Elsa

I woke up with a splitting headache. The pain in my eye was almost unbearable. It took a moment to get my bearings and focus enough to look around. I saw Kristoff first, or at least his arm. I stepped down from the cot I'd apparently been sleeping on, careful not to crush his fingers. Looking around, I gathered that we were in the dungeon. I looked down at my numb wrists, expecting, but not finding, similar handcuffs to the ones I wore my first time down there. I sighed in relief. Kristoff, who had been stuffed under the cot, began to stir.

"Ohh. My head." He raised his arm. It hit the bunk over head. "What the..." He looked up, carefully sliding out from under the cot. His nose was bent into an odd shape. He stood up and brushed himself off.

"Kris, what happened to your nose?" I asked. He looked at me, surprised to see me there I thought. When he spoke, it was nasally and distorted.

"The guards kicked me in the face and broke my nose. What about you? Your eye is swollen shut."

"The doctor caught me with a left hook right in the eye." He winced. We sat next to each other on the cot. Suddenly, he looked upset.

"Elsa, please tell me the kids are safe?" He grabbed my shoulder. I patted his hand.

"I hope so. I sent Ella to get Alice and run for Troll Valley just before the doctor caught me. Far as I know, they're already there." Kristoff visibly sighed in relief. He let me go.

"Good. I hope they're as far away as possible."

"Yeah." Last night's events came flooding back. The tidal wave of emotions nearly crushed me. I had lost the love of my life, my sister betrayed us all, I was forced to send my baby girl away to keep her safe, and I was locked in my own dungeon. I started sobbing. My body shook like a leaf in the wind as I cried. I felt Kristoff put his arm around me. He didn't say anything, or protest when I shifted, crying into his shoulder. He hugged me softly, rubbing my back soothingly.

"We're going to survive this," I heard him whisper. I sniffled and nodded. "I can promise you, we'll be with the kids again. I don't know how long it will take, but it will happen."

It was the middle of October when all this happened. During the rest of that month, a large platform was erected in the center of town. We could see some of the construction workers walk by the half window. Neither of us could tell what it was for until a large, loud, very angry crowd marched past, a particular group in familiar guard's boots. It was Halloween night.

For about fifteen minutes, it was dead quiet; And then, even from the dungeon, which was about four miles away, we could hear the anguished screaming that only meant one thing; a public execution. We couldn't tell how they were performing them, but I suspected beheading from the way the screams were abruptly cut off.

"Flipping frostbite," Kristoff said with a wince. "That Matthew guy is ruthless."

"Yeah. Arendelle hasn't seen a public execution since... Well, ever."

"No, I mean, one of those executed was a four year old boy. I could hear him crying for his mother; and you don't normally bring kids to executions." I shuddered. He was right.

"I guess no one is safe then. That's a great thought to have right before nightfall on Halloween."

"Yeah." We sat in silence for a couple minutes. By then, the executions were finishing up. People began to walk back the way they had come, muttering and stomping, some even crying. I walked to the window and strained to listen.

"That poor baby boy didn't deserve to lose his head."

"Just because his parents were dumb enough to rebel doesn't mean the baby had to die."

"Oh my poor nephew! My sister! Why!?" I wanted to throw up. That particular comment hit home. I hoped, prayed even, that the girls were safe and far away from the city.

Then my mind went to Anna. She had betrayed the entire royal family without any reason. For that matter, without a second thought. I couldn't think of her smile without seeing the smirk on her face as she personally locked us in the dungeon. I couldn't hear her laugh without hearing her cackle as we were forced to kneel in front of her and her tyrant lover. Her eyes had been hard and unforgiving. Her voice filled with deadly venom. She had even been so cruel as to take the wedding bands from our hands and Adam's (who's stuffed body had been put on display to discourage rebels) just to make a big show of giving them to her lover and herself.

I remember looking at Kristoff and seeing him full on bawling. The poor man loved his wife so much. He was probably more hurt than I was. I looked over at him now. He sat on the cot, silent, unmoving, deep in thought. I sighed and shook my head, turning again to the window.

"It's getting late," Kristoff said after a few minutes. "We should probably get some sleep."

"Yeah, I guess we should." The cot wasn't big enough for us to share, so Kristoff offered to sleep sitting against the wall. At first I refused, seeing as the cot was way more comfortable than the floor, but then I realized that the guards didn't give us any blankets and the cot was possibly the coldest spot in the room, what with it being directly in front of the window. Most of Kristoff's clothes had been shredded in the fight he had with the guards when he was captured. All he had left was his thin, short-sleeve undershirt and a pair of slacks that had so many holes in the legs, they were better off as shorts. So I agreed to take the bunk. We bid each other good night and tried to fall asleep.

I finally fell asleep, only to wake up at midnight to a strange noise. I sat up and looked in the direction of the sound to see Kristoff shivering violently, teeth chattering away. I looked out the window to see a fresh, light layer of snow, which wasn't that unusual for fall. I knew the dungeon could be freezing. I wasn't bothered, but I knew poor Kristoff could end up with frostbite, or worse.

I could only think of one thing to do. Attempting to make myself as warm as I could, I sat down next to him. I slowly placed my arm around his shoulders. His eyes opened before I could do anything else. We stared at each other for a good three minutes before I found myself in a bear hug.

"You're so warm," Kristoff whispered. "Which is ironic for you. But please don't stop whatever you're doing."

"Don't worry, Kris. I won't stop." I hugged him back. He soon fell asleep again, head resting on my shoulder. I smiled, happy that he wasn't uncomfortable anymore. I fell asleep a couple minutes later, and we stayed, cuddling together to fight off the chill, for the rest of the night.