Before Ever After: The Royal Brigade

Invitation

"Merida, would you care to explain why this was found in our carriage?" Queen Elinor said, livid. On either side of her stood two guards dressed in the gleaming gold armor. A bow was being held in front of Merida's face. She could clearly see the Donbroch crest carved into the wood. "Err..." was all she could say. "Honestly Merida! Did it never cross your mind that you shouldn't bring weapons to the coronation of another country's Princess?!" Elinor exclaimed. "Dad said I could!" she exclaimed in a thick accent. It was the best defense she had. Her mother pinched the bridge on her nose and pleaded, "Please tell me you didn't bring any other weapons." Letting out a sigh, Merida took her knives out of their hiding places. The guards and her mother let out audible gasps as they were revealed. "What? Its only five knives. It's not like I brought my sword," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Ahem."

They turned to see Princess Rapunzel's handmaiden waiting for her turn to speak. They hadn't a clue how long she had been there, but judging by her face she had heard enough. Realizing that it was her turn to speak she put on a straight face. "Princess Rapunzel requests that Princess Merida joins her for afternoon tea out on the pavilion," she said, almost mechanically. Merida looked to her mother, unsure if she'd be allowed to attend due to her... precautions. "I- Yes, she will be there," Elinor said before turning to Merida, "We will finish this discussion later. For now, why don't you go get ready?" It was more of a demand than a question. "And no weapons!" She whispered through gritted teeth. Merida obliged and left to change into something more weather appropriate. She was beginning to sweat in her dress; it was made for colder climates.

The handmaiden, known as Cassandra, glared suspiciously at the redheaded Princess before turning to leave. Had her mind not been on other matters, Cassandra would have been much more concerned with the hidden weapons, but she had heard roomers about the Queen from Arendelle. Word has it that she was a witch who had cursed her kingdom into eternal winter immediately after her coronation. Her curse had frozen everything, including the sea itself, preventing anyone from leaving. Despite warnings from both Cassandra and her parents, Princess Rapunzel insisted on inviting the Queen and her sister. Now she wished to have tea with the Queen, her sister, and the one person who snuck weapons into the castle!

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Cassandra turned the corner into the hallway that led to the Arendelle sisters' room. She stopped outside the closed door, wondering what the best approach would be. She came to the conclusion that she would simply have to use the formal approach and hope that her reflexes would save her if needed. She raised her fist and knocked twice.

"Oh! um... Come in?" said a voice from the other side of the door. "Wow, it still feels weird saying that," it said quieter. Cassandra prepared for the worst and pushed the door open. The owner of the voice stood beside the green bed, unpacking. Her reddish-brown hair was pulled back into a bun with a white ribbon integrated into the locks. The other was extremely pale with hair that was nearly white. Her dress seemed to be made out of ice that was dyed to be different shades of blue, purple, and pink. They looked at her expectantly. "Princess Rapunzel requests that Queen Elsa and Princess Anna join her for tea," she said tensely.

The one dressed in green let out an excited gasp. "We've never been invited for tea before!" she exclaimed, "But then again, we've never really left the castle either, but that was for obvious reasons." She let out a warm laugh. The pale one smiled at her before turning to Cassandra. "Please let Princess Rapunzel know that we will be there," she said, attempting to be as kind and welcoming as possible. "In that case, be on the pavilion in 20 minutes. It's just down the main hall. Ask a guard if you get lost," the maid said before exiting.

Just as the door shut Anna let out an excited squeal, "Ah! Elsa! Can you believe it? We've been invited to have tea with the princess!" Elsa rolled her eyes as she returned to organizing her things. "Anna. You're a princess," she said, "Princesses invite other princesses to have tea with them. That's just what they do."

"Should I wear the roses or daisies?" Anna asked excitedly, holding a dress in each hand. "Anna..," Elsa sighed. "You're right. The roses are way to fancy for afternoon tea," Anna said, lost in her own world, "But the daisies just seem too casual. I don't want to be underdressed!" Elsa laughed at her sister's worried expression. "What you have on is just fine, Anna," she said, walking over to the door.  Just before she opened the door her eyes caught a blue fabric laying on a nearby table. She stared at the gloves before hesitantly grabbing them. "Just in case...." she said to Anna's questioning look.

The two sisters made their way down the hallway. Elsa was suddenly very aware of how empty their castle was compared to this one. They saw at least five maids, three butlers, ten guards, and a handful of nobles! And, to top it off, Anna felt the need to greet each and every one of them, pulling Elsa along. By the time they made it to the end of the hallway, they were at least ten minutes late.

"Oh! I'm so nervous!" Anna said as they stopped at the door, "I just... What if I say something wrong? What if one of us accidentally offends the Princess? Not that you would offend the Princess, Elsa. You trained for this and you've always been better at formal things like this. But, like, what if I say something about her hair and it hurts her feelings? I mean, it's going to be hard not to. Have you seen how short it is? Oh! Maybe I should just go back to our room..."

Elsa rolled her eyes as she grabbed her sister's arm, preventing her from leaving. "Anna..," Elsa said, slightly exasperated, "It's going to be fine. You'll be great. You've already talked with her once remember?" Elsa let her hand fall as she remembered under what conditions they had talked. "If anyone should be worried it's me," she said, her grip tightening on her gloves, "I need you with me, Anna. I won't be able to face any of these people without knowing you're there to come after me when I try to run." The two smiled at each other. "Okay," Anna said, turning to the door, "Let's go."