For My Kingdom

A Frozen Fan Fiction

Chapter Nineteen:

What is Left?

Author's Note: Hi again!

Prince Alexander had not left the room. About fifteen shock filled, awkward minutes after the queen took her leave, Anna ran after her, but the stunned prince sat on a hard, wooden chair and began sifting through the myriad of emotions that he was experiencing. The Elsa he had gotten to know the previous day was not the same one that he met that morning. This Elsa was harsh and cold and almost menacing.

While surprise was certainly taking up a large portion of his emotional faculties, there was another feeling that gave him a considerable amount of pain. Heartbreak. Irrational, though it was, Alex had begun to fall for Elsa during their little adventure. She was kind, pleasant, funny... What happened between then and now that seemed to remove all essence of her humanity? He couldn't see Elsa acting that way, especially toward her own sister, for any reason... Even this muddled up situation she was in.

He also had to admit to himself that he thought that Elsa might have been warming up to him as well... Was that a lie? A hallucination?

He stood. He couldn't believe that this was a natural occurrence in Elsa. The memory of the reception poisoning came to mind. No poison in the world could work that fast. The prince left the room to find the troll chief that had saved Elsa that day. He had read plenty of fairytales as a child. Enough to know magic when he saw it.

ooo

When Anna finally found her sister, she was speaking with a butler in the main hall.

"Please tell the wedding guests their presence is no longer required and that they may leave at any time" the queen told him.

"Yes, your majesty." He bowed and went to complete his task.

As Anna approached her, Elsa turned and clasped her hands in front of her expectantly. The princess stopped less than a foot away.

Anna had to steady herself to avoid sounding accusing or angry. She didn't really know what she was feeling. "What's going on, Elsa?"

"I think we've kept our guests here quite long enough."

"No." Anna shook her head. "I mean, what's going on with you? You're not yourself..."

Elsa sighed, almost like she used to. No frustration, no anger... "Anna, you need to understand how serious this is."

"I KNOW it's serious. You're my sister, Elsa. I want you safe, but being angry at everyone isn't going to solve anything!" Anna's shoulders slumped forward tiredly. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to go to the trial... I'm afraid that might not help your mood."

"Oh, there is no trial."

Elsa stepped to the side to walk past Anna, but the confused and upset princess stepped right in front of her again. "What do you mean, 'no trial'?"

"He's already admitted guilt of treason. Our laws are clear enough on the punishment for such an act. A trial would merely give him more attention, not to mention waste time." Elsa stepped to the side again and walked past Anna.

The princess stood stunned for a moment, then spun around and walked quickly to catch up with her. "Elsa! You can't do that!"

Elsa's gait sped up as Anna came closer. "And why not?"

"You know why not!" Anna had to run to close in on the queen and turned so she was standing right in front of her. Elsa stopped short, her face showing a conglomeration of different, conflicting emotions. "Our parents were strong defenders of the law. If they knew you were doing this..."

The mixture of emotions Elsa was experiencing had disappeared, leaving only one. Anger. "Well it's a good thing they're dead then, isn't it?" She snapped. Elsa didn't wait to see the hurt that had begun to spread across her sister's freckled face. Not bothering to try and sidestep her again, the queen pivoted on her heel and walked back the way she came.

"Elsa, you can't!" Anna stood frozen in place with grief as tears fell from her eyes.

The queen stopped for a moment, turning her head to the side. "That's enough, Anna." She turned away again and crossed the corridor. As she turned the corner, she could feel something make its way down her cheek. Reaching up to brush it away, she found that it was wet. She looked down at the glistening tear on her finger tip, and turned back for a moment to the corridor where she left Anna.

Anger began to bubble up inside her as she thought of what that bastard traitor had told her. She looked at the staircase briefly where she had intended to go so she could rest for a spell, before turning back and returning to the dungeons.

ooo

As Elsa stormed to the dungeons once again, an invisible force field seemed to stretch out in front of her, moving everyone in her path to the side. News had traveled about her less than pleasant mood and the servants tended to avert their eyes, but she didn't notice or care.

Even as the queen approached the dungeons, the guards didn't pause to stop her or talk to her. The guard had changed since she had last been there, but the new guard seemed to understand that Elsa wasn't in the mood to be trifled with. He turned and unlocked the door before she even reached them and she strolled in without breaking pace.

The guard outside the assassin's cell seemed to have gotten the memo also. Elsa only had to stop for a moment outside the cell for a moment before he pulled it open for her.

The assassin stopped mid-pace to raise an eyebrow at the queen. "Back so soon, your majesty? Here to kill me yourself?" He leaned back casually against the wall.

"What's your name?" Elsa spat out each syllable as if they tasted bitter on her tongue.

The man shook his head and rolled his eyes, leaning his head back against the wall. "Sentences me to death without a trial and she doesn't even know my name." He lifted his head back up and looked at the queen with a small smile of amusement. "Not very nice, that." He paused for a moment. "It's Gulbrand."

Elsa continued to glare at him with an unchanged attitude. "Tell me where she is, Gulbrand."

He shook his head. "And why in hell would I tell you that?"

"Because I could spare your life."

Raising an eyebrow, he replied, "You're lying through your teeth."

"So what if I am?" She was. There was no way she was letting him off any hooks. "What have you to lose?"

Gulbrand rolled his eyes. He didn't care about dying, in fact, that was part of the deal. He was counting on it. Better he hang than experience the alternative. "How about this, I'll just tell you and you don't have to worry your pretty little head about being a filthy, rotten liar? Oh wait, you can't worry can you?" His smile widened, showing a row of slightly yellowing teeth. "No fear. I had almost forgotten."

With great difficulty, Elsa ignored the jibe. "Where is she?"

"The North Mountain."