CHAPTER SIX: Conceal it, Don't Feel it

"There they are!" Stoick stood up from his seat when he spotted the princesses enter the parlor. Anna immediately ran up to her parents and pulled them in a hug. Elsa quietly walked over and joined. When they had finally pulled apart, their parents gasped in awe at Elsa's new appearance.

"Elsa. What happened to you?" the queen managed to say under her breath.

"I don't know. I just woke up like this" Elsa replied in a rather sad tone.

The King turned to Stoick "We shall continue this conversation in your study." He said firmly. Stoick nodded, and they all stood up and followed him into the study.

"Not you, Anna. Why don't you go play with your cousin for a while hmm?" the king said, turning to Anna who was silently following them.

"Okay, Papa" she replied in a glum tone. Seeing her turn around and leave the room, Kai joined the others and locked the door as soon as he entered the study.

"This is getting out of hand" the king started.

"What should we do?" Stoick asked. The king fell silent for a minute, deep in thought.

Gerda and Elsa only listened in silence as the two were conversing, both with worried looks on their faces. The atmosphere around them was full of tension. Elsa could only understand half of what they were talking about. All she did, though, was about when she accidentally struck Anna with her ice magic when they were younger.

She heard them debate about whether or not they do what should have been done a long time ago. This made her scared, she had no idea what was going to happen to her. She was no longer listening to the adults. Fear had took its place in her mind and she was shivering from it. The queen took notice, and wrapped her arms around her frantic daughter. At first Elsa flinched, but then slowly sank back into the warmth of her body. The cold never really bothered her, but she felt it was still nice to feel the warmth of those she cherished around her. Constantly reminding her that she will always be accepted and loved for who she is. She suddenly remembered what Stoick told her earlier, and just realized what he meant. A warm smile crept up her face and the queen sighed in relief.

The other two, though, had stopped talking minutes ago when they noticed frost crawling up the walls, only to be thawed seconds after. Kai looked down at Elsa's hands, to make sure she had her gloves on. Once this was affirmed, he had made up his mind.

"We ride to the Valley of the Living Rock at dawn." He declared to the others. They all nodded, except Elsa because she has no idea where this was. Her eyes widened as she gasped in horror at the next statement.

"And we shall put an end to this curse."

"And we shall put an end to this curse." Was the only thing Anna had been able to hear from the study room before Hiccup came passing by.

"Anna? What are you doing?" he asks the little girl peeping through the keyhole. Anna jumped in surprise and was doing her very best to come up with an excuse.

"I was, um, checking if this was the um, place where you hide your dragons! Yeah!" she said stuttering, and smiled sheepishly. Hiccup just gave her a look of confusion and said,

"Are you sure? 'Cause this is my dad's stu-" but he was soon cut-off by a frenzied Anna.

"You know what? I gotta go water my water lilies. Bye!" she said before racing out of the hallway, out of Hiccup's sight. This didn't help him clear up his confused state.

"Water lilies don't need watering. They already live in water." He muttered to himself, still puzzled. Finding that this state of confusion was useless, he just shook it off and continued his way to the basement.

"No one is to tell a soul about this" the king finally said; eyeing Elsa with every word that came out of his mouth. Elsa gulped down the lump that had somehow formed in her throat and nodded nervously.

The king dismissed them after that and they all left the study room. Elsa walked out downhearted. She was scared, terrified and she looked miserable. She was just getting control over her powers and now her father wanted to get rid of them? He said it was a curse? Her powers are a part of her, their destinies are tied together. They are one and the same, yet her father wanted to dispose the gift the heavens have blessed her with? Does that mean her father wanted to get rid of her, too? This was not like him at all. Was she wrong this whole time about her family accepting her for who she is? All these mind-boggling questions spun around in her head, making her feel dizzy. Soon all she remembered of that moment was the lights going out.

Elsa woke up in her bedroom with a damp towel pressed against her forehead. She slowly opened her eyes to see her mother's worried face light up with relief and her lips curve upward. Elsa did the same.

"I'm glad your awake now." Her mother said lovingly.

"How long has it been?" Elsa asked curiously. She sat upright to glance at the clock but because of her rapid motion, she suddenly felt dizzy again.

"Calm down, Elsa. You need to rest" the queen said as she slowly pushed Elsa's frame back to the soft pillows and mattress while her other hand supported Elsa's back.

"Mama, what happened?" asked the ice princess once she was laying back down on her bed; her mother placing the damp towel back on her forehead when fell it down earlier.

"You've fainted, my dear. But everything's going to be alright. I promise." Her mother reassured as she stroked Elsa's now platinum blonde hair gently.

"Merry Christmas, Mama" were her final words before she fell back into a deep, peaceful slumber.

Gerda entered their bedroom and found her husband sitting in front of a desk with a bunch of papers stacked up in front of him. He was lost in his paperwork and didn't notice his beautiful queen enter the room until he heard the door shut with a soft thud. He turned to her with a concerned look on his face.

"How is she?" he asked. Gerda turned to him and gave out a faint sight before answering his question.

"She's alright now. She is just resting in her room" the queen replied with a weak smile. The king noticed the uncertainty in her eyes so he stood up from his chair and walked towards her.

"Is there something wrong?" he inquired as he put his hand on her left shoulder. The queen looked down for a second, as if unsure of what she was going to say. But when she found the words and the courage to say it, she looked him in the eye and spoke out.

"I think you're taking this a little too far, Kai" she said with worry in her whole expression. She was worried about her daughter. Suddenly fear replaced her worry when she saw her husband's deep blue eyes turn into pale yellow ones. His skin turned to almost gray. His facial expression changed from concerned to angry within a matter of seconds. Soon, she heard those same, cold-hearted words that spoke out in the study earlier.

"No." he said firmly and full of authority with a hint of anger. The queen was utterly terrified and decided against arguing. This was the first time she saw him in this state, and when she agreed, he turned back to his normal, loving, self. Gerda didn't know what to do so she pretended that nothing had happened.

Anna was pacing around the living room with a single question on her mind. She remembered the last and only sentence she heard from the study room she was eavesdropping on before Hiccup caught her. "And we shall put an end to this curse…"

"What did Papa mean?" she asked herself out loud. When she got a possible theory, everything just suddenly clicked. She was horrified by this realization and just hoped she was wrong.

"No, he's not going to do that!" she gasped while covering her mouth with both her hands, her foot stopping in mid-air before she took another step. She jumped when someone from behind her spoke out.

"Who's not going to do what, sweetheart?" It was her mother with a confused look on her face. Anna saw her standing by the doorway to which she concluded she had just recently got there.

"Oh nothing" she quickly replied and ran out of the room before she got questioned further. The queen just smiled and watched her daughter leave the room. She could still remember her childhood days when she used to do the same.

"They're growing up so fast" she silently said to herself. A tear was forming in her eye so she decided to let it go. There was no reason to conceal the love and concern she feels for her family.

Elsa woke up alone in her bedroom. Through her window, she could still see the moon despite the broad daylight. She sat upright slowly this time to admire the moon in its glory. While she was waking up, she felt her spirits lighten up and soon was feeling revitalized. Although, that moment was short-lived when she heard her stomach rumble ever so lightly. She glanced at the clock to see what time it was that she was getting hungry already. 3:46 it read.

"How long have I been asleep?" she pondered. She didn't remember eating any lunch that day so she decided she went out when it was still morning.

She fixed her hair and whatnot before she headed downstairs. She asked the chef to cook up a meal in which he gladly obliged. When the food was served, she ate wholeheartedly and tried her best to avoid the subject that caused her unconsciousness earlier in the first place. Try as she might, the thought didn't want to leave her mind. It kept replaying back into her mind as if something was forcing her to watch the memory over and over again. She suddenly noticed her spoon was covered in frost, even though she was wearing gloves. She sighed in defeat. Her father is right, this is getting out of hand. She came to an acceptance of her fate, she would have to sacrifice herself to protect others from her magic. Though in the dark void of her mind, a tiny voice spoke out, resembling the last ray of sunlight and hope of her salvation.

"It doesn't have to end this way, Elsa. Use your powers for good." Her subconscious said.

She thought about it for a while, but then came back to that dark thought that she would only make a mess wherever she goes. Her powers are a threat to everyone and thus, she must participate in her father's wish to dispose of her curse once and for all.

But there was a small part of her that was conflicting with her shadowy thoughts. It was trying to remind her about all those fun times she had with her friends whenever she made it snow. Thankfully, she at least considered thinking about them. But to no avail, those darker thoughts won over most of her attention. She felt the negative energy surging through her body and so she decided to worry about something else rather than her own conflicting self.

Luckily, she easily found a distraction. She saw Stoick's carriage stop right in front of the main entrance and so she decided to bother him for a while. [Not really bother, just ask a few questions, if you will]

"Uncle Stoick!" she greeted when he stepped out of the carriage.

"Hey there Elsa" he replied with a smile.

"Did you talk to the other councilmen already?" she asked in a very excited manner.

"Can we get inside, first? It's freezing" he joked. Both laughed and went inside.

They sat in front of the fireplace and Elsa asked the same question but with less enthusiasm. Stoick cleared his throat before speaking.

"Yes we did" but before he could continue, Elsa cut him off.

"Are we still going to celebrate Christmas in the town square?" her expression mixed with concern and eagerness.

"Yes, we are still celebrating Christmas but sadly…" he paused. Elsa nodded at him to continue.

"…not in the town square. We agreed to have a more, personal celebration; just the family and some friends. So most likely everyone is going to stay at home with their family…" he trailed off. He saw Elsa's face sadden.

"I ruined Christmas" she uttered with misery laced into her voice.

"It's alright, Elsa. There's always next year." Stoick made an attempt to put hope in her heart, but knew he failed when she sighed deeply. What he said only confirmed her fears. Her heart sank. Now she did it. She completely lost it. At least, that was what her mind was telling her. She was on the verge of crying if Stoick hadn't said anything later!.

"Don't worry, Elsa. We can all celebrate here. You can invite your friends over" he said with a hint of glee in a second attempt to raise her spirits. She smiled, as if she just remembered them; and this proved Stoick's effort successful.

"Thank you Uncle Stoick" she said as she stood up and hugged him. At first, he was surprised, but moments later he slowly patted her back and smiled. Elsa ran off to make some plans for later afterwards.

A/N: Nothing in this story is supposed to make sense so please just bear with me...XD