Thaw (Jelsa Fanfic)

Insurance

Elsa had somehow managed to fall asleep in the hour following Pitch's departure. Her body and mind had been exhausted...she had not rested well in days, and it was really no wonder that she finally succumbed. Curled up on the small couch, she slept dreamlessly, blessed to have been spared the nightmares she'd feared.

The sound of the metal door swinging open was enough to rouse her entirely. Elsa shot up, hands raised defensively, expecting to see Grim enter. He had made it clear that her soul was highly desirable to him, and she very much expected he'd make another attempt at retrieving it before the battle began.

She was relieved when it was Pitch who stepped inside, however...and she lowered her hands. It was a subconscious demonstration that she did not fear him...and the moment his golden gaze locked with hers, she knew he sensed that. She saw anger flit across his face, but he reigned it in quickly, a cruel smile curving his lips in its place.

"Come with me, Smow Queen. There is something you must see." He said.

Elsa was immediately filled with dread. Anything Pitch wanted her to see would not be pleasant, of that she was certain. "No. I want no part in whatever scheme you are attempting." She said flatly, trying to disguise her unease.

"You don't have a choice. What I must show you is quite important...at least to you. Trust that you'll want to witness it." Pitch told her cryptically.

Elsa felt cold terror beginning to rush through her. "What have you done?" She asked, brows narrowing as she glared at Pitch. There was no way he had harmed Jack, was there? Or any of the other Guardians? And surely he had not gone back on his word regarding Anna...

Elsa cried out as two long black tendrils snaked out, wrapping around her wrists painfully. Pitch yanked her forward, and it was all she could do to keep herself on her feet bug em sheer force of the velocity. Pitch grasped her by the nape of the neck, forcing her too look up at him.

"Do you fear me now, Snow Queen?" He asked, his voice dripping with contempt.

Elsa was stiff in his grasp, breathing hard from the shock and the biting pain of her restraints. "Never. You are a lonely, pathetic man, a mouse that is too dim to realize he's let a lion into his cage. Fear you? No. I pity you." She hissed at him, bracing herself for the blow she suspected would follow.

It did not come, however...though she saw fury in his eerie gaze, he laughed. "You'll be changing your mind. Let's go."

Elsa tried to resist, but the shadows that held her captive were far too strong. She was half-dragged, stumbling after him through the catacomb hallways of his lair. The air was cold and damp, the light far too subdued to make out much from her surroundings. Though the walls were huge and cavernous, Elsa had never felt so claustrophobic in her life.

Pitch finally stopped in front of tall, ancient looking steel door. Elsa backpedaled, trying desperately free herself from his shadows. Ice began to form beneath their feet as her control began to waver. "Those powers will do you more harm than good right now. I'd keep them contained." Pitch advised as he unlocked the door. "You won't get out of those shadows without losing your hands in the process."

"If you think I can always control what I can do...then you don't know a thing about me." Elsa snapped.

Pitch looked at her sharply. "You're about to have an incredible incentive to learn quickly."

Elsa did not have time to question him as he yanked her inside the room. She stumbled to a stop, blinking furiously to encourage her eyes to adjust to the near darkness of the room. What she saw before her was enough to make her stomach clench, and for a horrible moment de thought she might be sick. Dizzy, Elsa staggered...raising her hands to her lips to muffle the anguished sob that bubbled up. "No...no..."

Sitting bound and gagged on two wrought iron chairs, Anna and Kristoff looked at her through wide and panicked eyes. Anna was trying to say something, her words obscured by the black cloth tied around her face. Kristoff was struggling, and though he was broad and strong, his binding didn't budge.

Pitch stepped closer to his captives, smiling tenderly as if they were precious possessions. "Have no fear about their condition, Snow Queen. As you can see, they are still healthy and unharmed...so far."

"Let them go!" Elsa screamed, trying to go to Anna. Pitch pulled against her restraints, effectively stopping her in her tracks. Even still, Elsa fought to get to her sister. "I agreed to your conditions! I've done everything you've wanted...you don't need them! Take them back to Arendelle!"

Pitch chuckled, shaking his head. "Oh, I know you've been quite cooperative. The requisition of your sister and her lover is not a punishment to you. However, it is and insurance policy for me."

Anna's terrified blue eyes remained locked on the Nightmare King. Kristoff was still struggling, and from the sound of his muffled voice, he was likely cursing Pitch as well. "What do you mean, an insurance policy? I already gave you my word!" Elsa cried.

"Yes, you did. And their presence is a reminder to you that you must keep your word. I needed to be sure that when the time came, you had enough incentive to fight against the Guardians...and Jack, of course." Pitch explained as he began to pace.

"This isn't necessary...I gave my word. Please, let them go. I'll do what needs to be done...just...please." Elsa was not the kind of woman to beg...but standing there powerless in front of the Nightmare King, with her sister and friend gagged and bound in the most dangerous place they could possibly be...it broke something inside of Elsa.

"I honored my end of the deal and cured your sister. You and I both know that young romance can make people do rash things. I am making certain that doesn't happen in our case." Pitch said with a easy shrug of his bony shoulders. He then drew close to Elsa, his luminous gaze so intense that it caused her to gasp. "I will return them to Arendelle unharmed as soon as the Guardians are defeated. Should you decide to go against your word, even in the slightest..." He smiled in that cruel way of his, nodding toward the corner. Standing there, observing silently, was the Reaper. "They will die."

Anna began to scream, the sound piercing despite the gag in her mouth. "No! Get him out of here. Get him away from my sister!" Elsa shrieked, lunging for Anna. "Anna, it's okay...you're going to be alright, I won't let them touch you!"

She was yanked back when Pitch's fingers buried into her hair, clamping painfully around the strands. Elsa fought through the pain, trying desperately to free herself...but his hold was too strong. "Do we have a deal?" He hissed into her ear.

"Yes! Yes! Just make him leave them alone!" Elsa panted, aware of the bleak hopelessness that had begun to sink deep. How was she going to get out of this mess without getting any of her loved ones hurt?

Just then, the shrouded head of the reaper cocked to one side, as if he were listening intently to something no one else could hear. And then, very faintly, Elsa heard a sound that made her blood run cold.

"Elsa!" Jack's voice echoed from somewhere far off within the Lair.

She wanted to scream his name, to tell him to get out, to find safety. But as Pitch's yellow gaze held hers, she knew that to so only meant deaths or Anna. Tears burned hotly at the back of her gaze as hatred consumed her...hatred for Pitch, and hatred for the Reaper. "You're a monster." She whispered.

"Isn't that the point of the Boogey Man?" Pitch said sweetly. "The time has come. Let's go say hello to your Romeo, shall we?" He released her hair, dragging her forward by her restraints. The Reaper had disappeared, and Elsa could only hope that Jack would be on alert for when the demon found him. "Anna, it'll be okay..." She turned, trying to say goodbye...but the door slammed behind them with a metallic clang. And then she was being dragged again, deeper and deeper into the heart of the Lair.

"Elsa where are you?" Jack's voice, closer this time.

Time was up.