"The Southern Isles?" Elsa tilted her head in curiosity. She has heard of that small Kingdom, smaller than even Arendelle but rich when it comes to marine resources.
Henry nodded his head, "We can't form a Federation or make Arendelle a vassal with the Southern Isles in the middle between our Kingdoms." He rubbed his chin and continued, "Either we have to put the Southern Isles as Lioncrest's vassal or we also include them in the federation."
"Though I'm thinking of the former. The latter is too risky since we'll have to share power with them and we don't even know their King that much."
Honestly, it's just a plausible reason Henry came up with. The real reason is because of the Frozen film. If someone like Prince Hans can be a cruel little shit, no doubt he must've inherited it from someone.
And who else could it be but his parents?
So Henry preferred to make their Kingdom as a vassal. However, doing so comes with a problem.
No doubt, the Southern Isles would reject if they proposed making them a vassal. It's like asking a person to sign a slave contract for life.
Lioncrest Kingdom needs a reason. There's also the option to wage war against the Southern Isles until they submit but it comes with many heavy consequences.
In its entire history, Lioncrest has never been the one to initiate wars with others. His Kingdom only joins a war in retaliation when someone attacks them. If they were to initiate a war, the other Four Great Kingdoms might take advantage of this to start another Great War between the Five.
Lioncrest Kingdom has always been rich in resources, land, and everything. Even the smaller Kingdoms yearn for what they have. Hence, during the past Great Wars, Lioncrest became the focal point of the war and yet, they survived stronger than ever.
In simple terms, they need a reason to attack Southern Isles until they forcibly sign a vassal contract for life.
"What are you thinking?" Elsa, who has been left hanging for a few minutes, couldn't help but ask curiously especially after seeing Henry change his expression several times.
Henry snapped out of his thoughts, "Nothing. Just thinking how to make the Southern Isles submit without painting us as the bad guys."
Elsa puckered her lips. She hasn't been taught about politics yet, so there's nothing much she can help with.
"Well, I suppose I should inform you of my coronation ceremony. Kai and I have decided to schedule it four months from now, we'll also lift the lockdown imposed on Arendelle on the same day."
"Coronation?" Henry's face turned bright, if this were a cartoon, a lightbulb would appear floating on the top of his head.
"That's it!" Elsa was startled by Henry's sudden reaction, "The coronation ceremony! We can use that!"
Elsa's brows creased, curious about where Henry was getting at, "What's with the coronation ceremony? I was actually planning on inviting you over, this time, as the Crown Prince of Lioncrest."
Henry nodded his head in agreement, he needed to be there when the event happened, especially as the representative of Lioncrest Kingdom.
'I can use that. Prince Hans obviously had plans to take over Arendelle in the first place, but what if I add fuel to the fire?" While questioning this, Henry gave Elsa a side glance before asking.
"Say, Elsa. Now that your powers are exposed to those people earlier, it'll obviously soon be known throughout the entire Arendelle Kingdom, and after that, the entire continent. Do you have any plans about it?"
Elsa fell into deep thought, "I'm…actually not sure yet."
"Alright, hear me out. You see, you used your powers to save your own people from both slavery and two sea monsters." Right as he finished his words, Elsa interrupted him.
"Wait. But it was you who actually saved them from becoming slaves, it was just a coincidence that I was there."
Such naivety almost made Henry grab her cheeks and kiss her on the lips. He shook his head and corrected her, "That's the original story but you're the Princess, soon to be Queen. You must realize that you have the power to spin the narrative. Through rumors, we can paint you as the one who used her powers to save her own people."
Seeing that Elsa still looked a bit hesitant about it, he commented, "If we don't do this, you might turn the entire Arendelle into your enemy. People hate it when they're facing something that is unknown to them but if we're open about it and even introduce it in a good light? It'll be a different story." Henry leaned forward and whispered, "They might even start seeing you as a Goddess as long as you continue to use your powers to the benefit of your people."
Soon enough, Elsa's reluctance started to break, "…I mean, I just don't want to lie to my people but if what you're saying is true…then let's do it."
Henry grinned at her answer and said something that made her blush, "That's my girl."
'He called me his girl…' Elsa looked down at the ground, trying to hide her reddened cheeks as she fiddled with her finger.
"Then hear out my plan…"
———
A few days had passed before they arrived back in Arendelle. The way Kai scolded her like a father catching his daughter sneaking out to meet her boyfriend made Henry chuckle. But still, Henry helped her in the explanation, and combined with the fact that they just saved around 10 Arendelle civilians that were about to be sold as slaves instantly turned Kai into a proper servant.
With the man's arrangements, the Arendellian slaves were safely brought back to the arms of their loved ones. Liam and his retinue were warmly welcomed to the royal castle where they were served with steaming hot dishes.
As for Elsa, her sister Anna grabbed her for another scolding. Though knowing that girl, she might just beg Elsa to tell her everything about her adventure especially after hearing that Elsa fought two huge sea monsters with Henry.
On the other hand, Henry trusted Kai and informed him of his blooming relationship with Elsa.
"That'll be a bit of a problem. You're both a Prince and a Princess of two different Kingdoms. It would be complicated if you were to make her your Queen as she is already a soon to be Queen of Arendelle." Kai paced around the hallway, deep in contemplation.
When Henry proposed the vassal plan, he vehemently refused, saying it would be an insult to the Arendellian citizens and their culture to serve under another Kingdom.
But when Henry shifted the topic to a Federation, his reaction was more gentle.
"We can do that. There have been similar things in the past and not to mention, Arendelle was once part of an alliance with several other Kingdoms…This Federation idea of yours would make the two Kingdoms much closer compared to a simple alliance."
Henry agreed with him and added, "We can start with a trade alliance first and then a military alliance before diving into the Federation." In this way, it wouldn't be suspicious to the other Kingdoms. After all, the idea of a Federation is not yet known across the continent. If Lioncrest Kingdom, one of the Five Great Kingdoms with several alliances with other Kingdoms suddenly proposed a Federation with Arendelle, it might displease the others.
But that's when the problem arose. The Southern Isles are situated between Arendelle and Lioncrest. Having a Federation means a shared territory, resources, manpower, and military. How can the two Kingdoms share their territory when there's a neutral Kingdom between them?
When Henry told him of the plan, Kai was quick to agree.
It turns out, the Southern Isles have long been a pain in Arendelle's arse as the former kept pestering them to restore their previous alliance and trade routes. Not to mention, the Southern Isles' King kept suggesting that his sons should marry either Elsa or Anna to deepen their alliance.
Throughout these few years, after the death of their King and Queen, it has been Kai who has been writing several excuse letters that politely refused the King's bold approaches.
'Wanting to marry Elsa? Heh, over my dead body.' Henry frowned when hearing the story from Kai and immediately, his previous hesitation to make a move against the Southern Isles disappeared.
———
After his short chat with Kai, Henry was interrupted by Liam while on his way to Elsa's room.
"Liam? Is something wrong?" Henry raised an eyebrow.
Liam seemed a bit hesitant, "Henry, you're not…planning to stay here do you? Lioncrest needs you. The competition for the throne is going to be bloody without you."
Realizing where he's getting at, Henry found it funny, "Liam. Lioncrest is my home, and I won't exchange anything for it. So yes, I'm still planning to leave, just give me a few days to settle things here, okay?"
The tension on Liam's shoulders disappeared as he nodded his head in understanding. Now that he got the confirmation, he was about leave when Henry stopped him in his tracks, "Liam?"
"Yes, Prince Henry?"
"There is a man in the abandoned district. He's an expert in both medicine for humans and animals. I've made my decision to bring him back to Arendelle along with his soon-to-be wife and his friends."
Liam was surprised at first before nodding his head in agreement. Their ship is quite large and can accommodate a few more people just fine.
"I understand." And only then did he finally leave.
As for Henry. He didn't bother telling him who the friends were that he was talking about. Let Liam discover that himself, he can't wait to see his reaction to it.
———
When Henry talked about settling his things first, he meant Elsa and Master Pabbie. The former to get to know each other better and the latter for learning more magic spells.
"You want to go on a date with me? What's a date?" In the royal garden, Henry sat in front of Elsa, both of them drinking tea. Although Henry prefers coffee rather than tea since Elsa likes it, he's willing to endure.
Henry placed the tea cup on the table and cleared his throat, "Ehem! Date is something simple. We go out together, just the two of us. We can go anywhere we want. Think of date as something to make us closer, to form bonds and things like that."
Seeing her understanding nod, he sneakily added, "Usually, dates usually end with a…kiss. Ehem."
Surprisingly, Elsa blushed and agreed without much to say, "O-Okay…"
'Well, that's not the reaction I was expecting.' Now it was Henry's turn to get flustered. He just said the last line for giggles and to make her blush but it turns out, she was ready for a second kiss.
"…A-Alright then. Let's go on a date tomorrow." She tucked a hair behind her ear and said.
As for Henry, he found himself lost in her face. Starting from her eyes that seemed to twinkle despite the absence of light to reflect, then to her nose that Henry wanted to lightly pinch for a laugh, and then her lips. There's nothing left to say about it, Henry licked his own lips and gulped.
'Is this what being in love feels like? It's like I want to super glue our lips together…' Henry bashfully thought to himself, shaking his head to snap out of his trance.
Unbeknownst to him, his focus on her facial features made him miss the fact that she was also staring at him, her eyes darting to his, then to his lips. There was silence between them but there was a rhythmic noise inside their chests.
———————————
[A little bit short of a chapter. Missing like 50 words out of the usual 2k words for every chapter.]
[It may not sound much but my OCD is tingling!]