(A/N: I'm going to warn you now – the f bomb gets dropped a couple times here. Other than that, I hope you enjoy!)

Disclaimer: I don't own Frozen or anything affiliated with it.

Chapter 8: Sacrifices

Okay, Elsa, calm down. A giant snow guardian is fighting a group of armed men just outside the castle. No big deal!

Glancing around, Elsa bit her bottom lip. "There's no way out," she muttered. "I just hope they end up coming up here – "

The door to the top level burst open, revealing two men with crossbows. They looked around before locking onto her hungrily.

"There she is!"

Without hesitation, one man fired directly at Elsa, and she raised her arm in panic. A long chunk of ice flew up from the floor to block the projectile immediately. The arrow missed her head by only a few inches.

"Go around!" One of the men barked to the other, and they began to move closer to her.

Nowhere to run…I'm going to have to fight.

Flicking her hand forward, Elsa sprayed multiple bolts of ice at her enemies, causing one to roll away as the other backed up hesitantly. The snow queen continued to flip her hand in different directions, sending ice flying in all directions.

The younger attacker had his sights aimed down on Elsa and was ready to pull the trigger when Elsa responded, lifting up off the ground as dozens of icicles pinned him against the wall, the last one pointed directly at his throat.

Unfortunately for Elsa, she had completely forgotten about the other man, who had lunged at her, knocking her to the ground. Shooting ice wildly, she attempted to get the man off of her, put instead she felt a cold fist slam against her cheek.

Elsa gasped, feeling her cheek swell up instantly. She glared up at the man, who held a long-sword to her neck, smirking.

"I'm not impressed, snow queen," he spat. "For such a magical, gifted girl, you aren't very powerful."

Elsa fought hard to get back up, but was met with a hard backhand, nearly making her go limp. "Stupid bitch."

Elsa was completely powerless to the man as he raised the sword higher, ready to end her. She was hopeless; she had lost.

But at that moment, she heard the most beautiful thing in the world.

A snarl erupted from the opposite side of the room, catching the man's glance for a brief second.

A brief second was not enough time to react.

"DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HER!"

Kristoff, having forgotten a tactical plan entirely, came bounding into the room, sprinting angrily at the man – Elsa gasped as she felt the weight lifted off of her. Head still throbbing, she sat up slowly to see Kristoff tower over her attacker. The mountain man's face was not kind or caring like she was used to seeing it; instead, it was controlled by pure hatred and rage. Elsa was actually a little scared of Kristoff himself.

And she gasped as she watched him stab the intruder through the heart.

XXXXXXXXXX

Hans glared down at the pit where the beast had fallen. Rushing inside, he turned to his men.

"I don't know where the men of Weselton have gone, but…I want you all to stay down here to avoid any chaos." All of the volunteers agreed immediately, already fearing the possible dangers of the queen.

As the rest of the men stayed down on the first floor, Hans made his way up the staircase to seek out the missing queen.

Up on the top floor, Kristoff ran over to Elsa, completely unaware of the murder he had just committed. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" he blurted, checking her body for any signs of pain. Seeing a bruise and several cuts, he growled angrily and turned to glare at the remaining man.

Just then the door burst open, and Hans came through, eyeing the room. Kristoff, upon seeing the arrival of the prince, immediately retreated back to Elsa and stood in front of her as a bodyguard.

Hans looked around slowly, scanning the room around him. "What is happening in here?!"

Kristoff shot him an angry glower. "You put the queen in danger," he spoke through clenched teeth. "These men tried to kill her!"

"K-Kristoff," Elsa said softly, "It's…it's okay…we can trust him."

The man turned back and grimaced. "Are you sure?"

Elsa nodded. "I'm sure."

Kristoff sighed before stepping back to let the two royals talk.

"Queen Elsa." Hans bowed, and Elsa responded with an unstable curtsy. "Prince Hans."

"As you know, we decided to go after you – we just had to, because without you, Arendelle is –"

"You shouldn't have come," the queen interrupted. "Arendelle…needs to be protected from me." Exhaling, she shook her head. "I can't go back."

"But, your Majesty – "

Kristoff watched the scene with a frown. Didn't Hans see? Elsa couldn't go back – she couldn't risk hurting more people, and running away did not change their current opinions about her.

But what if Hans was right?

Surely the people could be persuaded – surely they could believe it was all just one big misunderstanding. Surely they could love their queen the way she deserved to be loved.

Something has got to happen, and it better not involve Elsa getting hurt –

Kristoff noticed something out of the corner of his eye, and turned to see the suspended crossbowman raising his weapon.

Towards Elsa.

"Elsa!" he blurted out, running for her. The queen glanced up, surprised.

"Get away!"

Kristoff dived straight for Elsa, shoving her out of the way of the incoming arrow.

It did not reach its target – instead, it pierced Kristoff in the stomach.

A blinding pain found its way to Kristoff, and he gasped, dropping down to his knees.

"K-Kristoff…?" The queen turned around to see the ice harvester, breathlessly using one hand to prevent crashing down to the floor.

"Kristoff!"

She slid to the man, holding him up.

"Kristoff! Kristoff!" she shook him in panic. "S-stay with me! Please!" Elsa begged him, helplessly feeling a tear roll down her cheek.

Despite everything, he managed to smile weakly. "Hey, Elsa," he said softly, cupping her cheek. "Make sure…they don't hurt you…"

And then he slumped to the ground.

The queen sat in shock, hands shaking as she attempted to lift him back up.

"K-Kristoff?"

No response.

"Kristoff!"

Silence – and then there was the sound of another arrow being loaded.

"You bastard…" Elsa stood up, rage taking over. "You fucking bastard!"

She wasn't thinking about what she was doing as she shot the bolt of ice straight to the henchman's heart – the sound of skin slicing did not bother her. She was too worried about Kristoff.

He can't be gone. He cannot be gone!

She turned back to the prince, who was unmoving.

"Prince Hans – please!" she said frantically. "Please…you have to help me save him!"

But the prince shook his head.

"No."

Elsa stopped and stared. "W-what?"

The prince chuckled. "Really, Elsa – I'm sure you know exactly what that means."

He pulled out his sword and headed straight for ice harvester. "He protected you – oh, yes, he did." The prince played with his fingernails thoughtfully. "Too bad his efforts were utterly useless."

Hans brought his foot back and delivered a sharp kick to Kristoff's chest, and Elsa gasped as she heard a sickening crunch.

"N-no…"

He turned back, smiling. "See? You do know what it means."

With that, the evil prince brought the butt of his sword forward, and Elsa was knocked out.

A/N: No major character deaths.