Chapter 11:In Your Debt

Sorry for the wait! Had trouble with this one, but I'm glad with the way it turned out! Although, beware...trigger warning:rape. But don't worry, things will be okay!

-Dee

Four days had passed since Elsa had woken up in Christian's arms. Christian'd noticed she had gotten bigger bags under her eyes in the morning but had used more powder to cover it up. She remained looking as radiant as ever, sporting blue eye shadow and red lipstick. Her cheeks were covered with a small amount of rouge, and her eyebrows arched. It was strange how attentive to detail Christian could be when he wanted. He had always noticed small things like this, but never cared about going over what they meant until he met Elsa.
And she had been in his arms four days ago, she had been awake and fallen asleep in his arms. Her chest had been beside his, her fingers nervously tugging her trousers. Eyes avoiding of his. Lips so close. It was a sort of witchcraft, her charm and beauty. The way she bit her lip when she was excited, how she blinked furiously when she looked nervous. He was annoyed at himself for being so in love. He swore to his brothers when he was back at home he would never fall in love.

"I will never fall in love. Ever." Christian stated

"Oh, really? Well, you seem to have a lot of it lately." Klaus scoffed.

"Helga is not my lover."

Nikolas crossed his arms, "Could have fooled me. You two wouldn't shut up last night."

"…Sorry." Christian scratched the nape of his neck.

"Love isn't evil, you know," Fredbjørn explained, "if you knew how to be in the midst of it then maybe it wouldn't have such a bad connotation with you."

"I'm just not adequate. Not cut out for it, ya know…I j-"

"It scares you." Hans strolled in, hands behind his back.

"Well I-"

"Admit it. Love scares the shit out of you." Hans made a dramatic hand motion, a devilish grin on his face, "The thought of having to care for someone and have them care back is terrifying. But exhilarating at the same time. To make love, actual real love, and not empty moans and grips…that would be almost life-changing."

"Who invited you in?" Nikolas sighed, walking toward the table.

"Myself. It's my castle too, you know."

"Go on." Christian told him in a quiet voice.

Hans chuckled mischievously, "Love is easy. Just laugh at her jokes, tell her nice things about herself, kiss her often…Wait to sleep with her for more than a week, at least, then-boom-engagement."

Christian opened this mouth but Klaus interrupted before he could start, "That's not love, that's admiration. Infatuation. It's fake."

"It'll work for me someday."

"Hans," Christian shook his head, "sometimes you scare me."

Hans stopped gazing around and turned his head towards Christian and froze, a snide smile on his face, "I'm aware."
And then he left.

"What was that all about?" Nikolas laughed, without humor.

"I dunno." Fred raised an eyebrow.

He shuddered, thinking about Hans probably doing the same thing he did to Princess Anna at the time, minus the murder attempt.
He was snapped back into the present by his brothers' loud laughs.

"Shh." Elsa told them, holding the reins of her horse.

She pulled the reins, and her horse stopped with a neigh.

"What-" Christian started to say, but Elsa intervened.

"Quiet." he gazed at her, her eyes moving like crazed bees.
And then happened so fast.

A swish, a jump, a blink. Blurs came out of the bushes, descended from the trees, black hoods. Swords. Bows. No shields.
A gasp, a dismount, cracking knuckles.
Viktor headbutted. Grant stabbed. Hans decapitated. Elsa froze.
She was terrified. Underneath all the blasts she was shooting at the men she was frozen. Her steps were rigid, arms shaking, hands too gentle.
And the summer heat was waning her powers.
Christian had his bow equipped today. It was his favorite back at the Isles, and when he took the job here he had no choice but to arm himself with a sword. Careful to stick out, he reluctantly practiced with his sword on days where Elsa spent most of her time in her room.
With his quiver strapped to his back, he strung out arrow after arrow, piercing chests, heart. A few times he tried his luck at shooting some men in the eye. He never missed.
He panted and looked around. Viktor and Grant were doing well, but Hans was in an intense sword fight and Christian could tell he was about to lose. He elbowed a traitor in the gut who'd been advancing on him while he was thinking and took a deep breath. Pulling another arrow out of his quiver, he strung it and anchored it to his mouth. Taking in another deep breath, he let half of it out and released.
The traitor fell to the ground and Hans looked in his direction, nodding a thank you.
He turned his line of focus towards Elsa, who was losing her battle as well. The villain had torn her shirt off and had grabbed a hold of her wrist.
Christian screamed and hollered and yelled and sprinted.
His eyes became white, eyebrows dipped, teeth baring. Vocal chords broke, tongue went dry. Christian found himself on top of the man, punch after punch, knocking away his identity, his agenda, his life.
His fist made contact with the man's jaw, his eye, his nose, his cheek. If this man had wanted pleasure, Christian would give him the pleasure he deserved. Death.
Grunts escaped the man's mouth, but were muted by Christian's screams.

"DO. NOT. TOUCH. HER!" he would yell at him, again and again and again.
He slid an arrow out of his quiver and clutched it in his fist. Christian stuck it in the man's eye, his other eye. The man was losing. He was fading.
Christian had to win. He had to make an example of him.
The strike of his arrow in the man's throat ended his legacy. He was finally dead.
The forest went mute and a pool of sweat covered Christian's shirt. He stood over the man, hysterical panting escaping his mouth.
He heard the breathing of his brothers, and Elsa's muffled gasp.
He spun around and his eyes fell on Elsa. Her shirt had been ripped off of her, chest completely exposed. Her eyes were swollen, she had been crying.
He forced himself not to stare at her chest, and instead unbuttoned his shirt. Christian handed it to Elsa, she sniffled, and he took that as a thank you.
He glanced at his brothers, who were also still. Even Hans. The seventeen soldiers they'd brought along were stunned, too.
Elsa slid her arms through the sleeves and wrapped herself in the garment.

"Are you okay?" he asked.
She nodded quietly.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." He said, lifting his arm.
She accepted his invitation and huddled under his arm, "Don't…be."
She must have been in shock, her pupils had shrunk and her chest barely moved. She was shivering, her grip on his shirt tightened and loosened every few seconds.
With Elsa's arms around his waist, they rode slowly on until sunset, where they set up camp.
Viktor, Nikolas, and Christian set out to hunt for food. They settled on six squirrels, two gray hares, and a fox. Nik said the full forest was a good sign because it showed nobody was hiding out there. Christian avoided conversation, and his brothers could tell he was shocked at what he did.

"Are you regretful?" Nik wondered.

"No."

"Just shocked?"

"Just shocked. By my actions, by the danger we put her in…I-"

"You think it's your fault." Viktor guessed, stiff.

"I know it's my fault. I shouldn't have allowed her to come."

"It was her choice."

"But her choice was to conquer, not to die. Not t-to get…raped!" Christian hissed.

"Don't beat yourself up about it," was Nik's advice. Christian muttered that it was terrible advice and they trudged back to the camp in silence.
Elsa was massaging her hands, curled up by the fire.
Christian was about to turn around to evade her, but Hans grabbed his shoulder and turned him so they were face to face.

"She wants to talk to you."
Hans loosened his grip on Christian's shoulder and they both gazed towards the Snow Queen, warming herself up by the flames.
Christian groaned quietly. He was fragile, almost like a glass. He could only be gripped so tightly until he shattered.

"Hi." was all he could say.

"Hey."
An awkward quietness hovered between them, making him sweat more heavily.

"Thank you."

"Don't than-"
Elsa's hand slid over his. The coolness was satisfying, as was she.
His head leaned towards her, ignoring the crackling fire, ignoring the presence of others around them, all that mattered was this moment. Christian's lips were centimeters away from hers, when she titled her head and gingerly pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Thank you."

He blinked, "You're welcome."

She giggled nervously before telling, "I'm going to go scrub off."

His brows scrunched together, "Wait, what? Where?"

"The lake. Right there." Her finger led his eyes to an indigo lake. Her heels clicked on the dried dirt ground as they rounded the lake, getting away from the others.

"By yourself?" He jogged to catch up.

Her nose raised in the air, "I'm perfectly capable of handling myself."

"They would kill me if they knew I left you alone."

"Then lie."

"Lie?" His voice heightened in disbelief.

"Yeah. Don't tell the truth." Elsa chuckled.

"I'm not going to lie." Christian crossed his arms and cocked his head.

"Look, do you care about me as a person or care about me as a piece of cargo you're all forced to carry?"

He took a deep breath and swiped a hand across his nose, "You know they don't think of you that way."

The platinum blonde stopped dead in her tracks, the lake only a couple of strides away, "I didn't ask how they thought of me, I asked you."
He bit his lip, looking past her, towards the rippling purple waters.

She blinked slowly, trying to get him to crack, "What do you think of me?"

A defeated look appeared on his face, guilty of the charges brought against him, "You know how I think of you."

"Then trust me to bathe by myself." Elsa inched closer.

Christian stepped forward, "I can't."

"Why not?"

"It's too dangerous."

"It's not that deep." Her eyebrow raised.

"It's night." Christian hissed.

"I'll be twenty feet away." The Queen's voice hardened.

"It's too dangerous." Christian looked away, trying not to focus too much energy on such a stupid argument. He hoped she wouldn't take this too seriously.

When his head turned back, she had already reached the lake. A string of giggles sounded from his left side.
"Elsa, no!"

"Turn around." She told him.
He groaned, defeated, and turned his back towards her.
He waited a couple of seconds, until he heard a splash.

He squinted, "Elsa?"

"I'm over here." He followed her voice, finally spotting her light head amid the darkness of the lake.

He chuckled of relief, "Is it cold?"

"A little bit. But it doesn't bother me."
He began to unbutton his long-sleeve shirt, and much to Elsa's horror, she let out an audible squeak.

"You wanted to bathe." He reminded her.

"By myself."
He could see her swimming farther away from him as he dismantled his trousers. The humid air felt good on his legs, for once. He had been cooped up for what seemed like years.
Christian shimmied off his underwear; being naked wasn't a foreign feeling to him. It wasn't uncomfortable, either.
His feet grazed the ground as he sprinted towards the purple, and inches before the lake began he sprang into the air. His hair touched the water first. First millimeters, then inches, and then feet of him were immersed in the water. It was over before he knew it.
His face bobbed over the purple, eyes slightly itching with murky water.

"Where are you?" He laughed.

She hollered back, "Nowhere!"
His arms flung out in front of him pedaling across the pond.

"Don't!"
He was getting closer, she was louder.

"Christian! No, don't!" She chuckled.

He grinned, "Marco."

"Polo." A quiet voice said.

"Marco."

"Polo."
His legs carried him closer to the voice, she was moving. But not fast enough.

"Marco!" He yelled. This meant she had to match him.

Silence passed. Before she replied in a booming voice, "Polo!"
A figure attacked him from behind.
It wasn't Elsa. His collar was choking him, he was looking into the eyes of a monstrous man. No…a giant. The giant smiled, baring a few black teeth. Christian balled his fist and threw a punch at his nose. It didn't do much, because the giant headbutted him and he went sailing backwards through the air.
Water clogged his eyes, and it took a couple of blinks to make out a white light, hurling itself at the giant. His ears ringed, and a migraine was headed his way. A warm river of blood flooded down his scalp, pooling in his mouth. He coughed and held a hand to his head, suddenly feeling dizzy.
A figure rushed to him, sending water over his chest in the shallow water. Cold hands pressed to his head, and an icy cap comforted his pain.
The figure left, and he lay there in confusion, eyebrows red, thick blood starting to form crusty layers. Another white light blurred his vision. His eyes adjusted, and Elsa stood there, battling the giant. She raised her fingers and sharp ice pellets formed in the air. With a thrust of her arm, they went forward, settling in the giants shoulders. She seized this opportunity to spring back to Christian. "Get up."
He took her hand. Leading him out the side of the lake, she lay him there and kissed his forehead. "Now stay."
He nodded stiffly.
He noticed she had attire on. Not just any attire, blue attire. Almost snow-like attire.

"You can't stop me from making some."
Her dress was made out of ice. Pure artistry. He took note of the exposed shoulders and slit up the right leg. The thin icy train.
She was backing up now, the enormous beast following her. He tried to yell but his lungs couldn't take in any air. Another white beam spread from Elsa's right foot, it traveled around the lake, freezing it completely.
He focused back on the beast, who had followed stupidly. His foot slipped out from under him a few feet ahead, but he regained his balance. Elsa kept backing up, luring him.
He fell for it. Literally. His foot slid to the side and he fell, an eruption cracking the ice. This was her chance, she only had so much time.
Her heels curled up, spring her forward. With a grunt, her arms shot up in the air, an ice crystal forming in her hand. Like a spear, it was forced into the beast's chest as she came down upon him. The beast roared and then went limp.
Christian shifted uncomfortably, he was still nude, and he suddenly felt exposed. But before he could do anything about it, he blacked out

"Queen Elsa!"

Prince Viktor's small figure waved his tiny arms in the distance.
"Shit." Elsa's breath froze in her throat. She adjusted her gown, hopped off the giant's chest, and hurried to Christian's side. Feet grazing the water to ice, she winced when she saw his naked body.
She didn't know if she was ready for that.

"Christian," she slapped his face, "Christian!"
Her hands went limp seeing his unresponsiveness.

"Elsa!" Viktor had run to her, he was now there beside her. She could see lump slide down his throat. His eyes drifted to his brother's body.

"He was hit. By whatever the hell that thing w-"

"A west forest troll." Hans appeared.

"He's not responding."

"I gathered that."

"Hans," Viktor warned.
She turned her attention back to Christian, whose condition hadn't changed. Her eyes accidentally drifted to his crotch, but ignored the details of it.

"A letter arrived for you."

"A letter?"

"We didn't open it. But it doesn't have an Arendellian seal."

Her eyes widened, "Rane."

"This arrived," Viktor handed Elsa a piece of folded parchment, "along with this."

The torn shirt Elsa had been wearing. She grabbed the black cloth out of Viktor's hands before anyone else could and hurled it in the fire. The flame exploded, causing Hans to jump.

"It was in what what left of the shirt pocket." Nikolas admitted sternly.
Hans eyes fell to Elsa's shaking hands. They fumbled to open the paper, where her eyes frowned.
At once she got it open, and Hans attempted to read her expression as her pupils hovered over the paper. She stood there, eyes rolling over it again and again and again. Her hand slowly came up to her mouth, and a muffled wail escaped.

"What? What does it say?" Grant asked.
She gently handed the paper towards him and turned around, headed for her tent.
Grant was going to go after her when Hans put a hand on his shoulder, immobilizing him.
Her mind raced, reading back the words to herself in her head.

"Dear Queen Elsa,
You're busy I see...
Taking in your enemy's brother on your knees?
I sent a guard,
You made him hard,
But your boyfriend killed him.
And now his chances look grim.
Sleep with one eye open,
And pray to Odin
That you'll be spared.
But if not,
Be prepared.
Give me all you've got.

Rane"

Elsa had woken up first, even though she'd only gotten two hours of sleep. Her dress had melted, and she'd fallen asleep under her covers. She walked around the lake, and stared at her reflection, where the dark circles only appeared darker.
She bathed, changing into a more conservative top and longer pants with black boots on her small feet.
Clutching the towel around her shoulders, she sneaked into Christian's dark green tent.
She realized that as she got closer, he was awake.
He'd nearly died last night and Elsa was so sick to her stomach that she couldn't even visit him. But that didn't matter now, because he was here and was awake.
He flat on his back, arms stretched out, looking like a starfish. Head wrapped in gauze, he smiled peacefully. His forehead had tensed up, forming worry lines. He looked older. More stressed.
She shuddered when she saw the tray of bloody gauze. Tightly squeezing her hands, she yawned.

"Morning." He croaked.
She jumped slightly at his hoarse voice. It sounded like a symphony of screeching violins.

"Shh. You sound terrible."

"Oh, thanks." He smiled weakly.

"Shut up," she pointed a finger at him, "I want to talk to you but I'll only do it if you be quiet."
He slowly covered his mouth with his hand and nodded rigidly.

She chuckled. "I just wanted to thank you. For what you did yesterday. That took a lot of guts, and I would have been ruined if it weren't for you."
After evading his presence to somehow try to convince herself this didn't happen and this wasn't happening, her eyes reached his.

"I'm in your debt, Christian."
Her lips pressed to his gently, and her hand made its way to the side of his cheek. She closed her eyes, leaning into the kiss. He finally responded, beginning to dance as her partner. She blinked, and caught a glimpse of Christian's closed eyes. He hummed lowly, the vibrations sending shivers as they traveled to her jaw. He pulled away gingerly, slowly, in a pant.

"I think that's the best thank you I've gotten."
She laughed, blushing.
His hand hung off the bed, and Elsa seized the opportunity to squeeze it.

"Get better." She said, releasing his hand and feet turning in the direction of the door.

"Wait," he squeaked.
She half-smiled, reading his mind. Another kiss.
She touched his lips to his again, hand curling up to brush his hair.
After they had pulled apart, she bit her lip to stop herself from sighing.

"Feel better." was all she said.
She quickly left completely, but not at all.