Author's Note: What was up with the low views of chapter 9? Was it because I posted it so soon after 8? Who knows.. anyway, enjoy the read! -Foxinstrazt

Part I: Chapter 10

-Common Folk-

The Inferno, Arendelle Harbor

Day Two of the Solstice Celebration

Kristoff watched the ice slowly dissipate from the air. It had been shining in the light of day, the symbol of Spades, the mark of the Knight-Sorceress of Arendelle. And he felt glad to have seen such beauty. It was crafted as if a dozen of the most skilled carvers had slaved upon its form for weeks without end, conjured from a moment of thought in Elsa's mind. He found himself wishing he had been in the town square, and not leaning on the rail of the ship that he had sailed upon from his homeland. "She appears to be in control of her powers."

The words, spoken from behind him, came in a voice that was a smooth as velvet and subtle as sin. His brother, Hans, stepped up to the railing, a worried eye fixed on where the creation had been suspended in the air. "Yet if all she can do is make ice sculptures, there is not much to be afraid of. Tell me, little brother, how comes your plan of wooing Queen Anna?"

"Not well." Kristoff admitted his failure with a grimace, recalling the harsh words the Queen's knight had bit him with that morning. "Lady Elsa is determined to undermine any effort from our family."

His brother gave a shrug of his shoulders before turning to lean back against the wooden railing, laughing quietly. "Perhaps it is as Everard suggested. She might truly desire her sister for herself." Making a disgusted noise that caught in his throat, the redheaded man shook his head, his features contorting at the thought. "Sickening and immoral. A woman like her is not fit to bear titles, nor royal blood."

Kristoff kept silent, giving neither his agreement nor refuting the statement as he watched the crowds of people of Arendelle churning to get a look at their beloved royalty. After a long minute of silence between the two of them, he asked the question that had been at the forefront of his thoughts since his encounter with Elsa that morning. "Why are tensions so high between our kingdoms?"

Letting out a laugh that was loud enough to draw the attention of the deckhands working upon the vessel, Hans tossed a glance in his direction that could only be described as condescending, as if the answer was obvious and the fact he did not know made him less worthy in his brother's eyes. "Do you truly not know? Lady Elsa suspects that Everard had a hand in the war between Mekrinon and her uncle's kingdom of Corona."

The emphasis the redhead put upon the knight's title was accompanied by the foul manner in which Hans spat the word from his mouth, and Kristoff frowned at the other man's tone. He wanted desperately to dismiss the pride that was nearly foaming from his brother's mouth, to not acknowledge the way the green eyes lit up from the discussion. "Did he?"

"Our brother, a puppet master? Ha!" Hans shook his head, chuckling. This laugh was different from the others in many ways. The most apparent was the way it was drawn out, low and carrying a dangerous note that hardly registered to his ears. "No. It was my hand up Draos' back, and that foolish brute must have given Elsa an inkling of my involvement."

Elsa felt giddiness take over when the roar of applause resumed after her creation faded. The giant spade slowly fell into snowflakes that dropped toward the ground, melting in the hot summer sun before they made landfall. Glancing about at the cheering crowd, she was deafened by the response, but her heart soared within her chest. For a few moments, she was not the weapon that the world was supposed to think she was. She was a young woman, still bound to the beat of life that flowed within the innocent and idealistic. She was happy, basking in the liberty that came with exposing yourself to an audience and finding only acceptance.

Her gaze fell upon the girl that stood before her. The black bodice, its face carrying a design of blossoming flowers, clung to the petite form of her sister. Off the shoulder sleeves, a light shade of green and see through, hung off of the slim arms and revealed skin that was littered with freckles. An olive green skirt covered the lower half of the lithe body, hiding the legs that were surely straining the tights that the girl wore. Tracing the lines of Anna's neck as she continued her examination, she drank in the sight of the cheeks that were pulled back into a wide grin. Above the smile sat two wide, teal eyes that were aglow with excitement and happiness. More importantly, she could see the love within the ocean-colored orbs, and could feel it radiating out and scouring the chill that ran through her veins. "That was beautiful, Elsa."

Loud enough that she could hear her sister over the din of the crowd around them, the voice still carried a softness to it as it washed over her. "I have only dared to dream of such a moment.." Her own response brought on a feeling of surprise, having held such hopeful thoughts in for so long that even she was unaware of them. "Where I can be who I am, and not be afraid of them hating me."

It seemed impossible, but Anna's grin grew even wider as she approached, taking Elsa's hands in her own and squeezing tightly. "See? It is a gift." Her younger sister continued moving forward, pulling her in at the same time until their foreheads bumped against one another, eliciting a giggle that escaped her lips. "And you deserve to share it with the world, to show them your beauty."

Elsa blinked, pulling back an inch to stare at the younger woman, who was grinning like a playful fox. Words that usually came from her in a string of eloquence were left stuttering in the back of her mind as she peered through the bangs that had fallen from their position behind an ear. "M-my beauty?" There was something different about the way Anna had called her beautiful, a cadence that should have been reserved for a conversation much more private than the one they were conducting.

"Do not play coy, Elsa." Anna leaned her head back and let out a laugh, the lilt of which tore the gazes of the nearby crowd away from whatever activity had held their attention a second before. "Yes, your beauty. You are simply ravishing, and you can not stand there and tell me you have not noticed."

"But, I.." Falling over her own intentions, her words fell into sounds of exasperation and over stimulation, left completely and literally speechless by the candid way her sister was speaking with her. It was almost as if the younger woman was attempting to court her, employing such flattery, but that could not be. Elsa's mind, its thoughts racing down an infinite track at a speed she could not begin to comprehend, slammed to a sudden and violent stop. All passageways were jammed as she refused any whimsical idea of hope to enter her perceptions. By the time she recovered from such a jarring state of denial, Anna had turned away, and was joining hands with one of the commoners.

Somewhere within her compromised senses, she deduced that the audience had begun singing and instruments had been struck up. She understood that the young Queen was getting pulled away into a circle of dancing, but she was unprepared when the redhead reached and grasped her hand, yanking her forward and tearing her from the refuge of reasoning.

"Commoners.." The patronizing tone was accompanied with a scoff as Hans shook his head at the display, the venom so apparent in his voice that Kristoff was surprised none actually dripped from his brother's mouth. They were still aboard the Inferno, watching the cheering devolve into a frenzy of dancing, with the Queen and her knight at the center of it all.

Kristoff let a small smile find its way to his lips, despite the reaction from the redheaded man standing next to him. "Do you truly despise happiness so much? It is a party."

"Not happiness. Just those who are.." His brother seemed to search for a long moment for the correct word, settling on one as a malicious grin stretched his lips. "Lesser." Shaking his head, he looked back towards the town square, the negativity of the other bringing the mood down quickly. "You should return to the castle for the ball tonight, accept the hospitality of our hosts. Everard should be here on the morrow, and he will expect you to be in place."

Pushing off of the railing, Kristoff gave a stiff bow to the elder brother before moving to the walkway. "I will not fail you, brother."

A dark chuckle followed him as he began to depart the ship. "Oh it is not I who you should concern yourself with, little brother, but our King. Everard is not known for a tempered rage."

Author's Note: So this chapter is short, and it took a week to write. I feel as if I owe an explanation for that.. Well, for starters, this chapter was going to be short either way(tiny outline), but the week thing is completely my fault. I recently got the Final Fantasy X/X-2 Remaster, and have been playing the everliving out of that, and when I felt like writing, I've been working on the outlines for parts three and four. I also wrote a one-shot to keep myself from burning out on this fic, which worked well.. Anyway, sorry to my readers, and thank you all for your continued support(44 Follows is nice to see!). -Fox

StormBreeze: Oh man the suspended snow.. I knew I would miss something with how fast I wrote that chapter! I'm glad you liked it though, I wanted to show that Elsa's view of her powers is so completely warped from in the film. In my story, whenever she uses her powers, all she sees is death and destruction, until the moment in chapter 8 and this one where she is celebrated because of her powers.. Best of luck writing your fic(or two) as well, but you seem to have what you are aiming for figured out, so I'll bet that it'll be okay!

UnsightlyViewings: Hope that bit of fluff eased the hurt abit. Writing that chapter tore at a few heartstrings, I won't lie. Music helped too, but crushing a character like Elsa feels.. Ugh. Thank you for your continued reviews, I love them!

Hermanadi: Well Anna is a good fighter. She can withstand Elsa longer than most, who I have established as an amazing swordswoman, but she isn't quite THAT good. At least.. not yet.