Gerda

I suck in my breath, trying not to be afraid. This boy looked like Kai from the back. They could pass as brothers. But he is older than Kai, with a longer face and lighter eyes. A stranger.

I've broken into Arendelle Castle to talk to a stranger.

The boy who isn't Kai taps the girl on the shoulder. "Ida, wake up. I think I've been illused."

Princess Ida sits up with a yelp. She has messy red hair and freckles. She shakes her head as if clearing it, then looks at me. "No, Al, I see her too. Unless we're both illused."

"I'm not an illusion," I say. "Please don't call the guards. I'm looking for my brother. The royal raven told me he came here. It's just you look so much like him, and she must have gotten confused. I came all the way from Ciera, and I haven't eaten in days, and I just wanted to talk to you—him—you when I thought you were him. I'm sorry."

I wring my hands. I'm prepared to beg for my life, but Princess Ida switches on the lamp. "Did you say the raven spoke to you?" she asks. "Are you a bird mage?"

"Not exactly. I only speak Dove and Swallow," I say. "Usually I only speak to flowers."

"Amazing," she says. "The castle has never had a flower mage."

Al scratches his head. "How did you get in here again?"

"Did you do that by magic too?" Ida asks.

"No," I shake my head. "I swam across the fjord and climbed over the wall."

"The guards didn't stop you?"

"The ravens told me the guard would be asleep. He always falls asleep, they said, but no one here speaks Raven, so they've never been able to warn anyone."

"How perfectly dreadful!" Ida's hand flies to her face. She leaps out of bed and picks up a lantern. "We have to tell Sonja."

"Now?" says Al.

"Yes, now!" says Ida. She sticks a pair of slippers onto her bare feet. "What if goblins attack tonight?"

Al climbs out of bed but wraps a blanket around himself to ward off the chilly night air. Ida takes my hand. "Come on," she says, pulling me into the hall. I blink in the light. The halls are made of marble, decorated with gold and ivory. Candles line the walls, shining bright as day, and a plush red carpet spans the floor. My bare feet sink into it as we walk. It's soft and warm, especially after I've spent days walking across treacherous woods and cold stone paths.

Ida stops in front of a bedchamber door. She knocks. "Sonja!"

The door opens a crack, and then Princess Sonja appears. The older princess is several inches taller than her cousin. There is a red scar across her cheek, and her hair is dark brown, the color of soil after it rains. I drop to my knees before her.

Kai's grandmother told me that Sonja is the only daughter of King Frederick's oldest brother. He died in a hunting accident when Sonja was very small, and so the princess has lived with her cousins in Arendelle Castle for most of her life. Sonja is not officially the queen—blizzards seem to spring up every time a coronation ceremony is scheduled—but she was next in line after Queen Johanna turned against us. She has ruled Arendelle-Ciera for five years now.

"Who's this?" says Princess Sonja.

"She's a bird mage and a flower mage," says Ida. "She climbed in through the window."

"When?"

"Just now."

"Are you insane?" Sonja steps away from me. "You brought her straight to me? What if she's a goblin spy? What if she's illused?" She looks down the hallway. "Guards!"

I hear shouts and footsteps moving down the hall towards us.

"Please," I say quickly, "I'm not illused. I'm only looking for a friend who is. Let me prove that I'm loyal by helping you."

"How?" Sonja eyes me suspiciously.

"The ravens told me how to get in. They said there's a guard on the eastern corner who falls asleep every night. Nobody here speaks raven, so they couldn't warn anyone. I told them I would warn you."

"You might have approached us during the daytime."

"I tried, honest, but the guard wouldn't let me in."

The guards arrive, ten or so in all, holding weapons as tall as I am. Princess Sonja holds up a hand and they stop. I notice that her left hand—only her left hand—is covered in a thick black glove down to her elbow. She leans in and whispers something to the nearest guard. Half of them turn and leave, marching in formation down the hall. The other half stay.

"They're going to see if your story checks out," she tells me. "In the meantime, stand up and tell me about your illused friend."

"His name is Kai," I say. I rise to my feet. "He looks like Al, only he's my age and has a rounder face and darker eyes. We grew up together. He was like my brother. One day he started being cruel for no reason. Everyone else said he was just growing up, but I knew he had to be illused to change so quickly. Then one day last winter he disappeared. They said he was dead, but they were wrong again. He's not dead. The Snow Queen has him."

Ida gasps, "Poor thing!" and grabs Al's hand.

Sonja frowns. "Johanna prefers isolation. Why do you think she has him?"

"Kai told me about a moment two winters ago. Before he was illused. He said the Snow Queen stopped outside his window and saw him looking at her. She stared right at him and beckoned to him. He was so scared, telling me this. He said, 'If anything happens to me, take care of my gran.' I asked him what he thought was going to happen, but he didn't know." My lower lip trembles. "Now he's gone. Everyone else has given up on him."

Sonja's expression does not change, but she nods slowly.

"Johanna's started appearing in town with another figure in her sledge," she says. "I assumed it was a snow golem. It could be a child."

"We have to help," says Ida. "We have to send someone—"

"The moment we or one of our soldiers approaches Johanna, we're dead," says Sonja. "If she is going to be of any use to her friend, she must appear alone. That doesn't mean we can't help you," she adds to me, "if you are who you say you are. It only means that the final leg of your journey must be undertaken alone."

As if on cue, the guards return. They disappear with Princess Sonja into her room. After a few minutes, Sonja returns.

"Your story checks out," she says. "The sleeping guard will be reassigned, and the raven will be rewarded. We will help you get to your friend. But," she adds, "you must promise not to climb into the castle through anymore windows."

I assure her that I won't.

"Then," she says. She yawns. "… let's get you some food and dry clothes. You can have the guest room over the West Wing. When you're ready, we'll send you up the mountain."

A/N - Thanks for reading, reviewing, and favoriting! :)

For those interested, I finished adding vocals to the Let It Go/Defying Gravity mashup! You can find a link on my tumblr blog (my name is riseliketehbreakofdawn) or search "let it go defying gravity mashup" on youtube and it comes up on the first page of search results (my name is Theresa). Check it out if you're so inclined!