She set about clothing Anna, calling a maid to warm some pieces of cloth to coat her poor toes. What else had the physician said? Elevate them?

Anna looked much more comfortable once she was clothed, despite not having woken up yet. It was concerning, though Elsa tried not to dwell on it. If it had been a cause for worry, then probably the physician would have mentioned it.

The maid brought extra bandages and hung them up near the fire. After that, Elsa sent her away; no sense in more people staying up than needed to. She hadn't even expected Kai to return, but he did.

"The doctor will return tomorrow evening," he said. "He will bring his tools to lance Miss Anna's blisters; he said to keep with the warm bandages to help sooth the skin."

Elsa nodded, though she didn't say anything. Of course, Kai picked up on it straight away.

"Your Majesty?"

"It just... I feel so useless," she murmured, not looking at him. And while she would not normally have allowed herself to be seen so weak, especially not in front of a subordinate, Kai was much more than that. He was the closest thing to a friend that the young monarch had. The best living role model. If she could be candid in front of anyone, it was him.

"We saw this coming, right?" she said, turning her face to him. "We should have done more. And now if anything happens to her... that's on us. On me."

She heard him give a sigh, but he didn't say anything. Not immediately.

"Your Majesty... if I may be so bold..." She nodded, and he sighed once more. "You did what you thought was right in the moment. You've done the same here. Please don't think as though you haven't done enough; there are plenty of people who would have done far less, even if given the opportunity to do more."

"But I'm the queen, Kai," she said, voice cracking. Her gloved hand came up once more to stroke Anna's hair. "It's my duty to look after my citizens – and shouldn't special care be taken with those who cannot protect themselves? And now Anna may be permanently disfigured because I was too much of a coward to step in and prevent such terrible things from happening."

"We had no way of knowing that she wouldn't get to keep those clothes," he urged. "No way of knowing the sins her father committed against her. And, Your Majesty... you can save her."

Elsa scoffed. "I may be a queen," she said, "but even I have my limits, Kai."

But he shook his head. "You are not just a queen, Your Majesty. You are gifted."

Elsa just stared at him. Then, her eyes narrowed.

"You are more than aware, Mr Anderson, that it doesn't work like that. I have no control!" she hissed. He shook his head.

"Forgive my frankness, but I disagree," he told her. "You were able to control them last week, on your worst night of the year. In the company of this child, no less." Here, he paused. "I believe you can do it. But ultimately, it is up to you. If Your Majesty might excuse me, I had better be going to sleep. If you need me, please ring."

Elsa gave a weary nod, waving a hand at him. He closed the door behind her, and to any outsider, it would seem that she had simply returned to staring at Anna.

And she had, true, but she was also deep in thought.

Kai was right; she hadn't had any issue for some time, even when she'd expected one. She'd held Anna atop the horse; helped pick her up after she'd fallen down, and even shared a bed when she couldn't sleep.

Even now, her heart broke at imagining what might happen in the future. What if she could help her?

Though... what if she made everything even worse?

Even as she debated with herself, Elsa could feel the magic thrumming at her fingertips, as it always did. It had been a long time since she truly feared her magic, and that wasn't to say she did so this time, either. There was definitely an odd emotion that she hadn't felt in some time, though. She was afraid, but not for herself.

Afraid of what she might do to those she cared about.

She shook those thoughts from her mind. Time was a precious commodity, and one of which she had very little.

Taking a breath, she moved, adjusting her position so she was better able to see Anna's feet. Covered by the cloth, she couldn't make out any fine details; however, she could still imagine the horrid lumps the formed over Anna's little toes.

She had to do something.

Sucking in a breath and then letting it out slowly, evenly, Elsa took her gloves off.