Story [Frozen] The Snow Queen -- Chapter Eighteen Posted 3/5/14**Story Completed**

Jop!!!!! I loved the reunion between the sisters, but The bit at the end I never, ever, ever saw that coming! Brill bit of secret plotting, apparently by Versa and by the author LOL

 

Chapter 13

“Versa?”

She grinned back at Elsa with confidence; something that was very strange to see on the face of the young handmaiden. Her whole demeanor was different as she stood there in the center of the room before them. It would have been a tremendous transformation to see, if it wasn’t for the worst.

She wasn’t done with the surprises, either. She grabbed her brunette wig, and took it off, revealing a scalp full of very short, and probably shaved, white hair. She no longer resembled the girl that Elsa and Anna thought she was; this was a complete stranger standing before them.

Birgitta stepped forward, deciding to break this awkward silence in the room. She had yet another surprise to reveal to the royal sisters. “You two girls should already know Versa, MY first born daughter.”

“First born?” Elsa picked right up on what the witch was trying to explain. The scar on her hand now made perfect sense. She remembered reading in her father’s journal that the witch had also been cut by the very mirror she created. She couldn’t believe she didn’t suspect it as soon as she saw that scar. That should have raised all the warning signs right there. “You’re the one who tried to curse my mother!”

“What?” Anna could feel her heart breaking.

“Yes, I too was cursed by the mirror, so my firstborn ended up sharing your fate, Your Majesty,” she smiled. Her gentle demeanor immediately started to take a very dark and ominous turn. “I was the one that your father should have married. I was the one your father loved, until he betrayed me and viciously ripped my heart to shreds. I simply just wanted to return the favor in kind.” She took a quick glance at the ice blockade that her daughter created to keep Kristoff out of the house. He was taking his ax and trying to break through the ice, but to no avail. “When the curse passed to you, I was willing to wait a while longer to exact my revenge on Arendelle. Instead of your mother burying it in snow; it was going to be you. I even managed to sneak my daughter to sneak into your kingdome so she could watch it all unfold. But then, you found a way to control your powers. You found a way to manipulate the power in such so you can actually thaw a wintery hell.”

“Versa, why? Anna was on the verge of tears. How could she be a part of this? How could she break their hearts like this? “I thought we were friends.”

Versa only grinned. “Sorry, princess, but my cold heart wants something more valuable than friendship. I want what your sister has. You weren’t even supposed to be alive right now.”

Her sharp words merely plunged the knife deeper into Anna’s heart. “You caused the avalanche?” Her stuttering had slowly resided, as the warmth of being inside of the cabin had started warming her body.

“I’m responsible for everything, princess!” She grinned. “I created the missing pages from your father’s journal. I got you to foolishly take this journey to get run down by the runaway snow. While you somehow avoided death, at least it was enough to draw your sister here.”

“Actually, this is a perfect arrangement,” Birgitta said, wanting to get things back on track. “Your Highness, you don’t want these powers anyway, and my daughter does. This mirror will fulfill both of your wishes at the same time.”

“And give you the power to bury Arendelle in an eternal winter? There is no way I’m going to help you do that. I am NOT giving you my powers!” Elsa replied and then jumped to her feet while waving her hand. She unleashed wintery blast of ice and snow toward Versa. She simply stood there as the mixture had somehow diverted itself around her. Her sneak attack had failed, and she couldn’t figure out why.

“That was rather pointless,” Versa grinned. “We’re both under the same curse. Our powers cancel each other’s out. You can’t hurt me, and I can’t hurt you. The same thing, however, can’t be said for your sister!” Versa unleash a magical blast of extremely cold wind right at Anna’s right arm.

She squealed in pain and was quick to cradle her arm across her chest. “Anna!”

Elsa ran to her sister as the pain was so severe, that she could not get back onto her feet. She knelt down to see the damage done, but the slightest touch of her arm caused Anna to cry in pain. “Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!”

From outside, Kristoff saw what had just happened to Anna and was going frantic on the ice blockade. He was putting everything he could on each hack but the ice was impenetrable. He had never seen ice like this before. He was barely even making marks in it. On any other day, he would marvel at this sheet of ice, but the moment he saw Anna getting hurt; his love for ice found its end.

Elsa carefully took Anna’s gloves off and pulled up on her sleeve. Even she gasped when she saw the damage. Her arm was frozen, and the ice was still slowly climbing up her arm. “What have you done?” Elsa glared daggers towards Versa.

“I just gave you a reason to want to give me your powers. Give them to me now, and maybe the worst that might happen is that she lives life with one good arm. However, she’s already in a weakened state. My guess is that she might have a few hours, at most, before she freezes to death.”

Anna was barely hanging to consciousness; the pain was doing its best to try to put her asleep. Her determination to help Elsa was the only thing giving her strength. “Elsa, don’t!”

“I don’t have a choice, Anna. I’m not going to lose you again!”


Elsa: Is there a way through this darkness?
Anna: Please be strong; you must not give in

Elsa: Can I escape the storm that rises?
Anna: You’re not the monster you see within

Elsa: Can anyone stop this uncertainty?
Anna: Be the woman you were always born to be

Elsa: I just can’t contain this anxiety.
Anna: this has always been your destiny

Elsa: Anna, please don’t ask me to let you go!

Elsa: Must I be the one...
Anna: You can be the one...

Elsa: ...the one who breaks your heart
Anna: ... to stand for right and wrong

Elsa: And watch it all just fall apart!
Anna: that power’s been yours all along

Elsa: Must I be the one...
Anna: You can be that one;

Elsa: ...to watch your kingdom fall
Anna: Don’t let me hold you back

Elsa: Must I be the one...
Anna: Please just let me go
Versa: No more with the delays

Elsa: ...to disappoint you one last time
Anna: I’d rather die than hurt your more
Versa: I’m going to set the land ablaze

Elsa: Don’t know if my heart can withstand this crime.
Anna: Whatever you do, just don’t close your door
Versa: Give me what I want, there’s no other choice

Elsa: Must I be the one...
Anna: Please just let me go
Versa: I will have what’s yours

Versa: Your powers are now MINE!

Versa ripped off the sheet from the standup mirror. Elsa didn’t have the time to avert her gaze. It was almost instincts that made her look back at Versa as she unveiled the new devil mirror, and the moment her eyes laid upon her reflection, she felt like her spirit had started being ripped from her body.

White, glittery sparkles were being pulled from her body and swirled towards the mirror. The whirlwind of snowy sparkles bounced out the reflective surface of the mirror and went straight at Versa who stared at her image in the mirror. Both women were going through major transformations. Versa white hair magically began to grow to full length before it turned mostly icy blue. The texture of her exposed skin became like snow. Her eyes became a very dark, eerie blue and her humble hand maiden’s dress became a royal, white gown that would be the envy of many queens.

Elsa took a different form of transition as she cringed at the pain of having a part of her soul ripped from her. Hey icy blue queen’s dress vanished, by segments until she was back in the black and green dress she wore at her coronation. Her skin returned to its natural pale complexion. Her blue eyes faded, into a very light green, almost brownish tint. It was the same color of her father’s eyes. Her white hair returned to its light blonde state temporarily, but that did not last long. Her hair darkened until it became a dark brown with a little reddish tint to it.

When the mirror was done with its dirty work, Versa was hardly recognizable. Her white gown made her look at least five inches taller. Any warmth of compassion she might have had before, was now long gone. In its place, there was a new, very cold, heartless aurora emanating all around her. With a violent swing of her hand, ice spears crashed through the mirror with such force, that it shattered. The wooden frame cracked and the reflective surfaces shattered into dozens of pieces.

Elsa was mentally disoriented by the ordeal. With her powers gone, she felt very... different. It was going to take some getting used to the change, but she didn’t regret it in the least. As long as she knew that Anna would be alright. “Alright, you have my powers. Now, save my sister!”

Versa’s face remained as emotionless as a stone as she looked towards the two sisters with her glowing eyes. “I think I will leave you alone so you can say your goodbyes.”

“What! But you...”

“I never said anything about restoring her health,” She said coldly. “Besides, I am an ice goddess. I freeze things; I don’t do warm. You coming, mother?”

“You bet,” Birgitta replied. “Now, your majesty, if you’ll excuse us, we’re off to Arendelle. After all, revenge is a dish best serve cold... or in this case... frozen.”

 

That was Elsa's fatal! mistake !!!!!! Believing ANYTHING Versa said.

 

Chapter 14

He just couldn’t take another hack at the ice. Kristoff’s arms were sore from the pounding he put on the ice, and after all that hard work, he was nowhere near getting through this icy blockade. He was struggling to catch his breath and could only watch as some strange magic was going on in the cabin. He wasn’t sure what exactly had happened, but all he knew was that Anna was hurt, Elsa looked... different, and so did the handmaiden.

Was it Versa that put up this ice wall in his path? What was she doing up here in these mountains in the first place? He had his wild guesses, and none of them painted her in a very flattering manner; especially based on the things he saw happening inside. He needed to get inside somehow, but he was out of ideas on how to accomplish it. “Darn it! This ice is too thick! I can’t break it!”

“And you call yourself an ice harvester,” Olaf said, wobbling up to the sheet of ice, and pushing him aside. “Stand aside; I’ll knock down this wall of ice!”

Kristoff did just that, but not because the snowman had asked him to. He stood aside when he saw Versa and the other woman coming towards them. Still oblivious to what was going on inside the cabin, Olaf prepared himself to take his try on the sheet of ice. He took a deep gulp of air into his whatever he had that allowed him to breathe. There was still so much about the snowman that Kirstoff was curious about, including how he was able to breathe or smell when he didn’t even have lungs. To him, this magical snowman was a walking enigma.

As he took his deep breath, the ice sheet exploded into a handful of giant fragments of ice. One of those fragments slammed right into Olaf’s face, knocking his head off from his body. His little arms raised up in victory as his muffled voice came from a snow pile near a tree, and behind the piece of ice. “I did it!”

Without the head, Olaf’s body staggered off, not quite sure where it was going. It managed to get out of the way of the doorway as the newly transformed handmaiden and the older woman exited out of the cabin. Kirstoff wanted to go after the women. He didn’t know what was going on, but his instincts told him that they were trouble. At the same time, he knew that Anna was hurt, and that was more important to him than anything at that moment. Besides, they were more than content to ignore him completely. If he did anything to convince them otherwise, that might bring more pain to Anna.

He watched as they walked away from the cabin. They were ignoring Sven and Cyphus so either they were more than happy to walk to wherever they were going, or they had another form of transportation hiding somewhere. When they were far enough away from the cabin, he went ahead and ran inside the cabin, slamming the door shut behind him. He joined Elsa at Anna’s side, who was on the ground, leaning back against the wall. “What happened?”

“She froze Anna! Versa froze Anna!” Elsa replied, still in shock.

“And what happened to you?” He asked, unable to keep his eyes off of her brown hair which made her look so different.

Elsa looked down in shame. “She took my powers.”

There were still some important pieces of the puzzle that was missing. There was so much to catch up on, but when he saw Anna’s arm, his priority quickly changed. He looked over at the fireplace, where a fire was still raging strong. “I’m going to get her over to the fire. Find a blanket, or something to wrap around her arm.”

Elsa nodded, and jumped to her feet to search the house for a blanket or a towel. Kristoff carefully and gently scooped Anna into his arms as if she was a fragile glass statuette. Despite how gentle he tried to be, Anna cried out in pain with the slightest amount of movement. “Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!”

The pain was too much for her, and even before he was able to lay her down besides the fire, she had fallen into unconsciousness. Despite her blacking out, he was extremely careful laying her down on the hard wooden floor. As he did, he heard the sound of the front door opening. He could hear the familiar annoying chuckle, and that was all he needed to know who was entering the cabin.

Olaf closed the door, with his carrot nose in his hand. The carrot was broken in half and barley hanging on by a thread. He looked down at the carrot, and realized that there was no fixing it. He tossed it behind him and walked forward. He walked right past and Anna and Kristoff, as his focus was solely on going into the next room. Elsa nearly tripped over the determined snowman. There were a few times when Olaf got so focused on an idea, or thought, that everything else just disappeared. Trying to hold a conversation with him when he was like that was especially frustrating. During his first experience with summer, he got so focused on flowers, no one could hold a conversation or ask him a question without him babbling on about flowers.

Olaf entered the other room, and after a few seconds, the sound of refrigerator opening came from the room. A few more seconds later, the door closed and he let out a joyous chuckle before coming out of the room with a new carrot nose. It was then he noticed Elsa and Kristoff kneeling around Anna in front of the fireplace. Elsa was wrapping Anna’s right arm in a towel as close to the flames as they dared. “What happened?”

“I failed, that’s what happened,” Elsa replied. “I failed Arendelle... I’ve failed Anna... I’ve failed myself.”

There was a gentle knock at the front door. Olaf was quick to make his way over to answer it. “I’ll get it!”

“Olaf, don’t... it might be...” Elsa urged, but to no avail. She was afraid that Versa might be coming back or who knows what, but Olaf was so focused on answering the door; there was just no getting through to him. He had to take a small leap to be able to reach the door handle to open it. It didn’t even provide a challenge for him; he had opened enough doors for it to become like second nature to him.

When the door opened, the little snowman had a delightful surprise standing there. Grand Pabbie and two of other members of the stone troll family stood there, waiting to come in. “Hey guys!”

Pabbie’s facial expression was solemn, to say the least, as he and the other trolls entered the cabin. When they saw Anna on the floor by the fireplace, they knew that they were already too late getting here. The three of them rushed over to provide any aide that they could. Kristoff could not have been more surprised to see them there in the Eastern Mountains. “Grand Pabbie?”

“I sensed danger coming from this mountain, but it appears that we may be a little late. What happened?”
“Anna’s arm was frozen,” Kristoff said, showing him her arm. The ice was quickly climbing up her arm towards her shoulder. It had already overtaken her hand. It was as if her arm was made of solid ice. “Is there something you can do for her?”

“Hmmm,” He studied her arm and could sense the magic that was responsible for this. This magic differed from what he was expecting. It was much more potent, mixed with more vile than he had ever felt. “This was done by someone who’s been deeply overtaken by a devil’s mirror’s curse. I can ease her pain, at best, but the vile behind the magic is greater than my abilities to heal.”

He gently placed a hand on her forehead. Slowly, her facial expression of agony diminished, as it looked like she was now in a much more peaceful sleep. Seeing the change calmed Kristoff’s nerves slightly, but he knew that she was still very much in grave danger.

“I’ve done what I can for her,” Pabbie said as he turned towards Elsa. “And you, Queen Elsa. What happened to your powers?”

The elder troll’s gaze was so intense, that she could not get herself to look into his eyes. She was so embarrassed of herself, that she wished she could go back into her self-isolation. “I had no choice but to surrender them to the witch. Now, her daughter has them in addition to what she already has.”

“And now, the daughter is an ice witch: the very thing that you were in danger of becoming,” he concluded. “Tell me, why did you feel it was necessary to give them up?”

“I was tricked.”

“Were you? I think there was more to it than just that. Am I right?”

Again, his gaze was too much; they were piercing through her soul, and bringing up memories she did not want to remember. The memories of the Duke of Weaselton was the most dominating memory to plague her, and all the times that he had called her ‘monster’. “I was tired of feeling like a monster. I was tired of always having to hide my feelings and emotions. I was just tired of it all.”

“Who told you that you had to hide your emotions?” He challenged.

She didn’t understand the question. He knew full well who, because he was the one that encouraged them to teach her this. “My parents have always told me to. Since the incident with Anna, I’ve always been engrained with the saying, ‘Conceal... don’t feel... don’t let them know.’ I’ve had to learn that and repeat it for all my life.”

“Is that REALLY what he said?” Pabbie pressed. He reached out and gently placed his cold, stone hand on her forehead, and then pulled it back as if he was pulling something from her head. That’s exactly what he did, as tiny blue sparkles came flowing out of her head and formed a bubble in front of her. In the bubble was a memory that she had almost forgotten. Her father was sitting beside her on her bed, on her first night of being in her own bedroom, separated from Anna.

His warm smile touched her heart, and she fought against the tears that were trying to escape her eyes. It was the most vivid image of her father she had ever seen watching her him sail away on that fateful trip. It was almost as he was still alive. “Now, Elsa, you need to always remember to be the good girl that you have to be. Conceal it... don’t feel it... don’t let it show.”

The image changed to a time when he had just bought her a pair of thin white gloves to help her avoid skin-to-skin contact. He slid the glove gently on her hand. “Remember, conceal it...”

“Don’t feel it...” the young Elsa continued the phrase that her father was instilling in her.

“Don’t let it show.”

The magical bubble disappeared, leaving Elsa very distraught. All this time, she had been misquoting her father, and teaching herself something that her father had never meant for her to learn. Since her parents passed away, that phrase that her father had been trying to instill in her, ‘Conceal it... don’t feel it... don’t let it show’ had been changed to, ‘Conceal... don’t feel... don’t let them know’. Perhaps she was unwittingly changed it to comfort herself after her parents died. And then, somehow, it stuck to her brain and she used it to try to avoid feeling anything.

“You see, your parents never meant for you to learn how to hide your feelings; they were trying to teach you to sense that raging storm inside of you and to control it,” Pabbie said. “If you could control the curse, then you could laugh and you could cry of broken heart, and your powers would never manifest itself unless you willed it to do so. Everything that lives has feelings and emotions; it’s impossible to conceal them. All you managed to do was to bottle them up until they exploded at your coronation.”

Elsa listened to him intently. She could feel a new wave of self-confidence fill her soul. Everything he said made perfect sense. She may have learned how to thaw winter, but that didn’t mean she had learned to control the curse. There was a difference between controlling her powers and controlling her curse. She had never understood that until now, when it was too late. Or maybe... it wasn’t too late.

She stood up and went over to the bed sheet that had been covering the mirror. She picked it up and started ripping a small section from it. “What are you going to do?” Olaf asked.

Elsa took the small sheet and carefully grabbed one of the jagged pieces of the mirror on the ground. She carefully wrapped the sheet completely around it. She remembered that Birgitta cut her hand by a fragment of a shattered devil’s mirror. That meant that even in pieces, the power still remained intact. “I’m going to save Arendelle!” She stormed towards the door, with a new found determination to stop Versa from destroying her people.

She half expected Kristoff to protest her going alone to face her and the witch, but he ended up surprising her. “Be careful, Your Majesty. I’ll take good care of Anna.”

She smiled towards him. Under most circumstances, she would refuse to leave her sister’s side. There was very few people she trusted to take care of her sister in this kind of circumstance. Kristoff was one of those few. “I know you will.”

 

Excellent. I can feel that Elsa has learned something crucial and it will make her stronger.

 

Chapter 15

Elsa pushed Cyphus as hard as she dared. There was no time to waist; there was no telling what Versa might unleash when she arrives to Arendelle. There was also no way to be certain how far ahead she was. With her heart fully frozen over, there was nothing to stop her from doing her worst. Elsa knew full well what it was like to lose control of yourself and to allow the inner demon to take control. Of course, Versa was further in its clutches than she was.

Hidden in her coronation gown, was the mirror fragment. The problem was that it would only work if she could convince Versa to give up her powers, which seemed to be a very tall order. With the curse fully taken over her, the handmaiden was now a full blown ice witch. There were no more emotions or feelings let in her. Trying to convince her to give up all that power would take a miracle and a half. Perhaps it was never going to work. That didn’t mean that she could just give up on her and her people. She had to try to save Versa, even if it meant sacrificing her own life.

She knew full well that things may not go well for her. Elsa was glad that Anna was not conscious when she left her at the cabin; how could she explain this to her? If Anna had known, she probably would have been so stirred up, that it may hasten her demise. Kristoff didn’t know enough of the details about what she was attempting to do; if he had, he probably would have protested just as much as Anna would have. Now, that she was well on her way back to Arendelle, there was no stopping her mission.

* * * *

Versa and her mother didn’t go directly into Arendelle. Instead, they found a very fortuitous cliff, overlooking the town, the castle, and the Fjord. The town was to their left, fairly close to the base of the mountain that they now stood on top off. The fjord was directly at the base of the cliff and pretty much wrapped around the castle which was dead ahead.

The storm already raging over the kingdom had already frozen the water surrounding the castle. The snow blanketed over the town and the massive castle. Given a few weeks, then the all of it would be buried alive, but she had no desire to wait that long. It was time to speed things along. With a swirl of her hand, a dark, white mist swirled around the castle, blanketing it in a grayish-white mist. The winds pounded mercilessly on the castle, throwing giant amounts of snow at it.

The storm that now swirled around the royal castle was comparable to what Elsa had inadvertently set off two years ago. Creating a storm of equal destruction was not enough for Versa. Arendelle deserved much worse, and she was about to give it to them. She conjured up more of her icy magic. From the accumulated snow on top of the frozen fjord, three forms started to take shape. The blobs of snow grew until they stretched ten feet tall and at that point, they took a more definitive shapes of a human form. They were like ten feet tall snow giants, but with no definitive features like a face, fingers, or anything of that nature. They were more like just like shadows made of snow.

They three giant snow shadows started to cross the Fjord and pressed on towards the gates of the castle. Walking on the frozen water, they were able to bypass most of the walkway. However, once they reached the walls of the castle, they were going to have to climb up onto the walkway to get to the gate. For ten foot tall snowmen, that wasn’t going to be much of a problem.

* * * *
The storm had just taken a turn for the worst, which immediately had the captain of the guard on high alert. He knew that the queen’s heart was broken from the loss of her sister, but there had to be something that could be done to ease her broken heart so the people of this kingdom didn’t have to suffer. At least, at first, he just assumed that this storm was the queens doing. After looking out the window and out towards the mountains that towered over the town, something suggested that this might not be the case.

He could see two figures standing on one of the cliffs, but it was impossible to make them out clearly. The fact that there were two people standing there, gave him a very strong feeling that something else was going on. The fact that the storm had picked up as soon as those two figures arrived could not be a coincidence.

Finally the storm became so strong, that a grey mist blocked his view of the mountains and the town. The stormed intensified even more to the point that he could almost hear the howling of the wind and the snow pounding on the window. This was a repeat of two year ago, but there was still something that felt different about it. He just couldn’t put a finger on what the difference was.

A scream came from the first level of the castle. It was the scream of one of the female castle workers, and it sounded like she was in trouble. With his hand on the handle of his sword, which was stored in his sheath, he ran down the main stairwell which delivered him directly to the main gates. That was where the workers were at. They had the gates open to watch the extreme weather that was going on outside.

“What is it?” The captain asked.

The question came out of his mouth unnecessarily, as when he looked outside, he saw exactly what had the workers freaked out. Three snow giants had kicked in the outer gates and were storming towards them.

“Quick, get inside!” He urged the workers. They were more than happy to oblige and the women in the small group squealed as they ran to hide. The captain could not blame them for being scared... heck, he was scared, himself. There had never been an attack on the castle before, let alone an attack from giant snowmen. How could anyone be prepared for something like this?

He rushed to close the main gates and barricaded the door to the best of his ability. He knew right away that there was nothing that was going to keep those things from getting inside. It was up to him to defend this castle once they did get inside. He would die before he allowed the castle to fall. That was the oath he took, and an oath that he took very seriously.

As he finished barricading the door with whatever he could find, a handful of his fellow soldiers had rushed over to him, having heard the screams themselves. The captain didn’t even give them time to inquire about the situation. He pointed to two of the men. “You two, go find as many men you can to help defend the castle, and hurry!”

“Yes, captain!” the two young men said and immediately separated to run in different directions to find as many soldiers as they could.

“You three, draw your swords and prepare to defend the castle!” He ordered, just as the giant twin doors buckled. The pounding the door took echoed through the castle, announcing to all who resided inside that trouble had come knocking at their door.

* * * *

When Anna opened her eyes, the instant sensation of being crowded over swept over her. Kristoff, olaf, Pabbie, and two other trolls were all looking down on her when she awakened. At first, she couldn’t remember falling asleep or why there was so much concern radiating towards her. It was only when she tried to move when everything came back to her. She could not feel most of her right arm, and what little she could felt like it was on fire.

“How are you feeling?” Kristoff asked, fluffing up a blanket that he had put behind her head to try to make her as comfortable as possible.

“I’ve been better,” She said drowsily. She looked around all the friendly faces around her; she quickly noticed that one was missing. “Where’s Elsa?”

Kristoff looked conflicted as if he was debating whether or not to tell her the truth. She could tell that she was not going to like the answer, as much as he probably didn’t like it either. “She went back to Arendelle.”

“Arendelle?” She knew exactly what he meant. Versa was on her way there to bring a wintery hell over the kingdom. If Elsa is going there, then she was going there to try to stop her... without any powers. If she was going there without powers, then she was walking into grave danger. If Kristoff and Grand Pabbie were here, then it was even worse than she feared because she was going alone. Going up against an Ice witch and a sorceress without any powers of her own was virtually suicide. “Kristoff, help me up and take me back to Arendelle!”

“Anna, the journey could kill you,” he protested.

“My dear, the fire is slowing the freezing process. Leave, and it will rush straight to your heart,” Pabbie added.

“I don’t care. Take me... to my sister!” Anna said firmly.

Even in her weakened condition, Kristoff found her frustration very intimidating. When she got like this, it usually was a good idea just to give her what she wants, but how could he do it if it meant her dying? Did he dare disappoint her so she lived longer, or should he keep her happy in what could be her final hours?

As much as he hated it, he obliged with her wishes. He helped her up onto her feet, while the trolls took the blanket that she had been using as a pillow and unfolded it. They gave it to Kristoff who wrapped it around her to try to keep her warm for the journey.

Olaf went to open the front door for everyone, and the sting of the cold weather came rushing into the cabin. Kristoff had to help her to walk in her weakened condition. Together they slowly made their way out into the cold. Tiny white flakes, continued to flurry down. Their feet crunched in the snow as they stepped outside. Running to them in excitement, Sven could not contain his joy to have them finally come out of the cabin. He smiled towards the reindeer, before a sudden realization dawned on him. “Sven can’t carry all of us. How are we all supposed to get to Arendelle?”

Anna was too out of it to be able to contemplate on such a puzzle, but she was glad that she didn’t have to do so when she heard the sound of bells jingling towards them. Coming down the path from their right was two horses pulling a cargo sleigh, one very similar to the kind of Sled that Kristoff had just lost. The person driving it was covered from head to toe, with no exposed skin to the harshness of the weather. He slowed the horses down until they came to a stop in front of them and the cabin.

When he stood up and dismounted, a very tall and hefty man stood before them. It wasn’t until he spoke with thick accent when Kristoff and Anna recognized him. He unraveled the scarf from his face to further confirm his identity. “Yoo-hoo! Oaken Trading Post here for the weekly delivery!”

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!” he grumbled. How was it possible that he would be making deliveries all the way here in the Eastern Mountains?

“Wait a minute? I remember you, you called me thief!” Oaken said, his eyes staring daggers towards Kristoff.

“Oh come on!” Kristoff complained, “How long are you going to hold a grudge? It’s been two years! I’m sorry, already, for calling you a thief!”

“Apology accepted,” He replied. “Bye-bye now!”

“Wait! We desperately need to get back to the kingdom as fast as possible. You may not like me, but please, will you do it for her?” He pleaded as he looked to Anna by his side. Anna managed a faint smile, despite the rapidly increasing amount of pain that she was enduring.

Oaken looked over at Anna for a brief second before a smile returned on his face. “I will do it for the lovely princess, who just so happens to be my favorite customer. Everyone hop on board, and I will take you to the kingdom.”

 

Oh, wow! I can feel things rushing towards a major confrontation of wills. Anna and Elsa are of the same mind. Glad Anna has a fast ride back.

 

Chapter 16

Oaken lived up to his word, and was making haste, following the faint tracks left behind by Elsa and her horse, Cyphus. With this trip more of a downhill trek, Olaf was more than content to slide through the snow like a penguin sliding on his belly. Sven was running beside the other side of the sled. Everyone else was in the back of the sled. Kristoff was doing his best to keep Anna warm and comfortable, but he feared that he was failing miserably on both fronts. Even with Pabbie trying his best to ease her suffering, the pain was only getting worse.

“The spell is moving rapidly now,” Pabbie said remorsefully. “I fear that time is running out... fast.”

Kristoff looked into Anna’s eyes, clearly wanting to go back and get her by the fire, but the determination in her eyes told him that there was no point in bringing up the matter. “Just get me to my sister... I will be alright.”Kristoff continued to look at her, not liking the idea of going on in these circumstances. He was too concerned about her; nothing else mattered to him. She could see that written on his face at that moment. She wanted nothing more but to assure him that things would work out, even though she wasn’t convinced of it, herself. “I will be alright.”

Her assurance could calm his fears, but it still did bring a smile on his face. She didn’t want him to worry about her; but a part of him loved worrying about her. He always loved that about her. Despite everything that was going on right now, he could resist her charm and her piercing gaze. Just by the look on her face, it was as if he felt himself being drawn to her. Anna was feeling that same force, and she closed her eyes. As his face drew near, he slightly angled his head to the right and their lips locked in a heated passion.

Pabbie looked up at the two young lovers, and he wished he could say something. That kiss that they were sharing, whether they knew it or not, was slowing the spell down tremendously. If he told them, then he feared that they would continue out of necessity instead of passion, and that would do nothing to slow the curse. It was the passion of the moment that was doing the trick. Before, there was no way the princess was going to make it back to Arendelle, but now, that possibility had improved greatly. The longer the two were able to stay in the moment only helped her odds all the more.

* * * *

The gates were ready to give way to the pounding. They had managed to hold back the snow creatures long enough for over a dozen soldiers to come and defend the castle. Everyone there had their swords drawn, but the captain of the guard could feel the nerves of his men. While they may have trained for this, none of them every really believe anything like this would ever happen.

The giant twin doors finally could not hold them back any longer; they swung open violently, and the three snow figures ducked under the doorway to enter the castle. The archers that he had stationed at the top of the steps unleashed a barrage of arrows at all three of them. Each arrow found their marks, but did nothing to slow them down. They stuck into the snow, but accomplished nothing but to agitate them further.

He and his men on the first floor went to work on them with their swords. They were remarkably quick for giant snow figures, but they weren’t the smartest either. The Captain had to leap to avoid one of the snowy fists as it came pounding down into the ground. As long as they continued to try to squash them instead of swatting them, he and his men had a chance. Before they had the chance to figure it out, he had to eliminate at least one of those things, and he had an idea that might just work.

He was there with prince of the Sothern Isles when they were looking for the princess two years. Instead of finding her, they found the queens ice castle, and the snow monster that she had created. He remembered the prince had severed the leg of the monster which caused it to eventually stumble off a cliff. There was no cliff here, but maybe it would be enough for it to tip over and shatter in harmless snow.

He did just that, after avoiding another fist, he went straight at the closest snow figure, and went as close to the leg as he could and swung his sword. It was easier than slicing through water; there was no resistance at all. He almost pulled a muscle having swung so hard for no reason. The leg was sliced and it fought to keep its balance on one leg for as long as he could. Gravity finally won, and the giant snow creature fell forward and shattered into a blanket of snow spreading across the floor.

Hope began to rise that maybe they could overrun these things with relative ease; however, that hope was quickly dashed when the snow started coming back together. It wasn’t even a minute before the fallen snow figure had come back together completely, minus the few arrows that had been previously stuck in him.

There was no killing these things. Even if they managed to take one down, some kind of magic would only allow them to come back together and continue their rampage. There was only one thing left the Captain could think of that might work against these things. “Defend this castle at all cost!” He shouted out to his men. He then turned to two of the closest soldiers to him. “You two, follow me!”

He led them through a maze of thrown snowy fists and stomping snow feet to reach the other side. He led them out of the castle and away from the action. The two soldiers looked at each other, wondering what was going on. “Captain, where are we going?”

He remained focus as he led them to the stables. “We’re going after the source of the problem... I hope.”

* * * *

The storm continued to spread, much to the dismay of Birgitta. It had grown so immense, that it had gotten very close to the cliff they were standing on. The wind was bringing up the snow onto their cliff, and now the level of it was still rising up.

At first, she tried her best to put up with the rising snow and the bone-chilling wind. After all, she was finally witnessing the fall of Arendelle. Everything she dreamed off for the past five years were now coming to fruition. She just as well assume put up with a little discomfort, but the little discomfort was quickly becoming extreme hardship.

“Perhaps we’re a little too close; the snow here is quickly rising. If we stay here, we may wind up being buried ourselves,” she suggested to her daughter.

Versa barely even acknowledge her existence. She merely just looked over at her from the corner of her eye with a look of disgust. She flicked her wrist upward, and ice spears pierced through the snow all around her mother, caging her in an icy cell.

Birgitta was stunned to find herself suddenly imprisoned. She tried to slide through between two ice spears, but the gap was too small even for her to get through. “Versa? What are you doing?”

“Do you really think I’m really that naive? Did you really believe that I didn’t know that I’ve been nothing more to you than an instrument for your revenge? Maybe I allowed you to control me until I got what I wanted. Now that I have it, maybe I don’t need you anymore.” She said, swerving her head towards her mother, pointing her cold, emotionless eyes towards her.

Those words were more painful than she thought they would be. This was her flesh and blood, and she was going to just leave her to freeze to death. That was kind of a harsh punishment for a daughter to inflict on a mother. “But I’m your mother!”

Versa looked away, still showing no signs of emotions on her face. “You’d be breaking my heart... if it wasn’t frozen solid.”

“But...why?”

“Because your daughter is not in control of herself,” A voice said from out of nowhere. Both women turned around to see Elsa cautiously approaching them. Her royal steed, Cyphus, was already well on his way back to the fortress. Elsa did not want him to get hurt in what was about to transpire between her and Versa. “Your daughter never had the loving support from you growing up, as I have. There was never any way for her to be able to control the curse or her powers.”

“So, your sister is dead, already. She was even weaker than I gave her credit for,” Versa said snidely.

That remark enraged her, but she was determined not to show it to Versa, who was trying to draw it out of her. She merely narrowed her eyes. “This has nothing to do with her. This has to do with defending my people, who are suffering because of you.”

“How disappointing,” Versa returned. “Here I thought you’d come to try and exact revenge. I would have valued killing you all the more.”

 

Loved the passion in the first scene staving off the progress of Anna's decline, the hope and resolve of the soldiers, and wow! The treachery of Versa against Birgita Not surprised. Applaud muchly Elsa's composure. She's really gotten the mastery of herself. That's a great stride in succeeding over Versa. Also, Elsa's selfless love for Anna as a motivator is helping.

 

Sorry for the delay of the next chapter. It's a double length chapter and I've dealing with a sinus infection so it's very hard to find the strength to write when you feel like garbage. I'll get it out soon. Promise.

 

Yuck! Feel better soon Like the sound of double-length.

 

Chapter 17

“Versa, look at yourself, this is not you. It doesn’t have to be this way,” Elsa pleaded. If she was ever was going to get to use the mirror fragment to rid her handmaiden of the curse, she had to convince her to be willing to give them up. It was a long shot, but it was the only one she had.

Versa’s face remained cold and frozen; showing no emotions whatsoever. Hatred was clearly running her emotions, but her face did not show it just as it did not show happiness. It was as if her face was permanently glued on neutral. Unfortunately, that made it impossible to predict what she was going to do next. “I say it DOES!”

With a wave are her arm, several icy spears formed in mid air and launched towards her. The snow made it hard to gain traction, especially trying to run in high heels, but she managed to avoid being impaled by them nonetheless.

“This power is amazing. I can do whatever I want, and no one could ever stop me,” she said as she used her magic to lift piles of snow up from beside her. She figured if she could bury her in snow, she would make a much easier target for one of her spears made from giant icicles. She waved her wrist, and the floating clumps of snow shot at her like two giant snowballs. Elsa dodged the one coming at her left side, but had to leap to avoid the other one coming from the other side. “I gave you a chance to live out the rest of your life. You should have just runaway. It was foolish of you to come back here.”

“If you don’t understand why I came back, then you’re not ready to be the Snow Queen,” Elsa replied, as she pulled out the mirror fragment. It looked less and less likely that she would be able to convince Versa to give up her powers. She would have to hope that that the fragment would do something to help even the odds up. If not, she was not going to come out of this encounter unscathed.

Versa saw what she was doing and quickly unleashed a small, magical, wintery blast in her direction. Elsa jumped and took shelter behind the trunk of the tree, which was the only way she could have avoided being turned into ice. When the icy blast had past, she stepped out from behind the trunk, only to realize that she had dropped the mirror fragment dodging the blast. Versa took full advantage of the moment, and pointed her right palm towards the sheet covered fragment lying on top of the snow. She unleashed a stream of frigid weather, and the fragment quickly became encased in a solid block of ice. “What were you trying to do... take my powers from me? There’s NO way I’m giving them up. Not ever!”

* * * *

The captain and two of his men pressed their horses to ride through the harsh blizzard conditions. They didn’t like it much, but they were specially trained to obey the riders at any cost. If the guards ever needed to use them to prevent an invasion, it was imperative that they had horses that would not buck in the intensity. For horses to be that willing to risk their lives, they had to be broken and then extensively trained. It was not like that for the royal horses meant for the Queen or the Princess. All those really needed was to be broken to get their wild nature under control. You didn’t want the royal women to be on a horse that could go wild and throw them, which could result in server injury.

They ran through the streets of the town, until they reached the other side. The base of the mountain was right there on the outskirts. With the snow accumulation, it was impossible to see the faint trail in the wild grass. It didn’t matter; the captain was familiar enough with base of the mountain to be able to follow it anyway. It was his duty to protect the castle and the people of Arendelle. He took it upon himself to be familiar with every possible way into the town and to the castle.

As they started up the mountain, the blizzard conditions calmed down into a consistent snow fall. Visibility was much better now, but he still needed to depend upon his bearings to find where he thought he saw the two people on a cliff. He could not look back to the castle to gather it because of the gray clouds that fell upon the castle. He was going solely by his memory. He was doing his best to keep his bearings sharp, to be able to see in his mind’s eye where they were in comparison to where the castle was. It took concentration so sharp, that it was nearly giving him a headache.

He pressed on, leading his two men towards the cliff. He could hear strange sounds coming from up ahead that were impossible to describe. There was some kind of commotion, and he knew that he had found the right cliff. As they grew closer, the sounds began to sound like some kind of struggle was going on, but when he heard a female voice amidst the commotion, he knew that now was the time to dismount from their horses.

He raised his hand to signal the other men to halt. Everyone pulled on their reigns and brought their horses to a stop. The animals obeyed without hesitation. The three of them dismounted and found some tree trunks to tie the reigns around, to prevent the horses from leaving. He held a finger up to his lips, to signal that they were to remain quietly and to move forward in the same manner. With their hands on the handles of their stowed swords, they advanced through the snow, trying their best not to make too much noise with each step in the snow that went up past their ankles.

They made their way towards the cliff, but stopped when they saw three women in what looked like some kind of duel. One of them women looked a lot like the former queen of Arendelle with her brown hair and traditional royal garment. It was then he realized that it was actually Queen Elsa, who looked identical to her mother. The captain could only wonder what had happen to her light blonde hair and her icy, blue, sparkling dress.

There was an older woman, imprisoned by a series of icicles surround her. He recognized her immediately from the days his past. It was the sorceress who committed treason towards the late King and Queen. Now, this situation was starting to make sense, and it made even more sense when he saw the other women, who looked like a white witch. Her skin was as white as the snow, and her royal gown was sparkling white. Her hair was long and icy blue, which was the only thing that broke up the mundane whiteness. The queen was in a battle for her life against this snowy witch who appeared to have the same kinds of powers Queen Elsa did. The only thing was, for some reason, the true queen wasn’t using her powers.

* * * *

Sven had sprinted ahead of Oaken’s sled and two horses. Kristoff was glad that he did, because his reindeer had a good sense about him, and knew where they needed to go. Oaken had never been to the kingdom before, and had no idea exactly where to go. It made Kristoff more comfortable knowing that they were following his reindeer. Getting back to the castle without hindrances was the most important thing right now.

Anna was struggling to stay awake. She as cold as ice to the touch. Kristoff had her arm wrapped in a blanket and held her in his arms to allow his body heat to warm her, but her body continued to getting colder. The ice was now up to just shy of her shoulder blade; she did not have much longer.

Sven took an unexpected turn to the left, which did not go unnoticed by him. Oaken, not knowing better, steered his horses to follow. “Wait! Where are you going, Sven!” Kristoff shouted. “The Castle is the other way!”

Sven swung his neck around to look back at him without losing his fast pace. Kristoff knew that look on his face all too well. It was a look that told him that he needed to trust him. He had come to know that face quite well, and he knew that it was a wise choice to do so; Sven had never lead him astray before, and his sense in knowing where they needed to be at the right time. It was also possible that he heard something down this path. Either way, he decided to trust the reindeer and allow him to take them where they needed to take Anna.

He didn't have to wait long to find out where Sven was taking them. Up ahead, he could see all three women; the Queen had already engaged with the two creepy looking women, but there was a turn of events that he could not explain. The older woman was trapped in an icy cage created by the white snow queen. What caused this was the last thing he was concerned with. Anna wanted to be taken to her sister, and that's exactly what happened; but, was it already too late?

Oaken saw what was going on and pulled in on the reigns to bring the sled to the stop. He had no idea exactly what was happening, but seeing the strange woman in all white made him feel that he was getting into the middle of something very dangerous. There was no way he was going to get any closer to this intense scene.

As Kristoff helped Anna out of the sled, her eyes were fixated towards her sister. "Elsa." she said softly, already feeling as if she was too late to do anything to help her.

Elsa saw them up ahead, and wished they had not found her. Their presence there presented a real problem for her and for themselves. Who knew just how low Versa would go. The last thing she wanted was for her to turn her wrath towards them. That fear was realized when Versa turned to look back at them. “It appears your stronger than I give you credit for,” she said coldly. “Perhaps it’s only fitting to watch your sister share the same fate you did.”

Without warning, she unleashed an icy shockwave from her body. Kristoff was able to protect himself and Anna by looking away and taking shelter under the blanket that wrapped around her. They were far enough away to be able to avoid the blast, but Elsa had no chance. She could not dodge or hide behind the trunk of a tree. The blast hit her heart, bringing with it a severe pain.

“Elsa no!” Anna cried out helplessly.

Elsa clenched at her heart as her chest immediately began to freeze. This blast was much different from the one she had inadvertently hit Anna with; the ice was spreading immediately, giving her no time to do anything to save herself. As the ice quickly spread, all she could do was look towards Anna with apologetic eyes.

There was so much she was sorry for in her life. She was sorry for nearly killing her when they were just young kids. She was sorry that because of that incident, she had been forced into seclusion with Elsa. She was sorry for a lifetime of choices she made that seemed to do nothing but hurt her. Even now, she was hurting Anna in these final seconds. It was like she had been born to hurt her little sister, and that was Elsa’s biggest regret.

All of those things could be read in her face as she apologized for a lifetime of hurt through her eyes. Realizing that Versa and her mother were watching, she was not going to allow that apologetic look to be frozen on her face. She stood up straight, and lifted her chin in defiance as the icy spell climbed up her neck and wrapped around her head, leaving her nothing more than an ice sculpture.

“Elsa, no!” the strength in Anna’s knees gave out, and if it wasn’t for Kristoff catching her, she would be lying face first in the snow. He was doing everything to keep her warm in the blanket, especially now that he feared that she had just lost her will to keep on fighting.

The captain of the guard, watching from their hiding place could not stop the overwhelming sorry that came sweeping over him. He had failed in his duty to protect the Queen of Arendelle. She was the best queen the kingdom had ever seen, and he had allowed her to die prematurely, at the hands of a sworn enemy of the kingdom. He didn’t deserve his position... he deserved the gallows for his failure.

Versa turned towards the two of them, he face still emotionless even after her victory. “How fitting that you got to witness your sister’s demise before, your own. It’s kind of poetic in a way.”

Grand Pabbie took several steps forward, in front of Kristoff and Anna to address the ice witch. While the two humans were clearly heartbroken, the elderly stone troll seemed more empathetic towards her. “You seem so sure that you’ve won. I recognize the magic to create the mirror at the cabin,” His gaze went towards Birgitta. “You feared to repeat your mishap of the past and intermingled white magic with the black. So the queen had to be fully willing to give up her powers in order for mirror to work.”

Despite what her own daughter was doing to her, she would not betray her. She was glad the queen was gone, and it was only a matter of time before the rest of them would share their fate... especially those nasty little stone trolls. “Yeah, so what?”

“I’m coming my queen!” Olaf screamed, inadvertently interrupting Grand Pabbie’s conversation. He was more concerned about what had happened to Elsa. He hobbled as fast as his little snow feet would go through the thick snow, but his path towards the queen would bring him right in front of Versa, who looked down at him with disgust.

“Annoying little snowman!” She waved her hand as if to slice the air before her with her hand. The snowman took one more step before exploding into snow dust which slowly flurried to the snowy ground.

Versa looked up to address the troll, wondering what point he was trying to get to. She was interrupted before she had the chance to demand him to do so. “Whoa! What a rush!”

Versa looked downward to see Olaf putting his carrot nose back into place. “Wha?” She again used her powers to cause the little snow man to explode into snow dust, but almost immediately afterward, a tiny, magical whirlwind appeared to bring the little snowman back to life. She then noticed the one thing that she failed to noticed just then; it was a sign that she should have paid more careful attention to. The magical cloud that followed the snowman around had never disappeared. The cloud was still there, and continued to bring the snowman back to life every time she tried to destroy him.

Birgitta looked back towards Pabbie with a look of shock on her face. The expression on his face clearly showed that he knew that she and her daughter had suddenly realized what was happening. “So what? It means that your plan was doomed from the beginning.”

A bright, blinding light grabbed everyone’s attention. Versa and her mother had to shield their eyes as they turned to see a blinding light coming from behind the frozen Queen of Arendelle. Magical white sparkles intertwined with the falling snow flakes and it twirled around her. She was lifted up ward off the snowy ground, and the ice started to crack. The light was so bright, that all anyone could see was a shadow in the light floating off the ground. There was no doubt the things falling from the shadow were the fragments of the ice that was cracking.

The shadow started showing free flowing movement; the arms where whirling, as to control the magic that was surrounding her. Finally, the right arm stuck out far enough from the light to show Elsa’s fleshy pink skin and the royal green sleeve from her dress. However, some of the magical sparkles started to cling to her sleeve, and turned it to icy blue.

The bright light dimmed slightly, just enough to show Elsa, completely free from the ice that she had been incased in. Her eyes were closed as if she was drawing powers from everything that was spinning around her. Soon, her royal green and black coronation dress began to magically change into her wintry snow queen’s gown with the thin, silky cape that draped all the way to the ground.

Elsa shook her long brown hair as the sparkles began their work on that as well. Her hair transformed from her the reddish brown hair that her mother once had, to the light blond hair that she was unnaturally born with. It started from the roots at the scalp of her head, and the transformation flowed down to the end of her long braided ponytail. She opened her eyes, and her light greenish-tan eyes turned to the same icy blue eyes she was born with.

With her transformation now complete, she slowly floated towards the ground. The closer she got to touching the snowy surface, the more the snow melted. When her feet finally did touch ground, it landed on a dry, grassy land. The rest of the snow all over the kingdom melted rapidly as the clouds that were surrounding the castle vanished and the sun shone brightly over the kingdom. The frozen waters of the fiord immediately thawed as the leftover snow that was still on the ground started rising to the sky.

* * * *

One of the soldiers defending the castle found himself knocked helplessly to the ground. Before he knew it, he was looking up at a giant snow foot that was about to come stomping down on top of him. Expecting to have his life taken from him, he waited for death to come. Instead, a large pile of snow came plopping down on him. He sat up in the small mound of snow cold, wet, and confused.

* * * *

Every last flake that had fallen upon the land had either melted away or drifted upward into the sky to form one giant magical snow flake. When all the snow was off the ground across the entire kingdom, she flicked her wrists to cause the giant massive snow flake to disperse and disintegrate.

The display of magic was breathtaking to watch. Sven enjoyed it more for the floating snowflakes that he enjoyed trying to catch, but Kristoff was always fascinated with magic. Spending his entire young life with the trolls, it was impossible NOT to be intrigued by that kind of stuff as much as he was with ice. But as he watched, his mind was replaying Pabbie explanation of what was about to happen. It didn’t take much to conclude what the wise troll was saying. “So, there was a part of her that DIDN’T want to give up her powers?”

The troll nodded to confirm his curiosity, but Birgitta was still confounded by this turn of events. “If that’s the case, then her curse should have turned her just like my daughter!”

Versa stared over at her with daggers in her eyes. Whether she meant to or not, the mother had just confirmed her crime towards her. The only reason Versa had not brought a quicker demise to her was that she had no real confirmation of how deep the treachery went.

“It would have,” Elsa replied stepping towards Versa. “If I hadn’t learned how to separate it from my emotions.”

Elsa gave a faint smile towards the elder troll, whose words at the cabin had saved her life... literately. Sick of all the talk, Versa struck like a viper, and launch a large, pointy icicle straight for Elsa. However, the Queen of Arendelle didn’t even have to wave a finger for the icicle to melt before reaching her. She tried again, this time with three icicles, but was met with the same results. She then tried a wintery burst, but it was as if there was a bubble around her; nothing her powers could conjure up would break through. The more she failed, the more her icy face broke into an expression of rage and anger.

Elsa only returned her angry look with a gentle and warm smile. Now standing directly on front of her, Versa stared dagger at her breathing heavily after unleashing that heavy barrage of attacks. She gentle placed the palm of her right hand on Versa’s chest, just over her heart. Immediately, she squealed and fell to her knees.

White sparkles came floating out of the spot where Elsa had touched her. It quickly grew in intensity and the sparkles multiplied until they were coming from all over her body. Slowly, her skin returned to a more natural pale colored skin. Her bluish hair faded back to her natural brunette color and her dress slowly turned back to the more modest handmaiden dress. When the transformation was complete, Versa was back to her old self.

“What did you do?” Birgitta asked, in utter shock. Everything that’s transpired in the last few minutes had her so unsettled that she failed realize that she was no longer imprisoned by large icicles.

“I thawed her heart, and removed the curse,” Elsa replied.

“I—I’m free?”

“Is—is that possible?” Anna asked Pabbie, still fighting with everything she had to stay awake. She was now fully dependant on Kristoff to remain on her feet, but soon... even that would not be enough.
“Only now that her powers are fully developed and fully controlled. Her powers are now stronger than they’ve ever have been before.”

Elsa made her way towards Anna with more urgency. Now that any threat to her and her sister was gone, she could now go and save her sister. With Anna needing this much help to stand, Kristoff could only hold her up; it took the assistance of the three trolls to remove the blanket that wrapped around her arm. They did so as tenderly as they could, but they could not spare Anna completely of the pain. “Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!”

Her entire arm was frozen solid and completely immobilized. Elsa gently touched her icy wrist and white sparkles began to swirl around until her entire arm was glowing. The glowing was bright and radiating for a few seconds before it dimmed. When it vanished, her arm was normal.

Anna found new strength as she stood up on her own power; the change was so sudden that it caught Kristoff unaware. She looked down at her arm and wiggled all her fingers and clenched a fist. There was no stiffness or anything; it was as if she had never lost her mobility in that arm at all. “Elsa!” Anna leaped to embrace her sister, not because she had just healed her arm, but because she was so happy that she was alive.

While Anna was hugging her sister, she saw something on the grass just past Elsa. When they finished their embrace she walked over and picked up the mirror fragment that was still covered in the torn sheet. “Now that Arendelle is saved, you could live a normal life, if you really want?”

Elsa looked down at the mirror fragment in her sister’s hand and took into her own. “You know... I’m happy with who I am... just the way I am.” With as much physical strength as she could summon, she threw the fragment over the cliff. It fell all the way down into fiord where it sank to a watery grave.

The only one not enjoying this moment was Birgitta, who had just watched everything she had worked hard for come undone. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Arendelle was supposed to be buried in an eternal winter. All nations should be fearing her daughter and treating her as the Snow Queen. “No! This can’t be it! Versa, do something!”

Versa looked up at her mother with a scolding look on her face. “Stuff it, mother!” the look of shock on Birgitta’s face was unmistakable. The hurt on Versa’s face was just as much. Tears moistened the sides of her face. “You used me. You knew I was struggling to keep control of myself with this curse that I never asked for. Instead of helping me, you tricked me and allowed my heart to be frozen and turned into a person I never wanted to be. You knew that this curse was changing me into a horrible person, and yet you used that to help you get your revenge on the people of Arendelle who are completely innocent of any wrong doing. What kind of mother are you?”

“But... but...” she was at a loss of words. There was no remorse for her actions in her face; she was merely sorry that her daughter was turning against her. Versa knew her well enough to know the difference, and the expressions on her mother’s face were only making her nauseous.

“I’m no longer your daughter,” Versa said with a horse voice. It was a painful thing to break that mother-daughter bond that they had, but her mother’s actions clearly showed that she didn’t see Versa as her daughter... only a pawn. The bond was broken by her mother a long time ago, but that still didn’t mean that it hurt any less to acknowledge it here and now.

“Veras... wait!” Birgitta didn’t have the chance to plead her case. The captain of the guard had ordered his two men to detain her. Each man grabbed her by a wrist and they commenced carting her away to be thrown into prison until a decision could be made by the Queen’s court.

Versa turned and cautiously and humbly approached Elsa and Anna who had watched the whole ordeal between her and her mother. “My Queen... my Princess... I accept my punishment for the crimes that I have committed against you and the people of Arendelle. Before I’m imprisoned, though, I want you to know how embarrassed and ashamed of my actions. I am SO deeply sorry for my betrayal of your trust and the pain that I have cause both of you. I just wanted you to know that before I go.”

The captain of the guard walked up to Versa, with wrist chains ready to go. She offered her wrists to the captain, showing no signs of resisting. Before the captain could lock her wrists up, Elsa raised up a hand. “That won’t be necessary, captain.” She turned her gaze towards Versa. “You’re not going to prison.”

“I’m not?” Versa was confused. The captain of the guard nodded his compliance to the Queen’s orders and stepped away from the young handmaiden.

Elsa smiled. “No, we’ve got a wedding to prepare for.”

“Really?” Versa’s eyes threatened to release more tears as she turned to face Anna; the one whom she had hurt the most in this ordeal.

Anna’s eyes were just as warm and forgiving as the Queens, and she even surprised her with an embrace. It took everything she had not to break out crying. After the pain she had caused her, almost bringing her to the point of death, the Princess was quick to let her know that all was forgiven. She deserved to be hung from the gallows for her crimes, but instead, she was being shown love, mercy, acceptance... and forgiveness.

 

Awesome edge of seat reclamation of Erendell and of Elsa and Anna. They are wonderfully magnanimous towards a truly repentant Versa, who apparently was as much a victim.

 

Thank you. I'm hard at work on the final chapter, but this final chapter has me having to do some heavy research. I'm not familiar with wedding dresses, Norwegian wedding traditions (I'm probably going to base the wedding ceremony on the catholic style of ceremony), etc. and stuff like that. I will try my best to paint out a gorgeous wedding that you can see in your minds eye. That's the kind of stuff I'm having to research.

 

Chapter 18

The heavy snowfall had caused a tremendous amount of damage to the wedding décor that had been in the garden. So much so, that the wedding was delayed for a day. It was impossible to delay it any longer than that; most of the visiting diplomatic dignitaries would need to get back to their countries or kingdoms. Versa was working her tail off, as well as all the workers of the castle; they were putting in countless number of hours to fix what could be fixed, and to salvage what could be salvaged. A part of it was because she felt that she need to prove herself after having her transgressions pardoned, but she was determined to make this wedding as spectacular as possible.

With the ice melted, the final few dignitaries arrived by ships, including one that was not so welcomed to Arendelle. No longer did the ship arrive to the port when Kai and five soldiers arrived to prevent the Duke of Weaselton from even getting off the ship. “You are not welcomed here in Arendelle. If you step foot off your ship, you will be incarcerated. Depart from our waters, immediately!”

“But I’m the Duke of Weaselton! I’m of royal lineage! How long will you hold my mistake against me?” The gray haired man with a monocle protested. Not only was all trade cut off with Weaselton after the Duke’s near treasonous acts towards Queen Elsa, but all relationship as well. Since then, the Duke had tried countless times to try to get back into the good graces of the queen, but she was not biting. She knew that he was a greedy old man, who was only looking to regain an opportunity to exploit Arendelle’s riches. As long as she was queen, no one from there would be allowed to set foot in the kingdom, especially for a royal wedding of this magnitude. The funny thing was... none of the other countries and kingdoms had any interest in helping him get in either, thus this last desperate attempt to find a way to get into the wedding.

Finally, the ship would take off, and the Duke would make his way home. With that distraction take care of, everything else went just swimmingly. At last, the day of the wedding had arrived. Somehow, Versa had organized everything just in time.

Everyone had gathered in the garden on this beautiful sunny day. Never has the outer courts been so packed with people. The visiting dignitaries had the best view of the wedding, sitting the closest to the altar. Everyone else was in the back. With this many benches set to seat this many people, the red, wedding-aisle runner stretched a rather lengthy distance reaching almost all the way out of the garden into the front court. Versa stood in the back of everyone, making sure everyone was where they needed to be and to make sure everyone walked down the aisle in the proper order.

Off to the side of the altar and the onlookers of the ceremony was a small but complete wedding orchestra that comprised of all the typical woodwind, percussion, string, and bass instruments. At the start of the ceremony, the violins were the most notable sound of the orchestra.

The first to go down the aisle were two little flower girls dropping red and white flower peddles onto the runner. The next down the aisle were two violinists who played their instruments as they somehow stayed in formation and walked in unified succession. Following the two violinists was Kristoff. He wore a handsome black royal suit, but with a little of his flair thrown in. It was a red on black royal suit with a red scarf tied around his waist as a belt.

He walked down the aisle, and was immediately uncomfortable. Yes, all the eyes upon him made him a little squeamish, but this suit was far worse. He fought the urge to tug at the collar to relieve some of the stiffness. With everyone watching him, he could not afford to look foolish. He took his spot on the left side of the altar (on his right). From there, he watched the rest of the small parade coming down the flower covered carpet.

Two more flower girls came down the aisle, providing a thicker cover of flower peddles, and two more violinists followed suit. Behind them was Elsa holding onto her bridesmaid’s bouquet in front of her with both hands. She still wore her wintry snow queen’s gown, but her hair was braided and pinned to her scalp. Her tiara-like diamond crown was nestled gently on top of her head; it was something she only wore during royal events like this.

All the people in each row bowed their head to pay their proper respect as she passed each row. As she neared the altar, she could not help but noticed that one particular young and handsome prince had his eyes on her. Slightly unnerved by the looks that he was giving her, she chose to ignore him and take her place as the bridesmaid, which was behind where the bride would soon stand. Perhaps her minds were just playing tricks on her? When stood at her position and he still had the eyes of a love-struck-young-boy towards her, she knew that it wasn’t just her imagination.

The wedding orchestra changed their melody to the royal anthem of Arendelle, which brought everyone to their feet. Now, the trumpets became the dominating sound in the music, but the violins and other instruments flowed evenly and complimented the blaring trumpets quite nicely. The Bride was at last coming down the aisle. Upon seeing the bride for the first time, nearly everyone gasped at how beautiful the princess was. Her dress was a beautiful, V-down, Basque waist silhouette with a cathedral train. The bodice was with mostly green on top of white with dark green details with a lighter green outlines to them. The details were also showered with glittering diamonds and gold sparkles. Below the bodice was a satin, white, ball-gown skirt that touched the ground. The cathedral train that followed behind her was made of transparent material known as chiffon and it extended six feet behind her and laced up to her waist.



Her strawberry blond hair was braided up pinned to her scalp as she wore an elbow-length, over-the-head veil. The material was thin enough to easily see her beautiful blue eyes and face hidden behind it. When Kristoff saw her for the first time in her wedding dress at that very moment, he nearly lost his composure; he had never seen her so beautiful in his life. She looked more like an angel from heaven rather than a princess.



As Anna walked down the aisle, holding her large bouquet in hands, she had to catch herself from singing to the royal anthem. As a kid, she did more than just talk to paintings... she often made up words to the enticing melody of the music. As she grew up, the words would always change to the mood her heart was in, but the gist of it always remained the same through the years. The trumpets were now blaring the tune with such intensity, it brought shivers down Anna’s back, and she nearly wanted to sing those words that she had put to the music years ago: For the first time in forever.



Each and every row of people she walked past, on both sides of the aisle, the eyes staring at her were so large, that she felt a little embarrassed. When she first tried on the dress, she felt like she was a bell that should be hung in the chapel tower. That was, however, only her first look at the dress. Since then, MANY modifications were made to make this dress absolutely stunning. It was so beautiful, it felt like it should be a crime just to wear it. However, none of the eyes looking at her were so large and so piercing than the eyes of the man looking at her at the end of the carpet.



After the long walk down the aisle she finally made it to the altar, and the service finally began. As the two of them stood facing each other, they were so infatuated with each other, the words of the priest almost faded into the background. The priest gave almost an entire sermon, as was tradition, but the long speech only aided itself fading into the background in the minds of the two lovers.



They managed to refocus on the ceremony in time for their first participating event of the ceremony. Kristoff had to lift the veil over her head before he was given a golden chalice with five different-colored royal jewels melded near and around the rim. He held it in front of Anna’s face so she could sip the burgundy wine in the chalice. After her sip, she took the cup and did the same for him.



When they were done, the priest took the chalice and the ceremony continued. The end was quickly approaching, and was apparent when it became time to exchange the rings and vows. Kristoff was given Anna’s ring, and he took her soft, pale hands and gently slid the it onto her finger. He recited his vows, repeating everything the priest told him to repeat word-for-word. It was then Anna’s turn to do the same. With His ring in her hand, she took his massive and rugged hand and slid the ring on his finger as she repeated her vow.



“Now, by the power invested in me by God, almighty, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride,” the priest concluded the ceremony.



This was the moment both Anna and Kristoff were waiting for. They were now officially married, and could now share their first kiss as husband and wife. There was no moment of hesitation; their lips met as if they had been denied access to each other for far too long and were at last reunited. It went beyond just a simple, passionate kiss; it was something magical, that neither wanted to end right away, no matter how undignified the other royal dignitaries thought they were being.



* * * *



Anna and Kristoff had no idea where Elsa was taking them. They were supposed to be heading for the banquet hall for the feast that awaited them, but Elsa had pulled them aside and said that she wanted to give them their wedding present. What type of present was she talking about that they had to go this far away from the party? When she said ‘present’ she figured it would be a wrapped up gift that they could just open in front of everyone. That wasn’t what was happening.

They followed her to a part of the castle that she did not recognize. It was a huge castle, with hundreds of rooms. This was a corridor that she had never walked down before. In fact, she would swear that this was closed down for construction. “Elsa, where are you taking us?”

“You’ll see.”

She led them to a large double door at the end of the corridor. Elsa could hardly contain the excitement about what she was about to unveil. Her body was vibrating from the intense enthusiasm; it was taking everything she had not to squeal like an excited teenage girl. She pulled the two doors open and stepped aside so the newlyweds could enter the room.

As soon as they got their first clear view of inside the room, as soon as Elsa stepped aside, their eyes bulged with awe. They didn’t enter the room... they were drawn into the room by the two giant ice sculptures in the dimly lit room. The first one was of Anna facing forward, holding her hand in front of her. Her face was serious as the whole sculpture presented her as a royal princess... as it should. The other sculpture next to hers was of Kristoff. He showed proper royal posture wearing a royal prince’s suit, yet it somehow captured his true personality perfectly with his facial expression.

Both sculptures were detailed beyond any ice sculpture they had ever seen. As the two of them marveled at them up close, they could vaguely see through the ice. Inside of both sculptures, they could see a blizzard raging wind blowing. They could see it from every inch of the sculptures.

“Do you like it? These sculptures are made so they will never melt. As you can see, inside them there is a raging blizzard going on with extremely low temperatures. The pressure inside prevents any of it from escaping, thus always keeping them frozen and preventing them from melting.”

“I think I’m speechless!” Kristoff said, admiring the craftsmanship that she put into these sculptures. He loved ice, and he knew a lot of ice carvers, but the work put into these statues was beyond anything he had ever seen.

“I love them!” Anna squealed as she turned to her older sister and hugged her. This was the greatest gift Elsa could have ever given them.

Kristoff turned towards Elsa after the sisters had finished their embrace. “I’m at a loss for words. They’re absolutely gorgeous! Thank you, Your Highness.” He bowed to show the proper respect to the Queen of Arendelle.

Elsa wasn’t satisfied with just a simple bow. He was taken by surprised when she rushed in and embraced him tightly. The young man was stunned beyond words; Anna could only chuckle when she saw the look on his face. He was not used to such a personal contact with the queen, so to call this an awkward moment for him would be a huge understatement.

When she released him, she took a step backwards with a smile on her face. She knew how stunned he was by the tension in his body when she hugged him. “You’re family, now. Get used to it.”

* * * *


The food at the banquet was the best that anyone in the royal family had ever had. Anna had always been the picky eater in the family, and even she couldn’t get enough of it. The chef had gone above and beyond preparing the food for this special occasion. If rumors were to be believed, he had worked together with a top notch chef from France, who came to Arendelle, to assist in this scrumptious meal.

Well the meal was so good, that Anna almost got a little annoyed whenever someone clanged on their glasses, calling for the newlyweds to stop eating and kiss. There would be plenty of time for kissing, the food was so good, she didn’t want it grow cold. She enjoyed the food almost as much as she enjoyed chocolate.

But when the food was gone and everyone had their fill, everyone made their way towards the ballroom. There, the floor was busy with couples ballroom-dancing in the center of the room. Anna and Kristoff were in the heart of the crowded floor, sharing their first dance as newlyweds. Their movements on the floor were graceful and precisely in sync with the other dancers to avoid colliding with them.

Elsa stood and watched them dance, never feeling more proud of her baby sister than she did at that very moment. She enjoyed standing there, watching her sister dance. She was glad that Anna had finally found true love, even though it didn’t come in the way she least expected.

As she watched her sister, a young prince nervously approached Elsa. It was the same prince that she had noticed looking at her at the wedding ceremony. During that ceremony, his gaze towards her made her very uncomfortable, but now that his face was out from amongst a sea of faces, she had to admit that he was rather cute. “My Queen, my name is Prince Edward, prince of the kingdom of Beiluge. Would it be presumptuous of me to ask if you would honor me with a dance?”

“It’s a very kind offer, Prince Edward, but I don’t really...”

“Sure she will!” Anna came out of nowhere and had somehow sneaked up behind her to give her a gently push.

The nudge threw her into the young prince’s arms. With his right hand locked with his left, and his left hand on her waist, she found herself being whisked away to the dance floor. At first, it took everything she had to not freak out and make a scene. She was terrified of what might happen, but as it turned out, there was nothing to be afraid off. Despite the tension and nervousness she felt, her powers weren’t manifesting themselves. Indeed, she did have full control of them. When she began to realize this, her fear subsided to a more manageable level, and she found herself actually enjoying the dance.

Anna smiled and watched Elsa dance with the handsome young prince from Beiluge. Kristoff joined her by her side; his arms were folded in front of him. “Please don’t tell me that you’re trying to play matchmaker for your sister.”

She looked away. “Eh, not me per say.” She then looked out and gave an excited thumb’s up.

Across the room, Princess Rapunzel returned her single thumb’s up with two thumbs up with even more enthusiasm. Her smile was intense to the point that most of her teeth were on display. Beside her, Prince Eugene was standing there with a stale look on his face. His eyes were narrow as to say, I want nothing to do with this diabolical little scheme.

“Right,” Kristoff replied, clearly sensing that the two girls had arranged this ‘chance’ encounter.

Before he could protest their medling with the Queen’s love life, a cheerful Olaf came wobbling over to the two of them. “I just love wedding parties! They’re so... festive!”

“Oh, Olaf. Just the snowman I wanted to see,” Anna said, using her right index finger to motion for Versa to come on over. The handmaiden obliged, holding something in her hands. “Olaf, this is Kristoff’s and my wedding present to you.”

Kristoff shook his head, still thinking it was a bad idea to feed the snowman’s misunderstanding of Wedding traditions. The two of them had this talk just hours before the wedding ceremony, but Anna was determined to do something nice for the little child-like snowman.

Versa walked up and knelt down before the small snowman. She wrapped a lovely red scarf around his neck. When she heard what Anna wanted to do for Olaf, she asked if she could be the one to put it on the snowman. She felt bad for what she tried to do to him several days ago, and she wanted this opportunity to show him that she DIDN’T hate him.

When the jolly snowman saw what she had wrapped around his neck, he gasped with delight. “A red scarf! Just what I’ve always wanted!”

Versa smiled, happy to see the snowman happy with the gift. Before standing up, she planted a small peck on his icy-cold, and wet scalp. The flurry falling from the small cloud over his head tickled her nose, but it was worth it.

The snowman would have blushed if he wasn’t made of snow. He let out his goofy little chuckle. “Aw, shucks!” he nearly skipped his way through the crowd of dancing couples. “Hey, look at my new scarf!” he commenced interrupting people’s dancing to show off his present, completely blind to the fact that most people were looking down at him as if he was a nuisance.

“So, may I have this dance, my princess?” Kirstoff offered up his hand to his beautiful young bride.

Anna smiled up at him. “Yes you may, Sir Kristoff.”

She accepted his hand and the two of them returned to the dance the floor. They were quick to rejoin the flow of the movement of all the other couples. They danced like a couple madly in love as Kristoff continued to impress her with his dancing skills that he had picked up during his classes. He moved swiftly as if it had come naturally to him.

As they danced, Anna had managed to grab a glimps of Elsa as she danced with her dance partner past them. With the smile on her older sister’s face, she knew that she was enjoying herself. As it turned out... Elsa wasn’t that bad of a dancer. Without the fear of hurting people accidently, the queen was finally free to open the doors to her heart and enjoy herself for once.

The two sisters danced the night away on this special moment. On this joyful occasion, everyone in Arendelle partook of the joy the royal family were experiencing on this Wedding day. It turned out to be the biggest celebration this kingdom had seen since before these sisters were even born. With night having fallen, fireworks exploded high above the castle to announce the blessed matrimony of Princess Anna and Prince Kristoff.

THE END

 

Splendiferous and delightful wrap! I could just visualize the glorious wedding and reception. That wedding dress: magnificent. I really love the celebratory and joyous, loving tone.

 

Sorry for the delay.. A winter storm knocked out our electricity for a week, and my internet and television for two weeks. Just got it back today!

Thank you, both of you, for reading and your comments. I'm probably not planning on another Frozen fiction, because I am contemplating returning back to HTTYD in preparation for HTTYD 2. Kind have lost my writing mojo with this power outage.