Title: Chapter 36: Naked Emotions

3 years, 8 months until correction

The angle of her neck against the bed causes enough pain to awaken her. The sensation of spinning slows and Elsa opens her eyes to the bright sun shining in her face. Covering her eyes for a moment she peeks between her fingers.

Samuel smiles down at her.

"How long have you been awake?"

With a raspy voice he answers, "I heard someone crying. When I was able to focus I saw you laying there restless. You called my name. I guess you were having a bad dream."

She sits up and leans against the bed as she touches his hand. "How are you feeling?"

His hand closes around hers. The doctor said he would have a fever, but his hand feels warmer than others with a normal temperature.

"Elsa, show me your dream."

She rolls her head to look into his eyes. Without hesitation, she answers, "Okay."

He stares into her eyes and his fingertips touch four specific points on the side of her face and neck. He blinks once and smiles. "The funny thing about dreams is, if you ask ten people to interpret it, you will get ten different interpretations. Maybe your mind is trying to help you to decide a decision you have been putting off for too long. Then again, maybe my illness has caused me to project outwards. Your emotional concerns for me enabled you to receive some of my thoughts."

"I do not understand." Elsa squeezes his hand.

"In your dream you saw an event you should not know. You saw my little girl, SaraCat. She went through a similar transformation as you did. What you saw are my last thoughts of her. She was convinced that she knew what happened to Arendelle and to its Queen. Your father and I made the same mistake with our little girls. When SaraCat was born, I knew she had your traits. I placed a mental block in her mind, hoping she would grow up to be," he glances away as he sighs, "a normal young woman. One of her friends sent a picture of a painting of the Queen of Arendelle. At the time, she was studying the earth's history, specifically, a certain nation north of Europe and their influence on the world. She had seen many paintings, but this one painting captured her imagination. The more she dug into the painting's history the more questions she asked about it. It wasn't just another painting of a Queen, but there was a gentleman standing behind her chair. She had no information about him except he wore green gloves on his hands."

He stares at their hands.

"Are you tired? Do I need to leave so you can rest?"

He smiles as moisture builds at the edges of his eyes. "No, please stay with me. That memory, I can see her enthusiasm as she tells me about the painting. And her theories about who painted it and why. My little girl was very smart. She would never give up until she understood it. One glove had a symbol of fire. The way the gentleman held his hand, you can see only a partial symbol on the glove. This is where she showed her intelligence. She researched as many symbols as she could find. By twisting and bending and changing the lighting she discovered three symbols that would create the image on the glove. Through researching the meaning of the three symbols, she eliminated two of them. One day it clicked in her mind. At the time, rarely did I wear gloves around her, but she discovered the truth. She bent and twisted my glove until she declared it was a match. You have seen the symbol."

"What symbol? When did I see it?" her eyes stare intently at him.

"It was the snowflake embroider on my right glove. It was at that point. I knew I could not withhold it from her anymore. Her mother was upset at me, but a remarkable thing happened. SaraCat's hair changed to a blonde and I could no longer block her abilities. Do you know what they were?"

Elsa shakes her head.

"Her left hand can create fire while her right hand creates snow and ice."

She points to him without saying anything.

"That's right, just like me. I made a mistake once. I'm not going to do it again. Please understand I did as your father asked. I put a block in your mind to make you forget me."

"Why would you do that?"

"Your father knew what I was. He was afraid that if you followed me down my path, the people would not accept you as their Queen. He was right. Until they accept you for who you are, you would be alone."

"Just like you?" she asks with raised brows.

"Yes, just like me."

"But you are not alone. I am here, Anna and Kristoff are here for you. They are in the other room concerned about you."

"Yes and they are afraid. I can feel . . . I can feel their fear." He squeezes her hand. "Soon you will have to make a decision. It will not be easy." His breathing becomes difficult. He struggles to speak. "Elsa, I must say this before it is too late. I put a block in your mind at your father's request. Please do not blame him. I could have hidden my powers, but I wanted to be honest and it got me banished from the castle."

He touches her face, then his hand drops. "The block is removed. Soon you will remember who I was and what happened between us that caused your father to be concerned about me. You will have to decide what is right for you. I will do whatever you say."

Elsa leans closer to him. His breathing becomes labored. His body relaxes. She asks, "Why did you drink the poison?"

"I needed to show you." He strains to look at her as his eyes begin to glaze over with a gray color. "Do you remember . . . remember when I had to freeze my body. I . . . I needed time . . . time to heal." His speech falters as though his words escape him. "Elsa, I need to . . . freeze. My body will shut off energy, including to my mind. My higher levels will fail." He closes his eyes for several long seconds. "Ellssaa."

She touches her face to his, "I am here, I am right here."

Slurring his speech, "Sun . . . sun . . . heals. . . ." His body falls completely limp.

She can barely determine he is still breathing and touches her finger to her lips then to his cheek.

The door opens and light footsteps move across the floor. The bed moves. "Elsa look. The sun light on his back. The black mass has disappeared."

She looks at his back. Just as Anna said where the sunlight touches his skin the black mass has disappeared. She smiles at him. "That is what he was trying to say. The Sun heals him." She rolls to her feet. "Where are Kristoff and Georg?"

"In the hallway."

"Get them in here now," Elsa commands.

She looks out the window. Outside of the southern wall has the maximum exposure of sunshine. The three return. She lays a blanket across his back. "I need you to pick him up."

Georg asks, "Where are we taking him?"

Elsa points to the castle wall outside of the window, "He needs the sunlight to heal. Take him through the southern wall's gate to the shore. Anna, I need you to clear the halls as we travel down to the garden. You two will lay him on the rocks with his back to the sun."

Georg and Kristoff move to the side of the bed. They drape Sam's arms over their shoulders. Elsa stands near the door. Anna wraps her arm around her sister's arm.

"You ready?"

Kristoff replies, "Let's do it."

"On three we lift. You swing around and we pull him off the bed."

Kristoff nods.

"One . . . two . . . three," both men strain to rise to their feet. They stand for a moment with a secure grip on him. Kristoff moves around and they pull Sam off the bed. They keep the momentum going as they move towards the door. Anna clears the hall of guards and staff. Elsa holds the door open. They carry Sam out the room and down the stairs. Anna waits for them by the southern gate. A guard holds the gate open. Elsa passes through the garden door with Georg and Kristoff close behind. They pass Sam through the gate and slowly carry him down to the shore line.

Elsa stands next to a semi flat boulder. "Lay him here with his back slightly ahead of the sun." They struggle to position his body on the boulder. They lay his head towards the castle with his arms over his head. His feet touch the shore below the tide mark with the tide already moving to the high tide.

She sits on a nearby boulder where he can see her when he wakes up. Anna puts her arm around her shoulders and sits next to her.

"I am sorry this has ruined your plans." Elsa shakes her head.

"He did say he would try to get you out of your meetings for a little while. I just did not know as to how far he was willing to go," Anna says.

Georg stumbles up to them carrying the blanket. "I will take this to the staff so they can clean it." He walks back through the gate.

Kristoff sits on a boulder in front of Anna. "When will you know he is well?"

Elsa points to Sam. "I can see the heat waves radiating from his back. He did not say how long it would take. I am hoping today will be it."

She sees her little sister watching her.

Anna drops her arm from her shoulder and hooks her arm. "Elsa, what is bothering you? Do you not think this will work?"

She does not look up. "I do not know." She turns her head and tries to wipe the moisture from her cheek, before Anna sees it.

"Oh sister, I am here for you. It will be ok."

Georg kneels beside her and places his hand on top of her hand, "We can take turns watching him. You can go back into the castle."

Elsa closes her eyes as her hand covers her mouth, trying to hold in a sob. She swallows and takes a deep breath. "You do not understand." She does not hide her tears and smiles at Anna. "Do you remember when I covered the courtyard with ice and we met Sam skating with the three children?"

"Yes, I remember."

"I said I knew him. For some reason I froze his hands and he did not notice until I pointed it out to him." She looks at Sam. "I did know him, I just did not know when."

"What do you mean when?" Kristoff asks.

She glances at Anna. "Before you came into the room, I had fallen asleep and had a dream. All three of you were in the dream." She reveals the rest of her dream.

After several minutes she points to him. "He was awake. I told him the dream. He said I may have been receiving his thoughts. I was not sure what he was telling me, but before he passed out again." She looks into Anna's eyes. "He said that he did what our father had requested of him." Her tears flow freely down her face. She closes her eyes resting her head on Anna's shoulder.

Anna holds her.

After a few moments Elsa takes a deep breath and sits up. "He touched me with his mind and removed a mental block that had been placed there shortly after you were born."

Anna cups Elsa's head into her neck and begins to cry with her.

Georg sits on a boulder next to Kristoff.

Kristoff glances at Sam. Part of the black mass has changed to gray, and he comments, "Sounds like it worked out for Anna and myself. It will be great if it does, but I don't believe in dreams telling me what my future will be."

"Normally, I would agree," Georg comments. "Before coming here I did not believe anyone had the power of ice and snow and yet I have seen it for myself." He pauses for a few seconds and angles his head towards Elsa. "Maybe it is not our future in your dream. You said he did not control his thoughts. Maybe he influenced your dream and your dreams are his thoughts."

Elsa glances at Sam's lifeless body. "Is what Georg said the truth?"

Georg and Kristoff glance at each other than they look at him. He appears to be unconscious.

Elsa speaks to him, "Because I hurt for you. I know, but I now remember the joy I had with you. You made me laugh. Mother said she was glad you came into our lives."

Anna looks down at Elsa's face. "Who are you talking to?"

Elsa smiles with a light giggle. "Should I?"

Anna lifts Elsa off her shoulder, "Who are you talking to?"

She waves an open hand towards Sam.

Anna stares at Sam, looks to Georg, and then to Kristoff, "Do either of you see him awake?" They both shake their heads. Anna cups Elsa's cheeks. "Look at me."

She turns her eyes to her sister.

"Who are you talking to?"

With a smile she wipes away her tears and jesters to him again. "I have been talking to Samuel. That is how I knew when he was healed those years ago."

"Wait, wait, wait, you mean to tell me you are having a conversation with Samuel, right now?" Kristoff asks in disbelief.

Elsa giggles and nods. "Yes, his body is repairing itself, but his mind is active and I can hear his thoughts." She grins at Sam. "Are you sure it is ok . . . All right, I will."

"I know this may be hard for all of you to understand." She looks at Georg. "I know what I am about to say will be especially hard for you. When you got here I did not wish to have anything to do with you. It was supposed to be negotiations only and I expected you to leave right away, but your kindness was swaying me to you. At the ball I wanted to spend some time with you. I had it planned that we could sneak out onto the balcony."

A tremor moves through her hands as they glisten with ice particles. Her smile fades and she shakes her head. "Then someone tried to poison me."

She stares at Sam as moisture begins to well up in her eyes again. "I thought he was being jealous when he took the drink from my hand and drank it himself. The doctor believed the powdery substance in the bottom of the glass was poison."

Turning to Anna her lips press tight to hold back her emotion of what could have been. "If Samuel had not taken the drink from me, I guess you would be Queen." One by one her tears run down her cheeks.

Elsa looks back to him. "For the second time in my life, he saved me. Before I was even born, we had a bond between us. He did not know about it until . . . I am mistaken. The poisonous drink is the third time he saved my life."

Her eyes narrow at him. "The second time, I ran out to the courtyard looking for momma. I heard horses and a loud bang. Samuel grabbed me and covered me with his body. I remember it was very noisy. Everything around us had a bluish tint to it. Then it was quiet. The wagon moved in slow motion as it rolled on top of us. Lumber and stones fell on us."

She stares at her hands and closes them tight. A thin sheet of ice slides off her hands and disappears in a wisp before falling on her dress. "Suddenly, I could feel his pain in his arm and legs. He strained to keep the debris off of me. I do not know how long we were under the wagon, but I remember Papa grabbing my arm and pulling. I did not want to leave him in his pain." She smiles between her tears, "I kept screaming Admal, Admal, do not leave me."

"The guards and Papa dug him out. They placed him in a servant's quarter. Ice had formed around him. I think he was in it for seven days. Papa visited him at night. He would not let me see him. I sneaked into his room. That is when Admal, started talking to me, here." She taps her head.

"I do not know why, nor does he know. He is receptive of other's thoughts and feelings. Sometimes when he is in a crowded room, it is like everyone is screaming at him at the same time. Even with just a few, he has to concentrate to block out other's thoughts. Which explains why he . . ." She suddenly stops speaking as her eyes dart around looking at nothing. They focus on Kristoff.

With an uneasy expression Kristoff stares at Sam.

Anna and Georg both look where Elsa is staring. Finally Kristoff looks up and glances at everyone.

She glares at Kristoff with a forbidding expression. "You better not. I will not hesitate to freeze it off. You better be a gentleman and wait until you are married."

A wide eyed Kristoff starts to speak, but does not.

Anna asks, "What did he do?"

Elsa tilts her head to Anna as her right eyebrow rises slightly. "And you little miss, do not be teasing or encouraging him before the marriage. You two will have more than enough time together."

Suddenly her head snaps around to Georg. "What is wrong with all of you? My Samuel is laying on the rocks, fighting the poison and you choose this time to be thinking lustful thoughts." With a noticeably higher pitch in her voice, she continues. "What is wrong with you?"

Georg deflects Elsa's comment from the others. "My Samuel?"

Elsa's glare turns to anger directed at Georg. "You want to do, what to me?"

"I mean no disrespect." Georg quickly stands and bows to Elsa. "I think I just heard a sandwich calling my name. I will go check." He quickly walks back towards the gate.

"I thought I heard the same thing, but I think that sandwich was calling my name." Kristoff stands and bows to Elsa and quickly follows after Georg.

She watches the two of them pass through the gate, then turns to Anna and gives her a hug, "Anna, please be careful. I am not trying to tell you what to do. You are an adult."

"But."

"I am not sure of the meaning of his phrase, but it sounds appropriate, Sam said, 'you should not give away your goods until they are paid for'. Anna, please . . . please wait until you are married before you two get into anything more than kissing."

Anna leans away from Elsa. "I would never do anything like that."

Elsa interrupts as she smiles and points at Him. "I just told you he can sense other peoples' thoughts. You were looking at Kristoff and he was looking at you. Both of you were thinking these rocks would be a good place to hide from the watchful eyes of the Queen. I am asking you, do not make a mistake in a moment of passion. If you have to take a cold bath, do so."

Anna slowly turns her head towards Sam.

Elsa's smile grows larger. "The two men are in the kitchen eating. They are thinking about us. The town baker is trying to find some milk for his pastries . . . in his shop . . . in the town."

Anna points and faces towards the bakers shop near the middle of Arendelle.

"Yes, at least that far, which means he can sense the entire castle if he wishes." Elsa giggles, "It means all I have to do is ask him where the two of you are without having to go look for you."

Anna slowly rises and walks towards the gate.

"He has to concentrate to pick out your thoughts from the noise of others."

Anna does not speak, but walks through the gate.

"Well, that did not go as well as I thought it would."

It achieved the desired effect I needed, sounds a male's voice in her head.

He awakens. Gradually standing, he faces the ocean. The black and gray mass has been replaced with bright red similar to a severe sunburn. Elsa watches closely as his back flexes and twists and changes in muscle tone. The top layer of skin gradually peels off to drift in the breeze.

Sam studies his hands as they close and open. Large flakes of skin fall. His hands slide across his shoulders and down each arm. His hands sweep across his body, creating a shower of flying flakes. He drops his trousers and wipes the dead skin off his body. With more skin flakes inside of his trousers, he takes them off along with his boots and sets them on the shore. The water refreshes his feet and legs. The cold eases his pain. He lies back and stretches out his arms. With his face above the water, he senses his surroundings.

He does not detect synthetic materials in the buildings nor any electrical energy except from an approaching storm. The sounds of the local inhabitants are not familiar. This must be a very primitive planet, but which one.

With the sun's position a quarter distance across the sky, he follows the sun's path to a point above the western horizon. An anomaly waves at the edge of the planet's atmosphere. His vision and thoughts focuses on the object. It is not a natural object for this planet.

He stands. The water runs down his back and legs. "Talk to me. If you can hear me give me a sign," he says to the object in his native language

The object flickers green and red.

He shakes his fist. "Perhaps later, I will slay you, dragon"

Behind him, a commotion draws his attention to the four creatures making a noise on the shore. It looks like the creature with a lighter shade of mane is trying to get the other three to leave. "Maybe that one is the leader." He moves to the shore.

The creature points to the clothes he was wearing earlier and points to him.

"Modest are we?" He takes his clothes and rinses the dead skin out of it before putting the trousers and boots back on. The facial temperature of the creature increases in the area under its eyes. The creature appears familiar, but his mind does not give him the name of this species. He stands three meters in front of the creature.

"What place is this?" He searches its eyes, but is not able to hear its thoughts. "What species are you? Do you have a name?" For such colorful clothing, this creature must have a very low intelligence. They are of no use to him. He turns back to the ocean and searches for the anomaly just above the horizon. "Where are you dragon? If I find my ship, we will do battle again and I will go home."

"Sam, are you ok?" Elsa asks. "I do not understand the language you are using. Please talk to me?" She starts to approach him.

A boulder partially in the water near the base of the castle wall transforms and drags a metallic rod from the water. Pabbie calls out, "Queen Elsa stop. He is not who you think he is. We are in great danger."

Sam hears a different noise and peeks over his shoulder at the new sound. The creature with the white hair stops and holds its palm towards him. He stares at it for a few seconds, then glances at the movement behind it. His hands clench together as his body rotates into a defensive position to face the aggressors.

Pabbie waddles along the water's edge. "Elsa, you must strike when I distract him. He is too powerful in this state."

Sam recognizes the troll and speaks in his native language. "You, you are the one who attacked me earlier. Not this time, I will crush you into a pile of tiny rocks."

A bright white light flashes into his mind, causing him to hesitate. At that moment his body begins to freeze. Ice crystals form on his chest. He moves forward when another boulder rolls into his leg. Partially blocking the boulder, he stumbles and slips on the rocks. The back of his head strikes a rock below the water as he falls into the fjord. More ice forms around his body and freezes the water. Every part of his body rapidly freezes into a block of ice. Something grabs his broken leg and jerks it straight. Expecting the searing pain to stop what little defenses he has, the pain never comes. Darkness eats away the outer edges of his vision. The white hair creature stands over him. In a moment of recognition he speaks to her. "I know about you. Your father was right to banish me".

Elsa kneels beside him and cups his face with her hands. "No, he should have let you stay. You may not understand now, but I hope you will later."

A small spark leaps from her finger and into the slight depression behind his eyes. They close. She stands and encloses the rest of his body in ice.

Pabbie waddles next to her. "He will be safe here. Give him several days to heal. The poison will crystallize and when he thaws, his body will expel it."

"Are you sure?" Elsa wipes a small white cloth across her eyes. With a sniffle she asks, "Is it dangerous for you to be here?"

"I received distressing news about him. His thoughts are erratic. I am prepared to do what is necessary to protect all of us. Elsa listen to me. The language you heard him speaking is the same language he spoke to the guards who found him fighting with the wolves years ago. I was able to talk to him through his mind. He was angry after he crashed here."

"You saw him after he landed ashore? Where did his ship land?"

"I saw the ship crash in a clearing on a hill not too far from here." Pabbie points to the northern mountains. "When he says he is not from this land, he is not from any land that the waters on this planet touches." He points to the western sky. "You saw him searching. That is where his ship came from."

Elsa searches the horizon where Sam had been staring. A star winks at her. She had noticed it is in the same location in the sky for the past several evenings, but this day it is well above the horizon before sunset. She points to the star. "Is that what he has been looking at every evening?"

Pabbie looks where she is pointing. "Sam has been watching that star for many years. I have no idea what the fascination is, but it appears to be very important to him." He glances at a wave splashing against Sam's frozen body. A breeze begins to blow across the fjord. "Unless a storm comes up, he will be here in the morning. I would recommend when he wakes up, you are ready to freeze him again."

Anna stops next to them. "Is he a danger to us?"

"The longer he is in the ice, the more his body will heal. It is in this state that he is of the greatest danger. His body will respond automatically in defense. I believe that is what we saw."

Elsa leans over his head, "I do not think he felt we were a threat to him, more like we were an irritant."

Sam's eyes open.

They step back.

Pabbie warns, "Elsa get away from him. He is a danger to all of us."

Sam's blue eyes illuminate the ice. A blue mist gradually rises above him. She stands motionless.

Anna yells, "Elsa, please move away from him. You do not know what he will do."

She calmly answers, "Actually, I do know. That is why I have to touch him." Elsa presses her hand on the ice and slowly melts it.

Kristoff moves next to Anna. "Majesty, please come back. Let him heal before you touch him."

Too transfixed on reaching him, she does not notice the blue mist encompassing her body.

Georg runs pass Anna and starts to reach for Elsa, when she slowly turns her head towards him. Her complexion has changed from a pale white to an ocean blue. Her ice blue eyes glow a reflective blue. She holds up her hand to stop Georg. "I am ok. You three need to back away. His defenses are rising to protect us."

Anna questions, "Elsa what do you mean by 'us'?"

"This is what he was trying to say. In order for the bond to be completed, we would have to change."

End of Chapter