Elsa tenderly rubbed her fingers against her eyelids, doing everything within her power not to keep them shut. The last couple of days had certainly been among the most tiring since she became the warden of Frozen Heart Maximum Security Prison, but it hadn't been anything she couldn't handle.

Well, for the most part.

She exhaled before pouring herself her third cup of coffee for the morning, praying that her headache would go away. She took a valerian capsule from a drawer in her desk and crunched it up into the beverage, adding a splash of creamer in order to tone down its bitter taste (Elsa was normally a black coffee kind of girl, but desperate times called for desperate measures). She slouched as she took a slow sip. The truth was, her stress-level had been terrible as of late. It had gotten so bad that her doctor had ordered her to go on a vacation during her last check-up, but with the arrival of the detention center's most notable new inmate, she simply couldn't comply with his wishes.

Besides, work could have a soothing impact on her. "The Zoo," as she often referred to it in her personal log, could be a chaotic world to keep in order, but she was usually up for the challenge, if she did say so herself.

Still, everything had certainly been more...trying ever since her sister got herself arrested for double homicide.

She sat herself up straight when there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Ma'am?"

She relaxed herself a little. It was only Kristoff.

"You may come in. And for the final time, you're allowed to call me Elsa."

"I'm afraid I'm here on a professional matter, warden," Kristoff said, ignoring his boss's wishes yet again as he entered her office. "It concerns Lord Fergus."

Elsa regained her composure.

"What does he want this time? I already agreed to let him visit in two days."

"Well, that's precisely the issue, ma'am. He's here."

Elsa's gloved fingers twitched.

"For heaven's sake, most of the animals are sleeping in their cages right now. Visiting hours aren't until the afternoon."

"He claims he's not here to see his daughter."

Elsa opened her drawer and placed another stress pill in her coffee.

"Christ, I hate being confused. If he's not here to speak with that wicked bitch of his, he must have some sort of agenda. And I have a hunch it involves Anna in some way."

"Shall I send him away then?"

Elsa shook her head, her migraine quickly getting worse.

"No, that's regretably not an option. Bring him in here. I'll try to be a good girl."

Kristoff tipped his cap at her and left, leaving Elsa alone to collect herself before one of her least-favorite people in the world would attempt to talk her into whatever scheme he had on his mind today. She had very little time to prepare, however, as her door was swung open a moment later by Lord Fergus, a man who never bothered to knock.

He was a towering presence to say the least, his massive weight consisting of a combination of fat and muscle (it was hard to tell how much of each he had) which made him so wide he had to enter her doorway sideways. His peg leg was something he liked to emphasize with every step he took, leaning forward on his walking stick as he hobbled along in a manner which somehow managed to make him appear still larger.

"Elsa, me girl!" He stretched out his hand, which itself was probably enormous enough to encase her entire head. "How are things here at the hoosegow?"

Elsa took another sip of coffee.

"As well as they can, I suppose. Though I doubt you came her unannounced today to simply ask me about the current condition of my prison."

"It's cute that you call it that. I don't need to tell you how much 'your prison,' as you call it, depends on me family fortune in order to stay in business."

"Business is a peculier word. I thought my job was to keep the kingdom's most dangerous women off the streets and locked up in tiny cages where they belonged."

"There's money to be made in any instituation, my lass. For example, does Frozen Heart not employ roughly 1,000 guards?"

"1,102. Though God knows I don't know most of their names."

"That's still 1,102 jobs. 1,102 people whose very well-being and financial stability depend on this prison staying afloat. You wouldn't ever want for that many fine men and women to be stuck in the soup kitchens because I had a good reason to stop being so generous, would you?"

"You're always welcome here, Lord Fergus." Another sip. "However, I think it would be more convenient for both of us if you simply told me what it is you're trying to squeeze out of me."

"You're a suspicious gal, you know that? I like that. A warden should be suspicious. I hear stories sometimes that you were once, shall we say, overly sympathetic to the inmates here. Particularly one girl you felt so bad for that you went out of your way to try to make her feel better..."

"If you're talking about my sister, I can assure you that..."

"Not your sister. Truth of the matter is, I'm not sure what her name was. I believe, however, that her nickname managed to stick."

Another sip.

"You mean her. Your daughter is the only prisoner who ever laughed when she first saw her. Most don't have that kind of reaction when they are told to look at a frozen corpse."

"Well, it is a bit amusing, I suppose. Not that I've ever shared Merida's obsession with the macabre, but every lass needs a hobby."

"Most hobbies don't result in matricide."

"And most prison escapes don't end in death."

He lowered his walking stick and sat himself down, his body causing the unsuspecting office chair below him to creek.

"Don't think I don't know your strong opinion on Merida. I don't expect for you to like her. I don't expect for you to like any of the ladies here. But don't go snapping at me about the day me wife died."

"I meant no offense." Her cup was empty now. "I'm just amazed by how defensive you get of the woman who killed her."

"Like you wouldn't do the same for the sister you have locked up right now. We both have family members who, shall we say, have a certain affection for violence."

"Hardly. Until that night, I never would've described Anna as a violent person."

"You might be surprised, lass. After all, she's among her own kind now. A young creature is capable of anything when allowed to thrive in their natural habitat..."

Elsa refilled her coffee cup, her hands shaking as she did so. This conversation was going nowhere productive.

"You still haven't told me why you came here."

"To offer me hospitality and invite you out to dinner. I hear stories that you haven't left this prison in more than a month. Or did you become an inmate here without me knowing it?"

"Don't tell me you're asking me out of a date."

"Nonsense, lass. Just some time for us to catch up in a setting a bit more, shall we say, appealing than a maximum security detention center. Surely you've heard I'm a man who loves to socialize."

"What it sounds like is that you have something you wish to say in public to me, in order to ensure that neither of us makes a scene."

Fergus pulled an empty flask out of his shoulder pocket, leaned across the desk and helped himself to Elsa's coffee. He took a swig as though he were consuming whisky.

"So suspicious. Again, I think that's a good thing. There's a new establishment not far from here. Only an hour's drive. Best fried oysters you've ever consumsed, I promise. I'll see you there tomorrow night."

He embraced her gloved hand and gave it a light kiss.

"Until then, my lady. I look forward to our little chat."

With a groan, he stood himself up, hobbling along loudly until he was out of sight. Kristoff returned shortly after her visitor was gone.

"What did he have to say, ma'am?"

"I'm not sure. I don't think he's said it yet."

She sighed and removed the glove on her right hand. A small flurry of snowflakes immediately began flowing from her fingers, freezing her coffee mug and its contents.

"God, I hate that man."