One year. It had been one year since The Eternal Winter besieged Arendelle. Since Elsa lost control and nearly killed the only person left who truly loved her. The snow queen let out a heavy sigh and swept her eyes across her personal walls were heavy slabs of stone brick, and the floor a deep, dark mahogany, covered in part by a green rug. Two wooden chairs sat opposite her oak desk, and bookshelves filled to the brim with volumes and tomes lined the walls. It wasn't particularly fancy, but it worked for her purposes. Behind her was a large window, overlooking the kingdom. She spun her chair around and gazed through it, eyes drifting over the dark, empty streets of the small town. A quick glance to the grandfather clock in the corner revealed the time to be two in the morning. It seemed to the queen that she was staying up later and later to get her work done.

She gave a yawn and a stretch, turning her chair back around to her desk, with one last unfinished paper sitting atop it. She scowled at it, but picked up her quill and dipped it into her inkwell and began to scribble on the parchment nonetheless. After nearly ten minutes of meticulously viewing the contents of the parchment, and what exactly to add to it, she slid it off of her desk and onto the large pile of finished papers stacked at her feet.

Elsa stood up and stretched her legs, feeling the blood come rushing back. I really should make an effort to stand up and walk around more often, she thought to herself. Rubbing her eyes and yawning, the queen made her way to her chambers, bumping into furniture in the dark a good few times on her way. Each thump was met with a hiss and a silent plea that the noise had not awoken anyone.

After a painfully slow crawl, she finally made it to a door decorated with snowflakes. She slipped into the room, being sure to be as quiet as possible. With a gentle push, the door was once again shut. When she heard the small click, Elsa realized that she had been holding her breath. She let it all out in a long whoosh, content now she knew she wouldn't have to watch where she stepped, lest a stray board squeak and give her away to the entire floor. With that, she began to peel off the dress she was wearing, and donned an icy blue nightgown. She quickly undid her hair, letting it fall freely down her back, and clambered her way into bed. As she did, she felt her eyelids become increasingly heavy, and she found herself asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

Elsa was in a large, dark room. She couldn't tell exactly how large it was, however, as much of it was covered in pitch black shadow. Four torch sconces sat in the (assumedly) center of the room, allowing for a small patch of light. In the middle of that patch of light was a chair. It was a hellish thing, really. Ebony in color, with long, waving tendrils rising off of it, making it look like something out of a horror novel. It was turned away from her, but she somehow knew one very important thing:

There was someone occupying that chair.

Elsa took a tentative step forward, and called out, "Hello? Who's there?"

She was met with a low chuckle, and a purple hand gestured from the chair. "Oh, wonderful. You've finally made it. You really shouldn't stay up so late, you know. It's not particularly healthy." The deep voice that spoke was simultaneously thoughtful and care-free, as though Poe had decided to spend a night drinking.

"W-who are you?" Elsa asked, slowly taking a step backwards. She didn't know what kind of nightmare this was, but she wanted to wake up. She wanted to feel the sun on her face and dismiss this as a stray night terror. The queen just wanted out.

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, I'd rather not tell you. Names can be quite powerful after all. Just refer to me as The All-Seer." She took another step backward. "Oh, there's no need to be frightened. I'm simply here to deliver a message."

"A message? From who?" Elsa demanded. Whatever this was, she was liking it less and less.

"Well, now that you say it, I do suppose that it isn't really 'delivering a message' if the message is from the deliverer. But no matter." The chair slowly began to spin, making an awful scraping sound as metal dragged across wood, and its occupant became revealed.

Elsa had to choke back a gasp at the being before her. The All-Seer had a fairly thin build, and even though he was sitting, Elsa could still tell that he couldn't have been very tall, only five and a half feet, at most. Four arms erupted from his torso, two of which were resting on the chair's arms, the others folded in his lap. His skin was a lilac purple, and his shoulder length, stringy hair was black as a raven. She couldn't tell what colors his eyes were, as they were covered by a strip of black cloth, presumably wrapped around his entire head. He had no lips, forcing his mouth into a permanent, teeth-baring grin. Despite how horrendous his body was, he was dressed quite impeccably. He wore a red vest over a white dress shirt, with golden buttons and accents. His formal brown boots covered the hem of his pants, which were every bit as pristine as the rest of his attire. He seemed to notice her staring, as he said, "What happened to that inquisitive nature you had just a moment ago? Am I not still intriguing?" Despite the fact that he was moving his mouth, the words did not emanate from him. They came from all around, deafening in volume.

"Now, about that message," he continued, seemingly unfazed by her lack of an answer. "I need it. And you are going to give it to me."

It? What on earth could it be? "I'm sorry, but I can't help you. I don't know what you're talking about."

Elsa blinked, and he was gone. She whirled around, looking for him. His appearance terrified her, but not knowing where he was at all was so much worse. Suddenly, his voice came from behind her. "Oh, I don't doubt that. Your parents never did tell you very much, did they?" Elsa spun, only to find nothing there. Even the chair had disappeared, leaving only the torches.

"What do you know of my parents?" She demanded.

Again, from behind her, the voice said, "Well, I know lots of things. I know about your parents, about your sister. About you." Elsa spun again, but was again unable to catch him.

"Me? You know of my magic?"

When the voice came a third time, Elsa stopped moving, giving up on hoping to catch him. "I know all about your powers. More than most, I'd say. But I digress. The point is, you don't have to know what it is to give it to me. All you need to do is say is one little word: yes." He reappeared in the chair, a puff of smoke encircling him. "I promise I'll make it worth your while. Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye." Upon uttering those words, he used one hand to pluck a needle from thin air, and another to slowly lift up the strip of cloth, revealing empty eye sockets. He slowly placed the needle into his right socket, and pulled the cloth back down. If the action brought him any discomfort, he did not show it.

Elsa resisted the urge to gag at the sight, and forced herself to think. How could she give him something if she didn't know what she was giving him? But if it was so important, why would she just let him have it? After all, he sat in an ominous chair in a darkened room. In her dreams. Every instinct in her body was screaming at her to freeze him before he could say or do anything else.

"I'm sorry, but I can't just hand it over without knowing more about it. No deal."

The All-Seer shook his head. "Tsk tsk. And this could have been so easy for the both of us. Shame I'll have to take it, then."

Elsa's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

"Well, one way or another, I must have it. And if you won't give it to me, then I suppose I'll have to resort to more...extreme tactics." He shook his head. "Such a pity, too. Your kingdom is quite beautiful."

A bead of sweat dripped down her brow. Was he implying what she thought he was? "And what exactly do you mean by that?"

He let loose a low chuckle and waved one of his hands. A heavy wind suddenly overcame the room, and the torches flickered out, plunging them into complete darkness. Elsa blinked, and suddenly she was standing in her study, overlooking Arendelle. Only it wasn't the quiet, peaceful kingdom she gazed upon merely an hour ago. Now, she witnessed Arendelle being razed to the ground. Everything was burning, and hellish creatures danced in the blood-soaked streets.

He appeared beside her again, and told her, "It will take one year for me to amass the army I need, and yet another to make it to your quaint little kingdom. You had better get cracking, my dear." With that, he extended a hand and snapped his fingers.

Elsa gasped and sat up straight in bed, covered in a cold sweat. As her eyes glanced over her bed, she realized just how cold it was. Her entire mattress was frozen solid, and frost was beginning to creep up the headboard. She breathed a long sigh, and put her head in her hands. It was just a dream, she told herself. Just a nightmare. Her own rationalizations began to soothe her, and her breathing soon came under control. With a wave of her hand she dismissed the growing ice. But when she looked up and saw what was written on her wall, she had to fight to keep the entire room from freezing over.

Written in large, black, inky letters, was the message:

TWO YEARS, QUEENIE.

TIK, TOK.

In an instant, Elsa was on her feet, racing for the room of her most trusted advisor, Kai. Politeness be damned, she had to speak with him. She skidded to a halt in front of his door and pounded her fist on it. She heard shuffling, as well as a light clicking as Kai fumbled with the door handle, trying his best to get it open while still being slightly asleep. When he opened the door and saw how distressed Elsa was, however, his eyes immediately snapped open. If she were to bother him at this ungodly hour, and have that look on her face, then this had to be incredibly important.

"Your Majesty?" He questioned. "What is going on?"

The queen answered simply, "Come quickly. You need to see this."

The two raced back to Elsa's room, and Kai blanched as he beheld the message on the wall. "Who could have done this?"

"He never told me his name. He just said to call him 'The All-Seer'. Do you have any idea what that means?"

Kai shook his head. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but I don't." He stood in thought for a moment, before looking back up at Elsa and saying, "But if he really meant what he said, then we need to prepare."

"And how do you suppose we do that?" Elsa began to feel a migraine coming on. "Arendelle hasn't been to war in decades, and this isn't just some army we're fighting. These are demons, devils. Horrors from the pit. How are we meant to contest that?"

"Recently, there has been some news circulating about a warrior."

"A warrior? We can't expect one person to win this war for us."

"She's said to have never lost a battle to a man or a beast. She's considered one of the best monster slayers in the country. If anyone is going to be able to help us, it will be her."

Elsa put a hand on her forehead. This couldn't be happening. If The All-Seer was telling the truth, then there was no version of this where Arendelle came out on top. There was no version were her kingdom wasn't left in shambles, if not outright destroyed. But if this warrior was who Kai said she was…

"I suppose I'll write up a message then. What is her name, Kai?"

"Elaine," Kai answered. "Elaine Tonitrua."

"Excuse me? Are you Miss Tonitrua?" Elaine looked up from her mug at the teenaged boy standing before her. He wore common clothes, and had a leather messenger bag slung over his back. A courier, if she'd ever seen one.

She gave him a warm smile, and told him, "You got her. How can I help you?"

He began to fish through his bag, "I have a letter and a package for you. It's sealed with the royal Arendellian insignia, so I figure it's pretty important." He pulled out an envelope and a small parcel bound in paper.

She scrunched her face up in confusion, but took the mail and bid him thanks and a good day nonetheless. When he left a hand extended towards her, she sighed and reached into her coin purse for a silver. He smiled at her before quickly leaving the inn, off to deliver whatever else was in that bag of his.

Elaine stared at the letter and its blue wax seal, embossed with Arendelle's crocus flower. Now, if it had been sealed with the insignia of some small noble or township lord, she wouldn't be surprised. She received contracts from them fairly often. But to receive a job from the monarch of an entire kingdom? That hadn't ever actually happened to her before. Nonetheless, she broke the seal and opened the envelope to find a letter that was unbelievably brief and in absolutely no way informative.

It read:

Dear Miss Tonitrua,

Recently, Arendelle has received a threat. Unfortunately, I cannot divulge the exact circumstances or details, but I can assure you of the direness of our situation. As queen of this great kingdom, I humbly ask that you journey to Arendelle and hear me out. I would not ask this of you if I did not believe you were the only one who could help us. Included is money to assist you in your journey to our kingdom. I hope it will suffice.

Regards,

Queen Elsa of Arendelle

Elaine tore open the parcel to find a small box filled to the brim with gold coins. A quick count revealed there to be nearly thirty. Arendelle wasn't very far from where she was now, just a couple of kingdoms over. This much gold was overkill.

Now, Elaine was never one for rushing into things without knowing all of the facts, but she heaved a sigh and stood up. She placed one of the gold pieces from the box on the table to pay for her room and drink, and stalked out of the tavern, ready to embark on the month-long journey it would take to get her to the small kingdom. As she began to look for provisions, she thought to herself, How bad can it really be?