And…it's done! Took me all of spring break to complete, and a complete slacking of my other stories to do so. Still, I'm glad I got this little plot bunny out of my head. It was a fun, if not tiresome, story to complete. I'm glad I was able to do it!

Thanks to Moboy1, Axantur, xJadeRainx, Guest, Jenny, lightning1997, Alese222, Ravager Zero, castlejune, Bluefire407, FlashFreeze0, snoopykid, Sliced13 for the reviews!

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"Your Majesty!"

Various voices and chairs pushed back were the soundtrack to Elsa's morning. Papers were shuffled, and she was bowed to with mumbles of how she was looking well this morning. She nodded slightly, acknowledging the councilmen, as she strode confidently to her seat at the head of the table.

"Gentlemen," she said as she slipped into her seat, hands clasped in front of her. "I believe the first item on the agenda is the trade report on imports from Elsemaine?"

There was a silence to her question. With a furrowed brow, she lifted her gaze to see all the men, all the members of her council staring at her. She pressed her lips together and ran her tongue over her teeth, determining that there was nothing in them.

She took in a calming breath, before asking, "Is something the matter?"

They continued their staring. She resisted the urge to tug at her long braid, which had not been pulled back into its usual bun today due to the minor headache she still suffered. Had she pronounced something wrong then?

"Majesty, forgive me, but…is that a bandage, across your forehead?" Someone finally said, and there were murmurs of agreement from around him.

Elsa frowned, her fingers immediately lifting to feel the medical piece across her forehead. She'd made sure to scrub out her bloodied hair the night before, despite the difficulty of not being allowed to get the bandage wet. She'd also made sure to brush her bangs directly over the medical piece, as her sister suggested.

"It's hardly noticeable, no one is even going to think you hit your head!"

The queen bit back a scowl at the memory of her sister's words that morning. Hardly noticeable, indeed. The princess's nose could have grown like a puppet's at her lies.

A muffled laugh caught Elsa off guard. Here head snapped up, eyes focusing on the curtains across the room. A slight rustle from one of them confirmed what she'd assumed; Anna had snuck in beforehand, and was currently hiding.

"Majesty?" An uncertain voice questioned, and Elsa ripped her eyes away from her sister, and back to her council.

"Forgive me, the question caused a rush in memories." She smoothly explained away. "In response to it, yes, my forehead was bandaged yesterday, due to the stitches I acquired."

"…but how, your majesty?"

Another muffled laugh. Elsa dug her nails into her palm to keep from shooting a blast of cold air towards her sister. "The princess attempted to teach me how to ride a bicycle, and I fell, yesterday afternoon. I assume this," she motioned to her forehead, "would not have happened, had she not broken her promise of not letting go of me."

There was an affronted gasp. The men whirled their heads around, hearing it, but not quite sure where it came from. Elsa did not move a muscle, pretending not to have heard it. Inwardly, however, she knew later on she'd be getting a strong argument to her logic.

"Ah. I hope the fall was not too serious and a lesson, Queen Elsa." One of her men said, and the queen heard a distinct layer of admonishment behind his words.

She nodded thoughtfully, biting back a sharp retort that she could damn well do what she wanted at the age of twenty-one. "I should say that it was quite the important teaching, sir. I know now that my father was correct, in that safety is key and wearing a helmet is not the worst thing in the world, for the next time I ride my bicycle."

The man jerked, surprised at her response. "N-Next time?"

A muffled laugh made her lips creak upwards slightly. She was convinced that she was doing things well. "Of course. I was doing quite well, before I went over the handlebars. Don't you agree, sir, that quitting should not be an option?"

"Uh…" She'd caught the man off guard, and he stuttered through. "Y-Yes, your majesty, of course."

Elsa nodded once more, about to move on, when she her thoughts took on a different direction. Something still nagged at her, something she'd never quite figured out, or asked about for that matter. Unsure, she decided to put forward her own question.

"Many of you served my father, the king, for multiple years, correct?" She waited a moment, pressing her thumbs into themselves in nervousness, as she listened to the wary murmurs of 'yes'. "He had a betrothal arranged for me, when I was younger, I know, but it was…terminated, accidently. Did he…Why did he never pursue another agreement?"

There was a tense silence now. She realized that many of them were probably not around when she was a child, and if they were, why would they remember? It was silly of her to bring up that old nonsense. It didn't mean anything, why should she be—

"From what I gathered about the situation, majesty, the king decided the matter of betrothing you to another was not worth the late queen's fury." One voice mentioned, and Elsa looked up, her mask melting away with confusion.

"Mama knew about the agreement?" Her voice was straining, and higher pitched than it normally would be.

She heard some of the men shift awkwardly. She knew, suddenly, that it was odd for them to see her in this role. They thought of her as the queen, not as the just out of her teens, orphaned young woman.

The older gentleman nodded to her question, having served her father for years. "The late queen was always very much against decisions made in the best interest in the crown regarding your majesty, or the princess's, upbringing. I suppose she simply had a tender heart; regardless, the king did not believe it wise, and he ignored any other attempts."

Somewhere in the room, Elsa heard the softest of gasps. She assumed she wouldn't have heard it if she wasn't so stunned. She'd never even considered that her mother would have actually cared enough about her to butt heads with her father, and in a larger way, the crown.

"Well then," she struggled to get her voice under control, trying not to let on how much her head was spinning.

She looked up slightly to see a blue eye peeking out from the curtain, and half a smile. A thumbs up in her direction, and suddenly, Elsa found herself a lot less lost. In fact, she found her lips twitching, as though wanting to smile.

No matter what, Anna would always have her back. Though her sister managed to aggravate all her nerves at once, almost daily, she managed to brighten up her days. Just like Anna would go to war for her, she'd freeze anyone for her sister.

And while I'm at it, Elsa thought with a smirk to herself, I'll teach my little sister not to break her promises. "Let's start on the trade report with Elsemaine. We're currently taxing their imports at a rate of 4.3%, and they are requesting a slight reprieve, with a new percentage of 3.7%, if I'm not mistaken."

That opened the floodgates. Suddenly there was a discussion to be had, and every one person had an opinion on the matter. Elsa put on a polite face, pretending to listen, but really, she was more interested in the figure slumped against the curtain.

She'd trapped her sister now, until who knew when. Anna's one blue eye looked panicked, as though she was just realizing this as well. And Elsa couldn't be sure, but she thought she heard a muffled groan.