The Ice Behind Bars
Chapter XII : Panic
Anna walked in the hallways of the sanctuary while she held several sheets and covers. Multiple guild members gave her a confused look as she passed, while others tried to clean the mess and the ice that Elsa made. Rapunzel and Kristoff were helping with breaking the ice off the walls when they noticed Anna passed. "Anna!" Kristoff called while he waved. Rapunzel had already told him the whole story. The ice princess, the cruel king-in which she did not reveal that he was Anna's father- The cause of Arendelle's snowy summer and the ice explosion that erupted few hours ago, but she did not say anything about Aphrodite's true identity nor that Elsa was actually Anna's sister.
Anna stopped in her tracks and turned to face them with a grin. "Hey, guys." She said, her voice revealed her tiredness. She struggled to keep the covers from touching the floor, for she was a petite woman who held huge and thick covers.
The two left what they were doing and trotted towards her. "Here, let me help you with that." Kristoff offered with a smile, before he held the other covers, and left Anna with one.
"Anna, what are all these for?" Rapunzel asked while she pointed at the several covers in Anna's arms.
"Oh, that? Yeah, I'm gonna sleep in the princess's bedroom tonight. Someone needs to watch over her in case, you know… She wakes up. And well," She wrapped the cover she held around herself playfully, and left only her eyes exposed. "The room will be definitely cold tonight… if not frozen even." She said. Her humored voice muffled from behind the covers.
Rapunzel felt as if Anna already knew about Elsa's powers. Or that if Anna was already familiar with the fact that a woman can easily conjure ice out of thin air, or for that matter, Magic. It seems as if everything was normal to her, and that ice explodes normally every day in rooms. Anna did not seem surprised or concerned about the Ice that coated the walls in the middle of summer as much as she was for the princess's condition. Rapunzel knew that Anna didn't even care about the ice. She knew that Anna instinctively only cared about her sister. Yet after what Brandon explained about the royal family's history, she felt sad for Anna when he told them about her memory removal.
Kristoff laughed at his friend's antics. Even after what she saw, Anna still managed to keep her playful and happy character. "Come on, I'll help you get these to the room." Kristoff volunteered.
"Thanks." Anna said while she blushed.
Rapunzel noticed her friend's red cheeks, and a smirk crossed her face. Ouuuuh, this is gonna be fun! She totally likes him!
"I'll go back and help the others." Rapunzel said. "Anna… Please be careful. I don't wanna wake up and see my friend turned into an ice sculpture!" She deadpanned, before she wrapped Anna in a hug.
"I will." Anna broke from the hug and smiled at Rapunzel. "I'll see you tomorrow morning then."
Rapunzel nodded with a smile and walked away, back to help the others to remove the ice.
"Well, come on, let's go." Anna said while she motioned for Kristoff to follow.
The two walked silently in the hallways, both of them tried to sneak a glance at the other nervously. Anna couldn't take it anymore. She had to say something and break the awkward silence she despised.
"Well, the room is just around the corner… Uhm, where are you going to sleep tonight? I-I mean, do you have a home somewhere… or, a place to stay?" she asked awkwardly, and mentally facepalmed herself for having the stupid courage to ask such a question.
"Um… I… I don't have a home." He said while he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I actually sleep inside the barns outside the kingdom. Sometimes I sleep in my sled… You know, it's just me and Sven."
"Mister, you're a lucky man! You'll be sleeping with us tonight in the sanctuary!" She said happily, but when she noticed Kristoff's blush, her eyes widened as she readjusted the words she just said. "I-I-I mean… OH MY GOD! What did I just say!? I'm s-sorry… U-Uhm, oh g-god… this is really awkward, I didn't mean it like that. I-I'm not gonna f-force you to sleep with us or anything… hehe… you know what I mean?! AH!... Forget I just said that! It's just that you are… I am… Ishouldreallystoptalkingrightnow." She rambled before she literally facepalmed, her face bright red from embarrassment that it looks like it's about to explode.
Kristoff stood there for a second and blinked at her. Anna was about to run and throw herself off a cliff, but Kristoff spoke. "I… Y-Yeah, sure, if you don't mind, I'll just sleep in the fort's barn."
Anna's hands were on her red face. She slid a finger from one of her blue-gray eyes and looked at him. She was relieved to see him smiling at her warmly. She let her hands fall from her face, and rubbed them nervously. "Uhm, yeah of course!... I mean, if you're not comfortable in here or anything, you can choose to sleep wherever you want in the fort." She replied with an unsure smile.
"Thank you." He replied with his handsome smile that made Anna blush heavier and she tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ears nervously.
They lost themselves in each other's eyes and never noticed that they now stood in front of Elsa's new bedroom door.
She is really beautiful. Kristoff thought.
He's really handsome. Anna thought.
The door suddenly opened, and they quickly snapped out of their dreams and looked to see Aphrodite was standing in front of them. Her hood covered her head, her eyes puffy, yet rigid and stern. Aphrodite cast a warning glance to Kristoff, who tensed and felt as if his soul was burning from just the look of her intimidating eyes. And he quickly understood the picture, 'Stay away from my daughter'.
Aphrodite was surprised to see Anna and a man standing in front of the door, just staring at each other. She quickly understood that her daughter is confronting new feelings. Aphrodite wanted her daughter's safety. She didn't know the man yet here he is, standing in front of her daughter. And she knew that just with a look of her regal and rigid eyes, she can tell Kristoff many words. And she was glad that he understood that as he quickly took a step back from Anna. Aphrodite turned her head again to look at her daughter, "Send someone to inform me when she wakes up. I won't be able to come, but it's good to hear the news at least. I'll be busy in the infirmary the next several days, and I require no disturbance, do you hear me?" Aphrodite spoke with her regal voice.
Anna was confused. She did not know why her mother was talking to her like that nor did she understand why she gave that look to Kristoff. But she didn't want to argue with her mother, and especially when she's in this mood.
"Okay…" Anna nodded, not willing to upset her mother at all.
Aphrodite gave her a small grin before she walked away. Kristoff and Anna kept their eyes on her, until she disappeared around the corner. "What was that all about?" He asked while his eyes kept on where Aphrodite went.
"Nah, it's nothing." Anna replied while she waved a hand to dismiss Kristoff's worry. "She's always like that… Stern and disciplined and stuff, but she's softer than muffins on the inside." Anna reassured him.
"Muffins?" Kristoff asked mockingly.
"Yeah!" Anna replied innocently.
A moment of silence crept around them, until Anna spoke again. "Um, Kristoff… I never had time to thank you." She said with a hesitant smile.
"What for?" He asked innocently.
"You know… For helping us bringing the princess here." She said while she pointed with her head to the opened bedroom door.
"Nahh, it was nothing." He said blushing. "Besides, you are the hero here." He encouraged her.
Anna giggled then, "No, really. If it wasn't for your help, we wouldn't be able to bring her here safely." She said while she placed a hand on his shoulder, and she received a blush and a crooked smile from him.
Cute. She thought.
"Well," She removed her hand from his shoulder nervously, took a step back and stood straighter. "I-uh… I better get inside, now."
"Oh! Right, sorry." He said nervously and handed her the other covers. "I'll… see you around then."
"Yeah, sure." She said with a radiant smile.
"Okay then, bye." He waved and started walking away, yet his face still turned to her.
"Bye…" Anna replied with a gentle voice while she entered the room.
"Bye." He said awkwardly again.
Anna giggled a bit, "Bye." before she closed the door behind her.
Anna closed the door behind her, and quickly glanced at Elsa's figure. Elsa now wore a peasant loose dress, that wouldn't compress Elsa's wounds. Her feet were still bare, and she noticed the new bandages around Elsa's torso, injured arms and legs.
Looks like mother really cares about you huh? She thought looking at Elsa pitifully.
She walked to the other side of the room and placed the covers on a mattress, where she would be sleeping and spread the covers around. Satisfied from the new bed she created, she turned and walked towards Elsa's bed.
Anna sat at the bedside, next to Elsa's sleeping form.
She should really be exhausted. I won't expect her to wake up until tomorrow. She thought, before her eyes widened when she noticed that the princess's hair was washed and clean. It amazed her to see how bright her platinum hair was. It looked even almost white now.
Anna giggled silently a bit. Snow and Ice powers… That explains your hair. She thought jokingly and smiled fondly at her sister.
Then a thought ran her mind. She stared at the long platinum blonde loose hair that spread on the pillow. How about we braid that for you?
Anna leaned forward and grabbed hold of Elsa's hair gently, and started braiding it in one long braid. When she finished, she nodded in satisfaction. She was about to push the princess's bangs away from her face and clip them back, but her heart shuddered when she saw Elsa's battered face. That bastard!... How could he do all this to her?! Anna bit her lip, forcing the tears not to roll down her cheeks. Let's keep those bangs loose then.
Anna noticed that the princess was sleeping on her side, her eyebrows furrowed unconsciously, her hands and wrists contacted, her legs brought a bit up, but close to each other too, as if she was bound. Anna felt her heart break. The princess slept as if she was still shackled and bound with chains. Anna could only understand that the princess was used to sleeping like that. How long have you been in there?! The thought made Anna shiver. The fact that someone sleeps unconsciously like that, can only be explained that it happens routinely. And Anna didn't want to believe that the princess was locked for a long time.
The sound of Elsa's mumblings snapped her back to attention. "Papa… please… it hurts!... M-Mama…"
Anna noticed how the princess called her parents in a childlike way. Mama and Papa? What is she, six? And that only grew her suspicions about Elsa's period of being locked in the dungeons.
"Kill… Frozen… I'm sorry!" Elsa's breath quickened and she started to whimper, "No love… No feel… monster!" Elsa had started to shake her head. Anna noticed how the princess had started to sweat and tremble again. "No, no… pain… p-pain… pain!"
Anna brought a shaky hand to her forehead. She didn't know what she should do. All what she could though, was to watch in concern and hope for the princess.
The next morning, Rapunzel, Aiden and Flynn quickly rushed to Elsa's room. They stood in front of the door, unsure on what to do, or what to expect to find. Rapunzel knocked softly on the door. They heard a yawn and then footsteps. The door creaked open and they gasped in surprise.
"Anna, what happened to you?!" Flynn asked in a mocking, humored way.
Anna stood in front of them with half closed eyes, and dark circles formed underneath them. She looked as if she hadn't slept in ages.
Anna didn't answer. She stepped aside and motioned for them to come in. After they obliged, they were surprised when they felt how cold the room was. The three stood in front of her with questioned looks, and darted their eyes between Anna's exhausted form and Elsa's still motionless one. Then Anna finally spoke.
"I couldn't sleep… She was screaming and yelling, having some sort of nightmare," She yawned loudly then spoke. "I had to stay awake and watch over her." She turned and started walking towards Elsa. "Beside the fact that I was about to freeze to death." She joked.
"She sure is a sleeper." Flynn noted while he pointed at Elsa with his head.
"Don't be ridiculous, she probably hadn't slept for a long time… Flynn, she was hung. We found her hung on a hook. How could someone ever find sleep like that?" Rapunzel explained.
"She hadn't opened her eyes since you brought her here." Flynn argued.
"Being unconscious isn't sleeping, Einstein!" Aiden mocked Flynn. "Even if she wakes up, she'll definitely be exhausted."
"WAIT!" Anna suddenly cried out while she leaned closer to Elsa's face. "She's waking up!" Anna said while her face lit up and her heart thrummed rapidly.
Everyone rushed to the bedside and stared, eyes wide at the princess who was trying to open her eyes groggily and stir a bit.
Come on, girl… you can do it. Just fight your way awake. Anna thought excitedly.
Elsa felt a huge headache run in her head. She winced at the pain and aches overwhelming her muscles. Elsa was used to sleeping on stony hard floors. She felt an unfamiliar material brushing her skin, which was a soft and cozy bed underneath her. What…? She thought. Her mind not yet focused. She did not know why her cellar seemed lit so brightly. Then she heard an unfamiliar voice, "Hey…" the voice said. Elsa shot her eyes wide. She quickly stirred and found four figures close to her, too close, staring at her. She gasped in horror and jumped out of the bed, but her strength was extremely weak and she fell on the floor, then quickly turned to face them, eyes wide with fright and dizziness overwhelmed her. Where was she? How did she get here? What are these things around her? Who are these people? She did not know. Her mind rolled in utter bewilderment.
"Hey, don't worry-" Anna tried to comfort the horrified princess, but she was shocked at the princess's voice.
"STAY AWAY!" Elsa suddenly cried while she crawled away from the four people that stood in front of her. Who are these?! Where am I?! Elsa's wide cyan eyes darted uncontrollably around the unfamiliar room. But all what she saw were four unfamiliar people. Yet one strawberry blonde woman gave her the shivers and she had no idea why.
"Just calm down-" The redhead woman's voice was very soothing, but Elsa was too horrified. Anna tried to reach her again, but Elsa quickly stood up shakily and yelled again in terror.
"I SAID STAY AWAY!" Elsa yelled, stumbled backwards and her back hit a bookshelf hard enough to send books flying to the ground.
"Anna, she's terrified!" Rapunzel pointed the obvious.
"PLEASE! DON'T HURT ME! STAY BACK!" Elsa cried again as she tried to stay back as far as she could from these strangers. Her heart raced, her chest tightened, her breath was fast, really fast.
"Calm down! We won't hurt you-" Anna tried again to walk closer, her hands held high as she motioned for the princess to remain calm. "NO!" Elsa shrieked, quickly recoiled away and ran unsteadily to the other corner of the room, sending a chair to the ground as she passed, her head never turned from the four thieves. She tried to back away as much as she can again. She darted her head again around the room, trying to find a way to escape, a way to hide. Elsa started to tremble in horror. They'll hurt me! They'll hurt me! They are going to hurt me!
The four thieves watched in horror as the princess trashed and wrecked the room around them, destroying everything as she tried to run away.
Wow, look at those eyes! Aiden thought, unable not to stare at the cyan terrified and bloodshot eyes.
Elsa's panic made her lose her balance. She fell backwards and landed on a table. Her right hand gripped the table, and suddenly, the table and the wall behind froze entirely with a hiss, yet Elsa was too dizzy and petrified and never noticed the ice. Adrenaline rushed in her blood and all what she felt was her heart thrumming his way out of her chest and all what she saw were four people who were going to hurt her then kill her. "S-S-STAY!... A-AWAY!" Elsa couldn't breathe anymore, she began gasping for air rapidly. She felt an immense pressure on her chest, yet she didn't care. All what she wanted to do is get away from the four people.
The thieves' took a step back as they saw the ice formed behind the princess.
Oh my… Rapunzel thought, her eyes couldn't leave the frozen wall and table.
Anna's eyes shot wide in concern, "Please! Just calm down, you're hurting yourself!" Anna cried when she saw the blood forming on the princess's dress, on her stomach. Her wound! Anna thought horrified.
The adrenaline rushing in Elsa's body turned her senseless to pain. She did not sense the warm wetness on her belly nor pain of the reopened wound. Elsa shook her head vigorously at them, then stumbled back to the floor, and landed on her left arm. "AAGHH!" She cried in agony. This time, she felt the sudden intense pain that spread in her arm.
When she hit the floor, ice crept out of Elsa's right hand and crawled passed the thieves-who quickly jumped away-and all the way to the desk on the other side of the room.
Anna rushed to check on her, but Elsa flinched away quickly and crawled backwards, not caring about her arm. Pain, pain, pain! PAIN! Was all what Elsa was thinking of.
Just when Anna thought things couldn't get any worse, suddenly, the bedroom door flew open and revealed Tyler and Brandon. "What the hell is going on here?!" Tyler yelled.
Tyler's loud voice rang in Elsa's ears, sending a wave of dread in her mind. Her vision blurred from panic. He's Angry... He's yelling… Papa is yelling at me! I did something wrong! He's going to hurt me! NO! Elsa's eyes kept darting uncontrollably between the thieves, and tried to locate her father. When she failed, she quickly hid her head between her arms and cowered. "P-Papa please, please! I'M SORRY I-I'M S-S-SORRY!" Her voice trembled.
Elsa's terrified mind mistook Tyler's loud and harsh voice for her father's. Elsa instinctively did what she always did when her father is in rage. Still lying on the floor, Elsa brought her hands to her face, ignoring the pain in her left arm, and started crying, waiting for her absent father to come and beat her up. Blood soaked her dress, her mind haunted with confusion and panic. Chaos erupted in her mind, she couldn't think straight. She suddenly felt light-headed and she turned paler from blood-loss, then she went limp and fell to the darkness.
The room suddenly became silent. Everyone just froze, shocked and bewildered. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" Anna suddenly snapped at Tyler.
"What?!... what did I do?!" He asked in confusion.
Anna ignored his question and ran towards her sister. She knelt beside Elsa and her eyes shot wide with concern when she saw the blood. "Oh, no!... Aiden, go get my mum!" Anna commanded.
Aiden nodded quickly and scurried out of the room to oblige. His eyes did not leave Elsa's form.
Some members poked their head inside the room to see what happened. Some were shocked, others were terrified and very few ignored the ice and stared in concern at the princess that lay on the ground.
Brandon and Flynn quickly rushed to place the princess on the bed. "What happened?!" Brandon asked again, concerned.
Anna flew her hands in the air in irritation and spoke, "I don't know! She just woke up and freaked out! She tried to run away from us and ended up freezing the room again! I tried to calm her down, but she was too terrified!... Until Mister Tyler here, decided to show up and yell!"
"How should I know she was awake?!... God! She's trying to bring this sanctuary down on our heads with this curse of hers!" Tyler tried to prove his innocence.
"WHAT?!" Anna snapped, "She didn't mean any of this! Sh-She was just scared!"
"Like hell it is." Tyler scoffed.
Brandon glared at Tyler and shut him up.
Anna groaned in frustration and turned to face her sister again. Her face fell to a concerned one, as she remembered the way the princess was crying from her father in fear. You shouldn't be afraid… You're safe, you're safe! I promised! Anna thought as if she was talking to the princess.
Aphrodite was in her room as she prepared herself for today's business. She stood in front of the mirror and stared at her puffy eyes. She cried herself to sleep last night. She sighed heavily in depression as she remembered her daughter. Then she was brought back from her thoughts when she heard multiple footsteps running outside in the hallways. She lifted her eyebrows in confusion and walked towards the door, opened it and saw multiple members passing quickly. What's happening?! She thought.
"Leanna!" Aiden called as he passed through the rushing people, not forgetting that she was the queen, but he didn't want to reveal her secret in front of the members.
Aphrodite looked at him with wide concerned eyes. "Aiden, what's wrong?! Why is everyone running?!"
Aiden stopped in front of her while he panted. "It's… It's Elsa!" He managed to say.
Aphrodite's eyes widened in fear, "Elsa?!" She gripped his shoulders and shook them. "What happened?! Is Elsa alright?! Did something happen to her?! TELL ME!" Aphrodite's tears ran down her cheeks. Elsa died, Elsa died! He just doesn't want to tell me! She thought, but her fear quickly vanished when Aiden spoke again.
"She… She woke up!" He said through his panting.
Aphrodite's eyes lit up with joy. And she laughed in relief and glee.
"But…" Aiden said.
But?! BUT WHAT?!... Did something happen?! Oh, NO! Aphrodite didn't wait for him to continue, she sprinted towards her daughter's room and didn't look back at Aiden's calls.
Aphrodite saw the crowd that formed outside Elsa's room, "Move away!" She commanded.
When she entered, she saw how Anna clutched Elsa's hand. But Elsa wasn't awake. Aphrodite's wide eyes darted around the trashed room and ice. "What happened?!" She asked then gasped as she took sight of the blood.
"Mother, please come quick! Her wound… it's, it's… " Anna tried to say, but she lost her voice to anxiety.
"Let me see!" Aphrodite hurried to Elsa's side and began examining the wound.
Brandon knew that Aphrodite had to strip Elsa's torso so he commanded everyone to get out of the room. "Everyone get out… Tyler, come on." Everyone went out, leaving Aphrodite, Anna and Rapunzel with the princess.
A half hour had passed and Aphrodite was able to stop the bleeding. Luckily, Elsa's wound didn't open enough to be life threatening. Aphrodite was utterly relieved, as she only needed to bandage the stab wound on Elsa's stomach and not cauterize it again. "This should do." She said before she finished rolling tighter the new bandage around Elsa's left arm.
Anna and Rapunzel released a heavy breath they never knew they kept.
"Thank God!" Rapunzel breathed and slumped back in a chair.
Both Anna and Rapunzel didn't want Elsa to go through cauterization again. And they were utterly worried about it.
"What should we do?... She'll probably freak out again when she wakes up, and unintentionally spread ice all over the place again." Anna noted.
"Gloves." Aphrodite said flatly.
"What?" Anna asked, confused. "How will simple gloves stop her powers from being released?!"
Aphrodite sighed, "Just do what I say, and give her gloves." She said her voice showed that she was in no mood for an argument. Aphrodite stood up from the bedside, "I… I need to go now." She said then turned to Rapunzel and pointed at her oblivious daughters with her eyes.
Anna didn't even acknowledge her mother's goodbye. She kept staring in concern at Elsa as she held her cold hand.
Rapunzel understood what that means and gave Aphrodite a reassuring nod. Keep them away from the infirmary, don't let them know. Got it.
Aiden, Flynn and Kristoff waited outside the room, after they reassured Brandon and Tyler that they would stay here and check on the women inside when they are finished.
Aiden was sitting on a barrel while he tapped his fingers together in unease. "Damn," He suddenly breathed.
Flynn and Kristoff were leaning on the wall when they gave him a confused look. "What's wrong, dude?" Flynn asked.
"What…?" Aiden asked distracted. He clearly looked lost in thoughts.
Kristoff came closer to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay, man?" He asked.
Aiden snapped out of his thoughts and blinked at him. "Yeah, yeah! I'm sorry… I –Uh… Did you even see her eyes?!" Aiden suddenly asked.
Kristoff did not understand. He wasn't there when Elsa's panic episode started. He looked at Flynn for explanation. Flynn shook his head and came closer to them.
"They were cyan, Kristoff…" Flynn explained. "Besides that, her hair was whiter than Tyler's! And you're concerned about her unnatural eyes!? She summons Ice just by the tip of her finger for god's sake! Nothing is normal about her!" Flynn said while he flailed his hands like a maniac.
"Really?!" Kristoff asked amazed.
"But who cares about that! She was really scared!... If you would have only seen how she froze the room."
"Flynn, I'm serious!" Aiden said, his voice showing determination. "She was clearly not seeing anything in front of her! She was horrified!... We only saw little of what her father did to her. We don't know what he did to her before!... Didn't you see how she was terrified of us?!... I bet she never saw humans beside her father and that… creepy old fella! How long had she been suffering and rotting in this dungeon?!
"Well… We'll know when she wakes up." Flynn answered.
The trio snapped to attention when the Elsa's bedroom door opened. Aphrodite walked out and turned to face the men with an expressionless face.
"Be sure to keep them safe." She intimidated.
The three quickly nodded nervously, not having the courage to say anything.
"If anything happens, send Brandon to tell. And for the princess, be sure to rest her on a bed in the corner, so she won't jump off and hurt herself again, do you hear me?" She dominated again with a warning tone.
The three nodded quickly again. "Y-Yes." Aiden managed to say.
Aphrodite clearly took her picture as a queen. Her posture was rigid and flawless. Her eyes bore into their soul. She really is a queen. Flynn thought before he gulped nervously.
Aphrodite gave them a small bow of her head, acknowledging her leave. Aiden and Flynn made sure no one was watching and bowed quickly in respect to the queen in front of them, and that made Aphrodite roll her eyes at them before she turned and walked away. Kristoff was confused, but he did bow anyway. What the hell are they doing? He thought jokingly.
When she disappeared out of view, the trio rushed inside the room.
"Hey, guys." Rapunzel greeted with a whisper while she searched inside the wardrobe for gloves. "Found them!" Rapunzel said cheerfully, her voice low. She walked towards Anna, who was sitting next to Elsa, watching her sister in concern.
Rapunzel sensed Anna's distress. "Anna, your eyes are gonna fall off if you won't blink at least. She's not going anywhere. Besides," Rapunzel sat next to Anna on Elsa's bedside and placed a hand on her shoulder, "She'll be alright, don't worry." She said before she handed her a pair of simple white cotton gloves.
Anna finally turned to look at Rapunzel, "I know…" She said with a defeated voice. "It's just… I'm just worried that's all." She said while she gripped Elsa's hand again, before she slid it inside one of the gloves.
"Worried?!... you already passed worried, Missy!" Flynn joked.
Anna laughed a bit. Then she turned to them and her eyes moved between her friends and she smiled. "You know, I never had the chance to thank you guys too."
"For what?" Rapunzel asked.
"For everything!... You put yourselves in danger just to help me save a woman you don't even know." She scoffed, then, "I don't even know too… But you did it anyway. A-And… I'm really grateful and happy that I have you guys beside me."
"Awh, Anna… You don't have to thank us!" Aiden said before he came closer to the bedside and knelt next Anna's knees. "We're in this together! We do everything together and keep each other's back! Always!... And now… We have a new musketeer!" Aiden said joyfully with a wink while he pointed at Elsa.
Anna smiled fondly at him and wrapped him quickly in a hug.
Aiden laughed a bit, "Anna, you don't have to do that." He said.
Anna broke from the hug and looked at her friends fondly, "No, I don't… But I want to."
Everyone smiled at Anna warmly, before they All turned to look at Elsa.
Anna felt anxious towards a question she'd been thinking about all night, but she had the courage to ask her friends, "How long do you think she'd been in there?"
Rapunzel shook her head, "We don't know… I hope she didn't suffer before like this."
I hope. Rapunzel thought.
"How do you think that happened?" Anna asked while she pointed at Elsa's left broken arm and bruised body.
All of them just shrugged their shoulders at her.
"We know just as much as you about her." Flynn lied.
Rapunzel, Flynn and Aiden already knew who the princess was, and who were her mother and sister. They felt pity for the royal family.
What a broken family… They don't deserve all this. Aiden thought.
A girl who lost her memories, and she has a cruel father, a confused mother and a tortured sister. Rapunzel thought heartbroken.
"What's her name?" Kristoff asked.
Anna's three friends knew his answer, yet she didn't. "We don't know." She said woefully.
"Uhm, w-well… we'll get our answers soon enough." Aiden said.
Rapunzel, Aiden and Flynn knew that Anna instinctively won't stop worrying about her sister. Yet she did not know that, and that broke their hearts.
All of them were curious to know Elsa's back story. Some of them had more information than the others, and one had her memories about this mysterious and poor woman buried way deep inside her mind. The world is full with surprises, and the universe is keeping them for both Anna and Elsa.