Twelve days had passed. The ice blast Elsa had fired struck Erik and Hector, Hector getting the worst of it, but Erik still getting hit pretty badly. Shards of ice drilled him in the right shoulder and most of his right arm, but luckily the ice that got him in the head was blunt, only knocking out upon impact. Hector was far more unfortunate, sharp shards of ice hitting him square in the jaw, neck, and shoulder, and hitting him with such force that it knocked him overboard...

As Hector went overboard though, he dragged Erik in with him, doing everything he could to kill the bloodline. Erik's unconscious body translated straight into dead-weight that a heavily injured Hector struggled to move though, causing a brief delay in either of them actually falling into the sea below. The delay gave Elsa and Anna just enough time to run over to have a shot at saving Erik by pulling him to safety, but they failed. Hector dragged Erik overboard into the waters below.

Elsa though, reaching out her hands in desperation to try to grab Erik, inadvertently fired off another blast of ice in the process. It was this accidental blast that proved to be a lifesaver. The blast of ice froze the ocean surface just as Erik entered the water, essentially catching him when he was halfway into the water, and keeping him at the surface while Hector disappeared under the waves. Had Elsa been one second earlier, the ice sheet on the ocean would have been formed to early, only to then be broken into pieces by Erik falling into the water, leaving nothing to stop him from sinking and drowning. If Elsa instead was one second too late, Erik would have already completely entered the water. But because Elsa's blast was fired just at the right time, Erik was spared from slipping under the waves.

Not only that, the slab of ice that saved Erik was just big enough to also fuse to the side of the ship, allowing Erik to stay floating very close to the ship rather than drifting out of reach and freezing to death. This allowed Elsa and Anna, with assistance from Sam and Kristoff who had heard the commotion and came to assist, to hoist Erik back onto the ship as Hector disappeared.

Erik though was still in critical condition... He had lost a lot of blood from Hector's stabs with a knife, and also from punctures along his shoulder and arm from the initial ice blast that sent him and Hector overboard. Erik also had a really bad case of hypothermia from exposure to the freezing sea. Everything from the waist down, along with both of his hands and forearms, were cold to the touch and stained with strains of blue. The ship doctor feared that Erik only had a 30% chance to live, and that even if he did, he would lose a couple body parts to hypothermia.

Erik drifted in and out of consciousness after a week of no signs of improvement, giving everyone hope that he would recover. At first, he would only be conscious for a few seconds here and there, before slipping back into unconsciousness once again. As each day passed though he improved, staying conscious for a little while longer each time.

Then, on the 13th day, he finally woke up.

The first thing that Erik could make out was the wooden ceiling of the ship that was directly overhead. Hearing the faint sound of waves of the ship cut through the sea came next, but it didnt immediately register to Erik that he was on the ship heading back to Arendelle.

What preoccupied Erik the most was the extent of his injuries.

He had trouble feeling some of his toes and he could barely move his legs at all. He hadn't eaten in over a week so he naturally had any energy to begin with, but when he tried moving his arm and shoulder, searing pain enveloped him like nothing he had felt before... The bandages around his shoulder, arm, and legs made him look like a soldier wounded in battle.

He also looked down at where his right hand was meant to be, only to find that it wasn't there anymore... Instead there was a stump at the end of his forearm where his wrist was supposed to be.

Then Erik remembered everything. That he was on a ship, that Hector tried to kill him, that Hector then took him hostage in a standoff with Elsa... And that Elsa blasted them both.

He sat up in bed, grimacing in pain from his injuries and from how hungry he was. Spying some nuts and bread on a plate, along with a pitcher of water on a table nearby, Erik just about leapt out of bed for it, falling hard to the ground in the process.

It took him a minute to pull himself back together and crawl back into his bed, but despite still not being able to feel some of his toes, he overcame the pain. He wolfed down the bread and nuts before drinking almost the entire pitcher of water in one motion, feeling rejuvenated but extremely sore. He was still too weak to walk around very well, so he got comfortable in his bed and looked out the one window in the room.

Outside, the sun shined, the waves were crystal blue, and small houses dotted the base of mountains that rose out of the sea. The ship had gone almost all the way back to Arendelle while Erik was unconscious, but the sight of a clear blue sky was something he had never seen before. Erik had spent his entire life holed up in a mountain with no escape, and the weather in Heilios was a perpetual blizzard of white and grey, so Erik only ever heard rumors that the sky was blue from books he read. He even struggled at times to believe the sky could ever be blue, but he was blown away at how blue the skies were just outside his window right now. It was a truly breath-taking and captivating sight for someone who had never even seen a sunrise or a sunset before, or felt a gust of wind either.

Erik was so enthralled with the view from the window that he didn't even notice Anna walking into the room to check up on him.

She gasped. "You're awake!"

Erik didn't even respond, he didn't have enough time to take in the beautiful view outside to snap back into reality. Anna immediately ran to alert the others, giving Erik some time to fully take in the view in the meantime.

Kristoff was the next person to barge through the door, in disbelief at the news.

"Nice of you to finally wake up" Kristoff said in fake condescension

Erik turned to face him wearing a sheepish grin. "Sorry for sleeping in... How long was I... Dead?"

"You've been unconsious for roughly... 3 months now" - Kristoff

"Wait WHAT?" - Erik

"Kristoff we agreed we would not mess with Erik on how long he was out cold" Sam said, scurrying into the room next. "You were out for about 2 weeks"

"We also agreed that no magical talking animals or snowman would enter the room cause it might freak him out!" - Kristoff

"I remember that squirrels and snowmen can talk... Well at least some of them anyways..." Erik replied, defending Sam

"How do you feel?" - Kristoff

Erik looked over himself. "Well, I feel like hell to be honest..."

Kristoff nodded. "Yeah you got hit pretty bad in that whole incident... I almost thought you were 'gone' before I managed to pull you out of the water."

Erik: "What happened exactly? I don't remember anything after the blast from-"

Erik paused as Elsa rushed into the room.

Time came to a standstill in that room as Erik and Elsa got a good look at each other. Erik was enthralled seeing Elsa. She looked absolutely breathtaking as well. Now that they weren't in the perpetual winters of the far north, Elsa had changed out of her heavy clothing and went back to wearing her usual dresses, which were normal for her but were stunning to Erik. Elsa looked as pretty to Erik as the sights outside of his window, and for that moment, he was in heaven.

Elsa on the other hand was on a completely different page emotionally. Seeing Erik alive was all she was hoping to see for so long, but seeing him wounded while in his bandages was really hard for her to accept without feeling guilt. Elsa didn't see herself as Erik's savior nearly as much as Erik did, Elsa looked at Erik's wounds and saw herself more as someone who saved him, but at too great of a cost. Erik had lost his hand, he had lost some of his toes which is why he couldn't feel them, the doctor said his right shoulder and right arm may never fully recover, and Erik also had some scarring on his face from the blast that Erik hadn't seen yet. Yet despite all his injuries, Erik was smiling. His breathtakingly blue eyes wide open and his teeth flashing in a smile of genuine happiness to see her stood in stark contrast to how bad his other injuries were. Seeing Erik alive looked almost tragic rather than relieving, which caused Elsa to feel guilt at having been the one who blasted him. But as she looked more into his eyes, the feeling of indomitable guilt faded and was replaced with optimism and genuine happiness by finding forgiveness, to the point that she really struggled in fighting back tears.

"You look amazing" Erik said, trying to stand up out of bed and failing. Even Elsa's stunning looks to him couldn't overcome the severe pain in his body, and he folded back onto the bed. Kristoff and Elsa rushed to his side as Anna and Olaf entered, Sven the only one missing as he was still asleep in the stables on the other end of the ship.

"Is he awake?" Olaf asked

"Yes Olaf, I'm alive" Erik replied, only briefly taking his eyes off Elsa to respond to him

"Aww, I lost my bet..." - Olaf

"You made a BET that Erik would never wake up?" Anna asked, furious

"It seemed like a good bet to make" - Olaf

"Who were you betting against?" - Anna

Olaf removed one of his buttons, pulled out three gold coins from a little compartment carved into his body that was hidden behind the button... And handed them to Kristoff, who carefully pocketed them while avoiding eye contact with Anna...

Anna couldn't tell whose head she wanted to punt through the window more.

"So what exactly happened that night?" Erik asked again, mostly to Elsa but letting everyone answer.

They all took turns explaining what happened and what they saw from their point of view that night. Kristoff recalled how he yanked Erik out of the water, Anna took over in explaining his injuries and everything the ship's doctor said could have happened to him, and even Elsa gingerly talked about the blast that sent Erik and Hector into the water, feeling bad about it at first but being relieved at Erik laughing it off as if it was nothing. Elsa always hated doing any harm to anyone else, but Erik's entire history of abuse at the hands of his brothers made Elsa's act seem genuinely harmless in his view, which over time would help Elsa lose any guilt she had in his injuries. After recounting the incident, the ship's doctor himself, a man by the name of 'Taric', walked into the room and explained to Erik all of his injuries in a professional matter, making it crystal clear what he would feel in the short term and the long term, but also illustrating that with some help and physical therapy upon return to Arendelle, Erik could be expected to make a full recovery.

After the doctor left the room, Erik finally understood the severe scope of how difficult his next couple of months were going to be. He would not simply be able to one day wake up walk like normal like he hoped, it was going to be an arduous process filled with plenty of obstacles to overcome that may never be overcome either. Fortunately, Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Olaf, Sam, and Sven would be there to support him, and that gave Erik enough hope he needed to look forward to the future with hope, rather than fear.

Kristoff took Olaf and Sam out of the room after they started arguing about what a doctor does with someone's toes after cutting them off, leaving Erik in he med-bay with Elsa and Anna.

"What's it like living in Arendelle?" Erik asked, eager to have a different home than what was his previous home in Heilios

"It's AMAZING! You're going to LOVE living in the castle with us there! The skies are blue most of the time, the people there are all friendly-" - Anna

"Wait, hang on, you don't have to have me live in the castle with you guys if you don't want to, I could find somewhere else-" - Erik

"Nonono. You ARE living in the castle with us. That's final. No excuses. No exceptions. I won't allow otherwise" - Anna

"No really I dont have-" - Erik

"We would love for you to stay in the castle with us, we need to make sure you recover from your injuries anyways" Elsa reasoned.

"Yes! Yes that's also true" Anna added. "And you're also coming to my wedding to. It's going to be great, you'll love it! Kristoff also needs a groomsman with him that isn't a reindeer or a talking snowman... That might confuse people"

"Oh right you and Kristoff are getting married!" Erik remembered

"Yup. All you need to do is find a date" - Anna

"What?" Erik asked. Elsa was also caught off guard by the demand... "Okay, well, how much time would I have to find-" - Erik

"You must find a date right now. I need to know for the wedding. By the end of today. I'll leave you alone so you can think about who you are going to ask."

Anna then bolted out of the room and slammed the door shut behind her, leaving Elsa and Erik alone together.

They looked at each other and chuckled.

"She's kinda forceful when it comes to getting what she wants, huh?" - Erik

"You'll get used to it after a while..." - Elsa

The two awkwardly sat in silence for a several seconds.

"Well I might not be able to dance very well by the time the wedding comes around..." Erik began, before pausing.

"I don't dance anyways" Elsa responded after the pause, inviting Erik to continue. They both loosened up a little.

"And I don't really have anything to wear either..." Erik added, giving an innocent smile
"We'll find something for you to wear" Elsa replied, playing along with Erik's game.
"And I know I kinda look bad after this pretty girl knocked me overboard..." - Erik
"Pretty lady you mean" Elsa responded, cringing a little at being called a 'girl' but still blushing at being called 'pretty'.
"Sorry, pretty lady I mean..." Erik corrected himself... "But despite all of my shortcomings and some of my flaws... Would you like to be my date to your sister's wedding?"

There was another pause this time as the two just smiled at each other. Neither of them had ever had an opportunity to just be young and carelessly in love before, so this was territory that was very unfamiliar to both of them but still wanted to enjoy. And now they were there, even though they were old enough to be adults and have to deal with adult responsibilities, deep down they were both still kids at heart who were just masquerading around as adults, and doing a decent job at it to despite everything in their past.

Elsa finally responded, blushing hard. "I would love to be your date for Anna's wedding"

Erik blushed to, still smiling. "Great! It's a date"

There was another awkward pause as both of them just sat still, enveloped in warm fuzzy feelings. Erik then decided to go for it all

"I'd lean in and kiss you on your cheek right now but physically I can't move that well" - Erik

Elsa looked up at him in surprise, while Erik stared right back at her kept smiling. Eric wanted to kiss her, but he decided he wasn't going to kiss Elsa if she really didn't want to be kissed. So by using his injuries as an excuse, he deferred to Elsa to let her decide if she wanted it or not, while still making it clear that he wanted to.

Elsa's heart which was fluttering suddenly kicked into high gear. Still blushing and a little nervous though, she did not overthink the situation like she had done before. This was a moment, and a second chance moment as well that almost nobody ever gets to have after missing the first one. Elsa wasn't about to lose this moment like the first one, so she went for it.

She leaned towards Erik very carefully, and he leaned in the best he could without grimacing in pain. But rather than Elsa turn her cheek to let Erik kiss her there like Erik was thinking, Elsa upped the ante. Before Erik could realize what was going on, Elsa had puckered up and kissed him right on his lips, time slowing down to an absolute standstill for him while to Elsa it was just one swift motion.

When Elsa pulled away, she could see that Erik was genuinely surprised, and he was also blushing so hard he turned as red as a strawberry. What was a casual act of kindness by Elsa had apparently meant the world to Erik, but she was going to play it off cool just because she could.

"You get some rest now, you've had a crazy past couple of weeks" Elsa said, standing up and getting ready to leave

"I'll say" Erik muttered, still aghast but absolutely thrilled and delighted that Elsa kissed him on the lips rather than just lean in to be kissed on the cheek. His heart was doing somersaults in his chest right now, and he couldn't take his eyes off Elsa one bit as she made her way out the door. Although she only agreed to a single date, he was eager to find out what future they would have together, what future he would have in his new home, Arendelle. For the first time in forever, for the first time ever, Erik had nothing to fear and was filled entirely with the only things a young adult should ever feel: Hope, optimism, happiness, and a pinch of falling in love as well.

(Camera zooms out from a smiling Erik through the ships' window out to sea, twisting and showing the ship sailing towards Arendelle as happy fluttery music plays in the background before the picture fades to black)

(4 days earlier)

A doctor escaped from the roaring blizzard outside into the living room of his house that was converted into a hospital room for a single patient, who the doctor had spent the last 36 hours trying to save. "I must mention once again that your recovery is nothing short of miraculous. Your condition pushed my capabilities as a doctor to the very limit in order to save you... I think you must have had some sort of divine help in coming back... Now that you are awake though, may I ask for your name and what you were doing?"

The patient avoided eye contact with the man who just saved his life. Almost his entire face was mangled beyond recognition, and the rest of his body was not much better off. He stared where the wall met the floor on the other side of the room in a fury, answering the doctor's question through gritted teeth and clenched fists.

"My name is Hector... And I was going to take care of my little brother"

The doctor wrote that down in his notes. "I see... Do you know where he is?"

"I bet I know where he will be... And I have a good feeling he'll still be there when I find him..." Hector's anger resided slightly, a small grin sneaked across one half of his face.

...The End... (?)