Hiram felt like he was going to be sick. The constant up and down motions he experienced through his journey underground tormented his stomach. It didn't help that his mind was also in turmoil, moving from despair to regret as his captor led him and Elsa on.

How could he have been so blind? He should've known Isten would try something like this at the celebration. In fact, he should have expected it sooner. He bit back the urge to yell.

Perhaps all of it was part of Isten's plan. With his influence he could have convinced many nations that Hiram and Elsa had ulterior motives for the celebration. Having two wielders suddenly thrust on the international stage in such a short amount of time, people would have been understandably fearful. Isten was a master at feeding off of fear.

His ankles and wrists were bound by some earthlike shackles, forcing him to stay in a kneeling position. Without his powers to prevent injury, his knees became sore from contact with the rock. Even in the pitch black he could hear Elsa next to him, her breathing hitched. This was the second time Isten tried to kidnap her. Before, he had to settle with her sister, but they managed to rescue her. Now Isten had both of them.

Then they began to rise. Hiram couldn't help but be impressed with how well the former noble learned to control his abilities in such a short amount of time. He even managed to make sure they had breathable air despite being who knows how many feet beneath the ground. Despite the anger he felt toward Sorren, he couldn't help but wonder what else the man was capable of.

-}=-|-={-

Why? Elsa asked. Why, why, why? She tried to be vigilant and protect her people. The fate she dreaded came like a sudden winter storm and took everything from her.

And it was all hers and Hiram's fault.

They let their guard down and someone they knew nothing about took advantage of it. Now Anna, Kristoff, those sweet children and all of Arendelle were in danger. Isten would subjugate them all, reducing some to mindless slaves and the rest to a hopeless life of servitude. Images flashed in her mind, her imagination fueled by despair and weariness.

Elsa saw Isten coming like a vengeful beast, easily overwhelming any meager defenses her people put up. She heard screams and cries for mercy as he invaded their minds and made them forget everything that made them special. She pictured him on her throne passing judgement on Anna, Kai, Tor and Simar as well as anyone else important to the smooth running of the kingdom. She saw their eyes turn from their natural colors to dull grey.

She saw herself, locked away in Isten's fortress where no army could reach, meeting her sister for the first time in years and finding that she couldn't even remember her. Dull green eyes would look at her and wonder who she was. Then Anna would turn away and continue with whatever monotonous task she was assigned that day. A precious life ruined all because she couldn't live up to the purpose of her position.

To protect her people.

Their forward momentum was abruptly arrested and they began a rapid ascent. Elsa realized they must be close to their destination. She strained her eyes looking for a source of light. Finding none, she forced herself to calm down. She couldn't do it.

"We're here," Sorren announced moments later. Elsa heard the rocks and ground around them shift and moan. Instead of a confined space, the earth around widened as if in anticipation of a magnificent reveal.

Starlight met Elsa and Hiram as they finally emerged from the ground and into open air. When Sorren captured them it was evening. An hour or so must have passed since then. The bonds loosed and Sorren told them to stand up. Elsa rose and almost stumbled from the lack of feeling in her legs. She remained stooped for a few seconds to let blood circulation flow again before gazing at her new surroundings.

With her eyes so used to zero light, Elsa was able to make out her surroundings fairly easily. She was in a massive courtyard fenced in by wall so high she thought it could put the Great Wall of China to shame. The keep towered above them like a mountain built by giants. She wondered how Isten could have pulled something like that off, but remembered that he had wielders and one of them could control the earth.

Suddenly, horns blared and torches once doused burst into flame. Scores of people entered the courtyard and gazed at the captives. Elsa wanted to shrink into herself. She felt like some exotic oddity a traveling circus would show to the crowds.

Guards approached and roughly tied Hiram and Elsa's hands with thick rope.

"Finally," a voice said. Elsa turned and saw Matej marching toward them with a dozen men behind him, ignoring the bows he was given. "Is your squad ready?" he asked a soldier who was better dressed than the rest.

"Yes, sir," came the subdued reply.

"Then form up. I want to get these to Isten so we can join Harriet in the hunt for the others." Matej turned without sparing Sorren so much as a glance and marched off. A short period of jostling told Elsa that she and Hiram were to follow the wielder of fire. She almost missed the furious look Sorren cast in Matej's direction.

As they approached the keep, Elsa tried to see if she could find some way for them to escape if they got the chance. But her efforts were in vain. Nothing was visible from where she stood; the Mind Lord built his fortress too well.

She felt a hand gently take her arm and allowed Hiram to lead her on. This was what they were fighting against? She knew this man was powerful, but to have built a castle of this scale and not have anyone know about it would take a great deal of influence to encourage the local rulers to look the other way.

"It's certainly bigger than the last one," Hiram whispered, taking his hand away from her arm.

"That isn't exactly reassuring," Elsa said.

"Isten's first castle was built in ten years. This one, I hear, was constructed in three."

"How do you know?"

"I overheard some of the slaves talking," Hiram said, nodding to the plain dressed people milling about.

"What does that mean for us?" Elsa asked.

"I hope it means he's desperate. He doesn't have as much time to choose a successor. If he dies before one is found, it would leave a power vacuum that could destroy what he has built. This is bad."

"Yes," Elsa agreed sadly. "Yes it is." Matej's claim that Isten already sent Harriet to retrieve the children and the rest of his former slaves sent her blood racing.

Her ice sense tingled and her powers seemed to nudge her slightly. She felt hope grow in her heart. Will my powers overcome the vaults? she wondered. If they could, then she would be able to free Hiram and then escape to save their families. Hopefully, they could fight their captors off before reinforcements arrived.

But the object on her wrist hummed, sending a spark of electricity through her arm and into her mind. The small grasp she had on her powers was immediately squashed and they faded into the background of her consciousness until they seemed as unattainable as the possibility of a non-wielder escaping from Isten's fortress.

Her mind seemed to almost shut down and it took all her effort to even keep the stairs in focus. Her vision grew blurry as the grey mist obscured her sight and thoughts. Time seemed to warp and bend until she was unsure if the fortress was really in front of them or if it was actually a distant memory she was reliving.

"We're here," Matej's voice broke through her dulled thoughts.

With Elsa's powers beyond reach once again, the vault on her arm calmed and allowed her mind to return. By the time her vision cleared, they had arrived at the door of the keep. The massive stone structure stood as a testament to its owner's power. The door itself was a hundred feet tall.

Elsa shivered, fear beginning to crawl its way into her heart. Fear for her sister's safety, for Kristoff and Sven, for Olaf and her other snow creations, but also fear for the small country she wanted so much to protect. Despite the stoic exterior Hiram maintained, she could see his thoughts were the same. They had failed.

Matej coated the iron door in fire and it lifted.