SURPRISE! I felt bad for not giving you guys the 5,000 words, so I wrote another chapter just yesterday. I'm on FIRE! This chapter is the longest one that I've written. It also has to be my favorite. This chapter is over 3,000 words, combined with the last chapter is about 5,000 words. I kept my promise. For this chapter, I didn't even know that this was going to happen, I just wrote it. I really hope you like it!
Quentin paced the hall outside of Elsa's door. He knew that it was late at night and he didn't want to disturb the queen if she was sleeping. He just wanted to give her the report. Her recklessness lately had made him forget all about his guard duties. Quentin stopped pacing and stood in front of the door. He finally sucked in a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"Your highness? It's General Quentin. I'm sorry to disturb you, but I haven't given my report to you in such a long time." He groaned inwardly. He could have just given it to her in the morning. Now he felt like an idiot. Then Quentin noticed the silence. "Your highness?"
Nothing, but silence. She could be sleeping, but Queen Elsa was a light sleeper. There was a saying that her and Anna always had. If he remembered correctly, it was the sky's awake, so I'm awake. He would have laughed if the situation wasn't so strange. He knocked again, louder this time. He waited for what seemed like hours. "Queen Elsa?"
Quentin reached for the door handle. If Elsa really was in there what he was doing would be considered inappropriate, but if she wasn't then where was she? Quentin opened up the door and poked his head in. The room was dark. He looked over to the desk where the Queen usually worked. The chair was empty and the documents untouched. Quentin moved his gaze over to the bed. Empty.
The queen was gone.
Quentin took immediate action. The General practically ran over to Princess Anna's room. If Queen Elsa wasn't in her room then she might be with her sister. He knocked feverishly, but there was no answer. A maid came around the corner and saw him by the door.
"If you're looking for Princess Anna, she left with Prince Kristoff, and Queen Elsa hours ago." The maid realized what was wrong. Her eyes widened and she dropped the basket of clothing she was carrying. "I'll alert the other guards."
"Thank you." Quentin walked briskly down the palace halls to the front gates. It seemed to take too long. When Quentin got out into the courtyard he saw two horses come into view. He recognized Anna's bright orange hair and Kristoff's shaggy blond hair. There was no sign of the Queen. Quentin ran up to meet the group. Anna greeted him with a bright smile.
"Good evening Quentin. We were just visiting family. Sorry that we didn't take any guards with us. Are we forgiven?"
"Where is Queen Elsa?" At the moment he could care less that they didn't take any guards with them. He wanted to know where Elsa was. Anna scrunched up her face.
"She should have been home hours ago. Did you check her room?" Anna dismounted, along with Kristoff.
"Maybe she's with Jack." Kristoff stated. Anna elbowed him in the stomach. Quentin's eyes narrowed. Who was Jack? Kristoff rubbed his stomach, then laughed nervously. "I meant that that she's with the… the um…. The pack."
"The pack?" Quentin was positive that Kristoff had said Jack. Anna smiled brightly, but Quentin doubted it. He wasn't exactly the most insightful person out there.
"Yes the pack. Elsa gets tired of being a queen sometimes, so she goes outside to watch the wolves run wild and free."
"WOLVES?!" Quentin didn't want to hear anymore. He raced into the stable and quickly saddled his horse. Although it was against the rules, he mounted while still in stables. He spurred the horse into a gallop and raced out of the stables. He stopped at the gate. "I want men searching the town and the forests for the queen. Make sure that we find her. It's spring, but it's still cold she could freeze to death out there."
"Yes sir!" The guard saluted. Quentin continued his gallop, taking the horse to the forests. The forests were still coated with snow. It only got warm in the summer, and the kingdom of Arendelle was still months away from summer. The queen could be anywhere, maybe freezing in the snow, or she might have fallen into another pond. Quentin tried to shake the scenarios from his mind.
He searched in the dark, trying to see in the dark of the forest. He should have brought a lantern. He tried to be as quiet as he could so he could pick up any sound. The horses hooves pounded beneath him. Quentin couldn't hear anything. He slowed the horse.
"Queen Elsa!" Quentin yelled. He continued to walk, calling for her every few minutes. As time went on and the moon got lower and lower in the sky, Quentin started to panic. Where was she? Quentin was about to turn around and go back, but then he heard something. He strained his ears to try to pick it up. It was very faint crying.
Knowing the Queen, she would never cry in front of anyone. There wasn't much to cry about, but there was a chance. Quentin was running out of time, so he spurred his horse onward. The crying got louder. Quentin slowed his horse. He stepped farther, squinting in the dark. There was large figure that looked like a horse. In the moonlight Quentin was able to see a white pelt. It was Elsa's horse.
Quentin stepped up towards the horse and looked farther in the dark. Slumped against a tree, hugging and crying into her knees, was Queen Elsa. She looked up, and Quentin was stunned. Her hair wasn't tied up like it normally was, and her light blonde hair fanned her face. The moonlight caught her eyes, and with the tears her eyes glowed a bright blue. A sob escaped from her mouth and broke the trance.
Quentin's feet moved on their own, and he stood before the Queen. She looked at him with her tearful eyes, biting her lip to try to stop her from crying. Quentin wanted to touch her, to comfort her, but he knew his place. No matter how much his feelings tried to take over. Instead he held out his hand. "You're alright now. I'll take you back to the castle."
Then he smiled.
Quentin never smiled. It was easier for him to frown. He would only smile for one person. Elsa looked at his hand, then back to him. More tears appeared in her eyes, spilling over. She lept up, and instead of taking his hand, she barreled into his chest. She wrapped her tiny arms around him bawling into his light armor.
Surprise overloaded Quentin. He had always seen the young Queen as strong, but she felt so small. So cold. Quentin lifted his arms up to hug her back, but reason kicked in. This was wrong. Elsa shivered in the cold, and Quentin tossed aside reason. He wrapped his arms around her trying to give her any comfort and warmth he could. He didn't know the reason for her tears, but he wanted to help her in anyway that he could offer.
Soon her sobbing stopped. Although she was calming down, the Queen didn't remove herself from the embrace. Quentin wondered if he should let go, but he just couldn't. His reason hadn't gotten back up yet.
"General Quentin?" Elsa whispered. Quentin let go of her, expecting her to scold him. She didn't step away from him yet. "Um… will you not tell anyone about this? I feel as though most people would call this inappropriate." She was definitely right about that.
"My lips are sealed. I just apologize for catching you in a delicate state." Quentin tried to fight the color coming to his cheeks. His reason was coming back, but she still hadn't let go. He wondered if he should push her away.
"One other thing. It's kinda embarrassing actually." Quentin looked down to see the Queen's cheeks were red. She looked up at him. His breath caught in his throat. Why did she look so beautiful in the moonlight? She looked down letting a small laugh escape her. "I've lost the strength to stand."
Quentin was silent. Then he started to laugh. Elsa looked back up and glared at him, her embarrassment seeping into her cheeks again. He tried to stop his laughing so he wouldn't embarrass her any further. "I'm sorry. It's just not something that I expected from the Queen that can protect herself." Elsa rolled her eyes. "So what do you want me to do, carry you?"
Elsa stayed silent in deep thought. She sighed. "Considering that I'm all out of energy and don't even have the strength to stand, I don't think I can refuse. Plus, I'm cold and your warm." Elsa groaned. "That sounded weird, didn't it?"
"Very." Quentin laughed again. "Well then. Up we go." In one swift motion he picked Elsa up. There was no hesitation in his movements. She gave a little squeak and wrapped her arms around his neck to feel more safe.
"This was not what I was expecting." She clung to him, obviously scared that he was going to drop her.
"Never been carried before?" Quentin guessed. Elsa gave the tiniest of nods. "Can you still ride?"
"I think that I can hold on, but not actually control the horse on my own." Quentin lifted Elsa up onto her white mare and she grabbed the pommel. He took the reins and led the horse over to his black stallion. He mounted and looked back to make sure that Elsa hadn't fallen off. She was secure, but looking down at the ground.
Quentin clicked his tongue and his stallion started to trot through the forest. Daylight was only a few hours away. Exhaustion hit Quentin and he struggled to not relax with the lulling hoof beats of his horse. He checked on Elsa every so often to make sure that she hadn't fallen asleep. She was alert, and watching the trail every time he looked back.
He took this silent time to think about his actions. He had seen a different side of Elsa tonight. He had thought of her as cold and reckless. It was like she didn't care for her kingdom. She hadn't even gone to her parents funeral. Now, it just seemed like a mask to hide how insecure she was. She was afraid. Afraid of what she might do, and afraid of herself. Quentin saw that now.
Quentin took a deep breath. Seeing this new side of her was dangerous. He was well aware of his feelings deepening. Whatever happened, he couldn't let her know. After all, he was just a commoner, and she was a Queen.
He couldn't ever let Elsa know that he was in love with her.
Elsa peaked at General Quentin again. Tonight, she had opened herself up on accident. She had let someone else see her tears, and her agony. To her surprise, the General had handled her delicately, and hadn't yelled at her like she was expecting him to. He had even been so kind enough to give her comfort. Not to mention help her get onto her horse.
She had seen a new side to him. He actually had a sense of humor. She was surprised when he started laughing at her. He hadn't treated her like a queen. He treated her like a normal person. A person without powers, without a kingdom to run. Just normal. It was...refreshing.
Elsa looked down when he turned his head to check on her. She couldn't look him in the eye at the moment. Elsa shifted in her seat, and realized that she could move her legs again. She leaned forward and tugged on the reins. Quentin dropped them and continued on. It was like he already understood what she was asking for. Elsa gathered them up and trotted next to him
"Thank you. For coming to find me." She whispered. Quentin smiled.
"Anything for the Queen." He had gone back to treating her like a Queen. Elsa wanted to change that.
"Just Elsa is fine. You've earned it." Quentin raised an eyebrow, questioning her reasons. Elsa didn't want to explain it to him. If she asked him to treat her like a normal person then might get too comfortable with her. They were silent for the next few minutes. She felt like it was taking forever to get back to the palace. At the pace they were going, it would. An idea came to mind. This was something that Jack would probably do. She turned and smiled at Quentin. "Race you."
"What?" Elsa kicked the sides of her horse, bring it into a canter. To her surprise, Quentin's black horse whizzed past her in a gallop. She had her horse pick up the speed and entered a gallop of her own. She started to gain on Quentin, and he looked back to give her a daring smile. Elsa's eyes widened. She didn't expect him to change gears so easily and become a fun guy. She expected him to refuse and ruin the fun. Then again, he had showed a different side of him.
The palace came into view and Quentin finally slowed his horses gait. Elsa came up behind him, laughing. "I won." Quentin claimed, smiling. There was an interesting twinkle in his eyes. Surprisingly, they weren't the muddy brown she thought they were. In the moonlight, she could see gold flecks in his eyes. Horses hooves were heard in the distance, and a troop of guards appeared over the rise. Quentin stiffened.
"Thank goodness you found her!" One guard exclaimed. "We were about to ask the villagers for help." Elsa returned to her cold and queenly state, noticing the Quentin had turned back into General Quentin.
"I'm well now. Please, let's return to the castle." Elsa commanded.
Jack paced the inside of Elsa's room. He had just heard from Anna that Elsa didn't come back. He wanted to go looking for her, but Anna had instructed him to stay here. She already had half the palace guards looking for her. He had been stupid. His own ambitions had led her to go missing. If he had gone back with her, maybe she would have gotten home safely.
Jack thought of his sister, Sarah. Had she ever gotten home? Did she get lost in the forest while trying to get help? He shook away the thoughts. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about that. He tried asking the winds for help, but they didn't respond to him. It was like they were ignoring him. He would ignore himself too if he left a Queen go through a forest alone. In the dark. Where wolves often roamed. If he had to wait any longer he feared he would go insane.
The door opened, and Jack jumped to his feet. Elsa came into the room, closed the door behind her and slowly sank to the ground. It was like she didn't even see him. Jack moved closer to her. Her hair was down, and it shone in the moonlight coming from the windows.
"Elsa?" Her head shot up at her name and she looked around the room, her eyes finally settling on Jack. She relaxed, and stood back up; she destroyed the bit of weakness that he saw.
"Hello Jack. You surprised me. Did you learn about your past?" Jack cringed; his past wasn't something he wanted to get into just yet. More importantly, her nonchalant attitude made him angry. She didn't tell him where she had been or what happened to her or who even found her. She asked about him before herself. It angered him, but also made him happy. She was more worried about him than herself.
"Yes, but where were you? Did you get lost? What happened?" Elsa's gaze turned steely and guarded.
"That's not important, I don't want to touch on the subject." Jack was appalled. She hadn't been this guarded in front of him. In fact, she had been more open with him than anyone else. Except for Anna, Jack was someone that she almost looked comfortable talking to. Elsa took off her snow boots and set them under her bed.
"Who found you?" He asked. If she was being this guarded it had to be about who found her. If it was the Quentin guy then he could understand why she was being so guarded. He must've said something rude to her.
"It's not important."
"Clearly it is since you won't answer the question. Who found you?" Jack's voice hardened. Why was she being so secretive? Elsa rolled her eyes.
"General Quentin." Jack narrowed his eyes. Was she blushing?
"What did he do to you?"
"He didn't do anything. Why are you acting like this? It's clearly none of your business." Jack's eyes widened.
"Yet you think that you can ask about my past. I don't believe you right now. Something must have happened to make you act this way." Elsa turned around, so he couldn't see her expression.
"Nothing happened. You're right, I don't have any right to ask you about your past. That means that you have no right to ask about what happened. You shouldn't even care. The only reason you came here was to apologize. You've done that. You can go back home now." Her words pierced like and icicle. He didn't have a home to return too. This was the only home he had. He had thought that they were friends. His mouth suddenly felt dry, and he found it hard to speak. His eyes filled with tears.
"Your right. I should just leave now. I'm not supposed to be here. I never was." Jack opened the doors to her balcony. He turned back to see if she was watching him go, but she just stared at the wall. He turned back around, and jumped off of the balcony. His only friend had also betrayed him. He had no one that he could trust. He was all alone in this world.
Elsa finally realized what she had said.
"Jack. I didn't mean it I'm so-" Elsa turned around to find the Jack was gone. Regret gripped her as she ran out the open doors to her balcony. She looked left, right, up, and down, but Jack was nowhere to be seen. What had come over her? Yes she didn't want what happened between her and General Quentin to be leaked, but who would Jack tell?
He just wanted to make sure that she was alright. He was looking out for her, and she had told him to get lost. Instead of welcoming him like a Queen should, she shut him out. She hurt him. Elsa collapsed on her bed, wondering what was wrong with her. Today had been so mixed up, that Elsa didn't know what was going on half the time.
Again her mind came to the question. Was she capable of love? She had always wanted a companion as a child, but as soon as she had hurt Anna, she seemed to have sealed off those hopes and dreams. Would she be able to pursue them again? Elsa clenched her fists. She had to. She couldn't endanger her kingdom again just because she was scared, or didn't think that it was possible.
She had to try.
Jack's sister's name wasn't really mentioned in the movie. So I stared hard at a picture of her and got the name Sarah. I think that it fits her. I would love to know what you guys thought of the chapter. It's alright to be brutally blunt with me if you hated it. Giving me criticizing responses helps me grow as a writer. Just tell me what I could do better, and I'll try to comply. Thank you for reading!