Chapter 12
"Elsa? Elsa! Oh my goodness, KRISTOFF!"
"What's wrong? Oh no!" Kristoff had walked in on this; the Queen was lying on the ground, blood trickling from a large gash on the side of her head. Anna was cradling her older sister in her arms, weeping.
"What are we gonna do?" Anna wailed.
Skye must have heard the commotion while walking past. She instantly burst into tears, seeing her aunt in such a horrific state. She fell to the floor. Then she noticed what Elsa still held in her pale hand. Grasping the letter, she gave it to Kristoff to read out loud. Anna's eyes grew wider and wider at each spiteful sentence. The family cried together, sharing their grief.
Suddenly, Elsa gave a small cough and moaned softly. Despite the situation, Anna was overjoyed to see her sister alive. Her ice blue eyes flickered open, and a quiet swear word escaped her barely parted lips. I don't blame her, Anna thought.
The queen's head was spinning. She never thought she would ever sit up again. Then it all came back to her; the whole reason there was a bloody cut on her head, and why she had been knocked unconscious.
"The war!" she muttered, her wound throbbing in time with her slow heartbeat.
"Don't worry about it right now. Worry about your head!" Elsa's hand instinctively went up to it.
"Maybe we should clean you up," Kristoff said, getting to his feet. "Should I carry you, Elsa?"
She was too weak to reply, so Kristoff hauled her upwards, gently but firmly, and placed her on the bed. Elsa mustered a small smile, which only made her head feel worse. That small movement had made the dried blood on her face crack away from her skin. She winced, her eyes watering.
Anna ran off to get the nurse. Kristoff and Skye stayed by her four - poster, each of them holding a floppy hand. Neither of them had ever seen anyone look so helpless before then, but the invalid queen looked as though she had the weight of the world on her frail shoulders.
The redheaded Princess returned with an aged woman. She saw to Elsa's wound, dressed it and recommended a few day's rest. "But you don't understand!" Anna blurted out. The nurse looked shocked. "The Southern Isles have declared war on us!"
Elsa could only look worried. She felt so groggy, and her head was causing her so much pain.
"Anna, that probably wasn't the best thing to talk about right now," Kristoff muttered, sighing deeply. " I think we should leave Elsa to rest now." And with that, he picked Skye up, took Anna's hand and the three left the room. The nurse also left, looking somewhat disturbed.
This meant that the queen had time to contemplate her nagging thoughts alone. Her mind screamed in pain, but the swirling storm inside made sleep impossible. I need to let it go, but I can't leave my kingdom in danger while I'm lying uselessly on my bed.
Elsa tried to get up, but her legs collapsed underneath her. Too weak to call out or get back up, she lay on the floor until Anna came in.
"What were you doing, Elsa?!"
"Need to...get up...war..." Elsa whispered, a shimmering bead rolling halfway down her face and freezing on it.
"Don't worry. Everything's going to be just fine."
