Note:
My goodness, this was a lot to form together. My apologies for this being a bit tardy – I decided to move things around again in order to keep this under 30 chapters. I think it will officially be estimated to remain at 28, but who knows at this point? This entire thing was only supposed to be 15-20 and we obliterated that dream long ago. Also, I think we screwed up a time lapse in here (if you see it, no you didn't). The content will still make sense, if you don't squint. Also, if you want to know what these characters look like, I will be uploading them to my instagram account at jyrusquash_og. Anywho, ENJOY!
Disclaimer:
This is fanfiction – it is not intended to be apart of the Frozen franchise that is owned by Disney.
Happy Reading!
-JQ
Chapter Twenty-Two: Four More Faces
[Arendelle, Norway]
Once again, Kristoff found himself dressed to the nines and hating every second of it. As he stood on the front steps of Arendelle's Castle, fiddling with his neck tie in frustration, Kristoff heard a deep and hearty chuckle from beside him.
"Master Kristoff," said Kai, as he approached the commoner prince, "I see that you continue to be used as the main greeting party for our international guests." as he continued to laugh, Kristoff just rolled his eyes. He was going to tell Kai to call him 'just Kristoff', but he figured it was a lost cause at this point.
"Anna said she was coming," he told the butler, "but...well...you know Stella and her bedtime stories."
"Yes," Kai hummed, full of endearment, "Stella is much like a young Anna, isn't she?"
Kristoff then released a hearty chuckle. "Ohohoho, that's one thing I will never doubt." shortly after this, Kristoff and the butler began some small talk about castle gossip, the weather, politics, and other random things. Eventually, Kristoff decided to poke around and see if any of the castle staff were aware of what was going on with Vennesvurg. Anna and Mattias had discussed these things, in front of him, and it was supposed to be some sort of 'need to know' thing. He just wanted to make sure everything was under wraps. "So Kai," the ice harvester began, carefully, "Do you know why the Icelandic princesses are coming?"
The butler just looked at the prince and shrugged. If he knew anything more than this, he didn't allude to it with his facial expressions. "She just said that they were passing through, on the way to Vennesvurg. The same thing as their sister." Kai explained. Obviously, Kristoff knew better than that. He knew exactly why the princesses were coming.
"Yeah." Kristoff said, thinking about Tina being forced into all of this against her will. "Same thing as their sister..." he couldn't fathom how the King of Botarskal could just fraudulently sign over his daughter because of some scam-filled treaty with no documentation. Now as a father himself, Kristoff could not imagine ever doing something like that to Stella or Nolan. He hoped that one day, he could give King Hallgrimur a piece of his mind.
"Hey, hey! Hi!" came Anna's voice, from the main entrance of the castle. From her panting and fatigued face, it was obvious that she had rushed down from putting the children to bed. Regardless, the Queen still felt as though she needed to explain. "So sorry! It took forever to get the kids down." at her words, Kai and Kristoff just laughed.
"I'm sure they didn't take sleeping earlier very well." Kai commented.
"Nolan could be convinced." Anna said, before sighing. "Stella was the one with all the questions."
"Mhm." both the ice harvester and butler found immense amusement about not being surprised in the slightest.
...
After a few more minutes of pleasant small talk, the royal guards began to pull open the castle gates to reveal two large carriages. They were black and metallic, similar to the four that Princess Tina's caravan had (prior to the accident of course). Kristoff let out an elongated whistle at the sight while Kai's eyebrows raised significantly. While these carriages were similar to Tina's, they were much larger.
As the first carriage came to a stop, directly in front of Anna, Kristoff, and Kai, the carriage driver hopped down to open the door for whoever was inside. Once the door was opened, it revealed a woman, either the same age as Elsa or just a bit younger. She had light brown hair that cascaded over her shoulders. When she stepped down from the carriage, and looked up to make eye contact with the Queen, Anna could make out the distinct piercing green eyes that stared back at her. The driver then cleared his throat and began his announcement.
"Behold, anointed by the ancestral lands of Scandinavia, Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Arnkatla of Botarskal." at this, the woman bowed toward Anna and Kristoff. They then bowed in turn. Before anyone could add anything to their greeting, the driver continued and someone from the second carriage began opening the door. One woman then stepped out of the first carriage while two then stepped out of the second. "Her Highness is accompanied by her three sisters, Princess Engilbjört, Princess Hinrikka, and Princess Finnborja of Botarskal."
The princess that stepped out of Arnkatla's carriage had long curly reddish-brown hair. She had brown eyes, that mimicked Tina's, but they were a darker brown and not a light amber colour. She was introduced as Princess Engilbjört. While these first two princesses did not look too much like Princess Tina, the two princesses that hopped out of the second carriage held incredible resemblances to Tina. The most recognizable thing was that they both had Tina's facial structure and bright smile. The taller of the two looked the most like Tina, but she had tight braids and viking makeup that adorned her face which accentuated her striking blue eyes. She was introduced as Princess Hinrikka. And finally, the shorter one had blonde hair, blue eyes, and freckles instead of viking makeup. This was the youngest sister, Princess Finnborja.
"Good evening, Queen Anna." Princess Arnkatla said with a regal nod. Her sisters followed with their own bows, all in different styles. Hinrikka was the last to bow, but she was promptly elbowed in the ribs by Engilbjört. At this, Princess Arnkatla rolled her eyes while Princess Finnborja giggled loudly.
"G-Good evening, Princess...es." Anna said, waving at the four sisters. She was still wrapping her head around the entirety of this event. Tina's sisters were here and they were going to make a plan to save her, with Arendelle's help. Everything seemed to be happening so fast. "It's lovely to meet you all." the Queen said in earnest, still trying to wrap her head around all these new things.
"Likewise." Engilbjört said in a very even tone. Anna wanted to say that she wished that they were meeting under 'happier' circumstances, but she knew that she couldn't give that away in front of the regular castle staff and foot patrol guards.
Sensing a break in the greetings, Kai cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. Once all their eyes were on him, he started his orders. "If you all could just follow the Prince and I, we will show you each to your rooms." the butler announced, "Dinner will be served at eight o'clock."
"Thank you, sir." Princess Finnborja said, with a bright smile.
"Princess Arnkatla?" Anna said, hesitantly.
The Crown Princess turned to face Anna with a curious expression. "Yes, Your Majesty?"
"Could you please find me after Kai shows you to your guest room?" Anna asked, "Kai will direct you to my study."
The Crown Princess just scanned Anna's face for any warning signs. Finding none, Arnkatla just nodded and offered the smallest hint of a smile. "As you wish, Your Majesty."
...
"Your Majesty?" came Princess Katla's voice from just outside of the Queen's study. Immediately, Anna got up from her seat and rushed over to the door and opened it.
"Yes, hi." Anna said, with a bright smile. The redheaded queen then opened the door even wider as she gestured for the princess to step inside. "Please, have a seat." Katla nodded at the queen and began to make her way into the study. All the while, Anna kept observing her. Katla was older than she was, and she had this aura of regal-ness that Anna had only ever witnessed in other queens. She was very intrigued and wanted to learn how to be as 'queenly' as this princess already seemed to be. "How was your trip, Princess Arnkatla?" Anna asked, once they were both comfortably seated.
"Please, call me Katla." the princess stated, as nonchalantly as ever. "And it was...long. But I've never travelled anywhere outside of Iceland, so it was still rather nice." Anna observed Katla's seemingly distant demeanor and was getting a little nervous. But then, just as Anna was about to panic, Katla sighed and seemed to relax. "It was nice scenery, I guess. Ocean, water, yada yada." For the first time in the last hour, Anna saw a little bit of Tina's personality in the oldest Botarskalic princess. It seemed that both Tina and Katla exuded an equal amount of royal and sassy. "I guess it was interesting to see the ocean from all sides of a boat." Katla added, slouching further into the seat.
"Yeah," Anna laughed, feeling less nervous and increasingly more comfortable, "sailing is fun, but I prefer carriage rides. More things to look at as you travel through."
"Agreed." Katla said. Before she could say anything else, she sighed and began to look a little sad. "I just didn't think I'd miss my son as much as I do."
Huh, Anna thought to herself, I didn't know she was also a mother.
"Yes, I feel you." Anna shared with the princess, "I've sailed to Åland, Denmark, and Finland without my children." the queen let out a sigh and shook her head. While she enjoyed the break from her children, she felt lonely without them. "It's too quiet, but I enjoyed sightseeing without tantrums." Anna admitted and Katla laughed for the first time, that evening.
"That sounds fun, although I know those trips were probably not for leisure."
The Queen of Arendelle just shook her head. "No, no they weren't." after some more talk about visiting other places, Anna decided to ask about Katla's child. "How old is your son?" to her delight, Katla's face seemed to soften at the queen's inquiry.
"He's four." Katla answered, with a soft smile. Anna had a feeling that being a mother was a universal emotion and considered herself lucky to see such a reclusive princess like this. "And what about your own? How old?"
"Mine are three and five." Anna said, rather dreamily. "I'm sure they will be all over you and your sisters in the morning. They just love visitors."
"Yes, Tina wrote about how much they had taken to her. Bless you, for having more than one." Katla told Anna with a laugh. She then rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "My husband and father keep blabbering off about 'more heirs'." the redhead rolled her eyes in turn and shook her head. It appeared that patriarchal ideas were also a universal feat.
"Ugh. Men and their 'legacies'."
"Right?" Katla stated, "I'd like to see them carry their own 'legacies' to term." at this statement, Anna let out a hearty laugh that would have not been considered very 'lady-like' (Gerda would have slapped her for such behaviour). The Crown Princess just groaned again. "I've managed to get them off my back when I said to my father: 'my mother gave you four more of me – stay out of my decisions'."
"Wow – amazing." Anna said with a prideful grin, "I've only got one sister, so I can't use that one."
"Well...I've hopefully got four." Katla stated with a smile. In an instant, however, her expressions became rather grave. "Unless Tina becomes the 'Queen of Vennesvurg'."
The queen frowned at the reminder. "Yeah. About that," Anna began, "could we discuss a little about it?" Anna was anxious to learn about what Katla had discovered in regards to the treaty – or 'not treaty' – between Botarskal and Vennesvurg.
"After dinner, if I may?" Princess Katla asked, with an apologetic smile. While she adored Anna's enthusiasm for aiding her and her family, she was very fatigued from travelling for three days straight. She had never travelled this long, or this far from home, before. "I'd love to brief you now, but it's hard to think after all this travelling forcing my mind into a tonic state."
"Absolutely! After dinner is great." Anna said quickly, realizing how inconsiderate her request may have been. "Sorry – I didn't mean to pry." the redhead apologized. "Not to be weird, but I'm just so happy that you and your sisters want to free Tina and have asked me to assist." instead of feeling put off by Anna's enthusiasm, Princess Katla was quite endeared. Knowing that someone cared for one of her sister's so greatly, it made her feel safe in a way. This fact gave her the belief that Botarskal's international relations could be salvaged when she eventually takes the reigns from her father and his plethora of mistakes. With a soft smile, the princess reached out and placed her hand gingerly on the queen's shoulder.
"I don't understand how that could be 'weird'," Katla told her, honestly, "but I am thrilled that you have offered Arendelle's resources to my sisters and I." the princess offered Anna a bright smile. "Thank you, Queen Anna."
Anna smiled back and placed her hand atop the princess' own. "Anytime, Princess Katla."
...
About half an hour after their talk in Anna's study, the Queen and Crown Princess made their way to the dining hall for a late dinner. Anna and Kristoff had already eaten with the children, but they wanted to spend time getting to know their new visitors. What they didn't know was how much of a handful the four royal sisters actually were.
"Your makeup is so cool." Kristoff told Rikki, who was sitting to his right at the dining table.
"That is the first time I've ever had that compliment from a man." Rikki stated before giving Kristoff a hearty slap on the shoulders. The ice harvester tried his best to contain his reaction. "I like him."
"I'm also intrigued at your customs, here." Gilly added, pointing at the prince consort. "He's clearly the perfect size for combat. He's not a soldier?" at the mere thought of himself as a soldier, Kristoff felt a shiver go down his spine. He was not built for any type of combat.
"I told you both – Arendelle doesn't draft the same way we do." Katla barely looked up from her plate, refusing to fully acknowledge her sisters' lack of international knowledge.
"Dang." Gilly stated, returning her attention to her vegetables.
As soon as her sisters settled back into their dinners, Katla said, "Now, why don't you both stop being insensitive and eat your food please."
"sTop beING inSENsiTIVE." Gilly mocked. Before she knew it, Katla used her hand to knock her upside the head. "OW!" Gilly shrieked.
Katla just shrugged. "You forced my hand."
"Guys..." Finn whined as she sunk into her seat. "You're all so embarrassing."
"No, this is so interesting." Anna said as she watched the sisters interact. She then turned towards Katla. "I've never seen a family as large as yours. It's just been me and my sister all my life." the queen then realized her technical error and quickly corrected her statement. "Well...until Mr. Soldier-Worthy over here. Oh – and my two kids, of course."
"AAAAND don't forget me and Sven!" came a familiar voice, just as the door to the dining hall opened and slammed against the wall. The princesses screamed, tumbled out of their seats, and bolted towards one end of the table, away from the intruder.
"AAAHHHHH!"
"OH MY GODS!"
"WHAT IS THAT?!"
"Olaf!" Anna said, getting out of her seat and making her way over to the little snowman. "I told you that we'd come and get you after dinner, sweetie." the queen then gestured to the table, where the four princesses appeared to be completely frightened at his sudden appearance.
The little snowman giggled. "I'm sorry, Anna," he said, "I just wanted to meet Tina's sisters! Ohhh!" the snowman then walked around the redhead to be closer to where the visiting princesses were huddled, at the end of the dining table. He stopped at a respectable distance before waving at them. Finn was the only one brave enough to offer a hesitant wave back. "They are all so pretty, just like Princess Tina."
"I am so confused right now," Rikki said, "but also very flattered. Thank you, kindly abomination."
"You're welcome!" Olaf replied, obviously not knowing what 'abomination' meant at all.
"I'm so sorry everyone," Anna said in her most apologetic tone to date, "I forgot to introduce you guys. This is Olaf." she then gestured towards the little sentient snowman.
"Hello!" he said brightly, "I like warm hugs!"
The queen continued to smile nervously, hoping that he didn't scare them too much. She then decided to explain how he came to be. "My – uh – sister made him when she froze the kingdom over, nine years ago." once this piece of information was given to them, the four princesses sighed in collective realization.
"Ohhhhhhhhhhh." they all said at once.
"Right." Rikki added, as she eventually recalled the tales of the ice queen that she heard when she was younger. "Elsa was the queen of Arendelle. Huh. For some reason I thought she was in Asbjarnovik."
Gilly just shook her head at her younger sister. "Why would the Ice Queen, from Arendelle, be in Asbjarnovik?"
"I don't know! Why is anything anywhere, smart-farts?" Rikki said, right before she stuck her tongue out at her older sister. The curly-haired redhead just rolled her eyes at the woman's juvenile behaviour.
"Oh, 'smart-farts'." Gilly chuckled, "Amazing vocab."
After witnessing Gilly and Rikki go back and forth, Katla looked toward the queen and her prince. "Anna, Kristoff – I am so sorry." the crown princess stated in an apologetic tone. "We hardly travel together."
The Arendellian queen just raised her hand to silence the visiting princess. "Katla, please – it's totally fine."
The ice harvester butted in by nodding along with his wife. "Yeah – this is the most fun I've had in this dining room with visiting royals so, please, do not apologize." the queen quickly nudged her husband in his ribs but he refused to take back what he said. He meant every word.
"Regardless..." Katla sighed, still feeling quite embarrassed by the behaviour that her sisters had been exhibiting all evening. "Ugh. The very first time we leave the country and they're acting like jesters." As the Crown Princess of Botarskal pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, she felt a hand on her bicep bring her back into focus. It was her youngest sister, princess Finn.
"But...are we really that surprised?" Finn asked her eldest sister. "We are still – well – us." she said it so innocently that it almost felt silly for Katla to feel the way she was feeling. She then looked up to see Gilly and Rikki watching as Olaf tried to explain how his twiggy little hands worked (spoiler alert – he had no idea how Elsa's magic gave him control of his 'limbs'). Katla just laughed softly at the sight. She then reached her arm around Finn's shoulders to give her a squeeze.
"No," Katla told her, "I guess I'm not all that surprised."
...
After dinner, and a poorly coordinated game of cards that Olaf and Kristoff attempted to explain, everyone parted ways with the promise of seeing one another in the morning. Anna was sound asleep, next to a snoring Kristoff when there was a sudden knock on their bedroom door. Anna quickly sat up in bed and looked around. All she could see was the darkness that cascaded over her room and the small glimmer of light that peaked through the curtains hung over her window. After waiting a few seconds, she didn't hear anymore knocking. It was probably a guard that dropped something, during their rounds, she reasoned with herself.
She then followed the direction her ears were taking her to; her husband's sleeping form (and loud snoring). As she had gotten used to it by now, Anna bent over and kissed her prince on his temple. She then readjusted her position and closed her eyes in the hopes of quickly falling back into a good night's sleep. But just as the redheaded queen closed her eyes, there was another identical knock on the door.
Sitting up again, with a groan, Anna kicked off the warm sheets and felt the cool of the night air hit her exposed limbs. Her night dress was sleeveless, and the bottom of it only went down to her knees. Seeing nothing else in her reach, she grabbed her husband's evening housecoat and wrapped it around her frame. As she finally made it to the door of her bedroom, she gently pushed it open just enough so that she could see who it was on the other side.
"Lieutenant Mattias?" she asked quietly; her eyes conveying a great deal of shock. She truly wondered what he needed her for, as it was probably just after midnight. "What's going on? Is everything alright?" before she could start panicking, the lieutenant shook his head and held up his hands to try and use this gesture to quell her incoming fears.
"Everything is alright, Your Majesty." Mattias said quickly, "I just wanted to inform you that Elsa and the Nattura siblings arrived a few minutes ago."
"They what?" Anna asked, genuinely puzzled. She knew that Elsa would be coming, after she had requested her to. But during the dead of night was an interesting choice. Thinking that she needed to get to the bottom of this, she looked back up at Mattias. "Is Elsa in her room?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." he told her, "Gerda and some other servants have set them up in rooms, for the night." Anna just smiled up at him through her tired eyes.
"Thank you, Mattias. I'll just go talk to her quickly."
The lieutenant nodded and bid the queen a good night. "I'll see you and the princesses in the morning, Queen Anna." he promised. The queen just nodded back at him in acknowledgement.
"See you then, Lieutenant. Sleep well."
...
It took Anna five minutes to reach her sister's room. It was just her old bedroom, as Anna refused to have anyone but Elsa stay there. Once she reached the platinum blonde's door, she noticed that it was not closed all the way. Not wanting to just barge in, Anna still began to softly rap her knuckles against the familiar painted wood of Elsa's famous door.
"Elsa?" the redhead asked, just loud enough for Elsa to hear. The queen heard the quick patter of Elsa's bare feet against the floorboards before the door was pulled open further, from the inside.
"Anna – you're awake?" Elsa said, mildly shocked. Gerda and Mattias said that Anna had already gone to sleep for the night. She felt bad about her sister having to wake up in the middle of the night just because Elsa couldn't hold herself together long enough.
"Well...not until Mattias alerted me of your arrival." Anna told her with a coy smile. All Elsa could do was shrug – there was no use in forcing Anna back to bed now. Instead, Elsa invited her into her room and slowly began unpacking the few things she brought for another short stay in Arendelle. The redhead promptly sat on the bed as she watched her older sister busy herself with organizing her space the way she liked to, when she came home for a visit. Feeling as if she should break the silence again, Anna piped up gently. "You didn't need to come right away, you know. I only sent that letter, this morning."
The ice wielder turned around and just shrugged. "Your note seemed too ominous to ignore." carefully, Elsa sat on the bed next to her younger sister. The both of them stared at one another, silently daring the other to ask the question. In the end, it was Elsa who asked. "What's going on, Anna? Why have you asked me to come?"
"I...I'd rather explain it when the sun is awake." Anna said sheepishly.
The former queen rolled her eyes. "...This isn't exactly helping the 'ominous' bit."
"Whatever, smarty-pants." Anna said, mimicking Elsa's eye roll while nudging her shoulder against her sister's. Elsa giggled and shoved back for old times' sake. Once they each stopped goofing off, Anna took both of Elsa's hands in her own. She sighed and gave her sister's hands a squeeze. "So...not to alarm you...but I'm not going to tell you everything. I'll let the princess explain."
"The princess?" Elsa questioned.
"Sorry...princesses."
"Princesses?" nothing was making sense at all, to the ice wielder.
Anna looked around, trying to make sense of what she was about to say. It was almost as if she was trying to sugarcoat it. After realizing there was no way to sugarcoat anything, she just blurted it out. "Yes. Princesses...of Botarskal."
Elsa shook her head, as if getting out of a daze. "Tina?" The redhead just shrugged.
"Tina's sisters." Anna corrected.
Yep – Elsa was completely lost. "Tina's sisters?" she asked again. Her facial expression was begging for more information at this point. Usually, it didn't take this long for the platinum blonde to put two and two together. Anna just assumed that the time of night must have been affecting her older sister.
"They're here." Anna said.
"They're here?!" Elsa exclaimed, suddenly very nervous.
"Shh!" Anna chastised, shaking Elsa by the shoulders. "Keep it down!" Anna said, in a hushed shout. "People are asleep!" while the redheaded queen loved the version of Elsa, where she could feel like the one in charge, she didn't like the idea of disturbing her guests at this most unholy hour. Eventually, when the blonde got her bearings back, she looked toward her sister again.
"Why are they even here?!"
"It's complicated," Anna said, as she tried her best to think of a summary for the ice wielder, "but there's a theory going around about how the treaty between Botarskal and Vennesvurg isn't real."
"Not real?" Elsa asked as Anna nodded. The platinum haired woman then began to think about what this information meant. As she began to put the pieces together, she spoke up. "So that means..."
"That means that Tina can possibly be saved from marrying the king." Anna finished for her.
Although this was fantastic news, Elsa still didn't know why Anna had told her to come back to Arendelle. If Tina's sisters were already helping out, the ice wielder was at a loss for what her role in all of this could be. "So why do you want me here?" she eventually asked.
"You're one of the smartest people I know, Elsa." Anna told her, "If I had to pick someone to help solve a political mystery puzzle, I would pick you every single time." taking Elsa's hands in hers again, she squeezed them to reassure her. "I also know that if Tina wanted anyone to help rescue her, it would be her most favoured rescuer."
Not knowing exactly how to answer to Anna, Elsa just shrugged in response. "I suppose."
"Great." the queen said with a bright smile. She then let go of her older sister's hands and stood up. "Sleep tight, Elsa. I'll see you at breakfast." as she began to turn toward the door, she was shocked to feel Elsa's hand reach out to grab her wrist.
"Anna?" the wielder asked, looking slightly more panicked than she had previously.
"Yes?"
"Do you think that I – that everything will be...okay with the princesses?" Elsa questioned uneasily. Anna just narrowed her eyes at the blonde. She had no idea what Elsa was talking about – her sister had plenty of experience in meeting a plethora of different dignitaries throughout her life.
Anna just looked at her sister incredulously. "What do you mean?"
...
"So..." Katla trailed off, carefully observing Elsa from her end of the dining room table.
The ice wielder was currently seated at the opposite end of the table to Katla. She swallowed the heavy lump in her throat as her ice blue eyes met pale green. "So...?" Elsa asked, sounding almost cowardly.
It had been a rather interesting morning, in Arendelle castle. At the sight of new guests, Prince Nolan and Princess Stella were incredibly excited to meet them (even more so when they learned that these were Tina's sisters). Shortly after the children became acquainted with the royal sisters, Ryder, Honeymaren, Olaf, and Kristoff came into the dining room with Sven trailing them from behind. The Queen was so happy that everyone seemed to be getting along just fine.
That is...until Elsa eventually came down to join them for breakfast.
"You're the famed Ice Queen?" Katla asked, in a very regal tone.
"I – yes. Yes I am." Elsa replied weakly.
"The one who saved Arendelle?" the crown princess continued.
"Yes."
"The one who befriended the spirits of the enchanted forest?"
"Yes."
"The one that sent mixed signals to my little sister during one of the most troubling times of her life?" Katla suddenly questioned. Elsa swallowed another lump that formed in her throat. She was expecting this meeting to go horribly for her. As much as her anxiety had tried to envision what this conversation would look like, she was not prepared for the real deal. Katla was a year older than she was, so that alone was quite terrifying to the ice wielder.
"Oh..." Anna whispered to Kristoff as she observed her sister getting absolutely grilled, "I think this is what she meant, the other night."
"I – uh – well –!" Elsa began to stammer, but Princess Rikki was not having any of that. The brunette princess slammed her hand down in front of the platinum blonde, on the dining room table.
"I'm not hearing an answer, Your Highness." Rikki seethed, as she stared directly into Elsa's soul, through their intense eye contact. The ice wielder couldn't believe the striking resemblance this princess had to Tina. The only thing that was different was Rikki's blue eyes and the viking makeup that adorned her face. Other than that, she appeared to be a carbon copy of Tina. Or – well – if they were going by birth order, Tina was a carbon copy of Rikki.
"Yes! Sorry!" Elsa apologized, trying to quickly pull herself together for this interrogation. "I-It's a little more complicated than that, but I suppose the answer is yes."
"Why are you so shocked?" Princess Gilly piped up from her spot, standing beside Katla. "Did you not think that Tina would tell her sisters about her...Arendellian escapades?"
Having had enough of this painful second-hand experience, Kristoff stood up and grabbed his children's hands. "Well...I'm going to take the children to their lessons now. Come on guys."
"Bye Princesses!" Nolan shouted.
"Yeah; bye Tina's pretty sister ladies!" Stella followed.
For a brief second, the four sisters smiled brightly – without any malice towards the children. They all waved at the children as they began to exit. "Bye Princess Stella and Prince Nolan!" they shouted in unison. Before completely exiting the room, the ice harvester whispered something to Olaf. Immediately after receiving his orders, the tiny snowman loudly cleared his throat and pointed at the Nattura siblings.
"Kristoff says he needs Northuldra people to help him!" Olaf said. Ryder and Honeymaren both let out an elongated sigh of relief.
"That's us!" Honeymaren shouted, as she got to her feet. She then quickly linked arms with her brother and began to tug him out of the room "Let's go, Ryder." Sven didn't know what was happening, but he realized that Kristoff had left, so he followed the siblings out.
Before leaving, Olaf waddled over to Anna and tugged on her sleeve. The Queen bent down to hear what he had to say. "Kristoff also said that this is your chance to escape, Anna." Olaf informed her. Anna just shook her head.
"No thanks, Olaf." Anna told him almost regretfully, "I think I need to be with Elsa for this."
Olaf nodded at the queen's nobleness and placed a twiggy hand on her lap in sorrow. "Kristoff knew you would probably say that, so he also wishes you luck." Anna nodded towards him and they both mock-saluted one another.
"So...where were we?" Katla said, returning the attention of the remaining people to her and Elsa.
"I believe I answered 'yes' to your question about me, leading your sister?" the ice wielder supplied.
"And?" Katla followed-up. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
"I...uh –!" Elsa stammered, trying to get her thoughts in order.
"We are waiting." said Princess Finn, trying to be as intimidating as her older sisters.
Eventually, Elsa just broke. She released a heavy sigh and began to plead with the Botarskalic sisters. "Look –!" Elsa began, in a tone bordering intense desperation mixed with fatigue, "I-I'm truly sorry that I acted the way I did and I'm sorry that I wasn't very good at what was going on." she cried, hoping that they could sympathize with her at the very least. "I care for Tina – deeply – and I wish to tell her that when I am able. I also want to apologize to you for my mistreatment of the situation, I truly do." with one more sigh, she moved to complete her plea. "But if it makes a difference to any of you, I'd like to keep my repentance for Tina and focus on helping you all figure out what's been going on in Vennesvurg." she looked up and made sure to look into the eyes of each sister before she said her final piece. "Overall, I'm very sorry to have caused you the strain of hearing about what was going on here, during your sister's stay. But my goal right now – as I assume is also yours – is to help her get her freedom back."
"Hmph." Rikki muttered, still seemingly unconvinced, "Spoken like a true past queen." before anyone else could add anymore commentary, Katla held up her hand – silently signalling her sisters to hold their tongues.
"I understand your position, and will respect your wish to reserve your explanation for Tina." Katla began in an even tone, "But in the meantime, I'll leave you with this, Elsa: our sister is strong and intelligent. She can stand up to any person and set them in their place, using her words alone. She rarely needs to be taken care of, even in the worst of times." breaking her resolve for a quick second, Katla looked at each of her sisters and felt her heart start to ache, "...but we are not worried about what she projects on the outside. Her heart is what concerns us the most. Hrafntinna wears her heart on her sleeve and is almost sinfully forgiving. Despite your general ineptitude for romance and quick to quip defences, Tina clearly adores you." Regaining some of her previous conduct, Princess Katla sat up straighter and made direct eye contact with the ice wielder as pale green met ice blue. "Take our sister's forgiveness as a second chance from all of us. Should you choose to make light of it once more, just know that we will never be far from her side. No matter the distance." at her warning, Elsa bowed.
"I know it may not be all that comforting, coming from me," the platinum blonde began, "but as a former queen, and a big sister myself, I understand what kinds of feelings have transpired this morning. I am even more remorseful that this is the very first time that we met."
Katla hummed, not wavering in her eye contact with the former Queen of Arendelle. After considering her own position, she opened the floor to her sisters. "What say you lot, sisters? Shall we take the Ice Queen at her word?"
Gilly rolled her eyes. "Sure."
"Meh." Rikki grunted, crossing her arms over her chest.
Finn seemed to be the only one who had high hopes for Elsa's promises. "I believe her!" she said with a large grin.
"Then this will do, Your Highness." Katla told Elsa with a strict undertone, "Consider yourself officially warned."
Elsa bowed again, trying not to scream in pain. "Thank you, Princesses."
Before ordering any of them to head up to her study, Anna made her way over to her sister's side. She placed a calming hand atop Elsa's shoulder and asked; "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'll be fine." Elsa lied, still mildly shaken up by what had just occurred. "Just remind me that I have to apologize to Kristoff for ever intimidating him."
"Oh please – Kristoff is easily intimidated." Anna laughed, swatting at Elsa's shoulder. "Although I want lessons from Katla for when my kids start dating."
Elsa shuddered at the thought of Anna grilling her future child-in-law. "Bless those souls, wholeheartedly." she sighed as her little sister just continued to laugh at her expense.