White Queen

The Queen's Dearest

Please, no more rumors and spoilers for Frozen 2 in the comment section. I love breaking down and theorize the trailers with my friends, but I still don't want to know too much since I wish to enjoy the movie. So please, don't.

Everything was falling in place.

With the start of the new year now upon them, she had been true to her words that she would keep her hands off the works inside her study –didn't even plan to go through the door unless completely necessary. The doctor had predicted that her child was to be born as late as early spring, but babies could come rather unexpectedly, and it was royal regulations for Queens to take the last few months off work to focus more on herself and her child anyway.

The nursery had been completed, it was actually where she had found herself in lately, just to sit by the window, soaking in the atmosphere and the room where her child will soon occupied, humming quiet familiar melodies that her Mother had once sung to her and Anna as she tucked them in the night. She loved the moment, to just be alone with her child, able to talk as she ran her fingers against her belly without the need to feel embarrassed for doing such silly thing. Sometimes she brought a book with her and read aloud, of tales and poems of that she had grew up with as her mean of seeing the world without actually needing to get out.

Hans and Anna had their hands quite full lately, as her absence did not mean her work and duty to rule the kingdom was put on hold, thus why they had been doing their best in handling it all with the help of her Council. And yet even in the middle of their busy days, they were still able to spare their time to join her in every meal, to come check on her and making sure that even when she was to roam the castle alone most of the time, she did not feel so lonely.

In the night, her husband would laid his head on her lap as she sat against the headboard of their bed, listening to their babe moving inside as he told her of his day and she told hers to him. It gave her a certain comfort of knowing that even when she did not personally oversee her kingdom, it was still doing well and that her people was just as happy. Arendelle had been her home, she was born and raised there, it was the kingdom that her father had entrusted her with, and to see it prosper beautifully allowed her to sleep in peace.

"Have you thought of baby names?"

One of her favorite past time was to spend time with her younger sister, if she had not been as busy, lounging around in the Recreational room as they put their stocking-cladded feet up the coffee table, snacking on the pieces of chocolate and dried fruits that the servants had brought from the kitchen, balancing the plate on top of her belly that truly amused the younger sister. The question had not been able to stop her from putting another piece of chocolate into her mouth, letting it melt against her tongue as she shook her head.

"Wait, what? Why not?" The Princess shifted in her seat to lean sideways against the backrest instead to have a proper look at her sister, tilting her head with a frown on her face. "The baby is merely about a month away, no?"

Her shoulders lifted up in a shrug as she stared at the plate instead, watching it sway lightly as her babe squirmed within her. "I don't know. I do have a few in mind but nothing certain. Hans and I, we don't want to decide on something then have the baby born and feel that it's not fitting." Her head turned then, to look at her sister –able to count the freckles that adored her cheeks and the bridge of her nose at this distance, with a frown. "Is it weird?"

"For someone who always come prepared for anything? A little." Anna's fingers came to pick a piece of dried fruit, popping it into her mouth as she returned to a normal position, though only for her body to bend sideways until her head met her older sister's in a light bump. "But I understand what you are going for."

She wanted to see her child, to hold it in her arms, and then have a name that truly fit for it. Deciding beforehand without having any idea or even a picture of what her baby would look like didn't feel right. It was said that women would have vivid dreams of what their child may look like, it was said to help with the naming of it, but she had not have any luck. Her dreams barely have her child in it, even when there was, the face would be hidden from her view. It seemed that she truly needed to be patient.

"Mother and Father would have been happy." The strawberry blonde haired Princess' voice was quiet when she spoke, almost unheard of if only she did not lean against her, out of the corner of her eyes she could see her blinking as she stared up the ceiling. "They would be grandparents soon."

Her own lips were pressed in a thin line as the back of her hand came to rest against her younger sister's cheek, feeling it's warmth against her bare skin. She remembered her dream where she met their parents, of how she had cried and how they had asked for her forgiveness, of how they reminded her to care for her child and not to make the same mistake that they did. They were good people, good parents that had tried their best to keep both of their children safe, mistakes were made but everything had been in the past. She remembered of how she had saw how King Frederick and Queen Arianna had been with Marlene, the adoration in their eyes, the beaming pride and the utmost love, and how she had wondered if her parents would have reacted the same way.

They probably would, but there was no way that she would be able to know for sure, for they were not there with them anymore. But her sister was. Her sister stayed by her side, had trusted her and held her hands, supported her through the things that was sure to bring her down should there was no feisty Princess of Arendelle to hold her in place as her rock.

"Anna, what would I do without you?"

Feeling the younger sister's head move, sliding down onto her shoulder instead, she turned to see the wide turquoise eyes staring up at her, a gentle smile plastered on her lips as warm fingers held cold ones. "You'll always have me."

--

"Your Mother sent me a letter."

There was no need for her to turn around to know how he had reacted to that, for she could feel his body suddenly tensing against her back, of how his fingers stopped playing with hers as both sat on their bed, and how he had inhaled deeply.

"What did she say?"

She was well aware of how Hans' relationship was with his family, how tense and how it made him so uncomfortable to the point that he refused to discuss of it most of the time. But she didn't want to hold secrets away from him, had tasted first-hand on how it could affect their relationship, and the Queen of the Southern Isles was actually one of the very few people that Hans did not avoid completely.

Receiving the letter was already a surprise for her when she had laid her eyes on the seal, especially since it was addressed to her and not to Hans, but to see Queen Adela signature had been be the one that truly shocked her. "She wanted to congratulate us personally-"

"A little late for that."

Ignoring his remark, she didn't even bother to nudge him for such harsh comment that was laced with a bitter tone, she had only leaned herself back further against his chest. "And she expressed her wish to see her grandchild once it's born."

"No."

Closing her eyes, she let out a breath. She expected the answer, as well as Queen Adela, who had specifically wrote that the reason why she had written to her and not to her own son was for her fear that he might rip apart or toss the letter into the fireplace before even giving a chance of reading it. "Hans-"

"We are not going to the Southern Isles with our child and my family is definitely not coming here."

Her hand reached up to touch his jaw as she turned and looked up, urging him to look down to her as she gave him a reassuring smile. "She didn't ask, only express, none of them would come unless we invite them." Her fingers caressed the side of his face until his gaze slowly softened, his arms coming to wrap around her. "I only want you to know."

"You, Anna, and our child, is the only family that I needed, Elsa."