Elsa caught up with them midway while Lydia called out to stop her.
Her racing heartbeat intensified its violent thudding as she called out to Ivan while referring to him in the royal tone.
" You've done enough, Elsa. You hid her right under our noses," Ivan spat aggressively as the stern glint returned to his eyes.
" She's only but a child, and..."
Ivan cut her off as he glared at her.
" She's a dangerous breed. She could get us all killed in the future!"
" She's a child, an innocent child, and she would never muster courage to take our lives," Elsa convinced in her low tone as she stared back at Ava who was held helplessly by the guards.
She couldn't find the invisible cloak on her either.
Ivan tightened his fists and veins in his neck stood out in livid ridges.
" I hope you don't think this is a game," he said roughly and shook his fists.
" Ivan, you can let her go, please. She doesn't have to suffer. She doesn't have to go through this," she pleaded.
Ivan hissed in exasperation and yanked her hands off his arm.
" No one gets in the way of any execution," his jutting chin shook.
" Take me instead. Set her free," Elsa spoke back in adamance and tried to get in the way.
" I hope you know what you're doing. I hope you know the implications of your actions. You could get locked up in the dungeon," Ivan's words came out soft but cold.
Defiance flashed through Elsa's eyes as she looked him in the eyes.
Yes, she could see flames of fire burn in them, but at this point, she cared less.
Someone had to step up and stop all this madness.
" Then take me to the dungeon!"
Ivan gazed intently at her and waited patiently for a moment for her to snap out of her foolishness, but no, she refused.
She refused to take her words back.
Ivan raised his right hand and signaled the guards to take her away.
He went forward to meet up with the guards while giving orders that they should leave the druid girl to him.
" I'll carry out the execution myself," he divulged and dragged the druid girl roughly despite Elsa's distant screams.
______________________________________
Elsa sat still on the ground and refused to move an inch.
They had her hands tied up with very long chains that sprawled out on the ground from her current sitting position to the door of the dungeon.
Elsa bit her lower lip to suppress the urge to cry more.
Her wrists burned, and she could see traces of blood on them.
She cursed under her shallow breath, and didn't stop cursing until tears flowed freely on her face.
A princess, but she didn't feel like one.
What kind of princess got locked up for protecting an innocent child?
She didn't know for how long he had been standing there glaring at her, but she only raised her head and met his gaze.
This time, his gaze was free from the fire that burned previously.
Her thoughts raced within her.
Had he just come here to watch her, or enjoy her suffering?
She sniffed and turned her gaze downward.
She wouldn't let him become pleasured from her suffering, so she masked her pains with a half smirk — something that wasn't there before.
You know, the kind of smirk that tears across the face from pretence, sheer pretence.
Elsa watched him reach out for something underneath his clothing.
Maybe he had come to whip her for disobeying his orders, and maybe for her other mistakes that he held against her.
The dangling sounds of solid metals across one another made her realize that he had reached out for the keys.
Ivan pulled the padlock closer and unlocked it.
He stepped inside and strode forward in her direction with something she recognized as inflated confidence.
He stared at her for a while before crouching down to meet her hard glare.
Ivan extended his hand and gently removed the strands of hair sprawled below her eyebrows.
Elsa tilted her head to the side as she tried to dodge his touch.
He wiped the dripping sweat resting on her cheeks.
His gaze softened.
If she had listened to him, she wouldn't have spent hours of her day in the dungeon, and he was sorry for that.
His brown eyes gave away his emotions as he blinked back tears.
Elsa glared at him while wanting to say more and yell, and howl.
But then, she had reasoned that this wasn't the best time to do all of those.
She watched Ivan unlock the chains with small keys.
He hesitated before caressing her blood stained wrists, and letting the chains fall violently to the ground.
He could have simply said he was sorry, but he didn't.
Instead, he lifted her from the ground and carried her away in his arms.
______________________________________
Ivan placed her on the large bed gently.
Elsa watched him prepare a warm bath for her.
He literally supervised her bathe upon her blatant refusal.
He carried on with his supervision like nothing had happened.
Maybe Elsa's ears had been itching to hear an apology; an " I'm sorry ", but Ivan only continued as if nothing had happened.
A long silence reigned as Ivan patiently cleaned her bruises in the room.
He blew warm air over her wrists which made her curl her toes.
After he put the first aid kit away, he pulled a table closer in silence and proceeded to lift the ceramic plate from its lying position.
Maybe he hadn't uttered a word, but he had broken the awkward silence between them by a slight cough which Elsa thought was intentional.
His gaze softened as he fed her and watched her respond obediently.
Ivan wasn't much of a talker but he had so much in his preoccupied mind.
But the words that had been on the tip of his tongue refused to come out.
His lips pursed as he continuously scooped smaller portion of the rice into her mouth, letting none of it spurt onto her body.
Ivan's lips pursed again as he thought whether or not to share his thoughts.
But just what if he wasn't good enough, and would never be?
These thoughts were rooted deep, and they refused to leave; they haunted him down in every inch of his being.