Fire and Ice

Chapter Seven

ELSA'S POV

I ordered the doctors and castle workers to make Anna their first priority.  She was still unconscious, so no one knew exactly what happened.  All we could assume was that she had somehow hit her head and passed out, and was now slipping away into an unknown condition. 

"What exactly happened?" Kristoff had asked me.  I could see the pain in his brown eyes; I knew what it felt like to have a loved one start to slip away from you.  It had happened more than once to me, and let me tell you, it's the worst feeling ever. 

"I don't know," I had answered truthfully.  "I found Anna.  She was unconcious, and then she woke up.  I heard her mumbling about a potion, and how it would save something.  She had to have meant her, I mean, she was in a bad shape.  So I gave her the potion." 

How had everything turned around so quickly?  I was feeling better, at least to the point that I could walk and leave my bed.  Anna had taken my place, but now she was almost in some sort of coma, and the doctors didn't know if she would get better.  "Just focus on Anna," I had ordered the castle.  "Don't worry about me."  And like that, Anna was the center of focus.  I was glad. 

Between queen duties, I visited my sister, each time hoping and praying that she had woken up, and each time she was in the same state.  And gradually, I stopped visiting her so often.  The paperwork in my study was piling up fast, and her state was hopeless.  Sighing and rubbing my temples, I opened up the next letter. 

When I opened it, my eyes visibly widened.  It read:

Queen Elsa of Arendelle,

Prince Hans of the Southern Isles was returned to his kingdom on your request, which has been rejected.  The prisons of the Southern Isles is full, as theft is a common problem here.  We humbly ask that you and your kingdom take Prince Hans and keep him in your prison.  His sentence in the Southern Isles was to be hanged, however, we leave that up to you and Princess Anna.  We are dearly sorry for the misfortune. Prince Hans is to arrive on July 22. 

Yours truly,

King Klaus of the Southern Isles

I had to read the letter a few times to make sure I wasn't imaging things.  Hans?  Coming back here, to Arendelle.  Tomorrow.  The man who had single handedly almost destroyed my sister and I's life.  I felt my face flush with rage.  My desk chair began to turn to ice with every thought of Hans.  The letter had spikes of ice gowing from the edges as I held it. 

Trying to calm myself, I set it down and walked away, pacing the room by the large windows that overlooked Arendelle.  Conceal, don't feel.  Prince Hans.  Conceal.  The man I had trusted.  Don't feel.  The man who tried to bring his sword down upon me for his own good. 

That was it.  The floor turned solid ice.  I felt a storm bottled up inside me start to spill out.  Shards of ice flew everywhere, piercing the windows, the door, the wall.  It didn't stop there.  The spikes of sharp ice grew rapidly, all pointing to me.  They grew longer and longer, sharp tips inching towards me.  I was surrounded by my own ice. 

Think of love, Elsa, I thought desperately.  Love will thaw. 

The ice continued growing.  I didn't have any love left in my heart.  Anna was dying, Kristoff was blank to the world, and my worst enemy was returning to my kingdom.  Tears slid down my cheeks, turning into solid ice as the did so. 

The shards of ice were close enough that they poked me.  I felt them press harder, and harder.  I couldn't move.  One pressed against my throat, making breathing difficult.  One poked my back, a few pointed down on my head.  They were everywhere.  I felt the ice pierce my skin.  I was bleeding.  Was I going to die from my own ice?