Chapter 10: Servant in silver

The fire radiated its warmth throughout the drawing room. The Doctor did his best to warm himself sitting on the floor in front of the open flames, he was just about overcoming the chills that had taken over him in his earlier panic. Elsa sat beside him her blue eyes watching him intently.

"Trust me, from personal experience, that's probably not the best idea," Elsa warned watching the Doctor slip on the former Prince Hans' white gloves.

"Elsa I can't even brush my teeth without freezing the whole toothbrush," the Doctor looked up at her, exasperated with himself. Everything he touched lately was getting engulfed in ice. He spent half his time freezing everything and the other half of the time was spent by Elsa trying to thaw everything out after him, "I don't think me staying here is going to work out," he told her, "I'm going to just, get in the Tardis, fly away and everything will go back to normal for you all"

Elsa puffed her cheeks out in mild frustration, "You know, that's probably not a good idea either. Running off in your box alone, scared and transforming into, god knows what, is not the answer. Doctor, trust me. I've been there. I would never have reached today without you"

"I need more answers and I don't know where to look. I'll take the Tardis and see what I can find out there in the universe"

"You're not going alone. I'll come with you"

The Doctor couldn't believe her stubbornness, "But it's not safe for you"

"Well it's not safe for you either. You have no idea what's happening to you. You need someone with you"

"The trolls said that true love would cause my second heart to thaw," He took his jacket off and threw it casually onto the chair behind him, "The problem is that, I've got a past brimming with terrible, terrible things, I'm old Elsa, there's so much in my past even I can't recall it all. I don't think that love is going to be enough to save me"

Elsa couldn't help but chuckle, "Oh Doctor look at you. You're not old at all"

"I'm twelve hundred and three"

"Whoa," Elsa's head jerked up at this. She was aware that the Doctor wasn't human but that was an age beyond even her comprehension, "That's really old. Why do you look so young?"

"If something happens to me. Let's say, I'm injured very badly, or old age catches up with me. Every cell in my body changes, and I become a whole new man," he took her hand and put it against his cheek, "This is my eleventh face you know"

"Well can't you just do that now? Get a whole new everything, and you'll get new hearts too, won't you?"

"I can't. The ice and magic are preventing me from regenerating" A look of guilt swept across Elsa's face like the blizzards she was capable of creating. It was because of her that the Doctor had lost control over his ability to save himself from death, "There's only one place I can think of that we should go to," she said at last. The Doctor raised his head in silent question, her knowing smile let him in on her plan.

It was just a quick hop up the North Mountain in the Tardis much to Elsa's surprise.

"Well that was much quicker than running," Elsa exclaimed stepping out into the knee deep snow, "Oh," her shoulders fell when she saw what was left of her Ice Palace. It was no more than a pile of huge shards and lumps of ice strewn over the edge of the cliff face. At her side the Doctor pulled each glove off finger by finger. He folded them gently into her hand and gave her the briefest of smiles. A few steps in front of her he paused and opened a palm up in front of him. A small puff of ice whirled and scattered into the air.

"I've got this," he smiled over his shoulder at her. Though not half as graceful as the Queen the Doctor busted the best moves he possessed as he drew up Elsa's pre-formed ice as well as creating his own. A squared off structure emerged, finished off with a shiny beacon atop. Elsa giggled at his efforts.

"Doctor, it looks just like your time machine!" She gazed upon the polished arrangement as if it was the best thing she'd ever laid eyes on, "I love it!"

"Come on," he insisted wading through the snow to grab her hand, "Wow the snow really is deep up here. Oh! I know I know," he turned and crouched down in front of her, "Climb on"

"Oh, Doctor. I don't know. I, I can't"

"Live a little," he laughed, "Come on!"

Elsa's screams and laughter echoed through the North Mountain air as the Doctor carried her piggy back style all the way over to the entrance to his Ice Tardis. He shot up puffs of snow as they moved making it float down on them like the scenes you'd only ever see on postcards.

"You turn me into such an undignified Queen," Elsa bit her lip in silent laughter as she brushed off the snowflakes covering her dress. The Doctor beamed at her widely gently helping her by brushing the snow from her shoulders.

"Yeah but no-one needs to know" He pushed the large crystalline doors open revealing an almost perfect replica of his Tardis interior; without the bigger on the inside of course. The detail was terribly impressive; Elsa felt as though her own attempt at a mountain top retreat had been nothing more than a novice attempt, even though she'd been with her powers now for twenty one years, "I know what you're thinking," he strode up to the replica console unit, "You're thinking, how is it possible that I made everything so detailed on my first attempt"

"Well, yeah. Actually that's exactly what I was thinking"

"The only control over this magic that you have is your thoughts," the Doctor mused, "There's no command, or a manual," he opened up his hands, "It's a bit like my screwdriver," he pulled the object of scrutiny from his pocket and tossed it across to her, "You just point and think. I've had a lot of practice with that; and a whole lot more console experience" The Time Lord turned back to the console and rested his hands on it, thick ice began to form under his touch. He tugged the gloves back on hurriedly, "It's still very hard to keep a handle on it though," he confessed. A gentle hand came to rest on his shoulder.

"We'll fix this you know, you won't have to put up with this forever" As he turned to face her she caught his face in her hands and kissed his forehead softly. The Doctor responded with another embrace with the Snow Queen, since his mishap with her magic he no longer noticed how cold her touch was. It was times like this, when he was lost and without hope, that he needed someone like Elsa. He'd so often found great comfort in the companions that he'd welcomed on board his Tardis. They always seemed to know what he needed. Elsa was trying her absolute best despite the fact that she'd not travelled with him or known him for very long. He breathed in deeply; inhaling her frosty scent; she calmed him, made him feel like he could melt icebergs - If only that would translate into the ice magic that was trapping him.

For the second time the pair found themselves in the open Tardis doorway, this time suspended over Arendelle watching the stars come out. The Doctor kept his gloves on and watched his feet swinging high above the castle, "Thank you," he murmured.

"For what?"

"For not running up the North Mountain when you found out"

"I'm doing this thing where I don't run from problems anymore," Elsa smiled handing him a freezing cold soda.

Across the universe Hans was slowly coming to. He groaned as he struggled to open his eyes. The last thing he remembered was a bright light and a feeling of weightlessness.

"What the..." he found himself pinned down by metal shackles. The restraints were tight around his ankles and wrists; and why did his head ache so much? His vision was blurry; Hans found himself drifting in and out of consciousness. Voices swirled around him.

"Co-ordinates extracted. Subject integrated. Tardis location is being extrapolated"

The voices were robotic, but to Hans they just sounded odd and distant. He could feel something spiderlike stuck to the left side of his face, he rocked his head dazedly from side to side in an attempt to shake it loose to no avail. Suddenly an alarm sounded, red light flashed through his closed eyelids.

"The Tardis is active. Prepare to descend. Signal fleet formation. Prepare the Cyber planner"

Before Hans lost his battle with unconsciousness he just caught sight of a large silver robot with round tear drop eyes and straight mouth. In the centre of its chest a large blue disc was illuminated.

"No, please," he breathed as he was overcome by the darkness.

*please note* War Doctor not included in regenerations for this fic.