The Ice Behind Bars

Chapter XXX: The Dark Side Of The Castle

Tyler stood at the doorway, almost able to hide his glare at Elsa but clearly looking sternly at the thieves.

"Uhm… Is everything alright, Tyler?" Anna asked, a bit confused.

"You. You…" He said, pointing stiffly at Anna and Rapunzel, "And all of you." He pointed at Flynn and Aiden, "Come with me, right now!"

"Alright, alright, no need for all this yelling!" Anna said as she gestured for him to calm down with a bit of mock in her voice.

The thieves moved to follow him, "Come on, Elsa." Anna called.

"NO!" Tyler suddenly snapped and made them all jump in surprise and Elsa cowered a bit to Sven.

Everyone exchanged worried looks with Elsa, then, "What do you mean 'No'? She's coming with us-" Rapunzel was trying to say before Tyler cut her off.

"I said… No." Tyler said with a warning voice and through gritted teeth.

"Are you alright, Tyler?!" Anna said mockingly as if the man have lost his mind, "She can't stay alone here and-"

"She has the ice boy with her now move it!" Tyler commanded and Kristoff glared at him.

Now Anna was getting really irritated at his behavior.

Elsa had her eyes wide with worry since Anna was going to leave her alone with this huge man. She quickly ran towards the redhead and pulled her dress, begging her not to go.

Anna turned to her and felt her heart break. Elsa shook her head, pleasing for Anna not to listen to Tyler. Anna turned her head to glare at Tyler with a 'Look what you've done now!' look, before she turned to Elsa with a sad smile, "Elsa… Can you stay here for a minute? I swear it will be as quick as a lightning. We won't take much time, we just need to talk to this old man and see what's going on in that mind of his." She said, pointing at Tyler angrily.

Elsa bit her lip and her shoulders lifted.

Anna sighed and moved to assure her. She placed her hands on Elsa shoulders and lowered them. "I promise, Elsa. Kristoff won't hurt you. Besides, Sven's here with you!" She said rubbing the reindeer's head playfully.

Elsa lowered her head in sadness. Anna shook her head with a sympathetic smile. She leaned and hugged Elsa to comfort her.

Elsa, with her head still lowered, slowly brought her arms to hug back.

Aiden, Kristoff and Flynn stood jaw-slacked at the two sisters since they haven't witnessed Elsa's hug to Anna this morning. They turned to Rapunzel for questions.

Rapunzel smirked, "Yup… This morning." She informed then leaned closer to Aiden, "Jealous?" She teased with a whisper and Aiden sent her a death glare.

"Of course not!... Look at them, that's great!" He said with a fond smile as he watched the two sisters.

Anna broke the hug and looked into Elsa's worried eyes. "Don't worry… We won't take long and y-"

"Enough with that already and move it!" Tyler shouted, angrily and Elsa winced a bit at his voice.

"Hey…" Aiden warned Tyler with an intimidating voice and Rapunzel placed a hand on his arm to keep him calm.

Anna shook her head at Tyler in frustration and turned to Elsa one last time, "You'll be alright now, okay? Kristoff will keep you safe."

Elsa was pretty sure the opposite but she slowly nodded anyway, "O-Okay…"

Anna smiled at her sadly and shook her shoulders while glaring playfully at her, wanting her to smile. "Come on… Lighten up!"

Elsa then forced herself to smile weakly.

Anna smiled proudly back, "There we go." Then she turned to leave with the others. When she turned though, her smile suddenly turned to a hard frown.

As Elsa saw Anna walk away, she felt her heart stop and she held her hand a bit up, pleading for Anna not to leave but they were all already out and Tyler smashed the door close behind him. And now… Elsa was alone and vulnerable and the room was utter silent.

"What the HECK is wrong with you!" Were Anna's first words when they were out of the barn and out of earshot.

"Know who you're talking to, Amateur Thief." Tyler warned as he folded his hands behind his back.

Anna let out a laugh of disbelief, "Amateur?!" Anna felt her inners boil in anger.

Aiden quickly rushed to talk before Anna could do something she would later regret. He placed a hand on her shoulder and glared at Tyler, "Speak now. What do you want already? What's wrong?"

"She's wrong!" Tyler suddenly snapped and pointed at the barn door. "Since you brought her here, we had nothing but trouble!"

Anna gasped, "You mean Elsa?! How dare you say something like that!?" She yelled angrily. "She's just sca-"

"I don't fucking care if she's scared or hurt or broken or whatever! I care about my guild! The thing I have worked so hard to build! She's destroying all my efforts with each passing day!" Tyler yelled and flailed his hands.

Anna sneered and groaned in rage and was about to lunge at him but Aiden and Flynn held her back.

"How can you be so heartless?!" Rapunzel snapped.

"Who knows when her father will send people to get her!? They'll find us and lock us all up! Or worse… Kill us all!" Tyler argued.

"And what the hell do you suggest?!" Anna yelled as she struggled in Aiden and Flynn's grip.

"You brought her here! You fix it!" He said, pointing accusingly at Anna, "Take her back where you found her! We don't need her here!"

Everyone at that gasped. Tyler was talking as if Elsa was a stray puppy that they have found on the streets. And the worst part, that he wanted her to go back to hell for his own good.

Then, it was Aiden's turn to lunge at him, "Why you…" He gritted his teeth and released Anna.

Flynn quickly grabbed him and Rapunzel did the same for Anna.

"HOW DARE YOU!?" Anna shrieked and people started looking at them.

Oh my god!… If only Aphrodite would have heard you say that… Rapunzel thought angrily.

Tyler stayed all the calm and stern, "When a person can't control her own mentality, she should not be out to roam free around normal people… And especially if she wields an uncontrollable ice magic."

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH TYLER!" Anna screamed. And oh how much Anna wished she had her bow.

"Anna, calm down please! What if Elsa heard you!" Rapunzel whispered and looked at the people who were staring at them in confusion.

"Didn't you hear what he said?!" Anna yelled in her face.

"Say one more word Tyler and I WILL kill you!" Aiden yelled when Flynn managed to get a steady grip on him.

"For your information, Elsa is the only person with a kind heart and a good mind!" Flynn defended.

Tyler rolled his eyes at them and shook his head at their irrational behavior, "Screaming like animals won't help you, Amateurs."

"Tyler, have a bit of sympathy for the poor girl." Rapunzel started calmly, "Please, just give her time."

Tyler barked out a laugh, "Sympathy?!... I gave her all my sympathy! I allowed her to live here! Isn't that enough?! But oh guess what?! She's repaying me by destroying our home!"

"RAPUNZEL!" Anna yelled at the woman, commanding her to let go so she could claw out Tyler's eyes, but Rapunzel stayed firm on her grip.

Tyler sighed, "Look… I'm not here for you to tell me how broken and how her father was cruel to her. I'm here cause I have a task for you."

At that everyone froze and stared at him confused. "A task?!" Anna asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Yes." Tyler confirmed and stood straighter.

"What do you mean 'A task'?" Aiden questioned.

"I mean that you four have done a big mistake and brought her here and she have ruined many things in the fort in which you all will pay for. You are to go out and steal whatever necessary to repay and repair the damages your… Friend… Have done."

"WHAT?!" They all yelled in unison.

"We can't leave Elsa alone here and just go on a mission!" Anna said angrily at Tyler's stupid and illogical task.

"Oh for god's sake! She's not a three year old whom you have to watch over all the time! She's a god damn woman for heaven's sake! She can take care of herself!" Tyler said with a mock in his voice.

"But…But… S-She can't! You know she's still scared of everyone!" Aiden reasoned.

Tyler groaned and massaged his temple, "I told you that I don't care about that. Nevertheless, you're task will be in Cadonia." He said and everyone's eyes widened.

"WHAT?!" Anna screamed in disbelief, "But that could take weeks!"

"Then you better steal as fast as you can so you can get back as soon as you can to your precious princess." Tyler said and turned to leave.

"Y-You can't make us!" Anna said and the anger in her was starting to turn to desperation and sadness since she felt that she was losing this battle.

Tyler turned with a smirk, "As your chief, I can. If not, then consider yourselves out of this guild." He said and turned his back again at them to leave. "You'll start off next week!" He called out as he walked away, "Oh and be sure to teach her how to keep her mentality checked! We don't need any screams at night since no one can calm her when you're… Absent." He said as he laughed a bit and went on his way.

The thieves stayed still, watching the man go with wide eyes as he went. "Do you believe that guys!?" Anna said in disbelief as she waved her hand towards where Tyler went and then let it fall limp to her side.

"And she won't stay with Kristoff alone that's for sure." Flynn said.

Anna gasped, "And YOU are even considering it!?" Aiden asked Flynn.

Flynn shook his head, "Guys, we have to do what Tyler said or else we'll end up without a safe place and a home. And… We have to do this for Elsa. She can't live outside the fort and on the streets. We have no place safe to keep her there but here."

Everyone went silent as they took in Flynn's words.

"But…" Anna started sadly, "We can't just leave her alone… I can't leave her alone. What should I tell her now?... 'Oh hey, Elsa. We're going off for a week or two and you're going to have to stay here alone with all these strangers and should deal with that by yourself'?!" Anna said as she acted how she would be like when she would tell Elsa the news, flailing and waving her hands mockingly. "I can't tell her that! What will she say!? She'll definitely be worried and scared or WORSE! She'll probably stay in her room all the time till we get back! Who will bring her food!? Who will help her sleep!? Who will comfort her if she panicked?!" She paused for a minute and bit her lip, "Who will keep her safe?" She whispered, more to herself. She'll be all alone…

"Anna, calm down…" Rapunzel started, "I know you're worried for Elsa but… What if she stayed at Bulda's? We can tell Bulda about all this! She'll understand!" She said happily and turned to the men, "Right?" She asked them.

Flynn scratched his beard, "She also have Zoey… She can keep her company until we get back!" He suggested.

"And you think Little Zoey can keep her safe?" Anna deadpanned.

"Anna, you're talking as if Elsa is in danger. Stop worrying, she'll be fine. She's safe as long as she's here." Flynn said.

"Don't worry, Anna. Elsa's strong. She'll be okay. And… We'll try our best to finish the task as fast as we can." Aiden promised with a calm smile, though he was boiling concerned thoughts on the inside.

Anna blew her bangs out of her face, "I'm really starting to hate that man." Anna said and the others knew she was talking about Tyler. Who else?

"Come on, Anna." Rapunzel said, placing a hand on Anna's shoulder. "I think we should talk to Elsa about this."

Anna quickly turned to face her, "Are you insane?! We can't keep her worried all week! W-We'll just tell her two days before we go."

"Yeah, I think she's right." Aiden agreed, "I don't think we should worry her all the more. Let her have this week of fun before we go."

"Alright, then." Rapunzel said happily and clasped her hands, "I'll talk to Bulda about this since she already said that she'll be with Elsa next week. For now, let's go see what happened with Elsa and Kristoff."

Kristoff couldn't feel any more awkward as he sat in a deathly silence, staring at the ground, not willing to frighten her if she somehow might get scared if he looked at her. This… is really awkward. Maybe I can make her feel better?

Elsa sat nervously and actually afraid, preparing herself for whatever harm this man would do to her. She was squeezed to Sven as she sat next to him on the hay, trying to distract herself by playing with his fur. Don't look at him. Stay away from him. If you don't do anything, he won't hurt you… R-Right?

Kristoff lifted his head to look at Elsa and she did notice him since she gave off a tiny gasp and squeezed Sven closer. Kristoff silently sighed and lowered his head again. He didn't know how to talk to someone like Elsa. Heck, he didn't know how to talk to people in general, so what would make a conversation with an abused woman any easier?! Did he used to do all this before he locked her up? What did her mother used to do when she was alive? Did they used to live happily? He just had so many questions he wanted to ask her but he didn't know how. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at her nervously. He had to break this crazy silence. "S-So –uh… You really like Sven, huh?" He said awkwardly.

When she suddenly heard his voice, Elsa felt a wave of dread rush into her body. No, no, no, no… She was scared of what she should have told him. She just knew that if she answered wrong, he would definitely punish her. Her father always did that. So this man would definitely do the same. She also knew that she had to answer eventually or else she would receive a slap or a kick. And heck no! She didn't want that. She bit her lip hard and shakily nodded quickly, still not looking at him. Instead, she kept her eyes on Sven's fur.

Kristoff smiled sadly at her. He cleared his throat, "You know… Sven really likes you too!" He said happily and praised himself when he saw how Elsa's ears perked up in interest.

Elsa's eyes widened a tiny bit when Kristoff said that someone… or something liked her. She very stiffly turned to look at him but her eyes kept continuously avoiding him. One second her eyes were on him, the other they were on the ground. She carefully took quick peeks at him, eying him warily if he would get angry, disgusted or shocked if she talked. "R-… R-Really?!" She dared ask, feeling a tiny bit happy.

He knew that she was watching him closely and cautiously, checking every bit of reaction he would emit. Kristoff's smile grew when he noticed the itsy-bitsy happy tone of her voice. "Yeah! Can't you see he can't already leave your side!" He said pointing at the reindeer that laid happily resting next to Elsa, enjoying how cold she was in this merciless hot summer.

But… Elsa was always hated. Never loved. She was always cursed at and yelled at. She was a murderer! Who would ever like a murderer? She just didn't know, and she wished she did. She looked at Sven and smiled, rubbing his head.

Kristoof looked over Sven, "Hey, Sven! Come here boy!" He called and patted his lap. "Come on, boy!"

Sven slowly lifted his and stared at him with a boring look. He then yawned, ignored his master and let his head fall in Elsa's lap, enjoying her cool touch.

Kristoff's eyes widened and he shook his head in amusement, "Well I'll be damned… He really does love you. Probably more than me, too."

Elsa looked at Sven's head in her lap. She would have freaked out if it was a human being but since 'Reindeers' never harmed her before, she didn't see a reason to panic. Instead she smiled at the animal and kept petting his head.

Kristoff smiled happily. At least she was smiling and not focusing on being afraid. Even if the smile was directed at his best reindeer, he didn't mind. A smile was a smile, none the less. He knew that Anna would be proud of him and he wanted to jump in joy.

Another silent fell, and Kristoff's curiosity started to take over. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he tried to think of how was Elsa's life before she was locked away. He remembered that the king had locked the gates when the second princess was born. But why?

As he stared at the ground, lost in thoughts, "Elsa? Did he ever… I-I mean… How was it like in the castle?" He found himself ask before he could stop himself.

Hearing him calling her name and acknowledging her for no reason was a nightmare. Her scared face was back and she clenched her fists. Then she heard him ask about her past and she couldn't help but to remember everything that used to happen in the castle.

Elsa's Flashback

Aphrodite was running as fast as she could in the hallways of the castle as she dragged a little four year old crying Elsa behind her. A fear expression all over the queen's face. She had to hide her! She had to or else he would hurt her! Since the day Anna was born the king became very harsh and cruel with Elsa.

"ELSA!" They heard the king yell.

Aphrodite, panicking, quickly turned on a corner and entered a dim room. She quickly looked towards a closet and dashed towards it, still not saying a word to her frightened daughter. She opened the empty closet as she panted and quickly shoved the back of it open revealing a secret tiny spot where only Elsa could fit in. It was the secret spot where she was going to use to hide Elsa whenever her father was raging. She quickly help Elsa get inside, "S-Stay here, Elsa! Do you h-hear me!?" Her voice shook from fear.

"ELSAAAA!" The king shrieked again.

"M-Mama… W-What about Anna!?" Terrified Elsa asked while she cried.

Aphrodite stifled a sob and turned back to Elsa as she trembled, "D-Don't worry about Anna! She's with Gerda. She'll keep her safe! Now s-stay here and don't come out until I tell you, d-do you understand?!" She said urgently before she turned fearfully to the door to make sure that her husband didn't enter. She turned back while tears streamed down her cheeks and she grabbed her daughter's shoulders and looked right into her eyes, "Promise me that you won't come out not until I come back, d-do you hear?!" But Elsa only sobbed and shut her eyes.

"APHRODITE!" The king called.

"DO YOU HEAR ME!?" Aphrodite shouted frightfully and desperately.

Elsa let out a sob and cried but nodded shakily, anyway.

Aphrodite smiled sadly at her, "T-That's my brave girl." She said and quickly kissed her daughter's forehead and took a step back from the closet. As tears stained her face, "Y-You'll be safe here." She closed the closet, leaving nothing but tiny light that entered from the holes of the closet door. She knew her husband wanted to let his rage out at someone and it wouldn't pass without bloodshed. She wasn't going to let him hit her daughter. If he was going to hurt someone, let it be her. But at least Elsa would be safe. Anything for my children… Anything for my children… She repeated in her head to give herself courage since she was as afraid as Little Elsa.

Elsa then heard her mother's footsteps fade away, then a door clicked open then shut. She gasped and whimpered when she heard her father's barely muffled yells.

"Where is she!?" The king yelled.

"I-… I-I don't know." She heard her mother say and from her voice she could already sense that her mother was shaking from fear.

"Don't lie to me, Bitch! Where did you hide her?!" The king yelled and Elsa heard a thud on the wall and a yelp from her mother and she knew that her father was pinning his wife to the wall.

"J-Jamie… J-Just please listen to me! S-She just wanted… T-To show you what she can do! She didn't m-mean to freeze the door!" Aphrodite managed to say.

The king grabbed his wife's wrist aggressively, "I told her million times not to use her curse! But SHE DID!" He grabbed her throat, "Tell me where she is!"

Elsa was shaking from fear now. She gasped and placed both hands on her mouth to keep herself quiet when she heard a slap, followed by a disturbing thud on the ground.

"TELL MEEE!" Her father shrieked again.

"I DON'T KNOOOOW!" Her mother yelled weakly and Elsa could already hear the pain in her voice.

Elsa then heard her father's angry groan, "I will find her myself then!" Then she heard the stomping of raging footsteps slowly fading away. "Come out now, Elsa!" The king yelled. "Come out, you little wretched thing! If you don't come out, I swear I'll kill you!"

Elsa squeezed her hands really hard on her mouth and tried her best to muffle her cries and sobs. She squeezed her eyes shut and remembered that her mother strictly told her not to come out. M-Mama… I'm scared!

After a whole hour, Elsa slowly started to calm down when she finally stopped hearing her father's angry yells and calls. The whole castle was deathly silent. It's been an hour and there was still no sign of her mother. She started to get worried. She suddenly heard the door of the room click open and she quickly squeezed herself tighter inside her hiding spot. She closed her eyes, hoping beyond hope that whoever that was, wouldn't find her. When the closet door opened and permitted light to finally enter, Elsa gasped dreadfully, "No!" She squeezed her eyes tighter and waited for the inevitable.

"SShhhh! It's me!" Elsa felt a whole wave of relief when she heard her mother's most soothing voice. She quickly opened her eyes to see her mother's warm and comforting yet weak smile that drained all of her little heart's worries.

"Mama!" She quickly wrapped her arms around her mother's neck and felt yet another wave of comfort.

Aphrodite wrapped her arms around her daughter protectively and somehow felt finally that her little snowflake was safe. "It's okay… You're good now. He's gone. He's out hunting." She assured her frightened Elsa.

Elsa then broke the hug so she could look at her mother's soothing face but she let out a gasp of shock and her eyes shot wide when she saw the hideous and disturbing bruise on her mother's cheek and how her hair and clothes were disheveled and her face exhausted. "Mama!... Your-… Your cheek!" She said, shocked, before she worriedly and curiously touched her mother's bruise.

Aphrodite grimaced and hissed in pain at her daughter's touch but she quickly and weakly smiled so she couldn't worry Elsa more. "It's nothing, Sweety." She slowly guided her daughter's tiny hand off of her pained cheek, "It's just a tiny bruise." She reassured.

But Elsa could clearly see that it wasn't that tiny. "Did… Did Papa…?" She wanted to know if her father really was the criminal who did this to her mother.

"No, no, no! I-It wasn't Papa… I just… I just tripped on the stairs and accidently hit my cheek. It's really nothing." Aphrodite tried to lie and when she saw Elsa's face, she knew she failed.

Elsa felt her tears form again. She wasn't convinced. She knew that it was her father who did this.

Aphrodite sighed sadly since Elsa was unfortunately too smart for her age. Not that Aphrodite wasn't proud, but sometimes, children shouldn't know specific stuff and especially violence. Very few of the castle servants knew about the king's cruelty but all those few mysteriously disappeared. Aphrodite wouldn't dare tell anyone since she would be either aggressively silenced by her husband or threatened that he would kill both of her daughters right in front of her eyes, so The Silenced Queen knew that no one would ever know the truth about the dark side of the castle.

Elsa quickly wrapped her tiny arms around her mother again and cried, "I'm sorry, Mama! It was my f-fault that… P-Papa hurt you! I hate my magic, Mama! I hate it! I don't want it! I don't! Because of me… L-Look what Papa d-did!"

Aphrodite exhaled sadly and caressed her daughter's head so she could comfort her.

"I'm s-sorry, Mama!... I w-was so scared! A-And I had to hide like you told me to!... I just c-couldn't… d-d-do-" Elsa couldn't handle it anymore. She let out a loud guilt-ridden and woeful sob before she allowed her cries to take over her.

Aphrodite squeezed her shaking daughter in her arms, "Hey! Sh, sh, sh, sh… It's okay, Snowflake!... It's okay… I'm okay now, don't worry." She shushed and Elsa buried her face in her mother's chest.

After a few minutes of shushing and rocking the scared Elsa, the little girl still didn't calm down. Aphrodite then had a new idea and she would try to sooth her with another way. She broke the hug and Elsa lowered her head, not willing to look at her mother's tired face since she knew it would make her feel guiltier.

Aphrodite smiled sadly and lifted Elsa's chin up with her gentle and slender finger to see Elsa's bloodshot eyes, "Oh, my little snowflake." She said softly while shaking her head and looking right into those teary cyan eyes that she adored so greatly, "It's not your fault." She wiped her daughter's tears away with her thumb then smirked playfully, "Tell you what…" She started with a happy voice and a delightful face so she could lighten the mood, "How about you put your hand on my cheek and let your powers flow on it."

Elsa sniffled and rubbed her left teary eye, "W-Will that… Will that help?" She asked with her little voice.

Aphrodite put on an excited smile, "Of course it will! Here, let me help you." She said encouragingly and grabbed her daughter's cold and tiny hand in hers, "Now… I want you to make some snow. Can you do that for me, Snowflake?" She asked gently.

Elsa was now curious like any child would be. She nodded, still not understanding what her mother was trying to do. She let the cold flow threw her veins and into her body, creating a tiny pile of snow in her hand. Elsa smiled when she was successful, "Like this?!" She said excitedly, holding her hand up to show her work to her mother.

Aphrodite giggled, "Beautiful!" She said and tapped her little girl's nose and made her laugh.

"Now what?" Elsa asked eagerly.

"Now…" Aphrodite started and held her daughter's hand, guiding it to her own cheek, "We let your powers help me." She said and carefully placed Elsa's hand that held the snow on her cheek. She sighed and relaxed, closing her eyes as she felt the cold ease the pain of her bruise while Elsa watched her warily and curiously. Aphrodite's lips drew a wide smile of relief.

"Did it work?" Elsa asked inquisitively.

"Uh-Hmm…" Aphrodite hummed in approval. She opened her eyes and stared proudly at her daughter's gorgeous eyes that sparkled in happiness. "See?... Your powers made me feel much better. They are great, Elsa. It's a gift that you should treasure. They are a part of you."

Elsa looked at her hands, "Papa said that I should learn not to live with them."

Your father loves to say a lot of stuff. Aphrodite thought sarcastically and mentally rolled her eyes at her husband. Bastard…

"Your father is wrong, Elsa." Aphrodite said and lifted her daughter's head so she could look right into her eyes, "Tell me… Can a horse run with three legs only?"

Elsa shook her head.

"Can a fish swim without a tail?"

Elsa thought for a moment then shook her head again.

Aphrodite smiled and cupped her daughter's cheeks with both of her hands and let their forehead touch, "Then you can't say 'No' to your powers. They are the very part of your heart. And you actually saved me." She said playfully with a wink as she gently poked where Elsa's heart laid.

"I did?!" Elsa said as her face lit up.

"You're my herooo!" Aphrodite sing-songed and started tickling Elsa's tiny tummy.

Elsa started to laugh and tried to escape her mother's attack, "Mama… S-Stop!" She managed to say.

Aphrodite laughed and stopped.

Elsa stopped her laughs and smiled fondly at her mother. The two stared at each other fondly in silence before Elsa lunged herself at her mother and hugged her tightly. "I love you, Mama."

Aphrodite kissed her daughter's platinum head, "I love you too, Snowflake."

Elsa found herself smiling at the memory of her mother, but as soon as that smile appeared, it faded and turned to a sorrowful and shameful one.

Kristoff was confused when her smile disappeared. Minutes ago he was happy by seeing Elsa smile while she was thinking of something. Well… Looks like she does have a good memory. We just need to figure out what it is! But he didn't know why that smile suddenly faded.

Elsa sighed and lowered her chin to her chest, wrapped her arms around her middle and held her tears inside. She wasn't going to let herself cry. She won't allow herself to cry. Nothing can bring her mother back. She was a monster and she killed her own family. Period.

Kristoff had a sad expression on his as he watched Elsa hold back her tears for some reason. He understood that somehow this good memory was followed by a bad one, so he moved to help out, "You know, talking about it can make you feel better." He suggested nervously. Psh! As if Elsa would have talked to him.

Without looking at him, Elsa shook her head, "I don't feel." She said flatly with a tone that Kristoff never heard before. It was cold and emotionless.

Elsa forgot her fears in that moment. She was feeling one thing: Anger and loath towards herself. If she was in a normal state, she would have punched herself because of how she responded and she would have turned fearful.

Kristoff furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "You don't feel?" He asked as if he thought he heard wrong.

Elsa only shook her head again while staring right at the ground. She lifted her eyes to stare at her hands, "Monsters don't feel."

Kristoff was more confused now. He leaned forward, "And you think that you're a monster?" He asked and didn't realize that he was having a real conversation with Elsa.

At that Elsa's eyes shot wide with fear as her mind returned to reality. A man was asking her if she was a monster. That sounded so familiar. Yes! It was the same. A man, her father, had always asked her that question and she had answered the same answer for fifteen years. She whipped her head to Kristoff and stared at him dreadfully and she started to breath fast.

Flashback

The king stood above his beaten nine year old daughter's shaking body, "Are you a monster now, Elsa?" He asked as he panted.

He have been beating her since when he asked her that question minutes ago, she told him that she wasn't a monster, but he was. And now, he taught her a great lesson, and she have definitely learned.

Elsa couldn't breathe properly as she felt the pressure on her chest from all the beating he gave her. Her nose bled badly and she coughed blood as she cowered underneath him. "Y-Y-Yes!... Yes! Yes! I am!"

"Y-Yes! Yes! I am! I am! I'm a monster! Just please… D-Don't hurt me!" Elsa suddenly blurted without even thinking about an answer while cowering behind her arms. She remembered how much pain she had received every time she had answered this question wrongly when she was a little nine year old. She looked around fast, trying desperately to find Anna, but the girl didn't return and Elsa felt that familiar fear she once felt in the cellar all back again, despite the worried nudges Sven was giving her.

Kristoff's eyes shot wide, "Wait, Elsa! Nonono! I wasn't going to hurt you! I-I don't even think you're a monster at all!" Holy shit! I'm definitely going to freeze!

Elsa kept darting around her eyes, begging for Anna to appear at any moment so she could save her before this man could hurt her. Please! Please! Please! She had to hide from him! She had to run! She stood and whipped her head towards the door and started running towards it.

Seeing this Kristoff quickly moved to stop her, "Elsa, wait!" He was quicker than her and he stood quickly in front of her and stopped her dead in her tracks and she gasped aloud in horror. "Elsa, can you please just listen to me!?" Kristoff asked desperately while pulling his hair.

Elsa gasped aloud and nearly fell backwards then started backing away while shaking her head and holding her hands up defensively, "P-Please!... Just stay back!" She said as she started to hyperventilate and her hands trembled. This is it. She knew it. He was going to hurt her and there was nowhere to hide. "A-Anna!" She screamed but Anna and the others were far from the barn.

Kristoff started advancing on her, "Elsa, no! Don't! Please!" He didn't want her to call Anna and let the redhead see how the bright-blonde was terrified of him. He was trying desperately to calm her but the poor man didn't even know how to calm himself. "Elsa, just please… Calm down!" As he moved forward, motioning for her to calm down, she moved backwards in terror.

"S-S-Sven…!" She called desperately as if the reindeer would have helped her. She would have called anyone actually to stop this man. The reindeer only tilted his head and wasn't understanding the situation.

In Kristoff's panic, he didn't realize that he was cornering her. "Elsa, please listen to me! I won't hurt you!"

Elsa's back hit the wall and she knew she was cornered. She suddenly had it, "NO!" She collapsed to the ground and cowered behind her arms and waited for the inevitable as she started to cry. Please…! She just didn't want to feel pain. Hadn't she had enough after all those years? Couldn't she just have a break?

Kristoff stopped advancing and realized what he was doing. Oh my god! What did I do!? He thought as he looked at how Elsa was huddled at the corner and how terrified she was of him. He quickly took a step back, slid down on a wall and sat on the ground as he placed his head in his palms, "Oh god, Elsa… I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you! I swear!" He said shaking his head at himself.

Elsa only squeezed herself to the corner and wrapped her arms around herself protectively as she sobbed.

The barn turned silent and the only thing that was heard were Elsa's loud sobs.

Sven neighed sadly and approached the terrified Elsa. He nudged her elbow as she hid her head and Elsa quickly recoil back with a whimper, thinking that it was the bad man Kristoff wanting to hurt her. When she saw Sven she turned and lowered her head, having too much emotions running in her mind.

Sven gave off a sad whine and laid next to her before he rested his head in her lap to comfort her but she kept her face turned while sorrowful sobs racked her body over and over again.

Kristoff didn't know what to do in such situation. Don't blame him. He was only used to talk to reindeers and not sensitive and terrified women. He sighed sadly. But no! He wasn't going to give up just yet. "You know… I don't think you're a monster at all. You said a monster doesn't feel… Well… If that's true, then you are definitely not a monster."

Elsa slowly stopped her sobs as they turned to soft sniffles. She didn't dare turn her head at him at all but she was listening carefully. A habit she had learned from all those years since her father always wanted her to listen and memorize every single title he gave her or insult and accusation he threw at her.

"You get scared when you feel that you might hurt someone. You cry because you're sad. You laugh and smile when you feel happy." He started to smile and he lifted his head and pointed at Sven, "You love reindeers!" A monster eats them. He chuckled a bit, "A monster doesn't tease her friend by feeding her a carrot… But you do!"

Elsa wiped her tears away and slowly started to lift her head as she took in Kristoff's words.

He started counting on his fingers, "You love flowers! You also love carrots! And trust me… so do I!" He laughed, "You helped Anna to make it up with her mum! You comforted her when she needed someone. You also hugged her! And damn you're lucky!" He joked and made a goofy face and Elsa actually giggled weakly at that as she rubbed her teary, bloodshot eyes.

Kristoff felt his heart beam with pride since his plan was working. He didn't care that he was admitting his interest for Anna to Elsa. The platinum haired was too kind to just run off to Anna and tell her. He knew he could trust her.

"You love watching sunsets! You hate broccoli… And so does everybody so don't worry." He rambled and then turned at her and smirked, "So tell me Princess Elsa of Arendelle… How come you say that you 'Don't feel'?"

Elsa kept thinking. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it again. She really had no answer for that until her face grew gloomy, "Do murderers feel?"

Kristoff wasn't sure why she asked that, "Well no of course not! If they had any sense of morality they wouldn't be called 'Murderers'" When Elsa's face suddenly grew more depressed, Kristoff got more confused. He scratched his head, thinking of a way to elevate the princess's mood. As he looked around his eyes landed on Maximus. His face lit up as an idea ran in his head. He quickly stood, "Hey, Elsa! I wanna show you something!" He ran his way to stand next to Maximus.

Elsa looked at him a bit fearful but also curious about why he was suddenly so happy.

Kristoff patted the horse's neck, "You thought that Maximus is afraid of you… But he's not! And I'm gonna prove it!" He said, proudly pointing at himself.

Elsa felt confused and she looked at Sven as if the animal would have explained. She looked back at Kristoff and slowly shook her head confusingly, not understanding what he wanted.

"You see… Horses are not like reindeers. If you're afraid, they get scared too. They sense everything you feel. In their nature they get spooked easily from any unfamiliar or new thing to them. For example, Max here isn't used to the cold. That's why we have to approach horses carefully and show them that we mean no harm, or else they'll stay terrified." He explained and then waved his hand dismissively, "It's an instincts thing so don't think too much about it. And besides, horses are like any of us! For example… You!" He pointed at her.

Elsa's eyes grew wide and she pointed at herself quizzically.

Kristoff nodded, "Yeah! You need to gain the horse's trust so you can approach it. Just like we need to build our trust with you!" He said pointing at himself again. "Now what I want you to do is to stand up and slowly approach Maximus and then just feed him a carrot. A-And don't worry!" He quickly said before she could get worried, "I'll stay away. I'll just stand right here with Sven." He said pointing at the ground right underneath him.

Elsa slowly stood with the help of Sven and brought her hands to her chest while eying the man carefully and taking in his words.

"U-Uhm… There's the bag of carrots over there." He pointed at the sack of carrots that rested on a barrel. "I'll just sit here." He said patting the barrel behind him and sat.

Elsa felt a nudge from Sven on her back, encouraging her to move. She gulped and nervously went to take a carrot, still watching Kristoff carefully and taking great distance from him. She took a carrot and turned to look at the horse nervously and worriedly.

"Go on." Kristoff encouraged gently with a wide kind smile.

Elsa gulped nervously and moved to approach the horse.

"Just hold it up for him." Kristoff informed.

Elsa slowly approached, watching the horse's reaction. Maximus lifted his head and leaned back a bit in distress. Elsa turned to Kristoff as if she wanted to tell him 'See! He's afraid of me!' but she didn't dare speak.

"Come on… Don't worry. Just give it to him." He said with a sympathetic smile and motioned for her to move forward.

Elsa took a deep breath and lifted the carrot nervously and took a very stiff step forward.

Maximus neighed a bit again, watching Elsa cautiously. As Elsa's hand approached with the carrot, his nose started to sniff. He slowly yet hesitantly brought his head down to sniff the carrot.

"Nice and easy." Kristoff whispered. "Just stay calm."

Elsa swallowed and waited patiently.

After a moment Maximus finally took the carrot and munched on it happily.

Elsa's face lit up joyfully and she turned her head to Kristoff like an excited child.

Kristoff laughed, "See!"

Elsa then felt a nudge on her hand and she turned to find Maximus searching her hand for more carrots, And he was sniffing her and touching her! He wasn't afraid anymore. Elsa hesitantly petted his nose and her face couldn't get any happier. "He's not afraid!" She said happily and started giggling as the horse searched her pockets for more carrots.

Kristoff kept laughing, "There you go! Now you two can become friends just like with Sven!"

The barn door suddenly opened and revealed Anna and the others.

Elsa's face was too excited now. "ANNA!... Anna! Anna! Anna! Look Anna!" She called as she waved her hands to bring the redhead's attention.

Anna and the others entered to find Elsa and Kristoff laughing with each other, and the thieves stood jaw-slacked at the two before they heard Elsa's voice, calling Anna, and there face lit up.

Anna looked over at Kristoff with an uncertain and questioning smile but Kristoff only shrugged his shoulders and smiled back. Anna then laughed at Elsa's behavior, "Calm down, girl! I'm coming!" She said happily as she ran to the platinum haired, excited woman.

Elsa patted Maximus's neck to prove her point, "He's not afraid, Anna! Look!" She said as she nearly hopped in place from excitement.

Kristoff felt a hard slap on his back. "Way to go, big guy!" Aiden praised happily, "I don't know how you did that and made her laugh but you gotta teach us how." He said while pointing at himself and Flynn with a radiant smile.

Kristoff chuckled, "I told you that animals are the best friends you could ever have."

"Well, blimey! I think you're right." Flynn said as they laughed with each other.

"I think your plan is working, Kristtofy!" Rapunzel teased playfully as she punched his shoulder. She leaned in to his ears, "Anna will be definitely proud of you." She then leaned back up and winked.

Kristoff blushed hardly and smiled awkwardly. "Y-Yeah… That would be great." He said casually to try and hide his excitement. YEAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! Oh, his heart was dancing alright.

Anna turned from the excited Elsa that kept cooing at the massive white horse, that strangely, he was now acting like Sven as he wagged his tail and neighed happily at Elsa before she hugged his face and squished her cheek with his. Anna smiled fondly and proudly at Kristoff and he gave her a shy smile and blushed before he held a thumb up. Okay… Now Anna was starting to feel foreign feelings towards Kristoff. New feelings, yes. But great new feelings. 'Thank you.' She mouthed and Kristoff nodded reassuringly with a smile and waved his hand playfully and dismissingly.

Aiden felt his own heart dance. Awww! How much he loved seeing her like this: Happy, excited and carefree. Anna was right; those cyan eyes really did sparkle when Elsa was happy. Jealousy from Kristoff? Oh no, not at all. He wanted to kiss the man for making Elsa happy.

As all of them stood, watching the happy Elsa play and laugh with Sven and Maximus… And now also Ebony, they could see how heartwarming Elsa's light-hearted laugh was. Although the thieves had their own worries, they didn't dare to ruin this beautiful moment for Elsa and tell her about their task that would definitely ruin her day.

SONG!

Aiden to Elsa : Broken Girl – Matthew West