Her Frozen Heart

One

Frail Love By: Cloves

Kiera

"You want me to what?" Kiera gasped. Despite the blistering cold, she wiped the sweat from her brow, lowering her sword as Her Majesty stepped forward. In the fading light, Queen Anna looked something of a ghost. Her once silky auburn hair had grown limp and lost its luster, her skin was once a healthy tan, now a sickly pale. Dark circles ringed her dull eyes, eyes the color of deep sapphire when glowing with health and happiness but now appeared murky and lifeless. The captain of The Queen's Guard looked on with sadness and what their ruler had become. When the eldest queen Elsa had ruled, Anna couldn't have been more alive. The two sisters had grown close once more, but Elsa's power proved to be too violent and untamable. Anna had narrowly escaped with her life the last time she had braved Arendelle's never-ending winter for her sister.

"I cannot go. I have naught the strength anymore, and the people need me. Food grows thin, life even thinner. Sickness has taken to the townsfolk. Kiera, you must go. Try to reason with her." Anna placed a beseeching hand on her friend's shoulder, praying that she agreed.

"What makes you think I can go? She'll kill me!" Kiera cried, stabbing her sword into the frozen ground. Although her hysteria was rightfully placed, Anna had to admit that there was something about her best friend intriguing even to her. Whereas the rest of the townsfolk seemed to wither in the frozen tundra of a town, Kiera loved it. Her black hair feel in a thick sheet down to her knees when not braided, and her flawless skin never lost its olive tone, even in winter. Those attributes coupled with her proud cheekbones, Roman nose, full lips, and rich mahogany eyes, Anna knew not even her sister would be able to resist.

A ghost of a smile crossed her face. "No, I suspect she will not. My sister may be volatile and reckless, not to mention cold and rude, but she has never been a true killer. Any attempt on your life, will be as if it were one on my own."

"But why me? What makes me so special?" She flung her arms out in exasperation. "I'm a nobody. A simple castle guard. What hope do I have to restoring Arendelle?" Searching her face, Kiera's jawline sharpened until Anna was certain she'd break her teeth from clenching them so hard.

Anna placed her hands on Kiera's shoulders, a hint of her old fire rising as she tried to convey the passion in which she felt her friend could do this. "Kiera, you are barely in your twentieth year and already you are my most trusted guard and friend. How old do you think my sister was when she was crowned Queen?"

Kiera frowned. "Twenty one. What does that have to do with anything?"

"It means, you stubborn woman, that you have accomplished an incredible amount in half the time it took Elsa or I to even be crowned. You have more skill and determination than this kingdom combined. If anyone can do this, it's you."

Shoulders sagging, Kiera sighed. Her heart was a mass of emotion, mainly confusion and fear. But most surprising to her was the excitement she felt at seeing the frost queen again. It has been so long, she worried that Elsa would not recognize her voice. Kiera's mother worked as a servant in the castle even when the King and Queen still lived, and even more so when they'd ordered the shut down of the castle and isolation of Elsa. Kiera was often tasked with bringing the heir her meals, and the two grew unexpectedly close that way, though they never saw one another. Eventually, the older she grew, Elsa could no longer contain her power.

And well, you know the rest.

Even so, a memory of Elsa's coronation flashed through Kiera's consciousness. A soft smile lit up her face as she watched the sisters from beside her mother, unable to tear her gaze away from Elsa, even in her fifteenth year. She couldn't help it, the queen was simply stunning with her white hair and pale skin, those depthless sapphire eyes shining with mirth as she watched Anna dance with one of the visiting royals. Weaseltown, is where he was from. A streak of sadness hit her hard in the chest, the simple memory nearly crippling her before it thankfully hardened into willful determination. Hardening her heart, Keira snapped to attention, sheathing her sword and bowing in respect to her ruler.