Chapter 23

"You're sure you're alright?" Aaron asked worriedly.

"I told you, I'm fine," Kresta grumbled back. "Now quit asking."

"Okay. But if you want to talk I'm right here."

"I know."

They were alone in the windswept plaza of the castle. Even though the sun was out it was still frigid enough to drive most other people inside, but not Kresta. After his sister had left she'd gone outside with barely a goodbye. The shift in her demeanor had been sudden enough to make him forget about his hidden rivalry with Cyrus, or at least long enough for him to go looking for her out of concern.

When Aaron had caught up Kresta had been anxiously wandering the courtyard alone, nervously rubbing her hands together and looking at nothing. She'd even forgotten about the cold in her fretting, although all of that had stopped the moment she noticed him. As soon as their eyes met she had instantly crammed her worries back out of sight behind a stern reluctance. Not that that stopped him from trying to help, in spite of her efforts to deflect at every turn.

"It just seemed like you had something on your mind."

Glancing at him out of the corner of her eye as they slowly meandered along side by side, Kresta shrugged. "You could say that."

"Care to share? Or would you rather keep it to yourself?" he asked, just trying to offer her some support.

Her eyes were brooding as she frowned. "If I could, I'd never share it with anyone." With that she stopped, her expression fixed in a silent struggle. "But I'm not so sure that's possible anymore."

"Well, for what it's worth, you know I'd never tell anyone. Not without your strict permission, of course."

She didn't seem to hear him, however. Her gaze was fixed on the cobbles beneath their feet as she debated before quietly asking, "What if you had something you needed to tell someone, but you didn't know how?"

Pondering the question, Aaron replied, "I guess I would still try. What's the worst that could happen?" Something was clearly eating at her, so maybe all she needed was just to say it.

"It's not what could happen that I'm afraid of," Kresta muttered, still submerged in her thoughts. "I've just… only ever told one person about this."

"About what?" he asked, patiently waiting for her to make up her mind.

The way she eventually looked up at him made it seem like she didn't have a choice, however, even though she was extremely reluctant to answer. "The reason I'm here. Why I came to Arendelle. I'm…" Trailing off, she closed her eyes long enough to take a deep breath before resigning her fears. "I'm like you, Aaron." Upon saying that she glanced down at how her hands shivered gently while he stood there impassively in the cold. "Well, obviously not exactly like you but still."

That hadn't been what he was expecting as his brows furrowed in confusion. Like me? In what regard? "What do you mean?"

"I can…" Still looking at her hands, Kresta lifted them to study them closer. There was so much uncertainty in her voice as she looked back up to say, "I can-"

All at once, though, she went silent. She'd been on the verge of uttering whatever was troubling her but had instantly clammed back up when she noticed something over Aaron's shoulder. "Is something wrong?" he found himself asking as he turned to look for whatever was amiss, only for it to not be what he was expecting.

Her reaction had suggested they were no longer alone in the plaza, which turned out to be true, but he expected for her to respond like that to someone like Cyrus, not Elsa and his sister. The pair had emerged from one of the side entrances and was also wandering about aimlessly, not noticing them right away. When Elsa did, however, she immediately came to a halt, her eyes fixed on him. She was too far away for him to make out her expression but her stance was still enough to tell him something was troubling her as Helena said something to her.

"Never mind. I should go."

Kresta's voice drew him back to their conversation, only by the time he'd turned back around she was already headed towards the castle. Confusion bled through concern as he called out after her. "Wha… Wait. Stop." At the very least that got her to pause as he said, "I thought you wanted to tell me something."

Barely glancing over her shoulder, Kresta's gaze settled on the other pair before she shook her head and murmured, "Next time." With that she left without another word.

Utterly flummoxed by the abrupt departure, all Aaron could do was stand there and watch her go. What on earth was that all about? What could be so important that she had to tell him only to change her mind at the last moment? And what had she meant when she said she was like him?

"Hello again, brother."

Once more Aaron found his thoughts interrupted by someone else as he looked over to see that Helena had quietly closed the distance between them while he wasn't paying attention. Her gaze was also on Kresta's retreating back as she asked, "What were you two talking about, if I may ask?"

Returning his focus to Kresta, he just shook his head. "I have no idea. Kresta was trying to share something, only she didn't. She stopped as soon as she saw… you." At first he'd thought she'd been looking at both Elsa and Helena, but as Aaron spoke he realized she'd only been looking at his sister. Returning to her, he asked the most obvious question rattling around his mind. "Why?"

Continuing to watch the princess until she'd disappeared inside, Helena shrugged. "Who knows, Aaron. Royalty can be so fickle, after all."

"Maybe," he replied dubiously.

Something about her tone suggested she wasn't telling him everything, but he didn't have time for that. Instead his attention settled onto the only other person in the courtyard. While Helena had approached him, Elsa seemed content to be on her own as she drifted along the outer wall. Perhaps it was still her stance, or maybe how listlessly she walked, but he could tell something was wrong.

And while Aaron may have been concerned about Kresta, upon seeing his beloved like that his worries multiplied by tenfold as he asked, "Is Elsa alright?"

"Of course," Helena answered before she could even glimpse Elsa. Glancing over at the far queen, she added, "Why wouldn't she be?"

That only confirmed what he suspected as he moved to step past her. "More things I don't know. If you'll excuse me."

Before he could go anywhere, though, Aaron found himself delayed by Helena's firm grip settling onto his shoulder. She was still watching Elsa but her tone had lost some of its nonchalance as she warned, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not so sure she wants to talk to you right now."

Worry was settling into dread as he frowned grimly. "So something did happen. Do you know what?"

"Nothing you need to worry about." With that Helena turned back to him to give a cautionary look. "For now, perhaps you should give her some space."

There were flecks of her own concern sprinkled across her expression, although she was mostly just showing caution. And perhaps she was right. There were times that everyone wanted to be alone, himself included. That being said, Elsa's gloom had the potential to be more volatile than most and, more importantly, he just couldn't stand the sight of her being upset without at the very least trying to help.

So, ignoring his sister's advice, he brushed her hand off his shoulder and crossed the courtyard, although he did hear her mutter to herself, "Well, I tried."

Anxiety was needling away at Aaron's gut as he approached, not entirely sure what he was going to find. Not that he was going to let that stop him as he approached from behind while calling out, "Elsa."

Turning towards the sound of his voice, Elsa quickly gave him a reassuring smile. Only, not right away. For the briefest of instants, as she first noticed him, her face was dominated by something else. Something less cheerful before she dropped a veil over it to say, "Aaron. How are you?"

She was trying so hard to sound amicable as he slowly replied, "I was going to ask you that."

"I'm fine. Isn't it lovely out today?"

The weather was the last thing he expected her to bring up as he eyed her dubiously. "I guess."

After a short yet awkward pause, Elsa continued to throw out random topics by gesturing towards Helena, who was just watching them from afar. "And you'll be happy to know I've been talking to your sister."

"That's great. What about?"

"Oh, this and that. I just thought that I should give her a chance. Since you asked me to."

"Well, thank you. That means a lot to me."

"You're welcome."

Banter had never been one of her strong suits and even if it had it only helped to illustrate how upset she was, even if she wasn't showing it. Either way, Aaron just couldn't beat around the bush any longer. "Elsa. Is everything alright?"

"Yes," was her first response, only for her expression to collapse into a soft pleading when she realized he wasn't going to buy that. A miserable frown tugged at her lips as she implored so quietly he almost couldn't hear her. "Please. Not here. Not now."

That was enough to get him to back off, out of deference to her wishes if nothing else, but his unease still compelled him to say, "Okay, but just be honest with me. You know I know you well enough to tell when something's bothering you."

Instantly his words caused her frown to deepen, although more so out of frustration than anything else as she looked away to snap, "Everything is fine, Aaron. So stop asking."

Stung by the sudden harshness of her words, he retreated a step. Maybe Helena had been right to give her space. "Alright. Sorry."

He didn't mean to hurt her back but that still got a pained sigh in return as she closed her eyes in regret. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm just… dealing with a lot."

"Anything that I can help with?"

"No. No, I have to handle this myself."

That only fed his desire to help her more as he asked, "Why? Can I at least know what it is?"

Aaron had no idea what to expect next, only Elsa responded in a way that he'd never seen her do before. Not to him, at least. Her gaze fell away and she wrapped her arms tightly around herself while forcing out her words. "It's got nothing to do with you, so no."

It was so obvious what she was doing but Aaron still found himself completely stunned. Why? Why did she… "You're lying."

"Excuse me?"

She looked back up at him, surprised that he would just call her out like that, yet he hardly noticed. He also didn't notice how the temperature of the air around them was beginning to plummet. All he could do was rack his brain to determine what could possibly compel her to lie to him. "Did something happen?"

"No, Aaron." By then Elsa had begun to pull away, shrinking towards the gateway to the gardens. Her mouth was strained, her hands in fist and her breathing tight as she asked again, "Now would you please just let it go?"

Still swathed in his own shock and pain, Aaron remained oblivious as he reached out one last time. "Okay. If you can look me in the eye and promise that everything is alright."

Coming to a halt, she did her best to steady herself by taking several deep breaths before meeting his gaze and mumbling. "Everything… everything is fine." Try as she might, she just couldn't look at him for long before the agony and guilt began to weigh down on her, dragging her lower as she turned away while holding up a hand. "But right now I just really need to be alone."

With that she staggered away and only then Aaron noticed the ice sprouting up with each footstep.

Dread withered into panic as he instantly felt the urge to rush after her. "Elsa-"

"Aaron."

Brought up short by the harsh call, he looked over his shoulder to see Helena standing behind him. She'd silently drawn closer again, only this time there was no warmth in her eyes. Just a cold disappointment. Even so, he had to bark back, "What?"

"Let her be."

"Are you serious? Look at that, Helena," Aaron exclaimed incredulously while gesturing towards the trail of ice lingering behind Elsa as she vanished through the doors. "The last thing she needs right now is to be alone."

He then tried to follow her, only for Helena to catch him by the arm none too gently and to spin him back to face her. "No, the last thing she needs is for you to be pestering her."

Aaron's retort died in his throat, his shoulders sagging in defeat. She was right, after all. He so desperately wanted to help Elsa but all he was doing was hurting her. He just wanted to protect the woman he loved. "I'm not trying to pester her, I'm just… I'm just worried about her."

"Even so, I'm pretty sure you'll only make things worse if you talk to her," Helena replied brusquely, although there was a trace of pity in her tone as she watched him.

All he could do was stare downward miserably. "If you knew what's upsetting her, would you tell me?"

"I know she really needs space from you right now. She's… dealing with a lot."

"Still. It's not safe for her to be alone right now. Unless…"

A thought had occurred to him as he glanced from his hands up at his sister. A faint glimmer of hope that emboldened him while confusing her. "What?"

"Would you talk to her?"

"What? Why me?"

"Because." Finally Aaron's panic was falling away to reveal grim resolve as he looked up at the fell wind beginning to catch the banners adorning the castle walls. "For the sake of everyone here she can't be alone right now. And besides me you're the only one who can approach her safely."

It was the obvious solution but still Helena hesitated. "Granted, but what makes you think she'll listen to me?"

"Because you're my sister, now will you go?" The last thing he wanted to do was put his sister in harm's way. Elsa had proven in the past that in moments like this she was more than capable of overwhelming him with ease but something had to be done. Besides, Helena had shown herself to be extremely capable so perhaps she would be alright. At the very least they had to try. "Please?"

Even so, she continued to linger while also looking past the walls. She obviously knew the danger that she'd be walking into, not to mention that she'd have to think of something to say to help Elsa. In spite of those concerns, though, she didn't disappoint him when she said, "Alright. I'll try." Her voice was grim as she turned towards the gates, although she did give a grin. "But if I end up frozen it's your fault."

"This is serious, Helena. She's stronger than you know," Aaron warned.

Even so, Helena's eyes didn't look worried when she glanced back at him while walking away. Instead all they did was burn as she replied, "So am I, dear brother."

With that she turned and strode towards the bridge, as well as the storm undoubtedly brewing beyond.