Elsa sat in front of her vanity, slowly stroking her brush through her curls. It had taken some time to adjust to her new hair, but it was actually quite beautiful. She took a moment to consider whether or not hers was worth its weight in gold.

But even a moment of critical consideration led her to scoff at the idea she could measure up to her mum. And that, of all things, hurt her heart. What would her mother say now? Anna was still in prison, and Elsa was, essentially the sex toy of a heartless despot.

Oh, and Arrendelle no longer existed as a country. Elsa had failed as a queen, as a sister, and as a person in general.

Would things have been better if she hadn't extended mercy to Hans? What if she had just killed him on the spot? Would Baragor have been to afraid to attack then?

No one could ever tell the intentions of a Westerguard. No doubt Hans' older brother was off plotting against some unsuspecting innocent. Elsa felt a chill in the room as she realized how dangerous it had been for her to be on the Black Spot pirate's boat.

It was even more dangerous now that her power was gone.

Frustrated, Elsa threw her brush down on the table, cursing. After all that, it was her powerlessness that bothered her. For more than a decade she would have given anything to be free of her curse. But it had protected her. The only reason, she figured, that Hans had backed off as constantly as he had was likely due to the fact that he was afraid of her unleashing it on him.

That would be terribly delightful, she thought. To see the shock in his eyes, the realization of what it was like to be powerless. For a moment, it occurred to her he already knew what that was like. But she brushed that thought aside. Thinking of that man in any role but as a condescending, brutish knave made her feel... anyways, getting into his head was dangerous for a variety of reasons. It was better that she simply throw more walls up and close herself off.

Her only power now came in hiding the truth from Hans. Slowly, he was getting everything he wanted, but he didn't necessarily KNOW she couldn't stop him.

A knock came from the door.

"Hans, I'm going to bed!" She snapped, in no mood for him. Once the uniform was off, she was free. That was the deal. She had given up a great deal of her dignity to acquire this right, she was going to use it!

The knocking came louder, and louder until she was sure that the entire floor could hear it.

"Just open the door! You have a key, you know!"

There was no indication that he had heard her. She then realized that there was a chance it wasn't Hans on the other side of the door. Soon the knocking became a ramming as someone slammed against it to break the thing down.

...

"Oh no..." Elsa started screaming for help as the door started to creak. She tried bracing up against it, but it started to collapse under pressure.

"Help! Help!"

More than ever she missed her ice powers. She had learned an important lesson in her ice castle; lock your door. If she hadn't left the front door open, no one could have attacked her. But she was over-confident. Never again.

Soon, the door started splintering and Elsa fled, she slid her way into her bathroom only to realize it didn't have a lock.

"NO!"

She braced as hard against it as she could, "Hans?!" She called desperately, praying this was one of his more twisted games of 'Find a Spot on Elsa that Makes Her Moan'. The sound of breathing met her ears, and she knew him well enough that wasn't him.

It didn't take long for the new intruder to break his way into the bathroom. Elsa moved back, putting the tub between herself and...

a black spot pirate.

Panic set in as she remembered these things were. The files Hans had written. Her personal trauma. The smell of blood on the deck. The unrepentant hate in the eyes of the men. Her inability to change any of it. Her utter powerlessness in the face of...

"Enough!" She called, gathering her courage. The pirate froze as her hands lifted, "I don't want to hurt you, but if you force me..."

"Happa Hans!" He declared. Elsa let out a growl of annoyance.

"...why do you people keep dragging me into your fight with him?!"

He looked at her quizzically, "You are his woman..."

She rolled her eyes, "Technically, I'm not!"

The pirate cleared his throat as politely as he could, "You know... the maid... which is what you are... serves her master... right?"

Elsa blushed, "um, yes, but we're not... I mean, it's all the same to me if... I mean, if it's all the same to you, I'd rather not get involved with a Westerguard."

He nodded his head, "They deserve to die slow, yes."

The pirate waved his knife menacingly, "Out."

She nodded. His hand circled her neck uncomfortably.

"Where to now?" She asked quietly.

"We wait."

Elsa didn't understand what he meant until she realized that Hans had a habit of calling for her privately. But what could she do? It was not as though she could overpower this thug. And there was no way that he would just let her go, right?

There was a knock at the door. Elsa, on instinct, opened her mouth to answer it, only to have dirty fingers shoved inside.

"Sh..." The pirate commanded. The knock came again.

Elsa waited for Hans to make a demand, or barge in, but he didn't. Instead a note was slipped under the door. She opened it.

...

...oh, wonderful(!)

"I've been summoned," She whispered. A quiet snicker hit her ear, causing her to reflexively explain, "I'm not his woman!"

A.N. I am sorry I didn't crank this out earlier. But.

But. Uh. I have no excuses. Fine, I've been working on the lead-up to chapter 75. As you faithful few have noticed, big stuff happens every quarter, so expect a huge change soon!

And since the change is so far away, count on tons of more tension in the near future.