Anna sat with her sister in the large room downstairs where Elsa met with her advisers and official visitors. It had taken a while for Elsa to reign in her emotions from the morning and even longer for her to decide that she wanted to leave the comforting embrace of her sister, but eventually she had muttered something about 'big girl panties' and had cleared both rooms of ice, bathed and dressed herself for the day, and came down here to work. Now she sat at the large table furiously writing on a piece of parchment, the latest piece of parchment. Elsa had been doing this for a good hour and unsuccessfully, her efforts reflected in the crumpled sheets lying around her chair.

"Here, what do you think?" Elsa handed Anna the document she had just finished.

Anna looked at the five lines and frowned. "That's pretty direct."

Elsa grumbled and reached down to pick up one of the discarded papers. "Not compared to this."

Anna straightened out the parchment on the edge of the table."Get the hell out of my kingdom!" was written in Elsa's neat hand … larger than she normally wrote, and therefore very easy to read.

"I briefly consider 'Get the fuck out' but I thought it was unladylike."

"Mama would be appalled," Anna said with a smile.

"I daresay I've done a couple of things in the last twenty-four hours that would have appalled her," Elsa answered with a sigh.

Anna shook her head at her sister. Elsa could find something to be guilty about if she was alone in a closet. "I wouldn't be so sure. I saw how they looked at each other sometimes after dinner. Then when they thought I was in bed there would be laughing and giggling and their door shutting …."

Elsa clapped her hands over her ears. "Anna, ew! Just ew! Our parents … really, you had to share?"

Then they both laughed and Elsa's anger seem to fade even further. She took the parchment back from Anna and laid it out again on the table.

"Very well, I'll add a sentence or two at the top. Something diplomatic."

Anna watched as Elsa absently licked the end of the quill as she thought. Then she filled it with ink and carefully wrote exactly two lines. She spread sand on the document to encourage it to dry and then straightened up in her chair, setting the page aside.

"So," Anna said cautiously, "Are you going to speak with Captain Fitzwilliam before she leaves?"

Elsa must have been thinking about that question too because she didn't seem surprised. "No."

"Look, Elsa, I'm not going to tell you that you don't have a right to be angry. I'm just saying I think you might not want to part on bad terms. You can't pretend this didn't mean … something. Even if it's just that you're losing a friend."

Elsa sighed, but was firm. "No, Anna, I can't speak with her. She risked enough giving me that information. The less of a line I draw between myself and her … the better it is for her."

"As long as you have thought about it," Anna replied.

I have thought of little else, Elsa wanted to say, but she settled for, "I have."

Elsa shook the sand off the dictate and folded it carefully. She was reaching for the wax and her seal when they heard shouting, lots of shouting. The ruckus was coming from the courtyard just outside the room there were in.

"What now?" Elsa said with an exasperated tone. She pulled the curtains aside from the large french doors. What she saw outside made her immediately push them back. There were a number of armed men in the dress of Avalonian infantry in her courtyard. Two squads or a platoon, and while she was sure her household guard could eventually take care of them, it seemed that the element of surprise had favored them right now. Outside was a tense stalemate, and the shooting could start at any time.

"Anna," she turned and grabbed her sister, "Go up to the library on the third floor and do not come out. Lock the door. I will send Captain Larsson, and he is the only person you are to open that door to."

Anna had seen the invaders over her shoulder, "I'm not leaving you."

"Anna," she said shoving her toward the door, "that was not a request. Go!"

"But what do I if something happens ..." Anna left out 'to you' but Elsa could hear it.

"You're the one who knows how to get up on the damned roof," Elsa said now pulling her out the door and toward the staircase. "Whatever happens you will be fine. If you have to leave the castle then leave the castle. They won't be here long. I won't allow them to be."

Anna looked like she was going to argue. Elsa grabbed her and shook her by the shoulders."It's not for you, Anna. It's for Arendelle, now go!"

Reluctantly Anna ran off in the direction her sister shoved her. Elsa waited until she heard her footsteps fade on the stairs. Then she walked as calmly as she could manage down the long hall toward the main door that led to the courtyard.

So this was what Carolina was talking about, she thought. It hadn't even occurred to her that the Duke would try to make his way to her with force. So, she had underestimated him and what he was prepared to do, although the goal of this foray wasn't at all clear. It seemed unlikely that he planned on taking her, given the number of men he had. But there was really only one way to find out what he wanted and to forestall any bloodshed. She signaled for the large main doors to be opened, and she stepped out into the courtyard.

"What is the meaning of this?" Elsa didn't raise her voice, but she didn't have to. The courtyard had gone silent when she came out the door. She had a handful of men at her back. She had sent Larsson up to her sister, so they looked to her now for their orders.

"Ah, your Majesty. I'm sorry if we disturbed you." Duke Ledsham's voice carried from somewhere. Elsa couldn't see him, but she was pretty certain he was someplace that would be safe if the musket balls started flying. My god, the man was the very essence of detestable.

"What do you want?" she asked, pitching her voice to carry.

"I want what I have been requesting for the last two weeks, your Majesty, an audience with you. It's only your rude behavior that has led me to try more extreme measures."

"And why would I speak with you now, when you show up on my doorstep threatening me?"

"Because, your Majesty, you are at heart a reasonable woman, and if you don't these men will start firing. They are not as many as yours, not once your reinforcements get here, but they are battle tested. Each of them will easily take down a number of your guards. Meanwhile I will return to the Vigilant, and we will begin blowing away the heart of your capital. We may not conquer, but we will inflict a lot of pain."

Her spine stiffened, and she felt frost begin to spread from underneath her feet. "And if I say yes?" she called out.

"Then I … and a few of my men to guarantee my safety, of course … will come in and I will talk to you. The rest will leave. Simple as that."

Elsa held up her hand and indicated that her guards should lower their weapons. "Very well, then come in. We'll talk." She spun on her heel almost expecting to hear the whine of a ball at her back. But that didn't happen. She stormed down the hall and left instructions that the Duke was to be taken to her council chambers, and she waited for him there. He might trip on the ice and break his neck, but she knew her luck wasn't running that way today.

When he came in he didn't bow, not that she expected him to, but rather he went immediately over to a stack of papers on a small desk behind her. There were four imposing infantry men with him, but they stationed themselves at the door and remained there.

"Ah, here it is..." Ledsham pulled out a single sheet from the middle of a stack of papers.

"What are you doing? I thought you wanted to talk," she said.

"We will, but I needed to find this first." He carried what looked like a letter over to the table and pulled out a chair next to hers at the large council table.

"Why? What is that?" she asked looking over. It wasn't anything she had seen before, and she had no idea why it would be amongst her papers.

The Duke looked up and gave her a look that she knew she would remember for the rest of her life. He was positively overjoyed, beaming at her as if she had just given him his favorite thing in the world as a gift. She felt a wave a cold dread pass over her. "The information Captain Fitzwilliam gave you about Avalon's plans for you and your kingdom."

"She didn't give me any ..."

The Duke's smile was unbearably smug as he handed the letter to her. "Oh my dear girl, don't lie. You do it very poorly. She did, and my proof is here."

Elsa opened it. The letter was dated well before the Vigilant had arrived in Arendelle, and it was between Avalon's King William and the Duke discussing, in rather disturbing detail, the process by which she might be replaced as queen and Ledsham installed as regent in her place. It also discussed Anna in a very unflattering light.

She threw it back at him. "I have never seen this before."

The Duke was not at all distressed. If anything his smile grew more predatory and his voice more mocking. "You can deny it all you want, but we know the truth. Another series of correspondence was found in the Captain's cabin, no doubt she intended to share that with you as well. Fortunately for Avalon her treason was discovered."

"What ..." Elsa was shocked and then angered by the statement. "What have you done with her?"

Arrogance rolled off the Duke as he continued in his patronizing tone, "My dear, she's locked up in the hold of the Vigilant waiting to be carted back to Avalon." He reached over and put a hand on her arm, a wholly inappropriately familiar gesture that made her skin crawl. "What happens to her there really depends on you."

"What do you mean depends on me?" She removed his hand with her own and resisted the temptation to give him a severe case of frostbite. He was goading her, pushing her.

"Whether or not you agree to come back with us and join the royal family of Avalon." He pulled the lace handkerchief out of his sleeve and dabbed at his nose, watching her intently for her reaction.

She worked very hard to give him none. She wanted nothing more than to send a bolt right through him, to freeze his head, his heart and whatever else she could manage to hit, but she pushed that desire down, focusing on keeping her voice level and her hands from shaking. "I will do no such thing."

The Duke tucked the lace back into his sleeve with an exaggerated flair."Your Majesty, I am sure you know what the penalty for treason is in Avalon. I imagine it's the same here … or you do not even have such a law, what with so little to defend and so few secrets to keep." He didn't even try to keep the ridicule from his voice. "But in Avalon we do, and offenders are usually hung. However in this case that is … unlikely to happen." He seemed to savor those last words. Then he leaned back in his chair as if he were telling her an amusing story at dinner.

"No, you see my king, King William, really wants you to come back with us. And while I do have a treaty here that you will sign binding Arendelle to Avalon in all the ways that are important, that isn't going to satisfy him. He wants you. So Avalon must be persuasive. What do we have that you want? What might possibly convince you to come with us?"

"You can't possibly mean ..."

"Oh how clever of you." He was really enjoying himself now. "Indeed it is the good captain's health and well being. If you refuse us entirely I can imagine a very lengthy unpleasant process of questioning for Fitzwilliam. For one, the captain isn't going to want to confess to anything damaging to you or your... respectability, such as it is... she's so noble that way. But I am also sure that given enough time and persuasion she will tell us anything we want to hear. The only question will be if we want anything more than her screams."

Elsa swallowed hard, her face going pale, appalled both by what was being said and by how it was being delivered. "That's barbaric."

"Indeed, it is," he shrugged. "But also effective. So, will you sign our treaty and agree to come back with us to Avalon, or do I make my charges against Captain Fitzwilliam public and send her off to her fate?"

"Your King would do that to his own daughter?" She knew by now better than to hope that Ledsham would have the decency to be embarrassed if the answer was yes. But she still had to ask.

"Ah … so you are privy to all the family secrets, are you? I guess you were intimate enough." Ledsham smirked. "And the answer is yes, he would almost assuredly have to." Again he reached over to her, this time giving her hand a paternal pat. "While the King is indeed fond of Fitzwilliam, I think she's the son he always wished he'd had with the Queen," Ledsham's disdain filled his words, "he can't let that fondness jeopardize his throne. And it won't mitigate his anger when I tell him what happened. He doesn't take betrayal well, and that's what he will see and hear. Certainly he can't show himself to be weak, not about something as serious as this. If he did the heir of Avalon and his brothers would realize it was open season on the Crown. They are a charming bunch; I hope you will appreciate them when you get to meet them."

"I have no intention of returning with you."

Ledsham tsked, shaking his head."I wouldn't be so hasty, your Majesty. Think of the security such an alliance with Avalon would bring. No one would invade Arendelle with us as your partner. In fact, if you were in Avalon all reason for anyone to attack Arendelle whatsoever would be gone. You are the only thing of value here, and you would be safely tucked away. You would be safe. Your country would be safe. You wouldn't have to worry."

Her eyes flashing with the anger she fought to keep concealed, Elsa snapped,"You mean no other kingdom will threaten us as you have."

The Duke chuckled, "If you wish to think of it that way. But also consider this enticement. If you go back with the Vigilant then the King will be in a generous mood. You're to wed one of his sons, but he of all people is not overly concerned about the sanctity of the marital bed. You could quite possibly end up not only with Fitzwilliam's life but her company as well … as long as you were both reasonably discreet about it.

The Duke tossed another copy of the treaty on the table. "My terms are: the captain's life for the treaty binding your kingdom to Avalon. Her freedom for you. It's a generous offer. And I don't think the captain's the sort of woman who will do well spending the rest of her life in a dungeon even if she's hale and healthy, do you?"

Elsa stood suddenly, the heavy chair skittering backwards threatening to topple. Then she walked over to the windowed doors, pushed aside the curtains and looked out into her courtyard; she could see just a hint of the city and the harbor out the open gate. She knew enough not to make a decision while this man was in the room with her. He clearly thought her incompetent, and she was beginning to wonder herself, but she would take advantage of that. "I can't … I can't decide this right now. I need time."

The Duke appeared to have anticipated this request. "Until tomorrow then?" He too stood and moved beside her. She thought if he touched her again she was going to do something they would both regret, but he seemed to sense this. "I'm usually a patient man, but I am afraid my patience with you and this uncivilized backwater has run out."

She spun around and spat back at him, "Fine. Tomorrow. You will have your answer tomorrow." She sent a gust of wind to open the door to the council room. "Now, you may leave."

"Of course your Majesty." He bowed, his victorious smile distorting his face. "I will await tomorrow with great eagerness for your reply. I am sure it will be mutually enriching."

When the door had finally shut behind her unwanted guest, she slammed her foot on the ground and let the ice cover the floor. Angry and frustrated, she wanted to scream, throw things, throw a tantrum, but she needed to be able to think. She needed to be the queen.

She began a slow deliberate pace as she struggled with her powers. Dark icicles grew out of the ceiling over her head; she could hear them crackling and groaning; she could feel them, even if she didn't look up. "You have more control," she chastised herself. "Get control."

She walked back to the large table and spotted the letter the Duke had revealed laying on the floor, a white blot of failure staring up at her. She slammed her fist on the table; it froze then shattered, and the frozen shards scattered across the floor. Then with a gesture she picked up all the pieces in a whirling ball of wind and hail and threw them across the room blanketing the throne and the entire far wall in ice and frozen splinters.

"Damn you!" she shouted at the wall, at the throne, at the man who left her too soon, unprepared to deal with this. "I am not ready for this! I am not ready! I am NOT FINE!"

Then her anger and resolve shattered as well, and she sank into a chair. She felt tears glistening in her eyes, but she was too emotionally exhausted after this day to even cry. She just sat there feeling numb, alone and very betrayed.

It was a while before she unfolded herself from the chair, rational thought slowly flowing back into her consciousness. She remembered all the times she sat and listened to her father tell stories, give lectures, all variations on the theme "act for the good of Arendelle." As if it were that easy … as if she even knew what that meant anymore.

Then she looked up and saw her own coronation portrait, the artist's rendition of her holding the orb and scepter. She wasn't sure what demeanor the artist had intended, probably some variation on serene confidence, humility and virtue, but what she saw was fear. That was a very scared young woman looking back at her … and it wasn't even the fear revealing her magic… it was the fear of making a mistake; it was the fear of ruling plain and simple.

She knew that her father had felt the same fear. She had seen it, misunderstood it when she was young to be a fear of her, but it hadn't been. It wasn't a fear of her, but a fear for her. He had made a decision that could have doomed Arendelle or her … or both … and she could well imagine how fearful that had made him.

The safe interpretation of acting for "the good of Arendelle" should have meant that he proclaimed Anna as the heir as soon as the danger of her powers had been known. Sure, she joked about Anna's impatience, but the fact was with the same training and lessons she had Anna would have been her equal if not better at ruling the kingdom. She could have been trundled off somewhere, she thought briefly of the cell in the dungeon where Hans had put her … clearly someone had considered this, or perhaps just disposed of. While she could never see her parents doing such a thing, even thinking such a thing, she knew it had happened in other places, Avalon for one. Two little boys killed so their uncle might rule, and William allegedly had even more blood on his hands than that. Inconvenient royalty were in a unique danger. But all those horrible and unlikely thoughts aside, the fact was Anna would have been a good, normal queen, and she would have been the reclusive, odd, slightly crazy elder sister unfit for the throne. Arendelle was not a place overly concerned with tradition, and no one had really even known her before her coronation; she was sure there wouldn't have been any revolutions on her behalf. She certainly wouldn't have argued.

So why had her father kept things the way they had been? Why had she continued to be the Crown Princess when Anna was a perfectly acceptable choice? In the very crass reality of being royal that was Anna's purpose in life, to be plan B should something happen to Elsa … and surely being a threat to the kingdom was "something." She had pondered this question any number of times and the only answer that made any sense was that while Arendelle would have done fine without her, she would not have done fine without Arendelle. Being next in line for the throne gave her sense of purpose, allowing her to believe she had a constructive role to play, and she was not just some dangerous, unpredictable, uncontrollable force of nature. It was the thing keeping her sane. Her father, as plain wrong as some of his decisions had been, had done this because he loved her enough to take the less sure route. He had chosen her over Arendelle, or at the very least he hadn't chosen Arendelle over her.

So, she would sign the treaty. Well, she would consult with the council, Ledsham could damn well wait for her, but ultimately she was sure they would agree with her, and she would sign the treaty. She wasn't so sure it was good for Arendelle, but it wasn't going to bankrupt or destroy them either. And it might result in some measure of safety, as well as prevent them from being a participant in something unspeakable and soul crushing. However, she couldn't go back with the Vigilant, that would violate her oath as queen to protect and defend her kingdom. That was not something she was at liberty to do. The whole resolution was a compromise, one that might turn out to be a mistake, or it might not … but it was the best option she saw before her … the best of some very limited options.

As punctuation to her mood, one of the icicles hanging from the ceiling dropped to the floor with a loud crack. It narrowly missed her, and she almost laughed. Certainly that would be an irony … the evil Snow Queen impaled on her own ice while whimpering in her council chambers. She picked up the dark icicle, disturbed by how much it looked like a weapon, like a giant dagger, or a decent sized sword. She looked up at the rest of the ceiling where a small thicket of those daggers hung down. She thought of the spikes that always appeared when she was angry … dark dangerous spikes. She looked over at the throne across the room encased in ice and jagged wood, another artifact of her anger.

She stood up and with a thought and a wave of her hand she dispersed all the ice in the room. She now knew what she wanted to do. First she was going to find her sister and discuss this with her. She didn't think Anna would object … it was almost an Anna kind of plan. And she also knew that to exclude her from this decision would be another betrayal. Furthermore Anna had to be prepared. It was imminently possible this idea would go horribly wrong, and then it might fall to Anna to pick up the pieces. Yes, she would speak to her sister first, and then she would need to speak with Larsson.

"Majesty, we bring the Ambassador." A guard, she pulled his name to mind quickly ... Omdahl, spoke. Last night she had instructed Captain Larsson to assemble a dozen guards who were not only brave and good in a fight, but who were also loyal, preferably to her personally, at least in theory, rather than just to the crown. Omdahl was one of those. They were about the same age, she guessed. She wondered if that was the source of his fondness for her, growing up together in an odd distant way, sort of at the same time … except that one of them had been outside in the city and the other locked safely away in the castle.

"Good." Elsa looked down from the top of the second staircase to the open space below. She was in her ice palace. Here she felt truly at home, not surprisingly in control and powerful. Right now the palace glittered in a beautiful pale blue with some rosy highlights from the morning sun. The floors and walls were smooth with the complex embellishments inset inside the actual ice. But this ice, like all of her ice, would change if she became angry or upset. Right now it seemed that only the immediate area around her showed the effects of her emotional state. The floor beneath her feet was darker and the walls had begun to shift and crack very slightly.

She was in an ice-dress, not her customary one, but one she had fashioned last night after leaving the Vigilant. It was more modest than what she usually wore, higher in the neck and it had a lengthy train. She was depending on it also reflecting her mood today, and so far it had done so, shimmering now between a light purple and a medium red. She guessed that was the color of frayed nerves.

Her platinum hair was now wrapped tightly around her head. A tall white crown sculpted from ice completed the look. "Bring him up here," she ordered. Her long train swirled out behind her as she turned quickly. She had the time it would take the Duke to arrive here to reach inside herself for the right feeling. It wasn't hard. Earlier she and her personal guard had gone to the Vigilant. She'd frozen their canon, their guns, even their swords, easily with a wave, doing that sort of thing was getting easier now. Disarming the ship and crew had made gathering up Captain Fitzwilliam from the hold relatively easy. Looking at her after they had done so was not. She had expected to see the captain in a bad mood, perhaps a little bruised and angry, she had not expected to find her almost unable to walk, badly beaten, covered in her own filth. Elsa merely had to recall the look of humiliation that she had seen on the captain's face to summon up a deep rage for the man climbing the stairs below her.

"Queen Elsa, you are not doing yourself any favors," Duke Ledsham yelled. "I do not appreciate being dragged for hours up a mountain."

But it was Marshmallow who answered with a roar rather than the queen. He was sitting in the open space in the first room, and Ledsham decided that upstairs might indeed be the safer place to be.

"Queen Elsa," The Duke started again as he reached the upper floor. "I tire of these antics, and your behavior will cost you, you and Arendelle."

"How so?" came her reply, her tone venemous. She was no actress, so she had decided not to try to act. But she also decided up here there would be no concealing of her emotions. She intended to allow herself to feel everything that was bottled up inside her as fully as possible.

When the Duke looked over to where the queen's voice had come, he started. Elsa did not as a habit sit on her throne in her castle below in Arendelle, but she was sitting on one now; it was an immense chair of ice with large ornately carved arms, the back a fan of sharp icicles.

"My last offer was generous; my next will be less so," he said his eyes wandering around the room, looking everywhere but her.

Elsa sneered at him, "I have already rewritten our agreement." She snapped her fingers and one of her household guard stepped forward and handed the Ambassador a sheaf of paper.

His eyes quickly scanned the document, and he scoffed, "This is absurd. I'm not agreeing to these terms. This is not a treaty, it's capitulation. I do not know what game you are playing, but you are playing with Captain Fitzwilliam's life."

She willed herself to listen to him, to believe him. She reached inside and pulled up everything, all the memories of rage she had, all the hurts, all the frustration, everything that had led her to this day. The blue ice of the throne room darkened and cracked as she pondered the man in front of her. Her dress color moved through midnight blue to black and ominous jagged teeth protruded from its shoulders. A fan of black ice grew behind her head, giving her face and hair an otherworldly glow. "Unlikely. The captain is sitting right now in my dungeon. I suffer insults to my person no more gladly than your king," she seethed at the man in front of her.

What do you mean?" the Ambassador said in confusion.

"I have already received a rude awakening from her. I do not intend to put myself in that situation again."

"How is she ..." Ledsham sputtered.

"Ambassador," Now it was Elsa's turn to be snide, "If you didn't put those letters there, as you have said, and we both know that I didn't put them there, that leaves only one possible person responsible. The captain had access to my castle and my person. And she has, as you yourself have mentioned a duty to Avalon. I will not allow such a slight to myself go unavenged. I intend to extract full payment."

It was the last line she threw herself into, savoring the words. Again the walls darkened but now needle-like spikes protruded from them all pointing at the unfortunate Ledsham. They continued to grow as she kept fresh in her mind the hatred she had come to feel for this Duke.

Ledsham blinked. This was a turn he had not expected. He had truly thought the queen cared for Fitzwilliam, and perhaps she had, but clearly things had changed.

"When you sign this agreement," She continued, "I will release the captain. And I'll return the Vigilant to you as well."

"The Vigilant?" He was perplexed. What did she mean return the Vigilant?

"You are ignorant this morning, aren't you," Elsa beckoned the Ambassador toward the large crystal double doors that led to her balcony. They opened magically as she approached, and when they were both outside she gestured back to the harbor, which was tiny in the distance. The Ambassador squinted. Elsa scowled, rubbed her hands together, and created a telescope from ice. With that aid the Ambassador could see the large ship perched precariously atop an enormous plateau of a glacial shelf. It was completely frozen, ice constrained the sails and the gun ports. Nothing moved on its frigid barren decks.

"It's about fifty feet up. Not an inconsiderable distance for something that large to fall, but it would be easier if I just crushed it like the fragile toy it is." Elsa gestured with her left and a swirl of icy hail picked up an enormous tree from the mountain side and smashed it into kindling. "Easy and so very satisfying."

The Duke swallowed hard, and then asked. "What do you want?"

"What I want," as Elsa began to speak the ice around them darkened from dark reds and midnight blues on to black. Jagged stalagmites of ice grew from the ceiling, black cracks spread on the floor. "What I want is for you to agree that Avalon will not interfere in Arendelle's affairs. And you, and everyone who came with you, will then return to Avalon." She gestured with her left and a circle of toothed spikes surrounded the Ambassador and began to extend up toward him. "You will report to your king that I am not suitable as a wife or whatever it was you had planned. You will report that Arendelle is not interested in allying with Avalon. And you will warn your king that any further contact without my express invitation will be considered an act of war." By this time the points of the extruded ice surrounded the Ambassador on all sides, having grown to withing inches of his body. He shifted warily in the center.

"If you ignore this warning, if Avalon tries my patience again, I will end her." Her tone was hard, uncompromising, unpitying. "I wonder how many years without spring or summer it would take to starve you out? What will your William do when his entire kingdom is a frozen wasteland? And should you doubt my resolve, or my capability, I would remind you that I froze everything you see between here and Arendelle without even a thought, I built this castle in a night, immobilized your ship in five minutes, and could easily send an army of," she gestured down at Marshmallow, "snow and ice to fight any force you send here. A disposable army, Ambassador," She paused to make sure he understood, stressing every word, "An endless – disposable – army." Her eyes narrowed as she glared at the Duke.

The Ambassador hesitantly looked back into her stare, there was something fierce and full of rage in her brilliant blue eyes. He dropped his gaze and took a moment to compose his thoughts.

"I am waiting Ambassador." Elsa raised her voice for the first time during the conversation and punctuated it with an upward gesture. An icicle shot from the floor through the Ambassador's coat just missing his back. It caught on the heavy fabric, and he hung several feet in the air, motionless from shock."Unlike you I am not a patient person." It felt exhilarating to be able to wreak revenge on this odious little man.

"Fine, fine, I'll agree. I agree to your terms." he stammered.

Elsa dissipated the ice shard at his back, dropping him to the floor with a crash. She motioned a guard forward with a pen and waited until he signed the document. Then she dispersed the spikes and extended her hand with a smirk. Ledsham gingerly took it. Elsa thrust her hand forward, sliding it under his sleeve, and grasped him about the arm. The Duke screamed, high pitched, clearly in pain. When Elsa released him, the imprint of her hand on his forearm was visible, branded in his skin by the cold.

"So you can remember," she snarled at him, "Cold hands, cold heart." Then she turned on her heel strode back out to her balcony the doors abruptly closing behind her, leaving him to be escorted out of the palace and down to Arendelle proper.