AN: Thank you for everyone who reviewed, they really mean a lot and were/are super motivating. I hope everyone enjoy this chapter and don't forget to tip you local ice made friendship chipmunk on the way out.
When Elsa woke again, hours later, it was a smoother process than the last time she'd struggled to work her eyes open. She felt an overpowering desire to sleep for a week, possibly two, but felt much better overall than when she passed out on her sister's shoulder.
Sleep was a good healer.
She shifted and noticed that while the ground beneath her back was unnaturally cold, her head was cushioned on something both warm and soft. Elsa peeled her eyes open and discovered her head in her sister's lap. She smiled at the sight of Anna's face, peaceful in sleep, and stilled, not wanting to wake her. She knew her sister needed the rest, even if the severe angle of her tilted head meant she was likely to wake with a heck of a twinge in her neck.
Elsa raised her head from Anna's lap and pushed herself into a seated position. She frowned as she realized the cave floor beneath them was covered in a veil of ice. She raised a hand to dismiss it, then spotted the third member of their party crouched near the entrance of their temporary shelter. Immediately, she noted the tension in Alarik's posture as he stared intensely at something beyond the mouth of the cave.
As she moved closer, he looked over his shoulder and brought a finger to his lips, warning her to stay quiet before gesturing outside. She knelt next to Alarik and, following his gaze, found two Northmen some distance away, picking their way through the woods. She shot him a worried look, and her hand tensed at her side as she considered stopping them with her magic. She didn't, knowing that any appearance of ice would only confirm their presence.
The Northmen drew closer to their hiding spot and Alarik placed a hand on Elsa's arm, jerked his head toward the deeper part of the cave. Elsa went to her sister's side and gently shook Anna with one hand, covering her mouth with the other in the hopes the younger woman would stay quiet when she woke. Anna blinked, working her eyes open, then tensed when she realized someone was leaning over her. She bolted upright only to relax as she focused on Elsa crouching next to her.
Elsa dropped her hand away and put a finger to her lips, then tugged on Anna's arm, encouraging her to move toward the back of the cave. Her sister tensed at her side as the Northmen's footsteps crunched through the underbrush just outside the cave entrance. Alarik positioned himself between them and the cave opening, but Elsa knew there wasn't much they could do in the way of fighting if the Northmen discovered them, not when they were confined within such a small space.
They sat in tense silence, ears tuned to the sound of the men moving outside the cave. A hand suddenly gripped Elsa's arm and she jerked her head toward her sister, who lifted her eyebrows and gestured to the ground. Elsa looked down, dismayed to see the ground covered in a thin layer of frost that was rapidly spreading. She extended a hand and was about to melt the ice, then remembered how brightly the stone on the cuff around her right wrist had glowed the night before each time she got rid of the frost trail she'd made. She glanced at the cave entrance, unsure whether the stone's light would reach the mouth of the cave but worried it could give away their position as much as the frost would, despite the vegetation concealing the entrance. Instead, Elsa closed her eyes and took a deep breath, tried to suppress the growing ice and keep it from spreading to the cave entrance.
It seemed to work, and after another stressful moment, the footsteps moved on from the cave as the Northmen made their way deeper into the woods. Once sure the men had gone, the threesome let out a collective breath.
"That was too close," Alarik said as he moved toward the mouth of the small cave.
Elsa nodded in agreement and melted the ice coating the cave floor, wincing as a familiar sharp pain raced up her arm.
Anna put a gentle hand on her arm. "You okay?"
Elsa placed her hand over her sister's. "I'm fine." She offered Anna an encouraging smile then turned to Alarik. "But you're right, that was too close. Do you think they know we are heading to the fort?"
Alarik lifted a shoulder. "They could have just gotten lucky, or—" His eyes widened as he suddenly stopped talking.
Elsa shifted anxiously. "What is it?"
"When you fell last night, you left behind a rather sizeable circle of frost. I had hoped the rain would melt it, but . . ."
Elsa's heart sank. She doubted the light drizzle from last night would have been enough to melt the frost. In fact, she knew it wouldn't have been. "If they saw it, then they know we came north and that the only place for us to go would be the fort."
"Which means the chances of us making it to the fort without running into them just got really slim," Alarik said.
Elsa bit her lip and debated their options. She looked down at her hands as she came to a conclusion. "We should split up."
Anna's eyes went wide. "What?"
Elsa nodded, confident in her decision. "We split up. I can lead them away while you two get to the fort, and once there you can send soldiers to take care of the Northmen."
"That's got to be the worst idea I have ever heard."
Elsa shot Alarik a glare. He swallowed and cleared his throat, then added, "Your Majesty."
She let her glare linger for a moment longer before continuing. "My magic is fighting whatever it is this cuff is doing," she said, holding up her right arm. "That's why ice keeps leaking out. Trying to hold it back is . . . taking a lot, and having to melt it is . . ." She bit down on her lip and shook her head, not wanting to admit to the strain it was causing. "I'm either going to slow us down or leave a trail leading them right to us. Either way, I increase our chance of being caught. The Northmen aren't after either of you. I can lead them away, give you both a chance to make it to the fort and get help. I'll be fine. I have my magic to protect me."
Anna grabbed her upper arm. "Elsa, you were barely on your feet last night, and we don't know what that cuff is doing to you except that it's messing with your magic." Her sister tilted her head to meet Elsa's eyes. "What happens if suddenly you can't use your magic? Or you pass out? Or one of a hundred other things that might go wrong, and you're alone in the middle of the woods with no one to help you?"
"I'm fine," Elsa said firmly. "I can handle them."
Alarik shook his head. "No offense, Your Majesty, but in the short time I have known you, you are the least reliable source when it comes to your own wellbeing."
Elsa's mouth dropped open, but nothing came out. She pursed her lips as heat rose in her cheeks. Finally, she said, "I take a lot of offense to that."
Anna snorted and grinned. "That's because it's true."
Elsa whipped her head toward her sister. "Don't help him." She shook off the comment and took a breath, preparing to renew her argument.
"Besides the obvious," Alarik said, before she had the chance, "there is far too much risk in you going alone. Besides, Captain Jogeir entrusted me with your protection, and do you know what he, my father, and the Admiral would do to me if I let you go off on your own? That's not really something I want to contemplate."
"There," Anna smiled smugly. "You've been outvoted."
Elsa wrinkled her nose. "You can't outvote me, Anna," she said, though she knew she'd lost the argument. "I'm the Queen."
"Well, then this just become an autocracy."
Elsa narrowed her eyes at her sister. "They don't vote in an autocracy, either."
"Oh." Anna cocked her head, thoughtfully tapping her chin. "Theocracy?"
"No."
"Capitalism?"
"That's not even a form of government. It's an economic system." Elsa sighed. "Did you not pay attention to anything your tutors taught you?"
"You want to know if I paid attention to the nine-hundred-year-old man trying to teach me different forms of governmental structures?"
Elsa raised her gaze to the cave ceiling and shook her head. "Forget I asked."
Alarik pressed his lips into a thin line, his gaze pensive. "The idea isn't without merit, though."
Anna's jaw dropped open. "Of Elsa going off alone?"
"No, not quite," Alarik said with a shake of his head. He was quiet for a long moment before speaking again. "If you follow the cliffside north it'll lead you directly to the backside of Sioaskard. Then you just follow the wall around to the front of the fort. If you keep a steady pace, you should make it there in no time."
"While you . . ." Anna prompted pointedly.
Elsa felt like she already knew where this was going, and she didn't like the idea one bit.
"I can lead the Northmen away in the opposite direction," he said. "Then circle around back to the fort."
Elsa shook her head firmly. "No. You can't go by yourself. It's too dangerous."
"Oh, so it's okay for you to go alone, but not the armed soldier?" Anna asked, gesturing to the sword strapped to Alarik's side.
She ignored her sister. "How are you going to get them to follow you if it's my magic they want?" she asked Alarik.
He shrugged. "I'll stay far enough ahead of them that they don't realize you're not with me."
Elsa frowned deeply. She knew she had lost the argument for her splitting off from the other two, but she didn't like the thought of Alarik being on his own, either. She wasn't going to convince him that it was a bad idea, but if they stayed together in one group, the chances of the Sirma finding them increased greatly. "Fine," she said finally. She shifted, drew herself up onto her knees and she rubbed her hands together as an idea hatched in her mind. "But if you're going to go forward with this insane plan—"
"Which was your plan," Anna interrupted.
Elsa dropped her hands and turned to her sister. She tilted her head and narrowed her gaze. "Are you quite done?"
Her sister merely shrugged.
"We need to find you some food before I banish you from the kingdom," she grumbled under her breath as she returned her attention to Alarik. She pulled her shoulders back and drew in a deep breath, knowing that what she was about to do was going to hurt, a lot. She also knew it was something that would give them all the best chance of making it through this. "If we are going to do this," Elsa started again in a firm tone, "then we need to make sure it's going to work."
With one more steadying breath, she pooled her magic, biting her lip as the anticipated pain shot through her right arm. Elsa's head was clearer than the last time she used her magic, and she could better feel the flow of her power and what the cuff was doing to it. Or, what it was attempting to do to it. It felt like the magic was being split, like the cuff was attempting to absorb or dissipate the magic as she created it but couldn't do so quickly enough to work properly. She was still able to use her power, but it took twice the energy. She started feeling lightheaded, from the pain increasing in intensity as it moved up her arm and into her chest, and from the amount of energy it was taking her to use her magic. Finally, when she was sure she had gathered all the magic she could, she poured her intention into the ice and released a blast toward the empty space in front of her.
A large pile of snow took form as Elsa slumped forward. She threw a hand against the ground to keep from falling over, breathing heavily. She had expected the pain, but the drain of her was far more than she had anticipated. She closed her eyes and dropped her head, struggling to catch her breath.
As she began to slump to the side, a steady hand braced her. She leaned into her sister, and for a long while, the interior of the cave was quiet, save for the sound of Elsa's panting.
"Elsa?" Anna asked carefully, her fingers tightening around Elsa's arm.
"I, uh, feel like I'm missing something here," Alarik said slowly.
Elsa peeled her eyes open, frowning at the sight of the pile of snow in front of her. She leaned forward on her knees and brushed a hand through the pile. As she did, something within the pile moved, arching up through the snow to meet her hand. The loose covering of snow slipped away, revealing a large, icy snow leopard. With eyes like deep blue ice chips, it blinked lazily at the group.
Elsa rubbed a palm against her forehead, brushing away the beads of sweat that had formed. She smiled at the literal snow leopard. "Her name is Rune."
Anna's fingers tightened around her arm. "Can she talk," her sister asked in an uneasy tone.
Alarik's eyebrows shot up as he turned toward Anna. "Can she talk?"
Anna shrugged. "Well, Marshmallow and Olaf can talk."
"Who?"
"No," Elsa interjected, before the conversation took over the matter at hand. She shook her head. "She can't talk, but she can follow orders."
Alarik nodded slowly. "I assume you have some sort of plan, then." He fixed Elsa with a hard stare. "If that plan involves you going off alone with Rune, then I need to remind you that you've already been outvoted."
Elsa wrinkled her nose. She wanted to point out, once more, that no matter how insistent Alarik and Anna were, they couldn't actually outvote her. Instead, she shook her head. "No, she'll go with you. This way you will have help if you get in trouble. More importantly, Rune can create a frost trail."
It took him a second to catch on to what she was implying. Alarik's eyes widened. "So that the Sirma will think they are following you."
Elsa dipped her head as a wave of exhaustion momentarily stole her breath. She pressed a hand to her head and waited for the world to settle before speaking. "If the Sirma do catch up with you," she said, keeping her eyes closed, "and they see Rune, they might just assume I'm hiding nearby."
Rune nudged the side of her head with her wide nose, a low whine rumbling from her throat.
"Hey, Elsa?" Anna asked softly.
"Mmm?" Elsa blinked her eyes opened, laying her hand on Rune's head.
"Is Rune connected to you?" Her sister's gaze was pinned on the large, icy cat. "In the way Olaf and Marshmallow are?"
"Connected?" Alarik asked, frowning in confusion.
Elsa was pretty sure she knew what Anna was trying to ask. "If something happens to me, and by extension, Anna, Rune will know."
"Like if you're attacked by the Sirma." Alarik nodded. "Well, all things considered, I think it's a pretty solid plan." He squinted past the cave's entrance, where the early morning sun was barely breaking through the dense trees. "I'll head out first. Give me . . . and Rune, about twenty minutes before you two make your way out. That should be enough time to lead the Northmen away."
Anna leaned against the cave wall, ears tuned to the sounds of Alarik and Rune making their way deeper into the woods. Once she could no longer hear the crunching of leaves underfoot, she turned her attention back to her sister. Elsa was likewise leaning back against the opposite wall with her eyes closed, her arms loosely crossed and caught between her stomach and tented knees. If not for the small crease between her eyebrows, Anna would have believed her older sister was sleeping.
She was grateful for the short rest before they headed out themselves. Anna suspected that Alarik's suggestion that they wait a bit had less to do with putting physical distance between them and the Sirma and more to do with the fact they both knew that her stubborn sister wouldn't take the time to rest otherwise.
As Anna realized she was thinking of the most powerful person in the kingdom, someone who was both an absolute monarch and capable of magic limited only by her imagination, as an irate child refusing to take a nap, a snort of laughter slipped past Anna's lips. She wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry, but she was suddenly sorry for all the times she gave her mother a hard time as a child.
Elsa cracked her eyes open at the sound, blinking to clear her vision. "Care to share?"
"Not really," Anna said with a chuckle. Elsa might be her sister, the person she should be able to easily share anything with, but even she knew better than to give voice to such a comparison.
Elsa narrowed her gaze, but Anna saw the hint of amusement in the icy blue depths. Her sister shook her head with a sigh. "We should get moving. Are you ready?"
"Are you ready?"
"I'm fine," Elsa said firmly, rolling her eyes. She pressed a hand to the wall behind her and pushed herself to her feet with far less grace than she likely intended.
Point proven, Anna mentally noted."You know, you get really short-tempered when you're tired," she said with a smirk, trying to keep both their minds off the very serious problem at hand.
"Anna," came the warning.
"I'm just saying." Anna made her way to the cave's mouth, where she moved aside the foliage and looked out before exiting.
"I hardly think that is true," Elsa said, keeping her voice quiet as she stepped out into the open air and drew a deep breath.
Anna paused and turned back to her sister with raised eyebrows. Surely, her sister wasn't that oblivious.
"I don't get short-tempered," Elsa stated, squaring her shoulders, "and I am not tired."
Anna barely contained the burst of laughter that threatened to spill out. "Really? Elsa, the entire staff has an unwritten rule about not giving you bad news until you've been awake for at least three hours."
Elsa opened her mouth but snapped it shut. "You're lying."
"I would do no such thing," Anna said with an offended sniff. When her sister continued to stare disbelievingly, she shook her head. "How can you have such an amazing attention to the smallest detail but totally miss something so obvious?"
Elsa pursed her lips. "This conversation is ridiculous, and we should not be standing around in the open."
"Ask Kai when we get back home."
"I will," she said, lifting her chin as she strode past Anna.
"Good."
"Good."
She fell into step behind her sister as they made their way through the forest. She should probably feel bad for Kai, having no doubt that not only would her sister remember this conversation, but would indeed ask the poor man about it once they returned home to the castle.
With the air of tension sufficiently broken, they walked in companionable silence, following the cliff face as it stretched north. After about an hour, the easy mood was dashed when Anna spotted frost leaking across the path they were walking. She had hoped that the burst of energy her sister seemed to have woken with would hold out until they made it to the fort, but no matter how much she tried to distract her sister with playful banter, the presence of the ice was a stark reminder of just how dire the situation truly was.
"Elsa." Anna reached out to grab her sister's hand, waiting until she had Elsa's full, though sluggish, attention before gesturing to the path. Her sister released a dejected sigh and repeated the same process she had multiple times the previous night.
As Anna watched, she prayed to whatever deities might be listening that Elsa's strength would hold out until they made it to the fort. Each use of her power was taking a noticeable toll on her sister, and she was starting to lose that spark of optimistic hope that kept her pushing forward.
They had barely started walking again when something cold and wet brushed Anna's nose and she lifted her gaze, frowning as she realized that thick, lazy snowflakes were starting to fall. She glanced to where her sister stood a few steps ahead, her arms wrapped around her middle and head bowed in concentration on the path ahead. She closed the distance between them and placed a hand on the older woman's shoulder. "Elsa," she said softly. "It's snowing."
Elsa wrinkled her nose as she pulled herself upright and raised her face to the sky. "It's not me."
"Oh." Anna was unable to keep the surprise from her tone. She pressed her lips into a tight line, thankful for her thick woolen dress but wishing she had a cloak to keep the snow from her head and neck. "Are you cold?" she asked as her sister tightened her arms around herself.
Elsa bit her lip, averting her gaze as she took some time to consider the question. "I don't think so?" she finally said slowly, like she was still uncertain.
Anna raised her eyebrows. "You don't know?"
Elsa shrugged. "It's complicated," she said with a grimace.
Anna tilted her head and studied her sister. It's complicated seemed to be the most appropriate description for her sister, and for everything having to do with her powers. Every answer Anna got left her with twice as many questions as she started with. But as her sister had told her many times, there was a time and a place for everything, and right now was neither, so she filed the bit of information away and simply stepped closer to Elsa, placing a hand along her cheek. The cuff on her sister's wrist was glowing, and Anna's worry continued to grow. "You still feel warm. Not as much as last night, though."
Elsa folded her fingers over Anna's and gently pulled her hand away. "Well, I know you have to be cold, and I would rather my baby sister not fre—catch a cold," she amended, stumbling over the words. "Or worse." She wrapped an arm around Anna's shoulder's and encouraged her forward. "Come on."
The snowfall picked up in earnest as they continued. The sisters had walked no more than another hour before Anna had to stop her sister and once more point out an icy trail being left in their wake. As Elsa melted the frost from the ground, a noise caught Anna's attention. She squinted into the surrounding woods, and had almost convinced herself that it was just some kind of animal when the clouds overhead shifted and a weak beam of sunlight reflected off the metal of a sword.
The Northman crept closer, oblivious to the fact he'd been spotted. Anna looked away quickly, her heart thudding painfully in her chest. They could try to make a run for it, but she doubted they would make it to the fort before the man caught up with them. And that was assuming there was only the one. The other option was that they take a stand and fight, though that hardly seemed like the better option. She grabbed her sister's hand and yanked Elsa close.
"Ow, Anna, what are you—"
"Shh." She pressed her shoulder against Elsa. "Don't look, but we've got company."
Elsa's eyes widened. "What?" Her head jerked as she barely avoided the urge to look over her shoulder. "Are you sure they spotted us?"
"Uh, yeah. He's heading this way."
"Just one?"
"I'm not sure. I only saw the one." Anna looped her arm through Elsa's and pulled her forward into a steady walk, hoping the man would continue to follow at a distance. "How far away is Rune?"
"Too far." Elsa's left hand curled into a fist. "How close is he?"
Anna hesitated before answering, knowing what her sister was considering but also knowing the drain using magic would have on her. At the same time, she fully understood that it was likely their best option right now. Possibly their only option.
"Not too close. I would have missed him altogether if I hadn't been looking at just the right time," Anna said, realizing that whatever noise she had heard couldn't have come from the Sirma behind them; he had been too far away. The sound must have come from something – from someone – else. As Anna turned to warn her sister, she heard the twang of an arrow being fired and yanked her sister closer. An arrow buried itself into the ground just in front of them.
While they had been distracted with the other northman, a second had managed to get close without their noticing. Anna saw him now, pointing a notched arrow at the them as he slowly moved closer. She noticed his gaze fell to Elsa's hand, as though he was ensuring she still wore the cuff. Heat rose in Anna's cheeks and she opened her mouth to say something, but her sister shoved her back, placing herself in between Anna and the archer.
"Elsa," she whispered harshly.
"Anna, stay behind me," she ordered.
Anna bit her lip and looked around for anything that could be used as a weapon. She saw the man she'd originally spotted heading in their direction, no longer concerned with silence or stealth.
"Come with us," the archer said gruffly from mere feet away, "and I promise not to fill your sister with arrows."
Elsa glared at him. She jerked her left hand with such suddenness even Anna hadn't been expecting it. Ice shot up from the ground in front of the northman and slammed the bow out of his grip. The arrow shot harmlessly into the distance. The man jumped back but before he could recover, Elsa sent a stream of ice toward his feet and knocked him to the ground. She immediately turned her attention to the other man, stepping away from Anna and throwing out a hand to repeat the same move.
Anna continued her search of the immediate area for something she could use to help. She spotted a broken branch and grabbed it, looking up just in time to see the archer had made his way back to his feet and was quickly advancing on her distracted sister. She closed the distance between them and swung the branch as hard as she could. The branch connected with the back of the archer's head with a sickening crack that would surely haunt her for the rest of her days. He hit the ground hard, like a marionette whose strings had been cut.
She dropped the branch and swallowed thickly, tearing her gaze away from the mess at her feet and turning toward her sister just in time to watch Elsa hit the ground. Her sister dropped to her knees and curled tightly around herself, until her forehead almost touched the ground.
"Elsa!" She ran to her sister, her hands ghosting over Elsa's balled up form but afraid to touch her, not wanting to hurt her further if she was injured. She looked to where she last saw the other man, and a sliver of relief ran through her when she found him sprawled on the ground, a thick band of ice locking him there.
Muffled gasps of air caught her attention and she placed a gentle hand on her sister's right arm, only to have Elsa jerk away with a hiss.
"Elsa." She pulled her own hand back, concern and fear twisting her stomach into a knot. "What's wrong?"
Her sister shook her head and pushed herself up, bracing her left hand against a tree as she tried to shove to her feet. She barely made it halfway before her knees gave out and she hit the ground hard.
Anna grabbed Elsa's left shoulder to keep her from tipping to far forward, making sure not to touch the right arm pressed tightly to her stomach like she was protecting it. "Elsa, stop."
Elsa shook her head again, breathing so fast and irregular that Anna was worried she'd start hyperventilating. "We need to keep moving."
"No," Anna said sharply. "You need to stop and catch your breath." She knew her sister wouldn't stop for herself, and added, "if you pass out, I can't carry you, and we both know I'm not going to leave you behind." She hated that she had to emotionally blackmail her own sister to take five minutes to recover.
Elsa didn't meet her eyes but stopped struggling to stand, instead allowing herself list against the tree.
Anna nodded and adjusted her grip from Elsa's shoulder to her left hand, closing her fingers around the unnaturally warm ones. "Now, tell me what's going on."
Elsa bit her bottom lip. "My arm—" she clenched her teeth so tightly it made Anna's own jaw ache "— it feels like it's on fire."
Anna looked at her right arm and noticed the gem was still glowing brightly. Usually the glow faded to a dull pulse when Elsa wasn't using her magic. "You're not still . . ."
"No."
"Then why is it still glowing?"
"I don't know." Her sister's face creased with pain and she squeezed Anna's hand tightly. "I think, maybe...just give me a minute."
Anna squeezed back, rubbing the pad of her thumb in small circles along the back of Elsa's hand. She didn't know what else to do. Elsa felt hot again, more so than last night. Her chest tightened and Anna had to remind herself to breath, knowing that panicking right now, no matter how much she wanted to, was the last thing her sister needed.
It felt like forever but couldn't have been more than a few minutes before the glowing stone on the cuff dimmed. Anna felt a dizzying flood of relief as Elsa's posture began to relax, and her breathing slowed to a more normal rate. She allowed her sister a few more minutes to collect herself as she surveyed the area around them, listening for the slightest unexpected sound. There was nothing but the soft snowfall patting the leaves and ground. A thick coat of snow now covered the ground and while that would make them easier to follow, it also meant there wasn't any need for Elsa to continue wasting energy hiding any trail of frost she left behind.
Elsa squeezed her hand. "Let's go," she said. She still sounded winded and Anna knew she had to be exhausted, but they couldn't risk staying there any longer.
Anna nodded and drew her sister's left arm over her shoulder, wrapping an arm around Elsa's waist. She shoved down hard at the anxiety that threatened to squeeze the air out of her chest as Elsa accepted the help without comment or complaint.
She supported her sister as they continued to follow the cliffside. Her sister's weight grew heavier with each step, but as they turned the bend and Anna soaked in the sight of the tall man-made stone walls, she felt like she might weep in relief.
Elsa wrapped her arms around herself and shifted on the thin mattress. Her body immediately listed to the side and she didn't fight it, resting her head against the cool stone wall. She stretched her legs out on the bed, but otherwise followed her sister's very firm command of "don't move" while she waited for Anna to return to the small room they'd been given. It had taken longer than she wanted for them to make it to Sioaskard, and the energy she had woken with had faded quickly as the day progressed. A large chunk of what she had mustered had been sent in the opposite direction with Alarik, in the form of her newest creation, what was left had been quickly burned through when the Sirma attacked.
The guard at the front gate of Sioaskard hadn't believed Anna when she told them who they were. In the man's defense, by the time they had reached the fort Elsa was barely on her feet, being hauled along by her sister with one arm thrown over Anna's shoulders, stumbling along like a common drunk. She was also doubtful that anyone at the fort expected royalty to show up at their gates without an announcement of some kind, looking like they had spent the last two days trudging through the forest.
Elsa wasn't sure how her sister had finally convinced the guards to let them inside; there was a chunk of time in her memory that was more than a little hazy. She vaguely remembered Anna arguing with the guard, then sitting on this thin mattress in this small room while her sister said something about getting food. She couldn't ask her sister how things had gone, because that would mean admitting to Anna that she'd blacked out on her feet. Anna already felt guilty and had more than enough to worry about; Elsa wasn't going to add to the load if she could help it.
She dropped her gaze to the cuff around the wrist pressed against her stomach. Much like when she created Rune, she had expected the sharp pain searing down her arm when she used her magic to defend herself and her sister. She had even been prepared for the wave of exhaustion that crashed through her like an icebreaker. But the pain had lingered after the fight, feeling like molten shards of glass racing through her arm and slamming into her chest, stealing her breath. It had been beyond anything she had experienced before.
She twisted her wrist. The stone continued to glow faintly, and she could feel it absorbing her magic. It hadn't taken long for her to realize that this stone wasn't just meant to absorb what magic she consciously created, but all the magic that was within her. She didn't know what that meant in the long term, but the result was a constant slow drain, like bleeding out.
She shifted again on the bed, trying to find a comfortable position, and closed her eyes in the hopes of clearing away the foggy feeling that was settling over her. It felt like only a minute had passed, maybe two, when a hand squeezed her shoulder and woke her. She blinked blearily up at the figure but couldn't bring it into focus, had to press her palms against her eyes to see it was her sister standing in front of her, holding two steaming bowls.
"Elsa." Anna's soft voice cut through the haze as she nudged her legs to make room to sit on the bed facing her and offering her a bowl.
She pushed against the bed, drawing herself a little more upright before taking the offered bowl. It looked to contain a simple chicken and broth soup, but Elsa suddenly realized just how hungry she was and was grateful for it. "Thank you."
"It's coming down pretty hard out there."
Elsa paused with a spoonful halfway to her mouth. "What is?"
"The snow," Anna said simply before digging into her own meal.
Elsa frowned and turned toward the door of the windowless room. "I hope Alarik is okay." A thought struck her then, and she silently cursed herself for not thinking of it sooner. She set her bowl aside on the nightstand and pressed her palms against the mattress, preparing her weary body to stand.
Anna grabbed her shoulder with her free hand, stopping Elsa before she made it very far. "What are you doing?"
"We need to send some guards to find Alarik and make sure he's okay." Elsa shook her head, annoyed with herself. "I should have done so as soon as we arrived."
Anna tightened her hold. "First of all, you were barely conscious when we got here, Elsa, and I'm honestly surprised you are awake and coherent right now. Second, I already sent some guards out. Well, I asked them, because they still don't believe that I'm the Princess. But that's beside the point...I guess." She shook her head. "It seems Alarik spent a few years posted here, so when I told Aaren, the soldier who let us in, he said he would take a few guys and find our wayward friend."
Elsa nodded and relaxed against the bed's headboard. She reached for her bowl, thankful for her sister picking up her slack but feeling bad there had been need for it. It wasn't like her to make such an oversight, but she supposed her sister was right. She had been pretty out of it by the time they arrived at the fort. She felt only slightly better after having the opportunity to sit for a bit, and it had put only a dent in the exhaustion that was dogging her.
Elsa looked at the pale, worried face of her younger sister and was guilty all over again, for everything that had happened. They would not be in this situation if it wasn't for her and her magic. She bumped Anna with her leg and forced a smile as she asked in a tired but teasing tone, "still couldn't convince them that you're the Princess?"
Anna wrinkled her nose. "That gate guard was so rude." She fixed Elsa with a doe-y, wide-eyed look. "He called you a wench."
Her sister said it with such insulted sincerity that Elsa couldn't help the very un-queen like snort that escaped. She ended up choking on her soup and pressed a palm to her chest as she coughed harshly.
"I'm glad you find it funny."
She cleared her throat. "I've been called worse."
"By who?" Anna settled her bowl in her lap and turned her full attention to her sister.
Elsa averted her gaze and used a large spoonful of soup to fill her mouth.
"Fine, fine. Keep your secrets," her sister said with a pout, returning to her own meal. "He was still rude."
"Anna, we are filthy, my dress it torn, and if I look half as bad as I—" Elsa snapped her mouth shut as she realized what she nearly admitted to. She cursed herself. Normally she was much better at watching what she said.
"Half as bad as you feel?" Anna finished for her. "Just how bad do you feel? And I swear, if you say I'm fine- "
"I'm just tired, Anna," Elsa said with a sigh. "Really tired. I'll be better once we get this cuff off."
Anna pressed her lips together but let the subject drop, returning to her soup. They sat and ate in silence until both had polished off the contents of their bowls.
"I thought this place would have more soldiers." Anna said nonchalantly, moving their empty bowls to a nearby table.
Elsa frowned. "What do you mean?"
Anna lifted a shoulder. "I just thought there would be, like, a whole battalion here. Or more."
"There is a whole battalion here," Elsa said slowly.
Anna shook her head. "Elsa, there are less than a hundred soldiers in the fort."
Elsa recoiled. "What? No, that's not right." She dug through her memory, which took more effort than it probably should. She remembered meeting with the Admiral, signing off on the military records and census a few weeks before her coronation, and she was positive that Sioaskard had reported being staffed with a full battalion. "Maybe they are just not in the fort at the moment."
Anna shook her head. "I asked around when I was getting food." She shifted her weight, obviously aware that what she was saying was making Elsa uneasy. "They said there hasn't been more than a hundred soldiers here for four or five years."
No, Elsa knew that wasn't correct. If there were less than a hundred soldiers here, they were presented with two brand-new problems. There wouldn't be enough soldiers for a proper search of the surrounding woods to find the Northmen, and someone here was falsifying the information she was receiving in Arendelle. She honestly wasn't sure which was worse.
She pushed up from the mattress, ignoring the black spots as her vision strobed. "I need to speak with the fort's commander." Commander Lee, she remembered. He had been stationed at Sioaskard for some time.
"Whoa, Elsa." Anna quickly blocked her path, pressing her back down onto the bed with infuriating ease. "I know it's hard, but I'm going to need you to stop being Queen for like, five minutes."
Elsa rolled her eyes. She wasn't sure how many times they'd had this argument over the course of the past few months, but it felt old and tired. "When are you going to stop asking me that?"
"When you stop acting like it's an unreasonable request." Anna subtly moved the blanket to the end of the bed. "I know you like to pretend otherwise, and the way people treat you can make it hard to remember, but you are human. And you have human needs." Her sister bent and lifted her ankles onto the bed, forcing Elsa to turn with her to keep from falling over.
"Anna - "
"I'm not saying don't talk to the commander." Her voice soft and soothing, her sister pressed Elsa's shoulders until she was laying back. Elsa knew exactly what she was doing but was having a hard time working up the energy to resist. "I'm just asking," Anna continued, "that before you go barging in on a man who doesn't even realize he has the Queen in the peasant quarters of his fort, we wait for Alarik to get here, make sure he's okay, and regroup."
Elsa blinked heavily at her sister. Sleep was pulling at her, making it hard to focus. "Technically, it's my fort," she muttered, knowing she was being petulant.
She didn't hear what her sister said in return as she drew the blanket up. Anna's hand brushed across her forehead, over her bangs, and Elsa turned into her sister's touch, the cool hand the last thing she felt as she finally let go.
