The Ice Behind Bars

Chapter LII: Back Behind Bars

A tremendous headache.

That's what she first felt when she started waking up.

Slowly, Elsa lifted her head off the ground and tried to look around. Her eyes were too blurry and everything was dark, so she was barely able to see a thing.

"My my…"

Elsa's eyes shot wide as she heard the poison-filled familiar voice. Her lip trembled and she slowly turned her head to see Mad standing right above her.

Elsa screamed in fear and crawled away as fast as she could, hearing the sounds of the rattling chains. She looked down to see her ankles cuffed and her wrists cupped by none other than the big shackles that she loathed so much. Her beautiful dress was gone and replaced by some old rags.

"It's been so long since I've seen this expression!" Mad said with an excited voice as he watched her petrified face. "This cellar has been empty for so long!" He waved his hands around then pointed at himself. "I… I even grew lonely hear…" He licked his lips and stared at her bare legs.

Elsa stared at him in horror, her entire body shaking. No… No… Not again… NOT AGAIN!

Mad started to laugh excitedly like a child, "Oh! We can play together again!" He laughed harder and harder like if he was the happiest man on earth, "The rituals! The experiments! The souls! Those beautiful screams! Ohhh they are like a harmonious SYMPHONYYYY!"

Elsa shook her head as fast as she could, pleading for him to stop. She remembered all the things he had forced her go through. She cowered, "No, please!"

Not again!

He clasped his hands together and inhaled deeply, "Music to my ears…" He whispered to himself, a joyful tear falling down his cheek. "The blood… the pain… Ohhh I just cannot wai—" His eyes suddenly widened and that only made Elsa's heart beat faster.

He was looking straight into her eyes with a maniac smirk. "Oh…?!" He said and started approaching her.

Elsa gasped and squeezed her back to the wall, trying to stay as far away from him as she could.

"What do we have here?!" He asked and knelt in front of her, leaning his head closer and closer to look into her eyes. "It's been so longsince I've seen you here!"

Elsa tensed up, "I-I'm sorry… M-Mad… I… I didn't know… T-The way back!" She tried to defend.

Mad lifted an eyebrow at her, "Oh, I'm not talking to you."

Elsa felt confused, "W-What…?"

"I'm talking to your anger." He clarified yet Elsa only felt more confused.

"I… I-I don't—"

"You don't understand because you're nothing but an idiot as always." He insulted, tapping the top of her head mockingly. "It's just a side of you that was created. All of your hatred and rage simply decided to store themselves in an alter of yours." He shrugged. "Nevertheless, I'm surprised you haven't killed everyone at that stinky thief's fort. Something's… different about you…"

What is he talking about?! Elsa just decided to stay silent.

He rubbed his chin, "I thought that I had gotten rid of you long ago when you were young." He chuckled and pulled up his sleeve. "I think you remember this very well, don't you?" He showed her his missing hand.

Elsa looked away. She did remember the day she woke up to find out that she had caused Mad to lose a hand. It made her feel horrible back on that day, especially after she was chastised by her Papa's special ways.

Mad stared at her with a bored frown. "Oh well… since you don't wanna show me yourself, I guess I should just head out to see… the other bunch of idiots that we captured." He turned and started walking away.

Elsa's eyes widened. Mama!

"Mad, wait!" She lifted her hand and he stopped in his tracks. Elsa lifted her shoulders and hesitated, not knowing that Mad was actually smirking.

He was glade that his plan was working.

Elsa gulped, "I…" She bit her lip and clenched her fists. She was utterly nervous. "I-I saw Mama, Mad… I really saw her! And-and Anna! They're alive, Mad! They're—"

"Alive?!" He turned and said it in fake surprise but then he smirked at her, "Oh dear, dear, Monster…"

Elsa flinched.

He started slowly walking towards her. "Your mama is no longer here." He confessed.

Elsa went paler than ever as her eyes slowly went wide. The news came clashing like a sword to the heart, causing the room to get colder.

"Wha—… What are you… Saying?" Elsa felt strange.

"I had a lot of fun with her." He laughed, "I chained her on the table and she started screaming 'Help me! Help me, Elsa! Help me!'" He mockingly said while mimicking a woman's voice.

Elsa's pupil started to get smaller and smaller with each step he took and her fists clenched so hard inside the shackles, that blood started oozing out as her nails dug into her palm.

Shut up…

Mad's smirk grew as he saw the look of sheer shock on her face. "You should have seen the look on her face!"

Shut up…!

He looked around and saw that ice started covering the room, and that made him satisfied. "I started with your mama…" He lifted one finger, "then her friends…" he lifted another.

Shut up! Elsa felt her blood boil.

"Wanna know what I did?" He was two meters away.

Tears started streaming down Elsa's face as her heart broke in two. After so long she finally got to see her mum, only for Mad to say…

"Chop . . . Chop . . . Chop . . ."

"SHUT UUUUUUUUUP!" Elsa exploded in rage as she lunched at him with a right uppercut to the head that sent him flying from one side of the room to the other, at what seemed like the speed of light.

His body smashed the opposite wall, almost making the entire room shake, and he slid to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

The shackles and chains around her hands shattered as ice shot everywhere from her glowing hands.

Before Mad could sit up, she grabbed him by his throat and pinned him to the ground. "I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!" She sat above him and started punching his face violently over and over and over and over until there were no yellow teeth left. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you! You bastard! I'LL KILL YOUUUU!"

Blood started coming out of Mad's nose, ears and mouth as she punched with both hands using an incredible strength.

"MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!" She shrieked with fury.

Her face was contorted in an all - consuming wrath; her nostrils flaring, her incredibly wide eyes flashing and glowing, her mouth quivering and drooling. All her words that were unintelligible came spewing into space like a volcano releasing its pent up emotions into the darkness.

"Damn you!"

She punched using both hands while they're clasped together.

"Damn you!"

Again…

"DAMN YOUUU!"

It was a terrifying sight.

After a while she stopped the punching and started choking him as she breathed heavily. "I'll NEVER forgive you!" She said through gritted teeth.

Mad spat blood and tried his best to stay awake.

But Elsa was shocked when all of a sudden he started laughing like the crazy necromancer he was.

"Y-Yes!... So you've finally decided… to s-show yourself!" He said happily and coughed. "I guess… the link was unstable."

Elsa groaned in rage and punched him again to shut him up.

Mad's bloody face turned violently to the side but that only made him chuckle which didn't calm the pale blonde at all.

"It's funny… I'm still alive!" He slowly turned his head to look at her, "You've grown soft! Was it because of those idiots back at the fort? Cause if it was the same you from a few years back, not me nor those thieves nor anyone in this god damn kingdom would have been alive right now!"

"I said, SHUT UP!" Elsa created four big spikes of ice and sent them towards Mad.

Mad screamed in pain as two of the spikes impaled his arms and the other two impaled his legs, making him bleed everywhere.

"Yes… Scream… Scream you god damn pig! Scream!" Elsa shouted with a smirk.

However…

Mad squealed with joy so her smirk twisted back into a sneer.

"SHUT UUUPPP!"

All of a sudden ice surrounded Mad's legs and…

He shrieked as his legs got literally pulled out from his body.

"OOOOOHHH! Such. Great. P-POWER!" He inhaled loudly, "I still remember the day you were created!" He looked like a total maniac with those wide excited eyes and that huge grin. "You were hit with your own powers on your head, isn't that right?!"

Elsa had enough. She put both of her hands on his chest. "Maaaaaddd…." She warned.

"I wonder what would have happened if it was YOUR HEART INSTEAD!"

"MAAAAAAAAAAAD!" Elsa let out as spikes exploded out of Mad's body, sending bits of iced flesh and blood everywhere, and turning this cellar into a real red hellhole.

Blood covered Elsa's entire body; her face, her hands, her legs, her hair. But for the first time ever…

It wasn't her blood.

After calming down, she sat on the ground, staring at the corpse— or what was left of it— with a nonchalant face.

She lifted a hand and put it over her chest and gripped the rags hard.

If it was my heart…?

She knew all too well.

"Aphrodite… Aphrodite!"

Aphrodite slowly opened her eyes only to see a worried injured Brandon in front of her.

Her eyes widened and she quickly lifted herself up, feeling dizzy.

"Hey, now, slow down…!" Brandon said as he held her straight.

Aphrodite put a hand on her forehead, feeling lightheaded. "What… happened?"

Brandon's face went sad. He lowered his head in shame and didn't dare make eye contact. "We're… We're in Arendelle."

Aphrodite's eyes shot wide and she looked around, realizing she was in one of the cellars in the dungeons of Arendelle.

She got up and ran unsteadily to the bars, gripping the metal. She saw many cellars and each one of them was full of prisoners. Some in which were familiar. She first saw Aiden and Rapunzel in the one right opposite her own. "Aiden… Rapunzel! Are you alright!?"

Aiden was holding the bars tight with an angry yet sad look on his face, almost as if he was… crying?

Aphrodite's face turned worried. "Rapunzel…?"

Rapunzel sat in the corner of the cellar, her face overwhelmed with despair.

Aphrodite noticed someone was missing. "Where's Flynn?" She asked.

Aiden punched the bars, making Aphrodite jump. Rapunzel looked away, hugging herself more and holding back her tears.

Aphrodite's eyes slowly widened in realization. No… She turned her head and looked inside every single cellar.

She saw some of the villagers and even Bulda.

She saw a boy crying for becoming an orphan.

"Nolan?" She called.

Little Nolan. The baker's boy. She knew him well. His father was a very nice man.

She then saw a woman silently weeping for becoming a widow.

"Waela?"

Waela. Her friend. Her assistant.

Then a couple crying for losing a child.

Aphrodite shook her head, trying not to believe her eyes.

And some thieves mourning for losing their comrades.

She knew all of them, yet none were happy and optimistic like how she used to see them.

There were so many others whom faces were gripped with fear, despair and anguish. The screams of their dying families and friends, and the horrors of watching their home's destruction were haunting their pale faces.

Aphrodite's heart sank as she realized the huge amount of losses and horrors that everyone became victim to. Tears slowly streamed down her face.

She was their leader. She was their healer. She was their protector. Yet she wasn't able to save anyone… Not even her daughter. She slowly slid down and sat on the ground. Elsa…

"So you've finally realized the mistake you've done."

Aphrodite's eyes widened and she turned to see…

"T-Tyler…?" Her voice was shaking.

Tyler sat in the corner of the very same cellar, leaning his back to the cold hard wall. He had injuries all over; scratches, cuts, bruises. The scene was almost familiar. He had a bloody bandage over his left eye. He was breathing heavily almost as if he was barely alive.

"But it wasn't your fault…" Tyler's face suddenly went sad. "But mine…" He clenched his fist. "It was all my fault…"

"You damn, bastard…" Brandon ran at him and grabbed him from the collar of his shredded shirt. "You betrayed every single one of us!" He punched him hard, yet Tyler didn't resist. "Why did you do this, huh?!" Brandon punched him again.

Tyler didn't dare make eye contact. "Cause I'm a coward."

Brandon's eyes widened. He groaned in anger and let him go. "You damn sure are."

Tyler lowered his head. "I'm sorry."

"Well 'sorry' isn't going to turn back time or bring people back from the dead now would it?!" Brandon yelled.

"If only I'd realized what a demon he was." He referred to the king. "I'm surprised your daughter still had some sanity in her."

Aphrodite looked away and tried to hold back a sob, but her eyes widened when he said…

"She's brave." He suddenly confessed. "After living with him for so long and still being able to smile…" He sighed and put his head in his hands. "I envy her… I really do."

Aphrodite whispered something but Brandon wasn't able to hear it. "What?" He kneeled next to her, trying to give her SOME comfort.

"Where is she?" She asked.

Brandon looked away then pointed at the end of the dungeon corridor.

Aphrodite nearly sobbed for knowing that her daughter was locked away behind that horrific thick metal door like some sort of beast.

"Your… Your highness… Is that… really you?"

Aphrodite heard the familiar voice. She turned and saw the one and only Kai. She didn't recognize him before, since he was way thinner than how fat he used to be. "Kai!"

"Oh, your highness! It's really you!" He nearly cried with joy. "You're alive!" But he suddenly realized something. "But… Why… Why are you in here, your majesty!?"

Aphrodite looked away and didn't reply.

Kai felt confused, "His majesty should be so relieved—"

"His majesty was the one who threw me here, Kai!" She confessed, shocking him.

The dungeon's main door suddenly opened and everyone turned to see the king step in.

Aphrodite wasn't so surprised to see that some of the old prisoners backed away from the bars and hid in the corners in fear.

What Hell have you created, Jamie?!

"I see everyone is enjoying their time?" He mocked as he walked gracefully through the corridor.

Aphrodite sneered at him. "Let these people go, Jamie. They've done nothing wrong!" She waved towards the fort's villagers.

"No?!" He asked. "Oh but they did…"

Aphrodite shook her head, "Why are you doing this, Jamie!?"

Before Aphrodite knew it, the king's fist came clashing with her face, sending her backwards. He approached the bars of her cellar. "It's 'your majesty' you filthy bit—"

Brandon smashed the king's face with his own knuckle, sending him falling backwards. "Don't you dare touch her again!" He yelled.

Aphrodite quickly stood on her feet and wiped away the blood at the corner of her mouth. "Brandon, no! Stay out of this!" She pulled him away. "Please…" She gave him a worried look.

Brandon's angry face softened and he sighed, seeing the sincere look of concern she was giving him. He knew that she didn't want him to get hurt.

Yet he had the same feelings for her.

"Why you…!" The king stood. "You'll be the first to dangle from the gallo—"

All of a sudden everyone turned when they heard the angry yells of a raging Elsa.

Aphrodite gasped and ran to the bars to try to see well.

"What's going on?" Someone asked.

The dungeons got colder and everyone looked around as frost started forming around the walls of the entire dungeons.

"Elsa!?" Aphrodite called, but she was sure that her daughter couldn't hear her through her angry yells. "Don't you DARE hurt her!" She snarled at Jamie.

Everyone got more fearful when the frost turned to thick ice. There were even spikes in some of the corners.

They could all hear Mad laugh.

The king facepalmed. What are you doing you crazy old fool? He started walking towards the door when suddenly everyone yelped when they heard an explosion that made the dungeons shake.

The king tried to steady himself.

"What the hell…?" Aiden whispered.

Then suddenly everything inside Elsa's cellar went silent and the king knew that the old man was a goner.

"Anna, what are you doing?! You can't leave in this condition!" Kristoff said, trying to stop the strawberry blonde in her place while she was gathering her stuff.

"I found my sister, Kristoff!" She shut him up.

Kristoff was taken aback by seeing the sad look on her face.

Anna sighed. "I found Elsa..." She put the bag over her back. "I wanna see her, Kristoff… I wanna see her after so long…"

"But… But it's been only a few days! You have to rest now!"

Anna lowered her head. "Somehow… it feels like it's been decades, Kristoff." She honestly said.

"Well!"

They both turned to look at Catherine with a confused look.

"Since you two are going… I always hated being so lonely." She gathered her stuff and put them in a bag. "So that's why I think it's time for me to meet my second niece, too." She smiled, put her the bag over her shoulder and gave them a thumb up.

And it's time for me to go home.

The cellar's door opened and Elsa turned with huge wide eyes of fury.

"You…!" Her voice trembled with the irrational wrath she was holding back.

The king stood calmly at the door with his stoic and calm expression.

Without wasting any minute, Elsa lunged at him, creating an ice spike around her hand. "YOUU!"

But the king just stood there unmoved by the scene. He simply lifted his right palm and removed the bandage.

"YOU MONSTER!" She screamed and thrusted her spike-conjuring hand towards his throat, but…

Elsa's eyes widened in shock when her body suddenly froze, the sharp tip of the spike only inches away from her father's throat.

I can't… move!

She used all her willpower to try to move her hand and shove the spike up his throat but all her arm did, was tremble. "What did you… do?!" She snarled at him.

The king had his hand up and he simply smirked.

Elsa nearly gasped by seeing the shining dark cyan mark on his palm.

He shook his head in amusement. "Do you know what's that, Monster?"

All of a sudden Elsa's arm moved on its own accord and she found her hand moving away from her father's throat and towards hers!

Elsa gritted her teeth, trying her best to resist. "Is this one of your pig's tricks?!" She referred to Mad.

The king calmly looked around the bloody room and noticed the remains of Mad's body. Looks like I need a new necromancer.

"You need a lot of manner lessons, Monster." He squeezed his hand and Elsa gasped feeling an immense pain in her entire body.

She groaned and fell to the ground on her knees, the ice melting around her.

"Thanks to Mad, I can easily control you, Elsa." He said while admiring his hand. "However… There's a cost you have to pay for you to have such power. I sacrificed my hand and now I'm cursed to have this mark that keeps scorching my palm whenever I use it."

"Don't… refer to me… as that… weakling COWARD!" Elsa yelled, talking about her other innocent side.

"Oh?" The king raised an eyebrow and knelt to her eye level. "But you two are the same person, are you not?"

Elsa spat in his face. "If you didn't have… that power of yours… I would have clawed… your eyes out by now!... As for her…!" She said it with disgust, "All you need… is a whip… and your poisonous words…" She struggled against this strange dark magic. "And she'll be kissing your sorry ass like the stupid slave she is!" She snarled. "I'm nothing like her!"

The king simply wiped away the saliva. He lifted his hand and sent it flying towards her cheek, sending her splashing on the puddle of blood. "The day you dissociated, Mad realized how dangerous you were and he told me all about you. He said that he had a way to control you and send you back into the depth of your mind, and that it will stay this way as long as the link between us is unscathed."

"The link…?" She asked, glaring daggers at him.

He showed her his cursed hand. "This kind of magic only works between people with the same bloodlines. With this power I'll be the hero to save Arendelle from your desire for vengeance. However," He started walking around her, "The day Elsa escaped from here, the link became weak as she went farther away from me. Therefore your mind became unstable, flipping back and forth between you two. So in the end, the alter—you—… was back." He explained.

"You will pay for everything you've done to me…" Elsa vowed.

"So will you." He said and lifted his right palm, the mark shining again.

Elsa gasped, gripped her head in pain and started screaming.

"I'll send you back to where you belong." He said and smirked. "I'll make sure to punish that beast for even running away."

Elsa tried to struggle and struggle but she knew that it was all in vain. She was only able to lift her head and glare at him, "You think you're the only one who learned tricks from Mad?" She smirked, seeing how the mark was hurting him just like he said. "That little thing?" She chuckled mockingly as she looked at the mark, "Wait and see till I show you my trick…"

The king ignored her and only allowed the mark's power to flow stronger.

Elsa screamed again and felt as if her body weighted tones.

After a moment, Elsa stopped screaming. She breathed heavily as she shakily lifted her head to stare at him in confusion.

"Papa…?"

The king smirked.