Note:

Here is chapter twenty-four! Not exactly sure what else to say, because I have zero updates. The next one will be up eventually – just working out some more kinks. But if you see any errors – IGNORE FOR NOW. I am sleepy and will review them all again when I am not sleepy.

[x] song: "One More Day" by King Sis (Her album "Ascension D'Luxe", 2024) – this is not a traditional 'Princess Tina' voice, but it fits and it still sounds the way I want her to sound.

Disclaimer:

I do not own anything that Disney claims.

Happy Reading!

-JQ

Chapter Twenty-Four: Good Luck To All Involved

[Arendelle, Norway]

It was early evening now and Elsa was getting ready to head back to her cabin, on the outskirts of the Enchanted Forest. In her mind, she needed to get back to her cabin as soon as humanly possible to get a head start on her plan. Largely, the ice wielder's plan was to get to Vennesvurg herself, unnoticed by her sister and the Botarskalic princesses. But first, she needed to head back to her cabin for the final touches. She opted to leave a little earlier than Ryder and Honeymaren, just to get a head start on travelling undetected. As she stood at the gates of Arendelle's Castle, she heard some footsteps approaching her. She turned to see her sister – it wasn't ever a surprise to have the redhead see her off before leaving.

After the sisters shared a tight hug, Anna pulled back and held Elsa's shoulders at arms length. "Are you sure you'll be alright?" she asked, worry and concern lacing her tone. Elsa smiled and placed a calming hand over one of her sister's hands.

"Yes," she said without wavering her eye contact, "I've travelled between here and my cabin many times before, Anna." although she adored her sister's concern, it could be a tad much at times. Overall, Elsa was just thankful to have someone who cared about her so much.

"Yes – I know." the queen said, rolling her eyes. "But you will be going after sunset, without the Natturas."

"I'll be fine." the ice wielder assured her, "The spirits will keep me company."

Something about the glimmer in Elsa's eyes made Anna second guess...something. Yesterday, Elsa had been restless and inconsolable about not being able to help Tina directly. Her sudden calm demeanor was certainly strange, but Anna didn't wish to bring any attention to anything now if her sister was just trying to gather her thoughts together. After all, the entire situation between Tina and Elsa was pretty taxing on the platinum blonde.

"If you're sure." Anna said again, still eyeing her older sister suspiciously.

Fortunately for Elsa, she held her sister's gaze and maintained her composure. "I am."

After all these years of relearning who her sister was, Anna was still rather hesitant to believe that her sister wouldn't ride off into danger. What she was sure of was that Elsa was never the type of person to do something she thought would be inherently wrong. The redhead knew that she couldn't keep her older sister from doing something reckless but she generally accepted that her sister had a levelled head on her shoulders. With a sigh, Anna released Elsa's hands and held her gaze.

"Okay." Anna said, giving her sister one last smile. Before the sisters could fully go their separate ways, they both heard a voice come up from behind them.

"Excuse me?"

Both sisters turned to see one of the Botarskalic princesses, hesitantly standing by the Arendellian Castle gates.

"Oh – h-hi, Princess Hinrikka." Elsa said nervously. So far, she hasn't had the best of times with any of Tina's sisters and she knew that she would have to play some serious moves to make it into their good books. Judging by what she was currently willing to do – just to see Tina – she was determined to make it up to them if Tina was willing to stay by her side.

"Please; call me Rikki." the brunette insisted. "Sorry to bother you, Your Majesty and Your Highness. I hope I'm not interrupting anything." She appeared to be more docile than other times Elsa had seen her (well...since the Botarskalic sisters gave the ice wielder an official warning regarding her relationship with Tina).

"Oh hardly, Rikki – don't be ridiculous." Anna told the princess in a mirthful tone, "I just finished talking to my sister, before she leaves."

Rikki smiled as she looked between the Arendellian sisters. "May I also have a quick word with Her Highness?" Rikki asked politely, nodding towards Elsa's direction. Both Anna and Elsa appeared shocked by the request.

"With me?" Elsa asked back as she searched the princess' visage for anything to be worried about. As mentioned earlier, Rikki appeared genuine and relatively calm. The ice wielder was nearly seventy-percent sure that she wasn't going to get bombarded with threats this time. "Uh-yes, of course." Elsa answered hesitantly. She became more at ease with things when Rikki smiled softly at her request being granted. Anna just smiled giddily as Elsa and Rikki (who would hopefully be her sister's future sister-in-law) appeared to be progressing in their interactions.

"Well. I'll leave you two to it." Anna said right before she wrapped an arm around Elsa one last time. As she began to leave the scene, she shouted back one last set of orders. "Be careful Elsa – don't get into trouble! And I love you!"

The platinum blonde smiled as she felt her heart warm at her sister's parting words. "Love you too, sis." Elsa responded, just loud enough for Anna to hear as she walked away.

Now, it was just Elsa and Rikki, standing outside the Arendellian Castle's courtyard gates. While none of them was quick to say anything, Elsa took quick note of the princess in front of her. Although this princess shared many features with Tina, Elsa was also quick to note their distinct differences in demeanor and style. Rikki's striking appearance was always intimidating – the viking makeup and tightly wound viking braids really sold that number. She also wore a heavy silver breast plate that covered her torso and armoured shoulder pads. Despite whatever notes Elsa had been making to point out how fierce Rikki looked, she was clearly more calm right now.

After an awkward bout of silence, the princess started to speak. "I know that my sisters and I have been a little harsh on you –!" before she could finish, Elsa tried to interject and tell her that she and her siblings were warranted in their approach.

"Rikki, I completely understand that as –!"

"– but I want you to know that we wish you safe travels and look forward to seeing you and my sister, together, once this is over." Rikki told her with a small smile. "She spoke very highly of you and I know my sister enough to know that it isn't very often that anyone is able to capture her attention the way she had described."

After this admission, the ice wielder took a second to search the princess' face for any hints of contempt. Finding none, Elsa attempted to respond in a way that could convey her gratefulness for Rikki. "O-Oh." Elsa stammered out nervously, "T-Thank you, your h-highness. I also look forward to seeing this through. And – for the record – your sister means a lot to me as well." in this moment, with the princess, she felt as though she could express how she felt about Tina freely and without interruption. "In the short time I've been acquainted with her, she has been nothing short of extraordinary. I hope that I can show her that, when she returns to us." Elsa was initially nervous about expressing herself to – essentially – a stranger. But when Rikki's smile got brighter, the former queen knew that she had said something satisfactory.

"I hope so too." Rikki said. "We shall send for you as soon as we have word of Malkvist's removal and the restoration of order." before leaving the ice wielder be, the princess and the ice wielder shared one last meaningful look before finally parting ways. "Take care, Your Highness."

Elsa nodded back at her and watched as she walked back towards the castle. Once the princess was out of sight, Elsa contemplated what she was about to do. Katla had told her that going to Vennesvurg could potentially jeopardize the plan. And with Rikki being so nice to her all of a sudden, the blonde almost wanted to yield and adhere to Katla's orders. However, another portion of her brain had no idea if their master plan would actually work and she desperately needed to see Tina before it was too late. Making up her mind, for the final time, Elsa took a deep breath and began the trek back to her cabin. She was going to see Tina if it was the last thing she would ever do.

...

The next day, Queen Anna and Princess Katla were saying their final 'goodbyes' to the Nattura siblings. Before officially getting ready to leave Arendelle, Honeymaren and Ryder were both fitted – head to toe – in new attire that would have them 'fit in' during their mission in Vennesvurg. Princesses Gilly and Finn were tasked with going through all of Arendelle Royal Library's official books on Vennesvurg to help guide their 'costume' choices. Thankfully, Vennesvurg's fashion wasn't all too different from Arendelle's, so they lucked out in the design department.

"Now then, are you both ready?" Princess Katla asked, as she smoothed out the lapel on Ryder's jacket.

"As ready as we'll ever be!" Ryder told her with his signature charismatic smile and unbridled enthusiasm. While he was confident in himself, the same couldn't be said for Katla.

The crown princess of Botarskal narrowed her eyes at the reindeer herder. Even though he was confident, he wasn't the one trying to coach himself on 'councilmen etiquette' for the last 72 hours. Katla wanted – nay, NEEDED – the Nattura siblings to pull this off. Her little sister's freedom was on the line and if this plan didn't work out, she couldn't even fathom a world without her independent, intelligent and [mildly] reckless sister. She looked to the left, where Queen Anna was standing. The redhead nodded and gave her a thumbs up, in an attempt to encourage her to believe in Ryder (no matter how small the fraction of belief is).

With a sigh, Katla swallowed her anxieties and closed her eyes. She then placed a firm, yet calming, hand on Ryder's shoulder. "Okay then." she sighed, "We wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you, Princess Katla." Honeymaren said with a bow, right before tugging the crown princess in for a hug. "We won't let you down."

"Or we'll die trying!" Ryder added before taking his seat in the carriage.

"No, no! No dying!" Anna screeched at him. However, her words fell flat as Ryder had already closed the carriage door behind him. Frantically, Anna turned around and grabbed Honeymaren by her shoulders. "Promise us – NO dying!" the queen pleaded at her friend.

The raven-haired woman just laughed and pulled the redheaded queen into a tight hug. After this last embrace, Honeymaren ran to the carriage. Before joining her brother inside, she waved at the queen and princess one last time. "Bye, guys!"

And with that, the carriage wasted no time in heading off towards Vennesvurg. If all went well, tonight, then the siblings should make it to the Vennesvurg Castle by about nine o'clock in the evening. All that was left to do was hope and wait.

As the carriage pulled away, Anna chanced a look over at Katla. The princess' eyes looked tense and very distraught, which was to be expected. The redheaded queen knew that if she were in Katla's shoes – fighting hard for Elsa's freedom – she knew that she would be just as nervous and scared. There was a lot riding on this mission for Katla, and Botarskal at large. They needed to get to the bottom of what was going on with Vennesvurg's council on top of freeing Tina from her marriage. If they didn't figure it out – and fast – Vennesvurg could potentially just keep getting away with so many [allegedly] false treaties. That, in and of itself, was inherently terrifying for Anna to sit with.

After the carriage carrying the siblings was finally out of sight, Katla started to speak. "Are you sure this will work, Anna?" just from her tone alone, Anna knew that her inner thoughts about the princess' demeanor were accurate. Although they had just met, and Katla was basically Elsa's age, Anna knew that she was going to have to be the brave one right now. Anna stepped a little closer to the Botarskalic princess and wrapped an arm around her shoulders to comfort her.

"It just has to." Anna said quietly. Even though the queen knew that nothing she could say could really help Katla's own thoughts, she felt as though she could try to remain as positive as possible. "It'll be okay. Tina's strong. Honey and Ryder will do all they can. Everyone will get through this."

It was then that the Botarskalic princess finally made eye contact with the queen. With a heavy sigh, she hung her head, probably an outward sign that she was trying to distract herself from her own insecurities about the mission. "Okay."

Ever the positivist, the queen flashed a genuine – yet timid – smile toward her new friend. "Now then, we aren't going to be any good to anyone out here. Let's go inside. I saw you eyeing that leftover chocolate cake from dinner." at this statement, Katla released a short laugh. Although it lasted only a few seconds, it felt as if the tension from earlier had finally dissipated.

"Say no more, Your Majesty." Katla told Anna with a smirk that almost mirrored Tina's own to a tee. For Anna, having Katla exhibit the same traits as her good friend felt like a genuinely good omen. It felt as though Tina was always going to be around, no matter what was going on. A great comfort to her, as she could only hope that everything would work and she could see Tina again soon.

...

[Vennesvurg, Sweden]

It was a quarter after eight o'clock in the kingdom of Vennesvurg and the (self proclaimed) 'treaty truth team' was restless. They couldn't wait for their spies from Arendelle to arrive. After all, the sooner they arrived, the sooner they could uncover the truth about the treaty with Botarskal. Dinner service had just wrapped up for the evening but it was relatively quiet. The usual prospects showed up for dinner: Karl, Lindahl, Arnold, Gunn-Britt, and Ingrid. Oddly, Princess Tina had not come down to enjoy the last meal of the day with her friends. When Lindahl inquired about the princess' absence, Ingrid simply said that she seemed a little 'out of it' all day.

"Like, I don't know," Ingrid stated in her classic tone, laced with annoyance, "she just seemed totally weird today." as a footman came around the table and collected everyone's silverware, the handmaiden was careful to place her utensils properly on her completed plate. "I mean, I tried to talk to her about coming down for dinner, but she just seemed a little – like – in a daze, or something."

Karl seemed a little concerned at this assessment. He pondered about his last interaction with his 'fake fiancé', which was this morning on their usual walk. She seemed alright then, but he didn't know too much about her yet – despite spending a surplus of time together since she arrived.

"Well, she needs to bring her A-game once the spies arrive." Lindahl said, appearing rather serious. Before anyone else could reply, Arnold spoke up.

"Um, I'm sorry to remind you," the Botarskalic advisor began, "but isn't it her freedom that's on the line?"

"Like, yeah." Ingrid added, "She can be moody – even if I'm moody."

"Do you hear yourselves?" Lindahl suddenly spat, "This is a serious matter – this isn't a game! I know that it's her freedom on the line, but we all still need to keep our heads together."

"Hey," Karl interjected with a hand on his friend's shoulder, "calm down please." the king searched his friend's crazed appearance for any additional signs or clues as to what was going on. Finding none, the king turned to his guests and gave them a regal-looking nod. "Could you three please excuse yourselves? I would like to have a word with my assistant."

Nodding back, Gunn-Britt was the first to rise from her place at the table. "Come on, comrades." she said in her usual deep toned voice, "Let us leave His Royal Majesty to knock Mister Bossy's head into his shoulders."

Following Gunn-Britt's lead, Arnold also got up from his seat at the table. "You said it, Gunnie."

Last to leave was Ingrid. "Like, totally." she said, just before sticking her tongue out at Lindahl on her way out of the dining hall.

Like a polite and regal king, Karl waited until the Botarskalic team was out of the dining hall. He wanted them to be completely out of earshot, before laying into his friend. Once he was certain that the others were entirely out of sight, Karl took the opportunity to shove Lindahl by the shoulders. While the assistant was significantly taller than the king, the sudden shove was surprising enough to make him stumble a little. When Lindahl looked back at Karl, the king looked positively peeved.

"What the hell is going on with you?" Karl demanded in a harsh whisper.

"Me?!" Lindahl asked, incredulously. "You're all acting as if none of this is serious!"

"No," Karl spat back, "we are acting as though we are coping with the stress as good as we can. You said yourself: 'this needs to be kept secret'. Don't you think overreacting at the princess' absence is a little bit much?" the king had had enough of Lindahl's attitude and was not entirely sure why he was acting this way. "I order you to tell me what the fuck is going on, or I will dismiss you from the premises for a week."

"You wouldn't." Lindahl contested, "You need me here." while that was true, the king remained unimpressed by his assistant's behaviour.

The young king simply narrowed his eyes at his friend. "I also need Tina and I to be free from one another. So, try me."

After a miniature staring contest between the two friends, Lindahl eventually relented. He knew, deep down, that he was probably being a little unreasonable. With a sigh, he began his admission. "I just need Malkvist out of the picture." he said in a morose tone. "He's been a thorn in my side ever since I started working for the castle. All the stupid preparations for the wedding, and engagement, have had him on some sort of power trip and he just needs to go." Karl nodded along thoughtfully as Lindahl spoke. He too knew just how insufferable Malkvist was. The only difference between their experiences was duration – Karl had been unfortunate enough to grow up with Malkvist hovering around his family like a vulture.

"I understand. Thank you for sharing that with me." Karl told him, honestly. "But – as you've said – this is serious. We have to keep our heads on straight." he knew that the key to getting Lindahl to listen to him was use his own words against him.

"Yeah." Lindahl admitted, "You're right, Karl." as the assistant sighed, the king noted the heavy bags under his friend's eyes. He knew that Lindahl was working hard to help him get out of this situation, but he didn't know just how tirelessly dedicated he was to this task. With a sad smile, Karl placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Why don't you take it easy tonight?" Karl asked. Lindahl's face started to contort in disgust, but Karl was quick to save the statement. "Just for tonight!" the king cried, "Just tonight. Then, tomorrow, you can have a fresh start and a clearer head."

Lindahl nodded, knowing that some real rest would do him some good for the mission. He'd need all the energy his body could muster in order to make sure everything for the next few days went according to plan. "Okay." he sighed, wrapping an arm around the young king. With a yawn, he began to leave the dining hall. But, he didn't leave without saying one last thing. "Thanks, brother."

Karl smiled. He had a real brother (who was now dead), but he knew that Lindahl was more of a brother figure than anyone else in his life. "Anytime, brother." he replied, although the assistant had already left the dining hall.

Before heading to bed, like the rest of the castle, Karl headed into the kitchen for one last task. Once he reached the kitchen, he flashed a smile at the last few staff members who were cleaning up. He smiled even wider when he found the head of staff, prepping some ingredients for the morning.

"Brunhilde?" he said, approaching her.

She turned to face him with a large smile, upon hearing his voice. "Yes, Your Grace?" she asked.

"Has Her Highness had supper brought to her guest room?"

"Nay, Your Grace." Brunhilde responded with a sigh, "I was just going to fix her a plate, once I finished the breakfast station preparations."

"Could I take it to her?" Karl asked, hesitantly.

"But of course, Your Majesty." Brunhilde told him. Before she went off to fix a plate, she said: "Such a wonderful husband you'll make for her."

"Yeah..." Karl said awkwardly, "...husband."

...

King Karl made his way from the kitchens to the princess' guest bedroom. He didn't really expect much, on his way to Tina's guest bedroom, so he was quite shocked when a large figure rounded the corner. He screeched loudly, only to find out that the mysterious large figure turned out to be Gunn-Britt. "Oh – s-sorry!" he cried out, trying to re-balance himself and the platter of leftovers. "Almost didn't see you there, Gunn-Britt."

"It is alright, Your Majesty." Gunn-Britt apologized. "I should have remembered that people can be shorter than me."

"H-Heh. Yeah." Karl said nervously, with a blush coating his face. "Um, I was – uh – just going to bring Tina some food."

Gunn-Britt nodded. "That is good. I have just spoken to her, accompanied by Ingrid and Arnold." she told him, for no apparent reason. "She is in need of sustenance."

"Yes, my thoughts exactly." Karl said nervously, still very overwhelmed at being mere inches away from such a beautiful woman. A beautiful and...strong woman.

He had never met anyone quite like her before. So unapologetically herself, even around royalty. He admired her for her tales of bravery and her kindness towards animals (except yaks, obviously). He also didn't mind her heavily muscled arms, her thick blonde hair, or her beautifully rosy cheeks.

"But she is not in her room." Gunn-Britt told him, breaking him out of his love-stricken trance.

Shaking his head, the king regained composure. "Where is she?" he asked.

"She went to the Eastern sitting room." the guard said to him. "The one with big piano."

"Okay. Then I'll head that way. Thanks, Gunn-Britt."

Gunn-Britt just grunted, signalling her acknowledgement of his words. Before the king could turn away, the large woman simply said; "She is lucky to have you, Your Majesty. Even as a friend."

Karl had no idea how to respond to that. Partially because he was socially inept when it came to romantic feelings and partially because Gunn-Britt had never said anything so...nice to him before. He was shocked and elated all at once. He wanted to scream from the rooftops and tap dance throughout the kingdom's streets.

"Well, I'd say I'm lucky to even know her." Karl simply stated, with a smile. "And – uh – you, by extension as well." there was no way he could hide the blush on his face. Although he couldn't see it for himself, Karl felt as if his face was burning to a crisp.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Gunn-Britt said with a bow.

"Please, Gunn-Britt," Karl said, "Address me as Karl."

"Okay. Karl." Gunn-Britt found it odd to refer to him has his first name, but he was the king and it was an order. She would have to just get used to it. "I will see you at dawn, for horse grooming." she said, before continuing on her way to her own guest room for the night.

As he watched her leave, he almost forgot to reply to her words. Before she was completely out of sight, he shouted after her: "Yes, of course – see you then!"

...

[x]

The East Wing of Vennesvurg's castle was barely a place that people ventured to. It was full of historic artifacts, old paintings, and untouched musical instruments. Karl and his older brother were barely allowed there as there was too many things that were considered invaluable and irreplaceable. However, when it came to picking a good place to clear one's head, the East Wing was a safe bet. He told as much to Tina, the very first day she was here. He showed her the room with the grand piano and it was like she was in a trance. She wandered towards the piano, opened the lid for the keys and started playing a tune. Even though he was hoping that they would not need to get married, he was happy that she found a spot that she enjoyed. As he reached his desired destination, he peered through the door and saw exactly what he expected to see.

Tina was sitting at the grand piano, mindlessly letting her fingers dance across ebony and ivory keys. She had just gotten an earful of Arnold and Gunn-Britt's ridiculous 'pep-talks' and decided she needed an extra dose of some (questionable) choices. As soon as the king got closer in proximity to his the princess, he caught a whiff of those 'choices'.

"Is that scotch I smell?" the King asked, as he began to walk closer to Tina. He recognized the scent because it was one of the very few drinks that his father had deemed 'appropriate' for a 'man'. Especially a 'royal man', no less.

The princess didn't even turn around when she heard his voice. She just continued to let herself mindlessly play her song on the piano. "I am half Scottish." she told him, when she felt that he was close enough. "I asked Anton to fetch it for me a while ago. Should I send for someone to get another glass?" she asked him. He just shook his in reply.

"I think we can be adults and share." Karl said as he placed the dinner platter onto the table, next to the piano. After setting the food down, he sat beside her on the piano bench. "If you don't mind, of course."

It was Tina's turn to shake her head and nodded towards the scotch glass sitting on top of the piano. "If all goes to shit, then we'll have to do more than drink out of the same glass." she said rather bluntly. Karl just shuddered at the thought.

"Eugh." once the initial disgust from the princess' statement wore off, he decided to question her about it. "Is that why you're being so avoidant today?" Karl inquired, "Thinking about what can go wrong?"

Tina sighed and nodded her head. "Yes." she admitted softly, with her voice laced with sadness. "And I miss her." she added.

It barely took Karl half a second to know just who Tina was referring to. "Elsa?"

Once more, the Botarskalic princess nodded sadly. "Yeah."

"Well...we can't give up before we try." Karl said, with optimism. "Our friends are working hard to help us. And now, so are your sisters." he then wrapped an arm around Tina's shoulders to give her a comforting half hug. "Everything may not be perfect, but we have to stay positive."

"I know." Tina sighed. "It's just so scary to think that if this goes sideways, our dreams...our plans...they're all over."

"I know." Karl nodded along, all too familiar with the princess' concerns. He too thought about just how insane this whole ordeal was and if Katla and Lindahl's plan would even work. "It's a horrible feeling. But hey, at least we can say we fought hard."

"I guess." Tina said with a shrug.

After a decent length of silence, between the two of them, Karl gave Tina another squeeze for comfort. "I'm sure she misses you as well."

Tina let out a small laugh, as if she was in disbelief at Karl's comment. "I'm...not sure about that." Tina explained to him, "I told you what she told me. I bet she hasn't even looked at my letter since I gave it to her."

"Well, if she doesn't, she's simply a fool." the young king reasoned. "And if you're right, you can use your freedom to find someone who will miss you everyday – even though they'll have you everyday."

"I guess so." Tina replied with a sincere smile. "Thanks, Karl."

"Anytime, Tina." Karl said. He then reached for the empty glass of scotch and nudged Tina, signalling her to pour some out for him. She obliged and reached over to the bottle of Ardbeg. Karl watched the amber liquid fill the glass as she poured it out. Once the glass was filled to about the halfway point, the king took a hefty swig and regretted it immediately. "GAH!" he grumbled, falling into a coughing fit. Tina just laughed and took the offending glass away from him. "How do you even drink this?" he asked, once he gathered his bearings.

The princess just shrugged. "The key is to not be so weak." she told him simply, earning a shove from him. They laughed and continued to fight over the piano bench when they were suddenly interrupted by the butler.

"Your Majesty?"

"Yes, Anton?" Karl said, turning around in his seat.

"Your new employees have arrived." he said with a wink and continued on his way back to the main foyer. Anton already knew the plan, so he didn't bother to wait for the king to say that he would be down in a moment.

"Care to join me?" Karl asked Tina. She simply nodded and held out her hand for their signature handshake.

"Fiancé fortress?"

"Fiancé fortress."

...

Anton did most of the heavy lifting, when it came to introducing the 'Vaussen siblings' (a.k.a, the Natturas) to the king and princess. As expected, the king spoke very calmly and verbally demonstrated that he was excited to have Erik Vaussen (a.k.a. Ryder) on his royal council as the new agricultural trades consultant (unfortunately, that spot was vacant for a few weeks as the previous occupier met his maker after a long sixty-four years of existence). Once they were sure that everyone, other than Anton, had gone to bed, the real introductions began and Tina wrapped both of the siblings in a tight group hug.

"It's so good to see you both!" she said, close to tears. "I missed you guys so much!"

"We missed you too!" Ryder said, happily being constricted by the princess' grip. He then tipped his head in greeting at the king, who was politely standing behind Tina. "And very pleased to meet you, Karl."

"Likewise." Karl said excitedly. "I hope you're ready for tomorrow."

"Um..." was suddenly heard from the other Nattura sibling.

"What's up, Honey?" Tina asked her.

The raven-haired woman smiled awkwardly while scratching the back of her neck. She kept looking back and forth between the open door to the castle, the carriage that was parked outside of it, and the princess. After a few moments of thinking things through in her head, Honeymaren decided to come clean. "We uh...have a small problem."

"What?" Karl asked quietly. "Already?"

Tina looked more serious and leaned into Honeymaren. "What problem?"

"Well...Tina..." Honeymaren was trying to think of the best way to introduce this new issue. She ultimately reasoned that it was all going to go horribly anyway, so she took a deep breath and let it all out. "On the way here...we ran into your...um...cousin."

Tina and Karl just stared at one another. "My cousin?" Tina asked, feeling incredibly confused.

"Your cousin." Honeymaren insisted. "Kjellfrid."

Tina just shook her head again. "...I...don't have a cousin named Kjellfrid."

"Well." Honey said, beckoning the king and princess to follow her and Ryder out to the carriage. "You do now." she then gestured for the princess to walk up the small steps to the carriage door and urged her to look inside. The princess did as was implied and took some hesitant steps up to the carriage door. She couldn't exactly see anything, through the stained-glass windows, so she opened the door. To her surprise, sitting in the carriage was a brunette woman.

She had long dark brown hair that was tied up in a ponytail. Tina would have immediately called the guards to rid the castle of the imposter. However, when she examined the woman closely, she noticed a pair of blue eyes.

A certain signature pair of blue eyes.

A sort of ice blue, if you will.

"ELSA?!" Tina shouted, in utterly unrestrained disbelief.

The ice wielder, now temporarily also a brunette, just waved innocently and let out a nervous laugh. "Heh. H-Hey...guys..."