Title: Fixing Mistakes
Fandom: Frozen
Characters/Pairings: Elsa, Hans/Anna
WARNING: Major Character death
All disclaimers apply.
Prince Hans Westergärd of the Southern Isles was out to kill her.
That— Queen Elsa of Arrendelle was certain of.
Cradling her cup of tea, she gazed out her window, recalling the strange events that took place fairly recently. The broken chandelier. The uneven step in the staircase. The poisonous snake in her bed. Most damning of all - the small fire that had broken out in her study. All these coincided with the residence of Anna's husband.
Her sister's marriage was a result of the young girl's stubbornness. When Elsa had denied them blessing of their sudden marriage announcement, Anna refused to yield. When the gates had shut, the young princess had disappeared. It had taken two weeks and a missive to confirm Elsa's suspicion. The pair had eloped to the Southern Isles.
Six months later, another message arrived; it was Anna asking to return home with her husband.
Elsa had been leery of letting a complete stranger stay, but he was now a legal member of their family, so she acquiesced to the request. Her sister's absence had also played a factor into the decision. Elsa had missed her terribly.
The young queen took a sip, the honeyed liquid soothing her frazzled nerves. She closed her eyes, letting out a sigh. It was difficult finding any peace of mind even when she frost-sealed all the doors and windows of her room each night she went to bed. She even had guards constantly dogging the prince like a shadow, but that still did not offer any comforts.
"Keep it together, Elsa," she muttered, mentally reassuring herself that Hans could not even scratch his back without her knowing about it. Also, all the incidents stopped when she had him watched.
This arrangement, however, could not go on forever. Was Elsa doomed to be wary of her brother-in-law the rest of her life? Her most fervent prayer was that he would get caught in an attempt, then charged with treason. Anna would be devastated, of course. But she would come around. Though they were now distant, Elsa still had faith in her sister.
A sudden dryness squeezed her throat, causing the queen to break into a cough. A searing pain like a twisting knife carved through her chest. Bright tears brimmed her lashes as she doubled over, falling out of her chair.
Elsa curled to a ball, pressing her knees to her chest to abate the pain. She felt as though her very insides were being scraped and shredded. Her mouth opened but only a cold misty wheeze came out.
"Oh neat! I didn't know it could do that."
That voice!
Slowly, Elsa dragged her face to look to the door, her bleary eyes taking in the figure at the entrance.
"Yeesh! That sure looks painful," Anna spoke with a mock shudder, "I sure wouldn't want to be you right now."
Elsa's pain momentarily gave away to disbelief.
Anna…no, it can't be!
Her sister hopped closer to Elsa's form, carefully fixing her skirts as she knelt over to her, "I should have gone with this since the beginning." She wagged a finger to Elsa's face, as if scolding, "You're a tough one to kill Elsa."
Elsa coughed, a spray of blood with it. Anna wrinkled her nose, moving away in disgust, "But I suppose those setbacks did me good," Anna spoke with frightening normalcy, "the guards looked to my husband as a suspect, giving the real perpetrator all the elbow room in the world."
She turned to Elsa's dresser, admiring the small figurines atop of it. "After this, there won't be any doubt of his innocence," Anna looked over her shoulder, smiling, "he isinnocent you know."
More blood gushed out of Elsa's lips, painting over the first layer. Only one word thundered in her head, as a metallic smell filled her nose.
Why!
"Aside from being innocent," Anna continued, plucking a miniature ballerina from the set, "there's a lot more to Hans if you had gotten to know him."
Elsa squeezed her eyes tight, trying to shut the nightmare out.
"He's smart, kind, brave, and has a great command with people," She twirled in place with a giddy step, "and a wonderful husband to boot!"
Elsa could no longer feel her legs.
"Unfortunately…no one sees that, they look at him like he's a worthless spare…Oh Elsa!" Anna whined, "If you had only been there, you'd have seen how mean his brothers were!"
The pain was now receding…
"Hans doesn't deserve to be treated that way!" Anna snapped off the dancer's head with her thumb, "To be pushed aside as nothing! He deserves a pedestal, to be recognized. He's perfect! As his wife, I had to do something and that's why…"
Her breathing slowed.
"I'm fixing God's mistake."
A feeling of weightlessness filled Elsa. Then before sleep took her, she felt a soft flutter on her temple and heard a gentle whisper.
"Goodnight, Elsa."