A/N Disclaimer: All characters of Frozen and Spice and Wolf belong to their respective owners and no infringement of copyright is intended.

Chapter 9

"NO!"

Elsa's cry ripped across the range as she saw Naeil begin to move only to get knocked against the target and collapse to the ground. She guided the horse over to the target as Ragnar, Anna, and Kristoff raced towards the fallen prince.

"Captain!"

"Naeil!"

Elsa looked down at the form on the ground, tears welling up in her eyes. Her hands were shaking as she struggled to undo the extra straps on the stirrups, before finally just freezing them brittle so she could rip them off. Dropping to the ground she pulled the man over and gasped, as the others joined her.

"Oh my god..." muttered Anna.

Elsa shook her head, memories of the spell that had hit Anna taking hold. "I did it again...God no, I've done it again..."

Ragnar raced over and looked himself. It appeared there was a solid ice shard impaled in the Wolf Prince's shoulder, and it appeared to be growing rapidly, threatening to freeze Naeil entirely. He looked at the Queen, imploringly, "Undo the spell."

Elsa shook her head, "I...can't...I...don't know..."

Ragnar grabbed her hand angrily, "You MUST!"

Anna and Kristoff both hugged her, "You can, I know you can. An act of true love, remember. Love will thaw a frozen heart," her sister gently reminded her.

Elsa nodded and reached out, placing her hands on the shard. "Please...I'm sorry, Naeil."

The ice shard swirled, fading into snowflakes and then nothing, but now left a bleeding hole in the prince's shoulder. Ragnar sighed, relieved. This was something he knew how to take care of. "Quickly, return to the palace, let them know he's been injured. No need to go into details, just let them know I'll be bringing him quickly. Anna and Kristoff nodded and raced away, but Elsa stood there, tears streaming down her cheeks, shaking her head. "I shouldn't have...I should have just...I'm sorry."

She jumped on her horse and raced away, but Ragnar had no time to worry about her, he needed to help his Prince. He groaned, which was a welcomed sound. "Come on lad, quickly now."

The Sergeant made a small cut on the meaty part of his palm, allowing blood to flow out, before shoving it into the prince's mouth. The prince made a small sound, before biting firmly, his normally blue eyes turning blood red.

News of the accident spread quickly. The Queen arrived at the castle and locked herself away in her chambers, refusing to see anyone, including Anna or Kai. Both had tried, but only heard the sobbing cry of "Go away!"

Ragnar soon arrived, supporting the prince on one shoulder. Everyone noted the bloody stain on the prince's shoulder, but it seemed to be mostly dried. He was taken to his chambers and the Wulfen Guard stationed themselves outside, not allowing any visitors, although Ragnar himself came out to greet Anna and Kristoff when they attempted to visit.

"It's nothing personal, Miss. He's just very weak and needs some time to rest. Give it until tomorrow morning, and I'm sure he'll be fine."

They nodded and thanked the sergeant, but then he asked them. "How is the Queen?"

Anna's tears began to flow, "Not good...she's blaming herself entirely..."

Ragnar sighed and shook his head, "She shouldn't, because it's my fault," he said bluntly.

Anna looked up and Ragnar growled, "I could tell they were both exhausted, but I went with Captain's request, anyways. I should have put my foot down and ended the training for the day. We could have done this tomorrow, when they were both rested...at the very least I should have insisted on being the 'friendly'."

Kristoff looked confused, "What do you mean? Wasn't this an accident?"

Ragnar shook his head, "Yes and no. We do this sometimes with our soldiers. It's an exercise in recognizing friend and foe. The Captain was seeing if the Queen could recognize a friendly target in time to hold her fire. He was fully confident of her ability to do so, and of his ability to get out of the way if she did let loose, but with them both being exhausted..."

There was a groan from the room, and Ragnar bowed, "Forgive me. Please, do not worry about the Prince...he's strong and will recover. Go see to your sister, and pass on my sincerest apologies."

Anna once more approached the door to Elsa's bedchamber. The sounds of crying still emanated from behind the door. She steeled her herself and knocked, "Elsa, it's Anna."

The crying sobs continued, but Anna stayed by the door.

"Elsa, please. Don't shut me out again. I can tell your heart is breaking."

Anna waited, and much to her relief, heard the deadbolt being unlatch and saw the door open. Before her stood her sister, eyes red from her constant crying. Anna was afraid Elsa would suddenly slam the door shut, so she raced into the room to embrace her. Breaking down again, Elsa clutched onto her sister.

"Oh Anna, what have I done?!"

Anna continued to hold Elsa, closing the door so they could have privacy. She walked Elsa to the bed, only to note that it, like everything else in the room was covered with at least a coating of frost, if not outright ice. Still, she sat down and let her sister cry into her shoulder.

"Elsa," Anna sighed softly. "It wasn't your fault."

Elsa sat up and glared at her sister in anguish, "It is my fault! I was so determined to defend everyone, to show everyone I was in total control! I was so full of myself, and now Naeil is..."

Anna looked at her sister lovingly, "Naeil is going to be okay, Elsa. I talked with Ragnar just a few minutes ago. He said that Naeil is resting, but should be fine by morning."

Elsa shook her head, "It doesn't matter. In the morning...I'm abdicating the throne."

Anna stood up, "What?! No, Elsa...you can't!"

Elsa grabbed Anna's hand, "Don't you see Anna, it's for the best. If I step down, you will take my place as Queen, and then you can negotiate peace with the Duke. I'll go into exile, back to my Ice Palace. I'll never bother anyone again..."

SLAP! Anna's hand flew to strike her sister across her face. Elsa looked shocked as she clutched her cheek, while Anna just glared. "Enough Elsa! You of all people should know running away won't solve anything!"

Still clutching her cheek, Elsa looked at the floor. "I just want you all to be safe."

Anna grabbed Elsa by the shoulders, "Then stop this talk of stepping aside! You made a mistake, so what?! If you run away, again, you just show you haven't learned anything! After all they went through, do you honestly think Ragnar or Naeil would be happy to have you tuck tail and flee?"

Elsa sobbed some more, but shook her head. "But how do I..."

Anna hugged her sister, "You stand your ground! When Naeil shows up in the morning, you say you're sorry, accept his insistence that it was all his fault, share a sweet moment, and go back to work!"

Elsa nodded, "What if Naeil doesn't want anything to do with me? I nearly killed him..."

Anna pushed her sister away and gave her a dubious look, "You froze my head, ignored me for almost 15 years, froze the entire kingdom, attacked me, Kristoff and Olaf with a giant snow monster, and turned me into an ice sculpture. I'm still by your side, aren't I?"

Elsa couldn't help but laugh. "You're my sister, though."

Anna nodded and pulled her back into a hug, "And don't you ever forget that."

The morning sun rose over the mountains along the fjord, bathing the city in a warm glow. Elsa awoke to see Anna had not left her side that night. Carefully moving so as not to wake her, the Queen grabbed her robe and walked out into the hall. Within a few moments, she spotted the two Wulfen Guard standing outside the Prince's bedchamber. The two saluted but remained standing in front of the door. "Your Majesty," said the one on the left, one of the female Wulfen whom Elsa believed was called Alexis.

"I...I wanted to check on the Prince's condition."

Alexis stared at the Queen coldly, and Elsa had to fight the urge to back away. One thing that Naeil had made clear was the "pack" mentality of his kind. It was that trait that had been partially responsible for his behavior at the dinner. Elsa was a Queen, so she was expected to be the "Alpha". The Wulfen Guard treated her with the respect that was expected during "formal" functions. However, this was informal and Elsa knew that Alexis was sizing her up. Alexis was an older cousin to the prince and would not tolerate anything less than a confident Alpha female near him. Partially that was dictated by tradition, going back to the days of Kraft Lawrence and Holo. After all, the saying in Yoitsu was the King may be the Alpha male, but the Queen was simply the Alpha.

Alexis looked at the Queen and flatly stated, "His fever has finally broken, and the delirium has stopped as well."

Elsa forced herself to remain calm, and returned the Wulfen Guard's stare. "It pleases me to hear the Prince is recovering. I wish to see him."

Alexis's face dropped into a suspicious glare, "Why? So you can throw yourself at his bedside and beg his forgiveness? Perhaps you'll beg him to protect Arendelle while you run off and hide like a rabbit in it's hole?" She gave the Queen a sly smile, "Clearly you are unaware of your own castle's sound qualities."

Elsa clenched her fists, realizing the woman had obviously heard her and Anna's conversation last night. If she heard it from here, she was slightly impressed. However, if the Guard had been eavesdropping...

Elsa forced a smile to her face, and channeled enough power through her feet to create an ice sheet along the floor. Alexis backed up slightly and stiffened, her ears and tail twitching as she went defensive.

"Not at all, Alexis, wasn't it? I merely wish to know if the Prince will be able to continue my training today. If not, I'm sure Sergeant Ragnar will be more than suitable. Of course, if you are unwilling to let me see the Prince, it might be interesting to see how long it will take you to dig yourself out of a snow drift, as the last time I checked, this is my castle and I have the right to enter any damned room I please..."

Alexis let out a low growl and Elsa channeled her power to her hands. She would freeze this woman to the wall if she had to, because she was going to check in on Naeil.

The door opened and Ragnar's raucous laughter cut through the air. "Crimeny child, let the woman in. She's obviously intent on seeing the Captain."

Alexis straightened to attention, "But Uncle, she's the one who..."

Ragnar snarled, "And how many times have you been injured during training? I don't tear the face off any of them, now do I?"

Alexis stiffened, and then grudgingly stepped aside, the other Wulfen doing so as well. Ragnar's smile returned to his face, "Sorry about that, your Majesty, come on in."

As Elsa stepped through the door, she thought of how she was going to approach Naeil. Apologizing profusely, running up to him and giving him a hug. However, as she saw him standing there, apparently alive and well, another option entered her mind. She walked up to him and smacked him across the right cheek. "You IDIOT!"

Ragnar let out a roar of laughter and Naeil just stood there dumbfounded as he clutched his cheek, while she glared at him. Finally he grimaced and his ears drooped, "Alright, I deserved that." Throwing a look at Ragnar, he added, "Both of them..."

Outside the door, Alexis let a small smile creep across her face. Maybe this so-called "Snow Queen" wasn't such a weakling after all...

Anna awoke and realized that Elsa was gone. She jumped from the bed, but breathed a sigh of relief as Elsa entered through the door. "Oh, good morning, Anna," she said cheerfully.

Anna smiled, grateful to see her sister in a far better mood than she had been last night. "So, did you go see Naeil this morning?"

Elsa paused and let a smile cross her face. "Yes, and you were right Anna. He completely accepted full responsibility for yesterday."

Anna looked at her sister, "Well, is he alright, though?"

The queen smiled, "His shoulder is a little tender, but otherwise he's fine. He won't even have a scar."

Anna giggled, "So, what's on the agenda today?"

Elsa grinned, "First off, a bath and then breakfast, I'm starving."

As she pulled the robe off, Anna noticed a silver chain attached to a blue crystal vial around her sister's neck. "What's that, Sis?

Elsa paused, and took the vial, "This?" Her face took a strange look, "Naeil gave it to me. He called it his Token Chain. He said that it has snow from Yoitsu in it, and that as long as the snow stays frozen, he can never actually die." She furrowed her brow, "I wished he would have mentioned that earlier!"