Disclaimer: I own nothing related to any Disney universe including, but not limited to, characters, names of places, lyrics, dialogue, or any other piece of product. Disney retains all the rights to their universes. I am making no money or receiving any kind of compensation, material or non-material, for this fiction. It's all for fun. Please don't sue me. I do claim the writing, the idea behind this particular narrative, and any peripheral characters or locations created to augment Disney's work
o000o
He went to the window of his tiny cell. He appreciated the Arendellian intent of making escape impossible by placing the dungeon on the water. Especially since he had no intent of escape.
The moonlight shone on the fjord. He could see the silhouettes of ships bobbing in the dark. He wrapped his fist in his suit coat and smashed the glass inside the metal barred diamond. He smiled at the smell of fresh air as he picked out the ship he knew was his. The shape and lines of her were unmistakable.
He stuck his hand out the hole, careful of sharp edges, and gave the signal.
o000o
They waited on the edge of Farsund in the dark. Dawn would come soon. They'd travel on when the light came. It was safer, and to be honest, Kristoff needed some time. He was still trying to figure out how exactly he would get close enough to Anna to talk to her.
After all, he'd never raided a castle before.
Kristoff jumped out of his seat in the mounted sled and came alongside Sven. He stroked his friend's furry neck.
"This is the right thing to do." He said. "Right?"
Sven swung his head around and looked at Kristoff with exasperation.
You know it is.
"Yeah. Yeah. I know." His hand stilled as his thoughts weighed him down.
Sven's face softened. He nosed Kristoff's chest.
It is going to be okay.
Kristoff rubbed his hand over Sven's silky nose.
"Sure, okay." He blew out a breath and looked up at the lightening sky. "Do you ever think that the right thing and the easy thing will be the same thing?"
No. Probably not.
o000o
Elsa had trouble falling asleep. Her whole body hummed. Unfamiliar warmth settled into her core and she couldn't shake it.
She wanted to tell someone about this feeling mounting inside of her. She wanted to ask if it was normal for her heart to twist into knots like this just because of a name. She wanted to talk to Anna, but she couldn't.
Talking about this, to anyone, meant admitting that there was something to acknowledge. Asking questions meant receiving answers she did not want. If she allowed validity to her feelings for Captain Falk (whatever they were) then she allowed validity to Anna's feelings for Kristoff and she just could not do that. It was impossible.
There were rules for a reason.
They kept things in order, made things run smoothly. To break the rules, or even bend them, was inviting chaos. She could not abide with chaos, so she could not talk about this with anyone.
Conceal. A voice from the past. Don't feel. Don't let it show.
It hadn't worked for her curse, but that didn't mean it couldn't work for her now. She had plenty of practice, so it wouldn't be too difficult.
Even so - the last thing she thought before sleep took her was his name. His entire name.
o000o
They came just before the dawn. Their simple wagon bumped over cobblestones. Their clothes were unremarkable. They had a delivery for the kitchen, they told the guards. First harvest of Princess Anna's favorite fruit, and they showed the guards their wares. They were ushered in and directed where to go.
The kitchen was asleep, not quite time for breakfast preparations to begin, save for the pudgy snowman poking through the cupboards. They'd heard the stories of the queen's magic, and had been told what to expect. Still the snowman caught them off balance. It only lasted an instant.
"Hello!" The snowman said upon noticing them. "My name is Olaf and I like warm hugs. What are your names?"
"We brought Princess Anna a gift." They skipped the introduction and showed the snowman the fruit.
His eyes went wide: "Ooooooh. She will love these." He clasped his twiggy hands together.
"We'd love to make sure she gets some first thing in the morning when she wakes. Perhaps we could take a basket to her room." They spoke with sly smiles. "Is that something you could help us with?"
"Oh. No. No, I'm sorry, that won't work." The snowman said, and one of them put his hand on a knife. How did one kill a magic snowman? "Anna isn't in her room. She is in Elsa's. They switched for the night. If you put the fruit in Anna's room - she won't see it right away."
He took his hand off of his knife.
"Why don't you take us to Elsa's room then so we can make sure the princess gets her surprise?"
The snowman clapped with glee.
"She is this way, but be quiet! Everyone is still sleeping."
They were quiet as tombs.
o000o
The darkness pressed around them. Only the lookout's lantern and the bright moon illuminated the deck.
"You know, little brother, they say that it is unwise to walk the deck at night. You never know what may happen in the dark."
Hans gripped the railing tighter as his brother passed by him. His fingernails caught on the wood, and he felt sick for an entirely different reason than the motion of the boat.
"Then why am I enjoying the pleasure of your company?"
He didn't have to see his brother's face to know he was smirking.
"The captain assures me that we will reach Arendelle by midday tomorrow."
"I assume you are not telling me this out of the goodness of your heart." He caught a breath as the ship pressed over a swell.
"No, little brother, I am telling you this so that you can brace yourself. The last time you were in Arendelle, you did not make friends. I have a feeling our welcome will not be the warmest."
o000o
Anna heard something. She opened her eyes. In the darkness she saw the canopy over her head that was familiar, but it wasn't hers. Where was she? The dark was disorienting. She tried to shake off the sleep, but her mind was heavy.
She sat up and then she heard a sound from behind her.
Before she could turn, a strong arm wrapped around her chest and something wet and stinky smashed over her mouth and nose. Her body went rigid. She kicked and struggled. Her bad arm throbbed. She tried to scream and bite and fight but every breath she took made her limbs feel heavier. Her vision blurred and she knew she wasn't going to win this fight.
Where was her guard when she needed him?
Panic rose in her throat. She was losing the fight to stay conscious, to break free.
This all must be a dream. She thought as darkness set in. Kristoff…!
Then everything went black.
o000o
They started down the road at first light.
The thought of seeing Anna again had his body wound so tightly it felt like he could explode.
A part of him wanted to be in Arendelle now. It wanted to have Sven run and run until he collapsed.
There was another part of him though that acknowledged just what a crap shoot this was. Even if he somehow managed to see Anna long enough to talk with her - what would that do? He would still be an iceman and she would still be a princess. There was a good chance that even if he did manage to find her, talk to her, she would be ripped out of his life again. That part of him wanted to turn Sven the opposite direction and run until they were gone, gone, gone.
So Kristoff split the difference and held Sven back to a moderate gait.
A tree rustled as they passed. Two dozen crows flew from the branches, screaming. Kristoff looked up and saw them fly.
A murder. Anna had called it. A murder of crows.
A chill shot down his spine. He clicked for Sven to go a little faster.
o000o
They returned the way they came, down servant stairwells and out back doors, and no one was the wiser. The castle was asleep.
They loaded their prize into the back of the wagon, the dark sack she was in hiding her from inspection. They drove out of the castle gates just as the sun was rising.
o000o
Elsa had a crick in her spine. Anna's bed had lumps in odd places and her body did not appreciate it. Still, she had slept, and that was more than she could say for most nights.
She pulled the cord that rang into the servant's hall.
In her years alone she'd gotten used to dressing herself, a habit she still had, but this wasn't her room. She had nothing to change into. Yesterday in the moonlight she had been bold in just her nightgown and wrapper. The daylight had stripped her of that bravery.
Gerda knocked before she entered. She jumped, eyes confused, when she saw Elsa.
"Your Majesty! I beg your pardon. I thought it was Princess Anna who rang." She bowed.
"Princess Anna and I switched rooms for the night." Elsa explained, but no further than that. "Please go to my room and collect what I need to dress for the day, and be quiet. The princess may still be sleeping."
o000o
He watched the light creep across the harbor from his cell window. Those eyes stayed fast on the ship that brought him here. His face grim in want of the counter-signal.
If those idiots had bungled this after he'd waited half a century….
Then a flag raised on the mast of his ship, red as blood, and nothing could stop his laugh. Success always ticked him.
o000o
"Was Princess Anna still asleep?" Elsa asked as Gerda brushed out her hair.
"The bed was such an awful mess, all bunched and rumpled, I couldn't tell if a person was in there or not!" Gerda laughed as she yanked out a tangle. "I could go check again if you wish, Your Majesty."
Elsa pressed a hand against her stomach to suppress the unease growing there. There was no reason for it. Anna had not gone anywhere. She was still here. She had to be. They had a deal. Even if she wasn't in the bed, there were ten thousand other places where she could be that had nothing to do with running away.
Doubt ate at her every logical thought.
She never should have dismissed Anna's guard.
"Your Majesty?" Gerda stopped brushing, stepping back.
Elsa looked down at her hands on her lap and saw the sparks and swirls she hadn't realized dancing from her fingertips. She clenched fists and took a deep breath.
"No. No that won't be necessary. Thank you." She ignored her eruption and the fear she saw in Gerda's eyes.
They were silent after that.
o000o
Anna had a headache. Elsa's bed felt like it was moving and it made her stomach turn. Plus something smelled like dead fish. Why would anything smell like dead fish?
She cracked her eyes, daylight blinding her for a moment. Once the white blur cleared, she saw that nothing was familiar. Gone was the white and blue canopy, the ornate rosemaling, and her sister. In its place were crates, wooden beams, and metal bars.
Her eyes shot open.
Metal bars? What the -
She pushed up, head throbbing, and swayed. There was a bucket in the corner of her cell - a good thing - but she was in a cell - a bad thing. The two did not cancel each other out. She was five seconds or less from freaking out when she heard a voice.
"Ah. Good morning Princess Anna. Did you sleep well?"
She swiveled her head towards the voice. It belonged to a man she did not know, but she could have sworn she'd seen him before. He stood just outside of her cell with a smile that was the stuff of her nightmares. Now she was really freaking out.
"Where am I?" Her throat felt rough, her eyes gritty.
"You're on a ship. I thought that was pretty obvious." He pulled down on the wrists of his white gloves and a memory whispered through Anna's mind. "You really need to try harder to keep up."
She swallowed, too sick and disoriented yet to process sarcasm.
"I know I am on a ship, but what ship? Where am I?" She clutched her head with her good hand. "And why am I in a cell?"
The man ran gloved fingers over metal bars: "You are precious cargo." There was the smile full of malice, familiar because of it. "We cannot risk anything happening to you"
Light from a porthole caught his eyes and the way it sparkled made her heart lurch. She'd seen that sparkle before.
"Who are you?" She didn't want to know. She didn't, but she had to.
"Ah. How embarrassing. I forgot to introduce myself." He pushed a dark blonde curl back from his forehead. "You see, I've heard so much about you from my little brother it is like we have already met."
The blood rushed out of her head at the mention of a little brother. From the expression he wore he noticed, and liked it.
"Yes. You may remember him from your sister's coronation, though I am sorry if you do. He is altogether unremarkable."
Her stomach churned. Anna was only too aware that he hadn't answered a single one of her questions, but she is quick enough to put together the pieces. There was just one thing she didn't understand.
"What do you want with me?" She was shaking, eyes on the bucket in the corner.
"You, darling princess, are just a bit of insurance."
"For what?" She sucked deep breaths through her mouth. She couldn't be sick right now, not in front of this creep.
"Ah now - that would be telling." He clucked his tongue. "Where is the fun in that?"
The light made her nausea worse, or maybe it was his face. She squeezed her eyes shut.
"Is there anything you can tell me? Because otherwise, I'd love it if you would go away."
He was quiet for just one moment, and then she heard him sigh.
"Well you must know that it is no fun at all to play this game when you are positively green." He said like her sickness offended him somehow.
"It is not so great on this end either." She said, sweat breaking out on her upper lip.
Please leave, please leave, please leave…. she rocked back and forth and he laughed.
"Ah. He did tell me you were amusing." And though Anna was fairly sure she knew who 'he' was, she didn't want to know. She took back every question - every single one - she needed him to leave. "I don't suppose it would ruin any of the surprise if I told you my name." He leaned against the bars, picking imaginary dust from his jacket.
She gritted her teeth and fought to untangle her stomach. Maybe he would tell her his name and he'd just go away. Maybe she would wake up and this would turn out to all be a bad dream.
"My name is Henrik." He said and Anna thought that might be it. She thought that may be the worst of it and all her worrying had been for nothing, but then: "Well more specifically, my name is Prince Henrik Westergaard of The Southern Isles, but that is a bit of a mouthful. Wouldn't you agree?"
Anna barely made it to the bucket.
o000o
They found a stream and ate breakfast next to it.
"What if I can't get to Anna?" Kristoff bit off a chunk of carrot.
You will.
"Yeah. I know. But what if I don't?"
Then you try again until you do.
o000o
She didn't eat breakfast. Her stomach was too full of fluttering anxiety. She paced in front of the library window. The fjord stretched out in front of her, pushing out wide before coming to a narrow mouth hundreds of meters away. That was the true gate to Arendelle, and it never closed. If Anna had gotten on a ship that sailed this morning, she would already be far out of Elsa's reach.
Stop it. She reprimanded herself. Anna hasn't gone anywhere. She isn't going anywhere. Not now. Not ever.
She looked out her window again and wished her library faced the mountains instead.
A knock came at the door. She jumped, a cool breeze wafted.
"Come in." She clasped her gloved fingers and pushed at the tingling in her nerves.
The door opened. In stepped Captain Falk.
"My Queen." He bowed.
"Captain." Her tongue stuck on his name. "Thank you for meeting me. We have much to discuss."
"Of course, My Queen." He stood at attention. She was thankful for this formality, her stomach uneasy enough without complicating this further.
"Before we begin - did you happen to excuse Anna's guard last night?" She hoped -
"Yes, My Queen."
"Oh." Elsa clenched her fingers and looked back out the window. If she had set sail this morning….
"Is everything all right, My Queen?"
Elsa looked back at Captain Falk and did not find a guard this time. Concern etched itself into the corners of his eyes and mouth. She wanted to fall into that concern, to lighten her burden just this once by sharing it with another, but -
Conceal. Don't feel. Her father's voice rang in her mind. She felt him staring at her from his portrait above the mantle. Don't let it show.
Breathe in - one, two, three - and out - one, two, three….
"No." She said. "I mean - yes. I mean - everything is fine." She pulled her shoulders back. "Everything is fine."
Something dark flashed across his face. His wide mouth twitched in want to speak, but stayed silent. Her heart swelled and crashed and she thought it may break her ribs. The silence hummed between them until Elsa felt like her ears were bleeding.
She blinked and shook her head to break whatever spell had fallen.
"Let's begin with The Southern Isles." She walked over to a table strewn with maps and texts. Her father's eyes burned into her the entire time.
"As you wish, My Queen."
She watched him as he walked to join her and Elsa thought of freedom.
o000o
"Land ho! Land ho!" The cry rang out from the crow's nest.
Hans smiled until they pulled into port.
o000o
We could be there by now if you just let me run.
"You say that like I don't know."
You should let me run.
"You should let me drive."
Not if you are doing a terrible job at it.
"I am doing just fine."
But what about Anna? Think about her. What if she isn't fine?
"She is in a palace full of people who live to help her. I think she is probably just fine."
That isn't what I meant and you know it.
Kristoff sighed.
"Okay. Fine. You can go a little faster."
Sven ran like wolves were chasing him.
o000o
"The Southern Isles have always been known for their tremendous naval strength." Captain Falk pointed to the series of islands directly south of Arendelle on a map. "Being aligned with them historically was beneficial as they could easily intercept incoming naval attacks on our behalf."
Elsa nodded. "And the disadvantage being that now they could block all of our trade routes with ease."
Captain Falk looked at the map again. A flicker of pain crept over his face.
"Yes." He said.
"And if they did that – if they built a blockade…" Elsa couldn't finish that thought.
Captain Falk's hand swept over the map like he could erase the small dots that caused them this agony. He looked up at Elsa and she caught her breath at the storm she saw there.
"Then Arendelle will perish."
o000o
Anna felt better, but not by much. The effects of whatever they had smothered her with back at the castle were fading, but that did nothing to stop the sickness she felt at being in Henrik's constant company.
"You have me in a cell." Anna lay back on her cot and tried not to be sick again. "Pretty sure you don't have to sit and watch me all of the time."
"On the contrary." He tied a complex series of knots in the length of rope he held. "You must always be watched. You are so very important."
She couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic.
"Yeah? And why is that?" She asked, fully prepared to get an answer that wasn't an answer at all.
That was why her heart skipped a beat at his next words.
"Because Elsa loves you." He twisted and pulled one last time until he held a perfect hangman's noose in his hands. "And you always do the craziest things for the ones you love."
o000o
They'd talked in circles for hours. They'd scoured maps and battle logistics, but for nothing. They sat next to each other at the table. Their best efforts thwarted by latitude, longitude, and geography.
"We haven't gone to war in centuries." Elsa rubbed her temples. "There are no records, no references for how to approach this. We have no way to fight The Southern Isles, let alone Weselton." Elsa was too exhausted to panic, too defeated to fight. "We don't have enough time to prepare, or militarize. We have nothing."
She leaned forward and put her head in her hands. The only sound in the room was the ticking of the grandfather clock.
Then: "We have more than nothing."
Captain Falk's voice was nothing like the soldier's voice he'd used for the past several hours. It was open and soft and Elsa felt herself respond.
She pulled her face out of her hands and looked at him. He was leaning forward in his seat, closer than she'd expected, and her breath caught. Something in her screamed to pull back, but she didn't. Queens didn't pull back, didn't give up ground.
She steadied her breathing: "And just what do we have?"
There was no queen in her voice. She had meant for there to be, but there wasn't.
He stared at her. That same need to speak on his face from before, his whole face a battlefield. She couldn't look away, had no means of retreat. Her brain tripped over reasons why this was impossible, why she should stop this right now, but she couldn't. That heat from the night before was back, pressing up under her skin.
Two large hands, gloved like hers should be but weren't, caught up one of hers and her eyes flashed to his. The storm was back. The pressure and heat of his hands shot up her arm. She was sure she would see burn marks on her skin if she peeled off her clothes.
"We have something." He said, no soldier – all man. "We have you, My Queen."
She felt her pulse in every corner of her body. The feel of his hands around hers, his proximity, his words, all set her every nerve on edge. Her breath fell shallow in her chest.
"Queen Elsa, I –" He started, but then the library doors slammed open.
They tore apart at the noise. Elsa felt the temperature drop. She clenched her hands together and willed the burning in her cheeks to cool.
If anyone saw… But no one did.
Kai stood at the door looking just as flustered as he had been yesterday when Grand Pabbie had arrived. Elsa stood and was then aware that her knees were weak.
"What is the meaning of this?" She tried to find strength in her voice. "Kai – is something wrong?"
"A thousand apologies, Your Highness, but you have some rather urgent guests." He stood properly despite his red face and heaving chest.
The look in his eye made her stomach drop. So far, guests hadn't been the best thing to show up in her world.
"Who?" She felt Captain Falk's eyes on her. She held her head high despite the heat crawling up her neck.
"I can have them sent away, but they are insistent –"
"Who is it?" Elsa felt ice climb like ivy in her bones as she tried to keep her curse inside.
Kai looked at her, his face as sad as she'd ever seen it, and spoke these words like an apology: "It is King Petter of The Southern Isles." He swallowed "And Prince Hans."
o000o
A/N: I found a half dollar on the sidewalk today so it is everyone's lucky day. I just decided that since I am clearly the goddess of luck.
Also – on new medication that says that insomnia is a side-effect. Let me tell you – it is. Like whoa. I am not sure I even know what sleep is anymore. Probably why this chapter took less than a week to get out? Seriously. Who am I?
Twenty billion thanks to those who read/favorite'd/followed, a million billion thanks to those who reviewed. I try to get back to all of you when I can. I have sucked the last few chapter and I am sorry. I will be better.
I got a tumblr. The internet is confusing and wonderful, but if you have a tumblr and want to read sassy drabbles that will never see the light of day on or ask me invasive questions – go ahead and follow me over there. Ravenwritesstuff DOT tumblr DOT com
Or harass the living hell out of me on twitter. It really does work when it comes to getting me to write quickly. Twitter handle: ravenswrite