Words could not express Elsa's outrage.

In a way, David had kept his promise. Anna hadn't been tortured. Anna had been brutalized.

Her attendant was chained to the wall by two dozen shackles, clothed only in her undergarments. A series of blackening bruises marred great swathes of her skin, including most of her face.

But the worst inflictions were the burns. What looked to be a crude array of x's had been branded into her skin. They were everywhere; on her legs, her stomach, her cheek. The flesh that surrounded them looked as if it was rotting.

"Anna!" Tears staining her eyes, she ran over to the imprisoned redhead. Anna's eyes were sealed shut, and for a moment Elsa feared the worst. But a quick check of her pulse confirmed that she was still breathing.

"Wake up! It's Elsa. You're safe!" she shook the attendant frantically, but Anna refused to stir.

There was no time to waste. They had to get out of here. Elsa could heal her some along the way, but she would need her cousin to complete the job. The Queen concentrated, lifting her hand to Anna's shackles and being as precise as possible.

It took her five minutes, but she managed to freeze and shatter the chains without injuring Anna further.

She took the younger woman into her arms, being as gentle as she could. A horrible, empty sensation filled her as she ran her fingers over Anna's limbs.

Her arms were broken.

If not for Anna's presence, Elsa's powers would have frozen the room in rage. David hadn't even waited for her answer before commencing his torture. He'd probably tried to interrogate her attendant for information on the Queen's vulnerabilities.

And Anna hadn't given in.

Gratitude and regret rose within her with equal intensity. Some of her advisors still questioned Anna's loyalty, she knew. But the next person to voice that opinion would be expelled from the Castle.

She called in two of her soldiers, commanding them to take Anna into their arms with the utmost care. Above them was the tenth and final floor; an entrance to the roof was doubtlessly located at the end of its hall.

Sending one of the unoccupied creations ahead of her, Elsa ordered it to take point on the stairway. She waited until it was several steps in front of her, then began to ascend the stairway herself.

CLANG!

The din of a sword echoed throughout the stairway. A soldier having been waiting in ambush steadied his blade and pointed in her direction. The severed head of her creation landed at his feet.

"Begone witch! Turn back and you and your whore may leave in peace!"

David was still up there, she now realized. And that meant that Elsa would be finishing this climb.

Ice blasted from her hand. It traveled up the remained of the stairway, ensnaring the guard and pinning him to the wall. He dropped his sword upon impact, but that didn't deter him from thrashing desperately against his frozen bonds.

Knowing he was no longer a threat, Elsa willed a replacement creation into existence and bade him to scout the way.

"Empty, Mistress."

She nodded, making her way into the hallway and biding her remaining guards to follow her. Like all the other floors, an open curving stairway awaited at the end of the hall. Unlike them, however, there was only one large doorway. And it was sealed shut.

The King's bedroom. He must like to sleep directly above his prisoners. Charming.

"Check to see if he's in there, but leave him to me," she ordered.

Immediately, the door flew open. A lone figure leapt into the hallway, his visage all too familiar. Her palm shot forward, launching a blast of ice at the fleeing King.

He dodged to the side, flattening himself against the wall as the magic shot past. Then he was running again, making his way to the final stairway and curving up it just as a second burst of ice shattered behind him.

She ordered her creation forward, then set off behind him immediately. Her other guards, Anna in their careful embrace, brought up the rear.

This time, there was no ambush on the stairway.

Elsa walked through the doorway at the top. Save for her creation, there were three individuals standing on the roof. Two of them were the chained guards from earlier.

David ran to the edge, desperately looking around for a way out. There was none.

His back to the ledge, he turned to face her. A fierce panic shone in his eyes as he raised his sword, pointing it straight at the Queen's heart.

With a single thought, her most recent creation vanished from existence.

Perhaps David thought that he now had an opening. The King charged forward, his sword held out in front of him defensively.

Elsa raised her hand with deceptive calm. Suddenly, the air around his sword became cold. The lowest temperature the planet had ever experienced now ensnared his weapon.

The sword shattered like a twig, shards breaking off in all directions. With a cry of shock, David collapsed to the ground. A jagged piece of metal was embedded in his thigh.

As Elsa began to walk forward, he scrambled back towards the ledge pathetically.

"Mercy!" he begged, bracing himself on the ledge and climbing to his feet.

"Mercy?" Elsa cried. "Like how you showed her mercy?" She pointed towards Anna, now having been carried onto the roof by her remaining guards.

The King raised his hands in frantic surrender. "Please! Just leave me in peace! I'll never harm you again!"

Elsa continued walking forward, flexing her fingers expectantly.

"No, don't kill me! You can't! I'm a sovereign ruler. The nations of the world would unite against you!"

"Hardly," Elsa sneered. "I'm sure your men here will spread the story. You attacked me without provocation. You kidnapped my consort and nearly tortured her to death! This was a war. And I can finish it any way I choose."

The King leaned back against the ledge, sobbing now. "Lucrania will splinter. My death will tear the country apart!"

"Better that then it allow it to be left under your rule."

Suddenly, a ray of hope appeared on his face. "You wouldn't kill a man in cold blood!" he challenged. "I know your type, Queen Elsa! Kind. Moral. Virtuous. You would never be able to live with yourself!"

The Queen hesitated briefly, staring back at Anna. The redhead would tell her to let him go, she knew. Or at least imprison him. Even after all that had been done to her. That was just the kind of person Anna was. She could never bring herself to condone murder.

Elsa could.

A single, large shard of ice erupted from her hand. It impacted the King just below the shoulder.

A geyser of red sprouted from his skin. David gave one final cry as he stumbled backward, falling over the ledge and out of sight.

The Queen walked forward, ignoring the looks of astonishment from the two prisoners. She peered over the ledge. There, lying in front of the tower's gate hundred of feet below, was David's mangled body. Elsa observed the scene with a frown.

And felt no guilt at all.

/

Rapunzel sat in her room alone, her husband having gone to train with her brother. She knew she should follow their example...do something, anything, to occupy her mind, but for once the energetic Princess couldn't muster up the will to move.

She knew Anna's predicament was not her fault. But that didn't make waiting around for new any easier. She hadn't known the attendant for long, but that didn't mean Rapunzel didn't care for her deeply.

Although Anna's sacrifice had been made first and foremost for Elsa, the Princess knew that the redhead's choice had also been for her benefit. She could have ridden off with her Queen immediately and left Rapunzel to fend for herself. She had no obligation to protect the royal family of Corona.

And now, as Elsa went off to rescue her consort, Rapunzel had two friends to worry about.

BANG!

The door to her chambers flew open. There stood Eugene, a look of pure urgency on his face.

Rapunzel shot off the bed, her face asking a million wordless questions.

"They're back," he said quickly. Relief flooded her heart, but the sentiment was dampened by the Prince's next statement.

"We need you. It's Anna..."

/

Elsa watched as her attendant was gently laid on a bed by the Coronan Royal Guards. Even after several hours of difficult travel, Anna was still dead to the world. Only her steady breathing gave the Queen the faintest sense of peace.

She's done her best to heal Anna as they'd traveled, but it hasn't been easy to focus her abilities while gliding through the air and using her free arm to keep her consort from falling to the ground. Elsa had managed to fix her arms, but the bruises and burns remained in full force.

The door to the guest chambers burst open. Rapunzel's expression immediately morphed from anxiety to devastation as her eyes took in Anna's tortured form.

"How...how could they...?" Tears glistened in the Princess's eyes.

Without a word, Elsa and her cousin came together in a hug. Rapunzel's sobs threatened to reawaken Elsa's own tears, but for Anna's sake she forced herself to remain somewhat composed.

"I tried my best, but she's still...can you heal her?" the Queen asked.

"Of course!" Rapunzel broke off the embrace and hurried over to her unconscious savior. With no further preamble she let her freely flowing tears fall onto her friend.

Elsa hovered over the bedside as the Princess went to work. Her first tears went to Anna's arms, and the slightest of sounds alerted the monarch to the fact that the limbs had been completely healed.

Each drop that fell fixed another injury. Bruises disappeared without a trace, replaced by smooth, unblemished skin. The burns fared no better. With each tear that fell, it was as if they never existed.

Except for two. When Rapunzel's magic fell onto the burn on Anna's cheek and another on her stomach, the skin around them returned to its normal, healthy color. But no matter how many tears fell onto the x's there remained a small, swollen, x-shaped scar in the place of the two burns.

"Why aren't they going away?" Elsa questioned anxiously.

Rapunzel looked at her helplessly. "I...don't know. My guess is that these are the first burns she...received. They've been there so long and healed to such an extent that they don't count as injuries any longer. They didn't mend nicely...but they mended. And that means it's too late of my magic."

The Queen sighed. Sometimes, it seemed as if the rules of magic existed merely to make their lives more difficult. Of course, most people didn't have access to any magic at all, so it wasn't all that easy to complain.

"So she'll have those scars...?" Elsa began.

"Forever? Maybe..." the Princess admitted with a frown. "I'll keep trying, but..."

Elsa could see the futility in her cousin's eyes. If one tear didn't work, a dozen more would not make a difference. Anna would be left with those scars for the rest of her life.

Part of her wondered if that was such a bad thing. They were both relatively small, and they didn't make her any less beautiful in Elsa's eyes. Anyone who saw them would be reminded of Anna's bravery and her sacrifice; maybe this would convince her attendant's remaining detractors back in Arendelle to finally back down.

\

The physicians in Corona's Royal Palace couldn't confirm it, but to the best of their knowledge Anna's unconsciousness was the result of deliberately implanted sedatives. Elsa was dubious, knowing of her consort's resistance to toxins. But as Anna remained stubbornly asleep yet continued to breathe normally, it seemed as the only possible explanation.

"It makes sense. Sleep isn't an injury," Rapunzel offered. "It's why I couldn't wake you up when you were poisoned at the inn...and probably why my tears aren't brining her back right now. They probably overdosed her in an effort to keep her docile. She'll wake up eventually."

Elsa nodded. Hopefully, the Princess wasn't just trying to convince herself.

"Get some rest," she told her cousin. "You're exhausted." It was true. Hours had passed since the Queen's arrival, and Rapunzel hadn't been able to sleep well in days. Her cousin tried to offer some token resistance, but Elsa managed to convince her to join the rest of her family in sleep. "If there's any changes, I'll let you know," she promised.

As Rapunzel left, the monarch again looked down at her consort. Now that most of Anna's visible injuries had healed, Elsa now noticed the less conspicuous signs of her mistreatment. It was as if the months the redhead had spent in Arendelle's Palace had been erased from existence. Her cheeks were hollow. Her stomach far too flat. As they had been before Anna had moved into the Castle, her ribs were once again prominent.

It was the prospect of starvation that now worried Elsa the most. Anna's body was no stranger to hunger, she knew. But after weeks and weeks of experiencing the finest foods that Arendelle had to offer, it would not have been easy for her stomach to adjust. And it seemed as if a side effect of Elsa's magic was an increasing of the attendant's metabolism. By the time of their trip to Corona, Anna had been eating twice as much as an average woman yet remained in top shape.

They'd given Anna some liquids to forestall the effects of malnutrition, but if the redhead didn't wake soon, the consequences would not be pleasant.

\

The blast shook the world.

Even on the opposite end of the planet, she could feel the power of the magic at work. The ground rumbled…fire streaked across the sky. She could feel its influence pulling at her soul...compelling her to leave this plane of existence for all of eternity.

But it was not enough. The distance between her and the rift was too great. She'd prepared for this event for too long. Her element rose up around her, shielding her from the worst of the effects. Combined with the thousands of miles that separated her from the spell, her barriers were enough to keep her rooted on the earth.

Her compatriots were gone. And she was all that remained.

\

Awareness came back to her slowly.

Clearly, whatever Jocasta had dosed her with was still at work. Anna's eyelids felt as if they each weighed a ton. Mind still foggy, she lifted her arm to her forehead...

Wait, what?

The shackles were gone! And as her body fully returned to consciousness, she realized that her back was not lying against a brick wall but rather resting comfortably on a soft surface.

Adrenaline racing through her, Anna found the strength to lift her eyes. All she saw was darkness. Was this another aspect of her torture, designed to make her let her guard down before striking again?

Determined to take advantage of her unrestrained limbs while she still had the chance, Anna shot up from her back and scrambled off the mattress. She rotated her arms around her frantically, searching for an exit...or at least something that could be used as a weapon.

"Anna!?"

Bright light exploded throughout the room. Reflexively, the redhead tried to avert her eyes. But through the pain, Anna could perceive a large glowing snowflake rotating through the air. It was enough to illuminate the entire room.

Anna didn't believe the sight that greeted her. Around her was the room that she had shared with Elsa while staying in Corona. The Queen herself was sitting in a chair beside the bed, a look of both concern and relief etched onto her face.

Elsa rose out of her seat, gently stepping towards her attendant. "It's me, Anna...you're safe," she said soothingly. But behind her words, Anna could sense the fear that plagued the Queen. The monarch was moving towards her slowly, as if she believed that Anna would shatter if approached too quickly.

She's afraid the torture destroyed me.

Anna leapt forward, taking the Queen into a crushing embrace and tackling her onto the bed. She instinctively buried her head into Elsa's shoulder. Then she was crying, her tears dripping down onto the monarch's smooth dress.

For days, she had tried to be strong. She'd resisted Jocasta's interrogation and put up a front of bravery. But no more. Anna melted like a snowball in summer as Elsa's arms enveloped her. She cried out of relief. She cried out of fear...the fear that she'd desperately bottled up through days of agony. It was weak, she knew, unworthy of the Queen's foremost protector. But Anna didn't care.

Maintaining the embrace, Elsa rolled onto her side and clutched her attendant tighter. She whispered words into Anna's ear that were too soft to hear and yet proved immensely comforting regardless.

This was impossible. This had to be a dream. The last thing Anna remembered was being dosed with sedatives in her cell under Jocasta's withering supervision. How could she have ended up here? How could Elsa have found her so quickly?

"I'm dreaming..." Anna croaked out.

Her stomach clenched as Elsa hugged her still more fiercely. "You're awake, Anna. I promise! The trolls used their magic to help me find you, and I went in and got you out," the Queen explained quickly.

The trolls, of course!

Elsa had saved her. Elsa had dived into the pits of hell and hauled her out. Part of her still couldn't believe it, but if anyone could do it, it was the Queen. Half a year ago, Anna hadn't a single person on earth who cared for her. And now Elsa had risked everything just for her sake.

"I love you, I love you, I love you," the attendant breathed. It was a struggle to resist hugging the Queen as hard as she could, but Anna had a feeling that Elsa would not appreciate a shattered ribcage.

The embrace lasted for another five minutes. But as her euphoria finally started to simmer down, Anna became aware of the sheer desperation erupting from her stomach. The redhead was no stranger to hunger, but the effects of Elsa's magic and living in a Castle for months had made her all the more vulnerable to deprivation from food.

"Elsa...I need..."

"Right!" The Queen broke out of the hug and shot off the bed. She raced for the door, threw it open and ran out into the hall. Her normally serene voice was so loud that Anna could hear it easily. "Yes, she's awake. I don't care what the cooks are doing at the moment...have them make a meal large enough for ten people. As soon as possible!"

That done, Elsa returned to the room. But as soon as she stepped through the door, Anna could see the trepidation return to her face.

"I'm fine, Elsa, really. It was terrible...I'm obviously shaken up, but I'm okay. Okay, maybe not okay okay, but it could be worse. I haven't gone insane or anything, I promise..." Even to her, it sounded awful.

The Queen's eyes fell to the ground. "I saw...the marks, Anna. Rapunzel was able to heal most of them and fix your arms, but...I'm so sorry you had to go through that. If you don't want to talk about it, we won't..."

"No," Anna said firmly, causing the monarch to glance up in surprise. "We'll have to discuss it eventually anyway...and I want to get this off my chest. Come here and hold me?" she asked, her voice sounding like that of a five-year old girl despite her best efforts.

"Of course." Within moments, the Queen had made her way back to the bed. Anna curled up beside her, laying her head against Elsa's chest.

Before she could hesitate, Anna began. "I'm sure you know what happened back at the inn. I woke up in that cell...chained to the wall by a million shackles. David told me I was being held to stop you from preventing a war with Albion. They demanded that I tell them your weaknesses. At first, I thought you didn't have any...but then I remembered that you practice by the lake some nights. It wasn't much, but it was information they could have used."

"Why didn't you tell them I was afraid of fire, or something like that?" Elsa asked.

Anna sighed. "Their interrogator...she could actually tell if I told a lie or not. She had magic," she revealed, making the Queen start in surprise. "I was skeptical, obviously, but she proved it. So when I refused to tell her what I knew...she started."

The monarch gasped, and in that moment Anna knew she had to act. "Listen to me, Elsa," she demanded, looking into the Queen's gaze. "I'm going to say this once. It's not your fault. I was doing my duty...and even without my oath I would have done it all anyway. You did everything you could...you saved me from that hellhole! David and Jocasta are the ones to blame, not you."

Elsa nodded, but her face tightened. "Jocasta?" she asked.

"The interrogator," Anna explained. "So after I refused to tell them anything, she..." the attendant shuddered..."Used a brand and started burning me. It's not as bad as you think, I'm resistant to pain! It hurt like hell, but I managed to bear it. She started getting frustrated. Both my arms were broken after I spat in her face. But I didn't tell her a damn thing."

"I wish you had," Elsa admitted. "But it doesn't mean I'm not grateful!" she added as Anna shot her a look of indignation. "You sacrificed yourself for me. Again. You didn't tell them something that offered them the slightest chance of getting at me, even after they..." she paused. "I couldn't have asked for someone more...you're amazing, Anna. And I'm so, so glad that you're alright."

"All thanks to you, my Queen," Anna smiled. "But once I've eaten, we need to go find your Uncle and the rest of the family. I learned a few things and we really need to have a talk."

Responses:

IronTailPickahu: Painful death indeed.

Shtoops: That's what I was going for!

FrozenFairyTales: Oh, just wait.

Guest 1: I'll do my best!

WinterWolfDragon: Not a trap, fortunately.

RR: Elsa kept her word to the prisoners, but David wasn't so lucky. Jocasta's ploy worked, unfortunately.

BatteriezNotIncluded: Thanks! Jocasta did get to use the sedative, but she overdosed and Anna fell unconscious without saying anything. Fear not, the climax is far off! And the reveals won't come all at once!

Jascmaster: Happy now?

Guest 2: *Makes trollface.*

Superjoshe: Elsa angry. Elsa SMASH.

Moonwatcher13: Drugged, fortunately. It could be worse!

Tigger: Happy Reunion!

Darthvaderisnotme: Wait until the story is over to send me the bill. The tab is going to get bigger.

Sleepingzombie: He was indeed cowering on the top floor.

DrakeAxureSaber: Unfortunately, she got away this time.

Yuiiub: It could be worse.

Mpsantiago: No mind-controlled Anna, I promise.

Need-aLIFE10808: It's not easy to replace Sven.

Darthcadeus: All of these reviews certainly help!

Psykoakuma: Yay! Stress!

3Gs: She did indeed get away scot-free.

Kyoko-nyaa: Anna is alive!

RainbowMaster01: Who doesn't love cliffhangers?

BlackMistBeast: I love reading all your questions but I can't answer them.

Spacecat090: You were pretty much right on the money.

Leelan: Maybe there will be some fluff soon.

MasterBlackCrow: No trap, there was no time to set one up. But Jocasta's definitely not being convinced to be a better person.

Guest 2: You never know!

GG: I stopped typing. And I don't have a soul.

ClaireCooper: Nothing to be too scared of this chapter.

Knziewrwlf: It happened!

Icy-Windbreeze: Mission complete!

ObsessiveImaginings: Fixed!

JaneDoe: Definitely got some OUAT inspiration for this one!

MCLMM: Lucrania is fine but the King could be in better shape.

PascalDragon: No surprise other than Anna's tortured form.

No.18: None of that, fortunately.

: Thanks! I've been trying my best to update weekly.

BreeBear98: Here you go!

MarbleLights: No, I'm not pulling a Peeta.

Ggggirl: Wow! All at once?

FreelanceBum: Thanks for all the reviews! A few points of clarification: Rapunzel's tears lose their potency after about a week, the magic evaporates, so there's no point in storing them up. Also, I wouldn't call Elsa's ultimatum evil. A good idea? That's debateable. But she was definitely trying to do the right thing.

Raven: Jocasta will certainly play a role.

JPElles: More interesting stuff on the way.