"Your majesty..." he stuttered surprised at first, but turned away. "I am sorry, but I need your help. Please!"

Elsa looked around confused. "But...what is..."

"Ethil!" he ran to the man who was on the ground. "My friend, he is injured. Please, I can't help him alone!"

Elsa ignored her confusion, coming to help Ethil and hold him. He was pale and his forehead was covered in sweat. She could barely feel his pulse. "What happened?"

"I don't know!" he continued looking through the barn. "I don't know, he is...he is out reach! I cannot wake him up!"

"Has he eaten anything? Maybe he needs..."

"No! He has remained still all the time. He cannot move!"

She touched his forehead. He was burning.

"How?" she asked herself. A different fire.

She took out a piece of bread and a bottle of water she took. "This might..."

Without an apology, he grabbed the water and tried to make Ethil drink, but the guard wouldn't move his lips. Then, he poured a bit of it over his face, eyes and ears. When that didn't work, he slapped his chest. "Please don't!" he said. "Ethil, wake up. Don't die! Don't die here and now!" he slapped again and again. "Ethil!"

Nothing. Lord Isaiah was shaking. He folded his hands over Ethil's chest, uttering a silent prayer. "Lord, please do not abandon me. Lord, be my breath. Lord, be the sight of my eyes, the strength of my body and the light of my days..."

She recognized his look and prayer from somewhere. From something she deeply understood and felt herself. She remembered when she and Anna were little, when she hurt her as a child. She was holding her in that same way, trying to wake her up. Even the prayer was almost the same.

"Lord Isaiah." she took Ethil's head, placing hands above his eyes. "Maybe I can do something."

She closed her eyes. He was burning, yes...but heat wasn't fire. Cold cannot blot out the fire, but it can send the heat away.

She focused her powers on cooling down his body, refreshing him from the hell that he was in at the moment. She tried not to allow it to overcome him: it would have the opposite effect and freeze him. A bit more. Just a bit more...

Lord Isaiah laid his hands on Ethil's chest, waiting for any beat of heart. He was looking at her with eyes full of hope.

She sighed, closing her eyes and stilling her thoughts. His energy felt through his blood, she could feel where it was burning. Carefully, she introduced cold and frost to all blood, being wary not to freeze him. The flames inside of him were not just flickers of heat, but burning places of fire. Elsa did all she could, cooling his down. Finally, the sparkles of blue ice appeared on top of her fingers.

Ethil coughed, rolling over his stomach, almost throwing up. Lord Isaiah grabbed him, slapping him on the back. "Ethil!" The guardsman didn't seem aware of what is happening immediately, even pushing Isaiah's hand. He kept on coughing until his breath finally came back to him.

"Ethil. Are you alright?"

Ethil seemed as if he was waking up from a dream, looking at Isaiah with tired eyes. "My...my lord. What happened? I remember smoke and something falling over me." moving his face around, he noticed the queen was in front of him and instinctively bowed his head. "Your majesty."

"There is no time for that, Ethil." she patted him on the shoulder.

"Can you get up?" Elsa noticed lord Isaiah was still holding onto a cane to walk, touching his side from time to time.

"I...I think." he got on his knees, trying to get up on his own. Seeing that he was struggling, lord Isaiah, himself barely standing, offered him the hand, but Elsa pulled him up instead. Ethil was shaking and coughing, he was thin like a stick and weak, but he was standing on his feet.

"Your majesty, I cannot..."

"Don't say a word, Ethil." she said. "Hold onto me."

"I cannot, my queen." he coughed again. "I...I cannot stand for long." without asking for permission or approval, he sat back to the ground. Understanding and feeling pity for him, and same tiredness, she did the same. Lord Isaiah sat down last.

"What happened?" he asked her.

Elsa didn't know what to tell. The truth? Or should she hide it from them? If I tell them the truth, will they becomd his targets? She didn't want their deaths on her conscience. But he didn't threaten to do anythimg if I tell anyone. Maybe he even wants it.

But can she trust them?

"I..." What if he was lying too?

"Someone got us here and burned the castle." she admitted. "A sorcerer of sort. He claims his powers are opposite of mine: fire and ash instead of ice and snow. Then he just...left." she gritted her teeth. "This is...a game to him."

Lord Isaiah winced. Disgust and disturbance. But at whom? Kirun or me?

"Do we know where we are?" as he said that, Ethil started coughing again, his lord touching him on the shoulder.

Elsa frowned. "He...if he was telling the truth we are not too far from Arendelle: just far enough to be a bit of a challenge to find it."

"If."

She smiled. "Yes. If." she looked at both of them: Ethil was better, but still not able to stand and almost coughing like an animal. And lord Isaiah's side still wasn't healed.

She wanted to get back to Arendelle as soon as possible, but couldn't leave them or force them. I must wait. At least tonight.

"It's the middle of the night." she stood up, walking towards the door. "We should wait here and get some sleep. Then we will travel to Arendelle tomorrow."

"Your majesty," Ethil coughed. "there's no need to. I can..."

"No." lord Isaiah got up as well. "No Ethil, you can't. You need to get some sleep."

Ethil looked like he told him to work entire day. "My lord, I was unconscious for hours, I think..."

"We stay here until the morning." Isaiah assured, nodding towards Elsa. Ethil didn't intend to make argument and just sighed.

"There is some food and water left in the cabin above." Elsa said. "I'll go and bring it here."

Lord Isaiah nodded. "There are a few blankets here. We can use them. Do you want me to bring one to you to the cabin, your majesty?"

Elsa was confused, but then chuckled realizing. "No need to, lord Isaiah. I'll stay here. I know why you wanted that, but there is no need to."

"Your majesty, I...don't think it would be appropriate for the two of us to..."

"We are in the middle of nowhere. I think those are the least of our worries right now. If we want to get out of here, we must stay together." In truth, she could leave without them. But wouldn't. "Unless...maybe it bothers you, lord Isaiah?"

"No! I mean...no, no your majesty. It will be as you say." he walked up to the boxes, opening them as she left for the barn, bringing one box full of bread.

As lord Isaiah was preparing the place to sleep, he noticed something. "Your majesty...there are only two I found so..."

"Oh, don't worry about that! I don't need it, lord Isaiah. Cold...well, it never bothered me."

He smiled to himself. "Yes, I...I probably should have remembered that myself."

When the first signs of the morning appeared, Elsa hoped for this to end up just a bad dream, but it of course didn't. Ethil slightly shook both of them, waking them up. "Forgive me!" he said, ever watchful of how he treated nobleborn. "But sun is alredy seen, my...my lord and my queen." he was still coughing. "I...I am not giving orders, but I think we should go very soon."

"Ethil," lord Isaiah grabbed his cane. "take it easy, I trust your judgement more than..." he hissed, feeling the pain his side. Elsa helped him to get up, touching him. He flinched a bit because of her, but then only smiled. "Thank you, your majesty."

"Always."

Isaiah tsked again. "We...need that food in the cabin. Is that all there is?" he pointed at the box.

"All that there was."

He nodded. "We both have bags so we can carry it in them, but I don't know how..."

"Great idea. I'll do the same." Elsa didn't wait and moved her hands like a choirmaster, her fingers sparkling with frost, making a rather polished blue and white bag. Walking up to the box, she opened it. "Come on. We need to share." she gathered them together.

The two of them were surprised at her display of skill at first, Ethil the most, but Isaiah then smiled and kept it on for a long time, and spoke nothing.

They left the barn, going up the larger hill that was in front of them. It was a long time since Elsa walked any terrain: year ago she left the North Mountain and her ice castle to return to Arendelle and thaw it, when Anna saved her from Hans. The run from Arendelle to the spot where she built the castle was the longest journey she ever had, but apart from snow, there was not much she could see. When it came to nature, she was not so well acquainted with it.

It seemed opposite for lord Isaiah. "We should get to the clear site." After they had left the hill, they entered a small forest. At least they thought it was small. She lost the count but they were travelling through it for an hour already. "Maybe get back to the height. Arendelle wouldn't be too far away then."

"No. I don't recongize this forest." Elsa looked back at the sun. She thought travelling east would be a good idea, since Arendelle sits on the distant east of the bay, but wondered what if they go too east? "Frankly, I don't recognize a lot of this."

"Maybe..." Ethil waved away. "Nothing, forgive me your majesty."

"No! Say it Ethil. Please."

"It's not a very bright idea, my queen..."

"We need all of them right now." she looked at the woods. "It's not like we have many options, Ethil. We will have use of all ideas."

"With all due respect, your majesty," he took the courage. "why wouldn't you just, well...build a high place. We, or...no, you could climb upon it and see where we are going."

Elsa raised her eyebrow. "I mean...how exactly would I see it? I go up and up until I hit the clouds? Or how do I get down?"

Ethil stroke his chin. "Huh. Didn't think about it that way."

"Honestly, I also sometimes wish I was born with powers of flight, Ethil." she shrugged. "But I am the way I am."

"Yes. Forgive me your majesty, it was a stupid idea anyway..."

"Ethil," lord Isaiah grunted in pain. "if I need to hear you mention something you do or say as stupid, I'll throw you off the next hill, you get it?" he touched his side. "Now, please, help me. You seem a lot better."

He coughed, as if for the sake of conveniance. "Uh...yes my lord, forgive me."

Elsa allowed a silent chuckle to herself, looking at the two men helping one another. "Maybe we should rest again a bit. Just for a while, to return our spirits."

Isaiah didn't look at her. "Uh...are you tired, your majesty?"

"No, no!" she said. "But...you might be, lord Isaiah."

He dismissed, standing up. "I assure you, I am perfectly fine..." his side seemed to disagree. "Uh! Thunder strike me!" he hissed and bowed his head to the queen. "Forgive me your majesty. Man's curses...ah!"

She helped him sit, lightly pushing the hesitant Ethil. "As I thought. It's better we take rest." Lord Isaiah clearly didn't want that, but his shrug was enough. "Just a bit, and then we move on. Hopefully, we are close to Arendelle." I don't even know where we are.

Ethil sat on a stone beside her, lord Isaiah opposite to both of them. "I am not a very good observer, my queen," Ethil said. "but, if I am not mistaken, it seems our circumstances are a bit...strange."

"What do you mean?"

"I could swear we passed by this place already. Maybe I am only imagining, but it's something I think."

She then realized Ethil is not completely wrong. They did seem have passed this place already. In fact, Elsa thought she saw the same birds as well.

"Probably...just a feeling, Ethil. Nothing big."

"Well, I assumed so."

Lord Isaiah started coughing again, his voice becoming quite hoarse. "So much for my love of woods I once had, no Ethil?"

"Love for woods?" she asked.

Lord Isaiah was still coughing, but rushing to stop. "My mother used to take me to woods often with my uncle. Father and my brothers would come often, yes, but it was mostly just three of us. Not surprising to be honest. They were grandchildren of queen Merida, and she had a rather great love for woods. And...you, your majesty?"

Elsa wanted to rather listen to him, because knowing her own life, she could only talk about the room and the castle. She chuckled to avoid making them uncomfortable. "I am afraid I didn't have such an open life like you, lord Isaiah."

He coughed again, thought it seemed more forced now. "Arendelle is really beautiful, your majesty, just as I told you. It reminds a bit of DunBroch, to be honest."

"DunBroch?"

"My mother's kingdom." he chuckled. "Well...a kingdom would a stretch. More like a country of united tribes. Considering your sills, I am sure you would want to see DunBroch during winter." he said.

This now intrigued Elsa. "And what is it like during the winter?"

Lord Isaiah smiled. "Beauty, that is what it is." he and Elsa were now looking into each other eye to rye. Elsa never had such close eye contact with some man not related to her. "The forests of DunBroch look like God Himself made them. Especially during the night. That is when the snow even seems to shine."

Elsa wanted to see that. She remembered the Northern lights. Out of that memory, she started forming a small piece of ice, while still listening to lord Isaiah.

"There are also the waterfalls of Luirden. During the summer and spring they are surrounded by green and beautiful, but I cannot describe how beautiful they are during the waterfalls. When I was a boy, I felt like I was in heaven then. I was so lucky that it was the full moon back then. The water of the waterfalls was so blue and the surrounding snow so white that it was unbelievable. But beautiful. If someone went there and didn't feel it was beautiful, I would bet he doesn't have a heart. I didn't feel the cold of winter anymore, just the warmth around my heart. And the stars were also in the water as well." then he looked strangely into her eyes. "There! Just like that."

"What?"

"That piece you made." she looked down at it. "It's beautiful, blue just like that water was."

Elsa smiled at that. Ethil as well, though he did his best to hide it from them.

"Your majesty, I really wish I could show you those waterfalls right now. You would be as lost as I was."