Little Things (Helsa)

A New Day... Maybe..?

(ELSA)

My little walk last night had been strange, but for the first time in weeks I slept without nightmares. Instead, I had dreams about the mystery person from my time in the garden. Did they just happen to be looking out their window at the same time, or had they been watching me? It had been fairly later at night, but not so late that someone could still have been up. I knew they were somewhere in the castle, but I had been so disoriented last night I barely paid attention to where I was. There weren't too many people staying in the castle at the moment, so figuring out who it was would be easy. I gave myself a mission to find my mystery person, and I wouldn't rest until I figured it out.

I knew that would have to be put on hold until I spoke with my council. They were probably here in the castle already, waiting to pounce on me. As long as they knew it was not my fault Hans was back in Arendelle, everything would be fine. He would have his trial, be punished, and then everyone could move on with their lives. I shook the thoughts from my head as I stretched in bed. The weight of my bed sheets comforted me, and I did not want to leave them. I slowly got out of bed, but just as quickly jumped back in. I wished I could take a break and sleep in some days, but my work needed me up early. I again tried to get out of bed and this time managed to slouch into the bathroom. I tried to freshen up my hair a little and changed into today's clothes. I ended up in my casual braid, a nice blue dress and my favorite black flats to match. I loved having my hair all spoofed up and fancy, and my dress had a little flare on it as well; some embroidery with the kingdom's symbols and of course in my favorite icy blue. I was glad of more familiar clothing, for I might need a little more comfort than normal today.

I took one last look in the mirror before leaving my room. It still shocked me every once in a while what I looked like. Not in a bad way, but my face had matured these past couple years. Of course, for most of my life I always had frown lines, since I feared hurting anyone again after what happened to Anna. But even in these past couple of weeks after my coronation, I was starting to see the lines and wrinkles caused by smiling and laughter. I knew I was happier now that I had Anna back in my life, but I also looked happier too. It was a very strange sight to me. But today, it gave me an extra confidence boost, and reminded me that I would always have Anna on my side. On that thought, I turned the doorknob and walked out into the hallway.

I was still nervous about going down for breakfast, but I opened door anyways and made my way into the dining room. As soon as I walked in I was surrounded by council members, my staff complaining about the council members, and Anna trying to control the staff. I walked calmly to my seat and spoke with Hendricks about what was being served for breakfast that morning. The council members were shocked when they saw I was ignoring them. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't satisfying silencing a group of grown men. I ordered the staff to go back to their duties, and invited the council to sit at my table. They all sat in awe as I controlled the situation. I was not about to let chaos and blind hatred to determine the life of a prisoner, even if it was Hans in question. I asked them to please order their breakfast, and we would discuss as we ate. Hendricks brought out my meal, and I started to eat. When I had finished a few bites I asked the Chief Councilman if he wanted to begin the discussion about Hans. The entire room immediately exploded with sounds of disagreement and bitterness. I shot up from my seat so quickly I didn't even have time to blink.

The room became silent again, and I spoke, saying, "I know you all are not happy, but I will not be happy if we cannot have a proper conversation in my own dining room. Now, we will go around the table one at a time and you all can ask or say whatever you want, but one at a time!"

This seemed to work, and the man to my left spoke first. He said, "Your highness, it has come to our attention that you are not only sheltering a wanted criminal of the Southern Isles, but it is also the man who committed treason against you! Why are you doing this..?"

I took a deep breath and started to explain the entire story, and the council slowly started to understand how I was not responsible for this unwanted return.

(ANNA)

I was so proud of Elsa. She could do anything she set her mind to. At the moment, her mind was set to making the council not freak out on her over Hans. Once she made them see why he was here, they demanded a trial. They demanded death without a trial. They demanded all sorts of unreasonable things. But my sister could handle her own. She defended her own words and opinions without anyone's help, and stood her ground. I was a little surprised she was so resistant to just giving Hans a punishment and instead wasting time with a proper trial, but I understood that she never wanted to hurt anyone. Even if that person had almost murdered her, she had gone through too much loss to cause that kind of pain for anyone else. There was no need to make a statement about how strong Arendelle was, since the treason had only been caused by one man. And there was no reason to make an example out of Hans either, he just made the wrong choices, and was now facing the consequences. In many ways, Elsa was my role model. Of course she was my older sister that I had always looked up to, but I knew she would do literally anything to keep her family and kingdom safe. I would trust her no matter what decision she made about Hans.

(ELSA)

I was starting to get frustrated with my council. They could not understand why I wanted Hans to have a fair trial. I didn't want to play the "monarch card" but I could see no other choice.

I made my stand and demanded, "Look here! I am the queen of Arendelle, and I will make the final decision. I really wish we agreed, but we don't and I cannot see how to make you understand. What do I have to do to make you see I want to treat him equally, just like any other criminal? Yes, he may have tried to kill me, but I will not be the reason for anyone's death. I have come too close to that myself, and I will not make it a personal decision."

The council looked at each other, and some smiled in a sick sort of way, as my least-favorite member laughed and snapped, "If you're so interested in being un-biased, why don't you go visit Prince Hans and get the 'whole story'..? Oh, but don't let things get personal!"

See Hans? Actually have to speak with him? I had the thought yesterday when he arrived, but now that he was physically here I hadn't been sure if I could muster the courage to follow through. I felt my stomach turn at the thought of having to confront him. Not killing someone, and having to get to know your attempted murderer were two very different things. I remembered how he had helped my people during the whole episode, and knew that speaking with him may actually be the best way to help him, and therefore repay my debt. Besides, it was too late to turn down this condition, or else I would have just turned my back on my entire argument. Sometimes I really hated that guy. I could just imagine him freezing into ice, but he already had quite the cold shoulder.

I took a deep breath to calm myself as I nodded and said, "If that is what the council wishes in return, then I accept. We shall meet again at our next scheduled meeting and discuss this issue further then. Thank you, and good day."

I turned to walk out and glared at everything around me with all my might. Great. I had to go see and talk to the man that tried to cut my head off. Just perfect.