August 1st, 1840

Royal Palace, Arendal

Consciousness returned to Elsa abruptly, her mind alerting her that she was no longer in the dungeon but some place… better. Her mind was foggy, almost blissfully so. It was almost as if she was she was floating on a cloud. The only thing seemingly wrong was a certain emptiness, or lack of something, rearing itself as a nagging feeling that wouldn't go away. Otherwise, she was comparatively, in paradise.

Finally opening her eyes, Elsa was greeted by the face of her dead mother, Queen Iduna staring back at her, smiling.

Tears forming in her eyes, Elsa whimpered to her long dead mother. "Mamma, is that you?"

Idun smiled warmly back, her eyes loving but worried; before softly reassuring her daughter. "Elsa… I don't have much time. Something is keeping us from you. But we're here… and we're so proud of you."

Tears flowing openly, Elsa squinted as she weakly brought her arm up from her side, beginning to speak. "Mamma, I miss you so much, I-"

But when she reopened her eyes after wiping away bittersweet tears, her mother was gone. In her place was a strange yet familiar face; her own. A mirror had been placed inches away on her bed, so a doctor or nurse could easily see if their patient was breathing or not via the fogging on the glass. Her nearly white blond hair was replaced with the dark brown of her mother's, and her skin was a shade or two more pink, no longer pale.

These new features, combined with the fact that she shared many facial features of a younger Queen Iduna, could easily explain why at a glance she could see her own image as her mother.

But I talked to her! Or did I imagine all of that? God, I don't know…

Elsa turned her head back facing the ceiling, contemplating her new circumstances. Even in her blissful state (likely medicine fueled), it didn't take long for her to draw a conclusion. New brown hair and rosy complexion. Strange feeling of Emptiness. It didn't take a master scientist to form that hypothesis.

Testing her theory, she sluggishly lifted one of her exhausted arms up before her eyes, and proceeded to let her magic loose mentally. Except, this time, nothing happened.

Exhausted, Elsa closed her eyes and slipped back into deep sleep, postponing her worry at her missing powers for later. As for her encounter with her mother, Elsa shook the event from her mind and let it slip away.

…

Hours later, Elsa awoke again, this time to a little more commotion. She opened her eyes to see a small crowd surrounding her, notable examples being Gerda, Kai, Colonels Marcks and Grimstad, Lieutenant Gumrak, and most notable was Anna, alive and well- sort of.

Even as she vibrantly stood over Elsa's bed, Elsa could still see the horrible scar that spread across her neck, nearly ear-to-ear. Remembering her sister's death and apparent resurrection, Elsa teared up slightly and gave a slight smile. But if it was bothering Anna, she didn't let it show.

The first to notice Elsa's opening eyes, she was unsurprisingly the first to open her mouth.

"Elsa, thank God, you're awake!"

"Yes." Elsa spoke softly, confronting the elephant in the room. "I thought… no, I saw you die."

"I did, but you saved me Elsa." Eager to change the subject, Anna awkwardly changed the subject. "So… Elsa, you look… different."

Remembering vaguely her loss of powers from earlier, Elsa took the loss on the chin and chuckled, before replying. "I know. But it's a good different, right?"

Anna smiled mischievously. "Eh… I liked the old look better."

Kai stepped up, interrupting the playful banter of the sisters. He didn't want to, but there were major issues at hand. "Your Majesty, if I may interrupt? There has been issues for you to address."

Both surprising and unsurprisingly, it was the head Maid, Gerda, who scolded him. "Kai! She's been conscious for less than two minutes! Let her be!"

Elsa raised a hand, trying to calm Gerda. "No, this is my duty. Please, carry on Kai."

"Very well, Your Majesty. Firstly, there's the issue of the incident that happened yesterday, for lack of a better term. In addition, the Prince of Bornholm has arrived via ship with his Royal Guard, and wants to see you."

"Kai, what did happen yesterday?"

Kai paused, not sure where to begin before Colonel Grimstad made his way forward. "I believe I can explain that a little easier, your Majesty."

Elsa turned her head in curiosity, before speaking. "Very well, Colonel."

"What happened the previous 24 hours was a conspiracy between the Queen's own and Widstrom, as well as much before that. These two parties orchestrated the bombing that killed most of the Government, and they nearly threw a coup. Based on their own written words, the Queen's own intended to assassinate you, your Majesty, and then double cross Widstrom to ensure Anna seized the throne."

Elsa shook her head in confusion. "These men were trusted with my safety and routinely were near me, armed. Why go through all this trouble?"

"I believe they found out about Widstrom, and determined prematurely killing you would give him an opening. It's a little hard to determine exactly, given that every one of the known traitors is dead and the suicide note isn't too descriptive."

"Suicide note?"

"Yes, we found a signed suicide note with the signature of every conspirator, all except two were found in the dungeon. The other two was found in the Queen's Own barracks, with slit wrists. All that leaves are the three we found locked in the dungeons. I've held off on… aggressive interrogation with them until I received further orders."

"I see. For the three, fully investigate their claims, but nothing harsh. What of the rest of Widstrom's men?"

"Surprisingly innocent, I believe. They all came willingly when we took them prisoner, without firing a shot. He must not have trusted most of them to be part of a grand conspiracy. So as far as I can tell, they're all just simple mercenaries. And on that front, I believe Colonel Marcks would like to discuss with you.

Elsa held up her hand in a stopping motion. "Wait one moment. I understand about the contractors, but what about Widstrom and his men?"

Gumrak, Grimstad and Marcks looked at each other, before tentatively answering with a question of their own. "You… you don't remember, your Majesty?"

"Last thing I remember, Anna was… killed in front of me. After that, I woke up here. Did the bastard get away or not?"

The party was taken aback, before Gumrak responded. "Your Majesty, after we recovered you and Anna unconscious, we did a search of the dungeons. Widstrom and his men…" Gumrak paused, fighting off a revolted shudder, before carrying on "… you tore them to pieces. Every one of them."

Elsa's expression became one of shock, her eyes unhappy and her mouth slightly agape. Not unhappy that a mad dog was put down, but that some sort of berserker apparently resided inside of her. "How?"

The Russian shook his head, the most superstitious and pious in the room, the foulness of the magic used in that dungeon revolted him to his core, no matter how justified its use. Crossing himself in the orthodox style, he tried to explain. "Some we… we found stripped of meat and organs, leaving only bone in some places. Others we found desiccated, frozen, blackened corpses. And Widstrom… we found torn apart from the inside, withered and shriveled like a black raisin. I pray I never have to see something like that again, your Majesty."

Elsa shook her head. "I don't remember doing any of that, hell I don't know HOW to do any of that!" Elsa began, defensively. Feeling the eyes of everyone in the room, who despite the best of conscious wishes unconsciously began to fear her, Elsa shrunk a little. Elsa was a little surprised when the room didn't freeze over, the Queen making a mental note that there was an upside to not having powers.

Anna swooped in, hugging her panicking sister and quickly reassuring her. "Elsa, it's alright. You did the right thing."

"No Anna, I… I-"

"You saved me, Elsa. If you hadn't done what you did, we'd both be dead."

Elsa gently pushed Anna away, still gently clasping her arms. She began to speak in an elevated volume, not directed at Anna but at her bleak situation. "But what now? I'm not an idiot. The brown hair, my rosier complexion, the steady warm room temperature- I don't have my powers anymore, Anna! How am I supposed to take on a Draugr!? How am I supposed to protect you!?"

"That's not entirely true, your Majesty." Elsa looked down and over, surprised to find Grand Pabbie was in the room. "Your powers were never limitless, and what you did in that dungeon nearly ran your battery dry. So much so, that when it no longer could draw your magic, it drew your very life force. It nearly killed you, it did."

"You mean when I tried to bring back Anna?"

"Yes. What you tried to do many have tried, and very few have achieved. You're lucky Anna was just barely dead. Even so, this could have gone so very wrong. You can never do this again, Elsa. Even for Anna."

"I'd be willing to die even for a chance at saving Anna, Grandpabbie."

The old troll shook his head in frustrated but tempered anger. "No. It's not merely about your safety. Once the soul has left the body, it's unnatural for it to return. What you loved comes back, twisted, terrible, wrong. We're were lucky, Anna's body had not begun to truly die, which only takes mere minutes. As such, you simply healed the wound, restarted her heartbeat and coaxed her soul back in before it had truly left. But the process is the same, and next time, you may twist poor Anna into an abomination. So I'm sorry your Majesty, but you must never try this again."

The room grew silent as the fact that Grand Pabbie just ordered the Queen to not take an action washed over them, before Elsa took the slight like a champ. "Very well. You began about how my current situation may not be entirely true. What did you mean?"

"As I was saying, your magic store was merely depleted. Your magic is part of you, in your very blood. And it will return, I fact I suspect it already has. Gerda, would you kindly?"

Gerda wasn't one to trust trolls, but the shaman had previously asked the elder maid a favor, and upon explanation, found nothing unreasonable about. So, she did what was asked. Withdrawing a single ice cube from a nearby serving tray, she quickly moved over to Elsa, placing it on her skin. "I'm sorry if this doesn't work, your Majesty."

However, as always, while Elsa felt and distinguished the ice against her skin, it in no way irritated her. Getting the point of this experiment, Elsa quipped "The cold never bothered me anyway."

Grandpabbie continued, his point having been demonstrated. "At this present course, you should be back up to speed in around a week, almost certainly regaining your old appearance within a few days, your Majesty."

"About that, your Majesty." Kai stepped in, a little professional worry on his face. "As I stated earlier, the Prince of Bornholm would like to meet with you."

Elsa at once understood the issue. "What are my options? It's imperative I keep up appearances, after all."

Gerda, being in charge of the wardrobes of the Royal Sisters as well as their mother's, was the expert in this situation. "The hair will be difficult, to be sure. Finding the plants to dye her majesty's hair to a color resembling her natural own will be difficult, if not impossible. Luckily, we have wigs for such an occasion."

"Wigs?" It was Grimstad. "There's a textile mill nearby, surely they have some chlorine we could use."

Gerda gave a horrified look at the Intelligence Colonel. "We are NOT using such chemicals on her Majesty! It will be a wig, plain and simple. Bornholm will not be able to tell the difference, trust me. As for the dress…" Gerda sighed, before continuing. "Every Ice dress has been destroyed, likely used as fodder for her Majesty's magic."

"Elsa's worn non-ice dresses to important events before, even after she's gotten her powers." Anna astutely pointed out. "Surely she can do so again?"

"I could, but that's not the message we want to send, Anna. We want to assure Bornholm that our side has the greatest chance to win as possible. Right now, my powers are our only trump card. We can't give that away."

Anna nodded, understanding the politics. "So where do we get a new dress?"

"Your Majesty, there is a seamstress in town that has taken advantage of your image in her newest line of dresses. I may be able to discreetly get one for you."

"Very well." Elsa groaned, still very weak as she tried to sit up further in bed. "Anything else?"

"Nothing that requires your direct intervention, though if possible, your intervention soon would be desirable."

Elsa sighed, before trying climb out of bed. She knew what Kai meant was "Yes, we need you right away." However, Anna's hand halted her.

"It's about the mobilization, right? Well, as Commander of the Reserves, that my job. You stay here and rest until you talk to Bornholm, and even then, just stay seated. Okay?"

"Anna…" Elsa began, only to be cut off by Anna's glare of disapproval. Elsa sighed, before continuing. "Fine."

"Then it's settled, then." Anna chirped, followed by one of her optimistic smiles.

Kai stepped up, one last time. "That settles just about everything. Is there anything else, your Majesty?"

"Yes. I haven't seen Olaf since the incident with the sailors. I understand he's been entertaining children, but could you send him here? I so wish to see him again."

Kai exchanged guilty looks with several members of the gathered group, people clearly in the 'know' about something Elsa didn't. Tired, Elsa ordered "What? Where's Olaf?"

It was Gerda who spoke up. "Your Majesty, your ice dresses weren't the only thing consumed. Your Ice Castle, the decorations to the palace, and Olaf were all… consumed. He's gone, your Majesty."

Elsa looked away, stunned by the news. After a quiet minute or two, Elsa finally spoke. "Please leave me, I wish to be alone."

The gather group nodded and respectfully departed, save for Anna, who gave a silent embrace before leaving. Soon Elsa was alone, where she simply laid her head back and tried to rest.

It was difficult though, given with all the tears in her eyes.

…

Moira O'Connor had sat amongst the other handful of women in the small room for a few hours now, waiting patiently for their common interest: the interview. All were young women applying to become Maids in the Royal Palace, for one reason or another, though Moira's may have been the most fantastical. Merely two weeks ago the young seventeen-year-old was busting tables in a tavern in the docks of Dublin, when Norwegian Sailors came in with fantastical tales from a little known Kingdom called Arendal (or Arendelle, as English speakers liked to call it.) At first she dismissed it as pure fantasy, but every day, more sailors came in and told the same stories, and in mere days, the paper ran the story.

The story of the Snow Queen.

Now Moira had been saving up for a boat ticket to America, to escape English rule. But after hearing the stories and reading the papers, Moira had made her mind up.

She was going to Arendal.

Problem was, when she got there, things were not as magical as the stories had told her. Arendal was not New York, in that it was not built for immigrants. There were no jobs, no frontier, and before long, there was the civil war in the north. But quitting was not in her blood. After all, she was Irish.

So she doubled down on her efforts and found that there was in fact job openings for maids: in the Royal Palace. Now Moira knew it was a longshot, but she was going to try. So despite barely being passable in Norwegian (thanks to Norwegian Sailors), she reported to the Palace two hours before the posted time (she still was not the first) and had since been waiting to be interviewed.

It was shortly before eleven when a woman sitting next to her spoke to her the first words she's heard all day from someone not in a uniform.

"Wie geht es dir, Liebling?" The early middle aged woman spoke politely, likely bored and desiring to pass the time.

It was not a language Moira was too familiar with. Perhaps it was Norwegian she hadn't heard of? "Excuse me?" Moira muttered, in her best Norwegian.

The other woman looked at her odd, before switching to Norwegian. "Do you speak German?"

"No. English is my birth tongue, and I picked up a little Norwegian."

The middle aged woman shook her head with pity, before switching yet again to English. "Dear, you do realize that the Royal Family here speaks German, right?"

Moira gave a disbelieving frown. "But this is Arendelle, they speak Norwegian here."

"The people do, yes. But the Royal Family is German Nobility, and has been since the Hanseatic league intermarried in the late Medieval period. And it's Arendal, not Arendelle or dale." The middle aged woman picked up her book with a sigh, before beginning to read again followed by a "Poor Girl."

Moira sat there dejected, realizing that perhaps there was a reason this was one of the few vacant jobs in town. She was wrestling with the idea of leaving, when finally, the door opened.

An older woman, wearing the Green uniform of a Royal maid, entered the room. She was of average build, if not slim considering her older age, though she had naturally wide hips, as if built for childbearing. Her light grey hair was held back by a green bonnet, which sat atop a weathered, concerned and determined face. Her light brown eyes scanned the room, passing over all of the other women, and focusing on Moira.

"You, the red head, come here and follow me."

Puzzled, Moira carefully picked up her things, before following the elder maid who quickly took off down the hall. As Moira struggled to keep up, she began to ask questions. "So Ma'am, is this the interview or…"

"Dear, if this works, you won't need the interview. And it's not Ma'am, its Gerda. I'm the Senior Maid here. So if you work out, you'll be working for me." Gerda halted in front of a random door, before turning to Moira. "Here we are."

Gerda opened the door, before gesturing inside. In the room were a number of young women similar in build to her, getting dressed back into their uniforms. Moira stepped inside, her brow twisting in confusion. Switching to her native English, Moira cursed "What the shite is all of this then?"

Gerda closed the door behind her, before speaking again to the young maid, surprisingly in English. "Please get undressed, dear. There's measurements I need to take."

"Measurements? What in the name of Christ is going on here?"

Bearing the patience of a saint, Gerda explained. "A unusual circumstance has occurred, and if you measure up, you'll have no need to go through the normal process of application. And based on your Norwegian language skills, or bitter lack of them, you need this, dear."

Moira stood in shock, before angrily undressing, cursing under her breath as she did. Before long she stood in her undergarments. "Now what?"

Gerda took out a length of measuring tape, measuring every nook and cranny. As she measured her bust and waist, she asked Moira only one question. "What's your height?"

"Five foot four. Why?"

"You'll see, dear. Maybe."

A silent moment passed, before Gerda finally finished and stepped back. "Dear, you are very, very lucky."

"Alright, how so?"

"In a moment. Firstly, are you sure you want to be a Royal Maid? And are you aware of the duties and oaths of a Royal Maid?"

"Yes, I want to be a Royal Maid. As for duties, I've done both tavern and maid work before, I think I got it."

Gerda shook her head. "It's more than just cleaning, dear. You are expected to swear to never betray the Royal Family, their secrets, or their reputation. What you see and hear, stay within these halls. Period. And trust me, I will find out otherwise if you feel you are above your oaths. In addition, you'll follow any orders from the Royal Family and myself, no matter what. Now, shall I get a bible?"

Moira paused a moment, before deciding. Fuck it, I wanted magic and adventure, after all. "I'll do it."

"Fantastic. Now, dear what's your name?"

…

Moira had just finished the grueling round of paperwork and sworn oaths, finally being given a Green Maid uniform. Gerda had stayed put through it all, and now that Moira was now officially one of them, finally found it fit to disclose her reasoning to Moira.

"Now Moira, you were selected for a reason. For whatever uncanny reason, you happen to share Queen Elsa's body measurements. Height, bust, waist, hip, all of them."

Beginning to change into her maid uniform, she asked. "So what? Do you need a body double? 'cause I look nothing like her above the neck."

"No dear, we need something much more innocent. We simply need you to purchase a dress for us, that's all."

…

Bit of Notes.

Two-week turnaround, not bad. Not bad at all.

The next few chapters are going to be a bit slow, as we build up for the climax, I'm afraid. But once Arendal takes the plunge, it's liable to stay that way till the bitter end. So here's hoping I can get the next few chapters out quick.

As for Olaf… I don't use him honestly, so this was a Major Character "Death" that was quite easy. Whether he comes back… I'm not sure. As I said, I don't use him, but I don't want him axed off either. We'll see.

See y'all next time,

O7,

Dragunov