Of Marriage and Heartless (FZT | Invite: Kristof, Anna)

[Deleted]

(FZT Timeline Reference: Early Post-Reunion)

It wasn't a nice feeling, waking. Not like this. Not with the world beyond her windows -- her kingdom, her world -- a sickly purple and black dystopia, darkness suffocating the very air beyond the castle walls. She thought the familiar, comfortable embrace of her velvet sheets and fluffy pillowcase would drive away the apocalypse, as if it were only some horrible dream that persisted in infecting her sense of reality. But it wasn't. And no matter how many sleeps went by, she awoke to the same horrible sky, the same suffocating world. 


Elsa shuddered as she pushed herself up and off her bed. She cast one quick glance out at the window as a swirling cloud of darkness covered them, edges flaring as it tried to force itself through the glass at her. She gave it a cold stare before turning on her heel and throwing open the door to the corridor and stepping through. 


Her guards were all but gone. Only a few had survived the Purge, as the people down in the village -- those still among the living -- called it. One such guard, a tall, thin man garbed in armour three sizes too big for his scrawny physique stood to attention outside her door, the iron spear in his hand as straight as his back. He bowed deeply as she emerged from her room. She nodded the head wordlessly and headed down the corridor, trying her best to ignore the strangled whimper that escaped his lips as he returned to ease at his post. The sound made her shudder again. She folded her arms across her chest and rubbed her arms with her thumbs, trying to comfort herself.


It's not your fault, she tried to reminder herself. You were abducted, tricked... you couldn't have known. This isn't your fault...


It didn't help. It never did. Guilt, its slender tendrils grasping, strangled her heart. She bit her lip and tried to focus only on her walking, on putting one foot in front of the other.


By the time she'd made her way along the corridor, down several grand (and empty) staircases and through the Great Hall into the dining room, she'd passed only two more guards. Neither made the dreaded whimpers she feared as she greeted them, fleetingly, but neither could do more than bow in her wake, struggling against themselves not to stop her and ask her the question she'd forbidden anyone to ask, the one she'd heard too many times since she'd returned, finally, to Arendelle:


'Are we going to be alright, Your Majesty?'


She pushed open the doors to the dining room, shaking her head and forcing the words out of her mind before they made a nest there for guilt to fester in. The table was lined with several dishes: a towering stack of pancakes, a bowl full of colourful fruits, an ornate plate decorated with pastries dotted with chocolate bits -- the kind she loved. The few kitchen staff that had survived, hidden away in the castle pantry during the worst of the Darkness's invasion of Arendelle, seemed to be putting their best effort into making meals they knew she would enjoy. Meals they knew would cheer her up.


She sat herself at the head of the table. An empty plate covered in a thin layer of crumbs and maple syrup, knife and fork criss-crossed atop the mess, sitting next to her made Elsa smile. Anna must be up, running about the castle as she usually did on a Saturday morning. The thought of her sister working to clear the gloom from her mind, Elsa reached for the plate of pancakes -- just as the door to the dining room burst open and her personal assistant, wearing a full suit of shining armour, stomped up the steps to the table and towards her, every step clanging despite the carpet underfoot.


"Your Majesty," he said, bowing to her. "I have news from the village."


He handed her a piece of parchment, neatly rolled and sealed in red wax that bore a seal depicting her own silhouette. She took it from him, holding it in her hand and letting her eyes slide across its surface. She wondered what kind of 'news' this report would bring. If it were anything like the last few reports she'd received...


She grimaced at the thought.


"Anything else?" she asked, nodding.


"Yes, Your Majesty," said her assistant, clearing his throat. "You see... the Ice Harvester, Kristof, has requested an audience with Your Majesty."


Her eyes flicked up to meet his. 


"Kristof?" she asked. "And he wants to see... me?"


"Yes, Your Highness."


Elsa frowned. That was odd. Why would Kristof come all the way to the castle to see her? It's not like he needed her permission to enter the castle, or to see Anna... she'd been clear about that at the end of their last little 'adventure' together. And besides, when had Kristof ever formally asked for an audience with her?


"Please send a reply--"


"Uhm... I apologize, Your Highness, but that would be, er... a waste of resources."


Elsa raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"


"He's... he's already here, Your Majesty."


Elsa blinked. "Right... well, then... let him in."

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This was the most awkward and uncomfortable position Kristoff had ever been in in his whole life. As he stood in the waiting room pacing back and forth in a nervous fashion, the usually calm mountain man did what he could to put his racing mind at ease.

On an ordinary day, it would've been easy to do this simple task. All he would have to do was find something else to distract him from his thoughts. Work, some form of adventure with Sven, or anything else that would drowned out the task of simply sitting and thinking; however, today was not an ordinary day. He could not escape what he had to do no matter how much he wanted to or did not want to.

So as his thoughts became a jumbled wreck, the blonde paced and thought back on what had gotten him here in the first place as he waited for his presence to be announced to the Queen.

Ever since Arendelle had been returned to normal after the first grand adventure he, Anna, and the Queen had, Kristoff was allowed to see the woman he had fallen for despite their class differences whenever he wanted. Queen Elsa had been kind enough to grant him such a blessing and while Kristoff truly did appreciate what the Queen had allowed to happen, the fact had remained that the more time, he and Princess Anna spent together, the more both had considered the idea of marriage and while he had planned on asking for permission to marry Anna a while back....things didn't exactly go according to plan.

No...in fact nothing was going according to plan.

The Queen and Princess had been kidnapped and Ardendelle had been thrown into a chaotic mess of ice and black shadows. While Kristoff had managed to put the world back in some form of order with the help of another from a different land, the fact still remained that the darkness that those shadows came on still lingered in the land. The skies remained a strange purple color, the wind held winter's breath, and strange veins of darkness pulsed throughout the land causing the shadows to pop up at random in various places.

With so much trouble afoot, it had been nothing, but running around defending folk ever since the Queen and Princess went missing, but now that the one big issue was mostly settled and the Queen and Princess returned, Kristoff had an new form of issue in front of him.

He still had to ask the Queen for permission to marry Anna. And that....that terrified the young man to no end.

Sure, he had tried to mentally prepare for the occasion, but none of that had helped. He was still a nervous wreck and the fact he had even gotten in the castle to begin with was because a certain friend of his had been gently pushing him forward and made sure he couldn't turn back. While Sven had decided to remain outside for this occasion, the longer Kristoff waited, the more he wished his friend was with him.

While he could not express in words the support that reindeer was to him, he had to admit staying calm would be a whole lot easier with Sven there than it was now.

Seriously, how was he going to even form the correct words for this situation that in his head was already a bit wrong? He felt he should've given the Queen and Anna space, let them settle in a bit before doing this; however, he was so happy and worried about Anna and her sister that he couldn't allow himself to do such a thing. Sure, he wasn't always at the castle all the time, but the fact didn't change that he was never too far away either.

He had given them a day or two before he finally approached Anna about the marriage deal...but was it too soon? Sure, Anna was thrilled about the idea and agreed to it, but...the main problem was still Elsa. While Kristoff was sure the woman wouldn't flat out refuse them, he was still hesitant to do this at this moment both for bad timing and for another reason.

Elsa...she was still on their side right?

As the question sunk into his head, a small calm came over the young man as he stopped pacing and drifted towards one of the large windows in the waiting room. He had asked for a formal audience to buy himself time and secretly prayed that Anna would come and help him out with this ordeal. He needed the support in more than one way.

He needed Anna there to help him face nerves, but also to see Elsa clearly once more. In the past when everyone was against the older woman, Anna had been the only one that had kept her faith in her sister, even when it nearly cost her life... and while at first Kristoff had been doubtful of this faith, in the end, Anna had been right all along. Her sister was really good inside and simply needed someone to offer her a hand in her time of trouble.

Even so, in the light of the recent events, the land was back in a state where they questioned their Queen once more. Not only were the dark clouds and shadows always lingering around, but the former "Ice Queen" that had been destroyed by himself and his allies made everyone wonder if that shadow was not some form of sign that the Queen had indeed strayed once more.

As if to make the situation worse, the arrival of both Anna and Elsa back in Arendelle was a bit too coincidental even for Kristoff liking. It had only been three days since the Dark Queen had fallen and then the real Elsa and Anna had appeared....as if someone had planned it that way. He didn't like the idea, but it was only made worse by the people's reaction to the reappearance of the pair.

While the people rejoiced when the pair arrived, Kristoff could see the fear in their eyes as they watched Queen Elsa pass. He heard the whispers and even saw the few remaining guards quake in their boots at her return.

It was uncomfortable to watch the strange play of fear and joy in the people, but after what had happened Kristoff couldn't really blame them for their fear. Even he was feeling cautious of the Queen...even if he told himself there was nothing to fear.

He wasn't sure, but even though things appeared to be normal on the surface, there was an air of tension here in the castle that hinted at a much darker truth that Kristoff wasn't sure if he wanted unearth. Everyone was on pins and needles now and that fear was threatening to become something worse if someone did not confront the issue soon.

But who would dare question the Queen or the situation? Him?

Kristoff sighed inwardly at that thought as his light brown eyes lowered from the dark sky and came to a rest upon the well polished floor beneath his feet. He didn't like that idea any better than anything else that came to mind regarding the state of the land.

Perhaps....a marriage was what was needed now. Something happy to show the people that things were going to be okay. That even with darkness there, together they could win.

The thought was comforting enough; however, as the Elsa personal guard returned to the room and told him that the Queen would see him now, Kristoff felt the nerves creep back in as he did his best to give a confident nod as he followed the guard to the dining room where Elsa sat at the far end of the large table.

After a brief announcement and a bow, the assistant exited the room, closing the doors, pretty much trapping Kristoff in the room with the woman. While food was all around, Kristoff barely noticed as he stood at the far end of the table as he gave the Queen a bow before rising once more.

"Queen Elsa, I uh...apologize for interupting your meal, but I had something to d-discuss with you if you will allow it," Kristoff began nervously as he kept his eyes lowered doing his best to remember how to behave in front of the Queen...even if he already felt he was failing miserably at it. Why, oh, why was this so hard to do alone? Ah well, he couldn't back down now that he was here.