Elsa sat on her throne, making no attempt to conceal the scowl on her face. Standing before her were over two dozen aristocrats, all in chains and surrounded by a complement of Royal Guards.

Fundamentalists, traditionalists, sexists, and homophobes, they all had one thing in common: complicity in the scheme to murder their Queen and end her reign.

Each of them had been named by captured intruders following the attack that had occurred two days ago. Nearly forty of the visiting nobles had smuggled in mercenaries disguised as servants after having been invited to the Solstice celebrations. Some had managed to escape for the time being, but most had been hunted down and now awaited judgment.

They hadn't lasted long under questioning. Their answers only gave credence to Elsa's belief that the larger conspiracy had orchestrated this uprising. Ambrose Durron had been singled out as their leader. According to each of the prisoners, he had provided them with vital intelligence of the Palace's defenses and access to the building's armories. Apparently, Durron himself had received these from an inside source in the Castle, but had been honor-bound not to name him (or her.)

Durron would not be testifying. They'd found his body in one of the guest rooms; his hands had been clenching the dagger that had been thrust into his chest. Apparently, he had not intended to stick around after realizing that the rebellion's defeat had become inevitable.

Perhaps it had been a wise choice.

And now these men, these...monsters, held no more use for her. Evangeline was confident that they had revealed all that they knew; sheltered aristocrats were not known for their resilience to torture, and each prisoner's account had correlated with that of his fellows.

The number of casualties had been less than anticipated: eighty innocent individuals had lost their lives in the attack. But that number was still far too high. Any number was far too high. Maids had been cut down in the crossfire. Two Council members, Lord Vance and Lady Montinque, had been killed. All of the others, save Evangeline, had been wounded. And Kai, the closest thing she'd had to a father for the last six years, had been butchered.

Now it was time for the sentencing.

"You are all guilty of high treason," she addressed them now. None of them were surprised, of course, each had confessed their guilt in hopes of obtaining a lighter sentence and avoiding further interrogation. But the reactions of the assembled prisoners were still varied. Some looked up at her defiantly, while others failed to conceal the fear that was racing through them. The rest were doing their best to keep their expressions neutral.

"You are traitors, butchers, and murderers of the worst sort. And although you did not wield the blades yourselves, I hold each of you responsible for every murder committed under this roof," the Queen said firmly, her voice dripping with anger.

One woman raised her head. "Only a handful of nobles perished, Your Majesty. And you yourself were uninjured. Please, we beg for mercy!"

Elsa glared down at her with barely restrained fury. "You killed eighty citizens of Arendelle. I don't care if they were scullery maids. Their lives are worth as much to me as that of the highest noble- and certainly far more than yours."

"You brought this upon yourself!" a Lord challenged. "All their blood is on your hands! If you had just taken a King as your consort, instead of that whore-" he motioned to Anna, standing at Elsa's right and trying to keep her face impassive, "None of this would have happened."

A stab of guilt struck at Elsa's heart. The thought had occurred to her already, of course. Choosing Anna as her consort had been a risk, one that had partially led to the recent tragedy. She could never have imagined that Anna's position would have led to such a revolt, of course. It had only been made possible thanks to the wider conspiracy, after all. But the Queen still felt partially responsible.

"You're right!" Anna blurted out. "She did make a mistake. She overestimated the basic human decency of her nobility! Nothing would have happened if she didn't choose me? Nothing would have happened if you all weren't a gang of heartless killers! And you have no one to blame for your fates but yourselves."

"How dare you?!" a Lady challenged. "You're nothing but a fornicating peasant! Yet you presume to talk down to us, members of families that have been guiding Arendelle for centuries? Go back to the gutter where you belong."

Anna stared her down. She opened her mouth to say something else, but a calm raised hand from her Queen signaled her to leave the talking to Elsa.

"She has more honor in her finger than all of you have ever had in your entire lives," the monarch ordained. Despite the grief and anger that still pervaded throughout her being, Elsa felt a rush of affection flow through her as she spoke of Anna. Even now, when it felt like the world was crashing down around her, the Knight's presence provided Elsa with no small amount of comfort.

Anna had been horrified to come out of her episode and learn that she had sat through a devastating assault on the Castle. But Elsa would hear none of it. The Knight had saved her life once again, and was the only reason that her reign was still intact. The timing of her trauma had been unfortunate, of course, but Anna couldn't be blamed.

The Knight had been devastated, especially when she had learned of Kai's death. She hadn't known the head servant for nearly as long as Elsa, but he had always been a kind presence and eager tutor in a Castle where many still treated her with hostility.

"In any event, my decision was made days ago. All of you will face retribution for your crimes. There is only one punishment suitable for such high treason. Tomorrow, you will be executed by hanging, and when your fellows are caught they will be subjected to the same fate," she revealed.

The nobles erupted in a chorus of protests. Even Anna looked at her hesitantly; no doubt she was remembering her own judgment at the Queen's hands. But it was situations like this that made her pardoning of Anna's thievery understandable. She could well have given the girl the death penalty for robbery. But her petty thievery had been nothing compared to the crimes committed by those now before her.

"I am not done," Elsa continued. "As long as I find no evidence linking them to your schemes, your family members will not be blamed for your actions. I will not punish the innocent. But an example must be set. All of your houses are hereby stripped of their noble status. The majority of your fortunes will be confiscated. I will leave your family members enough wealth and property to live comfortably, but it will be generations before your names can wield political influence once again.

She was actually being merciful, in a way. Most monarchs would have stripped the traitors of their entire estates and left their families penniless. But Elsa would not punish the innocent in such a way. The relatives of those about to be executed would find it difficult to wield political influence, but they would continue to live comfortably.

"Now-" she motioned to the guards. "Get them out of my sight."

/

"Are you sure about this, Elsa?" Anna questioned as they sat down for lunch. As much as she despised the aristocrats who had just been sentenced, the death penalty just didn't sit right with her.

"Of course," the Queen responded as she took a drink from her glass. "I take no pleasure in ordering their executions, but it has to be done. They have to serve as an example of what happens to traitors and murderers under my reign."

The Knight shuddered slightly. Once, she had briefly believed herself likely to receive the same sentence from Elsa. She knew now that the Queen would never have subjected her to such a fate for petty thievery, but Anna could still remember the overpowering fear that had plagued her while the punishment of death had hung over her head.

"It just seems so...barbaric. Executing people, I mean. Couldn't we, you know, just imprison them?" she ventured.

Elsa's gaze rounded on her harshly. "Yes, I suppose it is barbaric," she agreed. "Just like massacring our guards, invading our Castle, and killing Kai was barbaric. Don't you think they deserve death for that?" she demanded, her voice rising.

The Knight sighed. She knew Elsa was grieving, and that grief tended to make the Queen lash out at everyone and anyone in the vicinity. Anna, too, was in mourning. Not to the same extent as Elsa, who had known Kai for over twenty years, but it had been a crushing blow nonetheless. The seneschal, a constant, reassuring presence in the Castle who had never hesitated to aid her, was suddenly gone. And unlike Elsa, who at least had spent the night defending the Castle, Anna had been upstairs crying.

"Of course it was! But we're supposed to be better than them...aren't we? Killing them when they're not a threat just seems wrong," Anna replied.

Elsa held her gaze. "We are better than them. Did we start this? Did we ever try to hurt them? Our only crime was loving each other. I never asked for this war. But I'm going to finish it."

"It just doesn't seem right," Anna affirmed. "And anyway, they might still have information we can use. They're not going to be telling us anything else if they're dead," she pointed out.

The Queen shook her head. "Evangeline and her agents interrogated them all separately. Every one of the nobles gave the same answer. Ambrose Durron was behind it all, and he had a source who he was honor bound to keep secret. Believe me, Anna, if they had known more, they would have gladly said so to save their skins. Durron, in his own way, was a bit more honorable, I suppose. Or as honorable as murdering swine can be, anyway."

Anna simply nodded forlornly.

The Queen's gaze softened a fraction of a degree. "Maybe you're right. Perhaps I'm just not good enough a person to realize it. Anna, you're more moral than I could ever hope to be. But maybe that's for the best. I am the Queen. Sometimes the decisions I have to make aren't noble. I wish I could always do the right thing, but Arendelle is more important than moral principles. It's my duty to do the smart thing, not the right thing. Do you understand?"

Anna did. "You have to execute them to keep Arendelle strong. Showing them mercy will make people think you're weak. I get that. I don't like it. If I were in your shoes I could never bring myself to give that order. But I guess I can accept it."

Thinking about the dead bodies now arrayed in the Castle's morgue made it easier.

Elsa nodded. "I can always count on you...can't I?" she mused, her tone now soft. The Knight felt a guilty pang at her words, thinking back to the previous night where she'd been all but useless, but the suddenly vulnerable look on the Queen's face prompted her to remain silent.

"Promise me I won't lose you Anna," Elsa whispered.

The room became noticeably chillier as the words were spoken, but that wasn't the reason the Knight gazed at her Queen with surprise. "What? Elsa, you're never going to lose me. I promise."

"Are you sure? My parents promised the same thing. Now they're dead. Kai is...gone. Gerda might never be the same. The rest of my family is in Corona and...I need you, Anna. I know you've said that my life is more important than yours, but without you I wouldn't be able to...Please, just...be careful," the Queen pleaded.

Oh, Elsa.

"I promise," Anna said firmly.

The Queen offered her a slight grimace. "I'm sorry if that sounded desperate. It's just that I-"

"Don't worry about it," Anna interrupted. "You need me, I don't mind at all. I mean, what I'm trying to say is- I need you too. Elsa, you make my life worth living. I don't mean just the food and the clothes and the bed...not that I don't appreciate those too, because I do, but-" the Knight sighed, trying to reign in her mouth. "You're the only person who's ever loved me. I never knew what it felt like to have someone care about you so much, and now that I do I could never go back to being on my own. So...we need each other. Maybe it's not healthy, but it's the way it is and I'm fine with it." In truth, she could admit to herself, part of Anna liked being needed. Before her arrival in the Castle, it had been an unfamiliar sensation.

Nothing was said in response. Elsa simply outstretched her arm over the table, linking her hand with Anna's.

"I've got an idea," the Knight offered as their fingers laced together. "Why don't we take the day off, just you and me? We can just relax and read in bed; I think we've earned it."

The Queen's eyes fell to the table. "Anna, I would love to, but there's no way in hell that I could take a day off right after the Palace was attacked. There's a Council meeting later to discuss the rest of the country's reaction, I have to go over reparations due to those killed or wounded, help coordinate the investigation into the remaining perpetrators...and talk with Gerda," she said, her voice cracking. "We need to plan...his...you know, and after that I'm letting her go visit her family for a while. I've never seen her so cut up...they were married for over forty years."

Anna nodded dejectedly. It had been a hopeless request, she knew.

Elsa's gaze again lifted to the Knight's face, and Anna's hearing was just acute enough to hear the a sharp yet subtle intake of breath by the monarch. "Anna," she began. "When all of this is-"

At the moment, the door opened to admit the servants carrying their lunch, and the Queen dropped the subject. Despite her natural curiosity, Anna did not try to bring it up again. It wasn't a good idea to press Elsa at the moment, of that she was certain.

They ate lunch quickly; neither of them had much of an appetite. After that, the two of them agreed to split up. Gerda and Elsa needed to go over funeral arrangements, and despite how well she and the head maid got along, Anna didn't think it would be a good idea to include herself in the discussion. The fewer people to witness Gerda's grief, the better.

Promising to meet up with the Queen before the Council meeting, Anna went off to the infirmary. There was someone she needed to visit.

/

Elsa opened the door gently, her heart fluttering as she entered the maid's room. Gerda was sitting on her bed, eyes trained meekly on the blankets. Her normal collected confidence had deserted her.

"Good morning," the Queen said awkwardly. It was a greeting that had no place in such somber times, but what else could she say? Despite herself, Elsa felt her eyes dropping to the floor.

Gerda, however, did not lose her professionalism so easily. Rising to her feet, the maid bowed her head and dipped into a short curtsy. "Your Majesty," she greeted.

\

Their discussion was painful. Discussing a man who they had both cared for immensely and had just been taken from them was excruciating enough, but arranging his funeral made his passing seem all the more real. Elsa could almost feel Kai's death sinking into her mind further with each minute.

He's gone. Because of my mistakes he's gone and Gerda is a widow.

"Okay...next Sunday," Elsa was saying. "All of the staff will be required to attend. I'll pay for all of the arrangements out of my personal account, of course." She was prepared for Gerda to object, but to the Queen's relief she simply nodded.

"You want to show your gratitude for his service, I understand," the maid replied.

Elsa nodded. "And yours as well. After the ceremony, you will be going on a period of paid leave, correct? You deserve some time to visit your family in the northern province."

Gerda sighed. "Yes, but only for a week," she said firmly. "The staff will need me, especially now that...especially now. You need me."

The room grew colder by a fraction of a degree. "I do," Elsa agreed. "But I need you at your best. You're a strong woman, Gerda, but after...what happened, you should take more than a week. A month, at the least."

"A month?!" Gerda protested.

"Yes. All paid leave, of course. Your service is important to me. But what is even more important to me is seeing the people I care about safe and happy. You need a break, Gerda, and I'm going to make sure you get one," the Queen said firmly.

Indecision was alight in the maid's eyes, but eventually she dipped her head. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Elsa nodded. "Get some rest, Gerda. I...I have to go to a Council meeting, but if you want to talk later, just send someone to come and find me."

"I will." Satisfied, the Queen turned to leave.

"Your Majesty?" Gerda beckoned. Surprised, Elsa swiveled back to face the maid.

"Don't blame yourself. None of us ever believed that Anna's position would lead to a true revolt. Kai supported the two of you more than anyone," she affirmed. Now, the Queen could see tears beginning to form in Gerda's eyes.

"He was so happy for you, Elsa," the maid continued. "After your parents died, and you were alone, we tried to fill the void, but we knew we couldn't be enough. You were isolated for so long...and then Anna walked into your life. Kai was hopeful that you would end up together ever since you invited Anna to dinner that first night. I wasn't sure that you preferred women...but I suppose he had an eye for such things."

Elsa stepped forward, placing a hand on the maid's shoulder. "Gerda, I..."

"He did everything he could to make Anna's time easier. The entire staff was warned that if they displeased her, they would go a night without supper. Every night he could, he cleared your schedule so you could spend time with her. After you finally got together...he was so proud, Elsa."

The Queen's mind spun. She'd always known that Kai supported her relationship with Anna, of course, but the rest was news to her, Clearly, the seneschal had been more perceptive than Elsa had gave him credit for.

"The last thing he would have wanted," Gerda finished, "Was for you to have blamed yourself."

Elsa was at a loss for words.

/

Anna hurried through the halls. She knew she wasn't supposed to run, but time was of the essence.

Her usual hyperactivity contrasted sharply with the mood of the Castle. None of the servants and soldiers she passed so much as cracked a smile. The nobility, those who had been innocent that was, had been sent home.

What was supposed to have been a week of merriment for all had instead turned out to be a dark time for the Palace. Nearly everyone was mourning the loss of at least one friend.

Anna herself wasn't happy, of course. Far from it. But instead of dealing with it by looking at the floor and sulking, she put on a false energized air and did her best not to cry.

She rounded the corner, heading for the infirmary-

Then stopped as she noticed a man walking towards her from the other end of the hall. General Kale was heading towards the infirmary as well, it seemed.

Despite their past animosity, Anna tried to be civil. "General," she dipped her head in greeting. "I was not aware you were injured," the Knight pointed out as she noticed him covered a wound on his arm.

Kale scowled. "Yes. I'm here to pick up a salve. Some blasted mercenary wounded me during the thick of the fighting. It was quite a battle, after all. Pity you missed it."

So much for being civil.

"I had a panic attack!" Anna protested. "I woke up Elsa and saved her from an arrow- again- before I had a flashback to when I was tortured! Believe me, I would have been there if I could have been."

"How convenient," the General remarked.

Anna's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?!" she demanded.

Kale stepped forward, a dangerous light in his eyes. "Arendelle had been at peace for decades. The Queen's reign was unchallenged. Then, on the day you enter her life, a massive conspiracy suddenly takes root. Everywhere you go, the Queen is attacked. Hammerfest. Corona. Her own Castle. And yet, I've never seen you fight to defend her."

Anna couldn't believe what she was hearing. The sole goal in her life was to protect and serve Elsa. Now she was being accused of treason?

"How dare you!" the Knight shouted. "I've saved Elsa's life half a dozen times. Maybe she's attacked when she's with me because she's always with me! I was tortured because I protected her! Have you not seen my face?!" she pointed forcefully to the scar on her cheek.

"You could have given that to yourself, or allowed one of your allies to do it for you. These conspirators are obviously willing to sacrifice their own well-being to see Elsa's reign ended. Maybe you did the same," Kale pointed out.

"Elsa trusts me," Anna hissed. "Why can't you?!"

Kale frowned. "Elsa is a wise and talented Queen. But she is also a young woman who has fallen in love for the first time. Perhaps her judgment is clouded when it concerns you. I, on the other hand, refuse to trust a notorious thief who wormed her way into the Queen's heart just as a revolt begins."

"We sleep in the same bed, for the sake of the gods!" Anna cried. "I could have stabbed her in her sleep a hundred times over if I wanted to."

Kale nodded. "Perhaps. But I don't believe that these conspirators want to kill her. If they did, the traitors who betrayed her during the first attack would have stabbed her the second she was unconscious."

"Or maybe they just changed their plans because they realized that she was too dangerous to keep contained, and you're just an arrogant ass who dislikes me because I'm a woman and a peasant and yet I've done far more for Elsa than you ever will," she accused, staring hard into his eyes.

The general grinned viciously. "You're welcome to your opinions, Anna," he said, deliberately omitting her title. "But unless you're going to challenge me to an honor duel, you'll just have to deal with the fact that someone here sees through you. Even if you aren't a spy, and perhaps you aren't, you're still nothing better than a coward who's successfully seduced the Queen because you knew that she could get you out of the alleyways."

"Maybe I should challenge you," Anna remarked.

"Oh, that'd be sporting, would it not? You only have the strength of twenty men and the speed to match. Imagine how impressive it would be if you bested a normal man in combat," he remarked.

Anna's fists clenched, but she knew he was right. She could defeat him with her eyes closed; there would be no honor in that. And the last thing Elsa needed at the moment was more controversy.

"Maybe I'll challenge you," said a familiar voice.

Standing at the door to the infirmary stood the person Anna had originally come to see. Drell's leg was still heavily bandaged...even Elsa's magic could only heal so much, and he was standing only with the assistance of a set of wooden crutches. Strangely, they didn't serve to make him any less intimidating.

"If you're finished insulting my favorite student, perhaps you should move aside and let the adults talk," Drell intoned.

Kale scowled. "I'm not in the mood to argue with a man I respect," he said, before turning and walking down the hall. Anna could hear him muttering about 'blind fools' even from several feet away.

"Don't mind him," the Arms Master assured her. "He's just upset because his vaunted Royal Guards let an invasion happen right under their noses."

Anna nodded. "I guess...Hey! Shouldn't you be sitting down?" Large bandages were covering a wound on his leg, and even now the Knight noticed his crutches beginning to wobble.

"Probably," Drell admitted. Stepped forward, Anna took him by the arm and helped the Arms Master back into the infirmary. It was a large room, and currently filled by the beds of injured patients. The Castle's medical staff was working overtime- caring for the dozens of patients that had suddenly become their responsibility. Doing her best not to tear up at the sight of the injured, Anna led her teacher to his private room at the other end of the infirmary.

"So many..." she murmured. This was not the first time she'd visited the infirmary since the attack, but Anna's guilt and sorrow were as profound as they had been the first time.

Settling onto his bed with some difficult, Drell looked upon her with concern. "I hope you're not blaming yourself."

Anna stared at him. "Of course not..." she began. His ironclad glare advised her to change course. "Well, maybe a bit," she admitted. "I know I couldn't have saved them all, but if I hadn't just...panicked, there might be less people in those beds out there right now."

With surprising strength, Drell reached up and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't hold yourself responsible. Frankly, it's ridiculous. Without you, we would all be dead or in chains. Yes, you panicked...because of torture you sustained the last time you saved the Queen. Anna, you're strong, but you're still only human. You can't do it all. And no one could have asked for more. Youve done everything in your power to keep the Queen safe. No one who stays behind to protect their monarch...then goes through days of torture to protect her secrets...is a coward."

The Knight did her best to smile.

Foreshadowing: In case you guys missed it, Kai's death was subtly foreshadowed at the end of Chapter 49. Blood-red alcohol was brought by a butler. Thanks to the collusion of Durron and his guest (toasting their glasses), it spilt to the floor. This represented that their actions would lead to the spilling of the blood of Elsa's butler. For added bonus, they were talking about killing Elsa's allies at the time.

Responses:

MegaTank: I'll do my best!

Shtoops: Thanks! I certainly didn't enjoy killing him off.

WinterWolfDragon: Anna could be worse…

3Gs: Her plate is certainly full.

Mickhe11: Very true, but Elsa's creations are protecting her and the rest of the Castle was dying.

DarthVaderisNotMe: Thanks for the analysis! Love the long reviews! There were miscalculations on both sides.

Snowboardgurl: Uh huh.

Jascmaster: No spoilers!

Syrathia: That is her intention, for sure.

ClaireCooper: If I'm almost there now, by the end of the story…

Mpsantiago: Her confidence has definitely taken a hit.

BlackMistBeast: I wouldn't want to be them.

MasterBlackCrow: That will come into play soon enough.

Scott g: I don't think I'm redoing this story, but I'm always open to ideas!

Arekenderu: Elsa has been pushed far, that is for certain.

Guest 1: This story has plenty of foreshadowing…

PascalDragon: Me too!

NEEDALIFE10808: Yep.

Superjoshe: First on the list are those nobles.

MeltingHeartsandMinds: Awww….

Guest 2: That's just mean….

JPElles: Breather chapter, yay!

ObsessiveImaginings: Fixed, thanks!

Guest 3: Thanks!

Anonoodles: Always happy to respond! It was definitely my intention to have the characters face real consequences.

RR: So does Elsa.

Moonwatcher13: No, that was just a coincidence.

Leelan: You'll see. And you've encountered more than that.

Guest 4L Thank you!

Malekoydaerb: Thanks! I to hate Elsa being depicted as afraid to use her powers. She doesn't like killing, that doesn't mean she won't do it.

Krupp: All will be explained. You're asking some interesting questions.

Sedryn: The meeting with Anna was off-screen, mostly because everyone was aware of how it would go down: Elsa: Anna, are you okay? Anna: E-Elsa, what happened? Elsa: The entire Castle was attacked. We won, but…Kai is Anna: Kai is…No! Gods, no! Both sob and hold each other.* Anna: It's my fault…I should have been down there! Elsa: No, it's not! It's theirs!

RenaNiemand: The Game of Throne comparison wasn't intentional, but I agree that it fits to an extent. Making you all cry is a definite goal.