Thanks, Manuel for the review! I hope you all enjoy this next chapter. Also... trigger warnings in this story from here on out. We'll start off easy this chapter. It only gets worse from here.

Nicolas had always been too soft for Anders's taste. Giving too much away and jumping at chances instead of playing the long game. Anders saw right through Anna's charade. Arendelle desperately needed their metals, and he knew it. He'd made sure of it by paying for the last forge to be burned down. Nicolas wasn't willing to get his hands dirty. Anders was.

But Anders had almost given himself away when his brother, now the King, Christian, had called all of the brothers together to discuss who would go to Arendelle on behalf of Weselton. He'd come across as much too eager to begin with but had eventually sold his brother on the idea that being closest in age to Hans may prove that Hans was just the one with a screw loose - that Anders was much more level-headed. Christian had always liked him, and he was the most decorated military member of the brothers, something many royals responded well to. Not that the brothers needed to know he'd staged a lot of that as well. It all worked in the end.

But Nicolas wasn't interested in gaining political favor with Anna. He couldn't care less about playing her game. It was Elsa he cared about. Sure, he played Anna's game for the first few days there, but he was spending most of his time scheming. He took great care to note how the sisters were around each other, and how Elsa chose to spend her time around the castle. He wanted to come across as the quieter, more stoic of the two brothers, something he thought Elsa and Anna were believing quite well.

He knew he only had two more days left to make his move. He knew no plan went precisely as he wanted it to, so he'd have to adapt at some point. And adapting well meant knowing all of the variables. And he figured he knew all of the variables as well as he could by now. It was time to make his move.

Anna and Elsa usually took a ride around sunset together out into the meadows outside of town. Sometimes down by the shore, but Anna loved the flowers in the meadows so much that Elsa had a hard time convincing her that the shoreline was safer.

"How do you think the relations with the Weselton brothers are going?" Elsa asked.

"Honestly, I think okay?" Anna said. "I'm realizing I'm holding more cards than I'd originally thought, which is good."

"Oh?"

"They seem pretty desperate for Arendelle to become a trade partner. It seems as though that storm that killed their king also ruined a lot of crops and killed a lot of livestock. They're in desperate need of food stores, which we have plenty of, plus we're the closest in proximity to them, so not as much would spoil in transit."

"That's a good position to be in, Anna, that's great," Elsa said. "Are you going to Weselton to meet King Christian?"

"Absolutely not," Anna said quickly. She felt her breath catch and her heart pound in her chest. She wasn't expecting such a visceral reaction to Elsa's question.

"Hey, hey," Elsa murmured, placing a hand on Anna's arm while also keeping an eye out to make sure her reaction didn't spook her horse.

Anna looked up at her, a raw fear and worry splashed across her face for a moment. But just seeing her sister seemed to calm the redhead down. "I'm having him come here. And doubling the guards on duty while he's here."

"I think that's wise," Elsa responded.

They rode for several more minutes in silence, the two girls holding each other's hands still.

"Let's talk about something more fun," Elsa said. "Tell me how wedding planning is going!"

Anna immediately burst into a long, comical diatribe about how ridiculous wedding planning was and she was just ready to elope already. Elsa couldn't help but laugh at her the whole time.

"And then, get this!" Anna continued. "The trolls all want to - "

THWACK.

For Anna, everything happened in slow motion around her at that moment, but it was like she was paralyzed in place. She heard a sickening sound like wood splintering and saw a spray of blood coming from Elsa's head as her face contorted and she fell from her horse. Anna couldn't even scream before feeling a sharp pain in the back of her neck before losing consciousness.

Anna woke to find she couldn't see anything and felt her hands tied behind her back like she was tied to something. Her head was killing her. As she realized she was sitting on a dirt floor and her senses were coming back to her, she started hyperventilating. Her heart was racing, and her breath was coming in short gasps.

"Elsa," she tried to speak but it wasn't coming out right. "ELSA!" she tried yelling and realized there was something in her mouth, and a bag tied over her head keeping whatever was in her mouth in place.

She launched into a full panic attack. She started shaking, sobbing, and pulling at her hands, her feet, and her head, but nothing would move. She cried until she passed out again.

Waking up again, she realized she'd have to keep her wits about her. While she was still very panicked, she tried to slow her breathing as best as she could and tried to ground herself. What do I feel? she asked herself. She was able to figure out she was tied to something that felt like a wooden post. She was seated criss-cross on a dirt floor, and ropes bound her hands behind the post and her feet seemed to be tied to it as well. Whatever was in her mouth was also being held in place by another rope going around the post, too, effectively keeping the bag in place so she couldn't see anything either. And she was freezing. Wherever she was was not heated in the chilly fall, almost winter, weather.

She mumbled through the gag, but she wasn't getting any response. Either Elsa is unconscious or not here, she thought. She refused to let her mind go to the darkest place of why her sister wouldn't be there.

She wondered if her guards had seen what happened. She always traveled with them when she was on her own, but Elsa always felt like enough protection that she didn't worry about it. Still, sometimes her guards followed at a distance. But based on how long it must have taken to get Anna into the position she was in now, either her guards had no idea she'd been taken or they were dead.

After several minutes of trying to loosen any of her ropes, she heard something, like it was coming from a different room.

"Goddamit, bitch, why are you so fucking hard to get in here?" A deep voice could be heard from outside, and Anna felt the wind rush into the room as it sounded like a door opened.

Elsa. He had to be talking about Elsa. And the wind! Gale! Help! She wanted to scream, but all she could do was think, not wanting to give away the fact that she was conscious again.

She heard something like metal as she suspected the man was dragging her sister into the room. Chains. Anna shuddered thinking that this man had chained up her sister much like Hans had so her magic was suppressed.

The rattling and shuffling lasted what felt like an eternity, but eventually, the man stopped muttering curses and left the room again.

Anna mumbled as loud as she could through the gag. She didn't hear anything from Elsa. She tried numerous times to no avail. Elsa seemed to be out cold. Just as she was trying again, the door flung open.

"Glad to see you're awake finally. Let's get this show on the road."

Anders. Dread filled Anna. She knew she'd recognized the voice. It was Anders.

It was Anders. And he's way more evil than Hans ever was. Now that he's got both sisters where he wants them, how do you think he'll use them?

Favorite, follow, and review! Always the best things to get from readers. As for next chapter? Well, next chapter we're getting downright brutal.