Hello all! Thank you for the support as always. I hope this story isn't getting boring for you guys because I really am enjoying writing it! If there are any ideas you guys would like to introduce feel free to message me on what you would like to see! Thanks as wlays, and enjoy this chapter! :)
The sun was starting to rise and Anna stared down at the ground, sitting, trying to catch her breath. She looked around at Olaf who was looking over a mountain, and Kristoff who was looking at her with major concern.
"Kristoff, it's not as bad as last time, I'm sure-"
"Not as bad as last time? Anna, you were just shot to the ground as if someone had stabbed a knife through you, you want me to think that that's any better than a frozen heart?" Anna looked down re-considering her words. He neared her with a slight sense of fear.
"But, we have to focus on Elsa. I'm afraid that we'll run out of time to help her!" Anna said gathering her strength to stand up.
Just as Kristoff was going to say something, Olaf came running towards them.
"Guys come look! I see someone down at a valley!" Olaf broke the conversation and led the two to where he was watching the landscape. He took them to the edge of the mountain, where a nearby valley laid, full of green and blue. As the three squinted their eyes, they saw a person dressed in white. They were tending to the nearby plants and flowers. "Why don't we go say hi?" Olaf asked innocently.
Kristoff shook his head. "No, we're not going down there. We've had enough encounters. And they've done enough damage as it is," He said strictly. Anna took a deep breath. She was standing next to Kristoff and cautiously took hold of his hand. He was startled but looked at her worriedly. Anna smiled reassuringly at him.
"Let's go say hi," Anna said leading him behind Olaf. They made their way down to the valley pretty quickly. It was much more jungle-like then they would have expected it to be. To think it was late autumn and yet, this small valley pertained a constant sense of summer. Something that Olaf appreciated very much.
"Look at the flowers!" Olaf said pointing to some nearby tulips. Anna smiled subtly, more worried about the situation that they were in. It was quiet for a moment, only the chirp of birds. The air was fresh and new, it calmed the atmosphere to a level of peace that couldn't have been duplicated in the kingdom. Everything was always so weary in the streets. People chatting, trading, buying, and selling. Children playing and shouting. Anna would be running from the castle into the marketplace and back to the castle again all without necessity. But here? No. There was no need for running. No sound except the chirping of a bird. No sound but the trickle of a creek. No sound-a branch cracked. Anna turned around anxiously. She looked at Kristoff to confirm that he had heard the noise as well. The sound of light feet prancing on grass could also be heard. Anna was on her feat, ready to make a run for it. Then, in front of them, from all of the beauty of nature, arose a gorgeous, young woman. Dressed in white. Her hair matching the color of her gown, in frizzles and flowers falling on it. Her skin very pale, but her cheeks were all too rosy. Her icy eyes reminded Anna of Elsa. She was some sort of enchantress she supposed. But she didn't look malevolent. At least she hoped she wasn't.
"Um…I," Anna broke the silence as if she were to introduce herself but only stuttered phrases escaped her. The goddess-like woman put a calming hand up and smiled. It was the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. It represented peace, and knowledge, and a sense that everything was going to be ok. Anna opened her mouth again to ask a question, of who she was. She was hesitant.
"I'm Anna. Who are you?" She asked awkwardly. The woman was graceful in every movement she made. The life could be seen pumping through her body so vigorously, Anna was sure she came from a higher power.
"I am Dahlia, care taker of the forest," the woman said. Anna smiled. Dahlia stood in a gracious position that was so queen-like; it was uncanny how similar she was to Anna's sister. Anna marveled at the similarity with such curiosity. Anna was entranced by this characteristic, but quickly tried to advance the conversation.
"Oh, um, your highness…um," Anna clumsily curtsied, the fringe of her dress filthy with dirt and grass stains. Her dress looked the same way her wardrobe looked when she was 5. Still she tried to be the best royal sister she could be (although it wasn't much). "We're looking for an herb. My sister is sick, and the plant is supposed to cure her," Dahlia maintained her posture. Anna paused. "It supposedly has blue leaves and sharp edge-" before Anna could finish her description of the herb, Dahlia took a step to her right to reveal the plant directly behind her. It was if she had made it appear there. Knowing exactly what Anna needed, she plucked the herb with her delicate hand and stepped closer to Anna to give it to her. Anna held out her hand marveling at the mystical woman. Kristoff staring over Anna's shoulder as Dahlia softly placed the plant in her hand. "How…did you?" Anna stuttered. Dahlia smiled.
"It's alright. I am used to helping others with their illnesses. You could say I am a sort of medicine expert, a doctor is what you call it, yes?" Her voice was silky. With every word bringing more peace to the valley. Anna nodded nervously. Olaf ran over to Dahlia cheerfully, like a small child.
"Hello! I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs!" Anna giggled softly. The graceful woman bent down to greet the snowman. She smiled sweetly at him.
"He is your creation, I assume?" Dahlia asked with looking up. Anna looked around to make sure she was talking to her. Then she realized that the woman couldn't have been talking to anyone else. Anna stumbled on her words a little before she explained.
"Me? No, no I didn't create him. My sister made him!" Anna smiled down at Olaf admiringly. "You've seen other talking snowmen?" Anna asked stupidly. She bit her lip regretfully. Dahlia stood up and looked at Anna intriguingly.
"I have lived many years, despite my youthful appearance, and I have met several beings with powers like those of your sister's," Dahlia said.
"Really?" Anna said excitedly stepping closer to the woman. Dahlia smiled and nodded calmly. Anna's smile got bigger, thinking that Elsa would have others that would be able to understand her. She would have found no reason to feel alienated any more, despite the support of her sister.
With no reason, Anna started feeling a throb in her stomach again. She put her hand there in hopes of it being a passing feeling, but it only seemed to get worse. Anna bit her lip to try and hide it from Dahlia. She was afraid that she would disrupt a certain order that the valley contained. But the pain continued to grow. Dahlia was now noticing that something was wrong. And yet she was so calm. Kristoff looked at Anna turn extremely pale for a second, but the blush returned to her cheeks, and the pain slowly disappeared, subsiding with the breeze. Anna looked at the white-haired woman curiously, as if she knew that Dahlia had done something to stop her from suffering the pain.
"It doesn't hurt. You stopped it…" Anna's voice arose a little from a whisper.
Dahlia smiled knowingly.
"I can sense black magic in the valley. I knew from the moment you entered that you brought it with you. A curse," Anna gulped loudly at the sound of the worse curse. "I've dealt with her works before. Many a time, she has tried to disturb the peace in the forest, taking disguise as a robin," Anna remembered now who she spoke of. The enchantress. The woman who had plunged a needle into a doll.
"So you've met her before?" Kristoff popped in, slightly curious.
"Yes. But she can't hurt you here, Anna," Dahlia reassured them.
"Is there anything you can do to help her?" Olaf asked.
"I wish that I could, but sadly, I cannot. I have nothing that could take the curse away. But there is a way," She paused to phrase the instructions she was about to give. Anna leaned forward to listen carefully. "What is it that she wants from you, Anna?" She asked gently.
"Huh?" Anna looked at Dahlia. She gulped before she spoke. "She said that she would help me find the herb, but only in exchange for something," Dahlia's expression became one of question. "She wanted my heart, saying that it contained ice, so I clarified that it did, except not anymore, but she didn't believe me, and so-" Kristoff put a hand on her shoulder so that she would stop talking. Anna remained silent and Dahlia was thinking of what she would say.
"A frozen heart…hmph. Under any circumstance, here is what you must do," Anna paid close attention. "You must go to the village where she lives as a normal housewife. Her house is the one farthest from the church. When the bells ring six times, it is your chance to go inside the house without being caught, find the doll and the needle. If the bell rings three times, you must run as fast as you can. Come back here immediately, and the rest I will fix," The woman's voice was weary for the first time. Anna found this task incredibly dangerous and difficult. She kept telling herself that she lived life on the edge, but only when it didn't get others hurt. Kristoff gulped but nodded approvingly.
"Thank you," Anna finally said speaking up. Dahlia nodded.
"I shall wait for you here," She said gesturing to the nature. Anna smiled hopefully. Then they were on their way to the witch's village.
