Chapter 9: Down at the Dungeon

Elsa woke up this morning with a smile upon greeted with a familiar sight in front of her. A tangle of strawberry blonde hair that was sticking out of place and that particular snore. She smirked. This sight of it never ceased to amuse her ever since she was a little girl. She never understood why but her sister seemed to always manage to appear like this every morning. But she has no problem with it. What matters most to her was the fact that her sister is sleeping soundly, peacefully and safe.

During her isolation years, Elsa longed to be in a close proximity with Anna. She was literally counting the day when they could reunite and able to be there for her sister again. That day seemed to never come until it brought her to the event of last year. It was funny how some tragedy could actually brought a lot of positive outcomes. Anna was right, maybe this is one of the silver linings behind everything that happened to them.

"Pst! Anna, wake up." she called out softly.

The princess let out a long snore before her mouth made what looked like a chewing noises.

"huh?" she mumbled. Her eyes fluttered open.

The older siblings giggled. "good morning, sleepy head."

"what time is it?" Anna stretched dramatically before unconsciously wiping the trail of drool on the side of her face.

"six thirty. come on, I got to get ready. Or are you prefer to missed breakfast? I was told they're going to serve smørbrød this morning." Elsa got up and went to her wardrobe to pick her attire for the day.

"Wait, shouldn't you be resting? Doctor Eivind said you still have to stay in bed for a few days." Anna sat up on Elsa's bed while yawning hard.

"Well, it's been two days I was confined in my bed, I feel much better. Besides, we have the summer festival to prepare, Anna. There are still a lot of things that needed my attention." Elsa picked a dark blue dress with a matched jacket before disappeared behind the dressing screen.

Anna still felt like Elsa needed more rest because her wound hadn't heal all the way. Her thought was confirmed when she heard tiny groan behind the dressing screen.

"Are you okay in there? You want me to help with that?" she offered.

It took a few moments for Elsa to answer when she let out a defeated sigh and said, "Yeah, could you help me with this zipper?"

Anna immediately went to help. She saw Elsa was struggling with the zipper in the back of her dress. Somehow she was impressed that her sister managed to put on a dress by herself while her right arm was still wrapped in a bandage.

"You know you should just stay in bed. You haven't fully recovered, Elsa."

"Well, I didn't developed any fever which is good and most of my job wouldn't require me to use my right hand, and my dominant hand is intact so there's no reason not to do my job."

Anna helped her slip the affected arm into the blue jacket sleeve. She was still not convinced because if she'd learn everything about Elsa ever since she became Queen, is that her workaholic tendency could be a little bit over the top. But again she was talking to the woman whose stubbornness could rival her own and knew better not to argue.

After Elsa was fully dressed, Anna helped her with her hair. "You want me to braid it or what?" she offered.

The platinum blonde shook her head, "just pull it up into a bun, will you?"

Anna hummed her affirmation before she started to brush her sister's hair. It brought smile to her lips. She always loved to brush Elsa's hair. It was velvety almost felt like touching a silk, if looked close enough she could even see a dusty sparkle on it, so pretty and magical. Then again everything about her sister was always magical.

"You know, you have the most beautiful hair I've ever seen, Elsa. It looks really pretty when you braid it. Why do you like to pull it up in a bun so much?" Anna asked while she wrapped it in a neat bun.

Elsa looked at Anna through the mirror, smiled softly. "Thank you, as a Queen I'm expected to put on a decent appearance because people looks up to me and it's one way to gain respect from not only the people but also the staff and the councils."

The nineteen years old princess's brow furrowed. "So you think they won't respect you, if you let you hair down and dress as you like?"

"No no, I didn't say that. What I meant is, when in a formal situation I have to appear professional. If I don't, how could people take me seriously?"

"I see." Anna said but her brow stay furrowed.

"But I do let my hair down in a braid occasionally, two days ago I even wore my ice dress."

"Yes, but at that time, you were going to spent time with us."

"Exactly." Elsa smiled again when realisation slowly written all over Anna's face.

"There, all done." Anna looked to the mirror, checking her work.

A warmth sensation appeared in the pit of Elsa's stomach when she saw herself in the mirror. The way Anna did her hair reminded her of a certain someone who used to do it a lot during her childhood times. "For someone who is infamous for her clumsiness, you surely does know how to do this pretty good." Elsa teased.

"Well, I learnt from the best." Anna shrugged before her expression turned gloomy.

"I miss her too, Anna." The Queen reached Anna's hand that was rested in her right shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. She smiled looking at her little sister in the mirror.

"They would be proud of what you've achieved in the past year."

Elsa scoffed, "oh I don't know Anna, I don't think they could condone anything that happened a year ago."

Anna merely rolled her eyes, "well, duh! I wasn't proud of what I did that day too! What I meant is since you become Queen. You've done an exceptional job, Elsa, and I'm also proud of you." she gave her sister a wide smile.

Elsa's sincere smile turned into a brilliant playful grin. "Well, that being said, then there's no reason for me to stay in bed. Because I want to be the exceptional ruler that you just described. I for one, hate to see my sister disappointed."

Anna's mouth went agape. She could not believed that her sister just rubbed her own words in her face! She cursed herself mentally.

"I can't believe you turned my words against me!" the strawberry blonde protested.

Her older sister laughed before turning back and embraced her. " I love you too, baby sister. Now, go get ready, I'll meet you in the dining room."

After a hearty breakfast, Elsa went to her study and found a report she was waiting for. Upon settling on her desk, she started to read the report. It was actually a background information about one of the prisoner that occupied one of the cell in the castle's dungeon. Her gaze trailed each letters written on the paper. Her brows furrowed in concentration while her teeth clenched.

She had ordered this report two days ago in the hope of shedding some new light and possibly released her from the bad feelings that kept buggering. But everything that was written in this report didn't ease her mind at all. The accomplice that helped Hans to kill her and Anna again was just another pawn. He wasn't even a career criminal. The report stated his name was Damien. He worked at the local tavern and known as the most compulsive gambler in town who couldn't pay his own debt. Hans must've paid him to do the job.

Elsa put down the letter. Her brain tried to make sense of the whole thing that happened a few days ago. It just felt rushed and sloppy. If Hans's plan were merely to seek revenge, there are other ways to do that. This whole scenario was too stupid for her. Given what he did a year ago, Elsa knew how manipulative and smart he could be. He wasn't the type of person who would play dirty. He was meticulous. A grip on her stomach tightened. She sensed there's something bigger going on behind this initial plan. Couldn't bear the uneasiness anymore, Elsa stormed off the room and walked towards the only place she had in mind.

Richard was sparring with his captain of guard in the courtyard when he saw the Queen stepped down the grand staircase. He caught the trail of ice behind her and was alerted in an instant.

"You know what, Earl, I think that's quite enough for today." he said to his captain.

"It's always a pleasure sparring with you, Your Highness." the captain bowed.

The prince merely smiled and nodded before he hurriedly jogged to catch up with his best friend. Weird, he thought. What on earth made Elsa so upset? The last time he saw her at breakfast she was fine.

"Your Majesty!" he called out.

The platinum blonde stopped her step and turned. "Yes?" her face was dead serious. He had never seen this expression before. There was a hint of frustration on her angelic face.

"Where are you going?" he stopped right beside her. "To the dungeon." she started to walk again.

"May I ask why?" he matched her footsteps.

"I don't know what it is, I just have this bad feelings about Hans. The whole thing that he did a few days was too sloppy for me. I felt like there might be something bigger behind it."

"Like what?"

Elsa groaned, "I don't know, Rick! But I'm sure as hell going to find out!"

They stepped down to a spiralling staircase that led them to the entrance of the dungeon. Upon seeing the Queen with an evidently furious expression on her face, the guards stood straighter and bowed to her.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness." one of the guards greeted them.

"Where are the prisoners?" Elsa asked. Her voiced was as cold as ice.

"Right this way, Ma'am."

The guard led them to the darkest cell in the dungeon. He opened the door to the cell and Elsa wasted no time to step in. Richard followed close.

"Leave us!" ordered the Queen.

Without any words, the guard left. Richard on the other hand never had any intention of leaving her alone with the bastard.

The former prince was sitting on the floor while his right hand was wrapped in a pretty thick bandage. He looked severely bruised and dirtier than a few days ago. The long face hair was still dominantly covering his face while his eyes trained through Elsa in a sharp gaze. The corner of his lips twitched.

"Elsa! Finally you came to pay me a visit, huh? Sorry I didn't have a chance to dress properly to greet you." he cackled sarcastically.

"It's Queen Elsa to you!" she hissed dangerously through her teeth.

"Ooh, I like it when you get all worked up. Kind of arousing."

Upon hearing that, something snapped inside of Richard. He charged forward towards the auburn haired man in a swift motion, grabbed him by the collar and shoved him violently against the hard brick wall of his cell.

"Say something like that again, and you're going to lose another body parts!" he threatened before landed a backslap on Hans's already bruised face. Blood was trickling down his lips.

The prisoner growled towards him.

"Richard, enough!" Elsa's voice was stern.

"Yes, Richard, listen to your Queen." Hans grinned devilishly.

The prince released Hans from his grasp. Oh, how much he wished to end his life right here right now! Richard said internally. If only it wasn't because of his respect towards Elsa he might do it already.

"What are you planning to do, Hans?" Elsa asked while her icy blue eyes pierced through his emerald green eyes.

"Why, I planned to get my revenge my dear Queen. I told you about it! I'm impressed you're still alive though."

She could feel her powers started to flow through her veins. Her temper flared up in an instant.

"Tell. Me. The. Rest. Of. Your. Plan! I know this isn't just about getting your revenge! Because what you did was stupid and sloppy!" her voice raised.

"No! I could've killed you if it wasn't for this bootlicker over here!"

Richard was about to lunged forward again when Elsa held up her hand. Her expression went still. The temperature around the cell dropped drastically in a matter of second. The Queen held her chin high as regal as ever. She sent the prisoner a deathly icy glare.

"Have it your way, then." her voice went steady and chilly. "I received a letter from your brother the King of the Southern Isles. He said he didn't want anything to do with you anymore, so he gave me full authority to prosecute you here. Based on the law, an attempt to kill the Queen means you committed treason. The punishment for treason in Arendelle is a death penalty. So, enjoy your last few days while you can. Unless you want to tell me the rest of your plan, then I might consider waiving the death penalty."

Elsa felt satisfaction surged through her when she saw his face shifted into what looked like fear. She would recognise the sign of fear easily as she was living with it for thirteen years of her life.

"You're threatening me now, Elsa! I'm not you who succumbed easily into fear! You will find that the word 'fear' is not in my vocabulary!" he snapped and walked closer to Elsa.

The young Queen stood her ground. She didn't even flinch.

"Perhaps," she said calmly, "but it's in your eyes."

His breathing ragged, emotion boiled inside him, ready to burst at any second.

She gritted her teeth as her own anger kept plummeting higher. "You make me sick!" she hissed once more before she turned on heels and exited the cell.

The guard who stood not far from the cell came back and locked the cell door after the Queen and the Prince was outside.

With the wave of her left wrist, she created a thin layer of ice inside his cell. The outside of the cell was unaffected. Only then she heard Hans's wail. "What did you do, witch?!"

Elsa ignored all the cursing words he threw at her. She kept walking towards the entrance of the castle, only turned to the guard when she neared the entrance. "He's going to need medical attention later."

"I'll tend to him, Your Majesty." the guards acknowledged her.

With that, she climbed the spiral staircase and went straight to the direction of the garden. The only place that could clear her mind. Elsa let out a long sigh once her vision was filled with a pleasant landscape of the garden.

Richard stayed quiet for a while and gave her a chance to calmed herself down. He was actually surprised by her bold move towards Hans. She was the most calm and collected person she ever met, but the way she was handling the situation in the dungeon was not at all what he expected.

"What exactly did you do to him?" he asked carefully once he saw her shoulder went loose.

"I froze his cell. But not severe enough to cause permanent damage. He might catch a mild hypothermia, though. The ice will wear off once he caught the effect."

"You can do that?"

It brought a smirk on her face, "the last time I checked, I'm the ice wielder. So, yeah."

"Well that reminds me to never get in your bad side." he joked.

Her smirk didn't falter. "Would you care to accompany me take a stroll around the garden?"

"I'd loved to." He offered his arm and she took it gracefully.

Something about what Elsa said in the dungeon tickled his curiosity. He wasn't sure she told Hans the truth about her threat.

"Does the King of the Southern Isles really gave you full custody of him?"

Elsa turned and that playful smirk grew wider. "No, I was bluffing. It takes two days to send a letter from here to the Southern Isles, I asked Lord Solfeg my private secretary to write the report to the King on my behalf. He probably just received it today."

Richard chuckled. "It was a smart move though. You could see how his face turned pale after you said he would face the death penalty. Wait, what do you think the King would do?"

"Honestly, I don't know. The last time we correspondent to each other, he had a hard time believing what his brother did and tried hard to apologise to me."

"What if he really gives you the full custody of Hans? Think about it, Your Majesty, he was stripped off of his title, he entered Arendelle's border when he clearly banned from entering without your consent, that basically trespassing. He acted on his own name this time, I think it's logical that his brother want nothing more than to get rid of him so the tension between Arendelle and Southern Isles would lessen."

That got Elsa thinking. It was logical, alright. She had no idea what she would do if the King of the Southern Isles decided to give her a full custody on Hans. She hated the idea of a death penalty. It made her seemed ruthless and brutal beside she thought that compulsory death sentence was too harsh. It made her wonder what her father would do if he were to put in this situation. Elsa knew her father had a strict policy about sticking to the law and believing in their justice system. But he was also a very wise and kind man, surely he would consider every aspects of the crime before sentencing a criminal, right?

"You know, at a time like this I wish my father could be here to guide me. I hate the idea of death penalty, Rick. It is too ruthless and harsh. I also believed people could not born evil. Circumstances and life shaped them to be bad. Even then I don't see them as evil, just misunderstood."

He smiled and admired her fairness. Most of the rulers out there would immediately put brainless criminal like Hans in the hanging platform after what he'd done. He himself probably would've done the same. This woman however, could somehow see behind those evil facade and see good in people. How is that even possible? He wondered.

Richard stopped when they were under a tree that filled with a white petal flowers. He reached out to pick the flower and handed to the platinum blonde.

"You still love Magnolia, right?"

The woman in Question smiled and accepted it. She sniffed it a little. A distinct fragrance emanated from the white flower. "I'm surprised that you remembered my favourite flower."

"It's hard to forget because it fits you perfectly. Everything about the flower also describes you."

Elsa lifted her brow, intrigued. "Oh, how so?"

"Magnolia is a very attractive flower, yet it also gives a vibe of elegance and poise. It represent the symbol of nobility, perseverance, and strength. It looks soft and subtle in colour but has a very strong appearance. It's delicate but has a strong endurance as it could survive under harsher condition and weather. You are an extremely attractive woman, you have this elegance vibe in everything you do, people would think that you're very delicate when they first met you, but inside, there's a great amount of strength in you. So, I think it suits you very well, Your Majesty."

To say she wasn't feeling a little bit fuzzy inside would be a big fat lie! She knew his reputation as quite a ladies man, so she shouldn't be surprised to receive a generous amount of flattery that he threw at her. Most of them were meaningless, it was just his way of showing his charm. But somehow, she caught a hint of sincerity in each words that came out of his mouth. Did he really mean it?

Elsa banished that thought in an instant. No way! She'd known Richard ever since they were little. It would be weird to feel that way towards him. But silently she let that warmth sensation spread in her chest. She couldn't betray her own heart that felt a little bit special after what he said.

"You know what, Rick. If only we hadn't known each other ever since we were little and I just met you now, I might fall head over heels with you and in everything you just said to me." she grinned.

His face fell in an instant. "Oh, you wound my pride, Your Majesty. I was being sincere and honest."

This time, Elsa laughed. "Try harder next time. I told you before, that charm won't work on me."

"Oh come on, Elsa. Not even a tad? You're lying, right? Most women would melt with that! No pun intended." he was still in disbelieve.

"I'm not most women. You should already know that with my ability it would take a whole lot harder to make me melt." Her eyes glimmered with mischievousness.

He joined her laugh but still could not believe that his charm still couldn't work on her. She was the only one who could easily deflate his persona. It seemed all of his tricks to flirt with a woman didn't affect her at all. Which was why he was so content to keep trying to make her at least believe his sincere compliment. Because everything that he said to her was true. Yet, she dismissed it effortlessly and didn't even flattered at all. Perhaps next time he would try a different strategy. He smirked internally.

Any reviews would be very appreciated. :)