Author's Note: Sorry for being slow, etc. Prepare yourself; bad things ahead. May ruin your image of Elsa forever. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Also, I don't really know anything about anatomy or whatever so please excuse any inaccuracies. It's the gore that counts.

Anna and Kristoff spent the afternoon quietly in Anna's study. Kristoff had fabricated a story about what he and Elsa had talked about, saying that Elsa had told him that Anna didn't know the man behind the attacks and that's why the Queen hadn't told her, and Anna had accepted it. Whether or not she truly believed him or she was just forcing herself to believe him because she didn't want to consider the alternative, he couldn't say. But her mood had improved significantly from earlier and right now he was just basking in the warm glow that was Anna.

The prisoner's head jerked up as he heard a door outside his cell slam shut. He had been asleep, the first real sleep he had managed in days. He was almost thankful for what had happened during the Queen's last visit, as at least she had rid him of the jagged ice prison that stymied all of his previous attempts at rest.

He was surprised to find that the person who stood in front of him was neither the Queen nor the gaoler. He was tall and blonde, with plain clothes and a plain face. He looked somewhat familiar but Hans wasn't sure why.

"Wow. She really did a number on you, huh?" said the man outside the cell.

Hans just looked at him. He couldn't answer, of course, and he was trying to determine who this man was and why he was here.

"Oh, right. Anna told me about your tongue." He fell silent as he took in a good look at the battered and bloody form on the cell's floor.

"The Queen told me to visit you. As a threat for what will happen to me if I screw things up with Anna." He let out a chuckle before continuing, "How did you manage to screw this up so bad, anyway? She's a princess, she's gorgeous, and she was in love with you," he paused for a moment, "or at least she thought she was in love with you. Either way, you're an idiot for throwing that away... Not that I can complain, I guess." Kristoff took one last look at Hans before turning to leave. "Elsa's probably going to be here soon so I should get going. I probably won't see you again, Hans."

Kristoff had been right; less than an hour had passed between his departure and the Queen's arrival to Hans's cell. He was still awake. He was brooding over his situation when he heard the barred door of his cell clang shut behind the Queen.

"Good evening, Hans. I hope you're well-rested; we're going to be here all night." She moved to the center of the room and conjured a long table made of smooth ice. "Get on. Or don't. I can put you there myself if you prefer."

Hans hesitated but ultimately complied. Assuming his compliance would make this go easier for him, he slowly made his way to the table and climbed on, laying on his back.

"You're not going to enjoy this, Hans." Elsa said with a grin as icy protrusions extended from the table and wrapped themselves around him, thoroughly securing him to it.

She leaned over him and traced a line up his torso with her hand. The blade was so sharp and so cold he didn't feel any pain at first. Hans had been staring at the Queen's face as she did this, and when he lowered his eyes to meet her gaze his look changed from one of confusion to one of horror at the deep red gash in his chest. The Queen noticed his expression and said, "Your death will be slow and without mercy, Hans. I intend to take my time with you." She reached down and tugged on the exposed flesh to peer into the cavity below. She frowned at the resistance she met and released him before tracing a few more lines on his skin. She could now fold back the flesh of his chest entirely, giving her full access to what lay within.

She began by examining him. She had read books on anatomy, but had never seen something like this up close. She identified the various organs she could remember and what they did, making mental notes of which ones were vital and which were not. She put a hand on his rib cage and caressed it while she spoke, "These will need to go at some point; they'll be in my way later. Would you prefer I remove them now or then?" His only response was a groan and to drop his head onto the table. She smiled at him, "I'll leave them for now. There are other things I'd like to do first, anyways."

Elsa covered his open chest cavity for the moment and moved to his left side, taking his remaining hand in one of hers. "You're not symmetrical anymore, Hans," she noted, "Let's fix that." She traced the circumference of his wrist with the fingers of her free hand, making sure the blade of ice she used wasn't quite as sharp or as cold as the one she had used on his chest. She grinned as she saw his face contort in pain. She grinned wider when she felt Hans's grip on her other hand tighten. "That was only the skin. There's much more yet to come."

She began the slow process of peeling the skin from his hand and exposing the muscle and sinew beneath, leaving her fingers entwined with his as she worked, removing them only when necessary. When she was finished, she let the empty skin fall to the floor and began to examine the musculature of his hand. She poked it and prodded it, testing the feel of the muscle fibers against her soft skin.

Elsa had a vague awareness of the noises that Hans was making in response to her movements, but she tuned them out and continued on. After exploring the muscles and tendons to her satisfaction she once again took his hand in her own, weaving her fingers amongst his. She looked up at Hans with a devilish grin before bringing the frosted blade to his wrist with her other hand, and his squeezing of her hand soon died out as the last of the flesh on his hand was severed from his arm.

The Queen began picking and pulling at the muscle fibers and tendons before stopping abruptly and addressing Hans. The look on her face changed to one of boredom as she brought her blade down on the bones, cleaving away what remained of his hand. She took a step back and looked Hans over as she contemplated what to do next. A short time later, she spoke, "I think it's time to get those ribs out of the way."

She leaned over him again as she peeled back the flesh of his chest. She had manifested something resembling a hammer in one hand, with a slender handle and thick head, and a pointed icicle in the other. She placed the icicle on the first rib and struck it firmly with the hammer. The sharp crack of a breaking bone filled the cell. Elsa pulled it out, and after inspecting it briefly, she placed it on the table next to Hans and moved on to the next rib. She continued like this until the entirety of the left side of his chest cavity was uncovered, giving her access to the lung and heart that had been hidden away.

Gingerly, the Queen moved her hand towards his heart. The pulsating red thing before her gave her some pause. Of course, she had seen depictions of the heart before but to have the real thing beating just an inch from her fingertips, it almost seemed to beckon her to touch it. And touch it she did. She started with just one finger to feel the texture of it before drawing her whole hand over it. Next, she laid her hand on it, almost as if to grasp it.

Elsa looked up at him then, saying, "Hans, you left my sister to die of a frozen heart. How about you have a taste of how it might have felt for her?" She let a small amount of her power flow from her fingertips into the beating muscle beneath them, leaving a faint dusting of frost on the surface. His entire body shuddered at the sensation. Elsa waited for the frost to dissipate before pouring more of her cold into his heart.

She held back a little less the second time, using her entire hand rather than just the five points of her fingers. She removed her hand and giggled at the icy handprint she left behind. Stepping towards the end of the table, she brought her face close to his and stared into his eyes as she spoke, "Do you see now what you condemned her to? This is only a small taste of it." She stepped back and grabbed onto his heart and let the full force of her magic flow into it, not bothering to hold it back as she had been. His heart seized briefly at the sudden cold before falling into an arrhythmic beat. Elsa watched it intently, the beat growing slower and slower until it finally stopped.

"Damn."

Bonus time: I had this image drawn for me a while back to complement this chapter - imgur dot com slash Fbkyadm