Chapter Text
A TREATISE ON THE DEFENSE OF ARENDELLE
Signed by
- Admiral Bergen Skarsgard, Royal Arendelle Fleet
- Sergeant Edgar Dorfman, Royal Arendelle Marine Force
- Captain Skaldi Hemsdir, Royal Foresters
- Captain Annick Jorgen, Royal Guard
We the foresigned do present the following data, scenarios, and suggested actions and precautions for the safety of the Kingdom of Arendelle and its ruling family, led by Queen Elsa III. If approved, steps will be taken to immediately implement the various suggestions introduced in this document. All items are considered optional, with various levels of recommendation noted under each section. Please reference the latest defense protocols for standard operating procedures currently in place.
---
Elsa looked up from the thick sheaf of papers in her hand, doing her very best to not gape at the members of her council.
"Is there some threat that you're not telling me about?" she asked, glancing down at the document again.
"No, your majesty," Captain Hemsdir replied. She had obviously been nominated by the other members of the defense council to speak on their behalf. Elsa had previously had little contact with the woman, the foresters often away from the castle monitoring the vast tracts of land claimed by Arendelle. "It is common to review Arendelle's defense plan every few years, to account for changing political alliances and current inventories. With your recent coronation, and in light of events… we thought it best."
Sergeant Dorfman grunted in agreement. "It's bad enough, the business with the Southern Isles."
Elsa winced, then scowled. The room cooled slightly.
"We don't want to have to worry for the kingdom and its ruler like that again," the sergeant continued, ignoring the queen's discomfort.
After a moment, Elsa took a deep breath. "Alright," she conceded. "But Father had me look at our defense plan during my lessons." She flipped the pages of the document before her. "This isn't it. Fairly large for an addendum, isn't it?"
The four council members looked between themselves. "Your majesty," Hemsdir replied, her voice firm. "We all have agreed that our current defense plan is more than adequate. Should you disagree with the entirety of what we propose in this treatise, barring some adjustments that would need to be made due to the change in our trade status with both the Southern Isles and Weselton, we would likely be perfectly fine."
Captain Jorgen scowled fiercely. As leader of the Royal Guard, Elsa knew he felt the most guilt over the turn of events. His inability to protect the queen during the Freeze, to protect Princess Anna, grated on the man.
"However," Hemsdir continued, eyeing the guard captain. "We feel that steps can be taken to greatly improve our situation. It's still early enough that the widespread repercussions of events have yet to come to light, but we would rather be prepared for it now than scrambling to figure it out when it's spiraling out of control."
"There's no immediate rush," Admiral Skarsgard added, noting the temperature had started to dip again as Elsa looked more and more nervous. "We don't ask that you decide this moment, it would do none of us any good. After you have read over it, discussed it with those you feel can give you the best advice, we can reconvene. Then you may inform us of whether you wish to implement any of it, or toss the entire thing on the fire." He shrugged.
A breath Elsa didn't even know she had been holding eased out of her. "Very well," she stated, standing up. "Unless you have anything else, we'll end for now."
The sound of chairs scraping against the floor filled the room, as the council hastily got to their feet. "Your majesty," the four said in unison, bowing as she swept out of the room.
Elsa moved down the hall, staring at the document in her hands. It made her nervous, to think about her country under siege by another. So far, her rule had been relatively smooth. Barring the Freeze, that is. After her parents had died, Elsa had met with the various councils once a month to ensure that things ran smoothly, her gloved hands tightly clasped in her lap as the safety and well being of her country was accomplished with no interference from its heir apparent. After the Freeze, she had become much more involved, but by and large it had been dealings with agriculture, taxes, trade and the like. The defense council had been mostly quiet, with the exception of a request for more funds in order to pay new recruits.
It seemed they had been too busy drafting this to bother her beforehand. Or perhaps they had just wanted to wait until she seemed more settled in her role. It wasn't a point Elsa wished to clarify, seeing as it was largely moot.
With a sigh, she headed to her study, determined to go through some of it before lunchtime.
---
Inventory & Personnel
Royal Arendelle Fleet
1 Man-Of-War
-86 guns
-3 at the bow
-7 at the stern
-38 port
-38 starboard
-480 crew
-70 officers
-410 enlisted
2 Frigates
-44 guns
-2 at the bow
-2 at the stern
-20 port
-20 starboard
-210 crew
-38 officers
-172 enlisted
4 Sloops-of-War
-18 guns
-1 at the bow
-3 at the stern
-7 port
-7 starboard
-112 crew
-14 officers
-98 enlisted
6 Cutters
-6 guns
-All guns are movable
-44 crew
-4 officers
-40 enlisted
Currently all ships are outfitted with one-months emergency provisions. Below are requests for further provisions, in line with the increase of personnel in the past six months. The requests are as follows:
---
"Hey, what're you reading?"
Elsa jumped, the papers on her desk moving slightly as she knocked into them. "Anna!" she gasped, clutching a hand to her chest. "You're back! You startled me."
The princess grinned sheepishly, easing into the study. "Sorry," she said sheepishly. "It's just, you missed lunch. Again. When I asked Gerda, she said you haven't been out of your study in hours, so I thought I'd come check on you."
The queen blinked owlishly at her sister, before looking out the window. The sun had long since passed the zenith, and was halfway to the horizon. "Oh," she said softly. Her stomach chose that moment to growl.
Anna giggled, then stuck her head out the door. "Gerda," she called, and the elderly servant entered carrying a tray laden with food. She stood there, eyeing the queen fondly. "You might want to clear a spot on your desk," Anna offered, not wanting to touch the mostly neat piles there. She knew she would just mess them up.
Elsa immediately jumped up, clearing off the edge of her desk. Gerda placed the tray down with a solid thunk, gave a curtsey, and backed out the door.
"Anna, this is enough food to feed an army," the queen said, eyeing the tray.
"Good! Then you might actually eat enough for once," Anna teased, flopping down into a chair. "I was too late for lunch, so I figured we could eat together." She reached out, snagging some bread and butter.
Elsa did the same, lading it with slices of meat. "Did you have fun with Kristoff?" she asked, trying not to stuff too much food in her mouth at once.
Anna had less qualms. "Yeah," she said, a few crumbs flying out. She blushed, then worked quickly to swallow. "We went and checked out the southern township, talked to Goodman Welker. Things are running smoothly there, the winter hasn't been too hard on them." She grinned. "They even had a little party last night. Kristoff still can't dance."
Humming her approval, Elsa reached over her desk to quickly jot a note to herself. "Good," she said. "That means most of the outlying settlements have been visited. Barring the bandit issue in the west, it seems things are running smoothly." She turned to look at the map of the kingdom on the wall, eyes tracing the areas left for an official visit.
Anna and Kristoff were not the only ones going out to the various small settlements that littered the kingdom. For one, there were too many of them. There were also several that were more than a day away, and Elsa didn't like her sister being gone overnight, let alone for longer. They'd fought over it, briefly, but Anna had caved surprisingly easily. The fact that when she was home she rarely left Elsa's side gave a clue as to why.
Elsa looked down at the document she had been reading all morning. Her brow furrowed. "Anna," she said softly. "You and Kristoff needn't continue on with the visits. Let the foresters and guardsman finish up; rest a bit. We'll just have to start over in a few months anyway, you can pick up again later."
The young princess frowned. "Where did that come from?" she asked, setting her makeshift sandwich down. "You were fine with us going to Esgard at the end of the week, before we left. What changed?"
She could lie. Anna would probably see through it, but Elsa had learned her sister was reluctant to fight right after she'd returned from a trip, needing to get used to Elsa not running away again. Anna would let her get away with it, for now, and Elsa was very good at dodging questions when needed, so they wouldn't talk about it again.
It would kill her, though, to erect even the smallest barrier between them. So the queen sighed, and handed the top page over to her sister.
"'A Treatise on the Defense of Arendelle'?" Anna read aloud. "What's this?"
"I met with the defense council this morning," Elsa explained, her hands wringing together without her notice. "They gave me this, asked me to look it over." She gave a sigh, sinking down slightly into her seat. "It's what I've been reading all morning. My head is swimming with inventory figures and statistics."
Anna winced, handing the page back over before picking her sandwich up again. "So now you're all defense-minded, and worried about me," she surmised, grinning when her sister smiled sheepishly. "I get it! I do. But I think it's really important that we visit the townships, and I like doing it." She paused, thinking. "Would it make you feel better if Kristoff and I brought a couple of guards?"
The relief on the queen's face made a rush of warmth go through Anna. "Yes, very much so," Elsa breathed, slumping in her seat. "I was being truthful, though, we're almost done. So please, Anna, Esgard is the last? For now?"
A quick nod brought a smile to Elsa's face.
"So what else does it say?" Anna asked, taking another enormous bite of her sandwich.
Elsa's eyes narrowed slightly as she quickly flipped through the pages she had already looked at. "So far all I've read are numbers, and a brief overview of our currently implemented defenses. Scout locations, emergency food supplies, that sort of thing."
"Bo-ring," Anna sang, rolling her eyes. "How is it you missed lunch reading that?"
Elsa reached for her drink, swallowing the lukewarm tea with a large gulp. "It's boring in a fascinating way?" She wrinkled her brow as she thought. "Or fascinating in a boring way. Hard to say which." She waved her hand in dismissal. "I've read the in-depth report before, so none of this is exactly new, but there have been changes in the past six months. I approved them all, but I haven't had a chance before to see the big picture." She gave a small, self-deprecating chuckle. "Something I need to work on."
The princess scowled at her, quickly rising to her feet and moving to crouch next to her sister. "Hey," she said fiercely. "Stop. You are doing an amazing job, everyone thinks so! I hear them when they think I can't."
"So you eavesdrop," the queen deadpanned.
"Besides the point," Anna continued. "None of the ministers are complaining, which is my point."
Elsa reached out her hand, the barest hint of hesitation as she gently cupped Anna's cheek. The girl responded by leaning into it, smiling at the other woman. "Thank you," Elsa said softly, rubbing her thumb across smooth skin. "While I don't necessarily approve of you listening in on other's conversations, I know you just have my best interests at heart."
"I love you," Anna replied. Her tone was so honest and open, it caused tears to spring to Elsa's eyes. "So I'll do whatever I have to in order to ensure that people see the real you, and that you're safe and loved." She grinned, but her eyes were steely. "That includes eavesdropping. And telling you when you're being silly, thinking that you're not the best person for the job of being queen." Anna's nose wrinkled. "Can you imagine if I had been born first? What a disaster!"
Elsa laughed, and pulled her sister into a hug. "You would be an amazing queen," she murmured into the girl's ear. "I'm so glad I have you here to help me."
Arms wrapped tightly around the queen, Anna held her close, face buried in her sister's loosely braided hair. "I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you," she said.
After a long moment, they both moved away, brilliant smiles on both their faces. "Hey, Anna," Elsa asked, her eyes sparkling.
"Yes, Elsa?" Anna replied.
"Do you wanna build a snowman?"
The castle rang with shrieks of laughter as two young women tore down the halls, soft flurries of snow eddying in their wake.
---
"Read me a bedtime story, Elsa," Anna asked sleepily, burrowing under the covers of her sister's bed. Her strawberry-blonde hair was loose, and already getting messy as she tossed about finding the most comfortable position possible.
They tended to share a bed when Anna was home. While Anna was away, Elsa had no problem sleeping by herself, and Anna fared well when visiting the townships. But if both were in the castle, the late hours would find the two sleeping restlessly. Anna specifically was prone to nightmares, although occasionally Elsa would wake up with her room completely iced over. Even if they started the night apart, morning would find them snuggled under the covers together, peacefully oblivious to the world outside.
Elsa looked up from her armchair, where she had curled up with the treatise. "I need to get through this, Anna," she said apologetically. "I'm sure I'll need to talk to the council members about this individually before we discuss it in full."
Anna grumped, but didn't say anything. Silence reigned for the next hour, until the queen sighed and set a page on the side table. "Finally," she muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Finally what?" Anna asked, rolling over to look at her sister. "Are you done?"
Surprised that Anna was still awake, Elsa gave her a tired smile. "I finished with the itemized requests. All that's left are the scenarios."
Anna perked up at that. "Scenarios?"
The queen hummed in affirmation, flipping through the remaining pages. "It looks like there are five. One each from the RAF, RAMF, and Foresters. Two from the Guard." She went back to the beginning. "Interesting, I don't remember there being scenarios in the old defense plan."
"Read it to me?" Anna asked, causing Elsa to look at her in surprise. "I mean, it's not Grimm's Fairy Tales, but it's better than nothing." She blushed faintly, pulling the covers up to partially hide her head. "I sleep better when I hear your voice," drifted from the confines of the comforter.
Elsa felt her cheeks heat up as well, and cleared her throat to get rid of the sudden lump that formed. "A-alright," she stammered. "I'm sure it will put you to sleep in just a few moments, though."
Anna didn't reply, her teal eyes simply gazing out of the nest she had formed to watch as the queen resettled herself.
"'A Note by the Authors on the Subsequent Scenarios…
"'As ordered by His Majesty King Aren I, and affirmed by all of his descendants, the duties of the Defense Council is to plan for any eventuality that may befall the Kingdom of Arendelle. We are also tasked to utilize all resources and assets to the best of our abilities, and leave no option unexplored.'"
Elsa shifted in her chair, a small sense of foreboding rising in her.
"'Therefore, all of us have agreed that Queen Elsa III of Arendelle represents an asset too valuable to ignore. As such, the following scenarios are based off of potential reactions supported by the royal family, in all aspects. While we have a small grasp on the levels and limits of the ability to manipulate and create ice that Queen Elsa holds, these are put forward with the information we have based off of observation. As stipulated, these are all hypothetical and as such no actions are required to be taken. If chosen to be implemented, they may be modified to reflect the actual capabilities presented.'"
Elsa fell silent, gaping at the words on the page. Slowly, the chair she sat in became covered in frost, and the page in her hand grew stiff as it iced over.
"They want to turn me into a weapon?" Elsa asked, disbelief in her voice as she read over the words again.
"No," Anna spoke up, having directed her full attention to the words Elsa read as the point became clear. "They want to turn you into the worlds largest mother hen."
The queen blinked, and then burst into laughter. Anna joined her, sitting up in bed as she giggled. The ice slowly receded.
"But seriously, I don't think they're asking you to be hurt anyone," Anna said. "I mean, not really. They want you to defend people, to protect everyone."
Elsa looked down at her hands, at the paper wilting as it came free of ice. "How am I supposed to turn this into something that protects?" she asked, fear still sparking in her eyes.
Anna smiled softly at her, and scrambled forward until she was perched on the edge of the bed. "Isn't that what you did for thirteen years, Elsa? Protect everyone?"
"From me!" Elsa exclaimed, desperation lacing her voice.
The scowl that came over Anna's face startled the queen, causing her to shrink into the chair she sat in.
"You know, I love Father very much," Anna said heatedly. "But he's an idiot." She paused. "Was an idiot. Whatever." She turned to look at the painting of him that graced her sister's wall. "I mean, it's partly Grandpabbie's fault too, and I've talked to him about it. What kind of troll tells a little girl that fear will be her downfall, and not clarify that he means fear of the power and not fear of what it could do? You were eight!"
Elsa had never thought of it that way. She had not gone to see the trolls again, although Kristoff had graciously invited her. The memory of that night was still strong, and she had always assumed that he had been telling her exactly that - that her powers were to be feared, that it could only hurt others.
"That's certainly how Father read it too, otherwise he never would have given you that stupid mantra," Anna continued heatedly. "But anyone with even a bit of knowledge about modern engineering would know that telling you to bottle it up would never, ever work. Didn't his tutors teach him anything?"
The confusion that suddenly raced through Elsa was enough to leave her dizzy. "Forgive me, Anna," she said after a moment. "But what does engineering have to do with my powers?"
Anna blushed slightly, her glare softening. "I had plenty of spare time as a kid," she said. "I read a lot of books in the library." She paused. "Like, all of them."
Elsa gaped at her. "All of them?"
"What?" Anna replied defensively. "I'm not saying I understood everything I read - and okay, I didn't actually read a lot of the foreign books, my grasp of everything but French is terrible - but I read pretty much everything I could get my hands on." She shrugged, then continued. "I remember, when I was reading about the kingdom of Corona, they mentioned the dam there. I was intrigued, so I found a book about them tucked in a corner." A fond smile came over her face. "Gerda was livid when I mucked in her herb garden, trying to build one in the small creek that ran through it."
She could just see it, Elsa mused. Anna, covered in mud, accidentally diverting a flood of water through the kitchen gardens. She giggled.
Anna smiled wryly. "Anyway, one of the things the book talked about was sluice gates. They're used to ensure that the water doesn't overflow or break the dam from the pressure buildup. You can hold the water back, but eventually you either have to let some of it go through or it's going to burst. The sluice gates let you control it."
Suddenly, Elsa knew where she was going. "Papa always told me I could never let it show."
Anna nodded. "He tried to have you build a dam without any sluice gates. Of course you were going to leak uncontrollably and eventually burst."
Elsa burst into laughter, startling the other girl. "I think that's the first time I've been compared to a faulty bit of engineering," she said with a grin.
Anna shook her head fiercely, causing her hair to fly everywhere. "No! That's not what I'm saying." She reached out over the gap between the bed and her sister, grabbing her cold hand. "I'm saying you're the river. Beautiful, and wild, and unwilling to be caged. Tamed, a little, but not caged."
She was blushing again, Elsa realized. Anna always did that to her.
"If you had practiced with it, learned how to use it, we never would have gotten into the position we did," Anna finished, looking down at their entwined hands. "It's his fault."
Slowly, Elsa shook her head. "Not entirely," she said softly. "I was scared too. I'd hurt you, Anna. You could have died, if Papa hadn't known about the trolls. I was more than willing to be stashed away from everyone, if it meant I could never do it again." She sighed. "I even pushed them away, scared I would do it again."
"So you're all stupid," Anna replied. "Apparently I'm the only smart one in the family." She blinked. "Oh lord we're all doomed."
She was never quite sure if Anna was trying, or it just happened naturally, but Elsa couldn't help but laugh again.
"Come on, let's go to bed," Anna insisted, pulling on her sister's hand. "You can read over all the awesome things the council thinks you can do tomorrow. I'll even do it with you."
It took only a moment for Elsa to concede. "Alright, scooch over."
Anna moved willingly, practically hauling the other girl after her. She threw the blanket over the both of them, then latched onto Elsa, burying her face in her sister's neck.
"My little leech," Elsa teased, wrapping her arms around the younger girl.
"Get used to it," Anna mumbled, and felt the queen's body relax in her arms.