Note:

I'm so sorry. I uploaded this to Ao3 on September 30 but there was some weird lockout on this site. It's all good now, so please enjoy. Anyway, Good News - Chapter Thirty is ready for y'alls! Bad news – we are nearing the end of this story. I hope to deliver for the next two chapters and close it out with a nice epilogue – in total, this thing's gonna be a whopping Thirty-Three chapters. My team and I have been talking and we MAY (emphasis on the 'may') be willing to do sequel after our epilogue. Who knows? Oh well, let us know what you think and we'll consider it. But until then, enjoy chapter thirty and enjoy the rest of the ride. R is great, so please don't be shy!

Disclaimer:

I am not an owner of Frozen and I am not a shareholder of any Disney related things. This is purely a fanfiction for fanfiction purposes.

Happy Reading!

-JQ

Chapter Thirty: Say 'Psych' Right Now

[Vennesvurg, Sweden]

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Lindahl said, as he paced in front of the castle's holding cells where Elsa, Gunn-Britt, Tina and Karl were now placed. The Princess and Karl were in separate holding cells parallel from the one larger holding cell where Elsa and Gunn-Britt were. Currently, they weren't really enjoying the visit from Ingrid, Lindahl and Arnold.

Princess Tina leaned into Karl and asked, "Is he...going to say anything else?" truthfully, Karl had no idea, but her question was answered rather quickly.

"Stupid!" Lindahl cried out, as he turned to face the brick wall of the dungeon. He then started to knock his head against the bricks and continued to chant, "Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!"

"Why don't you toss in a definition for us, blondie?" Ingrid groaned, clearly very tired of Lindahl's dramatics.

Usually, Arnold would be the first to tear down the assistant, but he knew how hard he worked last night and decided to give him a little bit of a break. "Listen, we worked tirelessly to get the documents last night. I think Lindahl and I can reserve the right to be a little pissed."

"I'm so sorry guys," Karl said, feeling sorrowful, "we ruined the plan."

"We didn't," Gunn-Britt said, pointing to Tina, "she ruined the plan."

The princess gasped, clearly betrayed by her friend, "Wow, Gunnie. Wow. Just...wow."

Gunn-Britt was un-phased by the princess' apparent anger at being accused of such conduct. The personal guard had known Tina for nearly her entire life and knew that she had a...tendency to get distracted while being distracting. Gunn-Britt just shrugged, believing in her position. "I have no doubt that Elsa was trying to keep focused and Princess Hrafntinna was being distracting."

Everyone quickly turned to face the ice wielder. Feeling Tina's glare on her, Elsa cleared her throat and tried to be as neutral as could be. "I refuse to comment until my representation gets here."

"Unbelievable," Tina muttered, just loud enough for everyone to hear, "I help you get your man and you toss me under the carriage?"

The taller woman just shrugged as nonchalantly as she always seemed to be, "I am objective and am only partial to yaks."

"Isn't she so cute when she talks about yaks?" Karl sighed rather wistfully. Arnold, Lindahl and Ingrid just rolled their eyes.

Tina, on the other hand, remained undeterred in her rage towards Gunn-Britt's accusations. "I swear to the Gods, Gunn-Britt – once we are free, I am ripping that viking hat off of your head, you traitor!"

Elsa just shook her head and winked Karl's way. "Isn't she cute when she's full of vengeance?"

"UGH!" Ingrid groaned, having enough of the obvious romantic tension circulating between the four arrested individuals, "You guys are so annoying. I'm going back to find Honeymaren." the rest of the group paid the handmaiden no mind as she trudged up the stairs.

Princess Tina and Gunn-Britt continued to argue about nonsense while Lindahl remained persistent in his mission to say 'stupid' as many times has he could while softly knocking his head against the brick walls of the dungeon.

After a few moments of chaos, the gang heard the large door to the dungeon open and close. Lindahl stopped banging his head against the wall as he heard the characteristic heavy boots headed down the stairs toward them. Elsa noticed the assistant's change in mood and cleared her throat to try and get everyone's attention.

"Um...guys?" Elsa murmured, but no one was listening to her. It didn't matter though – they were in for a surprise guest whether they liked it or not.

"You insignificant fools!" came a hoarse voice from the entrance of the dungeon.

"Malkvist?!" Arnold cried out, turning toward the Vennesvurg advisor.

Lindahl attempted to step in front of Malkvist's way, but the old man just shoved him to the side. The advisor marched right up to King Karl's cell. The king tried to back away from the advisor, but Malkvist was faster than expected. He grabbed the king by his collar and pulled him against the steel bars of the holding cell.

"Do you have any idea what you two idiots have just done?" Malkvist snarled.

"Ow! Uh – I-I don't know, Malkvist." Karl said, trying to remain cool while his face was being painfully pressed against the bars of the cell, "Why d-d-don't you – gah – enlighten us?"

The advisor just let go of the king and watched as he dropped to the ground with a hard 'thud'. Malkvist scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest as he addressed the princess and the king, "You two are supposed to be getting married in three weeks! Instead, you're fraternizing with the help and..." he turned around to face Elsa with a disgusted cringe, "...your own family."

Elsa's eyes widened in shock before she remembered that she was supposed to be undercover in Vennesvurg, "Right," the ice wielder said as she played with the ends of her now brunette locks, "I'm her cousin. Ugh. This just got way more embarrassing." she muttered to herself in frustration.

"We know this marriage is a sham, Malkvist!" the princess exclaimed with an accusatory finger pointed toward the old advisor.

"Yeah!" Karl groaned, as he got up from the floor, "You're using us as pawns!"

"SILENCE!" Malkvist cried out, slamming his fist against Tina's holding cell. Before anything else could be said, the old advisor reached into his waistcoat to pull out a ring of keys. He flipped through them until he found the one he was looking for. He then slotted the key into the lock of Karl's cell and turned it, opening the bars.

"What are you doing?" Arnold asked.

The Malkvist didn't look at the younger advisor as he moved to do the same thing to Tina's holding cell. "I'm releasing Karl and Tina." he answered, as the metal of the lock mechanism hissed and slid open.

"What?" Lindahl asked, stepping towards Malkvist. He would have gotten closer, if Arnold hadn't stopped him with his arm.

Malkvist continued to ignore everyone and just focused on the king and his fiancé. He then cleared his throat to make sure that the two young royals were paying attention to him. Once he was sure he had their attention, he said said, "If you want your precious viking woman and cousin to live, I suggest you'd both get ready to get married." he then slammed his fist again the holding cell that Elsa and Gunn-Britt were in. The ice wielder's eyes widened and she took a step back while Gunn-Britt held her ground. "You'll both be wed at the beginning of next week." he told them with an evil grin.

"NO!" Tina said, lunging at the advisor but Lindahl and Arnold grabbed her, preventing her from assaulting the old man and making things worse. She struggled in their hold, but they were determined to make sure she wouldn't do anything she'd later regret.

Karl felt his heart race pick up as he looked between Malkvist, Gunn-Britt and Elsa. "Y-Y-You can't do that!" the king exclaimed.

"I can and I will." Malkvist said defiantly. "As I said – get married or I will hang both of them."

"You wouldn't." Karl tested, as he glared into Malkvist's soulless eyes. The advisor simply squared his shoulders and grinned back at the king.

"Would you like to bet on that, Sire?" Malkvist replied, with a conniving smirk. Their eyes remained locked on one another in a silent battle of wits. Karl knew that Malkvist was already a heartless dictator in the making, but could he be a murderer? Karl wasn't entirely sure, but he didn't really want to test the waters with Elsa's and Gunn-Britt's lives on the line.

After a few minutes of their stare off, Karl relented and took Tina's hand in his. She looked at him incredulously but he paid her no mind. "Fine." he then tugged Tina along with him, heading for the stairs.

Tina was furious. Her tears ran hot as they cascaded down her face. "You MONSTER." she broke free from Karl's hold and ran up to Malkvist. "You're a disgusting pig! When my father learns the truth, he'll use your bones as toothpicks!"

"Tina, come on, please," Karl begged, trying to get Tina to join him. The princess shook her head and refused to believe that this was happening. She sobbed in front of the holding cell that was now housing her friend and her lover.

"Tina," Elsa said gently, her eyes pleading with the brunette, "Tina, please, listen to Karl right now," she offered her lover a tiny smile – it was not reassuring in the slightest, but it was all she could manage at the moment, "we'll be okay. Please, just go."

The princess' lips quivered before she started to sob again. She then turned away and ran up the dungeon's stairs. Karl sighed, following her out. There wasn't much to do now, but nothing would get solved down here.

Once the king and the princess were gone, Malkvist sighed, "Argh. That was a close one," The old advisor then turned to the remaining two men in the room, "Lindahl, Arnold – prepare these two for their public trial next week. You'll be their public defenders." before he could make his way to the stairs, he turned around again and said, "But don't try too hard – aim for a sentence of banishment or something."

Lindahl scoffed at the new task, "Or what?" he asked.

"Or it'll be you two who will hang for treason." Malkvist replied without missing a beat.

Not wanting to piss off this man further, Lindahl conceded, "Fine."

"Good." Malkvist said as he finally ascended the stairs, back to the main part of the castle.

Arnold and Lindahl listened for the door to close and waited until they were certain that Malkvist was gone before they spoke. Once they were one hundred percent sure that he was gone, they turned to face Elsa and Gunn-Britt. Gunn-Britt remained as non-expressive as she usually was but Elsa looked rather preoccupied. The ice wielder played with the ends of her hair as she stared at her feet, in deep thought.

"What do we do now?" Arnold asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Lindahl sighed and ran a tired hand through his blonde hair. "I...I-I don't know." this was probably the first time any of them had seen Lindahl this lost. He had always seemed to be in control of most situations. This, however, was a totally different side of him that they had not been privy too.

"I think I have an idea." Elsa suddenly said, getting everyone's attention.

"I don't know," Arnold said nervously.

Lindahl just groaned. "I'm not sure if we need an idea from the one who got herself, and three other people, arrested."

"Trust me," Elsa assured them, "I think this one will be worth everyone's time."

...

[Botarskal, Iceland]

Westward, across the Norwegian Sea, King Hallgrimur was sitting at his desk sifting through some paperwork. With Katla in Vennesvurg, there was no one else to divert some of his royal duties to. Now, he didn't just miss his daughter because she helped him with work – oh no, that was purely for her benefit as future queen – he simply missed having her around him.

Usually, Princess Katla was the only daughter he saw on a regular basis. Because of her training, and her duties, she was beside the king almost everyday. He enjoyed working with her, watching her grow into the powerful young woman he always knew that she could be. From a young age, Katla knew what her place in their family was and she exuded nothing but professionalism. She was calm and collected when it came to discussing things with other Icelandic kingdoms. She was not afraid to speak her mind, yet she knew exactly how to choose her battles. She was everything that Hallgrimur wanted in his firstborn, which is why he did everything in his power to make sure she never saw the end result of Vennesvurg's deal.

The treaty, between Botarskal and Vennesvurg was initialized long ago, during the early months of Hallgrimur's wife's first pregnancy. At the time, King Oswald had no children at all, but he assured Hallgrimur that there would be one on the way soon. Once news of Oswald's son's birth reached the shores of Botarskal, Hallgrimur cut off most communication with outside kingdoms. He didn't want to risk anyone coming too take his daughter away from him. However, it was international law that forced him to announce when his first-born became of age – it was customary for allied kingdoms to announce when their heir reached the age of coronation. His other four daughters remained in 'hiding', as he really didn't want any of his children to Luckily enough, Katla was already married to her husband at age sixteen. He had hoped that it was enough to deter Vennesvurg from pursuing anything else.

Unfortunately, someone alerted Vennesvurg to the fact that he had four more daughters and thus, this new problem was born. Finnborja, his youngest, was targeted next which was like a dagger to his heart. Vennesvurg's council wrote to him, many times over the years, suggesting that Finn should marry Prince Tobias. He was taken aback by their suggestion. Although it was common for young princesses to be married off to anyone, he knew that his late wife would haunt him forever if he allowed them to take her away.

And then, out of nowhere, King Oswald, Queen Amelia, and Prince Tobias died in a terrible accident. It was as if the death of three-fourths of the royal family renewed some type of vendetta in their royal council. They ended up travelling to Botarskal and demanded that Princess Finnborja leave with them. To his surprise, it was Tina who tried to take the fall for her sister.

Hrafntinna was always someone that Hallgrimur knew was entirely too passionate. Although she looked exactly like him, if he were a woman, she demonstrated the same courageousness and tenacity that her mother had. They butted heads often – Hallgrimur telling her that she needed to remember that she was still a princess and Tina telling him that she was fourth in line and would never see the throne. She was confident and playful, as if she was any other young woman from the village. But she was still a member of the Botarskalic royal family. Whatever Tina had could not be taught in any type of classroom. Her spirit was always a fighting one and he was absolutely dejected when Vennesvurg's council accepted her instead of her younger sister.

Regardless of what lead up to Tina losing her freedom, Hallgrimur knew it was all his fault. Instead of hiding, he should have unleashed his wrath on Oswald from the start. If he couldn't be a proper king, then he was supposed to be a good enough father. However, here he was continuing to be a coward. Currently, all of his daughters were in Vennesvurg, helping their little bird enjoy the last of her freedom. Hallgrimur was really down on himself because of all of this. He should have been a real man – someone worthy of his five daughters.

"Vejstar approaches, Your Majesty," came a voice from the entrance of the king's study. He looked up to see his butler, Steinar.

"Let him in," the king said, returning his gaze to the paperwork he was dealing with.

"Your Majesty," Vejstar said in a frantic voice, "We've received a letter from Vennesvurg."

"Oh, blast," Hallgrimur groaned, "Whatever they want, it can wait until the wedding." he truly did not want to think anymore about that terrible excuse of a kingdom than he already was. He needed to focus on running his kingdom amidst all of his madness.

Vejstar swallowed the lump that had already formed in his throat. If Hallgrimur looked up from his work, he would see the councilman's sweat soaking through his scarf. "That's the thing, Sire," Vejstar said, "They've uh...changed the date."

Hallgrimur slammed paperwork he was holding down on his desk. "What?" he asked, finally looking up at the councilman. His face was as angry as could be and Vejstar said a silent prayer to the Gods to get him through until the end of this conversation.

"Um...A letter, from Princess Hrafntinna asking for your presence." The councilman slowly crept his way towards the king's desk and promptly placed the letter in front of him. He watched as the large man grasped the small letter in his massive hand. "W-W-Would you...would you like me to respond, Your Majesty?

The king sat back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest. He read through Tina's letter and he was trying to make sense of everything. Tina didn't want to get married to this man and was only doing it to take her sister's place. Her letters to him, as of late, were all full of disdain. Now, here he was, holding a letter which told him about how excited she was to be marrying the king. Something was not right. Whoever wrote this was not his precious Hrafntinna.

The king looked at both Vejstar and Steinar when he said, "No." both the butler and the councilman exchanged shocked glances.

"Sire?" Steinar asked carefully, but the king had already made up his mind.

"Vejstar," Hallgrimur called out, "Tell Jökull that he's in charge until Arnkatla and I return. In the meantime, I need you to write two things. First, write to Vennesvurg and confirm my attendance. Next, write to Arendelle and ask Queen Anna if I can stay for one night." the king then turned to the butler and gave him his orders, "Steinar, tell Boris to prepare the ship. I need to be there. Something just...doesn't seem right."

After one more glance at the butler, Vejstar asked, "Are...are you sure, Sire?"

The king then glared at both of his men with hallowed eyes. He was not playing around. Hallgrimur could almost feel the fear in their bones as he stood, showcasing his full seven foot form, "Don't make me tell you both again."

...

[Arendelle, Norway]

About a day later, Anna received King Hallgrimur's letter. Nervously, she called the Botarskalic sisters into her study and shared it with them. As expected, they did not take it too well.

"WHAT?!" Katla exclaimed, crumpling the letter in her grasp. Before she could ruin the letter completely, Rikki grabbed it from her and read it over. She just shook her head and slapped it against Finn's chest.

"I can't read Norwegian, someone else translate." Rikki ordered.

"It's not in Norwegian," Finn said, her eyes grazing over the crumpled letter, "It's in English. It's Dad's own writing –!"

"LET ME LIVE IN DELUSION, FINNBORJA!" Rikki said, near tears.

"Unbelievable!" Katla said, beyond fearful. "Why?" she couldn't fathom how Vennesvurg was pushing the wedding date forward. Had they found out about Ryder being a spy? Did Tina say something to provoke the council? What on earth happened between now and the last report?

"Okay, Kats...deep breaths, remember?" Gilly said, rubbing soothing circles on her older sister's back. Unfortunately, the circles were not working in Gilly's favour.

Katla shrugged her sister off of her. "I refuse to calm down!" the crown princess ran her hands anxiously through her light brown hair, "H-How can they just – why are they moving the wedding up by two weeks?!" she was in full panic mode and everyone in the room was stressed out, "And daddy's coming? He thinks we're all in Vennesvurg!"

"Then we'd better get you guys out of here." Anna said, quickly taking the reigns and becoming the calm in the storm. She then looked to Lieutenant Mattias, who was standing near her desk. "Mattias, please get the princesses ready for a speedy departure."

The Lieutenant nodded and said, "We can take them through the Enchanted Forest," before anyone could freak out about his suggestion, he smiled and raised his hands up in defence, "Don't worry – we'll consult with the Northuldra to prevent any further accidents."

"Excellent." Katla said, finally feeling herself calm down. Her shoulders were not completely relaxed, but she knew that if they were leaving, she'd have to kick herself into gear for her sisters. The crown princess then turned to Anna and said, "We'll meet you in Vennesvurg for the...wedding, I guess." Anna smiled back at the princess, feeling a weird sense of sadness. She was going to miss the Botarskalic sisters around.

"Yeah. Hey, Katla?" the redheaded queen said.

"Yes?" Katla asked, turning around to meet her eyes.

The queen simply smiled wide and said, "Thank you,"

Katla was genuinely confused. All she had done, as of late, was cause the queen to worry, "For what?"

"For reminding me just how important sisterhood is," Anna said, as she enveloped the crown princess in a tight embrace, "Those four are lucky to have you."

Katla sighed and wrapped her arms around Anna as well, "Elsa's lucky to have you as a sister, Anna." the crown princess told her sincerely, "And if Tina survives the verbal lashing she's about to get from me, hopefully we'll be sisters in another way."

Anna laughed lightly, knowing that Katla was absolutely going to scream at Tina once they arrived in Vennesvurg, "I look forward to it. And please," the queen pulled back from their embrace but continued to hold Katla's hands in hers, "go easy on her." the redhead had gotten closer to Katla over the past few weeks, but she still had a soft spot for Tina.

Katla simply sighed and squeezed Anna's hands in hers. As much as she wanted to hug Tina and tell her how much she missed her, she had to balance it out against the extreme urge to dunk her stupid head into a bucket of slop.

"No promises." the crown princess said honestly.