A/N: I have no real excuse as to why this took so long. For those in the Elsanna fandom, go check out "A Snowflake In Spring" and tell them that Kyttin sent you and that he's proud of Cel for not taking any shit.

In other news, Chapter 3 is now here. I'm trying to write chapter 5 with a cat bothering me. I don't know how well this'll go.


09:42, Skymning Station.

The local siding at Skymning housed a 2-6-2 freight engine hooked to a string of tanker cars, all laden with petroleum byproducts obtained from the local petrol depot owned by the Southern Islets Refined Oil Company. Oil tycoon and father to thirteen children Piotr Urholka had entrusted the Swedish-Norway rail line to his youngest son Hans, a diligent young man with a strong desire to outshine his twelve older brothers and prove his worth to his father. The magnate had grand plans to extend his reach to Europe and the United States, but none of his children were trustworthy enough to offer key portions of the franchise.

Thus, Hans, with his iconic sideburns and charming grace, fired up his locomotive and began running checks and balances on the freight. All twelve of the oil tankers, filled to the brim with usable fossil fuels, gleamed in the light from the mid-morning sun. Hans cleared his throat, speaking to his scant crew in preparation of his journey.

"Alright, boys. There's a locomotive coming down from Arendelle with Her Royal Highness aboard, which means our journey out there will be temporarily sidelined while she passes. If we can leave at ten-hundred, we should be able to make good time and slide onto the siding in about three hours and let the southbound pass us by before resuming our journey. This is a precise operation that will require all of us to be alert and ready for anything. Is the consist ready?"

"Ready, sir."

"Alright. To your places. We leave at ten-hundred."

09:53, Skymning Station.

Seven minutes ahead of schedule, the train departed the station, chugging north along the second-steepest part of the line the Svart-bound passenger train would eventually cross.

"So Anna, how far along do you think we are?"

She finished tying her second braid and secured it with the second band, reading the gauges with light eyes. "I think we might be closing in on the halfway mark soon. Maybe a bit later than sooner. In any case, we should still be right along schedule."

Kristoff leaned out the window to the left side of the engine, observing the track beyond. "Hey, we have a carriage crossing ahead. Might want to slow a bit."

"The crossing?" Anna then thrust her head out the window and gazed at the sun in the sky, gauging it against the tree-line. "We're running a bit ahead of schedule, it seems."

She adjusted a pair of levers to relieve excess steam from the boiler and applied the brake shoes to the engine. With a loud grinding roar, the engine began to slow.

"…and thus we would feel highly gratified if you were included amongst our trading agreements as a subsidizer and monetary contributor."

Elsa nodded slowly, mulling the Duke's words over as she let her gaze drift out the window toward the flitting countryside. She felt the carriage beginning to slow, noting the dull grating echoing from the head of the train.

"I understand your proposal, Duke, but I am still unclear on the details. Perhaps you could speak a bit more in-depth about-"

The train lurched, a loud crunch echoing down from the engine. Elsa frowned, steadying herself as best she could in the swaying carriage. She watched Kai attempting to see down the line from the window.

"Kai, what do you see? What was that?"

"I…I don't know, Lady Elsa. I'm afraid I just don't know.

"Damnit!"

"Anna, what-"

"The brakes just blew. She's gonna pick up a lot of speed by the time we hit Skymning."

"Can she be slowed?"

"What, without brake shoes? She can, sure, but not by conventional means. Head back and tell Sven what's going on; he might have an idea. Until then, I'm leaving the pistons open. Perhaps she'll slow by rolling because of how heavy she is."

"Perhaps," Kristoff offered. He then clambered over the tender and toward the door of the first-class carriage.

Mid-sentence, both the Duke and Lady Elsa heard the distinct sound of rushing air followed by a slammed door. She stood, ducking her head into the hall only to see the disheveled blonde head approaching with due haste. She cleared her throat.

"Sir, might I inquire as to what…"

He had rushed past her without a backwards look. She slipped out of the compartment, dashing after him. She reached him as he reached the rear carriage door.

"Sir, you from the engine."

He paused in twisting the handle. "Milady, I would ask that you return to your compartment."

"I merely wish to inquire about what that noise was."

"There's no need for concern, Milady. Just a minor mechanical issue."

She scowled. "Am I to understand that you are withholding information from your superior?"

He sighed. "Lady Arendelle, please." He released the handle, turning to face her, his stature immediately superseding her own only in height. "I am not at liberty to answer any questions at this time. Please return to your seat."

He then turned and tossed the carriage door open, reaching across the gap to the next and sliding beyond the aperture before both sealed tightly shut. She huffed.

"The nerve of that man. I should have him charged with disrupting royalty."

A voice cleared its throat. "Lady Elsa, I believe you and the Duke of Weselton were in the midst of an important contractual negotiation?"

She sighed, composing her face before turning. "Yes, alright Kai. Best to get back to it."

"Sven, bad news."

The door banged shut. Sven stood, his chair twirling behind him on one leg as he dropped his half-read newspaper onto the table. "Bad news? What happened?"

"The shoes blew."

"All of 'em?" The look of shock on Sven's face was nothing to the seriousness on Kristoff's.

"Every single one. Blew free like a shot from a musket."

Sven brought a hand to his face, covering one eye and part of his mouth. "Fuck," he breathed. "What does this mean?"

"It means we presently have no way of slowing the train naturally. Anna has disengaged the pistons, but the train is heavy and the journey is downhill. We will gain more speed than is possible with fire by the time we reach the station if we don't do something."

"Relax, Kristoff. We aren't in a panic state yet. Anna knows how this train runs. She'll keep us safe. Suggest to her the brakes in the rest of the cars. Start with something practical before we try more drastic measures."

Kristoff nodded, bustling away. Sven sat down heavily in his chair.

"Valhalla, help us. Guide us through so that we might see another day. Grant us one shield during this critical time."

The instant the carriage door banged open for the second time, Elsa leapt from her seat and blocked the hallway to deny Kristoff passage. He scowled.

"Milady, if you would be so kind as to return to your seat, we may continue with an unhindered journey to Skymning."

"I respectfully refuse. Unfortunately, as you have failed to explain to me what is amiss aboard the train, I cannot sit down and ignore the sound and lurch that came from the engine. You will tell me what is happening, and you will do so now, lest I keep you here indefinitely."

She knew such a threat would likely be poorly received, especially given the burly nature of the man and the assumed importance of his journey along the train, but she desired an answer, and when Lady Elsa Arendelle desired an answer about something she usually received what she requested.

"You wish to know what is happening? The brake shoes aboard the engine have shattered. We presently only have the emergency brakes aboard each car to use for slowing under normal circumstance. We are attempting to control the situation at hand, but your constant impedance prevents me from returning to the engineer to report on our next plan of action. Now, if you would be so kind as to step out of my way and return to your seat, we can set about attempting to recover the train to a more suitable speed and level of control."

"So the consist is beyond your control, then? I'm aboard a runaway train?"

"If you were, I would not be here to talk to you at present. I know Anna, and she would never leave her train to run away without her. She will do everything that she is capable of to bring this consist to a halt at Skymning, and considering she grew up on this locomotive's sister, she is far more than capable of doing so."

Elsa was not dissuaded. "But the train is accelerating without power."

"We are currently travelling downhill and will continue to do so as long as we continue to approach Svart. We still have a great deal of time to assess our situation and bring the train to a halt before our speed becomes uncontrollable. You needn't worry yourself with our affairs, Milady. We have this under control."

She shifted closer to her compartment, letting Kristoff nudge past and continue toward the engine with quick, long strides.

10:43, southern siding between Arendelle and Skymning.

A group of children, no more than twelve years of age, laughed and jumped around the railroad tracks away from the watchful gaze of their parents.

"They say you can feel a train coming when the track rumbles."

All children put their ears to the track, listening for vibration. When nothing was heard, the two elder boys of the group sprang up and began spinning around the point controller, tossing the switching track left and right as they spun.

"Berlioz, Toulouse, you shouldn't be doing that!"

"Oh, pipe down Marie. We're just playing."

"Yeah, just playing!"

The boys released the switch, approaching their sister's frowning face. Several of the other children were standing behind her, all looking on in wonder.

"Fine. We'll leave the stupid thing alone since you're being a brat about it."

The boys then proceeded to run back into the forest from whence they'd come toward the little town of Livendahl, unaware that a terrible travesty had just been unleashed.

Because the switch controller, left unlocked but twisted toward the siding, was not completely set in place, and the floating point could only serve to disserve the oncoming trains.


Whoop de doo. Now some of the conflict comes to light. And yeah, I've decided to make all of this shit up, else I'd be using Oslo as my ending city (because it actually exists up there). Hope you come back for more. ~Kyttin