Frozen Sea Part 2

Enjoy.

My head began to pound as I tried to open my eyes. I felt heavy. So, so heavy. My chest ached, my head swam, my leg seared. "Mmm-leg." I whispered, my throat dry. "Why, why's my-leg hurt?" I sucked in a sour breath as I tried to sit up. I propped myself up on one elbow and cursed. "Damn it!" Pain rippled through my chest and I erupted into a horrific coughing fit. My throat burned. I heard an indiscernible shout from beside me and my eyes closed again blackness enveloping me once more.

Elsa sat in the chair, book in hand, and chin resting in her palm. She'd read the same passage for the last thirty minutes. Oh for Christ's sake. She closed the book and rose from her seat, inching closer to the woman. Who are you? She asked. Elsa grabbed the edge of the chair and pulled it closer to the bed. Her eyes roamed over the woman's face. Now cleaned and free of blood Elsa had time to truly study her. Her pale cheeks were kissed with millions of tiny, brown freckles; her dark mahogany hair flowed loosely around her and framed her heart shaped face. She certainly doesn't look like a…. No she couldn't be. She was beautiful. Wholesomely so. Suddenly, her eyelids began to slowly flutter open.

"Mmmmm." She groaned, shifting slightly. "Mmm-leg." She croaked. "Why, why's my-leg hurt?" She immediately began to sit up, her face contorting in pain as she slammed back down onto the bed. "Damn it!" she cursed. Elsa flew up out of her chair. "Dr. Caldwell!" She shouted as she made her way through the doors. "Dr. Caldwell!" she shouted again. The little man poked his head around the corner. "Yes Majesty?" he asked quickly.

"She's waking."

"I gave her something for the pain. She should re-awaken again in a few hours." Dr. Caldwell closed the door to the infirmary behind him.

"Is she alright?" Elsa asked.

"She will be." He answered. "In time."

Elsa nodded. "Thank you again."

He patted her shoulder. "When she wakes up, take it easy on her."

Elsa's eyebrow rose.

He chuckled. "Although awake, she still will need rest. Wait a while before you bombard her with questions." He moved closer to the Queen, his voice reduced to a whisper. "Among the things she had were a knife belt and a knapsack." He pulled away. "May be worth looking into." He said casually.

Again, Elsa nodded. "Of course." "For now," she said turning to address everyone. "you should all rest as well. It's late, and we've all had quite an interesting couple of hours." While the small crowd of staff dispersed, Gerda stayed behind.

"You should rest too miss."

Elsa nodded. "I suppose so." With one last look toward the infirmary doors, she sighed and began walking towards her bedroom. "Good night Gerda." She called over her shoulder.

"Good night Majesty."

She stared up at the celling of her room. As the storm outside continued to rage, pelting her window with fat, heavy snowflakes, so did the storm inside her mind.

Come one, you know you want to! She thought to herself.

Of course I want to! That doesn't mean that I should!

What's the harm?

The harm is that I'm going through her belongings while she's unconscious.

The woman has a knife belt for God's sake! Not to mention the corset AND her hat. You could find something that could begin to explain who she is and why she's here. Your duty as Queen, first and foremost is to protect your kingdom. You have to do this.

With that Elsa shot up out of bed, shoving the covers to the side. She quickly made her way down the hallways toward the infirmary. As her hand came to rest on the handle she sighed and closed her eyes. This is my duty. With a shake of her head she opened it and walked inside. With a click the door shut safely behind her she made her way toward the girl. Still sleeping… Quietly the Queen slid around the bed and looked to the side. A knapsack…I don't see a… She turned to see a dirty, navy blue bag slumped against the wall. She took a tentative step toward it. What am I doing? She stopped. Am I really going to violate her privacy like this? She let out an exasperated breath and grabbed the bag. It would appear so. With the bag clutched safely under her arm, she re-claimed her chair and opened the worn flap. Let's see. Folded neatly were a simple button down and a pair of…..trousers? A pair of dirty black boots sat atop them. Moving the boots, Elsa took each item carefully and held them up. The bottom of one trouser pant leg was caked with mud and soot, while the other was completely torn off at the knee. She put them on the floor next to her and moved to the button down. It was cream with soft embroidery along the collar and cuffs. Nothing too exciting. It joined the pair of trousers on the floor as Elsa kept rummaging.

The next item she found was a small leather pouch. Hmm. Elsa pulled the drawstrings and turned the pouch upside down, letting the contents spill into her hand. A few rings of various sizes, some silver coins and even a bracelet fell through the opening and glistened in the low candlelight. The last thing to leave the small bag was a little silver key. Elsa eyed it curiously. I didn't see a lock anywhere. Elsa slid the key into her pocket, put everything else back in the tiny pouch, and continued searching.

She found a few books describing various languages. French and….Italian. Elsa hummed. "Impressive." She whispered to herself. They soon joined the small pile beginning to grow at the Queen's feet. The last thing she saw was at the very bottom of the pack was a leather bound journal. Across the front in a beautiful cursive script read "Tales from the Sea." It was clasped shut with a small silver lock. Elsa retrieved the key in her pocket. As she began to open the journal, a small piece of paper fell through the worn pages. Elsa pulled it gently and opened it. The parchment was old and torn right through the middle. It seemed to be a piece of something. Strange markings were scribbled along the bottom left-hand corner. What the hell is this?

"It's not polite to rummage through peoples' belongings." the raspy voice stated.

Elsa's head shot up. A set of bright emerald eyes watched her with a bemused expression. "Oh, I…..uh I'm sorry I was just…."

"Especially when they're unconscious." she laughed lightly. "Didn't your mum ever tell ya not to meddle in other peoples' private things?" She coughed a little. "The names' Eva by the way. Although, I have no doubt you'd have found that out eventually anyway." She pointed to the journal. "Do ya mind?"

"Oh. Uh, well….I'm ummm…" She placed it back in the knapsack and pushed it beneath the chair. "My apologies." She bowed. "I'm Elsa."

"Nice to meet ya Elsa. Pleasures all mine." She smirked. "I'd shake your hand but I'm a bit tied up at the moment." She gestured to her leg.

Elsa raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?" she asked.

Eva feigned thought. "Well, if I was a guessin' type, I'd say it's because I have a nasty gash in m' leg." She looked back toward the Queen. "Am I right?"

" Mmhmm." Elsa said non-committal. "Are you always so sharp?" she asked.

"Aye, as a whip." She winked. "So," she began, "where exactly am I?"

"Arendale." The young queen answered. "More specifically, the Castle's infirmary."

The girl's eyes widened. "Arendale?" she looked around. "How in the hell did I end up in Arendale?" She lay back in thought. "I was in…..Corona." She sat up and instantly gasped. "Damn it!"

"Stay still." Elsa commanded. "I'll get the doctor." Before the woman could utter another syllable, Elsa was gone.

END PART 2

Alrighty….two updates in one day. That's never going to happen again haha. As always, let me know what you think! Chapter three will be up soon!

-K.B.