Chapter Six

Cabin Fever

ANNA

"Your Majesty. Your Royal Highness," Field Marshal Frederick was the first to offer a crisp salute - one befitting his usual unflappable nature.

It took Vice Admiral Zayan and Ambassador Hassan Makal a few more moments to turn and realise that the Queen of Arendelle and leader of the Confederation was approaching the main deck at the very front of the ship. The naval officer saluted with a fist to his left shoulder in the Agrabanian style, while the Agrabanian envoy bowed deeply.

"At ease," Anna moved sluggishly and came to a stop, to her great relief. The bulge in her belly was making it incredibly difficult to move about, but she'd insisted on seeing it firsthand for herself, in spite of her husband's protests.

Kristoff waved away their formalities. "You said you have something?" he asked Zayan.

"Yes, sir," Zayan said in his pleasant accent, gesturing one-handed at the horizon before them. "As anticipated, we will arrive at the eastern coast of Agrabah in two days' time."

"Good," Kristoff sounded relieved. "Three months is a long time to be cooped up on a ship, and I'm sure the rest of the Coalition agrees."

"What my husband means to say is 'thank you'," Anna said quickly. Kristoff had never been the best at diplomacy. But he was right. Three months aboard the Highlander naval warship had gotten to all of them. Seeing nothing but endless water all around them and being cooped up on the same craft was unnerving and it made Anna extremely restless, which didn't bode very well with her tendency to tire quickly these days.

She put a hand on her protruding belly. According to Holli, she was about five months along now, which was more than halfway through the nightmare. The vomitting and headaches were gone, replaced by the extra weight she carried in front of her, not to mention the endless cravings for all sorts of food and the quick temper she'd developed when she'd been told the ship's supplies were limited. God only knows Kristoff has been on the receiving end far too many times.

"Ah, yes. Right," Kristoff flushed. "Thank you."

The subtle look in Frederick's eyes told Anna that he was amused.

Zayan nodded in acknowledgement and turned to Frederick. "I trust you have made arrangements for the disembarkment of the troops, Field Marshal?"

"We have that covered, Vice Admiral," Frederick reassured him. "His Royal Highness graciously made certain the logistics and manpower will be handled in a smooth and organised manner."

Anna side-eyed Kristoff. He had spent his days focused on adminstration and preparing the Coalition for their arrival in Agrabah. Anyone could tell that he'd been keeping himself busy to avoid getting lost in the boredom and repetition of the many days they'd been stuck on board.

However when it came to appearances, he'd not been quite so diligent. His blonde hair had grown out to the back of his neck and his facial stubble was thick and bushy, a stark opposite of the military image he'd tried to keep at the start of the winter campaign. But no one could blame him. Everyone on board the Highlander ships probably looked the worse for wear, all except Frederick of course.

Ambassador Hassan cleared his throat. "Very good, sir," the envoy turned to the married couple with a notebook in hand. "Now, may I take the time to brief you on the preferred decorum upon our arrival? The king can be particular about tradition."

"Hassan was right," Kristoff said as they walked back to the war room to rendezvous with the rest of the Confederation. "The King sounds like a sucker for tradition."

"Maybe he isn't all bad," Anna replied. Elsa had told her about her encounter with the Agrabanian King a few years ago when the Warriors were trying to stop Kane the first time, and he sounded like a great ally to have at the Coalition's back. "He did agree to send his navy to ferry us to safety."

Kristoff grunted in response, then turned to her. "You sure you don't want to head back to our room to rest? I can handle briefing August and Horatio."

Anna shook her head. "No, I'm fine, I'm not that tired. Yet."

A grin split Kristoff's face as his eyes went to her belly. "I still can't believe it."

"Well, you're not alone," Anna muttered. "At least you don't have to deal with the extra weight."

"Hang in there, alright? Just a few more months."

"Yeah, a few more months of this sounds really reassuring," Anna chuckled sardonically as they arrived at the war room.

Her husband pushed open the door, and she walked into the room slackly, feeling rather lethargic all of a sudden. Maybe she should have taken her husband's offer and went back to the room. No, she thought determinedly. I can see this through.

Horatio and August made no attempt to stand as she walked in. They'd dispensed with all the formalities, as long as they weren't in public where everyone was watching them. They'd grown so tired over the past three months that royal etiquette didn't seem that important anymore. Internally, Anna grimaced at the empty seats around the table. Melody's absence hadn't gone unnoticed. She'd had no other way of explaining it to Horatio than to tell him the truth. After all, he'd proven to be a trustworthy companion in spite of his rougher, hot-headed demeanour. Surprisingly, the marquess had taken it better than she'd expected.

Still, Anna missed Melody's presence. Without her here, it felt as though she'd lost a valuable ally, even though she knew Melody would still return from the sea…someday. But till then, Anna had to do without her.

"So, what news?" Horatio said casually with his arms folded as he leaned back hard in his seat. For him especially, it was evident that all etiquette had been tossed out the window long ago.

"Good news first, or bad news?" Anna asked as she sat down with a groan and was joined by Kristoff at her side.

"Maybe let's start with the good news for once," August said. The Vjorman prince looked more unkempt than usual, beard overgrown and hair bedraggled.

"The good news is, we're arriving at Eastern Agrabah in two days' time." Anna announced.

The two nobles visibly deflated with relief.

"Oh, god, that's good," Horatio sighed. "Don't know how much longer I would've survived being cooped up here. We Xerflorians are meant to ride, not be stuck in water."

"As you've mentioned a couple of times before," August said dryly. It was more like a few hundred over the past few months. "But that is good news. The men will be glad to walk on solid ground again."

"And what's the bad news?" Horatio asked.

Anna glanced at Kristoff, who shrugged. She sighed. "Well, the Agrabanian king is a bit of a stickler for tradition."

"That's a bit of an understatement," Kristoff mumbled.

Horatio raised an eyebrow. "Tradition? Like what?"

"Well, for starters, our arrival will be met by the full might of the Agrabanian Highlanders, so don't be alarmed if you see the entire army on the coast looking like they're ready for war," Anna explained.

"That sounds a little hostile to me," August said.

"A show of force?" Horatio questioned. "A warning?"

"Like I said, it's just tradition," Anna grimaced. "At least, that's what Hassan told me. Agrabah used to be a trading haven before it became one of the largest cities in the world. In the old days, the kings of generations past used to do this because the surrounding kingdoms often attacked Agrabah's coasts for their tradable goods and riches. They could never tell whether their visitors were pirates, enemy kingdoms or genuine allies."

"Great," Horatio snorted. "The Coalition's going to love arriving on the shores to find an entire foreign army waiting for them."

"I'll handle that," Kristoff said. "We'll make sure everyone's briefed not to engage and that it's just a formality."

"Fair enough," August said. "Anything else?"

"That's the worst of it out of the way," Anna leaned back in her own chair with a hearty exhale. She removed the notebook Hassan had lent her and flipped it open. "There's more."

ELSA

Reluctantly, Elsa opened her heavy eyelids and stared up at the low ceiling of the cabin. Everything was silent, except for the muffled sounds of the incessant waves beating against the sides of the ship and the occasional faint squawks from the birds flying outside. The sun cast strong rays of light into her small cabin through the small, dirty window, making everything far too bright for her liking.

Groaning, she turned on her side to look away from the glaring sun. What a stark reminder of how long they'd been on the ship, travelling for so long that they'd left behind the chilly climate of their continent behind for the warm and relentlessly sunny atmosphere of Agrabah which was all the way on the other side of the world. If there was one thing she hated more than anything, it was the heat. Her cabin was stuffy, smelled dank and felt unbearably humid, so much so that she'd long ago ditched the thin blanket accorded to her along with the rest of the passengers on board the various Highlander ships.

Shutting her eyes, Elsa willed herself to go back to sleep even though she had a massive headache from keeping up her unhealthy sleeping cycle for far too long. She spent most of her days sleeping and cooped up in this cabin, not unlikely how she spent most of her youth. Only this time, the reasons were vastly different. Tears threatened to prick her eyes again, and she willed them away angrily. She didn't even want to begin to think about it again.

She was just about to descend back into blissful oblivion when a series of all-too familiar knocks came outside her door. Sighing, she didn't even bother to get up from her too-comfortable position. Groaning, she put her head back, ignoring the knocks.

Her sister burst into her room and shut the door behind her, looking equally spent. "You know, I've been seeing you more often these past months than I ever have in years," Anna said. "But I haven't really realised till today how awful you look."

"Not in the mood, Anna." Elsa buried her head underneath the thin pillow. She was acutely aware that she'd grown visibly thinner from a lack of appetite, and her appearance couldn't be described as anything other than pale and dishevelled. "Please, please, please just go away."

"You know that's not going to work." Anna sat down at the side of the bed and tugged the pillow away from Elsa's weak grip. "And I thought I was the one who slept in late."

"What time is it?" Elsa groaned, fumbling to snatch back the pillow and failing miserably.

"It's a little past noon," Anna held up a pair of utensils. "I brought you some food from the mess hall."

Reluctantly, Elsa sat up and rubbed her tired eyes which had long since grown dry from crying. "It really should be the other way around, what with you being pregnant and all."

"Never mind," Anna shook her head and placed a large aluminium tray on the bed. "I feel fine. Apart from all the weird cravings. Why, just this morning I screamed at Kristoff because we ran out of apple sauce."

Crossing her legs beneath her, Elsa took the utensils from Anna's proferred hand. Having lunch together had become a regular thing for the two sisters. The one good thing that'd come from all this misery.

"The naval chefs made us something decent today." Anna held up a half loaf of baked bread and began to butter it generously. "Corned beef and cured pork to go with fresh, crispy bread and hot broth."

"Better than what we get on most days." Elsa took a sip of the soup which tasted less watery than usual. Food had been tightly rationed to last the long journey. For the chefs, it was about a six month round trip, which meant no luxurious or hearty meals, just food enough to keep hunger at bay. And barely, at times. But for Elsa, it didn't really matter since she hadn't really had much of an appetite these few months.

"Oh, and chin up. I have some good news," Anna said cheerily. "In two more days, we'll be back on solid land again."

"That's a relief," Elsa muttered as she levered a spoonful of corned beef into her mouth. She couldn't wait to get off this ship, as it reminded her of the her horrid argument with Janus before he'd vanished and taken the Witch Hunters with him. There it is again. The pang of sorrow that forced tears to her eyes. She wiped them away hurriedly with the back of her hand.

"Damn it, you're thinking about Janus again, aren't you?" Anna sighed and set down her cutlery. "Oh, Elsa."

"Sorry." Elsa blinked, her eyes still tired and painful from all the crying last night. "I can't help it if I miss him." Anger danced within her chest and she found herself gritting her teeth. "It's all my fault."

"Would you stop with the damn pity party already?" Anna threw up her hands, a bit of soup flying from her spoon. "We've gone over this a million times. I know you're upset, but moping like this isn't doing you any good! You need to get out of this cabin, get some fresh air, talk to people, see the sun."

"It's too bright outside."

"Totally not the point." Anna rolled her eyes. "Look, I've said this so many times, but you know what? I'm just gonna say it again. The war took a toll on all of us, Janus especially. You can't blame him or yourself for whatever happened."

"Only it was my fault," Elsa said melacholically. "If I hadn't lied to him, he would still be here. He wouldn't have left."

"Okay, fine, I didn't expect him to actually leave and take the Witch Hunters with him. But look, there's nothing you can do about it now. You need to forgive yourself and move on."

"Move on?" Elsa snapped. "How? Janus is gone and took the Witch Hunters with him, Melody went back to the sea, and our descendants abandoned us three months ago. They claimed they'd come back when they have a plan but so far that hasn't happened. The only ones left here are Tracy, Deirdre and Eleanor."

"On the bright side, Eleanor and Deirdre haven't sunk the ship yet with their non-stop quarrelling."

"The Warriors are finished," The anger in Elsa's voice gave way to despair. "We lost the war but we're just too stubborn to accept it."

"Well, I haven't given up hope yet," Anna said obstinately. "I believe that as long as there are a few of us left, there's still something we can do."

"Like what?"

"For starters, taking your place as the Pilgrim of the League and leading them when we arrive at Agrabah," Anna said. "I foresee that we might have a need for the League at some point soon."

Elsa cocked her head. "What for?"

"Just call it a hunch." Anna stuffed bread into her mouth and crunched down on the baked crust. "I'm going to be busy handling the diplomatic side of things, and I need you to shake off that gloom and take charge of the League."

Nodding, Elsa sighed. "I guess I can do that. But you really should leave the diplomacy to Kristoff, what with your pregnancy and all."

Anna snorted. "I'd much rather hand the diplomacy to Eleanor. Okay, maybe not. They don't know the ex-empress is stowed away with us."

"I can do it for you, if you need," Elsa offered.

Her sister shook her head. "After being stuck on the long winter campaign, I think I've finally nailed the whole diplomacy thing. Pregnant or not, I've got this."

"And what about Kristoff? How's he coping with handling the administration?"

"I don't know, I think he's okay. I've gotten so pissed at everything little thing he does that I can't even stand the sound of his breathing at times," she chuckled. "So I guess it's better that I stay out of his work and let him and Frederick handle the logistics and administration and all of that."

Forcing a weak smile, Elsa nodded and set down her utensils. "I miss him."

Anna sighed. "For what it's worth, Janus was a good man. I'll admit I was skeptical about him at first but he proved me wrong. I was genuinely happy for the both of you."

"Damn it." Elsa pressed her palms to her eyes and sniffled. "Maybe he was right."

"What?"

"Maybe he would've been better off without knowing me."

Anna's nostrils flared. "That's bullshit and you know it."

"Do I?"

"You made him a better man. Hell, he grew a conscience because he met you. Remember? You told me about your first real talk with him in Swynvort?" Anna rested a hand on Elsa's. "He changed for you. Why do you think he did that if he didn't love you?"

"I don't know." Elsa turned to the open sea outside her window, her feelings threatening to overwhelm her all over again. "I just don't know anymore."