It's been TOO LONG I know, I know, I know—so I'd strongly advice ya'll who've stuck around re-read the last chapter to remember what the heck's going on Lol (I know I had to)

The, uh, timeline might seem a little weird but just bear with me. Things happening in the Southern Isles are a little ahead of what's going down in Arendelle.

ELLIOTT

Elliott could count on his fingers the days to go before his wedding day.

He didn't have very many fingers left.

It was a surreal feeling, to say the least. Marriage had been an abstract, far-away concept more political than anything else to him. The thought had always terrified him. Even more so now as it had not been his own choice; it had been forced on him by a malicious woman hungry for power. And then there was his bride-to-be… the "sketchy stranger" turned "murderous princess" turned "tentative ally"—he didn't know what to make of Helena Westergard of the Southern Isles, either. He felt like he was spectating his own live rather than living it himself.

Also, what he was fairly sure was actually a land-shark in human disguise was now residing in the palace as well. Cristina, Helena's other older sister flaunted around his home like she owned the place after her shipwreck encounter with –probably— Andy. She was practically Queen Astrid's new bodyguard—if she were a dog, Elliott could easily imagine a buff bulldog snapping and yipping by the queen's heels, threatening everyone and anything 24/7.

To feed his paranoia, Astrid asked him to borrow a messenger bird.

"What do you need a bird for?" he asked. He frowned down at the parchment with the queen's neat scrawl of a request written on it. "Uh, actually, two birds?"

The older woman had barged into his study after her private plotting with her sisters. Elliott had been anxious to interrogate either Helena or Maddy about how that had gone down, but apparently he'd have to wait. Right now, the devil herself was gracing him with her presence.

"I need to warn my captain of the guard about possible hostile individuals that may arrive on our shore… the ones that attacked Cristina and sunk her ship," she said, matter-of-factly. "Also, I need one other birdie with enough stamina to make it to Corona to check on your brother."

"So you openly admit to spying on my brother's whereabouts," Elliott wasn't even surprised at this point. "You are unbelievable."

"I told you, Elliott," she wriggled her long fingers almost flirtatiously. "I'm going to be completely honest with you from now on. It is so tiring to spin a web of lies and deceit, you know? It is so, so refreshing to be open about these things!"

He wasn't sure if she was mocking him, and he decided to let it slide for the sake of peace. Arendelle's king wasn't in the mood to fight this woman another second of this long, long day.

"Right. I'll sign the permit for you to… borrow these birds," he swallowed down his irritation and dipped the metallic end of this pen into the ink bottle. "I don't know why you're even bothering…" he didn't look up, "because I just got word that Anders arrived safe and sound in Corona."

He found it easier to lie when he didn't have to look directly into people's faces. And he just knew that if he were to look into that pool of icy emptiness that was the queen's stare, he'd fall apart. She'd see right through him.

So he didn't look.

"Doesn't hurt to check," her sickly sweet voice said. He didn't grace her haughtiness with a reply, instead the only sound was the scratching of his pen against paper.

After an eternity, he folded the permit and handed it to her, finally making eye contact. Immediately, those eyes pierced into him in the worst possible way. "Pray tell, when did you get word of your brother's arrival? A letter from Princess Rapunzel and … that criminal husband of hers…what was it…Eugene?"

"Yes."

She pretended to look around the pile of papers on his desk, "Is it around here? This letter you speak of?"

"No." A second of hesitation. "I burned it."

A thin, accusatory eyebrow rose. "A fire in July?"

"What can I say?" he smiled his crooked smile. "It gets chilly around here, especially when I'm around."

And just to make a point, gentle coin-sized snowflakes began to fall from the ceiling, one of them landing and immediately melting on the queen's royal nose.

"I see." She wrinkled her nose and curtsied a little too low. "I will see you later tonight. We still have matters to discuss."

"I look forward to it." He forced another smile as he cupped a handful of the small snowflakes in his left hand. With his free one, he waved "See you soon."

She left in a huff and Elliott let out a huge sigh of relief. He shoved the handful of ice down the back of his dress shirt, letting out another sigh as it cooled down his burning and growing apprehension. That woman sure made his blood boil in the homicidal-kinda-way.

Oh… she'd be seeing him sooner than she thought… considering he'd filled out the permit completely wrong, purposely spelling her name as 'Asstrid' at least twice, and signing it with 'Ice cube king.' She hadn't even said anything about him not stamping it with the royal emblem and wax to make it official. The royal birdkeeper wouldn't even give her the time of day with that piece of sham paper as her request form.

He'd buy his brother all the time that he could, doing childish and petty things such as these. If a phony permit would buy Andy even 5 minutes of not being caught, he'd gladly write a thousand of them. He had to protect his little brother even if he was thousands of miles away. Speaking of…

From under a pile of papers, the king of Arendelle pulled out his copy of the "Things Elliott And I Will Do At All Costs" list and happily checked the box "Do something that would make mama and papa smile."

ANDY

Andy felt bad when the servant, Gibbs, shorter than even Krista, shuffled into the grand room with the thirteen thrones and was met with the sour faces of the prince and his companions.

Then he felt even worse when said servant somehow tripped and fell on his knees.

Almost on basic instinct, Anders rushed forward, grabbing the man by the elbows and helping him back on his feet.

"Tha-thanks, thank you, sir, I'm fine. Thank y-you." The newcomer's face was beet red, from embarrassment or from walking along those long, unending halls all day—he didn't know. Maybe it was from the noticeable stutter he had.

Andy tried to smile at the guy, but it was strained. His growing irritation was starting to seep through his mask of calm. So their plans of freely exploring the castle to find what they were looking for were promptly ruined by Captain Lance's meddling. Oh, joy.

Now his plate had the added problems of figuring out a way to get rid of this guy, find Cecile, get the evidence, avoid Princess Rowena's creepy inhuman demon-guards and get out of this damned island alive. Oh, and get back in time to crash his brother's wedding before any formal, sacred and legally-binding vows were made.

Amazing.

Gibbs carefully brushed off his knees and patted down his arms, clad in an elegant navy dinner jacket, his pale cheeks huffing and puffing at the effort. Anders paused his reeling thoughts to study him more closely. He needed to start making that a habit—really look at people before jumping to conclusions and missing key details.

He didn't look like a bad guy. In fact, Andy wondered how this guy had survived on this castle. Gibbs looked soft, even kind. Those were some wild assumptions to make, he knew, just from 3 minutes of simple mannerisms, but somehow he could tell. The servant Gibbs was too gentle for such a harsh place.

Brandon, however, had not bothered to look at the man more closely.

"Hey, it was nice of Captain Lance to call you over here, but, uh, we're good. Really. We don't actually need your help." He grinned in a menacing way and tilted his head toward the door, an invitation to leave. "On your way."

That immediately made the man nervous. "I-I cannot disobey C-captain Lance's orders."

The curly-haired boy rolled his eyes, his patience was visibly being tried. "Look, he's gone, okay? He's checking on his wife or whatever. He's not gonna find out. And if you're worried about Rowena—she left too, with her creepy guards! No one's gonna know that you—"

The poor man began to sweat profusely, bravely piping up, "I'm truly very s-sorry, sir, but I-I must insist I come with. M-my orders were clear…"

Krista seemed to be on board with Brandon's train of thought, because she, too, seemed ticked off by the man's unbearable insecurity. "Look, pal, Brandon here tried asking you the nice way, but if you're not leaving from your own free will—"

The two of them began advancing towards the stuttering man, while Andy hung back, torn between helping them or helping him. As fate would have it, he didn't have to choose.

Naturally, because everything in Andy's life was destined to go wrong, a new voice quickly dissipated the growing tension brewing in the room.

"Gibbs? Gibbs, are you in here—?"

A beautiful girl around his age stopped in her tracks in the dead center of the room, her pouted lips showing confusion while she took in the situation currently taking place. Her face structure was scarily similar to Helena's, in the sense that it was a really nice face to look at, with the high brows and freckled cheekbones. But the, uh, color palette on this girl was different. While Helena was fair-skinned and auburn-haired, this girl's was dark. Shiny black hair and tanned skin accentuated her features in the best of ways.

Thanks to Andy's newfound method of looking more closely at things, he noticed the girl had a scroll in her hand—small thing, like the messages people clipped to bird's legs. She probably sensed something was off, because she did her absolute best to hide it behind her back… and it would've probably gone unnoticed, had Andy not been quite more aware of his surroundings since his new resolution from 5 minutes ago.

"Lady Johanna!" Gibbs barreled past his two bullies and practically jumped into the safety that was this girl's presence, cowering behind her tall frame.

Krista glared at her. "Ah, that's number twelve, if I'm not mistaken." She poked Andy's side, "This one's friendly with Helena, no?"

Princess Johanna's dark eyes sparkled with interest. "You know my dearest sister, Helena? I'm afraid she's not around. She's been wrongfully imprisoned in the land known as Arendelle, far north."

Almost immediately, like being struck by lightning, the prince's anger coursed through him and exited his mouth in the form of sharp words. "Know Hele—? Of course I know Helena, she tried to kill—" Andy slapped a hand over his own mouth before he blew their cover even more. He joined Krista in glaring at the princess. Now, that, kids, had been bait. And he'd taken it quite easily.

He remembered now, Johanna's signature quirk was the 'smartest' of the Thirteen Wonders here at the Southern Isles. She was also dotted down in the 'not-as-bad' category, but, to Andy, all of them were terrible, so that wasn't much comfort. If his information was correct, she was what was so cordially known around these parts as a bastard—her mother had been one of the king's mistresses, so she did not share the same mother as Helena.

Helena had said they could trust Johanna… but Andy wasn't so sure. Helena did say a lot of things. She hadn't mentioned Rowena's inhuman guards. She hadn't mentioned Cristina's trap.

The girl inclined her head, suppressing a smirk, "Ah, forgive me, for proper introductions have not been made. I'm Johanna Westergard—and, as you so kindly mentioned, number twelve."

Gibbs was still literally hiding behind the princess, his beady eyes narrowed in challenge. Beside him, Krista pulled her shoulders back, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. The tension was so palpable it reminded him of his every interaction near Queen Astrid's presence—something about this family just screamed confrontation.

She waited for them to return the courtesy, but none of them moved a muscle. The pout from before returned to her face, "That's quite rude of you three, but don't worry. Perhaps we can still solve this unfortunate situation over some tea? Clear everything up?"

Instead of answering another baited question, Andy stepped forward, trying to seem as least threatening as possible, "Lady Johanna, may I please take a look at that paper that you're so desperately trying to hide behind your back?"

Like magic, her pleasant face quickly turned into the signature Westergard-snarl, but hers was a lot more defensive and less aggressive than Cristina's had been. "Mm. I'm afraid not… Gibbs!"

Because the short man had been hiding behind her back, it was easy for her to pass the little scroll from her hands to his, and the servant quickly took off running, like the mouse he seemed to be.

Ah, however, this time around…Andy and his companions worked like a well-oiled machine. Instead of standing there like idiots and watching him flee the scene, Anders and Brandon rushed after him, meanwhile Krista dealt with the princess.

It felt good when the people you were in life-threatening situations with seemed to read your mind.

KRISTA

Even though the princess was almost a head taller than her, Krista had no problem wrestling her royal ass to the ground. It was obvious from the get-go that this particular sister of Helena's was no fighter… well, no physical fighter. Johanna's deadliness lay in her words, not her fists.

It was a miracle that Andy had suddenly turned out to be so observant, noticing that tiny piece of paper had probably saved them some grief later on. Maybe he'd learned from his previous mistake with Helena. If it had been up to Krista, she probably would've accepted this girl's invitation to talk things over some tea—and by talk Johanna had probably meant torture and by tea she'd probably meant dungeon.

Johanna was no fighter, but she sure struggled a lot. Krista had to actually make an effort to keep her down, as well as place a hand over her mouth to muffle her angry protests.

"I-swear-to-the gods if you continue to scream I'mma stuff a sock down your throat!" the blonde pressed down harder on the princess' wrists, which she'd managed to pin above her head with one hand. "I mean it!"

She didn't actually mean it, but it was surprisingly effective. Princess Johanna stopped thrashing about and resigned herself to pant and glare with those dark eyes of hers, which was fine by Krista. As long as those demon-looking guards of Rowena didn't show up, all was good.

Somewhere outside the dang throne room, she could hear Gibb's screams of bloody murder and Andy's and Brandon's attempts to catch him. The sound of decorative armor crashing and feet sliding across wood weren't very comforting. How fast could a fat little man run anyway?

She made the mistake of looking down at her captive, whose brows were raised as if asking for permission. To speak?, Krista wondered. She should wait for the others to –hopefully— come back so they would all be present for whatever it is Helena's sister wanted to say. That's what she should do. Definitely. However, as the poets say… curiosity killed the cat.

She gritted her teeth and pressed down on the dark-haired girl's wrists harder yet again, making her whine. A warning. "The sock threat still stands, you hear me? No funny business. I'm removing my hand, now…"

After an agreeable nod from Johanna's part, Krista pulled her hand from the princess' mouth, linking it with her other one to keep her pinned down even more effectively.

"I mean you no harm. Truly." The girl squirmed under Krista's weight, "I was merely being cautious. I was… trying to determine whether you were friends or foes."

"What does your little paper say?"

Johanna's face flushed in apprehension, but Krista's prominent glare encouraged her to elaborate. "Astrid sent an urgent message. Extremely urgent… I intercepted it before it fell into the wrong hands. I've been very vigilant regarding Helena's situation…"

"Get to the point!"

The princess bit her lip, fear and anxiety etched unto her every feature. "It said Cristina's Doom Desire ship was sunk by three individuals matching the description of the three of you… and, that, possibly, one of you was Prince Anders of Arendelle… I assume that's the redhead?" when Krista offered no response but to look shocked, Johanna continued, "It said to arrest you on sight. I, however, do not agree with my eldest sister's methods… I was trying to reach some sort of compromise with you all—"

"Gods…"

It made Krista's mind spin how freaking quickly Astrid was unrevealing their little scheme. She was like a prized hound, sniffing and poking around for the truth till she found it… and when she did, there'd surely be carnage to show for it. How long had their blissful sense of security lasted? Five minutes? Now they didn't even have the advantage of surprise. Time was a luxury, now.

The queen's shadow loomed above them like a storm that would not and could not be stopped.

Before Krista could do something foolish like take out her pent up rage on the helpless princess, Andy and Brandon were back, dragging a distressed Gibbs between them.

"I-I'm s-sorry, Lady Johanna, they-they got to me," Gibbs moaned. Krista felt a pang of sympathy for the pitiful man. "They-they said the blonde woman was g-going to hurt you if I- if I didn't hand over the message…"

"This guy was about to jump off of the balcony," Brandon said, a tiny hint of admiration in his voice. "was willing to go splat! down on the ground just so we wouldn't get this," he twirled the rolled up paper between deft fingers. "That takes some guts."

"She knows who we are," Krista informed them, and for the sake of not talking at an awkward angle, she forced the princess to her feet and held fast to her hands behind her back. "I assume you've read what it says?"

Brandon nodded. "Question is, why hasn't she turned us in? Why isn't Captain Lance breaking our legs right now?"

Krista couldn't look at the princess' face, since she was keeping her in place from behind, but the sincerity in her voice surprised her. "Because I don't want a war!"

Andy, with a softness to his face she had not expected, asked, "What do you want?"

A long pause followed, and Krista could tell from the girl's body language, the agitated rise and fall of her shoulders, that she was struggling with the answer, until finally, she snapped.

"I want Rowena to stop her plotting. I want for Cristina to stop hurting everyone I love. I want Astrid to answer for her crimes against the crown. I just…" she sounded deflated. "I just want my sister back."

She hadn't said her name, but they all knew who she meant. Helena. Of course, it all boiled down to Helena.

Krista could plainly see that that statement struck a chord with Andy. I just want my sister back. Eerily similar to Andy's I just want my brother back from weeks ago, before the eternal winter shenanigans took place.

She tightened her grip on the tall girl's forearms. "You spoke of an alliance before…?"

"I believe the word I used was compromise," Johanna said. "And only if our interests can somehow be aligned." The princess twisted around, eyes narrowed, "and you needn't be so rough, darling. We can have a civilized conversation without need of… this."

"Don't call me darling." Reluctantly, Krista released her. A change of positions quickly took place, as Krista joined the two other boys in blocking the door and Gibbs ducked under their arms to stand beside his princess.

"Ah, I think our interests do share a common goal," Andy said. "See, Helena supports our… business here. And so does your sister Madeleine—she's an ally of ours now."

Johanna looked incredulous. "I'm convinced Maddy would rather die than plot against Astrid," with her index finger, she traced an invisible line from the corner of her eye all the way to her jaw, "That scar on her face sealed her loyalty for our sister a long time ago, Prince Anders."

Andy didn't question how she knew who he was. He shrugged. "You might've been right, once upon a time… I spoke to Maddy myself, to convince her to help." He rose to his full height, voice confident. "Yeah, at first she was terrified. Yeah, she looked exactly like a survivor of terrible abuse. But… she also looked like a queen to me."

Johanna bit her lip, those intelligent eyes started to fill with distrust. "Maddy isn't even interested in the throne."

"She's not doing it for the throne… that's just collateral damage to her," Andy's voice was sincere. "She's doing it for all of you, her sisters. For her dead mother… for the Southern Isles," he smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Madeleine's not doing it for herself."

"You speak as if you know her."

"I don't, not really… but, I do know a thing or two about being the second-born kid. I… I know about brothers hurting you." Andy said. "Mine didn't mean to, but it still deeply affected me, decades later." His voice was so sincere, and so firm, Krista's skepticism on this started to ebb away. "I can only imagine what a sibling that did mean to hurt you can do to a person's whole, like, life."

Johanna's lips pursed into a thin, thin line. It looked like two invisible forces were tugging at her from either side— one was probably Astrid's queenly self whom she'd known her whole life, the other, a complete stranger known as King Elliott of Arendelle, both asking her to choose a side.

She chose the stranger.

"I will help you…" she said real slow, as if testing the words, and not liking how they tasted. "Under one condition."

"Yes?"

"You do not prosecute Helena, and you leave us the hell alone after everything is resolved."

Gibbs glanced up at his princess, the perfect picture of are you actually serious right now?

Andy's green eyes blazed. "That's two conditions."

Johanna, tall as even Andy, folded her arms across her chest—defensive yet again. "They go hand-in-hand, prince. Look, you aren't asking for a cookie. You're suggesting a-a civil war, here. You're asking me to help take down our legally reigning monarch and replacing her with her sister. It's—"

"From what I've heard, she's not very legal, now, is she?" Andy said.

The princess' nostrils flared, annoyed, but not surprised at his words. "Ah, yes. The killing of their mother." Her posture became even more rigid. "I cannot tell you if it's true, that Astrid did her in, but I can't tell you it's not true, either. For I do not know myself…"

"Oh, please, Johanna, cut out this act of ignorance," Andy said, waving a hand. "If any one of Helena's sisters knows something about anything it's gotta be you!"

"I agree," Brandon interjected. "You actually look like you got your shit together, unlike that blonde demon we encountered at sea—"

"Prince, you forget yourself," she said sharply, ignoring Brandon entirely. "If there's something Queen Astrid wholeheartedly enjoys, it's her secrets, which, let me reassure you, she keeps real close to her heart. I don't know anything about their mother's demise…"

They continued to bicker back and forth, but for some reason, their voices became background noise for Krista, and her eyes wandered down to the servant at her side, his face, his whole pudgy body. He was shaking.

Shaking with knowledge, perhaps? Secrets?

Impulsively, without her brain's permission, she took a step forward. "Hey, you, Gibbs, is it? What's up? You're looking real nervous, there. Do you know anything about the former queen's death?"

Andy immediately picked up on it, too. "Oh?"

"Guh—uh—I—I don't—I'm, uh—" The man's tongue didn't look different to the naked eye, but from the mere wet sounds of violent spit-fest coming out of his self, one would think his tongue had tripled in size and he was choking on it. Like a fish drowning on air.

Krista shifted her eyes over to the princess, who was starting down at Gibbs, too. She looked significantly paler, and from the crinkle in her brow, it gave her the impression that what Johanna felt right then was a mix of concern and surprise. "Gibbs?"

His whole body continued to shake, thick beads of sweat running down his forehead, his temples, his nose. It looked like he was hyperventilating. Dark spots dampened the underarms of his dinner jacket, and if Krista were to bet, she'd definitely say there was a dark patch of the stuff on his back, too.

He tried to speak again, but the same nonsense continued to leak out. It seemed like an invisible man was strangling him to keep him from speaking.

"Gibbs," Johanna's voice was soft, genuinely kind, but still with a tone of urgency underneath it. She made a point to block with her body the three misfits tormenting them, stepping between them as if that would calm him. Krista suddenly felt guilty about their treatment towards these two.

Despite his wet, really gross face, she placed a gentle hand on his cheek. "You can tell me anything. I will not tell Astrid, it's—it's okay, Gibbs."

The two boys started to fidget uncomfortably beside her—they probably felt bad, too, about the man's current state… but would a man that knew nothing about his former queen's murder behave in such a way?

An eternity passed before Gibbs managed to pull himself together, thanks to soft coaxing from the princess, and when he did, his voice sounded throaty and exhausted. "I may k-know of… of some-something that could,… it could… erm, perhaps it-it could be of use…I…"

Dropping their aggressive approach entirely, Andy cautiously stepped towards them, as one would an injured animal. His eyes were earnest, "That's very good, Gibbs. It'd be real helpful for us and for your country. We—"

"Hold on just one moment," Johanna hissed. "You still haven't agreed to the non-negotiable, immovable price for out assistance."

Andy sighed. "You're being unreasonable and unfair—I hope you know that. I don't care that your sister tricked me and left me to die… like, I guess she did try to kiss me to thaw my frozen heart and all… but what she did to Elliott, our king, now that's a crime. By-the-book crime. She should, and will be tried for it. Of course, I will personally make sure they take into consideration her motivations, her background of being abused, even her assistance to us now—but she must still answer for her actions. And, uh, who knows? If this shitshow goes well, maybe Elliott will pardon her?"

It was obvious Andy wasn't used to cursing, but somehow it made the message pierce through their tentative ally.

When Johanna smiled, she only did so with one corner of her mouth. "I guess that's as good a compromise as I'm going to get, huh?"

"Indeed it is."

She spread her hands in a somewhat friendly gesture. "Very well." She turned her attention back to Gibbs. "Please, friend, tell us all you know."

He seemed to have changed from the last couple of minutes—sure, he still looked like a mess, but the key difference was in his eyes—they had steeled over. He said, in the quietest voice. "I just want Queen Astrid to never hurt Lady Madeleine again."

"That's part of our goal, yeah," Andy said.

Gibbs made a gather 'round gesture, and the group huddled together, ever closer, still with some leftover tension, but with a significant amount more trust, Krista figured.

"There is a… document," they were so close now, Krista had a first-row seat to Gibb's stale breath. "T-this document… it contains something… I am not sure what, but… maybe a confession? I do not know… but Lady Cecile, she knows… oh, Astrid would be furious if… oh…"

Just as quick as he'd summoned it, Gibb's courage dissipated and he went back to stuttering and choking unprompted, like he had a few minutes before. It was sad to watch, really, after he'd managed to string that sentence almost without that ever-present fear in his whole entire self.

"I'm—I'm sorry," Gibbs managed.

Out of all people, it was Brandon who placed a comforting hand in the man's spasms-ridden shoulder. "Don't worry, man. The knowledge of an incriminating document is as good a place as any to start, so thank you."

Johanna twisted a thin silver ring on her finger nervously. "Does Astrid know that you know of this document, Gibbs?"

"She does not," he murmured. He looked up at his princess, "if she did, I wouldn't be alive right now."

HELENA

Helena was convinced, thoroughly and simply, without any room for doubts, that Elliott had somehow pissed off Astrid earlier on in the day, and this was her way of punishing them both.

And by this she obviously referred to this dancing class the southern queen had oh-so-graciously arranged for the evening's activities. The huge ballroom, with its polished wood floors and high-arched windows, was their designated dance floor.

Astrid had adamantly insisted they absolutely needed to rehearse their first dance as husband-and-wife, and by the dangerous tone of her voice Helena knew there was no room to argue. "It's actually a blessing in disguise," she'd said with a nasty smirk. "So you don't make a fool of yourself in front of everyone on your big day, darling!"

The dance instructors consisted on a large hairy man with canines that looked positively feral, and a petite woman with pretty brown eyes and a love for reading—she'd said so in their brief introduction. They moved back and forth as if they were alone in the world, occasionally giving them directions for when it was their turn. For now, they were observing, just like Helena's annoying family was.

Astrid was fanning herself on the far corner with her newfound best friend, Cristina, who every once in a while looked up from her biscuit-eating to smirk and mock Helena's obvious mortification at the situation. Maddy was now the third-wheel in their little club, looking uncomfortable and with a stiff and annoyed posture.

Then there was Elliott, next to her.

"What the hell did you do to her to make her mad?" Helena murmured out of the corner of her mouth, only for him to hear.

Their instructors were still ignoring the world around them, dancing in slow circles. At the beginning of the lesson, a band with a trio of men had been playing lively music—but they were on a break, so the couple danced in comfortable silence, almost lazy. It was kind of sweet.

"I might've written 'Asstrid,' double s, on a permission slip she had me sign," he said nonchalantly. "Then, when she complained, I told her my office hours were closed and to please come back tomorrow."

Helena barked a laugh, a genuine one, but she tried her best to suppress it with pointedly clearing her throat, "What an unwise thing to do, King Elliott. Rather naughty."

He shrugged, "Alas, we're being punished for my indiscretion, and I'm sorry about that." He allowed himself a small chuckle, "Especially me—I don't know how to."

"How to what?"

"Dance."

Her mouth popped open—but she quickly shut it again. Of course. He hadn't danced at his coronation. In fact, the last time she had danced, it had been with Andy… her face grew hot with shame at the memory.

"Look at her—a blushing bride, finally!" Cristina taunted from all the way across the room, hooting like a sailor on their lunch break. "I don't know what he just said to her, but I bet it was dirty!"

Astrid's laugh was like nails on glass, and Maddy grimaced at the crude remark. It did not help with Helena's embarrassment in the least. She wiped her sweaty palms on her dress, praying for the ceiling to split open with the lightning of some merciful god, killing her instantly. It sounded much more appealing than enduring her sister's relentless attacks literally every waking second.

Elliott's shoulders tensed, she'd noticed they did that when he felt helpless to stop something—or when he wanted to blast someone with his icy powers. That someone was probably her insufferable older sister.

"Just ignore her," she finally said between gritted teeth. "A reaction is what she lives for. Indifference wounds her ego like nothing else."

"Did you ignore her, back home? Did this advice work?" he said.

"No," she sighed deeply, "which is probably why I got into so many fights back in the day, and why I sported a black eye for most of my upbringing."

She'd intended it as a joke, but Elliott opened his mouth to reply with a concerned look, however he was interrupted by the beastly man and his partner. "Your Grace, it's you and Lady Helena's turn."

"Oh—um, yes." He shot a quick glare of distaste Astrid's way, "I'd be thrilled to."

An awkward silence stretched when neither of them moved.

"Perhaps lets start with simple hand placement?" the lady said with a small nod of encouragement.

And suddenly Elliott wasn't as smooth as he seemed. He started fumbling with his hands, his long arms. One of them hovered with uncertainty above her hip, then around her ribs, until he finally settled on placing it on Helena's bare shoulder, "Like this?"

"You're cold," she complained, shrugging it off. "Also, um… it's my hand that goes on your shoulder.

"I-I know that."

She swallowed the ever-growing lump of humiliation in her throat and gently grabbed his wrist, careful to avoid his cold hand, and plopped it right on her waist. Thankfully, he only looked mildly repulsed, which was a boost on her self-worth.

"Now, ours hands…" she raised her own as an offering, waiting for him to clasp it and hold it high.

"Should I- should I get gloves?" for some reason, she found him slightly more adorable when he was nervous. Slightly. "Is this okay?"

She shook her head, "Let's just get this over with."

Helena watched the way his throat bobbed when he swallowed—did he have his own lump of dread stuck there, too? Because right now her lungs sure felt like they were filled with lead, weighing her down. For a split second their eyes met—his blue and anxious, hers as reassuring as she could make them without words. She was utterly incompetent at comforting herself, but for some reason she wanted to spare him the worst of this situation. She did not know why.

"What in the blazes is taking you two so long? Maestro—play 'em some music!" Cristina's shrill voice broke up whatever moment they might have just shared. Elliott adverted his eyes and clasped her free hand. It was like touching a frost-covered window on the first snowfall, but in human flesh... so, it was weird. Not a bad weird, just... she didn't exactly like it.

"I swear it's like you were raised in the jungle, sister." Maddy's chiding reached even them all the way on the other side of the room.

Cristina's yell of a response was drowned out by the sudden sharp note on one of the musician's instrument's—which then carried on to a slow, steady melody which made Helena's heart slow down for the first time all day.

"Now, move!" the male instructor's grizzly voice wasn't exactly a command but it sure jolted them out of standing there like a couple of idiots.

Elliott's eyes were pleading once again, "I don't know ho-"

"Just—just follow my lead," Helena murmured, and finally, they took off.

Elliott might have been taller and somewhat more dignified-looking than his brother, but he sure as hell could not dance to save his life. Sweet, foolish Andy, gods bless him, was a natural. His older brother was a disaster.

Not the stepping-on-your-toes kind, but he was just… awkward. Stiff. Like he didn't want for any reason to let the music have any sort of power over him.

"Your Grace," the female instructor's voice called form somewhere to their left, "Try to not let her do all the work."

Elliott didn't turn his head to look, instead he kept his gaze fixed somewhere above Helena's head, maybe he, too, was pleading for that lightning strike to end their misery.

"It's like hauling a tree trunk around," Helena looked up at the king's eyes with a glare. "This really sucks, but at least put some effort into it!"

"I'm trying," he said, exasperated. At least he stopped pretending she wasn't there, and their gazes gravitated towards each other, which honestly was somewhat unnerving.

His touch was still chilling, and it made her want to pull her hand away every single second, but she held fast. She did not want to give her sisters the satisfaction of a fight over something as petty as his hands being cold.

She arched her front into his body, a savage determination energizing her suddenly, "Do better."

The king of Arendelle made a sound like a yelp at the sudden contact, but at least those long legs of his finally started to cooperate with the rhythm of the music. Not even Cristina's constant booing and hissing made him falter.

Defying all logical explanation, she began to get lost in the music, in the sudden intensity of his stare. It was still painfully awkward—but at least he was now concentrating, on her of all things. She now understood why the instructors had looked like they were lost in their own little world.

Suddenly she didn't feel like the most wanted criminal in Arendelle—like the youngest of a pack of hungry wolf-sisters, like a burden.

For a few brief, brief blissful seconds she felt like just a girl, dancing with just a boy—not her would-be husband, her could-have-been victim, a powerful king. Just some boy.

Suddenly, and on a complete primal impulse, she said, "Can you forgive me?"

He blinked, once, twice. "Huh?"

She blinked back. She felt as if in a trance. "For what I did. For—for my sword, your brother, for… my foolishness?"

She felt his grip tighten on her hand, but they did not stop moving around—even if it felt like the whole world had come to a standstill. Like it was holding its breath, along with her.

Instead of the immediate and cutting berating she expected, his features softened. His whole face did. When he replied, he showed his teeth, not in a snarl, but in a small smile. "If it's forgiveness you want; I can give that to you."

In a bold move, he spun her around—clumsily, but a laugh of relief escaped her chest nevertheless. The heavy and suffocating lead on her lungs seemed to melt into something more bearable. She even managed to ignore Cristina's heckling somewhere far, far away in the background of this moment.

He really was the benevolent king she feared him to be. Half of it relieved her, while the other half was somehow mad that he was yet again the bigger person in all of this.

When their bodies gently crashed back together, he continued, "It is not your redemption, but forgiveness," he said. "The other you must earn. You've proved yourself to be… quite different, in the past few days."

"You mean how I willingly joined a plot against my own family?"

"If perhaps you want to call it that." A beat of silence. Then, "I forgive you, but it does not mean my brother does. The damage to him was… something more permanent."

And just like that, his grip slackened, and the moment was gone, like a soap bubble that got popped. They were dragged back into reality by their instructor's, Maddy's, and Astrid's polite clapping and the end of the music.

Elliott immediately dropped his hands to his sides, tendons on his neck suddenly taut. Helena's relief turned once again into a hot pool of shame, and her shoulders dropped, looking meek.

"Not even a kiss even if Helena there was obviously begging for it. Did you all see her precious little face? The hopeful look?" Cristina drawled, picking at the crumbs of her meal on a plate. "How very lame."

Now Helena wished for her hypothetical lightning god to strike her own sister down into a pile of ash. "Shut the hell up."

+++++ Well uh... hello there. If you've made it this far, and you're reading this, hey. Thank you. Um. Sorry it's been a year since the last update... but it's been hectic ya'll. I graduated high school. Got into law school. It's really incredibly difficult, and i won't go into it... and that, plus what's been going on in my own country as well as the USA and its new fuckass president, well... i hadn't had time to write, but the constant reviews (i admit, at times annoying) pushed me to continue, so yeah :))

++++ all of my blubbering excuses aside, this chapter... i'd written half of it last year, i admit, but i just wasn't happy with it. idk, i'm still not entirely happy with it, but here's something at least! to all 3 of you who are probably still keeping up with this story, shoutout to you!

+++ and ya'll remember we voted early on on the whole Elsa/Hans thing, and i admit i'm 100% a sucker for enemies/turned to lovers trope, but like previously stated, the people have spoken, so we won't be going down that road, even if there was a lil tiny bit of fluff of them on this chapter (and maybeee helena could have a crush idkkKK)

(yet again don't look too hard into my 'modern language' like ive said before, i like writing the characters speaking that way lets just ignore it, its a work of fiction, yeah?)

++ also part of this was based on fanart by lily-fox on deviantart, titled "Forgiveness", with Hans and Elsa so yeah :)) if u want to check it out feel free

+ as always, we do not double-check for spelling mistakes, we post drafts like men. so pls forgive any and all mistakes im just a tired human bean tryin to be a lawyer ok

thank you for reading, truly!

-EDIT 21/02/17 nevermind i went back and fixed some of the spelling mistakes that were really bothering me so there! also added one or two lines to make it flow better, nothing major i promise. ALSO probably nobody remembers, but REALLY early on in the story I said I'd add other Disney characters in a sort of AU type of thing? anyone remember that? well nobody caught it (or at least mentioned it Lol) but the 'dance instructors' in this chap were supposed to be Belle & Beast/(Adam?), in honor of the remake w/ emma watson coming out next month, soo that's that :)) anyhoo till next time!