The Ice Behind Bars
Chapter LVI: Decision
Elsa threw her hands up, summoning ice spikes and not giving Anna any chance to breathe. Anna jumped left and right, dodging all the spikes.
Finally, Elsa stopped for a moment, giving Anna a chance to breathe.
Anna panted hard as she glared at her sister.
"Oh, what's wrong, baby sister?! Are you already tired from playing with me?!" Elsa teased.
Anna felt dizzier. She was cold… really cold. What's… happening to me?
She shook the dizziness away and lunged at Elsa, swinging her dagger.
Elsa blocked it with her own arm that she just froze solid. "Too slow!" She said before she kicked Anna hard, sending her flying.
Anna's body came smashing to the ground.
"My, my, Anna, are you already getting old or is it just your hair?!" Elsa mocked.
What…? Anna thought before she grabbed a few strands of her hair only to notice that they were turning white.
"What's happening to her?!" Aiden asked.
"I don't know." Brandon answered.
Anna yelped as she was kicked again. "You think THAT hurt, dear sister?!" Elsa asked as she smirked at the painful expression Anna had. "What about this!?"
Anna quickly got up but before she could blink, Elsa suddenly appeared next to her with that psychotic smirk and slashed at her with her frozen sword.
Anna barely dodged it and it cut her cheek. She ignored the pain and swung her dagger.
Elsa easily dodged then punched Anna in the stomach. "Why are you holding back, sweet baby sister?! Come on! I wanna see your true power!"
Anna winced as she slowly backed away, holding her stomach in pain. She slowly opened her eyes and stared at her shaking hands. How can I? Just how can I kill my own sister!? The memory of how Elsa mercilessly killed that guard flashed in her mind.
No. She decided and gripped her dagger hard, her hands no longer shaking. I can't let her kill anyone. Her face turned serious again and she lifted her head to glare at Elsa. She didn't care less about her hair or what's actually happening to her. All she cared about was to put an end to this nightmare. "I won't let you harm anyone else!"
"Let's see you try!" Elsa laughed.
With a scream Anna lunged at her.
However, Elsa still dodged all her attacks.
Jamie watched in excitement. Well… Let's make things a little more interesting shall we? He removed the bandage on his palm.
"You look pale, sweetheart! Almost as if you're freezing!" Elsa laughed, dodged then kicked Anna again.
Anna staggered back.
Elsa put her hands on her hips. She sighed. "I'm beginning to get bored of you, Anna. Let's try a new level, shall we?" She started forming ice around her hands. "Just one shot to your head and you'll. Be. Dea—" All of a sudden Elsa found herself unable to move or even speak. Her eyes went wide in surprise as she tried to comprehend what's happening.
Everyone stared at her in confusion.
What's… happening… Elsa thought. Her expression turned into a glare when she realized that it was none other than…
YOU! She tried her best to struggle against this strange power and turned to glare in rage at her father.
Jamie gave her a smirk and suddenly Elsa fell on her knees with a yelp. I can't… Move!
Anna's eyes widened. That's my chance! She thought before she lunged at Elsa with her dagger.
The king quickly closed his palm, letting Elsa free.
Elsa quickly jumped away and dodged Anna's attack. She lifted her hands to impale her with ice but found herself unable to summon any power. What?! She stared at her hands in shock, not noticing that Anna was running towards her.
Anna started attacking Elsa with all her might, to her shock, Elsa was barely able to dodge her attacks. Almost as if her power and strength were suppressed?
Suddenly an image of an innocent smiling Elsa flashed in her mind.
Anna gritted her teeth, trying to ignore it.
She attacked.
Another image of Elsa laughing.
She kicked.
Jamie might have lost his mind and is no longer making any sense in this world... But he's my brother… and I love him. She remembered Catherine's words.
But she punched.
Blood was all over Elsa's body as Anna slashed, punched, kicked and cut her.
Can you watch someone you love make mistakes without trying to stop them?
Anna screamed one last time before she kicked Elsa in the stomach, sending her flying to the ground.
Elsa tried to get up but couldn't.
Anna approached her, kneeled above her and held the dagger up with Elsa's throat right beneath it.
"C-Come on… aren't you gonna kill me?!" Elsa said angirly.
Anna stared at her sister the dagger not shaking at all in her hands. The grip was firm and determinant.
Don't cry, Anna. I'm here. She remembered their short childhood together. Elsa always used to comfort her. Elsa always used to make her smile. Elsa always kept her safe. Elsa always made her happy.
But Elsa always suffered.
"Come on, Anna! Don't you wanna kill the monster and be done with it?!" Elsa yelled.
Anna's lip trembled. "I… I-I…"
Everyone waited for her decision. Aphrodite closed her eyes, not being able to watch one of her daughters kill the other.
"I promise you, Anna! I'll kill everyone you love right in front of your eyes!" Elsa promised while smirking manically.
Don't give up on the people you love, Anna. Your love for them may be exactly what they need to make a complete turnaround.
"I can't…" Anna whispered.
Elsa stared at her in shock.
Anna lowered the dagger and threw it away. "I can't… I can't…" She shook her head, tears going down her cheeks.
Everyone stared at the two sisters in shock. The citizens. The friends. The guards. The parents. All stared at them, waiting to know what would happen.
Anna's tears fell on Elsa's cheek.
"I can't kill you, Elsa… How could I?! You're my sister!" Anna said, staring at Elsa's shocked expression.
But to her surprise…
Elsa suddenly smirked. "I don't care." She pushed Anna off of her and got up, dusting herself. "Oh, baby sister, you've always been the one to love drama."
Anna had enough. She wasn't going to fight anymore. She stood and looked at the smirking Elsa. "I'm not gonna fight you… do whatever you want."
Elsa smirked excitedly when she found herself able to use her ice powers again. "Fine then…"
She formed an ice dagger resembling Anna's perfectly, and in all small details. She ran at her and swayed, her dagger cutting Anna's shoulder. She then grabbed her by her throat and started punching her, watching her sister's painful expression hungrily. "Does it hurt?!"
Anna yelped.
"Don't scream!" Elsa yelled. She pushed Anna to the ground and put her hand on the ground. All of a sudden a spike came out from the ground impaling Anna's leg.
"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhh!" Anna shrieked loudly in agony.
"Anna!" Kristoff screamed and rushed to help her but he was held back by Brandon. "Kristoff you can't go there! She'll kill you too!"
"What are you saying Anna's in trouble!?"
"Do you know what happens to THIEVES, ANNA?!" Elsa repeated her father's words. She stepped on Anna's arm, trying to break it.
Anna screamed in pain again.
"You think THAT'S painful!?" Elsa asked. She then broke the spike impaling Anna's leg and pulled Anna up from her collar. "I've waited YEARS for you and mother to come!" Elsa raged and punched Anna again.
"I've hoped!... I've WISHED!... I've prayed!... But nothing ever changed!" Elsa slashed and slashed at Anna in rage with the ice dagger. "I was whipped!" She punched. "I was flogged!" She kicked. "Not once have I lost hope!"
The citizens couldn't believe what they were hearing.
Anna didn't fight back and simply watched her sister sadly as she allowed her to beat her and let all that hate out, not noticing that her hair was almost all white.
"I waited... And waited! And WAITED! For FIFTEEN YEARS!" Elsa kept kicking and punching Anna here and there, not giving her any chance to speak. "And in the end you came back just to steal from the castle and NOT FOR ME! You ALL left me! You ALL feared me!" She grabbed Anna by her throat, trying to choke her; her rage turning into anguish. "Was any of you there when I cried?! Was any of you there when I was in pain?! Was any of you thinking of me when I did of YOU?!" She threw Anna to the ground.
I recommend you hear "Man of The world – naruto shipudden" while reading the upcoming part.
"Did you ever stopped him from beating me?! Did you ever stopped him from hurting me?!" Elsa then kneeled on top of Anna and held the dagger above her sister's head. "Tell me!" She punched her. "TELL ME!"
Anna coughed blood, bruises all over her body. She stared up at her sister who was breathing heavily. All of a sudden tears fell down Anna's cheek, taking Elsa off guard.
Elsa glared hard at her. "W-Why are you crying!?"
Anna stayed silent for a moment, trying to hold back a sob. "Because you're in so much pain…" She admitted. "I know that… you're not… the evil one here, Elsa." Anna coughed again. "You just… want… someone to love you."
Elsa groaned in irritation. "I don't need anything that doesn't exist! And I am not in pain!"
"Then why are you crying?"
Elsa's eyes widened and her hand froze. It was only then that she noticed the tears rolling down her cheeks.
Anna smiled at her.
Elsa's lip trembled. "W-Wh… What?" The dagger started shaking in her hand. Why is she smiling!?
"Don't you understand, Elsa?... I've finally… found you… My big sister… How can't I… be happy?" Anna clarified.
Elsa was definitely failing to hold back her tears. Her breathing quickened and she shook her head violently in denial. "NO! I'm a monster! I'm hated! I-I'm feared! An abomination! A freak! A demon! I don't have a family! I-I don't have friends! Monsters are hated! HATED!" Her entire frame was shaking as she started sobbing. "Monsters should be punished! Monsters are cold and evil! I killed! I harmed! I'm a monster!" She was shaking uncontrollably now as she stared sorrowfully into Anna's eyes, waiting for an answer.
Anna watched her sadly and then spoke. "To be honest… You're the only innocent one among us."
Elsa's eyes widened in disbelief.
Rapunzel noticed the red on the rose dissipating.
Elsa gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut. "Just… W-Why?..." She asked. "Why!?... W-Why didn't you kill me?" She asked. "Please… Kill me…" She pleaded. "Kill me!" She begged. "I've done so many mistakes… I-I do not… deserve to live!" Her tears went down like waterfalls.
Elsa's hand slowly came down and she let go of the dagger. "Please, kill me! Everyone will be safe then!"
Anna shakily lifted her hand and wiped away Elsa's tears. "I-I already told you… I can't."
"W-Why…?!" Elsa whispered.
Anna slowly sat up, wincing as she did and ignoring the pain her bleeding leg was giving her. She grabbed Elsa by the shoulders. "I've lost you once… I don't wanna lose you again." She put her forehead on Elsa's and smiled. "And no matter what you do or what you choose, you'll always be my big sister. And I will love you until the day I die."
Elsa stared right into Anna's eyes in utter shock. Slowly but surely the words sank in. She suddenly threw herself in her sister's arms, screaming at the top of her lungs.
Elsa gave out one long, loud and sorrowful scream… The scream that held all the pain.
She inhaled deeply then, "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!" Screamed again for all the loneliness she felt.
Inhaled and… "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
For all the hurt she felt.
Anna held her tightly. The mountains echoed her sorrowful screams, announcing her pain to the entire world. The citizens stared at her in shock.
Brandon and the others watched her sadly as she vented.
As for the citizens... Those screams were too familiar. They'd heard them for years and years.
Aphrodite put her hand on her mouth trying not to sob loudly.
Elsa let out one last, long cry for all the love she was deprived of.
"It's okay…" Anna soothed gently as she hugged her sister who trembled uncontrollably in her arms.
"I'm sorry… I'm s-sorry!" Elsa apologized for all the harm she had done.
Anna hugged her tightly. "You're not alone anymore, Elsa. From now on, we'll face everything together."
Anna broke the hug and smiled at her sister. She brought her thumb up and wiped away Elsa's tears. She then winced when her gravely wounded leg pained her.
Elsa's eyes widened in worry and she quickly turned to Anna's leg. She lowered her head in shame and sadness and put her hand on Anna's leg, freezing the wound, not allowing any blood to leak anymore.
Anna sighed in relief. "Thank you." She said sincerely.
"I'm sorry…" Elsa apologized for even harming her sister.
"Don't worry about it. The important thing is that I finally got you back." Anna admitted.
"But… Who… Who am I?" Elsa whispered.
A monster? A sister? A witch? A snow queen? She didn't know. So many people had called her so many names.
Anna put her hands on her cheek and lifted her head to look right into her cyan eyes. "You're my sister."
Elsa smiled joyfully, tears flowing down her face. For this was the first time she got a different answer from what her father used to tell her. She then stood and helped Anna up, since the redhead couldn't stand on her wounded leg. They smiled at each other and hugged again.
Aphrodite nearly fainted from relief. She smiled at her two daughters as they hugged.
The citizens watched in astonishment.
"The princesses!" One whispered.
"They're alive!"
"How could this be?!"
"He imprisoned her!"
"She's just lying!"
The citizens were just confused on who to believe.
Aiden, Kristoff and Rapunzel rushed to the sisters' sides, smiles all over their faces.
The king gritted his teeth hard, his fists bleeding from all the clenching.
"NO!" He screamed.
Anna and Elsa broke the hug and turned to him.
"You're a monster! A monster! I order you to kill her! Kill her!" He raged, losing his composure.
The citizens watched him in shock, some glaring at him and whispering among each other at how he was acting.
"You're nothing but a FREAK! You're a murderer, Elsa! Do you hear me! Now kill her!" He yelled while pointing at Anna.
Elsa's shoulders lifted and she felt scared again. She shook her head in denial, not wanting to hurt anyone anymore.
Anna pulled Elsa behind her, shielding her from his harsh words. "She's no longer yours to harm and torture!" She yelled back at her father. "She won't listen to you ever again! The real monster isn't her… It's YOU!"
The king's eyes twitched and he was shaking in rage. He turned at the guards. "Kill them! Kill them all!" He ordered, but the guards exchanged confused looks, no longer knowing what they should really do.
"I said kill them!" His shaking finger pointed at his daughters and wife.
The guards looked over at the scared and nervous Elsa then at their king. Some of the guards threw their spears at the ground and walked to Elsa and Anna's side, leaving their other comrades to think again.
The citizens were even more than confused and didn't know what or who to believe anymore and even who to trust.
The king looked around and saw all the skeptical and distrustful looks everyone was giving him.
"Fine… You all want to betray your king?! Betray your own kingdom!? Very well!" He slowly lifted his marked hand up and… "Now!" He shouted with a smirk.
All of a sudden some of the guards impaled their comrades with their spears and swords, a smirk on their faces.
"What the—?!" One of the guards exclaimed before he was killed by a spear through his heart.
The king laughed at everyone's shocked reaction. "You thought you could defeat me?!" He asked as he laughed manically. "I knew that Arendelle's guards were too… weak. So I hired some mercenaries in case this happens." He pointed at the horrified guards who stood on Elsa's side.
He then approached the young man that Elsa had killed a while ago. "I'm pretty impressed you knew that he wasn't a real guard, Elsa." He said while smirking at Elsa who gave him a terrified look. "Nice work, I say."
"You murderer!" Anna accused. She couldn't believe that her father hired some ruthless mercenaries and ordered them to pretend to be guards, only to make them kill the real ones!
Other mercenaries suddenly appeared above them, standing on the castle's walls and aiming crossbows at everyone.
"I shall eliminate EVERYONE here, for all of you have become corrupted!" The king announced.
The citizens were horrified since the mercenaries were aiming at them as well.
"I shall cleanse this kingdom from all of you pests and start anew! I will build a new kingdom under my command! A kingdom that shall grow to be the most feared and respected among all the others!"
"You're MAD!" Anna shouted in disbelief. He was going to kill everyone! Even the citizens who trusted him!?
"A kingdom with neither cowards nor traitors!" He talked nonsense as his lip trembled in excitement. "No one moves or he or she will be killed!" The king intimidated. "As for you…" He looked at Elsa.
All of a sudden Elsa gasped and her eyes widened. She collapsed to the ground, screaming and writhing in pain.
"Elsa, what's wrong?!" Anna kneeled next to her worriedly.
But Elsa only screamed louder in agony.
"What did you do?!" Anna yelled at her father and noticed the mark on his hand glowing.
Elsa was barely able to breathe as she laid there with wide eyes, twitching. She was feeling as if a thousand swords slashed and slashed continuously everywhere at her body.
The king approached her while smirking at her shaking frame.
An arrow landed right in front of Anna's leg, making her back away.
"Everyone move away from her!" One of the mercenaries shouted with a smirk.
Anna's eyes widened. "No!" She tried to shield her, but suddenly shuddered and fell to the ground, feeling dizzy as her hair turned completely white.
The king sighed then approached her. He lifted his leg and pushed her roughly out of his way. "You can't even defend yourself." He mocked. "If I were you, I would have been more concerned about what's happening to me." He looked at her frozen fingers tips and huffed.
"A-Anna…" Elsa tried to call, worriedly, but the pain was unbearable and she was barely able to move with that twitching and trembling body of hers.
"Anna!" Aphrodite and the others rushed to Anna's side. She held her freezing daughter in her arms in full concern. "What's happening?!"
The king turned at Elsa and smirked. He then put his leg on her back and put his weight on her, making her shriek in pain. His leg felt like a scorching hot metal.
"I said… what did you… do to her!?" Anna shouted again, ignoring her physical state.
The king smiled proudly down at Elsa agonized expression. "I simply doubled her sensitivity to pain." He kicked her, forcing her to turn on her back.
She screamed.
"Stop it!" Aphrodite begged.
Why was it always them who needed to suffer?
Why? Elsa thought while writhing in pain.
The king then put his leg on Elsa's stomach where he once stabbed her, putting all his weight again on the wound.
Elsa's eyes widened and she screamed louder in agony as she scratched at his leg, trying desperately to push it off, tears running down at the side of her face.
Frost formed on the king's leg.
Why was it always him who gave them pain?
Why?!
The citizens watched horrified as they witnessed the merciless and sadistic torture their king was inflicting.
The king leaned down and put his arm on his knee. "I will put them all in cells and torture everyone you love in front of you. Then… I'll slit their throat and make you drink their blood." He ranted psychotically. "I don't understand why you won't listen and obey me. Haven't you learned already? You're nothing… A filthy freak who can't even control the curse she was born with."
WHY!?
He leaned further down, staring right at her teary, wide eyes. "You will always. Be. A monster. And…. Nothing… else."
"WHYYYYYYY!?" A gust of cold air and snow exploded when she screamed, forcing the king to stagger backwards and fall on the ground.
The king was completely taken aback as he stared at her in shock.
Elsa slowly and shakily stood, everyone watching her in surprise. She lifted her head and the king was completely astonished.
Elsa glared at him with those dead-serious eyes for the first time in her entire life as she breathed heavily from the pain.
Her eyes… They weren't those crazy wide eyes that wanted to kill. They weren't those frightened and petrified eyes that she always gave him.
No.
Those eyes were completely foreign to him.
He smirked, "So you're finally choosing to really face me?!" He laughed and stood up, showing her the glowing mark on his palm. "I'm the strongest one here, daughter of mine!"
Elsa calmly looked down at her shaking hand, then at the mark on his hand. "Then you've left me no choice." She coldly said before her hand started glowing as she formed an ice ball that shone brighter and brighter.
The king smirked. "You think that'll scare me?!" He huffed.
Elsa gave Anna one last look and smiled.
Anna somehow felt uneasy.
And that only made her feel worse when Elsa mouthed…
I'm sorry…
Before anyone knew it, Elsa pressed the ice ball on her chest, freezing her heart.
Everyone's eyes widened in complete shock and bewilderment.
"What?!" The king shouted in surprise, expecting that she was going to send it towards him.
NOTE: The 'thoughts' in bold/italic are Elsa's and the thoughts.
Elsa fell to her knees and hands, trembling in pain.
Thud-thud
She could hear her heart beating.
You hurt me. Elsa thought.
Black smoke started coming out of her skin and a snow storm started forming.
You hurt my mother.
Aphrodite watched and feared the worst.
Thud-thud. . .Thud-thud
You hurt my sister.
"Anna! Your hair!" Kristoff said in relief, pointing at her head.
Anna felt the coldness slip away as she looked at her pigtails and realized that her hair was turning back to strawberry-blonde.
Rapunzel's eyes widened when she realized the blue rose was slowly turning black.
Four majestic ice pillars shot from the ground, growing taller and taller and taller, surrounding Elsa and forcing the ground to shake.
My friends…Images of smiling Rapunzel, Aiden, Flynn, Bulda, Brandon, Zoey flashed in front of her.
My home…Then thought the frozen and ruined Arendelle.
Thud-thud. Thud-thud. Her heartbeat raced and got even louder as the blood pumped in her ears. A small point on her chest was glowing cyan before suddenly, a mark formed.
My people…
The king gritted his teeth. That mark… It was a familiar one. He'd seen it before.
The king looked at his palm and felt relieved that his mark was still way bigger than the one on her chest. But before he could puff up in pride, he found himself speechless when the mark on Elsa's chest started to spread.
You've only brought misery to everyone I love…
Elsa screamed hard and squeezed her eyes shut in pain as dark lines started crawling around her body, forming strange-looking marks.
Thud-thud. Thud-thud. Thud-thud. Thud-thud.
They crawled and burned her skin, emitting black smoke as they moved on her chest… Her neck… her shoulders… her arms… her legs… All the way towards her face.
Brought Hatred…
Her screams were abnormal as they were accompanied by multiple unsettling voices. Some strands of her hair started changing color as they went from platinum to teal.
Anger…
Everyone was barely able to struggle against the strong snow storm.
Thud-thud. Thud-thud. Thudthudthudthudthudthudthud…!
The snowstorm blew while the black smoke surrounded her like fire.
Fear!
Elsa screamed one long last time, the wind sending some of the people back and making them stumble to the ground, before it all died down, leaving everyone speechless.
Pain!
When the fog cleared. Everyone watched Elsa in shock as she calmly stood between the four pillars and slowly opened her eyes, black smoke coming out of them.
And Despair.
The king staggered back in fear as she looked straight at him. "What… in the hell…"
For the white in Elsa's eyes was all black, her pupils thin as a fox's, and her irises glowing bright cyan, betraying all signs of humane mentality.
So for that I will stop you.
You can view all fanart for this fic on my deviant account Lany19