Little Things (Helsa)

I Did Nothing Wrong!

(HANS)

I could hear the celebration go all night. The music at the wedding had been lovely, and Anna and Elsa had looked wonderful as they strolled to the chapel. When I saw a carriage leave, the noise finally died down. I was almost grateful for the peace. A whole day of celebrating was a little too much for me, even for a wedding. I finally laid down and slept, thankfully. I was woken up, however, when I heard loud noises coming from the stairs of the prison. I figured a group of council members had finally had enough of me and decided to try to kill me themselves. The noises got louder and louder. I heard a guard say quietly, "Your majesty, it is quite late, you should be getting rest after such a long week." A woman's voice said, "I'm perfectly alright, I must speak with him. Alone." The guard sighed, and led her to my cell. I was still laying down pretending to sleep. I heard the door unlock and open. It closed somewhat quickly. I heard several footsteps walk towards me, and someone sat on my bed. I was poked in my face, and blinked my eyes a few times. I sat up and yawned, pretending to be tired.

When I opened my eyes clearly, I said in shock, "Your majesty...? What are you doing here...?" She wasn't facing me. She had her head in her hands, almost in her lap. She didn't respond for a while, so I asked, "Elsa? Are you feeling alright...?" She slowly sat up and nodded sluggishly. She was definitely not alright. She looked so much paler than usual. She had dark circles under her eyes like she hadn't slept in days, and I noticed her hands were slightly shaking. I reached to put a hand on her forehand but she weakly stumbled away from me. "I'm not going to hurt you Elsa, but I think you're sick. Can I just check your temperature?" She shrugged and let me put the back of my hand of her forehead. She was burning up like crazy. This was no ordinary sickness. I had seen the warning signs once before; during my mother's last hours. Elsa might have the Southern Flu.

I immediately called out for guards to come to my cell. I then laid her down on my bed and covered her with the blanket I had. When the guard finally came, he saw Elsa unconscious in the bed and demanded, "What have you done to the queen!?!" He burst into the cell and pushed me against a wall. "Please," I begged him, "I think she has the Southern Flu. I haven't done anything to her, she's just very ill. I know how to treat it, but we have to act fast." The guard shoved me aside and chained me to a wall. As he closed the shackles around my wrists, he snarled, "You won't be treating anything, you probably got her sick, it's your fault!" He picked her up and carried her out of the cell and closed the door. I tried shouting after him but he wouldn't listen. As his footsteps faded away down the steps, I whispered, "But I did nothing wrong..."

(ELSA)

I hadn't been honest with myself about how sick I was feeling. As soon as I walked into Hans' cell, I knew I should have stayed in bed. Even going up the stairs had been a struggle; I should have listened to that guard. But my stubbornness told me I simply would not listen to a man's opinion about what I should or shouldn't do. Even as he walked away from the cell, his footsteps down the hall were getting louder and louder, making my ears ring. It was all I could do to walk over to the bed without falling. I just remember sitting down and being so light-headed I couldn't think straight. I knew Hans was sleeping, and it would be weird if he found me in here passed out from exhaustion. I remember trying to poke him in the face to wake him, but feeling even more dizzy. After that, it's just random images. A guard picking me up from a comfortable bed, a cold stethoscope on my chest, and for some reason Hans. I thought it a little strange to be dreaming of Hans, but I was so hot and tired I just let it happen. After a few visions though, everything went black, and I was no longer conscious.

(HANS)

I knew the staff would call a doctor right away. The doctor would claim to have no idea what was wrong, and then that guard would come right back up here for me. I just hoped it wouldn't be too late to save Elsa. This flu moved quickly, and most of the time would be diagnosed too late, which would normally result in death. I would never forgive myself if Elsa died. Luckily, the guard came back up within ten minutes, and shamefully said, "You were right, it is the Southern Flu. The doctor ordered you to look after her." I nodded and grabbed my jacket. I also grabbed some paper just in case I had some down time. The guard put chains around my feet and we left the prison; heading for the castle.

I was walked into Elsa's room, and was immediately taken back by how simple her room was. It was pretty much bare bones; no comfy furniture to lounge on, no decorations, and almost no personal items. There was a brush on her dresser, and everything else looked empty. My mother had never been into buying the new best perfume or earrings, but even she had a couple bottles on her vanity. I wondered how Elsa had been living the past couple years. I now knew she had always kept her distance due to her powers, but I never realized the extent it had on her private life. Her fear of hurting others must have dominated every other emotion. Maybe if I got out of the mess I had created, I could buy her a nice perfume or something as a thank you. It might help her start to experience a normal life.

As I came closer to her bed, I noticed her laying in it. She had a simple night gown on, and she looked like she was burning up. Her cheeks were a dark rose color, and even her arms and legs had a slight pink hue to them. She didn't move, but I couldn't tell if she was unconscious or just blocking everything out. A maid was holding a wet cloth to her face, while the doctor was speaking with another maid about supplies he may need. The guards walked me over to the doctor and he turned to greet me. He saw my ankles were shackled, and ordered the guards to remove them. When they hesitated, he insisted, saying, "Your queen is suffering, meanwhile you hold prisoner the man who can heal her! Release him!" The guards complied and gave us some space to work.

Once I was free, I walked over to Elsa. She looked much worse; not just from the redness of her skin. It had only been fifteen minutes since I had last seen her. I thought back to how my mother had fought this flu. She hadn't turned this red, but she had passed out from having such a high fever. I asked if I could borrow the doctor's stethoscope and he nodded. I listened to Elsa's heartbeat in several places; she had a murmur. It was exactly like my mother's case. I turned to the doctor and told him, "We need packs of ice, lots of it. Enough to cover her body; we need to get her cooled down quickly. If the fever persists, her condition will deteriorate. Hot tea with honey will be good as well, she'll most likely have a sore throat when she wakes. And you won't like this next part, but we'll have to do a small procedure on her. We need to remove a couple pints of blood. I know that may seem counter-intuitive, but that's one of the best treatments for this disease. They didn't do that for my mother when she had it because they thought it was stupid, and she died within hours." The doctor thought through my suggestions, and when he came to a decision, he nodded to the maids go bring what we would need. They left in a hurry as we tried to prepare the room.

I spoke to the doctor saying, "We need to get the blankets off her for when they come back so she doesn't feel sticky or sweaty when the ice melts." We worked quickly and stripped the bed. I held Elsa in my arms while the doctor ripped the sheets off. She was still barely conscious at that point, and she had whimpered a little when I picked her up. Her skin was so warm, and I knew this must be torture for her. I'm sure her skin would normally feel cool to the touch with her ice powers. Being this warm must have been painful.

It felt so strange to be this close to her. I knew if she was fully conscious, she would never have allowed this to happen. And I couldn't blame her. But if I was being honest, it felt good to be useful again. Back when Arendelle was going through Elsa's winter, I had been passing out cloaks and blankets, making sure there was food for everyone, and ensuring there was enough firewood to keep everyone warm inside. Those short days were the best I had ever felt. Growing up with 12 older brothers left little room to be anything except the butt of others' jokes. It was in Arendelle that I felt I had purpose. Even if I had to spend the rest of my days serving others, I wouldn't mind. That was better than getting shoved into a wall for not bowing properly to visiting royalty.

As the doctor was finishing clearing the bed off, I shifted Elsa in my arms. The movement caused her to gasp in pain, and my heart stopped. It was so hard not to think of my mother, but I knew for Elsa's sake I had to stay present in the moment. We got her settled back down just as the maids came rushing back in. We started packing ice around her, not worrying about frost bite. If Elsa didn't get past this fever, she wouldn't make it through the night. And who worries about frost bite when your patient is the Ice Queen? As we finished placing ice, the doctor checked her temperature periodically. She still wasn't really improving, but she also wasn't getting worse. I wasn't panicking yet but I hoped she would start to improve soon. I hoped she would be able to make it through the night and fight this sickness.