A/N: Ah, I know, I've been MIA for over a week, but you know, the recovery process needed my attention. Everything's going fine, and I'm just hoping I can cut my hours back at this hospital. It's starting to give me the creeps, and it's messing up my classes. I have to go at night now.

You guys might hate me for making you wait so long for the ending.

Again, thank you for those of you who offered the support and ideas about how to wrap this up! (You know who you are.)

Disclaimer: If I owned Frozen, I'd make my own Olaf and we'd share warm hugs all day long. (Seriously, it's cold here!) But I don't.


Chapter 28: Loss

Hearing the hard, paced, shuffling footsteps in the hallway, Anna rose from her sleeping sister's side. She hadn't fallen asleep yet, though she felt slightly drowsy. The darkness she was staring through made her bleary, and the more she kept blinking and trying to make out anything, the more her eyes became watery. She shook the feathers out of her hair as she got up. The cold floor stung her bare feet for a moment, but she got over it. Finding out what was happening out in the hall was worth chilly feet.

She guided herself towards Elsa's door, holding onto the latch. She paused before she twisted it. It didn't budge. She attempted twisting once more: nothing.

She took a moment to think, stepping back. The door swung open, the wooden edge hitting her nose. She squeezed her eyes shut, holding it, trying not to cry out in pain. She opened her eyes to meet her possible attacker.

"Kristoff?" she asked, not expecting him at this time of night. She figured he left for his harvesting trip hours ago. "I thought—"

"Anna, what happened?" asked Elsa, rising up from her bed. She ran her fingers through her askew blonde hair, squinting to make out her sister. Anna waved her hand to help her out.

"There's no time for small talk," Kristoff said, his tone coming off as sharp. He apologized quickly then continued, "Emil's gone missing. He's escaped and he could be anywhere. The guards were supposed to warn you themselves, but I guess they got delayed."

"I guess this couldn't end on a nice note," Anna remarked.

"You mean to tell me that Emil is loose," Elsa said, tying her robe's ribbon around her waist, "and we're not doing anything to help catch him?"

"Elsa, it's best not to interfere. It's not—"

"No. I'm tired of people saying it's none of my business because it's a foreign affair. The Northern Isles has been a longtime ally of Arendelle. In their time of need, we need to support them like they would support us. And not only does this pose a threat to Henrik, it poses a threat to my people. As their queen, I need to be their protector," Elsa expressed firmly. The walls behind her broke out in pale cracks. They began to widen, frost sprouting from the cracks and travelling in wild directions, falling to the floor, stretching beyond the walls, and so on.

Anna cautiously moved toward her, gripping onto her shoulder. "I was going to say 'It's not only up to you to go after him; you have to consult us as a group,' but I didn't get to finish. . ."

Elsa's cheeks went red, staring at Anna blankly. "Oh . . . sorry." The freezing walls behind her made a crackling sound and started to simmer down, the ice removing itself from the walls in little portions, evaporating into the air.

"We're going to go after him," Anna said.

"Anna . . ." Kristoff practically whispered her name. She turned to him. "I know you're all about taking risks and doing the right thing, but he's dangerous. He's a skilled guard, the former captain in fact, and he's rogue."

"If Elsa wants to go after him, then we have to try," she told him, wrapping her arm around him.

A guard appeared at the door, his breath coming out in a cloud since Elsa's coldness still lingered in the atmosphere. "Your Majesty, Your Highness," he said hastily, grabbing their attention. He eyed Kristoff. "You know . . .?" Anna nodded. "Well, I suppose it's safe to say that the king has gone after him."

Elsa hurried into the candlelit hallway, a trail of whirling white tendrils following her as she breezed past, chilling the room into freezing temperatures. Anna could tell her sister's emotions were being tested tonight. Her anger, worry, and fear would soon affect the castle if she couldn't do something to calm her down. As she revised all of this in her mind, she went to her bedroom and found a pair of boots in her wardrobe. She threw a cloak on and raced after Elsa, Kristoff following close behind.

.:.^*^.:.

Out in the frigid winter, Henrik's footprints deepened in the snow, making crunching noises. With his sword in hand, he didn't know what to expect. On top of the darkness, fog was rolling in, making it harder to see. The brisk cold made his body whimper, and it felt like it was becoming chillier by the minute. Snowflakes seemed to glue themselves onto his face.

He himself didn't know why he was out here, especially when there was a mad man free. Was it to finish the job himself, or to protect a country he heard about most of his life, but never knew? Or maybe it was to protect his only family? Was it for the queen? Perhaps it was for Elsa at most. Maybe he felt at fault for Emil's terrorism.

Truth was, he didn't know what to feel, and neither did he know the real reason he was out at night. It was reckless and foolish, as his brother would say. If he really wanted to be a hero, he would have been back at the castle, making sure Elsa was all right, not wandering the streets in search of danger. What good was it if he was out here, being an easy target? Lord knows if this man was armed. He wouldn't hesitate to end his life this time. And what good would he be dead? That would be even worse than leaving Yvonne to rule a country. That would be leaving her to rule without a family, or at least a mentor or guardian.

After realizing this, Henrik turned around to make his way back.

Heavy footprints that didn't belong to him crunched in the snow.

He swung back, holding his sword out in defense. He breathed with relief. Only Finn.

"Your Majesty," he said in surprise, holding a lantern by Henrik's face. The heat brought comfort to his otherwise frozen face. "You shouldn't be out here! Everyone has been looking for you!"

Henrik slid his sword back in its sheath. "My apologies. I—I wasn't thinking correctly."

"Her Majesty Queen Elsa is the core of this storm," Finn explained, bringing forth a brown horse with salt-and-pepper mane. "Well, it's a storm in-progress. Her emotions are scattered, not knowing where you are, along with the absence of Captain— er, Mister Petrov." Henrik grunted as he seated himself on the horse's saddle uncomfortably, but took hold of the ropes. Finn guided the way back to the palace, continuing his story.

"The men guarding Mister Petrov's cell were knocked out with a stone removed from the walls. He used it also to break his chains, so I'm told. He took an unconscious guard's sword and rushed out, exposing himself in the courtyard."

"That wasn't very smart," Henrik commented, trying to make out the dark shapes ahead.

"But he was fast. A group went out after him, but lost him in the growing fog. It's strange. It as if he vanished."

"You don't think his accomplices broke free and aided his escape, do you?"

Finn shook his head. "No, Your Majesty. None of them had any idea about his escape, and all were still in their cells," he said. "Lady Yvonne is asleep, and no one has alerted her about the whereabouts of Mister Petrov."

"She's better off that way. She—" Henrik tugged on the bridals, making the horse halt.

"Your Majesty, are you all right?"

"I swore I heard something . . ."

"Henrik!" the voice repeated.

With this call, he saw wild wisps of white blonde hair moving with the wind, a pale figure dashing toward him. A group of guards sat on horses were positioned behind the running silhouette. He came down from his horse, and enfolded Elsa with a hug, her cold skin not stinging him the slightest bit. If anything, he was fond of her coldness and had grown used to it. It was preposterous, but he found warmth hidden in it. He cradled her head with his hand, the strands of her hair tucking into the gaps between his fingers.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she breathed, her hands now on his back. The whispering winds eased up, growing softer in sound. "I was afraid he got to you."

"So was I," he said, pulling away from her, holding her small shoulders. He frowned at his wording. "I mean to say, I feared he had found you." This made blood rush to Elsa's cheeks, he saw. She smirked. "We should go back."

The falling snow lightened as she replied, "Aren't you afraid he might be behind us?"

He shook his head. "The only thing I'm afraid of at the moment is losing you at his hand. Don't think he will hesitate to murder you along with me." She nodded, taking him by hand, her fingers lacing between his. Either it was her body temperature, or the chill in the air, but her fingers felt like icicles. Once again, he didn't mind. "Are you responsible for the snow?" She nodded sheepishly.

"I was scared," she said. "I didn't know what to do. I was going to rush out there to find you, maybe chastise you for being so foolish." He chuckled at this. "Then all I wanted to do was find Emil and send him out to sea. But later, I calmed down slightly and convinced Anna that I wouldn't get hurt. She didn't believe me and persisted to come too, but I couldn't do that to Kristoff. He loves her. She can't die because of me. She almost did once, and I can't bear for that to happen again."

Henrik recalled Elsa's perspective of the Great Thawing of Arendelle, including how she almost froze her sister completely. His mood darkened. He squeezed the queen's hand, saying, "Don't you dare blame yourself. It was a mistake, you were stressed. You would never harm someone on purpose unless they brought harm to you."

He helped her on the horse, putting her first. He climbed on afterward, taking the bridals and following Finn once again.

.:.^*^.:.

"She's coming!"

Elsa poked her head out from behind the divan, seeing Yvonne come into the ballroom, still in her ivory nightgown and a sloppy brown braid down her back. She rubbed her eyes and yawned softly.

Elsa crept back down, waiting for Anna. Her sister whispered, "Three . . . two . . . one . . ."

Together, the group rose, shouting, "Happy Birthday!"

Yvonne collapsed on the floor, startled, a wide grin on her face. They all laughed in harmony, surrounding her. She received a warm hug from her uncle along with a kiss on the cheek whilst the rest offered up their best regards for her seventeenth birthday. The idea of how fearful everyone was the other night and how happy they were this morning entertained Elsa as she braced for her hug.

Bjarne entered the ballroom in the midst of the party.

"Your Majesties," he addressed, bowing in Henrik and Elsa's presence. "I bring word about the whereabouts of Mister Petrov."

"Has he fled the kingdom?" Henrik asked.

Bjarne shook his head. "We found him after a night-long search. He was in the water. At first, we assumed he was swimming to shore like a fool. The waves would be too steep for him. But then, as we came closer, we discovered he was adrift. His body, I mean." Silence plagued the room.

"You mean . . . he's dead?" Elsa asked, narrowing her eyes.

"He drowned himself."


Kisses! ~TwistedTelepath