Elsa paced. The chains rattled with each movement. Metal scraped on stone; a sound she'd previously tuned out, but now it made her cringe.
A wave of nausea settled in her gut every so often, despite how she hadn't eaten in over a day. How could she eat? Not when the well-being of her kingdom and Anna's life was at stake beyond her accidental Eternal Winter.
She had to find a way out.
The queen halted in her steps. She stared down at her shackles. Ice crackled and began to encase the outer shell of the heavy iron. Her blue eyes widened, watching each line of frost embed itself into the hinges. Elsa bit her lip.
She straightened her back, stiffening her spine, and pulled. The chains rattled and clacked against the stone floor like thunder. She pulled again, clenching her teeth. Her body arched forward with the force, spine bowing.
The shackles refused to give.
"Okay," she murmured, relaxing herself. Her heart hammered in her chest. "Just focus. You can do this." She closed her eyes and centered her magic. The ice retreated from the tips of her fingers and gathered within her core. She imagined an icy circle where frozen particles latched on like a snowball rolling down a hill blanketed in a fresh mound of snow. Elsa held onto the snowball until she opened her eyes. The magic burst from within and channeled through the veins in her arms then, finally, her hands.
The manacles keeping her prisoner froze solid, breaking apart from the ice-brittled chains when she yanked on them.
"Almost there," she muttered.
The heaviness of the icy manacles weighed her arms down more so than they already had. Her original plan was not without flaw, however, and now she found herself in a new predicament.
She couldn't thaw the ice.
Even if she could, it wouldn't be enough to slide her hands out.
Blue eyes shifted to the locked dungeon door; likely guarded by at least two men. She chewed her lip and paced again.
Finally, she paused at the window. A surge of relief funneled through her at the lack of chains rattling; nor was she restricted in her movements any longer.
She closed her eyes and inhaled. Reaching out with a manacled hand, she listened for the telltale scraping of iron on stone and began to channel her ice magic.
When she opened her eyes, the queen shifted from the window and focused on the stone wall with both covered hands perched on the bricks. Frost shimmered out from the frozen manacles and shifted onto the cracks between each stone. The ice embedded itself and spread like frosted webs throughout the dungeon.
Heart hammering in her chest, Elsa pushed the ice out further, quickening its pace. It still wasn't enough.
She backed away and clenched her teeth. Slamming a foot down, the small room burst into an ice rink, but the frost didn't stop at the edges of the floor, it scattered upward toward the ceiling where icicles began to manifest. Elsa could only pray that it weakened the room's structure enough.
"Okay," she breathed, kicking her heels off. "This may be crazy. Anyone would call me crazy, but I have no choice. You can do this, Elsa. For Arendelle. For Anna."
For Anna.
At the thought of her sister, she relaxed her shoulders and stood tall with her bound hands at her sides. However, her heart never ceased its racing.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing, witch?!"
Elsa's head whirled toward the dungeon door, which was now ajar with two armed guards at the ready. She gasped when the one in front raised his crossbow, but his comrade behind him reeled him in with a hand on his shoulder.
"Prince Hans says he needs her alive to end the Winter!"
The guard with the crossbow growled, "Forget what he says, keeping her down here does none of us good! She's trying to escape!"
Elsa's eyes darted to his finger, which twitched at the trigger. He'd made up his mind and she'd run out of time. At the sound of the crossbow firing, she rolled to the side, feeling the arrow just graze the top of her head.
The man cursed and reloaded. She took advantage of his temporary distraction and sprinted toward the frost and icicle-covered wall. Ice spread outward from beneath her bare feet with each running step.
Elsa ducked her head beneath her arms—which curled over her head like a protective cocoon—and dove through the weakened stone. The wall gave way upon contact, shattering the frozen manacles and freeing her hands.
She lost her footing on the other side and barrel rolled. A sharp pain raced up her leg, but she had no time to inspect.
Grunting, Elsa heaved herself back onto her feet and sprinted across the frozen fjord toward the forest without looking back.