The Snow Queen's Frozen Heart Book 2

Ingrid's Fear

I lead Elsai down a series of hallways, finally coming to one that had portraits of Arram's reigning monarchs. On one side of the hall were portraits of the past kings. On the other side, were the past queens, each directly across from her husband. We past generations of monarchs, Elsai looking at the pictures as we made our way to the end of the hall. My family had ruled Arram for hundreds of years, so naturally the hallway had hundreds of years worth of ancestors. Not one of them had white hair. Not one...Finally we made it to my Grandmother's portrait.
"My grandmother, Queen Alyssa, was killed by Aaron. Her first born...It wasn't an accident like it was with me... He killed his own mother, Elsai. He was proud of it." I sighed. I moved to the next portrait, my mother. "My mother, Queen Miranda, was never afraid of Aaron...she pitied him more than anything. That was because King Landon, my father knew that there was no chance of him escaping. No one has ever escaped Haus Des Teufels...." "What does that mean anyway?" Elsai asked, looking up at the portrait of my mother. "The Devil's House. It's a prison that was dug into a mountain when Arram was founded. It holds only the worst criminals and is supposed to be inescapable. So if my crazy Uncle can break out...any of them can...." Finally, we came to my portrait.It was different than the others. Where all the other Queens' portraits were conservative and proper, mine showed my power and passion for winter. Mine. The only portrait that didn't have my consort across from it. Since Elsai wasn't technically the king of Arram, he didn't have one. "After his imprisonment, Aaron came to loath my father. He thought it was his fault. That he'd stolen the throne from him...that's why Aaron escaping terrifies me...My father is dead. The only things standing in Aaron's way of taking the throne, are me and our baby... If my uncle could kill his own mother...some he'd known all his life, he could easily kill our child. A defenseless little baby who is between him and power...." I could feel my body shaking as I told Elsai my fears. "Ingrid..." Elsai said tilting my face to look at him, "I promise...we won't let your uncle take Arram from you. Our baby will grow up perfectly safe and happy." "Honestly....I should probably be locked up in Haus Des Teufels too..." I bit my lip looking down in shame, "I'm no better than he is...if any thing, I'm worse. He only killed one of his parents and a half sister. I killed both and a man who only wanted what was best for Arram...." "Don't talk like that. Like you said, he was proud of it. You aren't. It was an accident and you regret it. You're nothing like him. You're an amazing queen, a perfect wife and you'll be a wonderful mother." Elsai hugged me tightly, resting his chin on my head. "Elsai..." I just stood there and let my husband hold me. What would I ever do without him? When we broke our embrace, he placed a soft kiss on my forehead, then looked at me and smirked. I looked at his mischievous face in confusion. "After the baby is born, we'll have to put those soundproof walls to good use." My eyes widen and my cheeks turned pink at his words.