Notes: There will be mentions and depictions of child abuse. The story will loosely follow the canon.

Chapter 3

Maple

The bright morning sun poured in through the window, turning Elsa's figure into a small shadow against the golden light. The little shadow stood upright, except for her head. Her eyes were still stubbornly pointed downwards.

"Elsa, you can't look at the ground the rest of your life. You are going to be Queen someday. Queens look at adversity straight in the eye, even if they're afraid."

Upon hearing those words, Elsa obediently tilted up her face, stormy blue pools meeting directly with her father's line of sight. He held them for a moment, but then he turned away, as if he could bear it no longer.

"I-I realize that I was too harsh yesterday. Truly, Elsa, I did not want to hurt you. And I think I did."

The king walked a few steps closer, and gestured upwards at a cluster of dripping icicles hanging off a rafter.

"And despite our efforts, we could not stop this from happening."

Elsa's silence finally broke. "I tried, Father, I really tried! I put it off for almost an entire day, and I thought I could almost make it to bedtime-" Tears started to well. Adgar could see thin veins of frost spidering out from underneath her shoes, but it seemed like Elsa did not notice in her outburst. All the better, for what he was going to tell her.

Adgar knelt down on one knee, and stroked Elsa's head affectionately, a half-smile was on his lips. His eyes were still solemn.

"I know Elsa. It was a great effort on your part. In fact, I think it's the best we've ever done in a long time."

Elsa quickly wiped away the tears, and she tried to mirror her father's expression. It had been a while since she'd heard that swell of pride in her father's voice.

"Although we could not stop the ice, we could keep it at bay. And I think that was a true improvement. You were very brave, more than I hoped you to be. But..."

Adgar picked up a ruler from Elsa's desk. It was made of smooth maple, as pale as Elsa's skin.

"In order to win a war, we have to fight all the battles. I'm afraid that you have to be brave a little longer, and I'm sorry that I can't do it in your place."

Elsa bit her lip, but she stood taller than before. Adgar could imagine her with a sword in hand, fighting off monsters made of ice and snow. A little girl ready to become a warrior, still wearing a dress with tiny purple flowers on the hem.

"When your grandfather was king, and I was just a little boy, he used to tell me not to bite my nails. Of course, I didn't listen, seeing as I was as stubborn as a mule, and just about as clever. Your grandfather told me over and over again, but I kept biting until my nails were half the size of normal ones. So your grandfather finally decided to call me to his study."

He puffed out his chest, and furrowed his brow. "Adgar, even if you were a farmer in the fields, and not the crown prince of Arendelle, I would still make you stop biting your nails! It is a filthy, unbecoming habit that makes you look spineless and unable to control the most basic of whims. If you continue to act like a dirty animal, I will have to treat you like one."

"He then told me to bend over his knee, and proceeded to give me a spanking. I was just about your age, and it was quite humiliating for such a big boy to be treated like a baby. Worse, I started bawling for no reason, even though it wasn't that painful. Needless to say, whenever I started to bite my nails after that, I remembered the spanking, and my hand would come right back down."

Adgar chuckled softly, but Elsa did not laugh along with him.

"This situation is obviously different for you, Elsa. You're much smarter than I was when I young, and I know that your… powers aren't your fault at all, unlike my nail-biting. Still, I think a similar method would work. Elsa, could you please put out your hands?"

She reluctantly held out both hands, palms facing upwards. They had long, white fingers like her mothers', the kind that were good for playing a musical instrument. After all of this mess was over, Adgar would ask Elsa if she wanted to take piano lessons.

"Elsa, I just want you to know that this isn't punishment. This isn't supposed to be humiliating, although I know you'll feel otherwise. Think of it as a way to scare the ice away."

He drew in a deep breath.

"I should have said all of this yesterday. It would have many things clearer for you." Did it really? "It will be ten counts."

"One."

Adgar raised the ruler, and brought it down hard onto her hands. Elsa flinched at the pain, and Adgar almost wanted to give her nine light taps and be done with it. But there was no point in making this painless. All that he said was true – it shouldn't be the humiliation that stops the ice, but the subconscious memory of pain, the way that a child would touch a hot stove once, but never again.

"Two... Three... Four... Five..."

Elsa held up admirably, not making a sound, or even flinching. It was as if she had fallen into the rhythm of the strikes. With each hit, Adgar could see her palms growing redder and redder.

"Nine."

Adgar could see the shadow along Elsa's jaw grow sharper, as she bit down harder to keep silent. But he also saw that the frost underneath her had not spread. In fact, it looked like the patch of ice had shrank. The king waited no longer to deal the final blow.

"Ten."

Elsa stopped holding her breath, releasing all of it in one sigh. She stared at her hands, at the purple bruises slowly blooming. Out of the corner of her eye, she could that her father was staring at them as well.

"Are you alright, Elsa? Would you like me to call Gerda?"

She let her hands fall to the side. For a short while, the impact of the ruler would numb her from feeling anything.

"I'm fine Father."

"No, I'll call Gerda. She'll bring-"

"Really, Father. It's okay."

He bent down and picked her up. His arms clutched her in a tight embrace. Elsa didn't know what else to do, so she awkwardly returned it.

"My daughter, my little courageous knight. Tell me if you want to stop this, I'll do so immediately. We can figure out other ways stop the ice."

A pause.

"I'll be fine, Father. "

He set her down, giving her a little kiss on the cheek before letting go.

She walked down the corridor, the purple folds of her dress rippling with each graceful step. Suits of armor wordlessly saluted her from both sides. The king briefly considered running away to his study and locking the door, but he swept the thought away and braced himself for whatever his wife had in store.

"You know, I have this insatiable urge to slap you," said the queen. Her face was expressionless, but her ears and cheeks had a faint red glow. "In fact, I've had it since last evening. Of course, my mother taught me better, but I fear that the manners instilled in me having been wearing quite thin. What course of action do you recommend I pursue, Adgar? Should I take a walk in the shade of the castle orchards? Should I visit the father in the confessional? Or should I indulge myself this one time?"

"Idun, I know what this is about, but-"

The queen moved closer to the king, close enough for him to feel her breath on his neck. "Perhaps instead of my bare hands, I should use a belt. Would you do me a favor and stay in right here, while I go and get one?"

"Look," said the king, as he laid a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Your anger is warranted, and if you need to let it out on me, feel free to do so. But I would truly appreciate it if you listened to me for just a few minutes, so that you could understand why I'm doing this. "

Idun swatted away his hand, and pulled back. "Oh, there's no need to for you to reason with me. I perfectly understand your reasoning. I understand that you think that training our eldest daughter like a circus animal will help her control her powers."

"I object to how you said that, but that's not the point. Idun, I'm afraid that merely separating her from Anna is nothing but avoiding the bigger problem at hand here. She's having an increasingly harder time controlling herself, and at this rate, she'll endanger both herself and anything near her. We have to take more aggressive measures before it's too late."

"More aggressive measures? You talk as if you were dealing with a rivaling country, not Elsa. Are you so afraid of your own daughter that you can't think more clearly? She's only ten years old, we have plenty of time to find other, less brutish ways of helping her."

"Do you think that this was the first thing that came to mind? I've been trying to find some other way for the past year. I've visited the chief of the trolls again, I've looked through all of the magical texts the family owns, including the darker ones. The reality is that there is no magic wand that we can wave over her head, or some potion that she can drink. Keeping her inside the castle is nothing more than a preventive measure. The gloves I've given her provide a sort of mental barrier, but inevitably they'll fail, Idun, everyone knows it! Would you rather I lock her up in the dungeons like some mythical beast?""

The queen narrowed her eyes.

"I'm ashamed that you have even considered that, Adgar."

"Well, what do you suggest I do? You know that the last thing I want to do is raise a hand against my own child. But can you honestly think of anything better? If you can, please tell, because I'm at the end of my rope!"

Adgar could hear the blood drum through his ears, frustration burning his cheeks. There was silence for a few moments, enough time for the heat of his anger to subside and let him realize that he had not raised his voice in a very long time.

"I appreciate the fact that you acknowledge the error in your ways. However, knowing how hard-headed you are, you probably won't do anything to change them." Even as her husband boiled over, Idun retained her icy politeness. "I will have a quick chat with Elsa. Try not to do anything foolish until then."

The queen left the hallway, leaving the king alone in the corridor with the rows of armor.

I realize that the queen might be OOC (at least, compared to what little we've seen in the movie). However, I felt that a docile, quiet Idun was less interesting than an Idun with a little bite, especially taking into account how stressed and strained the King and Queen would be dealing with their daughter's situation.

Again, thanks for reading.