"Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, this is Regina Mills." Ingrid said, proudly showing off the future mother of her children. Regina bowed respectfully to the queen and princess of the castle and shook hands with Kristoff.

"Ingrid told us so much about you." Anna said, throwing her arms around Regina. Regina was too surprised to reciprocate it, but Anna didn't really care. "Sorry, I'm a hugger." The redhead said with a slight blush after she released Regina. "And I'm so happy for you and Aunt Ingrid!"

"Maybe we should give her a chance to breathe." Elsa said to stop her sister's rambling.

"Oh right, sorry. It's nice to meet you...again...when you're not trying to kill us."

"That was mostly my fault." Ingrid interjected.

"Oh, I didn't mean anything by it. Elsa's almost killed me before too. It's completely fine."

"Maybe we should go to dinner." Kristoff laughed softly, leading his girlfriend away.

"She's very excited." Elsa blushed.

"Well, that's good because I'm very nervous." Regina replied.

"Nervous?" Elsa looked confused.

"You all are the only family I have left and she wanted to meet you." Ingrid explained. "She doesn't have any left."

"What about the Charmings?"

Regina simply shook her head, not willing to go into detail about that situation. Elsa seemed to understand and changed the subject.

"How long will you be staying?"

"A few weeks-"

"But you'll be leaving before the Winter Festival."

"You still do that?" Ingrid asked.

"Absolutely. You must stay. We have plenty of room, plenty of food. I insist." Elsa pleaded. "Then you can show me some new tricks."

Ingrid looked at Regina, who simply nodded again. "Guess we're staying for a while."

"I guess so." She didn't mind staying for a while longer. Something hard and cold touched her hand and Regina looked down, eyes widening a little at a happy Olaf taking her hand. She glanced at a smirking Ingrid and a smiling Elsa, but said nothing as she allowed herself to be led to the dining hall by the talkative snowman who in matter of minutes managed to inquire about everything from who made her pretty dress to the meaning of the universe, none of which she had an answer to, not that he minded or anything. The queen and aunt followed and joined them and soon the table had been set with a delicious spread. There was a pleasant conversation for a while, filled with Anna and Olaf's endless questions about Regina, who did her best to answer each one. She was afraid they would be very invasive questions at first, but the others were just curious about her relationship with Ingrid and she found herself blushing when she answered them.

"I'm happy you're happy, Aunt Ingrid. You two are beautiful together." Elsa said with a smile at her aunt.

"That's not all. Thanks to a bit of unexpected magic, we're expecting as well. We'll be mothers soon."

Olaf and Anna both froze and looked at Regina before bursting into cheers and congratulating both women. That only brought on a new flurry of new questions and Anna demanding that Elsa throw a kingdom wide party to celebrate.

"Yes! Babies! Yes!" Olaf hopped up and ran all the way around the long table to hug Regina, who could do nothing but laugh at his enthusiasm. "Congratulations! When would you like me to babysit?"

"Olaf, calm down." Elsa said gently. She gave Regina an apologetic look. "Sorry. I know this must be a bit weird for you."

"Nonsense. Weird has no meaning for me anymore." She looked at Anna. "Thank you, but a celebration won't be necessary." Regina said, with a glance at a grinning Ingrid. "We've decided to take a more modest approach to everything."

"This is so exciting!" Anna exclaimed. "Wait, will your kids have ice powers too?"

"With Regina having magic and it being a different kind, we don't know." Ingrid replied. "But if they do or don't, they will have plenty of teachers."

"You better visit us often." Elsa said.

"Of course."

Regina wasn't sure how it happened. It was a nice dinner filled with pleasant conversation and the next thing she knew she was ducking under the table to avoid frozen apples flying at her head. She looked up at Olaf, who was searching for his nose as there was now a frozen apple where the carrot was supposed to be. "Here, Olaf." She removed the apple and turned him around where the carrot was impaled and pushed it forward, setting it back into place.

"Ooh, thank you." He grinned.

She smiled and peeked out from under the table. Ingrid and Elsa were in an all out battle with frozen apples and were using their magic to their advantage. Kristoff and Anna had overturned a table as a fort. "I take back what I said about the weird thing."

"Really?" She turned her head and came face to face with a frozen apple.

"Ingrid!"

/

Arendelle was a gorgeous kingdom in all seasons, but winter was where it shined in beauty. With a queen that could control the weather, of course it would be. The castle itself was beautiful as well. Ingrid pointed out things to her as they passed but it was very similar to her creation all those months ago on the ice lake. Dinner was excellent and after cleaning and repairing the dining room, Ingrid and Elsa took her down into the surrounding city to show her around. Olaf, the talking snowman, happily skipped ahead of them while they met the people, who were kind and a few even asked if Elsa was okay. Even after everything that had happened, they still worried for their queen's health. Some of the older women and men even remembered Ingrid as a child and had a few stories to tell about her before she discovered her powers.

That evening, Regina found herself lazily swimming around the royal hot springs. The air was permeated with steam and the water was a clear and bright blue. The dim chambers made it easy to relax and gave her time to reflect on all that had happened and all that needed to be done. So much needed to be done. Starting with a check up for her and Ingrid both, then they needed to begin work on the nursery, prepare someone to step in as mayor and to take care of the rec center when they couldn't. Gods there was so much to be done. She would have to deal with Emma too and finally put an end to this ridiculous notion of them being together.

Regina sighed and swam over to the stone steps and sat on the bottom one to keep herself submerged. One hand went to wrap around her belly and a part of her wanted to cry, just knowing that there was life within. A little miracle.

"You okay?" She flinched in surprise when Ingrid appeared in the room. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's fine." Regina held out a hand to her and Ingrid removed her clothes and came to sit on the step next to her, letting out a sigh as she sank into the warm water. "I was just deep in thought. About...everything."

"I understand. Did you want to be alone?"

"No." Regina smiled, pecking her lover's lips. "Not when I could be with you."

Ingrid blushed and laid her head on Regina's shoulder. "What are we going to do?"

"I suppose we have to get ready to start a family."

"I'm nervous." The blonde admitted.

"Don't be." Regina took her hand beneath the water and gave it a squeeze. "Soon, we will have little babies throwing frozen apples and making snowmen all day long. We...could raise them in Arendelle if you wished..."

Ingrid raised her head to look at her in disbelief. "You mean it?"

"Absolutely."

"But we've done so much work on the center. And the kids… We couldn't possibly leave them like that. Perhaps, we could just visit a lot."

Regina shrugged. "Whatever you want, Ingrid. You can have anything you desire."

"Because I knocked you up?" Regina grinned and Ingrid rolled her eyes. "You're ridiculous."

"And yet I am about to start a family with the woman I love." The former queen returned. "Ridiculous or not, I am living the dream and I do not ever want to wake from it."

"It's not a dream at all." Ingrid smiled. "It's a beautiful reality. One long overdue for us both."

"I agree."

The weeks that followed were everything Regina expected them to be. Bliss. Every day was spent doing something new and Ingrid was glad to show her every piece of her home, even taking her for sleigh rides through the mountains. For the first time, Regina found herself falling in love with snow. Because of its name, it always held negative connotations for her. Ingrid and her family erased all of that in a matter of months. She particularly loved the sled racing with Kristoff and Sven and watching Elsa and Ingrid put on magic shows for the people while snacking on the endless supply of chocolate Anna seemed to possess. It was a very relaxing time and she enjoyed seeing Ingrid's homeland, however, her lover was far from done. She took Regina across the fjord on aSnowfire, who appeared to be a magical horse, to show her the hidden island in the middle of the sea.

"What is this place?" Regina asked, dismounting and landing softly on the white sand of the beach.

"My place." Ingrid dropped down next to her and took her hand. "I made it with my magic when I was teaching myself to use it."

"I can feel it." Regina said. Her skin tingled just being here and her own magic seemed to react to the new world around her. The island was small and covered in a forest. The trees were tall and thick with leaves in pale pinks and purples and grass that was light blue. There were dozens of small creatures here, some real and others looked to be made of ice and snow. There were spears of ice lodged into homemade targets and half a dozen conjured sleighs and sleds. Along with it came various ice sculptures that gradually grew in complexity and detail, small snowflake designs hanging from the trees and to her surprise, a jagged wall of ice that had split the very ground and arced high up into the air.

"That was born of frustration." Ingrid said. "It was sort of a wake up call for me."

"It scared you." Regina guessed.

Ingrid nodded. "Before this, I was starting to realize that I held something beautiful. I was excited to try out my magic, to learn new spells, test my limits and then…" She gestured to the ice. "This just reminded me of the man I killed in the forest. Of the damage I could truly do."

"Well, magic is dangerous." Regina shrugged. "And you are incredibly powerful. Things would've been worse if you hadn't practiced." She said. "But your magic makes you, you. And it is beautiful." Snowflakes started to fall around them and Regina held out her tongue to catch one. Ingrid was bright red when she looked at her. "What?"

"I love you." Ingrid whispered.

Regina smiled. "I love you too-" The kiss was abrupt and tender. Ingrid's lips were cool against hers and so soft, so sweet. It made her heart flutter and her hands tremble. The only thing that steadied them was wrapping Ingrid in her arms. There was peace in her heart and soul whenever she did. She couldn't believe a single woman had changed her in such a way and yet, she had. Free. Ingrid made her feel so free, so loved. Lighter than air. She was ready for the life that awaited her with Ingrid. She was ready for her happy ending.

Giggling made her open her eyes and she found herself kissing a snowman. "What the hell?" She spun around and found Ingrid laughing her head off. The blonde took off when Regina chased after her. She chased Ingrid through this beautiful, foreign world she'd created. It seemed to exist in a space and time of its own. So did they. Until evening gave way to night, the pair would spend the rest of the day on the island, making plans for the future. It ended up being a quiet night on the beach and Regina closed her eyes as they sat in the sand, listening to the waves crash upon the shore and Ingrid humming a soft tune she didn't recognize.

"What song is that?"

"A lullaby." Ingrid answered. "My mother used to sing to me. Elsa reminded me of it when she said Gerda would sing to her and Anna." Regina pulled her knees to her chin and wrapped her arms around them, looking expectantly at the blonde. "Oh no, I can't sing."

"If we're going to sing to our children, I have to know the words." Regina reasoned. "Teach it to me. Just one little verse."

"Regina."

"Please?" Regina pleaded. She could see a tinge of red rise in Ingrid's face and she wondered why she was so nervous to do this for her. It was just the two of them and it wasn't like Regina was going to laugh or something.

Ingrid cleared her throat and began to sing softly, just loud enough for Regina, as if she were afraid of being overhead. Her voice was quite nice although it shook with her nervousness. "Where the north wind meets the sea. There's a river full of memory. Sleep, my darling, safe and sound. For in this river all is found." She looked at Regina, who waved for her to keep going. "In her waters, deep and true. Lay the answers and a path for you. Dive down deep into her sound. But not too far or you'll be drowned. "

"Kinda ominous for a lullaby." Regina smirked. "But it's beautiful. You have a lovely voice, Ingrid. Why were you so nervous to sing?"

"I've never sang in front of anyone but Helga before. She was the one with the lovely voice." Ingrid shrugged. "I don't know. Sometimes you make me nervous and I don't know why."

"You never have to be nervous with me." R egina climbed into her lap, stealing a kiss and eliciting a moan from her blonde lover. She wanted to hear more of that sweet sound. Ingrid's hands slipped under her shirt before stopping. "Ingrid?"

"Ssh." Ingrid whispered. In the distance, they heard a horse. Regina stood up and looked around. "Nokk!" The water horse they'd taken to get here was barrelling towards them, cutting through the fog at breakneck speed. It wouldn't stop calling. "Something's wrong."

"Ingrid." Regina moved in front of her lover when she spotted the large shapes gliding quietly through the mist. "Silence it. Now." Ingrid waved her hand and the horse dissolved into the sea.

"Ships." There were dozens of them, heading straight for Arendelle.

"Recognize the sail?"

"I do. They're from Weselton." Ingrid scowled. "Their leader is a duke. A little weasel more like."

"I'm guessing he's not a friend. Wait, isn't he-"

"A conniving bastard who used my sister as a human shield, called me a monster and threatened to tell the world about my powers? Yes." Snowflakes began to fall around them.

"Is Arendelle at war?" Regina asked, watching the ships about to enter the harbor.

"No-"

A sound like thunder cracked the air. Cannonballs ripped through the night, flying at the castle. "They are now." Before Regina could move, Ingrid had already sprang into action. She'd never seen Ingrid truly angry before, so it was quite a surprise...and a bit of a turn on. Ingrid leaped across the water, the temperature dropping so swiftly that the water froze before she touched it. She stomped her left foot and the earth rumbled as great shards of ice sprang out of the water, spearing the lead ships through their hulls. She raised her hand, lifting them higher atop a massive wall of ice, preventing the other ships from reaching the harbor. Another motion of her hand made spikes shoot out of the wall.

"Holy shit." Regina whispered in awe.

Ingrid's actions raised alarm amongst the sailors, who turned some of their cannons on the island while the rest attempted to blow a hole in her ice wall. Regina raised a magical shield around them. Ingrid looked at her and her strange expression made Regina turn around. More ships. These had different flags and golden sails. An armada was bearing down on Arendelle.

"Those are from the Southern Isles. It's a full invasion."

The ships bearing the flags of the Southern Isles began firing at the city. She could hear the screams and terror from the people above the cannonfire. Elsa was on her way, sliding across a bridge of ice over the buildings, but she wouldn't reach them before the armada reached the city.

"Take Weselton. I'll take the Southern Isles." Regina called, racing off across the island. She had to stop them.

"Be careful!" Ingrid yelled after her.

Regina smirked. Oh, she would be careful alright. She had someone to destroy. Cannonballs showered the island around her, destroying Ingrid's precious little world and splattering her with dirt and sludge. She kept moving, running through her arsenal of spells that would have the greatest effect over a large area. If she could just stop the lead ships like Ingrid had, it would force the rest to halt as well. A little fireball wasn't going to cut it. A big one might… That would just obliterate the ship and kill everyone near here. Besides, she just needed to hold them off. No doubt the city was being evacuated so the people needed time to get to safety. Why were they even being attacked? The enemy had already opened fire on the city so they would be destroyed regardless, but she couldn't recall Elsa mentioning problems with the Southern Isles or Weselton. Well, recent problems.

She heard Ingrid calling out to her and turned around. Ingrid made an up motion and she understood. It was difficult to do from this distance, but she managed to use her magic and launch Ingrid up into the air. Her jaw dropped when she spotted the ball of ice growing in Ingrid's palm. She raised it into the air and it snapped to boulder size in the blink of an eye. Another blink and it completely dwarfed the Ice Queen herself.

Regina grinned wickedly as she launched herself into the air, flames exploding from her feet. She summoned a fireball in her right hand and threw all of her power into it, light and dark magic fused into one attack. She tapped into her half-elvish for the right spell and chose to use the word for force. "Sanguma." Magic erupted from her fist, blasting a crater in the water below that sent a wave of water crashing into the ships and blasting them sideways. Some even started to sink from ruptured hulls. They smashed into one another and one even capsized completely, but Regina was prepared for that. She sent out another spell that would pull the men from the water and move them to the beach where Arendelle's army was assembling.

Ingrid's attack fell at the same moment as hers. She launched the gigantic ball of ice downwards and it struck the water like a meteor. The ships flew backwards, some almost surfing on the massive wave she'd created. Regina moved over to land with her on the ice wall.

"Why are you so amazing?" She asked, looking at Ingrid with new eyes. "I knew you were powerful, but...damn."

Ingrid smiled. "I hate those guys."

Elsa landed next to them, looking at the sea of broken ships with wide eyes. "You two defeated an entire armada."

"Not all of them could fit in the harbor so unfortunately, you still have a problem." Regina motioned to the rest of the ships pulling back. "They're going to be back."

"I thought I'd put an end to this." Elsa frowned.

"They assembled an armada of at least a hundred ships." Ingrid stated. "They've been planning this for a while."

"They will not have Arendelle." Regina said. "Not while we're here."

Ingrid smirked at her. She snapped her fingers, conjuring a slide for them to use to reach the docks. With a wave of her hand the ice wall dispersed. Regina made a hand motion as well that pushed everything in the harbor backwards and out towards the armada. Sunken ships rose to the surface and stranded men were also included. The rest would be interrogated. She would spend the rest of the night repairing cannonball holes around the city and it was dawn before she and Ingrid limped into their rooms and collapsed onto the bed. Regina rolled onto her side and looked at Ingrid.

"You're pretty badass, you know that?"

Ingrid's head snapped up. "Oh please, you turned your feet into rockets."

"Your ice wall could stop missiles."

"That force blast was amazing!"

"You created an ice meteor!"

The pair looked at each other for a moment and burst out laughing. Just one more reason to love Ingrid even more. Regina was always attracted to power and she knew few people who match Ingrid if the Snow Queen really wanted to defeat them.

"When we've rested, we must have sex." She declared.

"I agree, but we also must be mindful of how much power we're using."

"I agree." Using too much magic weakened the caster. Going beyond one's limits too much could have detrimental effects and it would be worse since they were pregnant. "Tonight was fun though."

Ingrid giggled. "It was."

Both women would sleep until the next afternoon. After a bath, they both got dressed and made their way to the kitchens. Regina collected some vegetables and Ingrid prepared the pot for some stew. They were so hungry they added some of everything into it and nearly ate the whole thing.

"Is there any left?" Olaf asked, skipping into the kitchen with the Arendelle sisters behind him.

"Plenty left, Olaf." Ingrid smiled.

"How are the people?" Regina asked, looking at Elsa.

"Frightened and confused. We've had disagreements with the Southern Isles and Weselton before but never have they tried something like this, Never has anyone. I just don't understand."

"It could have nothing to do with you and your past relationships with these kingdoms." Regina suggested. "From what Ingrid's told me, Arendelle is in a prime position for trade. It could be as simple as greed. With me and Ingrid here they might give up. If it's personal, they'll most likely try something like this again."

"We've doubled the watch, stationed men all across the fjord, warned the citizens and pulled in every ship or fishermen's boat we have. If they blockade the harbor-"

"We can destroy them." Regina shrugged. "In fact, that'll be better since they will be farther from the city. Easier to destroy them."

"As you can see, Regina has one thing on her mind." Ingrid commented. "Did you find out anything from the men we pulled from the water?"

"Not yet."

"Then we'll join you." Regina smirked. "I'm very good at...interrogation."

Ingrid smiled. "Regina, have you forgotten why we're in Arendelle?"

"Yes and I have been very nice. I doubt Queen Elsa is surprised by this considering I used to be the Evil Queen."

"Let's go, your majesty. The sooner we get to the bottom of this the sooner we can put an end to it."

Elsa took the lead down to the dungeon. There, Regina stopped them and went in alone. "What is she doing?"

"Probably choosing which one of our new prisoners will be the most 'helpful'."

"I've never had to deal with anything like this before." Elsa admitted.

"Hopefully you never will again. Don't worry."

Regina returned, leading a trembling young man. He was small and thin with red hair and dark green eyes. He had a face full of freckles and a few cuts on her right cheek from falling overboard the night before. One of the guards escorted him to a separate room. "You should have someone talk to the rest of the prisoners, but I doubt you'll get much. This one is promising." She allowed Anna and Elsa to take the lead and she and Ingrid remained in the back of the room while they spoke to the young man.

"Tell me who you work for!" Anna yelled, smacking the man across the face.

"Anna!"

"Perhaps a more tempered approach is appropriate." Regina suggested. She nudged Anna away and walked around the table to gently touch the boy's face and heal his wounds. He flinched away from her touch, but she ignored that. He couldn't have been older than Henry and was probably working as a deckhand or possibly a stowaway. "What's your name?"

"Noah."

"Well, Noah, I have some questions. If you answer them, we'll see about you getting some new clothes and a hot meal. No one is going to harm you. We just want to know why the Southern Isles and Weselton have allied."

"I don't know anything." He said instantly.

Regina arched an eyebrow. "Where are you from, Noah?"

"The Southern Isles."

"Who is the leader of the Southern Isles?"

"King Eogan."

Regina looked at Elsa. "Is that correct?"

"No." Elsa frowned slightly. "Eogan is one of the king's sons."

Regina looked at Noah. "When did Eogan become king?" Noah clenched his jaw, refusing to speak. "Recently? Yes, it must've been recently. Is he the eldest son?"

"No." Elsa answered. Noah's jaw clenched again.

"So, the Hans fellow who came to Arendelle before is the youngest prince and he knew he'd never be king of his own kingdom because he has so many older brothers. He sought to steal this kingdom but perhaps, one of his brothers had much darker thoughts. Perhaps he killed his older brothers and father." Noah stiffened considerably and glared daggers at her. "Regardless, there's a new king of the Southern Isles and he seems to be a ruthless one."

"But we've done nothing to the Southern Isles." Anna said.

"Nothing you know of." Regina replied. She looked at Noah again. "Am I correct, Noah? What does King Eogan want? More territory? Revenge for his baby brother's humiliation? Or has he just decided to conquer the world? The Southern Isles is a very tiny kingdom on a very tiny island with very little influence." Noah clenched his jaw twice. "King Eogan disagrees?" She tossed his forehead for a brief moment and turned to leave the room and held the door open for the other women.

"He didn't answer anything but his name." Anna said.

"I didn't expect him to. He clenched his jaw whenever I said something he didn't like. It's like a little tick that he couldn't control. He was doing it in his cell. I also checked his most recent memories. He didn't like the way I talked about the Southern Isles, which leads me to believe that his king would feel the same sentiment. I don't think this is personal, I just think this new king wants more than he has and he is willing to fight for it."

"What do you think Weselton has to do with this?" Elsa asked.

Regina shrugged. "They could be allied given your past with the nation or because it makes sense. Everyone knows Arendelle is being protected by a woman with magical powers. It'd be best to attack full force if they'd want to take over the city. They probably didn't take into account that there was a second ice witch on the fjord."

"They certainly weren't prepared for the Evil Queen." Ingrid said.

"We need to speak to King Eogan then." Elsa decided.

"Or better yet, prepare Arendelle for war."

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