"Just tell me what you need me to do."
"Get me some nails. I'll be nailing into wood, but they shouldn't be too long. About ten to fifteen nails, an inch long would be about right, definitely not shorter. And a hammer, of course. The rest, I need to do myself."
"Immediately, my lady," responds Kai with a confused look on his face.
"Trust me, Kai."
"Always."
"Bring the supplies here as quick as you can. I'll make other preparations and check on Elsa's wound while I'm waiting." Kai nods and quickly leaves the room. Anna stares at Elsa's body for a minute before saying "We may have a chance yet."
After about twenty minutes, Kai returns, hammer and nails in hand. "Put the nails on the table by the window. I'm not ready for them yet. Bring the hammer over here, by Elsa. Help me finish checking her out."
Elsa, for her part, was completely unconscious. With new bandages and a clean wound, Anna turns to Kai. "I need to finish preparing. If she appears now, I won't be able to stop her. You won't be able to help me prepare further, but you do have another important task. I need you to go down to the castle gate and wait. If you don't hear from me within two hours, assume the worst. I will come down by then, or… I'll be dead. If I fail, it will be up to you to find a way to beat her. DON'T ARGUE this time, please. You can't help me, it'll take too long to explain, and I can't protect you. If I fail, I need somebody I can trust to try and stop her."
"I… don't agree with you Miss Anna, but I understand. I-I'll wait ONLY two hours before sending guards to check on you. May the gods smile upon you."
"And to you as well, Kai. I'll be watching to make sure you make it to the gate. Thank you."
Kai reluctantly leaves the room, casting a worried glance back before closing the door. Staring out the window, one hand on the glass, Anna watches him as he crosses the courtyard to the gate before taking a deep breath. Turning, hammer in hand, Anna is shocked to see the dark Elsa standing in the middle of the room.
"Are you ready yet, Anna?"
Glancing around, Anna can see the nails are now missing from the table. "I think you already know the answer to that," sighs Anna.
"You might as well give up, Anna. You can't win. I'm too many steps ahead of you."
Anna's shoulders slump in defeat. "Fine, you win. Would you consider a plea bargain? It would actually make things easier for you."
"Bargaining with the devil when you have nothing to back it up? This should be good. No guarantees princess, but I'm willing to listen," replies dark Elsa with raised eyebrows.
Taking a deep breath, Anna proposes her offer. "You want to be permanent. I want the people of Arendelle to be safe. If I promise to work willingly towards making you permanent, will you promise to keep the people of Arendelle safe, including my sister?"
"And why would I do that? I don't see any benefit for me, considering you have already given up."
"I will complete my end of the deal first, willingly working to make you permanent, and trusting some part of Elsa's honor is in you to keep your end of the bargain. Once that is done, the people of Arendelle and, more importantly, my sister will NEVER trust me again. I won't be able to face them. I'll be completely alone. I'm willing to make this final sacrifice to ensure their safety. That doesn't answer your question though. Here is what I offer to sweeten the deal. As an outcast of Arendelle, I will submit myself to you willingly, OUTSIDE the protection of the bargain, so long as you honor your end of the deal. I will do your bidding without question, and be at your service any time you need me. Either way, I figure my life is over, so I will try to do the best with what little I have left to give."
"You make an interesting offer. It would be easy to make me permanent now. I just need a new name. You've already been treating me as something other than Elsa for some time now. It's amazing how much power such a little thing like a name actually has. While I don't yet have Elsa's powers, I can still take them afterwards, without harming her. It will just take a little longer. But having such a willing new toy to play with until then, that has my interest. Am I correct that you are essentially offering to be my slave?"
Elsa smiles as Anna just nods, looking at the floor.
"Very well Anna. I accept your terms. You will be my new plaything once I have a new name. From then on, the people of Arendelle will be safe from me, providing they don't rebel against me," grins the dark Elsa maliciously.
Anna just sits down in a chair, the hammer resting across her lap. "I've been thinking about possible new names for you for some time now. At least until Hazel warned me about the dangers of naming you. I still have some possibilities after discarding the less polite names. Would… would you be willing to accept the name 'Della'?
"Oh, ho! You're even offering a nice name too. Anna, you are a surprise. It's going to be a delight to break your remaining speck of free will. I accept the name. Your sister and the people of Arendelle will be safe, once you call me by that name. Until I can answer to it, the name won't truly be mine."
"I understand, Della," says Anna, nodding her head in defeat.
"I'm liking this more and more by the minute! Come here, Anna. You belong to me."
Anna rises and shuffles over to Della. Her shoulders sag in defeat, her feat make very small steps, and her eyes look hollow and tired. Quietly, she sits at Della's feet, where she indicates.
"When I go anywhere, you will come as well. When I sit, your place will be sitting at my feet unless I say otherwise. When I ask you to do something, I expect immediate obedience. Are these simple enough instructions for you?" At Anna's nod, Della continues "You are doing well my pet. I will be getting you a collar so you know your true place. We may be able to forgo the leash for now, IF you keep this up. Now, kiss my feet. One gentle kiss on each toe should do."
Anna moves to kneel facing Della's icy feet. Pausing, Anna speaks up. "Mistress Della?"
"Oh, I like your manners, my pet. What needs could you possibly have that I can ignore? Hmm?"
"Just one, mistress." With that, Anna slams the hammer she still carries into Della's right foot, shattering it. Off balance due to the missing foot, Della squeals as she falls to the ground. Seizing the moment, Anna smashes the hammer down on Della's shoulders and thighs. It doesn't take long before the arms and legs are broken off completely. "I only need to beat you, to keep my people safe, my mistress."
Anna moves to Della's head calmly and quietly. Her eyes are haunted and full of regret. "I couldn't beat you if you were able to disappear. I had to make you a permanent part of 'my world', as you put it. I wish I didn't have to do this, but this ends now."
Hesitating only slightly, Anna raises the hammer and slams it down hard. Della's cry of "NO!" is cut off as the hammer connects with her jaw. It takes two more weary swings to break the head into chunks. Anna pauses as the head cracks apart. Tears stream down her face and sobs wrack her shoulders. In frustration, Anna begins to pound into the icy torso, over and over. Her efforts often elicit grunts as she connects. As she works, she gives one final message to her dead mistress, punctuating each word with a hammer blow. "I'm sorry my mistress, but you were wrong. Killing does not get easier for me the more I do it."
Time passes as Anna's weary arms repeatedly hammer into the ice. Due to its magical properties, the ice melts slowly and is more resilient than normal. Eventually, gentle hands grab her wrists and take the hammer away. Anna had been pounding on water for some time, the ice completely melted. Looking up with a slightly vacant expression, she sees Kai holding her hammer. Several guards are standing near the doorway, staring uncomfortably. "You didn't come down, Your Highness. It's been almost three hours before I finally got back to you here. Are you… all right?"
Looking back down, she takes a moment to respond. "Am I all right? No. It's over though. Invite everyone back. I'll stay with Elsa."
Kai leaves the room for several minutes, while Anna settles in next to Elsa. Her body shows complete exhaustion both emotionally after having to deal with so much, and physically after her efforts with the hammer.
Upon his return, Kai asks again, "Miss Anna, are you alright?" His concern for her echoes in his voice and his eyes.
"She didn't hurt my body Kai, but I don't think I'll ever be alright."
"If I may ask, what happened?"
"She arrived while you were still crossing the courtyard. I wasn't ready, or so she thought. I only needed the hammer and to look beaten, the nails were a diversion. Looking beaten wasn't hard. I focused on the nails so she would think they were important, and she hid them before revealing herself. I remembered something she said earlier, when Hazel died. You can't fix an ice person without Elsa's magic. A snowman like Olaf can be put back together, but broken ice is forever when it is shattered. I realized she was using Elsa's body to listen to us plan, so I made a big deal of the nails. That was the first part of my trap."
"After she beat me, I made a deal with her for the safety of our people. In return for actively trying to make her permanent, she would keep the people of Arendelle safe. To sweeten the deal, I was to willingly submit to her will as a slave. She called me her pet and was 'going to break me'. I was to be the only person excluded from the safety of the deal. That was the second part of my trap. By making her permanent before she got Elsa's powers, she couldn't disappear when threatened. She couldn't run from my hammer." Anna pauses here to take a ragged breath, her eyes becoming even more haunted. "You walked in on the results of using the hammer."
Breaking down crying, Anna continues with a hollow look in her eyes. "I'll never be the same, and I'm definitely not alright. The scars you can't see will be on me for a very long time, and may never fade. Killing by accident, or even in a fit of anger, is easier to forgive. Cold blooded murder, planned before the act, in another thing entirely. Others may forgive me, but I'll never forgive myself. The worst part is that I attacked a part of Elsa, the one thing dearer to me than my own life. If I can do that, what else am I capable of?"
Suddenly Kristoff bursts into the room, concern all over his face. "Anna! Are you alright? I was so worried!"
"I'll live. Where have you been? Did you just get in?"
"I've been here since I carried you from Elsa's room to sleep in your own bed."
"That was you?"
"After moving you, I fell asleep in a chair in your room. I woke up before you did, and was on the way to the kitchens for a snack for both of us. Something hit me in the back of the head. When I came to, I was locked in the dungeon."
"You didn't get out of the castle when I evacuated it?"
"Never had the chance. The guards just found me and let me out. Otherwise, I would have been back a long time ago."
"We had guards roaming the castle, looking for issues," indicated Kai.
"Must not have checked the supposedly empty dungeon cells," replied Kristoff.
"I'm sorry Kristoff! I never even knew you came back to the castle. Everything was just happening so fast, I didn't realize… I-" Anna breaks off due to sobbing again, her energy lost to the moment.
Kristoff takes Anna into his arms and awkwardly comforts her, mostly in silence. Even he was at a loss on how to make Anna feel better.
"Hey, what about me?" comes a weak voice from the bed. "You guys are loud enough to wake the dead!"
Anna walks over to Elsa, making a noise halfway between a sob and a chuckle. "We'd have to be that loud to wake you up lately. Lazybones."
"Anna, you've obviously been through a lot while I've been in your room. From what I just heard you tell Kai, I know you're going to need some alone time to think and adjust. Also, from what I'm overhearing, if you ever need to take charge of the kingdom for any reason, the kingdom will be in good hands. You should know that I am very proud of you. The hell you just went through goes beyond what most monarchs face in their whole reign. Learn from it, but DON'T let it change you completely. There are always hard decisions to make while running a kingdom and it sounds like you have the ability to make them. Trust me; I couldn't be prouder of how you handled this. I don't know if I could have done as well, in your place."
Anna just nods before turning to Kai. "I need to have one of the guest rooms made ready. NOBODY is moving my sister until she is well enough to take charge again. Until then, it will be up to you and the council to handle any issues that arise. Unless Elsa becomes unconscious again, I need to be left alone. I need to think."
"At once, Your Highness," replies Kai in a soft voice. With a short bow, he turns and leaves the room.
Turning to Kristoff, she lays a hand gently on the side of his face. "I love you, but I – I need to be alone for a while to come to terms with what I've done. I'm sorry, but I won't be out for a while. You may find visiting with Pabbie and Bulda for a while is a good idea. They would love to see you. I promise, you will be one of the first people I seek out. I hope you still want to be around me when I come out, because I will not be the same person. I…" Anna looks down as words fail her.
"Hey, I'll always be here for you," says Kristoff before he kisses her cheek. "I'll always come when you need me."
Anna turns her head part way to look in Elsa's general direction, but cannot meet her eyes. "Elsa, you'll be the first one I talk to when I come out. I love you and I always will, but you're also the source of almost all of my concerns. I just need to get away for a while."
"I understand, perhaps more than anybody else ever could. I'll be here waiting for you as well. You've made it clear to everybody I'm not to go anywhere for a while. Take all the time you need. If you want to talk, you know where I am. The door is always open for you, twenty-four hours a day, especially since it is technically your room."
"Thank you," replies Anna with a small smile.
Without another word, Anna turns and slowly walks from the room without looking back. Kristoff and Elsa silently watch her go.
"Kristoff, I'm worried about her. She's putting on a brave face, but she's not taking this well at all. Her innocent view of the world has been lost. It was a cornerstone of her life, and it has been brutally ripped from her. I'll keep an eye on her if you go back to the mountains. If this is as bad as I think it is, one of us may need to step in whether she wants us to or not. All things considered, I may not be the best choice. If you're out of the castle, let me know how to contact you."
"Of course, Elsa. I won't be far away, I promise. Keep me up to date?"
"Of course. I'll be keeping both you and Kai up to date. I may be the worst choice to interrupt her solitude, depending on how she actually handles this. Somebody needs to know what to do if she won't accept my help."
A/N: Final chapter next to tie up a few loose ends. Short story overall, but it's my first work. Hope you're enjoying it thus far.