For My Kingdom

A Frozen Fan Fiction

Chapter Twenty-Four:

Summer Blossoms

The room was silent for a moment. Anna was in shock, Olaf was confused, and Elsa was exhausted. In the center of the room, Charlotte was forever frozen. Something resembling guilt was festering inside Elsa's heart, two people were now dead by her own hand...

A quiet moan brought Elsa back to earth. "Alex!" she gasped. She spun around to see where he still laid shivering. Dropping to her knees next to him, she felt a sudden, horrible anxiety fill her heart.

"Elsa, kiss him!" Anna cried; frustration colored her voice.

Elsa shook her head frantically. She couldn't even bring herself to touch him... to warm his slowly freezing hands. "I can't..." she whispered, tears streaking down her face. "I don't know him... It won't work..."

Anna couldn't keep from rolling her eyes. After all the trauma, she had little desire to watch the only real chance Elsa had to be happy on a more personal, long-term basis meet the same fate as the woman who tried to kill her. "God damn it, Elsa, he saved your life!"

"Elsa..." His voice was but a whisper.

With forced movements, Elsa managed to touch his snow-white hair. It was so soft.

"Elsa, you need to save Charlotte..." he muttered. He took Elsa's hand. At first impulse she wanted to snatch it away, but she held it still. His hand was so cold, but his touch was strangely warm. "She's not bad... She was cursed. It might not be too late... " With a deep, shaky breath, Alex relayed to Elsa the story told him by the troll chief.

Elsa forced herself to look back at Charlotte, her heart heavy with sadness for her. She knew she had nothing to do with the occurrences that led the woman to being cursed, but she did feel a responsibility to make it right. She couldn't bring back the woman's lover or undo any of the actions made by her predecessors; she didn't even think she could bring back Charlotte, but there was one thing she could do...

She squeezed Alex's hand and stood. Approaching Charlotte's figure, she stopped and turned to look around at everyone. "I, Queen Elsa of Arendelle, hereby pardon Princess Charlotte of Arendelle of all crimes against her family and offer my royal condolences for the wrongs done against her and her lover by my predecessors." She turned back to the statue and lightly touched its shoulder. "I'm sorry..." she whispered. A single tear fell down her cheek.

"Ow!" Elsa yelped, pulling her hand back quickly. She wasn't hurt, but what she had intended to portray was shock. The ice was warm.

Alex was surprised also. A strange butterfly of warmth unfurled in his frigid chest. Looking down at his hands he discovered that the ice had retreated as well. He looked up at Elsa and watched in wonder as what was once an ice sculpture began to transform.

Like peeling back a mask, the ice melted away revealing a different Charlotte. Her hair was a cheerful red and there was a happy flush in her cheeks.

Olaf began to change too. With the thawing of Charlotte, her magic was undone. Because it was her magic that made Olaf human, he no longer had anything keeping him that way. He looked at Anna with the brightest of grins on his and face, even though she was completely and utterly speechless, as a swirling whirl of snow and light concealed him for the briefest of seconds before revealing the short, little snowman she adored.

As Charlotte was revealed, Elsa learned something important. She was beautiful, but the beauty couldn't last. With the melting of the last bits of ice, Charlotte began to age. It started out slow, but soon her thick, crimson hair was white and brittle, and her skin became wrinkled and spotted. Her age was finally betrayed. The almost hundred years she had borrowed were being brought back into the light.

When the process was complete, Charlotte fell into Elsa's arms. She was so light... There was almost nothing left of her. Gently, Elsa laid Charlotte on the floor. She was still awake.

"Elsa..." she whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Elsa smiled a little, but only a little. The pain on the ancient woman's face was hard even for her to bare. "It's okay."

"I was so young... I just wanted to see her again."

Tears rolled freely now from Elsa's eyes. "You will."

A small hope seemed to be kindled in the woman's dying eyes. "I think I will now..." She looked into Elsa's eyes her warmth burned in them like a flame. "Thank you." With a final, broken breath, Charlotte's eyes slid closed as she took her lover's hand and followed her to wherever their final journey took them.

Whilst wiping away tears, Elsa felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Alex standing behind her. His hair was it's usual color and he had a look on his face that said, "this is sad, but this is over." He offered his hand, which Elsa took, and helped her up. Anna was sitting on the floor with Olaf not too far away trying to connect what was going on. They had missed quite a bit of the plot.

"Are you alright, Elsa?" Alex asked.

"Yeah..." she replied, looking around the room awkwardly. "I- I'm sorry I didn't..."

"Hey." the prince interrupted, holding his hands in front of him like he took no offense. "I understand. I met you, what, three days ago?" He smiled warmly.

Elsa chuckled. "Yeah... But... Umm..." she ran a hand nervously through her hair. "Three days ago you, erm... You asked me a question that I didn't quite answer."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "I did."

"Well..." the queen bounced on her toes a little. Flush lit her cheeks and for a second she felt like a little school-girl. "I'd like to give you an answer."

"Elsa..." Alex started.

"On one condition."

With a happy, amused grin, Alex quieted himself and listened on.

"You need to... rephrase the question." Elsa finished, her hands clasped tightly behind her back. Her heartbeat fluttered like a hummingbird's wings.

Alex bowed. "And how shall I rephrase the question?"

Grinning anxiously, Elsa began, "Queen Elsa..."

Alex chuckled.

"We have known each other for three days, but..." Elsa looked at the prince wonderingly. "I love you?"

Alex nodded affirmatively.

"Although I know it takes more than a few days to kindle the bonfire that is a fairytale romance, I would like to be there for you as more than just a friend... I want to be your ally, your adviser..." She paused for Alex's approving head-nod again before continuing. "I want to provide support for you, and rule at your side as king." Elsa's heart seemed to stop for a moment, but she took a deep steadying breath and pushed on to the final phrase. "Will you accept my hand in marriage?"

A bonfire was already forming in Alex's heart. "I officially rephrase my question to include all that you have said... with a few additions." Taking Elsa's hand, he took to one knee. "Should you accept my hand, I promise to not only provide support in a political sense, but I promise to be a hand to hold and an ear to listen. I promise to be a quiet voice of reason and a loving word whenever you need it." Lifting Elsa's hand to his lips, he kissed it with the happiest smile to ever light his face. "Elsa, will you marry me?"

"Yes."

Alex looked up quickly, hardly believing his ears though he didn't really know what else he could have expected. Standing, he wrapped Elsa up in a bear hug that she returned in kind.

"What? You guys STILL won't kiss?!"

Elsa turned and gave Anna an annoyed, but happy, big sister glare. Looking back at Alex, they shrugged together and with a smile they leaned in until their lips met. Anna was pleased to see that they didn't part for a while.

The end.

El fin.

Thank God.

I finished this story in exactly 3 months. I created the document that contains chapter one on February twelfth. Today is May twelfth. Lol

Charlotte may return in an FMK spin-off. Maybe.

I may revisit and possibly revise/edit FMK at some point... Waaaaaay farther down the line. Maybe.

If I get at least ten reviews on this chapter in the next week I'll write an Elsa/Alex wedding one-shot. If not, I'm going to work on some of my original fiction ideas.

I really enjoyed writing FMK. It's been so much fun! A struggle sometimes, but fun! Thank you all for reading! Love you guys! 3