Chapter 16: The plot.

Eighteen years - Fifteen years.

"Elsa? Elsa?" The queen asked as she gently touched her daughter's shoulder, but Elsa didn't bother to turn around. She didn't say anything or do anything; it was almost as if she hadn't seen her or heard her, as if she was asleep. But no, her eyes were open and ice was slowly crawling up the walls. Elsa was clearly awake; she just didn't want to acknowledge her mother's existence.

The queen didn't like it when Elsa did that, more so considering she was just trying to help her. Elsa had been locked in that cell for a little over a week, and would remain there until she managed to control her powers. Unfortunately Elsa kept freezing everything without even meaning to, and this was despite the special magic-suppressing shackles she was wearing. That's why her mother had come to visit her that day, to convince her to try a little harder, hoping that a little encouragement would be enough to thaw the frost that covered the cell walls.

"Elsa, please. Try a little harder. If you just thaw the ice, we can let you out of here. Please, I'm just trying to help you."

The princess almost scoffed in reply. Help her? Right. When had her mother ever helped her? When had she done something nice for her? She only cared about Elsa not managing to escape prison thanks to her powers. She'd probably leave her there to rot even if by some miracle she managed to thaw the ice.

But then again… her expression was a sincere one. She was concerned. She was worried because her older daughter hadn't eaten and had barely slept the past week. At this point she more resembled a corpse than a princess.

On the other hand… where had she been when Elsa had cried herself to sleep the first night in the cell. Or when she had shouted for hours at the cell door, demanding the guards release her, until she had finally collapsed from exhaustion? Where had she been when she pulled on the shackles until they'd dug into her skin so deeply she was convinced she wouldn't be able to use her hands ever again? Or when she'd slammed herself against the door in anger until her shoulder had felt like it would break from another impact? Right. Her mother had probably been in her room, drinking tea and gossiping with one of her noble friends; laughing while Elsa was crying in the dark, desolate dungeon.

But of course Elsa knew what she said was true; they wouldn't let her out unless she somehow managed to thaw her ice. And she was beyond desperate to get out of this cell. She wasn't only sick of being locked up and chained to the wall like a rabid animal, with nothing to do and nowhere to go. She hated feeling so helpless, unable to have any control of her powers. More so, it hurt her pride having to be fed by the guards, since the shackles didn't allow her to use her hands. And since she refused to let them feed her, she hadn't eaten all the time she'd been there, which was the reason she was absolutely starving.

So maybe that's why, against her will and despite not wanting to listen to her mother, she forced herself to concentrate and make the frost disappear.

It was even more difficult than normal, and it took her a massive effort, but she finally managed to do it. Partially due to her mother's encouragement and calming caresses upon her shoulder, (not that she'd ever admit it). Part of her still expected to be left in the cell even after she'd successfully thawed the ice; she thought that maybe it all had been a trick just to get her to stop freezing the dungeon. But to her immense relief, the moment the last snowflake disappeared a clicking sound has heard and her shackles fell to the ground.

Instantly she sat up from her prone position, startling her mom, and stared at her bare hands. She marveled at how good it felt to finally be able to freely move her fingers and feel the air on her skin. It had been far too long. Even if only a week or so had really passed, to her it had felt like an eternity, and tears of relief threatened to fall from her eyes. But she didn't let them. She didn't want her mother to see her cry.

Instead, she just marched to the door and yanked it open, only pausing at the doorframe to briefly acknowledge the queen.

"I'm going to be in my room."

"Wait, Elsa!" She called her before she could fully exit the cell, making her stop even though she didn't turn to face her. "Don't tell Anna about any of this. She was told you had been sent to visit a distant relative for a couple of days. She can't know you were imprisoned, understand?"

Elsa paused, tensing noticeably. Of course they hadn't told her innocent little sister about this; they knew what they had done was wrong, and didn't want Anna getting mad at them or questioning their choices. But, even if she knew she should tell her, she also knew she couldn't. Not if she didn't want to be locked in the cell again. So she forced herself to agree with a stiff nod before rushing to the royal wing.

The first thing Elsa did upon arriving to her room was order her maid to draw a bath for her and, once that was taken care of, had a relaxing and very necessary cleaning session. Then, she ordered for food to be sent to her room, since she was absolutely famished, and ate until she couldn't possibly take another bite. Finally, she locked the door and fell asleep until the evening of the next day; she'd really missed her comfy bed.

Once she woke up though, it was to a very unwelcomed face. Anna. She thought she'd told her servants not to let anyone in, and yet there was her little sister, with that adorable and innocent face of hers, thinking she'd just came back from a short trip when the truth was much more horrible.

And she'd have to lie. Not that she wanted to tell Anna every depressing detail of how bad her imprisonment was, but in that moment she needed someone to comfort her more than anything. She needed someone to agree with her that what her father had done was unfair, to tell her she wasn't a monster that should be kept locked in the dungeons, to hold her close and wipe her tears away… but she couldn't rely on Anna for that. Or anyone for that matter. And that made her want to just close her eyes and never wake up again.

"H-hi." Anna said with a nervous wave. "How are you feeling? Mama told me you had a slight cold."

"She said that, huh?" Elsa asked with a voice so soft Anna barely heard it, before turning to lay on her side, her back facing Anna. She hated the lies they told her little sister, but also knew there was nothing she could do about it. "Well, I am feeling sick, so maybe it's better if you go."

"But… I wanted to ask you about your… vacations." Anna protested.

"There's not much to talk about. It was like being locked in a cell." Elsa shrugged, hoping her sister would go now. However, she did notice how she'd say 'vacations', like she was implying it was more than that. Maybe she knew she had been punished for something? How much had her parents told her?

"Well, good." She said in a stern tone. "You deserved it after what you did to Hans."

At this, Elsa turned around and glared at her angrily. She couldn't believe what she'd just said!

"Excuse me? Are you going to defend that bastard now? He wanted to use my powers to dominate the world!" She said, getting angrier by the second as she remembered trying to explain the same to her father only to be immediately punished. And judging by Anna's angry expression, now her entire family was against her and on Hans' side, including Anna.

"And you froze his arm off!" Anna exclaimed, looking at her so furiously, Elsa almost flinched. "You could have waited, tried to get proof about what he was planning and then tell our father, but no! You just had to go and ruin everything!" At this, she got up and left the room, but Elsa was able to see her barely contained tears before she left, and hear her sobs as she closed the door.

Anna was crying.

Like she was the victim. Like she was the one they'd locked in a cell for a whole week. Like she was the one who felt too weak to get out of her bed.

That thought was what made her furious, more so than anything else, even more than Anna defending Hans. But she knew that, if she let herself get too mad, she'd end up releasing her powers and get punished again. So she forced herself to calm down and forget about Anna. She was just a stupid little girl who didn't have any idea about anything. She shouldn't waste her time thinking about her.

But just trying to convince herself that Anna wasn't worth it wasn't helping much, and soon she decided she needed a distraction.

Elsa knew she really shouldn't be doing this. It was dangerous, and not only due to her current frail, weakened condition. If someone saw her walking alone at an alley at the outskirts of town at night… well, she doubted under such circumstances her status as Crown Princess would be of any help.

But well, at least she'd been sensible enough to dress herself as a boy, including a cape and a hat to partially conceal her face so no one would recognize her. That meant she wouldn't have to worry about being raped. Just robbed. Or killed. But at least it would make flirting with girls easier.

That's right. That was why she'd escaped the palace in the middle of the night; to go to a packed bar in one of the rowdiest parts of the town to try and maybe kiss a few girls.

Just a distraction. That's all this was.

And after tonight, she'd return to her hellish life at the castle, with parents that didn't love her and only wished to imprison her, and a little sister who just thought about marrying her suitors as soon as possible. But at least she'd be queen one day, and when that happened, she'd have her revenge.

For now though, she just entered the bar and went to sit in an unoccupied corner before ordering a beer. She'd never really liked alcohol much because it made her powers more uncontrollable than ever, but she knew it would keep her mind off things for a few hours and make her relax, which is what she needed to do if she wanted to have fun.

So she started drinking her beer as soon as it was given to her. She absolutely hated the taste, especially since she had ordered the cheapest type she could, but there was nothing she could do about it. So she swallowed it down in one gulp, grimacing as soon as she put it down, and feeling more than a bit dizzy.

That was when she appeared. Sliding up right next to her, flashing a quick look at a pair of very sexy legs, wearing an indecent dress and giving her a flirting smile.

"Take it easy there. It's obvious you're a lightweight, and we don't want you passing out at the table now, do we?" She was obviously mocking her, but Elsa couldn't even get mad at her because all her attention was focused on contemplating her figure. She was at least thirty years old, with long curly brown hair and tan skin, but her body was curvaceous and her legs were long, and she wore red lipstick that made her full lips stand out even more. Elsa decided she was pretty. Not quite like Anna, but she would do.

"No, I suppose not." She answered, shamelessly ogling her. "The night is young after all, and I can think on more than a few activities to get to before falling asleep." She finished with a wink, hoping she was doing it right; everything she knew about flirting she'd learned from watching the guards flirting with the maids, which wasn't saying much.

"My, aren't you subtle?" The woman laughed, obviously not believing the 'young man' had just said such a thing to her. "Then again, I didn't expect such a young boy to know how to charm a woman."

"I-I'm here to learn." Elsa answered, blushing. She knew she shouldn't have been so direct!

"I can see that." She winked at her as she saddled up even closer to her side. "How old are you anyways? Fifteen?"

"That depends, do you like young men?" Elsa answered with a smirk, trying to appear more confident than she was, and internally hoping that she didn't notice she was a woman. And the crown princess.

"Yes, but not little kids." The woman said, still waiting for a real answer.

"I'm eighteen." Elsa answered honestly with a sigh.

"Well, then you're not even old enough to be drinking." She said, eying the now-empty jar.

"In this kingdom? No. But where I come from there's no real age restriction." Elsa lied.

"Oh, so you're not from around here." The woman said, resting her elbows on the table and letting her chin rest on her hands, obviously interested in her story.

"No. I'm actually just passing through, on my way to Corona, and I don't really know much about this kingdom. How's everything going here?"

"We can't really complain." The woman shrugged. "Our monarchs aren't tyrants, and they do some good things for the people, when we complain loud enough."

"But?" Elsa asked, interested about what a woman like this had to say about her parents.

"But…" She sighed. "I'm not sure I should be telling you this, given that you don't live here. But I guess I can, since it's not really a secret. Not anymore"

"Go ahead. Even if it's not a secret, I promise I won't tell anyone." Elsa assured her with a smile.

"Okay…" She looked to the sides and, after confirming no one was eavesdropping, she went to sit closer to Elsa and looked at her intently as she asked a question in a whisper. "Have you heard about the troll prophecy?"

"You mean the weird and ridiculous fairytale about a monarch with a frozen heart destroying Arendelle?" Elsa answered, raising an eyebrow. She hated when people brought that thing up.

"For you, who are an outsider, that's all it is." She said with a stern expression. "But for us… it might be our demise."

"Why?" Elsa chuckled, trying to think of a way to get on a cheerier topic.

"You don't know anything about the crown princess?" She asked in disbelief.

"As I said, I'm not exactly from around here." Elsa replied defensively.

"Well… she's a witch. The one from the prophecy." She scream-whispered, obviously being quite passionate about the subject.

"You can't be serious." The princess laughed nervously. "Magic isn't real."

"It is! I've seen it with my own eyes. She killed a peasant boy many years ago!" The woman said, and Elsa tried not to wince at her words, nor to remember the boy. This conversation, combined with the beer, was making her control slip and she felt the magic in her veins fighting for release. But she remained in control and made one last attempt to change the subject.

"I-I really don't think you should be speaking like that about your future queen." She said nervously, now wishing more than anything that her disguise was convincing.

"That witch is not my queen." The woman said with obvious disdain in her voice, grimacing at the thought of the princess. "And she will never be."

"Well… she is the crown princess, so eventually…" Elsa tried to argue, but was promptly interrupted.

"Oh, believe me, we have everything sorted out. And by 'we' I obviously mean people far more powerful than I." She said, her gaze darkening dangerously. "The princess will never be Queen, not if the monarchs want her to live."

Elsa didn't have enough information to deduce the entire plot, or even guess at who were the ones responsible for this decision, but from what she'd just heard she could deduce two things: it was of common knowledge amongst the people of Arendelle and… it involved a deal with her parents. A deal that, going by the confident smile in the woman's face, had already been made long ago.

She needed to get to the palace and talk to her parents as soon as possible.

The princess got up suddenly, startling the woman and the few people close to them, before mumbling something about having to pee and running out of the bar without even bothering to leave a tip. And she ran towards the palace as fast as she could. She needed answers, and she needed them now.

A/N: I know it's been way to long, and I do apologize, but I've been busy with school and my other fanfic. And the Elsanna week. And I had writer's block, so… yeah. Sorry.

If you liked this chapter, please leave a review and follow or favorite if you haven't. It'd really help to motivate me to get the next chapter done sooner :)

Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.