Thank you for the awesome reviews! I've been told that Elsa has come off rather scary at times and I just want to heads up readers that more scary stuff is to come, in this chapter and ones to follow so you have now been warned.

Also I'm really sorry things have been slow moving here. I got two wisdom teeth out the other day so lots of drug induced dozing has been on me and my laptop confiscated. But I'm still here!

The Tale of A Princess

Irena had never seen her brother in such shock before; he looked pale as a ghost with an expression to match. Then again the Princess had never spoken such words onto Hans like that before. She had grown up behind him all their lives but now she stepped out to create her own shadow, her own life without him; something she found he couldn't quite grasp. The twins had worked their way into the royal courts through many trials, to finally be taken seriously as adults and as members of the royal family. The youngest children of the crown didn't have it easy with many older brothers holding the people's attention and respect; Hans had it both easier and harder than Irena. She was their First Princess, not in many years had their line born a female and so her expectations were minor in comparison to the twelve brothers before her brother.

She had to become the idol of the kingdom, be the one every woman was jealous of; the Princess little girls dreamed to be and the perfect image every man would want in a spouse. Of course that went down in a landslide after Irena learnt her eldest brothers wouldn't consider her to marry for anything other than political gain; their political gain. She was beyond flabbergasted and infuriated upon hearing such words and her only salvation came in the form of they hadn't found the right partner yet. The Princess knew she would die before being used in any way by any man.

Irena found herself locked away alone in a male dominated dungeon but she would be free.

The first letter arrived upon her sixteenth year and with it was almost a revelation. A young woman like herself; a Queen across the sea was reaching out a hand with no sign of pity or charity; she reached out in offering Irena something she never thought possible in her life. The chance to prove herself different; use more of herself that would change the way the Isles lived and treated their brethren.

Irena was no fool however; one does not simple trust an unknown face with such treasures of power. There had to be a catch and the young mind couldn't see the opposing side of the coin. The Princess demanded something of proof and the mysterious writer gave it to her without hesitation. Knowledge; lots of it.

"Ever wondered what it was like Hans? To be seen only as an object sold to the highest bidder? Father never thought me anything less than the darling Princess I was, but he didn't last long enough to see me grow into a woman he would be proud of. No, our dear brothers thought it better if I actually had some use to them. A political use"

"NO! Vikes would never even consider a thought about using you in such a way! You are our sister! We love you" Hans denied violently. Irena didn't miss a beat in her tirade despite his intrusion.

"He would never do anything like that to you because you are another royal prince; a male. Accept it Hans we have never had any real value in our House. We have twelve older brothers, one is now the king and only three became scholars to advise him while the rest of us are useless. Zephier was the only one used to gain position by marrying a foreign Princess solidifying an alliance. What do you think they will do to me when a Lord comes along with something of worth? I will be that Princess, that bargaining trade"

"It wouldn't happen. Mother wouldn't allow it, I won't allow it" Hans tried to speak reason into his other half. Much of what his sister said made sense knowing his brothers well but it wasn't believable, or he wished it wasn't true.

"Oh, mother…like she would say anything. She hasn't said much since our dear father's passing. I was the only one to ever visit her daily and still she cares little with what happens to me. And you? You have only ever cared for one thing and it's lying unconscious in your arms because you have no other way to achieve it. After all the trouble I went through to get us here you messed it up further than I could ever believe…"

"What are you talking about? You did nothing to get us anywhere close to Arendelle. It was I who talked with Alfons and together, convinced our brother to let 'us' represent the kingdom" the conversation was rising in octaves.

"You really believe any of our brothers would leave such an important mission to you? Everyone knows your odd obsession with the girl, the entire kingdom knows about it after all these years. Father kept calling her to the castle because he wanted to humour you as a child. The only reason we are here is because Alfons had a mild 'suggestion' during dinner to even consider reinstating trade with Arendelle after the silence for so many years. And who would ever think to consider the youngest royal twins for such an important task? Vikes certainly didn't at first. It took backhanded tactics on my part to 'open his eyes' so to speak" Irena was getting visibly upset with the way her brother assumed so little of her while so highly of them. She had hoped of all their blood, he would always give her a little more. Seems his wish to follow his brother's footsteps was too well engraved even for her to reach.

"You…blackmailed our brother?! The King?!" Irena relaxed herself somewhat. The words made her feel powerful.

"Blackmail is such an ugly word…I see it as more of an eventual trade" Irena giggled slightly. "I saved him face over a misunderstanding with the Duchess from Corona some years ago, since then he was wise enough to listen to my council; from the shadows of course. You give brother too much credit if you believe the ice fishing expeditions and northern trading routes were his ideas alone. I have saved our country more times than all you brothers combined. But what would a useless little Princess ever know hmm?"

"I couldn't have said it better myself Irena. I knew our alliance would come to bloom one day. To be honest it was you who helped bring my prey to me. Unearth him as it were." Elsa spoke tonelessly "Did you know Prince Hans that Irena was also the one who helped me capture Anna's heart? Very useful those letters; would've had to use my original plans of imprisonment. But this was easier" the present royals almost forgot that Elsa was still standing proudly with her two snowmen at the shore. For the first time ever Irena humbly bowed herself down to the Queen.

"My Queen, I am honoured to be of such service to you. I thank you from the deepest of my heart for giving me the chance no one else would. You have my loyalty till death" her lowered eyes didn't catch the expression of pure rage on her brother's face. If there had been a hell, Hans had just witnessed its beginning. Elsa grinned.

"And you have my gratitude Princess. When you return home you will have continued support from Arendelle. I dare say no other Princess ever has such power but that can all be discussed later." Her focus and expression changed instantly "I have annoying pests to destroy now" the Ice Queen started to gather her power together. The wind turned and the snow began to build, collecting in a cluster, a deadly spiral of winter storm grew above their heads. Hans heard the sounds of expanding ice and watched as the sea around him began to freeze over slowly as her concentration increased, the misty air giving way to the enormous tornado of raw icy magic.

"You'll kill us all!" Hans tried to shout.

"Oh but that was the plan" with a smile Elsa released the storm with a flourish of her arms. Hans shielded himself and Anna from the onslaught as best he could.

But nothing happened.

If he didn't have to battle the cold itself, Thorak would've ordered the castle's burning long ago. But it was too much trouble to deal with and he needed his men focused on killing those useless herdsmen. His search proving useless within the walls he led his men out into the courtyard where he came across the most unusual and monstrous creation that vile woman could've created.

"Hi I'm Olaf! Have you seen my little brother around here? I lost him…Who are you?"

"Demon of winter!" swiping his sword violently the leader decapitated the snowman easily and yet the thing didn't crumble but rather chuckled lightly.

"You're fun! Ooh ooh can someone grab my butt? Oh no it's ok, hold on a sec" the headless mass of snow ran around until it collected its missing limb and corrected itself like nothing happened. Dark beady eyes looked up to the horrified men. "Now it's my turn. I'll like to introduce you to some of my…friends"

A powerful wind tugged at the men violently as a cyclone surrounded the group before vanishing; standing tall behind the small deformed child was a creature of pure winter nightmare. Ice shards produced from its hands and massive body of pure snow; dark hallow eyes glared down at them as it opened its mouth and roared. The castle walls served an echo making it louder; the sound flowed over the whole kingdom.

Thorak grit his teeth, readying to yell his men to attack but someone else started first. A scream from his left brought his attention to one of his men being slaughtered by the very air around him. The lifeless body slumped down in a pool of blood as others watched the crystalized vapour form into another raging beast. Soon they started forming all over the courtyard.

"Kill them!" he cried out desperately. More and more creatures were appearing out of nowhere to hack their way through his soldiers easily. "Kill them all!"

Their sharp ice claws shredded skin and massive fists of snow crushed bone into dust without resistance. Thorak managed to cut down one creature only to be attacked by two more. They were becoming outnumbered after every attack they made, no matter the horde that emerged from the castle, they still died one by one. Just like before the rebel leader watched as his men died by the hand of that despicable woman.

Her creatures felt no pain or fatigue as they stomped their way through numbers, crushing, tossing and ripping apart bodies of valiant men. More of his men came to join the fight when the noise of battle rang true but it almost made no difference. All around him was red snow and broken useless bodies. The rebel leader may control hundreds with his voice, but he could not control their deaths.

Thorak tore away from the courtyard taking a trail down out the side of the castle in hopes of escape. He was done with the fortress, it had no use to him if it didn't house the monster he sought after; sword in hand he slashed at every pile of snow that moved making very little difference to the battle. Caring little, the leader found himself joining his men in force against an ugly deformed beast. The creature had six legs and a tail purely of ice; with every slash three of his men fell, cut perfectly in half.

"You look surprised you piece of shit. I thought the sight of your men dead would be normal for you now" snapping his head round Thorak confronted the one who had torn his hand from him. Her head guard, the blonde haired mass of distain. Kristoff held his pickaxes tightly, outfit shredded from scuffles and blooded from victory; a cut over his left eye didn't seem to bother his vision as he glared back at an angry foe.

"You..."

"You think your soldiers could defeat me so easily Thorak? I'm sorry to tell you they retired early, Sven made sure of it for me. Your little trick with the stables was good I must admit; but you forget who you're dealing with. Killing off my men was foolish on your part. They were only the scouts of the army; the real killers are what you see now. The power of winter! Queen Elsa's real army!"

"She is no Queen!" he swung his sword round hoping to silence the smug little worm, he only hit air. "She is nothing more than demon witch and I will burn her from this earth!" Kristoff righted himself and twirled a pick.

"Well, I bet Elsa feels loved right now" he defended himself against another attack before countering. The rebel may only have one hand now but he still knew how to use that sword even in a blind mindless rage. After blocking another swipe Kristoff found the wooden axe shaft had cracked and with another near miss he was down a weapon. "Fighting equally now. As you wish"

"We are never equal!"

"You're right…I'm still prettier" the trainer decided to go on the attack, using his size and strength to quickly push the man back hopes to get some advantage. Thorak lost his footing on a patch of ice and went down, nearly to be stomped on by a raging snowman. He would've lost more than a hand this time if not for one loyal soldier intercepting the buffoon before he could sink his axe in anywhere.

"You think a bunch of brainless piles of snow will have any difference?! I will make a pelt out of your animal before I lose to anything that witch creates!" Thorak took the opening his man presented him to slice across the blonde's back leaving a very deep gash, the outcry of pain made the rebel grin in glee. He brought his sword arm up again to give another painful swipe only to be kicked in the side violently by the trainer. Kristoff had dealt with worse than that. He had bones broken from the very animals he trains, he'd been cut open more times than he could count; any small cut the lunatic made was nothing. After wrenching his pickaxe out of the skull from his latest annoyance he turned back to the leader, angry fire in his eyes.

"To be honest I don't care who shuts you up so long as it's permanent!"

"Captain! We're losing numbers!" a rebel ran closer as he shouted above the battle, he almost looked dead on his feet. One arm useless and draining as a large chunk of it was missing. "The monsters just keep coming! We can't kill them! Sir!" Thorak was burning in rage at the look of fear in the man's eyes.

"We do not cower! We do not run! We do not…argh" his words broke as blood replaced air and coated his throat. Looking down he saw six protruding spikes on his chest, each of them stained with his blood. He looked back to the snickering face of the herd trainer.

"You said something about making a pelt out of him…I guess Sven didn't like that much" Thorak tried to say something, his body going cold with every passing second. The sounds were fading and his vision blurred as the large animal raised him off the ground like a victory; his death. Before succumbing to darkness he heard one last voice.

"Ha ha, look he's been impaled"

Every living set of eyes widened at the sound of the echoing roar, except one. Hers didn't move from their focus point; the unconscious body held in the man's arms. Elsa had taught herself patience but it had never been tested in ways like it was then. Filthy hands on her things was not to be tolerated, she would burn him alive if she had the choice. At that moment she did not, so her options were slightly limited. Only until Anna was back where she belonged.

"What have you done?" pale brows rose with the question

"What have I done? Merely kill off pests inhabiting my castle. You can't live in a place like that if it's infested with rats. You're the one who welcomed them in, you tell me what I should do with them?" her tone was calm and her expression neutral. The exact opposite of the Prince.

"They were loyal soldiers to the King. You murdered half their numbers and ran them from the castle. You told me yourself! You were the one to take this kingdom by force not them!"

"And so you decided to help them in revenge? Did you even think about the lives of those you were to condemn along with that plan Hans?" Irena bore into her brother's eyes as she spoke. While her brother was a keen minded man, he never truly knew the power of actions.

"I was not the one to decide what happens, Irena. The Duke was the one to plan everything"

"Common words for a coward" Elsa eased in their conversation.

"I am no coward! I know the battles I should fight and the ones to retreat!"

"And you consider this retreat Hans? Kidnapping a girl from her home and family?" Hans looked between his sister and the tyrant. They were delaying him, confusing him. The longer he remained there the less time he had to escape using the distraction the Duke caused.

"Get out of my way Irena. I don't want to hurt you, but I am taking Anna with me no matter what!" the dark chuckles from the Queen silenced their moment.

"That ship isn't going anywhere Prince Hans. You don't have the means nor the power to stop me from killing you right now and taking Anna back"

"But I know you won't attack me while Anna is here. Neither of you will. I know enough about you bitch that you won't risk Anna. You can't let your monsters hurt me, I have what you want" Hans yelled snidely. He might be cornered but he wasn't helpless.

"You're right" the pale Queen shrugged slightly at his words. "I cannot attack you. I will not send my men either and Irena, stay where you stand. I want to know exactly what the thirteenth prince is planning to do now since his time is up" Hans didn't like her tone it was too confident he wouldn't get away. While she held most of the cards he still had the trump. His sister was no match for his strength even if he was carrying a body over a shoulder, she was weak and he always carried his weapon. It didn't matter if the plans failed. He was at his ship, he had Anna. Time was on his side if the men returned and…

His thought process was disrupted by a strong impact to his temple. The Prince tried to keep his balance but the surprise caught him as did the pain. Hans dropped the girl in the process but when he opened his eyes, she was gone. Anna crouched a good ten feet away from him on the dock entrance, her eyes cold and her expression grim. It didn't take Hans a second that to realise what Elsa meant; while the battle raged and he was confined to the gangplank Anna was awakening and she no longer held her smile.

"Anna…please I'm sorry but…"

"You don't get to say sorry Hans! Argh…" she grabbed her head tightly when standing, dizziness nearly over-coming her. The trainer went down like a log in a haze of agony. Hans made a move to help her but the approaching snow men had him backed off quickly. All he could do was watch in anger and jealousy as the girl was collected up in the arms of another. The one who'd stolen her in the first place.

"Now Prince Hans, I will accept your surrender. You've lost this fight" Thirteenth Prince of the Southern Isles was a master strategist and chess player but he was finally caught in checkmate.

God this chapter was killing me very slowly. Bad case of semi-writer's block had me troubled it would even get done. But I made it. Phew~! Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the little bit of fighting there. Next chapter is more revealing stuffs (best way to put it) and soon the story will come to a close. Please be patient with me, troubling days ahead.

Fav and Review! Always appreciated!

Midmoon Kitsune