Chapter 5

Elsa

Laughter. She was surrounded by it. There were smiles and endless laughing and just plain happiness. Elsa couldn't remember the last time she had laughed as hard as some of the people did as they switched partners, dancing and twirling. She watched as young men and women steal kisses, hugs, let their hands linger a little longer on their partner's waist… it was enough to make Elsa want to run away. She didn't want to watch what she couldn't have.

But it was Anna who made her stay still, sitting on her throne. She kept still, her gloved hands hidden beneath her cloak. There wouldn't be any chance of her losing control if she just kept steady. Conceal it, don't feel it.

"Princess Rapunzel and Prince Eugene of Corona, your majesty," Kai announced, waving the two people up front.

Elsa lightly bobbed her head in greeting. "Welcome to Arendelle."

"Thank you for having us," Rapunzel said, flicking a strand of short brown hair behind her ear. She was dressed in a light purple gown, covered in sun embroidery.

"I've never traveled this far."

"You've never traveled very far at all, Goldie," Eugene grinned down at her, placing a loving hand on her back.

Ah, yes. Elsa had heard of the princess being found after eighteen years. It was a strong source of gossip, even throughout Arendelle's small circle of people inside the castle. She remembered Duke Goran had volunteered to go to their celebration of her return and to strengthen their alliance with the country. As Regent, he had kept Elsa in the loop so she would be ready as she stepped up as queen.

The details of Rapunzel's disappearance, however, was obscure. "I hear you have quite the story."

"It's a story I'll be happy to tell," Eugene said, his Norwegian broken but understandable. He stroked his small beard on his chin, looking thoughtful. "It's a story of how I died…"

"…and we'd be here all night if we told you the whole thing," Rapunzel said, giving her husband a mocking glare. "We'd be happy to tell it to you sometime in the future."

Ah, yes. Duke Goran had advised her on this. Now that they had foreign nobles in their land, it was best to invite them for dinner and into their home. It was to make them feel welcome, and to strengthen their alliance. It was something Elsa was uncomfortable with, yet as queen, there was a responsibility she couldn't ignore. "I…" she bit her lip. She would need a day to herself to recover from all this interaction. Her patience was growing thin, and her concentration was just about lost. "I would be honored if we could dine, sometime, later. Kai, my steward, will be in touch with you."

Rapunzel smiled. "We will be here for a few more weeks, so we have all the time in the world. I look forward for our time together, queen Elsa." She curtseyed and took Eugene by the hand, the two of them heading deeper into the crowd.

Elsa leaned back in her chair, her anxiety increasing tenfold. Her social skills were all but gone and she had to make do with what she had. Of course, as she grew up, Gerda had tried to improve her social skills by giving her speeches to memorize and speak aloud, but when confronted with real live people to talk to, it was altogether different. She lacked the certain charisma of her father who she desperately missed in that moment.

The crowd halted with the music, clapping at the end of the dance. Her conversation with Rapunzel and Eugene had made her lose track of Anna, who was nowhere to be found. Neither was that man who wore a white suit and had sideburns like she'd never seen before. She had watched the two interact from afar, dancing and laughing like they were old friends.

The thought of Anna not being in the room made her uncomfortable, as well as the thought of Anna interacting with other people. It wasn't a bad thing, but it meant Anna would be all the more convinced that Arendelle had to stay open. Worse, she could see Duke Goran plotting in his head as he observed the crowd from the side. Any man of rank and status would be a marriageable option for Anna, and that would mean for Anna to leave.

Elsa didn't like that. Not one bit.

Kai was about to introduce someone else when Anna and the sideburn man walked into the room, holding hands and heading to the dance floor. Elsa watched with disdain, then let Kai introduce another duke of some small country. She tried to be as abrupt as she could, but the overstuffed, bothersome man was being impudent that she dine with him. Tomorrow, as if she didn't have anything else to do.

She needed fresh air. "Kai, that will be all for me tonight. I'm headed to the gardens."

"But, queen Elsa, the party-"

"It can go on without me." Elsa moved as quick as she could, the heels of her new shoes clicking loudly against the stone. Her cloak was heavy and bothersome and she was itching to let her hair down.

"Elsa!" her sister called out behind her. "Are you coming back?"

"Not tonight." Elsa kept walking. "Enjoy the party without me, Anna."

"But it's not even halfway through yet, there's still so much more to enjoy…"

Elsa halted, taking deep breaths to calm herself. She could feel her magic clawing against her skin to escape and she was putting her sister at risk just by standing there. "Let me be, sister. It's looking as if you'll have your wish of Arendelle's gates being open. So I ask that you leave me be, tonight. I've had enough."

At that moment the sideburn man walked in, a question on his face. "Anna, there you are."

"Hans." Anna's eyes flicked between him and her sister, and she sighed. "Whenever you're ready to join me, Elsa, I'll be here. I've always been there." She turned away, face shadowed. "Remember that."

Elsa wished she could have responded to that but she couldn't hold it any longer. She turned and ran, taking deep breaths. The gloves weren't helping. She ran as fast as she could, her breath visible in the air before her. She cursed; she was cooling the air around her, and that was never good.

She avoided the gardens, thinking someone might have escaped from the party from there. There couldn't be any witnesses. None. Her room was on the other side of the castle; in her haste she had run in the complete opposite direction. The kitchen was full of the servants, the halls busy… so she aimed for the stables where there shouldn't be anyone but horses. She shoved open the oak door to the outside and stumbled towards the stables, ice forming on the ground as she walked.

Ice exploded around her as she entered the stables, the horses neighing at the sudden blast of wind and snow. She didn't know how she could explain this to someone, but that was a tale for another day. The ice would melt during the night as it was a warm night. She only prayed the stable master was away.

She found an empty stall and shot in it, sucking in deep breaths. She hadn't realized before but she was having trouble breathing. Dots danced in her face as she gasped for breath, stumbling to the closest batch of hay and falling down on top of it. She sat and let the snow fall for awhile, trying to steady her breath.

Minutes passed before she had her breath under control again, and the surrounding snow and ice had all but stopped. Her heart fell to a steady pace, her chest no longer hurting. Everything was covered in a light layer of frost and snow, and she watched through half closed lids as the ice began to melt. Her breath was no longer visible in the air which was a sign her powers had calmed down a little.

Somebody whistled. She shot up, seeing somebody leaning against the stall, his arms crossed on the top of the stall door. He was a man around her age, stocky in nature, with messy blond hair and dressed in simple clothing.

"Give me magic like that and I'd be the best one at my job," he said, awe apparent in his voice.

The words cut into Elsa like a knife. Somebody saw. Dots began to dance in her vision again and she almost keeled over, feeling her magic rise up again.

"Wow, steady now." The man opened the stall door and was by her side in a second.

Elsa waved him away fiercely, unbidden small darts of ice shooting from her fingertips. They shot towards the man and entered his right shoulder, sending him stumbling back.

She was done for. The man hadn't fallen over, just stood there with a painful expression on his face as he gazed at the darts in his shoulder. His pale shirt began to turn red as blood seeped through.

"I'm so sorry," Elsa suddenly sobbed, cowering away against the haystack. Her knees gave out and she crumpled to the ground, her energy all but spent. I'm ruined, Anna is ruined, Arendelle is ruined.

"It's just a scratch," the man huffed, absently digging out the pieces of ice which were quickly melting. "Nothing that can't be patched up."

Elsa sniffled a sob.

His blue eyes turned towards her. "Honestly, I'm more worried about you." He kept his distance but kneeled so he was eye level with her. "I've heard of magic but I've never seen it. Not like this. And as you're dressed the way you are, I'd say you were royalty."

She nodded once, wiping away a tear. "I'm the queen."

The man whistled for a second time.

"And this is my secret you've just witnessed. My curse. I hurt people. I hurt you."

"It was a mistake."

"This whole night was a mistake. I should have kept Arendelle closed. This would have never happened."

"Arendelle's open, which means more business, especially for folk like me. Everyone needs ice, but when there's a surplus of people, well… that's a surplus for me."

Elsa looked away, then back to his bleeding shoulder. "You should get that wrapped up."

"I'll worry about that later. For now, we need to get you back… to the castle." He stood up, not bothering to offer her a hand. He knew to keep his distance now.

Her breathing and knees under control, Elsa did the same. She walked past him to the stable door, looking back at him with a frown. "I'm sorry, for what I did. But you must understand. No one must know. No one must ever know, or else I'll hurt someone else. I can't control this. That is why it must be a secret."

"The only one I'll tell is my reindeer," he said, shrugging. "Otherwise your secret is safe with me."

"Thank you…" she trailed off.

"It's Kristoff."

"Kristoff." She shot off, fists clenched to her sides. Her head felt a bit lighter and she could think straighter. She made her way easily to her room, navigating the long corridors with ease. She could hear the music as it echoed down the halls, but she had had enough. The night was over, and she was safe. Anna was safe. Arendelle was safe.

And a man named Kristoff hadn't even been bothered by her abilities. It confused her, but she wouldn't question it any more than she needed to. She was queen and she had to continue with her responsibilities.

She couldn't deny she was curious to learn more about Kristoff, if only to learn what he was doing in the royal stables. Not just anyone was allowed in that area.

It was a story for another night, and she wanted to do nothing more than to crawl into her bed, which is exactly what she did once she entered her room.