PikachuFan18: If it all went easily and quickly, there wouldn't be much to write about. And I'll try to be more punctual, but with university and assignments and stuff, it's not very easy to always be on time or even finish a new chapter on time. I also have quite the hyperactive imagination. As in, I currently have seven separate fanfiction ideas (this one included) and three original ones... It's too much, but they all stick around. Thanks for the review, hope you like this one!
Guest 1: No, I can't. Where's the fun in that? Thanks for reviewing!
Jess Maximoff: Ray is definitely miscast as a flamboyant prince, and it shows. Thanks for the review!
Guest 2: Yeah, I didn't want to stick too close to the movie for this one (more conflict!). Plus, it was fun to write Damien's reactions. Thanks for reviewing!
Ava and Sara had been sleighing at a relatively slow pace for the past few hours. It had stopped snowing – thank goodness – but the snow had, as expected, covered Laurel's tracks. The duo had resorted to following the general direction Laurel had gone to, in the hopes of finding her and not ending up somewhere they did not need or want to be.
This journey has been primarily spent in silence. Sara looked at the passing landscape while Ava drove the sleigh, looking at the path ahead and to make sure they wouldn't hit anything.
"What do you think we'll find?" Ava asked once, breaking the silence. Sara turned her head to Ava, who only glanced sideways. She hadn't spoken of 'who', but 'what'. As if they were going to reach a village that was completely frozen over, general items and people alike. Sara could only shrug.
"I don't know," she said. "Let's hope she's alright."
The next hour, neither of them spoke. They did not necessarily prefer it this way, but at least Sara could take her mind off of things by mindlessly watching the trees pass by. At one point, the forest made way for an icy and rather rocky slope and in the distance, the most beautiful thing they've ever seen in their entire lives.
A large staircase made of ice rose in the air and connected the ridge with the mountain ahead. This staircase led to the front door of a tall and slim ice castle, sitting at the side of the mountain. It glistened in the sun and at moments, the reflected light hurt their eyes.
Ava only stopped once they had reached the staircase. They took a moment to admire the handiwork. Sara was overtaken by confidence. If Laurel had no control of her powers, she wouldn't have been able to create this piece of art. This meant that Sara only had to say goodbye, have some closure – really know that Laurel controlled her powers – and then she could find a way to go home.
"She made this?" There was an incredulous tone in Ava's voice. Sara nodded.
"I think so." She turned her gaze away from the castle and to the woman she loves. "Let's go say hi."
Sara went in first, and Ava followed her. With the utmost caution, they climbed the staircase. The grip was surprisingly well, as both of them managed not to slip. Their climb was slow - they didn't trust the staircase all that much. Eventually, they did reach the front door of the palace.
Sara hesitated. What if Laurel didn't want to see her? What if she insisted Ava and Sara go someplace else? What if Sara's sudden appearance made Laurel lose control of her powers? What id, what if, …
Sara shook her head. None of this is going to happen. It was still Laurel, after all. At least, some version of her. They were going to have a nice little chat, and the sisters would part ways as good friends.
"I'll stay here if you want to," Ava said.
Sara sighed, turning to her lover. "Ava-"
"She froze the country, didn't she?" She said. "I'm not sure seeing a stranger isn't going to help much."
Sara opened her mouth to fight Ava's decision but soon closed it again. "You have a point."
Ava shot her a small reassuring smile. "Good luck."
Sara took a deep breath and turned to the door. She grabbed the big door handles and despite its cold touch and its heavy weight, she forcefully pushed it open.
The main hall was tall, icy blue and white, and barren despite the many decorative ice patterns. There was a large staircase, similar to the one Sara and Ava had just climbed, reaching as high as the highest floor this castle would have.
Laurel was standing in the main hall, and Sara immediately took notice of how much she had changed. The first and only time Sara had seen her in this realm, she had worn a dark dress and one hand was gloved, holding the other hand - without the glove - in a tight grip. Now, she stood there confidently, and a genuine wide grin appeared on her face. She walked around like a queen in that amazing ice dress. But then Laurel saw Sara, and her confident smile receded ever so lightly and she took a step back.
Tongue-tied, it took Sara a few moments to get over the stunning image presented to her and to regain her voice.
"Laurel."
"Sara." She sounded relieved. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Sara nodded, "We're all fine. You look… amazing." If there was any better word she found, Sara would have used it. But at moments like these, she never really did find the right words to say.
"Why did you come?" Laurel then asked her. Sara didn't think Laurel believed it was a bad idea that she had come, but she did use that terrified undertone again, almost subtle enough not to catch. But Sara caught it.
"For starters, so you can go home." Home. The castle Sara had ended up when Merlin's spell hit and in any other context the Waverider, the Legends, their silly behaviors, and misadventures. Home was also Laurel Lance, killed by Damien Darhk.
Laurel took another modest step back. She held her hands together, in a defensive stance, and shook her head. "I'm sorry, but it's better if I stayed here."
"We need you there," Sara pressed on. She wasn't going to ask about the level of proficiency Laurel had in controlling her powers. It might just upset her. "I need you."
A nostalgic, bittersweet smile appeared on Laurel's face. "You will do great over there."
"So will you, when you come back. Powers or not, I know you can handle it. You're Laurel Lance."
The smile vanished as soon as Sara mentioned going back. She seemed to be anxious about the fate of the kingdom she had left behind.
"How is Arendelle?" It was a cautious question.
"A bit snowed under," Sara answered truthfully. But the snow had stopped falling a while ago, presumably around the time that Laurel learned how to control her powers.
But Sara forgot to mention that, and Laurel's face went pale just as her eyes widened in shock. She folded her arms, hiding her hands away.
"W-What?" Light snow fell down from the ceiling, and Sara found herself looking up. The snowflakes materialized just under the roof, and there was no hole whatsoever in the ceiling. When she turned her attention back to Laurel, she had created more space between herself and her sister.
"It's okay," Sara said, slowly taking steps closer towards her. "You can fix this, okay? We'll figure out how your powers work—"
"You need to leave," Laurel bluntly said in a panicky way. The number of snowflakes falling down doubled and their size increased threefold. Sara, stubborn as she is, attempted to close the distance between her and Laurel.
"I'm not leaving without you."
"Please, just go away!" The snowfall had gotten ever heavier and a gust of wind steered them to the right. A snowstorm inside the main hall. Laurel was panicking, and the longer and more she gave in to her fears, the heavier the snowfall would become. Laurel held her hands close to her chest, something Sara could barely make out from her position.
"Laurel, we can do this together. You can control it, I know you can." To be heard, Sara had to shout over the whistling winds. In the chaos, Laurel had answered, but it was lost to Sara. The younger sister fought against the snow and the winds, taking one decisive step after the other to try and get through to Laurel.
"If you would listen—"
"I can't!" In an instant, the snowstorm disappeared. All the ice and snow from the storm was summoned to Laurel, shaped themselves in large icicles with pointy ends, flying in all directions, hitting the walls and one unintended target.
Sara stumbled backward, holding her hands where the ice shard had hit her. The cold enveloped her intestines as she checked for any flesh wounds. There were none, fortunately, but the ice should at least have left a mark, like a bruise. There definitely was a big enough force behind it. So why hadn't it?
Ava ran into the room straight towards Sara. She tenderly took her at the upper arms, in case Sara would faint or fall over. there was fear in her eyes and she also checked for any wounds that weren't there.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Sara answered, glancing at Laurel. She wanted to forgive she for what she had unintentionally done – there was no real injury – but Laurel seemed to be too caught up in her own guilt, shock, and fear to be in a position to accept this sign of forgiveness.
"You need to leave," she said. with those words, she ran off, up the other staircase. Ava and Sara were left in the main hall, but Ava guided her out of the castle. On the doorstep, between the front door and the staircase leading to the castle, they stopped.
"Are you sure?" Ava insisted. Sara nodded.
"I am fine, Ava." She turned her head to look at the castle behind her.
"I'm sorry it had to go this way," Ava said. But Sara shrugged.
"Something had to happen," Sara said solemnly. Of course, she wished she could have helped Laurel, but her sister refused that help. Go away, leave me be. And Sara was going to respect Laurel's wishes. She turned her head to Ava again.
"Let's try to go home," she said and Ava nodded once.
"We can try to retrace our steps, see if something can help up where we started in this world."
Sara agreed with the plan. "I think I traveled the farthest distance, so shall we check out where you started?"
"Okay," Ava said, "Let's go." The duo descended the ice stairs and walked back to the sleigh, setting a course for the place where Ava had woken up – and then, if they didn't find anything, it was off to the castle. They left Laurel inside her castle.
