A/N: so sorry for updating like a turtle. Thanks for reading btw :D

"Hey, Elsa,"

"Psst, Els!"

"Els!"

Elsa stirred. She turned around, ignoring the loud sounds of the bed sheets rustling beneath her ear. She groaned when her eyes met bright light instead of her sister. Instead, she was just a blurry shadow at her side. Anna stifled a giggle as she propped herself up, her shadow blocking the light by mere inches. A smile of content curved on Elsa's pale face as her eyes blinked themselves to a shut out. Cheeks reddening.

"Come on, Your Majesty!" Anna pleaded, slapping an ungraceful hand at Elsa's arm. Elsa flinched, her skin sensitive to the sudden physical contact. A weak giggle escaped from Anna's grinning mouth. "Sorry," Elsa's eyes opened. She didn't need to be sorry. She became sensitive because no one has touched her for thirteen years. It wasn't her fault. This was Elsa's. Her to blame, all along.

"Elsa?"

Her voice rang in her head repeatedly, solemnly engraving itself at the back of her mind, reminding her that Anna wasn't there anymore and she would be for eternity if she didn't act… now.

Heavy footsteps thudded on the carpeted floor, desperately trying to overpower the growing voice in her head. She slammed her bedroom door and it echoed in the hallway for a good four seconds and yet she felt as though she was deafened by the voice. She wanted to listen to it all day and yet she didn't. Before she forgot how Anna sounded like, she wanted the voice to keep ringing in her head so would remember. But this ringing kept pulling her back to the reality she didn't want to endure.

She strode towards her meticulously carved white closet, glancing at her reflection over the dressing table. If what she saw before was bad, this was far worse. Blurred by the forming tears at the corner of her eyes, she shut them before she fully made out the faint bruises and scars around her body.

"Sis…?"

"I'll get you back," Elsa said as she forcefully opened the closet. Her eyes ran over the many dresses specially tailored for her. But she couldn't wear any of those. If she was about to climb up mountains in a dress, Anna might as well be jumping off a cliff rather than wait for her sister. Smirking weakly, she eyed a folded uniform near the bottom of the closet.

"Is this some bloody ransom?"

"Kristoff…" Her hand stretched out, shaking before Kristoff handed the cloth over to her. In that split second, Kristoff could see multiple cuts around her forearms. He looked away.

Looking at it with apprehension, she noticed that the end of the cloth was burnt- smeared with black threads poking outwards. Although the handwriting was rather awful, Elsa, despite feeling the multiple mix of emotions she had now, was rather impressed by the many words that could be fitted in that small space.

"Dear Ice Queen,

If you would like to have your precious sister returned in one piece, please come to us alone and bring along 100 golden coins. If you dare come forth accompanied by anyone, you have been warned. We await your arrival in The Monarch's Retrieve,"

Elsa's eyes averted from the cloth to the blond man and then, to the floor. The request was anything but odd. But if this was what they wanted in return for Anna, Elsa was determined to do whatever it took. Kristoff shifted his footing around as he shook his head. "This little piece of-" He swung his arms upwards. "Who the fuck does this person think he is, huh?"

Elsa merely shrugged, wincing a bit at the cuss word. "A bloody good kidnapper," Elsa mumbled, taking a deep breath when she felt a cold breeze rubbing her back. Her knees were trembling and her eyes were wary from crying out what felt like thirteen years of isolation again. "I'll get ready," She turned around, walking. "Excuse me," Kristoff grabbed Elsa by the shoulder, his strong grip hurting Elsa a little.

"Queen. Elsa." Kristoff sputtered, his voice stern and loud. "What the hell are you talking about? This is obviously a trap. You can't be going there alone, bringing along 100 golden coins just because he said so! Your life would be in danger as well!"

"Then what do you suggest I must do?" Elsa shouted, turning around. A spike forming near the broken window. She flinched. Her mind swirling with imaginations of Anna crying in a dark room, purely made out of just broken scraps of wood and cobblestones. She felt her heart thumping against her ribcage and her breathing got heavy. "He said so- bring anyone- you have been warned! This is my sister and it's my responsibility to get her back! It's m-my fault- she-.. I don't want anyone to get hurt-"

"She is our princess and she's our responsibility too, Elsa!" Kristoff shot back, shouting at the top of his lungs. Elsa's eyes widened at him, momentarily scared of how fierce the blond man was able to be when all Elsa knew about him was just a polite ice seller. "You go there alone, you're definitely getting hurt! We bring the whole army, they don't stand a chance!" He said, jutting out a finger at Elsa. With that, he walked briskly out of Anna's massacred room. "I'm going to tell the military officers to ready everything," Elsa felt her heartbeat increasing.

"Kristoff! You listen to m-"

He flailed his large arms in Elsa's direction with utmost exasperation and left the room muttering curses under his breath. That was one man that was able to defy the Queen.

She sighed.

She tugged onto the pointy collars with delicate fingers, correcting the irritable forming creases near her neck. With one last pull of her short dark blue coat, she jogged towards her door, finding it odd how easy it was to stretch ones legs in trousers. And her boots were so well encased with metal trimmings at her shin that she didn't even feel the air slice as she walked past them. She was indestructible.

She quit riding and fencing a long time ago but she was well attached to her set of clothing because she knew it was the best set to wear to feel like this. She didn't need her icy air circling around her or her invisible armour- she just needed this. Her set of uniform to feel like the ice queen she needed to be.

"I'll get you back…" she said, grabbing the doorknob. She turned around to look at her chaotic bed, the sheets spilling around the ground. She shut her eyes tight, waited and opened them again. She saw the bed, spotlighted by the triangle shaped moonlight. She let out a soft groan when her eyes were tearing up again. It wasn't a dream. This was real.

The incident itself was too odd to be admitted true. Elsa would've heard the windows crack when it broke. Instead, she only heard Anna's scream. She felt a pang remembering her desperate plea. But maybe Elsa was too deep in a sleep to realize and she was too late. But how did they pass the guards? Arendelle had the best security to offer. And yet, what made this all the while stranger was the fact that they kidnapped Anna and demanded the Queen and 100 golden coins. She wasn't really worried about the money they insisted but she knew very well of the value it possessed. 100 golden coins were worth a third of the royal castle, Elsa presumed.

But one thing the quiet blond didn't expect was that they were lingering at The Monarch's Retrieve- the castle of she and Anna's great-grandfather whom has left abandoned for god knows how many years. Maybe a hundred years. Or more. Nobody went to the castle. Not a single soul. And all that Elsa knew of the sacred place was the fact that a huge chunk of it has collapsed into rubbles.

Elsa and Anna insisted on visiting the place when they were small. But even after countless pleas and whiny cries, mostly from Anna, the King crossly rejected all of the wishes. Even in later years, he was always infuriated by the emersion of the topic from any one of them- Anna, Elsa and even their Mother, the Queen. Anna witnessed it before, she told Elsa. The Queen questioned his behavior on The Monarch's Retrieve and instead, he just shot back a glare at her.

It was strange for Elsa. All she knew about her father was that he was the most caring and loving person she ever knew. To hear that, she became more curious and yet rather fearful herself. It never crossed her mind to explore the abandoned castle now that she need not any permission.

And not once did she expect herself to go there in such a desperate request.

She walked in the dark hallway towards the great spiral staircase. Each few seconds, the bright light from outside would blind her annoyingly and then, she would be back in the dark. Already feeling her powers starting to send snowflakes descending from the ceilings, she quickly swerved her way the side, walking in the shadows, far from the blue glowing diamonds on the floor.

Her boots thudded much louder than her footsteps before. It was menacing. She didn't even feel the pressure of stepping onto the floor. Finally, she reached the ground floor of her palace. Clouded by the countless thoughts flashing through her mind, it took her a full two minutes to realize that the Military Captain was standing stoically in front of her- Captain Magnus. Kristoff was there as well, along with some other soldiers dressed in full armour.

They stared in awe of their Queen dressed in an outfit other than her usual dresses.

"Queen Elsa," the tall chief spoke. His voice low and big. "From what I heard from Kristoff, I think it's best to think this through thoroughly before starting…"

Elsa wasn't thinking. All she could think of was Anna. And her dream. They were having such a great moment together. And all of that wasn't real. All of this felt as though it wasn't real. "Your Majesty?"

Elsa turned her head around and placed a glare on each man, one by one. Without a word she made her way to the ground floor study, unaware that each footstep frosted the floor a bit. Kristoff tensed and so did the other men. This tiny women, they thought, was some one who shouldn't be trifled with. And this kidnapper dared to do just that.

Gerda and Kai whom were near the group hurriedly opened the wooden doors to the study as they let the petite blond woman enter, nodding their heads once with utmost respect. They were in grief. Elsa could tell. Gerda's eyes were red from crying. Kai's usual cheery plump face was frowning with sorrowful eyes. Their once swift movements were not in their original pace. Instead, everything was just slow and dreadful. Hopeless. Everyone was losing hope.

Even Elsa.

Elsa sat in the middle of a couch while the rest followed after the queen, standing behind her as the captain sat on the opposite. He leaned forward. The Military Captain was a huge man, far larger than big Kristoff. His arms were as thick as tree barks and his shoulders were as broad as Elsa's height. His nicely trimmed moustache gave a frame for his pursed lips. His brown tufts of hair rested on his balding head, parted on his right.

He cleared his throat. "Now, Your Majesty," He waited for Elsa to look up. "I am very, sincerely, very sorry about what happened," Her eyes watered again. She stared straight into the captain's green eyes. This man was a bigger version of her father, she thought. "This was unexpected- we all know- and it comes as a huge shock- not only to you, Your Majesty, but to all of Arendelle," He paused as abruptly,

Elsa let out the softest whine while her head propped on top of her shivering hands. Tear after tear, they dropped onto the carpet floor between her legs. The room fell utterly silent. Elsa promised herself not to cry again. But she couldn't. Every resurfacing of the subject made her heart send jolts throughout her body- to sudden and shocking for the small Queen.

"Your Majesty…" The captain stretched a hand and made his way to Elsa's knee. He stopped and waited. Elsa didn't react. Firmly, he placed a hand on her knee. Now, her shoulders were shaking and she sobbed, trying her hardest to hide her voice. She heard faint footsteps near her side and felt the sofa shift beside her. The next second, she found Kristoff sitting and resting a delicate hand on her shoulder. "Your Majesty, please,"

Elsa sniffed and her breathing slowed down. She looked up with watery eyes.

"Usually, I wouldn't ever let you go for these things but if this man demands you, then, we must follow for Anna's well return," he said, almost whispering as though to sooth Elsa. "Just one thing- you must go with us-"

"But, sir! This person said so- he'll-"

"Your Majesty," his voice slightly louder. Elsa shut her mouth, trembling when she realized her tears have frozen a part of her boots. The air was turning chilly and she knew because the soldiers behind started to become rather restless. The large man sighed. "This young man here," He tapped Kristoff's shoulder. "Has told us everything we need to know. And he informed me. Even told me about your thoughts," Elsa turned to glare at Kristoff. He was her friend. But at that moment, she felt as though she wanted to punch him right then and there.

She understood the danger of this decision but it was made clear that she just didn't want to let anyone get hurt in this. No one.

"No," the captain said. "He isn't at fault, Your Majesty. Please understand. We know how you feel. But you are our Queen. If something happens to you and Anna can't return, we are left with no one to lead us. Please. Both of you are important. I apologize for this- I will not let you go alone. I'll reject any command regarding this," Elsa sighed.

"Very well," she said in barely a whisper. "But if anything happens to you-"

"Yes, Your Majesty," he said. "You won't be burdened of any blame if any mishap were to be bestowed upon us. You have our word,"

"Elsa?"

"Mmm…"

"You're crying again…" Elsa blinked, feeling light tears brushing her reddening cheeks. Her blue eyes glistened despite both of them were in the dark. "You okay?"

"Mmm…"