Elsa checked her new outfit. Everything was covered, even her hands. It seemed appropriate to try and armor herself against everything right now. If she let anything in, it would be a quick slip for her to end up in a crying heap on the floor again. She couldn't let that happen, so she focused back on her clothing. It didn't leave a lot to the imagination, that was the downside to form-fitting apparel, but at least she could move easily. And there would likely be a lot of running involved soon.
She took a deep breath. You can do this. You're in control. These abilities are part of you. Not a curse. Use them!
Not giving herself a chance to change her mind, she bolted from the room towards the gate. That cloud of mist had dissipated somewhat, but what remained was still swirling around her pumping feet. The hallway where she had first kissed Anna passed in a blur. She couldn't let anything remind her of how much she missed her sister. Elsa's only focus had to be getting her back. She blocked out everything except the pounding of her own feet. They knew the way.
Tendro was serious when he said every Guard was out looking. There weren't even any at the gate. That didn't bother Elsa. Without Anna, there was nothing for her here.
Once she was out of the gate, she practically flew onto the horse waiting for her. "Let's go," she shouted at the Guards, and sped into town.
She never looked behind to make sure they had followed. It wasn't because she was the Queen and she didn't want to look unsure. It was because she didn't care if they followed or not. She was getting her Anna back regardless of who came with her.
She spared one quick glance behind as she jumped from the saddle to the steps of The Frosty Norseman. At least the inn's moniker was in line with the frozen prints left by her horse, she supposed. Tendro and his men weren't far behind, but she didn't wait. There wasn't time to lose.
Inside was exactly as she had expected. Nice and clean, a few patrons, but mostly empty and quiet. A rather plump, middle-aged woman jumped when she looked up and realized who had just entered her inn.
"Your Majesty!" she squeaked.
This was followed by the scraping of chairs as the men eating their breakfast hurried to show their respect. I will never get used to all the kneeling, I swear.
"Please, please, get up. I am in a hurry, and I need information." They weren't able to hide their apprehension and quick glances at the churning mist engulfing her lower legs. With an effort of will, she dispersed it completely. She needed these people to trust her.
The door opened and Tendro entered with his men. They said nothing, but proceeded to start systematically checking the entire inn. The woman started looking worried.
Elsa raised her hands in what she hoped was a calming gesture. "Don't be alarmed, ma'am. You are in no trouble. We are just looking for someone. Two men actually. You must have seen them last night."
"I see lots of customers every night, Majesty. Which men are these then?"
"You would know them by their distinct mustaches. Great big, silly-looking things." The woman was nodding now, "You know the ones I mean?"
"Yes, Majesty. They were surely here, but not for terribly long. I didn't even rent them a room!"
One of the men spoke up, "It's true, my Queen. I was here. Thought it was odd that they'd be in Arendelle, lookin' so much like those Weasel folks that we just kicked out. But they just had a drink or two, played some cards, and left."
"When did they leave? Did anyone see where they went?"
"Must've been around midnight, Majesty. I never saw them actually leave though."
"I know I didn't see them when I went home for the night, Majesty," another man said. "That was just before Filla here," he nodded at the innkeeper, "was about to kick us all out anyway."
The third man piped in, "I swear, Majesty, if those fellas had done anything out o' line at all, we'd'a put a stop to it right there. Swear it on my honor." Under different circumstances, his vigorous assurances would have been humorous. But there was no humor today.
Elsa wasn't sure what to say to these people. She believed them. There was no lying here. The Guards were returning from upstairs, each shaking their heads to their Captain. They had found nothing. She sighed.
"Thank you very much for your help, everyone." She gave Filla a forced smile, in hopes that it could alleviate any worries the innkeeper might have had about her inn being invaded by stern-looking Guardsmen.
Back outside, she hopped onto her horse and looked around. Was the market this crowded when she had gotten here? No. There was no way. She would have noticed. And at the rate she had been going, she would have trampled people, and surely she would have noticed that. As soon as she had Anna back, they were going to spend a lot more time out here. She needed to learn about her people if she was going to rule them properly.
Rule them? You can't even keep your own sister safe inside a castle! Slippery anguish coursed through her veins, threatening to slide her right off the saddle and into a puddle on the street. No! I'm going to save her. I am going to make this right!
Her eyes were shut tight, and her knuckles were white on the pommel of her sword. When had she stuck it to her side like a scabbard? Must have been while she was running through the hallways. She really needed to start paying more attention. This super-focus was going to get her into trouble one day if she didn't.
That was just the distraction she needed. She let out a breath that she didn't know she had been holding, and looked at Tendro. "Okay. I did not expect that we would find them actually at the inn, but I thought we might at least get something." She was only barely able to hide her worry behind a mask of cold anger. "Lead the way outside the city. You know where to look. We are not coming back until we find her."
Anna hadn't slept a wink. How could she, even if she had wanted to? It was nearly impossible to quiet her mind in the best of times, but now… it just wasn't happening. She had to figure out what was going on. There just wasn't enough information.
Not to mention that she had never been in, nor heard of, a situation like this before. It would probably have made an excellent story. Maybe she would write it down after she was rescued. Because she would be rescued. Of course, Elsa would be nearly here by now.
Wherever "here" was.
She suddenly felt very alone.
Footsteps approached the door. The door opened, and the man from before stepped inside, a dark cloth in his hand.
"Come to wisk me away? Sweep me off my feet?" she said, as jovially as she could muster.
"Awfully cheerful for someone who will never see their home again," the nameless man said without emotion.
Anna's fake smile faded somewhat. She knew he was just lying. Trying to batter her spirit. But that didn't make it hurt less. She wouldn't give in to his lies though. The smile returned.
"Such eloquence, sir! I always knew someone brilliant would come to sweep me off my feet." She looked around the stone room. "I did hope he would have a better living arrangement though."
Mr. Expressionless lifted the cloth, that she could now see was a hood, and covered her head. It smelled of salt. The sea? The world went dark. His breath was hot and smelly even through the mask, "A smart girl would know when to stop talking."
She decided that he might be right. At least for now. She could feel him tampering with her restraints, removing them from the chair and then retying them. The darkness of the hood made her already-overactive imagination go wild. Was he the only one in here with her? Had others followed him inside and she hadn't been paying enough attention to hear them? Was he about to kill her? Was this really going to be her last thought?
No.
She calmed herself down. Closing her eyes helped, even though she was already submerged in darkness. Why would he kill her now anyway? Seemed a bit silly to go through all the trouble of kidnapping someone just to kill them later.
This silence was going to drive her crazy. "So. It's our first date. Where are you taking me? Somewhere nice I hope."
The darkness of the hood exploded with a flash of light. There was a terrible ringing in her head. Her face hurt. Was she lying on the floor? When had that happened? And what was that awful metallic taste in her mouth?
"You… you hit me?!" she sputtered from inside her cloth prison.
"I also warned you. Shut. Up."
The entire left side of her face was pounding. It hurt to keep that eye open, so she closed it. Not like it mattered anyway.
She had never been hit before. Sure, there had been bumps and bruises over the years. And she had fallen two hundred feet off a mountain. But that was her own fault. This… this… was just mean! Tears slowly tracked their way down the swelling side of her face. She managed to hold back a sob.
She felt him throw her over his shoulder and leave the room. She didn't struggle. Wherever he was taking her, she didn't want to get hit again. Not if she couldn't at least see it coming, or fight back, or even earn it in the first place!
There was such a painful concoction of emotions flowing through her. Anger, fear, shock, despair… and shining over all of it was the hope that Elsa would find her. And when Elsa found her, there would be justice. This man, whatever his name was, would go on trial for his actions. And he would see just what it feels like to be thrown into a prison. Except for him, there would be no hope of rescue.
He threw her over something. Something that moved. A horse. Where could they be that she hadn't heard anything when they went outside? She found it seriously disturbing that she didn't know enough about her own kingdom to have even a clue where they might be. Assuming they were even in Arendelle anymore. That was a scary thought. Tonight was full of those, apparently.
"Took you long enough," said a man who wasn't her abuser.
"Had a short chat with her highness here. Not short enough."
"Bah! You didn't kill her, did you? I am not dealing with one of your messes again!"
"She's fine. Think I accidentally knocked her out though. Oh well." He paused for a second. "And that was one time! Are you going to keep bringing it up?"
"Yes. Until I do something stupid like kill a valuable prisoner, I will keep bringing it up. You're lucky you didn't join him."
"True enough."
The horses were moving now. Lucky that he thought her unconscious. Unlucky that she had found herself in the company of murderers. Anyone that could talk so callously about taking a life was not someone she wanted to spend her time around.
I never should have gone on this date, she thought. At least her sense of humor hadn't been as bruised as her face.
"Everything is going according to plan then?" asked her jailer.
"Yes, yes. Everyone is waiting for us at the dock. The castle is going crazy, but we haven't seen anything of the Guard out here."
"Let's keep it that way, eh? What about… you know… the Queen?"
"Thank the stars, she hasn't been spotted either. If half the stories are true…"
They fell silent. Anna was smiling inside her sack. Her sister might not have been spotted, but that didn't mean anything. No news was good news, as they say. Elsa wasn't violent, but she was the most powerful person in the world as far as Anna knew. And she was on her way.
It felt like they had been riding all night before anyone spoke again. "There's the ship ahead."
"I can see that, idiot."
The first man snorted a laugh.
"Chilly night, isn't it?" said another voice she didn't recognize.
The horse stopped. "Who are you?" from Emotionless.
"Doesn't matter. What have you got there?"
"Big questions from a boy. Get out of our way, kid. Your mommy is probably worried."
What was going on? Anna desperately wished she could see something. Anything.
Bushes rustled. There were a few noises that Anna had never heard, and couldn't put a name to. "My men and I are not here to fight. We are merely… explorers."
Her unseen kidnapper spoke next, "I see. Then go explore. There's plenty to see 'round here."
"Why did you take the Princess?"
Silence. Loud silence. They knew who she was. Was it the Guard? It had to be! That meant Elsa was close by!
"That's too dangerous of a question for you, boy. Even with your friends here." Her captor's tone still didn't seem affected by the tension crackling in the air.
The "boy" laughed. "I told you, we aren't looking for a fight. Not that we won't fight, of course, but why would we?" He paused. "Maybe we should talk inside? That is your ship, correct?"
Talk inside? This wasn't the Guard. Who on Earth…? Anna was even more confused than she had been before. None of these men sounded familiar. As far as she knew, nobody would have a reason to kidnap her. And certainly noone could have a reason to offend Arendelle in such a blatant way! She wanted to scream!
Apparently the men had reached some sort of agreement while her inner monologue was roiling. The horse was moving again, and it wasn't long before she heard wood under its hooves. There was nothing she could do to fight, so she did the next best thing. She went limp.
The man who lifted her grunted, obviously surprised by her seemingly unconscious form. "Looks like she's still out, huh? Are you sure you didn't kill her?"
"Yes. Stop asking."
"You hit her?"
"What's it to you, boy?"
"You shouldn't hit a lady. Not even a prisoner. It's just not right."
"Good thing she's not your prisoner then."
The man carrying her, who she now knew to be her faithful captor, turned and walked away. Down some steps and through a door, they went. She was thrown onto a hard mattress, and the hood was removed.
Her good eye blinked furiously, trying to focus after so long in the dark. She saw the blurry form of the man closing the door behind him. The ship cabin was dimly lit by the moon, and empty but for the thin mattress on the floor. She was still tied up, but at least she was lying down.
It only took a minute or so for it to sink in what had just happened. She was on a ship. A ship that could leave Arendelle and take her anywhere. White hot fear gripped her stomach. Panic started rising up inside of her.
Elsa might not be able to find her after all.