Chapter Ten
She didn't know how long she stayed there embracing Elsa, sobbing because it was too late to save her. So deep in her grief was she that she didn't see the gradual thaw beginning over Elsa's heart. The warm thaw spread over Elsa's chest, to her body, her limbs, and head, until she was completely thawed. She shifted, feeling Anna's weight on her, the sobbing as her little sister clung on to her.
"Anna?"
Anna's tears stopped abruptly as soon as she heard that voice—hardly daring to hope, she looked up to see Elsa gazing down at her, tears rolling down her own cheeks. Elsa smiled—a small smile—but to Anna, it was the most beautiful smile she had ever see from her adored older sister.
"Elsa?"
Elsa's eyes widened, her hands flying to her mouth.
"Oh Anna, you're okay—you're safe!"
With that, Elsa threw her arms around Anna's shoulders, breaking down into tears. Anna tightened her own hold, not letting go as long as Elsa needed the comfort, the assurance she was really here.
"It's okay, Elsa," Anna whispered, patting her back gently, "I got you."
The two sisters clung on to each other, not wanting to let go for a long time. Anna welcomed the warmth of Elsa's firm embrace. She could also feel the drying dampness of tears on Elsa's cheek as her cries calmed down into the occasional hiccough.
A cry of surprise, followed by several others, distracted the sisters' attention from each other. They looked for the source of the murmurs and cries of surprise.
"Oh look!" Anna pointed at the front of the throne room.
Elsa gaped as all the "statues" that had graced the throne room now began to thaw, shaking warmth into hands and feet, and scratching heads in confusion and wonder. Many asked each other, "where are we?"
"Anna, I don't know what's going on, but I think they were frozen too."
Anna almost jumped at hearing Kristoff's voice—she'd clean forgotten he was in the room as well, his loyal reindeer at his side. He looked distinctly uncomfortable, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand as he shifted from foot to foot.
"What made them thaw, I wonder?" Elsa asked.
Something of what Glinda had told her raced back into Anna's head.
"Oh, I know!" Anna declared with an authoritative nod, "Glinda the Good Witch told us—"
"Us?"
"Oh, my friends Kristoff and Sven—Sven's the reindeer—helped me. They are from our world too. Anyway, Glinda the Good said that love will thaw. And that when I came here, the land would thaw."
But when Elsa spoke again, very much puzzled, Anna had no idea if she had heard what she had just said.
"I still have to figure out the puzzle."
"Puzzle?" Anna asked over the hub-bub of Munchkins exiting through the throne room's door.
Elsa bit her lip, looking down at her feet. She drew her hands together across her body, thumbs rubbing slow circles on the backs of her hands.
"The Snow Queen told me I had to solve this puzzle," Elsa explained, "something to do with the nature of rays and lines in geometry."
"Eternity!" Anna blurted, "That's what Glinda the Good said, and I think this is the word that will help."
Now Elsa's face lit up with a big smile, her eyes glittering as the answer became clear in her own head.
"Of course!" she agreed, "It's eternity. You have been paying attention in our classes."
"Oh, a little bit, but not as much as you." Anna bounced on the balls of her feet, impatient to get started on the puzzle. "Come on, let's solve this!"
Fearing she would accidentally fall into the lake, Elsa grabbed Anna's arms, holding her back.
"Careful," Elsa warned. "The lake is probably really, really cold and deep. Let's not fall in."
Together, the two sisters settled down on the stony, non-frozen floor, their nimble fingers manipulating the pieces of ice into the word, eternity. When they successfully completed the final letter, the two sisters grabbed each other's hands, dancing with sheer joy. So much joy burst into the room with the radiance of a summer's sunshine, that the pieces of ice began to dance too. Eternity had its own little charming choreography. They still paraded around as Elsa and Anna calmed down again to wonder about the Snow Queen's fate and how they would return home again. One of the Munchkins happened to overhear Anna asking the question of the Snow Queen's fate, and hung back at the door to answer.
"My dear girls," he addressed the two, "As she is made of pure ice and snow and frost, she will melt. Thanks to your intervention, we will no longer bear the presence of the woman who claimed herself a queen of this land. I wish you well and all the best in returning home."
With a deep bow, the last Munchkin exited the room, leaving behind three children and a reindeer. The ice particles that had been dancing before had now calmed down, settling back onto the lake, still forming the word eternity.
"Did Glinda the Good tell you anything about how to get home again?" Elsa queried of Anna.
Anna nodded eagerly. "Yes—she gave us all—except Sven, because he has to stay here—ice-skates that we might use to take us home again. All we have to do is wear them and link arms and tell ourselves there is no place like home. Kristoff doesn't live far from us, Elsa—only about an hour's drive."
Elsa turned to address Kristoff with a little nod. "Thank you for looking after my sister."
Kristoff pulled an abashed grin, "Well, not that she needed much looking after. She can take care of herself quite well."
"Really?" Anna asked, pleasantly surprised by his compliment.
"I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it," Kristoff said, "What would be the point of that?"
"Well, thank you for being a good friend," Anna returned a compliment in kind, "And helping me find Elsa again."
"Hey, no problem, you would still be in that forest if it weren't for me."
"I'd have found my way out!" Anna huffed, expression defiant.
"Sure."
"Yeah, I'm sure."
Elsa cleared her throat, interrupting the two friends' battle of retorts.
"So, shall we go back home?" Elsa asked, "Where are the ice skates?"
"Huh?" Anna blinked up at her sister.
"You said something about ice skates."
"Oh! Yeah, I forgot! Good thing you helped me remember, Elsa."
Kristoff held up a hand, silently telling the sisters to stay where they were as he pulled off the bag containing the three pairs of ice skates, gleaming and white. But instead of coming straight to the sisters, he paused, putting down the bag as he raised a hand to gently pet Sven, his expression suddenly very sombre. It hit Anna then that Kristoff was bidding his reindeer pal a sad final farewell. Perhaps her sadness showed, for Elsa wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling Anna close in a comforting hug.
"Hey," she whispered, "you okay?"
Anna wrapped her own arms around Elsa, feeling a little better now that her older sister was hugging her.
"Yeah," she said into Elsa's dress, "I'm sad because Kristoff has to say goodbye to his friend. The reindeer is his friend."
Elsa kissed the top of Anna's head, but didn't say anything. After about a minute, when Kristoff finally finished his goodbyes to Sven, Anna gently pulled herself out of the hug. She nearly bowled Kristoff over as she barraged into him, arms flung around him in a big hug. Kristoff yelped, stumbling back a couple steps, awkwardly patting Anna on her head.
"There, there," he gasped, "what's this all about?"
Anna stepped out of the impromptu embrace, staring up at her friend's rapidly reddening face.
"Thought you needed a hug after saying goodbye."
"Uh, that, a hug. I mean thanks. Appreciated." Kristoff stammered, scuffing his feet on the thawed floor. "Um, home—shall we go? I mean, we got the ice-skates here." Kristoff nudged the bag with the toe of his shoe.
Anna immediately bent down and yanked the bag open, pulling out the ice-skates one at a time and handing them around until everyone—including herself—had a pair. She gazed down at her own pair, gleaming and brand new. Now she and Elsa could finally go home again, and so could Kristoff. He would likely end up back at his farm, but that was okay—she could always visit him. Elsa would visit with her too, of course, and show him all the stuff she could do with her snow magic.
But we can do it now, can't we?
"Elsa?" Anna tugged on her big sister's sleeve, "Do the magic, please? Kristoff wants to see!"
Elsa's characteristic lop-sided grin returned, her eyes glittering.
"Always. Watch this."
With a dramatic flourish of her hands, Elsa sent frost and ice over the floor of the room like a very icy and cold carpet. Kristoff's mouth fell open, his shoulders sagging from sheer awe.
"Amazing," he marvelled, "I might cry."
"Go ahead," Anna told him, "We won't judge."
The three children donned the ice-skates, which all fitted their feet perfectly. It was like they were literally made to fit snugly, no matter how little or big the wearer's feet were. No doubt, Glinda had managed to use her own magic to make sure that the ice-skates would fit on their feet without worrying about them being too tight or loose.
Their ice-skates snug on their feet, the children held hands, carefully testing the efficiency of their silver blades. They took their time, skating around the throne room, allowing themselves a little bit of fun before going home. Elsa led the way, her snow flurries darting from warm fingertips. Unlike the Snow Queen's blizzard, Elsa's snow fell gentle and soft from the ceiling. Anna wanted to sing with the sheer delight of skating alongside her sister and new friend. Even Sven joined in the fun, sliding along with the children.
But as with all good things, this fun too came to its own end. Knowing they had to get back home, the three slowed to a standstill near the centre of the throne room. They linked arms, taking deep breaths to prepare themselves for whatever was to come very soon.
"Are you ready?" Elsa asked.
"I think so," Kristoff affirmed.
"Me too," Anna agreed.
Anna reminded them again what Glinda had instructed them to do once they were ready to go back home. Using a little push of wind, Elsa started turning them around in their first spin.
"Think of home," Anna reminded, shutting her eyes tight, imagining her beloved home with its garden and cat, "There is no place like home. There is no place like home. There is no place like home…"
Three times, they repeated this phrase, and three times they spun around on the spot. Anna's arm tightened around Elsa's, feeling a little hand squeeze in response.
"I won't let you go," Elsa promised, just as a warm swell of wind—feeling very much like a huge swell of ocean wave—lifted them high into the air.
This warm swell of air carried all three children on their way home, and it didn't feel like long before Anna and Elsa found their feet touch earth once again. Opening her eyes gradually, Anna shouted with joy at seeing their gorgeous old garden with its familiar flowers and plants once more. The sky above was blue, without a single cloud in sight. The sun shone bright and confident, completely sure that no clouds would occlude it from view today.
But most importantly of all, Elsa was once again at Anna's side. Both sisters gazed at each other, their smiles unrestrained, and nor, naturally, was the embrace they shared immediately thereafter, glad to be home again.
"Home sweet home, Anna," Elsa murmured, squeezing her little sister's shoulders in their embrace.
"I'm glad to be home," Anna agreed, closing her eyes, so she could fully enjoy Elsa's hug without distraction, "And I think Kristoff will be too."
We'll visit you soon, Kristoff, Anna promised from the depths of her heart, And Elsa will show you everything her magic can do.
Anna knew she would keep the promise to her new friend, Kristoff. And she knew that, with time, he and Elsa would be very good friends too.
I'm glad to be home.
[A/N]: Apologies for the wait-but this chapter was fighting me every step of the way, refusing to co-operate, most especially as my Muses had all decided to turn their backs on the story, refusing to give me more inspiration. However, despite my writing Muses' misbehaviour, I have managed to complete this story, with this being the final chapter, followed by a short little epilogue from Kristoff's POV.