried his best to find the appropriate word, "...this...staged juncture."

Malkvist sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "The council of Vennesvurg has sought out recompense for Hallgrimur's lack of conviction for backing out of late King Oswald's treaty." Malkvist then turned to face the assistant. "As you are aware, Oswald had high hopes for a stronger connection to Botarskal. He wished to control more seaports and dominate the trade. Oswald and Hallgrimur made a deal that there would be an alliance of marriage, uniting both kingdoms in whole." Malkvist's expression became furious. "But he lied to us. When Oswald inquired about an heir, after his first son's birth, Hallgrimur stated that he only had a son as well. 'Very well', said Oswald. Then, when he and the Queen had Karl, they asked again. Hallgrimur wrote to us saying he only had boys still. 'Very well', said Oswald. Finally, we receive word from an intel plant in Botarskal that the King had five daughters, all along."

Lindahl stared out the window, just passed the advisor. "So..."

"So the contract could have been fulfilled!" Malkvist screamed, "Now, Oswald is dead. So is the Queen. And so is the Crown Prince! Now we're left with a toothpick as our leader! An ungrateful, immature, toothpick!"

"I...I still don't follow." Lindahl admitted. "So he lied about his daughters. Why did they have to marry us anyway?"

"Because that was the deal, you imbecile!" Malkvist growled. "Nobody is to pull one over on Vennesvurg. If the other countries find out that we let Botarskal off scot-free, other kingdoms may take advantage of our other treaties."

Lindahl stared at the older man. He knew that Vennesvurg was a small, but mighty, kingdom. Many feared it but it could also be easily overpowered. Botarskal was revered by many and it was larger than most kingdoms in Scandinavia. Putting all the dots together, Lindahl understood that the best way to secure Vennesvurg's reputation was to have the strongest alliance possible with Botarskal.

"I...see..." Lindahl said.

"I'm glad that I made our kingdom's intentions clear." Malkvist smirked and walked to stand directly beside Lindahl. He leaned into the younger man's ear and said: "See to it that this never reaches the king's ears – let alone the ears of the outside world. And whenever that stupid little pawn of ours arrives to marry the toothpick, ensure that she never hears of this as well. This is a council secret, that is to be kept on behalf of King Oswald's memory." with a light shoulder shove as a warning to the younger man, Malkvist made his way out of the room.

...

[Botarskal, Iceland]

Three days after the letters by Queen Anna were sent out, Botarskal received the news. The Crown Princess of Botarskal, Princess Arnkatla, had received the letter while her father was out hunting with Lords and Dukes of the state. She had long curly light brown hair that cascaded over both of her shoulders. She wore a dark green dress and wore a solid gold pendant that bore her family's crest. She was the spitting image of her late mother as she read through the letters with a stoic expression.

"What's that there, Katla?" asked her younger sister, Princess Hinrikka. Arnkatla was the first of the five, followed by Princesses Engilbjört, Hinrikka, Hrafntinna, and Finnborja. Hinrikka looked almost exactly like her older sister, but she had dark brown hair, similar to Princess Tina's.

"It's a letter from Queen Anna, of Arendelle." she said, "It says that Tina's been in some sort of carriage crash, in the enchanted forest."

"WHAT?!" Hinrikka made her way up the steps to the throne, where her eldest sister sat. She ripped the letter from her hands and began to read. "My Gods...she's unconscious? The poor thing."

"Yes," the Crown Princess stated, "tragic." she then called over her father's butler. "Halstrom?"

"Yes, Your Highness?"

"See to it that my father is notified of my sister's accident." she ordered, "Send a council representative by horse, to the his hunting party."

Halstrom bowed. "Right away, Your Highness."

When Halstrom had left, Arnkatla sat back in the throne and shuffled through more of the letters she had received, addressed to her father. All the while, Hinrikka stared on in complete shock and rage at her sister's demeanor. Noticing her sister's uncharacteristic silence, Arnkatla turned to Hinrikka.

"Is there something you want to say?"

"Uh – YES!" Hinrikka stated, furiously, "What the heck was that, Katla?! Our sister is in a coma! Why aren't you more upset?!"

"What?" she asked, more annoyed that she was being questioned. "It's no use to fret over anything. Queen Anna had already stated that she, and her kingdom, are doing all that they can for her. I have no reason to waste any energy on this."

Hinrikka was still in disbelief. "I cannot believe you."

"Not this again..."

"I cannot believe how unaffected you are." Hinrikka began pacing back and forth in front of the throne where her sister was. "After all of this crap? They tried to take Finn from us and they take Tina?! How can you be so heartless?!"

"I am the Crown Princess, Rikki." Arnkatla stated steadily, "I am supposed to keep composed while sitting in for father."

"God...you're just like him." Hinrikka stated with disgust, "All you care about is the stupid crown – not about any of us." and with that, Hinrikka stormed her way out of the throne room to alert her other sisters about what had happened.

As soon as her sister had left, Arnkatla slumped over in her seat. She couldn't fully sob, but she allowed herself to shed a few tears for a few seconds. The truth was that she was heartbroken about the deal with Vennesvurg and the state of her sister. However, she was convinced that taking the stoic approach would be better for her sisters. Instead, it was driving their family apart.

After her little emotional break, Arnkatla ordered her father's staff to send gifts to Arendelle. Among the gifts, she asked that a special package be sent to Tina. She hopes that her sister will come to appreciate her package when she wakes up.