New day, new chapter! I had tried to upload it the past two days, and it didn't work for whatever reason. Anyway, thank you to everyone who has been reading, you guys are making this fanfiction experience fantastic!
I hope the story is easy enough to follow? Hopefully the way it switches slightly from Elsa's to Hans's point of view isn't TOO confusing.
Big thank you to Yellow-eyed-wonder for reviewing, and for the tips! Glad you like it!
Another thank you to Hi for reviewing! It's definitely going to stay clean, and at this point I don't see it being HansxElsa, but who knows? :) Glad you like it!
Enjoy, and don't hesitate to review!
When the sun rose in a cloudy gray sky the next morning, Elsa was struggling. Her left arm was immobile, which was especially unfortunate as she was left-handed. She shivered, but not from the cold. She had, for another countless time, dreamt about her parents' deaths. The irony is I could have saved them. I could have frozen the water and their ship wouldn't have gone down and none of this would have happened. They would be alive right now and I would not be queen and Prince Hans of the Southern Isles would never have set foot in Arendelle. She shuddered, hearing the groaning of the sinking ship once more before the dream melted back into the depths of her mind.
Out of nowhere, Elsa's mind thought of Anna. She could only hope that the young man in the furs would have the sense that her father had once had, and take Anna to the trolls. But what were the chances of that? She could also hope that she had not hit Anna in the heart. What was I thinking? Really, it was Anna's fault for once again pushing her too far, right? But Elsa would never forgive herself if Anna died.
The full realization of everything that had happened in the past few days suddenly slammed into Elsa like an avalanche. I killed a man! I killed two men! Anna might be dead herself, and if what she said was true, Arendelle is covered in snow! Not to mention the fact that now the whole kingdom knows of my powers. What have I done? Filled with despair, Elsa hugged her knees with tears in her eyes and contemplated what to do next.
The men had not slept well. Spending the night in makeshift shelters in the frigid temperatures was bad enough, but every noise in the impenetrable darkness might have been the ice witch readying for an attack. After eating a cold, unsatisfying breakfast of lefse and dried venison, the men decided that Elsa couldn't have gotten far, so they would spread out and comb the area before heading out again.
"If you find her, do not kill her on the spot. Instead, capture her and bring her to me. We'll bring her back to Arendelle if we can," Hans said. He would be staying here in case Elsa was found. And oh, how he hoped she would be.
Elsa was going to turn herself in. Her conscience had taken over. The consequences might be grim, but with any luck, Hans would bring her back to Arendelle and she could at least see Anna again. Elsa knew that she would be found guilty of murder and would undoubtedly be accused of witchcraft. But she couldn't sit alone for the rest of her life, and if she were to run now, she would be alone, not to mention injured. So, with the feeling coming back into her left arm, bringing with it the dull pain, Elsa got up and began walking in Hans's direction.
It was not too much later when Hans heard footsteps some distance behind him. He turned, expecting a soldier to be approaching, but instead he saw Queen Elsa. Her left shoulder was covered with brownish-red dried blood, and her braided hair was disheveled. Her eyes looked tired, with a hint of desperation. However, she continued to hold her head high, and Hans couldn't help but respect her right now.
"Queen Elsa," Hans said, his voice unreadable.
"Prince Hans," Elsa nodded in greeting, her voice stiff, "I have come…" she broke off, and took a deep breath before continuing, "I have come to surrender myself."
"Guards!" Hans bellowed, so the soldiers would come in from the woods and surrounding area.
Elsa stood with her hands clasped, her stomach twisting, as men came running to the sound of Hans's voice. As soon as they saw Elsa, they pulled out their weapons, an assortment of swords and crossbows.
"No, don't harm her," Hans commanded, "She has come by her own choice and surrendered herself. We're going back to Arendelle."
Elsa breathed a silent sigh of relief as the men went to clean up their camp. We're going back to Arendelle. Her relief was interrupted as Hans grabbed a rope from Sitron's saddlebag. He took Elsa's hands and bound her wrists, wrapping the rope around her clasped fingers so she would not be able to separate them and use her power.
Hans put his face next to Elsa's ear as he made the final knot and whispered, "Just so you don't try anything funny."
When the camp was packed up, the men mounted their horses. Hans took the end of Elsa's rope, and the group moved out with the men riding and Elsa walking.
"The murders distracted me," Hans said to Elsa after an hour of travel, "Did Anna come to you? Her horse came back to Arendelle without her, and that's what brought us out here."
"Yes, Anna came to try and bring me back to Arendelle. She had a young man with her, an ice harvester judging by his fur clothing," Elsa replied.
"Where did she go after you wouldn't come back?" Hans asked.
"I don't know. You see, I well… I blasted her with some ice. It was an accident, and she provoked me, but there's a chance that it hit her heart. Then I created the snow monster to chase them away. They probably went back to Arendelle, or possibly to the home of the trolls. They know how to heal magical injuries," Elsa explained.
"This ice harvester," Hans began, "did they seem… close?"
"Well as soon as Anna was hit, he came running to her," Elsa saw the look on Hans's face and added, "Of course I don't know how she views him. She seemed to adore you at the ball."
"And yet you wouldn't let us get married," Hans countered, trying to appear as hurt as possible.
"It was selfish of me, to be sure. I just didn't want to lose her. And I didn't know anything about you. I still don't."
"Elsa, you will most certainly be put in jail when we get to Arendelle."
"I know this."
"What power will you have then to stop us from getting married?" Hans asked.
"I know I cannot stop you from getting married. I just need to know that you will care for her and love her unconditionally," Elsa replied wearily. The journey was physically draining, and her thoughts were emotionally draining. She might be dead in a day, found guilty of murder and witchcraft and executed. She did not know how Anna fared, and she had no interest in discussing marriage. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she did not notice that Hans didn't answer her when she mentioned care and love.
The group continued down the snow-covered ridges and as late afternoon approached, the kingdom came into view. A strong wind blew up from the frozen bay below, and the men shivered and pulled up their collars. Elsa looked down at her shoulder and her stomach dropped. She hadn't noticed until now, but the wound had started bleeding again and she had lost a lot of blood. As she watched the blood steadily seep out, her peripheral vision grew dark and she dropped abruptly to her knees, stopping her fall with her bound hands.
"Hold up!" Hans called to his men, jumping down from his saddle.
As Hans crouched down and tentatively put a hand on the young woman's shoulder, Elsa collapsed the rest of the way to the snow, staining the pure white ground a brilliant red. Her eyes slowly slid out of focus and closed, and her body went limp. Loss of blood and physical exhaustion, probably. Despite the resentment he felt for her, Hans took her across his lap in the saddle and let Sitron lead the way to Arendelle. Hans took out his handkerchief and put it against Elsa's shoulder, momentarily slowing the bleeding.
Before entering the kingdom, Hans warned his men, "Don't let Princess Anna see the Queen. We don't need that commotion quite yet."
The band entered the gates and made their way to the dungeons. Seldom used, they lay in a back corner of the castle. As the group made their way to the castle, villagers who were out getting firewood or checking on a neighbor stopped in their tracks to stare at the young Queen. Whispers filled the air as people came into doorways to see the soldiers pass.
When Hans and his men reached the castle, most of the men stayed outside, letting Hans and a few soldiers bring Elsa inside. Kai, the head of staff in the castle was the one who opened the door.
"Queen Elsa?" he gasped.