A/N: Sorry for the long wait between updates; I seem to have put a bit too much on my plate in terms of my stories. It doesn't help that I hit writers block at the worst times possible.

I'll sit down to write and draw a complete blank, while at work when I can't even jot down my ideas I'll hit a goldmine of a brainstorm! It's not fair! *Flails like a small child*

Bah, I'll get over it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Ice and Dragons

Chapter 5: Dragon's Promise

"I hate waiting."

Kristoff's face developed quite a tic, his eyebrow almost quivering. "Mathias, dragon or no- say that again, and I'll toss you into the gorge."

He had a point; I had been repeating myself for the last few minutes. I was very antsy; I could hear vague muffled voices through the ice, but not what was said. It was making me nervous; I had to do something. Making up my mind, I stand and push open the door, forgetting my Halfling form for the moment. As the door swings open, I spot Anna heading up a grand staircase in the back, speaking to Elsa. I was going to stop to listen, but I spy Elsa on the stairs just as she spots me.

The shock and fear on her face is visible, and breaks my heart; I hadn't meant to scare her. What's worse, the emotional effect on her powers is even more visible than her expression. A blast of icy wind and snow erupts from her as she bolts up the stairs, unknowingly blasting Anna over the banister.

Anna's panicked yell pulls me from my depressed stupor and I launch myself forward, beating my wings to add even more speed to my dash. I reach the base of the staircase in a flash, bracing my legs and jumping. I meet Anna's fall halfway, grabbing her bridal-style and alighting on the stairs with only a bit of a jolt. Anna's wild eyed expression relaxes a bit as I set her on her feet. As soon as she regains her footing, she tries to head up the staircase again, but I put out my arm and stop her. Her anger is palpable, and in retrospect I probably deserved the slap.

Reeling and holding my face- out of shock only, mind you- I stare at a wincing Anna, shaking her hand to bring feeling back into it after slapping something the hardness of granite I take advantage of her silence to explain.

"Anna, I don't mean to stop you from helping your sister, but after that reaction, I think I might need to speak to her alone, explain what I am. Otherwise, her powers might do worse than knock you off a three-story staircase. Please, stay downstairs with Kristoff- If Elsa won't listen to me, I'll come down and inscribe some magic-proofing runes on your cloak so you can talk to her safely, OK?"

Already dimmed a bit from the pain of hitting me and the general sadness towards her sister's reaction, Anna just gives me a frustrated nod and stomps down the staircase, anger and resentment quite evident in her posture.

Putting her little hissy-fit out of my mind, I head up the stairs while pulling my normal form on, for whatever good that'll do. The damage of breaking her trust was done, but I could possibly avoid another outburst like the last by approaching in a more familiar form.

Climbing the stairs, I'm not surprised to find the door at the top closed and seemingly locked, as it wouldn't open with a push like the others. Squashing my frustration, I simply knock on the door. Confusingly enough, the door opens right afterwards, revealing my first good look at the new Elsa.

She was turned away from the door, and it was a good thing too- I wouldn't have had enough time to control my face otherwise. Her transformation was stunning! Before, in her coronation dress, she was stunning.

In this new dress, this sparkling gown of ice and light coupled with her artfully messy French braid? My jaw dropped and I had to suppress a very strong blush.

I succeeded in closing my mouth as she started talking. I failed spectacularly at hiding my blush.

"Anna, I know you mean well, but please leave me- It's you!"

Her sudden tone change caught me off guard, the fear and hatred filling those words bringing a heavy pain to my chest. Before I could make another sound, I found myself blasted into the room by an eruption of icicles from behind me, only my instinctive partial transformation saving me again. Before I could pick myself up off the floor, I found I was in a position not far from the one I had been in when I first met Elsa.

I was frozen, encased in a solid prison of ice. I could only turn my neck and only a bit at that; this was due to the razor-sharp spines of ice spiking out of my prison towards my face. Elsa walked into my vision, anger evident in her tense posture and clenched hands. The ice making up this floor of the castle seemed to be changing as well; I could spot angry red creeping up the walls. Clearing that from my mind, I focused on Elsa as she began her rant.

"I trusted you! I thought you really meant to help me! You are the worst sort of manipulator, the vilest liar in the world! What are you, a demon sent to kill me? Tell me! WHY DID YOU COME HERE WITH MY SISTER!? WHY DID YOU LIE TO ME?!"

I was silent; I really hadn't had a clue that I had such a negative impression on her. Hanging my head in shame, ignoring the burning slices this opened up on my jaw from the prison, I can't help but let a small, despairing sound escape out of me before I spoke.

Bringing my head up and meeting her beautiful, but hard and angry blue eyes with my vivid green, I speak.

"Elsa, I have not lied to you. Every word I have spoken to you has been the truth. The only thing I did not tell you was exactly what I was. I am no demon; they can't take human form, and the smell of sulfur would give it away anyway. No, Elsa, I am something more than a demon."

At this point, my hurt and sadness had formed into a black pit in my stomach, and the void in my heart and mind seemed to have only grown wider. My depression causing me to throw caution to the wind, I pull on my life-force and begin my change, shattering my icy prison.

Slowly I stand, my Halfling form just big enough to burst the ice surrounding me, my wings bursting free, followed by my tail. Elsa watched, terrified, as I continued to grow, to change, shedding my human form and growing into my full draconic glory. The palace couldn't hold me, the roof shattering outwards with a small, effortless flex of my wings. Soon, I was towering over a trembling, awe-struck and terror-filled Elsa.

Bringing my head down to her level, I speak even as she takes a step back from me, trying futilely to avoid me.

"Elsa, looking on my true form now, would you have accepted me if I told you then? I think not; you would have called the guards or frozen me like you have twice now, maybe worse. I know you are afraid of me; I can not only see it in your gaze but smell it in the air. Let me say this, Snow Queen Elsa. If I meant you harm, it would have been swift and certain. I will say this only once; I have not, and WILL NOT lie to you or your sister; I have only the intention of helping you and your kingdom. If, however, you wish to not see me again…"

Closing my eyes, I pull back my power, changing into my Halfling form again, this time with a difference; hanging at my waist was my most precious possession- forged by my mother, enchanted by my father, and bonded to me by my very soul and magic. A long, incredibly beautiful sword was buckled there, and as I finished speaking, I drew it and held it out to a confused Elsa. The gleaming blade was the precise color of my scales, its edge sharper and stronger than any other in existence.

"Elsa, if I truly offend and scare you, then I ask only one favor, the same I asked of your father the day I met him, your mother, and Anna along with yourself."

Taking one last step forwards, I press the hilt into Elsa's hand, closing her fingers around it as I stood back and kneeled. Her shock at my actions froze the gale around us into stillness, just like in the library.

"If you truly cannot accept one like me, even though I offer no harm, then end my life cleanly- let me die swiftly, without the tortures the dragon-hunters will inflict upon me."

I stayed there, holding my position, expecting the sharp bite of the blade on my neck at any moment, my dark thoughts welcoming it. The silence stretched out for minutes, the tension in the air stretching the minutes into years. Finally, I raise my head to see Elsa staring at me with a mixture of emotions across her face.

Meeting my gaze, she walks forward, gripping the sword as she does. I smile bitterly; this was it. As she raises the sword, I close my eyes and wait to see my parents.

Before she could reach me, I hear a commotion below- men bellowing with Anna yelling back. I couldn't hear Kristoff, and this concerned me. Looking up, I saw Elsa had noticed too, although she had seen the men through the translucent floor, not heard them like me. Standing abruptly, I gently but firmly take my sword back, sheathing it with the ease of long practice before addressing her.

"Well, Queen Elsa, I think that someone down there might need my help before we finish this… discussion. I'll be back. That is a promise."

With that, I go for shock value towards the men I hear below. I could tell they had hostile intentions; the outlines of their drawn swords and crossbows were evident, and Anna's suddenly cut-off shrieks of rage were accompanied by the silhouette of a man cramming something into her mouth as her hands were bound.

My anger flared; she wasn't a threat, there was no reason to do that! Now thoroughly angry, I pull out my power and begin by transforming back into my full-human form whilst adding hardened leather armor to my form, not that I really needed it. Better to be safe than sorry, though. Now attired for a fight, I reach down, my finger lighting up with my magics as I trace a complicated cluster of runes onto the icy floor below me. Finishing, I push my magic into the array and brace myself for a fight. The cluster activates, and the temporary intangibility ward pops into existence, letting me drop through the floor without a sound, the ice returning to reality behind me with an almost inaudible *pop*.

My descent was rapid- I was in free-fall, after all. At two stories above the ground level, I let out a yell of anger that was just a bit too loud and feral to be considered truly human.

I hit the icy floor with a resounding crash, the impact channeled into a small shockwave via my magic that tossed the men around me away. Standing and drawing my sword, I place myself in front of a terrorized-looking Anna. As I do, I notice an unconscious Kristoff just behind her, blood leaking from a small gash on his temple. Realizing that he had tried to protect Anna- and they attacked him for it- my anger surges again and I can feel bloodlust creeping up on me, my eyes almost changing to slits against my will.

The men, now recovered from my entrance were staring me down, looks of anger and confusion alongside fear plastered across their faces in unequal measures. I stood my ground, holding my sword in a two-handed guard position, ready to intercept any attacks. I was ready for any possible physical assault, but when I heard Hans speak from behind the men…

"Well! If it isn't Mathias, the fool who ran off into the wilderness alongside the princess. How amusing; you protect the Queen and Princess even though they have done nothing for you. I don't care if your magic is powerful; the bow-men here will fill you full of holes before you finish scribbling, so don't even try. Instead, I have an offer for you."

At this, he walks forwards, the crowd of guards parting before him with begrudging glances; Heh, even his own men don't like him! Striding forwards, arrogance plastered across his side-burn adorned mug, he resumes talking as he comes face to face with me.

"Instead of being turned into an unfortunate hedgehog lookalike, I would offer you a place in my personal guard! I could use a man of your talents. All you have to do is kill that wench behind you."

Anna's sobs stop cold here, and I can't help but look over my shoulder at her. Her heartbroken expression is unmistakable. She was frozen in place, the revelation of Hans' personality too much for her to bear at the moment. The grief and shock emanating from her is palpable, and I can feel her hurt in my soul.

Like tossing a torch into a dry sawmill, my barely contained anger explodes. I see red; I know my eyes have changed to slits, even as I turn fully towards her, raising my sword above my head. Anna's betrayed expression changes into one of surprise as I bring the sword down…

Severing her bindings.

I turn, using the momentum of the swing to bring me full circle. I see Hans' fake look of disappointment fade into shock, then anger and pure, unadulterated fear as he sees my eyes.

"DRAGON!"

His shout is all the distraction I need; throwing caution to the wind, I pull my Halfling form onto myself with no effort, not seeing the changes from my normal visage. My scales were thicker; more pronounced, and had a red tint to them as well. My horns were larger, more angular and far more deadly looking. Dashing forwards, I land in the middle of the amassed men, extending my wings out as I landed. This sent the three men closest to me flying, bowling others over as they rolled into the walls. One guard slashed at me with his sword, but I caught it almost contemptuously on my bare forearm, my scales shattering the steel like glass. As he recoiled, staring at the jagged hilt in shock, I bat him away with a simple backhand, the man impacting the wall hard enough to cause cracks to form. The men remaining were all hesitating, unwilling to attack me. I look at them, and summoning the barest bit of dragon fire I shout at them- the flames and magic lending an otherworldly force and terror to the words.

"LEAVE NOW!"

All but the four I knocked out turn around and sprint away out the front door. I look around, but I come up three people short; Hans and two of the men were missing.

I look up and see them surrounding Elsa, her powers keeping them at bay for now. Cursing to myself, I lament not being able to give her pointers to the use of her powers in combat. I bend over and help a still shocked Anna up.

"Anna, I have to help Elsa. See if you can rouse Kristoff and then leave, if you can. Head to the Troll enclave; Kristoff will know where that is."

I turn to leave, heading towards the stairs that will take me back up to Elsa. Before I get further away than a single step, Anna grabs my shoulder, making me pause. Turning to look at her, I'm surprised to see tears glistening in her eyes.

"Hey, dragon-man. Be careful, alright? We don't need you dying on us."

Giving her a small smile, I reply before turning to ascend the stairs.

"That depends on Elsa."