Chapter 25

Returned to Elsa POV

"Jack, I've explained this ten times now, you can come to the coronation but no one is going to reserve you a seat and you cant hold Alyssa. You know why now get out of the way." I skirted around Jack, crossing his arms in front of me as he floated, cross-legged blocking my way to the bed to dress Alyssa.

"I know, but that doesn't mean I don't get to complain about it." I rolled my eyes as he dropped back down with his feet on the floor. He settled himself on a chair, finding it more comfortable than thin air, and watched as I dressed our daughter in a little teal dress, a magenta sash trimmed in gold around the waist. "She's fine, stop fretting over the bow and get your own dress on." Jack complained again from the chair. I looked down to find I was still wearing my nightdress rather than my coronation gown.

"Crap, watch her!" I called as I ducked into the wardrobe to find my old coronation dress. Luckily I wasn't the type to have had handmaidens to dress me before I was crowned and managed to get into the dress myself. Stepping back into the room Jack stopped me and tapped my shoulders. I couldn't follow his meaning but after a dramatic display of swooshing an invisible cape I dashed back into the wardrobe and found it beside where the dress had been hung and fastened it around my neck. "Am I done?" I asked, slightly out of breath, and he laughed, nodding his approval. I scooped Alyssa off the bed, cooing softly at her when she gave a startled cry, and swept out of the room with Jack on our heels.

"Your majesty, you're running a little late." I smiled apologetically and adjusted Alyssa on my hip.

"Wardrobe mishap." We continued to hurry down the corridor and the stairs, hurrying across the courtyard to the chapel where people were already flooding in. "Back door." I whispered to Jack and made a turn to head for the chapel's back entrance, greeting the choir moving up the stairs as we entered. I found Kristoff standing by the first row of pews and sighed in relief when he held his arms out for Alyssa. "Thank you, is Anna ready?" He smiled at Alyssa's little fingers gripping one of his, and it held as he looked up to respond,

"As she'll ever be I suppose." I returned his smile and kissed my daughter on the forehead before leaving them to take their place, Jack standing off to the side to watch Alyssa over Kristoff's shoulder. His ceremony wouldn't take place until the wedding, which I won't be able to attend, but for now he sat silently in the first pew and waited for his fiancé to be crowned.

I took my place beside the Bishop before he signalled to the choir above to begin. Once the first few bars had been sung, the doors were pulled open and Anna flourished into the room, far more graceful as she walked to the front, her hands overlapping in front of her, it was a sight I never thought I would see. Her dress was a deep blue in the skirt and black in the corset and light teal sleeves with the same detailing patterns as mine in a deep magenta and the same coloured cape clasped around her shoulders, the same cape I was wearing myself. She reached the Bishop and reached for the sceptre and orb, bowing her head to the clergy behind him. It wasn't a long ceremony, the words were said, the sceptre and orb returned to their pillow and the crown was placed in her hair. Just as it was when I was crowned. There was a thunder of applause, the loudest of which coming from Kristoff's large hands, and a chorus of 'Long live the Queen' before Anna left the church followed by a flock of her people. I stayed behind and smiled, my eyes beginning to brim with tears, accompanied by Kristoff, Alyssa and Jack.

"She did well." I smiled, brushing a stray tear from the corner of my eye.

"She didn't trip at least." I gave a soft laugh and reached out for my daughter in reply to Kristoff and we turned to take the rear exit rather than be caught up in the crowd. The choir gave their goodbyes as we exited and made our way down the stone path.

"We can't stay for the party, Elsa, the longer we're here the more chance someone is going to come after her." Jack muttered in my ear, floating on his back beside me as we walked.

"I know, but we can't not attend at all. We can go for five minutes. I can anyway; you can finish gathering what we need while I say my goodbyes." I glanced over at Kristoff who walked with his head down, ignoring our muttered conversation. "And you need to say goodbye to Kristoff." Jack looked over to the mountain man and his face grew distant.

"I don't remember everything yet. I remember him, I know we were close, but I don't remember any details. I don't want him to know." He whispered, turning over and dropping to his feet to walk. Alyssa gurgled at the movement and he smiled at her, reaching out to hold her before realising we were coming close to a crowd. "I suppose the less people who know I'm alive, more or less, the safer it is for her." He stepped sideways a little and adopted a light frown. The rest of the walk was silent aside from my soft greetings to passer-bys. The ballroom was already brimming when we entered, Kristoff immediately moving to Anna's side and Jack going off to the side to climb the staircase. I followed after Kristoff slowly; reaching them just after Kristoff had greeted her and stood firmly by her side.

"Elsa! I thought you weren't going to stay." She pulled me into a hug and I returned it, holding onto her for longer than usual. "You're just here to say goodbye then." She guessed, whispering into my ear. I buried my face into her shoulder in reply, hoping I didn't leave a tear mark on the cloth. I pulled back and Anna took hold of her niece, holding her tight.

"I don't want anyone to come looking for us here. We've overstayed our welcome long enough." I caught someone's face in the corner of my eye looking our way with an expression of disgust and turned to see it was aimed specifically at me. Looking around more, I noticed there were a lot more faces like this watching me, not even attempting to look away when I noticed. "What's happened here?" Anna followed my gaze and noticed her peoples' faces.

"Word reached them from the Southern Isles that you deserted your marriage and stole your daughter from, according to their knowledge, her father. Now you've deserted your crown, deserted them. They don't trust you and some have grown to hate you, I heard someone call you a witch." She answered in a hushed rush.

"I led a good rule for so long, using my powers openly, and not once did any of them treat me like a demon. What changed?" Anna attempted a sympathetic smile, but held back in the view of her people. I knew leaving discreetly would be a poor choice now, the people would see Anna still has an alliance with me; the witch. Kristoff had slipped off as we spoke and I noticed he walked to the entrance, where Jack stood beckoning for him to come over. They wouldn't be long, and we would be leaving. Anna pressed a kiss to Alyssa's head and handed her back. "Change your expression. Don't look so sad I'm leaving. Look only as remorseful as a queen banishing a subject might look. I'm not going to leave you in charge of a rebellious kingdom." Anna blinked back a tear, discreetly, and her expression morphed into one I never wanted to see, something I wasn't even sure, before today, she was capable of.

"I love you. Good luck." She whispered through tight lips and I nodded sharply, turning on my heel and leaving her to her people. I held my own tears back as I made my way through a sea of people who now hated me. I found my way into the foyer and noticed Kristoff motioning to me subtly from behind a frosted door. They were in the sitting room, he and Jack, and I set Alyssa on Jack's lap, hoping no one would come in.

"You three need to leave now. A patrolman just came with word there were ships, Southern Isles ships, docking on our shores. Change into this." He handed me a travelling dress and cloak and he turned his back, watching for someone who may interrupt us through the frosted glass door. Jack didn't turn his back, but he shifted sideways and focused on Alyssa while I changed. I glimpsed sight of what looked like the patrolman's uniform through the glass, followed by another, and another, and then the unmistakable deep blue of a Southern Isles guard. I drew a sharp breath and tied the last string of the dress. I set my gown on the floor and pushed it underneath the sofa.

"Kristoff, there are Southern guards in the entrance." Jack stood up, clutching Alyssa to his side. Kristoff joined him, looking through the glass at the coloured blobs now unmistakably Southern uniforms.

"Take your daughter and go." He turned back to Jack and held out his arm. Jack, taking one arm from around Alyssa, clasped it just below the bend of his elbow and nodded with meaning I couldn't identify. They let go and Kristoff ducked out of the room, barely opening the door to keep us from view.

"Come on." Jack hoisted the bag from the floor onto his shoulder and handed Alyssa to me to properly secure the bag on his back. He opened a window and stepped up on the ledge, holding a hand out to help me up with him. He wrapped his arms around the both of us and jumped off the ledge, just in time for us to see the doors to the sitting room open and four Southern guards storm over to the window, Kristoff trying to hold them back. I curled my face into Jack's chest, watching Alyssa's face as we rose higher, with no idea where we were going to land.