AN: I hope y'all enjoy the story, leave a review and don't forget to tip your neighborhood snow puppy.


"If you want your sister to return home unharmed, you will do as you're told."

Elsa bristled, her face flushing with anger at the man's audacity. "You can't honestly expect me to—"

Tyr turned to the man with the crossbow and gave him a curt nod. "Shoot him," he said simply.

"No!" Elsa shouted. She threw out a hand as the bolt left the crossbow, intending to freeze it midair. A stream of ice shot forth, but her aim was off, just a fraction to high. The ice skimmed just above it, knocking the bolt off-target. Instead of piercing his chest, and likely his heart, the sharp tip grazed Alarik's side. He toppled backward with a yelp of surprise and pain.

The blast of ice had taken the others in the room by surprise, and Elsa used the momentary lapse in the Northmen's attention to let loose the magic she'd been fighting to restraint since she entered the longhouse. She sent an icy blast toward the guard aiming his crossbow at Anna, meaning to knock the weapon from his hand. A stake of ice speared the man's wrist, and the crossbow dropped to the floor as he howled in pain.

That was the only warning Elsa could give her sister before she allowed thick ice to explode across the floor with enough force to knock anyone standing to ground.

As Elsa watched, Anna hit the floor and rolled, slamming her foot into the second guard's face as she scrambled to find her feet. She leapt onto the table between them and Elsa latched onto Anna's arm, pulling her roughly to her side of the room. She didn't have any way to cut her sister's bindings and they didn't have the time to try and unknot them; they would have to make do without the use of Anna's hands.

"Get Alarik out of here," Elsa said, shoving her sister toward the wounded man.

Anna hesitated, her eyes wide and frightened. "I'm not leaving you here."

Elsa sent another icy blast through the room, using the force of the ice to push one of the heavy tables into the two guards who had been holding Anna and pinning them under its weight. "I'll be right behind you, Anna! Go!" She made a fist and dropped the temperature of the longhouse to inhospitable levels. Thick snowflakes whirled throughout the room, obscuring the Northmen's vision.

She could hear her sister's footsteps shuffling behind her as Anna helped Alarik to his feet and to the door. Three of the four guards on the opposite side of the room had made it to their feet as well, and two were aiming loaded crossbows. The third moved around the outskirts of the room, a spear in his hand. Elsa stepped forward and positioned herself between her sister and Alarik, and the Northmen. Concentrating on the ice pooled beneath the table in front of them, she threw her hand out and jerked it up quickly. Sharp, frozen spikes shot up, destroying the table in an explosion of ice and wood.

She then created a wall of ice in front of the guard with the spear, shoving him back against the wall and pinning him there. Elsa kept her gaze on the scene in front of her, and as she heard Anna and Alarik exit the longhouse behind her, she stepped back toward the door. She was searching the space for the remaining Northman when something slammed into her and sent her crashing to the ground. She gasped for breath as the wind was knocked out of her, and hands grabbed her by the shoulder, flipping her onto her back. Before she could react, they twisted in the collar of her dress, lifting her off the floor and mercilessly slamming her back. Distantly, she was aware of the sound of her own head cracking against the sheet of ice beneath her, as stars exploded across her vision.

Elsa's fingers skipped across the icy floor as, dazed, she searched for some sort of purchase. She clumsily grabbed at one of the arms twisted in her collar and squeezed, but it wasn't enough. Her ears were ringing, her head was buzzing, and she couldn't manage a firm enough grip on her magic to freeze the man, couldn't gather enough strength to knock him away.

Tyr, she realized through spotty, dimming vision. He released her tunic and twisting his arm to grab hold of her wrist, shoving a knee into her chest. Elsa wheezed painfully as her breathing was suddenly restricted. The heel of her boots dug into the ice, trying gain enough leverage to dislodge him. The sharp ache cut a swath through the fog clouding her brain, and she attempted to wrench her hand out of his, but Tyr's hold was relentless. Just as she managed to work her other hand free, he fished for something out of her eyeline.

Something closed around Elsa's right wrist as she wrapped her free hand around his arm, prepared to knock him back with the strongest blast of ice she could muster. As she released the magic, a molten fiery pain erupted in her wrist and ripped down the length of her arm. She seized up beneath him, her fingers tightened around his arm. Barbs of ice shot out, tearing through his arm.

Tyr shouted and stumbled back, cradling the blooded limb to his chest as Elsa looked on in horror, her stomach churning. She tore her gaze away from the mess she'd made of his arm and scrambled to her feet, moving toward the door. She stopped on the threshold only long enough to throw a blast of ice down the middle of the room, extinguishing the fire and plunging the room into near darkness. She slammed the door shut behind her, stumbling back a few feet.

Elsa dipped into her magic and released a final stream of ice at the building. Heat shot down her right arm and she bit back a scream. She curled the limb close to her body and shot the ice form her left hand instead, refusing to let go until several inches of solid ice covered the door and windows of the building. If the biting cold didn't slow them down, the ice would.

Once the building was as good as sealed in a tomb of ice, Elsa let her arm fall to the side. Almost immediately, the shooting pain in her right arm dulled to a distant throb. She stood numbly for an unknown length of time, staring at the building as her head swam and her arm ached mutedly, until a hand gripped her shoulder. All of a sudden, her sister was in front of her, Anna's mouth moving a mile a minute, but Elsa couldn't make out anything she was saying.

"What?" she asked, her own voice sounding warbled and distant.

"Elsa?" Anna's voice cut through the sound of her pulse thrumming in her ears. "Are you okay?"

She tried to answer, but she was having difficulty getting enough air, and she couldn't make a squawk of sound. Blackness flooded Elsa's field of vision, and she neither felt nor saw the ground as it rushed up to meet her.


Alarik heard the sharp thwang of a bolt being shot, a curious crackling of ice, and then his side lit up with fire and he was knocked to the ground. The impact left him breathless and he curled to the side, pressing a hand against the wound. Just as the initial burst of pain was ebbing to a manageable throb, a sudden gust of freezing wind and ice sent him back to the floor. He lay stunned, struggling to find his breath amidst the freezing air that left his lungs seizing and listening to his own pulse thrumming in his ears. He blinked lethargically, knowing he had likely only laid there a few seconds, but it felt much longer.

Hands gripped his arm and hauled him mostly to his feet. Alarik hunched over the fire in his side as he was dragged across the frozen floor and out the door. Once outside, the warm air of an autumn evening hit his lungs and he greedily sucked in a lungful. With a clearer head and away from the bitter cold, he straightened the rest of the way, hand pressed against his side. Everything that had just transpired came rushing back like a gut punch, and he spun to the person at his side, who had dragged from the house. She looked terrified and disheveled, her hair mussed and hands still bound with rope.

"Princess Anna." Alarik searched the area behind her, but there was no one else outside with them. He pulled a dagger from his boot and gripped the rope binding her wrists, swiftly cutting through it. "Where's the Queen?" he asked, fearing he already knew the answer.

Anna looked over her shoulder, rubbing at her freed wrist. "She - she was right behind me." Looking almost dazed, she turned and stepped toward the door.

A glint of metal caught Alarik's eye and he reached out to grab the Princess' arm, yanking her back toward him just as a cross bolt arrow missed her by inches.

Ignoring the pain in his side, Alarik drew his sword and closed the distance between himself and the Northman. As he approached, the man dropped the crossbow and pulled out his own sword. Metal clanged as their swords clashed, echoing throughout the clearing. The Northman met him hit for hit, and Alarik barely managed to shift out of the way of a strike that would have skewered his already injured side. When his opponent left himself open and Alarik moved quickly to take advantage, sinking his sword into the man's gut, thrusting upward. He stepped back and jerked the sword free, stepping to the side as the man fell to the ground.

Alarik exhaled shakily, wincing as the pain in his side flared. He pushed it down, knowing there were much larger concerns at hand. He turned toward the entrance of the longhouse, shoulders sagging and relief flooding through him as he saw the Queen standing just outside the door. His eyes went wide as she coated the cabin in thick ice. If he had any doubts about the Queen's supposed ice powers, they were gone now.

He cleaned the blood from his blade and returned it to its sheath as he joined Elsa and Anna. From a distance the Queen had looked no worse for wear but now that he was closer, Alarik could see that her breath was coming in sharp pants, and her eyes looked glassy, her gaze distant.

Elsa swayed slightly, a frown pulling at the corners of her mouth. "Wha . . ." she said breathlessly, slurring heavily.

"Elsa." Anna stepped closer and gripped her sister's hands tightly. "Are you okay?"

Elsa opened her mouth to answer but nothing came out. A confused look crossed her face, and then her eyes rolled up and her knees buckled.

Alarik jumped, barely managing to catch her as she went down. "Shit," he breathed, gently lowering her to the ground while keeping her head cradled against his arm.

"Elsa?" Anna dropped to the ground with them, one of her sister's pale hands still clasped tightly in her own. She leaned forward, cupping Elsa's face with her free hand. "Elsa," she called again, a hint of desperation creeping into her voice as she tried to wake the woman up.

Alarik slipped his fingers against her neck and felt for a pulse. It was there and strong, but so fast it was practically humming beneath his fingers, and Elsa's breath continued to come in short, shallow rasps. Considering what just happened, it wasn't surprising and likely the excitement had just been too much, causing her to pass out. He couldn't fault her; he'd seen bigger, tougher men go down over less. He looked from the unconscious Queen to the frozen longhouse behind them. "How long until that ice melts?"

Anna tore her wide gaze from Elsa and turned to the cabin. "I don't know. Her ice doesn't always melt. I mean, some of it does. Olaf almost did, but the ice on the castle doesn't, and the ice palace, but that's on the North Mountain and—"

"Your Highness," Alarik interrupted the nervous ramble of the Princess. He stared a moment, making sure he had her attention. "We need to get out of here before they break through. Our horses are around the other side of the cabin."

Anna didn't move, her gaze lingering on her sister.

"She'll be okay," Alarik assured her, biting back a wince as pain flared in his side. "But we can't stay here."

The Princess bit down on her lip then jerked her head in a tight nod. "Right," she said, pushing to her feet.

Alarik readjusted his hold on the Queen, sliding one arm under her knees and adjusting the other behind her shoulders. He started to stand, a grunt of pain escaping the tight line of his lips before he could stop it.

"You're injured!" Anna exclaimed.

"It's fine." He gritted his teeth, straightening his knees.

Anna cast a look back at the ice coating the longhouse then back to Alarik. "Let me see it."

"It's fine," he repeated.

"Elsa says that all the time and I never believe her either."

"We don't have time for this."

Anna huffed. "Not if you keep arguing. Alarik, if you pass out from blood loss or something, how are you going to help us?"

Alarik's shoulders slumped and he sighed, knowing she was right. Carefully, he laid Elsa back on the ground and turned to Anna, lifting the hem of his shirt to expose the spot where the bolt had caught him. There was a two-inch-long furrow dug into his side, that thankfully felt much worse than it looked. The wound wasn't too deep but was still bleeding sluggishly.

"Give me your dagger," Anna commanded, holding out her hand.

Alarik hesitated before handing it over to her. Anna looked down at the thick grey material of her own skirt then to the thinner fabric of the tail on her sister's dress. "Sorry, Elsa."

Alarik doubted she was.

She cut a long strip of material from Elsa's dress, leaving the hem at knee-length. Anna then helped Alarik wrap the material around his waist, securing it with a knot.

Once the makeshift bandage was in place, he lifted the Queen once more in his arms, biting down a hiss of pain that faded once he was standing with Elsa settled in his arms. He motioned for Anna to follow and walked quickly around the side of the house, only to have his heart drop when he found the area empty. "Shit."

Behind him, Anna gasped. "Now what?"

There was no sign of where the horses may have gone, no sound in the area but for their combined anxious breathing. Alarik cursed under his breath, offering the forest surrounding the longhouse one last searching glance. "Sioaskard Fortress is only a few miles north," he told her. "It will take us less time to get there than Valle. We can get help there."

Anna looked around nervously. "Through the forest?"

He nodded. "If we take the road, we have a higher chance of getting caught. I've hunted in these woods before, it's been a while, but Sioaskard shouldn't be that hard to find once we get closer." He looked over his shoulder at the frozen longhouse. There hadn't been any sounds from inside since Elsa emerged, but he knew they had already wasted far too much time. He turned to the Princess with an appraising gaze. "Ready?"

She looked tired and scared, staring at her limp sister and rubbing absently at her rope-burned wrist. Finally, Anna raised her gaze to his and nodded, following closely as Alarik headed into woods.


It was a mild autumn day, but Anna couldn't shake the chill that had taken hold. She wrapped her arms tightly around her middle as she trudged through the forest next to Alarik, her gaze fixed on the terrain in front of her.

"How you doing?"

Anna dragged her gaze up to Alarik. He looked so sincerely concerned for her wellbeing, she couldn't look him in the eye, instead shifting her attention to her still sister's face. Guilt tightened in her chest and she swallowed. "I should be the one asking you that. You're the one who's injured. You're the one who's carrying my unconscious sister."

Alarik pressed his lips into a thin line and huffed a rough breath through his nostrils. For a long while, the only sound was the natural chatter and rustling of the surrounding woods and the gurgle of a nearby stream. "Look," he finally said, "I really only have a vague idea of what is going on here, but you have to know that none of it is your fault."

Anna snorted. "I wish." She hugged herself tighter, thinking back on the argument she had with her sister – had it really only just been that morning? "This is all my fault," she said. "Once again, Elsa said no, and I didn't listen. Now we're lost in the woods and you're both hurt."

"It's clear that the Sirma leader wanted Elsa. If they hadn't gone through you, they would have found some other way to get to her. You shouldn't beat yourself up over this." Alarik readjusted his grip on Elsa's slim frame, shifting her position in his arms. "Besides," he continued when Anna offered no response, "we're okay. A little scuffed up, but otherwise fine."

Anna couldn't help but roll her eyes, "There's that word again. Fine," she spat with annoyance, turning on the ball of her foot and throwing her arms wide as she faced Alarik. "I really don't think either of you actually know what that—" The fading sunlight glinted harshly off something on the path behind him, and she abruptly stopped speaking.

"What?" the man asked quizzically. He turned to follow Anna's gaze. "Is that . . ."

Anna walked past him and dropped to one knee in the dirt, in front of a thin layer of frost, a three-foot-wide path that coated the ground like ice had been swept along the trail with a brush. She frowned as she stood, her gaze following the path of frost until it disappeared in the distance, mapping the way they'd been walking for the last hour. "It's frost."

Alarik looked down at Elsa in surprise, then back to the trail. "Is it melting?"

Anna shook her head. She raised a hand and ghosted it over her sister's pale, unmoving form. "I don't think so."

"Shit."

Anna couldn't agree more. Her heart tripped wildly against her ribcage. "Something's wrong."

Alarik barked an unamused laugh. "There are a lot of things wrong right now. That trail will lead the Northmen right to us."

"No," Anna said, shaking her head. "I mean, there's something wrong with Elsa. She wouldn't be creating it if there wasn't." She struggled to keep the panic out of her voice, but her heart continued to thump painfully in her chest. Her sister had spent the last four months practicing and maintaining a tight control over her magic. She had done well, too; the only slipups that occurred were during high-stress moments. If her control was slipping now . . .

"Fantastic." Alarik looked back the way they'd come and blew out a slow breath. "Okay. One problem at a time. Is there any way to get rid of that ice?"

Anna wrung her hands together and reined in her thoughts, though she couldn't do the same for her anxiety. "If we can wake her up, Elsa should be able to dismiss it." At least, she hoped so.

A rumble of thunder rolled overhead. Alarik squinted up at the sky and sighed. "Oh, good." He turned to Anna. "Let's find a place to stop for a few minutes, somewhere we're less likely to be ambushed."

Anna nodded and followed him through the forest. When they came upon a stream, they followed the burbling water before it led them to the short, rocky cliff face. It seemed a secluded enough spot, with a narrow shelf of rock a few feet above their heads that would provide some shelter in case the rain started.

Alarik gingerly knelt, a wince crossing his face as he carefully placed Elsa on the ground. He leaned her shoulders against a flat bit of the rock, and frost immediately spread out from her sprawled limbs. "I'll keep watch," he said as he stood. He moved back to the stream; one hand wrapped around the pummel of his sword.

Finally, alone with her sister, Anna knelt and reached out to grab Elsa's left hand, squeezed it gently. The fear she'd been feeling for her sister increased as she saw that not only was Elsa still breathing in shallow pants, but her face was shockingly pale. "Elsa." Anna lightly tapped the side of her sister's face. "Elsa," she tried again, louder.

When there was no response, fear squeezed her chest like a vice. Feeling desperate, Anna shook Elsa's shoulder and finally got a soft groan from her sister. Elsa's eyelids fluttered, like she was struggling to open them.

Encouraged, Anna moved her hand from Elsa's shoulder to the back of her neck. "Hey, Elsa, look at me." She waited for her sister's groggy gaze to land on her. Anna swallowed the panic that was bubbling up and struggled to smile. She knew Elsa shouldn't be having this much trouble waking up. Something was wrong. One problem at a time, she told herself, they had to get rid of the trail of frost, before they were found by Tyr and his men.

She took her sister's left hand. "Elsa, I know you're tired, and probably a little confused, but I need you to listen to me, okay?" Anna pressed Elsa's hand against the icy ground. "You left a trail of ice when we left the longhouse, and I need you to melt it. Can you do that?"