Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it! These chapters are kind of setting up what's to come, so I'm sorry if they seem a little slow. Hopefully you continue reading!

Thank you to everyone who has been reading! There have been a lot of views, and that's great! Please, if there is anything you don't like about this, if there is anything that you DO like about this, or if you have an criticism in general, I really would love to hear about it! You won't offend me, don't worry.

Without further ado, here is Chapter 7! Enjoy!

The sun rose brightly on the snowy land, and the light brought activity. As soon as the sun illuminated the streets, villagers were out checking on neighbors, collecting wood, and trading and buying warm supplies. Inside the castle, the queens, duchesses, and ladies of court were enjoying breakfast brought to them by maids and servants. The kings, dukes, and other male monarchs were in the dining room eating, but Hans had not come down yet. His absence gave them a chance to talk.

"We must speak to the Prince about returning home. Arendelle is a great kingdom, but I for one have business to attend to at home," one king said.

"Aye, I've got to be getting' home, too," another agreed, "I was supposed to depart yesterday, but of course my ship's frozen in!"

The royalty all spoke up in agreement. Their ships were all frozen in, too, and the snowy mountains were all impassible without winter gear, which they obviously hadn't brought.

The Duke of Weselton spoke up, "And the Queen is another problem altogether! Two of my very best men went missing in the search for her, and who knows what has happened to them! Queen Elsa is the reason we're all stuck here, and I don't know what King Agdar and Queen Idun were playing at, but they were hiding the monster sheltering her! I can understand trying to protect your family, but she is a witch, and that alone calls for action!" He threw his napkin from his lap to the table, standing up, but comically not standing very tall. Despite his short stature, his words had convinced the majority of the leaders and they decided to talk to Hans as soon as he showed himself.

As they had been given rooms in the castle, they'd spent this extra time usually in the library or smoking room with a fire blazing in the fireplace to keep the winter chill at bay. They'd planned on a vacation: a few days of mornings spent shooting in the wilds of the kingdom, afternoons spent resting after delicious midday dinners, and nighttime parties with dancing and music and laughter. But everything changed at the coronation and none of that happened. So today, like the other days, they went to the library, where a warm fire was blazing. But today, they were buzzing with a new energy. Now they had a common hatred. A common goal.

"We don't usually have many prisoners," the young guard said, bringing Elsa's breakfast into her cell. He was always the guard that came in, but today was the first day he'd initiated conversation.

Elsa sat up, her body stiff from sleeping on the hard cot and from days of inactivity. The guard set the plate down and went to unlock her mitts.

"So I have to wonder," he continued, "What do you do all day?"

Elsa laughed humorlessly. "I sit here. Sometimes I walk over to the window, but I just see the winter that I cannot end, so I've stopped that. It's prison. I'm not supposed to be comfortable," she sighed. She left out the fact that she was consumed with the growing darkness of regret, wishing things could be different. She didn't need pity.

The guard nodded. He could see that behind her sad eyes was a storm. He didn't want to push her. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes," he said, as usual.

Elsa inspected her shoulder with her briefly freed hands before eating. Some of the bandages had been able to be removed, so her range of motion was a little better, but the skin around the puncture was sore underneath the dressings and hurt to touch. She turned to her breakfast. It was filling, but tasteless. A simple biscuit and some sort of gravy or mash. She could assume that with extra mouths to feed, food supplies would be running down. And there was no way they'd waste the food on a prisoner. She couldn't care less.

"I see you ever day," Elsa said when the guard came back, "But I don't know your name! A queen must know her subjects."

The young man laughed. "Karl," he answered.

"Well, Karl, you have been very kind to me. Thank you," Elsa said with a smile that only barely hid her sadness. But it was sincere and did brighten her face a bit.

Karl let a quick smile flash across his own face, before he bent to grab Elsa's shackles from the floor. After locking them once again, he went for the door. As he was leaving, he turned around.

"You're welcome," he said.

"Prince Hans, we need to talk to you."

Hans and Anna had been strolling down the hall, Anna talking excitedly about colors and menu items for their potential wedding. They were stopped by half a dozen men from various lands who were all in Arendelle as guests.

"Gentlemen," Hans smiled, "You make it sound like grim business!"

"It is rather grim, actually," the Duke replied.

"Perhaps the Princess has somewhere else to be?" a diplomat said, bowing to Anna. She glared, but Hans told her it was probably best, so she huffed and left down the hall. The men went into a study and closed the door. They had no idea Anna was listening from the other side of the door.

"Prince Hans, I'm sure you'll understand that we have business to attend to in our respective kingdoms. You can't know how it is yet, in your carefree youth, but we cannot stay here much longer," one of the men said. Anna couldn't tell who.

"Oh, excuse my ignorance. I do wish I could understand what responsibility feels like," Hans said with obvious sarcasm. They had touched on the topic of a role as king and it was a touchy one for the redheaded prince.

The monarchs ignored him. "As everyone knows, it was Queen Elsa who set this winter on us and froze our ships into the fjord. She must be able to reverse the curse, shouldn't she? As a witch and a monster, it is probably in her best interest!" the Duke spat.

"I'm not sure what you want me to do, then," Hans said.

"Go to Elsa. Talk to her. Surely she has an evil plan and that's why she's forcing us to stay captive here. Tell her that we have the power to destroy her because of the sorcery she possesses. That should convince the Queen to reverse the spell."