Chapter 29.

It's been a week since my very first night spent with Anna… in which we did something other than sleep, that is. And what a wonderful week! We've both been happier than normal, more relaxed, and even with more energy, despite the rather strenuous activities we've been partaking in at every opportunity. Thankfully no one really knows what we've done, though Anna says Kristoff suspects it, and Gerda does too, I'm sure. But I guess we can trust them not to tell anyone.

But this little change has also brought another change: I stopped moping and, instead, started thinking up a plan for saving both my new and old homes. A way to fight the Ice Queen. I have to at least try it… and run away with Anna in the worst case scenario. But I really should stay positive. For now. Even though today I have to present my plan to the council, and I'm sure they won't like it at all.

"You really should have worn a dress with a higher neck." Kristoff says as we stop in front of the door.

"Why is that?" I ask confused. He's never been one to criticize my choice of clothing, after all.

"Love bite." He smirks, making me flush instantly, panicking that I forgot to cover up such a thing. My hand shoots up instinctively to touch the spot where Anna kissed me last night… and I feel the fabric of my dress. That's right! Most of my dresses have a high neck, so…

"K-Kristoff!" I chastise him, but my voice cracks and I'm sure my face is now as red as Anna's hair. He just laughs.

"Sorry. I had to tease you at least once, knowing what you've been doing with the Queen." He smirks, but I just pout and shake my head.

"It's not what you think." I mumble as I feel heat reaching the tips of my ears.

"Are you sure about that?" He says amused, but before I have a chance to reply, he opens the door and gestures for me to get in. "Come on, let's not keep them waiting."

I shoot him my best glare, promising myself to freeze his tea later (does he even drink tea?), or take revenge otherwise, before stepping into the room.

As expected, most of the councilmen are already in there, as well as Anna, and we only have to wait a couple of minutes longer before the ones that were missing finally arrive. Unfortunately, since there are observing eyes, I'll have to wait to greet Anna properly, so for now we have to settle for a formal greeting and holding hands under the table.

By the sweat and shaking of her palm under mine, I can tell she's nervous, but since I'll be doing most of the talking, that's not as worrying as could be, given Anna's tendency to ramble and forget about what she was planning to say when she's nervous. Except I'm nervous too. I wished I had had more time to prepare what I'm going to say, because as things are, I couldn't even go through every argument with Anna… but I guess there's nothing that can really be done about it. Considering what happened at Njordfkerk, this little meeting couldn't have waited any longer.

"Good morning, gentlemen." I speak, immediately extinguishing any conversations they were having within each other and drawing their attention to Anna and me. With that done, I turn to look at the Queen and squeeze her hand, cuing her to speak. She shoots me a slightly afraid glance before coughing a bit in order to make time and regain her composure.

"Uhm… yeah. Good morning." Anna says awkwardly. I fight the urge to face palm myself. That's not how a Queen should act with her council, Anna! "Uh… well… as you know, the reason for our current meeting is to discuss what happened when we sent Elsa to the Northern Lands." I feel her grip tightening in my palm as she speaks, but thankfully she doesn't stutter so much. "As she was there, I think it's best if she fills you in with the details and addresses your concerns." She concludes, looking at me with an apologetic expression, even though we had agreed to this beforehand. So I give her a reassuring smile and a last squeeze of her hand before getting up from my seat and preparing myself for what I'm about to say.

"As I'm sure you are aware, our attempt to speak peacefully to the Queen to the Northern Lands didn't go as planned." I begin, getting that out of the way first. "Upon arriving at the wall, a guard gave us a warning before a giant monster made of ice and snow appeared out of nowhere and attacked us, killing most of the soldiers who were with me that day, and injuring both my personal guard and I." I pause, taking a deep breath and preparing myself for what I'm about to say next.

"Given that we didn't make a move to initiate any hostilities, and that the monster then proceeded to follow us and attack innocent people at the town of Njordfkerk, I have to conclude that…" I feel a nasty feeling at the pit of my stomach, but push past it with little more than a fleeting grimace. "That the current Queen of the Northern Lands is, indeed, hostile."

"See? I told you. Those Northerners are nasty and dangerous! You should have listened to us before." One of the councilmen says, addressing Anna.

"Your father knew it well enough, as well as the General." Another one agrees.

"You punished him unjustly." Yet another councilman chimes in.

"Enough!" I say, effectively silencing them (for now). Though they keep glaring at me. "I said that the current Queen is hostile, but it wasn't always that way." I glare back at them. "I am the legitimate Queen of the Northern Lands; the current one is nothing more than a petty usurper."

"How dare you?" Sir Barius speaks, trembling from anger as he rises from his seat. "There is no other Queen than Queen Anna of Arendelle! Saying otherwise is treason, and punishable by death!"

I realize my mistake too late. I'm too accustomed to thinking of the Northern Lands as a separate territory. As the other men in the room also start to speak their opinion and demand my death, I shoot Anna a panicked glance, but she just shakes her head to indicate she doesn't know what to do either. We have to calm them down before this gets out of control!

"If she really is the Ice Queen, the more reason to kill her!"

"We shouldn't be harboring enemies within our doors, much less let them court our beloved Queen!"

"Queen Anna, you must put an end to this affair once and for all! Kill this traitor and crush the Northern Lands!"

As the voices raise in intensity, so does my permanent headache, and I end up sitting down again and placing my head between my palms, trying to calm myself down. But it's no use when they are all shouting, demanding I'm to be executed. And all because of a little mistake. Stupid, stupid Elsa!

"Silence!" I hear Anna's voice raise above all, effectively shutting them up. I look at her and see she's gotten up from her seat, while the others are slowly sitting down again, faced with her intense glare. "I'm sick of all this nonsense!" She yells, all previous shyness or nervousness long since gone. "If I ever hear anyone saying something about killing Elsa ever again, for any reason at all, there'll be hell to pay!"

"But… Your Majesty…" A councilman weakly tries to protest. Fatal mistake. Now Anna's glare is pointed solely at him.

"Elsa is my beloved!" She snarls. "No one is more concerned about my security and the kingdom's than her! And I will not tolerate any show of disrespect towards her, am I clear?"

"She did say she's the Queen of a territory that legitimately belongs to Arendelle. That's a direct challenge to your authority." Lord Aaron says rather calmly, even when Anna is shooting daggers at him with her eyes.

"I assure you that wasn't my intention. I'm sorry." I say, more for their sake than for Anna's; I know she doesn't mind.

"It was a mistake, and I forgive you for that." She answers easily. "What is important now is that Elsa was once a leader to the Northerners, and that her position has now been usurped by a powerful, and hostile, ice-wielder."

"Exactly!" I say, getting up and taking the reins of the conversation once more. "And when I was Qu…" I stop, least I anger them again. "Uhm… their admittedly illegitimate, but elected, leader." I correct. "I did everything I could to maintain the peace between Arendelle and the Northern Lands."

"But now a woman named Tyra has taken the title of Ice Queen, and wants nothing more than to start a war with Arendelle and kill the royal family." Anna adds.

"If there's a threat of war, we should recruit more soldiers." The new General (Lord Frederik, was it?) speaks for the first time today. "Queen Anna, an order must be issued with immediate effect for all men over fourteen to enlist to the army!"

"I agree." I say. I've discussed it with Anna before, after all. I know she doesn't like it, but it's a necessary precaution if we want to protect our kingdom. "However, even that won't be enough. Let's not forget that we are dealing with very powerful magic here."

"What do you propose, then?" Lord Aaron questions, eying at me with distrust but genuine curiosity. As expected.

"The only way to fight magic is with magic itself." I explain. "I… well, we, Queen Anna and I, propose that we recruit all ice-wielders still living in Arendelle to help with this affair."

"There are no more ice-wielders! They were all exiled." Sir Barius says.

"However, I'm sure it's possible at least a handful of them managed to remain hidden within the kingdom. If we promise to revoke the laws imposed by the late king if they help us bring down the ice-queen, I'm positive they'll show themselves." I explain our crazy plan, trying to sound more confident that I really am. Anna was the one to come up with it; I only planned on offering Henrik, the ice-wielder bandit, the royal pardon if he helped us, but Anna insisted we will need more magic users then him on our side. And I had to agree.

"It's worth a try." Anna says. "And it would show everyone, yourselves included, that ice-wielders aren't monsters, but good, honest, people who care about Arendelle as much as we do."

"And yet you agree about going to war against them." Lord Sigvar notes, wearing a sinister smirk on his face.

"As much as I don't like the idea, for what Elsa has told me it seems like war is unavoidable." Anna says with a grimace. "And I doubt we have much time to prepare; it's already been almost a year since the new Ice Queen took the throne."

"Why wouldn't the Ice Queen have attacked, then? If she really wants to invade Arendelle." Lord Frederik questions, reasonably. I have also been thinking about it, and fortunately have a hypothesis ready to share.

"I believe she's waiting for winter." I say. "In a cold environment we don't need to use as much magic to create ice and snow."

"I see." He hums, deep in thought, probably already planning a strategy. "But then… we only have about four months to prepare! Fall has just arrived, after all."

"Indeed." I frown in concern. "Which is why we should begin with the preparations right away."

"We need to fortify our defenses if we want to save as many lives as possible." Anna adds.

"In that case, wouldn't it be best to attack first?" Sir Barius speaks.

"Attacking the Northern Lands, where it's winter all year round. Yes, sounds like a great plan." I roll my eyes. I didn't intend to sound so sarcastic, but really, Sir Barius is just the worst. After the old General.

"In any case, even with all of Arendelle's army, and with the support of our allies, and with ice-wielders on our side… none of that will be very useful if we go to war against the Ice Queen." I say. Immediately, Anna (as well as everyone else) turns to look at me with concern. I didn't talk to her about this. "Yes, it'll be useful when the time comes, but an invasion is imminent unless we get rid of our greatest threat so far; the Ice Queen." I pause, closing my eyes and reliving my dream from last night.

"I've seen what she can do, the amount of magic she has and the control she has over it… it's something truly terrifying." I shudder. "Even I could do nothing against her except try and escape with my life."

"Which is why…" I continue, opening my eyes and looking at them as my heart starts racing like I'm running a marathon. What I'm about to propose is practically suicide, but… it's the only way to keep Anna truly safe. So it doesn't matter. Plus, there's a tiny chance I'll be able to return safely. "I want to go to the Northern Lands before the fall comes to an end." Anna is already opening up her mouth to protest, but I raise my hand to request silence.

"Preferably, I'd be accompanied by the other ice-wielders that join our cause, just in case something goes wrong and we need to make a hasty retreat." I continue. "In the best case scenario we'd be able to sneak into the Ice Queen's palace and… kill her in her sleep."

"What?! Elsa, wouldn't that just make things worse? The Northerners would be furious if we kill their Queen in such a dishonorable way." Anna predictably protests.

"And yet they would be no match for me." Hopefully. I think. "Plus, Tyra is the usurper, so they should be loyal to me once she's dead."

"Still, it's too dangerous. I can't risk it." The Queen remains stubborn. As expected. "And it's vile to kill someone when they're defenseless. I can't allow you to commit such an… evil action!"

"But it sounds like it's our best chance. If this Ice Queen is really as dangerous as Miss Elsa here says." Lord Sigvar agrees readily.

"Plus, it would save a lot of lives if we could avoid going to war." Lord Aaron speaks.

"Only ice-wilder's lives would be endangered, so I don't have any objections." Sir Barius also expresses his opinion.

"I guess I could train the ice-wielders in the art of combat. In case they encounter any trouble." Lord Frederick also says.

And so, one by one, all the councilmen start agreeing to my crazy plan. Just as I hoped they would. They do seem to have a tendency to agree putting my life into danger, after all, going by our previous meeting. But anyways, if they are this willing to give my plan a chance, I do have something I'd like to add.

"I'm glad you are supportive of my plan. However, there's something I'd like to address before we come to a decision." I smirk. They won't like this. But they have no choice. "If I do succeed in killing the Ice Queen and regaining my position as leader of the Northerners, I want Arendelle to give up the Northern Lands, for good, name me the legitimate Queen of said territory, and abolish the laws regarding Northerners imposed by the late king."

"That's preposterous!" One of the councilmen tries to protest, but I cut him off.

"I believe it's a reasonable request to make if I am to endanger my life in order to save a kingdom that has done nothing but punish me, and other people with magic, merely for being different." I practically snarl, but then pause in order to speak more civilly for the next part. "In return, I promise to never make a move against Arendelle once I'm Queen, and remain as the most loyal of your allies. I'll even marry Queen Anna, if she accepts, if that'll help ease your concerns."

Silence reigns for a few moments, as the councilmen shoot glances at each other, clearly not knowing what to say about my request. They know of what happened in Njordfkerk. They know that if I hadn't been there, the monster would have killed everyone in town. And they know the Ice Queen could make more monsters like that. I'm their only hope. But they really don't want to agree with my, admittedly, high demands.

"Your request is… fair enough, I guess. Considering you're planning to single-handedly save our whole kingdom from destruction." Anna says with a grimace. "And I would be more than willing to grant it, but… " She sighs. "I don't like your plan. And I won't agree to anything that involves putting your life at risk."

"Then that's all the more reason you have to agree with me." I answer. "I've thought this through. A lot. And I swear this is our best, possibly only, chance to survive."

"I don't want to hear any more of this nonsense!" Anna says, her expression turning hurt and angry. "I don't want to hear you saying that you want to kill someone in their sleep, or that you'll endanger your life to save ours, understood?"

"But Anna…"

"Queen Anna." She corrects me for the first time since I meet her. My jaw tenses in anger. So this is how things will be?

"Fine. Queen Anna." I stress her title, not liking how formal it sounds. "I know my request is sudden, and I know you don't like it, but you have to at least consider it. Think of all the lives that'll be saved if I succeed!"

"Not even the entire kingdom is worth putting your life at risk!" She yells back.

"I'd die a thousand times if it means keeping you safe!" I respond, feeling as the ice starts spreading from under my feet, earning a few scared yelps from the councilmen, but being unable to stop it.

"I don't want you to die even one time just to protect me!" She argues, breathing heavily and having her face turn red because of how angry she is. "We'll make it do with just our army and a handful of ice-wielders."

"No, you won't!" I exclaim, getting more and more frustrated with each word that comes out of her mouth.

"Enough!" She yells, startling me and everyone else in the room. "This is the end of the conversation. We'll speak on another occasion." And with that, she storms out of the room, not even glancing back at me.

Well… that didn't go as planned. At all.

"I just don't know what else to do, Kristoff. Please, I didn't even see her at lunch, or dinner." I give an exasperated sigh. "I know you said I should give her some space, but this is a little too much, you have to take me to where she is!" I practically plead, much to the discomfort of my guard, who looks a bit awkward.

"Look, Elsa, I really shouldn't get involved in your fights." He answers. "I'm sure she'll talk to you. Eventually."

"But it's not like Anna to stay mad for this long!" I argue.

"I know, but…"

"Please, just tell me where she is. I promise I won't tell her it was you." I give him my best pleading expression, and thankfully he seems to deflate slightly. At the end he rubs his temple and sighs.

"You won't stop pestering me until I tell you, will you?"

"No." I answer with a determined expression, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Fine." He glares at me. "She's at her room. Follow me."

"Thank you." I try not to smile too smugly, but by the roll of his eyes, I'd say I don't succeed. Oh well, I'm sure he's used to it by now. And at least he will take me to Anna.

It's not very long before we arrive to the Royal Wing. I've only been here a couple of times before, and in both occasions I didn't have the time to appreciate it… and now I don't have the concentration to do so, being too preoccupied with what I'll say and how I'll say it. It is of vital importance if I'm to appease Anna's anger.

Sooner than I would have liked it, we stop in front of a white double door with floral patterns painted on it.

"Here it is." Kristoff says. "Now, I'll take my leave before Anna bits my head off for bringing you here." And with that, he's gone. Thank god. I wouldn't want him to overhear the (probably) loud argument that's about to happen.

Taking a deep breath, I try to steady my sweaty palms and upset stomach before I knock on the door.

"Come in!" I hear Anna's voice from the inside. I know she's probably expecting one of the maids, but I still take the invitation to enter. However, as soon as I step inside the room, Anna's eyes widen and she struggles trying to get out of bed, entangling herself within the covers in the process.

"Elsa! What a… s-surprise." She giggles nervously, grabbing the candelabra that's resting on her night table, but just as her hand reaches it she trips on the covers still tangled around most of her body, and ends up falling and dropping the candelabra over the rug… which immediately catches fire.

"Anna!" I scream in panic, instinctively releasing a pulse of magic that covers most of her room in snow, effectively extinguishing the accidental fire she started and leaving us in almost complete darkness, except for the moonlight entering from her window.

"That… wasn't intentional." Anna says, popping her head out of the snow and shaking it to get the white powder off. "Oops." She giggles.

"Anna, you have to be more careful!" I chastise her as I go help her get out from under the snow and the covers that made her trip in the first place.

"Look who's talking." She rolls her eyes. "The one who wants to go in a suicidal mission to the Northern Lands."

"Anna, I really think it's our best option to…" I start, but she cuts me off.

"No, you know what? Forget it. I was hoping that not talking to you for the rest of the day would be enough to make you reconsider, but apparently not." She pushes me away and goes sit at the edge of her bed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Did you really came all the way over here, despite not knowing where my room is, just to have this argument again?"

"Anna, please, you have to at least listen to me." I give her my best pleading eyes, going to kneel in front of her. "Please, I don't want this discussion to make a gap between us."

"Yeah… me neither." She agrees with a grimace. "And… I guess I can promise I'll consider your proposal, even if I really don't like it. Sounds good?"

"More than good." I smile as I take her hands and place a small peck on her lips.

"Ugh. I hate when you do that." She says, but since she's smiling, I relax.

"Kiss you?"

"No. Make all my concerns and doubts go away with just being you." She answers, giving me the tenderest of smiles. And of course, that just makes me want to kiss her again. And then she kisses me back. And then I kiss her, and… somehow we end up on her bed, panting heavily and blushing like a pair of helpless tomatoes as desire overcomes any lingering animosity there might had been between us.

"Can I stay for the night?" I ask while placing kisses on her neck. She stiffens at my words, and for a moment I worry I said something wrong. "It's okay if you don't want to. After our discussion today…"

"It's not that." She cuts me off. "I-it's just…" She sighs. "You'll have to get up before down. We wouldn't want anyone to find out you spent the night with me."

"I see…" I hum as I think about what she just said. It's an inconvenience, but one that I'm willing to overcome if I want to be with Anna. "Then I shall be gone before the sun rises." I smile at her. "But just as a precaution…"

I point my hand towards the door and release a burst of magic, effectively freezing it closed. That way, even if someone came to wake up the Queen before I get up, they wouldn't find us in a compromising position.

Once that's taken care of, I turn my attention back to the love of my life, preparing myself for a night of passionate love making. I can't say I wasn't hoping the night would end like this, but honestly? I really wasn't expecting it. I sure am glad Anna isn't so mad at me anymore though. Let's just hope her good mood stays with her until morning.

A/N: I have edited this chapter (october 12th 2019) so that this story can go more like I originally planned, but it wasn't that big a modification. Basically I just removed a memory of Tyra.