My frozen heart

Chapter 27

"I'm not coming to dinner." She said again turning away from the door defiantly. A sigh could be heard and then, "It's not near as fun when I have to force you Elsa." Pitch had been standing on the other side of the door for a few minutes now, trying to convince her to join him for dinner.

She said nothing, so he continued. "Fine, if you don't want to dine with my that's your choice, I was trying to make peace. I suppose you don't want to know what I'm offering?" he said letting the last few words hang off his lips. She turned to look over her shoulder, slightly intrigued. She was going to retort when she heard the sound of his footsteps walking away and down the stairs.

She let out a groan as she heard him leave. She was relieved, but now she was also tormented by his words. Curse her inquisitiveness! She fought the urge to rush out the door after him. She didn't want to join him for dinner, but she also wanted to know what this 'peace offering' was, and what exactly he meant by 'peace'.

She peaked her head out the door and saw that he had really left the landing. She didn't want to see him, but she could not deter her curiosity. She took a few cautious steps out, and then down the stairs. The castle seemed almost empty, save herself and Pitch.

In the foyer where there had once been a party, she found several black marble statues. There were many strewn all about the room. No two statues looked the same. She found this quite odd, but did not have the time to stop and evaluate each one, as the dim light at the end of the foyer was beckoning her.

She walked through the main room and towards the back, where there was an archway, and through it she could see a long black table. There were only two seats at the table, one at each end. Candles that were magically hanging in the air above the table, as if suspended by strings, lighted the room and the table was covered in silver set.

Pitch sat at one end of the table, and Elsa walked silently to the other end. "I am glad to see you changed your mind." Pitch said, a light grin on his face. She said nothing but sat down in the large claw foot chair. "I wanted to, apologize, for earlier. I truly did think you would be happy to see your parents again." He said to which Elsa looked up shocked. "However, I can see that I was wrong." He said finishing, trying to calm her.

The shocked expression left her face and was replaced with one of reproach as she crossed her arms across her chest and stared at him. She did not want him to think she was happy to be here, because that was the furthest thing from the truth. The truth was, he repulsed her, and nothing was going to change that.

"We're going to be spending some time together, so I wanted us to make peace. I got you something." He said, and before Elsa could argue he waved his hand and beside her dinner plate something appeared. As the black sand dissolved she could see it was a handheld mirror. The mirror was medium sized, like many she had back home.

It was silver, with an ornate ivy design detailed in to the handle if you looked close enough. It was exquisite really, but she did not want to seem appreciative or thank him. "A mirror?" she asked looking up at him skeptically. She only smiled and nodded. "Hold it in your hand." He said and despite her best judgment she did.

She picked the mirror up delicately. Holding it with her right hand she put her left on the back to steady it. As she looked in to it she saw her own reflection and nothing more. She was going to say something nasty to fire back at him when she noticed her reflection had slowly began to disperse and be replaced by a moving picture.

It was her, lying in her bedchamber back in Arendelle. She looked as if she was asleep, and there was Jack by her side. She gasped as she looked at the moving picture before her very eyes. He was holding her hand as she lay their motionless. She could see it all as if she was really there. "What kind of trick is this?" she asked angrily looking up at him.

Pitch shook his head and said, "It is not a trick. That mirror is a portal. It can sense your heart's desires and reflect them. You desire to know how your family is doing, so the mirror is showing you." He said with a smile. She looked from Pitch back to the mirror and she watched as Jack looked up, and towards her door. Someone was coming in to her room; it was Anna.

"Anna..." she mouthed as her finger gently stroked the mirror. She looked just as she did the last time she saw her. She took comforting in knowing not much time had passed. Anna placed a hand on Jack's shoulder. They were talking about something. Elsa could not hear what they were saying; only see that their mouths were moving. Then, Jack got up and left the room with Anna.

"Is this really happening? Right now?" Elsa asked as she stared at herself, now alone in her bedchamber. Pitch nodded and said, "Yes, this is all happening as we speak." She could hardly believe it. She'd been tortured by visions of them and their tormented voices and now she was seeing them, their true selves, and she was relieved to see that they were safe. She wanted to jump through the mirror and be with them. She wanted to hold her sister and she wanted to tell Jack how much she loved him.

"Why are you giving this to me?" she asked him curiously, raising a suspicious brow. He was being uncommonly nice to her, or was he? "As I said earlier, you and I are going to be spending quite the amount of time together, and I'd rather it is pleasant." He said dropping his napkin in to his lap. As he did so food magically appeared on the plates and their goblets were filled.

He began to eat but Elsa didn't have the appetite. "Why won't you just let me go home?" she asked desperately. Pitch let out an annoyed sigh and set down his fork. "Elsa, Arendelle was never truly your home, you'll see that one day. This is your home now. These are your people." He said opening his arms to indicate the palace.

Before she could ask who the people were, the statues she had passed in the foyer began to move. She wanted to let out a scream but couldn't find one. The onyx statues entered the room and all took a knee, bowing before her.

"You see Elsa, I am the Nightmare King, and you will be their Queen." He smiled, looking from the statues to her. His yellow eyes were wild as they danced over her petrified face. "I will not!" she said pushing the plate away from her. "I won't force you, you'll accept my offer on your own." He said calmly. He was truly mad. She would never be his Queen.

She pushed her chair back and stood up from the table. "I'd rather die than be your Queen!" she spat. He only laughed and said, "There is no need to be dramatic Elsa, all in good time." He smirked. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it would burst. She grabbed the mirror from the table and stormed through the statues and out the dining hall.

She ran upstairs and in to her room, slamming the door behind her. She let out a angry growl as she sank down on to her bed. Who did he think he was? She looked at the mirror, bringing it up to her face it transformed in to a picture of them all, Jack, Anna, Kristoff, Olaf, and all the Guardians, at the table having dinner. They were eating and drinking, they were even laughing. All of them were laughing, even Jack.

She watched as they enjoyed their meal and deep inside her heart she felt the first bite of bitterness. How could they be laughing a joking while she laid in sleep like death just in the next room? Didn't they care at all? Why weren't they trying to wake her? She could understand it, and she couldn't stomach it. She tossed the mirror aside on the bed and laid back on her pillow. Her stomach turned as she tried to forget the images she'd just witnessed. It couldn't be true, could it?...