Ice was quickly taking over every corner of the palace, a strong vent had started inside the castle and Elsa had no intention of stopping what had caused, Hans called her over and over by name as he tried to get closer to her, plus the forts snowy winds prevented it.
The blonde was debating whether to confront and question him for his alleged actions, but she refused to be manipulated by Hans Westergard or anyone else. She was tired of being a toy to others, fed up with being betrayed as if she didn't care about anything at all.
- "Elsa, if you let me explain!" - The redhead exclaimed.
-"There is nothing to explain!"- She yelled, finally looking at him. - "What the hell did you expect to happen ?! What stupid need did you have to send Zackary a letter ?! "
- "Elsa, I swear it is not what you think, if you left me ..."
-"No!" - She exclaimed. - "I am not interested in listening to you, nothing justifies that you did it. I trusted you, what a stupid thing, don't you think? "- He was about to say something else, but she stopped him. - "I am not interested in the content of that letter, regardless of what it said; made Zackary come all the way here, and you knew everything that man had done to me, you knew everything, and you didn't care in the least! You were only thinking of yourself! "
- "I did everything for you, Elsa. I love you"
-"Shut up!"- She yelled. - "Don't you dare keep lying to me, enough to play with me!"
- "You have never been a game to me, Elsa"
- "I don't believe you, Hans!" - She said. - "You only thought for your own benefit, if you had really done it for me, you would never have contacted Zackary, however you did"
- "I had no intention of hurting you, Elsa, please listen to me"
- "I don't want to do it, and you know? I'm tired! Tired of waiting for someone else to solve my problems, of blindly trusting someone who works behind my back, who promises to help me, that he has everything under control, but refuses to tell me what brings Hands, it's about my life, I'm important, I'm not just a pawn in your twisted game of chess! " - She exclaimed. - "I tried to be good, follow the rules of the game and wait until one day everything would magically improve, but with each passing day things get worse and I can't take it anymore, I don't want to tolerate it anymore"
The blonde was crying helplessly, she was hurt, furious, and Hans's words didn't help her at all; she didn't want to believe in him, clinging to the hope that Hans Westergard would save her from the hell she lived in had been by far one of the greatest nonsense she'd ever believed.
She could not and did not want to afford to trust him despite everything and risk another betrayal. Hans tried again to approach her, took her by the face and forced her to look at him.
- "I love you Elsa de Arendelle, I made a mistake; Hundreds of mistakes, but I love you and would never hurt you on purpose! "- He said before giving her a kiss on the lips; which she did not reciprocate. The queen simply used her powers to push him away from her.
- "Still you did it, you hurt me" - She said. - "And if that's your way of loving, I don't want you to love me" - She said before walking away. Hans insisted on following her, but Elsa blocked the doors with thick layers of ice; preventing him from leaving.
She was aware that chaos had already broken out inside the castle and that it would be a matter of time for all Weselton to panic, she took it upon herself to block every possible exit, making sure that no one would leave the place without her permission.
She went up the stairs and in the middle of these she crossed her husband, who furiously took her by the arms and cornered her against the wall.
- "Stop this, damn witch" - He ordered.
- "I see the kindness is over" - She said without flinching. Zackary was puzzled by the tone of voice that his wife had used, Elsa did not look down as she used to; She looked him in the eyes closely and her voice did not tremble, she remained calm while the storm worsened. The cold invaded every corner of his body, giving him the feeling that little by little his skin was covered by a thin layer of frost. - "It seems to me that now you are the one who is trembling" - She commented.
Zackary wanted to release her and pull away, but he couldn't, it was as if his hands had frozen when he touched Elsa and he couldn't move them. - "Are you afraid of me, darling?" - She asked with false concern. - "How strange, you didn't seem to be afraid of me before"
- "Leave me alone!, Elsa, you have to stop this!"
- "Or what?, What are you going to do?" - She asked challengingly. - "I don't want to stop and I won't. Because I should?"
- "Listen Elsa, if you finish this now maybe the King of Weselton will forgive you, if you stop playing with your powers maybe I will let it go and we will pretend that this tantrum never happened"
- "And why should I trust your word? You have never given me reason to trust you" - She said. - "You turned my life into hell, you never cared how much damage you did to me and you even enjoyed it, I let you trample on me for years, but that ended, my love"
- "Elsa, please, that was enough!" - He exclaimed.
- "I often asked you to stop, you made me beg on my knees because if I did then maybe you would forgive me, but you never stopped." - She said facing him. - "When we got married, I had every intention of at least being friends, I tried to be a good wife, but it was never enough for you, and no matter what I did it was always wrong, so no, it´s not enough! "
Zackary felt his mobility regain in his hands and immediately released Elsa and ran down the stairs; the snow queen walked calmly, stomped, and the stairs were covered in a layer of ice, causing Zackary to slip and fall.
The man quickly got up and ran to the door; but this one was already completely frozen. - "You did not ask permission to retire, that is very rude" - She said. - "I think someone needs a lesson to learn good manners" - She said before creating an ice stake that Zackary could narrowly avoid.
- "Elsa, please!" - Her husband pleaded. - "You are not like that, you don't want to do this"
- "You are wrong, my heaven" - She said - "There is nothing I want more than to hurt you right now, and you don't know me at all."
- "I will do everything you want, I will take care of each of your wishes, I will treat you like the queen you are, everything will be different ... I promise!"
- "You're right, everything will be different" - She said. - "Because you will not be. You are a despicable person and it is also true that I am not like you "
- "Elsa..."
- "I'll give you a chance" - She said. He released a sigh of relief. She approached him and Zackary did not move away.
Elsa melted the ice blocking the door. - "I'll let you out" - She said.
- "Thank you, thank you my love" - He said feeling that he had gotten away with it.
- "Love unfreezes" - She said.
- "What? Why do you say it?" – He questioned before feeling a deep pain in his chest, he put his hands to his chest and looked at his wife; who watched him without showing any kind of emotion. - "Did you freeze ... my heart?"
- "An act of true love will save you; if you are able to feel love "- she said. - "That is the last chance I give you, until never, Zackary" - She said before pushing him out of the palace to close the door again and cover it again with ice.
She knew that her husband was lost; that a slow and painful death awaited him, without being able to do anything to avoid it, nothing and nobody would save him from becoming an ice statue.
- "Queen Elsa, I order you to stop this!" - exclaimed the King of Weselton. The guards quickly surrounded her as they aimed arrows and swords at her. - "Thaw the palace and I will have the consideration to forgive this treason"
- "Majesty, you do not set the rules this time, i do" - She said. - "And unless you want to join Admiral Westergard and my beloved husband, I would advise you to lower your weapons and shut up"
- "What did you do to those men?" - He questioned with a horrified expression.
- "Nothing they did not deserve" - She replied. - "But don't worry, I don't want to do the same to you, after all, I came with every intention of negotiating with you"
The King ordered his soldiers to lower their weapons. – "Ok, Queen Elsa, what do you want?"
"To begin with, I want the alliance between Weselton and Arendelle to be annulled," - she replied. - "After the money that has been taken from the alleged taxes, as well as monetary compensation for the damages caused, is returned to Arendelle"
- "Are you crazy?" - The king questioned, she looked at him remarkably annoyed. - "It is a huge monetary amount, I think you don't understand finances, honey. Giving you such an amount of money would mean… "
- "A strong economic crisis for Weselton, from which it could hardly come out, but not necessarily impossible" - she interrupted. - "I think I understand perfectly what I do, Your Majesty" - She said - "Although of course, there is always the option to refuse. This winter that I have provoked inside the castle i could easily take it to every corner of your kingdom, so it would be the cold that would take care of ending Weselton's crops, food and resources. " - She said - "It is your decision, Your Majesty"
- "Queen Elsa, please be understanding" - The king spoke. - "Hundreds of innocent people will suffer the consequences, you are ruler of a kingdom, I know you understand how it works, do not rush to make a decision, at this moment clearly you are angry and you are being guided by your emotions"
- "With all due respect, Your Majesty. I think that harming innocent people is what matters least to you "- she said. - "If I were you, i would accept my conditions."
- "Is that all you want me to do?"
- "For now, we can start with that" - She said. - "We still have a few things to discuss, but we have enough time, or do you have to go somewhere?"
Elsa smiled.
- "In the meantime, think about what I have told you" - She said. - "What do you think if we meet early tomorrow, and you make a decision?"
The Queen gave him an apparently friendly smile before saying goodbye and walking away. Elsa went to her room, once there she blocked the door with ice so that no one could enter.
She let go of her hair and started humming a song while lighting the fireplace to later burn Zackary's belongings. She sat in front of the fireplace, watching as the fire consumed each and every thing she had thrown into the fireplace.
Elsa started singing while hugging herself.
-o-
It was dark, and the cold was increasing at Elsa's will. The queen left her room and there was no sign of anyone; surely they were sheltering from the cold in some room. Holding a candle, she walked to where she had locked Admiral Westergard.
She untied one of the ice walls and entered the room. The admiral was in a corner hugging himself. - "Elsa" - He whispered when he saw her, with difficulty he stood up and walked towards her, while she looked at him blankly. - "You came back"
- "I don't know what you were planning to come here, Hans" - She said. - "I suppose that when exposing the crimes of Zackary you were looking for some kind of reward from the king of Weselton" - She concluded. - "Maybe a title that would make you part of the Weselton nobility, and then you would be a candidate for I don't know ... be my husband by choice of the king of Weselton"
- "Elsa, I love you" - Said the redhead.
- "You didn't deny it" - She made the observation. - "You say you love me, but you are not very different from the rest of the people; You only used me to get your long-awaited crown, I was only an important factor in getting it "- She said. - "You made me believe that we were a team, that you were the hero that I needed, but I will get what I want without your help, I don't need you or anyone else"
- "Elsa, believe me that at first I did not care too much what you felt, but now things are very different, I really love you, I will do anything to prove it to you, I promise that neither the king nor Zackary will harm you again"
- "Zackary maybe already dead or soon he will be" - she commented, leaving Hans surprised. - "He is a person incapable of feeling love, just as she could never selflessly perform an act of true love. I have frozen his heart, I think you already know what will happen to him. "
- "Elsa ..."
- "As soon as dawn will meet the king, after such an icy night I doubt that he will refuse to grant my requests," she said. - "As for you… I don't know, should I leave you locked up here to starve or cold? depending on what happens first "
- "My sweet Elsa"
- "I am not your sweet Elsa, I am not yours!" - She exclaimed. - "I hate you Hans, I hate you, do you understand ?!"
- "Don't tell me that, Elsa"
- "You took advantage of my situation, you didn't even have any need to play with my feelings, we had already made a deal in which I was going to sleep with you, but of course, you always want more than you can have, or am I wrong? "
- "I don't know what Zackary told you about the letter" - He said.
- "Does it matter?" - He asked aggressively.
- "I understand that it was a mistake to write that letter, but I did not think" - He said. - "I told him that I loved you, that I was not willing to hurt you. I thought that… at some point I would convince you not to come to Weselton, take you somewhere far away and… "
- "It's nonsense! I came to see my sister and you know how important she is to me, Kristoff and Anna are the only family I have, and even if you had convinced me to run away with you, do you think Zackary would have stayed arm crossed?, You just put everyone in danger! " - she said. - "I will never forgive you."
The redhead was going to tell her something else, but she got out of there, locking him up again. She went back to her room and lay down on the bed. She had spent much of the afternoon thinking about the redhead and about her feelings for her. She knew that Zackary had told her about the letter to manipulate her, but she was very confused, she felt betrayed and everything would be easier for her if she didn't feel something for Hans.
She had fully intended to go freeze Hans's heart and find out if a kiss from her was capable of saving him, and once she was sure she could trust him, but at the last moment she had been terrified to know the truth, and if Hans's words were a total and complete lie; she would not forgive herself for turning him into an ice statue.
She didn't plan to kill him, she just wanted to get even in some way. She wanted him to at least suffer in some way, because she was devastated, but she was convinced that when it was all over, she would finally let him go, making it clear that she didn't want to see him again.
During the entire trip they had gone through, Hans had won her friendship and heart, she loved him despite everything, but she no longer wanted to be hurt, it was not a risk that she wanted to take, she felt that it was not worth the risk.
-o-
It dawned, the ice reflected the sunlight creating a whole scene worthy of a fairy tale, something completely different from what happened inside the palace. Elsa had taken the place corresponding to the king; sitting in the elegant chair behind the desk, while the Weselton monarch stood in front of the desk; shaking.
- "Did you have time to think about the decision you are going to make?" - She asked.
- "What is the monetary amount that you consider worthy or sufficient to repair any damage caused by my cousin or my kingdom? Is there sufficient amount to comfort you in any way?"
- "No, there is not" - She answered honestly. - "But as queen of Arendelle I have to think about the good of my subjects, not only the high taxes that Weselton has charged to Arendelle have caused that the life condition of the inhabitants of my kingdom was lower than it used to be, to That adding the thefts that my husband did behind my back, I think that money is the least that my kingdom deserves. I want every coin he has taxed my kingdom back, plus half of that amount. "
- "It will leave my kingdom in ruin"
- "Do you prefer that or make it an ice cube?"
- "Okay, the money will be yours" - I accept the king resigned.
- "My sister and brother-in-law will return with me to Arendelle, the alliance with Weselton will be annulled, so they have no more duties to fulfill here"
- "Okay" - The king said.
Elsa was in charge of putting everything in writing and signed by the king and a couple of witnesses to validate what was agreed at that meeting.
- "Another thing" - She said. - "You will abdicate the crown"
- "That if not!" - The king exclaimed - "If we will not have any relationship with Arendelle, it would not hurt you if I continued ruling"
- "You forced me to marry someone of your choice to ensure that I would not try to betray you, and boy did it not work, did it?" - She commented with some mockery. - "A mistake that you, Zackary and many others made with me was underestimating me, and I do not underestimate you, I know that if you continue to have even a little power, it would represent a danger to my person and my kingdom" - she said . - "Also, a ruined kingdom is not much to lose. I'll decide who to give the Weselton crown to, maybe someone will consider giving him a title, but of course, you will have to be a good boy. "
Resigned to defeat, knowing that he had no chance against the Snow Queen, he signed each of the Queen's requests, thus renouncing the crown.
-o-
They were boarding the ship that would take them straight to Arendelle. Anna was excited to return to her homeland, the redhead stroked her belly while talking to the baby inside her. Kristoff was in charge of bringing his belongings onto the ship, making sure not to forget anything.
They had made sure to take a doctor on board, even though they had been told that Anna could travel without problems they preferred not to risk anything getting complicated on the way. Some men were responsible for carrying heavy chests full of coins and jewelry.
- "I hope you have a good trip without complications - The redhead said, trying not to disturb the queen.
- "Thank you" - She said. - "And well, you already have the crown that you wanted so much; Luck trying to save a kingdom on the brink of ruin, King Hans "- She said mischievously before heading to board the ship.
- "I hope someday to be worthy of your forgiveness and allow me to return to see you"
She said nothing, just turned away and was reunited with her family on the boat. I walk back to Arendelle. It didn't take long for the ship to set sail, while Hans watched him walk away from the dock, regretting that he had lost Elsa.
He hoped to regain the queen's trust and heart one day, but he knew it would not be easy.
- "See you later, my sweet Elsa" - He whispered. - "I hope"
The end
Thanks to all who read this story, to those who leave reviews, I regret not answering them.
I had been wanting to finish this story for a while, finally today I officially finish my semester at the university and I have had time to write, if the ending seemed sad or disappointing for some reason, calm, there will be an epilogue, I will try to publish it soon.
I say goodbye for now, thanks for having supported my first story written in English, it was a purpose that I had for a long time so I am happy to have concluded this fanfic.