White Queen

One Thing at a Time

She didn't quite expect things to go this way.

Based on her discussion with the Council and her own consideration, she had come to the decision that it was necessary for her to shift around and adjust a few things in her ruling, to start sharing a few of her burdens to trusted people instead of having to shoulder them all herself, considering the doctor's warning of her needing to avoid stress now that she was carrying her firstborn child.

One of her decisions was to include Anna more into the picture.

As much as she did not want her younger sister to have to live the way that she did, she had to admit that it was necessary for the Princess to learn a few key things, mostly about responsibility, just in case that something was to happen to the Queen and required her to give up her crown -death was highly feared but she did not want to put it into actual words, and Anna had lived her carefree life for a little too long now, ignoring the apparent duty that she too have and leaving it all on the older sister. Such thought had come from her Council men.

Yet it would be unwise to simply dump everything on her without letting her adjust.

Anna would need help, at least until she was used to her new duty as the Queen's personal overseer of Arendelle ice trade, and she needed to get acquired to her new partner that the Queen thought she had never met before.

Clearly that was untrue.

"You."

The blonde haired man, one that she had just summoned to enter her study where she and Anna were in, wide eyes staring at the Princess with such disbelief after she had spoken that one simple word that had shattered Elsa's expectations of having to introduce the two. "I see you've met each other."

"He crashed into me."

"You fell into my sled."

Ah right, the ice harvester that Anna had met years ago. The one that has a reindeer as a pet, wasn't it?

Clearing her throat, as to gain the attention of the two that had glared at each other by now, she had first addressed the younger sister with her gaze with the intend to brief the Princess' part of the duty. "Kristoff Bjorgman here," gesturing the man with a wave of her hand, watching as Anna's turquoise eyes had merely flickered to the side to glance at him. "Will be the one giving you reports over our harvest of ice. Now you will have to overlook them and decide however you see benefit most."

She had explained Kristoff's part earlier to him, face-to-face, before the Princess' arrival, the reason why he had remained there was to simply be present for Anna to see, apparently he did not find the time between her end of explanation and Anna's summoning to be the perfect time for him to tell her that he had met the Princess.

Sensing the displeased aura coming from her younger sister, and seeing the clear scowl she had on her face, she had dismissed Kristoff, allowing him to return to his own business at hand now that his task in facing the Queen was completed, and after a respectful bow to both royalties, he had turned to leave through the door that Kai had led him in earlier.

"Why it has to be him?" Anna had questioned, right after the sound of footsteps faded in the halls, without giving the older much of a time to speak up herself. "There's a lot of other ice harvesters, right Elsa? Some even more experienced than him, older than him, so why must it be him?"

"Anna, he's a very experienced ice harvester, mind you." The questions thrown at her by the Princess had brought a frown upon her face, as she did not recall Anna to be one who judge people based on their appearance only, but her opinions may have been biased by her personal experience. "And amongst the professionals, his age is the closest to you, I thought it would be best." Having Anna work with someone far older than her would risk awkwardness in their way of thinking, besides she really does take a certain liking to Kristoff, despite the reindeer smell that lingered around him and made her nose scrunched up. He needs a bath, a long one.

"Yeah, but-"

One hand raised to halt her sister's words, she shot her a look while her other hand had come to rest against her belly under the table. She would not have Anna complaining in her choice of partner and would definitely not change it, not when she had spent weeks in judging Kristoff to be her best choice. "All you need to do is to receive his reports and look it over." She would have to overlook it later when it was given to her, just the first few to make sure Anna was choosing right, and once the Princess' judgment was trustworthy then she shall stop. "Hans would handle trading with the neighboring kingdoms." The mention of her husband's part prompted a whine to come from Anna, demanding on why she did not get the part instead, yet it was once again silenced by her glare. "Help me on this, please Anna?"

"Fine." The Princess had let out a grunt of displeasure, but nodded anyway as she did not let on with her disagreement. "But you will have to listen to my complaining."

A deal she did not particularly favor nor like, as Anna's complains means that she was not handling her duty professionally, but she had hope that perhaps working together would also improve her relation with the Ice Harvester. "When I'm not busy, fine."

--

"You're early."

Narrowing her eyes at her husband who had just stepped into the bedchamber, her lips turned into a scowl at his comment. After dinner, it was usual of her to continue working in her study until late at night, sometimes even when he had fallen asleep before her, so he must have been surprised to see her already in bed when he had returned from his own business. "I have a headache." And she was still so easily exhausted lately, she knew working in such condition would not give her a maximal result, thus why she had agreed when her ladies-in-waiting had suggested her to retire back to her bedchamber earlier than before.

Hans had bend down, lips meeting hers in a light kiss as he unbuttoned his shirt, before his lips moved to press against her forehead instead. "My poor Queen," his whisper tickled her as he left another kiss down on her cheek. "You shouldn't be working so hard."

"I know." She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him for stating the obvious, no matter how she had been trying to avoid it herself, and had put a halting hand on his chest. "I already assigned Anna to her new duty."

"I still think you should divide your duties more evenly." Moving to change behind the changing screen, Hans had not seen the furrowing of her brows at his words. "Compared to your overall duties, Anna and I barely help."

She was Queen, it was expected of her and it was what she had born into, she had spent most of her childhood preparing for such weight to bear on her shoulders, everything that goes around the kingdom and it's relation with others had to go through her, every decision that she made impact on Arendelle, and she had prepared herself for such thing the moment her Father had told her of the importance of being Queen.

The helps offered to her was highly appreciated, especially when it came from both her husband and her sister, she knew she needed it, even more than before now that she was expecting a child, seeing how delicate her condition could be, but it was hard for her to let go of the things she had grown up with.

"One thing at a time, darling."

Kristoff is officially introduced in the story!