Chapter Nineteen

Elsa's confusion did not ease as they resumed their journey. If anything, her puzzlement grew. Feilan seemed more relaxed and almost cheerful as she led the way, yet she was evasive about any further pursuit of conversation. Her moodiness seemed to transfer itself instead to Captain Beorne. The man would meet her inquiring gaze with a genuine smile, yet a surreptitious glance would catch him in a more melancholy state. Kristoff appeared to be trying to watch all of them and the mountainside as well. Even Sven had divided attention, either staring at Feilan or glancing over his shoulder at Kristoff.

Settling into their evening camp proved to be a sufficiently distracting task. With two of their numbers wounded due to the second attack, defense as well as shelter became a priority. At the Queen's instruction, Feilan led them to a sizable clearing, then stared as Elsa proceeded to build a miniature ice fortress about them. Two sets of thick walls spiraled around the site and curved outward at a height the snowbeasts would find difficult to overcome. Opaque and translucent panels alternated to give a view of their surroundings. The snow within was rapidly carved into comfortable seats and beds with a cleared firepit at the center.

Kristoff and Beorne lay their blankets over the snow furniture in layers so they may rest in relative dryness. The mountaineer again tended to the animals while the captain built the fire and saw to their dinner. Elsa cleared away a patch of snow to reveal winter-dry grass. It barely even qualified as a supplement to the feed they carried for the mounts, but Kristoff assured Elsa that being able to graze would help them relax. Feilan mostly just stood to one side, staying out of the way of any activity while staring at Elsa's ice walls. Her earlier good mood seemed to fade with the day's light.

Finally all was settled for the night. The horses and reindeer grazed, strong teeth ripping at the bitter grass. Dinner for the humans was gruel and melted snow water. Bland fare indeed, but with as much as they had been through these past few days, it was kinder on their stomachs. It had already been settled that Kristoff would have first watch, but no one seemed inclined to sleep. The humans gathered about the small camp fire, lost in thought as most stared absently into the flames. Only their guide kept looking up, eyes trailing along the walls Elsa had created.

With a deep breath, Queen Elsa dared to break the conversational silence. "Feilan," she stated, although her gaze remained on the flames of the fire. Only when she heard their guide's inquiring grunt did she continue. "You said something earlier today… that I would appreciate some clarification on."

After a very long moment, Feilan simply muttered, "Yeh?"

The Queen lifted her eyes to peer at their guide's huddled form. Feilan kept her head twisted to one side, so she was not looking directly at Elsa. From the edges of her vision Elsa could see both Beorne and Kristoff sit straighter. Taking a deep breath, she asked, "You said something about it taking me too long to look into the storms. What did you mean by that?"

Feilan grunted, staring at the snow beside her feet. "Didna mean much o'anythin' by it," she muttered, the last of her earlier cheer evaporating.

That caught Captain Beorne's attention. "Really? Because it sounds almost as though the storms were bait, and that you were waiting for our Queen," he accused.

"Th'storms had been goin' on fer a bit," their guide sighed heavily, rolling her eyes at the Captain. "An'th'attacks. Villagers thought at least soldiers would be out there long afore."

It was such an easy explanation. Queen Elsa shook her head. "I knew nothing of the attacks or storms until a messenger from the mountain villages, a man by the name of Jorgenson, arrived."

"Ah. Jorgie. They was wonderin' if'n he'd made it." Feilan shrugged and stared into the flames.

"Well, he did. And as soon as he told us what was going on, we began organizing this expedition." Elsa waved an open hand to indicate what was left of their party.

"Coulda used better organization," the smaller woman quipped. She flinched and darted her gaze to Captain Beorne, who had moved his hand to the hilt of his saber. "Jes sayin', ain't gone so well," she mumbled.

"We didn't know what we were getting into, obviously," Queen Elsa quipped in return, then bowed her shoulders slightly. "It's no excuse, and no saving grace for those who have disappeared."

Feilan snorted. "Savin' grace. Eh. They thought that's what ye'd be. At first th'villagers thought yer soldiers would come, swords drawn, t'fight off beasts n'storms alike. Then they thought ye'd come, w'yer snow magic. Or maybe that you were causin' it. Then they was thinkin' ye wouldna come at all, 'cept perhaps t'save precious trade."

That made Queen Elsa wince, as she recalled inland trade routes having been one of the primary reasons she gave to Anna about seeking an immediate response to this threat.

"Queen Elsa has the concerns of Arendelle at her heart," Captain Beorne growled, his hand still resting on the hilt of his saber.

Kristoff stood up, momentarily causing all gazes to dart his way. He ignored everyone, dusting snow from his pants then walking to where Sven grazed. The reindeer snapped his head up and greeted his human friend with a deep, whuffing chortle. The mountaineer leaned against his side and reached over to rub Sven's muzzle.

Slowly moving his gaze from Kristoff back to Feilan, Captain Beorne blew out his mustache. "What I mean to say," he said in a slightly calmer tone, "is you seem very suspicious of our Queen's motives."

Returning her own gaze to the ground between her boots, Feilan shrugged. "An'yer suspicious o'mine. We're na'zactly a trustin' group," she muttered. "So what of it?"

Queen Elsa tilted her head and made a small gesture with her hand, causing her Captain to reluctantly subside. "You are correct, Feilan," she stated, "neither side trusts the other's motives, yet here we are. How far would you say we are from the castle?"

Their guide blinked at the abrupt question. "Ah… unless sommat happens… sommat else… I'd say sometime tomorrow afternoon."

"That soon?" Captain Beorne blurted. He cast a sharp glance at Kristoff. "Did you know we were that close? Why didn't you say so?"

Kristoff nodded then shrugged. He stared thoughtfully at the smaller guide, still absently rubbing Sven's muzzle. "Got to thinking about some things."

The Captain's eyes narrowed. "What things?"

Elsa rubbed her temples. She could feel a slight headache coming on, probably from all the short tempers. At the moment she wanted nothing more than to be back at the castle. Guilt tainted the desire, reminding her of the twelve missing soldiers, and who knew how many merchants and villagers. A sparkle of thought danced about the reminder of Feilan's magic. What was she asking the guide about again? And why couldn't she seem to think straight? Perhaps she was just tired…

"Well," Kristoff's voice snapped Elsa's wandering thoughts back to attention. "Speaking of trust… Something that's been bugging me… after the first attack. How did we get to the village?"

That made Elsa focus on the male mountaineer. "How do you mean?" she asked. She tried to remember, but at the moment all she could recall was waking up inside the inn. Trying to remember the attack itself made her headache spike.

Captain Beorne stared at Kristoff. "I… we…," he paused, shaking his head. "I confess, I hadn't thought much about it. I was more concerned about Elsa… the Queen's condition, and our own. And our safety, since. What does that attack have to do with trust now?"

"And all our horses," Kristoff continued without answering Beorne. "All of them, there at the inn. Why didn't they just scatter, like they did during the second attack?" He stared hard at Feilan. "They did, didn't they?"

Sven snorted and swiveled his heavy ears forward, realization dawning on his furry face.

Feilan continued to stare at the ground between her boots.

Both Elsa and Beorne glanced between the mountaineers, curious as to what Kristoff was leading towards.

Without taking his gaze from the female mountaineer, Kristoff said, "I remember the first beast attacking. The one Elsa stopped with her ice. But there was a second, wasn't there? One that came from behind."

"Ah, I remember that," Captain Beorne nodded. "We tried to retreat enough to be able to cover both with our crossbows, but…," he paused, frowning, then shook his head. "It's so hard to remember what exactly happened."

Still staring at their guide, Kristoff asked, "You remember, don't you, Feilan?"

Feilan twisted her head to one side, hunching her shoulders.

Queen Elsa's eyes began to widen, while Captain Beorne glanced between the mountaineers. "What do you mean?" the Captain demanded, then his own eyes grew wide. "Wait… what… you?" he twisted to stare at Feilan, his hand clamped tight about the hilt of his saber. "You were the second monster attacking us?"

Even as Feilan gave an aborted shake of her head, Kristoff spoke aloud. "Not attacking, right? You were defending, weren't you? But this is what puzzles me… were you protecting us, or the snowbeast?"

When no answer seemed forthcoming, Queen Elsa prompted, "Answer if you would, Feilan."

The guided hunched up miserably, but her answer was clear enough. "Both."

"Both!" echoed Captain Beorne. "How could it be both!"

Without looking up, Feilan gestured to Elsa. "She were 'bout t'do somethin' wi'her ice. Could feel it. Woulda… woulda killed th'beast."

A sickening thud hit Elsa's stomach as the moment returned with crystalline quality. She remembered steeling herself to greet the monster's next charge with ice spikes, which would have effectively caused it to impale itself. That charge had never happened because… because the second snowbeast interrupted it. Blinking, she asked, "How did you know what I was about to do?"

"Didna, na'zactly. Just… felt… like I felt… when ye left camp… winter magic..." Feilan gestured helplessly at Elsa.

Elsa remembered the small guide talking about hearing chimes and laughter when she used her magic. Shivering, she wondered if the sound changed with intent. If so… what had Feilan "heard" when she braced herself to cause the snowmonster's death, had it charged again?

"You can feel our Queen's magic?" Captain Beorne asked, interrupting Elsa's thoughts. His grip was still tight on his saber. "And you acted to protect that monster?" His mustache bristled. His eyes continued between to dart between the mountaineers.

"Aye," Feilan growled, "there weren't n'reason t'kill th'beast. Jes needed t'be discouraged, were all!"

Kristoff leaned against Sven. He occasionally exchanged glances with the reindeer, as though checking to see if Sven's remembered version coincided with his own. In a tone that was a touch too casual, he continued, "And after you 'discouraged' it, you got us to the inn, didn't you?"

That made the Captain blink and lean back, his hand sliding off the hilt of his saber.

"Answer him, Feilan," Queen Elsa commanded when the their guide seemed disinclined to respond.

Fidgeting, the smaller woman instead asked, "What makes ye think tha'?"

Kristoff shrugged. "You mentioned trying to find the horses, after we were attacked the second time. Which got me thinking about how all of our horses showed up at the inn after the first attack. Which got me wondering about how both horses and what was left of us got to that inn." He gave Sven a firm pat on the neck. "I thought Sven had rounded up the horses, but… that's not what happened, is it?" The taller mountaineer turned an inquiring gaze to Feilan.

She still refused to look up, but her response was an oddly good-natured mutter. "Yer reindeer fought hard t'protect ye. Near 'bout took m'eye."

Sven snorted loudly. He swung his heavy ears back then forward, eyes every bit as wide as Beorne's and Elsa's own.

"I think you need to tell us what you did," Captain Beorne said slowly. For the first time, the tone he directed to Feilan was more incredulous than suspicious.

Feilan hunched her shoulders so far forward she appeared to be imitating a turtle.

"Tell us," Queen Elsa directed, adding, "in detail, if you please."

Twisting her head slightly to one side, Feilan exhaled noisily. "Weren't much. I… ah, kinda smacked ye on th'back o'th'head t'stop ye," she said, lifting her head enough so that brown eyes met true blue eyes. "Sorry."

Queen Elsa tilted her head in acceptance of the apology and lifted her hand. "Continue, please," she said, her calm tone not betraying the rapid beating of her heart. From the corner of her eye she saw Captain Beorne draw a deep breath, then force himself to exhale slowly.

Feilan saw that as well, her head twitching in the Captain's direction before once again casting her gaze down. "Jes wanted t'stop her from… from doin' whate'er she were ab't t'do. Then had t'distract th'beast long enough fer it t'ferget ab't all o'ye. Then got th'horses… an'yer reindeer… then came back fer all of ye. Well, what was left o'ye. I… I dinna know wha'appened t'the rest o'yer men. Ye were all was left when I g'back fr'm gettin' th'horses." The peasant accent increased as she spoke, until her words were nearly unintelligible towards the end of her description.

"You… saved… the horses… first?" Captain Beorne said incredulously.

For just a moment, Feilan lifted her eyes to stare directly at Elsa. She then dropped her gaze back to her boots. "Yeh."

"Eh, it's what I would've done," Kristoff spoke up, startling everyone.

"So both of you would have just left the Queen of Arendelle, unconscious in the snow, with monsters about?" Captain Beorne bristled.

"Beasts," Feilan muttered.

Kristoff spread his hands. "Hey, way I see it, we take care of animals first, then ourselves second."

"I'm sure Princess Anna would be thrilled to know you think her sister the Queen rates less than a horse," Captain Beorne snarled.

"Captain Beorne!" Elsa exclaimed, staring at her Captain in shock. Really, this was nothing like the man she had come to know through long years in the castle.

"Low blow," Kristoff hissed, "low blow, man."

"That is enough!" Queen Elsa yelled, causing multiple sets of eyes to turn towards her. She gripped her aching head in her hands. Glittering snowflakes drizzled from her fingertips. Ice magic chilled her skin and crept against her temples, soothing away some of the pulsing pain. Forcing a careful sigh from her lungs, she slowly lowered her hands. "When you two are quite done bickering like children," she scolded quietly, "perhaps we can continue this conversation like adults."

Captain Beorne winced and leaned forward. "Is your head bothering you, Your Highness?" he asked, concern making his voice thick. "Perhaps you should retire early for the night. Head injuries usually require a great deal of rest." He paused, looking to Elsa's arm. "Come to think of it, we need to change out those poultices before you retire for the night." There was another, longer pause before her turned his head to Feilan. "You as well."

"N'necessary," Feilan muttered very softly.

"It is necessary," Elsa scolded. She held out her arm to the Captain, who was already rummaging in his bags.

"You will assist me," Captaine Beorne said with exaggerated calm to Feilan, "since you seem to be the cause of most of our Queen's current ailments."

Kristoff and Elsa both blinked several times at the Captain's command.

"I…!" gasped the small guide, though whether in protest or shock it was difficult to say.

He twisted to stare hard at her. "I still do not know whether to trust you… you have injured our Queen twice, hidden powerful abilities from us… yet now I hear you may have saved us twice, and taken injuries doing so… much like a soldier. Even if you did save the horses first. In my company, if a soldier's foolish actions cause harm to another, part of his punishment is to aid in caring for the victim of his folly." His carefully neutral tone shifted to a steel to match his saber. "You will assist me in caring for the Queen's wounds that you caused."

Guide and Captain stared at each other openly for several long heartbeats. Just as Elsa thought she would have to intervene yet again, she saw Feilan give a single slow nod. Without a word the small mountaineer crept forward until she was within reach of both Elsa and Beorne's medical supplies.

Elsa made the sleeves of her jacket vanish and accepted Beorne's firm yet gentle grip on her arm. He began unwrapping the bandages, handing the growing length to Feilan. At first there was no change, but as the pressure eased pain flooded to take its place. By the time the last of the bandage was unwound, Elsa was hissing between clenched teeth.

"Burn those in the fire," Captain Beorne directed. Feilan shifted, and the smell of burning cotton and blood-soured herbs quickly filled the small ice fortress. A moment later he said, "Now, pour this over the wound."

Remembering what happened before, Elsa braced herself. For a moment, she thought she would be fine as the liquid hit her skin. It then found its way into an open part of the wound, lighting the nerves there afire. A whimper escaped her jaws.

"Keep pouring!" commanded Captain Beorne. His strong hands held Elsa's arm still despite her involuntary reflex to jerk away.

"But I'm hurting…," came the whimpered protest.

"And you're the one that hurt her to begin with, if I'm to believe all this shapeshifting nonsense. At least prove you're willing to hurt to heal," the Captain growled. "Prove to me you're a mountaineer, not a monster."

Feilan made no further sound, but each of Captain Beorne's terse commands was met with an immediate response. More of the paste was applied once the wound was cleaned, then the arm carefully re-wrapped in fresh bandages. By the time they were done, Elsa's headache was almost refreshing compared to the reawakened pain in her arm. Beorne demanded to take a look at her head as well, but could find no outward mark to heal.

Elsa found his searching touch on her scalp a curious mix of soothing and alarming, but exhaustion was rapidly robbing her of any ability to decipher her own reactions.

After assuring himself that he had done all he could for Elsa, Beorne directed his Queen to her snow bed. With a grunt he turned his attention to Feilan. As Elsa was pulling a blanket over herself, she glanced at her Captain and their guide.

Firelight glinted off Feilan's cheeks as she twisted to remove her jacket. It took a moment for Elsa to realize the light was reflecting from the tracks of still-wet tears. She started to sit up again, alarmed, but Feilan was already turning away. The guide positioned herself so that the majority of her side was lit by the campfire. She sat in silence as Beorne worked, unwrapping bandages.

"What," the Captain exclaimed as he removed the last of the ones encasing Feilan's waist.

"Toldya I healed fast," muttered their guide.

Captaine Beorne grunted, but it was Kristoff that spoke. "Is that why it took you so long to come to the inn?" he asked.

"What?" blurted Feilan. Even the Captain lifted his head and tilted it to one side before returning to poulticing what was left of Feilan's wounds.

Kristoff shrugged as he stood near Sven. The reindeer had finally returned to grazing, apparently having decided the evening's revelations weren't as important as a decent dinner. His mountaineer friend clarified, "That was another thing that was bothering me. You found us pretty quick after the second attack… when I started thinking you were part of the first one, too… well… I was wondering why, if it was you, why it took you so long to appear at the inn. I mean, you knew where we were and all, since it was you that dropped us off there, right?"

Feilan looked down and muttered something unintelligible.

"What was that?" Captain Beorne said, then immediately added, "Roll up your legging. We need to treat that leg as well."

"I said," growled the guide even as she complied with Beorne's command, "that I didn't mean to show up at all."

"Why not?" Kristoff asked, his gaze going to the Captain rather than the guide. "I mean, all you had to do was show up, say hey you saved us, and get our gratitude. After all, the Storm Crow's got a reputation for saving merchants, right?"

Even from her reclining position, Elsa could see Feilan's shoulders hunch together. Then Captain Beorne shifted, and she could barely see the guide at all. Fighting a yawn, she tried to attend to Kristoff's questioning. There was a purpose there, she knew, but sleep was driving sense out of her head with a feather-down persistence that could match any stone wall.

"Hate that name," Feilan grumbled, then yelped as Captain Beorne poured some of that fiery liquid over their guide's wounded leg.

"Fast healer you may be," the Captain said, his tone increasingly less combative, "but some of these wounds are still deep. Hold still."

Kristoff whistled soft and low. "Man, if they look that bad now, how bad was it before? How badly did they chew on you the first time? Bet that was why you were slow 'finding' us, right? You were healing?"

His only answer was a sudden string of coarse words from Feilan.

Kristoff's second whistle was a bit sharper. "Whew! You tryin' to curdle air there?"

Surprisingly, it was Captain Beorne who answered in a rather smug, amused tone. "Actually, I think that was in response to me having to pack in some poultice."

"Ye didna hafta try t'pack it t'th'bone!" snapped Feilan.

"Hero or not, hurt my Queen again, and it won't be poultice that I'll be grating against your bone," Captain Beorne said in a low voice. While Elsa was still trying to puzzle whether she had heard him correctly, he continued in a louder tone, "There. That's the last of it. Once we're at the castle, we'll have our Royal doctor check upon both you and our Queen."

"Hey, whoa, no one said anything about me goin' into the castle!" Feilan immediately protested. "Lead ye to it, sure, but not goin' in it!"

Elsa tried to sit up, but her head protested vehemently.

Even Kristoff blinked at Captain Beorne. "Uh… say what now?" he said.

Captain Beorne sat back, brushing his hands against the snow. "Well, if all you're saying is true, Kristoff, then this… mountaineer here certainly deserves the honor of the court, wouldn't you say?"

"Ah… well…," stammered Kristoff, utterly at a lack for words for the suggestion.

"I… I don't…," protested Feilan.

"It would only seem fair," the Captain continued in a suspiciously blithe tone, "since trust seems to be such an issue. We're within your power here on the trail. Wouldn't it be a fair exchange of trust for you to join us at the castle?" His words quickly gained a sharper edge to them. "Furthermore, at the very least Feilan here has an… insight… into these snow monsters that we could desperately use, and even her small amount of knowledge about the storms outstrips our own meager bits. That knowledge could be very useful when we conference at the castle."

"Hey, now, I didna sign up fer no conferrin'!" Feilan yelped. "Jes guide ye to th'castle, no more!"

A bitter frost to rival Elsa's own ice crept into Captain Beorne's tone. "And yet, to add my observations to Kristoff's, I would dare say you have a fascination with our Queen, or at least her magic, am I correct?"

His only answer was a low hiss.

Kristoff spoke up. "Hey, I was only meaning to point out..."

"You pointed out plenty," Captain Beorne interrupted, "and I readily admit much that I missed. I do not intend to make any more errors. Now, if the two of you don't mind, I intend to get a bit of rest before it is my turn for watch." Snow crunched under his boots as he moved to his blanketed snow bed.

Elsa strained her sleep-stuffed ears to catch any other conversation that might occur, but the only thing she was awarded was a soft "Sorry" from Kristoff. Most likely the apology was directed to the other mountaineer, but she made no sound in reply if it was.

None of this made sense. Or rather, there was a sense that everything was perfectly understandable, but for a few bits of missing information. Knowledge or concepts that continued to escape her awareness.

Perhaps Anna had the skills to see what Elsa was missing.

Thinking of Anna immediately distracted Elsa's mind, pushing her gently from dozing to dreaming in the space of a breath. She imagined Anna in the hybrid castle of ice and stone, surrounded by castle staff and a crown made of icicles and ice shards chilling the red of of her hair. Even as she watched, strands of that hair turned from ember red to winter white.

"No," Elsa whispered within the dream, fingers clenching in the reality of snow.

"Yes," Anna responded. "You left me alone. What was I do to?" More strands gleamed, chasing away the warmth.

"I'm coming home!" she protested. "I'm coming back!"

"Are you? And what's coming with you?" this dream-Anna demanded. "Look behind you."

Elsa twisted against her will, until she found herself staring up at a mountain of white fur and gleaming blue eyes. An impossibly long red tongue snaked between massive jaws and teeth. Black claws reached for her. With a scream she threw her ice outward, glittering lances cold in the moonlight.

The lances pierced the body, but her dreaming mind could not tell her what that body was… small as Feilan, as full of color as Anna, as steadfast as Beorne, as humorous as Kristoff and Sven, as great as the snowbeasts themselves. For a moment, they even seemed to shatter the hybrid castle of ice and stone.

"Have care, sister," hissed the dream-Anna, though Anna she was no more. Hair pure white, a gown as coldly fierce as her crown, glacier blue eyes to match Elsa's own true blue eyes. Her dreaming mind could not tell if it was woman or snowbeast that stood before her. "Your fears betray you," it growled, red tongue running over human teeth. "Winter dreams are cold and sharp."

"No," Elsa whispered, terror thick in her throat. Her head throbbed, the pain echoed by the movement of the swirling being of ice. Snow and ice that did not belong to Elsa plucked at her skin.

"Come home, sister. Come home."

"No. Anna." The protest was barely a whimper, but the dream was already fading, twisting into a less distressing darkness.