Chapter 26:

I'm in my palace, listening intently to Olaf as he recounts to us another amusing tale about his day, at least half of which is exaggerated if not outright lies. Something about some wolves chasing him into the woods trying to steal a nut cake he'd bought at the newly opened bakery.

It was difficult, but apparently two years of hard work have paid off, and now we not only have a bakery, but also a working trade system between our few settlements. Most of the trade is merchants bartering food, goods we make ourselves or things from outside the Northern Lands. We still produce very little compared to our overall needs, so most of the higher quality goods are things brought from Arendelle, especially clothing. Ice-wielders aside, people need the warmest clothing they can get, and most of us were lucky to have rags before now.

I just hope we could start mass producing our own non-icy clothes soon enough. It's rather risky to send non-ice-wielders over there to exchange the gems we extract in our mines for clothes, goods and food, since it's still difficult to grow crops here. And that Hans volunteers to lead the missions most of the time is even more concerning. I don't know, I guess I still don't trust him completely, given his radical views, but ever since I became Queen he hasn't disobeyed me even once, and he hasn't killed anyone on his missions to Arendelle, according to the ones who accompanied him, but… I'm still weary. Paranoid, says Helen.

Talking (or thinking, in this case) about the devil, just now Hans walks into the dining room, followed by a young ice-wielder woman with short blonde hair and blue eyes. I think I've seen her before, actually. She joined Hans' rebel group just before The Northern Lands' war for independence.

"Hans! I'm glad you were able to join us!" Bulda says smiling, after all, he normally has lunch at the mines, where he works.

"Well, someone here dragged me out of work." He chuckles, giving a playful look at the girl he's with. "Anyways, I guess I have never properly introduced her." He pauses, taking her hand. "Family, this is Tyra, my girlfriend. Tyra, this is my family: Bulda, Olaf, Marshall, Elsa and my sister Helen." He pointed to each one of us as he mentioned our names, and we waved politely. She, on the other hand, just says hi.

I didn't know Hans had a girlfriend, and at first glance she appears far too beautiful to be with someone as gruff as him, even if her clothing doesn't exactly compliment her figure. She is wearing some kind of ice-made armor, like she's ready for battle.

"Oh, so you finally brought a girl home." Bulda says in a teasing tone. "A beautiful one, at that. Why don't you sit down, dear? Hans, you go clean yourself up; you're not eating here while covered in dirt."

"Sure, mom." He rolls his eyes, but ends up obeying anyways. "Just try not to bother Tyra too much." He warns before leaving.

As the only seat available right now is next to me, Tyra comes sit at my side, not before giving me curt nod and saying:

"Queen Elsa, it's a honor to finally meet you in person." I don't know why, but her tone sets me on edge; its almost like she's a threat. Or maybe it's just the fact that, being so close, I now realize her face is familiar in some way. Maybe it's just that her features are strikingly similar to mine, or maybe I've seen her before. I don't remember.

"Haven't we met before?." I voice out my suspicions.

"I think I'd remember such a thing." She says with a polite smile.

"Do you work in the mines with Hans?" Bulda asks.

"Oh, no. I don't really like going underground." She says. "I work as a guard at the wall, though it's been boring me to tears recently."

"Aren't you afraid of the Arendellians? They could attack at any moment." Helen asks, sounding slightly scared.

"I can easily defeat a bunch of tin soldiers." She smirks. "My powers are more than enough to keep me safe."

"You must be very powerful then." Bulda comments.

"Oooh! Can we build a snowman after lunch? Elsa and Marshall have been too busy lately." Olaf says with a big goofy smile.

"Sure, I don't see why not." She agrees. "But I'm afraid I'm not as powerful as the Queen."

"Don't worry, I just need a bunch of snow." He answers happily, making Tyra giggle.

"Alright. I guess I could use the practice."

"How old were you when you got your powers?" I ask, though normally it's considered rude to make that question to another Northerner, especially one you just met.

"A few months older than you, Your Majesty." She answers, giving me a pointed look. Immediately, I get chills, even though I can't feel cold.

"A few months?!" I practically scream. She's the most powerful ice-wielder I've heard of besides myself.

"Maybe a year, or a year and a half. My parents only ever said I was a baby." She answers, and instantly I start to panic internally. She sounds almost as strong as me, and that makes her dangerous! Plus she's older, so she's probably had more time to grow and learn to control her powers, while I…

"Relax." She laughs. "You're making it snow here. I'm not planning anything, if that's what you're worried about."

"Right." I quickly say, trying to dispel the snow, but it keeps falling. "Uhm… let's talk about something else."

"How did you meet Hans, honey?" Bulda shoots another question, obviously trying to distract me.

"Oh, that's quite a story, actually." Hans' voice says, and we turn to see him walk in, wearing clean clothes and having washed his hands and face. "Elsa, can you make me a chair please?" I do as he asks, and he promptly sits next to Tyra. "Thanks. Now, as I was saying, I stumbled upon her on one of the Liberation Group missions I was a part of. Literally."

"Yes. I remember I scared the shit out of you with my powers." She teases.

"You attacked me!" He defends himself.

"You sneaked on me while I was practicing! I thought you were a soldier." She shoots back, playfully.

"And then I told you I was with the resistance and you joined us just to be close to me." He smiles self-sufficiently.

"That's not quite how I remember it." She chuckles. "I joined you because I believe Northerners deserve a better life, and Arendellians need to pay for what they've done." She sneers at the last part, and I can't help thinking she's just perfect for Hans, which makes me even wearier of her.

"I don't think that's necessary." I voice out my opinion. "We have a good life here, and we don't need another war destroying everything we've built over the past couple of years."

"I understand." She says quickly, eager to express her point of view. "But at the same time, I want more than peace. I want justice. I was locked away in a basement my whole life, unable to use my powers for fear of punishment. And when the King found me, he exiled me without a second thought! I was only twelve! And here I was treated like garbage, to the point I decided to escape to the mountains and live in isolation. My life was pain from the moment I was born. How is that fair?"

Her eyes are now wet with barely contained tears, and it's obvious on the trembling of her voice that this is a very sensitive subject for her. However, when she finishes talking, I don't know what to do, that is, until Hans shoots me an angry look as he puts an arm around Tyra's shoulders. I may not trust her much, but the least I can do is show her some support. As her Queen, and as a fellow Northerner.

"I understand how you feel." I say in a small voice, trying not to evoke my own painful memories. "Believe it or not, my story is strikingly similar to yours."

"Uhm… Elsa?" Helen's voice interrupts me as I'm undoing my braid and preparing myself to sleep. I look at my ice-made mirror and see her standing at the door, already in her nightgown and with her beautiful long hair undone. A smile naturally forms in my lips as I see her and I prompt her to come in.

"Come in, Helen. What brings you here?"

"Well… I was hoping I could spend some time with you." She says, coming to stand behind me. "Since lately you've been so busy being Queen, and I really needed to talk to someone."

"Oh? About what?" I ask curiously before Helen gently takes the brush out of my grasp and silently asks for permission to brush my hair, which I grant with a small nod.

"About…" She pauses, frowning. "Tyra."

"Ah. Her." I say with clear distaste in my voice, which is only soothed by Helen's gentle touch upon my head.

"Yeah." She makes a face. "I mean, I know we've only met her today, but like… I don't know, there's just something off about her. Don't you feel it too?"

"Well, it's not like I was expecting anything less from someone who wanted to be Hans' girlfriend." I answer honestly. "But yes, you're right. It always feels like she's holding something back. Coupled with her great powers and her opinion on our relationship with Arendelle… I don't know, I just don't trust her."

"Yeah, but it's impossible to dislike her either. She seems to make Hans very happy, and what she thinks of Arendelle is very understandable, though the way she voiced it wasn't the best." She pauses, pursing her lips, as if deciding whether she should speak or not. After a few seconds, she finally talks in a small and shy tone of voice. "Actually, I'd been wondering why you haven't attacked them yet myself."

"You can't be serious!" I almost scream. I didn't thought quiet and gentle Helen could also share such thoughts. She shrinks at my outburst, and I take a few deep breaths in order to not freeze something.

"I-I'm sorry. I just…" She bites her lip, giving me an apologetic expression. "I'm not the only one. We were all oppressed by Arendelle, we all lost our families and homes because of them. It's reasonable to want some justice."

"Killing innocent civilians isn't justice." I argue, slightly angry both at her and at the people she heard such things from. "And a war is the last thing we need right now, we have enough problems as it is."

"I-I know!" She says defensively. "Believe me, I wouldn't want to relieve what happened during the revolution, and I understand why you won't do it. But… I thought you should think about it. Listen to your people, even if you don't give them exactly what they want."

I stay silent for a few moments, thinking about what she just said. Maybe she's right, and this is something I'll surely have to deal with sooner rather than later. People want justice, and if I don't offer it to them, they'll take it with their own hands. I just need to find a way to convince them that justice and revenge are not the same thing.

"Yes, you're right." I sigh. "I'll think about it."

"Great!" She gives me a big smile. "Now, do you think I could sleep with you tonight? It's been a while since we've had a sleepover."

Maybe because I'm currently a hormonal teenager that can't trust her own hands when she's asleep. Or her dangerous ice-powers, for that matter.

"I'd like that." I find myself saying before I can stop myself. "But… maybe you should bring a heavier blanket. Sleeping with me can get rather… cold."

"Really? But you're too hot!"

At her words, I feel heat rising to my cheeks and my blood rushing so fast I feel like I'm going to pass out. She's never said anything like that before! She's just too innocent for that. Or… could she, maybe, be flirting with me?

Of course, she laughs at my reaction.

"Or at least that's what the boys at the mines say." She clarifies, still trying to contain her laughter.

"J-just go get another blanket!" I stutter out, too embarrassed to come up with a better response.

"Right on it, my Queen." She answers with mocking tone before running out of the room, still laughing like there's no tomorrow. And I can't even bring myself to be mad at her. She's too cute for her own good.

Months have passed ever since Tyra joined our little family. She actually lives in the palace now, though she stays in a room separate from Hans, since it wouldn't be proper otherwise. I still don't trust her much, and I hate when we discuss politics, but I guess she's not that bad. I tolerate her, at least.

Today, however, I'm going to spend the whole day with her because… well, she offered to train me. Well, to practice with me, as she said. But considering I can barely control my powers and she's become the leader of the border guards, I'd say she's probably going to teach me. Or at least try to.

Of course, being that we are the most powerful ice-wielders alive, we decided to head towards my Ice Palace in the North Mountain, where we will be able to use our magic without worrying about hurting someone if we lose control.

During the ride there (she made us snow horses), we make some attempt at small talk. It's pretty awkward, actually. Mainly because I don't want to talk to her, or even be here for that matter. But I really need help controlling my powers, and who is better to teach me than someone almost as powerful as me?

"So…" She starts after a particularly long pause, just when we're getting close to the top of the mountain. "Hans told me you have been having problems with your magic for a little over three years."

"More like my whole life." I say without thinking.

"How so?" She asks, raising an eyebrow. I consider lying, or just not answering, but I guess if I want her to help me, I better be honest.

"Well… whenever I feel something, anything, some of my magic is released, and its always outside of my control. It's even more problematic with negative emotions." I explain.

"Oh. That's all?" She chuckles, and I throw a glare at her. "I mean, no offense, but all ice-wielders have, at some point, had a problem with that." When I just keep glaring at her, she quickly adds. "Alright, we'll work on it. Anything else?"

"I usually can't reverse my magic, even when its something I did voluntarily. And, what's worse, once I start releasing it, sometimes I just can't seem to stop." I say, and she nods thoughtfully.

"Alright, that is a little more problematic." She admits. "But first we should talk about the theory of magic. After all, if you don't understand it, how can you control it?" I nod, and she continues. "For starters, magic is a part of you. You control it, and you have to believe you can control it for it to do your bidding."

"As you know, it's tied to emotions, but what that really means is that, whenever you feel something strongly enough, your magic will try to come out of your body. It is your duty to direct it and make it do as you wish, including staying inside." She makes a small pause, thinking. "Now, I must admit that the more powerful an ice-wielder is, the less intensity of an emotion is necessary to make magic work. So, in your case, it will be very difficult to control it."

"I'd recommend using your magic every day. That way, the amount you have at a time will diminish, and you will be able to control it better." She adds. "But just one question, has it stopped growing yet?"

"I-I I don't know." I admit with a grimace. "But I'm eighteen, so… maybe? It's difficult to know, since lately I've been using my magic to help around town."

"I see. Well, let's just hope it doesn't grow to the point you can't control it." She says, tightening her lips in concern.

Oh, believe me, it has long since passed that point. But anyways, we're here, so I guess it's time to stop talking and start training.

We dismount our horses and leave them at the palace's entrance, while we go to a bare portion of land just next to my castle in order to start my training. She makes me change into more comfortable clothes, so I make myself a pair of pants and boots to substitute my skirt and heels. At least my bun seems to be okay, though she said it'd be better to have short hair. She really has no sense of fashion, and she's too masculine for her own good. But I guess I shouldn't judge her for that. I hope she's as good a teacher as she said she was.

"Alright, first of all, we'll need to start by something simple." She says when we're both ready. "Make a single snowflake using a positive emotion to conjure it."

"Easy." I answer, holding up my hand and barely concentrating at all as I think of Helen and make a snowflake appear out of thin air.

"That's three snowflakes." She deadpans. "I said one."

I look at my hand and see that, effectively, there's more than just one little flake floating around. I concentrate and quickly make the other two disappear.

"Involuntary leaks of power. Got it." She says as she scribbles something on a notebook she'd apparently brought with her. "Alright. Now I want you to do the same thing, only using anger instead."

"Only one snowflake, right?" I say as I concentrate on how angry it makes me to have to accept classes from this woman. Oh, how I hate her!

Suddenly, the magic intended to make the snowflake shifts into a dangerous beam that shoots skyward before turning into dozens of icy needles that fall down upon us. Thankfully, Tyra reacts quickly and shields us with a dome of ice. I give her an apologetic look.

"I see. Anger is particularly difficult to control for you. What about other negative emotions?" She asks, not even fazed by what happened. "Fear, for example."

"Oh, believe me, you don't want to see me scared." I answer.

"Do you fear your powers?" She then asks. I pause, trying to figure out the answer myself, and purse my lips when I realize the truth; when I relive all the times I killed people with my magic and all the incidents in which I lost control. And also that night, before I was exiled. Yes, I do fear my powers.

"I see." She nods, even when I don't say anything. "We'll have to work on that too. A good mage has to be able to channel even negative emotions to conjure magic. And control it properly."

"Alright." I sigh. "Where do we start then?"

I've been training with Tyra for months now. Once a week we go to my Ice Palace and stay there for two days just perfecting the control of both my magic and emotions. And to think she learned all of this by herself!… And then used it to kill dozens of soldiers during the revolution. But then again, I probably killed more than her.

Anyways, today she wanted to test me, see how much I've progressed. And to do that, we're going to fight. I don't really like the idea though, because even if she has better control of her magic, I'm probably more powerful than her, given the age at which we acquired our powers. But she insisted, so… I just hope I won't hurt her. Too much.

I still don't trust her though. I'm sure she has an ulterior motive when it comes to teaching me. But I guess the only way to find out is to play her game.

"You start." She says once we've positioned ourselves, and I don't waste a second before releasing a burst of magic aimed at her face. As expected, she quickly makes an ice shield and stops it, but I simply concentrate on my frustration and channel even more magic, hoping to break her defense.

"You rely on raw power too much." She says just before she moves to the side and shoots icicles in my direction. I try to block them with a wall of ice, but they manage to pass through it and I just barely avoid being pierced by them.

Wait… this is wrong. It was supposed to be training, but she's shooting to kill! Oh my God, she's trying to kill me! What do I do? I can't let her do this.

Trying to avoid or block her attacks as best I as I can, I try to focus on controlling my magic in order to land an attack on her. But I'm too scared. My heart feels like it's beating a thousand times per minute, and my powers are so agitated it starts snowing without me wanting to.

The few attacks I manage to do are more out of desperation than anything, and she easily blocks them or redirects them towards me. My magic is actually so unstable that, when I conjure an icicle to throw at Tyra, its shape is irregular, and its size bigger than intended. There's also a storm now, and ice spreading all around me, making useless irregular forms.

Tyra is relentless with her attacks, making me run for my life and forcing me to be constantly on the defensive. It's not long before I commit a mistake and end up with a deep wound in my right leg as I'm pierced of an icicle. Of course the pain doesn't exactly help me regain control of my magic, and the loss of mobility only makes me get hurt again when Tyra sends a strong blizzard towards me, and I'm unable to avoid it. I end up being thrown around like a ragdoll, getting bruises and cuts when I crash into the ice I made myself.

Everything hurts. And I feel like I have one million wounds all over my body. Yet Tyra keeps attacking without mercy until I can't move anymore. It doesn't matter anyways; my defenses do nothing against her attacks. She's more powerful than me, something I thought to be impossible until today.

I start crying when I see her approaching, but I don't know if it is because of fear or because I'm having an existential crisis. I was always the most powerful ice-wielder in my mind, and in the minds of everyone around me. That's why I was crowned Queen. But… now Tyra is probably going to dethrone me and attack Arendelle. All because I'm weak and pathetic and stupid and…

"Come on, get up." I'm pulled out of my spiraling thoughts when Tyra calls out to me. I see her through my teary eyes, and realize she's extending her hand towards me.

"Don't y-you think you h-have hu-hurt me e-enough?" I answer through my sobs. But I don't really think I'm crying because of the physical pain.

"Yes. You're clearly nowhere near ready to use your magic properly. We're heading back, then we'll get you banged up and continue your training next week."

"No!" I yell at her as I get up with great difficulty, wincing when I place some weight on my injured leg. "I'm tired of this. Of you. I don't want to use my magic, and I won't!"

"And when we go to war with Arendelle, what will you do?!" She yells back, upset I'm giving up on my training.

"We aren't going to war with Arendelle. Never." I snarl.

"And what about all the people who elected you Queen? Are you not going to give them the revenge they deserve? The security they need that we won't be attacked at any moment? What about better lands to grow our food?"

"We do well here." I snarl, getting so angry it starts snowing once more. "We've progressed, making plants grow where no one thought was possible, constructing houses where there were bare snowy plains, and even mining more sapphires than Arendelle could ever hope for! We don't need a war destroying everything we've accomplished!"

"Is that really the reason? Or are you just a coward?" She shoots back, obviously wanting to make me upset. Well, it's working.

"I'm the Queen! You can't talk to me like that."

"You are only the Queen because the people chose the one they thought was the most powerful ice-wielder. What would they do if they found out that you can't control your magic to save your life?" I glare at her in response, but she continues. "They should have crowned me instead, as was intended in the first place. At least I didn't run off after the battle."

"Maybe you should kill me and take the throne for yourself." I say, not really thinking before opening my mouth. Not that it matters; she was probably going to do that anyways.

"Maybe I should." She answers with a soft but menacing voice, her eyes shining with barely contained anger and resentment. But then she turns around and walks away, leaving me alone and confused, with a deep feeling of doom and anger sitting heavy in my chest.

A/N: Sorry, no Elsanna this chapter, but I promise I'll make it up for you in the next one ;). If you liked this, please leave a review, tell me your thoughts, your theories, what do you think of Tyra? I really like knowing what you think of my stories.

Anyways, thanks for reading, and sorry for the delay. I promise next chapter will come out sooner.

Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.