Chapter 8

A bright moon hung above Arendelle that night, bathing the kingdom in a soft blue/white light. And at this time of night, the only lights to be seen were the streetlamps, much to Anna's chagrin. She had been asleep all day, and was now wide awake. She had been scanning around the village with her telescope, but every home and shop was dark and quiet.

As she sat at her window looking out over the kingdom, she suddenly realized that she wasn't just very awake, she was very hungry. As princess, she could easily order someone to get up and make her some food, but that wasn't her way. And for her, it was a bit of an adventure searching the kitchen for something tasty.

Upon arriving at the kitchen, Anna saw that the only light in the room was from the fireplace. But she had a way to fix that. With a snap of her fingers all the wall sconce candles lit up, bringing the room to full light. Anna commented smugly, "It's good to be me."

Now that she could see, her hunt began. She went from one cupboard to the next, not knowing what she was looking for. But she'd know when she saw it. And there was plenty to choose from. But when something did catch her eye, it wasn't food. On the floor near her feet was a trail of water drops. Following the trail, Anna found herself at the ice room door. Her curiosity peaked, she opened the door and slipped inside.

The room itself was quite large, with rows of shelves filled with cold food. Normally Anna would go straight to the shelf where the chocolate was stored, but that's not where the trail led. Instead it went to the far end of the room, turning left at the wall. Anna followed it. But as she turned the corner, she stopped dead in her tracks. For huddled in the corner, surrounded by frost covered walls and floor, was her sister.

"Don't come near me!" Elsa sobbed. "I can't control my powers. I don't want to hurt you!"

Anna knew the only reason Elsa's powers could get out of control was for Elsa to be afraid or very upset. And seeing that her sister needed her, she ignored Elsa's warning. Instead she rushed over and kneeled next to Elsa, taking her hands. The only result, two small puffs of steam.

Anna smiled and said calmly, "You can't hurt me with your powers, Elsa."

Elsa looked at their hands for a moment, then to Anna's face, and threw her arms around her sister, breaking into tears. Anna held her tightly, allowing her time to let it all out. Even though she had no clue what was wrong. After a few minutes Elsa had calmed enough to speak.

"Oh Anna." She sobbed, "I've been such an idiot. I let my feelings overrule my good judgment and completely disgraced myself."

Anna patted her back and replied, "I'm sure it's not that bad, Elsa."

Sitting up, Elsa blubbered. "You don't understand, Anna. Victor hates me!"

"WHAT?! You can't be serious!"

"It's true." Elsa replied, pulling herself together. "Everything we felt over the past few days, well, turns out it was all just me. Oh! How could I have been so blind?'

Anna gave a very confused look. "But you were so happy this morning."

Elsa's lower lip started to quiver.

Anna got up, took something off a nearby shelf then returned. Sitting back down and handing Elsa a large piece of chocolate, she suggested. "Start at the beginning. And we'll figure this out together."

Elsa began." When I first saw him, the day he crashed on the fjord, a lot of memories came flooding back. All the good times we had. Even then he was rather cute."

"Mmm Hmm." Anna commented.

"But I couldn't help seeing how attractive a man he became. And I couldn't help certain feelings from coming out. Oh how I tried to keep them deep within."

"I could tell." Anna quipped.

Elsa gave her a dirty look then continued. "But even though it was such a short time, I couldn't stop them. Whenever I closed my eyes I saw his face. If my mind wasn't focused on duties, it was on him. Sometimes even during my duties."

"It's called love at first sight." Anna grinned. "It's the plot of a lot of books."

"Does love at first sight lead to…." Elsa hesitated, searching for the proper expression.

"Rattling the workbench?" Anna suggested.

Elsa's face turned red as she exclaimed, "How did you know about that?!"

Anna shied away. "I was teaching Kristoff to people watch with my telescope. He accidentally found that someone had left the shops shutters wide open."

Elsa covered her face in embarrassment. But Anna was quick to reassure her.

"Elsa, it's ok. It happens to everyone. Even me. You lose yourself in the rush of incredible feelings. Totally normal."

"When did it happen to you?" Elsa asked.

"Um…" she replied shyly, "the stables during your coronation party."

"ANNA!" Elsa exclaimed.

"What?" Anna asked. "You know what it's like!"

Elsa conceded. "I'm sorry. You're right. It's just not something I want to think about."

"You think it's bad for you?" Anna giggled. "Try catching your sister in the act!"

"OH GOSH, NO!" Elsa laughed.

For a few minutes, Elsa and Anna laughed, joked and shared some chocolate.

Then Anna questioned. "Ok. So everything sounds good so far. Where'd things start going wrong between you and Victor?"

Elsa composed herself. "That's the problem. I didn't see it coming. After I sent you back to bed I had some duties to take care of. That took me till just after dinner. But Victor hadn't come to see me at any point."

"Maybe he was caught up in his repairs." Anna suggested. "He was ready to put the engine back together."

"I thought that too. That when I decided to go down and see him. I thought he'd be happy to see me. But…" Elsa went silent.

"But what?" Anna asked

Elsa took a breath, then continued. "But when I found him, he had the flyer almost complete, including the engine. And when I tried to talk to him he acted like I was just annoying him."

"Did he tell you why?"

Elsa's eyes began to well up. "He said that what we did last night was meaningless. It was just two people feeling the same need. And that we weren't a couple and never were."

Anna suddenly burst into flame, her face clearly showing her anger. "THAT RAT!"

"Um…Anna," Elsa calmly mentioned, "You're flaring."

Anna pulled herself together, and the flames ceased.

"Sorry!" She responded. "But that just burns me. What gives him the right to treat you like a used handkerchief? To just…USE you, then toss you aside?"

"I feel much better now." Elsa said flatly.

A thump from the kitchen caught their attention. Quietly, they both moved to the door. Elsa peeked through the small window and saw someone going through the cupboards, probably looking for a snack. But when the person turned around, Elsa gasped and dropped to the floor.

"It's Victor!" She whispered. "What is he doing here at this hour?"

Elsa moved aside to let Anna see. She watched him for a few moments, then growled, "I don't know. But he'll wish he had skipped the late night snack when I'm done with him."

Anna waited till Victors back was turned, then grabbed the door handle.

"Ok, Elsa. You wait here. You're in no shape to face him right now."

And before Elsa could say any more, Anna was out the door, tiptoeing towards the kitchen door so Victor would think she had just walked in. Elsa watched quietly through the ice room door, hoping Anna wouldn't take things too far.

"Late night snack attack?" Anna called out from the doorway.

Victor looked back and replied. "OH. Hi Anna. You're up late."

Anna took a few steps, and trying to control her temper, answered, "I didn't sleep at all last night, so Elsa sent me back to bed this morning. I finally woke up 2 hours ago."

"Elsa always was kind hearted." Victor commented. "One of her many great qualities."

Victor's kind words about her sister now, after how he had treated her earlier, infuriated Anna. No longer able to control her anger, she threw a small fireball at Victor, turning the sandwich he had made into a pile of ash before his eyes. Victor jumped back, turned around, and lost all the color in his face. Looking back at him was not the sweet little Anna he knew, but a VERY angry version of Anna holding fireballs and glaring at him with a look that could kill all by itself.

Holding his hands up, Victor stammered. "Um…Ok…You're angry! I get that. But before you blast me, could you at least tell me what I did wrong?"

"HOW DARE YOU DISHONOR MY SISTER!" the angry Anna growled. From inside the ice room, Elsa gasped. She had heard stories Anna's anger during the Battle of Arendelle, but had never seen it herself. Even for Elsa, it was a horrifying sight.

"I understand." Victor calmly replied, "But there are two sides to every story. Will you let me tell you mine?"

For a moment Anna did nothing. Then, to Victor's relief, she put out the fireballs and stood upright. Still growling, she said, "Very well. But you'd better have a really good explanation. The last time someone hurt my sister, I sent a fleet of warships to the bottom of the fjord."

Elsa sighed in relief. She wasn't happy with what Victor had done to her, but she certainly didn't want him dead. And seeing her sister stand up for her like this made her feel a bit better as well.

Victor took a deep breath. "Ok. For starters, tell me what you know."

Anna calmed herself and began telling Victor everything Elsa had told her. He stood quietly, paying close attention to every word. From the window on the ice room door Elsa could see Victor's expression showing signs of sadness.

Anna stopped speaking, and Victor responded. "I understand so far."

"Then there's last night's activities in the engineers shop." Anna commented.

But before Anna could continue, Victor stated, "Yes. The engineers shop, her bedroom, and 3 stops in between. All true."

Elsa face palmed, letting out a quiet but frustrated groan. Anna however was take back by Victor's confession.

"Whoa!" she stated with a surprised tone. "I didn't know she had it in her."

"I'm sure there was more to the story." Victor inquired.

"Yes" Anna replied, her growling voice returning. "Seems that you avoided Elsa all day, and she went to see you a while ago you shunned her off. You told her that everything that she had felt between the two of you was all in her head, and that your time together meant nothing to you."

"Yes. I did say that." Victor said sadly.

"So let me get this straight." Anna growled even more harshly. "You crash in Arendelle, accept our kindness and take advantage of my sister, and think you can just fly off in the night like it never happened?"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Victor screamed, slamming his hands on the counter.

Anna jumped back from Victor's unexpected reaction. Even Elsa gasped in surprise. Victor took a few deep breaths, then continued.

"Firstly, I had never planned on coming to Arendelle. I only wound up her because of a choice I made over the North Sea. To go left or right around a storm. I chose left. If I had known then what I know now, I would have gone right."

"Fine. So your arrival was an accident." Anna stated.

"As far as your kindness," he continued, "Yes, I did accept it freely. It was the first time I'd ended up anywhere that I was welcomed so warmly. Usually I'm treated like an invader, even in Zalaria."

"I can see your point there." Anna replied.

"As for Elsa," he said solemnly, "You claim I took advantage of her. Would you still say that if you knew that I've loved her since we were children?'

In the ice room Elsa gasped, unable to believe what she had just heard. Anna stood silent for a moment, also in disbelief.

Victor continued. "That's the truth. I've never been able to forget her, despite Arendelle's lockdown keeping us apart all those years. I've never even been in a real relationship because no girl I've met could compare to Elsa's beauty and charm. Seeing her out on the ice a few days back made me feel alive for the first time since we were both 7 years old. And seeing how she'd grown into such an amazingly beautiful woman just set my heart on fire. Do you have any idea what that feels like?"

Anna conceded, "I thought I did once. But that was a mistake."

"You mean Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, right?" he asked.

Anna nodded shyly.

Victor added. "I met him once during my travels. What a weenie!"

Elsa, who had been listening intently, stifled a giggle at Victors comment.

"If that's true," Anna resumed calmly, "then why did you treat her so badly earlier? You know you practically crushed her heart, right."

This was the answer Elsa wanted, and she did her best to hear every word.

"Because she's a queen." He sighed. "And I'm just a homeless wanderer."

Anna raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean homeless? Aren't you a prince of Zalaria?"

"Technically yes. But because I don't behave like a prince, I'm shunned by my family. True, I still have a place in Zalaria, but why would anyone want to stay where they know they aren't wanted? That's why my shop back home is in the farmlands, not the palace."

"Whoa. That's cold." Anna stated.

Having Anna's full attention and Elsa listening quietly from the ice room, Victor continued.

"I had to push Elsa away somehow. I have become so accustomed to travelling that I can't stay in one place for long without getting into some kind of trouble. She deserves someone stable. Someone who can be here for her anytime she needs him. And as much as I love her, I know that that's not me. I spent much of the day trying to think of the best way to let her go while hurting her as little as possible."

"I think you blew it." Anna commented.

"Did I?" Victor questioned "If I left right now, she'd feel badly for a little while, but she would get over it and move on, right?"

Anna agreed.

"If however I tried to explain to her what I've told you, she would most likely feel as empty as I do now for a painfully long time. Or she would try to convince me to stay, forcing me to do or say something even worse. Or she might choose to come with me. And I will NOT be the man who stole Arendelles queen."

"Wow." Anna stated. "So you're willing to sacrifice your own lifelong happiness so that Elsa can find hers again just because you don't think you're worthy of her?"

"Way to sum it up. Anna." Victor replied flatly.

"Don't you think Elsa should at least know how you feel before you go?" Anna pleaded.

Victor answered gruffly, "Trust me. It's easier for both of us this way."

Anna's head fell. "If that's how you feel."

At that, Victor excused himself and left the kitchen, followed shortly by Anna. Leaving Elsa still hiding in the Ice room.

A tear rolled down Elsa's cheek. Not one of pain or sadness, but joy. Victor did love her after all. He had caused her pain to protect her from what he perceived as a worse pain. And in a few hours he climb into his flyer and disappear forever. Her expression changed from teary joy to one of determination.

She could not let that happen.