A/N: I am so sorry for the delay; college is keeping me very busy. Now with athletics season wrapping up and Spring Break on the horizon, I should have more time to write.

I imagine this Chapter isn't very satisfying. It was meant to be longer and include some more scenes, but I wanted to release what I had so far. I promise that the next chapter will be released on Tuesday the 8th.

December 15.

"Eugene?" His wife called from the doorway of their chambers.

Grimacing at his injured wrist, the Prince-Consort sighed. "In here!" he called, beckoning her into the parlor. "Don't mind me; I'm just busy recovering from your brother's attempted deathblow."

Rapunzel smiled as she stepped into the room. "You're the one who decided to enter the tournament in the first place. You knew you'd have to face Thomas eventually. At least you gave everyone a good show."

Eugene frowned.

Wearing an expectant, confident smile, the Princess walked toward her husband. With a resigned grin, Eugene placed his injured wrist in her hand.

A single teardrop glistened in Rapunzel's eye before falling upon his wound. Instantly, Eugene felt a wonderfully familiar sensation of relief as his cut sealed and the surrounding bruise vanished.

Unable to resist the sudden urge that flooded into his veins, the former thief pulled his wife down into a gentle yet passionate kiss.

"You did great today," she reassured him as they pulled apart. "You've never made the semi-finals before, and all your bouts seemed pretty easy until you finally ran into Thomas. He definitely won the finals quicker than he beat you."

"I had a good teacher," he agreed. During his time as a rogue, Eugene had possessed some skill with the blade, but his exploits had relied more on improvisation and quick reflexes than actual technical skill. Once he'd moved into the Palace, Thomas had seen to refining his technique.

Eugene couldn't help but appreciate the irony. He was now a far superior combatant than he'd ever been as a rogue, but his adventuring days were over. Oh, he might go hunting or compete in tournaments, but life and death battles were long behind him. His skill would never truly be put to the test.

"How was your day?" He finally asked.

"Great. Leading the parade is always exhausting, but it's nice to see everyone. The people seem happy, and that's the important thing," she replied.

Eugene wasn't surprised. The rest of the Royal Family was liked well enough, but Rapunzel was adored by the common people. After waiting for her for so many years, their faith had been rewarded by a Princess who was clearly determined to better the lives of the nation's lower classes. Possessing both a natural regal grace and an earnestness that few were capable of, Rapunzel was beloved to the extent that not a single commoner in Corona would criticize her.

Despite her isolated upbringing and initial naivety, Rapunzel had taken quickly to the politics and the arts of state. She had known how to use the goodwill from her return to her advantage; few nobles had been brave enough to oppose her proposed social welfare programs. And after their success, the resulting adulation from Corona's commoners had made resisting her efforts an even more dangerous proposition for the nobility.

Anna, he knew, sought to emulate Rapunzel's successes once she became Queen of Arendelle. Unfortunately, Eugene knew she would not face the easy road that had been paved for the Lost Princess. It was not that he doubted her conviction; Anna was just as determined and just as transparent in her compassion as Rapunzel.

She also lacked the self-confidence and political instincts that the Coronan Princess possessed. Anna was not by any means stupid, but her level of intelligence was decidedly average. The Knight was a natural warrior and excellent at acting under life and death pressure, but those qualities wouldn't help her in appeasing the nobility when she tried to raise their taxes.

And her past as a notorious (albeit non-lethal) thief was not quite as compelling as the narrative of a missing Princess returning to her grieving nation.

"I think I know why they're happy." He smiled and glanced at her stomach. Rapunzel was just beginning to show at this point, and the people of Corona had been thrilled upon the announcement of her pregnancy.

It was a stark contrast to what their attitude had been several months ago. After Rapunzel had emerged from the Lucrania incident with one fewer arm than she'd possessed previously, the public had responded with a mixture of sympathy for their Princess and outrage at their neighboring country. There were calls to embargo Lucrania, bar its citizens from entering Corona under pain of death, and even declare war upon the struggling nation. Thankfully, Rapunzel had remained as kind and generous to her subjects as ever; the populace had quickly realized that although her body had been damaged, her spirit remained whole. This, coupled with King David's subsequent death, had silenced calls for outright conflict. Still, whichever government emerged from Lucrania's turmoil would not be met with good tidings by the Coronan people.

By unspoken agreement, the two of them made their way to the red leather couch situated against the back wall of their parlor. Sitting down first, Eugene couldn't help but grin as his wife sat in his lap. Reaching around her back, he softly placed on his hands against her slowly growing stomach.

"We're going to be parents!" she breathed excitedly.

He sat there for a moment, mentally processing her words. "Yeah," was all he could say in response. Even after a month, the news was still bewildering to him. The Prince was just as glad as his wife, but-

"You're nervous," she said suddenly. It wasn't a question.

He couldn't deny it.

"Why?" she asked simply.

Eugene sighed, shifting uncomfortably beneath his wife. "Not for the usual reasons. Money, obviously, won't be an issue. And I know our child will have a wonderful mother. Short of an apocalypse, they'll have a peaceful and happy life. I suppose...well, it's selfish."

Turning in his arms; Rapunzel glanced at him quizzically.

He took a deep breath. "I'm afraid our child will love you more than me." There, he'd finally said it.

A rare flash of annoyance flittered in Rapunzel's eyes.

"No, forget that." He held up a placating hand. "I know our child will love you more than me. You're going to be such a perfect mother. Of course I'm okay with that. It's just...I'm afraid that with you being as amazing as you are, I'm just going to be an afterthought. You're going to get all of the love and attention, while I become this distant figure that's only good for distracting mommy away from time with her child."

At that, Rapunzel rolled her eyes. "You're going to be a wonderful father. It doesn't have to be a competition. As long as you make sure to spend time with him or her, which you will, you'll get your fair share of love."

The Prince sighed. "I don't know anything about being a father. I never really had parents of my own. You..." he paused briefly, allowing unpleasant memories to filter through his head. "Gothel, at least, taught you what not to do. Your real parents, even if they missed your childhood, are amazing. I've never had a chance to learn anything about parenting."

It was foolish to complain, he knew. How many notorious thieves were pardoned, married a Princess, and got the chance to raise a royal child? Before he'd met Rapunzel, Eugene had never even given any thought to being a father. Now that the reality of parenthood was upon him, however, he couldn't stop thinking about it.

"If I thought you were going to be a bad father, I'd have told you so. You've always been there for me...no matter what the problem is. There's no way you would ever neglect our child," she said, placing her hand on his cheek. "We'll make sure he or she spends plenty of time with both of us. The staff in the Palace are wonderful, but we're going to be the ones who raise our child. Together."

Eugene nodded. "It will be interesting to raise the next monarch of Corona," he remarked. "Assuming, of course, that Thomas doesn't continue to spurn every Princess who seeks his hand in favor of one-night stands with any girl who piques his interest."

A loud cough from the door drew their attention.

"Still alive over here; don't get ahead of yourselves," Thomas noted as he walked into the parlor. "And some of us find the prospect of being stuck with a single partner for fifty years to be a tad boring. No offense meant, of course. And speaking of partners sticking together, a letter arrived for you today." Reaching into his pocket, the Crown Prince pulled out a thin white envelope bound in a familiar seal.

"Finally!" Rapunzel bounced off Eugene's lap and grasped the parchment. "It's been nearly two months since they were engaged; about time they got around to sending out the wedding invitations." Before Eugene could even stand up from the sofa, his wife had already torn off the seal (an impressive feat, given she only had access to one hand) and begun to read the letter at a furious pace.

Then the last thing he had ever expected happened right before his eyes. In the span of a few seconds, Rapunzel's expression shifted from excitement, to shock, and then to horror. Her happy smile morphed into tearful cries as she sat on the floor, staring at the parchment in her hands with disbelief.

"Sis?" Thomas asked nervously. "What's-"

Eugene extracted the letter from his wife's trembling hands. Looking down at the words, the Prince braced himself for the worst, but nothing could ever have prepared him for what he was about to read.

Rapunzel,

I can't believe I'm writing this. It's been a week, and it still doesn't seem real.

Anna never loved me. Everything...it was all a lie. She was a spy for the Southern Isles, sent to win my affection and influence me to enact policies that would favor the Isles. The first kidnapping attempt was staged...designed to make her look like a hero and win my trust. That's all she ever cared about. Everything she did, including saving both of our lives, was done to further ingratiate herself to me.

Evangeline's agents in the Isles heard whispers about the scheme. It had always been a long shot, but once it appeared that Anna was on the cusp of succeeding, the King had apparently been ecstatic. Then Evangeline had Anna followed and discovered her meeting with one of the Isle's agents when she was supposedly seeing her friend Kristoff.

I refused to believe it. The next time she went into the city, I followed her myself. What I saw broke my heart. She gave her contact a dozen intelligence secrets and assured him that she would be Queen within the next few months. The way she talked about me...I was nothing to her. Nothing except an assignment from her true King.

When I confronted her with this information, she denied it initially. Once it became apparent the scheme was up, Anna became enraged. She mocked me, proudly proclaiming her fanatic loyalty to the Southern Isles and its Royal Family. I attempted to detain her, but she fled. I could have captured her with my powers, but even now, I simply couldn't bring myself to hurt her. Now that she's loose, my guess is that she'll return to the Southern Isles. I doubt we'll ever see her again.

I'm sure you're just as shocked as I am. Anna played her role magnificently, and even now, weeks after she fled, I find myself expecting to see her in my bed when I retire for the night.

You'll want to come comfort me. While I appreciate it, I need some time alone. Talking about Anna now makes my powers want to go haywire; I'm not sure if even you'd be safe. Once I've calmed down, I'll come to Corona myself. Hopefully in time to see your baby be born.

Elsa.

"No..." he finally managed as Thomas took the letter and began to read it himself. "Anna would never...it has to be a trick! She saved your life twice! David tortured her for information on Elsa and she never talked. Don't you remember the scars?" It couldn't be true. Eugene had only met Anna a handful of times, but the Prince had never had even the slightest indication that she wasn't exactly what she presented herself to be.

And he was good at reading people.

With a voice entirely devoid of its usual lightness, Rapunzel finally spoke. "This is Elsa's handwriting. The letter was sealed with the Royal Seal of Arendelle; only the monarch has possession of it. And I can't imagine anyone somehow managing to force Elsa to write this."

Eugene fixed his wife with a harsh stare. "You can't mean-"

"I don't know!" she replied, throwing her arm up in the air. "There's only a few people in this world that I love. Anna is one of them. I'll never forget the sight of her standing against a hundred of David's men as I rode away on horseback. I named her our child's surrogate! But...I love Elsa too. I've known her for years, and I'm almost certain that this is her writing. I...I just don't know."

"Don't you find it just a little bit suspicious that the letter specifically tells us not to come to Arendelle?!" Eugene argued. It had to be a forgery. There was no other explanation.

Rapunzel nodded firmly. "Yes. That's why I'm going to Arendelle immediately. Alone."

Both Princes in the room erupted in a furry of protests, but Rapunzel simply waited for them to run out of air before continuing. "I know Elsa better than either of you. If her powers are at risk of going haywire, it's best if I talk to her alone. And we can't let this go public. I'm pregnant...not yet far enough along to prohibit travel, but still...I have an excuse to remain in my room and out of the public's eye for a week or two. If either of you accompany me, a dozen questions will be raised. We can't let this letter become public knowledge until we have all of the facts straight."

She paused, taking a deep breath before turning to Thomas. "I'm going to tell Mother and Father. While I talk with them, please prepare a ship for me. Staff it only with the most trusted officers we have who can be counted on to keep quiet and have it ready to go by tomorrow."

"I won't-"

Rapunzel stepped towards her elder brother, eyes blazing with determination. "You will. I'm traveling to Arendelle tomorrow. I'll either be on a ship or swimming across the Sisserian Sea, but I will be headed for Arendelle. Unless you want to enjoy the sight of a pregnant Princess drowning in the waves, I suggest you go and prepare a ship for me."

\

December 21.

The Queen smiled, taking a deep breath and inhaling the cold winter air. It was finally time.

The preparations for her ritual could only be begun on the day when the wintry energies of the world were at their peak. Only then was it possible to tap into the deepest reserves of her power and begin to accumulate the magic required. That day was today. Winter's Solstice had finally come.

She was standing in her study, surrounded by a group of the most senior Faithful. Most were jubilant, but Evangeline wore a look of worry. "Your Worship, building up such a large quantity of magic...will that not weaken your powers as you prepare to unleash your spell?"

Elsa nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. There is no avoiding that fact. In saving up my energy for the ritual, my powers will be decreased from their present level. I shall remain the most powerful magic wielder on earth, but the quantities of snow, ice, and wind I am capable of summoning shall be somewhat more limited. It is also likely that my ability to form Creations will disappear until the ritual is complete and my divinity restored."

The spymaster dipped her head in acknowledgment. "The Faithful will fulfill their sacred duty. Your Worship shall be secure until the day of reckoning."

"There is more," the Goddess intoned. "The magic I accumulate cannot be stored within me; it must be concentrated in the area around me. Only I will be capable of tapping into it, of course. Still, the energy flow must remain constant. For the sake of practicality, I shall build up my magic within this Castle. If I leave at any time before it is complete, however, the flow will cease, and the accumulated power will disappear."

"Your Worship will be unable to leave the Castle?" Evangeline questioned.

Elsa grimaced. "Perhaps I will be able to venture onto the grounds, but no farther. The Faithful will have to act as my agents throughout the country until the ritual is ready. Do this successfully, and your places in the new world will be assured."

"Of course, Your Worship," the spymaster replied with a deep bow.

"It shall take a year. Such a powerful feat of magic would strain my abilities even during the height of my power, and in my current form...Twelve months, that is what I ask for. Defend me faithfully, and you will rule beside me above the squalid filth that now dominate this world," she promised.

At this, the spymaster smiled. "There is no need to fear, Your Worship. The Faithful know our duty. Even still, your victory was foretold millennia ago. Nothing on this earth could hope to oppose your triumph.

Yes. The thought of the prophecy gave Elsa courage as she prepared to relinquish some of her powers for the time being. Neither she nor the Faithful would take any chances over the next year, but in the end, there would be no stopping the return of her divinity. Prophecies were never wrong.

Taking a deep breath, the Goddess clenched her fists and dove into her reserves of power. It was quite a pitiful amount compared to her true strength, but it would be sufficient to bring about its return. Concentrating, she willed her power to accumulate...to swell in the Castle around her until it was enough to enact the ritual that would end the reign of mortals forever.

One year to go.

\

December 27

Cold! Anna screamed as flying shards of ice embedded themselves in her flesh, allowing her blood to flow freely down into the pristine white snow at her feet. She tried to run, but the pain was all-consuming. Cruel spikes of frozen glass continued to gleefully stab into her skin, and even now a final massive shard prepared to spear into her chest-

The thief woke up with a gasp. Warm relief flooded into her as she realized her life was not yet over, but that relief was quickly tempered by the realization that her reality was not much better than the dream had been. Icicles were not purposely flying into her skin, but Anna was still surrounded by cold.

She was lying beneath a doorway, desperately trying to get some sleep before the sun rose and she was inevitably discovered and forcibly removed. The snow behind her back crunched noisily as Anna tried to get into a more comfortable position. As cold as the snow was, it at least provided Anna's back with a makeshift cushion that separated it from the stone pavement.

If only her ears weren't so cold! The thin hood Anna had procured did little to shield her face from the elements.

As Anna had quickly discovered, being poor in the Southern Isles sucked even more than it did to be poor in Arendelle. The Southern Isles (a misleading name if Anna had ever heard one- it was barely south of Arendelle, the kingdom of snow!) was a small, weak kingdom with a much lower standard of living than Arendelle boasted. Thieving had never been easy in Arendelle, but at least there had been plenty of citizens rich enough that Anna could steal from without feeling guilty yet also not so powerful as to be protected by impenetrable security. With the sharp divide between the wealthy and the poor in the Southern Isles, those citizens were few and far between.

Life just felt so empty. Anna had never been one to give up hope, regardless of how dire her circumstances had become. Recently, however, depression had come to poison her every waking moment. What was the point in struggling on? One day, she would die freezing in the snow. Did it matter if that day was now or five years in the future? It would probably even be best if it happened sooner rather than later. There would be less pain she had to endure before the end.

The little comforts that had sustained her previously failed to raise her spirits for more than a moment before the crushing reality of her existence reasserted itself. Before, she had always spent several minutes before she went to sleep daydreaming about a better future. Despite how unlikely a better life had been, Anna had comforted herself with the thought that nothing was impossible.

Now, those fantasies did nothing but reinforce the misery of her situation. Any brief moments of happiness she was blessed with, whether it was seeing young children play in the street or taking a rare bite from a warm loaf of bread, were immediately snuffed out by the cloak of despair that had enwrapped her ever since the start of her journey to the Southern Isles.

Anna wasn't certain what had changed. Perhaps her meager existence had finally become too much for her to bear. Something just seemed missing. What that was, the thief did not have the slightest idea. Since leaving the orphanage several years ago, she'd never owned anything worth having. Certainly nothing that could explain the black hole that had seemingly replaced her heart.

"Fucking gutter trash!"

Pain...real pain...exploded in Anna's gut as a heavy shoe slammed into her stomach. The thief let out a breathless cry as her body rolled out of the doorway and onto the street.

Gasping for air, Anna climbed shakily to her knees. Standing in the doorway that had been her shelter was an older man dressed in warm clothes and armed with a sharp dagger in his right hand.

"I see you around here again, I'll gut you like a fish!" he snarled, leveling the knife in her direction. "You want a roof to sleep under, get a damn job!"

In another time, Anna would have been tempted to argue. No one will hire me; believe me, I've tried! And was sleeping under your fucking doorway costing you anything?! But now, consumed by fear and hopelessness, Anna could only nod timidly before scrambling to her feet.

Still struggling for breath, she ran off into the night.

Responses:

WinterWolfDragon: I'm not sure which of them has it harder at the moment.

Frost108: Yeah.

Shtoops: She mentioned it while talking with Pabbie. She left it with the trolls.

Vidgamelords: It's a dark arc.

DimmensionalLover: That's what makes Anna the character she is. She doesn't have any particular gifts or talents (besides climbing and her magic, which came from Elsa.) Yet it doesn't really matter because she's such a good person.

Kyoko-nyaa: Hans will not appear in anything more than a short cameo.

GeneralNavri: Elsa is not having fun at the moment, no.

Shadowfax321: She was able to guess because she knows Anna so well. Both the real Elsa and the Goddess (who has all of Elsa's memories) were smart enough to figure it out.

Veoviing: Intended reaction.

Matjojo: This was never meant to be a light story.

TheFrozenGuy: The prophecy Anna and Kristoff heard didn't saying anything about memories returning or Elsa being possessed. Drell's group believed that Elsa had never lost her memories in the first place; she was always just waiting for the right time to strike. Elsa didn't claim to be playing with her 'just for kicks'. She quite clearly told Anna that she was using her both as a bodyguard and as a lightning rod to draw out elements within the nobility who would one day turn against her. Since possession has never been recorded throughout all the annals of magic, and Elsa nearly killed Anna during their fight, Anna and Kristoff were left with only one conclusion. Eventually, Anna's low self-esteem made her say: "Well, I guess I just really am that easy to fool."

Punky32: Writing as fast as I can!

CoolNickNack: Pabbie said that it was a possibility. Luckily, Anna has a pure enough heart to where locking away her memories wasn't enough to dampen her good qualities (although it has made her depressed.) As for Rapunzel…

NarutoUchica: I have a lemon in mind for a bonus scene, but right now the focus is on the plot.

Arekanderu: A gradual time skip, yes.

ClaireCooper: I know…

Mpsantiago: She's not going to be experiencing much worth remembering. Anna didn't have any friends or connections before she met Elsa; why would that change now?

RR: Hans is not a hero or a villain in this story. He's a background character with little to no effect on the plot.

FreelanceBum: Most marketable skill?

Guest 1: It would not be pretty.

DattebayoC: You said it yourself, she won't be emotionally dead inside. Granted, it didn't really work out, but the idea was for her to be able to forget her pain.

Gwiley16199: I'm not sure what you mean by 'doing what so many others have done'. Hans will not be making any appearances short of a blink and you miss it cameo. I find him overused as a villain and can't imagine making him a hero.

Dudewheresmycar121158: I'm typing!

ObsessiveImaginings: Great stories need both light and dark moments. Otherwise the happy times lose their meaning. It's hard to make readers believe in your high stakes when there are never any consequences for the characters.

BreeBear98: Hang in there!

Guest 2: The trolls are an unknown quantity to the Goddess. She knows she could probably win, but would rather not take the risk until her divinity is back. Drell is still imprisoned, being used as bait in case any of his supporters think to rescue him. Kristoff is returning to the city inconspicuously; he's not going back to his shop. He would be arrested if Elsa found him, but the guards aren't really looking for him. Arendelle is big. Aside from the capital, there are several other large cities in the country. Hammerfest is one. In terms of neighbors, the Southern Isles and one or two other nations share the same landmass. Further south, across the Sisserian Sea, is a larger continent that contains several nations, including Corona, Albion, and Lucrania. Anna looked rich thanks to the clothes she was wearing. Those coins didn't make her rich. All together, they're probably worth around $500 in today's money. Enough to travel to a new city, but not enough to start a prosperous life. Plus, Anna was going to the Southern Isles, where the currency would be worthless.

Aleams: It means I'm writing well!

Coincidenceless: Elsa doesn't have a concrete plan at the moment. She's trying to regain control but making zero progress. It might not even be possible

Guest 3: Agreed!

Guest 4: Thank you so much!

Guest 5: Glad to hear it!

DVINM: Don't give up hope just yet.

Moosdrool: You and me both.