Company||Liesel/Elsa

The castle servants bowed their heads and stepped to the side when she passed them in the hallways. She could make them like her, Liesel knew. She could turn on her magical charms, and they would all love her instantly. But for once, she wanted authenticity. She wanted someone to see her as she was: powerful and successful by her own merits, and love her for it. She wanted someone to see everything she'd done and be truly proud of her. Liesel had been identifying that feeling more and more lately.

Liesel clutched at the fur on Salu's back. He slowed to keep pace with her, brushing against the fabrics of her dress as they moved as one. Usually, this would have been a comfort. Salu had been through it all with her.

But this time, Salu wasn't enough. Salu was a dog. His loyalty had been won by simply raising him from a puppy to adult. Humans weren't convinced so easily. Or perhaps they could, if you used the same strategy. It was an idea Liesel kept in her mind, but hadn't yet fully acted on. Too many plans were already in action for her to take on another. Sometimes time sped too fast for her to act.

So she slowed it down. Her heart beat slowed to half speed, and Liesel knew that if she compared Arendelle's time to the next kingdom over, Arendelle's days lasted twice as long.

And no one in the kingdom would detect the change.

When she walked into the rooms at the far end of the castle, the snowman stood in the glass tank, just as she'd left him.

"You there!" He ran into the glass, his carrot nose pushing back into his snowy head as he did so. "Release me! Or else!" He raised twig arms in a manner Liesel supposed was intended to be intimidating.

She bent to be at eye level with him and smirked. "No."

Olaf was her link to Elsa, the evidence she still eluded capture and death. Olaf would know if anything happened, she hoped. That, or he'd simply cease to exist. How to get him to talk was another story. Apparently Liesel's powers didn't extend to magically animated beings, or perhaps she had to have Elsa under her control to have any effect on the snowman. Her lack of insight in that area would have to be amended.

Arriving at the room she'd turned into her personal study, Liesel scooped up a potion from one of the tables, tipped the glass bottle to her mouth and drained it in seconds. The murky green liquid went down, sluggish and tasting of spoiled fruit with the texture of old bread turned into something drinkable. It was disgusting, but she hadn't found a way to mask the taste yet, and not drinking the potion wasn't an option, even though she doubted Morgause would ever attempt an escape.

In the mirror, Liesel turned into Hero, the sorceress who looked like a different person whenever she met Morgause. This time, Hero stood short and muscular with pale skin and dark hair, a look she'd copied from one of the women from town who hadn't noticed when Liesel pinched off a strand of hair. Morgause still hadn't seen Hero as herself, as Liesel. Somehow, Hero almost considered them to be two different people. Liesel and Hero. Allies. Friends, perhaps.

"I'm starting to think you enjoy my company," Morgause said when Hero entered. She lay in the same sprawled out manner she had during Hero's previous encounter with her. Her magic-preventing cuffs were clearly visible, making it easy for Hero to check on her. "How many times have you come to visit in only one day?"

Morgause's cell had little to offer. There was a bed and a somewhat private corner for a tub and chamber pot. As far as Hero could tell, Morgause rarely moved, likely because of her injury.

She looked much better than when Hero had taken her from The Isle of the Blessed, but that didn't mean she looked well. She'd cleaned herself up and Hero had provided new, clean clothes. Still, Morgause had been a test subject for potion after potion that Hero offered her, all of her own making and most of her own invention, just like the one she used to change her appearance. Some made Morgause feel better. Some just made things worse. Either way, Hero appreciated having an actual test subject for once.

That was the only reason she returned. She did not enjoy her company or the way Morgause poked at Hero's facade in search of truth. She didn't enjoy being around someone who, somehow, seemed to see that Liesel was under there somewhere, even if Morgause didn't understand what she was seeing.

"Drink up," Hero said. She waved an arm, and a goblet rushed to Morgause's side, the shimmering silver liquid still steaming when it stopped.

Morgause took the goblet in one hand, supporting herself with the other arm. She sniffed at it suspiciously. "Which is it this time, a remedy or more poison?" She drank the contents anyway, throwing the goblet back in Hero's direction. It rolled with a metallic clink and hit the bars just in front of Hero's feet.

Morgause shuddered, leaning back into the bed and closing her eyes for a moment.

"When are you going to tell me what you want? Where I am?"

Hero didn't answer.

"You must have some plan, one where it didn't matter that Hans and I lost that battle."

Hero only pursed her lips, hiding any piece of information from her prisoner. The two women locked eyes with each other, staring unblinkingly until the potion worked its magic. Morgause blinked, struggling to stay awake. Hero left the moment her breathing settled and Morgause was unconscious.

Elsa read and reread paragraphs, searching for something that would help her. Merlin insisted on bringing multiple books to search through when they rested, and Elsa was grateful — she just couldn't focus on anything she read. Just being away from Arendelle's cool ocean breeze helped with the cold, but it still clung to her like cobwebs.

At least the team Arthur sent with her held promise. The knights she'd worked with before, Merlin, Gwen, and Hans. Reluctant as she was to place any trust in him, the exiled prince's presence seemed more good than bad. He sat on the ground, tied with ropes and gagged with a piece of cloth. He looked more bored than anything, and Elsa wondered if she was underestimating him again.

Minutes later, their break ended, and they were back on the trail again. It would take much longer than going back to Arendelle. With such a large group, magical transportation was no longer an option, and time passed incredibly slowly.

"How are you feeling?" Merlin asked. Their horses walked side by side, following Leon's horse in the lead.

Whether it be because of other pressing matters or because he was avoiding her, they had spoken only a little before. Elsa kept her eyes forward, not wanting to see his concern. "I'll be fine."

"For how long, though?" He looked at the book Elsa still had peaking out of one of her bags. "Look, Arthur and I spoke through the mirrors during that break, and Gaius found something. He thinks what you're missing is balance — some type of magic that opposes the ice, like fire. I can teach you."

In front of them, Hans shifted on his horse, tilting his head in their direction. Elsa slowed her horse's pace and waited for Leon to pull Hans far enough ahead. They didn't need Hans gaining any powers over fire.

Merlin caught on to her actions. "He can't learn anything from this conversation, I promise. We'll make sure he's far enough away when we practice."

"I can watch though, right?"

Elsa startled, realizing just how close Gwaine had gotten to them. She laughed, the sound of her own cheerful voice just as surprising.

"Who knows, maybe I'll even find some magic of my own. I've tried a few times, never succeeded though."

"Sure," Merlin agreed. He made sure Gwen and Ruben could hear him too, having seen them trying to edge into the conversation. "You can all watch at some point as long as we rotate who is guarding Prince Hans. And sometimes magic, especially magic dealing with fire, is better dealt with around fewer people."

The glance Elsa shared with Merlin then didn't hold the concern or pity she thought it would, only a curiosity that thrilled her. Just the idea of taming fire with Merlin hid the tremors of cold for a moment. Whoever had taken over Arendelle wouldn't stand a chance when the two of them arrived to reclaim it.

I'm not quite satisfied with this chapter, but it's already a week late (apologies) so I posted it anyway. I'll try to get an extra chapter up sometime this week or make a double update next Saturday to make up for it. If I don't, I'll just try making the next chapter longer than 1500 words... which I probably should try to do anyway. My chapters are always so short.

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