III. To the Other World

Anna marched right up to Elsa, holding the skirts of her wedding dress up. Elsa was too stunned to speak. She hid the map behind her.

"I heard everything, and I saw everything. So there's no use in talking me out of it," Anna commanded.

"Anna, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be…supposed to be…" Elsa trailed off.

Anna waved one hand dismissively. "I'm supposed to be on carriage ride to my honeymoon, I know. But then my sister wasn't there to wave me goodbye. No, instead I find you in a graveyard with a stranger, on my wedding!" Anna squeaked, panicked.

"Oh. When you put it that way, this does look…very creepy," Elsa said.

"You don't even know that half of it! If Kristoff starts to realize that I've taken WAY too long with my little 'ladies' room' break, he's going to come and find his bride. HERE," Anna started. "But that's not important right now. You are," Anna grabbed Elsa's hands. To her, they felt like ice. The map and braided cord fluttered to the soft ground.

"Anna, I—" Elsa began.

Anna looked worried. "Elsa, can you even feel your fingers? How long has this been going on? It's the middle of summer and your hands feel like they're frozen!"

Elsa took her hands away. She couldn't look her in the eyes. She didn't know how to explain what was wrong. How could she? Her head was a jumble of thoughts. Her heart beat with anxiety and embarrassment. At least her hands stopped pinching.

"Elsa, please talk to me," Anna pleaded.

Elsa turned her back to her sister. The last thing she wanted to do was cause her to worry on what was supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life. Why do I always hurt her, when I'm just trying to protect her? Elsa thought sadly.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it," Elsa managed.

Anna picked up the braided cord and map. She studied it. She held out her hand to Sybil.

"The beans, please," Anna ordered.

Elsa grabbed her arm. "What do you think you're doing? You can't go," Elsa said.

"No, YOU can't go. I've traveled on my own before, so I'll be fine. You're the queen, so if anything happens to you," Anna paused. She shook her head. "Anyway, I can take my honeymoon after I get back with whatever I'm looking for!" Anna rushed.

"Hm," the wanderer responded. Sybil pocketed the magic beans in the velvet pouch. She placed the velvet pouch in Anna's hands. Anna and Elsa looked at the woman, surprised. Sybil smiled, and her eyes glowed. She looked even more feral. "I must leave now, Elsa and Anna. I have seen all that I need to see," she said.

Sybil walked away. Elsa caught up to her and touched her arm. "Wait a minute! You said that this was a journey for me, alone," Elsa recalled.

Sybil looked back at her from over her shoulder. "I also said it was your choice, little Elsa," Sybil replied. "So what will you do?" Sybil asked. The old woman walked on a few more steps. The earth-brown cloak swept the ground softly. Before Elsa could say anything more, the wanderer had vanished in the dark.

Elsa tip-toed into Anna's room, before the first morning light broke through the clouds of the horizon. She hadn't slept. Instead she was dressed in travel clothes, a cloak, boots, and she carried a full satchel across her back. Elsa exhaled out her nose. The night before had not ended well. Kristoff wasn't happy about Anna cancelling their honeymoon on such short notice. When he heard that it was for personal and important reasons, he gave in with a sigh. Elsa looked at her sister sleeping among her fluffy pillows alone in her bed. Her hair was all over the place. One arm was bent over her head. A long strand of hair was locked into the corner of Anna's open mouth. Elsa chuckled. I certainly hope Kristoff gets used to seeing you like that, Elsa thought. Elsa placed a parchment by her side. Instructions were written out for running the kingdom while she was away, at least for up to a month. Elsa stayed up the rest of the night making the painstaking notes. After all, if Anna had cancelled her honeymoon for her sake, very least she could do was make use of her sister's extended presence in Arendale to keep the peace.

Elsa put on a pair of blue gloves. They were similar to the pair she discarded on the mountaintop one year prior, in an act of freedom. Elsa thought she'd never need such gloves again. If her hands really were cold, then she needed these to be discreet. Elsa gently tugged the velvet pouch from under Anna's pillow. She had to pry Anna's closed fingers off it carefully. Anna snorted, but kept sleeping. She removed her gloves and looked at her hands. Elsa sighed, and left Anna's room with a small, "I'm sorry."

Elsa walked to the top of a hill and stopped under the shade of a tree near a spring. She was very tired, and her hands shook with the onset of another spasm attack. She tucked in her hands and ignored it. Elsa looked back at the castle, the town, and the wide fjord that sparkled in the early morning light. The clouds in the sky were thick. She couldn't tell what time it was, but she was glad that she escaped the notice of any farmers just getting to their fields. Elsa pulled out the velvet pouch from under her tunic that she safe-guarded near her heart. She made a long, thick string to loop the pouch like a necklace before she left. Elsa reached in the pouch for a magic bean, but she had no idea what to do with it. She was brought up in royalty, not in the ways of a commoner or a magician.

Elsa gathered her courage, and looked at the spring. She took a deep breath, and tossed the magic bean. The bean landed in the center with a tiny ripple. Immediately the water swirled like a whirlpool, and in the center became a black hole. Wind, dirt, and leaves funneled into the whirlpool. Elsa cried out and backed away. She slipped and grabbed onto to the grass with her fist. She tried to climb back up, out of the path of this madness. It was then that she remembered Sybil's words, "One to get where you are going, if you believe in it with all her heart."

If I just believe, Elsa thought. She looked back at the whirlpool, determined. Elsa let go the grass. She felt her whole being fall into the center like a doll caught in a windstorm. Take me to that world, take me there! Please! Elsa thought furiously, over and over. She thought of the map. She thought of the strange ink strokes and colored dyes. She focused on the smell of fresh dirt, smoke, the sea, and flowers. Elsa saw her home world enveloped in darkness, like being swallowed up by a pit of fear. Her eyes widened. The blackness faded into a blue sky with soft clouds.

Elsa crashed back-first into a lake in the middle of a forest. Pain shot through her spine. Elsa kicked and struggled underwater. She couldn't swim. She couldn't breathe. Her cloak and boots dragged her down. Fear filled her heart, and water soaked through her lungs. Her legs spasmed. Her hands shook and her arms twitched. Elsa heard the sound of a muffled splash. Strong arms locked around her torso. She was pulled to the surface. As soon as her head broke water, Elsa took in a lungful of air and coughed. The strong arm still dragged her away. Elsa wasn't sure where. Instinctively she pulled against the arm. The strong arm locked around her tighter.

"Stop struggling," a voice commanded close to her ear, but Elsa was too terrified to listen. Her hands spasmed painfully underwater. The water around the two of them became thick and cold, like slush. Elsa forced herself to reach behind her. She pushed the head of the stranger away from her with one hand.

"Stop! I'm trying to help you!" The voice yelled.

"Stay away from me!" Elsa screamed.

Ice shot from her fingers and hit her rescuer or attacker in the face. The person screamed like a man in immense pain. Elsa could barely hear him. Her entire body felt like it was struck by lightning. Her arms and legs spread out wide. The slush-water around them separated in a giant explosion. The lake water rose up like giant walls and froze. Elsa and the stranger fell into the bottom of the empty lake. Elsa landed on a bed of frozen grass and snow. She heard the stranger land on his feet, like a cat. Elsa lifted her head up. Her body felt like needles pricked every inch of her skin. She had a powerful headache. Elsa looked up, and gasped. The young man that landed near to her slowly rose from a crouch. His clothes were of a style she had never seen before, woven in colors of deep scarlet, gold, and earth-brown. He had wild, deep brown hair, and he was lean, like he spent his time in many battles. The young man looked down on Elsa with the most golden eyes she'd ever seen, a scowl on his lips, and a fearsome, deep burn scar over the left side of his face. Shards of ice that hit the burned side of his face melted off of him. He took a deep, irritated breath with his fists clenched. Steam rose off his wet clothes. His golden eyes never left her blue ones. This was her first entry into a new world, and Elsa knew she was in serious trouble.