207
**This chapter contains themes of physical violence, assault, and mental illness. Reader discretion is advised**
Marie sat up while she pressed her hand against her neck, her mouth hanging open. Anna narrowed her eyes. Suddenly, Dominic was seized by two men. Elsa squeezed Marie's shoulders. "Kristoff. General. I'm glad we got your message in time," the ice mage said.
Kristoff struggled with a furious Dominic before nodding back to her. "It's just as you two thought; we caught a small army of troops on their way to the Enchanted Forest. They planned on coming to Arendelle after destroying the spirits."
Elsa rolled her eyes while Anna nodded. "They thought the Forest was the source of the darkness, didn't they?" Elsa asked. The two men nodded. "Figures."
Marie watched silently despite her curiosity. She never took an interest in politics because she was never a part of it, but now it was happening before her eyes. Dominic glared at the queen while she pointed her blade at him. "Feigning our trade policy to learn Arendelle's shipping routes, courting Elsa around the castle grounds several times a day, even choosing to sail here to guarantee a clean escape after the land route would have been destroyed." Anna peered down at him. "All only four years after your father tried to have Arendelle's Queen killed."
Dominic smiled, relaxing in the men's grip. "You finally grew a brain." He winced as Kristoff and Mattias gripped him even tighter.
Anna lowered the dark ice blade slightly. "Why did you play along, despite knowing from the start?"
Dominic shook his head and scoffed. Marie felt shivers run down her spine when he looked at her. "Entertainment," he replied. Marie felt her blood boil. "Tell me, Your Majesty," he said to Elsa. "How does it feel to have permanently soiled your reputation? First, your slip with magic, now this." Dominic was silenced by Anna's blade coming within an inch of his throat.
"This is my kingdom," Anna seethed. "Prejudice of any kind is not tolerated here." Marie looked around the gardens as several cheers from the staff filled the area. Anna grinned, her eyes fiercely burning into Dominic. "Marie feigning to be Ian was my idea, as was Elsa's involvement. Therefore, both are fully pardoned." She lowered her blade. "Bring him to the dungeons for now. We'll hold trial later." More cheers erupted as Kristoff and Mattias dragged Dominic away. Elsa rushed to her sister and embraced her. Marie stood.
"I'm so proud of you!" Elsa wiped a tear away from her eye. "You handled that like a true queen."
"Hey, now, have a little faith in me," Anna teased, nudging her sister. Her turquoise eyes landed on Marie. "That cut doesn't look good. Johanna!" she called.
"Here, Your Majesty!" the plump woman shouted as she pushed through the bubbling crowd. Marie groaned when her shoulders were seized. "Foolish girl! Her Majesty told you to let her handle it, didn't she?" Elsa raised a hand in protest as Johanna began to drag Marie away. "Confound it! Your shawl has blood on it now." Marie let out a pained chuckle. She let the nurse lead her back to her room and change her out of her battered clothing. Once she was clean, Johanna sat down on the end of the bed and peered at the wound on her neck. "Looks like she sealed it shut," she commented. Marie opened her mouth but was silenced by a knock on the door. Elsa poked her head in the room, her face tinted with concern. Johanna sighed. "Keep this one out of trouble, you hear?"
Elsa nodded and stepped into the room while Johanna departed. The door clicked shut. Marie felt her insides twist as blood rushed to her head. She opened her mouth to speak yet again, but Elsa held up a hand. She silently counted down with her fingers and pointed at the door when she reached zero. It opened. "What an exciting day!" Anna exclaimed as Kristoff and General Mattias joined her. Elsa quietly moved to sit by Marie's side on the bed and began healing her wound, causing her to wince. "Did you kick Johanna out?"
Marie felt Elsa shift. "N-no," the mage stammered.
Mattias knelt in front of Marie, his dark eyes surveying the wound. "He was faster, wasn't he?"
"Very," Marie responded. She winced as she turned her head to look at Anna. "So…what happened?"
"We've been suspicious of Westleton plotting to raid Arendelle for a while now," Kristoff explained. The door opened, and Olaf and Sven entered. "The duke tried to have Elsa killed after her coronation, so when we found out that Dominic took his place a year ago, we sent an invitation to our wedding." He crossed his arms. "Even though I was against it…"
Olaf giggled and hopped off Sven's back. "Could you imagine the after party?" He climbed up next to Marie and wiggled his frozen feet. "Deadly ice queen versus killer duke." Marie could not help but snort in amusement. Mattias glared at her.
"Dominic was never one for celebrations that weren't for him, so he canceled and requested to come two weeks prior," Anna explained. "Westleton is easier to reach by land, so when we heard he planned to arrive via sea, Kristoff and Destin gathered a small group and split between the Enchanted Forest and Westleton."
"The Northuldra helped us apprehend a group trying to sneak into the Forest," Mattias said. He rubbed his eyes. "They should be grateful it was us and not the spirits." Elsa nodded in agreement.
Marie winced when Elsa's ice caused her neck to cramp. "So why the need for Ian?"
"It was a distraction," Elsa said softly.
"Exactly," Anna replied. Her eyes rested on Marie. "Dominic has always known Elsa wasn't interested in him, so when I saw you in the armor, I went with it." The room was filled with a collective sigh. The queen itched her cheek and chuckled.
"Yeah, well, he knew the whole time," Marie muttered.
"Oh, definitely," Mattias said.
"Yep," Kristoff said. Sven bayed.
"Knew what?" Olaf asked.
Elsa bit her lip as she looked at her sister. "Olaf," Elsa said gently, leaning forward and resting a hand on his stick arm. "Marie was pretending to be Ian the whole time."
Olaf gasped loudly and covered his mouth. "WHAT?" He leaped off the bed and began walking in circles around Sven. "The lies! The betrayal! The drama." He placed a wooden hand on his forehead dramatically. "And here I thought Elsa had to choose between three. Now, it is back down to one…"
Mattias cleared his throat while Marie's face turned a bright red. "Your Majesty, we should arrange the details for trial later," he suggested, heading for the door.
Anna guided Olaf towards the door as well. "You're right! Come on, Olaf! Let's let Elsa concentrate so she can heal Marie's wound."
"Aww, but I wanted to discuss the morality of Marie pretending to be someone who doesn't actually exist!" the snowman complained.
Elsa shifted before asking, "Are you sure you don't need my help? I can-"
"No, it's okay!" Anna held up her hands in reassurance, but Marie sensed that she was also tense. "I already know you'll be at the trial, so…Just let me handle it!" Elsa reached for her in protest, but Anna hurried the snowman through the door. "I'll come get you if I need you! Bye!"
Marie and Elsa stared at the door as it shut, leaving them alone in the room. A quiet hum surrounded them from Elsa's magic seeping into Marie's wound. They looked at each other.
Elsa let out a forced laugh. "So…"
A dull, nauseating feeling flooded Marie's brain. She squeezed the garments she wore, desperately trying to fight it down. "So, he's locked up until trial starts?" Marie asked with a tremble.
"Yes," Elsa replied. She pulled her hand away and leaned forward to gaze at Marie. "You don't have to worry about-" She stopped speaking when Marie shot to her feet. The brunette paced despite being wounded and battered, her eyes widened like a cornered animal. Elsa rose slowly. "Is this the past trauma illness you've mentioned?" she asked softly.
Marie let out an awkward chuckle. "Close," she said. Marie gripped her neck and stared at the floor. "I know I'm safe. I know I'm not in danger. I know all of this! I'm just-!" Elsa took a step forward when Marie crouched and gripped her head. The woman's entire body shook uncontrollably. "If I speak slowly, it's because I'm trying to force myself to stay in the present."
Elsa smoothed out her dress as she knelt in front of her. She set a hand on Marie's shoulder, to which Marie flinched. The mage let her fingers spread over the thin fabric. "Can you tell me what's happening? Not what you are remembering: I know that's too painful." Marie shielded her face. Elsa inched forward. "Maybe if you talk through it, it will help."
"Um…" Marie swallowed a lump in her throat. "Th-there's a defense mechanism c-called fight-or-flight that the brain does when we are in danger." Her neck consistently felt as though it was being sliced open. She closed her eyes and continued. "That's what's happening now, even though I know I'm safe. B-but my brain just does it. It just does it when something that reminds me of the shit I've been through happens. I-…" Marie fought back tears. "I usually go off by myself when this happens."
Elsa's shoulders drooped. "Because it's embarrassing," she responded thoughtfully. "I did the same thing when everyone found out about my magic at my coronation. I had always dealt with everything alone. I was afraid of hurting someone else, but that didn't bother Anna." She set her fingertips on Marie's chin and lifted gently. "It doesn't bother me, Marie. You can let yourself be this way with me. It's not going to push me away."
Marie could not comprehend it. Maybe she was not ready to. All she knew is that her mind and body were not believing Elsa. She refused to look Elsa in the eye. "I-I'd like to be alone right now," she managed to say. Her chest swarmed with the familiar heaviness, but she did nothing to fight it.
Elsa withdrew. "You don't mean that," the mage said quietly. Marie kept her gaze lowered, her throat constricting from fighting off an onslaught of tears. "But I won't push." As Elsa stood, a sudden urge to grab her hand and pull her back down encompassed Marie, but if she was a master at anything, it was holding back her desires. She remained still. "If you need me, just call for me, okay?" Marie heard Elsa's footsteps pad across the floor, regret and shame gnawing at every fiber within her. They kept her motionless as the door opened and Elsa slipped through. The ice mage paused, her hand gripping the side of the wooden door. "I meant everything I said before. I will always protect you, Marie." She withdrew and slowly shut the door.
Hot tears spilled down Marie's face. She covered her face and uttered three words to herself. She was not ready to say them aloud, but as Elsa's words rang in her head, the feeling of hope struck the heaviness within her. Several minutes passed as the feeling lifted. Marie set a hand on her chest as it swelled. She did not need to know why Elsa had such unwavering faith in her. All she knew is that she wanted Elsa to keep believing in her. The brunette wiped her face off sloppily and started for the door. She flung it open. A burst of fresh air covered her face, and she smiled. As she took a step forward, a figure swung out and struck her in the head, instantly knocking her unconscious.
Two people conversed quietly in the front rows of the chapel. Elsa watched from the back row but did not pay attention. Her thoughts were elsewhere. Anna has this whole thing handled, she thought to herself. I'm not needed here anymore. She leaned forward and bit her bottom lip. I want to return to the Forest, but… She rose and departed the church, heading back for the castle. Would it be too much to ask Marie to join me? Trial would begin within the hour, but Elsa found that her presence was not necessary. Her feet led her down the halls of the castle towards the room Marie was in.
A guard sprinted past. Elsa immediately ran forward, calling to him. He turned to face her, the expression that covered his face sending a chill throughout her. "Your Majesty!" He ran to her. "We've been looking for you! I have terrible news. We sent a guard to get Sir Dominic for the trial, but when they didn't return, we sent more men down there." He caught his breath. "Sir Dominic wasn't in his cell, and Daniel is gone as well."
The sound of waves beating against the earth rocked in Marie's ears. She opened her eyes slowly. Wooden walls surrounded her, and the small room was dank. Although her head was pounding, she could tell she was on a large boat. Another body lay in the corner of the same cell she was in. Marie rushed to her feet but was unable to stand due to her feet and hands being tied. "Daniel?!" she cried. She struggled against the ropes that bound her. "Daniel, can you hear me?"
The young man groaned and stirred. "Marie?" he asked hazily. He sat up, his face contorting in confusion. "Wh-what? Where are we?"
"I don't know," Marie said hurriedly. She twisted her arms so that her hands were in front of her. "Feels like we're on a boat docked somewhere." They both looked out of the small opening as a seagull cawed outside. She set her head against the damp wall. "It's still the same day, so we can't be far from Arendelle."
Daniel squinted and gasped. "You're bleeding," he commented, leaning forward.
Marie chuckled and shook her head. "So are you," she said, noting the cut on his forehead.
He looked around. "Who would do this?"
Marie froze. A coil of darkness snaked into their cell, wrapping around their throats. Footsteps rounded the corner. Dominic lifted a corner of his lips up, darkness covering him like a fitted coat. Daniel gagged as he was lifted off the floor. "Sorry, old friend," Dominic said in a low tone. "But you were just collateral."
Fear struck Elsa. She took a step back. "Where are the others?"
"Elsa!" The sound of her sister's voice rang in her ears like music. Anna embraced her, Kristoff and Mattias not far behind. "We just found out. You haven't seen either of them?" But Elsa did not answer the queen. Her eyes were scanning the small crowd for a face that was not there. Elsa bolted for the guest room, an ice trail spreading out behind her. The doors shot open, and she ran inside, her breath catching in her throat. The room was empty. Anna came up behind her.
The walls formed icicles that pointed straight at them, their crisp crackling filling the room. Elsa stumbled backward. "N-no," she breathed. Her breaths became labored. "Marie?" She whipped around, her blue eyes finding no one. "Marie!"
Another guard ran up to Mattias and whispered urgently in his ear. The man's brown eyes widened. "Your Highness," he said. Elsa turned to look at the General. "They found traces of darkness in Dominic's cell."
Anna covered her mouth. "Elsa, has Marie been acting strangely lately?" she asked quietly.
The icicles grew. "Her darkness isn't as strong, like it's being-…" Elsa stopped speaking and looked at her sister.
"There's something you should know," Anna stated shakily. "It's about what Grand Pabbie told me."
Daniel fought against Dominic's grip. "What is all this? Dominic!" Suddenly Dominic thrust his arm up, making Daniel's body crash through the wooden ceiling of the cell and land on the deck above.
"What the hell?!" Marie exclaimed. She opened her hands, conjuring a dark blade. She gasped. Nothing formed. Her eyes shook with terror. "What?" Suddenly, a fist met her jaw, and she was knocked to the floor. Dominic lifted her up by the hair. She struggled against his grip as he lifted her to his eye level and looked into her eyes.
"This power is tantalizing, isn't it?" Dominic asked softly. Marie gritted her teeth as he leaned towards her. "I knew if I wanted it hard enough, it would eventually choose me over you, and it has. You were too weak to do what needed to be done. What I don't understand, even after watching it being seeped from you like water from a plant, is one thing." He began dragging her body up the stairs to the deck. "Why do you insist on holding onto it despite not being strong enough to stop it from leaving?"
Sunlight hit Marie's eyes. With a grunt, Dominic threw her down on the deck. She rolled to a stop, catching a glimpse of Daniel a few feet away. He was watching them while being held down by a dark energy much blacker than any she had ever wielded. Marie lifted herself up to her knees. "So, what? You're going to torture me until I give you the rest of it?" she seethed.
Dominic chuckled. "No, you're much too heroic for something like that." He lifted an arm. Daniel's head whipped around frantically as he was lifted into the air. Dominic squeezed his hand. The darkness seeped into Daniel's flesh. He screamed in pain.
"Stop!" Marie charged for Dominic. "Knock it off!" Dominic simply lifted his foot and kicked her in the gut, sending her back down to the deck. He released Daniel, whose body dropped and remained motionless.
"The thing with people like you and Elsa is that you care too much." Darkness slithered from Dominic like a cancer as he knelt in front of Marie. A hand wrapped around her throat and squeezed. "To think this was being wasted on you!" he hissed in her face. "Every moment I spent taking it from you was worth it. Can you feel it?" His fingers squeezed even harder, causing her to gasp for air. "Can you feel the last of it draining from you? But you've been through something like this before, haven't you? You've been robbed of something precious of yours, just in a different way. That's what I love most about this." He grinned, his eyes moving up and down her face. "I love seeing that look in your eyes, that numbness of reliving it over and over again. I've seen your memories as the darkness sank into me. Tell me." His breath ran over the blood and sweat that dripped down her face. "Does it remind you of when your past lover put his hands around your neck you and pinned you, or does it remind you of how the life was almost choked from your mother by your own father? Which is it?"
Daniel stirred. "Don't give it to him! He'll destroy everything!" he cried.
Dominic scoffed. A beam of darkness shot down into Daniel's leg. He screamed in pain. A laugh escaped Dominic. Although it did not physically tear Daniel's skin and flesh, the pain and sensation made it feel as though it had. Marie struggled within his grasp in pure rage as more beams shot down into his body. "St-…" she tried to say. Her fingers sunk into his forearm. Daniel grew silent. "…Stop…" Dominic narrowed his eyes but subsided the beams. Daniel did not move. "You want it?" Marie raised her hand, the last of her dark power forming into a small ball on her palm. Dominic's eyes grew wide. She raised her arm into the air. "Then take it." Before he could stop her, Marie shot the ball into the air.
"NO!" Dominic screamed and threw her down. He sprinted to the edge of the boat, watching helplessly as it shot straight for the castle. "What did you do?!"
A small smile formed on Marie's lips. Her body grew limp, and her eyes slowly shut as consciousness faded from her.
