Book 3: Adulthood.

Chapter 18: The Queen of Arendelle.

Twenty four years – Twenty one years.

Anna was sitting at a large table, silent and motionless, while the council and her husband made important decisions about her kingdom. She was there because she was the Queen, but she rarely spoke, and when she did no one listened. Yes, she was the Queen, but that didn't mean she had even a shred of actual power.

Ever since her parents had died, three years ago, shortly before she married Hans, she had been the Queen of Arendelle. Normally, the council would have ruled the kingdom until she was of age, at twenty one, but with Hans being her husband and twenty five years old, he was of age to become King. And so, she became Queen alongside him. Plus, it's not like they could really afford being without a monarch when the situation of the Kingdom was precarious, at best.

Ever since Elsa had run away, they hadn't seen the sun once. They hadn't felt warmth or been able to see the flowers bloom in summer. But more importantly, they couldn't grow anything in their fields, and they couldn't trade with kingdoms overseas. The fjord was frozen and no ship could leave their shores or come to trade. Arendelle had become a frozen wasteland. The prophecy had come true.

And her parents… her parents were long dead.

Shortly before her wedding, everything had gotten worse. There were huge snowstorms every night, people died in the streets with no fire to fight off the cold, and many starved to death due to a lack of food to eat. Many disappeared in the storms that ravaged the mountains, which was a problem because now that was their only trade route and way to supply themselves with vital food and fuel. And… they had gotten a message from her sister. No, she was not her sister anymore. Her sister wouldn't kill hundreds of innocents in a tantrum. Her sister wouldn't ask for her in exchange to sparing the rest of the kingdom.

Of course, her father hadn't accepted and, in an attempt to solve the entire problem once and for all, had gone to the North Mountain, where Elsa's ice palace rested proudly on top. He had hoped to make her see reason, maybe. Or maybe he had just wanted to kill her and end it all. At the end, however, he died. And the Queen followed him soon after.

Fortunately, the storms had receded a bit after that. But the situation was still pretty bad.

However, with no other option that could help her people, she'd married Hans and became the new Queen. Marrying him had brought access to the resources of the Southern Isles, finally giving her a way to help her people. And ever since their wedding, her husband and her council had been trying to capture and kill Elsa, but they weren't any closer than before. Every group of soldiers they'd sent had been found dead, either frozen to death by sheer cold, or slain by the Ice Queen's own hand. The few spies that had made it back hadn't even been able to come close to the ice palace, and what they reported wasn't of much help. And the only citizens that claimed to have seen Elsa didn't have any useful information either.

Anna didn't know what to feel about this. Part of her wanted to hate Elsa, to wish she was dead, like everyone else in Arendelle did. And why shouldn't she? Elsa had killed her parents, destroyed her kingdom and murdered hundreds, seemingly without remorse, but… could she really blame her? It's not like she was ever loved by their parents, or anyone else for that matter. Everyone had always seen her as a monster, so in the end she had become one.

No. She should stop thinking like that. Elsa had chosen to rebel against their father, to flee the kingdom and curse Arendelle to suffer an eternal winter. It was her choice, so she had to face the consequences; having been declared a traitor and a menace, and sentenced to death.

Not that she was glad about it. She'd prefer to lock Elsa in the dungeons, if possible, but… the decision wasn't truly hers. Plus, it was unlikely Elsa would ever be caught, so…

"Your majesty?" Lord Thranson said, startling Anna and making her realize, once she saw the eyes of everyone upon her, that she had been asked something.

"I-I'm sorry, what?" The young redhead asked.

"I don't know why she insists on coming to these meetings if she won't even pay attention." Another one of the lords muttered angrily, and though Anna would've liked to pretend she didn't care, she couldn't help frowning at that and looking down in shame.

"Please, Lord Norburg." Hans interfered. "I was the one who insisted Anna shouldn't be excluded from our meetings. She's the Queen, after all." He said, placing his only hand on Anna's shoulder, an action that the queen actually found quite comforting. Ever since her parents had died, Hans had been the only one left who cared for her in the slightest.

"Thank you, Hans, but I really should have been paying attention." Anna answered, giving her husband a smile that he promptly returned. "Now, what did you asked me?" She then said, addressing the rest of her council.

"We were just discussing the possibility of sending you to see the Ice Queen." Hans said casually. His wife just stared at him for a few seconds, before the words finally sank in and her eyes widened.

"Wait, what?!" She exclaimed, looking alternatively between all the men in the room, hoping this was some sort of twisted joke. However, all their faces remained calm and unmoved. "You can't be serious!" She shouted, both afraid and enraged that they were even considering the idea. "Every person we've sent to kill her has died, even my father! Going would be suicide!"

"That's true." Hans agreed, standing up and starting to pace around the table as he spoke. "But you're not like them. You're possibly the only person Elsa still loves, or at least wants." He paused, looking her directly in her eyes, and making very clear what he meant with that word. "You're her sister, her only family, and she's been asking for you for years."

At first, Anna didn't know how to respond. She'd like to say she was sure that Elsa still loved her, and surely wouldn't hurt her. They were sisters. They had been so close. Elsa had loved her very much, up until she left but… she had changed. She was a monster now, a murderer. She'd killed her own father, so what was stopping her from killing her little and stupid sister who chose the kingdom over her? But of course, she'd never admit her fears out loud. She was the only one in that room that still believed Elsa might have some spark of humanity within her, after all. If she admitted her sister was a monster… who knew what kinds of things they'd try to do?

"Of course, the decision is yours." Hans shrugged, when she didn't respond after a few seconds. "But take the kingdom into consideration. We, as monarchs, have to do what's best for everyone."

"W-what exactly am I supposed to do when I find her?" Anna asked, mostly to gain some time, but also to be able to make a more informed decision.

"Talk to her." He answered, and Anna couldn't tell if he was being honest or not. "Ask her to stop this winter. Negotiate."

"And if she doesn't want to?" Everyone stayed silent at that, but in their faces, Anna could read the answer. It wasn't an answer that she liked, but it was the answer that she'd expected. She would have refused, if she thought she had an option. But she knew better. "Okay. I'll go."

"Take care." Hans said before briefly kissing her lips.

"I will." Anna promised, giving him a forced smile as she felt dread settling in her stomach. She knew she was probably going to her death, but she didn't have a choice. As queen, it was her duty to at least try. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she spent her life hiding behind her palace's walls while her people suffered and died at the hands of her sister. So, if her sacrifice appeased the Ice Queen, she was willing to do it. Of course, that didn't mean that she liked it.

"Please, take this." He handed her a dagger. It was a beautiful dagger, with a golden handle and a hilt with the shape of Arendelle's crocus, and a green sheath with depictions of wild flowers. But it was still a dagger, and it was meant to be used for killing.

"I won't kill my sister." Anna protested, though she knew it was useless.

"Of course you won't. It's… just in case." He insisted, still holding up the dagger for her to take. "I don't want you getting hurt."

"Elsa may be the Ice Queen, but she's still my sister. She would never hurt me." Anna answered unconvincingly, but she still took the dagger.

"I hope you're right." He said, before giving her one last kiss and helping her on the horse.

No, you don't.

Hans wasn't precisely a terrible husband. Despite what Anna had expected, he'd actually treated pretty decently ever since her sister had ran away. But… they'd already been married for three years, and though they slept together every night since, Anna still hadn't been able to give him even one heir. They'd consulted doctors, priests and even witches, but not one of them had been able to give them a convincing answer as to why Anna couldn't have children, except that the queen was infertile.

Ever since, there had been rumors regarding Hans. They said he'd been sleeping with other women and blatantly courting others. Plus, he'd been treating her differently. Colder. He wanted an heir, that much was clear, and Anna couldn't give him one. But he couldn't take a new wife if his current wife was still alive; that's why he'd agreed to the council's insane idea. At least, that was the only explanation Anna had thought of.

It hurt, but not so much. It's not like she loved him. She tolerated him, and he tolerated her, and in front of everyone else they pretended to be a happy couple. Now, if she died, the lies would die with her. And if instead she managed to kill her sister… well, she'd probably take her life after that. She didn't want to live if she had Elsa's blood on her hands.

Either way, she'd die. Her only chance of living was making a deal with Elsa to leave Arendelle alone. She just wondered what her sister would request in exchange.

But as always, she remained quiet and acted like she was supposed to, smiling to her husband and pretending she'd miss him, assuring him that she'd be back soon, safe and sound. Even when they both knew she wouldn't.

After Anna had again said goodbye to everyone who had attended to her departure, and the four guards that would escort her to the North Mountain had assured Hans time and time again that they'd keep her safe, they finally left.

It was a cold morning, it was snowing lightly and the streets were empty. All the people were probably in their houses, trying to warm up by the fire if they still had some wood left. Anna would have been doing the same if she hadn't been on a suicide mission.

It made her wonder what had possessed her into accepting this. It wasn't only the duty she felt to her kingdom, or even the desire to be the hero who would put an end to this winter; she knew her chances of success were next to none. No, she'd agreed because she was sick of her life. She hated being just a pretty thing that was merely there to please and serve the King. She hated being treated like a useless child by her own council. She hated being insulted by ungrateful Arendellian citizens that thought she was doing nothing for them.

But what hurt most was that they were right; she did nothing. She was the Queen of Arendelle, but she was completely useless and powerless. Even Elsa, living in total isolation in her ice palace, was probably more powerful than her. Happier than her.

Maybe this mission, as suicidal as it was, would give her a purpose in life. Maybe it made her feel useful for once. Even if she died, she'd help the kingdom. She had to. She didn't want to be remembered as The Useless Queen.

A/N: It's been quite a while, right? I'm sorry. I got injured while fencing and couldn't really write for quite some time (without hurting myself further, at least), but I expect that the next updates won't take so long. I hope you liked this chapter, and please leave a review if you did. It'll encourage me to write more! :D

Also, please check the new cover of this fic on my Tumblr or DeviantArt (my username is TaniaHylian).

Thank you, and I hope to see you soon :)

Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.