Arendelle Castle

Situation Room

A dark blue glow emanating from a series of LCD television screens provide the only light in the small room, illuminating the four occupants seated at the only table in the room in an eerie hue. At the center of the table sat the Commander-In-Chief, Queen Elsa of Arendelle, regal as always in her sky blue ice-dress and platinum blonde braid. To her left sat her sister, Princess Anna, in a black blouse with floral embroidery and green floor-length skirt with her red hair pulled back in a simple pony tail instead of her typical pig-tails. Kristoff yawned deeply as he sat next to Anna, his Hanley shirt unbuttoned at the collar and tan slacks in desperate need of pressing.

"Kai, what happened to the feed?" Queen Elsa calmly inquired as she stared back at the televisions, all flashing the words Connection Terminated.

"I don't know, my queen," Kai replied as he typed commands into the notebook computer before him. "I think the satellite link may have gone down."

"Then fix it." Elsa's reply was quite terse, a measure that she hadn't used since she had fought with Anna in the ballroom before unleashing her secret upon the world. Elsa had prided herself with her calm nature following the debacle, but now she was losing her cool again.

"Sis, everything will be alright." Anna replied as she placed a hand on her sister's shoulder. "I'm sure the team is fine."

"Anna, how can the team be fine?" Elsa questioned as she shrugged her sister's comfort away. "Did you watch the same thing I did? The boat blew up, Anna, it blew up."

"At the opposite end from where the team inserted," Anna replied as she moved to hug her sister. "They weren't in the immediate blast area. Everything will be fine, sis."

"Everything is not fine," Elsa replied as she stood and walked away, turning her back on the blank televisions and her family. The images of the Majestic Duchess exploding and the landing party scrambling back to the helicopter flashed across her mind as she searched each image for a sign of hope. There had been so much pain in her kingdom recently, and this event was turning into a nightmare. The only conclusion that she could reach was that this was all her fault. "That ship exploded with my men on it. All I was trying to do was stem the tide of war, but this event will just throw us closer to the brink."

"No, it won't."

"Anna, you are so naïve," Elsa replied as she stared done her sister. "The Duke will claim that we destroyed his ship, he will demand reparations for the ship, the cargo, and the men on board that may be dead. This has turned into an international incident. NATO will be involved and we may face economic sanctions from the UN."

"The ship was in our waters, we had every right to board it."

"Anna, I ordered our military forces to board that cargo ship under false pretences. Legally, they can only board fishing vessels suspected of conducting illegal fishing in our economic exclusion zone." Elsa paused to calm her nerves. "If the ship had been only twelve nautical miles from our coast, no country could would care if my military boarded that ship. But this, this could be seen as an act of war."

"Well, that sucks." Kristoff yawned as he stretched his muscles.

"Not now Kristoff," Anna cautiously approached her sister, but not before she gave Kristoff her best shut up before you I punch you in the face stare she could muster. "Surely this mishap will not result in a war. The Duke of Weselton would have to be stupid to go to war over this."

"Ah ha!" Kai explained as he fist-punched the air. "Audio from NAVCOM is online now, your majesty."

"What?!" Elsa and Anna shouted in unison, startling Kristoff out of his chair.

"I have the fleet radio traffic relay for you, your majesty."

Both Elsa and Anna stared at the blank television screens waiting for something to happen.

"I don't hear anything, Kai." Kristoff questioned as he rolled off of the floor. "Are you sure it is working?"

Kai investigated the small AV control panel for a moment and noticed that the mute button was depressed. He clicked it off and filled the room with the navy wide radio traffic.

"Turn it down, Kai!" Anna shouted as she covered her ears. The volume descended to acceptable levels and the communications between ships and helicopter operating around the kingdom were more clearly understood.

"Adgar, this is Jolly Two-Two."

"Go ahead, Two-Two."

"Adgar, Jolly Two-Two, we have injured personnel and need medical personnel standing by on the helipad."

"Two-two, this is Adgar, can you advise how many injured you have on-board?"

"Adgar, that is a negative on a firm number. We have ten fish on the line, but we can't haul them up right now. The Chief says that at least five are injured, maybe more. Two might be Tango Uniform."

"Adgar copies. We have launched the SAR and launched all sea boats. The C.O. wants to know if you saw any bodies in the water, Two-Two."

"Adgar, Two-two doesn't know. Chief thinks he saw two maywests, cannot confirm."

"Two-Two, Adgar copies all. You are cleared for immediate landing on the helipad."

"Turn it off, Kai." Anna demanded as she looked at her sister, slow tears falling down her face. "See Elsa, they are fine."

Elsa turned to face her sister, tears streaming down her eyes. "No…no…no…" She collapsed to the floor just like she had when Hans had told her that she her powers had killed Anna. Elsa still carried that pain as a reminder that she had hurt every person she had loved her entire life. And now she knew it was happening all over again, she was losing a person she loved and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"Sis, what's wrong? This isn't the first time that we have sat in this room and watched our brave soldiers and sailors march off to their possible deaths."

"He's on that ship." Elsa's voice was barely more than a whisper.

"What?"

"He's on that ship." Slightly louder now, Anna was still struggling to make out Elsa words. She could feel the temperature dropping in the room, not a good sign of her sister's emotional state.

"Come on Elsa, you know how I hate the mumbling."

Elsa's eyes flashed a dark blue for a moment before she calmly replied, "He's on that ship."

"Who?"

Should she tell Anna? Reveal the secret that she had kept for the past four months, one that could jeopardize her monarchy and her kingdom. If Anna knew that she was sleeping with Captain Anders, she would blab to everyone within ear shot. It wouldn't matter that such could never marry him, the damage would be done. Not to mention the ramifications to Anders' military career, he would need to be pulled from frontline service as he would be an easy target for her enemies. Anders would never forgive her for benching him; he loved the thrill of combat and would never be happy spending everyday within the castle walls.

No. She couldn't let anyone know. Her parents had taught her to conceal her feelings and that was the only option for this situation. Conceal, don't feel. She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and took a deep breath before she addressed her sister.

"Sorry, sister, I should not be showing so much emotion over the informant that had contacted us." Elsa reached for the phone in the center of the table. "Gerda, please contact Fleet Commander Montgomery and inquire about survivors from the Majestic Duchess. Then, request a conference call with the Duke of Weselton so that we can discuss the events from tonight."

"Yes, your majesty. Is there anything else you require tonight?"

A moment of contemplation passed as she considered contacting the HRMS King Adgar's commanding officer to check on Captain Anders' condition, but that would be too obvious. "Gerda, when you contact Montgomery, check with her about the condition of the strike team and make arrangements for the injured to be transported to Arendelle General Hospital as soon as possible."

"Yes, your majesty."

"Thank you, Gerda. Good night." The receiver felt as heavy as her heart as she replaced it on the cradle. What had begun as an information gathering mission to stem the tide of war had turned into her worst nightmare. The clock only read half past one in the morning; this was going to be a very long day.

"Anna, I think it is time for you and Kristoff to catch some sleep," Elsa informed as she searched for a pot of hot chocolate and some caffeine pills. "I will stay up and talk with the Duke, but I will need you by my side in the morning."

"I'm not leaving, Elsa. You don't have to face this alone."

Elsa's stare could have melted all of the snow in Antarctica. "I don't think so, Anna. I am the Queen and this is my job. Now go to bed." She looked down to see the marshmallows in her hot chocolate floating on a sea of frozen milk.

Frightened, Anna stepped closer to Kristoff, whom was still nibbling on his apple. "Yes, your majesty." She curtsied then placed her hand on Kristoff's shoulder. "It is time for us to take our leave, darling."

"But I'm not done." Anna slapped the back of his head hard enough for pieces of apple to spew out of his mouth. Caressing his head, Kristoff got up from his chair. "Fine, but you're getting me another apple."

Anna merely rolled her eyes as she led her fiancé to the door. "Seriously, you want an apple at this time of night?"

"But I'm a growing boy," Kristoff's reply was cut off as the door closed behind him.

Finally alone with Kai, Elsa sipped at her hot chocolate as she replayed the events of the evening in her mind. Where had she gone wrong? When her spies had informed her that the captain of the Majestic Duchess had valuable intelligence, she had entrusted Captain Anders with the boarding because his loyalty was beyond reproach. That had blown up in her face the moment the first bomb went off. Men were hurt and some were dying, and the intelligence that she desperately sought might have died with the ship. If only her father had warned her that there would be days like this.

As she stared at her cup, her reflection on the polished table stared back. Her hair laid flat and her makeup was askew, she barely looked human and definitely not as regal as she should.

"Kai, I'm going to powder my nose," Elsa informed as she sluggishly walked towards the door. "Mind the store, please."

"Yes, your majesty." Kai remained seated at his computer station waiting for Elsa to leave the room. When the door final closed, he retrieved his cell phone from his trouser pocket and began typing a text message.

Snow is falling in the East. He hit the send button and waited for the reply, which only took a second.

The sun will rise in the West.

A mischievous grin crossed Kai's face as he pressed the 9 key twice and sent the reply. He cleared the messages from his phone and slid it back into his pocket, all while he toyed with the thoughts that were consuming him. He was about to be a very happy man.

"If only she knew."