The Queen's Monster, Chapter #13

Chapter 13

The ball was going swimmingly. The food was perfect, the music was perfect, the dancing was perfect, the clothing was perfect; everything was perfect. The Queen had received a multitude of compliments from all the ambassadors on every aspects of the party. It made Elsa beam from joy since she had worked so hard to put it all together.

Elsa mingled with the crowd, striking up random conversations with whomever wanted to speak with her but politely declining any offers to dance because she still had trouble learning the art. Anna had tried to teach her but the poor girl often ended with more than one bruise on her feet.

Elsa looked over at Anna, who was dragging Kristoff from the food table to the dance floor. An upbeat tune played and Anna danced happily while the poor iceman tried hard to follow her in sync. It was obvious he didn't have a clue what he was doing but Anna fortunately noticed quickly and slowed down her mad dance, carefully guiding Kristoff through the dance.

Elsa smiled at the sight and, while everyone was distracted by the princess, snuck over to a quiet, dark corner. She pushed down on the head of a small statue and a section of the wall opened with a tiny click. She quickly entered and, after closing the wall behind her, grabbed the oil lamp to light the way as she walked down the dark hall. When a split came in the hall, Elsa took the stairway. The stairs led to a tiny, square room with only a tiny table and two chairs but she focused on Hans, who was looking though an opening in the wall.

"Enjoying the party?" She asked as she joined him, looking down at her dancing sister. Hans looked away from the window for a moment when Elsa spoke.

"I would've preferred being down there." He admitted, looking back as the guests clapped and Anna bowed proudly, "But this is fine too."

"Did the Southern Isles ever throw parties like these?" Elsa asked.

"All the time." He answered, continuing to watch Anna, "The Southern Isles had so many alliances and there was a party for every wedding and birth. Besides, my father really liked parties so he'd always find an excuse to have one." Hans looked at the Queen, "It was a miracle that he managed to stay out of debt." Elsa smiled and continued to look at her sister. They were silent for a while, watching the party below.

"I noticed that you weren't dancing." Hans commented suddenly.

"Oh," Elsa stuttered, her cheeks turning a light red color, "I-I don't dance."

"You mean you never learned?" Hans asked in utter awe, his tone mixed with concern. Shyly and looking away, Elsa shook her head.

"I was too busy with learning to control my powers." She said slowly, "And... I was too scared to touch anyone because of my magic." Hans nodded and tried to look back at the party but he kept sneaking glances at the Queen. An idea sprung in his mind but he was reluctant to initiate it; she may not be hostile to him but that didn't mean she'd let him do what he had in mind.

Music wafted into the hidden room through the opening, a tune that he knew very well. It was one he had danced to so often with Henriette and it was one of the first songs he learned to dance to. Maybe it were the good memories of his sister or his fondness of the song that gave him the courage to take Elsa's hand and gently pull her to the middle of the room.

"What are you doing?" She asked, fear laced n her voice.

"Teaching you to dance." HE answered, placing her hand on his shoulder before placing his own of her waist. He could see that she was nervous so he offered her a comforting smile before he started teaching.

Hans thought that Elsa was quite clumsy at first but as they kept dancing, she got uh better. Soon, she wasn't even looking at her feet anymore and was looking at him instead with a smile full of pride. The song soon ended and they separated, bowing politely to each other.

"Thank you." Elsa said, her beaming smile ever present. Hans returned the gesture.

"That wasn't too hard now, was it?" He asked upon straightening up.

"No, it wasn't. I actually really liked it." She said. Elsa looked over at the opening as another song began to play, gasping upon seeing Hans holding out his hand to her when she turned back.

"Then indulge me with one more dance?" He asked, Elsa thinking that she heard a tone of desperation. She hesitated for a moment before taking his hand with a smile.

"Of course." A smile on his face now, Hans led her back to the middle and started the dance.

The tune was another familiar one for Hans, one he loved even more than the previous one. What he loved about it was that the tune had words to it. He would've loved to sing it out loud but that would be embarrassing, especially in front of Elsa.

"Is something wrong?" Hans snapped out of his little dilemma at her question. He was about to shake his head but decided that, because it was such a little thing, it wasn't worth hiding.

"This song has words to it." He explained. Elsa's head turned as his words had peaked her curiosity.

"Really? Then why won't you sing them?" Hans' cheeks quickly turned bold red.

"I-I can't." He blurted out, his cheeks turning even more red from the embarrassment caused by his stutter. The sight made Elsa laugh

"I doubt that. Sing." Hans was going to protest again but Elsa spoke before he had that opportunity. "As Queen of Arendelle, I command you to sing." The man was silent until he let out a sigh of defeat.

"As you command, Your Highness." He waited for the queue in the music the words flowed from his mouth.

Ten minutes ago, I saw you.

I looked up when you came through the door.

My head started reeling,

You gave me the feeling

The room had no ceiling or floor.

Ten minutes ago, I met you,

And we murmured our how do you dos.  

I wanted to ring out the bells

And fling out my arms

And sing out the news.

I have found her,

She's an angel,

With the dust of the stars in her eyes.

We are dancing,

We are flying,

And she's taking me back to the skies!

In the arms of my love,

I'm flying,

Over mountain and meadow and glen.

And I like it so well that for all I can tell I may never come down again.

I may never come down to earth again.

As he sang, Hans felt his fear of embarrassment waft away and he kept singing confidently, even into the part that was meant for a woman.

While the man sang, Elsa found herself glued onto his eyes. She could see passion in them, likely from the song cause the angelic tone was equal to it.

Very quickly the song ended and the music faded away into applause. Normally, Elsa would've stepped away the same instant but she found herself still holding onto Hans and him into her. She felt odd in her stomach and for some reason, her heart was pounding. Even more odd was that she didn't want to let go of him and that she suddenly had the urge to kiss him, a thought she quickly bashed to pieces.

He tried to kill you and take your kingdom! She reminded herself even though the argument was irrelevant now. She had seen he had changed; he wasn't the man he was at her coronation anymore. Even so, it was ridiculous for her to have any feelings for him, no matter how small. She awkwardly cleared her throat and he let go of her, the red tint returning to his cheeks.

"I should probably go back." She stammered out after an instant of silence.

"Of course. Thank you for the dance." Elsa offered a smile and quickly left the room. She didn't look back; if she had, she would've seen Hans staring at her.

She found her way back in the dark and cringed when the bright light and loud sounds of the ball hit her. The sudden change made her almost forget to close the wall. Luckily, she noticed and not a moment too soon as Anna came running up to her.

"What are you doing here?" She piped.

"Nothing." Elsa answered quickly, turning away from the wall and offering a smile. "I just needed a moment alone."

"Still not used to big parties?" Anna inquired, walking to her sister and taking her hand.

"I'm afraid not." Elsa said lightheartedly, slowly walking back into the party while holding on tightly to her sister. Anna eventually took the lead and lead the two of them to the food table, grabbing the plate of chocolate. She quickly popped a sweet into her mouth.

"Then why don't you and I leave and do something fun? Just the two of us?" The next thing Elsa comprehends is hitting the floor, Anna screaming her name and a gunshot. Her hand slams hard against the polished wood, leaving a harsh, tingling pain and a pool of ice under her. People scream in the background while Elsa looked up, her head pounding. She gasps when she sees her sister lying on the floor, clutching her side and her face scrunched up in pain.

"Anna!" Elsa screams, crawling to her sister. She was nearly there when she was roughly grabbed and her arms forced behind her back, chains quickly snapped around her wrists. They pulled the Queen to her feet where she meets the eyes of the Duke of Weselton.

"You!" The Queen hollered, trying to lash out at the smirking man but stopped by the men holding her, "You're even more foolish than I took you for!" She willed her magic to come forth and break the chains but, to her horror, nothing happened. The Duke laughed.

"A fool, am I?" He approached her, his stupid smirk never leaving his face. "And what fool would not bring a magic blocking item when dealing with a monster like you?"

"She's not a monster." Elsa turned her head to her sister, watching Anna stand though to was clearly excruciatingly painful for her. Her hand was still clutching her side, little lines of red dripping through her fingers. She pointed at the Duke, "You are!" The man glared at the princess, motioning to some of his men to grab her.

"On the contrary," He gloated, smiling when Anna let out a cry of pain as the soldier forced her hand off her side, revealing all her injury and all the blood. "I am the hero that's saving Arendelle from it." He signaled to his men and they began to drag Elsa, Anna and Kristoff out of the room towards the dungeons.

Elsa didn't bother resisting as they dragged her out of the ballroom. Her eyes were glued on her sister. That bullet had been meant for her and Anna took it. That Elsa felt guilty was an understatement; she would've taken a thousand bullet for Anna if it meant that she would be fine.

Before she was pulled from the room, Elsa glanced up at the opening in the ceiling where Hans had been watching. She desperately hoped that she could see him and confirm that he saw what happened. But when she saw nothing, she had an uneasy feeling in her stomach, it telling her, though she tried to deny it, that he abandoned them.