"You must eat, Your Highness. Kristoff. You won't do Her Majesty any good if you collapse from hunger."
Kai ignored the sullen glares from Elsa and Kristoff with practiced ease.
Instead, he resolutely held out the plate full of snacks he got from the kitchens.
Finally, they relented and started eating the moment he gave the plate to Elsa. Judging from how fast they ate, they were ravenous. Kai was considering whether or not he should recommend they either take a long nap or an equally lengthy soak in a hot tub.
But judging from the look in their eyes, he decided not to press his luck.
At least their stomachs were no longer growling.
All three glanced up at the same time as the doors leading to Anna's chambers opened and Doctor Heinrich emerged with his nurses in tow. "Worry not, Your Highness. Kristoff. Her Majesty should be right as rain soon enough." Elsa and Kristoff exchanged relieved smiles, their shoulders slumping as they lost the tension they didn't realize they had in the first place.
"But why won't she wake up, Doctor?" Kristoff asked.
"It is a minor affliction." Heinrich said. "Her Majesty hasn't been eating or sleeping that well lately, as well as you know, Kristoff. Her body is regenerating, so to speak and recouping her energies until she is finally ready to awaken once more."
"When do you think that will be?" Elsa asked.
"It's hard to say." Heinrich admitted. "But it should be no more than several days at most. I recommend that you be patient and wait until Her Majesty is ready to awaken."
"Can we see her?" Kristoff asked.
"Of course." Heinrich said. "Just try not to wake her up."
"We won't." Elsa promised. "Thank you, Doctor."
Elsa and Kristoff entered Anna's chambers while Kai picked up the empty plate to return to the kitchens. If those blasted nurses weren't too busy exchanging inane gossip, they would have noticed the brief, contemptuous glare that Heinrich shot after the departing trio-even though they left in different directions.
He picked up his black bag and (reluctantly) went to check on his other patients.
His loyalty to Anna wasn't fake.
True, he has long since declared his allegiance to the one, true god many decades before. But Anna has always been a sweet, intelligent and loving young princess.
It was easy to see why Ginnarr fell in love with her.
It sickened him, knowing he couldn't do more to help the poor girl.
Unfortunately, Agnarr would have been EXTREMELY suspicious if anyone interacted with, much less tried to aid, the young princess. Even then, the king's hatred towards the child was unreasonably and exceptionally high. Heinrich was never fooled by his kindly and friendly mask that he presented to the world at large.
It sickened him that Agnarr was forever remembered as a great and loving king.
When he was clearly anything BUT.
While Heinrich felt nothing but indifference towards Elsa, he had to concede that her life was painful in its own right. She was kept imprisoned and isolated from other people.
But she still had it a thousand times better than Anna.
As she knew that her parents loved her. Anna never had that luxury.
Heinrich felt his face soften as he thought about the queen. Even when she was being mistreated by her family and the servants, she didn't hesitate to help others if needed.
FLASHBACK
Heinrich hissed as he slid to the floor next to the door leading to his chambers after leaning against the wall.
His master had been especially brutal in his latest punishment.
Not that he necessarily PROTESTED what happened. Heinrich knew that he deserved his punishment for failing to protect the Princess Anna from her own father.
He scowled.
He despised that bastard.
Anna, who was only eight, came to her parents' chambers. Iduna was busy with their pathetic daughter, Elsa, while Agnarr was feverishly combing through his private library.
Trying to find a solution in regards to Elsa's powers.
Agnarr's frustration and anger were growing.
He never had patience for his second daughter on a good day. Poor Anna only asked one innocent question. She had only wanted permission to play with her older sister.
Thoroughly annoyed, Agnarr only gave Anna a firm backhand for her troubles.
Then he sternly ordered her to go away.
Anna was thrown back from the unexpected backhand and grunted as she hit the far wall. She groaned in pain as she slid to the floor. Agnarr didn't care that she was hurt.
Instead, he coldly closed the door so he could resume his research.
Anna stumbled clumsily to her feet, pressing hands to her cheek and throbbing head.
With tears welling in her eyes, she ran to her room. Heinrich didn't accept the excuse that he was tending to a patient at the time that Agnarr brutalized his own daughter.
His master charged him with her protection.
He had failed to protect her from her father.
Now, he was sitting against the wall outside his room, trying to recover from his master's punishment. He was fortunate that he was still useful to his lord and master.
Otherwise, he would have lost his life by now.
"Doctor, are you all right?"
Heinrich glanced up, startled.
Inwardly, he scowled at the rapidly growing bruise on Anna's face. There were still remnants of pain and fear from what what her so-called father did to her.
But those were secondary concerns in comparison to her primary emotion:
Concern.
Anna was more concerned about Heinrich's injured state than in what happened to her. Heinrich only knew about the incident because of what his master informed him.
He suppressed a grimace.
Well, shouted at him would be the more operative words.
Agnarr already cornered Anna in her room and gripped her chin in a vicelike hand. Then, between clenched teeth, he ordered her to say nothing about what had happened.
Wide-eyed and pale, Anna nodded quickly.
Contemptuously, Agnarr shoved his daughter away from him and quickly left the room.
If any servants witnessed the incident, they knew better than to say anything. But Anna had more worry and concern about Heinrich than she did about herself.
Even then, she put others before herself.
"I'm all right, Your Highness." Heinrich said.
"What happened to you?" Anna said.
Thinking quickly, Heinrich quickly made up some lie that he accidentally fell in a ditch after tending to his last patient. It wasn't like he could tell her that he was subjected to his master's justified punishments for failing to protect her from Agnarr.
Luckily, Anna bought it.
But she insisted on helping him to his chambers after summoning a male servant.
Heinrich instructed them on what to do in regards to tending to his injuries. He was rather grateful for their aid, as it would have taken hours to do such things himself.
FLASHBACK ENDS
Ever since, Heinrich felt indebted to Anna.
Even though she forgot about the incident, no thanks to Grand Pabbie.
Heinrich would do his best over the years to protect her. His master had other agents in the palace. Unfortunately, they could only do so much for the poor child.
Agnarr would have become suspicious otherwise.
But they did their best despite their limited capacities.
Heinrich felt nothing but contempt for Iduna and Elsa. Both were far too lost in their own worlds to realize what Anna endured. Even after Elsa lifted the curse from Arendelle, she remained somewhat fearful of her abilities and would become lost in her insecurities.
It would fall to Anna to lift her spirits.
Elsa was so self-absorbed and preoccupied, she never noticed Anna's growing turmoil.
Things grew WORSE after the former queen heard that damnable voice that would lure her to the Enchanted Forest. Even from the grave, Iduna constantly proved herself a nuisance.
Elsa never noticed as the barrier between her and her sister continued to grow.
Nor did she even ASK Anna if she wanted the crown before she abdicated.
Heinrich wanted to curl his upper lip in disgust. Really, the only correct decision Elsa ever made was making Anna queen. In his opinion, Elsa had made for a pisspoor ruler.
It was Anna who reached out to potential allies.
Trying to create new alliances and trade agreements.
While Elsa had cared about her subjects to a certain extent-witness her creating icy toys for the children on one occasion-it was Anna who reached out to people.
Wanting to hear about their issues and learn what she could do to help.
If she wasn't held in isolation at the palace, she would have done so as a child. But still, it should have been Anna's choice if she wanted the throne in the first place. Elsa forced it upon her without consulting her in the slightest fashion. Like their parents, she disregarded Anna's wants and needs entirely in her zeal to flit about the forest like an unruly child with the elements.
Heinrich forced himself to focus on his patients, though it was admittedly difficult. He would prefer to focus on the queen. He knew that Elsa and Kristoff bought his phony story.
His master aided in his...persuasion.
Elsa was grateful for the snacks that Kai provided.
Even though the food tasted like sandpaper to her.
But she knew that she had to eat. Like Kai said, she wouldn't do Anna any good if she collapsed from hunger. She was sitting at Anna's bedside, grasping her sister's hand.
Kristoff lay across the bed with his fiancée in his arms.
It was clear he wasn't going anywhere.
Elsa knew that things were far from being resolved between them. She also knew that Kristoff needed to confront his hurt and anger as far as the trolls were concerned.
However, he obviously wanted to make Anna his priority at the moment.
She could relate, as she wanted to do the same.
Elsa flinched in guilt. She hated that she was so absorbed with her fears and insecurities, she became so oblivious to Anna's pain, turmoil and what SHE endured growing up.
Ahtohallan made her whole, all right.
And it opened her eyes to what she ignored, subconsciously or otherwise.
Elsa was grappling with her memories. It was so difficult to reconcile her memories of her loving, supportive parents with the ogres who treated Anna like garbage.
Especially Father.
Elsa rubbed at her arms, feeling a sudden chill despite the fire warming the room.
She knew that she had a tendency to take responsibility for the actions of others, just as Anna warned her after they discovered their parents' devastating shipwreck.
But Elsa couldn't help it.
Their parents neglected and ignored Anna in their zeal to help her with her powers.
It made Elsa love and resent her parents at the same time. She didn't like being used as justification for Anna's neglect. Anna told Elsa that she was a gift for Iduna after Mother selflessly saved Father once Runeard stupidly murdered the leader of the Northuldra.
Well, if she was a gift, she had been squandered.
Anna was supposed to be a gift too, yet she was carelessly discarded and tossed aside.
It was too easy to blame Mother and Father for the rift between them. But Ahtohallan never left room for doubt. She was culpable in her own way for the damage to their bond.
Out of habit more than anything else, Elsa kept up their forced separation.
Yes, she interacted and conversed with Anna.
But she unconsciously maintained her emotional walls in a bid for self protection. She was so focused on her royal duties and trying to control her powers, in trying not to worry Anna when she heard Mother's voice, Elsa never really gave Anna any love or support.
Like Anna did with her.
Anna never felt like she could truly confide in her sister.
Elsa reached out and stroked Anna's cheek with the backs of her fingers, making sure she was gentle enough in that she didn't wake her up. One of Anna's best traits is that she was never one to shirk responsibility for her actions.
No doubt she would tell Elsa that she could have reached out to her if she tried.
But Anna had a few habits forced upon her as well.
While she tried at first to continue to play with Elsa when they were younger, eventually she gave up. Again, this was due to Grand Pabbie's interference.
The habit stuck and Anna became reluctant to reach out to her.
Of course, Anna's reluctance to burden anyone with her fears had something to do with it, Elsa reflected grimly. Anna was raised with the belief that she should put others first.
That her fears and insecurities didn't matter.
Elsa wished she realized that something was wrong with her.
After all, until their argument yesterday, Anna never lashed out in such a manner. She was always kind, loving and forgiving. But even people like that had their limits.
Occasionally, they would lose control over their temper.
Yes, Anna could show that she could get angry.
But she would forgive and forget just as quickly. It wasn't natural, Elsa realized. Anna's habit to suppress her temper was ingrained from an early age, Elsa knew.
It was due to Father.
He had no time or patience for Anna on a good day.
But if she demonstrated even the slightest HINT of anger or distress, he would let her have it. In her own way, Anna became a prisoner of her fears just like Elsa.
For Anna, expressing ANY sort of emotion that annoyed Father was dangerous.
So, she suppressed her pain and anger.
She became eager to please and even quicker to forgive. It was safer that way as far as Anna was concerned. She equated expressing her anger with pain and suffering.
As a result, she developed an inability to hold a grudge.
Her instantly forgiving nature was forced.
Anna buried her anger so deeply, she was bound to erupt like a volcano when she couldn't pretend anymore. It definitely would explain what happened yesterday.
Elsa absently examined the room.
Then she paused as soon as she spotted Anna's dresser.
Her brow furrowing, Elsa rose smoothly to her feet and approached the dresser. There was something missing. Something was niggling at her consciousness, but Elsa didn't know what was wrong. Until she spotted an empty space where a certain something was supposed to be.
Instead, all she could see was dust.
With a gasp, Elsa realized the statue she made for Anna used to be here.
Belatedly, she remembered that Anna threw something at the door just as she closed it after their argument. It broke her heart to realize the object she threw was the statue she created of them posing together with their arms wrapped around each other.
Elsa knew her sister didn't mean anything by it.
She threw it in a fit of rage.
As much as Elsa wanted to be angry with her about it, she understood. Regretfully, she would have done the same thing in her position. This only demonstrated that they both had to work together if they were going to repair their damaged bond.
Resolute, Elsa returned to her chair.
She was about to stroke Anna's hair, when she paused.
Her brow furrowed as she realized something else was amiss.
Since when did Anna have a brown streak in her hair?
It wasn't often that Ahtohallan would stoop to something like this.
But Jord was willing to make an exception.
She had rather tired of watching Iduna and Agnarr search fruitlessly for their daughter. It irked her that they didn't exhibit this level of love and concern for Anna while they were still alive. But Anna wasn't ready to confront her parents yet.
Especially Agnarr.
Besides, she had a score to settle with both of them.
One moment, the former royal couple were searching yet another empty icy chamber. The next, they found themselves being lifted in the air by an unseen tempest.
And it WASN'T Gale.
They let out startled cries as they were hurled out of the chamber.
Jord paused briefly to make sure that Anna was okay. Being the Avatar of Ahtohallan, it was all too easy for her to split her consciousness. Unfortunately for Agnarr, Iduna and a certain arrogant, self-righteous ruler of the trolls, it only reminded Jord of the time Anna fractured her mind due to Grand Pabbie's misplaced and foolish machinations.
Yes, Ginnarr put Grand Pabbie under his control.
But it didn't change the fact that he acted independently for the most part. It didn't change the fact that he became obsessed with making sure that Elsa became a prisoner in her room and that he used Anna as a pawn in his vile plans.
Agnarr and Iduna didn't know what hit them as they were forcibly hurled into another icy chamber and shoved against the wall. They couldn't even move before their wrists and ankles were shackled, leaving them both in a spread-eagle position.
Jord wouldn't harm them.
But she DID believe in teaching them a lesson.
"Who are you?" Iduna asked.
"How dare you shackle the King and Queen of Arendelle like this!" Agnarr shouted.
Iduna flinched and glared daggers at her husband.
She knew there were times Agnarr's ego could get out of control.
Unfortunately, his pride and arrogance were two horrid traits he inherited from his bastard of a father. Agnarr winced from his wife's wrath and gulped audibly.
He knew his ego had kicked in at the wrong moment.
And he would be proven correct momentarily.
Unable to believe this mortal's effrontery and impudence, Jord reached out with her hand, with the palm facing the doomed idiots. Both let out grunts as they were shoved even further against the icy backdrop, unable to move a muscle, much less blink.
"Who do you think?" Jord hissed. "I am Jord, the Avatar of Ahtohallan!"
Both flinched mentally at this. Uh-oh, they thought in unison...
"What are you looking at?"
"Gah!"
Kristoff let out a startled grunt as he jumped off the bed. Elsa had been so preoccupied with glancing at the brown streak in Anna's hair that she didn't realize that Kristoff's head was so close to hers until he said something.
Elsa pressed a hand to her chest, trying to still her racing heart.
"Sorry about that." Kristoff grimaced.
"It's all right." Elsa gasped. "Just...don't do that again. Please."
"Okay." Kristoff nodded. "So, what has you so spooked?"
"Look." Elsa pointed at the streak in Anna's hair.
"What the-?" Kristoff did a double take. "How did that happen?"
"I don't know." Elsa said.
"Do you think the Elemental Spirits did something?" Kristoff asked.
"It's possible." Elsa said.
"You don't know?" Kristoff asked.
"I may be the Fifth Spirit, but I cannot claim to know EVERYTHING about the Elementals." Elsa said. "I'll need to go back to the Enchanted Forest to consult the spirits. But that can wait. I want to be here when Anna finally wakes up."
"Elsa, what if something else happened?" Kristoff asked.
"What do you mean?" Elsa said.
"Well, I remember the white streak in Anna's hair only appeared after the accident." Kristoff said. Elsa couldn't help wincing in guilt at the reminder. "What if someone else has elemental powers and they struck her in the head?"
Before Elsa could consider that rather disturbing possibility, Gale whistled by.
She ruffled their hair and sent waves of reassurance from Ahtohallan.
In other words, both realized that Anna hadn't been attacked by someone else with powers similar to Elsa's. Again, they both exchanged relieved smiles that Anna wasn't hurt.
But that still left the mystery as to what caused the streak in the first place.
"Your Highness? Kristoff? I've brought some tea and snacks."
Both nodded their thanks to the maid.
They were too lost in thought to pay any attention to the odd behavior of the maid. They absently sipped some tea and nibbled on some snacks from the tray.
With a groan, the drug kicked in and they finally passed out.
The maid snickered in triumph and snuck out of the queen's chambers.
As agreed previously, she headed for one of the smaller, isolated rooms at the rear of the palace. It certainly didn't hurt that it had a door that led to a courtyard that few even knew about. The maid entered the room and held out her hand in expectant silence.
Instead of any gold or silver, she got a giant branch to the head for her trouble.
Once she was unconscious, she put the maid in a fireman's carry.
(She was stronger than she looked).
Making sure the coast was clear, she snuck out into the courtyard and took the unconscious maid deep into the woods. Fortunately, she knew the guards' rotation like the back of her hand. It was no trick at all for her to sneak far away from the palace.
She finally reached a clearing with a freshly dug grave.
Using the same branch, she whacked the maid many times until she was sure she was dead. Stupid girl, she thought contemptuously before unceremoniously dumping her in the hole.
Then she used a nearby shovel to fill up aforementioned hole.
But she wasn't sure how long the drugs would last.
Briefly raising her eyes to the skies in annoyance, she covered up the hole with many leaves and branches. She would complete her task once her (unofficial) mission was over.
Her eyes flashed with grim purpose as she grabbed a nearby satchel.
She opened the satchel and pulled out some new clothes.
Unfortunately, the outfit she currently wore was covered in blood. Quickly, she exchanged clothes and all but shoved the soiled items into the satchel.
Making a mental note to burn them later. She quickly returned the satchel to its original hiding place.
She returned to the palace and snuck back inside.
She entered a room with a full-length mirror and critically examined her appearance. She whipped out a handkerchief and hastily wiped away blood from the visible parts of her body. Unfortunately, a good, long soak in a hot tub would have to wait.
Then she straightened her hair and shoved the soiled handkerchief into her pocket.
She made her way to the queen's chambers and carefully peeked inside.
Fortunately for her, Elsa and Kristoff were still out cold. She locked the door after entering and approached the bed. She sneered with bitter hatred as she glared at the queen.
What did her lord and master see in her?
Anna was so stupid and pathetic, it wasn't even funny.
It took her ages to figure out what any smart person would have realized long ago. Any idiot with half a brain would have realized that Elsa had powers. Even Anna would have come to that realization if the stupid chit had been paying proper attention.
But she had always been a stupid and naïve spoiled brat.
She wasn't worth the dirt underneath her master's boots.
Well, she would prove once and for all that Anna wasn't worth all this trouble. A manic grin touched her lips as she grabbed one of the pillows from Anna's bed.
Then, she gripped the pillow with both hands...
...and started to lower it to Anna's face...