Ch.7

Morning sunlight shone in through the folds of light blue curtains. Within the queen's bedroom, Elsa and Tomas were still fast asleep; fully dressed but entangled within each other's arms. Her messy mane was on top of Tomas's arm, and after she shifted in her sleep, he was the first of the two to awaken. He attempted to roll over but the weight on his arm held him back. Groggily looking over, his breath caught in his throat as he saw Elsa's sleeping form mere inches away from his own body. She's just as beautiful when she's sleeping...

"No more cupcakes, Anna…" Elsa let out a soft snore and curled up into Tomas's side, which was quickly heating up with his embarrassment and panic. As gently as he could, he slipped his arm out from underneath her face and shook her shoulder softly.

"Queen Elsa," Tomas whispered softly, "I need you to unfreeze the door…" Elsa blinked slowly and rubbed her eyes; groaning as the sunlight covered her sleepy features.

"Tomas…?" She mumbled drowsily, "what are you...what?" Her icy eyes widened as she regained more consciousness. Tomas's hand flew to her mouth before she could make another sound.

"Shhh! Don't yell, please!" He begged. "We fell asleep on your bed. I need to sneak out of here without anyone seeing or hearing me…" Elsa's hands clutched the door frame and the ice began to disappear into the air as if it had never been in the room to begin with. "I didn't do anything, I swear...just please, stay quiet," He pleaded, turning the door handle quietly. Elsa peered around the door, glancing down both ends of the hallways. With an affirmative nod, Tomas let out a sigh and stepped out. "I'm just going to sneak back into my room now. This never happened, okay? I just don't want to ruin my chances of staying here is all. I'll be there for an hour or so, and I'll see you later." He briefly pulled Elsa into his arms for a quick hug before tiptoeing into his room; closing the door behind him. Tomas launched himself into his untouched sheets and curled up into a ball. Good lord… From the wall touching his bedframe, he could hear the muffled voices of Anna and Kristoff. They stay together? Unmarried? Tomas sat up slowly and pressed an ear to the cool wall. "Anna, you're just as bad as I am!" Kristoff yelled, followed by a loud thumping sound. "HEY! No sled for you today then, young man!" She hollered; another thumping sound. "Well excuse me, princess!" Kristoff laughed. Tomas concluded the strange sound to be the pair attacking each other with pillows. "I'm gonna shower." Kristoff stated, and Tomas quickly lost interest. He laid back down on his cream-colored sheets. "What did I just hear?" He muttered to himself. "An unmarried princess with a man courting her? That's still highly suggest-" A knock on the door cut him off from talking to himself. "Prince Tomas, open the door." It was John. Tomas groaned and slugged unwillingly over to the door. "Good morning, John." He smiled faintly. "Forgive me; I was up late writing for everyone and I'm still a little tired, I guess." "Quite." The advisor straightened his black jacket and cleared his throat. "We are departing for the Isles today; you may want to go address Hans before we leave without you. Without your...how should I say, influence...on the ship, he may be prone to acting up." "He really upset Queen Elsa yesterday. I almost think that she should have a final word with him as well." The corners of Tomas's mouth tugged down and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, I left the letters in her room last night anyways. I'll go pick them up once she's decent...uhm, I suppose I can wait to bathe until after you've departed, yes?" He fiddled with the hair behind his ears and stepped around John awkwardly into the hallway. With an unimpressed look on his face, John walked the opposite direction. ~~~ Elsa slumped off of her silk sheets onto the floor. I slept better than I have in so many nights, but now I don't want to do anything...She crawled over to her white wardrobe, randomly searching through her dresses. She handled a dark green dress that hung to the floor, and slipped it on. Not a moment after she pulled it up over her chest, Tomas had arrived at her door. "Tomas! Just wait a minute!" She quickly straightened her dress out and slipped on some shoes; composing herself to her royal stature. "Come in now." Tomas slowly opened the door, peeking his head around the edge. "John says they are preparing to leave. I need to have a final word with Hans to influence him, so that he behaves himself on the ship. I just wanted to know if you were going to do the same; after what happened yesterday and all…" Elsa slipped on a black jacket over her shoulders and frowned. "I suppose I should. Though, perhaps it would be better to leave things as they were." "If you have anything to say, now is the time. It may be good to instill some fear into him, and you have the status that could do that. However, the choice is yours, Queen Elsa. You certainly don't have to." "Alright," Elsa nodded, fastening up the jacket buttons. "I'll see you this afternoon then?" "Erm, well, we'd have to go see him now. John made it seem like we only have an hour or so. I don't even know where I can bathe yet, but I figured I would just wait until after everyone is gone." Tomas scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "You can use my room if you like, but if I'm actually going to try and scare him, I have to go alone." Her light features darkened. "Ah, you have a bath in your…?" His cheeks reddened slightly and he shook his head. "N-no, that's not proper. I should probably use the guest bath. No more risks," He joked lightly. "Where is it? I can go see Hans and then clean myself up while you're down there." Elsa walked out of her room, pointing down the hall as she started to leave. "Down this hall past Anna's room; second door on the right next to the kitchen. I'll see to it that Anna has herself ready as well, and after all is said and done, we could head to the ice castle?" She offered lightly. "Yeah! Let's get started right away. I don't really have much to say to him anyway. I will see you soon." Tomas smiled faintly and turned down the opposite hallway towards the bath. He looked over his shoulder at Elsa and his voice dropped to a somber whisper. "Please...do not let anything he says get to you. He is warped, Elsa…" Tomas walked towards the kitchen. Elsa left the castle without a word to anyone and walked briskly onto the ship. Avoiding the boarding crew members, she walked below to the cell doors. The two guards standing watch at bowed in respect to her arrival. "I need to speak with Prince Hans, please." The guards glanced at each other briefly; eyebrows raised in concern and confusion. "Would you like us to accompany you, your Majesty?" One spoke, lifting up his bayonet from her path. She shook her head and walked to the last cell at the end of the small hallway. The only sounds were that of her feet padding against the wooden stairs and her heart pounding in her chest. Hans was curled up by the small window in his cell, and he watched as the crew members hustled about. Elsa cleared her throat quietly, and he lifted his head up slightly to look over his shoulder at her. "Ah...I came here to say that...your presence is never welcomed here in Arendelle again. You betrayed not only my kingdom, but my sister's innocent heart. She did nothing to deserve the cruelness in your soul." "Heh, I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Hans rolled his eyes. "I'm no longer interested in keeping either one of those as it stands now." He faced back towards the window. "Run along, 'your highness', and keep on playing your little games." "Your eleven brothers will treat you justly, and I play no games here." She gripped the metal bars of his cell door, and a white ice quickly spread across the door and floorboards. Hans shifted slightly to sit up on the small window ledge. "I may be in a less desirable situation now, but so are you. One wrong move now, and it's all over. For good this ti-..." Hans looked back at Elsa, fully facing her now. "Eleven? Where is Tomas?" "Prince Tomas is remaining here to keep you safe. I doubt he would treat you with the same respect as the others will." She turned her back to the door. "I am not concerned with any mistakes…" "To keep ME safe? Oh, that's sick. The little monsters are falling in love!" Hans snickered. "That's a sure disaster waiting to happen." Elsa slammed her palms against the metal cell bars. "Shut your mouth! I-I'm not...he's...it wouldn't work regardless. I'm assisting him in self control, and the benefits of his powers. Neither of us are monsters here, Hans. You are." Her voice wavered slightly. "Really now? I've never killed anyone to my knowledge. And just because you don't think it means anything, doesn't mean he feels the same. Tomas has quite the soft spot." "I never killed anyone." Elsa spat out coldly. "You DID, however, try to kill both my sister and I." Her shaking hands clutched the cell bars tightly, causing a slow ice to form through the walls and floor of Hans's cell. "Burn in hell, Hans." Elsa turned curtly and walked away. "He's killed before, and he'll do it again!" Hans called after her. "So will you! A pair of monsters! A pair of freaks! I'm glad 'll be safe away from the two of you, unlike the rest of your poor people!" Elsa let out a pained cry of anguish and thrust her hand towards Hans, pinning a set of sharp icicles into his clothes. Hans's eyes shut tight, opening wide as he realized he was pinned to the wall. "Shut UP!" Elsa took off running in terror. "You can't even control your temper! You could've killed me!" He hollered. "Am I just stuck here until we leave?!" Elsa continued running, sobbing hard and creating ice beneath each desperate step she took. When she reached the castle, she flew past Tomas's room and slammed her door. Sharp icicles grew down from each corner of her room and she covered her face. I'm not a monster...Neither is Tomas...Conceal...don't feel…