Rifiuto: Non Mirena
The bullet had managed to somehow miss all major arteries, and there would be minimal scarring upon her lovely skin, not that such a thing mattered. The would-be assassin was questioned, but nothing would be done until Elsa spoke to him. Elsa spent the next few days after the attempt in bed, resting, as she'd been told to do; the children would come spend time with her when not in lessons, and she spent most mornings in talks with Lord Bismarck, who acted as the go-between for her and the council.
Safe to say, the council was calling for the alliance between Arendelle and the Isles to be dissolved, something Elsa refused to do. She would not bow to pressure, would not absolve the alliance between her country and her husband's- if she did, it would only serve to severe the fragile bonds holding her family together-
"He acted alone; I did not- and would not- send him here. I would never do anything to bring about the downfall of the Queen of Arendelle. For I love her too much, and we have too much at stake, for me to willingly destroy it so easily in the firing of an assassin's bullet." Hans turned his gaze to the portrait of the young queen in her coronation regalia; Anna had sought him out after speaking with her sister. The king had stopped before the queen's coronation portrait, lost in thought, and it was there that the princess found him. "She is dearer to me than any amount of land the Isles could ever gain, Annalei. I will sooner dissolve the monarchy of the Isles than risk losing the woman I love and have built a family with. No monarchy is worth the loss of my beloved, darling Eliza."
"Hans-" She bit her lip; when she'd left her sister, the queen was up and allowing the girls to dress her. The surgery had left a scar on both sides of her shoulder, and she moved with a stiffness no one had seen in her, due to her being bedbound for a number of days to allow her body to heal. When she'd tried to broach the subject, of dissolving the alliance, as her council had tried, Elsa had snapped that she would do no such thing, that to dissolve the alliance would be to rip her family apart, effectively banishing her husband from her children's lives and forever losing the man who held her heart.
"You wish me to leave everything I have ever held dearest to my heart behind by dissolving our alliance, Annalei? As Marie Antoinette did when she left Austria for France and because the Dauphine? As Catherine of Aragon did when she left her family to become the wife of Arthur, Prince of Wales, and then his brother, Henry, upon Arthur's death? Forgive me, Annalise, but I am not some innocent fifteen-year-old girl, used as a pawn to expand her mother's power. I have sat upon the throne of Arendelle longer than any ever thought possible, longer than I ever dreamed. I have borne six heirs to the throne from my womb; I have done more than my duty as queen requires of me. I have expanded and brought Arendelle into a new age, created alliances our parents could only dream of creating, and expanded her lands in a few short years. The Isles are my strongest ally; no assassin's bullet will change that. I will not deprive my country of her strongest ally, nor will I strip my children of their father's love and affection and presence, and if I break this alliance, that is what will happen. My children- my family- will suffer the consequences. I do not care what the council thinks, I will not deprive my children- our children- of their father; for once, I will think of myself, and my family, because I always put my country first! Not this time! For once- for the first time in my life- I will think of my family, of my marriage and my heart, and my life, and the rest of Arendelle be damned!" She had then dismissed Anna with a wave of her hand; the princess had done as expected and fled, going in search of her brother-in-law.
Safe to stay, Elsa was beyond angry- not just with her council, but with Hans. Though the young ruler knew it wasn't her husband's doing, he was the closest representative to the Isles she could take her ire out on. Anna knew that once she had finished dressing, Elsa had gone to her council; the argument echoed in the quiet of the castle, well past the heavy wooden door it was taking place behind-
Her head snapped up at the crackle of ice, and she looked up to find thick, red fractals of ice dashing across the ceiling. "Hans-" Her small hand found his arm, but the king had turned, and the pair quickly went to the door of the gallery; ice covered every available surface, but it was the door slamming open that got their attention. They watched in stunned silence as Elsa stormed out; the crown atop her head was beautifully crafted of her ice and shimmered in the pulsing red of her anger. Immediately, Helena and Marta, who had been waiting for her, followed behind, treading carefully yet quickly across the ice. Without a word, Elsa reached up, removing the crown she wore.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, wait-" But she ignored Lord Bismarck, who stumbled on the ice, losing his footing and landing on the ground; the two hurried to help him stand, and from their place in the hall, Anna and Hans watched as the doors to the East Wing, and therefore the family's apartments, burst open with a wave of her hand. In minutes, the queen and her handmaidens were gone, the doors slamming shut behind them, and soon the crackle of ice was heard.
This was unlike any tantrum anyone had ever seen or heard.
It had taken moments them to reach the East Wing, to be let into the family's apartments. They found a frozen tundra within the queen's private chambers; Anna rushed to the children, intending to keep them as distracted as possible from their mother's tantrum, leaving Hans to help the rest of the queen's trusted few to get the Arendellian monarch under control.
"Elisabeth, you must keep your head about you-"
She spun on the king, her blue gaze latching onto him midst the snowstorm raging in her chambers. "You." Such a simple word cut through the storm like a candle's flame cutting through the darkness. Within seconds, she had crossed the tundra that was her room, throwing herself at him. "You rat! You snake! You disgusting excuse for a human being! You betrayed me! You betrayed our alliance! You betrayed our children! You... you- I loved you!" Though she was small, her anger knew no bounds, and she proceeded to beat him, slamming her small fists upon his chest in anger. "I hate you! I hate you! I will never love you again! How dare you betray me! How dare you try to have me killed! I can never trust you again-"
It took him minutes, before he was able to grab her by the shoulders and hold her back; she fought him as best she could, though he was much taller than her, and unaffected by her ice or the freezing temperatures of her skin. "I have never betrayed you, Eliza, and I never would! I love you too deeply to do so-"
"No, let me go! Let me go! I hate you, Johannes! I hate you! I wish to never see you again! You have destroyed everything I worked so hard for- I will freeze your heart for betraying me-" She continued to struggle, pushing against him when he pulled her into his chest, screaming and crying as those within the queen's household stayed silent as the king held tight to the ruling Arendellian monarch.
"I would never betray you, in any way, Elisabeth, and especially not by sending an assassin. I have loved you too long and too deeply to ever dream of harming you, let alone betraying you. You are the sun that I feel blessed to be in the presence of, the very air within my lungs, the blood that keeps my heart beating. Freeze my heart if you truly believe that is what is right, but know that when you do, I will go to that death gladly, for I've been blessed to call myself your husband, and that is all I ever truly wanted. From the moment I met you, I have wanted nothing more than to be the man lucky enough to be your husband, to call myself the father of your beautiful children. I never wanted to wear the crown of the Isles, I only desired to be by your side for the rest of my life."
"No! I'll never trust you again! You betrayed me-" She continued to fight against him, unaware that Milla and Annes had managed to escape from the nursery- and therefore, Anna- at the sound of their mother's screams. The two oldest children stumbled to a stop in the doorway of their mother's bedchamber; Helena and Marta grabbed them both, stopping them from entering the room, though no one dared to step within, for fear of setting the queen off even more, and turning her ire on them, but Annes managed to wriggle out of Marta's grasp, stepping into the room. Ever the quiet one, Annes often took to playing the peacekeeper between his oldest and youngest siblings, and so it was only natural for him to try to do the same here-
"Mama?" It was that simple word that turned every gaze towards the boy; Annes glanced around, before turning his gaze back to his parents. "Mama, stop, please. You're hurting Papa-" She turned to the boy, blue gaze locking on her son. Something inside the queen snapped; her magic took complete control in that instant, the blue of her veins began to pulse against the paleness of her skin, as ice slid over her hands like gloves and up her arms, enveloping her body like armour. The blue of her eyes darkened, as her lips turned blue. Completely under her magic's control now, she lifted a hand, watching as particles of frost danced in the air around her fingers. It was the queen and yet it wasn't. After a moment, she flexed her fingers, reaching for the young boy-
"No!" The mere touch of her fingers against his chest was enough for her magic to strike his heart. The queen stumbled, her back hitting the foot of her bed; the blue of her eyes lightened as she made contact with the foot of the bed, almost as though jarring her out of whatever had happened to her; the ice that had raced up her arms and covered her like armour slowly melted away as she watched as Hans reached up, tugging at the collar of his shirt. He coughed slightly, stumbling towards his wife, who held up her hands in defense, not fully aware of what had happened. "... liza..."
"Papa?" Milla's horrified voice cut through the storm, and Elsa turned to her oldest children as Hans dropped to his knees. "Papa! What did you do?" The queen met her oldest daughter's gaze, as the child broke down, struggling against the maid to rush to her father, as he collapsed to the ground; her brother, too stunned to speak, just watched as their father's lips began to turn blue, as a lock of white appeared in his auburn hair. Marta grabbed Annes' arm, tugging him away, though he refused to turn away from his father. "Mama, what did you do? Papa!"
"Get the royal children out of here, now!" Lord Bismarck demanded; he knew he was overstepping a boundary, but it was his loyalty to the queen and her family that forced him to speak. "Take them back to the nursery-"
"No! Papa! Mama, please! Papa!" It was Milla's screams that snapped the queen out of her state; long after her oldest child's sobs had been muffled by the nursery door, they resonated in her heart, and she glanced down at her ice-covered hands, before lifting her gaze.
Hans... She stumbled towards her husband, landing hard on her knees on the ice by his side as the storm finally died as she snapped out of her tantrum. She shook her head, reaching up to feel his cheeks, but she could only feel the ice coating her hands. "No... no... Hans..." Her gaze roved over him, drinking in the white in his hair, the blue of his lips. Gods alive, I... I did this... me, this... this monster you married... What have I done to you, my love? She could just make out the slow rise and fall of his chest- but it was getting slower with each breath. "I'm sorry... Hans... I'm so sorry... my love... please... don't leave me... I'm sorry... I never meant to..." His green eyes met hers as she reached up, resting an ice-covered hand to his cheek, his words echoing in her head.
Freeze my heart if you believe that is what's right... I will go to that death gladly...
She pressed a kiss to his forehead, his nose, his cheeks, his lips, her ice-covered hands cradling his face as he held her gaze, one hand loosely holding onto her wrist. "I love you... I never meant to... don't... leave... me... no..." With one last breath, the king squeezed her wrist before releasing her, ice soon completely enveloping his body. "No... no... Johannes... come back to..."
Bloodcurdling and primal, her screams echoed through the halls of Linnea, embedding themselves in the walls, freezing all who witnessed the moment the Arendellian queen froze the heart of the King of the Southern Isles, as the heartbreaking realization of what she'd done washed over her...