● Krista ●

Maybe running away hadn't been a very smart move on her part.

Her legs weren't all that long, she was not built for speed. She was still sore from running across the frozen fjord to meet with Andy, only for him to turn the other way and do the most selfless act in history. She'd been so sore, none of Pabbie's herbs had improved her condition, and the bitter taste of some of them had made her grumpy. Andy was no athlete either, but she could her him close behind; calling her name, begging her to stop.

But if she stopped, she'd have to explain, and if she explained, she'd have to- have to face him. She had no desire to speak to Axel ever again, and that man had some nerve, some gods damn nerve to show his face around here again after all these years. Ask for her, gods. What made him think she'd want to see him?

She barely managed to get around a large barrel some boys were rolling between them two. Behind her, she heard the slap of Andy's feet against the cobblestone as he'd probably jumped over the barrel. She heard the shrieks of alarm from the boys, so yes, Andy had indeed leapt over the barrel.

The crowd of people thinned as she was leaving the main square, luckily she hadn't crashed into anyone, the decorations for the summer festival were fewer and it just felt less claustrophobic. Far ahead she could see the glittering sea.

"Krista!"

You're being ridiculous, she imagined Suri's goofy voice inside her head. If the reindeer were present and could speak, it was very likely she'd be saying that. And unreasonable.

You are being ridiculous, she argued back. Which was stupid, because in the end, she was arguing with herself. She was telling herself how ridiculous she was being. But it didn't matter, just as long as-

The end of the dock.

Krista dug her heels in, trying to stop herself from falling over the edge and into the water below. But she'd been going too fast and the momentum was there, she was going to fall in-

"Krista!" strong hands grabbed her waist and stopped her from falling. Then they yanked back, and the two of them landed on their butts, making the blanks below them groan. The wood had probably been damaged during Elliott's storm, and they would have to be replaced. "You want me to go into cardiac arrest?" Andy looked more baffled than angry, and Krista felt her ears burn with embarrassment. "What was that all about?" he gestured behind them at the disaster Krista's pathetic fleeing had caused. She noticed for the first time that they'd somehow managed to overturn a cart of supplies for the festival and also knocked down a man from a ladder who had been trying to pin up banners, he was hanging by his arms from a ledge.

She mumbled a curse and climbed to her feet "We should help him-"

"He's gonna be fine," Andy pointed at two other people below that were already putting the ladder back into place. He stood up as well and placed a hand on her bicep, a silent don't run. "You know what's not gonna be fine?" Krista searched his green eyes, trying to tell whether he was angry. "What's not gonna be fine is my mental health, and the physical one, and the emotional-"

"I'm sorry I ran," she smacked his hand as the playful smile finally spread across his face. She couldn't help but return it. He wasn't angry. Andy really wasn't letting anything get him down, after- well. But she knew, if he kept bottling things up the boy was going to burst someday. To her knowledge Andy had only snapped once, during the coronation party when Elliott had refused to bless the marriage with Helena. Also when he'd yelled at her back on the mountain, that crippling second of insecurity the prince had had; when she'd comforted him. When she realized he wasn't just some bratty prince, but a honest guy with a heart of gold.

Krista had wondered more than once, what would have happened if Elliott had blessed the marriage? If Andy and Helena had got married, if Elliott's power hadn't been unleashed. If, if, if. Andy surely wouldn't be in her life then...

"I just..." she adverted her eyes, "I didn't want to... he... his name is Axel." the words came out easier than she'd expected, but they still left a bitter taste in her mouth. Like Pabbie's 'healing' herbs.

"Axel," Andy echoed. Then he frowned. "Axel?"

Krista rubbed her arm, still not meeting the prince's eyes. "He, uh... he is my uncle."

"Your uncle!" Andy smiled, like it was a good thing. When Krista's face remained with a pained expression, the smile melted. He placed a finger on her cheek and gently turned it so she'd face him. She'd never been good at dealing with people face-to-face. Trolls were so short they didn't care if you looked their way, and the other ice harvesters communicated with a series of grunts and cursing, and they didn't ask for constant eye contact. Not like Andy did. He probably did that to read her emotions easier. "Oh... so you- your uncle- he doesn't- the trolls, he-"

"He doesn't live with me, no," Krista said, the bitterness in her mouth overflowing to the sentence. "He didn't take me in when my parents- he didn't-" she stomped her foot in frustration, making the weather-damaged planks creak. "He doesn't care about me. I don't know why he's here, why now."

Saying that reminded Krista of cold nights and even colder soup in someone else's home. It reminded her of only having a furry quadruple as family for a long time. It reminded her of a destroyed cabin and an orphaned little girl. Of a letter saying, I'm not meant to be a father. I am sorry. I will visit as often as- Krista's thoughts practically sizzled remembering the words. Words of abandonment.

"He doesn't live in Arendelle," the Prince was half asking it, half trying to place the pieces together by himself. "He must've arrived, like, today since the fjord isn't frozen anymore and all." Andy pursed his lips in confusion, "It must be urgent... Elliott isn't allowing many ships in, in case an undercover Southern Isles person tries to break out Hel-Helena," Andy blushed when he stammered over the word, and it made Krista's heart clench, made her momentarily forget her annoyance at her absent uncle.

Helena was another issue. One that constantly tormented Andy, although he probably wouldn't admit it out loud. Perhaps not even to himself. But she saw it on his face, plain as day. Krista couldn't wait for those southern people to come pick up their murderous sibling. One of the sisters of the princess was supposed to come, but there were twelve of them, twelve other Helenas. Were they all the same? Totally different? Or was Helena the black sheep?

No. Where you grow up, it defines you. In the long run, it's where you're raised that makes you who you are. The people around you shape you, influence you, they- gods, what the hell was Helena raised by? Some chupacabras? What made her be this way? It was so tempting to just stomp over to the girl's cell and demand answers. What did you do to Andy? Why did you do it? Krista would most likely never get the chance to ask, so she didn't care to give the princess another second to be in her thoughts. The sooner she left the better.

Krista sighed and hugged her sides, leaning over Andy and placing her head on his shoulder, "I don't wanna see him..."

Andy wrapped an arm around her, "I understand, but- he's standing right there."

The blonde flared her nostrils, tempted to push the prince away, but the embrace was too nice to let go of. "If you think I'm falling for that again-"

"Krista, may we talk?"

Krista disentangled herself from Andy and shot a surprised look at Axel. Her dead mother's brother. Standing right there, with the gray tabby cat still in his arms. So casual it made her insides twist. It looked like he hadn't aged a year since she'd last seen him, which was more than a decade ago. "You left this behind," he said, and from some back pocket she couldn't see he pulled out the little ice reindeer Elliott had gifted her that very morning. She hesitated, now she had nowhere to run. Behind her was only water, and in front of her was the man that had practically turned his back on her.

Drowning in the water felt like the most appealing of her options.

● Elliott ●

"Queen Astrid won't take kindly to you keeping her sister hostage."

"Oh, please," Elliott winced as the woman fixing his newest suit poked him with yet another needle. He stood on a stool with his arms stretched out like a scarecrow, which hurt a little bit because his shoulder still hurt from where that Sandlane man had shot him with a crossbow. "She's hardly a hostage. We're treating her way better than she deserves-" he almost yelped when the measuring tape slithered around his neck, ticking him and startling him. "Edna!"

Edna Mode, the foreign woman he'd hired for this very task of a new outfit looked up sharply at him with her beady black eyes, hidden behind thick rimmed glasses. His coronation outfit had been one of his best, and it had somehow disappeared under the ice one he'd created for himself, so he got the best he could to replace it. Edna was famous from Corona to Milan, the woman was short, around General Winter's height and carried just about the same attitude as the snowman.

"If you'd stop squirming, this would be a lot simpler, darling," she jumped down from the even taller stool she had to use to reach the king's tall self. He didn't mind that she addressed him that way, it was just how she was. The short woman had a needle between her teeth as she examined Elliott up and down critically, like an artist would their masterpiece.

He'd been standing there for a little over an hour, his legs and arms were starting to cramp and he'd really rather be anywhere else but here. Where he really wanted to be was up at the North mountain, and see if his castle still stood. Of course, thinking about going back was just a little fantasy to keep his mind occupied from the kingdom's real problems. He could not, would not leave again. Not when food was short from the crops dying and damages needed to be attended to.

While Edna continued to stare he shifted his eyes over to Zazu, the newest steward he hired to help Kai, he'd been the one that said that the southern princess was a hostage. He used to be a majordomo over in Africa, from the Pride Lands or something like that. He was dignified and so far a good advisor, and Elliott appreciated his council. The older man's hair was... unique, it was blue (with a good many streaks of gray), a deep blue that made an amazing contrast with the man's dark skin. Then again, almost white-haired Elliott wasn't one to talk about unusual hair color.

Years ago his father had reduced the staff when he closed the gates to keep Elliott's secret, and now that the secret was out he was hiring some new faces, Zazu being one of the first changes around the palace.

Apparently finding another flaw, Edna climbed back on the stool and continued to poke His Grace with every needle she could. "I agree you've been exceedingly generous to the princess. But I'm afraid Queen Astrid will not feel the same." Zazu leaned back on his chair, worry lining his face. "She will retaliate, and only gods know how."

"I'm not afraid of her," Elliott said. It was true. By birth his title gave him power, but his curse... magic, his magic, gave him real power. He could actually do things, defend what was his. If a Southern fleet were to attack, Elliott could sink them all, if it came to that. He obviously did not want it to come to that, but if it did, you know, he'd be ready. Besides, Astrid and a handful of other girls were nothing to be afraid of, right?

Helena made her sisters sound like they were the pinnacle of all evil, but could it be true? Were they really as bad as she painted them? Or did she just want Elliott to fear them?

The old majordomo got to his feet and began pacing, "Do not underestimate them. You asked me to find you information about them, and so information I have gathered." After sending out the letter to the Southern Isles, Elliott had realized he might have to meet with one of them when they came. And he honestly knew next to nothing about about the Isles, so a little insight would be good to have. "As you well know, Astrid is the queen. But before her, it was her parents. They are both dead."

"It was regicide," Edna said, as she tugged Elliott's sleeve down and slipped a pin in the fold. "Feh! The man was poisoned- suffered quite a lot, if the gossip tells it true. The old king fathered two bastards, didn't he?"

That was news to Elliott. So two of the thirteen did not share the same mother as the rest. Was Helena one of them? Was she a... bastard?

Zazu nodded, stopping his pacing to look at Edna's work with the hint of a smile. "That is correct. Girls six and twelve." Helena is thirteen. She's not one of the bastards, Elliott thought. But the girl before her was. "The former queen was not pleased by her husband's infidelity, and he died shortly after."

"Helena's father was murdered by her mother?" Elliott didn't mean to voice it out loud, but the shock made him. No wonder Helena was so wrong in the head, gods. All Elliott had known before concerning the Southern Isles was that they were a young nation, gathering influence, and it consisted of seven islands. They were mostly a marine kingdom, good in trade. In the text books there was no talk of regicide or anything of the sort.

"I believe it to be true. Then the mother died, under rather shady circumstances, and Astrid became queen," Zazu wrung his hands anxiously, as if he dreaded sharing the next bit of information. "There is... something else," the steward took a deep breath. "The Lady Madeleine, second in line, it is also rumored she tried to... ah... tried to kill Astrid. Tried to take the throne from her own sister."

Elliott would have doubled over if he hadn't been so stiff from standing in that position too long. Edna would throttle him if he moved and all her hard work fell apart. But... seriously? Did these girls know no limits, gods. They really were all ruthless. "What... what happened to Lady Madeleine?" Elliott swallowed the thick lump that had formed in his throat. He knew for a fact the second princess had failed, that Astrid was very much still alive. He had never heard of Madeleine.

"Ah, Madeleine. I designed her wedding gown, you know," Edna chirped, not surprised by Zazu's research. This probably was old news to the designer. "She's flat as a board, and that hideous scar made things difficult, but she was dazzling on her wedding day! I daresay prettier than Sonja." Elliott did not know who Sonja was, but he assumed she was one of Helena's prettiest siblings.

"She survived with a facial scar to show for it," Zazu explained. "Again, it's only rumors, but it's said Astrid let her go with that as a warning." Everything with these girls was rumors, nothing seemed certain, other than the fact that the let's-kill-a-monarch deal ran through their veins apparently. Madeleine and Helena had both tried, and they had both failed. Their mother had died under shady circumstances. Elliott wondered, what if Astrid had killed her mother? Zazu had kind of hinted at it. Had she been successful? He shuddered just speculating about it. Horrible horrible horrible.

"So, I beg of you, Your Grace, do not underestimate the Westergards. Perhaps don't fear them, but do be careful when dealing with their kind." Zazu went back to his chair, ran a hand through his blue feather-like hair. "I... where I come from, one brother murdered the other." Elliott closed his eyes and tried to tune out the man's voice. He did not want to hear it, but the words filtered in anyway. "For a crown. And it still mattered not, as the King had a son- but the son was wracked with guilt, and he left us with his cruel uncle..."

"I understand." He tried to imagine if Andy- if Andy would ever be capable of- but he could not. He really could not even imagine it. Andy wasn't like the people Zazu had served, or like Helena's family. His little brother had never had eyes for the throne, not once. He certainly would not kill for it. If Andy had been anything like- like that Madeleine...

"I think we are finished," Edna said, but she still didn't look entirely satisfied. "I'll do some fabric testing, but your new suit should be ready very soon."

Relief flooded him as he lowered his arms at long last, and he let Zazu's warning wash over him. Fine, so these ladies were to be feared, even a little bit. It was no game. He got that. He wasn't sure how he felt about knowing these disturbing things about them. "Thank you, Edna," he stepped down from the stool, when he suddenly remembered, "Wait, you didn't get any cape measurements?" He got one of those wistful flashbacks of the North mountain, when he'd let go of his glove and of his cape. How he'd let that thing fly away, ride the wind to gods-knew where.

Edna looked like she had been pricked with a needle, "No capes!"


i wanted to include some more disney characters, but timelines were just not matching up, so this AU kinda thing will make do,:) if u guys like me including other characters like this let me know, if not i'll stop!

hahha sorry for dragging it on, you'll find out krista's uncle's intentions in the next chapter.

i'm still in exams but i really wanted to get this one up as soon as possible, as a thanks for all the reviews the last chapter got!

thank u for reading!:)