Elsa was walking in the garden with her daughter Rosetta and her baby sister. They were blissfully unaware that they were being watched.
"Aren't the flowers beautiful" Elsa asked her child. Rosetta was about to respond when a butterfly landed on her nose. She crossed her eyes trying to look at it. Elsa and Anna giggled at how adorable she was. Rosetta gently shooed the insect away and nodded to answer Elsa's earlier question. The three continued to take in the pleasant and subtle aroma of the blooming greenery surrounding them. Elsa was abruptly hit on the head with a scroll. She curiously picked it up. She read it carefully. Her eyes widened in horror and without saying a single word, she took a confused Rosetta one arm and fled for the refuge of the castle, dragging Anna with the other. She dropped the scroll and it fell to the soft grass beneath it.
"I'm coming for you and your daughter" It read. It was signed "Anthrax".
"Mama what's going on?" Rosetta timidly asked while still being carried by Elsa. By this point Anna was following Elsa on her own, leaving Elsa's other arm free to alleviate some of the stress the other was enduring in carrying a child all by itself.
"The man who sent those thugs is coming" Elsa said softly while running towards her room. Rosetta whimpered in fear and buried her head in the Queen's shoulder.
"Shh shh shh, it's ok sweetie, I won't let him get you I promise, don't be scared. Mama's here to protect you" she soothed her panicking child. She went in the room and locked the door. She was about to tell her daughter and sister to hide while she summoned the guards, but she remembered what she was up against and she realized she could not leave their side for a second. She called Gerda from the safety of their room. Elsa needed to unlock the door for her trusted servant but that would mean walking a few feet away from her daughter. That was a few feet too many as she knew that even now Anthrax may already be stalking them from inside the castle.
"Sweetie, hold my hand and don't let go" Elsa calmly instructed her little girl. Rosetta obeyed and once Elsa was certain that she had a firm but gentle grip on her daughter. She approached the door and unlocked it. A knock was heard on the door. Elsa drew her daughter closer with one arm and with the other, she aimed at the doorway, ready to strike anything foolish enough to threaten her child and baby sister.
"Anna, get behind me" Elsa said quickly. Anna reluctantly did as her older sister instructed.
"Come in" The queen said coolly. Rosetta meekly hid her face in Elsa's dress and whimpered. The door opened and Elsa calmed down.
"Gerda, you gave us a scare" Elsa said, still holding Rosetta's little hand.
"Sorry your majesty. How can I help you?" Gerda said unaware of the severity of the situation.
"Anthrax has threatened to come back. We need you and Kai to summon the guards." Anna replied in a frantic voice. Gerda gasped in a combination of shock and terror.
"A-Anthrax? Oh no, we can't let him get his hands on you again." Gerda cried out. Turning the other way, Gerda took off to get the soldiers, though silently she doubted the brave men protecting the palace stood a chance against the power hungry Anthrax. Realization hit the Queen like an anvil. Anthrax was already winning. He was able to spread this much fear and despair before they even saw him. The onslaught of the tyrannical sorcerer was already underway. Elsa was not fearful for herself. The only thing that concerned the queen was keeping her family away from his clutches. Rosetta was getting anxious from the chaos surrounding her and out of fear and confusion; she began to melt into tears. Anna soon joined in.
"Oh sweeatheart, don't be afraid, I will keep you safe, you're safe with me and Auntie Anna. Please don't cry. Come on sis, nothing will happen to us" Elsa soothed her upset child and Anna while hugging them and rocking them side to side. While her arms protectively enveloped her daughter and sister in a loving embrace, her icy blue eyes scoured the room for any sign of Anthrax. Elsa was fuming with anger. The monster had not even mad his presence known. Yet he was attacking them all with his deadliest weapon, not fire, not dark magic, fear. The guards came to the door way.
"Awaiting your orders, your majesty" The captain bowed. Elsa was dumbstruck. She had absolutely no idea what to tell them. Suddenly a cry was heard.
"It's so fast, help" someone screamed from the kitchen below.
"Locate the intruder and do everything in your power to stop them." Elsa told the captain. The latter obeyed and he and his men left the three royals alone. Elsa waited as the seconds ticked by. Seconds turned into minutes, and soon minutes turned into hours. Elsa concluded that she and her beloved girls could not remain holed up in their room turned-bunker forever. She used her left hand to hold Anna's. Anna in turn, held her niece's hand. Elsa raised her right arm and flexed her fingers. She inhaled, exhaled, and she tentatively peeped her head out of the door way. She scanned the scene for the remotest trace of danger or chaos. But there was not a soul to be seen. This made the Queen worry even further. Elsa slowly led them down the hall. The queen raised pointed her arm in every direction as if it was a loaded weapon. When they reached the stair way, Elsa frowned.
"Nobody downstairs either?" Anna said to Elsa.
"Mama, what's that?" Rosetta whispered from the rear and pointed to a lump on the floor. Elsa's eyes grew wide as she realized it was a cook. The queen swiftly took her human train to the guard. She could not see any wounds. This was a good thing because she only had one hand to tend to them. The three stood puzzled at what happened to the poor man, when he started snoring.
"He's sleeping?" Rosetta asked.
"I guess so" Anna confirmed.
"But why?" Elsa said cautiously. Before anyone could utter another syllable, something smacked the back of the Queen's head with a echoing bang and she dropped to the ground like as gracefully as a brick.
Author's note: I put in a small hint to who the mysterious minion is.
BIgby The big bad wolf: Er…hey come on I was out of options. Ok so I bonked Elsa on the head, a headache, a bump, she'll be fine.