Love for Elsa

by JTyrney6168

What if Queen Elsa's ice powers were the result of a chance meeting on a road where a stranger saves a dying woman after a wolf attack? What if Queen Elsa was never meant to be born? 1st four chapters set up the stranger.

38. Chapter 37 Time to Talk

Title: Chapter 37: Time to Talk

3 years, 8 months until correction

As she promised Gerda brings Elsa's breakfast to her room. Setting the meal on the table she looks at the bed that has not been slept in. She does not find her in the room and moves to the washroom. Not seeing her Queen, she walks back into the outer room. As she closes the door, she spots a few strands of blond hair against the color of the wall. She slowly walks over to Sam. Between him and the wall, Elsa lies curled up on the floor, resting her head against Sam's icy back.

Gerda kneels and lightly rubs her shoulder. "Elsa, it's time for you to get ready for the day. I do believe you have lots of appointments."

Elsa rolls her body against the ice and drapes her arm over him. Yawning, she says, "What if he wakes up and I am not here?"

"I think you will know when he wakes up. Let me get your bath started and you can eat."

"Um hum," she replies not opening her eyes.

"I thought you might act this way so I brought in reinforcements." Gerda nods to the red head peeking into the room.

Elsa hears stomping feet racing towards her. The bed groan as a weight bounces across it. She opens her eyes and Anna grins from the edge of the bed.

"Come on sleepy head. He will be here this evening. Your first appointment will be here in thirty minutes." Anna glances across the bed. "Oh is that the cream pastry they were making early this morning. If you do not want it, can I have it?" She bounces back across the bed and sits at the table.

Elsa opens one eye and stares at Gerda. "Not fair."

Gerda grins. "And she will be here every morning if you give me any troubles getting up"

She pushes herself up to a sitting position. "Okay, I am getting up." With another yawn she stretches. "If he wakes up I will cancel the appointments."

Gerda stands and holds her hands out to Elsa. "Maybe this would be a good time to give Anna some training for when you can't meet with others."

She reaches for Gerda's hands and pulls herself up. Straightening the dress she slept in, she walks over to the table and sees an empty pastry plate, "Did you eat my pastries?"

"I had breakfast with Kristoff. I left the healthy stuff for you to eat." Anna finishes the last bite of the pastry.

Gerda walks past them. "I'll get you another pastry as soon as your water is ready."

A Queendom needs constant attention so reluctantly Queen Elsa returns to her duties, but towards the end of each day as the last appointment leaves the room she becomes more distracted and puts off her reports to sit with him. Every evening Elsa tells Sam what happened and who was the problem child. She even noticed after lunch her mind wonders to him. By the fifth day, she persuades Anna to finish the last two hours of appointments of the day.

On the seventh day, after finishing the last appointment Anna knocks on Elsa's door. Receiving no reply, she opens the door, Expecting to see Elsa at her table or near Samuel, she does not see her. She steps into the room and quietly closes the door. She listens closely for any noise, especially from the wash room. Not hearing any sound she concludes her sister is not there, but still expects her to show up at any minute. She softly walks over to where Sam still lies in the block of ice.

She kneels next to him and starts to place her hand on the ice over his head, but the cold prevents her from touching it. Rubbing her hands together to warm them, she stares at his opened eyes. "I do not know if you can hear me. Elsa says you can and I hope she is right."

She glances at the door leading to the next room. If Elsa catches her, she has a plan, so she waits in silence. Several seconds pass with no sounds of movement. Believing she is alone, she looks back at him. "Sam, you were acting very crazy the last two weeks. I hope you remember your promise to Elsa. She would be devastated if you did not remember proposing to her. I can imagine what she went through living alone in this castle with her powers. I know how I felt knowing she was in the next room, but I could not give her a hug."

Anna sniffs back a sniffle. "Elsa wanted to be alone when everyone found out about her powers. That evil Hans tried to take over Arendelle because I pushed Elsa on her coronation. It should have been her happiest day and I messed it up for her." She wipes a tear. "So I am telling you, if you forget your promise to my big sister and you make her sad. I will hunt you down and put you in the prison until you make amends to her."

She turns her head away and wipes away her tears when the door to the next room opens. Standing quickly, she turns into the open arms of her big sister.

Wrapped in a bathrobe with her hair dripping wet, Elsa hugs her little sister.

"How much did you hear?"

Elsa smiles, "Enough."

"I am sorry, I should have not come in here."

Elsa lays Anna's head onto her shoulder. "It sounds like you did the right thing."

"Do you think he heard me?"

"I do not know. Gerda said he was able to hear the last time he went into an ice cocoon."

With a touch of defiance, Anna glares at him. "I hope he did."

"We have to be fair to him. He saved my life again."

Anna looks up at her sister. "What if he does not remember the things he said?"

Elsa shrugs. "Well, I guess I will have to deal with it."

Anna lays her head back on Elsa's shoulder. "While you are dealing with it, I will make sure he deals with it as well."

Elsa chuckles, "Let us see how he feels when he wakes up, before you decide to torture him, okay?"

Anna squeezes Elsa tight. "Okay, I will wait."

By day ten, Elsa takes care of the morning meetings and Anna takes care of the afternoon appointments. Elsa has her afternoon meals sent to her room. She sits on the floor in front of Sam, hoping his eyes would move. But with each day's disappointments, she would tell him the events that occurred in the council meetings.

"Sam, I wish you could have been at today's meeting. They are a bunch of old goats. No matter what I suggest, they take turns giving excuses why it would not work." She places her hand on the ice. "I do not have anyone to cheer for me. Anna tries, but they are wearing her down. Kristoff comforts her. I think if you are there, your presence may get them to back off and actually consider my plans. After a meeting like today I sometimes wonder if they are doing it on purpose hoping I would step down from the throne. I am so tired. I wish you were here. I miss you." She lays her head on the ice above his head and falls asleep.

On the morning of day twelve, Elsa slowly prepares for the morning business. Her first appointment is with the eldest councilman who has expressed concerns for her lack of appearance in the afternoon meetings.

"It is too bad he does not take a long walk off a tall cliff." She bows her head and covers her eyes. "Hold on now. As Queen it is part of your job to listen to grumpy old men, no matter how stupid they are." Grrr, "I make have to endure it for the greater good, but I do not have to like it." Her fist slams against the chair. "I definitely do not like it. The pompous councilman choose this particular time thinking I am weak. I will show him." She places her hand on the ice above Samuel's head. "But I do not know how." At least Anna will be there to share the misery with her.

On cue Anna knocks on the door as she walks in. Grabbing the brush off the table, she glances at her sister. "Have you been sleeping on the floor again?" She lifts Elsa's head off the chair and sits. She lays her sister's head on her lap and brushes Elsa's hair. "Has he said anything yet?"

Elsa sits up facing Sam and sits closer to Anna. "No, I thought he did around midnight. I spent an hour checking every inch of the ice, but I did not find any cracks. I even tapped on the ice, but he did not say anything."

She pulls her knees up and wraps her arms around them. "Anna, I am growing concerned. Gerda said she recalls, Samuel was in the ice seven days. Here it is almost twice as long and he has not communicated with me."

Anna puts her arms around her sister. "I wish I could do something to make it go faster. But since I cannot, I can at least help you get ready. I do not think the councilman is going to be nice if we are late."

Elsa chuckles, "I do not think it makes any difference if we are on time or not. He is just a grumpy old man."

Anna brushes Elsa's hair.

The clock chimes at the three quarters hour. Anna and Elsa enter the council room. As usual the councilman is already there with a sour expression on his face and a stack of parchment in front of him. He stands and waits for his Queen to sit in her chair at the head of the table. Anna sits in the chair immediately to the Queen's right. The councilman does not waste any time and jumps into the business.

An hour later, the councilman begins again pointing to his data. Anna argues his data is not complete if he leaves out certain information. The councilman studies his data.

Anna notices Elsa looking down at the floor. She touches her arm. "What is wrong?"

Slowly a smile beams as Elsa pops her head up. She stares at the door for a few moments and abruptly stands. "He is awake. Anna, I can hear him, he is awake."

Life returns to her sister as a flower opens its petals towards the sun. With a smile bigger than she has seen in quite a while, Elsa runs past the table and through the door as she nearly runs over Kai and says, "He is awake." She yells over her shoulder. "Anna, please finish for me."

The councilman slowly sits in his chair and stares at the door. "Well, I've never been treated like this from royalty in all of my life."

Not willing to let an obvious opportunity pass Anna makes a snide comment, "I do not believe that at all. At your advanced age, you must have forgotten all the other times you deserved to be treated this way."

The councilman quickly turns his head and scowls at Anna.

Anna flashes her pearly white teeth. "Go ahead and say something else about my sister, or is this meeting over?"

He gathers his papers. "I will reschedule this meeting at the Queens convenience." He slowly walks out of the room.

Kai steps in. "Is the meeting over?"

Anna grins.

"Do you wish for me to move some of the afternoon appointments up?"

Anna smiles at Kai as she skips by him. "No, do not bother. We need a little rest. I am going to check on Samuel. In case you did not hear from the snowstorm that flew past you, He is awake."

Elsa runs up the stairs and down the hall to her room, her cloak knocks over a flower vase and misaligns a painting as she flies past them. Into her room, she flings her cloak onto the chair and stops short. A blue glow surrounds the ice.

She hears him.

Majesty, I would get up and bow, but as you can see, I'm not physically able at the moment.

Without replying she watches the glow undulate in height.

Sam continues. My apologies, the glow is my energy essence. I can't prevent it from showing right now. The deeper the blue the better I feel. I still have some time before I can get out of the ice.

She slowly walks around the bed and sits on the edge. The glow fascinates her, but the blue glow is more like a blue mist. She leans forwards and reaches out her hand, but stops before touching the mist.

It is ok. It will not hurt you. You may feel a slight tingling sensation.

Elsa stretches out her hand and touches the mist. Her hand moves, creating swirls in the mist. Ice crystals form on her hand and shimmer in the light. The mist moves half way up her arm. The rapid movement of the mist startles her. The mist withdraws from her arm and hand.

"What was that?"

I'm kind of embarrassed to answer except to say the mist responded to your affection. It was responding to your energy and when you felt uncomfortable, your energy changed. It is a way for me to know how comfortable anyone is around me.

"What will it do if I get angry?"

It will move away. When you or I get angry the energy will become polarized. Opposite polarities will cause a spark of energy. You may have seen it on cold and dry days when someone was about to touch something. A small spark jumps from the object to the person. As long as you are not attacking me and thinking pleasant thoughts the tingling sensation could be very relaxing."

With a smile she asks, "Are you asking me to touch you?"

Only if it will please you, and by the way Anna is standing by the door with her mouth open.

Elsa quickly turns her head towards the door.

Anna stares at them with the expression of 'did she actually hear what her sister said'.

"Close the door and close your mouth. Samuel may not wish to see your tonsils."

Anna steps in to the room and closes the door. "I knocked, but no one answered." She points to Sam. "Were you talking to him?"

Elsa waves her sister over. "Come on, he is still in the ice." She pats the ice above his head. "He is creating a tingling sensation that is very relaxing."

Anna gingerly walks over to the bed. Elsa grabs her hand and pulls her to sit next to her. "Hold your hand out like this." Elsa extends her arm over the ice. The blue mist forms around her arm.

Anna hesitates, but partially extends her arm. She angles her head. "Is that the mist you were talking about?"

She is afraid. Tell her to touch your arm and slide her hand towards your hand. It will reduce the sensation.

"Okay."

"Okay, what?" Anna looks to Elsa.

"Slide your hand down my arm. It will reduce the sensation until you feel comfortable." Elsa encourages her.

Anna slides her hand until she holds Elsa's hand. With a growing smile Anna reaches both of her hands over the ice.

She is relaxing. The energy is encompassing the both of you. You should be able to see the mist surrounding her.

"What did he say?" Anna asked eagerly.

Elsa laughs. "He said you are relaxing. Now look at me and tell me what you see."

Anna looks. "I see the blue mist surrounding you. Do I look the same?"

"Look at your hands."

Anna looks. "What is it?"

"This is his energy. This is who he is."

Could she have met someone between here and the chamber, maybe just long enough to show some affection?

"You mean Kristoff? Unless he returned early from harvesting his ice, I have caught them in the library and seen him sneak into her room, but when I did I would knock on her door about ten minutes later to separate them."

For a moment she stares at nothing, then she wags her finger in the air just as she turns her head towards the door. "If he was waiting for her in the library and grabbed her as she was passing the room, they could have had a few minutes of intense kissing."

Really, you think that is all they did, kiss.

"What do you know?" she observes him.

Let me remind you. You start the negative thinking and the polarity of your energy will become opposite to me. You may be shocked by the results.

She stands and moves towards the door. "I am going to shock two individuals if they are not behaving themselves."

Elsa, stop. Tell them no and they could sneak around you. Maybe do a lot more than just kissing. Heaven help them if they do not wait for their wedding night.

Elsa tightens her hands as she growls, "I will cut down that man if he does not wait for his wedding night." The temperature in the room drops noticeably as ice crystals begin to form on the furniture.

Elsa, please stop. Hear me out before you overreact.

She whirls around. "Overreact. I do not overreact."

Yes and the furniture grows ice on its own, because you did not overreact.

Elsa sees the ice and calms down enough to thaw her furniture. "What do you suggest?"

First, let me explain what I saw and what I think may have happened. Please come and sit with me.

She sits on the floor next to him and lays her hand over the ice above his head.

Thank you. I don't know how long I will be in here, but I look forward to you visiting me.

"Awe, I like being with you. However long it takes for you to thaw I will be here for you."

That's good to know, but back to Anna. Her body temperature was normal except for a spot on both arms about the size of two hands. Her face was clearly flushed, but her lips showed a higher temperature than the rest of her face.

"They kissed. Did he grab somewhere other than her arms?" She squints her eyes.

If he did, he was not holding on long enough to change the temperature of the area.

"So why did she leave in such a hurry."

As I said the mist enhances her senses. She was already excited, probably because Kristoff kissed her. I suspect when she came in here, she tried to think of you, but in the back of her mind she was fantasizing about Kristoff. Those thoughts can to the forefront of her mind and not only did she think about it her body responded in kind.

For several seconds there is silence. "So how did her body respond?"

Her heart rate increased, her body became very sensitive and the movement of her clothing was too much for her to control. When she turned her hands back over, it pushed her body over the edge. Her eyes closed. The intense feelings she felt at that moment, I suspect it turned into embarrassment and that is why she left.

She chuckles, then burst out into laughter. "And you may have ruined it for Kristoff." Her laughter turns into a roaring laughter as she falls back on the floor and rolls onto her side.

Laugh . . . Elsa . . . snicker . . . Elsa, please do not tell Anna . . . snicker laugh . . . don't tell Anna what I said, ok . . . laugh.

She sits up watching him and giggles. "Are you laughing? It sounds like you are."

This is a rather unique experience I'm having right now. I don't recall this ever happening. What are you feeling?

"I feel happy."

As do I.

She smiles a mischievous smile. "Really, Let us test it. Suppose on their wedding night, they consummate their marriage and Kristoff rolls onto his back all hot and sweaty. He looks deeply into Anna's eyes. She says, 'I have had better'." Elsa burst into laughter again and rolls onto the floor.

After a few seconds Sam joins her, snicker . . . snicker . . . long laughing.

The room door opens and slightly heavier feet run across the floor. Elsa rolls onto her back as Gerda calls her name loudly, "Elsa, Elsa."

She stops laughing long enough to wipe away her happy tears. "What are you doing here?"

Gerda looks perplexed. "I heard you making a loud noise and thought you were having a seizure. Are you all right? Is there anything wrong with him?"

Elsa sits up and pulls her sleeve down to her hands. "I am ok and so is he. We just conducted a little experiment and found out I can influence him to laughter."

Gerda brushes Elsa's hair from her forehead. "Well Dear, I'm not surprised. It's happened between you two before."

"What does she mean it happened before?"

Now Elsa looks at Gerda slightly confused. "What do you mean it happened between us before?"

"Dear, are you happy? Right now are you happy?"

"Yes," She answers searching the room to see if her sister is nearby. "Other than with Anna, this is as happy as I can ever remember."

Beaming a smile Gerda points to Sam. "And him?"

Elsa pats the ice over his head. "Yes, he is."

"And there you go. I'm not surprised you don't remember. You were only three years old the last time he froze in the ice. He was able to talk to you then." She points to him again. "Mister, you should remember. You even explained it to her parents how the two of you had a bond between your minds."

Connection of the minds . . . oh crap!

Elsa stops smiling and stares intently at him. "What do you mean oh crap?"

Right now I do not recall freezing into an ice cube, but there is evidence in my body that it did happen before. Ask her how we interacted while I was frozen?

She looks to Gerda. "He is asking how we interacted while he was in the ice."

Gerda sits on the edge of the bed. Elsa leans against the bed. "It was about three days after he froze. You kept telling your mother that you could hear him. At first Queen Iduna thought you were playing a game until she caught you sneaking out of your room. You would come down stairs to the spare servant room. You were quick and gave your parents quite a scare until I passed by the room and heard you talking. I opened the door. You sat next to him and leaned against the ice. The ice didn't seem to bother you. I think it was the fifth day, late in the evening, you sneaked into his room just before your father left the room. We searched again, but it was your father who found you curled up against the ice with your head resting on his arm."

"Why was Papa in his room?"

"Your father went to Sam's room every evening to talk to him. I don't think he actually believed Sam was hearing him, but maybe out of compassion he felt he had to do it for what Sam had done for you."

WHAT DID I DO FOR YOU?

She turns her head quickly to Sam. "Do not yell at me, I am asking her."

Gerda lightly rubs Elsa's arm. "What did he say?"

She looks up at her. "He is asking as well as I, what did he do for me?"

She stares at Sam and with a half-smile, she cups Elsa's face. "He said this could happen. He asked a question he already knew. If I repeat it, maybe he will remember."

Gerda tells Elsa how Sam saved her from the runaway wagon in the courtyard that would have killed the both of them.

When she finished Elsa lays her face in Gerda's lap and touches the corner of her eye. A small amount of moisture clings to her finger tip. "I remember."

She runs her fingers through Elsa's hair. "I'm sorry this is so painful. He said you needed to know, what to expect."

"How does she know?"

"He is asking how you know." Elsa raises her head and wipes away several tears.

Gerda cups her face and leans in close. "Dear, the same way you do."

"I do not understand?" Elsa sniffles.

"He gave me the thoughts. He put them in my head to be revealed only under certain conditions. When he became frozen something in my mind said I had to do something and say something. I didn't know what it was, until Anna said you heard him. It was like someone removing a cloth from my face, then I remembered what he wanted me to say. He said I was a backup in case he encountered something that he had never been exposed to. I guess he never encountered this poison." She kisses Elsa's forehead. "He told me there would be a time that this would help you."

"How?" Elsa askes.

"I don't know, but maybe he does." She points to him. She gives Elsa another kiss on the forehead. "It's time for me to get back downstairs before Kai comes looking for me. You two have a lot to talk about. For however long he will be in the ice, why don't you stay, I'll bring your meals."

Elsa rises to her knees and gives her a hug. "You are the best."

Gerda walks to the door but before she opens it, she turns back. "Elsa, ask him to explain why you can hear his thoughts?" She opens the door. "And by the way, Kristoff looking deep into Anna's eyes and she says, 'I've had better', now that is funny."

Gerda exits and waits a few seconds. A roaring laughter sounds in the room from Elsa and her mind hears Sam's laughter. She smiles and speaks to no one. "It's good to hear you laughing again. I hope you can help each other overcome your fears just as he said you need each other."

Elsa lies on the floor, resting her head on his frozen arm, staring at his partially opened eyes. She taps the ice above his face, "Are you going to tell or do I have to do all of the talking?"

"Your voice is music to my ears, but I guess you are referring to what Gerda said before she left."

She continues to stare at him for some time then asks. "Do I have to beg?"

"What Gerda said?"

"If you were not already frozen to the floor, I would freeze you. Yes, What Gerda said." Elsa replies a little testy.

"I just wanted to make sure we were talking about the same thing. It would not be the first time I talked about what I thought was asked of me only to find out I revealed something that should not have been revealed and made things worse."

"Are you implying you have secrets that you do not wish for me to know?"

"My philosophy has always been that some secrets should be kept a secret, until a more appropriate time, or if the person asks a direct question about the secret. Even then, I will try to temper it specifically if I know it would cause the person pain. Some secrets are best left as secrets."

"Do you have one of those secrets about me that is best kept a secret?"

"If I could shake my head no, you would be seeing me doing it now. I will answer your question this way. There is a secret about your father from long ago. The question is what will be the results of the revelation now. Will it create irreparable harm that could lead to depression and your destruction, or an understanding of relief and the distrust of all? The third possible result is an immediate loss, but in the long run of things, you would be able to look back and say despite the loss, overall it was a good reveal. There is a secret about me that I will reveal when I believe that you are ready to hear it and not one second sooner. It is a secret because it will affect our relationship."

"What? How am I supposed to trust you knowing there is a secret that will affect us or is it me?"

After several tense minutes of silence, she props her head up on her arm. "If what you say is true and your secret could be damaging to me, would it be best that I know about it now than for someone to use it against me when I am at the most disadvantaged?"

"You speak with the wisdom of your mother and father. I have a strong suspicion I'm not the only one who has underestimated how wise you are for your age. In order for me to fulfill your father's command, I promised I would not break his command, unless circumstances were such that he was not able to release me of the command, but that a higher authority than he could release me of my bond."

"Who has a higher authority than my father? He is gone. By that fact, legally you are released from his command, unless it was so important, the secret would do me harm. Either I have the authority or I do not."

She sits up. Her brows push together as she stares at the floor before turning to him. "Samuel Ryan, I am Queen Elsa of Arendelle. I command you to reveal all that you know about what my father ordered you not to reveal and any other secrets that you know. I release you of any obligations to my father. You have performed your duties admirably and have honored my father. There is nothing more you can do to honor him, but I am sure at some point he requested you to honor me. Is that correct?"

"He said you have a stubborn streak. If I could push you just hard enough, you would figure things out. He was right and you are right. You have the authority to release me of your parent's bond which I take as you have done so. Your mother and father asked me to look out for you and Anna if anything happened to them. I will continue to do so if it is your wish that I do it."

"But that is why we have Kai and Gerda, looking out for us. What makes you different or know what they do not?"

"Another wise question. Most people, including those who claim to be knowledgeable would ask one or the other question, but you have the forethought to ask both in the same question. I truly have to re-evaluate my assessment of you. And please, do not take my comments as belittling you. If I'm to be an advisory I will need to learn the appropriate language you are custom to hearing."

"Does that mean you will filter your words before expressing them? If yes, then do not. Some of the words you have used have made me uncomfortable, but not to the point that I would want you to stop using them. I do not need another parrot to tell me what they think I want to hear. I need someone who will be honest and speak the truth to me at all times." She looks down for a few seconds and looks directly at his partially closed eyes. "Sam, I need you. Will you speak the truth to me?"

"It will be my honor to speak the truth to you as I know it, but are you prepared for the heartache that may come as a result of the truth, no matter what? And I make this promise to you, Queen Elsa of Arendelle, I promise if the truth spoken does harm, I will be there with you to help you to navigate the results, this I promise on my oath as Admiral of the Starship Aurora."

With a glimmer of a smile Elsa asks, "Three secrets, one of my father, and two about you, how many more secrets do you have?"

"Many more and most of them, I can show you, but I'm going to guess you wish to know about why your father banished me from the castle."

Surprised, she asks, "Banished from the castle, does this have to do with why I can hear your thoughts?"

"It does, but please, have an open mind before you pass judgment on myself or your father. He did what he did because he loved you. His thought process was logical, but once you found your powers on your own, I believe he thought he could control it by hiding you away. Even then, if he had contacted me, I could have helped and you would not be the person you are now. Yes, it was a stressful time and yes, you almost lost everything, but because you survived the experience, I believe, you are a better person as a result of the experience. Your father did not want you to turn into a tyrant making everyone afraid of you. In a roundabout way he did you a favor, but you will never know if this is what he intended."

"I will not judge my father. I reserve the right to reassess my option of you." She speaks with a glint in her eyes.

"Touche' ma cherie, maybe we need to spend more time together to get an accurate assessment of each other."

"Agreed," she lies on her side and rests her head on his frozen arm.

"When you were three years old and your mother was pregnant with Anna . . . well, actually the Queen did not know she was pregnant. She came to me in the stables one afternoon. She had been feeling the way she felt when she was pregnant with you and asked me if I would determine if she was pregnant."

"Why did she not go to the doctor?"

"I asked the same thing."

"What did she say?"

"Since I had helped her the first time and told her she was pregnant with you—"

"With me? You told mother that she was pregnant with me?" her eyes widen.

"Not specifically you, but with a baby girl."

Elsa looks away as if her eyes search for the truth. They focus on him again. "She told me she found out after her caravan had been attacked by a pack of wolves."

"And did she mention me being there?"

Elsa looks away again and feels a moment of disappointment. "No, she did not."

"This is one of those areas that may have contributed to my banishment from the castle." He pauses. "Elsa, Let me finish telling what happened that started the whole process of allowing you to hear my thoughts."

Elsa stares at him and wipes away a tear. What else did her mother and father not tell her?

"Please remember they loved you and did everything they could to protect you from those who will do you harm. When I get out of the ice I will do my best to help and protect you. You asked for the truth and this is going to be hard. Before I told your mother, she was pregnant the first time, it was no doubt a very stressful moment. The guard claimed they stopped the carriage to investigate a loud noise over a hill. They encounter a wolf pack attacking me. They missed seeing the second pack of wolves move around the royal coach. When the guards and I chased the wolves away, your mother was seriously injured. Your mother had a gaping wound that for all logical purposes should have killed her. I did what I did to save her and in the process you found me."

"How did I find you?" She stares not blinking as though mesmerized by the story.

You actually drew energy from me. I asked the Queen if she knew she was pregnant. Through her pain she slowly shook her head no. I told her 'since she did not know it will be easier to remove the baby and to save her life'. She grabbed my hand. I could see it in her eyes, but she barely whispered, no. I told her the baby has been severely wounded and will be dead soon. She held onto my hand. It was as though she stared directly into my soul and said, Please save my baby. What could I do? I had to act or see her die. I just nodded. The baby lost most of her blood. I pricked my finger until the white blood oozed out. I pushed the blood into the babies wound. I did not believe the child would live past the next few minutes, but she did.

He pauses for a moment. "As we traveled back to the castle, your mother's wound healed. The baby grabbed my finger. I felt her heart beat. She was strong. Her heart beat faster. I did not see it at the time, now I do. That moment was the first significant event. Each event increases our bond or connection. Your father saw me get out of the coach and I almost lost my head on the spot. Your mother saved me from your father's wrath."

Elsa's breathing wavers and several drops of water land onto the ice.

With a sniffle and a whimper she wipes the tears from her face as she looks at him. Her voice wavers. "That baby was me?"

My Queen . . . that baby grew up to be you. He falls silent and induces his blue mist to surround her as she cries herself to sleep.

The next day Gerda wakens Elsa. As she sits up and stretches Gerda kneels beside her and gives Elsa a big hug. "Did he tell you how you two met?"

Elsa looks up with one eye still close. "He saved my life with his blood. He saved momma's life. He did not have to do it."

"But he did. Did he tell you about three significant events that creates the connection between you two?" Gerda brushes Elsa's matted hair.

"He did, but I think I fell asleep right after he told my father about me." She turns her head towards Sam. "I do not hear him now?"

"He is probably a sleep. Take this moment to eat. I'm sure when you finish he will be awake." Gerda helps her to her feet and they sit at the table where the breakfast awaits.

Elsa sits through most of the breakfast in silence. Gerda places a comforting hand on her hand. She starts to speak, but she turns away. Gerda moves next to her. She buries her face into Gerda's hug. After a few minutes she sits up and wipes away several tears.

"Did he tell you how I almost did not survive to be born?"

Gerda lays Elsa's head on her shoulder. "Yes, he did. Please understand his circumstances at the time. He was trying to save your Queen Mother."

Gerda holds Elsa's face in her hands. "Now, you listen to me. Sometimes a woman who is in her early stage of pregnancy will lose the child before it is born. I know many women who said they knew they were pregnant. A stressful event occurs and shortly afterwards they knew they were not pregnant. It is possible your mother truly did not know she was pregnant with you. If you had not touched him, he would not have saved you. Only God would have known that for a short period of time you were here. Let your tears be those of joy that Sam saw you first."

She nods her head, as a dam burst to release a flood of water, tears race down her face. She hugs Gerda tightly.

End of Chapter