"Well, that was ominous," the young girl said with a chuckle. Elsa cracked a trembling smile. After so much negativity, the muscles of her mouth had trouble with the gesture.
The young servant excused herself to get some ingredients. Her returning form hurried around the scullery, ducked behind other servants, and walked with a swift confidence around the hazardous kitchen. She brought a pile of vegetables and herbs to a table close to Elsa and began chopping.
After a few minutes, Elsa broke the silence between them. "What is your name?"
"Ryia, your Majesty."
Elsa nodded thoughtfully to herself. "It's nice to meet you," she said at last.
Ryia burst into a smile as she sprinkled some ingredients in a pot. "And you as well."
There was a period of silence between them as Elsa watched the young servant peel fruit. Ryia's hair was a light brown, and it was pulled tight in a bun at the top of her head, sharpening her cheekbones. Elsa found herself scrutinizing Ryia's features. The girl couldn't be more than twenty, but the health that should have come along with youth wasn't present. Though she was shapely, there was an underlying slenderness to her figure. Her body had pock-marks of dust on it, but her hands had been scrubbed raw- there was an obvious difference in color between her forearms and her wrists.
"What is it, ma'am?" Ryia's sharp eyes had caught Elsa's wandering gaze.
Elsa faltered. "I was wondering where you went to at the end of your work day."
Ryia chewed on her lip, but the dazzle never left her eye. "Ah. I leave for the outskirts of town, where I live with my mum. We live frugally, but happily." Her eyes met Elsa's staunchly, but they soon softened. "The pay here helps a great deal. I am very indebted to you."
Elsa breathed as deeply as she could. To think how much good had come from the opening of the gates... "Have you gone back to your mother since the gates closed? Since I was attacked?"
Ryia hesitated. "I have not. None are allowed to leave or come through the gates. Princess Anna has made it clear to the staff that all word of your attack is to stay within the castle. I'm sure my mum is fine; worried that I haven't returned, but fine. These are difficult times, and I would not for the life of me risk losing my job." Elsa's throat tightened, and she tilted her head to the side. Annoyance marred her features. Ryia noticed this but politely turned away from her to tend to the boiling pot of glogg.
"You should see her. I'll speak with Anna." Elsa's voice contained an underlying sharpness that made Ryia start.
"Oh, no, no, Queen Elsa. I completely understand. I don't wish to cause a problem between you and Princess Anna." Ryia spooned the glogg into a cup and placed it in Queen Elsa's hands.
"Thank you," Elsa murmured, her brows still furrowed. The young woman gripped the the handles of the wheelchair and steered her into an adjoining room. She placed Elsa at the head of a rough wooden table. Ryia took a seat opposite of her, sighing and wiping her hands on her shift. Elsa tried to be civilized, but her hunger and thirst overtook her and she gulped at the spiced drink. Fire burned at her veins, and she felt a meager strength flow through her. The constant chill in her bones abated.
"Queen Elsa, your ribs are hurt, yes?"
She realized she'd been cradling her left side as she swallowed. "Yes," she affirmed in a breathy voice.
"May I ask what the problem is?"
"I- I fell down the stairs." Elsa snapped her mouth shut, and her face showed shock at having divulged something so intimate. "I'm sorry, I- I didn't mean to say that."
Ryia shook her head. "I wouldn't tell anyone, Majesty. Not to worry."
Elsa gazed down at her lap and the cup of glogg. Her cheeks burned, and she put her hands to them to relieve the heat. When she looked back up, she saw a concentrated expression on Ryia's face.
"May I be excused a moment?" she asked.
"Of course," Elsa stuttered, surprised by the sudden attitude shift.
Ryia returned a moment later with a mortar and pestle, an herb that looked similar to a sunflower, a bowl of water, and a strip of cloth.
She started mashing the flower in the mortar, and spoke to Elsa. "My mum taught me this remedy. She's amazing at this stuff. It should help bring down the swelling."
It took Elsa a moment to comprehend, but once she had, her heart swelled. "Oh. Thank you," she responded. "What herb is that?"
Ryia worked deftly with the pestle, as if it were second nature to her. "Arnica. It helps to relieve swelling." She looked up briefly and smiled.
"Your mother," Elsa began, "is she a healer by trade?"
The girl tipped her head indecisively. "In a way, yes." She peered at the frail queen and nodded to herself, as if deciding something. "You were honest with me. I might as well be honest with you. My mum has some abilities, if you will. The way you have abilities with ice, my mum has abilities with healing."
Confusion smeared the queen's features. "Pardon me, but I don't understand. I would think a healer with that sort of ability wouldn't have to live frugally."
The girl nodded good-naturedly, adding hot water to the paste inside the mortar. "A lot of her customers are from the outskirts of Arendelle as well. Nobody has much money to give out there. She trades in favors. They might do odd jobs for her in return for something she helped 'em with."
Elsa smiled, though her heart constricted. This girl deserved to be with her family, and it hurt her to think that her condition was actively keeping them apart. "Your mother sounds like a wonderful woman. I want you to go to her as soon as possible. I will arrange something with the guards so you can get there and back safely."
"Thank you. Thank you, Miss." She bowed her head and spread a yellow paste onto the long strip of cloth. She gestured to the queen's body and asked timidly, "May I...?"
Elsa nodded in assent, and the young girl handed her a towel with which to cover her front. She gently worked at pulling the top of Elsa's dress down to her hips. Ryia tried to muffle her intake of breath at the queen's sickly form. First, she saw a garish scar that stretched from the queen's lower back to her shoulders. It was an odd shape, a rough circle-type figure with tendrils spreading out. Then her eyes caught on Elsa's spine. Each bone stretched at translucent skin, yearning to pull free from her emaciated form. A dark field of bruises flowered from her hip to her lower ribs- around the front and back.
Despite the shock, she went quickly to work. Ryia pressed the poultice firmly to the worst of the bruising and Elsa grunted at the sudden heat. "Sorry," Ryia apologized softly. Before she could tie the bandage, the door swept open, and Anna stepped inside, her face alight with worry. Her gaze fell on the dark new spatter of bruises on Elsa's body and she raced to the front of the wheelchair and crouched by her sister. Anna grasped her sister's free hand and sighed deeply, gazing into Elsa's challenging blue eyes. "I came as soon as I could," Anna exhaled. "I'm so sorry. I had to finish a meeting. How are you?"
Elsa's silence was answer enough. Conflicting emotions battled; embarrassment and shame at her sister finding her in such a helpless state, and indignation at her sister's actions. Shame won over and her face became very hot. She laughed at herself and wiped at her eyes. "I'm okay," she answered thickly. She shook her head. Strands of brown hair fell into her face. "No... I'm not okay."
Ryia stood back from the two, trying to give them some privacy. She held the bandage in her hands, having had to pull away while the two conversed.
Anna looked sympathetically at her sibling. She was so frail, and she recognized the shame emanating from her. "You don't have to be embarrassed, Elsa," she whispered. "Everyone needs help now and then."
Elsa nodded stiffly, refusing to look in her sister's eyes. "Anna, I hate this," she said quietly, glancing at the arm of the wheelchair.
"I know." Anna then looked up at the servant, remembering someone else was in the room. "Who are you?"
"That's Ryia," Elsa interrupted, grasping at Anna's hand. Anna shivered slightly at the sensation of her ice-cold hand. "Her mother is a healer. She knows a poultice that will help take some of the pain away." She clenched her jaw. To Elsa, an admittance of pain was a weakness. Years of denying her feelings made it difficult to accept them, let alone voice them.
"Oh. Great. Thank you," Anna enthused.
Elsa shifted in her chair. "Anna, we need to talk after this," she stated.
"Okay," Anna agreed readily, relief showing plainly on her face. "Um, Ryia, you can go back to..." Anna motioned toward her sister and took a few steps back. The servant came forward, biting her lips, but began carefully wrapping the bandage around Elsa's frail body.
It's about time she came to realize she needs help, Anna thought.
"No, it's not what you think it's about," Elsa snapped, having deduced what Anna was thinking from the look on her face.
Anna looked taken aback. Ryia finished tying the bandage and hurriedly buttoned up the back of the queen's dress, then excused herself and ran like a dog from the room.
