I'm so sorry about the slower updates. Graduate school is pretty time-consuming, and I'm also working part-time. But I will try my hardest to update once a week, especially as we're getting to the "good part!"

Warning: This chapter is okay aside from a bit of profanity. But the next few chapters are gonna be pretty dark. If you thought Playing Dirty was brutal… well you're in for a treat :)

Chapter 21:

Matthias the stable boy cast a furtive glance over his shoulder, peering through the darkness to scan his vicinity. No one was around, save for some unseen owls that hooted softly in the night. He darted out from his hiding place behind a toolshed, and scurried over to duck behind a clump of bushes.

For the past several weeks, the blond teenager must have overheard hundreds of gossipers in the town square, spilling virulent words about Elsa. She was denounced as a "liar and a traitor" for closing the gates again. Someone else accused her of threatening children with death and imprisonment if they dared call her "Frosty." Several other people conversed about how unbelievably rude and abusive she had been the last time they saw her. There was also a very pervasive rumor that Elsa had sent palace guards on multiple occasions to vandalize stores and steal jewelry. People's faces contorted in resentful scowls as they exchanged quiet but fierce words, denouncing the Snow Queen's wicked ways.

Matthias had no idea how these rumors had sprung into existence. But there was one thing he knew with absolute certainty. The Southern Isles entourage had to be the guilty ones. Their timing was simply impeccable. Until Hans and Henrik showed up in Arendelle, no one ever thought ill of Elsa.

So to clear her name, he was going to prove that Hans and Henrik had stolen the jewelry.

The fourteen-year-old stable boy tilted back his head. Hans' window must have been fifty feet above the ground. But a row of curved steel bars lined the bottom edge of the window, creating an austere-looking flowerbed. The perfect place for a grappling hook. The boy's muscles tensed as he clutched a coil of rope in his fist. Knots had been tied in the rope at regular intervals of two feet. A large metal hook dangled from one end, as strong and proud as an eagle's talons.

Matthias breathed a silent prayer as he took aim and released his projectile. The steely contraption caught a stray beam of moonlight as it arced through the air, before bouncing off the castle wall and dropping to the ground. The boy raced forward to retrieve his weapon.

After nearly a dozen attempts, the hook coiled itself snugly around one of the steel beams. He had done it! Matthias seized the rope and began to climb.

Hans' room was unoccupied and apparently devoid of any suspicious artifacts. But Matthias was convinced that he would find something to vindicate Elsa, if he searched hard enough. The boy began haphazardly flinging open drawers left and right. He had to act quickly, while the darkness of night shrouded his clandestine operation. Besides, Hans could return at any moment.

A faint pinprick of fluorescent green caught his eye. Distracted, Matthias abandoned his search and reached towards the strange apparition. His fingers found a wooden cork, similar in size and composition to those found in wine bottles. But tiny traces of acid-green residue were crusted on the base of the cork, almost seeming to sparkle in the moonlight. That's odd. Who ever heard of wine that glows in the dark—

"What are you doing here, you little thief?"

Matthias stood petrified as a harsh, angry voice interrupted the silence. Hans stood framed in the doorway, wearing a black cloak and a murderous glint in his eyes. Before the stable boy could break free from his catatonic trance, Hans marched forward until they stood inches apart. The thirteenth Prince glowered menacingly down at the cheeky young lad.

"I have no idea why you're here, or what you're trying to accomplish," Matthias prattled breathlessly. "But you won't get away with it."

Hans laughed disdainfully. "I'm here because I am the King of Arendelle. This is my home and my kingdom. Consider yourself lucky I haven't put you in the dungeons for encroaching upon my personal quarters. Now beat it, peasant."

"You'll never be the king of anything! Arendelle will always belong to Elsa!" The stable boy fired back, standing his ground.

Hans clicked his tongue. "In case you haven't noticed, Elsa has been nothing but abusive and tyrannical towards her so-called loyal subjects. This kingdom needs a proper ruler, and not a monster like her. And I'm just the guy to do it."

"Elsa's not a monster… you are! You think you're so tough, but all you ever do is kiss up to Henrik and all your other so-called friends. If you love Henrik so much, why don't you marry him?" Without thinking, Matthias seized a flower pot sitting on the window sill, and flung two fistfuls of dirt into Hans' face.

Hans' eyes blazed with anger as his pride was wounded and his fraudulence exposed. "You son of a bitch! Take that back!" With herculean speed and strength, Hans lunged forward and wrapped both hands around the stable boy's throat. "I'll kill you!"

Matthias gasped for air and clawed desperately against Hans' fingers, but the thirteenth Prince was far too strong. Soon his head was beginning to spin and his vision was blurring. In a burst of adrenaline-fueled desperation, he lashed out and managed to score a lucky punch to Hans' jaw. The auburn-haired man temporarily loosened his grip. Matthias sprinted for the door, but Hans quickly apprehended him. He twisted the child's arms painfully behind his back, and began slamming his head against a bookshelf.

"You're dead, you little punk! You hear me? Nobody fucks with King Hans of Arendelle!"

But before Hans could carry out his threat, Matthias heard a rapid beat of footsteps in the hallway and felt an icy breeze. Suddenly, his wrists were liberated from the strangulatory grip. The boy whirled around just in time to see Hans sailing across the room and knocked senseless as he collided against the closet door.

Elsa quickly knelt down and helped him to his feet. "Matthias! Are you all right?" The teenager nodded gratefully. His eyes still shone with resentment as they fixated upon the thirteenth Prince lying unconscious on the floor. He retrieved the wooden cork from his pocket, and tossed it onto the carpet next to Hans' prostrate body.

Then he smiled mischievously. "You sure taught that asshole a lesson!" The boy instantly flushed crimson with mortification. He slapped both hands over his mouth, silently cursing his loose lips. What an idiot he was! He had practically cursed at the Queen of Arendelle. "Elsa, I'm sorry! I just… I mean, it slipped out and I—"

Elsa couldn't hold back a chuckle as she patted him jovially on the shoulder. "It's okay, sweetie. You've been through a lot and emotions are high. I promise not to let Kai wash out your mouth with soap. He only does that to myself and Princess Anna."

Soon her childlike cheekiness gave way to a motherly disposition. "Are you hurt? Do you need anything?"

Matthias shook his head and puffed out his chest proudly. "I'm fine." But Elsa was not convinced. He may have been fine for the time being, but she feared for his safety. The stable boy was now a prime target of Hans' hatred. A marked man. How long would it be until the Westergards sought revenge? Elsa would never forgive herself if anything happened to him under her watch. She knew what had to be done.

Elsa guided him to castle parlor and let him take a seat on the red velvet couch. "Matthias," she began gently, crouching down to meet his eyes. "You've been such a good worker and a pleasure to have around. But I'm afraid the castle isn't a safe place, while Hans is still here. Maybe it's best you take a little bit of time off. I promise to come back for you once this is all over."

Two guards appeared in the doorway, coughing slightly to make their presence known. "The carriage is ready, ma'am."

As Matthias clambered into the carriage that would carry him home and out of the reach of Hans' cold eyes and vindictive heart, Elsa laid a pouch full of gold pieces in his lap. Enough to last six months. The boy smiled gratefully and reached out to shake her hand. "Thank you, Elsa. For all you've done for me."

She rumpled his hair affectionately. "Thank me by taking care of yourself."

The carriage rolled to life and the hoofbeats slowly died off in the distance. Elsa reached into her pocket to retrieve a most peculiar little object. The bottle cork that had been found in Hans' room. The slightest traces of pale green residue were embedded in the porous wood, like infinitesimal dots of starlight. The color and consistency of this mysterious substance seemed eerily reminiscent of that little vial she had found the other day.

And when the duo exchanged their good-byes and parted ways in the courtyard, Elsa could've sworn she saw a rash developing on the boy's fingers.

Elsa massaged her aching knuckles and rubbed her exhausted eyes, as she continued toiling through the wee hours of the morning. She had spent awake through the night, poring her way through stacks of legal books and documents. Her fingers were blistered and nearly worn to the bone, as she continued to painstakingly script out the twentieth page of a lengthy, eloquent dissertation. Making her case against the Family Law. Making sure the rhetoric was compelling and the logic ironclad.

It has to be done, Elsa reminded herself for the millionth time. And it should have been done a long time ago. It's time to relegate this nonsense to the annals of history. I believe God put me through this debacle with Hans, because I was meant to do this. We can never eradicate liars, thieves and opportunists from society, because their inclinations are the very quintessence of human nature. But we can weaken their influence by stripping them of this very powerful weapon.

As the reigning monarch of Arendelle, she held tremendous power over the social and political climate of her dominion. But being Queen wasn't about manipulating laws in order to fulfill her personal wants. Every endeavor must be undertaken for the good of the kingdom. It was a flagrant betrayal of the sacred institution of matrimony that God had put in place—to abuse marriage an instrument of power and greed. To objectify fellow human beings into mere pawns in a game.

Elsa wanted to make sure no one would ever have to go through what she did with Hans. She was going to overturn the Family Law if it was the last thing she ever did.

The silence soon became suffocating and uncomfortable. Elsa was feeling lonely.

But the physical loneliness paled in comparison to the overwhelming emotional loneliness. Here she was once again, alone and ambivalent, fighting a battle she wasn't sure she could win.

How she longed for Anna to be back by her side! To hear that cheerful voice fill the castle with music and laughter, and see those bright turquoise eyes glowing with affection.

Elsa blinked back nostalgic tears as she twirled had hands to create two life-sized ice sculptures. One of Anna, and one of Kristoff. The blonde gazed longingly at the two smiling yet lifeless faces. What wouldn't she give for all of them to be together again, as a family? If she tried hard enough, could her mind conjure up those blissful feelings and fond remembrances of their time together? Could she convince herself that she wasn't alone?

This was no time for sentimentality. She had a very important task to complete—one whose significance would reverberate through the chasms of history for generations to come. Every moment spent dwelling on personal matters was time she could instead spend on fighting Hans and Henrik. Elsa walked over to each of the ice statues and planted a little kiss on each one. Then she immediately got back to work.

Suddenly, she was interrupted by a shrill knock on the door. Who could possibly be disturbing her at this hour? The sun was barely peeking over the horizon, and streaks of pink had only begun to propagate themselves across the indigo sky. No one should be awake so early in the morning.

It was Kai. His face was flushed and his chest was heaving. "Elsa, come quickly," he wheezed. "It's terrible."

His incoherent speech and frantic demeanor was quite alarming. "What is it?" Elsa demanded.

Kai hunched over to catch his breath. "This is an unmitigated disaster," he managed to gasp. "Thousands are dying from a strange illness that appeared out of nowhere. We must find Doctor Helmholtz at once."

Elsa immediately rose to her feet and with all the strength and authority required of her office. A gust of frigid air billowed in her wake as Elsa strode down the hallway. The kingdom was in danger. Gone was the sweet, playful girl with a pronounced childish streak beneath that veneer of propriety. It was time to adopt the stern, sovereign façade that the circumstances required. Someday, when the storm had passed and peace was restored, Frosty would reappear. But today was not the day.

There were no adequate words for the sheer magnitude of trepidation and despair that enveloped the entire kingdom. Last night, everyone was healthy and strong. There was zero indication that anything was amiss. But today, one-third of Arendelle's population was perishing under a most debilitating illness of unknown origins. No one understood when or how they had been so cruelly violated by that wretched plague.

Every hospital ward and makeshift emergency shelter was overcrowded with dying patients and panicked visitors. Churches were packed with frantic people demanding explanations where none could be found. The streets were lined with empty stores and dark windows. Classrooms were filled with empty desks, cold seats, and apprehensive survivors wondering "Am I next?"

A society built upon mutual respect and trust had been completely torn asunder. Nobody felt safe anymore.

Elsa hurried to meet Doctor Helmholtz at the National Laboratory. "Have you found anything?" Elsa whispered when the physician emerged from the examination room wearing a white coat and a fresh layer of sweat.

Brian gritted his teeth and said nothing for few seconds, as he grappled for words. Indeed, he had managed to extract some information about the mysterious plague. But what he discovered had left him utterly perplexed, and quite disheartened.

"I did," he finally managed. "But I'm afraid these new developments haven't led us any closer to a diagnosis, let alone a cure. I've taken almost a hundred blood and urine samples, searching for foreign antigens. Anything not typically found in the human body. There was one thing was found in all of the patients."

"What did you find?" Elsa pressed.

"I'm not sure," Brian admitted. "But all I can say is this. This substance, whatever it is, is completely beyond the realms of anything we know. I've done a careful analysis of all its chemical properties, and it defies every law of natural science. There is no element on earth that exhibits such behavior."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," Brian nodded grimly. "No germs or chemical toxin has the ability to spread this rapidly. Nobody was sick eight hours ago. But right now, one-third of the kingdom is puking their intestines out and foaming at the mouth. It's almost like magic. Very dark magic."

Neither of them spoke for several minutes, as they continued staring uneasily at the floor. Suddenly, realization struck Elsa like a bolt of lightning. "Magic," she whispered. "Dark magic..."

Then her voice became far more resolute and assertive. "Hans and Henrik!" Elsa was almost screaming with rage and disgust. "I'll bet it was them!"

Stay tuned for more!