"Hello, Christian," Devin said, as if nothing was wrong. As far as he knew, there wasn't. "I understand you're looking for your parents?"

Christian understood too much, or thought he did. He thought he didn't want to, though, although if he was right….everyone needed to. But how was that supposed to happen now?

If he was face to face, right now, with the man who took Joan from him….

"You were at Joan's birthday party," Christian said before he knew it. "You wanted to surprise her."

"Yes, yes, I did," Devin said evenly. "She's a special girl. You and I both want her away from those men as soon as possible."

"Those men? Just one guy attacked us," Christian caught.

"Well, um, it's obvious there's more than one man involved. Everyone agrees," Devin got back on track.

"Like the guy who wrote the note?" Christian asked further.

"Maybe. We don't know for sure. Hopefully we will soon," Devin offered, coming closer to Christian. At that point, he noticed the new documents on the desk – including the ones where Christian traced the words 'Queen Elsa' on. In his ink.

Christian then remembered to put those notes, and the kidnapper's note – Devin's note – back in his pocket. He then remembered one more key detail before he got too scared. "I'm sorry I came in without permission. But can I borrow your ink anyway?"

"My ink?" Devin pretended to be baffled.

"Yeah, I….I wanna practice writing with pens. I can show Joan when she gets back. So can I borrow it? Please?" Christian said with only one quiver in his voice.

"I would let you if I could. But I have my own writing to do, and no store in Arendelle carries my ink brand," Devin covered up. "Maybe some other time. For now, maybe we should get you out of here. I'll take you to your family myself."

Devin reached out for Christian, like a nice, normal person. Except Christian was convinced there was nothing nice and normal about him anymore. In any case, the last person who reached out for him took Joan and tried to take him – and Devin wanted it to happen.

He wanted his sister gone.

But her brother already let him get away with it once.

In a furious flash, Christian grabbed the bottle of ink and flung the contents right into his eyes. Fortunately, it blinded him long enough for Christian to run away. Fortunately, there was still enough left inside to show his family.

"Mom! Dad! Aunt Elsa!" Christian called as he raced out of the room. His guards turned to follow, but Devin stumbled out to meet them, using the eye sight he still had left.

"It's okay! I reached for him and he panicked! Trauma, you know? I'll get him and calm him down!" Devin insisted, then raced after him before getting permission.

"Mom! Dad! Aunt Elsa!" Christian was prepared to call over and over again until he found them. But he kept running down the halls and couldn't find them, or anyone else. "Mom! Dad! Aunt Elsa!"

"Christian! It's okay, you don't have to be scared of me!" Devin kept to his story while keeping on the chase. His longer legs and strides were helping him get closer.

"Mom! Dad! Aunt Elsa!" Christian called again, until he remembered to add something else. "I know who wrote the note! I know who wrote the note!"

Christian saw the doors to the royal chambers in his sights – but then saw Devin when he grabbed him by the arm.

"You're in shock, it's okay! Let's not give them any more to worry about," Devin stayed reasonable.

"You made them worry! You took my sister!" Christian yelled. "I want Joan back now!"

"We all do! But we can't find her if we don't stay calm! Let's go get calm!" Devin kept insisting, as he led Christian away in the other direction.

Instead of going, however, Christian bent down and bit Devin's hand until he let go of his wrist.

"Ow! You can't do that!" Devin made himself hiss quietly. "You don't bite princes. Especially when you only have half royal blood."

"You don't kidnap princesses either! Especially my sister!" Christian cried, still riding on unparalleled fury. "Tell me where she is before I tell them!"

"Let's not make up lies just to give them false hope. Let's just go and come to our senses," Devin insisted harder, reaching out with his other hand.

"Never!" Christian promised, before grabbing Devin's hand himself and pulling it. He was taken by enough surprise that he fell to his knees – but recovered in time to grab Christian by the collar before he ran too far.

Before Christian could call for his family again, Devin put his hand over his mouth. With his other arm wrapped around him, he turned around and tried to subdue Christian, but he kept wiggling around. He couldn't quite bite Devin again, but he didn't stop trying.

"Stop it now!" Devin got louder, yet Christian still didn't listen. "You stop it or you'll suffer worse than her!"

As much as Christian kept trying to get away, it was only a matter of time before he gave out. Then Devin would….

He'd have struggled with actually figuring out his next move, even if something didn't strike the back of his head.

But when Kristoff found the nearest bust he could find and smashed it against Devin's skull, he spared him that tough task.

Devin went down face first to the ground – and since he still had Christian in his arms, he all but fell on top of him. However, Kristoff thought fast again and flung him off his son, not caring too much about where he landed.

"Christian! It's okay, it's okay, I've got you…." Kristoff assured, hugging him tight and never wanting to let go. He'd never let go of any child again at this rate.

"Daddy…." Christian said emotionally – but got more emotional when Kristoff let go, and he saw the rest of the ink had long since spilled on his blue coat. "No! It's gone! But it's him, I swear, I know it's him!"

"I already know he attacked you, I saw it very clearly. At the end, anyway," Kristoff answered, just as Anna and Elsa rushed over.

"But he got Joan attacked too, I swear! You gotta believe me!" Christian pleaded, now that he could finally make his case.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

10 minutes later in the throne room, Christian finished making his case to Anna, Elsa, Kristoff and the captain of the guards. The captain was the first with the capacity to speak.

"Well, that brand of ink isn't available in Arendelle, we know that. But we don't necessarily know he used it. What if some other suitor or kidnapper used that ink themselves to frame him? To get us off their trail?" the captain proposed.

"It wasn't some other kidnapper, it was him!" Christian shot back.

"Did he actually tell you it was him? I know he said he'd make you suffer like her, but that's not a full confession. Did he actually admit he planned the kidnapping?" the captain tried to ask fairly.

When Christian could actually think it over, he was able to answer, "No…."

"Then we're back where we started," the captain said. "We're still holding him for attacking you, don't get me wrong. But we have no official proof he helped take the princess. It's going to take time to get it out of him. At least we have two days before the deadline."

"What if they won't wait that long anymore?" Kristoff argued. "Once they find out we've got him, they might take Joan away right then! Or worse! We gotta get it out of him and find her now!"

Fueled with anger, he continued, "I'll go do it myself! It's my fault he made it to the top seven in the first place, so it's gotta be me! I'll show him I went easy on him before!"

"Stop it!"

It was inevitable that one of the sisters would snap, after being so quiet so far. But it wasn't Elsa. For one thing, there were no icicles in the throne room.

It was Anna who was shaking with fury, and not knowing where to direct it. Or rather, she did know – and she also knew what she'd do if she had to listen a moment longer. So she retreated out of the room without even explaining to, or looking at, her husband, sister or little boy….

Her poor little boy and her little girl….

Minutes later, Elsa was able to find Anna at the nearest balcony. However, what she saw looked more like old Elsa than any Anna.

"Love will thaw….love will thaw…." Anna kept repeating as she held onto herself for dear life, trying to calm down. "Love will thaw…..come on, you gotta thaw…."

"Anna" Elsa dared to reach out. Fortunately, Anna wasn't too far out to be in any danger when she jumped in surprise.

"Elsa! Stay back, please! I gotta…." Anna started. "You can't be around me when I'm not….I mean, if I'm not calm, how can you….how can I…." she struggled to breathe and talk.

"I think I understand…." Elsa tried to connect with her.

"No! You don't! They're your niece and nephew, but they're my kids! And he…." Anna forced herself less successfully to calm down. "If I don't calm down, I'll just go over there! And it won't be right hook time! I swear I'll just go over there and kill him!"

Her anger turned to tears as she finished, "And then….and then we'll never find my daughter….and my son will have gone through all that for nothing…."

"I know. They're not mine, but you know I know," Elsa reminded her. "It's taking everything I have not to go use him for icicle target practice right now. That's why I need you."

Anna could only nod instead of saying she knew. Then she settled for falling into Elsa's arms and holding on tight.

"I'm sorry…." Anna cried. "It's all my fault. I put him in the top 10…..I let some rotten prince come here and hurt my family again. Now he hurt both my children…."

"Not as much as we're going to hurt him. And everyone he's working with. Eventually," Elsa promised. "As much as I want to get a head start right now, we can't. You heard the captain….we don't have proof it was him and he's not going to talk."

"My son's word is proof enough for me. You know he doesn't lie," Anna hissed.

"Of course he's not lying. But that won't be enough to make him tell us where Joan is. Or who has her," Elsa lamented.

"See, that's why we should use icicles! No, that's not enough!" Anna broke from Elsa. "That's too quick for him. He needs to suffer and fear death as long as possible, before he begs for it! Then he'll…."

The anger wasn't all cleared from Anna. But now she could use other brain functions. Maybe better than she had for most of her life. "Yeah…." Anna muttered, without bothering to catch Elsa up. "Yeah, that could do it!"

"What? You'll have to say more than that," Elsa insisted.

Anna did just that by saying, "You're gonna get a confession out of him."

"Me? No….if I'm in the same room with that man, I'll probably…." Elsa couldn't finish, but didn't have to.

"Right," Anna agreed. "That's why you won't even need to go in."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Devin had been tied up and kept in an empty room of the castle, in lue of going to the dungeons. Until they knew anything concrete, they didn't want word to get out that he was suspected of Joan's kidnapping – or let word get out to the kidnappers. He had been awake and aware of his surroundings for about 15 minutes, before someone finally came in.

"Princess Anna, thank goodness," Devin greeted. "I understand I was too rough on your son. I tried to calm the poor lad down, but that's no excuse. I swear I'll withdraw my name as a suitor for your sister, and you'll never have to see me again. Just let me go and I'll leave the castle myself."

"You're gonna tell me one thing first," Anna said, way too calm for someone as excitable as her. "Where's Joan?"

"Oh….I don't know where your son got that idea," Devin said. "He's scared and looking for some kind of answer. Just like we all are. When I wouldn't lie and give him the one he wanted, he must have….had some kind of episode."

"Like I said….you're only going to tell me one thing," Anna flatly replied. "Where's Joan?"

"I have no idea," Devin insisted. "If I knew, I would tell you. But I can't tell you what I don't know. You can't just….tie me up on a hunch from a six-year-old boy!"

"Now you're going to tell me two things. Now….you're going to tell me….two things," Anna repeated strangely. "Where's my daughter? And who has her?"

"All right, this is bordering on harassment. You have no actual evidence that I know these things. You just have….ink, tracings and a traumatized boy!" Devin accused. "If you're going to imprison a prince, you need much more to go on. And if you're going to imprison me against my will, I won't say another word. Not without representatives from my own kingdom present."

"It would take too long for them to get here. Joan doesn't have that time," Anna reminded.

"Then I'm sorry you have to follow the law," Devin retorted. "Either charge me with a crime that you can't prove, or let me go. I don't want to tell my kingdom about this...offensive incident if I don't have to."

Instead of yelling or ranting, Anna just stayed much stiller than usual. "Okay. I said you should tell me what I wanted to know. I guess you're really not going to talk to me."

"I suppose not," Devin repeated.

"Then I guess she'll have to come in after all," Anna said as she headed for the door.

"Like I said, I have nothing to say," Devin repeated.

"Okay. That's her problem now, not mine," Anna conceded, before opening the door.

She only opened it a few inches, which was enough for a big burst of wind to come through. Anna struggled to close the door back up, but finally did. "Oops! She's already warming up. At least by her standards of warm," Anna shivered.

"She?" Devin finally took in.

"We're gonna have to wait until she's calm enough to talk. Could take a long time, though," Anna warned. In a fitting bit of timing, the wind started getting louder from behind the door.

"She can't threaten me. She'd never risk hurting me and starting a war. She's too pragmatic," Devin believed.

"She's too much of a lot of things," Anna answered. "But that's Elsa for you. She never does things in moderation. She works too much, feels too much, causes winter too much, loves too much….you get her going, she won't stop till she goes way too far."

On that note, the wind got louder and the door actually began to shake. On top of that, they began to hear the sound of an intense snow fall – with a few stray snowflakes sliding under the door.

"Take Joan, for instance," Anna went on as if nothing was happening. "I swear, she's the only thing Elsa loves as much as me. And she loves me to death. She loves me so much, she stayed away from me for 13 years to protect me. She caused that much pain, by accident, out of pure love! Good thing she didn't cause pain on purpose out of love, huh?"

The banging on the door and the wintery weather outside got even louder – and Devin could swear he heard a faint growl too.

"Oh, and one thing she hates is bad suitors!" Anna kept going on obliviously. "I mean, the whole eternal winter started because of one! And he was a bad suitor for me! You were a guy she considered getting married to! If she thinks you're a bad guy anyway, then….well, it's a good thing you're not a bad guy!"

A clearer growl was heard from behind the door, followed by every ominous winter noise imaginable. Even a few that hadn't been. And every few seconds, the door seemed to be getting closer to blowing open.

"Yeah, she's gonna need a few more minutes!" Anna figured. "But if that door goes before then, I can't stop her from coming in! If she gets calm and you lie to her anyway, then I really can't stop her! No one could, so don't take it personally!"

"This, this…..this is an outrage!" Devin got defiant. "You can't threaten to….torture me! A prince! An innocent man!"

Before he thought of any more phrases, an icicle suddenly went right into the door. It stayed lodged in, even as the wind and snow kept testing the rest of the door's foundation.

"I told you to tell me stuff first!" Anna reminded. "I can still call her off, if you give me a reason to! But it's gonna be tougher the more we wait! I mean, she almost killed me twice with that stuff, and it was never this outta control!" For added proof, two more icicles were shot into the door.

"This is illegal! This isn't right! This is…." Devin ran out of accusation. "You can't let her in!"

"It might not matter if I let her or not now," Anna warned. Devin had no reply, as the menacing sounds and growls of winter and Elsa flooded his ears. Somehow, the door hadn't blown off its hinges, but it was only a matter of time.

"Please! You can't let your sister kill me!" Devin begged.

"My sister's never hurt an innocent person on purpose in her life. She spent 16 years making sure everyone knew that. So why do you think she'd kill you?" Anna asked.

Before he could make up an answer, the biggest icicle of all jammed into the bottom of the door. A few more inches forward and it would have kept going – at least until it flew into Devin.

At that point, his brain wasn't stable enough to lie anymore.

"Okay, okay! She's on a boat! She's on a boat, they didn't say which one! That's all I know!" Devin screamed.

"They? So there's more than one?" Anna asked loudly, over the still loud wind behind them.

"Yes! Just two of them! It was all their idea, I just gave them help! They're just two small time crooks from Arendelle who had one big idea!" Devin filled in. "I haven't seen them since two days ago when they copied off my note! They said they'd be in a boat on the docks, but they didn't say which one! I swear they didn't tell me which one! Now get her away from me!"

The only answer he got was seeing the door freeze up, until it shattered into a million pieces. At that, the wind and snow howled inside, causing Devin to cringe and scream for mercy. However, no one could hear him crying out until the wind finally died down.

When he finally died down, he saw Elsa standing in the open doorway, with the hallway behind her covered in ice and about a foot of snow. Fortunately, the entire floor had been evacuated beforehand for this occasion.

Yet even the sight behind her wasn't as terrifying as Elsa herself.

"When the hall melts, you're going in the dungeon. You'd do well to never come out. Not in front of me," Elsa said, with no room for debate or extra mercy.

"Yes, of course! Thank you, Your Majesty, I could kiss you! Ironically, if you'd let me earlier…." Devin let escape, then paid for it when a burst of wind almost blew his chair over. "Right, right! Carry on!"

"We will," Anna said. "Thank you for cooperating."

Instead of striking him with a right hook or worse, all Anna did was lightly push his chair – enough to make it topple over. Devin landed flat on his back, tied up and unable to get up – and neither Elsa nor Anna bothered to pick him back up on their way out.

Anna shivered in relief and cold as she climbed onto the foot of snow in the halls. The promise of Devin being scared beyond belief – enough to confess, anyway – was the only thing that got her to leave his neck un strangled. Compared to that, this freezing cold was nothing.

However, the snow slowly began to melt as Elsa got herself down the hall, with Anna trudging behind. "Well, you heard the man," Elsa reminded. "We have to meet some people at the docks."