Note:
Holy shit. I am so dreadfully sorry. I started a new job and I have been doing paperwork like CRAAAAYZAAAAY. I have been dabbling in and out of this chapter as much as I could and I got down to 7,000 something words in total. UNFORTUNATELY for us/FORTUNATELY for y'all, the final chapter has been chopped up further to make it fit into the story better and this will be a whopping 34 chapters PLUS an epilogue. I hope that you guys are sincerely enjoying this story, since I keep expanding it. But I swear on me mum – the final answer will be 34 chappys PLUS an epilogue within the work (35 in total). Please enjoy this chapter as we have tried our best to section them out in a way that makes sense. Comments and concerns in the form of...well...comments are much appreciated.
Thank you so much for hanging around! You guys rock my socks!
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Icelandic Phrases Used:
1. Ég elska þig... Þið öll – "I love you...All of you."
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Disclaimer:
If it can be found on Disney Plus or in any published and official Disney media/merchandise, I 100% do not own that.
Happy Reading!
-JQ
Chapter Thirty-Three: The Calm Before the Storm
[Arendelle, Norway]
"It's just not fair!" Stella cried out as she slammed her tiny little fists on the dining room table. Thankfully, the servant behind her hadn't placed her porridge down yet. They had successfully evaded precipitation by breakfast at the [small] hands of the princess.
"Miss Stella," Gerda said, in her nonchalant yet strict tone, "princesses do not throw fits at the dining room table, or in the presence of company."
"Unless you're Princess Anna..." Kai grumbled as he read the morning scroll. Gerda offered him a stern look but didn't say anything further.
Kristoff, after witnessing all of the madness unfolding from his seat, decided to chime in. "What's wrong Stella-Bella?" he asked, eyes full of genuine curiosity and concern. The little princess just groaned louder and shook her head.
"It's not fair!" she repeated with renewed vigour, "I wanted to go to Tina's wedding! I've never been to a real princess wedding...I want to see Tina get married." her expression was sorrowful – more than Kristoff had ever seen it. He didn't know exactly how to soothe her but figured he'd opt-in for the truth.
The ice harvester moved out of his seat and walked over to where his daughter was seated. He carefully pulled out the chair, next to hers, and took a seat. In her classic tantrum induced state, the little princess huffed and crossed her arms before turning away from him with her eyes shut. Kristoff just shook his head, admiring just how much of his wife's personality was in this tiny little creation of theirs. Being an expert in Anna's own outbursts, he carefully began to rub soothing circles on his daughter's back.
"I know you wanted to go to Tina's wedding, kiddo," Kristoff said in a calm and careful tone, "but I promise there's a reason."
Now, her curiosity has peaked. She cracked open one of her eyes to look at her father. "...what's...what's the reason?"
Kristoff then looked around, exaggerating what he was about to say to make things more interesting. "If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anybody else, okay?" he then thought about it and reconsidered his term, "Except for Mommy. You can always tell Mommy." Stella nodded eagerly, fully engrossed in this 'secret reason'.
"Okay, Daddy." she promised, "I won't tell anybody 'cept for Mommy." she leaned in closer to him, eagerly awaiting his information.
The ice harvester looked around one more time, "We couldn't go to the wedding because...It's not a real wedding. It's a trap."
"What?" Stella gasped quietly.
"A trap?!" Nolan exclaimed, eyes full of wonder, "Cool!" the ice harvester rolled his eyes while the princess gasped in miniature horror.
"No, not cool." Kristoff corrected, "It's a trap for Princess Tina – she doesn't want to be married and neither does the king." he explained it as carefully as he could for their little brains, "Some bad people want them to be married so that they can trap them in Vennesvurg...forever." this time, both children gasped aloud. They couldn't fathom never being able to see Princess Tina.
"Oh no!" Stella looked as if she was going to cry.
"Who's gonna save them, Daddy?" Nolan asked.
"Mommy, Auntie Elsa, and our new friends." Kristoff told them with pride, "That's why we have to stay put, and keep things clean and tidy for when they come back." he winked at them both and they seemed to understand quickly.
"Okay!" Nolan said, hopping out of his seat.
"I'll keep my room extra tidy, Daddy," Stella promised, "so that Tina can sleep over when she comes back!"
"That's my girl." the ice harvester said, ruffling the little girl's blonde hair. "Now, let's go see if Olaf and Sven are causing any trouble." Stella and Nolan then began to race one another out of the dining hall and into the main corridor of the castle. Shaking his head, Kristoff followed them.
As Kristoff watched his children bound through the halls, he sent a silent message out to the universe hoping his wife, her sister, and their friends could all return mentally and physically unscathed. Unfortunately, knowing Anna's and Elsa's joint commitment to stubbornness and altruism, he knew they would return from Sweden with one heck of a story for him.
...
[Vennesvurg, Sweden]
Princess Tina was in her guest chambers. She was sitting in front of the vanity while her sisters fussed around with her hair and her makeup. It was a tradition, in Botarskalic culture, for mothers to adorn their daughters with the traditional markings of their family's house using warpaint. It has been a tradition practiced in Botarskal for ages and today was no different. Obviously, Tina's mother was no longer able to do it so the next best thing was her older sisters. Tina tried to dissuade them from doing her traditional makeup because the wedding 'was a sham', but they still wanted to do it because it was customary.
The princess was all dressed up in a traditional Botarskalic wedding dress. It was a long-sleeved dress made of white fabric with gold detailing on the seams and the ends of the sleeves. The dress had exposed shoulders and bell sleeves. Across her waist, there was a belt made of a gold chain. On the belt, at the front of her dress, a cloth was draped vertically. The cloth was a smaller version of the tapestry, decorated with her family's symbol, that was passed down from generation to generation. She felt like a fraud wearing it, considering this marriage was being held in order to ruin her home kingdom's autonomy. She prayed that her ancestors knew she detested this whole ordeal from the start.
"You're awfully quiet this morning, Hrafntinna," Rikki said, as she braided one side of Tina's hair.
Tina rolled her eyes. "You're awfully observant, Hinrikka."
"Leave her alone," Gilly protested as she worked on an identical braid, opposite Rikki, "she's just concerned. We all are." Gilly then paused her task to flick Rikki in the shoulder. "Also, stop making her talk. If Katla comes back, and the makeup has to be reset, we will all be begging for our lives."
Rikki huffed and turned her head to observe Tina's appearance. She didn't think that the younger brunette's makeup looked bad at all. "It looks fine to me."
"That's what you think," Gilly replied, "You know Katla will find something wrong with it."
As her older sisters bickered back and forth, Princess Finn made her way over to Tina's side. She stood beside her sister and looked at their combined reflections in the vanity's mirror. Their eyes locked, conveying a plethora of unspoken words. There were thousands of things that young Finn wished to say to lift Tina's spirits, but she decided to keep things simple. "I know you hate this right now," she said, bending down to rest her chin on Tina's shoulder, "but you do look super beautiful."
Tina's amber eyes met Finn's blue ones in the mirror. Her lip quivered and her eyes welled up despite her best efforts. She looked around and saw her other two sisters, working hard to help her look as good as she can under the circumstances she was placed in. She felt an overwhelming sense of love for them. Even though they had a few rough patches growing up together, she couldn't imagine a life without her beloved sisters. Before she could even try to wordlessly acknowledge Finn's compliment, Rikki beat her to the punch.
"Duh – she has my face," Hinrikka scoffed, giving Finn a playful shove, "of course she's stunning." she met Tina's amber eyes with her own in the mirror and waggled her eyebrows. Tina couldn't exactly say much at the moment, so all she could manage was a signature roll of her eyes.
Finn crossed her arms over her chest and attempted to shove Rikki back. "You both have Daddy's face." the blonde said with a huff.
"Actually," Gilly smiled knowingly, as she finished tying back Tina's braids to give her a half-updo situation, "all three of you have Dad's face. The last one just decided to be blonde." the redhead poked her youngest sister in her forehead to emphasize her point.
"What can I say?" Finn said, whipping her hair dramatically, "I love being one of a kind." Rikki and Gilly laughed aloud while Tina just shook her head, trying to not disturb her setting face paint and makeup.
As she watched her sisters laugh and joke with one another, Tina decided to take this time to reflect on the last month of her life thus far. A year ago, she had thought her life would have brought her someplace else. As fifth in line to the throne of Botarskal, Tina had gotten used to the idea of not being a royal for the majority of her life. She, in fact, dreamed of a much simpler existence for herself. Perhaps she would have finally convinced her father that she could be an ambassador for Botarskal and make visits to their allied kingdoms. Maybe after her travels, she would choose a simpler life. Perhaps she would have been a barmaid or a caretaker for young children.
Either way, this was not what Tina thought her life would be like. She never imagined that she'd be pawned off as a bride in place of her younger sister. Even though she hated where her decision had left her, she couldn't imagine choosing anything else. As a princess, she knew that they had little choice over being married off to other kingdoms and if she didn't offer herself instead, Finn would have been sent instead. Rikki was about twenty-three and Gilly was twenty-seven; they would have been spared due to their ages alone. This was because kings seemed to love younger princesses for a reason that she dared not allow herself to think about for too long. So yes, Tina would have chosen this again and again if it meant that Finn could still have her youth.
Although their plan had yet to fully close, her doubts and anxieties became accustomed to her and she decided to look on the bright side of things for a change. Karl was a kind soul and someone she had grown rather fond of. Although there mutual respect and friendship would never grow into something remotely close to romantic intimacy, she knew that other young women – who had been married off to kings – would have fared much worse. After all, she didn't exactly know how old Karl was until she first saw him.
As she thought about the bright sides of her situation, she dared not think of what other duties would follow after becoming the Queen of Vennesvurg. She didn't want to think of being expected to bear an heir for Karl eventually, she didn't want to think of being resigned to someone's arm candy for the rest of her life, and she certainly didn't want to think of letting go of her beloved ice queen. Her heart ached at the thought of never being able to feel Elsa's arms around her again, to hear her whisper sweet things to her as they cuddled at night, to never feel the softness of her lips against hers...
Before the tears could even begin to fall from her eyes, the door to her chambers burst open to reveal Katla. While her strides looked practiced and poised, Tina could see her eyes swirling with panic. The urgency in her sister's gaze made her sit a little straighter in her seat.
"Look alive, my dears," Katla told her sisters as she smoothed out the skirt of her dress in an effort to calm her own nerves, "we're about to have a visitor." Rikki and Gilly looked at one another while Finn stepped forward, confusion lacing her features.
"Who?" asked the youngest princess.
Katla took a deep breath and made individual eye contact with each one of her sisters before she sighed. "Father." silence fell over all five of the Botarskalic sisters; each of them looking perplexed. They knew he was coming to the wedding, but it was rare for him to be in a room with all of them at once. The sisters had guessed being together triggered him about their mother somehow.
With a dignified scoff, Gilly returned to tend to Tina's hair, even though there was nothing else to do for her chosen hairstyle. "Speak of the devil..."
"W-What are we going to do?" Finn questioned, her face laced with concern, "Does he know this is all fake?"
"Queen Anna told him everything," Katla reported, "She came here with him and he looked too guilty not to have been told anything."
Rikki just stared at her feet, going over the entire situation before them. "I don't know how I feel about him being aware of everything."
"Me neither, if I'm being honest." Gilly added, twirling Tina's dark chocolate hair around her fingers. If Tina wasn't just as perplexed as her sisters, she would have grabbed Gilly's hand to stop her from fiddling with her locks.
"Everyone, just stay calm." Katla stated with her signature authoritarian tone, "I'll talk to him." as if on cue, the door to Tina's chambers thudded with two distinct and strong knocks. Katla's green eyes locked with Tina's amber ones in the mirror, silently asking for permission to allow the visitor in. Tina closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Once her eyes opened again, she stared into Katla's eyes through their mutual reflections and gave a curt nod. Katla bit her lip and nodded back, a deep reciprocal understanding passing between them. Every single princess had a sore spot for their father and this next few minutes was expected to be awkward as hell.
With a dutiful yet exhausted sigh, Katla squared her shoulders and rolled her neck in preparation for this stressful event. She turned to face the door, as if it was on fire. Clearing her throat, she said in a strong voice: "Enter."
The door creaked open slowly – each princess' eyes locked on the handle of the door as it twisted (aside from Tina, whose back was turned towards the vanity). As the crease between the door and its' frame increased, inch by inch, the princess' breathing collectively ceased. Once the door was fully open, they stared at the familiar towering form of their father, the great King Hallgrimur. He was wearing his formal suit and boots, a cloak of bear skin wrapped around his shoulders. For the occasion, he wore his heavy silver crown, carved out by the very first round of ancestors who set foot on Botarskal's ancient land. His deep brown eyes scanned the room, observing the faces of his daughters – they were so familiar yet foreign to him, of course by his own doing. The likeness of his late wife pouring out of each of their souls was too much for him to handle on the best of days.
Taking a shuddering breath, the king tried his best to remain focused on his task. "Hello, girls." he greeted, his voice still booming as if he was addressing an entire congregation of people. Each princess (aside from Tina) bowed before him and offered their own greetings.
"Good morning, Dad."
"Morning."
"Hi, Daddy."
"S'up?"
Hallgrimur observed each of his daughters to the best of his abilities. Their features were so much like his late wife's, but their eyes – their individual gazes almost reminded him of looking in the mirror this morning. Trying not to let his own fears get the best of him, he nodded at each of them before making his way to the vanity where Hrafntinna was sat. Hallgrimur braced himself.
When Hallgrimur was close enough to see his own reflection alongside Tina's, he carefully lifted his gaze to try and see his daughter. She met his eyes for a split second before diverting her attention to her nails. He observed the viking paint that was intricately placed on her visage – an homage to their shared ancestry. The paint looked fierce and Hallgrimur was briefly reminded of how Úna looked on their wedding day. The only thing keeping him from breaking down at Tina's appearance was that she had his face.
The king stood up straighter and cleared his throat. "How are you feeling, Hrafntinna?" she met his gaze again and it looked like she was going to respond. However, Engilbjört's strong voice cut through the tension.
"She can't speak right now," the redheaded princess informed her father, "the paint is setting." He nodded and just watched as his second eldest daughter moved about to place the finishing touches on Tina's look. Hallgrimur took a steadying breath. This was the trickiest part, in Hallgrimur's opinion. While each of his daughter's reminded him of Úna, Engilbjört looked the most like his late wife. The same thick red curls, the same striking green irises...it was almost as if the fates were taunting him. But this was not a ghost from the past – he reminded himself – this was his daughter. Their daughter. He needed to be here for them for the first time in their lives.
"Right, right, my apologies." he said, adjusting his posture, "She looks great."
Skill-fully, due to years of practice, Gilly avoided meeting his gaze as she busied herself with her younger sister's wedding attire. "Thank you." was all she managed to reply with.
Before he could forget, he cleared his throat and decided to let them know about the information he had recently became aware of. "Listen, I..." he began carefully, "...I am aware of the faulty treaty between our home and Vennesvurg."
All of the young women in the room just looked at him, relatively un-phased. "Queen Anna told me as much," Rikki advised, staring him down with a look that just screamed 'indifference'. That look alone nearly crushed Hallgrimur into a million pieces.
A few more moments of silence passed between all six of them before Gilly had had enough of it. "I'm sorry to be that person right now," the redhead stated, "but if you have nothing else for us, we have to get back to Tina's look."
"Wait!" Hallgrimur said, a little louder than he had intended. "Um...I-I-I do have something to say." His daughters turned to look at him, all with questioning looks adorning their faces. It was unusual for the great King Hallgrimur to seem frazzled. Although they were individually concerned for him, their faces did not give any of that away. After years of skirting around their father's presence, they had grown accustomed to keeping to themselves and away from him.
After enough awkward silence passed, the eldest of the lot had had enough. "Well? Go on, then." Katla said with a stern tone, "We've got to finish preparing her for her big day." as usual, the eldest Botarskalic princess' tone was polite, but there was something in the way her voice settled that made Hallgrimur sick to his stomach. He knew he needed to get his thoughts out as soon as possible, before he did anymore damage to his family.
Mustering up all of his courage, he took a deep and steadying breath. "Girls I..." as he looked at each of their faces, he couldn't help but see his wife. Her tender eyes, her furrowed brows laced with concern – despite his daughters' individuality, it was blatantly obvious that Úna was ever present within all of them. Knowing this, the king's eyes welled up with tears that he tried to blink away. "I'm sorry."
As the king's signature stoic resolve began to fade away, the Botarskalic sisters just looked at one another for guidance. Finding none, Hinrikka was the first one to speak up. She stepped forward, just steps in front of her father. "What are you talking about?" she asked, as puzzled as could be.
"I-I'm sorry..." the king repeated as he wiped at his eyes with the sleeve of his formal jacket, "I'm so s-s-sorry..."
"For what?" Katla inquired, her arms crossed over her chest.
"For everything." the king managed to say through his sobs, "I'm sorry that you felt that you had to hide your suspicions about Vennesvurg from me. I'm sorry I haven't been there enough for you. Perhaps if I was...you would have told me." the regret was not exactly present in his features, as none of his daughters knew what it would look like on him. However, his words sounded genuine, as evidenced by the uncharacteristic shudder in his tone.
Shock was the only thing that could really be used to describe the current scene in Tina's bridal chambers. Tina looked into the mirror, trying to see the scene behind her. All she saw was her father's form hunched over as he sobbed. Finn's and Gilly's eyes met hers and the sheer confusion on their faces was enough to tell the brunette that they were all feeling the same thing.
Not one to let things go so easily, Katla took a look around at each of her sisters. It appeared that none of them knew what to do or where to go from here. Summoning all of her sisters' joint rage and frustrations towards their father, the crown princess walked towards Hallgrimur until she was standing directly before him. Her green eyes boring into his brown ones – like a wolf sizing up their competition.
"Mother died." Katla stated as bluntly as she could. Her gaze didn't falter in the slightest. She had to make sure he heard everything she was about to tell him. "Mother died and you stopped being around." she growled, her fists balling with rage at her sides. She pointed behind her, gesturing to her sisters. Hallgrimur looked at each of them again, only this time he didn't see his wife – he saw five little girls. Five little girls that desperately needed more protection than the heavy bricks of castle walls could provide.
Katla continued to lay it all out for him, without a single hint of backing down. "You put all your time and attention into making sure I was fit to be a queen while they thought you wanted nothing to do with them." now it was her turn to have tears well up in her eyes. She had to become a woman at the age of twelve – she had to essentially raise four little girls while receiving no parenting for herself. "You left them alone." her own voice was faltering a little now, but the determination in her eyes never did. "Do you think mother wanted that for us?!"
The king's sobs turned into broken chuckles as he wiped furiously at the tears that cascaded down his face. "No, she'd have my head on a platter." he said, trying to make light of the situation before them, "But...it's hard to explain. E-Every time I see any of you...all I see is her." the heartbreak in his voice was evident, but the looks across each of his daughters' faces remained unchanged. "It hurts me more than you know." the king admitted, broken and honest. "And I...I never meant to tear all of us apart. I-I'm sorry. So, so sorry." the king then sunk to his knees before Katla, as if to grovel for her forgiveness. It was at this that Katla had no idea how to respond. She looked back at Gilly for assistance, the redhead's eyes also beginning to well up with tears. Gilly stepped forward and knelt down before her father. Without any hesitation, she wrapped her arms around his large shoulders and hugged him close. She felt his shoulders shake even more, his sobs completely taking over now.
Tina got up then and joined her sister and father in a tight embrace. One by one, Rikki, Finn, and Katla eventually joined the hug. All of them sobbing together, a long overdue event that had been years in the making. The initial shock of their father's vulnerability passed revealing a family that hadn't fully healed from loss.
"It's not okay," Gilly whispered to all of them, "but we'll get through this."
"Ég elska þig." The king sighed, adjusting his arms so that all of them were tucked into him,"Þið öll."
"We love you too, Daddy." Finn replied, happily tucking herself further into his embrace.
"I swear to you," Hallgrimur said, "I'll never leave you lot again. Not ever."
After a few more minutes of silence, Tina sniffled and wiped at her eyes. It was then that she had realized she ruined her makeup – the paint now coating the back of her left hand. "I'm sorry guys, but..." she held up her hand to show them, "I think you'll have to reapply my makeup."
Removing herself from the group hug, Rikki slammed her fist onto the floor causing her sisters to laugh. "Damn it, Hrafntinna!"
King Hallgrimur eventually joined in with his own laughter in response to the display before him. While his daughters reminded him of his wife's grace and strength, there was no doubt that their wittiness and tomfoolery was graciously handed down from his side of the family.
...
While Tina and her family partook in the beginning of healing their trauma, King Karl stood at the front doors of the castle, greeting all of his distinguished guests. He was used to this by now, after being king for a year, but the task was never less boring or tedious. "Thank you for coming," he said with practiced grace that belied the pain in his psyche, "it means a lot to us." After what seemed like the fifty-seventh 'thank you', Karl stood to the side and released a breath that sounded like it could bring the dead back to life.
"You look good," Ryder said, coming up to check on him, "and mad."
The young king just nodded at his new friend, "I am."
"Don't worry," Ryder said, patting Karl on his shoulder encouragingly, "Lindahl and the others should be done their trial soon." the king looked up and sighed even harder than earlier. He knew that there was hope for this whole ordeal to be over, but nothing would quell his nerves until he saw the results for himself.
"It just feels like everything's moving so slowly." Karl admitted in a dejected tone. Ryder just nodded and continued to rub comforting circles on his friend's back. After a few minutes of calming himself down, Karl asked: "How's Tina doing?"
"Last I heard, she was with Ingrid, Honey, and her sisters in her chambers." the reindeer herder answered.
"Okay," Karl said with a genuine smile, "I'm glad she has her family here to support her."
Ryder's characteristic smile dimmed a little at the king's words. "Do you feel weird about not having yours?"
"A little," Karl said with a shrug, "but honestly, my family has always consisted of Lindahl and Anton before my parents and brother. They were always there for me, you know?"
"Well," Ryder extended his arms and pulled the king in for a tight hug, "you also have us now."
"Yeah," Karl said, hugging the reindeer herder back with equal force, "I do." before either of them could say anything else, they heard Arnold's cries from down the pathway.
"Karl!" Arnold exclaimed, running towards them at full force. Elsa, Lindahl, and Gunn-Britt not far behind. Karl and Ryder quickly untangled themselves from their hug and raced to meet their friends halfway.
Immediately, Gunn-Britt scooped up the king in her arms and Karl chuckled, wrapping his arms around her. After fawning over their reunion, Ryder turned to face the other three. "Guys! You're back!" he exclaimed happily.
"Did we do it?" Karl questioned, looking at his friends with anxious eyes.
"Yes!" Lindahl cheered, his fist high in the air at their victory, "Chancellor Dahlström wishes to see you and Malkvist in his chambers immediately!"
"Amazing!" Karl said. He then shouted for Anton, who was not far away. Once the butler was within earshot, Karl summarized what he had just learned. After the young king was sure that the butler had absorbed all the information necessary, he said with a grin: "Anton – you know what to do."
"Indeed," Anton replied, a new sense of purpose lacing his tone, "I'll stall the ceremony."
Of course, with everything happening so fast, Elsa finally managed to say what she had been thinking all morning. She looked to Karl, her eyes filled with a mix of concern and anticipation. "Where's Tina?"
Knowingly, Karl offered his friend a soft smile. "In her chambers." he told her. Before he could tell her that Tina was in the company of her family, the ice queen had already bolted towards the castle. Karl just shook his head and allowed himself to enjoy being in Gunn-Britt's arms once more.
Little did he know, the battle was far from over.
It had only just begun.