XII

Peace...

After the demon had vanished back into the North Mountain, Anna, Elsa, and Nuri were left there, watching the breathtaking sun continue to rise. After some silence, Anna spoke up: "So... how are we going to get back down?" Almost exactly as she spoke her words, there was a terrific noise from their left. The entire group turned around and saw Kristoff and Sven pull up hurriedly with a a large sled in tow. Anna noticed that was the sleigh he had gotten for his promotion to Royal Ice Harvester. He jumped off of Sven, and rushed over to Anna. They embraced in a hug, as Elsa and Nuri stood there awkwardly. Anna pulled out of the hug, and the two kissed. After a second, she look up at him with a question on her face. "Who's..." Her face fell.

"Aw no... Tell me... Tell me you didn't leave Olaf in charge" she said. Kristoff looked down at his feet, silent. "Umm... I'm sure he'll do fine?" Anna only sighed and shook her head. "I gave a speech, and told the people to calm down, and that Queen Elsa had the situation under control." He looked directly at Elsa. "You did have the situation under control, right?"

"Sure. Yeah. Look, we should probably get back before Olaf does anything too... ditzy" Elsa said. Kristoff helped Anna on the back of Sven as Elsa and Nuri climbed in the back of the sleigh. Looking back at the two in the sleigh, Kristoff spoke up: "Where's Hans?" Elsa and Nuri exchanged glances before Elsa replied: "He sacrificed himself. He saved Nuri." Kristoff looked as though he had chewed on a lemon. Finally, he said: "Good riddance." Anna lightly punched him in the arm. "Be nice" she told him. He sighed, rolled his eyes, and patted Sven on the side. Snorting, the reindeer took off, abruptly pulling the sleigh behind him. Elsa and Nuri were jerked backwards. Elsa brushed her hair out of her eyes and looked at Nuri. He smiled brightly. She giggled like a little girl, then felt red creeping in her cheeks. He chuckled. "I'm not the embarrassed one this time, Your Majesty."

Elsa laughed as the sleigh descended the mountain.

By the time they had gotten back, the sun had risen high in the sky. As they passed through the village, several townspeople caught a glimpse of the Royal Family and the King of Arat. They began clapping and cheering as they past. Elsa waved a hand, and so did Anna. After several minutes, they arrived at the main gate. Anna hopped off as Nuri helped Elsa out. They entered the main gates, and found Olaf. "Hey guys! You're back! And Elsa! You're back! And you don't look weird! Elsa blushed. "Thanks Olaf" she said. The entire group went inside the castle. The servants swarmed over Elsa, checking to make sure that she was okay. She brushed them off with waves of her hands. They bowed, and took their leave.

The four of them sat down, Anna and Kristoff snuggling together, Elsa and Nuri across from one another. "Peace" Elsa said, and leaned back in her chair, stretching. "Oh thank heavens."

Later that night, the four plus Olaf and Sven were together in the living room. Elsa looked out the darkened window as everyone else was laughing at a joke Olaf had made, and abruptly stood up. "Excuse me, but I think I'm going to bed. I haven't slept for a day and a half." She strode from the room. After a few minutes of walking, she found her bedroom door, opened it, and walked inside. Her eyes adjusted to the unusual darkness, and gasped at she saw. In the back corner of the room stood a disheveled man, dirty and beat-up. His suit was covered in soot, and his red hair looked akin to a bird's nest. His back was to her, but Elsa didn't need a face to know who it was. The man turned around, and Prince Hans of the Southern Isles smiled.

"Now I know that the old expression is true. People can go through Hell and back. All for you." He hissed. Hans slowly raised his right arm, and to Elsa's horror saw that he held a loaded crossbow. "Long live the queen" he croaked. Elsa raised her arms, as if it would deflect the shot. She closed her eyes, waiting for the impact. It never came. Gingerly, she opened her eyes, and saw a sheet of thick ice poke out of the ground in front of her. The pommel had gotten stuck in it. Hans' eyes narrowed to slits. Dropping the crossbow, he crazily lunged at Elsa and grabbed her by the throat. As he began squeezing, darkness started to creep into her vision.

In a last-ditch effort to save her life, Elsa aimed her hand at Han's head and fired an ice blast. He let go of her throat, and Elsa stumbled over to her dresser, clutching her throat, gasping for air. She used the dresser to steady herself, still coughing, when she noticed a letter opener sitting on top of it. Hans came back for another lunge, roaring with anger. Elsa grabbed the letter opener, prayed her aim was true, spun around on her heel, and thew the letter opener. It struck him in the throat, causing warm, sticky blood to squirt on Elsa's face.

He was the one now clutching his throat as blood poured out of it in a geyser. Elsa, panting hard, watched as her attacker collapsed to the floor. Gods, there's blood everywhere! she thought. There was a pounding at the door as Anna, Kristoff, and several guards bust in to witness the carnage. Anna took one look at the dying Hans, shrieked, and clung onto Kristoff. Kristoff only stared at the body. After a minute, Elsa spoke up: "Don't just stand there. Do something!" The guards left the room, leaving only Anna, Kristoff and Elsa in the bedroom. Elsa carefully stepped around the body, and headed for the bathroom.

The three of them were back in the living room. Anna explaned the situation to Nuri, whose face had gone pale. Kristoff spoke up: "I thought you said he was-"

" I did say that said that Hans was dead. I saw the man get dropped into a pit of fire for goodness' sake! Of course I thought he was dead!" Nuri exasperated. Elsa spoke up "It explains what he said" Elsa muttered. Anna looked up. "What did he say?" she asked. "He said that he had actually gone through Hell and back. For me." Silence descended once more over the group. Then Anna spoke: "I thought he had changed. Instead, he tries killing you the first chance he got!" Elsa looked at her little sister. "I think he did change. If what... he said was true, and he had actually went through Hell, wouldn't you think that would change a person?"

Kristoff and the others thought about it. Outside, the wind howled, and Elsa was sure that she could hear the Demon howling along with it.

Nuri left the next evening, sailing back to Arat. He waved to Elsa and the others goodbye from the gangplank. His face changed just before the anchor was hoisted. "Wait!" he called out to the captain, and rushed down the gangplank. He grabbed Elsa's arm, and pulled her ear close to him. "Thank you. For everything." he whispered. "I do love you." They embraced. "You are a good man, Nuri Yadin. I love you too." she told him, and lightly kissed him on the cheek. He blushed, and ran back up the gangplank. The four stood there and watched the boat disappear over the horizon and into the slowly sinking orange sun.