Hi again!
taylorjago: Haha, thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it! :D
psalty1: Netflix is amazing! It's not on cable, I'm pretty sure ABC is one of those channels that everyone in the US can get. :) Hope you enjoy this chapter then!
Asteroth1: It's fine, don't worry! :D You'll have to wait and see. ;)
The woman huffed in disgust as she crept around the back of the castle.
"So this is what I've been reduced to? Sneaking around the back of my own home like a thief in the night. . ."
She ran her hands over the wall, searching for the door hidden by vines. When she found the old doorknob, she slowly opened it, for fear of getting caught.
"Interesting. This castle has the same door."
She slipped through and silently entered the castle, scoffing to herself as she noted how easy it had been for her to enter without being spotted. "If this were my castle, there'd be guards everywhere. . ."
After wandering through the hallways, hoping that the rooms were in the same place as the ones in her own palace, she came across the former King and Queen's bedroom.
Taking in a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, she quietly opened the door.
Agdar and Idun lay sleeping peacefully in their bed, Agdar's form stretched out while Idun lay curled in on herself.
The woman crept closer, mouth slightly open in shock. These people who resembled her parents were. . . so vulnerable. No matter. They were the same as her own parents had been. Cold, cruel, and distant. She didn't believe they could be anything other than that.
She raised her hands, ready to attack when Idun stirred in her sleep.
Idun mumbled softly to herself and blearily opened her eyes. She blinked a few times and sat up. "Elsa, what is it, dear? Your dress. . . it's different."
The woman stood there in shock, unsure of what to do. Her mother. . . looking concerned for her? Was this really happening? "I-I. . ." she stammered out.
Agdar stirred and got up, woken by the murmurs. "Elsa? What's happened to your dress?"
"Nothing's wrong with my dress," the stranger hissed. What was wrong with wearing a dress of black ice?
"Elsa, dear, what's wrong?" Idun reached forward for her hand, worry on her face.
The woman instinctively drew back, but not before freezing Idun's hand.
Idun stared at it, stupefied while Agdar looked furiously from his wife's hand to the woman's face. "Elsa, stop it. What's gotten into you?! Unfreeze your mother's hand."
Suddenly, his mouth had been frozen over. Muffled yells of frustration escaped Agdar as Idun tried to calm her husband.
"Enough," the woman resembling Elsa spoke. "If you make any noise, I'll kill you."
"What have you done with Elsa?" Idun asked in a whisper. "Where's Anna?"
"I haven't done anything to your 'Elsa' yet. As for 'Anna', I have big plans for her." With a smirk, the woman came closer.
Agdar glared up at her while Idun stared at her in horror, arms placed protectively on her husband's back.
"You two aren't the same as my parents, are you? Interesting. If I had been born here, maybe things could have been different. . ."
"We don't know what you're talking about. Just. . . just let us help you. Please," Idun pleaded.
"Oh, I would never trust you two to help me. Although you two seem nothing like my parents, what's to stop you from turning into them?"
She gingerly placed one hand one Idun's forehead. Both flinched as her cool skin came in contact with the warmth of Idun's.
"Please, don't hurt them. I beg you, leave them be. Do what you want, just leave our daughters alone." Idun's voice trembled as she closed her eyes, not wanting to see this woman who looked so much like her daughter wear such a malicious smile.
"I can't promise you anything. However, I will take you up on the second part of your deal." A surge of blue left the Elsa look-alike's palm, instantly highlighting and freezing over Idun's form.
Agdar yelled in vain, the ice over his mouth muffling the sounds. He stared wide-eyed, horrified at what was happening.
Idun was frozen in place, but her veins had been highlighted by the intruder's touch, making them stand out bright-blue against her skin.
"Now, for you, Papa."
Agdar glanced back at the woman, anger filling his eyes. His breath quickened as he realized what was coming next.
He got up quickly and was about to push her to the ground when he felt a searing pain in his legs. He looked down to see them frozen in place to the floor.
"Oh, Papa. You can't win against me like that." With a soft giggle, the woman thoughtfully ran a finger over her necklace. Agdar felt like he had seen it before, somewhere. . . but where?
"I wish I could say I'm sorry, but I can't. Looks like this is goodbye again, Papa." She swiftly pressed her hand to his forehead and watched as his body froze over, the blue color of her ice running through his veins and making them contrast vividly against his skin.
She stepped back, examining her work. "Well, that's two down. Interesting. I wonder how similar my other self is to me. And how similar this 'Anna' is to my own dear sister. . ."
Filled with pride by her victories over Agdar and Idun, she quickly left the room in search of Kristoff's.
Although it took a few tries, after looking into a few empty guest rooms, she followed the sound of loud snoring to a room at the end of a corridor.
She entered the room silently, and stood looking over Kristoff's sleeping figure.
He lay sprawled out on the bed, a line of drool trailing from the corner of his mouth.
"He's more handsome than I thought he was. Although, the drooling is quite the turn off." She smirked and ghosted a thumb across his cheek. "Poor, poor Elsa. Doesn't she know that there's no room to love anyone else? How can she have enough love for a sister, parents, and a lover? Although, her so called love for you will come in handy. . ."
She moved her hand to his chest, watching for any sign of response.
Although there was a slight hitch in Kristoff's breathing, he remained deeply asleep.
"My, my. Doesn't even wake up at an Ice Queen's touch? Seems like he's used to having cold hands on his chest. Dear Elsa, someone's been a flirt." She stifled a laugh, instead smiling impishly.
She concentrated all of her power to her hand, and watched as the area under it started to glow a brilliant cerulean shade.
After a few more seconds, she brought her hand back. "There, you're mine now."
Kristoff shuddered in his sleep and turned onto his side. "Elsa. . ." he murmured.
The lady took a step back in fear. Had she woken him up?
"Elsaaa. . . don't give Sven all the carrots. . . Anna, get off of that. . ." he continued to mumble sleepily.
Put at ease, she returned to her place by his bed. "A sleeptalker too. My other self certainly has good taste in men," she sarcastically whispered to herself.
Leaning forward slowly, she planted a kiss on his forehead. A smile broke out on her lips, and she pulled away.
As she left the room, she glanced back one last time. "I've gotten your parents, and now I have your silly love under my control. All that's left is you, and your dear sister."
"Mama and Papa have never been this late to breakfast."
"Don't worry. Last night, Papa told me that they had a bunch of paperwork to sort through. They probably stayed up for most of the night. They'll be here soon."
Elsa gave a slight nod, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. She could feel a thin layer of ice start to coat her hands.
Kristoff reached for her hand underneath the table. "Don't worry." He gently massaged the back of her hand, not minding the feel of the newly formed ice on her palm.
She gave him a tiny smile of gratitude. "You're right," she spoke out loud to both Anna and Kristoff. "Shall we start?"
Anna was about to ask Olaf to pass the syrup when Kai burst into the room.
He ran over to Elsa's chair, breathless and face startlingly pale. "Y-Your Majesty."
"What is it, Kai?" Elsa stood up from her seat, placing a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him. She had never seen him so shaken up; whenever the family had been plunged into times of distress, he had been there to be their steady guide. Elsa could feel her legs start to tremble as her mind raced through numerous scenarios that could bring strong, authoritative Kai to such a state.
"Queen Elsa, it's your parents."
She had never run so quickly in her life.
Elsa ran through the hallways, Anna, Kristoff and Kai close by. Olaf struggled to keep up with their pace, but kept silent. He knew that now was not the time for his questions.
When they reached the main bedchamber, Elsa stopped abruptly, almost causing Anna to run into her. Her hand hesitated over the doorknob.
"This can't be real."
"Your Majesty, you don't have to see-"
"No. I'll be fine. I need to do this. For my parents." She looked back to see Anna's bright eyes dulled, and Kristoff's radiant smile replaced with a look of sorrow. "Anna, Kristoff, you don't have to come in. You too, Olaf," she added.
Anna defiantly shook her head. "I'm coming with you, Elsa." Kristoff gave an abrupt nod of agreement, still too shocked to speak.
Olaf stepped closer to her, letting her know that he would be by her side.
With a deep sigh, Elsa turned the knob.
The room was still dark, drapes still closed over the windows. As soon as Elsa caught sight of her parents, she crumpled to the floor.
"M-Mama. . . Papa. . ."
Anna cautiously entered the room, eyes widening in fear and shock when she saw the two frozen forms. "W-w-what. . . " She joined her sister on the floor and buried her head on Elsa's shoulder.
Elsa still couldn't process all of this. Her parents, frozen? Cheerful Anna sobbing into her shoulder? Anna. She had to take care of her. Whoever had done this was no doubt after the royal family.
Ignoring the tears that streaked down her cheeks, Elsa lifted Anna's head up so that she could look her sister in the eye. "Anna, you should leave."
"What?" Anna asked in a broken whisper.
"You shouldn't have to see this. Kristoff, please take her back."
Kristoff had been standing in the doorway surveying everything with pained eyes, not wanting to intrude on such a moment, but wanting to comfort the two. He stepped forward and gently took hold of Anna's arm.
She quickly pulled it out of his grasp and turned back to face Elsa. "No, Elsa. I'm staying. Someone did this to them, and I can't leave you here alone to figure this out by yourself."
"Anna, I-"
"No. I'm staying. We can do this. Just don't shut me out. Please. Not when we really need each other." Anna placed her hands firmly on Elsa's arm, gaze trained on the other's.
Elsa's eyes started to well up again. "Okay," she whispered back. "Okay." She pulled Anna into her arms, listening to her ragged breathing as she fought to stay calm.
"They have lines all over them."
Both girls and Kristoff looked up to see Olaf standing in front of the two figures.
"They were found like that," Kai spoke up from behind Kristoff. Even the servant had started to cry as he witnessed the two girls fall apart in front of him.
"Who could have frozen them?" Olaf breathlessly asked, eyebrows raised in concern. "The only one who can do this is Elsa. . ."
"We've never heard of anyone else with the same abilities as Queen Elsa," Kai spoke. "And Queen Elsa herself has never been capable of. . . freezing one's veins."
Elsa shuddered. She had never even thought of trying it. To kill someone by freezing their veins over. . . what kind of person would have done such a thing?
Kristoff moved so that he was standing next to Olaf, in front of the two statues. "He was trying to. . . fight someone off?" He stretched a shaking finger out and placed it lightly on Agdar's outstretched hand.
As soon as he did so, a loud gasp escaped him, and he crumpled to the floor.
"Kristoff!" Elsa and Anna both got up and ran over to his fallen figure. Olaf shook his arm desperately, terror on his usually beaming face.
"I'll go get help!" Kai rushed out of the room, his voice echoing in the hallways as he shouted for assistance.
"I-I'm okay. . ." Kristoff groaned as he tried to get up.
Elsa pushed him back down with a gentle hand as she knelt down beside him. "Kristoff, your chest!"
All four of them looked to see a faint blue not unlike the blue of Agdar and Idun's frozen figures over Kristoff's heart.
Quickly, Elsa moved his vest out of the way and unbuttoned his shirt so that they could see it more clearly.
"Elsa," Kristoff spoke up as he blushed furiously.
"Hush. Now isn't the time to be embarrassed about exposing your chest." She gasped as she saw the familiar blue lines of frozen veins over part of his heart. "Kristoff, y-you. . ."
"What?" He looked down to see what she was worried about. "Is. . . is that. . ."
"A frozen heart." Anna anxiously spoke. "Elsa, can you unfreeze it?"
"I-I can't! I can only control my creations. H-how. . . who did this?" Frost started to cover the floor around them.
Kristoff reached for Elsa's hand, holding it against his chest. "Hey. Look at me."
Elsa's azure eyes flashed up to meet his own, hers wide with terror.
"I'm gonna be okay. Don't worry. We'll find out who did this. It doesn't look like it's spreading."
"But-"
"Shh. Promise me that you won't worry yourself sick about this. There's bigger things to take care of right now. I'll be okay."
"Kristoff, but you-"
"Promise me."
Elsa's eyes shut as tried to fight back the sobs that tried to escape. "Okay. I promise," she breathed.
"Good. Don't cry." He placed a hand on her cheek. "Come on, let's see that smile."
She slowly opened her eyes to see his own staring warmly back at her. She forced a tiny smile onto her lips, watching as he gave a smile of his own in return.
Anna placed a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Could. . . could it be a sort of sickness?"
"I don't think so. Kristoff's the healthiest out of all of us. It has to be something else. However, we should still have everyone check themselves for any signs."
Anna nodded with fervor. She went over to Olaf's side and took the small snowman into her arms, both for his protection and her own comfort.
At that moment, Kai burst into the room with Gerda, a few more servants and Dr. Thomsson.
"Your Majesty. Princess Anna. Sir Kristoff," the doctor quickly greeted them as he crouched down beside Kristoff's prone body. He placed a bag down on the floor next to him, and pulled on a pair of gloves.
"How long has it been like this?" he asked Kristoff.
"I don't know. We only noticed it right now." Kristoff groaned as the doctor examined the area.
"Sorry. Do any of you have it also?" he asked Elsa and Anna.
"We don't believe so. Kristoff. . . touched Papa's hand for a second and then fell to the floor," Elsa replied.
Dr. Thomsson's mustache moved slightly as he thought to himself. "Perhaps the mark doesn't manifest itself unless the person comes into contact with another of the mark. However, it is another question as to how this was contracted."
"Is it really an illness?"
Dr. Thomsson gave her an uneasy glance. "Honestly, Your Majesty, I don't know. Sir Kristoff seems to be healthy and well, but the mark seems to be saying the opposite. It could be some strange form of magic."
Elsa's stomach turned in on itself as what he said made itself clear in her mind. "Then it's true. Someone did this to him. To them."
She raised a hand to her cheek, where one of Kristoff's still rested. She pulled it down from her face, but entwined her fingers with his. "I have to go tell the rest of Arendelle about this. . . magic. I won't have anyone else suffer the same fate as our parents. Will you be okay?"
"He'll be okay," Anna broke in. "Olaf and I will stay with him. Maybe we can get Sven to come visit too." She noticed her sister's nervous expression and despite her fear, managed to push her mouth up into a tiny smile.
Anna's ability to still function somewhat properly despite what they just learned encouraged Elsa to do the same. "Okay. Thank you, both of you," she addressed both Anna and Olaf.
Kristoff squeezed her hand. "Go. We'll be okay."
With one last parting glance, Elsa unwillingly removed her hands from Kristoff's and headed to the door, Kai and Gerda close behind.
"I'll send some guards to watch over you," she told the group. "In fact, I should double the guard around the castle. Arendelle's never had many guards around since we've always been a tranquil country, but. . . times change."
Kai nodded and headed out in front of her. "I'll go alert the guards right away."
"Thank you, Kai." Elsa turned back briefly to face Anna. "I'll send Thomas along with the guards to look over the room. He is the only one allowed in the room with all of you. He's the only one I trust to look after you."
Anna's spirits lightened a bit at that. Having a familiar presence around would remove a bit of the stress surrounding all of them. She could understand why Elsa wanted the other guards to stay outside the room. At times like these, it was best to keep the ones you trusted close by. She and Elsa didn't want to have to doubt their staff, but they couldn't take any risks. "We'll be in good hands then," she replied.
Elsa gave a short nod by way of acknowledgement and swiftly left, Gerda trailing her.
"Anna," Kristoff spoke up.
Her eyes met his. "Yeah?"
"If I get worse. . . don't tell Elsa."
"Wait, what?! I can't lie to Elsa! And plus, she deserves to know!"
"I know. But if she hears that I'm getting worse, she'll worry even more about me, and then she won't have enough time to help the rest of Arendelle and find the guy responsible for this. Please, Anna. Just. . . if it gets really bad, then you can tell her."
"W-what counts as really bad?"
"Something similar to the fate of your parents, Princess," Dr. Thomsson said.
"You too, Doctor," Kristoff spoke. "Can I count on you too?"
The doctor stiffened at this. "I don't feel comfortable keeping things from the Queen."
"Please. If she gets mad at you, I'll take the blame for it. Even though she promised me that she won't worry herself a lot about this, we all know that she will. I don't want to add any more stress."
A long exhale escaped the doctor. "Fine. But if things take a turn for the worse, I will have to tell the Queen."
"Thanks. Anna? Olaf?"
Olaf's fingers absentmindedly played with each other as he sat in Anna's lap. "If it'll help Elsa, then. . . okay," he uneasily replied.
"Thanks, Olaf. Anna?"
Her eyes narrowed accusingly as he fixed his gaze on hers. "I really don't wanna keep this from her. You know she'll be really mad when she finds out."
"If she finds out."
Anna's eyes narrowed even more. Finally, her shoulders slumped and she exhaled deeply. "Okay. But you better fight to stay healthy."
"Of course."
A corner of her mouth twitched up. "We're all gonna make it through this, okay?" she asked him, both of then aware of the shakiness in her voice.
Kristoff didn't expect any less from the relentlessly optimistic girl. With a small nod to seal his fate, he started to become aware of the heaviness on all of their shoulders. "You bet."
Ah. I'm sorry if you're mad at me for killing off the parents. And for possibly putting everyone in mortal danger. But just wait and see, things'll get better. I promise.
If you're a Harry Potter fan and you love Frozen (well obviously you love Frozen, otherwise you wouldn't be here), check out the Exolvo tag on Tumblr. It's an amazing community of people who have mixed the fandoms together. Elsa is placed in Slytherin and Anna in Gryffindor. There's even an amazing masterpost that has a timeline for this AU and links to various stories and discussions. Go check it out! By the way, have you guys ever taken the Harry Potter Sorting Hat Quiz? Proud Hufflepuff right here.
See you next Sunday!
