A/N; After this chapter, I will do my best to make the upcoming chapters longer. This story is going to be coming to a close soon, and I just wanted to thank you to each and every one of you for reading, reviewing, and adding this to your favorites. I absolutely love Kristelsa, and this will not be the last Kristelsa story I write.

Thanks to my new reviewers: tiger-tigerr, Bellatrix Thenardier, Guest, paystin4life, princesspay10, and T. Alana M. If I forgot anyone, please let me know!

Thanks to all my returning reviewers as well, you guys are wonderful.

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

Chapter 9: Love is An Ice-Blasted Wall

The air was damp and it smelled of old moss – this was the first thing Elsa noticed as she woke slowly.

She was lying on a hard mattress, and it wasn't made of ice. As her vision began to focus, she glanced around tiredly.

Elsa was surrounded by stone – the walls were made of it, for crying out loud – which was very unfamiliar to her. If it wasn't ice, it wasn't safe.

A firm blanket covered her body, keeping her warm even though it was unnecessary.

Her hands were covered in enclosed shackles, chained to the ground. So, there's no way out.

Finding the outside light, Elsa turned – and gasped. A strong wind was blowing snow everywhere. The roofs were covered in the white powder, and the boats were trapped on the ice.

She had forgotten – she was the one who caused this.

A strange sound caught her attention, and she looked towards its direction with caution.

Separated by thick, iron bars sat Kristoff, choking on a cough as he leaned back against the wall, holding his chest and breathing slowly.

"Kristoff!"

The queen ran towards the ice harvester and, fighting the chains that linked her hands to the ground, she managed to bring one hand up to the bars longingly.

"K-Kristoff," she murmured, a tear running down her cheek. "I thought…I thought they killed you…"

He shrugged, before wincing. "Well, I'm glad to say I'm still alive."

Elsa couldn't help it anymore. She burst into tears.

"Elsa…" Kristoff slammed on the bars. "These bars are killing me. All I want to do right now is hold you…"

She nodded, sobbing softly. "Me…me too."

"So…" Kristoff sighed. "What happened after I went out?"

Elsa grimaced. "Prince Hans…is a traitor," she spoke slowly. "I don't know what he wants, but as of now we're stuck in a cellar and he's doing who knows what in the kingdom."

Elsa leaned against the wall and hung her head. "I'm…I'm sorry, Kristoff. This is all my fault."

"What? Elsa, no – "

"Yes, it is," she said firmly. "If it weren't for my stupid actions, we wouldn't be here right now. I should've been able to conceal – I've done it all my life, for crying out loud! I can't – "

"Elsa!" His voice was strong, and it shut her up. Through the shackles and bars, he managed to place a warm hand to Elsa's cheek. "If this had not happened, think about it. Would I have ever met you? Only the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes upon?"

Despite everything, she blushed and felt a small smile appear on her lips. "W-well – "

"The answer is no," he told her, smiling back. "I never would've fallen…in love with the queen of Arendelle."

Elsa gasped. "W-what was that?"

The ice harvester shifted, sending her a small grin. "I'm in love with you."

There was no hesitation in his voice; he said it like he absolutely meant it, and it took everything to keep Elsa from destroying the bars to jump on him.

"I – " she faltered. Was it true? Did she really love him back?

It didn't take too much thinking, however. She remembered the days when he took her out to have fun, and that he knew it would calm her down because he cared about her –

"I love you, too," she responded, nodding.

Kristoff didn't seem surprised by the answer, but he was nonetheless overjoyed.

Elsa groaned. "I want to kiss you so badly right now," she murmured. "Damn these bars."

Kristoff chuckled as she continued. "I wonder what Anna will say when she learns I've fallen in – Anna!"

The queen grimaced, remembering when she shot Anna with her ice. "I…I hope she's okay. I mean…I struck her with my powers, and I was completely unaware of it. You cannot argue with me here, this is absolutely my fault – I could've controlled it, but no, I just couldn't, and now she's in danger because of –"

Elsa, unaware of her rising voice and Kristoff's loud attempts to shut her up, snapped the shackles as ice shot out of her fingertips. Yelping, she stood back and watched as a layer of frost slowly traveled up the walls and to the ceiling.

Glancing back at Kristoff, she stammered. "I, uh…that was completely unintentional." Walking around freely now, she scanned the room.

"I can try to break us out – hold on. Give me your hand!"

Kristoff reached through the jail bars and stuck his arm through, awaiting Elsa's actions. "I won't hurt you, I promise."

He smiled, and Elsa began to put pressure onto the cuffs, watching them grow colder and colder until –

Snap.

Kristoff wrung his arms and grinned. "You're amazing, Elsa." Then he winced, holding his chest.

The arrow had pierced his stomach, causing a slight pain whenever he moved. Their captor had bandaged him up – they wanted him alive, apparently – before throwing him in here. His ribs also ached from time to time, and he didn't know why.

He stood up, slowly, and glanced at Elsa, who was now focusing all of her power into the jail bars that separated the two.

"Elsa, do you really believe you can – "

A loud clang echoed off the walls as two of the bars snapped in half, giving him room to walk through.

"Yes," she replied, and as he made it to her side, she leaned up and kissed him gently. "That's what I was looking for," she breathed.

"Prince Hans!" the Spanish dignitary called. "There was a sound – a loud one, at that – and it came directly from the cellars."

He raised an eyebrow. "The cellars…?" Then his eyes narrowed. "Queen Elsa."

Signaling a handful of guards with him, he started towards the prison.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Ah!" Kristoff cried out, clutching his stomach, and Elsa winced helplessly. "Sorry…"

The queen had blasted a hole through the prison wall, and she raised Kristoff's arm over her shoulder. She glanced behind her to see the light of a torch get nearer. "Be careful – she's dangerous!"

Glaring, she began to walk, slowly so that Kristoff would not be hurt, but fast enough to escape.

As they lost their trackers in the snowstorm, Elsa clutched Kristoff tightly. "Are you warm enough?" she yelled, and he shook his head but managed to smile. "Don't worry about me!" was his response.

This time, Elsa scoffed and kissed him – hard. "Don't you dare say that again," she ordered, pulling away from the shocked Kristoff. "I will always, always, worry about you."

And then she blushed. "Um, that was not meant in a bad way," she added as they continued to trek across the frozen fjords.

Kristoff, despite everything, grinned. "Of course, your Majesty."

The smile was off his face in a second, though, and he frowned, looking around wildly. "Where are we going?"

Elsa shook her head. "I – I really don't know. Just…away from here."

The sound of a sword being drawn startled them both, and they turned around the see Prince Hans and four other guards staring straight at them.

Elsa gasped, backing up immediately. Kristoff narrowed his eyes, still clutching his chest – unfortunately, his glare was the only weapon he had.

The queen raised her hand as a warning – she was more than willing to freeze them all within an inch of their lives if she had to.

Hans smirked. "I do apologize, my queen – but I'm afraid we'll have to take it from here."