"What's the meaning of this!?"

Tanya tried thrashing around to loosen the guard's tight grip on her wrists tight. It was no use. Though she could easily take them out in only a second, she refused to use her powers to physically hurt them. Her powers had created enough turmoil out of her reckless anger. The result would be a bunch of wounded soldiers sprawled around the throne room, and she would officially be considered a traitor to Aldyn. It did not disregard the fact that Tanya was furious, but she had to accept reality of the situation, in order to collect answers. Even if she chose to use her powers, there was no telling if she could contain the rampage inside of her. It burned wild through her chest, and she started to sweat. The sensation was similarly related to heartburn, but much severer by leagues and bounds. Her temperature rose exponentially, both physically and emotionally.

Keeping a stoic presence in front of her, was none other than her brother Prince Anton. Sitting on the royal throne where their father should be, he held up his right hand.

"That's enough," he ordered the guards in a stern voice, sounding much unlike himself. "Release her."

Immediately, the guards let go and backed off. Two soldiers blocked the entrance, crossing their spears in an "X," while the rest swarmed the room.

Tanya interrogated, "Anton, what's going on? Why are there soldiers patrolling every single room and hallway in the castle? Where are Mom and Dad, and why did you seize me like this!?" These were all questions Tanya was not planned to ask today.

The Prince of Aldyn was silent, and pretended to completely ignore her questions. Whispering something to the well-dressed man next to him, they paused and took a glance at the princess, mirroring each other.

"Answer me!"

Shooting her an annoyed expression she recognized growing up, his eyebrows and forehead creased.

"Actually, you should be the one explaining, what are you doing back here? Were you not sent to Arendelle, to Queen Elsa?"

"Stop avoiding my questions, you will answer me now!" Tanya said forcefully. Even though she doubted it, perhaps the fire princess could use her tone of voice as means of intimidation.

"You've always been a bit short tempered." The prince sighed, in an animated way. Who was this foreign man, standing in her brother's place? Certainly her brother was not this contemptuous, though she was having serious misgivings.

"I'm in a good mood, so I'll answer your questions. While you have been obviously unaware, off in your own world, Aldyn has experienced many serious attacks from our neighboring kingdom."

"You mean Frelliya? The Kingdom of Frelliya we've established an alliance with for centuries?" They were the only kingdom by Aldyn that could be considered "neighboring."

Frelliya, was a small kingdom to the southwest of Aldyn, bordering the Lamov Sea. They were Aldyn's primary source of trade, and the bond between them remained peaceful for as far back as their history went. Their relationship was something to be proud of

"What other monarchy do you think I'm suggesting?" Anton said sarcastically. "Their attempts to raid the border towns were small at first. Initially we believed it was the work of an organized gang of brigands, until our officers investigated and learned it was in fact Frelliyan soldiers. Roughly the same time our parents made plans to send you to Arendelle, the Frelliyan soldiers began infiltrating our country with spies. This was their plan to allow their troops to sneak across our borders without detection. We allowed to keep this information hushed, until small villages became their targets. When you were sent off with the king and queen to Arendelle, they left me in control to fill their absence."

"That still doesn't answer anything," she said irritated. Anton was formulating some concealed plan, she could sense that much from analyzing his gestures. Although, it had been a while since the last time her brother acted like a normal person. He was beating around the bush.

"I wasn't finished speaking, as you so abruptly interrupted. To answer your inquiry of our parent's whereabouts, I am unsure myself. They never returned to the castle, and sent their last sealed letter from Arendelle weeks ago. It is unusual for them to be absent, without any method of communication. Tomorrow, I will walk down this hallway to announce their official passing, and my coronation as king."

Shocked, Tanya could not believe the words that went through her ears. Was Anton not going to extend his patience to hear from their parents? There was an unsettling tone of pride in his voice. He did not appear remorseful in the way he boasted about his new self-given status.

"The number of soldiers posted has increased, because we believe Frelliyan spies have infiltrated even this castle. We are expecting their army to advance to the capital, very soon. Even though they don't stand any chance, we will take no chances in becoming subject to those scum. But right now we have a more immediate, complex problem."

The princess cleared her throat, and crossed her arms as best she could with cuffs on. "And what might that be?" Tanya raised one eyebrow.

"I'm surprised you haven't guessed by now." Her brother said with complete false amazement. "I thought you would have at least questioned why you were sent away in the first place. You're increasingly uncontrollable powers to create fire… The firebird's curse on the family… I believe you know exactly what I'm speaking of, but don't want to admit it."

"No, I have no idea what you're talking about. It can't be me."

"But it is. The curse is very real, Aldyn's top researchers who monitored your powers agree as well. Combine that information with the several detailed records passed down our family line, and you see for yourself it's the truth. And it for certain is alive in you."

"The curse…" Deep down, Tanya already knew all this, despite all her attempts to deny it otherwise. She and her powers were to be condemned as something more destructive than merely human. Her eyes burned.

"No, the Firebird itself. You see, when our ancestor killed the flaming fiend, it set a curse of destruction on our line. Our line has now become all of Aldyn. The Firebird was unable to reincarnate, since it did not die its natural death. Once it does so, it turns to ashes before being born again and rising out of its grave. The curse it gave, to destroy our lineage, was its way of continuing its reincarnation cycle. Except its rise out of the ashes took much longer that I thought."

"You're lying!" The ash haired girl pointed as far as she could. "I am your sister, not some beast! I am Tanya, Princess of Aldyn!" The guards pulled on the chains holding her, and the princess snapped back.

"You are incorrect once again, but only partially. You may be at this moment Tanya of Aldyn. But, as you may have noticed, your powers are becoming more uncontrollable as each day passes. Soon you'll find you can no longer control them, and the Firebird will consume you with them. Finally you will accept that within you, there is another voice, stronger, and demanding destruction which you can't control. A wrath so commanding and bent on destroying Aldyn altogether."

"I…I…" Tanya stuttered as her whole body fell ablaze. She started to shake, and her hands caught fire, not by her own doing. The guards raised their spears as they gave her distance, and fixed their eyes on her, ready to strike and retaliate towards any spontaneous action.

"You see, you are already feeling it my dear sister. This is why our parents sent you to Arendelle, to stay with their Queen Elsa. Her strong powers, might have been able to counteract your own, if you had simply stayed. But I see you were incapable of doing even that. You have officially become a danger to the whole kingdom. There is no telling how the Firebird plans on abolishing Aldyn, but I can tell just by looking at your condition, it plans to do so during this unfortunate time with Frelliya."

Small fires lit up all over Tanya's body, magically escaping the barrier of skin in tiny patches. She could not help nor contain it. They burned tiny holes in her clothes without burning off her skin, though it hurt greatly and left her out of breath. What would Anton do to her?

"Guards, take her to the deepest part of the dungeon. She must not be allowed to escape," Anton signaled for his elite group of guards to cautiously drive her away.

Tanya was in too much hurt to resist. It felt as if her insides had caught on fire, and could not be extinguished. It burned right in her soul. It was agony. It was adrenaline. It was a pure and raw energy she had never felt before, and it was furious to get out. Whatever it was, it desired to eat her alive.

Her brother had changed. The Anton she had grown up with and used to be so close to, had transformed into a stranger. It was evident he no longer cared about her, and their blood relation meant nothing to him. If it did, the crown prince would have helped her control her powers, let alone arrest her. Though there was nothing he could have done to really help, it was the act of trying that would have mattered. Instead she was disregarded and treated hostilely, like a nuisance. Tanya resented him, and came to the conclusion Anton was the most selfish person she had ever met. None of this was her fault, could he not realize that? Even if she wanted to, Tanya was now incapable of repelling her powers. Her brother could no longer be trusted, now that he did not trust his own family. Neither could she trust her parents, or anyone else. Everyone had deceived her, and withheld the truth from her.

On top of that, there was Elsa.

As much as Tanya wanted to distrust the queen, but could not bring herself to do so. Her adoration for the blonde was too great. The collected Arendelle queen was patient, sweet, and gentle with her, and always there to help. And what had she done? She had hurt the blue eyed woman, the only person who genuinely cared about her, in the most personal way. The best thing the princess could do about Elsa was do her best to forget her, no matter how desperate she was to cling on to those memories.

The guards led her to the very end of the hallway, where there was a door. Though they did not say a word to her, the tight grip on her chains was a clear enough message that they thought Tanya as dangerous. It did not matter to them that she was the princess of Aldyn. Her brother was in charge now, and with her parents gone, what he said was the rule. Her status from heritage no longer mattered. Anton made her out to be a monster in front of the castle. And what did she do? She fueled his fire, literally, by catching on fire. The breathing techniques she taught herself over the years, helped extinguish some of the fires emitting from her body, but did not cure the condition.

Through the door, the guards took her down a long fleet of stairs down a spiral tunnel, which seemed to go on forever. Torches lit the stairs, keeping the place visible. They walked down for ten minutes until they reached the end of the stairs. The place they entered was made up from the walls of a cavern. Jail cells molded into the natural shapes of the cavern walls. One of the guards reached for his keys, before opening one of the last cells. He led her in, without un-cuffing her, and locked the cell door on his way out. It was recited there would be one meal a day, and the torches would be lit for six hours during each day. A couple spell casters (an extremely rare profession) set enchantments on the cell and surrounding walls to prevent Tanya from getting out. Once they left the princess, still in chains, she was too sad to even bother moving. This was to be her existence, and she no longer had the energy to fight.

She could have melted the cuffs back in the throne room, if she had wanted to, and run away from Aldyn altogether. But where would she have gone? Where could she have escaped to, to make a living, to live a peaceful quiet life without being constantly pursued? Arendelle could never be an option. There was no way she could risk facing Elsa again. The queen of Arendelle was probably just a day or two away from her kingdom now, and hopefully was erasing any memories of the princess. Frankly, Tanya just did not care to run away again. It was not something she could keep repeating.

The princess' wrists ached. If she made her choice to live in the cell, she might as well be able to move her arms. The princess used her powers to melt the metal cuffs off her wrists, and chains which were now attached to the wall. In a matter of seconds they melted off, liquefied in a puddle of scalding metal on the stone ground. At least one perk with her powers was that they kept her warm, combating the cold in the dungeon.

"What was that now?"

Tanya spun around and her heart began to pound from fear. "Who's there?" Though the torches lit a part of the dungeon, it was hard to see, and she could not detect most of what was around her.

"You're the girl from the harbor town, the princess of Aldyn who was with the queen of Arendelle."

The voice was all too familiar, and Tanya was almost positive she knew whose it was. "Show yourself."

From the shadows emerged the silhouette of a crippled, beaten man. It was the pirate captain who chased her and Elsa from the village. The glint in his eyes indicated he was not happy at all, Tanya could see that much.

"I remember this scar ye gave me," the captain rolled up his sleeve to show a horrible burn, which ran all the way up from his hand to his shoulder. The mutilation made his entire arm appear withered. "I also recognize the face that gave it to me," he hatefully snarled.

Oh no.

Out of all the cells in the dungeon, and she had to be next to his? Tanya refused to talk to him. He had no business talking to her after all. It was just her luck that the only other person in the dungeon was the pirate captain, who was going to sell her as a slave. He could not get to her from his cell, he was no danger to her. In fact, she was more of a danger to him. She was curious why he was in Aldyn's castle dungeon, but she was not curious enough to ask.

"I know who you are, and what yer capable of. Same as well as that queen of Arendelle. It's an abomination, yer powers. Only good for destruction. It's a shame that ye and your queen didn't make it back to Frelliya. We could have convinced you to perhaps end the war."

Tanya was interested. Was she and Elsa kidnapped by pirates, not to be sold as slaves, but for military concerns? Apparently it showed on her face.

"I see yer intrigued, but still refuse to speak. I'll tell ye, as it doesn't matter anymore. My execution is tomorrow, and yers will most likely be shortly after. We were hired by both Aldyn and Frelliya, for our services to capture you and Elsa. Normally we don't take jobs of a mercenary, but they offered a large pay out to finish the job. We were to either end ye both, or bring you back to Aldyn, where ye would be taken care of. And by that, I don't mean being pampered like spoiled royals. My crew all agreed it would be best to deliver ye to Aldyn, and prove that we completed the work. It's a sick twist of fate that we have crossed paths again."

She would not give in by acknowledging the pirate. But was it true, was Aldyn really conspiring with Frelliya? She could no longer resist her curiosity. Given the captain's situation, it did not really matter anyway.

"What do you mean both Aldyn and Frelliya hired you? Are they not at war with one another? You must be mistaken, being the lowly pirate you are."

"Unfortunately you must have been told a lie. They both hired me for the same reason; to either end you or bring you and the queen back to Aldyn, in the hands of Prince Anton."

The captain read Tanya's face like a book. "I would bet good money ye don't have a clue about the fate of Aldyn's king and queen."

Tanya could not feel her face as her heartbeat stopped, at the mentioning of her parents.

"Tell me where they are, you swine!" Tanya lashed out with flames, almost reaching the pirate's cell, as she gripped the jail bars with both hands. She was frankly tired of hearing his voice, and she would light the whole place up if he did not stop.

"The king and queen? Yer parents? They've been exterminated," the captain worded, as if they were vermin and he did her a favor.

Exterminated… Everything in Tanya's mind went blank. She could not think. Time stopped, and the world began to spin. Executed… They were killed, and she never got to say goodbye. Murdered…

Her eyes, now a gray color, swirled like a storm at sea and her powers were the lightning. She uncontrollably sent blasts of fire, burning the captain's cell out of despair.

"You will pay now!" There was nothing the captain could do to harm or even reach Tanya, guarded by her own enchanted cell. He was at the mercy of her wide range magic. The coattails on his suit jacket caught flame, and he dropped to the ground frantically rolling.

"I was not the one who killed the king and queen!" He screamed, unable to extinguish his burning clothes. "It was yer brother Anton!"

"What? But how could… He couldn't…!"

"It's true! I swear my life on it! I saw it done with my own eyes! Please I beg mercy, reverse your magic!" He withered in utter agony, as his body began to disintegrate.

In a sick way, it made sense. Because of the way the pirate pleaded with her, she could not count his words as false. After all, Tanya was treated as a criminal by her own brother. She was beckoned to the loneliest parts of the dungeon, and labeled as a monster in front of everyone. The pirate captain was not lying. Anton had murdered their parents in cold blood, seeking power. When they had left for Arendelle with the princess, it was the optimal moment for Anton to propose and strike a pact with Frelliya.

She watched the man flailing around, burning to death. But she was too stricken by grief and anger to feel any remorse. Had she become like Elsa then, who had taken down the entire pirate fleet at sea? "Sorry," there was no sympathy in Tanya's matter-of-fact apology. "I don't know how," she turned around and sat on the ground, her back facing the pirate.

"You can't leave me here to die! Demon!"

She ignored his cries. His life was ending a day early. Yet, it was the truth when she said she lacked experience in reversing her magic. She had never been able to accomplish the feat, after many times of trying. The princess came to the difficult conclusion her powers were indeed uncontrollable. Maybe if she had listened to Elsa, she could have learned a thing or two. But now it was too late. A tear rolled down her face, but brushed it off. He was a dead man anyway. Tanya bent over in pain, with her hands planted on the ground as a support. Gritting her teeth, she waited until the whole cell melted in flames, and the spell casters inspected the scene.

Maybe she was a demon, her powers nothing more than the result of the firebird possessing her.

"Anna! Look!"

They were a mile away from the city, but something was amiss. At the rate smoke was rising from the houses, the city could become a field of ruin by the time they arrived. Aldyn was at war, no, this was not a just a typical war. It was if the opposing army was working together with Aldyn's forces. Both royals witnessed the gates to the city open for the demanding militia, instead of warding the soldiers off behind brick walls.

Something was not right. Elsa guessed both parties were collaborating together to merge, unknown to the citizens' knowledge.

"Tanya's going to be alright. She has to be. From what you've told me about her anyway, she sounds quite capable of providing for herself."

Aldyn and the area around the city, could now pose a serious danger to the queen. If she was caught, it would jeopardize even Arendelle's safety. But if they stayed put, they would either be found and killed, or taken as captives of war. She would not endanger the life of her sister again. Anna was the world to her. But if they were to go back to Arendelle, it would mean having to give up on Tanya forever.

There was no way the ice queen could allow Tanya perish this way. If she did leave with Anna, Olaf, and Sven, and let Aldyn face its fate, she would never excuse herself for forfeiting the girl she loved. She would rescue Tanya from whatever horrible outcome, and they would all go back to Arendelle together, where it was safe.

"I've made up my mind," officially stated by the queen. "Anna, I'm ordering you to go back to Arendelle with Sven and Olaf. Take the way we came through the secret passage. If you absolutely feel you cannot take that route, go around the mountains heading south on its short end. I will be going to Aldyn for Tanya."

"Elsa, you can't. Half the city looks like it's in uproar. Who knows what's going on down there? They will surely capture you, or dare I say, kill you!" Anna's face pleaded as she grabbed her sister's bicep, ready to pull back if necessary. But Anna knew she could not restrain her sister from following her heart. Elsa gave her a look, and with much sadness, the redhead let go.

"You're overreacting. I'm not going to perish or become anyone's prisoner. I will make it back to Arendelle, and that's a promise." The ice queen gave her sister a quick, tight hug. "I promise. Will you swear to go back to Kristoff?" Maybe if she reminded her sister of the ice harvester, it would compel Anna to follow her sister's direction.

Anna simply nodded. Olaf and Sven went on each of her sides. "We will make sure to watch her!" Olaf said happily, non-reflective of the mood.

Sven just grunted as usual, and with some imagination, could be interpreted as, "You can count on us."

Elsa took her younger sister's hands and squeezed them. "I love you Anna," the queen said in a low voice. As she released them, the blonde spun away to speed down the woodsy hill.

"I love you too Elsa," Anna whispered to herself, as her sister was too distant to hear. But as if sibling telepathy kicked in, Elsa stopped in her tracks, turned her head around, and waved.

Everything was going to be alright. She was sure of it. She made a promise.

Elsa smiled slightly, as she headed down, looking upward with topaz blue eyes. "I'm coming to save you, Tanya."

There was a thick fog that morning in Arendelle, which made the air heavier to breathe in. The atmosphere was as cold and sharp as ice, which parched all warmth from Kristoff's lungs. But at that moment, the dirty blond did not particularly care.

He was running as fast as he could to catch up to a boy, no older than the age of fourteen. He witnessed the adolescent delivering a vial of poison to the castle courtyard, put inside the same hidden brick which he uncovered.

Naturally as one does when their shady behavior is observed, the boy sprinted off with a small envelope. Kristoff was determined not to lose this young delinquent out of his sight. Thankfully the fog provided him enough advantage to obscure the precise distance. Even though the kid was just doing this as a job, he probably was unaware of the deeper details and dirt. The ice harvester came up with another approach. He would not stop the boy and interrogate him. Instead he would follow the deliverer to the place he would distribute the stamped envelope to.

If only Anna knew what was going on. Kristoff missed his fiancé like crazy, especially during this time, when he wanted her the most. But it was probably best that she did not know. The freckled girl was prone to overthinking and worrying, and that was the last thing that she needed. He suddenly felt acrimonious about the entire circumstance.

Why did Elsa have to vanish in the first place? Why couldn't she have simply sent some of her guards to look for the princess? These thoughts repeated in Kristoff's head over and over, and refused to depart from his mind. The castle and higher standing Arendelle politicians would not be able to keep it disclosed to the public for much longer, that both the queen and the next heir in line were missing. Even now, there was hushed gossip going around the city about the royal family's inactivity; quite unusual and out of character. Especially for Princess Anna. Someone would eventually need to spill the news, before talk got out of hand. For his fiancé's sake he would most likely take some responsibility for their disappearance, and Kristoff was not too thrilled about that concept.

The young boy arrived at a secluded house at the edge of the city. In a rushed way, he knocked on the door using a certain rhythmic pattern, which was obvious enough to be a code for the person residing there. The door creaked ajar, and inside a dimmed light was burning. A man stuck one hand out, took the envelope from the boy's hand, and swapped it for a few pretty pennies. He shooed away the kid, closing the door in practically a slam. The kid whistled as he walked away, satisfied, and juggling the bag of coins he had received.

Kristoff was frustrated he could not make out more of the man's face. It had clearly been a man by his stature, and not too old either. However, this was definitely not considered a lost cause. In fact, Kristoff was very successful. He would go back to the castle, find documents about that house, spilling details as to whom its owner was.

Staying up late that night into the wee hours of the morning, Kristoff scanned through all the filed documents regarding Arendelle's land ownership. It was not terribly difficult for him to understand the filing system or to pull out a statement on that particular house. What was funny, was that he could not find the name nor a history of the owners. It was nowhere to be found anywhere else.

After a longer amount of time had passed, he could not find any record of ownership, and gave up the search.

"This is senseless, what am I even doing anymore?" Kristoff said to himself, defeated and exhausted. He wished to give everything up, and pretend like nobody was trying to poison him. Eventually they would realize the plan to put poison in his food was failing, and would attempt some other tactic anyway.

Skimming one more time through the papers on the messy desk, he discovered he had overlooked an older, crinkly folder. Opening it, he realized it contained one out of many lists of every property the royal family owned in the city.

"Perhaps the information is in here?"

Kristoff knew that Arendelle owned a few houses for special guests who would require their visit to be discreet. He also knew, as it was known gossip, royals often used those houses to sneak, if they needed time alone. Scouring down the list, sure enough, Kristoff found the particular property was maintained under the royal family's name.

But this bit of information did not add up. Who then, could the man in the house be? Certainly not any lowly commoner, but perhaps someone close to Elsa, with a hidden agenda? It was required for them to be close to the queen, to own any sort of intrinsic right to use. It was castle knowledge that Elsa trusted the significant keys to be confided under one man. It suddenly dawned on the ice harvester; he knew exactly who the man was that wanted him gone.

Just then a voice ringed, splitting the dead silence.

"I see you've been in here for a while now, would you like some tea?"