Chapter 10:

When I open my eyes the day after that awful nightmarish memory, I want nothing more than to go back to sleep. I feel like I barely managed to sleep a wink, so my body protests when I try to open my eyes, much less get up and start my day. Sleeping on a hard and cold block of ice did not help much either.

I wish I could just stay in my room all day, or maybe even for the rest of my life. I do not want to face the reality of what I saw in my dreams, or confront the horrible implications that the nightmare could represent. I want to stay here and pretend none of that happened, but… unfortunately, my stomach has other ideas.

At first I try to ignore the hunger, but it quickly becomes too much and, coupled with the fact I need to address my other bodily functions, I force myself to get out of bed. The first thing I notice is that the ice has thawed, which would be a good thing if it had not left a big puddle of water on the floor. The curtains and furniture are wet too, but apparently, my bed and a small area around it remained frozen.

I sigh, mad at myself for not having better control of my powers, and hope I did not ruin anything. I do not need another reason to feel bad about this whole incident.

I do my best to ignore the wet floor as I quickly rush to my closet and search for a dress. Fortunately, none of the clothing was affected by my outburst of last night, so I am able to choose the one that pleases me most; a simple yet elegant purple dress with silver embroidery. Right after I get dressed, I quickly walk out my room, only to find Kristoff at my door, waiting for me. He has dark circles under his eyes, which makes me feel guilty.

"Uhm… hi." He says after a pause.

"Hi." I answer with a raspy voice. Damn, I really need some water.

"How… how are you feeling?" He asks awkwardly.

"I'm okay now." I shrug, pretending to be fine, even if truthfully I am still a little shaken up from the nightmare. Just as I finish saying this, I start walking towards the dining room; I'm starving. Of course, Kristoff follows me.

"Good." He nods with a serious expression. "You did scare me when I woke up to freezing temperatures and ice covering half of the hallway."

"Wait… how far did my magic spread?" I ask, worried.

"The ice? Not much." He assures me. "Maybe ten feet or less; I only noticed because I sleep in the room across the hall." When I shoot him a surprised gaze, he just shrugs and says: "Anna's orders." Which does explain a lot, because after all, these rooms are for guests, not guards. Surprisingly, this knowledge doesn't upset me; after the attack, Anna probably didn't want to take any chances. It was a good thing too, because otherwise, I would not have woken up from my nightmare and who knows the havoc my powers could have caused.

"The cold was another story though." He adds then, pulling me out of my thoughts. "I had to calm down quite a few people and assure them no ice-wielder was attacking us."

"I-I'm sorry." I say apologetic, feeling bad that my stupid dream ended up affecting a bunch of people, including my protector. Who, for some reason, has been quite nice to me as of late; at least compared to how he treated me at first. I really don't want to cause him (or anyone, for that matter) any discomfort. The problem is, I can't really know if it will happen again.

"Don't worry. I know it wasn't your fault." He says without looking at me, still obviously trying to keep his up his cold and distant attitude towards me, but I can see it's just a mask. He doesn't feel as much disdain towards me as he projects on the outside. He doesn't fear me anymore. I notice it in the way he steals some glances at me as we walk, almost as if trying to make sure I'm as fine as I said I was. I see it in the way he doesn't have a permanent scowl on his face anymore whenever he's with me. So that's an improvement. I just hope, since he's Anna's closest friend, that in the future we can be friends too.

We stay silent until we arrive to the dining room. I enter while he remains outside the door, obviously already having had breakfast. I expect I will be eating breakfast alone, since it's already around midday, however, as soon as I open the door, I hear a familiar voice.

"Elsa!" Rapunzel says, standing up from the table where she'd been sitting while she talked to one of the servants, and running towards me before pulling me into a hug.

"Anna told me about the nightmare. Are you okay?" I'm startled for a moment, and so I don't hug her back, my arms hanging awkwardly at my side. Now that I think about it, this is the first time someone other than Anna has hugged me (at least that I remember), and it's… well, it feels nice, but also kind of makes me uncomfortable. Something that doesn't happen with the redheaded girl.

Still, I don't pull away, and force myself to answer her question.

"Uhm… yes. Yes, I'm fine now." I answer, wondering how much Anna told her. Thankfully, she quickly releases me and instead choses to look at me intently, as if trying to decipher if I'm lying to her or not. "Really, I… it probably wasn't as bad as Anna made it sound." At this, the princess chuckles and relaxes considerably.

"Yes, you're probably right." She answers as she starts pulling me towards the table. "She does have a tendency of exaggerating everything."

"Something that apparently runs on the family." I tease her as I take a seat next to her. "She told me yesterday that the time she escaped to the woods, she didn't cause a reindeer stampede, but just scared two of those animals, which eventually revealed her location to the guards that were searching for her."

"Hey! That's just what Kristoff told me happened, okay? He's the one to blame." She protests playfully, and I chuckle at her answer. At that moment, a servant enters carrying food for me, but not Rapunzel, who doesn't look surprised by this. She probably already had breakfast then, but… if so, what is she doing here? By her own? Where's Eugene?

"Uhm… I don't want to sound rude or anything but… why are you here?" I ask tentatively as I start to eat.

"Anna asked me to check on you." Is her natural answer. Of course. I should have known. "She's pretty busy, but she didn't want you to have breakfast on your own, so she asked Eugene and me to take her place. Unfortunately, he said he absolutely needed to visit some place he had heard about, probably a bar full of thugs or something. So for today it's just the two of us." She explains with a happy smile.

"I see." I say smiling back, truly glad that she's willing to spend a whole day with me, but still wishing it was Anna instead. "Usually my days are pretty boring though, so I hope you have something planned for us to do."

"Actually I do." She answers with an impish smile before looking around to make sure we're alone and leaning in, lowering her voice so only I can hear her. "I trust you've noticed Anna's lack of… confidence in her skills as a ruler."

"Uh… yes?" I answer because I have no idea where she's going with this.

"And also that her subjects don't truly think of her as their Queen just yet." I nod at this, encouraging her to continue. "Well then, if you're up to it, I'd like you to help me make a plan to sort of solve these problems, and implement it tomorrow with Anna. What do you say?"

I think about it for a moment. This is an important decision because, well… I want to help Anna, and I sure know I owe it to her, but… I don't really know much about ruling a kingdom. At least that I remember. Sure, I gave her some good advice the other day, but it wasn't really something no one else could have told her, so…

"I don't really know much about being a good Queen." I answer shyly, looking at my plate.

"I'm not asking you to teach Anna how to rule." She chuckles, which actually makes me feel embarrassed for having thought otherwise. "No even I could do that, and I'm a Princess." She continues, obviously not wanting to sound rude. "I want to help Anna improve her image. I've actually already asked Kristoff, Kai and Gerda for their opinions, and they have given me some very good insight."

"Then why do you need me?" I ask, because it sounds like she already has everything figured out.

"Because you are a Northerner, and as such your point of view in certain matters will surely be different and enlightening. Plus, you'll be staying here for a while longer, so you can keep an eye on her when I leave." She answers, and I can't help feeling disappointed. Is that really all she thinks I could be of use for?

"However…" The princess continues, apparently having sensed my discomfort. "The most important reason for asking you for help is that you care about Anna, to the point you would do anything to help her. That and Anna appears to trust you to an almost ridiculous extent, and might be willing to actually hear your suggestions and not just toss them aside." She pauses, shaking her head. "I don't know if you have noticed, but she can be stubborn to the point she won't listen to a thing anyone says. But with you her stubbornness is subdued, at least a little bit."

I take a few seconds to think about it. Rapunzel is right; Anna does have a tendency to ignore what others say and just do whatever she wants. And though that has been very beneficial to me thus far, maybe it's not such a great quality for a ruler to have. Sure, she shouldn't do everything everyone says, but it's good to listen to other points of view from time to time. I am afraid this will make Rapunzel's plan harder, but I'm willing to help in whatever way I can. I'll do it for Anna.

"Okay, I'll help you." I agree. "I want to be useful to Anna, and I think her stubbornness is something I can deal with." I say, trying to appear confident, even if a little voice inside me tells me this isn't going to be as easy as it looks. However, I mean, really, it can't be that hard to teach Anna the basics of how to treat her subjects, can it?

"You want me to what?!" Anna yells, and both Rapunzel and I cringe, not having expected such a reaction from the Queen. Sure, maybe a bit of opposition, but she looks pretty mad at us right now. Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to approach the subject so directly.

"Anna, I know this is a little unconventional, but Elsa and I believe that…" Rapunzel starts explaining, but Anna interrupts her before she can finish.

"What? That I don't have any idea what I'm doing? That I need help from two girls my own age, one of whom lived as a peasant for most of her life, and the other that barely has any memory of her life at all?!" Anna continues yelling, and I have to admit that when she puts it like that, our proposal does sound offensive.

I sigh internally. I never wanted to make Anna angry, or hurt her. I just wanted to help! But… great, now it looks like I've ruined her breakfast.

"Anna, look, I know you're probably more prepared to be a Queen than me, but…"

"Enough!" Anna cuts her off again, raising her hand in a very authoritarian manner. "I know everybody thinks I'm an inept girl who doesn't have any idea of what she's doing, but I thought…" She looks down at her plate, her voice trembling when she practically whispers the next words. "I-I thought you were different." After saying this, she looks pointedly at me, and in her teal eyes I can see how betrayed she feels, how hurt she is because of the fact I helped her cousin with this stupid little plan, but… there's a reason I did that, and it's not what Anna is assuming. I feel the urge to explain myself.

"Anna, we don't doubt of your capacity to be a good ruler." I start, but the redhead only scoffs, obviously not believing me because of what I planned with Rapunzel. "We're just concerned that your subjects may not recognize how much work you are doing on their behalf. And because of that, most of them don't truly see you as their Queen, at least not yet."

"They will in time." Anna says dismissively, but I can see in her eyes she's also thought about this many times before, and unfortunately came to the conclusion that solving this problem is beyond her.

"And if they don't?" I ask, and at this, Anna bites her lip and deviates her gaze, obviously not having an answer to that. She and I both know this worries her more than she would want to admit.

"Why don't you at least hear out our suggestions?" Rapunzel presses gently. "If you absolutely hate them, then… okay, we won't touch the subject again. But if you at least want to try one of them, please know that we'll support you in every way possible."

Anna briefly looks at her cousin, with slightly furrowed eyebrows that make me think that she will tell us to mind our own business. Thankfully she looks at me and her expression softens in an almost imperceptible way before she sighs and leans against her chair in a tired manner, covering her eyes with the back of her right hand.

"Fine." She says exasperated. "Tell me your oh so brilliant ideas."

"I don't know how you made me agree to do this." Anna says, sitting on her throne with her crown on top of her head, and her hair combed in an elegant bun. Today she's dressed in a very elegant green dress with Arendelle's crocus embroidered on it's chest, along with multiple intricate patterns of gold and red. She is also wearing a cape and gloves of a darker green tone (both of which she absolutely hates, but agreed make her look more regal). She looks absolutely astounding, as always, but she also appears a lot more mature and serious than usual, and has a small but noticeable aura of authority around her. Although that may be because she's situated on the throne.

"This was the only suggestion you actually said was a good idea." Rapunzel reminded her. The princess was standing on her left side, her attire the same as usual except this time she was wearing shoes. I suspect she had not wanted to outshine Anna, and that's why she didn't put much effort in her own image.

I, on the other hand, am standing at Anna's right side and am wearing the best clothes I found in my new closet; a magenta dress, blue gloves and a brown wig. Yes, a wig. We do not want anyone freaking out because there is an ice-wielder at the palace. That just would not help Anna at all.

"Only because my father would also do something like this sometimes." Anna answers with a resigned tone of voice. "I honestly always thought it was a waste of time, but he said it helped improve his image."

"Exactly." Rapunzel nods. "And that's what we want to do with you."

"I know." She sighs.

"Your majesty." Kai, a bald man with a kind face, who is actually Gerda's husband, suddenly enters the throne room and addresses Anna. "The citizens are here. Would you want me to let them in?"

"Yes." Anna nods, trying to appear calm, but I notice how her shoulders suddenly tense and her fists clench. "One by one though."

"Of course." He makes a little courtesy and goes to the door, probably to fetch the first person who will have the honor of a short audience with the queen.

"Are you ready?" I ask as we watch him go.

"As ready as I can be." She replies with an anxious but determined expression, and all I can do is hope this will go well enough. She obviously cares about her people's opinions more than she dares to admit.

The first one to come in is a merchant named Oaken, or at least that is how Kai announces him. He is very… big. Like the size of a bear. Seriously, I am not exaggerating. However, he seems friendly enough, so I hope this will be easy.

"Queen Anna." He says with a court nod and a wide smile. And while yes, he addressed her by her title, as a commoner I think he should refer to her as 'Your Majesty', especially in the throne room. Unfortunately, since Anna doesn't say anything to correct him (but seems slightly uncomfortable nonetheless), I interrupt him before he can continue.

"Ahem." I cough a little to catch his attention, and once he's looking at me, I speak. "You must refer to her as 'Your Majesty', and bow when you greet her." I say with voice as serious and steady as I can manage, though internally I'm quite anxious; I am no one, after all, and so I have no right to reprimand him, but… I have to, if Anna won't.

"Oh." He looks at me, confused for a split second, before looking back to Anna, who at this moment looks equally confused. However, she quickly recovers, puts on a serious expression and nods to him, indicating I'm right. "I'm sorry… Your Majesty." At this, he bows as I had indicated him, before straightening up and addressing Anna once more. "First of all, thank you for receiving me. It's been a while since something like this was held at the castle, ya?"

"I've been rather busy, unfortunately." Anna says sheepishly. Obviously, Oaken is referring to the fact Anna hasn't really have much interaction with her subjects ever since she ascended to the throne, except for some occasional speeches. Anna preferred to let the functionaries solve day-to-day problems of her people while she worries about the bigger things, like trade agreements and relationships with other kingdoms. So, as she informed us earlier, there hasn't been a public audience with the monarch since her parents died.

"So…" She starts, notoriously uncomfortable because of the rather obvious unspoken question written in the merchant's face. "What brings you here today?"

"Oh, well, I've been having some supply and demand problems, and I was hoping you could help me." He explains, and at this both Anna and I raised an eyebrow. Supply and demand problems? Did he think that was something only the Queen could solve?

"What kind of problems?" Anna asks confused.

"Well, you see, most of my products are brought in from the northern villages, because they produce goods too expensive to manufacture this far south. However, as of late there has been some very strong snowstorms that disrupt the trade caravans, and in summer, no less. There have also been reports that people are using these snowstorms to sneak up on travelers and steal their goods." He explains.

"Thieves that steal during snowstorms, and in the northern territories?" Anna raises an eyebrow, unbelieving of what he just said. "No one would survive hiding on the side of the roads for hours waiting for someone to pass by if there's such a strong snowstorm."

"Except… Northerners?" He says hesitantly, and at this Anna adjusts her position on the throne, clearly uncomfortable for what he's suggesting. "They could be the ones causing the snowstorms too."

"No Northerner has escaped in years." She answers, but even to me she sounds a little unsure. More so considering we both know she's lying. I'm living proof of that.

"Yes, but since the Ice Queen appeared we can't be sure anymore, ya?"

"Uhm…" Anna hums, deep in thought, considering his words for a second before sighing and answering with a voice that makes it clear she doesn't quite like what she's going to say. "Alright. I'll have some soldiers stationed at the trading posts to guard the caravans. Hopefully, that will keep the Northerners, or thieves or whatever, from showing up."

"Ah, that's be perfect." He answers with a smile, satisfied with Anna's decision. "Thank you, Your Majesty." He finishes with a bow, and is about to retire when Anna stops him.

"Before you go, please inform Kai of the specifics, so we can discuss the details with the general."

"Yes, of course." He answers, bowing once again, before disappearing behind the door. As soon as he's out, however, Anna slumps down on her throne with a sigh, relaxing for a moment before turning to glare at me.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"Why did you tell him to call me 'Your Majesty'? Queen Anna is just fine for me."

"Anna…" I start, knowing it will be quite difficult to explain to the stubborn redhead without her getting mad at me. "It's just proper. Even I, that don't have any memories, know that."

"But I know Oaken. My parents used to buy me candies from his post." She argues.

"And he called them by their names?" Rapunzel interferes, raising an eyebrow.

"Well…" Anna starts, but then bites her lip and looks down, obviously not wanting to admit we have a point.

"Look, Anna, we know you have a good relationship with your subjects, and that's great." I assure her. "However, you have to make them see you are the authority here, the reigning monarch. You're not a little kid with a fancy title anymore."

"I know, but it's just…" She sighs. "I don't want to be seen as distant and authoritarian. I want them to see that I'm approachable; that they can trust me, you know?"

"I understand what you're going through." Rapunzel answers. "That's also what I've wanted ever since I found out I'm the princess of Corona. However, there's a difference between being approachable and letting them forget you are their monarch."

"Exactly." I nod, completely agreeing with her. "Please Anna, just try. Make them see you're not just a great person, but the best Queen they could've asked for as well."

"Alright, alright." She answers, raising her hands up in surrender. "I did promise I would do this, so may as well try out your suggestions and see if they work."

Many hours pass, I'm not sure how many, just that my feet hurt and I desperately want to sit on the throne next to Anna. I don't do it only because I'm pretty sure that's a severe crime. To be fair though, I think the redhead is doing a fairly good job, and ever since Oaken came, Rapunzel and I have only given her a couple more of suggestions in regards to how she addresses her subjects and how she allows them to treat her.

Thankfully, every problem so far has had a not-so-difficult solution, and solving them relatively quickly has boosted Anna's confidence. More so, everyone seems to leave the palace satisfied with the Queen's answer, even if she does not always do what they ask for, and instead offers a better, or more realistic, alternative. I just hope everything goes peachy today, so she'll be in good mood to hear out some of our other suggestions.

"Your Majesty." Two men approach to the throne, bowing before the monarch. Thankfully, after correcting the first few people, everyone else seemed to get the message. Probably the others told them about this new-but-not-so-new rule.

"Hello, gentlemen. What can I do for you?" Anna asks, smiling confidently.

"We have a… problem, your majesty." One of them (an old man with a grey beard and humble clothes) answers, looking at the other one with clear contempt.

"Oh?" Anna says, clearly curious because so far no one has come to her with personal problems, because obviously she can't help them with that. "What kind of problem?"

"Nothing you should worry about, really." The other one (a redheaded man, probably around forty years old) answers. "I didn't really want to come, but he insisted."

"It's his mine, your majesty." The old man says. "He just inherited some lands from his father and insisted on opening a mine, even after I told him not to." At his answer, Anna purses her lips.

"I don't see why what he does in his land concerns you in any way." She answers, and though her words are a bit rude, she keeps her voice neutral enough, merely asking the man to explain himself.

"See? I told you!" The other man perks up. "Come on, let's go home before you make an even bigger fool out of yourself."

I don't know if I should judge him so quickly, but I really don't like this man's attitude. He's been uncomfortable and nervous about coming here since the beginning, so I'd say he really doesn't want Anna to know something. I think he must be the one at fault here, even if what the old man said would make one think otherwise.

"It's because I'm a farmer, your majesty. I have plantations of different crops, varying from wheat to barley and oats." He starts explaining. "And all my plants depend on water to survive. Fresh, clean water. A mine would surely pollute the river that passes through my lands, and I wouldn't be able to grow any plants."

"I see…" Anna bites her lip nervously and frowns, clearly searching for a solution desperately, but this situation is very complex. On one hand, she can't really tell the man to close his mine; that would be unfair, since it's his land, and he has the right to do whatever he pleases on it. However, if what he's doing affects someone else, she also can't just let him continue doing so without searching for an alternative. The problem is: what alternative could there be?

"I understand that water is essential to the mining process, correct?" Anna asks the red-haired man.

"Yes." He simply answers. "And the closest water-body is the river that passes through his terrains."

"But are there other water sources relatively near your lands?" She presses.

"Yes, but they are too far away. Bringing water from there to my mine would be very expensive and problematic."

"Okay…" Anna sighs, before turning to the old man. "I assume the same can be said about your land? The only available water source is that very same river?"

"Yes, your majesty." He replies with a nod. At this, Anna places her chin on her hand and adopts a thoughtful expression, probably trying to figure out a solution, but… I just don't think she has enough information to make a decision just yet. She doesn't have to solve everything today after all!

I mean, sure, one possibility would be telling the red-haired man to only mine in winter, since at that time of the year crops can't grow anyways, but I doubt he'd like that. Plus, he'd still be polluting the water, which could potentially affect the old man's plants, even if he stops mining during the warmer months. I think a full evaluation of the problem and its possible solutions by experts would be the best way to go about this.

"Well…" Anna starts, alternating her gaze between the two men. "I think…" She pauses, unsure, but then continues anyways. "That you…"

"Anna?" I interrupt her before she can make an uninformed, and probably bad, decision that would surely make her subjects doubt her even more. She looks at me questioningly and I rush to voice out my thoughts. "I really don't think you're able to make a decision on this matter yet; there are just too many things that have to be considered. I propose you send a group of experts to evaluate the case and report their findings back to you. Then you can decide based on what they tell you."

"And just who are you to talk to the Queen like that?" The old man scolds me, and I realize that I addressed Anna rather casually; using solely her name as if I'm her equal or something, and all blood drains my face. I mean, sure, Anna may let me call her by her name in private, but in public must be a different story, right?

"It's alright." Anna says raising her hand to placate him, and I don't know if I should be relieved or mad at her. She mustn't let anyone call her by her name in public, not even me! I'm not part of her family, like Rapunzel, or even a noble. I'm just a peasant in other people's eyes.

I'm internally fretting over it, when Anna speaks again.

"It's alright." She repeats. "She's my… uh…" She hesitates for a second, looking at me with doubt painted clearly on her face. "My counselor. Of sorts." When that makes everyone raise an eyebrow, including me, because we all know no new counselors have been appointed recently, she elaborates. "She's… on probation right now, but she will be staying on in a permanent position if her advice proves to be useful."

Even though I know she's lying just to excuse my behavior (though it still hardly excuses me calling her by her name in front of them), I can't help hoping that maybe, just maybe, she's actually considering letting me stay. Forever. Whether as her counselor, or one of the servants, or whatever. If she offered me the opportunity to call this place my home, I'd agree in a second.

But then again, that could change once I regain all my memories. I mean, I know I'd still want to be with Anna in any way possible, but… what if I have a family? What about my friends? What about that girl I rescued and that I feel is important to me somehow? Would I just abandon them in the Northern Lands so I can be with Anna? That would surely be a tough decision, and I have no answer for it right now.

Oh well. I'll deal with that when it comes.

If it comes.

"I see…" The old man answers, still looking at me disapprovingly.

"And so far I think she's being quite helpful." Anna adds. "I'm actually going to use your suggestion, Elsa. I will send someone to evaluate the situation and see what can be done. Hopefully it will be an agreeable solution to the both of you. Until then, you" She points to the youngest man. "won't be using your mine."

"But your hi…"

"That's an order." Anna interrupts him, upset that he both tried to contradict her and almost called her by her former title. Then, she addresses them both in a more composed manner. "This shouldn't take too long, so don't worry. Until then, dismissed."

They both bow, probably sensing that Anna won't be listening to another thing they say, and retire. Instantly, Anna gets up and stretches, addressing Kai, who is about to go out to fetch another person that wants to talk with the Queen.

"Wait, Kai." She says. "Please inform everyone I won't be seeing anyone else today, but that another audience will be held the next month and the next one after that. Until then, if they have an urgent problem, they may address the local authorities. No exceptions."

"Yes, your majesty." He says before going to do just that. Meanwhile, Anna starts walking towards the door that leads further inside the castle, and Rapunzel and I quickly follow her. As soon as the door closes behind her, all the tension on her shoulders vanishes and she lets out a happy sigh, turning around to smile at us.

"Well, that was exhausting, but turned out to be a good idea, so thank you."

"You almost looked like a real queen back there." Rapunzel teases her.

"Hey! I am a real queen." Anna replies playfully, pretending to be offended.

"Not without your crown." The princess replies just before snatching said item off Anna's head and running down the hallway with it, laughing like crazy.

"Rapunzel! Give it back, or I swear I'm making you sleep in the stable!" Anna replies, running after her, in what she probably intends to be a threatening tone, but the giggles doesn't help much.

Smiling at their antics, I start following them to the dining room, which I soon realize is their destination. I have to admit I'm quite tired, but then again, Anna looked even more tired when she decided to end the audience, and probably Rapunzel noticed too, which is why she decided to distract her of her worries and allow her to just be Anna for a moment, not the regal, adult queen she was all day. Because even if the huge responsibility of ruling a whole Kingdom rests on her shoulders, Anna is still a girl, barely nineteen years old, and should have the opportunity to act as such. I'm glad that she can do just that with Rapunzel.

And with me, but to a lesser extent. Probably because we haven't known each other for so long. It'll take some time, I suppose, but I'm confident she'll soon be as carefree and happy with me, especially after the Coronan couple returns to their kingdom.

Anyways, I should probably go to have dinner with them now, and congratulate Anna for the good job she did today. I suspect the days to come will be as busy and exhausting as this one, and in that case she'll need my full support.

A/N: So, that was chapter 10. I'm sorry for the delay, I just had lots of things to do and a huge writer's block. I hope you like it nonetheless and, if you did, please leave a review or fav/follow if you haven't.

Thanks for reading and see you soon (well, maybe not so soon). Until then, bye :D

Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.