Hi Everyone! I am so super duper sorry about this incredibly long hiatus! The past two months for me have been a whirlwind crazy time for me and my family. My dog had to be emitted to the hospital on the same day I had family come visit us from out of state and two days after that I started summer intersession at my university so I have literally been fighting complete exhaustion while inhaling caffeine. It was so bad that I couldn't see straight and actually got vertigo-like symptoms. But good news! My dog is healthy and back to normal and I successfully passed my class and I am feeling 100% better! Yay!
However, I am not oblivious to the fact that I have been M.I.A. for several weeks and I am super grateful for your support and patience. You guys are all so wonderful and without you I probably would have given up. But please take comfort when I promise you that I will NOT give up on this story. It may be slow going but I will finish this trilogy. More good news, Chapter 4 is almost done as well and it should be up within 24 hours. So without further ado, please enjoy the next chapter and happy reading! :)
Chapter 3
A week had passed since Hans, Kristoff, and Anna all returned to Arendelle and the storm was slowly lightening up on the quaint kingdom. Elsa hadn't been feeling well due to the sharp pains in her stomach that would randomly come and go. However, she had been concealing her pain so no one knew about them since the initial two she experienced a week ago. Tired from another antagonizing long unrestful sleep, Elsa sat by the window and watched the sunrise through the dark clouds that still loomed over Arendelle. Behind her she could hear her husband stir awake, "Elsa? What are you doing?"
"Couldn't sleep…" She turned her head so she could look at Hans, "You're up awfully early."
"I'm a military man. I tend to wake at dawn." He slowly sat up and yawned, "You okay?"
"I'm fine." She smiled at his messy bed head, "Did you sleep well?"
"I did." He stood up and walked toward the window, "How's the weather?"
"It looks like the rain has finally stopped falling." She looked up at him, "Are you going to take the fleet out or just run drills?"
Hans peered through the window, "I think I might run drills today and perhaps take them out tomorrow."
"How long will you be gone this time?"
"Probably another week." He glanced down at her, "You sure you're feeling alright? Because I don't want Anna getting mad at me again."
Elsa laughed, "Yes, I'm fine."
"Okay." He bent down and gently kissed her, "I'm going to get ready."
Elsa silently nodded as he walked into the bathroom and closed the door. Elsa sighed as she turned her attention back toward the window. Her mind raced as she thought back to that nightmare she had a week ago. Thinking about her late-parents taking her firstborn away from her made chills run down her spine.
"Oh Elsa…I am so sorry. So very sorry. But it's time to say goodbye to Benjamin."
"What's going on?! Give me back my baby!"
"We promise to take care of him."
"What?! No! No! Stop!"
"He'll be waiting for you, just like your mother and I are waiting for you and Anna."
"Anna, do something!"
"Elsa, I'm sorry but you are going to have to let Ben go. This is not the right time, this is not your time."
"No, please, we've worked so hard to have this baby. You can't just take him away!"
"Goodbye, Ben. I'll see you again soon."
"No, stop! Please!"
"Stop!" Elsa gasped as another sharp pain stabbed her stomach. She did her usual relief method by placing a cold hand on her stomach but this time it didn't relieve any pain, it worsened it. "Hans…" She gasped as she tried to stand, "Hans…" She collapsed onto the floor as the pain intensified. She frantically looked around the room to find something that would get Hans' attention until her eyes landed on the full body-length mirror. With desperation guiding her, she shot an icicle at the mirror and the loud crash of shattering glass filled the room.
Almost immediately, the bathroom door opened and Hans ran out, "Elsa?!" His eyes fell to his wife lying on the floor and he knelt down beside her, "Elsa! What happened?!"
"My stomach…" She groaned.
"I'm going to get the doctor." He stood up and headed for the door.
"No! Don't leave!" She struggled to get up.
"Elsa, stop. Don't move." He ran back over to her.
"I need you to take me to the doctor." She glanced down and noticed some blood on the floor, "You need to take me to the doctor now."
Hans scooped her up bridal style and noticed the blood too, "Oh my-what's happening?!"
Elsa rested her head against his strong chest, "Please hurry."
Hans hurried out of the room and ran through the vacant hallways to the doctor's quarters which was also connected to his office, "Doctor Omsorg!" Hans knocked with his foot, "Doctor Omsorg!"
The door flew open and Doctor Omsorg, still in his sleepwear, quickly ushered them inside, "What's going on?" He took one glance at Elsa and quickly ran to get some medical supplies, "Place her on the observation table." Hans gently placed Elsa down as the doctor returned with a tray full of instruments, "What happened?"
"I don't know. I heard glass shatter and ran out of the bathroom to find her lying on the floor bleeding."
"Did you cut yourself on the glass, Your Majesty?"
"No…" She groaned, "It was my stomach."
"Was it a sharp pain?"
"Yes."
"Hmm…" The doctor gently pressed his fingertips into her stomach and lightly felt around, "Mhmm…" He took a look underneath Elsa's nightgown and noticed the bleeding, "Okay, I see what's going on."
"Is she going to be okay?"
"Queen Elsa will be just fine. But I will need to run some tests and keep her under observation for the day."
"Tests?" Hans ushered the doctor away until they were out of earshot from Elsa, "What's going on? What happened?"
"Prince Hans, I make it a policy to not make a diagnosis until I can fully support it. I do not wish to give you false hope or false heartache. So you must be patient and I will have to ask you to leave while I proceed with my tests."
"But…" Hans anxiously ran a hand through his hair as he glanced over at Elsa, "Just take care of her."
"Of course."
Before Hans could say another word, he found himself standing in the hallway with a closed door in his face. After a couple minutes of slowly processing what happened, he heard a small voice come up behind him, "Hans?"
He turned around to find two familiar faces, "Annaliese…" He smiled at his nephew, "Hey, Henry."
Henry grinned as Annaliese curiously looked between him and the doctor's door, "Is everything alright?"
"Everything is fine." He tiredly rubbed his face, "How are you feeling by the way? I heard you had the stomach flu?"
"Oh yeah, that was an ugly little episode." She lightly laughed as she adjusted Henry on her hip, "But I'm fine now. I'm so grateful for everyone who helped out. Speaking of which, I haven't had the chance to thank Elsa for helping out with Henry. I know that babysitting isn't exactly a part of the job description for a queen but I really appreciate her taking time out of her busy schedule."
"Trust me, it was no burden at all. She loves spending time with Henry." Hans chuckled as Henry perked up at hearing his name.
"I'm glad. I didn't want it to seem like I was imposing in any way. But if you do see her before me-" She playfully slapped her forehead, "What am I thinking? Of course you're more likely to see her before me. But when you do, could you thank her for me?"
"Of course."
"Thanks. Now I've got to get this little guy fed before I fall too far behind schedule. See you around." She hurried away while Henry waved over her shoulder.
"Prince Hans?"
He turned around to find William standing behind him, "William."
"Is everything alright?"
"Why does everyone keep asking me that?"
"Well, because you're running late and you're never late for morning drills."
"Morning drills? Oh!" Hans mentally slapped himself, "Dang it, I lost track of time. Have Captain Sterk start without me. I'll be there within the hour."
"Yes, sir." William respectfully bowed before heading down the hallway.
Hans pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head, "Pull yourself together. She's going to be fine and I've got a job to do." He glanced at the doctor's door one last time before heading to the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast.
"Thomas Sullivan?"
The prisoner looked up when the guard unlocked the door and stepped inside, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to deliver your breakfast."
"Where's the other guard? He usually brings me my meals."
"They sent me this time. Sorry to disappoint." He placed the tray on the floor and stepped out, "I'll be back in ten to pick up the tray."
Once the guard locked the door and walked away, Thomas wandered over to the tray and noticed the letter V written in his beans. He curiously picked through his meal until he found a small envelope buried at the bottom of the bowl of beans. With a quick wipe of his sleeve, he cleaned up the envelope well enough to open it and pull out a short note:
Phase 1 complete. Phase 2 is a go. Standby for further instruction.
A small smile spread across his lips, "It has begun."
"How are you feeling now?" The doctor sat beside the small bed that Elsa had been resting on for most of the day.
"I'm fine."
"Any more pain since this morning?"
"No." Elsa blinked her eyes a couple more times, "Where's Hans?"
"I sent him away. He was added stress that you didn't need at the moment." The doctor looked at the clock, "But it's getting close to dinner so he should be back at any time."
"How about Anna?"
"I asked Gerda about the whereabouts of the Princess and she said that Princess Anna and Prince Kristoff went up the North Mountain to bring back their belongings from their honeymoon. But they should be back at any time as well."
"Oh…alright." Elsa slowly sat up, "Do you know how much longer I'm going to have these stomach pains?"
"You shouldn't be experiencing any more at this point."
"Well, that's good news." Elsa smiled, "So I'm going to be alright?"
"Umm…I'm not sure about that."
Elsa's smile quickly faded, "What do you mean by that?"
"Queen Elsa, these pains you've been having were not solely an issue with just you." The doctor sighed, "They had to do with the baby."
"The baby?"
"Elsa…" Doctor Omsorg took off his glasses and gently grasped her hands, "The baby is gone."
Elsa could feel her heart drop into her stomach, "W-what do you mean?"
"I'm so sorry, Your Majesty, but it seems that you've had a miscarriage."
"I-No…" Elsa defiantly shook her head, "No that can't happen. I-I can't lose the baby." Tears started to fill her eyes, "Tell me there's still a chance that the baby could still be in there."
"If it were just the stomach pains, then I could say that there was a slim chance but…" He looked down at her hands in his, "The blood was coming from where the baby was. That's a pretty sure sign that he or she is gone."
"This isn't real. How can I pregnant one day then not the next?"
"Your Majesty, miscarriages are unfortunately quite common."
Elsa could slowly feel a swell of uncontrollable emotion and guilt rising, "Is it my fault? Did I do something wrong?"
"No, absolutely not. Most of the time the cause is unrelated to the mother especially when the mother is in good shape such as yourself."
Elsa quietly hung her head as her tears started to fall, "Did my powers have something to do with it?"
The doctor's eyes widened, "Um, I actually haven't given that angle much thought-"
"Be honest with me, Doctor." Elsa looked him in the eye, "Did my powers have something, anything, to do with this?"
"I-I suppose it could have had an impact on your immune system responses therefore consequently causing the miscarriage but the chances of that happening are incredibly slim."
Elsa could feel herself losing control of her emotions, "You need to go." Ice slowly began to creep up the walls as the temperature in the room dropped, "You need to get out of here now."
The doctor let go of her hands as he stood up and made his way to the door which connected to his office, "I know this isn't a good time, Your Majesty, but do you wish to tell Prince Hans or would you like me to do it."
"I don't care! Just go! I can't afford to kill anyone else today!"
The doctor regretfully did as she demanded, closing the door behind him as he left. In a matter of moments the door froze over, promptly locking Elsa inside and more significantly, locking everyone else out.
"Check it out." Anna pointed towards the clock tower in the center of town, "We'll actually make it to dinner on time. And you didn't think we were going to make it."
"I was being realistic considering how long it took you to pack up your things even though you told me that you already had everything packed before we left the first time around."
"Oh complain, complain. You know, we could have been early if it weren't for you wanting to relive…what did you called it? Your favorite part of our honeymoon?"
"Hey, you were pretty on board with the idea too so don't pretend you didn't enjoy it."
Anna laughed, "Yeah, you got me on that one." She bumped her hip against his, "I did enjoy it." She grabbed his hand and looped his arm around her shoulders, "But in all honesty, I'm just glad it finally stopped raining. This summer has literally been the worst, weather wise I mean. You know, after the eternal blizzard of course because that obviously takes the cake. Hey!" Anna pointed to someone ahead of them, "I think that's Hans! Hey, Hans!"
Hans turned around when he heard his name and smiled when he saw Anna exuberantly waving her arm around. He stopped walking so they could catch up to him, "Hey guys…" He noticed Sven walking beside them with suitcases loaded on each side of him, "Going somewhere?"
"More like coming back from our honeymoon for a second time." Anna giggled, "Huh, I bet no one else has ever said that before."
"So you've been out of the castle all day then?"
"Well, yeah. It takes a while to get up that mountain."
Although Anna might have been oblivious to Hans' strange question, Kristoff was not, "Everything alright, Hans? You seem a little worried."
"I'm just concerned." He lowered his voice as they continued through town, "Elsa wasn't feeling well this morning so I took her to Doctor Omsorg."
Anna calmly smiled, "Was it morning sickness because that's super common for pregnant women."
"Uh…" Hans remembered the blood, "Not exactly. The doctor said that she would be fine but I'm still a little anxious to hear the results."
Kristoff furrowed his brow, "Results? That means he had been running tests on her, which is kind of serious. You're sure it's just a pregnancy symptom?"
"Honestly? I have no idea what's happening."
Anna quickened her pace, "Then we better get back to the castle as quickly as possible."
A couple minutes later the trio crossed into the courtyard and Hans headed directly into the castle as Anna and Kristoff headed toward the stables with Sven and their baggage. Trying not to seem too anxious, Hans tried to walk at a steady pace through the castle corridors until he turned the final corner. "Doctor?" Hans froze when he saw Doctor Omsorg sitting outside in the hallway with his head resting in his hands, "Doctor, what's wrong? What's happened?"
The doctor looked up at Hans as he slowly approached, "Prince Hans, I have some bad news."
Hans' heart stopped, "Oh God, Elsa isn't-"
"She's alright given the circumstance."
"The circumstance?"
The doctor sighed as he stood up and looked Hans in the eye, "Your Majesty, I am sorry to inform you that Queen Elsa…" He nervously cleared his throat, "She has lost the baby."
Hans staggered back as if the rug had just been pulled out from under him, leaving him stunned in silence. He let out a long sigh as he rubbed his face, "Oh my-wow, okay, uh…does Elsa know?"
"Yes."
"How is she?"
"She's inside the recovery room. Locked herself in there is more like it."
"Oh no, not again."
As Hans pushed past the doctor, he grabbed Hans' arm, "Prince Hans I must warn you. Queen Elsa is blaming herself for this. She thinks her powers had something to do with this-"
"Do they?"
"The chances of that being true are very slim. But if they were..."
"What?"
The doctor took off his glasses, "If her powers were the cause, then that means she could never have children. It is possible that her internal body temperature may be too cold to nurture a baby."
Hans pinched the bridge of his nose, "Does Elsa know about that?"
"No. I figured it was best to withhold that information."
"Alright. I need to go check on her." Hans patted the doctor on the shoulder before walking inside. He headed straight to the recovery room with ice covering the door. "Elsa?" He placed a hand on the ice covered door, "The doctor told me everything. I am so sorry." He could hear her crying inside which only made his heart ache more, "Sweetheart, please let me in."
"Go away. It's not safe for you to be around me."
"I don't care. I just-" He swallowed back his tears, "I just need to see you."
To his surprise, the ice around the door handle began to thaw. After a couple moments, Hans was able to pry the door open and step inside the frozen recovery room, "Elsa?"
"I'm here."
Hans turned his head to find Elsa curled up against the wall behind the door, "Oh Elsa…" He knelt down beside her and gently cupped her tear stained cheek, "I am so sorry for your loss."
"I'm sorry for our loss." She squeezed her eyes shut as the tears started to flow again, "I'm sorry to have let you down. You were so excited to be a father and I-"
"Nonsense. This wasn't your fault." He sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her, taking ahold one of her hands, "We're going to get through this. Trust me."
He paused when Elsa rested her head on his shoulder and buried her face into his chest, "Maybe I'm not meant to be a mother."
"No, Elsa. You deserve happiness just as much as any other person. Believe me, this is not how your story will end. We'll keep trying and I promise you that one day you'll be holding you own little bundle of joy in your arms." He gently combed his fingers through her hair, "Remember that in life, we are not given things that we cannot handle. And you are an incredibly strong woman. So it may take a long time-months, years even-but we will get through this and we will have a child of our own."
Footsteps were heard coming towards them, followed by Anna and Kristoff poking their heads into the room, "Elsa?" Anna's voice was barely above a whisper when she spotted Hans and Elsa sitting on the floor together, "We just spoke with the doctor. I'm sorry for your loss. I know how excited you both were and I can't imagine what you must be going through right now." She sat on the other side of Elsa and linked her arm with her sister and then gently rested her head on her sister's shoulder, "Whatever you need. I'll be here for you."
Kristoff knelt down in front of Elsa and took her small delicate hand into his large strong one, giving it a gentle squeeze, "Me too."
Next chapter should be up within 24 hours. Please review and thanks again for your patience.
