WAIT IS OVER! so so so sorry for making you wait I have to watch Frozen over and over again to get this chapter. Now, please enjoy! and thank u for your reviews and the favorites and follows that you give to this story.
English is not my first language. Thank you very much to infinitely-lost for editing some words and correcting mistakes.
Disclaimer: 'Frozen' & 'Rise of the Guardians' are not from my property.
This fic was inspired on the Disney song "Hellfire".
::·::
YOU BELONG WITH ME
Conceal, Don't feel; Put on a show…
Make one wrong move and everyone will know
Elsa was fitting her coronation dress. It was green and magenta, like the colors of Arendelle. Everything was almost ready; her coronation day will come soon. Every invitation was sent, the menú was selected, the decorations were hung up, and everyone was waiting for the doors to open and receive the visitors.
Everyone but Elsa.
It was night time when she snuck out of the palace and went to visit her parents' graves. She was using a black coat—not because she needed it, the cold didn't bother her— but rather because she didn't want to be recognized.
"Hello Mother and Father," she said, a bouquet of lilies in her trembling hands. "It's been long since the last time I came." She closed her eyes and clenched them tightly. "I'm about to become the queen." She sighed and finally opened her eyes once more. "I wish you were here to guide me. I need you and I'm afraid; I don't know if I can conceal my powers in front of so many people."
She stayed silent, just feeling the cool air blow her face. She leaned forward a bit to leave the bouquet of flowers in between their graves.
"I love you both. Goodbye."
She turned around and entered the palace once more.
∞·∞
Linus was mad. And that was an understatement.
Elsa's coronation day will be soon and, that same day, he had to check a military camp on Stavanger.
"You're the one who wanted to conquer Birkeland," said Markkus. "Care to remind me why?"
"It has mines full of gold and silver. Is that not enough of an explanation for you?"
"Well, why do we need them? We have mines of diamonds!" Markkus said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"I want power!" shouted Linus, his fists clenching in anger that was building up inside of him.
"Why?! You're the King of Tallak, Hasvik, and Stavanger, and who knows how many other lands that you've taken by force."
"I need more power," Linus said seriously, his voice growing dangerously quiet. "You know the reason."
"Please, tell me how conquering every kingdom that you set your eyes on is going to make Elsa love you, because I don't see how." Markkus was frustrated.
Linus ignored him. He noticed how Markkus tried his best to make people not fear him and he appreciated him for that; his friend hasn't lost the faith in him like everyone else, even if that wasn't important to Linus anymore. On the other hand, Pitch didn't stand him; always trying to bring back Linus' goodness. But he knew how much the king appreciates Markkus, so he just couldn't get rid of him, but he could part them for a moment.
"If you can't assist to the queen's coronation, I suggest you send someone else. Some one of your trust," Pitch said.
"You're right," Said Linus. "Markkus." The mentioned man bowed in front of Linus. "You'll attend Elsa's coronation."
"Your wish is my command, Milord."
"And I hope you'll bring me information about her and talk to her about how beneficial it'd be for Arendelle to join with Tallak."
'In other words, inform her about your intentions towards her', thought Markkus sarcastically.
"Of course, my King."
The meeting ended. Markkus started to prepare his luggage for the travel; he decided that Anderson, a young and inexperienced Duke from the former Hasvik, will accompany him. King Linus and Pitch started to get ready to part to Stavanger.
·
Duke Anderson was watching the sky while Markkus was watching him curiously. The weather was nice; it was warm and the air was fresh. Being in the sea, away from Tallak and Pitch's presence, gave both men a sense of freedom; they weren't the only ones— the ship crew was also enjoying this feeling.
"What's so interesting up there?" Markkus couldn't hold back his curiosity anymore.
"The sky is bright and clear," answered Anderson without taking his sight from the sky. "It's been a long time since I saw a sky like this in my home."
"You're right," Markkus agreed, looking to the sky.
For some odd reason since Linus started making war after war, the sky in Tallak and the other lands that were conquered by Linus' army became gray and always cloudy. The sun hardly shined; it was like the sky could feel the sadness of the people in Tallak and reflected it.
They entered to Arendelle's fjord. There were more ships arriving. People were milling about happily, adorning their homes while the children were playing with colorful ribbons. There was a man receiving the visitors.
"Welcome to Arendelle," they heard him say. "Watch your steps, please."
The town was so different from Tallak; the sky was bright, the weather was nice, and people seemed genuinely happy. It felt like they were looking at what used to be Tallak; like watching a ghost from the past. It was painful.
Anderson and Markkus were walking along the crowd. "I can't believe they're finally opening up the gates!" said a man in excitement. "And for a whole day! Faster, Percy!" added a woman while they hastened their pace.
"Wow. It looks like they can't wait to visit the palace and see the princesses," said Anderson.
"The gates have been closed for years and no one has ever seen the princesses in public; the only exception was when Princess Anna attended the late king and queen's funeral, and it wasn't a cause to celebrate," Markkus informed him.
"Why did they close the gates in first place?"
"I don't know, actually."
They entered the bridge that lead to the palace's gates and was adorned with Arendelle's official flags. Instead of just the crocus on the flag, there was the silhouette figure of the few moments before being crowned official regnant queen.
·
Elsa was in the library, practicing once again in front of her father's portrait. She was watching how people agglomerated in front of the gates, waiting for them to open.
"Don't let them in. Don't let them see. Be the good girl you always have to be." She wished that she could cancel everything and go back to her secure zone. She took off the gloves and held the candlestick and ornament. "Conceal, don't feel." She tried to concentrate, but it was useless. "Make one wrong move and everyone will know." She put back the items on the shelf and put her gloves back on.
'But it's only for today', she reassured herself. 'It's agony to wait.'
She was so nervous. She opened the library's doors and the maids were waiting for her orders.
"Tell the guards to open up—" She hesitated to pronounce the last words. "the gate!"
'Don't let them in. Don't let them see', she thought while headed to the balcony. 'Be the good girl you always have to be.' She opened the balcony doors to receive the visitors. She could see the people entering the courtyard and her sister running freely to the village square.
"Conceal. Don't feel. Don't let them know," she whispered to herself.
·
While people were entering to the palace's courtyard, there was one girl running outside it; that captured the visitor's attention. She was wearing a green summer dress and her hair was braided in pigtails with a single white streak that stood out from her strawberry blonde hair.
"For the first time in forever, I'm getting what I'm dreaming of—" Markkus and Anderson heard her sang when she passed beside them.
"Who was that girl?" asked Anderson, sincerely curious.
·
Everyone was sitting in the church chapel, waiting for the ceremony to begin. The bishop was ready, and, beside him, Princess Anna stood anxiously. Elsa walked down to the altar. The bishop received her with a small golden crown on his hands. Elsa bowed her head and he placed it at the top of her platinum blonde hair.
Markkus was paying attention to every move that the young queen made. He saw how she was about to take the scepter and orb, but the bishop whispered something, maybe to correct her, and she removed her gloves to take the items on the pillow. He noted that her hands trembled before taking them and he also took note of her facial expression when she faced the crowd; it was like she was trying to hold back something.
"Queen Elsa of Arendelle!" Proclaimed the bishop.
She hurried to place back the items on the pillow and instantly looked more relaxed, but still somewhat tense. She put on her gloves rapidly. Markkus noted how she seemed calmer with the gloves on.
"Queen Elsa of Arendelle," repeated the citizens of Arendelle and its visitors.
Nobody else noticed these details like he did. Without a doubt, there was something odd and off-putting about Queen Elsa of Arendelle.
·
Anderson was standing by the buffet table with a plate of canapés on his hand; he was waiting for Markkus while speaking with some of the dignitaries that came to the coronation. Anderson knew that one of Markkus's jobs was to get information. Also, he was curious to know why King Linus was so interested in Arendelle. He thought that maybe the King of Tallak wanted to appropriate Arendelle like he did with his land, but then he heard the rumors from the palace staff, especially from Lady Cecile; they whispered that Elsa of Arendelle was the reason why Linus of Tallak became such a heartless man.
The people were dancing happily when music stopped. Kai entered the ballroom.
"Queen Elsa of Arendelle," he announced. She entered, looking very regal, and stood in front of the throne. "Princess Anna of Arendelle." They waited until Anna came, running and almost tripping over the long hem of her dress.
She waved to the crowd awkwardly and Kai ushered her over closer to the queen. The crowd clapped to both girls and the music continued playing. The Arendelle royals started to chat a little awkwardly at the beginning, but everything seemed normal. Markkus approached Anderson, his sight never leaving the queen and princess. He was watching like a hawk.
"Do you want to know what I heard in palace back in Tallak?" Anderson wanted to know if those rumors were true.
"What is it?" Markkus didn't take his eyes off of the sisters.
"People in Tallak said that Linus became who he is because of Queen Elsa," Anderson said. "Is it true? Did King Linus despoil my folk from their lands because of her?" he asked venomously.
"That's not your business," Markkus glared at him angrily.
He set his eyes back to the sisters and watched how the Duke of Weaselton, or Weselton, whichever it was—he didn't care— was doing some kind of peculiar dance in front on the sisters and dragged the princess to the dance floor after being rejected by the queen. Markkus decided to wait and keep watching the queen before approaching her.
Princess Anna returned to her sister's side after the dance, and they shared a laugh, but then he saw how something the princess said upset the queen and caused her to turn her back to the young princess. She walked briskly away. Anna was about to fall trying to catch up, but a man caught her before she could hit the floor. They exchanged a few words and they proceeded to dance.
"Who is the man dancing with the Princess?" he asked Anderson.
"Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. He's the thirteenth on the line to the throne. Why?"
"There's something about him that brothers me."
Princess Anna and Prince Hans disappeared and Markkus thought it was time to speak to the queen. He lightly swatted Anderson on the arm.
"It's time," he whispered. He and Anderson walked towards the queen, who was greeting the visitors.
"Your Majestic," Anderson said, and both men bowed politely. "I'm Duke Anderson of Tallak." He almost bit his tongue when pronouncing the name of the country that stole everything from him. "And this is Lord Markkus, Right Hand of King Linus of Tallak."
"Nice to meet your acquaintance," said Elsa, a small smile on her magenta lips.
"Congratulations on your coronation," said Markkus. "My king is very sorry that he couldn't attend; he was excited when he received your invitation. Unfortunately, there was a subject that needed his immediate attention."
"There's no problem, really," replied Elsa, letting out a nervous chuckle.
"My king wished to propose that you two join forces and riches with Tallak. As you might know, Tallak has flourished into a splendid kingdom, and, with our help, Arendelle will rise up," said Markkus.
"Thank you, it's a kind offer, but Arendelle will remain how it already is." Elsa made sure to stay calm and regal.
"You don't have to make a decision right now, Your Majesty. Why don't you think about it?"
"I certainly will."
They bowed and retired. More people came to show their respect to the queen; the party continued as it should, and even Elsa started to really enjoy it. She forgot about her worries and fears, and had nice conversations with the visitors. Suddenly, Anna made her way through the crowd while holding hands with Hans.
"Oops! Pardon. Sorry. Can we just get around you there?" She said to a man who was blocking her way to Elsa. "Thank you." She said when he moved. "Oh, there she is. Elsa!"
Markkus continued his vigilance from distance, observing the scene that developed. Princess Anna introduced Prince Hans to Queen Elsa. They two seemed excited while telling her something that made her look confused and somewhat frustrated. Then, she said something that upset Anna; Elsa stayed regal while speaking with her sister and her companion, but then she looked hurt when Anna shot back an answer. She said something more to end the conversation and walked away. Prince Hans wanted to say something but, Elsa didn't let him.
"The party is over. Close the gates," she said to a guard, finality in her calculating voice.
"What? Elsa, no!" Anna went after her sister. "No, wait!" Anna grabbed Elsa's hand to stop her, but instead she pulled off the queen's glove.
"Give me back my glove!"
"No!"
"Anna, please! This is hardly appropriate!"
They exchanged a few words again, but it seemed the situation just got worse as the argument carried on. Anna was holding Elsa's glove to her chest while begging to her sister. Elsa was fighting the tears, unnoticed by those who were near her. She said something to Anna; now it was Anna who put on a hurtful face. Elsa continued walking towards the doors.
"What did I ever do to you?!" Everyone could hear Anna yell to her sister as silence fell upon the ballroom and the music stopped abruptly. They turned to see the sisters wondering what was happening.
"That's enough, Anna." Elsa tried to cut the scene before attracting even more unwanted attention.
"No." Anna didn't care about the scene they were making. "Why do you shut me out?!" She obviously needed answers. "Why do you shut the world out?!" And she will get them even if Elsa did not wish for her to answer. "What are you so afraid of?!"
"I said, enough!"
Elsa turned around to her sister while waving her ungloved hand. Magic was released and formed icicles that surrounded her protectively, all the while threatening everyone else. People gasped in horror and Anna looked in disbelief at her sister, who was terrified and pressing herself against the door.
"..Elsa?" Anna whispered slowly.
The Duke mentioned something about sorcery while protecting himself behind his men. Nobody seemed to be paying attention to him; everyone was staring at the queen and the barrier of ice she summoned. She seemed to be in a trance, but then snapped out of it and rushed outside the ballroom.
"I wasn't expecting that," Anderson said to Markkus. "And you?" he asked when he realized that Markkus didn't seem surprised or horrified like the other people in the room.
The Duke of Weselton ran after Queen Elsa, closely followed by his men; Princess Anna rushed to reach her sister, Prince Hans following behind her. After a few seconds of uncertainty, the citizens rushed outside the ballroom to watch the scene unfold.
Once they were alone, Markkus approached the ice Elsa created and touched one of the sharp icicles.
"Interesting."
"You don't seem surprised," Anderson said. "Did you know?"
"No, I didn't," he answered truthfully.
Markkus wasn't shocked like the others because it was not the first time he saw a person with unique abilities. He remembered Pitch Black and his way of dissolving into the shadows at his will and appear from any dark corner. He also recalled how he seemed to be able to look into the heart of any person and find his or her deepest fears and secrets.
'I wonder if Linus would still want her after knowing of this?' Markkus thought, passing his finger through the surface of the ice. He picked up the glove that Anna dropped on the floor.
·
When they stepped into the courtyard, it was snowing, the staircase was covered in ice with fine icicles, and one of the fountains was frozen into a grotesque form. The citizens were looking to the sky catching some snowflakes to verify if they were real. After all, it was the middle of summer. Anna and Hans reunited with the people.
The Duke of Weselton was rambling on with his speculations about how the queen cursed Arendelle and accused the Princess to be a sorcerer as well. By the time Markkus and Anderson got close to them, she was asking for her horse. The servant they identified as Kai brought her a green cloak to wrap her up and shield her from the cold, as well as her horse.
"I leave Prince Hans in charge!" Anna declared.
"Are you sure you can trust her?" Hans seemed concerned about her safety. "I don't want you getting hurt."
"She's my sister; she would never hurt me," assured Anna. She left to find her sister.
"If there's anything you need, Lord Markkus and I will be glad to help," Anderson offered to Hans and gestured his hand towards Markkus, but he wasn't there. "Excuse me," he apologized and proceeded to find him.
He was standing in front of the frozen fjord, looking on at the icy landscape. The ships were trapped in the ice left by Elsa when she ran away. He was preoccupied; if she's able to turn summer into winter, what horrors would she be capable of if she joined forces with Linus? How many wars could Linus make having her by his side?
"An evil king and a queen with dark, icy powers," he heard Anderson muse behind him. "They deserve each other."
Markkus turned around sharply and gave him an angry look. He knew deep down that Elsa wasn't evil. Also, it's true that Linus became an awful man, but Markkus will always defend him because he was his best friend and only family.
·
The snow was accumulating, the entire town was covered in ice, and the weather was getting colder by the minute. Prince Hans offered shelter inside the palace to the royals and the rest of the crew of every ship trapped were sheltered in the inns and homes of the citizens of Arendelle.
Markkus was roaming the halls of palace; he was standing in front of a portrait he knew all too well. It was the portrait he got forged for Linus, except this one was bigger and wasn't centered on her face; her dress and the chair where she sat could be fully seen. There was still the lingering sadness in her eyes that he recognized and remembered from passing by her portrait in Linus's room everyday.
He focused on the other portraits. There was one of the royal family together; Anna was a toddler, bundled up in her mother's arms, and Elsa was holding her father's hand, who seemed proud. In another one, Elsa and Anna were hugging each other. They seemed a bit older, but what really caught his attention was the happy expression on Elsa's face in both paintings. That expression wasn't present in the rest of the portraits where she was a teenager. In fact, it was only there in the painting of the members of the Royal Family together and of the princesses hugging.
The rest just showed the royal couple and Anna and Elsa throughout the years, but always separated, never together again. Anna seemed full of life while Elsa was always serious and sad. Then the pieces of the puzzle started to fit.
For some reason, King Maurice must have decided it would be better to hide Elsa's powers, so she was isolated from her family and the world. That should be the reason why he never allowed Linus to court her; he didn't want anybody to know about her daughter's ability. He had just wanted to keep everyone safe...but he knew there was something more underneath the surface of it all. After her parents' deaths, Elsa was free and could stop her isolation..but she didn't.
Why?
He tried to get some information from the servants, but, unlike Tallak's servants, they were more reserved and willing to keep the secrets of palace in closed doors. They kept their loyalty to Queen Elsa.
Maybe it wasn't King Maurice's idea, but Elsa's instead? He stopped thinking about it; it was not his job to understand the Queen of Arendelle, it was to get all the information he could about her back to Linus.
·
He went out to help Prince Hans distribute cloaks, capes, and blankets to the people. He saw Anderson shivering while handing a blanket to a child and two men arguing about a woodpile. Most of the citizens still milled about, waiting for the return of their queen. Little did they know that it wouldn't be soon.
The Duke of Weselton approached Hans to query why he was handing away tradeable goods and not hunting down 'the witch', as he called Queen Elsa. Markkus decided to ignore him; he felt sorry for Hans, who had to deal with the annoying man. Then, Princess Anna's horse arrived, running without her. It let out frantic whines, pushing Kai away when he tried to take him back to the stables. Hans calmed the horse down and gazed worriedly to the North Mountain. Everyone watched from afar, worried for both their queen and their princess.
"Princess Anna is in trouble," Hans announced to the crowd. "I need volunteers to go with me to find her!"
"We'll go," Markkus said, holding Anderson's arm up. The Duke of Weselton and his men, who looked ready to jump at the opportunity, also joined.
·
Hans and the search party arrived at an ice palace, presumably Elsa's. Anderson whistled when he saw the ice structure in front of him; it was detailed and flawless. Beautiful.
"Quite a home she's got here," he said to Markkus.
"We're here to find Princess Anna," said Hans to the party. "Be on guard, no harm is to come to the queen. Do you understand?"
The duke's men both exchange a malicious look that didn't go unnoticed by Markkus. When Hans came closer to the ice staircase the mass of snow near it, it turned into a monster.
"Go away," it groaned in a deep, monstrous voice.
It attacked Prince Hans and the rest of the men joined to fight it along with the prince; this just angered the snow creature even more, making it pull some icicles out from its back. Markkus saw Queen Elsa peeking out from the front doors. In that moment of distraction, the creature threw him down. Then he saw the duke's men climbing up the staircase. They were up to something, and he knew it wasn't something good. Fortunately, Hans was able to defeat the monster. Anderson helped him stand up and they all entered the palace, hoping it wasn't too late for the ice queen.
When they passed through the doors, he searched for the queen and the men; he found them on the top floor. One of the men was trapped on an ice wall suspended in the air by sharp icicles; another icicle was threateningly close to his neck. Emerging from Elsa's hand was a blue light that pushed a wall of ice and the other man to the wall. Elsa was about to kill him.
The first thing Markkus noted was how different Elsa looked from the rigid royal in the chapel to the wild woman defending herself.
"Queen Elsa!" called Hans. "Don't be the monster they fear you are," he said, trying to reason with her.
It worked, apparently, because Elsa snapped out of her rage and realized what she was about to do. She looked to Hans, frightened by her own actions, and before anyone could do or say anything, the man trapped on the wall managed to point towards her with his loaded crossbow. Luckily, Hans dashed over and redirected it to the ceiling, causing it to hit the ice chandelier. It fell down over to Elsa; she tried to run, but the collision was too quick. Hans went to check on her.
"She's unconscious," he said.
They covered her hands and secured them. The prince picked her up delicately in his arms and carried her to his horse. He sat down and placed her against his chest. The return to Arendelle was in silent. Once they arrived, the queen was put in the dungeon like a lowly criminal.
·
Markkus was looking at how Arendelle was getting buried in deep snow. Anderson was on the opposite side. 'Linus isn't going to like this', he thought. Linus's most important goal was to get Elsa, and now she was treated like a criminal in his own country. He was sure this wasn't in Linus's plans. However, he had to admit it was an interesting turn of events.
Just then, he spotted a man riding a reindeer on the bridge; he was carrying a woman that was received by the palace's staff. The man walked away slowly; it was obvious he was crestfallen and worried. Markkus rushed over to see who the mysterious woman was. Gerda was leading her to the room where Hans and the woman were reunited. She was Princess Anna, of course. She changed her clothing into something appropriate for the weather and most of her hair had white streaks that reminded him of Elsa's own hair.
"Hans, you have to kiss me," she said rushedly, an urge in her voice.
Markkus was watching from the open door, he was about to enter but…
"We'll give you two some privacy," Gerda said, leading everyone out.
Markkus returned to his room where Anderson waited him with an incredulous look. He ignored him and returned to his spot peeking on the window. Suddenly, the floor trembled as if there'd been some kind of explosion at the bottom of the palace. Then, Markkus saw a snow cloud rising and forming a dangerous storm.
"Now what?" complained Markkus.
"I knew it wasn't a good idea to bring her here," Anderson said, sighing.
It was useless to try to look through the window; the snow was blinding him.
"Markkus look!" Anderson pointed to the ceiling.
Ice was emerging from the corners and spreading to the walls and ceiling, large icicles growing from it. Markkus and Anderson backed up to the balcony doors. The ice and icicles kept surrounding them; there was no escape. They went out to the balcony. Now they were at the mercy of the storm.
It was getting harder to breathe; they coughed and wheezed, both falling to the balcony floor. Then it stopped abruptly. Markkus saw how the snowflakes were suspended in the air. He leaned over the balcony and saw Elsa on the frozen fjord; it looked like she was crying. Hans was near her; he drew his sword, ready to kill the queen, but Anna intercepted between his sword and her sister. Her hair was completely white and her clothes were covered in a thin sheet of ice. She was moving slowly.
He saw, with his very own eyes, how Anna turned into ice as the sword hit her hand. But instead of hurt her, the sword shattered and threw Hans back. Elsa gasped, opening her eyes. She saw what happened to Anna. She touched her sister's face and hugged her crying. Everything was silent.
The dignitaries felt sympathy for the queen's sorrow; for a moment, they didn't see her like a threat, but like an unfortunate girl. And then Anna started to thaw. Both sisters were gleeful and hugged. In everyone's surprise, Elsa raised her arms to the sky and the ice started to dissolve into snowflakes that were reunited in an enormous one above Elsa's head. Then she spread her arms and speared it towards the mountains. The eternal winter was over. All of Arendelle was overjoyed.
Now they just needed to resolve what to do with Hans. Anna took the first step, punching him right in his nose. Then she went back to hug Elsa. Finally, Anna was receiving the hug she longed for so long.
·
Markkus was genuinely glad for how things turned out for Elsa. He was sure she'd be a fair ruler. There was only thing that was bad about her transformation from the stoic girl in a portrait to a carefree woman; it was how much more attractive it'd make her in Linus's eyes. He knew things wouldn't end up well for her.
"I wanted to stay to see the show," Anderson said. "You know, I've never seen magic before, and it'd have been great to see the ice queen's powers doing something other than setting the kingdom in an eternal winter. Just saying."
The two chuckled and walked to their ship.
They were sailing back to Tallak. Markkus was laid out on his stateroom's bed. Anderson kept speaking about how much he wanted to see the display Queen Elsa offered to her people; he had heard that they were ice skating in the streets, the fountain's water frozen in a beautiful arc, snow falling lightly from the sky, and children were laughing and playing with their parents.
They were all truly happy.
∞·∞
Cecile was excited; Linus summoned her. He just arrived home from Stavanger and the first thing he wanted has to see her. According to Agnes, the maid, he wanted to talk with her in private. She rushed to dress properly before meeting him. She applied light make up and tied her hair up. If Markkus was here, he would be laughing how she tried to resemble the girl on the portrait hanging on her fiance's chambers. The first time she presented in front of Linus like this, she was also wearing a tight-necked dress and applied rice powders on her face to look paler. Markkus noted how she tried to look more like Elsa and made some jokes about it, but, of course, that makeover was unnoticed to Linus; he only had eyes for that Elsa...like he's spellbound.
She stopped wearing the rice powders and just wore a tight-necked outfit. Of course, she didn't like to look like another person that her fiance fancied, especially one that she considered her enemy. It felt like she fell too low and it embarrassed her to do it, but she was desperate to attract Linus's attention.
She knocked on the King's private office. She was nervous.
"Come in." She heard Linus' voice. She walked in.
"You requested my presence, my king?" She bowed and fixed the skirt of her dress.
"It's about our engagement." Linus fixed his eyes on her. "Now that Elsa is Queen, I don't need to maintain this farce."
Cecile was crushed.
"Farce?" she said, indignant. "Is our engagement just a farce to you? Because it's not! We are betrothed! Your father made it official, and if you truly respected him, you would follow through as he wished." She was upset and walked towards Linus, forgetting all etiquette protocol.
"I never agreed to marry you! And now that I am the king, if I want to break our engagement, I will." He stood up. "You know that I never loved you and that I never will. I was forced to accept you, now I don't need to."
"You can't do this to me!" she covered her face with her hands and started to cry. "I love you! What would people think of me?" Linus walked to the door. "No!" She grabbed his arm. "Tell me, What do I need to do for you to love me? And I will, I'll do anything you want."
Linus looked her with pity. For first time, he wasn't looking her with a cold glare and his eyes softened like they used to before he met Pitch.
"There's nothing you can do." He yanked her arm from his arm and opened the door. "You can continue to live inside palace." And after he said that, he left her alone.
Cecile fell to the floor; she screamed out the impotence she felt. She cried on the floor for a while, horrible, heart-wrenching sobs overtaking her body, and then she got up with a new found determination. She knew who was responsible for all this; he said her name, the reason why Linus could never love her back. She walked speedily to the King's chambers. She stormed inside and saw it.
In front of the bed, there hung the portrait of the person who has brought so much misery to her life since the day Linus meet her: Queen Elsa of Arendelle. She was serious with sadness impressed in her eyes, looking coldly through her paint. Cecile felt as if she was mocking her. She threw the crystal vase with blue lilacs and what seemed to be a golden medal —she didn't pay too much attention what it was— that were on the same table from what used to be Linus's old room to the floor. She stepped on the table and grabbed the portrait violently, ripping it off the iron nail it hung from.
Taking care that nobody would notice her, Cecile moved to the spare room. It was used to play music or just hanging around to rest and have some fun; it was equipped with the larger smokestack in the palace. Once she arrived, she set a fire and took the fire poker to make it bigger and hotter. When it was ready, she dropped the poker into the fire. She didn't notice how the hot flames were caressing the half of it. She picked up the portrait and looked it for last time.
"You have no idea how much I hate you," she said bitterly to the girl on the portrait, getting ready to throw it in carelessly, not thinking about the consequences it would bring upon her by Linus.
·
Linus was walking in the garden; Cecile's outburst left a bitter taste in his mouth. He wanted to forget the whole thing. After all, it wasn't his fault he never wanted Cecile as his bride. Since the beginning, he was always sincere when he told her that he didn't love her; if there was someone to blame, that would be his father; he excited her when he decided that they would get married, even though he was well aware that Linus was in love with someone else. Those were the thoughts that ran inside Linus's mind.
"King Linus." Pitch materialized in front of him.
Linus sometimes hated it when Pitch did that. At first it startled him, but he got used. It was a very useful ability to spy on others and get confidential information. But there were times when he wondered if Pitch spied on him as well. He never went deeper into that thought. After all, it was Pitch's unique abilities that have helped him obtain the upper hand.
"What is it?"
"You should go to the spare room; Lady Cecile is up to something not pleasant to you."
"Thank you, Pitch." Linus walked inside the palace.
"You better hurry up, Your Majestic," said Pitch.
Linus started running to the spare room. He knew Pitch well enough to know that when he was disrespectful, he had a good reason to be it. When he arrived to the spare room, the scene in front of him…
Cecile was in front of the fire; she was holding his dear portrait of Elsa over her head, ready to throw it to the fire.
"What are you doing?!" He shouted, anger flaring up inside of him.
Cecile gasped and saw Linus running towards her. He snatched the portrait from Cecile's hands and placed it on the floor carefully. Then, he turned abruptly around and grabbed Cecile by the arms, shaking her furiously.
"What were you trying to do?!" he asked furiously.
"It's her fault! I hate her!" She replied. "I just wanted to get rid of it, so you'll stop thinking about her!"
·
Pitch was passing through the empty halls of the palace; there was only silence, but then suddenly a scream filled the air. Everyone inside the place could hear it. Pitch smiled. It was like music to his ears. He laughed. He was right about the darkness that was growing inside Linus, it only needed a little help to let it entirely out. He opened his arms to feel how the current fear of Lady Cecile strengthened him.
·
"Do not dare to try something like this ever again." Linus said to her.
Cecile was curled up on the floor, sobbing. She couldn't believe what Linus did to her. He walked to the door with Elsa's portrait under his arm. Before entirely getting out the room, he dropped the fire poker; half of it was red-hot and smoking.
Agnes ran into him in the hall. She was about to ask him what happened to Lady Cecile but she saw the ferocity in his eyes and on his face and how the dark circles underneath his now almost black eyes were more accented.
Linus just ignored the elder maid and continued his way. Agnes entered the room and when she saw Cecile on the floor, she ran towards her. She held her in her arms.
"Lady Cecile, are you okay?" asked Agnes with concern.
"H-he's not Linus; T-that monster is not my Linus," she said between sobs. "She changed him. I hate her! I hate that unfitting queen!" She held tight to Agnes.
Agnes tried to reassure her, to tell her she was wrong, that the Queen of Arendelle had nothing to do with Linus's transformation. But something held her tongue; Linus changed slowly after meeting Queen Elsa, so maybe Lady Cecile was right, and the Queen of Arendelle was the cause of Linus's change and Tallak's unhappiness under his reign.
She feared Queen Elsa had turned King Linus into a tyrant.
·
King Linus was on his throne; he was bored. The invasion to Birkeland was going according to the plan; soon, he'd be governing over it and will have more power and riches to offer to Elsa.
"Lord Markkus has arrived," announced one servant.
"Let him in and leave us alone, " he ordered. His best friend entered. "So?" Linus was impatient, desperate to find out about Elsa's coronation.
"I'm sorry to tell you that I don't have the answer that you want."
"What?!" Linus stood up. "I sent you with the sole purpose to present Elsa a marriage proposal in my name!"
"I did, but Queen Elsa had other priorities in her mind in that moment." Markkus sighed. "It's a long story, you might want to sit down."
Markkus told him about everything he witnessed. Elsa's fear of holding the orb and specter with her bare hands, the revelation of her powers in the ball, the eternal winter she caused in the middle of summer, his theory about the real reason why he was rejected by King Maurice, and the happy ending of both sisters.
"Winter powers," Linus whispered.
"Yes, and very powerful."
"But how…?" Linus muttered, but then he remembered.
"Magic exists in this realm. You don't need to believe or posses a pure heart to see spirits like me. The magic that hides in every part of your world makes it possible. That's why I choose this realm to recover."
"Magic? I've never seen any form of magic here."
"There is. I wanted to capture some of it to make me stronger, but magic is capricious. It's a force of nature. It decides when or how it appears; like a magical flower born from a drop of sun, like an enchanted mirror owned by a evil witch, like creatures born from the nature and sometimes..."
"…it likes to posses humans and give them powers."
"Excuse me?" said Markkus, confused.
"Pitch told me about the magic that exists in this realm. He says it's a force of the nature with its own will. It looks like it chose Elsa to be its host, that must be the reason why she has her powers."
"Does it change what you feel for her?"
"Of course not." He grinned. Markkus sighed.
"I brought you a souvenir." He took out a blue glove from his jacket and handed it to Linus. "It was Elsa's."
Linus accepted it gladly. Something new to add to his collection.
Well, now they know.
::·::
NEXT CHAPTER:
Linus is finally reunited with Elsa and JACK IS COMING!
it's not my intention to make the chapters so long but I wanted to get first part finish ASAP to bring Jack's big entry, well now I'll watch ROTG like 3 times or 4. Again thank you to infinitely-lost for your help.
* The lyrics from the beginning and end are taken from the songs "For the first time in forever" and "Let it go" Frozen Soundtrack. But you already knew that (n.o)