Note:

Christ Almighty, this took so long to string together. I thought I was going to be done with it on Friday morning, but I was clearly wrong. No excuses, I was having an issue with putting things together to make them fit. Bad news – this chapter is short. Good news – there will be 30 chapters to this story. That's right – Y. I remember when this was supposed to be 5-10. How I got here? Not quite sure. I can also assure you, this had a VERY different storyline when I began. Either way, here is chapter 25!

PS. - WHY IS FROZEN 3 COMING OUT IN 2027 NOW? Whatever – at least it's coming.

Disclaimer:

Frozen is not my franchise. I do not own it. This is a fanfic – a form of parody.

Happy Reading!

-JQ

Chapter Twenty-Five: Who Knows What's Even Going On At This Point?

[Vennesvurg, Sweden]

"...so, y-yeah!" King Karl said nervously before his Royal Advisor, after introducing his newest appointee to Vennesvurg's council. "I hope that you, and the rest of the council, will make use of Erik's presence and guide him accordingly."

After going over the plan in excruciating detail as a group, during the forbidden hours of the morning (while placating a very livid Lindahl about Elsa's surprise appearance), Karl and Tina started their portion of the plan by introducing 'Erik Vaussen' to a rather shocked (and slightly annoyed) Malkvist. While the Advisor was still speaking in a professional tone, his expression was less than so as he kept side-eyeing the King and soon-to-be Queen. He really didn't want anymore new members of the royal council, but they were in dire need of an agricultural representative. With a sigh, Malkvist bowed before Erik and promised the king that he would show the new council member the ropes.

"Uh...yes, Your Grace." Malkvist stated, in a respectful tone. He then walked over to Ryder and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. If Ryder was at least a little threatened by Malkvist's sudden touch, he would have flinched immediately. Fortunately for Ryder, he was too busy hyper-fixating on some birds that were dancing just outside the window of the dining room. "We will make sure Mr. Vaussen has all the skills and knowledge he will need to sit on one of the most respected council's in all of Sweden." Malkvist promised. Before Karl and Tina could release a sigh of relief, Malkvist turned his attention to the second woman in the room. "But who is she, exactly?"

Karl and Tina hesitantly followed the direction of Malkvist's old and rickety finger as it landed on brunette Elsa. Or, as she's dubbed herself: Tina's cousin. Karl smiled nervously while Tina fought the innate desire to roll her eyes and shake her head.

"Oh! Right...how could I forget? Heh..." the princess reluctantly trudged over to Elsa and flung an arm around the taller woman's shoulders. Elsa tried not to wince as Tina aggressively squeezed into her. "I – um – almost forgot about...my cousin, Kjellfrid. I asked her to come and – uh – help me with some preparations for the-uh-the wedding. Yes." Tina nodded, agreeing with herself as she created her bold-faced lie to Malkvist on the fly. She utilized her sudden confidence in lying as momentum to continue adding ridiculous details. "She's the daughter of my...father's...second cousin...thrice removed." she winced a little, realizing she probably didn't need to outline family trees.

"Don't you have for sisters, Your Highness?" Malkvist asked, clearly still confused at why her father's second cousin's daughter was here. "Surely, you'd have rather asked them to assist?"

"Yeeeeeeeah..." Tina sighed, "I don't wanna over-complicate it but to sum it up: girl drama, haha – am I right?" she playfully nudged the [clearly unimpressed] advisor in his side, causing Karl to facepalm and Elsa to bite her lip in embarrassment.

Karl cleared his throat to bring attention away from Tina and move on from the awkwardness. Once he was sure that Malkvist's attention was on him, he said: "So, please see to it that you all show Lady...uh – Kjellfrid – some respect during her time at the castle." still mildly perturbed by the events of this morning, all Malkvist could do was bow and obey his king.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Malkvist replied. The advisor then turned towards Ryder and gestured for him to follow. "Come along now, Mr. Vaussen. There is much to go over." Malkvist said, as he started to make his way out of the room. However, after taking a few steps, he turned around to see that the new council appointee had not moved an inch. "Mr. Vaussen?"

"Erik!" Honeymaren said in a hushed scream, "That's you!" suddenly, Ryder finally broke himself out of the trance by shaking his head.

"RIGHT! That's me – Erik Vaussen!" the young reindeer herder exclaimed. "Coming, sir!" he then ran to stand beside Malkvist and waited – eagerly – for further instruction.

Thankfully, Malkvist was ageist enough to associate the mornings events with the normal happenings of the youth. He shook his head and sighed heavily. "Young people..."

The group waited a few more moments before they relaxed as they wanted to make sure that Malkvist was far enough away from the King's study. They listened intently to the sound of the advisor's heavy boots and waited until they faded out completely. Once they were absolutely positive that Ryder and Malkvist were well on their way, Karl, Honeymaren, Tina and Elsa released a sigh of relief.

"Well..." Honeymaren sighed, running a hand through her hair, "... that could have gone better."

"But, but, but!" Karl said, trying to make the situation more positive, "It also could have gone much worse!" he then held up his hands in celebration. "Good work, ladies!" none of the women, in the room, said anything and just stared at the king as he tried his best to keep spirits up.

He was failing miserably.

Spirits, in the current room, were decidedly low. Elsa was nervous about her surprise presence and how it was affecting everyone. This morning, Lindahl had torn into her, telling her how irresponsible it was of her to show up 'now of all times', and stormed off. Arnold and Ingrid had some problems with Elsa, considering her initial deferral of Tina's feelings. And Honeymaren...well...Honeymaren is always frustrated with Elsa or Ryder at any given time. Unfortunately, she'd have to be frustrated with both of them until this plan concluded. As for Princess Tina? Well, she's feeling incredibly conflicted to say the least. In fact, the word 'conflicted' would be a drastic understatement.

The Icelandic princess was still feeling a multiplicity of things about Elsa's current presence. On one hand, she had missed the blonde. On the other, Elsa being here could ruin their plan completely. On second thought, there was a third hand to consider. She realized that she was more than a little frustrated with Elsa. Since departing from Arendelle, she was led to believe – by Elsa's own words – that the ice wielder wanted nothing to do with her. The possibility of friendship was low and the chances of a romance had never even left Valhalla as it seemed. And on top of all that – her freedom was ripped away from her and in hung in the balance of a reindeer herder, disguised as a councilman. All in all, Tina was incredibly crossed at the plethora of emotions circling around her psyche. Since leaving Iceland, she had done her best to keep her anxious thoughts at bay, but now, the sheer magnitude of them came crashing down on her the moment Elsa's eyes locked in on hers.

"Um...so –!"

" Don't even try to address me directly right now, Elsa." Tina snapped at her. The princess closed her eyes and used her left hand to rub tight circles around her temple. She really couldn't deal with this anymore. "I'll be in my room." the brunette told Karl and Honeymaren before leaving the study. As the princess began to make her exit, Elsa started to walk after her.

"I k-know you're angry with me –!" was all that Elsa managed to get out, before Tina whirled around and glared into her soul.

"Angry?" Tina asked in a foreboding tone that mimicked a cheerier type of voice. Fortunately, Elsa realized this rather quickly and made the smart choice to remain silent. As Tina took one long stride to stand right in front of the ice wielder, Elsa was face to face with the fury that laced Tina's amber irises. "Angry was when you called my opinions naive." Tina growled. "Angry was when you kept trying to push me away. This? Right now? I am infuriated!" the princess closed her eyes while taking another breath before continuing her rant. "You're putting yourself at risk by being here and at the same time, you are putting this plan at risk!" Tina then rolled her eyes. "Did you even stop to think about this choice? Or were you suffering some weird egotistical paranoia that thinks you – and only you – have the ability to save everyone all the time? Or is it because you don't trust that anyone else can handle a task?!"

"Dang..." Honeymaren croaked out in a whisper, just loud enough for Karl to hear. All the king could do was watch in astonishment as the famed ice queen was being put in her place by his almost (but hopefully not soon-to-be) wife. Both of them swallowed the lumps in their throats as they watched to see how Elsa was going to get out of this.

"I-I u-uh...I j-just..." Elsa began to stammer as she tried to think of something to say. She obviously knew that Tina was blatantly angry with her and that she desperately wanted to fix it as fast as possible. She opened her mouth to try and plead with the princess but she suddenly realized rationalization might not be in her best interest. Since this tryst with Tina started, she had been evading her feelings and hiding things from the people who cared about her the most. She thought that if she truly wished to do things differently with Tina, she had to just be honest. Sighing, Elsa looked into Tina's angry eyes while offering an apologetic smile and a shrug. "I just had to see you..."

Tina's eyes widened at the admission and felt a warmth spread over her face and across her chest. Of course, this had been everything she'd wanted. Well – nearly everything. Maybe at least a decent percentage of what she considered to be 'everything'. From the very moment she laid eyes on Elsa, as she woke up from her coma, she had wanted to capture the blonde's attention and potentially strike up something with her. Since giving the former queen her letter, she had thought that it was the act of closure that the blonde had asked for. Tina thought that her wishes to be closer to Elsa, to kiss her and to hold her one more time, were out of her scope of possibility. She had convinced herself that Elsa didn't want to pursue anything with her after they parted last. She thought that Elsa's sweet words to her, during their last night together, was just some kind of parting gift. Something to let them both live in a world where they could actually continue exploring their feelings together. That after she left, there would be nothing else for them. That is why she left the letter.

And now, here was Elsa – saying that she had shown up in Vennesvurg – just to see her. Elsa was here, simply wanting to see her. Despite the warmth spreading throughout her body at this thought, Tina recalled the situation they had now been placed into. Shaking her head, she regained her composure and remembered that she was supposed to be livid.

"UGH!" the princess groaned out in frustration. "I can't do this right now. I really can't." she turned to continue and make her way out of the study room. "Honey – I mean Rita –!" she quickly corrected herself before continuing to bark out instructions. " Ahem. Come with me to prepare for the rest of my afternoon. Karl – make sure Kjellfrid doesn't follow me." Honeymaren just nodded and began to follow after the angry princess. Karl, on the other hand, was absolutely confused.

"What?" the king asked, trying to understand what was happening. "Where are you going?"

"To my room." Tina said with a huff. "I need to stew."

Karl shook his head. There was still much to do in order to make sure everything went smoothly. They had to look at invitation drafts and pretend to be excited about tasting food for the engagement party. Essentially, they had a bunch of things to do to make it look like they were a happy couple. "But we have to –!"

"I NEED TO STEW." Tina cried out before slamming the study door behind her and Honeymaren.

At this point in time, Karl and Elsa were now alone in his study. They looked at one another, not knowing exactly what to do. After all, this was the first time that they had been left alone together. They had never shared much time together, even during Elsa's time as queen.

"She uh..." Karl said, filling the silence, "...needs to stew."

"I gathered." Elsa said, collapsing onto the sofa behind her. She took one of the sofa cushions and placed it over her face. Without any regard for Karl watching her do this, she released a loud groan into the cushion. Karl sighed and just took his place across from the former queen – on the sofa that was parallel to the one she was on.

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better..." Karl said, as he watched Elsa groan in agony. "...she was sad thinking you didn't miss her at all, yesterday." he thought that this news would be pleasing to the ice wielder.

Unfortunately, he was incorrect.

"Uggggggh!" Elsa groaned even louder, ultimately freezing the small cushion in her grasp. Once she realized that the pillow was of no use to her right now, she sighed and placed it gingerly on the ground. After doing so, she sat on the edge of the sofa, placing her face into her hands. "I'm so terrible at this whole thing."

"Plans?" Karl asked.

The ice wielder just shook her head. "Love." she corrected.

"Oh." Karl said, nervously adjusting the collar of his shirt, "I'm not going to be helpful in that department, I'm afraid."

Elsa just smiled sadly at the king. "Even if you could be helpful, I don't think you could help me in this situation."

"You're probably right." Karl said, following her lead and mirroring her smile with his own. He didn't know what he could say to placate the feelings of dread that seemed to be coursing through Elsa's mind. Judging by her physical reactions, the young king decided that Tina and Elsa were not that different in how they processed things.

He got up from the couch and made his way over to the ice wielder. He sat beside her at a respectable distance and waited for her to acknowledge his change in position. She didn't look up at him, but she removed her hands from her face. At this moment, Karl seized is opportunity to try and ease her out of her slump.

"All I know is that this plan is very important to her, right now. She's been all over the place with her emotions and I just think that you being here is adding to that." the king told her. "She just needs some time to think – that's all."

Elsa sighed again, but understood what he was saying. "It just makes me regret all my decisions." Elsa explained in an exasperated tone. She had been battling herself ever since she had returned to her cabin, after returning from Ahtohallan. Her mind had been plagued with 'what if' and 'if only'. All she knew now, after seeing Tina distressed, was that there were things she could have done to mitigate that. "Had I kept in contact with her, like she suggested, she may have told me all this."

Karl wasn't sure what Tina and Elsa had said to one another before now. He just knew that they were involved and that Tina had given her a letter as a parting gift. Something to 'signify closure', as the princess had described. Taking in the information that the ice wielder was giving to him, he tried his best to logically walk her through it.

"Would you still have come?" Karl asked, as innocently as he could.

It was at this moment that Elsa finally turned her head to look at him. Would she still have come if Tina was distraught and told her? Would she have waited for the plan to succeed before coming here? Or was Tina right in saying that she had an 'egotistical' complex that innately gave her the urge to come to her aid. After thinking these through, the platinum blonde came up with the most accurate answer that she could think of.

"If I were to, then at least she'd know." Elsa reasoned. "And I wouldn't have added to her stress." once again, Elsa put her face in her hands. Utterly defeated. "I'm such a dolt."

"Hey now, none of that." Karl said, scooting in closer to her. "You couldn't have known and what's past has passed. It's no use fuddling around with things we can't change." he told her in earnest. "Just give her some stewing time. She'll come around."

Elsa just scoffed but Karl could see that she had a small smile painted on her lips. "You sound like quite the Hrafntinna expert."

"Hardly. Just a new friend who has spent the last three weeks with her." the king informed her, "I can't even pronounce her name properly. Do you speak Icelandic?" the king was envious of how easy Tina's real name sounded as it fell from the ice wielder's mouth.

"Only a little." Elsa admitted rather shyly. "While isolated, as a youngster, I had a lot of time to myself. My father made it a point to have me memorize everything I needed to be Queen, since he only took the throne when he was twelve." she knew she probably didn't have to tell him the whole sob story, but she thought that honesty was going to be the best policy moving forward. "Despite my hours of training, I was still awful at speaking Icelandic well into my reign. Tina actually started helping me with my accent, when she was in Arendelle." Elsa told the king, as they both shared a smile. "I'm surprised you don't speak it, as Botarskal's main trade partner."

The young king just sighed. "My older brother was the recipient of all of the resources before he passed, I'm afraid. I took the throne as ready as a premature infant." at this, Elsa released a small giggle but covered it with her hand. Karl found that quite endearing as Elsa appeared to not have lost any of her 'queenly' traits during her time away from the throne. "Can you teach me some Icelandic?" Karl asked, eager to learn from someone who wouldn't scold him for his mistakes.

The ice wielder pretended to think about his request. "Only if you can give me some alcohol."

Smiling, the king held out his hand for her to shake. "I've got a nice bottle of brandy with your name on it then."