Kristoff and Olaf dove out of the way as Elsa charged through them, her wintry eyes staring down the corridor the Ice Maiden had disappeared from. Her fingers twitched at her sides as threat after threat poured out of her mouth.

"Whoa, whoa!" Olaf yelled, scampering after the queen. "Elsa, wait for us!"

But she didn't hear him. In fact, the change in her occurred so suddenly, she seemed like a different person. One moment, she wept for Kai. The next, the entire wing frosted over and her eyes were ablaze in fury. Not that any of them could blame her!

"Y-y-y-your M-m-majesty!" Kristoff yelled, his teeth chattering already. He rubbed his hands together for warmth as he joined Olaf in going after her. "You're k-k-kkillin' us here!" Then he glanced at Olaf. "S-s-some of us, a-a-anyway!"

Elsa stopped short and whipped around, making Olaf and Kristoff both recoil when her fierce eyes laid upon them. "I have to do something! I can't let her get away with this!" The floor and walls began to thaw. Kristoff let out a short sigh.

"I couldn't agree more. I just don't think charging after her is going to help. She's gone," Kristoff said, sad to be the bearer of the painfully obvious. He knew how stressed she had to be. First there was Hans, then Anna, then the Southern Isles and now the Ice Maiden's attack. If it had been him, he would have snapped much sooner.

In an uncertain attempt to be helpful, Olaf added, "He has a point, you know."

"I know that! But I have to go after her!"

"You don't even know where to find her," Kristoff reminded her.

"Then what am I supposed to do?!"

Kristoff was taken aback by the question. He started to answer right away but trailed off almost at once. Then he looked at the queen trembling before him. He realized then that it was probably taking all her strength to keep herself from just turning everything to ice and snow. Of course she wanted vengeance on the Ice Maiden. But they knew nothing about her; they knew no weaknesses, no strengths. It would be foolhardy for Elsa to fly out into the night after an enemy they knew nothing about, especially since Elsa had apparently been unable to use her magic against her.

"Well?!" Elsa snapped.

Kristoff cringed. He really didn't have an answer for her—at least, not one that she wanted to hear. Elsa opened her mouth to say more, but she held back, gazing guiltily down at the floor. Without another word, she turned away from them both, rushing in the direction of her own chambers.

Hours later, Kristoff brought Sven some dinner and he still felt like kicking himself. First he regaled Sven with news of the attack on the trolls. Then he described that night's attack at the castle. "I mean," he said as he held out another handful of grasses. Sven gently nibbled the food from Kristoff's palm, careful not to bite the man. "What was I thinking? Who am I to interfere?" Sven swallowed and backed up into the stall so he could look and listen. Most people would have stopped by now and wondered how much the reindeer actually understood, but not Kristoff.

"The queen is a grown…woman," Kristoff went on, verbally stumbling over the word chosen over 'adult'. "She has magic! She's perfectly capable of taking care of herself."

"You were only trying to help!" he Sven-voiced a response from the reindeer. Sven bobbed his head toward him and licked Kristoff's cheek.

"Yuck! What'd we say about licking immediately after meals?" Kristoff chuckled over the endearing gesture even as he wiped the Sven-slobber off his face. His amusement waned when he thought back to earlier in the evening. "I just… I just want to be helpful." Sven snorted and hawed at him. "I know I've been helpful. But it's not enough. I want Anna to be found, I want that idiot prince to be arrested and I want Elsa to smile again."

The moment he said it, an uncomfortable feeling settled into his stomach. What did that mean, that he wanted to see the queen smile? Of course it meant he was a loyal citizen. As Anna's sister, the queen was someone whose well-being mattered to him. He had known her but briefly, but long enough to be sure he liked her as a person.

"So what's this feeling?" he asked himself. He thought of all the odd foods he'd consumed over the past couple of days. He was used to simpler fare. It had to be that.

Sven knocked his hoof against the stall, drawing Kristoff's attention. "Why don't we just go track the Ice Maiden together?" Sven asked. Really, it was Kristoff asking himself. He shuddered at the prospect of another adventure so soon. On the other hand…

He grinned at his furry friend and gave Sven an affectionate rub under the chin. "You and me out in the wilderness on a wild goose chase? The Ice Maiden has magic."

"There was magic last time," he pointed out in Sven's voice.

"Also true…"

"Do you want to stay cooped up in the castle?"

Kristoff already knew the answer to that. He'd gotten so little sleep since the Great Thaw. His bed was just too…soft. When he did finally fall asleep at night in the guest room, he kept having nightmares about waking up in the clouds and promptly falling out of the sky, plummeting to certain death. It just wasn't possible to have a good night's sleep without some sharp twig or pebble digging into his back.

Then there was the food. His face scrunched up just thinking about all the different courses and utensils, half of which he didn't understand. Why did he need more than one spoon or fork? Why did the servants remove his plate after each course? Wasn't that wasteful?

Kristoff scowled. No matter how trying any of that was, the worst part was feeling useless. He hadn't even been able to dive into his new responsibilities as the kingdom's official Ice Master and Deliverer. Heck, he had not even had time to think about it. The closest he'd gotten was deciding to ask Jan, another ice harvester he was acquainted with, to be his assistant.

"All right, you have a point," Kristoff admitted. Sven snorted in reply.

Kristoff looked around at the few lanterns lighting the stables, thinking of the supplies they would need. "I'll pack. We'll leave before light. I'll have to leave a note for the queen…"

That strange, unidentifiable feeling returned to Kristoff's stomach. Truth be told, he felt guilty about leaving the queen alone in the middle of everything, especially with what had just happened to her man servant. Whether that was all he felt, he didn't know.

"Get some sleep. I'll be back when it's time to leave!"

It was like looking at Anna frozen on the fjord almost. The statue resembled Kai but was absent of color and emotion aside from fear. His arms were even held up in defense as Anna's had been. Usually Elsa was impervious to the cold, but gazing at the ice sculpture of Kai gave her chills.

Gerda sniffed beside her. "Ohh, Kai… what have you gotten yourself into, you old fool…"

Elsa glanced at Gerda from the corner of her eye, crushed to see Gerda this way. The two had been together all her life. It was tough to see the one without the other.

"Gerda…" Elsa began, finally finding the strength to speak. "I am so sorry that this happened." She turned toward the older woman and collected Gerda's hands into her own. "I feel partly responsible because Kai was trying to protect me."

"Oh, child," Gerda said, squeezing Elsa's two hands as tears dripped down her cheeks. "I would have done the same."

Elsa dropped her eyes in discomfort. Seeing others cry was one thing; that she wasn't used to. But Gerda's words nearly brought Elsa tears of her own. A moment passed before Elsa was able to look Gerda in the eye again.

"I want you to know I will do whatever it takes to remedy his… condition," Elsa said at last. "I swear to you."

Gerda gave Elsa's hands a final squeeze before she gently let go. "I know, Your Majesty…" Now Gerda looked away, turning to collect herself. "I must excuse myself… I can't keep looking at him like that."

"Yes, of course. Please," Elsa answered, nodding. At that, Gerda bowed and saw herself out of the spare room, leaving Elsa to contemplate the ice sculpture.

It wasn't as simple as Anna's case, which had not been simple either. With Kai frozen, how could Gerda perform an act of true love for his sake? She couldn't, or at least no one had thought of a way yet.

Elsa forced herself to look at the terror trapped on Kai's face. She didn't want to admit it, but the Ice Maiden had frightened her too. It wasn't the woman herself that was frightening; it was her power so like Elsa's own power, but stronger.

Ever since she met the trolls of the Valley of Living Rock, a question had been forming at the back of her head. She thought of the troll leader—Grand Pabbie?—and his explanation of power; there was evidently a difference between those who were born with it and those who came into it. In spite of what he'd said, Elsa thought of the determined cruelty of the Ice Maiden. She had come to Arendelle Castle with some purpose, executed an assault for that end without even blinking and froze a man for standing up to her.

No matter what Grand Pabbie said, the question haunted Elsa. She whispered it to Kai.

"Is she what I might become?"

A/N: I actually ended on a different note than originally planned (Lord Harald was supposed to show up, but now he'll just show up next chapter). I don't want Elsa to experience the same fear of her powers that she did in the movie. However, I will be exploring the origin of her powers later on. Now that Elsa has seen someone with powers very like her own—someone seemingly wicked—I think it's natural for her to have concerns.

Thank you for reading! Please review if you're enjoying the story. :)