Content warning: Very dark themes. Proceed with caution.


Secret

The sisters thought they knew the castle inside and out. They thought every nook and cranny had been discovered and cataloged, that there were no secrets left to discover. That is, until Anna presses up against a specific brick on the wall just opposite the soldiers' training room. Within seconds, the stone groans to life, giving way to a deep, dark tunnel.

"Whoa...it's so dark," Anna marvels. "What is it?"

Elsa feels a pull to investigate this tunnel, despite all the warnings signs her mind throws at her. It's dark, probably filled with cobwebs and spiders, and there's no telling what's actually there. It's only when Anna suddenly grabs her arm that she's even aware of the progress she made.

"Elsa, you are not going alone."

The queen smiles.

"I know, Anna. We'll go together. Let's prop the door, just in case."

Elsa conjures a thick block of ice, then sets it between the door and the newly discovered pathway. She then creates an ice lamp, bathing the dank tunnel in a calming blue glow. As they descend, several times, she hears something crunch underfoot.

"What is that sound?" the queen glances behind.

"I–I dunno," Anna's eyes feverishly scan their surroundings. "D–does this ac–actually go somewhere?"

"Hey, don't be scared," Elsa calmly takes her sister's hand. "We'll be fine."

"I'm n–not scared!" an indignant Anna pulls back just a bit. "We've just b–been here a wh–while."

Elsa flashes a sympathetic smile.

"You're stuttering. You only do that when you're scared."

The princess refuses to give a verbal acknowledgment other than a dismissive grunt. Elsa tightens her hold. If she had to be honest, she was a little unnerved. How long has this wing been undiscovered? What was waiting at the end?

Finally, the sisters come to a stone wall broken by an old wooden door. The hinges are rusted, the knob is an old-style, circular knocker. Anna presses her hand to the door, then retracts as though she had been burned.

"You okay?" Elsa runs her hand along Anna's arm. "You're really jumpy."

"I've...got a b–bad feeling about whatever's behind th–this door," the princess gives the wood door a sideways, fearful glance.

Elsa is not one to sneer at Anna's fright, nor her intuition; the princess has always been eerily aware of her environment, picking up little clues that others would not. The queen stares ahead; something does feel off. It's not warm and inviting like the rest of the castle, and not just due in part to the fact that it's underground.

"Well, we won't know until we look," Elsa puts her hand on the door. "How about we go in on three?"

Anna does her best to swallow the nervous lump in her throat. She lays her hand atop Elsa's.

"O–okay, on th–three."

Anna steels her resolve and prepares to push the door.

"One...two," they count in unison. "...three."

The door creaks open. Elsa is the first to set foot in the room, with Anna close behind once she realizes her sister has left her side. The air is stale and heavy, though that much was to be expected for a room that hasn't been opened in years. Elsa's lamp only illuminates so much. Anna edges closer to what looks like a statue of a bull. Her brows furrow as she realizes there's an opening at the top. She can't explain the sudden cold sweat that inspires a round of chills. And what is that smell?

"Anna, stay close," Elsa calls, scaring the princess into running to her side. "Did you find anything?"

"J–just this weird bull s–statue," she replies, earning a confused head tilt from her sister. "There's a trap d–door at the top, and it smells...weird."

"This whole room smells weird," Elsa wrinkles her nose. "And what's with all the chains?"

"H–hey, Elsa, maybe we should-"

The princess stops short at Elsa's sudden gasp. The lamp in her hand is shaking, casting eerie blue light all around the room.

"Elsa?"

The queen can't form a single word. She just motions with her head to the chair before them, one hand over her mouth, as though she was about to be sick. On the arms, the back, and the seat of the chair are cruel-looking spikes. There is a hole in the middle of the seat.

"What the—what is this?" Anna looks to her sister, whose wide eyes and open mouth signal sheer terror. "No–nobody could even s–sit in this."

She looks at the arms closely; there are beaten leather straps wrapped around them. They appear to have irregular gashes in them. The wood is covered in brownish stains and the pungent odor of moist iron surrounds it like a cloud. Anna clutches her stomach, reeling back. Elsa hurries to her side and practically demands her sister's hand. The shadows dancing in the lamplight suddenly seem much more sinister as they briefly illuminate other unidentified, sharp objects.

"Anna," Elsa's voice trembles. "This...this is-"

"I know," Anna shivers. "B–but, Arendelle's founders outlawed t–torture. Why is this here?"

The queen is still as death, a few errant snowflakes spinning around her vicinity. Her focus is on a pile of blanched objects stacked haphazardly. There's more scattered across the room, in shapes far too familiar for comfort.

"We've gotta get out of here," Elsa's voice becomes urgent. "Now."

"Don't have t–to tell me twice."

As though they were being chased, the sisters burst through the ancient door. The crunching sound resumes, though neither sister takes the time to find out what it is.

"What happens now?" Anna chances a look backward.

"I don't know," Elsa breathlessly admits as they hasten through the tunnel. "But I'll make sure it's never used again. Are you okay?"

"I've...been better," Anna answers honestly. "You?"

"Same," the queen shrugs. "You were right about this place being...off. How did you know?"

Anna frowns.

"I didn't. It was just a feeling."

Perhaps there are more secrets than Elsa thinks, and not just within the castle.


Closing notes: This is way darker than Frozen ever got, and let's face it, it got pretty dark, especially the sequel. I took some inspiration from Amnesia: The Dark Descent for the idea that you could sort of 'feel' the madness, sorrow, and pain in the torture rooms, like there was something psychically left behind. Also, I experimented with giving Anna a sort of sixth sense, as well as a quirk when she's frightened. Remember, most of these are standalones unless I specifically say they are related, so a lot of the time, I'm experimenting with the characters and their personality traits.

For those who don't know, the bull is known as either the Brass Bull or Brazen Bull. It's made of metal and hollow, so when someone was placed inside, their screams would echo and distort, turning it into a sound like a bull's roaring. A fire was lit beneath the bull and the person inside was basically cooked alive. Needless to say, nasty stuff, which probably doesn't belong in the Frozen universe, but I wanted to experiment with something darker. Probably won't be a lot more like this.