"You never mentioned you had a daughter?"
The being sounded upset, like she had been fooled. The King didn't leave her any room to question more, "You asked if she had a child..not if I did." He complained, his harsh voice echoing off the walls. "She…she is my friend, I came to you for her help." The King said quietly and Elsa watched as he reached a hand out to the woman who took it lovingly.
"You've tricked me…" the being's glowing light flowed to a soft blue, although looking beautiful felt rather threatening to everyone present. "You knew that once I gave you this child, you two would…" she trailed off and Elsa could hear heavy breathing. "You are selfish in your ways, asking me for her, knowing full well that you two were starting your lives together."
The woman, whom Elsa hadn't heard since arriving, spoke up then "We would never try and deceive you…" She spoke confidently, "It is my fault, I wanted a child so badly that I could call my own..please don't hurt her."
The being, the woman and Elsa's Father were all quiet then. The only noise that could be heard in the large room was Gertrude's crying and the being's loud breathing. Elsa's grip onto her Father tightened and he held her close, unsure what was going to happen next. Then the being laughed, a horrible laugh, "I will give you what you want, but you will pay the price." And that's when Elsa's world went dark.
A small knock, almost undetected, sounded as Elsa sat on her bed that evening daydreaming of a time she nearly forgot. At the sound of the knock it shocked her back from her dreams and Elsa sighed loudly. Her nerves were already threatening to ice the entire castle and freeze Arendelle over, the knock didn't help as she wondered who it could be. Walking to the door, Elsa opened it slowly, peaking out to see who was there. A pair of soft eyes stared back and the girl sighed, opening it up for Anna to come in. "Shut it behind you.." Elsa said as the girl, in her nightgown, walked in.
Anna obeyed, feeling a little hurt by Elsa's forcefulness, and stood in the center of the room. "You can sit Anna…" Elsa sighed, noticing the girl seemed unsure of what she could do with her sister now. "Did anyone follow you? She asked the young girl, who merely shook her head as she sat down on Elsa's bed.
"Did you talk to Henrik?" Anna asked, looking up at the girl as she paced the room back and forth. She seemed so foreign to her now; mysterious like she was back when she hid in her room all the time. Anna wanted to take back the last few hours, take back the fight they had and especially the moment when Henrik saw them.
"I tried but he pretended as if he didn't see anything." Elsa laughed, bitterly.
"That's great then, that means he won't tell anyone..we can.." Anna trailed off when her sister's eyes caught her, almost angry.
"Anna we can't continue this anymore, whatever this is between us.." Elsa stated, her arms flying out to her side. "We nearly lost everything today, we still could lose everything if Henrik decided tomorrow to tell the Kingdom?".
"We'll deny it Elsa!" Anna all but yelled, "Nobody will believe him..it's our word against his!". Anna was debating whether or not she should stand and try to reach out for Elsa, hold her, anything that would get her to understand. She didn't want to step back from where they were, she wanted to move forward with the girl. Move forward with their growing relationship.
"And lie..Anna?" Elsa asked, causing immediate shame from her younger sibling.
The girl was silent for a long time after that, battling within herself as the two stayed frozen. "Anything to be with you Elsa.." Anna said, making Elsa turn away from her. "I would tell anyone what they wanted to hear..I would lie and say I was in love with Kristoff or Oliver or even Olaf if it meant that when I come to my room at night that you'll be there waiting for me." She admitted, her hands shaking. Kristoff said she needed to be bold, to beat Henrik to it. She was doing just that.
Anna stood up and grabbed for Elsa's hand, taking it within hers. Elsa turned but kept her eyes away from Anna's as she heard the girl speak, "Elsa..please."
Elsa untangled her hands and walked to the door of her room, opening it slowly. "I think it's time you left…I don't want them thinking we…" Elsa paused, unable to say the word, shame filling her along with grief.
Tears streaked down Anna's face as she looked from the door to Elsa, the same feeling of that door closing on her for years hitting her all at once. Anna couldn't fight it; she couldn't change the girl's mind no matter what she wanted. Walking slowly she made her way out of the room, hoping that somehow Elsa would gain courage and pull her back in just as she had done hours ago when she was going to kiss her.
But as Anna stepped out into the hallway and she felt the door shut, she knew that her sister wasn't going to do so.
Henrik sat at the guest room's desk for a while, arranging the contents and observing them all one by one. The gloves, the blue vial, the files and his bit of photographic memories from the incident he witnessed earlier. The two girls romantically involved with one another, The Queen and the Princess of Arendelle. "What a story.." Henrik sighed, trying to figure the whole thing out.
Picking up the blue bottle and holding it over his head, "Actually..this is quite the story, if I could figure it out that is.." Henrik commented out loud and set the blue bottle down, picking up the files next. He knew what each of these items meant, but he wasn't sure what they all were doing together and how it pertained to the girls' story.
It didn't matter of course, the next night would happen with or without figuring these things out. But Henrik not only wanted to win this game, he wanted to smash Anna completely. Showing her how badly he would fight for Elsa and these next few hours. "I must figure these contents out.." Henrik snarled, flipping through the files and holding up the white gloves curiously.
"This cannot just be a baby box full of child memories, there is too much evidence to suggest otherwise..", slamming down the papers Henrik stood, feeling exhausted. "Elsa…what is the meaning of these items.." he wondered out loud only to be interrupted by a loud knock on the door. Henrik quickly rushed to pull of the items back into the raggedy box they came in, knowing the door could possibly fly open soon.
He breathed out a sigh of relief as he pushed the treasure underneath his bed just as his Father entered the room. "You wanted to speak with me?" Elias almost growled as his son stood, looking mischievous. "At this hour..you better have a reason to keep me up!".
Henrik nodded, "This is worth it Father.." he sighed out, his Father was a proud noble man on the outside, but he had such a temper on the inside. Elias shut the door and walked into the center of the room, waiting for the boy to speak again. "So you talked to Elsa?" Henrik asked, his hands growing sweaty as the atmosphere changed from confident to frustration.
"Hmph of course, I asked her if she would marry you..especially since you weren't planning on doing so." Elias laughed, almost evilly. Henrik sighed, glaring at his Father.
"I wish you would have let me handle it, I was going to ask her tomorrow evening after the ball." His voice sounded casual although he was clearly annoyed with Elias for butting in. "I had preparations with the staff that all had to be cancelled now because of your impatience."
Elias, who had been staring at some intriguing artwork on the guest wall, turned and glared at the boy then. "My impatience?" he laughed and waved his hand in the air, "Your Mother and I have waited long enough for your..delays in getting married, you should have popped the question by now my dear boy" Elias turned back to the artwork, "For all you know Elsa could have found a better suitor if you had waited."
Henrik thought back to the moment between the girls in the hallway, their bodies pressed up against each other as they were about to kiss. He clenched his hands as the scene played out, he knew he didn't have much time before Elsa refused him and sought only after Anna. Regardless of what his Father or he did. "I understand that Father..but you needn't worry, I called you here tonight to let you know that Elsa and I will be fine." Henrik said boldly, trying to show his confidence. "I have no fear that she won't marry me..especially after tomorrow night."
Elias lifted an eyebrow at Henrik, curiosity washing over him and making his brain swim with questions. "Oh really?" he asked, remembering how indifferent Elsa had sounded when he asked her about marriage earlier that day. Maybe Henrik had something up his sleeve or maybe he didn't? Either way, Elias would want to see how his son managed to marry the Queen and change her opinions. "Well if that's how you really feel, fine…I will let you handle it." Elias said after the two remained silent.
Henrik smiled and went to show his Father out, his pride showing through. "Thank you Father.." Henrik breathed as he opened the door for him.
Elias bowed and took a step out into the hallway, "Oh but Henrik.." he asked as a wicked smile played across his face. Henrik looked up, eyes glossy and waited for him to continue. "If your little plan somehow fails and you end up ruining this trade..I will strip you of your trade titles and other responsibilities upon your arrival of Aleksan." He warned, causing Henrik's face to grow pale. "I will make sure you never rule the Kingdom of Aleksan for all the years after my last breath."
With that final note, Elias left, stomping off down the hallway as Henrik stood speechless in the doorway. His mind was in a flurry and he knew he couldn't possibly fail his Father now, for the sake of his future. "Elsa, I will make you mine." He spat through clenched teeth, "If it's the last thing I do."