AN: I truly do appreciate and love every review, it makes my day a little better knowing you awesome people are enjoying the story.
Hope everyone enjoys the chapter, much love.
Elsa stood in the cove of the dark pebbled beach, feeling faint, distant tremors move through the ground, like a memory. She knew this place; she'd been here many times before. It was a place that only existed in her dreams, a place that had been a source of comfort for as long as she could remember. It was the only place she had ever felt whole, like a person who was more than an heir to the throne, more than the Queen, more than an older sister. More than the snow queen. Here, she was simply Elsa, with no title, no responsibility, and no crushing weight resting atop her shoulders.
Growing up, her visits to this place had always depended on how she was feeling when she went to sleep, most often in relation to her magic. On those times she had felt most at odds with herself or her magic her dreams would lead her here to the dark pebbled beach, with little variations in each visit. Sometimes the sky was clear, oranges and purples melding into each other as dawn broke across the horizon, and the ocean calm, the tide rolling lazily to meet the beach. Other times, clouds dotted the sky and the ocean frothed and foamed beneath, the atmosphere smelling of ozone like the moments after a storm finally broke. Sometimes, it was a combination of the two.
There was always the voice, the familiar tug calling to her from the horizon, promising answers to questions she had never dared to ask aloud. Elsa had tried too many times to answer the call, to follow the pull toward the horizon, but she was always pushed back to the dark pebbled beach as something echoing inside her said, not yet. You're not ready. The beach calmed and frustrated her in turns, but without its presence she wasn't sure she would have made it through those long thirteen years of isolation.
This time, something was off. All around Elsa, a dense fog obscured the sky, from horizon to zenith; five feet in every direction, the world dissolved into a churning mass of grey. The normally cool stones of the beach felt uncomfortably warm beneath her bare feet, and there was a burning thickness in the air. It was heavy and oppressive, and hard to breath. It was dark overhead, random flashes breaking through the fog as lightning tore across the sky. Crashes of thunder followed, so loud that she could feel each rumble in the marrow of her bones.
That feeling of wholeness she had always enjoyed here was gone. Instead Elsa felt cracked and bent, with unnamed fragments missing. The siren's song, the tug that always pulled her to toward the horizon, to the unknown, was missing. In its place was a strange, unfamiliar noise. It was barely perceptible, a faint, high-pitched whine that was drowned out by the crashing thunder and roaring sea.
She stumbled through the fog in the direction of the churning ocean. Something told Elsa that if she could just reach the waves, then everything would be okay. The roar of the waves grew louder the closer she got, until the fog parted, and she could see a hazy vision of the ocean. The relief was so strong she was dizzy with it, and she took a step toward the water, only to be shoved back by some invisible force. She tripped and stumbled, catching herself before she could fall.
"Wha—" Elsa reached forward cautiously, fingertips impacting an invisible barrier that scorching beneath her touch. She drew her hands back, her breath quickening as she looked past it to the ocean. She took a step back and extended a hand, intending to shoot a bolt of ice at the barrier.
Nothing happened. In fact, she couldn't even feel her ice.
A small wave crashed a few feet from where she stood, foam climbing the rocky shore only to stop short. Elsa pressed her lips into a thin line and held out both hands, digging down deeper as she attempted to summon any shred of magic. Still, there was nothing. On the other side of the unseen barrier, a wave swelled in response, slamming against the wall.
Elsa jumped, staggering backward until she fell to the ground with a painful thud. The air tightened around her and she pressed a hand to her chest, feeling lightheaded as she struggled to draw breath.
She was trapped. Her magic was trapped.
Her back ached. Anna knew that, considering everything that was going on, it was a ridiculous thing to complain about, even to herself. But she was sore and stiff from sitting in the same position for the last...well, God only knew how long she had been here. She arched against the wooden slabs, stretching her spine before settling back into a more comfortable position. Her gaze fell to the still figure cradled against her. She had to admit that she had been hoping her movements would wake her sister, but Elsa's face remained smooth and relaxed, her breathing slow and even in sleep.
Anna gripped her sister tighter, resting her cheek against the top of Elsa's head. She tried to draw strength from the her, tried not to think about the absolute mess they were in. She should never have allowed Elsa to confront Tyr; she should have known her sister would surrender herself without a second thought to protect her people. Elsa had already been exhausted after using her magic multiple times, and it would have been a simple matter of blocking her way and not allowing her to go up the ladder. She probably could have just made the woman sit down for a few minutes and waited for her to fall asleep.
Instead, against her better judgement, Anna had stayed back and agreed to let her sister confront Tyr, fully believing that Elsa was capable of talking their way out of this mess. Crouching behind the stables, she couldn't see much, but she heard Tyr's proposal to burn the soldier's barracks. Elsa's response had been too quiet for Anna to hear, and by the time she poked her head around the corner and saw the telltale light emanating from the cuff and realized what was happening, it was already too late. Her sister had surrendered her magic in exchange for the lives of the men at Sioaskard.
When the Sirma approached her, Anna had been terrified. Not for herself or what they would do with her, but for her sister, and what Tyr wanted to discuss with her. She thought about resisting and refusing to leave her sister's side but knew there was nothing to be gained from that. It was more likely she would be killed in the ensuing struggle, and then one way or another Arendelle would be without its Queen. So, Anna had gone with them without a fight, allowed them to escort her to a wagon waiting just outside the gates of the fort. It was a prisoner's wagon, the kind she'd only seen in drawings and paintings. The front wall next to the driver was solid, and on the remaining sides, the planks extended a foot or so. The rest was made up of crossed iron bars that met at the top of a dilapidated but thankfully solid roof. The wagon wasn't tall enough for her to stand, but at least they wouldn't be snowed on. Not directly, anyway.
Despite the fact they had just been trying to kidnap and/or injure Anna and her sister, the Sirma warriors were oddly gentle as they helped her into the wagon. Their treatment was a startling contrast to their leader, who seemed violent and callous. Of course, it could have been because Erik was standing directly behind them the entire time. After the door on the wagon had been shut behind her, Anna sat but kept her gaze glued to the entrance of the fort. Erik remained next to the cart, shifting his weight and looking like he wanted to say something, but each time he opened his mouth he would just sigh, or shake his head and turn away. It felt like an eternity passed before anyone walked out of the fort. At first, all Anna could see was two guards followed by Tyr, and then she realized that one of the guards was carrying her unconscious sister.
Anna's heart slammed against her ribcage as she turned accusing eyes to Erik. She yelled, demanding to know what had happened even though he had been out here with her the entire time. Erik had only shaken his head and joined the approaching group. She was too far away to hear what he was saying to his brother, but she saw Tyr shrug, his face impassive. Anger flushed her cheeks warm, and she focused her attention on her sister as the Sirma brought Elsa to the cart.
A sliver of relief slipped through Anna as she realized she was not going to be separated from her sister like she had feared. They were going to be permitted to ride together, to wherever it was they were going. The man holding Elsa ordered Anna to back up as the other Sirma opened the door to the wagon, and he deposited her sister's limp form just inside the door before locking it again. Anna wanted to yell and scream at them, but was concerned by her unmoving sister.
Anna had slipped an arm under Elsa's shoulders and lifted her from the floor of the wagon, immediately taken aback by the heat radiating from her. Elsa's cheeks were flushed in an otherwise pale face, and her breathing was sharp and shallow. Anna tapped her sister's cheeks, and when that did nothing, she shook Elsa gently, then a little harder, and through it all her sister didn't even so much as twitch. Anna felt dizzy, like she wasn't pulling in enough air. She tried calling her sister's name again, Elsa's pale face wavering as tears filled her eyes. She didn't know what to do, didn't even know what had happened in the fort.
She looked down to the cuffs around both of Elsa's wrists, but other than a muted glow, the metal bands offered up no hints. Anna knew she wouldn't get any sort of answer from Erik, Tyr, or any other Sirma, so she turned to the only other option she had. She scooted toward the front wall of the wagon, leaned back against the solid wood planks, and pulled her sister close. She positioned Elsa's head against her shoulder and waited, trying not to cry, hoping that it was just exhaustion that was keeping her sister from waking and answering her.
Elsa eventually cooled down, until her skin returned to the more familiar warmth it had taken on over the last few days. Her breathing deepened, slowed. She remained in what Anna hoped was a deep slumber, but if nothing else, she appeared more comfortable.
The temperature dropped as they traveled north along the narrow mountain road, the snow continuing to fall in thick, fluffy flakes and sticking to the ground to form a snowy blanket. As the snow fell, Anna was even more thankful that Alarik had found her some warm winter clothing to wear. She was still a bit chilly, but far less so than she would have been in her dress.
Dawn broke across the horizon, shifting the dark night into day and warming the air a fraction. Sometime before noon, the party stopped so the Sirma could tend to their horses. One of the men deposited a hunk of bread, some cheese, and a bit of dried meat through the bars of the wagon. Enough for the two of them. He came and went without word; not that Anna wanted to talk to him, or anyone else, for that matter.
She once more attempted to rouse Elsa so she could eat something, and after a few attempts her sister blinked up her with heavy eyelids. Her first words to ask where her boots were, and that's when Anna realized her sister was more out of it than she was aware.
"You left them in the room," Anna told her softly. "Remember?"
Elsa scrunched up her face, mumbling something too soft and slurred to catch. Anna brushed her sister's bangs from her face and tipped her head a bit, trying to catch her sluggish gaze.
"How are you feeling?" Anna was sure she'd never asked the question as much in her whole life as she had the last few days. The answer was always the same, but she couldn't help asking.
"Tired," Elsa replied in a thin voice. She grimaced, squirming in Anna's grip and arching her back. She squeezed her eyes shut. "Hurts."
Anna blinked, overtaken with surprise at receiving a real answer before her brain registered what that answer was. She looked at the cuffs but there was no obvious difference. "Elsa, what hurts?"
Her sister sagged against her, breathing heavier. "Everything."
The response gave Anna pause, and before she could ask her sister for more details, she realized Elsa had fallen back asleep. She chewed her lower lip, debating whether she should try to wake her sister again, knowing she needed to try to eat something, but decided against it. Carefully, she adjusted the way Elsa was nestled against her so that she could eat some food herself. Anna had no idea her appetite was so veracious before she tore off the first bite of bread, and had to remind herself to leave enough for Elsa.
She just needs rest, Anna told herself, squinting up at the sky. She had no idea what time it was, let alone what time it had been when they left the fort. The sky had been dark for quite a while, but the ongoing snowstorm meant there was no moon or visible stars to give any hint of the passage of time. She only knew that her sister had been deeply asleep the whole way. Anna looked down at her sister's wrists, at the cuffs that now encircled them both. Elsa had been exhausted when there was just one cuff; Anna had no idea what the ramifications of two would be but was already worried.
She rested her chin against her sister's head and watched the landscape go by, wondering how far from Sioaskard they were, if Alarik was okay, if Jogeir had made it to the fort yet. Once he did, once he discovered they were missing, he would start searching immediately. The captain wasn't the type to waste time. The only variable was how far the Sirma would make it before that happened. And how much snow fills the mountain passes, Anna thought as the snow continued to fall.
Despite the stress of the situation, or perhaps because of it, Anna found herself drifting off as the sun rose to its peak in the sky. It was more than halfway through its descent back to the earth when she felt something shifting against her, and drowsily assumed her sister was growing restless again. Without opening her eyes, she adjusted her hold on Elsa to run soothing fingers through her sister's hair.
"Anna."
The sleepy voice broke through the fuzz of her light nap and Anna's eyes snapped open. She lifted her head to see her older sister blinking tiredly but very much looking alert and awake. "Elsa! You're awake!"
Elsa pressed a palm against her eye, rubbing it before answering. "It would appear so."
Anna smiled, feeling almost giddy with relief. "We need to stop doing this."
"Mmm," was all her sister said as she slowly worked to sit up. Anna kept a hand at Elsa's back to steady her, and she adjusted herself until her back was against the wall, her shoulder pressing against Anna's. She released a breath of air as she dropped her head back against the wagon. A few quiet moments passed before she opened her eyes again. "How long was I out?" she asked, squinting at the passing snowy landscape.
Anna twisted her lips thoughtfully. "Hours," she told her sister. "Like a lot. I know it was more than twelve. Depending on what time we . . . left, it might be closer to fourteen or sixteen hours."
Elsa frowned but otherwise didn't seem particularly surprised nor worried to hear this. She pulled her knees up and rested her forearms across them, twisting her left wrist and studying the new cuff. After a moment, she huffed.
"What is it?"
Elsa tapped the center of the stone. "The other half of the bindrune."
Curious, Anna leaned over to look for herself. She remembered now, how Elsa had mentioned that the bindrune looked incomplete. "Do you know what it says now?"
"No," Elsa said, shaking her head. She leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes.
"Oh." Anna supposed that, given everything, what the bindrune said wasn't really all that important. She looked away, unsure what to say, and her gaze fell to the floor of the cart, where she spotted the small wooden plate and what was left of lunch. She leaned forward to grab the plate and offered it to her sister, who had to be starving. "It's not much, but..."
Elsa reached out slowly to take the plate. She balanced it on her knees, her fingers wrapped around the edges, and looked down at the offering of limp meat and hard bread, staring at the plate like she couldn't possibly be expected to know what to do with it.
Anna's concern for her sister increased a few notches as she attempted to assign an emotion to the expression on her sister's face. "Elsa?" she said softly, when the woman still made no move to eat anything from the plate. "You need to eat."
"Yeah," Elsa replied hollowly. She sat still another moment longer before finally picking up a small piece of meat and nibbling on it.
Satisfied, Anna sat back and chewed the inside of her cheek, taking the opportunity to appraise her sister. Elsa seemed unusually subdued, chewing somewhat mechanically, and Anna wasn't sure if it was anything to worry about. She's been through a lot, she told herself. She's just tired. But there was something in Elsa's expression and posture that seemed so...resigned. Something that seemed a lot like giving up. And that...that was something she couldn't help but worry about.
She looked out of the back of the cart to where half of the Sirma party was riding, with Tyr at their center. Something had happened between Elsa and Tyr. Something major, of that Anna was sure. What she wasn't so sure about was whether her sister would tell her. It was possible, but not likely. After three months, Elsa remained a mystery to her, all riddles wrapped in a paradox and hidden behind a deeply controlled masked. The things she chose to share were meticulously selected and molded as needed. Anna knew that the only way to find out was to try and ask, because Elsa would never volunteer the information without prompting.
"Elsa," she said, turning her body toward her sister so that she had a full view of the older woman. "What happened between you and Tyr? Did he—I mean, when they brought you out, you...I couldn't wake you. I tried, but you weren't responding. You felt really hot and flushed, and—" Anna's mouth shut with a clack as Elsa froze so suddenly, she could see every muscle in her sister's body tense.
Elsa's eyes appeared hazy and unfocused as she started down at the plate in her lap like she was seeing something that Anna couldn't. She pulled her knees closer to her chest, making herself smaller, and her fingers tightened around the plate until her knuckles were white.
Anna shifted to her knees, placing a hand on her sister's forearm. Elsa startled, her gaze darting up to meet hers.
For a moment, Anna saw something there that was so raw she felt her own heart stop. She tightened her grip on her sister's arm. "Elsa."
Elsa tore her gaze away, instead focusing on the plate clenched between her hands. "I tried to overload the cuffs," she said softly, the words rushing out in a single breath. "I'm not sure what happened, but..." Her brow furrowed tightly. "The magic rebounded, or something. It was—" She sighed, her eyes slipping shut. "I passed out from the pain."
Anna's stomach twisted painfully but knew that wasn't what had caused the look in her sister's eyes. She knew that look; she had seen that look before and had hoped to never see it again. "Elsa," she said again, gently pulling the plate from her sister's grip. She folded her hands over Elsa's.
"It's fine, Anna." Elsa dipped her head to the side. "Well, not fine, but I mean, the pain is gone. Though I do feel like I have been run over by a herd of reindeer. Muscles I wasn't even aware I have are sore."
Anna smiled at her sister's calm, passive attempt at humor, but she knew there was more to the story, because Elsa still wasn't looking at her, and the last time she had used this tone, the last time she had seen that look had been the night Anna confronted her about Asia in her private study. Here were all the warning signs of an emotional shutdown, and that meant that whatever happened in the fort had been too much for her sister, and Elsa either wasn't ready for or just couldn't deal with it. The last time Anna pressed it had backfired so spectacularly that they had still been trying to mend things between them when they left for Valle. It was a large part of the reason she had invited herself on the trip. That, and Kai's less then subtle encouragement to distract Elsa from work, for at least a short period.
She knew there was nothing to gain trying to press her sister for answers here and now, when they were already stressed and scared and didn't know what was going to happen. But Anna couldn't risk Elsa sitting with the sort of thoughts she was worried her sister had.
Anna tilted her head to catch her sister's gaze. "I know something happened between you and Tyr in the fort." Her sister's shoulders slumped, but Anna didn't give her a chance to protest. "Of course, I want to know, but if you don't want to talk about it, I won't push. All I ask is—" her voice caught in her throat as all the fear and worry she had harbored since this started rushed to the surface. The constant fear of losing her sister after just being reunited pressed painfully against her chest. The look of resignation in her sister's eyes scared her more than anything else. She could try to protect her sister from others, from the world, but despite what Anna had said earlier, she didn't know how to protect her sister from herself, didn't know what she would do if Elsa ever gave up.
These men wanted Elsa to fight their war, wanted her to win it for them, and they had no idea what that might entail. Despite using it multiple times over the last few days, Anna knew Elsa still had reservations about using her magic in most situations, from a deep-seated fear of hurting someone. It hadn't passed Anna's notice that even though the Sirma had tried to injure and capture them, each time Elsa used her magic against them she had attempted to disable them without hurting them. Even when she had hurt them, she had initially tried not to. Elsa didn't want to hurt anyone, much less kill them, and Anna knew that the fact that it had already happened weighed heavily on her sister. With the terrifying thought that Elsa was going to be used to fight in a war becoming more and more a reality the farther north they traveled, Anna realized that using her magic that way, even if they managed to come out the other end of this otherwise unharmed. There was a chance Elsa might not be able to come back from that, and it was the most terrifying part of all of this.
Anna's fingers tightened around her sister's. "No matter what, I need you to keep fighting. If not for yourself, then for me. Don't—" She swallowed thickly, tears welling in her eyes. "Don't leave me here alone. I can't lose you."
Elsa's eyes widened. "Anna," she breathed. She pulled her hand from Anna's grip and cupped the side of her face, brushing her thumb over her cheek.
When her sister pulled her closer Anna let her, turning so she could lay her head on Elsa's shoulder. "I'm sorry." She tucked her head under her sister's chin, sniffling softly. She hadn't meant to get emotional, but once she started thinking about it, it just slipped out.
Elsa wrapped an arm around her back while the other brushing the hair from her forehead. "Don't be," she said softly. "I'm sorry. I—I promise, I won't give up, no matter what." She pressed her lips against Anna's forehead, then rested her cheek against the top of her head. "Get some sleep, little snowbug."
Anna couldn't help but smile. She hadn't heard the nickname since they were kids. The tightness in her chest began to loosen, her heart warmed by her sister's words. She wrapped her arms around Elsa's waist, believing her, believing just as strongly as she had when they were little that her older sister was going to make it all okay.
"So, let me get this straight," Captain Jogeir pressed his fist to his mouth for a moment before continuing. "The Queen and Crown Princess are missing, and we don't how long ago they were taken because you were—I'm sorry, where were you again?"
Alarik winced. His first concern was obviously to assist in finding Anna and Elsa, but he couldn't help thinking that this was what the end of one's military career looked like, if he even lived long enough to see it happen. The odds were not currently in his favor.
Just before noon, Captain Jogeir had arrived at Sioaskard with four members of the Queen's Guard who had made the trip to Valle, along with a full company of guards from Valle. His initial sweep of the fort had turned up no sign of Queen Elsa or Princess Anna, just a suspiciously burnt-out building within the fort, and an unconscious Alarik stuffed into the corner in one of the watch towers. After a medic had seen to him and made sure he was okay, Captain Jogeir had asked Alarik to update him on the situation.
He cleared his throat. "A follow soldier who I thought I could trust lured—" he winced at the word, internally kicking himself for being so blindly stupid - "me away and drugged me."
"Right. So, because of that, we don't know exactly when they went missing. We don't have enough men to execute a proper search of the woods because someone here was falsifying staffing numbers, but even if we did have the necessary manpower, we couldn't use them because we don't know who here is loyal to the crown, and who may have dealings with the Sirma." Jogeir's gaze flicking skyward before he looked back to Alarik. "And of course, time is now even more against us because it is snowing heavily, and the mountain passes that the Northmen are surely using are going to quickly become impassable. Am I understanding the situation correctly, Captain?"
Alarik clenched his hands where they were firmly folded behind his back. "That's the whole of it."
"Christ on a bicycle." Jogeir dragged a hand down his face, looking like the last ten minutes had aged him thirty years. Alarik couldn't blame him; this was one hell of a mess, and just about every card was stacked against them. "Steinar!" Jogeir shouted, turning to where several guards stood awaiting orders.
A young man rushed over, and Alarik realized he was one of the Queen's guards. "Sir," he said, coming to a sudden stop in front of them.
"The Queen and her sister are missing," Captain Jogeir told him. "Most likely taken by the Northmen. I want you and Bior to take the guards from Valle and begin a search. Aleifer and Hosvir will interview the soldiers here and see if we can find who is loyal. Anyone they decide is innocent will join the search, but I want them paired with men you know you can trust. Understood?"
"Yes, sir." Steinar nodded sharply.
"Good. I will take Captain Alarik and ride to Arendelle. Thanks to the Queen's foresight, the Admiral should already have a battalion ready to move out by the time we get there. Tell Aleifer I need him."
"Sir." Steinar headed back to the group, relaying orders before finding the guard in question.
Alarik didn't want to go to Arendelle; he wanted to aid in the search for Elsa and Anna. Before he could voice his protest, one of the Valle guards hurriedly approached.
"Sir, we have a problem."
"Oh, good," the captain said. "I was worried we had run out of those."
The guard was obviously thrown off by the response, and needed a moment before he said, "sir, we found Commander Lee."
"And?"
"He's dead, sir."
Jogeir was quiet for a moment. "Somehow, the death of Sioaskard's commander seems like the least problematic of our concerns right now."
Alarik winced at the captain's words. Lee's loyalty had been in question, but that didn't mean he wanted to see him dead. At least, not without a trial, if he truly was guilty of treason. "Captain Jogeir," he said, stepping forward, "with all due respect, I would prefer to stay and help with the search for the Queen and her sister."
The captain turned to him, raising a single eyebrow as he studied Alarik carefully. "Captain Alarik," he said, slowly and calmly, "I understand that we both hold the same titled rank, and that may give you the misconception that we are equals. But you are a captain in the Queen's Navy, and I am the Captain of her Majesty's Guard. We are nowhere near the same rank." He held up a hand before Alarik even had a chance to open his mouth. "I don't tell you this to boost my own ego, as I am sure that will be ripped apart by a number of people over the next few days. I tell you because my job, my only job, is the security and protection of the Queen. A job I entrusted to you, and you failed in a spectacular manner.
"Now, you are the only one who knows the full story of what happened between the time the Queen left Valle, and the time she and her sister disappeared. So, when I tell you, Captain, that you are going to Arendelle with me to explain to the Admiral what happened, it is not a suggestion, it is an order from the Captain of the Queen's Guard. So, I highly suggest that you speak with whomever you need to, find us the two fastest horses in the fort, and get them saddled and ready to depart in the next twenty minutes. Am I clear?"
Alarik swallowed thickly. "Crystal, sir." He was about to step away when another of the Queen's guard approached.
"Aleifer," Jogeir greeted. "Did Steiner tell you what's going on?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Any soldier you think can be trusted is to join the search. Make sure you are thorough in your questioning. If any of these soldiers seem shifty, if they move the wrong way, speak the wrong way, if they so much as say the Queen's name the wrong way, detain them. If they resist, shoot them."
