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

Chapter 2

Wisdom

Gerda knew that the King and Queen were young, and that despite their best intentions, she knew that they would make mistakes.

Some mistakes, however, were graver than others.

King Adgar was known for a his wisdom in his court and the courts of other royals, but the castle staff that worked for him on a daily basis knew that he had a stubbornness that ran in the family, from father to son. They knew he could be brash with more personal matters than that of the state, such as when he suddenly decided to reduce the staffers to a bare minimum and close all of the gates without more than a single day's notice.

Gerda easily recognized the symptoms: a father willing to do anything to keep his daughters safe from harm, both real and imagined. She usually dismissed those irrational episodes easily. If the King's greatest fault was that he loved his children too much, it was possibly the noblest fault he could bear. Sure, sometimes he could be gripped with anger and fear, like any other man, but those were never accompanied with the malice and prejudice that could truly poison a heart. The household would break this icy spell of quiet and right itself again, sooner or later. It always did.

But as Gerda looked at the King's eldest daughter, tear trails still glistening on her pale cheeks, she wondered if she was not a good a judge of character as she made herself out to be.

Walking with muffled footsteps born out of years of experience, Gelda settled herself onto the bed, and opened the latches of her kit.

Gerda had almost finished reading Little Red Riding Hood. Currently, she was asking Anna how a wolf would roar with his teeth all bared, and Anna had been replying with an adorable impression. There was a knock on the door, and it opened up to reveal the king, his face flushed with color. Gerda stood up and gave the customary bow.

"Ge-Gerda, would you mind going into Elsa's room? I'm afraid she might still be in… I did not mean to…"

The young King lacked all of the stature and dignity he usually possessed. He rubbed his hand against his face. Anna looked at him curiously, wondering if this was a continuation of the weirdness at the dinner table.

"Is something wrong with Elsa, Father?"

Usually, the King would have picked the girl up and said reassuring words right into her ear. Today, he leaned against the door frame, not really meeting the eyes of both Anna and Gerda.

"Nothing's wrong, darling. Nothing… nothing, at all."

The King started to walk out of Anna's room, and Gerda followed in suit. As soon as they were out of Anna's hearing range, he turned around, and managed to look Gerda in the eye.

"Tell her I'm sorry, Gerda."

Then, he turned around again and hurried away to his study.

Gerda slowly undid the dress the princess was wearing, slipping each arm out of its sleeve, and coaxing the entire garment off of her small body. The princess was too deeply asleep to do anything other than turn a bit, and for that, Gerda was quite grateful.

The girl's back was lined with thin, reddish bruises. Nothing that wouldn't go away in a day or two, especially considering how young Elsa still was. Nothing that should concern Gerda, really. Discipline by the rod was commonplace enough in this country, and Gerda herself had given her boys a sound spanking on the rare occasion she needed to reinforce an important lesson.

Then why did this trouble her so much? 'It's because of her powers,' said a voice in the pit of her chest. Gerda was one of the select few that knew about Elsa's peculiarity, a true sign of trust from the girl's parents. Perhaps it was because they knew that Gerda's firm yet affectionate treatment of their daughters would never change because of the knowledge.

Your majesty, if only you could do the same.

There was ice coating much of the room, slowly melting away into a wetness that would leave everything damp for days. Gerda had been noticing these results of what seemed to be uncontrolled outbursts more often. She was sure the King had been noticing them as well.

But maybe Gerda was misunderstanding the entire situation. Maybe Elsa had done something deserving of a stern chastising. After all, in the past Elsa had been as prone to mischief as her little sister (and she had been sneakier about it too). Or perhaps Elsa had began a streak a rebellion. At ten years old, she was a tad young to be caught in that storm called puberty, but she had been an early bloomer in other things as well. Maybe Elsa had told a lie that was none too white, or maybe she had damaged a valuable possession that she knew she was to be careful around with…

Yet no matter how many theories she spun as she spread an ointment on Elsa's back, Gerda knew that all of them were thin excuses that held little water. Elsa was too quiet, too mature, too good of a girl to ever warrant anything more than a literal slap on the wrist. If anything, she wanted everyone else to be happy, even as she became more lonely by the day. Even if she managed to do something particularly terrible, the King would know that a serious lecture would go much further than physical punishment ever would.

No wonder the king was so guilty. He would never do something unless he believed it was the right thing to do, but the clarity of hindsight had illuminated the wrong of his deed. Hopefully, he would come to his senses after a long and sleepless night.

Gerda put a nightgown on Elsa, hiding away the painful sight under a layer of blue cotton. She changed the pillow cover for a dry one, tucked the little princess under the covers, and stroked her soft, almost white hair. A few moments later, Gerda walked out, and whispered an apology and goodnight.

The next morning, if the king noticed that his tea was cold and his toast was burnt, he said nothing about it.

A/N: Wondering if I should make chapters longer or not. It's always such a perpetual problem for me. Also, sorry if the pacing is a bit slow. I want the story to center around the characters, rather than plot development, so bear with me. Again, thanks for reading.