The Ice Behind Bars
Chapter XV: An Adult Child
"Alright, Elsa. C'mon, slowly now. Nice and easy…" Anna said while she motioned for Elsa to get up slowly. She wanted to help Elsa up, but she knew Elsa would have definitely flinched away. But she did realize that she allowed her to at least stand right next to her while she tried to stand off the bed.
Elsa winced and moaned in pain at every movement she made. Their hearts just broke as her movements were very shaky and unsteady.
"It's okay, C'mon…" Anna encouraged.
"Anna, I think she's still a bit tired. Maybe she should rest more for a while." Aiden suggested, his face showed concern for Elsa.
"No. I know she can do it. She'd been laying long enough." Anna argued. "C'mon, Elsa." She cheered.
"Anna's right. She's stronger than she looks." Flynn joined the encouragement.
Meanwhile, Rapunzel glanced at the door and checked if Aphrodite was watching. To her disappointment, the queen was already gone.
Oh god, Aphrodite… Where did you go? She thought sadly for the mother while she shook her head in disappointment.
Elsa slowly dangled her skinny legs from the bed, and took a deep breath before she stood. The moment her legs touched the ground and she pushed herself up, she felt dizzy and her legs lost total balance and she collapsed back to the bed, unable to stand on her extremely fragile legs. The legs that she rarely used to walk or stand all these years.
Aiden quickly reacted to help her, but Anna already beat him to it.
"Easy…" Anna rushed to hold Elsa's arm so she could steady her, but Elsa shied her hand away. Anna leaned back with a sad face. "You won't be able to stand on your own, Elsa." Anna informed. She glanced around the room while she tapped her chin with her index and tried to find something that would help Elsa steady herself. She found an old, yet thick wooden stick that rested vertically in the corner. "Hey! How about this!?" Anna ran towards the stick and grabbed it. The stick was one and a half meter long. "This should help. For a while. At least until your legs regain their strength." Anna said, before she approached Elsa with the stick and she quickly noticed how Elsa's eyes widened in fear and shrunk her shoulders up and leaned back to the wall again. "What's wrong?" Anna asked, worried, before she looked at the stick in her hands again and realized how she looked like to Elsa. "Oh! Elsa, nonono! I'm not gonna hurt you! I'm just gonna give it to you so you could help yourself walk." Anna clarified.
The other thieves exchanged concerned looks for Elsa definitely was very skittish.
Elsa's shoulders relaxed a bit, yet her eyes didn't leave the stick in Anna's hands.
Anna held the stick horizontally for Elsa to take it. "Hold it." She said gently.
Hold it. The king's commanding words plagued Elsa's mind. The words he always used when he forced her to train her powers while Mad had to slash her back.
Elsa eyed the stick with wide and frightened eyes. Hold it!? Elsa thought. What if I failed to hold it without freezing it! No! She'll be angry at me if I did! A-And… P-Papa will be angry! She thought, afraid she would have failed her 'Conceal' test.
Anna looked at her in confusion. She wondered what was Elsa thinking of, and why she was afraid to hold the stick. As if she red Elsa's mind, her eyes suddenly widened and she remembered Elsa's training technique back in the cellar when they saw her. "It's not the training!" Anna quickly blurted. "D-Don't worry if you freeze it by mistake. Though I know you won't, so this is why the gloves are for. As it seems when you wear your gloves, your powers are restrained somehow." Anna explained.
My curse. Elsa corrected in her mind.
Elsa already knew the miracle of the gloves, just like her father told her. But she was never sure it would have worked. She looked back at the stick in Anna's hands hesitantly before she took it gradually and carefully.
No ice!... N-NO ICE! Elsa thought joyfully.
Elsa felt utterly relieved on the inside but she did not show it. She exhaled silently in solace as if an elephant was on her chest.
"See, I told you can do it." Anna said cheerfully.
The others smiled at the sisters proudly.
You sure care about your sister, Anna. Aiden thought pitifully.
"Alright, now. Try and get up again. Use it for support." Anna instructed while she pointed at the stick.
Elsa rested the tip of the stick on the ground before she slowly pushed herself shakily up. She winced again at her pained movements and felt every tip of her muscles ached.
"Don't worry about the pain. You'll feel better when you start walking again. Your muscles will relax. They just need some exercises. You did also lose a lot of blood, so if you're dizzy, don't worry too much about it." Rapunzel reassured.
Elsa's legs trembled again and she would have fallen to her knees but she quickly held firmly to the stick and steadied herself.
"There you go!" Anna cheered while she clapped her hands.
Elsa blinked the dizziness away and she stood a bit straighter, more confident in her legs.
"Alright, come on everyone. Let's go outside." Aiden said while he waved his hand to the door.
Rapunzel and Anna stood at the side of Elsa-but not too close- just in case she stumbled or needed help.
They walked towards the door slowly so that Elsa could catch up. Elsa tried her best not to fall as she walked prudently with them. On her way to the door, her eyes fell on the mirror. This time she was able to see her reflection, and she froze in her track. Anna and Rapunzel took a few steps forward before they turned and looked at Elsa in concern. "Elsa, what's wrong?" Anna asked worried, her voice turned the men in from of them to attention.
Elsa's eyes were wide, her jaw slack and her face unreadable. She was staring at something. They all followed her gaze and landed on the mirror.
Oh, no. Anna thought sadly. She supposed Elsa was shocked to see her body's condition but she got totally bewildered when Elsa spoke.
"Is… I-Is that… me?!" Elsa asked, her eyes did not blink once from the mirror while she pointed with one trembling hand at the image in front of her.
The others exchanged nervous looks. They knew that Elsa wasn't supposed to see herself in this horrible state.
"Um… Y-yeah, but don't worry! Your wounds will heal in time." Anna reassured.
"B-But… It's… It's a woman!" Elsa said her voice quivering in confusion and horror.
The thieves' jaw dropped.
What did she mean 'it's a woman'! Of course she is… what did she think she would see? A little gi-? Anna thought before her eyes went wide in shock when the suspicions clicked in her mind. C-can it be?! She turned to her friends with shocked eyes and they exchanged the same. Anna walked a bit closer to Elsa, her eyebrows furrowed in concern. "E-Elsa… H-how old are you?" Anna asked while she tilted her head a bit. Does she thinks she is a little girl or something!?
Elsa finally turned her head to them with a bewildered face. "I-I… I don't know." She said in shame.
Indeed. Elsa had lost track in time very long ago. She was locked in her cellar and never saw the sun, barely was educated enough to count the days and was never even in a condition that would allow her to focus enough to do so. The last time she saw her reflection in a mirror, she was twelve and a half years old. That had been the day she got rid of it.
Elsa's Flashback
Twelve years old Elsa lay on the ground in her cellar whilst she cried her eyes out from her swollen and bruised limbs. Her wrists were bound and her mouth was gagged with a piece of cloth to prevent her from screaming. After he beat her up, the king left Mad with her to continue his work.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk… Why are you crying little one?" Mad asked mischievously while he approached her.
Elsa only sobbed. Her body cramped from the beating her father gave her, and it's all because she refused to start her usual powers training.
"You see? It would have been much less painful for you if you had let us train you. But you refused. And look what you made him do. You know that you deserved it." He laughed wickedly, then, "Never disobey your father, little one!"
Elsa didn't acknowledge him. She just cried and sobbed in pain. Her eyes were shut and heavy tears rolled down her cheeks whilst she trembled.
Mad got annoyed at her bad, ignoring behavior. He felt his anger rise and he quickly gripped her hair and forced her to look up at the mirror. "Look at yourself, Monster!" Mad yelled while his face showed a jeering smile and pointed with his other hand on the mirror. "You look like a disfigured freak! Hideous thing aren't you?" When he realized she did not open her eyes, he gripped her hair harder and gripped her jaw with his other hand. "Stubborn one aren't you?... I said LOOK!" He yelled in rage.
Elsa finally forced herself to open her eyes groggily and took sight of her reflection in the mirror. She would have gasped in horror at the sight of her body but the gag did not allow her to. No! She thought miserably.
"See?!" Mad asked with a wicked laugh. "Look at that face!... or that body of yours! You're nothing but a malformed monster!" He said with a voice that quivered in excitement.
The sight of the image in front of her forced even more tears to come down her cheeks. Her once beautiful platinum hair was messed up, bloody and sticky from sweat. Her delicate tiny body was nothing but bruised and scarred.
"People wouldn't be afraid of your curse, but…" He laughed again and released her hair before she collapsed back on the ground. "They would just run away by the sight of you!... Disgusted and horrified from you." He said before he looked at her and licked his lips in anticipation. "You know… you'll sure amuse us when you grow that body of yours up, and become a full whore." He smirked and walked towards the table, before he grabbed a scissor in his hand. "But you still have a long way ahead. You're still a twelve years old brat, and that doesn't help amuse me enough." He said before he knelt next to her and grabbed a long lock of her platinum hair. "If you don't mind… I want a remedy from you. It might be put to good use if needed someday." He said before he cut half of the lock of hair that made her whimper, and placed the now-stray hair in a jar. "There," He said while he looked at the platinum hair inside the jar and shook it. "This should be enough." He finished before he stood up and walked towards the door. He turned one last time to look at Elsa whom was still sobbing in pain and fear. "Look at yourself, Monster. Look at your horrid and ugly self!" He said before he slammed the door close behind him.
Elsa felt relieved that he left. But her mind was already damaged with bad and tormenting thoughts. She lifted her head shakily to take a look at herself again. She stared at her reflection despondently and in shame. Her breath quickened in anger and she clenched her hands in fists while her eyes glared at the thing in front of her. Look at yourself… Monster… An ugly monster!... ugly, deformed MONSTER!... She thought while she shook her head at the reflection vigorously and denied her appearance. Ugly… ugly!... Ugly, ugly, ugly, UGLYYY! She suddenly screamed in rage and sent a blast of ice directly at the mirror. The mirror cracked and shattered. Shards of glass exploded around the room. Luckily, none of them hit her, but she was already back on the ground and sobbing in fear, sorrow and anger. Why?… Why?!
They all stared at her while she stared at the pale woman in the mirror. Elsa just couldn't believe her eyes. Has it really been this long?! She thought utterly shocked.
What does she mean she doesn't know?! How couldn't she know her age?!... Didn't they have mirrors in the castle before he locked her?!... Could it be that she's…Oh god no! This can't be! Anna was lost in her own thoughts and Elsa's cracking and quivering voice snapped her back.
"I was… L-Locked… The d-day I ki-" Elsa said but stopped herself from continuing. What if I told them of my sins! Would they kill me or hurt me just like Papa?! But… They have a right to punish me! I deserve it!... No… I can't tell them what I did! I can't tell them who I killed! Elsa's mind rolled in a war of thoughts. Elsa was starting to tremble of the thought of her mother and baby sister. The only people who ever loved her, and she killed them.
The thieves eyed her in confusion and shock, and waited for her to continue.
"I had to be locked away f-from people… b-because all I've done was hurt them." Elsa said with a shameful voice. "P-Papa locked me away when…" She trailed off then started crying. "W-When my Mama and my sister… were gone." She managed to say through with a trembling voice before she suddenly collapsed to the ground on her knees and cried and wailed her heart out. Frozen by my own hands!... I killed them! I killed them!... It was all my fault!
Rapunzel and Anna ran to Elsa's side and knelt next to her so they could find a way to somehow comfort her. But they couldn't touch her as they knew she would have just flinched away. All what they did, was gave her a pitiful and sorry look.
Oh, Elsa… Anna thought, utterly sad for the woman. She knew the queen and princess disappeared from the men she heard back in Arendelle. But she did not know when they specifically did. You lost and suffered so much… But… When did the queen and princess disappeared then? Anna thought, more confused.
"Oh god…!" Kristoff suddenly breathed in shock.
The thieves turned to him in confusion while Elsa kept mourning for her mother and sister.
"Guys…" He trailed off nervously before he gulped and placed both hands on his head in shock. "The queen and princess disappeared fifteen years ago!" Kristoff clarified in shock.
All of them gasped in shock. Fifteen years!? Anna's mind screamed before she turned to Rapunzel and they both looked back at Elsa with horrified looks of disbelief. She's been locked for fifteen years?!... FIFTEEN! Anna thought. He tortured her for fifteen years?! That… That piece of shit! She thought, completely in rage at the king's cruelty. She just couldn't get the number of years out of her mind.
Fifteen?!... Does Aphrodite even know?!... Does she know her daughter had been locked and tortured for fifteen GOD DAMN YEARS!? Rapunzel thought.
"Um, guys… can we talk for a sec?!" Kristoff quickly suggested. His eyes wide incredulously. "Rapunzel, stay with Elsa." He said and received a quick nod from Rapunzel, before he walked out of the room followed by the others who were still shocked. Yet one redhead was in rage.
When they went outside and closed the door behind them, the first thing that Aiden did was to place a hand on Anna's mouth while she screamed, flailed her hands and struggled in his grip in anger. "Anna, calm down!" Aiden said and lifted Anna off the ground so she couldn't do anything crazy.
"Put me down! I'm gonna kill him!" Anna yelled in anger and accidentally hit Aiden square in the face while her hands drummed his chest in rage.
Aiden quickly let her go and held his nose in pain. "Seriously!?... That hurts!" He asked with a voice muffled from his nose.
Anna glared at him, "If that hurts, what do you think Elsa was feeling all these years then HUH!?" She yelled.
"Anna, lower your voice. We don't need her to hear this even too!" Kristoff tried to persuade.
Anna huffed angrily before she groaned and crossed her arms on her chest in a childish manner. "Fine. What did you wanted to say?" She asked while her eyes pierced through Kristoff's soul.
Oh, boy. This is not gonna calm her down at all. Kristoff thought, worried that Anna would lash out again on what he was about to reveal.
Kristoff scratched his head in nervousness. "Well, I was just 5 years old… A-And I was in the barn when I heard people outside shouting to each other that the king summoned them to the courtyard. So I followed. When we arrived the king announced the queen and princess's d-disappearance because of some sort of an ambush. Though he did not say where they were when the ambush occurred."
Aiden and Flynn exchanged worried looks. They knew this could raise Anna's suspicions.
"And…" Anna asked confused.
"That's not the problem! What I wanna say is… When the king announced the news, he also said that Princess Elsa was badly injured and that she will receive… s-special medical treatment for her condition… And we didn't even had the chance to see her. The king just proclaimed the news and went inside the castle." Kristoff explained.
"So you think he hid her that day!?... He locked her there on that day!" Anna concluded.
"Yeah… On that night, it was…" Kristoff sighed, "The first time we all heard the screams. And we now know whom screams they were." He said while he lowered his head in sadness.
How did she survive all these years?! Flynn thought.
A moment of silent surrounded them before Kristoff groaned in frustration and placed his hand on his temple. They didn't like that. They knew Kristoff has something else to say.
"What is it?!... can things get any worse?!" Anna asked and felt her anger rise again.
Kristoff lifted his head and gave them a regretful look. "One more thing." He took a deep breath then, "If the princess really was locked and tortured that night, then it means…" He stopped, didn't have the courage to say the terrible news.
"Spit it out god damn it!" Anna yelled.
"Elsa was only six years old." Kristoff revealed before he frowned in annoyance at the thing he said.
All Arendelle knew of course the crown princess's age, back then. She was the heir after all.
Anna's anger quickly vanished and replaced with complete sorrow. She stared at Kristoff in disbelief and tried not to accept his words. No… She thought sadly. Her eyes suddenly felt warm and tears streamed down her cheeks. No! She shook her head at him in denial.
Kristoff looked at them before he started again, "People in Arendelle started getting suspicious about the screams. So I think that's why Elsa was announced dead from her injuries a long time ago. But the screams never stopped. I think the king said that, so the people don't get their doubts hi-"
"She was a child!" Anna suddenly snapped.
Aiden suddenly felt his own anger grew. He gritted his teeth and his hands clenched and unclenched in fury. Anna was right, no doubt at all. A six years old girl… locked away?... and tortured?!... FOR WHAT?! He thought angrily at the king. His own daughter! His own child! Why would he do all that?! He's… He's a fucking maniac!
"Can you imagine all this?!" Anna started breathing fast and shook her head, "Her whole life!" She roared in rage and before she could have ran off again and killed someone, Flynn held her by the wrist.
"Anna, just calm down! We can't do anything now! The damage is already done! What matters now is that we help her forget all this!" If she's able to.
As if Anna heard his thoughts, she whipped her hand away from his grip and glared at him. "You think she can?! It's fifteen years God dammit!... Who could ever recover from that?!" She yelled. "Not just that but she was six!... SIX! Am I talking to deaf people!?" She yelled.
Flynn and Aiden already presumed that Anna's reaction was to rage. Due to the fact that she was actually her sister, they thought it might have been some sort of instincts or a sisterly protection mode.
They all noticed how her face turned sad all of a sudden. She lowered her head to look at the ground and she hugged her middle, then sighed, "She suffered so much, guys." A tear ran down her cheek, "Too, too much… I don't think she deserves all this like she said she did… What could she had ever done to be locked away like that? What could even a six year old little girl had done to be considered dangerous?"
"Maybe because the king was scared because of her powers?" Kristoff noted.
"If he was so scared of her powers, he could have only gave her gloves! Just like we did. And not torture her!" Anna argued.
"Then you think there's more to it?" Flynn asked.
"Well I know one thing… The king is a fucking pervert." Aiden said bluntly before he crossed his arms in anger. "Besides, she doesn't look dangerous."
"But didn't you hear her?" Flynn started, "She said herself that she deserved it. She also said something about sins."
"Agh, for goodness sake! What sin can a child would had committed?!" Anna yelled again in Flynn's face. Anna clearly was experiencing an emotional rollercoaster now.
Maybe I should ask Aphrodite about that… Wait. Does Aphrodite know?! Aiden thought. "Anna, instead of yelling at each other, we should probably return to see how Elsa's doing." He said while he motioned for her to get inside Elsa's room.
Anna's eyes widened in realization that they left Rapunzel with a depressed and confused Elsa alone.
Rapunzel sat cross-legged next to Elsa on the ground while she watched her pitifully. She just didn't know how to comfort the woman in a situation like this. She never confronted someone so traumatized. She knew it must have been more than shocking for Elsa to be back to reality and to discover something like this about herself. Oh, Elsa… No one had ever suffered like you. Aphrodite won't be happy about this… Fifteen years?! She thought while she eyed Elsa's body and tried to figure out her age. She's about my age. Maybe a bit bigger. But… It means… It's about her whole life! God! She's… She's had been through a lot! She thought, shocked. She never met someone whom life was that miserable… And miserable was even a small word to describe it. Sure she herself had been locked away when she was a little girl in a tower with a psychopath woman, Gothel, before the thieves saved her, but at least she wasn't tortured, starved, beaten or endured whatever horrible things Elsa had to face. In fact the woman used to treat her like a daughter. So her case was heaven comparing to Elsa's. Since the princess's own father was the one who hurt and abused her, and that gave Rapunzel the shivers. Rapunzel had always thought she lived a bad life back in the tower. But now, after she saw Elsa's suffering, she felt stupid and guilty. The thought of imagining a little girl grew up with chains around her wrists and had no time to even sleep to rest from the pain, just made Rapunzel tear up herself. She never saw a woman so devastated, lost, confused and depressed. Rapunzel mentally gasped. She couldn't take it anymore. She looked away from Elsa and tried to hide her own tears.
Elsa sat on her legs on the ground while she rocked herself back and forth, her hands on her face and cried. In Elsa's mind, she was still a twelve years old girl. She never did bother or even had the thought to count the days and keep herself updated with her age. Her mind had been always focused on forgetting the pain or the disturbing words her father had carved in it. This can't be… I can't be a woman! It's… It's too soon! I'm twelve, I'm twelve! She thought desperately tried not to believe that all that time had passed.
Rapunzel wiped away her tears before she took a deep breath and turned to shift a bit closer to Elsa. "Elsa how about you sit on the bed. We don't want your wounds to get worse… You're still just confused and tired." She said before she waited nervously a moment for Elsa to reply.
Elsa tried to stop herself from crying. She hiccupped one time before she let her hands fall from her face to hug her middle. She turned her face slowly to look at Rapunzel.
When Rapunzel saw those pleading, begging and bloodshot eyes, she felt her heart crumbled and she looked away again then sighed sadly. "I'm sorry, Elsa." She said, yet she didn't know why she felt the need to say it.
"Do you know why Papa… locked me?" Elsa suddenly asked with a voice so weak and sorrowful.
Rapunzel looked back at Elsa with a questioned face, but kept silent and waited for Elsa to continue.
Elsa looked back to the ground and lowered her head in shame while she hugged herself. "I… hurt people. People who loved me… Papa is not bad. He is just g-giving me what I deserve."
By torturing you?! Rapunzel thought.
"I'm… I'm a monster." Elsa looked at her gloved hands, "An ugly freak… a murdered…Unholy. Nothing else."
Rapunzel was speechless. She just couldn't believe how much Elsa was tormented against herself. "But I don't see a monster." She smiled at Elsa sadly, "I see a beautiful girl who was just wronged. A girl with an amazing gift and that she shouldn't be sad about having such a blessing."
Elsa closed her eyes and tried to force the tears not to fall. "God don't help monsters... Monsters are bad and evil… Conceal, don't feel, Papa used to tell me. Monsters don't feel. They are born to destroy… I am born to destroy. All I ever did was d-destroy… This is not a gift, it's a curse. I am a curse… Planted by the devil… When Papa locked me, he stopped me from hurting anyone. He saved and kept everyone safe from me."
Rapunzel felt her tears formed again. She knew Elsa's optimism was way below zero. But she didn't blame her at all. Fifteen years of misery won't be forgotten in one discussion. She opened her mouth to speak just when the door opened and the others entered with a concerned face. Elsa hugged herself again and kept her eyes downwards and avoided the men. Rapunzel frowned anxiously at her friends. She knew by the look of their faces and especially Anna's, that they discovered something new. Anna looked at Rapunzel with a sorrowful look and held six fingers in front of her. Rapunzel's eyes widened in shock and she clasped her hand on her mouth before she could have let out a gasp and startled Elsa. Six?!... She was six?!… Oh, no… Aphrodite… T-This is going to crush her! Oh my God, what am I gonna do?! She thought before she turned and looked worriedly at Elsa. Oh my, Elsa… No wonder why everything seems new to you. You were just so young! She thought while she showered Elsa with pity.
Anna couldn't keep her eyes off of Elsa. She felt her heart ripped in million pieces. Now, she didn't see a broken woman, but she saw a helpless, terrified little girl. "E-Elsa…" She said, her voice shook from the heavy sorrow that weighted her heart and forced herself not to cry in front of her. "Let's… Let's just go outside. Show you around the fort and help you clear your mind off of things." From whatever horrible and nasty memories that are haunting you. She thought.
Elsa lifted her head slowly and looked at the people around her, before she nodded slowly.
"C'mon, I'll help you." Anna said while she walked towards Elsa with held up hands.
Elsa had already made an immense effort just to push herself off the bed. Now, she needed to push her whole body off the ground, using her trembling, weak legs. And she knew it was impossible without at least some help. Would she take the risk and allow Anna to help her? What if her curse leapt at Anna? What if Anna even hurt her?
Anna held a hand to help Elsa up. Yet she did realize that she held it in midair for what seems like forever since Elsa only stared at it and her face unreadable, then she looked away from Anna's hand in denial.
Elsa placed the tip of the stick on the ground and held it vertically and tried desperately to push herself up. She winced hardly when she felt the immense pain in her back, her stomach, her legs and everywhere. Her barely stored strength drained, and she stumbled back to the floor while her breath labored a bit from the pain.
Anna sighed. "Elsa, just hold my hand so I can help you. You're still in pain, you can't stand on your own. You barely did off the bed." She said yet with the gentlest voice she mustered so that Elsa didn't feel intimidated, but it did hold a bit of a determined tone.
Elsa looked at the hand again and realized that she was hopeless. She did need help, but she was scared since 'Help' was never offered before in her life.
Anna moved forward towards Elsa slowly, and kept an attentive eye on Elsa's movement and reactions. She didn't want to scare the girl.
"Rapunzel, can you help Elsa on the other side?... Okay, Elsa. Just relax. We're just gonna help you. We won't hurt you, I promise." Anna knelt a bit next to Elsa and placed her hand under Elsa's left elbow so she couldn't somehow hurt her broken arm and she couldn't help but to feel how much Elsa was cold, but she shook her worries away. Meantime, Rapunzel mimicked Anna's movements from the right side.
The men just stood and watched attentively.
At the contact, both Anna and Rapunzel felt Elsa's whole body tense greatly accompanied with a small gasp and whimper of fear.
"It's okay!" Anna quickly assured with a soft voice so she could calm her down.
Anna allowed a pressure upwards on Elsa's elbow to motion for her to start and try to stand.
Elsa's eyes darted worriedly at the hands that touched her elbows, before she started lifting herself up carefully and slowly. She winced and groaned from the pain but they managed to help her up.
"See? There you go-" Anna started cheerfully but she was surprised when the moment Elsa was on her feet, she quickly recoiled her elbows away from their hands and held to the stick as if her life depended on it while her shoulders reached her ears and she bit her lip in anxiety.
Anna felt a bit disappointed but she wouldn't allow herself what so ever to blame Elsa's jumpy reactions. Well… At least she allowed us to help her. That's a start, right? She thought to herself happily.
"Alrighty, everyone!" Anna started, "March!" She said playfully while she pointed at the door, her other hand on her hip and her chest puffed up.
They all gave Elsa a sad smile before they walked to the door, but both Anna and Rapunzel kept a close and alerted distance from Elsa who was struggling not to wince while she walked and limped. Where are they taking me?! Elsa thought anxiously and a bit afraid.
"The fort is beautiful. You'll love it here. We'll just show you around until dinner." Anna said while smiling radiantly at her.
How does she keep reading my mind?! Elsa thought confused.
Oh god Elsa you have a lot to see! Anna thought excitedly while her gold haired friend, Rapunzel, was having her own train of worried thoughts. How the hell am I going to tell Aphrodite?