POV Elsa

My stomach growled for a slight moment when we got into the castle yard. The place was like in sleep, no one around and the garden seemed unattended. I wished that he wouldn't have heard my stomach but as if.

"We could get some soup later if you're hungry," Jack sounded a bit amused and I pull my hand away from his.

"I'm not hungry," I lied. It had been ages from breakfast.

"Hmm... well then I'm going to take some soup – but... I feel like someone else might finish it for me," he grinned.

I groaned and he dodged the pebble which I picked from the ground and threw at him. He kept laughing, his voice echoed in the empty yard and I rubbed my arms nervously as if I was feeling cold.

"To be honest I can't order a soup in the town anyway. Better get this over with, it seems that the servants have left from here so there's no need to sneak in," he shrugged and turned around.

We went straight to the huge heavy looking wooden double doors.

"S-should we knock?" I gulped but he rolled his eyes with a devious smile when he pushed the door open.

The whole castle was dark. The walls were covered by cob webs which went as high as the roof. The dust in the floor was untouched and I could see my foot prints in it after we lit a torch which I carried.

"The whole place seems abandoned... I doubt that there is anyone in here," I cheered after we arrived to a big staircase.

"Keep it down will you," Jack whispered when my voice echoed around.

"It seems like this kingdom has gone to a democracy," I shrugged while I followed him to the staircase. My hand touched the railing and I quickly pulled it back when the thick dust layered over my fingers in nasty way.

I wiped my hand to his back which caused him to startle and turn around.

"Hey!" He shrieked and when he saw my hand still being up and after glancing at the railing he laughed.

His laughter filled the empty halls and was filled with so much warmth that it made my heart feel like it was being squeezed tightly.

"Come on then," he chuckled and nodded towards upstairs, "—the family portrait is right from the top of the stairs after couple corridors. And don't use me like a napkin again, please." He cleared his throat afterwards.

"Can't we just call this off and you get me back to Anna," I mumbled.

"Let do it quickly and get out from here," he said and almost ignored my question.

We arrived to the top of the stairs. When I lifted the torch up I saw a three times the height of an average height man sized portrait hang up. It had a thick cover of dust in it but apparently they were the king and queen of this country.

"Your parents," Jack hummed and glanced at me with a cocky smile.

"Perhaps someone's but I can't recognize them from the dust layer and since I can't use you as the wipe to clean it off--," I gave him a cocky response when I headed towards the corridor which he mentioned.

When I got out from the wider space into the corridor a sudden gush of wind caused the light of the torch to fade. I noticed a shadow moving in the end of the corridor just a moment before the light returned to the former glory and lighted the whole corridor down to the end.

"Stop fooling around," I groaned, "no playing with that wind of yours."

I look over my shoulder and I see him being turned with his back at me. He is looking at the high ceilings and I roll my eyes before I go forward.

The corridors were as dirty as the main hall was. I can't help but to wonder what kind of rooms there are behind the closed doors. There were painted flowers decorating the walls and the white doors which were now more of another shade of gray.

"Are you coming?" I cheered when I turned around a corner.

"Wait! Let's go out from here--," his distant voice called.

"Don't be silly! As you said let get this over with fast," I snapped.

I saw a painting hanging in the end of the corridor where it seemed to divide to right and left to two another corridors. My steps fastened as I approached it.

It was as dusty as everything else in the castle but there were clearly four figures in it when I showed the light of the torch above the painting. Even when I narrowed my eyes I couldn't visualize it clearly but I felt curious all of a sudden.

A quick glance over my shoulder gave me the information that Jack was still hanging around while we're on tight schedule.

"Since he is not here to hold this," I muttered when I took an old torch from the wall hanger and placed the one that had actual light in it to its place.

I climbed onto a table which had an old vase over it. The vase fell to ground and shattered, the dried up roses were scattered on the ground when I checked the damage. I began to wipe of the dusk with my cape. I was glad hat Merida gave me her extra cape that she had.

Every inch that I cleaned managed to give me chills. The gentle eyes of the king, the faint smile of the queen. The happy expression of the smaller girl and the fearful look of the older girl.

"This can't be," I gulped when I dropped down from the table.

The painting was now undusted. I cover my mouth to conceal my gasp.

"Mama, papa?" I whispered with my shivering voice.

The girl with strawberry blonde hair was clearly Anna and the one with eyes full of fear and a pair of white gloves to seal her powers was clearly me.

"Jack!" I shouted and I look over my shoulder.

A weird sensation of relief and shock was shaking my body. Still there was no response and I took couple steps back to the way where I came from.

"JACK!" I yelled furiously. "You weren't kidding! The painting was real deal!"

Then I saw a shadow coming from behind the corner. It gave me an immediate bad feeling and I exhaled when it proved out to be Jack after all. I immediately went over to him and I took his hand, pulling him towards the painting.

"It is Anna, our parents and I think that it really is me," I said. I still was a bit unsure what I saw and I wanted him to tell it to me again.

He didn't say anything, he just stared at me. "That's me! RIGHT!" I insisted as I pointed at the painting.

A sly smile started to appear to his face which made me frown. He was looking from under his eyebrows, his expression was rather creepy and devious.

"Stop being so quiet, please tell me that I am not imagining the resemblance," I nearly cried. I noticed that he had ditched his staff somewhere.

"Yes, it looks exactly like you," someone laughed down to our right. I turn around sharply.

There's a woman with horns on her head, a raven sits on her shoulder and she's holding a different looking staff than Jack does.

"W-who are you?" I whispered as I back up. My back is safely against Jack.

"Maleficent,"she grinned.

"An evil queen," Jack whispered to my ear which made me startle.

"W-we should be going like you said Jack," I gulped as I remembered what I've heard from them.

"We?" Jack's voice was amused, "We're not going anywhere darling. It was so easy to lure you in here." His laugh made my heart feel like it sunk deep into the cold abyss.

Suddenly his hands grasped to my shoulders and held me steady. Maleficent and him laughed and I begged him to let me go while I struggled. The raven screeched and began to fly around us. Maleficen'ts staff began to glow in green and I saw some dried up rose vines with sharp spikes coming towards me.

I screamed from pain when Maleficent pulled me towards her. The spikes bit to my flesh and I felt blood gushing out from the tiny little marks they gave to my skin. Maleficent put her arm around me and we look at Jack who keeps smirking, he is barely facing us.

"J-Jack please," I whispered.

"Jack please," Jack mimicked me in a mocking way. I closed my mouth and I tried to swallow the lumpy feeling.

Then he turned around, walking away from us.

A sudden rush of anger went through my body when he disappeared.

"He betrayed you," Maleficent whispered to my ear. "Doesn't it make you angry?" She chuckled.

"It does," I replied with my faint voice. She pulled the vines slightly, forcing me to walk behind her to other direction.

"Good. You're finally with us, evil queen," she hummed in satisfaction.

"W-what I'm not evil," I told her.

"Don't you want to revenge to him?" She asked curiously. The raven lands to her shoulder and pecks me into my hair. Maleficent is much taller than I am.

"He brought you here even though this was a trap. We've been planning this for ages," she told me. We stepped out from the light to the darker parts of the corridors.

"Y-you have?" I gulped.

"Yes, he suggested this for his own personal gain. It suited for us greatly," Maleficent laughed.

Everything was a lie. He never planned to take me back to Anna. Never.

"He pretended the memory loss, everything," Maleficent hissed. "To get you here. To get close."

"He doesn't care of others. He ruined even Easter once. He sold his friends to us before he went after you," Maleficent added.

I heard a door opening. Tiny sources of light started to pop out and then we took a step down to a circling staircase, leading down to a moist and earthy smelling place.

"I will freeze him to death for this," I hissed while I look down. My tears have tried up on my cheeks, the salt is making my skin feel tight on my face.

A/N:

Sorry for the long wait for the chapter. I've been drawing after the holiday we had.

Thoughts after reading? ^-^

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