AN: Thanks for all the reviews and feedback! To the readers with accounts and active PM features, I replied to them personally and gave thanks, but to all you Anons out there, I'm so glad you took the time to leave me a review.

So, since this story hasn't turned into a big flop just yet, I decided to post another chapter. Hopefully it'll continue to keep your interest and bring in more readers.

RECENTLY RE-EDITED (9/9/18)

Disclaimer: I don't own Frozen or any of its characters.

Elsa snapped back into consciousness with a gasp.

The leaves and dead twigs that collected were tossed up into the air when she sprung up in sudden alertness. Her aching chest heaved as she panted, unable to discern where she was. Her eyes were wide as they scanned her surroundings, not truly seeing anything and processing nothing in her shock.

The dry leaves floated down around her, collecting in her blonde hair and falling into her lap. For a moment, she watched a lone, yellow leaf twirl with a soft wisp of air before it floated down, inches from her face. Her blue eyes blinked with confusion, having no idea where she was and how she got there. When the leaf faintly brushed along the tip of her nose, the foreign sensation sliced through the fog in her mind, causing her to reel backwards out of the pile of leaves.

She scrambled with her legs kicking frantically until her back hit the trunk of the tree behind her. She let out another gasp and looked up at the bare trees towering above her, with their jagged branches looking like ominous claws reaching out in her disoriented panic. Her body was still poised in the heat of the moment, but her mind lagged behind as the memory of her escape flashed behind her eyes. Her body urged her to run from danger that wasn't there. She tore away from the trees, leaving behind a burst of frost.

In her haste, she had forgotten to hick up the skirt of her dress. The filthy blue material snagged beneath her shoes and she stumbled forward with her hands out in front of her, cushioning the impact when she lost her balance.

She laid on the ground, panting heavily. Her body went limp with defeat and her head turned so she wouldn't inhale dirt. She laid there, her mind spinning and her body trembling. When the adrenaline started winding down again, the sounds of the forest reached her ears. She heard the sound of running water. It was a welcoming sound that prompted her to raise her head with a small groan. Her eyes landed on a small stream ahead of her.

The sight reminded Elsa how bone-dry her mouth and throat were. She would've literally jumped at the chance to finally have a drink of fresh water, but since her body still felt heavy as lead, she lifted her body up with trembling arms and slowly crawled her way towards the babbling brook. When she was close enough to dip her hands into the cool water, she did so quickly to avoid accidentally freezing it solid. The water tasted like heaven as she drank handfuls of it as fast as she could without making herself sick. She drank until the dryness in her mouth was soothed and her lungs screamed for air.

Once she had her fill, she looked at her reflection in the water and saw that she looked like a disaster.

The whites of her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, the red clashing with the blue. There were dark bags underneath her eyes from the lack of sleep during her imprisonment. The pale skin of her face was covered in a layer of grime along with her hands and fingernails while her pink lips were dry and chapped. Her platinum blonde hair was a rat's nest, an out of control lump that would take hours to tame. The elegant up-do that it had been styled in for Anna's wedding became more unkempt throughout her stint in captivity, but now it was free of all ribbons and pins. It was a mass of knots with her bangs sticking out at odd angles.

There was almost no resemblance to the regal figure that always greeted her in her bedroom vanity mirror. Under any other, more normal, circumstances, the snow queen might have relished in the idea, but here it only made her eyes water as she brought a hand up towards her mouth to hold back a broken sob.

Suddenly frantic again, the queen dunked her hands into the stream and brought up handfuls of water to her face. She was desperate to get the filth off - desperate to make her appearance reflect some facet of her old self - desperate to wash away the memories of her abduction, the bandit leader's threat on her sister's life, the possibility that he was on his way to Arendelle right now to fulfill that threat, and the past week in its entirety.

She managed to get most of the dirt off her face and pat down her hair so it hung limp in unwashed strands before her hysteria finally caused frost to erupt where her hands were submerged in the water. In seconds the surface of the stream clouded over with a solid layer of jagged ice. Elsa pulled away with a gasp and tore her hands out of the water before the ice could harden. She watched with wide eyes as the ice spread down the stream.

The queen gathered the skirt of her dress in her hands and hopped over the frozen stream. She ran for as long as she could without exhausting herself further until she eventually slowed down to a brisk walk. Her eyes trailed nervously along the path in front of her. The forest was silent and empty, there was nobody there but her; just poor little Elsa and her racing thoughts.

One foot in front of the other, she told herself. That was the only thing she decided to focus on, everything else could wait. Just putting one foot in front of the other. If she did that enough, she was bound to come across a house or a town sooner or later, somewhere she could find help and maybe a nice place to sit down and rest for a while.

She walked until she saw a light in the distance. It was impossible to miss among the bare trees and dark shadows of the late night. Her breath hitched and her feet moved faster, bringing her closer to the little light that slowly grew bigger the closer she got until she was able to make out a cabin. She gasped at her discovery, unsure whether to keep moving or let herself fall to her knees. She chose to do the former, but only until reality set in again and she stopped dead in her tracks among the trees.

Hope blossomed anew when she first saw the cabin, but she realized that she had no idea who lived in it. Of course she hoped it would be someone who could help her, someone who could provide sanctuary from the possibly still pursuing bandits, but that was just an assumption. Was she really in a position to assume right now?

On the one hand, the forest seemed to be endless with a scarce amount of foliage for her to hide within should the bandits and their mutts pick up on her trail again. This could be her only chance to get help and elude capture. She could very well be miles away from the nearest town. But on the other hand, the inhabitants of the cabin could be just as dangerous as the bandits she was running from. By seeking their help, there was a chance that she could be trading one set of abusers for another.

It was a tough decision with the crux of the problem being that she wouldn't know the right choice until she knocked on the door.

However, before she could consider all the ways that could blow up in her face, the sound of clopping hooves and an approaching carriage pulled Elsa's attention. She looked where another glowing light moved along the well-traveled path leading towards the cabin. Her eyes widened at the flickering firelight, hypnotized by it as a horse pulling a wagon full of hay came into view. The queen shook herself and ducked behind a tree.

When the wagon came to a stop, the glowing lantern moved as a man climbed down with a grunt. From where Elsa lurked, she could see he was an older gentleman. He stood tall and sturdy with long, silver-white hair, pulled back from his face and tied at the base of his neck. A beard grew along the bottom half of his face while his hunched over, but still imposing, form was clad in a wool coat.

He brought a hand up to his mouth and let out a whistle through his fingers. The sound was followed by a bark that rang out loudly through the silent night. Elsa cringed, her mind already taking on a bad association with the sound.

A dog popped up from within the pile of hay and jumped down to answer its master's call. It was a sheep herding dog with white and cream-colored fur. It moved around the man's legs gleefully with happy barks and its tail wagging, but he ignored his pet's pleas for late night playtime as he moved towards the horse hooked up to the wagon. He set the lantern down on the ground and worked on undoing the harness.

When the questionable pair fell into silence with the man working and the dog laying down in wait, Elsa decided to move out from behind her tree and inch a little closer, feeling the need to do something other than stare vacantly from the shadows and wait for a miracle to fall into her lap.

She tried her best to stay quiet, but stealth wasn't one of the lessons shoved down her throat as a child. True, she was a lot more inconspicuous than Anna, whose clumsy footfalls could be heard from miles away, but even Elsa knew she had made a mistake by focusing too much on the man and his dog, and not enough on where she was stepping. She let out a quiet gasp when a twig snapped underneath her foot.

At the sound, the man stopped tugging on the horse's bindings while the his collie's ears perked up. It raised its black nose into the air and sniffed before turning in Elsa's direction and growling. Cursing her foolishness, the queen dipped behind another tree. The man looked over his shoulder and picked up his lantern, his eyes scanning the dark forest. When his dog's growls turned into barks, he unbuttoned his coat and pulled back one side to reveal a small hatchet hanging on his belt. He pulled it from its loop and raised it in defense.

"Who's there?" He called out, his voice deep and hoarse from age.

Elsa stood rooted in her spot behind the tree with her back pressed against the trunk. She shut her eyes tight as the dog's barks continued. She debated whether she should stay hidden and pray that the man would move on, or show herself. When the man's voice sounded out again, she peeked around the tree trunk, unable to help herself.

"Come out where I can see you!" he demanded. His face was hard and serious, his breath coming out in short puffs. His grip on the hatchet tightened, making it clear that he was willing to use it. "Now! I won't tell you again!"

Elsa took a deep breath and looked towards the stars for courage.

The dog's barks died down to warning growls when the queen began to slowly walk from the shadows. The man turned to face her direction with his hatchet still raised when he heard the sound of her footsteps and her dress scraping across the forest floor. She had her arms wrapped tightly around herself, a gesture done more for comfort than anything else. It helped her play the part of a freezing young maiden in trouble, which was a half-truth.

When the man caught sight of a shadow coming towards him, he squinted through the darkness with a scowl on his bearded face, but it gave way to confusion and surprise when Elsa came into full view and the man got a good look at her trembling form.

"What in the world..." he trailed off softly as his stormy grey eyes took in the battered woman.

His steely gaze trailed over her ruined party dress, dirt-caked skin and the platinum hair that hung in her face and cascaded over her shoulders. She stopped several feet from the man and his dog, standing on the very edge of the lighting from his lantern. She was close enough for him to see that she was unarmed, but far enough for her to get a running start if he tried to attack her.

Neither of them moved as they stood there looking, sizing each other up.

Elsa spoke first, breaking the silence.

"Please," she almost flinched at the sound of her own voice, "please, I need help."

Feeling a little more confident that he wasn't going to immediately charge her, she took another step forward and held up a hand, but stepped back with her hand against her chest again when his dog bared its teeth at her. The man shushed the dog before lowering his hatchet and placing it back on his belt.

"What on God's earth are you doing out here, child?"

"I need help," Elsa repeated with a small hiccup. She could feel fresh tears sting her eyes as she struggled to keep her emotions in check. "I've been running through the forest trying to find someone to help me, I was taken from my home and held captive, I have no idea where I am and there's these men who are chasing after me and I really need-"

"Alright, alright, stop," he demanded gently. "I need to you to slow down, I can't understand what you're trying to tell me. Just take a deep breath."

She nodded with a stifled sob and did as she was told. He gave her an approving smile.

"That's better. Now, what were you saying about men chasing you?"

"They're bandits! They kidnapped me from my kingdom and held me captive!"

"Bandits?" the man echoed, his brow knotted tight. His gaze moved from Elsa's face towards the direction she came from. He seemed to be thinking deeply about something, his expression hard while his eyes searched the forest until a flash of recognition passed over his face.

"Yes," Elsa nodded with another hiccup. She didn't like the sudden change in his demeanor. It went from concerned to emotionless in an instant. "They kept me in a dungeon not too far from here. I managed to escape them, but they could come back and I need somewhere-"

"I can't help you," the man cut her off suddenly, turning his back.

She blinked at him, unsure if she had heard him correctly. "W-what?"

"I can't help you," he repeated, harsher.

Elsa stared at him with disbelief as he unhooked the rest of his horse's bindings. Her brain lagged for a moment, wondering where this sudden change came from. He seemed so willing to help her just moments before. What happened?

"I-I don't understand."

He refused to look at her. "You should move on now. There's nothing for you here."

She continued to stare at the old man's back, speechless. He picked up his lantern and whistled for his animals to follow him as he walked towards his home with a noticeable limp in his right leg. Seeing that he fully intended to turn her away, Elsa catapulted into action, hiking up her dress again and running to catch up to him.

"Wait!" she called, "please stop, I need help!"

He stopped walking and rounded on her with a stern expression. He looked straight ahead at her downtrodden face, but Elsa could tell he was still trying to avoid her eyes. His abrupt brush off wasn't a sudden act of apathy on his part; no matter how much he tried to make it look like it. Something about what she had said disturbed him, enough to make him refuse her.

"Then I suggest you keep moving. There should be a town a few miles that way."

He pointed his lantern North, but Elsa shook her head.

"I won't make it."

"That's not my problem," he said, turning away again and stepping up on to the porch of his house. "Just go now. You'll bring nothing but trouble if you stay."

Elsa stood frozen in place as she watched the man climb his porch steps. Her eyes were big and frightful as panic clawed away at her insides, making her feel sick to her stomach.

"Please!" she cried, dropping the skirt of her dress and bringing both hands together in front of her. If her situation hadn't been so desperate, she might have marveled at how much things had changed for her; a fully established queen in the middle of nowhere, broken down and literally begging a stranger to take her in. "If they find me, they'll kill me!"

The man stopped again at her pleas for sanctuary. He didn't turn around, but it was obvious that his cold decision - although ideal in the case of his own survival - was making it difficult for him to walk away, pitching what he shouldn't do against what he couldn't do.

He shouldn't invite the young woman into his home because of the obvious bullseye she had pinned to her back. Her unfortunate business with the deadly bandits could very well become his unfortunate business if he were to be caught helping her, which would mean trouble for him that a man of his age really didn't need. However, despite his head trying to dissuade him from doing something stupid, what kind of man would he be if he rejected her? He shouldn't get involved, but he couldn't condemn a child to death just because it would be more convenient for him.

What kind of a man would he be then? Not a very proud one.

It all boiled down to a crippling, internal conflict between his head and his heart; a conflict involving potentially unfavorable outcomes on both sides.

"Please," Elsa repeated in a soft whisper, her voice trembling, "I don't want to die out here."

Silence fell over them again as her words hung thickly in the air, the only sounds being the rustling of dead leaves in a cold breeze and the whines of the man's dog as it waited near the front door. He looked back over his shoulder at her. His faux indifference slowly melted away as his eyes finally met hers to reveal the return of the kindness and warmth she saw in him when he first spoke to her.

The man exhaled deep from his nose and raised a hand to rub at his eyes as his shoulders sagged in defeat.

"Come inside," he sighed, stepping aside to allow Elsa into his home.

"T-thank you," she stuttered, just barely holding back a grateful sob as she gathered her skirts again and stepped on to the porch. "Thank you so much!"

The man only muttered to himself while he watched the young woman brush past him into the warm haven. Once she was safely inside, his aged eyes swept over the surrounding forest again with a hardened glare, his gaze lingering in the direction she had came from. He muttered under his breath again, sending a silent challenge into the cold night before stepping into his home and closing the door behind him.

"Go sit over by the fire there and warm yourself up," the man instructed as he bolted the front door. "I'll heat some stew."

Elsa only nodded as she made her way to the lit fireplace and sat in the chair closest to it. She didn't need to warm up, but the heat drifting from the fireplace did help calm her nerves a bit.

"I'm Tobias and that's Lollie," the man gestured to himself before doing the same to the dog hovering excitedly around Elsa's chair. She was looking for their new guest's attention now that she didn't perceive her as a threat to her master.

The queen reached down tentatively patted the dog on her head. Even though "Lollie" wasn't anything like the bandits' rabid pack of mutts, she never really had any experience with dogs before the whole kidnapping fiasco. When she was little and Elsa first started isolating herself from her sister, she remembered hearing Anna's loud voice bouncing off every wall in the castle, begging their parents to get her a puppy to help ease the void that Elsa left behind. They never relented their resolve no matter how much she begged. Whether that was because of Elsa's volatile ice powers, or simply Anna's lack of attention span making her an unfit pet owner, she could only guess.

"I'm Elsa."

Tobias didn't respond as he started putting firewood in the cast-iron stove, but he made a low noise of acknowledgement as he worked. She looked around the scarcely decorated cabin while weaving her fingers together in her lap. It didn't look as if anybody else lived in the cabin, just the man and his dog. She eyed the cream collie laying at her feet before looking towards Tobias again.

The only way she could think to describe him was grandfatherly. A tired grandfather looking for peace and quiet but never seeming to find any. She felt a pang of guilt for dragging him into her mess. If she actually had a choice in the situation, she would have avoided other people altogether. If she could've used her ice powers without fearing for Anna's life, then she would have had a fighting chance against the bandits, but the frustrating truth was that she didn't and she couldn't.

"Alright then," Tobias spoke as he dished up a bowl of heated stew and brought it over to her. She took the offered bowl with a small smile and a quiet "Thank you" as he sat down in the chair on the other side of the fireplace with a tired sigh.

"So, Elsa, where are you from?"

She glanced up at him before looking back down at the vegetables floating in her bowl, biting her bottom lip in thought.

"The kingdom of Arendelle," she replied, deciding honesty was the best policy in terms of where she was from, but only selectively when it came to her royal title. She would have to keep that to herself for now.

A stunned look passed over Tobias' face.

"Arendelle? You were taken all the way from Arendelle?"

"Is...is that far away? I mean, far from where we are now?"

Apprehension boiled in the pit of her stomach. One of the many things that the bandits deprived her of during her kidnapping was awareness of her surroundings. She knew they must have taken her far from her kingdom's territory, but she couldn't gauge exactly how far. They kept her unconscious for most of the trip and tightly locked away somewhere dark during her rare moments awake. She prayed that they hadn't taken her too far.

"It's more than far, my dear," he admitted, crushing Elsa's hope. He seemed to realize this and offered up the only comfort he could think of. "You haven't been taken out of the country, though. You're far from your kingdom, but still close, in a sense."

"Please, I can't stress enough how important it is that I return home."

"I would take you myself, but I'm not as young as I used to be and my leg makes it difficult for me to travel," he told her regretfully as he patted his bad knee, "and I'm afraid with winter rolling in, I don't think many folks around here will be too inclined to make such a journey, either. Not to mention this whole business with these bandits. You'll be more hard-pressed finding someone to take you because of that reason alone, especially if it's the troop of scoundrels I think it is. The weather and the distance of the journey is always up for negotiation if you go to the right people, but Dag and his goons just complicate the narrative."

"Dag?" Elsa echoed.

"Perhaps I can set you up with a room at the local town inn?" he offered, ignoring her so flawlessly that she had trouble telling if it was intentional or not. "We could get you a job at one of the taverns to occupy your time until winter's over. We should have no trouble finding someone to take you in Spring."

"Spring?" her eyes widened. "Oh no, no, no, I can't wait that long, it'll be too late by then. I need to get home as soon as possible!"

Tobias sighed. "Well, then I don't know what else to say. That's the best I can do for you."

"Yes I realize that and I'm grateful for any help you're willing to give me," she replied, "but I cannot wait until Spring, I can't even wait a week. I need to get home immediately. Please, it's a matter of life and death!"

"If that's the case, I can't help you," the man stated bluntly as he fished out a leather-bound flask from his trouser pockets and took a drink from it.

He didn't even bother asking what exactly qualified her situation as life and death, or why the bandits were even after her in the first place. He wasn't curious enough to get any more involved with the young woman than he already was. The sooner he could get her situated enough to move on, the better it would be. He molded over the harsh taste of whiskey on his tongue for a moment as he thought of other options. She definitely wasn't going to make things easy for him, that was for damn sure.

It took him a few minutes, but eventually an idea came to mind, along with the unwelcomed face of the only person Tobias could think of ballsy enough to take on the challenge that Elsa was presenting.

"But I can take you to someone who can," he finally said.

"Who?" she asked.

Stupid question. As if she would actually know anyone from an area so far away from her kingdom.

"There's no guarantee that he will help," he warned, ignoring her again. "You have very bad men after you, young lady. Men who have the tendency to take things a little too personal. They could bring great misfortune to anybody they catch trying to help you. It's a risk that most men around these parts won't take no matter what reward is offered. But the man I know is a good sort...most of the time. He makes a living doing things other people aren't willing to. If you truly are that desperate to make the trip, I'll take you to talk to him, see if you can work something out."

"Yes, I am," Elsa replied without missing a beat. "Please take me to him."

"I will," he assured her with a coaxing hand before adding, "tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? But-"

"Yes tomorrow," he repeated firmly. "Take the night to clean yourself up and rest. The wind is starting to pick up again and the trip into town is nearly an hour. It's too cold for you and me to be traveling."

Elsa opened her mouth to tell him that she didn't care about any of that, to demand he take her into town tonight, but she caught herself when she realized why such a statement wouldn't blow over well, for two reasons. One, if what Tobias was saying was true, then he was risking a lot by bringing her into his home. She was completely at his mercy. She wasn't in the position to demand anything from him, especially since she decided not to disclose her royal status to him.

And two, if she adamantly insisted that traveling in freezing cold weather for an hour in a short sleeve, ruined party dress wouldn't bother her, then there was a chance that Tobias would ask her why, and she couldn't answer that.

"Alright," she reluctantly agreed. "Tomorrow then."

He smiled at her.

"Good."

~O~

After another bowl of soup and some mild conversation, Tobias showed Elsa to a room on the second floor. It was a quaint little bedroom, much like the rest of the cabin, with plain furniture and basic toiletries that Tobias told her she could use to clean herself up.

She looked around the room, noting to herself that the decor appeared more feminine than the rest of the cabin. There was a small bed in the corner with a flowery, lavender quilt and a little vanity in another corner, with hair combs and half-empty bottles of perfume organized neatly along the top. There was also a wardrobe against the furthest wall that Elsa suspected was full of dresses and skirts. She felt a little uncomfortable using the room, seeing that it obviously belonged to someone else, to some other girl, but she noticed the thick layer of dust coating the room. It may have once belonged to someone else, but it was abandoned now.

The queen briefly wondered who might have lived here with Tobias as she made her way towards the vanity and sat down in front of the oval mirror. She flinched again at her reflection, quickly getting to work with fixing her appearance so she could look like herself again.

As she gently combed her fingers through her hair, Elsa thought about all of things that she had taken for granted in her life, one of them being the safety and security that her castle home always proved. Regardless of how she might still feel about being called wicked names, or being shunned by her people, or, heaven forbid, locked away in chains again - nothing could quite beat the horror she felt when she found herself in the hands of bandits.

They were dangerous, unpredictable men who had the low sense of human morality, the perfect opportunity and the lack of empathy to enact any sort of heinous torture on her that tickled their sick fancy, which for Elsa, being a young woman with wealth and royal power, the list was almost endless. She missed the thick walls of her castle with a passion. Even her lonely ice castle provided a small sense of security that the queen would've done anything to feel right now.

Another thing she took for granted was the luxuries that came along with being a royal. Edible food, clear drinking water and clean clothing would be an absolute Godsend for most people who weren't fortunate enough to have a high title in life, but Elsa was downright spoiled. She wasn't uppity about it. She wasn't a conceited queen who rubbed her privileged upbringing in other people's faces. That wasn't the kind of ruler her parents raised her to be. But as heir to the throne, Elsa wanted for nothing when it came to materialistic things; beautiful dresses made of the finest material, freshly prepared meals and a safe bed to sleep in every night. It wasn't until all those things were gone that Elsa started to notice how accustomed she was to them.

It went without saying that the bandits didn't go out of their way to cater to the queen's pampered lifestyle. Not that Elsa ever expected them to. That would've been ridiculous of her.

Another thing she took for granted was her sister, but she had already been doing that for years, hadn't she? Her mind always drifted back to Anna, no matter what kind of situation she was in. She wondered where the hyperactive redhead was now and what she was doing. She prayed Anna was safe, gathered around the fireplace in Elsa's study with Kristoff, Sven and Olaf, as far from danger as possible.

The queen closed her eyes as a mental picture of her loved ones began to develop in her head. They were all arguing with each other while planning Elsa's grand rescue. The queen smiled softly at the thought. She could picture each one of them so clearly in her head.

Anna would be nothing but stubborn in a situation like this, determined to escape the walls of the castle and set off in hopes of finding some clue as to where those wedding-crashing, sister-napping bandits ran off to. She would listen to no discouraging pleas for her to stay inside the castle from loyal servants like Kai or Gerda. If it had been entirely up to the feisty princess, she would've mounted a horse and rode off into the unknown days ago, to seek out Elsa once again and bring her home.

That was where Kristoff would come in. The more level-headed ice harvester would duly point out all the flaws in whatever half-baked plan Anna came up. Time would be wasting, but there was no edgewise opportunities when it came to Anna and her ramblings. However, once he poked as many holes in his bride-to-be's plans as he could, he would offer up a better, more sensible solution. A solution less likely to get them all killed.

Then there would be Olaf. Assuming that something shiny and colorful hasn't come along and distracted him, the little snowman would be as useful in the argument as a wet towel. He would agree and disagree with both of his friends on all the exact same points, mindlessly nodding his head as they bickered back and forth while not following anything they were saying. He would be all in for a rescue mission, no matter which plan of action they chose to take.

And as for Sven, the reindeer would most likely be on Kristoff's side, whether he actually agreed with the mountain man or not, since Kristoff literally spoke for him. Although, Elsa seriously doubted Kai would ever allow the reindeer inside the queen's study, regardless of the circumstances.

She smiled fondly at the little scene playing in her head as she combed her hair, lost in her fantasy. It wasn't until she heard Lollie barking downstairs that she came back. She barely had time to wonder what was going on before she jumped out of her chair and gasped when Tobias came bursting into the room.

"Blow out the candles and close the curtains," he told her, not apologizing for barging in without knocking. Lollie continued to howl up a storm somewhere downstairs. "There's someone coming up to the house."

He left the room without another word, letting the sudden hollowing silence spur Elsa into action when she realized that it could be the bandits. While Tobias rummaged around downstairs with Lollie, Elsa quickly blew out the small candles that lit up the room and shut the curtains. She then closed the bedroom door and locked it before moving back to the window. She heard the front door open and saw Tobias step down from his porch with a shotgun and lantern in hand.

He limped out into his yard to confront the two figures approaching on horseback. They rode without any lanterns, making their identities and late night visit all the more suspenseful. They dismounted their horses and stepped into the light of the old man's lantern. It was dark out still and the lantern light was poor, but she could still make out the visitors' familiar black and red clothing. Her heart pounded harder in her chest as frost shot up the handful of curtain clutched tight in her grasp.

It was the bandits. Not all of them obviously, just two lackeys, but it was definitely the bandits.

It was both comforting and horrifying to see that the bandit leader wasn't among them. The darkness outside made it difficult for her to see most of their features, but from what she could see, neither of them wore a scarf across their mouths. The leader always wore a scarf. It was comforting because the bandit leader terrified the queen more than anything has ever before, including accidentally freezing Anna again. But it was also horrifying because if the bandit wasn't there looking for Elsa, then that could mean he was on his way back to Arendelle. That ugly thought made the temperature in the room drop until her breath became clouded.

She watched as the two bandits approached Tobias. They didn't appear to be armed with anything another than a small knife or two clipped to their belts, but they walked with a cocky air to them as they regarded the older man with twin smirks. They seemed pretty confident in themselves, even as Tobias stood as still as stone with a loaded shotgun in his hand and an angry pooch growling at them from the porch.

The tall, almost rat-faced bandit called out a greeting, referring to Tobias by name. It signified that her new friend was already acquainted with the bandits, but it was also obvious they were anything but friends by the way he aimed his weapon at them. The two stopped in their tracks and eyed the long barrel pointed at their faces.

The fat, stubby bandit that stood comically next to the beanpole started to speak, but Elsa couldn't hear, their tones were too low. They exchanged words while gesturing towards the forest. Whatever they were saying, Tobias didn't move an inch. He gave them short, one word answers to whatever questions they asked him. Elsa feared that his blatant defensiveness would arouse their suspicions, but neither bandit seemed put-off by the old man's unfriendliness. Throughout their exchange, the two snickered and jostled each other, making it clear that they weren't taking their search for Elsa, or the possibility that Tobias might be harboring her, seriously.

After several agonizing minutes, Elsa let out a sigh and loosened her frozen death-grip on the curtain when the two bandits finally turned away and walked back to their horses. Tobias watched them leave, refusing to leave from his spot until they mounted their horses again and rode off. Elsa made her way down the stairs just as he and Lollie came back inside. He let out a heavy sigh and rubbed his eyes again before looking up and spotting the young woman standing on the stairs.

"I told them I heard a woman crying a few miles East on my way home from the fields. That should buy us some more time, but they'll be back eventually once they pick up your trail. It would be best if we go tonight," he said solemnly. "I'll get you a cloak."

AN: This chapter was graciously beta read by my pal xshattered-reflectionx. She did a fantastic job with it, but sometimes mistakes and typos are still missed, so if you see one in the content, let me know in a review and I'll fix it!

Thanks again!

~Scorpiofreak~