AN: Well it took a little longer than I had hoped, I blame covid. I hope everyone is well. Thank you everyone for reading and commenting. I hope this chapter helps with some of the broken pieces the last two chapters created. That's all I got. 3
It was a simple mistake, one anyone could make. But Anna should've known better, should've been more careful. She had barely slept since they landed on Hasvik, and between everything that had happened she had forgotten to eat anything in the last . . . she wasn't even sure how long.
She stood up while Malthe was in the room checking on Elsa. The older man had spent most of his life caring for Anna, taking care of illnesses and injuries, and she should have known he would be watching her carefully.
It was a small misstep, but enough. She'd gotten dizzy and had to grab onto the bedpost to keep from falling over. Malthe had just short of ordered her to get some sleep, and some food. "At least four hours' rest and a proper meal," he'd said sternly. Anna could have refused; she didn't want to leave her sister when Elsa was still slipping further and further away. She wanted to be there if. . .
Anna choked down the lump in her throat. It was another thought she couldn't finish, another she didn't want to finish. They seemed to be stacking up. She had only agreed to leave long enough to get something to eat, insisting she could sleep on the floor. Malthe had finally sighed heavily, in a way that made Anna feel sorry that he had been charged with attempting to care for two women who seemed to be terrible at taking care of themselves. She felt bad enough to compromise. She would go eat an actual meal, and while she was out, one of the soldiers would locate a cot and move it into Elsa's room so Anna could sleep without having to leave her sister's side.
While Anna didn't regret the compromise, it made her antsy to step away while Elsa was in such critical condition. She had planned to wolf down enough food to satisfy the doctor and hurry back, but now that she was sitting at a table with a plate piled high with what would normally be tasty, mouth-watering offerings, her stomach churned. Among the offerings was a small bowl of berries. An innocent enough bit of food, but it reminded Anna of the fruit tart she and Elsa had shared, what felt like a lifetime ago, in the castle's comfort library, and now all she could think about was the fact that it was Elsa's birthday.
This was supposed to be a special day—the special day—the first birthday the sisters could spend together in thirteen long years. Anna had been preparing for this day since October, thinking of exactly what would make the day perfect for Elsa. She had talked to the bakers about making a large fruit tart, something different from a traditional cake. It was going to be a small celebration, nothing big or ostentatious, but perfectly Elsa-sized. She'd talked to Kai about giving the staff the day off, knowing that would make Elsa smile. Or, it would have, if they were home instead of stuck on some gods forsaken frozen island with her sister barely hanging on.
Anna choked on a sob. She folded her arms on the table and buried her face. It was just too much. She couldn't do it. She needed Elsa to be okay. She needed her sister.
She gasped, and the air turned to molten lava in her chest. Elsa squeezed her eyes shut, tears slipping out from the corners. Her chest felt like someone had smashed it to pieces, then glued back together with acid. A sharp, red-hot poker lanced her right side, and an exquisite agony pulsed across her left. She could barely move her right hand without wanting to cry. She pressed her head back against the pillow, desperate to escape the fire that threatened to drown her in its intensity.
A breathless cry escaped her cracked lips as sore muscles protested the movement, ratcheting up the pain to an impossible level. Her body ached and her skin felt hot and itchy, irritated by the coarse fabric of a blanket that felt too heavy against her limbs. She was feeling lightheaded, dizzy. The blanket was pressing uncomfortably against her legs, stomach, and chest; she couldn't move, couldn't breathe.
Elsa bit down on her lip as her fingers curled in the blanket to pull it away and ease the pressure. It took more effort than she thought she had in her, but she was able to shift the heavy cloth away from her feet enough to drag them over the side of the bed. Once she could push herself into a sitting position, Elsa folded over, her broken arm pressed tightly against her side. Her other hand fisted into the sheets, ice sluggishly spread across the rumpled covers as air cut across her numb lips. Breathing was a study in torture; she struggled through every inhale, feeling like there was a knife embedded in her lungs.
Hot tears welled in Elsa's eyes as she looked around the dim room, trying to remember where she was, but her eyes wouldn't focus and her memory was fragmented, with gaping holes and moments that made little sense. She couldn't concentrate enough to grab onto anyone thought for longer than a second; each one slipped away with a stabbing pain in her head, like it was twisted around razor wire. The only thing she knew for sure was that she was in pain, and that the room was too hot, too small, and there wasn't enough air.
She was suffocating.
Elsa's chest tightened painfully, and every instinct within her screamed to run, to escape. She gasped for air as she pushed her uncooperative body upright and stumbled to her feet. Pain radiated through her limbs with every unsteady movement, and her legs shook so badly, she was sure they wouldn't support her for long. But she had to escape this place. She needed to find Anna.
Anna didn't know how long she sat there crying, but at some point, she had dozed off, only to be woken by the feel of a heavy body sitting on the bench beside her. It was Kristoff, and she was struck with an overwhelming sense of gratitude, not just for his presence, but for being a reliable shoulder to lean on. She knew she should thank him, and more; he had been through a lot himself, and she should ask how he was doing, how he was handling everything.
She opened her mouth to do just that, but a sudden icy breeze swept in from the hallway, erasing all thought. Anna's head snapped up, and she frowned. It took her sluggish mind a moment to catch up. "Elsa?" she breathed.
She hurried across the room and into the hallway, with Kristoff right on her heels. She didn't hesitate before grabbing the doorknob and shoving the door open with no idea what to expect on the other side.
A frigid wind was swirling within the room, though there was no visible snow or ice. Anna had only a split second to absorb that fact before her gaze was drawn to the shocking sight of her sister hunched over near the foot of the bed, her shoulder braced against a bedpost. Elsa's eyes were squeezed shut, her arms wrapped tightly around her middle.
Anna gaped for a moment as her mind tried to process the information, that knowledge that her sister who had been on death's door mere hours ago was now standing, looking like she thought she was going to go somewhere. She turned to Kristoff with wide eyes. "Get the doctor," she said hoarsely, her heart pounding anxiously.
He nodded curtly and rushed out of the room. Once they were alone, Anna carefully made her way to her sister. As she moved closer, she could see Elsa was trembling violently, her breath cutting across her pale lips in painful sounding wheezes. Her cheeks were flushed red, standing in stark contrast to the frightening white of the rest of her face.
Anna tilted her head and reached for her sister's shoulder. "Elsa," she breathed.
Her sister startled, moving automatically away. She nearly fell, but threw out a hand to catch herself against the bed. When her fingers touched, a neat circle of frost exploded from the spot. "Anna."
Elsa's voice sounded like sandpaper. Anna winced at the sound. She started reaching for her sister again but stopped mid-action, afraid Elsa might hurt herself trying to move away.
Elsa's fingers twitched against the blanket, and she curled further in on herself. "I can't . . ." She panted, her knees buckling. "I can't bre. . ."
Anna hurried to catch her falling sister around the shoulders, attempting to guide her descent to the floor without hurting her further. She held Elsa gently by the arms, shifting her head as she tried to meet her sister's roaming gaze. "Elsa, you need to calm down." She gingerly pushed sweat-soaked hair away from the woman's face.
Elsa shook her head, her trembling fingers tangling in the fabric of her own shirt. "I can't . . . I ca. . ." Her breathing was erratic and shallow, her lips were turning a concerning shade of blue. She remembered what Malthe had told her about the collapsed lung.
Anna took her sister's face in her hands, intent on trying to explain it to her. "Elsa, look at me." It took some effort for Elsa to fix her gaze on Anna, but when she did, the look in her eyes caused Anna's own breath to seize in her chest. Elsa's eyes were raw, full of intense pain and very real fear.
Anna felt frozen in that moment, her lips moving soundlessly. Before she could say anything, Elsa's face crumbled, a flood of tears escaping down her flushed cheeks.
"I'm sorry," Elsa said breathlessly, turning her face away. Then, without warning, the dam broke.
Anna didn't know what to do, didn't know how to take the shattered pieces of her sister spread before her and fit them back together. She pressed her lips together and wrapped her arms around Elsa's shaking form, pulling her sister closer, until the older woman's hot forehead rested against her shoulder. She closed her eyes as Elsa sobbed, feeling out of her depth and wholly unqualified to offer her wounded sister the comfort and care she needed. She wished desperately that their mother was here. She would know what to do.
Eventually, Kristoff returned with the doctor, who stopped in his tracks, looking just as surprised as Anna had been to see Elsa awake. Anna bit her lip, tightening her arms around her sister, who had yet to calm even a fraction. The fingers of her left hand twisted in Anna's shirt.
Either Elsa didn't notice or didn't care when the doctor knelt next to them. He gave her a quick once-over, not touching the distressed Queen. "Her side is bleeding," he said in a soft, deliberate voice. "See if you can calm her a bit. At least enough to drink something."
Anna nodded, turning to Elsa as the doctor rooted through his bag. Anna attempted to comfort the woman, encouraging her to take slower, deeper breaths, but Elsa wasn't listening. When the doctor handed her a cup and Anna attempted to convince her sister to drink it, it only seemed to agitate her even more. Elsa attempted to pull back, and her shoulder knocked against the bed. Her fingers grasped the wooden frame and, for a moment, Anna was sure if her sister had the strength to do so, she would have bolted.
Anna set the cup out of sight and held her hands out. "It's okay," she said. "No one is going to make you take anything you don't want to."
Elsa stared at her, then sagged against the bed, allowing Anna to wrap her arms around her once more. She'd stopped crying, but her breath was still coming too fast and too shallow.
"If we can't calm her down, we risk her lung collapsing again," Malthe said in a low, serious tone.
Anna tightened her arms around her sister, afraid that this burst of life Elsa had somehow found was slipping through her fingers with each stilled, painful wheeze. "I don't know what to do," she said breathlessly.
Malthe pressed his lips into a tight line, and Anna could see the same concern and fear etched into his face. He nodded sharply, seeming to have come to some sort of decision. "Just hold her. I have an idea."
Hold her. Anna could do that. She could spend the rest of her days doing just that. Anna whispered softly to Elsa, running her hand over her sister's hair and doing her best to soothe her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Malthe unroll a leather pouch and remove what appeared to be a thin metal rod and glass tube on top.
He drew some clear liquid into the tube, then turned toward Elsa. He moved behind her, and Anna watched anxiously as he lifted the hem of Elsa's shirt. She couldn't see what the doctor did next, but it caused Elsa to jump, arching away from the doctor. At first nothing happened, but then Elsa's breathing slowed, her eyelids drooping as she listed to the side.
Anna moved aside so Kristoff could scoop up the limp, spent Queen. He carried her back to the bed, where he laid her down gently. Anna bit down on her lip to keep from asking Malthe what he had done to Elsa. Instead, she sat on the mattress beside her sister as the doctor fussed with the bandage on Elsa's side, her fingers wrapped tightly around Elsa's. When the doctor finally stepped away, she reached out to cup the side of her sister's face.
Elsa blinked up at her heavily, rapidly losing the fight against whatever the doctor had given her. "Anna," she whispered, her voice thick with exhaustion. "I want to go home." A single tear escaped from the corner of her eye.
As Anna watched the tear trail down the side of her sister's face, the air went out of her, and she felt the fragments of her strained heart shatter into pieces.
Elsa was restless, shifting beneath the blanket that had been so carefully draped over her. Each time she released a small, pained sound, Alarik shifted his chair closer to her bedside. He felt the weight of responsibility, alone with the Queen while Anna was in a meeting. He'd never been prone to stress, having been in his fair share of life altering situations, but there had been no denying the anxious flutter in his chest as he stood by waiting for an update on the Queen's condition. There had been a lump lodged in his throat ever since Malthe told them she was rapidly fading away. The image of Elsa, a woman he had quickly grown to respect for multiple reasons, lying beaten and broken in that cold rainy hallway was burnt into his mind. He thanked the gods for Kristoff's quick thinking, possibly the only reason they had got her to Malthe in one piece.
When she had woken that morning with the strength to get out of bed, the relief had been palpable. Elsa was still far from okay, but no longer teetering on death's doorstep. The doctor looked more reassured, more confident than he had hours prior. Alarik saw something else in the way the others—the doctor, the Admiral, Jogeir—acted in Elsa's presence; even when she was unconscious, there was an air of deep respect, but also a familiarity and sense of kinship that Alarik was surprised to find himself envious of.
He hadn't known the Queen for very long, and most of his interaction with her had been under extenuating circumstances, but she had left a deep impression on him. He felt in awe of her. Here was a woman who had willingly given herself over to an enemy to protect soldiers who may have been traitors. She acted as though she was unimportant, like her life was expendable and something to be bargained with, when the exact opposite was true. Alarik wanted to get to know her better—the real Elsa, the woman behind the crown. He felt drawn to her in the same way he'd been drawn to join the navy, and it pained him to see her in such obvious distress.
It had been nearly impossible to peel Anna away from her sister's bedside. Since waking earlier that morning, Elsa had been in and out of consciousness, never fully waking, but clearly agitated and pained. Anna would lean over her sister and run her hand against Elsa's hair, whispering soft reassures. Without fail, Elsa would relax with a shallow sigh, drifting back off.
Even when Elsa was sleeping somewhat restfully, Anna was reluctant to leave her side, but decisions had to be made. They needed to decide what they would do with Erik, with the Vindarr and Sirma, and with the girl, Rayna, who seemed to be rather familiar with their Queen.
A few hours after Elsa had first woken, Alarik had been walking down the hallway, impressed by the hasty setup. A large dining hall had been converted into a med ward to treat the wounded soldiers, with an attached kitchen, equipped with a table big enough to seat at least twenty. They had also moved tables and benches into some smaller adjacent rooms, so more soldiers could eat at a time. Turned another into a conference room of sorts, and across from the newly minted med ward was the Queen and Anna. To the left of their temporary quarters was the physician's room, and on the other side was the Admiral's, then Captain Jogeir. All along the hallway, they had stationed guards.
With all the extra security around the Queen's room Alarik had been surprised when movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention, he turned to see a small, skinny form inching along the stone wall, creeping behind a guard toward the door to Queen Elsa's chambers.
He pretended not to notice her, waiting until she was closer before reaching out a hand and snatching the girl by the collar of her dress. He pulled her from the shadows and, getting his first good look at her, was taken aback by how closely she resembled Anna. She could almost pass for a younger version of the Princess.
The girl frowned and tried to take a swing at him, but Alarik easily caught her small fist.
"Let me go!" she demanded.
"Calm down," Alarik said patiently. "Tell me who you are and what you're doing here."
"This is my home," she replied petulantly. "I can go where I want!" She tried to pull her hand away, but he held fast, not interested in being clocked in the face.
He winced, knowing that any child living within these walls probably didn't understand what was going on. "Maybe, but your people surrendered to Arendelle, so right now you can't wander about. Certainly not in this area. You wanna tell me who you are and why you're up here? Where are your parents?"
"They're dead," the girl said, frowning deeply. "You're from Arendelle?"
It took Alarik a moment to reorient himself as the girl abruptly shifted topics. He nodded. "I am."
She eyed him suspiciously, then huffed. "My name is Rayna. I'm a friend of Elsa's and I want to see her."
Elsa. Not Queen Elsa. He rolled his lips between his teeth, releasing her fist but keeping a hand on her shoulder so she couldn't bolt. "How do you know the Queen?" he asked. Alarik doubted that the kid was any real trouble, but he had heard of people using children to gain an enemy's trust, to devastating consequences.
Rayna looked just as distrustful of his intentions, but eventually sighed heavily. "I've been taking care of her since she got here."
His brow folded. "Taking care of her how?"
She folded her arms over her chest, her gaze jumping past him to the various doors. Alarik had to wonder how she even knew which room was the Queen's in the first place, but that was a question for later.
"You know," Rayna said, rolling a hand in the air, "I took care of her. Like, brought her meals, got her bath ready, made sure she drank her medicine, got her laundry done, took messages to Markkus for her. Took care of her."
Alarik opened his mouth, only to snap it shut as his tired mind processed her words. "Medicine?"
"Yeah, so she didn't get sick?" The girl's eyes narrowed. "Which I hope you guys have been giving her because she got real sick when she stopped taking it before."
Alarik's eyes widened as the implications of what she was saying caught up with him. If Rayna was telling the truth, and she certainly seemed sincere, then Markkus had been drugging the Queen. It would explain a few things. He looked down at the girl who continued to glare up at him but was no longer fighting. "I need you to tell me everything you know," he told her. "Then maybe, just maybe, we can discuss you seeing the Queen."
Rayna hadn't been happy with the arrangement, but when Alarik offered to have her escorted down to the dungeons with the rest of the Vindarr soldiers, she reluctantly gave in. She told him quite a bit, and he was having a hard time wrapping his head around some of the information. Particularly, the training with Markkus, and what she referred to as the hot room. It all sounded like a bad dream.
After she'd finished her story, Alarik handed her off to a guard to confine her to one to one of the rooms at the far end of the hall where she would be close enough if he needed her, but far enough that she wouldn't get to the Queen unnoticed. He promised Rayna that she be allowed to see the Queen if her story checked out, but unfortunately, the only person who could really verify the story was still in and out of consciousness, and nowhere near lucid when she was awake.
Alarik took the information to Admiral Naismith, which prompted the meeting now taking place between Captain Jogeir, Malthe, and Anna as they discussed what Rayna had shared and how to move forward.
Elsa shifted on the bed, a small sound escaping her pressed lips as her face folded into a tight frown. Anna had given him simple instructions of what to do if she started waking up, to talk to her softly, reassure her she was safe, and make sure she was comfortable. Alarik had been a little surprised when Anna had left him with this important task, only to deflate a bit when she followed it up by telling him she had finally pushed Kristoff into a bed, and didn't want to wake him.
Alarik hesitated for a moment, again feeling the weight of the responsibility she had given him. When a muted whimper spilled past Elsa's lips and her breath kicked up a notch, he swallowed thickly and leaned forward to lay a hand against her sweaty brow. Gently, he pushed her hair back and spoke to her, keeping his voice calm and gentle until she sighed softly and slowly relaxed. Her breath evened out as she slipped back to sleep. Alarik sat back against the seat. He dragged a hand down his face as he blew out his own breath and watched her sleep.
They had important things to discuss, things that had weight and could have long-standing ramifications, but Anna could hardly focus on the conversation. She kept seeing her sister, huddled next to her bed, confused and in pain. Alone. Elsa should never have been left alone, and the medic who had been assigned to stay with her while Anna grabbed a meal was now tending to Vindarr soldiers in the cold, dreary dungeon.
It wasn't her fault, but guilt gnawed in Anna's gut, only fractionally mollified by the knowledge that Alarik was with her sister now. She knew Elsa would be safe under his watchful eye. Anna took a deep breath and forced her attention back to the three men before her, knowing this briefing was for her benefit, to allow her to decide what to do next, as Elsa could not.
The Admiral stated that while they had moved most of the Vindarr soldiers to the dungeon, he still had a few units scouring the Keep, making sure anyone who could be a threat was rounded up. They confined the citizens that lived in the Keep to the far wing, with Arendelle and Sirma soldiers standing guard to ensure none passed into the key areas.
"Are we sure it's safe to continue using the Sirma?" Jogeir asked. "Let's not forget, it was their leaders that started this whole mess."
Naismith shook his head. "I have not forgotten, but in this case the saying 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' holds its weight. I don't trust the Sirma, but keeping the Vindarr under control is a hell of a lot easier with them than without them. And it's easier to control them as an ally." After a moment, he added, "the Sirma who came with us are being used to guard the Vindarr, along with some of our own soldiers. The only Sirma in the Keep's main tower is Erik, who has been kept under guard."
"What about allowing the Sirma who choose to, to return home?" Anna asked, though she didn't know whether it was a practical option. "That way the ones who remain are less likely to cause problems?"
The Admiral rubbed a hand across his chin. "It's not a terrible idea, as long as Erik remains in our custody as the leader of the Sirma until it's decided what to do with them as a whole. I doubt that's a decision that'll be made in the next few days." He sat back in his chair. "I'll talk with Erik. I still don't trust the man, but we need him to keep control of his people."
"He should be hung for the part he played," Jogeir said heatedly.
"I don't disagree, but that isn't for us to decide." Naismith's gaze shifted to Anna.
She sat a little straighter, holding up her hand. "I don't think that's what Elsa would want and considering it was her they—" She bit down on her lip, unable to fit the trauma of the past two months into a single sentence. Anna sighed. "Elsa is the Queen. I'm simply a placeholder."
"Speaking of the Queen," Admiral Naismith said, shifting his gaze back to Malthe. "I was told you have good news."
"I do," the doctor confirmed. "Though I'm still not completely sure how it happened, considering her condition just this morning. Queen Elsa is doing far better than I expected, or even hoped." Despite the positive report, a frown pulled at his lips.
"Isn't that good news?"
"Yes, of course," Malthe replied.
Jogeir leaned an elbow against the table. "But?" he prompted.
Malthe rolled his lips against his teeth, looking toward Anna and causing her heart to leap. "its excellent news, but if Your Highness would pardon my bluntness?"
He waited until Anna nodded for him to continue. She wanted to learn as much about her sister's condition as possible, her curiosity piqued regarding the sudden leap in Elsa's recovery.
"The Queen had an infection in the wound on her left side," Malthe said, eyes apologetic despite the permission to speak plainly. "We cleaned it out the best we could, but it had already become systemic. I have seen the same type of infection before, and even without other injuries most died within seventy-two hours. Queen Elsa was fighting that, plus a nick in her lung that caused it to collapse, multiple broken bones, and various other injuries." He paused a moment, allowing his words to sink in before continuing. "As much as it pains me to say, I never expected the Queen to wake up. And by all rights, she shouldn't have. It was too much for any person to survive."
A heavy silence fell over the room. Anna dropped her gaze to the tabletop as she realized just how close she had actually come to losing her sister. She swallowed thickly, knowing no one else would speak before she did. "And now?"
"Once the Queen fell back asleep, I examined her fully, and that's where things get . . ." He shook his head. "She still has a fever, but there is no sign of any infection in her side. And I don't mean the infection went away, I mean there are no signs of it ever having been there. She still has diminished breath sounds on her left side, but they are markedly better than they had been just this morning. She isn't out of the woods yet, but she is well on her way."
"You think her magic could have something to do with it?" Jogeir asked.
"I don't think so." Malthe shook his head. "Every illness and injury I have treated her for, the most recent being the head injury after her coronation, her recovery followed a relatively standard timeline. If this rather sudden recovery does have anything to do with her magic, then it's a new development."
"In my time," Naismith said slowly, "I've seen soldiers survive wounds that no man had any right to survive. Perhaps this is just one of those events to be thankful for, and best left unquestioned."
Malthe didn't look satisfied with the answer, and Anna couldn't blame him. She was thankful Elsa was going to live against the odds, but if there was something new going on with her, then she wanted to know about it. But for the moment, at least, she agreed with the Admiral to simply be grateful her sister was no longer slipping away from them.
"Perhaps," Malthe finally said, with a slump in his shoulders. "But, as I said, while she is doing much better, the Queen is not yet out of the woods. While the actual injury to her lung wasn't severe, it will require time to recover. Until that time, breathing will be an uncomfortable affair, and a repeat of this morning could do a lot of damage. I would like to keep the Queen lightly sedated for the next few days. Nothing heavy," he added quickly, as though sensing Anna's hesitation, "just enough to keep her calm. It would also dampen the pain a considerable amount."
Anna wrinkled her nose. She didn't like the idea of Elsa being sedated at any level and knew for a fact Elsa would hate it even more. Her sister and medication were generally at odds with each other, and it had sparked more than one argument between her and their parents. "How long?" she asked.
"Just two days," Malthe said. "Three, at the most. Just long enough that she can breathe without feeling like someone is trying to skewer her lung."
It was hard to argue with that reasoning, and a light sedation meant that her sister would be loopy, but comfortable. If Elsa was mad about it after, Anna felt okay with taking that hit. She needed her sister to be okay, and for that to happen, the stubborn woman had to be able to rest. Something she couldn't do if she couldn't breathe. Anna nodded her permission. It still felt weird to be making the final decision, but it was growing uncomfortably familiar.
"Which brings us to the next topic," Naismith said. "What prompted me to call this meeting tonight."
Anna turned to him, her stomach flopping uncomfortably. It had only been a few hours ago that the Admiral asked for her presence in this briefing. She'd been reluctant to leave Elsa's side, but knew that she had to be present; it was her temporary responsibility. Until this moment, she hadn't known that there was a specific event, aside from the obvious, that had sparked his request.
"I talked to Captain Alarik earlier today," the Admiral continued. "It seems a young girl by the name of Rayna tried to gain access to Queen Elsa's room. She claims to have taken care of the Queen during her time here. The Captain seems to believe she was sincere and questioned her on what transpired between the Queen and Markkus. Alarik will write up a full report regarding what she told him, but one thing she mentioned is particularly troubling, and I felt it needed to be addressed immediately." He looked toward Malthe. "The girl told Alarik that they had given the Queen some sort of medication, daily, during her time here, and when she stopped taking it for a short period of time, she fell ill."
"Wait—medication?" Anna shook her head. "What sort of medication?" Knowing the way her sister felt about such things, she doubted that whatever it was, Elsa had taken it willingly. Assuming she even knew about it. The thought settled in Anna's gut like a stone.
Naismith shook his head. "I don't know. Rayna only said that it was to keep her from getting sick and that if she didn't take it, she'd fall ill again. She also stated that it was a medicine given to other Vindarr soldiers who were learning to become mages."
Anna's head spun as she worked to put these new pieces into the puzzle of her sister's experience with the Vindarr.
"You think this might be how they were influencing her?" Jogeir asked.
Malthe shrugged. "It's hard to say, but it's certainly possible."
Anna bit her lip as she turned toward the doctor. "Would you talk with her?" she asked. "See what you can learn? If she doesn't know anything more about it, maybe she can tell you who made it."
Malthe nodded. "Of course, Your Highness."
Anna returned the gesture, then frowned, searching her mind. She wanted to get back to Elsa, but couldn't help feeling there was something she was missing. "Markkus," she said suddenly, her gaze snapping to Jogeir. "Has anyone found him?"
The Captain shook his head. "I've searched through everyone in the dungeons and have not spotted him. It's possible he is somewhere else in the Keep," he added as Anna's face fell. "If he is, we will find him."