Chapter Twenty Five

Tension Part II

Author's note: Just a headsup, there's a slight bit of sensuality at the end of this chapter, for those who want to skip over it. Nothing too suggestive, just a little hint at romance for Elsa which I felt was long overdue.

ELSA

"Stop!" Jade pulled Elsa away, and a couple of other teenagers helped to separate the two angry girls. Jordan stood in front of Deirdre, and similarly, a few others including Vonco attempted to hold her back.

"Get out of my way, Jordan." Deirdre warned, trying to break free from the grip of Cornelius, Cova and a few others. "Same goes for the rest of you. I don't wanna have to hurt any of you. Except her." She jabbed wildly in Elsa's direction.

"Stop this nonsense!" Jade shouted, doing her best to restrain Elsa. "This is pointless! We shouldn't be fighting each other. And especially not after a long day in Srevnjor!"

"I didn't ask for this." Elsa relaxed a little, and the sorcerers released their hold on her. "She was the one who picked a fight."

"I think you've all had a busy day." Vonco shot cautious glances at both Elemental Sorceresses. "Maybe we should all go back to our rooms and call it a night."

"I agree." Elsa drew herself up and turned her back on everyone, and began to walk towards the stairs that led out of the training area. A burning sensation swelled at the small of her back and spread upward. A sharp pain engulfed her, and she realized that her back was on fire! Elsa spun round to see Deirdre with her hand outstretched in her direction.

"That's enough!" Jade smacked Deirdre's hand away, and Elsa was furious to see that Deirdre was smirking, having delivered a cheap shot.

Elsa quickly touched her back with her right hand, and ice extinguished the flames immediately and they went out with steam. However, a part of her dress had been burnt away, and some of the skin on her back was red and raw, painful to the touch. Her eyes widened in fury as she watched the fiery sorceress walk away in the opposite direction without another word.

"Let it go." Vonco said sympathetically.

"I'll whip something up to tend to your burns." Holli looked at Elsa's back and winced. "That's gotta hurt."

"It does." Elsa bit her lip and attempted to draw herself up, but the pain from stretching the skin on her back prevented her from doing so. Nonetheless, she walked off with a portion of her back exposed. It had been a long night, and all she wanted was to be in the privacy of her own room where she could quietly brood about the day's events.

###

A knock came at the door of Elsa's room.

"Who's there?"

"It's me." A deep mechanical voice came from outside the door.

Elsa got up from her bed and walked over to the door. She had already taken a bath, which had hurt considerably, since Deirdre had burnt the skin on her back. After the agonizing bath, she had changed into a baggy white shirt and comfy leggings, with her dress, coat and boots placed neatly on the other side of the room. She was all ready to call it a night. It had been an extremely tiring day after all. She opened the door and Janus stood outside, still in his usual garb: the black mask, hood and cloak. At least this time, he didn't carry any weapons.

"What do you want?" Elsa asked.

"I heard about what happened with Deirdre." Janus reached into his cloak and fished out a small bottle filled with a dark maroon liquid. "Holli sent me with some of her healing lotion."

"Holli sent you?" Elsa arched an eyebrow. "She couldn't have come here herself?"

Janus looked away, his facial expression hidden conveniently behind the mask. It was evident enough to her that he felt awkward. There was no real reason for him to appear at her doorstep as Holli could have done it herself. She guessed that he was just looking for an excuse to see her. Elsa glanced at the bottle and then back at Janus. She shook her head.

"Come in."

The black clad mercenary walked into the room, and Elsa shut the door behind him. Unlike the first time they had been in a room alone, she didn't feel threatened or intimidated by his presence. In fact, he was always dressed the same way. She had never seen him out of costume since their first encounter in Arendelle months ago. And on the flip side, she surprisingly didn't feel uncomfortable standing in front of him in her night clothes. She remembered having felt tremendously awkward when she had first woken up in the dungeons below, but the feeling was nowhere to be found now. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she now knew who he was.

"Are you alright?" Janus broke the silence.

"I've…been better." Elsa replied. "My back hurts."

"Here," Janus held out the bottle of lotion for her. "Holli said to spread it generously over your raw skin. The wounds should be gone by the morning."

Taking the bottle in her hand, she looked at Janus. "Why are you really here?"

"Excuse me?" She imagined Janus blinking from behind the mask.

"Why did you come here?" Elsa kept her eyes fixed on where Janus' eyes would be. "What do you really want?"

"I-" Janus hesitated. "I don't know. I just wanted to check on how you were holding up." He paused yet again, this time longer. "You've been through a lot lately, and I just feel that what's been done to you, what… this is… it's-"

"Wrong?"

"What I mean is…yes. I'm sorry all this happened to you."

"So you're not just a hardened mercenary, are you? You do have feelings."

"No, I-"

"Janus."

The mercenary looked away. "Please don't call me that."

"But that is your name, isn't it?" Elsa walked closer and stopped in front of him, looking up at the tall man. "Janus De Vesques?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "I prefer not to remember."

"Take off your mask."

"No, no- I'm sorry," There was a hint of panic in his voice. "I can't."

"Yes, you can." Elsa touched his arm gently. "It's okay. I know what happened."

"I-"

"It's okay. Take off your mask and look at me." Elsa said quietly but firmly.

Janus stared at her for what seemed like forever, and Elsa assumed that he was silently contemplating the ramifications of his actions. And finally, he slowly moved his hands towards his face, having made his decision, though he made every move with dread. Pulling back the hood, Elsa saw that he had tousled brown hair, something she had not expected at all. Then slowly, he moved his hands to the black mask that covered his face, and hesitated.

"It's okay, Janus."

He placed both hands on his mask, and slowly pulled it off, revealing a thin face with narrow brown eyes. A prominent scar ran from his forehead down to his left cheek. The unmasked mercenary's eyes fell to the ground in embarrassment, mask still in hand. For the first time, Elsa could physically see him for who he really was, unhindered by the enigmatic mask and hood. She placed a soft cold hand against the side of his left cheek, and he flinched a little at her gentle touch.

"See?" Elsa smiled reassuringly, her tone as if speaking to an embarrassed young child. "It's alright."

He looked at her with his brown eyes, still a little hesitant and uncertain, but they slowly faded away in her presence.

"See, behind that mask, you're not a cruel mercenary." She said.

"You don't understand, Elsa. I am a mercenary. This is my life." Without the mask which filtered his voice, it was crisp and baritone, oddly soothing to her ears.

"Then why did you choose not to fight me on the beach?"

"It was better that you engaged your own-"

"Don't hand me that. I know that's not it," Elsa cut him off. "You didn't want to hurt me. Why?"

He remained silent, unable to think of an answer. Or at least, he didn't want to admit it.

"Because you have a heart, a conscience. Even if you don't want to admit it." Elsa answered for him. "You said it yourself, you felt that what happened to me was wrong. You know that all this-" she gestured to her surroundings. "-what Ingrid is telling you to do, it's all wrong."

"I don't ask questions. I don't think." Janus spoke again. "A mercenary only does his job and gets paid at the end of the day."

"But deep down, you know you're more than just a hired killer."

"I-"

"You know this is all wrong, Janus. Please, join me." She pleaded. "Help me stop the Pilgrim. Help me liberate the rest of the League from her tyranny."

"It's too late for me." Janus said, taking a step back. "I'm sorry, Elsa. I shouldn't have come here. This…this was a mistake. I should go." He turned to leave, his mask still in hand.

"Wait," Elsa called out. "Forget about all that. Could you...help me with something?"

Janus stopped and looked back at her quizzically.

"It's going to be hard for me to see where all the lotion is going."

He tilted his head a little. "What are you saying?"

"What I'm saying is-" This time, it was Elsa's turn to hesitate just saying the words. She held out the bottle in her hand. "Could…could you help me with the lotion?"

Janus looked taken aback, his head still tilted to one side. It was so much easier to read him now that the mask no longer concealed his face. In a way, he reminded her of how she used to be. Conceal, don't feel, don't let it show.

"That is," she added quickly before he could say anything, her hand still outstretched. "If you're comfortable with that."

He walked toward her and took the bottle. "Of course." He said quietly. "Don't worry, I won't-"

"It's fine, I know." Elsa said as she turned with her back facing him, and began undoing the buttons on her baggy night shirt. Truth be told, she wasn't worried at all. He had proven himself as a gentleman to her many times over, and she was confident enough that he wouldn't take advantage of her. However, that did not stop her heart from racing a little as she peeled off her shirt and sat on the bed, her bare back facing Janus. Maybe this feeling was something else.