Winter's Mirror

Chapter 02

What's going on?

Anna sat at her breakfast table, her eyes locked on the golden bracelet still on her wrist. At some point she'd managed to dress herself, but she honestly had no recollection of doing so. Small details like that had been pushed aside in favor of 'what the fuck?' Because there was no way that she could be wearing this bracelet, a bracelet that she never bought. Because if she was, that meant it came from that weird dream. And that...

"Yeah, no, I'm not crazy." She absently twisted it, her gaze tracing the delicate links. "There has to be a rational explanation for this. Probably some practical joke Ariel set up."

She tugged it, but she couldn't find a clasp. She had no idea how Gerda had gotten it on her wrist in the first place, but it didn't seem like the bracelet was coming off without using power tools or something. "Or maybe it's the jewelry mafia. I offended them somehow and this is their version of a horse head. Or ninjas. It's probably ninjas."

Anna jumped when her phone went off, cursing as her tea soaked her shirt. She checked and saw that Ariel was messaging her, then cursed when she saw what time it was. "Oh hell, I'm late."

Ten hurried minutes later, she was dashing out the door to meet her friend. The other redhead glared at her. "What the hell, Anna?"

"Sorry, sorry, sorry." Anna's shoulders sank under her friend's gaze.

"You know, I figured you'd be late, but almost an hour?" Ariel rolled her eyes. "And you look like hell by the way. Did you just roll out of bed or something?"

"I... uh, did you... um... never mind." There was just no way to ask without seeming like she was crazy. And besides, a large part of her really didn't want to know the answer, because she was afraid of what her friend might say. If Ariel really didn't have anything to do with the bracelet... She shook her head. She didn't want to go down that rabbit hole. Hell no.

"Yeah, whatever. Now let's get to the faire. I'm not gonna miss Mulan's show." Ariel practically shoved her into the car.

For a little while, Anna was able to forget about the bracelet, as she figured that considering how Ariel was driving, she might not live long enough for it to mean anything anyway.

"Ariel, slow down!"

"Truck! Truck!"

"Oh god, why are we on the sidewalk?!"

When they finally parked, Anna opened the door and staggered out of the pickup. "Oh god, I thought I was gonna die."

"Wimp." Ariel sniffed. "We weren't going that fast."

"Good thing those pedestrians moved fast too." She replied. "How you managed to miss them, I'll never know."

"Eh, they made it out fine, so what're you whining about." The other redhead shrugged. "Besides, we're here now, and we made it in time. And next time, don't be so damn late and I won't have to drive so fast."

"Sorry." Anna glanced down at her wrist then raised her eyes before Ariel could notice. If Ariel hadn't said anything yet, then she obviously wasn't the one behind... whatever that dream had been. And if she wasn't, Anna didn't need this getting any more complicated than it already was. If it wasn't a joke, then it was just something weird, like she'd forgotten she'd bought the bracelet. And if that was the case, the sooner she put this behind herself, the better.

Anna managed to push the issue of the bracelet out of her mind during the show, and after, they ended up meeting Mulan and Shang for lunch. The rest of the day flew by as Anna lost herself in enjoying the company of her friends. She even browsed a few of the stalls, but she didn't buy anything, preferring to save her money for now.

"Set your alarm Anna. You don't want to be late tomorrow. You know how Weaseltown gets about stuff like this." Ariel reminded her when she dropped her off after the faire.

"Yeah, I will. Seeya tomorrow Ari." She waved.

"Night, Anna."

After a quick shower, Anna made sure to set her alarm clock. She even dug out a backup and set that one too. Ariel had a point. The last thing she wanted to do was give Dr Weselton and his horrid hairpiece the excuse to lecture her. She was secretly afraid that one day she'd laugh at the wrong time and he'd fire her and... yeah, not happening.

Anna glared at the bracelet as she crawled under the blankets. "This is your fault somehow. Stupid jewelry mafia ninjas." She yawned. "I'll figure out where I bought you tomorrow, then this nonsense can stop."

She yawned again as she drifted off to sleep. "Tomorrow..."

Birds were singing somewhere close by.

Loudly.

Anna muttered a curse and twisted herself under the covers as she tried to get back to sleep. No snow and she was still in bed, so whatever had happened the other night really had been just a weird dream. So of course, she wouldn't be allowed to sleep in. She tugged the furs tighter around herself, hoping that she could drift back to...

... furs?

"You have to be kidding me!" Her eyes popped open. "Not this again!"

Sure enough, she found herself in the hut from the dream last night. The old woman... Gerda... was setting a bowl of food on the table when she noticed Anna's movement. She waved towards the redhead, beconing her over for some breakfast. Anna ignored the delicious smell in favor of glaring at the older woman. This had to be some kind of joke or coincidence or... or... or... It just wasn't possible!

"Okay, officially not funny." Anna growled. "What the hell is this? What's going on?"

The old woman's mouth thinned and she pointed at the waiting chair and meal once more. "Sitte og spise, du're trenger din styrke."

"Look, Gerda or whatever your name is, I can't understand you and I'm not doing this again." She crossed her arms. "I want to go back to a normal dream. I'm not going to play along any more."

Gerda clearly understood as little of what she was saying, but Anna's attitude apparently got through, because she frowned and pointed at the chair firmly and repeated her statement.

"Nope, not gonna happen." Anna sat on the bed, refusing to move.

"Veldig godt. Dette vil være enklere hvis du samarbeide, men vi har ikke noe valg." Gerda walked over to a shelf, fetching down several small glass vials. She poured the contents of one into the cup sitting by the plate and brought it over to Anna. "Drikke."

"I am not drinking that." She recoiled from the proffered cup.

"Drikke." The other woman repeated, in a firmer tone.

"No."

The older woman sighed and set the cup back on the table. "Hvis du er hva ble sendt når jeg ba om hjelp, gudene må virkelig være å straffe meg."

"Look, this is just too weird. Normally dreams have a point or at least a reason behind them. I still don't understand what is up with this one." She watched the other woman as pulled a small book from the shelf and sat down to begin reading. "Hello, this is my dream, you could at least pay attention to me when I'm rambling."

Gerda continued to ignore the redhead and focus on her reading. Finally Anna couldn't take it anymore. She stormed over to the other woman. "Okay, fine, just tell me what's the point of all this, because apparently I can't figure it out on my own. Please, tell me what's going on."

Gerda looked up from her book and glanced back at the table where the cup rested next to the cooling food. She turned her gaze back to Anna and raised an eyebrow significantly. Anna groaned. "Figures."

She picked up the cup, recoiling slightly from the smell. "I must be crazy." She raised it to her lips and downed it. The drink burned her throat and sent her staggering, gasping. "That is nasty!"

Her vision swam and her knees buckled. Blackness tugged at her sight and she collapsed to the ground...

Anna woke up, barely noticing that she was in her own bed this time. She rushed to the bathroom and spent the next few minutes throwing up everything she'd eaten in the past day. When she finished, she brushed her teeth several times, doing her best to get the taste out of her mouth. "Holy hell, that was horrid."

She had just about finished when her stomach twisted again, sending her back into the bathroom. Ten agonizing minutes later, it finally seemed to be over and she once again cleaned herself up. "Okay, new rule: no drinking potions from crazy ladies in dreams."

Breakfast didn't seem appealing at all to her, but she managed to down a cup of hot chocolate and piece of toast. After that, she took another shower. When she was done, she looked out the window. The sun was barely visible, and Anna considered that to be the only good thing from this whole awful morning. At least she wouldn't be late to work today.

She considered the bracelet still on her wrist and what had happened this morning. Clearly, something very weird was going on. She needed figure out what these dreams meant and why they seemed so real. And she needed to do that without seeming crazy.

Ariel was surprised to see Anna in the office when she arrived, as it was the first time she'd made it in before her friend. "Uh, Anna, you okay?"

"Super weird dream last night, Ari." At least that was the truth, if not all the truth.

"Well, you still look kinda out of it." The other redhead poured herself a cup of coffee. She was about to ask for more details, but Anna was saved by Dr Weselton's arrival. Her boss greeted them both and then retreated hastily to his office when his toupee started to slip. The two redheads smothered giggles at his departure.

"I have no idea how that thing stays on." Anna got out around a laugh.

"Velcro." Ariel told her.

"Oh. My. God..." Anna lost it. Eventually she composed herself somewhat, enough to talk semi normally at any rate. "Velcro. That... just wow..."

"You should have been here last year. We were having an office party and it fell off in front of everyone when he was cutting the cake. Landed right in the frosting." Ariel smirked.

"Seriously?"

"Oh yeah. I'm pretty sure there's still a vid of it somewhere."

"I so want to see that."

"If you really want a funny one, you should see the one of him dancing at the holiday party." Ariel grinned. "Some people should never, ever be allowed to dance."

The morning passed quickly and Anna had little trouble pushing the dream and the bad start to her day out of her thoughts. She was able to lose herself in her work and the company of her friend. Even better, by the time noon rolled around Ariel had forgotten Anna's comment about the dream, so lunch was pleasant as well.

The end of the day found a happy Anna relaxing on her couch with takeout while she absently browsed on her laptop. She'd managed to go from a horrible start of the day to a good finish. She smiled. Maybe she couldn't control her weird dreams, but she could choose the rest of her life, and she wasn't going to let a little strangeness get in the way of her new life here.

"Damn it." Anna had no sooner gone to sleep than she'd found herself back here, in the same damn fur covered bed, in the same damn hut, in the same damn dream. "Why does this keep happening? Why?!"

She glared at Gerda, who had obviously been expecting her again. "I'm not playing along tonight. So you can keep your weird tasting potions and other crap to yourself, because I'm just gonna sit here until I wake up. I've really had enough of this stupid dream."

"This is no dream, girl." Gerda smiled at Anna's shock. "And if you think I will simply let you sit and do nothing, you are sadly mistaken."

"What - you - I - How!?" Anna sputtered. "I understood you? How is this possible?"

"My 'potion' that you drank yesterday. If you hadn't passed out, I would have explained it to you then." The older woman pointed to the table. "Now come eat, you're going to need it."

"Uh look, just because this dream is cooperating, that doesn't mean I will. All I want is for things to go back to normal, and this definitely not normal in any way." She declared.

"I want life to return to normal as well." Gerda sighed. "However, that seems unlikely. At least, not without a great deal of effort. And unfortunately for you, I spent the majority of my strength bringing you here. I will not have regained enough power to break the spell for months. So whether you like it or not, your fate is now tied to ours."

"Spell?" Anna rolled her eyes. "If you're trying to convince me that this is real, you might want a new approach. I mean, magic isn't real."

"Is it not?" The older woman smirked and held up a hand. A blue-green flame surrounded it, dancing across her skin without leaving any marks. After a few seconds of this, she closed her fist, snuffing out the flame.

"Uh..." The redhead gulped. "That's a trick or something! I've seen Vegas magicians do similar stunts."

"This is no stunt. If you were expecting more, as I said, my power is drained for the most part. Minor spells are about all I can manage for now." Gerda frowned and sat down on the bed next to Anna. "If you don't believe me yet, you will. You are anchored to this world now. You will keep returning here."

"I..."

"Further, this place is very real. What happens to you here will echo back to your own world. So treat this as just a dream at your own peril." The old woman told her seriously. "I cannot say what the full extent of the transfer is, but any harm you suffer here would have its reflection there."

"That's impossible." Anna replied dully as she considered the other woman's words. "This -"

"You were sick and passed out after drinking the potion yesterday. And when you awoke in your own world, I would wager you were sick there as well." Gerda's tone told her it wasn't a lucky guess, though she waited for Anna's reluctant nod anyway. "If something like that carries over, do you truly wish to risk greater harm?"

"Uh... no." When she managed to speak, her voice was small, weak. "Am I really going to keep coming back here?"

"Yes. Until I have the strength to break the spell, you will return here every time you go to sleep in your world."

"Why me?" That question seemed pretty relevant to her right about now.

"I asked the gods for aid. You were what was sent."

Anna couldn't help it, she collapsed back on the bed, laughing. "Me? You asked for help and you think I'm it?"

"Yes, you are not what I expected or hoped for, but you are what I have." Gerda sighed. "The gods must have a sense of humor. Still, if you are all that I have, then I will make do."

"Again, why?" Anna asked, frustrated. "What is so damn important that you had to go and mess up my life?"

Gerda walked over to a window and opened the shutter, pointing out to the landscape. "Look at the trees, the mountains, the ground. What do you see?"

"Not really sure what you want me to say, it looks like any other forest. I'm really a city girl at heart, so aside from it looking much cleaner than any winter forest I've seen, I can't really say." Anna peered out, trying to find something that might clue her in to Gerda's point.

"A forest during the winter, that is what you see?"

"Yeah, pretty much." She shrugged.

The older woman frowned. "It is only three days until the summer solstice."

"But..." Anna stared at the freshly fallen snow. "That much snow - how? I don't understand?"

Gerda shut the window and led Anna over to the table, and they both sat. "It is a long story, and not particularly pleasant. It starts with the fall of the kingdom. Three years ago, the last true High King was murdered, frozen in a pillar of ice and smashed to pieces. After his death, the jarls split the kingdom into many smaller ones, each fighting the others. It was only with the arrival of the Ice Queen that the infighting slowed. Now, the majority have banded together to oppose her."

"Ice queen?" Anna asked.

"Yes. We don't know who she is, only that she wields the powers of winter. It is clear that she brought this unnatural weather upon us, and it seems likely that she murdered the old king as well." Gerda shivered.

"You don't know her?"

"No. Some rumors say that she is the crown princess and that she killed her father so she could claim the throne. Others say that she is a foreign noble who was angered when the king refused her offer of marriage. We don't know much, as few manage to escape her territory. Monsters guard her borders, and that makes getting any information out problematic at best." The older woman went the shelf and retrieved a rolled sheet of parchment. She spread it out on the table and Anna saw that it was a map.

Gerda traced a line on the map with her finger, drawing a rough border between the top third of the country and the bottom. "Currently, her forces control almost a third of Arendelle. The jarls are holding the line, but it's getting harder every year. Our food supplies dwindle thanks to this unending winter."

"So... I still don't see what this has to do with me. It's not like I can really help with any of this. I mean, I'm an art major who restores old paintings for a living." Anna shrugged. "I could frame this map and make it look nice, but other than that, I'm not sure what I can do for you."

"The gods sent you to me for a reason. At least, that is what I have to believe." Gerda smiled wryly. "We'll just have to figure out what else you're good at. And why you were chosen."

Anna panted as she leaned against the tree, struggling to catch her breath. "Kai, stop..."

"Not much further, Anna. We're almost back home." The older man told her. She hadn't thought she was in poor shape, but an afternoon of running around the woods and hills after Kai had proved to be an entirely new form of humiliation. Worse, even though Kai had to be at least twenty years older than her, he easily outpaced her on nearly every exercise. "Gerda will be interested to know how you fared."

"I feel awful." She did her best to ignore the burning in her legs. "I didn't think 'finding out what my talents are' would involve so much running."

"We need to know your limits, so we can see how best to train you." Kai had looped back and waited patiently while Anna tried to get moving again.

"Yeah, well I think it's safe to say that this is definitely not one of my talents. Same with that tree climbing you had me try earlier. My butt still hurts from falling out of it." She staggered into motion once more. "You guys really should've gotten someone else."

"The gods sent us you, I choose to believe they had a good reason for that." He smiled. "And even if they didn't, I also believe that we can make our own fates. Now come on, we're nearly there."

Anna followed him, cursing this whole experience yet again. It was clear that this was no ordinary dream. Her dreams - those she could remember - had never lasted so long or been so detailed and thorough. She'd never felt so exhausted and worn out in one. Take that away, and either I'm going crazy or this whole mess is real. I'm not sure which answer is worse.

The smell of cooking meat wafted from the cottage, giving Anna some encouragement for a final burst of speed. Once inside, she gratefully sat down at the table and started devouring the meal Gerda had ready for them. Okay, this place can be real for the next fifteen minutes if it means I get to eat all of this! It tastes amazing.

When she finished, the effort of the day caught up with her, and she yawned. She changed into a light sleeping robe Gerda provided for her and rapidly drifted off to sleep...

'beepbeepbeepbeepBEEPBEEPBEEPbeep'

"Damn it." Anna muttered. Her muscles felt sore all over and her butt still hurt in the same spot she'd fallen out of the tree. Even worse, according to the alarm, she was probably going to be late. She tried to sit up but her aching body didn't want to cooperate. She let out a breath and reached for her phone instead. "Fuck it, days like this are what sick days are for."

(Un)Fortunately for her, Ariel was the only one in the office at that point, and while the other redhead had no problem relaying her absence to Dr Weselton, Anna just knew she'd be dropping by at some point. Which meant she needed to figure out just what to tell her friend that wouldn't sound totally insane.

"Hey Ari, I couldn't make it in because I had a dream where I was stuck running around a mountain at the request of a crazy witch who feeds me potions that make me throw up... Yeeeeeaaahhhh, no. That won't work." Anna shook her head.

She spent most of the day relaxing either in bed or on her couch. She still felt sore and worn out, but it faded to a dull ache as the day progressed. By the time dinner rolled around, she felt almost normal. Ariel called her just as she started her meal, asking how she was doing and apologizing for not stopping by. Apparently the museum was rotating in some new displays and Weselton held a meeting going over the schedule. Rather than curious about her absence, the other redhead sounded jealous that Anna had avoided having to suffer through it too.

Anna told Ariel that she'd probably be back in to work on the next day and finished her meal when the other redhead finally hung up. Lukewarm reheated chinese takeout wasn't exactly the greatest, but at that point Anna didn't feel like actually cooking something else, so leftovers it was. She watched some TV, but didn't pay too much attention to it. Mostly she tried to figure out what to tell Ari when she saw her...

"I don't know why I expected anything different after last night." Anna sighed as she sat up from under the furs of the bed. Once again, as soon as she'd gone to sleep in her own bed, she found herself here. Gerda had clearly expected her. A new set of clothes as well as a freshly cooked meal waited for her. She eyed the outfit sitting on the corner of the bed. It looked to be a soft wool of some sort, and the forest green of the top was just the right shade to complement her hair.

"You should eat, Kai has some more tests for you." Gerda told her around an amused grin.

"Great." Anna groaned. "More running?"

"Not today." She didn't like how the older woman's smile got wider...

"I'm gonna die!" Anna shrieked as Kai advanced on her yet again. She tried to huddle behind the shield the older man had provided her, but it proved to be little help. His sword easily slipped past, crashing down on her shoulder...

"Owww, damn it." She rubbed the bruised spot where the wooden blade had hit. "Seriously? Can't we just give up already? It's pretty clear I'm no good at this at all."

"Anna, you're no worse than many new trainees. Besides, I really do need to see what you need to work on most."

"I'm gonna go with 'everything'." She winced. "I'm terrible."

"That's enough rest. Get ready, we're going again." The older man raised his blade...

"For the record, I hate you both." Anna grumbled as she staggered into the cottage. She collapsed on the bed, exhaustion edging out the ache of the bruises she'd acquired during the day's testing. She desperately hoped that she was done with these crazy tests. "And I think I'll skip the food tonight, I hurt too much to eat."'

"Drink this then, it will help you recover." Gerda passed her a cup with a dark liquid in it. Like before, it smelled fairly awful.

"Ugh, no thanks." Anna recoiled.

"You should drink it." Kai said as he entered the hut and hung up the practice gear. "Gerda has gotten very good at that particular potion."

"I wouldn't have had to if you would take better care of yourself." Gerda snapped back, but the smile on her face took the bite out of the words. Anna did her best to squash the flare of jealousy that spiked up. Why can't I have a relationship like that?

"Fine..." She sighed and did her best to drink the liquid without tasting it. Her best wasn't quite good enough. "Bleagh!"

"You get used to it." Kai said. He watched as his wife went out to get some more water from the well.

"I didn't think it was possible, but it tastes worse than it smells." Her stomach lurched. Kai handed her a chunk of bread and a mug.

"Here, to get rid of the taste of it. Trust me, you should as soon as possible."

"Okay." Despite not really feeling like eating anything after the potion, Anna forced herself to eat the bread. Kai was right, it did help clear away the foul flavor of the drink. The mug also had a rich ale, and by the time she'd finished it, all remnants of the potion were gone. "Thanks Kai, that did help." She eyed the meal still waiting on the table for her. "I guess I could stand to eat some more."

"Probably for the best. You need to keep your strength up." He agreed. "Especially since tomorrow you'll be working with Gerda."

"Joy." She rolled her eyes. "What's that going to involve? Seeing which of her delightful mixtures make me vomit?"

"I'll leave that to her. If she wants you to know ahead of time, she'll tell you."

"Kai, while she's out, I have to know. Is it true? Is there really some crazy queen trying to freeze the world?" Anna asked.

"If anything, it's worse that she said. Not only is the weather out of sorts, but recently monsters long thought extinct have been spotted roaming the lands. I saw some myself, when I went north to help the campaign last year. Huge beasts of ice and snow, very hard to kill. They serve alongside the Frost Queen's forces. Fortunately, there aren't many of them. If there were more, we'd probably have been overrun by now." The older man glanced down in his mug. "I have a feeling that things are only going to get worse this year."

"And no one knows why she's doing this?" She pressed.

"No. That's the worst part. She probably could have won by force of arms by now, but her advance is slow. Something else is going on. That's why we think this abnormal winter is her work. To control the weather like this must take a great deal of her power." He shivered.

"I just don't get it." Anna still knew very little of the situation, but the more she learned, the weirder her role in all this seemed. "Why me? What can I do if things are that bad?"

"I think that's a question only you can answer, Anna." He replied. "Honestly, you're not really what I expected at first, but having had a few days to think on it, that's probably a good thing."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when Gerda cast that spell, I was hoping for a great warrior, or maybe someone familiar with the old lore and spells. However, there are already plenty of people like that here. And none of them have been able to stop the Frost Queen. You're different. I'm not sure why you were chosen, but maybe you can help us find another way." Kai smiled.

"Then what was with all the physical stuff yesterday and today?" Anna glared.

"Like I said, we need to figure out where your talents lie. And besides, I have a feeling that you'll need some basic training anyway. You won't do anyone any good if the Frost Queen's monsters kill you your first time out there."

"That's... a very compelling argument." She paled at the thought. "Okay, maybe this does have a point."

The rest of the evening was spent chatting with Kai and then Gerda when she returned, though Anna was rapidly getting tired. She crawled onto what she was starting to think of as 'her' bed and pulled the furs over herself...

... And woke up in that same bed, morning light streaming in through the open window. "Damn it, what the hell?" Gerda looked over at her, confused. "I thought I was starting to get used to this, but why am I still here? Why didn't I go back home?"

"You didn't?" Gerda frowned.

"Nope, went to sleep here, stayed here." Anna pinched herself, to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "I thought that I'd go back, that's what happened before."

"I don't know, then." The older woman told her.

"But-"

"This is the first time I have ever used that spell, so I truly don't know." She continued. "If I had to guess, it is because of the anchor. It's designed to strengthen your connection to this world. So my thought is it will keep you here longer and longer each time."

"So what, I end up spending more time here? I have a life back home, damn it!" Anna glared. "Am I going to be sleeping for longer amounts of time there?"

"I don't know. You'll have to find out the next time you go back." Gerda told her.

"That's the best you can tell me?" She said. "I'm going to get fired if I miss too much more work."

"You're the only one going between worlds. I wish I could help you find answers, but I really can't." The older woman replied. "My best guess would be that you won't lose any more time. You should still wake up at the same time as you usually do. You won't lose time there, you just spend time here."

"I hope you're right." Anna reluctantly walked to the table and started her breakfast. "So what's the plan for today?"

"Today, I get to see what you know about magic..."

"So bored..." Anna groaned as she stared at the crystal sitting on the table in front of her. "I think we can put this with the others. Let's face it, I have no talent for magic. None at all. I mean, runes didn't work, your chanting stuff did nothing, these crystals don't do anything but look pretty..."

"Yes, you do seem to be not well suited for this." Gerda agreed.

"And wow, it only took us most of the day to figure that out." Anna rolled her eyes. "You know, I could have just told you that there's no such thing as magic in my world."

"Clearly." Gerda smirked. "Which means you're not here right now."

"Point." She sighed. "Still, I think it's safe to say that this Anna is magic-free. Harry Potter, I am not."

"Who?" Gerda turned to her, confused.

"Not important." She waved it off. "So any more tests you need me to fail or can we just call it a day?"

"No, I think you've proven you have no talent for magic." The other woman agreed.

"Then we're done, yay."

"With this, yes." Gerda nodded. "Why don't you relax for a while. I need to consider our options."

"Oh no." Anna retorted. "You don't get to make any more decisions about my future without me. Whatever you're planning, I want to be a part of the process."

"That might be for the best." The corners of Gerda's mouth twitched into a smile.

Gerda walked to the door and called Kai back in. Anna and Kai sat at the table while Gerda retrieved a book and a map from her shelf. She joined them at the table, spreading the map out. It proved to be the same one she'd shown Anna previously, the one laying out the areas controlled by the Frost Queen. "You know the basics of the situation, yes?"

Anna nodded. "Crazy Ice Queen trying to freeze, um, everything."

"Yes, that would be the simple explanation." Gerda agreed. "This weather is also tied to her somehow. Either she is causing it directly or she's taking advantage of it. I personally lean towards believing that it's her doing. Her ice monsters mean she has some form of control over ice and cold. Plus, the weather didn't start changing until after she showed up. All in all, it looks like it's her doing."

"Makes sense, as much as any of this does. Still not seeing what I can do for you."

"I told you before, the gods sent you to me for a reason. Even if we can't see it now." Gerda exchanged a glance with Kai, who nodded firmly in agreement. "We'll just have to train you to survive until then."

"Train me?" Anna didn't like the sound of that.

Next Chapter: Anna's training gets interrupted.

A/N: Sorry for the delay, work and life pretty much ate into my writing time! No promises, but I'll try to have the next one up sooner.

A/N 2: translations for this chapter (minor spoilers):

Gerda: Sit and eat, you're going to need your strength.

Gerda: Very well. This would be easier if you cooperate, but we have no choice.

Gerda: If you are what was sent when I asked for help, the gods must truly be punishing me.