Chapter 5.

When I wake up I'm in some kind of room, completely dark aside from the light of a torch at the other end of it. I try to move, but soon discover that I'm chained to a chair, my hands entrapped in a pair of those special shackles I had when I first woke up after being captured. As expected, nothing happens when I try to conjure some ice.

Cursing, I try to struggle against my bounds, even though I know it's in vain, and when that doesn't work, I scream for help, hoping someone will hear me. But no one comes to my rescue; they can't hear me, or maybe they simply don't care, after all, why would they help the infamous ice-wielder they all seem to fear and hate?

I start trembling in fear, wondering who captured me and for what purpose, my mind making me imagine all the worst-case scenarios in one second. The most realistic though, is that they abducted me to kill me. My stomach twists painfully at the thought and I feel like I want to throw up, cry and faint, all at the same time.

Stupid Kristoff for leaving me with Gerard. Stupid Gerard for leading me into a trap. And stupid me for not having seen it before, for not having defended myself in time. Now I'm probably going to die because of my stupidity.

Suddenly, the door opens and a bunch of men get in. When they close the door, I see there are six of them, and most of their faces look familiar, meaning I've seen them around the castle; Gerard is obviously with them. I clench my teeth, knowing that without my powers I have no chance against them, but even though I'm paralyzed with fear, I know I can't give up just jet. I don't want to die!

"Are you comfy now, Northerner?" One of them says with a mocking tone.

"You wasn't getting used to the commodities of being her majesty's special pet, were you?" Another one adds, obviously trying to get to me. "I bet you wished Anna was here to save you."

"What do you want?" I ask, trying to conceal my fear so they don't see just how scared I am.

"We want to set things right." Gerard answers, stepping towards me. "Our naïve and young queen obviously doesn't know anything about your kind, so we're going to save her before her own inexperience kills her."

"Anna will know about this. And then no one will be there to save you from your stupidity." I answer in the bravest and most defiant way I can, which unfortunately isn't much.

"Really? Who will tell her? And who will even care if you disappear?" He laughs, and the worst thing is that I know… he's probably right. Even Anna and Gerda, who are the only ones who treat me civilly, have only known me for a couple of weeks. They'd probably search for me for a few days, then assume I escaped and forget about me at all.

That thought stings greatly, knowing I could simply die and no one would even remember me, much less cry for me.

"That's right, ice witch. No one would even try and find you." Another one of them speaks, trying to hurt my feelings even more, and succeeding.

"Plus, even if they did, all they'll find is a bunch of ashes." The one next to him laughs.

"I didn't think we were going to burn her alive?" One of them says, but it sounds more like a question.

"That's the usual punishment for witches." One of them answers, and my stomach twists painfully. I really hope they're not seriously considering that. "However, as we've already discussed, we have to make it quick, least Kristoff manages to return to the castle and starts wondering why she isn't in her room."

His words give me some hope. Maybe Kristoff is searching for me right now. Maybe he'll rescue me! But… maybe he won't even care. He hates me.

No, I have to stay positive. If there's even the smallest of possibilities to get out of here alive, then I'll take it. I have to buy some time for Kristoff to find me.

"Wait." I say, grabbing their attention. "If you're going to kill me, can I at least ask you a question? Why do you want to take my life? I've done nothing to you."

"You say you've done nothing to us?!" One of them, the bulkiest and scariest, goes towards me and takes me by the collar of my dress, making me flinch in fear. "The Northerners killed my wife! And my unborn son!" He adds, with so much pain and fury in his voice that, if he wasn't trying to kill me, I'd probably feel sorry for him.

"Well, yeah, but… it wasn't me." I retort, my answer making him even angrier.

"Yes it wasn't you, but I know if you could, you'd kill us all right now! Your kind are evil and heartless. I'm gonna kill you!" At this, he takes out a knife, and the sight of the wicked blade makes me shrink further into the chair as I hear a faint cracking sound behind me. Maybe upsetting them wasn't such a good idea.

"Wait!" Gerard stops him, placing his hand on his shoulder. "Remember: each of us will have an opportunity to hurt her, but I will be the one to kill her. That was the deal." He reminds him with a stern expression. At his words the others nod, and I double my efforts to get free. I can't die like this!

"Alright." The man sighs. "I guess I'll just make a little scar on her pretty face." He brings the knife to my face and I flinch away from it, though it's not of much use since I'm chained to the chair. Suddenly, I feel the tip of the blade pressing against my left eyebrow, no doubt drawing some blood, but not leaving any serious injuries. Yet.

I shut my eyes tightly and try to turn my head to the side, but he tames my chin and holds me in place, and starts slowly moving the knife downwards, making me clench my teeth to avoid screaming in pain. I don't want to give them the satisfaction of seeing me cry.

I'm scared though, my head thumping on my inside my chest a thousand miles per hour. I feel like I'm going to faint and… suddenly, hear the cracking sound again, this time stronger, and open my eyes to see what it is. I don't think the sight of ice has ever been as wonderful for me as it is now. My powers are working! There might be hope.

More than just hope, actually; the man that was hurting me wasn't paying attention to my ice, and so it's not difficult to entrap his legs. When he notices this, though, it's too late; my ice works fast, immobilizing him before he can even ask for help.

"Hey! What do you think you are doing?!" One of the men exclaims when he notices this, as he tries to get to me, but the ice is spreading fast, and he ends up slipping over it and falling face first to the ground.

"You monster! How dare you attack us?" Gerard exclaims before approaching towards me, more carefully than his friend, as he unsheathes his sword. I command the ice to crawl into my chains, being surprisingly easy to control it, and I cool it down even further, trying to make them break. However, the sight of all five men trying to get to me and stop me, as well as the mini storm I've caused in here, doesn't let me concentrate, so I close my eyes and focus on the ice.

It's a curious feeling, and if my life didn't depend on this, I'd probably marvel at how the ice is like a part of my body and I can feel everything it feels. I can feel from the chains growing weaker and weaker, to the men slipping on my ice. I concentrate all my power on the chains with the sole thought of getting free and not dying, and finally scream at the same time a powerful blast of magic explodes from my hands, breaking the chains and making my attackers fall to the ground.

Sensing I'm now free, I don't wait for the men to recover, and instead I get up and run for my life.

I can feel the storm following me, and the ice forming under my feet with each step I take, but I have more urgent matters right now; I still have the shackles on, and though I'm trying to get them off, they are much stronger than he chains. Also, I hear hurried steps behind me, probably Gerard and the others following me, so I have to get out of here and back to the castle before they catch up to me.

I'm in some kind of tunnel, the only source of light being some torches here and there. From time to time there are also some doors on the wall, but I don't know what's behind them, and I don't think stopping to try and open them would be worth it. However, I'm getting tired, especially since I have to carry this awful metal things around, and I don't know how much longer I'll resist. I hope this thing isn't as long as it seems.

Thankfully, the tunnel soon ends on a spiral staircase, and I don't even stop to think before skipping upstairs as fast as my feet can carry me. Soon, I arrive at a wooden door that I blast open so I can keep running down another corridor, similar to the first one but with more torches and newer walls. I just hope the castle is near here, and I find my way there.

I turn to see the men still following me, all wielding weapons and snarling at me. I try to pick up the pace, but I end up falling because of the weight of the shackles making me lose my balance. My knees hurt, but I still try to get up before they catch me, however, I feel someone grabbing at my dress and I crawl to get away from him as I order my powers to tear away the tissue that's been caught in his hand. I manage to do it, but I freeze when I feel the point of a sword pressing against my back.

"Stop where you are or I will slaughter you like an animal." A deep voice says, and I gulp, trying to swallow my fear and calm down my racing heart. But it's useless; tears are even starting to fall from my eyes. It's too much for me.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A very familiar voice sounds in front of me, and I look up to see that it's Kristoff standing there with a crossbow pointed at the others. I don't think I've ever been happier to see him.

"Kristoff! How did you find us?" Gerard asks.

"I just followed the cold. You'd be surprised how clear it has permeated throughout the whole castle." He pauses and takes a step towards them. "Now drop your weapons if you don't want to have an arrow sticking out of your skull." He says in a threatening way.

"Kristoff, look, you know what we're doing is right. These creatures are dangerous! You must know that better than anyone else." He tries to convince him, and I see a flicker of doubt in his eyes that I don't like at all.

"I'm just following orders." He finally says after a long pause, though he's still somewhat hesitant. "Queen Anna commanded me to protect her and I will obey."

"Queen Anna doesn't know what she's doing; she's just a child playing at being monarch." One of the men says, and even I am tempted to freeze him, however Kristoff beats me to protest against his comment.

"Don't talk about Anna like that!" He snarls. "She's a good person, and her father taught her well. She still has a lot to learn, but at least she's trying."

"But even if that's the case, she made a terrible mistake bringing this monster to the castle. I know that, you know that, so why stop us?" Gerard tries to persuade him once again.

"I'm sure she has good reasons, and if this ice-wielder became a threat, I trust Anna would make the right decision." Kristoff says, surprising me. "I have faith in her." His voice is so determined, so sure of his convictions… I almost admire him.

"Very well, you've asked for it." Gerard sighs before leaping to attack Kristoff, who fires his crossbow. A shriek sounds, indicating that the arrow hit its target, and I use the distraction that this causes to try and get away from the scene. However, someone grabs the chain still attached to the shackles and I fall again.

I turn around to see it's one of my attackers, walking towards me with murderous eyes as Kristoff deals with all the others. Suddenly, he raises his weapon; a heavy hammer that could no doubt break someone's head in one single blow, and I cover my head with my shackled hands, trying to protect myself somehow, even if I know it's hopeless. In that moment of intense fear and anguish, I feel the strongest pull of energy I've ever felt and immediately a barrier of thick ice stops the deadly weapon.

I hastily get up and take a few steps back, conscious that, even though the man doesn't have his weapon anymore (it being trapped in my ice), he's still potentially deadly. The good thing is, the explosion of power apparently managed to destroy the shackles, and so I'm now able to move more freely and, most importantly, to use my powers more precisely.

I face him, ready to release my magic the moment he gets close. My heart is pounding on my ears and I feel I might be ready to faint because of the exhaustion, both emotional and physical, that I'm experiencing, but I force myself to hold on. I just might survive now that Kristoff is here, so I'm not giving up.

Suddenly, the man tries to attack me, but I shoot ice at his feet and make him fall, before stepping forward and creating chains around him to immobilize his limbs. It almost scares me how easily I took him out.

When I look towards Kristoff, I see he's already defeated three men and is now fighting against the other two. I'd help him, but I feel the rush of adrenaline already fading, together with my powers, which seem to be weakening by the second. So I just stay here, watching Kristoff parry blow after blow without effort, showing just how great of a warrior he is. Or how awful the other two are. Or both.

Suddenly, one of them makes a mistake and Kristoff hits his shoulder, making him drop his sword, before he pushes him to the ground and kicks his head, knocking him unconscious. Then, the other one furiously attacks him, obviously upset that Kristoff just managed to defeat his last friend, but in his haste, he doesn't look out for the ice, and ends up slipping in it before Kristoff takes this chance to his head him with the handle of his sword.

With that the last of my attackers has fallen, and my guard doesn't waste one second before getting out handcuffs and restraining each assailant, ensuring they won't escape. Once that's taken care of, he turns towards me, tired and with a few cuts here and there, but still trying to make sure he did his job right and I didn't get killed.

"Are you alright?" He asks walking towards me.

"I-I'm fine." I choke out, even though my legs are about to give in and my vision is starting to fade. It was too much emotion for one night.

"Are you sure? You don't seem fine." He eyes me skeptically as he comes to a stop in front of me. "A-and how did you even create all this ice?!" He exclaims, shocked. "It must have taken a lot of energy to break through the shackles. Maybe that's why you look a little pale."

I remember how I did it. The sensations I felt. How I let fear and survival instinct take control over me, eventually saving me but leaving me feeling empty inside. I'm drained, and feel like I'm falling over. Suddenly all I can think of is negative emotions and I'm afraid they'll consume me. I need some sort of comfort. I need… a friend.

And so, I hold on to the closest thing to that that I have right now, Kristoff, and start crying over his chest. He seems shocked by this, his body rigid like he is uncomfortable, but he doesn't dare pushing me away for some reason. Maybe he can feel I need a hug more than ever and that's why he places a hesitant hand on my back.

"Hey… It's okay. You're safe now, Elsa." His voice is soothing, and the words are exactly what I need to hear now. Together with the feeling of being so close to a human being, it helps soothe the hatred and fear threatening to consume me, if only slightly. "You'll be okay." His voice is the last thing I hear before my strained body finally decides it's had enough and I fall unconscious.


A/N: So, that was chapter five, or the second part of chapter four, however you want to see it XD. I hope you liked it and leave a review/favorite/follow if you did. Thanks for reading :D

Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.