When Elson had first learned that he was named after the Ice Queen, he had been less than thrilled since she was clearly just some girl who had had cooties. However, after hearing her story Elson looked up to her.

Like Elsa, Elson had grown up very much alone. He was the Prince and had nannies and servants surrounding him from the moment he was born. But they weren't doing it out of a genuine desire to be around him, and he was certain that if they hadn't been paid a hefty amount of money per hour they would have already left him to play on his own.

His entire life had revolved around the day he became King. He had begun his education at four, cast his first spells at five, began sparring with the palace guards at six, and so on. At age twelve, his parents started holding dinner parties to introduce him to possible suitors.

Be the good son you always have to be.

At first, he had been ecstatic about it. The prospect of true love was heavily valued in the Kingdom and more importantly, he would get to hang out with someone his age! Unfortunately, he soon realised that much like his nannies, the girls he was presented with weren't all that interested in spending time with him. Or rather, they weren't all that interested in spending time with Elson.

He already felt that his life centred around him being King, but it was then that he started to wonder if he was attached to the role of king instead of the role being attached to him.

"Prince Elson! It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Prince Elson, you're just like a Prince in a fairy tale!"

"Prince Elson, do you believe in true love?"

The funny thing was that he did, but the dinner parties only solidified one thing in his mind: you couldn't marry a girl you just met. True love had to be carefully harvested between two people who understood each other, which none of these girls seemed to get. They were too caught up in meeting the Prince Charming whom they had read about for so long to allow him to get to know them or for them to care about getting to know him.

Unfortunately, his inability to choose a paramour only led to one thing: more dinner parties. He continued to play the part of the perfect Prince to make his parents happy, but he had grown to hate the events.

He felt rejected, despite the fact he was always the one to turn away a suitor. Was Elson not good enough to bother getting to know? It frustrated him to no end. Despite being surrounded by people he was entirely alone.

Conceal, don't feel, don't let it show.

That was when he met you. You weren't with him just because he was the Prince. Hell, you didn't even want to be there in the first place. You were just... honest. You didn't put on some facade to gain his favour, and for the first time, he felt like someone saw him.

And he fell hard.

He wanted to see you again and ask to court you properly. But you had disappeared.

That was, until last night when you had broken into the palace.

He had immediately raced to the cells to visit you. He refused to believe you hadn't been truthful to him at all. His feelings couldn't have been built on a lie.

Could they?

No. He knew it as soon as he saw your broken face. You were huddled in the corner of your cell, shaking as another sob racked through you.

It was real.

He wanted to comfort you. To let you know that everything was going to be okay. He would get you out of this.

But you thought you were alone and he didn't want to embarrass you. You weren't close enough for him to be sure what you needed, he lamented. He reluctantly left to give you privacy.

He knew damn well you had broken into the castle on your own. If he wasn't sure just by just how incredibly smart you were he knew it by the look on your face when Crowley arrived. You hadn't seen that man before in your life, but for some reason, he had shown up to save you.

Crowley wanted you for something. And now he was convinced you were in more danger than anyone realized.

He would be damned if he didn't save you and some bird got away with it.

***

"Your first mission," Crowley explained, "is to steal the Crown of Roses from the Queen of Heart's castle."

You blanched. "In case you don't remember, the last time I tried stealing something from an angry royal's castle it ended pretty badly."

"My dear, if you got that far at the Magic Castle the Queen of Hearts shall be no problem for you."

"The same Queen of Hearts who is famous for beheading people."

"Yes, but unlike Yensid she possesses no magic. You will be on an equal playing field."

You sigh. "Fine. What do I need to know?"

"Are you familiar with the tale?"

"Alice is with her sister when she sees a White Rabbit and chases after it before falling down a rabbit hole and into Wonderland. There, she meets a plethora of different characters like the Tweedles, the Cheshire Cat, and the Mad Hatter. She winds up at the Queen of Heart's castle and meets her and the card soldiers. She almost gets her head chopped up before she wakes up and realizes it was all a dream."

"Wonderful. Do you feel your knowledge of the Queen is sufficient?"

"I think so?" You fiddle with your necklace.

"You're nervous," Crowley notes. "Rest assured. I wouldn't entrust such a precious item to you if I didn't believe in your capability."

"Thanks."

"Moreover, doesn't it seem appropriate for your first journey down the rabbit hole to guide you straight into Wonderland?"

You sigh and square your shoulders. "Fair point. Which mirror is it?"

"This one." Crowley guided you over towards the frame. You stood before the slow, ominous swirls of the silver pool as you prepared for your entry into the unknown.

"Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be." You took a deep, shaky breath, and Crowley smiled.

"Good luck!"

Then you stepped into the abyss.