(A/N: Well, tried to upload a great AMV for Elsa, but got blocked worldwide. I still have the finished video but can't share on YouTube due to copyright claims. However, I managed to find a platform called Vimeo and was able to upload it on there. If you would like to view it, /479998311)

CHAPTER ELEVEN: LAST WARNING

(YEARS AGO)

Ayla walked into the living room where her grandfather rested after work. His health was getting worse and worse with each passing day, but he just smiled and made jokes when he saw the worry in her eyes. Her finger grazed the scar on her forehead and it triggered flashes of painful, blurry images of people she didn't know, a village she never lived, and the smell of fire and smoke. With each passing year, the need to know more about the parents she never knew – or can't remember, grew. She feared asking Grandfather again, because it always angered him and she saw it only brought pain to his eyes.

He looked up from the couch and saw the look on her face. She desperately wanted to talk to him about something, but was scared. He smiled warmly and reached out to cuddle close to him on the couch. She smiled slightly but was still nervous as she sat down next to him and cuddled close in her grandfather's weak arms. "Is there something you want to talk to me about, sweetheart?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid of making you angry again," she muttered.

He pulled away and looked in her eyes, "You can talk to me about anything. Please."

"I need to know, Grandpapa," Ayla spoke up shakily, "I need to know more about what happened to my parents." He tensed up and she immediately teared up and stood up. "I'm sorry, Grandpapa." She quickly went back to her room and shut herself inside, which demanded he get up and follow. He opened the door and found her silently choke back sobs under her blanket. He knelt by her bed and pulled back the blanket to reveal her teary eyes. The sight pained him, because her mother was his daughter and she resembled her mother so much. "You think your parents abandoned you because they didn't love you, but they left you to protect you. So you could have a chance at a normal life. That's why you are with me here in Arendelle. This was what your mother- My Ronya."

Hearing her mother's name for the first-time calmed Ayla and she asked, "What was she like? My mama?"

Her grandfather smiled, "Just like you. You're a living picture of your mother and it breaks my heart all over again." She quickly hugged him when he started crying. Talking about her mother, his daughter, was very painful for him now that she was gone. Seeing him cry made her cry too as she firmly hugged him.

She woke up in an open closet, at the end of a long hallway, chained to the wall. She froze when saw the assassin from earlier sitting there watching her casually, "You were dreaming about something. You were crying and moving in your sleep. I wasn't sure if I should wake you."

She struggled against the chains, making him more alert. He gently grabbed her forearms, "Don't do that. You'll hurt yourself."

"What is this?! Where am I?!" Ayla demanded, removing her chained arms from his hands.

"Somewhere safe. Somewhere you'll remain until it's over," he assured her, his voice mysterious behind his bird mask.

"Until WHAT is over?!" she asked.

"The Purge. Master has grown impatient and wishes to return Arendelle to the ancient ways by eliminating the Crown," he answered immediately. "The fate of Arendelle…its future will be decided in the upcoming battle. The strongest will live and thrive. The weak will perish. Such is the will of Runegar."

Ayla tensed up. She had to escape and warn Elsa. He was forced to adjust the chains to prevent her from thrashing too much. "No! Stop it! Let me go! Let me go!" she cried desperately as he seized each arm and individually adjusted her chains so she couldn't move them away from the wall and hurt herself.

"Quiet," he instructed more firmly before leaving briefly and returning with food. He returned with a silver platter that had a nice of steak, diced salted potatoes and various vegetables. He knelt beside her and laid the platter near her leg.

Ayla watched him cautiously as he cut the steak into small pieces and then stuck a piece on a fork and held it up to her mouth to eat. She just stared at him wearily. "Eat," he instructed.

"What is this?!" Ayla demanded. She recognized his voice from last night. He's been stalking her for a long time, kidnapped her and was trying to feed her?

The bird mask shifted to look at the piece of meat on the end of the fork. "This is ribeye. You also have diced potatoes and some various vegetables. I believe people call this…'Dinner.'" Was he being sarcastic with her? She couldn't tell. Again, he held the piece to her mouth. "Eat."

In a fit of defiance, she kicked the plate away making a mess. "I'll never eat. I'll starve first, you freak!"

There was a long, quiet silence. Then, Ayla saw his hands clenching into fists and unclenching as if trying to remain calm around her. He put everything back on the plate in their appropriate piles before looking back at her.

It was very intimidating as he leaned in close and stopped just an inch from her face. She could feel his eyes, shielded by the goggles on his mask, pierce her soul and intimidate her. She began to squirm, but he firmly seized her chin with a hand and held it still, silently dominating her and demanding she look him in the eyes. With a very calm, yet firm tone, he spoke, "I need you…to live. Eat…or I swear to your God I'll start shoving it down your defiant throat! Do you understand me?"

Terrified, Ayla nodded and his demeanor seemed to soften, releasing her jaw. Whatever rage he had in that moment seemed to instantly disappear as soon as she complied. He got another piece for her and she took the piece with her mouth and ate it. A small warm smile came on his face, under his mask, as he continued to feed her, instantly reading her face change slightly with approval. It was an excellent meal. Ayla couldn't deny that, but she kept her thoughts to herself. It was obvious he knew how to cook and went to great lengths to prepare something perfect just for her. Why? Why is he so obsessed with me being taken care of and staying alive? Is he sick? Is he going to do something terrible to me?

He stood up with the stuff to clean them, but stopped when she asked, "Why am I here? Ransom from the Queen?"

"No. I have no interest in money," her captor answered with his back to her.

"Then why?!" Ayla demanded. "Why turn on the others to protect me?! What am I to you?! Another prey for you to torment before you finally take my life?!"

He turned and looked at her for a whole minute before drawing close and gently rubbing the scar on the top of her forehead before replying, "You're my property. That's all you need to know." Ayla was rendered speechless by his reply. So many emotions were flooding her being. Anger and hopelessness, to name a couple. When she was young, something happened and she forgot everything. Her Grandfather knew but wouldn't reveal the truth. Now, her captor knew as well. He had answers she needed to know.

Back at Ymir's Lodge, Elsa stood on the large porch up front. Joseph was playing with some other young children of some of the harvesters. There was a young girl, Heidi, that Joseph seemed to get along with. Turns out Heidi was adopted by Ella and Henrik since they struggled to conceive a child of their own. Elsa watched the five children play up front, but couldn't ignore the feeling that something was wrong. She could feel it in the air. That was why she sent Captain Halden to go down the path back to Arendelle to see what was keeping the lieutenant. He should have been back by now. She shot up when she saw the Captain returning on horseback. She became increasingly concerned seeing his face struck with grief and worry.

He stopped the horse when he got to the porch. "You and the King must come with me, immediately. There's something you need to see."

Elsa quickly rushed inside and whispered to Kristoff and he excused himself. The three of them rode out halfway back to Arendelle to find the lieutenant and a few assassins dead on the road. The wagon was left alone. Elsa and Kristoff were speechless as they stepped closer and examined the horrifying scene before them. Captain Halden knelt by the lieutenant before reporting. "Based off of what I could gather from this. I hypothesize that the lieutenant was ambushed taking Ayla back. He drew his sword to defend Ayla and killed the assassins before another snapped his neck and took Ayla. What's confusing is why there is no blood on the lieutenant's sword."

"He didn't kill them," Kristoff pointed out. "He was most likely the first to die."

Elsa examined the assassin that had his throat slicked and the others which had multiple fatal stabs. "He's right. The lieutenant didn't. Whoever took Ayla, killed all of them. These wounds are identical to Aesir's and the gallery owner's. The attackers were betrayed by one of their own."

This revelation sent a chill down all of their backs. Elsa stood up and looked at them, "We're returning home. Ayla must be found. Whoever took her will regret the day they were ever born!"

Back in Arendelle, the sky was starting to get dark, so Aesir and Anna returned to the palace. Something seemed off to Anna as they neared the palace gates. "Where are the guards?" Aesir noticed too and investigated the gate. It was partially open. There, he found the bodies of the two guards and backed away cautiously with his hand of his sword's hilt. "They're dead. Anna, stay close to me!"

Suddenly, dark cloaked figures popped up around them out of nowhere. Aesir drew his sword and began fighting them. Once he cleared a path, he grabbed her hand and ran back into the palace. If they can hold up in there, they might have a chance. Aesir's training kicked in. Priority one, protect Princess Anna. Second…neutralize the enemy by ANY means necessary!

As several assassins pursued them into the palace, even more closed in an abandoned noble's home. According to the Master, he was there…and the woman. The Master was with the group and casually entered through the dark manor.

Ayla's captor sat patiently in the middle of the hallway with both knives out. Ayla didn't know what was going on. Her captor just randomly undid her chains and shackles, gave her a third knife he had and covered her with his cloak. If they enter, go for the head. Run for the palace.

Finally, they entered the hallway and found him on his knees with both knives ready. "The assassins I sent to deal with you and the woman were all dead, including our spy in the Royal Guard. Why am I not surprised?" the Master asked.

The lone assassin looked up in his bird mask, but remained silent.

"You have become such a disappointment," the Master sighed. "At first, I thought the woman was just another prey for you to kill, but you turning on your peers…to protect her." An evil smile came across his face when revelation struck. "Now…I know the truth. You love her."

Ayla was overhearing everything. Her heart stopped.

"Last warning, boy. Kill her…or die with her," the Master threatened. When the traitor remained silent, the Master gestured with his hand and the swarm of assassins all flooded the hallway. He quickly stood and engaged the large number of assassins, effortlessly taking them out one by one. Their numbers were nothing in this narrow hallway. He had the advantage.

For what seemed like an eternity, the hallway outside Ayla's locked door erupted in pure chaos. Yelling. The sounds of blades piercing, slashing and clanging against metal. Bodies being thrown against the nearby walls and her door, making her scream loudly, announcing her hiding place to her pursuers outside.

Back in the palace, Aesir and Anna were cornered by multiple assassins in the throne room. With deadly accuracy, Aesir struck down every assassin that came near him and Anna. There were too many of them. Aesir was having difficulty reacting fast enough, desperate to block and slash with his sword. Fear began to consume him as he thought of Anna, who hid behind the throne behind him. She wanted to help, but Aesir couldn't risk it. Despite him telling her to stay down, Anna rushed in, grabbing an enemy's blade. When they all rushed, Aesir shielded her body with his own. A last desperate attempt to protect her since all hope seemed to forsake them. The room was filled with cold. Aesir and Anna saw all the assassins were frozen solid, just like the enemies in the rebellion. The statues then all crumbled and Anna saw her sister there with a clench raised fist and the iciest look in her eyes she has ever seen. "ELSA!" Anna yelled happily, running into her sister's arms and receiving a firm hug.

"Anna! I'm so happy you're okay," Elsa replied with relief.

An assassin who by some miracle managed to avoid her magic but was wounded by Aesir earlier tried to get away but Aesir held him still while Elsa walked over with a cold regal poise and icy magic coming off her body like smoke. When close enough, Elsa placed her heel on his head and applied pressure, making him groan painfully. Anna stepped forward, but Kristoff stopped her by grabbing her shoulders and shaking his head.

"One of yours has taken my friend, Ayla. You will tell me…or I swear by ever pagan god you worship you will die a slow, agonizing death," Elsa threatened coldly.

"He took her to a nobleman's manor west of Arendelle. The master is dealing with him and the woman as we speak. You're too late, witch! As soon as he executes the traitor and kills his…pet, he'll come for you. The streets of Arendelle will run red with the blood of the royal fa-"

Before he could finish, Aesir stabbed him in the back with his sword, killing him instantly and shocking Anna. Elsa gave him a nod before sending a cloud of her icy magic in the direction the enemy revealed.

"Elsa, what are you doing?" Kristoff asked.

"Ending the fight," Elsa said with a serious scowl as she focused her power to act as an extension of her regal right hand.

Back at the mansion, Ayla felt cold and heard so many screams. The door opened and she gasped at her captor. His clothes and mask were all torn from multiple slashes and stab wounds. His left arm was severed and laying several feet away. Somehow, he was still alive, but not for long as he fell at her feet and she quickly dropped the knife and cradled his head. "No. You can't die. I have too many questions. Questions that need answers. You have to answer them."

She looked up as the cloud of Elsa's magic concentrated into a shape of her liking and knelt by the Master who was dying from the fatal wound he suffered from the spike she created to kill him. He chuckled with his dying breath, "You think you won? I'm…not the Master. Sister…is. She'll. Be. Your. End."

Elsa spoke through her icy manifestation, "Let her come." The manifestation faded and the real Elsa entered with Kristoff, Aesir, Anna and many Royal Guard. For Joseph's safety, he was entrusted to Henrik and Ella back at the lodge.

Aesir saw the assassin near Ayla still moving and rushed him with a sword. Ayla shielded his body with her own and yelled coldly, "Leave him alone!" He was startled by her fierce protectiveness for her captor and so was everyone else. "Elsa, please! Save him! He has answers about my past! I need to know!"

This shook Elsa out of her cold shell and she quickly acted to stop the bleeding with her magic. "Take him back to the palace!" she ordered Royal Guards, "and summon Jason immediately!"