disneylover115: Thanks!

Pabulover123: I'm glad you liked it and yes, I agree how bad it is that Ayla and Hans are abusing Seth's trust.

KLime (guest): I'm glad you liked this chapter! You make a good point about how Ayla and Hans were more lenient this time, honestly though they both appreciate that since Seth is actually mingling with the enemy they can't afford to scare him too much. Besides they were, as you say, in a good mood (Danish Delight indeed!) since their brat of a child actually did something right for once!

spartandestroyr: Glad you liked it! (And it's Arendelle, one r not two!)

WildVirus (guest): Yep, Seth has the worst timing ever.

anniGirl93: Oh thank god, thought you'd disappeared! I knew you were busy but still, I did get worried xD Anyway, yeah I sort of think of TLK with Seth and Mia's relationship, I'm not basing it on that but I realised after that it is similar. And there's three years between them at this age it's a bit of a gap but when they're older... Who knows? But you did sound kinda cheesy then... Still though, anime's cool!

blackknght: (Chapter 32) I'm glad I intrigued you, yes Sadie is a little weird isn't she? And I'm guessing you mean "things will turn around quickly" not "tongs will turn around quickly"? (Chapter 33) I didn't consider how well things are going for Hans and Ayla at the moment, but then they do make an excellent pair. They're both ruthless and good at strategising as well so at least for a bit they'll be alright. As for the royals making it to Corona... don't worry, they'll get there. Alive or dead, though, I can't guarantee. (Chapter 34) Aww, I'm sad to hear just how stressed you've been, I hope things start looking up! And yes, it does suck that Elsa's got the awful memories still, although with everything going on now they are, in some ways, a touch more pleasant than current events. But when combined with her mental state now... yeah, it's not good. (Chapter 35) Yes, Freddie is in serious danger right now, but I'm glad you liked the chapter.

Freddie moaned as he held his father's hand, nausea flaring up and preventing him from getting a wink more sleep. His skin was pale as Olaf's, perhaps even more so—the snowman's cheery personality always made him seem more rosy—and he was shaking violently. His breathing came in short, ragged gasps and tears rolled down his face, mixing with the thick layer of sweat on his skin.

Ole entered the room at that moment, hands covered in a thin coating of brown fur. His eyes narrowed as he noticed Odd and the right corner of his lip curled slightly in disgust and hatred as he nodded curtly at him. It was an extremely forced action and not respectful in the slightest, but as much as Ole did not like it the man was still a prince—even if he, as Kristoff, had been born a commoner—and as such was superior in social standing, despite the fact that his authority was much lesser in a kingdom other than his, or more accurately his wife's, own.

Quickly turning away as if looking at Odd burned his eyes, Ole instead looked at Kristoff and gave a slightly more enthusiastic nod to him; all of the Arendelle royals were abhorred on the island but the latter prince, at least, had not been outright vicious. Odd, for one, was both amazed and extremely grateful that his victim had not mentioned anything to anyone else; the family's reputation surely could not bear another blow even if the attack had just been defensive.

"Hello," he greeted stiffly before smiling at Mia and the twins who had since returned to the room with a soft but pained expression. Thomas, as usual, was looking fairly cheerful as he fiddled with a small and somewhat poorly carved chess piece—a pawn—as he attempted to work out how to play whilst Mia sat cross-legged at the other side, a small and confident smirk on her face. Kari was sat with her mother a little way off, complaining heatedly about her wicked brother and Anna, in response, nodded with a sarcastic murmur and an amused look on her face as she listened fondly.

Ole faltered briefly, noticing the princess' interactions with her youngest daughter; rather than looking forced, she seemed genuinely happy in the child's company. Strange actions for someone who was meant to be truly evil, someone who'd had her toddler tortured without any remorse.

"Oh, hello." Elsa, who had just returned to the room looking slightly more blanched than usual with an almost indiscernible green tint in her skin, said in a nervous voice, looking a little edgy in his company. "I hope your morning has been okay so far?"

Ole nodded tightly. "I went to see your animals. They are all okay, I have let them out to graze. I gave the wolf a few bones too but if he's hungry you'd better let him hunt something. We don't have enough food spare to feed him also."

"I see." Elsa said with a frown, looking a little concerned as was her sister. Seier was no small creature.

"Hey, one sec!" Anna piped up as Ole began to leave, heading out into the back garden to tend his chickens. "You say you don't have enough spare food but what if you could store it for longer? Would you have plenty then?"

"Pardon?"

"I mean, well, exactly what I said. If you could store food for longer would you have more to go around? I mean, if you could store more meat, say, then you could have more room to raise new animals? Same with crops, surely if you can harvest more in one go then you can get to growing more. Hmm?"

Ole scratched behind his ear gently and pondered what the princess had said. "As much as I do not like to take advice from people the likes of you, I can't deny that that's true. At least for the animals; I don't work on the crop side of the farm."

Anna's eyes glinted at the insult whilst Elsa stiffened uncomfortably and Odd and Kristoff glared. Seeing their immediate reactions Ole couldn't help but feel the smallest twinge of guilt but he kept it contained, maintaining his steely exterior. He wasn't sure what to believe in regards to the royals' innocence but he would certainly not give them the benefit of the doubt.

"Well, Elsa and I were talking earlier and we were going to offer you better storage, but if you're going to take that tone..." Anna spoke with an evil I-told-you-so smirk and she watched Ole's reaction carefully, trying to determine whether her proposition would be greeted with interest. She ignored her sister's groaning and her exasperated cry of "Anna!" and continued to study the man. She kept up the act of studying him for just a few seconds before his stubbornness crumbled at the proposition.

"Forgive me, your Highness," he said slowly, the words forced and evidently painful for him, "but please understand my situation. We know nothing of your family except that you are heartless monsters and since you attacked our kingdom it is not hard to believe."

"We are the monsters, huh?" Anna scoffed, standing in anger and Elsa began to walk towards her to stop her from acting rashly. She couldn't get as much as a metre close before her sister stepped away; she would not be held back. "You may not like me saying it but sadly it's your beloved princess and her husband—the one who left me to die and tried to behead my sister, might I add—who are really the beasts. You think he's a changed man and you think she's nothing short of... Well, an angel." Her blue eyes glinted as she clenched her fists and turned away. "What sort of angel kidnaps a two year old child and has them tortured? Cause I'm not nearly a perfect princess, but I'm not as monstrous as your princess either." With a sharp intake of air Anna tried desperately to keep herself as composed as possible (which, in the circumstances, was not overly successful); walking off quickly, she slammed the kitchen door in frustration, leaving all of the room's occupants speechless for a minute.

"I... I probably ought to go get her, I guess?" Kristoff mumbled a second later, standing himself and lightly pushing Kari to her sister's side, something which she did not appreciate; she was still grumpy from being awoken early and, since Mia was not playing with her, was not happy in her company.

Mia was perfect. She always followed the rules to the letter. Which meant that she was, quite simply, boring.

But then what younger sister wouldn't feel the same way? Kari was, though she'd never admit it, incredibly jealous of the older girl. Not only did she have magic—lucky thing—Mia could get away with murder, while she wasn't even allowed to leave a room looking like a small war zone; how rotten! It was no difficulty to decide who was the favourite and sometimes, usually when she did not get her own way, Kari wanted that extreme adoration too. It was not like she wasn't absolutely doted on by her parents, but still there was always something which made her family more sympathetic and less critical towards the older girl.

Of course, Kari didn't know of her sister's awful childhood. She could not even try to understand at her age. All she knew was that her big sister was miss Goody-two-shoes, who never put so much as a toe out of line and who was everything expected of a princess.

Plonking herself down and folding her arms grumpily, Kari glared at her sister in annoyance and jealousy, her round eyes—the same as her father's—half hidden by her frown. Kristoff chuckled and mussed up her hair fondly, an action which made the girl smile stiffly and sit a little taller to make the most of the affection, before he walked out to find his wife; once again Ole noted the authenticity of the actions. He hadn't noticed before—he'd been too busy avoiding the royals for the past day—but they really did seem like your average loving family.

Had they changed in the years since the young princess has been tortured? Surely not, at least not on such a scale; from heartless monsters to doting parents? In an ideal world, sure; hell, there wouldn't be any wickedness if everything was perfect! But, of course, this world was far from perfect—not even "slightly kind" would sum it up. It was a brutal place, there coils be no denying it; even in the happy times constant sadness would be lingering somewhere in the shadows. With new life would come death, just as with great prosperity would come much hard labour beforehand.

"Ole, sir?" Elsa's words were soft but somewhat shaky as she got his attention, fiddling with her fingers idly. She moved over to her husband and son's side as the man looked to her; she felt slightly vulnerable under his disapproving gaze.

"Don't call me sir. There's no reason to; you're a queen while I'm just a lowly farmer in a small Danish village."

Odd spoke next though with a rather bitter sounding tone. Talking with Ole was hardly his favourite task; still, he had a duty to try and make up with the man, for Elsa's sake at least. Being civil was just about the best he could do. "I didn't even have a job when I met Elsa. I'd lived in the forests of Arendelle my whole life. So really, you're less lowly than I was."

Ole shrugged. "Oh well. I'm not that bothered." He frowned before looking at Elsa, remembering Anna's words. "But I am interested in what your sister had to say. About the better storage for our food, I mean. I just... I can't really trust you. I'd like to trust you, deep, deep down I would. But I need more proof of your motives. Smiley faces and a gay attitude aren't much use when you're seen here as the human equivalent of Satan. And proof of your outrageous—and a little hurtful—claims about my own princess."

"Elsa was your princess before you left Arendelle." Odd pointed out snappily and was rewarded with a momentarily frozen hand as punishment. Clearly Elsa didn't approve of his tone and he really didn't want to upset her; he wasn't sure how much more stress she—and his tiny son or daughter, for that matter—could take. Still, he certainly was not going to cover up his anger at Ole, he'd surely burst if he tried. He'd just keep silent and glare from the sidelines; his tone of voice could hardly be hurtful then.

"I served your father, Queen Elsa. I have never served you, and I never shall. I don't mean any offence but you don't inspire a single ounce of loyalty in me at any rate." Ole huffed, folding his arms and looking away as if feeling shamed. "But I would still like to know more about your proposition."

"Oh, it's really quite simple. With my powers I can easily make a whole room filled with unmelting ice. One for each family, if so desired. That way your town would be able to store so much food without the worries of it going bad—if you wanted, I could even freeze your current supplies before I leave, which must be soon for my poor son will surely not last much longer and his only hope lays in Corona." Elsa spoke with as strong a voice as she could muster but she shook nonetheless. Ole watched on with curiosity—again, genuine actions on her part—while Odd wrapped her arm around his wife's shoulder and pulled her closer. She closed her eyes for a moment and tried to relax into the embrace; as his hand brushed over her (nearly healed) shoulder, however, she stiffened self-consciously and turned away, a guilty look gracing her gorgeous face. Odd pulled back immediately, realising what he had done—it was so easy to forget the horrors the poor woman had been through, partially as a result of his own in capability to protect her, in this almost idyllic place.

"Whatever is wrong, Queen?" Ole asked, feeling somewhat more confident; perhaps if she couldn't stand his touch then Elsa was afraid of Odd? That thought alone made him feel slightly smug—anything to get back at Odd with was good in his eyes. He did kick himself slightly at the harshness of that thought though a while later; if Elsa really was being abused by her husband then it was wrong of him to smile about it, whether it gave him more reason to hate the man or not.

"Oh, nothing, nothing." Elsa stumbled over her words quickly, looking down at the ground in shame. "Just an old wound, it's... Tender." She sighed and—much to Ole's annoyance—Odd offered her a hand which she accepted gratefully, squeezing for comfort. She breathed deeply for a few seconds before straightening herself up and smoothing back her partly fallen out hair, attempting to regain her composure. "But I'm not important here; what is important is whether your village wants the help which I can offer."

"Why would you do this? It is hard to trust you when there is surely a catch somewhere. Say we accepted your offer, how could we be sure you were not going to... Well, try anything? For all we know you could leave and the ice would... Well, come alive. I know you can do that much."

"Well, truth be told it's more of a deal than an offer. Right now, we have nothing to our name except for these tattered clothes upon our backs. Men under the orders of your princess Ayla and her consort made sure of that." She shivered slightly at the memories and thought darkly inside her head, they took everything, including our dignity. Trying not to break down again though—were her hormones beginning to affect her thinking already?—she continued. "However, we do not feel right to come here and simply demand help; this way, my sister and I were hoping we'd be able to get a few necessities from people in exchange."

"That is a lot to ask of people who trust you very little. I am quite possibly the most accepting here, besides my wife who doesn't understand friend and foe." Ole watched his guests with harsh eyes. His compassion towards them would not last long. "Unless you can prove that you are deserving of our trust by proving your outrageous claims?"

Elsa sighed, running her hands through her hair. She should have known that people here would be skeptical of her help. "I... I can't think of any easy way to prove things to you, Ole, sir." She said sorrowfully, her mind working at ten to the dozen to think of a solution but to no avail. There was a momentary silence.

Just as Ole was about to respond, Odd spoke up. "Well... I don't know how to fix the trust issue, but... There might be one way to prove our claims about Ayla and Hans."

"There is?" Elsa asked incredulously and Odd nodded, an incredibly remorseful and apologetic shine in his eyes. He wrapped his arm around her waist and let his hand fall on the small of her back; it took a few moments until Elsa winced in slight pain and then gasped in understanding.

The brand on her lower back. Two letters burned into her skin, claiming her as someone else's property. Marking the work and the abuse as their own.

SI.

The Southern Isles.

The reindeer bleated in pain as he struggled to move his heavy load, a massive log tied to his harness. Sweat made his matted and dirty coat stick to his sides and his torn up hooves left him limping and struggling even more, lame. He'd been at this for hours, dragging the wood to and from Arendelle castle in constant agony, his life consisting of nothing except endless torture.

Yelping as a whip cracked against his side, the reindeer tried desperately to move faster. Looking up at the sky tiredly, he let out a low moan and tried to ignore the burning pain in his hooves.

Wherever his buddy was, Sven could only hope that Kristoff was faring better than he. He wouldn't wish this sort of pain on anyone.

Sorry it was late, thankfully not too late though! This was quite a dull chapter I know but things will start moving from here on in, give it a chapter or two and the royals will have left the island. Whether Freddie will survive, though... I can't promise anything at this stage, he's so sick...

And oh dear, Sven's still alive but he's not well...

Anywa, I've got to so I'll see you around!

Luna