Elsa

CRACK!

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CRACK!

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CRACK!

As the whip descended for the thirtieth time, Elsa had lost the strength to even cry out. As Heins raised his arm again, Gunnar raised his hand.

"That's enough for now. Step outside. Don't go far." Heins exited the tent without looking at Elsa, strapped naked face down to the same stone slab she had first found herself on, her back no more than a slab of bloody meat from the whip's brutal work.

It had been three days since first arriving at the camp, and the host was slowly making its way out of Arendellian territory towards… Elsa was not sure where they were headed. Not that it really mattered. Death would be a comfort.

The first night, after the Dreamwalker left, she had been confident that her men would find her soon. She had even comforted herself enough to nearly fall asleep on the uncomfortable slab. Then Gunnar and Heins arrived, Gunnar looking positively gleeful, Heins expressionless, a lumpy bundle in his hands. They both wore black robes. Elsa rose to face her visitors, tense and afraid, but attempting to keep her composure despite her dread. Her composure was short lived. Gunnar did not speak as he approached and seized her by the throat, crushing her windpipe and choking her. Elsa struggled and tried to scream, but it was no use- she was too weak from her ordeal with the Dreamwalker to do much other than scratch at his hand, which Gunnar did not react to.

With his other hand, Gunnar began tearing at her chemise, and Elsa's terror grew, horrified that he would force himself upon her. After she was naked, trying to cover herself, pleading and sobbing, desperately trying to get away, Gunnar released her throat and punched her in the jaw, hard. The blow knocked Elsa to the floor, dazing her. She tried to rise, but fell, feeling something in her mouth as she did. She spat it out, and a molar went bouncing across the ground. Her head was foggy, and she was unable to resist being picked up, placed on the slab, and strapped down, now delirious with fear. Only then did Gunnar begin to speak.

"This… this will not be over quickly. You may think you know pain. You may think you are strong. You may think you can handle what is to come. You know nothing. I shall be your instructor in this matter, and Heins shall be my faithful assistant."

Elsa struggled to speak, and when she did, the words were slow and sluggish, her jaw aching and her tongue struggling around the new gap in her teeth. "But… The Dreamwalker said-"

"The Dreamwalker said he would not intrude upon your mind again. He said nothing of me. Nor of your body. The Dreamwalker's domain is the mind. Mine is… the flesh. Now here. My master has no use for a mute servant." He walked around her and gagged her, giving her something to bite on, so she couldn't bite through her tongue. CRACK! The first strike of the whip came without warning, and a line of red spread across Elsa's pale back, writhing in pain, whimpering through her gag. Blood sprayed out across the ground, her smooth skin shredded by the glass shards on the ends of the whip. CRACK! A second line joined the first. CRACK! A third. CRACK! Now her entire back was engulfed in agony. CRACK!

After the tenth blow, Gunnar called a halt. "Hold, Heins." Heins paused, with the whip still raised. Elsa sagged, relieved that it appeared to be over, but terrified of what was to come, she waited. Gunnar spoke: "Do her legs." Panicking, Elsa began thrashing against her restraints, frantic sounds escaping from her mouth. CRACK! The first strike caught her high on the thighs. CRACK! The second, to the back of her knees. CRACK! The third to her calves. As Heins raised the whip once more, Gunnar raised his hand.

"That should be enough to discourage you from trying something foolish, like escaping, for instance. Heins, fetch a healer. Have them do the bare minimum to make sure she stays alive. We have so much more to do together." Heins left without so much as a glance at Elsa, who had completely collapsed, all willpower gone. Gunnar ripped Elsa's gag from between her teeth. "That was just a taste, woman. Your first glimpse into your future. I went easy tonight. Do not expect me to be so kind next time."

Gathering her strength, Elsa raised her head. "What- what is it you want from me? Why are you doing this?"

Gunnar laughed cruelly. "All about you, huh, bitch? Who said it's about you?"

"What…?", Elsa whispered, confused. "Why else would…"

"Save your strength," he advised. "Don't worry about why. If I were you, I'd worry about surviving." With that, he left, ducking out of the tent flap, leaving Elsa naked and bound. The healer, a grotesque looking man, arrived soon enough, but true to Gunnar's wound, not much was actually done to help- her back was cleaned just enough to prevent the wounds from festering, and then lightly bandaged, which were soaked through in minutes. She was released from her shackles, but not dressed. The trauma of the past day was too much for her, and she fell into a fitful sleep. The next morning, she remembered the Dreamwalker coming in, then the next thing she knew, she woke up again on the stone slab in the evening, naked and bound once more. She was in the same tent, but she could tell by the sounds around her and the shadows on the tent that they were no longer near a lake, but somewhere in the woods.

The Dreamwalker did not make another appearance, but Gunnar and Heins did. Again, she was whipped, more this time, on her back, on her arms, on her legs, on her feet. Again the next day. Elsa's entire body was destroyed, with her once perfect back a bloody mess, angry red strips crossing one another and spreading to her limbs. Elsa had to bite back a sob that had nothing to do with her pain. It seemed so stupid and vain now, but one of the few things she had comforted herself with in her dark years of isolation was her beauty, dreaming foolish dreams of finding someone who would see her for the magnificent sorceress she tried to convince herself she was. But now that was gone. She was no more than a disfigured witch now.

She became aware that Gunnar was speaking jovially, and had been for quite some time. "...new, but he's a fast learner. You should have seen him yesterday, he actually asked me for tips on how to wield the whip better! I'm sure he'll get there eventually." With that, he walked out of her tent, leaving Elsa racked with pain and misery. I don't know how much more I can take. Please… somebody help me. This time, the depth of Elsa's exhaustion dragged her eyelids closed before the healer even arrived.

She had been asleep for a few hours when a soft noise woke her. She lifted her head, wincing in pain at the exertion, and was looking around for the source when she realized that it was in the tent with her. She quickly laid her head back down and pretended to be asleep, still straining her ears to identify the sound. It sounded like… that's crying! Who is crying? Just then, she realized someone was sitting on the ground, leaning up against the slab. There was more soft sniffles, then, very softly: "Elsa… I'm so sorry." Heins? "You know I'd never hurt you on purpose, right? I hope you know." Heins fell silent for a while. "It's just… I didn't know what they had planned for you. I didn't know what they'd do to you. Or to me. Or to my brother." A longer pause. "I didn't know how much I'd care about you."What?

The concept just made Elsa confused. His face betrayed no emotion during their nightly "visits", and it was hard to forget that he was the one wielding the cat o' nine tails. But she could not deny that the thought pleased her somewhat as well. She had quite liked Heins from the moment they met on the pier, and she could not reconcile that Heins with the one who was whipping her. For the first time since her ordeal began, Elsa tried to put herself in Heins' shoes. What if I were forced to whip Anna bloody? Revulsion at the very prospect gripped her, and a sudden realization dawned, embarrassed she hadn't thought of it before. He might not know it yet… but I'm not the only one being tortured here. In fact, I don't even think I'm the intended target. They're using his feelings for me against him, to torture him. But why? What do they want from him? Is it just to satisfy Gunnar's sadism? No… he would get more pleasure wielding the whip himself, he already said the body is his domain, not the mind. Then what? Heins must still have some part to play. Her heart filled with pity at Heins' plight. I can't imagine what that must be like. It's a million times worse to hurt those you love than be hurt yourself. I know that firsthand.

Heins stirred and rose to his feet. Elsa continued lying there, pretending to be asleep, not knowing how to handle the new information yet. He began very gently stroking her hair as he bent down and placed a soft kiss on her head. "Elsa… please forgive me." Then he was gone.