Warning- this story contains: graphic depictions of violence, strong language, mature themes, sexually explicit content, and content that may offend.
This chapter contains: graphic depictions of violence, strong language, mature themes, and content that may offend. **Viewer discretion is advised.**
I do not own the rights to the "John Wick" franchise, nor do I own any rights to "Frozen" and/or "Frozen 2" franchise.
A/N at the end.
Elsa wept quietly as she stood in front of a tombstone, clutching the sapphire necklace she wore. Today marked the 10th anniversary of her parents' death. This anniversary was harder than the previous ones, as it was only a month that her mother figure, Heleema, died from old age. Her other legal guardian, Matthias, stood within arm's reach, holding out an opened umbrella which sheltered Elsa from the sheets of rain that showered the city, head bowed in both respect and grief of his own. She remembered clearly the day her parents died, perhaps too clearly. She also remembered an energetic freckled redhead that would lighten the mood in any room she was in. She remembered the long nights they stayed up late reading and the days she spent chasing after her in the sun. She held onto that memory tightly, as it was the only memory that got her through days like this. However, since the day her parents died, she was unable to see or find her red-haired friend again.
The authorities had declared that Elsa's parents died due to a "robbery gone wrong", but Matthias knew that this was no accident. No criminals would burn a house down just to steal some jewels. No criminals would accidentally empty a full magazine into another person. No ordinary criminal would kill an innocent child. He took it upon himself to train Elsa for the trials ahead, hoping that when he isn't able to protect her, she could protect herself.
10 years ago.
It was another day at the Arendelle's residence. Everyone was in high spirits, as Elsa's dad had just finished a contract and was paid a hefty commission. Elsa never really knew what her father's job was. When she asked him, he simply shrugged his shoulders and said something along the lines of "making deals for a living". Elsa wanted to believe him, but whenever she asked, and her father told her, she could see in his eyes that he didn't believe his own words. Whatever his job was, it required him to travel a lot. On the rare occasions that her father was home, he locked himself in his office, which he forbade anyone to enter. This only piqued Elsa's curiosity, and one day, when her father was gone on a "business trip", Elsa picked the lock to her father's study and marched inside, determined to discover the secrets that her father hid from her. Inside, she found a lavish office, with leather couches and a mahogany table in the center of the room. Disappointed, she found nothing out of the ordinary and after some more searching, she grew bored and left the room. The next day, the door lock was replaced with an electronic biometric lock, which Elsa never thought twice of, and forgot about her father's study entirely.
Later, on that fateful day, Elsa's family sat at their dinner table. Today's dinner was lobster, baked with spicy fried pork and chives, the savoury scent filling the air and making Elsa's mouth water. Elsa had just turned 10 a few days ago, however, as usual, her father wasn't there to celebrate it with her. Her father, Agnar, had long blonde hair (shades darker than Elsa's hair) and kind brown eyes while her mother, Iduna, had long light brown hair kept in a bun and blue eyes, which Elsa shared. As they sat down at the table, Elsa's father rested his hand on her shoulder.
"Elsa." Her father said, regret in his voice. Elsa looked up and met his eyes. "You've grown." Elsa could only nod, unsure of what to say. "I regret not being here to see it." Agnar said, tears forming in his own eyes. "I've got you something." He handed Elsa a maroon velvet box the size and thickness of a hardcover book. "It made me think of you during my… trip." Elsa noticed the hesitation, but quickly dismissed it as she gingerly accepted the box. "I know this doesn't excuse our lack of time together, but I hope that you will see this as a promise… a promise that I will spend a lot more time… at home… with family." Agnar carefully opened the box, revealing an intricate silver necklace with a sapphire pendant in the shape of a snowflake. He carefully took it out of the box and placed it around Elsa's neck as Elsa burst into tears.
"It's beautiful. Thank you, papa." Elsa said through sobs as she embraced her father tightly, afraid that if she ever let go, her father would vanish. After a moment, the two broke apart as their mother joined them at the dinner table. Before they started, Elsa's father raised his glass in a toast.
"To my family." Agnar said. "Which I will be spending more time with, in the future, starting tonight." He tentatively smiled at his wife and Elsa.
"To father." Elsa said, smiling at her father. "For sacrificing so much for our family." A flash of guilt quickly passed in Agnar's expression, but Elsa didn't notice.
"To fortune and good health." Iduna said, smiling at them both. "Fortis Fortuna Adiuvat." Fortune favours the bold. Elsa recalled from her latin lessons. The three of them sat there for a moment, smiling and enjoying each other's company before they simultaneously filled their plates with lobster.
As Elsa raised a chunk of lobster to her mouth, she saw a flash of movement outside. "Papa? Did you see that?" Elsa said, pointing out of the window.
Her father stared out of the glass sliding door for a moment before his eyes widened. "GET DOWN!" He yelled as he dove to the ground. A split second later, the glass door shattered and their kitchen erupted into flames, throwing Elsa backwards like a ragdoll. Her vision swam, marred by smoke and her ears rang from the explosion. Someone dragged Elsa behind the kitchen counter to relative safety, only later did Elsa learn that it was her mother who dragged Elsa to safety.
"Spread out! Find them! Kill them!" A garbled gruff voice commanded, and gunfire rang out, blasting craters into the wall and floor around them. "Hold your fire until you engage, goddammit!" The gruff voice snapped in annoyance. The gunfire quieted as the squad fanned out to search for their targets. Iduna instinctively covered Elsa's mouth, and no sooner did she do that, one of the masked squad members suddenly appeared in front of the two, unaware that his targets were only a few feet to his left. As the masked man slowly pushed forward, BANG! his head suddenly snapped forward as a spray of blood exited the front of his forehead before he collapsed to the ground. BANG! The sound of another squad member dropping to the ground hit Elsa's ears through the persistent ringing that was now beginning to fade.
"Target spotted! Engaging!" Another squad member shouted as he let loose, spraying bullets wildly in the direction of the gunfire that killed two of his squad.
"Aaugh!" Elsa's father cried in pain and dropped his Glock 19 as several bullets found their mark. As the assailant approached, Agnar reached for his dropped weapon, which sat just outside of his reach. Before he could pick it up, a black boot stepped on the firearm and kicked it away. The assailant pointed his assault rifle at Agnar and with his other hand, removed his mask, revealing a handsome boy with brown eyes, red hair, and bushy sideburns.
"Runard sends his regards." He said, smiling menacingly as he leveled his rifle at Agnar.
"Hans, you son of a-" Agnar said, barely audible, before...BRRRTTT! Hans emptied his magazine into Agnar's chest.
"Target down." Hans said coldly as he put on his mask again. CRASH! A chunk of the ceiling fell and crashed to the floor, barely missing Hans. "Structural integrity compromised. Requesting abort and evac." Hans said calmly. "Perimeter did not observe anyone fleeing. Our targets would've suffocated or burned to death by now."
"Granted." The garbled gruff voice said. "All units, abort and evac immediately." Elsa barely registered the sound of several sets of boots marching into the distance. SNAP! Elsa barely had the time to look up, as a chunk of the burning ceiling fell onto the two of them, engulfing them in the thick black smoke. Elsa desperately tried to push the chunk of rubble off of her, but she was not able to as her vision darkened and she quickly lost consciousness.
Present day.
As Elsa finished her murmured prayer, she turned to Matthias, her father figure for the last 10 years and smiled at him sadly as she took the umbrella that Matthias was holding. "Thank you, Matthias. I wouldn't be here without you." Matthias was the one who found Elsa and nursed her back to health, as well as trained her in combat.
"I should be thanking you, Miss Frost." Matthias responded kindly. "For giving me a second chance after I failed to keep your family safe."
"You didn't fail." Elsa said reassuringly. "I'm still alive, no?"
"I suppose so, my lady." Matthias said doubtfully.
"You need time off as well, Matthias. Take the next few months off." Elsa said kindly.
"It's fine, Miss Frost. My duty is to protect your-" Matthias said before Elsa cut him off.
"I insist, Matthias. Spend some time with your family. They need you." Elsa said sympathetically.
"I… Thank you, Miss Frost." Matthias bowed.
Elsa chuckled. Matthias had been her family's bodyguard that Agnar hired after a break-in happened at their house while he was gone. Iduna managed to subdue the would-be thief with a frying pan before the police arrived. Elsa talked to Matthias often when her father was gone, and they shared a close bond with each other over the years. Elsa Frost was not her real name, but since she was the sole survivor of the incident over 10 years ago, Matthias insisted that she change her name as a precaution as well as learn how to defend herself. Elsa learned surprisingly quickly, and under Matthias's recommendation, she joined the Continental, where she learned the truth of her father's job.
Her father was an assassin for the Continental, albeit not a well known one. His business trips were actually missions given to him by clients, and each one paid quite well, even for someone not quite as well-known in the guild. Everything suddenly clicked into place, and Elsa swore to avenge her family. In less than a year, Elsa gained a fearsome reputation in the Continental and wherever she went, other assassins either fled in fear, or nervously sidled up to her in an attempt to befriend her. She had found several promising leads during the years about the people responsible for her family's demise, but the leads eventually ran dry. Elsa became frustrated and wanted to leave, only to learn that the only way someone left the guild, was for them to die. Elsa had no desire to die before she avenged her family, so she asked far and wide within the guild for an escape route. After many gruesome, nearly-impossible tasks, she finally managed to escape the guild five years ago.
Elsa's thoughts wandered as she bid goodbye to Matthias and entered her white Lamborghini which she bought with her own money while she was involved with the Continental. She decided to stop at a nearby gas station to refuel her car. When she exited the shop at the gas station and got into her car, a group of three hoodlums approached her car.
"Søt tur."(Sweet ride.) Said the oldest of the group, smiling. He was a familiar-looking handsome man with brown eyes, red hair, and bushy sideburns who appeared to be a few years older than her. He noticed Elsa's necklace. "Veldig fint halskjede. Hvor mye?" (Very nice necklace. How much?)
"Ikke til salgs."(Not for sale) Elsa replied coldly.
The man stepped forward and placed both his hands on the hood of Elsa's Lamborghini. "Hver tispe har en pris."(Every bitch has a price.) He said as he leaned forward towards Elsa menacingly. The other two hoodlums stepped forward as well.
"Ikke denne tispen." (Not this bitch.) Elsa replied, starting her car and revving the engine. The man and his hoodlums backed away quickly, startled, and she peeled away from the gas station, heading home as the man stared at her, fuming.
Elsa entered her home and wandered straight into her bedroom. She opened a book and began to read. For some reason, Elsa always enjoyed novels about romance, where young characters had their parents killed in a grisly manner, much like her own. It was not by coincidence, however, as Elsa felt lost without her parents, and even Matthias could only do so much to help her. All of the stories she read had one thing in common: the main character changed and miraculously "found their path" when they met their true love. Elsa laughed bitterly at the revelation, despite her aching heart. Some time later, Elsa looked up from the book she was reading. Then, she heard it again: the sound of a door opening downstairs and footsteps. Elsa then glanced outside her window to a dark starless night. Must be burglars she thought to herself as she picked up her firearm, a Sig Sauer P938, and cautiously made her way down the stairs, scanning her surroundings as she walked, her finger resting on the trigger and the safety off, a round in the chamber.
She made her way around the house, clearing room after room after room to find no burglars and no misplaced items. She slowly made her way to the living room, scanning her surroundings, finding nothing out of the ordinary. False alarm. She sighed in relief. I must be hearing things. No sooner than when the thought crossed her mind… THWACK! The impact hit Elsa solidly in the back of her head, causing her world to turn white for a moment and for her limbs to turn into jelly. As the white faded, her assailants continued to beat her with various weapons, forcing Elsa to curl up in the fetal position helplessly as her assailants continued to beat and kick her prone form. Suddenly, a wild kick to the face caused her head to snap back and she lay on the floor, sprawl-eagled as three hoodlums stood over her, laughing.
One of the hoodlums removed his mask, revealing the red-haired stranger with bushy sideburns from earlier. "Hver tispe har en pris."(Every bitch has a price.) He said as he leaned forward towards Elsa menacingly, snatched Elsa's necklace off of her neck, and smiled cruelly. "Glede med å gjøre forretninger med deg." (Pleasure doing business with you.)
Elsa watched, helpless, as the three hoodlums walked off into the distance, laughing, as her consciousness faded.
"I heard you struck my son." Runard spoke into his smartphone, barely concealing his anger.
"Ja sir, I did." The mechanic said confidently with a thick Swedish accent.
"May I ask why?" Runard said, surprised at his lack of fear.
"Because he stole Elsa Frost's car, sir, and uh… stole her necklace." Only now, did a hint of fear show in his voice.
Runard's blood went cold. "Oh." He replied, speechless, as he hung up. He took a deep calming breath and reached into his pocket and pulled out a cuban cigar along with a lighter. "How did the meeting go, granddaughter?" Runard asked as he smoked the cuban cigar on the patio of his penthouse suite, looking at Anna expectedly.
"It went extremely well." Anna replied cheerfully, oblivious to her grandfather's turmoil. "They surrendered unconditionally, not that they had much of a choice, in the position I left them in. The ones that surrendered were given new positions while the ones that refused were publicly executed."
Runard smiled proudly at her granddaughter. "And how did you execute them?"
Anna only smiled mysteriously. "Let's just say that our enemies will think twice before crossing us again." Runard and Anna shared a laugh, which died down as her older brother Hans walked into the apartment. Apparently, someone had thought that it was a good idea to punch the grandson of the most powerful mafia in the city in the face, as a fresh partially-formed bruise was evident on his left cheekbone. He sported a fresh jacket that looked expensive.
"Got something for you, sis. Consider it an early birthday gift." Hans tossed Anna an object, which she barely caught. The object, Anna realised, was an intricate silver necklace with a sapphire snowflake pendant, which she promptly put around her neck. "Thank you, brother. Being four years older than me finally taught you to think of others, huh?" Anna teased as she enveloped her older brother in a large, bone-crushing hug.
Runard's eyes widened with shock when he saw the necklace, but he quickly hid it under a mask of calm. "How did your mission go?" He asked as Anna released Hans and backed away from him.
"We won't be hearing from them anytime soon." Hans said camly. "Or ever."
Runard nervously filled two whisky cups with a high-end whisky that Anna didn't recognize. He shakily walked up to Hans and offered him one of the glasses. Only now, did Anna realize that her grandfather was, but why, Anna did not understand. As Runard walked up to Hans, Hans nervously backed one step for every step Runard walked forward towards Hans. After two steps, the pair stopped, and Hans examined his grandfather, before his attention was drawn to his grandfather extending one of the glasses towards him. Hans accepted the drink, and the two awkwardly clinked the glasses together. Hans raised the glass to his face, nodded thankfully, and downed the drink in one gulp, the smoky whisky burning down the back of his throat. Runard simply turned around, set his whiskey down on the counter, and walked back to Hans.
"That's a nice jacket!" Runard exclaimed, running the fabric of Hans's jacket between his fingers.
"Thanks." Hans said, as Runard placed his hand on Hans's shoulder, nodding approvingly, before Runard's expression quickly soured and he punched Hans solidly in the stomach. Hans grunted in pain and folded, collapsing to his knees, bent over, and dropped the whiskey glass on the wooden floor, which rolled off to one side. Hans vomited a cloudy white-greenish substance onto the floor as he struggled to catch his breath.
"Rydd opp." (Clean that up.) Runard snapped at Hans, tossing a dishcloth to him, which landed at his feet. As Hans finally caught his breath, he grabbed the towel and hastily cleaned his own vomit off the floor.
Startled at her grandfather's outburst, Anna jumped to her feet and backed away nervously. "Should I go?"
"Nei." (No.) Her grandfather replied, continuing to speak in rapid Norwegian that Anna couldn't quite catch while Hans continued to clean the floor, folding the towel and wiping the floor with the clean side.
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear-" Anna said before her grandfather cut her off.
"STAY, GODDAMMIT!" Runard shouted at Anna.
"What did I do?" Hans asked weakly as Anna nervously sat back down.
"Du knullet opp" (You fucked up) Runard replied angrily.
"We did what you asked." Hans said, confused. "No one saw shit."
Runard angrily grabbed Hans's left arm, just below his shoulder with his right hand and forcefully yanked Hans to his feet, his other hand grabbing Hans's other arm, forcing Hans to face him as Hans panted for breath. "I'm not talking about Paris." Runard said through gritted teeth.
"What then?" Slowly, realization dawned on Hans. "You mean Oaken's?" Hans asked, irritated. "So I stole a fucking car!" He shouted.
Runard laced his hands behind Hans's neck, forcing his head down, then he kneed Hans in the stomach, causing him to fold and collapse to the floor again.
"What the fuck, bestefar?" (What the fuck, grandpa?) Anna asked, jumping out of her seat again and backing away nervously, increasingly unsettled by her grandfather's behaviour. She had never seen him this angry before.
"You stay!" Runard barked, pointing to Anna. Anna nervously walked back to her seat and sat down again. Hans glared at Runard balefully from the floor as he panted while Runard calmly donned his jacket.
Runard turned towards the bar and picked up a bottle of vodka. He pulled out another whiskey glass, worked the lid, and began pouring. Runard sighed deeply. "It's not what you did that angers me, grandson. It's who you did it to."
"Who?" Hans asked incredulously, still kneeling on the floor. "The fucking nobody?"
"That 'fucking nobody'..." Runard paused nervously, looking at Hans with fear. "Is Elsa Frost." Runard. "She was once an associate of ours. They called her… 'Is dronning'." Anna had heard numerous rumors of the infamous 'Ice Queen', and each rumor terrified her to the core.
"The 'Ice Queen'?" Hans asked in disbelief.
"Well, Elsa wasn't exactly an 'Ice Queen'... but if you wanted to kill a queen, she was the one you'd send." Runard said, shivering at the memory of her. "She is a woman of efficiency, grace, and sheer will." Runard practically whispered to Hans, Anna straining to hear their conversation. "Something you know very little about. I once saw her take out five armed guards... with an icicle… with a fucking icicle." Runard strolled over to Anna, then suddenly turned to face Hans, making a 'pop!' sound as he mimed stabbing someone through their ear on Anna. Anna flinched and quickly leaned away, startled by her grandfather's sudden movements.
"Then, suddenly, one day, she asked to leave." Runard said, walking back to the bottle of vodka he opened, sighed, and began pouring himself another drink again. "This was because of her mother, of course, so I made a deal with her. I gave her an impossible task; a job no one could have pulled off." Runard gulped down a mouthful of vodka before setting his glass down. "The bodies she buried that day laid a foundation of what we are now." Runard walked a few steps away from Hans before turning to face him again. "And then my grandson… the day she mourns the death of her mother… you steal her car, and her fucking necklace." Anna gasped in shock as she touched the necklace that she now wore, the implications of her brother's actions setting in.
"Grandfather, I can make this right!" Hans said, determined, seemingly oblivious to the consequences of his actions.
"Oh!" Runard said, feigning interest. "How do you plan that?"
"By finishing what I started." Hans said confidently.
"What the-did he hear a fucking word I said?" Runard turned towards Anna, pointing at Hans in annoyance.
"Bestefar, jeg kan gjøre dette! Vær så snill!" (Grandpa, I can do this! Please!)Hans pleaded.
Runard stepped forward and tightly embraced Hans, as if this was the last time he would see Hans for the rest of his life. "My brave boy, listen!" Runard hissed. He grabbed Hans by the hair, jerking his head back slightly so that his ear was right in front of Runard's mouth. "Elsa will come for you… and you will do nothing because you can do nothing." Runard hissed into Hans's ear. "So get out of my fucking sight!" Runard relinquished his grip on Hans, and Hans quickly scampered out of the apartment.
"What are we going to do?" Anna asked nervously. "If the rumors about that… monster are true…" Anna shivered in fear.
Runard walked over to a painting, and pulled on one side of it, and the painting swung aside like a door, revealing a safe. He typed in a code and opened the safe, revealing numerous neat rows of gold coins on the top section of the safe. On the bottom section, there were two books, three stacks of hundred-dollar bills, and two large books. Runard took out a dusty brown leather book out of the bottom section and fished his smartphone out of his pocket. He flipped through the pages, dusted off the page, then typed a number onto his phone. Runard heard the phone being picked up, but the person on the other side didn't speak. "Hello, Elsa." Runard silently took a calming breath. "I heard about your mother. I'm sorry. My condolences."
Runard paused to sigh shakily, then he continued. "It seemed to be fate or happenstance or just bad fucking luck caused our paths to cross again." Runard paused for a moment, struggling to find his words. "Elsa?" No reply. Anna nervously took a sip of whisky as she stared at the back of her grandfather's head. "Let us not resort to our basic instincts and handle this like civilized men to move on-" The line went dead as he heard Elsa hang up. Runard dejectedly shoved his phone back in his pocket and leaned heavily on the counter.
"What did she say?" Anna asked, concerned.
"Enough." Runard replied tensely.
"Oh god." Anna muttered nervously.
Runard let out a large, uneasy sigh as he turned towards Anna. "Task your crew."
"H-H-How many?" Anna asked uncertainly.
"How many do you have?"
A/N:
Hi guys, and thank you for reading this chapter. This is my attempt at a new writing style for me, and I wanted to do a John Wick style fanfic for Elsanna. If you guys are following the r/Elsanna subreddit, you may have seen me post this chapter there. I strongly suggest checking it out. I am working on a few other fanfics as well, mainly on this one and "To Capture A Heart" which is a collab between myself and u/RiasSenpaiBae. I strongly suggest checking it out as well (shameless self-plug). Thank you, u/Hudjat for helping me edit this chapter, and thank you u/1throw22away333 for the "icicle" suggestion, and for helping me pick out the title for this story.
Some context for character ages, since some people may be confused. Elsa is currently 20 years old, and so is Anna. Hans is 4 years older than both of them. Runard is 64 years old. During the flashback, Hans is 14 and Runard is 54 years old (yeah, Hans was born with rather young parents… IDK the ideal age to become parents) while Elsa was 10. Elsa's parents were both 37 years old when they died. Matthias is 65 years old, and like Runard, is rather fit for his age.
No, Elsa didn't know (and currently still doesn't know) that Hans was the one who killed her father, and Runard didn't know (and currently still doesn't know) that Elsa survived that fateful night. Neither does Anna.
I used google translate for the Norwegian bits, so please correct me if I am wrong, or if something can be said in a better way.
As usual, feedback and criticism is appreciated.