Disclaimer - I no own Frozen or Spice and Wolf

Chapter 21

Elsa poked her head in through the open doorway and chuckled, "Well, that was fairly anticlimactic. What exactly were you anticipating, Sweetheart? A dead body to fall out, perhaps."

Naeil grimaced, "I can't smell, I can barely hear, and see. I've never experienced anything this bad before."

Elsa paused, her eyes darkening in worry, "Do you need to go back up to the main deck for fresh air? I can poke around in here myself. It's not that big a space."

Naeil shook his head, "No, let's just..." he mumbled, as the Wolf Prince staggered.

Elsa grabbed him and pulled him towards the stairway leading up to the upper deck. "Get above decks, now. I'll join you in a few minutes."

Naeil frowned but finally nodded and pulled himself up the stairway. Elsa watched him for a few moments to make sure he didn't collapse again, and then returned to the steerage compartment. She paused as she thought she heard a creak behind her, but wrote it off as the ship settling in the water. Nevertheless, she quietly set down a thin sheet of ice directly before the door to steerage before stepping through.

The compartment was tiny, and Elsa was almost ready to depart when she found the map crumbled in the corner. She quickly recognized it as a general street map of Arendelle's port town, with some details such as normal wind direction and speed scrawled in the margins. There also seemed to be notations involving time. Scattered across the map were dots. She smiled triumphantly just as she heard the squeak and the cry from outside the door, followed by a loud thud. Her eyes narrowed as she looked out the doorway. If that was Naeil, she was going to have to smack him again to get some sense back into her beloved.

The face that appeared was not Naeil's, but it was familiar. 3 months ago, in her Ice Palace, it was the face of the thinner of the two men who had attacked her. "You!" she snarled, flinging her hand out. The Weselton thug rolled, dodging the ice blast, coming to his feet and slamming the door shut. He chuckled triumphantly as he locked the door, and leaned back against it.

"I spent 15 years locked in a room. I will not do it ever again!" came the angry muffled voice through the door.

The Weselton thug felt the cold draft for a second before the door exploded outward, driven on a microblizzard from within the steerage compartment. Blasted along with the remains of the door, the Weselton thug groaned in pain, his back perforated by the splinters from the door, along with the force of his being hurled along the deck. He raised his head to see a willowy form walking slowly towards him, ice cold radiating from her and her eyes narrowed in anger and hatred. "I can show mercy to those who attack me...but I will not show mercy to those who murder innocent children!"

The thug's eyes widened in horror as Elsa raised her hand.

Naeil emerged onto the upper deck and leaned heavily against the main mast, struggling to take in deep breaths of the fresh ocean air. The pounding in his head was still present, but he heard the sound of hurried foot falls coming up the Gangplank.

"I'm alright, it's just a headache. Go down below and assist the..."

He felt the instant pain of a fist landing on his skull and hands grabbing him by the arms. As adrenaline flooded through his system, he snarled and jerked away, instinctively throwing one of his attackers over his shoulder in a judo-style throw. His eyes glowed red and he found his senses restored, facing 2 burly men, one with a mustache and sideburns, and the other clean shaven. Both wore the clothing of the Arendelle Home Guard, but their scents definitely didn't match any of those whom Naeil had met in the previous days. The two actually paused at the sight of his eyes, and his ears and tail bristling in aggression, as his canines lengthened.

"You really are a demon wolf, aren't you?" one of them stammered.

"No. I'm something far worse," the Wolf Prince snarled, as he charged the two.

Elsa eyed her attacker coldly, as his teeth chattered. He was surrounded by an ice sheet, save for his head, and that was being surrounded by the blizzard that Elsa was creating in the confines of the ship. His face was slowly becoming bloody, cut by the tiny ice shards that the Snow Queen was swirling around him.

"Tell me," she growled, "What were Cristian and the rest of you planning?"

The thug just glared back at the angered monarch, his own eyes radiating the same hatred he shown her 3 months ago.

Elsa paced in the confined space, like a caged lioness. "Cold doesn't really affect me, but I can see that you are far more accustomed to warmer temperatures. So, answer my questions and I'll stop."

The man shook his head, finally speaking. "G-g-go b-back t-to Hell, witch!"

Elsa closed her eyes and ceased her pacing. She turned back to the thug. "3 months ago, do you know how many people died when I accidentally froze Arendelle? NONE. Today YOU and your compatriots have killed at least 27 innocent civilians, including children. And yet you STILL declare me the monster. Maybe I should show you what me being a monster actually looks like?

She lowered herself to look him straight in the eye, when she heard the thud from above. She looked up, her eyes widening in concern, before she returned her gaze to her prisoner. "Don't move, I'll be back for you soon."

Elsa emerged from the hatchway to find Naeil collapsed on the deck, two bloody masses beside him. "Naeil!" she cried. "Are you alright?"

"STAY BACK!" he snarled.

She stopped at the harsh words. "Naeil, what is it? What happened? Are those...my soldiers?"

The Wolf Prince crawled away from her, "No...at least...I don't believe so."

Elsa looked at her fiance with growing concern. "Naeil...why are you hiding your face from me?"

The Wolf Prince shook his head, "Because I don't want you to see me like this."

Elsa closed her eyes for a moment before fixing the Wolf Prince in her stare, "What is it? Are you hurt? Naeil it's okay, I love you. Now come here and let me take a look."

But Naeil crawled even further away, "No...Elsa. This isn't something you should see. It's not even something I like seeing. Just give me a few more moments...to let the change pass."

Elsa took a deep breath. "Naeil? Do you love me?"

Naeil nodded, "With all my heart," came the pained reply.

"Then let me see your face, my love. So you can see mine and know that I love you...no matter what."

There was an agonizing pause, and Naeil shuddered, "Elsa..."

He turned and what Elsa saw took her breath away. Naeil face was contorted, distended, as if he was somewhere between a human and a wolf. His teeth were all razor sharp, and blood dripped from his mouth. His eyes were blood red, and slitted, more feline than wolf or human like. Elsa took a deep breath, and clutched the token chain around her neck, and smiled. "That's what you were worried about, my love? I can still see the man I love in you. A man who once scared off a wolf pack to protect a silly teenage girl who ran off into the woods by herself. A man who put himself in harm's way because he believed in me. I know you have a beastly nature within you, Naeil, but I know your human side is stronger by far. Even so, you need to understand...I love you, all of you. Your human self, your wolf self, and yes, even this self. I wouldn't want to marry you if I couldn't love all of you, Naeil."

Even as she spoke, his features became less feral, and more like the handsome prince he'd been before. He gasped and looked at her, his eyes once more blue and human like. "You really are a beautiful person...wait, why is the deck so cold?"

Elsa rushed over to him, explaining about the attack on her below. Naeil recalled as much as he could about his own encounter. Elsa looked down at the two bloody figures. "I don't recognize either of them...although this one here...it might be the same man who attacked me with the one below." She shook her head. "It's a shame you killed them, I'm getting no where with the other one."

Naeil sighed, "Well, if these are some of our missing crew, we're only looking for three more."

Elsa nodded and then heard a cheery voice coming from the pier. "ELSA! NAEIL! I've got great news!"

Elsa sighed and looked over, "We're up here, Olaf."

Olaf waddled up on the ship and suddenly his face dropped in shock and dismay. "Whoa, what happened here?"

Naeil and Elsa shared a look, "We ran into trouble," said Elsa. "How's Kristoff and Sven?"

Olaf shook his head as if trying to clear his mind, "Oh, that's why I came down here! That wolfy doctor and the rock man fixed everyone!"

Elsa breathed a sigh of relief, then her expression hardened as she cast her gaze back to the hatchway. "Naeil, if you could summon us some help?"

Naeil nodded and let out a series of rapid yips. Elsa saw Yoitsuan soldiers immediately start converging on the ship, as well as the grayish/white cloaks of the Wulfen. Several Arendelle soldiers also descended on the ship, spotting the rapid movement of their allies. As the first soldiers hit the deck, they immediately raced to the royal couple.

"Majesties! Are you injured? Who were these men?"

Elsa pointed to the hatchway, "Secure the man who is below decks. He is one of Weselton's thugs. Send word to the palace that we've discovered two others wearing our own uniforms. I want to know how they got them and if any more are missing!"

The Yoitsuan soldiers bowed curtly, "Yes your Majesty!"

Reisha and Thorin approached, "Captain?"

Naeil paused, "We had our own men watching the ship when we went below. Find out what happened to them. Hopefully they are still alive."

One of the Yoitsuan soldiers poked his head up out of the hatchway. "Uh, your Majesty?"

Elsa turned her attention to him, "Yes, soldier?"

The soldier bowed, "Well, the prisoner. He's frozen solid to the deck."

Naeil chuckled softly as Elsa let out a growl of irritation. "Of course, I'll be right down."